The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-09-27
NUMBER 80.
MEMORY AND DREAMING.
THE WONDERS OF MENTAL AcvITIrY.

The property OF mental lite called mem
ory is that by which we may be said 10
live over past occur enceS, and u IS this
continued possession of former conscious
ness which constitutes IN MS the know ledge
of continued existence. He who should
be conscious only Of the present, forgetting
entirely the past, would have no ioea ~
continued duration although he might
live forever, he would not possess the sense
Of prolonged existence. Memory. ihen,
would seem TO make men conscious Of inn
mortality and without memory nor would
be the all Of lle, even though j we're i'm
mortal
One curious phase Of dreaming is that it
rarely brings back aud repeats tue pleasant
facts of life, bu; almost always hose which
were troublesome UU undesirable.
This may, perhaps, be accounted Tor By
the fact that experiences which constituted
the average current of daily life make no
special impression npoD the mind, whereas
those occurrences which were remarkable
and impressive by their ofIensiveness, aux-
iety, care or cost, made no vivid impressions
which left, as 1t were, an ineffaceable scar.
We are very apt 10 remember the eTTOls
and mistakes Of ourselves and others much
more vividly uhRu our excellencles or the
average current Of experience. How the
recollections of an awkward blunder i'm
company, or a careless, iil- advised remark
the system 4 faithful horse may carry
lis rider hundred miles without a mis-
step, but a round stone concealed in the
sand may betray the step Of the horse and
bring him TO his knees, causing the rider TO
give him bad name as a Saddle-horse. for
getting the millions OF STEPS securely taken,
and remembering only The one failure, aud
even in that case overlooking entirely the
adequate cause OF the miSsiep. Ano this
isa good analogue of human character or
conduct. One may live foI half a century n
model of correct department and single
act Of impIopriety be recorded as more than
offset to all that was comnendable.
More than fifty years ago l was employ
ed in weaving on fiy shuttle hand loom,
and even now in my dreams l am often
weaving and get the shuttle caught in the
web and break down threads, or the shut
tie fails to get clear through, and I must
push it to its destination by hand.
never dream of dashing on freely and
pleasantly with the work only the trou-
blesome part Of the incomplete motions are
revived in my dream memory.
Over forty Years ago / was connected
with paper manufacturing. and my work
consisted in running the machine which
formed the paper. As we bad no dryer.
the paper run from pIess-iolls, and was
wound upon a reel OF LAY toy in the wet
state. Sometimes the paper would break
I anu Wlhu AROUND TIE upper roller. an0, II
allowed long To wind ou, il made a kind
of wet pastebua which must be broken
at one side and peeled of by the hand as
the roll IevOlvrd. This required a very
0exterous and energetic effort, and it was
one Of the Troublesome things about the
work and just this process / often per
form IN my dreams. IL is not the smooth
running of the machine, hour after hour
without a break, except when one full
"lay-boy" was To be removed aud an emp
ty one put on, that hauuts my dreams, but
1t is the incidental breaking Of the paper.
Moreover, | dream Of driving, not on
:he smooth road, at an exhilarating speed,
but With a topphug load ou sideling road.
] am driving over a defective causeway-
/ bridge, or through deep aud rushing
! stream phenomena, which, in my early
experience, constituted an exceptional aud
unpleasant fact.
once forgot, on rainy Sunday to feed
my horse until nearly night, and fifty times
/ since that time / have dreamed Of neglect
! ing TO feed a morse for two OF three days
aud nights, waking, with thankful ioy, TO
4 iud that IL was but dream.
VIII the memory nf past msdeeds be
/ the undying sCOurge Uf tnOss whose life is
misdiTected aud wicked