Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1858-11-27
The Year One Thousand.

The Year One Thousand.
just as this century drew to close, variou
circumstances cOncurred to produce chang
in mems minds. 1t was universally diffus
ed belief that the world would come to an cnt
when thousand years from the Savior
birth were expired. The year 900 was there
fore looked upon as the last which any on
would see And if ever signs of apprOachin;
dissolution were shown in heaven and earth
the people of this century might be pardonet
for believing that they were made visible Il
them. Even the breaking up of morals ant
law, and the wide deluge of sin which over
spread all lands, might be taken as token tina
all mankind were deemed unfit to occupy thu
earth any more. In addition to these appal
ling symptoms, famines were renewed from
year to year in still increasing intensity, anC
brought plague and pestilence in their train
The land was left untitled, the house unre
paired, the right unvindicated /; for who would
take the useless trouble of ploughing or build
ing, or quarreling about property, when SC
few months were to put an end to all terres
trial interests Yet eoen for the few remain
ing days the multitudes must be fed. Rob
berS frequented every road, entered down in
to walled towns; and there was no authority
left to protect the weak, or bring the wrong
dOerS to punishment. Corn and cattle were
at length exhausted great part of the
continent the eXtremities were endured and
when endurance could 90 no farther, the last
desperate expedient was resOrted to, and hui
man flesh was commonly consumed One
man went so far as to expose it for sale
in a market town.
The horror of this open confession of thcil
needs was so great, that the man was burned
but more for the publicity of his conduct
than for his inherent guilt. Despair gave a
loose rein to all his passions. Nothing was
sacred-nothing safe. Even when food might
have been had, the yitiated taste made brava-
do ofits deprivation, and women and children
were killed and roasted in the madness Of the
universal fear. Meantime the gentler natures
were driven to the widest excess of fanatic
ism to find retreat from the impending judco-
ment. Kings and Emperors begged at mon
astery doors to be admitted brethren of the
Order Henry of Germany, and Robert of
France were saints according to the notions
the time, and even now deserve the respect
of mankind for the simplicity and benevoence
of their characters. Henry the Emperor sue
ceeded in being admitted as monk and
swore obedience on the hands of the gentle
purpose. ''Sire," he said at last, "since you
are under my orders, and have sworn to obe;
me, l command you to 60 forth and fulfill the
duties Of the State to which God has called
you Go forth, monk of the Abbey of St
Nanne, but Emperor of the West" Robert
France, the son of Hugh Capet, placed him
sell, robed and crowned, among the chOisters
of st. Denis, and led the musicians in singing
hyr, >f L..
Lower men were satisfied with sacrificing the
marks of their knightly and seignorial rank,
and placed baldricks and swords on the altars,
and before the images Of saints. Some man
united their serfS, and bestowed large sums
upon charitable trusts, commencing their dis
position, with words implying the approaching
end of all Crowds of the common people
would sleep nowhere but in the porchcs, or
at any rate within the shadow of the church
es, and other holy buildings and as the day
of doom drew nearor and nearer, greater ef-
forts were made to appease the wrath Of hea-
ven.
Peace was proclaimed between ali classes
OF men. From Wednesday night till Monday
evening OF each week there was to be no vi0-
lence or eamity or war in all the land 1t was
to be truce of God And now came the
dreaded Or hoped for year. The awful Thou
sand had at last commenced, and men held
breath to watch what would be the result of
its arrival. "And he laid hold of the dragon,
that old serpent which is the Devil, and Sat
an, and bound him for q thousand years, and
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set his seal upon hun, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand
years shall be fulfilled; and after that he must
be loosed little season."-(Rev. % 2-3)
With this text all the pulpits in Christendom
had been ringing for a whole generation.-
And not the pulpits only, but the rejection
halls Of converts, and the cottages Of the
starving pcasantry. Into the castle, also, of
the noble, we have seen it had penetrated; and
the most abiect terror pervaded the supersti-
tons, while despair, as in shipwrecked vessels,
displayed itself amid the masses of the popu-
lation in rioting and insubordination. The
spirit of evil for little while was to be let
loose upon sinful world ; and when the OBJ
server looked round at the real condition Of
the people in all parts of Europe-at the igno
rance and degradation of the multitude, the
cruelty of the Lords, and the un-Christian
ambition and umestrained passions Of the
clergy--it must have puzzled him how to i'm
agine a worse state of things, even when the
chain was loosened from that sold serpent"
and the world placed unresistingly in his
folds Yet, as if mems minds had now reach
ed their lowest point, there was perpetual
rise from the beginning of this date. When
the first day Of thousand-and-frs year shone
upon the world, it seemed that in all nations
the torpor was to be thrown off. There were
strivings everywhere after new order of
things. The first joy of the deverance from
the destruction ilnpelled all classes Of society
in more honorable and useful path than they
had ever hitherto trod.- Wright's Sirteen
Christian Centuries.