The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-11-18

Peter. l nave several times Deer
able to project my soul beyond the
realm of earthly things and have al
such times carried on most interest
ing conversations with St. Peter.
"St. Peter" I said. "what does il
mean to be in society ?"
He shook his head solemnly. 81
have never been able to find out.
You know" he said, "I was not in
it myself"
"Do you think" I went on, deter
mined to get a little satisfaction some
where, that most of the great people
of earth have been in society? Would
you say that the people whose names
have been handed down from genera
tion to generation because of the great
things they did were, for the most
part, people who moved in the best
circles p"
Of course, I do not wish to advance
it as fact, but it rather seemed to
ne that St. Peters eyes twinkled.
81 will summon some of them to the
gate, " he said. "You may ask them. !"
After minute he returned with
William Shakespeare. / was fright
ened at first, but determined not to
retreat. "Mr. Shakespeare" said,
controlling my voice as best as I
could, "when you were on earth were
you in society?"
Shakespeare looked bored. 81 was
a great depictor of life" +" he said. II
was universal. Would 1 have been
universal had I been bound by the
fetters and the follies of society,""
"Mr. Shakespeare" I continued,
pardon my seeming impudence, but
could you, may 1 ask, have been in
society if you had cared to be?"
Shakespeare chuckled. mot at all, ;"
he answered, cheerfully, "and isn't
it good joke on them? Don't you
suppose they feel rather queer about
it ~
I replied that surely they must,
and Shakespeare went away.
st. Peter came back after minute
accompanied by Ludwig Won Beetho-
ven. "Mr. Beethoven" I said, "a
century has elapsed since you lived on
earth, but it is still maintained by
large number of the people occupy
ing that sphere that you were the
greatest musical composer that has
ever lived. Your wonderful harmony,
your superb music has made the
world rich these hundred years, and
were you, may I ask, in society,""
Beethoven looked at St. Peter in
troubled fashion, but after a minute
light broke over his face. "My
mother was the daughter of a cook, F"
he said simply. "No, I was not in
society"
"Did you care to be? Were you
a disappointed soul because you were
not invited to peoples dinners and
receptions?"
His eyes met mine dreamily. II
never thought anything about it."
In turn I put my query to Socrates,
Christopher Columbus, Victor Hugo,
Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin,
Abraham Lincoln, and innumerable
others. They all declared they had
not moved in the 'best circles. +"
Some Of them said society would have
taken them up after they became
famous, but that they were too busy
or too absorbed to care anything about
peoples ''lists." Others admitted
with great cheerfulness that society
had never paid any attention to them.
St. Peter and / stood alone at the
gate. "They told me on earth" I
said, wearily, "that society was made
up of the people who were worth
while. I am sure I do not know
what they mean by worth while be-
cause brief stay in heaven has con-
vinced me that society and the people
who have made the world did not
have very much in common"
''It seems to be a kind of double
letting alone" observed St. Peter.
Society did not care for them and
they did not care for society"
II am totally discouraged, " I said.
81 have searched heaven and earth
and I cannot find what it means to
be in society,"
1t seems to me again, though I
cannot prove it, that St. Peters eyes
twinkled. "There is one place left, "
he observed slyly.-Cathokc Colnnp-
6ian.