The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-06-23

more heavenly tincture. 1t would excite sur
prise 10 see MN accept sixpence, cold DO
tato or nothing at all, with tho coma happy
smile. Nor would they be less surprised to SEE
him reprove profanity pleasantly, yet freely.
whether In rich or poor. From his boldness in
| this respect he was named.
When they asked where he came from. he
| replied, : from country | never want to see
| agaln--the land of sin and mseryr When
| asked II he was raised to begging he would
answer, no, ne had been raised a slave, but
had made his escape" If any one commiser
| ated him on the wretched life of a beggar. he
would answer, that by begging he had al
| ready secured a great estate 10 a country where
the inhabitants were never sick, and where the
| fountains flowed with wine or milk Thus by
his RIDDLES he excited curiosity, and drew on
conversation. When the rude would insult him,
he would listen and pass on without answer
The next time he would, perhaps, do the same
thing. All this time he would be but Initiating
the WHY hunter, who, passing and repassing the
deer, at length gets near enough to cover for a
shot. When he listened to abuse and passed
on, ne was finding out the vulnerable part OF
| his foe, until he knew whether to appeal to his
conscience, his domestic affection, or his honor.
| AT length, choosing his time, he left an arrow
| quiveriAg in the flesh. He might use but a
N,
| We can easily picture to ourselves how such
man could hold the attention of family where
| he lodged entranced with his brilliant anecdotes
or weil-woven stories. The imagination sees the
bold beggar seated before the peat fire some
winter evening, surrounded by the hospitable
family. The children tease him for a story.
aud the stranger begins. " In a country far
away there once was a man." =" Is the story
trueI?" interrupts one of the children. "Whai
do you ask that question for?' rejoins an older
one, don't you know that all his stories are
true?" Yes, il is true. Well, he was far
away in the wilderness. No house was near"
hat kind Of a looking man was he ?" asks
younger member. 81 do not know exactly,
but | believe he had long black hair, and a
thick frizzled beard, and he wore a rough man
tie OF camers skin, with the hair on. He sat
down under tree, and it seemed to him that
all the world was turned against him. He had
killed great many men, and he knew that the
| soldiers were out to take him prisoner. He
knew, too, that it would be better for him to die
than to be taken. He must have been like
Phelim ONeill," says one. "Ohl well, wait,
and you will hear all about him. He lay down
under the shade to take a sleep, and, as the
drowsiness of sleep stole upon him, he wished
that it was the languor of DEATH for he was
weary OF life. Indeed, he prayed that he might
never awake"
Prayed" exclaims little girl, "would
such a bad man as he pray?"
| 40 ay," replies the father, "there was that
great English robber, Robin Hood. "He said
his prayers every day, and kept a priest in
his gang, who said mass every Sabbath"
| "IWell, he fell asleep, and slept long time,
for the sleep Of the wretched is heavy, and he
was borne down with WEAKNESS as well as
| grief. At last a spirit tapped its silken wings
III liis face. de woke up; the apparition was
| gone but there he saw beside him a hammock
baking on some Goals, aud vessel of water
near it."
"Alackadayi" exclaims the old lady, "what
a wretch he was He must have been in
league with the devil"
Il" He ate with appetite, for be was hungry,
and the bread was sweet, and taking drink
of water, laid down again. Once more his
sleep was long and sound. And when tie airy
messenger awoke HIM to another meal, bis
spirits were fresh, his limbs vigorous, and his
whole frame strong. So he started up. and
pursued his journey further and further into
the wilderness. That was the last bite he ate
for six weeks, unless perhaps he might pick a
few berries from the stunted bushes of the des
ert, yet he was neither weak nor hungry"
Alas anee the power of Satanl' eiacu-
lated the old lady
i " tie came to great high mountain where the
rocks were piled on one another like the Giants
Causeway, and there were great caves in the
rock, bigger than this kitchen. He went into
one of them, and stayed there. His only com
pany was his mysterious book, which revealed
the Secrets OF the unseen world, but the study
OF IT kept him IN company day and night. One
day, as he was so engaged he was startled
with low voice out OF the stone. Before he
could distinguish the words, there came ire
mendous wind, which tore some of the rocks
out of the mountain, and they went smashing
and smoking down the hill Then there was
an Earthquake, and the rock under him shook
like a bog. That was hardly over till the
| flashes of fire ran over the mountain like waves
of the sea-"
owe sn't that terrible?" said the old lady
"lAh it is trne saying" added her hus
band " that it is easier to raise the dell than
| to lay him again"
I When all was STILL he heard the voice
again, and he listened, to find out what it was
1t spoke to him, and SAID What doest thou
here, Elijah p
"IOh that is the history of Elijah you are
telling US, says the children
We'll, is not that good story 2"
but you said he was bad man but Eli
jah is good man.
uid not say ne was n DAD man You only
thought So
"Ihut you said he studied bad book
ooh! no. | only said he had IN ysterious
book, which revealed the secrets Of the unseen
world. That was not magical book; it was
the Bible"
We can perceive how lie would ncte both
young and old, with such STORIES to turn their
attention TO the Bible, and read with renewed
care.
We have also some intmation, although very
slight, of a character stranger still, called the
preaching mailman He went from house to
house, uttered short warning at the door, and
hurried Oh. He never asked for aims, nor even
entered the house to eat /; but if any one offered
him a piece of bread, he took it and passed on
Meagre as this tradition is, it clearly points to
the times speak of, and unfolds to us the
plan Of operation which some of the Scotch
refugees pursued in their missionary labors
among the Irish.
Let us picture to ourselves a man of corpu-
lent yet energetic frame, with a mind still more
active than his body. With all the enthusiasm
which his peculiar circumstances were calcu1
lated to inspire, he crossed the North Channel
There he finds the people asleep. While prayer
is the life and breath of his soul, they hardly
ever think Of their Maker. While he is intent
on laying up treasures in heaven, they scarcely
seem to have enough Of good about them to Law
up treasures on earth. To eat and drink, to
enjoy their joke aud laugh, seem to be the end
of their existence. We will readily conceive
how such man would go from house to house
to give warning at every door, 3" Pray! pray
pray Pray for yourself; pray for your coun-
try pray for your children! Pray, for God is
graciousl Pray, for heaven is glorious Pray,
for hell is fearful Pray, for death is near!"
,lo.. L. Il. a
His Unusual manner would of course lead MANY
To take him for q mailman: vet the instnasa