UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA IW^— INI II* School of Library Scioitoe UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00022092600 >/- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil http://www.archive.org/details/shadowofcrossallOOadam SMABOW OF Til CBOSS, • SHADOW OF THE CROSS: AN ALLEGORY. BY THE REV. W. ADAMS, M. A. FOURTH AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ENGRAVINGS FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS. BY CHAPMAN NEW-YORK: GENERAL PROT. EPISCOPAL S. S. UNION, DANIEL DANA Jr. AGENT. Depository 20 John Street. 1849. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by John W Mitchell, (as Treasurer of the General Prostestant Episcopal Sunday School Union) in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New- York. PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. The following beautiful Allegory is reprinted without alteration, from the second London Edition, and something, it is deemed, has been added to its original value in the elegant and appropriate illustra- tions, the designs for which were furnished by our distinguished native artist, John G. Chapman, and executed by Howiand. Brothers, of New York. It ■J\ Pudney & Russell, Printers. ®f]c Sljairoto of tlje (Jros0. CHAPTER I. Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of Heaven in each we see • Some softening gleam of love and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care. i thick darkness was spread over the earth, and ■M as I stood on the top of a lof- ty mountain, the only object that I could see was A4 S SHADOW OF THE CROSS. the sun, which had risen in the far east with a wonderful glory. It was as a ball of clear and living fire ; and yet so soft and chastened was its ray, that, while I gazed, my eye was not dazzled, and I felt I should like to look upon it for ever. Presently, as it shone upon the mists which rested on the earth, they became tremulous with light, and in a moment they floated by, and a scene of life and beauty was opened ti my view. I saw a spot of ground, so rich and fertile, that it might well be called a garden ; — the sweetest flowers were growing wild in the fields, and the very pathways appeared to sparkle with rubies and emeralds ; there were, too, the most luxuriant orchards, and cool SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 9 groves of orange trees and myrtles, and the breeze of the morning was play- ing among their branches. Now, as I watched the butterflies that fluttered over the flowers, and the lambs sport- ing on the smooth grass, and as I list- ened to the song of the nightingales in the woods, I fancied it was some scene of enchantment which I saw, it was so very full of happiness and life. Every where, at the extremity of the view, my eye rested on a clear narrow stream : I could trace neither mountain from which it rose, nor ocean into which it fell ; but it glided round and round in an endless circular course, forming as it were a border of silver to that lovely garden on which the sun was shining. The morning light ever kept adding 10 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. fresh beauty to each tree and flower on which it fell, but the brighest and clearest rays were those which were re- flected by this narrow stream ; and at this I wondered the rather, because, on the other side of the ring of water, all was still wrapt in a thick and gloomy fog, and though I gazed long and ear- nestly, I saw nothing. Young and lovely children were con- tinually crossing the narrow stream ; there was no other way of escaping from the land of darkness to the land of light. Their garments became white as snow by their passage through the water, and sparkled with a dazzling brightness as the sun first shone upon them ; I observed, too, that each child, as he entered the garden, held a little SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 11 cross in his hand. Now, when I reflect- ed how many millions might still be wandering in the dark and gloomy re- gion beyond, on whom the glorious sun would never shed its cheering warmth, I could not help thinking how happy the children were to have found thus early the narrow stream, and I said in my heart, Surely this lovely garden was made for them, and they will live in it for ever. While I was musing thus, it seemed that, in answer, a still soft Voice came floating on the breeze, and said, "It is indeed for such children as these that the sun is shining, and for them that the mists have been cleared away, but none of the beautiful things in the gar- den belong to them ; they are waiting 12 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. here as strangers, till their Father shall summon them home ; and when they go hence, they can take nothing away with them but the little crosses in their hands, and the white garments which they wear." " Who, then, are these children?" I asked, "and what is the name of the garden ? and when they are taken from it, whither will they go?" And the Voice said, "The chil- dren are sons of a mighty King, and the garden is called the Garden of tiXC SUattoto of the @tms ; but no one can tell whither each child will go when he is taken away — it will depend on how far he escapes the dangers of the garden. If they carelessly lose their crosses, or so stain their beautiful gar- ments, that they can be made white no SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 13 more, they will be thought unworthy of the presence of the great King, and will be hid in an outer darkness, more thick and terrible than that which they have just left. But if, when they go away, the crosses are still in their hands, and they so far keep themselves clean that the King may recognise them for His own children, then will their garments be washed until they become more shining white than snow, and they will be taken to a brighter and happier land, in which they will live with their Father for ever." But I understood not what the Voice meant by the dangers of the garden, and I wondered, too, that it should speak to me of a brighter and happier land ; for I thought within myself, that 14 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. no land could be more beautiful than that on which I gazed, and no sun more glorious than that which was shining there. And the Voice again answered my thoughts, and said, "It is indeed true, that no sun surpasseth in glory- that which is shining on the land en- circled by the silver stream ; but were it not for the light so resting upon it, there is nothing to be desired in the gar- den itself. At one time every thing, not only here, but in the country around, was very good — there was no mist or darkness then ; but now an enemy of the King has corrupted all. The very air the children breathe is wont to sully iheir white garments, and each delight of the garden is full of hidden danger and deceit. While every thing appears SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 15 to the eye so beautiful and innocent, there is, in truth, a poison lurking in each fruit and flower ; cunning serpents are hiding in the grass ; snares and stumbling-blocks innumerable are placed in the broad ways that look so bright and smooth ; and even in the groves of myrtle roaring lions are wandering about, anxious to tear the children that come thither, and to stain their white garments with blood." And when I heard this, I wept bit- terly for the poor children, whom I had thought so happy before, and I said, " Oh wretched children, thus to be placed in a garden so full of dangers, and to be tempted by fruits and flowers which you dare not gather ! Surely there is not one of you who wiU not at last 16 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. imbibe some secret poison, or fall into some dreadful snare, or be stung by a serpent, or torn by a lion ; and so you will be prevented from entering that better country which your Father has prepared for you." And the Voice said, " There is not one of the King's children who may not dwell in peace and happi- ness in the garden. Not only is their Father Himself ever present with them, though they cannot see Him, but He has given to each a talisman, which will en- able them to live here in security, and even to enjoy the fruits and flowers until it is His good pleasure to call them to Himself. You see that the sun is shin- ing brightly and gloriously in the east ; you see, too, that each little one has been provided with a cross : — so long SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 17 then as the cross is so held that the rays of the sun fall upon it, and cast a shadow upon the surrounding objects, they will remain safe and happy in their garden ; for every fruit on which