Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-08-27


slyly remarked to the present writer
that it was astonishing to find how
many lunatics there were in tho word
outside the asylums! 1t will prob
ably be equally astonishing to most
people to discover how many per
sons there are, outside the aSylums.
who are subject To pronounced hall.l-
cinatiOns.
We know from FOrStcr'S life of
Dickens that that great novelist habit
ually SAW all the creatures Of his int
aSinatiOn as If they were real beings,
and that he even heard them speak.
Sometimes the illusion was so strong
that. after Il story was finished. The
imaginary persons remained viSiby
with him for. several days and re-
fused to be dismissed. MIR. Tainc, in
his work, dc Intelligence" men
lions very curious ease of this kind
One of the most exact and lucid of
modern novclists," he says. WHOM
imaSinativcly working out the pois
oning Of one of his characters, had so
vivid 9ustatory sensation of arsenic
that he was attacked by IL violent 1T
of indigeStion!"
The leading case" of non-insanc
hallucination is the account related to
the Royal Society OF Berlin by the
celebrated hpOkScllcr, Nculai. con-
corning some experiences OF his own
Al time when his nervous system
WAS slightly ovcrstraincd, in consc
quencc Of some anxiety and emo.
tionnl disturbance, he enc day seemed
to perceive the figure of corpse
about ten yards distant from him.
Next day the corpse disappeared, hut
was replaced by Il number of living
figures, some being likcnesscs Of
friends whom he recognized, bu.
most of them being strangers. These
figures appeared to him rs clear an I
distinct MS life, in company or in soil
tudc, by day as we'll ms Mt night, at
home as we'll as abroad. He was per-
fectly well aware, all the time, that
they were mere phantoms, and he
adopted what he thought proper mcn,
sures for getting rid of them. After
remaining with him for about four
weeks in silence the figures began 40
talk, and he distinctly heard them
speak, sometimes to one another and
sometimes to himself But one day,
after the application OF lcechcS to his
head, all the figures completely dis
appeared and he never aftcrward had
any repetition of the uncanny expert
ence.
DIR. Maudslcy tells lis OF a gentle
man who imagined an offensive smell
to proceed from every part of his
body. So strong did this evil odor
seem 10 me that he altogether avoid
ed going into society and habitually
took solitary walks III the country, in
order that he might meet as few pco.
pie rs possible. Every night he hung
his clothes ont OF the window, and #
he CHANGED to wake in the night al
ways shifted from one bedroom to an
other. Yet. all the while. he was con
Quoting his business with propriety
and success, and his partners had not
the slightest suspicion of this peculiar
halluclnation. When asked how ii
was that none of the people whom he
daily met in the course of business
ever complained of an offensive smell
he replied that he supposed they were
too polite to do so. Another patient
Of DIR. Maudslcy was SO annoyed by
voices which he heard continually all
dressing unpleasant remarks to him
that he bought n music box in order to
circumvent them. He used to win1
this up and place it under his pillow
every night when he went to bed hut
unfortunately, as soon as the instru-
httbt itH uO"u lHt NOlCcS WtIc IlchTu
again, and they would even sometimes
wake him ulyaftcr he had fallen asleep.
Another very distressing hallucnation
was described to DR. Elan, in n per-
fectly calm and sensible manner, by n
lady who consulted him. She fire.
quently saw Objectionable persons,
standing not far aft. making faces"
at her, and sometimes throwing
stones. She knew quite we'll that it
was not real. but the sensation was
80 strong that she was occasionally
obliged to go to her mirror before she
could assure herself that her head
was not wounded. This proved to he
merely transitory condition. due to
depressed state of the system, and
it passed completely away without at
tanning any more serious aspect
Many persons who have auditory hal
. lucinations never have visual ones,
and vico-vcrsa, but they sometimes
occur in combination. Dr.Abercrom-
bic records very pucer case. a
clergyman sc years OF age, who had
been accustomed to rather high liv.
Ing. was one day seized with vertigo
and vomiting, and for several days af.
terward complained that he pcrpctu-
ally heard tunes in his head, most dis
tinctly played. and In accurate sue.
cession At the same time he expert.
enced rare and remarkable affection
OF vision. seeing all objects inverted,
as q photographer does in camera.