The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-08-06
The Population of Heaven.
4 PERSIAN vision OF the Hereafter.

Aboa ben Adhcm was annoyed one
morning by a. elderly gentleman, who
desired to learn The ideas the Persian sag
lad q Inc hereafter; particularly as to Tia
z y aud quality Of PEOPLE who would b
.e-iT . reach a future bliss.
.log removed his cfibouk from lis lips
.aI nai.tening bis throat with a long
auglt 81 sheibet, spoken to him thus:
IF friend, many hundred years ago, when
was comparatively a young man, / dream
eac night that had shualed off THE
mortal coil anil was IL the Lind Of the here
lf'er SIe thought | sas dccently deceas
el lad been genteelIy buried, and tomb
st5ne lad been erected 10 my memory, Oh
.iah was inscribed enough virtues TO fur
i.h 4 dozen. ! blushed spirit blush
whcr ! read hat tombstone and discovered
what AZ exemplary man had been, and !
likewise yep. q spirit weep when / thought
That loss the world had sustained in my
assembled and was knocking at the outer
gate Of Paradise for admttance. The sea.
ron had been very healthy one, fora
national convention Of physicians had been
drowned while taking steamboat exeur-
.ion on the Persian gulf, so the doorkecper
had but little to do while my case was be-
ins lcciied. ! whiled away an hour Or two
ascertaining the whereabouts Of nv old
acqualntances, who had deceased during
the ten years previous.
There are large number Of my friends
~ aare?' ! remarked ;nquiringly
"aot very many" was the reply.
'Ebh Becar is here, | SUPPOSED"
Not any Ebn Becar," was the answer
= am surprised" | answered. "Ebn
l'ocar, the date-seler, not in Paradisei Be.
cause, ~ man in Ispahan was mole regu-
l'r u h.s attendance at the mosque, and he
ho"le4 his prayer like derYish. lie was
exceedingly Jealous in keeping the faithful
in the line of duty I
'ffne!' sad the doos4eeper, true
Bat you see, Ebn kept his eagle eye SO in
ten;ly fixed on his neighbours feet that his
own got off the road and when he pulled
~ i wasn't at the place be had calculated.
lis prayers were pleasing to true believer,
bat q they were not Backed APP 10y doing
things II proportion they faled to pass
current here"
''iiow Etred it with H,fz, the scribe?
Tic was eharitable-no fi,p gave more to
DC roor than hn.'' !" I"
"iiafiz did give many yheckels to the
poor each year, but it whs the way he gave
I that spoiled the effect of his charities.
lie gave not for any fose of bis kind, bat
because it Was part of his system to give.
IT, was afraid not to give. so he said, II
viii answer the demands Of the law ,f tho
prophet by giving so much, which viii in.
-ure me Paradise, and fancied. that was
charity. When the widow Of Selim, the
mnle-driver. employed hin. to save her in
hcritance to her childrs II, from the wicked
brother ne required all that lie law per-
M. sed him TO CT act, so that she said, 30!
might as VII have let my brother have
me ana. lie answered, 'The law gives it
~ rae--go to- lie v ould Cypress the poor
n = business way, an1 compromise with
IT, conscience by Subscribing tenth OF
lis profits to charity. Comprising never
aid work in such matters The compro
illsgr gives the devil something of value,
and sceciyes in return that which damns
I'm. The expressions and graspings of
AaLz were exactly balanced, in number, by
lis charities, but he died worth a million:
HE oppression side was the heaviest in
quality We keep books very accurate,
YOU observe
"Abdallah, The maker Of shawls is"
NO he isn't. lie was an ardent teacher
of the rules the proohet gave for the faith
lal, but be WITS the worst practioeE ever
Lad any knowledge of. The strong waters
Of the q aour ruined his prospects lie
preached abstinence from wine, but he con-
stantly partook Of the forbidden drink.
llo loved vine, ard Immediately proceeded
% deceiye himself into tie belief tia. be
lad dyspepsia, and had to take i. Hear
ing once that strong liquor was an nntidote
for the bite OF serpent, he absolutely
moved into province where serpents
abound. lie talked laadly AGAINST gl1t
tony, but excused himself for eating five
courses, by holding that he needed it to
keep himself up. lie succeeded in deceiy-
ny himself, but he couldn't deceive us"
skahkani the pnn., .-heee songs were
III in praise of virtue, is here? The feryens
goodness that produced such morality must
III safe.
quite wrong. my dear sir. Kahkani's
Ioems were beautiful but bless you, he
never felt the sentiment in them lie had
an itching for fame, and writing spiritual
hymns hapleaed ODE his best hold. lie
could have written comic songs better than
hymns, he would haye written comic
songs"
Who have you here, pray?'
'Snadi, the canal sheer, is here"
"Saadi Why, he was constantly viola
ting the laws o. the prophet"
"Trae, he woald even curse the camels
he WAS shoeing. But he was always sorry
for it, and he would mourn over the mfr
mites of his temper, and stroye honestly
and yea ously allthe time to live better and
be better. lie. did not make q grand sue
cess. but he did the best be could. He
care literally Of his substance, without
hating it all over Ispahan. When he
gave a dirhem, be didn't pay the newspa.-
pers two dirhems to make he fact pubic,
which is my definition of genuine charity.
Ihtn there's Firdusi, the carretcleaaer-'
lie never gave anything"
Certainly not, for he had nothing to
give. Tie prophet never asks impossible
sies, He woald have given if he had it,
and be tried hard to get it. Then there's
jeial ed-din-'s
lie couldn't make prayer"
rrae. TT h said 'A,nen to those who
s0UI+, - r. yreant IT, which was uft,-e