When I found myself perched on a cloud, with a million other people, I
never felt so good in my life. Says I, “Now this is according to the
promises; I’ve been having my doubts, but now I am in heaven, sure
enough.” I gave my palm branch a wave or two, for luck, and then I
tautened up my harp-strings and struck in. Well, Peters, you can’t
imagine anything like the row we made. It was grand to listen to, and
made a body thrill all over, but there was considerable many tunes going
on at once, and that was a drawback to the harmony, you understand; and
then there was a lot of Injun tribes, and they kept up such another
war-whooping that they kind of took the tuck out of the music. By and by
I quit performing, and judged I’d take a rest. There was quite a nice
mild old gentleman sitting next me, and I noticed he didn’t take a hand;
I encouraged him, but he said he was naturally bashful, and was afraid to
try before so many people. By and by the old gentleman said he never
could seem to enjoy music somehow. The fact was, I was beginning to feel
the same way; but I didn’t say anything. Him and I had a considerable
long silence, then, but of course it warn’t noticeable in that place.
After about sixteen or seventeen hours, during which I played and sung a
little, now and then—always the same tune, because I didn’t know any
other—I laid down my harp and begun to fan myself with my palm branch.
Then we both got to sighing pretty regular. Finally, says he—
“Don’t you know any tune but the one you’ve been pegging at all day?”
“Not another blessed one,” says I.
“Don’t you reckon you could learn another one?” says he.
“Never,” says I; “I’ve tried to, but I couldn’t manage it.”
“It’s a long time to hang to the one—eternity, you know.”
“Don’t break my heart,” says I; “I’m getting low-spirited enough
already.”
After another long silence, says he—
“Are you glad to be here?”
Says I, “Old man, I’ll be frank with you. This _ain’t_ just as near my
idea of bliss as I thought it was going to be, when I used to go to
church.”
Says he, “What do you say to knocking off and calling it half a day?”
“That’s me,” says I. “I never wanted to get off watch so bad in my
life.”
So we started. Millions were coming to the cloud-bank all the time,
happy and hosannahing; millions were leaving it all the time, looking
mighty quiet, I tell you. We laid for the new-comers, and pretty soon
I’d got them to hold all my things a minute, and then I was a free man
again and most outrageously happy. Just then I ran across old Sam
Bartlett, who had been dead a long time, and stopped to have a talk with
him. Says I—
“Now tell me—is this to go on forever? Ain’t there anything else for a
change?”
Says he—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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