Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1860-04-11
For the Spirit of the Age
Curious IIeas of Heaven.

In all ages of the world, among all tribes
and races of men, whether barbarous or CIV
ilized, there has always been some idea of a
future abode of the soul after leaYingthe body.
Some have designated one place, others an
other, for the residence of the departed spirit.
The ancient Pagan nations imagined the home
OF the soul after death to be in some far-off
island in the sea, where they located their
Hesperian gardens and Elysian fields, beauti-
full with beds of flowers, EMPOWERED walks.
cool retreats and crystal streams. Here was
an abode for their weary spirits. the thought
of which made the ills of life more easy and
the thoughts of death more comfortable.
In modern times We find that similar no.
tons are entertained in regard to the future
dwelling place of the soul. The idea of the
North American Indians is, that beyond the
most distant mountains oftheir country, there
is a wide river; beyond that river a great
country on the other side of that country a
world of water; in that water are a thousand
islands full of trees and streams of water, and
that a thousand bufaloes and ten thousand
deer, Craze on the hills or ruminate in the
valleys. They think that when they die, the
Great Spirit will Immediately conduct them
to this great land of souls. Pope thus bean
tifully describes their ideas of the place of fu-
ture blessedness
Even the poor Indian, whose untutored mind
sees God IN clouds, or hears him in the wind,
whose soul proud science never taught to stray
Far as the solar walk or milky way
Yet simple nature to his hope has given.
Some safer world in depths of wood embraced,
Where slaves once more their native land behold.
No tends torment, no christians thirstSor gold
and thinks, admitted to yon equal sky.
His faithful dog shall bear him company"
EUan amnnr o;r,l;,oJ IL ~
tons, we lind similar curious and singular
notions of Heaven entertained by some indi-
viduals. An old lady, professediy pious, who
had spent her days in peace and ouietude in a
small cottage in the country, was once asked
what her opinion of Heaven and its enioy.
ments was With rural simplicity she re-
Piled, that her idea of Heaven was Sitting
with a clean apron on and singing psalms! I"
We remember another incident which will
give a specimen of some of the vague ideas of
Heaven: A certain old gentleman, who con-
sidered himself expert at making exhortations
at meetings and elsewhere, as occasion offered,
once on a Sabbath evening, after a minister
had finished a two hour sermon on the sub
ject of Heaven Or the abode of the sainted
dead, undertook to finish the discourse with
a suitable exhortation on the same subject
His words were these: 'Heayen, my beloved
brethren, is certainly a pretty place, as the
man of God has just been telling you. 1t is
situated somewhere above the clouds; for you
know that when Christ went to heaven, a
cloud received him out of the Apostles sight.
Heaven, | repeat, is a pretty place. You all
know that John rs meadow is a pretty place.
Well heaven is just like that meadow, only it
does not contain so many frogs and tayapias
seorapins and aoenonous sosrmins p' .