The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-09-15
THE LIFE OF FICTION.
BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE

Letters have appeared in the Lon- don Spectator lately on the subject of compelling sleep. One correspondent counsels the monotonous semi-intel- lectual exercises, of which the count ing herd of imaginary sheep as they leap, one after another, over wall, is the type. Another advocates drink ing glass of water, or getting up and walking round the room. A third advises the patient to hold his breath until the blood, from lack of aeration, stupefies the brain. Still others sug- gest other prescriptions, all possessing more or less superficial plausibility, but which the sleepless expert knows, by sad experience, will somehow fail to meet his particular case. In fact, in insomnia, as in indigestion, the true remedy is that propounded by fam ous English physician, who, in refer ence to the various stimulants en- ployed to galvanize dead appetite, says: "Do not ask yourself What will make me hungry?' but Why am not hungryp' and by the time you have removed that cause, an appetizer will have become superf1uous" But, of course, the causes of insomnia are so often rooted in the profession and con- duct of life, that to remove them would be almost equivalent to giving up life altogether.
 Only one of the writers to the Spec tator seemed to have hit upon com- paratively new idea. do not happen to be sufferer from insomnia myself generally contrive to get seven or eight hours sleep during the night, and sometimes an hour or two more than that. Nevertheless, when hear of anything new, I am always ready to try it; and If I could find a recipe for sending myself to sleep, at any time, at five minutes notice, I would willingly experiment with it. The plan now speak of is founded on 6 theory to which attach little weight that the left side of the brain is sci apart for the operations of imagina. tion and kindred faculties, whereas tho right side is devoted to the transac. tions of the actual and practica world. But whether this notion il defensible or not, the deduction drawI from it seems not devoid of reason. ableness. The left side of the brain il the dreaming side. When you wisf to sleep, therefore, stimulate that side and in order to that end obliterate, al far as possible, all thoughts or recol lections pertaining to actual lite, ant direct your attention to some dream that you have formerly had. Enter into the life of that dream; follow i out and develop it; and, in the pro. cess of doing this, you will fall asleeI and dream in earnest.
 Such is the plan. I tested 1t anG although, so far as am aware. it die not send me to sleep Cndeed, 1 could not keep awake long enough to give il a fair triaD, yet 1 was immediately sensible of pleasing and soothing eff. feet. The irksome chains of fact, duty and necessity were relaxed, and I es. caped into an untrammeled region O. vague and rudderless fancies, where the breath of phantom breezes waited me this way or that, at impulse which was too lazy and indifferent to formulate. In similar way, bi of thistledown floats about above tn, earth in the warm and boundles spaces of summer day. The troub,, with me-and, should suppose, witt most other experimenters-was, tha was not 8 bit of thistledown, an( that occasionally caught uninvitet glimpses of that solid earth iron which came and to which I must re- turn. Return I did, accordingly, a last, and went to sleep in the usus frank and straightforward way.
 But the agreeable sensation which had experienced recurred to my recol lection the next morning, and found that 1t was closely allied to, if no identical with, kind of feeling witl which was already familiar. A cer, tain renowned poem, which I hay, never read, celebrates the pleasures O imagination; and in that poem tn. poet enhrges (at least he ought t have done so) upon the extraordinAry privileges enjoyed by writers of fc. tion. It would be really hard to ex. aggerate the extent of this prisilere In our sArthIy existsnce, ths mere In. evitahle ssqnenes of cAuse and efEact i bod cough: Xho hAs not found 1t, a time, irnoms and monoton0us almos beyond endurance If this happens that follows-whAt could be nor,