Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-01-19
DREAM DIARY FAD.
Suggested that it be Cultivated in
Lieu of other Imbecilities.

The terrOrs of country-hOuse visiting
are naturally lively and alarming enough F.;
but fertile ingenuity, assisted by art, has,
says Stuart Erskine, writing in the Court
Journal, conspired To render them thou
sand times more poignant and penetrat-
ing. 1t sayorS of ungraciousncss to APP
ply the eplthet of torture to these social
undertakings; but, really, what with peo-
pie who wish YOU to draw pigs with your
eyes shut, and importunate young ladies'
cIamoring for pictures, autographs and
poems, the lot of the obligng country
house visitor of literary or artistic turn
of mind is not a happy one. And the
worst of it is, there is not even variety
in the dscomfOrts which these, no doubt,
Well-meaning young people inflict on one.
every girl has pig-bOok, or, failing a
book. another instrument of torture
IN the shape of volume in which the
unwilling victim Is required to record his
most intimate sentiments. Thus fash
ION which, though trifiing and superfiu-
Gus, yet has fundamentally nothing OBJ
Jectlonable attaching to it, becomes. by
dint of repetition and wearisome mo-
notony, positive nuisance. The terrors
of the pig-book or sumptuously bound vol
une of artistic and literary indiscretions
Is quite as prolific a source of embarrass-
ment and alarm TO the obligng visitor of
artistic tastes as the necessity of Timing
buffers and gamekeepers is said to be to
his impecuniOus, but happily less gifted.
contemporary. The writer continues
My idea is that instead OF pig and those
other kind of books now so alarmingly
prevalent among the fair sex, young la
dies who are not to be denied the keeping
an album of some kind or other should
start diaries of dreams
In this manner a fashion which is be
come positive nuisance might be con-
verified into Il something really useful and
pleasing; for, apart from the endless va
rety of dreams that fall to the lot of
mOrtais, there is this to consider Of
namely, that the study of dreams is a
very interesting proceeding. and properly
and scientifically conducted cannot fail
TO prove of the utmost service to man
kind. Of course, it would never do to
encourage the lndiscriminatc recording of
dreams; and those only should keep
dreambooks whose temperaments pro
c!alm them to be persons mentally quail
lneq 10 own SUCH possessions. Trifling
and frivolous dreams and dreamcrs
should be severely discouraged; and the
greatest care should be exercised to re-
cord all dreams in a systematic and or
DERBY fashion. For instance, man
whose dreams are habitually vulgar or
concerned with commonplace topics
should never be invited to record his
midnight impression in the dreambook:
Just as those who are mentally incaDahle
or arranging or composing coherent
dream-statement should be debarred the
privilege of airing their visions. A
dream is ''ipso facto" infinitely superior
to pig or poem; and if the best re-
suits are obtained from this, my novel
suggestion, it is Imperative that the
dreamboOk or dream album be scieptif
cally conducted. as well as iealousIy
guarded against the illusions of such a.
might unconsciously take off from its 1T
erary value or willfully asperse it's true
character.-London Globe.