The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-07-31
Ike Hanson,s SouI.

Maine country village of the railroad.
on my way home 1 stopped to take
dinner and rest my livery plug in Mar
tins Corner. says a writer in the Lew
iston CMe-) Journal
Five men were sitting on the long
bench under h porch of the tavern.
TWO were whiting. the others were
chewing tobacco and enjoying life.
Here comes old Ike Hanson" said
one OF h men suddenly. Let's get
him on a string"
Ike was a little man with a
pinched face and with tufts OF whisk-
ers on each cheek-little starved, un-
dergrown whiskers, looking like wire
grass in a runout pasture.
likes meaner n a farrar cow in a
hot summer, c2e g the men Colided
to me. Bet We a dollar when he
Games over here he'll stand UP to save
wearing out the seat of his pants"
Well, when Ike came over he stood
up, but L can't say that he did so on
ccoun of the ingenious reason ad-
vanced by my new friend.
"Stickin' out fur's usual, Ike, / sup
pose?" asked one Of the loungers.
Il be for all 1 know" replied Ike in
recommittal fashion.
Anything spcial goin' on up in your
neighborhood?' asked one of the men.
"Nothin' much, only Iral Dunbar has
had TO call on the town for help
"Sho. Is that so. Why, the report
got all round down here that after
Iral was took sick you went over and
told him you'd see him through till
spring"
The crowd laughed at the look of as
constituent that came over likes face.
"Fust / ever heard of it," said he.
You'd be likely to ear of it,
wouldn't your" asked one of the five.
NO, Ike Will never e Of anything
like that" said another gravely. IF
he does he'll drop dead. His heart is
weak. so I've hear"
Heart? k amt got no heart.
When they built him they put heart
and giZZard in together, so as TO save
trouble and expense. The things bein'
combined, it o cost as much TO run
EN-"
1 looked to See If this new arrival
wasn't going to be offended by this
broad humor, but he only grinned
grimly.
You fellers out here to the Corner
think you're sharp" said he. You
want to lcok out that you don't fall
down and cut yourself"
Wal, there'd be some blood run out
of us if we should" drawled one of the
men. "There'd be about enough come
onut of you to moisten a postage
stamp"
Huh" sneered Ike.
Say, fellers," remarked a tall man
who a been whiting a bit of shin
gle, Il had a dream about Ike here the
other night, and, bein' he's here, I'll
jest go ahead and tell it. Perhaps he'll
be interested.
Il dreamed 1 died and went to heav-
en- the other day. l got in all right
enough, funny as that may seem to
you fellers. Well, while / was Strolling
round | run up ag'inst a fust class an
gel. He undertook to show me round
a little. He told me n mighty Curl
Gus thing. He said that as long as a
man was on earth they kept his soul
for him in heaven. When it come time
for him to die his spirit come to heav-
en- and got the soul.
How'd you like to see the store
room where we keep the souls?' the
angel asked.
"'Furst rate says I, and We went
down hat way.
1T was a great place, now, 1 can tell
| you. Som of the boxes We're mighty
big concerns"
THE value of a mar is regulated
by the size of his SOUL said the angel.
1.-The more good he does on earth the
better he is to his fellow man., the big
ger is his soul. We nave to keen
boxes. Beats all how some of them
do grow. Let's see,' continued the an
gel, where did l understand you to
say you came from?"
"'Martin's Corner, in Maine says l.
well, by gracious says the angel,
we've got a curiosity here that will
interest you, seeing you are from that
| section
H went up to a big directory, turn
ed the pages and then said TO the an
gel in charge, Hand me down box
seventy %trillion, two hundred and thir-
ty-two million, six hundred and eighty
thousand, nine hundred and seventy
nine.
That box was about as big as a wo.
mans watch case.
open it, says the angel handing i,
to me. l did so, and there was another
box inside. / opened that. Inside that
was still another boX-and, by thun-
der, I opened forty of 'em before 1 got
down to the last, n that was the
tiniest box l ever saw.
Nov here is a microscope said the
angel, Il want you to look, and look in
there sharp
1T was a big microscope. 1 looked
a long while before 1 could see any
thing. Then at last 1 did see a little
speck.
Is hat a soul?' 1 asked.
No says the angel. That ism
a soul. That is something that has
been put in there merely for the pur-
pose of comparison. That is the one
millionth part of a moskeeter's eye
brow. amt you see another leetle,
tiny mite of a speck there?'
Il looked hard, but blame me if ]
could see a thing. 1 told the angel ]
couldn't.
We'll, / don now as We can says
he. But it's there. 1t is one-thou-
sandth part as big as the one-millionth
part of a moskeeter's eyebrow, and il
is the soul of that Ike Hanson down
in your place."