New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-01-09
ITHOMPSONs DREAM.

one of the most kind hearted men in.
the land. But the other night he
was in i'll humor. Business had
somehow gone wrong with him all
day, and he felt irrated; consequent
y, when q, friend accosted him with a
request to buy a ticket for the or
phan's home ball, to be held next even.
ing, he declined somewhat brusque-
~ and hurried on towards home.
GIVE dollars for a ball ticket" he
unused as he walked along, that's
altogether too steep. I suppose
they'll use the money well, but there,
are lots ofpeople better able than I
am to give that amount, and then
business has been so bad the last
week that really / can't possibly af-
ford it, rs
And just at that juncture, happen
ing to pass cigar store, he reme1n-
bered that he had smoked up the last
cigar he had at home, and going in
purchased a box of fragrant Havan-
as for $3.50, 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
a quiet smoke, and after watching
his two fair-haired children, a girl Of
10 and a boy of 5, playing before the
fire for a few moments, fell asleep.
When he regained consico usness, to
his establishment, he found himself
standing in the hallway of a strange
house. For moment he rubbed his
eyes, to make sure that this was no
hallucination 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 be was in a strange
house, with no reasonable excuse for
being there, like a 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
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 of 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 a day or 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 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 girls
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 seen
the trace Of recent tears, shrunk
timidly behind her, and tried sur
reptitiously to dry his eyes upon the
corner of his sisters ragged apron.
"Well, my little dears," said the
matron kindly, what can ! do Tor
you to-night"'
"Please ma am, = said the little
girl, for she being the older of the
two was by virtue ofseniority leader.
"a lady told me yesterday that you
had shoes and stockings here to give
away to poorittle boys that had nj
gotany, and we've come to see if you
wouldn't give us some, cause our
feet IS most froze.'
81 am very sorry" said the ma
iron, "but we gave away the last
pair Of shoes and stockings that we
had this morning. Z
Haven't you even got pair for
Johnnie" said the little girl, her lips
beginning to culver and the water to
come into her eyes with dispppoint-
ment, s cause, you see, ma am, it dom
make SO much difference about me,
cause I'm big and can stand it; but
Johnnie here, he's so little, and he