The Dream-God, or, A Singular Evolvement of Thought in Sleep

A SINGULAR EVOLVEMENT OF THOUGHT IN SLEEP.
BY JOHN CUNINGHAM.
NEW YORK: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY ANDERSON & RAMSAY. 28 Frankfort Street.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, by JOHN CUNINGHAM, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
Although requested by a number of you at various times to write this condensed narrative of an event in my life, associated with much misfortune, sadness and suffering which have continued for some years, it was not until during a lonely period of quietude at Brooklyn, N. Y., in the summer of 1872, that I made the effort. I do not expect the public to give much credence or interest to the matter, but to you who know me I can trustingly give the assurance that this little book is an unaffected and truthful production. It is published as an affectionate memorial to you of mutual esteem and friendship.
JOHN CUNINGHAM, of So. Ca.
April, 1873.
A SINGULAR EVOLVEMENT OF THOUGHT IN SLEEP.
The peculiar and startling effect of morphine on a person unaccustomed to its administration, was happily illustrated in the instance of a gentleman to whom, under its influence, (about three eighths of a grain,) the dream to be related occurred. This individual, (a South Carolinian resident on a plantation,) a few years ago, had lately received a severe and extensive burn, which confined him to his bed six months. An allusion by him in a casual conversation in the city of New York recently to the eventful dream and its circumstances, brought out a solicitation to him to write its narrative, which in substance he here gives.
One evening in midwinter, a few weeks after the accident, the almost exhausted sufferer, having taken the prescribed nightly dose of morphine, fell asleep.
THE DREAM-GOD.
The sleep was serene, the mind active, and the dream promptly and vividly supervened. A being in the form of a handsome and matured man, full of esprit , in a white and easy-fitting garment, with bright, broad and sweeping wings coming out from each side of his back below the shoulders, appeared to the patient at his bedside, and announced to him that he was the Spirit of Morphine, of a heavenly and immortal nature, and that he had come to carry him on an aerial voyage over many parts of the world; to show him many attractive regions and things, to introduce him to various races, royal personages, distinguished celebrities, etc.