Thither the young vicar, a truly worthy
successor to his pious father, had been conducted; and there, being
introduced by the countess (who had seen him only once before) to her
lord, they found him not merely a clergyman to be respected, but an
accomplished general scholar and a polished man.[Footnote: Over the
gate-like arch of the library door had been erected, by a recent
order from the gentlest hand now within its walls, a simple but
exquisitely-carved escutcheon, showing the armorial bearing of the
ancient and royal house of Sobieski--a crowned buckler, with the
family motto, "God is the shield that covers me."]
Thus was Thaddeus, the long-cherished orphan of a broken paternal
vow, by a wondrous providence established in his new British
character--a husband, and an owner of large estates in the soil. And
he soon became fully sensible to the double commission devolved upon
himself. Whether as a son of Poland, in right of the life he had
drawn from his mother's bosom, or as one equally claimed by England,
in right of his paternal parent, he was well prepared to faithfully
fulfil their relative duties, with a zeal to each respondent to the
important privileges and blessings of so signal a lot. In two short
preceding years he had indeed passed through a host of severe trials;
but in all he had been supported by an Almighty hand, and under the
same gracious trust he now looked forward to a long Sabbath of
hallowed peace, and of grateful service to Him who bestowed it.
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