The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-28


ing of the extremities of the upper lip
disclosed a glimpse of two strong,
white, canine teeth. At this moment
my dog, which as a precaution | had
ordered the servant to chain I'D in the
basement, began furious barking and
L could hear the rafting of his chain.
My visitor started and turn apprehen-
sively in his chair, so that l could once
more see the curious bristling of the
hair on the back of his neck. [ re-
assured him and inquired once more
If his work entailed any severe mental
strain. "No, sir, no mental strain, but
absorbing, yes, very Absorbing He
Jerked his words at me as though he
were trying to bite off each one with
his teeth. He continued: 81 have a
curious theory that I am trying to
verify. Did you ever study evolu.
tion?''
s'Only so far as my profession has
required [ replied.
'Well, well, my theory is this,'' he
went on. 81 believe that in past ages
the human mind has assembled through
every kingdom of nature, always carry
ing with it in its subconseious states
the memories and experiences of the
Kingdoms which it has traversed. -
Here he paused long enough for me to
remark, GLOW very interesting and
to mentally classify the variety Of in
sanity which was now disclosed as
much by the man S appearance as by
his words
Interesting! I should say so, and
how much more interesting it would be
if we could once more center our con-
seiousness in those ganglia in which
such memories are preserved and so
summon them again to the plane of
our ordinary thought. We might even
once more evolve the very forms, the
simulacra, of those lower Kingdoms, be-
cause surely memory must imply form.
Fancy being able to go back in memory
at will, to relive the past, and so by
personal knowledge unlock all the
storehouses of nature
Here I tactfully interposed. It was
no part of my duty to allow my patient
to get excited, and well acquainted as
/ am with most varieties of mental
alteration, there was something weird
in the way in which the man barked
these sentences at me as though rival
ing the noise from below which showed
that my dog was now in perfect
frenzy of rage. got rid of my patient
with some difficulty, promising to send
him a further prescription by mail.
NY next interview with Mr.. Nicot
was earlier than I anticipated, as / was
summoned to his house on the follow
ing day by an urgent message. The
servant merely stated that his master
had been taken violently i'll and that
nv immediate presence was required.
T was received by Mime. Nicot, who was
in a state of extreme agitation and
tears. Her condition can only be de-
scribed as hysterical, and | had, indeed,
to ring for the servant before | could
ascertain in what room Mr.. N1cot was
to be found. I directed the girl to get
her mistress on to the couch and to
keep her there as long as possible. On
knocking on Mr.. Nicot IS door I heard
a slight movement within the room, and
on repeating the knock and receiving
mo reply I entered Mr.. Nicot was
living crouched on the bed, painting as
though from excessive exertlon, while
his tongue protruded from his mouth.
His eyes fixed themselves upon me with
a maniacal intensity and he seemed IN
effectually struggling to speak. | can
only describe his appearance as that
of a helpless and enraged wild animal.
T saw at once that / had serious case
of mania upon my hands, and l hesl-
tated for a moment as to the right
course to follow. Suddenly his appear
ance changed. His body Strengthened,
and then slowly arched backward, until
| almost expected TO hear the verte-
brae crack. He kept his face turned
toward me and his eyes upon mine,
and although convulsion of this KIND
is usually attended with intense pain,
his expression did not change at all
from the animal-like ferocity which |
have mentioned The canine teeth
were fully exposed and the face was
suffused with blood. The CONFUSION
lasted only few moments. Then the
tense muscles slowly relaxed and the
unfortunate man sank at once into q
state of stupor. I examined him as
fully as circumstances would permit,
and then procured the reluctant at
tendance of the gardener, whom
ordered to remain in the room until
the arrival of the trained nurse whom
I would send Before leaving the
room, hoWtNel. cpChNN eiAS "AANS''
in order to dispel the kennel-like odor.
Such a phenomenon, I may say, IS not
unknown in mental diseases.
Late that night I again visited the
patient and found him sleeping, with
the trained nurse in charge. This was
a man named Loveday, whom [ often
employed and in whom I had great
confidence. He reported that Mr..
Nicot had slept uneasily for some
hours. but that there had been one
very acute convulsion. This, he said,
seemed to have been induced by the
behavior of savage dog which had
suddenly made its appearance from
some place of eoneealment in the
room and had attacked him with
fierce growls. The CONFUSION had
occurred while he was trying to
drive the dog from the room, which
he had eventually succeeded in doing
with the aid of a stout cudgel. {"
think I must have broken some of his
RIBS he said, .'but I never faced
such brute before. / sent for the
gardener and asked him to see to the
matter. and the fellow went as white
as sheet and declared that there was
M doc about the house and never had