The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-12-29

in the last book of the Bible, the Book
OF Revelation. They will take part ~
the scenes of that occasion which shall
be the earth's winding up, and tire
mendous occasion for you and me per-
sonally. My father was on the turn
pike road between Trenton and Bound
Brook, N. J, He was coming through
the night from the legislative halls.
where he was serving his State, to his.
home where there was sickness. / Oft
on heard him tell about it. It was the.
night of the 10Th and the morning OF.
the 18th of November; 1888. The sky
! was cloudless and the air clear. Sud-
denly the whole heavens became a.
scene never to be forgotten. From the
constellation Leo meteors began to
shoot out in all directions For the
two hours between 4 and 6 in the
morning it was estimated that thou
sands meteors Nminute flashed and ex-
PRED It grew lighter than oonday Ar
rows of fire, Balls of fire. Trails of
fire. Showers of fire. Some of the
appearances were larger than the full
moon. All around the heavens ex-
plosion followed explosion. Sounds
as we'll as sights The air filled with
uproar. All the luminaries of the
sky seemed to have received marching
| orders. The heavens ribbed and in
terlaced and garlanded with meteoric
| display. From horizon to horizon
everything in combustion and confa-
| grafton. Many a brain that night
gave way. 1t was an awful strain on
strongest nerves. Millions of people
fell on their knees in prayer. Was the
world ending, or was there some great
| event for which all heaven was illumi-
mated? For eight momentous hours
the phenomenon lasted. East, west,
north, south; it looked as though the
| heavens were in maniac disorder.
Astronomers marching that night
said that those meteors started from
1900 miles above the earth's surface
and moved with ten times the speed
OF a cannon ball.
The owner of plantation in South
Carolina says of that night scene: II
was suddenly awakened by the most
| distressing cries that ever fell on my
ears. Shrieks Of horror and cries OF
mercy could hear from most of the
negroes on three plantations, amount
ing in all to about six or eight hun
dred. While earnestly listening for
the cause heard a faint voice near
the door calling my name. I arose
and taking my sword, stood at the
door. At this moment l heard the
same voice still beseeching me to rise,
and saying: oh, my God! the world
ls on fire. / then opened the door,
and it is difficult to say which excit-
ed me most, the aWfulness of the scene
or the distressed cries OF the negroes.
Upwards of 100 lay PROSTATE on the
ground; some speeches. and some ut
tering the bitterest cries, but most
with their hands raised imploring
God to save the world and then The
scene was truly awful, for never did
rain fall much thicker than the me-
teors fell toward the earth" But the
excitement thus described by the
Southern planter ran among the
whites as we'll as the blacks, among
the intelligent as we'll as the supersti-
tlous.
THE LAST SCENE.
The spectacle ceased not until the
rising sun Of the November morning
collapsed it, and the whole American
nation sat down exhausted with the
agitations of q night to be memora-
BILE until the earth itself shall become
q falling star. The Bible closes with
such a scene Of falling lights, not only
| fidgety meteOrs, but grave old stars
St. John saw it in prospect, and
wrote: 1.-THE stars OF heaven fell unto.
the earth, even as a fig tree casteth
her untimely figs when she is shaken
of a mighty wind" What time
that will be when worlds drop. Rain
of planets. Gravitation letting loose
her grip on worlds. Consultations
flying apart. Galaxies dissolved. The
great orchard Of the universe swept
by the last hurricane letting down the
stars like ripened fruit. Our
old earth will 60 with the rest,
and let it go, for it will have
existed long enough to complete it's
tremendous experiment. But there
will be enough worlds left to make a
heaven out of, if any more heaven
needs to be built. That day finding
us in Christ, our nature regeuerated,
and our sins pardoned, and our hope
triumphant, we will feel no more alarm
than when in September passing
through an orchard you hear the APP
pies thump to the ground, Or throug h
O conservatory and you hear an I'M
timely fly drop on the floor. You
will only go upstairs into another
story, better lighted story, a better
furnished story, a better ventilated
story, q better pictured story, and
into a story where already many OF
your kindred are waiting for you,
and where prophets and apostles and
martyrs will pay you celestial VISTA
ton, and where, with a rapture be-
yond the most radiant anticipation,
you shall bow before him that
"buildeth his stories in the heaven"
Why This Distinction?