The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-08-06
A STARTLING DREAM.
The Story Told by a Temperate
PhiIadelphian.

am not an immoderate eater OF
drinker, and usually sleep soundly
every night. 1t has been my custom
for years to 90 to bed between ten and
eleven o'clock. always breakfast al
seven, lunch at two, and dine at six.
When 1 add to this that have not
changed my diet for twenty years and
that am not an imaginative man, you
will wonder how my mind should be
filed with such strange thoughts as
those I am about to relate.
Invent to bed as usual on Sunday
night and slept, should Judge, until
about midnight. Something then
awakened me, and got up and lighted
the gas. I did not know what caused
me to oet ont of bed and went back
again No sooner had my head
touched the pillow than felt myself
transported to a neighborhood which
seemed like Fourth and Bainbridge
streets. I walked along Fourth, and
as l reached Bainbridge a small dog
ran out of a market house and caught
me by the leg. l drew a revolverwhich
had in my hip pocket and shot the
animal through the head. The noise
seemed to attract the attention of
dozens of other dogs that rushed on
me from all sides. All this time l was
conscious that 1 was in my own bed at
home, but felt that my soul, or my
reas0n-if the term suits you better
was going through this strange expe-
rience. Gradually the consciousness
of being in bed faded out and seemed
to be only fighting off these ours. /
had Just succeeded in putting a bullet
through the body of an enormous
hound when little, misshapen negro
ran out of house on Fourth street.
He seemed to be frantic with rage and
demanded why l had killed his dog.
made no answer, but retreated, feeling
q sudden and unaccountable spasm OF
fear. / ran into a house on the west
side of Fourth street with the little
dwarf close at my heels. l managed
to shut the vestibule door and lock it
before he had fairly reached the top
.steps. l walked through long hall
way to what seemed like a circular
platform. In the middle of this there
was a sort of well guarded by an iron
railing, and outside of this railing
could see the opening of spiral stair
way leading down to / knew not where.
As / reached this platform, a door
leading from the room on my right
was suddenly opened, and dog, pre-
cisely similar to the dog / had first
neen in the market house, darted out
and flew at my face. / seized the brute
ky the throat and choked him until life
was seemingly extinct. Then / walked
over to the well-like place and threw
the body of the dog over the railing.
heard it 60 bounding down until it
reached the bottom, which seemed to
be a great depth.
All this had taken but moment, and
the hump-backed negro was still strug-
Cling at the door, seeking to gain en-
trance. 1t instantly flashed across my
mind that his anger, which even then
seemed to be almost frenzy, would
be intensified should he discover that
I had killed another dog, and started
to run down the spiral stairway with
half-fOrmed intention of concealing the
body of the dead dog. l went down
and down and down, and the constant
turning made my head whirl.
I reached the bottom at last and
found myself in a vaulted chamber.
The spiral stairway ended at the mouth
of bricked well. l looked about to
find the dog but could not see him, and
while / was speculating as to whether
/ had tossed him into the we'll or not,
my eyes became more accustomed to
the gloom, and / saw ranged about the
edge of the well twelve skulls, which.
from their size and conformation, /
took to be the skulls of infants. was
Just about to retrace my steps and as
IL, cd
to become a dual entity / knew that
j was in my own home and in my own
bed, but / could see myself standing in
front of the twelve skulls, and actu-
ally wondered how my second self
would escape. Then happened a most
remarkable thing. ! became fully
awake. although l still saw myself at
the bottom of the stairway. surrounded
by the skulls. l lifted myself on my
elbow, and made sure that I was not
dreaming. / leaped out of bed onto
the floor and walked over to the bu-
reau. To my intense amazementI saw
that the mirror was lighted up with
strange glow, and in a dim vista /
could see myself cropping about in the
vaulted chamber. / must explain TO
YOU that the first sensation on awaken
ing was that what l saw was in my
minds eye, and the second sensation
after getting out of bed was an actual
seeing with the natural eye. i even
went so far as to wipe off the surface Of
the Iooking-glass with my handker-
chief. butthe illusion was not dispelled.
] perceived the misshapen dwarf force
his way into the entry and creep stealth
ily along until he reached the head of
the spiral stairway. H4s eyes were
blazing and his every movement
seemed to remind me of what / had
read of the evil one. You can not
imagine the strange feeling of horror
and apprehension that took possession
of me as / watched this black fiend
peer over the railing as he drew from
his breast pocket a long, keen knife.
This knife he whetted on the sole Of
his boot. and then, with q diabolical
grin, he began 90 nofselessly descend
the stairway. No words In the English
language could describe my agony at
that moment. saw my other self, all
unconscious of danger, walking about
that dismal place, and-I saw the muir
derer getting nearer ard nearer, his
face getting more deviHsh at every step
b. took MT heart seemed 20 stand
sril, and became, as ID were, hadp-
1ess spectator of what promised 70 -