Evening journal., 1907-05-30
MARK TWAIN'S DREAM
1t Was So Vivid He Thought I
Was Real After He Awoke.
THEN CAME THE SAD SEQUEL.

After IN a Most Distressing Manner.
One morning when l awoke had
been dreaming, and the dream was SO
vivid, so like reality, that 1t deceived
me, and / thought It was real. In the
dream 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. / dressed and moved
toward the door, thinking I would go
in there and look at 1t, but changed
my mind. 1 thought l could not yet
bear to meet my mother 1 thought /
would wait awhile and make some
preparation for that ordeal
The house was IN Locust street
little above Thirteenth, and 1 walked
10 Fourteenth and to the middle Of the
block beyond before it suddenly fash.
ed upon me that there was nothing
real about this-it was only a dream.
/ can still feel something Of the CRATE
ful upheaval Of Joy Of that moment
and 1 can also still feel the remnant
Of doubt the suspicion that maybe It
was real, after all. / returned 80 the
house almost on a run, few 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 eyentless trip 10
New Orleans-no, It was not eventless.
for It was on the way down that had
the fight with Mr.. Brown which re-
suited IN his requiring that l be left
ashore at New Orleans. In New Or
leans always had job. 1t was my
privilege to watch the freight piles
from In the evening until Z In the
morning and get SO for It. It was a
three night job and occurred every
thirty-fve days Henry always joined
my watch about o I'm 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. / said: I'm 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 lashed aft the wheel house
and otey the mates orders Thus you
will be useful. When the boat is
launched give such help as you can
in getting the women and children into
it and be sure you don't try 70 get into
It yourself 1t is summer weather, the
river is only a mile wide. as a rule.
and you can swim that without any
trouble"
Two or three days afterward the
bont's boilers exploded at ship island.
below Memphis. early one morning,
and what happened afterward have
already told in "Old Times on the Mis-
sissippi." AS related there, l 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 il.
/ found Henry stretched upon q mat
tress on the floor of great building
along with thirty or forty other scald-
ed and wounded persons and was
promptly informed by some indiscreet
1 person that he had inhaled steam, that
his body was badly scalded and that
he would live but a little while; also
was told that the physicians and
nurses were giving their whole atten-
ton to persons who had chance Of
being saved. They were short handed
in the matter Of physicians and nurses.
and HenSy and such others as were
considered to be fatally hurt were re-
ceiying only such attention as could
be spared from time to time from the
more urgent cases.
But DR.. 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 one night he
told me that Henry was out Of danger
and would get we'll Then he said:
"At midnight these poor fellows lying
here and there all over this place viii
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 hin 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. we'll. never mind the rest Of It.
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. so they guessed at
il and gave him a vast quantity heap
cd on the end Of a knife blade. and the
fatal effects were soon apparent.
think he died about dawn. ] don't re-
member as to that He was carried
10 the dead room, and went away fol
awhile to a citizens house and slept
or some Of my accumulated fatigue
aud meantime something was happen
ing
The cofiins provided for the dead
were of unpainted white pine, but II
this instance some Of the ladies' OF
Memphis had made up fund Of S6C
To Woodland Beach on July 2