The Plymouth Democrat., 1870-10-27
Curious Dreams.

AS evidence against the view that the
action of the brain is continuous during
sleep, we may adduce cases of apparently
very long dreams that have been com
pleted, from beginning to end, in a very
few seconds, and which have been excited
by external influences. The following eX-
amples of such dreams prove how great is
the activity of the brain during sleep com
pared with the actual lapse of time:
a person, who was suddenly aroused
from sleep by few drops of water sprin
kled in his face, dreamed of the events of
for fp ptiTs Mefe llffn llffnFeY9 YhiGd iGnd which finally ter
minated with an alteration upon the DoI-
ders of an extensive lake, into which his
exaspented companion, after cOnsidera-
ble struggle, succeeded in plunging him
DR.. Carpenter mentions the case of Il
clergyman falling asleep in his pulpit du-
ring the singing of a psalm before the SER
mon, and awakening with the conviction
that he must have slept for at least an hoflr,
and that the congregation must have been
waiting for him. but, on referring to his
psalm book, he was consoled 10y fin ding
that his slumber had not lasted longer than
| the singing of a single line.
Sir Benjamin Brodie, in his Psyche
logical Inquiries" 1854, mentions the fol
| lowing fact of the late Lord Holland: "On
an occasion when he was much fatigued,
while listening to friend who was reading
aloud, he fell asleep and had dream, the
particulars Of which it would take him a
| quarter of an hour, or longer, 90 express in
writing After he awoke lie found that he
remembered the beginning of one SEN
tence, while he actually heard the latter
part of the sentence Immediately following
- ~ fl rI,ln Il
ring which he had slept did not occupy
more than few seconds"
A lawyer found it necessary to obtain
the exact age of client of his, who was
also his cousin. Their grandfather, who
was rather an eccentric person, had died
when they were boys. The lawyer often
told his cousin that if the grandfather had
been alive the desired information could
have been readily obtained, and that he
had dim recollection of seeing record
kept by the old gentleman, and of there
being some popularity about it which he
could not recall. Some months after the
search had been given up as hopeless, he
dreamed that their grandfather came to Kim
and said, you have been trying to find
out when j was born. Don't you
recOllect one afternoon, when we were
fishing, | read you some lines from an Eel
sevir Horace, and showed you how / had
made family record out of the book by
inserting number of blank leaves at the
end? Now, as you know, / devised my Ill
brary to the Rev. | was great
fool for giving him books which he will
never read Get the Horace and you
will discover the exact hour at which j
was born" The lawyer, deeply impressed
with the dream, started by the first morn
ing train to visit the clergyman, who lived
in a neighboring city; found the Horace, '
and at the end were the pages constituting
the family record, exactly as had been des-
memory could he call to his recollection
the incidents of the fishing excursion.
The following case i'm which IA dream
in other respects highly remarkable-Oc-
CURED twice on the same night, came under
the notice of the writer of this article i'm
the year 1S4S. Our readers may recollect
that, in the year just recorded there was a
terrible case of murder, Dr. Webster
Professor of Chemistry i'm Harvard Col
lege, being convicted for the murder of his
acquaintamce-we can hardly say his friend
: DR. Parkman. A lady--we call heI
y. Y.-well known in the literary world
and then residing in London, had, some
years previously, paid long visit to the
United States, during which she became
intimately acquainted with DR. Webster
and his family, who showed her mucl
kindness and attention. After her return
to England she continued to correspond
with the family; and one day i'm the earl,
autumn of 1913, gentleman related TO DIR
Parkman called upon her with an introduc
ton from Professor Webster On tha
night she went to bed at her usual hour
but soon experienced horrible dream
; She fancied that she was being urged b,
Dr. Webster To assist him in cOncealing !;
set of human bones in a wooden box; an,
she distinctly recollected that there was
thigh-bone which, after failing to break i
f in pieces, they vainly attempted to insert
: but 1t was too long. While they were try
, ing To hide the boX--as she iancied unde
: her bed-she woke In state of ter
ror and cold perspirtion. She in
stantly struck a light, and tried 3,
, dispel the recollection of her hor
rible vision by reading After the lapse o
, tive hours, during which she had deter
/: | lninedly fixed her attention ON the book
. she pat out the lights, aud soon fell asleep
| The same dream again occurred; afte