Historical dream account · English · original historical text
A guest at Father Hull’s house
Samuel Sewall (1652–1730)
Diary of Samuel Sewall, vol. I (1674–1700), in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. V, fifth series, second edition (1878) · Diary, printed p. 115
Dreamer identified by the source: Samuel Sewall
Read in your language or share a constellation ↗
Last night had a very unusual Dream; viz. That our Saviour in the dayes of his Flesh when upon Earth, came to Boston and abode here sometime, and moreover that He Lodged in that time at Father Hull's; upon which in my Dream had two Reflections, One was how much more Boston had to say than Rome boasting of Peter's being there. The other a sense of great Respect that I ought to have shewed Father Hull since Christ chose when in Town, to take up His Quarters at his House. Admired the goodness and Wisdom of Christ in coming hither and spending some part of His short Life here. The Chronological absurdity never came into my mind, as I remember.
The 2 January entry under the printed dual year 1685/6; the original calendar is retained.
Source & context
A complete firsthand report within the January 2 entry, printed under the dual year 1685/6. Sewall's own statement that the dream's chronological absurdity never occurred to him is preserved. This is a dream of Christ visiting Boston, not evidence of such a historical visit. The following January 1 Bible-reading sentence is waking context and is excluded. No modern date conversion is supplied.
Samuel Sewall (1652–1730), own diary, Diary of Samuel Sewall, vol. I (1674–1700), in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. V, fifth series, second edition (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1878), Diary, printed p. 115. Original Committee of Publication: George E. Ellis; William H. Whitmore; Henry Warren Torrey; James Russell Lowell (Committee of Publication). Original-edition witness: Internet Archive, University of California Libraries scan funded by MSN. Original dates, spelling, source brackets and author qualifications retained; descriptive title and navigation metadata added by Synastry.
The 2 January entry under the printed dual year 1685/6; the original calendar is retained.
Public domain in the United States (1878 edition) ↗
Original 1878 second edition of seventeenth-century diary text, visually verified from title page and verso. IA metadata marks US status NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT. Publication predates 1931; Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) and the original nineteenth-century publication committee are long deceased. This uses the old published text and an expired-US-publication basis, not a modern edited transcription or new Creative Commons licence. No blanket worldwide clearance is asserted.
Source locator and text provenance
Diary, printed p. 115
The original text and redactions are preserved. The page title is an editorial navigation label.
Only original-scan-witnessed OCR repairs, line/page furniture removal and punctuation/spacing normalization. Editorial title and navigation metadata added. No synthetic filling, modern translation, calendar conversion or omitted authored qualification.
- Account text SHA-256
- 55204826e14463a7fbb6f718bc8a1b737e99a53982213b9180c3472c2e80ca5a
- Source file SHA-256
- eaa1f091386a5868396edfbe46cbf2d8897e7c36f00fd278bac82319517d10d0
Content notes
- Historical recollection
Connections in the Loom
Titles, theme labels, illustrations and map connections are editorial navigation aids. They are separate from the account’s words and do not establish connections between real people.