The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-11
TIE s1aN1FlCANCE OF DREA MS.
Less to Do With the Future Than
With the Stomach.
From The london Teleo dph


What the actual scientific view of dream
ing now is may be inferred from a lecture
which was recently delivered on the su b1ect
at the Royal institution by DR.. B. w.
Richardson. In the poets view dreams are
visitors from the iron gate, or, as Shakes
peare calls them, "chiid en- of an idle
BRAIN" but science is more prosaic and
teaches that dreams may be, after all,
''nothing moro than the common vibrations
of terrestrial media acting upon COR
pOreal Moratorium like the sound heard
on a wire in tension long after it has been
struck by the mus clan. An musical in
struments dream,n says Or. Richardson,
after we cease to play on them;n and if we
bring the microphone into use we can hear
the dream. This Is as near poetry as science
will permit US to approach in explaining
the phen omena OF thought going on during
sleep, for the accomplished lecturer pro-
ceeded to inform his audience that dreams
are all explainable on physical grounds
there Is no mystery about them save that
which springs from blindness TO faots.n
After dividing dreams into subjective
and objective, and mixtures of both, he
went on to class among the first species
dreams produced by Indigestion, pain or
fever; while objective dreams are those
started by noises or other events going on
outside the sleeper. This is fair sample Of
the ruthless way in which science disposes
| of superstition" Again SC the magma
tive view of the Significance of dreams
men or science protest, and will probably
continue to protest as long as there are any
men Of science left. They quote the old
lady in the Spectator, who believed the
earthquake at Lisbon had some mysterious,
but quite unexplained connection with the
fact that few days before she had hap
pened to spill some salt at table.
.T1a ,fNpEy@ 81 a
at the Royal Institution lecture was one
which may assist us to know which of our
dreams are signs that something is wrong
with our bodily organization. AS a rule,
said the lecturer, it is better not TO dream
at all. Dreamlessnoss ID generally a symptom
OF allround good health. A child's dreams
are invariably signs of disturo bed health
and should 90 regarded with anxiety For
adults it is good thing to know that we
may be sure that our brains are being over
strained when our nightly dreams relate to
events of the day, and if we actually seem
in sleep to be continuing our daily work
this Is danger signal which must never be
disregarded When we feel wearied in the
morning very likely it results from dreams
that we have forgotten, and then the best
thing to do is 70 take exercise. Without
| coming to any decided opinion as to the
supernatural meanings attributed to dreams,
we can at least profit by these practical
hints.
Considered as products of bad digestion
| dreams cannot be reasonably expected 20
| tell us anything of a useful character or 70
supply us with any warning, except one
directed against the continuation Of de-
! PRAYED dietetic habits. II 1t is true that
! the sleep of health is dreamless, then IL
! becomes difficult to believe that the only
persons to whom visions in sleep are vouch-
safed should be the victims Of indigestion.
! II is always puzzle for persons of an I'M
| imaginative turn of mind to understand
| how the future, which does not yet exist,
can be supposed to have any effect on the
| present, and it must be admitted that dreams
OF warning are much harder to believe in
| than the "brain waves" and Thought
! transferencesn which members Of the
! Psychical Research Society take
Is matters quite in the ordinary
| course of things. There is a considerable
mass of testimony in favor Of the power
of the mind to produce results at an enor-
| nous distance by some system of psychical
teleEraphy Of which nobody has yet disoov-
| cred the secret. A man " no goes to sleep
and dreams that his brother is being killed
| bv a wild tribe in Central Africa and who
! afterward hears that he did meet with that
| fate at the precise time when the vision oc-
Cured. need not fly to any supernatural ex-
| PLANTATION of the phenomenon. 1t is quite
| different when a dream tells OF something
which is to happen in a few months time
! In the latter case most people will prefer
! to join with science in attributing the fact
either to a law Of condolences or to a slim.
! pie delusiou.
We must do science the justice TO admit
that IL she increases the gloominess of life
| ia some directions. as by her doctrine OF
| the struggle for existence, she decreases II
| In other respects, one of which is by aiding
/ In the gradual Punishment Of any confidence
| in visions and omens and "weirdness'
|