Newport daily independent., 1903-04-07

evening, things somehow get on my nerves. and the thought of suddenly waking out of sound sleep to find myself shut in by blackness is quite intclcrable to me"
 Now this sentiment was so utterly at variance with my conception of Andrew Dawley-a cold, practical man of business, and of the world, as l knew him-that instead of drop ping the subject, as I might have done with a more sensitive man, I pursued it somewhat farther.
 As a child" l remarked, q had great terror of the dark; but it ceased entirely when l was old enough to reason with myself"
 "What was the course of your req soning?" he askd.
 'Well, had become convinced that supernatural beings did not exist such as ghosts and goblins and gnomes, and, on the other hand, knew that in a well-protected house there was practically no danger from burglars or wild animals. So, having completely assured myself that there was nothing in the dark, any more than there was in the light, ceased to be afraid of it."
 Good logic,' said Dawley, with smile. q remember working out the same conclusion when 1 was about 12 years old And it has held with me ever since, until recently l discov- cred flaw in the reasoning. Oh, it doesn't apply to anyone else" he added hastily, as I undertook to speak. Ut is purely personal, and I hesitate to disturb your equanimity by describing it."
 "Ncver fear" said I, with a laugh. These sentiments are largely based on temperament, and l don't believe anything is likely to change my point of view
 Our boyish logic" said he, after pause, disposed of everything that was bjective-from the outside whether real or supernatural; but it did not touch the subjective ele- ments of the problem, of which the chief is fear itself. Now, l do not believe I am physically coward
 ''I know you are not 1 interrupt ed. q remember your capture of that thief. He was armed, and re- sisted fercely, but you hung on"
 "Yes," he said, "a man finds out whether he is a coward or not by the time he reaches my age; and have good reason to know that my courage is not deficient. And l have no superstitions-which disposes of ghosts and supernatural things. So there is nothing for me to fear. Here is where the reasoning faculty stops, and somthing else-you call it temperament, do you?-begins. l do suffer from fear-at times to the very edge of my self-control. What is it? Why is it? l believe that what | fear is fear itself"
 I shook my head. That statement is meaningless to me" l said.
 'Is it?" he asked almost wistful- ly; cant you imagine being in terror of great fright that may overtake you some time even though you are unable to anticipate a reasonable eX- cuse therefor? Let me give it to you in more concrete form. A year or two ago I had dream of a pc culiarly vivid and impressive charac- ter. It was of my sudden awakening here in bed in this room, to behold a man leaning over me. He was in strange, uncouth dress-not of the modern day, I should judge-and he was surrounded by, and seemed to give out, a fierce red light. He shouted some words to mel don't know what they were; only, at the sound of them, such a mighty and overwhelming terror came upon me that I lay paralyzed as to motion and thought. Then l awoke, ready awolle this time, and l found my body wet with precipitation, and my heart beat ing so tiercely and with such great pain that I feared some blood-vessel must give way"
 At this point l interrupted him, for his voice was trembling with excite ment.
 You say you are not supersti- tous," I said "Then you surely are not going to allow yourself to be al fected by dream, An overloaded stomach is always likely to disturb the heart. Its rapid movement causes a sensation exactly similar to fright, and the wandering brain coniures up a scare situation to fit it. Did you never dream out an elaborate series of events eliminating in a pistol shot, and then awaken to find that win dow sash had dropped, and you had pieced out the dream backwards, as it were?"
 "How do you account for my hay ing this same dream, without an iota of change, half dozen times since that first experience?" asked Dawley.
 Ut results" l answered with the easy confidence one shows in dispos- ing of the problems of others, from