The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1909-03-31
THOUGHTS IN DREAMS.
Startling Rapidity Which the Mind
Works In Sleep.

characteristic Of dreams which.
as the rather materilastic Dr. Clarke
says, hints at a life that has neither
beginning nor end and is bounded by
no limits which human thoughts can
compass" is the rapdity with which
events happen in the dream world.
Thus, when asleep and dreaming. we
live an entire life time in q minute;
in space of time that is scarcely
more than a second we pass through
experiences that could not be dupli>
Gated in this objective sphere in hours
perhaps in years.
Count Layalette relates that one
night, when imprisoned and under
sentence of death, he dreamed that
he stood for five hours at a Paris
street corner, where he Witnessed a
continuous succession of narrowing
scenes of blood every one of which
wrought his soul to the highest pitch
of excitement. When he woke he
found that he had been asleep less
than two minutes.
In more recent experiment, made
expressly to test the ruth of these
theories, the subject was aroused
from sleep by a few drops Of water
being sprinkled upon his forehead
1t took but an instant to accomplish
this result. and yet i'm that incalcul-
ably brief space of time the man
dreamed of going on an excursion; Of
an accident by which he was plung-
ed into lake, and during the long
struggle to escape death that follow
ed the experiences of his life seemed
to flash before him, just as they are
said to appear to a person who is
actually drowning.
Dreams are tricksters. Professor
kitchener of Cornell University told
with gusto OF his experience AS a
specialist chology he interest
ed hims ms. Like true
Scientis once It about gathering
data. =. to know what
caused dreams, where they came from
and what they meant, and all that.
He determined to watch himself when
he slept and to wake himself at once
when he found himself dreaming
something of value. SO, with a note
book on a writing table near his bed
he forced himself to wake for several
nights and to write down while the
dream Impressions were vivid. his
remembrances OF the details and by
study of the room, the bed and his
physical condition to attempt to ar
rive ut the possible cause of his
dreams.
He was getting on famOuSly One
night he had particularly vivid
dream. In accordance with his prac-
tice, he forced himself to awake and
Immediately write down clearly cv-
erything about it, then went back to
sleep again The next morning he
arose and was astonishcd to see that
his note book was blank. He re-
membered positively the note he had
set down thereon i'm the middle of
the preceding night The next
night again he wrote down his notes
after his dreams, only to have the
same uncauny sensation the next
morning he finding nothing recorded
The strange circumstances set him
to pOndering. That night he i'm
pressed upon his mind before drop
ping of into slumber that he must
awake with his first dream, or if not -
with that, with his second dream
Subsequently this strong ante-slcep-
ing command delivered to himself
was present all through his dream
consciousness. When the first scene
of vivid dream came before his
fancy he felt himself writing down
the facts upon the pad at his table
1t was then that from some source
Of inner consciousness he felt the
command again to awake, although
he seemed at the time to be in full
possession of his normal faculties.
His eyes opened, and the secret was
out. He found himself lying in bed
where he had been all that night
His rising after each dream had be-
come so much a routine he had
dreamed that he had risen and had
made the note and his dream was
so clear that it seemed reality.
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