My sister Edith never went to school at
all; she stayed at home with my mother,
and was taught to be notable. As we
continually heard that we were all that remained
of the oldest family in the county, we learned
to attach a mysterious importance to
ourselves.

So we grew up, and did not find our lives
dull, although my sister never left the house,
except sometimes to go to church. When I
myself was sixteen, I had never been as far as
Drayton Ledgeley, though it was only twelve
miles from Ledgeley Laver, which was our
market town. In those days people did not go
travelling and rambling about, as they do now.

I might be about fifteen, when one day my
father brought home from market a book of
voyages and travels, as a present for me. I
had done some farm work in a way that
pleased him. It was the first new book out
of a shop I had ever possessed; and I read it
aloud at night, whilst my father smoked in
the chimney corner and my mother and
sister were busy knitting and spinning.

That book made a great impression upon
me, and set my mind thinking of foreign
parts, and might have something to do with
what I am about to relate; mind, I do not
assert that it had! I am cautious how I assert
anything but what I know for a fact.

The night on which I finished reading that
book, was the thirty-first of January; the date
is remembered by others as well as myself.

That night, I went to bed as usual, and
dreamed a long consecutive dream, such as I
never dreamed before or since. I dreamed
that my uncle at Liverpool sent for me to
go a long voyage, on some business of his;
and then I found myself standing on a quay,
where there seemed hundreds of ships, and
all their thin upright masts standing like a
forest of poplar trees in winter. I knew they
were ships, though I had never seen one.
I heard somebody say "this is Liverpool."
I do not recollect anything about my uncle,
nor the business I was going about. I had
to go across several vessels, into one that lay
outside the dock; sailors were going about in
all directions, and there was a great deal of
confusion. A large gilded figure-head of a
woman was at one end of the vessel, and
"Phoebe Sutliffe" was written under it; I
thought it was the likeness of Phoebe Sutliffe.
I had never seen the sea nor a ship before,
but I did not feel at all surprised at
anything. I looked out on the green waves
that were rippling against the side of the
vessel; and as far out as I could see, there was
nothing but water. I thought it all looked
quite right and natural, and the sun was
shining quite bright upon some little boats
with white sails. As the ship began to move,
a voice called, loud and clear, for us to stop,
and a young man with a portmanteau of a
curious shape came scrambling up the side of
our vessel out of a little boat; he came up
close to where I was standing. He was a very
handsome young man with a moustache, and
he wore a foreign cap.

We began to talk, but I could never in the
least recollect what we said. Suddenly, a great
storm arose, and everything was dark as pitch.
I heard the wind howl fearfully; but did not
feel any tossing of the waves, as might have
been expected. At last, there came a dreadful
crash; another vessel had struck against
us, and we were borne down under the keel
of it. I found myself in the water. The
young man was close beside me; he pushed
a hen-coop to me; and we floated, quite
pleasantly and easily, towards some rocks, which
lay around a beautiful green island, where
the sun was shining. The rocks, when we
came among them, were like the ruins of a
hundred old castles.

"These are the Rocks of Scarlet in the Isle
of Man," said my companion; "I live here,
and yonder is my father's house."

When we had clambered up the rocks, and
had reached the greensward, I thought I
was unable to move a step further. A white
house, with green outside shutters and
surrounded by a low wall, stood close at hand;
but I could not stir, and lay down on the
ground fainting, though I knew all that was
going on. My companion shouted, and some
men came up; he sent them to the white
house. In another minute, I saw a beautiful
young woman clothed in white, with long
black curls, standing beside us. With her
was an old man.

"How did you come here? " said the old
man. "We were struck by another vessel,
and swam to shore; but this youth is dying.
Give him a cordial." The young lady stooped
over me, raised my head, and was extending
her hand for a drinking horn, when the cliff
we were upon, began to quake, and fell with a
dreadful crash into the sea beneath.

The crash awoke me. I sprang up in bed,
without in the least knowing where I was.
The noise I had heard in my dream, still
continued. My father burst into my room,
saying "Come away boy! Save yourself! The
house is falling!" I was completely bewildered.
I did not know where I was, nor
whether it was a continuation of my dream;
but my father dragged me out of bed, and we
all took refuge in the kitchen.

A terrible storm was raging; every blast
seemed as if it would blow the house down.
A stack of chimneys fell with a terrific crash,
and the kitchen window was at the same
moment blown in. My mother and the maid
servants knelt down to prayers in a corner,
while my father and myself strove to fasten
up a strong oak shutter. At length, towards
morning, the violence of the gale abated, and
we were able to go out, to see what damage
had been done. "God help all the poor souls
who have been at sea this night! " said my
mother, pitifully.

I started. I was one of those for whom my
mother was praying. Had I not been to sea?