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Show VIRGINIA STIVERS BARTLETT Virginia Stivers Bartletl WNU Service SYNOPSIS In Spanish-governed California of 1783 B conflict between Church and State is represented by two friendly enemies, frail old Fray Junipero Serra, Franciscan Francis-can missionary, and Don Pedro Fages, civil governor. After telling Serra he Is sending to Mexico for his wife and son, whom he has not seen for eight years, he refuses his aid toward founding the Santa Barbara Mission. Dona Eulalia agrees to go to California, accompanied by her duenna, Angustias. Don Pedro sends for Serra, telling him that two priests are on their way from Mexico yith Eulalia and young Pedro and that he is leaving to meet them. Fages engages en-gages a young Indian girl, Indizuela, as maid for Eulalia. Eulalia sails from San Bias. It Is a desolate trip. From the port of Loreto, a large cavalcade loaded with Eulalia's party starts out for the long overland trip. Eulalia, accustomed accus-tomed to luxury and comfort, bitterly regrets having been persuaded to come. The two priests, Fray Mariano and Fray --Eartolomeo, call on her and arouse her suspicions as to their genuineness. As the cavalcade stops at various missions, Eulalia hears rumors of the approach of her husband. While Don Pedro plans a great fiesta to welcome his wife, Eulalia plans her costume. Don Pedro welcomes wel-comes his beautiful wife and young son. Eulalia is toasted as the Queen of the Californias. On the long journey to Monterey, the reunited couple are royally roy-ally entertained at the Presidio at San Diego. Eulalia disapproves of the democratic demo-cratic relations of Don Pedro and his people. Pleading weariness in the midst of the feast she goes to bed where Angustias tells her she knows Eulalia is again to become a mother. Don Pedro is disturbed by the developments in the jJharacter of the priests and dreads - Serra's disappointment in them. Limping Limp-ing from mission to mission, Father Serra has a vision of St. Francis and tells his saintly master that he will be ready to join him when Santa Barbara Mission is founded. Meanwhile Eulalia finds there is a conflict between Serra and Don Pedro and plans to use the priest as an ally. After a flattering welcome wel-come at Monterey, Eulalia is bitterly disappointed in the presidio. CHAPTER XIII 10 Fog crept in from the sea, smothering smoth-ering the Royal' Presidio of. San Carlos Car-los de Monterey, and the Mision San Carlos Borromeo in a damp clinging blanket. It hung in wisps from the pines and cypresses, and muffled the sounds of the horses' hoofs as the Governor and his party traveled the two leagues of the Via Cruces from the presidio to the mission. mis-sion. La Gobernadora, riding in a litter, lit-ter, watched the gray tatters lift for a revealing moment, showing odd tortured shapes of gharled cypress. cy-press. Then a breeze from the sea would blow, hiding everything again in gray veils. She could hear the ocean, whispering, sighing, breaking break-ing into crashing cries as the waves met frustration against rocky crags where the cypress hung precariously. precarious-ly. Shivering, she pulled her velvet mantle around her, burying her chin in the robe of supple otter skins. Her Indian bearers trotted along the narrow road with an even lope, half - naked, glistening with moisture. At one side of her rode the Governor in such gravity as became be-came the Governor of the Californias Califor-nias on his way to mass. At the other side of La Gobernadora Goberna-dora rode Pedro the Younger, his small face serious. Following the Governor's party came the entire population of the presidio, riding in order of their rank: the officers, their wives, children and servants; the soldiers, their women, children; the storekeeper, the blacksmith and other artisans. It was Eulalia's first visit to the Mision San Carlos. She was curious curi-ous about the place, eager to hear Padre Junipero; he who spoke words of flame with a tongue of gold. She had not seen the Padre Presidenle since her arrival at Monterey, Mon-terey, but had pondered deeply upon the strange man of God, and sought to discuss him with the Governor. To him she had expressed herself with an admiration for the monk which, in its heartiness, was foreign for-eign to her usual expressions of regard re-gard for others. Silently in her own jnind, she was building great hopes. Ccrra was strong, the strongest man in California except her husband, hus-band, and sometimes she wondered if he were not stronger than the Governor himself. But he was the man she needed. And her need was greater than the. guilty fear of him which assailed her at times. Then there was Capitan Nicolas Soler. He was an ally of a different caliber. But with the two of them on her side Serra, bringing his fanatic belief and strength in his holy convictions to bear on the Governor, and Soler, with his personal per-sonal ambitions and desires to worry wor-ry and harry Don Pedro her own hopes of leaving the province she haled might be realized. . She stirred impatiently in the litter. lit-ter. The Governor leaned over her with a smile. "Are you comfortable, my soul?" he asked tenderly. She nodded indifferently, in-differently, and he