The Lions of the Lord: A Tale of the Old West

  CHAPTER XXV.

  _The Entablature of Truth Makes a Discovery at Amalon_

  The house of Rae became a house of importance in the little settlementin the Pine Valley. It was not only the home of the highest Churchofficial in the community, but it was the largest and best-furnishedhouse, so that visiting dignitaries stayed there. It stood a little wayfrom the loose-edged group of cabins that formed the nucleus of thesettlement, on ground a little higher, and closer to the wooded canonthat gashed the hills on the east.

  The style of house most common in the village was long, low-roofed, ofhewn logs, its front pierced by alternating doors and windows. From thenumber of these might usually be inferred the owner's current prospectsfor glory in the Kingdom; for behind each door would be a wife to exalthim, and to be exalted herself thereby in the sole way open to her, tothrones, dominion, and power in the celestial world. There were many ofthese long, profusely doored houses; but many, too, of less externalpromise; of two doors or even one. Yet in a hut of one door awell-wived Saint might be building up the Kingdom temporarily, until hecould provide a more spacious setting for the several stars in hiscrown.

  Then there was the capable Bishop Wright, whose long domestic barrackswere the first toward the main road beyond Bishop Coltrin's modesttwo-doored hut. The Wild Ram of the Mountains, having lately been sealedto his twelfth wife, and having no suitable apartment for her, hadingeniously contrived a sleeping-place in a covered wagon-box at the endof the house,--an apartment which was now being occupied, not withoutsome ungraceful remonstrance, by his first wife, a lady somewhat fardown in the vale of years and long past the first glamour of herenthusiasm for the Kingdom. It had been her mischance to occupypreviously in the community-house that apartment which the good man sawto be most suitable for his young and somewhat fastidious bride. Notwithout makeshifts, indeed, many of which partook of this infelicity,was the celestial order of marriage to be obeyed and the world broughtback to its primitive purity and innocence.

  And of all persons in any degree distressed about these or other mattersof faith, Joel Rae was made the first confidant and chief comforter. Inthe case just cited, for example, Bishop Wright had confessed to himthat, if anything could make him break asunder the cable of the Churchof Christ, it would be the perplexity inevitable to a maintenance ofdomestic harmony under the celestial order. The first wife alsodistressed this adviser with a moving tale of her expulsion from acomfortable room into the incommodious wagon-box.

  Many of these confidences, as the days went by, he found spirit-grievingin the extreme, so that he was often weary and longed for refuge in awilderness. Yet he never failed to let fall some word that might bemonitory or profitable to those who took him their troubles; nor did heforget to exult in these burdens that were put upon him, for he hadresolved that his cross should be made as heavy as he could bear.

  In addition to his duties as spiritual adviser to the community, it washis office to preach; also to hold himself at the call of the afflicted,to anoint their heads with oil and rebuke their fevers. He took anespecial pleasure in this work of healing, being glad to leave hisfields by day or his bed by night for the sickroom. By couches ofsuffering he watched and prayed, and when they began to say in Amalonthat his word of rebuke to fevers came with strange power, that histouch was marvellously healing, and his prayers strangely potent, heprayed not to be set up thereby, nor to forget that the power came, notby him but through him, because of his knowing his own unworthiness. Hefasted and prayed to be trusted still more until he should be worthy ofthat complete power which the Master had said came only by prayer andfasting.

  The conscientious manner in which he performed his offices wasfavourably commented upon by Bishop Wright. This good man believed therehad been a decline of late in the ardour of the priesthood.

  "I tell you, Elder, I wish they was all as careful as you be, butthey're falling into shiftless ways. If I'm sick and have to depend onmyself, all right. I'll dose up with lobelia or gamboge, or put ablister-plaster on the back of my neck or take a drink of catnip tea orcomposition, and then the cure of my misery is with the Lord God ofHosts. But if I send for an administrator, it's different. He takes theresponsibility and I want him to fulfil every will of the Lord. When anElder comes to administer to me and is afraid of greasing his fingers orof dropping a little oil on his vest, and says, 'Oh, never mind the oil!there ain't any virtue in the olive-oil; besides, I might grease mygloves,' why I feel like telling such a Godless critter to walk off.When God says anoint with oil, _anoint_, I don't care if it runs downhis beard as it ran down Aaron's. And I don't want to talk anybody downor mention any names; but, well, next time when I got a cold and ElderBeil Wardle is the only administrator free, why, I'll just stand or fallby myself. A basin of water-gruel, hot, with half a quart of old rum init and lots of brown sugar, is better than all _his_ anointing."

