The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1880-12-22
Some strangely Fulaned Dreams.


Dick ms once had a dream which
was fulfilled, at least to his own
Here" he wrote on
Nav 30. 1868, is a curious case at
first hand. On Thursday night
of last week, being at the office here,
in London, Il dreamed that | saw a
lady in a red shawl whom | sup
posed 10 be Z. On turning around
/ found that | didn't know her; and
she said. i am Miss Napier. All
the time was dressing next morn
ing | though, "What a preposterous
thing TO have so distinct dfeam
about nothingl And why Miss Ma
rier ? for | never heard of any Miss
Napier.' That same Friday night |
read. After the reading came into
NV retiring room Mary Boyle and
her brother, and the lady in the red
shawl. whom they present as Miss
Napier. These are all the clrcum-
stances exactly told" This was
a case of unconscious cere-
bration. Dickens had no doubt re
allv seen the lady, and been told
that she was Miss Napier, when his
was occupied with other
matters. There would be nothing
unusual in his dreaming about aper-
son whom he had thus seen without
noticing. OF course it was an odd
coincidence that the lady that he
had thus dreamed of should beintro-
duced to him soon after-possibly
the very day after. But such coin
cidences are not infrequent To
suppose that Dickens had been
specially warned in a dream about
so unimportant q matter as his intro
duction TO Miss Napier would be abb
surd for, fulfilled, the dream was,
as Dickens himself described II, a
very distinct dream and about noth-
ing.
Far different in this respect was
the dream which President Lincoln
had the night before he was shot. If
the story was truly told by Mr..
Stanton to Dickens, the case Is one
of the most curious on record. Dick
ems thus told it in letter TO John
Fosters
"On the afternoon Of the day on
which the president was shot, there
was a cabinet council, at which he
presided. Mr.. Stanton, being at the
time commander-in-chief of the
Northern troops that were concen-
trated around here. arrived rather
late. Indeed, they were waiting for
him, and on entering the room the
president broke off in something he
was saving, and remarked. Let US
proceed to business, gentlemen.
Mr.. Stanton then noticed with sur
prise that the president sat with an
air Of dignity in his chair, instead OF
lolling about in the most ungainly
rs his invaFiable custom
was; and that instead of telling r.
relevant and questionable stories, he
was grave and calm, and quite a
different man. Mr.. Stanton, on
leaving the council with the attor-
ney general said to him:
"'That is the most satisfactory
cabinet meeting | have attended
for many long day. What an ex-
traordinary change in Mr.. Lincoln 7
THE encouragement replied, we
all saw it before you came in. While
we were waiting for you, he said, with
his chin down on his breast, Gen
tlemen, something very extraordi-
nary is going to happen, and that very
soon To which the attorney-gener-
al observed, Something good, sir, l
hope?' when the president answer
ed very gravely, 4 don't know
don't know. But it will happen.
and shortly, too" As they were all
impressed by his manner, the attor-
ney-general took him up again.
Have you received any informa-
ton, sir, not yet disclosed to us?'
No. answered the president, but !
have had a dream. And | have
now had that same dream three
times. Once on the night preceding
the battle of Bull Run. Once on
the preceding such another nam
ing a battle also not favorable to the
North.) His chin sat on his breast
again, and he sat rejecting. Might
one ask the nature of this dream,
sir? said the attorney general,
We'll, replied the president, with
out lifting his head or changing his
attitude. i am on a great broad roll
ling river-and | am in a boat-and
| drift and / driftl-but this is
not business - suddenly raising
his face and looking round the table
as Mr.. Stanton entered-'let US pro-
ceed to business, gentlemen" Mr..
Stanton and the encouragement
said, as they walked home together,
it would be curious to notice Wheth-
er anything cnsued on this, and
they agreed to notice. He was shot
tina: night Here the dream itselI
was not remarkable, it was such n
one as might readily be dreamed by
a man from the Western States who
has been on broad rolling rivers.
Nor was its recurrence remarkable.
The noteworthy point was the oc-
cuuence of this dream three several
times, and Gas may be presumed
from the effect which the dream
produced on its third recurrence
those three times only, on the night
proceeding a great misfortune for
the cause Of the North. However,
there is nothing in the story which
cannot be attributed to meer
casual coincidence, though the
coincidence was sufficiently curious.
As three years had elapsed from
the time of Lincoln's death when
Stanton told Dickens the story, it
is possible that the account may
have been incorrect in some details.
Richard Proctor, in BelgrGria.
Farm and Garden.