—MOOctober 10, 1971NO.119—DO

1. I'VE HAD THIS DREAM TWICE NOW, BUT I FORGOT IT UNTIL I HAD IT AGAIN THIS MORNING, and I woke up right away after it. I can still see it clearly‚ and I remembered I'd had it before. Maybe if I were back in the Spirit I could recall more how I got there. But right now I can't remember. All I REMEMBER IS I WAS CLIMBING THIS HILL IN THIS BIG CITY in what had apparently been at one time a rather swanky residential area, with these large, old-fashioned, ornate buildings—many of them several stories high, dating back, I'd say mostly to the last century, late 1800s or early 1900s—but now rather rundown, old, and just a little dilapidated! It was either New York or London, or it could even have been San Francisco or some other very large old city—large enough and old enough to have had such a beautiful old residential area of these large old apartment buildings or flats. It's not completely rundown yet, nor crowded with the poor like some very old inner city areas, but still seems to be tenaciously clinging to its former grandeur.

2. MY IMPRESSION IS THAT IT WAS POPULATED MOSTLY BY THE OLDER GENERATION of families who were still endeavouring to hold on to the old family residences— traditional old family homes, townhouses, flats, duplexes, etc.—most of them were fairly large buildings several stories high of this somewhat ostentatious, pompous and fancy, but oddly beautiful, architecture of a bygone day, I'd say about the turn of the century of before—a great deal of red brick with towers and turrets and some old greystone or brownstone mansions, with these huge bay windows, very decorative doors, gingerbread cornices and a few pillars‚ very old grey slate rooves or shingles with large old chimneys‚ some of them with those round pipes on top, like we've seen in Europe—but all of them with a lovely ancient dignity and reserved beauty of the past.

3. THERE AREN'T A GREAT MANY PEOPLE ON THE STREET, SEEMINGLY MOSTLY OLDER RESIDENTS—very few children, and the few young people seem to be students, probably roomers—all very quiet and conservative, in a neighbourhood I'd call still a rather refined grand old neighbourhood on top of this hill with a gorgeous view across the city.

4. BUT FIRST THING I CAN REMEMBER IS THAT I'M CLIMBING THE HILL ON A NEIGHBOURHOOD BUSINESS–LIKE STREET with shops and stores and business buildings‚ and I look up and I see an old sort of an English type of sign—seemed like it was shaped like a broad shield with a gold border and gold Old English lettering: "DUGGAR ACADEMY". The sign was very clear in the dream, and it pointed up a steep side street to my left between these tall buildings. When I say tall, I mean three or four stories high—maybe five or six.

5. AS I START UP THIS SMALLER STREET TOWARD THE TOP OF THE HILL and the more residential area‚ I'm reminded that I've been here before! It seemed I was brought here before! (Tongues—Lord, forgive David for his failings!) But I was shown this before, but I'd forgotten it, but was definitely impressed that this time I must remember where it is.

6. SO I LOOKED AROUND FOR SOME IDENTIFYING SIGNS OR LANDMARKS—and high above my head on the right, on the side of one of the larger business buildings was a large sign painted on the side of the building, which for some reason or other gave me the impression that it was the name of the neighbourhood or area: "Quackers". Now that may have been "Quakers"‚ but I can still remember pronouncing it "Quackers" at the time.

7. BUT AS I LOOKED AROUND FOR SOMETHING EVEN MORE DEFINITE, I looked back at the corner where I'd turned‚ and I noticed the street sign of the street I was on, making a determined mental note to try to remember it! From that distance, it looked like "Stennison". I couldn't see the sign that named the business street I just left, because it was facing the other way, and I was already half a block up this steep street—"Stennison"—and although I felt I should go back down and see what it was, I'm sorry that I didn't, because I didn't want to climb the hill again, thinking surely I'd be sure to take a look at it on my way down again. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS DO WHAT THE SPIRIT LEADS YOU TO DO AT THE TIME, BECAUSE YOU MAY NEVER HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE, for I know I could have clearly seen or remembered the name of that other street if I'd gone back down to the corner and photographed it in my mind, because I could see the sign plainly on this pole, criss-crossing the other, but its back was toward me and I simply thought, "I'll do that later!" But later never came!

8. SO I CONTINUED CLIMBING THE HILL, and as I did so, it seemed the street either curved or turned leftward again as I neared the top, still partially surrounded by these beautifully ancient buildings, but I had the feeling of coming out on top‚ with the lovely view of the setting sun as we were so high we were looking over the tops of most of the buildings, even those of that business street below us from which we'd just come.