  To make his days busier there were the affairs of the Church to oversee,for he was now President of the local Stake of Zion; reports of theteachers to consider in council meeting, of their weekly visits to eachfamily, and of the fidelity of each of its members to the Kingdom. Andthere were the Deacons and Priests of the Aaronic Order and other Eldersand Bishops of the Order of Melchisedek to advise with upon the temporaland spiritual affairs of Israel; to labour and pray with PeregrineNoble, who had declared that he would no longer be as limber as atallowed rag in the hands of the priesthood, and to deliver him over tothe buffetings of Satan in the flesh if he persisted in his blasphemy;to rebuke Ozro Cutler for having brazenly sought to pay on his tithingsome ten pounds of butter so redolent of garlic that the store hadrefused to take it from him in trade; to counsel Mary Townsley that PyeTownsley would come short of his glory before God if she remainedrebellious in the matter of his sealing other jewels to his crown; toteach certain unillumined Saints something of the ethics of unbrandedcattle; and to warn settlers against isolating themselves in theoutlying valleys where they would be a temptation to the red sons ofLaman.

  Again there was the rite of baptism to be administered,--not an onerousoffice in the matter of the living, but apt to become so in the case ofthe dead; for the whole world had been in darkness and sin since theapostolic gifts were lost, ages ago, and the number of dead whose soulsnow waited for baptism was incalculable; and not until the living hadbeen baptised for them could they enter the celestial Kingdom. Inconsequence, all earnest souls were baptised tirelessly for their lovedones who had gone behind the veil before Peter, James, and John ordainedJoseph Smith.

  But the unselfish did not confine their efforts to friends andrelatives. In the village of Amalon that winter and spring, Amarintha,third wife of Sarshell Sweezy, bethought her to be baptised for QueenAnne; whereupon Ezra Colver at once underwent the same rite for thislamented queen's husband, Prince George of Denmark; thereby securing theprompt admission of the royal couple to the full joys of the Kingdom.

  Attention being thus turned to royalty, the first Napoleon and his firstconsort were baptised into heaven by thoughtful proxies; then QueenElizabeth and Henry the Eighth. Eric Glines, being a liberal-minded man,was baptised for George Washington, thus adding the first President ofthe Gentile nation to the galaxy of Mormon Saints reigning in heaven.Gilbroid Sumner thereupon won the fervent commendation of his Elder bysubmitting twice to burial in the waters of baptism for the two thieveson the cross.

  From time to time the little settlement was visited by officials of theChurch who journeyed south from Salt Lake City; perhaps one of thepowerful Twelve Apostles, those who bind on earth that which is bound inheaven; or High Priests, Counsellors, or even Brigham himself with hisfavourite wife and a retinue of followers in stately procession.

  Late in the spring, also, came the Patriarch in the Church, Uncle JohnYoung, eldest brother of Brigham. It was the office of this good man todispense blessings to the faithful; blessings written and preservedreverently in the family archives as charms to ward off misfortune.Through all the valleys Uncle John was accustomed to g
o on his missionof light. When he reached a settlement announcement was made of hisheadquarters, and the unblessed were invited to wait upon him.

  The cynical had been known to complain that Uncle John was a hard man todeal with, especially before money was current in the Territory, whenblessings had to be paid for in produce. Many a Saint, these said, hadlong gone unblessed because the only produce he had to give chanced tomeet no need of Uncle John. Further, they gossiped, if paid in butter orfine flour or fat turkeys when these were scarce, Uncle John was certainto give an unusually strong blessing, perhaps insuring, on top offreedom from poverty and disease, the prolongation of life until thecoming of the Messiah. Yet it is not improbable that all these taleswere insecurely based upon a single instance wherein one StarlingDriggs, believing himself to stand in urgent need of a blessing, hadoffered to pay Uncle John for the service in vinegar. It had beenunexceptionable vinegar, as Uncle John himself admitted, but being ahundred miles from home, and having no way to carry it, the Patriarchhad been obliged to refuse; which had seemed to most people not to havebeen more than fell within the lines of reason.

