occasioned by the bringing in of the carcass of a bear, which a party of
natives declared they had that morning killed. They hoped to get a reward
from the Resident for the destruction of an animal which might have done
so much mischief but for their timely slaughter of him; but when I made
my appearance, one of the valiant huntsmen, who was one of my brave
comrades on the day previously, was slow to prefer his claim any longer.
“The fact was, he had thought I might have killed or severely wounded the
bear, and so had gone into the woods to reconnoitre; and finding the dead
body, had brought it in with his companions rejoicing. On examining the
body I found it almost cold; so that Bruin must have retired to die after
my second shot.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE PLOT DISCOVERED.
AS TRUE AS IT IS WONDERFUL.
Now boys and girls, I am no spiritualist; I do not believe in
table-turning, except when some one lays a very clever snare and
falls into it, then the tables are turned on him; nor do I believe in
table-rapping, except in the method your fathers may adopt, when you are
making so much noise that they can’t hear themselves speak; then they
may sometimes rap the table with advantage. Nor do I take much notice
of dreams generally: of course, if folks will make hearty suppers of
indigestible food, they must expect to fall off the church tower, or be
pursued by a mad bull (especially if beef-steaks figured at supper),
or come into contact with robbers, once or twice in the night. But if
we are careful of ourselves, and if we are in good health we shall not
be troubled with dreams much! the mind will be active when the body is
still, but when we awake to the duties of the day, it finds scope enough
there, and soon forgets its exercise in the night.
Nevertheless there are occasions when dreams are important, when they
so vividly impress the mind as to lead to definite action from which
important results follow.
I believe, occasionally, but very rarely perhaps, that some persons are
“warned of God in a dream,” and I will give you an instance which has
never yet been made public so far as I know, but for the truth of which I
can vouch.
I have often heard the story from the mother of the master of the first
boarding-school I was at.
She was too good a woman to deceive us, and besides, the circumstances
happened to her own uncle, and were in this wise.
He was a minister in Cornwall, surrounded by wicked neighbours, who
hated him because he so constantly reproved them by his voice and
example. And so they determined to get rid of him. It was the time of
the French war, and they had him arrested for supplying the enemy with
gunpowder.
He was in gaol at Launceston, and on the night before the assizes,
a gentleman at Stonehouse, in Devonshire, who knew nothing of these
circumstances, dreamed that he must go to Launceston: he awoke his wife
and told her, but she sensibly advised him to go to sleep again. He did
so, but soon awoke, having again dreamed that he must go there. And on
his informing his wife, she suggested his going to sleep again, saying
that if there were anything in the dream, it would be repeated the third
time.
He went to sleep again; and again did he awake with the impulse, stronger
than ever, that he must go to Launceston.
While he was dressing, the thought occurred to him that he would not be
able to catch his horse, which was in a field near the house. In broad
daylight it was a matter of difficulty, and the animal was only captured
by the sight of the corn measure, and the promise of some oats at the
bottom, and not then until he had indulged in a canter or two round the
field. You may imagine that the gentleman was much surprised to find his
horse standing at the gate, waiting for him, as it were, and allowing
himself to be saddled and bridled at once. On his master rode through
Devonport, wondering to himself how at that time of night he should cross
the Tamar that separates Devon from Cornwall. The ferry had stopped for
hours; but as he was riding down to the water’s edge, he was shouted
to by a man, “Come on, sir.” The voice came from the ferryman, who was
waiting with his boat, and who asked the gentleman where his companions
were. He replied he had none. “Oh, then,” said the man, “it must have
been some drunken men who shouted to us—several of them—to bring over the
ferry. But it appears we have not come on a wild-goose chase after all;
so step in, sir.”
Once on the other side, there was no further difficulty in the way, so
that the gentleman trotted on to Launceston full of the importance of
his errand, but quite in the dark as to its purport. Nearing the town,
he overtook numbers of people, and hearing they were on their way to the
assizes, he decided on going there too.
Squeezing his way into court, he remained there for some little time an
obscure and unobserved individual; but he was soon destined to play a
very important part in a trial that had just begun. He was startled at
hearing his own name called out loudly by the crier of the court, from
which he knew he was required as a witness. He pushed forward into the
witness-box, when a number of men standing near appeared much confused,
and hurriedly left the court. On being sworn he was asked his name,
residence, and business, and then the counsel said,—
“I believe on the —— (mentioning the date) you had a large order for
gunpowder. Will you please to inform the court of the transaction.”
“I never had such an order, nor do I at all know to what these
proceedings relate,” said the gentleman in an astonished manner.
“What!” said the judge, “do you mean to say you know nothing of the
prisoner at the bar, nor of the crime with which he is charged.”
“Absolutely nothing, my lord,” was the reply.
“Then, why are you here?”
The gentleman then, in as few words as possible, related the
circumstances with which you are already familiar, when it became
apparent to all, that the prisoner had been the victim of a base and
murderous plot.
Inquiries were made for those who had instigated the trial, but they were
nowhere to be found. Doubtless they had arranged for some one to palm
himself off as a gentleman of whom the powder was bought, but the arrival
at the right moment of the real individual, frustrated all their deeply
laid plans, and saved the life of an innocent and godly man.
There, now, boys and girls, there is my tale; it is strictly true, as I
remember it told to me by the niece of the accused, except that, for the
filling up of the story, I have not given the exact words used at the
trial, as they have not been preserved, but a conversation similar to the
one that took place, when the truth was elicited.
You may make what you like of it, but I shall always hold that the dream
was no delusion, that the arrival in the court was not an accident, but
that it was the last link in the chain of God’s providence with which He
encompassed His faithful servant.
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY
MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH