He wiped his mouth again and returned to the right, then said in a somewhat louder tone:

"She was a sad-eyed and sorrowful woman. was she sad-eyed and sorrowful?

Why

Be-che-a-use of the

che-i-ld, the little che-i-ld-little Moses-Moses." "She took for him an ark of bulrushes.'

Why did she take for him an ark of bulrushes? Beche-a-use of Pharaoh,-Pharaoh, the ke-i-ng who had commanded the male che-il-dren to be ke-i-lled--the male che-il-dren of the house of Israel.

"Why did he command the male che-il-dren to be kei-lled? Be-che-a-use-they increased and multipliedbe-che-a-use they outnumbered the che-il-dren of the Egyptians. Be-che-a-use they ate up the corn and the meal, and the mutton, and the veal so that there wasn't enough to raise the che-il-dren of the Egyptians.

"Moses was a che-i-ld, a little male che-i-ld, of the house of Israel. And when his motha-his sad-eyed and sorrowful motha-heard that he was going to be ke-i-lled -she hid him three months, and when she couldn't hide him any longer, what did she do? O-o-o! what did that motha, that sad-eyed and sorrowful motha, do?

66

"She took for him an ark of bulrushes.'

Then he proceeded to describe the ark, and the manner in which it was constructed, going into many details which occupied several minutes. At last the tiny craft was constructed and freighted with its precious burden,— was ready to be launched, when he grew very pathetic in his discourse.

"O-o-o! what must have been the thoughts of that motha-that sad-eyed and sorrowful motha as she took the che-i-ld-the little che-i-ld-little Moses, Mosesand laid him in the ark of bulrushes? O-0-0! what must have been the thoughts of that motha as she thought of the crockey-de-iles, the terrible crockey-de-iles, that went creeping and crawling up and down the banks of the river like roaring lions, seeking whom they might

devoua! O-o-o! what must have been the thoughts of that motha, that sad-eyed and sorrowful motha, as she thought of the che-i-ld-the little che-i-ld-little Moses -Moses!"

By this time he had worked himself into a state of religious frenzy. Striding from the right to the left of the pulpit, and returning from left to right, he waved his arms like the floats of a windmill, and shouted:

"O-o-o! what must have been the thoughts of that motha, that sad-eyed and sorrowful motha, as the ark of bulrushes went sailing down the river as she thought of the fowls and the fishes, and of the che-i-ld—the little che-i-ld-little Moses-Moses."

What could be more peaceful than the launching of the tiny ark of bulrushes upon the placid surface of the sluggish Nile. And yet he described it as if picturing the meeting of mighty armies in conflict, the stampeding of great herds of terrified elephants. He described the finding of Moses and his adoption by Pharaoh's daughter, and his subsequent career. At last he paused almost exhausted, and after wiping his mouth with his red bandanna silk handkerchief, and partially recovering his breath he asked in an almost inaudible voice:

"Where is Pharaoh-Pharaoh the ke-i-ng? Gone! Where are his palaces? Gone! but where is the che-i-ld— the little che-i-ld-little Moses-Moses? Here!"

He emphasized his last expression by giving the Bible a terrific thump with his clenched hand.

"O-o-o! my friends! You may take Pharaoh-Pharaoh the ke-i-ng--and the pyramids-and all Egypt, and put them into the balance, and you can take the che-i-ld— the little che-i-ld--little Moses-Moses, and weigh 'em all down!"

Here he raised himself up on the tips of his toes, threw up both hands as if making an insane attempt to punch. holes through the roof to let in new light, then sank back upon his seat, while the congregation drew a long sigh of relief.

SAVED.*-STOCKTON BATES.

All day the sky had worn a lurid hue;

The sun looked down, with bleared and garish rays,
Upon the ocean. No wave disturbed its rest;
It lay like some malarious, stagnant pool.
The turtle crawled far up the glistening beach.
All vegetation drooped. The sluggish wind
But faintly stirred the tiniest branch or leaf-
They all seemed motionless. A stifling heat
Oppressed the breathing throngs that filled the town
The birds were songless, and with folded wings
Sat mutely down; or, with discordant scream,
Flew by and vanished.

Matrons, maids, and men,
Dismayed, each on the other's pallid face
Turned their enlarged eyes, with eager gaze,
As if they questioned what this might portend.
But some pursued their pleasure or their toil,
Nor cared to note how ghastly-hued the sky,
Nor what strange stillness lulled the restless deep,
Or, that the birds seemed frightened in their nests.

