Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-05-23
Do You Believe in Dresm.r

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Do You Bslieve in Dream,l
80 s.,.e
The late DR.. Abercrombie. of Ed,nbnroh
whose piety, medical skill. and nbllosophical
acumen secured for him deseryediy bieh repu-
tatiou. has recorded from bis own knouledoe
some remarkable dreams. "a clerryman.,
he says, "had come To the Scottish metronoIia
from short distance in the country, and was
sleepipe at an inn. when he dreamed that bs
saw Ere, and one of his children in the midsl
OF IL. He awoke with the impreaaion, and in
stantly left town TO return home. When he ar.
rived within sight of his house, he found il on
fire, and got there in time to assist In saving
one OF his children, who, in the alarm and con.
fusion, had been left in situation of great
danger" -t Ef7
"The following anecdote," he adds. ,I am
enabled to give as entirely authentic. A lady
dreamed that an aged female relative had been
murdered by a black servant; and the dream
occurred more than once. She was then 40
impressed by it, thai she went to the house of
the lady to whom it related, and prevailed upon
gentleman to watch, in an adjoining room.
during tho following night. About three in the
morning, the gentleman, hearing footsteps on
the stairs, left his place of concealment, and
met the servant carrying up quantity Of Goals.
Beino nm ueationed "a In whara he vwas oo;ng ba
,ariioS - hr..;od - 100000 ..s-ra. ,Ls -
P'e' ~ ~ oOi.oeu ,i = nonue'' % s.c'
ne was ABOUT 10 mend hl5 mlere6sB hre, which
at that hour, in the middle of the eummer was
eyidentIv innossihle. and. nm furiber inveatioa /.
tiop,a strong knife was found concealed benestb
the Goals"
Another example of an equally strikinp char.
acter Ia recorded in the life of Mr.. Kirehener.
who labored az an evangelist in Africa. On one
occasion he was visited at his sta tion in Caffra
ria by a man of had character. but who affected
deep religious concern, and by that means in
duced Mr.. Kitchener to allow him to remain
for the night, that they might converse togeth
er In the morning. They retired 10 rest. but.
after sleeping some time, the missionary started
up with loud cry. He had been awoke by
friehtful dream, and found his visitor standing
by his bedside with an uplifted knife ia bis
hand, and on the point of numbering him. The
man, startled by the sudden awakening of his
intended victim, drew back and slunk away.
He afterwards confessed that his design was to
murder his unsuspecting host, and then ran
sack the premises.
In the immense msjority of cases, dreams
are vain and fantastic fancies, originating in
the previous action of the mind, or in the pre-
sent condition of the BODY. They are but
ttQhildren of fdte hrain
Begot Of nothing but vain fantasy. j = -
Which Is a. thin Of substance as the air, r.
Ho a ms t1oss nsn .no wlnd VINO Woos
And, being aneered, pufiS avsy from thence.
Turning his face to the dsw.drOpping South"
We can hardly, therefore, think 90 in of the
intelligence of our readers, as to suppose that
they will allow their dreaming fancies setiousIy
to influence their waking conduct. Yet we
have seen, on unouestionable evidence. that
dreams have sometimes a premonitory and
providential character. - y
Il would be difficult, perhaps, to state more
clearly the rules which prudence and piety alike
dictate in this matter, than has been done by Mr..
Sheppard, in his "Essay on Dreams:'' - -.
"One would say, generally, be very slow in
permitting any dream to prompt or guide your
conduct. And yet we cannot contend that this
rule admits of no exception. For dream may
be 90 striking and monitory, by it's peculiar dis
tinctness, and more BY its reiteration; and the
act or precaution it prompts may be Of go law
ful and blameless character, as to make the
adoption Of 1t more than iustifable. We can
not censure the lady at Edinburgh, who procur.
ed o friendly sentinel for her aged relative; and
we commend the clergyman who FASTENED
home in the night to save his children from
flames. - a1. 'aiis. Id -- r'ri
"But we should Of course say most decidedly,
whesever the dream counsels or enioins what Is
contrary TO the supreme rule of scripture, or
what Is at variance with sound reason and pru-
dence or fayors the dictates Of passion or fancy
discard it utterly as q vain and dangerous i'll u
T. a