The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-09-23
DREAM DISCOVERIES.
Sleep Seems at Times to Have the Power
of Reviving Lost Memory.


of Reviving Lost Memory.
The Rev. Mr.. Woodrow, the his
torian of the Covenanters, is an en-
thusiastic Calvinist. 1t was he, /
think, who told poor woman with
large family that lit would be an
uncouth mercy if all her children
were saved. !" This was logical,
from his point of vSew-they that
be saved are few; here is family
of dozen, and their mother actually
expects to meet them all in the New
Jerusalem. Such a mercy would be
'tuncouth. Then Woodrow believes
in every kind of portent and miracle
and warning and boyle, down to
Cotton Mather's lost sermon, mar
velously pursuing him and rejoin-
ing him as he rides.
The following anecdote would
have delighted Woodrow, though
how he would have classed it can
not guess. A gentleman, very well
known in many ways, was at his
house in the country, where young
lady was visiting himself and his
wife. She lost a pearl from ring.
It could not be found, and she went
home. Four or five weeks later she
again visited her friends, arriving
in the evening, and, as it happened,
not going into the library that day.
Next morning, while dressing, her
host said to his wife:
"Did you remember to take away
the pearl that Mary lost from the
place where I put it9'
"You never said anything about
it," answered the lady.
"Oh, excuse me! told both you
and her that found it in chink of
the bureau in the library, and put
it on top of my papers, and asked
you to take it lest the servants
should dust it away in the morn
ing"
The lady then went to her guests
room and asked her if she remem-.
bered being told about the discovery
of the pearl. She agreed with her
hostess that the subject bad not
even been mentioned.
'sThen the maids will have swept
it away" said my friend, and he
ran down to his study in his dress
ing gown. The pearl was not where
he remembered having laid it, but
he looked in the crevioe where he
said that he had found it, and there
lay the pearl.
One explanation would be that he
had dreamed the whole affair, the
dream being suggested by an uncon-
scious or suboonscious perception
of the pearl in the crevice. But he
cannot recall any dream on the sub
iect. He was certain that he had
found the thing when wide awake,
taken it out of the chink, placed it
on the top of his papers, and told
both ladies.
It is Just conceivable that he actu-
ally did find it and place it on the
papers; that, meaning to inform the
ladies, he believed that he had actu-
ally done SO and that the pearl was
accidentally swept back by the
housemaid into the chink of the bu-
reau whence he had rescued it. This
would not have been Wodrow's ex-
PLANTATION, but it would have recon-
mended itself to DR.. Carlyle.
I know personally of four cases in
which lost articles were discovered
by dream of the losers. The last
case was the key of the cellar-an
awkward thing to lose. After it
had been missing for days the owner
dreamed that it was lying in a GER
tain drawer, where it was found,
though why, how or when it was
placed there memory could not re-
call. Sleep seems occasionally to
have this power of reviving lost
memories Of things done or perceiv-
ed with imperfect waking con-
seriousness. Andrew Lang in Long
| mans