Note 9 — IV.—PORTENTS OR OMENS, AUGURIES, LUCKY NUMBERS AND DREAMS.

Dreams have ever played an important part in the psychological history of the human race, and the belief in their portentous nature is possibly the only superstition common to all mankind. As Dr. Kitto (Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, Art. Dreams) well observes:—“It is quite clear from the inspired history that dreams were looked upon by the earliest nations of antiquity as premonitions from their idol gods of future events; … and in order to guard against imposition Moses pronounced a penalty against dreams which were invented and wickedly made use of.” It is almost unnecessary to make reference to the belief reposed in these alleged warnings from another world by Western nations. The story of Mahomed’s dream is known to all; and I will merely add that both the Negro and Fijian races believe them to be caused by visits of the souls of deceased friends, while such widely divergent races as the Finns and the Australian Aborigines entertain a contrary belief that the soul of the dreamer leaves his body as it enjoys or suffers imaginary pleasures or pains.9 The Chinese refer all dreams to the inspiration of a god or goddess, but frequently use the divining bamboos to ascertain how they are to be interpreted. Many of the principal temples in the empire owe their construction to imaginary instructions received during sleep. A recent visitor to the city of Tai An, situated at the foot of the Tai San mountains in Shantung—one of the five sacred mountains of China—thus gives the local legend: “The common account is, that Chin Tsung, the third Emperor of Tʻang Dynasty, was afflicted with a grevious boil, which the Imperial physicians could not cure. There was a Taouist Priest at Tai San called Yen He, who declared that the Goddess of the mountain had appeared to him in a dream and directed him to go to the capital and cure this boil for the Emperor, at the same time directing him how to proceed. He went accordingly, and gave out that he had come to cure the Emperor’s boil. The Emperor hearing of it, called him in. As soon as he entered the Imperial presence, the boil called out, ‘Yen He has come and my destiny is finished;’ the Priest prescribed treatment, and the boil was cured. The Emperor wished to reward him with an office, but he refused, saying ‘Your Majesty has not been cured by my power, but by the efficient power of the God of Tai San; you should show your gratitude by repairing the temple at Tai San.’ The Emperor assented, made a large appropriation, and appointed an officer to have it rebuilt in magnificent style.” I might multiply examples of this sort ad libitum. The memorials in the Peking Gazette abound with references to acts done, or crimes discovered in consequence of dreams. Mr. Doolittle notes how dreaming has been pressed into the service of Buddhism at Foochow by way of enforcing the prohibition against eating flesh. “A certain butcher one day bought three buffaloes one of which he killed. One night he began suddenly to bellow like cattle, and for a whole day remained insensible. His family in alarm called a doctor, who prescribed medicine to revive him. His family, on his recovering his senses, inquired what was the occasion of his acting thus? He answered that he saw in his dream the two buffaloes not yet killed suddenly begin to speak like men; one of them said: ‘I am your father;’ and the other said: ‘I am your grand-father.’ In a short time they became in appearance like men, and on looking carefully at them, said he, ‘I saw that they were really my father and my grandfather.’ The butcher was so painfully affected by these circumstances that he sent the two cattle away to the country, and changed his calling.”