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Show WARXED IX A 7KK1K. 4ifc Several yean ago I resiled in, a wild, mountatoous svail rather lonely lone-ly rrglon of Virginia. There was a rallrcaJ but a few rods In front of my door, an J a station and considerable consid-erable village about a mile to the wesU The nearest atation to the east was about ten milts distant. I moved to tho iUca with my young wife late In the autumn, and about the tint of the following Man.h I was attacked with typhoid fever and was ill for about a month, ilut, thanks to a naturally strong constitution consti-tution and the careful nunlut; ol a lovinz and intelligent wife, I slowly recovered. As toon as I was s'ron; enoub to tit upand walk a littlo I told mj "ffo"8ho had better take the can. a'nd co and visit her brother, who lived about fifty mllffi east of us. Bhehad been taking rare of me fo laithfullv through my illoen, both by day an I night, that I feared her health and strength wouldjfallher if she did not rut a while. XLnew she had been ery auxlous to co, and I felt suro that her brother and his family would be very glad to eo her aud would try to make her visit a pleasant one. She hesitated about leaving mo, fearing ,1, migbt need her care; but after waiting, a few days and teeing that I continued con-tinued to regtln my health and strtngtb ihe decided to follow my advice. Arconll3gly ono iileatant morning about the middle of April, after doins; everything she could for my comfort and bidding me to ba careful about taking cn)J or walking too far, site started, intending intend-ing to be gone a fortnight. One day I exercised a little beyond be-yond my strength, and felt quite tired at night and lay awake lor a longtime. At la.it I fell Into an uneay slumlxr and dreamed a very carious and startling dream. 1 teemed to have gone forward into Uie future a coupln of days, and instead in-stead of Wednesday, the 1th. It eemed in my dream to Iks Friday, thelti. It appeared In my sleep that a heavy rain had been falling most of the day and all the day before, be-fore, but the evening was clear and I leasant and not very dark, though the moon was not shining. I seemed seem-ed to be walking along the railroad line toward the east. I first passed through a wood about half a mile wide; then for about amllethrough fields containing a rouplo of farm houses, one Inhabited and the othei deserted. I then entered another wooJ, and after walking about a tulle and a half I came to a stream gently swollen by tho rain, which hau weakened the railroad bridge so much that the paswnger train, in attempting to crus, had broken it down, and the brldgeand carriages, completely wrecked, were lying on bjth sides of the stream, except portions por-tions that were floating down. Some of the passengers lay dead or dying among the ruins; samo wcrenoating In the water, and a few were clinging cling-ing to trtf aud bushes on the Lank. It was a fearful and heartrending ught, too fearful for description, 411 . rich as I trust 1 may never see in reality. ' Itionext day early in the morning morn-ing it commenced raining, and continued con-tinued to ram through the? day and the following night. I filt vcrj lonely and uneasy all day, which feeling was increaoed by receiving a letter from my wife, saying that she intended to cuuie home on I'nday night by theexprea train. I retired late, feeling much woitied on account ac-count of my fearful dream. And to add to this fear, presentiment, or whatever you may call It, the drmui f4i rejieated, and even more listinct and vivid than the first time. When I arose In the morning the rain was still falling. This was Friday, Fri-day, and therefore was tho day on which my -vlfewas to start for home. There were two passenger traiui-from traiui-from the west each day, one at 9 'clock in the forenoon an! the Aher at 9 in the evening. This last jrui Hit) express, and the one on lilch my wife was coming. Toward the middle of the afternoon after-noon the rain ceased falling, and he clouds slowly cleared away. The dream bad made such an iru-pre-sion on my mind that I resolved to attempt to find the stream I had cen so plainly in my dreams, and f it appeared atall dangerous to attempt at-tempt to stop the train before reaching reach-ing it. Accordingly soon after the rain was over I got ready and tatted. I had never before had oc-.yuMon oc-.yuMon to vilt the station In this direction, di-rection, and therefore was entirely unacquainted with this tart of tho country. But I found everything just as it apticareJ ia my dream. Immediately after starting I massed through tho wood I had -ecu in my dream and then entered .he open lit Id and fuutd the two farm houtes, one Inhabited and the other deserted. In tact, oerything .seemed as natural as if I had really jet-n this way before. 