March 11, 1882]

to my cousin, or to Mr Pullingtoft, for her. Mr Pullingtoft is a kind, good man, and he will take care of it. It is ten pounds, sir,' he continued, putting five sovereigns into my hand, wrapped up in a five-pound bank-note. My own, honestly my own, that I have every right to do with as I like, so do not scruple to take it.' I did not scruple to take it, and shook the brave boy warmly by the hand. His heart was in the right place, at all events. And now, I must go,' said Walter, 'in case I should be missed, and found to have come here. Good-bye.' He ran to the door; but made a step or two back again, saying confidentially: 'I mean to get a peep at my cousin, one of these days. I shall soon be obliged to be at Grantham for father, and I shall ride round by Marsh End Farm, and manage to see her somehow.'

Really, it was a good and a brave thing of the boy to bring that money, and I felt even inclined to think a little more leniently of Mr Scruby in consequence. A father who possessed a son with these feelings, surely must have some sort of good in his nature, underlying that thick crust of pride, avarice, and heartlessness, fossilised as it were on the outer surface.

But now comes the strangest part of my story. A day or two after Walter Scruby's visit to me, having no urgent business to detain me at home, I determined to make an excursion to Grantham, to place the ten pounds in Mr Pullingtoft's hands, as well as to learn how the affair stood, and what preliminary steps in law-matters were being taken. But previous to going, I would get Cripps the carpenter to look at the supports of the reading-desk in the church, which I suspected, from its creaking and groaning on Sundays, was in a dilapidated condition in the foundations. I sent, therefore, for the carpenter, and went over to the church, where the sexton and the pew-opener were employed in cleaning the vestry. In crossing the churchyard, I encountered the schoolmaster, who had a long account to give me concerning a refractory pupil; and he entered the church with me. We were in the midst of an argument respecting the best mode of dealing with stubborn children, he advocating severity, and I kindness, when Cripps with his basket of tools arrived.

The first thing to be done, sir,' said Cripps, after I had told him of my suspicions as to the infirm state of the beams, 'is to get a fair look at it underneath; and to do that, all that fretwork and carving must be taken down. That there bunch of happles and leaves is natural; and them two hoddities is Hadam and Heve; and that there snake a-twisting about like a heel, is meant for wot tempted Heve, I suppose!' Such was Mr Cripps's criticism on a lovely bit of carving worthy of Grinling Gibbons.

Well, yes; it certainly was necessary to remove the front of the reading-desk, and therefore, of course, part of Mr Scruby's pew; and it must be done at once, as I should like to see how much repairing was really required; for if extensive, it would have to be submitted to the churchwardens. This, however, I did not think, from the trifling character of the repairs, would be necessary. Cripps went forward to the desk for the purpose of removing the front, and stood for a few minutes, as is the habit of this class of workmen, looking at

the structure he was about to attack, as if considering which would be its most vulnerable point. At length he inserted his chisel as if to prise off the front of the desk, when he suddenly stopped, and reaching his hand up to a knot of carved leaves, he drew from behind it a small bit of paper. He looked at it.

There be writing on this, I see, sir,' he said, handing the scrap to me.

I looked at it, and found from the phraseology that it was evidently part of some kind of legal document, though of what nature I could not tell. But I was curious to know if there were any more of these fragments, and told Cripps to prise off the board carefully. As he shook the front of the desk in his efforts to remove it, a few more pieces of crumpled paper fell out of the same aperture, and lay at my feet.

'Here's a lot of rubbish,' said Cripps, touching the scraps with his hob-nailed boot. In the meantime I had picked up the pieces.

'Perhaps some old manuscript,' said the schoolmaster. Do read it, sir, for it may throw some light on the hiding-place of the silver vessels that were said to be hidden from Cromwell, and have never been found.'

'Good heavens!' I exclaimed, as, having unfolded a larger piece of the paper, I glanced over its contents. "What's this? Why-it is-it is a will!'

