New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-08-28
CHARACTERISTICS OF DREAMS.

From Illusions Psychological Study. by James Stlly
will give simple illustration OF this lyrical type
of dream little girl of about four years and three
quarters went with her parents to Switzerland. On
their way she was taken to the cathedral of Stras
burg and saw the celebrated clock strike, and the
figures OF the apostles come out, etc In Switzerland
she stayed at Gimmelwald, near Murren. opposite
line mass OF snowy mountains. One morning she
told her father that che had had "such lovely
dream" She fanciyd she the snow peaks
with her nurse ~ and walked on to the sky There
like the figures of the clock This vision of celestial
things was clearly due to the fact that both the
clock ana the snow-peaks touching the blue sky had
much the same kind of emotion, namely, wonder
admiration, and longing 10 reach All inaccessible
helght; Our feelings commonly have a gradual rise
and fall, and the organic sensations which so often
constitute the emotional basis of our lyrical dreams
generally have stages of increasing intensity More
over such persistent ground feeling becomes rein
forced by the images which ii sustans in conscious
ness Hence a certain crescendo character in
"lnotiohai dreams, OF gradua rise TO some cumi-
mating point or climax. This phase of dream can be
Illustrated IRON the experience OF the same little girl
when just five years old she staying at Hamp-
stead near q church which struck the hours
somewhat ioudly. One morning she related the fol
lowing dream to her father: Il use her own Ian
guageD The biggest bells in the world were ringing;
Whtn TINS was over the earth and houses began to
tumble to pieces: all the seas rivers and nonds
owed together, and covered all the land with black
water rs deep as III the sea where the ships SAIL ;
people were drowned; she herself flew above the
water rising ana falling, fearing TO fall in; she then
saw her mamma drowned, and at last flew home to
tell her papa The gradual increase of alarm and
DIDhllIlc
cause IN the cumulative effect of the disturbing
sound OF the church bells. must he patent to all
ne following rather comlcal dream illustrates
quite as clearly the growth of feeling OF irritation
and veXation probably connected with the dcvel-
opment OF some slightly dlscomposing organic sen
satlon, dreamed vas mex ectcdly called on to
lecture to class of young women on HcrIcr |
began heSltatlng!y with some varuc geueraiitics
about the Angustan age OF German literature refer
ring TO the three well-known names OF LessIng
Schiller, and Goethe. Immediately my sister who
suddenly appeared in the class, took me up and said
she thought there was a fourth distinguished name
belonging TO tins period. | was annoyed at the in
terrupton, but said. with feeling OF triumph -
suppose you mean Wieland z" and then apncaIrd tn
the class whether there were not twenty pcrsons
VINO knew the names had mentioned to one who
knew Nlelands name. Then the class became gen
orally dlsordcrly. My feeling of embarrassment
gained III depth. Finally, climax several quite
young girls, about ten years and less came and
was III the act OF taking these children to the wife of
an old college tutor, to protest against their adms.
SION III ~ worth noting perhaps, that in this cvo-
luton oil icehng III dreaming the quality of emotion
may vary within certain limits One shade of feel
ing may be followed by another and kindred shade
SO mat the whole dream still preserves "A degree
dhough less obvious degree, Of emotional unity
mus Tor example, lady friend ofmine once dreamed
tlitl she was III church. listening to "a well-lnown
hoVellst OF the more earnest sort, preaching A
wounded soldier was brought III to be sho because
ne was Hortally wounded, and had distinguished
ninseii by his bravery He was then shot but not
Killed, and rolling over in agony, exclaimed How
IohgT Inc development of an extreme emotion
OF horror out of the vague feeling of awe which il
associated with church gives "a curious interest TO
this dream. ~