It
was Sunday noon when Mary entered the church premises. The church
service had just ended and the worshippers were stepping out of the
church. Then she asked the first people that she met where the Bible
copies were sold. One called the other and soon everyone gathered and
looked at her as if she was a space alien.
It was not that she
was bare footed and poorly dressed. The fact was that all the Bibles had
sold out yesterday. And the money that she was having could not even
buy one, even if it was available. Double trouble for Mary.
Because
of the chaos that Saturday, the Reverend Father himself sold the
Bibles. He first took his special personal copy that was sent to him by
the pope that copy was printed in different colors in both Welsh and
English. It also has cross references and a Bible index. The title cover
itself is printed in gold letters and the whole Bible is zipped in a
golden case. It was such a beautiful Bible that people were busy looking
at it when the common bibles sold out.
Those who did not get
copies of the Bible were many—some families joined to buy one. In fact,
two churchman fought over ownership of the last copy, tearing it into
two parts. In the end, both shared the cost and by a toss of the coin,
one took the Old Testament while the other took the New Testament. That
was why they looked at Mary in wonderment, and when they explained to
her, she collapsed and wept.
This daughter of poor weavers started saving whatever money
that she got in order to buy a Bible. It was Mary's parents that aroused
her interest in the Bible. They told her Bible stories and instilled
the fear of God in her heart. Since the family never had a Bible, Mary
often read a neighbor's Welsh Bible.
Then when she was sixteen
years old in the year 1800, news came that a few Welsh Bibles were
available for sale at the local church at Bala. She checked her box of
coins. It was full. She told her parents that her dream was coming true.
For she was going to Bala to buy her own copy of the Bible.
The
journey to Bala itself was not an easy one. From Llanfiangel in the
Atlantic coastline up to Bala in the hinterland is over 40 kilometers.
Again, she was to walk barefooted in the middle of winter and without a
winter coat or booth to get there. Furthermore, it was a steepy
mountainous terrain, often rising, falling, and meandering here and
there. And worse: it was a highway for robbers.
Few parents would
allow a sixteen - year old daughter to take a risk. But few families
have sixteen year olds who have a love for the Bible. So on the day of
Mary's departure Mr. and Mrs. Jones bought bread and dried meat that
would last her journey, tied them up in a large white handkerchief and
put it in a basket.
Mary ties her coins in a neck handkerchief,
puts it in the pocket of her long dress, adorns a hat and carries her
basket of provisions. And with a hug, a kiss and a goodbye from her
parents, she starts the long, uncertain journey to Bala.
She had
thought of making the journey in three days. She walked 18 kilometers
the first day. It was very cold and she shook all along the journey. She
only stopped to eat and rest under a tree. She was almost dropping dead
when she sighted a watchman warming himself beside a fire in a village
gate house. Not wanting to spend the money by lodging in an inn, she
begged the watchman that he allow her to pass the night in the gate
house.
"No problem" said the old man spreading his palms by the fire. "But who ye and where art thou goest this winter cold?" he asked.
"I am Mary. Going to Bala."
"That's
22 kilometers away, and no winter boots and coat" said the old man
absent mindedly. "Here's some hot soup. It'll do ye some good"
With
that, he pours the hot soup in two bowls. And they drink and talk of
the weather. Before .long, the old watchman falls asleep followed by the
tired Mary.
In the morning, she thanks the old man, washed her
face and continues her journey. Today, she walks 15 kilometers, stopping
twice to rest and eat. What makes the journey hard, is that she would
have to climb and descend mountains. Her legs swoll and ached. And at
night, she met a group of weavers who were working through the night by a
fireside. She indicated her willingness to help in the loom for an
opportunity to stay for the night.
The curious weavers received
her after hearing her story. She worked for a while and was allowed to
even sleep in the early morning hours. They even gave her a coin before
she left in the morning. When she was exhausted in the evening, she
dragged herself into an unlit gate house at the outskirt of a village.
The watchman was not there. Perhaps, he will be coming later, she
thought. And she lay on a mat and slept away.
It was 2 am. Two
thieves, Red Devil and Black Night were looking for someone to rob. The
road was empty. It was plain that they would have to go hungry and empty
handed. And the night was cold. They looked into the dark gate house.
The night watchman didn't come. So they decided to go in and rest for a
while before the break of dawn. But to their surprise they found a girl
fast asleep there. Red devil held her throat, while black night searched
and took her money. After that, they take her remaining bread and meat,
leaving the cloth and the basket; and ran away.
The
local apothecary generally called Dr. Hades found it unusual to be
woken by this barefooted girl with a basket this early morning. After
listening to her, he asked:
"Do you know them that stole your money?"
"No" was Mary's answer.
"And is that why you want to drink arsenic to kill yourself?
"Yes" she replies.
