The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-11-05
HE WAS JEKYLL-HYDE
Letter from Stevenson Suggest
inc the Origin Of His Story.
Communicates with the Society of
Psychical Research Concerning
Weird Mental Experiences.
Detroit Tribune.

society Tor PSychlcal ReSeach contains
some remarkable testimony from Robert
Louis Stevenson in support of the intricate
theories about the almost unknown realm
of psychology. Mr.. Stevenson's experience
was certainly unique. In the opinion of the
officials of the Psychical Research Society
it was important.
1t was Mr. Stevenson's lot to experience
those conditions while in Samoa a year
ago, and he Immediately communicated
with Frederic w. II. Myers, one of the
secretaries Of the society Mr.. Myers en-
bodied the great writer's testimony in a re-
port on 1.-THE subliminal consciousness.
read by him some time since before the
society," TO illustrate certain phases of what
he terms the hysterical disturbances of
personality of "the hysterical uprush from
the subliminal strata" Although these
Isolated technical terms may appear very
little to those not interested in the subject.
to any one acquainted even in a super
fetal and general way with the work which
has recently been done in that newest and
most fascinating of natural sciences
physiological psychology-they are sug-
gestive of a world of new and startling
ideas which have been developed within
the last few years concerning every aspect
and phenomenon of the human conscious
ness.
The cases cited in Mr. Stevensons letter
are especially interesting in mCre ways
than one. In Mr.. Stevenson himself -;
found one of the best striking living ex-
amples of that helpful and productive sub
lminal uplift which Mr.. Myers character
ICES as the mechanism of genius
1t Is interesting to observe" he COM
m lsnin hGw under morbid conditions Of
diaphragm transforms what might in others
De mere vague and passive discomfort
into a vivid though incoherent message
from the Sublirninal storm and fire. The
result is a kind of supernatural quality
the perception at the same time of two per,
sonalitleS-the one rational and moral the
other belonging to the stratum of dreams
and nightmare" 1t is needless to say
through his books, TO those who look upon
him as the living master of English style
to-day, this extraordinary letter will have
an interest quite aside from any scientific
considerations as a view Qf not altogether
a happy one) of the private intraliminal
Ito coin word in the psychologist moId)
mechanism of the writer's MIND which
never appears in an authors books, and
which the world of readers is always most
curious about as connecting his aSpra-
tons with their own mediocre mental pro-
cesseS.
AS FROM A MAD HOUSE.
The letter was written at the Vailima
plantation, Uphoho Samoan Islands. 1t is
given in full:
municate to you some experiences of mine,
which seem to me, ignorant as l am, of a
high psychological interest. L had Infamous
~ bad healte when | was child, and Suf-
fered much from night fears; but from the
age OF about thirteen until / was past
thirty, did not know what it was TO have
high fever or wander in my mind, so
that these experiences, when they were
renewed, came upon me with entire fresh
ness, and either L am peculiar subject
or l was thus enabled TO observe them with
unusual closeness.
| lay awake whole night in extreme pain.
From the beginning of the evening one
part of my mind became possessed OF a no.
ton so grotesque and shapeless that it
may best be described a form of words
L thought the pain was, or was connected
with, a whip or coil of some sort. know
not of what 1T consisted nor vet where il
was. and cared not; only 1 thought if the
two ends were brought together the pain
would cease. Now, all the time with an
other part OF my mind which l venture to
think was myself, / fully alive to the
absurdity OF this idea, knew it to be
mark of impaired sanity and was engaged
with my other self in a perpetual conflict
Myself had nothing more at heart than
to keep from my wife. who nursing
me, any hint of this ridiculous hallucina-
ton, the other bound that she should
be told of it and ordered to effect the cure
l believe ii must be well on in the morning
before the fever Tor the other fellow tri-
umphed, and / called my wife to my bed
side, seized her savagely by the wrist, and
looking on her with face of fury cried:
why do you not put the two ends to-
gether and put me out of pain?
Experience B-The other day in Sydney
L was seized on a Saturday with a high
fever; early in the afternoon l began to
repeat mechanically the sound usually writ
ten MIN Caught my SELF In the act in
stantly stopped and explained to my mother
who was in the room, my reason for so do
ing.
wander, l said, and has to be resisted at
the outset
II fell asleep and woke and for the rest
m pTa lIx-
a nonsense word which / could not recall
next morning. had been reading the day
before the life of Swift, and all night long
one part of my mind 0ha other fellow kept
informing me that i not repeating the
word myself, but was only reading in book
that Swift had so used it in his last sick
ness. The temptation to communicate this
nonsense was again strongly felt by my
self, but was on this occasion triumphantly
resisted, and my watcher heard from me
all night nothing of Dean Swift or the word
nothing but what was rational and to the
poiIt So much for the two consciousness
ana when / can disentangle them but there
is a part of my thoughts that L have more
difficulty in attributing. One part Of my
mind continually bids remark the trans
rational felicity of the word, examined all
the syllables, showed me that not one was
in itself significant, and yet the whole eX
pressed to a nicely the voluminous distress
of one in a high fever and his annoyance
and record from the attention of his nurses.
guess the other fellow who bid me compare
ii with the nonsense words OF Lewis Carroll,
the invention OF = lUlallc Win those or
a sane man. But surely ii was myself land
myself in a perfectly clear-he2ded state)
that kept trying all night to get the
word by heart on the ground that it would
afterward be useful in literature. 1t must
have been myself l say, because the other
fellow believed Tor pretended to balieve) he
was reading in the passage of a book where
it could always be found again when
wanted.
AND STILL ANOTHER ONE.
Experience C-The next night the other
fellow had an explanation ready for my
sufferings, of which 1 can only say that it
had something to do with the navy; that it
was sheer, undiluted nonsense, and had
neither end nor beginning, and was unsus-
ceptible of being expressed in words My
self knew this yet L gave way, and my
watcher was favored with some references
fellow was annoyed or l was annOyed--on
had foiled TO make his meaning compre-
| hensible and. second, because the nurse
| DISPLAYED no interest. The other fellow
| would have liked to explain further, but
| myself was much hurt al having been got
| into the false position, and would be led
no further. IN cases A and G the Illusion
| was anonymous. L knew IL To be so, and
vet succumbed to the temptation of trying
TO communicate it.
I'm case u the idea coherent. and
! managed TO hold my peace. Consciousness
! WAS less affected IN case - and more af-
| fected in cases y and G. 1t is, PERHAPS