THE RELATIONS OF MINDS TO OTHER THINGS. 201 



In somnambulism, natural or induced, there is often a 

 great display of intellectual activity, folloAved by complete 

 oblivion of all tliat lias passed.* 



On being suddenly awakened from a sleep, however pro- 

 found, Ave always catch ourselves in the middle of a dream. 

 Common dreams are often remembered for a few minutes 

 after waking, and then irretrievably lost. 



Frequently, when awake and absent-minded, we are 

 visited by thoughts and images which the next instant we 

 cannot recall. 



Our insensibility to habitual noises, etc., whilst awake, 

 proves that we can neglect to attend to that which we never- 

 theless feel. Similarly in sleep, we grow inured, and sleep 

 soundly in presence of sensations of sound, cold, contact, 

 etc., which at first f)re vented our complete repose. We have 

 learned to neglect them whilst asleep as we should whilst 

 awake. The mere sense-impressions are the same when the 

 sleep is deep as when it is light ; the difference must lie in 

 a judgment on the part of the apparently slumbering mind 

 that they are not worth noticing. 



This discrimination is equally shown by nurses of the 

 sick and mothers of infants, who will sleep through much 

 noise of an irrelevant sort, but waken at the slightest stir- 

 ring of the patient or the babe. This last fact shows the 

 sense-organ to be pervious for sounds. 



Many people have a remarkable faculty of registering 

 when asleep the flight of time. The}' will habitually Avake 

 up at the same minute day after day, or will wake punctu- 

 ally at an unusual hour determined upon overnight. How 

 can this knowledge of the hour (more accurate often than 

 anything the waking consciousness shows) be possible 

 without mental activity during the interval ? 



Such are what we may call the classical reasons for ad- 

 mitting that the mind is active even when the person after- 

 wards ignores the fact.f Of late years, or rather, one may 



* That the appe.irance of mental activity here is real cau be proved by 

 suggesting to the ' hypnotized ' somnambulist that he shall remember when 

 he awakes. He will then often do so. 



f For more details, cf. JMalebranche, Reoh. de la Verite, bk in. rhnp. 

 I , J. Locke, Essay cone. H. U., book ii. ch. i; C. Wolf, Psychol. 



