Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-12-09
Then Joe bid bis pine and | had

mysteries OF life We're mysteries no
longer. | lay there and blandly sneered
at the world as thing Of no conse-
quence whatever. / could not take my
eyes from the light, but it was tiny
rsillelse 10 longer. 1t receded from me
and grew bigger. 1t was start was
the full orbed moon; the attendant
moved it few inches, and though | was
conscious of his act. the light itself was
fiery comet With sweeping tail Una
had shot through Unreasonable lengths
Of night. Now it grew and grew. 1t was
the SUM- The whole world, the stars, the
universe We're being absorbed by it, | was
absorbed by it. The glory touched me
on all sides; below me was the tiny earth,
Il Lilliputian ball, upon which myriads
of crawling men fell down and worship
ped me. Opposite to me was Joe. was
conscious of llis presence--of everything
about me Had any one spoken to me
should have answered rational enough,
yet the things about me were not so
real as my dwelling-place in the heart
OF light. | was living dual existence.
| WAS immortal. | had commenced upon
the eternal life.
Eternity The thought became real TO
me- Time was no longer, save in my
own person. ! was the time piece for
eternal ages. | was wound up and going.
The pulsations of my heart each meas
ured a thousand years. A dreadful ten
sion heightened me out and stretched
me in all directions. A great movement
was going on which taxed all my powers
the tension grew more and more tense,
| could endure it no longer there was 2
quick snap, a relaxation of all my ener
gies, all my powers, and | was the eter-
nal clock, and knew that | had licked
and marked off one second of the faith
omless ages, and that second had re-
corded thousand years of human time.
The pendulum moved to two syll1bles:
forever, forever, forever | lay
dreading the bilionth eternal year which
should mark but one mundane hour, and
at the beginning of which | should
strike.
It is impossible for me to express the
awful sense of expansion, indefinite ex-
pansion which everything took on, or TO
write out one in a thousand of the wild
fancies that rushed through my brain.
| was not asleep. | was not dreaming;
by an exercise of will | could have risen,
gone out of the place and walked home.
| more than once counted my pulse. /
reused myself and looked to see if my
friend was beside me. He was quiet and
apparently sleeping. Every thought that
passed through my mind took upon itself
and surrounded itself with a long Sc
quence ofquaint fancies. Once | thought
of General Butler, and Immediately ]
stood in Washington street by the door
of the Golden Rule office. ! looked at
the Old South opposite, and from every
window | saw General Buffers head
thrust out-and he blinked at me hor-
ribly. Washington street was length
ened out in an interminable vista, and
General Butler was sitting on throne
under every lamp post, paper crown on
his head, with the words: Governor OF
Massachusetts," written on the front of
it. ! thought he had been Governor OF
Massachusetts since the world began
and would be to the worlds end, and the
old words God bless the Common.
wealth" were stricken from all the proc
lamations.
Once when | counted my pulse, J
thought that grave opened at every
beat, and after the counting ceased, the
graves still continued to open and the
dead to range themselves side by side
and that was destined to count then
all. 4 person walking ever so softly
across the room gave me the impression
of the tramp Of an army of giants. Anc
20. with time annihilated or rather ex
banded into infnitude, l lay anC
dreamed away the night. Al last it wal
daybreak. The friendly policeman came
to look us up and wakened us. He has
told me since that | talked to him most
nationally. He left us and | curled up
on the mating, and when it was broad
daylight fell into q deep and dreamless
slumber. At least / do not remember
the dreams in it.
When awoke it was in the afternoon.
| had fearful headache. and my body
and soul seemed to have been sapPed Of
all their energies. | reused myself and
saw Joe sitting opposite to me, his hands
clasped across his head, and moaning
piteously. Our friend, the ruling liend
of the place came stealthily on hearing
our movements, and peerIng IN, asked:
How do you like it
Joe, looking the picture of woe, found
his steutoran voice, and pulling the
Chinaman' = ear close down to his mouth,
shouted:
"Ae no likee-me belly sickee."
And without even so much rs the cour-
tesy of a goodbye, We left the cellar.
Now | know low it is that the China
man carries in bis face the took OF one
who has lived since the worldhegan. In
their orgies they slip out vi life into
eternity. He who smokes oplum touches
the beginning and the end Of all things.
The od0r of the opium fingered about