The Mississippi Creole

A Beautiful Reflection.—I cannot believe that earth is man's abiding place. It cannot be that our life is cast upon the ocean of eternity, to float a moment upon its waves, and then sink into nothingness! Else, how is it that the glorious aspirations which leap like angels from the temple of our heart, are forever wandering about unsatisfied? Why is it that the rainbow and clouds come over us with a beauty that is not of earth, and then pass away and leave us to muse upon their loveliness? Why is it that the stars which hold their festival around the midnight throne are set above the grasp of our limited faculties, forever mocking us with their unapproachable glory? And finally, why is it that the bright forms of human beauty are presented to our view and then taken from us, leaving the thousand streams of our affections to flow back in Alpine torrents upon our hearts? We are born for a higher destiny than that of earth. There is a realm where the rainbow never fades; where the stars will be spread out before us like the islands that slumber in the ocean; and where the beings that pass before us like shadows will stay in our presence forever!