the mark of the cross is seen, may be tasted of without fear, and each path may be trodden in safety on which its shadow rests. " But will not," I asked, " the hands of the children become wearied by hold- ing the cross, and their eyes grow dim while they watch the shadows ?" And the Voice replied, " Their hands would indeed soon become weary, and their eyes grow dim, if their sight or their strength were their own ; but these are among the number of those precious gifts, that each child, as he crossed the 18 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. stream, received from his Father. He is ever at hand to watch over them ; and, so long as they are really anxious to be guided by the cross, He will not suffer their sight or strength to fail. Nay more, He has appointed means, by which they themselves may seek the renewal of these gifts day after day, and hour after hour." When I heard this I wept no more, but I thought how good and kind that Father must be, who took such care of each little child. From this time I ceased to watch the trees and the flow- ers, or even the bright ring of water that kept flowing round the garden ; for I felt deeply interested about the King's children, and I fancied it would be very beautiful to see them throwing SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 19 shadows from their little crosses, and so living unhurt in the garden of the Shadow of the Cross. Now, I had expected that, as there was no difference in the crosses them- selves, so, too, would there be none in the shadows, and that every child who held the cross would make the same use of it. But I soon found that, though the crosses were indeed all alike, there was very great variety in the images which they cast. There were some which were very dark and gloomy, and some, on the contrary, were so fair and soft, that they were more beautiful to look upon than the surrounding light ; some fell fixed and steadfast, some faint and wavering; some fell in clusters, and some alone. There was also a very B2 20 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. great difference in the way in which the children held their crosses : some merely raised them on high, and then walked quietly wherever the shadow fell ; some kept twisting them back- wards and forwards, as though it were a work of much difficulty to form the shadow ; and some, methought, even when the image was most distinct, were unable to see it. Many, too, there were who hid their crosses, and only used them now and then, and I knew that those poor children were in conti- nual danger ; and some, too, had thrown them away altogether, and I feared that they would be lost. At length my eye grew weary with the confusion of the scene, and I resolved to fix it steadily on some one child, and to watch its SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 21 progress through the garden. One little girl there was amidst a group of chil- dren, with features so pure and lovely, that, when she had once attracted my CSe<% attention, I could easily distinguish her from the rest. The name of " Inno- cence " was written on her forehead ; and, from the whiteness of her gar- ments, I thought that she must have 22 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. entered very lately into the garden. I watched her as she played with her companions in the fields, and I loved to see her stop with them to taste the fruits or gather the flowers by the way; for I observed that she chose not the greenest paths, nor the ripest fruits, nor the fairest flowers, but only those on which the image of her cross was seen. Nay, neither fruit nor flower seemed to have any charms for her, unless the cross had thrown its shadow there ; and I wondered not that it was so, for the more I gazed, the more soft and beau- tiful seemed the outline that it traced. The child was always happy ; her sole pleasure was in her little cross and the shadows it formed ; fall where they would, she was sure to follow them. I SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 23 saw, too, that she taught her friends to seek the shadows also, and when the mark of her cross and theirs might be discerned on the same object, then was she happiest of all. And as I gazed, behold ! a snow- white dove was resting on the cross, and the form of the little one began already to fade from my view ; her fea,- tures became less bright, though not less pure, than thev were before, and I knew that young Innocence, with her garments still white, was passing away from the garden. In a little while her companions were weeping, and the child was gone. I did not weep, for I felt she nad been taken away to that brighter and happier land of which the Voice had spoken ; yet long after we had ceased 24 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. to see her, I fancied she was still present in the garden, and, as she had been wont to do, was holding her little cross in the light of the sun ; for its shadow continued to play around all the objects she had loved ; I could trace it not only on the faces of her friends, but on the flowers she had gathered, and the very pathways she had trod. I observed, too, that these images became brighter and more distinct from the tears that fell upon them, and images from other crosses kept clustering around them, and I thought, if the beautiful child were indeed still looking on the garden, how happy she must be that the crosses of those who wept for her were thus blend- ed with her own. CHAPTER II When with, dear friends sweet talk I hold. And all the flowers of life unfold ; Let not my heart within me burn Except in all I Thee discern hen Innocence had thus early been called a- way from the garden, I se- lected one of the little group of mourners, whom He was a very beautiful boy, and had been one of the favourite friends of Innocence, H.HMIUND " " '^»i 1 next resolved to watch 26 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. and when I first observed him, was cry- ing bitterly for his loss. But he soon dried his tears, and as I looked on his clear and open forehead, the name of "Mirth" was written there. Long after he had ceased weeping, I could see that he had not forgotten his companion, for he continued to play in the same field in which Innocence had left him, and af- fection for his former playmate ever led him to choose those flowers on which the shadow of her cross was lingering still. While he remained there, I knew that the boy was safe from danger ; but afterwards, when he began to wander to other parts of the garden, I grew alarmed lest some evil might befal him; for, though he grasped his own cross SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 27 firmly in his hand, so quick and lively was his step, that I feared he might soon be tempted to move beyond its shadow. However, I was beginning to hope there was no good reason for my alarm ; for, though he gathered more abundantly than Innocence had done of the flowers that were by the way, J observed that he never touched them until the shadow of his cross had rested upon them ; and if there were any on which it did not fall, he passed them by. But before long it seemed that his eye was attracted by a beautiful bed of roses and violets that grew on a little hill, at the foot of which he was walk- ing : I saw him hold his cross for a moment between tnem and the sun, and he quite laughed for joy as he caught a 28 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. glimpse of its shadow there ; he bound- ed lightly forward, and, intending to gather a lovely nosegay, began in haste to scramble up the hill. Now, this I perceived with sorrow, for I was afraid the little fellow had not observed that there were many roses there on which no part of the shadow fell ; and I feared lest in his eagerness he should seize one of them, and, by doing so, I knew not what risk he might incur. There was good cause for my fear. The child, breathless with his scramble up the hill, stretched out his hand and plucked the finest rose that he saw ; it was one of those on which no shadow had fallen, and he had scarce held it a moment, when a wasp, that had concealed itself among the leaves, crawled out and stung SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 29 him on the finger : the poor boy scream- ed with pain, for the sting of the wasp was unlike any thing he had felt before. He hastily dashed the flower on the ground ; but one leaf, I observed, was blown back by the wind, and rested on his clothes : Mirth saw it also, and brushed it away ; but, when it was gone, there was a stain on those gar- ments which had been so white before. It was but a very little spot, and, as the tears trickled down upon it, grew so faint, that it could hardly be dis- cerned at all ; but still the spot was there. The smart, however, that the sting caused was of no long continu- ance, and in a short time little Mirth was going merrily on his way, as though no accident had happened. 