Mary` Dream

There are dreams and there are dreams. And there are dreamers and
there are dreamers too. Now consider one of these dreamers who dreams
of owning a Bible. But the family being very poor could barely provide
food for the members, not to talk of buying a Bible. Now this dreamer
is not the Biblical Joseph, the dreamer. But her name is Mary Jones, a
sixteen - year old girl born 1784 in a village in Wales that goes by
the curious name of Llanfihangel.

So 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 40 kilometers.
Again, she was to walk barefooted in the middle of winter and without a
winter coat or boot 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. 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 kiss from her
parents, she starts the long, uncertain journey to Bala.

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 gatehouse. 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."

* * *

In the morning, she thanks the old man, and continues her journey.
Today, she walks 15 kilometers, stopping twice to rest and eat. 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 the
night.

The curious weavers received her after hearing her story. She worked
for a while and was allowed to 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 gatehouse. 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
took her remaining bread and meat, and ran away.

* * *

The local apothecary generally called Dr. Hades found it unusual to be
woken by this barefooted girl 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. But Dr. Hades was
not satisfied with her answer. Perhaps, the girl is a run-away.
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 spreads her 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 Johnny,
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, Johnny?" 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 Johnny 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 Johnny showing Lord Godsend the
empty bottle of arsenic when they finally got there. "Poisoned herself
to death. By mi 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 reads the address label:
ARSENIC. DR. HADES. 13 BALA ROAD, UPTOWN. He got into the carriage at
once and got the cops to arrest Dr. Hades. But 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 Johnny 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
suicide note. Only her empty basket. This must be a bad dream she
thought. She now gets up and is confronted by a 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 Johnny would take arsenic and die as he
swore, for that is what honorable men do. But Johnny 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 Johnny the
joker.

* * *

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.

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.

Those who did not get copies of the Bible were many-some families
joined to buy one. In fact, two churchmen 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.

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 saying: "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, and the church
people were speechless.

* * *

It was big news when Mary reached Llanfiangel on a horse -drawn
carriage with a golden Bible and wearing a winter coat, and a pair of
sandals. 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!