the dying may be explained also by the condition of the body in the last stage of many diseases, when the commonness of spectral delusions has given rise to a strong faith in our frequent visible communion with angels and departed spirits in the hour of death. Next to sight, hearing is the sense most fre By degrees, as the pleasurable sensation increased, I lost all connexion with external things; trains of vivid visible images rapidly passed through my mind, and were connected with words in such a manner as to produce perceptions perfectly novel. I existed in a world of newly connected and newly modified ideas. When I was awakened from this semi-quently imposed on, and no sound is so comdelirious trance by Dr. Kinglake, who took the bag from my mouth, indignation and pride were the first feelings produced by the sight of the persons about me. My emotions were enthusiastic and sublime; and for a moment I walked round the room, perfectly regardless of what was said to me. As I recovered my former state of mind, I felt an inclination to communicate the discoveries I had made during the experiment. I endeavoured to recal the ideas-they were feeble and indistinct." Inhalation of nitrous oxide increases fulness of the pulse, expands the blood. A like effect is produced by the febrile miasma of Cadiz, in which the spectral impressions are of a painful character. Suppose we say, then, that expansion of the blood is favourable to the producing of spectral impressions. If not that, some other fact as natural, accounts for the appearance of spectres in hectic and other fevers. The ghosts seen by Nicolai, the philosophical bookseller of Berlin, disappeared gradually on the application of leeches. Spectral impressions may result also from direct irritation of the brain, or from a high state of nervous irritability acting upon the body generally. The spectres will agree mostly with the mind they spring from. A philosophical man like Nicolai has visions of men, dogs, and horses, such as he would see in daily life. Others, who have their minds full of supernatural tales, and who associate with darkness, instead of nature's rest, the spirit's unrest, will see the sort of ghosts they occupy their minds with. Others, again, whose philosophy leads to a faith in visible intercourse between the living and the dead, will not fail to obtain excellent corroborations of their doctrine. When supernatural forms are not repetitions of familiar shapes, but follow current superstitions, it has been always observed that they correspond to the forms adopted by popular belief from familiar paintings and sculptures. The witches of Lorraine, who professed to be familiar with devils, were questioned particularly as to the appearance of these devils by M. Rémy, the commissioner for their trial. They had simply realised them by the rude allegorical painting and sculpture of the middle ages. They said they were black-faced, with sunk but fiery eyes, their mouths wide and smelling of sulphur, their hands hairy, with claws, their feet horny and cloven. The cloven foot comes of a tradition that the devil was in the habit of appearing to the Jews in the form of a hairy goat. Saints, when they appear, correspond in the same way with the conventional form of church painting and sculpture. Visions seen in the ecstasies of saints themselves were commonly true visions; natural, as results of an overstrained mind in a wasted and often tortured body. The visions seen by monly imagined as the call of a familiar companion. Dr. Johnson fancied he heard his mother call "Sam," when she was a hundred miles away, and was much disappointed when nothing ensued. That call by a familiar voice was a frequent experience of the present writer. It was commonly a home voice, and a loud, clear, and abrupt monosyllabic call. But he has heard the voice of a brother miles away, speaking as from behind his shoulder in a college library, and turned to answer in a voice itself so insensibly subdued to harmony with the impression, as considerably to surprise a fellow-student who was standing near. But the delusions of hearing were, in his case, not confined to voices; the sound of opening doors within the bedroom at night, when there was no door opened, and other such tricks on the ear, were also not uncommon, but these (though not the sudden voices, which seemed to be connected with some momentary leap of the blood, as in the sensation that one has sometimes when going to sleep, of falling suddenly with a great jolt), were always to be explained by traceable relation to a thought within the mind. Next to hearing, touch is said to be the sense most frequently imposed on; as when people have fancied themselves beaten by invisible or visible fiends, and felt considerable pain from it. The present writer can remember in his own ghostly experience but one delusion of the sense of touch. It was associated with delusion of hearing, and repeated nightly for a week or ten days. Sometimes the sense of smell is deceived, as when the spectral sight of a demon is joined to a spectral smell of brimstone. Considering how often people are saying that they "fancy they smell" something, one might think play upon this sense to be more common than it is. Least liable to delusion is said to be the sense of taste. Thus, a lunatic mentioned by Sir Walter Scott, fancied his porridge dinner to consist of every delicacy, but complained that everything he ate tasted of porridge. The old woman read her thoughts, and bade her not to be despondent, but to hold out her left hand and have her fortune told. Predicting good luck and bringing it are widely different functions, and the queen, aware that the gift of palmistry is