Saint Austin, to whom even, besides his sanctity, we owe an entire credit, tells among others, two very wonderful dreams.  The first is, when a person was arrested by one, as for a certain sum of money, which his father had owed him by a note under his own hand, while he led a lewd debauched life, saw the ghost of his father one night, upon this very account, which told him of the money being paid, and where the acquittance lay.  When he got up in the morning, he went and found the acquittance in that very place that his father’s ghost had directed him to, and so was freed from the litigious suit of one that made unjust demands upon him.

      “Alterum adhuc magis mirum”.

“Praestantius, vir quidam a Philosopho petierat dubitationem quandam solvi; quod ille pernegavit.  Nocte sequente, tametsi vigilaret Prsestantius, vidit sibi Philosophum assistere, ac dubitationem solvere, moxque abire.  Cum die sequenti obviam Praestantius eundem habuisset Philosophum, rogat, Cur cum pridie rogatus nolluisset solvere illam questionem, intempesta nocte, non rogatus, & venisset ad se & dubitationem aperuisset.  Cui Philosophus.  Non quidem ego adveni sed somnians visus sum tibi hoc Officium praestare.”

      The other is much more wonderful still.

A certain gentleman named Praestantius, had been entreating a Philosopher to solve him a doubt, which he absolutely refused to do.  The night following, although Praestantius was broad awake, he saw the Philosopher standing full before him, who just explained his doubts to him, and went away the moment after he had done.  When Praestantius met the Philosopher the next day, he asks him why, since no entreaties could prevail with him the day before, to answer his question, he came to him unasked, and at an unseasonable time of night, and opened every point to his satisfaction.  To whom thus the Philosopher. " Upon my word it was not me that came to you; but in a dream I thought my own self that I was doing you such a service.”

The plague raging in the army of the Emperor Charles V. he dreamt that the decoction of the root of the dwarf-thistle (a mountain plant since called the Caroline thistle) would cure that disease.  See Gerrard’s Herbal, who tells us this.

In Queen Mary’s time, there was only one congregation of Protestants in London, to the number of about three- hundred, one was the deacon to them, and kept the list of their names:  one of that congregation did dream, that a messenger, (Queen’s Officer) had seized on this deacon, and taken his list; the fright of the dream awaked him:  he fell asleep and dreamt the same perfect dream again.  In the morning before he went out of his chamber, the deacon came to him and then he told him his dream, and said, ’twas a warning from God; the deacon slighted his advice, as savouring of superstition; but —–­ was so urgent with him that he prevailed with him to deposite the list in some other hand, which he did that day.  The next day, the Queen’s officer attacked him, and searched (in vain) for the list, which had it been found, would have brought them all to the flame.  Foxe’s Martyrology.