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Page 38
THE GROVE.
In the meanwhile, three or four times during the week, Mr. Norton
continued to hold meetings for the people in Micah's Grove.
There had been but little rain in the Miramichi region during the
summer and autumn. In fact, none worthy of note had fallen for two
months, except what came during the late equinoctial storm. The grass
was parched with heat, the roads were ground to a fine dust, which a
breath of wind drove, like clouds of smoke, into the burning air; the
forest leaves, which had been so recently stained with a marvellous
beauty of brown, crimson and gold, became dim and shrivelled; a slight
touch snapped, with a sharp, crackling sound, the dried branches of
the trees; even the golden rod and the purple aster, those hardy
children of autumn, began to hang their heads with thirst. All day
long, the grasshopper and locust sent through the hot, panting air,
their shrill notes, stinging the ear with discord. The heaven above
looked like a dome of brass, and a thin, filmy smoke gathered around
the horizon.
Even the rude settlers, with nerves toughened by hardship,
unsusceptible of atmospheric changes, were oppressed by the long,
desolating drought.
It was only when the shadows of afternoon began to lengthen and the
sun's rays to strike obliquely through the stately trees of the Grove,
that they were able to gather there and listen to the voice of the
missionary. He had so far succeeded in his work, as to be able to draw
the people together, from a considerable distance around, and their
number increased daily.
On the opposite bank of the river, half way up a slight eminence,
stood a small stone chapel. Tasteful and elegant in its proportions,
it presented a picturesque and attractive appearance. There, once on
each Sunday, the service of the Church of England was read, together
with a brief discourse by a clergyman of that order.
Behind the chapel, and near the top of the hill, was a large stone
cottage surrounded by pretty grounds and with ample stable
conveniences. It was the Rectory.
The Chapel and Rectory had been built and the clergyman was sustained,
at a somewhat large cost, by the Establishment, for the purpose of
enlightening and Christianizing the population of the parish of ----.
Unfortunately, the incumbent was not the self-sacrificing person
needed to elevate such a community. Though ministering at the altar of
God, he had no true religious feeling, no disinterested love for men.
He was simply a man of the world, a _bon vivant_, a horse jockey and
sportsman, who consoled himself in the summer and autumn for his exile
in that barbarous region, by filling his house with provincial
friends, who helped him while away the time in fishing, hunting, and
racing. The winter months, he usually spent at Fredericton, and
during that interval no service was held in the chapel. Of late, the
few, who were in the habit of attending the formal worship there, had
forsaken it for the more animating services held in the Grove.
Not only the habitual church-goers, but the people of the parish at
large, began to feel the magnetizing influence, and were drawn towards
the same spot. For a week or more past, late in the afternoons on
which the meetings were held, little skiffs might have been seen
putting off from the opposite shore, freighted with men, women, and
children, crossing over to hear the wonderful preachings of the
missionary.
What attracted them thither? Not surely the love of the truth.
Most of them disliked it in their hearts, and had not even began to
think of practising it in their lives. They were interested in the
man. They were, in some sort, compelled by the magical power he held
over them, to listen to entreaties and counsels, similar to those to
which they had often hitherto turned a deaf ear.
Mr. Norton spent much of the time with them, going from house to
house, partaking of their rude fare, sympathizing in their joys and
sorrows, occasionally lending them a helping hand in their toils, and
aiding them sometimes by his ingenuity and skill as an artisan. They
found in him a hearty, genial, and unselfish friend. Hence when he
appeared among them at the Grove, their personal interest in him
secured a certain degree of order and decorum, and caused them to
listen to him respectfully.
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