frequently accompanied by extreme shabbiness of attire, made no difficulty in extending her hand as requested. Taking hold of the delicate finger-tips, the old woman, after tediously hemming and hawing over the lines on the queen's palm, at last spake thus: A certain king, who, like many other potentates, lived once upon a time, was excessively annoyed by the circumstance that he had no direct heir to his throne, and his annoyance, in which the queen largely participated, was increased by the reflection that many of his poorer subjects were blessed with families so large that, viewing their scanty means, they did not highly appreciate the blessing. While the royal pair were together, they could console each other with reciprocal expressions of dissatisfaction; but on one occasion, when the king was absent on some foreign expedi- "You have two causes of uneasiness. tion, the queen, left to her own meditations, In the first place you are anxious about found her condition absolutely intolerable. your absent husband, but with your maThere she sat in her garden day after day, jesty's good pleasure we'll set down that under the shadow of a wide-spreading as nothing" (the queen bowed assent); linden tree, her eyes filled with tears, look-"though I may as well tell you that within ing so exceedingly dismal, that her maids a fortnight the king will be at home again, of honour said confidentially to each other looking as well as ever. But the grand that she gave them the "horrors." truth is a total lack of olive-branchesThe queen, pulling her hand a little, and deeply blushing, asked: One day, however, raising her eyes from the ground, on which they were habitually fixed, she saw a little old woman hobbling along on a crutch, till she came to the neighbouring fountain, where, stooping with difficulty, she quenched her thirst. Gaining new strength from the refreshment, the diminutive hag then approached the linden tree, and cheerfully nodding her head, told the tearful queen that she had come to bring her good luck. Now, in the modern work-a-day world we frequently find persons who, totally unable to manage their own affairs, show a marvellous degree of shrewdness in directing those of their neighbours. We have heard of a spirited gentleman who ran through three estates with unaccountable rapidity, and then, taking in hand the accounts of a society, which seemed to be involved in an insoluble tangle, brought them into the most perfect ship-shape. This financial feat performed, he ran through his fourth estate with a velocity far surpassing that exhibited on three previous occasions. A merchant who has been twice in the Gazette is not, on that account, deemed a whit less competent than of his neighbours to write a pamphlet on the currency, showing how na tional bankruptcy may, without the slightest difficulty, be converted into national wealth. Facts like these, however, not having fallen within the sphere of the queen's observation, she felt doubtful of the old woman's ability to bestow good luck, when she obviously possessed so little for home consumption. any 66 "Who are you, that can read the feelings of my heart in the palm of my hand ?" "That," retorted the old lady, sharply, is my business. So, without asking any more irrelevant questions, you'll just have the goodness to listen to me, while I tell you how to get out of your present difficulty. Look here!" So saying, she drew from her bosom a tiny bundle, which she gradually unwrapped, till she produced a small basket, which she gave to the and then proceeded: queen, "In this basket you will find a bird's egg, which you will condescend to carry in your bosom for three months. When these are passed a very small child will be hatched "Ridiculously small ?" queen. inquired the will "About half the size of my little finger," explained the old woman. Well, you put this extremely small child, which, by the way, I cannot connect with anything ridiculous, in a basket of wool, which must always be kept in a warm place." "And the ridicu extremely small child is to be fed with” the queen paused. "Nothing," supplemented the old woman. "It will require neither food nor drink. Well, nine months after the birth of the extremely small child—” "Shall "Birth ?" objected the queen. we not rather say hatchment ?" "Say what you like, as long as you do what I tell you," replied the old woman, 66 — extremely small ?" No, no, of the average size," answered the old woman; 66 and what is more, when this son is born, that extremely small child will be of the average size also. You will therefore take the latter out of the basket and place it in the cradle with the young prince, informing your royal husband that you have given birth to twins-a son and a daughter.' 66 dence in the second. A little gold case was made, which preserved the precious egg from even the possibility of danger; and in three months the miniature child was duly hatched, and put in the basket of wool to grow. A few months afterwards the son made his appearance, and the hatched child having thriven according to expectation, and being placed in the boy's cradle, the little fiction about the twins was accepted without hesitation, and the joy, not only of the court, but likewise of the land, was universal. When the day appointed for the christening arrived, the "fluff" was blown out of the window, and was answered by the appearance of a wonderfully fine chariot, drawn by six horses, yellow as the yolk of an egg, from which stepped a young lady, whose brilliant attire dazzled all beholders, and whose face, when she withdrew her veil, proved even more dazzling than her attire. In the arms of this glittering visitor the baby-girl was conveyed to the font, and at the request of her godmother was christened "Yolka"-a name which sounded odd to all except the queen; but she, resug-membering the egg, divined its hidden significance. An ordinary noble was the godfather of the boy, who received the ordinary name, William. Then the extremely small child will be female ?" asked the queen. "I thought I had said as much by implication," observed the old woman, with a shrug. "Please hear me out. You yourself will act as nurse to the boy 66 My own child," interposed the queen. "Of course; but for the girl you must engage another person. And mind, when the christening of the two children is about to take place, you will invite me to stand as the little girl's godmother." "Your address ?" said the queen, gestively. 