g story over again, all
talking at the same time; and the little mother said quite as many
"Ahs" and "Ohs" and "did you evers" as they did. But she smiled
lovingly at her lame boy, and parting the golden curls on his white
forehead, and kissing him tenderly, whispered, "My darling knows that
he has been DREAMING."

Was it a dream?

Charley was so much better that day, that the good doctor, when he
came, was astonished; and when he heard that the fairies had done him
the honor to take him to their Midsummer festival, he was delighted,
as well as astonished, and laughingly declared that the elves had
robbed him of his patient. "Why, Charley," he continued, "if the fairy
Queen can put such a rosy color in your cheeks, and such a sparkle in
your eyes in one night, she beats me all to pieces at doctoring. I
shall have to give you up to her, and only come here every day to make
a social call, so that you and I, two old fellows, can have a talk
about the state of the country. But I may as well put my pills and
powders into one of the cannons, and fire them off at some of the fine
ladies who go about, sweeping the parade-ground with their furbelowed
dresses, and think they are dying of dyspepsia, when all they want is
some useful occupation. I have lots of them to make bread pills for,
and I may as well let the fairies have my dear little friend here."

Just at that instant the drums made a prodigious clatter, and the
children started up to see what it meant.

"It is the call for the cavalry drill," said the doctor; "you had
better run."

Off scampered the children to the edge of the parade-ground, their
eyes dancing with expectation and eagerness.

On their way they passed the encampment; they gazed at the snow-white
tents of the cadets with the utmost interest, and indeed would rather
have lived in these delightful canvas houses, than in a king's palace.

"Oh! Harry!" exclaimed Anna, "I wonder if we mightn't just peep into
one of them."

"Certainly," answered Harry, who was always ready for adventures, and
he lifted up the opening of the tent nearest.

"Oh! what a perfect place!" he cried; "come! look!" and he disappeared
within.

[Illustration: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.]

The children all peeped in, their heads looking like a bunch of
grapes, all piled one on top of the other; while Harry, inside,
pretended he was a showman, and made them a speech.

"Walk in, ladies and gentlemen," he said, "and see the show--all f