“I supposed yt to have been some noxiall fantasy, As fallyth in dremes, in parties of the nyght, Which cometh of joy or grievous malady; Or of robuste metes which causeth grete myght; Overmoche replet obscuryth the syght Of natural reasonne, and causyth idyll thowght, Makyth the body hevy where hyt was lyght.” And again, in the tale of the “Nonnes Preest:” “Swevenes (dreams) engendren of repletions, And oft of fume and of complexions, When humours ben to habundant in a wight. Of other humours cou’d I telle also, That werken many a man in slepe moch wo,” &c. EV. I sit reproved, fair lady. Herodotus also says, the Atlantes never dream; which Montaigne refers to their never eating anything which has died of itself. And Burton thus sums up his precepts of prevention: “Against fearful and troublesome dreams, incubus, and inconveniences wherewith melancholy men are molested, the best remedy is to eat a light supper and of such meats as are easie of digestion, no hare, venison, beef, &c.; not to lie on his back,” &c. Dryden, to ensure his brilliant visions of poesy, ate raw flesh; and Mrs. Radcliffe, I am told, adopted the same plan. We know that green tea and coffee, if we _do_ sleep, induce dreaming; and Baptista Porta, for procuring quiet rest and pleasing dreams, swallowed _horse-tongue_ after supper. Indigestion, and that condition which is termed a weak or irritable stomach, constitute a most fruitful source of visions. The immediate or direct influence of repletion, in totally altering the sensations and the disposition in waking moments, is a proof of its power to derange the circulation of the brain and the mental faculties in sleep. “Somnus ut sit levis, sit tibi cœna brevis.” The influence of the great sympathetic nerve in this respect is very important. With many persons, a meal is usually followed by feelings of depression, impaired memory, unusual timidity, despondency, and other illusive characteristics of _hysteria_ and _hypochondriasis_. And events will appear of the greatest moment, which, after the lapse of some hours, will be considered mere trifles. So that, after all, there is some truth in the idea of that _archæus_, or great spirit, asserted, by Van Helmont, to sit at the _cardia_ of the stomach, and regulate almost all the other organs. The posture of _supination_ will unavoidably induce that increased flow of blood to the brain which, under certain states of this fluid, is so essential to the production of brilliant waking thoughts; an end, indeed, attained so often by another mode—the swallowing of opium. A gentleman of high attainment was constantly haunted by a spectre when he retired to rest, which seemed to attempt his life. When he raised himself in bed, _the phantom vanished, but reappeared as he resumed the recumbent posture_.