DREAMS. 



135 



henomena 

 I iiream- 



Dreams. that absent or dead friends, the idea of whom they have 

 in vain endeavoured to recal while they were awake, 

 have appeared most distinctly and permanently ; the 

 impression of them is strong and vivid, and while the 

 remembrance of the dream continues, their image is 

 present to the mind ; but as soon as the recollection of 

 the dream vanishes, or becomes faint, that image can 

 no longer be called up, at least so distinctly and per- 

 manently. 



7. Our sensations of pain and pleasure are frequent- 

 ly very strong during our dreams, as we have already 

 remarked. Our peculiar character remaining in our 

 dreams, all the habitual opinions and feelings of our 

 mind are called up by the same circumstances, that 

 would excite them when we are awake ; but in many 

 cases, our opinions are expressed with more vehemence, 

 and our feelings are more acute. Perhaps our sensa- 

 tions of horror are much stronger in dreams than they 

 ever are in reality ; most people, we imagine, can at- 

 test the truth of this remark from their own experi- 

 ence. 



8. The rapidity in the succession of our thoughts, or 

 of the transactions in which we seem to be engaged, is 

 often very astonishing, " in so much so, that when we 

 are accidentally awakened by the jarring of a door, which 

 is opened into our bed-chamber, we sometimes dream 

 a whole history of thieves or fire, in the very instant 

 of awaking." Zoonomia, Section 18. 



9- There is a vast variety of scenery, novelty of com- 

 bination, and distinctness of imagery, in our dreams ; 

 and it may be remarked, that they consist chiefly of 

 visible imagery, and what we appear to see in our 

 dreams, impresses us more strongly than what we appear 

 to hear or do. While we are awake, vivid impressions 

 are constantly made on the optic nerve ; hence they be- 

 come more frequently and strongly the objects of our 

 dreams. It may be remarked in this place, that, ac- 

 cording to Parkhurst, the Hebrew word, which signifies 

 a dream, implies broken parts or fragments, composed 

 of ideas or images received by our senses, particularly 

 by our sight, while awake. 



10. We are seldom surprised at the wildness or incon- 

 sistency of our dreams. Some authors contend that sur- 

 prise never takes place : but this is evidently a mistake ; 

 though it must be admitted, that those things which 

 would excite the strongest surprise while we were 

 awake, are generally regarded in our dreams without 

 any feeling of that nature. We are, indeed, very sel- 

 dom surprised, either at the inconsistencies in our 

 dreams, or at their presenting to us objects, which, 

 while awake, we should immediately know could not 

 appear to us. If the image of an absent or dead friend 

 appear in our dreams, we feel no surprise ; we expe- 

 rience no tendency to doubt the reality of the appear- 

 ance ; we converse with him ; we seem to hear him 

 speak, and see him act, as if he were actually present 

 or alive : but if he utter sentiments, or perform actions, 

 different from those to which we have l>een accustomed 

 from him, then surprise is undoubtedly felt. But, per- 

 haps, it is a still more extraordinary and inexplicable 

 phenomenon, that the inconsistencies and contradictions 

 in our dreams themselves thould so seldom excite sur- 

 prise ; that we should not feel surprised at the contra- 

 diction between reality and our dreams, may easily be 

 conceived ; but as we undoubtedly compare and reason 

 in them, it is extraordinary that the inconsistencies be- 

 tween parts of them should not be noticed, and excite 

 surprise; and yet scarcely any of the phenomena of 



dreams are better established than the one to which we Dreams, 

 are now adverting. 



11. We have already observed, that Aristotle noticed * f 

 the fact, that we often dream that we are dreaming : in ing. 

 many cases, however, where this is supposed to take 

 place, it is very probable that we are actually awake ; 



but for so short tune, and in such an imperfect manner, 

 that we confound our waking thoughts with our dreams. 

 Smellie says, that men, who have the misfortune to be 

 subject to disagreeable dreams, learn by experience to 

 know that they are dreaming. He adds, " when ter- 

 rified with impending danger, and even death, I have 

 often said to myself, ' Don't be so much alarmed : you 

 have been in the same, or in similar situations, which 

 were uniformly discovered to be dreams.' This species 

 of dormitory reasoning greatly alleviates the pain, and 

 not unfrequently gives an opposite direction to the 

 imagination," (Smellie's Philosophy of Natural His- 

 tory, vol. ii. p. 372.) There can be little doubt, that 

 what he calls dormitory reasoning was exercised du- 

 ring a moment of short and imperfect vigilance. 



12. When our dreams are disagreeable, we seem to 

 be sensible of strong and painful efforts to free our- 

 selves from them, either by endeavouring to remove 

 from the scene where the disagreeable circumstances 

 occur, or (as it were) by changing our thoughts. Of 

 this latter mode of attempting to free ourselves from 

 unpleasant dreams, most people must have had expe- 

 rience ; but whether it actually takes place while we are 

 asleep, or during a short interval of imperfect vigilance, 

 it is not easy to determine. With respect to our en- 

 deavours to quit the scene of unpleasant occurrences, 

 there can be no doubt that they take place in our 

 dreams ; and it is equally true, that these endeavours 

 are for the most part unsuccessful ; and we experience, 

 in our dreams, the painful impression, that, in spite of 

 all our efforts to the contrary, the most afflicting, dis- 

 agreeable, or horrid dreams continue to haunt us. 



13. When we dream that we change our place, we 

 seem to be transferred by a kind of sailing or flying 

 motion. This, however, is not always the case: in. 

 some instances, we are suddenly transported from one 

 place to another, without any intermediate impression 

 of the mode by which it takes place ; while at other 

 times we dream that we remove from one place to 

 another by the usual modes of conveyance. When- 

 ever, however, the change of place is great and sud- 

 den, it is either accompanied with the sensation of a 

 Killing or flying motion, or seems to be effected in- 

 stantaneously, and without any motion. 



14. We not unfrequently dream that we are falling 

 from a great height ; and we seem to experience that 

 rapid whirling of the brain and senses, which must 

 take place when such a circumstance actually occurs ; 

 but we believe it very seldom happens, that any person 

 under the influence of such a dream, ever seems to ar- 

 rive at the bottom: he feels himself moving in the air; 

 he even reflects on the consequences of his fall ; he 

 shudders with horror ; but before he seems to arrive at 

 the bottom he awakes. 



15. Dr Darwin observes, " that if we sleep in the 

 day-light, and endeavour to see some object in our 

 dream, the light is exceedingly painful to our eyes ; 

 and, after repeated struggles, we lament in our sleep 

 that we cannot see it." " When we are forcibly waked 

 at midnight from profound sleep, our eyes are much 

 dazzled with the light of the candle for a minute or 

 two, after there has been sufficient time allowed foe 



