The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-09-15

His dress Of sober hue was made;
my coat and my hat must be all of gray,
l cannot go any other way"
Then he buttoned his coat straight up to
his chin,
And staidly, solemnly waded in;
And his broad-brimmed hat he pulled
down tight
Over his forehead 80 cold and white.
But a strong wind carried away his hat; y
A moment he silently sighed over that,
And then, as he gazed on the farther shore,
The coat slipped off, and was seen no more
AS he entered Heaven, his suit of gray
Went quietly floating away, away;
ana none OF the angels questioned him
About the width of his beavers brim.
Next came DR.. Watts, with bundle of
psalms
Tied nicely up in his aged arms,
And hymns as many-a very nice thing
That the people in Heaven call around"
might sing.
But thought that he heaved an anxious
sigh,
AS he saw that the river ran broad and
high,
And looked rather surprised, as one by one
The psalms and hymns in the waves went
down.
And after him, with his MSS,
Camo Wesley, the pattern of all godliness;
But he cried, "Dear me, what shall do?
The water has soaked them through and
throughl"
And there on the river, far and wide,
Away they went down the swollen tide;
And the saint, astonished, went through
alone,
Without his manuscripts, up to the throne.
When gravely walking, two saints by
name,
Down to the stream together came;
But as they stopped at the rivers brink,
saw one saint from the other shrink.
"Springled or plunged, may I ask you,
friend,
How you attained to life's great end?"
"Thus, with few drops on my brow"
"But have been dipped, as you'll see me
now,
And really think it will hardly do,
AS I'm close communion to cross with
You're bound, know, to the realms of
bliss;
But you ), must go that way, and I'll go
Then .straightway plunging, with all his
Away 70 the left-his friend to the right
Apart they went from the world Of sin,
But at last together they entered in.
And now, when the river was rolling on,
Presbyterian Church went down;
OF women there seemed an innumerable
throng,
But the men could count as they passed
along;
And concerning the road they could never
agree,
The Old or the New way, which could it be,
Nor ever moment paused to think
That both would lead to the rivers brink;
And sound Of murmuring, long and loud,
Came ever up from the moving crowd,
lyon are in the Old way, and I'm in the
New,
That is the false and this is the true;"
Or, I'm in the Old way, and you're in the
New,
That is the false and this is the true"
But the brethren only seemed to speak;
Modest the slsters walked, and meek;
And If ever one of them chanced to say,
What troubles she met with on the way,
How she longed to pass to the other side,
Nor feared to cross DER the swelling tide,
A voice arose from the brethren then;
''Let no one speak but the holy men,
For have ye not heard the words Of Paul,
oh, let the women keep silence ALL"
watched them long in my curious dream,
Till they stood by the borders of the
stream;
Then, just as I thought, the two ways met,
But all the brethren were talking yet,
And would talk on, till the heavenly tide
Carried them over, side by side;
Side by side-for the way was one
The toilsome journey of life was done;
And all who in Christ, the Saviour, died,
Came out alike on the other side;
No forms, or crosses, or books had they,
No gowns of silk, or suits of gray.
No creeds to guide them, or ''MSS.,"
For all had put on Christ's righteousness.