LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2227, 18 April 1881, Page 3

LITERATURE.

VAN VELTMAN’S DREAM. [From the " Virginia City Enterprise.”] ‘ I am worried about a dream I had last night,'.saidj Van Veltman yesterday morning, as he seated himself in a broad bar-room chair after swallowing his matutinal cocktail. ‘I never had any such dream before. Everything seemed plain and reasonable enough in the dream, but now I can’t separate the sense from the nonsense.’ Receiving some encouragement, Mr Veltman proceeded to relate the vision as follows : I dreamed I died and went to heaven, or what sbonld have been somewhat in that neighborhood. I got there all alone away up among the stars, which seemed a mighty distance apart. All was cold and strange and uncomfortable. Presently I saw the new moon, which looked somewhat homelike and familiar, so I went over to it and seated myself on the curve of it, where there was a comfortable resting place for my back, thinking I’d take things easy and look about for a time. I had hardly got comfortably seated before a rather brisk-lookiug personage, wilh a paper cap on his head, wearing a leather aprenand carrying a monkey-wrench in bis hand appeared before me. ‘Just arrived V said he, qnito briskly. ‘Just this minute landed,’ said I, ‘Well,’said the man, who looked like an engineer, or some kind of machinist, ‘ this is no place for idlers, you must get to work.’ *To work, ’ said I feebly. *Am I not in heaven ?' ‘ Heaven I I don’t know what your ideas of hoaveu may be, but can tell you that you are in the great Workshop of the Universe. No idlers here, I can assure you ’ ‘I—I thought I had come here to rest,’ stammered I. ‘ Best 1 You have come to the wrong place if you are looking for rest. You see aero are the axles of all these worlds to grease, fires to be kept up in the suns, and oceans of nebulous matter to be looked after and worked into asteroids and things. Lots of work to do, and just now we are very short handad—been extending our regular works out into space, ’ Just then I was startled at the sight of an immense fiery ball, that came rnshing along with a terrible roaring sound, and which left bonind a tremendous train of sparks. ‘Heavens!’ cried I. ‘What is that—a comet 7’

‘ A comet,’said the personage before me, ‘I believe it is what you hive been taught to call a comet, but you’ll find out exactly ■what it ia before you’ve been here long. However, I may eb well tell you that what you see is a special car of one of the bosses. There are millions of them ia all who go about through inter-stellar space inspecting things—millions of them—and to me they seem to ba passing every five minutes, but where you came from they so- m to be visible only at long intervals.’ 1 Where ia the big boss of all ? Does he, too, have his car ?’ said I. * No, you fool! Do you want me to knock you off the horn of that moon ? No one here has ever yet seen that Great Head Centre.’ * But isn’t this heaven ?’ * Why do you keep asking that question ? Haven’t 1 told you that yon are now in this big Workshop of the Universe? It was heaven where you came from, but you did not know it. You’ll have no such good times here, I can tell you. You’ll not be allowed to loaf about np here and do as yon please. There you had a body and feeling to tell you when anything hurt you —to tell you when you were tired, and so on. Down there yon have nothing to do bnt to make yourself happy—to enjoy yourselves—but like a pack of fools you all go to piling up money, or trying to, and worry yourselves about getting things that are of little nee to you, considering the time yon have to stay. Yon have been up here hundreds of times before, but you don't know it yet, and will not remember it till you have been here a million of years, and have passed through a place you have to see. You were only sent down to the earth for a space, as 1 may say, of fifteen minntes, for rest and refreshment. Now you’ve got io get to work. i.’ve just been sent over here by one of the bosses to tell you so. Up here you won’t have a lubberly body that you must care for.’ ‘But,’ said I, ‘we have a shape, as I see.’ ‘Yes,’ said the being before me, ‘up here you have a body and you don’t have one—you feel and are hurt, but not damaged. You know how it was down there on your little earth with a man who had lost a leg, an arm, or had had any part of him come on before his main hulk —you know about the feeling be had in a thing that bad departed from him ?’ ‘Yes ’

‘Yes? Well, yon might have taken warning from that—might have guessed something as to what would presently be the condition of your whole body. That within you which never'dies feels as keenly through the whole as through a part. You are now all leg—all arm—all any part you will. But time flies and I must set you at work. Where are you from ?’ ‘ From Virginia City,’ said I, turning my head and looking off towards where a little black star about ten feet in diameter was waltzing round the moon, with others still smaller whizzing round it In various directions. * What ! From the Conutock, hey ?’ and the personage began to scowl. ‘ From the Comstock—why Ize a notion to send you right out to shovelling comet dust Into the sun ?’ ‘ Pray do not,’ said I, ‘ for though I’m from the Comstock I never worked in the lower levels.’ ‘ What, then, do yon feel like doing—what kind of a job would you like?’ ‘Well, if there is a vacancy I think I'd like the place of watchman on one of the moons of Jupiter.’ * V es, you’d like a nice cool p’aoe, eh P’ ‘ I’d prefer such a place to start in on.’ ‘ Well, I’ll fix you. 1 shall give you a nice cool job down near your late home.’ ‘Thank yon, sir.’ ‘Yes, I’ll set you to work down at yonr earth—at the North Polo. Nothing to do there bat to chop the ioe off the big gudgeon and keep it well greased. Come right along now and get to work.’ ‘ Saturn baa eight moons,’ said I, * and there might be a vacancy—’ ‘ Yes, and also a lot of big fly wheels—what you’d call rings. I can’t trust you there. You’ll chop ioe awhile— a million years or so; then I’ll see if I can find a vacancy somewhere and put you in as watch man. Come along !’ and here he snatched me oil the moon, and I felt myself falling, falling, falling for weeks and months, till at last I landed on a big cake of ice. ‘ Are yon out of bed, yon old brute ?’ said an angel voice, which I at once recognised ns being ihe private property of my wife ; and I felt so relieved and happy that I could have kissed her. Queer dream, wasn’t it 7