"Yes, surely; but why do you say, 'may I ?'"

"Because I wanted to tell Miss Broadling, our governess; and I did tell her a little; but she told me to be quiet, that it was a silly dream—but that I must not frighten myself, and that I must try to forget it; but I can't forget it much, and I'm sure it was not a dream."

"How I should like to hear that dream!"

“And I should like to tell it to you—to you only-for I saw you in it, and knew you the moment that I saw you again."

66

Well, that is wonderful! Now for the dream, my little lady ?"

"Oh, but it wasn't one dream, but two, three, four-and it used to be so; when I went to bed, I didn't sleep like, and yet I shut my eyes; and as mamma always told me to say, just before I shut my eyes, Watch over me, good God, while I sleep,' that was always after the

regular prayers at my bedside, you know.

Well, when I had shut my eyes, and said, Watch over me, good God, while I sleep,' the bed and the room used to seem as if they were swimming about; and then, you know, brother's voice used to come to me gently, so gently, and say, 'Aidee, Aidee, I want you;' and then I used to open my eyes, and I used to see him in a very strange place indeed, and good people about him; and you were always there, and brother looked so ill; and he said he wanted mamma; and then he thanked me for coming so far, so very far, to see him: and yet he seemed to know that I was lying in bed close to mamma in this very house; for he asked me to wake her, and send her to him. And I tried to wake her, and I tried to hallo out, and I couldn't loud enough; and to shake her, but I couldn't do that; and then I cried, because I couldn't; and I thought I should break my heart, because I could not send her to dear brother, who was dying so far off."

VOL. I.

I

"But, my little beauty, this was all what people call the nightmare."

"So governess said, when I told her my first dream and I didn't tell her the others, because she scolded me, so I held my tongue about them, as she bade me. These nightmares are very funny, to make you see real, right earnest people, such a long way off; but they are very horrid."

"So they are, my little love; but I should like to hear about the other three nightmares too."

"Oh, they were all a good deal like the first, except the last; but brother grew more and more vexed, because I could not wake mamma, and send her to him; and yet, poor brother saw that I tried all I could; and he looked iller and iller every moment; and I think he said, 'that mamma'-but you will never tell, will you ?"

"No, no, no."

"That mamma couldn't come, because she

had not reconciled her soul to God, before she went to sleep.' Yes, those were his very words. Oh, how vexed I was, and how much I was afraid of going to bed!"

"My poor girl!”

I have never since omitted my nightly prayers.

"Well, the night before the last nightmare, what do you think I did? All these goings to my brother seemed to make me grow quite old, and very sensible indeed, and put cunning things into my head, that I should never have thought of before. So, when I kneeled down by my bedside, and Miss Broadling began to read the prayers, instead of following her, I mumbled out the whole history of the Death of Little Cock-robin;' and when we had done, she took her spectacles off, put me to bed, tucked me up, and kissed me, and said I was a very good girl for saying my prayers so perfectly; and then bade me good night. I do think she is a little deaf, as well as near-sighted-don't you?"

“I should think so, my love; but you only mumbled, you know."

"At first; but she read very fast. I knew she wanted to go and finish a long letter to Mr. Julius Casimer, our chaplain, for they had had a quarrel, so she read very fast indeed, and that made me speak loud, when I was forced to speak fast too; and when she came to the power and the glory, for ever and ever, amen,' my voice was quite as fast, and a good deal louder than hers, when I said, and all the little birds they fell sighing and sobbing, because of the death of poor little cockrobin."

"Well, dear, and so I suppose your dream did not take you to see your brother that night ?" "Yes, but it did though; and mamma went

too."

I felt sick with superstitious alarm.

"Well, I didn't go to sleep, you may suppose, and I didn't say my little prayer to God before I shut my eyes, for I wouldn't shut