30 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. By and by, as he was walking by a bright path across a field, one of his former companions perceived him, and ran over the green to meet him : I could see that he shook Mirth warmly by the hand, and persuaded him that for a lit- tle while they should amuse themselves together. But I was grieved that the friend of Innocence should join company with the child, for there was many a soil on his white garments, and there was no cross in his hand, and the name of "Wayward" was written on his brow. I thought, too, that Mirth looked shock- ed when first he met him, and I heard him ask after his cross ; but Wayward laughed, and told him it was so trou- blesome to keep it always in his hand, that he now carried it in his clothes. SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 31 He said, however, that he never forgot to take it out when there were any dif- ficulties in the way ; but in the green fields and smooth paths he needed not its shadow. Now, methought, the stains on his clothes proved that, without the cross, neither the greenest fields nor the smoothest paths were safe ; but it would seem that Mirth did not observe them, for his mind appeared at ease, when he found Wayward had not thrown away the cross ; and the two boys walk- ed on together. Little Mirth still, how- ever, kept his own cross in his hand, and its shadow ever fell clear and dis- tinct on the bright path he trod ; while Wayward walked heedlessly along the soft turf by his side, and laughed at the 32 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. caution of his companion. Bat I soon observed that Mirth was growing weary of the narrow way, and tired of placing his footsteps exactly in the print of the cross, and that by little and little he deviated from it ; he ventured first close by the side of the grass, and then just to tread on its edge, and so he walked nearer to his companion. Now they had not gone far, when, at the point where the turf looked most soft and in- viting, they fell into swampy ground, and in an instant the green miry water rose above their ankles. Poor Mirth, directly he felt it, leaped back upon the road, for it was at no great distance ; but before he could reach it his gar- ments were already splashed, and there was a sad shade of green all around SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 33 their border. Wayward fell deeper into the marsh than Mirth, because he had been walking farther from the path ; but, when he had forced his way out, he treated his misfortune lightly, and scarce stopped a moment to wipe the dirt from his clothes ; nor did I wonder at this, for they were so stained before, that the splashes of the green mud could hardly be seen on them at all ; but it made me feel the more pity for Mirth, as he looked sadly at his own stains ; and I thought how foolish a thing it was, for a child, still clad in raiment of white-, to walk with one whose garments were so denied. It seemed, however, that Mirth thought not of that, for he still al- lowed Wayward to accompany him ; 34 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. nay, in a little while I almost fancied he began to look discontented at the whiteness of his clothes, for the fear of spoiling them often forced him to pick his way over stones with care, while his companion could walk heed- lessly through the mud. Alas ! if it were so, the silly child had not much longer such cause for discontent ; for a beautiful butterfly in a neighbouring field caught the attention of Wayward, and in a moment away he ran, calling to his companion to follow ; and I saw that, for the first time, Mirth joined in the pursuit without consulting his cross. Now, I have no doubt the boys thought they would have to go but a very little way before they gained pos- session of their prize, — for I too fancied SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 35 so at first ; but, as they came near, the butterfly opened its bright wings to the sun, and fluttered away, settling first on one flower, then on another, and ever, as the children stretched out their hands to take it, just eluded their grasp. A long and wearisome chase it led them in the end. At first they went merrily through the green fields ; but after- 36 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. wards, as they grew more eager in the pursuit, and the bright butterfly tempted them on, they climbed steep hills, and scrambled down into the valleys be- neath ; they ran through brooks, leaped over ditches, and broke through hedges in their way, and yet the provoking insect was no nearer than before. And I said, " Oh that Mirth had tried whe- ther the shadow of his cross would rest on its glittering wings, before he began thus hastily to follow it !" for many a splash of mud had fallen upon him in the eagerness of the pursuit, and his little hands were so scratched with thorns, that in some parts thev had sprinkled his clothes with blood. At length they came to a smooth grassy plain, at the border of which SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 37 was a lovely grove of myrtles. The butterfly flew high in the air towards the distant trees, for there was neither plant nor flower in the plain itself. Now, I observed that Mirth had out- stripped Wayward in the chase ; and as he ran heedlessly on, gazing upwards towards the butterfly, his foot struck against a stone concealed in the long grass, and he was thrown violently to the ground. The careless child was well nigh stunned by the fall ; and when he recovered his feet, he trembled exceed- ingly, and the mark of the green grass was deeply imprinted on his clothes ; yet I was glad that the accident made him grasp his little cross, which before he had well nigh forgotten, the more firmly in his hand. Just as his com- 38 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. panion joined him, he held it thought- fully towards the sun ; and when he saw that its image was not reflected on the wood, but on a hard dull path, Leading in an opposite direction, he at once turned aside from the beautiful butterfly which he had so long been following. Wayward, too, seemed a little fright- ened by his companion's fall, for he also took out his cross ; and when its dim shadow fell on the same hard, dull path, he too relinquished the pursuit of the butterfly, and accompanied Mirth. So the two boys walked on, sadly and silently, together ; but Mirth limped a little as he went, from the pain of his fall. Very glad I was that they had not ventured to enter the wood ; for, SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 39 though they saw them not, I could see the bright eyes of a serpent gleaming from beneath the myrtle on which the butterfly was resting. He seemed to be waiting anxiously for the approach of the children, and 1 doubt not there was poison in his fang. Now, I have said that the road by which Mirth and Wayward left the grove of myrtles was dull and hard ; for I had by this time discovered that, soft and beautiful as every thing looked in the distance, there were not only some paths in the garden deceitful and dangerous, but others hard and dull. It led them by many a withered leaf and faded flower ; and each leaf and flower was watered by the tears of Mirth, for his eyes were ever fixed downward 40 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. upon the ground : he was as one who was unconscious whither he was walk- ing, and whose only care was so to measure each step that it might fall exactly in the shadow before him. Wayward, too, for a little while, look- ed downward also, and step by step trod in the same path with his com- panion : but, when they ha.d gone on for some time in safety, from the force of habit he left off carrying his cross in his hand, and concealed it as he had done before ; and then he soon grew weary of the dullness of the road, and longed to turn aside to some of the pleasant paths on the right hand or on the left. He appeared to me, however, to be half afraid of wandering alone ; for I heard him coaxing Mirth to leave SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 41 off watching those gloomy images, and to come and join with him in some merry game, saying that, by doing so, he would the sooner forget the effects of his fall. But Mirth still walked on in the same disconsolate way, with his eyes fixed upon the ground. His heart was then indeed too full of heaviness to suffer him to think of play at all ; yet, perhaps, he might not have been able tg resist very long the entreaties of Wayward, had it not so happened that the boys did not much further continue their walk together. A sudden turn in the dull road brought them to one of those fields over which in happier times Mirth had often loved to ramble with Innocence ; and the shadow of his cross rested full 42 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. on a faded lily, which had been sown and watered by the hands of his for- mer friend. Here the poor little fellow paused, and sobbed as though his very heart would break. I too felt very sor- rowful ; for my mind went back to the lovely scene when the two children had been playing together in the garden, and Mirth had been taught by Inno- cence to find pleasure in the cross. I remembered how happy they had both looked in their shining raiment of white, and how beautiful were the first holy images which fell on the objects around them ; and, above all, I recollected the hour when the dove had settled so peacefully on the cross of her who was taken, while she was fading from my view : and then, as I gazed upon the SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 43 one who had been left, and saw how his garments since then had been stain- ed by many a dark and filthy spot, the bitter thought came upon me, whether, if his friend still looked upon the gar- den, she would recognise him now, and whether, if Mirth were called away, he would be received in that better country to which Innocence was gone. Such thoughts, also, seemed to force themselves on the mind of Mirth ; for he knelt down by the lily to which the shadow had led him, and, as the tears chased each other down his cheeks, and fell on the stains, I could hear him murmur, " Oh, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow !" Then I knew he was speaking to the kind 44 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. Father, who was ever present among His children in the garden ; and I re- membered how the Voice had told me that there were means by which the sight and strength of the children might be renewed. Presently I saw him bend low and gaze earnestly on the faded flower ; and while the big tear fell upon it, methought that his eye became less dim, and there was a gleam of hope and gladness on his face, as though he could again trace upon the leaves the light and lovely outline of the cross of Innocence. Then I also, in the midst of my sorrow, was glad ; and I felt that Mirth was really happier as he wept over the lily of his friend, than he had been while, in the thoughtlessness of his heart, he was chasing the painted SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 45 butterfly on the green. Moreover, as I watched him, I saw him kiss his little cross and press it to his heart ; and I wondered not that he did so, for I knew it was that little cross, and that alone, which had freed him from all his perils ; for, without it, he must have been bitten by the serpent in the myrtle grove ; and had he not trod in its shadow along the hard dull road, he would not have been guided to the flower of Innocence at last. CHAPTER III But if, indeed, with reckless faith We trust the flattering voice, Which whispers, ' Take thy fill ere death. Indulge thee and rejoice-" Too surely, every setting day, Some lost delight we mourn , The flowers all die along our way. Till we, too, die forlorn he tears were fast rising in my eyes as I turned them a- way from the kneeling child, so affecting was the scene ; but SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 47 for the present I watched him no more, for about him my mind was now at rest ; but I felt fearfully anxious to trace the course of his companion who neglected the cross. Wayward had not seen the shadow resting on the flower, but had walked carelessly through the field ; otherwise his thoughts also might have gone back to the time when he played with Innocence, and he would perhaps have wept together with his companion. He had advanced some distance before he observed that Mirth had ceased to accompany him ; but as soon as he perceived it he was alarm- ed to find himself alone ; for, though he cared but little for the cross him- self, he had felt some sort of safety from being near to one who trod within 48 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. its shadow. He first looked anxiously around, and then in a hurried mannei began to retrace his steps. I had no doubt that his intention was to rejoin his companion ; but, short as was the distance back, in his haste he managed to lose the way, and got into a path that led him farther and farther from the field in which Mirth was kneeling. I could plainly hear his companion's voice calling to him to return, and I saw that Wayward heard it also, for he continually paused and listened, as though he wished to ascertain .the di- rection of the distant sound. And then the unhappy boy would shout loudly in reply, and turning to the right hand or the left, begin to hurry along some new track ; but each time that he started SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 49 again, he made some fresh error in the way, and as I watched him I knew that it would be so, for his cross was not in his hand. In a little time he had got quite to a different part of the garden from that in which he had parted with Mirth. He saw there a pretty group of children, whom he was very anxious to join ; but they were frightened when they ob- served that he had no cross, and one of them cried out that his dirty hands would soil the whiteness of their gar- ments ; so they refused to let him take part in their play. He tried one or two other groups, but some hurried away as he approached, and others shrunk back from his touch, until at last he found a party of boys who had no crosses, and 50 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. whose clothes were more filthy than his own. These boys welcomed him gladly, and he began to leap and run with them. They all laughed loudly, and tried to be merry ; but no shadow fell on the ground which they trod, and they soon grew weary of laughter itself. So their game terminated in a quarrel, and that brought on blows, which added fresh stains to the clothes of these un- na PPJ children. Even Wayward grew shocked at the scene which he now witnessed, and, hastening away from his companions, again began to ramble through the garden alone. He now seemed to be wandering to and fro without any object, as a child that was blind ; but I saw that he plenteously gathered of the flowers, and SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 51 ate of the fruits that he found ; and as he did so his garments became more and more discoloured, and his coun- tenance pale and sickly, and his manner full of restlessness and languor, so that I was very greatly alarmed, for I could not but remember how the Voice had said that there was poison in the garden. I saw, too, that Wayward had become not only sickly but wretched also ; he no longer could derive enjoyment from any thing he tasted or touched, but was suspicious of them all. Sometimes I thought he looked anxiously about him for the shadow of the cross ; and yet, whether it were from indolence, or from the force of habit, or from some fatal delusion, I cannot tell, but the cross itself he did not hold. D2 =a 52 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. At length in his wanderings he came to a long high wall, on the Western side of which there was a tree loaded with nectarines, riper and more beauti- ful than any he had before seen. Now, at first he seemed as though he were going to turn away, for, though he held not his cross, he knew at once that the bright sun shining in the East could shed no image there ; and yet he lin- gered and looked wistfully at the fruit; and as he looked he perceived one ga- thering from the tree, whose garments were yet white, and whose cross was in her hand. I also looked at her that gathered the fruit, and I could read the name of " Selfdeceit" imprinted upon her brow ; and I saw there was something foul and horrible even in SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 53 the very whiteness of her garments, and that wan and ghastly were the images that fell from her cross. Now, I be- gan to wonder how those images were formed, and behold ! there gleamed in the air behind her a dark blue flame ; then I discovered that there were false meteor lights in the garden of the Sha- dow of the Cross : doubtless they were placed there by the enemy of the King, in order to tempt the children to taste the poisonous fruits ; but I shuddered exceedingly when I saw that the cross might thus be converted into an instru- ment of destruction : yet so unlike were the false images to those formed by the clear and brilliant sun in the East, that they could deceive none but the eye that had been long a stranger to the 54 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. real image, and the heart that was anxious to believe them true. Even Wayward, as he drew nigh, trembled, and felt there was something unnatural in the shadows that fell on the Western wall ; but when Selfdeceit offered him one of the ripest nectarines, and point- ed triumphantly to the pale outline that might be traced upon it, he was tempt- ed, and he took it and did eat. While he was eating, some of the juice oozed out from the fruit (for it was very ripe) and fell upon his clothes : it marked them with a stain which, though they were already much discoloured, was of a deeper crimson than any I had seen before. Wayward threw down the remainder of the nectarine, and was hastening away, but Selfdeceit called SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 55 to him to stop, and said that she could very easily remove the stain. So Way- ward stopped, and Selfdeceit took a sub- stance which seemed to me like chalk, and rubbed it over the spot on which the juice had fallen, and not that spot only, but over the whole of the gar- ments of her companion, until she had produced upon them the same foul and horrible whiteness that I had remarked upon her own. When it was done, I thought that Wayward tried to smile, as though he again were clean ; but the smile passed away in a sigh, for in his inmost heart he knew that the stains were hidden but not removed, and that the all-seeing eye of his Father could perceive them still. Yet he did not fly from Selfdeceit 56 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. as he ought to have done, but still continued in her company, eating the fruits on which the false images fell, and allowing the treacherous chalk to be rubbed upon his clothes. The chil- dren did not walk very long together ; but during that time the appearance of Wayward became so altered, that be- fore they parted I doubt whether Mirth could have recognised him again : the form emaciated by disease, the feverish and uncertain step, the hectic flush on his sallow cheek, and the wildness in his bloodshot eye, had left but little of the gay, though careless, child who had run so lightly after the butterfly on the green. Yet, great as was the change in his appearance owing to the poison on which he lived, the change that had SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 57 taken place in his dress was greater still ; for his garments were more dis- guised by the strange whiteness caused by the chalk, than they could have been by the darkest stain. He was, how- ever, fast becoming accustomed to its use, for it was astonishing how many accidents befell Wayward and Selfde- ceit as they moved along; — sometimes they slipped, and rolled into the mire ; sometimes they were tripped up, and fell on the swampy grass ; sometimes they stained themselves with fruit ; some- times noxious reptiles would crawl over their clothes ; and sometimes foul spots, as in a leprosy, would suddenly break out upon them, without any cause which they could discern : and on each of these occasions, Selfdeceit would take 58 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. out her chalk, and apply it to her com- panion's garments and her own. In this wretched way they kept walk- ing side by side, until they came to the borders of a great wood, and there Selfdeceit bade her companion go first, saying that she would follow ; but Wayward drew back, and refused to advance farther before he had first con- sulted his cross. I do not know why at that particular moment he should have paused ; it may be that it merely proceeded from his usual dislike to go first ; or it may be he was frightened by a deep and angry sound, even as the roaring of a lion, which issued from the wood, and yet his ears had now grown so dull, that I cannot tell whether he heard it at all ; and I think it most SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 59 likely that he only delayed, because the scene brought back to his memory the hour in which he had stood with Mirth, at the entrance of the myrtle-grove, when the holy image had warned them both to turn aside. But be the cause what it may, he stood still, and drew his long-neglected cross from his bosom. It was, indeed, a scene that caused my heart to beat high with interest. Wayward was standing a little in ad- vance of Selfdeceit, and one step more would have brought him within the bor- ders of the wood ; and, as he raised his cross with a trembling hand, I could see a smile of mockery pass over the countenance of his companion. In a moment the meteor lights were flicker- ing in the air around them, and a crowd 60 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. of confused and ghastly shadows fell at the feet of the bewildered boy. He had suffered his eyes to become so very dim, that it was in vain he now endeavoured to distinguish the true image from the false : but I observed that from that very uncertainty he hesitated whether to advance ; and I believe at last he would have turned aside, had not Self- deceit with her own hand lighted a torch behind him, which threw one long deep shadow in the direction of the forest. Then Wayward ventured to move forward ; but scarce had he made the first step, when there was a laugh as of fiends in the air, and be- hold ! the earth opened beneath the feet of Selfdeceit, and she and her flaming torch and her whited garments SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 61 were swallowed up, and I saw them no more. Together with the light which had caused it, the long deep shadow also passed away, and Wayward once more looked round him in doubt ; he then saw the fate of his companion, and uttered a shrill and piercing cry, and, in his alarm dropping the cross out of his hand, he ran hastily from the 62 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. wood. But now, alas ! it was too late for flight ; the lion, that had lain in wait for him there, had already made his fatal spring : he seized on his prey and pulled him down upon the ground, and in a moment was griping with his savage teeth, and tearing to pieces with his claws, the companion of Selfdeceit. CHAPTER IV Refreah us, Lord, to hold it fast , And when Thy veil is drawn at last, Let us depart where shadows cease, With words of "blessing and of peace. had already be- gun to mourn for Wayward, as for one who was lost ; for, even had he been in health and vigour, his strength would have been but weakness against the ferocious animal that was devouring him now ; but sickly and 64 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. powerless as he had been rendered by disease, save by his fearful shrieks he could offer no resistance at all. His cries for help were becoming fainter and fainter, when behold ! there came forth from the forest a fair and gentle girl ; her garments were almost of a spotless white, and yet methought she seemed as though she had been long in the garden, and the name of " Charity" was written on her brow. And I wondered at first how she could have wandered through that gloomy forest alone, and I was alarmed lest the lion that was tearing Wayward might turn his fury upon her ; but I soon found there was cause neither for wonder nor alarm, for her cross was in her hand. The sha- dow fell full on the forehead of the SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 65 savage beast, and with a low sullen growl he forsook his prey, and crouched in servile fear before the little child. His eyes glared horribly as he turned back, and he kept moving his head to and fro, as though he fain would have shaken off the holy image ; but his struggles to resist its influence were all in vain, and step by step he was forced to shrink away, and hide himself in the darkness of the forest. Then did Cha- rity draw nigh to the faint and bleeding boy, and bandage his mangled limbs, and stanch the blood that was gushing copiously from the wounds ; and, as she did so, the purple stream that flowed upon her garments of white, left no stain upon them, but only made them brighter than before. 