Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-07
lean on that store-house;" that would do

read an indenture. So that, frss and
last, 1 want to tell you that when you
want to propose thst give up my soul
for the world, you csu not give me the
a;ss item Of little.
Having examined the title Of prop
erty, your next question is about insur-
ance. You would not be silly enough to
buy large warehouse that could not pos.
sioly DE insured. You would not have any
thing to do with such q property. Now,
l ask you what assurance can you give
me that this world is not going to be
burned up2 Absolutely none. Geolo-
gists tell US thas 1t is already on FIRE;
that the heart of the world is one
great living coal: that it Ia Just
like ship on fire st sea, the flames
not bursting out because the matches
are kept down. And yet you propose to
palm of on me, in return for my soul, q
world for which, in the first place, you give
no title, and in the second place, for
which you can give no insurance. "Oh,"
you say, "the wafer of the oceans will
wash over all the land and put out the
fire." Nh, no. There are infsmmabls
elements IL the water, hydrogen and oxy-
gen. Call off ths hydrogen, and then the
adauSlC dNu tuc L aSinO OCSdu5 UOUlu
blaze like heaps Of shavlngs. You want
me to take this world, for which you can
give no possible insurance.
Astronomers haVe swept their tele-
scopes through the sky and have found
out that there have been thirteen worlds.
] n the last two centuries. that have disap
pesred. Al first they looked Just like
other worlds. Then they got deeply red
they were on FIRE. Then they got sshen,
showing they were burned down. Then
they disappeared, showing that even the
ashes were scattered. And IL the geolo-
gist be right in his prophecy, then
our world is to go in the same
way. And yet you want me to exchange
my soul for 1t. All, nc; 1t Is world
that is burning now. Suppose you
brought al insurance agent to
Look at your property for the purpose OF
giving you policy upon it, and while he
stood in front of the house he should ssy:
"THAT HOUSE IS ON FIRE
now in the BASEMENT" you could not get
sny insurance upon it. Yet you talk
ABOUT this world as though it were safe
investment, IS though you could get
some insurance upon it, wnen down in
the basement it is on fire.
I remark, also, that this world Is
property, vita which everybody who has
taken it as possession has had trouble.
Now, know large reach OF lsnd that is
not built on. ask what is the matter,
and they reply that every
body wio has had anything to do
with that property got into trouble
about it. 1t is just so With this world;
everybody that mas had anything to do
with il, IS possession, has been in per
plexity. How was 1t with Lord ByronP
Did he not sell his immortal soul Tor the
purpose Of getting the world2 Was ne
satisfied with the possessionf Alas! alss!
the poem graphically describes his case
when 1t says:
"Drank every cup of 10y,
Heard every trump OF fame,
Drank early, deeply drank.
Drank draughts which common millions might
Then died of thirst because sthsre was no
more to drink"
On, yes he had trouble with It; and SO
did Napoleon. After corquering nations
by the force of the sword, h, lies down
to die, his entire possession the military
boots that he insisted on having upon
his feet while he was dying. So it
has been with men who hsd better amoi-
ton. Thackersy, one of the most genial
and lovable souls, sitter he had won the
applause OF oil Intelligent lands through
his
WONDERFUL GENIUS,
sits down in restaurant in Paris, looks
to the other end of the room, and won
ders whose that forloln aHd wretched
face Is; rising up alter while, he finds
that 1t is Thsckeray in the mirror. Oh,
yes, this world is q cheat. Talk about
man gaining the world! VINO ever
gained half of the world2 Who ever
owned q hemisphere Who ever gained
continent? Who ever owned Asia?
Who ever gained a city? Who ever
owned Brooklyn? Talk shout gaining
the world No man ever gained it, or
the hundred-thousandth part Of 1t. You
are demanding that sell ny soul, not
for the world, but for fragment Of it.
Here is man who hiss had large estate
for forty or attv years. He lies down
to DIE. You say: "That man
is worth millions and millions
of dollars" Is he? You call up sur
veyor, with his compass and chains, and
You ssy: "There Is property extending
thre. miles in one direction, and three
miles In another direction" Is that the
way to measure thst mans property?
No! You do not want any surveyor with
his compass and chains. That is not the
way you want to measure that mans
property now. It is an undertaken tha,
you need, who will come and pu. his finger
in his vest pocket, and take out tape-
line, and he will measure FIVE feet nine
inches one way, and two feet and s half
the other way. That is the mans prop
erty. Oh, no, forgot; not SO much es
tha., for be does not own even the place
where he lies in the cemetery. The deed
to that belongs to the executors and the
heirs. Oh, what property you propose
to give me for my soul! II you sell s
bill of goods, you go into your counting
room and say to your partner: "Do you
think that man is good for this bill? Can
he give proper security? Will he meet
this payment" Now, when you are Of
fered this world as possession, want
you to
TEST THE MATTER.
I do not want you to go into
this bargain blindly. [ want you to
ask about the title, about the insurance,
about whether men have ever had any