登陆注册
5380100000145

第145章 CONVERSATION BETWIXT WILL ATKINS AND HIS WIFE(3)

WIFE.- Me no understand that; where is book?

W.A.- Alas! my poor creature, I have not this book; but I hope I shall one time or other get it for you, and help you to read it.

[Here he embraced her with great affection, but with inexpressible grief that he had not a Bible.]

WIFE.- But how you makee me know that God teachee them to write that book?

W.A.- By the same rule that we know Him to be God.

WIFE.- What rule? What way you know Him?

W.A.- Because He teaches and commands nothing but what is good, righteous, and holy, and tends to make us perfectly good, as well as perfectly happy; and because He forbids and commands us to avoid all that is wicked, that is evil in itself, or evil in its consequence.

WIFE.- That me would understand, that me fain see; if He teachee all good thing, He makee all good thing, He give all thing, He hear me when I say O to Him, as you do just now; He makee me good if I wish to be good; He spare me, no makee kill me, when I no be good:

all this you say He do, yet He be great God; me take, think, believe Him to be great God; me say O to Him with you, my dear.

Here the poor man could forbear no longer, but raised her up, made her kneel by him, and he prayed to God aloud to instruct her in the knowledge of Himself, by His Spirit; and that by some good providence, if possible, she might, some time or other, come to have a Bible, that she might read the word of God, and be taught by it to know Him.This was the time that we saw him lift her up by the hand, and saw him kneel down by her, as above.

They had several other discourses, it seems, after this; and particularly she made him promise that, since he confessed his own life had been a wicked, abominable course of provocations against God, that he would reform it, and not make God angry any more, lest He should make him dead, as she called it, and then she would be left alone, and never be taught to know this God better; and lest he should be miserable, as he had told her wicked men would be after death.

This was a strange account, and very affecting to us both, but particularly to the young clergyman; he was, indeed, wonderfully surprised with it, but under the greatest affliction imaginable that he could not talk to her, that he could not speak English to make her understand him; and as she spoke but very broken English, he could not understand her; however, he turned himself to me, and told me that he believed that there must be more to do with this woman than to marry her.I did not understand him at first; but at length he explained himself, viz.that she ought to be baptized.I agreed with him in that part readily, and wished it to be done presently."No, no; hold, sir," says he; "though I would have her be baptized, by all means, for I must observe that Will Atkins, her husband, has indeed brought her, in a wonderful manner, to be willing to embrace a religious life, and has given her just ideas of the being of a God; of His power, justice, and mercy: yet I desire to know of him if he has said anything to her of Jesus Christ, and of the salvation of sinners; of the nature of faith in Him, and redemption by Him; of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection, the last judgment, and the future state."

I called Will Atkins again, and asked him; but the poor fellow fell immediately into tears, and told us he had said something to her of all those things, but that he was himself so wicked a creature, and his own conscience so reproached him with his horrid, ungodly life, that he trembled at the apprehensions that her knowledge of him should lessen the attention she should give to those things, and make her rather contemn religion than receive it; but he was assured, he said, that her mind was so disposed to receive due impressions of all those things, and that if I would but discourse with her, she would make it appear to my satisfaction that my labour would not be lost upon her.

Accordingly I called her in, and placing myself as interpreter between my religious priest and the woman, I entreated him to begin with her; but sure such a sermon was never preached by a Popish priest in these latter ages of the world; and as I told him, I thought he had all the zeal, all the knowledge, all the sincerity of a Christian, without the error of a Roman Catholic; and that I took him to be such a clergyman as the Roman bishops were before the Church of Rome assumed spiritual sovereignty over the consciences of men.In a word, he brought the poor woman to embrace the knowledge of Christ, and of redemption by Him, not with wonder and astonishment only, as she did the first notions of a God, but with joy and faith; with an affection, and a surprising degree of understanding, scarce to be imagined, much less to be expressed; and, at her own request, she was baptized.

When he was preparing to baptize her, I entreated him that he would perform that office with some caution, that the man might not perceive he was of the Roman Church, if possible, because of other ill consequences which might attend a difference among us in that very religion which we were instructing the other in.He told me that as he had no consecrated chapel, nor proper things for the office, I should see he would do it in a manner that I should not know by it that he was a Roman Catholic myself, if I had not known it before; and so he did; for saying only some words over to himself in Latin, which I could not understand, he poured a whole dishful of water upon the woman's head, pronouncing in French, very loud, "Mary" (which was the name her husband desired me to give her, for I was her godfather), "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" so that none could know anything by it what religion he was of.He gave the benediction afterwards in Latin, but either Will Atkins did not know but it was French, or else did not take notice of it at that time.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 新视野下的文化与世界

    新视野下的文化与世界

    此书共分为三部分,第一部分为“文学观察”,主要对当前文学界的重要问题做出探讨,并分析了一些具体的作品;第二部分为“影视评论”,对具体影视作品及相关影视现象做出了观察与思考,提出了一些值得讨论的问题;第三部分为“思想管窥”,对当代知识界的话题与人物做出了自己的分析。全书试图用一种新的思想视野对当代文化进行关照,在当前语境中回应热点与前沿问题,并昭示一种新的想象与新的未来。
  • 秦时明月付你还

