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Show Iu A T TITTR," A Lover's Plea for the Human Heart. I X X V X ! JL AJL . . By John Steea Tiffan &w- IA.UNTIE" Si jou all right, iiuuUeT" ?! fge-furrownd face on the hot 1 ookod its assent. The hoary Tl iv;ed a weak affirmative. '1 he a fcyoune questioner took a last V b the family mirror, mvc her hair a final hasty dab ami fff to the ward hall. "Auntie-' was left helpless and alone i afternoon. ... 3 &av was "Old Folks' day" in i he' or ward nestled among tho Ti fMormon "Dixie." Today all Hi ISfiho ward over oO years old k nquettcd by the younger class. 7 amder of the Rockwall family 3 tfady at the hall, where great "V baskets were .being unpacked ' pine tables were being loaded ifully concocted eatables. The Jbefreckled girl wlio left auntie us her nurse for the day But ? if of the feast was too strong Cfc f she must go just for a little il b'Sho wouldn't be long away m ifnntic." . . bv Tat maddening name, "auntie!'' r inimant to the helpless old gen-? gen-? in left alone in that untidy 1 'The black slave women of the led to wear that name. She u"? rant it. She had never wanted Tjfy 'auntie" she had been called tfllialf a century. "For "auntie" i) t jrormon pariah, a childless polygamous family. "Auntie" JbadRO of sterilitj'. Prom the 2 j had in her gentle, dignified 2 (tested against the name. But. 1 if absurdly helpless against the " glide of local speech. Always J, s; "auntie, auntie, auntie, tie. auntie, auntie, auntie." 2 ,cicadas echoed shrilly in the fand vineyards and afar in the ?i Sng fields. "Auntie, auntie, ilfwhilo tho sleepy bees droned i diorns. "Auntie.' aiifie, auntie, 3 rio the annoying alto of the flics. "Auntie, auntie, auntie, h Awhile the corn wilted in the i "Auntie, auntie, auntie, ) f while the palm-like alanthus i; pmcd to swoon in the still blaze !j S'Dixic" afternoon. "Auntie. i jnntie,. auntie." while tho pain i iead on tho soiled pillow throb- ideninglv in time to the dcvil-!.: dcvil-!.: us. "Auntie, auntie, auntie, vj itill the staccato notes seemed b visibly the timc-halood head. 3 if auntie, auntie, auntie," with a ative continuity of .icering glee i mcd to mock the helplessness k fevered victim. To her these .1 devils sent lo torture her with tf: ijjenuity. is a grim old jester. TTc had ft: yher sight;, enfeebled her arm, i icr speech, dulled her memory, incd her locks; but he refused 3oon of doafuess to shut out the a iing sounds that tantalized lier Serves. But one comfort was irrthe doubtful pleasure of rccol- lection. Tho loss of the present made only more vivid her childhood memories. memo-ries. So, while tho crowd rejoiced forgetfully, for-getfully, the lone woman lay fighting flies feebly, trying to ease her hot head with memories of girlhood days. Those Old Memories. She was young again, gathering mod-; 'est. pinky-while tea roses in her father's fath-er's garden. All about her were the neat hedges and winding lanes of her native England. Ivy rioted over tho bricks and slates of her father's house. Contented snails foil their slow way among the cresses The moist coolness of the pungent earth lay as a bencdic tion over the soothing green of the fields and meadows. Now she was a woman, learning to create wondrous things in linen nnd embroider em-broider or in silks and ribbons and laces, under the skilled direction of the beloved Ileloise, This labor she loved. With scissors and needle she came to rival even her adept French teacher. Denied, t ho liberal education now given to daughters, she satisfied her artistic nature with the creative art of the seamstress. Now came her prince. John Canting Cant-ing was only a miller's apprentice, and she n well-to-do farmer's daughter; but he was always her prince. For his sake she learned to cook and scrub and scour in a neat little cottage of their own. Then her boy was born, and she could embroider and sew and save and plan for him. lier home seemed a heaven too fair for mortals, and her happiness too full to last. Then came strange, Iravel-staiued men from over the sea. These asked and -were granted food and lodging in the name of Christ. They showed all the humility and earnest enthusiasm of Paul and the earlier apostles. Thoy taught a startling doctrine of new revelation, rev-elation, living prophets, a heaven tc-opened tc-opened io man. a tangible kingdom of hoaven on earth, a Zion to be built, ou the Americnn continent. They told of one Joseph Smith, a humble youth who had talked face to face with God, and had .been given a" golden Bible. In this holy hook, they said, was a history his-tory of' the peoples of that western continent. In 1 lie light of this virile, new faith the old, inept creeds familiar to Sarah Canting seemed outworn and useless, i ho very audacity of the new ideas fired the" imagination. The human soul seeks fatuously for Arcadia. No disappointment dis-appointment