Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1856-10-04


adultery, and swear falsely, aud come aud
stand before me, saith the Lord Ye oppress
the poor and needy, and hunt tho stranger; al.
so in thy skirts is found the blood Of poor n-
noccnis aud yet ye say, Because am clean.
shall his anger pass from the Hear this, ye
that swallow up the needy, and make the poor
Of the land to fail, saying, When will the new
moon be gone, that we may sell corn that we
may buy the poor for silver, aud the needy for
pair Of shoes Tho Lord hath sworn, say
ing, will never forget their works. will
surely visit you =
The audience, thus taken, 10 the obscurity
OF the evening, bY an unknown speaker, whose
words seemed to fall apparently from the clouds,
in voice Of such strange and singular quality,
began to feel creeping awe stealing over
them. The high state Of electrical excitement
under which they had been going on, predis-
posed them TO a sort Of revulsion Of terror !;
and vague, mysterious panic crepi upon them,
as the b0ding, mourniul voice continued 10 peal
from the trees.
Hear, o ye rebelious people Tho Lord
is against this nation The Lord shall stretch
out upon it the'line OF confusion, and the stones
OF emptiness For thou saidest, will ascend
into the stars | will be as God Bot thou
shalt be cast out as an abominable branch, and
the wild beasts shall tread thee down. Howl.
hr-tree, for thou an spoiled Open thy doors,
. Lebanon, that the FIRE may devour thy ce-
darsl for The Lord eometh out Of his place to
punish the inhabitants OF the land The Lord
shall utter his voice before his army, for his
camp is very great Mulliiudes mulltudes
in the valley Of decision For the day Of the
Lord is near 10 the valley of decision The
sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars
withdraw their shining for the Lord shall Ut
ter his voice from jerusalem, and the heavens
and earth shall shake In that day will
cause the sun to go down at noon and darken
the whole earth And will turn your feasis
into mourning, and your songs into lamenta-
tion Woe to the bloody city II is full Of
lies and robbery The noise Of whip the
noise Of the raitlng wheels of the prancinR
horses, and tho jumping chariot! The horse
man liilelh up the sword aud giliering spear
and there is multitude of slain There is
no end Of their corpses They are stumbling
upon the corpses For, Behold. | am against
thee, saith the Lord, and will make thee ut
terly desolate.' -
There was a fierce, wailing earnes,ness in
the sound of these dreadful words, as il they
were uttered in paroxysm OF alright and hor-
ror, by one who stood face TO face with some
Tremendous form. And, when the sound ceas-
ed, men drew in their breath, and looked on
each other, and the crowd began slowly to dis
Perse. whispering in low voices to each other.
So extremeIy nfetc;nu aud 40 ,,.;iJl,, a...o.,
had the voice been, that il actually seemed, 10
the expressive words of Scripture, to make ev-
cry ear 10 tingle. And, as people of rude and
primitive habits are always predisposed to su-
persiiuon, there erepi through the dderen,
groups wild legends of prophets strangely com
missioned 10 announce coming misiortunes.-
Some spoke Of the predictions Of the judgmen,
day some talked Of comets, and strange signs,
that had preceded wars aud pesllenees The
ministers wondered, and searched around the
stand in vain. One auditor alone could had
he desired it, make an explanation. Harry,
who stood near the stand, had recognised the
voice. But, though he searched also around,
he could fnd no one.
He who spoke was one whose savage famil-
iarty with nature gave him the agility and
stealihy adroitness Of wild animal. And,
during the stir and commotion Of the dispensing
audience, he had silently made his way from
tree to tree. over the very heads of those who
were yet wondering at his strange, bodng
words, till al last he descended 10 distant par,
Of the forest.
Amer the service, as father Dickson was
preparing to retire to his tent. man pulled
him by the sleeve. Il was the Georgia trader.
We have had an awful time, tonight said
he, looking actually pale with terror. DO You
thipk the judgmen,-day really is coming =
My friend, said Father Dickson, 1t surely
is! Every step we take in life is leading US
directly TO the judgmen,-seAt Of Christ
WELL said the trader, but do you think
that was from the Lord the last one that spokei
Durned il he didn't say awful things though
to make the hair rise tell you what, I've
often had doubts about my trade. The minis
tors may prove it's all right out of the Old
Testament; but I'm burned il think they
know all the things that we do. But, then, |
amt so bad as some Of 'em. But, now, I've
got gal out 10 my gang that's dreadful sick,
and partly promised her I'd bring minister
to SEQ her.
III go with you, friend, said Father Dick
son; and forthwith he began following the ira
der to the racks where their horses were tied
Selecting, ont Of some hundred which were
tied there, their own beasts, the two midnight
travellers soon found themselves trotting along
under the shadow Of the forests boughs.