Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-02-11
TOLD IN A DREAM.

'It WAS madness and folly" And a.
Julian Blair gave utterance TO this excla
nation he brought his hand down upor
his desk with tremendous force.
The young man in his excitement ros<
from his chair and paced the floor Of hi.
effice.
Il made fool Of myself" he said bit
terly. "Here l am. a young lawyer, with
out practice, in little country town, and
with no hope OF lettering my condition.
Instead of waiting patiently for something
to turn lp have had the audacity to fall
In love with the wealthiest heress in the
place. and tonight forever disgraced
myself by asking her to marry me. To
morrow I am to see her father. There
can be but one result. Mr.. Howard is a
millionaire. He will ask me about my
property and my prospects Well, have
about - in my pocket and ! owe $500.
The old gentleman will regard me rs a
fortune hunter and request me to discon-
tinue my visits. Yet. the lord knows
love Alice, and would devote my life to
her"
Blair looked around the Office and took
. survey Of his scanty Possessions. Afew
articles Of furniture, and perhape . hun
dred law books-this was all
1T will be useless" he said, 'to tell q
man like Mr.. Howard that ! will wait for
his daughter. He will simply show me
the door, and all will be over"
The young fellows frank and manly
face wore look Of panied embarrassment.
He had taken leap in the dark and WAS
already regretting his hasty action.
The town clock struck the hour Of mid
night, and Blair retired to his chamber ad-
joining his office. and made an attempt TO
sleep OF his trouble.
For some time he was wide awake. His
eyes burned and his brain was In q whirl
At last he fell into q feveriSh and dis
turbed slumber.
In the course Of the night q strange
thing occurred. Just how It happened he
did not understand. but he had late visi-
tor, who introduced himself a. . lawyer
from London.
The stranger made profuse apologies for
his untimcly visit
.'Mr. Blair" he said. II will not detain
you with any preliminsries. You are the
heir to the estate OF John Blair, one Of
,our uncles who ran away from home
when q mere boy, and settled in Liver
Pod. Your unce was remarkably lucky.
lie found friends. went into business, and
in the course OF time made fortune. He
died a month ago and left you $500, ,00O."
Julian proceeded TO ask for further in
formation, but the London lawyer pleas
sntIy remarked that good news would
keep.
Il must leave in half an hour for New
~ mi
hlck in Q week or so, and then the neces-
>ary arrangements will be completed for
placing you in possession Of your inherit
.noe."
With this the strange visitor vanished,
and Julian Blair, a. he raised himself OIL
his elbow and looked about the room,
asked himself whether he was awake or
dreaming.
4 sudden drowsiness overcame him.
md whom he again opened his eyes It was
morning.
Was It q dresu"' he cried, as he
dressed himself. mo, It IL impossible.
There is the chair the man sat in. re-
member his features distinctly, and every
word he said. and even the tones Of his
voice. Thank God! 1t was no vision; It
was reality"
Julian found. after making his toilet,
that be was still Little feverish, with q
strange fullness In his head, but a glance
1t the mirror showed that he was looking
well.
One thing startled him not little In
the course Of the morning. After . brief
interview with one Of the bankers Of the
town, he walked out ON the street with
$500 in his pocket.
A sudden doubt struck him as he reached
the sidewalk Had he made mistake in
telling the banker Of his good fortune, II
the whole thing was only dream, as he
suspected, he had done very
bad thing
"Pshuwr' he said to himself, II am
sick and nervous. How can 1t be .
dreamr
By degrees his confidence was restored,
and later in the day when he saw Mr..
Howard his manner was we'll calculated
to impress the millionaire. He told the
story OF his legacy. and the rich man took
him by the hand and told him that no
man in the wide world would suit him
better rs n sou-in-law.
A week passed away delightfully."-. Blair
found himself the lion Of the town, but he
spent most Of his leisure time with his
afianced.
One morning the young lawyer nrose,
nool and clear headed. without n trace Of
fever. He looked back upon the events
of the past week In anaoement. He no
longer had any belief In In visit Of the
man from London. It was o dream, and
nothing else.
Il am in ad!ssrace.ul FIX" he groaned.
II have lied to N1r. Howard and TO Alice.
I have borrowed money under false pre-
lenses. Nothing will ever convince peo-
pie that am not n swindler."
As the days rolled on. Julian grew thin
and pale. He could not bring himself 20
md Alice. Then, too, some Of his obli-
cations were coming due. There was ap-
parcn,ly no way out Of the trouble. The
thought Of suicide took possession Of his
mind, and he began TO nerve himself for
the deed.
The card in Julian's hand bore the nd
,inss Of Henry Morley, solicitor, Middle
Temple, London. and as the owner Of the
card WAS ushered into the Office, the young
lawyer looked at him in blank surprise.
1t did no: take long for Mr. Morley TO
state his business
MY young friend" be said, rather
at ia q genuine pleasure to
iue to be the bearer Of good tidinss l
have been two weeks in the country look
ing you up. Your uncle, John Blair, died
in Liverpool, where he left =
large estate, and thoze Il cool half mil
lion for YOU"
is IL another dream" whispered Ju-
lian.