X. 



Drea-ms.— Th2 Phairies on Fire. — A Woon-DEiiou's Torcb 



Dreams ! What are dreams ? Why is it that, a 

 the silence or stillness of night, when the body lies in- 

 sensible in the repose of sleep, that strange visions rise 

 lip before us, and we seem to wander amid scenes that 

 belong not to the living world, — visions that war with 

 natural laws, and yet seem, to oiir senses, consistent 

 as those of real life ? A new world opens before us, 

 ■ — a world governed by different laws ; we possess 

 natures, antagonist to our real ones, and are endowed 

 with attributes that belong not to humanity. We 

 take to ourselves wings, and fly like birds through the 

 air ; we rush unharmed through the deep waters, and 

 plunge unhurt down profound precipices ; we talk 

 with dumb animals, and hold communion with those 

 who have long been slumbering in the grave. And 



