The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1908-06-04
THE PREY or DREAMS
Persons Often 0bsessed by Hal.
lucinations and Nightmares.
QUEER DREAMLAND DRAMAS,
Visions In Sleep That Have priv,,
Their Victims to Madness
Cases culled From the Notebook Of .
Specialist In Mental Diseases.

'hs" victims to Madness -od
Cases cullsd From the Notebook Of
Specialist In Mental Diseases.
dreams. dreams, dreamsr' beea
the specialist In mental diseases gloon
ny. dreams have sent me many
melancholy patient.
Il was early impressed with IN
analogies presented by dreams to ,r
sanity. but some years ago remeu
Der this impression was Strengthens
by an incident which l can never 70,
get A young man consulted me abou
a trifiing mental ailment. dealt wit
his case In the ordinary way, and
was pleased to notice he quickly I'm
proved. Some weeks after | had fol
him he was quite recovered, howeve,
he returned, looking an awful wreck
and. fighting hard to keep the tear
back, he begged me to help him. HI
had become a victim Of nightmare.
Here you are he whispered merry
ously, pressing a sheet of paper int,
my hand. Here you are. Some O
the things I see.'
"Sketched on the slip were skeletons
crossbones, gallows and coffin.
Sand you really see these thingsP
I inquired carelessly.
"See themr he replied. See them
Why, I feel them! Feel them! Fee
the rope! Smell the coffinv
"And the poor fellow clutched at hi.
throat in real agony.
II did my best for him, but he be
came worse. The last time he called
upon me he whispered In my ear tha
he had been duping me; that he wa,
the man wanted for the B. murder
Just as I feared, nightmare had shat
tered his reason.
HE went away, and | never saw
him again. The murder of B. was
expiated, but It was not my former
patients name l read in the accounts
Of the execution. have every reason
for believing that he ended his night
mare in suicide.
''Such are the instances that stud the
mental physicians book Of dreams
One Of my earliest patients was O
young man who labored under the de-
lusion, the result Of a repeated dream,
that he had suddenly come into a large
fortune.
"I am not surprised, DOCTOR he
said. I am not surprised. I am des-
tined to fill important positions, and
very naturally the Providence which
demands that l serve the state has
come to my aid with the means shall
and necessary
Then to my astonishment, he in
formed me that in order to give the
proper touch Of dignity to his exalted
state he had ordered a number Of mo-
tor cars and horses and carriages and
was negotiating for the purchase of a
large residence, which leading firm
Of house furnishers was to fit out in
lavish style.
"T must do these things, you know
he added. 4 must
Having uttered these words, recall,
he drifted to other subjects and con-
versed as nationally as any one.
"It was case In which took spe-
cial interest. The young man had a
good face. He was favorite, found
with his employers, and when he ex-
pressed regret at having to leave them
consequent upon his imaginary good
fortune his look Of sorrow was some
thing to remember. told his employ
ers so and discovered that the regard
was mutual. They closed their eyes to
his strange fancies, accepted his notice
In gloomy silence, afterward compli-
menting him on his good luck, pre-
dicted for him a great future. and-I
was doing my best.
"In the end, I am glad to say, was
successful. I found that the young
man had actually given out the orders
enumerated to me, but these easily
countermanded. The dreaming and the
delusion ended when l induced my pa
tent to go to reside In another district.
"He never referred to his visionary
fortune again. 1t passed away from
him like the phantom that It was and
was forgotten. Indeed, very likely
were you to speak Of 1t now be would
laugh In his natural quick, business
like way and sarcastically request you
to explain the lamentable condition of
your mind to the person he does not
acknowledgement.
II had scarcely finished with this
case, strangely enough. when another
of dreamland's dramas came before
my notice. Late one night 1t was and
the end Of an exceptionally busy day.
There was violent ringing at my bell,
and moment later man burst excit-
edly into my room and begged me to
accompany him to his home.
"'Strangest thing in the world! he
1erked. My wife it is. First she Is
covering the baby with kisses; next
she is wanting to kill 1t. Woke up
vita a scream and wanted to put the
Infant out Of its misery. and 1t wasn't
In misery at ALL
Il smiled and accompanied the man
10 his home. 1t was not an extraordi-
nary thing for an insane woman to do.
and this remarked to the husband,
who Mt once replied:
But she is sane as you or L.
And smiled again. This horror OF
insanity In ones family is with us al
ways. The man was. however, partly
right: his wife was simply another VIC
tim Of nightmare. The previous even.
ing she had visited the local theater,
and, being very much impressed with
the melodrnma she had seen there, II
had affected her sleep.
"She dreamed that her baby was be
cries came and eventually found the
room and gained an entrance to 1t.
"'Where is itY the woman cried.
Where Is III
H. M