Folk-Lore of West and Mid-WalesDavies, Jonathan Ceredig
History
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig
Folklore -- Wales; Wales -- Social life and customs
A dream was a common way of making known the will of God to the
prophets of old. We know from the Bible that important dreams took
place in the early ages of the world, and Welsh people, like other
nations, believe in the importance of these mysterious night visions,
and of their power of forecasting the future, and there are both
men and women all over the country who can give instances of dreams
which came true. There are, undoubtedly, some persons whose dreams,
as a rule, are reliable; whilst the dreams of others are not to be
depended on. It is also said that morning twilight dreams are more
reliable than other dreams; and it is believed that a dream which is
repeated is more to be relied on than that which occurs only once. I
have had most striking dreams myself; indeed almost everything that
happens to me has been presaged by a dream. About nine years ago
I dreamed that I was delivering a lecture to a large audience, and
speaking most fluently. On awaking, I had a distinct recollection of
every word I had uttered; and I am now very sorry that I did not write
down next morning the lecture which I had delivered in my dream. The
most remarkable fact is this: Previous to my dream I had no knowledge
whatever of the subject on which I lectured, as I had never studied
the subject in my life, and as a psychological curiosity I may mention
that by means of my dream I had become possessed of knowledge on a
particular subject which would have taken me at least a whole month's
hard study to acquire. (I am, of course, used to public speaking).
I have taken notes of few of my latest dreams, and perhaps it would
not be out of place to record here a remarkable dream which I dreamt
just before this book was going to press:
One night in January, 1910, I dreamed that I was walking near
St. Bride's, the country seat of Lord Kensington, in Pembrokeshire,
and I met Lord Kensington himself, who spoke to me thus: "Go into
the house, Lady Kensington is home, and I'll be with you in a few
minutes." Then I went to the door and rang the bell, and the butler
took me into the drawing-room. After waiting in the room alone for
some time without seeing anyone, all the household servants came
to me in a group, dressed in their holiday attire, and informed me
that Lady Kensington was not home after all, but that her Ladyship
had gone away and had got lost somewhere in going about, and that
Lord Kensington was seeking in vain for her everywhere, but failing
to find her anywhere. When I awoke from my dream I felt certain that
something had happened to one of the Kensingtons. A day or two after
my dream I was surprised to read in the papers that a cable-gram was
received in London from Calcutta, announcing the death of Dowager
Lady Kensington in India. I discovered that her death took place
on the very date of my dream, and that a few days previously Lord
Kensington had hurriedly left for India, having received news of the
Dowager's serious condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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