The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-11-23

leaving a glass; and, raising NV head |
she gave me a dose of medicine, say-l
ing: Now, go to sleep, and forgeti
phantom soldiers
Here was a very remarkable %illusioni
1t was only on illusion, for at the dis-I
belief expressed in the face and wordsl
or the nurse, | dismissed the whoIeI
thing as unreal; if | had stuck to it, |
then 1t would have been h~allucination. |
But 1t was a double illusion-visuai and
aurlcular. | not anly saw infantry
cavalry and artillery, their plumes.
their equipment, the of theI
horses, and even the spurs on the heels
of the riders, but I plainly heard thel
blast OF horn and rattle of drum. Many
a time since then, in my sleep, I have
seen that phantom army marching out
OF the brilliant glare of electric lights
into the vast far away depths Of the
gloom Of night"
That's a tip top Story said the
man from Baltimore, raising himself
up, and pushing back his hat, for he
had not been asleep, but listening all
through; and, as soon as you have
passed around that fine whiskey, I'll.
give you a story. Man is fearfully
and wonderfully made we are told"
he went on smacking his lips over his
dram, and the psychologists and an
atomists declare his very body to be a
wonder. But to me his brain-Whateve-
hat may belts strength, it's weak
ness, its achievements, it's falling away,
above all, the benighted brain, is more
ina a wonder; it is a mystery. How
ever, l did not start out to moraliZe.
but to tell a story.
"A few years ago while | was trav-
cling for my house in Georgia, | met at
Macon, a man named Ellis, representing
a Philadelphia hardware and cutlery
firm. In one sense he was not a COM
paniOnable man, for he was t~aciturn
and quiet, though it was not a morose
but pleasant taciturnity. He looked at
you as if he liked you, and listened to
you as if he was interested, and in
that way he was companionable. Our
routes lay over pretty much the same
territory in Georgia, and we travelled
a good deal together, making several
trips by hack out to outlying villages.
Though not a teetotaler, Ellis was
strictly temperate, for l never knew
hIul W lane u1OIc IudIl Onc SlCSS O1I
grog a day, and that of modest size
and strength. He was industrious, bus
iness-like and methodical; and, how
ever hard may have been a days work,
he lever went to bed without straight
ening everything up and sending a let
ter to his house. :
One night found lis in the one hotel
Of a small town, together in a comfort
able with two beds. and q roar
ing pile of oak and lightwood in the
big fire place. | had undressed and
lain down, but Ellis was still at work
at the table, and seemed to be worried
and perplexed. All that day he had
been very silent, even for him, and ap-
parently was moody and brooding over
some trouble. In fact, for several days
past there had been a change in him
which | could not understand, and can
not here explain.
Suddenly. as he sat with his back
to me, he said, without turning around:
wilkins, are you asleep?' No, l am
awake Well, come here please
There was something in his voice that
took me out Of the bed and to his side
at a bound, when he looked up at me
with a face Of such agony as filled me
with the deepest pity. while in his
eyes was a lurking horror that struck
me aghast. Why, Ellis, what is the
matter? You are ILL., No. not i'll.
Read that please handing me a letter
which he had just finished. 1t was ad-
dressed to his firm, rendering his res
ignation, and asking that his accounts
be audited and the report sent to his
home, naming the pOStOf!ice.
why this surprises me- l said;
you are doing a fine business. Why
give it up?' Without replying, he
leaned back in his chair with a deep
] sigh, and went on Now look V g that
| order book, and read those statements
You are not in my line, but you know
the manner Of work 1 complied, and
fund his order book most admirably
kept. But when I came to his state.
ment I was dumbfounded. 1t is i'm
possible to describe them-such a crazy
tumble of figures and words was surely
never before got together.
but / don't understand this
said in nay bewilderment. Understand
it, he cried, with a hollow laugh; ne
sane man could understand it! vii
kns,' he continued, looking up at me
with a drawn, ghostly face, I anu in
sane; that's the ugly, true word-in'
sane. Merciful God! what have ] done
to deserve such a fate, / have lived s
cleanly life, abusing neither mind no
body; I have endeavored TO do my dut,
by my fellow man and myself. ant
! this is the horrible end He put. hi!
head down on the table, and his whof'
frame shook with his agony.
"Consolations, in the face Of such
tragedy as this, was out Of the quee
ton; but I soothed him as best l could
sent for a physician, who said little
but shook his head, and gave a sleepin;
draught, saying he would come in tn
morning.
ITO make q long story short, the mex
day Ellis was no better. He was com
posed but silent, almost sullen. For