66 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. Wayward had had a very narrow escape from destruction, and it was a long time before he so far came to him- self as to be able to stand up. I cannot tell what fearful dreams he may have had while he was lying prostrate on the ground ; but the moment that he arose, his first thought was of his cross : he felt for it in his bosom, but he found that it was not there ; and I shall not easily forget the look of anguish and despair that was on his face when he remembered he had let it fall. He threw himself down on the ground, and searched very anxiously for the treasure he had neglected so long ; but his head swam and his sight was dizzy, and he looked for it in vain. Nay, it had fallen so near the forest, and the grass was SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 67 so loiig, and the bushes so numerous, that there was little hope of his recover- ing it again; and yet he now felt that, if he found it not, he himself was lost. He told Charity of his sad loss, and with tears and groans besought her ear- nestly to assist him in the search. So Charity raised her own cross on high, and the dark outline fell on a thick bush of furze close by the outskirts of the wood ; it was there that the cross of Wayward had fallen, and she bade the boy call earnestly on his gra- cious Father, and advance with a good courage, telling him that, though others might point out where it was, no hand but his own could take it up. Way- ward did advance, but it was with fear and trembling; he often raised his eyes E2 68 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. timidly towards the forest, as though he was afraid lest the lion might seize upon him again : when, too, he stood by the bush, and stretched out his hand, it was sad to see how the noxious insects stung him, and the thorns entered into the new-made wounds ; twice in anguish did he draw it back ; the second time that he did so, a low growl was heard issuing from the wood, and then in haste he thrust his hand down again, regard- less of the pain, and seizing on his lost treasure hurried back to the side of Charity. Now I rejoiced greatly that Way- ward had recovered his cross ; I was glad, too, that the chalk with which Selfdeceit had bedaubed his clothes was gone, for the red streams of blood SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 69 had washed it away. Yet still was I very sorrowful when I saw how fear- fully they were now denied ; it seemed that whole rivers of tears would be un- able to restore to them any portion of their original whiteness, and I could not but doubt whether poor Wayward might hereafter be recognised as the King's child. The same thoughts, too, were weighing him down, for he groan- ed deeply and was very sorrowful ; and then I heard Charity speaking to him of the tender mercies of their King and Father, and telling him that, if only he was able to hold steadfastly for the time to come by the cross, and walk care- fully in its shadow, he need in no wise despair, for, though his own tears could not cleanse his garments, there was One 70 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. who might wash them for him with the water of life, so that, though they were now as scarlet, they would become as white as snow, though they were red like crimson, they should be as wool. When he heard this, Wayward look- ed down upon his cross, but there still was very much of sadness in his gaze ; he felt in truth that his hand was too feeble to hold it steadfastly for the time to come, and his eye too dim to discern its shadow. But Charity again addressed him with words of comfort ; she reminded him that they were not alone in the garden, and that there were means by which, if only he would be diligent in employing them, his strength and his sight would gradu- ally be renewed ; the same kind Father, SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 71 she said, "who has given you the will and the power to recover your cross, can render it once more the guardian of your steps." Then did he take comfort, and while he feebly raised his cross, methought that he earnestly besought his Father to restore to him a portion of his former strength. For some little while Charity walked by his side, and gently holding him by the hand, guided him safely through the snares and stumbling-blocks which beset them on their way. But before long the warning shadows bade them proceed along different paths, that of Charity leading her through a smooth verdant meadow, that of Wayward fall- ing on a rough uneven ground, close 72 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. to the border of the wood. So, with many a parting warning, and ever, as she went, holding on high the sacred sign, Charity bade adieu to Wayward, and I cannot tell that she ever beheld him again. For a moment I watched her light graceful form as she passed through the pleasant fields : it was, indeed, a lovely sight ; the long grass SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 73 and the flowers appeared to bend as she approached, lest they might stain the hem of her white garments ; the little lambs would come to lick the hand which held the cross, and the birds sung more tunefully as its sha- dow fell upon them. But I turned from this pleasing pic- ture, for I was anxious to know what would become of Wayward now he was once more alone ; he too had been watching the retreating form of Charity, and the tear rose in his eye as he felt it was not for him to accompany her along the ways of pleasantness and peace. He began his solitary journey, and I could see that he was strug- gling hard to hold firmly by the cross, and was inwardly resolving to follow 74 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. the advice of Charity. But, alas ! that which might have been sweet and easy once had become a task of much la- bour and difficulty now ; for though his Father did not suffer his strength or sight altogether to fail, he was allowed continually to feel the ill effects of his former wanderings. His arm grew faint and weary when he lifted it on high ; and his cross itself would at one time glow with a burning heat, and raise blisters on his hand ; and at another, would become cold as a mass of ice, until his numbed fingers could scarce retain it in their grasp. Its shadow, too, no longer fell on fruits or on flow- ers, nor on any thing desirable to the eye, but on husks and withered leaves, and all the refuse of the earth. I saw, SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 75 also, that he staggered to and fro as he walked along, and that, from his very anxiety to place his footsteps right, he often stumbled and well nigh fell, and, by the continued difficulties of the path, he was brought into so great trouble and misery, that he went mourning all the day long. How strange must he now have thought it, that there had been a time when he fancied that he could walk safely without the aid of his cross ! and how often must he have wished that it would again afford him that clear and distinct shadow, which it was wont to shed when first he entered the garden ! For even this comfort was denied him now. The meteor lights which he had allowed to accompany him in his wanderings with 76 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. Selfdeceit still continued to hover around him, and kept throwing their deceitful shadows on secret poisons and hidden snares : many a time did he pause long and anxiously, before he could distin- guish between the true image and the false, and often had he reason to re- joice that the real shadow was dark and gloomy, because he could the more easily discern it. He knew also that he had good reason to be alarmed, for the roar of the lion that had torn him once was ever sounding in his ears ; and each time that he hesitated, he fan- cied he could perceive his fierce eyes glaring upon him from the wood : it seemed as though the beast, having once marked him for his own, was watching every step that he took, and ready in a SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 77 moment to pounce upon his prey. At length the shadow fell upon a pathway- leading directly into the wood ; Way- ward gazed doubtfully upon it a little while, but, when he saw that it was the true image, with slow and trembling steps he contin led to follow it. I soon lost sight of him among the trees, so that I cannot tell what may have be- fallen him there ; but I have a good hope that he walked in safety through all its dangers, for, though his garments were stained with blood, and his limbs were faint, and his eyes dim, and though the beasts of the forests were howling around him, his cross was in his hand. Still I was not sorry that I could no longer watch him, for it had become very painful to me to trace his steps ; 78 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. not only was there trouble in each path that he trod, but there was even much to render me sad in the gloomy shadows that fell frorn his cross ; so I suffered my eye to wander towards the more lovely parts of the garden, in hopes that once again it might rest upon Mirth. I soon discovered him not far from the