FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163  
164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  
hat hung over her own fate. After a time the Queen dismissed some of her attendants to ramble about the grounds,--among them Rafaravavy, who sauntered down one of the side-walks by herself. She had not gone far when, on reaching a turn of the road where a small thicket of shrubs concealed her from the more public part of the garden, she heard her own name pronounced. Stopping abruptly, she listened with intense anxiety expressed on her countenance. "Rafaravavy!" repeated the voice again, "fear not!" Next moment the bushes were turned aside, a man stepped on the path, and Ravonino stood before her! He seized her in his arms, and printed a fervent kiss upon her lips. "Oh! Samuel," she said, using her lover's Christian name, which she naturally preferred, and speaking, of course, in her native tongue, "why did you come here? You know that it is death if you are caught." "I would risk more than death, if that were possible, to see you, Rafaravavy. But I come to ask you to fly with me. Our dear Lord's counsel is that when we are persecuted we should flee to a place of safety." "Impossible!" said the girl, in a tone of decision that made her lover's heart sink. "Besides, I am not persecuted. The Queen is fond of me, and bears much." "Fond of you she may well be, my loved one, she cannot help that; but she is fonder of herself, and the moment you go beyond a certain point she will order you out to execution. Has she not done the same sort of thing before? She is capable of doing it again. She will _surely_ do it again. Come, dearest! let us fly now--this moment. I have a lamba here which will conceal most of your dress. Arrangements are made with some of our friends in the Lord to aid us. Bearers are ready. I will guide you to the caverns in the forest where my sister Ra-Ruth is longing to receive you, where many of your old friends are dwelling in security, where we worship God, and pray to Jesus, and sing the sweet old hymns in peace. Come, dear one! will you not come?" It was evident that the intense earnestness of the lover was exerting powerful influence over the affectionate maiden, for she began to waver. "Oh! do not persuade me thus!" she said. "I know not what God would have me do. But the Queen has been _very_ kind to me in spite of my religion, and sometimes I have thought that she listens to my pleading. Perhaps God may use me as the means of bringing her to Jesus. Think
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163  
164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Rafaravavy
 

moment

 

intense

 
friends
 
persecuted
 
surely
 

dearest

 

fonder

 

execution

 

capable


forest
 
persuade
 

powerful

 

exerting

 

influence

 

affectionate

 

maiden

 

bringing

 

Perhaps

 

pleading


religion
 

thought

 

listens

 
earnestness
 

evident

 
caverns
 
sister
 

Bearers

 

conceal

 

Arrangements


worship

 

receive

 
longing
 
dwelling
 

security

 
garden
 

pronounced

 

Stopping

 

public

 

thicket


shrubs

 

concealed

 
abruptly
 

listened

 
bushes
 
turned
 

anxiety

 

expressed

 
countenance
 

repeated