The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-11-29
WHEN BILL WAS A BOY
HE sToOD UPON THE PIAZZA IND
law THE STARS FALL.
Tho Cr<,t Meteoric Shower of 1S33-Eow
thebIete0rs Looked to Arp-He raiks
About Earthquakes, Etc.

Shakespeare says Ihere axe ihoic ''i's''
In heaven and earth than are dreamed Oh Ill
on philosophy" The fall of meteors on
Wednesday night was quite a wonder 10
the generation and made the young people
serious and solemn. Tornadoes aud earth
auakes and comets and metcors are always
alarming for they bring home to us our utter
helpleSsneSs under the mighty hand OIL "ou'
From o'clock until near midnight we
watched these meteors. TART oil the 'line
we were standing out in the freezing AR
but most of the time we looked through Inc
upcurtained windows, and there was hardly
81 moment that they We're not seen some
where in the heavens. l hoped tor another
visitation like that of 1888, which dlS-
finctly remember. for my father aWakeu
me and dressed me hurriedly and we all
stood in the piazza and watched ana won
dered for an hour or more. They seemed
sure enough like falling stars and came
down in myriads as gently as snoWnakes.
They nearly touched the earth before they
went out and I remember hunting around
in the potato patch next morning LOT some
sign of them, but found none. IL there was
any heat in their glittering light there was
no sign Of it in the tree tops among the
leaves | remember that Aunt Mnty, our
good old cook, prayed and exhorted long
and loud and q white woman across the
street screamed out: Come, Lord Jesus;
take me, Lord Jesus. God, save us; God,
forgive u.s." and she was kneeling on the door
with her hands stretched up towards heaven.
i remember that Mrs. Lester, the widowed
mother of our late attorney general, lived
very near us and came over to our house,
STOPPING as she came for fear the stars would
touch her. / remember that my father was
Nd un no
that there was no danger, for he was a
we'll read man and knew that such phe-
nOmena had happened several times before
and did no harm. Several times within the
past century there had been a fall of meteors
the same date, the 18th of November,
but none so brilliant or that came so near
the earth.
1t was in August 1854 that We We're
awakened about o'clock one night by the
growing of the cocks for daybreak and our
negroes got up and fed the stock and prepar
ed to so to the field when our attention was
attracted to the clock and on going out to
sec what was the matter we found it as
bright as uay AID The aurora hOrealis was
flashing brilliant light that Illuminated the
heavens and thc eIrln. Such Things are al
ways alarming to the timid and the ignorant
/ heard Professor Proctor. the great astron-
omcr, deliver three lect res ut Lake Weir
lew years ago and he lifted me up on
thought among the starry heavens and made
us realize our own inSlgnihCance as he APP
preached The very confines of eternity and
told us of things we had never dreamed Of
He was a great and good man and | loved
ham as much for his humility as his learn
ing. One night he lectured on the birth
and growth and maturity and decay
OF world, and he proved by
the most convincing argument that this
world had long since passed its maturity
and WAS in the decline and that the scrip-
lures would be fulfilled and this earth be
burned up and pass ont of eXStancc. He
SAID that worlds had passed away and
that worlds had came into eXstance since
she Christian era and that comets had APP
pcdred that had no record iii the past-that
creation WAS not finished but was chang
ing and this little world Of ours was but a
spcck IN the universe. lie said that if a
straight line from tie eve WAS drawn and
extended in any direction il would sooner
or later be stopped 10y heavenly body
We can ENJOY this and he amazed but
when cyclone comes along or an earth
quake begins 10 rock the little world about
there Is 40 philosophy that can make us calm
and S"r,ne. We don't understand these
systems of nature nor can we iortify against
them. l never SAW Il man or woman who
wa~ not Stpelsttious about ghosts and it
* because of the mystery that hangs
around the dead--Whcrc are the spirits?
Where h;tl Samuel been when the witch Of
EndUr called his spirit up--Nhat kind of
virtue was i'll the bone, of Elijah that
brought to Fife the dead man Who was bur
led in his tomb: What kind of spirits We're
rowing about distressing good people until
they Were sent INTO the SWiuCS and The
swine into the sea: II We knew where we
were going we could be less, troubled 10
matter how terrible our fate. ii is the
mystery that hangs around Illat UndiScoycr-
cd country from which no Traveller returns.
/ wish mat we all had the faith Of The
little boy that | know whose mother asked
him where he thought heaven was and re
replied promptly why. lis over at grandma
h0usa." All, no, she said. ''neaven isn't
there at all. What made you think that"
well, it isn't more than 0bout II mile
from there. he said. Grandma was
enough heaven for him.
This seems 10 be an off wear anyhow A
year of surprises. Just few weeks ago
and everything looked lovely for the repub-
LEANS and distressing to the farmers but
Mr. Cleveland beat out the administration
and all it's patronage to the surprise of even
the most sanguine democrats. Right on
cop of this cotton jumped from 1 to 8 cents
and the New England manufacturers of
the great staple raised the wages of their
operatives 1 per cent. The republican, party
tried before the election to make the country
believe that wages had already been raised
under the Mckinley bin. but these opera
tives knew il was lie. Mr. Cleveland
election or something has raised them and
the capitalists seem to have received new
affairs. Stocks have advanced ana every
thing looks lovely. And now comes shoot
ing stars and the aurora borcalis and and
81 comet and | reckon Governor Northen
Will get up an appropriation for the void :
fair and the legislature VIII i,uy the Soldiers
Home and we will soon l.e building more
railways all over Tie south and 'lgr folks
have busted TIE peoples party ant driven
politics ont Of the alliance and torn up the
Ocala platform and retired Weaver and
nm Lax lI
the goose hangs high.
So mote it be. BILL ARP.
MeteorS SCENT Chicago.
CEiCanD. November In