On going over that rising ground called Dorington Moor, I could not
help turning round and taking a look of Dalcastle. I had little doubt
that it would be my last look, and nearly as little ambition that it
should not. I thought how high my hopes of happiness and advancement
had been on entering that mansion, and taking possession of its rich
and extensive domains, and how miserably I had been disappointed. On
the contrary, I had experienced nothing but chagrin, disgust, and
terror; and I now consoled myself with the hope that I should
henceforth shake myself free of the chains of my great tormentor, and
for that privilege was I willing to encounter any earthly distress. I
could not help perceiving that I was now on a path which was likely to
lead me into a species of distress hitherto unknown, and hardly dreamed
of by me, and that was total destitution. For all the riches I had been
possessed of a few hours previous to this, I found that here I was
turned out of my lordly possessions without a single merk, or the power
of lifting and commanding the smallest sum, without being thereby
discovered and seized. Had it been possible for me to have escaped in
my own clothes, I had a considerable sum secreted in these, but, by the
sudden change, I was left without a coin for present necessity. But I
had hope in Heaven, knowing that the just man would not be left
destitute and that, though many troubles surrounded him, he would at
last be set free from them all. I was possessed of strong and brilliant
parts, and a liberal education; and, though I had somehow unaccountably
suffered my theological qualifications to fall into desuetude, since my
acquaintance with the ablest and most rigid of all theologians, I had
nevertheless hopes that, by preaching up redemption by grace,
preordination, and eternal purpose, I should yet be enabled to benefit
mankind in some country, and rise to high distinction.
These were some of the thoughts by which I consoled myself as I posted
on my way southwards, avoiding the towns and villages, and falling into
the cross ways that led from each of the great roads passing east and
west to another. I lodged the first night in the house of a country
weaver, into which I stepped at a late hour, quite overcome with hunger
and fatigue, having travelled not less than thirty miles from my late
home. The man received me ungraciously, telling me of a gentleman's
house at no great distance, and of an inn a little farther away; but I
said I delighted more in the society of a man like him than that of any
gentleman of the land, for my concerns were with the poor of this
world, it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account