Evening star., 1896-08-22
MEMORY FREAKS.
The Multiple Features OF Certain
Minds.

Minds.
From the New York Advertiser
More curious and suggestive and perhaps
more valuable to the novelist than the in
stance OF lost identity reported from a
Philadelphia hospital are those cases OF
double personality in which there are two
distinct aeries of memories and two distinct
and alternating states Of consciousness. To
forget all the experiences of half lifetime,
to begin a new life without knowing who
or what were the friends OF the past or
how the separation was effected. is TO open
wide the door to the Imagination, though
perhaps the reality in most cases would he
found TO be more strange and thrilling than
anything the fancy could invent. More
complicated, however. must he all the cir
cumstances wnen one alte.nates between
two distinct personalites-tOday one per-
son with a certain group OF friends. but to-
morrow another and wholly different char
acter, with quite other friends. and not
knowing in one state anything about he
other. Nearly everybody is moralist enough
to remark, on reading the story OF Dr.
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde. that II is not very
much overdrawn. inasmUch In evnrI
man there are the warning elements or
good and bad Few, however. who have
not followed the records Of the hospitals
believe how nearly truthful is Mr.
Stevenson's representation.
In the Paris hospital OF DR.. Charcot was
a patient who lived a model life In one
most amiable OF patients and was free
from even ordinary profanity. Frequently
he would pass into another state in which
he was in every respect the reverse be-
ing violent, vicious and wholly intracra-
BILE. What he did and the friends and ao-
quaintances he made In state were
wholly unknown TO him in the other. He
would forget, when in his amable char1c-
ter. or rather he never knew. what he had
said while in the other. but when. after q
time he returned TO his vicious self. he
would remember all that related 10 that
character In short, he was like the man
who, when Intoxicated. wrote letter which
he could not read when sober. but which
he could read readily on becoming inebri
ated again.
About two years ago q Brooklyn youna
man was arrested for the crime Of bgAmy.
He had been married some years before
and seemed to be devoted TO his wife and
children. bat at times he would disappear
for weeks and on his return he professsd
to know nothing about where h- had been
or what he had done. As matter OF
fact, he made the acquaintance OF a younR
woman and after leaving her without GER
emony returned and married her. There
was no doubt that this was case Of double
personality and he was appalled, on dis
covering the truth. When he was broaght
before the second young woman he had no
recollection of her. He was epileptio.
and 1t is among this class that phenomena
Of this kind are most frequent
There many other forms of douple
and multiple memories-persons who show
two or more states of consciousness In no
way rela ted to one another. In one case an
insane soldier passed through FIVE distinct
states. with all the peculiariites noted in
the first case ment oned here. DIR. Charcot
explained that in this first case the two
characters were due TO the sole action OF
one or the other hemisphere Of the brain,
one being always in state OF suspension.
He reports the cases OF patients in " hom
he could induce either OF two states of con-
sciousness by means OF hypnotic sugges-
ton.
cially in the case Of epileptics. are cured by
the surgeon. Thanks to the revelations Of
vivisection. II 10 possible In some cases to
locate the seat of the troubles in the brain
by the character of the symptoms. Certain
unnatural movements OF one of the hands
for instance. may reveal to the surgeon the
exact spot In the brain where he must op-
crate. Epileptics who had before them only
the prospect OF progressive disease and q
painful death have been wholly restored to
health and intelligence a result of The
experiments on lower animals.
1t Is from a study of the diseases of the
brain that the world has acquired good
deal Of knowledge about memory. AS we
have said. memory Is not distinct faculty
of the brain, but 1t belongs to everything
that has l.fe. Every special sense has its
ters are associated, though one may be de-
stroyed without affecting another. Event
ually what Is known about memory will be
utilized In practical way In the school
room, to the saving Of vast amount Of
time and effort. The conditions under which
impressions are received and returned are
bound to become a guide to teachers. In
Prof. Bain's work on the science of educa-
tiOp