"When heavy sleep has closed the sight,
And sickly fancy labours in the night,
We seem to run, and, destitute of force,
Our sinking limbs forsake us in the course;
In vain we heave for breath--_in vain we cry_--
_The nerves unbraced, their usual strength deny,
And on the tongue the flattering accents die_."
Now this man seems to have had the use not only of his limbs, but of his
faculty of speech, while dreaming; and it was not till after he awoke
that he felt the oppression Dryden describes; for it is stated, that
when he awoke he had no distinct recollection of his dream, but only a
confused feeling of oppression and fatigue, and used to tell his
companions that he was sure they had been playing some trick upon him.