Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-05-29

dispatched his fleets 10 Ophir TO pn,be,
gold, gems and rare wood for the templ,
which he was building. he sent with then
n seer to mark the conduct of his men
that each might G rewarded according tt
his merits. When the land of Ophir wa,
reached, some of the men went ut once tt
The mines TO dig gold some were employ
ed with trains of camels, to freight mer.
chandise and food to the mines: some with
swift drUmedaries carried the express and
gold dust between the mines and the sea.
shore. Some kept inns, and gathered
many shekels by dispo~ing of bad food and
poor beds to the miners
That means you, landlord. said Posev.
inielrupting.
The boy cunlinued And the seer watch
ed all the men in their daily and nightly
cmploymen,s, and took notes of their
llVes. Almost every one had left father.
or mother. or sweetheart in Jerusalem.
and, amid tears and anguish o: parting.
had promised to be faithful to the end. But
some had forgotten their promises when
Tor away. Some would spend whole
evenings in discussing the merits of their
respective dromedaries, and would do this
night after night. until they did not have
An idea above the brute over which they
had control.
That means you. Jake Farren. and you.
old Grimes, You miserable, mule beating
lnfidels, said Posey.
he young man had n delightful voice,
and was a beautiful reader. and us he pro-
ceeded, the interest in his narrative in
creased. He read on:
Some who were miners would work all
| 1nV at iuh tl,,,;,,
In a game which in Judea was known as
cinch."
That's you, Mike Graley, and Dan Me-
Naughton. said Posey, you disreputabe
poker playing frauds.
! Again the reader proceeded: Some de-
sired to be considered dangerous men and
| lighters. and would seek difficulties with
men their interiors, physically. that it
might be told in the d fferent mining camps
of Ophir that they were desperate men,
with whom none dared lri6e.
Tha s yoI, Sam Brown, you cowardlv
buffer, interposed Po>ey.
And some, continued the boy, grew vain
of foolish exploits, III d learned to expect
praise for doing only their duty.
guess that's me. said Posev: you are
given 10 such thoughts sometimes, You |
know you are, you big, unlhinking ruff |
iian.
Almost all learned to drink of the iuice
OF the upas tree, and When under It's in. |
fiuerce they were guilty of unmanly and |
disgraceful acts, which would have grirv |
ed their friends in Jerusalem sorely, had
hey deemed such thing possible.
That S US, said Posey, and shame it is,
too
The boy continued to read: And there
flocked 10 Ophir strange women from
Arabia. and clpt, and Midiar. and other
lands, and beguiled the Israelitcs, and
made them forgelful to their duties anG
their VOWS.
That hits the most of US, too, l guess,
sail Posey.
Still the boy read: AS the years rolled
by the men grew more and more grovel
ing, until at last they forgot to mark the
beautiful sky, the wealth of trees and
flowers, the birth and death of seasons.
FINALLY. The ships We're loaded, and were
about 10 snil to the holy motherand Then
the men focked around the vessels and
desired to embark. But the seer stood
upon the strands and bade them stand
back. To one he said: You forgot wife
ana parent in search of pleasures there;
you are no more worthy to speak the hal
lowed name of home, nor to kiss lips
which are pure.
10 another he said: You have debased
your mind here: you Can no longer see
the beauties upon the earth or in the
heaven; how could you fifty approach the
splcndors of the temple of our mighty
Solomon
To another he said: You have spent
your time in rcvels, and your body is filled
with diseases which you brought upon
yourself; you are among the unclean and
have no right to 60 back t. become /. bur-
den and expense 10 your friends.
And SO austere and pililess, the seer read
the sentences one after another; the ships
cast off their lines, hoisled their sails and
put to sea, carrying back but chosen few
OF all who had come in them.
And those who remained never saw the
glorious temple which was their peoples
pride; never looked upon the while walls.
he sculptured columns. the lofty arches. {
! he beautiful gates, nor The sunlight us il
flashed back from the roof of Furnished I
gold. They Witnessed none of the mag t
nlicence of its dedicaton; inhaled no I
breath of its rare incense; looked not upon t
&
no burst of enchanting music, and caught
no tones of Solomon's incompatible pray d
er. But rather, they grew more and
more sordid and depraved, until they were
SO lost in utter debasement that the watch
ing angel filled with sediment the walels S }
of the streams, which settling filled the
hal bors of the Ophir coast, until ships
could no more make u haven there, and
finally the country wherein Solomon dug /,
his gold was no more known TO the chill
dren of men.
With this the youth ceased reading, and
nothing for a moment was heard save here 4
and there the labored breath of some !
strong man, and the soft patter of the
rain upon the roof.
This lasted for II brief interval, and l.
then, with voice sweet and full and clear
as lark's song, the boy proceeded:
Oh men orthe westl they are thinking of you
On another shore to night:
They are thinking of you as their eal and true,
AS the innocent ones they in childhood kDew,
When you of your homes were the light.
They are thinking and waiting and counting the /
days II
Till you come To them more: a.
Each morn they strain to the west their gaze, 4
e ch eve in fond voices they sound your praise
Recountng your virtues all oer.
Be true to your manhood, be true to your trust, q
whcIc'er in liles battle you stand: t
Cleanse the heart from its sin, the soul from rust /
Lift your eyes from the ground, your mind from t
the dust, Ii
Be true TO your race and your land. q
The harp-like voice ceased. and it was r
plain that the reading had made Il deep /
impression on all who heard it. The wife t
Of tho landlord WAS the first who spoke. Y
approaching the youth she asked him if 4
he WAS II preacher. p
He modestly answered that he was not, .
but was IL clergyman's son; that he had .
.ried mining in Pumas county, but failed, S
and was then finding his way on foot to b
San Jose, where his sister, clergymln v
wife, was dying; that he hoped there to h
obtain situation as teacher, AS he was
not strong enough to work in the mines. t.
At this, Curly, the stage driver, arous- "
ID himself: e
Pnrdnprs said he Won hpur Tho hnv l.