The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-03-16

memory Of our dear lord" A third said: See.
| bring nh Of mine. even to tho wedding ring Of
my dead wife"
There WAS n contention among tho Devil wor-
shippers TO be first to cast treasure into the fire.
The charmed flames caught up the gold. and
-trcumel high above the corpse. casting upon
very eager face in the vast room a fierce yell
low glare. The Dcvrs body shone incnndes-
sent through its cerements Still tho fire was
fed 10y hands iunumeraolc. and still the old
man stood beside tho pyre smiling strangely.
The Devil worshippcrs now cried out with
hoarsc voices Tho will The will Let us
hear the last testament Of our dead lordP'
The old man opened a roll of asbestos paper
and began to read aloud. while the hubbub u
the grrat throng died away into silence and the
angry roar OF the consuming flames subsidized
into n duh murmur. What tho old man read
was this
To my well beloved subjects. the whole world, my
faithful worshippor' and ioval seryor' greeting, and
the Devils only blessing. a perpetual cursei
Forasmuch a. am conscious Of the approach OF the
change tina. limits every active existence yet being Of
sound mind and nrn purpose do declare this be my
last will pleasure AMI command tho disposal OF my
Nuclom and effects
To the wise bcqucah folly, and to the fools pain To
the rich leave the wrctchcincs OF the earth and to
gratitude ami 90 the unjust remor.e aud to the theology
ans hcqucnth the ashes of my bones
decree that the place called 1lcll he closed forever
decree that the torucnts, In fee simple he divided
among an my faithful subjects according to their merit
But the pleasures and the treasure shall also be divided
oqmtab'y among my subjects
Thereupon the Devi worshlppers shrieked
with one accord: There is no God butthc Lord
Devil and he is deadl Now let us enter into
our inheritance"
But the Old man replied. "Ye wretched Tho
Devil is dead. aud with the Devil died the world
The world is dead"
Then they stood aghast looking at the pyre
All at once the gold laden flames leaped in
blazing column to tho roof and expired And
forth from the rod embcrs OF the Devils heart
there crept small snake. Kissing hideousy
The old man clutchcd at the snake 10 crush H.
hut 1t sllpped through his hands and made it's
way into the midst Of the crowd. Judas Iscariot
caught up the snake and placed It in his bosom.
And whom he dld so tho earth beneath us be-
gun to culver as II in tho CONFUSION Of death.
The lofty pillars OF the funeral chamber reeled
like giants seizsd with dizziness Tho Devil
worshippers fell ntt upon their faces: the old
man and stood alone Crash followed quick
on crash on every side Of us. but II was no, this
time the. copcussions OF thunder. it was tho
HoDeless Spunu OF tne tumDung ~ mans StruC-'
lures and fabrics and tho echo from the other
worlds Of this worlds crack OF doom. Then tho
stars began 10 fall and the fainter lights OF
heaven came down upon us like a driving seet
offrozon hre. And children died OF terror. and
mothers clasped their dead babes to thoir own
cold breasts and hurried this way and that for
shelter that was never found. Light became
black fire lost its heat In the utter disorgan "a
ton Of Nature. and wheming food OF chaos
surged from the womb OF the universe and
swallowed up the Devil worshippcrs and their
dead world.
Then said to the old man MS we stood in
the void. Now there is surely no evil and no
good: no world and no God"
But he smiled and shook his head and left
me 10 wander back unGuided through the CEN
turtles Yet as he disappeared saw that high
over the ruins OF the world rainbow Of inAnite
brightness stretched It's arch,