The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-05-12
Prophetic Dreams.

Prophetic Dreams.
When we come to supernatural
dreams, says writer in Temple Bar, we
tread on dangerous ground, and must be
cautious; for sxeptics have eyes like the
eagle, weapons of opposition keen and
sharp-edged, and are as jealous and
solicitous about the uniformity OF
natures law as lover of his mistress.
It must be frankly admitted that powers
and influences of natural kind may be
at work in producing dreams of which
we are ignorant. but which may some
day be discovered by the er-brighten-
ing eye OF science. But Professionally,
at all events, we must claim for some
dreams higher origin. By such dreams
as these, great and crushing evils have
been avoit ed, the innocent spared, and
the guilty detected. Some years ago, it
is related, a peddler was murdered in
the north of Scotland, and the crime re-
mained for long time mystery: At
length a man came forward and de-
clared that he had had a dream in which
there was shown to him house, and q
voice directed him to a spot near the
house where was buried the pack OF the
murdered man; and on search being
made the pack was actually found near
the spot. At first it was thought that
the dreamer was himself the murderer,
but the man who had been accused con-
fessed the crime, and said that the
dreamer knew nothing about it.. It
turned out atterward that the murderer
and the dreamer had been drinking to-
gether for several days short time after
the murder. It has been suggested, as
a possible solution. that the murderer
allowed statements to escape him while
under the influence of drink which had
been recalled to the other in his dream,
though he had not the slightest remem-
brance of them in his sober hours.
A gentleman dreamt his house was on
fire; and the dream made 30 vivid an
impression that he Immediately re.
turned, saw it on fire indeed, and was
lust in time to save one of his children
from the flames. A lady dreamt that an
aged female relative had been murdered
BY black servant, and this dream was
repeated 80 often that she repaired to the
old lady's house, and set a gentleman to
watch in the night. About three o'clock
in the morning the black servant was
discovered going to his mistress's room,
rs he said, with Goals to mend the fire
a sufficiently absurd excuse at such an
hour in the middle of summer. The
truth was apparent when strong knife
was found buried beneath the Goals.
The condolences of dreams are very re-
markable. For two persons to dream
the same thing, at the same time, in dif-
ferent places and under different circun1-
stances exceed the power of chance,
boundless rs that pretends to he.
A Mr.. Joseph Taylor relates that a
bow residing at a school hundred miles
from home dreamt that he, went to MS
fathers house. found all closed for the
night but the back door, went into MS
mothers room and found her awake. II
come to bid you goodbye" he said, II
am going on long journey" She an
swered with great trembling, "Oh, dear
son, thou art dead" And he awoKe.
Soon after he received letter from his
father making anxious inquiries after
his health, in consequence OF frightful
dream which his mother had on the
same night, and which was exactly
identical with his, even to the very words
of the conversation. Fortunately no sad
results followed, though it may have
proved warning to the boy in some
inscrutable manner unknown to his
friends.
The case of the gentleman from Corn
wall who dreamt eight days before the
event that he saw Mr.. Percival muir
dered in the lobby of the House of Com
mons by Bellingham, and distinctly re-
cognized from prints, after the murder,
both the assassin and his victim. whom
he had never seen previously, seems
capable only of supernatural explana..
tion, especially when it is remembered
that the gentleman was with difficulty
dissuaded by his friends from going to
London to warn Mr.. Percival (known
to him in his dream as the chancellor OF
the exchequer). He urged that it had
occurred three times in the same night,
but his friends thinking it fools
errand, he allowed the matter to drop
till the news of the murder rudely re-
suscitated it.
"A lady of our acquaintance about to
change her habitation saw in sleep an
exact picture of her future home, and
from her dream alone could recognize
the rooms and passages. We tried to
account for this to her by saying that
the dream really influenced her conduct,
and that when she met with house
answering TO her dream, she was natur-
ally predisposed to take it. A gentle
man from Yorkshire formed one of q
party for visiting the exhibition Of 1862.
A few days before leaving for London
he had most vivid dream of the
Tower, the armory, and more especially
the room in which the regalia and
crown jewels are kept. He heard the
old woman who showed the room ad-
dress the audience, and treasured up
carefully her very peculiarities of voice,
dress, manner and features, and created
considerable amusement among his
friends by mimicking the phantom
show-woman when he awoke. He
went to London at the proper time, and
of course visited the Tower, where he
was astonished and somewhat sobered
by the phantom's counterpart, which
was identical in every respect.