"But where did you get the coin you want to use to pay for the poison?"
She
explained that it was a gift from some weavers whom she had helped to
weave the night before. But Dr. Hades was not satisfied with her answer.
Perhaps, the girl is a run-away—one of these bad girls in the
neighborhood. Perhaps, she needs food and a good sleep. He goes to an
inner room, returns with a mixture which he gives to her, and asks her
to use the coin to buy some food.
Mary thanks him and walks to
the gatehouse. She spread the white handkerchief on the ground, finds a
piece of rock and starts to write a suicide note on it, the bottle of
arsenic by her side. But halfway, she falls asleep.
Lord
Godsend, a generous rich man, happened to be passing through that road
at that time. He was driven in his horse- drawn chariot by Jonny, who is
in the habit of swearing by the minute.
"By Jove, the girl is dead" he says to Lord Godsend, pointing to the sleeping Mary as they ride pass.
"How do you know, Jonny?" asked the rich man.
"
Upon mi life, killed by robbers, mi Lord.'' So they argued back and
forth. But after they had gone a good distance, Lord Godsend asked to be
driven back to confirm who is right. But Jonny didn't want to hear and
prompted the horse to ride on. "By heavens she must be smelling mi
Lord".
Mary had woken up now. She finishes her writing, reads it
and signs her name. She quickly eats her last food, drinks the mixture,
and lies down waiting to die
"Exactly
what I said, mi Lord" said Jonny showing Lord Godsend the empty bottle
of arsenic when they finally got there. "Poisoned herself to death. By
my horse shoe, a bad girl."
Lord Godsend picks the suicide note
and reads, " I drank poison and died. Because thieves stole the money
that I wanted to use to buy a Bible. Weep not for me, dear mum and dad.
We will meet again—Mary Jones."
Lord Godsend was angry. Who must
have sold the poison that killed this girl? He looked at the poison
bottle and read the address label: ARSENIC. DR. HADES. 13 BALA ROAD,
UPTOWN. He got into the carriage at once and rode away to get the cops
to arrest Dr. Hades. When they got there, however, the apothecary was
swearing and saying that he never sold her arsenic but a sleeping
mixture, which he put in an arsenic container and even gave her back the
money to buy food since he thought that she needed food and a good
sleep.
But the cops and all the villagers who gathered there that morning will not believe Dr. Hades.
"Do you think Jonny that the girl is sleeping or dead?" asked Lord Godsend.
"Upon
the wheels of this carriage she is as dead as a rock. If otherwise, I
will drink arsenic and join my ancestors," he replies. And to prove the
point the police decide to first visit the scene, before taking the
apothecary to jail.
Mary
wakes up. What is this?she asks. Had she not taken poison to die? She
looks around but she could find neither the arsenic bottle, nor the
sucide note. Only her empty basket. This must be a bad dream she
thought. She now gets up and is confronted by crowd led by the police
and a rich man in a horse- drawn carriage. She thought of running. But
where can a girl; who is weak, hungry and cold run to? The people also
stood momentarily thinking that it was an apparition.
But it was
Dr. Hades that seized the initiative and exclaimed: "See! She was only
sleeping, not dead. Then things were explained . Lord Godsend took her
to an inn where he gave her food to eat and filled her basket with
provisions. He also gave her some money to buy the Bible. Mary, full of
thanks to the kind man continued to walk the remaining 7 kilometers to
Bala. And the people wondered at the courage of this little girl who is
walking 40 kilometers to buy a Bible.
After that, they joked
whether Jonny would take arsenic and die as he swore, for that is what
honorable men do. But Jonny was not a man of honor. "In the name of all
the saints" he swore again, "I knew not when I said so." And they just
laughed and called him Jonny the joker.
Now, Rev. Goodman looked through the
church window and wondered what was amiss. So he took his winter coat
and walked out, his golden Bible in hand. After listening to Mary's
story, the Reverend first dried her tears and kissed her. Then he
slipped his sandals under her feet, took off his winter coat and put it
on Mary. Third he gave her his golden Bible in Welsh and English and
which was printed in many colors with these words: "Read it carefully,
study it diligently, treasure up the sacred words in your memory, and
act up to its teaching." And he finally blesses her and tells her to use
the money which Lord Godsend gave her to pay for a ride home. Mary's
eyes shone, the church people were speechless.
It
was big news when Mary reached Llanfiangel on a horse -drawn carriage
wearing a winter coat, pair of sandals, and wait a moment: a golden
Bible! Everyone flocked to see the bible and her poor parents were
overjoyed.
Years later, this story was told at the Committee of
the Religious Tract Society of London. The result was that a decision
was made to supply Bible translations to the people of Wales and the
whole world. So if you own a Bible today, remember the sacrifice of a
sixteen- year old girl from a remote village in Wales whose dream came
true.
May your dream come true!
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