Evening star., 1894-04-11
DREAM FACES.


1t was not by any means the usually
cheerful Dora. Her eyes had a far-away
look in them and she told the young man
that she was thinking of dying. Going
away to some nice, secluded spot and COM
fortably dying in a happy. weepy way. She
said there was nothing the matter with her,
but she felt positively assured that what she
most desired was death. No. she was quite
certain that candy flowers or going to
the theater would not serve at all as a sub
stitute. Then it was that the young man
became impertnent and said if she was de-
termined he had a friend he desired to
recommend, who was in the undertaking
business, and that at any rate he himself
would come around and drop a few blossoms
on her cold form. Immediately the storm
broke and the fact of the dream came out.
II have firmly decided" said Dora, that
1 will have no men, and especially no young
men, at my funeral 1t shall be my last
wish that young men be barred
Doras reasons for this rank injustice
were clear and logical. The night before
she had experienced a dream Dreams
were not unaccustomed visitors to Dora's
| sleeping brain, but they were usually mixed
up with church choirs, waltz music and
other light and airy affairs. This dream,
however was different. Dora dreamt she
was dead. Very dead. In fact. so dead
| that IL o'clock of a Sunday came and she
| never thought of going to church Dora
| found ii was rather pleasant to be dead.
Her body lay in calm repose, while her
| spirit seemed lowering near by. By this
| Dora gained the idea that she had not gone
straight to heaven,and the thought troubled
| her, until she decided that she probably
| could not go to heaven until after the
| funeral. In the meantime the experience
/ nnt hod " M
| her spirit would hover down and take
| lCok at its old tenement and very beau
| t.ful tenement 1t was, and then away up
| in the air, above the smoke, above the dirt,
straight into the blue sky, where the sun
| beams played fantastic tricks with the
| tops of the cloud banks, and as she fioated
on In dreamy enjoyment she seemed sur
| rounded and accompanied by soft, gentle
| music, that almost died away, and arose
again, as summer breezes come and go
amid the wavings Of young girls hair.
| But then came the funeral Dora return
| ed for that, and even in her dream she re-
allied that she had made the mistake of
| her life, or rather Of her death. Most OF
her friends were at the funeral and all of
| her enemies. The choir was there, and
eleven young men TO whom she had prom
ised to be sister. They all gazed on her
as she lay in state, and many. many times
Dora wanted to scream. She firmly refuses
to relate all that was said by the mourn
ing multitude, but enough can be gathered
to infer that the young men were the hard
of Them, for instance, remarked pityiugly,
| My, but wouldn't she raise Ned, if she
could see the way they've fixed her hair"
and another, Yes, you are quite right, she
was a fearful fiirt." Dora made a vigorous
effort to cry out at this last remark, but
it was of no use, and she was Obliged to
near another youth say, Now, there you
are. old man, 1 always said she was not
pretty, and now you can see for yourself"
AS has been SAID, Uora sun THINKS at
times that it would be a good thing to
die, but until she can be absolutely certain
that no young will be permitted at
the funeral she intends to struggle along
with this world.
There was an air of gloom at the Press
the-Button Club last night. Members
walked around in sad way and shook
hands with each other as if parting for
long periods. 1t was all occasioned by
Colonel AL. having a dream. Whenever
Colonel AL dreams he does it clear to the
limit, and the present one rather went
over the limit The coloneTs dream was
all owing to a conversation with the pro-
fessor. The professor had taken Colonel
AL into his confidence something after
| this manner:
Now. zis pokair game upstairs. I like
much to play ze game-ah, yes, I much
enjoy it. But Carrambo! no understand.
1 play ze game of pokair wiz re gentle
| mems, and by gar 1 lose my moneys. l
| say, 'Ah! 1t matters not ANYTHING, gentle
mems ALL Will give you Ze moneys tOmOr-
| row. The gentlemens say, 'ver WELL
| Then when ze morrow come l come me
| down wiz ze moneys. Each man the game
remembers we'll and ze amount owes him,
and 1 pays. Eat es well, but. Carrambo, /
plays me pokair once more, and ze fortune
| favor me and 1 win. Ze gentlemens say to
me, Professor, tomorrow We will pay and
1 say, Yer we'll Ze next day l comes me
| to ze club and am amazed, no man would
seem to rembair ze game. 1 talk to zem,
| but they no say noZzin of ze moneys. One
| week have passed, and / not understand
| Eat these gentlemens seem just the same as
before, but say noZzin of ze pokair game.
Carrambo but 1t es different in my coun-
| try. A gentlemans zare, he pay his debt of
honor within twenty-four hour or he COM
/ NIT Ze grave suicide"
| 1t was the last sentence in the professors
| lament that caused Col. AIS dream. And
| to any true lover Of the Press-the-Button
Club the dream was calculated to sadden
the spirit and weigh down the soul. In his
| dream the colonel entered and walked
| through the club house. Many familiar
| faces were missing, but aroun1 the green
| baize-cOvered table on the upper floor were
found some of his old friends He was
greeted with mournful mods and in silence
a stack of chips was pushed over to him.
| The professor was there with his beard
fresh trimmed and a steely glitter in his
eyes. The game went on in a silence that
could be cut with a knife. Meantime Col.
AL. noticed that remarkably large kitty"
was being taken out, and after 50 cents
had been given to the feline from a two
dollar jack pot. which he had won, Col. AL
| demonstrated vigorously. He was looked at
by the players with about the same pained
surprise If he had struck his grand
mother. Col Bill finally broke the silence.
| II am amazed he said. "at such utter dis
regard for common decency. Heartlessness
such as this would make a Texas mug
wump blush with shame. Young man, do
you realize what that kitty is for?' Then
| in his dream Col. AL. replied: mo, don't
realize what that 'kittys' FIR, and, what's
more, 1 don't give continental d what
it's for. but do say that it's a double dis
titled shame to take half of my jack pot to
buy drinks or anything else for this gang"
| The affair began to look grave, and the
severity on Col. Bills face was appalling.
Cease! Cease!' he cried. "Be done with
this unseemly talk, or by the holy, blue sui
phurous smoke that hangs over Monte
Carlo, when your time comes there will be
no tears, no flowers.
Remember that you are already three dol
lars and sixty-five cents out in this game.
Know ye not, bold man, that this kitty
! is fed for the purchase of flowers to strew
on the graves of Press-theButtons suicides
who arc unable to pay their gambling debts
| within twenty-four hours. The kitty is
already eleven dollars in debt. and must be