Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-05-15

THAT night stood In troubled drean,.
BY the side of o darSly nowihg stream
Ana "Chnrrhman'' down tha river came
When heard n strange yoce call his name
s.J}ood father stop when yen cross this tide,
You must leave your robes on the Other side.
But the aged father did not mind;
Mud his long gown foated ont behind,
As down the stream his way he took.
His pale hand clasping his gilt-edged book.
isI'm bound for heaven, and when I'm there,
shall want my book of Common Prayer;
And though put on starry crown,
should feel quite lost without my gown"
Then he fixed his eyes on the shining track,
But his gown was heavy and held him back;
And the poor old father tried In vain.
A single step in the food TO gain,
saw him again on the other side,
But his silk gown noated ON the tide;
And no one asked, 10 that b.issfu spot,
Whether he belonged TO t'the Church" or not
y Then down the river Quaker strayed,
His dress OF sombre hne was made;
'My coat and hat must bclsll Of gray;
cannot 60 any other way"
Then he bnttoued his coat straight mp to hif
chin.
And steadily, solemnly, waded In,
And his broad brimmcd hat he pulled down
right
Over his forehead so cold and white.
But strange wind carried away his hat,
moment he silently sighed over that;
4 And then as he gazed on the further shore
The coat slipped or, and was seen no more.
As he entered heaven. his snit OF gray,
Went quietly sailing away, away.
And none Of the angels questioned him
About the width OF his beavers brim.
Next came Dr. watts, with bundle Of
Psalms
Tied up nicely In his aged arms,
And hymns as many, wise thing,
That the people in heaven @ssll round" might
sing.
Bat thought that he heavea an anxious sigh
As he saw that the river ran broad and high,
And looked rather surprised, as one by one,
The Psalms and the hymns In the waves went
down.
And after him, with his MSS,
Came Wesley, the pattern Of godliness,
BRt he cried, stDear me! what shall ! do?
The water has soaked them through On
though
And there on the river far and wide,
Away they went on the swollen tide;
And the saint, astonished, passed through
alOne,.
Without his manuscripts. mp to the throne.
Then grayely walking, two saints BY name
Down to the stream together came;
But as they stopped af the rivers brink,
saw one saint from the other shrink.
s'sprinkIed -or plunged, may ask you my
friend
How you attained to iifes great end %
'sIhus with few drops on my brow"
"But l 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,
You're bound, Know, for the realms Of bliss
But you must so that way, ana FL go this"
Then straightway plunged with all his might;
Away TO the left-his friend TO the right;
Apart they went from this world of sin,
But at last, together they entered in.
And now when the river was rolling on,
A Presbyterian church went down;
OF women there seemed an innumerable
throng.
Bnt the men could count as they passed
along.
And concerning the road, they never coud
agree,
The Old or the new way, which it could be,
Nor even moment paused to think,
That both would lead to the rivers brink.
And the sound OF murmurings, long and loud,
Came ever up from the moving crowd;
s.You're In the old way, and TN In the new;
psai ps = tne n dsss a an W shs II t tFsf Ii me new
I hat is the false and this Is the true"
But the brothers only seemed TO speak:
An1a hr, al uyyl nd IA MI m