Now, Blunt revered, adored, and worshiped this _Bonaparte Dream Book_ of his; and was fully persuaded that between those red covers, and in his own dreams, lay all the secrets of futurity. Every morning before taking his pills, and applying his hair-oils, he would steal out of his bunk before the rest of the watch were awake; take out his pamphlet, and a bit of chalk; and then straddling his chest, begin scratching his oily head to remember his fugitive dreams; marking down strokes on his chest-lid, as if he were casting up his daily accounts.
Though often perplexed and lost in mazes concerning the cabalistic figures in the book, and the chapter of directions to beginners; for he could with difficulty read at all; yet, in the end, if not interrupted, he somehow managed to arrive at a conclusion satisfactory to him. So that, as he generally wore a good-humored expression, no doubt he must have thought, that all his future affairs were working together for the best.
But one night he started us all up in a fright, by springing from his bunk, his eyes ready to start out of his head, and crying, in a husky voice—“Boys! boys! get the benches ready! Quick, quick!”
“What benches?” growled Max—“What’s the matter?”
“Benches! benches!” screamed Blunt, without heeding him, “cut down the forests, bear a hand, boys; the Day of Judgment’s coming!”
But the next moment, he got quietly into his bunk, and laid still, muttering to himself, he had only been rambling in his sleep.
I did not know exactly what he had meant by his _benches;_ till, shortly after, I overheard two of the sailors debating, whether mankind would stand or sit at the Last Day.
This Dream Book of Blunt’s reminds me of a narrow escape we had, early one morning.
It was the larboard watch’s turn to remain below from midnight till four o’clock; and having turned in and slept, Blunt suddenly turned out again about three o’clock, with a wonderful dream in his head; which he was desirous of at once having interpreted.
So he goes to his chest, gets out his tools, and falls to ciphering on the lid. When, all at once, a terrible cry was heard, that routed him and all the rest of us up, and sent the whole ship’s company flying on deck in the dark. We did not know what it was; but somehow, among sailors at sea, they seem to know when real danger of any land is at hand, even in their sleep.