Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-01-07

them was lar out OF sight, and these
people came singly to the foot Of the
Saviour and there laid gift which was in
stantly taken by the angels and laid upon
a pair of scales, which did not measure by
the weight of the gift itself, but the
motive which lay like living heart in
side It.
Then Peter Perkins saw that all who
had not yet offered their gift had bur-
den to carry, large or small and he sud-
denly became aware that the bt rSten fast
ened upon his own back was enormous
and was very heavy. But he turned TO
the stranger and said: "When viii 1t be
my turns
when all of these shall have passed
And he had to stand there with the
great unknown weight upon his shoulders
for long hours, or days, or years, he did
not know which, while all these people
came by.
He noticed man who staggered by
and laid a heavy weight of gold chalices
and church candlesticks and other en-
blems at his feet, and Peter Perkins saw
with surprise that they flew mp in tho ball
ance as If of air. Another offered
church, which was as so much paper, and
then poor old woman in rags staggered
along with q cup of cold water as her only
Offering. This sent the scales down, down,
as if it weighed ton, and then pale,
thin man came and offered only tear
This, too, weighed heavier than gold
Sometimes an old broken toy, or some
old worn garments, or even crust of
bread was laid at his feet, and these, too,
were very heavy ON those wonderful
scales.
Peter Perkins noticed, too, that those
whose gifts were light disappeared from
view, and he watched until he saw them
fall into space and fade away in distance,
while the angels sent pitying glances after
them.
Suddenly the Saviour said:
''Now, Peter Perkins, what gift have
you brought to the Lord on this his birth
day."
aOhi am willing to give you all
have, but this bundle upon my back was
not intended for you, but for the poor. II
you will let me go back will return with
something more worthy Of you.
'But what have you in that bundle"
''Only some -four, and meal. and sugar,
and ham, and rice, which are not quite
fresh and good, but l thought they would
do for the poor
"And have you never heard Of my
words, when said: Tnasmuch as ye do it
unto the least of these, my children, ye
do it unto me?' Look, that cup Of water
was given by sick and suffering woman
to one who suffered worse. That holy
tear was given from pure heart that had
nothing else to offer, but you, out Of your
abundance, offer only that which is unfit
for food, and in offering that to the un'
fortunate poor you have offered it to me. y
81 did not know Oh, please let me go
back and l will do differently''--
"Alasl you have lived you1 life, and
| you must, like all that throng you have
seen, take your deeds with you to plead
| for or against you. You can return no
more than they. All men bring their
! passports of good or evil actions with
| them here, and once they have come
naught can change. They must bear their
| fate. Some of them did not know but you
| had mother who taught you Alright, but
you forgot her words of wisdom or put
them aside. So, now, go your way"
And with these words Peter Perkins
felt himself falling into perdition, weight
| ed down by the moldy flour and spoiled
bread and sugar. Down, Down he went,
| faster than many others who were on the
way, and he cried out in his agony OF
fear, when suddenly with that cry he
awoke and sat up in led. This then had
/ been dream But it had opened his
eyes, and he began to see things as he
never had done before. He remembered
his mothers teachings, and he slept no
more that night. But as soon as daylight
| dawned he dressed and went to the store
where poor, faithful Mark, who had shaved
ten years for him, was packing those
| wretched things into the wagon.