Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1851-05-07
Dreams and Dreauning.

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Dreams were once believed to have .
supernatural origin; and interpreters of
visions were common at that period. =
Among many savage tribes this idea Of
dreaming siill prevails. Weakminded
people, in civilized society, not unfre-
quently hold the same opinion. Weneed
not say, however, that all such notions Of
visions are superstitious and ridiculous.
The true origin Of dreaming is to be
sought principally in physical Causes
A healthy person is little apt 10 dream.
Vigorous, though not excessive exercise
during the day, good digestion, and
| mind free from care are the surest pre-
vsntatiyss of dEeans. But when the in.
itellsct has been uverw6fKc6, W1h9h me
veins are consumed by fever, then visions
haunt the sleep, often Of the most horri-
bic character. Lying on the back indu-
ces dreams, with many persons. Hot
suppers, just before retiring are almost
sure to cause dreams. Anger. in the eve-
ming, is another certain provocative Of
visions, mostly ofa troubled character.
II is rare, however, that persons dream
when they wish to; strange to say the ef-
fort to dream seems TO prevent dreaming
altogether.
Purely physical causes appear to exer-
else the greatest influence in producing
dreams DR.. James Gregory records, that
having retired to bed with Jug of hot
water at his feet, he dreamed imme-
diately Of walking on hot cinders in
the crater of E'nn. We have our
selves dreamed of suffering from in.
tense cold, in Arctic regions, and
waking up, discovered that we had
thrown off the bed clothes in our sleep;
aud similar incident is told Ly DR..
Gregory also. DR.. Reid relates of him
self tha, the dressing Of blister on his
head becoming disturbed, he dreamed
that he had fallen into the hands Of North
American Indians, and undergone the
. process of scalping. In all these cases
the visions were evidently suggested by
, sensations, received by the body, and con-
veyea, through the medium of the nerves,
to the mind. There are some persons,
who may be made to dream, by whisper
ing in their ear. A curious case OF this
, kind is told by DR.. Abercrombie, of an
officer, who was made, in this way, 10
dream that he had qaurrel ending in a
duel; ard, on another occasion, that he
had fallen overheard from ship at sea
!, and was pursued By shark. Sometimes
from the same causes, numbers of person
will have the same vision. Thus whole
: regiment Of soldiers, sleeping in monas.
. terry which became filled with deleterious
! gas, dreamed that black dog had jumped
on their breasts, and simultaneously arose
in alarm.
! The events of.h day frequently exer-
, else an influence over dreams. DR.. Beat
. tie relates that once, after riding thirty
r miles in high wind, he passed night
full Of terrible visions. Franklin often
. dreamed, a. night, Of affairs in which he
! had been engaged during the day, and oc.
4 casionaly obtained valuable hints in thi,
! manner. We ourselves are acquainted
with novelist who dreamed, in a single
night, the outline Of whole fiction. DIR
Johnson once had a contest OF wit. in +;
vision, with some other person, and re
u cords that he was much mortified becaus.
n bis opponent ha the better Of him. Col
y eridge dreamed an entire poem in al
d hours sleep in am alcove, but could onl,
y remember portion IF it on awaking
}! which lie wrote down and published un
r der the title OF ''Kubla Kahn" Vultaire
g La Fontaine, and o'her poets also narrat
e the fact of composing verses in sleep
). Condorcent Frequently, on retiring with
u calcul ,tion unfinished, completed it in hi
e sleep, so ,ha, on waking he had only +
g write il down from memory. In all thes
y cases the sleep is imperfect. The over
q wearied brain refuses entire reposc, bu
5. continues working at intervals. Sue
= slu,nbsrs, Of course, are compardtivel
TX nnrefreshng.
l. In dreaming, time ceases, as it were, I
exist. Visions, that seem to continue fo
years. frequently take place in minute
IS DR.. Abarcronbc relates story Of mar
Of who, ii he fell from sitting posture du
x ring sleep would dream Of enduring a
nj manst endless sutferings. A servant ae
cordingly always watched, while he fe
over; and frequently, in the second .
r time that the servant was occupied in RI
OF storing him to a sitting posture, the inva
he lid would in dreams, undergo days Of e,
cruciating torture. DR.. Quincy, Il
ng opium e,'er, says, that while under Il
e. influence Of that drug he would sometim
g, seem to live seventy or hundred yea
h. in ons night. On one occasion he drear
nd that he was transformed into Chine
or idol, and remained, for centuries, in ter
r. ple amid the most hideous objects. d
d Macni,h relates that. in dream, he maj
p a voyage to Calcutta where he remain
he several days, and returning by the owe
k land route, visited the Cataracts Of .
ng Nile, Cairo and the Pyramids. We ha'
10 ourselves often had dreams, which seem
"a to endure for months or even years; Al
to we suppose there are hundreds Of perso
not whose experience has been similar.
There are few cases on record
which individuals have had prophet
do dreams, that j., have dreamed Of ever
lly which have afterwards happened. W.
.nt authenticated visions Of this character a
or however, extremely rare; and perhaps
in Mt occur on % in million Of dreams.
,er they may be set down therefore, as coin,
ear dences. To give them deeper signi
,ay canre we have no warrant in either pi
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