ON THE INCUBUS, OR NIGHT-MARE.
J. M‘Creery, Printer,
Black Horse Court, London.
A
TREATISE
ON
THE INCUBUS,
OR
Night-Mare,
DISTURBED SLEEP, TERRIFIC DREAMS,
AND
NOCTURNAL VISIONS.
WITH THE MEANS OF REMOVING THESE DISTRESSING
COMPLAINTS.
By JOHN WALLER,
SURGEON OF THE ROYAL NAVY.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR E. COX AND SON, ST. THOMAS’S STREET,
BOROUGH.
1816.
INTRODUCTION.
The enjoyment of comfortable and undisturbed sleep, is certainly to beranked amongst the greatest blessings which heaven has bestowed onmankind; and it may be considered as one of the best criterions of aperson enjoying perfect health. On the contrary, any disturbance whichoccurs in the enjoyment of this invaluable blessing, may be considered adecisive proof of some derangement existing in the animal economy, and aconsequent deviation from the standard of health. Indeed it is astonishing[Pg 2]how slight a deviation from that standard may be perceived, by payingattention to the circumstance of our sleep and dreams. This may be moreclearly demonstrated by attending carefully to the state of persons on theapproach of any epidemic fever or other epidemic disease, and indeed ofevery kind of fever, as I have repeatedly witnessed; when no other signsof a deviation from health could be perceived, the patient has complainedof disturbed rest and frightful dreams, with Night-Mare, &c. Hence thedread which the vulgar, in all ages and countries, have had of what theycall bad dreams; experience having proved to them, that persons,previously to being attacked with some serious or fatal malady, had beenvisited with these kind of dreams. For this reason they always dread some[Pg 3]impending calamity either to themselves or others, whenever they occur;and, so far as relates to themselves, often not without reason. Frightfuldreams, however, though frequently the forerunners of dangerous and fataldiseases, will yet often occur when the disturbance of the system iscomparatively trifling, as they will generally be found to accompany everyderangement of the digestive organs, particularly of the stomach, of thesuperior portion of the intestinal canal, and of the biliary system.Children, whose digestive organs are peculiarly liable to derangement, arealso very frequently the subjects of frightful dreams, and partialNight-Mares; which are frequently distressing enough to them. They arestill more so to grown up people, as they generally arise from a more[Pg 4]serious derangement of the system. Those who are subject to them willagree with me in opinion, that they are by no means to be ranked amongstthe lesser calamities to which our nature is liable.
There are many persons in the world to whom it is no uncommon occurrence,to rise from their be