The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-12-27
135e New Year
Dreamer

A woman fell asleep, one New Years
eve, and dreamed strange dream
And when she woke, she told neigh
Dor about 1t. In some such words az
these:
II thought was In strange coun'
try" she said, (which belonged to us
all. There was no king. And i
were ready-made, not fashioned
clumslly of feathers, as we fashion
them now, and that the fax was all
spun for us, and the flour all ground.
l thought that the very cows were
MIXED without our aid, and that we
lived in cities with clean pavements
between clean, bright houses, and that
milk and meat and bread and eggs
were brought to our doors, day after
day. l thought that there was some
thing called gas, that made our cook
ing clean and quick. and things called
cars that carried us safely from place
to place..
"And In my dream we were all
taught, taught to read and even to
write, as only the scribes do now, and
that we read books, books about
strange things and wonderful places
and saw pictures-the greatest In the
world land that we could hear music
whenever we chose. And there were
wise doctors to keep us well, and I'd
give us magic sleep in our pain.
''But best of ALL" she said, in low
tone still tinged with the radiance Of
her dream, best of all, was that the
children were safe. There were no
mobiles to seize our girls for their own
pleasure, and to send our boys like
cattle into the wars No man could
kill another, and even women were OF
| value, and children were beloved. II
seemed to me world of peace, and
sunshine and safetyw
"You dreamed of heavenl" said the
listener, her incredulous laughter
changed to wlstful awe. The other
sighed and shook her head.
NO" she said sadly, "for in that
country they were all mad"
"Mad?" came the astonlshed echo.
swell, better our hardships than such
a state. Better the village well that
poisons our children and the tax that
holds our men In bondage, and the pes
tilences that sweep us! Better the
| do nd hn
fires, the heats of summer and the
4, freezing winters, better even the agony
. and terror of bearing unhelped. But
tell, how were they mad?'
"They do not see the sunshine, they
do not hear the music, and they do
not taste their freedom" said the
dreamer. "TheIr thoughts are chained
to little things-the stitches In skirt,
the chopped nuts that must 60 into
a dish they cook, the shape Of chair.
They long for idleness-who have
nothing to dol They long for pleas.
;. ;. ure, who live in world that might be
: heaven! They look at this one envi'
!, ously because she can come and go to
another city at will and at that one
. enviously because her picture Is print
=. !. ed in the books they read. They weeT
because they must buy flax spun or
their side of the ocean rather than thai
. which comes to them in ships, ant
= they weep because the papers the!
l. have pasted on the walls Of thell
y rooms are too green or too blue"
. "Mad-quite mad" agreed tn,
g neighbor, struck. "Dld they live lonl
ago?"
C mo, their time has not yet come,
:, the dreaming woman answered. "The,
= will not live for another Thousand
!. years. They Will spring from us, wh'
81 live and work and die without tn
" touch of fine linen on our bodies, o
% the help Of q single hand with tn
- planting and roasting and spinning ant
NJ brewing, the bearing and rearing. w
ie are their mothers, who will never rea
book or write letter, or enter
playhouse. Let US make them Ne'
Years wish, that their eyes may b
or opened and that they may see"
They knelt down together.-Katf
leen Morris in Pictorial Review.