Dreaming
: Miscellaneous.It is a custom among the Canadian Indians, that when one dreams
that another has rendered him any service, the person dreamed of thinks it
a duty to fulfil the dream, if possible. A chief one morning came to the
governor, Sir William Johnstone, and told him that he had last night
dreamed that Sir William had made him a present of the suit of regimentals
he wore. The governor readily presented them to him; but as the Indian was
about you last night; I dreamed that you gave me such a piece of land,"
describing a large tract. "You shall have it," said he, "but if you please,
Sir William, we will _not dream any more_."
Lessing was remarkable for a frequent absence of mind. Having missed money
at different times, without being able to discover who took it, he
determined to put the honesty of his servant to a trial, and left a handful
of gold on the table. "Of course you counted it?" said one of his friends.
"Count it!" said Leasing, rather embarrassed; "no, I forgot that."
At a public sale, there was a book which Lessing was very desirous of
possessing. He gave three of his friends at different times a commission to
buy it at any price. They accordingly bid against each other till they had
got as far as ninety crowns, there having been no other bidder after it had
reached ten crowns. Happily one of them thought it best to speak to the
others; when it appeared they had all been bidding for Lessing, whose
forgetfulness in this instance cost him eighty crowns.
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