The labor world., 1898-02-05
BELIEF IN PRESENTlMENTS.
But Experience Had Proved That Her Own
Were Not Infallible.

buC Experience Hau HrOVeu 1n0C her O"n
Were Not Infallible.
"Now," she said with just touch
vi triumph, "you will admit it's
fortunate that I insisted on the UNI
brella. had presentiment that it
was going to rain.'
1t must be a mighty fine thing
to have presentiments,' he mused.
1T must take off the keen edge OF
disappointment"
"Yes," she answered, "but you
gee it cuts off anticipation too. It's
the law of compensation again.
"That old gag setting up anticipa-
ton is all bosh,'' he said, looking at
her hat with the long, waving
plumes. "You women couldn't wear
all that folderol on your heads if
you didn't have presentiments about
umbrellas. If a man tried to wear
a thing like that he'd ruin seven a
week.
"Oh," she said, imam dropped his
feathers when he lost his instincts,
because it was too expensive to keep
them in curl.''
"Undoubtedly, and now he is
doomed to bare utility and to the
palpabilities of the spoken word. He
has to ask the bald question before
he knows whether a woman is going
to refuse him or not
"The easiest way to dispose of
things occult is to ridicule them.
"I'm not ridiculing," he said. II
believe in .presentiments just as
firmly as I believe in metempsycho-
sis or the faith cure. To prove it, I
was about to ask you to produce one
for me. If I should propose to you
this afternoon, do you think you'd
refuse me?''
cts like a man," she answered,
ito want intuitions made to order :"
"Oh, I didn't mean that,"l said,
"but if you happened to have one
lurking round you-one evolved in
the regular way-I thought you
might be willing to help me out
''1t's my disposition to help peo-
pie out" she answered. "I'm sure
I should
'Should refuse9'' he asked. "Oh,
well, that's only presentiment. I
never was superstitious.'
NO." she answered, you're a
sad materialist. But wonder how
you'd explain something that hap
pened to me once.
''It was several years ago, when
influenza was about. was the only
person in our house not under the
doctors care. Grandmother was
sick with the rest, but no one had
thought her condition alarming. Yet
somehow that night, sitting before
the CRATE with the freight on her
face, she seemed to me to be sud-
denly stricken with the weight of
her years. / saw that the sand was
running fast and I felt that she
wouldn't live till morning. I could
not really say it, and mother would
not understand. But I was wakeful
far into the night and several times
I crept out to grandmother's door,
when I heard her snoring in the
most reassuringly earthly way.
Finally I did sleep soundly and it
was later than usual when I awoke.
You know how differently things
look by daylight. There is conf
dence, too, in the feel of one S clothes
and in the perpendicular.
II went down expecting to find
her and thinking how silly had
been. But before I had time for a
question mother said: 'You had bet
ter go up and see how grandmother
is feeling. She hasn't come down. ,
1T all came over me again in an
instant. I felt the blood drop out of
my face and the strength out of my
body, but flew up stairs. listened
outside the >door, but there was no
sound. Then I knocked softly. Of
course there was no answer. Then
I knocked again. For a moment I
couldn't open the door, but it SEEM
ed unworthy to leave the shock to
some one else, so I turned the knob
and softly pushed it open. You can
imagine what I felt when I looked
in and saw the old lady sitting
quietly lacing her shoes. ."-Chicago
Times-Herald.
Choice of Texts.