,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,mystery4 ,illustration 8,we so intreateth this serious and terrible matter of ,spirites1 that now and then insertyng some strange stories of counterfeyts1 doth both very lybely display their falsehood1 and also not a little recreate his reader3 and yet in the ende he so aptly concludeth to the purpose1 that his hystories seeme not idle tales1 or impertinent vagaries1 but very truethes1 naturally falling under the compasse of his matter40 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,mystery4 ,,by ,,walter ,,cooper ,,dendy1 ,,fellow ,,and ,,honorary ,,librarian ,,of ,,the ,,medical ,,society ,,of ,,london2 ,,senior ,,surgeon ,,to ,,the ,,royal ,,infirmary ,,for ,,children1 c4 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,longman1 ,,orme1 ,,brown1 ,,green1 ,,longmans1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ------ #ahda4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,gilbert ,,and ,,rivington1 ,,printers1 ,st4 ,john's ,square1 ,london4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,his ,,cousins1 ,,stephen ,,dendy1 ,,esq4 ,,of ,,paris1 ,,and ,,charles ,,cook ,,dendy1 ,,esq4 ,,of ,,southgate ,,house1 ,,chichester2 ,,and ,,to ,,his ,,brother1 ,,edward ,,stephen ,,dendy1 ,,this ,,volume ,,is ,,inscribed1 ,,in ,,token ,,of ,,the ,,affectionate ,,regard ,,of ,,the ,,author4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,the ,,challenge4 ,scenery on the ,wye--,a ,ghost ,seer--,tintern #a-e ,abbey--,faith and ,scepticism in the reality of ,phantoms ,,nature ,,and ,,motives ,,of ,,ghosts4 ,notions of the ,ancients regarding the nature of #f-ag ,ghosts--,confidence of the ,ancients in their appearance--,modern ,incidents in illustration of real appearance--,qualities of ,ghosts--,motives of ,apparitions--,ancient and modern ,stories ,,prophecy ,,of ,,spectres4 ,ancient spectral ,prophecy--,modern ,stories in #ah-cc illustration of prophetic ,spectres--,philosophy and ,poesy of ,shakspere--,holy influence of ,spectral ,visitations--,stories of apparently special influence of the ,deity ,,illusion ,,of ,,spectres4 ,reasons for early faith in ,phantoms--,modern errors #cd-ea regarding classic ,superstitions--,shallowness and ,fallacy of modern ,incidents--,explanation of ,ghost ,stories by ,coincidence--,incidents in proof of ,coincidence--,proneness of intellectual ,minds to credulity and exaggeration--,innocent invention of an incident at ,bowood ,,phantasy ,,from ,,mental ,,association4 ,influence of interesting localities--,definition of #eb-ff a ,phantom--,an intense idea--,demonomania--,stings of ,conscience--,curious effect of peculiar study or intense thought--,darkness and ,obscurity--,romance of reality--,a mysterious incident ,,phantasy ,,from ,,cerebral ,,excitement4 ,second ,sight--,national propensity to the #fg-gi ,sight--,romance and ,poetry of the ,mountains--,morbid predisposition to ,second ,sight--,unearthly ,visions on the eve of ,dissolution--,glimpses of ,reason in dying ,maniacs ,,phantasy ,,from ,,cerebral ,,congestion4 ,phantoms of intellectual ,minds--,illusion of #hj-hh ,opium--,illustrations of ,narcotic ,influence ,,poetic ,,phantasy1 ,,or ,,frenzy4 ,inspiration of ,poesy and #hi-ajj ,painting--,shakspere--,fuseli--,blake-- ,philosophy and ,madness--,illusion of ,tasso--,truth of ,poesy--,splendid illusions at the onset of ,mania--,melancholy constitution and decay of ,poetic ,minds--,letter of a ,cheromaniac--,sensibility--,unhappy consequences of cherishing ,romance--,fragment of ,john ,keats ,,phantasy ,,from ,,sympathy ,,with ,,the ,,brain4 ,philosophy of ,moral ,causes--,effect of thought and #aja-aab of the function of the ,stomach in producing physical changes in the ,brain--,stories in proof of this influence--,illusions from ,derangements of ,vision--,curious cases of ocular ,spectra from peculiar conditions of the ,eye ,,mysterious ,,forms ,,and ,,signs4 ,stories of ,supernatural ,appearances #aac-abb ,,analysis ,,and ,,classification ,,of ,,spectral ,,illusion4 ,credulity--,arrangement of ,causes of ,spectral #abc-adj ,illusion--,illustration of ,atmospheric ,illusions--,natural ,phenomena--,fata ,morgana--,schattenman of the ,brocken--,romance of unlettered minds ,,illusions ,,of ,,art4 ,monkish ,impostures--,optical ,toys--,spontaneous #ada-adf ,combustion ,,illustration ,,of ,,mysterious ,,sounds4 ,elemental ,causes--,impositions at #adg-aed ,woodstock--,tedworth--,cock ,lane--,subterranean ,sounds--,currents of ,air--,memnon--,phonic ,instruments--,vocal curiosity in young ,richmond ,,fairy ,,mythology4 ,origin of ,fary--,legends of the ,mythology of #aee-afe various ,climes--,cauld ,lad of ,hilton ,,demonology4 ,classic and ,indian ,mythology--,embodying of a #aff-agg ,demon--,stories illustrative of the ,superstitions of ,ireland and ,cornwall--,legend of the ,changelings--,poetry of ,nature--,preadamite ,beings ,,nature ,,of ,,soul ,,and ,,mind4 ,psychology of the ,greeks and of the #agh-aib ,moderns--,essence of ,phrenology--,lord ,brougham--,priestley--,paley--,johnson- -,modes of ,sepulture--,paradise--,atheism--,deity- -,hindu ,mythology--,senile ,intellect ,,nature ,,of ,,sleep4 ,unconsciousness of ,sleep--,necessity of #aic-bjd ,slumber--,malady of ,collins--,somnolency of the ,brute and of ,savages--,periods of ,sleep--,sleeplessness and its ,antidotes ,,sublimity ,,and ,,imperfection ,,of ,,dreaming4 ,unconsciousness of the ,dream--,arguments on this #bje-bac question--,episode of a dreaming ,life ,,prophecy ,,of ,,dreams4 ,ancient ,prophetic ,dreams--,stories of modern #bad-bbb ,prophecies in ,dreaming ,,moral ,,causes ,,of ,,dreaming4 ,associations of ,dreaming--,incongruous #bbc-bce ,combinations--,source of ,ideas in ,dreams--,innate ,idea--,undreaming ,minds--,flitting of the ,spirit--,fallacy of ,mental ,energy in the ,dream--,illusion of ,dreams--,marmontel ,,anachronism ,,and ,,coincidence ,,of ,,dreams4 ,celerity of ,ideas in the ,dream--,sacred ,records of #bcf-bef ,dreams--,danger of profane ,discussion of ,scripture--,fallacy of ,dreams--,consequences of ,credulity in ,dreams ,,material ,,causes ,,of ,,dreams4 ,blending of ,metaphysics and ,philosophy--,confusion #beg-bfi of ancient and modern ,classifications of ,dreams--,curious ,cases of suspended ,memory--,anecdotes of ,tenacity of ,memory--,physiology of ,memory--,ghost of an amputated ,limb ,,intense ,,impression4--,,memory4 ,curious ,cases of ,associations--,deranged #bgj-bhj ,memory--,dreams of ,animals--,poetic ,illustrations ,,influence ,,of ,,dark ,,blood ,,in ,,the ,,brain4 ,conditions of the ,brain--,analogy of ,dreaming and #bha-bid ,mania--,sympathetic ,causes of ,dreaming--,repletion--,effects of ,posture in inducing ,dreams--,phrenological ,illustrations ,,incubus ,,or ,,night-,,mare4 ,illustrative ,incidents--,night-mare of the ,mind #bie-cjc ,,somniloquence4--,,somnambulism4 ,stories of ,sleep-talking--,stories of #cjd-cbh ,sleep-walking--,changes of disposition in ,somnambulism--,abeyance of ,memory during the ,interval--,exactness and ,energy during ,somnambulism--,concentration of ,power--,unconsciousness--,analysis of ,sleep-walking--,theory of ,reflex ,action of the ,nervous ,system--,irresistibility--,disease of the ,brain in ,somnambulists ,,imitative ,,monomania4 ,dance of the ,middle ,ages--,tarantulism--,saint ,vitus' #cbi-cdj ,dance--,tigretier--,lycanthropy--,fanat icism during the ,commonwealth--,moravians--,the ,kent ,tragedy--,stories of ,imitative ,suicide--,effects of ,stramonium1 and of ,gaseous ,inhalation ,,reverie4 ,abstraction of ,idiocy--,cretinism--,wandering of the #cda-ceb ,mind--,concentrativeness--,anecdotes illustrative of ,illusive ,abstraction ,,abstraction ,,of ,,intellect4 ,anecdotes in illustration--,brown #cec-cff ,study--,apathy--,heroism--,reverie of ,philosophy--,sonata di ,diavolo--,reverie at ,caerphilly--,intense ,impression--,abstraction of ,deep ,study--,reverie of the ,dying ,,somnolence4--,,trance4--,,catalepsy4 ,description of ,trance--,legends of ,deep #cfg-cgg ,sleepers--,stories of ,modern ,trances--,analogies from ,intense ,impression--,periodical ,catalepsy ,,premature ,,interment4--,,resuscitation4 ,stories in ,illustration--,romance1 ,life in #cgh-cib ,death--,causes of ,resuscitation--,disunion of ,mind and ,body--,insensibility of the ,decollated ,head--,sensations during ,hanging and ,drowning--,case of ,dr4 ,adam ,clarke ,,transmigration4--,,analysis ,,of ,,trance4 ,state of the ,spirit after ,death--,fables of #cic-djd ,transmigration--,superstition in ,india and ,england--,tenacity of ,life--,hybernation--,sleep of ,plants--,physiology of ,trance ,,mesmerism4 ,its origin--,commissions for its #dje-dcj investigation--,caspar ,hauser--,sensations of ,magnetism--,magnetized ,trees--,operations during ,magnetic ,trance--,transference of ,senses--,mineral ,traction--,clairvoyance--,trance of ,santa ,theresa--,prophetess of ,prevorst--,magnetic ,aura--,personal ,sympathy--,socrates--,fascino--,prince ,hohenlohe ,,sibylline ,,influence4 ,occult ,science--,a ,gipsy--,spells and #dca-ddc ,charms--,relics--,ordeals--,philosophy of ,prophetic ,fulfilment--,melancholy effects of ,prophecy--,astrology--,conclusion 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,mystery4 ,,the ,,challenge4 8,there are more things in heav'n and earth1 ,horatio1 ,than are dreamt of in your philosophy40--,,hamlet4 ,,there was a shallop floating on the ,wye1 among the gray rocks and leafy woods of ,chepstow4 ,within it were two fair girls reclining3 the one blending the romantic wildness of a maid of ,italy with the exquisite purity of ,english nature2 the other illuming1 with the devotion of a vestal1 the classic beauty of a ,greek4 ,there was a young and learned bachelor sitting at the helm4 ,study had stamped an air of thoughtfulness on his brow2 yet a smile was ever playing on his lips1 as his heart felt the truth and influence of the beautiful life around him4 ,listen1 gentle reader1 we pray thy courtesy and thy patience1 as a rude unskilful pen traces the breathed thoughts of these wanderers of the ,wye4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,castaly4 ,we have roamed1 dear ,ida1 among the classic lands of the far-off ,mediterranean3 we have looked1 from her pinnacles of snow1 on the silvery gleaminess of ,switzerland1 and from purple sierras on the sunny splendour of ,spain2 yet these ,english meadows1 with their fringes of wild bloom1 come o'er the heart with all the freshness of an infant's dream4 ,yon majestic crag of ,wyndcliff is flinging its purple shadows athwart the water1 and floods of golden glory are streaming through the beech-woods of ,piercefield3 and see1 our little sail1 white as the wing of a swan1 is wafting us towards ,abbey ,tintern1 along this beautiful valley1 where the river almost doubles on itself2 meandering among its mead-flowers and its mosses1 as loth to leave its luxuriant bed4 ,listen6 the breath of evening is among the trees that dip in the ripple of the ,wye their leaves of shivering gold4 ,what a scene for minions of the moon to revel in6 ,say1 shall we charm the lingering hours of this midsummer night among the ivied cloisters of the abbey8 ,but where is ,astrophel1 our moon-struck student1 who1 like ,chaucer's scholar1 keeps ----8at his bed's head1 ,a twenty books clothed in black and red1 ,of ,aristotle and his philosophy80---- ,they have not taught him courtesy1 or he would not steal away from the light of our eyes to commune with owls and ivy-bushes4 ,yet we promise him our smile for your sake1 ,evelyn4 ,indeed1 ,i am thinking his mysteries will chime in admirably with the solemnity of this lone abbey4 ,we appoint him master of our revels4 ,,evelyn4 ,let your smile be in pity1 fair ,castaly1 on the illusions of ,astrophel4 ,ensconced in his dark closet1 within a charmed ring of black-letter folios1 he has wofully warped his studies1 and has read himself into the belief that he is a ,,gifted ,,seer4 ,yet love him1 lady1 for his virtues2 for his history is a very paradox4 ,his heart is melting with charity for the beings of earth1 yet his mind is half-weaned from their fellowship4 ,at his imminent peril1 he leaps into the ,isis to save a drowning boy1 and the world calls him misanthrope1 withal4 ,it is the fate indeed of many a cloistered scholar1 whose ----8desires are dolphin like1 ,and soar above the element they live in40 ,such is ,astrophel4 ,,ida4 ,he looks his part to perfection4 ,there is a shadowy expression in his dark eye1 as it were poring over the volume of his own thoughts4 ,beneath the slender shaft of yon eastern window1 behold this proselyte to the sublime science of shadows4 ,he approaches4 ,,ev4 ,the hour is on him yet4--,astrophel6 ,,astrophel4 ,whisper1 and tread lightly1 ,evelyn1 for this is haunted ground4 ,underneath this velvet turf rest the mouldering bones of a noble4 ,i have held communion in my slumber with the spirit by which they were once animated and moved2 and the mysteries of the tomb have been unfolded to me4 ,the eidlon of ,roger ,bigod has thrice come across my sight4 ,,cast4 ,a ghost6 ,,ev4 ,and ,astrophel believes the truth of this vision6 ,such phantasy might well become the ,cistercian monks1 who once stalked along these gloomy cloisters1 but not an ,oxford scholar4 ,,astr4 ,and why not an ,oxford scholar1 ,evelyn8 ,i do believe in the existence of beings out of the common course of nature2 and1 indeed1 the history of the world has ever proved the general leaning to this belief1 and my own mind feels that this universal adoption is a proof of reality of existence4 ,smile at1 or reason with me1 you will not shake my faith1 for ,i believe it true2 and even ,johnson confessed1 that 8although all argument might be against it1 yet all belief is for it40 ,,ev4 ,the diffusion of this fallacy1 ,astrophel1 proves only the universal sameness of the constitution of mind4 ,you may1 indeed1 cite the high authority of ,johnson1 that 8a belief in the apparitions of the dead could become universal only by its truth40 ,yet1 if this one word1 apparition1 be rightly interpreted1 it will not imply the existence of real phantoms1 however ethereal1 before the eye1 for the notion so construed would have been a grand error of ,imlac2 no1 he adopts an indefinite expression1 conscious that mere metaphysics were not illustrative of this subtle question4 ,there was one ,theophilus ,insulanus1 who1 ,i think1 calls all those who have not faith in phantoms1 irreligious1 because1 forsooth1 8these ghosts are never employed on subjects of frivolous concern40 ,i may be under the ban of this flimsy enthusiast1 but you will not gain me as a proselyte1 ,astrophel1 for1 like our great poet1 ,i have seen too many ghosts myself4 ,yet ,i know some few self-created wizards1 who have solved to their hearts' content those two grand mysteries1 the real existence and the purpose of ghostly visitations2 who1 like ,owain ,glyndwr1 8can call spirits from the vasty deep10 and even expect that they will 8come when they do call for them40 ,others have laboured under self-glamourie1 and believed themselves magicians1 until put to the proof4 ,i remember the painter1 ,richard ,cosway1 was under this illusion2 and1 when the old cynic ,northcote desired him to raise ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 the pseudo-magus confessed himself foiled1 by advancing this simple excuse1 8,i would1 were it not sinful60 ,it were well if these monomaniacs were laid in the famous bed of ,st4 ,hilary at ,poitiers2 for there1 with the muttering of a prayer or two1 as the legend tells us1 madmen may be cured4 ,but1 in truth1 the light of divine reason has so far dispelled these fancies for the supernatural1 that very few of us1 ,i presume1 are confident in the hope of raising a ghost when we want one2 or of laying it in the ,red ,sea for a hundred years1 by two clergymen1 with 8bell1 book1 and candle10 and scraps of mystic ,latin1 when it becomes rude or troublesome4 ,,ida4 ,will you not concede that many visionaries have believed1 and written from pure and even holy motives8 ,,ev4 ,there is no doubt of this1 lady2 yet while it has fanned the flame of superstition in minds of lower intellect1 with many1 the endeavour to prove too much has marred these motives1 and weakened faith1 even in the credulous2 so that we may hope the wild romances of ,beaumont1 and ,burthogge1 and ,baxter1 and ,aubrey1 and ,glanville1 and that arch-mystagogue ,moreton 7whose book is half full of prolix dialogues between ghosts and ghost-seers71 will soon be mere objects of interest and curiosity to the black-letter bibliomaniac and the more erudite legend-hunter4 ,,cast4 ,we will not submit to your anathema1 ,evelyn4 ,this learned clerk has challenged our faith4 ,what a treasury of secrets might he unfold to us from the mystic tomes of antiquity1 the wonders of profane psychology2 from the tales of ,arabia to ,vatheck and the ,epicurean--from the classic mythology of ,homer to the wild romances of his humble prototype ,ossian4 ,let it be a match3 we will listen1 ,astrophel1 while you 8unsphere the spirit of ,plato20 and here we sit in judgment1 on the velvet throne of this our court of ,tintern4 ,,nature ,,and ,,motives ,,of ,,ghosts4 8,in the most high and palmy state of ,rome1 ,a little ere the mightiest ,julius fell1 ,the graves stood tenantless1 and the sheeted dead ,did squeak and gibber in the ,roman streets40 ,,hamlet1 #dto4 ,b4 ,,astr4 ,it is not from the sources of mythology alone1 that ,i adduce my illustrations of the reality of ghosts1 but from the myriads of incidents which ancient and modern history record4 ,yet may ,i well crave your courtesy for the scraps of fable1 and perchance of imposture1 that may unwittingly creep into my discourse4 ,listen to me4 ,it was believed by the ancients that each body possessed three ghosts--to be released on its dissolution4 ,the manes at once emigrated to the region of ,pluto3 the spiritus ascended to the skies3 the umbra or shade still wandered on the earth4 ,or1 as the poet has more comprehensively sung1 8,bis duo sunt homini1 manes1 caro1 spiritus1 umbra2 ,quatuor ista loci bis duo suscipiunt3 ,terra tegit carnem1 tumulum circumvolat umbra1 ,orcus habet manes1 spiritus astra petit40 ,meaning that there are four principles in man1 and this is their destiny3--the flesh to earth2 the ghost to the tomb2 the soul to ,hades2 and the spirit to heaven4 ,the queen of ,carthage1 confiding in this creed1 threatens neas that her umbra will haunt him upon earth1 while her manes will rejoice in his torments4 ,the notions of other mystic scholars are thus recorded by old ,burton1 in his 8,anatomy of ,melancholy30 as those of ,surius--8that there be certain monsters of hell and places appointed for the punishment of men's souls1 as at ,hecla in ,iceland1 where the ghosts of dead men are familiarly seen1 and sometimes talk with the living4 ,saint ,gregory1 ,durand1 and the rest of the schoolmen1 derive as much from tna in ,sicily1 ,lipara1 ,hiera--and those volcanoes in ,america1 and that fearful mount ,heckleberg in ,norway1 where lamentable screeches and howlings are continually heard1 which strike a terror to the auditors3 fiery chariots are continually seen to bring in the souls of men in the likeness of crows1 and devils ordinarily goe in and out40 ,and then1 to bring this phantasy to a climax by a pandemonium of ghosts1 listen to ,bredenbachius1 in his 8,perigranions in the ,holy ,land10 where 8once a yeare dead bodies arise about ,march1 and walk1 and after awhile hide themselves again3 thousands of people come yearly to see them40 ,and this reminds me of the phantom of old ,booty1 who at the hour of his death in ,england was seen by the crew of a ship running into the crater of ,stromboli in the remote ,mediterranean1--a story which even in the present century was made the subject of discussion in a justice court4 ,now1 you must know1 the ancients believed that only those who died of the sword possessed this privilege4 ,these are the words of ,flavius ,josephus3 8,what man of virtue is there that does not know that those souls which are severed from their fleshly bodies in battles by the sword are received by the ether1 that purest of elements1 and joined to that company which are placed among the stars3--that they become good demons and propitious heroes1 and shew themselves as such to their posterity afterwards2 while upon those souls that wear away in and with their distempered bodies1 comes a subterranean night to dissolve them to nothing1 and a deep oblivion to take away all the remembrance of them8 ,and this1 notwithstanding they be clean from all spots and defilements of this world2 so that in this case the soul at the same time comes to the utmost bounds of its life1 and of its body1 and of its memorial also40 ,the mystery of the nature of these ghosts ,i may not presume to define2 but there are many learned writers of antiquity who believed in their materiality1 and broached the intricate question of their quality and formation4 ,the alchymist ,paracelsus writes of the astral element or spirit--one of the two bodies which compose our nature3 being more ethereal1 it survived some time after the death of the more substantial form1 and sometimes became the familiar spirit of the magician4 ,and what writes ,lucretius the ,epicurean to illustrate his credence in apparitions8 ,that the surfaces of bodies are constantly thrown off by a sort of centrifugal force2 that an exact image is often presented to us by this surface coming off as it were entire1 like the cast skin of the rattle-snake or the shell of the chrysalis2 and thus the ideas of our absent or departed friends strike on the mind4 ,the olden chymists1 in the age of ,louis ,,xiv4 accounted for spectral forms by the saline atoms of a putrid corpse being set free1 and combining again in their pristine form4 ,listen1 ,i pray you1 to this grave philosophy of an abstruse essay1 writ in #agid4 8,the apparitions of souls departed do1 by the virtue of their formative plastic power1 frame unto themselves the vehicles in which they appear out of the moisture of their bodies4 ,so ghosts do often appear in church-yards1 and that but for a short time1 to wit1 before the moisture is wholly dried up40 8,such are those thick and gloomy shadows damp1 ,oft seen in charnel-vaults and sepulchres1 ,lingering and sitting by a new-made grave40 ,and we read in the chronicles1 that 8during the time the ancients burned1 not buried their dead1 there was no such appearance of ghosts as is now40 ,why waves the coarse grass ranker over the grave8 ,it is touched by the larva of the rotting carcase1 which1 ascending from its putrid chrysalis1 a butterfly1 or ,psyche1 flits awhile like an ephemera1 and drops again into the vault4 ,a sentiment something like this1 ,i believe1 was the grand cause of the enrolment of the mummies by the ,egyptians2 for they thought while the body remained entire1 the soul was flitting about it3 and the early ,christians even believed that a portion at least of the soul remained1 uncorrupted by the body4 ,evelyn will grant that among the ,romans there was a devout wish to be buried near venerated beings and saints1 an emanation from whose bodies1 they believed1 would inspire the hearts of the believers4 ,and here ,i will relate a story from the ,dinan ,journal of #ahdj1 and also the fragment of a very mysterious tale told with all the solemnity of a faithful chronicle4 8,we had the curious spectacle of a long procession of girls from ,pleudiheus1 passing through our streets to the chapel of ,saint ,anne1 to offer up prayers for the repose of the soul of the mother of one of them1 who has been dead twenty-two years1 and who every five years has appeared to her daughter1 urging her to have masses said for her4 ,this time the troubled spirit prescribed the day1 hour1 and place of the service1 and even the precise dresses she would have the votaries wear4 ,consequently1 they were all lightly clothed in white1 although the rain fell and the streets were full of mud4--,some of the inhabitants of ,dinan affirm that they saw the ghost of the deceased1 marching at the head of the procession to the door of the chapel1 where it remained till the mass was finished1 and then suddenly vanished40 ,returning from the harbour to ,cadiz with some ,spanish doas1 the ,baron ,geramb heard a voice in ,french1 crying1 8,save me6 ,help1 help60 but at the time he took little or no heed of the matter4 ,on the morrow was seen on the shore of the harbour a body on a black board1 with lighted tapers by its side1 which was covered by the ,baron's direction4 ,during a tempest in the evening1 some secret impulse directed him again to the shore4 ,before his bewildered sight arose from the spot a shapeless phantom wrapped in the black winding-sheet which he had provided4 ,the phantom moved along with gigantic strides1 assuming a globular form1 and then1 whirling in spiral circles1 bounded off1 and appeared at a distance like a giant4 ,the spectre led the ,baron to the streets of ,cadiz1 its course being accompanied by a noise as of the tinkling of autumnal leaves4 ,in ,cadiz a door suddenly opened with force1 and the spectre rushed like lightning into the house1 and plunged into the cellar4 ,there was the sound of deep groaning1 and the ,baron descended into the vault3 there lay the corpse naked and livid1 and on it was prostrated an aged man1 uttering the deep sighs of abject misery and despair4 ,in a gloomy corner of this cave of death leaned the phantom1 revolving in its spiral whirls1 and then changing to a floating cloud of light2 and then there beamed forth the pale features of a youth1 undulating as if on the bosom of a wave1 which murmured in the ear4 ,then came the chaunting of anthems and prayers for the dead1 and a glittering young girl in white robes glided into the cellar1 and knelt in devotion by the body4 ,the phantom--and so the legend proceeds4 ,there is a wondrous mystery1 ,i grant1 enveloping this story2 but if there be any truth in that alchymic re-animation1 ,palingenesy-- 8,if chemists from a rose's ashes1 ,can raise the rose itself in glasses20 nay1 if the sparkling diamond shines forth from a mass of charcoal1 why may not the ashes of a body be made into a ghost1 illustrative of the philosophy of substantial apparitions1 adopted by ,kircher1--a body rebuilt1 after being resolved1 for a time1 into its constituent elements8 ,the ,parisian alchymists of the seventeenth century1 indeed1 demonstrated this mystery1 and raised a phnix from its ashes4 ,they submitted to the process of distillation some earth from the cemetery of the ,innocents2 during which ceremony1 they were scared by the appearance of perfect human shapes1 struggling in the glass vessels they were employing4 ,and1 lastly1 ,dr4 ,ferriar thus deposes3--,a ruffian was executed1 his body dissected1 and his skull pulverised by an anatomist4 ,the student1 who slept in the chamber of experiment1 saw1 in the night-time1 a progressive getting together of the fragments1 until the criminal became perfect1 and glided out at the door4 ,and here is a legend of deeper mystery still4 ,there was a merry party collected in a town in ,france1 and amongst all the gay lords and ladies there assembled1 there was none who caused so great a sensation as a beautiful young lady1 who danced1 played1 and sang in the most exquisite style4 ,there were only two unaccountable circumstances belonging to her3 one was1 that she never went to church or attended family prayers2 the other1 that she always wore a slender1 black velvet band or girdle round her waist4 ,she was often asked about these peculiarities1 but she always evaded the interrogatories2 and still1 by her amiable manners and beauty won all hearts4 ,one evening1 in a dance1 her partner saw an opportunity of pulling the loop of her little black girdle behind3 it fell to the ground1 and immediately the lady became pale as a sheet2 then1 gradually shrunk and shrunk1 till at length nothing was to be seen in her place but a small heap of grey ashes4 ,and what think you now1 ,evelyn8 ,,ev4 ,i think your candle burned very blue1 ,astrophel1 when you were poring over these midnight legends2 yet1 ,i believe1 ,i may1 by and by1 explain the story of your ,lady of the ,ashes2--all1 excepting the mystery of the sable girdle4 ,but1 methinks1 you should not have stopped short of the qualities by which we may recognise the genus of these phantoms4 ,there was once1 as ,i have heard1 a ghost near ,cirencester1 which vanished in a very nice perfume1 and a melodious twang2 and ,master ,lilly1 therefore1 concluded it to be a fairy3 and ,propertius1 ,i know1 writes of another2 and he decided1 that the scent diffused on her disappearance1 proclaimed her to be a goddess6 ,glanville has set himself to argue upon1 nay1 demonstrate1 all questions regarding materiality and immateriality1 and the nature of spirits2 puzzling us with mathematical diagrams1 and occupying fifteen chapters on the nature of the witch of ,endor3 and ,andrew ,moreton1 too1 in his 8,secrets10 comments1 with pedantic profanation1 on the 8infernal paw-wawing of this condemned creature40 ,coleridge1 and even ,sir ,walter1 who had a mighty love of legends1 propose a question1 whether she was a ventriloquist or an aristocratic fortune-teller1 or an astrologer or a gipsy1 imposing on the credulity of ,saul4 ,and yet that same ,sir ,walter very shrewdly suggested to ,sir ,william ,gell the manufacture of a ghost1 with a thin sheet of tin1 painted white1 so that by half a turn the spectre would instantly vanish4 ,,cast4 ,a ghost1 ,i believe1 according to the rules of phantasy1 ought to be without matter or form1 or indeed any sensible properties4 ,yet are very serious tales related of guns bursting when fired at them1 and swords broken by their contact1 and of loud voices issuing from filmy phantoms through which the moonbeams are seen to glimmer4 ,a spirit ought1 of course1 to communicate with us in another way than that which we know1 and possess those ethereal faculties of creeping through chinks or keyholes1 and of resuming its airy form1 like the sylph of ,belinda1 when the 8glittering forfex0 had cut it in twain4 ,an exquisite morceau of such a phantom just now flits across my memory4 ,it is of two old ladies dwelling in two border castles in ,scotland4 ,one of these dames was visited by the spectre bust of a man2 and the other by the lower half of him4 ,which had the better bargain1 ,i know not1 but ,i believe-- ,,astr4 ,nay1 it were not difficult1 lady1 to overwhelm me with tales like yours--the idle and unmeaning gossip of a winter's night3 but there are many spectral visitations so intimately associated with events1 that the faculty even of prophecy cannot be doubted4 ,bodine1 as ,burton writes1 is fully satisfied that 8these souls of men departed1 if corporeal1 are of some shape1 and that absolutely round1 like sun and moone1 because that is the most perfect form3 that they can assume other arial bodies1 all manner of shapes at their pleasure1 appear in what likeness they will themselves3 that they are most swift in motion1 can pass many miles in an instant1 and so likewise transform bodies of others into what form they please1 and1 with admirable celerity1 remove them from place to place3 that they can represent castles in the ayre1 armies1 spectrums1 prodigies1 and such strange objects to mortal men's eyes2 cause smells1 savors1 deceive all the senses2 foretel future events1 and do many strange miracles40 ,then the eccentric ,francis ,grose has thus summed up many of their wondrous attributes3-- 8,the spirit of a person deceased is either commissioned to return for some especial errand1 such as the discovery of a murder1 to procure restitution of lands1 or money unjustly withheld from an orphan or widow3 or1 having committed some injustice whilst living1 cannot rest till that is redressed4 ,sometimes the occasion of spirits revisiting this world is to inform their heir in what secret place or private drawer in an old trunk they had hid the title-deeds of the estate1 or where1 in troublesome times1 they had buried the money and plate4 ,some ghosts of murdered persons1 whose bodies have been secretly buried1 cannot be at ease till their bones have been taken up and deposited in sacred ground1 with all the rites of ,christian burial40 ,the ghost of ,hamlet's father walked on the platform at ,elsineur1 to incite his son to revenge his murder2 and many modern phantoms have enlivened the legends of our local histories1 bent on the same mysterious errand4 ,the mythology of the ancients1 and the fairy superstition of our own land1 are also replete with legends of these apparitions4 ,the rites of sepulture were essential for the repose of the manes4 ,if the body was not quietly entombed1 the soul was wandering on the banks of ,styx for one hundred years1 ere it was permitted ,charon to ferry it across the river4 ,thus spoke the shade of ,patroclus to ,achilles1 in his dream3 8,thou sleep'st1 ,achilles1 and ,patroclus1 erst ,thy best belov'd1 in death forgotten lies4 ,haste1 give me burial3 ,i would pass the gates ,of ,hades1 for the shadows of the dead ,now drive me from their fellowship afar40 ,and this is a prevailing sentiment among the ,north ,american ,indians3 8,the bones of our countrymen lie uncovered1 their bloody bed has not been washed clean1 their spirits cry against us1--they must be appeased40 ,in the letter of ,pliny the ,consul1 to ,sura1 we learn that there was at ,athens a house haunted by a chain-rattling ghost4 ,athenodorus1 the philosopher1 hired the house1 determined to quiet the restless spirit4 8,when it grew towards evening1 he ordered a couch to be prepared for him in the fore part of the house1 and1 after calling for a light1 together with his pencil and tablets1 he directed all his people to retire4 ,the first part of the night passed in usual silence1 when at length the chains began to rattle4 ,however he neither lifted up his eyes1 nor laid down his pencil1 but diverted his observation by pursuing his studies with greater earnestness4 ,the noise increased1 and advanced nearer1 till it seemed at the door1 and at last in the chamber4 ,he looked up and saw the ghost exactly in the manner it had been described to him--it stood before him beckoning with the finger4 ,athenodorus made a sign with his hand that it should wait a little1 and threw his eyes again upon his papers2 but the ghost1 still rattling his chains in his ears1 he looked up and saw him beckoning him as before4 ,upon this he immediately arose1 and1 with the light in his hand1 followed it4 ,the spectre slowly stalked along as if encumbered with his chains1 and1 turning into the area of the house1 suddenly vanished4 ,athenodorus1 being thus deserted1 made a mark with some grass and leaves where the spirit left him4 ,the next day he gave information to the magistrates1 and advised them to order that spot to be dug up4 ,this was accordingly done1 and the skeleton of a man in chains was there found2 for the body having lain a considerable time in the ground1 was putrified1 and had mouldered away from the fetters4 ,the bones1 being collected together1 were publicly buried2 and thus1 after the ghost was appeased by the proper ceremonies1 the house was haunted no more40 ,yet1 not only to entreat the rites of sepulture1 the phantom will walk according to some law of those beings remote from the fellowship of human nature1--it may be to obtain readmission to that earth from which it was1 by some fairy spell1 in exile4 ,in the wilds of ,rob ,roy's country1 there is many a ,highlander believing still the traditions of the ,daoine ,shi1 or ,men of ,peace3 and among the legends of ,aberfoyle there is one phantom tale that is apropos to my illustrations4 ,there was one ,master ,robert ,kirke4 ,he was one evening taking his night walk on a fairy hill1 or dunshi1 in the vicinity of his manse4 ,on a sudden he fell to the ground1 struck1 as it appeared to many1 by apoplexy3 the seers1 however1 believed it to be a trance inflicted on him by the fairy people for thus invading the sacred bounds of their kingdom4 ,after the interment1 the phantom of the minister appeared to one of his relatives1 and desired him to go to ,grahame of ,duchray1 his cousin1 and assure him that he was not dead1 but was at that time a prisoner in elf land1 and the only moment in which the fairy charm could be dissolved1 was at the christening of his posthumous child4 ,the counter-spell was this3 that ,grahame should be present at the baptism1 holding a dish in his hand1 and that when the infant was brought1 he should throw the dish over the phantom2 the appearance of which at that moment was faithfully promised4 ,when the child was at the font1 and while the guests were seated1 the apparition sat with them at the table2 but fear came upon the ,grme at this strange glamourie3 he forgot the solemn injunction1 and it is believed that ,mr4 ,kirke1 to this day1 8drees his weird in fairy land40 ,,prophecy ,,of ,,spectres4 8,i'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound40 ,,hamlet4 ,,ev4 ,these are very meagre spectres1 ,astrophel1 or accomplices1 as the lawyer would say1 after the fact4 ,,astr4 ,i have reserved ,prophecies for this evening4 ,in the earliest profane records of our globe1 we read of the frequent visitations of prophetic phantoms4 ,listen1 ,evelyn1 to a story of your own ,pliny2--the legend of ,curtius ,rufus4 ,when he was in low circumstances1 and unknown in the world1 he attended the governor of ,africa into that province4 ,one evening1 as he was walking in the public portico1 he was extremely surprised with the apparition of a woman1 whose figure and beauty were more than human4 ,she told him she was the tutelar power who presided over ,africa1 and was come to inform him of the future events of his life3 that he should go back to ,rome1 where he should be raised to the highest honours1 should return to that province invested with the proconsular dignity1 and there should die4 ,upon his arrival at ,carthage1 as he was coming out of the ship1 the same figure accosted him upon the shore4 ,it is certain1 at least1 that being seized with a fit of illness1 though there were no symptoms in his case that led his attendants to despair1 he instantly gave up all hope of recovery1 and this prediction was in all its points accomplished4 ,the shade of ,romulus appeared to ,julius ,proculus1 a patrician1 foretelling the splendour of ,rome4 ,the fate of the battle of ,philippi was shown to ,brutus in his tent1 by the evil spirit of ,csar2 and ,cassius also saw the phantom of ,julius on his horse1 prepared to strike him1 shortly before his suicide4 ,in the ,talmud we read of the announcement of the ,rabbi ,samuel's death to two of his friends1 six hundred miles off4 ,then1 the host of legends in that #8treasure-booke' of mystery1 8,wanley's ,wonders20 the visions of ,dion2 of ,alexander2 of ,crescentius2 of the ,pope's legate at the ,council of ,trent2 of ,cassius ,severus of ,parma2 and myriads of analogies to these2 nay1 may we not believe that the ,grecian bards wrote fragments of real history1 when ,patroclus foretels the death of ,hector1 ,hector that of ,achilles1 and ,mezentius of ,orodes1 or when dipus predicts the lofty fate of his family to ,theseus8 ,but leave we the olden classics for the proofs of later ages4 ,in the pine-forests of ,germany1 and in wild ,caledonia1 the legends of spirits and shadows abound in the gossip of the old crones1 both in the hut of the jager and the sheiling of the ,highland peasant4 ,the ,taisch 7like the ,bodach ,glas of ,fergus ,mac ,ivor17 murmurs the prophecy of death1 in the voice of the ,taishtar1 to one about to die2 and the ,wraith1 ,swarth1 ,waft1 or ,death-,fetch1 appears in the ,eidlon1 or likeness1 of the person so early doomed1 to some loved friend of the party1 or sounds of wailing and prophetic voices scream and murmur in the mountain-blast4 ,the wild romances of ,ossian1 and the shadowy mysteries so brightly illustrated in the poesy of the 8,lay10 the 8,lady of the ,lake10 and 8,marmion10 prove how deeply the common mind of ,scotland leans to her mysteries2 how devoutly her seers foretell a doom4 ,the evidence of ,martin1 the historian of the ,western ,isles1 is clear and decisive testimony of the possession of a faculty of foresight2 and in the reflecting minds of many sages1 who seek not to explain it by the term coincidence1 or to impute the vision to mere national superstition4 ,indeed1 in their records we have rules noted down1 by which the seer may overcome the imperfections of his vision4 ,if this be filmy or indistinct1 the cloak or plaid must be turned1 and the sight is clear2 but then the fated seer is often presented with his own wraith4 ,in ,aubrey's 8,miscellanies0 we read how ,sir ,richard ,napier1 immediately before his death1 was journeying from ,bedfordshire to ,berks1 and saw his own apparition lying stark and stiff on the bed2 how ,lady ,diana ,rich1 the ,earl of ,holland's daughter1 was met by her death-fetch in the garden at ,kensington1 a month ere she died of small-pox2--and listen to this legend of ,aventine4 8,the emperor ,henry went down through the ,strudel3 in another vessel was ,bruno1 bishop of ,wurtzberg1 the emperor's kinsman4 ,there sat upon a rock1 that projected out of the water1 a man blacker than a ,moor1 of a horrible aspect1 terrible to all who beheld it1 who cried out1 and said to ,bishop ,bruno1 #8,hear6 hear6 ,bishop3 ,i am thine evil spirit2 thou art mine own2 go where thou wilt1 thou shalt be mine3 yet1 now will ,i do nought to thee1 but soon shalt thou see me again4' ,the bishop crossed and blessed himself2 but the holy sign was powerless4 ,at ,posenbeis1 where dwelt the ,lady ,richlita of ,ebersberg1 the floor of the banqueting-room fell1 in the evening3 it was the death-fall of the bishop40 ,as the protector ,seymour was walking with his duchess1 at their country seat1 they perceived a spectral bloody hand thrust forth from a wall2 and he was soon after beheaded4 ,it is recorded1 that1 like ,julius ,csar1 ,james of ,scotland had three warnings4 ,the saintly man in ,lithgow palace1 and another phantom1 in ,jedburgh1 warned ,king ,james of his fate3 the latter wrote a ,latin couplet on the mantel-piece in the hall3 had he read it wisely1 he had not died at ,flodden4 ,the demon1 or the guardian angel of ,socrates1 was also a prophetic mentor--not only to the sage himself1 but even to his companions in his presence2 and the slighting of its counsel often brought regret to those who were the subjects of its warning4 ,in the minds of ,xenophon and ,plato its influence was devoutly believed1 and from the hive of the ,attic bee ,i steal this honied morsel3--8,one ,timarchus1 a noble ,athenian1 being at dinner in company with ,socrates1 he rose up to go away1 which ,socrates observing1 bade him sit down again1 for1 said he1 the demon has just now given me the accustomed sign4 ,some little time after1 ,timarchus offered again to be gone1 and ,socrates once more stopped him1 saying1 he had the same sign repeated to him4 ,at length1 when ,socrates was earnest in discourse1 and did not mind him1 ,timarchus stole away2 and1 in a few minutes after1 committed a murder1 for which1 being carried to execution1 his last words were1 #8,that he had come to that untimely end for not obeying the demon of ,socrates4'0 ,when ,ben ,jonson was sojourning at ,hawthornden1 he told ,mr4 ,drummond of his own prophetic vision1 that1 8about the time of the plague in ,london1 being in the country at ,sir ,robert ,cotton's house1 with old ,camden1 he saw1 in a vision1 his eldest son1 then a young child1 and at ,london1 appear unto him1 with the mark of a bloody cross on his forehead1 as if it had been cut with a sword2 at which1 amazed1 he prayed unto ,god2 and in the morning1 he came to ,mr4 ,camden's chamber1 to tell him1 who persuaded him it was but an apprehension1 at which he should not be dejected4 ,in the mean time1 there came letters from his wife1 of the death of that boy in the plague4 ,he appeared to him of a manly shape1 and of that growth he thinks he shall be at the resurrection40 ,from ,walton's ,lives ,i select the following fragment3 it is a vision of ,doctor ,donne1 the metaphysician1 whose wife died after the birth of a dead child4 8,sir ,robert 7,drury7 returned about an hour afterwards4 ,he found his friend in a state of extasy1 and so altered in his countenance1 that he could not look upon him without amazement4 ,the doctor was not able for some time to answer the question1 what had befallen him2 but1 after a long and perplexed pause1 at last said1 #8,i have seen a dreadful vision since ,i last saw you4 ,i have seen my dear wife pass twice by me through this room1 with her hair hanging about her shoulders1 and a dead child in her arms3 this ,i have seen since ,i saw you4' ,to which ,sir ,robert answered1 #8,sure1 ,sir1 you have slept since ,i went out1 and this is the result of some melancholy dream1 which ,i desire you to forget1 for you are now awake4' ,donne replied1 #8,i cannot be more sure that ,i now live1 than that ,i have not slept since ,i saw you2 and am as sure1 that at her second appearing1 she stopped1 looked me in the face1 and vanished4'0 ,there was a promise by ,lord ,tyrone to ,lady ,beresford of a visitation from the tomb4 ,even when the phantom appeared to her in the night1 the lady expressed her diffidence in its reality1 but it placed a mark upon her wrist1 and adjusted her bed-curtains in some supernatural fashion1 and even wrote something in her pocket-book3 so that with earnestness she related to her husband in the morning this impressive vision2 and it was not long ere missives came1 which by announcing the death of ,lord ,tyrone proved the spectre prophetic4 ,the tragedian ,john ,palmer died on the stage at ,liverpool4 ,at the same hour and minute1 a shopman in ,london1 sleeping under a counter1 saw distinctly his shade glide through the shop1 open the door1 and pop into the street4 ,this1 an hour or two after1 he mentioned very coolly1 as if ,mr4 ,palmer himself had been there4 ,cardan saw1 on the ring-finger of his right hand1 the mark of a bloody sword1 and heard at the same time a voice which bade him go directly to ,milan4 ,the redness progressively increased until midnight3 the mark then faded gradually1 and disappeared4 ,at that midnight hour his son was beheaded at ,milan4 ,it was told by ,knowles1 the governor of ,lord ,roscommon when a boy1 that young ,wentworth ,dillon was one day seized with a mood of the wildest eccentricity1 contrary to his usual disposition4 ,on a sudden he exclaimed1 8,my father is dead60 ,and soon after missives came from ,ireland to announce the fact4 ,the father of ,doctor ,blomberg1 clerk of the closet to ,george ,,iv41 was captain in an army serving in ,america4 ,we are told by ,doctor ,rudge1 that six officers1 three hundred miles from his position1 were visited after dinner by this modern ,banquo1 who sat down in a vacant chair4 ,one said to him1 8,blomberg1 are you mad80 ,he rose in silence1 and slowly glided out at the door4 ,he was slain on that day and hour4 ,in the 8,diary of a ,physician0 7an embellished record of facts71 we read the story of the spectre-smitten ,mr4 ,m----1 whose leisure hours were passed in the perusal of legends of diablerie and witchcraft4 ,one evening1 when his brain was excited by champagne1 he returned to his rooms1 and saw a dear friend in his chair2 and this friend had died suddenly1 and was at that moment laid out in his chamber2--a combination of horrors so unexpected and intense1 that monomania was the result4 ,may ,i also recount to you this vision from ,moore's ,life of ,byron8 8,lord ,byron used sometimes to mention a strange story which the commander of the packet1 ,captain ,kidd1 related to him on the passage4 ,this officer stated1 that being asleep one night in his berth1 he was awakened by the pressure of something heavy on his limbs1 and1 there being a faint light in the room1 could see as he thought distinctly the figure of his brother1 who was at that time in the same service in the ,east ,indies1 dressed in his uniform1 and stretched across the bed4 ,concluding it to be an illusion of the senses1 he shut his eyes and made an effort to sleep4 ,but still the same pressure continued1 and still as often as he ventured to take another look1 he saw the figure lying across him in the same position4 ,to add to the wonder1 on pulling his hand forth to touch this form1 he found the uniform1 in which it appeared to be dressed1 dripping wet4 ,on the entrance of one of his brother officers1 to whom he called out in alarm1 the apparition vanished2 but in a few months after1 he received the startling intelligence1 that on that night his brother had been drowned in the ,indian seas4 ,of the supernatural character of this appearance ,captain ,kidd himself did not appear to have the slightest doubt40 ,from ,dr4 ,pritchard1 ,i quote this fragment3--8,a maid-servant1 who lived in the house of an elderly lady1 some years since deceased1 had risen1 early on a winter's morning1 and was employed in washing by candle-light the entry of the house2 when she was greatly surprised at seeing her mistress1 who was then in a precarious state of health1 coming down stairs in her night dress4 ,the passage being narrow1 she rose up to let her mistress pass1 which the latter did with a hasty step1 and walked into the street1 appearing1 to the terrified imagination of the girl1 to pass through the door without opening it4 ,the servant related the circumstance to the son and daughter of the lady1 as soon as they came down stairs1 who desired her to conceal it from their mother1 and anxiously waited for her appearance4 ,the old lady entered the room1 while they were talking of the incident1 but appeared languid and unwell1 and complained of having been disturbed by an alarming dream4 ,she had dreamed that a dog had pursued her from her chamber down the staircase1 and along the entry1 and that she was obliged to take refuge in the streets40 ,in the manuscripts of ,lady ,fanshawe1 how evident is the fact of spectral prophecy6 ,sir ,richard ,fanshawe and his lady were sleeping in a baronial castle in ,ireland1 surrounded by a moat4 ,at midnight she was awoke by a ghostly and fearful screaming2 and1 gleaming before the window in the pale moonlight1 a female spectre hovered1 her light auburn hair dishevelled over her shoulders4 ,while the lady looked in mute astonishment1 the spectre vanished1 uttering two distinct shrieks4 ,her terrific story was told in the morning to her host1 who evinced no wonder at the mystery1 8,indeed10 quoth he1 8,i expected this4 ,this was the prophetic phantom of our house1 the spectre of a lady wedded to an ancestor1 and drowned by him in the moat from false notions of dignity1 because she was not of noble blood4 ,since this expiation1 the phantom appears before every death of my near relations1 and one of these died last night in my castle40--,here may be the prototype of the 8,white ,lady of ,avenel40 ,among the most exalted families we have other confident records of the recurrence of prophetic phantoms1 antecedent to great events4 ,a spectre of this kind formed a part of the household establishment of the ,macleans4 ,during the peninsular war1 at the moment that the head of the clan died at ,lisbon1 this wraith was seen to ride screaming along the shore in ,scotland4 ,arise ,evans1 in a #abmo4 tract1 8sold at his house in ,long ,alley in ,blackfriars in #afec10 entitled 8,an ,echo from ,heaven10 foretold the restoration of ,charles ,,ii42 and his true prophecy was based on the vision of a young face with a crown on1 appearing after the shades of ,fairfax and of ,cromwell4 ,there is an incident in ,roman history so impressive in its catastrophe1 so exact in its periods1 that few1 ,i think1 will deny the inspiration4 ,at the moment that ,stephanus stabbed ,domitian in his palace at ,rome1 the philosopher ,apollonius ,tyaneus1 in his school at ,ephesus1 exclaimed3 8,courage1 ,stephanus6 strike the tyrant home60 and a minute after1 when ,parthenius completed this homicide1 he added1 8he suffers for his crimes--he dies40 ,i have slightly sketched these illustrations1 and ,i presume to term them prophecies4 ,there are others so complex1 yet so complete in every part1 as to convert1 ,i might hope1 even the unbelief of ,evelyn4 ,to the relations of ,sir ,walter and ,dr4 ,abercrombie1 ,i will add one from ,moreton1 in his 8,essay on ,apparitions30 8,the ,reverend ,d4 ,scott1 of ,broad ,street1 was sitting alone in his study4 ,on a sudden the phantom of an old gentleman1 dressed in a black velvet gown1 and full bottom wig1 entered1 and sat himself down in a chair opposite to the doctor4 ,the visitor informed him of a dilemma in which his grandson1 who lived in the west country1 was placed1 by the suit of his nephew for the recovery of an estate4 ,this suit would be successful1 unless a deed of conveyance was found1 which had been hidden in an old chest in a loft of the house4 ,on his arrival at this house1 he learned that his grandson had dreamed of this visit1 and that his grandfather was coming to aid him in the search4 ,the deed was found in a false bottom of the old chest1 as the vision had promised40 ,in a letter of ,philip1 the second ,earl of ,chesterfield1 is told the following strange story1 which1 although not a prophecy1 cannot be within the pale of our philosophy4 8,on a morning in #afeb1 the earl saw a thing in white1 like a standing sheet1 within a yard of his bedside4 ,he attempted to catch it1 but it slid to the foot of the bed1 and he saw it no more4 ,his thoughts turned to his lady1 who was then at ,networth1 with her father1 the ,earl of ,northumberland4 ,on his arrival at ,networth1 a footman met him on the stairs1 with a packet directed to him from his wife1 whom he found with ,lady ,essex her sister1 and ,mrs4 ,ramsey4 ,he was asked why he returned so suddenly4 ,he told his motive2 and on perusing the letters in the packet1 he found that his lady had written to him requesting his return1 for she had seen a thing in white1 with a black face1 by her bedside4 ,these apparitions were seen by the earl and countess1 at the same moment1 when they were forty miles asunder40 ,the miraculous spirit which the influence of ,joan of ,arc infused into the desponding hearts of the ,french army1 is writ on the page of history4 ,before her proposition for the inauguration of ,charles ,,vii4 at ,rheims1 she heard a celestial voice in her prayer1 8,fille1 va1 va6 je seray ton ayde--va60 and her revelation of secrets to the king1 which he thought were locked within his own bosom1 raised in the court implicit belief in her inspiration4 ,and now1 ,evelyn1 ,i ask you1 8,can such things be1 ,and overcome us like a summer cloud1 ,without our special wonder80---- ,ere you smile at my phantasie1 and overwhelm me with doubts and solutions1 ,i pr'ythee let me counsel your philosophy4 ,dig to a certain depth in the field of science1 and you may find the roots and the gold dust of knowledge3 penetrate deeper1 and you will strike against the granite rock1 on which rest the cold and profitless reasonings of the sceptic4 ,,cast4 ,you look on me1 ,astrophel1 as on a bending proselyte4 ,yet1 sooth to tell1 it may be difficult to convert me1 although ,i am half won to romance already by the witch-thoughts of him who gilded the science of the heart and mind1 with all the iridescent charm of poesy2 an unprofessing philosopher1 yet with marvellous insight of human hearts1--my own loved ,shakspere4 ,and you listen to my ,lord ,lyttelton1 he will tell you1 in his 8,dialogues of the ,dead10 that 8in the annihilation of our globe1 were ,shakspere's works preserved1 the whole science of man's nature might still be read therein40 ,and so beautifully are his sketches of the heart and the fancy blended withal1 that we hang with equal delight on the mystic philosophy of ,hamlet1 the witchcraft of ,mab1 and ,ariel1 and ,oberon1 with their golden wreaths of gay blossoms1 as on the dying visions of ,katherine1 as pure and holy as the vesper-breathings of a novice4 ,yet the shade of superstition never darkened the brow of ,shakspere4 ,therefore1 plume not yourself on your hope of conquest1 ,astrophel3 ,evelyn may win me yet4 ,philosophy may frown on the visions of an enthusiast1 while she doth grace her pages with a poet's dream4 ,but you will not wear the willow1 ,astrophel3 there is a beam of pity for you in the eyes of yon pensive ,ida4 ,,ida4 ,you are a witch1 ,castaly4 ,yet ,i have as little faith in the quaint stories of ,astrophel4 ,a mystery must be purified and chastened by sacred solemnity1 ere it may be blended with the contemplation of holy study4 ,and yet there is an arch voluptuary1 ,boccacio1 the coryphus of a loose band of novelists1 who has stained a volume by his profane union of holiness and passion4 ,the scenes of his ,decameron are played amidst the raging of the plague1 by flaunting youths and maidens1 but that moment arisen from the solemnity of a cathedral prayer6 ,,astr4 ,you will call up the shade of ,valdarfar1 ,ida1 that idol of the ,roxburghe club1 and printer of the ,decameron---- ,,ida4 ,if he appear1 he shall vanish at a word1 ,astrophel4 ,yet we may not lightly yield the influence of special visitations1 even in our own days1 when solemn belief is chastened by holy motives1 and becomes the spring of living waters4 ,even the taint of superstition may be almost sanctified on such a plea2 and ,baxter may be forgiven half his credulity when he wrote his 8,saints' ,rest10 and the 8,essay on ,apparitions10 to convert the sceptics of ,london1 who1 in the dearth of signs and wonders1 expressed their willingness to believe the soul's immortality1 if they had proofs of ghostly visitations4 ,i will myself even quote a mystery1 7,i believe recorded in ,sandys's ,ovid17 for the sake of the moral which it bears4 ,it is the legend of 8,the ,room of the ,ladyes ,figure30 whether it be a tale of ,bavaria1 or a mere paraphrase from the ,saxon ,sabinus1 ,i know not4 ,this is the story of ,otto1 a ,bavarian gentleman1 of passionate nature1 mourning for his wife4 ,on one of his visits to her tomb1 a mournful voice1 which murmured1 8,a blessed evening1 sir60 came o'er his ear2 and while his eyes fell on the form of a young chorister1 he placed a letter in his hands1 and vanished4 ,his wonder was extreme1 while he read this mysterious despatch1 which was addressed 8,to my dear husband1 who sorrows for his wife10 and signed1 8,this1 with a warm hand1 from the living ,bertha10 and appointing an interview in the public walk4 ,thither1 on a beautiful evening1 sped the ,bavarian1 and there1 among the crowd1 sat a lady covered by a veil4 ,with a trembling voice he whispered 8,bertha10 when she arose1 and1 with her warm and living arm on his1 returned to his once desolate home4 ,there were odd thoughts1 surmises1 and wonderings1 passing among the friends of ,otto1 and suspicions of a mock funeral and a solemn cheat2 but all subsided as time stole over1 and their wedded life was without a cloud3 until a paroxysm of his rage one fatal day was vented on the lady1 who cried1 8,this to me6 what if the world knew all60--with this broken sentence she vanished from the room4 ,in her chamber1 whither the search led1 erect1 as it were gazing on the fire1 her form stood2 but when they looked on it in front1 there was a headless hood1 and the clothes were standing as if enveloping a form1 but no body was there6 ,need ,i say1 that a thrill of horror crept through all at the mystery1 and a fear at the approach of ,otto1 who1 though deeply penitent1 was deserted by all but a graceless reprobate1 his companion1 and his almoner to many a stranger1 who knew not the unhallowed source of bounty8 ,that belief cannot be an error1 which associates divine thoughts with the events of human life4 ,i remember1 as ,i was roaming over the wild region of ,snowdonia1 we sat above the valley and the lakes of ,nant ,gwinant1 on which the red ridge of ,clwd ,coch threw a broad and purple shadow1 while over ,moel ,elion and ,myneth ,mawr1 the sun was bathed in a flood of crimson light4 ,the ,welsh guide was looking down in deep thought on ,llyn ,gwinant2 and1 with a tear in his eye1 he told us a pathetic story of two young pedestrians1 who were benighted among the mountains1 on their ascent from ,beddgelert4 ,they had parted company in the gloom of the evening1 and each was alone in a desert4 ,on a sudden1 the voice of one of them was distinctly heard by the other1 in the direction of the gorge which bounds the pass of ,llanberis1 as if encouraging him to proceed4 ,the wanderer followed its sound1 and at length escaped from this labyrinth of rocks1 and arrived safely at ,capel ,currig4 ,in the morning1 his friend's body was found lying far behind the spot where the phantom voice was first heard1 and away from the course of their route4 ,was this a special spirit1 a solemn instance of friendship after death1 as if the phantom had been endowed with supernatural power1 and become the guardian angel of his friend2 or the special whisper of the ,deity in the ear of the living8 ,a belief in this spiritual visitation is often the consolation of pure ,christianity1 for 8the shadow of ,god is light60 ,with some the hope of heaven rests on it2 and holy men have thought1 that the presence of a spirit may even sanctify the being which it approaches with an emanation of its own holiness4 ,nay1 do we not witness a blessing like this in the common walks of life2 as in that beautiful story 7told by the ,bishop of ,gloucester7 of the vision of her dead mother1 by the daughter of ,sir ,james ,lee1 in #affb8 ,is not the effect of these visitations1 to a chastened mind1 ever fraught with good8 ,it may be merely a wisdom or a virtue in decision2 as when my ,lord ,herbert1 of ,cherbury1 prayed to ,god to declare whether he should publish his book 8,de ,veritate20 he heard a gentle voice from heaven1 which answered his prayer1 with a solemn approval of his design4 ,it may be the checking of our pride of life1 or our self-glory for success2 a divine lesson that may counsel us against worldly wisdom1 in this golden precept1 8,seek to be admired by angels rather than by men40 ,so that complete conversion may follow the vision of a spirit4 ,doddridge has given us the stories of ,colonel ,gardiner and the ,rev4 ,vincent ,perronet2 and in the 8,baronii ,annales0 we read of ,ticinus1 a departed friend of ,michael ,mercator1 then a profane student in philosophy1 who1 according to a preconcerted promise1 appeared to him at the moment that he died1 afar off in ,florence4 ,the vision so alarmed his conscience1 that he at once became a devout student in divinity4 ,in the city of ,nantes1 as we see it written by ,william of ,malmsbury1 in the twelfth century1 dwelt two young ecclesiastics4 ,between them was a solemn compact1 that within thirty days after the death of either1 his shade should appear1 sleeping or waking1 to the survivor1 to declare if the true psychology was the doctrine of ,plato1 or of the ,epicureans2 if the soul survived the body1 or vanished into air4 ,the shade appeared like one dying1 while the spirit passeth away2 and discoursing1 like the ghost of ,hamlet's father1 of the pains of infernal punishments1 stretched forth his ulcerous arm1 and asked if 8it seemed as light20 then1 dropping the caustic humour from his arm on the temples of the living witness1 which were corroded by the drop1 he warned him of the same penalties if he entered not into holy orders1 in the city of ,rennes4 ,this solemn warning worked his conversion1 and he became a pious and exemplary devotee1 under the holy wings of ,saint ,melanius4 ,in these instances1 is not the special influence of the ,deity evident8 and why will our profane wisdom still draw us from our leaning to this holy creed1 causing us to 8forsake the fountains of living water1 and hew out unto ourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water80 ,how awfully beautiful is the ,mosaic picture of the first mortal communion with the ,creator1 when the vision of ,god was heard by ,adam and ,eve1 walking in the garden in the cool of the day2 or1 when the ,deity appeared to ,abraham and to ,moses1 and his word came to ,manoah1 and to ,noah1 with the blessings of a promise2 or1 when his angels of light descended to console1 and to relieve from chains and from fire2 or1 when the angel of the ,lord first appears in the vision to ,cornelius2 and the trance1 or rather the counterpart of the vision1 comes over ,st4 ,peter1 at ,joppa2 and the arrival of the men1 sent by the centurion1 confirms the miracle3 and then1 the last sublime revealings of the ,apocalypse4 ,you will not call it presumption1 ,evelyn1 that ,i adduce these holy records to confirm our modern faith2 and ask you1 why philosophy will yet chain our thoughts to earth1 and affirm our visions to be a meaningless phantasy8 ,,illusion ,,of ,,spectres4 8,more strange than true4 ,i never may believe ,these antique fables40 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream4 ,,ev4 ,your holy thoughts1 fair ,ida1 are but an echo of my own4 ,the grand causes and awful judgments of the inspired ras of the world prove the truth by the necessity of the miracles1 not only in answer to the ,pharisees and ,sadducees1 who required a sign1 but even before the eyes of the early disciples1 whose apathetic hearts soon forgot the miracles1 and their divine ,master himself2 for1 as he was walking on the sea1 8at the fourth watch1 they thought he was a spirit40 ,i would fain1 however1 adopt the precept of ,lord ,bacon1 to waive theology in my discussions and my illustrations1 because ,i am unwilling to blend the sacred truths of spiritual futurity with arguments on the imperfection of material existence4 ,in the abstract spiritual evidence of all modern superstition1 ,i have little faith4 ,these records are scarcely more to be confided in than fairy tales1 or fictions like those of many antique sages3 as the rabbins1 that 8the cherubim are the wisest1 the seraphim the most amiable1 of angels20 or of the visionary ,jew of ,burgundy1 whom1 in #afda1 ,john ,evelyn spoke with in ,holland1--8,he told me that1 when the ,messias came1 all the ships1 barkes1 and vessels of ,holland should1 by the powere of certaine strange whirle winds1 be loosed from their ankers1 to convey their brethren and tribes to the holy citty40 ,or even that of ,melancthon1 that his sable majesty once appeared to his own aunt in the shape of her husband1 and grasping her hand1 so scorched and shrivelled it1 that it remained black ever after4 ,these are fair samples of credulity4 ,you will call me presumptuous1 but1 believe me1 ,astrophel1 it is superstition which is presumptuous and positive1 and not philosophy2 for credulity believes on profane tradition1 or the mere assertion of a mortal4 ,but the glory of philosophy is humility2 for they who1 like ,newton1 and ,playfair1 and ,wollaston1 and ,davy1 look deeply into the wonder and beauty of creation1 will be ever humbled by the contemplation of their own being1--an atom of the universe4 ,a philosopher cannot