SMEr AND DREAMS. 



78 



l,lu^ hi-oiikfast. tablo what thoy have droamt of, tlioy answer, 

 " NoUiinp;." Tills is not so often the case if wo try to 

 I'cmombor the moment we wake what we liave dreamt of ; 

 but even then it often requires an oifort of memory to recall 

 the dreams. .'By some train of association of ideas, many 

 people do not remember the dreams of one night until they 

 are on the point of going to sloop the next, when they sud- 

 denly come back to tlio mind ; and sometimes trifling inci- 

 dents in the daytime recall forgotten dreams. M. Mauray, 

 in his work, " Lo Sommeil et les Roves," discusses the 

 question wliy some dreams are remombei'ed, others not, and 

 suggests thii-t those occurring just before waking, and par- 

 tially mixed with consciousness, are those fixed on the mind. 

 But thor(! is no proof of this ; and, indeed, there is no more 

 reiiKon why we should remember all our night th(nights than 

 all our day ones. It is difficult to ascei'tain, therefore, to 

 what extent sleep is di'oamloss; but on theoretical considera- 

 tions, I think it is very ivai/ely, if ever so. It is not likely 

 that the functions of the brain should be in complete abey- 

 ance ; and we know that people dream without any memory 

 of having done so, as in chlorofoi'm and nitrous oxide sleep, 

 ill which they talk, gesticulate, laugh, swear, sing, and 

 behave in a manner which clearly proves their thoughts 

 are active enough, but when they como to themselves they 

 are geniiriiHy oblivious of it. 1 think, therefore, in ordinary 

 sleep dreams are the rule and not the exception ; but, as I 

 liave said, it is a difficult point to settle. People do not 

 care to bo experimented on either. If you creep into 

 your friend's bedroom at four a.m., and suddenly wake 

 him with the (piestion, "What are you dreaming about?" 

 ho is generally rude ctiough to tell you to go — elsewhere; 

 iMid, moreover, there is a, souT'ce of fallacy in this experi- 

 mental nuithod, which T sliuH mention du'cctly. That the 



