It was indeed a glorious sight. Sheer down two hundred feet and more
below them lay the calm, mirror-like sea, reflecting the moonbeams in a
pathway of silver, stretching far, far into the horizon, till it ended
in a distant speck on the great North Sea. The stars were paled by the
radiance, but still stood out gloriously in the clear still atmosphere,
like specks of shining foam dashed up from the silvery sea below. No
sound broke the stillness but the low beating of the surf and the scream
of a sea-bird skimming through the air after its prey. It seemed in
that lone, desolate spot as if there might be no other living creature
in existence but the bird flitting across the landscape. The two lads
nestled under the cloak and--the watcher!
"The moon was at the full, you know, when He died, Geoffrey, and fell
upon his cross and his tomb. I wonder if it falls as brightly in that
far-off land as it does here? Father Humphrey told me all about it the
last time the moon was full, just before he died. How sad, and yet how
glad a thing it was for Christ to die, Geoffrey! I can hardly tell
where the sadness ends and the gladness begins, they seem so mingled in
it all. May I talk to you about it now?"
"Yes, if you are warm," and the arm was drawn more tightly around the
slender form.
"Oh! yes, I am so comfortable now;" and then he began, and in sweet,
touching eloquence detailed the well-known story of the persecuted
Nazarene. He drew the picture of the lowly manger, of the carpenter’s
workshop; he spoke of Him as homeless, hungry, thirsty, weary, desolate,
despised, rejected, betrayed. He followed him to the garden, the
judgment-hall, the cross. He described in burning words the gibes, the
mocks, the sneers, the insults, the cruelty, the hatred that followed
the meek and gentle Jesus from the cradle to the grave.
"And He forgave them, Geoffrey," said the little speaker, as he closed
the account, "he forgave them every one."
"He was a God," said Geoffrey solemnly.
"Yes, but he was a man too, and out of his man’s heart, as well as his
God’s heart, he forgave them."
The elder lad’s face had softened strangely; there was a moisture on the
lashes which shaded his downcast eyes.
"He taught us our ’Pater Noster.’ He had a right to teach us to say:
’Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’ It is
hard to act it, but then we must, for we have so many sins to be
forgiven--so very, very many, Geoffrey. I think it is an awful prayer
to say, though it is so simple and short. It is like Jesus himself, so
perfect, so heart-searching. I tremble often; for just think, if we
should have just the least little revenge in our hearts, we are praying
for condemnation."
Lower, lower on his bosom sank the proud head of the young noble.
"I said it to-night, Hubert." The words came in a trembling whisper.
"Then you must _act_ it, quickly, quickly, before God answers it against
you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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