The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1865-03-30
SIMON GATNALL'S DREAM.


cember, Simon Gainall sat posting his
books, and trying to square his accounts
ready for the New Year. But, for some
reason or other, he could not make the
accounts balance. There was an un-
fortunate wrong figure somewhere or
other which he could not find out, that
spoiled the whole reckoning. 1t was not
till twelve o'clock that he went to bed,
wearied with mental exertion and per.
plexity. He slept, but only to 60 over
again in his dreams the porplexing col
umns Of figures which had been vexiDg
him the evening previous. But in his
sleep they seemed still more perplexing
than while he was awake. At length,
as he happened to look up from his work
he seemed to be sitting in his own
counting-ruom, with the same tallow
candle before him which he had been
using in the evening-he saw the door
open, and q man enter, of fair and
young aspect, with an immense folio
book under his arm, bound like an ac-
count. book.
"Wulk in aud be seated, )" said he, alb
sent-mindedly.
Good evening"" said the stranger, 81
see you are in trouble; can l help you?'
eyes," said Simon, "that is, if yol
understand accounts and fgures."l
IL understand them after my way
said he.
"Well," said Simon, "T wish yo,
would help me look over mine little
for can do nothing at all with them.
"Let me see, said the stranger. s
tuking the great book from under hi
arm, he laid it down on the table wild
open, and then sat down beside Simon
who had his own books open bcror
him, .r
"Now,' said he, "show me your ac
counts. What is the difficulty wit
them? ?"
, II can not make the sides balance,
4 said Simon II have added the column
eleven times over, and every time the
t are more and moro out of the way"
f "Let me see, said the stranger agair
: looking rapidly over the list of items o
= each page of the open book. "Whc
is this? A COW sold TO widow Higgin
for twenty-seven dollars. What wa
that cow really worth, Simon?"
"Wcll," said Simon, "perhaps di
get little too good bargain out {
the widow but the COW was wort
6 eighteen dollars at any rate"
"Hore again Two cords Of wood I
Timothy Pepperly for eleven dollars an
fifty cents. How many three feet an
a half sticks were there in those tw
loads, Simon? and how much half-ro
ten wood, when it was warranted a
sound?"
"What do you say?" roared Simor
"Do you mean to accuse me of chea
ing? What do you know about it?
81 was only asking questions" sal
the stranger "I leave it to your COZ
! science to accuse you"
"But what has all this to do with Il
footing Of the columns?" added Simo
= angdly. -c" ..
n "a great deal, according to my wa
Of reckoning" said the stranger, Co
tinuing to look Simon full in the fac
"And then that mortgage of Doaoc
Peter Jeiferson's that you took up
Don't you remember" continued Il
. calm visitor, "that there had been thr
hundred dollars paid on it, of whit
Il you omitted to make account, becau
in there was no proof which could
brought of the payments? How do "
= expect to square your books with sue
frauds as that recorded in them 4? "
"How came you to know that? al
what business is it of yours7" asked s
mon, not only angry this time, b
:, somewhat frightened. "Who are you
"It is no concern of mine, indeet
but it concerns you very much, sa
the visitor. "Pray, how long do y,
expect to live in this world, Simon ,"
he IL have made no calculations mu
take it as it comes"
"Well, you can not live, probabl
more than thirty years longer for y,
are, | believe, little over forty no
You may have thirty years to enj
your i'll gotten wealth; but what go
" will it do you when you get into
other world n"
81 hear as much preaching as 1 wa
to on Sunday SO none of that now.
: What l want is to have my boo
squared"
"But don't you want them squared
90, that they will stay square? You m
," foot up your columns so that the