Erratic as the vacillating wind,

Are the mysterious wanderings of the mind.

When reason lays her golden veil aside,

What vagaries and aberrations glide

Through the disordered precincts of the brain!

What phantoms rise and disappear again!

What curious blendings of reality

And fact, with wildest flights of phantasy!

The flickerings of reason's feeble light

And relaxation into mental night,