perance, and cheerfulness are the three points || during the day, still have sufficient force to re

on which we ought more particularly to insist as they are the regulators of health the most proper for that kind of sleep which is attended with the best dreams. A repast at all copious ought always to be preceded and followed by ex rcise; the stomach receives from it increased energy, which renders its actions on alimentary substances more efficacious. These, taken in moderate quantity are more easily digested; the body is the lighter, the mind more cheerful, and all the functions are performed in a more agree-juices that may repair the loss of those consumed able manner. Sleep, in this case is natural, seldom disturbed; and the strength is recruited in much less time. It is very different when the state of indolence produced by excessive wealth is accompanied with the inconveniences arising from luxury in food; 'Tis then that the nightmare suddenly oppresses the grand springs of vital operations; a scene of horror is displayed to the soul; the sleeper tumbles from precipice to precipice; he is attacked in the midst of a thick forest by ferocious beasts, or bands of assassins;gested; and we manifest the utmost indifference the infernal spirits appear in every variety of form, and threaten him with their utmost fury.

produce themselves at night under the various forms with which illusion is capable of clothing them.

Having satisfied the three points above mentioned for obtaining sound sleep, it is necessary, in the next place, to turn our attention towards the atmosphere of the place in which we sleep.. The aliment of day is composed of substances, on which the stomach and the intestines operate at certain periods, for the purpose of extracting

It has been observed that since we have begun to dine at the hour when our grandfathers supped, and go to bed at the time when the me. chanic is rising to his daily labour, apoplexies and other lethargic affections are less frequent, from this simple reason, that we give the stomach the necessary time and means to get rid of the weight with which it was overcharged. The pleasures of society keeping people awake after their repast till the approach of day, they are not without their utility, inasmuch as they facilitate the digestion of alimentary substances which they may have taken in too great quantity. Thus the habit of taking no supper has cut the root of many maladies which had been introduced among the great during the last century, by the perfidious art of their cooks.

After temperance and exercise comes cheerfulness, which we consider as the third condition necessary for the end to which I propose to lead such as are desirous of making the most of that nullity into which man is plunged by sleep. Cheerfulness proceeds from that happy mixture in which the elements of life arc combined, in the manner best calculated for forming a series of regular actions, necessary for the proper conversion of the chyle into blood. It animates persons of sanguine constitutions, who have dreams of long continuance, accompanied with a variety of pleasing circumstances, which this happy combination alone can produce. It directs the imagination towards agreeable objects; expanding all the branches of sentiment, it affords access to those which, having delighted them

in the operations of life; but that of every hour, of every minute, is the air, which being received into the lungs is there digested as food is in the stomach, and being reduced to the minutest particles filtres through the pores to the blood, which it proceeds to vivify. We are extremely scrupulous in the choice of the food that covers our tables, on account of the diversity of sensations which it produces on the organ of taste, before it reaches the place where it is to be di

with regard to the other which has no taste.

I would therefore call the attention to this subject, and would advise the reader never to sleep in a confined place, incapable of admitting a current of air, and still less in beds which luxury adorns with costly draperies, calculated rather to gratify the eyes of those who are out of them, than for the health of the persons to whom they are intended to afford a medium of repose. Natural philosophers have remarked that boiling water cannot acquire a greater degree of heat by an ebullition raised to its maximum, as long as the particles in contact with the air find means to escape. The same observation may be made with regard to the putrefaction of living bodies, into which it finds a difficulty to insinuate itself as long as the putrescent particles can be expelled from the domain of life. Nature has provided means of refining, by placing on the surface of the body, and particularly in the lungs, a sieve, the vast extent of which exceeds belief. But if man counteracts his providence, by remaining too long in a close place, the particles of a bad kind which are re-absorbed, vitiate the humours in circulation, and may thus occasion unquiet slumbers, and even pave the way to diseases, the consequences of which may be the most dangerous.

