The morning call., 1890-12-26
DUAL PERSON Atty.
A Very Singular Story That Was
Told by Professor James.

A meeting of the American branch of the
Society for Psychical Research-the first
meeting since last March-was held last
night in the amphitheater of the Society of
Natural History. = Professor Will
lam James described case of double per-
sonality of the so-called ambulatory type,
the investigation of which he has just con-
cluded, says the Boston Herald.
The subject is a man, about 60 years of
age, residing In a small place near Paw
tucket, X. l. This person was carpenter
until 1856, when. by a strange visitation of
Providence he WAS induced TO adopt al
together different habits of life. He had
been an atheist. One day, while walking in
the open country, he thought he heard a
voice, saying:
Go to the chapel. go to the chapel"
:" To what chapelr he inquired of his in
visible monitor.
Now the carpenter was on unfriendly
terms with the minister of the Christian
chapel, and he exclaimed aloud:
- Before l 60 10 that place | hope that
| God may strike me deaf, dumb and blind"
Instantly he fell to the earth, enveoped in
darkness and silence, and without the power
of speech.
The event which followed, as Professor
James said in telling this part of the story,
were such as generally occur in cases of the
history. Suffice it to say that the events
eliminated in the mans restoration to his
senses IN his conversation and in his adop-
ton OF the vocation of an itinerant preacher.
For thirty years he followed this calling,
doing great deal Of missionary work and
becoming we'll known over large area of
New York State and Western New En-
gland.
Early in 1887 lie had abandoned his
| preaching, being advanced in years and de-
sirous of living more quietly, and had taken
| up again his old trade of carpentering. His
| health was still good, and he worked twelve
or thirteen hours day In preference 10 nine
| or ten.
In what follows it is we'll to remember
| Professor James assurance OF his convic-
| ton that the man in question is sincere, free
| from deception and a genuine subject of
| strange psychical phenomena.
One day, while living al Greene, X. l., he
! suddenly disappeared from home. Every
| effort was made 10 fad Lin, butito no avail.
| He was completely lost.
Two months later, in Norristown, Pa,
man named Brown, who kept little
| candy store, woke up in the middle of the
| night and found himself in a strange place.
| His bed was strange, the room in which he
| lay was strange, and the shop into which
| he CROPPED his way was so unfamiliar that
| he became thoroughly alarmed. Fearing
| for help. The neighbOrs rushed out in the
night and discovered Brown, the candy
| merchant, i'll an unaecouD table state.
Where am l? Who am l? Who are
you?" he cried, in great perturbation.
They thought their eighbor must be
| suddenly gone crazy. Wien told that his
| name was Brown, he denied il, aud gave as
| his name that of the erstwhile preacher and
| carpenter of Rhode Island.
The village doctor was called upon for
| advice He saw in the case something
| different from ordinary mania, but still lie
| thought it was mania. However, he COM
| munlcated with Browns alleged relatives
| in Rhode Island, ana TO be sure, Browns
| assertions concerning himself were found
| TO be true.
| But Brown now had no recollection Of his
| experience in the candy-stoTe, nor did he
know bow he got there or how he left Rhode
| Island.
The case became ncised abroad, AMI was
investigated by a Philadelphia phi, sician
| but with no results.
All that was known was that the man had
| been away from home two months, six
| weeks Of which he had spent at Norrstown,
| but the remaining fortnight was blank to
him ana could be explained by nobody else.
In the course OF time the circumstances
| reached the notice Of Professor James. The
| man was now again at home, peaceably pur-
suing his trade of carpenter. The professor
visited him and found him TO be a hard
| headed, matter-of-fact Yankee. After con-
siderable persuasion he was pursuaded to
come TO Cambridge and be hypnutized. The
| professor thought that in hypnotic trance
| the man might remember his Brown expert
cnce. Aud so he did. This is the most
| valuable phase of the phenomenon from
| pSychical point of view.
He was very readily hypno;ized, and as
| soon as he passed into the trance began to
| talk OF NoTristown and the candy-store
| he also explained those two weeks that had
been up to this time a mystery 10 every
body. While prosaic enough, his account
| was perfectly circumstantial. Having con-
| celVed notion that some trouble was in
| store for him at home, he got on lorse-car
one day and rode to Pawtucket; proceeded
thence to New York, stopped one night at
| the Grand Union Hotel, went on to Phia.
delphia, put up couple of nights at hotel,
| and then took a room at boarding-house
| Filbert street.
While there, seeing an advertisement of a
small business for sale in Norrislown, he
went to that place, which he had never WIS.,
ited before, and set himself up in trade.
Such was his story when he was in the
hypnotic state, and in that state he could re-
member nothing OF his former or normal
condition. On the other band, while in his
l waking state he had no recollection of his
Brown experience subsequent to his board
| Ing the horse-car to ride TO Pawtucket, nor
could he tell why he started OIL this trip.
| Ills Brown personality was. as Professor
James put II, weak, insipid, diluted ex-
tract OF his normal personality. In the two
| otateS ho WAS TWO entirely Inherent meu.
lie was hypnotized many times and at
tempts were made by all sorts of articles to
effect at least partial fusion of his Brown
condition and his normal condition, but
these efforts were quite unsuccessful. The
| only result was that his hypnotic memory
| grew more and more feeble until finally he
could recollect only the barest outlines Of
| Ills Brown experience.
HIS statements conc rning that experience
| We're, OF course, verified as far as possible.
IL was not until last week, however, that
the clearinghouse at Ills Filbert street
was found to have existed otherwise than
In his Imagination. When Professor James
Wrenched his hypnotic narrative from hlm
that house had been torn down aud replaced
by a mercantile establishment and all traces
OF Its former occupants were lost. And only
lew days ago did Professor James receive
word that they had been discovered.
:, They perfectly remembered the man. with
the circumstances of his arrival at their
house and his departure 10 go into business
at Norristown.
This example of dual personality Pro-
| lessor James pronounced to be one of the
most complete on record. He will describe
1t in detail in the next volume of proceed.
| ings Of the Society for Psychical Research