The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1877-11-13
DREAMS.

What are tLey7 Shadows passing
through the mind IN sleep; shadows Of
things real or unreal. seen or imagined,
sometimes coming before us with pre-
tcrnatural vividness, and again-show-
ing a faint, blurred outline, like that Of
the phantom ship which is said to guide
mariners safely to the harbor "airy
nothiugs" tha. vanish rs tho sleeper
awakcns. like mist before Aurora s
beams bubbles to he dispelled by g
touch, but showing the rainbow's hurs,
and realizing for moment ideal beauty.
Dreams-the vehicle in which our
thoughts travel to that land where all
We imagine of the fanciful, beautiful or
sublime is realized land where shines
"the light that never was on sea or
land-the land Of dreams"
Dreams are usually produced by some
external motive, which is communi-
Gated to the mind by means of the
senses, and awakcns train of thought
analogous in character to the cause by
which it is produced. DR.. Gregory re
lates that, having OCCASION 70 apply n
bottle Of hot water I'd his feet upor re-
firing for the bight, lie dreamed that
he was making a journey to Mount
Etna, and found the beat insufferablc,
The action of the mind is often won.
derfully rapid in this state. The fol-
lowing is a remarkable instance: "a
person who was suddenly aroused from
sleep by few drops of water sprinkled
on his face. dreamed Of the events Of
sn entire life, in which happiness and
sorrow were mingled. and which fin
ally terminated with an alteration upon
tho borders Of an extensive lake, into
which his cxasperated companion. after
severe struggle, succeeded in plunging
him."
Though at times, while dreaming,
the mind is perfectly clear and definite
in its action, it more frequently works
without any plan or distinctness, and,
on awakening, our impressions, if We
are able to recall them at all arc mere
mass of incongrui;ies mingled in hope
less confusion. There are notable ex-
ccptions, however; times when, in wax
ing, the whole dream stands out before
US more distinctly .han if we had really
witnessed the scenes portrayed. We
read Of instances where the brain, when
in this state, has retained thu impress
SONS received, and, on awakening, been
able to preserve them.
Coleridge composed his poem Of
"Kubla Kahn" in dream, Of which
the following is his account:
In the summer of l719, the author,
then in i'll health, had retired to lonely
farm house between Poriock and Lin
ton, on the Exmoor conunes of Somer-
set and Devonshire. In consequence
of slight indi:position an anodyne had
been prescribed, from the effects OF
which he fell asleep in his chair at the
moment he was reading the following
sentence, or words of the same sub-
stance, in Purchas's pilgrim "Ilcre the
Kahn Kubla commanded palace 10 be
built, and stately garden thereun'o,
and thus ten miles of fertile ground
we're enclosed within a wall" Cole"
,idee continued for about three hours
apparently in a profound sleep, during
Which he had the most vivid impression
that he had composed between two hun
drcd and three hundred linfs. On
awakening he had so strict a remrn-
brance OF the whole that he seized his
pen and wrote down the lines which are
still preserved.
The earliest records we have Of dreams
of a prophetic character is found
in the Scriptures and in the poems of
Homer We all know of the beautiful
dream which cane to Jacob, when he
saw tie golden ladder reaching from
earth to heaven, guarded by hosts of
angels. Often in the Bible We find that
dreams were used to foretell future
events Many intelligent persons be-
lieve that this power still remains,
and some striking incidents are re-
lated, vouched fer by authorities
whose verify we cannot question, In
this nineteenth century, however, the
spirit of skepticism is too widely diff
fused to allow of this theory gaining
much credence.
So far, | have only touched on the
dreams which come "when sleep has
sealed tho eyclids to rerose." There
are other dreams which arc more or less
familiar to each one of us, and which
We call day dreams "-drcams which
come to us when We are in full posses
sion of all our faculties and often when
our hands are busy with some commnn
place task We "wcavc web of fanclcs
in the brain" build air castles whose
turrcis glow in all the splendor of color
which summer sunset shows; paint
pictures where Imagination is the artist,
using hope, ambition, lovc-all that is
glorious or noble-fjr the colors, and
producing such picture as it is impos'
sible should ever be realized. Or those
now grown old and looking back on the
dreams Of youth, not one can say, l
have attained tho reality
In all dreams there are impcrfcctions
The cnstles are mere structures OF sun"
set clouds, whose beauty vanishes as tho
day wanes. So it will be with many oi
MS who are building our castlcs-dream'
l.., D,t ~ lho laet thC