The herald., 1896-07-09
HIS CONVERSION.

They were sitting in the smoking room
of a Chicago hotel, eight or ten OF them,
mostly drummers. Perhaps 1t was tho
wreathing smoke that inclined their souls
to ghostly converse. For the last hour
they had been telling tales OF tho super
natural-hardly one who had not some
well authenticated story of a ghostly WIS.,
liant or dream warming, hardly ono of
them who pretended to be telling a per.
Gonal experience, but all were ready to ad-
NIT that there arc more things in heavon
and earth than can be explained by any
philosophy.
Guess we all admit that, don't we
boys?r
"All but Jim Parker. here, replied one
Of the boys 'He hasn't a grain of su
porstition IN his makeup. He doesn't ad
nit the existence of anything in heaven
above or earth beneath or tho waters that
be under the earth unless it's tangible and
reasonable as we'll as audible and visible
Do you, Jim?''
jim turned around He looked the sort
Of man who has not "a grain of supersti-
ton in his makeup"
Don't know about that, Harris. Guess
you and l haven't travelled together 70"
two or three years, have WEI"
'Not since tho World fair summer"
"Well, it was that September that / was
converted Tell you bout it, if you like .
They all liked, and he told them.
You boys have often chaffed me-" he
began, because | always take tho same
rooms hero if | can got thc;n--the bridal
suit on the sixth floor. Don't you sup
pose l know as well as any of you that
only married man accompanied by his
wife and eight small children can afford
to take bridal suit? But l have an af
fection for those rooms. and you aren't
likely to guy me out CT it. When came
hero near tho end Of August, 1898. the
hotel was so full that had to take those
or nothing, and naturally decided to take
those.
ION tho night of Sept. C, which should
have been tho last night of my stay here,
had most unpleasant dream. l dreamed
was in a little country ohurchyard. !
didn't remember that l had ever been
there before. Two men were digging u
grave. / stood idly watching them, Won
dering for whom they dug it. One of
them looked at his watch Time wo wero
off, he said; then to me: Come, sir, get
in. Wore waiting for you drew back
in horror. No; I won't get in. don't
want to got in.' You're all wore waitin
for, sir. Hurry up. Can't stop all day.
And he reached out his hand to draw me
in But 1 broke away, shouting: NO;
I'm not coming! Let me be!
"Thc effort to escape woke me up, but
the impression did not pass with the
dream. could still see the churchyart
and the houses near by and hear in the
distance tho shriek OF passing train
Then the boy knocked at my door to war;
me that had train to catch and must
get up. l scrambled through my break
fast and got over to the station. There
found that had q few minutes to wait.
ran across friend, Johnson Bowen, al
that time manager Mt the Cosmopolitan
theater. You remember him, of coursei
We walked up and down alongside of the
train, chatting and smoking A boy came
out and spoke to my companion and he,
with word of apology to NO. followed
him on the train, shouting back: See you
later, Jim. Be on the smoker
"Left alone, sauntered forward to the
engine. The engineer was pottering about
his little cab. Something about tho mar
struck me os familiar ana unpleasant
He turned. No, didn't know him, but
was sure had seen him. faced bacE,
| puzzled. passed tho baggage car and ha,
reached the rear end of the smoker whei
the conductor pulled out his watch an
exclaimed, 'Time we were off, Then t