field in which Wayward had left him; he had altered very little since then, except that the cheerfulness of his coun- tenance and the buoyancy of his step had returned. He was holding his cross towards the sun, and his face beamed bright with gratitude as he traced its outline on the flowers strewed in his path. The shadows were not, indeed, so light and lovely as those which had fallen from the cross of Innocence, yet SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 79 still they were very beautiful, — more beautiful than the fairest flowers on which they fell. The garments of Mirth had almost recovered their white- ness, yet they, too, were not so bright and shining as those of Innocence had been ; nay, I fancied I could yet trace upon them the dim outline of each for- mer stain, not only the deeper marks that had been caused by his careless chase with Wayward, but even the first little spot that the falling rose leaf had left. The marks were so very faint, that while the shadow of the cross rest- ed upon them they could not be dis- cerned ; but, when they were exposed to the clear and brilliant light of the sun, I could see that they still were there. "Surely, then," I said within myself, ^0 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. " the children whose garments are yet unsullied, would run less heedlessly, if they knew that their early stains would continue with them so long !" Mirth was happy now, but he would have been far happier if he had never left the shadow of his cross ; for there was often a momentary expression of sadfless on his face, when some gay butterfly with its golden wings fluttered across his path, and brought to his remembrance his for- mer wanderings. Yet were his garments so white, that it was easy to recognise him for the King's child ; and I knew that his kind Father would cleanse them at last from every spot, and I almost longed for the time when the white dove might settle on his cross, and Mirth should be called away from the garden. SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 81 Then did my thoughts wander to the land to which Innocence was gone, and I said in my heart, how glorious must that land be in which this same bright sun is shining, while all the children are clad in raiment of a dazzling white- ness ! Tt must be that the cross, which is their safeguard here, will there be their delight ; they will love for ever to watch the holy shadows ; and yet will they then require them no more, for in that better land there will be neither danger in the fields, nor poison in the flowers. And the still soft Voice replied : " In that better land there will be neither fields nor flowers such as you now be- hold, for the grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, but there will be nothing 82 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. there that can either wither or fade. In that better land the cross will indeed be the delight of the children, and the bright sun will be reflected on their gar- ments ot dazzling whiteness ; but, when raised on high, the cross will cast no shadow there ; it will itself shine with exceeding lustre, the rays of immortality will be shed from it, and all things will be filled with light and gladness by its pure and living fire." Now, while I wondered at this, and tried to picture to myself a land lovely without fields or flowers, and in which the cross might be raised towards the sun and yet no shadow be discerned, behold ! the vision of the fair garden passed away, and I saw no more. rdJ &e*t0 from golg Scripture. The fohowing and similar passages of Scripture may "be impressed on the minds of children, by point- ing out their connexion with the different parta of the Allegory. " The sun of righteousness (shall) arise with healing in his wings." 1 " The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." 2 " That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." 3 " Ye are all the children of light, P3 84 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. and the children of the day ; we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 4 " That ye should show forth the praises of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." 5 " Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 6 " The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good con- science towards God) by the resurrec- tion of Jesus Christ." 7 " God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 8 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 85 " The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed." 9 " My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 10 " When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." 11 " I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." 12 " For they that say such things, de- clare plainly that they seek a country." 13 "But now they desire a better coun- try, that is, an heavenly : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God : for he hath prepared for them a city." 14 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- herit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 15 " The children of the kingdom shall be 86 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. cast out into outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 16 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own un- derstanding. In all thy ways acknow- ledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 17 " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." 18 " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 19 " I heard a voice from heaven, say- ing unto me, ■ Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth.'" 20 " But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 87 which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope." 21 " It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better." 22 " Whom the Lord loveth he chasten- eth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 23 " Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men." 24 " There is a way that seemeth right 88 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." 25 " As for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped ; for I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." 26 " The way of the wicked is as dark- ness ; they know not at what they stum- ble." 27 " Before 1 was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word." 28 " Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left : remove thy foot from evil." 29 " Now I rejoice not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to re- SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 89 pentance : for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." 30 " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 31 " A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." 32 So they did eat and were well filled ; for he gave them their own desire : they were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them." 33 90 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. " Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily while it is call- ed to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." 34 " In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 35 " For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 36 " Hypocrites ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 91 of dead men's bones, and of all un- cleanness. Even so, ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within, ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." 37 " The way of peace they know not, and there is no judgment in their goings : they have made them crooked paths ; whosoever goeth therein, shall not know peace." 38 " Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." 39 " For many walk of whom I have told you often, arid now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is de- struction." 40 " When your fear cometh as desolation, 92 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. and your destruction cometh as a whirl wind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer : they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." 