The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-12-01
REVERE.

WIS late only Tho soft t;cEind of the
oleck anAtba Gan - A. fire bTara tha
Head stillnasa IL 4ha homes b,,t fh,a,,gh
Tho night h Novamb er oale WAS hloxsiug
wh;stlino Il the nr;vef hodge nlnclr;nn
angriiv IL the p;ndowa n,oapjng dgoar;l9
in crevice and chin nov Al ;nta,vala q
hprrvino foot sou,.ded along fine nave.
,oent Steadily naet went: the +ra,nn ~ !
rovinr nnlicenaars
A long while he SAT- there listening.
dreaming. At last bo arose and. pulling
aside tie blind. locked ont. Mighty dark
ii was. the names streaked and rain snlat-
tered. the lights blurred adown the street..
the trees beyond the hedge standing ont
gaunt and black against 4 lowering skv.
Swish came the rain. wbisht sbrieked
the wind. oh. a grand night. Thought
Peter. and turned away. Bllt sleen was
Far from, him. and his hook was finished.
and the fro still blazed Inyoluntarjlv he
crossed the room. turned low the lamp
and. seating himself before his little par
lor organ. began fulubling the KEYS.
He struck a few big. solemn chords.
mimicked the wind upon the treble and
echoed the moaning chimney upon the
bass. wandered idly from key to key. pres
emily by merest chance. Won might think.
stumblinp upon tho anenjn1 chords Of
tEyantide.n Che sweet old tune of aAhide
With Me-, 1t was his ~favorite hymn, the
hymn of his youth and manhood. He low
ed Its words. and the melody haunted him
ever Something in his mood, the hour,
the clash ana buster Of the night. was in
strange harmony with Ii. and at sound Of
ii the winds fell and the rain ceased its
batter. time stood still, the world hung
Silent, the past flashed in. and there sat
Peter. looking out across the years, and
he was a bow again. and it was a Sabbath
evening in autumn time Of the long ago.
Twilight has como. and in the church
on the hillside all is dim. BY the organ
two candles burn dimly. The chancel
window is a long blur Of fading colors,
the tablet beneash only q furnished streak.
Through the open doorway and the dia-
mond uaned sidelights falls a hazy after
glow. the merest shadow Of the dead SUMS
glory. but from the sky above the lake and
through the pine tops behind the gallery
window comes but faintest twilight. Like
the ghosts CT themselves stand pulpit and
reading desk by the chancel steps, and be-
tween them, himself but a ghost in white,
the figure of the rector, a tall, snowy hair
ed figure, speaking out wisdom and solace
to the dusky shades scattered sparsely
anon the pews. Softly, almost pathet-
ically, his voice comes through the gloan-
ing. Far ND are the bowed figures of the
old almswomen; by the font is the gnarIed
form Of Henry, the sexton; in the family
pew are childish in white; here are wom-
en- In poke bonnets and shawls, there a
handful of mon heavily ~shouldered, rough
handed, clad In cuarsest of tweed; in the
choir pew is a cluster of maidens and
youths, and among them the figure Of O
boy, lean, mighty restless, with eyes that
seek the sky and rove the dusk. :
The voice dies away, and out of the hush
come full and ringing the roll of the or
gan and the clear rising of tho voices.
The cid hymn it is; tho cid familiar voiceii.
Harkt abide with me- they go; fash
falls the eyentide; the darkness deepensi
Lord, with NE abide" How near seems
heaven and the peace of God How far
away the world and all its petty yanities,
it's turmoil and eFildoingl Change and
decay sings each one, the youth in his
promise and flower, the ancient in her leaf
and fe~ebleness; s'Chango and decay in all
around 1 see. 0, thou who changest not
-ah, the pathos of tho voices, the yearn-
ing of themi-"abido with meFs
Darker it grows; the afterglow is gone
Darker it grows. The organ swells and
rolls, TIC voices leap and fall, clear as a
bell rings out a fresh young treble, soaring
out and up, sounding like the evensong Of
o bird in the woods when spring has come
Harkl Ills nave no weight, . sings the
clarion voice of youth, .'and tears no Bit
terness. Where is DEATH sting?' it cries.
s'Wherc, grave. thy victory" Hear it,