It has been calculated that each person requires four quarts of air in a minute; het ce it is obvious what time would be required to render deletrious the air of a close room, of a given size, like the Black Hole at Calcutta, where so many individuals perished in the most excruciating torment. It is relat d in a bible, but not the Septuagint, that Methusalem was accustomed to

"Arise, Methusalem, arise! build thyself a house, for thou hast only five hundred years to live." But Methusalem, weary of being numbered among the living, replied to the messenger from above" If I have only five hundred years to live, I have no occasion to build a house; 1 shall sleep just as well in the open air, as I have hitherto been accustomed to do."

As stagnated air, saturated with the principles of perspirable matter, is no longer proper for new absorptions, it follows that this matter, with all its deleterious properties, settles upon the skin, and produces in delicate persons an intolerable itching, which wakens them in the midst of the

soundest sleep, the sweets of which they again

vered only with a thin night-cap. As we ought to endeavour to render the circulati n as easy as possible within the head, it ought to be kept at a moderate height; and it is better to sleep on the right side than on the left, for reasons which anatomists alone are capable of understanding.

I have now arrived at the most difficult point of this difficult subject, when quitting sleep I must speak of dreams in such a manner as to perform my task as well as possible.-A dream is a tacit reminiscence of the circumstances that have engaged our attention during the evening, the elements of which scattered in the still unknown regions of the brain, are collected under that form with which the mind pleases to clothe them during sleep. It is an active chain, the links of which, dispersed here and there, want only a power to bring them together, and to unite them in order to produce a continuity of actions. That this business may be performed in a proper manner, the power which collects them should not be disturbed in its operations, and the links to be collected should not meet with any obstacle in their movements; and to this object tend the preliminary precepts which have been

already given. But as the action is wholly in ternal, and the will contributes nothing towards it, we ought to direct our attention towards the place where it operates, for the purpose of enlivening or checking it, as circumstances may re

coun in vain; they turn on this side and on
that, in an atmosphere which cannot fail to be
pernicious. In this case the inconvenience is
speedily removed, by throwing aside the bed
clothes, to give free access to the air, which thenquire.
attracts the perspirable matter from the skin,
which is surcharged with it.

As it is impossible to be too precise in the advice relative to the sleep most proper for procuring agreeable dreams, I shall give the following directions, the efficacy of which, in such cases, has been demonstrated by experience.

1. To take but a light supper, that the actions of life which take place towards the stomach during digestion may be as favourable as possible to those which are passing in the brain at the time of the formation of dreams.

There are persons who seldom dream; without first endeavouring to ascertain whether they are capable of thinking, I will assert that, by studying various constitutions, we soon discover that the phlegmatic and inert texture of their brain is the cause of it. The charms of the evening's conversation with friends in good spirits, especially when accompanied with bumpers of the warm and aromatic liquor, he use of which has been diffused from the shores of the Thames over the rest of Europe, cannot but be very favourable, inasmuch as it produces gentle oscillations in those regions where the operations necessary for the production of dreams take place.

2. To sleep with a light covering, in a spacious place, and on a bed that is rather hard; the observation of this precept is attended with two adThere are others in whom the rarity of dreams vantages; on the one hand, there will be col-proceeds from a contrary defect; the sensitive lected on the skin a less quantity of the excrementitious fluid which is then diffused through the atmosphere; and on the other, the coolness of the air occasions a derivation towards the head, which is the seat of the activity necessary for the production of dreams.

The third rule relates to the position of the head, which should be placed on a bolster that is rather hard, preferably to a soft pillow, which might make it too hot, and it ought to be co

organ in them is too dry, and ill adapted to the soft undulations of memory, a failing which is remedied by various medical applications which increase the radical humidity.

