"Farewell, dear friend--that smile, that harmless mirth, No more shall gladden our domestic hearth; That rising tear, with pain forbid to flow-- Better than words--no more assuage our woe. That hand outstretch'd from small but well-earned store Yield succor to the destitute no more. Yet art thou not all lost. Through many an age, With sterling sense and humour, shall thy page Win many an English bosom, pleased to see That old and happier vein revived in thee. This for our earth: and if with friends we share Our joys in heaven we hope to meet thee there." Besides the _Tales from Shakespeare_, Charles Lamb wrote many beautiful sketches which are known as the _Essays of Elia_. _Elia_ was the name of one of the clerks in the South Sea House, where Lamb worked at one time. A reader can easily form some idea of a writer's character from his work, but Lamb was always so wholly himself, and he threw himself so freely into his essays, that you can tell just what manner of man he was as you read. A large part of the pleasure of reading him comes from this trait. We seem to be sitting with a charming friend whenever we hold one of his books, and to feel that the friend is pouring out his whole heart for our delight and inspiration. Naturally a person must keep alert when he is reading from Charles Lamb, for no one can predict what course the brilliant mind will take. When once a reader has learned to understand his oddities, delicate sentiment, bright wit and loving faithfulness, every word becomes a living thing, and every reading a new delight, a higher inspiration. In none of his essays is he seen to greater advantage than in _Dream Children_, which follows this brief sketch. The only people young or old who do not love this beautiful essay are those who have not read it or who have read it without really understanding it. You may need to read it once just to see what it is about; again with the aid of the notes and comments we make upon it; a third time to let it cast its spell upon you. If you do that you will not forget it, but will return to it often as years go on and the hard world buffets you with those stern experiences which make you men and women. Every time you read it you will find new graces, more touching sentiment. Will you read it now for the first time, paying only so much attention to the footnotes as may be necessary for you to understand the language? DREAM CHILDREN: A REVERY _By_ CHARLES LAMB Children love to listen to stories about their elders when _they_ were children; to stretch their imagination to the conception of a traditionary great-uncle, or grandame, whom they never saw.