I shall never forget the excitement of that moment the schoolmaster, the sexton, Mrs Dumps, and the carpenter who couldn't read writing, all crowding to look over my shoulder. With hands trembling with excitement, I put the torn pieces of paper together, and ascertained the document to be perfect, dated five-and-twenty years before, signed John Scruby, and duly attested by two witnesses. Old Scruby's will, doubtless!"

Our astonishment was intense. How had it come there? It could not have been long in this place of concealment, or the church cleaners would have seen it before now.

'Perhaps it wor rats,' said Cripps, 'as tore it.' 'But how came it all crumpled up and tumbled?' asked the sexton.

'It's my opinion there's been dirty work,' suggested Mrs Dumps, with the natural sweetness of her sex in jumping at charitable conclusions. 'People as shall be unbenamed by me, who lets a pore woman open and clean their pew for nigh twenty year without giving her a single alf-crown at Christmas-time, is capable of anythink!'

Indeed, it was my own opinion also. It did look like foul-play. And I thought on the mysterious visitor to the church that evening I was there for the marriage extract, and the shutting and opening of the Scrubys' pew-door. But I kept my thoughts to myself.

'It ain't much consequence whether there's a will or no, now,' said the sexton; for Mr Seth has everything, and his pore sister's dead and gone long ago. It was thought a queer thing at the time that there wasn't a will; for old servants as had lived with him many a year and done their duty faithful, were not provided for; and old Jacobs as had been the shepherd forty odd year, died in the Union-he did.'

These items were entirely new to me, and

confirmed my opinion of Mr Scruby being a hard man, if not something worse.

'My friends,' I said, 'finding these papers may or may not be of importance; but I shall take them at once to a well-known lawyer at Grantham for his opinion of their legality and genuineness. In the meantime, let me entreat you to keep the matter quiet until my return. Do not let it get wind that we have made such a discovery, and you shall not go unrewarded for your silence. If this is a genuine will, it is better that the fact be announced from a solicitor to Mr Scruby, than by village gossip. At anyrate, you will all be ready to swear to the fact, if called on as witnesses?' Of course they would, and gladly. They'd be ready at any moment, day or night.

Leaving strict orders to Cripps to finish his carpentering as quickly as possible, I hastened to the stable, ordered the dogcart to be got ready immediately, packed a few necessaries in my carpet-bag, and then spreading out the tumbled sheets of my treasure-trove on the table, made myself master of their contents. As far as I could judge, this was a regular will, drawn up by a solicitor at Boston, unfortunately long since dead. It enumerated much property-in land, farms, and stocks. The upper farm at Lincoln, and some smaller ones in the north of the county, with their stock and product, were left to his only son Seth. Coryton Farm, stock, implements, with the land in this parish, and half the sum in the funds, were left to his dearly beloved and only daughter Jane and her heirs for ever, after having paid legacies to several distant connections and servants, and subject to many annuities to old servants; and I saw mentioned with much sadness, an annuity to be paid quarterly to the poor old shepherd Jacobs, of whom the sexton had so recently spoken.

Another surprise awaited me at the end of the bequests; for after the signature of John Scruby, one of the witnesses' signatures was Thomas Kirby the same handwriting I had seen in the register as witness to the marriage of the parents of Phoebe Meadows-the old woman Kirby's husband. It must, yes, it must be the genuine will -that which never was found.

My impatience was so great to be gone, that my man, naturally slow, and never having from me any especial cause to hurry in his preparations, thought, I believe, that I had taken leave of my senses. Í had to put up my horse and hire another on my way, to enable me to reach the dwelling of Mr Pullingtoft, Marsh End Farm, that evening.

MORE REMARKABLE DREAMS. IN continuation of this subject, on which articles have from time to time appeared in this Journal, we here give three narratives, by separate correspondents, of remarkable dreams.

Superstition is not, I flatter myself, one of my failings; and in placing before the public the following brief narrative, I would desire it to be distinctly understood that I have no wish to impress upon them that I ascribe the circumstances to which I am about to allude to any supernatural agency. I must confess, however, that from the first I have been sorely puzzled with the whole occurrence; and in now relating

the story, I am partly actuated by a wish to place on record what must be admitted to be a remarkable fulfilment of a dream. I may mention that my statements can be attested by many still living, who were fully aware of the events as they happened.

