The Helena independent., 1890-12-30
OF A DUAL PERSONALITY.
A Strange Case Related at q Meet
ing Of Boston Psyehical
Researchers.
An Atheist Converted In Much tho
Same Way as Saul OF
TarsuG
In = Hypnotic Trance He Relates the Ex-
perience of Months Blank to His
Normal Mind.

perience of Months Blank to His
Normal Mind.
At recent meeting of the American
pranch of the Society for Psychioal Re-
search in Boston, Prof. James described
case of double personality OF the so-calied
ambulatory type, the investigation OF which
he has Just concluded, says the Boston
Herald.
The subject is man, now about 60 years
of age, residing in small place near Paw
tucket, r. l. This person was . carpenter
until 1857, when, by strange visitation OF
Providence, he was induced to adopt alto
gether different habits Of life. He had
been an atheist. One day, while walking
IN the open country he thought he heard
voice. saying:
Go to the chapel, 20 to the chapel"
ITO what chapel?" he inquired OF his
invisible monitor.
ITO the Christian chapel" was the reply.
Now the carpenter WAS on unfrlendly
terms with the minister OF the Christian
chapel, and he exclaimed aloud:
Before go to that place hope God
NAV strike me deaf, dumb and blind
Instantly he fell to the earth. enveloped
in darkness and silence and without the
power of speech.
The events which followed as Professor
James said in telling this part of the story,
were such as generally occur in cases OF the
same sort, which are frequent in religious
history. suffice it to say that the events
eliminated in the mans restoration to his
senses, in his conversion and in his adop-
tion of the vocation of an itinerant preach
er.
For thirty years he followed this calling,
doing a great deal Of missionary work and
becoming we'll known over large area OF
New York State and western New England.
Early in 1887 he had abandoned his
preaching, being advanced in years and
desirous OF living more quietly, and had
taken up again his old trade Of carpenter
ing. His health was still good, and he
worked twelve or thirteen hours day in
preference to nine or ten.
In what follows lit is well to remember
Professor James assurance of his convic-
tlon that the man in question is sincere,
free from deception and 4 genuine subject
of strange psychical phenomena.
One day; while living at Greene, R. l., he
suddenly disappeared from home, Every
effort was made to find him, but to no avail.
He was completely lost.
Two months later, in Norristown, Pa.
man named Brown, who kept little can
dy store, woke up in the middle of the night
and found himself III strange place. His
bed was strange. the room in which he lay
was strange, and the shop into which ho
groped his way was SO unfamiliar that he
became thoroughly alarmed. Fearing he
would be taken for burglar, he cried for
help. The neghbors rushed out in the night
and discovered Brown, the candy merchant,
in an unaccountable state.
"Where am 1? Who am I? Who arc
you?'' he cried, in great perturbation.
They thought their neighbor must DC
suddenly gone crazy. When told that hii
name was Brown he denied it. and gave az
his name that of the erstwhile preacher and
carpenter of Rhode Island.
The villaege doctor was called upon 10
advice. H saw in the case something diff
ferent from ordinary mania. However, he
communicated with Browns alleged rela-
tives in Rhode Island, and, to be sure,
Browns assertions concerning himself were
found to be true.
But Brown now had no recollection OF
his experience in the candy store, nor did
he know how he got there or how he left
Rhode Island.
The case became noised abroad and was
investigated by a Philadelphia physician,
but with no results.
AL that was known was that the man had
OeA
weeks Of which he had spent at Norristown,
but the remaining fortnight was u blank to
him and 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
pursuing his trade as carpenter. The pro
1essor visited him, and found him to be
. hard-headed. matter of-fact Yankee
After considerable persuasion he was per
suaded to come to Cambridge and be hyp-
Noticed. The professor thought that in q
hypnotic trance the man might remember
his Brown experience.
And SO he did.
This is the most valuable phase OF the
phenomenon from a psychical point Of
view.
He was very readily hypnotized. and. Al
soon as he passed into the trance, began te
talk of Norristown and the candy store.
He also explained those two weeks that
had been up to this time q mystery to every.
body. While proaaie enough. his account
was perfectly circumstantial.
Having conceived q notion, that some
trouble was in store for him, he got on 9
stree. car ono day and rode to Pawtucket
proceeded thence to New York, stopped one
night at the Grand Union hotel. went on te
Philadelphia, put up couple of nights At 9
hotel and then took room ut q boarding
house. The location of this house he gave
as Ills Filbelt street.
While there, seeing IN advertisement o1
. small business for sale IN Norristown
he went to that place, which he had
never visited before, and set himself up il
trade.
Such was his story when he was in the
hypnotic state, and in that state he could
remember nothing of Ills former or normal
condition. On the other hand, while in
his waking condition he had no recollection
of his Brown experience subsequent to hit
boarding the horse car to ride to Paw.
tucket, nor could he tell why he started or
this trip.
His Brown personality was, as Professor
james put it, q weak. insipid, diluted ex-
tract of his normal personality. In thu
two states he was two entirely different
men.
He was hypnotized many times, and at.
tennis were made by all sorts of artifces
to effect at east Ia partial fusion of his
Brown condition and his normal condi
tiou, but these efforts were quito unsuc
oessfnl. The only result was that hi
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