Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-14
LEE NIIND IN sLEEP.
'sNIght Visions May BefrIeDd; Our WAX
ing Dreams Are Fatal.

ing Dreams Are Fatal.
AS to the state Of the mind during
sound sleep, says the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, we know nothing. As one of
the principal functions Of the brain is to
think, it seems probable that in profound
slumber no thought arises-in other
words, the mind, like the body. is at rest.
In imperfect sleep we know that the
mind is not at rest, and that if slumber is
disturbed by dreams resti not so complete
and refreshing as when it is dreamless.
As the will appears TO be the outcome
or resultant OF the combined action Of all
the feelings, sensations and mental
actions, it is not surprising that it does
not operate in dreams. The dim or clear
consciousness ofthe utter pOwerlessness
Of the viii to control our imaginary
actions forms one of the most prominent
features in distressing dreams.
In our waking moments it is often diff
cult TO subject the fancy and the magma
ton 10 sober reason. Dreams are put the
creations Of our uncontrolled magma
tons, hence, the mind acting only in part,
the viii can not direct them. In dream
ing parts only of the cerebral cOnvOlu-
tiOns are acting with sufficient energy to
be represented in consciousness. These
are good, large words, but they are as
Sill PIE dH any LldI can IOu00 10 convex
the meaning intended.
Books sufficient to fill a house have
been written on the subject Of dreams
without making the subject any clearer.
The Interpretation Ofdreams has occupied
the attention of thousands of persons, but
the subject does not seem so vastly i'm
pOrtant. 10 most people, to-day as il did in
the times Of Joseph and Daniel.
Sometimes dreams appear to have some
real significance. Prophetic dreams have
occurred at times which foreshadowed
coming events with considerable clear
ness. Thus, Galen relates the case of a
patient who dreamed that one Of his legs
had been turned into stone. He was
shortly afterwards paralyZed in the same
member. MacaTiO dreamed that he had
a severe pain in this throat. When he
awOke he was well, but during the day
had an attack of quinsy. Forbes Wins
low relates case in which, before an at
tack OF apOpleXy, the patient thought in
his dreams that he was being scalped by
Indians. Hammond relates the case of a
lady who had an attack of epilepsy, pre-
coded by the following singular dreams:
''She had gone TO bed feeling somewhat
fatigued with the labOrs Of the day, which
had consisted in attending three or four
morning receptions, winding up with a
dinner party. She had scarcely fallen
asleep, when she dreamed that an old
man clothed in black approached, holding
an iron crown of great weight in his
hands. As he came nearer, she perceived
that it was her father, who had been dead
several years, but whose features she dis
tinctly recOllected. Holding the crown
at arms length, he said: MY daughter,
during my lifetime l was forced to wear
this crown; death relieved me of the
burden, but it now descends to you.'
Saying which, he placed the crown
on her head and disappeared gradually
from her sight. Immediately she felt a
great weight and an intense feeling of
construction in her head. To add to her
distress she imagined that the rim of the
crown was studded on the inside with
sharp points which wounded her fore
head so that the blood streamed down
her face. She awOke with agitation, eX-
cited, but felt nothing. Looking at the
clock on the mantelpiece she found she
had been to bed exactly thirty-fiye min
utes. She returned to bed and again fell
asleep, but was again awakened by a
similar dream. This time the apparition
reproached her for not being willing to
wear the crown. She had been in bed
this last time over three hours before
awaking. Again she fell asleep, and
again at broad daylight she was awak-
ened by a like dream. She now got up,
took bath and proceeded to dress herself,
with her maids assistance. Recalling
the particulars of her dream, she recOl-
lected that she had heard her father say
one day that in his youth, while being in
England, his native country, he had been
subject to epileptic commissions cOnse-
quent on fall from tree, and that he
had been cured by having the operation of
trephining performed by q distinguished
London surgeon. Though by no means
superstitiOus, the dreams made a deep i'm
preston upon her, and her sister entering
the room at the time, she proceeded to de-
tail them TO her. While thus engaged
she suddenly gave a loud scream, became
unconscious, and fell upon the floor in
true epileptic CONFUSION. This parOxysm
was not a very severe one. 1t was fol-
lowed in about week by another, and,
strange to say, this was preceded, as the
other, by the dream of her father placing
an iron crown on her head and of pain be-
ing thereby produced. Since then several
months have elapsed, and she has had no
other attack"
Instances might be multiplied almost
without limit of persons being thus
warned of impending illness by dreams
OF more or less significance. The eX-
PLANTATION is not difficult. During sleep
obscure sensations caused by the per-
yerted action of some part of the body,
then IN the 1rSt stages of disease, are felt
and appreciated to some extent, while at
the same time, they are not sufficiently
well marked to arrest the attention of the
mind engTossed with every day cares and
occupations. They are not truly pro-
phetic, for they Indicate that disease is
already present. All other 'Fwarn-
ings in Dreams of what is about to
happen somewhere beyond the
chance Of the warned one receiving
any intimatiOn of them except by
dreams, are to be placed to the account
of condolences. Dreams Ofabsent friends,
of their dOings and of what is happening
to them, occur in countless numbers in
our nightly fancies. So long as they do
not coincide with what we learn to be
actual events they do not arrestthe atten-
ton and are replaced IN our memories by
more important things. But let one of
them coincide with something that actu-
ally occurs at the time or at some long
future period, and at once it becomes a
marvel worthy to be recorded in the daily
prints, and TO be worked up with similar
ones into "FOOtfalls on the Boundaries of
Another World" and the like. If coinci-
dences should never occur it would be a
far greater marvel than if a dozen should
be recorded daily.