Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1836-08-19
THE FUrURE.-BYEL.RUrwrv

restless curiosity 10 know what will wait
them beyond the grave, which, with me.
Is powerful enough 10 conquer regret.
Even the most resigned TO God aud the
most assured Of revelation, know not, nor
can dream Of the nature Of The Ille, Of the
happiness, prepared Tor them. They
know not hOD the senses are to be refined
and Apblinated into the faculties Of spr
IT; ~ know not honD they shall live, and
m3feiSnd have their being; they know
not WI PIN they shall see, or what they
Shall hear; they know not the colour, the
capacity, Of the slories with which they
are 10 be brought face to face. Among
the many mansions, which is to be theirs?
All This, The matter ofgrand and of no ir
Teverent conjectdre-alI this, it seems 10
me, so natural to revolve-alI this | re.
voIve so often that the conjecture incor.
porateS itself into d passion, and am i'm.
patient to pass the open gate, and be lord
Of the eternal secret. Thus, as | ap.
proach nearer to death. Nature and the
face of things assume more solemn and
august aspect. look upon tho leaves,
aad the grass, and the Water with sen.
,timent that is scarcely mournful; and
wet know what else it may be called,
'forit is deep, grave, and passionate, though
scarcely sad, desire, as look on those
the ornaments and children Of earth, to
know whether indeed, such things shall
see no more-whether they have no like
ness, no archetype in the world 10 which
my future home is to be cast; or whether
they hare their images above, only
wrought in more wondrous and delight
ful mould. Whether, in the strange land
that knoweth neither season or labour,
there will not be, among all its glOries,
something familiar. Whether the heart
will not recognise somewhat that it has
known, somewhat of'the blessed house
hold tones,' somewhat of that which the
clay leved and the spirit is reluctant TO
disavow. Besides, to one who, like us.
has made THIRST end first love oiknowl
edge, what 1rtenseness, as we'll as dlvinl.
ty, is there in that peculiar curiosity
which relates to the extent Of the knowI.
edge we are to acquire. What after all,
is Heaven but transition from dim guess
es and bI nd struggling with myster.
ous and adverse late To the faness of all
wisdom from ignorance, in a word, to
knowledge-but knowledge of what or.
der2 Thus, even books have something
weird and mystic in their speculatlons,
which, some years ago, my spirit was too
Cncuolhered with its frame TO recognises:
for what Of those specuIatlons shall be
true-what false? How far has our wis.
dom gone towards the arcanum Of true
morality; how near has some daring and
cratic reason approached to the secret
of circulating happiness round The worlds !
Shall he whom we now cOntemn as Wis
ienary be discovered to have been the IN.
spired prophet of our blinded and deafeu'
ed racer and shall he whom WE now hon
or as the lofty saint, or the profound teach
er, be eVelIed to the ptopagator and sane
tifier Of narrow prejudIcesi the reasoner
in a li.te angle o(the great and scare
discovered universe OF lrulhy the moral
Chinese, surprising that his empire fills
the map of The world, and placing under
an interdict the Improvements Of nobIer
enlightmenl9'
A. Butto those-and how many are
there?- ?--who doubt as the future world 1t
SELF this soldCe Of conjecture must be but
very languid and chilled exertion Of the
mind.
L. giant il. am not referring to
The herd, whether ofone faith or another,
or of none, | have often pleased myself by
fbtalIing dn anecdote Of FuseIi-a won
derGuI man, whose capacities in this world
were only tthe part developed; in eve
fy thing ofhis, in his writings as we'll as
; his paintings, you see the mighty intel
Iect struggling forth with labor and pain,
and with only partial success; and feel
ing this himselr-feeling this contest be.
lwesh the glorious design and the crippled
power-I can readily penetrate into his
meaning IN the reply | am about to re-
peat. Some one said 70 him, "Do you
really believe, MIR. Fpseli, in the future
existence of he soul ?''-"I don't know,
.naid FdssIl. "aholher soa have soul OF
= no, but know that have" And really
were it mol for the gloridds aud aIl'cir
cling compassion expressed by our faith
/. would be blIle iflicult 10 imae nj
that the soul, that tile deed to immortal
ty, were equal in aII-cqual in the dull
unawakcned clod of flesh which perform:
The Offices that preserve ITSELF and II,
more, and in the bright and winged I'D
lures with which We sometimes e2all Gu
own, and which seem to have nothing hH
man about them but the GARMENTS 10 us
the Atbenian's* familiar meidpRor) who
they wear away. You will Smile at IN,
: pedantry, but one of The gredlest pleasure
Ianticipate in arriving d; home-os III