Year: 1872

THE WONDERFUL DREAM.


"Oh, yes, sartin Yes, yes-I believe
in dreams" said old Sias Tafton. He
took another Whit at his pipe, and then
added : ''One of the greatest specula,
tions | ever went into come of adream-
wonderful dream. I'll tell you about
it,"


And we listened to the old mans
story as follows:


You remember, some of you, about
the great land speculations here in Maine
thirty years ago. Poor men-a very
few of them-were made suddenly rich :;
and rich men were made suddenly poor
! was living then in Grey. One day, old
Sam Whitney, of Oxford, stopped at our
place. and showed us n map of 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, with
streets all laid out, and spots for
churches and school-houses marked in
proper array. had a cousin living
down that way, and | concluded to go
down and take a look. | found the
town of Ellenville which old Whitney
had showed me on his map, to be a
wild, worthless tract, all rocks and
swamp, but on the edge of this tract, in
another township, my cousin owned q
piece of good land, and bought hun
dred and fifty acres of it, and made me
an excellent farm and for that pur
chase / was never sorry.


Meantime Ellenville was nearly all
sold in hundred acre lots. The excite,
ment was at fever heat, and people
bought without once thinking of coming
to look at the land they were purchas-
ing. But by and by the new owners
began to look up their property, and
you can rest assured that they were q
blue set when they were assembled On
that territory. Within all the limits
of the mapped-out township there was
not an acre that could be cultivated.
On the side that bordered my farm it
was a craggy ledge of rocks; and be-
yond that to the eastward the land
settled away under the mud and the
water of a sunken slough. Some of
these lots had been sold as high as one
pound an acre; and few of them even
higher than that. One poor fellow,
named John Twist, from Vermont, had
paid one pound an acre for lot that
bordered on my farm. On the map it
had been set down as q magnificent
pine forest, with beautiful river upon
its border, on which was superb water
power. John Twist bought it and paid
for it, and when he came to look at it
he found it to be q mass of barren rock,
with here and there a clump of scrub
oak and a few Norway pines, and for a
river he found water-course which
tumbled melted snow over the crags in
the spring, but which was dry most of
the year. did not see the poor fellow
when he came to survey his property,
but can imagine how he felt.


After 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 a
true helpmate; my crops were abund-
ant; my stock thrived and | found
myself at length with goodly pile of
money tied up in my stocking


One evening in early autumn, after
our crops had all been gagnered, man,
riding sorry-looking nag, pulled up
before our door. Hew was a well-looking
man, with q sedate and solemn face,
and dressed in black. 1t was safe
enough to concluded that he was q
minister, and so he announced himself.
He said he was the Rev. Paul Meek
more; he was missionary on home
circuit, and asked shelter for himself
and his beast for the night. OF course
we welcomed him cheerfully; and we
were pleased with him. He had travelled
extensively, and his conversation was
entertaing and instructive. Before we
went to bed he read a chapter in the
Bible and made a prayer; and Betsy
said to me, after 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 a blessing, and then only an
swered such questions as were asked
him. Finally Betsy told him she was
afraid he had not slept well. Hesmiled
and said he had slept very well, saving
the spell of curious dream which hao
visited him three separate times during
the night. Betsy asked him If hewoulc
tell what it was about.


at was the old dream of hidder
wealth." he said, with solemn look
al haven't dreamed such dream be
fore since by wonderful dream il
South Africa led to the discovery of
diamond mine worth millions of dollars
and it never profted me penny. Blu
such wealth is not for me. | need i
not. My calling hath higher and hole
aims. And yet this poor flesh is some
tines weak enough to lust after tn
dross of gold and silver!"


By degrees we got from him that h
had dreamed of silver mine among tn