A few years ago, I was on the staff of a newspaper in a town in Yorkshire. One night my slumbers were disturbed by a twice-repeated dream of a very unusual character. I thought that intelligence was brought to the office of the journal with which I was connected, that an explosion of gas had occurred at the WColliery, distant about two miles from the town. I further thought that, in my professional capacity of reporter, I proceeded thither, and found that an accident had happened, by which over a score of miners had perished. Means were taken to bring the bodies of the dead to the surface; but, while exploring operations were going on, a second explosion became imminent, in consequence of fire breaking out in the workings; and after a consultation of mining engineers, it was determined that the mouth of the pit and the ventilating shafts should be fastened up, for the purpose of preventing the ingress of air. By these means it was hoped to stifle the conflagration which had been discovered. The plan was carried out, most of the bodies of the unfortunate colliers having to be left in the pit.

At this point, on both occasions of its occurrence, my dream broke off. As may be imagined, these visions of the night considerably impressed me. While at breakfast, I referred to the freaks of my imagination during the night; but those who heard me, though admitting the singularity of the dream, pooh-poohed the idea of the likeli hood of its being in any way realised. On going to business, so struck was I with the peculiarity of the matter, that I related the circumstances to the editor of the newspaper, who was also its proprietor. He listened with some interest to my story; but, like myself, he could not but smile at the apparent absurdity of the whole affair.

An hour later, we were astonished to receive intelligence that a terrible explosion of fire-damp had taken place at the W- Colliery, at eight o'clock that morning, and that over twenty persons had been killed. This was the very mine of which I had dreamed. In company with the gentleman of whom I have just spoken, I proceeded to the scene of the accident. Along with an exploring party, I descended into the workings; and it was found that twenty-three persons had lost their lives. Owing to the presence of choke-damp and repeated outbursts of gas, fortunately of small volume, the relief the bodies. When some eight or ten had been parties experienced great difficulty in recovering sent to the surface, and while we were still in the workings, it was ascertained that the explosion had set fire to some props and a portion of the coal in part of a 'benk' into which the explorers had just then, for the first time after the accident, managed to penetrate. Gas was found close by at the same moment; and the alarm being given that a second explosion was to be feared, there was immediately a stampede of nearly all in the pit to the bottom of the shaft, and thence, as

awoke with a start, and found he was at Carlisle. His sleep had not been refreshing, for it had been disturbed by a dream that troubled him. Unsentimental by nature, he tried to laugh the fancy away; but it refused to be exorcised. Still harping on some of the incidents, he reached his friend's home, and found the young wife in a hopeless condition. The husband was saddened and perplexed; and his friend, realising that action of some kind was necessary to raise the mourner from his stupor, succeeded in getting him to talk about the business he wished transacted. They went through a number of streets conversing familiarly, when all of a sudden the husband found himself grasped by the arm, and looked round to see his friend gazing eagerly into the window of a shop. Recovering himself in an instant, the visitor talked freely, and did not volunteer an explanation of his rather erratic conduct; but on returning to the house, he requested the servant to bring the bottle containing the medicine last given to the suffering woman. The girl brought the bottle, and said she had just washed it, as the doctor had ordered her to go

for another dose.

This was disappointing, certainly. But the friend was a born detective, and not to be balked. The girl went for the medicine. When she returned with it, the young man took the bottle, and without acquainting the husband of his intention, left the house with the prescription, returning after a brief interval with the medicine. During the night, the breathing of the patient became easier, and when the doctor called the

next day, he was able to report symptoms of

recovery.

In the evening, the friend, accompanied by a man of severe demeanour, entered the room where the husband sat, and requested him to come out on a little piece of business. They walked in silence through several streets, and at last reached a police station, which they entered. Behind the desk there was seated a man with his face buried in his hands. The officer on duty, without much circumlocution, told the business which had called them there. Addressing the husband, he said that the man seated in the office was charged with administering noxious drugs. When the accused stood up, the party saw the altered features of the missing chemist. A light seemed to flash over the husband's face; and after he had made all the necessary depositions, he hurried home. At the next assizes, the chemist was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude; and as he pleaded guilty, the public knew nothing of the circumstances more than was contained in the charge. One of the prosecutors, however, had manifested a great interest in the case; and as the husband and his friend were leaving the court, he requested the latter to give him some explanation of the manner in which his suspicions were first called forth against the criminal. The friend at once told his story.