can discourage the quest. Always it is just a little further on. It was not in England: but why not in America ? To talk to God face to face might easily happeu in that land of a thousand "wonders. So reasoned, or rather, so felt Sarah Canting in lier youthful inexperience. When she talked to her John of the new creed he only laughed good nat-urcdb' nat-urcdb' and changed tho subject just as ho had done when his neighbors denounced de-nounced him for harboring the "golden Bible imposters," as they wero called. With John, religion. was more a matter of upright conduct than of form and dogma. His wife, womanlike, wanted something tangible and unchanging. r FOREWORD. ? The moralists have Iiad flicir say on "celestial" (plural) marriage. Now comes a J f little brief liy a lover. Virtue has a strong case against polygamy; but love has a f stronger. In the question of ethics versus plural marriage, there is room for argu- J ;l; ment: but where the proposition is polygamy versus the human heart, love speaks the J j; final word. i She must cling; guidance was a necessity; neces-sity; someone must tell lier the waj". These traveling elders seemed to have been sent hv divine providence to fulfill that mission. The personal appeal ap-peal was there, loo. The elders were cheerful, humble, earnest, candid, temperate, tem-perate, and displayed only a courteous and aloof defcrenco to their hostess. So in a few -weeks they baptized Sarah Canting and confirmed hor a member of the church of J'csub Christ of .Latter-dav .Latter-dav Saints. " The thin hands failed feebly lo drive awav the tormenting flics. The hot lungs gasped and panted for breeze that could come only with another dawn. The dim eyes strained for the glass of water just out; of reach. 'Then the busy mind went back once more into the" past. Now came drear memories of leaving leav-ing the home nest, bidding good-byo to father, mother and brothers, and setting set-ting out for "Zioll., Her .beloved .John had not joined the M.ormous; but she had no doubt lie would. He was not at all loath to leavo the prosaic life of his native village. He was young and there was adventure to be had across the sea. Wondrous talcs of opportunity and wealth came out of America. He, loo. would go to Zion. Now there crowded into the lone woman's wo-man's mind memories of New Orleans and tho little Mormon colony there. These people were waiting there for spring beforo crossing tho prairies to Utah. Thov displayed little of the saintlincss "of the elders Sarah had known at homo. They were very, very human, for bcincs who claimed the daily guidance of the holy ghost, and the divine authority of the Melchiae-dek Melchiae-dek priesthood. Only hy constant prarcr and self-mortification could she reconcile herself to tho petty bickerings bicker-ings and jealousies that made ridiculous their claims to saintship. Good-hearted, Good-hearted, well-meaning people, most of them were, as is the average human; but their straining praj-ors nnd multiplied multi-plied testimonies seemed unnatural to the vcrgo of insincerity. They seemed lo "protest too much." But Sarah ascribed as-cribed her feelings to homesickness and prayed for the spirit these others cla fined. Her Prince and Boy Victims. All this was forgotten in the terror and desolation of the plague that now swept the city. Thousands died in a week. There" was no escape and no known remedy. That Sarah Canting was saved, socmod to her at the time a personal miraclo wrought hy faith and the administrations of the elders of Ihe colon v. That she had lost her husband and" onlv child she did not know for weeks. Neither did she know at first that the ghouls who cartod away her dead to .a crowded trench had robbed her rooms of the little money that wag to take the family lo Zion. B- the shock, of these losses sho was ncarlybercf t of reason. Sho now found herself a helpless invalid, in-valid, dependont on her fellow religionists religion-ists for care. She was able only lo praj'. .By example and precept she "was taught to "bear her testimony" at every opportunity. This testimony bearing bear-ing consisted iii expressing her religious relig-ious belief in positive terms of absolute abso-lute certainty. This done early and often would "''strengthen the testimony-''; that, is, the mere .belief by reiteration reit-eration ( became a (seeming) certainty. Sho was cautioned that every suggestion sugges-tion discrediting her church or its priests was whispered by the devil, and must be smothered hy prayer. Sho now gavo diligent daily "attpntion to these admonitions, coupled with fasting and prayer. Thus her slowly recovering faculties fac-ulties wore mesmerized into a set belief be-lief in Mormonism. Reason might leave her mind; but that belief would remain. re-main. "When reason contradicted this self-created certainty, reason was discredited. dis-credited. Mere human intelligence