41 " Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be taken, and the other left." 42 " To the Lord our God belong mer- cies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him ; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he set before us." 43 " Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 93 the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 44 " Woe unto us that we have sinned ! for this our heart is faint ; for these things our eyes are dim." 45 " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" 46 " They that turn many to righteous- ness, (shall shine) as the stars for ever and ever." 47 " There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger ; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 94 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me ; my wounds stink and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down great- ly ; I go mourning all the day long." 43 " Wash me throughly from mine ini- quity, and cleanse me from my sin ; for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me." 49 " The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 50 " For the Lord will not cast off for ever : but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." 51 " Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." 58 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 95 " If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark ini- quities, O Lord, who shall stand ? but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." 53 " And he carried me away in the spirit, to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the ho- ly Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God : and. her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like unto a jasper stone clear as crystal." 54 " And I heard, a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and. he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 96 SHADOW OF THE CROSS. there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." 55 l Mai. iv. 2. 19 Psalm xxiii. 4. Tsa. lix. S. 2 1 John ii. 8. 20 Rev. xiv. 13. 39 Isa. v. 20. 3 John i. 9. 21 1 Thess. iv. 13. 40 Phil. iii. 18, 19. 4 1 Thess. v. 5. 22 Eccl. vii. 2, 3. 41 Prov. i. 27, 23. 5 1 Pet. ii. 9. 23 Heb. xii. 6. 42 Matt. xxiv. 40. 6 John iii. 5. 24 Prov. iv. 14. 43 Dan. ix. 9, 10. 7 1 Peter iii. 21. 25 Prov. xvi. 25. 44 James v. 19, 20. 8 l Cor. x. 13. 26 Psalm lxxiii. 2, 3. 45 Lam. v. 16, 17. 9 Psalm xxviii. 8. 27 Prov. v. 19. 46 Matt. xvi. 24, 26. 10 2 Cor. xii. 9. 28 Psalm cxix. 67. 47 Dan. xii. 3. u 1 Cor. xiii. 10. 29 Prov. iv. 25, 26, 27 48 Ps. xxxviii. 3, 4, 5, 6. 12 Psalm xxxix. 12 30 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10. 49 Psalm li. 2, 3. 13 Heb. xi. 14. 31 Matt. v. 4. 50 Psalm li. 17. H Heb. xi. 16. 32 James i. 8. 51 Lam. iii. 31, 32. 15 Matt. xxv. 34. 33 p s . lxxviii. 29, 31. 52 Psalm xxxvii. 37. 16 Matt. viii. 12. 34 Heb. iii. 12, 13. 53 Ps. cxxx. 3, 4. 17 Prov. iii. 5, 6. 35 2 Cor. iv. 4. 54 Rev. xxi. 10, 11. 18 Prov. iii. 17 36 2 Cor. xi. 13, 14. 37 Matt, xxiii. 27, 28 55 Rev. xxi. 3, 4. T H JE END CONVERSATIONS ON THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS. BY THE REV. W. ADAMS. M. A. FEOM THE LONDON EDITION NEW-YORK: GENERAL PROT. EPISCOPAL S. S. UNION, DANIEL DANA Jr. AGENT t Depository 20 John Street 1849 CONVERSATIONS Wxt Shatroto ol tfie <£ross. CHAPTER I ((H. What is signified by the bright and glorious sun that appeared in the east ? St. Jesus Christ our Lord. (£1. Yes ; he is spoken of as the " Sun of Righteousness" by the prophet Malachi. And the beautiful garden on which its rays fell, is the kingdom that our Lord established upon earth ; now, why is that kingdom represented as surrounded by a silver stream ? 4 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 91. Because it is through the water of baptism that we enter it. <©. Do you remember how this was typified in the history of the children of Israel ? Qt. Yes ; you explained to me in the Baptismal Service, that it was by the passage through the Red Sea. The words there, I think, are, " Who didst safely lead the children of Israel through the Red Sea, figuring thereby thy holy baptism." (£i. You can, then, tell me on which side of the stream you were born. Qi. In the land of darkness ; for I was born in sin, and a child of wrath. (El. And when you were baptized, you were cleansed from your sin, and carried, ' as it were, through the clear SHADOW OF THE CROSS. O stream in your garment of white, with your little cross in your hand. As soon as you thus entered the garden, you were made a member of Christ. Who, then, became your Father, and what inheritance was promised you ? 31. Heaven was my inheritance, and God became my Father ; for, at the same time that I was made a member of Christ, I became also a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. (£l. Why are we told that neither the sight nor the strength of the chil- dren was their own ? %. Because we can do nothing ex- cept through the influence of the Holy Ghost. <&. Why is it said that the children 6 CONVERSATIONS ON THE received these precious gifts as they crossed the stream ? Qt. Because it is at our baptism that we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (£l. What, then, is signified by the constant renewal of their sight and strength ? QL The being daily renewed by the Holy Spirit of God. CO.. And how must we seek for such renewal ? £L By prayer. (&. Yes ; and by Holy Communion, and all the other means of grace which God has appointed to refresh and sup- port the Christian in his daily walk. What is meant by the children being placed in the garden, in order to pre- pare them for their Father's presence ? SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 7 St. That the Christian is to endea- vour so to live in the present world, that hereafter he may be thought wor- thy to be with God for ever. (&. How were the children to prepare themselves ? St. They were to keep their garments white, and hold fast their crosses. (*H. In the same way, then, each one of us must prepare himself for heaven, by abstaining from sin and impurity, and holding fast the profession of Christ. Can you tell me how the sign of the cross is spoken of in the Baptismal Service ? St. As a token that hereafter we shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner, against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ's 8 CONVERSATIONS ON THE faithful soldiers and servants unto our life's end. (&. How are sin, the world, and the devil represented in the allegory? 91. They are the poisons, the snares, the serpents, and the other dangers of the garden. OH. You are right. But, instead of fighting against them, we are here, under a different image, represented as passing safely through them by means of the shadow of the cross. What will be the fate of those unhappy children who neglect that safeguard ? 91. When they leave the garden, they will never again behold the glorious Sun, but they will be cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. SHADOW OF THE CROSS. V (Si, Such in another world will be the punishment of the faithless followers of Christ. But now tell me how it was that, while the children were in the garden, there was so much variety in the shadows that fell from different crosses ? SL Is it because religion seems a bright and cheerful thing to some, while it is sad and gloomy to others ? Cfll. It is so. God has ordained that Christianity should shed, as it were, a different complexion on different minds, and that the course, which is easy and natural to one disposition, should be hard and laborious to another. There is one great cause of this variety, that will be explained in the following part of the allegory. You will find that 10 CONVERSATIONS ON THE those children who neglected for a time to consult their crosses, afterwards found it a very difficult task to tread in their shadow ; for though we are told that the ways of wisdom are, in themselves, ways of pleasantness, and that all her paths are peace, the return to them is always by a hard way and rugged path. %, Little Innocence found them peaceful and pleasant, because she always continued there. (D.. She did so for the short time she remained in the garden. You know what is meant by her fading away? 3L She was taken to heaven. (CI. And by the shadow that still seemed to fall from her cross ? 3L The remembrance that she left upon the earth. SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 11 <&. Yes. There is an almost sacred feeling with which we regard every thing connected with those little ones who have lived and died in the Lord. The shadow of their cross may indeed be said to rest on each innocent amuse- ment and occupation that they have loved ; and the images from other crosses will cluster around it, for no soil is more kindly to good and holy resolutions than the remembrance of departed friends : "to be with them is to be with Christ." There are affec- tions and sympathies which are fixed upon them during their lives, which by their deaths it often pleases God to draw towards Himself. CHAPTER n. (fit. Why was it that Mirth was safe while he remained where he had been playing with Innocence ? 9L Because, as you have already said, when we think of companions and friends that are gone, our own hearts are drawn more closely to our Saviour.