The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-06-03
| Bystander's Power Of Regulating
Dreams. %

Dreams can be produced by whisper
ing into the ears when a person is
asleep. One of the most curious, as
well as authentic examples of this kind
has been referred to by several writers ::
/ find the particulars in paper by DIR.
Gregory, and they were related to him
by gentleman who witnessed them.
The subject of it was an officer in the
expedition to Louisburg, i'm 175S, who
had this peculiarity i'm so remarkable a
degree, that his companions i'm the
transport were in the constant habit of
amusing themselves at his expense
They coL,I produce in him any kind
of dream, by whispering into his ear,
especially if this was done by friend
with hose voice he was familiar. At
one time they conducted him through
the whole progress of quarrel, which
ended i'm duel and, when the parties
were supposed to be met, a pistol was
put into his hand, which he fired, and
was awakened by the report. On ano-
ther occasion they found lin asleep on
the top of q locker, or bunker, IN the
cabin, when they made him believe he
had fallen overheard, and exhorted
him to save himself by'swimming.-
They then told him that a shark was
pursuing him, and entreated him to
dive for his life. = He instantly did so,
with such force as to throw himself en-
iirely from the locker upon the cabin
floor, by which he was much bruised,
and awakened of course. After the
landing of the army at Louisburg, his
friends found him asleep in his tent,
and evidently much annoyed by the
cannonading. They then made him
believe that he was engaged, when he
expressed great fear, and showed an
evident disposition to run away
Against this they reconstructed, but, at
the same time, increased his fears by
initiating the grOaEs of the wounded
and diving; and when he asked, as he
often did, who was down, they named
his particular friends. AT last they
told him that the man next himself in
the line had fallen, when he instantly
sprung from bis bed, rushed out of his
tent. and was reused from his danger
and his dream together by falling over
the tent ropes. A remarkable circum-
stance i'm this case was that, after these
experiments, he had no distinct recol-
lection of his dreams, but only a coll
fused feeling of oppression or fatigue;
and used to tell his friend that he was
sure that he was playing some trick Oh
him. A case entirely similar is related
i'm SmelIie's Natural History the sub
ject of which was q medical student at
the University of Edinburgh.
A singular fact has often been OBJ
served in dreams which are excited by
a noise, namely, that the same sound
awakens the person, and produces
dream, which appears to him tOoccupy
O considerable time. The following ex-
ample of this has been related to ME:
A gentleman dreamt that he had en-
listed as a soldier, joined his regiment,
deserted, was apprehended, carried
back, tried, condemn ed to be shot, and,
at last, led out for execution. After all
the usual preparations, gun was fired
he awoke with the report, and found
that q noise in the adjoining room had
both produced the dream and awak-
ened him, The same want of the no.
ton of time is observed in dreams from
other causes. DIR. Gregory mentions a
gentleman who, after sleeping in a
damp place, was for a long time La
BILE to q feeling of sudocation whenever |
he slept in lying posture, and this
was always accompanied by dream |