9. THERE WERE BROAD SIDEWALKS, OLD-FASHIONED WROUGHT IRON STREET-LAMPS, and I'd say, near the brow of the hill, the view on my left was completely unobstructed across the roofs of this great old city, and I could see quite a distance. It was really a lovely view, but the sky was getting full of dark grey clouds and the sun was beginning to set behind a distant hill, and I knew in the fading daylight somehow, that I must hurry in order to find what I had come to see.

10. AND SUDDENLY THERE IT WAS ON MY RIGHT, on the very summit of this high hill, and although not as large as some of the other buildings around, it still crowned the brow of the mount, like some old monarch of a by gone day—beautiful old frame wooden structure! It seemed it was of that old clapboard type of construction, quite broad as it faced the street, set back a little from the sidewalk leading up to the front porch.

11. IT HAD AN OLDFASHIONED VERANDA TYPE PORCH, stretched completely across the front of the building—very large, with stately old columns supporting its roof and the rest of the building, which seemed about three stories high—the front of it at least fifty feet wide, more like 75 feet. And AS I CLIMBED THE STEPS UP THE PORCH TOWARD THE HUGE CARVED WOODEN DOOR, I remember seeing this very large broad window, at least fifteen feet wide, about six feet high, through which I could see a lovely old library, still lined with many books and beautiful old fashioned furniture. Everything seeming to still be in place, just as it had been left, although deserted for some time now!

12. AND SUDDENLY I COULD IMAGINE THE MERRY VOICES AND HAPPY FACES OF THE YOUNG ENGLISH-LOOKING STUDENTS OF YESTER-YEAR in their prim velvet suits and white rounded collars, laughing and talking with books under their arms and in their hands as they came pouring out the front door, as though from some class.

13. BUT NOW THE BUILDING SEEMED GAUNT AND BARE and dead and grey and cold and old, just sitting there as though awaiting the end—and indeed it seemed that the end could not be far away, as the very old wood of the porch I was standing on seemed none too firm and creaked as I walked across it to peer in the front window—through the large window that faced the setting sun‚ whose dying rays shone beautifully on the dark old wood-paneled walls of the library.

14. AS I LOOKED AROUND FOR SOME FURTHER IDENTIFYING SIGN, I stepped down off the front porch onto the walkway and looked up at the front of the building for a sign—but there was none! Then suddenly my eyes fell to the foundation of the building, just to the right of the steps, and there, set into the foundation was a large old block of grey marble, bearing the inscription, difficult to see in the fading light, but still clearly chiseled on the molding stone in large block Latin lettering, in V-shaped cuttings: "CHRISTIAN ACADEMIA DE MEDICINA"—each word above the other!—And I knew I had found what I was looking for, which apparently, by the newer sign I'd seen back on the corner of the main street had been more recently called "Duggar Academy", before it had lapsed into disuse at the close of some final term of school. I made such a conscious effort to memorise the name and wording that I can still see that engraving clearly.

15. IT MUST HAVE HAD A DATE ON IT, I presume, but it seemed like the bottom of the block was buried in the mud of the flower bed, having been there for many, many years. But I remember thinking: "THIS IS JUST THE KIND OF PLACE WE NEED FOR OUR COLONY SCHOOL, and I must hurry to see what I can find out about it‚ as it's growing dark." With one last look, I remember that as you face the old school, there was another building fairly close to it on the right‚ but not related to it, but on beyond the front of the school, and on the left of it there was a lovely green grassy yard or lawn—the one on the left sloping downward toward other buildings below‚ but more removed from it—and I had the impression that the school building extended a considerable distance backward into the property—although the front was not extremely large.

16. AS I TURNED TO GO BACK DOWN THE STREET FROM WHENCE I'D COME, in the growing darkness, I remember pondering that old name, "Christian Academia de Medicina" and thinking that it had obviously been a Christian boys' Academy of Medicine many years before—later simply a boys academy, such as the typical private schools of England and elsewhere, but now passed into decay‚ disuse and desertion‚ a mere decrepit old remnant of its former glory—but also thinking how well we could put it to use if we could get it.

17. SO AS I HASTENED EXCITEDLY DOWN THE HILL DETERMINED TO TRY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT, and headed back toward the corner and that other street sign that I wanted to make sure to remember, I was almost there when suddenly something awakened me and the dream faded, and I never got to see the other sign—no doubt a rebuke for my failing to obey the first time!

18. BUT THANK GOD‚ I CAN STILL CLEARLY REMEMBER THE WHOLE DREAM THIS TIME, and so I pass it on to you to find the reality in your city, wherever it may be. Who knows? It may become another "Mountain Island Villa Found" and may be just what your Colony is looking for! PTL! SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND; knock and it shall be opened unto you! Ask and ye shall receive! God bless you!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family