, 1880-07-25
GH0ST-SEEING.
The Celebrated Case Of Nicolai,
the Bookseller of Berlin.
Scientific Explanation of the Phe-
nomenon Of Spectral Illusions.

nomenon Of Spectral Illusions.
| Nttu York Home JournoL
Modern science has made rs aware that
the old belief in apparitions rested on moth
Ing more than illusive fancies caused bv
l some kind Of physical arrangement Of the
person so affected. 1t is important that
| young persons should be made thoroughly
aware Of the fact that there never was and
| never will be any such fancy which Is not
capable Of being explained upon natural
grounds A person in weak health, thougl,
In perfect possession Of all his faculties, be-
gins to be -,
TROUBLED BIZ WAKING VISIONS
OF persons with whom lie may be familiar,
or who may have been long dead, or who
sometimes may appear as perfect strangers
to him. The spectres who fit before him
"conle like shadows" and $50 depart" They
represent in the most perfect manner the
reproductions Of things that are or were
utterly intangible creations. The subject
OF these visitations may hear the spec
tres converse, and they may even talk
IN turn to him. He is perfectly aware Of
their visionary nature, and is as convinced of
their unreality as is the friend who sees them
! not, and to whom the fantoms are described.
| No suspicious Of insane delusion as to these
.visitations can be entertained for a moment,
and the question may, therefore, naturally be
put to the man of science, SLOW can these
:, Illusions be accounted for2" The answer is
to be found in one Of the simplest studies in
| the physiology Of nerves and Of mind, and
shows us that these Illusions have material
basis, or that, in the words of the poet, " the
shadow proves the substance true"
l IN ninH}1fn fhR cThfapt nf ift11Cnnc tvff1l5r1
| q brief space, we may give one or two illus
trations Of lllusive vision, such as have been
recorded for instruction and etlitication in the
pages OF the physiolosist.,, One Of the best
| fact that the subject of the visitations i'll
question himself narrates the facts,-
Is THAT OF N1coLA1
q well-known citizen and bookseller Of Ber-
| lin, who read an account OF his case before
TIE Berlin Academy. ofScienees: We shall
| ing the few latter months OF the year 1890
hard experienced several melancholy Incl
dents which deeply affected me, particularly
in September, from which time I suffered ali
| that affected me with the most poignant grief.
| I was accustomed to be bled twice year,
and this had been done once on the 9th OF
July, but was omitted to be repeated at the
end OF the year 1850: llad, in Janu-
tional misfortune to experience several ex-
! treHely unpleasant circumstances, which
| were followed OIL the 9th of February by q
! most violent alteration. My wife and an
| other. person came into my apartment ln the
| morning in order to console me; but was
too much agitated by q series of incidents
| which had most powerfully affected mylnoral
| feeling, to be capable Of attending to them,
| On sudden l perceived, at about the dis
| tance Of ten steps,
a FORM LIKE THAT OF a DEcEAsED PER-
T pointed at it, asking my wife if. she did not
see it. It was but natural that she should
| not see anything; my question. therefore,
alarmed her very much, and she sent imme-
diately fora physician The fantasm con-
tinued for some minutes grew at length
more calm, and, being extremely exhausted,
fell into a restless sleep, which lasted about
half an hour. The physician ascribed the
vision to violent mental emotion, and hoped
agitation Of my mind had IN some way dis
ordered my nerves and produced further
consequences which deserve more minute
GAIA in the afternoon the form which I
had seen in the morning reappeared. l was
by myself when this happened, and, being
rather uneasy at the incident, went to my
| :wife's apartment; but there likewise I was
persecuted by the form, which, however, at
intervals disappeared, and always presented
| itself in a standing posture. About o'clock
there appeared also several walking figures,
which had no connection with the first.
After the first day the form Of the deceased
person no more appeared; but its place was
supplied with
- MANY OTHER FANrAssfs,
sometimes representing aequatntances, but
mostly strangers: those whom I knew were
composed of living and deceased persons, but
the number Of the latter We're comparatively
small -; When I. shut my eyes these
forms. would sometimes vanish entirely,
1tAt.- -&- x~,41 Nrhr