sure that
the dream, which I have had this night, has been no profitless
occurrence in my life; for I feel that it has, like some vast wheel,
caught hold of my soul, and is hurrying me along with it in its mighty
revolutions."

Henry's father smiled humorously, and said, looking to his wife, who
had just come in, "Henry cannot deny the hour of his birth. His
conversation boils with the fiery Italian wines, which I brought with
me from Rome, and with which we celebrated our wedding eve. I was
another sort of man then. The southern breezes had thawed out my
northern phlegm. I was overflowing with spirit and humor, and you also
were an ardent, charming girl. Everything was arranged at your father's
in grand style; musicians and minstrels were collected from far and
wide, and Augsburg had never seen a merrier marriage."

"You were just now speaking of dreams," said Henry's mother. "Do you
not remember, that you then told me of one, which you had had at Rome,
and which first put it into your head to come to Augsburg as my
suitor?"

"You put me opportunely in mind of it," said the old man, "for I had
entirely forgotten that singular dream, which, at the time of its
occurrence, occupied my thoughts not a little; but even that is only a
proof of what I have been saying about dreams. It would be impossible
to have one more clear and regular. Even now I remember every
circumstance in it, and yet, what did it signify? That I dreamed of
you, and soon after felt an irrepressible desire to possess you, was
not strange; for I already knew you. The agreeable and amiable traits
of your character strongly affected me, when I first saw you; and I was
prevented from making love to you, only by the desire of visiting
foreign lands. At the time of the dream my curiosity was much abated;
and hence my love for you more easily mastered me."

"Please to tell us about that curious dream," said Henry.

"One evening," said his father, "I had been loitering about, enjoying
the beauty of the clear, blue sky, and of the moon, which clothed the
old pillars and walls with its pale, awe-inspiring light. My companions
had gone to see the girls, and love and homesickness drove me into the
open air. During my walk, I felt thirsty, and went into the first
decent looking mansion I met with, to ask for a glass of wine, or milk.
An old man came to the door, who perhaps at first regarded me as a
suspicious visitor; but when I told him what I wished, and h