Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-05-25

astonishing rapidity through the regions of tn,
air. The earth was contracted to an atom be
meath; and the stars glowed around me with {
uster that obscured the sun. The Gate o
Paradise was now in sight, and l was intercept
ed by sudden brightness which no human ey,
could behold the irrevocable sentence was nov
pronounced: my day of probation was passed
and from the evil of my life nothing could b,
taken away, nor could any thing be added tt
the good. When I reflected that. my lot 70,
eternity was cast, which not all the powers Of
nature could reverse, my confidence totally for
sock me; and while stood trembling and ST.
lent, covered with confusing and chilled witt
horror, was thus addressed by the radiance
that famed before me =" Carazan thy worship
has not been accepted, because it was not prompt
ed by loce Of God; neither can thy righteous
ness be rewarded, because it was not produced
by lore c,fman; for thy own sake only hast thou
rendered to every man his dus; ! and thou has,
approached the Almighty only for thyself Thou
hast not looked up with gratitude, nor rount
thee with kindness Around thee thou hast
indeed, beheld vice and folly; but if vice and
folly could justify thy parsimony, would they
not condemn the bounty of heaven' Remem-
her, Carazan, that thou hast shut compassion
from thy heart, and graspcd thy treasure with a
hand of iron thou hast lived for thyself and
therefore, henceforth and forever thou shalt
subsist alone From the light of heaven, and
from the society of all beings, thou shalt be
driven; solitude shall protract the lingering
hour of eternity, and darkness aggravate tho
hour of despair" AT this moment was driven
by some secret and irresistible power through
the glowing system of creation, and passed in.
Vulnerable worlds in an instant. As | approach
ed the verge of Nature, perceived the shadows
of total and boundless vacuity deepen before
me-a dreadful region of eternal silence, soil,
tude and darkness. Unutterable horror seized
me at prospect, and this exclamation burst
from Inc with the vehemence of desire--O thai
| had been doomed for ever to the common re-
ceptacle of impcnitcnce and guilt There So
ciety would have allevated the torment Of des
pair, and the rage of fire would not have ex
cluded the comfort of light. Or, if had beer
condemned to reside on a comet, that would re
turn but once in thousand years to the regions
of light and life, the hope of these periods how
ever distant, would cheer me in the dreary i'll
terval of cold and darkness, and the vicissitudt
would divide eternity into time
"While this thought passed over my mind
lost sight of the remotest star, and the las
glimmering of light was quenched in utter
darkness. The agonies of despair every mo
ment increased, as every moment augmented
my distance from the habitual world. 7 reflected
with intolerable anguish, that when ten thous
and years had carried me beyond the reach 0
all but that Power who fills infinitude shoul
look forward into On immense abyss of dark
ness, through which I should still drive withou
succor and without society, further and furthe
still, for ever and ever. then stretched on
my hands towards the regions of existence, will
an emotion that awakened me. Thus have
been taught to estimate society, like every othe
blessing, by its loss. My heart is warmed tt
liberality and am Jealous to communicate
the happiness | feel to those from whom it i
derived; for the society of one wretch, whom
in the pride of prosperity | would have spurne'
from my door, would, in the dreadful solitud
to which | was condemned, have been NOR
highly priced than the gold of Africa or tn
gems of Golconda."
AT this reflection upon his dream, Caraza
became suddenly silent, and looked upward il
an ecstasy of gratitude and devotion. Th
multitude were struck at once with the pre-
cept and example; and the Calph, to whom tn
event was related, that he might be liberal be
yond the power of gold, commanded it to b
recorded for the benefit of posterity.