Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-04

IN our sleeping hours FOR instance an cfl8ilsh
Judge. while travelling in Scotland dreamed
one night that lizards were crawling over him.
He could not imagine what had suggested
such dream, till gong to the room where he
had sat the evening before he noticed for the
first time that the clock on the mantelpiece
had figures of crawling lizards on it. This his
mind, unconSciousy to himself, had noticed,
and once he asleep it began to construct
a story on that basis.
In the same way the mind will reproduce
in a dream facts which the dreamer has for
gotten that he ever knew, but which neverthe-
less lay dormant in his mind. 1t IS in this way
that many stories well atteSted, can be
explained that otherwise we should be
tempted to reject.
Macuish in his book on sleep tells story
OF man who was sued for a debt originally
contracted in the lifetime of his father and,
as the thought, settled by him; but of
such settlement he could find no trace among
his papers. After searching long time to no
purpose, he went to bed with the determine
ton of giving up the fight and making the
best compromise he could. He dreamed that
his father came to him in his sleep and told
him that he had paid the debt and that he
would ind the papers IN the possession OF a
certain solicitor. His father added that he
could remind the lawyer of the case by the
incident that they could not get change for
Portuguese piece of money and had to drink
it up in a tavern. The man awoke and went
Immediately to see the solicitor in question,
whom he found an old man. At first he denied
all remembrance Of the case, but at mention
of the Portuguese money the whole event came
back to him. and after some trouble he found
the papers that were needed, thus saving the
man from heavy loss.
Marvellous as this story sounds, it is not hard
to explain. The facts had been told him by
his father, but he had forgotten them. The
brain taking up at night these ideas, which he
had worried over for days, had brought to
light hidden treasures.
1t seems as if often the limitation of the
mind to certain ideas gave it an intensity
which it had not in our waking hours. The
story | have Just told shows this but 1t IS
shown still more strikingly by the wonderful
power the mind sometimes exhibits of working
out results it cannot accomplish at other
times. ColeTidge writing the poem of . kub1a
Khan in his sleep is the classic instance but
there are numerous others. | give one which
Dr. Carpenter mentions in his book on Mental
Physiology.
4 professor at Amsterdam had been given
by clearinghouse of that city question to
solve, involving long and difficult calculation.
Several times he tried to obtain the solution,
but each time he made some mistake At
last, all wearied out, he gave the problem to
some of his students, telling them that if
possible he would like the answer in three
days. One of them, eager to get into his
teachers good graces took it home and
worked on 1t for three successive nights IN
vain:
At last l bent myself over my figures for
third evening. 1t was winter, and | calculated
till halt-past one in the morning, all to no
purpose. The product was erroneous. Low
at heart, threw down my pencil which already
by that time had beciphered three states. |
hesitated whether | would toll through the
night, as | knew that the professor wanted
an answer the very same morning. But lo
my candle was already burning in the socket
and the persons with whom | lived had gone
to rest Then ! also went-to bed my head
filled with ciphers, and tired in mind | fell
asleep. In the morning | awole lust early
enough to dress and prepare myself to go to
the lecture; vexed at heart at not having been
able to solve the question and at having to
disappoint my teacher
But O wonder! as | approach nv writing
table, find on it a paper with figures in my
own hand and (think of my astonshment0
the whole problem it solved quite Alright
and without a single blunder. | wanted to ask
my hostess whether anyone had been in my
room, but was stopped by my own hand
writing. Thus must have calculated the prob
lem in my sleep and in the dark to boot
and what was most remarkable, the COM
putation was succinct that what | saw
before me on a single folio sheet had required
three slatefuls, closely beciphered on both
sides, during my waking state. Professor
Won Swinden amazed at the event and
declared to me that whilst calculating the
problem himself he had never once thought
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