No One Hears but Him by Taylor Caldwell

Author:Taylor Caldwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504042970
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2016-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

SOUL EIGHT

The Husbandman

“—when that it remembreth me

Upon my youth and on my jolitee

It tikleth me about min herte roote—

That I have had my world as in my time!”

“Wife of Bath.”

SOUL EIGHT

“Well, hello, Parson,” said the old man with gravity as he faced the calm blue curtain of the alcove. “You are a parson, ain’t you? That’s what everybody says, anyhow. You listen to folks’ troubles and then you tell them what to do. That’s real kind of you. Didn’t know there was that kind left in the world, no sir. Everybody loving each other and nobody loving anybody: that’s what goes on now. Like the patriotism you read about in the newspapers and nobody’s patriotic, seems like. Why, there was a time, I remember, if folks had trouble, even in the city, everybody’d come with baked goods and fruit and maybe a roast chicken, and there’d be real sympathy. Now it’s all fake, newspapers full of brotherly love and the rights of everybody, and people talkin’ and the pastors telling you, in their pulpits, to do good to everybody, ’specially people you don’t know in foreign parts, and nobody gives a damn about their next-door neighbor. Easy to be sympathetic about people a thousand miles away or more; costs you nothin’ to roll your eyes and make your voice all deep and soft. But gettin’ off your butt and doin’ something about the people next door, with your own money and your own work: Oh, no. That doesn’t mean anythin’ now. It isn’t havin’ a sense—what do they call it with their mealy-mouths?—of world-wide responsibility. Hell.”

He settled back comfortably in his chair and felt for his pipe. He’d prepared it outside, and he had that lighter Al, his son, had given him, and so it didn’t make no difference smoking in here, and that air-conditioning took the smoke away anyway. He hadn’t felt this comfortable since Beth had died: relaxed and at peace, talking to somebody who understood.

“There’s that young fellow I just saw outside, in his fancy city clothes, big city. He tells me he don’t have any troubles. Well, if that young feller don’t have troubles I’ll eat my hat. Just smells all over with ’em. Like all the city folks, and some of the country ones do, these days. All the ‘love’ and the rushin’ and bein’ alert and mindin’ your neighbors’ business—’specially if the neighbor is clear around the other side of the world—is sure not makin’ people happy. Downright miserable. Never saw such miserable people in my life, like you see nowadays, and people so full of hate they’re mean as sin. Somethin’s wrong.”

He smoked a little, reflectively. “When Jesus talked about lovin’ your neighbor, I reckon He didn’t mean runnin’ off from your own country as fast as you could and lookin’ for a ‘neighbor’ in Greece or Rome or whatever to do good to. He meant the feller livin’ right next door to you, with his troubles. Why, there’s Missuz Campbell, next farm

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