Tobias and the Angel
by
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He looked back and was able to see a young man, in his late twenties or early thirties. His hair was wheat colored, like his dog’s, and wavy, trimmed neatly and curled under at his shoulders. He was, although bright, intelligent, and clean looking, not a like a dandy. Such a fellow would not be here. And he had about him a strong, solid, look of a man who knows what's to be done, and he was the one to do it. His face was smooth, clean-shaven, with a handsome brow, a manly jaw, a sly smile on his lips, and a delightful twinkle in his eye. The man was dressed in a well-tailored and remarkably clean white tunic. It was cut, Judean style, just below the knees, trimmed with silver bric-a-brac, and with a maroon colored mantle over it. He said to Tobias: "There, now, see how the good Lord provides? The pooch was just looking for a nice bone to gnaw on, and there is your ankle." "Perhaps, Sir, you don't feed your dog properly. In any case, I would certainly appreciate his not making my ankle his lunch." "He won't eat much. And by the looks of you, it's just as well." Looking down at his legs Tobias said, "I admit they aren’t that thick, mostly bone, but they’re all I’ve got to connect my foot bones to my leg bones." "Catchy little phrase, there. You write poetry?" The man clapped his hands twice and said, "Stop that Nimrod!" "Not really. But I am studying to be a scribe." "Is that why you're here at the Caravansary?" "No. Right now, I'm here looking for a guide to take me to Rages. Do you know of any?" "As a matter of fact I do -- intimately," and he pointed to himself using both his thumbs. "You're a guide? You don't look like a guide." "Ahh. What does a guide look like? As a matter of fact, yes, I am -- yes. I guess I don’t look the part. It's these togs. The tailor, from whom I bought them in Damascus, assured me this is what all the well-dressed guides are wearing this season. Actually, I rather thought I looked like an Assyrian Prince. I fooled you. Of course, in the scale of worth, guides are of infinite greater value than princes, anyway. Judging by the princes I've seen they can't be worth much. That Damascus tailor! You can't trust a foreigner." "Well, if you bought the togs in Damascus, was it not you that were the foreigner?" "You are wise for one so young. True enough, I was the foreigner. Still am, for that matter. I am an Israelite in this land of the Assyrian. One of your fellow countrymen, I believe; and I have come here to find work as a guide." Together they sat on a boulder on the edge of the road that dropped off sharply and overlooked the valley below. He went on, "Your father has a relative here in Ecbatana, and Raguel is his name. "I've heard him mention this man." "Good. Then you know he has a daughter, the only child of he and his wife, Edna?" Tobias nodded vaguely, but said nothing.Azarias went on, "The girl’s name is Sarah. She is sensible, brave, and very beautiful. Raguel, her father, is an honorable man and quite well off. Her mother, Edna, is the very picture of probity." Tobias looked at Azarias who was staring out over the valley below, and said, "So far so good." Azarias paused in what he was saying, reflecting a moment. Then Tobias remembered something: "Wait a moment: Raguel has a daughter? Yes, of course, that Sarah! I've heard stories about this girl. As a matter of fact every Yisraeli family in and out of exile knows about her." "Just gossip." "Just gossip? Holy smokes, Azarias, isn't she the one who has been married four or five times--" "Betrothed seven times." "Alright, betrothed even times! I have heard it said that every bridegroom that brought her to bed --(here he stopped and he ran his forefinger across his throat). But seven times!
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About the Book
What we have here is the Book of Tobit, one the "apocryphal" stories in the Bible. It is about how Raphael, one of the seven archangels who stand before the throne of God, healed a man who had lost his eyesight in a most peculiar accident and restored the consequential loss of his fortune. This same archangel then rescued a young woman from the spell of an evil demon and helped a young man to gain courage and self-confidence then brings about the happy marriage of those two young people. Very simply put, it is a good old-fashioned Romance, a delightful story of love and adventure. Up until the eighteenth century the story had been very popular, serving as the subject of paintings and even an opera. In the past century it has shown up as the base for a couple of novels (besides this one). Reading from it, albeit quite abbreviated, often show up in the cycle of Scripture readings in the liturgy of the Catholic Church and not infrequently as one of the readings to be selected for Catholic wedding ceremonies. Robert Wanless has taken a few liberties with the story, but only a few, and then only insofar as to embellish an already lovely story. He has also treated the story with the reverence which all sacred scripture deserves. Many of the events and conversations, even, a couple which seem a bit much, fabricated for "modern readers" are actually from the original scripture. The book is dedicated to the memory of Msgr. Charles F. Gable, and to the good souls at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About the Author
Robert Wanless lives with his wife and daughter (the last of his eleven children) in Pennsylvania. There he tends his garden, bakes bread (at which he is something of an expert – three books on the subject are available) and where he reads and writes books. This is his third novel.