Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-13


on this point. The in
formation thus obtained is always valuable
and sometimes constitutes the most impor
tsnt feature of the investigation Indeed.
1t would be difficult to mention disease
which is not, at some period or other, of it,
career an exciting cause Of morbid dreams.
In cases of insanity and other cerebral
affections the delusions of the dreams are
frequently SO mixed up with those which
arise during the waking condition, that the
patient is unable to separate them and to
Determine which gre the consequences of
erroneous sensations received when awake,
and which are the results of dreama The
careful examination of almost any insane
persons will also show that they incorporate
the fancies of their dreams with the realities
of every day life.
Dreaming Is Very Like DeIirium
A very little reflection will suffice to con-
vince the reader that the phenomena of
dreaming and those of delirium are strik-
inslv alike In dreams we never distin-
guish the false from the real; the judgment,
if exercised at all, acts in the most erratIc
manner. We are rarely surprised at the oc-
cuTrence of the most improbable circum-
stances; our characters for the time being
often undergo radical change and we per-
form imaginary deeds Ia our sleep which
are altogether at variance with our actual
dispositions. The halluci. ations of sleep
We accent as realities just as the insane in
0ivi1usl believes in all the erroneous i'm
preen1is made upon his senses. The dream
Ing person is, in fact, the victim of delusiora
which. daring the existence of his condi-
tion. have a firm hold on his mind and rem
der him IL no essential particular differe =
from the one who suffers from unsoundness
TIL incoherence present In dreams and the
evident dependence of the various images
upon she suggestion of previous images are
likewise phenomena of the insane state.
Even in persons perfectly sane dreams
often produce very powerful influence on
the mind. Most of US have, on awaking,
felt pleased or disturbed from rejecting
upon the circumstances of dream we have
had during the night, and occasionally the
impression has remained through the entire
cav.
Children Confuse Dreams and Realities.
With children that influence is still NOR,
strongly shown. As Sir Henry Holland re-
marks, the corrections from reason and ex-
perience are less complete in them than in
Rdults. As q consequence they not in
frequently confuse their dream visions with
the facts of their lives and regard the former
as real events. The halIucinationg of dreams
are also occasionally continued through
Rakefulness, and hence some persons have,
on swaking, seen the images which had been
presented to them in their sleep.
The celebrated Benedict de Spinoza was
ence Of the subject of an illusion which had
its starting poiEt in dream. He dreamed
that he was visited by tall, thin and black
Brazilian disea,ed with the itch. He awoke
tGd thought he saw such en- image standing
beside him.
A distinguished physician, in referring to
such instances, says: 81 have myself also
very frequently seen these phantasms, but
am now less liable to them than formerly.
1t has become my custom when l perceive
such lna-es Immediately to open my eyes
End direct them upon the wall or surround
ing objects. The images are then still
visible, but quickly fade Thev are seen
whichever wav the head is turned, but I
have not obser sed that they moved with
She eyes. The answers to the inquiries
which l make every year to the students at |
tending nv lectures as to whether they
have experienced anything of the kind,
have convinced me that it is a phenomenon
known to comparatively few persons. For
EElong 100 students two or three only, and |
sometimes only one, have observed it. This |
rarity Of the phenomenon is, however,
more apparent than real. I am satisfied
that many persons would perceive these
Epectacles II they learned to observe their
sensation. at the proper times. Jean Paul
recommended the watching of the phan- |
tasms which appear to the closed eyes as
means Of inducing sleep"
Indicate the kind OF Insanity.
If such phenomena takes place in per-
49, l0F hoo H. -
Of the insane to experience than will readily |
be admitted. The character of dreams |
varies according to the type of insanity to |
which the patient is subject In melan- |
cholia thev are ordinarily sad and depress- |
ing and have deep and lasting impression;
~ expansive moEOmania they are CAV and |
exciting; in mania they give evidence of
the extraordinary mental excitement and
activity Of the subject, and in duration
t!:ey are vague, heeting, and occur but sell
CON.
Besides these varieties which NAV be
c2llNG symptoInatic there are dreams that
ere essentially morbid and these NAV all be |
embraced under the term of nightmare.
This condition is characterized bv the ex- |
Istence during sleep of sense of suffoca- |
tion, feeling Of pain or constitution in
some part Of the body and a dream |
of painful character. Epidemics |
OF Nightmare nave been noticed |
and sometimes these are of peculiar form |
sud are confined TO certain localities. The |
vampirism, a belief which exists in differ |
ent parts of the world, is nothing but kind \
of nightmare. In Morlachia there is |
scarcely a hamlet which has not several |
Sukodiacks or vampires, and there are some
plans, every family of which has its vukod-
lack, just as every Alpine family has its ere
tin. The cretin. however, has a physical in
trinity, and with it morbid state of the
brain and nervous system which destroys
his reason and prevents appreciating his
degraded condition. The vukodlack, on the
contrary, appreciates all the horror of his
morbid perception; he fears and detests it;
be combats it with all his power; he has re-
course to medicine, to prayers, to division
Of muscle, to the amputation Of limb,
End
Sometimes Even to Suicide.
He demands that after his death his
children shall pierce bis heart with a pike
and fasten his corpse to the coffin so that
his dead body, in the sleep of death, NAV
not be able 10 follow the instinct of the liv-
Ing body. The yukodlack is, moreover,
often q man of note, often the chief of the
tribe, the Judge, CT the poet. Through the
tadness which is due to the recollection of
his nocturnal life the rukodlack exhibits
the most generous and loyable traits of
Character. 1t is only during his sleep,
when be is visited with bis terrible dreams,
lh:t ne is monster, digging up the dead
with his hands feeding on their flesh, and