The middle state, in which the fibres possess all the energy necessary for life, is therefore that which ought to be procured by those who wish to have pleasant dreams. Every thing being favourable on the part of the mind as well as the body, if the gentle murmur of a brook, the soft

Those who dream often, know that there is not always a well-marked continuity in the series of ideas which arise; that gusts of perceptions are succeeded by eclipses which are themselves soon followed by emotions more peaceful and more connected. It is those dreams that are the most difficult to be recollected; because several links of the chain being broken, the chasms cannot be filled up by the action of the memory. Dreams once begun continue till the moment when the operation from which they originate has ceased, or when the extent of the space to be traversed stops the communication of the emotions. The sleep then continues as it began, without preception, till a new action takes place and a new dream begins. A spontaneous change in the position of the head, which occasions another in the circulation of the blood towards the in

sound of a flute, the sweet modulations of a fe- || sation, which may be considered as the parent of male voice, the chirping of birds, separately the dream, frequently determines its kind, and shake the medullary texture, the first link of a is sufficient to move by degrees the whole chain, sensation of the same kind that receives activity the continual shaking of which furnishes the illufrom it, will communicate it to the succeeding, sions of the night. and these in their turn will produce a consonance of action in the next, where different sensations have been passing. From the result of all these secondary sensations, kept within the bounds of a just regularity, will arise those agreeable | scenes which constitute the dreams which every one would be desirous of prolonging. If the movements pass on in a rapid manner, and by fits and starts, their result will be perceptions, so much the more disagreeable in proportion as they are discordant. Every dream is therefore a secondary perception, proceeding from the emotion of a region of the brain on which a sensation has previously operated. From this assertion it follows, that to be a great dreamer a person must first have the store-house of the memory well furnished, and long fix his attention on an object capable of powerfully engaging the mind. I appeal to those who, like myself, hav-terior, is sufficient to produce this effect. ing frequently shifted their habitations, have not always lain upon a bed of down, but who, free from care, have been able to recollect a dream which made a deep impression upon them; they will acknowledge that the origin of this dream was very often a lively sensation.

A dream likewise ceases upon awaking when the soul is powerfully affected, as in cases when you dream that you are on the brink of a preci. pice, or imagine yourself in the arms of some dearly beloved object; the shock which is then communicated to the most excitable senses, recalls man to himself, to the sensation of joy or

agreeably affected. The act of awaking dispels dreams, and brings back the diurnal sensations which occupy more advantageously the laboratory where the elements of thought are fashioned during the day.

Being convinced of this truth by experience, I would advise all those who wish to have pleas-grief, according as he has been agreeably or dising dreams, to impress their minds on retiring to rest with some gay and agreeable idea, and to dwell upon it till they fall asleep. If they observe the precautions we have given relative to the position of the body, it is scarcely possible but that the first emotion which generates a dream will relate to that idea or one of its accessories.

As gold increases the number of the means possessed by the rich, I would advise them not to retire to rest withont the soft vibrations of wind-instruments. The history of the happy man of this class will long record that of the Sybarite Beaujeon, who caused himself to be rocked in a hammock by two handsome women, in the midst of an atmosphere proper for regaling his smell, and thus procured nocturnal enjoyments incapable of compensating the loss of those which were denied him by day. But that the last ideas impressed on the sensorium come uppermost in dreams, is what the old women in the country are themselves ready to bear witness; they know that at night when their children have been listening to tales of murder, or the feats of some robber, it seldom happens but that some one of them has a tragical dream. Thus the last sen

Accordingly, with persons of an ardent imagination life is composed of two periods, one of which is occupied by truth, and the other by illusion. Supposing, as M. Formey, a French writer, observes on this subject, that the duration of dreams is equal to that of the night, and that the chain met with no interruption, it might be doubted whether the reality or the illusion were most capable of contributing to our felicity, and we might be led to ask which is the most happy, the Sultan, immersed all day in the delights of his seraglio, and tormented by frightful scenes at night, or the most wretched of his slaves overwhelmed with labour and with blows during the day, but who passes nights of rapture in the company of the Houries?