be proud2 for1 like ,socrates1 he confesses his ignorance1 because he is ever searching for truth4 ,he cannot be a sceptic2 for when he has dived into the deeps of science1 his thoughts will ascend the more toward the ,deity3 he has grasped all that science can afford him1 and there is nothing left for his mighty mind but divine things and holy hopes4 ,philosophy is not confident either1 because she ever waits for more experience and more weight of testimony4 ,how often1 ,astrophel1 must we be deceived1 like children1 by distance1 until experience teaches us truth4 ,by this we know that the turrets of distant towers are high1 yet they dwindle in our sight to the mere vanishing point1 as the child believes them4 ,such is the power of demonstration4 ,the ancient polytheists could not be other than idolaters and believers in prophecy4 ,the rabbins were schooled1 in addition to the books of ,moses1 in those of ,zoroaster1 in the ,talmud1 which was the magic volume of the ,jews1 and the ,takurni1 or ,persian ,almanac1 the annual expositor of natural and judicial astrology in the clime of the sun4 ,the sages who lived immediately after the light of ,christianity had been shed over the ,holy ,land1 had not forgotten the miracles wrought in the holy city2 but they profaned ,omnipotence by making them purposeless4 ,superstition then formed a part of the national creed3 even a mere word1 as 8,epidamnum10 they dreaded to pronounce1 as it was of such awful import2 and credulity and blind faith in the prophetic truth of omens and oracles prevailed4 ,we read in ,montfaucon1 that twelve hundred believed in this miracle of ,virgil3 8,captus a ,romanis invisibiliter exiit1 ivitque ,neapolim30 that he rendered himself invisible to the ,romans and escaped to ,naples4 ,the influence of this blind infatuation was the spring of many actions1 which1 like the daring of the ,indian fatalist in battle1 were vaunted as deeds of heroic self-martyrdom4 ,marcus ,curtius1 the trembling of the earth having opened a chasm in the ,roman forum1 leaped into it on horseback1 when the soothsayers declared it would not close until the most valuable thing in the city was flung into it4 ,and the two ,decii offered themselves as the willing sacrifice1 to ensure a victory for their country1--one in the war with the ,latins1 the other in that of the ,etrurians and ,umbrians4 ,aristotle and ,galen were exceptions4 ,it is true1 that ,socrates believed himself under the influence of a demon1 a sort of delegate from the ,deity1--indeed1 that ,god willed his death2 for when his friend pressed him on his trial to compose his defence1 he answered thus3--8,the truth is1 ,i was twice going about to make my apology1 but was twice withheld by my demon40 ,but remember1 ,astrophel1 the ,greek word which the philosopher employed1 1 and you will rather confess that it implies the ,deity1 as if some divine inspiration taught him2 or perchance1 as some of his commentators believe1 this invisible monitor was merely the impersonation of the faculty of judgment1 and of that deep knowledge and forethought with which his mind was fraught4 ,cicero1 too1 is said to have written arguments to prove the divine origin of the oracle of ,delphi2 but it is well believed by classics1 that ,addison has1 in his letter in the ,spectator1 mistaken ,cicero for ,cato4 ,recollect1 ,astrophel1 this is an old point with us1 when we were reading the subject of ,auguries1 in his book1 8,de ,divinatione10 in which he wonders 8that one soothsayer can look another in the face without laughing20 and you remember ,lucian ridicules ghost-seeing as the whim of imagination4 ,you have cited ,pliny4 ,true1--,pliny is an interesting story-teller2 although he warps somewhat the phantoms of his dreams4 ,but what is the first sentence of his letter to ,sura8--8,i am very desirous to know your opinion concerning spectres2 whether you believe them to have a real existence1 and are a sort of divinities1 or are only the visionary impressions of a terrified imagination40 ,and what did ,johnson confess8--,that 8this is a question1 which1 after five thousand years1 is still undecided2 a question1 whether in theology or philosophy1 one of the most important that can come before the human understanding40 ,so you see the vaunted creed of ,johnson was at least like the coffin of ,mahomet1 poised between the affirmative and negative of the proposition4 ,the sage was a strict spiritualist1 and1 as ,boswell says1 8wished for more evidence of spirit in opposition to materialism40 ,on some points he was also mighty superstitious1 and constantly affirmed his conviction that he should himself run mad4 ,this augury failed1 and therefore the prophetic nature of second sight needs more convincing proof than the creed of ,johnson4--,in his own words1 8,foresight is not prescience40 ,as to the second sight of ,caledon1 he confesses that1 although in his journey he searched diligently1 he saw but one seer1 and he was grossly ignorant1 as indeed they usually are4 8,he came away only willing to believe20 the learned and literary even in the far ,hebrides1 especially the clergy1 being altogether sceptics4 ,in the consideration of this question in the study of psychology1 it has been an error to conclude that1 because in some certain works arguments are adduced by imaginary characters1 in support of the appearance of departed spirits3 such was the positive belief of their authors4 ,if then1 for instance1 the arguments of ,imlac1 in ,rasselas1 which aim at the proof of spectral reality1 or rather the appearance of departed beings1 be adduced as an evidence of ,johnson's own belief1 ,i might observe that it were equally rational to identify the minds or dispositions of ,massinger and ,sir ,giles ,overreach1--of ,shakspere and ,iago4 ,like the ,catholic priesthood1 who rule the ignorant by the force of superstition1 leaders have been induced to profess the possession of this faculty1 to overawe their proselytes by their own deeper knowledge2 as ,numa vaunted his intimacy with the nymph ,egeria at her fountain4 ,for this purpose1 even the ,corsican general1 ,pascal ,paoli1 assumed the profession of a seer1 and the mystery of his prescience was on the lips of every ,corsican4 ,when ,boswell asked1 if the fulfilments of his prophecies were frequent1 a ,corsican grasped a bundle of his hair1 and whispered1 8,tante1 tante1 signore60 ,but ,i will not play the dullard1 ,astrophel1 while you1 with your legendary romance1 charm the listening ears of ladyes fayre4 ,i will have my turn of story-telling1 7avoiding the myriads of queer tales1 told by superstitious and unlettered visionaries1 on the look out for marvels1 by servant maids and rustics1 and silly people1 the chief actors in ghost stories74 ,and therefore1 in the face of these negative conclusions1 even of ,johnson1 hear one unparalleled story1 culled from the rich treasury of ,master ,aubrey's 8,miscellanies40 ,it was of an earl of ,caithness1 who1 desirous of ascertaining the distance of a vessel which was laden with wine for his cellars1 proposed a question to a seer4 ,the answer was1 8,at the distance of four hour's sail40 ,it may be some doubt was expressed of the truth of this oracle2 for1 to prove his gift of clairvoyance1 he laid before the earl the cap of a seaman in the ship1 which he had that moment taken off his head4 ,the vessel duly arrived1 and lo6 a sailor claimed the cap in the seer's hand1 affirming that1 four hours before1 it had been blown from his head by the gale4 ,is not this the very acme of effrontery8 ,carolan1 the inspired bard of ,erin1 confessed he could not compose a planxty for a certain lady of ,sligo1 even when he made an effort to celebrate her wondrous beauty2 and one day in despair he threw away his harp and fell into a lament1 that some evil genius was hovering over him3 from his harp strings1 7in contrast with those of ,anacreon17 he could sweep only a mournful music1 and he thence prophesied1 and that truly1 the death of the lady within the year4 ,dubuison1 a dentist of ,edinburgh1 on the day preceding the death of ,president ,blair1 met him in the street1 and was addressed by the president with a peculiar expression4 ,on the day before the death of ,lord ,melville1 the dentist was met by him exactly on the same spot1 and accosted by my lord in the very same words4 ,on the death of ,lord ,melville1 ,dubuison exclaimed that he should be the third4 ,he became immediately indisposed1 and died within an hour4 ,in the 8,miscellanies0 of ,aubrey1 we read1 that ,john ,evelyn related to the ,royal ,society the case of the curate of ,deptford1 ,mr4 ,smith1 who1 in ,november1 #afgi1 was sick of an ague4 ,to this reverend clerk appeared the phantom of a master of arts1 with a white wand in his hand1 who promised that if he lay on his back three hours1 from ten to one1 his ague would leave him4 ,and this prophecy was also to the very letter fulfilled4 ,napoleon1 when he was marching upon ,acre1 had a djerme1 or ,nile boat1 with some of his troops1 destroyed2 the boat's name was ,l',italie2 and from this he said1 8,italy is lost to ,france40 ,and so it was4 ,during the siege of ,jerusalem1 for seven days a man paraded round the walls1 exclaiming with a solemn voice1 8,woe to ,jerusalem60 and on the seventh day he added1 8,woe to ,jerusalem1 and myself60 ,when1 at the moment of this anathema1 a missile from the enemy destroyed him4 ,do you wonder that the prophecy of ,monsieur ,cazotte of his own decapitation1 recorded in his 8uvres de ,m4 de la ,harpe10 should have been fulfilled8 for in #aghh1 when this prophecy was uttered1 the guillotine was daily reeking with patrician blood2 and the ,duchess of ,grammont1 ,vicq d',azyr1 ,condorcet1 and ,cazotte himself1 among a host of others1 were dragged to the scaffold4 ,when dark events were overclouding ,poland1 to ,sorvenski the warrior1 a convert to magnetism1 it was imparted in a vision1 that ,warsaw should be deluged in blood1 and that he should fall in battle4 ,in two years these forebodings were fulfilled4 ,it is known that ,lord ,falkland and ,archbishop ,williams both warned ,charles ,i4 of his fate2 but it required no ghost to tell him that4 ,and ,i have known many deeply interested in the fate of absent friends2 and knowing their circumstances and locality1 so prophesy1 that they seemed to have all the faculty of clairvoyance4 ,the young ladies of ,britain1 during the ,peninsular war1 were often dreaming of the apparitions of their lovers1 perhaps at the hour of their expiring on the field of battle3 coincidences that must make a deep impression on sensitive minds4 ,were ,i justified in divulging secrets and confessions1 ,i might relate some curious stories of these inauspicious dreams4 ,at the moment of the duel between ,mr4 ,pitt and ,mr4 ,tierney1 on ,wimbledon ,common1 a lady of fashion in ,london exclaimed1 8,this is the important moment60 ,oliver ,cromwell had reclined on his couch1 and extreme fatigue forbad the coming on of sleep4 ,on a sudden his curtains opened1 and a gigantic female form imparted to him1 that he should be the greatest man in ,england4 ,the puritanical faith and ambition of ,cromwell might have raised1 during the distracted state of the kingdom1 something even beyond this2 and who may decide1 if the spectre had whispered1 8,thou shalt be king hereafter10 that the protector would have refused the crown1 as1 on the feast of ,lupercal1 it had been refused by ,csar8 8,general ,oglethorpe10 writes ,boswell1 8told us that ,prendergast1 an officer in the ,duke of ,marlborough's army1 had mentioned to many of his friends1 that he should die on a particular day4 ,upon that day a battle took place with the ,french2 and after it was over1 and ,prendergast was still alive1 his brother officers1 while they were yet in the field1 jestingly asked him1 where was his prophecy now8 ,prendergast gravely answered1 #8,i shall die1 notwithstanding what you see4' ,soon afterwards there came a shot from a ,french battery1 to which the orders for a cessation of arms had not yet reached1 and he was killed upon the spot60 ,but can these shallow stories be cited as prophecies8 ,the links in the chain of causation are evident1 and the veriest sceptic cannot doubt their sequence1 where there was so strong a probability4 ,it is merely by reflecting on the past and judging the future by analogy4 ,natural events of human actions have laws to govern them1 and there is seldom foresight without the reflection on these laws4 ,lord ,mansfield1 when asked how the ,french revolution would end1 replied1 8,it is an event without a precedent1 and therefore without a prophecy40 ,,astr4 ,then you do not believe1 where you cannot develop the causes of events4 ,like all rational philosophers1 you must have demonstrative proof4 ,in which class of sceptics shall ,i enrol you1 ,evelyn8--,as a proselyte of ,aristotle1 who will deny not only the existence of spirits1 but affirm heaven and hell to be a fable1 and that the world is self-existent3 or with the ,epicureans1 who believed the impious doctrine of blind chance1--that the sun and stars were vapours1 and the soul perishable2 or with the modern lights of reason1--,sir ,isaac ,newton1 who confessed the ,paradise ,lost to be a fine poem1 though it proved nothing2 or the ,abb ,lauguerne1 who1 for the self-same reason1 despised the brilliancy of ,racine and ,corneille2 or with the ,sadducees themselves1 who denied both prophecy and spirit8 ,,ev4 ,perhaps the ,sadducees might have referred visions to the right cause1 for phantoms differ little from ,locke's 8substance which thinks40 ,but the mere metaphysician blinks the question 7as ,lord ,bacon does that of experimental chemistry1--8,vix unum experimentum adduci potest quod ad hominum statum levandum et juvandum spectat072 thus wofully depreciating the progress of chemical science1 as if the discoveries of ,wollaston1 of ,davy1 of ,dalton1 and of ,faraday were fruitless4 ,remember1 modern philosophers are not like ,xenophon1 who 7says ,socrates7 called all fools who differed from his opinion4 ,even ,baxter confesses the frequency of imposture in ghost stories1 yet leans to the belief of all which he cannot account for4 ,now if philosophy had not doubted1 science would be stationary4 ,we might still believe1 with ,heraclitus1 that the sun was only a foot in breadth2 or1 with ,copernicus1 that it revolved in its orbit1 while the earth was at rest4 ,remember1 ,astrophel1 the way to the temple of ,science is through the portals of doubt3 it is a mark of weakness1 8jurare in verba magistri40 ,even the prince philosopher of ,denmark doubted the prophetic truth of his father's ghost on its mere appearance--78,the spirit ,i have seen may be a devil107--until the scene of the play1 and the stricken conscience of the king1 and then only1 he believed that 8it was an honest ghost40 8,it is true10 as ,lord ,chesterfield wrote in #afec1 8,i know that ,god can make any such things to appear1 but because he can1 therefore to conclude that he doth1 is ill argued3 and though divers books are full of such stories1 yet the soberest sort of men in all ages have doubted the truth of them40 ,i might add to these the visions which have been so strangely warped to interpret a subsequent event4 ,those of ,william ,rufus1 and ,innocent the ,fourth1 and ,henry the ,second of ,france1 and a thousand others from ancient history1 between the assumed prophecy and fulfilment of which1 there is about as much truth as when ,lady ,seymour dreamt of having found a nest of nine finches1 and soon after was married to ,finch1 ,earl of ,winchelsea1 and was blessed with a brood of nine children4 ,with the coincidences of life we have all been struck2 the ignorant and timid and superstitious among us with wonder3 but how comparatively trivial are these tiny drops in the wide ocean of events1 and what myriads of dreams and visions from which there are no results6 ,a simple incident occurred to me in the autumn of last year1 which was so complete in its association as to be for a moment startling to myself4 ,influenced by a sort of veneration for the memory of the good ,gilbert ,white of ,selborne1 ,i made a pilgrimage to that calm and rustic village1 so exquisitely embosomed among green meads1 and beech-crowned chalk hills1 and forests embrowned with heath and fern4 ,on my entrance to the village1 ,i was reflecting on the 8idiot boy0 who fed on honey which he pressed from the bees he caught1 when lo6 at the first door a figure1 which grinned at me1 and mowed and muttered1 but without the slightest verbal utterance4 ,he was an idiot1 but not ,white's idiot2 yet a visionary mind might readily for a moment believe it to be a phantom of the foolish boy1 immortalized1 as it were1 in the 8,natural ,history of ,selborne40 ,there was an imposing occurrence also1 during the funeral procession of ,sir ,walter ,scott to ,dryburgh4 ,a halt took place for many minutes 7in consequence of an accident7 precisely on the summit of the hill at ,bemerside1 where a beautiful prospect opens1 to contemplate which1 ,sir ,walter was ever wont to rein up his horse4 8,in #ahaa10 writes ,lord ,byron in a letter to ,mr4 ,murray1 8my old school and form fellow ,peel1 the ,irish secretary1 told me he saw me in ,st4 ,james's ,street2 ,i was then in ,turkey4 ,a day or two afterwards he pointed out to his brother a person across the way1 and said1 #8,there is the man ,i took for ,byron3' his brother answered1 #8,why1 it is ,byron1 and no one else4' ,i was at this time seen to write my name in the ,palace ,book4 ,i was then ill of a malaria fever4 ,if ,i had died1 here would have been a ghost story40 ,while ,lord ,byron was at ,colonna1 his dervish ,tahiri1 as we read in his notes to the 8,giaour10 who professed the faculty of second hearing1 prophesied an attack of the ,mainotes as they passed a certain perilous defile1 but nothing came of it3 the attack was not made2 and it is probable that some ringing in the ears of the dervish1 and a knowledge that the defile was a haunt of brigands1 were the springs of this notion4 ,and there are events1 too1 which have all the intensity of romance and seem involved in the deepest mystery1 and which1 like ,washington ,irving's tale of the 8,spectre ,bridegroom10 assume all the air of the supernatural1 until the enigma is solved1 and then we cry1 8,how clear the solution60 ,among the myriads of explained mysteries in the north1 ,i will cite that of the farmer of ,teviotdale1 who1 in the gloom of evening1 saw on the wall of a cemetery a pale form throwing about her arms1 and mowing and chattering to the moon4 ,with not a little terror he spurred his horse1 but as he passed the phantom it dropped from its perch1 and1 like ,tam o' ,shanter's ,nannie1 fixing itself on the croup1 clasped him tightly round the waist with arms of icy coldness4 ,he arrived at home2 with a thrill of horror exclaimed1 8,tak aff the ghaist60 and was carried shivering to bed4 ,and what was the phantom8 ,a maniac widow1 on her distracted pilgrimage to the grave of her husband1 for whom she had indeed mistaken the ill-fated farmer4 ,the president of a literary club at ,plymouth being very ill during its session1 the chair out of respect was left vacant4 ,while they were sitting1 his apparition1 in a white dress1 glided in and took formal possession of the chair4 ,his face was 8wan like the cauliflower20 he bowed in silence to the company1 carried his empty glass to his lips1 and solemnly retired4 ,they went to his house1 and learned that he had just expired6 ,the strange event was kept a profound secret1 until the nurse confessed on her death-bed that she had fallen asleep1 that the patient had stolen out1 and1 having the pass-key of the garden1 had returned to his bed by a short path before the deputation1 and had died a few seconds after4 ,in the records of his life1 by ,taylor1 we read of a trick of the great actor1 who1 like ,brinsley ,sheridan1 had an inkling for practical jokes4 ,it was on a professional visit of ,dr4 ,moncey4 8,garrick was announced for ,king ,lear on that night1 and when ,moncey saw him in bed he expressed his surprise1 and asked him if the play was to be changed4 ,garrick was dressed1 but had his night-cap on1 and the quilt was drawn over him to give him the appearance of being too ill to rise4 ,dr4 ,m4 expressed his surprise1 as it was time for ,garrick to be at the theatre to dress for ,king ,lear4 ,garrick1 in a languid and whining tone1 told him that he was too much indisposed to perform himself1 but that there was an actor named ,marr1 so like him in figure1 face1 and voice1 and so admirable a mimic1 that he had ventured to trust the part to him1 and was sure the audience would not perceive the difference4 ,pretending that he began to feel worse1 he requested ,moncey to leave the room in order that he might get a little sleep1 but desired him to attend the theatre1 and let him know the result4 ,as soon as the ,doctor quitted the room1 ,garrick jumped out of bed and hastened to the theatre4 ,moncey attended the performance4 ,having left ,garrick in bed1 he was bewildered by the scene before him1 sometimes doubting and sometimes being astonished at the resemblance between ,garrick and ,marr4 ,at length1 finding that the audience were convinced of ,garrick's identity1 ,moncey began to suspect a trick had been practised upon him1 and instantly hurried to ,garrick's house at the end of the play2 but ,garrick was too quick for him1 and was found by ,moncey in the same state of illness40 ,these are truths which are indeed stranger than fiction4 ,were a miracle once authenticated1 our scepticism might cease1 but we cannot be convinced of supernatural agency till something be done or known which could not be so by common means1 or which through the medium of deception or contrivance imposes on the mind such belief2 of which impression ,alston the painter once told ,coleridge a melancholy story4 ',twas of a youth at ,cambridge1 who dressed himself up in white as a ghost to frighten his companion1 having first drawn the bullets from pistols which he kept at the head of his bed4 ,as the apparition glided by his bed1 the youth laughed and cried out1 8,vanish6 ,i fear you not40 ,the ghost did not obey him1 and at length he reached a pistol and fired at it1 when1 seeing the ghost immoveable and invulnerable as he supposed1 a belief in a spirit instantly came over his mind1 and convulsion succeeding1 his extreme terror was soon followed by his death4 ,i have read 7,i believe in ,clarendon71 that the decapitation of ,charles ,i4 was augured 7after death7 from his coronation robes being of white velvet instead of purple2 and this it was remembered was the colour of a victim's death-garment2 and in ,blennerhasset's history of ,james ,,ii41 that the crown at his coronation tottered on his head1 and at the same moment the royal arms fell from the altar of some ,london church4 ,all this is too childish to be spoken of seriously1 and reminds me of the ,general ,montecuculi1 who on some saint's day had ordered bacon in his omelette4 ,at the moment it was served1 a peal of thunder shook his house1 when he exclaimed1 8,voil bien du bruit pour une omelette60 ,we wonder not to find ,lily1 into whose moth-eaten tomes ,i have sometimes peeped for amusement1 prating thus of consequences4 ,there is an old paper of his graced with 8the effigies of ,master ,praise ,god ,barebone10 where1 among other judgments1 the blindness of ,milton is recorded as a penal infliction of the ,deity1 for 8that he writ two books against the kings1 and ,salmasius his defence of kings40 ,but we do wonder at such a weakness in ,sir ,walter ,raleigh1 that he should thus write in his ,history of the ,world1--8,the strangest thing ,i have read of in this kind being certainly true1 was1 that the night before the battle of ,novara1 all the dogs which followed the ,french army ran from them to the ,switzers2 and lo6 next morning the ,switzers were beaten by the ,french40 ,and yet a greater wonder is1 that so many solemn stories should have crept into our national legends1 in which there is no truth3 in which philosophers and divines have very innocently combined to bewilder us4 ,there is an assumed incident associated with a melancholy event in the noble family of ,lansdowne1 most illustrative of my observation4 ,in the 8,literary ,recollections0 of the ,rev4 ,richard ,warner1 is recorded the interesting story of the apparition of ,lord ,william ,petty1 at ,bowood1 related to ,mr4 ,warner by the ,rev4 ,joseph ,townsend1 rector of ,pewsey in ,wiltshire1 and 8confirmed by the dying declaration of ,dr4 ,alsop1 of ,calne40 ,it is affirmed that ,lord ,william ,petty1 who was under the care of ,dr4 ,priestley1 the librarian1 and the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,jervis1 his tutor1 was attacked1 at the age of seven1 with inflammation of the lungs1 for which ,mr4 ,alsop was summoned to ,bowood4 ,after a few days1 the young nobleman seemed to be out of danger2 but1 on a sudden relapse1 the surgeon was again sent for in the evening4 8,it was night before this gentleman reached ,bowood but an unclouded moon showed every object in unequivocal distinctness4 ,mr4 ,alsop had passed through the lodge-gate1 and was proceeding to the house1 when1 to his astonishment1 he saw ,lord ,william coming towards him1 in all the buoyancy of childhood1 restored apparently to health and vigour4 #8,i am delighted1 my dear lord1' he exclaimed1 #8to see you1 but1 for ,heaven's sake1 go immediately within doors1--it is death to you to be here at this time of night4' ,the child made no reply1 but1 turning round1 was quickly out of sight4 ,mr4 ,alsop1 unspeakably surprised1 hurried to the house4 ,here all was distress and confusion1 for ,lord ,william1 had expired a few minutes before he reached the portico4 8,this sad event being with all speed announced to the ,marquis of ,lansdowne1 in ,london1 orders were soon received at ,bowood1 for the interment of the corpse1 and the arrangement of the funeral procession4 ,the former was directed to take place at ,high ,wickham1 in the vault which contained the remains of ,lord ,william's mother2 the latter was appointed to halt at two specified places1 during the two nights on which it would be on the road4 ,mr4 ,jervis and ,dr4 ,priestley attended the body4 ,on the first day of the melancholy journey1 the latter gentleman1 who had hitherto said little on the subject of the appearance to ,mr4 ,alsop1 suddenly addressed his companion with considerable emotion in nearly these words3 #8,there are some very singular circumstances connected with this event1 ,mr4 ,jervis1 and a most remarkable coincidence between a dream of the late ,lord ,william and our present mournful engagement4 ,a few weeks ago1 as ,i was passing by his room door one morning1 he called me to his bedside1--#8,doctor1' said he1 #8what is your ,christian name8' #8,surely1' said ,i1 #8you know it is ,joseph4' #8,well1 then1' replied he1 in a lively manner1 #8if you are a ,joseph1 you can interpret a dream for me1 which ,i had last night4 ,i dreamed1 ,doctor1 that ,i set out upon a long journey2 that ,i stopped the first night at ,hungerford1 whither ,i went without touching the ground2 that ,i flew from thence to ,salt ,hill1 where ,i remained the next night2 and arrived at ,high ,wickham on the third day1 where my dear mamma1 beautiful as an angel1 stretched out her arms and caught me within them4' #8,now1' continued the ,doctor1 #8these are precisely the places where the dear child's corpse will remain on this and the succeeding night1 before we reach his mother's vault1 which is finally to receive it4'0 ,now here is a tissue of events1 as strange as they are circumstantial2 and ,i might set myself to illustrate the apparition by the agitated state of ,mr4 ,alsop's mind1 were it not for the utter fallacy of this mysterious story1 on which the late ,rev4 ,mr4 ,jervis1 of ,brompton1 whom ,i knew and esteemed1 deemed it essential to publish 8,remarks10 in the year #ahca4 ,from these1 you will learn that ,mr4 ,warner is in error regarding the 8address1 designation1 and age of the ,hon4 ,william ,granville ,petty1 the nature and duration of his disorder1 and the name of the place of interment40 ,and then it comes out that neither ,dr4 ,priestley nor ,mr4 ,jervis attended the funeral1 nor conversed at any time on the circumstance4 ,and1 regarding ,mr4 ,alsop's death-bed declaration1 ,mr4 ,jervis1 who was in his intimate confidence1 never heard of such a thing until ,mr4 ,warner's volume was pointed out to him4 ,this strange story1 believed by good and wise men1 involved a seeming mystery1 until we read in ,mr4 ,jervis's 8,remarks10 one simple sentence in reference to the gentleman by whom it was first told1--that 8the enthusiasm of his nature predisposed him to entertain some visionary and romantic notions of supernatural appearances40 ,,phantasy ,,from ,,mental ,,association4 8,this is the very coinage of your brain3 ,this bodiless creation1 ecstacy ,is very cunning in40 ,,hamlet4 ,,cast4 ,how delightful to wander thus among the reliques of that age1 when her citizens1 the colonists of ,britain1 migrated from imperial ,rome1 and built their ,venta ,silurum1 or ,caerwent1 from the ruins of which these now mouldering walls were formed4 ,as we trod those pictured pavements of ,caerwent beneath the blue sky of yesternoon1 ,i felt all the inspiration of ,astrophel1 and a pageantry of ,roman patricians seemed to sweep along the fragments of those painted tessel4 8,lulled in the countless chambers of the brain1 ,our thoughts are link'd by many a hidden chain2 ,awake but one1 and lo6 what myriads rise1 ,each stamps his image as the other flies40 ,there is a happy combination of antiquity and simplicity in this land of ,gwent4 ,almost within the shadow of the ,roman ,caerleon1 the ,monmouthshire peasants1 at ,easter and ,whitsuntide1 assemble to plant fresh flowers on the graves of their relatives4 ,how ,i love these old customs6 the chanting of the carol at ,christmas2 its very homeliness so redolent of love and friendship3 and that quaint old ,moresco dance which was introduced to ,england by the noble ,katherine of ,arragon4 ,then the pastimes of ,halloween and ,hogmanay in ,scotland1 and the ,walpurgis night of ,germany1 and the ,may-day in ,ireland1 the festival of their patron saint1 and the ,midsummer night when the bealfires cast an universal lumination over the fells of the green isle1 and the still more sacred fire1 lighted up in ,november in worship of their social deity1 ,samhuin1 whose potent influence charms the warm hearts of all the maids of ,erin around the winter hearth of their homes4 ,i listen unto these pleasures as if they were mine own3 as children associate all the legends of their school histories with themselves and their own time4 ,in every spot of this land of ,wales the very names of the olden time are before us3 the romaunt of ,prince ,arthur and his knights is ever present to our fancy1 for he hath1 as on the crag that towers over ,edinburgh1 a seat on many a mountain rock in ,wales2 as the ,cadair ,arthur over ,crickhowel1 and the semicircle on ,little ,doward1 and ,maen ,arthur on the moors of ,cardigan4 ,,astr4 ,i never look on scenes like this without the echo of that beautiful apostrophe of ,johnson1 among the ruins of ,iona1 whispering in my ear4 ,inspired by such an influence1 ,i have roamed over the ,isle of ,elephanta1 and gazed on its gorgeous pagoda hewn from the rock1 and adorned by gigantic statues and mysterious symbols of the same eternal granite3 on the beauteous excavations of ,salsette3 on the wonders of ,elora1 and on the classic reliques of ,persepolis3 on the beautiful columns of ,palmyra1 the ,tadmor in the wilderness1 where ,solomon built his 8fenced city20 as well as those arabesque and gothic temples1 the abbeys and cathedrals of our own island4 ,i too have almost dared to think that superstition and idolatry might be forgiven for the splendours of its architecture1 even for the elevation of those giant blocks of ,stonehenge and ,avebury1 the mouldering altars of the druidical priesthood1 in the city consecrated to their god4 ,so do ,i feel in this court-yard of ,chepstow ,castle1 whilom the ,est-brig-hoel of ,doomsdaye ,booke1 and in later times so blended with ,english history4 ,see you not the ,conqueror and his knights in panoply on prancing steeds before you8 ,see you not ,fitz ,osborne and ,warren1 its former lords1 loom out upon your sight8 ,and1 lo6 the portal opens1 and the dungeon of ,henry ,martin1 the regicide1 yawns like a bottomless pit before us4 ,the shade of ,charles ,stewart rises2 and again the phantom of ,cromwell1 uttering his epithets of scorn1 as if the wanton puritan were about to dash the ink in the face of his colleague as he signed the death-warrant of the king4 ,and now the scene changes1 and behold the doomed one is chained to those massive rings of iron1 and there with groaning dies4 ,,ev4 ,i am most willing that you should thus indulge in your wild rhapsody1 ,astrophel1 for it is the happy illustration of one potent cause of spectral illusion--association4 ,there are few whose minds are not excited in some degree when they tread the localities of interesting events4 ,by memory and its combinations something like an inspired vision may often seem to come over us--a day-dream4 ,or1 if we have been brooding over a subject or gazing on the relics of departed or absent love and friendship3 or while we stand on a spot consecrated by genius1 or when we have passed the scene of a murder1 still will association fling around us its visionary shadows4 ,shortly after the death of ,maupertuis1 the president of the ,academy of ,berlin1 ,mr4 ,gleditsch1 the curator of natural history1 was traversing the hall in solitude1 when he saw the phantom of the president standing in an angle of the room with his eyes intensely fixed on him3 an effect perfectly explicable by the association of intense impression of memory in the very arena of the president's former dignity4 ,you will remember the story of a rich libertine1 told by ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,whenever he was alone in his drawing-room1 he was so haunted by a spectral corps de ballet1 that the very furniture was1 as it were1 converted into phantoms4 ,to release himself from this unwelcome intrusion he retired to his country house1 and here1 for a while1 he obtained the quiet which he sought4 ,but it chanced that the furniture of his town house was sent to him in the country1 and on the instant that his eyes fell on his drawing-room chairs and tables1 the illusion came afresh on his mind4 ,by the influence of association the green figurantes came frisking and capering into his room1 shouting in his unwilling ears1 8,here we are6 here we are60 ,it is not1 however1 essential that there be substance at all to excite these spectres4 ,idea alone is sufficient4 ,do you think it strange that a ghost should appear fleshless and shadowy without some supernatural influence8 ,be assured that the only influence exists in the sublime and intricate workings of that mind which in its pure state was itself an emanation from the ,deity2 which is only shadowed by illusion while in its earthly union with the brain1 and which1 on the dissolution of that brain1 will again live uncombined1 a changeless and eternal spirit4 ,it is as easy to believe the power of mind in conjuring up a spectre as in entertaining a simple thought3 it is not strange that this thought may appear embodied1 especially if the external senses be shut3 if we think of a distant friend1 do we not see a form in our mind's eye1 and if this idea be intensely defined1 does it not become a phantom8 8,phantasma est sentiendi actus1 neque differt a sensione aliter quam fieri differt a factum esse40 8,a phantom is an act of thinking10 c4 ,you have dipped deeply into ,hobbes1 ,astrophel1 and will correct me if ,i misquote this philosopher of ,malmsbury4 ,it was in ,paris1 at the soire of ,mons4 ,bellart1 and a few days after the death of ,marshal ,ney1 the servant1 ushering in the ,mareschal ,an1 announced ,mons4 ,le ,mareschal ,ney4 ,we were startled2 and may ,i confess to you1 that the eidlon of the ,prince of ,moskwa was for a moment as perfect to my sight as reality8 ,now it is as easy to imagine a fairy infinitely small as a giant infinitely large4 ,between an idea and a phantom1 then1 there is only a difference in degree2 their essence is the same as between the simple and transient thought of a child1 and the intense and beautiful ideas of a ,shakspere1 a ,milton1 or a ,dante4 8,consider your own conceptions10 said ,imlac1 8you will find substance without extension4 ,an ideal form is no less real than material1 but yet it has no extension40 ,you hear ,i adopt the word idea1 as referring to the organ of vision1 but sight is not the only sense subject to illusion4 ,hearing1 taste1 smell1 touch1 may be thus perverted1 because the original impression was on the focus of all the senses1 the brain4 ,indeed1 two of these illusions are often synchronous3 as when a deep sepulchral voice is uttered by a thin filmy spectre1 like the ghosts of ,ossian1 through which the moonbeams and the stars were seen to glimmer4 ,but the illusion of the eye is by far the most common1 and hence our adopted terms refer chiefly to the sight3 as spectre1 phantom1 phantasm1 apparition1 eidlon1 ghost1 shadow1 shade4 ,the ghost then is nothing more than an intense idea4 ,and as ,i have caught the mood of story-telling1 listen to some analogies of those deep impressions on the mind which are the spring of all this phantasy4 ,that destructive brainworm1 ,demonomania1 is often excited in the mind of a proselyte by designing religious fanatics4 ,let the life of the selected person be ever so virtuous and exemplary1 she 7for it is usually on the softer sex that these impostures are practised7 becomes convinced of the influence of the demon over her1 and she is thus criminally taught the necessity of conversion--is won over to the erroneous doctrine of capricious and unqualified election4 ,these miseries do not always spring from self-interested impostors4 ,the parent and the nurse1 in addition to the nursery tales of fairies and of genii1 too often inspire the minds of children with these diabolical phantoms4 ,the effect is always detrimental1--too often permanently destructive4 ,i will quote one case from the fourth volume of the ,psychological ,magazine1 related by a student of the university of ,jena4--8,a young girl1 about nine or ten years old1 had spent her birth-day with several companions of her own age1 in all the gaiety of youthful amusement4 ,her parents were of a rigorous devout sect1 and had filled the child's head with a number of strange and horrid notions about the devil1 hell1 and eternal damnation4 ,in the evening1 as she was retiring to rest1 the devil appeared to her1 and threatened to devour her4 ,she gave a loud shriek1 fled to the apartment where her parents were1 and fell down apparently dead at their feet4 ,a physician was called in1 and she began to recover herself in a few hours4 ,she then related what had happened1 adding1 that she was sure she was to be damned4 ,this accident was immediately followed by a severe and tedious nervous complaint40 ,the ghost will not appear to tell us what will happen1 but it may rise1 and with awful solemnity too1 to tell us that which has happened4 ,such is the phantom of remorse1--the shadow of conscience1--which is indeed a natural penalty3 a crime that carries with it its own consecutive punishment4 ,were the lattice of ,momus fixed in the bosom1 that window through which the springs of passion could be seen1 there would be1 ,i fear1 a dark spot on almost every heart1--as there is1 to quote the ,italian proverb1 8a skeleton in every house40 ,of these pangs of memory1 the pages both of history and fiction are teeming4 ,not in the visions of sleep alone1 but in the glare of noonday1 the apparition of a victim comes upon the guilty mind1-- 8,as when a gryphon through the wilderness1 ,with winged course1 o'er hill and moory dale1 ,pursues the ,arimaspian1 who1 by stealth1 ,had from his wakeful custody purloined ,the guarded gold40 ,brutus1 and ,richard ,plantagenet1 and ,clarence1 and ,macbeth1 and ,manfred1 and ,lorenzo1 and ,wallace1 and ,marmion1 are but the archetypes of a very numerous family in real life1--for ,shakspere1 and ,byron1 and ,schiller1 and ,scott1 have painted in high relief these portraits from the life4 ,many a real ,manfred has trembled as he called up the phantom of ,astarte2 many a modern ,brutus has gazed at midnight on the evil spirit of his ,csar2 many a modern ,macbeth points to the vacant chair of his ,banquo1 the ghost in his seat1 and he mentally exclaims1--8,hence1 horrible shadow6 unreal mockery1 hence60 ,,ida4 ,aye1 and many a false heart1 like ,marmion1 hears1 as his life ebbs on the battle-field1 the phantom voice of ,constance ,beverly3 8,the monk1 with unavailing cares1 ,exhausted all the church's prayers4 ,ever he said1 that1 close and near1 ,a lady's voice was in his ear1 ,and that the priest he could not hear1 ,for that she ever sung3 #8,in the lost battle1 borne down by the flying1 ,where mingles war's rattle with groans of the dying'-- ,so the notes rung40 ,we read in ,moreton an exquisite story of the trial of a murderer1 who had with firmness pleaded--8not guilty40 ,on a sudden1 casting his eyes on the witness-box1 he exclaimed1 8,this is not fair2 no one is allowed to be witness in his own case40 ,the box was empty1 as you may suppose2 but the eye of his conscience saw his bleeding victim glaring on him1 and ready to swear to his murder4 ,he felt that his fate was sealed1 and pleaded guilty to the crime4 8----,deeds are done on earth1 ,which have their punishment ere the earth closes ,upon the perpetrators4 ,be it the working ,of the remorse-stained fancy1 or the vision ,distinct and real of unearthly being3 ,all ages witness that1 beside the couch ,of the fell homicide1 oft stalks the ghost ,of him he slew1 or shows his shadowy wound40 ,it is this utter humiliation of the spirit1 and the conviction of our polluted nature1 that rankle so intensely in the wounded heart2 and thence the repentant sinner feels so deeply that awful truth1 that there is a ,being infinitely more pure and godlike than himself4 ,,ev4 ,a very fertile source of spectral illusion is the devotion to peculiar studies and deep reflection on interesting subjects4 ,mons4 ,esquirol records the hallucination of a lady1 who had been reading a terrific account of the execution of a criminal4 ,ever after1 in all her waking hours1 and in every place1 she saw above her left eye the phantom of a bloody head1 wrapped in black crape1--a thing so horrible to her1 that she repeatedly attempted the commission of suicide4 ,and of another lady1 who had dipped so deeply into a history of witches1 that she became convinced of her having1 like ,tam ,o',shanter's lady of the 8cutty sark10 been initiated into their mysteries1 and officiated at their 8sabbath0 ceremonies4 ,monsieur ,andral1 in his youth1 saw in ,la ,piti the putrid body of a child covered with larv1 and during the next morning1 the spectre of this corpse lying on his table was as perfect as reality4 ,we have known mathematicians whose ghosts even appeared in the shape of coloured circles and squares1 and ,justus ,martyr was haunted by the phantoms of flowers4 ,nay1 our own ,sir ,joshua1 after he had been painting portraits1 sometimes believed the trees1 and flowers1 and posts to be men and women4 ,i knew myself a bombardier1 whose brain had been wounded in a battle4 ,to this man a post was an enemy1 and he would1 when a sudden frenzy came on him1 attack it in the street with his cane1 and not leave it until he believed that his foeman was beaten or lay prostrate at his feet4 ,intense feeling1 especially if combined with apprehension1 often raises a phantom4 ,the unhappy ,sir ,r---- ,c----1 on being summoned to attend the ,princess ,charlotte of ,wales1 saw her form robed in white distinctly glide along before him as he sat in his carriage3 a parallel1 nay1 an explanation1 to the interesting stories of ,astrophel4 ,then the sting of conscience may warp a common object thus4 ,theodric1 the ,gothic king1 unjustly condemned and put to death ,bothius and ,symmachus4 ,it chanced at that time1 that a large fish was served to him at dinner1 when his imagination directly changed the fish's head into the ghastly face of ,symmachus1 upbraiding him with the murder of innocence2 and such was the effect of the phantom1 that in a few days he died4 ,but these spectral forms were seen1 like the dagger of ,macbeth1 and the hand-writing on the wall1 by none but the conscience-stricken1 a proof of their being ideal and not real4 ,not long after the death of ,byron1 ,sir ,walter ,scott was engaged in his study during the darkening twilight of an autumnal evening1 in reading a sketch of his form and habits1 his manners and opinions4 ,on a sudden he saw as he laid down his book1 and passed into his hall1 the eidlon of his departed friend before him4 ,he remained for some time impressed by the intensity of the illusion1 which had thus created a phantom out of skins1 and scarfs1 and plaids1 hanging on a screen in the gothic hall of ,abbotsford4 ,i learn from ,doctor ,t4 that a certain lady was on the eve of her marriage1 but her lover was killed as he was on his way to join her4 ,an acute fever immediately followed this impression2 and on each subsequent day1 when the same hour struck on the clock1 she fell into a state of ecstacy1 and believed that the phantom of her lover wafted her to the skies2 then followed a swoon of two or three hours' duration1 and her diurnal recovery ensued4 ,,cast4 ,i know not if it will make me happier1 ,evelyn1 but ,i have learned from your lips to believe that many of those legends which ,i held as poetic fictions1 may be the stories of minds1 in which1 under the influence of devoted affection1 the slightest semblance to an object so beloved may work up the phantom of far distant or departed forms4 ,you may have read the romantic devotion of ,henry ,howard to the fair ,geraldine1 the flower of ,england's court1 and the chivalrous challenge of her beauty to the knights of ,france4 ,during his travels on the continent1 he fell in with the alchymist ,cornelius ,agrippa1 who by his sleight cunning showed in a magic mirror 7as he said7 to the doting mind of the earl1 his absent beauty reclining on a couch1 and reading by the light of a waxen taper the homage of his pen to her exquisite beauty4 ,then there was an archbishop of the ,euchaites1 a professor of magic in the ninth century4 ,the ,emperor ,basil besought this pseudo-magus ,santabaran1 for a sight of his long lost and beloved son4 ,he appeared before the emperor in a costume of splendour and mounted on a charger1 and sinking into his arms1 instantly vanished4 ,this phantasy1 and the glamourie of the witch of ,falsehope over ,michael ,scott1 and the vision of the wondrous tale of ,vatheck1 and the legend of the ,duke of ,anjou in ,froissart1 might be the rude shadows of some slight phantasmagoria working on a sensitive or impassioned mind2 may they not8 ,,ev4 ,i am proud of my proselyte1 lady4 ,,ida4 ,i presume these illusions may be wrought without the outlines of distinct shapes4 ,i have ever thought the vision of ,eliphaz the ,temanite more solemn1 because an undefined shadow3 8,a vision is before our face1 but we cannot discern the form thereof40 ,and where the profane poets have written thus mystically1 they have risen in sublimity4 ,such is ,milton's portraiture of death3 8----the other shape1 ,if shape it could be called1 which shape had none ,distinguishable in member1 joint1 or limb2 ,or substance might be called that shadow seemed1 ,for each seemed neither40 ,and in the splendid vision of ,manfred1 whose thoughts were1 alas6 so polluted by passion-- 8,i see ,the steady aspect of a clear large star1 ,but nothing more4 ,,spirit4 ,we have no form beyond the elements1 ,of which we are the mind and principle40 ,and the idolaters profanely adopted this mystic metaphor when they inscribed their ,temple of ,isis1 at ,sais-- 8,i am whatever has been1 is1 and shall be1 and no one hath taken off my veil40 ,,ev4 ,the phantom is often described as destitute of form4 ,when ,johnson was asked to define the ghost which appeared to old ,cave1 he answered3 8,why1 sir1 something of a shadowy being40 ,and there is a sublimity and a mystery in that which is indefinite4 ,two very deep philosophers have however differed in opinion regarding the effect of darkness and obscurity on the mind4 ,burke alludes to darkness as a cause of the sublime and terrific3 7and he is supported by ,tacitus--8,omne ignotum pro magnifico est307 ,locke1 as not naturally a cause of terror1 but as it is associated by nurses and old crones with ghosts and goblins4 ,i will not split this difference1 but ,i believe ,burke is in the right4 ,obscurity is doubtless deeply influential in raising phantoms2 that which is indefinable becomes almost of necessity a ghost4 ,if the ghosts of ,shakspere did not appear1 the illusion would be more impressive4 ,in darkness and night1 therefore1 the ghosts burst their cerements1 the spirits walk abroad1 and the ghost seers revel in all their superstitious glory4 ,the druids1 those arch impostors1 acted their mysteries in the depth of shadowy groves3 and the heathen idols are half hidden both in the hut of the ,american ,indian and the temples of ,indostan4 ,it is true children shut their eyes when frightened1 but this is instinctive1 and because they think it real2 but1 in truth1 they ever dread the notion of darkness4 ,by the fancy of a timid mind1 in the deepening gloom of twilight1 a withered oak has been fashioned into a living monster2 and ,i might occupy our evening in recounting the tales of terror to which a decayed trunk once gave birth1 among some village gossips in the weald of ,sussex4 ,there are few who 8revisit the glimpses of the moon10 whose romantic humour leads them abroad about nightfall1 who have not sometimes been influenced by feeling somewhat like phantasy1 during the indistinct vision of twilight2 the dim emanations of the crescent1 or the more deceptive illusion of an artificial luminous point irradiating a circumambient vapour4 ,through the magnifying power of this floating medium1 the image may be fashioned into all the fancied forms of poetical creation4 ,at the midnight hour1 by a blue taper light1 and in a ruined castle1 a simple tale will become a romance of terror4 ,i have spoken thus1 to introduce an incident which occurred years ago1 and yet my mind's eye shows it to me as if it were of yesterday4 ,it was in the year ----1 on the eve of my presenting myself at the college for my diploma4 ,i had been deeply engaged during the day1 in tracing1 with some fellow students1 the distribution of the nervous ganglia4 ,the shades of evening had closed over us as our studies were nearly completed1 and one by one my companions gave me good night1 until1 about ten o'clock1 ,i was left alone1 still poring over the subject of my study1 by the dim light of a solitary taper4 ,on a sudden ,i was startled by the loud pealing of a clock1 which1 striking twelve1 warned me most unexpectedly of the solemn hour of midnight2 for ,i was not otherwise conscious of this lapse of time4 ,for a moment ,i seemed in utter darkness1 until straining my eyes1 a blue and lurid glimmer floated around me4 ,a chilliness crept over me1 and ,i had a strange indefinable consciousness of utter desolation--of being immured in some ,tartarean cavern1 or pent among icy rocks1 for the cold night-wind was sweeping in hollow murmurs through the vaults4 ,in the blue half-twilight ,i was at length sensible that ,i was not alone1 but in the presence of indistinct shadowy forms1 silent and motionless as the grave2 and by that awful sensation of the sublime which springs from obscurity1 ,i conceived that ,i had suffered transmigration1 or had glided unconsciously through the gates of ,hades1 and that these were the embodied spirits--the manes of the departed1 in sleep2 and then ,i thought the sounds were not those of the wind1 but the hollow moaning of those restless spirits that could not sleep4 ,by some species of glamourie which ,i could not comprehend1 the gloom appeared to brighten by slow degrees1 and the forms became more distinct4 ,when we are involved in mystery1 the sense of touch is instinctively brought to its analysis4 ,i put forth my hand1 and found that my eyes were not mocked with a mere vision2 for it came in contact with something icy cold and death-like--it was an arm clammy and cadaverous that fell across my own2 and as the smell of death came over me1 a corpse rolled into my lap4 ,the moaning of the breeze increased1 and the screech-owl shrieked as she flitted unseen around me4 ,at this moment a scream of agony was heard in the distance1 as of some mortal frame writhing in indescribable anguish1 while a hoarse and wizard voice cried1 8,endure6 endure60 ,it ceased2 and then ,i heard a pattering and flutter1 and then a shrill squeaking1 as of some tiny creatures that were playing their gambols in the darkness which again came around me4 ,on a sudden all was hushed1 and there was a glimmer of cold twilight1 as when a horn of the moon1 as ,astrophel would say1 comes out from an eclipse2 and then a brighter gleam of bluer light burst through the gloom1 at which ,i confess ,i started1 and my hand dropped into a pool of blood4 ,like the astonished ,tam ,o',shanter1 it seemed that ,i was alone in the chamber of death1 or the solitary spectator of some demon incantation or of some wholesale murder4 ,there were some forms blue and livid1 some cadaverous1 of 8span-long1 wee1 unchristened bairns10 and others deluged in blood and impurity lay around me3 one pale and attenuated form1 that more than mocked the delicate beauty of the ,medicean ,venus1 lay naked on the ground4 ,on the athletic form of another the moonbeam fell in a glory1 as if the fabled legend of ,endymion was realized before my eyes4 ,,astr4 ,and---- ,,ev4 ,ay1 now for the secret--the materiel of this wild vision4 ,the truth was1 ,i had dropped asleep in the dissecting-room--the candle had burned out2 and thus1 with a copious supply of dead bodies1 the howling of a tempest1 the purple storm-clouds1 the blue gleams of moonshine1 and bats1 and screech-owls1 and the screams of patients in the surgical wards1 and withal the hoarse voices of those croaking comforters1 the night-nurses1--,i have placed before you a harmony of horrors1 that might not shame a legend of ,lewis1 or a ,radcliffian romance4 ,simple as this will be the explanation of many and many a tale of mystery1 although fraught with accumulated horrors1 like those of the 8,castle of ,udolpho20 and if1 putting aside that ultraromantic appetite for the marvellous1 we have courage to attempt their analysis1 the pages of demonology will be shorn of half their terrors1 the gulph of superstition will be illumined by the light of philosophy1 and creation stand forth in all its harmonious and beautiful nature4 ,,phantasy ,,from ,,cerebral ,,excitement4 ----8,a false creation1 ,proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain40 ,,macbeth4 ,,astr4 ,i will grant the influence of all these inspiring causes1 ,evelyn1 but it is not under adventitious circumstances alone that the gifted seer is presented with his visions1 but also in the clear daylight1 in the desert1 or in a mountain hut2 surrounded1 too1 by those who are content with the common faculties of man4 ,among many of the ,gothic nations especially1 women were the peculiar professors of divination and magic4 ,the ,volva-,seidkona1 the ,fiolkyngi1 the ,visindakona1 and the ,nornir1 were the oracular priestesses1 the chief of whom was the ,hexa4 ,these had the faculty of insight into skulda1 or the future1 and foreknew the doom of mortals3 either to the niflheimr1 or hell1 over which presided the half blue and half flesh-tinted ,hela1 the goddess of death1 who1 as the ,cimbric peasants believed1 diffused pestilence and plague as she rode over the earth on her three-footed horse ,hellhest2 or to the ,valhalla1 or paradise of ,odin4 ,and this we read in the 8,edda40 ,,ev4 ,gramercy1 ,astrophel1 you run up the catalogue of these weird women as you were involved in their unholy league4 ,have a care1 or we must have you caged4 ,there was once a ,dr4 ,fordage1 a divine of ,berkshire1 7as it is recorded in a strange book1 8,demonium ,meridianum1 or ,satan at ,noon-day107 accused of seeing spectres1 such as 8dragons with tails eight yards long1 with four formidable tusks1 and spouting fire from their nostrils40 ,remember the peril1 and beware4 ,,astr4 ,oh1 sir1 you must impeach by wholesale1 for clairvoyance or second sight prevails in some regions as a national faculty4 ,the courses of my travel have shown to me this inspiration1 especially among the elevated parts of the globe4 ,the ,hartz and other forests in ,germany1 the ,alps and ,pyrenees1 the ,highlands of ,scotland1 the hills of ,ireland1 the mountains of the ,isle of ,man1 and the frozen fields of ,iceland and ,norway1 abound in ghostly legends4 ,among the passes of the ,spanish ,sierras1 also1 it is believed that the ,saludadores and the ,covenanters saw angels on the hill-side during their wanderings and persecutions4 ,,ev4 ,and how clear is the natural reason of this4 ,as in the wide desert1 so on the mountain1 nature assumes her wildest form4 ,of the awful sublimity of clouds1 and vapours1 and lightnings1 among the gorges of the giant rocks1 of the ,alps1 and the ,appenines1 and the deep and dreadful howling of a storm in the icy bosom of a glacier1 or bellowing among the crumbling walls of ruined castles1 the lowlander can form no idea4 ,the mind both of the ,bedouin ,arab1 and especially of the mountaineer1 is thus cradled in romance4 ,if that mind be rude and uncultivated1 credulity and superstition are its inmates2 ignorance being the common stamp of the seers1 except in rare instances of deep reflectors or melancholy bookworms1 whose abstractions1 like those of ,allan ,bane and ,brian and ,mac ,aulay1 assume the prophetic faculty2 the seer by its power perceiving1 as he declares1 things distant or future as if they were before his eye4 ,the superstitious legends of ,martin1 the historian of the ,western ,isles1 and the precepts for the practice and governance of this clairvoyance1 prove a deep interest and impression1 but not a mystery4 ,among the defiles of ,snfel1 in ,man1 the belief is prevalent3 8,a ,manksman amid his lonely mountains reclines by some romantic stream1 the murmurings of which lull him into a pleasing torpor2 half-slumbering1 he sees a variety of imaginary beings1 which he believes to be real4 ,sometimes they resemble his traditionary idea of fairies1 and sometimes they assume the appearance of his friends and neighbours4 ,presuming on these dreams1 the ,manks enthusiast predicts some future event40 ,here is a local reason1 as among the icy mountains of the north4 ,cheffer writes1 that thus influenced1 the melancholy of the ,laplanders renders them ghost-seers1 and the dream and the vision are ever believed by them to be prophetic4 ,,cast4 ,it is the contemplation of these alpine glories1 that gilds with so bright a splendour of imagery the romances of mountain poets1--the wild legends of ,ossian1 and those which spangle1 as with sparkling jewels1 the pages of the 8,lay10 the 8,lady of the ,lake10 and 8,marmion40 ,it may excite the jealousy of a classic1 but the ghosts and heroes of ,ossian1 as very acute critics decide1 are cast in a finer mould than the gods of ,homer4 ,you smile at me1 most learned clerks of ,oxenford1 yet ,i believe the critics are correct4 ,when ,i was prowling in the king's private library1 in ,paris1 ,m4 ,barbier placed in my hands two of the most precious tomes1 the folio 8,evangelistarium10 or prayer-book of ,charlemagne1 and the #dto4 edition of ,ossian4 ,the one is sanctified by its subject1 and rich beyond compare in illuminations of gold and colours1 and priceless in the eyes of the bibliomaniac4 ,the other was the favourite book of ,napoleon4 ,fancy that you hear him in the solitude of ,st4 ,cloud1 poring in deep admiration over passages like this3 8,fingal drew his sword1 the blade of dark-brown ,luno4 ,the gleaming path of the steel winds through the gloomy ghost4 ,the form fell shapeless into air1 like a column of smoke as it rises from the half-extinguished furnace4 ,the spirit of ,loda shrieked1 as1 rolled into himself1 he rose on the wind4 ,inistore shook at the sound4 ,the waves heard it on the deep1 and stopped in their course with fear40 ,and yet these beauties1 like the pictures of ,turner1 are looked upon with a smile of wondering pity or of scorn1 simply because these home-keeping critics have never scaled the mountain1 or breasted the storm for its wild and purple glory4 ,among the mountains of ,wales it was my fortune to light on many a wild spot1 where the poetry of nature fell like the sun-light on the heart of the peasant4 ,in the beautiful vale of ,neath there is the tiny hamlet of ,pont-,neath-,vechan4 ,i shall ever remember how fair and beautiful it seemed as ,i descended from the mountain rocks of ,pen y ,craig1 the loftiest of the ,alps of ,glamorgan1 which inclose ,ystrad-,vodwg1 the 8village of the green valley40 ,around its humble cottages is spread the most romantic scenery of ,brecknockshire4 ,the tributaries of its rolling river there blend their waters--those torrent streams which ,drayton has impersonated in the ,polyolbion1 as 8,her handmaids ,melt sweet1 clear ,hepst1 and ,tragath40 ,on the ,melt is the wondrous cavern of ,porth-,mawr1 through which1 in ,stygian darkness1 flows this ,acherontic river4 ,and on the clear ,hepst is that glittering waterfall which in the midst of leafy woods and bosky glens1 throws itself1 like a miniature ,niagara1 from the rock1 forming an arch of crystal1 beneath which the traveller and the peasant cross the river's bed on the moss-green and slippery limestone4 ,oh6 for the pencil of a ,salvator1 the pen of ,torquato1 to picture the wild vision which was before my eyes when ,i sought shelter beneath this crystal canopy from the deluge of a thunder-cloud4 ,the lightning flash gleamed through the waterfall1 forming a prismatic rainbow of transcendent beauty1 while the deep peal swept through the echoing dingles1 and the crimson-spotted trout leaped in sportive summersaults over the water-ousel that was walking quietly on the gravel1 deep in the water4 ,in this wilderness of nature1 no wonder that legends should prevail3 that fairies are seen sporting in the ,hepst cascades1 and that in the dark cavern of ,cwm-,rhyd y ,rhesg1 the ghosts of headless ladies so often affright the romantic girls of these wild valleys4 ,no wonder that they believe the giant ,idris1 enthroned on his mountain chair1 shook the three pebbles from his shoe into that pool which bears the name of the ,lake of ,three ,grains2 or that the shrieks of ,prince ,idwal are to this day heard by the peasants of ,snowdonia1 amid the storm which bursts over the purple crag of the ,twll-dhu1 and thunder-clouds cast a deeper and a darker shade over the black water of ,lyn ,idwal4 ,nay1 ,i myself may confess1 that as ,i have stood on the peaks of ,y ,wyddfa1 while the white and crimson clouds rolled beneath me in fleecy masses1 whirling around the cone of ,snowdon1 ,i have for a moment believed that ,i was something more than earthly4 ,and when enveloped in the mysterious cloud which rests on the head of ,mount ,pilate in ,lucern1 ,i gave half my faith to the legend of the guide1 that storm and human trouble1 and the perils of flocks in the vicinity of its triple peak1 were the result of the self-immersion of ,pontius ,pilate in its lake1 an act of remorse at his impious adjudication4 ,this unhallowed water was regarded with dismay1 and not a pebble might be cast to make a ripple on its surface and disturb the quiet of the traitor4 ,but1 lo6 in the sixteenth century the spell was proved to be a fable by an assemblage of bold ,switzers1 who hurled rocks into the lake1 and swam across its water without the slightest indication of displeasure from this kelpie of the ,brundeln ,alp4 ,,ev4 ,the truth is sweeter on your lips than fiction1 ,castaly4 ,whisper again in the ear of ,astrophel the penalties entailed on the indulgence of second sight4 ,dr4 ,abercrombie knew a gentleman who could1 by his will1 call up spirits1 and seers have assured me that the sight is to a certain degree voluntary3--by fixing the attention on a subject during the dark hour1 the power of divination may be increased1 but it cannot be controlled4 ,but those who indulge in those illusions are often driven on to a degree of frenzy equal to the agonizing penalty of ,frankenstein2 even as the witch of ,endor trembled when she raised before ,saul the spirit of ,samuel1 or the ,iberian princess ,pyrene1 who1 like ,sin1 fled from the child-serpent which was born from her dalliance with ,hercules4 ,the effort of the seers1 nay1 the mysterious ordeal to which they submit themselves1 are often so painful1 that they gaze with strained eyeballs1 and fainting occurs as the vision appears4 ,when the dark hour is o'er1 they will exclaim with ,mac ,aulay1 8,thank ,god1 the mist hath passed from my spirit60 ,indeed1 ,sir ,walter ,scott observed in those who presumed to this faculty1 8shades of mental aberration which caused him to feel alarmed for those who assumed the sight40 ,archibald1 ,duke of ,argyle1 was a seer1 and it is written that he was haunted by blue phantoms1 the origin1 ,i believe1 of our epithet for melancholy--8blue devils40 ,at the foot of yonder purple mountains in ,morgany1 once lived ,colonel ,bowen1 a doer of evil works1 whose spectral visitations fill so many pages of ,baxter's 8,essay on the ,reality of ,apparitions40 ,this deep historian of the realm of shadows tells that the wizard was worn down by the phantoms of his evil conscience2 that he imprisoned himself and his boy1 who was1 ,i presume1 a sort of famulus1 in a small castle2 that he walked and talked of diablerie1 and ,i know not what miseries1 in his sleep4 ,i have myself known those who see spectres when they shut their eyes1 before an attack of delirium1 which vanish on the re-admission of light2 and in imaginative minds1 under peculiar conditions1 intense reading may so shut out the real world1 that an effort is required to re-establish vision4 ,in ,polydori's 8,vampyre0 it is recorded that they had been reading phantasmagoria1 and ghost stories in ,germany1 thereby highly exciting the sensitive mind of ,percy ,bysshe ,shelley4 ,anon1 on ,byron's reading some lines of ,christabel1 ,shelley ran from the room1 and was found leaning on a mantel-piece bedewed with cold and clammy perspiration2 and it is enough to read of the gloom which marked the minds of those geister-sehers1 the proselytes of ,swedenborg 7among whom he ranked the ,king of ,prussia71 to reclaim all the converts to his strange religion4 ,,astr4 ,there is a bright side1 ,evelyn4 ,in ,germany1 those children which are born on a ,sunday are termed 8,sontag's kind10 and are believed to be endowed with the faculty of seeing spirits2 these are gifted with a life of happiness4 ,,ev4 ,and you believe it4 ,well1 for a moment ,i grant its truth2 but it is the reverse in ,scotland2 the vision is almost ever cheerless1 and prophetic of woe4 8,does the sight come gloomy o'er your spirit80 asks ,mac ,aulay4 8,as dark as the shadow of the moon when she is darkened in her course in heaven1 and prophets foretell of future times40 ,and the anathema of ,roderich ,dhu's prophet ,brian is dark and gloomy as the legend of his mysterious birth1 or its prototype1 the impure fable of ,atys1 and the loves of ,jupiter and ,sangaris4 ,,cast4 ,if ,i am the sylph to charm this moody gentleman from his reveries1 ,i will warn him in the words of a canzonet1 even of the #agth century3 8,yet1 rash astrologer1 refrain2 ,too dearly would be won ,the prescience of another's pain1 ,if purchased by thine own40 ,and ,i will tell him what ,collins writes on the perils of the seer1 in his 8,ode on ,highland ,superstition10-- 8,how they whose sight such dreary dreams engross1 ,with their own vision oft astonished droop1 ,when o'er the wat'ry strath or quaggy moss ,they see the gliding ghosts embodied troop4-- ,they know what spirit brews the stormful day1 ,and1 heartless1 oft like moody madness stare ,to see the phantom train their secret work prepare40 ,he listens not to me4 ,nay1 then1 ,i will try the virtue of a spell that has oft shed a ray of light over the dark hour of the ghost-seer4 ,i will whisper music in thine ear1 ,astrophel4 ,the fiend of ,saul was chased away by the harp of ,david2 the gloomy shadows of ,allan ,mac ,aulay were brightened by the melody of ,annot ,lyle2 and the illusion of ,philip of ,spain1 that he was dead and in his grave1 was dispelled by the exquisite lute of the ,rose of the ,alhambra4 ,,astr4 ,my thanks1 fair ,castaly2 yet wherefore should ,i claim your syren spells4 ,my visions are delightful as the inspiration of the improvisatore1 and carry not the penalty of the monomaniac4 ,but say1 if there be 7in vulgar words7 a crack in this cranium of mine1 may not this crack1 as saith the learned ,samuel ,parr1 8let in the light80 ,if prophetic visions in the early ages came over the dying1 why not in ours8 ,the last solemn speech of ,jacob was an inspired prophecy of the miraculous advent3--8,the sceptre shall not depart from ,judah1 nor a lawgiver from between his feet1 until ,shiloh come1 and to him shall the gathering of the people be40 ,and is it profanation to ask1 why may not the departing spirit of holiness1 even now1 prophecy to us8 ,as we see the stars from the deep well1 so may such spirits look into futurity from the dark abyss of dissolution4 ,in some cases of little children1 ,i have learned that this unearthly feeling has caused them to anticipate their dying4 ,how pathetically does ,john ,evelyn1 in his ,diary1 allude to the anticipation of his little boy1--8an angel in body and in mind1 who died of a quartan ague1 in his fifth year4 ,the day before he died1 he called to me and told me that1 for all ,i loved him so dearly1 ,i should give my house1 lands1 and all my fine things1 to his brother40 ,the dying seem indeed themselves to feel that they are scarcely of this world4 ,holcroft1 a short time before his death1 hearing his children on the stairs1 said to his wife1 8,are those your children1 ,louisa80--as if he were already in another existence4 ,as if the human mind itself were perusing the celestial volume of the recording angel1--the awful book of fate4 ,when the ,northern ,indian is stretched on the torture1 even amidst his agonies1 an inspired combination of belief and hope presents him with vivid pictures of the blessed regions of the ,kitchi ,manitou4 ,the faithful ,mussulman1 in the agonies of death1 feels assured that his enchanted sight is blessed by the beautiful houris in ,mahomet's paradise4 ,the ,runic warriors also1 as the ,icelandic chronicles record in their epitaphs1 when mortally wounded in battle1 8fall1 laugh1 and expire20 and in this expiration1 like the dying warriors of ,homer1 predict the fate of their enemies4 ,as the venom of the serpent curdled the blood in the veins of ,regner ,lodbrog1 the ,danish king1 he exclaimed with ecstasy1--8,what new joys arise within me6 ,i am dying6 ,i hear ,odin's voice2 the gates of his palace are already opened1 and half-naked maidens advance to meet me4 ,a blue scarf heightens the dazzling whiteness of their bosoms2 they approach and present me with the soul-exhilarating beverage in the bloody skulls of my enemies40 ,,ev4 ,in that awful moment1 when the spirit is 8,soon from his cell of clay ,to burst a seraph in the blaze of day10 the mind is prone to yield to those feelings which it might perhaps in the turmoil of the busy world and at another period deem superstition4 ,there is something in the approach of death of so holy and so solemn a nature1 something so unlike life in the feeling of the dying1 that in this transition1 although we cannot compass the mystery1 some vision of another world may steal over the retiring spirit1 imparting to it a proof of its immortality4 ,i do not fear to yield for once my approval of this devout passage of ,sir ,thomas ,brown3--8,it is observed that men sometimes upon the hour of their departure do speak and reason above themselves1 for then the soul begins to be freed from the ligaments of the body1 and to discourse in a strain above mortality40 ,it is on the verge of eternity1 and the laws and principles of vitality may be already repealed by the ,being who conferred them4--,the arguments1 then1 regarding the phenomena of life may fail1 when life has all but ceased4 ,with this admission1 ,i may counsel ,astrophel as to the danger of adducing heathen history or fiction in proof of this solemn question4 ,,cast4 ,and yet ,shakspere1 for one1 with a poet's license1 brings before us1 as you do1 the dying hour1 as the cause of prophetic vision4 ,john of ,gaunt1 on his death-bed1 mutters1-- 8,methinks ,i am a prophet new inspired1 ,and thus expiring do foretell of him10 and then predicts the fate of ,richard4 ,and remember1 the dying ,hotspur says1-- ----8now could ,i prophecy1 ,but that the icy hand of death10 c4 ,,ev4 ,well1 ,i will not controvert your creed1 ,astrophel2 rather let me illustrate some of your apparent mysteries by simple analogy4 ,as in these extreme moments of life1 so in the hour of extreme danger1 when an awful fate is impending1 and the world and our sacred friendships are about to be lost to us1 a vision of our absent friends will pass before us with all the light of reality4 ,we read in the writings of ,dr4 ,conolly of a person who1 in danger of being swamped on the ,eddystone rock1 saw the phantoms of his family passing distinctly before him2 and these are the words of the ,english ,opium-,eater3--8,i was once told by a near relative of mine that1 having in her childhood fallen into a river1 and being on the very verge of death but for the critical assistance which reached her1 she saw in a moment her whole life in its minutest incidents arrayed before her simultaneously1 as in a mirror1 and she had a faculty developed as suddenly for comprehending the whole and every part40 ,now1 although the coming on of death is often attended by that slight delirium indicated by the babbling of green fields1 and the playing with flowers1 and the picking of the bedclothes1 and the smiling on the fingers' ends1 yet in others some oppressive or morbid cause of insanity may be removed by the moribund condition4 ,in the words of ,aretus1--8the system has thrown off many of its impurities1 and the soul1 left naked1 was free to exercise such energies as it still possessed40 ,i will glance in illustration at these interesting cases3--from ,zimmerman1 of an insane woman of ,zurich1 who1 8a few hours before her death1 became perfectly sensible and wonderfully eloquent20--from ,dr4 ,perceval1 of a female idiot1 who1 as she was dying of consumption1 evinced the highest powers of intellect2--from ,dr4 ,marshall1 of the maniac1 who became completely rational some hours previous to his dissolution2--and from ,dr4 ,hancock1 of the ,quaker1 who1 from the condition of a drivelling idiot1 became shortly before his death so completely rational1 as to call his family together1 and1 as his spirit was passing from him1 bestow on them with pathetic solemnity his last benediction4 ,thus your impressive records are clearly explained by pathology2 and1 perhaps unconscious of this1 ,mrs4 ,opie has a fine illustration in her 8,father and ,daughter30--the mind of the maniac parent being illumined before his death by a beam of reason4 ,but in the languid brain of an idiot excitement may even produce rationality4 ,samuel ,tuke tells us of a domestic servant1 who lapsed into a state of complete idiocy4 ,some time after1 she fell into typhus fever1 and as this progressed1 there was a real development of mental power4 ,at that stage when delirium lighted up the minds of others1 she was rational1 because the excitement merely brought up the nervous energy to its proper point4 ,as the fever abated1 however1 she sunk into her idiot apathy1 and thus continued until she died4 ,it was but the transient gleam of reason4 ,,phantasy ,,from ,,cerebral ,,congestion4--,,opium4 ----8,have we eaten of the insane root1 ,that takes the reason prisoner80 ,,macbeth4 ,,ev4 ,the contrasts to these phantoms of blind superstition1 are those of the overstrained condition of the mind4 ,the ,creator has ordained the brain to be the soil in which the mind is implanted or developed4 ,this brain1 like the corn-field1 must have its fallow1 or it is exhausted and reduced in the degree of its high qualities4 ,in our intellectual government1 therefore1 we should ever adopt that happy medium1 equally remote from the bigotry of the untutored1 and the ultra refinement of the too highly cultivated mind4 ,it is not essential that ,i should now offer you more than a hint1 that the essence of the gloomy ghosts of deep study1 like the melancholy phantoms and oppressive demons of the night-mare1 consists in the accumulation of black blood about the brain and the heart2 and a glance at phrenology would explain to you how the influence of that blood on the various divisions of the brain will call up in the mind these 8,hydras and ,gorgons1 and ,chimeras dire40 ,the learned ,pascal constantly saw a gulph yawning at his side1 but he was aware of his illusion4 ,he was1 however1 always strapped in his chair1 lest he should fall into this gulph1 especially while he was working the celebrated problem of the cycloidal curve4 ,a distinguished nobleman1 who but lately guided the helm of state in ,england1 was often annoyed by the spectre of a bloody head2--a strange coincidence with the phantom of the ,count ,duke d',olivarez1 the minister of ,philip of ,spain4 ,from ,dr4 ,conolly we learn the curious illusion of a student of anatomy1 who1 during his ardent devotion to his study1 confidently believed that there was a town in his deltoid muscle4 ,and1 from ,dr4 ,abercrombie1 the case of a gentleman of high literary attainments1 who1 when closely reading in his study1 was repeatedly annoyed by the intrusive visits of a little old woman in a black bonnet and mantle1 with a basket on her arm4 ,so filmy1 however1 was this phantom1 that the door-lock was seen through her4 ,supposing she had mistaken her way1 he politely showed her the door1 and she instantly vanished4 ,it was the change of posture which effected this disappearance1 by altering the circulation of the brain-blood1 then in a state of partial stagnation4 ,my friend1 ,dr4 ,johnson1 has told me of a gentleman of great science1 who conceived that he was honoured by the frequent visits of spectres4 ,they were at first refined and elegant both in manners and in conversation1 which1 on one occasion1 assumed a witty turn1 and quips1 and puns1 and satire1 were the order of the evening2 so that he was charmed with his ghostly visitors1 and sought no relief4 ,on a sudden1 however1 they changed into demoniac fiends1 uttering expressions of the most degraded and unholy nature4 ,he became alarmed1 and depletion soon cured him of his phantasy4 ,a ,scotch lawyer had long laboured under this kind of monomania1 which at length proved fatal4 ,his physician had long seen that some secret grief was gnawing the heart and sucking the life-blood of his patient1 and he at last extorted the confession1 that a skeleton was ever watching him from the foot of his bed4 ,the physician tried various modes to dispel the illusion1 and once placed himself in the field of the vision1 and was not a little terrified when the patient exclaimed1 that he saw the skull peering at him over his left shoulder4 ,the 8,martyr ,philosopher10 too1 in the 8,diary of a ,physician10 saw1 shortly preceding his death1 a figure in black deliberately putting away the books in his study1 throwing his pens and ink into the fire1 and folding up his telescope1 as if they were now useless4 ,the truth is he himself had been engaged in that occupation1 but it was his own disordered imagination that raised the spectre4 ,you will believe from these illustrations1 ,astrophel1 that ,seneca is right in his aphorism1-- 8,nullum fit magnum ingenium sine mistur dementi40 ,and ,pope also in his unconscious imitation1-- 8,great wits to madness nearly are allied40 ,lord ,castlereagh1 when commanding in early life a militia regiment in ,ireland1 was stationed one night in a large desolate country house1 and his bed was at one end of a long dilapidated room1 while1 at the other extremity1 a great fire of wood and turf had been prepared within a huge gaping old-fashioned chimney4 ,waking in the middle of the night1 he lay watching from his pillow the gradual darkening of the embers on the hearth1 when suddenly they blazed up1 and a naked child stepped from among them upon the floor4 ,the figure advanced slowly towards ,lord ,castlereagh1 rising in stature at every step1 until1 on coming within two or three paces of his bed1 it had assumed the appearance of a ghastly giant1 pale as death1 with a bleeding wound on the brow1 and eyes glaring with rage and despair4 ,lord ,castlereagh leaped from his bed1 and confronted the figure in an attitude of defiance4 ,it retreated before him1 diminishing as it withdrew in the same manner that it had previously shot up and expanded2 he followed it1 pace by pace1 until the original child-like form disappeared among the embers4 ,he then went back to his bed1 and was disturbed no more4 ,the melancholy story of the ,requiem of ,mozart is an apt and sublime illustration of this influence4 ,it was written by desire of a solemn personage1 who repeatedly1 he affirmed1 called on him during its composition1 and disappeared on its completion4 ,the requiem was soon chanted over his own grave2 and the man in black was1 ,i believe1 but a phantom of his own creation4 ,a step beyond this1 and we have the spectres of the delirium of fever3 the wanderings of typhus1 in which the victim either revels with delight in the regions of fancy1 a midsummer madness1 or is influenced by gloom and despair1 in which1 with a consciousness of right and wrong1 he is driven headlong to acts of ruin and devastation4 ,,ida4 ,in this illusive condition of the intellect consists even the monomania of suicide2 and the phrenologist will declare that torpor or excitement of the 8organ of the love of life10 will incite or deter from such an act4 ,but surely this is error3 it is certain that there was a fashion among the ,stoics for this crime2 and even in the early history of ,marseilles1 suicide was sanctioned1 not only by custom1 but by authority4 ,,ev4 ,it is a truth of history1 but the essence of the crime is the predisposition in the brain4 ,you will think to confute my position1 ,astrophel1 by adducing ,brutus and ,cassius1 and ,antony and ,cato1 and a host of ,roman heroes1 in proof of the sanity of these suicides2 but even in the case of ,cato1 if we read ,plutarch and not ,addison1 who with ,rousseau1 ,montaigne1 and ,shaftesbury1 leaned toward a sanction1 we shall believe that ,cato was indeed a monomaniac4 ,i speak this in charity4 ,and to all these morbid states we may still offer analogies4 ,such are the effects of opium4 ,the brilliancy of thought may be artificially induced1 also1 by various other narcotics1 such as the juice of the ,american manioc1 the fumes of tobacco1 or the yupa of the ,othomacoes on the ,orinoco4 ,to this end we learn from a learned lord1 that even ladies of quality are wont to 8light up their minds with opium as they do their houses with wax or oil40 ,indeed a kind of inspiration seems for a time to follow the use of these narcotics4 ,the ,cumean sybil swallowed the juice of the cherry laurel ere she sat on the divining tripod2 and from this may have arisen those superstitious fancies of the ancients regarding the virtues of the laurel1 and the influence of other trees1 of which ,i remember an allusion of the excellent author of the 8,sylva40 8,here we may not omit what learned men have observed concerning the custom of prophets and persons inspired of old to sleep upon the boughs and branches of trees1 on mattresses and beds made of leaves1 ad consulendum1 to ask advice of ,god4 ,naturalists tell us that the ,laurus and ,agnus ,castus were trees which greatly composed the phrensy1 and did facilitate true vision1 and that the first was specifically efficacious1 1 to inspire a poetical fury3 and ,cardan1 ,i remember1 in his book de ,fato1 insists very much on the dreams of trees for portents and presages1 and that the use of some of them do dispose men to visions40 ,during the reverie of the opium eater 7not the deep sleep of a full dose1 but the first and second stage ere coma be induced71 he is indeed a poet1 so far as brilliant imagination is concerned1 but his scribbling is mere 8midsummer madness10 the phantoms of which are as wild as those of intoxication1 dreaming1 or insanity4 ,but the philosophy1 the metaphysics of poetry1 are not the product of mere excitement3 8,poeta nascitur1 non fit40 ,a poet's genius is born with him4 ,the influence of opium on the philosopher or the orator is the same1 but in them it does not usually elevate the force of imagination beyond that of judgment4 ,the power of the faculties has been in fact exhausted by thought or study2 the stimulus of opium1 then1 restores that depressed energy to its proper level1 leaving the judgment perfect1 and not overbalanced4 ,the celebrated ,thomas ,brown1 during the composition of his ,essay on the ,mind1 kept his intellect on the stretch by opium for several successive nights4 ,sir ,james ,mackintosh 7one of his favourite pupils7 informed us1 that on entering the doctor's library one morning somewhat abruptly1 he overheard the following command addressed to his daughter3 8,effie1 bring me the moderate stimulus of a hundred drops of laudanum40 ,so that the excitement be obtained1 it matters not how1 whether by the use of opium1 or other 8drowsy syrups of the ,east1 poppy or mandragora10 as in the case of some of our modern statesmen2 or the free libation of brandy in certain orators1 who were wont to stagger down to the ,house from ,white's or ,brookes's1 with those clubhouse laurels1 wet towels1 round their brows1 and overwhelm ,saint ,stephen's by the thunders of their eloquence4 ,unless1 indeed1 this be carried to excess1 and then we have two very interesting states of vision1 as you may gather from the following witticism on two of these departed legislators1 which was founded on a truth3 8,i cannot see the ,speaker1 ,bill1 can you8 ,not see him1 ,harry1 d----e1 ,i see two60 ,for the effects of alcohol and opium are alike3 the first degree is excitement2 the second1 reverie2 the third1 sleep1 or stupor4 8,ben ,jonson10 writes ,aubrey1 8would many times exceede in drink2 ,canarie was his beloved liquor3 then he would tumble home to bed1 and when he had thoroughly perspired1 then to studie40 ,the second visions of that moral delinquent1 the practised opium-eater1 like the cordial julep of ,comus1 8,will bathe the drooping spirits in delight1 ,beyond the bliss of dreams40 ,the phantoms of the third stage are often of unutterable anguish3 visions of bright forms dabbled in blood1 and scenes of crime and horror which are at once loathed and revelled in4 ,the awful curse of ,lord ,byron's infidel--a vampyre--who1 haunting the graveyard with gouls and afrits1 sucks the blood of his race3 8',till they with horror shrink away ,from spectre more accurs'd than they40 ,thus for a moment of delirious joy1 he yields up his mind to the agonies of remorse1 his body to a slow poison1 perhaps to a sinful dissolution4 ,,ida4 ,the scenes which ,i gazed on among the opium-houses of ,constantinople1 ever excited my wonder and my pity4 ,these slaves of pleasure1 when they assemble and take their seats1 are the perfect pictures of either apathetic melancholy or despair4 ,as the potent poison creeps through the blood1 they are lighted with unholy fires1 until1 these being exhausted1 the vulture of ,prometheus again gnaws their vitals1 although the fire is not stolen from heaven4 ,listen to the confessions of such a slave3-- 8,at last1 with the sense that all was lost1 female forms1 and the features that were all the world to me1 and clasped hands1 and heart-breaking partings1 and then everlasting farewells1 and with a sigh such as the caves of hell sighed1 when the incestuous mother uttered the abhorred name of ,death1 the sound was reverberated--,everlasting farewells40 8,whatsoever things capable of being visually represented ,i did but think of in the darkness1 immediately shaped themselves into phantoms of the eye2 and1 by a process no less inevitable1 when thus once traced in faint and visionary colours1 they were drawn out by the fierce chemistry of my dreams1 with insufferable splendour that fretted my heart40 ,is there any earthly pleasure which will compensate the victim of this voluntary condemnation8 ,,ev4 ,and yet a visionary once thought of renting the ,hummums in ,covent ,garden1 and purchasing a large stock of opium1 for the purpose of supplying us with visions4 ,he would have succeeded1 perhaps1 if he had hired a second ,helen to serve up this nepenthe to the guests4 ,the intense effect of opium is insensibility or death4 ,thus the ,natches give narcotics to their victims1 and the ,brahmins to the suttee women1 ere they ascend the pile1 for the purpose of producing insensibility4 ,its mildest effects will be1 if long continued1 especially in early life1 idiocy2 and ,oppenheim states that it is sometimes administered to adults by design1 to substantiate a statute of lunacy4 ,,astr4 ,i cannot disprove your facts1 ,evelyn1 nor do they yet disprove the rationality of my own faith4 ,and is there not one illusion from opium-eating which seems to reverse your laws8 ,from the tales of the ,opium-,eater we learn1 that the healthy thoughts of the mind seem to be frozen up in the brain1 like the notes in the frozen horn of ,munchausen1 or the ,irish echo which was so long in giving its answers1 that if you had a concert1 you should play and sing the airs the day before the assemblage of your company4 ,and then1 when the effect was wearing off1 these thoughts followed so copiously and fast1 as that not one in a hundred could be recorded4 ,is this true8 ,,ev4 ,it is a slight fact embellished4 ,the action of opium1 however1 is not uniform3 it may produce deep sleep1 or insensible stupor2 or it may quiet some of the faculties2 and when it does so1 it excites a dream of irregular associations4 ,the salts of morphia exert an especial influence over the organ of language2 so that the orator in the fluency of his power of speech finds it difficult to stop4 ,the muriate is the best preparation to induce fluency and confidence in speaking1 or the mind to luxuriate throughout a night in delightful reverie3 and in the morning1 after this phantasy1 the body will even rise refreshed4 ,in some cases1 however1 morphia will create a very strange illusion1 a spectral language3 so that1 in reading or listening1 we may feel or think that the words have lost their true meaning4 ,this effect is1 ,i am told1 attended with severe headache4 ,the poem of 8,kubla ,khan10 which ,coleridge has termed a psychological curiosity1 had its origin in the excitement of opium1 a spinning out of a theme in 8,purchas' ,pilgrim10 which he had been reading3 it is an effort of the poet in recording the wild images which had been before presented to the mind's eye of the enthusiast1--the impression1 indeed1 of the pleasures and the pains of memory4 ,,poetic ,,phantasy1 ,,or ,,frenzy4 8,the poet's eye1 in a fine frenzy rolling1 ,doth glance from heaven to earth--from earth to heaven4 ,and as imagination bodies forth ,the forms of things unknown1 the poet's pen ,turns them to shapes1 and gives to airy nothings ,a local habitation1 and a name40 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream4 ,,astr4 ,is there so potent a charm in poppies1 ,evelyn8 ,you will make us believe1 soon1 that opium can make a ,shakspere1 that genius can be imparted by a drug4 ,the ghosts of fairyland1 those bright emanations of a poet's fancy1 which are wafted through the air on the thistle-down1 or swing to and fro on the filmy thread of the gossamer1 sprang from a deeper source than this4 ,the fairy mythology of ,shakspere1 the beautiful creations of the 8,tempest0 and the 8,midsummer ,night's ,dream10 are the very offspring of that innate genius1 that 8exhausted worlds1 and then imagined new40 ,those exquisite and tricksy spirits1 the mischievous ,puck and the delicate ,ariel1 indeed1 the whole train of ghosts which appeared to ,macbeth1 and ,richard1 and ,clarence1 and ,brutus1 and ,hamlet1 and the spirits of the 8,midsummer ,night10 the 8,tempest10 and 8,macbeth10 of ,bolingbroke and ,joan of ,arc1 could not have been so painted1 unless they had stood before the mind of ,shakspere as palpable as reality4 ,look1 too1 on those splendid illustrations of the ,gothic poets by the eccentric1 or1 as ,evelyn would call him1 the half-mad ,fuseli4 ,look on the wild pencillings of ,blake1 another poet painter1 and you will be assured that they were ghost-seers4 ,an intimate friend of ,blake1 himself a reader of the stars1 has told me the strangest tales of his visions4 ,in one of his reveries he witnessed the whole ceremony of a fairy's funeral1 which he peopled with mourners and mutes1 and described with high poetic beauty4 ,he was engaged1 in one of these moods1 in painting ,king ,edward ,i41 who was sitting to him for his picture4 ,while they were conversing1 ,wallace suddenly presented himself on the field1 and by this uncourteous intrusion marred the studies of the painter for that day4 ,,ev4 ,a most unhappy comparison1 ,astrophel4 ,the difference between ,shakspere and ,blake is antipodean4 ,blake was a visionary1 and thought his fancies real--he was mad4 ,shakspere was a philosopher1 and knew all his fancy was but imagination1 however real might be the facts he wrought from4 ,ben ,jonson told ,drummond that he lay awake one whole night1 gazing in mute admiration on his great toe2 surrounding which1 in miniature1 appeared the inhabitants of ,rome1 and ,carthage1 and ,tartary1 and ,turkey2 but he also was aware of the illusion4 ,,cast4 ,my most gracious smile is yours1 ,evelyn1 for this honour to my sweet ,shakspere4 ,i pray you accord the same to the spectral visions of a poet1 in whose beautiful ,aminta each line is a breath of inspiration--the day-dreams of the elegant ,tasso4 ,listen4 8,at ,bisaccio1 ,manso had an opportunity to examine the singular effects of ,tasso's melancholy2 and often disputed with him concerning a familiar spirit which he pretended to converse with4 ,manso endeavoured in vain to persuade his friend that the whole was the illusion of a disturbed imagination2 but the latter was strenuous in maintaining the reality of what he asserted2 and1 to convince ,manso1 desired him to be present at one of these mysterious conversations4 ,manso had the complaisance to meet him the next day1 and while they were engaged in discourse1 on a sudden he observed that ,tasso kept his eyes fixed upon a window1 and remained in a manner immoveable2 he called him by his name several times1 but received no answer4 ,at last ,tasso cried out1 #8,there is the friendly spirit who is come to converse with me3 look1 and you will be convinced of the truth of all that ,i have said4' ,manso heard him with surprise3 he looked1 but saw nothing except the sunbeams darting through the window2 he cast his eyes all over the room1 but could perceive nothing1 and was just going to ask where the pretended spirit was1 when he heard ,tasso speak with great earnestness1 sometimes putting questions to the spirit1 and sometimes giving answers1 delivering the whole in such a pleasing manner1 and with such elevated expressions1 that he listened with admiration1 and had not the least inclination to interrupt him4 ,at last this uncommon conversation ended with the departure of the spirit1 as appeared by ,tasso's words1 who1 turning towards ,manso1 asked him if his doubts were removed4 ,manso was more amazed than ever2 he scarce knew what to think of his friend's situation1 and waived any further conversation on the subject40 ,,ev4 ,i shall forfeit your smile1 sweet ,castaly1 or change it1 alas6 for a frown4 ,i have ever thought ,tasso a monomaniac1 for he yielded to his illusion4 ,i can give you in a fragment from ,lorry1 the counterpart of ,tasso's phantasy in a far different mind4 8,during these paroxysms she would talk1 and was accustomed to address herself to some one individual present1 with whom she conversed at first in an obscure voice1 but afterwards in a distinct and audible manner4 ,she evidently perceived him1 and observed all his gestures2 but all she said to him bore a reference to one idea1 on which she was intent4 ,in the mean time she appeared not to see or hear any other person1 even if he exerted his voice to the utmost to make himself heard4 ,this fact ,i witnessed with the greatest astonishment1 but many other persons are living who can attest it4 ,the mother of this female died unexpectedly1 after which the daughter used to hold conversations with her as if she was present4 ,she would answer questions as if interrogated by her mother2 would entreat her to take care of her health1 and recommend some physician as more able to restore her than others4 ,moreover1 she would talk to her mother of her destined marriage1 although it had already been some time completed1 in a manner perfectly like that of a sane and modest young woman1 making some objections to it1 and replying to others1 and appeared to be revealing all her secret wishes2 in a word1 she seemed perfectly collected and rational1 excepting the error respecting time1 and the supposed presence of her mother4 ,this woman had in other respects good health1 but was afraid of the smallest noise1 and was easily affected by any thing she saw or heard4 ,at length she fell into a consumption40 ,in other cases1 especially in accomplished minds1 the phantasy is usually combined with derangement of health4 ,a very ingenuous and elegant young lady1 about the age of seventeen1 was suddenly seized with catalepsy4 ,it commenced with violent convulsions of almost every muscle of her body1 and the most distressing hiccoughs4 ,in about an hour came on a fixed spasm1 one hand being placed against her head1 and the other to support it4 ,in about half an hour more1 the spasm subsided1 and then began the reverie in a moment1 her eyes and expression indicating a fixed attention4 ,she then conversed with imaginary persons1 her eyes being wide open1 and during this ecstasy she was completely insensible to the most irritating1 and indeed most violent stimuli4 ,sir ,henry ,halford related to us1 that on a visit to a person of exalted rank in his chamber1 he heard him with great energy request ,garrick to play a scene in 8,hamlet10 reminding him of the lines in ,horace's ,epistles3 8,haud ignobilis ,argis1 ,qui se credebat miros audire tragdos1 ,in vacuo ltus sessor plausorque theatro40 ,in ,dr4 ,darwin1 too1 we read of an epileptic girl1 who during a fit of reverie1 when insensible to all external stimuli1 conversed fluently with imaginary people1 and was surprised to hear of her illusions when fully awake4 ,and1 in ,andral1 of a gentleman of distinguished ability1 who believed that an absent friend was sitting among his guests1 welcoming him to his table1 and1 with great courtesy1 handing him a chair4 ,you remember how pathetically ,crabbe has illustrated this illusion in his poem of 8,sir ,eustace ,gray40 ,,cast4 ,hark to the profane philosopher who associates poetry with madness6 ,tell me1 ,master ,evelyn1 while you wandered in the ,water walks of ,magdalene1 with the balmy breezes of heaven around your brow1 and the mellow sunbeam streaming through the green leaves upon your cheek1 with the inspired volumes of ,virgil1 and ,theocritus1 and ,bion1 and ,moschus1 breathing nature in all the lines of their beautiful idylls--while ,astrophel1 perchance1 was musing among cobwebs in ,friar ,bacon's study--tell me1 felt you not the sublimity and truth of poesy8 ,you remind me of the quaint tradition among the shepherds of ,snowdonia1 that if two persons lie down1 on midsummer eve1 to sleep upon a certain rock on ,snowdon1 one will wake a poet1 the other a maniac4 ,i pr'ythee1 think otherwise of ,tasso1 whose reveries were an ecstasy of bright thoughts4 ,even when the light of day is eclipsed1 as when the senseless orbs of ,homer and ,milton were merged in 8ever-during dark10 the thoughts of a poet may be deeper and clearer for the gloom4 ,,ida4 ,and so pure and holy withal4 ,in the 8,defensio ,secunda10 ,i remember this gem of sentiments3--8,involved in darkness1 not so much from the imperfection of our optic powers1 as from the shadow of the ,creator's wings1--a darkness which he frequently irradiates with an inner and far superior light40 ,never did poet feel more intensely than ,milton the truth of that divine thought1 that 8the shadow of ,god is light40 ,,cast4 ,and call up that glory of the ,elizabethan age1 ,philip ,sidney1 whose life1 in the words of ,campbell1 was 8a poetry in action10 and who more than embodied the brightest pictures of ,tasso and ,ariosto1 and eclipsed the glory of that ,chevalier ,bayard1 like himself1 8sans peur et sans reproche40 ,,ev4 ,i cry you mercy1 fairest ladies1 ,i speak not of the light of poetry1 but of its shadows4 ,cheromania is the first form of monomania1 or the madness of one idea2 and this is marked by cheerfulness and splendid ideas1 which indeed often tend to mitigate the melancholy scenes of derangement1 as if 8the light that led astray was light from heaven40 ,i will illustrate this by repeating to you the letter to his brother1 of a young officer1 whose progressive changes of mind1 from excitement to confirmed mania1 it was my duty to watch over4 ,december #dth1 #ahcb4 8,to ----1 ,esq4 8,i am ,lord ,president of the ,counsil1 a most honorable situation1 and the richest gift of the ,crown1 which brings me in seven thousand pounds every year4 ,the ,counsil consists of ,three ,secretaries of ,state1 of which ,i am one2 and the ,paymaster of the ,forces4 ,when the ,king ,william the forth shall die1 then shall ,i be crowned ,king of ,england1 and be crowned in ,westermister ,abbey1 ,by ,the ,lord ,archbishop of ,canterbury4 ,i shall on the occasion of my coronation have placed in the different street of ,london one thousand pipes of wine for my people1 and at night in the ,hyde ,park a magnificent display of ,fireworks1 and one hundred pieces of ,artillery shall fire three rounds for the amusement of my people and subjects4 ,i have only now to give you a list of my titles and honors3 8,king of ,england4 ,first ,heir ,presumptive to the ,crown4 ,major ,general and ,field ,martial4 ,duke of ,leitzep4 ,prince of ,denmark4 ,lord ,president of the ,counsil4 ,knight ,banneret4 ,lord ,treasurer of the ,exchequer4 ,lieutenant ,colonel ----1 ,lord and ,baronet4 ,aid de ,camp to the ,king4 ,champion of ,england4 8,dear ----1 ,i wish to acquaint you that ,windsor ,castle belongs to me1 that the palace of ,brighton also belongs to me1 also ,i purchased from the ,duke of ,wellington the splendid park and ,palace of ,stratfieldsea1 wherein there are very extensive ,forests of ,oak and of ,pines trees1 together with a magnificent sheet of ,water containing ,ells and ,salmon ,trout4 8,dear ----1 ,i have to beg that you give my love and duty to your wife--and give this letter to read1 ,i pray you1 according to my desire and wish40 ,i may tell you that the very onset of frenzy is often but an elevated spirit of poesy1 in which brilliancy and judgment shall be companions2 but1 like sop's bow1 the mind shall be warped and wrung by being constantly bent on its subject2 and thus the source of brilliancy and wit may be the source of madness4 ,a change of subject will often do much to unbend such a mind1 as a change of posture will relieve muscular fatigue1 or as a sudden impression of fear or fright has thwarted a suicide on the moment of his self-attempt4 ,indeed mania will often appear to induce an almost inspired talent1 which1 ,i may hint to you1 may be explained by the oxygenizing of the blood in the brain4 ,in ,van ,switen1 we read of a working female who1 during fits of insanity1 displayed the faculty of rhyming1 or poetic talent2 and 7as ,i am fond of analogy7 in ,pinel1 of one who1 during his insane moments1 argued 7as if from concentrated memory7 in an acute and intelligent manner1 on the events of the ,revolution4 ,then ,haller tells us of an idiot1 who was wounded on the head1 and1 during its healing1 the intellect became lucid 7and this on the principle of a counteraction72 but1 on the healing being completed1 again the creature was an idiot4 ,when we are roaming over the flowery fields of poesy1 we are seldom inclined to reflect on the mental labour by which they are embellished4 ,we may suppose that1 whatever is born of the brain is ushered in by an easy birth2 but poesy is often attended by a pang of parturition1 and one single line may rankle in the brain for hours ere it struggle into light2 and1 perhaps1 require a frontal blow1 as violent as that which cleft the skull of ,jupiter and gave birth to ,pallas4 ,there are some minds which can support the effort of composition with impunity2 but when we recollect the diseases which are entailed on genius--the melancholy of ,cowper1 and the distraction of the amiable ,collins1 who 8passed in madd'ning pain life's feverish dream1 ,while rays of genius only served to show ,the thick'ning horror1 and exalt his woe20 when we remember the gloomy setting of the brilliant sun of ,scott1 during the period of his apoplectic tendency1 when his letter 8filled the minds of his publishers with dismay10 and he sunk into the delusive hope that his debts were liquidated to the full2 when we are told that ,ariosto was never seen to laugh1 and rarely to smile2 that ,rousseau was ever restless1 and on the verge of mania2 when we reflect on the premature decay of unhappy ,white-- 8,when science self destroyed her fav'rite son20 on the painful conflicts of ,byron1 when his dark hour was on him2 on ,chatterton1 8the sleepless boy who perish'd in his pride30 are incited1 almost unconsciously to echo the apostrophe of ,wordsworth3-- 8,we poets in our youth begin in gladness1 ,but thereof comes in the end despondency and madness40 ,,ida4 ,the laurel1 then1 contains more poison than that of prussic acid in its leaf4 ,the perils of romance are not ever in these extremes2 yet the mere indulgence of poetic thoughts may so raise the beau-ideal of beauty in the sensitive and youthful mind1 as to unfit it for the common duties of life4 ,like ,narcissus1 the heart perishes for love of its own shadow4 ,it becomes so acutely sensitive1 as to 8die of a rose in aromatic pain30 or like the ,sybarite1 it cannot sleep1 because a crumpled rose-leaf lay beneath the pillow4 ,i have often thought that the secret of happiness may lie in this precept3 8,take the good of life as it is1 a divine gift1 and not an agreeable deception20 when evil is in your path1 search its cause1 analyze its nature1 and if you discover not that you have yourself to thank for it1 at least you may prove that the evil itself is made up of mere trifles1 and thus you will learn to be resigned4 ,and with the beauty and treasures of earth3 if you possess them1 enjoy them with a prudent and a grateful heart4 ,if they belong to others1 sigh not--pine not for them1 but analyze them also1 and you may find that the hope of their enjoyment was a phantom2 for aggregated beauties are often made up of deformed or unlovely atoms4 ,i might illustrate my remarks by relating to you an episode of the life of my young friend ,stanmore2 from which ,i learned1 with sorrow1 that the heart may droop beneath its own excess of sensibility1 7a mystery to those who were strangers to its secret17 and that the blossom of love may be self-blighted3 8,his existence was a withered hope1 that1 like the icicle in the cup of the early flower1 freezes the life-spring in which it is so deeply embosomed4 ,in his mind was lighted a vision of ,elysium1 beyond what earth with all its virtue and beauty could give him3 a spectral ,utopia4 ,his life was a blank4 ,he found not happiness1 because he knew not contentment4 ,he was the leader of many a forlorn hope in ,spain1 and fell in a midnight enterprise among the guerillas in the ,sierra ,morena40 ,,ev4 ,and had the sword spared him1 he would have died a moral suicide4 ,what folly1 thus to chase a butterfly1 instead of yielding to the virtuous influence of woman1 which1 beyond aught else1 softens and ennobles man's heart2 entrancing it in floods of human passion1 which1 with all its pains1 yields happiness a thousand-fold more than the maudlin sentiments of ,rousseau1 that1 reducing love to a mere phantom1 leave the lone heart to prey on its own sensibility4 ,such was the romantic poet of ,endymion1 who for the phantom of his waking dreams1 gave up the study of that science1 which might have nursed and fortified a mind1 so soon chilled to death by the icy finger of criticism4 ,erato was the mistress of ,john ,keats2 but while he wooed1 he perished3 like the ,rosicrucian1 who1 to save the life of his lady1 took the oath of celibacy1 and thus lost her love for ever4 ,even in the lecture-room of ,saint ,thomas's1 ,i have seen ,keats in a deep poetic dream3 his mind was on ,parnassus with the muses4 ,and here is a quaint fragment which he one evening scribbled in our presence1 while the precepts of ,sir ,astley ,cooper fell unheeded on his ear3-- 8,whenne ,alexandre the ,conqueroure was wayfayringe in ye londe of ,inde1 there mette hym a damoselle of marveillouse beautie slepynge uponne the herbys and flourys4 ,he colde ne loke uponne her withouten grete plesance1 and he was welle nighe loste in wondrement4 ,her forme was everyche whytte lyke ye fayrest carvynge of ,quene ,cythere1 onlie thatte yt was swellyd and blushyd wyth warmthe and lyffe wythalle4 8,her forhed was as whytte as ys the snowe whyche ye talle hed of a ,norwegian pyne stelythe from ye northerne wynde4 ,one of her fayre hondes was yplaced thereonne1 and thus whytte wyth whytte was ymyngld as ye gode ,arthure saythe1 lyke whytest lylys yspredde on whyttest snowe2 and her bryghte eyne whenne she them oped1 sparklyd lyke ,hesperus through an evenynge cloude4 8,theye were yclosyd yn slepe1 save that two slauntynge raies shotte to her mouthe1 and were theyre bathyd yn swetenesse1 as whenne bye chaunce ye moone fyndeth a banke of violettes and droppethe thereonne ye sylverie dewe4 8,the authoure was goynge onne withouthen descrybynge ye ladye's breste1 whenne lo1 a genyus appearyd--#8,cuthberte1' sayeth he1 #8an thou canst not descrybe ye ladye's breste1 and fynde a simile thereunto1 ,i forbyde thee to proceede yn thy romaunt4' ,thys1 ,i kennd fulle welle1 far surpassyd my feble powres1 and forthwythe ,i was fayne to droppe my quille40 ,,phantasy ,,from ,,sympathy ,,with ,,the ,,brain4 8,my eyes are made the fools o' the other senses40 ,,macbeth4 ,,astr4 ,i marvel not1 lady1 that those pencilled brows do frown upon the ruthless scholar1 who thus dares to dismantle the fair realm of poesy1 and bind the poppy1 and the cypress1 and the deadly nightshade1 with the myrtle and the laurel4 ,we shall have1 ere long1 a statute of lunacy against the poet and the seer2 or hapless1 he will imprison thee1 fair creature1 within a cloven pine3 and like ,prospero1 ,i must break my wand and bury it certain fathoms in the earth2 and1 deeper than ever plummet sounded1 drown my books4 ,the pages of ,ptolemy1 and ,haly1 and ,agrippa1 and ,lily1 will be but bygone fables3 and the metaphysics of the mighty mind will be controverted by the slicing of the brain and marrow with the knife of these anatomists4 ,nay1 we must devoutly believe what they so learnedly give out1 that frontal headaches in the locality of form1 colour1 and number1 and forsooth in the organ of wonder too1 often accompany spectral illusions1 and that white or grey ghosts result from excited form and deficient colour66 ,martin ,luther1 who was a believer in special influence1 quarrelled with the physician1 who referred its mystic signs to natural causes4 ,i am not so uncourteous1 yet express my wonder1 ,evelyn1 at the confidence with which you presume to the discovery of a material reason and a cause1 for all the phenomena of our mysterious intellect4 ,,ev4 ,and why should ,i not1 dear ,astrophel1 if ,i search for and discover it in the studies of that sublime science1 the meditation on which inspired ,galen with this pious sentiment3 8,compono hic profecto canticum in ,creatoris nostri laudem40 ,is it more profane to think that the ,deity should speak to us through the medium of our senses1 than by the agency of a spirit8 ,recollect1 ,i have presumed neither to enter deeply into metaphysical reasoning1 nor to describe1 minutely1 the condition of the brain2 and ,i have alluded but slightly to the supposed function of its varied structures4 ,lord ,bacon has observed3 8,he who would philosophize in a due and proper manner must dissect nature1 but not abstract her1 as they are obliged to do who will not dissect her40 ,dissection1 however1 in its anatomical sense1 has not1 perhaps cannot1 elucidate the coincidence of symptom and pathology in cases which so seldom prove fatal1 and the causes of which may be so evanescent4 ,still1 it is only by a combination of metaphysical argument and anatomical research1 with the essential aid of analogy1 that the phenomena and disease of mind can be fairly investigated4 ,in the important question of insanity1 there is an error among the mere metaphysicians that is fraught with extreme danger--the abstract notion of moral causes being the chief excitement of mania4 ,this error has led to that melancholy abuse of the coercive treatment and excitement of fear in a maniac2 as if a savage keeper possessed the wondrous power of frightening him into his wits4 ,hear what the magniloquent ,reil writes on this point3 8,the reception of a lunatic should be amid the thunder of cannon2 he should be introduced by night1 over a drawbridge1 be laid hold of by ,moors1 thrust into a subterranean dungeon1 and put into a bath with eels and other beasts60 ,and ,lichtenberg1 another moral philanthropist1 sanctioned by the divine axiom--8the rod helps ,god10 urges the employment of coercion and cruelty for this sublime psychological reason3 that under the infliction of the lash and the cane1 8the soul is forced to knit itself once more to that world1 from which the cudgels come60 ,think ye that these moralists1 if not hood-winked by false metaphysics1 would have so closely copied the malevolence of an inquisitor or a devil8 ,we must believe that each illusive representation is marked by some change in some certain portion of the brain1 the function of which bears a reference to the subject or nature of the illusion3 it may be so minute as not to be recognized by our vision4 ,indeed1 if the bodily sensations of every human passion be faithfully analyzed1 it will be proved that there is an unusual feeling in some part1 when even a thought passes through the mind1 under these definitions3--a thrill1 a creeping1 a glow1 a flush1 a chill1 a tremor1--nay1 even fainting1 convulsion1 death4 ,now the brain feels1 and thinks1 and wills2 but the blood is also essential to these faculties4 ,if part of the brain is changed1 or its circulation deranged1 in that instant an effect unlike health is produced3 and such is the illusion of the ghost-seer4 ,or if the substance of the organ of sense1 as the eye1 be altered1 its function is deranged1 and an illusive spectrum appears to float before it4 ,nay1 we are assured by ,tiedeman and ,gall1 7opinions of high value17 that they have known patients who 7smile as you please7 were mad only on one side of the brain1 and perceived their madness with the other2 and ,i may assure you1 too1 that there have been persons who really thought with half the brain only4 ,i will again claim the courtesy of these fair dames1 while ,i offer another glimpse of the dull cold region of physiology4 ,recollect the illustrations ,i have adduced in allusion to those classes1 on whose privacy the ghost has the privilege of intrusion4 ,i will now offer illustrations of those remote influences which work these seeming mysteries in the sensitive or diseased brain4 ,a patient of ,dr4 ,gregory1 at the hour of six1 one hour after dinner1 was daily visited by a hag1 or incubus1 which confronted him1 and appeared to strike him with a crutch4 ,immediately on this he would fall from his chair in a swoon4 ,this gentleman was relieved by bleeding and abstinence4 ,the ,abb ,pilori1 in ,florence1 invariably saw the phantom of scorpions around him1 after he had partaken of luncheon4 ,there was a gentleman in ,edinburgh1 learned in fourteen languages1 of the age of seventy-six4 ,in #ahai1 he began to see strange faces1 in old dresses1 like paintings1 and his own face changing from young to old2 and these phantoms came at his call4 ,wine drinking increased especially these spectres1 during the twelve years that the illusion continued2 yet his mental faculties were not much impaired4 ,when eighty years old1 he came to ,london to dine with the ,knights of the ,bath1 and went back at the rate of a hundred miles a-day4 ,his language latterly was a patois of fourteen4 ,one night he saw his dead wife's shadow1 and jumped after her out of the window1 and ran after her through the conservatory2 yet he remembered1 when told that his wife was dead1 and was then quiet4 ,disordered digestion aggravated his case extremely4 ,mr4 ,gragg's opinion was1 that 8his thinking was correct1 but the expression of thought wrong40 ,on examination1 the dura mater was found adherent to the skull3 in parts there was a thick effusion and vascularity over the brain1 and the carotids were partially ossified4 ,in a mind excited or exhausted1 the natural sympathy between the brain and the stomach is wrought up to an extreme4 ,and in the two most interesting cases of spectral illusion on record1 this instance is beautifully illustrated4 ,the bookseller of ,berlin1 ,nicolai 7whose phantasms are become so hackneyed a tale in the records of ,psychology71 had been thus mentally excited4 ,it were long to repeat the circumstantial and scientific detail of his waking visions3 of his ghosts of departed friends1 and of strangers to him1 and of the groups of shadowy figures which glided through his chamber at these spectral levees2 and how his philosophic mind distinguished the intrusion of the spectre at the door and the real friend to whom its opening gave admittance2 and how they disappeared when he shut his eyes1 and came again as he opened his lids2 or how he was at last amused by his analysis of all these illusive spectra4 ,but the sympathy to which ,i have alluded will be efficiently proved by one quotation from the ,prussian's recital4 ,during the time leeches were applied to his temples1 his chamber was crowded with phantoms4 8,this continued uninterruptedly till about half-past four o'clock1 when my digestion commenced4 ,i then fancied that they began to move more slowly3 soon after1 their colour began to fade1 and at seven o'clock they were entirely white3 then they seemed to dissolve in the air1 while fragments of some of them continued visible a considerable time40 ,on other occasions1 they attempted to re-appear1 and changed to white1 more and more faintly as his health improved4 ,there is equal interest1 both for science and curiosity1 in the illusion of ,mrs4 ,a4 7as told by ,brewster1 in his 8,natural ,magic071 and which sprung from the like causes4 ,the sympathetic sensitiveness of this lady was so acute1 that an expression of pain in another produced it in the corresponding part of herself4 ,and she1 too1 was intruded on by spectres of men and women1 and cats and carriages1 and by corpses in shrouds peering over her shoulder at her toilet-glass1 and ghastly likenesses of gentlemen in grave-clothes1 sitting unceremoniously in arm chairs in her drawing-room4 ,and yet the perfect restoration of the lady's health was coincident with her complete freedom from these spectral visitations4 ,you will read in the ,anatomie of ,melancholy1 that 8,eremites and anchorites have frequently such absurd visions and revelations1 by reason of much fasting40 ,in exhaustion1 too1 or on the approach of vertigo1 if we shut our eyes1 we seem as if turning round ourselves1 and if we open them1 then this whimsical movement is referred to the chairs and tables in our chamber4 ,these1 then1 are the remote sympathies with the organs of digestion2 and this chiefly by the derangement of the circulation of the blood1 between the brain and the heart4 ,in the case of an enlarged heart1 ,dr4 ,kelly discovered that a dark spectrum was perceived synchronous with the systole1 or contraction of its ventricles2 so that the patient could count his pulse merely by watching the motion of this illusive shade on the white ceiling of his room4 ,the study of these false perceptions1 which result from derangement or disease of the eye1 are replete with interest4 ,you are aware that the function of a nerve of sensation is so deranged by disease1 that in some cases of paralysis cold bodies will appear heated4 ,so1 by analogy1 is the function of a nerve of sense deranged1 if its fibrill be disordered4 ,we have ,myopia1 or short sight2 ,presbyopia1 or long sight2 ,chrupsia1 or coloured vision4 ,we have night-blindness1 or dim vision1 and day-blindness1 or intolerance of light1--as in the albino1 or owl4 ,i had1 and ,i have now1 a second relative1 whose vision is insensible to certain colours2 and the chemist1 ,dalton1 we know1 could not distinguish blue from pink4 ,in a ,glasgow ,medical ,journal1 ,i read this statement by a patient3--8,no colour contrasts to me so forcibly with black as azure blue1 and as you know that the shadows of all objects are composed of black1 the forms or objects which have acquired more or less of this blue hue1 from being distant1 become defined and marked by the possession of shadows1 which are invisible to me in the high-coloured objects in a foreground1 and which are thus left comparatively confined and shapeless masses of colour40 ,the eye may be curtailed of half its object4 ,mr4 ,abernethy and ,dr4 ,wollaston were both often in this dilemma of a sense1 so that only one-half of a person or a name1 on which they were looking1 was visible to them4 ,mr4 ,abernethy1 in his facetious way1 referring to his own name1 told us he could see as far as the ne1 but could not see a bit of the thy4 ,this illusion is at once explained by anatomy4 ,the optic nerve1 at one point1 interlaces some1 and crosses other of its fibres3 thus one nerve chiefly supplies one-half of both eyes4 ,disease of nerve may thus paralyse one-half of each retina3 the other half only perceiving half the object or word4 ,in many cases of disordered sensibility of the retina1 it is influenced by the minute villi or vessels in the tunics of the eye4 ,in the case of exhausted energy of this retina1 usually accompanied by night-blindness1 where there is no vision but in a strong light1 floating specks termed musc volitantes often become so numerous1 as to impart a notion of films floating in the watery humour of the eye1 or before the cornea4 ,it is a curious question1 in what portion of the retina the spectra of musc volitantes are excited4 ,they appear in or near the axis of vision2 but as they do not interrupt the visual rays from material objects1 it is possible they may arise on that spot considered to be destitute of vision1 with regard to external impression4 ,or they may be produced by detached parts only of the objects1 which impinge on the retina1 reaching the brain4 ,if the integrity of certain of its fibres1 which by converging form the optic nerve1 be destroyed1 distorted or imperfect objects will be presented4 ,this speck may be a musca volitans4 ,,astr4 ,the original impressions in all cases are1 ,i presume1 from without3 how is the internally excited idea presented as a prominent image before the eye8 ,,ev4 ,that form of disordered vision to which ,i allude1 occurring so often in nervous persons1 or resulting from close application to study1 does not often appear to depend on a turgid condition of the vessels of the chorod coat or retina4 ,it is usually relieved more by tonics than by depletion2 and very strange illusions of sight will sometimes be produced merely by depressing medicines1 especially the preparations of antimony4 ,yet these dark specks appear to be floating before1 and often at some distance withoutside the eye4 ,therefore we may believe that excited images or more perfect forms may also appear before the retina1 palpable4 ,between the first impression and its recurrence1 a long period may have passed 7memory being unlimited72 and it is sufficient that one sole idea be excited to produce a succession2 as a spark of fire will ignite a train of gunpowder2 or as an electric spark will discharge a whole battery4 ,in the curious case of photopsia1 or suffusio scintillans1 we have a series of illusive spectra1 in the forms of 8lucid points10 and 8yellow flames10 and 8fiery veils10 and 8rings of light40 ,in some cases of ophthalmia1 and in acute inflammation of the brain1 the candles and other bright objects in the chamber will look like blood4 ,beguelin1 as we read in the 8,berlin ,memoirs10 by straining his eyes on a book1 always saw the letters red4 ,there is a story in ,voltaire1 that the ,duke of ,florence threw the dice with a field-officer of his enemy4 ,the spots on the dice seemed1 to his excited brain1 like drops of blood3 he instantly ordered a retreat of his army4 ,and this is not wonderful2 it is but excited sensibility1 of which many analogies indeed may be artificially produced1 as the flash of light from the pricking of the retina with a fine needle1 and the beautiful iris which is formed by pressure on the globe of the eye4 ,in the very interesting history of the prisoner in the dungeon of the ,chatelet at ,paris1 the phosphorescence of the eye was itself the source of light1 in this instance so powerful as to enable the prisoner to discern the mice that came around him to pick up the crumbs1 although the cell was pitchy dark to others4 ,there are many curious illusions resulting from over-straining or over-excitement of the eye4 ,dr4 ,brewster1 in the ,edinburgh ,journal of ,science1 vol4 iii4 says1 8,if in a fine dark night we unexpectedly obtain a glimpse of any object1 either in motion or at rest1 we are naturally anxious to ascertain what it is1 and our curiosity calls forth all our powers of vision4 ,excited by a feeble illumination1 the retina is not capable of affording a permanent vision of the object2 and while we are straining our eye to discover its nature1 it will entirely disappear1 and afterwards re-appear and vanish alternately40 ,a friend of ,buffon had been watching the progress of an eclipse through a very minute aperture4 ,for three weeks after this there was a perfect spectrum of the lucid spot marked on every object on which he fixed his eyes4 ,dr4 ,brewster had been making protracted experiments on some brilliant object1 and for several hours after this a dark spectrum1 associated with intense pain1 floated constantly before his eye4 ,in the third volume of his ,physiology1 ,dr4 ,bostock thus concludes the account of his own ocular spectra3 8,it appeared as if a number of objects1 principally human faces or figures1 on a small scale1 were placed before me1 and gradually removed1 like a succession of medallions4 ,they were all of the same size1 and appeared to be all situated at the same distance from the face4 ,after one had been seen for a few minutes1 it became fainter1 and then another which was more vivid seemed to be laid upon it1 or substituted in its place1 which in its turn was superseded by a new appearance40 ,coloured vision may arise from permanent defect or from acute disorder3 from some peculiar refraction of a ray of light on the lens of the eye1 or by the optical laws of the accidental colours4 ,the ray of white light consists of the three prismatic or primitive colours4 ,now1 if the eye is fatigued by one of these colours1 or it be lost1 mechanically or physiologically1 the impression of two only will remain1 and this accidental or complementary colour is composed of the two remaining constituents of the white ray4 ,thus1 if the eye has been strained on a red colour1 it is insensible to this1 but perceives the blue and the yellow1 the combination of which is green4 ,so1 if we look long on a green spot1 and then fix the eye on white paper1 the spectrum will be of light red4 ,a violet spot will become yellow2 a blue spot orange-red3 a black spot will entirely disappear on a white ground1 for it has no complementary colour2 but it appears white on a dark ground1 as a white spot will change to black4 ,by this law ,i may explain the impression made by black letters on the red ground of a play-bill1 which appear blue4 ,the accidental colour of orange-red is blue2 that of black is white4 ,by looking on this1 the black letter first becomes white1 and the accidental colour of the red--blue1 is transferred to the white ground of the letters4 ,,astr4 ,then1 as ,d',agessau recommended the parliament of ,paris to leave the demoniac of our times to the physician and not the divine1 you would delegate the management of all those1 to whom the mysterious world of shadows is unfolded1 to the sapient leech with his phials and his lancet4 ,,ev4 ,nay1 ,i presume not to so potent a faculty4 ,many of the slight imperfections of vision are1 as ,i have confessed1 merely exaggerations of romantic ideas floating in the memory2 and this is not a novel notion1 for ,plato and other philosophers held it long before our time4 ,musc volitantes are usually1 though not always1 substantial3 i4e4 depending on points or fibres in the axis of vision1 on congestions1 or varicose states of the vessels of the chorod or retina1 or of atoms floating in the humours4 ,these specks1 which do not appear alike in the eyes of all1 and the brilliant beams in the suffusio scintillans1 so varied and so whimsical1 might be readily moulded into human form1 by the imagination of an enthusiast1 or the feelings of the ghost-seer1 who is usually morose and melancholy1 in a state of longing for a ghost or a mystery4 ,but when many of the more confirmed illusions are depending on structural disease in the membranes and humours of the eye1 ,i am confident in the resources of our science to relieve1 if not to remove4 ,coleridge indeed has expressed his belief1 that by some convulsion of the eye1 it may see projected before it part of its own body1 easily magnified into the whole by slight imagination4 ,if this be true1 the whole mystery of the ,death-fetch is unravelled4 ,the nerves and their ganglia are often diseased1 when we least suspect3 and calcareous and scrofulous tumours1 pressing on the optic axis1 in the brain1 or on the pneumogastric nerve above its recurrent branch1 and disease in the bronchial glands around the cardiac plexus1 may exist1 with the very slightest sensations of pain4 ,even in extreme disorganization of the brain1 there may be remissions of painless repose2 and in other cases1 where pain is synchronous with illusion1 the illusion may subside although the pain remains2 an indication1 or proof1 indeed1 of structural cause for the phantasy4 ,and this discrimination1 ,astrophel1 of the line of distinction between sanity and derangement1 is often of a hair's breadth2 and the law confesses here the high value of pathology1 seeing that1 in cases of suicide or of idiocy1 and other states which involve the rites of sepulture1 the conveyance of entailed estates1 or personal responsibility1 the judgment of the physician is held to be oracular4 ,,mysterious ,,forms ,,and ,,signs4 8,fierce fiery warriors fight upon the clouds1 ,in ranks1 and squadrons1 and right form of war1 ,which drizzled blood upon the capitol3 ,the noise of battle hurtled in the air40 ,,julius ,c,,sar4 ,,astr4 ,methinks you claim too much homage from our courtesy to your philosophy1 ,evelyn4 ,can we believe that all these wondrous forms and shadows are but an illusion of the eye1 or of the mind's eye8 ,and1 if ,i grant this truth in regard to the eye of one mind1 can we so easily libel the evidence of a multitude1 to whom the world of shadows is unlocked8 ,we are now wandering in the very land of omens2 and will this cold philosophy of thine presume to draw aside the veil of mystery1 which hangs over the mountain and the cataract of yon wild principality8 ,e'en now the legends of many climes crowd on my memory2 and1 while this purple cloud is o'er the sun1 listen1 ,i pr'ythee1 to the traditions which ,i have gathered2 muse on the sequences of these strange appearances1 and you will at length confess1 with the ,benedictine ,calmet--8,realit des apparitions est prouve par l'vnement des choses prdites40 ,the ,tan-we or ,tan-wed are streams of lucid fire1 rolling along the lands of a freeholder1 who1 warned of his coming fate1 immediately makes his will1 and shortly after dies4 ,among the gloomy gorges of ,preselle1 in ,pembrokeshire1 comes dancing on that blue wild-fire the 8,canwyl y ,cyrph10 or 8,corpse-candle40 ,as the shades of evening are approaching1 the spectre of the doomed comes flitting before us1 with a lighted taper in its hand1 and with a solemn step halts not until it rests on its destined grave1 in the church-yard ground4 ,if dignities and fortune have been the earthly lot of this doomed mortal1 then is there shadowed forth an awful pageantry of hearse and ghostly steeds1 and mute mourners1 all gliding away to the place of the tomb1 and1 like the phantoms of the ,aensprecker1 in ,holland1 7a funeral procession of no less