The Dream-God, or, A Singular Evolvement of Thought in Sleep

Chapter 3: A REMARKABLE DREAM.

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About This Book

A man, under morphine, experiences a vivid dream in which a winged spirit identifies itself as the Spirit of Morphine and carries his disembodied consciousness on aerial voyages across seas and polar skies. He observes cities by night, the aurora, a polar aperture revealing subterranean fire, maelstroms and northern lands, and then visits royal courts and glittering social scenes where political and philosophical ideas are discussed. The narrative alternates travel impressions, exotic landscapes, encounters with varied peoples and rulers, and reflective commentary on life, government, and the mysterious powers of sleep and drug-induced vision.

A SINGULAR EVOLVEMENT OF
THOUGHT IN SLEEP.

A REMARKABLE DREAM.

The peculiar and startling effect of morphine on a person unaccustomed to its administration, was happily illustrated in the instance of a gentleman to whom, under its influence, (about three eighths of a grain,) the dream to be related occurred. This individual, (a South Carolinian resident on a plantation,) a few years ago, had lately received a severe and extensive burn, which confined him to his bed six months. An allusion by him in a casual conversation in the city of New York recently to the eventful dream and its circumstances, brought out a solicitation to him to write its narrative, which in substance he here gives.

One evening in midwinter, a few weeks after the accident, the almost exhausted sufferer, having taken the prescribed nightly dose of morphine, fell asleep.