    秦时明月付你还

    秦歌的人生,从十岁那年开始,就多了一个目标——把付笙娶回家。秦歌筹划了八年,最终还是让付笙跑了。于是秦歌表示——翻遍世界也要把付笙找回来,然后……娶回家。付笙很懵逼,自己认了这么多年的哥哥说喜欢自己?!这个世界玄幻了!?还是赶紧收拾包裹跑路吧……再次归来,付笙表示:秦歌是谁?我不认识!秦歌咬牙切齿,死女人,终于舍得回来了!不认识?那就重新认识一下吧……于是……付笙进了娱乐圈,秦歌抛下自家公司也跟着进了娱乐圈;付笙开了娱乐公司,秦歌就去签约求老板;付笙怀孕被爆,于是……秦歌对着众媒体微笑:“没错,孩子是我的……”
  • 恶少逼婚:女人乖乖让我爱

    恶少逼婚:女人乖乖让我爱

    仲轩漠是云阳城赫赫有名的权贵,内敛深沉,强悍凌厉,却没想到在个街头小巷被一个女人给壁咚了,还夺走了守了二十八年的初吻?他发誓一定要找到她,然后呢?狠狠的吻回来。再次相遇,他们同时失恋,他把她给胸咚了,将手中的戒指套在了她手上,“女人,你要对我负责!”OMG的,那么多大总裁滚了床单都不负责的,她就这么轻轻的吻了一下,要负什么责啊?“这位先生,你是侏罗纪世界出来的?”某男挑着略带深意的唇角,“是啊,你最好不要惹恼一只大型猛兽,否则后果……”怀中女人脸色立马变了,冷冷的回了他一句,“你有病!”“我们现在就去民政局领证去。”他极尽所能的爱她,疼她,宠她,只因为她是他的老婆!
  • 女尊之落落桃花笑

    女尊之落落桃花笑

    生活在现代的黎小落,在飞机上睡了一觉,莫名其妙就穿越到了女尊王朝,还是一个将军的身份,试问她一个现代女性,怎么在以女子为尊的社会,舞刀弄枪上阵杀敌。她是不能,但别人可以,且看,黎小落如何在女尊王朝慢慢成长收获人心,抱得美人归。
  • 大唐王朝1

    大唐王朝1

    唐代,是中国历史上空前繁荣昌盛、辉煌壮丽的时代。在长达两千余年的中国封建社会发展史中,历史沿着曲折的道路向前推进,并且呈现出波浪式的前进轨迹,社会经济繁荣、文化昌盛、国家强大的唐朝是一个公认的高潮时代。唐朝是古代重要的盛世,不但在经济、文化方面的成就光辉夺目,而且在对外关系的发展也占有重要的地位。
  • 创新的开拓

    创新的开拓

    找一位恩师指点迷津,提高自己的综合素质,别人能行,我也行,对自己说"OK",学会为自己鼓掌。
  • 视角独到的世界摄影

    视角独到的世界摄影

    摄影技术最初应用于纪实,摄影的发明给人们的生活方式带来了非常大的改变。随着摄影技术的进步,摄影成了一种艺术表达手段,摄影的手法也越加多样,在现代社会摄影是人们生活中不可缺少的一部分。
  • 美德·一束鲜花

    美德·一束鲜花

    张海君编著的《美德(一束鲜花)》是一本讲述 关于美德的书。中国是拥有5000多年历史的文明古国 ,让 我们以《美德(一束鲜花)》为舟,泛舟漫游美德的 海洋。该书将会使你看到人性的美,引 导你成为一个更丰富的人。很多时候,一本好书也是 培养美好品质的必需品。
  • 网络谣言应对与舆情引导

    网络谣言应对与舆情引导

    互联网使舆情研究成为中国的一项显学。天津社会科学院舆情研究所姜胜洪副研究员的这部专著,从中国网络发展的现状入手,解析了网络谣言的生成与传播机制,剖析了网络谣言的危害,借鉴了中国古代和国外治理谣言的经验与启示,并在此基础上,将舆情引导与网络谣言防控相结合来进行研究,找到了治理网络谣言的方向与措施。可以说,这部著作顺应时势,为网络谣言应对与舆情引导作出了新的贡献。
  • 祝文艺女青年终成眷属

    祝文艺女青年终成眷属

    人生在世,饮食男女。有人说搞定女人很容易,只需要以她喜欢的方式爱她即可。也有人说搞定男人很容易,只需要陪他吃饭和陪他睡觉。在爱情里,女人总渴望占据男人更多的空间,而男人则渴望拥有自己的更多空间。男人希望做完之后倒头睡一觉,女人则希望谈谈心。两个物种之间本身就存在着很大的差异,甚至有人说,如果不是为了解决生理需要,男人更愿意和男人在一起。那么,在矛盾遍布的前提下,如何正确的打开爱情呢?这是一本从男性角度给姑娘们的建议书,不是要求你们用男人的思维与男人谈恋爱,只是为了姑娘们更好的打开爱情。