66 Oh, you don't require an address," Isaid the old woman. 66 All you have to do is to search the basket, at the bottom of which, underneath the wool, you will find a small feathery substance." "What one might call a fluff?" suggested the queen. "Yes-true-perhaps one might," was the reply. "Well, you will just blow thisahem-fluff out of the window, and you will consider not only that I am invited, but also that I have accepted the invitation. Mind, not a word of what has passed to any living soul." Without waiting for an answer, the old woman hobbled off, and before she had gone many steps, changed into a young woman, who trod the ground so lightly, that she seemed rather to fly than to walk. Was the apparition a mere dream? Certainly not. Though the old-young woman was gone, the tiny basket still remained in the hand of the queen, who took it home, folded it in a silk kerchief, and placed it in her bosom, feeling happier than she had felt for many a long day. Just before a fortnight had elapsed the king came back with the glad tidings that he had thoroughly routed the enemy; and this accurate fulfilment of the old woman's first prediction increased the queen's confi When the ceremony was Over the sparkling godmother took an opportunity to whisper some good advice into the ear of the queen, enjoining her always to let the tiny basket lie by Yolka's side in the cradle, adding that as soon as the child was able to understand anything, the importance of always preserving this apparently insignificant treasure was to be deeply impressed on her mind. The sparkling godmother then took her leave, and those of the august assembly who ventured to inquire who she was, were quietly informed by the queen that she was a princess of her acquaintance, who lived a long way off; and that explanation was found, in every respect, satisfactory. The two children throve wonderfully, Yolka growing so exceedingly pretty, that, in the opinion of some wiseacres, she promised to be the very image of her godmother. Nay, the nurse told the queen, that sometimes at midnight a beautiful lady would unaccountably make her appearance, and look lovingly on the sleeping child, a piece of information which the queen gratefully received, at the same time delicately hinting that it had better not be carried further. After the lapse of two years the calm happiness of the court was interrupted by the death of the queen, who in her last moments sent for Yolka's nurse, and placed in her hands the tiny basket, in which the fragments of the wonderful egg were still preserved. "Observe this," she said; "it contains the future welfare of your young charge. When she is ten years old you will transfer it to her keeping, fully making her understand its importance. And, above all, never say a word on the subject to any one else." "But with respect to the young prince ?" said the nurse, with a fragmentary inquiry. Years passed away. The good queen was dead, and the king had taken unto himself another wife, who, on principle, hated the two children, and made herself so exceedingly unpleasant that the king, hoping, at his advanced age, to enjoy occasionally a quiet home, removed them to a distance from the palace, under the charge of their ever-faithful nurse. Sometimes they would accidentally come across the new queen, but so great a storm was invariably the result of such encounters, and the royal lady had so confirmed a habit of repelling unwelcome objects with her foot, that they instinctively avoided all chance of collision. When Yolka had reached the tenth anniversary of her nominal birthday, the nurse placed in her hands the wonderful basket, exhorting her to take care of it, with a solemnity that by no means produced the desired result. A tiny basket could scarcely appear precious in the eyes of a heedless child; so she tossed the treasure into a box where she usually kept her toys. About two years afterwards, when the king was out of the way, the perverse queen, strolling in the garden, found Yolka sitting under a linden tree, and the consequence of the discovery was a box on the cars, administered so smartly that, to the dazzled eyes of the poor girl, the world became one vast kaleidoscope. When she had reached her own room, she began to bethink herself of the neglected basket, and to wonder whether it would prevent the recurrence of a similar infliction. So she looked it up, but, finding that it contained nothing but a broken egg-shell, and what her supposed parent had called a "fluff," she pitched the rubbish out of window. Fortunately the wind caught the fluff, which had lost none of its inviting properties, and a wonderfully beautiful and sparkling lady stood before the astonished Yolka. Had she ever seen a pantomime, she would have expected to be changed into columbine; but pantomimes, in her days, were not invented. "Do not, my beloved child," said the lady, in very stately style-" do not feel in the slightest