I read the story,'The Drunkard's Dream' (1838) in Ghost Stories and Mysteries [of J. Sheridan LeFanu, (more usually spelled 'Le Fanu')].. This story comes from The Purcell Papers. The fictional Francis Purcell was a parish priest who had an interest in local traditions and wrote them down.

The action takes place in the 1700s. We don't know the exact year, because this story follows the old practice of leaving out some of the numbers and giving some names only as the first letter followed by a long dash.

One November Father Purcell is roused from bed because a little girl is crying that her father is dead or dying. What's particularly sad is that the child is afraid he won't come to give the Last Rites if he knows her father is Pat Connell, the alcoholic carpenter.

Of course he goes with her anyway. The Connell family has fallen on hard times. They've moved to the poor and smelly part of town, but the girl is grateful that they have food and a place to live, even though neither is very good.

Tom Connell describes his nightmare and it's scary. He decides to reform, even pay off all of his debts. He even repairs the unsafe steps that were part of his nightmare. Then he meets an old friend...

Mentions: Vathek and the Hall of Ibis

There's some good atmosphere in this story, but I feel that the editor erred in placing it directly after 'The Vision of Tom Chuff', which is too similar in plot. (It was published 32 years after this one). ( )