Such are the principal phenomena of dreams; and from them it will naturally be deduced, that dreaming may occur under a great variety of circumstances; that it may result from the actual state of the body, or mind previous to falling asleep; or exist as a train of emotions which can be referred to no apparent external cause. The forms it assumes are also as various as the causes giving

beneath flowers; his smiles and echoing laughter, masking (yet hardly meant to mask) his foul treachery of heart; his hideous and tumultuous dreams; his baffled sleep, and his sleepless nights, compose the picture of an Eschylus. What a master's sketch lies in those few lines:- Incitabatur insomnio maxime; neque enim plus tribus horis nocturnis quiescebat; ac ne his placidâ quiete, at pavidâ miris rerum imaginibus: ut qui inter ceteras pelagi quondam speciem colloquentem secum videre visus sit. Ideoque magna parte noctis, vigiliæ cubandique tædio, nunc toro residens, nunc per longissimas porticus vagus, invocare identidem atque exspectare lucem consueverat ;'-i. e. But above all, he was tormented with nervous irritation, by sleeplessness; for he enjoyed not more than three hours of nocturnal repose; nor even these in pure, untroubled rest, but agitated by phantasmata of portentous augury; as, for example, upon one occasion he fancied that he saw the sea, under some definite impersonation, conversing with himself. Hence it was, and from this incapacity of sleeping, and from weariness of lying awake, that he had fallen into habits of ranging all the night long through the palace, sometimes throwing himself on a couch, sometimes wandering along the vast corridors-watching for the earliest dawn, and anxiously invoking its approach."

Blackwood's Magazine, Vol. XXXIII. p. 59.

rise to it, and much more striking in their nature. In dreams, imagination unfolds, most gorgeously, the ample stores of its richly decorated empire; and in proportion to the splendour of that faculty in any individual, are the visions which pass before him in sleep. But even the most dull and passionless, while under the dreaming influence, frequently enjoy a temporary inspira tion their torpid faculties are aroused from the benumbing spell which hung over them in the waking state, and lighted up with the Promethean fire of genius and romance; the prose of their frigid spirits is converted into magnificent poetry; the atmosphere around them peopled with new and unheard-of imagery; and they walk in a region to which the proudest flights of their limited energies could never otherwise have attained.

I shall conclude this chapter with a few words on the management of dreams.

When dreams are of a pleasing character, no one cares any thing about their removal: it is only when they get distressing and threaten to injure the health of the individual, by frequent recurrence, that his becomes an important object. When dreams assume the character of night-mare, they must be managed according to the methods laid down for the

cure of that affection. In all cases, the condition of the digestive organs must be attended to, as any disordered state of these parts is apt to induce visions of a very painful character. For this purpose, mild laxatives may become useful; and if the person is subject to heartburn, he should use a little magnesia, chalk, or carbonate of soda, occasionally. Attention, also, must be paid to the diet; and as suppers, with some people, have a tendency to generate dreams of all kinds, these meals should, in such cases, be carefully avoided. At the same time, great care should be taken not to brood over any subject upon lying down, but to dispel, as soon as possible, all intrusive ideas, especially if they are of a painful nature. If there is any unpleasant circumstance, such as hardness, irregularity, &c., connected with the bed, which tends to affect sleep, and thus induce dreams, it must be removed. Late reading, the use of tea or coffee shortly before going to rest, or any thing which may stimulate the brain, ought likewise to be avoided.

If dreaming seems to arise from any fulness of the system, blooding and low diet will sometimes effect a cure. Mr. Stewart, the celebrated pedestrian traveller, states that he never dreamed when he lived exclusively upon vegetable food. This,

however, may not hold true with every one. "When dreams arise from a diminution of customary stimuli, a light supper, a draught of porter, a glass of wine, or a doze of opium, generally prevent them. Habitual noises, when suspended, should be restored."*

In speaking of dreams representative of danger, I may mention that there are instances of persons, who, having determined to remember that the perils seen in them are fallacious, have actually succeeded in doing so, while asleep; and have thus escaped the terrors which those imaginary dangers would otherwise have produced. Haller relates a case of this kind; and Mr. Dugald Stewart mentions that the plan was successfully adopted by Dr. Reid to get rid of the distress of those fearful visions by which he was frequently annoyed. Whenever, in a dream, the Doctor supposed himself on the brink of a precipice, or any other dangerous situation, it was his custom to throw himself over, and thus destroy the illusion. Dr. Beattie also relates, that at one time he found himself in a dangerous situation upon the parapet of a bridge. Reflecting that he was not subject to pranks of this nature, he began to

*Rush's Medical Inquiries.

fancy that it might be a dream, and determined to pitch himself over, with the conviction that this would restore him to his senses, which accordingly took place.* I could never manage to carry this system into effect in an ordinary dream of terror, but I have sometimes succeeded in doing so during an attack of night-mare; and have thus very materially mitigated the alarm produced by that distressing sensation. This intellectual operation may also be successfully employed to dispel the lowness of spirits under which we often awake from unpleasant visions, by teaching us that the depression we experience is merely the result of some unnatural excitement in the brain. Indeed, all kinds of melancholy, not based upon some obvious foundation, might be mitigated or dispelled altogether, could we only oppose our feelings with the weapons of reason, and see things as they really are, and not as they only seem to be.

• These facts do not controvert what is elsewhere stated of a person never being aware, during the actual process of a dream, that he was dreaming. While the above dreams were in progress, the individuals never doubted that they were dreaming: the doubt, and the actions consequent upon it, were after-operations.