Left to Ourselves Part 5

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CHAPTER V.

_NEW ROBES: AN ALLEGORY._

"Have you another dream to tell us?" asked Minnie on the following Sunday.

"It is the end of the same dream, but it has a different page in the 'Wordless Book' as its suggestion," answered Agnes.

"Yes, the White page," said John.

White--Righteousness.

Then the boys pa.s.sed out towards the Light, leaning on Him who had delivered them. I followed silently, still allowed to watch and listen.

"Dost Thou say that Thou wilt present us to the King?" asked Alwin hesitatingly.

Their Deliverer a.s.sented; for Edred immediately answered, "We are not fit to appear before Him! Thy power has indeed saved us from the destruction we merited; but we are so soiled and filthy from contact with the mire in this awful Cavern, that we could not appear before any one, least of all before the Great King." He spoke eagerly and half proudly.

"Dost thou not remember what I told thee? That My Blood, which has been shed for thee, with which thou hast been covered, will work--nay, has already worked, marvels; and when the Light shines upon thee, thou wilt see. Fear nothing, only believe what I tell thee."

They were silent after this, and were quickly approaching the end of the darkness. Then the boys could look upon their Deliverer, and could see the terrible wounds that He had sustained in His conflict with the foul fiend. And when they looked they wept--wept for sorrow that He should so have suffered for them--wept for joy that they were safe from the dreadful destruction.

They thought not of themselves; but when I could unfasten my eyes from the lovely face of the Deliverer, I was amazed to find that the boys were no longer arrayed in their former clothes, for in that mysterious pa.s.sage from Darkness to Light all these had been changed, and they were now clad in a spotless robe of pure white.

By-and-by they perceived it themselves, or rather their Guide pointed it out to them.

"See," He said tenderly, "what My deliverance has done for you; now you can meet the King without fear. Covered by this robe, you will be accepted even in His eyes, because when He sees it He will remember that I have fought for you and prevailed; and He will count My merits yours."

He led them now swiftly, it seemed to me, towards a spot which He told them would be the Meeting-place, but for the first time I was unable to follow them. A thin cloud seemed to obscure my vision for a while.

When I saw the boys again their Guide had left them, and they were walking along the road towards the Palace of the King, which lay at the end of the journey.

They were busily engaged in perusing the Guide-book, which Edred had before so despised; but now his face bent over it with a look which was both inquiring and trustful.

"What does it mean, Alwin, when it says, 'Needeth not save to wash his feet?'"

"Does it not mean that we, who have been cleansed from all that filth by the wonderful efficacy of our Deliverer's Blood, still may get defilements in our path, and that these will need constant washing away?"

"I suppose it does," said Edred hesitatingly and looking round; "but where----?"

"Our Deliverer told us--do you not remember it?--that by our road we should find a cleansing stream, dyed by His Blood, to which we must needs constantly repair."

"He did, but I had well-nigh forgotten it; but see, Alwin, the end of the journey is not so very far off; just beyond those Hills, where the radiance is; there will be nothing to defile us _there_."

Alwin looked towards the Hills in silence, with a rapt face, on which the glory seemed reflected. Then he added suddenly, "Our Deliverer said that He might fetch us Himself, instead of our travelling so far; that would be better still, Edred."

"Indeed it would," answered Edred earnestly. "I hope He will."

Then I awoke from my dream.

"And this text has been running in my head while I have been pondering over my dream," added Agnes, "'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin'--and--'He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.'"

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CHAPTER VI.

_AT LAST: AN ALLEGORY._

"I am sorry we have come to the Gold page," said Alice, with a sigh, folding her hands together as she seated herself in the bow-window seat on the Sunday before their parents were to sail for America.

"_Sorry!_" echoed Minnie, "why, I am very glad indeed!"

"Because it is the last, I mean," answered Alice; "we shall miss our Sunday afternoon story dreadfully."

"I propose that Agnes tells us one every Sunday," said John.

Agnes shook her head, but answered, half-smiling. "Sometimes, perhaps, I may, but you know they cannot be all allegories."

"Oh, no!" said Hugh; "but let us begin our last page now."

Gold--Glory.

Once again I dreamed, and once again I saw the boys in whom I took so much interest.

This time they were nearing the Hills, above which the radiance shone.

The country was still of the same mountainous description, and I thought I could see beneath the steep ascent before me a River winding in and out.

The golden light seemed to shine down on some parts of the River, but generally it was dark and sombre.

Just now the boys were standing near it, and Edred was gazing down into its depths.

"It is rather dreadful, Alwin," he exclaimed, turning round and glancing in his companion's face, "to think of having to cross this before we reach the Palace of the King."

"Yes," answered Alwin, "and when we look down into it, instead of looking up at the Glory, we do get depressed. But, you know, Edred, our Deliverer has promised to bear us safely through."

"Of course He has. He would not leave those whom He has delivered at such a price to perish in the final water, Alwin. No; I will not look down into the River any longer, but rather, as you say, to the Glory beyond. But I wish I knew more of its delights."

"The Guide-book tells us a great deal about it; and often since we have neared this River, I have had to turn to the description of it to cheer my fainting courage."