El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-30
- Ii ReIne Helen Baker.l

STOOD on New Years eve between
two worlds. Both were in dark
= ness. Before me lay the uncertain
ties of the new year. Behind me
stretched away in boUndless gloom
the great past ! tarried in silence Tor
the day to break upon the opening
year.
AS one by one the stars illumlned
nights black curtain I sank upon the
bed Of earth and dreamed dream An
angel stood before me and bade me
rise. Unquestioning and without as
constituent, I arose. 1t seemed to me
the angel pointed to a scene spread out
as a panorama before our eyes
And this is what I saw A youth
toiled up the hillside, pausing now and
again to rest his tired feet, and chafe
his burning brow. With painful slow
ness he never seemed to gain more
than a few yards before he sank ex-
hausted. while the summit which he
sought still lowered high above him.
As ne sank, he turned towards US. and
we saw upon his face a radiant smile
of perfect contentment. In his eyes
shOne the inspiration Of one to whom
God had spoken face to face.
i turned and spoke to the angel by
my side, and prayed that he reveal
the meaning of all earthly things. Oh,
that this road could be my road. and
that the smile the pilgrim wears con-
dnuously might be given me. The toll
Of my life is nothing, If only that smile
Of eternal serenity might also be mine
Then the answers to my questions
were revealed to me in pictures. Years
ago had dreamed OF a temple
yearned to build. 1t was a building Of
nf md
pearls and crystals, broad as the fir
mament, lofty as the dome of heaven,
and expansive enough to hold within
its walls all the Inhabitants Of the
My dream was now approaching con
summation, for the angel showed me
the walls extending all round a vast
continent. and as looked he pointed
to the builders Millions of men and
women were doing the work Of which
I once had idly dreamed. Even chill
dren here and there brought and laid
a stone. Most strange Of all I noticed
that few Of the builders brought more
than one stone-One pearl or a single
piece Of gold-yet the gigantic work
went on.
Stirred with intense admiration, I
asked my angel guide how long the
work had proceeded. I could hear no
answer. but he raised his hand and
pointed to the foundation. I saw that
the earliest stones visible bore curious
legenUs the inscriptions Of an age un-
known to history, Of men whose
thoughts had never been revealed to
later human minds and whose very ex-
istence had come to be regarded as
mythical Below these early stones
were solid walls buried in fathOmless
depths.
Still they built and with slow Ger
tainty the Universal church was being
erected, one stone at a time.
I would have spoken again, for a
thousand questions suggested them
selves, but the angel smiled and the
scene vanished.
As I looked once more, it seemed to
me that the soil of the land wherein
we gazed grew strangely lovelier. It
was the same old country I had known
but with a new and brighter aspect.
Dark spots which I once knew had
disappeared. Several dangerous abyss
ses for which I looked could not be
seen Where once ugliness had reigned.
beauty now held sway
Most of the institutions erected bv
our forefathers. and which I remem-
bered well, had been replaced by more
wieldy, handsome edifices. Glistening
fountains played in lovely gardens in
the town. Happy children ran or walked
together, prattling merrily, no man
making them afraid. I looked for the