Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-25
FAMOUS MEMS DREAMS.
Origin Of Some Of the Most Noted
Work. Of Fiction.

Work, of Fiction.
Some of the most popular novels In
our language o We their origin entirely
to dreams, for the wonderful work.
ings of the brain during sleep often
furnish material which the author Is
not slow to turn to good account. Had
1t not been for a dream Robinson
Crusoe" would probably never have
been written. At the time the plot
was first conceived Defoe was suffer-
ing from great mental worry that re-
suited in his slumbers being broken
by incessant Nightmares. On one OF
these occasions he dreamed that he
was stranded ON a deserted tslahd
alone and began to work out In the
dream a means of existence. so
pleased was he with the experience
that Defoe confessed to feelings OF
disappointment when he awoke, and
he hastened to put his vision into
readable form.
"Rienzf was the dream offspring
Of Lord Lytton's brain, the whole
plot appearing before him in the
short space Of two hours sleep be-
tween violent attacks Of neuralgia
Kingsley, after a hard days fishing.
went to sleep. only to get q shadowy
outline of Westward Ho" In his
dream, though what connection the
story had with his sport 1t Is diff
cult to understand. Few people know
why Coleridge's enhancing poem.
"Kubla Khan" remains unfinished,
but this masterpiece has very re-
markable history. The poet had just
taken an anodyne and dropped on TO
sleep, when the poem bega to shape
itself in his mind, and the mes to run
in rhyming order. When he awoke
he rushed to his writing table ana
wrote out the lines as we now have
them, without c. seconds pause, but
his memory failed him at the conclu-
sion so the work was never completed.
Another famous poem composed In
dream was "The Bells" while the
same author, Edgar Poe, formulated
one of the finest pieces Of prose, "The
Masque Of the Red Death" during
the hours Of unconsciousness.
"The Strange Case Of DR.. Jekyll and
Mr.. Hyde" probably caused Stevenson
more mental trouble than any Of his
other works, but a dream got him out
Of the difficulty. He began q story
about a mans double, but 1t appeared
so unsatisfactory to him that he tore
1t up without banishing the theme from
his mind. One night, however, ne
dreamed the scene at the window ana
a few minor incidents, while the second
night the remainder Of the plot fol-
lowed, and the story was soon on
paper. N.
Another author, G. P. r. James, had
promised to furnish the publishers
with the opening chapters OF a new
book by a certain date, but he entirely
forgot all about the contract until the
night before it expired. He relates
that he sat over the fire far into the
early hours of the morning, but a ploe
Of any kind absolutely refused to come
to him until, disheartened, he went to
bed. Then, during the hours OF sleep
the missing plot wove itself mechani-
cally in his mind and ere the next day
had passed the first few chapters or
Bernard Marsh" were in the hands
Of the publishers, ......'.
One of Coulson Kernahan's most de-
lightful volumes is' God and the Ant"
a phantasy that makes 1t easy to be-
lieve that the book was the result OF
a dream. Mr.. Kernahan in the pre-
face acknowledges 1t to be vision
which appeared to him in sleep put
into words. w. L. Allen likewise
dreamed the majority Of the plot and
the detail Of the opening chapters Of
one Of his most recent works, which
he very fitly named "Out Of the
Night"
Only two authors are known to have
gone so far as to cultivate dreams for
the purpose Of plot manufacturers.
Dryden often ate raw beefsteaks at
night, and the Nightmares that fol-
lowed originated some Of his most
notable poems. Mayne Reid confessed
that his proliicacy in producing novels
was due in some measure to his habit
Of eating a handful Of horse-chestnuts
ere he retired to rest when in need OF
a plot.-Brooklyn Eagle.