The above details relative to sleep, the most proper for the formation of dreams, to the origin and the development of the last, and to the manner of rendering them as pleasant as possible, present a doctrine as probable as the obscurity of

ALZADIN:
OR,

THE MAZE OF LIFE EXPLORED. [Continued from Page 76.]

raglio. Alael and Alzadin followed the path of "Nations acknowledged my sway," exclaimed his footsteps: silence hovered around them, and the bursting grief of the monarch," and the the pale beams of meditation softened the spark-whispers of my will were heard with obsequious

ling lustre of their eyes.

|

reverence, as the thunder of heaven when its awful voice proclaims the wrath of God. No lip uttered the words of censure; and the bright stream of praise rolled its tributary waters around the tree of my pride. But now the lord of nations is insulted by the rebellious clamours of ingratitude and treacherous friendship. The dust of humility, warmed with the beams of worn, raised by my protecting hand from the

The blushing flowers of spring shook their youthful heads in the breeze of morn, and spread their wild luxuriance of beauty over the thickening verdure that clothed the lawns, while their dewy breath perfumed the gale, and ravished the senses of man. The eyes of majesty alone wandered unmoved amid the living treasures of nature. In vain the rose, the love of the bard of the night, whose charms inspired the nightin-wealth, and fed with the luxuriant foliage of gale's melting lays, unfolded her virgin bosom, her timid blush awoke no glance of admiration in the monarch's eye. But thou, Alzadin! thy heart kindled with delight, and in the timid blushing flower that concealed her brow amidst the thorn, thy ardent imagination beheld the youthful virgin of thy love, the fairest of Georgian maids, the blooming Zalmaida, clinging to her mother's breast, and hiding in her clasping arms the lively glow that betrayed the emotions of her soul, when thy lips pronounced the oath of eternal love! and where, Alzadin, does the maid pour the dew of grief, and mourn for thy absence? What vale resounds with thy name beloved? What hill lifts her above the clouds of heaven to watch thy returning footsteps?

But hark! is it the voice of the genius of the grove that moans at the dark gathering of a storm? plaintive flows the murmuring sound; it is like the melancholy strains that saddened the radiant seraphim of heaven, when the angel of power drunk with the wine of pride and disobedience, rebellious Eblis, fell precipitate from the throne of the only one, for ever banished from the blissful plains of paradise, and bent under the weight of Almighty wrath.

The mournful sound arose from the shady bosom of a bower that crowned the swelling brow of a neighbouring hill. Alzadin heard it as the voice of times that are past, when it sighs on the soul of the lonely son of prayer, and awakes the slumbering eyes of memory. Wild were the emotions of his heart, the light of expectation flashed from every glance, when he rushed towards the bower of complaint; but the commanding voice of the Sultaun repressed the rapidity of his steps, and obedience checked the burning ardour of the youth,

pleasure, now refuses to spin the silken cord of happiness for his imploring monarch. As the bird of spring, whose strains of harmony hail the first sunbeams of a cloudless sky, but trembling expire on the swelling blasts of an approaching torm, the deceitful seducer of my bosom happiness looked down upon me from her cepoured the song of gladness, while the star of lestial path; but when the lightening of desire flashed across my soul, and the gloom of disappointment lowered upon my eyelids, he shrunk back with silent terror, and denied the boon of felicity which his hand could bestow, or the arm of my power tear from his rebellious grasp."

"I hear the groaning voice of complaint," exclaimed Alael, "it floats on the sighing gale that waves the yielding boughs of the bower of the hill. Thy heart, O Sultaun! is not the only dwelling of woe; the bosom of man is always open to the unwelcome guest; but virtue can turn the frowns of his rigid brow into the peaceful smiles of patience and resignation. Listen to the melancholy sound of thy brother's grief, it will soothe thy pangs, and breathe tranquillity into thy troubled soul. It will be soft and pleasant as the voice of man to the wanderer of the

seas, when his ship has sunk beneath the storm of night, and buffeting the roaring anger of the waves, he feels the rising shores of lands unknown, hears the well known call of his friend, sole companion of his unexpected escape, and learns that Heaven has not left him solitary on the rocks of darkness, fear, and desolation,

[To be continued.]