Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-07-18
road and felt every day that it might be

her last.
One night after weeks of weary travel,
Phyllis became nearly hopeless. The
rain fell in torrents; there was no place Of
shelter and the darkness was so intense
that Phyllis could not see her hand if she
held 1t before her eyes. She was hatless
now and baretooted and the road was filed
with sharp stones that cut and bruised her
feet. Great bushes of thorns and thistles
closed in over the path and scratched hes
arms and face pitilessly. Then she was faint
with hunger for she had been without
food since she left home. except
berries and other fruit that grow along he
way. But she pressed on. for behind her
was frightful roaring IF lions Soon she
found herself st the foot Of steep hill.
The darkness was not quite SO intense now,
or her eyes had become accustomed to it,
and she loohed up Yes, the path led over
this hill. How could she climb It'll She
was almost exhausted Then-there was
the uncertainty-if she was only perfectly
sure it was the right way however, there
was no returning, so she toiled on.
As she pressed her way painfully up the
hill, she did not notice that the storm had
ceased, But when she reached the top. sll
was calm. She drew long breath OF re-
lief, and stood q moment. Just then the
full moon came out from behind cloud,
and there, o, there on the hillside, to
Phyllis great joy. was the beautiful city,
sleeping now quietly. y OF sound broke
the stiffness but the busy echo Of cascades
and the voice of mountain brooks. No
angry voices, no cries of pain to make night
hideous; not even the barking Of dog vas
heard.
Phyllis noticed that the city was walled,
| and that there were immense iron gates.
| Then a great fear came over her lest she
should not be allowed TO enter. She went
closer, looked in through the great gates,
and wondered at the beauty and quiet.
Its not so much like q city, as Ike a
beautiful garden. It's like heaven on
| of Eden" A remembrance Of cei tain
| passages Of Paradise Lost came to her
| mind-pas ages she had heard her father
read aloud on some Of the few tranquil
evenings at home. She could not recall
them entirely, but they were about:
| "GroveE, Whose rich trees wept oiOrous
gums and BALM" About Fruits delicious
t. the taste, and shady grottoes where one
could rest in safety"
80, fit is Paradise!H gasped the poor
little pilgrim. 81 know can not enter, for
Adam and Eve were expelled for disobey-
| ing God, and I've done it often" She
was tired o1t and hopeless, but, without
knowing why, she pressed on the gate. o,
| Joy, it yielded and in q moment she found
herself inside. There she stood in silence.
The moon, full and golden. lighted up the
scene with a soft, mellow light, disclosios
green, dropping willows and cedars and
pines; ivy and myrtle and myriads o.
| flowers. Disclosing the white fronts o.
| houses that seemed to baail CT marble
Phillis advanced a few steps. How sof1
and cool the dewy moses were to her torn
bleeding feet. How sgrant the sir with
| deep, dreamy odors.
While she walked slowly on she won
dered whether she dared ask admission a
any OF these houses, and whether, in the
morning, when the people awoke, sht
would be allowed to remain.
| She turned aside from what seemed TO b
the main street into g more narrow by
path, and almost the first thing she saw
was house like many of the Others bu
with Der own name upon il, phyllis, ageC
Is years" Yes, hers. Her very own. fol
what other Phyllis would happen to BIZ
| just her age. Then, with q deep feeling o
thankfulness and humility, she exclaimed
God certainly led ne, for my house il
prepared. am expected She then no
ticed that the door OF her house was 3 cross
and upon it the Letters. Il. Il. s." Tina
| was remark able She knew what the let
tiers meant, but why were they there
| Never mind" she thought, IN have
plenty of time to find out. | must 0per
the uOOI duu StlISL my uOusSp my Owl
house" She took step forward to do so
But one step only-for there, to her horror
was great pit between her and the whit'
door, and she fell. She fell, shrieking will
despair as the awful truth flashed upol
her, that her house was her grave. 1t
MAJ bic front q tombstone. That she wa
in the city OF the dead.
But Just as Phyllis struck the bottom Q
the pit she awoke Yes awoke upon he
bed in her own room. The fire in the graf
i was dead, but the heavenly light wa
bright as ever and Phyllis thought, 1T j
true that the ear will grow tiredOf discord
and the heart will grow heavy and fain
with trials and temptations and sorrow
but God him self has placed me here in +
midst of these surroundings and have l
right to complaint Should / not rattle
try to change the cross words to kind ones
to quiet angry disputes to sympathise wit
the afflicted and even weep with them
ANY way am convinced that By trying t
escape, shall find rougber roads to traVe
and arrive at last only more weary an
heartsick at my grave"
True, Phyllis. True all of us.
There is, though, beautiful city; pei
feet city, in which are many mansions an
{ into which we all may enter. Not b
turning deaf ears to The suffering and g.
ficted. Not by trying to escape any duty
Never. But by living life of filth an
self-denial, and doing with our migt
whatsoever our hand fndeth to do. Thus
thus only, shall We enter into the beautft
city, the door OF which, through the cross
is "Jesus, Savior of the world"
[. H. II