Wichita eagle., 1888-03-25
TOLD IN A DREAM.


his desk with tremendous force.
The young man in his excitement rost
from his chair and paced line floor of his
Office. :
Il made a fool of myself )" he said bit
terly "He-e am, a young lawyer, with
out practice, in q little couI TRY town, and
with no hope of bettering my condition.
Instead of waiting patiently for something
to turn up have had the u udacity TO fall
fn love with the wealthiest .heiress in the
place, and tonight l forev er disgraced
myself by asking her to marry me. To-
morrow 1 am to see her FL ther. There
,.an be but one result. Mr.. Howard is q
millionaire. He will ask me about my
property and my prospects. Wen, i have
about SIS in my pocket and l owe $500
The old gentleman will regard me as a
fortune hunter and request me to discon-
tinue my visits Yet, the lord knows
love Alice, and I would devote my life to
her.
Blair looked around the office and took
survey of his scanGy possessions. A few
articles of furniture, and perhaps a hun
dred law boollS-thiS was all.
at will be useless,7' he said, ITO tell a
man like Mr. Howard that will wait for
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 adj
joining his office, and made an attempt to
sleep off his trouble.
For corna TINA hp was wide awake His
eyes burned and his brain was in whirl.
At last he fell into a feverish and dis
turbed slumber.
In the course Of the night strange
thing occurred. Just how 1t happened he
did not understand, but he had late visi-
tor, who introduced himself as a lawyer
from London.
The stranger made profuse apologies for
his untimely visit.
''Mr. Blair, - he said, 81 will not detain
you with any preliminaries. You are the
heir to the estate of John Blair, one of
your uncles who ran away from home
when mere boy, and settled in Liver
pool. Your uncle was remarkably lucky.
He found friends, went into business, and
in the course of time made fortune. He
died month ago and left you $500, 600"
Julian proceeded TO ask for further in
formation, but the London lawyer pleas
.ntly remarked that good news would
keep.
Unjust leave in half an hour for New
York" he said, ''but you may expect me
back in a week or so, and then the neccs-
sary arrangements will be completed for
placing you in possession of Your inherit
ance.'
With this the strange visitor vanished,
and Julian Blair as he raised himself on
his elbow and looked about the room,
asked himself whether he was awake or
dreaming.
A sudden drowsiness overcame him,
and when he again opened his eyes it was
morning.
WAS it a dreanl?" he cried, rs he
dressed himself. mo, it is 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 q reality"
Julian found, after making his toilet,
that he was still little feverish, with .
strange fullness in his head, but a glancs
at the mirror showed that he was looking
unusually 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 rs he reached
the sidewalk. Had he made a mistake in
telling the banker of his good fortune? If
the whole thing was only dream, as he
sometimes suspected, he had done very
bad thing.
''Pshawr' he said to himself, 81 am
sick and nervous. How can it be a
dream?''
BY degrees HE confidence was restored,
and later in the day when he saw Mr..
Howard his manner was well calculated
co impress the millionaire. He told the
story Of his legacy, and the rich man took
him by the hand and told him that 40
man in the wide world would suit him
better rs Son-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 arose, |
cool and clear headed, without trace of !
fever. He looked back upon the events !
of the past week in amaZement. He no |
longer had any belief in in visit of the
man from London. 1t was dream, and !
nothing else.
Il am in disgraceful fixl'' he groaned.
az have lied TO Mir. Howard and TO Alice.
! have borrowed money under false pre-
lenses. Nothing will ever convince peo-
pie that / am not swindler.'
AS the days rolled on, Julian grew thin
and pale. lie could not bring himself 10
the point of confession TO Mr.. Howard
and Alice. Then, too, some of his obi |
cations were coming due. There was ap-
parently 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 ad- |
dress of Henry Morley, solicitor, Mddle |
Temple, London, and as the owner of the |
card was ushered into the Office, the young |
lawyer looked nj him in blank surprise.
1t did not take long for MIR. Morley to
state his business.
"My young FRIEND" he said, rather
ut is q genuine pleasure to
me TO be the bearer Of good tidiugs. /
nave been two weeks in the country look
ing you up. Your uncle, John Blair. died
~ 'siNttpoo4. where ne lett
large estate, and there is cool half mil
lion for YOU
rs 1t another dream" whispered Ju-
Han.
i don't understand >, said the English