y bed, dressed myself, and, as it was yet very early, I
thought I would seek an appetite for breakfast by a morning stroll. I
accordingly entered the main street, and went along. The farther I
walked, the stranger became the confused recollection of the objects
that presented themselves to my view. "It is very strange," I thought;
"I have never been here before; and I could swear that I have seen this
house, and the next, and that other on the left." On I went, till I came
to the corner of a street, crossing the one down which I had come. For
the first time, I remembered my dream, but put away the thought as too
absurd; still, at every step, some fresh point of resemblance struck me.
"Am I still dreaming!" I exclaimed, not without a momentary thrill
through my whole frame. "Is the agreement to be perfect to the very
end?" Before long, I reached the church, with the same architectural
features that had attracted my notice in the dream; and then the
high-road, along which I pursued my way, coming at length to the same
by-path that had presented itself to my imagination a few hours before.
There was no possibility of doubt or mistake. Every tree, every turn,
was familiar to me. I was not at all of a superstitious turn, and was
wholly engrossed in the practical details of commercial business. My
mind had never dwelt upon the hallucinations, the presentiments, that
science either denies, or is unable to explain; but I must confess, that
I now felt myself spell-bound, as by some enchantment; and, with
Pascal's words on my lips, "A continued dream would be equal to
reality," I hurried forward, no longer doubting that the next moment
would bring me to the cottage; and this really was the case. In all its
outward circumstances, it corresponded to what I had seen in my dream.
Who, then, could wonder that I determined to ascertain whether the
coincidence would hold good in every other point? I entered the garden,
and went direct to the spot on which I had seen the well; but here the
resemblance failed--well, there was none. I looked in every direction;
examined the whole garden, went round the cottage, which appeared to be
inhabited, although no person was visible; but nowhere could I find any
vestige of a well.

I made no attempt to enter the cottage, but hastened back to the hotel,
in a state of agitation difficult to describe. I could not make up my
mind to pass unnoticed such extraordinary coincidences; but how was any
clew to