But there was one who feared the worst and felt,
With throbbing heart, and strange, mysterious awe,
That some great force of nature was at work.
His soul foreboded ill. Irresolute

He stood a moment, as in doubt, and then,
With lover's haste (love ever fearful is),
He urged his flight until, with panting breath,
Beneath a grove of palms he drew the rein.
A beauteous maiden, tripping through the grove,
Came, with a smile of welcome on her lips;
But when she saw the gaze of dread that hung
Like a dark shadow on her lover's face,
She clasped her hands in anguish; while her heart,
With eager throbbings, sent the gushing blood
To paint upon her cheek the fear it felt.

"What think'st thou, darling?" hastily he spake, "Dost thou not fear some quick, convulsive throe? See how yon orange tree doth seem to droop; And this bright-plumaged bird is sore distressed! From "Dream Life and other Poems," by permission of the author.

Come! let us fly to some securer spot,

Some firm-ribbed rock, whose granite walls may stand
Though earth should tremble to its seething core!”

The smile returned unto those pallid lips
As, softly speaking, she replied, "Nay! Nay!
This is but fear, that thy too bounteous love
For me, and for my safety, has aroused:
This strange appearance but betokens storms
That now are marshaling their cloudy hosts,
With which to wage fierce elemental war."

"Aye, true! my fears for thee are quick to rise;
But I have, now, a dark, foreboding dread
Of ill, that bids me urge thee still to fly.
Hush! hark! do ye not hear that ominous sound,
As of swift caisson wheels o'er yonder bridge?
Aye, there it is again! Alea, haste!

God, is't too late?" her lover cried: "See! see!
The mighty ocean sucks its horrid way

Far out from land, leaving its wretched hordes
In agony upon the slimy bed!

Yet may we fly !"

He clasped the maiden close,
And, mounting his impatient, frightened steed,
That needed not the spur, they swiftly fled.
His burden, lovely as the goddess born
Of iris-colored sea foam, drooped her head
Upon his heaving breast.

With terror dumb,
She clung to him, twining her soft arms round
His stalwart form, in close embrace of fear.
As speeds the nimbie deer, the noble horse,
With nostrils wide, sped onward-

But the sea

Now rose in one grand, overwhelming wave,

And rolled its desolating waters back,—

Back o'er the slime and ooze, where former tides

Had ebbed and flowed; then up the shelving beach,

And on, with stern, resistless power, until

The wavelets lapped the crouching dust that lay
Before the doorways of deserted homes;

Then higher! higher! till, in rage, it burst
Through every barrier, and rushed along

In wild, chaotic revel, swirling, tossing,
Roaring, hissing, crushing, in its course,
Palace and hovel, drowning shrieking forms
Who vainly strove to fly,-old age and youth,
The stalwart man, the tender maid, the child
Were swallowed up.

He turned, alas! to find
The waters gaining. With a sinking heart,
He urged to quicker pace his wearied steed-
The mountain lay so near, and yet it seemed
As though each step but lengthened the short space
"Twixt death and safety.

"Hark! again that sound
Of rumbling wheels, but louder than before!"
He spoke, and then a tremor shook the ground,
So soft at first it scarcely stirred a leaf,

But quickening into sudden throbs, it swayed
The tall tree tops, and rocked the quivering walls,
Until, in one grand diapason, burst,

With fearful force, the mighty earthquake shock.
Chasms opened wide their horrifying jaws,
Engulfing hapless victims and their homes.
So loud and terrible the horrid din

Of tottering walls and madly surging waves,
That the wild cry of human woe was lost
Amid the mightier agony of earth.

The steep ascent lay near, aye, one leap more Would save them from a deep and dark abyss"Alea! look!" the lover cried, "oh, look!

We're saved!" Then up the rugged mountain sido They passed to safety.

Bearing on his arm

The beauteous form, whose loosened ringlets hung In rich disorder over neck and breast,

He turned and gazed upon the chaos wild:

Friends, family, fortune, home, all, all were gone,➡ All gone except his well-beloved Alea;

And, clasping closer to his aching heart

The lovely being, only spared to him

Of those he'd prized, he sank exhausted down,
Down on the hard, unsympathizing rock,
His soul o'ercome with its great agony.