Sentence:  They see not what passes before their eyes; hear not the audible discourse of the company; and when by any strong application to them they are roused a little, they are like men brought to themselves from some remote region .... The shame that such <WSD>dumps</WSD> cause to well-bred people, when it carries them away from the company, where they should bear a part of the conversation, is a sufficient argument that it is a fault in the conduct of our understanding, not to have that power over it as to make use of it to those purposes, and on those occasions, wherein we have need of its assistance. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Absence of mind; revery.