"About five years ago I lived with my four children, one boy and three girls, on a farm in Massachusetts. This only son, at the age of about fourteen years, lost his life in an accident about six months previous to this narration. The youngest of my girls was the pet sister of his since her birth. My wife had died some six years previous to this story; being motherless made these children unusually affectionate toward each other. One day I had occasion to buy for my girls each a very small lady's knife, about two and a half inches long. A few days afterwards the girls received company from our neighbours' girls, some five or six of them. My youngest one, some eight or nine years old, was so delighted with this her first knife that she carried it with her at all times. During the afternoon the children strolled to the large barn filled with hay, and at once set to climbing the mow to play and jumping on the hay. During the excitement of the play my little girl lost her knife. This terrible loss nearly broke her heart and all hands set to work to find the lost treasure, but without success. This finally broke up the party in gloominess. In spite of my greatest efforts to pacify the child with all sorts of promises, she went to bed weeping.

During the night the child dreamed that her dead dear beloved brother came to her, taking her by the hand, saying, 'Come, my darling, I will show you where your little knife is and, leading her to the barn, climbing the mow, showed her the knife, marking the place. The dream was so life - like that she awoke, joyfully telling her sister that her brother had been here and showed her where she would find her knife. Both girls hastily dressed and, running to the barn, the little girl, assisted by her sister, got on top of the hay and walked direct to the spot indicated by her brother and found the knife on top of the hay. The whole party said that they all looked there many times the day before, and insisted that the knife was not there then.

"This, I think is a very remarkable dream.

"Yours, etc"

"In answer to a request for further confirmation," continues Professor Royce, "our correspondent writes, under date of 29th December, 1887:-

'Yours of December 22nd inst to hand. According to your request I will give the statement of my girls. The little dreamer says:-

"I have a very vivid recollection of my dream up to this day. I could to-day walk every step that I walked in my dream with brother. I cannot recollect at what time of the night I had my dream. I don't think I ever was awake during the night, but on waking in the morning I had the feeling that I was sure I could go and get the knife. I told my sisters. They at first laughed at my dream, but I insisted that brother had shown me the knife, and I could not have peace in my mind until I went to the barn to get it. One sister went with me. On reaching the hay I told her to let me go ahead, and walked direct to the spot without hesitating a moment, and picked up my knife."

'She never had any other similar experience, and no other similar experience happened in my family. The sister who went along with her says: -

"As we got up and were dressing, sister told me she knew where her knife was; that brother took her out to the barn during the night and showed it to her.

I laughed and tried to persuade her that this was only a dream, but she said that she was so sure of seeing the knife that she would show it to me. She said that brother took her by the hand, and led her to the place, talking to her all the way and tried to quiet her. She would not give peace until I went along. On getting on top of the hay she walked direct to the spot, saying,

'Here brother picked the knife up out of the hay,' and at once said, 'and oh, here it is, picked up the knife. We had been looking this place all over, again and again, the previous evening." "'

We quote one other: - l

"14th January, 1850.

"The following rather remarkable dream took place on the 29th November, 1886. On that day I gave to our gardener, G. Wilmot, his wages, 15s. in a half - sheet of paper, some letters to post, and two parcels and a note to leave at various houses on his way home. This was at six o'clock in the evening. . . . About an hour after the gardener returned to tell me he had lost his wages. I advised him to carefully retrace his steps and make every inquiry, but this he did without success; and as it was 'fair' night and the town full of people, he at last gave it up as hopeless and returned to his home quite a mile distant During the night he dreamt that he went to one of the houses where he had left a note, and crossing the road after leaving it, he walked into a mud heap, and that there his foot struck the paper containing the money; the half-sovereign rolled away and the 5s. remained under his foot He told his wife the dream, and falling asleep again he dreamt the same dream again. Early in the morning he went to the place and found his dream fulfilled to the letter, even to the rolling away of the gold, and the silver remaining in its place.

"He is a most intelligent, truthful man. . . ." Surely here are enough of these instances of lost articles recovered through the revelations of dreams to prove to any reasonable mind that there is a power "beyond our ken" which on occasion can and does help us to our material good.

1 Vol. viii., part xxii. of Proceedings S. P. R.

Help in another way is also often sent. There are many cases in which persons worried about business matters have been shown a way out of their dilemmas in a dream, the following being some striking examples: -l

"My Dear -

"In accordance with your request, I herewith transmit you particulars as they occurred, of the peculiar dream, if such it may be called, which proved of so essential service to me.

"As I mentioned to you, I had been bothered since September with an error in my cash for that month, and despite many hours examination, it defied all my efforts and I almost gave it up as a hopeless case. It had been the subject of my waking thoughts for many nights, and had occupied a large portion of my leisure hours. Matters remained thus unsettled until the 11th December. On this night I had not, to my knowledge once thought of the subject, but I had not long been in bed and asleep when my brain was as busy with the books as though I had been at my desk. The cash - book, banker's pass-books, etc. etc., appeared before me, and without any apparent trouble I almost immediately discovered the cause of the mistake, which had arisen out of a complicated cross - entry. I perfectly recollect having taken a slip of paper in my dream and made such a memorandum as would enable me to correct the error at some leisure time, and, having done this, that the whole of the circumstances had passed from my mind. When I awoke in the morning I had not the slightest recollection of my dream, nor did it once occur to me throughout the day, although I had the very books before me on which I had apparently been engaged in my sleep.