spoke again. "I am sorry for your sake that it is foggy for your first trip to the mission. For myself, I like the fog as well as the sun. It Is all one to me, whether the air be hot and dry, or cold and damp, just so it is the air of California." The bell sounded suddenly closer, and then Eulalia saw the white-swashed white-swashed walls of the mission. Through a great gate in a palisad ed wall, the people from the presidio pre-sidio passed, by low buildings and conical Indian huts jacals to the door of the little church. At the entrance a priest, in his ceremonial vestments, met them, swinging an aspersorium that sprinkled sprin-kled holy water on them, while two little Indian neophyte - acolytes swung censers that smoked with burning copaL As they bowed their heads for the priest's blessing, Pio of the yellow yel-low umbrella, now in spotless white trousers and shirt, his head encircled encir-cled in a red handkerchief, spoke to the Governor. Don Pedro excused ex-cused himself and followed Pio, as La Gobernadora entered the church. The Governor followed Pio Into the sacristy. Standing upright in the center of the small apartment that was almost filled by a great chest of drawers sent from Spain to hold the priestly vestments, Fray Junipero was in his sacerdotal robes. He spoke abruptly without any ceremonious preamble. "I have been awaiting you, Don Pedro Fages. You have not been to see me. And I have not been to the presidio. The time that has passed since my return has been spent on my hands and knees, day and night, in close communion with Our Seraphic Ser-aphic Father." Serra's eyes gleamed large in his wrinkled face. The pupils seemed to spread over the entire iris, and they gleamed feverishly. Deep lines made furrows from nose to twitching twitch-ing gray lips. Fages noticed that his hands clasped and unclasped nervously, nerv-ously, and that tremors shook his frame constantly. "Father," said the Governor, "I will forgive the lack of ceremony with which you greet the representative represent-ative of your King, for I see you are ill." "111?" said Fray Junipero hoarsely. hoarse-ly. "Ill in body? Not I. But my soul suffers agonies untold. I have ( Li Mil "Are You Comfortable, My Soul?" lie Asked Tenderly. not called you here to speak of these things. I call you here to ask you about a faith broken, a promise prom-ise unkept." Fages started to speak, but Serra moved close to him. "Do you remember your promises, prom-ises, before you went away? No? Where is the mission to Santa Barbara? Bar-bara? Where are the Franciscans you promised me? Where the soldiers sol-diers to guard the work? Where is that mission, Pedro Fages?" "Father" "You will remind me that you brought two Franciscans with you. I need not tell you what they are. You know them. Why did you bring Rubi and Gili here? To insult me? To desecrate the Mision San Carlos, whose bricks are made from my flesh and moistened with my blood?" He tottered and Fages put a hand toward him. "Fray Junipero " "Touch me not! Your hands are unclean! You are betraying your trust! Betraying the Holy Church " Fages took a quick breath. "Fray Junipero!" he cried sternly. stern-ly. "Those are serious charges against me! I did not choose the two priests who came from Mexico. They were sent by others." "Then I am betrayed in Mexico!" "No! No one is betraying you! But your own suspicions are " "Ah ah mea culpa mea maxima maxi-ma culpa" He tottered again. Again the Governor moved to support sup-port him. but Fray Junipero stag gered to the great chest and leaned against it. "Leave me, Infidel, unbeliever! You who stand in the way of the Mission of Santa Barbara dearest wish of my heart to be the brightest bright-est pearl in the Virgin's crown. Go! And if it were in my power to send you like Lucifer out of Heavenaway Heav-enaway from this land your pres ence curses, I would do it, God help me, I would do itl" He choked, and bent his head in his hands. Tears trickled through the fingers that had woven and sewn raiment for Indians, and built adobe houses to shelter the heathen. The Governor went quickly from the apartment. Then he walked slowly Into the church, knelt a moment mo-ment and sat beside his wife. She looked In alarm at his face. "Pedro," she whispered, "what " He touched her hand. "Nothing," he said, "hush." She could hear his heavy breathing. breath-ing. His fingers strayed to his beard. Then Fray Junipero entered the church, and they rose. He celebrated the mass In a hoarse voice, then turned to climb the steps to the pulpit. Eulalia gasped when she saw his face, gray above the stiff richness of his brocaded bro-caded robe. Twice he stumbled and nearly fell. Eulalia watched the veined hand on the rail of the balustrade balus-trade with fascination. A bell, suspended from the center of the wooden canopy over the pulpit, pul-pit, rang mysteriously. The Indians turned their eyes toward it, saw it ringing without aid of human hands, and fell to their knees in superstitious supersti-tious awe. Then the priest began to speak. The huskiness left his voice, and it rang loud and clear in the still church. What he said, Eulalia did not know, but the words poured forth in ringing cadence. Suddenly, feeling her husband beside be-side her gripping