DREAMS AND THE MAKING OF DREAMS. 467 



They are often exceedingly distressing, and bespeak a troubled or dis- 

 orderly state of mind, but they are not, in themselves, so threatening 

 to mental health as certain varieties of the dream of the present, to 

 which we have already adverted. Dreams consisting of disconnected 

 and fantastical pictures and ideas are commonly of short duration, 

 and occur more frequently in the act of going to sleep than in that of 

 awaking. They may be amusing or annoying ; and they are not un- 

 commonly the causes of bad sleep or, more accurately speaking, of 

 delay in going to sleep. The brain is awakened by the merriment or 

 the disgust occasioned by these dreams. Sometimes the would-be 

 sleeper rouses himself by laughing at the grotesque imagery presented 

 to his mental vision, or the strange ideas which occur to him. The 

 mind may be so disturbed by these awakenings that sleep becomes 

 impossible. Probably the most common cause of this class of dreams 

 is an undue excitement of the organs of sense immediately before going 

 to bed. Such dreams occur after visits to the theatre, reading novels, 

 or hearing music late in the evening. They also frequently follow 

 gay and dissipating scenes or experiences. The sense-organs are over- 

 excited, without being wearied, or so much agitated that they can not 

 rest. Except when they indicate a generally excited brain, dreams 

 of this class are not of great moment, and are easily obviated by giv- 

 ing the mind regular and methodized work, which lowers the excite- 

 ment and induces moderate fatigue without distressing it. Sufferers 

 from this trouble may generally cure themselves by reading aloud some 

 not very exciting but sufficiently interesting book for half an hour be- 

 fore retiring to rest. The aim should be to give the mind a subject 

 of thought with which it may engage its attention, and shut out the 

 troublesome crowd of imaginings which obtrude the moment the head 

 is laid on the pillow and the eyes are shut. 



It follows from these general considerations, that dreams are made 

 out of the pictures and records of thought, that the making of dreams 

 must be, to a much larger extent than we are wont to suppose, under 

 the control of the will. The difficulty of believing this to be the truth 

 lies in the fact that the will is not able to call up or prevent a particu- 

 lar dream or class of dreams. The making of dreams is not an affair 

 of now, at any period of life. The material employed in their pro- 

 duction is the stock of pictures, impressions, conceptions, and feelings 

 previously accumulated. Meanwhile, he who would dream pleasantly 

 in adult life must see to the material with which he stores his mind in 

 youth ; while, in the heyday of manhood, we are heaping together the 

 material of dreams for old age. The mind is not conscious or does 

 not notice one half the impressions it receives from its surroundings. 

 To this circumstance, in fact, is due the surprise with which we view, 

 as for the first time, many of the unconsciously received or treasured 

 impressions which are reproduced in dreams, and hence the feeling 

 that they are original. It is not, therefore, possible to prevent the 



