The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1888-04-07
ODD DELusIoNs.
Singular Instances Of Honomania IL
Persons Otherwise Sane.

Among the instances of singular
monomanias which l have discov-
cred is that of an important officer
of State Government in New En-
gland. His special delusion is that
other members of the family are
insane and are plotting to injure
him, and that they ought to be put
in an asylum. He is an able and
even celebrated lawyer, and con-
ducts cases with marked effective
ness and success, his briefs and ar
guments showing unusual vigor and
continuity of thought. Nobody
knows of his mental condition out
side of his own family and a few
intimate friends, to whom they
have said confdentially: "If any
one of us should disappear sud-
denly, look for us in an asylum"
Another most curious case is that
of a wealty banker of New York
City who fancies that he is a ripe
cherry that the birds are eager to
pick. He has a terror of all fruit
eating birds and seldom walks or
appears anywhere in the open air.
He makes his trips to and from his
bank in a carriage, and keeps the
doors and windows shut tight lest
a sparrow should get in and swal-
low him He knows perfectly we'll
that the preposterous belief would
damage him and probably ruin him
if it were generally known that he
harbored it, so he conceals the con-
sciousness of his fearful peril from
his business associates and con-
tents himself with keeping care
fully out of the way of birds.
An interesting society lady of
Troy imagines that big Newfound-
land dog always accompanies her,
walks when she walks, stops when
she stops. II know perfectly we'll
that it is not there" she says, "but
always see it, and that is what
troubles me. When go to bed it
always lies down upon my feet"
There is a lady who has been a
teacher for the last twelve years in
the scools of New York City, and
is still SO employed, who imagines
herself wheelbarrow. II know ]
am not wheelbarrow, of course, y
she says to her physician, DR.. Ham
mond, "but that certainly makes
no difference with the appearance
and my sensations. When in
school l am always wheelbarrow,
and my feet are the handles and
my head is the wheel, and | seem
to be trundling myself down the
aisles and through the halls. 1t is
ridiculous and painful and mortify-
ing, but though l know it is the re-
suit of a nervous disease, l cannot
shake off the hallucination."
Mr.. W. A. Croffut, a journalist
and successful mesmerist, gives me
the following opinion "Hallucina-
tions are evidently closely akin to
dreams. l can fill any one of my
sensitives full Of delusions in a
minute; can make him think he is
a Washington or Grant or Victoria,
a peddler, an opera singer, a teach
er of languages, rooster or tele-
graph pole, and can Danish the de-
fusion in two seconds. Now, it
seems to me that this hallucination
is exactly the same kind as the
hallucination of lunatics or the
dreams of those who sleep, the only
difference being that the sleeper
holds the key of dreamland and the
operator holds the key of the SIM
liar trance called mesmerism, while
to the permanent trance called mo-
nomania the key is lost. ! have
wondered if it might not be posi-
BILE to recover the lost key-to
often waken the insane from their
dream as somnambulists and the
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