Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1849-04-12
Original 4tttsteIIqup,
DREAMS,

''4S''A
view them as the mere workings of the min di-
vested of part of its faculties, or as the mydum,
of limitations received from spiritual belgs,
presents some of the most curious and interest
ing inquiries which come within the scope am
tellectual philosophy. In regard to Ordinary
Dreams which few at the present day, excey the
people of the most untutored nations, aguld
think of atributing to any supernatural agelfies,
various theories have been started by the dfer-
ent writer's on the philosophy of the mind 4tAne
treating them as but the reflex of memor59F a
recurrence of such thoughts and images as bye,
at some time or other, before occupied thsknd,
while others consider them as only the of
unrestrained imagination last Of wl5lAhe-
cries may be found very happily elnboaiaana
couplet of Dryden -,
"Dreams are but interludes which a1cy
WIFE. TSoason Sleeps her mimic monster WI N
But neither of these theories, VIC imagine, wen
separately coneidered, are very well sustained
by the experience of dreamers, We have had
scores of Dreams in which neither the scenes,
nor the particular thoughts and images presened,
we were confident, ever before passed through
our mind; and others whom we have consulted
on the subject, have assured us of similar eX-
penence. Nor is it any more correct, probably,
to attribute dreams only to the action of ure-
stricted fancy. This faculty never appeared to
us to be very active in dreams but on the con-
trary, seemed to be nearly as much clogged and
weakened as any other faculty of the mind. In
deed both these theories put together, would not
account for all, nor perhaps half the mental cp-
erationa which transpirc in our slumbers; for ex-
perlence will soon teach any one, who will be at
the pains of taking note of the matter, that thee
are several other sources to which dreams may
often be directly traced. One Of these is the
presence of some strong emotion, or narrowing
anxiety, which continuing to press, or at leoSt to
linger upon the feelings, after we fall asleep,
give like character to all the fgurings OF the
dreaming mind. Another prolific source of
dreams may be found in the disturbing proximity
of external objects, or of noises, which coming
in contact with the sleeper, or striking upon his
half closed senses, but not forcibly enough to
awaken him, give rise to a new dream, or be-
come curiously incorporated with one already in
progress. Sometimes when two persons are
sleeping together in the same bed, the dreams Of
one of them, if attended by restlessness or NUT
terings, will set the other dreaming, often, per-
haps, on the same subject, but oltencr probably
on one which places them in antagonistlc posi-
tions; and thus they will 90 on until the strange
rivalry results in some ludicrous catastrophy-
We once witnessed an amusing instance OF TIM
kind, which we will relate by way of illusu-
ton - -
In the days of our young ambition, there cam
along sort of professor, or teacher of great pre-
tensions, who, advertising for class Of such a
wished to become good instructors, whom h
promised to accomplish in six weeks, soon CO.
ected around him about a dozen of us, embF1
lords of the birch and ferule. Three of u.s. IN
Guiding a great green moose of fellow, yho
went among us by the appellation of Big M'a,
were by special favor, invited to board, and occU-
py the same sleeping apartment with the PROBES
sor. Two of us being middling sized chals,
while the Professor was remarkably thin, ald
Big Moses as remarkably thick, it was ARRANGED
that the two former should occupy one of tie
couple Of beds prepared for us, and the two 1T
ter the other, the beds being situated at opposite
ends of a long hall. Sometime during the first
night of this quadruple occupancy Of our ne"
sleeping quarters, we-that is the writer of tlls
! article-were awakened by loud thumpng
which was repeated quite regularly at interalt
G Of, perhaps a minute each, and which our ears
y well practiced in rustic sounds, soon told us pro
Z coded from loosened trough, that the reses
: grunter of the adjoining piggeIy was lifting ap
e and letting fall from the end of his snout. The
t same sound which had awakened us, was, ii th'
: meanwhile, it appeared, taking effect upon TIT
+ harder sleepers of the other bed but without a
i Weakening them, though the noise was almost dl
recty under them. 1t set the Professor dreanln
o afresh, and of thunder storm, which, from Tn
r, frequency of the electric explosions, he tho'gh
e was approaching at an alarming rate Direct
), towards him. But Big Moses, who was alrad
dreaming, made, it seemed, quite different 0p
pcaton of these sounds by weaving them YER
slillfully into the dream he had in progress, who
i naturally enough, was that of his first attempt
- school keeping. He thought he was getting o.
tolerably well with his school coHsideris8 Ii
number of his pupils and the rather oninon
: size of several of them, Of whom he felt llttl
disrustful. But all at once he was aroused b
a loud thump on one Of the back benches, an
- turning he beheld row Of upriscn mutneer
u preparing to leap out and seize him, as was sui
h fciently manifest from their menacing looks an
,f brandished fists, which from time to time, the
"a seemed to bring down with heavy, signifcar
: blows on the desk before them. Presently til
- words, coming, strike, kill, sc. which was mutte
ed by the Professor reaching his ears, and bein
. taken as the threats Of what the mutineers wei
on the point of executing, he at once resolved
anticipate them by assaling the foremost, An
accordingly, both in dream and reality, he Oroug
round his cenchod fist with furious sweep d
h, rectly into the face of the sleeping Protessc
g giving him blow in the eye, which ans"ero
ID as it appeared, for the thunder and ighlnn
r; of the storm his fancy had been manufaeturn
I'd out of the thumpings of the hogs trough; Fc
ut in an instant, he leuped from his bed with wi
If. cry of pain and alright and with one hand pres
lg ed tightly 10 the injured part, bounded, like
It. parched pea, through the hall towards the doc
IS excamng in the honesty of his heart and
lie, the top of his voice, "Spring Moses spring j
nd your hy6! The lightning has struck The hOu'