There are many drugs, as opium, cocain, cannabis in-dica, the coal tar products, alcohol, which may have an influence upon dreams. Much depends, however, upon the physiological action of the drug taken, the amount used, the idiosyncrasies of the individual, the mentality. Some drugs are excitants of the brain, others are de-pressants; some quiet certain persons and stimulate others. Again, drugs which promote sleep are often followed by no remembrance of dreams; the sleep is said to be dreamless. Should drugs be taken over long periods, the harmonious action of body and mind may become disordered, and thus dreams marked by confusion, weirdness, and pain, as well as unrefreshing sleep, may follow.

Drugs as opium and cocain, when taken in medicinal doses, produce a sense of well being and comfort and so tend to promote pleasurable fancies; usually when taken in doses sufficient to cause sleep dreams are not remembered. Many persons are much distressed by these drugs; and others, in place of awaking refreshed, awake tired and dimly conscious of disturbing dreams.

As has been stated in another place, it is a common belief that the opium and cocain addict has pleasant dreams; however, many of them say they do not dream, and others do not note that their dreams are especially of a desirable kind.

The most famous record of the influence of opium on dreams is that of De Quincey, as found in his well known Confessions of an English Opium-eater. Among the important points to be gathered from his experiences is the tendency of the dreams to depict minutely forgotten incidents of childhood, also of adult life. The sense of time seemed great; he often felt as if he lived from 70 to 100 years in one night. The scenery was of amazing proportions. His dreams were, as a rule, gloomy; every night he seemed to descend into chasms and abysses, from which it appeared impossible to escape. The melancholy of the dream persisted into waking life, and amounted almost to suicidal despondency.

Cannabis indica, also known as hashish, bhang, ganja, etc., is a plant which is habitually used by one or two hundred millions of people, chiefly in Asiatic countries and in Africa; it is sometimes smoked, alone or mixed with tobacco, and is also used in the form of a confection.

The action of the drug is variable; some persons seem to be unaffected by it. Usually, in small doses, it causes a sense of exhilaration, the individual passing soon into a state of semi-consciousness. The thoughts, which are dreamy, are not under control, and the attention is distracted by ideas which force themselves into the mind and which form fantastic combinations with one another. The mind exaggerates everything; slight emotions are often greatly transformed; thus, slight dislike may become intense anger. Among peculiar effects are disturbances of the sense of time and space. Minutes seem hours, hours years; the past and the present are fused, and so seem as one. A friend of the writer who, with others, took small amounts of the drug experimentally, stated that when he attempted to go home afterwards it seemed as if he would never arrive there; his movements seemed to accomplish so very little. One of his friends hired a cab when within a half a block of his house.

The nature of the ideas in the mind during the state of dreamy, semi-consciousness varies. In the peoples of the East they seem to be of an amorous nature; the true believer thinks that he is in paradise, and surrounded by maidens of great beauty. The more impassive European feels happy, but pleasant thoughts of a general nature may be succeeded by a sense of imminent danger. Consciousness is not lost entirely, for the person feels that his thoughts are unreal, and his actions ridiculous. Following the period of fantasia, there occurs a tranquil sleep as a rule, unmarked by any particular fancies.

It should be needless to state that this drug is habit-forming. While the Eastern peoples may use it habitually in small quantities without much apparent harm it is generally as detrimental as morphine to others.

The effect of alcohol on dreams also varies with the individual, and with the amount taken. In moderate amounts it tends to produce a sense of satisfaction, hence no unpleasant dreams. In larger amounts it may arouse sensual fancies. As is well known, chronic alcoholics often are tortured by terrifying imaginings, as of snakes, and animals of one sort or another. This occurs chiefly with animals, though whispering voices are often complained of. Doubtless few of us care to undergo the experiences of a person in the throes of delirium tremens, in spite of one alcoholic's contention that: "You haven't been anywhere, and you haven't seen anything unless you've had the snakes."

Dreams of the Feeble-Minded

The feeble-minded are those persons who suffer an arrest of cerebral development which limits their intelligence to that of children between the sixth month and the thirteenth chronological year. Their bodies grow normally, and far from being crassly physically blemished, many are very attractive and possessed of a superficial brightness apt to deceive all but an expert. We can best understand them by considering them as children with the bodies of adults.

Some time ago, while connected with an Eastern institution for the feeble-minded, the writer made a study of the dream life of these unfortunates; the study has been reported in greater detail in another place.1 Briefly, the investigation showed that the dreams of mental defectives are not particularly rich nor vivid; in fact they seem to be less vivid than the dreams of normal children. That such should be the case is only natural when we consider their mental status. Having a very poor imagination, comprehension, insight; often unable to read and write; and unable to understand the significance of such stories as are told the average child, the amount of material at the disposal of the dream is quite limited.

As a rule simple wish dreams were most frequent.

1 Medical Record, New York, March 6, 1020.

Such dreams were of being at home, of working in a good family, of having pretty clothes, good things to eat, good times. These simple dreams were common in persons aged thirty and more chronologically.

Dreams concerned with the events of the previous twenty-four hours were next in frequency. These dealt with the occupation of the dreamer, the games indulged in, incidents of the day, etc.

So-called bad dreams were rare. When these occurred they could usually be traced to actual occurrences in the past. Being chased by dogs, animals, or tramps was the most common type of bad dream. Ghosts, elves and the like were rare.

Talking in sleep was very common; about eight per cent, talked in sleep habitually. The talking usually occurred a few hours after going to sleep and lasted anywhere from five to twenty minutes. About ten per cent, suffered from enuresis, though the relation of such to dreams could not be brought out. Nightmare, night terrors, sleep walking were very infrequent. Considering that the feeble-minded are of inferior nervous makeup, we should expect that such disorders of sleep should be common among them if such disorders are attributable solely or mainly to "nervousness"; however, we can explain this by emphasizing the feeble-minded's lack of impressionability, their feeble imaginations, and their comparative freedom from such mental conflicts and repressions as not infrequently disturb those of normal nervous systems.

Among the defectives studied were a number of epileptics. Their dreams did not show any marked difference from those of the others. An effort was made to ascertain if the convulsions figured in the dreams; as a rule, the answers were in the negative. Some observers have found that there is a noticeable religious fervour in epileptics, particularly at times of seizures. Boven found that the subjects of their dreams were frequently God, as a Judge, and a sense of fear, sin, and punishment.