Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-04-03
BELIEF AND IMAGINATION
AN EASTER SKETCH

The editor of the paper was agnes
tic. Fifty years age he would have
been called an inGd>I. but We have
softened our speech in some ways
Now, although he was an agnostie ana
really=hnew ching ef future Hfe
lie was editor of alive paper ami he
had to observe The times and seasons.
theie fore, when by die calendar he saw
that Easter VAS nca hand. ne de-.
tetmined TO set upan Easter number
sp&ring no expense to make ii seue-
thing that would appear alike 10 art
lovers ard to the multitude.
But although tie editor was an az
nestle, il is ut to be understood that
he Was bad man This is not a ia
bic. wRera everything is told in sym.
holS, and where all the characters arc
types, lie was a god man, a kindly
9aan, and if men get into heaven by
sosI deeds alone (and there are those
who say they do), this agnostie was
certain of happy immortality. Can
yH imagine a more pleasant surprise
than for a man to die an agnostic, af-
ter WeIl-spent life, and to awake
celestial being, knowing for a fact that
he had all his life doubted?
Among his corps of writer's there
was young Hindu with one of those
unthnking In the office, where he
was cordially liked, he was called
Dan for short and that name will do
as well as his own. He was a word
poet, and he handled the English
tongue with an ease that many an
American envied.
The Hindu was also good man, al
though that is neither here ncr there.
He could project himself into a sub
ject until his whole being was saturat-
ed with it, and he had written a Rus
sian story that more than one Russian
expert attributed to Turgenieff He
could do anything in words, and ne
could weave you story IF the Morse
mythology and set it forth in dress CT
brighter colors than would have been
possible to a man of Scandinavian i'm
agination. Sc when the editor was
casting about him for the proper per
sen to write him an Easter allegory he
sent for him and said to him quite Sc
riously: 81 want you to write me an
allegeTy about the resurrection L
want something that will appeal to
churdch people. Nothing theatrical,
but simple and human. You under
stand?'
81 understand" said this young Hin
du, and then he went to an art gallery
and looked at those pictures that
would help him, and after that he went
to his lodgings and cast himself upon
the flor and gave his imagination free
play for an hour, and then rose and
wrote the allegory in an hour and then
wrote it once again and after that he
let it alone for he knew that every ad-
ded touch wculd take something of
spontaneity from it.
So he brought it to the editor, who
read it through and said quite serious
ly: Almost thou persuadest me to
be a Christian"
The allegory having been written
it remained to have it illustrated. and
new, for once the editor had some
thought Of the fitness CT things, and he
said to himself: 81 must get Chris |
tian to illustrate this E" and he called |
his artists in and said to each in turn:
Are you Christian?'
And it was astonishing the answers
he received. Most of the men growled !
out a negative; some blushed and said
nothing, but none gave an affirmative !
answer until he came to a young Cath
olic, who said modestly, but in man |
ly tone, Il hope so, sir"
"Well, Michael, you won't be able to
Illustrate the story, as it is entirely |
cut of your line. want a picture |