The Tithe-Proctor: The Works of William Carleton, Volume TwoCarleton, William
General
The Tithe-Proctor: The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
rewards for political prostitution, parcelled out to meet the sordid
spirit of family alliances and ungodly bargains; or, in other words, to
turn her into a mass of bribes--a base appendage to the authority of
the British minister, who used her as the successful medium of at
once enslaving and demoralizing the country, instead of elevating and
civilizing it. It is for this great neglect of national duty, and for
permitting ourselves to be imbued with the carnal and secular spirit,
which has led us so far from practical truth and piety, that the church
is now suffering. We have betrayed our trust, and been treacherous both
to God and man. For my own part, my children, I am glad that I and mine
have been counted worthy to suffer in this cause. We are now passing
through the furnace, but we shall come out purified. Our grossness shall
be purged away, and the proud spirit of mammon burned out of us. But you
know that God, my dear ones, can accomplish a double purpose by the
same means. Our church shalt be exalted and purified, and her ministers
prepared for a higher and holier mission than that in which they
have hitherto been engaged. She shall awaken to a sense of her great
responsibility; a new spirit shall be created within her; a living
energy shall characterize those who have slumbered under the unholy
shadows which she has cast around her, and those who think that they
are smiting her unto death shall find that they have been made only
the instruments in God's hands for the purification of her body and the
regeneration of her spirit. Charles,” he added, turning to the boy, who
still wept, although as furtively as he could, “bear up, my child: Ned,
you may rest assured, will make as little delay as possible, and I hope
he will bring us relief.”
“Mamma,” said the invalid, looking up tenderly into her face, “will
you--oh! no, not you, mamma--Emily will--a mouthful of drink, Emily
dear, and let it be pure water, Emily; I think it agrees with me best.”
“Alas, my darling!” exclaimed her mother, wiping away a few quiet tears,
“I have nothing else to give you.”
“Well, mamma, but you know I like it very much.”
“Precious child,” replied her mother, again tenderly pressing her to her
bosom; “we all know your goodness, and the reluctance with which you ask
anything that you fear might occasion us trouble. Dearest life, it will
be the memory of these glimpses of angelic goodness that will wring
our hearts when you are----” She paused, for the words had been uttered
unconsciously.
“Yes,” said her father, “they will console us, my child, and make your
memory smell sweet, and blossom from the very dust. You have probably
heard of the beautiful sentiment so exquisitely delineated by the great
painter--'I too have been in Arcadia,'--and will it not be something to
us to be able to say,--'We too have an angel in paradise!'”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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