fatality17 they foretell the doom of some ill-fated friend4 ,among the dingles of the ,bachwy1 in ,radnorshire1 amid scenery of wild and lonely beauty1 a few rugged stones denote the site of an ancient castle of a ,welsh prince2 it is the ruin of the 8,black ,rock40 ,the opposing masses of this eternal rock1 tapestried with deep green moss and lichen1 fold in upon the stream directly over its matchless cataract1 which falls abruptly from the upper to the lower valley into this gloomy gorge2 the sunbeam playing on the upper ledge of the waterfall1 while its deep basin is shrouded in ,stygian darkness4 ,into this gulph it was the pleasure of the prince to hurl from his castle walls1 those whom fate had made his prisoners4 ,often since the era of these cruelties1 7as ,i learned from the oral legends of the peasants17 before a death1 a strange unearthly groaning is heard1 the 8,kyhirraeth10 becoming fainter and fainter until the last gasp of the mortal whose doom it forebodes4 ,there is the dead-bell1 which the ,scottish peasants believe to foretell the death of a friend2 and the death-cart of ,lancashire1 which is heard rattling along the streets like a whirlwind2 and the ,owke ,mouraske1 a demon of ,norway1 which never enters a house but some one of the family dies within the year4 ,we are assured also by the ,saxon1 ,cranmer1 that ere one of the electoral house of ,brandenburgh dies1 a woman in white appears to many throughout the dominions of ,prussia4 ,the wild mountains that surround us are prolific in the 8,anderyn y ,corff10 or 8,corpse-bird10 and the 8,cwm ,amon10 or 8,dogs of ,hell10 which are believed to be demons of death1 in the shape of hounds1 and1 like the mongrel of ,faust1 marked by a train of fire4 ,these howl forth their awful warning1 while the death-peal rings in the ears of the nearest kin of one about to die4 ,there is the legend of the 8,ellyllon10 a prototype of the ,scotch and ,irish 8,banshie10 which appears as an old crone1 with streaming hair and a coat of blue1 with her boding scream of death4 ,the 8,gwrach y ,rhibyn10 or 8,hag of the ,dribble10 whose pastime is to carry stones in her apron across the mountains1 and then to loosen her apron-string1 and by the shower of stones to make a 8dribble40 ,this hag1 at twilight1 flaps her raven wing against the chamber window of a doomed creature1 and1 with a howl1 cries out1 8,a a a ui ui ,anni40 ,in the wilderness of ,zin1 which stretches between ,palestine and the ,red ,sea1 both the ,bedouin ,arab and the traveller are greeted by the sound of matin bells1 like the convent peal which calls the nuns to their devotion2 and this1 according to tradition1 has been heard ever since the crusades4 ,then there is a fatal spirit of the desert1 which1 like an ignis fatuus1 lures men to destruction1 by 8,airy tongues that syllable men's names40 ,the ,venetian traveller1 ,marco ,polo1 writes of those who1 wandering unwarily from the track of the caravans in ,tartary1 hear the phantom voice of some dear friend 7who indeed sometimes appears in person71 which entices them from the route1 and they perish in the desert4 ,and ,lord ,lindsay1 in his travels through ,egypt and the defiles of ,edom1 tells us one circumstantial story from ,vincent de ,blanc1 of a man decoyed away from the caravan of an ,arabian merchant by the entreaties of a phantom voice4 ,before an heir of ,clifton sleeps in death1 a sturgeon is always1 it is affirmed1 taken in the river ,trent4 ,this incident1 like many others1 becomes important from its consequence4 ,the park of ,chartley is a wild and romantic spot1 in its primitive state1 untouched by the hand of the agriculturist1 and was formerly attached to the royal forest of ,needwood1 and the honour of ,tutbury1 of the whole of which the ancient family of ,de ,ferrars were once the puissant lords4 ,their immense possessions1 now forming part of the duchy of ,lancaster1 were forfeited by the attainder of ,earl ,ferrars1 after his defeat at ,burton ,bridge1 where he led the rebellious barons against ,henry ,,iii4 ,the ,chartley estate1 being settled in dower1 was alone reserved1 and handed down to its present possessor4 ,in the park is preserved1 in its primitive purity1 the indigenous ,staffordshire cow1 small in stature1 of a sand-white colour1 with black ears1 muzzle1 and tips at the hoofs4 ,in the year of the battle of ,burton ,bridge1 a black calf was born1 and the downfall of the great house of ,ferrars happening at the same period1 gave rise to the tradition1 which to this day has been held in veneration by the common people1 that the birth of a party-coloured calf from the wild breed in ,chartley ,park1 is a sure omen of death within the same year to a member of the lord's family4 ,a calf of this description has been born whenever a death has happened in the family of late years4 ,the decease of the last earl and his countess1 of his son ,lord ,tamworth1 of his daughter1 ,mrs4 ,william ,jolliffe1 as well as the deaths of the son and heir of the present nobleman and his daughter1 ,lady ,frances ,shirley1 have each been forewarned by the ominous birth of a spotted calf4 ,in the spring of a late year1 an animal perfectly black was calved by one of this weird tribe1 in the park of ,chartley1 and this birth also has been followed by the death of the countess4 ,in the beautiful chapel of ,rosslinne1 founded by ,william ,saint ,clair1 prince of ,orkney1 there is a legend of the spectral light1 which illumined its gothic beauty1 on the eve of a death among his descendants4 ,and my sweet ,castaly will remember how pathetically ,harold sings the fate of ,rosabelle ,saint ,clair4 ,in other districts1 on the coming of such an event1 these lights are seen of various colours1 and are termed 8,dr' ,eug10--8the ,death of the ,druid20 and they also marshal the funeral procession to the very verge of the grave4 ,dr4 ,caldicot solemnly writes1 that when a ,christian is drowned in the ,dee1 a light appears over the spot1 by which the body is easily discovered2 and hence the river is called 8,holy0 ,dee4 ,the mysteries of the 8,skibbereen ,lights0 are recorded by an honourable gentleman of ,ireland1 and ladies and philosophers journeyed far to behold them1 and believed4--,in a cottage in a marshy flat near ,bantry lived a man named ,harrington1 a perfect anatomie vivante1 and bedridden1--his heart devout1--his books all of a religious kind4 ,in his chamber1 strange lights soon appeared1 at first like the dim moonlight on the wall1 deepening often into yellow light1 and flickering round the room4 ,there was often a group of literati and fashion assembled there1 on whom the light danced and displayed all the various emotions of the parties4 ,once at noon1 but mostly at midnight1 the light appeared2 and on all occasions ,harrington seemed to anticipate before others beheld them4 ,science has searched for causes2 but neither in the arts of an impostor1 or the natural exhalation of luminous gases1 has been yet discovered a solution of this mystery4 ,in the wild country around ,dolgelly1 where ,cader ,idris frowns upon the floods and fells of ,merioneth1--where the ,mawddach1 after its magnificent fall1 rolls its waters through the brown and purple valley to join the ,wonion1 and then expand into the mountain estuary of ,abermaw1--the wanderer will hear from many lips this current story4 ,on a dark evening1 a few winters ago1 some persons were returning to ,barmouth1 on the south or opposite side of the river4 ,as they approached the ferry-house at ,penthryn1 which is directly opposite ,barmouth1 they observed a light near the house1 which they conjectured to be produced by a bonfire2 and greatly puzzled they were to discover the reason why it should have been lighted4 ,as they came nearer1 however1 it vanished2 and when they inquired at the house respecting it1 they were surprised to learn1 that not only had the people there displayed no light1 but they had not even seen one1 nor could they perceive any signs of it on the sands4 ,on reaching ,barmouth1 the circumstance was mentioned1 and the fact corroborated by some of the people there1 who had also plainly and distinctly seen the light4 ,it was settled1 therefore1 by some of the old fishermen1 that this was a 8death token20 and sure enough the man who kept the ferry at that time was drowned at high water a few nights afterwards1 on the very spot where the light was seen4 ,he was landing from the boat1 when he fell into the water1 and so perished4 ,the same winter the ,barmouth people1 as well as the inhabitants of the opposite banks1 were struck by the appearance of a number of small lights1 which were seen dancing in the air at a place called ,borthwyn1 about half a mile from the town4 ,a great number of people came out to see these lights1 and after a while they all but one disappeared1 and this one proceeded slowly towards the water's edge1 to a little bay where some boats were moored4 ,the men in a sloop which was anchored near the spot saw the light advancing2 they saw it also hover for a few seconds over one particular boat1 and then totally disappear4 ,two or three days afterwards the man to whom that particular boat belonged was drowned in the river1 while he was sailing about ,barmouth harbour in that very boat4 ,on a lofty mountain1 rising over ,marbach in ,austria1 stands the church of ,maria-,taferl2 and miracles on miracles are related of this sacred spot1 since the time when the 8,vesperbild10 an image of the ,virgin1 was fixed on its oak4 ,even angels have visited the shrine4 ,in the #agth century these angelic visitants appeared in processions bearing a red cross1 while stars shone around the head of the ,virgin4 ,on one occasion a red cross was borne along and a taper was lighted1 by no mortal hand1 at the feet of the ,vesperbild2 and this is recorded and attested by the crowd who gazed in wonder on the miracle4 ,the trials of the two divines1 ,john ,huss and ,wickliffe1 were marked by awful and impressive phenomena4 ,while the tribunal was sitting in judgment on ,wickliffe1 the monastery in which the ,english monks had assembled was nearly overwhelmed by an earthquake4 ,and it chanced1 that while the council were in high assembly at ,constance1 which condemned ,huss to the stake1 the eclipse1 which over that city was nearly total1 occurred1 and the consternation of the people1 at that time prone to the belief of miracles1 was extreme4 8,the night had wan'd2 but darkness and dismay ,rose with the dawn1 and blotted out the day4 ,the council's warder1 struck with sudden fear1 ,dropt from his palsied hand th' uplifted spear4 ,aghast each gazer saw the mystic power1 ,that rob'd in midnight's pall the matin hour2 ,while hurrying feet1 and wailings to and fro1 ,spread the wild panic of impending woe4 ,the prince and prelates shudder'd at the sign3 ,the monk stood dumb before the darken'd shrine3 ,with faltering hand uprais'd the cross on high1 ,to chase that dismal omen from the sky40 ,the wonders told me by one of my reverend ancestors of the 8,aurora10 years ago1 are so circumstantial1 and withal so prophetic1 that well might she1 like the ,lady of ,branxholme1 believe that 8spirits were riding the northern blast40 ,speed repeats a record in the 8,ypodigma ,neustri0 of 8,walsingham10 that the rebellion of the ,percies was preceded by spectral battles in ,bedfordshire1 8sundry monsters of divers colours and shapes issuing from woods10 c4 ,remember1 it is a matter of history1 that phantasms were seen by numbers in ,whitehall during the ,commonwealth4 ,and the wondrous narrative of ,the ,just ,devil of ,woodstock1 which was writ in #afdi1 by ,master ,widows1 the learned clerk of ,woodstock1 8who each day put in writing what he heard from the mouths of the commissioners1 and such things as they told to have befallen them the night before2 therein keeping to their own words30--the coney-stealers were so alarmed that they left their ferrets beyond ,rosamond's well4 ,and this he saith also1 that 8,at ,saint ,james's the ,devil so joaled the centinals against the sides of the ,queen's ,chappell doors1 that some of them fell sick upon it1 and others1 not taking warning by it1 killed one outright2 and all other such dreadful things those that inhabited the royal houses have been affrighted with40 ,i remember not the source from which ,i gleaned some mysteries of 8,the ,lyffe of ,virgilius10 a professor of the occult sciences1 alluded to1 ,i believe1 in ,gower's 8,confessio ,amantis10 and identified with the ,mantuan poet1--a magus1 who 8dyd many marvayles in hys lyfe tyme by whychcrafte and nygramancye thorowgh the helpe of the devyls of hell40 ,one of these marvels ,i well recollect4 ,this ,virgil was cut up1 salted and pickled1 at his own request1 in a barrel2 and when the emperor discovered him1 he slew ,virgilius' man1 and 8then sawe the emperoure and all his folke a nakyd chylde1 three tymes rennynge aboute the barell1 sayinge the wordes1 #8,cursed be the tyme that ye cam ever here2' and with those wordes vanyshed the chylde away40 ,then in the associations of lucky days and influential colours1 is there not often a striking truth8 ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1 writes ,master ,aubrey1 among other wonders of his 8,miscellanies10 was born1 fought1 and conquered at ,scanderoon1 and died1--on the #aath day of ,june4 ,in a book1 printed in #afhg1 we learn that the fourteenth of ,october was a lucky day for the princes of ,england4 ,on it ,william the ,conqueror won the crown3 ,edward ,,iii4 landed3 and ,james ,,ii4 was born4 ,in the eventful life of ,napoleon1 the number eighteen was associated with so many important events1 that you will scarce deny something more than casualty4 ,such were1 the engagement from which he assumed the consulate3 that of ,torlina on the river ,beresina3 the battles of ,leipsic and of ,waterloo3 which were all fought on the #ahth of the month4 ,on that day also his corpse was landed on ,st4 ,helena3 and on the #ahth also the 8,belle ,poule0 sailed with his remains for ,france4 ,as of the ,emir of the ,east1 green was the favourite colour of the 8,daoine ,shi10 or men of peace1 in ,scotland2 and the ,druids waved a green standard1 as we read in the ,scandana1 when they fought with the ,fingallians4 ,from some cause1 perchance from their adoption of it1 this colour was fatal to the clan 8,grahame40 ,the ,highlanders believe to this day that the field of ,killicrankie was lost because ,dundee was habited in green uniform2 and an old ,grme1 when his horse stumbled at a fox-chace1 referred his disaster to his green whip-cord4 ,do not so many sequences prove a consequence8 ,,ev4 ,you do not mince the matter1 ,astrophel2 indeed1 from the boldness of your display1 ,i might think you had kissed the blarney-stone1 by which charm1 the ,irish believe you will ever after be free from bashfulness4 ,but coincidence1 and the natural leaning of the mind to superstition1 will unfold all your mysteries3 and these your illustrations 7,i cannot term them arguments17 are even weaker than the former4 ,remember1 that the mind of some beings is impressible as the yielding wax1 and especially1 if under the constant influence of other minds2 which1 as continual dropping will wear away a stone1 first tends to bewilder1 and1 at length1 to convince4 ,and as to the special trifles to which you allude1 although it is certain a sparrow falls not to the ground without a ,providence1 and the hairs of our head are all numbered1 ,i cannot believe that the ,creator will thus alter a gigantic law for an atom4 ,,analysis ,,and ,,classification ,,of ,,spectral ,,illusion4 8,the earth hath bubbles1 as the water has1 ,and these are of them40 ,,macbeth4 ,,ev4 ,you are a most industrious gleaner among the sheaves of history1 ,astrophel4 ,but why1 in all these seeming prophecies1 seek to thwart the harmonious course of nature8 ,leave superstition to the heathen and the savage3 be assured1 in the words of ,principal ,robertson1 that a vain desire of prying into futurity is the error of the infancy of a people1 and a proof of its weakness4 ,from this weakness proceeded the faith of the ,americans in dreams1 their observation of omens1 their attention to the chirping of birds and the cries of animals1 all which they supposed to be indications of future events4 ,and if any one of these prognostics was deemed unfavourable1 they instantly abandoned the pursuit of those measures on which they were most eagerly bent4 ,i wonder you brought not some classic proofs of this credulity1 for such were all-prevalent in ,juda and the ,eternal ,city4 ,thus1 on ,february the thirteenth1 the ,romans were conquered by the ,gauls3 henceforward important acts were never undertaken on its anniversary3 nor on ,august the tenth by the ,jews1 because their first temple was destroyed by ,nebuchadnezzar1 and the other by ,titus1 long afterwards1 on that day of the month4 ,i am not1 however1 without some curious stories of very modern date2 one anecdote may be recognised on the ,stock ,exchange4 ,a wealthy ,hebrew1 who was wont to fling his gold even into the lap of kings1 was once standing on a certain stone1 at the ,post ,office1 when he received a letter1 on which he speculated1 and lost #bj1jjjl4 ,on this he cautioned his friends never to stand on that stone1 lest a similar ill-fortune should attend them4 ,the mind of this man was a storehouse of superstition--an omen was his leading star4 ,a drove of pigs would check the completion of a mighty bargain1 and a flock of sheep would prompt him to sign his name to a million4 ,the three brothers of his great house were once on their way to ,lord ,liverpool1 in order to the completion of a loan to the ,treasury2 when1 lo6 an army of swine met them on their way4 ,there was no more progress to ,downing ,street that day2 but they retired to ,stamford ,hill1 and the ,lord ,treasurer waited twenty-four hours for the ,hebrews' gold4 ,with ,brinsley ,sheridan1 ,friday was a sort of holiday2 neither journeys were undertaken1 nor new plays allowed to be produced1 on that day4 ,i presume you were ashamed to adduce ornithoscopy1 or the divination by birds1 as an illustration4 ,do you forget the mystic influence of three crows on man's destiny8 ,but ,i will tell you an oriental fable2 how an accomplished ,jew1 named ,mosollam1 puzzled an augur1 by shooting a beautiful bird1 from which the augur was about to prophecy on the fate of an expedition4 8,why10 said ,mosollam1 8did not the bird foreknow the fate which awaited it8 why did it not fly away--or why come at all80 ,,astr4 ,i believe the augur did or might answer1 that 8a prophet may be ordained to tell the fate of nations1 but not his own40 ,,ev4 ,another vague supposition1 ,astrophel3 there is much virtue in these may be's4 ,i have listened to your legends1 and you will now listen to me1 while ,i presume to illustrate my own proofs1 searching for my causes in the beautiful eccentricities of nature alone2 and a scholar like yourself1 ,astrophel1 with whom ,i have so often chopped ,oxford logic1 will grant it is a precept in philosophy not to seek for more causes1 than the explanation of the fact requires4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on this scroll ,i have sketched an arrangement of phantoms or ghosts1 in two grand classes4 ,,ghosts ,,of ,,the ,,mind',s ,,eye1 or ,,phantasma4 ,illusive perception1 or ocular ,conversion of natural objects spectra4 into phantoms4 ,illusive conception1 or spectral ,creation of phantoms4 illusion4 ,,ghosts ,,of ,,the ,,eye1 or ,,optical ,,illusion4 ,atmospheric4 ,refraction4 ,reflection4 ,gases4 ,lenses and mirrors4 ,disease of the eye4 ,in the first class there is no real or palpable object1 or1 if there be1 it is not what it appears2 the illusion is but the reality of romance1 depending altogether on excited or disordered conditions of the mind3 the source1 therefore1 either of bright or gloomy phantoms1 as the mood may be4 ,on this scroll ,i have recorded those moods of mind1 which1 excited by memory or association1 or influenced by such casualties as solitude1 moonlight darkness1 or localities of interest1 or the poring over tales of horror at midnight1 may be considered the predisposing causes of illusion4 ,such are3-- ,temperament ,credulity1 ,enthusiasm1 ,superstition1 ,timidity1 ,imagination1 ,poetic frenzy4 ,excitement ,sympathy1 ,exalted joy1 ,deep grief1 ,love1 ,hatred1 ,protracted anxiety1 ,delirium of fever1 ,delirium of alcohol1 ,delirium of narcotics1 ,exhaustion1 ,disease of the brain4 ,the second class1 which are spectres or ghosts of the eye1 may be scientifically explained by the laws which govern the material world4 ,these are the only substantial ghosts which ,i can grant to my friend4 ,the objects themselves exist1 and are exactly as they appear4 ,the philosopher regards them as interesting exceptions to general rules1 from peculiar combinations of natural causes4 ,the unlearned will term them preternatural phenomena1 simply because they are of uncommon occurrence4 ,but which among the works of divine creation is not a phenomenon8 ,we may think we know a law of nature1 but can we analyse it8 ,novelty and magnitude astonish1 but that which is familiar excites not our surprise4 ,we gaze with delight on the progress of an eclipse2 we watch with wonder the eccentric course of the comet2 but we look on the sun in its meridian glory with a cold and apathetic indifference4 ,yet do they all alike display ,divine ,omnipotence1 and the expansion of a vegetable germ1 the bursting of a flower1 is as great a miracle as the overwhelming of a deluge1 the annihilation of a mighty world4 ,to discriminate between these classes is not difficult3 we may prove their nature by simple experiment4 ,optical illusions will be doubled by a straining or altering of the axes of the eyes2 and1 by turning round1 as they are removed from the axis of vision1 they will disappear4 ,so1 indeed1 will those of the second class1 which are real objects converted into phantoms by mental excitement or disorder4 ,but in the purely metaphysical ghost or phantom1 the change of position or locality will not essentially dispel the illusion1 7the spectrum following1 as it were1 the motion of the eye27 because it exists in the mind itself1 either as a faint or transient idea1 or a mere outline1 fading perhaps in a brighter light1 or as the more permanent and confirmed impression of insanity1 7unchanged even by 8brilliant glare107 or from the day-dream of the castle-builder1 to the deep and dreadful delusion of the maniac4 ,among the mute productions of nature1 there are eccentricities and rarities1 which1 in default of analysis or explanation1 would not fail of being referred to some supernatural agency3 as ,leo ,afer1 according to ,burton1 accounts for the swarms of locusts once descending at ,fez1 in ,barbary1 and at ,arles1 in ,france1 in #aeec4 8,it could not be from natural causes2 they cannot imagine whence they come1 but from heaven4 ,are these and such creatures1 corn1 wood1 stones1 worms1 wool1 blood1 c4 lifted up into the middle region by the sunbeams1 as ,baracellus the physician disputes1 and thence let fall with showers1 or there engendered8 ,cornelius ,gemma is of that opinion1 they are there conceived by celestial influences3 others suppose they are immediately from ,god1 or prodigies raised by arts and illusions of spirits which are princes of the ayre40 ,over ,languedoc there once burst an awful and supernatural cloud1 from which fell immense snow-flakes like glittering stars4 ,there is nothing strange in this1 for the shape of the snow-flake is ever that of an asterod4 ,but then there came pouring down gigantic hail-stones1 with their glassy surface impressed with the figures of helmets1 and swords1 and scutcheons4 ,this too may be the effect of very sudden and irregular congelation2 but this law was not known1 and therefore its result was a mystery4 ,among the wonders seen by the great traveller1 ,pietro della ,valla1 was the bleeding cypress-tree1 which shadows the tomb of ,cyrus1 in ,italy4 ,under the hollow of its boughs1 in his day1 it was lighted with lamps and was consecrated as an oratory4 ,to this shrine resorted many a devout pilgrim1 impressed with a holy belief in the miracle4 ,and what was this but the glutinous crimson fluid1 exuding from the diseased alburnum of a tree1 which the woodmen indeed term bleeding1 but which the ancient ,turks affirmed1 or believed1 to be converted on every ,friday into drops of real blood8 ,the red snow1 which is not uncommon in the arctic regions1 is thus tinted by very minute cryptogamic plants2 and the fairy ring is but a circle of herbage poisoned by a fungus4 ,in ,denbighshire 7,i may add7 the prevalent belief is1 that the shivering of the aspen is from sympathy with that tree in ,palestine1 which was hewn into the true cross4 ,the simple stratification of vapours1 especially during sudden transitions of temperature1 may produce very interesting optical phenomena2 not by refraction or reflection1 but merely by partial obscuration of an object4 ,we have examples of these illusive spectra in the gigantic icebergs seen by ,captain ,scoresby1 and other arctic voyagers1 which assumed the shape of towers1 and spires1 and cathedrals1 and obelisks1 that were constantly displacing each other in whimsical confusion and endless variety1 like the figures of a kaleidoscope4 ,phipps thus describes their majestic beauty3 8,the ice that had parted from the main body1 they had now time to admire1 as it no longer obstructed their course2 the various shapes in which the broken fragments appeared were indeed very curious and amusing4 ,one remarkable piece described a magnificent arch1 so large and completely formed1 that a sloop of considerable burden might have sailed through it without lowering her masts4 ,another represented a church1 with windows1 pillars1 and domes40 ,we may scarcely wonder at the mystifications of nature1 when she assumes these gorgeous eccentricities1 as have been witnessed also in the barren steppes of the ,caraccas1 on the ,orinoko1 where the palm-groves appear to be cut asunder2 in the ,llanos1 where chains of hills appear suspended in the air1 and rivers and lakes to flow on arid sand2 in the lake of the ,gazelles1 seen by the ,arabs and the ,african traveller2 and the lakes seen by ,captain ,munday1 during his tour in ,india4 ,the very clearness of the atmosphere1 like that which floats around the ,rhine1 renders distance especially distinct2 but mountainous regions1 from the attraction of electric clouds1 afford the highest examples of atmospheric beauty and effect4 ,london and other cities1 however crowded with lofty buildings1 are not deficient in these arial illusions4 ,even from the bridge of ,blackfriars ,i have seen a cumulo stratus cloud so strangely intersect the steeples and the giant chimneys of ,london1 as distinctly to represent a sea-port1 with its vessels and distant mountains4 ,we have among us several minor illusions1 which are only less imposing because more familiar2 and though often occurring1 few are recorded with scientific accuracy4 ,the phosphorescence of the marshes1 the ignis fatuus1 ,will o',wisp1 ,jack o' the ,lanthorn1 or ,friar ,rush1 and the corpse-candles1 are mere luminous exhalations1 strained into the marvellous by the vulgar1 and thus set down as heralds of mortality4 ,the dancing-light of luminous flies has been termed the green light of death2 and1 if you wish for more1 ,astrophel1 read the 8,armorican ,magazine0 of ,john ,wesley1 or the quaint volume of ,burton1 and thereabouts where he writes in this fashion3 8,the thickness of the aire may cause such effects1 or any object not well discerned in the dark1 fear and phantasie will suspect to be a ghost or devil4 ,glowwormes1 firedrakes1 meteors1 ignis fatuus1 which ,plinius calls ,castor and ,pollux1 with many such that appear in moorish grounds1 about church-yards1 moist valleys1 or where battles have been fought1 the causes of which read in ,goclenius1 ,velcurius1 ,finkius1 c40 ,the ,parhelia1 or mock suns1 are produced by the reflection of the sun's light on a frozen cloud4 ,how readily these phenomena are magnified you may learn from ancient and modern records4 ,in #abbc four suns were seen of crimson1 inclosed in a wide circle of crystal colour4 ,this is natural3 but then comes the miracle4 ,in the same year two giant dragons were seen in the air1 flapping their monstrous wings and engaging in single combat1 until they both fell into the sea and were drowned6 ,then1 in #aajd1 there were seen four white circles rolled around the sun3 and in #afhh1 two suns and a reversed rainbow appeared at ,bishop's ,lavington1 in ,wiltshire3 and in ,february1 #afdg1 there is an account and sketch of three suns1 and an inverted rainbow1 which ,baxter terms 8,binorum ,pareliorum 40 ,and because there were two lunar and one solar eclipses in #afeb1 it was called1 as ,lily records1 8,annus tenebrum10 or 8the dark year40 ,the ,corona1 or halo around the sun1 moon1 and stars1 is easily illustrated by the zone formed by placing1 during a frost1 a lighted candle in a cloud of steam or vapour4 ,the ,aurora ,borealis is arctic electricity1 and is beautifully imitated by the passage of an electric flash through an exhausted glass cylinder4 ,the rainbow is a combination of natural prisms breaking the light into colours2 and it may be seen in the cloud1 or in the spray of the ocean1 or in the beautiful cascades of ,schaffhausen1 ,niagara1 or ,terni1 or indeed in any foaming spray on which the meridian sunbeams fall1 or even in the dewy grass1 lying1 as it were1 on the ground4 ,when the sun shines on a cloud1 there is always a bow produced visible to all who are placed at the proper angle4 ,the lunar rainbow is achromatic1 or destitute of colour1 because reflected light is not easily refracted into colour4 ,in a brilliant sunset the floods of light around him often indicate the gradation of prismatic colouring4 ,,cast4 ,in some waterfalls ,i have seen the ,iris form a complete circle2 as in the ,velino at ,terni1 and in others1 especially in ,ionia and ,italy4 ,a perfect illusion is produced1 for the bow seems to approach the spectator and then recede1 as if ,juno were sending her messenger on some special mission4 ,there are many minds which would yield with delight to this conviction1 and such probably was the illusion of ,benvenuto ,cellini--was it not8 8,this resplendent light is to be seen over my shadow till two o'clock in the afternoon1 and it appears to the greatest advantage when the grass is moist with dew4 ,it is likewise visible in the evening at sunset4 ,this phenomenon ,i took notice of when ,i was at ,paris1 because the air is exceedingly clear in that climate1 so that ,i could distinguish it there much plainer than in ,italy1 where the moists are much more frequent1 c40 ,a consciousness of superior talent1 and probably the homage which was paid him even by the members of the holy conclave1 were the springs of this flattering vision4 ,,ida4 ,the beauty of these must light up even the fancy of a child1 yet a holier feeling will ever inspire a ,christian philosopher1 when the bow is seen in the cloud1 for it was the sign of the covenant4 ,there is1 indeed1 something in the glories of the firmament which never fails to elevate my own thoughts1 and ,i can readily sympathise with the ,spanish religionists of the fifteenth century1 and with the ,north ,americans1 who gaze upon the beautiful constellation of the 8,southern ,cross10 insulated as it is from all other stars in its own dark space2 in solemn belief that it is the great symbolical banner held out by the ,deity in approval of their faith4 ,,ev4 ,the 8,fata ,morgana10 in the straits of ,reggio1 presents a perfect scene of enchantment2 when the shouts of 8,morgana1 ,morgana10 echo from rock and mountain1 as the wondering people flock in crowds to the shore4 ,during this splendid illusion1 gigantic columns1 and cloud-capt towers1 and gorgeous palaces1 and solemn temples1 are floating on the verge of the horizon1 and sometimes beneath this picture of a city1 on the very bosom of the water1 a fainter spectrum may be seen1 which is a reflected image of the other4 ,these spectra are usually colourless1 but if certain watery vapours are floating in the air1 they are beautifully fringed with the three primitive colours of the prism4 ,such also is the illusion of the ,calenture1 or sylvan scenes of the ocean4 ,,cast4 ,let us seek these wonders of the waters1 ,astrophel2 perchance we might1 in some enchanted hour1 see even beneath yon ,severn flood the grotto of ,sabrina1 with its green and silver weeds1 its purple shells and arborescent corallines2 and1 if we dive into the depths of the sea1 might we not light on the palace of ,amphitrite1 and1 while the ,nereids and ,tritons were mourning over the desolation of a shipwreck1 hear the echo of some ,ariel's song 8full fathom five10 undulating through the water2 or realise the overwhelming of ,maha-,velipoor1 in the curse of ,kehama3 8,their golden summits in the noontide ray1 ,shone o'er the dark green deep1 that roll'd between2 ,for domes1 and pinnacles1 and spires were seen ,peering above the sea40 ,or the legend of ,thierna ,na ,oge1 in ,lough ,neagh1 in ,ireland2 for ,moore has sung-- 8,on ,lough ,neagh's banks1 when the fisherman strays1 ,he sees the round towers of other days20 and why may not we8 ,who that has wandered among the dark mountains of ,brecon1 remembers not the blue pool of ,lynsavaddon1 and has not listened to the tales of the mountaineers1 of the city over which to this day its waves are rolling8 and in the beautiful vale of ,eidournion1 in ,merioneth--but listen to a fragment of a romance of this valley1 which from memory ,i quote3-- ,there was a proud and wealthy prince in ,gwyneth1 when the beautiful isle was under the rule of the ,cymri4 ,at his palace gate a voice was once heard echoing among the mountains these words3 #8,edivar a ddau'--,repentance will come4 ,the prince demanded #8,when8' and in the rolling thunder the voice was again heard1 #8,at the third generation4' ,nothing daunted1 the wicked lord lived on1 committing plunder and all evil excesses1 and laughing to scorn the holy hymns in the churches4 ,a son and heir was born to him1 and there was a gorgeous assemblage in the hall of beautiful ladies and high-born nobles1 to celebrate the festival of his birth4 ,it was midnight1 when in the ear of an old harper1 a shrill voice whispered1 #8,edivar1 ,edivar2' and a little bird hovered over him1 and flew out of the palace in the pale moonshine3 and the harper and the little bird went together into the mountains4 ,the bird flitted before him in the centre of the moon's disc1 and warbled its mournful cry of #8,edivar' so plaintively1 that the old man thought of the shriek of his little child ,gwenhwyvar1 as she sunk beneath the waters of ,glaslyn4 ,on the top of the mountain he sank down with weariness1 and the little bird was not with him2 all was silent1 save the cataract and the sheep-bells on the mountain side4 ,in alarm at the wild solitude around him1 he turned towards the castle1 but its lordly towers had vanished1 and in the place of its woods and turrets there was a waste of rolling waters--with his lone harp floating on their surface4 ,,ev4 ,i am unwilling to check your flight1 fair ,castaly1 but my illustrations are not yet exhausted4 ,the 8,spectre of the ,brocken0 is a mere shadow of the spectator on a gigantic scale4 ,this phantom1 the 8,schattenmann10 according to vulgar tradition1 haunts the lofty range of the ,hartz mountains1 in ,hanover4 ,it is usually observed when the sun's rays are thrown horizontally on thin fleecy clouds1 or vapour of highly reflective power1 assuming the shape of a gigantic shade on the cloud4 ,the romantic region of the ,hartz was the grand temple of ,saxon idolatry1 the very hot-bed of terrible shadows2 the first of ,may especially being the grand annual rendezvous of unearthly forms4 ,even now1 it is affirmed1 ,woden1 known in ,brunswick as the ,hunter of ,hackelburgh1 7whose sepulchre1 an immense rough stone1 is shown to the traveller17 is still influential in the ,oden ,wald and among the ruins of ,rodenstein3 even as in our own ,lancashire1 a dark gigantic horseman rushes on a giant steed in stormy nights1 over 8,horrock ,moor20 indeed1 a spot or tomb is still shown where he used to disappear4 ,thus are the 8,spectres of the ,brocken0 invested with supernatural dignity1 in the minds of credulity and ignorance4 ,and no wonder1 for1 although the discoverer of this gigantic illusion1 ,mr4 ,jordan1 might convince the ,germans of the nature of this shadow1 how could the credulous believe1 when they beheld a second figure1 a faint refracted spectrum of the shadow1 that it was any other than the shadow king of the ,brocken himself1 frowning defiance on intruders4 ,and this reminds me of the confession of ,gaffarel1 in his 8,unheard of ,curiosities0 of the seventeenth century2 in his quaint chapter on the 8readynge of the cloudes and whatever else is seene in the air1 and of hieroglyphicks in the cloudes40 ,among other miraculous illusions1 as recorded by ,cardanus1 8,an angel once wafted on the cloudes above ,millane1 and great was the consternation at its appearance1 until ,pellicanus1 a philosopher1 made it plainly appear1 that this angel was nothing else but the reflection of an image of stone1 that was on the top of the church of ,saint ,godart1 which was represented in the thick cloudes as in a looking-glasse40 ,while ,i was in ,south ,wales1 in #ahcf1 ,i conversed with a labourer in the ,cyfarthfa works at ,merthyr ,tydvil1 an illiterate seer1 who saw1 three times appearing before him1 an unsubstantial tram-road2 and on it a train drawn by a horse1 and in this1 the dead body of a man4 ,twice this shadow emerged from the earth1 and on the third ascent he looked on it1 and recognized the well-known face of a comrade4 ,the man was horror struck1 but his friend lived to laugh at him4 ,when my friend1 ,mr4 ,david ,taylor1 ascended the mountain that rises over ,chamouni1 on the opposite side of the valley to ,mont ,blanc1 his magnified shadow was distinctly seen by him on the vapoury cloud that floated between these giant rocks4 ,in ,february #ahcg1 two gentlemen1 on whom ,i confidently trust1 were standing on ,calton ,hill while a murky cloud hung over ,edinburgh4 ,above this veil ,arthur's ,seat peeped out like a rocky island beneath two white arches1 like the lunar bows2 and on the cloud itself1 each gentleman saw the shadow of his companion magnified to gigantic proportions4 ,the aeronaut1 among other glories of his ascent1 may by chance be gratified by the shadow of his balloon on the face of a cumulus cloud2 thus did the ,duke of ,brunswick1 who ascended with ,mrs4 ,graham1 in ,august #ahcf4 ,and this is the analogous recital of ,prince ,puckler ,muskau1 in his 8,tutti ,frutti40 8,we dipped insensibly into the sea of clouds which enveloped us like a thick veil1 and through which the sun appeared like the moon in ,ossian4 ,this illumination produced a singular effect1 and continued for some time1 till the clouds separated1 and we remained swimming about beneath the once more clear azure heavens4 ,shortly after we beheld1 to our great astonishment1 a species of #8,fata ,morgana1' seated upon an immense mountain of clouds the colossal picture of the balloon and ourselves surrounded by myriads of variegated rainbow tints4 ,a full half hour the spectral reflected picture hovered constantly by our side4 ,each slender thread of the network appeared distended to the size of a ship's cable1 and we ourselves two tremendous giants enthroned on the clouds40 ,the phantom1 which rode side by side with ,turpin1 might be a mere reflected shadow in the mist2 indeed1 ,burton writes that 8,vitellio hath such another instance of a familiar acquaintance of his1 that after the want of three or four nights' sleep1 as he was riding by a river-side1 saw another riding with him1 and using all such gestures as he did1 but when more light appeared1 it vanished40 ,the principles of refraction are the sources of many an illusion1 which is startling even to those who are aware of them4 ,the sea1 the vessels floating on its surface1 the rocks and buildings on its shores1 often appear elevated far beyond their usual position3 things are thus presented to the eye which1 in the direct course of the rays1 would be completely out of sight2 and the praises bestowed on the ,irish telescope may not have been a bull1 although we are assured that we may see through it round the corner4 ,baron ,humboldt1 ,mr4 ,huddart1 ,professor ,vince1 ,captain ,scoresby and others1 will entertain you with these natural eccentricities1 if you read the learned letter of ,sir ,david ,brewster1 on 8,natural ,magic20 and he will teach you how easy is the solution of all these marvels1 on the principles of atmospheric reflection4 ,yet how many are there who are not contented with the light of our philosophy1 though it may fall like a sunbeam on the mind4 ,like the recorder of the 8,unheard-of ,curiosities10 they1 at one time1 confess the optical illusion1 as when the ,romans 8saw their navy in the clouds20 at another1 as when ,constantine professed to see the 8,crosse shining most gloriously in the aire10 marked with the motto1 8,in hoc signo vinces10--philosophy was silent1 and they believed it might be divine4 ,but a mind in its state of nature cannot know all this4 ,if a savage looked on the two white horses cut on the chalk hills of ,berkshire and of ,wiltshire1 on the white cross of the ,saxons on the ,bledlow ,ridge in ,buckinghamshire1 and on the white-leaf cross near ,princes ,risboro'1--would he not deem them deities1 or the work of a magician or a devil8 ,when the sailors of ,lord ,nelson saw the bloated corpse of the murdered ,prince ,caraccioli floating erect in the water directly towards their ship1 can we wonder they should deem it a supernatural visitation8 ,when ,franklin set his bells a ringing1 by drawing down the electric fluid from the thunder-cloud1 and when ,columbus foretold to the hour the sun's eclipse2--can we wonder that the transatlantic ,indians listened1 as to one endued with preternatural knowledge1 or that the other might be thought superhuman8 ,and when the king of ,siam was assured that water could be congealed into ice1 on which the sounding skate could glide1--can we wonder that he smiled in absolute disbelief of such a change1 and called the tale a lie4 ,thus1 when the peasants of ,cardigan1 who were not versed in ,pontine architecture1 looked on the bridge which the monks of ,yspitty ,c'en ,vaen had thrown across the torrent of the ,monach1 they could not believe it a work of human1 but of infernal1 hands1 and called it the 8,devil's ,bridge40 ,on my ascent of the ,vann mountain in ,brecon1 there often came a mass of limestone rolling down the precipice4 8,ah sure10 said the old shepherd1 who was watching his fold on the mountain-side1 8the fairies are at their gambols1 master1 for they sometimes do play at bowls with these chalk stones40 ,such was his explanation2 but1 on my gaining another ridge of the ,brecon ,beacon1 ,i startled a whole herd of these fairies1 who scudded off as fast as their legs could carry them1 having first changed themselves into a flock of sheep4 ,there was once a caravan journeying from ,nubia to ,cairo1 which met the ,savans attending on the expedition of ,napoleon into ,egypt1 among whom was ,rigo1 the painter4 ,struck with the deep character of expression in the face of one of the ,nubians1 ,rigo induced him1 with gold1 to sit for his portrait4 ,the ,african sat calmly perusing its progress until the laying on of the colours1 when1 with a cry of terror1 he rushed from the house1 and1 to his awe-struck companions1 affirmed that his head and half his body had been cut off by an enchanter4 ,and this impression was not solitary1 for an assemblage of the ,nubians were equally terror-struck1 and 7somewhat like those monomaniacs who refuse to drink water which reflects their faces1 believing that they are swallowing their friends17 could never be dispossessed of the notion that the picture was formed of the loppings and toppings of the human frame4 ,we believe these influences the more1 because we see that1 even to some few men wiser than they1 a leaning to superstition will warp a simple fact into a wonder2 and that mere sensitiveness of mind may work as great a fear4 ,suetonius tells us that ,caligula and ,augustus were the most abject cowards in a thunder-storm2 and the bishop of ,langres ,d',escaro fell in a fainting-fit whenever an eclipse took place1--a weakness which at length proved his death4 ,there was an old house in ,angoulme1 the 8,chateau du ,diable10 on the spot where the sable fiend was wont to repair to enjoy his moonlight walk4 ,the house was never finished1 for the devil1 jealous of this usurpation1 like ,michael ,scott's spirit1 destroyed every night the walls which had been erected during the day4 ,at length the men abandoned their work in despair4 ,on the twenty-fifth night in ,may 7#ahdj71 the ruined windows seemed on an instant in brilliant illumination1 which struck the inhabitants of the little village of 8,petit-,rochford0 with wonder and dismay4 ,some dauntless heroes1 however1 sallied forth with weapons to storm the enchanted castle4 ,in an upper room1 lighted by eight blood-red wax candles1 they discovered a man of a strange and melancholy aspect1 tracing cabalistic figures on the sanded floor4 ,he was conveyed to the maire1 and was proved to be a poor sawyer1 named ,favreau1 who1 bound by a superstitious oath1 self-administered1 had thus created a sensation of terror throughout a whole community4 ,in the records of the ,harleian ,miscellany1 the curious reader may discover one which might impress his mind with some terrific ideas of the natural history of the south of ,england in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries4 ,it is styled1 8,the ,true and ,wonderful40 ,the portion of the ,,mss4 to which ,i allude is the 8,legend of the ,serpent of ,st4 ,leonard's ,forest40 ,this terrific legend of my own native town was a favourite of my boyish days2 it has moulted some feather of its once awful interest1 and is now but the shadow of a memory2 and those who were once converts to its reality1 now laugh the legend to scorn4 ,,illusions ,,of ,,art4 8,if in ,naples ,i should report this now1 would they believe me80 ,,tempest4 ,,ev4 ,the science of chemistry has unfolded most of the secrets of material miracles1 as ,psychology those of the intellect and senses4 ,not that ,i would attempt thus to explain your wonders of ,palingenesy1 ,astrophel2 ,i will rather favour you with another batch1 for ,i was once fond of unkennelling these sly foxes4 ,it is solemnly attested by the noble secretary of a ,duke of ,guise1 that1 in company with many scientific men1 he saw the face of a person in his blood1 which had been given by a bishop1 for experiment1 to ,la ,pierre1 the chemist1 of ,le ,temple1 near ,paris4 ,there is an old book of one ,dr4 ,garmann1 8,de ,miraculis ,mortuorum10 and thus he writes3--8,when human salt1 extracted and depurated from the skull of a man1 was placed in a water dish1 there appeared next morning in the mass1 figures of men fixed to a cross20 and 8when human skulls1 on which mosses had vegetated1 were pounded1 the family of the apothecary who pounded them were alarmed in the night by strange and terrific noises from the chamber40 ,the body of the ,cid1 ,ruy ,diaz1 as we read in ,heywood's 8,hierarchie10 sat in state at the altar of the cathedral at ,toledo for ten years4 ,a ,jew one day attempted1 in derision1 to pull him by the beard2 but on the first touch1 the ,cid started up1 and in high resentment scared the ,israelite away by the unsheathing of his mighty sword4 ,and ,master ,planche has brought you legends from the church of ,maria ,taferl1 in ,lower ,austria1 and other noted spots on the ,danube4 ,when ,bernini's bust of ,charles ,i4 was being conveyed in a barge on the ,thames1 from a strange bird there descended a drop of blood on the bust1 which could never be effaced4 ,this is nothing but a fact in nature mystified1 and 7like the growth of the ,christmas flowering thorn of ,glastonbury1 from the walking-staff of ,joseph of ,arimatha7 is too glaring to be misconstrued4 ,other of these blood miracles are still more easy of solution4 ,the blood spots from ,david ,rizzio are shown to this day in ,holyrood3 and it was believed1 that after the ,irish massacre the blood of the victims then slain on ,portnedown ,bridge1 has indelibly stained its battlements4 ,but these spots are nothing but the brown vegetative stains which geology has discovered on many fossils4 ,now listen to ,father ,gregory of ,tours4 8,a thief was committing sacrilege at the tomb of ,saint ,helius1 when the saint caught him by the skirt1 and held him fast40 ,probably his garment hitched on a nail4 ,another old man1 while removing a stone from the grave of a saint1 was in a moment struck blind1 dumb1 and deaf4 ,probably the mephitic gases exhaling from the tomb were the source of all this mystery4 ,then1 as to the impositions of the priesthood4 ,in ,naples was the blood of ,saint ,januarius concealed in a phial1 and on certain solemn days this so called blood really became liquified2 but it was effected secretly1 by chemical means2 and ,i remember1 the archbishop who confessed the secret to the ,french general ,championet1 was exiled by the ,vatican4 ,in the reign of ,henry ,,viii4 too 7,i quote from ,hume71 other bloody secrets of this sort were unfolded4 8,at ,hales1 in the county of ,gloucester1 there had been shown during several ages the blood of ,christ brought from ,jerusalem2 and it is easy to imagine the veneration with which such a relic was regarded4 ,a miraculous circumstance also attended this relic4 ,the sacred blood was not visible to any one in mortal sin1 even when set before him2 and1 till he had performed good works sufficient for his absolution1 it would not deign to discover itself to him4 ,at the dissolution of the monastery the whole contrivance was detected4 ,two of the monks1 who were let into the secret1 had taken the blood of a duck1 which they renewed every week2 they put it in a vial1 one side of which consisted of thin and transparent crystal1 the other of thick and opaque4 ,when any rich pilgrim arrived1 they were sure to show him the dark side of the vial till masses and offerings had expiated his offences1 and then1 finding his money1 or patience1 or faith1 nearly exhausted1 they made him happy by turning the vial40 ,but there is no end to relics in ,italy4 ,even two hundred years ago1 ,john ,evelyn makes out this catalogue of those he saw in ,st4 ,mark's1 at ,venice4 8,divers heads of saints1 inchased in gold2 a small ampulla1 or glass1 with our ,saviour's blood2 a great morsel of the real cross2 one of the nails2 a thorn2 a fragment of the column to which our ,lord was bound when scourged2 a piece of ,st4 ,luke's arm2 a rib of ,st4 ,stephen2 and a finger of ,mary ,magdalene60 ,among the more innocent illusions of art1 ,i may remind you of concave and cylindrical mirrors and lenses1 the magic lanthorn1 8les ombres chinoises10and the phantasmagoria of ,cagliastro1 by which daggers appear to strike the breast of the spectator1 and images of objects in other rooms are thrown on the walls of that in which we are sitting4 ,a mirror1 thus accidentally placed1 has afforded the evidence of murder within our own time4 ,the duration of impressions on the eye1 is another source of illusion4 ,an image remains on the retina1 ,i believe1 about the eighth of a second2 as it departs1 if another object supplies its place in quick succession1 the two images form1 as it were1 a union1 and become blended4 ,a knowledge of this law1 in the ages of blind superstition1 would have placed an overwhelming weapon in the hands of priestcraft2 in our day1 it is the source of rational and innocent pleasure1 by the invention of optical toys4 ,the whisking of an ignited stick produces a fiery circle--why8 ,because from excessive rapidity the rays from one point remain impressed on the retina1 until the revolution completes the circle4 ,the ,thaumatrope1 or wonder-turner1 and the ,phantasmascope1 are ingenious illustrations of this law of impression2 so also is the whirling machine1 which so beautifully evinces the fact of white being compounded of all the prismatic colours1 blended in certain proportions4 ,the prismatic ,iris is painted on a revolving circle2 by excessive rapidity of revolution1 the colours are actually blended 7as if mixed in a vessel7 on the retina1 and the surface of the machine is white to the eye4 ,to these may be added the combustion of phosphorus and other substances1 in oxygen3 red1 green1 and blue lights1 which change the angel face of beauty into the visage of a demon2 and the inhalation of noxious fumes and gases1 creating altogether a new train of phantoms in the world of experimental magic1 and developing the formerly occult mysteries of the art of incantation4 ,chance may also involve a seeming mystery of very awful import4 ,some years ago the town of ,reading was thus bewildered4 ,on the loaves were seen the most mysterious signs4 ,on one1 a skeleton's head and cross-bones2 on another1 the word 8resurgam20 on another1 a date of death was marked in deep impressions4 ,the loaves of course were1 by some mysterious influence1 the vehicles of solemn warning from the ,deity4 ,the baker was churchwarden of ,st4 ,giles's2 his oven needed flooring1 and1 winking at the sacrilege1 he stole the flat inscribed tombstones from the church-yard1 and therewith floored his oven4 ,from the inscriptions of these stones the loaves took their mystic impressions4 ,in the reign of ,edward the ,martyr1 during one of the synods assembled by ,dunstan1 the floor of the chamber suddenly gave way1 involving the death of many of its members4 ,it chanced that ,dunstan had on that day warned the king not to attend the synod1 and the only beam which did not give way was that on which his own chair was placed4 ,this might be coincidence merely1 although ,i believe it was discovered that it was a concerted trick2 but the preservation of the king and the priest were1 of course1 attributed to special interference of the ,deity4 ,but there is one phenomenon in animal chemistry so rare1 and indeed so wonderful1 that there are few even among philosophers who can give it credence4 ,this is 8spontaneous combustion10 the result of an evolution of phosphorated hydrogen from the blood2 the remote cause of which may be traced in some cases to the free use of alcohol4 ,the records of these cases are very circumstantial1 especially the two most remarkable--that of the ,contessa ,cornelia ,bandi1 of ,cerena2 and of ,don ,bertholi1 an ecclesiastic of ,mount ,valerius4 ,but ,i check my wanderings into this maze of mystery1 in pity to your patience1 fair ladies2 for ,i perceive ,astrophel is again out of our sphere1 and1 enveloped in the cloud of his own mystic meditations1 will not know that this spontaneous combustion is almost as wondrous a tale as his 8,lady of the ,ashes40 ,,illustration ,,of ,,mysterious ,,sounds4 8,the isle is full of noises1 ,sounds and sweet airs1 that give delight and hurt not4 ,sometimes a thousand twangling instruments ,will hum about mine ears3 and sometimes voices40 ,,tempest4 ,,ev4 ,so1 you see1 the effect of novelty is never more powerfully displayed than by unusual impressions on the finer senses2 that appearances which the eye perceives1 and which the mind cannot explain1 become phantoms1 involving some special motive of wonder or dismay4 ,so eccentric impressions on the mechanism of the internal ear may be equally illusive4 ,we have ghosts of the ear as well as of the eye4 ,as ignorance has often warped the optical phenomena which certain atmospheric changes may produce1 so peculiar and unusual sounds may be accounted for on equally erroneous principles1 especially if they chance to resemble sounds which are the effects of daily or common causes4 ,as the ,hebrew bards hung their harps by the waters of ,babylon1 the ,irish were wont1 during their mourning for the death of a chief1 to loosen their harp-strings1 and hang them on the trees2 and while the wind swept the strings1 they ever believed that the harp itself sympathized in their sorrow4 ,thus1 when the lament1 or 8ullaloo10 of these wild ,milesians boomed along the mountain glens1 mingled with the coione1 or funeral song1 and the poetical cadence blended with the winds1 how easy to impart to it a more than human source2 and thus the dismal coronach among the ,scottish ,highlands may be mystified into the 8boding scream of the ,banshee40 ,it is a classical question whether the rebel giant1 ,typhus1 was crushed by ,jupiter beneath the island of ,inarime1 or ,mount tna2 but it might readily be believed by the ,sicilian1 who had read this mythological tale1 that the volcanic convulsions arose from the vain struggles for freedom of this monster1 who sent forth flames from his mouth and eyes4 ,within a mountain of ,stony ,arabia1 to the north of ,tor1 very strange noises are often heard as of the striking of an harmonic hammer1 or the sound of a humming-top1 which completely infuriate the camels on the mountain when they hear it4 ,the ,arabs believe these sounds to proceed from a subterranean convent of monks1 the priest of which1 to assemble them to prayer1 strikes with a hammer on the nakous1 a metallic rod suspended in the air4 ,m4 ,teetzen1 who visited the spot1 assures us that the cause of all this is the mere rolling of volumes of sand from the summit and sides of the mountain4 ,in the last century1 ,i remember there was a legend current in the west of ,england1 of the 8,bucca10 a demon whose howling was heard amid the blast which swept along the shore4 ,it was a sure foreboding of shipwreck4 ,the prophecy was often but too fully verified1 but the voice of the demon was merely the premonitory gale from one certain quarter1 which is always the avant-courier of a tempest4 ,i remember1 when ,i was a child1 the prevalent belief in ,horsham1 that1 at a certain hour of the night1 the ghost of ,mrs4 ,hamel was heard groaning in her vault1 beneath the great eastern window1 and it required some self-possession to walk1 at midnight1 around this haunted tomb2 for few would believe that the noises were nothing more than the wind sweeping along the vaulted aisles of the church4 ,those very extraordinary impositions on the sense of hearing at ,woodstock1 in the truth of which1 ,astrophel1 your faith was so firm1 were resorted to to create terror1 and effect a political purpose4 ,in 8the genuine ,history of the good ,devil of ,woodstock10 written in #afdi1 we are told of the pealing of cannon1 the barking of dogs1 and neighing of horses1 and other mysterious sounds1 which certainly created the greatest wonder and anxiety1 until 8funny ,joe ,collins0 explained and demonstrated all the mechanical process of this imposture4 ,you will find also the account of these gems of marvellous history in ,sinclair and ,plott1 and the chronicles of those days1 which eclipse the haunted house of ,athenodorus in ,pliny4 ,in the #afth century1 ,master ,samuel ,stryck discussed the whole question regarding these haunted houses1 and warnings of ghosts1 and belief in the reality of apparitions1 in his work published at ,francofurt1 8,de ,jure ,spectrorum10 and thus he runs up the question of damages3 8,if the house be haunted1 the tenant might bring in a set-off against his rent1 thus--#8,deduct for spectres in bed and bed-room1 and elsewhere1 #el4 #ajs4'0 ,the drama of the ,drummer1 by ,addison1 ,i believe was founded on the mystery of the 8,demon of ,tedworth10 which beat the drum in the house of ,mr4 ,mompesson4 ,this also was the source of extreme wonder1 until the drummer was tried1 and convicted1 and ,mr4 ,mompesson confessed that the mystery was the effect of contrivance4 ,the author of the ,pandemonium1 or ,devils' ,cloyster1 garnished his book with tales of this nature4 ,in #affg1 when he slept in 8my ,lady chamber10 in the house of a nobleman1 he was waited on by a succession of spectral visitors2 the explanation of which ,ferriar and ,hibbert1 and others1 have wrought for you1 if you deign to turn over the leaves of their natural philosophy4 ,the impostures of the ,stockwell miracles of #aggb are recorded1 with other curiosities1 in the 8,every-day ,book0 of ,hone1 the skilful and unwearied collector of our ancient mysteries4 ,the ,cock-lane ghost is another instance of illusion in the ears of the credulous4 ,although ,dr4 ,johnson1 the ,bishop of ,salisbury1 and other learned ,thebans1 sat in solemn judgment to develop its mystery1 ,i believe many were so in love with the marvellous1 that they regretted the unravelling of the plot1 and still believed2 as ,commodore ,trunnion1 in despite of evidence as to the fluttering in his chimney1 swore that he knew a devil from a jackdaw1 as well as any man in the kingdom4 ,,astr4 ,i wonder1 ,evelyn1 at your veneration for the classics2 for are they not replete with stories1 which1 if true1 7and ,i believe them so17 will undermine all your philosophy8 ,when ,pausanias writes of the ghosts at ,marathon1 of horses and men who were heard rushing on to battle four hundred years after they were slain2 and ,plutarch of the spectres and supernatural sounds in the baths at ,chronea1 the scene of bloodshed and murder2--what may be their motives1 but the record of acknowledged incidents8 ,,ev4 ,the classics1 if they might rise up and listen1 would believe me1 dear ,astrophel1 so clear and simple is the source of these illusions4 ,of the credulity of the ,romans ,i have spoken2 but even in minds not prone to superstition1 deep mental impression1 or constant dwelling on a subject of interest1 will effect this illusion of a sense4 ,in ,holy ,island1 near the ruins of the convent 7in the dungeons of which romance has decided the fate of ,constance ,beverley71 was a small fortress of invalid soldiers4 ,one of them once conducted a visitor to a steep rock1 under which1 he said1 there must be a profound cavern1 as the sound of a bell was distinctly heard every night at twelve o'clock1 deep in the bowels of the earth4 ,the traveller soon discovered that the mysterious sound had never been heard by the oldest inmates1 until the poem of 8,marmion0 appeared1 in which the condemnation and the death of ,constance in the dungeons of the cathedral are so forcibly described4 ,this is1 however1 a metaphysical source of mystery4 ,in volcanic regions1 as in that of the ,solfatara1 near ,naples1 these strange and subterranean sounds are not unfrequently heard2 and in the rocky and caverned coasts of our own island also1 where dwell the unlettered and the superstitious1 by whose wild and romantic fancy these noises are readily magnified into the supernatural4 ,camden1 in his 8,britannia10 informs us1--8,in a rock in the island of ,barry1 in ,glamorganshire1 there is a narrow chink1 or cleft1 to which if you put your ear you shall perceive all such sorts of noises as you may fancy smiths at work under ground1 strokes of hammers1 blowing of bellows1 grinding of tools40 ,at ,worm's ,head1 in the peninsula of ,gower in ,glamorganshire1 these sounds are1 even now1 often heard2 and it requires but a moderate stretch of imagination to create all this cyclopean imagery1 when the sea is rolling in cavities under our feet1 and the tone of its voice is magnified by confinement and repercussion4 ,from some such source probably sprung the fable of 8the ,syrens10 two solitary maidens1 who1 by their dulcet voices1 so enchanted the navigators who sailed by their rocks1 that they forgot home and the purpose of their voyage1 and died of starvation4 ,ulysses1 instructed by his mother ,circe1 broke the spell1 and the ladies threw themselves into the sea with vexation4 ,this fable1 like many of the classic mysteries1 may be thus topographically explained4 ,in the grand duchy of ,baden1 near ,friburg1 is a very curious example of an olian lyre1 constructed1 as the traditions of the mountains will have it1 by the very genius loci himself4 ,in a romantic chasm of these mountains1 most melodious sounds are sometimes heard from the top of fir-trees overhanging a waterfall4 ,the current of air1 ascending and descending through the chasm1 receives a counter impulse from an abrupt angle of the rock1 and1 acting on the tops of the string-like branches of the trees1 produces the soft tones of the olian harp1 the effect of which is much enhanced by the gushing of the waterfall4 ,there may be in these natural sounds the source of many fables of the ancients3 the moaning of the wind among the branches of a pine-grove might be the wailing of a hamadryad4 ,among the granite rocks on the ,orinoco1 ,baron ,humboldt heard the strangest subterranean sounds2 and at the palace of ,carnac1 some of ,napoleon's savans heard noises exactly resembling the breaking of a string4 ,it is curious that ,pausanias applies exactly this expression to the sounds of the ,memnonian granite1--the colossal head of ,memnon1 which was believed to speak at sunrise4 ,he writes1--8,it emits sounds every morning at sunrise1 which can be compared only to that of the breaking of the string of a lyre40 ,juvenal has the same notion1 but he has multiplied the sounds4 ,the mystery of ,memnon may be readily explained1 by the temperature and density of the external air differing from that within the crevices1 and the effort of the current to promote an equilibrium2 yet these simple sounds were in course of time warped into articulate syllables1 and at length obtained the dignity of an oracular voice4 ,and in these illustrations1 fair ,castaly1 you have the clue to all the mysteries of demonia and fairyland4 ,to these natural illusions1 let me add the triumphs of phonic mechanism and the peculiar faculty of the ventriloquist1 the secrets of which the science of ,sir ,david ,brewster has so clearly developed4 ,the wondrous heads of ,memnon1 and ,orpheus1 and sculapius1 the machines of ,albertus ,magnus1 and ,sylvester1 are now held but as curious specimens of art1 and are indeed eclipsed by the speaking toys of ,kratzenstein1 and ,kempelin1 and ,willis1 and ,savart1 and the ingenious instruments of ,wheatstone4 ,of ventriloquism1 it is not my purpose to speak2 but there is a wonder of our time in the person of young ,richmond1 which1 with many distinguished physiologists1 ,i examined at the conversazione of ,dr4 ,e----1 in ,c---- ,street4 ,when ,richmond sat himself to perform1 we heard a subdued murmur in his throat for about half-a-minute1 when suddenly a sound issued of the most exquisite and perfect melody1 closely resembling1 but exceeding in delicacy1 the finest musical box4 ,the mouth was widely open1 and the performance was one of considerable effort4 ,the sounds were a mystery to us at the time1 for they were perfectly unique1 and are yet not satisfactorily explained4 ,it is decided1 however1 by some1 that the upper opening of the windpipe may be considered as a ,jew's-harp1 or olina1 of very exquisite power1 behind