Year: 1873

her, and told her quite gravely,-


81 dreamt / should marry the daugh.
ter of the landlord of the Crown Inn,
and that, after bit, 1 should become
landlord myself"


On hearing this, the girl grew as white
as lily, and then as red as a rose, and
got up and walked in the house. Then,
after some little time, she came again,
and asked if he had really dreamt it,
and was quite in earnest.


ITO be sure, to be sure" said he
"she who appeared to me in the dream,
was most certainly just like you."


Then the girl went again into the
house. She walked straight to her own
room, and thoughts flowed through her
brain like water that runneth apace.
''He knows nothing about tbs tree, "
she said to herself che dreamt it, and
whether wish it or not, it will surely
come to pass there is no possibility OF
changing that" And with this she
went 70 bed. When she awoke the next
morning, she knew his face by heart, SO
often had she seen it in her dreams
during the night.


The young man had slept soundly on
his bed of straw. "Dreaming Beech"
dream, and all he had said to the land
lords daughter, were alike forgotten.
He stood at the door of the tap-roOm,
and was just shaking the landlords
hand, and wishing him good-by, as the
girl entered. On seeing him ready to
start, an indescribable feeling came over
her, and she could not let him ago.


Father" she said, ''the beer has
not yet been tapped, and the young man
has nothing to do. Couldn't he stay a
day longer and earn his board and
lodging, and get something beside for
the journey home ?"


The landlord had no objections to
make to this proposal, as he had just
had his morning draught, and was in
the best of humor.


Somehow the beer-tapping progressed
but slowly. Then came bottling the
wine, and when the cask was empty and
the bottles full, then the girl thought
ne could help in the field work, and
when that was finished there were SO
many things to be done in the garden,
that no one ever dreamt of before. So
week after week slipped by. and every
night she dreamt Of him.


And so it came to pass that at the end
of the year the young man was still at
the house. And then the floors were
well secured, and white sand fir twigs
were thrown in all the rooms. and the
whole village had holiday. 1t was
the wedding-dsy OF the young journey
man and the inn-keeper's daughter
and everybody reioiced at it, except
Just the few who sulked because they
were jealous, or pretended to be.


Not long after, the landlord of the
Crown Inn was decidedly once more in
a happy frame of mind. He had been
eating and drinking to his hearts con-
tent, and sat in his armchair with his
snutf-box on his knee. Long he slept;
and at last, when they tried to wake
him. they found he was dead


r+s< -$ss .@<- s---


One day, about five years later, the
young landlord-for such he now was
had come IN, and was sitting in the
when his wife ran in, and
said to him.


.'Only fancy yesterday at noon one
of our mowers fell asleep under the
Beech, without knowing it,
and what do you think he dreamte Why
that he was immensely rich! And only
think who it was-Caspar, old Caspar,
who is half-witted, and everybody pities
him, and keeps him only for charity.
What on earth will he do with all his



Wife," laughed the husband, show
can you believe such rubbish? You, a
womani Just reflect for one
How is it possible that tree
can foretell the future, let it be ever
such an old and beautiful tree?"


The wife gazed at her husband with
eyes, shook her head, and
slowly said,-


Husband, don't speak so wickedly
You ought not to joke on such subjects. "


81 am not joking, my DEAR" replied
the husband.


"Why pretend what you do not mean?"
she cried. 'Surely. you, Of all others,
have most reason to be grateful to the
tree. Hasn't all you dreamt under it
come true?'


"God knows" replied the husband,
81 am grateful to Him and to you. Yes,
it was beautiful dream, and l remem-
Der it like yesterday, but everything is
q thousand times better than / dreamt
it, and you, love, a thousand times
prettie- and dearer than the young
woman who appeared in my dream"


"But still it was strange that you
should dream you were to marry me-"


"I never dreamt that All I saw was
a young woman, with two children, but
she was not half as pretty as you, or
the children either"


"Fie !" cried the wife "do you mean
to deny me or the tree? Didn't you
tell me the first day we nett was in
the evening, out there in the arbor-I
that you had dreamt you were to marry
me, and become the landlord of the
Crown Ina ?"


Then the man remembered the joke
be had played on his wife, and said,-


''It can't be helped, dear wife. 1
really did not dream of you, and if 1
said SO it was only joke. 1 remember
you were very inVuisiliNe, auu Hauteu
to tease you"


"You havestolen my love, and cheated
me ont of my heart, she said; I shall
never be happy again-no, never1


Then he asked her if she did not love
him better than anybody in the world,
and If they had not been the happiest
couple in the whole village. She could
not deny this but nevertheless she
remained sad and miserable. notwith-
standing all he could say. Every at
tempt at reconciliation failed; nearly
all day she sat gloomily by herself,
whenever her husband came
near her.


This state Of things continuing for
some time, he also began to grow mel
fearing he had altogether lost
his wife's love. One noon he went ont
into the village, and loitered carelessly
the fields. In the distance
stood the old Dreaming Beech. he
went aud sat beneath its shade, think
ing of days gone by.


Then the beech began to rustic again,


a 4 &C. Thov,