I A CUUIOUS COURTSHIP. : In the 'Atlantic' for February, Mrs ; Kemble,relates this old anecdote of Mrs Basil Montagu's second marriage:— Her ; 'marriage with Mr Montagu was at tended with some singular circumstances ces, the knowledge of which I owe to herself. She was a Yorkshire widow; lady of the name of Skepper, and came ( with her only child (a little ' girl) to, visit, some friends ih London, with; whom Basil Montagu was intimate.: Mrs Skepper had probably occasionally ! been the subject of conversation between him and her hosts, when they were ex- , pecting her ; for one evening, soon after j her arrival, as she was sitting partly , concealed by one of the curtains in the drawing-room, Basil Montagu came .rapidly into the room exclaiming (evi dently not" perceiving her) : ' " Come, where js your wonderful Mrs Skepper ?. I want to see her." During the whole | evening he engrossed her attention and talked to her, and the next morning at I breakfast she laughingly complained to | her hosts that lie had not been content with that, but had tormented her" with dreams al! night. " Eor," said she, ♦- 1 dreamt I was going to be married to him, and the day before the wedding he came to me with a couple of boxes and said solemnly, * My dear" Annie, 1 want to confide these relics to your keeping. In this casket are contained the bones of my dear' first wife ; and in this those of my dear second wife, do me the favor to take charge of them for me.' " The odd circumstance was that Basil Mon tagu- had" been married twice, and that .when he made his third matrimonial venture and was accepted by- Mrs Skepper, he appeared before her one day and with, much solemnity begged her to t take charge of two caskets, in which were respectively treasured, riot tlie bones, but. the letters of her two prede cessors. It is quite possible that he might have heard of her dream on tlie first night of their acquaintance, and amused himself with carrying it out , when he was about to marry her*. but : when Mrs Montagu told me .the story I do not think she suggested any such rationalistic solution of the mystery. FASHIONS OF THE DAY. 