The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1871-03-18
SATURDAY MORNING, MARCO Il 49, 1871
Tho Braia's work in sleep.


form of unconscious cereBfation. Here,
while consciousness is wholly dormant,
the brain performs occasionally The mes.
br:lli,nt operations. CSleridge's poem
of"Kubla Khap," composed in opiate
sleep, is an instance or it's achievements
In the realm of pure Imagination. Many
cases are recorded of students rising at
night, seeking their desks, and there
writing down wiole columns Of algebra.
IL calculations, solutions of gcomctric
problems, and opinions on difficult cases
of law; Cabanis says, that Condillac
brought continually to a conclusion at
night in his llssr; the teasonlnss of the
day. In all such cases the work done
asleep seems better than that done in
waking hours; nay there Is nc Lack Of
anecdotes which would poin. to tho pos
sibility of persons ia all unconscious
state accomplishing things Beyond their
ordinary powers altogether. The mus.
cnl,r strength Of men III s%onnan,bulism
aud d%eliriun, their power of balancing
themselves OH roofs, of finding their way
IN the dark, arc physical advantages re-
served for such conditions, Abnormal
~acutencss OF hoaring is also Il wcll.known
accompaniment of them and in this
relation W. must understand the marvel.
Gus story vuncl.rd for by the late Sir
Edward Codring'on. The captain iii
coniinifnd oi 81 nIau-ot.wur was one MI. lit
sleeping iii his cabin, with d Sentinel
as usual, posted ut his dior. In the
middle al il.n nth, .l,A ...a.;n +a,-
his bell, called suddenly tn t,.t eet:ihel.
ana sharply desired him 10 tell the lieu
tenant al the watch to ulicr the ship's
course by 20 many points. Next MORN
iEg the officer; on greeting the captain,
observed chat it was most fortunate he
had been aware Of, their position aud
had given such an oaler, as there had
been mistake in the reckoning, and
ps;at
of striking IL reef. oil" said the aston
islied captain; "I gave no order /
slept souiidly all night" The sentinel
was summoned, aud, Of course, testified
that the experienced commander had,
m same unknown way, learned the peril
ct his ship, and saved it, even while in a
state OF absolute mcorscioasucss.
Whatever residue of truth inay be
found hereafter in the cruciblc wherein
shall have been tried the marvek of
srlrit-rarping, mcsDcrism; and hypno.
tism-whatcvcr revelation of i0rrgott.n
facts or successful hits at secrcts-is up-
Iuestionably due to the action of uncon-
scious cerebration. Tie person reduced
to a state of coma is liable to receive
suggestions from without, and these
suggestions mud fucrfGs are answered by
his unconscious brain out of whatever
stores OF memory itnayrctain. What a
man neeer knew, that no magic has. ever
yet enabled Linn %totcil; but what he has
once known, and in his conscious hours
has forgotten, Mut, on the contrary, is
often recalled by the suggestive queries
of tue operator when he IS in u state of
%hypnotisn y natural dream sometimes
does as n.uch, us wit !css all tho ~,lisolv-
cries of hid len treasures, c,rp5a+, etc
made through dreams, generally Wit.
the aid Of the obvious mtch.nrj Of Il
ghost. General Sloonm maatipns that.
being in pNrsnit Of Thugs up the cou;,-
try, his wife one morning urgently en-
ts"at'a i:it'i 'n ,no... .hei: len.e f+c.,, lie
spot-a lovely opening in a jungle
where tl'"y had bccH pitched the previ-
Gus evening. She said She had tccu
haunted all might by the sight Of dead
men. lafnrAat;oa received during tho
day induced the General to orl dix
SInS under the ground w]hercon they had
campcd and beneath Mrs. Sleeman's
tent were found fourteen corpscs, victims
of the Thugs. 1t is easily conceivable
that the foul oder of death Suggested to
the lady, iu thc @ucorscious torcbration
of her dream, her horrible vision.
Drunkenness is u condition in which
the conscious self is more or less com.
plctely obfuscatcd, tut in &hicl. uncon.
scious ccrcbration gees on for a long
time. The proverbial impunity with
which drunken mcu f.ll without hurt
inc themselves car only be attributed to