"When I came out of the
prison I was weak and frail, and the monks believed that they had
cured me of thinking and that they had killed my soul's desire. They
thought that hunger and thirst had choked the kindness which God
placed in my heart. In my forty days of solitude I endeavoured to find
a method by which I could help these monks to see the light and hear
the true song of life, but all of my ponderings were in vain, for the
thick veil which the long ages had woven around their eyes could not
be torn away in a short time; and the mortar with which ignorance had
cemented their ears was hardened and could not be removed by the touch
of soft fingers."
Silence prevailed for a moment, and then
Miriam looked at her mother as if asking permission to speak. She
said, "You must have talked to the monks again, if they selected
this terrible night in which to banish you from the convent. They
should learn to be kind even to their enemies."
Khalil returned, "This evening, as
the thunder storms and warring elements raged in the sky, I withdrew
myself from the monks who were crouching about the fire, telling tales
and humourous stories. When they saw me alone they commenced to place
their wit at my expense. I was reading my Gospel and contemplating the
beautiful sayings of Jesus that made me forget for the time the
enraged nature and belligerent elements of the sky, when they
approached me with a new spirit of ridicule. I ignored them by
occupying myself and looking through the window, but they became
furious because my silence dried the laughter of their hearts and the
taunting of their lips. One of them said, 'What are you reading, Great
Reformer?' In response to his inquiry, I opened my book and read aloud
the following passage, 'But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
saducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, 'O generation of
vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring
forth therefore fruits for repentance; And think not to say within
yourselves, 'Wehave Abraham to our father;' for I say unto you, that
God is able of these stones to raise the children unto Abraham. And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every
tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into
the fire.'
"As I read to them these words of
John the Baptist, the monks became silent as if an invisible hand
strangled their spirits, but they took false courage and commenced
laughing. One of them said, 'We have read these words many times, and
we are not in need of a cow grazier to repeat them to us."
"I protested, 'If you had read these
words and comprehended their meaning, these poor viallgers would not
have frozen or starved to death.' When I said this, one of the monks
slapped my face as if I had spoken evil of the priests; another kicked
me and a third took the book from me and a fourth one called the head
priest who hurried to the scene shaking with anger. He cried out,
'Arrest this rebel and drag him from this sacred place, and let the
storm's fury teach him obedience. Take him away and let nature do unto
him the will of God, and then wash your hands of the poisonous germs
of heresy infesting his raiment. If he should return pleading for
forgiveness, do not open the door for him, for the viper will not
become a dove if placed in a cage, nor will the briar bear figs if
planted in the vineyards.'
"In accordance with the command, I
was dragged out by the laughing monks. Before they locked the door
behind me, I heard one saying, 'Yesterday you were king of cows and
pigs, and today you are dethroned, Oh Great Reformer; go now and be
the king of wolves and teach them how to live in their lairs.' "
Khalil sighed deeply, then turned his face
and looked toward the flaming fire. With a sweet and loving voice, and
with a pained contenance he said, "Thus was I expelled from the
convent, and thus did the monks deliver me over to the hands of Death.
I fought through the night blindly; the heavy wind was tearing my robe
and the piling snow was trapping me feet and pulling me down until I
fell, crying desperately for help. I felt that no one heard me except
Death, but a power which is all knowledge and mercy had heard my cry.
That power did not want me to die before I had learned what is left of
life's secrets. That power sent you both to me to save my life from
the depth of the abyss and non-existence."
Rachel and Miriam felt as if their spirits
understood the mystery of his soul, and they became his partners in
feeling and understanding. Notwithstanding her will, Rachel stretched
forth and touched his hand gently while tears coursed down from her
eyes, and she said, "He who has been chosen by heaven as a
defender of Truth will not persih by heaven's own storms and
snow." And Miriam added, "The storms and snow may kill the
flowers, but cannot deaden the seeds, for the snow keeps them warm
from the killing frost."
Khalil's face brightened upon hearing
those words of encouragement, and he said, "If you do not look
upon me as a rebel and an heretic as the monks did, the persecution
which I have sustained in the convent is the symbol of an oppressed
nation that has not yet attained knowledge; and this night in which I
was on the verge of death is like a revolution that precedes full
justice. And from a sensitive woman's heart springs the happiness of
mankind, and from the kindness of her noble spirit comes mankind's
affection."
He closed his eyes and leaned down on the
pillow; the two women did not bother him with further conversation for
they knew that the weariness cause by long exposure had allured and
captured his eyes. Khalil slept like a lost child who had finally
found safety in his mother's arms.
Rachel and her daughter slowly walked to
their bed and sat there watching him as if they had found in his
trouble-torn face an attraction bringing their souls and hearts closer
to him. And the mother whispered, saying, "There is a strange
power in his closed eyes that speaks in silence and stimulates the
soul's desires."
And Miriam rejoined, "His hands,
Mother, are like those of Christ in the Church." The mother
replied, "His face possesses at the same time a woman's
tenderness and a man's boldness."
And the wings of slumber carried the two
women's spirits into the world of dream, and the fire went down and
turned into ashes, while the light of the oil lamp dimmed gradually
and disappeared. The fierce tempest continued its roar, and the
obscured sky spread layers of snow, and the strong wind scattered them
to the right and the left.