The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-04-25
A PHANTOM WORLD.
It Follows III tic Track Of the Earth Year
After Year.

ing from the valley Of consciousness,
and I had passed into that strange
land which lies between walking and
sleeping, that half consciousness
which many of us know so well, when
a peculiar fancy-I could hardly call
it dream-passed before my mind S
eye. A spirit form came to met
could NOT be called being, for it had
no we'll defined shape. 1t was pleas
ant to feel it's presence, and to listen
to the charm Of its voice, which was
waited to my ear as Of from afar, and
which came in sweetest cadence, and
must have been akin to the songs Of
the mermaids. Lifting me from my
bed of repose, it carried me off by its
unknown power. I could feel myself
rising rapidly from the surface of the
earth, and when [ looked below it
seemed that now I stood still. and the
earth moved from me, and left me
there alone in space in company with
the mystic spirit. Fright did not
overcome me, for the spirit infused a
feeling of confidence which put to
Danish all feeling Of fear. Jnquisi-
tiveness, though, had hold of my
brain, and I cried out in the awful
stiffness Of our loneliness, 20, spirit
of Goodness, for thou must be good,
for evil could not have such charms as
are thine, tell me, why hast thou
brought me here ?"
How strange to me did my voice
sound. I had tried to speak so softly,
but the clouds had taken up the words,
and threw them here and there, send
ing them back to ring in my ears, and
then tossing them back again until I
thought their echoes would never
cease. At last they left off their
thunderings, and nothing but their
distant rumblings could be heard, and
the mystic spirit answered me in
words that were rhapsodies Of euphony
and harmonies of sound. The Ian
guage was never heard by man before,
and though strange to mortal ears,
made its meaning clear. can not
transcribe those heavenly utterances.
I am mortal, and they came from the
immortal. They were learned at the
throne Of the Infinite, and the finite
can never learn to speak them. When
put in the tongue of man, the meaning
Of the spirit seemed to be to this end !:
80, man, thou fortunate creature,
thou favored one of all the universe,
thou hast soul, and through that soul
thou mayest see the every vision in
the realm of the Great One, of whom
I, Ailema, am but one Of the least Of
His myriad of landmarks. To you,
now, 0 mortal man who hears my
voice, has been given privilege never
before bestowed even upon the most
worthy. To you has been allowed the
vision of sight through the shadow,
and you shall see the spirit of the
world upon which you live, and which
follows year after year the track Of
the earth in it's ceaseless orbit around
the sun. )"
The melody of the sound of the
Spirits voice died gently away, and
having thus had my hearing satisfied,
my eyes turned in search of the vision
which the spirit had promised. Far,
far away, at the very verge Of space,
there glistened star Of emerald hue.
While I gazed it grew larger and lar
ger, until at last it had gained the
proportions of my earth, which had,
so short space Of time before, van
ished from my view. 1t seemed to
bear down upon us, and in fear | now
cried out to the spirit. "Oh, Spirit,
save me, or this phantom earth shall
dash me to pieces, and l shall be no
more ''
"Fear not, trembling mortal; Allie
ma, thy protecting spirit, is at thy
side. Only watch and wait"
By this time the phantom world was
all but upon us, and then, with an
ease of which no man has even an
idea, the spirit Ailema, bore me on
before the flying phantom earth. We
were so near it that my eyes could
plainly see the flowers which grew and
blossomed on the valleys and the hill
tops. Such land Of beauty no man
in dreams or fancy has ever seen be-
fore. Such flowers no efforts of nature
has ever grown for human-such deli
cacy of color and blending Of shades
not even the rainbow has ever boasted.
The grass was so green, so fresh, so
sweet. The flowers so fragrant, so
lustrous, so beautiful. An aroma
greeted my nostrils which put me into
transport of ecstaey, and in my
delirium of Joy 1 called aloud, saying
"Ailema, sweet spirit if it is in
thy power, let me live on forever in
this paradise Of beauty ; nothing else
do I want, nothing else could wish. !"
''Mortal man." Ailema replied,
"you are mistaken; thy ancestor in
the Garden of Eden had much more
than this, and he grew lonely. This
can be thine, and much more beside,
to enjoy, if thou prove thyself worthy.
This country which is before your
sight is the field of endeavor. We
shall move around this world, and thou
shalt see countries which, when COM
pared to this, are as much more beau
tiful as the sun is brighter than the
Pickering fame Of the CANDLE y
Around this phantom world we few,
and beneath my view passed the coun-
tries of patience, of goodness, Of love,
of charity, of hope, of faith, Of ear
nestness, Of zeal, Of worth, Of piety,
of steadfastness, Of endeavor, Of
purity, Of morality, Of virtue, and Of
every good act Or practice which ever
existed through man. I can not tell
which of these lands was most pleas
ing, which most desirable, which most
to be enjoyed, for they were all so
beautiful, so utterly indescribable
that human pen can not picture them,
nor ear hear them, nor sight discern,
nor mind imagine them. No intellect
of mortal mold can decide choice.
All were desirable, and happiest
thought, all were open to man. All
of them can be enjoyed by those who
wish them, and all will enjoy them
who prove themselves worthy.
NJ LJ L.. ,,o ~ !