Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1904-04-07
MR.. NEw-LIGHr OF RUSH CITY.
Thought He Knew IL All, But His
End showed There Was Much
for Him 10 Learn.

| "AAo hAAtN ~ all AAf AAfNd III AAAGA NAAg
where the houses were mostly 25 sto-
ries high; and between them were deep,
dark gullies called streets, in which
ran thousands of swift electric cars,
says Chambers Journal
A great cloud of smoke hung over
Rush City, for there were miles Of fac
tory chimneys, and these were spouting
night and day, to the infinite pride and
profit of New-Light and other share
holders
NewLight had an Office at the top of
the highest building in Rush City. On
his desk was a telephone through
which he could talk with people a thou
sand miles away; his letters for the
post were slipped into a tube at his ell
low, and thence slipped down through
the IS stories to the letter box on the
street floor; he could not see Gods
beautiful blue heavens but consoled
himself by keeping his private constella-
tion Of artificial light always ablaze.
When he felt weary, an electric but
ton summoned a whisky cocktail, which
renewed his strengthen the moment
His lunch was summoned by tele-
phone He ate il with one hand; with
the other he held fast a narrow strip
OF paper which was being perpetually
disgorged by a little clicking machine
called a ticker" This little telegraphic
demon told the price of mining and rail-
way shares in every big city Of the /
world. New-Light worshiped this de- |
mont was his god.
So soon as the demon grew tired Of |
clicking out paper New-Light stepped I
into an express elevator at his door, (
which shot him down to the earth with
an electric swoop through % stories.
Then he stepped into his electric mo-
tor and whizzed away to his club amid |
the iangling OF electric traffic overhead, /
underground and all about him To his
senses there was something soothing in
the Gathering Of drays. He breathed
comfortably IN the atmosphere Of pros
porous pandemonium.
After a few cocktails. New-Light
unused on the progress Of civilization,
and concluded that man had so perfect
ed the earth that the Creator could safe
~ leave the rest to New-Iig & Co.
Rush City was far away in the in
terror, and New-Light had not yet seen
the ocean. His universe had been one
that moved only at the click Of an cleo
trio button or the push Of a piston.
The mighty world Of stars said moth
Ing to him, the periodicity Of the moon,
the mighty lifts Of the tides, the rising
of the sun. the opening Of flowers; all
these things affected New-Light only in
so far as the almanac registered his
working days beneath the tall. sooty
of Rush City.
The laws Of mereiful nature which ,
aid the mariner In his voyages-the
blessed Gulf stream and the priceless
trade winds-all these things were 10
New-Light as of no importance COM
pared with trolleys, tickers, motors and
factory chimneys.
One day New-Light saw the sea for
the first time The tide was far out.
and he walked a long distance and
Derched upon a rock which stood alone
At the edge Of the exposed sands. He
sat and wondered If he could not or
sanize a company to utilize the force
IF the waves in the manufacture Of
slectric power.
And, as he wondered. the tide rose
and surrounded his rock. And when he
Jaw az length that he was like 10 be
drowned by the advancing waters, he
cursed the Almighty for
'ruelty and stupidity in making a tide
hat was likely 10 drown so precious a
,reature as himself
There were - fishing boats sailing
nerrily homeward on this particular
ide. Their crews knew little of tele-
lhones. tickers and motors but they
-enerated the works Of God and studied
he laws Of His making These men
allied in boldly over the rocks for
hey knew the tides. the currents and |
he depth of water-their wives and l
.weethearts waved to them from the
lunes. 3
The body of New-Light was washed
shore and reverehtly cared for by the y
nipple fishermen. But when they 7
earned how he had been drowned they h
ould but say: Poor fool: so rich in L
money, so poor in knowledge" o
New-Light was buried in Rush CITY. i
nd the papers said that "he was the 7
finest product OF our progressive and
ushing age"