The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-11-22
REUBEN RARABsAS.

h1OOGN O@hNoSrNSs
sixty per cent" said Reuben 10 my lord.
40 save your honorl 'Tis not much 10 pay,
I'd make It only fifty II 1 could;
But money scarce, and life lottery,
And your old father may outlive his son
You can't afford IT. Well more can
Afford 10 run the risk on lower terms;
And II you can I, you can't; and good bye"
lfy lord looked angry, but was young and rash,
And fingered on his seat and bit his lip,
And launched at Reuben words OF hate and
scorn
With fearful meanings But he signed the
bill
And took the hard-won and degrading cash;
Hard-won, but lightly parted with IN bets and
play,
And jewelers. and miIliners' accounts
For the Aspasia Of the passing hour
That held his fancy and his purse in thrau,
TIL his mind changed-or hers, more likely
STILL
In favor OF some newer fool than he.
That night in bed, Barabbas had a dream.
Half-walSing aud housekeeping. rs he tossed
In feverish restlessness, after feast
Too gross and heavy for his body's health,
And draughts too many OF the sparkling wine
That fraudulent traders sell for Veuve
CuQuot-
Pleasant TO sip, but poisonous 10 guam.
HIS unquiescent brain was hlIed with
thoughts
That hal, ted it b. night as well as day;
or gold that he had eIutched, and bills as
That he had Strengthened out, and piled IN
sheaves.
To ripen into guineas IN their time
And placed beneath his pillow ere he slept.
He dreamed he Iabored in the mines OF he'll,
Naked and feeble, with golden crown
+ rm fixed upon n S bald and shiny skull.
VITA ght insuIerlble; vainly he strove
To cast II from him IN the agony
That burned into his brain, right through the
bone
F Ned 20 his ankle by a golden chain
He trailed golden ball, as round and huge
As the death-dealing bombs that IRON ships
Belch from their pOuderous and gigantic jaws
To battle hostile heets and armamSnts,
And NOW down moU as mowers NOW the corn
This he drew inter him ~ every step,
Goadcd by frautic Heads with golden prods
Down 10 the Internal everlasting mines,
. To WELD the piclS-axe on the Stubborn rock;
Scourged, II he stopped n moment in his tou,
by gr4nning devils, eager and alert
Fair uurnuriug streams OF lirnpid water ran
IriekliEg beside him; but whene'er he
stopped,
As Oft he did, to gulp the cooling draught,
The treacherous liquor thickencd into gold
Grapes IN ripe clusters. or what seemed Ike
Hung. red and white, from overhanging vines; (;
And when he plucked them 10 refresh his
mouth,
And bore them 10 hts palpIlatiug lips,
Some devilish trick would harden them to
gold.
The moel1ing hends that followed at his heels
Stabbed him with golden daggers sharp as
steel
Until the blood drops triclzIed TO his feet
As hard as hal in hyperborean storms,
Rafting like pebbles on the burning ground
He yelled for mercy. But the insatiate hends
Lashcd hum the harder on his Quivering loins-
Then they cried Haiti" and threw him fierce
ly down,
Back broken, on the hard and sco-chirg mari
And harncssed him, as IL he were a mule,
With golden chains, and yoked him 20 q vain
Cumbrous and huge, high piled with granite
rocks,
Through which the Internal nuggets peeped
and shone
In the fun radiance that nlumined hell
And made him drag IL But his limbs for
bade.
Until q storm OF blows came pouring down
On his nude shoulders and his s!ncwy loizs,
And goaded him = actioa- II endured
But for one hideous moment, I'll he fell
Unconscious and exhausted When he woke
With shriels or pam, he found himself alive
Upon the earth which he had done his best =
To turn into hell for other men -... ~.
When sense returned he raised himself in bed
And took one long, long gulp Of water pure
That stood beside the couch, and thought the
Graught
Was worth more gold than usury ever
Out OF the pockets OF despairing fools
Since cruel usury became q trade.
Barabbas stII has chambers near Pail Mall,
And ca es on as brisIlIy as before
HIS profitable business Clients come,
In tempest OF their need and recklessness,
To clsmor for his brief aud peTiloGs AID,
For sake OF pleasure in the passing day,
Bought by the woe aad wal OF future years.
Sixty per cent 10 still his minimum;
As for his maximum, why. that's rs wide
As the vast oceans and his vaster greedi
But fate Is Just, and daily makes him feel
Acutely As he felt it in his dream.
That gold is not the chief OF earthly good;
That health and strength, and wholesome
appetite,
And sound refreshing sleep and human love
Are worth Tar more IN honest Poverty
Than all the treasures mother earth conceals
In her vast bosom. Sleep deserts his bed,
And food distresscs h m Rheumatic pangs
Torture his bones, and natural forces fail
To do the commonest behests Of life
Sixty per cent. Alas II i've per cent
OF all the common blessings OF mankind
Who labor honestly for daily bread
Gould be h : portion, he a be rich indeed
Fate natn her methods with the eyildoers;
With her ght hand she pOurs them out the
wins,
But with her left puts poison in the cup, -
Or from her seeming favor.tes takes away
Mere than she gives This truth Barabba.
feels
The rich BarabbRs, envied OF the poor.
And viii not cease 10 feel IL until death
Kindly drsmisscs him, without his gold,
To the oblivion OF the living tomb
And the FutuEity that lies beyond
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