The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1864-08-02

and dress Of which we're a. diSinctl,
visible as thar of any real existence
and Of which, after an interval 81 man,
years, ] stlll retain tbo mos lively rs
preston yen neither at the time. aol
since, have been able 60 discover
any person whom | bad pfcsi tusl,
seen thar rrsembled il.
During one part u the disoasa
after The Disappearance II lhi. sla.
uonary phantom, tad very singu,
lar and amusing imagery presented q
me. Il appeared As Il number o.
objects, principally human faces of
figures, on a soall scale, were placed
before ne, aud gradually removed
Ike succession OF mednllions. They
were All Of the same size, and appear
ed 70 be all Situated at the same dis.
lance from tie face. After oae had
been steu for q few minute; il became
fainter, and i4r1 another, which was
more vivid seem 10 be laid on il, or
su'is istilutpd IN ls place, which, in its
tan VA. superseded by new ap.
prarinee. During all this succession
q sten ~ ! do not recolIect that, 10 a
single inS'ance, saw ans object with
which had been previously acquaint-
ed nor, so far as | am aware, even
the representatives Of any Of those
objects with which my mind was most
occupied, presented TO me. They APP
peared TO be invariably new creations,
or at least new combinations, Of which
! could not trace tha original materi.
ais.
The circumstance, which | at the
time considered TO be so extraordna-
ry, that the motion Of the spectcrs
followed that Of the eye, has also been
observed by Sir David Brewster, and
must therefore be regarded as not SO
anomalous fact as ! at the time, con.
sidered it to be.
The case of Nicolai (of Berl.n). re-
terred TO by DR.. Bostock, was also Il
personal narrative with great minute
ness Of detail. It is often quoted il
works on physiology.
II is evident that, in all these eases
of spectral illusion, there was dc.
ceased condition of The nervous sys-
ten, sometimes perhaps of the retina
only, but more generally of portion
of The brain. DIR. HILBERT, in his
Philosophy Of 4ppdritioas, thinks that
they are 'notling more than morbid
symptoms indicative Of intense excite
ment OF the renovated feelings Of the
mind But in some of the cases
there was nervous depression, not ex- /
a"ss sAf a"''~., ~a.l si.a .,:ai..l af .,r... /
and unknown objects seems to prove
that lhe part Of the nervous system
which is affected, is in condition
which II has neveo before experienc
ed DIR. Bostock's case, in both these
points, is opposed to DIR. IIibberts
theory.
In all the cases the mind seems to
have been capable Of being convinced
'f the fallacy Of the perceptions, ifnot
At the time aware of their being mere
Illusions, thereby distinguishing this
morbid state from delirium or insanity
when ideas are really taken for per-
'eptions.
These cases are also TO be distin-
5uisbed from "apparitions" arising
rom false perceptions and disordered
without any disease Ell
her OF the brain or the understand
ng, as in the following instance: Two
rlends Of DR.. Abercrombie were
rayeli g in the Highlands. A, they
we're sleeping in the same room, one
# them awoke, and, by the light of the
noon, saw a skeleton hanging at the
read Of his friends bed. lie arose to
xamine the cause Of this appearance,
nd found that it was produced by the
noonbeams and The bed drapery.-
lie returned to bed and tel asleep, 1
ut awaking again, the skeleton vas
TIL there. He arose TO reinvesli.
ale the cause OF the phantom, and
roughi down the curtain, which had
cen thrown back, into its usual slate.
his put an end 10 the illusion.
In the same class of natural, n0t !
lorbid phenomena, must be assigned !
lose terrible visions Of Material ob. t
,cis which sometime, lam4 tie .Gen. Z
n vision Of those who are buIdseaea a
nh guilty conscience, as when i
Iurderer sees his giia-ily victim.
his i but the vivid reproduction cr {
5idlng imp ession ai Sn ac3ua per- {
-plion, although tie mind may be - j
serarought a. Al lcnalA 10 af q Tie q
rain aud induce insanity. 5
=.
NEw SroRIEs ABOUT Da. BaEcn- c
R. r An agreeable little sequel 10 the j
osraphy q Rev. Lyman Beeeher is ?
'nta'ned - tie Congregational j
'aarferly for Jolly, in The "Skeiehe, :
ID Recolleciions u the Ola clergy q
an, contributed by Z. L. Stove, of Il
arr ord. Ity4..nft. st,f,ip n IA. ,tp- &,