Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-10-06
Il STRANGE TELEGRAM.

I, Roscoe Anthem, am bookseller. Ny
friend, Arnold Percy, is a cashier in =
bank. Our friendship dates back to boy
! hood. and will last as long as life does
We are not very old am thirty, and he
is two Years younger. We are both we'll
to-do in the old. There is scarcely a.
! scheme for the material advancement Of
the city in which we live in which we have
| not direct money interest. We each own
not very mucb-of the stock of the bank
In which my friend holds position. This
is our oldest venture, and it pays well. We
each own stock-more this time-in the
new water works and pumping machinery.
by which the city is supplied with water
| We are quiet and steady in our habits. I
have the reputation of being good BUSH
ness MANN books; helm money.
But most men have some enthusiasms
outside of business. We have. In fact
we have to. And they are psychology
and electricity. We room in the same
, house, on the same floor. and on exactly
opposite sides of the hall. My room is
open to him at any time and his is to me-
But in the interests of electrical science
we have each telegraphic instrument Of
the most costly kind on our respective ia
bles, and wire between our rooms. Be-
| sides this we have telephone communica-
ton. A queer freak, you say; so be it.
We enjoy it, and can afford it and we
have it.
Rare books, old and new, which treat of
either electrical or psychological questions
find their way to our tables and are read
aud discussed.
We amuse ourselves for hours together
u 18th our instruments. Then we will meet
in the room Of one or the other to read. to
smoke, to talk and to-yes: let me confess
ito write. For we are each at work on
book. Mine is not a BOOKSELLERS cata-
logue. 1t is not a ulde to read or study.
1 will confess again it is book on dreams.
And Arnold Percy, who will never write
anything remarkable on finance, lis making
very readable book on Geographic COM
munication. ts.
We are too good friends to be SELFISH
Arnold will talk an entire evening on
whatever pleases me best. He records his
dreams for me and helps explain Them
That is, he does this when he has any
dreams. We are both too sound s!eepers
to dream much. 1, on the other hand, help
him in every way in my power.
In the preface of my book there are two
fundamental statements which | will copy
here. They are as follows:
ut may help in our study of dreams to
assert that they are the results of definite,
even if not understood, causes, and that
the study Of a dream should Include the
study of the day before the night during
which the dream occurs.
ssAs it is difficult to tell just when sleep
land consequently dreaming) begins and
ends, we should study all events which are
closely connected with dream in the light
of the science of dreams"
Twill commence, then, with the morn
ing of certain day, and relate, in consid-
cradle detail, some of the events of that
day. Arnold had told me the night before
that he should rise early to write a few
pages in his book. We had retired late,
and had left our doors open in order to get
more air during the hot night than was
otherwise possible.
opened my eyes just before daylight. In
the room objects were in obscurity.-
But flood of gaslight poured in at my
open door from the room in which my
friend was hard at work.
up with the blrds,arn't your" said 1.
And certainly the birds we're singing in
most pleasant manner outside.
"Hold on. want to try an experiment.
Look toward the door,"
''All right"
From my place in bed Icou!d not see in
to Arnold's room. but as I looked the de-
crease in brightness showed me that he
had turned his gas almost, but quite out.
He had turned it on again. then almost
out, and SO on sometimes slowly, some
times quickly. the light would be almost