Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-10-24
MARK TWA|N'S DREAM
1t Was So Vivid He Thought 1t
Was Real After He AWoke.
Then CAME THE SAD SEQUEL.

The Event Foreshadowed In the Singu-
lar Vision Came to Pass With Pain
full Exactitude Only a Few Weeks
After In q Most Distressing Manner.
One morning when l awoke l had
been dreaming, and the dream was so
vivid, so like reality, that it deceived
me, and I thought it was real. In the
dream 1 had seen Henry (Mr. Clemens
younger brother) a corpse. He lay in
q metallic burial case. he was dressed
in a suit Of my clothing, and on his
breast lay a great bouquet of flowers,
mainly white roses, with a red rose in
the center. The casket stood upon a
couple Of chairs. I dressed and moved
toward the door, thinking I would 60
in there and look at it, but I changed
my mind. 1 thought I could not yet
bear to meet my mother. l thought I
would wait awhile and make some
preparation for that ordeal.
The house was in Locust street, a
little above Thirteenth, and I walked
to Fourteenth and to the middle Of the
block beyond before 1t suddenly fash
ed upon me that there was nothing
real about this-it was only a dream.
I can still feel something Of the CRATE
lul upheaval Of joy Of that moment,
and I can also still feel the remnant
Of doubt, the suspicion that maybe 1t
vas real, after all. I returned to the
house almost on a run, flew up the
stairs two or three steps at a jump
and rushed into that sitting room and
was made glad again, for there was no
casket there.
We made the usual eventless trip to
New Orleans-no, it was not eventless,
for it was on the way down that I had
the fight with Mr.. Brown which re-
suited in his requiring that I be left
ashore at New Orleans. In New Or
leans 1 always had a job. 1t was my
privilege to watch the freight piles
from Z In the evening until Z in the
morning and get So for 1t. 1t was a
three night job and occurred every
thirty-fve days. Henry always Joined
my watch about 8 in the evening,
when his own duties were ended, and
we often walked my rounds and chat
ted together until midnight.
This time we were to part, and SO
the night before the boat sailed 1 gave
Henry some advice. I said: "In case
Of disaster to the boat don't lose your
head. Leave that unwisdom to the
passengers; they are competent; they'll
attend to it. But you rush for the hur-
ricane deck and astern to one Of the
lifeboats dashed aft the wheel house
and obey the mates orders. Thus you
will be useful. When the boat is
launched give such help as you al
in getting the women and children into
1t and be sure you don't try to get into
it yourself. 1t is summer weather, the
river is only q mile wide, as a rule.
trouble"
Two or three days afterward the
boats boilers exploded at Ship island,
below Memphis, early one morning,
and what happened afterward I have
already told in "Old Times on the Mis-
sissippi." AS related there, I followed
the Pennsylvania about a day later on
another boat, and we began to get
news Of the disaster at every port we
touched, and so by the time we reach
ed Memphis we knew all about it.
l found Henry stretched upon q mat
tress on the floor Of a great building
along with thirty or forty other scald-
ed and wounded persons and was
promptly Informed by some indiscreet
person that he had inhaled steam, that
his body was badly scalded and that
he would live but a little while; also
I was told that the physicians and
nurses were giving their whole atten-
ton to persons who had a chance of
being saved. They were short handed
in the matter Of physicians and nurses.
and Henry and such others as were
considered to be fatally hurt were re-
ceiving only such attention as could
be spared from time to time from the
more urgent cases.
But DIR. Peyton, a fine and large
hearted old physician Of great repu-
tation in the community, gave me his
sympathy and took vigorous hold of
the case, and in about a week he had
brought Henry around. DR.. Peyton
never committed himself with prog
nostications which might not materi-
alize, but at II o'clock n night he
told me that Henry was out Of danger
and would get we'll. Then he said;
cat midnight these poor fellows lying
here and there all over this place will
begin to mourn and mutter and lament
and make outcries, and If this commo.
ton should disturb Henry it will be
bad for him. Therefore ask the physi
sian on watch to give him an eighth
OF a grain of morphine, but this is not
to be done unless Henry shall show
signs that he is being disturbed"
Oh, well, never mind the rest Of 1t
The physicians on watch were young
fellows, hardly out Of the medical col
lege, and they made a mistake. They
had no way Of measuring the eighth OF
a grain of morphine, 40 they guessed al
It and gave him a vast quantity heap
ed on the end Of a knife blade, and the
fatal effects were soon apparent.