The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1883-09-15
DREAMS.

DREAMS.
Vain Fantasies, the Children of an Idle
Brafn-The Marked Difference Between
Condolences and Warnings-a Few Hard
Nuts for Philosophers to Crack.
Dreams are but children of an idle brain
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy"
-Sla.s spedfc.
We'll may dreams present ms tictions,
Since our waking moments TEEN
With such faneiful convictions
As make life itself a dream"
What is dream? Is it temporary
froic of the BRAIN VIII CHI, relea sed from
the guidance of reason, relaxes from
rules and laws and INDUCES in a little
incoherent amusement of its own, as
the chairs and tables are said t. do
when the family has gone to bed and
the house is stills Does it originate
and invent its fantastic images, or are
they merely the shadows and echoes of
past evcnts9 Is it a psychological in.
huencc or a spiritual one, or a
blending of bottle There certainly
have been dreams that foretold events
which came true, and how, then, d d
The sleeper get his premonitory knowl-
edge? Bottles of hot water placed to
the feet will produce certain impress
sions and dreams of vague and unsatis-
factory nature. Ice, applied to the
temples, will give happy dreams. in
which rare colors appear before the
dreamer's eyes. But these are effects
caused by the bodily sensations, and
are communicated to the brain by
nerves, not by occult intelligence. A
French writer is quoted as saving that
to dream gloriously we must act glori-
ously while we are awake, and
to bring down angels TO con
verse with us in our sleep we must
labor in the cause of virtue during the
day. There can be no possible doubt
that the same idea or train of ideas
which pursues us through the day fol-
lows us into the land of dreams and
runs up and down the ladder of sleep
with persistency which often is annoy
ing and wearisome. Sometimes the
idea that eiuded us in the day comes to
us at night. Musicians have found a
lost chord in their dreams; mathematic-
ians have decided abstruse calculations
by the correct figures which Their wax
ing minds could not grasp, but which
came to them clearly wren they were
sound asleep and were with them when
they awoke. Franklin had several of
his pro ects decided for him by Dire ms.
Sir j. Herschel composed poetry in his
sleep, which he committed to paper on
awakcning.s Goethe says, In his me-
moirs: 1.-The objects which had occu-
pied my attention during the dav often
reappeared at night in come ted
dreams. In the morn ng | was accus-
fnp1nd ff, roonv1 sS,k- Il
Coieridgs' compos ID his poem OF the
"Abyssluian Maid in dream and it
was said of Lord Jeffrey that. although
he went 20 bed at night with events,
Plans and dates all in a whrl in his
head, during sleep they all cry stall
azed around their proper centers."
IL Is considered among people of edu-
cation and refinement Il vulgar habit to
relate dreams or attach any Importance
70 them; yet.we are told of Lord Bacon
that he himself records dream in
which he saw his fathers house in the
country plastered all over with black
mortar, and he had no doubt ON waking
That he should hear bad tidings. 1t ac-
suaily proved true, as MS father died on
the very night on which he dreamed.
When Postmaster Jewell was diving he
awoke from a brief sleep and inquired
II anything was wrong in the family of
--, mentioning his brother-in-law'
name. They told him there was not,
when he remarked: Every strange,
and added that he had dreamed there
was. His brother-in-law had ust died,
but the family deemed it best to keep
the news from him, fearing fatal re-
suits.
In the old Bible days young men saw
visions and the old men dreamed
dreams, and great importance was at
tached to them, as tie history of Joseph
shows. The Egyptians and Babylonians
governed thier lives by dreams, as the
Chinese doto-day There is something
more than an idlc superstition in the
matter; but. as all people are not
treamers, there are many who are.ut-
terly skeptical. There are incidents in
the writer's knowledge OF dreams SO re-
markable that they can not be explained.
II they were warnings, they failed to
warn or to alarm, but they anticipated
strange events. One was that of little
child who had hever seen coffin or
looked on death. He sat at the break
fast-table eating his bread and milk,
happy and in good health. Suddenly
he looked up ut his mother and said:
"Mamma. last night when | was
sleep a man came here with y pritty
box for me >
Then he took some bread crumbs and
showed his mother the shape of the box.
Her heart stood still, for it was the ex-
act outline of II coffin, and in less than
y week her darling was buried. vic
tim to spasmodic Group.
= Mrs. Griffin had several sons
grown tn manhood. one OF whom-her !
oldest and best beloved = was away |
from honc- The mother slept alone, in |