The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette. — 1877-09-04 (Dorchester, Dorset, England)

LIGHT OOMPANY, LONDON.  But the gist of what the captain had to say was this. That on a certain night—a year and a half ago—he was sitting in his chambers with the windows open. It was a queer time of the year for that sort of thing, but the captain had not been quite sober When he came home, and hail only Fist awakened from a drunken sleep. The %iambi., opposite were those of Professor Villani, and one iif them was open also. They were dark until the Professor entered the room and struck a light. Then the captain, newly awakened from his drunken sleep, saw the Professor pour the contents of a little phial in a decanter and saw him examine the decanter rorionsly afterwards. He had his suspicions at the time, and thought of cards, when he saw the Professor put out the gas, and heard shortly afterwards excited voices from Harmer's rooms. When he heard of Harmer's imbecility, he put two and two together, so he said, and summed them up against the Professor. He had puzzled his herd about the matter ever since, but to no avail, until yesterday, when he found a copy of an old newspaper which related the substance of Villani's lecture before a scientific institute two years ago, in which the phenomena of the vivisected frog were dealt with. He hail brought into his calculations then the Professor's approaching marriage, and was of opinion that he held a clue that, if he followed it, would lead to the exp imie of a tremendous crime. And now, he wished particularly to know what Villani would give him to bury his surmise quietly and go about his business. • Nothing," sail Villani But as he turned to say it, he saw, standing at the door a bowed figure, and knew that the game on which he had staked his soul was played out and was lost. In another moment the bowed figure WWI erect and before him, and in another was weeping on John Ilarmer's neck with passionate sobs that shook it from head to foot. He felt dead and careless. "This," he thought, "most be the prelude to annihilation." The weight of his despair pressed down upon him—crushing him, even with 'physical sense of its burden, until the pain of its weight became too much for him, and he struggled to ri lease himself. A cloud fell upon him, and he could see nothing except one awful step which came nearer and nearer at dreadful intervals, each of which seemed like a hundred years. A hand was laid upon his shoulder, and as it touched him the burden fell away, the cloud dispersed, and he saw beside him the old friendly face, uncouched, unchanged. The l'rofessor gave one wild cry : " A dream ! A dream ! Thank God, a dream I " Mary Malden and John !termer ran about the Professor's room to find remedies for him, and brought him back to consciousness. The little Italian cried with joy when he returned to himself, and actually knelt to kiss John Harmer's hands, and fawned upon him like an affectionate dog. They were astounded at all this until he said with tears: "I had dreamt that! had hated you, and had murdered you. I lived for years in that dream. It was so horribly real that I never doubted it. I have suffered eternities of remorse and horror. But it was taise, my friend; it was false—all—all ! I have never bated you, but have loved you always—always, since the day on the boat." And what with his weakness, and his joy, and the enormous revulsion of emotion, he grew hysterical, and had to be nursed for an hour or two. He never said anything more about his dream and they, seeing how it pained him, forebore to make allusion to it But it wrought a vast change in him, and I do not think that any best man ever officiated at a wedding with a cleaner heart than Ottavio Villani at the ceremony which crowned John Harmet's hopes.  FIJFIRTTURIt. ls.  THE MARVEL or' THE WORLD, AND GREATEST WONDER or