PART II.
HAS the reader ever suffered from a serious illness? If so, does he remember the first peaceful, painless, restful sleep that came after that illness, and the delightful sense of pleasure that he experienced when waking up from this slumber. Dear reader, if you have not had this experience, it is almost worth your while to get seriously ill, in order that you may enjoy it, but if you do make up your mind to try the experiment, take care that you get ill in the spring of the year, and let your home be in the country. Town people know nothing of this pleasure, or if they do, they do so only in a very limited degree.
I have come through this experience, and though I was but nine years old at the time, I never shall forget my intense enjoyment, when I awoke from my first painless sleep. Strength of constitution, medical skill, and a mother's devoted nursing had pulled me through.