the cavity of the mouth1 instead of being placed between the teeth4 ,,astr4 ,and thus concludes our lecture on special mechanics4 ,,ev4 ,i professed no more1 ,astrophel4 ,it may be the privilege of the sacred poet to soar beyond the confines of our own planetary system3 8,into the heav'n of heav'ns he has presum'd1 ,an earthly guest1 and drawn empyreal air40 ,but the study of philosophy is nature and nature's known laws4 ,if we lean1 for one moment1 to the credence of a modern miracle1 there is an end to our philosophy4 ,revealed truth1 and the immaterial nature of the mystical essence within us1 we may not lightly discourse on4 ,the sacred histories of ,holy ,writ1 and the miracles recorded in its pages--the hand-writing in the hall of ,belshazzar1 the budding of ,aaron's rod1 the standing still of the sun upon ,gibeon1 and1 above all1 the miracles of the ,redeemer1 are of too holy a nature to be submitted to the test of philosophical speculation3 they rest on the conviction of conscience and the heart2 a proof far more sublime than may ever be elicited by the ingenuity of man1 or the workings of his sovereign reason4 ,,fairy ,,mythology4 8,i'll give thee fairies to attend on thee40 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream4 ,,astr4 ,why so thoughtful1 fair ,castaly8 ,i fear ,evelyn has clipped your sylphid wings1 and made a mortal of you4 ,,cast4 ,your finger on your lips1 ,astrophel2 for the world1 not a syllable of confession to ,evelyn4 ,i could think ,i heard the murmurs of a host of fairies streaming up to earth from elf-land1 in fear of libels on their own imperial sovereignty by this matter-of-fact scholar4 ,,astr4 ,why did we listen to his philosophy8 why not still believe the volumes of our antique legends2 that those which tell the influence of fairies and demons on man's life1 have their source in the real history of a little world of creatures more ethereal than ourselves8 ,perhaps even the bright thoughts of a poet's fancy are not his own creation4 ,,cast4 ,we must hear no more1 although ,evelyn will still convert syrens into rocks and trees1 and make a monster out of a mist or a thunder-cloud4 ,the sunlight is sleeping on ,wyndcliff1 and the breeze1 creeping among the leaves1 seems to me a symphony meet to conjure the phantoms of romantic creatures4 ,evelyn is far away among the rocks2 let us steal the moment to revel in our dreams of fary4 ,even now1 are we not in a realm of ,peristan8 ,yon mossy carpet of emerald velvet1 strewed with pearls and gold1 may be the presence-chamber of ,titania2 and fays are dancing within their ring1 which the silvery beech o'ercanopies so shadily2 and the chaunting of their viralays1 or green-songs1 comes like the humming of a zephyr's wing flitting o'er the mouth of a lily4 ,ariel is lying asleep in her cinque-spotted cowslip bell1 and the fays are feeding on their fairy-bread1 made of the pollen of the jasmine2 and ,oberon quaffs to his queen the drops that hang on the purple lip of the violet1 or glitter in the honied bell of the hyacinth1 or that purest crystal of the lotus1 that brings life to the fainting ,indian in the desert1 or the liquid treasure of the nepenthe4 ,we pray you1 ,astrophel1 recount to us1 now we are in the humour1 the infancy of bright and dark spirits2 for you have dipped deep1 ,i know1 into the ,samothracian mysteries4 ,,astr4 ,know1 then1 that the birth-time of mythology and romance was in the primeval ages of man4 ,the ancient heathens believed in the legends of their deities1 as we have credence in modern history and biography2 indeed1 the romance of the moderns was with the ancients truth4 ,they had implicit faith in the presence of their gods1 and that they might perchance meet them in the groves and hills1 which were consecrated to their worship1 and adorned with sculpture and idols in honour of the deities4 ,hence the profusion of their names and nature1 recorded in the pages of the olden time1 when the scribe traced his reed letter on the papyrus4 ,from the climes of the sun came the orient tales of genie1 and deeves1 and peris2 and of naiad1 and nereid1 and dryad1 and hamadryad1 from ,greece and ,rome4 ,in the ,koran shone forth the promised houris of ,mahomet's paradise2 and its mysteries were echoed to us from the lips and tables of pilgrims and crusaders1 who had blazoned their red cross in the holy wars4 ,thus was romance cradled and bosomed in religion4 ,from the legends of the ,east1 spring the fairy romances of our own days4 ,the ,peri of ,persia was the denizen of ,peristan1 as the ,ginn of ,arabia was of ,ginnistan1 and the ,fairy of ,england of ,fairyland2 and we have their synonyms in the ,fata of ,italy and the ,duerga of northern ,europe4 ,these spirits of romance are almost innumerable2 for thus saith the 8,golden ,legend30 that 8the air is full of sprites as the sonnebeams ben full of small motes1 which is small dust or poudre40 ,the alchemyst ,paracelsus asserts that the elements were peopled with life2 the air with sylphs and sylvains1 the water with ondines1 the earth with gnomes1 and the fire with salamanders4 ,and ,martin ,luther coincides with these assertions2 nay1 hath not ,master ,cross of ,bristol illustrated the creed1 and shown1 by his galvanic power1 an animated atom starting forth1 as if by magic1 from a flint1 a seeming inorganic mass8 ,the sagas1 or historical records of ,scandinavia1 of the ,celtic1 ,scaldic1 and ,runic mythology1 assert that the duergas or dwarfs1 which are the ,runic fairies1 sprang from the worms in the body of the giant ,ymor1 slain1 according to the ,edda1 by ,odin and his brother2 and ,spenser has left a very interesting genealogical record of the fary brood1 in that romantic allegory of the ,elizabethan age1 the 8,fary ,queen40 ,elf1 the man fashioned and inspired by ,prometheus1 was wandering over the earth alone1 and in the bosky groves of ,adonis he discovered a lady of marvellous beauty--,fay4 ,from this romantic pair sprang the mighty race of the fairies1 and we have wondrous tales of the prowess of their heroic princes4 ,elfiline threw a golden wall round the city of ,cleopolis2 ,elfine conquered the ,gobbelines2 ,elfant built ,panthea1 of purest crystal2 ,elfan slew the giant twins2 and ,elfinor spanned the sea with a bridge of glass4 ,,cast4 ,spenser1 ,i presume1 borrowed his romance from ,italy4 ,we read that the rage and party spirit of the potent ,guelphs and ,ghibellines rankled even in their nurseries4 ,the nurses were wont to frighten the children into obedience with these hated names1 which1 corrupted to the epithets of elf and goblin1 were hence-forth applied to fairies and phantoms4 ,,astr4 ,this story is itself a mere fiction4 ,ere the period of these feuds of party1 the term ,elfen 7and ,dance identifies this with the ,teutonic ,helfen17 was a common epithet of the ,saxon spirits3 ,weld-elfen were their dryads2 ,zeld-elfen their field-fairies1 c4 ,the ,american ,indians to this day have faith in the presidencies of spirits over those lakes1 trees1 and mountains1 and even fishes1 birds1 and beasts1 which excel in magnitude4 ,the orient ,indian1 too1 at this hour1 peoples the forests with his gods2 and peacocks1 and squirrels1 and other wild creatures1 are thus profanely deified4 ,the legends of later days have quaintly blended the classic with the fairy mythology4 ,hassenet tells us that ,mercurius was called the ,prince of ,fairies2 and ,chaucer sings of ,pluto1 the ,king of ,fayrie2 and1 in the romance of the ,nine ,champions1 ,proserpine sits crowned among the fairies4 ,the great zoologist1 ,pliny1 writes in his ,natural ,history1 that 8you often encounter fairies that vanish away like phantasies40 ,and ,baxter believed that 8fairies and goblins might be as common in the air1 as fishes in the sea40 ,as the ,peri could not enter ,paradise in consequence of the errors of her 8recreant race10 so the elves could not enjoy eternity without marrying a ,christian2 and on this plea they came up to the daughters of men4 ,and we read1 in the tenets of the ,cabala1 that1 by these earthly weddings1 they could enjoy the privileges and happiness of each other's nature4 ,but these unnatural unions were not always happy4 ,there is1 in our old chronicles1 a tradition of a marriage between one of the counts of ,anjou and a fair demonia1 which entailed misery and commission of crime on the noble house of ,plantagenet4 ,now there are appointed times when the influence of the spirit fades for a season4 ,it was the moment of the eclipse1 among the ,american ,indians and the ,african blacks2 in ,ireland1 it is the feast of the ,beltane2 in ,scotland1 this immunity came over the mortal life on ,hogmanay1 or ,new-year's ,eve1 and during the general assemblies of these mystic spirits of the world4 ,in ,britain1 it was on the eve of the first of ,may1 the second of ,november1 and on ,all ,souls' ,day4 ,at these times1 indeed1 they might be induced to divulge the secrets of their mysterious freemasonry4 ,in ,germany1 on ,may-day1 when the unearthly rendezvous was on the dark mountain of the ,hartz1 and on ,halloween1 in ,caledonia1 even the secrets of time and futurity were unfolded by the spirits to a mortal1 if one were found so bold as to repair on these festivals to their unhallowed haunts4 ,if a mortal enters the secret abodes of the ,daoine ,shi1 in ,scotland1 and anoints his eyes with their charmed ointment1 the gift of seeing that which is to all others invisible is imparted2 but this must be kept secret1 for the ,men of ,peace will blind the second-sighted eye1 if once they are recognized on earth by a mortal4 ,in the gloomy forests of ,germany rose the legends of ,kobolds1 and ,umbriels1 and ,wehrwolves1 the ,holts ,konig1 the ,waldebach1 the ,reiberzahl1 and the ,schattenman1 the ,hudekin1 the ,erl ,konig1 and the beautiful naiad1 the ,nixa4 ,the devil himself was believed to be a gnome king2 for when the ,elector of ,saxony offered ,martin ,luther the profit of a mine1 he refused it1 8lest by accepting it he should tempt the devil1 who is lord of those subterraneous treasures1 to tempt him40 ,then we have the ,putseet1 or ,puck of the ,samogit1 on the ,baltic2 the ,biergen ,trold1 or ,skow1 of ,iceland2 and those mermaids which gambol around the ,faroe ,islands4 ,we read in the ,danske ,folksaga1 that these 8merrows0 cast their skins like the boa1 and in that condition are changed into human beings1 till their scales are restored to them4 ,and the ,shetlanders implicitly believe that awful storms instantly arise on the murder of one of these sea-maids4 ,there was the ,norse goddess1 ,freya1 which1 like the ,dragon of ,wantley1 and the ,caliban of the 8still vexed ,bermoothes10 blasted the fair face of nature1 and far eclipsed the giant-serpent off ,cape ,saint ,anne1 or the kraken of ,norway2 and even that monstrous sea-snake1 the jormungandz 7so conspicuous among the wild romances of the ,edda71 whose coils entwined the globe4 ,thor angled for this snake with a bull's head1 but it was not to be caught1 being reserved for some splendid achievement in the grand conflict which is to herald the ,ragnarockr1--the twilight of the gods4 ,among the mountains of our own island we have a profuse legion4 ,in ,wales1 the ,tylwth ,tag and the ,pooka2 and many a hollow in the mountain where these strange animals resort1 is called ,cwm ,pooka2 and the wondrous cavern of the ,melt1 in ,breconshire1 was believed to be haunted by this little pony4 ,in ,ireland1 they have a ,merrow1 the ,runic sea1 or oigh-maid2 the ,banshee1 or fairy prophet2 the ,fear-,dearg1 the ,irish ,puck2 the ,clurricane1 a sottish pigmy2 and the ,pooke1 the wild pony4 ,,cast4 ,these must have been a prolific as well as a wandering brood1 for ,i also have seen many caverns in the rocky districts1 called ,poola ,phouka1 in which these mischievous little creatures concealed themselves4 ,,astr4 ,in ,man there is a hill called the 8,fairy ,hill10 a tumulus of the ,danes1 which is thought to be a nocturnal revel-place for the ,man fairies which preside over their fisheries4 ,scotland was a fertile mother of monsters3 the ,ourisks or ,uriskin1 the goblin-satyrs or shaggy men2 the ,brownies2 the ,kelpies1 or river-demons2 the ,bargheists2 the ,red-cap2 the ,daoine ,shi1 or ,men of ,peace2 the ,glaslic1 or noontide hag1 which haunted the district of ,knoidart2 and the ,lham-,dearg1 or red-hand1 in the forests of ,glenmore1 and ,rothiemurchus2 the ,bodach-,glas2 and the ,pixies1 or small grey men4 ,,cast4 ,there is an islet among the ,scottish ,hebrides1 which is called the ,isle of ,pigmies2 and ,i remember a chapel there1 in which very minute human bones were some time ago discovered4 ,think you1 ,astrophel1 that these were the skeletons of pixies8 ,,astr4 ,i cannot think the notion irrational2 there are dwarfs and giants even in our days4 ,the ,bosgis-men of the ,cape1 and the ,patagonians of ,south ,america1 prove the existence of beings of another stature2 and perchance of another nature1 in days long agone4 ,the ,laplander and ,bushman of the ,cape are little more than three feet high2 and that there were giants too1 is proved by the fossil bones which have been found in the strata of our earth4 ,,cast4 ,then we have really dwindled in our growth1 and ,adam was really a hundred and twenty-three feet nine inches high1 and ,eve a hundred and eighteen feet nine inches and three quarters1 as we are solemnly informed by our profane chronicles8 ,nay1 even the story may be true of the ,pict1 who bit off the end of the mattock1 with which some slave of science was opening his coffin1 and thundered forth this exclamation3 8,i see the degeneracy of your race by the smallness of your little finger40 ,,ida4 ,if ,evelyn were here1 he would ask why we have no skeletons of giants as of lizards in our secondary rocks2 and he would tell this learned ,theban1 ,castaly1 that ,cuvier decided these fossils1 which seemed to be the dbris of a giant race1 to be the bones of elephants4 ,the legends of ,athenus are probably a fable1 and the fossils of the pigmies were1 ,i dare say1 the petrified skeletons of 8span-long1 wee unchristen'd bairns40 ,your allusion to the brownies1 reminds me of the monstrous errors which have crept into our legends from the mingling of two stories1 or the warping of plain facts in natural history4 ,and indeed ,i interrupt you to recount1 in proof of this1 some fragments from 8,surtees' ,durham40 8,every castle1 tower1 or manor-house has its visionary inhabitants4 #8,the ,cauld ,lad of ,hilton' belongs to a very common and numerous class1 the brownie or domestic spirit1 and seems to have possessed no very distinctive attributes4 ,he was seldom seen1 but was heard nightly by the servants who slept in the great hall4 ,if the kitchen had been left in perfect order1 they heard him amusing himself by breaking plates and dishes1 hurling the pewter in all directions1 and throwing every thing into confusion4 ,if1 on the contrary1 the apartment had been left in disarray1 7a practice which the servants found it most prudent to adopt17 the indefatigable goblin arranged every thing with the greatest precision4 ,this poor esprit folet1 whose pranks were at all times perfectly harmless1 was at length banished from his haunts by the usual expedient of presenting him with a suit of clothes4 ,a green cloak and hood were laid before the kitchen fire1 and the domestics sat up watching at a prudent distance4 ,at twelve o'clock the spirit glided gently in1 stood by the glowing embers1 and surveyed the garments provided for him very attentively1 tried them on1 and seemed delighted with his appearance1 frisking about for some time1 and cutting several summersets and gambados1 till on hearing the first cock1 he twitched his mantle tight about him and disappeared with the usual valediction3 8#8,here's a cloak1 and here's a hood1 ,the cauld lad of ,hilton will do no more good4'0 ,the genuine ,brownie1 however1 is supposed to be1 ab origine1 an unembodied spirit2 but the boy of ,hilton has1 with an admixture of ,english superstition1 been identified with the apparition of an unfortunate domestic1 whom one of the old chiefs of ,hilton slew at some very distant period1 in a moment of wrath or intemperance4 ,the baron had1 it seems1 on an important occasion1 ordered his horse1 which was not brought out so soon as he expected4 ,he went to the stable1 found the boy loitering1 and seizing a hay-fork1 struck him1 though not intentionally1 a mortal blow4 ,the story adds1 that he covered his victim with straw till night1 and then threw him into a pond1 where the skeleton of a boy was 7in confirmation of the tale7 discovered in the last baron's time4 ,i am by no means clear that the story may not have its foundation in the fact recorded in the following inquest3 8,coram ,johannem ,king1 coron41 ,ward de ,chestr1 apud ,hilton1 #c ,jul4 #g ,jac4 #afji40 7,and here follows a report in ,latin47 ,nevertheless1 ,i strongly suspect that the unhousel'd spirit of ,roger ,skelton1 whom in the hay-field the good ,hilton ghosted1 took the liberty of playing a few of those pranks which are said by writers of grave authority to be the peculiar privilege of those spirits only who are shouldered untimely by violence from their mortal tenements4 8,ling'ring in anguish o'er his mangled clay1 ,the melancholy shadow turn'd away1 ,and follow'd through the twilight grey40 ,a free pardon for the above manslaughter appears on the rolls of ,bishop ,james1 dated #fth ,september1 #afji4 ,i will only add that1 among the ,harleian ,,mss41 the same legend is told with some variations1 in which this 8cauld lad0 is termed the 8,pale ,boy of ,hilton40 ,this confusion of our mythology is as conclusive of the fiction of all the mysterious legends of the moderns1 as the jumble which the classic poets have made of their monsters4 ,if we read ,lempriere1 the genealogy of the classic monster is involved in a maze of impious confusion2 and the mythology of ,chimera1 and ,echidna1 and ,typhon1 ,geryon1 and ,cerberus1 and the ,hydra and ,bellerophon1 and ,ortha and the ,sphynx1 and the ,neman ,lion1 and the ,minotaur1 and the demoniac records of their origin1 it is almost profanation even to reflect on4 ,but when ,martianus ,capella tells us that devils have arial bodies1 that they live and die1 and yet1 if cut asunder1 soon re-unite2 and when ,bodine asserts1 in his 8,solution of ,natural ,theology10 that spirits and angels are globular1 as being of the most perfect shape1 ,i confess ,i feel more disposed to smile at their imposture than to frown1 were it not for their utter worthlessness4 ,yet all the allegories which adorn our legends are not so remote from truth or nature4 ,the vampires are said to have gloated over the sacrifices of human life1 while the gouls and afrits1 the hyenas in human shape1 not only fed on dead carcases1 but1 by a special transmigration1 took possession of a corpse4 ,on this fable is founded the monstrous legend of 8,assuet and ,ajut40 ,i confess it monstrous2 but indeed there is little exaggeration even in these tales of horror1 if we may believe1 for once1 ,master ,edmund ,spenser1 in that part of his record of the rebellion of ,desmond1 in ,ireland1 which treats of the ,munster massacre3--8,out of every corner of the woodes and glennes1 they came creeping forth upon their handes1 for their legges could not bear them2 they looked like anatomies of death2 they spake like ghostes1 crying out of their graves3 they eat the dead carrions--happy were they could they find them--yea1 and one another soon after1 insomuch as the very carcases they spared not to scrape out of their graves40 ,that episode also1 in the 8,inferno0 of ,dante1 in which ,count ,ugolino wears out days and nights in gnawing the skull of an enemy1 may well seem a fiction2 but even this hellish repast is but a prototype of the savage rage for scalping and cannibalism among the ,indian hordes of ,america4 ,,demonology4 8,be thy intents wicked or charitable1 ,thou com'st in such a questionable shape--0 ,,hamlet4 ,,astr4 ,now from the holy records1 from the creed of the ,magus ,zoroaster1 from the ,greek1 and ,roman1 and other legends1 how clear is the influence of ethereal beings1 of angels and demons1 on man's life2 and of the imparted power of exorcism6 ,in allusion to this divine gift to ,solomon1 ,josephus has the following story3--8,god also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons1 which is a science useful and sanative to men4 ,and this method is of great force unto this day1 for ,i have seen a certain man of my own country1 whose name was ,eleazer1 releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of ,vespasian1 and his sons1 and his captains1 and the whole multitude of his soldiers4 ,the manner of the cure was this4 ,he put a ring1 that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by ,solomon1 to the nostrils of the demoniac1 after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils2 and when the man fell down immediately1 he adjured him to return into him no more1 making still mention of ,solomon1 and reciting the incantations which he composed4 ,and when ,eleazer would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power1 he set a little way off a cup or bason full of water1 and commanded the demon1 as he went out of the man1 to overturn it1 and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man40 ,the gods of the ,greeks and the ,latins1 the lares and lemures1 or hearth-spirits1 the pagan and the ,christian elves1 were ever held as delegated agents of the ,deity1 who worked1 not by a fiat1 but by an instrument4 ,such were the ,cemies of the ,american islanders1 and the ,kitchi and ,matchi ,manitou of the ,indians2 and1 if we consult ,father ,borri1 we shall learn that in ,cochin ,china ,lucifer himself promenaded the streets in human shape4 ,psellus records six kinds of devils2 and the arrangements of ,agrippa1 and other theologians1 enumerate nine sorts of evil spirits1 as you may read in one of old ,burton's eccentric chapters4 ,the mythology of the ,baghvat ,geeta1 the sacred record of the ,hindoo theists1 is based on the notion of good and evil spirits1 the emblems of virtue and of vice under the will and power of ,brahma4 ,indeed1 the ,hindoo mythology is but that of the classic in other words4 ,agnee1 the god of fire1 ,varoon1 the god of the ocean1 ,vayoo1 the god of the wind1 and ,cama1 the god of love1 are but other names for ,jupiter1 and ,neptune1 and olus1 and ,cupid4 ,the creed of ,zoroaster asserts a perpetual conflict between the good and evil deity1 the types of religious knowledge and ignorance4 ,the southern ,asiatics are people of good principle1 and the northern nations people of evil principle4 ,and why may not the ,persian thus coincide with ,bacon himself1 who in his book 8,de ,dignitate10 confesses his belief in good and bad spirits1 in charms1 and prophecies1 and the varieties of natural magic4 ,or is it inconsistent that the ,hindoos should incarnate the malignant disease1 small pox1 in the person of the deity ,mah-ry-umma1 of whose lethal influence they lived in abject fear4 ,,ida4 ,in the holy records1 it is true1 we read that demons were even permitted to enter the bodies of other beings1 and that when they had so established a possession1 by divine command they went out of those possessed1 as1 for sacred example1 into the herd of the ,gadarenes2 that they were also commissioned1 for the fulfilment of the inscrutable will of the ,creator1 to try the endurance of ,job1 and even to tempt the divinity of the ,saviour1 and that they were the immediate cause of madness and other sad afflictions4 ,i do fear1 ,astrophel1 that there is much danger1 now1 in this embodying of a demon2 and that we too often model our modern principles1 on the proud presumption of still possessing that miraculous power of exorcism4 ,with sorrow may ,i confess1 that the holy truths of ,scripture1 so clearly evincing a special purpose1 should have been ever warped1 by worse than inquisitorial bigotry1 into the motive for cruelties unparalleled4 ,from the ,scripture histories of demoniac possession have arisen the coercion and cruelties1 which once marked with an indelible stain the records of our own madhouses2 where chains and lashes1 inflicted by the demons of science1 have driven the moody wretch into a raving maniac1 when a light hand and a smile would have brought back the angel reason to the mind4 ,impersonation is the grand source of many similar errors4 ,the demon1 which1 since the light of the ,christian dispensation has brooded in man's heart and mind1 is his own base passion1 which incites him to shut his eyes to this holy light1 and follow deeds of evil2 to be a slavish worshipper in the hall of ,arimanes4 ,with this profane homage1 we court our evil passions1 to betray and destroy the soul4 ,and this is the interpretation of an allegory in the profane legends of the ,talmud--that ,lilis1 the wife of ,adam1 ere the creation of ,eve1 brought forth none but demons2 the origin1 indeed1 of moral evil4 ,there are many popular stories which bear a moral to this end3 that the evil spirit is powerless over the heart1 if it be not encouraged and invited2 and1 alas6 the alluring masque under which evil looks on us1 is often but too certain to charm us to its influence1 or we are too thoughtless to beware the danger4 ,thus the disguised enchanter enters into the palace of the ,sultan ,mesnar1 7in 8,the ,tales of the ,genii107 and thus the gentle ,christabel of ,coleridge leads the false ,geraldine over that threshold1 which she could not cross without the help of confiding and unsuspecting innocence4 ,,cast4 ,the crones of retired villages have not yet yielded their belief in fairy influence4 ,among the low ,irish it is believed that 7as the nympholepts of old who had looked upon ,pan1 sealed an early doom71 the paralytic is fairy-struck2 and superstition has inspired them with a belief in the influence of the evil eye or glamourie1 especially in the vicinity of ,blackwater4 ,i remember1 when our wanderings among the ,wicklow mountains led us through the dark glen of the ,dargle1 the implicit faith of the ,irish women in the charm of amulets and talismans4 ,like the fabled glance of the basilisk1 the evil eye is bestowed on some unhappy beings from their very birth2 nay1 the spell infests the cabin in which they herd4 ,to avert this fatal influence from the children1 a charm is suspended around their necks1 which when blessed by the priest is called a 8gospel40 ,when a happy or evil star shines at a birth1 it is the eye of a cherub or a demon1 smiling or frowning on the destiny of the babe2 and when happiness or misery predominates in a life1 it is a minister of good or ill that blesses or inflicts4 ,there is one beautiful scrap of this mythology--the thrill of holy joy which the ,irish mother feels when her infant smiles in its sleep2 for she knows it is a holy angel whispering in its ear4 ,in our own island they are often celebrated as the very pinks of hospitality4 ,in ,cornish history1 we read how ,anne ,jeffries was fed for six months by the small green people4 ,and in yonder forest of ,dean1 7as writeth ,gervase1 the ,imperial ,chancellor1 in his 8,otia ,imperialia107 8,in a grovy lawn there is a little mount1 rising in a point to the height of a man1 on which knights and other hunters are used to ascend1 when fatigued with heat and thirst1 to seek some relief for their wants4 ,the nature of the place and of the business is1 however1 such1 that whoever ascends the mount must leave his companions and go quite alone4 ,when alone1 he was to say1 as if speaking to some other person1 #8,i thirst1' and immediately there would appear a cup-bearer in an elegant dress1 with a cheerful countenance1 bearing in his outstretched hand a large horn1 adorned with gold and gems1 as was the custom among the most ancient ,english4 ,in the cup1 nectar of an unknown but most delicious flavour was presented2 and when it was drunk1 all heat and weariness fled from the glowing body1 so that one would be thought ready to undertake toil1 instead of having toiled4 ,moreover1 when the nectar was taken1 the servant presented a towel to the drinker to wipe his mouth with1 and then1 having performed his office1 he waited neither for recompense for his services1 nor for questions1 nor inquiry40 ,this frequent and daily action had1 for a very long period1 of old times taken place among the ancient people1 till one day a knight of that city1 when out hunting1 went thither1 and having called for drink1 and gotten the horn1 did not1 as was the custom1 and as in good manners he should have done1 return it to the cup-bearer1 but kept it for his own use4 ,but the illustrious ,earl of ,gloucester1 when he learned the truth of the matter1 condemned the robber to death1 and presented the horn to the most excellent king1 ,henry the ,elder2 lest he should be thought to have approved of such wickedness1 if he had added the rapine of another to the store of his private property4 ,but the fairies might rue their kindness1 if you frowned so darkly on them1 ,astrophel4 ,they would fear the influence of your spells1 for there is blight and mildew in that glance4 ,at the banquet of the fairies1 if the eye of the seer but look on them1 the romance is instantly at an end3 the nymphs of beauty are changed into withered carles and crones1 and the splendour of ,elfin-land is turned to dust and ashes4 ,,ida4 ,as a set-off against the virtues of your fairies1 ,castaly1 you forget there was a propensity to mischief4 ,they were rather fond1 like the ,daoine ,shi1 of stealing unchristened babes1 and of chopping and changing these innocents1 thence called changelings4 ,on this fable your own ,shakspere has wrought the quarrel of ,oberon and ,titania3-- 8,a lovely boy1 stol'n from an ,indian king2 ,she never had so sweet a changeling40 ,i am willing1 dearest1 that the poet shall make a good market of these fictions2 but superstitious ignorance may make a sad and cruel work of it1 even among your romantic ,irish peasantry4 ,a few months since1 on the demesne of ,heywood 7as we learn from the 8,tipperary ,constitution071 the death of a child1 six years old1 was accomplished with a wantonness of purpose almost incredible4 ,little ,mahony was afflicted with spinal disease1 and1 like many other deformed children1 possessed the gift1--in this case the fatal gift1--of acute intellect4 ,for this quality1 it was decided that he was not the son of his reputed father1 but a fairy changeling4 ,after a solemn convocation1 it was decreed that the elfin should be scared away3 and the mode of effecting this was1 by holding the child on a hot shovel1 and then pumping cold water on his head6 ,this had the effect of extorting a confession of his imposture1 and a promise to send back the real ,johnny ,mahony2 but ere he could return to elfland and perform this promise1 he died4 ,but who is he sitting at your ear1 ,castaly8 ,,cast4 ,sir1 is this fair8 ,you have played the eaves-dropper4 ,why come you here8 ,,ev4 ,to counsel you to silence on these mysteries1 sweetest ,castaly3 remember the fate of ,master ,kirke1 of ,aberfoyle1 for his dabbling in elfin matters1 which you may read in ,sir ,walter's 8,demonology40 ,yet ,i will not flout all your fayrie legends2 there may be innocent illusions1 that carry with them somewhat of morality and retribution1--seeing that there are good and bad spirits1 which reward and punish mortality4 ,but1 in sooth1 ,i never think of fairyland1 without remembering that good ,sir ,walter1 as sheriff of ,selkirkshire1 once took the deposition of a shepherd1 who affirmed that he saw the good neighbours sitting under a hill-side3 when1 lo6 it was proved that these were the puppets of a showman1 stolen and left there by some ,scotch mechanics4 ,and1 better still1 the story of the ,mermaid of ,caithness1 as related to ,sir ,humphrey ,davy1 and recorded in his 8,salmonia20--the mermaids1 as ,i take it1 being nearly allied to the ,nereid1 or ,sea-fairy1 and the reality of one about as true as that of the other4 ,nature is wild and beautiful enough1 without these false creations4 ,read her truth1 fair lady1 and leave the fables to the fairies4 ,there is not a ripple or a stone that is not replete with scientific interest1 and yields not a study that both ennobles and delights the mind4 ,the doublings1 or horse-shoes1 of this ,wye1 or ,vaga as the ,romans named it1 within its circle of rocks1 so exquisitely fringed with green and purple lichens 7like the ,danube1 round the castle of ,hayenbach in the gloomy gorge of ,schlagen1 or the ,crook of ,lune1 in ,westmoreland1 and many others71 illustrate at once the nature of the stratification on the earth's surface2 even the varied tints of these mountain streams may read the student a practic lesson in geology4 ,from the lime-rock springs the azure-blue1 as the ,glaslyn stream1 at ,beddgelert1 the ,rhone1 and the ,traun in ,styria2 from the chalk ripples the grey water of the ,dee and the ,arve2 from the clay hills the stream comes down yellow1 as 8the ,derwent's amber wave20 and where the peat-mosses abound1 especially in the autumnal flood1 the stream is of a rich and dark sienna brown1 as the ,conway1 and the ,mawddach1 in ,merioneth2 or even of transparent black1 as the ,elain1 which flows down through the white schist rocks of ,cardiganshire4 ,,cast4 ,and is there wisdom1 ,evelyn1 in thus 8,flying from ,nature to study her laws1 ,and dulling delight by exploring the cause80 ,i do fear that this analytic study of nature destroys the romance of life which flings around us its rainbow beauty4 ,oh1 for those halcyon days of infancy1 when every thought was a promise2 when hope1 the dream of waking men1 was lost in its fulfilment2 and even fear itself was a thrill of romance6 ,behold yon silver moon6 it is1 to the poet's eye1 an orb of unsullied beauty1 and the planets and their satellites glitter like diamond studs in the firmament4 ,yet shift but the lens of the star-gazer1 and lo6 dark and murky spots instantly shadow o'er its purity2 nay1 have ,i not read that one deep astronomer1 ,fraenhofer1 has discovered mountains and cities2 and another1 ,sir ,john ,herschell1 the laying down of rail-roads in the moon8 ,so the optics of ,gulliver magnified the court beauties of ,brobdignag into monsters1 and the auburn tresses of a maid of honour into a coil of dusty ropes6 ,,ev4 ,a truce1 fair ,castaly4 ,if science discovers defects1 does it not unfold new beauties1 a new world of animated atoms1 endowed with faculties and passions as influential as our own8 ,nay1 science has thrown even a poetry around the blue mould of a cheese-crust2 and in the bloom of the peach the microscope has shown forth a treasury of flowers1 and gigantic forests1 in the depths of which the roving animalcule finds as secure an ambush as the lion and the tiger within the gloomy jungles of ,hindostan4 ,in a drop of liquid crystal the water-wolf chases his wounded victim1 till it is changed to crimson with its blood4 ,ehrenberg has seen monads in fluid the #bd1jjjth part of an inch in size2 and in one drop of water #ejj1jjj1jjj creatures--the population of the globe6 ,i hope1 ,castaly1 you will not1 like the ,brahmin1 break your microscope1 because it unfolds to you these wonders of the water4 ,then1 by the power of the telescope1 we roam into other systems-- 8,world beyond world in infinite extent1 ,profusely scattered o'er the blue expanse10 and orbs so remote as to reduce to a mere span the distance between us and the ,georgium ,sidus2 and revel in all the gorgeous splendour of rings1 and moons1 and nebul1 the poetry of heaven4 ,is there not an exquisite romance in the closing of the barometrical blossoms2 of the white convolvulus1 and the anagallis or scarlet pimpernel2 of the sun-flower1 and the leaves of the ,diona and mimosa8 ,is there not poetry in the delicate nautilus1 with its arms dropped for oars2 in the velella and purple physalia expanding their membranous sails2 and the beautiful fish-lizard1 the ,proteus of transparent alabaster1 found in the wondrous cavern of ,maddalena1 among the ,styrian mountains2 and even in the ,stalactytes of ,antiparos1 as glittering as the gems and crystal pillars of ,aladdin's palace8 ,are not these more beautiful because they are true1 and better to be read than all the impersonations of mythology1 or that voluptuous romance which would endow a flower with the fervour of sense and passion8 ,,ida4 ,i have ever wondered that a scholar1 like ,darwin1 should have so wasted time with his 8,loves of the ,plants40 ,for the study of nature and the discoveries of science are ever vain1 if they lift not the heart in adoration4 ,the insect1 that fans the sunbeam with its golden wing1 or even the flower that opes its dewy eyes to the light1 are unconscious worshippers of the ,divine ,being4 ,the ,epicurean1 who weeps for a decaying body1 but mourns not for a lost soul1 will enjoy these beauties of nature with a heart faithful to his creed1 that pleasure is the only good2 but the ,christian feels that1 when he chips a stone1 or culls a flower1 he touches that which comes fresh from the hand of its ,creator4 ,how full is nature1 too1 of mute instruction6 the simplest incident is a lesson1 if we will but learn it4 ,you see that fading blossom floating on the surface of the stream4 ,that inanimate type of decaying beauty shows1 to the reflective mind1 that even in the summer of life the flower of existence will lose its youthful lustre1 and float down the stream of time into the depths of eternity4 ,but tell me1 ,evelyn1 may not the influence of that science that magnifies the lights of heaven 7created to rule day and night7 into habitable worlds1 weaken the influence of faith in holy writ8 ,may we not fear that1 like the ,promethean ,preadamites of ,shelley1 the ,cain of ,byron1 the fabled beings of ,ovid1 and the mythology of ,milton1 will be the vaunted discoveries of the geologist1 in controversion of the ,mosaic records1 of the creation and the deluge2 proving the wisdom of ,bacon1 that to associate natural philosophy with sacred cosmogony1 will lead to heretical opinions8 ,indeed1 ,i remember in the ,zendavesta of ,zoroaster1 the chronicle of the ,magian religion 7supposed to be a piracy from the book of ,genesis71 the sun ,,is created before light4 ,,ev4 ,fear not this1 fair ,ida4 ,rather believe with ,bouget1 that philosophy and natural theology mutually confirm each other4 ,the latter teaches us that which it is our duty to believe2 the former to believe more firmly4 ,and ,lord ,bacon himself1 in his 8,cogitata et ,visa10 deems natural philosophy 8the surest antidote of superstition1 and the food of religious faith40 ,the belief in existence of a preadamite world1 presumes not to controvert the ,mosaic record of the development of the globe1 the creation of ,adam1 or the fall of man4 ,modern geology has peopled this preadamite world with saurians1 or lizards1 a race of beings not concerned in the punishment of that delinquency4 ,of the existence of these creatures there is no doubt2 the discovery of their fossil remains1 without a vestige of the human skeleton1 marks the period of their destruction1 and that the crust of the globe enveloping these relics1 might have been reduced to that chaos when 8the earth was without form and void1 and darkness was upon the face of the deep20 and from which our beautiful world was fashioned by a fiat4 ,the truth of holy ,scripture is too clear even to be disturbed by a sophist4 ,you may recollect that ,julian1 the apostate1 contemplated the reconstruction of the ,temple of ,jerusalem1 in order to confute the prophecies2 but ,julian failed1 and misfortune was the lot of all who were leagued in the impiety4 ,as to natural laws1 think me not so profane as to cite such as the superstitious alchemyst1 ,paracelsus1 in proof of their use in the working of a miracle2 who says that 8devils and witches raise storms by throwing up alum and saltpetre into the air1 which comes down as rain-drops60 ,and it were reversing this solemn argument were ,i to confess the doctrines of the ,illuminaten1 who1 taught by ,jacob ,boehmen1 and the mysticisms of his 8,theosophia ,revelata10 explained all nature's laws by warping texts of ,scripture to their purpose4 ,yet it is clear that even the miracles of the prophets may have been sometimes influenced by established laws4 ,elisha raised the ,shunamite's son by placing mouth to mouth1 as if by inhalation4 ,believe not then1 fair ,ida1 that philosophy is set in array against religion1 when the student of nature endeavours to explain her phenomena by physical laws1 for those laws the great ,creator himself hath made4 ,,nature ,,of ,,soul ,,and ,,mind4 8,and for my soul1 what can it do for that1 ,being a thing immortal80 ,,hamlet4 ,,cast4 ,we have risen with the lark to salute you1 ,astrophel4 ,and you have really slept in ,tintern ,abbey8 ,yet not alone2 8,i see queen ,mab hath been with you10 and brushed you with her wing as you lay asleep4 ,,astr4 ,throughout the live-long night1 sweet ,castaly1 ,i have revelled in a world of dreams4 ,my couch and pillow were the green grass turf4 ,no wonder that tales of the times of old should crowd on my memory1 that elfin lips should whisper in my ear-- ,,cast4 8,the soft exquisite music of a dream40 ,,ida4 ,talk not of dreams so lightly1 dear ,castaly2 the visions of sleep are among the most divine mysteries of our nature3 these transient flights of the spirit in a dream1 unfettered as they seem by the will1 are1 to my own mind1 among the most exalted proofs of its immortality4 ,is it not so1 ,evelyn8 ,,ev4 ,the mystery which you have glanced at1 ,ida1 is the most sublime subject in metaphysics4 ,yet in our analysis of the phenomena of intellect1 it is our duty to discard1 with reverential awe1 many of the notions of the pseudo psychologists in allusion to that self-evident truth1 that requires not the support of such arguments4 ,in tracing the mystery of a dream to its association with our immortal essence1 reason will at length be involved in a maze of conjecture4 ,true philosophy will never presume to explain the mystical union of spirit and of flesh2 she would be bewildered even in their definitions1 and would incur some peril of forming unhallowed conclusions4 ,even the nature of the rational soul will involve him in endless conjecture1 whether it be fire1 as ,zeno believed2 or number1 according to ,xenocrates2 or harmony1 according to ,aristoxenus2 or the lucid fire--the ,creator of all things1 of the ,chaldean astrologers4 ,he who aspires to a solution of the mystery1 may wear out his brain in the struggle1 as ,philetas worked himself to death in a vain attempt to solve the celebrated 8,pseudomenos10 the paradox of the stoics2 or1 like the gloomy students of the ,german school1 he might conclude his researches with a question like this rhapsody--unanswerable4 8,but thou1 my spirit1 thou that knowest this1 that speakest to thyself1 what art thou8 what wast thou ere this clay coat was cut for thee8 and what wilt thou be when this rain-coat1 this sleeping-frock1 fall off thee like a garment torn to pieces8 ,whence comest thou8 where goest thou8 ,ah6 where from and to1 where darkness is before and behind thee8 ,oh ye unclothed1 ye naked spirits1 hear this soliloquy--this soul-speech4 ,know ye that ye be8 ,know ye that ye were1 that ye are as we are or otherwise1 in eternity8 ,do ye work within us1 when a holy thrilling darts through us like lightning1 where not the skin trembles but the soul within us8 ,tell us1 oh tell us1 what then is death80 ,now1 if we reflect on the psychology of the ,greeks1 can we discern their distinctions of 1 1 1 1 of soul or spirit--of spiritual body1 or of idol and of earthly body2 or of 1 1 and 1 1 and so forth8 ,this fine distinction may be reduced to one simple proposition3--that soul and mind are the same1 under different combinations3 mind is soul evinced through the medium of the brain2 soul is mind emancipated from matter4 ,this principle1 if established1 might associate the anomalies of many sophists2 the existence of two minds1 the sensitive and intellectual1 taught by the ,alexandrian philosophers1 or the tenets of ,bishop ,horsley1 in his sermon before the ,humane ,society1 the separation of the life of intellect from animal life2 and it might reconcile the abstract reasoning of medical philosophy1 with the pure but misdirected arguments of the theological critic4 ,we believe the spirit to be the essence of life and immortality2 and it signifies not whether our words are those of ,stahl--that it presided over the animal body2 or those of ,galen and ,aristotle--that it directed the function of life4 ,it is enough that we recognize the 1 or that breath of life1 which the ,creator breathed into none but man2 and the 1 the image of ,god1 in which he was created4 ,in this one proposition all the points of this awful question are comprehended4 ,and it is on this combined nature that we must reason1 ere we discourse on sleep and dreams4 ,,cast4 ,i condole with you1 ,astrophel2 you must forget the splendour of your dreams1 and listen to their dull philosophy4 ,,astr4 ,we may indeed sympathize with each other1 ,castaly2 we are threatened with another abstruse exposition of the mind1 although we are already sated with the contrasted hypotheses of our deepest philosophers3 the cogitation or self-reasoning of ,descartes1 7the essence of whose 8,principia0 was 8,cogito1 ergo sum20 and it is an adoption of ,milton's ,adam1 8,that ,i am1 ,i know1 because ,i think30 forgetting that the very ego which thinks1 is a proof of prior existence27 and of ,malebranche1 who believed they existed because they thought2 the abstract spiritualism of ,berkley1 who believed he existed merely because others thought of him2 the consciousness of ,locke2 the idealism of ,hume2 the material psychology of ,paley2 the mental corporeality of ,priestley2 and the absolute nonentity of ,pyrrho4 ,,ev4 ,i leave these hypotheses to speak for themselves1 ,astrophel2 my own discourse will be wearying enough without them4 ,over the intricate philosophy of mind1 ,creative ,wisdom has thrown a veil1 which we can never hope to draw aside4 ,true1 the beautiful mechanism of its organ1 the brain1 is apparent2 and we can draw some analogies from inspection of the brain of a brute1 and its progressive development in ftal life1 in reference to comparative simplicity and complexity2 but its phenomena are not1 like most of the organic functions of the body1 demonstrable4 ,now1 although we know not the mode of this mutual influence1 the seat of mind is a subject of almost universal belief2 not that ,aristotle1 and tius1 and ,john ,locke1 are our oracles on this point1 although they have even identified the spot1 terming the ventricles the mind's presence-chamber1 while ,descartes decided on the pineal gland4 ,it is1 however1 into the brain that the nerves of all the senses enter1 or from which they emanate3 the senses constitute the media by which the mind gains its knowledge of the world1 and therefore we regard the brain as its seat4 ,we believe that the mind may possess five faculties2 perception1 association1 memory1 imagination1 and judgment1 and their focus or concentration is in the brain4 ,we may argue long on the earthly nature of mind1 contrasted with that of matter2 yet1 in the end1 we commonly thus define it3 a combination of faculties1 and their sympathy with the senses4 ,that to different parts of this organ are allotted different functions cannot be doubted1 when we look at its varied structure1 its intricate divisions1 its eccentric yet uniform cavities1 its delicate and almost invisible membranes2 and1 indeed1 physiological experiments are proof of it4 ,,astr4 ,then there is some truth in the whimsical localities in the 8,anatomy of ,melancholy10 and the pictures of the tenants and apartments of the brain in the ingenious romance of the 8,purple ,island0 of ,fletcher4 ,,ev4 ,although ,i grant that these eccentric writers evince much reading1 ,i am not sure that their impersonations 7like the 8,polyolbion0 of ,drayton17 do not tend to confuse1 rather than elucidate1 a natural subject4 ,of a plurality of organs in the brain1 ,i have been convinced1 even from my own knowledge and dissections4 ,i have seen that very considerable portions of the cerebrum may be removed1 the individual still existing4 ,the vital functions may continue1 the animal functions are deranged or lost4 ,the most extensive injuries of the brain1 too1 are often discovered1 which were not even suspected2 and the converse of this is often observed1--the diseases of the brain being commonly found in an inverse ratio to the severity of the symptoms4 ,when chronic tumours and cysts of water are gradually formed1 the extreme danger is averted by the balancing power of the circulation of the brain's blood2 without which its incompressibility would subject it to constant injury4 ,in tubercles of the brain1 it is curious that memory is the faculty chiefly influenced2 it is sometimes rendered dull1 while the fancy is vivid1--often more perfect and retentive4 ,brain1 however1 can no more be considered as mind itself1 than retina sight1 or than the sealing-wax can be identical with the electricity residing in it4 ,for if we look at the brain of a brute1 we see how closely it resembles our own2 then1 if we reflect on human intellect and brute instinct1 we must all believe at once that there is some diviner thing breathed into us than the anima brutorum of ,aristotle1 something more than the mere vitality1-- 8,spiritus intus alit1 totamque infusa per artus ,mens agitat molem40 ,brain is therefore the habitat of mind1 the workings of which cannot be indicated without it2 for1 as the material world would be intact without a sense1 so there can be no mortal evidence of mind without a brain1 which is indeed the sense of the spirit4 ,thus1 without adopting the creed of the ,hyloist1 the moderate materialist1--that the mind cannot have1 during the life of the body1 even a momentary existence independent of matter1--,i believe1 that when this matter is in a state of repose1 mind is perfectly passive to our cognizance4 ,,ida4 ,it is with diffidence1 ,evelyn1 that ,i enter this arena with a physician1 learned in the body2 but is there no danger in this doctrine8 does it not imply the office of a gland1--that brain is the origin of soul1 and that its function was the secretion of thought4 ,,ev4 ,such is the timid error of the mere metaphysician1 ,ida4 ,there is no such danger2 for1 remember1 if there be secretion1 it is the soul which directs4 ,many a thought is referred to things which we cannot bring into contact with our consciousness1--except by the brain4 ,dr4 ,gall writes of a gentleman1 whose forehead was far more elevated on the right side than the left2 and he deeply regretted that with this left side he could never think4 ,and ,spurzheim1 of an ,irish gentleman1 who has the left side of the forehead the least developed by four lines1--he also could not think with that side1 as indeed ,i have before hinted4 ,i may tell you the brain is double1 and one healthy hemisphere is sufficient1 as the organ of mind1 if pain or encroachment of the opposite1 when diseased1 does not destroy life1 and this especially when it is a chronic change1 or exists from birth2 so that ,i have often seen one hemisphere of the brain a pulpy bag of water1 and yet vitality and many signs of intellect may still exist2 nay1 even if the whole brain be reduced to one medullary bag1 animal life shall for some time be preserved4 ,to oppose this blending of mind and matter1 ,lord ,brougham 7in his ,natural ,theology7 likens the marble statue hewn into beauty1 to the perfect arrangement of organization in a being4 ,while ,i admire the idea1 ,i may observe that he forgets this truth1--that the maker of the one was a mere statuary1 without even the fabulous power of ,prometheus1 or ,pygmalion1 or ,frankenstein2 the other1 the ,creator of all things1 who breathed a breath of life into the shape he had made fitted to receive it4 ,my lord thus halts at the threshold of discovery3 mind is not the product of organization1 but it works by and through it2 and therefore1 for its earthly uses1 cannot be independent of the qualities of matter4 ,we may as well agree with ,plato1 in endowing the soul with 8a plastic power1 to fashion a body for itself1 to enter a shape and make it a body living40 ,i remember ,plutarch 7in his ,qust4 ,platon47 makes him say1 that the soul is older than the body1 and the source of its existence1 and that the intellect is in this soul4 ,but where is the sacred evidence of this8 for1 even in our antenatal state1 we live1 and yet there is probably no consciousness2 there is vitality1 at least1 without the consciousness of an intellect4 ,,astr4 ,as the creation of light was before that of the sun1 its reservoir1 so the creation of the soul might be before the brain1 in which the ,creator subsequently placed it4 ,,ev4 ,for this there is sacred evidence1 ,astrophel4 ,there was light1 ere the sun was created as its reservoir2 but the soul was breathed into the body1 which was already then created4 ,,astr4 ,this is a specimen of your special pleading1 ,evelyn1 allied to that perilous error of ,priestley1 that supposed function and structure to be identical1 because they are influenced by the same disease1 and seem to live and die1 flourish and decay1 together4 ,democritus also has written his belief that1 8as the smell of a rose exists in the bloom1 and fades as that dies1 so the soul of an animal is born with its birth1 and dies with its death40 ,you have conceded to me 7and we must all be conscious of7 the great difficulty of conceiving the nature of spirit2 but1 if we are required to prove its existence1 we may answer1 by analogy1 that we cannot always palpably prove the existence of matter1 although we know it to exist4 ,the electric fluid may remain for an indefinite period invisible1 nay1 may never meet the sight1--it may even traverse a space without any evidence but that of its wonderful influence1 and at length be collected in a jar4 ,as light1 existing in remote stars1 has not yet reached our earth1 so the electricity is now residing in myriads of bodies1 which will never be elicited2 and thus 7if ,i may extend the simile7 the principle of life1 whatever it be1 may have an independent existence during life1 may leave the body and yet not perish4 ,is not this a fine illustration of the living of the soul without the body2 for here even a grosser matter1 yet invisible1 is evinced by its passage from one thing to another1 although it is inert when involved in the substance8 ,,ida4 ,may ,i not fear that the errors of philosophy1 grounded on the difficulty of conceiving the nature of a self-existent spirit1 will not stop until they lapse into the belief of annihilation8 ,for there are many suspicious sentiments even in the pages of well-meaning writers2 such are the dangerous sentiments which ,boswell has ascribed to ,miss ,seward3 8,there is one mode of the fear of death which is certainly absurd1 and that is the dread of annihilation1 which is only a pleasing sleep without a dream40 ,there may be nothing terrible in the condition of annihilation1 yet the moral effect is deplorable2 indeed1 to doubt the eternal existence is to argue that man's life is but a plaything of the ,deity4 ,the notion of annihilation is so abhorrent1 that he who believes it dooms himself indeed to a miserable existence2 for the crowning solace of a ,christian life is holy hope1 and belief in the priceless gift of immortality4 8,know'st thou th' importance of a soul immortal8 ,behold this midnight glory--worlds on worlds6 ,amazing pomp3 redouble this amaze6 ,ten thousand add2 and twice ten thousand more2 ,then weigh the whole2 one soul outweighs them all1 ,and calls th' astonishing magnificence ,of unintelligent creation poor40 ,would that ,priestley had read wisely that prophetic truth in ,ecclesiastes3 8,then shall the dust return to the earth as it was1 and the spirit shall return unto ,god who gave it40 ,,ev4 ,i do not approve his latitude of thought1 yet it were severe to think this1 even of ,priestley1 merely because he disbelieved separate spiritual existence2 for ,aristotle also asserts1 that 8the soul could not exist without the body1 and yet that it was not the body1 but a part of it40 ,zeno1 and the ,stoics1 termed that which was called a spirit material2 and not only ,ray and ,derham1 but even ,paley1 and ,johnson1 disbelieved the separate existence4 ,the archdeacon's opinion1 that we should have a substantial resurrection1 is founded on ,new-,testament evidence1 and expressed in his discourse on a future state4 ,the apostle's simile of the wheat implies a death of the grain3 it dies1 but there is no remodelling1 for it is the germ that lives and grows2 so1 although the body may not be restored1 there is a development of its germ in the transit or resurrection of its spirit4 ,the sage thought also the simile of ,st4 ,paul should be taken literally1 and not figuratively3 and yet he qualifies it thus3 8,we see that it is not to be the same body1 for the ,scripture uses the illustration of grain sown 7which in its exact sense implies an offspring1 and not a resurrection71 and we know that the grain which grows is not the same with what is sown4 ,you cannot suppose that we shall rise with a diseased body2 it is enough if there be such a sameness as to distinguish identity of person40 ,blumenbach believed that when the soul revived1 after death1 the brain would equally revive2 and there is1 indeed1 nothing very irrational in all this1 for death is1 even to our senses1 not an annihilation1 but only a new combination of matter4 ,the ,greek sceptics thought that the teeth would remain perfect1 if all else was decomposed and lost2 and the rabbins conferred this perpetuity on one bone of the spinal column1 which they called ,,luz4 ,these strange notions of the mystic union may explain to us that diversity of custom1 in various nations1 as to the disposal of the dead4 ,while the ,irish papists1 with a superstitious reverence for inanimate clay1 celebrate their wakes with rites often as licentious as they are profane2 the cannibal ,calati thought it more respectful to eat the bodies of their departed friends1 at least so writes ,herodotus2 and the filial love of other ,indian tribes invites the children to strangle their aged parents1 as they sit in their fresh-made graves4 ,it is certainly more consolatory to associate our thoughts with the immortal part of a lost friend2 to believe the spirit to be in celestial keeping1 and that it still hovers around us4 ,the collapse and change of features prove that the body is then but as the dust from which it was first formed4 ,i would not wish1 like ,socrates1 to have my limbs scattered over the earth1 because 8,clo tegitur qui non habet urnam20 but1 as the body must be consumed1 were it not better and safer1 as the ,greeks did1 to burn the dead1 to resolve the corpse1 as soon as possible1 into its constituent elements4 ,i shall ever remember with horror the scenes which ,i witnessed in ,naples1 when a pile of bodies1 collected from the chapels by the dead carts1 which go round the city at night1 was thrown by irreverent hands into the public cemetery of the ,campo ,santo4 ,the fiat of the ,creator ,,may at once produce a reconstruction of the body1 however widely scattered its particles1 and the return of the soul to the brain1 from which it had once departed2 but is it not somewhat irrational to think that we should again be endowed with organs1 without the functions and passions to which they are subservient8 ,,ida4 ,it may be a bliss to gaze even on the shadows of those we love4 ,there is a beautiful allegory of this solemn question told in the 8,spectator10 which1 as ,addison approves1 it cannot be profanation to admire4 ,it is the ,indian legend of 8,marraton and ,yaratilda10 in which the devoted husband comes unawares on ,paradise1 and sees the shadowy forms of his wife and children1 without their substance4 ,the story exquisitely blends the fond wish of ,marraton to die1 that he may be again admitted to the holy communion of those so fondly loved2 for ,paradise is painted in the mind's eye even of the heathen1 although1 in his dearth of revelation1 he associates the joys of his elysium with the sensual pleasures of terrestrial life4 ,the ,indian dreams of his dogs1 believing that the greatest hunters shall be in the highest favour with ,brahma2 the proselytes of the prophet die in a vision of their houri's beauty2 and the warriors of ,odin already drink the honey-water from the skulls of their enemies1 served up to them by the beautiful 8,valkhas0 of the 8,valhalla40 ,thus even the creed of infidels is not atheism4 ,what thinks ,evelyn8 ,,ev4 ,as you do1 ,ida4 ,as to the atheist1 one1 perchance1 may have lived1 if we rightly interpret the sentiments of ,diogenes1 and ,bion1 and ,lucian1 and ,voltaire2 but1 ,i believe1 one never died4 ,my solemn duty has summoned me to the death-bed of more than one reputed infidel1 who have in health reasoned with fluency and splendour1 and have penned abstruse theses on life and the world's creation4 ,but1 when danger lay in their path of life1 their stoic heroism fled1 and left them abject cowards4 ,they looked not even on the lightning's flash without trembling1 and the vision of death was a sting to the conscience4 ,i have seen many a death-bed like that of ,beaufort1 who made 8no signal of his hope10 not because he disbelieved a ,god1 but because a conviction of his sin left him without a hope and faith in the promises4 ,of course there cannot be an ,euthanasia where irreligion has marked a life1 but1 believe me1 there would be no fear of death in an atheist4 ,,astr4 ,the mythologist and pagan may cite their tables1 and worship their idols in the recesses of their pagodas and choultries2 but some idea of the ,deity has been unfolded to the mind of all4 ,even the eastern princes have had some glimpses of the true faith1 and shahs and caliphs were once engaged in building their ,nestorine or ,christian churches4 ,the profane ,chinese has1 it is true1 called his realm the celestial empire2 ,fohi1 who is believed to have reigned three thousand years before ,christ1 established his 8,iconolatria0 or 8idolatry10 and ,si ,lao ,kiun struck at the establishment of polytheism1 but the purer theology of ,confucius prevailed over his rival4 ,the ,deity1 indeed1 is the essence of every creed1 for all believe in a great spirit as well as an immortal mind and a paradise4 ,like the reasonings of natural philosophy1 our notions and epithets of the great ,creator certainly differ1 but in all there is faith in his perfection4 ,xam ,ti is the great spirit of the ,chinese1 as ,woden is the god of the ,gothic races1 and ,brahma1 or ,alla1 or the ,kitchi ,manitou1 or even the sun1 the source of light1 and heat1 and joy to the creation1 are the deities of other nations4 ,nor may we wonder more that the ,ghebir1 and the ,peruvian1 and the ,natches should worship their orb of fire1 than that the ,irish should1 on the morning of their ,beltane1 light their peat fires to the sun4 ,the doctrines of the ,brahmins all attest their creed of theism1 if we interpret aright the evidence of the learned ,pundits of ,benares1 especially in the ,gentoo code2 and the records of ,abul ,fazel in the 8,baghvat ,geeta10 an episode in the poem of the 8,mahabarat10 written to prove the unity4 ,the devout ,christian will deem this creed a woful error1 but he will confess his admiration of their sublime notion of the divine attribute1 which ,colonel ,dow has thus imparted to us3 8,as ,god is immaterial1 he is above all conception2 as he is invisible1 he can have no form2 but from what we behold of his works1 we may conclude that he is eternal1 omnipotent1 knowing all things1 and present everywhere40 ,i will grant that the oriental notions of cosmogony1 or the creation of the world1 are a blot on their scripture page3 because the pagan theologians were shorn of the light of ,christianity1 they were prone to refer creation to natural causes within their own comprehension1 and their ideas were fabulous and impure4 ,thus1 among the ,hindoos and ,egyptians1 there is a mass of obscenity adduced to account for the development of the globe1 in the associations of ,vishnu and ,siva1 and ,osiris and ,isis2 and the temples of ,elephanta and ,elora are adorned with symbolic paintings of this incarnation of ,vishnu4 ,yet1 with all this error1 there is in the 8,vedas0 or ,hindoo scriptures1 a not remote analogy to the ,bible itself2 and1 granting that the cosmogony of ,phnicia is little more than a mysterious romance2 yet1 whether the great cause be the demiurgic spirit uniting with desire1 or the being 8,that0 of the ,hindoos1 the essence of all these mysteries still combines the grand scheme of the creation1--the formation of a beautiful world from a chaos of wide and dark waters4 ,,ida4 ,you are wandering very far eastward1 ,astrophel3 ,i will propose this question to ,evelyn4 ,if it is so evident that the brain and mind1 although not identical1 exist in a most intimate union1 may we not undervalue their relative influence by adducing the energy of intellect and brilliancy of conception possessed by many in advanced life8 ,remember the green old age of ,plato1 and ,cicero1 and ,newton1 and ,johnson1 and1 above all1 ,gothe1 whose last work was brilliant as his first4 ,and all this1 coincident with that love of ,infinite ,wisdom that exists1 7as we read in the 8,consolations of a ,philosopher107 8even in the imperfect life which belongs to the earth1 increases with age1 outlives the perfection of the corporeal faculties1 and1 at the moment of death is felt by the conscious being40 ,does this imply decay8 ,,ev4 ,the retentive powers of old age1 are the exception to a rule1 which the ultra spiritualist assumes as a general rule1 in attempting to disprove the growth and decay of mind1 according to the age of the body4 ,but as lives are of different duration and constitutions vary1 so may mental powers indicate different degrees of vigour4 ,if mind increases1 no doubt it decreases2 and ,i have known many1 who retain every faculty but memory1 which is the first to decay and indicate failing power2 and so also is it with idiots1 in whose memory1 usually1 the greatest defects appear2 the faculty of counting numbers reaches only to three1 and of letters to ,c1 the third letter in the alphabet4 ,ida will grant that there is no more impressive lesson of humility than the dwindling and decay of genius1 when1 in the words of the ,athenian misanthrope-- 8,nature1 as it grows again toward earth1 ,is fashion'd for the journey1 dull and heavy40 ,reflect on the painful end of ,sheridan and other brilliant wits of their day2 that 8,from ,marlborough's eyes the streams of dotage flow1 ,and ,swift expires a driveller and a show20 and we may almost wish that biography should begin at each end1 and finish in the middle1 or zenith of a life4 ,,ida4 ,if the fact be so1 ,i grant the lesson to our pride1 ,evelyn2 and we may dwell with fervent admiration on the divinity