Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-12-20

itsnlf on the excellence of its society. How
ever, the only one Of its people | care 10 talk
about at present was never in society"
He was known as Uncle Adam" He had
a surname. but so persistently was it ignored
that all save a very few forgot it completely
He was the sexton of the Church of the Pur
itans. Besides performing all the regular
duties of that office with his own hands, he
pumped tine organ. He was not required Il
do this, but he insisted on it, not for the sake
of increasing his salary. for he stipulated
particularly that he wanted no extra pay in
consequence, but because he adored music
and had theories in regard to organ pumping.
The pumper he said. should I've something
Of an aTtIst well the Organist He
should put his soul into the work and it
would h. felt in the music Th, he surely
did Such energy and enthusiasm were never
before applied 10 organ pumping. When the
music gushed from the tall pipes, rose high
and then softly died away, Uncle Adam, in
the little dim room that concealed him, ex
Ultei When he emerged from the organ
loft, aftsr services instead of being weary
from hi severe exertion, his face was invari-
ably brigh. and beaming. Often and often
he was liz a state of spiritual eHaltation
quite Inconprehensible to the fine people who
spoke to him kindly and patronizingly. His
eyes burned with an unaccustomsd light.
and his thoughts seemed to be Of things
greater ard grander than the old church
contained
The music wrought this change, thought
the few who noticed it Not entirely Uncle
Adam WAS DIRE aiming of things they knew not
Of He lived at such times. in another
world, the world of the invisible and the
eternal He believed that that world was
shut out from this by the veil of flesh only,
and that at times this veil was swept aside
and the 5 irit in the flesh saw the spirits
who are a the angels OF heaven" without
flesh.
Il know there are spirits about US. because
! SEE them, ne said Il know they are the
spirits of men and women who once lived IN
this world, FOR my own people are among
thcm-my wife, my Chil|.en. nv mother
and my friends of long ago. know that We
are immortal, for feel that | shall never die.
am sure my soul can never perish, for |
believe il to lie a part Of God"
The old man always grew eloquent when
talking on this subject His soul was atiame
and his thoughts came forth i'll the strong
ami simple language of inspiration. His lis
tenerS smiled with pityIng increiulity, or
gave ear out Of curiosity TO what they called
I4rV rVft'.a l Il,
one VINO possessed a vein of poetic sentiment
which was kiudled by his talk of the cloud
of witnesses continually near. but all We're
too un~pirItual TO understand that this faith
was the strength and support of the old mans
life, part Of his honest and earnest soul
Sometimes h. told of the sights he saw in
the organ loft, the radiant spirit, that came
to him there The dim little room that shut
HIM away from the sight of others was the
very door of heaven - him II was not
strange that he entered it with delight, re
manned in 1t aS long possible, and emerged
from It with a transtigured face. He b.
.leved that he there talked with angels
I have spoken Of Uncle Adam as an old
nan. He might better b. described as one
\ no had never been young. IN years he
wasn't really old: but he seemed far away
rom everything youthful; long past all the
oyS OF life.
Cheerful was he always, unhappy nevs.,
hough Others, seeing only the outward
'hase OF his hte saw no pleasure or beauty
II it. Poor and hard as it appeared to them,
I held JOYS they might well have been en-
led; but they were JOYS of the spirit only
They belonged TO the peace man did not
make and cannot mar"
Uncle Adam lived alone in a tiny house
lose beside the church of his care. His
mall front room was a workshop, where he
made and mended shoes every hour Of the