The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-01-14
Some strangely Fulfilled Dreams.

HVho JhuhStil Futhitu bat"hos
Dickens once had dream which WIS
fulfilled, at least to his own satisfaction.
"Here," he wrote on May 30, 1863, "is
curious case at first hand. On Thurs
day night last week, being at the office
here" in London, "I dreamed that
saw o lady in red shawl with her back
toward me, whom supposed to be e.
On her turning round l found that
didn't know her; and she said, Il am
Miss Napier All the time 1 was dress
ing noxt morning thought, what
preposterous thing 10 have 50 very dis
tinct a dream about nothing And
why Miss Napierp for 1 mover heard of
any Miss Napier That same Friday
night 1 read. After tho reading came
into my retiring-room Mary Boyle and
her brother, and the lady in the red
shawl, whom they present as Miss
Napier These are all tho circum-
stances exactly told" This was prob
ably q case of unconscious cerebration.
Dickens had no doubt really seen the
lady, and been told that she was Miss
Napier, when his attention was occu-
pied with other matters. There would
be nothing unusual in his dreaming
about person whom he had thus seen
without noticing. OF course it was an
odd coincidence that the lady of whom
he had thus dreamed should be intro
duced to him soon after---possibly the
very day after. But such condolences
are not infrequent TO suppose that
Dickens had been specially warned in
dream about so unimportant matter as
his introduction TO Miss Napier would
be absurd for, fulfilled OF unfulfilled,
the dream was, as Dickens himself de-
scribed it, very distinct dream about
nothing. Far different in this respect
was tho strange 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 told it thus in letter to John
Forster "On the afternoon of the day
on which the president was shot, there
was a cabinet council, at which he pre-
sided. Mr.. Stanton, being at the time
COMMUNICATIVE of tho Northern
troops that were concentrated about
hero, arrived rather late. Indeed, they
we're waiting for him, and on his enter
ing tue room the president broke off in
something he was saying, and remarked:
Let us proceed to business, gentlemen
Mr.. Stanton then noticed with surprise
that the president sat with an air OF
dignity in his chair, instead of lolling
about in the most ungainly attitudes, rs
his invariable custom was and that in
stead of telling Irrelevant and question
able stories. he was grave and calm. and
quite different man. MIR. Stanton, on
leaving the council with the attorney
general, said to him. THAT is the most
satisfactory cabinet meeting have at
tended for many long day. What an
extraordinary change in Mr.. Lincoln 7
The encouragement replied, I'VE all
saw it before you came in While we
were waiting for you, he said, with his
chin down on his breast, Gentlemen,
something very extraordinary is going
to happen, and that very SOON To
which the encouragement had OBJ
served, Something good, sir, I hope ?
when the president answered very
gravely, Il don't know---I don't know.
But it will happen, and shortly, too.
AS they were all impressed by his man.
ner, the encouragement took him up
again. Have you received any infor-
nation, sir, not yet disclosed to us !?
No. answered the president, but i
have had dream. And 1 have now
had the same dream three times. Once
on the night preceding the battle Of
Bull Run. Once on the night proceed
ing such another (naming a battle also
not favorable to the North) His chin
sank on his breast again, and he sat re.
fiecting. Might one ask the nature Of
this dream, sir?' said the attorney-gen-
eral, WELL replied the president
without lifting his head or changing his
attitude, 1 am on great broad rolling
river---and 1 am in boat---and drift
land drift !---but this is not business,
suddenly raising his face and looking
round the table rs Mr.. Stanton entered
---'let us proceed to business, gentle
men, Mr.. Stanton and the attorney
general said, as they walked on to
gether, it would be curious to notice
whether anything ensued on this, and
they agreed to notice. He was Bho
that night" Here the dream itself wal
not remarkable, it was such one as
might readily be dreamed by maj
from the Western States who has beer
on broad rolling rivers. Nor was it
recurrence remarkable. The note
worthy point was the occurrence of thi
dream three several times, and las ma,
be presumed from the effect which thu
dreams produced on its third recur
rence) those three times only, on tn,
night preceding a great misfortune TO
the cause of the North. However
there is nothing in the story whicl
cannot be attributed to merely casua
coincidence, though the coincidence
was sufficiently curious. AS three year
had elapsed from the time of Lincoln
death when Stanton told Dickens tn
story, it is possible that the accoun
may have been incorrect in some de
| tails - Richnr1 PrOclol. in ReLnrnrin