The relation of a dream so singular, under the circumstances, had startled him, and he almost feared to trust his voice in response.

At length, with a deeply-drawn, sighing breath, nature's spontaneous struggle for relief, he said-- "Yes, dear, that was a fearful dream.

The thought of it makes me shudder.

But, after all, it was only a dream; the whispering of a malignant spirit in your ear.

Happily, his power to harm extends no further.