Few people remember dreams to the same extent as Bishop Walsham
How. It was a very usual thing at breakfast for him to tell
some absurd dream that he had had, the remembrance of which
often amused him so much as to greatly hinder its recital. In
his note-book he has recorded two, one of his own, and one of
Bishop Jackson's (of London).
A Dream of Red Tape.--A clergyman is often rather beset with forms to
fill up. Probably in consequence of this I dreamt one night that I was
walking through a street with a lady, and, it having been raining, there
were many puddles. I stopped and said I had got some new forms in my
pocket which would be most useful. I then pulled out a large roll of
forms, printed as follows: "Madam, allow me to have the honour of
assisting you to----over this----." There was a line below for a
signature. I explained that you had only to fill up the first space with
"step" or "jump," and the second with "puddle" or "pool," according to
size, sign your name at the bottom and the thing was done.
This is a comparatively recent entry in the note-book, but the
dream occurred many years ago. Those who remember the Bishop
telling it in old days will not have forgotten that he used to
say that he dreamt it after spending a long day signing his name
at the Oswestry Savings' Bank of which he was a trustee.
Bishop Jackson's dream was as follows:
The Bishop of London, at the time of one of the great gatherings of
Sunday school children in St. Paul's Cathedral, dreamt that he was
there, and heard them singing a hymn, one verse of which was as follows:
To our Churchwardens we will tell
The wonders of this day,
And eke to them will take the bill
Of what they have to pay.