of that mind1 which can ennoble and consecrate our body1 so fraught as it is with basest passions1 and so decayable withal4 ,,nature ,,of ,,sleep4 8----,sleep1 gentle sleep6 ,nature's soft nurse40 ,,henry ,,iv4 ,part ii4 ,,ida4 ,i begin to perceive the importance of this digression on the nature of mind4 ,you wish us to believe1 there is a temporary desertion of the spirit from the body1 and therefore the body sleeps8 ,,ev4 ,not absolute desertion1 but a limit to its influence4 ,many have thought in conformity to your question2 and indeed1 ,ida1 it is a belief so holy1 that ,i may feel it to be almost an impiety to differ4 ,from the time of ,aristotle to ,haller1 the term 8,sleep0 expresses that condition which is marked by a cessation of certain mental manifestations1 coincident with the degree of oppression2 for it is an error to say that the body sleeps1--it is the brain only1 perhaps ,i may say1 the cerebrum1 or the fore lobes2 for ,i believe the lower part of it 7that which imparts an energy to the process of breathing and of blood circulation7 is never in a complete sleep1 but merely in a state of languor1 or rather of repose1 sufficient for its restoration1--if it were to sleep1 death would be the result4 ,this repose is in contrast with a state of waking1 that activity of mind in which ideas are constantly chasing each other like the waves of ocean2 the mode of displacing one idea being by the excitement of another in its place4 ,in that state of sound sleep which overcomes children1 whose tender brains are soon tired1 or old persons whose brains are worn1 and in persons of little reflection1--the mind is perfectly passive1 and its manifestations cease4 ,so writes ,professor ,stewart1--that there was a total suspension of volition during sleep1 as regards its influence over mental or corporeal faculties2 and ,i may even adduce a scrap from ,burton1 although ,i am an admirer of the quaint old compiler for little else than his measureless industry3-- 8,sleep is a rest or binding of the outward senses1 and of the common sense1 for the preservation of body and soul4 ,illigation of senses proceeds from an inhibition of spirits1 the way being stopped by which they should come2 this stopping is caused by vapours arising out of the stomach1 filling the nerves by which the spirits should be conveyed4 ,when these vapours are spent1 the passage is open1 and the spirits perform their accustomed duties3 so that waking is the action and motion of the senses1 which the spirits1 dispersed over all parts1 cause40 ,,astr4 ,but is volition always suspended even in sound sleep8 ,was it not the opinion of ,berkley1 that the mind even then was percipient8 ,how else can we account for the waking exactly at one predetermined hour8 ,if we retire to sleep at the latest hour1 or oppressed with fatigue1 so strong an impression is produced in our mind1 that the breaking of our sleep is almost at the given moment4 ,,ev4 ,i will answer you at present1 ,astrophel1 only by analysis2 it is not yet time to explain4 ,i may grant that there is some latent effect1--passive memory1 if you will1--for we do not count the hours in sleep1 and calculate our time by the clock2 but we wake1 and soon the bell strikes4 ,we have on record some very curious instances of the periodical recurrence of ideas in a waking state1 the measurement of time being referrible to mental impression1 mechanically established by constant habit4 ,there was an idiot once1 who was in the habit of amusing himself constantly by counting the hours as they were struck on the clock4 ,it chanced1 after some time1 that the works of the clock were injured1 so that the striking for a time had ceased4 ,the idiot1 notwithstanding1 continued to measure the day with perfect correctness1 by counting and beating the hour4 ,this is a story of ,dr4 ,plott's1 in his ,history of ,staffordshire4 ,there is one of more modern date1 somewhat analogous to this4 ,i may quote ,holy ,writ in support of this passive condition of true sleep2 nay1 even its similitude to death4 ,how often do we find allusions to sleep and death as synonymous6 ,sir ,thomas ,brown was impressed so deeply with this likeness1 that he 8did not dare to trust it without his prayers40 ,and the ,macedonian1 who wished for more worlds to conquer1 confessed his sleep proved to him his mortality4 ,i may quote ancient poetry also in my support4 ,homer and ,virgil describe sleep as the 8,brother of ,death20 and1 among the profane poets of later times1 the same sublime association is traced of this 8,mortis imago--et simulacrum40 ,among the ancient allegories1 sleep is portrayed as a female1 with black unfolded wings1--in her left hand1 a white child1 the image of ,sleep2 in her right1 a black child1 the image of ,death4 ,on the tomb of ,cypselus1 according to ,pausanias1 night is thus personified4 ,,cast4 ,how true1 then1 was the thought of the first deep sleeper1 on the sensation of slumber3-- 8----,there gentle sleep ,first found me1 and with soft oppression seiz'd ,my drownd sense1 untroubled2 tho' ,i thought ,i then was passing to my former state1 ,insensible1 and forthwith to dissolve40 ,but how fearful is this resemblance which changes 8tir'd nature's sweet restorer0 into a type of death6 ,pr'ythee1 ,evelyn1 do not affright me thus1 by clothing sleep with terror1 as if it were disease and danger4 ,,ev4 ,why tremble for the mortal sleep of the just and good1 who will feel1 with ,william ,hunter1 on their death-bed1 8how pleasant and easy it is to die20 and with another moralist1-- 8,oh what a wonder seems the fear of death1 ,seeing how gladly we all sink to sleep2 ,night following night60 ,fear not1 ,castaly2 ,i do not term slumber and gentle sleep disease1 but signs of health4 ,not so1 however1 many a profound sleep1 and its advances towards coma2 those results of exhaustion from excess1 or from intense and direct narcotics1 as opium sleep1 and the paralyzing senselessness from extreme cold1 as in the story of ,sir ,joseph ,banks and ,dr4 ,solander in the antarctic regions4 ,you are aware that many remedies in medicine may be so intense as to cause fatality3 inflammation1 too1 is the restorative process of wounds1 but if in excess it is fatal4 ,appetite also1 to a certain degree1 is healthy2 but craving and thirst1 its extremes1 are proved1 by suffering1 to be morbid4 ,if the mind is composed to perfect rest1 it is lulled to senselessness2 then metaphysically we are said to sleep3 the mind is not excited by thought1 and1 in consequence1 its supply of arterial blood is less1 the more rapid flow of which would be the cause of waking4 ,within certain limits sleep is a remedy2 but it becomes perilous when intense1 or too much indulged4 ,one eccentric physician1 as we read in the learned ,borhave1 even fancied sleep the natural condition of man1 and was wont to yield to its influence during eighteen of the twenty-four hours2 but apoplexy soon finished his experiment4 ,this negative quiescence 7for sleep is not a positive state7 allows the restoration of energy1 and then we wake4 ,even the senses accumulate their power in sleep2 the eye is dazzled by the light when we wake1 from the sensitiveness imparted by this accumulation4 ,the conceits regarding the cause of sleep are so various1 that if ,i were to discuss their merits ,i should only weary your patience1 as ,i perceive ,i have already done4 ,some have thought that sleep arose from certain conditions of the blood in the vessels and nerves of the brain2 its congestion in the sinuses2 or a reflux of a great portion of it towards the heart3 the result of depressed nervous energy--exhaustion1 fatigue1 cold1 and the influence of powerful narcotics1 or the combustion of charcoal4 ,others1 that sleep arises from the deposition of fresh matter on the brain1 and its sudden pressure4 ,then we have the cerebral collapse of ,cullen1 and of ,richerand2 the deficiency of animal spirits of ,haller2 the diminished afflux of blood to the brain of ,blumenbach2 and the exhausted irritability of the ,brunonian theory adopted by ,darwin4 ,where the truth lies ,i presume not to decide1 but it is clear there is a necessity for the occasional repose of the mental organ3 8,non semper arcum ,tendit ,apollo40 ,watchfulness invariably reduces1 even in the brute3 the wild elephant is tamed by the perseverance of the hunter in keeping it constantly awake4 ,the mind1 then1 as it is manifested to us 7for deeply important is it that we confound not the perfect and pure1 because unembodied essence of the soul1 with its combined existence in the brain--that union from which a thought is born71 the mind cannot exert itself beyond a certain period without a sensation of fatigue in the brain1 as palpable as the exhaustion from excessive muscular exertion4 ,and this depends on a natural law1 that organs after acting a certain given period1 flag and lose their energy4 ,thus the first harbinger of sleep is the closing of the lids from languor1 and relaxation of the muscles4 ,muscular fibre will1 however1 regain its expenditure by simple rest1 requiring a certain period for this re-accumulation1 like the charging of an electrical jar4 ,sleep1 however1 is not always a sequence of exhausted irritability of muscle2 we may be too tired to sleep2 and thought and memory also will keep the mind awake1 and prevent nervous energy from renewing corporeal vigour4 ,the excitement of thought beyond certain limits is both painful and destructive1 evincing its effects by various grades of mental disorder1 from simple headache to confirmed mania4 ,our first ray of hope1 in fever1 is often the coming on of a quiet sleep1 and in the sad cases of delirium tremens we must either sleep or die2 the effort of philosophical determination to overcome the depression only adding to its intensity1 as in the case of a person worn out by labour1 in attempting to labour on4 ,this conflict cannot be more pertinently exemplified than by some passages in the life of ,collins1 by one who knew him well3-- 8,he languished some years under that depression of mind which unchains the faculties without destroying them1 and leaves reason the knowledge of right without the power of pursuing it4 ,these clouds which he perceived gathering on his intellects1 he endeavoured to disperse by travel1 and passed into ,france2 but found himself constrained to yield to his malady1 and returned4 ,his disorder was no alienation of mind1 but general laxity and feebleness1 a deficiency rather of his vital than intellectual powers4 ,what he spoke wanted neither judgment nor spirit1 but a few minutes exhausted him1 so that he was forced to rest upon the couch1 till a short cessation restored his powers1 and he was again able to talk with his former vigour40 ,i believe that sensibility and fatigue of mind1 by inducing sleeplessness1 may often be the source even of mania4 ,the sleep of animals is usually light1 especially that of birds1 and they are easily startled when at roost4 ,the cackling of the geese on their awaking1 you know1 saved the ,roman capitol4 ,yet sleep is altogether very nearly balanced with waking4 ,some animals sleep often1 like the cats1 but they are long awake1 and prowling in the night4 ,the python and the boa are also long awake1 and then sleep for many days during the process of digestion4 ,indeed1 all the fer fall into sound sleep after feeding2 while the ruminants scarcely sleep at all2 nor do they crouch like the fer1 with the head between the legs3 but then their whole life is one scene of quiet2 rumination is a mindless reverie4 ,the ,west ,indian slaves and the ,hottentots1 or woolly bipeds1 resemble the brute animal in this1 that they fall asleep as soon as their labour is concluded4 ,that activity of mind in excess may induce even mania1 ,i may offer two impressive1 although negative1 proofs1 from the records of ,dr4 ,rush4--8,in despotic countries1 and where the public passions are torpid1 and where life and property are secured only by the extinction of domestic affections1 madness is a rare disease4 ,dr4 ,scott informed me that he heard of but one single instance of madness in ,china40 8,after much inquiry1 ,i have not been able to find a single instance of fatuity among the ,indians1 and but few instances of melancholy and madness40 ,i may add1 that ,baron ,humboldt assures us of this immunity among the wild ,indians of ,south ,america4 ,,ida4 ,and may not this melancholy effect be averted by caution and rule8 ,we have a saying in ,herefordshire1 that 8,six hours are enough for a man1 seven for a woman1 and eight for a fool40 ,,ev4 ,there cannot be a fixed rule on that point1 except the prevailing law of nature1--the feeling of necessity2 but this may often lead astray4 ,it is calculated that one half of a child's life is passed in sleep1 and one quarter to one sixth of the adult existence2 but for old age there is no essential period or limit4 ,old ,parr slept almost constantly about the close of his life2 while ,dr4 ,gooch records the case of one whose period of sleep was only one quarter of an hour in the twenty-four4 ,it is well to inure an infant to a gradual diminution of its time of sleep1 so that at ten years old its period should be about eight hours4 ,the strength or energy of brain will1 when aided by custom1 modify the faculty of controlling the disposition to slumber4 ,frederick the ,great1 and our own ,hunter1 slept only five hours in the twenty-four2 while ,napoleon seemed to exert a despotic power over sleep and waking1 even amid the roaring of artillery4 ,sir ,j4 ,sinclair slept eight hours1 and ,jeremy ,taylor three4 ,as a general precept1 however1 for the regulation of sleep in energetic constitutions1 ,i might propose the wise distribution which ,alfred made of his own time into three equal periods1--one being passed in sleep1 diet1 and exercise1 one in despatch of business1 and one in study and devotion4 ,careful habit will often produce sleep at regular and stated periods1 as it will render the sleeper insensible or undisturbed by loud noises2 the gunner will fall asleep on the carriage amid the incessant discharge of the cannon2 and1 if ,i remember right1 the slumbers of the bell-ringer of ,notre ,dame were not broken by the striking of the quarters and the hour close to his ear4 ,,ida4 ,and at what seasons should we wake and sleep8 ,it seems to me1 that the ,creator himself has written his precepts in the diurnal changes of this world1 that are still so healthfully observed by the peasant1 but so strangely perverted by the capricious laws of fashion1 and even by the romantic 8sons of night1 ,and maids that love the moon20 always excepting ,astrophel and ,castaly4 ,it moves my wonder that they who have looked upon the beauty of a sunrise from the mountain1 or the main1 can be caught sleeping1 when such a flood of glory1 beyond all the glare of peace-rejoicings and birth-lights1 bursts upon the world4 ,,ev4 ,the wisest have thought with you1 ,ida1 although there was one idle poet1 even ,thomson1 who confessed he had 8noe motive for rising early40 ,it was the custom of ,jewel and ,burnet to rise at four2 and ,buffon1 we are told1 rewarded his valet with a crown1 if he succeeded in getting him up before six4 ,it is to slight the creation1 not to enjoy the beauties of daylight2 and it is the natural time for sleep1 when the dews of night are on the earth4 ,the proof of this3--,there were two ,french colonels who were marching their troops1 one by day1 the other by night2 and the loss in men and horses was very far greater among the night marchers4 ,,cast4 ,i believe it was ,panza1 who 8never desired a second sleep1 because the first lasted from night till morning10--that immortal ,sancho ,panza1 whose quaint rhapsody we must all echo so gratefully1--8,blessed is he that first invented sleep40 ,the eulogies of this blissful state1 and the wailings of a sleepless spirit1 have ever been a favourite theme of the poet1 and our own ancient dramatists1--as ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 in the play of 8,valentinian10 and ,shakspere1 from the lips of ,henry ,,iv4 in his beautiful invocation1 and ,young1 and many others4 ,,ev4 ,sleeplessness is one of the severest penalties of our nature4 ,in the darkness and silence of night the wakeful mind preys on itself2 the pulse is rapid1 it is a throb of anguish1--to the wearied thought there is no conclusion1 and the parched tongue prays in vain for the morning light4 ,in the curse of ,kehama1 ,i think the sleepless lid is one of the most cruel inflictions2 and in the severe disorder which we term hemicrania1 this curse is to a degree realized4 ,the sleeplessness of ,caligula is related by ,suetonius4 ,in ,bartholinus1 we read of one who slept not for three months1 and he became a melancholy hypochondriac4 ,and ,borhave1 from intense study1 was constantly awake during six weeks4 ,,ida4 ,we are happy in our quiet minds1 are we not1 dear ,castaly8 ,yet1 if we are ever summoned to the couch of one wearied by night watching1 ,evelyn will tell us how we may soothe the pillow of a sleepless mind1 to which the secret of inducing slumber would be a priceless treasure4 ,,ev4 ,study the causes of insomnia1 or sleeplessness1 ,ida2 as those which excite nervous irritability1--coffee1 green tea1 small doses of opium1 the protracted use of antimony1 c42 and believe not in the virtues of vulgar remedies1 often as dangerous as they are ridiculous4 ,there is a batch of these which ,burton has gleaned from various authors2 as a sample1--nutmegs1 mandrakes1 wormwood2 and from ,cardan and ,miraldus1--the anointing the soles of the feet with the fat of a dormouse1 and the teeth with the ear-wax of a dog1 swine's galls1 hares' ears1 c4 ,i might offer to you many plain precepts for the alleviation of the light causes of sleeplessness2 and while ,i dole them out to you in very dullness1 you will fancy my gold-headed cane to my chin1 and other essential symbols of an ,esculapius of the olden time4 ,adopt1 then1 a free ventilation in summer1 and airing in winter1 of the chamber4 ,this should never be a mere closet1 always above the ground floor1 neither very light nor dark1 the window not being close to the bed1 and1 above all1 not in the vicinity of stoves1 ovens1 and large kitchen fires4 ,do not allow the windows to be open throughout the night1 to admit the cold dew or air2 and1 in winter1 the basket-fire should be placed there for an hour before you enter your chamber4 ,a slight acceleration of the circulation may be produced by gentle exercise before rest2 and two or three wafer biscuits or spring water1 to prevent the wakeful effects of both chilliness and hunger4 ,a light woollen sock may be worn1 which is unconsciously displaced when sleep comes on1 and the night-cap should be little more than a net1 except during the very cold months4 ,the position of the body should be that which is the easiest1 except the supine1 which induces congestion and often 8night mare20 and if there be much sensitiveness of the surface1 the hydrostatic bed should be employed1 but that not too long1 as it will become heated by protracted pressure4 ,children should not be enveloped in clothes1 nor crowded in bed2 nor should infants be shaken1 or tossed1 or patted1 as foolish nurses too often do4 ,there are many simple modes of inducing slumber3 ,i allude not to poppy and henbane1 nor to the pillow of hops1 which1 in the case of the third ,george1 was the charm that sealed up the lids of the king2 but to other modes1 such as a tedious recital1 7something like my own dull prosing17 the gentle motion of a swing1 a cot or cradle1 the ripple of a stream1 and the dashing of a waterfall1 the waving of a fan1 the caw of rooks1 the hum of bees1 the murmur of an olian harp-- ,,cast4 ,so gracefully wound up in that quaint morceau1 the 8,fairy ,queen10 when ,archimago sends the spirit to fetch a dream from ,morpheus-- 8,cynthia still doth steepe ,in silver dew his ever-drooping head1 ,whiles sad night over him her mantle black doth spred4 ,and more to lull him in his slumber soft1 ,a trickling stream1 from high rocke tumbling downe1 ,and ever dringling rain upon the loft1 ,mix'd with a murmuring winde1 much like the soune ,of swarming bees1 did cast him in a swoune40 ,,sublimity ,,and ,,imperfection ,,of ,,dreaming4 8,we are such stuff ,as dreams are made of1 and our little life ,is rounded by a sleep40 ,,tempest4 ,,ev4 ,in the transition to and from the repose of sleep1 the mind is sinking into oblivion1 and thought is fading1 and the senses and sensation are overshadowed in their regress to insensibility3 even instinct is well nigh a blank4 ,this is the state of slumber4 ,then1 ,i believe1 and only then1 are we ever wandering in the ideal labyrinth of ,,dreams4 ,there is a curious calculation of ,cabanis1 that certain organs or senses of the body fall asleep at regular progressive periods2 some1 therefore1 may be active while others are passive1 and in this interesting state1 ,i may hint to you1 consists the essence of a dream4 ,it seems that in dreamless sleep1 the senses fall asleep altogether1 as in the case of ,plutarch's friends1 ,thrasymenes and ,cleon1 and others who never dreamed4 ,,astr4 ,so there is some truth in the fanciful conceit of ,cardanus1 that 8,sleep is the rest of the spirits1--waking their vehement motion1 and dreaming their tremulous motion40 ,,cast4 ,and philosophy plumes herself on her wonderous intuition for this discovery4 ,let her blush1 and kneel before the shrine of poesy4 ,the poets1 even of a ruder age than ours1 have thought and written before you1 ,evelyn1 and have unfolded these arcana4 ,how doth ,chaucer usher in his 8,dreme80-- 8,halfe in dede sclepe1 not fully revyved20 and again3 8,for on this wyse upon a night ,as ye have herd withouten light1 ,not all wakyng ne full on slepe1 ,about such hour as lovirs wepe20 and in 8,la ,belle ,dame sans ,mercy10 there is the same thought3 8,halfe in a dreme1 not fully well awaked20 and in ,sir ,walter's 8,antiquary30 8,eh1 sirs1 sic weary dreams as folk hae between sleeping and waking1 before they win to the long sleep and the sound40 ,so will your philosophy dwindle somewhat in its consequence1 ,sir ,clerke4 ,,ev4 ,we are not jealous of these glimpses of a poet1 ,castaly2 they impart a value to their rhymes3 we enrol such poets in the rank of philosophers4 ,,ida4 ,solve me this question1 ,evelyn3 is there any relative difference between the subjects of dreams before and after sleep8 ,,ev4 ,it has been thought that there is more reference to reality in the first1 and more confusion and wandering of imagination in the second2 but as nature is often excited rather than exhausted at night1 there may be equal brightness with the morning dream1 occurring after the recreation and refreshment of sleep4 ,,cast4 ,we may concede1 then1 some wisdom to the ,sybarites1 who destroyed their morning heralds1 the cocks1 that they might enjoy their matin dreams undisturbed4 ,and ,i remember one of ,pope's allusions to the virtues of this 1 or morning dream3 8,what time the morn mysterious visions brings1 ,while purer slumbers spread their golden wings40 ,,astr4 ,we have often discoursed on the psychology of ,locke1 ,evelyn1 and we are now involved in one of its most interesting points--innate idea4 ,is the dreamer conscious of his dream8 ,it has been asserted1 especially by two profound metaphysicians1 ,beattie and ,reid1 that they persuaded themselves in their dreams that they were dreaming1 and would then attempt to throw themselves off a precipice2 this awoke them1 and proved the impression a fiction4 ,were there not present in this1 volition and consciousness2 and is it not an evidence of an innate idea without sensation8 ,,ev4 ,no4 ,a train of thought and passive memory may take place without volition1 even in a waking mind2 a train of reasoning cannot4 ,so feeling and passive thought may in the mere dream1 but not a conscious acting on it4 ,the phenomena1 and the expressions used to describe these impressions1 are precisely illustrative of another condition of sleep1 to which we have not yet pointed4 ,this notion of ,beattie was but an echo of ,aristotle4 ,the ,stagyrite himself was subject to dreams of danger1 and1 after a while1 he used to whisper to himself3 8,don't be frightened1--this is only a dream30 the glaring proof that it was not2 and yet psychologists still talk of the management of a dream4 ,the fairest explanation is1 that there has been a predetermination on some point1 and unconscious ideas on the same point are elicited1 or may be the first to present themselves to the mind in the morning1 at the moment we awaken1 and thus it is the first which the judgment acts on in its reverie2 that is1 the line between dreaming and being awake4 ,if there be many organs asleep1 there is still some clouding of this judgment2 but if that be asleep also1 there is an absolute dream4 ,if we know that we are dreaming1 the faculty of judgment cannot be inert1 and the dream would be known to be a fallacy4 ,we might1 by thinking1 render our dream what we pleased1 and be sure we should never wish for devils or dangers4 ,the essence of the dream is that it is uncontrolled3 other states are not dreaming4 ,above all1 if judgment influenced the dream of ,beattie1 who was not a madman1 would he have wished to have toppled down headlong from a rock8 ,listen to ,johnson on this point4 8,he related that he had once1 in a dream1 a contest of wit with some other person1 and that he was very much mortified by imagining that his opponent had the better of him4 ,now40 said he1 8one may mark here the effect of sleep in weakening the power of reflection2 for had not my judgment failed me1 ,i should have seen that the wit of this supposed antagonist1 by whose superiority ,i felt myself depressed1 was as much furnished by me as that which ,i thought ,i had been uttering in my own character40 ,nay1 in the words of ,beattie himself1 in his 8,essay on ,truth10-- 8,sleep has a wonderful power over all our faculties4 ,sometimes we seem to have lost our moral faculty2 as when we dream of doing that without scruple or remorse1 which1 when awake1 we could not bear to think of4 ,sometimes memory is extinguished2 as when we dream of conversing with our departed friends1 without remembering any thing of their death1 though it was1 perhaps1 one of the most striking incidents we had ever experienced1 and is seldom or never out of our thoughts when we are awake40 ,even the most sensitive and amiable girls will dream of committing murder1 or the most awful crimes1 without any sense of compunction4 ,we feel no surprise at the working of our own miracles2 and we know not how to avoid danger4 ,i have myself dreamed of occurrences long past1 as if they were of to-day2 have fretted in my sleep1 on ideal events1 and on waking was for a moment wretched4 ,but ,i have reflected1 awake1 on these very events1 and have not only felt resigned1 but deemed them benefits4 ,there was in the university of ,gottingen the physician ,walderstein4 ,he was a constant dreamer1 and this is his account of one of these illusions4 8,i dreamt that ,i was condemned to the stake1 and during my execution ,i was perfectly composed1 and indeed reasoned calmly on the mode in which it was conducted2--whispering to myself1 #8,now ,i am burning1 and presently ,i shall be converted into a cinder4'0 ,it seems that he was dissatisfied with his dream1 on account of this apathetic calmness2 and he concludes3 8,i was fearful ,i should become all thought1 and no feeling40 ,i would say1 he was all illusion and no judgment4 ,it is but lately that ,i dreamed ,i was reciting a metaphysical poem1 which my vanity whispered me possessed a deal of merit4 ,during the recitation ,i thought there was a turning up of noses1 and of tongues into cheeks--a very expressive sign of incredulity and satire4 ,at length a general murmur ran through the assembly that it was a complete 8boggle40 ,nothing daunted1 ,i assured them that it was a very abstruse passage1 and the fault was in the shallow comprehension of my audience4 ,need ,i add1 that ,i should blush at such an evasion in my waking judgment8 ,how different also is our dream from a waking thought1 in which we can control the fancy6 ,if in the dream the chain be abruptly broken1 the waking mind does not then carry on the train1 and if any thing occur in waking1 associating with the dream1 to join the broken link1 the dream is not completed1 but the ideas revert1 or are retraced1 to their source2 and if any idea at the origin of the dream be re-excited1 there will be no consistent continuance of it beyond the dream itself1 or1 if there be1 it will bear the stamp of reasoning1 losing all connexion with the illusion4 ,on the contrary1 if we read as we are falling asleep1 we continue in the dream the subject of our study1 but erroneously2 and if we then start and wake1 we shall find that at the moment of slumber we had changed the integrity of our thinking4 ,be assured1 then1 that ,virgil is correct in this-- 8,she seems alone ,to wander in her sleep1 through ways unknown1 ,guideless and dark40 ,,cast4 ,and now1 ,sir ,knight1 deign to look on the other side of the shield4 ,answer me with sincerity1--if your words be true1 is not this a high privilege of imaginative minds1 to lift themselves out of the gloomy atmosphere of this world of woe2 to soar with fancy1 not to drudge with fact8 ,how do ,i envy a romantic dreamer1 like him of whom ,master ,edmund ,spenser writes1-- 8----at length1 some wonted slepe doth crowne ,his new falne lids1 dreames straight1 tenne pound to one1 ,out steps some fary with quick motion1 ,and tells him wonders of some flourie vale40 ,sleep is indeed the reality of another existence4 ,,astr4 ,so breathed the thought of ,heraclitus1 in words like these1--that 8all men1 whilst they are awake1 are in one common world2 but that each1 when he is asleep1 is in a world of his own40 ,the fairies are his boon and chosen compeers1 and the sylphs are as much his handmaidens1 as those around the toilet of ,belinda4 ,we are indeed the happy children1 and1 like them1 our existence is a dream of felicity1--one long and happy thought of the present1 with no reflection or forethought to mar its blisses4 ,then the shades and memory of departed friends and lovers1 are they not around us as true and as beautiful as when they lived8 ,the common sentiment of enamoured dreamers is-- 8,i hear thy voice in dreams upon me softly call2 ,i see thy form as when thou wert a living thing40 ,in the dream1 ambition is lifted to the loftiest pinnacle of her high aspirings2 and power and riches are showered in profusion in the path of their votaries from the cornucopia of fancy2 and all this with a depth and intensity that gilds for a time the moments of waking life4 ,and ,i agree with ,saint ,augustine1 that if we sleep and dream in ,paradise1 our existence will be perfectly felicitous4 ,but then1 alas6 the cruel waking from this world of pleasure4 ,i have breathed many a sigh of sympathy with ,milton's dream of his dead wife1 and with ,crabbe1 in his 8,world of ,dreams40 ,you remember1 ,evelyn1 how oft you have wondered at my absence from our college cna4 ,you thought not that ,i was then deeply studying how ,i might gain a victory over my thoughts in sleep4 ,as my waking memory would1 from some indefinite cause1 be re-excited after it had seemed to fade and die1 so the subject of my dreams has been resumed after many months1 without any chain of relative thoughts in the interval4 ,i believed then that this might be a dream2 that ,i had dreamt the same before2 but on the morning of the second dream1 reflection assured me that on the morning of the first ,i had known and thought on it4 ,i was waiting for a golden hour of inspiration1 and it was granted me4 ,one night came o'er my slumber a dream of beauty3 there was an innocent happiness1 a sense of purest pleasure1 that might be the beatitude of a peri ere she lost her place in ,eden4 ,in the morning1 the dream was a part of my being2 ,i nursed it throughout the live-long day1 and at night lay me down to slumber1 and again with the sleep came the dream4 ,i was thus the monarch of an ideal world3 the dream was my life1 so long as my thoughts were on it concentrated1 and even study was a ,rembrandt shadow on its brightness4 ,in a moment of rapture1 ,i cried1-- 8,we forget how superior1 to mortals below1 ,is the fiction they dream to the truth which they know40 ,i opened the leaf of a volume1 in which an accomplished pen had traced an episode so like my own1 as to make me wonder at its truth4 ,it was of a visionary ,german1 who1 like myself1 commanded the phantasie of sleep's own world1 bringing one night thus in connexion with another4 ,he fashioned1 like ,pygmalion1 his idol1 ,love1 and nightly met and wooed1 till he won her to his heart1 and then he cried1--8,what if this glorious sleep be a real life1 and this dull waking the true repose80 ,at length his ideal of beauty1 his dream1 died1 stung by a serpent4 ,and then the order of the vision was reversed2 the dream lay again before him1 dead and withered2 he saw his idol only when he was awake1 and this was to him a dream4 ,he pined in thought1 and died1--sleeping4 ,was not the sleep of this man his real life1 and a scene of happiness8 ,could he wish for reality who had enjoyed such a dream8 ,for if in life there were equal sleep and waking1 and the sleep were all a happy dream1 this would indeed be a happy life4 ,may ,i tell you1 ,evelyn1 that ,i enjoyed a deep sublimity of feeling1 a consciousness of that mental emancipation which devout philosophers have more than glanced at8 ,,ida4 ,although you have again rather run wild1 ,astrophel1 ,i agree with you in thinking that1 under this influence1 the dream may be an illustration of ,plato's notion1 regarding the existence of eternal forms1 independent of matter1--an emanation of the divine mind imparted to that of human beings2 that innate idea1 if you will1 by which the mind views at large-- 8,the uncreated images of things40 ,and ,i therefore revere the opinion of ,sir ,thomas ,brown1 the ingenious author of the 8,religio ,medici10 7with whom believed ,sir ,henry ,wotton1 ,bossuet1 and other good men17 8,that we are somewhat more than ourselves in our sleeps1 and the slumber of the body seems to be but the waking of the soul4 ,it is the legation of sense1 but the liberty of reason2 and our waking conceptions do not match the fancies of our sleeps40 ,and also the sentiment of ,addison1 that 8there seems something in this consideration1 that intimates to us a natural grandeur and perfection of the soul40 ,,cast4 ,in your temple of transcendental philosophy you will leave a niche for ,shakspere1 dearest ,ida1 who1 even in one of his lightest characters1 forgets not this perfection of our emancipated spirit4 ,lorenzo whispers to the fair ,jewess1 in the garden at ,belmont-- 8,sit1 ,jessica4 ,look how the floor of heav'n ,is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold6 ,there's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st1 ,but in his motion1 like an angel sings1 ,still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims4 ,such harmony is in immortal souls2 ,but1 whilst this muddy vesture of decay ,doth grossly close it in1 we cannot hear it40 ,,prophecy ,,of ,,dreams4 8,i have heard1 the spirits of the dead ,may walk again3 if such things be1 thy mother ,appeared to me last night2 for ne'er was dream ,so like a waking40 ,,winter',s ,,tale4 ,,astr4 ,evelyn1 you have argued fluently on the nature of mind contrasted with that of matter2 but1 if desired to define it1 how will you answer8 ,,ev4 ,that it is a combination of faculties1 and their sympathy with the senses4 ,but this definition presumes not to decide in what intimate part or texture of the brain is seated the essence itself1 as we may imagine1 of the mind--the principle of consciousness2 whether this be the 8elementary principle0 of ,stewart1 or the 8momentary impression of sense or sensation0 of ,brown1 or the 8something differing from sensation0 of ,reid1 or the 8power of feeling that we differ from the matter around us0 of some one else4 ,,astr4 ,yet on this point1 7if1 indeed1 such point be more than imaginary17 the whole phenomena of intellect must turn4 ,but even if you can ever hope to determine this locality1 it will be long1 very long1 ere the student of psychology will rise from his studies1 with the triumphant exclamation1 860 ere he conclude his deepest researches1 without the humiliating confession that his philosophy wears fetters4 ,yet you consider our visions as one tissue of morbid phenomena2 although there are myriads even of profane visions and warning legends1 which bear the certain impress of a prophecy4 ,i never listen to those who laugh at our interpretations1 without remembering that melancholy story of a youth of ,brescia1 by ,boccaccio1 where ,andreana1 ,i think1 is relating to her betrothed ,gabriello1 an ominous dream of the stars1 and of a shadowy demon1 which had made her sad and spiritless1 and for which she had exiled her lover for a whole night from her bosom4 ,the youth smiled in scorn of such a presage2 but1 in relating a dream of his own to illustrate their fallacy1 fell dead from her enfolding arms4 ,for once ,i will grant you1 merely for the sake of argument1 that there may be exaggeration in many a legend4 ,i will even yield to your immolation the host of specious dreams in 8,wanley's ,wonders20 you may pass your anathema on the volumes of ,glanville1 and ,moreton1 and ,aubrey1 and ,mather1 and ,berthogge1 and ,beaumont1 as a tissue of imposture2 call them1 if you will-- 8,a prophet's or a poet's dream1 ,the priestcraft of a lying world40 ,i will ensconce myself snugly behind the classic shields1 and ask you if the pages of ,pliny1 of ,cicero1 of ,socrates1 are mere legends of fiction or credulity2 nay1 if the books of mythology and oriental legends are not many of them founded on real events8 ,it is clear that there was ever implicit and extensive faith in the ,east2 the definition of 1 ,i speak the truth1 implies faith in a dream4 ,the office of the oneirocritic was a profession4 ,amphyction was the first 7according to ,pliny7 of the profane expositors1 ,hieronymus the most profuse interpreter1 and ,lysimachus1 the grandson of ,aristides1 expounded dreams1 for money1 at the corners of the streets of ,athens4 ,the doors of ,junianus ,majus1 the tutor of ,sanagorius1 and ,alexander ab ,alexandro1 were besieged with dreamers in quest of expositions4 ,the ,romans worshipped with divine honours ,brizo1 the goddess of dreams2 and the ,galeot1 so named from ,galei1 a ,hebrew word signifying to reveal1 flourished in ,sicily4 ,so impressed were the ,jews with the importance of the dream1 that they convoked a tryad of friends1 and went through certain ceremonies1 7as writes ,josephus in his twelfth book17 which they called the benefaction of a dream4 ,the orientals1 the ,greeks1 and the ,romans1 then1 were all confident in the truth of these omens4 ,when ,nestor urges his army to battle because ,agamemnon had dreamed of such a course1 it is but a picture of the common mind of ,greece4 ,indeed1 on great emergencies1 it was the custom to solicit the inspiration of the dream1 by first performing religious rites1 and then in the temple1 7it may be of ,esculapius or ,serapis17 to lie down on the reeking skins of oxen or goats1 sacrificed by the priests4 ,i may not hope1 ,evelyn1 to convert or alarm you1 or ,i would warn you of the penalty incurred by the slighting of a vision4 ,you may read in ,livy1 that ,jupiter imparted his displeasure at the punishment of a slave1 during a solemn procession in the forum to ,titus ,antinius4 ,but ,titus scorned the vision2 when1 lo6 his son was struck dead at his feet1 and his own limbs were at once paralyzed4 ,in a mood of penitence1 he was borne on a couch to the senate1 and after a public confession of his crime1 his limbs immediately began to recover their energy1 and he walked to his house unassisted1 amidst the wonder of the people4 ,in ,cicero's essay on 8,divination10 we read the story of two ,arcadian travellers4 ,on their arrival at ,megara1 these two friends slept in different houses4 ,in the night a dream came to one of them3 the phantom of his companion appeared to him1 and imparted to him that his landlord was about to murder him4 ,he awoke1 and feeling assured that the idea was but a dream1 fell quietly again to sleep2 but then came over him a second dream1 and again the phantom was in his chamber1 and told him that the deed of blood was committed1 that he was murdered3 and in the morning he learned that the vision was prophetic1 and told him truth4 ,but the records of antiquity teem with tales of fatal prognostics to heroes1 kings1 and emperors1 whose deaths1 indeed1 seldom took place without a prophecy4 ,from ,aristotle we learn that the death of ,alexander was foretold in a dream of ,eudemius1 and that of ,csar by his wife ,calphurnia4 ,the emperor ,marius dreamed that he saw ,attila's bow broken1 and the ,hun king died on the same night4 ,and ,sylla 7according to ,appian7 died on the night succeeding that on which he dreamed of such a fate4 ,valerius ,maximus records the death of ,caius ,gracchus1 immediately after a dream of it by his mother4 ,caracalla 7as we learn from ,dion ,cassius7 foretold his own assassination in a dream4 ,cyrus 7writes ,xenophon7 dreamed of the exact moment in which he died4 ,and the death of ,socrates was foretold to him in a dream1 by a white lady1 who quoted to him the #cfcrd line of ,homer1 in the ninth book4 ,of remarkable events there are many strange forebodings2 as the dream of ,judas ,maccabeus when about to engage the ,syrian army2 of ,sylla before his engagement with ,marius2 of ,germanicus on the night before his victory over ,arminius 7as ,tacitus records72 and of ,masilienus1 the general sent by the emperor ,honorius to oppose ,gildo1 and regain the possession of ,africa4 ,to him ,st4 ,ambrose1 the late bishop of ,milan1 appeared in a dream1 and striking the ground at the scene of the vision thrice with his crozier1 said1 8,here and in this place20 and on the same spot1 the following morning1 ,gildo was conquered by ,masilienus4 ,such are a few of the fatal prophecies of old4 ,there are others of illustrious births in the olden time1 of which ,i will recount a few4 ,plutarch writes of the dream of ,agariste1 announcing the birth of her son ,pericles4 ,sabellus1 of the dream of ,accia1 the mother of ,augustus4 ,the splendid impostures1 as ,i confess them1 of ,mahomet1 were ushered in by a dream of ,cadiga1 that the sun entered her house1 and that his beams illumined every building in ,mecca4 ,in later days1 the mother of ,joan of ,arc dreamed that she brought forth a thunderbolt2 and ,arlotte1 the mother of the ,conqueror1 that her intestines covered the whole land of ,normandy4 ,but ,i waive a host of ancient dreams1 as those of ,astyages1 the last king of ,media2 ,ertercules1 and ,antigonus1 and ,simonides1 and others1 for ,i study to be brief1 and pass to the professors of more modern belief4 ,of ,pascal ,paoli1 ,boswell1 in his account of ,corsica1 thus writes3 8,having asked him one day1 when some of his nobles were present1 whether a mind so active as his was employed even in sleep1 and if he used to dream much2 ,signor ,casa ,bianca said1 with an air and tone which implied something of importance1 #8,si1 si sogna1' ,yes1 he dreams4 ,and upon my asking him to explain his meaning1 he told me that the general had often seen in his dreams what afterwards came to pass4 ,paoli confirmed this by several instances4 ,said he1 #8,i can give you no clear explanation of it1--,i only tell you facts4 ,sometimes ,i have been mistaken1 but in general these visions have proved true4 ,i cannot say what may be the agency of invisible spirits2 they certainly must know more than we do2 and there is nothing absurd in supposing that ,god should permit them to communicate their knowledge to us4'0 ,in ,walton's life of ,sir ,henry ,wotton1 we read that his kinsmen1 ,nicholas and ,thomas ,wotton 7whose family1 by the by1 were celebrated for their dreamings7 had foretold their death most accurately4 ,in the beginning of the #ahth century1 a person in the west of ,england dreamed that his friend was on a journey with two men1 whose persons were strongly pictured in his dream1 and that he was robbed and murdered by these companions4 ,it chanced that in a short time he was about to journey with two men1 the very prototypes of his friend's dream4 ,his earnest caution against this expedition so planned was slighted1 and1 on the spot marked in the dream1 was this traveller robbed and murdered1 and by the vivid description of the dreamer1 the two men were identified and executed4 ,in other cases1 the dream has been the means of retribution2 for instance1 by the discovery of a murderer4 ,in 8,baker's ,chronicle0 we read of the conviction of ,anne ,waters1 for the murder of her husband1 through the circumstantial dream of a friend4 ,i believe the fate of ,corder was decided by a dream2 and ,i may add1 that ,archbishop ,laud dreamed himself that in his greatest pomp he should sink down to h--ll4 ,there is a chain of impressive visions1 prophetic of the death of ,villiers1 ,duke of ,buckingham1 as if some little spirit were flitting to and fro on a special mission from the realm of shadows4 ,the sister of the duke1 the ,countess of ,denbigh1 dreamed she was with him in his coach1 when the people gave a loud shout1 and she was told it was a cry of joy at the dangerous illness of the duke4 ,she had scarcely related her dream to one of her ladies1 when the bishop of ,ely came to tell her1 her brother was murdered by the dagger of ,felton4 ,shortly before this1 a ,scotch nobleman asked a seer from the ,highlands what he thought of this ,villiers1 ,duke of ,buckingham1 then the court favourite3 8,he will come to naught10 said he1 8for ,i see a dagger in his heart40 ,but the most impressive presage were the visions of an officer of the wardrobe to the king1 as related by the ,earl of ,clarendon and others4 ,parker had been an old proteg of ,sir ,george ,villiers1 the duke's father4 ,on a certain night1 in ,windsor ,castle1 he saw1 or dreamed of1 an apparition of ,sir ,george ,villiers1 who entreated him to warn his son not to follow the counsels of such and such persons1 and to avert in every way the enmity of the people1 as he valued his life4 ,a second and a third night this vision was repeated1 and at the last1 the phantom drew a dagger from his gown1 and said1 8,this will end my son1 and do you1 ,parker1 prepare for death40 ,on a hunting morning this vision was imparted to ,buckingham1 at ,lambeth ,bridge1 and1 after the chase1 the duke was seen to ride1 in a pensive mood1 to his mother's in ,whitehall4 ,the lady1 at his departure1 was found in an agony of tears1 and when the story of the murder was told1 she listened with an apathetic calmness1 as if the brooding over the prophecy had half dulled her heart to the reality4 ,well1 the duke was murdered1 and ,parker soon after died4 ,on that night when the ,treasury of ,oxford was broken open1 ,sir ,thomas ,wotton1 then in ,kent1 dreamed circumstantially of the event1 and1 ,i believe1 named and described the burglars4 ,a clergyman1 whose name ,i forget1 was once travelling far from his home1 when he dreamed his house was on fire4 ,he returned1 and found his house a smoking ruin4 ,i may here cite a very curious dreaming1 which1 though not exactly fulfilled1 displayed at least a strange coincidence in three minds4 ,the mother of ,mr4 ,joseph ,taylor dreamed of the apparition of her son1 who came to take leave as he was going a long journey4 ,she started1 and said1 8,dear son1 thou art dead40 ,on the morrow1 a letter came from his father1 expressive of anxiety on account of this dream4 ,the son instantly remembered his own dream1 at the same hour1 of having gone to his mother's room to bid farewell4 ,there are many warning visions1 which1 being happily regarded1 were blessed by the preservation of human life4 ,when our own ,harvey was passing through ,dover1 on his continental travels1 he was unexpectedly detained for a night by the order of the governor4 ,on the next day1 news came that the packet1 in which ,harvey was to have sailed1 was lost in a storm2 and then it came out1 that his excellency had1 on the night before his arrival1 a phantom of the doctor passing before him1 which besought him to detain his substance in ,dover for a day4 ,alderman ,clay1 of ,newark1 dreamed twice that his house was on fire4 ,from the second dream1 he was induced to quit with his family2 and1 soon afterwards1 it was burned by the engines of ,cromwell1 which were bombarding the town4 ,for this providential salvation1 an annual sermon is preached1 and bread given to the poor1 in ,newark4 ,the lady of ,major ,griffiths dreamed thrice of her nephew1 ,mr4 ,d4 ,the first vision imparted his intention of joining a party of his companions on a fishing excursion2 the second1 that his boat was sinking2 the third1 that it was actually sunk4 ,at her entreaty1 this gentleman was induced to remain on land2 and1 in the evening1 it was learned1 that his ill-fated friends had been all drowned1 by the swamping of the boat4 ,,cast4 ,i pr'ythee1 ,astrophel1 draw not too largely on our faith2 reserve yourself for a struggle1 for ,i see in the glance of ,evelyn's eye1 that he has taken up your glove4 ,,moral ,,causes ,,of ,,dreaming4 8,i have had a dream1 past the wit of man to say what dream it was4 ,man is but an ass1 if he go about to expound this dream40 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream4 ,,ev4 ,listen1--it is my turn to speak4 ,like confirmed insanity1 the essence of the dream is usually a want of balance between the representative faculty and the judgment2 being produced1 directly or indirectly1 by the excitement of a chain of ideas1 rational or probable in parts1 but rendered in different degrees extravagant1 or illusive1 by imperfect association1--as in the dream of the 8,opium ,eater30--8,the ladies of ,charles ,i4's age danced and looked as lovely as the court of ,george ,,iv42 yet ,i knew1 even in my dream1 that they had been in the grave for nearly two centuries40 ,the relative complexity of these combinations includes the two divisions of dreams1--the plain1 2 and the allegorical1 or images presented in their own form1 or by similitude4 ,if we grant that certain faculties or functions of the mind are the result of nervous influence1 we can as readily allow that an imperfection of these manifestations shall be the result of derangement of equilibrium in this influence1 as the material function of muscle shall be disturbed by primary or secondary disease about the brain2 of which we have daily examples among the spasmodic and nervous diseases of the body4 ,referring to the calculation of ,cabanis1 on the falling to sleep of the senses1 ,i can readily carry on this analogy to the faculties of mind4 ,we may suppose that the faculty of judgment1 as being the most important1 is the first to feel fatigue1 and to be influenced in the mode which ,i have alluded to by slumber4 ,it is evident1 then1 that the other faculties1 which are still awake1 will be uncontrolled1 and an imperfect association will be the result4 ,thus the ideas of a dream may be considered as a species of delirium2 for the figures and situations of both are often of the most heterogeneous description1 and both are ever illusive1 being believed to be realities1 and not being subject to the control of our intellect4 ,yet1 if the most absurd dream be analyzed1 its constituent parts may consist either of ideas1 in themselves not irrational1 or of sensations or incidents which have been individually felt or witnessed4 ,so the remembered faces and forms of our absent friends1 faithful though a part of the likeness may be1 are associated with the grossest absurdity4 8,velut gri somnia1 van ,fingentur species1 ut nec pes nec caput uni ,reddatur form40 ,or1 as ,dryden has written1-- 8,dreams are but interludes which ,fancy makes3 ,when monarch ,reason sleeps1 this mimic wakes2 ,compounds a medley of disjointed things1 ,a mob of cobblers1 and a court of kings4 ,light fumes are merry1 grosser fumes are sad1 ,both are the reasonable soul run mad2 ,and many monstrous forms in sleep we see1 ,that neither were1 nor are1 nor e'er can be40 ,the little variations in the tissue of a dream are not rectified by judgment4 ,so the vision may have led us to the very consummation of the highest hopes with love and beauty1 and then1 if an object even of degradation or deformity shall cross the dream1 an association shall be formed imparting a feeling of loathing and horror4 ,you may take ,hobbes' illustration1 ,astrophel1 which you will probably prefer to mine4 ,hobbes says of the compositions of phantoms1 8,water when moved at once by divers movements1 receiveth one motion compounded of them all2 so it is in the brain1 or spirits stirred by divers objects2 there is composed an imagination of divers conceptions that appeared single to the sense2 as sense at one time showeth the figure of a mountain1 at another of gold1 and the imagination afterwards composes them into a golden mountain40 ,i believe ,parkhurst also will tell you1 that the ,hebrew word for dream1 refers to things erroneously viewed by the senses2 for each may assume1 individually1 an intimate accordance with another1 although the first and last appear perfectly incongruous1 as the ,chinese puzzle will be a chaos1 if its pieces be wrongly placed2 a faulty rejoining1 in fact1 of scenes and objects reduced to their constituent elements4 8,i dreamed once10 said ,professor ,maass1 of ,halle1 8that the pope visited me4 ,he commanded me to open my desk1 and he carefully examined all the papers it contained4 ,while he was thus employed1 a very sparkling diamond fell out of his triple crown into my desk1 of which1 however1 neither of us took any notice4 ,as soon as the pope had withdrawn1 ,i retired to bed1 but was soon obliged to rise on account of a thick smoke1 the cause of which ,i had yet to learn4 ,upon examination1 ,i discovered that the diamond had set fire to the papers in my desk1 and burnt them to ashes40 ,this dream deserves a short analysis1 on account of the peculiar circumstances which occasioned it4 8,on the preceding evening10 continues ,professor ,maass1 8,i was visited by a friend1 with whom ,i had a lively conversation upon ,joseph ,,ii4's suppression of monasteries and convents4 ,with this idea1 though ,i did not become conscious of it in the dream1 was associated the visit which the pope publicly paid the emperor ,joseph at ,vienna1 in consequence of the measures taken against the clergy2 and1 with this again was combined1 however faintly1 the representation of the visit which had been paid me by my friend4 ,these two events were by the subreasoning faculty compounded into one1 according to the established rule--that things which agree in their parts1 also correspond as to the whole2 hence the pope's visit was changed into a visit paid to me4 ,the subreasoning faculty1 then1 in order to account for this extraordinary visit1 fixed upon that which was the most important object in my room1 namely1 the desk1 or rather the papers it contained4 ,that a diamond fell out of the triple crown1 was a collateral association1 which was owing merely to the representation of the desk4 ,some days before1 when opening the desk1 ,i had broken the glass of my watch1 which ,i held in my hand1 and the fragments fell among the papers2 hence no farther attention was paid to the diamond1 being a representation of a collateral series of things4 ,but afterwards1 the representation of the sparkling stone was again excited1 and became the prevailing idea2 hence it determined the succeeding association4 ,on account of its similarity1 it excited the representation of fire1 with which it was confounded2 hence arose fire and smoke4 ,but1 in the event1 the writings only were burnt1 not the desk itself1 to which1 being of comparatively less value1 the attention was not at all directed40 ,impressions of memory may not perhaps appear consistent with imagination1 but1 on the principle ,i have advanced1 it will be found that1 although the idea excited by memory be consistent1 these ideas may1 by fanciful association1 become imagination2 appearing1 on superficial view1 to illustrate the doctrine of innate idea4 ,but is this doctrine proved8 ,we may seem to imagine that which we do not remember1 as a whole2 but1 as a curve is made up of right lines1--as a mass is composed of an infinity of atoms1--so may it follow1 that what is termed 8innate idea10 if minutely divided1 may be proved to arise from memory2 made up of things1 however minute1 which we have seen or heard of4 ,analysis may thus unravel many a 8strange mysterious dream40 ,,ida4 ,i have ever believed that there were incidents recorded1 which left no doubt of the truth of innate idealism4 ,dr4 ,beattie has observed3 8,men born blind1 or who have lost all remembrance of light and colours1 are as capable of invention1 and dream as frequently1 as those who see40 ,,ev4 ,these1 fair lady1 are surely very imperfect data4 ,if a person loses remembrance of individual colour1 he does not lose the power of comparing or of judging variety of colour4 ,and1 again1 although he may be congenitally blind1 yet if there be any other sense but sight1 through which the mind can perceive or receive external impression1 the objection must fail4 ,there are very strange communities of the senses1 which you may smile at1 yet are they perfectly true4 ,dr4 ,blacklock1 7who was very early in life struck blind17 expressed his ideas of colour1 by referring to a peculiar sound1 the two being as it were synonymous to him4 ,and he fancied also1 in his dreaming1 that he was connected to other bodies by myriads of threads or rays of feeling4 ,i may assure you1 too1 that on the loss of any one sense1 the subsequent dreams1 after a lapse of time1 will not be referred to that sense4 ,dr4 ,darwin will supply you with very illustrative instances of this2 from which you will learn1 that after blindness had afflicted certain persons1 they never dreamed that they saw objects in their sleep3 and a deaf gentleman1 who had talked with his fingers for thirty years1 invariably dreamed also of finger-speaking1 and never alluded to any dreaming of friends having orally conversed with him4 ,,astr4 ,i believe that a black colour was disagreeable to ,cheselden's blind boy1 from the moment he saw it4 ,,ev4 ,because1 from certain laws of refraction1 the effect was instantly painful to his eye4 ,,astr4 ,i remember1 ,sir ,walter ,scott1 in his 8,letters on ,demonology and ,witchcraft10 informs us that 8those experienced in the education of the deaf and dumb find that their pupils1 even cut off from all instruction by ordinary means1 have been able to form1 out of their own unassisted conjectures1 some ideas of the existence of a ,deity1 and of the distinction between the soul and body40 ,,ev4 ,and do you not see1 dear ,astrophel1 the dilemma of this argument8 ,before the deaf and dumb pupil can adopt a language1 by which to make his preceptor sensible of his thoughts or sentiments1 he must have had certain facts or knowledge imparted to him1 by signs or other modes of instruction4 ,the modes of mutual understanding must first emanate from the tutor1 and with these ideas may be excited1 which1 at first sight1 may seem to be innate or unassisted4 ,believe not that ,i deny a moral consciousness of the existence of the ,deity and of our immortality2 but how can we prove it1 in those who have no sense to explain it8 ,if it were possible to find a creature so wretched as to be endued with no external sense from his birth1 such a being would neither dream nor think2 he would lead the life almost of a zoophyte1 ceasing1 of course1 to be a responsible agent6 ,caspar ,hauser never dreamed1 till he slept at ,professor ,daunay's1 and had been introduced to intellectual society1 and been taught2 and then1 even1 he could not comprehend the nature of his dreams4 ,the arguments in the 8,phdo0 of ,plato point to this truth1 that the germ of all ideas is sown in the mind by the senses4 ,so1 also1 the metaphysics of ,kant teach that the senses are feelers or conductors1 by which we obtain materials of our knowledge2 and indeed that matter and sensation are synonymous2 that matter exists priori in the mind4 ,this was the belief of ,coleridge1 that there can be nothing fancied in our dreams1 without an antecedent quasi cause1 a ,roman having written1 before him1 the same sentiment3-- 8,nihil in intellectu1 quod non prius in sensu40 ,remember still that this philosophy is apart from revelation4 ,i am aware that among the deaf and dumb high moral sentiments may exist4 ,but if they can read essays1 these sentiments may be imbibed in their reading4 ,and yet a very learned lord has asserted1 that a being1 doomed to absolute solitude and estrangement from his very birth1 could discover the principles of algebra6 ,at this sophism1 oh shade of ,epictetus6 thou mightest rise1 to vindicate the importance of our beautiful senses2 of the eye1 beyond all1 that achromatic globe of brightest crystal1 the contemplation of which first convinced thee of design in the ,creator1 and prompted thee to pen the first 8,bridgewater ,treatise40 ,on the opening1 or even the restoration of a sense1 in this forlorn 8plant animal10 all his associations would be erroneous4 ,he would1 at first1 see double2 he would1 like children1 consider all bodies1 however distant1 within his grasp2 and1 like the idiot1 draw all his figures topsy-turvy1 as they are really painted on the retina1 until judgment and practice rectified his error4 ,i do not reason hypothetically1 for these truths were illustrated in the youth whose pupils were opened by the operation of ,cheselden4 ,there are romantic stories1 not foreign to this subject1 in which the creation of a ,caliban is almost a truth2 and which exemplify to us the accordance of nature with habit and circumstance1 and the dearth of mind when deprived of the light of instruction4 ,i allude to those unhappy creatures who1 with the form and organs of man1 have run wild in the woods1 and fed on husks1 and berries1 and herded with the brute4 ,we have some very curious histories of these beings1 especially in the #agth and #ahth centuries4 ,two were discovered in the ,forest of ,lithuania2 one in the ,forest of ,yuary1 in the ,pyrenees1 by ,m4 ,le ,roy2 two wild girls by a nobleman1 near ,chalons1 in ,champagne2 and ,peter the wild boy1 found by the escort of ,george ,i4 in the woods of ,hertswold1 in ,hanover4 ,in these cases disease might have been discovered2 yet the effect of partial civilization1 even in minute points1 indicates some power of acquiring ideas not congenital4 ,but as to these dreaming flights of the spirit of good ,sir ,thomas ,brown1 ,i may confess1 ,astrophel1 that you have some poets and metaphysicians1 and even a few philosophers1 on your side4 ,you may read in ,plato's 8,phdo10 that 8the body is the prison of the soul2 that the soul1 when it came from ,god1 knew all2 but1 inclosed in the body1 it forgets and learns anew40 ,and in ,seneca3 8,corpus hoc animi pondus est40 ,and in ,petronius3 8----,cum prostrata sopore1 ,urget membra quies1 et mens sine pondere ludit40 ,this sentiment ,addison has very readily adopted2 prating about 8the amusements of the soul when she is disencumbered of her machine10 and so forth4 ,and yet ,addison1 ,i remember1 thus qualifies his creed3--8,i do not suppose that the soul1 in these instances1 is entirely loose and unfettered from the body2 it is sufficient if she is not so far sunk and immersed in matter1 nor entangled and perplexed in her operations1 with such motions of blood and spirits1 as when she actuates the machine in its waking hours4 ,the corporeal union is slackened enough to give the mind more play10 c4 ,in this conceit1 deficient both in philosophy and psychology1 you perceive the speculator draws in his horns1 and concludes with that which means nothing4 ,it is1 indeed1 a mere compromise2 an endeavour to extricate from their perilous dilemma the metaphysical pathologists who talk so fluently of the diseases of the immaterial mind1 forgetful1 it would seem1 of this truth--that which is diseased may die2 a consummation which would undermine the ,christian faith1 and blight the holiest hope of man--the prospect of immortality4 ,and yet my ,astrophel will lean to the vagaries of our pseudo-psychologists1 who believed the dream to be the flight of the soul on a visit to other regions2 and its observation of their nature and systems from actual survey4 ,of the fruits of this ethereal voyage the dreamer1 ,i presume1 is made conscious when the soul returns to the brain1 its earthly pabulum or home4 ,were this so1 it should enjoy visions of unalloyed beatitude2 and even were there a limit to its excursions1 a thing so pure and perfect would select angelic communion only4 ,i do not aver that such things are not1 but that we cannot know it here4 ,we have no satisfactory remembrance of cities and temples thus surveyed1 more gorgeous than the waking conceptions of the thousand and one nights2 or the legends of the genii2 no wonders or eccentricities which eclipse the exploits of ,gulliver1 ,peter ,wilkins1 ,friar ,bacon1 or ,baron ,munchausen4 ,lavater carries out this caprice1 by a very fine metaphysical thought1 to illustrate the night-apparition4 ,that it is their 8transportive or imaginative faculty that causes others to appear to us in our dreams40 ,and ,i myself was once gravely told by a visionary1 that he dreamed1 one night1 of a certain old woman2 and she afterwards told him1 that she dreamed she was1 on that very night1 in his chamber4 ,so1 you perceive1 her imago1 or material thought1 entered into his mind1 and caused his dream4 ,is not this sublime8 ,now it is clear that these illusions cannot tend to advance the dignity of mind4 ,nothing can be more convincing to prove a suspension of judgment4 ,remember that during this life1--the incorporation of the soul1--we are conscious of it only through the brain4 ,it is not yet emancipated2 and it is an error to think1 because sometimes we have a brilliant vision1 that therefore1 if the body were more inactive1 the soul would be more ethereal4 ,,astr4 ,and yet we are assured that ,alexander1 and ,voltaire1 and ,la ,fontaine1 and ,condillac1 and ,tartini1 and ,franklin1 and ,mackenzie1 and ,coleridge1 were wont to compose plans of battles1 and problems1 and poems1 in their dreams1 with a degree of vigour and facility1 far exceeding their waking studies4 ,,ev4 ,this very facility proves that there was association from memory1 without volition or effort2 the mind being in a state of reverie1 and the senses quiescent4 ,in this consists the vivid and delightful visions lighted up by our memory in slumber1 especially when there is darkness and silence1 so that there is no perception2 or when the mind is concentrated1 and has been reposing1 so that its fancy is a novelty4 ,but this identifying1 by ,sir ,thomas ,brown1 of reason and fancy1 