New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1896-04-22
a New Vision Of Sin.

a New Vision Of Sin.
Some years ago / made an effort TO
give up the use Of tobacco, a habit in
which was confirmed, and Of which /
have nothing more to say than this, that
/ should attribute to it almost all the sin
and misery in the world. did not re-
member that the old Romans attained .
very considerable state of corruption
without the assistance Of the Virginia
plant. B.
On the night Of the third day Of my
abstinence, rendered more nervous and
excitable than usual by the priVatiun, /
retired late, and later still / fell into an
uneasy sleep, and thus into dream, vi
vid, illuminated, more real than any e.
vent Of my life. was at home, and fell
sick. The illness developed into fever,
and then delirium set IN; not an in
tellectual blank, but a misty and most
delicious wandering in places Of incom-
parable beauty. learned subsequently
that our regular physician was not GER
tain to finish me, when consultation
| was called, which did the business. I
have the satisfaction of knowing that
they were of the proper school. I lay
sick for three days. ..~>
On the morning of the fourth, at sun.
rise, I died. 49,.
The sensation was not unpleasant. It
was not a sudden shock. Ipassed out
of my body as one would walk from the
door Of his house. There the body lay,
a blank, so far as was concerned, and
only interesting to me as I was rather
entertained with watching the respect
paid to it. My friends stood about the
bedside, regarding (as they seemed to
suppose,) while I, in a different part of
the room, could hardly repiess a smile
were, and too, for that matter, by my
recent demise. A sensation (the word
you see is material and inappropriate of
Generalization and imponderability per-
vaded me, and I was not sorry to get rid
of such dull, slow mass as now per-
ceived myself to be, lying there on the
bed. When I speak of my death, let
me be understood to say that there was
no change, except that passed out of
my body ard floated to the top of a
bookcase in the corner of the room, from
which I looked down. For a moment I
was interested to see my person from the
outside, but thereafter I was quite in
different to the body. was now SIM
ply sonl. I seemed to be globe, i'm
palpable, transparent, about six inches
thing as before. Of course, matter was
no obstacle to me, and went easily and
quickly wherever I willHd TO go. There
was none of that tedious process of com
municatlny my wishes to the nerves, and
from them to the muscles. I simply re.
solved to be at particular place, and
was there 1t was better tnan the tele
graph.
1t seemed to have been intimated tt
me at my death (birth half incline tx
call it) that could remain on this eartl
| for four weeks after my decease, during
which time I could amusc myself as
chose.
chose, in the first place, to see my
self decently buried, to stay by myself t.
the last, and attend my own funeral TO
once. As most of those referred to il
this true narrative are still living, al
forbidden to indulge in personalities, no
shall dare to say exactly how my deaf
affected my friends, even the home Gil
Gle. Whatever others did, I sat up wit
myself and kept awake. I saw the "per
nies'' used Instead of tie "quarters
which I should have preferred. I sa'
} myself "laid OUT" phrase that has CON
to have such slang meaning that
smile as write it. When the body WI
put into the coffin 1 took my place Q
the lid. <....
I cannot recall all the details, and the
are commonplace besides. The funer'
took place at the church. We all roc
thither in carriages, and I, not fancylu
my place in NINE, rode on the outsic
with the undertaken, whom found
be good deal more jolly than he locke
to be. The coffin was placed IN front
= the pulpit when we arrived. took NJ
station on the pulpit cushion, from wh1t
: elevation had an admirable view of a
the ceremonies, and could hear the sc
mon. How distinctly remember Il