Year: 1874




tied in his answer drew forth other
Mr.. Phillips fairly confessing to his old
acquaintance the unpleasant impression
made upon his mind, and its origin.


The latter, who possessed good ma
ture as well as good sense, did not
attempt to use any unwarrantable rail-
lery, but endeavored to divert his atten-
ton to other subjects, and, their meal
being ended, proposed walk. To this
Mr.. Phillips willingly acceded, and
having strolled through the park they
at length reached the house of the lat
ter, where they went in. Several letters
had arrived by that mornings post, and
were lying on the table, which were
soon opened and read. The last which
Mr.. Phillips took up was addressed to
him by an old friend. 1t commenced /:


"Dear Phillips-You will laugh at me
for my pains, but cannot help feeling
uneasy about you do pray let me write
and know how you are going on. 1t is
exceedingly absurd, but l really cannot
shake off the recollection of an unpleas-
ant dream had last night, in which 1
oaW yOu hah6Co.


The letter fell from the readers hand /:
all his scarcely-recovered equanimity
vanished nor was il till some weeks
had elapsed that he had quite recovered
his former serenity of mind.


1t is unfortunate for the lovers of the
marvellous that five-and-twenty years
have now elapsed, and MIR. Phillips has
not yet come under the hands of "Jack
Ketch." 1 suppose we must take it
''exceptio probat regulam.


A physician writing in AL the Year
Round for 1859, relates curious story,
and suggests as curious theory to ac-
count for it One night, he says, l had
a vivid impression in a dream that a
man-seryant who has lived with me
many years was presenting me with
some strange object that looked like
screen, over the whole of which was
scalloped pattern. In my dream was
immensely puzzled to make out what it
was that produced the pattern whether
shells or marbles or any other variegated
thing that would effect tesselated
appearance. The next morning said,
laughing, to my man; "John, what
could it be that 1 dreamed last night
you were making me present of? 1t
was a sort of screen, with a pattern on
like this" and rapidly sketched with
a pencil on the back of card, which
still preserve, the pattern I had seen in
my dream.


"Why," said John, looking blank,
''then you know all about it, Sir? My
wife, suppose, has been showing you
the screen we are making for you"


mo, indeed, L assure you she has
not, and have never seen nor had any
hint of such a thing"


Johns answer was to dart from the
room and to bring back with him a
curious piece of unfinished work. 1t
was a canvas in the form of a square
screen into which Johns wife had sewed
feathers of waterfowl which John had
shot by large mere near which We
were living. The screen, which had
made considerable progress, was the
Joint effort of the ingenious pair, and
the feathers being assorted with many
various colors and shades of colors,
sewed into the canvas by the quilts.
with their tops overlapping each other,
produced a fantastic and agreeable
which at least had the merit of
complete originality. As 1 had never
seen anything even remotely like it the
inference was strong that Johns brain
was deeply preoccupied by his screen
and its approaching presentation Che
was actually cutting a feather at the
time rang my bel), and had impressed
on my brain the dominant idea. Moth
ing could more exactly resemble the
pattern had drawn to show John what
my dream had been than the real pat
tern. The screen has since been
mounted under glass on a fine gilded
frame, and is at this time an ornament
to my drawing room. 1t is singular to
observe how it puzzles everybody who |
sees it for the first time, just as it did
me in my dream, as to what the mate
rial is that produces its curious mosaic. |