the arms of the chair with both hands, she caught the import of Serra's words. "There is one among you who is sent by the devil! Listen not to him! Satan is lashing his tail in this land! Oh, beware, gentiles, beware the tempter's voice! Listen to the words of God that come through the lips of your Father Junipero Serra, who is nothing nothing itself and who wishes to suffer, only to suffer for all your sins as Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother suffered. Pains unspeakable pains unbearable thus " He tore open the breast of his robe. Eulalia, through a mist of agonized emotions, saw the thin chest encrusted with half-healed sores and ancient scars. The Indians moaned. A sigh ran through the congregation. Serra raised a cross, its lower end sharpened sharp-ened into a point, in one hand. In the other he balanced a stone. Lifting both with a wide gesture he brought the cross against his lacerated chest, and pounded the cruel point again and again into his flesh with the heavy stone. He staggered down the steps and mounted the altar. Seizing one of the branched candelabra he held it aloft a moment "Ye who fear!" he cried. "Ye who fear, behold the courage God gives those who are true to Him!" His eyes glared straight at the Governor. Gov-ernor. He plunged the burning candles against his breast. The flames sputtered sput-tered and died, extinguished in his blood. A shriek rose above the sighs and sobs of the congregation. On the dirt floor at her husband's feet lay the wife of the Governor in a dead faint That evening Don Pedro sat beside be-side Eulalia, watching her anxiously. anxious-ly. When at last, to his delight, she smiled wanly and dismissed the alarmed Angustias, he knelt to kiss her listless hand. "How you frightened me, alma mia. my soul," he murmured tenderly. ten-derly. "Do you feel better now . . . stronger?" "I suppose I. am better, though I feel dreadfully weak, oh, dreadful ly, Pedro," she replied listlessly. Really she was deliciously relaxed and comfortable. "So you were frightened when I swooned, really frightened?" she asked after a moment mo-ment "Of course!" he said, kissing her hands again. "Pedro," she said thoughtfully, "why was Padre Junipero so angry, so bitter, this morning? Are his sermons ser-mons always so ... so fiery?" He told her of the scene in the sacristy. "So you see," he concluded, "he believed he had reason to denounce me. But, by Heaven," he said bitterly, bit-terly, rising to his feet and beginning begin-ning to pace the floor, "I am not to blame for his defeat If he were in his right mind he could not believe I maliciously and deliberately chose those two rascally Franciscans to found the Mission Santa Barbara. But he does believe it, and there will be endless trouble for me from this affair." He tugged at his beard. "I must establish the peace with Fray Junipero in some way. Officially, Offi-cially, of course, I can overlook everything. But personally, something some-thing must be done between us. And God knows what it can be, or how it can be done." Eulalia's eyes were closed, but her mind was working busily. The Governor Gov-ernor paced the floor back and forth, back and forth. "Pedro mio," said the lady softly, opening her eyes at last, "I think that here is something I can do. Why not let me try to be the peacemaker peace-maker between you?" The Governor stopped his pacing. "That would never do," he said after a thoughtful silence. "The Padre Presidente would never come here, unless I ordered him to. And of course I would not do that." "Your Excellency," said the Governor's Gov-ernor's wife with a trace of raillery, rail-lery, "sometimes you are very stupid. stu-pid. Of course you couldn't order him here. But a poor helpless lady, la-dy, who has been blessed by the Holy Virgin, and is unable to make the long pilgrimage to Carmelo, might send for a spiritual adviser, a father confessor . . . might she not?" she questioned softly. , The Governor stared at her a moment, mo-ment, then smiled broadly. "She might. And then . . .?" "If your Excellency will leave that to me," answered the lady with a demure smile. The Governor laughed aloud. "1 will then!" he cried, and knelt to kiss her hand. Over his bowed head, La Gobernadora Goberna-dora smiled at some inner thought and nodded her head thoughtfully. CHAPTER XIV "My Lady, he is coming. Padre Serra is coming!" exclaimed Angustias Angus-tias from her lookout at one of the barred windows. "He is walking across the parade-grounds toward the palacio." "Ah!" said Eulalia with an excited excit-ed flutter. "Quick, Angustias, hand me my sewing. You, Indizuela, pull up a chair here to the fire for the holy father, and be quick about it. Angustias, is there chocolate made? Escabellito! Where are you, you imp? Here, get where you belong." The child flopped on the floor facing fac-ing the fire, and La Gobernadora settled her feet comfortably on his round back. "All right, Angustias. Open the door for him." When Junipero Serra, who had trudged across the hills from the Mission Carmelo, limping on his ulcered ul-cered leg with Pio beside him, reached the door of the palacio, he paused. Angustias, with a deep bow and murmured greeting, ushered ush-ered him within. (TO BE CONTINUED) |