Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-11-26

bright cloud, or that the friend was In
reality stranger, then they would be
Illusions proper. II could not be con-
vinced Of the falsity OF my first concln-
sion they would become insane illusions,
or more properly deluslons.
In the insane the deluslons take one or
the other Of these forms, aud hence they
are termed insane hallucinatlons or In.
sane illusions. The insane hallucinations
and Illusions may occur IN any one Of the
senses-in the senses Of sight, hearing,
smell, taste or feeling; that is, catan-
eous sensioility. Hallucinatlons and IL.
lusions OF sight are very common among
the Insane, and their form depends upon
the disposition OF mind aud direction Of
the thoughts of the person. Thus In the
melancholic they arc always Of depress-
ing character. He sees the flames OF hell
encompasslng him about, or sees his
children being tortured, while in the
maniac they are Of the opposite mind
exhlle-ating, exciting, exalting. Hesees
God In all his glory; heaven opens up be-
fore his eyes.
Hallucinations and illusions OF hearing
are most common among the insane,
Voices are most commonly heard. In the
melanchollc these voices are of reproach
or menace, or voices that command him
TO commit some atroclous act. The fol.
lowing Is good example of pure hallu-
cination OF hearing. young man had
not spoken q word for six months, nor
performed any voluntary act. One day
he seized bottle and threw IL at
the head OF an attendant. After this he
remained quiet and immovable and re-
covered In few months. When asked
why ne had thrown the bottle, he said;
because heard a voice saying, xiii
somebody and you will be delivered /
did not kill the man, therefore my lot
could not be altered, and / remained
quiet aud immovable. Moreover the
same voice repeated without ceasng,
move aud you will be dead This warn.
ing was the cause OF my immobilIty.'"
Hallucinations and illusions OF smell
and taste are not so common, yet they
occur, and may be Of pleasant or un.
pleasant nature, depending upon the dis
position OF the person. From these often
arise the ideas Of insane patients that
they are being compelled : to breathe
noxl0us gases, as chloroform or ether, or
ideas that they are being poisoned BY
articles introduced into their food. Again,
TO certain OF them, plain hospital fare
may seem as the ambrosia of The gods,
With regard TO feeling or cutaneous
Gems bility, hallucinatons and illusions
cannot be distinguished from each other,
as 1t Ia Impossible often to tell whether
there is really any abnormal sensation
or not. The various sensations that some
experience are very dlsagreeable and
somewhat frightful, as when q person |
thinks that serpents are crawling over
him, or that frogs have taken lodging la !
bis stomach, or that birds are in his chest |
or dog IN his head. case which Illus. |
tratcs hallucination of several sorses
is the following: A man was returning
home one moonlight night, and was some |
what faiigued by his long walk. All at |
once II seemed TO him as IL he saw a great
Gnmal like dragon roll Itself out Of a
ditch by the roadside. He became OK
ceedingly ofraid, and at the same time
felt himself painfully grasped by tho right
shoulder bv the animal; nevertheless, he |
could, as he said, free himself drumming
Immediately afterward he fell into dis. |
ease Of the lungs which affected his en-
tire right lung, and he died in q short
time.
The various decisions of the insane,
whether they are In the form OF halucl,
nations or Illusions, often render them !
exceedingly dangerous TO society. For
Instance, man commanded by God to
kill his family, or some nelghbor, or
some one In high office, is about as dan.
gerous q factor to society as could be
found. A man who thinks that some one
Is sticking him with knives every night is
very liable to stick the person he mag
ines Is sticking him. A man who thinks
some one is poisoning him is very liable
TO endeavor to retaliate.
II IL well-known fact that starvation
will induce hallucinatlons, and sight is
the sense that IS usually affected, as Is
shown by the following example: A few
years ago several lumbermen lost their
wa on the Ice Of Lake Ontario and were
found on little island, from which IL
was difficult 10 remove them, owing to
the attractive vision OF splendid feast /
and warm fire which occupied tha
minds OF these persons, Thew hod nj.
most reached the pn,.at OF death from
'2Id aud starvation.
iwo transfers were lost In the woods |
In Montana. Both were saved by the |
pluck OF one of them, but he experienced |
great difficulty in preventing his comrade |
from dGrung away into the woods, where
he claimed stood q man with basket of |
provisions aud house with lights fromI
which proceeded the noise OF carousal. |
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