In the railway carriage, he had dreamed that he was walking through a large city which he had never visited. At length he came upon a row of shops, and at a window of one of these he observed the face of a man, debased and vindictive in its expression, and quite familiar to him. The man held a mortar and pestle in

his hand, and while he mixed up some drug, there was a baleful light in the fishy-looking eyes. Then, the sharp whistle of the engine awakened the dreamer. The sequel was plain. Walking with his friend through the labyrinth of streets, could he despise his sleeping fancy when he saw before him the actual row of shops, while at one of the windows stood the figure that haunted his memory like a nightmare? It was a perfect_revelation. When he returned, and secured the medicine and prescription, he went to another chemist, and procured the needed restorative, and then called upon an analyst with the first bottle. It was found to contain a deadly narcotic; and the police authorities having been satisfied with the main facts, ordered the arrest of the jealous and wretched man, before the guilt of actual murder lay at his door.

OWLS AND OWLETS.

WHERE a wish exists to make uncomplimentary remarks on the intellectual capacity of an individual, it is not unusual to exclaim that he, or she, is 'stupid as an owl;' and this notwithstanding the recognised fact that the owl has been from time immemorial the emblem of wisdom, and is always pictured as the special attendant of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom in heathen mythology. Persons taking the trouble to observe the habits of owls, will also maintain them to be remarkably intelligent and singularly wary birds; having, in their own particular walk of life, really nothing to learn.

Owls are not often seen in a domesticated state, because, although devotedly attached to their immediate belongings, and exemplary members of their own community, they are not, save in a few exceptional cases, inclined to allow the advances of human friendship with common politeness. They have indeed a somewhat unpleasant manner of resenting any approach to undue familiarity, by attacking the hands and face of an intruder; having, it must be confessed, a very awkward preference for the eyes; which tendency, combined with their formidable beak and claws, is naturally not encouraging to those who would otherwise be inclined to make friendly advances. Even very small owlets will bite the fingers of their best friends to the bone; doing without the least compunction their utmost to inflict personal injury. We would therefore seriously advise romantic young lady-students of natural history, who would fain take a little downy owl' to their heart, in the spirit in which they would love a dear gazelle, to consider the propriety of adopting some less vindictive favourite.

Where owls are seen in captivity closely associated with other birds, no one can fail to be struck by the eminent respectability of their appearance. In their staid and dignified demeanour-their evident resentment of any approach to 'equality and fraternity'-their calm but shrewdly observant eyes, and acute hearing, added to a suppressed consciousness of power-they always

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seem to preside over the assembly, like a Lord Chancellor in an ornithological Upper House, or a feathered Chief Baron in a birds' Court of Law. When roused to anger, however, they instantly evince a determination of character that speedily teaches the offender there is 'that within which passeth show. A certain degree of mystery which attaches to the movements of owls undoubtedly makes them additionally interesting. The rarity, too, of their public visitations, made only at dusky eve, or the witching time of night,' throws a weird halo around them. Consequently, amongst the unsophisticated inhabitants of rural districts, these peculiarities have become the basis of many idle superstitions. The shrill wailing of the bird, heard in retired spots at the dead of night, is so ghostly a sound, that it is not much to be wondered at if these delusions should prevail. The gliding, noiseless flight of the white-robed wanderer, supposed to be of such evil omen, is well calculated to deepen the impression. Where an unoffending owl merely fies across a road, the circumstance is considered to betoken that ill-luck awaits the passer-by; and whatever undertaking may be the object of the journey, will not conduce either to happiness or prosperity. Should disaster ensue, the ominous apparition of the unconscious birdindustriously occupied in the pursuit of its Latural avocations will be duly recorded: if no antoward result takes place, it will be-as in other superstitions-conveniently forgotten.

