Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-09-07
NO. 36.

that could shake off the feeling of sadness
which the dream had left behind. Nearly
every believer in dreams believes that to
dream of seeiug dead friends walking about
in everyday garb is sure warning that
death will invade the family, or that some
accident Is to happen, and yetit was natural
enough that the sounds of music made me
dream Of music, and called up tender menu
ories. Continued experiments went 10
show that the minds of halfa dozen others
were just as susceptible. We tried the ac-
cordcon while the ward master slept, play
ing soft and low again. aud he awoke with
tears in his eyes. His parents had long
been dead, aud he dreamed Of seeing both,
and Of his mother singing a plsinlive old
ballad. Singing had The same effect Of the
accordeon on three patients, but another
was totally insensible to both though tried
several times. Out of twelve cases expert
mented on, seven dreamed of dead friends;
two Of being in a boundless field, in the
darkness, and heating music one did not
dieam at all, and two dreamed of riding in
funeral professions.
l have since experimental on six per-
sons, and four dreamed Of dead people, one
could not remember his dream and one
awOko at the first sound Of the music. 1
am, therefore, confident that singing, mu-
sic, the signing Of the wind, and other nat
ural sounds, If not too harsh, will, in most
cases, cause those dreams which 80 worry
the minds or certain sleepers after wax.
ing.
Having once read that dreams are but
flashes across the brain, 1 was anxious 10
confirm or disapprove this theory. Taking
tue patient whose mind had not bren affect
ed by the music, We gave him no hint and
m ade no move until lie slept: tben, while
one watched him and another the clock, u
third loudly slammed the blind Of a win
dow about ten feet away. The tilect was
instantaneous The man 81 rang up at
The sound, looked around in alarm, and
then exclaimed:
THANK God that it was only dreamp
He had dreamed OF being on a crowded
street in frCnt Of a building which the
crowd declared unsafe, but still fingered
near it. TIE dreamer tried TO elbow his
way along, but the people jeered and laugh
ed at him and held him there. He begged
AID entreated, coaxed and threatened, but
they held him there, and the building final
ly toppled over him, the shock breaking
bis dream. 1t seemed certain TO us that he
had dreamed The entire dream in a second,
the time seeming long half hour to him;
but TO place the question beyond dispute
we INDUCED seven or eight similar expert
ments. Sometimes we let weight fall TO
the floor, or struck chair with a stick, and
again we slammed the blind or door, seek
Ing to prod uce such sounds as are heard
about house at night. In every instance,
whether the sleepers were ailing or well,
they dreamed OF having some startling ad-
venture, and awoke with n start; and no
dreams lasted over minute. One sleeper
was run over by horse another fell from
a cliff; another was crushed by machinery;
and each dream seemed so real that the
man sometimes felt Of his limbs 10 be GER
tain that they were not broken.
was lying on my side, one evening, not
long ago, on a lounge facing the clock.
There was no one else in The room, and no
noise outside to disturb me- saw that it
was eight o'clock, and was thea overcome
by sleep. 1 dreamed OF walking along a
c uniry. l passed several farm houses,
!. led for some time at the foot OF bill
be a long conversation with farmer and
tlen walked past three mile posts. Com
ing near an inn, and it being near night,
went in 10 engage lodgings. There was an
ugly looking man in the bar room and as
entered be called out:
~ say did you kill him ?"
got up to go ont, and he followed and
struck me on the head, which caused me to
wake. had slept just three minutes, and
the sound which aroused me was the sound
Of an omnibus going by. 1 verify believe
that my dream, while il seemed TO cover a
period of three or four hours, did not occu-
py more time than that taken by the omni-
bus to drive psst-perhaps thirty or forty
seconds. Many persons have been distress
ed in mind because dreaming of a bad ac-
cident, when the dream is simply the re-
suit of some harsh or disagreeable sound
being conveyed 10 the ear of the sleeper.
More than one romaucer has had his hero
or heroine waken from sleep just in time to
escape assassination, being warned in their
dreams that the "heavy villain" of the sto-
ry was stealing upon them. 1t is also gem
orally believed by believers in dreams that
sleepers who have friends on the other side
OF the mystic river. To test this theory 1
stole upon sleeping patient, armed with
knife, and, looking as fierce as anybody's
"heavy william" could be made 10 look, 1
skulked up to him, tiourished the knife
around his head and before his closed eyes
until my arm ached, and neither was his
sleep broken nor did he have a dream. The
same experiment was tried with halfa doz-
en- others, and yet not one sleeper was in
huenced in the test.
That position has much TO do with induc-
ing bad dreams is admitted. One of the
cases Experimental on was that of a we'll
man who was very sound sleeper. One
could liIt his arms, raise foot, place a
weight on his breast, and even turn him
partly over as he slept, and he would not
be aroused, but we found two or three ways
to wake him. When we lined his arms up
over bis head he had bad dreams, generally
of suffering personal injury. The same re-
suit was produced by placing weight on
his feet or by taking the pillow from under
his head, or by making any great change in
the position assumed when sleep came. In
any case where we could raise his arms we
could bring bad dreams. Probably two
sleepers out of five, especially during the
warm weather, sleep with their arms raised
above their head, and this accounts for
many of the dream stories.
believe II is popular error TO suppose
that the sleeper who rests on his back Will
have bad dreams. Out of eighteen patients
in my ward at the hospital, all well enough
TO assume any position, six rested on their
backs TO sleep, and their dreams were as
cheerful as the dreams of those resting 9TH
erwise. Indeed, can name two children
who, if not permitted to lie on their backs
while sleeping will at once be aroused by
bad dreams. In preparing for sleep one as
sumos the most comfortable position possi-
BILE, and, while that position may be the
rirht side for some. the left side for olhara