1 walLcu iiowly, and late In the afternoon I came to the stream, which flowed rapidly and seemed much swollen. Ilut the bridge, instead of being uruken down aud mlnglt-d with the broktn carriages and mangled passengers, pass-engers, was still standing; and thuugli its timbers looked quite old ind whealher beaten theru seemed 0 be little danger of its breaking town beneath the weight of a pass-ug pass-ug train. There was a heavy goods train due from the west about 6 clock, and I resolved to wait at least until It came, and If It passed ver in safety there could be, I thought, but Utile dangerof accident o the lighter passenger train. Indue timnlt came thuudering along-, and pawed safely over the bridge. Rut though it might have been owing to my excited imagination, imagina-tion, It seemed to me that bridge uenlaud'shook beneath the weight f the train in a manner highly -uggeativc of danger. At all events 1 revolved to wait a while longer Mid see If the stream which was still rising, would have any apparent effeit upon the bridge. I took' with me a lantern, and also a thick blanket t: protect me from the damp night air. Shortly after sunset, as I was sitting sit-ting a few rods from the stream,-1 heard a loud splash, and hurrying to Urn bridge I saw that a portion of tho bank on the opposite side bad broken -away, and also that the action ac-tion of the' water,,, or some"other cause, had weakened the foundation of the bridge in such a manner that a portion 01 the lino was bent and lowered enough to make it impossible impossi-ble for a train to cross. I Immediately Immedi-ately crossed the bridge, resolved to top the train it possible before it reached the bridge and certain destruction. Well, to make a long story short, I went on In the direction from which the train was to come, and soon found, a place which commanded com-manded a good view of the line for a considerable distance. I lit my lantern, wrapped my blanket close ly around xme and sat down to my wearisome vigil of two hours. The night was clear, and not very dark, though no moon was shlnlog. I suffered nothing from cold, as it was remarkably warm, even for (he climate of rV'lrgl nia, and I succeeded in keeping awake, though the task was a uifflcult one. Elowlyltlie moment- passed by, but at last 1 taw by my watch that the time bad nearly expired, and a few minutes would decide the fate of the train and its human freight. Boon I saw a light, ft away and very small at first, but rapidly growing grow-ing larger and brighter. 1 arose, trembling with excitement, and commenced swinging the lantern above my bead, and, as the train drew Bear! redoubled my exertions and stNuted sa loud aa I could. Onward came the train at a rapid speed. "Ut was a time of terrible suspense to me. Should the engineer engi-neer fall to see my signal, or not see It in lima to stop the train before going a lew rods past me, I knew that so human power, could save It. On It came, and, ob, Joy unspeakable! unspeak-able! lost as I av up my exertions and stepped from the.llae my fran-Uosismsd fran-Uosismsd were observed. Tke engineer engi-neer whittled for brakes, arooslng t the sleepy brakemen like au foctric shock, who flew swiftly to their stations. The train was quickly stopped, and I then Unformed the engineer and conductor of the danger ahead, while, the frightened passengers left the carriages and gathered around, me. alany a bravo man grew pale when he learned what a fearful death he had so narrowly escaptsL Among the passengers I found my wife, not mangled and lifeless, but alive and well, though somewhat some-what frightened, and a good deal surprised at seeing me. The conductor con-ductor gave me a seat next to my wife, and then bad the train backed to the station It bad Just left, from which telegrams were sent to warn all other trains of the danger. In tho morning my wife and I took, the train for home. I have but little more to add, except that the company Insisted on making me a handsomo present, and also gave me a free pass over the road. 1 do not pretend to be able to explain the dream", which was certainly a remarkable re-markable one, though doubtless no more so than others could rtMe; but I am satisfied that this dream was the means of saving many human hu-man lives from a sudden and most terriblo death. UaUmcre World. IX - |