San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-02-14
DUAL PERSONALITY.
A story Told by Prof james

A Story Told by Prof James.
| Boston Herald.
A meeting of the American branch
Of the Society for Psychical Research
the first meeting since last March
| was held last night in the amphithe-
atre OF the Society of Natural History.
Prof. VIM. James described case OF
double personality of the so-called
ambulatory type, the investigation OF
which he has just concluded.
The subject is a man, BOW about
sixty years of age, residing In small
place near Nantucket, r. l.. This
person was carpenter until 1870,
when, by strange visitation OF Pro-
whence, 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 chap
ell"
ITO what chapel?" he inquired of
his invisible monitor.
ITO the Christian chapel" was the
reply.
Now the carpenter was on unfriend-
ly terms with the minister of the
Christian chapel, and he exclaimed
aloud:
Before I 60 to that place 1 hope
God may strike me deaf, dumb and
blind"
Instantly fell to the earth, envel-
oped in darkness and silence, and
without the power of speech.
The events which followed, as Prof.
James said in telling this part of the
story, were such as generally occur in
cases of the same sort, which are fire.
quent In religious history. Suffice 1t
TO say that the events eliminated In
the mans restoration to his senses,
in his conversion and In his adoption
Of the vocation of an ltinerant preach
or.
For thirty years he followed this
ling, doing great deal of mission
airy work, aud becoming we'll known
over q large area of New York State
and Western New England.
t.srIv in 1887 he had abandoned his
preaching, being advanced in years
and desiring to live more quietly, and
had taken up again his trade of car
pentering. His health was still good,
and he worked twelve or thirteen
hours day in preference to nine OF
ten.
In what follows il is well to remem-
Der Prof. James assurance of his con.
viction that the man In question is
sincere, free from deception and q
genuine subject OF strange physical
phenomena.
Uue 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 comp
letely lost.
Two months later, In Norristown,
Pa, man named Brown, who kept
a little candy store, woke up in the
middle of the night and found him
self in q 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 uD.
familiar that he became thoroughly
alarmed. Fearing he would be taken
for burglar, he cried for help. The
neighbors rushed out In the night and
discovered Brown, the candy mer-
chant, in an uuaccountable state.
"Where am I? Who am /? Who
are your" he cried in great pertur-
baton.
They thought their neigbbor must
he suddenly gone crazy. When told
that his name was Brown he denie0
it, and gave his name that of the
erstwhile preacher and carpenter Of
Rhode Island.
The village doctor was called upon
for advice. Ho saw in the case some
thing different from ordinary mania.
However, he communicated with
Browns alledged relatives in Rhode
Island, and, to be sure, Browns as
sertions concerning himself were
found to be true.
But Brown now had no recollect-
ion 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 q Philadel-
phia physician, but with no re-
suits.
All that was known was that the
man had been away from home two
months, six weeks of which had been
spent at Norristown, but the remain
ing fortnight was blank to him, and
could be explained by nobody
else.
In the course of time the clrcum-
stances reached the notice of Prof.
James. The man was now again at
home peaceably pursuing his trade OF
carpenter. The professor visited him,
and found him to be hardheaded,
matter Of fact Yankee. After CON-
siderable persuasion he was persuad-
ed to come to Cam bridge and be hyp-
Noticed. The professor tho't in hyp-
MOTTO trance the man might remem-
Der his Brown experience. And 80 he
did. This is the most valuable phase
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