The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1894-11-23
HEAVEN ON TRIAL.
CHAPTER n.-ln Heaven.

the old place, Nancy, and somehow ]
eoaidn't shuttle off the mortal tram
amy sooner
'giye bin worryin' about you a good
deal, Abe. l was afraid you wusn't
goin' to git i'm
Thought people didn't worry up
here, Nancy
"Well, they don'ti they've
Scot all they want, reckon. Why
that's jest the way il used to be down
in old California
"But We mustn't grumble up here,
Abe. Come on, let's look around a
little.n
And off they strolled, hand in hand,
down the sunny paths Of Paradise,
old abraham Fife and his good wife,
\ Nancy. They had reached the eternal
I drean-land of the human race, and
found themselves treadipg the holiest
ground iii tile universe. 1t was the
heaven Of man in all the ages where
the sum Of all the good he has known
ON earth has been extracted from all
the evil BY some mysterious alchemy
OF his GOd. And this was the land
that these two old pioneers Of earth
had entered to begin their stroll to-
gether down the joyous highways Of
eternity. Alter they had enjoyed the
sweet associations of the redeemed OF
tiod iur u thousand years, and had
: been constantly ministered unto by
the swsei-vOiced angels of heaven, Abe
called Nancy apart one day to one Of
the quiet hooks Of that happy hand for
a good, old time, earthly chat,
u tel You, Nancy, this thing O.
eomiu' to heaven amt what it's
cracked up 10 be-
"Don't SO on that way, Abe. Jist
be patient au' the good time'll come
by and by
Tha;'s what the blamed fools used
! to say down on earth, an it's all IN
: Internal humbug.n
"Wky, amt you havin good time,
I. Abe You don't hev hone but the
very goodest Of men and things about
you, no evil nor tIyin' things at all"
That's jist what I'm tired of, Nancy,
I've been potterin' round here for .
Thousand years, an / amt run up
8 agiu nothin,, yet, an Ell be blamed el
lit amt gittin' kind o. monol onous
My doctrine is ut you kin hev things
too much your ow.. wsy.n
''They say this is the happiest plaet
8 of anywhere, Abe, an Ireckon il musl
: be.n
a "Well, reckon its not. Don't yor
recollect, Nancy, how happy we wul
when ! found you chirpin' around Oh
. the old farm down in old Indiany
when we wus young, And how w
wus more happier still when we conn
out to Californy an dug gold, an
= raised wheat All picked fruit, whit
q the children was CROWN up. Cours
q we had some.rainy days, but ah, then
: was what call happy times, Nancy
mo use talkini bout that now, Abe
Its past forever an we've got to enjo,
I this place.
2. HWeil, ! reckon we ken never he
i ehetA good times agin for ourselves
I Nancy, but | wish ! could git bac
a mint an whisper in theears o. then
i blamed fools OH earth, an tell Zen
le how glad they orter be, 'eause they'r
4 ii liyin' They're all the time prayil
!. to git up here Or some other good pIac
AR' The fact is, Nancy, they're jest q
ie happy as they can be, an wish the
To- showed It toon
r "The preachers III git 'em around "a
n fright after awhile, l reckon, ifthe
i haven't alFeady.p
..Na, they haven't, yet. ] wus tol
q tic other day they wus stlll prayir
: to get their flocks up here, an II the
couldn't do shat they wanted to tur
the I'D earth into paradise, an ID
~ people wade around III good up I
: their iiecks down there. 80 you Sc,
lex Nancy, there amt no more sense !
,e their empty skulls IAN they used |
lbe.n
''rheH / suppose you'd like TO viii
7 per a word in the ears o the preacher
Is too.p
De sNo, you can't tell iem nothin
Il Nancy. They think they're inspired
= All when man gits that way, migt
as well let him go.n
y nAh, here comes our old friend, Jei
ness, this mint. You recoIiect hiI
h don't you, Abe? He's the one tbs
/ wanted TO build one o them churchs
2 down Il sold Hill once.n
v EYES, | recollect that chap"
e. NOW don't raise racket With hin
lg Abe, up here. I'il be the first 0