The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-07-08
A Curious Dream.

Perhaps the most curious OF this
class of dreams that ever came
under our notice was this one.
The subject was a boy of Is, busily
employed during the day and de-
voting his evenings to the class
room. To allow time for study he
rose early and retired late, never
wasted a moment, denied himself
everything in the shape of recre-
alton, and with the exception of his
walks between the school room and
his place of business, took no exer
else. The classes he attended
We're formed In great part of adults,
all of whom had much more leisure
than himself, and most of whom
We're merely renewing their ac-
quaintance with former reading;
yet the boy managed to keep
abreast of the very best Of his class
mates. Of course such exertions
could not be made by a mere child
with impunity. After six or seven
months of them, he became subject
to singular malady. He never
left his books SO long as his eyes
would keep open. When they re-
fused to labor longer he retired, to
fall at once into a heavy sleep
From this, however, he was sure
to start, in half an hour or there~
abouts, under the influence of
nightmare, which compelled him to
recite aloud every word of the les
sons Of the day. The thing was
most painful. but there was no es
cape from it. Once in the grip of
the tormenting iend, he was con
strained to go on repeating declen
sions, conjugations, trigonometric
formule, and SO on, to the very last
syllable. Then the fit left him to
a disturbed and unrefreshing slum-
ber. There was no remedy for the
disease save discontinuance of
study, and to this the boy would
not consent, even though this most
repulsive night mare was, visibly
and rapidly, sapping his constitu
ton. At length he was favored
with a strange dream. A face
seemed to bend over him-one that
he had never seen before. but
whose features remained ever af
terward fixed in his memory. In
the decline OF life he used to tell a
most interesting story of his meets
ing with that face twenty four years
later, and, of the decisive influence
which it's owner exercised over his
destiny. This face he described
as beautiful, spoke in tones de-
lightfully sweet, to this effect: ''If
somebody will watch by your bed,
and when the nightmare seizes you,
recite certain passage which we
will specify presently "you will be
set free, to sleep in peace" It was
not until the dream REQUIRED more
than once that the dreamer ventur
ed to mention it, It was laughed
at by all, save an elder sister, who
made up her mind to give a fair
trial to the remedy so curiously
suggested. She did 50 when her
brother was next undergoing his
torture. Hardly had she begun to
speak than he ceased to go over
his lessons, and taking up the
passage after her, he went through
it to the end-quite involuntary as
before, but very differently, with
an ease and comfort perfectly in
desc1ibable. When the recitation
was over he sunk into calm anc
refreshing sleep. The experiment
was repeated night after night, ano
always with still more satisfactory
results than before By degrees
the pest relaxed it's grasp, and il
nine or ten days vanished forever
The passage employed was "Tht
Lords Prayer
The dreamer used to explain th,
matter thus: Once when thinking
of his strange af1licton, as he Otter
did, and casting about for an anti
dote, there occurred to his memor,
piece of old reading, in which i
was stated that the wounds mad
one day by the application of heat
ed irons, might be cured on tn
next by a similar application Will,
turning the story over in his mind
conception of the remedy which
in the end, proved beneficial, glanc
ed before him, but SO vaguely, AM
for SO short period that he coul,
not grasp it. To this passing idea
and to his efforts to arrest it, Ii
attributed-rightly, we think-th
material portion of his vision. TIL
passage recommended for recita
ton, he accounted for by the fac
5 that he had been piously trained
But his later opinion was that
paragraph from profane autho
would do just as well. As to th
reappearance of the dream face i
!, real life-ss notion in which he wa
obstinate to an extent inconceivabl
, in q mind 50 logical-we may re
, mark that strong imaginings an
: intense affections play strang
tricks with our Impressions. Til
; Cornhill Magazine.
How is this for city recorda ]