The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-09

in question but 1t is possible that wholt
train of influences and experiences may
lie behind this one fact of AFFECT fear
I under the influence of dream terrors. The
subject of dreams is an interesting one,
to ferreting out the laws which govern
this strange medley of impressions and
ideas.
1t is generally recognized that in true
dreams the will is in ahsyance, and the
brain is at the mercy Of whit ever thoughts
may be uppermost. Hence the subject
which chances to be in mind at the mo-
ment of going to sleep is apt to influence
the dream. Everyone knows that. There
are Observation-Disclosures instances of prob
lens worked cut in dreams, when the
brain has apparently gone on working
automatically. freed perhaps, from the
conflicting influences OF personal anxiety
and worry. so that it cou,d actually OPP
crate more effectively than when its owner
was awake. But unless the mind is pos
sessed strongly by some idea the dream is
apt to be mixture Of unaccountable and
strangely combined notions. 1t is, per-
haps, analogous to the effect which might
be produced if a photograph were filled
up with medley of fragments of the rolls
on which impressions are made and then
were set going.
Thus any impression which has ever
been made upon the brain, even years be-
fer is apt TO be reproduced in dream.
1t i entirely possible that this may OK
tend to what may be called inherited i'm
pressions or prejudices. 1t is a fact pretty
well recognized that the general horror
CT snakes felt by the human family, as
well as the various snake legends of the
world, are the outcome OF the long ex-
perience which our arboreal ano cave
dwelling ancestors had in escaping from
this last enemy The snake could go
where no other creature could, and the
cleverest cave-dweller could not be quite
sure of escaping him. The primitive wo-
man, being the defender of the young.
would feel this apprehension more
strongly than the man, and the feminine
horror OF all the serpent tribe, which 10
SO strongly marked even now. may be
due to this. II this impression may be
carried down through hundreds of years,
others may Cur dreams may include the
horrors which beset the imaginiations of
our forest dwelling ancestors as well as
our OVID.
1t is probably fact that primitive man
was an abject coward. He had every
reason to be- He was the weakest of all
the animals. and that is how he became
SO wise and so cunning. But when pursued
by any enemy, his impulse undoubtediy
was to fly. Most primitive savages are
towards. Hence in dreams, when the will,
developed by centuries of civilization. and
the knowledge, which gives us conscious
ness of power. are in allegiance, our
bravery slips from us as a garment, and,
like cur ancestors when caught in the
open by the bear, the wolf or the NAM
moth, all we want is to get away. The
choking sensation is possibly TO be ex-
planned in the same way. Most of mans
enemies, in his earliest state of existence.
loved to come on him sleeping. and many
of them were in the habit of choking their
prey, or smothering it by the weight of
their bodies So it is perhaps a dim rem
iniscence OF the experience of some far-of
ancestor. caught in his cave by the en-
folding coils of the python. or struggling
under the huge furry body of panther.
which we feel when we wake in the night
with the horrible sensation of not being
able to breathe. move, or speak. Anybody
who has seen the domestic dog turn round
three or four times before lying down to
sleep, as his ancestor did in the jungle
grass. can see how long inherited impress
siors persist. If they last so long in the
animal creation, they may also be found
in humanity.