The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-01-10
THOMPSON'S. DREAM.

somehow gone wrong with him all
day, and he felt irrated; consequent
ly, when a friend accosted him witha
request to buy a ticket for the or
phan's home ball, to be held next even
ing, he declined somewhat brusque-
ly and hurried on towards home.
give dollars for q ball ticket" he
unused as he walked along, "that's
altogether too steep. l suppose
they'll use the money well, but there
are lots of people better able than l
am to give that amount, and then
business has been so bad the last
week that really can't possibly af-
ford it"
And just at that juncture, happen
ing to pass cigar store, he remem-
bered that he had smoked up the last
cigar he had at home, and going in
purchased box of fragrant Havan-
as for 81 so, and renewed his journey
homeward.
Arriving at his home, he ate his
supper, and after lighting one of the
new cigars, lay down on the sofa for
quiet smoke, and after watching
his two fair-haired children, a girl of
10 and boy of 5, playing before the
fire for few moments, fell asleep.
When he regained consciousness, to
his establishment, he found himself
standing in the hallway of q strange
house. For Il moment he rubbed his
eyes, to make sure that this was no
hallucinntion of his vision, and then
finding it was not, pinched himself to
make sure that he was awake and not
dreaming. He felt the pinch as plain
as he ever did any touch in his life,
and realizing that he was in a strange
house, with no reasonable excuse for
being there, like q sensible man he
sat down on one of the chairs near by
to consider what it was best for him
to do. 1t was still night, the hall in
which he found himselfwas lighted by
a single gas Jet at the farther end,
and outside he could hear the wind
bowling dismally and driving the fall
ing sleety snow against the windows,
with a sound that made him SILVER,
as he realized the wildness the night
outside. For quite a while he could
not for the life of him imagine where
he was, but all of a sudden he recog-
nized it as the hallway of the orphans
home, where he had called
on business q day OF two
before. He tried to think
what particular business had called
him there upon such a stormy even
ing, and what excuse he should make
if any one came before he discovered
what he had come there for. While
in the midst of his cogitations, sud-
denly the door-bell rang, and a
woman whom he took to be the mat
ron came, and without apparently
seeing him, admitted two shivering
mites of humanity, a boy and a girl,
of about the same age as his own
two darlings. He could not see their
faces for they kept their backs to-
wards him, but he saw that the girl
golden locks were of the exact shade
of those of his own May, and the
boy, too, strangely resembled his
Johnnie. The blast that swept
through the open door as they en-.
tered chilled him to the very marrow
and the tears stood in his eyes as he
surveyed their shivering forms, and
saw that the clothes of both were
threadbare; that they were without
stockings, and that barely the sem
blance of shoes covered their half
naked feet.
| The little girl, with the left hand Of
the boy held tightly in her right
faced the matron bravely, but the
boy, upon whose face could be seer
the trace of recent tears, shrunb
timidly behind her, and tried sur
reptitiously to dry his eyes upon the
corner of his sisters ragged apron.
"Well, my little dears," said thu
matron kindly, what can ! do tol
you to-night?''
''Please ma'am," said the LITTLE
| girl, for she being the older of thu
two was by virtue ofseniority leader
"a lady told me yesterday that yo,
had shoes and stockings here to Civ,
away to poorlittle boys that had nj
got any, and we'yecQme to see if yol
wouldn't give us some, cause oul
feet 'smost froze."
81 am very sorry" said the ma
iron, ''but we gave away the las
pair of shoes and stockings that W,
had this morning."
Haven't you even got @ pair foi
Johnnie?" said the little girl, her lip
beginning to CULVER and the water t.
come into her eyes with dispppoint
ment, "cause, you see, ma am it don"
make so much difference about me
cause I'm big and can stand it; bu
Johnnie here, he's SO little, and h
cries so much cause his feet's S,
cold" And as she spoke she drey
herself up to the full height other tin,
figure as if to impress her audito
.. with the full extent of her highness
and at the same time, with one c
those motherly gestures which til
poor of her sex learn SO early, places
her arm around the form of tn
shrinking boy beside her, as if
shield him from the cold.
mo, DEAR" said the matron, wiz
. ing suspicious moisture from he
eyes with the corner of her apron
81 am very sorry, but I haven't eve
!. got pair for Johnnie. But come u
, TO the fire and warm yourselves b,
fore you CO. And as she led theI
] to the fireplace she said, as tito hel
! self: "Oh, dearl if we had only sol
! just one more ticket to that bal
!. than could have given both ofthes
: poor children such n nice pair {
warm shoes and stockings" II
tried to speak, to say that he woul
furnish them with shoes and stool
1 ings, and warm clothes as well, upo
the morrow, but somehow the word
stuck in his throat. He tried t