Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

entlnC world IS indebted to DR. BORIS SldlS. Follow
ing fall from his carriage, Hanna. Connecticut
clergyman. lost all consciousness of his IDENTITY had
memory for the events of his life prior the acct
dent, recognized none of his friends could not read
or write, nor so much walk talk,-was in fact
like child new born. On the other hand as soon
as the rudiments of education acquired by him
once more, ne showed himself the possessor of
vigorous independent, self reliant personality, lack
ing all knowledge of the original personality but
still able to adapt himself readily to his environ
ment and make headway in the world Ultimately
through methods that distinctively modern,
DR.. Sidis was able to recall the vanished self and,
fusng the secondary self with it, the clergy
entire man
This, of course, is an extreme example, paraleled
only by the case of Mary Reynolds, an account of
which will be found in any good textbook alb
normal psychology. The usual procedure is for the
secondary personality to retain some of the charac
terstics of the original self the ability to read
Anse1 Bourne, Rhode Island itinerant preacher,
became metamorphosed into A. J. Brown and
without any recollection of his former career or rea-
tionships drifted to Pennsylvania and began an
entirely new existence as shopkeeper in small
country town. Similarly with Dr. R. Osgood
Mason's patient, Alma T., in whom the secondary
personality assumed the odd of "Twoey"
spoke as Dr. Mason phrased it, in peculiar child
like and Indianlke dialect" and announced that
organism of the original self, which remained com
pletey in allegiance so long as "Twoey" in
evidence Here asi is apparent we have case almost
difference being that ''Twoey who by the way,
is credited with having exercised seemingly super
norma! powers-did not pose as returned visitant
from the world of Spirits,
Lurancy's Case Similar
THUS far then. depending the argument from
analogy, the presumption is strong that Lurancy's
case belongs the category as the cases just
mentioned. In the one, in the others, have
loss of the original self, development of SELF
and the enactment by the latter of a role
spicuously alien from that played by the former
The one difficulty in the way of unreserved accept
of this view is the character of the secondary
personality that replaced Lurancys original per-
sonality. Here the positive claim was made that
the secondary personality was in reality the per-
sonality of girl long dead, and by way of proof
vivid knowledge of the life, circumstances and
duct of that girl offered But on this point con-
siderable light is shed by the discovery that in many
instances of secondary personality in which super
natural professions advanced there is notable
sharpening of the faculties, knowledge being OBJ
tanned GEOGRAPHICALLY clairvoyantly; and by the
further discovery that it is quite possible create
expermentaly secondary selves assuming the char
acteristics of real persons that have died.
In this the creative force is nothing or less
than the suggestion. There is record indeed an
instance of mediumshp in which the medium. an
sn clearly recognized that his various impersona-
tons suggested to him by the spectators This
man, Charles H. Tout, Vancouver schoolmaster.
records that after attending few seances with some
friends he felt strong impulse to turn medium him
self and assume foreign personality. Yielding to
the impulse, he discovered, much to his amazement,
that without losing complete control of his con-
sciousness, he could develop secondary self which
would impose on the beholders a discarnate
esprit" On occasion he thus acted in a semi
conscious way the part of dead woman, the mother
of friend present, and the impersonation was ac-
cepted as genuine case of spirit control On
another having given several successful impersona-
TONS he suddenly felt weak and ILL., and almost fell to
the floor.
At this point, he stated of the sitters made
the remark, which remember to Lave overheard,
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