was to be distrusted as loo frail a thing to guide the saints of God. For human sense, the authority of the priesthoq,d was substituted. Stripling Seeks Her Hand. "With her husband cold a scant three months, thore came to Sarah Canting a proposal of marriage. Nineteen-year-old George "Rockwall, presiding elder of the little colon3', was the ardent iover. He was a mild mannered, pious looking youngster; to whom marrying Mrs. Cautiug had been suggested "as a solution solu-tion of hor future support and main-tainence. main-tainence. He easily persuaded himself that tho idea was a bit of God's inspiration, inspi-ration, and presented it as such to this dcsolato convert. She was indignant at the proposal; but of necessity adopt ed his diplomatic suggestion that she make the matter a subject of humble prayor. Every womanly instinct rebelled re-belled at tho thought of the hasty union. Her sacred love for the dead husband ilamcd an outraged protest. The stainless memory of her lost child forbade the unnatural banns. Her keen sense of decency and sccmliness re- ivoltcd. To her then, marriage "without love was as damning as love without marriage. But her church ftad taught her obc- dience, humility and solf-sacrifice. Her feelings and reason wero to be enrbod and distrusted. They "were of the flesh, carnal and evil. The priesthood were to guide the sainls. Their words "wore direct from God. They must be obeyed. So there could be but one answer to hor prayer. Her intense faith in her creed finally outclamored the natural promptings of her jiuro heart. She was foredoomed by her I10I3 zeal to this hateful marriage. Sho Was Misniated, So. married they were; and soon Ihoy ascended the great river and began, with a large company, their .iournc3' to Zion. This .-journey made Snrah better acquainted with her God-given spouse. Time, the great adapter, helped her to forget. Hardships drew the two together. to-gether. Her husband -was always kiud, and she camo to Jean on him in those days of want and exposure. Zion reached, she reveled in the luxury of having a little adobe room all to' herself. her-self. She began anew tho creating of a home nest. But no children came to the nest. She wa3 mismatcd. Her truo mate lay iu an unmarked grave in a far city. 'Tn this holy city of logs, adobes and canvas, she had only her husband and her faith to occupy her mind, nor devotions drowned lier regrets re-grets for the past. Polygamy's Shadow Appeal's. But now came polygamy's shadow over her home. Her husband began courting a nineteen-year-old girl who had ridden a horse and driven the loose stock across the plains to Utah iu the same company with the Bockwalls. For tho first time, Sarah procured nnd read the 'revelations" on i celestial" marriage. mar-riage. Her English Doctrine and Covenants Cov-enants had in it no such revelation. Talcs of harems in Utah were always denied by the ciders iu England. Sho was relieved to read that the husband can take 110 second wife without the consent of tho first wife. Her husband hus-band told hor of his desiros to marry Jane Fairmilc. Sarah pleaded with him to shun the. to her, adulterous entanglement. entangle-ment. Her whole soul revolted agaiust it. Heredity and training united in branding it unclean. She could not give her consent. Rockwall, unable to win his wife over, and unwilling to marry without her consent, laid his case before his bishop. Bishop Blunt Appears. Bishop Blunt came to Sarah and gavo her a fatherly talk. He explained to her the supremo need of progeny in 1 this new land. He pictured to hor tho heavenly glory to bo gained through polygamy. po-lygamy. If Hhc gavo her husbandmorc wives here, she would be tho wifo of a God in the eternities, and that God would have power and glorj' in direct ratio to the number of wives and children chil-dren he possessed. Sho was reminded of the beauty of obedience and tho ueccaaitv of overcoming overcom-ing Lho carnal nature. The prejudice against polygamy was ultimate apostasy. aposta-sy. She was advised to make tho mat-tor mat-tor a subject of prayer. So she prayed. Again there could bo just one answer to the appeal. She did not dare heod a negative nega-tive prompting. She must consent. Her religion told her that eIiu was to be tried to the uttermost. Tf sho proved faithful to the end, eternal bliss would bo her reward. Tho more soul-racking soul-racking tho trials endured, fli? greater would be tho final bliss. All this, then, wa9 to try hor soul. With the broken heart and contrite spirit her leaders demanded, de-manded, she accepted her lot. Nothing now could matter. She attained through fasting the exaltation :t the self-tortured dervish, who gloTics io his hideous hide-ous wounds. Sho gloried in her trials. She came to hug them to her ,bo3om and gloat over them as her myr.; precious jowels. They represented to he" the price of highest glory in the