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Show SAYS HE HAS BEEN IT HEAVEN. Singular Effect of the "Boy Preacher's Eloquence Upon u Milwaukee Lad. Milwaukee, December 20. With $700 and a sore throat the "Boy Preacher" departed de-parted from the world's centre of beer culture. He is credited with having brought 400 minors to the anxious seat, influenced something over 100 to the baptismal bap-tismal font, and saved; nobody knows how many souls, albeit the exhorter made claims in that direction from the pulpit bold enough to shame a defeated political candidate in a close campaign. But the most marvelous result of emotional emo-tional religion as promulgated by the antiquated an-tiquated boy apostle is still unknown to him and to the public. It speaks whole libraries for the persuasive powers of "boy" preaching, but fails to recommend the advantages of boy conversions. The story is as toid by a stolid and reputable German citizen. It relates how a twelve-year-old German lad of studious disposition disposi-tion and meditative mind put the promise of salvation and paradise to a practical childish test. - Attending revival meetings at first through maternal compulsion, the youngster young-ster became interested in the novel excitement, ex-citement, then impressed, finally convinced. con-vinced. The next day he was missed at dinner time, absent at supper, and grieved for as lost by the mother when the evening wore away and he failed to put in an appearance. The more phlegmatic phleg-matic father argued that the boy was no fool, and would appear in his own good time. He did. After an absence . of forty-eight hours, a fruitless searching of tbe neighborhood, and a visit to the homes of the boy's most intimate friends, the father concluded to notify the authorities, author-ities, and, starting out for that purpose, met his child in the yard, haggard in appearance but happy in mind. His story j was astounding, but his faith was rock-rooted. rock-rooted. He had been in heaven. With glowing eyes and eloquent detail he described de-scribed the scenes the shining streets, the golden chariots, the angels, the music, and, with the very acme of the innocence and trust of childhood, the Deitv itself was pictured in perfection perfec-tion of form and feature. . Nothing could persuade the little Christian to abate .an ibto of his alleged experience. He maintained main-tained it with the persistencs of a stoic and the perverseness of a lunatic against the reasonings, entreaties and threats of his parents. Theories of dreams and visions vis-ions he renounced with indignation, and held to the idea of an actual experience. In a hole far underneath the hay in th barn was found the little fellow's hat and the impress of the child's form. Rational in all thing3 else, ho holds to this strange story. Certain it is that for forty-eight hours .he was in a trance, sleep or whatever what-ever it was. Whether tired nature re- j belled against the undue excitement in j the mind of the growing lad, whether he secured possession of some drug, as opium, cannot be more than surmised. The family is very well known and highly respected, and avoids the notoriety no-toriety and annoyance" which would follow fol-low should the curious public be made acquainted with their identity. They are anxious, too, about the result,and refrain from having the subject baoached in the child's presence. The development of time will determine whether the old "boy preacher" has here an heir to his eloquence or a victim to his methods. i i - ' |