"Jessy, did you ever know me to dream?"
"Never. You have always declared that you could not understand what Marion and I meant by dreaming."
"Well, I had a dream this morning, and, though it seemed very short, I felt when I awoke from it as if I had been in hell all the night long."
"What did you dream?"
"I was in the vestry of the Church of the Disciples, putting on my vestments. I knew that the church was crowded, and I looked at myself and was proud of my appearance. Then I was walking up the aisle very slowly. Step by step I mounted the pulpit stairs, and stood facing the largest congregation I had ever seen. And the light was just like the light when there is an eclipse of the sun—an unearthly, solemn obscurity, frightful and mysterious. I stood in my place and surveyed the congregation. It filled the church, but the furthest points of distance appeared to be nearly in the dark. I could see forms and movements there, but nothing distinct. I looked at this gathering for a moment, and then laid my hand upon the Bible, and, with my eyes still upon the people, I opened it—Jessy!"
"O man! Speak!"
"There was nothing there."
"Nothing there! What do you mean?"
"Every page was blank—only white paper—not a word of any kind——"
"Ian Macrae!"