Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1845-12-10
From Jerrold's Shilling Magazine.
A PARABLE,

The unioward circumstances of the poor mans
/ life were very wrelched. When he rose early
from his bed, it was to spend hours Of weary, I'M
elevatIng, l-requred toll. His meals were unsav.
curry, and barely sufficient 10 support the exertion
he was farced 10 undergo. He returned at nieh,
to bleak. miserable hut, where scanty Gre rath.
er tantalized him with lis glimmering than warm
| ed him with its heat. The wind with cherries
sound, shook his broken windows. Yet did the
poor man not seek the ale-house parlor, with its
cracking hearth and Its loose companions, but re-
NAMED in his dreary home, as though il had been
paradise, and the thought of returning to il cheer
ed him through the hours of labor. What was
she charm of this lonely--yes it was lonely-and
miserable dweIlingi s.4-7.s s5i
friend OF the poor men had given him tails
man, made by great magician. and this tsllsmsn,
gives the answer to our question. Truly a won
derous talisman, that could be set to our question
Truly wonderous SALESMAN, that could be set in
foice every evening. By its virtue. the dilapida-
ted room assumed all sorts Of beautiful forms.--
Sometimes il would change to princely hslI.and
the holes 10 the walls would enlarge, and arch
themselves in Gothic windows, through which
the light cast gorgeous colors upon the mosaic
floor. Then this would vanish, and the poor man
woald find himself IN fiue country, thro' which
streams flowed sparkling in the sun, while bis view
was bounded by tall hills, verdant with grass, and
distinctly marked with wild flowers or melting
away, pale with distance, into the clear blue Of
the sky. Nor was The virtue of the ialisman con-
fined 10 exhibitions that might be found in actual
life. Now the owner Of it would seem to sink be-
low the surface Of the sea, where sea-nymphs
would seem to exhibit their wonderous Treasures;
now he would penetrate into the bowels Of the
mountain, and perceive the gnomes at their fan
tastic labors now the hand Of Time would for
him be turned back, and he would converse with
the sages and warriors OF antiquity and song
would swell upon his ears. such as might have
that the poor man loved the dwelling in which
such wonder and delight were revealed ~,
1'hiukest thou, reader, that what we have writ.
ten is phanlasy, a short fairy tale not at all -
we have been ia rra,ng fact of frequent occur
renee. The talisman was bonk-what is com
monty called "book Of felton," nothing more;
and the imagination of the poor man. when he
read il. was stimulated. that number of gor-
genus creations concealed The miseries of actu.
al life.
Ye who inveigh against "6ciion." think ye that
The world heaHlI.ul to its inhabitants that the
imagination must be chained and tied down, lest
il adofn and beauify it more Think you that
the thing You call "aci, holy that it ought 10
engross all the faculties of man, and that he may
not dream Of ought beyond? Truly, II is but ,oa
few that The real beauty ofihe world is revealed;
and even they speak of these revelations either in
what they call 'icliou." or they are philosophers,
such as you style dreamers.
large class these dreamers. To feel that
one has power within that eau free Itself from
the power wiIheut--io stretch the piniOns Of the
soul, and TO shake off the earthly dust thai cIeaves
10 ihem--to assert ones right TO be dsoIzen Of
a fairy coualry, hst The tyran, cannot encircIe
with walls nor the bgh defte with hatred -.
thai il is 10 be q dreamer. Ff
We may mourn low and then, that some of us
are awake.