The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-11-02

much better than the darkness, il was so
dim and Pickering and dismal. He was
conscious then that the room was chill
although his body felt SO warm; and, for
fear he should catch cold, he thought he
would open the register, and let in some
warm air. The register had disappeared
There, right before him, was vast old
fashioned fireplace filed with wood. By
what means the transformation had been
effected, he could not imagine. But he
was greatly displeased.
81 always did like an open wood FIRE,
he said and now l viii have a roaring
one"
So he touched the fame of the candle
to the light kindling wood, and in a mo-
ment it was afame.
II win wash while it is burning up, -
said Epraim.
He went to the place where he thought
he should find the fixed wash-stand, with
hot and cold water running from the pipes
but was amazed to find that it had followed
the strange fashion Of the room, and had
gone alsol There was an old hand basin,
with a cracked china pitcher, standing
upon a movable washstand, but the water
in the pitcher had turned tosolid ice.
With an exclamation of impatience and
indignation, Ephriam placed the pitcher
between the anGirons, close to the wood in
the chimney place; and he did SO with
smarting eyes, for the fue was cold, and
volumes of smoke were pouring out into
the room. In few moments he felt that
he would suffocate unless he could get
some fresh air so he resolved to open the
upper sash of the window.
When he got to the window he perceived
that the panes of glass were only few
inches square, and that the woodwork
enclosing them was thrice thicker and
heavier than it had been. He strove to
pull down the upper sash, but the effort
was vain; it would not move. He tried to
lift the lower sash; it went up with diff
Guilty; itseemed to weigh hundred pounds;
and, when he got it up, it would not stay.
He succeeded, finally, in keeping it open
by placing a chair beneath it.
When the ice in the pitcher had thaw-
ed, be finished his toilette, and then he
descended the stairs As nobody seemed
to be moving in the house, he resolved to
90 out aud get his breakfast at restau-
rant. He unlocked the front door, and
emerged into the street just as daylight
fairly begun.
As Ephraim descended the steps in front
of his house, he had distant impression
that something was wrong, and he was con-
scious of feeling of irritation; but it
seemed to him that his mind for some
reason, did not operate with its accustomed
precision; and, while he recognized par
tial and very unexpected change of the
condition of his life, he found that When
he tried in strangely feeble way, to grap-
pie with the problem, the solution eluded
aud baffied him.
The force of habit, rather than very
clearly defined purpose led him to walk to
the corner of the street, just below his
dwelling and to pause there, as usual, to
await the coming of the horse-car which
should carry him down town. Following
a custom, too, he took from his waisteoat
pocket two or three pennies (Which, to his
surprise, had swollen to the uncomfortable
dimensions of the old copper cents, and
looked around for the newsboy from whom
he bought every morning the daily paper.
The lad, however, was not to be seen;
and Ephriam, was somewhat vexed at his
absence, because he was specially anxious
upon that morning to observe the quota
tions of the Chicago and Liverpool grain
markets, aud to ascertain what steamers
were loading at the wharves.
The horse-car was delayed much longer
than was expected, and, while he waited,
man passed by, dressed oddly, Ephraim
noticed, in knee breeches and very old
fashioned coat and hat Ephraim said to
him politely:
"Can you tell me where l can get
morning paper in this neighborhood
The lad l buy from, commonly, is not at
his post this morning"
The stranger, stopping, looked at Ephra-
i'm with queer expression, and presently
said:
81 don't think I understand you; a
morning paper, did you say?"
''Yes one of the morning papers; the
argus or the ConlnlerciaE-any of them"
"Why, my dear sir, there is but one
newspaper published in this city. 1t is
the Gazette 1t comes out on Saturday,
and this, you know, is only Tuesday"
''Do you mean to say that we have no
daily papers?" exclaimed Ephraim, some
what angrily.
"Dailypapers! Papers published every
day Why, sir, there is no such news
paper in the world, and there never will
be-
"Pshawl'' said Ephraim, turning his
back upon the man in disgust.
The stranger smiled, aud, shaking his
head as if he had serious doubts as to the
strangers sanity, passed onward
"The man is cracked" said Ephraim,
looking after him. "No daily papers
The fellow has just come from the interior
of Africa; or else he is an escaped lunatic.
1t is very queer that the ear does not
come y and Ephraim glanced up the street
anxiously "There is not car in sight |
A fire somewhere, l suppose. Too bad,
that | should have lost so much time
shall walk down"
But, as Ephraim stepped into the high
way, he was surprised to find that there
was no rails there. The cobblestone pave
ment was unbroken.
"N ell, upon my word, this is the
strangest thing of all What on earth has
become of the street-cars | must go
afoot, | suppose, if the distance is great
/ am afraid | shall be too late for business,
as il is"
As he walked onward at a rapid pace,
and his eyes fell upon the buildings along
the route, he was queerly sensible that the
city had undergone a certain process of
transformation 1t had a familiar appear
ance, too. He seemed to know it in its
present aspect and yet not to know it.
The way was perfectly familiar to him,
and he recognized all the prominent land
marks easily, and still he had an indefnable
feeling that some other city had stood
where this did, that he had known this
very route under other conditions and that
the latter conditions were those that had
passed away, while those that he now saw
belonged to much earlier period.
He felt, too, that the change, whatever
it was, had brought loss with it. The
buildings that lined the street now, he
thought very ugly. They were old, mis-
L Il