Commonplace Book

'Waking, John saw Bright drawing the curtains on a garden he had never seen before. Memory made an effort, a conscious tracing of association dragging all the way an anchor of incredulity.

Deep sleep had only come late in the night after dreams so near the surface that he had exercised in them an element of control and tiring responsibility. He disentangled the real from the enormous claims of the unreal, put reason back in its usurped saddle and listened with loathing to the studied quietness of Bright's steps.'

from A Share of the World by Hugo Charteris (Part Two, Chapter 9)