The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-03-30
THE WONDERFUL DREAM.

"Oh, yes, sartin! Yes, yes-I be-
lieve in dreans," said old Silas Tafton.
He took another Whit at at his pipe, and
then added "One of the greatest spec>
ulations / ever went into cume of dream
"a wonderful dream. I'll tell you about
it,"
And we listened to the old mans story
as follows:
You remember, some of you, about the
great land speculations here in Maine
thirty years ago. Poor men-a very few
Of them-were made suddenly rich; and
rich men were made suddenly poor; /
was living then in Grey. One day cid
Sam Whitney, of Oxford, stopped at our
place, and showed US a map of new town
which had been laid out in Sagadahoc. On
the mapit locked beautiful There were
brooks, and lakes, and broad plains of
pine and oak, with streets all laid out,
and spots for churches and school, houses
marked in proper array. had cousin
living down that way, and concluded to
go down and take a look. l found the
town of Ellenville, which old Whitney
had shown me on his map, to be wild,
worthless tract, all rocks and swamp but
on the edge of this tract, in another town
ship, my cousin owned piece of good
land, and l bought a hundred and fifty
acres of it, and made me an excellent
farm and for that purchase / was never
sorry.
Meantime Ellenvills was nearly all sold
in hundred>acre lots. The excitement was
at fever heat, and people bought without
once thinking of coming to look at the
land they were purchasing. But by and
by the new owners began to look up 10
their property, and you can rest assured
that they were blue set when they were
assembled on that territory. Within all
the limits of tie mapped out township
there was not an acre that could be cul-
tivated. On the side that bordered my
farm it was craggy ledge of rocks; and
beyond that to the eastward the land set
tied away under the mud and the water
of ssnken slough. Some of these lots
had been sold as high as one pound an
acre, and few of them even higher than
that. One poor fellow, named John
Twist, from Vermont, had paid one pound
an acre for lot that bordered on my
farm. On the map it had been set down
as magnificent pin forest, with a beau
tiful river upon its border, on which was
superb waterApower. Johu Twist
bought it and paid for it, and when he
came to look at it he found it to be a
mass Of barren rock, with here and there
mass of clump or scrub oak and few
Norway pines, and for a river he found
water-course which tumbled melted snow
ever the crags in the spring, but which
was dry most of the year. l did not see
the poor fsllsw when he came to survey
his property, but can imagine how he
felt
After while, however, the excitement
passed off, and the sufferers of Ellsnville
turned their backs upon the grave of their
speculative hopes. On my farm l pros>
pered. My land was of the very best
quality ). my wife was true helpmate !;
my crops were abundant my stock
thriTsd, and l found myself at length
with goodly pile of money tied up in my
stocking.
crops had all been garNered, a man, riding
sorry-looking nag, pulled up before our
door: He was a well>looking man. with
seuate a"o e"ie"a" f-ee, and dressed in
black. 1t was safe enough to conclude
that he was minister, and SO he an
nounced himself He said he was the
Rev. Paul Meskmore he was a mission
ary, on home circuit, and asked shelter
for himself and bis beast for the night.
Of course we welcomed him cheereully :;
and we were pleased with him. He had
Travelled extensively and his conversation
was entertaining and instructive. Before
he went to bed he read chapter in the
Bible and made prayer, and Betsy said
TO me. after he bad retired, that she never
heard such beautiful prayer in her life
The next morning, at the breakfast
table, Nr. Meekmors was very seJate.
lie asked blessing, and then only an
swersd such questions as were asked him
Finally Besty told him she was afraid he
bad not slept well. He smiled, and said
he had slept very well, saving the spell of
curious dream which had visited him
three separate times during the night
Betsy asked him if he would tell what it
was about.
'1t was the old dream of hidden wealth"
he said, with solemn look. 81 haven't
dreamed such dream before, since by a
wonderful dream in South Africa 1 led to
the discovery of diamond mine worth
millions of dollars; and it never p.ofited
me penny. But such wealth is not for
me. | need it not My calling hath
higher and holier aims. And yet this
poor flesh is sometimes weak enough to
lust after the dross of gold and silver !"
By degrees we got from him that he
had dreamed of silver mine ameng the
craGs OF our hills. The mine seemed to
his vision utterly exhaustlsss il the pre-