eternities. "While this exaltation was on her, she went to the endowment house nnd was "scaled" to George Bockwall for eternity. eter-nity. There, too, she gave him Jane Fairmile to be his eternal wife. The crisis over, she felt all the glowing magnanimity mag-nanimity of the angels towards this young interloper in her hom" Then Came Eeaction. But at home in her little on"-roomed adobe house there came a reaction. The sight xof her husband caressing this infatuated in-fatuated girl with an. ardor Sarah had never" known maddened her with jealousy. jeal-ousy. She conquered the spirit, was a dutiful wife "to her forgetful husband, and shared her home with his exceedingly exceed-ingly inexperienced aud extremely self-assertive self-assertive young spouse. But with the cooling or her jealousy there camo a chilling of her love for Bockwall. To see him with .Tane now brought recollections recol-lections of her first love. More aud more her heart turned to John Canting Tho neglected wife stillod her misery with memories of her lovclit home in England, lost to her these manj' years. At command of her fanatical faith, she had outraged, all her womanly instincts to accept Bockwall. Her reward was to lose him to another. Bitterly sho real-i7.od real-i7.od that her dead mate and" her angel child still claimed her heart-Then heart-Then there came to her the fatal significance sig-nificance of her trip to the endowment house. Sealed for eternity to George liockwall. she was lost eternally to John Canting. But for that blind obedience to authority, she could have baptized Canting into the church b3' "proxy" and then married him for oternily. What sho had done appalled her. She had no hope of joy, here nor hereafter. Sho had once bartered earthly satisfaction satisfac-tion for heavenly reward. By tho terms of tho bargain sho had lost both. For she realized now that her John, so true and so tender, was her soul mate; and the eclostial exaltation of tho eternitie IH were worthless without Urn and hr jH cherished boy, Lived in a Loveless Present. People in the little sun-baked vilbm looked on "Auntie" Rockwall as model saint and on the Rockwall fam-ily fam-ily as a model polygamous familr. Only the shattered victim who gasped woakly in the cruel heat of that August day knew what tho name had coBt, and hovr empty was the honor. For fifty year and more she bad been second beat in. the house where bv rights sho should have boon first;. For over fifty yearB she had Tcalized that her lawful mate belonged body and soul to another. For over fifty years she had borne the thin-lv thin-lv veiled pity tho fruitful bestow on the childless. Most of that tuno she H had spent supporting her husband's family while he filled missions in for-oign for-oign lands or built new home after new home in frontier settlements. To sew day after day was her onlv pleasure. Finally failing sight took away 3von H that solace. And nil through the years H she endured a loveless present and feared .a loveless future. To go through life loveless is lerri- blc enough; io face a loveless eternilv is worse a thousand times. While there- fl is hope life is endurable. But in all the years Sarah Rockwall had found no hope. Her soul could not renounce the fl creed that damned her with its desolate heaven. Her present JovcIcbs life was fl a foretaste of the cold otornity. Child-less Child-less here, she would be childless there. fl Husbandless here, she would be hus- fl bandlcss there. "Auntie" here, she H would be "auntie" there. Through all fl the cares and disappointments of lifi- IH her eternal loss was ever uppermost in her mind. 1 Husband Called Her "Auntie." Now she lay helpless, they all "did their duty by her." Iu their careless vrny, tho Rockwall family was kind to her. But even her nominal husband called her "auntie." She wanted to be H called wife. She wanted someone to call her mother. Sho wantod to be ca-ressed ca-ressed out of love, not from a sense of fl duty. Above all, she wanted John Cant- 'M ing and her .babv boy. No prayer now availed to comfort her. Prayer only confirmed her fearful faith in" the im-mutable im-mutable laws of her all-powerful church. Always tho answer had been tho hateful "auntie, auntie, auntie. auntie" of the cicadas. Through all eternity it still would be "auntie. auntie, auntie, auntie." The thin hands clasped ' again; the lips mumbled one more prayer. 11 Finds Eternal Bliss, H "Oh. God; give me rest: ease tho pain: give me peace; let me' die," sho pleaded. There was a relieved gasp, a slight settling of the dingy coverlet. the old eyes glazed, the thin features rc: laxed, and "auntie" was at rest. Her H prayer was answered, her fears stilled. her problems settled. Hurtlcss alike wore shimmering heat, cold, neglect and close-hugged superstition. Majestic death soothed the torn soul with a "quiet; healing. She had found the eternal bliss of eternal rest. |
