The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-11-29
WITH A DREAM SIBYL
THE PECULIAR TRANSACTIONS OF
VISIONS OF THE NIGHT.

Mrs. - is an old colored woman,
living in the vicinity of the Central
market, who dreams dreams, and inter-
prets other peoples dreams, and is held
in great v~eneration by all her WI race
for her wonderful power as a hoodoo
conjurer. She has dreams as long and
wonderful as the Book of Revelations,
which she explains to visitors in a sort of
trance state. A few years ago she had a
strange dream about a son who vas liv-
ing with her. On relating it to him he
was so impressed with its truth that he
went to AN undertaken on Gratoit ay-
enue and was measured for a coffin.
This was the mothers dream:
HER DREAM CAME RUE
She dreamed that she saw q white
mouse: that it ran up to her and was very
friendly; that a black cat she dreamed
| she possessed killed the mouse, and that
while she was looking at it as it lay dead
| at her feet she saw a luminous finger
write the name ssJames." She then
| awoke impressed with the idea that her
| son, who was out of health, would die,
and upon telling him the dream con
veyed the same impression to him. 1t is
a fact that within three months he occu-
pied the coffin he had ordered.
Some Detroit ladies heard of this and
| thought that it would be a great lark to
visit the old dreamer and have their for
tunes told. Only two of them had re-
| markable dreams, but the other two
composing the quartet went along to see
the fun. The place is q tumble-down
old house that has such a low portal and
long narrow entrance that it is like an
illustration of the legend of Dante. The
dreamers did not abandon hope, how
ever. They secured a small boy in q
drug store, to whom they promised a
| quarter if he would accompany them
and run for the police if there was any
disturbance. Thus REINFORCED they pene-
trated to the rear room, where among
old clothes, old bottles and dilapidated
furniture by a back window, covered
with the dust of ages, they found the
dream sibyl. She had q number of small
bottles filled with some colorless liquid
before her, which she was examining
through an immense pair of steel bowed
glasses. AS she saw the quintet she
looked at them tllreateningly and asked
in a severe voice:
"How did you hear tell of me?:' They
| assured her that her fame was well
known in Detroit, and explained their
errand and took out their pocketbooks,
at least the s-pokeswoman did.
81 don't want no money! said the
weird woman. Il done got enuff. What
you dream?"
81 dreamed" said II of the visitors
in a trembling voice, that there was
some horrid thing done up in a canvas
bag. 1t was alive and had a snakes
head. l could see the whole mass squirm
as I thrust a long, sharp sword or dagger
through and through it,"
"You sawed a snakes head:"
Eyes, and the thing itself seemed to
be a great soft heap of something that
| sauirmed like snakes, and l could not
kill it. Every time 1 tried to it moved
again" -
"Now you don't femme think"
The old woman. who was very large,
closed her eyes and began to sing softly
to herself. 1t was q sort of chant-a
song without words. Pretty soon she
delivered herself of this oracular speech:
H INTERPRETATION.
ITO dream about snakes forebodes
that some man will treat you awful bad.
An there is jealousy as sure as the grave
from some roman Eff yer had killed
them snakes the good Lawd git you
vict'ry, but if you not kill them then it
means sickness and death. Somebody
been telling bad stories about you if you
sawed de head. Dat was a mean dream"
She opened her eyes when she said this
and began working at the contents of
the phials again. The unfortunate
dreamer sat with blanched face and
speculated on her probable i'll luck.
"Will you tell mine, aunty?' asked our
youngest and fairest and the only one of
the number who was not married-ex-
cept our champion boy.
"Im not your aunty," grunted the old
woman. 'Don' you call me dat again, |
isn't one of dat sort. What you dream:"
81 dreamed of seeing a dead person."
Again the sibyl composed herself as if
to sleep. Pretty soon her voice, rather
husky and asthmatic, announced the
following: "Dat ar am q good dream.
Eff you dream of seem a corpse you suah
to lib q long life an go off peaceful like
at de end. Dat is, if you'se a married
'owan. Eff you is single den you sweet
hearts love done gone cold. He hab
fall in Tub ~if some oder oman"
81 don't believe it," said the dreamer
angrily. Then she blushed and looked
provoked.
81 tell you truly, lady. Dere come a
man yere, he say to me, Mrs. - !
dream white boss one times, two times,
three times, wha' it mean / tell dat
man, you gwine to a %fun'ral, an you
won't come back again, suah enuff. He
out riding by de River road and he fell
out an break he neck. Dat dream tell
me, but de usual 'terpretin of white
bosses is good luck an money. Some
times it means one ting, sometimes
noder."
"How do you know these things one
of the party ventured to ask.
"De good Lawd tell me, chile. Why,
/ been up to heaven in de chariot oh
Israel times and times and see wha de
Lawd got all de POI sinnahs who repent.
1t am a gif, a great gif, an doan take
no money fob dat, but if you libber
doan work right or you hab dc heart dis
ease / glib you what make you well right
o.~ar ont tal-oc do poonpv FL dat I