In the name of the Church he would serve these humble people.
––Book 2, Page 77.
CARMEN ARIZA
BY
CHARLES FRANCIS STOCKING, E. M.
Author of THE DIARY OF JEAN EVARTS,
THE MAYOR OF FILBERT, Etc.
CHICAGO
THE MAESTRO CO.
1921
Copyright 1915
BY
CHARLES FRANCIS STOCKING
ISSUED JANUARY 1916
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TWENTY-FIFTH EDITION
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
CARMEN ARIZA
BOOK 1
Doth this offend you?––the words that I speak unto you,they are spirit, and they are life.
––Jesus.
CARMEN ARIZA
The tropical sun mounted the rim of the golden Caribbean,quivered for a moment like a fledgeling preening its wingsfor flight, then launched forth boldly into the vault ofheaven, shattering the lowering vapors of night into a myriadfleecy clouds of every form and color, and driving them beforeit into the abysmal blue above. Leaping the sullen walls of oldCartagena, the morning beams began to glow in roseate hueson the red-tiled roofs of this ancient metropolis of NewGranada, and glance in shafts of fire from her glittering domesand towers. Swiftly they climbed the moss-grown sides ofchurch and convent, and glided over the dull white walls ofprison and monastery alike. Pouring through half-turned shutters,they plashed upon floors in floods of gold. Tappingnoiselessly on closed portals, they seemed to bid tardy sleepersarise, lest the hurrying midday siesta overtake them with tasksunfinished. The dormitory of the ecclesiastical college, justwithin the east wall of the city, glowed brilliantly in the clearlight which it was reflecting to the mirror of waters without.Its huge bulk had caught the first rays of the rising sun, mostof which had rebounded from its drab, incrusted walls andsped out again over the dancing sea. A few, however, escapedreflection by stealing through the slanting shutters of a windowclose under the roof of the building. Within, they fell upon aman kneeling on the tiled floor beside a rude cot bed.
In appearance the man was not more than twenty-five yearsof age. His black, close-curling hair, oval face, and skin ofdeep olive tint indicated a Latin origin. His clerical garbproclaimed him a son of the Church. The room was a small,whitewashed cell of stone, musty with the dampness which hadswept in from the sea during the night. It was furnished withSpartan simplicity. Neither image, crucifix, nor paintingadorned its walls––the occupant’s dress alone suggested hiscalling. A hanging shelf held a few books, all evidently used4as texts in the adjoining college. A table, much littered; awooden dressing stan