The Truce of God
()
Related to The Truce of God
Related ebooks
The Truce of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTHE TRUCE OF GOD - A Christmas Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe White Rose of Langley A Story of the Olden Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Looking-Glass for the Mind or Intellectual Mirror Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat's Mine's Mine — Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Orphans of Glen Elder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke: A man in a small village describes Gods relationship with the world Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Day of Atonement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSt. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, January 1878, No. 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ravens and the Angels With Other Stories and Parables Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Silver Crown: Another Book of Fables Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON and Other Moon Stories for Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWithout Benefit of Clergy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlec Forbes of Howglen Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Shadow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Tales from the North Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Works of Selma Lagerlöf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Peep Behind the Scenes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ghost Kings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelma Lagerlöf: Collected Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Right of Way — Volume 06 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mother Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSt. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Weavers: a tale of England and Egypt of fifty years ago - Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ghost Kings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRod of the Lone Patrol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRod of the Lone Patrol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHer Infinite Variety: Stories of Shakespeare and the Women He Loved Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Orphans of Glen Elder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for The Truce of God
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Truce of God - Harold Sichel
The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Truce of God, by Mary Roberts Rinehart, Illustrated by Harold Sichel
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Truce of God
Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart
Release Date: January 3, 2005 [eBook #14573]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUCE OF GOD***
E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Melissa Er-Raqabi,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
The Truce of God
By Mary Roberts Rinehart
Decorations by Harold Sichel
New York
George H. Doran Company
1920
I
II
III
I
Now the day of the birth of our Lord dawned that year grey and dreary, and a Saturday. But, despite the weather, in the town at the foot of the hill there was rejoicing, as befitted so great a festival. The day before a fat steer had been driven to the public square and there dressed and trussed for the roasting. The light of morning falling on his carcass revealed around it great heaps of fruits and vegetables. For the year had been prosperous.
But the young overlord sulked in his castle at the cliff top, and bit his nails. From Thursday evening of each week to the morning of Monday, Mother Church had decreed peace, a Truce of God. Three full days out of each week his men-at-arms polished their weapons and grew fat. Three full days out of each week his grudge against his cousin, Philip of the Black Beard, must feed on itself.
His dark mood irritated the Bishop of Tours, who had come to speak of certain scandalous things which had come to his ears. Charles heard him through.
She took refuge with him,
he said violently, when the Bishop had finished. She knew what hate there was between us, yet she took refuge with him.
The question is,
said the Bishop mildly, why she should have been driven to refuge. A gentle lady, a faithful wife—
Deus!
The young seigneur clapped a fist on the table. You know well the reason. A barren woman!
She had borne you a daughter.
But Charles was far gone in rage and out of hand. The Bishop took his offended ears to bed, and left him to sit alone by the dying fire, with bitterness for company.
Came into the courtyard at midnight the Christmas singers from the town; the blacksmith rolling a great bass, the crockery-seller who sang falsetto, and a fool of the village who had slept overnight in a manger on the holy eve a year before and had brought from it, not wit, but a voice from Heaven. A miracle of miracles.
The men-at-arms in the courtyard stood back to give them space. They sang with eyes upturned, with full-throated vigour, albeit a bit warily, with an anxious glance now and then toward those windows beyond which the young lord sulked by the fire.
"The Light of Light Divine,
True Brightness undefiled.
He bears for us