The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-02-11
BLIND MEMS DREAMS.
Peculiar Visions Of the sightless In Their
SIumberS.

dreaming the happy hours away IS
the refrain of once popular song.
There are few people nevertheless. who
Il" not profess lo prefer the pleasures OF
the waking hours to those 81 >lumber.
howetcr bright may br their visions.
Bnf 10 the blind who have in other days
locked ont upon the beauties of nature
and met their fellows III the fullness Of
sight. the happic>t hours are those
which bring to them the oblivion of
; sleep and the sweet consolation of
dreamland. Superintendent Hall of
the Working Home for Blind Men in
West Philadelphia said Yesterday in 4
conversation upon this snbiect: Il have
no greater pleasure i'll l;fe now that |
have lost my life. than in dreaming.
for then, and then only. catch olimpSe5
OF the world about ne | am no longer
blind. The scales fall from nv ewes
and see like other men. see as did IN
years gone by before the terrible afiiic-
ton came on me and shut out the light
of day. In dreamland never seem to
have been blind. am at the home.
TO be sure, but, instead of having ONLY
my fingers and my ears 10 guide me, /
can see the inmates. and what is stran-
ger yet, although in reality / have never
seen one OF them, in my dreams they
all appear familiar TO me by sight and
not by their voices"
This curious experience of Mr.. Hall
seems to be that oil all persons who have
become blind after the early years OF
life have passed. The blind who have
been so afflicted from birth never dream
OF seeing anything. The impressions
OF their dreams are regulated by the
impressions made and ideas obtained
by the sense Of touch or hearing. of
taste and smell. One oil The most intel
Hgent inmates of the West Philadelphia
..Home." who came into Ihe world
blind, says that. although he has read a
great deal, be never dreams of the
things he has read about, and never
dreams oil any Thing or person with
which he has mol in some way come liz
personal contact. lie dreams ri n.,l-
sic. OF the voices oi persons he knows.
of such incidents Is might happen at
tn" ''honlc, or some place in which he
has actually been. hut never of Incl
dents III other places or i'll other lands.
Of "a landscape. q picture. tree. or Il
human being he never dreams. Even
although he has read descriptions OF
localities. of natural beauties, OF the
appearance of Il street ar Il CITY. no
idea Of what they look like il formed in
his mind. aud none cuiur> In i.inl in the
fancir> ni his sleep.
y blind man has been known To
dream OF a ghost. aud he thus tells the
story: Il heard Il Voice at the door and
said: 'Hlr-~ me if that amt John
and | took him by the sleeve: ii was his
shirt-Sieevr 1clt and | wa> afraid ni
him. Thcu dreamed that ht coniin-
ued TO frighIrn me. rs knew thai he
was dead. thought thar was being
pursued by his ghost. Then I woke /,
mp AMI fell no more Our blind friend |
Ut the home often dreams nf being out !
on the street on IN the country. bnt he !
did not dream that he saw the street or |
the scenery in the country; but he felt |
the open air of the country and recop- |
nized The street because he was dream |
ing OF one along which he had frequent |
ly walked
Curious and full OF interest as are The |
dreams of the blind Of every condition.
there is II class of blind people whose |
sleeping impressions are OF especial in |
tcrest that class of unfortunate people |
who become blind when quite Young, |
- period when external objects and |
HE outward world generally has just
begun 10 make an impression upon |
Them. such blind people sometimes, |
bul not always. dream that they can
see; bat in their vision they see things |
with the eyes OF ehildhood and they |
never dream of any scene or object eX-
lept those which like dim recollection
have remained in the memory from
what they actually saw before they be
came blind. A blind man who was
stricken at the age of . years and never
visited the country dreams of seeing ;
city streets, city honses, or city parks,
but never of country scenery. of a rail-
road, or of river, and so vice versa.
As often as not this class of blind per-
sons dream as if they had never been
blind at all. and at other times as if all
of blindness had passed from
them.-Philddelphia Record