  As for the other stories, it is enough to say that Uncle John washimself abundantly blessed with wives and children needing to be fed,that the labourer is worthy of his hire, and that it was sometimesvexatious to follow rapid fluctuations in the market value of butter,eggs, beef, potatoes, beet-molasses, and the like. Certain it is thatafter money came to circulate it was a much more satisfactory businessall around; two dollars a blessing--flat, and no grievances on eitherside, with a slight reduction if several were blessed in one family.When Uncle John laid his hands upon a head after that, every one knewthe exact pecuniary significance of the act.

  When the Patriarch stopped at Amalon that spring, at the house of JoelRae, there were many blessings to be made, and from morning until nightfor several days he was busy with the writing of them. Two members ofthe household he interested to an uncommon degree,--the child, Prudence,who forthwith began daily to promise her dolls that they should nottaste of death till Christ came, and Tom Potwin, the imbecile, whobecame for some unknown reason covetous of a blessing for himself. Hestayed about the Patriarch most of the time, bothering him with appealsfor one of his blessings. But Uncle John, though a good man, had beengifted by Heaven with slight imagination, and Tom Potwin would doubtlesshave had to go without this luxury but for a chance visitor to thehouse one day.

  This was no less a person than Bishop Snow, he who had once been TomPotwin's rival for the hand of her who was now the second Mrs. Rae. Withhis portly figure, his full, florid face with its massive jaw, and hisheavy locks of curling white hair, the good Bishop seemed indeed to havedeserved the title put upon him years ago by the Church Poet,--TheEntablature of Truth.

  He alighted from his wagon and greeted Uncle John, busy with the writingof his blessings in the cool shade just outside the door.

  "Good for you, Uncle John! Be a fountain of living waters to the thirstyin Zion. Say, who's that?" and he pointed to Tom Potwin who had beenwistfully watching the pen of the Patriarch as it ran over his paper.Uncle John regarded the Bishop shrewdly.

  "You ought to know, Brother Snow. 'Tain't so long since you and him weretogether."

  The Bishop looked closely again, and the boy now returned his gaze withhis own weakly foolish look.

  "Well! If it ain't that Tom Potwin. The Lord certainly hardened _his_heart against counsel to his own undoing. I tried every way in theworld--say, what's he doing here?"

  "Oh, Brother Rae has given him a home here along with that first womanof Brother Tench's. The crazy loon has been bothering me all week togive him a blessing."

  The Entablature of Truth chuckled, being not without a sense of humour.

  "Well, say, give him one if he wants it. Here--here's your twodollars--write him a good one now."

  Uncle John took the money, and at once began writing upon a clean sheetof paper. The boy stood by watching him eagerly, and when the Patriarchhad finished the document took it from him with trembling hands. TheBishop spoke to him.

  "Here, boy, let's see what Uncle John gives us for our money."

  With some misgiving the owner of the blessing relinquished it into theBishop's hand, watching it jealously, though listening with delightwhile his benefactor read it.

  "Patriarchal blessing of Tom Potwin by John Young, Patriarch, given atAmalon June 1st, 1859. Brother Tom Potwin, in the name of Jesus ofNazareth and by authority of the Holy Priesthood in me vested, I conferupon thee a Patriarch's blessing. Thou art of Ephraim through the loinsof Joseph that was sold into Egypt. And inasmuch as thou hast obeyed therequirements of the Gospel thy sins are forgiven thee. Thy name iswritten in the Lamb's book of life never more to be blotted out. Thouart a lawful heir to all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob inthe new and everlasting covenant. Thou shalt have a numerous posteritywho shall rise up to call thee blessed. Thou shalt have power overthine enemies. They that oppose thee shall yet come bending unto thee.Thou shalt come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, and nopower shall hinder except the shedding of innocent blood or theconsenting thereto. I seal thee up to eternal life in the name of theFather and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen and amen!"

  The worthy Bishop handed the paper back to the enraptured boy, andturned to Joel Rae, who now came up.

  "Hello, Brother Rae. I hear you took on that thirteenth woman of mine.Much good it'll do you! She was unlucky for me, sure enough--rambunctious when she was healthy, and lazy when she was sick!"

  When they came out of the house half an hour later, he added in tones ofconfidential warning:

  "Say, you want to look out for her--I see she's getting the red back inher blood!"