Year: 1874

Yes, yes sartain-I believe in
dreams" said Old Silas Talforn. He
took another Whit of his pipe, and then
added: One of the greatest specula-
lations I ever went into came of a
dream-a wonderful dream. I'll tell
you about it"


You remember, some of you, about
the great land speculation here in
Maine thirty years ago.


"Poor men-a very few of them
were made suddenly rich, and rich
men were made suddenly poor. I was
living then in Grey. One day old Sam
Whitney, of Oxford, stopped at our
place, and showed us map of a new
town which had been laid out in Saga
dahoc. On the map it looked beauti-
full. There were brooks and lakes, and
broad plains of pine and oak, and
streets all laid out, and spots for
churches and school houses marked
out in proper array. I had q cousin
living down that way, and concluded
to so down and take look. I found
the town of Ellenville, which old
Whitney showed me on his map, to he
a wild, worthless tract, all rock and
swamp, but on the edge of this in
another township my cousin owned a
piece of good land, and I bought a
farm; and for that purchase I was nev-
er sorry.


Meantime Ellenville was nearly all
sold in hundred acre lots. The excite
ment was at fever heat, and people
bought without once coming to look at
the land they were purchasing. But
by and by the new owners began to
look up their property, and you may
rest assured they were blue set, when
they were assembled in that territory.
Within all the limits of the mapped out
township there was not an acre that
could be cultivated. On the edge that
bordered my farm it was craggy
ledge of rocks; and beyond that to
the eastward the land settled under the
mud of sunken slough. Some of
these lots had been sold as high as one
pound an acre, and a few of them even
higher than that. One poor fellow
named John Twist, from Vermont, had
paid one pound per acre for lot that
bordered on my farm. On the map it
had been set down as magnificent
pine forest, with river upon it's bor-
der, upon which was magnificent wa
ter power. John Twist bought it and
paid dear for it, and when he came to
look at it he found it to he mass of
barren rocks, and with here and there a
clump of shrub oaks and q few Nor
way Pines, and for a river he found a
water course which tumbled melted
snow over the crugs in spring, and
which was dry most of the year. did
not see the poor fellow when he came
to survey his property, but I can imag-
inc how he felt.


CATER while, however, the excite
ment passed off, and the sufferers of
Ellenville, turned their backs upon
the graves of their speculative hopes.
On my farm prospered; my land was
of the very best quality; my wife was q
true helpmate; my crops were abund-
ant, my stock thrived. and I found
myself with a goodly pile of money tied
up in my stocking.


"One evening after our crops had
been garnered, a man riding sorrow.
ful-looking nag pulled up before our
door. He was a we'll looking man
with sedate and solemn face, and
dressed in black. It was safe enough
to conclude that the man was minis
ter, and so he announced himself. He
said he was the Rev. Paul Meekmore; !;
he was missionary, on a home cir
cult, and asked shelter for himself an
beast for the night. OF course we well
coined him cheerfully, and were pleased
with him. He had travelled extensive
ly, and his conversation was entertain
ing and instructive. Before he went
to bed he read chapter in the Bible
and made prayer; and Betsy said af-
ter he had retired, that she had never
heard such beautiful prayer in her
life.


The next morning at the breakfast
table, Mr.. Meekmore was very sedate.
He asked blessing, and then only an
swering such questions as we asked
him. Finally my wife told him she
was afraid he had not slept we'll. He
smiled and said he had slept very we'll,
save the spell of very curious dream
which had visited him three different
times during the night. Betsy asked
him if he would tell what it was about


sec 1t was the old dream of hidden
wealth, he said, with solemn look.
haven't dreamed such dream be-
fore since by wonderful dream in
South America I led to the discovery
of a diamond mine worth millions of
dollars, and it never profted me cent.
But such wealth is not for me. I need
it not. My calling hath higher and
holier aims. And yet this poor flesh
is weak enough sometimes to lust after
the dross of gold and silver


"By degrees we got from him that
he dreamed of silver mine among the
crags of our hills. This mine seemed
to his vision to be utterly exhaustless in
the precious metal; but he could not
locate it. Betsy, whose curiosity was