The advocate., 1895-05-29


"You were ?" asked the Hermit.
This spoiled Jobs train of thought for moment
1t was so unexpected and unprecedented. Nobody
had ever interrupted him at that point in his re-
marks before But he rallied after q momentary
hesitation and resumed.
eyes, was raised up good Presbyterian, but my
faith has been gettn' slightly undermined"
"YOu have OutgroWn some of the old creed and
are becoming more tolerant, suppose" said the
Hermit, and Job was again put out of his course.
eyes, as 1 was saying was ready to fire off
my old musket again if l could have been sure it
would hit the right crowd this time but after bang
ing away ut the British off an on for several years.
and discovering that l ought to have been shooting
worse scOundrels around home, wasn't overly anx
iouS to burn any more powder unless I would be
sure it wasn't going to be wasted didn't partiCu
larly want to get hung just to furnish public amuse
ment you know. But l liked sgd here and wanted
to look after him bit, and so got into it some just
to be where could keep the scoundrels from muir
dering him if it was possible It's pretty hard work.
though. He's bound to hang or get shot if they'll
be Oblgin' enough to let him. Some of his men, you
know, are not Solomons-not by long shot; and
one fool in thing Of this kind can hang dozen
wise men with his stupid mouth"
"I lately talked with Sydney about the very thing
of which you speak, Mr.. COttle. Although it was
too late for such advice to be serViceable, told
him that revolution could do no good unless the
people were to be benefited after it was over; and
that had never read nor heard of any revolution
where that had happened"
'You're right, Mr.. -. Excuse me- l didn't
catch your name"
'The Hermit. Call me the Hermit"
"Wel Mr.. Hermit, we ran around all over New
Jersey with empty stomaChs, you know, and got
away from the Well-fed Hessans and British only
because we were starved that we were light like,
and it wasn't any trouble to us to carry ourselves,
and we could run like streak Of lightnin', and at
last we tired 'em out and beat 'em. But it all
amounted to nothing, and now here's sgd with an
other row already. What's the useP Poor folks
fight and rich folks beat em down with laws just
the same, only maybe, we get a new set Of rich
folks"
"Ah, Mr.. Cottle, you are philosopher" remarked
the Hermit; and this philosophc bond as we'll as
their mutual love for "Syd," made the two middle
aged men warm friends henceforth.
1t was near midnight and within an hour Sydney
was to leave. For some reason the conversation
turned upon that old, old theme-death and the
hereafter Only the freight Illuminated the room
and ghostly shadows fitted here and there as frsg
ments of the burning logs fell into Goals. Sydney
had expressed strongly his skepticism concerning
communication between man and beings of another
world. With much solemnity the Hermit gently
chided him.
"Listen, my dear Sydney. Suffer not the god
within you to be dethroned by either credulity or
Skepticism. Death is fact, is it notp Death must
have its tomorrow either annihilation or continued
existence. If the latter, where think you, are the
deadP Where can they be but about us herep Not
in far off rendezvous for which the universe as
we now know it, furnishes no place. but around us
and with Us, though invisible and intangible to our
gross senses. Bethink you. From the minutest |
form of animal ife up to man. erect of stature, ex
sence proceeds by steps gradual as to be at times
almost imperceptible. Shall we say that with man
this graduated continuity ceases-that there is no
nrhnr of lfn hntrunar man nnh Tho InR4na Ie