Smyrna times., 1884-01-16

S44N SLf1DO
er.
That is Paul -. Surely Va,
nave heard of him and his queer de
lusion? He was clergyman in som,
country village, began to eat opium
ana was dismissed from his CHARGE i,
disgrace. He cured himself of hi,
oplum-eating; but he believes that
having neglected his opportunity +,
help men on the way to Heaven. Goo
mas sent strange punishment ON him
lie says he has been given a sort q
second sight, by which he sees tho in,
ner nature, the heart, the secret history
OF every human being that crosses hi,
path We see the face, body, clothes
ne sees only the soul, naked Hie
curse is that, thus knowing the desper.
ate need of every one he meets he ear
give them no help"
Tom then went on to tell mo tbot
Paul was well known in this quarter Of
the city, and that the ignorant Dart ot
the community, at least, believed that
he possessed this supernatural mower
we were now near the Old Swedes,
church at WicacOe, built bv the hale
c[azeu Christina for those of her people
who had gone out to this western
wilderness. Evangeline and Gabriel
aS ne lay dying, Longfellow tells us.
heard the hymn which the few poor
worshipers sang in this little cbnrcb
II stood now, gray among its mossv
graves, against the red evening skv
the river rolling past it on the further
sue IL was some holy day in the
the bell was ringing and the
windows shone with soft light. The
people were passing quietly into the
church. At the gate stood Paul. sub-
Jecting each one as he passed to a slow
scrutiny Usually he NUT
tered a word or two in their ear
watched them. 1t might have been
only superstitious terror that I saw.
but tancied that the faces of the men
and women, as they heard this wbis-
pere word and hurried on, were like
those of prisoners in the dock. who
have listened to their trial and TO tho
verdict and the sentence of the Judge
One or two young girls, having been
Judged, looked up and smiled in his
lace in innocent calm. A stately. i'm
perlous woman, suddenly cowed. crept
past and hurried away, like a guilty.
elon.
The last to pass in was our friend
ne phllanthropist, whose praise was in
I'll the churches. Paul detained him
lot by touch, but by the look which
lie laid upon him. The portly old gen.
leman stood at ease, smiling. But
Paul's features slowly grew distorted
With horror. He put out his hand and
lightly tapped on the breast of the
'ther man.
1t is murder!i he whispered,
Your soul is dragged down by YOUR |
'ictimsr
Poor fellowr muttered the good
nan, kindly.
Faufs words were so wild and mean |
ngless that Tom laughed. The Door
reature saw him and came quickly up
us. His eyes kindled, the weight |
assed from his countenance Ha bor+
is head before the young fellow.
L have seen one of the saints of
fod" heard him mutter as he naes-
d on.
l never saw him again, though I
earched afterward for him or for it'd
lgs of him. But he is lost in the driv-
lg, changing multitudes of the great
Ity, and l do not even know whether
e Is living still or not.
One or two singular occurrences
ept the poor crazed creature and his
lid fantasy in my memory. One was
le exposure of the well-known philan-
lrophist year or two ago. and his
idden fall in popular esteem. His
1stem of swindling had been as broad
his financial operations. More than
lis; it was discovered that he was one
Al
the largest distillers of whisky in
le country, and that his chief source
revenue was from public houses and
lie rental of other houses devoted to
orse purposes.
The other incident was the death of
Dor Tom G. when the small -pox swept
yer the city. learned then, for the
'st time, that this poor fellow, whom
e all regarded as thoroughly COM
onplace and stupid, had given his
lsure time to working among the (
'or and visiting in the jails and hos (
tails. His earnings went to the SUD- (
'rt OF an invalid sister and her chill
'en. This was the reason why Tom 1
I'd failed" at college and gone into
e great sugar refinery as clerk. {
obody, perhaps, thought It worth
bile to form any opinion of Tom {
bile he lived; but God knew him.
The common-sense explanation of !
aul's divination is, of course, that he
I'd the shrewdness of insanity, and in {
wanderings among the poor in that {
larter had gained an accurate knowl- {
the character of these two men.
Yet many persons upon whom Paul's 6
es have fallen still insist that thew {
ere nnnaturally controlled thereby. s
I'd that they went from before him !
ivering and ashamed, knowing that :
e secrets of their souls had once in J
cir lives been barred to human eve. 6
~. Y Independent.
t..
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