Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-06-26

| HOW SIrango! SQo eXCldllneQ. May
| we not know all about it? Won't you
| tell us? You have no idea how real that
moment seemed. Do tell us-Do tell us
| now"
eff you please" Major Deverel said.
| So we sat down, and he began.
"It is very strange story, and am not
| going to try to account for it. l shall
leave you to do that if you choose to try
| l shall tell facts in few words-so here l
begin. Some years ago was in Constan-
| tinople. [ was with party OF friends,
and others who Joined us. We were all
| on leave of one sort or other, and ready
| to enjoy ourselves and we all messed to-
gether at French tavern in the suburb
| called Pera, where we lived and enjoyed
ourselves greatly. We were party of
nine, as nearly as can recollect: English,
French, Irish and Scotch; I was the only
Englishman, know.
| Gone day, remarked that very intel
| ligent Scotchman was silent, and appar-
| emily distressed, at our dinner; and af-
| terwards, | was told by French friend of
his, with whom l was walking on the
| height that overlooks the magnificent har-
Dor and the Golden Horn, that the Scotch
man had done very foolish thing-per-
haps worse, a wrong thing, explained the
Frenchman-he had been in spirit of
fun to ask about his future of a Turk who
practiced necromancy; and had come away
sad, silent and puzzled. 1t was said that
| this sorcerer, if he was one, could show, in
a sort of vision, any moment of your fu-
| ture life that you wished to ask for. But
| if you fixed on moment in the future be-
yond the term of your life, you beheld
| only a hideous blank-I say hideous, be-
cause the blank had an effect of the most
desolating description on all who beheld
| it. There was only darkness and moth
| ingness. The end of the room seemed to
be gone, and all things gone with it; and
some strong men had been said to have
| tainted when this revelation of utter loss
had been made to them. Such revela-
ton had been suffered by our Scotch
| friend. He had asked to see what that
moment would be on that day two years,
| and had been answered by the awful dark
ness | have mentioned After day or
two, | determined to go to this sorcerer
myself l told my French friend, who
tried, but in vain, to dissuade me- Iwould
not listen. He refused to go with me, so
l took an Irishman, general favorite,
with me. He was called O'Neil. don't
know why went. 1 think felt it would
| do Patterson, the Scotchman, good, if a
few of us were in a similar predicament
with himself I. know I had no belief
whatever in these prophetic visions being
true. O'Neil and [ paid our visit to the
| Wise Man on Valentines Day 1t was
at night, or rather in the evening-in fact,
| just before nine o'clock. No difficulty of
sovereign, for l was going to do it as
cheaply as | could. He said, Double
that; you will require more than one Wis
ion." said shortly that only wanted one,
and that O'Neil would be with me. He
told me to take back the gold, for to have
| O'Neil with me was impossible. l agreed
then to go by myself and we went up
stairs. The man lived in such house as
the more opulent Turks inhabit-built
| round a court, where a fountain played
very lazily. | remember that the drip of
the water seemed to add to the strange
| silence in this mans dwelling. rather than
! TO disturb it. Every drop was heard so
| perfectly, telling of the unnatural quiet,
| as the ticking of a clock tells of the silent
passage of time. We went through the
| court together, up great marble stair
| case, and through a passage where the
walls were painted and inlaid in places
with ivory, jasper and mother-o' pearl, in
| the most tasteless, ignorant way We got
| at last into great room like a gallery,
perfectly dark except for circle Of small
lamps that burnt about two feet from the
| floor in the centre of the room, as nearly
as could guess In moment I got ac-
customed to the dim light, and then l saw
that the "Wise Man" was standing at the
very farthest end, and holding out his arm
to me. He had before told me only to
speak when he spoke to me. Presently
he said, ASK for the moment you wish
to see." l said, "This time next year."
l felt the room grow warmer. Iperceived
a highly fragrant scent as of some sweet
wood burning; then the end of the room
| grew brighter and brighter, something as
you may see at sunrise, though the light
was less glowing, and then, by degrees,
like thing being revealed out Of the
wavy light and the receding darkness, I
saw distant scene-a scene which, for it's
| perfect stiffness, no one could have dis
| tinguished from real life. There were two
men on the ground; one was dead had
never seen him then-the other was my
SELF apparently dying. An Indian was
| on his knees trying to staunch the blood
that flowed from wound which I could
not see. l looked at it steadily. took
in every particular-more people appear
| ed in hazy outlines, and horse-then the
minute was over, and the whole was gone.
The man was at my side before | knew
that he had left the place where had seen
him, and he spoke:
| You wish for another?' I said. sI
don't know-wait' Don't speak till YOU
are spoken to. | will ask you again soon"
| In this silent interval wondered with
| myself what was it Wisest to do The
question, Did die ?'-or Shall l die p I
suppose 1 ought to say-was SO strong
within me that felt it would be best, at ali
risks, to answer it. If the next sight gave
me the dismal blank, should know what
| feared-if not, / should fear no more p
| | said, Yes what moment shall it be y
| The voice came again from the farthest
corner. l said, This time five years. And
| it came"
"What came?" asked my brother.
"Why, this night-the moment when /
held her in with my left arm, and pointed
| my pistol at Berthe"
"Did yon see Bertie?"
81 saw only myself and woman, lust
as she was | knew the cloak when you
put it ON me. As covered the lad with
the pistol, caught the flash of the lock in
the looking glass, and one glance gave me
the scene complete, myself with my pistol
pointed, and your sister in my arms
When had seen this scene, too, fade away,
the sorcerer said, You viii see another?'
But answered No. / shall carve out nv
life for myself in spite of you,' and I came
away"
"And is this the very night-the fifth
anniversary 20