degree intimidated by the sudden manner, certainly unusual, in which I make my appearance. I am your godmother, and the best friend you have in the world. From the swollen condition of your eyelids, I could easily infer that your existence is far from happy; but I stand in nced of no such indications, since, by a process unnecessary to explain, I know the condition of everybody in general, and of you in particular. That, indeed, is my idiosyncrasy. At present, let me exhort you to endure your troubles bravely, since, take my word for it, they will soon come to a close, and vanish like the mirage. When you have reached the years of maturity, your stepmother, as you, perchance not quite accurately, call her, will have lost all power of controlling you, and no one else will be able to injure you: provided, that is, you take care of the minute basket, and do not lose sight of the shells. For, lo! day will come when the fragments will more. unite, and form an unbroken egg once Then will days of happiness be at hand. In the meanwhile, make a small silken bag, as a case for the basket, and wear it constantly in your bosom; for, if this precaution be adopted, neither your stepmother, nor indeed any one else, will be capable of doing you harm. However, should any unforeseen mischance arise, just take the small feathery substance out of the basket, and blow it into the air. My appearance will be instantaneous, and to assist you will be my object. We will now take a turn into the garden, where, seated under the branches of the linden tree, we can have a little further talk." Astounded at this uninterrupted flow of words, Yolka thought that her godmother had talked enough for a month, but as she would not offend so kind a benefactress, she accompanied her into the garden, where another flow of speech commenced and lasted till nightfall. The godmother then uttered a few mysterious words over the basket, and a table laden with delicate viands rose from the ground as a substantial supplement to the feast of reason. After they had partaken of the repast they returned to the palace, and on their way, the godmother communicated to Yolka the mysterious words which had been uttered over the basket, and which, of course, we should not feel justified in communicating to the reader. The basket too, as was afterwards proved, had a manifest effect upon the queen's temper, since Yolka, from the time she wore it, was scarcely ever vexed by a cross word. Again years passed away, and Yolka, a fine girl in her advanced teens was so exceedingly beautiful, that the young generation declared nothing so lovely had ever been seen; while the old and middle-aged vowed that nobody could be compared with her, except her godmother, whose appearance at the christening had never been forgotten. A war, resulting in a siege of the city where the king resided, and a scarcity of provisions, recently caused people to think of other matters, and the royal larder being nearly exhausted, even Yolka herself forgot to look into her own mirror. Under these distressing circumstances she blew the fluff into the air and besought her godmother, who immediately appeared, to tell her, briefly if possible, how the grand misery could be alleviated. "My dearest child," commenced the brilliant godmother, "the virtues of that basket are not transferable. I see you do not apprehend my meaning. Let me, therefore, dilate. When I say that the virtues of the basket are not transferable, I mean that they are only available to you yourself. Indeed, if we beings of a superior order assisted everybody in trouble, as a matter of course, we should have enough work upon our hands. You, as you ought to be aware, are a peculiarly favoured personage-do not ask why-and you, therefore, 1 will assist. As for the others, they must manage as well as they can." So saying, the glittering godmother led Yolka out of the city, rendering her invisible to the eyes of the besieging soldiers, and proceeded to a quiet spot, where she presented her with the dress of a peasant girl, and so altered her features (not for the better) that she could not have been recognised by her most intimate friends. If she wished to regain her lost good looks she was to use the power of the basket. Yolka had not left the city an hour too soon, for on the following day it was taken by storm, and all sorts of horrors ensued. The king and all the members of the royal family and all the nobility were made prisoners, with the exception of lucky Prince William, who got out of the way, and the unlucky queen, who was killed by a spear in the general tumult. Moreover, the ruthless foes so devastated the surrounding country, that for whole days Yolka wandered from place to place unable to find a sheltering roof, though her "board," as we should now say, was liberally supplied by the basket. At last she came to a farm, where she was hired as a servant, and though she at first found the work too hard, she became, in three days, so handy and active that no drudgery was too much for her strength. Soon her condition improved. While one morning she was scouring her milk-pails in the yard, a fine lady passed in her carriage, and with the consent of the farmer engaged Yolka as her " Own maid." After she had been half-a-year in her new place at the lady's country seat, where she had nothing to do but to set the room straight and to attend to the duties of the toilette, news arrived to the effect that Prince William had raised an army and recovered the kingdom, of which he was now the rightful sovereign, as his father had died in captivity. When the year of mourning had expired, a proclamation went forth, after the good old fashion, to the effect that the |