The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-02-10
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THREE MINUTES TO TWELVE
From tie San Francisro 1Iyo"dW.

EtOLu me san fIUHftSb i|u""""''
I'm , cold December night some twenty
yoars auo. when the earth was bound IN a
black frost and the bitter wind blew strong
and shrewdly, | was returning home from
spending the evening at a friends house,
situatcd some three or four miles out OF
town. The sky was 50 black, the country
lanes were 50 dark, that [ was truly thank
ful when the scattered lights Of an outly-
in" suburb began to twinkle in the dis
tapce. and it was with sigh Of relief that
| stopped under the first lamp-pOst | came
TO and looked at my watch. 1t was no
easy task, for the lamp glass had pane
broken and the syrong wind blew the gas
in all directions and almost eXtinguished 1t.
I read the time at last-three minutes
to 12-and. looking up from the watch
face. started to see a man standing close
opposite me. [ had heard nothing OF his
approach. We looked at each other but
for moment, yet it was sufficient time to
imprint his features indelibly on my mem
ory. A tall, shabby man, in threadbare,
black frock coat and seedy tall hat his
face lantern-lawed and sallow, his eyes
sunken and lustreless, his beard long and
ill-trimmcd. In tone of elaborate civil
itv he asked me the time, thanked me for
my answer and, giving me goodnight,
passed into the black darkness, which
seemed to engulf him like grave.
| turned for moment to think OF his
lonely walk in that grim obscurity, and re-
sumed my homeward way, laughing at my
self for the start he had given me, and re-
fected that the strong wind had blown
away the sound of his approach. thought
of him as | sat and smoked my pipe over
my fire, and felt comfortable shudder
steal upon me as [ imagined him facing
the bitter blast in his insufficient clothing.
In the course of week or two the incl
dent-trifing enough, Heaven knows
faded from my memory, and | thought no
more Of it,
In those days | was actively engaged in
the timber trade, and the course of my
business took me great deal about the
country. and brought me largely in con
tact with the agents of the different noble
men and country gentlemen of the dis
trict. With one Of these agents, who re-
sided near the country town of L., | had
numerous transactions, and | used often
10 run down to J.. to meet him, for the
town was only fifteen miles away, and was
ON line of railroad. Ii was a dull little
hole enough, that only warmed up into
life when the militia were out or the as
sizes were on.
One night l returned from L., having
just made large purchase from my frienc
the agent, whose master, a sporting noble
man. was reduced to cut down the family
timber When | fell asleep that night
had very simple but vivid dream.
thought was standing on lofty hill
By my side stood veiled figure, who
with commanding gesture, motioned mt
toward the town of L., which lay in the
far distance. Then I awoke.
OF course, I explained the thing to my
self easily enough | had been gooc
deal engaged in the neighborhood of the
place, and had large venture more o.
less remotely connected with it. Still tht
dream was so vivid that I could not dis
miss it from my thoughts during the whole
of the day, and when | went to bed a
night | wondered if it would again visi
me-
1t did come again, precisely the same
dream, in precisely the same manner
Once more | found convincing explana
ton. Doubtless I had been thinking too
much about the first dream, and this had
given rise to the second. But my expla
nation did not convince me in the least
again | was haunted by the thing through
out the day, and when I came home al
might it attracted the attention of my wife
She questioned me upon the cause, and
only too thankful to unbosom myself Of
what was now almost trouble, / told hel