In writing to the Graphic, Mr G. Manville Fenn gives the following curious particulars regarding owls and owlets. He says: 'It is commonly known that owls have two or three sets of young in the course of a season; but as far as I can make out, after sitting upon the first egg or pair of eggs, and hatching the birds, no farther effort in incubation is made. Directly after the owlets are out of the shell, the hen-bird lays one or two more beautiful white eggs, but does not sit, devoting herself to feeding the insatiable little monsters she had started into life, and the warmth of their bodies hatches the next owlet. This one hatched, another egg is laid with the same result, that it is vivified by the young ones' warmth, escapes from the shell, and once more an egg or two occupy the nest, so that in the same corner in a shallow downy spot may be seen an owlet three-parts Crown, another half-grown, another a few hours old, and a couple of eggs-four stages in all; and, if inspected by day, the three youngsters will be seen huddled together in very good fellowship, one and all fast asleep, and the eggs in the coldest place outside. The sight is not pleasing, as may be supposed from the above description of the young owls; but if the eye be offended, what is to be said of the nose? Take something in a bad state of putrefaction and arithmetically square it; the result will be an approach to the foul odour of a nest of owls in hot weather. The reason is not far to seek, when it is borne in mind that the w is a bird of prey; but all the same I have visited the nest earlier in the season, and found the place quite scentless, and that too at a time when ranged in a semicircle about the young were no less than twenty-two young rats and fullown mice, so fresh that they must have been ught during the preceding night, the larder being supplemented by a couple of young rabbits.

If then a pair of owls provide so many specimens of mischievous vermin in a night, they certainly earn the title of friends of man.

'It may be argued that, inhabiting a pigeon-cote, the youngsters were the offspring of two or three pairs; but as far as I can make out, a single pair only occupy the cote from year to year, the young birds seeking a home elsewhere; and I may say for certain that the old birds do not come near their young and eggs by day, generally passing the time in some ivy-shaded tree while the sun is above the horizon, far away from the cote containing their sleeping babes.

"When fully fledged and nearly ready to fly, if the strong scent is risked and a visit paid, the birds start into something approaching to wakefulness, and, huddling up together, will stare and hiss at the intruder, ready to resist handling with beak and claw-and a clutch from a full-grown owl's set of claws is no light matter; for Nature has endowed them with most powerful muscles, and an adaptability for their use that is most striking. When hunting for food, the owl glides along on silent wing beside some barn or stack, and woe betide the cowering mouse or ratling that is busy on the grain! As the owl passes over, down goes one leg, and four sharp claws have snatched the little quadruped from the ground, the four points seeming to slope towards a common centre, so that escape is impossible. Every seizure is performed with the claws; the beak being reserved for dividing the animal when too large, and not degraded into forming an instrument for seizure or carriage of the prey. I have had owls calmly seated upon my hand but for a very short time, and I cannot recommend ladies to try them for pets; for the sooner they are perched elsewhere, the more pleasant it is for the skin, their claws being exquisitely sharp.'

Owlets, taken from the nest, have been successfully reared in a hay-loft or other outhouse. If allowed their liberty when fully fledged, they have regularly returned to their adopted home, quite contented with their new abode. A pair given to a lady remained for some years in her possession. She had a nest made for them in the hollow trunk of a large tree near the house, whence she could personally watch over their welfare. Food suited to their tender years was supplied, and they were perfectly reconciled to their fate, becoming unusually tame; one, especially, would fly down when called by his name. They were a constant source of amusement, and well-known characters in the neighbourhood. When full-grown, they flew away nightly to gradually increasing distances, always returning before daybreak to their hospitable owner's care. On one occasion, however, during the temporary absence of their mistress, both the birds came to an untimely end, in a manner which was not discovered. Never were pets more truly regretted.

Another case of adoption occurred, in which the nest of a pair of Tawny or Wood Owls was watched, without disturbing the lawful proprietors. After a while two eggs appeared; then two little balls of down, eventually developing into fine young owlets, whose large eyes flashed indignantly at any intrusion on their privacy. One day-during the absence, it need scarcely be said, of their natural protectors-after