Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-03-17
TOLD IN A DREAM.

at was madness and follyr' And ~
Julian Blair gave utterance to this excla-
nation he brought his hand down upon
his desk with tremendous force.
The young man In his excitement rose
from his chair and paced tho floor Of his
Office.
II made fool of myself, " he said Bit
terly "Here am, young lawyer, with
out practice, in little country town, and
with no hope Of bettering my condition.
Instead Of waiting patiently for something
to turn up have had the audacity to fall
in love with the wealthiest heiress In tho
place, and tonight forever dtsgraced
myself by asking her to marry me-. To-
morrow I am to see her father. There
can be but one result. Mr.. Howard is q
millionaire. He will ask me about my
property and my prospects. Won, have
about So 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 tine Office and took
asurvey Of his scanty possessions. Anew
articles of furniture, and perhaps hun
dred Law books--thiS was all.
SIT will DO useless" he said, ito tell o
man like Mr. Howard that will wait for
his daughter. He will simply show me
the door, and all will be over.'' .ts,t.i9
The young fellows frank and manly
face wore a 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 of his trouble.
For some time he 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 a strange
thing occurred. Just how 1t happened he
did not understand, but he had Late visi-
tor, who introduced himself as lawyer
from London. 44tts 4ti.
The stranger made profuse apologies for
his untimoly visit
s'Mr. Blair,n he said, az WIN not detain
you with any preliminaries. You are the
heir to the estate of John Blair, one Of
your uncles who ran away from homo
when a 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 a fortune. He
died a month ago and left you $500, 600"
Julian proceeded to ask for further in
formation, but the London lawyer pleas
antly remarked that good news would
keep. Nl4.
II must leave in half an hour for New
York." he said. ''but you may expect me
back in week or SO, and then the neeos-
Bary 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. utaa bG.Ytll .ts sui
A sudden drowsiness ovcrcame him,
and when he again opened his eyes II was
morning.
"was it dreamr' he cried, as he
dressed himself. mo, IL Ia 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" ~ 3yfs Al
Julian found, after making his toilet,
that he was still a little feverish, with
strange fullness in his head, but q glance
at the mirror showed that he was looking
unusually we'll iH0 2fyt
One thing startled him not little in
the course OF the morning. After o 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 a mistake in
telling the banker of his good fortunef II
the whole thing was only dream, as he
sometimes suspected, he had done q very
bad thing.
''Pshawf' he said to himself, II am
sick and nervous. How can it be q
dreams'
By degrees his confidence was restored,
and later in the day when he saw Mr..
Howard his manner was well 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 as q son-in-law.
A week passed away delightfully."-. Blair
found himself the lion Of tho town, but he
spent most Of his leisure time with his
afiianccd.
One morning the young lawyer arose,
cool and clear headed, without traoe Of
fever. lie 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 y disgraceful fixr' he groaned
81 have lied to Mr.. Howard and to Alice.
I have borrowed money under false pre-
lenses Nothing will ever convince peo-
pie that am not a swindler."
As the days rolled on, Julian grew thin
IL. IL -
the point of a confession to Mr.. Howard
and Alice. Then, too, some Of his obi
cations were coming due. There was APP
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.
Tha card In Julian's hand bora the adj
dress Of Henry Morley, solicitor, Middle
Temple, London, and az the owner Of the
card was usliered into the ofice, the young
lawyer looked at him In blank surprise.
1t did not take long FOR Mr.. Morley to
state his business ri
''Ay young friend" he said, rather
pompously, sit is q genuine pleasure to
mo to be the bearer Of good tidings.
have been two weeks in the country look
ing you up. Your uncle, John Blair. died
recently In Liverpool, where he left q
large estate, and there Is q cool half mil
lion for you.'
.'Is it another dream" whispered Ju-
liam.
II don't understand. - said the English
man, somewhat mystifled. This IL No
dream; it is business
Then he went on in his matter of facA
NAV ~ 10 arorrflltUy cloow