The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1856-04-10
Dreans.

S"o'"y N'e"ihS "uiCI SOlIctiuleS dSS:t'I nliI.
Modern philosophy, armed with its hopeless
skeptcs'n, has vainly sought to Danish
among the crowd Of fables, those features
wlIicl, prove tho intellectual existence of
man during his sleep; on the other hand,
there were many respectable p"rsonages Of
antiquity, philosophers, as well as COM
mandcrs of armies. with the most eminent
writers of Greece and Rome, who thought
it their duty to lave faith i'll dreams, on
which might depend the safety of Il people,
a city, or III army, so that, without blush
ing. we may become crclulpus after the
manner OF Zcnophcn, Simoni,lcs, Cassius,
Caesar, Plato. But without wading SO far
back through the flood of time, to search
for celebrated dreams. We need cite only
few, which approach nearer to the present
period:
Madonat, Jesuit, had formed design
OF undertaking commentary Oh the four
Gospels; for several nights hc thought lie
helleId 4 man, who exhortcd him TO 90 on
speedily with the work, and assured him
that he would complete it, but that he
w"ul'l not live long after it WAS linishr.l.-
This man at the same time pointed out to
him certain part of his stomach, in wli.l,
Mal'l"nat experienced violent panys, and Of
which he died, very soon after the work was
concluded.
a man, who did not know one word of
Greek, went to Seek out SaumaiSe, and
showed him some certain words Which he
heard in the night in u dream, and which
he had written III Frenrh characters. lie
asked him if he knew what those words en-
pressed? Saumaisc told him in Greek,
they signified, $50 thy ways, dost thou not
see that death tlrcatcnc'Il thee 2" The
dreamer returned to his house, which fell
down the following night,
A learned man Of Djon, being G,tigucd
al day with studying one particular passage
in Greek poet, without being able to com
prehcnd it, went at length to bed and fell
asleep. liz f.ncicd himself transported i'll
dream to the palace OF Christian, at
Stockholm, where he visited the Queen OF
Swrd'n's library, and perceived small
volume; lie c.,rilei i, and read ten Greek
verses, which solved all tic difi;:.nlty he
has laborcd under. His joy awakened him;
he rose, noted down what he had jr>t read,
and, finding the adventure of so cxtraorli-
nary nature, he wrote to Dssrart.s, who
WAS then with the Queen in Sweden, and
described to him all the particulars of his
dream. Dcscartes replied to him, telling
him that the most skiIful engineer cculd
not have drawn the plan Of the place better,
nor the library, than he had done in his
letter; that he had found the book in qucs-
ton on the table he pointed out; that he
had therein read the verses mentioned bv
him, and that he would send him the work
at the first opportunity.
Marshall Fiiiars, Al the age Of sixteen,
was cornct i'll IL cavalry regiment. One
night he WAS on the advanced guard in the
camp, and was warming himself Lcfore II
wretcllcd fire. when he heard loud voice
calling to him to join and mount his horse
with his escort. The youthful warrior pail
but little attention to this order, but still he
heard the voice, and an invisible llan,l seized
him 10y his cloak. Viliars then oLeycI,
and Scarce was he advanced u few PAGES
distant with his men, than the place lie hal
left blew up with terrible explosion. I,
seems that the enemy. abandoning the ter
ritory, which was threatened by the Frencl,
army, buried some barrels of gnnpow,ler
which they were unable to carry away
The soldiers belonging to Vilars had light
ell their fires precisely on the spot which
concealed the barrels. The action of the
fire commenced 10y drying the powder, and
finished hy its explosion. Tho protecting
genius Of VilIars preserved linn from this
danger; and also saved with him n handful
Of brave fellows who, without ILL.,. fortunate
star which guided him, might, perhaps, have
perisl,e.l.
The writer Of this article has heard rela-
ted the following adventure: "One night,
after had gone my last rounds, be,ook
myself 10 sleep, when all on a sudden I
dreamed that one of my hot houses was on
fire. This struck me forcibly; rose and
l'astened to the hot house pointed out to
me in my dream, when had the happiness
to arrive in time to prevent, without doubt,
a serious misfortune. A fire had actually
broken out from one of the stoves, which
were always kept burning day and night,
and seemed likely. infallibly, to make con.
siderable progress"
Without further search, we may agree in
the opinion, without discussing the cause,
that dreams are not what superstition l,as
stated them TO be, neither are they what