Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-11-21
"END OF THE WORLD" /"
People Dressed i'm Their
Assertion Robes.
"REMINISCENCES OF THE MILLER
ITE DELUSIoN IN BOSTON
IN 1843.
A Woman Who"Kicked" Even at the
Golden Gates.
Boston Globe.

All was quiet in Copps Hill Ceme'ery
Friday night.
And why not?
this old world of ours-this hard old
world, this beautiful old world, this
queer old world. this world which may
profess to despise, but which we all
cling to with leech-like tenacity-this
world which has stood, or rolled, for
quite number of years, was doomed to
destruction just about that time! But
it bobbed up serenely Saturday morn
iGg, all the same.
But fOrty-six years ago. as many of
the old BOstonians will remember
there was played little drama from
real life, not to say dead life, in this
same Copps Hill Cemetery one star
light night. And not so "little" either,
as far as numbers were concerned. 1t
was, i'm fact, the famous night in 1843,
when, according to MilIer's prophecy
and mathematical legerdemain, this
globe was to be destroyed and Christ
and his angels should come, when the
graves would oLen, and their peaceful
denizens arise clothed in mortality, and
all the people be judged for the deeds
done in the body. Hundreds, we per-
haps should say Thousands, of the peo-
pie of Massachusetts shared this delu-
sion in common with those of all other
parts of the country, and great was the
advent of our Lord and Saviour. And
these Millerites were far from being all
fools or ignoramuses. On the contrary,
the devotees of the Prophet Miller COM
prised large portion of intelligent men
and women, who had been led to adopt
his ingenious reasoning and sophistries,
and in their heart of hearts fully be-
lieved that the coming of the Lord was
at hand. Copps Hill was one of the
important points to be visited by the
angelic host, and thereby hangs tale,
in which the serious and the comic are
queerly intermingled.
In my native town, Bridgeton, Maine,
there dwelt many years ago a family
named Burnham. Two of the boys,
Arthur and William, left the home
stead arm at an early age, and came to
Massachusetts to seek their fortune.
They finally settled in Watertown mar
ried, prospered in business, lived to
good old age, and died, respected and
honored, in the town of their adoption.
At the time of the Milerite excite
ment the wife ofArthur Burnham. an
intelligent, worthy lady, was one of
Millers most jealous disciples. With
the host of the brethren and sisters,
she, too. was wont to join in the refrain
of the popular Millerite song
In eighteen hundred and forty three.
Well all be there in the morning!
Well, early in the evening of the
great day whose termination was to be
so big with fate to all the people of the
earth, Mrs. Burnham, in company
with a gentleman and his wife, whom
for convenience we will call Smith,
who were of her belief, repaired to
Copps Hill Cemetry, secured satis-
factory spot, donned their ascention
robes and calmly, trustingly awaited
the development of events.
They did not lack for company.
From all directions swarmed the dis
ciples-up Snowhill street, up Hull
Salem, Charter and all the interesting
streets until it seemed as if the army
of the living would exceed the army of
the dead who slept in vast numbers be-
uedtLl IIlOSc qudiutiy StoNcu VAIN oiatc
headstones. AS fast as they. arrived
the heavenly robes were put on, and
when the last straggler had come in the
twinkling stars looked down upon a
scene unparalleled in the history of that
historical burial place-a scene at once
weird, awe-inspiring, ghostly, yet to
a certain extent of the earth, earthly.
Slowly the hours wore on, and still
no blast from Gabrieps trumpet, no
opening of the heavens, not even a |
warning flash from the nearby steeple
of the old Christ Church on Salem street,
where Paul Revere displayed his signal
lights to warn the yeomanry of Middle
sex county that the British were COM
ing. But still they hoped on, believed |
on, did that army of the false prophet. |
The Watertown trio likewise "held |
the fort" All at once the gentleman
of the party turned to his better half
and remarked:
"Mv dear, tell you what we'll do. 1t
must be about time for our Lord to ap-
pear, so you stay here with Mrs. Burn
ham, while 90 over to the other part
of the yard, where my first wife is bur-
led, as I wish very much to behold her
Wnen Cne grave opens, anu Sic ARISES W
join our heavenly throng."
Wife No. 2 was mad in minute.
Human nature showed itselfin spite of
the solemnity of the occasion, and all
thoughts of the terrible unheaval short
ly to take place vanished before this
supposed insult to her wifely loyalty.
"All right, Mr.. Smith, all right" she
shouted, in spiteful, choking tones.
"All is, ifyou care more for her than
you do for me, you just go over to
where she is as quick as you please,
and you needn't hurry about coming
back, either!"
Mr.. Smith, finding what tempest
he had created, budged not an inch,
but resignedly left wife No. l to get out
of hergrave as best she might.
The living wife had carried her pot,
and, drying up her tears, she, woman
like, nestled all the more lovingly to
the man she loved so well.
Hour after hour dragged slowly by,
and vet no ear had detected the first
note of the Gabriel solo, no eye had
deserted the least glimmer of the celes-
tial phenomenon. At last the gray Of
approaching dawn began to show itself
beyond the eastern waters; anon the
z e. - IL