The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1889-09-20

.sixfy per cent sad Reuben 20 my lord.
ITO save your honor. lis not much 70 pay,
I'd ~ axe a only ffty n could;
nut money : scarce. and LIES lottery.
Ana your old father may outlise his son.
You can't AFFORD ~ Well. no more can
Afford 10 run the risk on lover terms,
And II you cant. you can't. and 50 good bye "
Nv lord looked angry. but was young and rash.
And fingered on his seat and 81 his y.
Ana launched Ut Reuben words Of hate and
sc0ru
With fearful meanings but he signed tho
bill.
And TOOK the hard.won ana degrading cash;
narl wor. but lightly parted with In bets and
Play.
Ana jewellers and nlIiliners' accounts
For the Aspas a OF the passing hour
That held his fancy and his purse ~ thrall.
TIN his mind changed-or hers, more likciy
sim.
In favorof some newer fool than he.
That night. Ia bed. Barabbas had dream.
Haif-waking and halfsleeping as he tossed
In feyerish restlessncss after feast
Too gross aud heavy tor his body's health
And ,ranshts too many Of tho sparkling vine
That fraudulent traders sell lot serse
Cliauot-
Pleasant 70 sir, bur poisonous 20 quah.
lis unquicsccnt brain was nlled with
That haunted il By night as well as day;
Of cod that he had clniched, and bills IS
good
That h had Strengthened out and piled an
sheavcs.
TO ripcn INTO guineas in their time.
And placed beneath mis- pillow ere he slept
He dreamed he iahorcd In the mines OF hell.
Naked ana feeble. with golden crown
Firm Fixed upon bald and shay skull.
With we ght insuferable; vainly he siroye
To cast Il from him IN the agony
That burned into his brain. right through tho
bone.
Fixed 20 his ankle by golden chain
He irailed a golden ball. as round and huge
A. the drath-dealing bombs that ron ships
Belch from their ponderous and 81 saafic jaws
To battle hostile fleets and armatnent-.
And NOW down men as mowers NOV the corn.
This ne drew after him AZ every step.
Coaded by frantic fends with golden prods
Down TO the internal everlasting mines.
To WELD the pick-axc on the Stubborn rock.
Scourged. IL he stopped moment in his toll,
By grinning devils. eager and alert
Fair murmur!ng streams OF limpld water ran
Tracking beside him; but whene'er he
stopped.
As Oft he aid. 70 guip the cooling drau-ht.
The treacherous liquor thickenrd into gold
Grapes IN rape clusters. or what seemed like
grapes.
Hung. RED and white. from overhanTing vines
And when be plucxed them 10 refresh his
mouth.
And bore them 70 his pairiiating lips.
Some deyilish trick would harden them 10
gold.
The hooking Heads that followed al his heels
Stabbed him with golden daggers sharp a.
steel
Until the blood drops trickied to his feet
-. A..
Rafting Ike pebbles on the burning ground.
He yelled for mercy. But the insat ate fcnds
Lashed him fhs harder On his qniversng ioins.
Then they cried Halt I" and threw him nsrce-
liz down.
Back brosen. on the hard and scorching mari.
And harnessed him. a. II he were a IN ule.
With golden chains. and yokcd him 70 a vain
Cumbrous and huge. high pied with granite
rocks.
Through which the internal nuggets peepod
and shone
In the fun radiance that illnmined hell.
And made him drag 4. But his limbs for
bade.
Until 4 storm Or blows came pouring down
On his nude shoulders and his sinewy loins.
Ana goaded him ID action. II endured
But Tor one hidtous moment. TIL he fell
Unc0n>c and Exhausted When he woke.
With shrek> Of pain. he found himself alive
Upon the earth which he had done his best
To turn into a hell for Other men.
When sense returned he raised himself IN bed
And took one long. long guip q water pure
That stood beside the couch. and thought the
draught
was worth more gold than usury ever
scrapcd
Out Of The pockets OF despairinR fools
Since cruel usury became trade
Barabbas stiil has chambers near Pail Mail
And carries on a. brisgly as before
n . profitable business. Clients come.
In tempest OF their need and recklessnesA
To clamor for his brief and perilous and.
For sake OF pleasure IN the passing day,
Bought by the woe and wal OF future years.
Sixty per cent. is still his minimum.
As for hts maximum. why. that's as vide
As the vast oceans and his vaster greed.
But fate IL Just. ana daily makes him feel
Acutely A. he felt IL In his dream.
That gold IS not the Oh ef OF earthly good
That health and strength and wholesome
appetite.
And sound refreshing sleep and human love
Are worth far more IN honest Poverty
Than all the treasures mother earth conceals
In her vast bosom. Sleep deserts his bed
And food distresses h m. Rheumatic pangs
Torture his bones. and natural forces fail
To do the CO N monest behcsts OF life.
Sixty pcreents Alas. II fivc per cent.
Ofail the common blessings or mankind
Who labor honestly for daily bread
Could be his portion. he'd be rich indeed.
Fate hath her methods with the evIldocrs:
With her tight hand she pours them out the
wins.
but with her left puts poison in the cur.
OR from her seeming f2vor.tcs takes away
More than she gives This truth Barabbas
feels.
The rich Barabbas cnvicd OF the poor:
And VIII not cease 70 feel IL until death
Kindly dlsmisses him. without hts gold,
To the oblivion OF the living tomb
And the Futurity that lies beyond
London World.