Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-11-15
A DREAM WITHIN A DReAM.
Chicago Man who DreaD,ed That He
Dreamed of Committing Suicide

and get the two all mixed up?" asked
the man at the club whose speciality is
dreams. We'll; | had one the other
night that has made me think some
about it since. thought was walking.
'weet in a mighty disconsolate frame of
mind and wondering if. after all life
didn't cost pretty much all it was worth
when | came to the Madison street
bridge stopped and looked over the
rail and fell to calculating how it would
feel to taka piunge in the Shiny depths.
and how much attention it would at
trpct If | were To climb Overthe side and
jump had always thought that any
body who ever contemplated suicide was
II great fool to ever start for the other
world by way of the Chicago river, but
at this time didn't seem to hang quite
SO closely to my former prejudice and
was looking down ut the black surface
in "A rather friendly way when somebody
stopped at the rail few feet away from
me, heaved sigh. and put his foot up
ON the lower board
AT u glance | saw the man was
friend of mine whom hadn't seen for
several years and who supposed to be
| in Frisco | spoke to HIM and he turned
with startled exclamation of annoy
ance. recognized me, and waited for me
to speak. | asked him what he was
going to do He looked at me us mourn
fully as the spirits in the Inferno did
ut Dante, and said.
I'm going to jump over this rail into
the river.
Il asked INN what he intended doing
anything SO foolish as that Icr. and he
told me with tears yelling up to his eyes
that the girl he loved was dead
Il sympathi2ed with him with all my
heart because | was in a precisely similar
fix. bat ] told him lie was foolish and
that while it was natural for him to feel
like that for awhile he would soon real
i2e that it was the height of folly to at
tempt to remedy matters by dodgng out
of the world in this irregular and alto
gether dIscraceful fashion | brought
all the philosophy could muster to bear
on the case and pumped it all at him.
but he never wavered He shook hands
with me. told me to walk on and leave
river again. Df course didn't comply
with his request. The horror of allow
ing human being to rush to death over
powered me with a shocking sense of
realization, and remember thinking
how differently things affect persons
when applied to others than the same
conditions applied to Ourselves.
II persisted in my efforts % diesuade
the would he suicide from l,a rash act,
but he was obdurate, and, fAally. seeing
that | wouldn't relent. he made a spring
and threw one leg over the rail. l
grabbed him to drag him back, and then
began a struggle. saw some people
running from the end of the bridge, but
before they reached us my acquaintance
loosered my grip on the rail and Topped
me over rivcrward and together we fell
1t seemed like we were falling to the
center of the earth, and felt the cold
sweat stand out all over me. Then we
struck the water and awoke. held
my breath involuntarily us | went down.
which Us a swimmer was bound to do,
and when ! came Up had an excellent
opportunity of testing my ability to
swim with all my clothes on. Gaw the
people running down the stairs to the
dock to help me. and | struck out val
iantly for the shore. When / reached it
q rope was thrown me and was dragged
up on the dock, where the bYilga tender
and several others proceeded to abuse
me for blanlety-blank idiot, who ought
to have been left to drown
Il tried to tell them that il was all a
dream, and that didn't know the first
thing about it till struck the water, but
they looked at me with the most pro-
found disdain and said:
"'Oh, you weakened! You ant got no
more nerve n a rabbit
Then the bridge tender grabbed me
by the dank neck Of my dripping coat
and took me up the steps and turned me
over to policeman, who called wagon
and loaded me into it. | was ratified
away to the station, while the officers in
the wagon swore at me and the people
on the streets turned to look after me
curiously At the station / was intro
duced as a blank blank fool who Jumped
in the river and then changed his mind
and yelled for help. hadn't yelled for
help, and | knew it, but | thought I'd
let that pass, inasmuch as l had been in
the river The desk sergeant asked me
my name and put it in his book with a
charge of disorderly opposite, and was
hustled down stairs to be locked up. On
the way down the officer gave me
shove, and tripped and fell headlong
down five steps and struck my head.
"That was when did awake. Every.
thing was dark, and it took as much as
a full minute to realize that was in my
own room, but half out of bed The part
of me that was in bed was my feet. The
rest of me had fallen out and my head
mad cUiiayd ".,h Il box of books sitting
at my bed, L.ad Luc.,ily the bruise
WAS an the ra"i of my head. where it
didn't shnw Il it had GceH on my face
would Fave been sight didn't go
to sleep again for an hour. and you can
bet whrn did was located exactly in
the middle ct the bed nut wasn't that
u funny complication of dream fancies?"
Chicago Mail
He Had Teen There,
n.