The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-08-27

II make you superstltlOuss Tor remem-
Der, that in all my long life's expet-
fence, this is absolutely the only dream
I have ever had which was followed by
any effect whatever.
There was another meditative pause,
and then the old lady begans
you remember, my dear, that am
a twin; have often talked to you
about Bessie. my twin sister; the pair
Of US were so much alike that strangers
could not tell US apart, but folks well
acquainted with us could tell which
was Bessie and which was Kate as
soon as we spoke, for she was much
hvelier and sprightlier than / was.
Mother was very proud of the like
ness between us, and always dressed
US alike and kept US together, SO that
each seemed to the other like a second
self, and we hardly had a thought we
did not share. Until we were fifteen
years old we had never been separated
more than an hour or two at a time in
our lives, but about that time-the last
OF June it was, / believe-there came
letter from a cousin of father s, who
lived in the mountainous country east
OF Pittsburgh, inviting Bess and me to
come and spend our vacation with her.
Our home was in Philadelphia, which
was a good big city even so long as
half a century ago, and father and
mother were DESTROYS to have US make
the visit, which they thought would be
benefit as well asa pleasure to us, for
we were growing fast and were not
strong.
1T happened, however, that only a
few days before we got the letter,
mother had had fall going down cell
lar, and was now laid up with a broken
limb. We were the oldest girls in the
family, and there were several little
ones, so that, even if mother had been
well, 1t would have been hard for her
to have spared us both for a long
visit. As matters stood, it was just
impossible.
''After a great deal of talk and de-
bate, it was at last decided that we
should take our visits separately; that
l should 90 first and stay a month, and
that when l came home, Bessie should
90 and stay the other month. Mother
did not like the plan any better than
we girls did. 1 overheard her and
father discussing it, and mother was
actually crying when she said: I be-
lieve the children will die if they are
separated, and am sure the trip will
do them no good if they don't 90 to-
gether.
Father laughed at her, and said
Bessie and Kate were two individuals,
and her hobby of making us only one
had gone far enough, and that he
thought the present arrangement a
good one, if only to teach us that we
could live Independent existences. 1
suppose mother thought he was right,
for after that our separate trips were
| decided on, and mother was careful to
say nothing that could make us feel
worse about the separation than we
did naturally.
lit took a long day to accomplish
the journey. Father put me on the
! cars, in the care of the conductor, at
| six o clock in the morning, and l did
not get off of them until two in the af-
ternOon. 1 was met at the railway
station by Cousin John in his own car
/ riage, and we had a ride of twenty
miles, up hill and down hill, before we
got to his house at Hillside in time for
| supper. Every body was kind, but l
was tired, and, in consequence, home
sick. Cousin Susan seemed to under
stand just how l felt, and after a good
| deal OF petting and a nice supper, act
] ed on my own secret wishes by saving
| that she was going to send me right
| away to bed. She put me into the
cleanest, prettiest, little white-cur-
/ tanned room l had ever seen; the
/ sheets, pillOw-cases and towels all
| smelled of rose-leaves and lavender;
and when she had seen me safely curled
| away in the big feather-bed, she kissed
me heartily, and left me feeling quite
| happy. But l was too tired to sleep
we'll and if / had not been, the feather
| bed would have made me restless, for
| l had never slept on one before. I
| tossed and turned and dozed brOkenly
the whole long night, and through all
/ those hours of half-cOnsciOusness, Bes-
sic was with me as she had been every
/ previous night of my existence; and
she was crying and moaning all the
| time-and so was L, too, / suppose.
1T was all nice and pleasant when
morning came, however, and / soon
forgot my uncomfortable night in the
| novelty and kindness that surrounded
me. My entertainers were middle-aged
| folks, childless and well-Off, and
seemed very glad to have me with
| them. They were both laying out all
| kinds of plans for my entertainment,
and | think If Bessie had been with me
should have been perfectly happy;
even without her l managed TO pass a
very pleasant day, riding around with
Cousin John and gathering flowers on
the hillsides. 1 went to led that night
in good spirits, and just healthily
tired; but the feather-bed made me
restless, and with the restlessness
came back the uncomfortable sensa-
tons of the preceding night. Again
imagined Bessie was beside me in the
bed, and always crying and moaning
and seeming in some mysterious
trouble. Towards morning, I at last
dropped into a sound sleep and then it
was that my strange dream came to me.
/ still heard Bessie crying, but it
seemed now as though she were at
home and calling me to come to her,
and in my dream | thought l had
started to do so; the journey was won
derfully real. l went through the car
riage ride, the wait at the station and
the long railroad journey afterwards,
exactly as if i was real life; there were
endless stoppages and delays all the
time which worried me dreadfullY, but
/ got TO Philadelphia at last. 1t seemed
to be just coming on dusk, and was
, alone, but our home was not very fan
from the station and l knew my way
very welL / thought / reached the
house and found the front door stand
} ing open, though no one was to be
seen, inside or out, and l entered with
out knocking or ringing. Then il
seemed as though We're at the door o.
mothers room, though | don't remem,
Der going up stairs; there I saw mother
bending over the bed, crying and sob
, bing and making strange, wild mo
tons of grief-and on the bed
stretched out as though she were life
! ! less, was Bessie.
tt II could not get a step further thar
, the door, though it seemed as if I were
J straining evAy nerve to go to her; ant
= while I was i'm this state of distress