y of
embellishment.

Gassendi, in the Life of M. Peiresch, relates that M. Peiresch, going
one day to Nismes, with one of his friends, named M. Rainier, the
latter, having heard Peiresch talking in his sleep in the night, waked
him, and asked him what he said. Peiresch answered him, "I dreamed
that, being at Nismes, a jeweler had offered me a medal of Julius
Caesar, for which he asked four crowns, and as I was going to count him
down his money, you waked me, to my great regret." They arrived at
Nismes, and going about the town, Peiresch recognized the goldsmith
whom he had seen in his dream; and on his asking him if he had nothing
curious, the goldsmith told him he had a gold medal, or coin, of
Julius Caesar. Peiresch asked him how much he esteemed it worth; he
replied, four crowns. Peiresch paid them, and was delighted to see his
dream so happily accomplished.

Here is a dream much more singular than the preceding, although a
little in the same style.[289] A learned man of Dijon, after having
wearied himself all day with an important passage in a Greek poet,
without being able to comprehend it at all, went to bed thinking of
this difficulty. During his sleep, his genius transported him in
spirit to Stockholm, introduced him into the palace of Queen
Christina, conducted him into the library, and showed him a small
volume, which was precisely what he sought. He opened it, read in it
ten or twelve Greek verses, which absolutely cleared up the difficulty
which had so long beset him; he awoke, and wrote down the verses he
had seen at Stockholm. On the morrow, he wrote to M. Descartes, who
was then in Sweden, and begged of him to look in such a place, and in
such a _division_ of the library, if the book, of which he sent him
the description, were there, and if the Greek verses which he sent him
were to be read in it.

M. Descartes replied that he had found the book in question; and also
the verses he had sent were in the place he pointed out; that one of
his friends had promised him a copy of that work, and he would send it
him by the first opportunity.

We have already said something of the spirit, or familiar genius of
Socrates, which prevented him from doing certain things, but did not
lead him to do others. It is asserted[290] that, after the defeat of
the Athenian army, commanded by Laches, Socrates, flying like the
others, with this Athenian general, and being arrived at a spot where
several roads met, Socrates w