is itself a proof of error4 ,the energy of the first is exercised on data or facts2 that of the second1 in mere hypothetic amusement4 ,it were indeed much better that we established either the material hypothesis of ,priestley1 or his antipodes1 ,berkeley1--that nature was but a compound of spirits1 ideas unfettered by matter2 or the visionary scheme of ,hume 7borrowed indeed from the ,hindoo philosopher1 ,abul ,fazel71 that there is nought but impression and idea in nature2 or even the absolute scepticism of ,pyrrho2--than that we should favour the rhapsody of ,brown1 that the consciousness of waking moments should thus deteriorate reason1 and render the mind incompatible with sublunary duties4 ,,cast4 ,coleridge1 ,i believe1 was so impressed with his own dreaming compositions1 that he said1 8the dullest wight might be a ,shakspere in his dreams40 ,what may he deserve for such presumption8 ,,ev4 ,coleridge was an opium-eater1 and the whole intellectual life of this mighty metaphysician was a dream4 ,and you may forget that ,coleridge was already a poet1 and reasons thus from impressions in his own visions1 during the elysium of his anodyne4 ,but the contrasted feelings of ,coleridge's nights at once confirm the monomania of his dreaming2 and if you read his 8,pains of ,sleep10 ,castaly1 you will not deem them a slight penalty1 even for his libel on your sweet ,shakspere4 ,but the conclusions of three sage grave men on this subject will impress your belief more than mine4 ,the mentor of ,rasselas1 ,johnson himself1 speaks by the lips of ,imlac4-- 8,all power of ,fancy over ,reason is a degree of insanity4 ,by degrees1 the reign of ,fancy is confirmed2 she grows first imperious1 and in time despotic4 ,then fictions begin to operate as realities1 false opinions fasten upon the mind1 and life passes in dreams of rapture1 or of anguish40 ,and so convinced was the learned ,borhave of this1 that he even held imagination and judgment to have different localities1 because this influenced the mind asleep1 and that1 awake4 ,and why1 ,astrophel1 dream we of strange things8 ,because we cannot compare illusion with reality4 ,so we may reverse the doctrine of ,pyrrho 7who doubted his own existence71 and imagine ourselves possessed of ubiquity4 ,we may fancy we are both old and young at the same moment1 nay1 that we are and are not2 possess the hundred eyes of ,argus1 or the hundred arms of ,briareus2 that ,zoroaster1 and ,virgil1 and ,shakspere1 and ourselves1 are co-existent4 ,indeed1 our thoughts and actions are all modelled on a principle of paradox1--as wild even as the visions in the 8,confessions of an ,opium-,eater40 ,then turn to the words of ,marmontel1 which identify the wanderings of a dream with the flitting fancies of a mind prostrate from the effect of disorder4 ,these words were written under extreme indisposition3-- 8,i was reduced so low1 that ,i could read nothing but the ,arabian ,nights' ,entertainments2 and it is extraordinary that often1 while every other faculty1 judgment1 the will1 association1 perfection1 even the memory itself1 is in a state of almost total re-action1 this volatile thing1 imagination1 should be the most robust and active2 it seems to rejoice at the release from companionship with its fellows1 and darts off on seraph-wings1 rambles through all space1 visits all places1 turning1 and tossing1 and jostling all things in its progress1 or conjoining them in the most grotesque shapes4 ,the imagination in madmen is often of this description2 and there may be 8,a pleasure in madness1 that none but madmen know40 ,then we may dream ourselves to be others1--an ideal transmigration2 this is error4 ,we wake to a sense of our own reality2 this is truth4 ,,cast4 ,yet this truth may be often withheld by potent impression1 as in the illusion of ,rip ,van ,winkle1 and the trances of ,nourjahad4 ,i believe the waking mind of ,caspar ,hauser knew not the difference between dream and reality2 he related his dream as fact4 ,,ev4 ,if there were ever such a being as ,caspar ,hauser1 his life was a dream2 for1 without the culture of his mind1 he would be reasonless4 ,,anachronism ,,and ,,coincidence ,,of ,,dreams4 8,rom4 ,i dreamt a dream to night4 ,merc4 ,and so did ,i4 ,rom4 ,well1 what was yours8 ,merc4 ,that dreamers often lie40 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet4 ,,astr4 ,then we are to learn that the mind is ever imperfect in a dream4 ,but1 ,evelyn1 is not that rather perfection1 which magnifies space and time a million-fold1 completing the labours of years in a second8 ,the time occupied with the dream must be limited1 often far short of the seeming duration of a scene4 ,like the wonderful velocity of atoms of light1 the crude and heterogeneous ideas succeed each other with incalculable rapidity4 ,we appear to have travelled over a series of miles1 or to have existed for a series of years1 during a very minute portion of the night1--how minute it is perhaps impossible to determine4 ,i believe it is the ,opium-,eater1 still1 who thus confesses3--8,i sometimes seemed to have lived for seventy or a hundred years1 in one night2 nay1 sometimes1 had feelings representative of a millennium passed in that time1 or however of a duration far beyond the limits of any human experience40 ,this may be1 as your smile implies1 the dream of opium madness2 but let this dream of ,lavalette1 also1 prove some truth in my illustration4 ,the count1 during his confinement1 had a frightful dream1 which he thus relates3 8,one night1 while ,i was asleep1 the clock of the ,palais de ,justice struck twelve1 and awoke me4 ,i heard the gate open to relieve the sentry1 but ,i fell asleep again immediately4 ,in this sleep ,i dreamed that ,i was standing in the ,rue ,st4 ,honor1 at the corner of the ,rue de l',echelle4 ,a melancholy darkness spread around me2 all was still4 ,nevertheless a low and uncertain sound soon arose4 ,all of a sudden ,i perceived1 at the bottom of the street1 and advancing towards me1 a troop of cavalry2 the men and horses1 however1 all flayed4 ,the men held torches in their hands1 the flames of which illumined faces without skin1 and with bloody muscles4 ,their hollow eyes rolled fearfully in their large sockets2 their mouths opened from ear to ear1 and helmets of hanging flesh covered their hideous heads4 ,the horses dragged along their own skins in the kennels1 which overflowed with blood on both sides4 ,pale and dishevelled women appeared and disappeared alternately at the windows in dismal silence2 low inarticulate groans filled the air1 and ,i remained in the street alone1 petrified with horror and deprived of strength sufficient to seek my safety by flight4 ,this horrible troop continued passing in rapid gallop1 and casting frightful looks on me4 ,their march1 ,i thought1 continued for five hours1 and they were followed by an immense number of artillery waggons1 full of bleeding corpses1 whose limbs still quivered4 ,a disgusting smell of blood and bitumen almost choked me4 ,at length the iron gate of the prison1 shutting with great force1 awoke me again4 ,i made my repeater strike1--it was no more than midnight1 so that the horrible phantasmagoria had lasted no more than ten minutes2 that is to say1 the time necessary for relieving the sentry and shutting the gate4 ,the cold was severe and the watchword short4 ,the next day the turnkey confirmed my calculations4 ,i nevertheless do not remember one single event in my life1 the duration of which ,i have been able more exactly to calculate40 ,,cast4 ,you are modest1 ,astrophel4 ,think of the wonders of fairyland4 ,our dainty ,ariel will 8place a girdle round the world in forty minutes40 ,and1 even more wonderful still1 ,i have read1 in the 8,arabian ,tales10 of a monarch who immersed his head in a water bucket1 and imagined he had in one minute traversed a space of infinite extent2 and 7though perchance ,i should crave pardon for any thing ,evelyn may term an imputed miracle1 or imposture1 yet7 for a moment listen to that exquisite passage in the 8,spectator10 which ,addison pretends to have gathered from the ,koran1 although ,i believe there is in that book no such story4 8,the angel ,gabriel took ,mahomet out of his bed one morning to give him a sight of all things in the seven heavens1 in paradise1 and in hell1 which the prophet took a distinct view of1 and after having held ninety thousand conferences with ,god1 was brought back again to his bed4 ,all this was transacted in so small a space of time that ,mahomet1 at his return1 found his bed still warm1 and took up an earthen pitcher1 which was thrown down at the very instant that the angel ,gabriel carried him away1 before the water was all spilt40 ,,ev4 ,if all the circumstances of these dreams were rational1 ,i might agree with you1 ,astrophel2 but the ideas are irrational which so far outstrip the facts of our experience2 except in their estimation who1 like the ,hibernian1 would value their watch because it went faster than the sun4 ,now the extent of velocity in the ideas of insane minds is equally extreme2 and1 when these anachronisms occur in dreams1 the ideas are1 ,i believe1 ever false4 ,deeply interesting1 however1 are tales of such curiosities of dreaming1 as those which the two ,scottish physicians1 ,abercrombie and ,gregory1 have recorded4 8,a gentleman dreamed that he had enlisted as a soldier2 that he had joined his regiment2 that he had deserted2 was apprehended and carried back to his regiment3 that he was tried by the court-martial1 condemned to be shot1 and was led out for execution4 ,at the moment of the completion of these ceremonies1 the guns of the platoon were fired1 and at the report he awoke4 ,it was clear that a loud noise1 in the adjoining room1 had both produced the dream and1 almost at the moment1 awoke the dreamer40 ,there was another gentleman who for some time1 after sleeping in the damp1 suffered a sense of suffocation when slumbering in a recumbent position2 and a dream would then come over him1 as of a skeleton which grasped him firmly by the throat4 ,this dream became at length so distressing1 that sleep was to him no blessing1 but a state of torture2 and he had a centinel posted by his couch1 with orders to awake his master when slumber seemed to be stealing o'er him4 ,one night1 ere he was awakened1 he was attacked by the skeleton1 and a long and severe conflict ensued4 ,when fully awake1 he remonstrated with the watcher for allowing him to remain so long in his dream1 and1 to his astonishment1 learned that his dream had been momentary1 and that he was awoke on the instant that he had begun to slumber4 ,but granting your notions of dreaming perfections1 ,astrophel1 there are1 to a certain extent1 even here1 analogies4 ,you forget that in our waking moments our ideas are often so fleet as to be profitless to our judgment2 and why not in a dream8 ,in the estimation of distance1 with what velocity the train of reasoning passes through the mind6 ,ere we have formed our notions of an object1 how instantaneous our reflections on all its qualities--its brilliancy of colour1 its apparent magnitude1 its form1 c41 and the angle of inclination in regard to the axis of the eye2 and our conclusions 7for judgment is awake7 are echoes of the truth4 ,but in the dream is it so8 ,no4 ,we get the idea 7as ,mr4 ,locke has written7 of time or duration by reflecting on that train of ideas which succeed each other in the mind4 ,in waking hours the judgment clearly regulates this2 but in dreams this course of reflection is impeded1 and the measurement of time is imperfect and erroneous1 so that it is the common characteristic of a dream1 that there is no idea of time2 the past and the future are equally present4 ,start not1 if to strengthen this my illustration1 ,i lead you again into the mad-house2 again unconsciously combine a dream with insanity1 in quoting these expressions of the ,rev4 ,robert ,hall 7from 8,green's ,reminiscences071 in allusion to his first attack of mania4 8,all my imagination has been overstretched4 ,you1 with the rest of my friends1 tell me that ,i was only seven weeks in confinement1 and the date of the year corresponds1 so that ,i am bound to believe you1 but they have appeared to me like seven years4 ,my mind was so excited1 and my imagination so lively and active1 that more ideas passed through my mind during those seven weeks than in any seven years of my life4 ,whatever ,i had obtained from reading or reflection was present to me40 ,,ida4 ,the apparent anachronism of such dreams1 ,evelyn1 refers to imperfect function4 ,yet he will remember we are reasoning as finite beings4 ,true1 ,malebranche has asserted1 that 8it is possible some creatures may think half an hour as long as we do a thousand years1 or look upon that space of duration which we call a minute1 as an hour1 a week1 a month1 or a whole age4 ,but in regard to the prospect of futurity1 of a more perfect state1 who of us can decide that this seeming illusion is not one evidence of the divine nature of mind2 a remote resemblance1 if ,i may presume so to say1 of one attribute of the ,creator1 to whom a thousand years are as one day80 ,i have learned from your own theory1 ,evelyn1 that mind is either imperfect or passive in the dream4 ,does not this passive condition itself imply inspiration8 ,for is not that1 in which are produced results1 while itself is inactive1 under the special influence of some high power1 as were the visions of the holy records8 ,although ,i may not yield my entire belief in the fallacy of modern inspiration because it is not proved1 yet ,i have not listened to your learning1 ,evelyn1 without some leaning to the apparent truth of your dissertations4 ,i might hesitate to confess myself your pupil2 still1 the incidents you have adduced will make me pause1 ere ,i again blend profane arguments with the truths of holy writ4 ,yet ,i cannot yield the feeling1 that the dream is an emblem1 at least1 of immortality4 ,as a beautiful illustration of such philosophy1 ,i remember 7in ,fulgosius7 a legend told by ,saint ,austin to ,enodius3-- ,there was a physician of ,carthage1 who was a sceptic regarding immortality and the soul's separate existence4 ,it chanced one night that ,genadius dreamt of a beautiful city4 ,on the second night1 the youth who had been his guide reappeared1 and asked if ,genadius remembered him2 he answered1 yes1 and also his dream4 #8,and where1' said the apparition1 #8were you then lying8' #8,in my bed1 sleeping4' #8,and if your mind's eye1 ,genadius1 surveyed a city1 even while your body slept1 may not this pure and active spirit still live1 and observe1 and remember1 even though the body may be shapeless or decayed within its sepulchre8' ,the dreams of ,scripture1 those 8thoughts from the visions of night1 when deep sleep came upon men10 were associated with the mission of an angel1 or immediate communion with the ,deity4 ,for ,he has said1 in the twelfth of ,numbers1 that he would 8speak to his prophets in a dream30 from the first and self-interpreting dream of ,abimelech1 the visions interpreted by the inspired propounder ,joseph1 the first dream of the ,new ,testament1 the fulfilment of the ,annunciation1 the impressive trance of ,peter1 in coincidence with the visions of the centurion1 even to the holy visions of the ,apocalypse4 ,indeed1 the surpassing evidence and truth in all1 but especially in the inspired interpretation of ,joseph of the dream of ,pharaoh1 and those of the still more inspired oneirocritic1 ,daniel1 cannot be compared with aught profane4 ,the prophet not only expounded1 but reminded ,nebuchadnezzar of his dream1 when he himself had forgotten it4 ,this was the result of special prayer to the ,deity2 and1 remember1 without this1 the ,chaldeans failed in their efforts4 ,even ,josephus informs us1 that ,daniel 8foretold good things and pleased1 so that he was deemed divine40 ,and you have read1 that ,saul also prayed for a dream1 but ,,he dreamt not1 because he was not holy4 ,and there are holy precepts regarding dreams1 which are recorded to curb our superstitious reliance on all4 ,we have assurances of true dreamers in the first chapter of ,matthew1 the second of the ,acts1 in ,deuteronomy1 and the thirty-fourth of ,ecclesiasticus2 the language of the son of ,sirach was1 that 8common dreams only serve to lift up fools40 ,with these reservations1 ,i do believe that the real inspiration of a spirit is the gift only of the holy and the good2 so that the presumption of divination and prophecy by profane dreamers is an illusion2 yet1 ,i acknowledge with ,john ,wesley1 that many have been converted by a dreaming conscience2 as we read of impressive dreams1 which have effected the conversion of others by the mere recital4 ,wilmot1 ,earl of ,rochester1 was a sceptic2 but1 as we are informed by ,burnet in his 8,life and ,death10 his mind was first led to the conviction of an immaterial spirit1 by the prophetic dream of his mother1 the ,lady de la ,warre1 foreboding truly his own death4 ,and ,i must ever admire the moral wisdom of ,zeno1 which 7according to ,plutarch7 induced him to regard a dream as the test of virtue2 for1 if in his dream his heart did not recoil from vicious suggestions1 there was an immediate necessity of self-examination and repentance4 ,i cannot forbear adding1 that there is much wisdom in the estimation of his vision1 by one of the shepherd kings of ,egypt1 ,sabaco4 ,he dreamed that the tutelary deity of ,thebes enjoined him to kill the priests of ,egypt1 and1 for this unmerciful injunction from the gods1 that they deemed him unfit for the throne1 he went into self-exile1 to thiopia4 ,,ev4 ,the conclusions of these moralists from dreaming impressions were somewhat straightlaced3 yet your reflections1 ,ida1 point to the safest mode by which we may reconcile the conflict of the divine and the physiologist1 and1 above all1 evince our devotion to the ,creator2 namely1 to argue on creation as we see it1 and on revelation as we see it recorded4 ,yet1 with a mock solemnity1 dreams and apparitions have been first adduced as proofs of the soul's immortality2 and then1 in the same argument1 are themselves proved by this immortality2 the points of the syllogism are reversed1 and we have petitio principii1 a begging of the question4 ,this hypothesis of dreaming has formed the basis of certain religious impostures4 ,among others1 of ,dubricius and ,comedius2 and1 above all1 the fanatical visions of ,emanuel ,swedenborg1 who founded his especial sect1 by the declaration of having visited ,paradise4 ,in our analysis of revelation1 the conflict of two powerful minds might1 on doctrinal points1 attack1 and in the end annihilate1 the faith of each1 in their struggle for the victory2 which may remind you of the murders both of ,protestants and ,papists1 especially in ,ireland1 resulting from the wild excitement of fanaticism and bigotry2 and the persecutions which have1 as history records1 sprung from debates on holy subjects4 ,remember the martyrdom of the amiable and beautiful ,anne ,ascue1 who was burnt at the stake for dissenting from the theological tenets of ,henry ,,viii41 regarding the real presence4 ,on the rack1 her silence was a model of heroism1 for she might have impeached the queen and her ladies2 and ,wriothesly1 the chancellor1 it is said1 in his rage to extort the secret1 himself stretched the wheel1 so as almost to tear her body asunder4 ,and then the blasphemy of that convocation1 summoned in the reign of ,mary ,tudor1 to renew the discussion on that sacred point of transubstantiation1 between the ,protestants and the ,romanists2--but ,i leave this topic to the mild theologian1 who will confess it would have withheld a stain from the page of history1 had these mock religionists acknowledged1 with the pious ,pascal1 that 8the sublime truths of our religion and the essence of the immortal spirit are inexplicable by the deepest research of wisdom1 and are unfolded only by the inspired light of revelation40 ,now it was clear that the dreams of the classic poets were not all truly prophetic2 and in accordance with this are their delineations of the house of sleep4 ,indeed we may almost fancy1 for a moment1 that there might be some reality in these poetical surveyors1 until we reflect that the ,roman notions were plagiaries from the ,greeks4 ,it is true1 the locality of this ,palace of ,somnus1 like the site of ,troy1 is not a little diversified by ,homer and the rest2 but1 whether it be ,lemnos1 or thiopia1 or ,cimmeria1 these are its descriptions3 ,first1 of ,homer1-- 8,immur'd within the silent bower of sleep1 ,two portals firm the various phantoms keep3 ,of iv'ry one1 whence flit1 to mock the brain1 ,of winged lies a light fantastic train4 ,the gate oppos'd1 pellucid valves adorn1 ,and columns fair incased with polish'd horn2 ,where images of truth for passage wait1 ,with visions manifest of future fate40 ,and ,virgil's is a close copy4 ,in the 8,city of ,dreams10 of ,lucian1 the blasphemer 7whose beauties are stained by their impieties71 these eternal gates are again alluded to4 ,but the dreams in this city are all deceivers2 for when a mortal enters the gates1 a circle of domestic dreams in a moment unfold to him a budget of intelligence1 which proves to be a tissue of lies4 ,tertullian1 and many others1 have argued the notion of a special purpose of the ,deity in every dream4 ,and the 8,new ,moral ,world0 of the visionary ,owen1 asserts1 that 8one chief source of our knowledge is dreams and omens40 ,in the eras of inspiration1 few will be sceptical enough to doubt the occurrence of divine mediations2 or not to believe1 with ,socrates1 and other sages1 in the divine origin of dreams and omens4 ,the evidence of ,holy ,scripture again proves the occasion1 indeed the necessity1 for such communication2 but1 in our own time1 ,i deem it little less than profaneness1 to imagine that the ,deity should indicate the future occurrence of common-place and trivial incidents through the medium of an organ1 confessedly in a state of imperfection1 at the moment when the faculties of mind are returning from a state of temporary suspension1--a death-like sleep4 ,even ,john ,wesley believed dreams to be 8doubtful and disputable20 and adds1 with a half-profanation1--8they might be from ,god1 or might not40 ,the ,emperor ,constantine1 you know1 denounced death to all who dared to look seriously into the secrets of futurity4 ,when we reflect that the proportion of events1 seemingly the fulfilment of a dream1 is to the myriads of forebodings which never come to pass 7as the dreams recorded with some solemnity by ,herodotus1 of ,alcibiades2 of ,crsus1 regarding his son ,atys2 of ,astyages and the vine2 of ,cambyses1 respecting ,smerdis2 and of ,hamilcar1 at the siege of ,syracusa27 as a drop in the ocean1 the fallacy of the doctrine must be evident4 ,i marvel much that credulity1 in this reflecting age1 can gain a single proselyte4 ,the magi of ,persia and the soothsayers of ,greece and ,rome were constantly in error2 and ,artemidorus ,miraldus1 who in the reign of ,antoninus wrote his voluminous book 8,oneirocriticus10 has given us the most ridiculous interpretations4 ,when the pagan priesthood of old lay down on the reeking skins of their victims to rouse the inspiration of their dreams1 it was to cheat their proselytes4 ,such were the mummeries in the ,temple of sculapius4 ,the devotees were first purified by the 8lustral water20 and then divine visions came over them1 and priestesses in snowy robes1 and a venerable priest in the habit of sculapius1 paraded round the altar1 and the charm was complete4 ,you may learn from ,martin something about the modern influence of such a charm4 8,mr4 ,alexander ,cooper1 present minister of ,north-uist1 told me that one ,john ,erach1 in the ,isle of ,lewis1 assured him that it was his fate to have been led by his curiosity to some who consulted this oracle1 and that he was a night within the hide as above mentioned1 during which time he felt and heard such terrible things that he could not express them2 the impression it made on him was such as could never go off1 and he said for a thousand worlds he would never again be concerned in the like performance1 for this had disordered him to a high degree4 ,he confessed it ingenuously and with an air of great remorse1 and seemed to be very penitent under a just sense of so great a crime3 he declared this about five years since1 and is still living in the ,lewis for any thing ,i know40 ,in imitation of this spell for the divine inspiration of a dream1 the modern ,franciscans1 after the ceremony of mass1 throw themselves on mats already consecrated by the slumber of some holy visionary1 and with all this foolery1 they vaunt the divine inspiration of their dream4 ,cicero1 and ,theophrastus1 and many other sages1 were sceptical of these special visitations1 and explained rationally dreams and divinations1 as ,cicero his dream at tina1 on his flight from ,rome4 ,then there is this anathema of ,ennius3-- 8,augurs1 and soothsayers1 astrologers1 diviners1 and interpreters of dreams ,i never consult1 and despise their vain pretence to more than human skill40 ,and also this caution bequeathed to you by ,epictetus3 8,never tell thy dream2 for though thou thyself mayest take a pleasure in telling thy dream1 another will take no pleasure in hearing it40 ,,astr4 ,epictetus was himself a dreamer in this2 for the story of a dream is ever listened to with interest4 ,and what would ,epictetus think1 were ,i to tell him that broad lands and mitres have been gained before now by the shrewd putting of a dream8 ,,ev4 ,i confess1 as in the illusion of phantoms1 there are records of very strange coincidences in dreaming1 which may be startling to many superficial minds4 ,pereskius1 the friend of ,gassiendi1 after a severe fever1 in #afji1 was engaged in the study of ancient coins1 weights1 and measures4 ,one night1 he dreamed he met a goldsmith at ,nismes1 who offered him a coin of ,julius ,csar for four cardecues4 ,the next day this incident was repeated to him in reality4 ,but he was a philosopher1 and deemed it1 as it was1 but a rare coincidence4 ,there were two sisters1 who 7as a learned physician has recorded7 were sleeping together during the illness of their brother4 ,one of these ladies dreamed that her watch1 an old family relic1 had stopped1 and1 on waking her sister to tell of this1 she was answered by her thus3 8,alas6 ,i have worse to tell you3 our brother's breath is also stopped40 ,on the following night1 the same dream was repeated to the young lady4 ,on the morning after this second dream1 the lady1 on taking out the watch1 which had been perfect in its movement1 observed that it had indeed stopped1 and at the same moment she heard her sister screaming2 the brother1 who had been till then apparently recovering1 had just breathed his last4 ,these are sequences1 and not consequences3 and ,i might adduce a mass of these mere coincidences1 which have been stretched and warped1 to make up a prophecy4 ,such as the following legend of ,sergius ,galba1 told by ,fulgosius3 8,galba had coquetted with two marble ladies1--the ,fortune1 at ,tusculum1 and the ,capitoline ,venus2 and1 to adorn the neck of the first1 he had purchased a brilliant diamond necklace4 ,but the charms of the ,venus of the ,capitol prevailed over her rival1 and the necklace was at length presented to the goddess of beauty4 ,at night1 the form of ,fortune appeared to him in his sleep1 upbraiding him with his falsehood1 and telling him that he should be deprived of all the gifts she had lavished on him1 and ,galba1 as the story goes1 soon after died40 ,but1 if dreams are essentially prophetic1 why are they not all fulfilled8 and if one is not fulfilled1 how know we if all will not be equally fallacious8 ,the argument for the prophetic nature is merely posteriori1 the shallow 8post hoc1 ergo propter hoc10 of the sophist4 ,on the occurrence of any important event1 all the auguries and dreams which bear the slightest semblance to a prophecy are immediately adduced1 and stretched and warped to suit the superstition2 as the whimsical mother will account for the marks on her child by frights and longings4 ,when we know that myriads of enthusiasts and hypochondriacs have1 by the failure of their predictions1 deserved the stigma of false prophets1 we may surely class these phantasies among the popular errors of the time4 ,yet the fulfilment of a prophecy may be consequence2 and that without the imputation of falsehood or imposition1 or of any special interference4 7,i am not recanting my opinions1 ,astrophel47 #ast4 ,through the effect of an imparted impetus4 #bnd4 ,foresight1 from the study of events and character4 #crd4 ,constant thinking on one subject4 #dth4 ,impressions of terror or alarm1 from spectres1 sybils1 c4 ,as there are dreams from impressions on the body during sleep1 so are there diseased tissues in the brain1 which light up phantoms of terror and death perfectly prophetic4 ,but wherefore so8 ,merely because they are induced by that disease which usually terminates in death4 ,such were the dreams during the nightmare which preceded1 and1 ,i believe1 still precede1 the epidemic fevers in ,rome1 and in those of ,leyden1 in #affi1 when the patient fell asleep1 and was attacked by incubus before each exacerbation4 ,the impersonation of death was the prevailing phantom of their dream1 and in reality death soon followed4 ,among those heathen tribes1 where superstition and ignorance form part of a national creed1 there is a degree of blindness and inconsistency that may truly be termed mania4 ,it is the doctrine1 not of prophecy1 but of debased and absolute fatalism4 ,the ,north ,american ,indians not only regard the dream as prophetic1 but often receive it as a solemn injunction1 and are themselves the active agents in its fulfilment4 8,in whatever manner10 says ,charlevoix1 8the dream is conceived1 it is always looked upon as a thing sacred1 and as the most ordinary way in which the gods make known their will to men4 ,filled with this idea1 they cannot conceive how we should pay no regard to them4 ,for the most part they look upon them either as a desire of the soul1 inspired by some genius1 or an order from him1 and1 in consequence of this principle1 they hold it a religious duty to obey them4 ,an ,indian1 having dreamt of the amputation of his finger1 had it really cut off as soon as he awoke1 first preparing himself for this important action by a feast60 ,among more enlightened people there may be an inducement to action from the impression of a dream2 here1 also1 the consequence is the fulfilment of the prophecy4 ,such1 ,astrophel1 were the dreams of ,arlotte and ,cadiga2 of ,judas ,maccabus2 of ,sylla2 of ,germanicus2 and of ,masulenius2 and the dream of the priestess of ,proserpine1 on the eve of ,timoleon's expedition from ,corinth to ,syracuse1 that ,ceres volunteered to be his travelling companion into ,sicily4 ,the dream of ,olympia1 that she was with child of a dragon1 might both have suggested the mode of education1 and incited the warlike spirit of ,alexander4 ,we know that the city of ,carthage was rebuilt by ,augustus ,csar1 in consequence of the dream of his uncle ,julius4 ,and we read in the travels of ,herbert1 that ,cangius1 the blacksmith of ,mount ,taurus1 aspired to1 and gained dominion over the ,tartars from a similar influence1 and from his name has the title of 8,chan0 been since conferred on some of the most warlike monarchs of the ,east4 ,there was a dream of ,ertercules that was warped1 by ,edebales1 into the interpretation1 that ,oman should be born to him1 and become a great conqueror4 ,i have known the dreams of young ladies often prove the inducement to their marriage4 ,i may remind you1 too1 that even a simple waking incident will impart this power of action4 ,it is a record of history1 that ,robert ,bruce slept1 during his wandering1 in the barn of a cottage4 ,as he was lying1 he saw a spider attempt to climb to the roof2 twelve times the insect failed ere it gained its point4 ,this potent lesson of perseverance instantly flashed across his mind1 and in a few days was won the field of ,bannockburn4 ,be sure the seers termed this an omen4 ,the seduction of ,helen was the result of a dream of high promise1 made to ,paris by the phantom of ,venus4 ,scott 7who was executed at ,jedburgh1 in #ahbc1 for murder7 confessed that he had dreamed of such a crime for many years ere its committal4 ,of the result of constant dwelling on an interesting subject1 ,i may add these illustrations4 ,antigonusa1 ,king of ,macedonia1 anticipated 7according to ,plutarch7 the flight of his prisoner ,mithridates to the ,euxine4 ,of such a nature were the dreams of the ,emperor ,julian and of ,calphurnia1 if indeed these were more than fable2 and such was the dream of ,cromwell1--that he should be the greatest man in ,england4 ,in all these1 and a thousand more1 the mere constant thinking excited the dream4 ,the ambitious thought of ,cromwell was constantly haunting his waking moments1 pointing to personal aggrandisement1 and1 of consequence1 imparted a like character to the dream of his slumbers4 ,could we have penetrated the privacy of ,ireton1 and ,lambert1 and other ,presbyterian leaders1 we should discover that such ambitious prepossessions were not confined to the bosom of the ,protector4 ,the grandfather of the poet ,gothe1 on the death of an old counsellor at ,frankfort1 assured his wife of his confident belief1 that the golden ball1 which elected the vacant counsellor1 would be drawn for him4 ,and this belief arose from a dream2 in which he went in full costume to court1 when the deceased counsellor rose from his seat and begged him to occupy the chair1 and then went out of the door4 ,gothe was elected4 ,and yet divines especially are determined to look beyond nature for causes1 and refer all this to divine foreknowledge1 imparted to the mind of man4 ,there is a solemn letter1 written in #aeab1 by ,cardinal ,bembo1 to one of the ,medici1 recounting how he was opposed in a suit against one ,simon ,goro1 by ,giusto1 and how his mother dreamed that ,giusto wounded him in the right hand1 and besought him not to have altercation with him4 ,it chanced that ,giusto1 who1 it seems1 was somewhat deranged1 snatched ,bembo's papers from his hand1 and afterwards1 by the ,rialto1 wounded him in the second finger of the right hand4 ,now is not this a very shallow incident8 and yet the sapient cardinal deems it essential to confirm his tale by a solemn attestation1 thus3 8,the dream of my mother ,i look upon as a revelation2 and ,i declare to you1 magnificent lord1 by that veneration which we owe to ,god himself1 that this recital is the pure and single truth40 ,the proofs of an apparent prophecy from foresight may be seen in those1 who by reflection have attained either a worldly or a weather wisdom4 ,the sea captain1 who has looked out upon the sky at night1 and has learned the foreboding signs of a storm1 will often dream of shipwreck2 and the politician will dream of events1 as well as predicate consequences1 from an enlightened reflection on the motives of the human mind1 and the general laws which indeed influence its actions4 ,so that1 with a little latitude1 it were easy enough for us all to construct an almanac column1 especially if there be granted to us a liberal allowance of 8more or less about this time40 ,above all1 it is our duty to avert the impressions of evil from the superstitious mind4 ,the apprehension of a misfortune or fatality may prove its cause4 ,ay1 and if the intellect were really gifted with prescience1 how oft would the happiness of life be blighted8 ,the allegory of the tree of knowledge is a practic precept for our lives4 ,,astr4 ,and yet ,virgil has thus alluded to the delight of peeping into futurity3 8,felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas40 ,,ev4 ,i would rather echo the benevolent precept of ,horace1 to ensure the bliss of ignorance on this point3 8,tu ne qusieris1 scire 7nefas7 quem mihi1 quem tibi1 ,finem ,dii dederint40 in other words3 8,seek not to know the destiny that awaits us40 ,and ,milton's wisdom1 too3 8,let no man seek ,henceforth1 to be foretold what shall befall ,him or his children3 evil1 he may be sure1 ,which1 neither his foreknowing can prevent2 ,and he the future evil shall1 as less ,in apprehension than as substance1 feel ,grievous to bear40 ,listen to the melancholy influence of the dream and death of ,glaphyra1 as told by ,josephus3 8,she was married when she was a virgin to ,alexander1 the son of ,herod1 and brother of ,archelaus1 but since it fell out so that ,alexander was slain by his father1 she was married to ,juba1 the ,king of ,lydia2 and when he was dead1 and she lived in widowhood in ,cappadocia with her father1 ,archelaus divorced his former wife ,mariamne1 and married her1 so great was his affection for this ,glaphyra1 who during her marriage to him saw the following dream3--she thought she saw ,alexander standing by her1 at which she rejoiced and embraced him with great affection1 but that he complained of her1 and said to ,glaphyra3 #8,thou provest that saying to be true1 which assures us that women are not to be trusted4 ,didst not thou pledge thy faith to me8 and wast thou not married to me when thou wast a virgin8 and had we not children between us8 ,yet hast thou forgotten the affection ,i bare to thee out of a desire for a second husband4 ,nor hast thou been satisfied with that injury thou didst me1 but thou hast been so bold as to procure thee a third husband1 and hast been married to ,archelaus--thy husband and my brother4 ,however1 ,i will not forget my former affection for thee1 but will set thee free from every such reproachful action1 and cause thee to be mine again as thou once wast4' ,when she had related this to her female companions1 in a few days' time she departed this life40 ,the fatality which coincided with the prophetic warning of ,lord ,lyttelton1 might well be adduced as another illustration1 were it not for some imputation of suicidal disposition in that nobleman1 which would more forcibly invalidate the prophetic dignity of his dream4 ,i may relate another story1 not remotely illustrative of this influence1 from ,brand's 8,popular ,antiquities40--8,my friend1 the late ,captain ,mott1 ,r4 ,n41 used frequently to repeat an anecdote of a seaman under his command4 ,this individual1 who was a good sailor and a brave man1 suffered much trouble and anxiety from his superstitious fears4 ,when on the night watch1 he would see sights and hear noises1 in the rigging and the deep1 which kept him in a perpetual fever of alarm4 ,one day the poor fellow reported upon deck1 that the devil1 whom he knew by his horns and cloven feet1 stood by the side of his hammock on the preceding night1 and told him that he had only three days to live4 ,his messmates endeavoured to remove his despondency by ridicule1 but without effect4 ,and the next morning he told the tale to ,captain ,mott1 with this addition1 that the fiend had paid him a second nocturnal visit1 announcing a repetition of the melancholy tidings4 ,the captain in vain expostulated with him on the folly of indulging such groundless apprehensions4 ,and the morning of the fatal day being exceedingly stormy1 the man1 with many others1 was ordered to the topmast to perform some duty among the rigging4 ,before he ascended1 he bade his messmates farewell1 telling them that he had received a third warning from the devil1 and that he was confident he should be dead before night4 ,he went aloft with the foreboding of evil on his mind1 and in less than five minutes he lost his hold1 fell upon the deck1 and was killed upon the spot40 ,were an aversion to these gloomy fancies inculcated1 it might avert many a fatal foreboding1 which1 even in our own enlightened era1 has closely resembled the fate of the ,african victims of ,obi2 that magic fascination1 which its ,syriac namesake1 ,obh1 works by spell1 until the doomed one pines to death1 with the deep conviction that he is under the ban of an enchanter4 ,,material ,,causes ,,of ,,dreams4 8,iago4 ,nay1 this was but his dream4 ,othello4 ,but this denoted a foregone conclusion2 ',tis a shrewd doubt1 tho' it be but a dream40 ,,othello4 ,,astr4 ,we looked for more from you1 ,evelyn1 than these proofs of a negative4 ,i presume still to think your philosophy is very weak in controversion of the inspiration of a dream1 and its supernatural causes4 ,i cannot but believe1 with ,baxter1 that dreams may be 8spirits in communion with us40 ,,ev4 ,and you will define these shadowless ministers in the fashion of ,master ,richard ,burthogge1 ,medicin ,doctor1 7in his book1 printed by ,raven1 in the ,poultry1 in #afid47 ,i have a smack1 you see1 of medical bibliomania1 ,astrophel4 ,burthogge1 although one of the most rational interpreters of dreams and spectres1 thinks their internal causes purely metaphysical2 and then refutes his own opinion point blank by this sophistry1--that 8there are things incorporated1 but invisible1 which we call spirits20 as who should say1 with ,shakspere's fairies1 8,we have the gift of fern seed2 we are invisible40 ,no2 we will account for the causes of dreams1 ,astrophel1 without the ministry of spirits4 ,analyzing1 then1 the notions of all1 it is clear that the essence of the dream is recurrence of ideas4 ,in the words of ,walpole1--8,the memory retains the colouring of the day40 ,now memory is the first faculty to fail in age1 and you know old people seldom dream3 the same objects are applied1 but there is little or no association1 for the brain is dull and feeble2 imbecility1 indeed1 is mad memory4 ,the two common periods associated with the dream1 are the past and the future1 involving memory and prognostication2 the latter being but the memory of an intention1--an image excited in the mind by analogy4 ,even when present sensations excite the dream1 it is ever associated1 as you remember1 with something before seen or felt4 ,the waking thought will thus again modify the dream2 and ,dr4 ,abercrombie has a curious illustration of this combining of two minds1--one waking subject1 one dream1 and one disturbing cause4 ,the ,french invasion was the universal topic in ,edinburgh2 and the city was1 indeed1 one company of volunteers4 ,it was decided that the tocsin of alarm on the approach of the enemy1 was to be the firing of the castle guns1 followed by a chain of signals4 ,at two1 an officer was awoke from a vivid dream of guns and signals1 and reviews of troops1 by his lady1 who herself was affrighted by a similar dream1 with a few associations of a different nature4 ,and whence all this alarm8--the falling of a pair of tongs on the hearth1 the noise of which was quite sufficient for the production of their dreaming associations4 ,,astr4 ,it would seem to me that ,evelyn was too anxious to find employment for the brain1 in thus imputing so much to substantial causes4 ,there is a funny scrap1 ,i remember to have read1 and of which ,i may shrewdly suspect my friend to be the scribbler4 8,whence we may compare the powers of mind to a court of judicature3--the outward senses being as the solicitors that bring the causes2 the common sense1 as the master of requests1 who receives all their informations2 and phantasy 7or imagination71 like the lawyers and advocates that bandy the business to and fro in several forms1 with a deal of noise and bustle2 reason1 as the judge1 that having calmly heard each party's pretensions1 pronounces an upright sentence2 and memory1 as the clerk1 records the whole proceedings40 ,but say1 if the dream is but the memory of an impression1 are metaphysics to be counted as a cypher1 in our discussion of the nature of intellect8 ,,ev4 ,nay1 the psychologist must ever call metaphysics to his aid1 especially when speaking of the health or disorder of mind3 there is an intimate blending of metaphysics and philosophy4 ,but believe not1 ,astrophel1 that ,i presume to develope that mysterious influence which is going on between mind and matter1 so essential to the manifestation of the former1 during its earthly condition4 ,the mystery will ever be a sealed letter to the intellect4 ,it is enough that we have evidence of its existence without yearning for deeper insight of final causes4 ,i have assured you that ,i do not believe thought or reflection1 or any act of mind to be material1 and speak even with all due courtesy to the abstract metaphysician1 and the divine who1 doubtless from pure and holy motives1 would seek to cut the ,gordian knot of this sublime enigma4 ,even ,dr4 ,abercrombie is content with observing that the correction of illusions by the sane mind is by the comparing power of reason1 but he leaves the illusion itself unexplained4 ,indeed1 the most luminous of pathologists have ever feared to touch organization2 ,sir ,humphrey ,davy leaves his beautiful imaginings vague and inconclusive1 because he stops short of the brain4 ,the mere psychologist will ever persevere in placing even the palpable causes of illusion beyond the reach of our inquiries4 ,thus the rhapsodies of ,lucretius were a series of professed fables1 and the theories of ,macrobius a tissue of capricious distinctions1 as you may learn from his classification4 #ast4 1 somnium1 dream4 ,a figurative vision to be interpreted4 #bnd4 1 vision4 ,a vision which has afterwards been exactly fulfilled4 #crd4 1 oraculum4 ,an intimation in sleep of what we ought to do4 7,i suppose as the shade of ,hector appeared to neas1 warning him1 the night before1 to escape from the flames of ,troy47 #dth4 1 insomnium4 ,a sort of night-mare4 #eth4 1 visus and incubus4 ,here is a perfect jumble of classification1 the first three only being vaunted as prophetic1 or inspired2 the fourth a night-mare2 and the fifth1 if it be any thing1 a spectral illusion4 ,others have deemed themselves mighty wise in discovering dreams to be the 8action of intellect on itself40 ,abercrombie1 the most learned analyst of the mind since ,reid and ,stewart1 has four varieties of the dream3 #ast4 ,from wrong association of new events4 #bnd4 ,trains of thought from bodily association4 #crd4 ,revival of old associations4 #dth4 ,casual fulfilment of a dream6 ,you perceive the first and third are merely memory1 with right and wrong arrangements2 the second1 excitement of ideas from present sensations2 the fourth1 if it be not a mere coincidence1 is the result1 as ,i have explained1 of imparted impetus1 or deep thinking on subjects presented to the mind4 ,the eccentricities of dreaming are not more curious than those of the reminiscent faculty when awake2 indeed1 memory itself may seem to be sometimes dreaming1 and at others even fast asleep4 ,those who survived the plague in ,athens 7as we read in ,thucydides71 lost for a time the recollection of names1 their own and those of their friends1 and did not regain it until their health was re-established4 ,mori1 during his frequent moods of excitement1 quite lost his memory of music1 so that1 for many minutes1 he could neither read a note nor play from memory4 ,there have been persons who have very suddenly forgotten their own names1 which they were about to announce on a visit to a friend4 8,mr4 ,von ,b----1 envoy to ,madrid1 and afterwards to ,petersburg1 a man of a serious turn of mind1 yet by no means hypochondriacal1 went out one morning to pay a number of visits4 ,among other houses at which he called1 there was one where he suspected the servants did not know him1 and where he consequently was under the necessity of giving in his name1 but this very name he had at that moment entirely forgotten4 ,turning round immediately to a gentleman who accompanied him1 he said1 with much earnestness1 #8,for ,god's sake1 tell me who ,i am4' ,the question excited laughter1 but as ,mr4 ,von ,b---- insisted on being answered1 adding that he had entirely forgotten his own name1 he was told it2 upon which he finished his visit40 ,the eccentric impressions of this faculty will be often intermittent1 or marked by sudden yet regular remissions4 ,there is a very curious case on record1 of a lady whose 8memory was capacious1 and well stored with a copious stock of ideas4 ,unexpectedly1 and without any forewarning1 she fell into a profound sleep1 which continued several hours beyond the ordinary term4 ,on waking1 she was discovered to have lost every trait of acquired knowledge2 her memory was a blank4 ,all vestiges1 both of words and things1 were obliterated and gone2 it was found necessary for her to learn every thing again4 ,she even acquired by new efforts the art of spelling1 reading1 writing1 and calculating1 and gradually became acquainted with the persons and objects around1 like a being for the first time brought into the world4 ,in these exercises she made considerable proficiency2 but1 after a few months1 another fit of somnolency invaded her4 ,on rousing from it1 she found herself restored to the state she was in before the first paroxysm2 but she was wholly ignorant of every event and occurrence that had befallen her afterwards4 ,the former condition of her existence she now calls the old state1 and the latter the new state2 and she is as unconscious of her double character as two distinct persons are of their respective natures4 ,for example1 in her old state1 she possesses all her original knowledge2 in her new state1 only what she acquired since4 ,if a lady or gentleman be introduced to her in the old state1 and vice vers 7so indeed of all other matters71 to know them satisfactorily she must learn them in both states4 ,in the old state she possesses fine powers of penmanship1 while in the new she writes a poor awkward hand1 not having had time or means to become expert6 ,during four years and upwards1 she has had periodical transitions from one of these states to the other4 ,the alterations are always consequent upon a long and sound sleep4 ,both the lady and her family are now capable of conducting the affair without embarrassment2 by simply knowing whether she is in the old or new state1 they regulate the intercourse1 and govern themselves accordingly60 ,other instances are more protracted2 the impressions previous to a certain moment only being capable of renewal4 ,mrs4 ,s----1 an intelligent lady1 belonging to a respectable family in the state of ,new ,york1 some years ago undertook a piece of fine needle-work4 ,she devoted her time to it almost constantly for a number of days2 but before she had completed it she became suddenly delirious4 ,in this state1 without experiencing any material abatement of her disease1 she continued for about seven years1 when her reason was suddenly restored4 ,one of the first questions which she asked on this convalescence related to her needle-work4 ,it is a remarkable fact that1 during the long continuance of her delirium1 she said nothing1 so far as was recollected1 about her needle-work1 nor concerning any such subjects as usually occupied her attention when in health4 ,we read in ,dr4 ,abercrombie1 of a lady reduced by disease1 in whose mind the memory of ten years was lost4 8,her ideas were consistent with each other1 but they referred to things as they stood before her removal 7to ,edinburgh740 ,in these instances it is probable that the fault may be referred to the original impression1 some disorder or state of the brain causing it to be only superficially impressed during these ten years of oblivion4 ,there is a curious story in the history of the ,royal ,academy of ,sciences1 which ,beattie has recorded in these words3-- 8,a nobleman of ,lausanne1 as he was giving orders to a servant1 suddenly lost his speech and all his senses4 ,different remedies were tried1 without effect1 for six months2 during all which time he appeared to be in a deep sleep or deliquium1 with various symptoms at different periods1 which are particularly specified in the narration4 ,at last1 after some chirurgical operations1 at the end of six months his speech and senses were suddenly restored4 ,when he recovered1 the servant to whom he had been giving orders when he was first seized with the distemper1 happening to be in the room1 he asked whether he had executed his commission2 not being sensible1 it seems1 that any interval of time1 except1 perhaps1 a very short one1 had elapsed during his illness40 ,,ida4 ,i have read two stories of melancholy romance1 which are not mal--propos to your arguments1 ,evelyn1 in which the memory of one intense impression has 8gone into a being10 influencing the current of every after-thought1 and the mind seeming ever after unconscious of all past or present1 but the incident of one moment4 ,a gentleman1 on the point of marriage1 left his intended bride for a short time4 ,he usually travelled in the stage-coach to the place of her abode2 but the last journey he took from her was the last of his life4 ,anxiously expecting his return1 she went to meet the vehicle1 when an old friend announced to her the death of her lover4 ,she uttered an involuntary scream1 and one piteous exclamation1 8,he is dead60 ,from this fatal moment1 for fifty years1 has this unfortunate female daily1 in all seasons1 traversed the distance of a few miles to the spot where she expected her future husband to alight from the coach1 uttering1 in a plaintive tone1 8,he is not come yet2 ,i will return to-morrow40 ,a young clergyman1 on the eve of marriage1 received a severe injury4 ,during his future life of celibacy1 which was protracted to the #hjth year1 this one idea only possessed his mind1 that his hour of happiness was approaching1 and to the last moment he talked of his marriage with all the passion of a devoted lover4 ,,ev4 ,thanks to your own memory1 ,ida1 for these incidents4 ,that the possession of the faculty of this impression of memory can be demonstrated1 we might doubt1 were verbal description only employed2 but when we see the artist trace the features of a person long lost to us from memory1 we know that such ideas existed1 and were then re-excited in his mind4 ,the power of the intellect in retaining these impressions is wonderful4 ,cyrus is said to have remembered the names of all his soldiers1 and ,themistocles those of two thousand ,athenians4 ,we have records from ,seneca and others1 that some will remember1 after one perusal or hearing1 very long poems2 and even have repeated1 word for word1 the unconnected jumble of a newspaper4 ,pascal1 as we are told by ,locke1 never forgot anything4 ,almost equally retentive was the memory of my excellent teacher1 ,sir ,astley ,cooper1 and hence his nearly unexampled accumulation of facts4 ,the memory of ,ben ,jonson was retentive to perfection1 until the fortieth year of his age4 ,in his youth1 he could repeat an entire volume after its perusal2 nay1 even the whole of his own works1 or as he quaintly writes1 8,all that ever ,i made40 ,we know that ,bloomfield composed his 8,farmer's ,boy0 in the bustle of a shoe manufactory1 and wrote from his memory4 ,,astr4 ,i have heard that the particles of the body are constantly changing3 if so1 how can memory exist in the brain8 ,,ev4 ,the answer is easy4 ,because particles of exact similarity are deposited as others are removed4 ,the parts thus regenerated1 of whatever structure they may be1 still being identical and unchanged in function4 ,if the dream be an inspiration1 ,astrophel1 it is like 8a spirit of the past10 and does not 8speak like sybils of the future40 ,but ere ,i offer some analogies of waking memory1 in illustration of the causes of the dream1 ,i must again fatigue you by a glance at the physiology of memory2 the origin or mode of impression of a sense1 and the mode of recurrence of such impression1 i4e4 the excitement of the dream4 ,aristotle has asserted that senses cannot receive material objects1 but only their species1 or 2 and ,mr4 ,locke entertained the same idea4 ,for this effect1 however1 matter must have touched a sense1 and its impression1 as ,baron ,haller thought1 must have been mechanical4 ,for instance1 the rays emanating from a body1 and impinging on the retina1 or an undulation of sound on the labyrinth of the ear1 stamp an image on the brain1 by which1 7in accordance with a prior observation on illusion17 some minute change is inevitably effected2 some minute cerebral atoms are displaced4 ,if you propose to me that curious physiological question1--in what consists the function of a nerve--in oscillation1 or in undulation of a fluid1 in electricity1 or in magnetism8 or how the nerve carries this impression to the brain8 or if you desire me to meet the subtle objection1 which ,dr4 ,reid advanced against the opinion of ,aristotle and of the more modern psychologists1--,i might weary you with conjectures like those of ,newton and ,hartley1 that some ethereal fluid was1 by the impulse of peculiar stimulus to its nerve1 the cause of the senses2 or that the mental phenomena are an imparting1 or influence of the immaterial soul by corporeal vibration2 or that dreams are 8motions of fibres30 and at length1 with humility confess this to be a mystery we cannot yet fathom4 ,and this ,i do the more willingly1 as it may prove my devotion to the proper limits of our study2 moreover1 the question itself is not essential to my argument4 ,yet it is certain that external impressions of every object or subject1 reach the brain through the medium of a nerve2 and when the same fibrils of those nerves1 or that spot of brain on which the original image rested1 are again irritated by their proper stimulus1 or by the same or a similar body1 an association is produced1 and memory is the result4 ,for the insurance of this sense of touch1 and feeling1 and perception1 it is essential that the impression at the end of a nerve shall be perfectly transmitted along its course to the brain1 so that the brain shall be conscious1 or sensible of this impression4 ,for if a nerve be cut asunder1 or a ligature be placed on any portion of it between the skin and the brain1 the sensation instantly ceases4 ,it is not essential1 however1 that the contact should take place at the moment of the perception2 and the explanation of this involves one of the most curious phenomena of the body's feeling2 and1 indeed1 the metaphysical mystery of the nature of memory1 which is too abstruse a point to be touched by us here4 ,after amputation1 the patient may still complain of pain1 and heat1 and cold1 in the dissevered limb2 he experiences the memory of a sensation2 he feels1 as it were1 the ghost of his arm or leg4 ,on the night succeeding the operation1 the groaning patient has often cried out to me1 with pain in the toe or finger of that limb2 and when he is moved or shifts his position1 he will attempt to hold his leg1 or will beg his nurse to take care that she does not touch or run against it4 ,nay1 ,i have frequently1 on asking a patient how he felt1 even after the lapse of many months from the operation1 been answered1 that he was well1 but had not lost the pain in his leg2 or that his leg or his arm were lying by his side1 when perhaps the limb was undergoing the process of maceration in the dissecting-room1 or the bones were bleached and dangling in the museum4 ,the pain1 or common feeling of the limb1 has stamped an image or eidlon on the brain1 which is not easily effaced2 there remains an internal sensibility on this point of memory4 ,if the subject be subsequently presented to the mind by a touch at the end of the stump1 or even by a thought1 the idea of the limb that had lain dormant1 will be re-excited by that wondrous sympathy of brain and nerve1 and the result will be a consciousness of having once possessed1 or of having experienced a pain in this leg4 ,and1 on this principle of the force of memory1 we may explain many of our excited feelings3 those which remain after we have been wafted in a boat1 or rolled along in a carriage1 or whirled aloft in a swing2 the nervous impression in the brain is re-excited ere it was exhausted4 ,now1 an image may be stamped on the brain1 in a tumult1 without our cognizance or perception1 and then revived in slumber2--we wake in wonder at having seen what we never saw or thought of before4 ,such is the dream of ,lovel1 in the 8,antiquary20 and such the rationale of that tale of mystery1 respecting the #f4 in the ,glasgow bank1 which a dream seems certainly to have developed4 ,and it is evident that these impressions may recur the easier in slumber1 because there is no fresh impression on the senses to produce confusion4 ,but then all these images may be presented at one time2 so that we may have either a chaos1 or a correct concatenation1--an incident1 which ,hobbes and other early metaphysicians confess to be inexplicable to them4 ,in the words of ,spurzheim1 8,memory is the reproduction of a perception20 and ,gall believed that 8,remembrance is the faculty of recollecting that we have perceived impressions2 and memory1 the recollection of the impressions themselves40 ,i read1 that ,esquirol has drawn a distinction between hallucination and illusion1--the first is from within1 the second from without4 ,the argument ,i have adduced of memory and impression1--the one at the beginning1 the other at the end1 of nerves1--will1 ,i think1 illustrate this perfectly4 ,hallucination1 being internal1 is of the past2 illusion1 external1--of the present4 ,another metaphysician1 ,bayle1 it is clear1 was not ignorant of the basis of phrenology1 or of this difference1 when he alludes to 8certain places on the brain1 on which the image of an object1 which has no real existence out of ourselves1 might be excited40 ,,intense ,,impression4--,,memory4 8,the dream's here still3 even when ,i wake1 it is ,without me as within me2 not imagined1 felt40 ,,cymbeline4 ,,ev4 ,i believe1 then1 that waking and slumbering association is memory2 and ,i have interposed the glimpse of metaphysics to break the monotony of my illustrations1 for they are not yet exhausted4 ,a gentleman1 as we read in ,dr4 ,pritchard's work1 was confined1 after a severe accident1 for several weeks1 and the accident was not once during this period remembered by him2 but1 on his convalescence1 he rode again over the same ground1 and all the circumstances instantly flashed across his mind4 ,in their youth1 ,dr4 ,rush escorted a lady1 on a holiday1 to see an eagle's nest4 ,many years afterwards1 he was called to attend her in the acute stage of typhus2 and1 on his entrance into her chamber1 she instantly screamed out1 8,eagle's nest60 and it is said1 from this moment1 the fever began to decline4 ,we ourselves have witnessed these flashes of memory more than once1 during the acuteness of brain fever1 where journeys1 and stories1 and studies1 have been renewed after they had been long forgotten4 ,there are many romantic incidents in illustration which have been beautifully wrought into a poem1 or drama1 as that play of ,kotzebue1 written to illustrate the happy success of the ,abb de l',epe in ,france1 in imparting knowledge and receiving sentiments from the deaf and dumb4 ,in this1 the young ,count ,solar1 by gestures1 unfolds1 step by step1 his birth-place1 and at length screams with joy1 as he stands before the palace of his ancestors4 ,then there is the story of little ,montague1 who was decoyed by the chimney sweep4 ,some time after this1 the child was engaged to clean the chimney of a mansion1 and1 descending into a chamber1 which had been indeed his own nursery1 lay down1 in his sooty clothes1 on the quilt1 and1 by this happy memory1 discovered his aristocratic birth4 ,this is the incident which still enlivens the pageantry of ,may-day4 ,these reminiscences will occur sometimes in the most sudden and unexpected manner4 ,in one of the ,american journals1 we are told of a clergyman1 who1 at the termination of some depressing malady1 had completely lost his memory4 ,his mind was a blank1 and he had1 in fact1 to begin the world of literature again4 ,among other of his studies was the ,latin language4 ,during his classical readings with his brother1 he one day suddenly struck his head with his hand1 and stated that he had a most peculiar feeling1 and was convinced that he had learned all this before4 ,borhave1 in his 8,prelectiones ,academic4 ,institut4 ,med410 relates the case of a ,spanish tragic writer1 whose memory1 subsequently to an acute febrile disease1 was so completely impaired1 that not only the literature of various languages he had studied was lost to him1 but also their elements1 the alphabets4 ,when even his own poetic compositions were read to him1 he denied himself to be the author4 ,but the most interesting feature of the case is this3 that1 on becoming again a votary of the ,muse1 his recent compositions so intimately resembled his original productions in style and sentiment1 that he no longer doubted that both were the offspring of his own imagination4 ,even ,priestley's master-mind was sometimes sleeping thus1 being subject 7to quote his own words7 8to humbling failures of recollection20 so that he lost all ideas of things and persons1 and had so forgotten his own writings1 that1 on the perusal of a work1 he sat himself to make experiments on points which he had already illustrated1 but on which his mind was then a 8tabula rasa40 ,above all1 the superlative memory of ,sir ,walter lay in a deep sleep1 after a severe indisposition4 ,it is recorded by ,ballantyne1 that when 8the ,bride of ,lammermoor1 in its printed form1 was submitted to his perusal1 he did not recognize1 as his own1 one single incident1 character1 or conversation it contained2 yet the original tradition was perfect in his mind4 ,when ,mrs4 ,arkwright1 too1 sung some verses of his1 one evening1 at ,lord ,francis ,egerton's1 the same oblivion was o'er his mind1 and he whispered to ,lockhart1 #8,capital words2--whose are they8 ,byron's1 ,i suppose2 but ,i don't remember them4'0 ,my friend1 ,dr4 ,copland1 informed me 7in ,may1 #ahci7 of a lady of fifteen1 ,miss ,d----1 who1 in consequence of extreme exhaustion from disorder1 forgot all her accomplishments1 and had to begin her education afresh4 ,the ,countess of ,laval had1 in her childhood1 been taught the ,armorican of ,lower ,brittany 7which is a dialect of the ,welch71 but had1 as she believed1 forgotten it4 ,on attaining the adult period1 this lady had an acute fever1 and1 during her delirium1 she ceased to speak in her native language1 and chattered fluently in the bastard ,welch4 ,a foreign gentleman1 as we were told by ,mr4 ,abernethy1 after an accident on the head1 spoke ,french only1 and quite forgot the ,english1 which he had before this spoken very fluently4 ,a ,welch patient1 in ,st4 ,thomas's ,hospital1 some years since1 having received an injury1 began to speak in ,welch1 and ever after continued to do so1 although before his accident he constantly conversed in ,english4 ,on the contrary1 we learn1 from ,dr4 ,pritchard1 of a lady who1 after a fit of apoplexy1 forgot her original language 7the ,english71 and spoke only in ,french1 so that her nurses and servants conversed with her only by interpreters4 ,there may be a partial derangement of memory1 one set of impressions only being erased4 ,a friend of ,dr4 ,beattie1 in consequence of a blow on the head1 lost only his attainments in ,greek2 and ,professor ,scarpa 7whose corpus striatum was disorganised7 lost only the memory of proper names4 ,you may now comprehend how instantaneously material impressions derange and destroy memory1 and its converse1 the production of memory by material impressions1 will be far less mysterious to you4 ,but creatures to which the gift of intellect is not granted1 in which innate ideas cannot arise1 still evince the faculty of memory4 ,it is1 therefore1 possible that fish and insects1 possessing memory1 dream4 ,of course the doctrines of ,pythagoras1 and ,simonides1 and the story of the interpretation of the language of birds by the vizier of ,sultan ,mahmoud1 are mere fables1 and the cackling of the ,roman geese was accidental2 yet the bird does possess the memory of language1 and the power of imparting ideas4 ,nightingales' notes 7as ,bechstein has beautifully recorded them7 seem to me like the ,mexican language1 and to express variety of sentiments of adoration and love4 ,the parrot1 magpie1 jackdaw1 jay1 starling1 and bullfinch1 are prattlers2 and the exquisite little canary1 the pupil of my friend1 ,mrs4 ,h----1 the pet1 indeed1 not only of its mistress1 but of statesmen and learned physiologists1 warbled its words in purest melody4 ,from ,sir ,william ,temple we learn the faculty of the wonderful parrot of ,prince ,maurice1 of ,nassau1 at the ,hague1 that responsed almost rationally to promiscuous questions4 ,granting1 then1 this faculty of memory1 it is clear the bird may dream1 and ,i may add one other quotation from the 8,domestic ,habits of ,birds10 in proof of this4 8,we have1 however1 heard some of these night-songs which were manifestly uttered while the bird was asleep1 in the same way as we sometimes talk during sleep--a circumstance remarked by ,dryden1 who says1 8#8,the little birds in dreams their songs repeat4' 8,we have even observed this in a wild bird4 ,on the night of the #fth ,april1 #ahaa1 about ten o'clock1 a dunncock 7accentor modularis7 was heard in a garden to go through its usual song more than a dozen times very faintly1 but distinctly enough for the species to be recognised40 ,the night was cold and frosty1 but might it not be that the little musician was dreaming of summer and sunshine8 ,aristotle1 indeed1 proposes the question whether animals hatched from eggs ever dream4 ,marcgrave1 in reply1 expressly says1 that his 8parrot1 ,laura1 often rose in the night1 and prattled while half asleep40 ,among quadrupeds1 it is probable that those which1 by their half-reasoning instinct1 approach nearest to the power of comparison1 and those which1 in contrast to the callous-hoofed1 possess an acuteness of feeling1 and therefore the nearest approximate intelligence1 are the most prone to dream4 ,although we know nothing of the dreams of that very learned dog1 which ,leibnitz assures us he saw1 and which uttered an articulate language1 and often enjoyed a chat with his master2 yet1 of the slumbering visions of the canines ,i have many illustrations4 ,vic1 a fat terrier1 was a somniloquist4 ,she would bark1 and laugh1 and run round the room1 or against tables2 the surest proof of somnambulism4 ,indeed dogs are celebrated by many poets for their dreaming propensities4 ,ennius writes-- 8,et canis in somnis leporis vestigia latrat40 ,and ,lucretius has left us a very comprehensive poetical account of the dreams of brutes4 ,even ,chaucer refers to these dreams2 and in the ,hall of ,branksome1 8,the stag-hound1 weary with the chace1 ,urged in dreams the forest race40 ,it is probable that the dreams of brutes are very short4 ,from simple1 unassociated memory1 too1 springs the dream of the infant2 pure and innocent as the thought of a cherub4 ,for delight is the common feeling of a dreaming child2 and when its lips are touched in sleep1 the memory of its mother's bosom will excite its lips and tongue to the congenial action of suction1 though a fright of the previous day will change its slumbers into moments of terror1 and it will murmur and cry in its dream4 ,i believe it is ,sir ,h4 ,wotton who lays much stress on the adoption of plans of education for a child1 grounded on the discovery of its secret thoughts during its simple somniloquent dream4 ,,cast4 ,it is wonderful how vividly are revived in our dream those scenes of our early life1 which our waking efforts could not recollect4 ,this did not escape ,chaucer1 as ,i remember in ,dryden's version of a fable3 8,sometimes forgotten things1 long cast behind1 ,rush forward in the brain1 and come to mind4 ,the nurse's legends are for truths receiv'd1 ,and the man dreams but what the boy believ'd4 ,sometimes we but rehearse a former play1 ,the night restores our actions done by day40 ,,ev4 ,yet do not associate this brilliancy of infantine reminiscence with vigour of the thought4 ,the brain in children is1 as it were1 like wax1 easily impressible4 ,and remember1 the ideas of children are more resembling the imperfect associations of our dreams2 the tutorage of our advancing mind fills it with more serious and rational images characterized by judgment4 ,the first impressions of childhood are bright as fancy2 so that we think in waking more of things present4 ,but1 in dreams of things long agone there is1 in fact1 no complete oblivion1 in a healthy mind1 for any one of our infantile impressions may chance to be brought to us in our dream4 ,but if impression be intense1 it may assimilate that of childhood1 and become as permanent4 ,my friend1 ,dr4 ,uwins1 told me of a patient who1 in a joke1 once amused himself by throwing stones at the gibbeted pirates on the bank of the ,thames4 ,an epileptic tendency succeeded2 and ever after this1 his dreams were of gibbets and chains1 and to that degree1 that his judgment and philosophy were powerless in controlling his fears4 ,and in the book of the ,prussian1 ,greding1 we read of ,j4 ,c4 ,v41 a youth1 who1 in his eighth year1 had been attacked by a dog4 ,his future1 and1 indeed1 nightly dreams1 were of this creature1 and these so intense1 as to reduce his health to a very low degree4 ,now it is easy to believe the period of slumber so limited1 that the subject of reflection shall not have disappeared1 that the thought had scarcely time to cool3 8,lateat scintillula forsan40 ,thus ,moses ,mendelssohn had all the sounds1 heard during the day1 reverberating in his slumbering mind4 ,or we may suppose1 that the idea last imprinted on the mind1 or by which it had been exclusively occupied1 and the thoughts which are so much modified by our temperament1 study1 and contemplation1 would be the first to influence as the mind awakened1 ere the image of fresh objects had been again perceived4 ,sir ,walter1 in his diary1 thus writes3 8,when ,i had in former times to fill up a passage in a poem1 it was always when ,i first opened my eyes that the desired ideas thronged upon me4 ,i am in the habit of relying upon it1 and saying to myself when ,i am at a loss1 #8,never mind1 we shall have it all at seven o'clock to-morrow morning4'0 ,warton1 the professor of poetry at ,oxford1 after partaking of a ,sunday dinner with a friend1 repaired to his service at his ,church4 ,on his way1 he was powerfully saluted with a cry of 8,live mackarel40 ,he slumbered in his pulpit during the singing of the psalm1 and1 on the organ ceasing1 he arose1 half awake1 and instead of his solemn prayer1 cried with a loud voice1 8,all alive1 all alive oh60 ,i remember the storytellers in the coffee-houses at ,aleppo1 as if aware of this last impression1 used to run out when they perceived they had excited a deep interest4 ,,ida4 ,it is curious to hear1 even by your own quotations1 ,evelyn1 that poets have so revelled in the luxury of dreams1 from ,homer to ,pope1 chiefly employing them1 however1 as the materiel of their poesy4 ,have they condescended to glance at their causes8 ,,ev4 ,lucretius1 ,claudian1 ,george ,stepney1 ,dryden1 and a few others4 ,apropos as to causes4 ,in the 8,anatomy of ,melancholy0 we have the following quaint summary3 8,as ,tully notes1 for the most part our speeches in the daytime cause our phantasy to work upon the like in our sleep1 so do men dream on such subjects they thought on last3 8#8,somnia qu mentes ludunt volitantibus umbris1 ,nec delubra dem nec ab there numina mittunt1 ,sed sibi quisque facit1'0 c4 ,for that cause1 when ,ptolemy1 king of ,egypt1 had posed the seventy interpreters in order1 and asked the nineteenth man what would make one sleep quietly in the night1 he told him 8the best way was to have divine and celestial meditations1 and to use honest actions in the daytime40 ,lod4 ,vives wonders how schoolmen could sleep quietly and were not terrified in the night1 they had such monstrous questions and thought of such terrible matters all day long4 ,they had need amongst the rest to sacrifice to god ,morpheus1 whom ,philostratus paints in a white and black coat1 with a horn1 and ivory box full of dreams of the same colours1 to signify good and bad4 ,cast4 ,these are the manufacture1 ,i presume1 of two of those sons of sleep1 born to him by a beautiful but erring grace1 8,phantasus10 or ,fancy1 and 8,phobetor10 or ,terror4 ,with the relations and illustrations of these good and bad dreams1 the pages of both fiction and authentic history abound3 another poetical batch of causes1 ,ida4 ,lucia exclaims3 8,sweet are the slumbers of the virtuous man1 ,oh ,marcia6 ,i have seen thy godlike father-- ,a kind refreshing sleep is fallen upon him4 ,i saw him stretch'd at ease1 his fancy lost ,in pleasing dreams4 ,as ,i drew near his couch1 ,he smil'd1 and cried3 #8,csar1 thou cans't not hurt me4'0 ,another poet writes thus3 8,but most we mark the wonders of her reign1 ,when sleep has lock'd the senses in her chain3 ,when sober judgment has his throne resign'd1 ,she smiles away the chaos of the mind2 ,and1 as warm fancy's bright elysium glows1 ,from her each image springs1 each colour flows4 ,she is the sacred guest1 th' immortal friend2 ,oft seen o'er sleeping innocence to bend1 ,in that dead hour of night1 to silence giv'n1 ,whispering seraphic visions of her heav'n40 ,then ,richmond exclaims3 8,my heart is very jocund in the remembrance of so fair a dream40 ,while the coward conscience of ,richard thus speaks3 8,by the apostle ,paul1 shadows to-night ,have struck more terror to the soul of ,richard1 ,than could the substance of ten thousand soldiers40 ,aufidius thus recounts his slumbering memory of the prowess of ,coriolanus3 8,this happy ,roman1 this proud ,marcius1 haunts me4 ,each troubled night1 when slaves and captives sleep1 ,forgetful of their chains1 ,i in my dreams ,anew am vanquish'd2 and beneath his sword ,with horror sinking1 feel a tenfold death-- ,the death of honour40 ,and yet another3 8,tho' thy slumber may be deep1 ,yet thy spirit shall not sleep4 ,there are shades that will not vanish2 ,there are thoughts thou canst not banish40 ,and1 lastly1 ,crabbe1 in his 8,world of ,dreams30 8,that female fiend1 why is she there8 ,alas6 ,i know her4 ,oh1 begone6 ,why is that tainted bosom bare8 ,why fixed on me that eye of stone8 ,why have they left us thus alone8 ,i saw the deed----0 ,,astr4 ,you will drown us in a flood of ,helicon1 fair lady1 if you thus dole out the thoughts of these maudlin poets4 ,the records of national and domestic history1 the dreams of the conqueror of thousands1 and of the midnight assassin1 are replete with incidents1 if we will search for them1 more impressive1 ay1 and more romantic1 than all this rhyming2 and from the legends of history alone ,i could select a legion of dreaming mysteries1 which would dissolve all these fine-spun theories of ,evelyn1 regarding the essence1 as he terms it1 of the dream4 ,he must adopt a clearer course1 in showing us his causes1 than by harping on this favourite theme of memory2 and we must listen through another moonlight1 ere we be made wiser1 by the unfolding of this grand secret of visions4 ,,influence ,,of ,,dark ,,blood ,,in ,,the ,,brain4 8,i talk of dreams1 ,which are the children of an idle brain40 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet4 ,,ev4 ,that ,i may explain to you the predisposition of a dream1--in other words1 the state of broken slumber1--it is essential that ,i recur to the physiology of the brain2 and ,i must humble our pride1 by combining some of the debasing conditions of our nature1 as influential on the divine mind1 through the medium of its chambers of marrow2 for to the intimate condition and function of the brain and its nerves1 and its contained blood1 we must chiefly look for elucidation of the physical causes of a dream4 ,yet ,i may even grant you1 for an argument1 ,astrophel1 the flight of an immortal spirit1 and all the amiable vagaries of ,sir ,thomas ,brown2 reserving to myself to prove at what moment we become conscious of this flight4 ,in natural actions1 there are ever three requisites1 like the points of a syllogism3 #a4 ,a susceptibility of influence2 #b4 ,the influence itself2 #c4 ,the effect of this influence3 ,and these ,i call the predisposing1 the exciting1 and the proximate causes4 #a4 ,the brain is brought to this susceptibility by excited temperament1 study1 intense and undivided thought2 in short1 by any intense impression4 #b4 ,the influence or excitement is applied2 congestion of blood producing impression on extremities1 or origin of a nerve1 at the period of departing or returning consciousness4 ,at these periods1 the blood changes1 and ,i believe1 as it changes1 the phenomena of mind1 as in the waking state1 obey these changes3--rational and light dreams being the effect of circulation of scarlet blood2 dull and reasonless visions and 8night-mare10 that of crimson1 or black blood4 #c4 ,the effect of this influence is recurrence of idea1 memory1--more or less erroneously associated1 as the blood approximates to the black or scarlet state1 or as the brain itself is constituted4 ,now it is essential to the perfect function of the brain1 not only that it shall have a due supply of blood1 but that this blood shall be of that quality we term oxygenated4 ,if there be a simple deficiency of this scarlet blood1 a state of sound undisturbed sleep will ensue 7slightly analogous to the condition of syncope1 or fainting74 ,this may be the consequence of any indirect impression1 or the natural indication of that direct debility1 which we witness in early infancy1 and in the 8second childishness and mere oblivion0 of old age4 ,but this deficiency of arterial blood may be depending on a more positive cause1 venous congestion1 impeding its flow2 for in sleep1 the breathing being slower1 the blood becomes essentially darker4 ,even arterial blood itself will become to a certain degree carbonized1 by lentor1 or stagnation4 ,venous congestion and diminution of arterial circulation are not incompatible2 indeed1 ,dr4 ,abercrombie reasons very ably on their relative nature1 implying the necessity of some remora of venous circulation to supply that want or vacuum which the brain would otherwise experience from the deficiency of the current in the arterial system4 ,thus will the languid arterial circulation of the brain1 which causes sleep in the first instance1 produce1 secondarily1 that congestion of blood in the veins and sinuses1 which shall reduce it to disturbed slumber1 and excite the dream4 ,may we not account1 on this principle1 for the difficulty which many persons experience in falling into a second slumber1 when they have been disturbed in the first8 ,,ida4 ,combe1 ,i believe1 observed1 through a hole in a fractured skull1 that the brain was elevated during an apparent dream4 ,,ev4 ,this is a matter of frequent observation with us4 ,there was1 in #ahba1 at ,montpelier1 a woman who had lost part of the skull1 and the brain and its membranes lay bare4 ,when she was in deep sleep1 the brain lay in the skull almost motionless2 when she was dreaming1 it became elevated2 and when her dreams 7proved by her relating them when awake7 were on vivid or animating subjects1 but especially when she was awake1 the brain was protruded through the cranial aperture4 ,blumenbach states that he1 himself1 witnessed in one person a sinking of the brain1 whenever he was asleep1 and a swelling with blood when he awoke4 ,david ,hartley1 therefore1 may be half right and half wrong when he imputes dreams to an impediment to the flow of blood1 a collapse of the ventricles1 and a diminished quantity of their contained serum4 ,we thus have not only a deficiency of proper stimulus1 but a deleterious condition of the blood1 which acts as a poison to the brain4 ,in fatal cases of coma and delirium1 we observe deep red points1 chiefly in the cineritious part of the brain1 from this congestion of its vessels4 ,sound sleep is thus prevented1 but the congestion of carbonized blood acting as a sort of narcotic1 depresses the energy of the brain so far as to prevent waking1 inducing that middle state1 drowsiness or slumber2 so that sleep may thus depend on congestion from exhaustion2 and 8spectral illusion0 from congestion in that state short of slumber2 and insanity itself from congestion still more copious and permanent4 ,from this results a disturbed condition of the brain2 it is irritated1 not excited1 by its healthy or proper stimulus2 and it follows that such derangement of the manifestations of mind ensues as we term a dream4 ,waking1 however1 soon takes place1 and the blood is more scarlet1 and the faculties themselves gradually awake4 ,as this is more perfect1 we remember the dream1 and are enabled to explain it1 and know that it was a dream4 ,the mind is now restored1 so that scarlet blood indicates healthy thought1 and black blood its reverse4 ,your pardon for this prolixity and dulness4 ,the healthy or unhealthy crisis of the blood is a most important subject in our argument1 and too constantly slighted in the question of illusion4 ,monsieur ,denis records the story of a young man of ,paris1 in the #agth century1 who was cured of a stubborn and protracted lethargy1 by the transfusion of the arterial blood of a lamb2 and another of a recovery from madness1 by that of the arterial blood of a calf1 and these in presence of men both of science and high quality4 ,i do not affirm my implicit faith in this statement1 of the effect of gentle blood1 but ,i am certain of the poisonous influence of that of another quality2 and ,i will cite a passage from ,hoffman1 the ,german poet1 whom ,monsieur ,poupon1 in his 8,illustrations of ,phrenology10 adduces as a specimen of marvellousness1 ere ,i offer my cases4 8,why do my thoughts1 whether ,i am awake or asleep1 always tend1 in spite of all my efforts1 to the gloomy subject of insanity8 ,it seems to me as if ,i felt my disordered ideas escaping from my mind1 like hot blood from a wounded vein40 ,this was figurative1 but it was true2 for of itself this black blood may be suddenly the cause of furious and fatal mania4 ,when ,dionis1 in his 8,cours d',oprations de ,chirurgie10 is referring to that operation that has lately1 by its revival1 occupied so much of the attention of the medical world 7the process of transfusion7 he says3 8,la fin funeste de ces malheureuses victimes de la nouveaut1 detruisit1 en un jour1 les hautes ides qu'ils avoient conues2 ils devinrent foux1 furieux1 et moururent ensuite40 ,the relief of the brain1 by the escape of this blood1 is of deeper interest to science than the mere romancer may imagine4 ,sir ,samuel ,romilly was for a moment1 ,i believe1 in a state of sanity1 when blood had flowed from the divided vessels of his throat2 for he attempted1 it appeared1 to stop its flow by thrusting the towel with some force into the wound4 ,so diseases of the heart1 by keeping the black blood in the brain1 predispose to dreaming4 ,during the age of terror in ,france1 organic diseases of the heart and cases of mania were most prevalent4 ,i may for a moment indulge in analogies regarding this arrest of the blood4 ,cases of inflammation of the ear are often seen in confirmed maniacs 7the helix being usually the part most inflamed71 and black blood often oozes from the part4 ,m4 ,calmeil considers chronic phlegmasia of the brain as the cause of insanity1 the derangement itself being1 as it were1 the moral result or disease1 and the organic changes or proximate cause the physical disease2 both being but the sequel1 or consequence of inflammation4 ,a boy1 the servant of a medical friend 7,mr4 ,a----71 was1 some years ago1 placed under my care for fever1 with delirium4 ,about the acme of his disorder the impetuosity of the blood in the vessels of the head was such as to project his ears prominently forwards1 like those of a satyr1 or1 as the gossips thought1 rather of a demon4 ,yet all this subsided as the fever waned4 ,yet1 believe me1 ,i draw a decided distinction between mania and dreaming2 though the phenomena may sometimes bear resemblance4 ,in one essential point they differ2 that the transient illusion is not manifested1 except during slumber1 or a state closely analogous to it1 when the senses are languid1 or asleep4 ,it is true1 however1 the maniac will1 on his recovery1 often dream of the subject of his insanity1 yet insanity is more exemplified by action1 the dream being usually passive4 ,the predisposition to insanity is often1 too1 hereditary1 so that the slightest moral influence1 imperceptible perhaps to the physician1 may incite such a mind to madness2 for where there is no predisposition1 that is1 a perfect integrity of brain1 a right judgment is evinced even under the potent influence of the passions4 ,as the condition of insanity1 so the illusive vision1 does not always primarily depend on medullary disease2 there are primary moral as well as physical causes4 ,but even the exertion of thought1 which the ultra spiritualist may term an immaterial faculty1 is attended by increased action on the matter of the brain4 ,the organ of mind will1 if diseased1 7though not always17 produce deranged actions4 ,yet it is equally true1 if even a sound brain be badly instructed1 and its passion uncontrolled1 insanity may ensue2 not however without quickly1 ,i believe immediately1 inducing structural change4 ,on one point1 the dream and insanity are often alike2 they are mental fulfilments of a wish3 and the dreamer1 during his slumber1 and the madman throughout his derangement1 are presented with the spectra of their desires1 and their hopes and fears become1 for these periods1 reality4 ,it was with a reference to the wanderings of the understanding in dreams1 that ,sir ,james ,mackintosh thus writes in a letter to ,robert ,hall3 8,these will familiarise your mind to consider its other aberrations as only more rare than sleep and dreams1 and1 in process of time1 they will cease to appear to you much more horrible40 ,,astr4 ,and pray1 ,evelyn1 how doth all this profound prosing affect the subject of dreams8 ,,ev4 ,by similitude4 ,i may even remind you with devout veneration1 of the dreams of a prophet1 to prove the brain highly sensitive when these visions are before it4 ,listen to the words of ,daniel1 to whom 8,god gave knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom40 8,i1 ,daniel1 was grieved in my spirit1 in the midst of my body1 and the visions of my head troubled me40 8,and ,i1 ,daniel1 fainted and was sick certain days40 ,even here1 may we not believe1 that the ,creator did not alter his law8 ,it was ,dr4 ,cullen who first drew a parallel between insanity and dreams4 ,as some proof of his insight1 we read in ,lode of a man who never dreamed until he fell into a fever in the twenty-fifth year2--in ,beattie1 of a young friend who never dreamt unless his health was deranged4 ,and ,mr4 ,locke thus writes3 8,i once knew a man who was bred a scholar1 and had no bad memory1 who told me that he had never dreamed in his life until he had fever40 ,this immunity from dreams is also most marked in savages1 unless during disorder or at the dying moment4 ,ulloa1 ,humboldt1 and ,la ,condamine1 all agree as to the character of indolence and absence of thought and fancy in the native ,americans1 and it is as sure that they seldom dream4 ,now whatever influence tends to arrest or derange the upper circulation of the blood in its return to the heart1 or to detain it in the vessels of the brain1 or which presses on an important nerve1 so as to disturb the function of the brain or spinal cord1 by continuous sympathy1 may be the remote cause of the phenomena of dreaming4 ,such are the results of repletion1 dyspepsia1 the supine position1 c4 c4 ,and here1 ,astrophel1 ,i meet your metaphysician4 ,galen1 and indeed the ancients generally1 attributed dreams chiefly to indigestion2 but referred their immediate excitement to fumes and vapours1 instead of to nervous influence1 or cerebral congestion from interrupted circulation4 ,,cast4 ,and here1 ,evelyn1 courtesy might have prompted you to meet my poets4 ,let me see1 is it not ,dryden who writes of-- 8----rising fumes of undigested food1 ,and noxious humours that disturb the blood80 ,and in a poem believed to have been written by ,chaucer1 there is this passage3 can ,i remember his quaintness8 8,i supposed yt to have been some noxiall fantasy1 ,as fallyth in dremes1 in parties of the nyght1 ,which cometh of joy or grievous malady2 ,or of robuste metes which causeth grete myght2 ,overmoche replet obscuryth the syght ,of natural reasonne1 and causyth idyll thowght1 ,makyth the body hevy where hyt was lyght40 ,and again1 in the tale of the 8,nonnes ,preest30 8,swevenes 7dreams7 engendren of repletions1 ,and oft of fume and of complexions1 ,when humours ben to habundant in a wight4 ,of other humours cou'd ,i telle also1 ,that werken many a man in slepe moch wo10 c4 ,,ev4 ,i sit reproved1 fair lady4 ,herodotus also says1 the ,atlantes never dream2 which ,montaigne refers to their never eating anything which has died of itself4 ,and ,burton thus sums up his precepts of prevention3 8,against fearful and troublesome dreams1 incubus1 and inconveniences wherewith melancholy men are molested1 the best remedy is to eat a light supper and of such meats as are easie of digestion1 no hare1 venison1 beef1 c42 not to lie on his back10 c4 ,dryden1 to ensure his brilliant visions of poesy1 ate raw flesh2 and ,mrs4 ,radcliffe1 ,i am told1 adopted the same plan4 ,we know that green tea and coffee1 if we do sleep1 induce dreaming2 and ,baptista ,porta1 for procuring quiet rest and pleasing dreams1 swallowed horse-tongue after supper4 ,indigestion1 and that condition which is termed a weak or irritable stomach1 constitute a most fruitful source of visions4 ,the immediate or direct influence of repletion1 in totally altering the sensations and the disposition in waking moments1 is a proof of its power to derange the circulation of the brain and the mental faculties in sleep4 8,somnus ut sit levis1 sit tibi cna brevis40 ,the influence of the great sympathetic nerve in this respect is very important4 ,with many persons1 a meal is usually followed by feelings of depression1 impaired memory1 unusual timidity1 despondency1 and other illusive characteristics of hysteria and hypochondriasis4 ,and events will appear of the greatest moment1 which1 after the lapse of some hours1 will be considered mere trifles4 ,so that1 after all1 there is some truth in the idea of that archus1 or great spirit1 asserted1 by ,van ,helmont1 to sit at the cardia of the stomach1 and regulate almost all the other organs4 ,the posture of supination will unavoidably induce that increased flow of blood to the brain which1 under certain states of this fluid1 is so essential to the production of brilliant waking thoughts2 an end1 indeed1 attained so often by another mode--the swallowing of opium4 ,a gentleman of high attainment was constantly haunted by a spectre when he retired to rest1 which seemed to attempt his life4 ,when he raised himself in bed1 the phantom vanished1 but reappeared as he resumed the recumbent posture4 ,some persons always retire to bed when they wish to think2 and it is well known that ,pope was often wont to ring for pens1 ink1 and paper1 in the night1 at ,lord ,bolingbroke's1 that he might record1 ere it was lost1 that most sublime or fanciful poesy which flashed through his brain as he lay in bed4 ,such1 also1 was the propensity of ,margaret1 ,duchess of ,newcastle1 who 7according to ,cibber1 or rather ,sheil1 the real author of the 8,lives of the ,poets07 8kept a great many young ladies about her person1 who occasionally wrote what she dictated4 ,some of them slept in a room contiguous to that in which her grace lay1 and were ready1 at the call of her bell1 to rise any hour of the night to write down her conceptions1 lest they should escape her memory40 ,henricus ab ,heeres 7in his 8,obs4 ,med407 says1 that when he was a professor1 he used to rise in the night1 open his desk1 compose much1 shut his desk1 and again to bed4 ,on his waking he was conscious of nothing but the happy result of his compositions4 ,the engineer1 ,brindley1 even retired to bed for a day or two1 when he was reflecting on a grand or scientific project4 ,i deny not that the darkness or stillness of night may have had some influence during this inspiration4 ,i may also allow that some few individuals compose best while they are walking2 but this peripatetic exertion is calculated1 itself1 to produce what we term determination of blood to the head4 ,i have heard of a most remarkable instance of the power of position in influencing mental energy1 in a ,german student1 who was accustomed to study and compose with his head on the ground and his feet elevated1 and resting against the wall4 ,and this is the fragment of a passage from ,tissot1 on the subject of monomania3 ----8,nous avons vu tudier dans cette acadmie il n'y a pas long-temps1 un jeune homme de mrite1 qui s'tant mis dans la tte1 de dcouvrir la quadrature du circle1 est mort1 fou1 l'htel ,dieu1 ,paris40 ,you will smile when ,i tell you that the tints of the landscape are brighter to our eyes if we reverse the position of the head4 ,and now1 with your leave1 gentle ladies1 ,i will bring phrenology to my aid4 ,if we assume that there may be distinct portions of the brain1 organs of comparison1 individuality1 causality1 c41 we naturally regard them as the source of that combined faculty which we denominate judgment4 ,we might argue1 that if these organs were permanently deficient1 fatuity1 or1 at least1 extreme folly1 would be the result4 ,by parity of reasoning we might infer1 that if the function of such organs were for a time suspended1 imagination1 having lost its mentor1 would1 as it were1 run wild1 and an extravagant dream1 granting an excitement1 would be the result4 ,if the organ of colour be excited1 and form be asleep1 we may have an eccentric drawing4 ,if language and imagination are both awake1 a poem or romance2 so it may chance1 that if all the proper organs are awake1 there may be a rational dream4 ,i yield not to the too finely-spun hypotheses of ,gall1 and his first whimsical topography of the cranium2 the incipient idea of which1 by the by1 he owes to the ,arabian phrenologists who1 even in the olden time1 had glimpses1 although they decided on a different location4 ,imagination was in the frontal region1 reason in the medial1 and memory in the occipital4 ,in ,dr4 ,spurzheim's beautiful demonstration of the brain1 he exhibits it almost as one large convoluted web4 ,while the ultra-phrenologist is unravelling these convolutions1 it is strange that he sees not the inconsistency of his cranial divisions4 ,some of the boundary lines of his organs must be drawn across these convolutions4 ,it will ever be impossible to decide the exact course of these1 but the lines should be drawn in the direction of their fibres2 for if the faculty be seated in one convolution1 that faculty would proceed in the course of its fibres1 and not across the fissure from one lobule to another4 ,now the most frequent coincidence of the possession of great mental power1 with full development of the frontal region of the skull1 will naturally lead us to believe that it may depend on causation4 ,indeed a skull1 as well as expression1 may be phrenologically changed by culture or thought4 ,the skull of ,william ,godwin1 in early life1 indicated an intellectual development2 then it became sensual1 the occipital organs being in excess2 and again1 as his mind was subject to more moral culture1 the intellectual or frontal again prevailed4 ,i am informed1 also1 by ,miss ,a----1 that there was observed a progressive development of the intellectual region in the head of her father1 an acute and deep thinker4 ,we have analogies to this in physiognomy4 ,caspar ,hauser lost some of the negro fulness about his mouth after he had been introduced to society4 ,perhaps the contrasted beauty and deformity in the forehead and eye1 and in the mouth of ,sheridan1 was a faithful indication of that paradox of mind which was never more perfectly displayed than in the intellectual dignity and moral deficiency of this man4 ,as no function1 then1 either of brain or gland1 can be carried on without a due supply of blood1 it will follow that position may materially influence the integrity of these functions4 ,the seat of the organs ,i have alluded to1 if cranial development supports me1 may be determined on the fore part of the head1 behind the os frontis1 portions of the cerebral mass which1 in the supine position1 are usually most elevated above the centre of circulation4 8,the more noble the faculties1 the higher are the organs situated40 ,these1 consequently1 may endure a deficiency of stimulus1 in comparison with other organs more favourably situated4 ,the phrenologist1 then1 will endeavour to prove1 that the supine position generally produces vascular pressure on particular parts or organs of the encephalon2 and he will argue that dreams arise from individual organs abstractedly or unconnectedly acting4 ,there is one spot on the cranium1 indeed1 identified by ,dr4 ,spurzheim as a most important item in the composition of a good dreamer4 ,he tells us1 that 8persons who have the part above and a little behind the organ of ideality developed1 are much prone to mysticism1 to see visions and ghosts1 and to dream40 ,it may not be difficult to believe in this partial function of the brain1 when we recollect how often the loss of one faculty will be connected with paralytic disorders4 ,the faculty of perception may be lost1 unless the impression on the mind is made through a particular sense4 ,thus patients may be unable to comprehend that name or subject when it was pronounced1 or related1 which they will immediately do1 if written down and presented to the sight1--the optic nerve may transmit while the auditory has lost its power4 8,segnius irritant animos demissa per aures1 ,quam qu sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus40 ,of this axiom there is an illustrative story1 by ,darwin1 in his 8,zoonomia40--,a paralytic man could see and hear1 but the mind was conscious of vision only4 ,if the hour of breakfast were named to him1 he repeated it and was passive2 but if the hour were pointed out on the watch1 he comprehended at once1 and called for breakfast4 ,on the contrary1 there may be the same imperfection of outward transmission2 the lingual nerves1 influencing the tongue to sound a name inapplicable to the idea1 the person often reversing the names of articles which he is continually using4 ,these phenomena regarding nerves of sense1 then1 are strictly analogous to those which we recognize in those parts of the brain which are intimately connected with1 or influenced by1 these nerves of sense3 thus in analogy to waking illusions1 we have the imperfect associations of a dream when the organs are irregularly acted on4 ,,incubus1 ,,or ,,night-,,mare4 8,o'er ladies' lips1 who straight on kisses dream40 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet4 8,let us be lead within thy bosom1 ,richard1 ,and weigh thee down40 ,,king ,,richard ,,iii4 ,,astr4 ,i will no longer hesitate to grant that the dream occurs in the moment of departing or returning consciousness4 ,still1 are you not reversing the order of these phenomena8 may not the excitement of vague ideas in the mind be1 itself1 the cause of waking1 and not the consequence of slumber1 or half-sleep8 ,,ev4 ,i believe not1 except the sensibility of the body be influenced by touch1 or sound1 or by oppressive congestions of blood in the brain1 causing that state of disturbance which reduces sound sleep to slumber2 as in the instance of 8,night-mare10 which is to the mind what sensation is to the body1 restoring it to a state of half-consciousness1 essential to that sort of dreaming1 in which we make a painful effort to relieve1 and at last awake4 ,,cast4 ,mara1 by my fay6 the night-spectre of ,scandinavia2 that evil spirit of the ,runic theology1 who weighed upon the bosom1 and bereaved her victims of speech and motion3 that oppressive dream1 therefore1 termed ,hag-ridden1 or1 in the ,anglo-,saxon1 ,elf-siderme4 ,is it not she1 of whom it is written1-- 8,we seem to run1 and destitute of force1 ,our sinking limbs forsake us in the course4 ,in vain we heave for breath1 in vain we cry2 ,the nerves unbraced1 their usual strength deny1 ,and on the tongue the faltering accents die40 ,,ev4 ,a very faithful picture4 ,sound sleep will often be broken by pain or uneasiness occurring in a particular part of the body2 the dream will then often bear an instructive reference to the seat and nature of such pain4 ,if cramp has attacked any of the limbs1 or the head has been long confined back1 the dream may be enlivened by some analogous tortures in the dungeon of the ,inquisition2 and it is curious1 that a waking wish for some relief from unpleasant sensations will be re-excited in the dream1--a dreamy fulfilment4 ,captain ,back1 during one of the ,arctic expeditions1 when nearly in a state of starvation1 often dreamed of indulging in a delicious repast4 ,and ,professor ,stewart thus writes1--8,i have been told by a friend1 that1 having occasion to apply a bottle of hot water to his feet1 he dreamed that he was making a journey to the top of ,mount tna1 and that he found the heat of the ground insupportable4 ,another1 having a blister applied to the head1 dreamed that he was scalped by a party of ,indians40 ,if on these occasions we are warm in bed1 our dreams will be often pleasing1 and the scenes in the tropics2 if cold1 or chilly1 the reverse1 and we shall believe ourselves in ,zembla4 ,holcroft had been musing on the probabilities of life and death1 and one night went in pain to bed4 ,he dreamed his body was severed above his hips1 and again joined in a surprising manner4 ,he was astonished to think he was alive1 and afraid of being struck1 lest the parts should be dissevered4 ,tempests heard in a slumber will be often associated with a dream of shipwreck2 and some persons will dream of their having given pain to1 or injured1 others3 they wake1 and find some close analogy to their own sensations4 ,it is recorded that ,cornelius ,rufus dreamed that he was blind1 and so indeed he awoke4 ,in other cases1 we have the double touch1 as it is termed2 dreams of forcible detention occur1 and the sleeper has found that he had with one hand tightly grasped the other4 ,if this hand had been moved in sleep unconsciously1 the dream1 no doubt1 would have been essentially changed4 ,and thus we have all the phenomena realised1 which ,shakspere has referred to in the visitations of his incorrigible ,mab4 ,elliston was always awaked by nightmare when sleeping in a strange bed4 ,as in some persons1 by submitting the body to certain impressions during sleep1 associated dreams may be produced at pleasure2 so if the body or legs hang over the side of a bed1 we may instantly dream of falling from a precipice3 and it is curious that1 under these illusions1 we awake when we are past hope and our despair is at its height3 in falling1 at the moment we are about to be dashed to atoms2 and1 in drowning1 when the last bubbles are gurgling in the throat4 ,when we read in the ,bodleian1 ,astrophel1 ,i will point you to other curious experiments of this sort1 by ,m4 de ,buzareingries4 ,sounds also may be partly associated with the dream at waking1 and with reality1 when awake4 ,under this illusive impression1 even murder has been innocently committed1 on one1 who waked1 and stabbed his brother at the moment he was dreaming of assassins4 ,,cast4 ,and so may be explained1 ,i suppose1 this funny anecdote4 ,a young lover was drooping into a day-dream1 while sitting with his brothers and sisters1 and his thought had turned on the cruelty of his mistress4 ,he was for a moment dreaming of her1 when pussy1 stretching her paws1 scratched his leg with a claw3 there was an instant association1 ,i presume1 of the wound with the lady's cruelty1 for he started and exclaimed1 8,oh ,arabella1 don't60 ,,ev4 ,hippocrates quaintly alludes to the dreaming about seas and lakes as an indication of hydrothorax2 and to others1 as symptomatic of effusion on the brain3 and it has been asserted1 that gloomy dreams in fevers indicate danger4 ,but all this is hypothesis2 indeed1 the delirious dreams of fever are often bright and cheerful4 ,the 8,opium-,eater0 has a strange fancy regarding his dreams of 8silvery expanses of water20 8these haunted me so much1 that ,i feared that some dropsical state or tendency of the brain1 might thus be making itself objective1 and the sentient organ project itself as its own object40 ,i hope you understand this1 ,astrophel--,i do not4 ,in the morbid condition of hypochondriasis1 which is a sort of permanent daymare1 similar fancies are excited4 ,esquirol's patient at ,notre ,dame thought the pope held council in her belly2--her intestines were found closely adherent together4 ,another monomaniac thought the devil had stretched a cord across her stomach2--her heart was adherent to its bag4 ,another believed that her body was stolen by the devil2--she was in reality paralytic1 and insensible to blows or pricking4 ,to explain some of these illusions1 ,jason ,pratensis very gravely asserts1 that 8the devil being a slender incomprehensible spirit1 can easily insinuate and wind himself into human bodies1 and1 cunningly couched in our bowels1 terrify our souls with fearful dreams40 ,i may add that we see1 in some1 a delirious transmigration of sensation4 ,parkinson relates these cases4 ,one referred his own sensation to others1 telling his nurse that his visitors were hungry1 while his own voracity plainly indicated that the hunger was in himself4 ,another1 in a fit of intoxication1 insisted on undressing all his family1 as they were drunk1 and could not do it themselves4 ,now we certainly move ourselves unconsciously in our sleep as a relief from painful positions4 ,if1 however1 these uneasy sensations are increased from stagnant blood about the heart and lungs1 the oppression is extreme1 and loads the moving powers2 producing a transient agony and an intense effort4 ,if this were unsuccessful on the limbs and speech1 the result would be often destructive4 ,the night-mare dreamers are usually lethargic1 and their ideas are often wild and visionary4 ,polidori1 the author of the 8,vampire10 was a prey to night-mare2 he died with a laudanum bottle in his bed4 ,and ,coleridge might have thus left a sad and pointed moral2 blazoning his wretched suicide to that world1 which unconsciously has pored with a thrill of admiration over those fruits of his delinquency1 the romantic and unearthly stories of ,christabel and the ,ancient ,mariner4 ,the grand feature of night-mare1 then1 is impediment3 but how can ,i record all its varieties of miserable struggles2 of attacks and manglings from wild monsters3 of the rolling of mountains on the heart3 or the unhallowed embraces of a witch8 ,the young lady who reads mythology1 will fancy herself a syrinx1 and struggle to escape from the amorous clutches of ,pan4 ,if we have been thinking of ,chamouni and her giant peaks of snow1 we may be overwhelmed in our sleep by the fall of an avalanche2 or we may be dashed off a precipice1 and feel ourselves falling into interminable space without a hope of resting4 ,a lady whom ,i know1 and who is a frequent subject of night-mare1 is very uniform in this dreamy occupation4 ,she is shaken to and fro in her bed by fiends1 and the process seems to her to occupy considerable time4 ,and there are many who are tortured by the feeling that they are buried alive1 and attempt to cry out1 and beat against their coffin-lid in vain4 ,aurelian writes1 that the epidemics in ,rome were premonished by incubus4 ,these1 and thousands of a similar kind1 might be cited2 but a vivid imagination1 with a hint or two1 will readily create them at its pleasure4 8,a battalion of ,french soldiers1 during the toils and dangers of a campaign1 were marching on a certain point on a most oppressive day1 and at double the usual speed2 their strength was eight hundred men1 all hardy1 seasoned1 and courageous2 careless of danger1 despising the devil1 and little occupied with the thoughts of ghosts and phantasmagoria4 ,on the night of the occurrence in question1 the battalion was forced to occupy a narrow and low building at ,tropa1 barely calculated to accommodate three hundred persons4 ,nevertheless1 they slept2 but1 at midnight1 one and all were roused by frightful screams issuing from all quarters of the house2 and to the eyes of the astonished and affrighted soldiers appeared the vision of a huge dog1 which bounded in through the window1 and rushed with extraordinary heaviness and speed over the breasts of the spectators4 ,the soldiers quitted the building in terror4 ,next night1 by the solicitations of the surgeon and chef-de-bataillon1 who accompanied them1 they again resumed their previous quarters4 #8,we saw1' says the narrator1 #8that they slept4 ,we watched the arrival of the hour of the preceding panic1 and midnight had scarcely struck when the veteran soldiers1 for the second time1 started to their feet4 ,again they had heard the supernatural voices1 again the visionary hound had bestrode them to suffocation4 ,the chef-de-bataillon and myself heard or saw nothing of these events4'0 ,the superstitious thought this spectre to be the devil2 but the heat and carbonic acid gas were1 ,i believe1 enough for the excitement of the phantasm and the feeling4 ,there can scarcely be imagined a more terrific feeling than this sense of extreme danger1 or difficulty1 this intense impediment1 without a power to avert it4 ,the constant labour of ,sisyphus1 with his rolling-down stone1 and the punishment of ,tantalus1 would yield in severity to the agony of night-mare1 but for its transient existence4 ,it seems to me1 that this want of balance between will and power influences human nature so much1 that life itself may be termed one long and painful incubus4 ,the actions we perform seldom reach the perfection which the will desires4 ,hence arises that constant dissatisfaction1 which even the close approach to perfection of some of the most accomplished professors of art and science cannot avert4 ,we must confess1 with ,socrates1 that the extent of our knowledge is indeed but a conviction of our ignorance4 ,the metaphor of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 on the insignificance of his own scientific attainments1 is well known4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds so highly appreciated perfection in his art1 that he was ever discontented with his own paintings2 and frequently1 as ,i have heard1 by repeated touches1 destroyed the effect of a picture1 which had been in its early stages beautiful4 ,and ,dr4 ,johnson1 after astonishing the world with his perfect specimen of lexicographical composition1 confessed that he 8had not satisfied his own expectations40 ,may ,i add to these the frequent discontent of the unrivalled ,paganini8 ,,ida4 ,the desire of the mind is1 indeed1 unlimited2 and when this is intense1 it wishes to appropriate to itself all which it can comprehend4 ,but disappointment must ensue2 for all wish to be the whole1 when they form but a part4 ,thus will ever be proved the futility of worldly ambition1--it is never satisfied4 ,but the desires of religion are not a phantom1 or an incubus4 ,true devotion1 which aspires to heaven1 as the hart panteth for the water-brooks1 will never fail4 ,its fervent hopes and devout prayers1 we believe1 will be blessed by their accomplishment4 ,,cast4 ,then the visitations of the incomparable ,mab are nought but the infliction of the night-mare8 ,gentle ,master ,evelyn1 how should ,i be aweary of your philosophy1 but that ,i am half won over to believe it true8 ,in good faith1 8,the ,gordian knot of it you do unloose ,familiar as your garter40 ,,ev4 ,then1 ,i pray you1 let me counsel you not to court such visits1 dear ,castaly4 ,there is some peril in the touch both of ,mab and ,mara2 for although rare and transient cases of night-mare excite no alarm1 yet its repetition1 in a severe form1 is not to be slighted4 ,it sometimes has been the forerunner of epilepsy2 its immediate cause being obstruction to the course of the blood by which the brain especially is surcharged1 and the action of the lungs and heart impeded1 as we prove by the extreme labour of breathing at the time we awake4 ,i believe that there is usually a fulness of blood1 also1 in the vessels of the spinal marrow2 as1 although nightmare may occur in the sitting1 it is far more frequent in the recumbent position4 ,thus the marrow is oppressed1 and there is then no force transmitted by the nerves to put the muscles into action4 ,distention of the stomach should be prevented1 as the diaphragm is thus pushed up against the lungs1 and the gas is accumulated in the cavity4 ,all these conditions often occur in our waking moods1 but then our judgment tells us how to relieve them speedily2 whereas1 in sleep1 the load accumulates4 ,all indigestible substances1 therefore1 should be avoided1 as nuts1 cucumbers1 shell-fish1 c4 ,early and light suppers we advise to those whom ,madame ,mara so unmercifully overlies4 ,a mattress should be our couch1 and we should endeavour to compose ourselves on one side1 having1 previous to our rest1 taken gentle exercise4 ,,somniloquence4--,,somnambulism4 8,it is a sleepy language2 and thou speak'st ,out of thy sleep40 ,,tempest4 8,doct4 ,you see1 her eyes are open4 ,gent4 ,ay1 but their sense is shut40 8,doct4 ,a great perturbation in nature4 ,to receive at once the benefit of sleep1 and do the effect of watching40 ,,macbeth4 ,,ev4 ,in the common dream1 ideas float through the mind1 but the body is passive4 ,when the power of expressing these ideas by speech is added1 it is somniloquence4 ,when there is the conscious1 yet powerless1 will to move1 it is incubus4 ,when the unconscious power of moving in accordance with the ideas or wishes of the dream exists1 it is somnambulism4 ,the common dreams of sleep are not unfolded to us until the waking recollections of the dreamer relate them2 but the matter of a dream may be half developed during its existence1 by the curious propensity to unconscious talking and walking in the sleep4 ,sleep-talking is the slightest of these phenomena1 and1 indeed1 closely resembles the speaking reveries of some absent people1 and the raving of a maniac4 ,the sleep is1 at this time1 little deeper than a reverie4 ,the voice of the somniloquist is usually natural1 but as again1 in the cases of mania and of delirious excitement1 a common voice may become sweetly melodious1 and there will be an imparted fluency allied to the inspiration of the improvisatore4 ,indeed1 in some young ladies1 subject to hysteria1 ,i have known1 at certain periods as it were1 a new accomplishment--a style of singing which was far beyond their power in waking moments4 ,dr4 ,dewar relates a case of a girl who1 when awake1 discovered no knowledge of astronomy or the sciences in any way2 but when she was asleep she would define the rotations of the seasons1 using expressions the most apt to the subject1 such as 8the globe is now set agee40 ,it is probable that this was the memory in slumber of some geographical lesson which she had heard1 but did not remember while her senses were active1 that is1 in her waking moments4 ,and an ,american lady1 during a fever1 commenced a course of nocturnal prating1 composing most eloquent sermons1 chiefly made up1 however1 of remembered texts of ,scripture4 ,i am informed1 too1 that a lady of ,edinburgh1 during her somnolent attacks1 recited somewhat lengthy poems2 and it was curious to notice that each line commenced with the final letter of the preceding4 ,these sleep-talkings are sometimes the mere lispings of an idiot2 although ,astrophel1 perchance1 may contend that the following1 written down from the lips of a servant-maid1 is a proof of special inspiration1 converting a rustic girl into an improvisatrice4 8,you may go home and wash your hose1 ,and wipe the dew-drops from your nose1 ,and mock no maiden here4 ,for you tread down grass1 and need not2 ,wear your shoes1 and speed not1 ,and clout leather's very dear2 ,but ,i need not care1 for my sweetheart ,is a cobbler40 ,i have heard this trash cited as a proof of facility of composition in slumber4 ,you do not believe it such2 like other specimens1 it was a ruse of a wanton girl to excite admiration4 ,in the magnetic somnambulism of ,elizabeth ,okey1 that cunning little wench1 who was the prima buffa of the magnetic farces enacted at the ,north ,london ,hospital1 would often skip about and sing snatches of equal elegance3 8,i went into a tailor's shop ,to buy a suit of clothes2 ,but where the money came from1 ,g---- ,almighty knows40 ,these are indeed the very burlesque of somniloquence4 ,and yet ,okey was an invalid1 and presumed on the credulity of those who ministered to her4 ,true somniloquence is often preceded by a cataleptic state2 and in girls like this1 the senses are often so dull1 that the firing of a pistol close to the ear does not rouse them1 until the poetic fit is over4 ,,cast4 ,were sleep-talking more common1 it would indeed be a very dangerous propensity4 ,if the confessor were to prate in his sleep of the peccadilloes of the fair penitents that kneel at his confessional2 if the minister on his couch were to divulge his state secrets or his fine political schemes2 where would be the tranquillity of domestic or national society8 ,yet the lips of the love-sick maiden have not seldom whispered in sleep her bosom's secret2 and sometimes the unconscious tongue has awfully betrayed even the blood-stain on the hand4 ,thus did the ill-mated ,parisina of ,byron3 8,fever'd in her sleep she seems1 ,and red her cheek with troubled dreams2 ,and mutters she1 in her unrest1 ,a name she dare not breathe by day40 ,the fate of ,eugene ,aram1 ,i believe1 may be imputed to such an unfortunate propensity2 and in ,lady ,macbeth's 8,out1 damned spot60 was confessed her participation in the murder of ,duncan and the grooms4 ,somewhat like this1 too1 was the half-sleeping exclamation of ,jarvis ,matcham1 after he had committed the murder of the drummer boy4 ,starting from his bed1 when roused by the waiter1 his first words were3 8,my ,god6 ,i did not kill him40 ,,ev4 ,a dream will sometimes half wake even a child to a state of terror1 although children are with difficulty completely roused4 ,i have known instances in which children would sit up in bed1 with their eyes open1 sobbing1 and talking1 and staring1 in a sort of trance2 nay1 they will sometimes start from bed1 but still asleep1 and1 after a time becoming calm1 they have again composed themselves to slumber4 ,i have known sleep-talkers1 who have not remembered one iota of their wanderings when awake2 and even the ecstatic somnambulist1 who pretends to prophecy wisdom1 recollects nothing when the ecstacy is over4 ,it is clear also1 that the mind varies in sleep and waking1 in regard to its memory2 for it has been proved that persons who often talk in their sleep1 have renewed the exact points of a subject which terminated their last sleep-talking1 although1 in the waking interval1 it was to them oblivion4 ,somnambulism is the most perfect paradox among the phenomena of sleep1 as it exhibits actions without a consciousness of them2 indeed1 so complete a suspension of sensibility1 that contact1 nay1 intense inflictions1 do not produce that mental consciousness which is calculated to excite alarm1 or even attention4 ,there is a somewhat remote analogy to this1 in the want of balance between the judgment and volition of ambitious minds4 ,in the campaign of ,russia1 ,napoleon's march was a sort of somnambulism1 for he must have been madly excited to action against his better judgment4 ,in this he forms a curious contrast with his royal predecessor2 for in ,louis ,,xvi4 we observe a mind that might conceive great things1 but which volition hesitated to accomplish4 ,the points of the mystery of somnambulism were never more forcibly illustrated1 to my own mind1 than in the following cases3 ,in #ahcc1 a man was brought before ,alderman ,thorp1 who had a parcel cut from his arm1 although he had strapped it tightly on to prevent this1 as he was often falling asleep1 even during his walk4 ,yet1 even then1 he usually took the parcels to their proper directions4 ,the crew of a revenue boat on the coast of ,ireland1 about two o'clock in the morning1 picked up a man swimming in the water4 ,he had1 it appeared1 left his house about twelve2 and walked two miles over a most dangerous path1 and had swum about one mile4 ,after he was taken into the boat1 he could not be persuaded that he was not still in his warm bed at home4 ,in #ahcd1 ,marie ,pau was admitted into the hospital at ,bordeaux1 her left hand and arm covered with deep and bleeding gashes1 its tendons projecting and the bones broken4 ,she had1 in her sleep1 gone into a loft to cut wood with a hedging bill4 ,thinking she was cutting the wood1 she had hacked her fore-arm and hand1 until she fainted away1 and fell bathed in her blood4 ,she had felt no pain1 but merely had a sensation as if the parts were pricked with pins4 ,some time ago1 7,i believe in the year #ahcb17 a journal thus records a case analogous in its nature1 although less unhappy in its effects3 8,some fishermen at ,le ,conquest1 near ,brest1 were surprised at finding1 at two o'clock in the morning1 a boy about twelve years old1 up to his waist in the sea1 fishing for flounders1 of which he drew up five or six4 ,their surprise however was increased to wonder1 when1 on approaching him1 they found that he was fast asleep4 ,he was taken home and put to bed1 but was immediately afterwards attacked with a raging fever40 ,,ida4 ,these walkers were of low degree2 ,i presume philosophy is not altogether exempt from the fault4 ,,ev4 ,oh no3 ,galen was a somnambulist2 and ,franklin assures us1 that in a warm bath at ,southampton1 he floated on his back nearly an hour in his sleep4 ,now that there is an apathy of the senses during somnambulism is clear1 for the eyelids are unclosed1 and if a candle be held to the eye of the somnambulist1 the actions of the iris are seen1 but there is seldom aversion of the head to avoid the glare4 ,was ,mrs4 ,siddons aware of this1 when she smelt to her bloody hand1 but did not look upon it8 ,in sleep-walking1 indeed1 there is always one at least of the five senses asleep4 ,the actions of somnambulists often appear almost automatic without a reason for them2 somewhat resembling instinct1 as the beaver will still build his dome for shelter1 even under a roof2 or as monomaniacs will do a work in three or four different places1 forgetful of their previous labour4 ,it is evident1 too1 that there is a dulness of reflection when the progress is impeded4 ,the somnambulist will try to move on in a straight line1 overturning things in his course3 thus ,mathews1 in ,somno1 overturned the tables1 but had not the judgment to go round them4 ,under very great obstruction to their progress1 the somnambulists will sometimes burst into tears4 ,gall relates the case of a miller1 who every night got up and worked in his mill1 asleep2 and ,martinet1 of a saddler1 who also worked nightly in his sleep2 and ,dr4 ,pritchard1 of one who had been subject to epileptic fits1 thus3 8,they ceased entirely until the nineteenth year of his age1 when he became a somnambulist1 working during the night at his trade as a saddler1 getting out on the roof of the house1 going out to walk1 and occupying himself in a thousand various ways4 ,soon after this the fits of epilepsy reappeared1 occurring every five or six days1 increasing in duration1 and commencing from that time only with a sensation of heat1 which from the epigastrium rapidly extended to the head1 and produced complete insensibility4 ,he was1 at various times1 relieved by bleeding2 and1 in the twenty-fourth year of his age1 being then a soldier1 he escaped three months without a return of his epilepsy4 ,in the following year1 he was astonished to find himself one night on the roof of the house1 wet with rain2 the impression which he thence conceived1 produced1 some time afterwards1 an attack of epilepsy1 followed by contraction of his fingers and toes40 ,in many cases1 however1 there is some predeterminate motive for the walk1 which excites the memory in the sleep4 ,the somnambulist has been thinking deeply1 ere he retires to rest1 and the walk occurs early in the night2 so that we might believe a mood of musing had really prevented sleep1 and itself been the cause of the phenomena4 ,thus may be explained the miracle recorded by ,fulgosius4 ,marcus1 the freedman of ,pliny1 dreamed that a barber1 sitting on his bed1 had shaved him1 and awoke well trimmed2--,marcus had unconsciously shaved himself4 ,and also other cases related by ,dr4 ,pritchard1 of which ,i will offer you a fragment4 8----,he is just recovering from a singular state of reverie1 in which he has passed twenty-four hours4 ,it began in the evening1 with a rigor1 which continued more or less the whole night4 ,from that time he remained constantly in motion1 walking up and down the room or about the house4 ,he kept his eyes open1 but was unconscious of external impressions2 sometimes he muttered to himself1 and by his gestures and the motions of his hands it appeared that he fancied himself to be working in his usual occupation4 ,in this state he remained all the ensuing night and a part of the following day4 ,during that time1 he never ate or drank any thing in a natural manner2 he sometimes caught hold of a piece of bread1 and1 having bitten it hastily1 threw it down1 and drank in the same way1 immediately continuing his work4 ,if he was spoken to1 he was some time without taking any notice1 and then would reply hastily1 as a person does who is disturbed by a question when in a reverie40 ,our study of these curiosities of mind teaches us how intimately combined in their essence are all the species of illusion4 ,somnambulism is a very common feature in epileptic idiots4 ,in confirmed insanity also1 we observe in an intense degree that fearless daring and almost preternatural power which characterise somnambulism4 ,a ,highland woman1 in a state of puerperal mania1 which was increased by a terrific dream1 escaped to the gorges of the mountain1 and herded with the deer4 ,she became so fleet of foot that it was impossible to overtake her4 ,one day1 an awful tempest drove her and her 8velvet companions0 to the valleys1 when she was secured4 ,providence1 which 8tempers the wind to the shorn lamb10 had covered her body with hair4 ,the dreamer walks and talks with imaginary people1--spectral illusion4 ,the following is a perfect illustration of this night-fantasy4 ,it is a story told to ,sir ,walter ,scott by a ,lisbon trader3-- 8,somnambulism and other nocturnal deceptions lend their aid to the formation of such phantasmata as are formed in the middle state betwixt sleeping and waking4 ,a most respectable person1 whose active life had been spent as master and part-owner of a large merchant vessel in the ,lisbon trade1 gave an account of such an instance1 which came under his observation4 ,he was lying in the ,tagus1 when he was put to great anxiety and alarm by the following incident and its consequences3--,one of his crew was murdered by a ,portuguese assassin1 and a report arose that the ghost of the slain man haunted the vessel4 ,sailors are generally superstitious1 and those of my friend's vessel became unwilling to remain on board the ship2 and it was probable they might desert1 rather than return to ,england with the ghost for a passenger4 ,to prevent so great a calamity1 the captain determined to examine the story to the bottom4 ,he soon found that1 though all pretended to have seen lights and heard noises1 and so forth1 the weight of the evidence lay upon the statement of one of his own mates1 an ,irishman and a catholic1 which might increase his tendency to superstition2 but in other respects a veracious1 honest1 and sensible person1 whom ,captain ,s4 had no reason to suspect would wilfully deceive him4 ,he affirmed to ,captain ,s41 with the deepest obtestations1 that the spectre of the murdered man appeared to him almost nightly1 took him from his place in the vessel1 and1 according to his own expression1 worried his life out4 ,he made these communications with a degree of horror1 which intimated the reality of his distress and apprehensions4 ,the captain1 without any argument at the time1 privately resolved to watch the motions of the ghost-seer in the night1 whether alone1 or with a witness1 ,i have forgotten4 ,as the ship-bell struck twelve1 the sleeper started up with a ghastly and disturbed countenance1 and lighting a candle proceeded to the galley1 or cock-room1 of the vessel4 ,he sat down with his eyes open1 staring before him1 as on some terrible object which he beheld with horror1 yet from which he could not withhold his eyes4 ,after a short space he arose1 took up a tin can or decanter1 filled it with water1 muttering to himself all the while1 mixed salt in the water1 and sprinkled it about the galley4 ,finally1 he sighed deeply1 like one relieved from a heavy burden1 and1 returning to his hammock1 slept soundly4 ,in the next morning1 the haunted man told the usual precise story of his apparition1 with the additional circumstances that the ghost had led him to the galley2 but that he had fortunately1 he knew not how1 obtained possession of some holy water1 and succeeded in getting rid of his unwelcome visitor4 ,the visionary was then informed of the real transactions of the night1 with so many particulars as to satisfy him he had been the dupe of his imagination4 ,he acquiesced in his commander's reasoning1 and the dream1 as often happens in these cases1 returned no more after its imposture had been detected40 ,the case ,i am about to relate occurred within my own experience4 ,a butcher's boy1 about sixteen years old1 apparently in perfect health1 after dosing a few minutes in his chair1 suddenly started up1 and began to employ himself about his usual avocations4 ,he had saddled and mounted his horse1 and it was with the greatest difficulty that those around him could remove him from the saddle and carry him within doors4 ,while he was held in the chair by force1 he continued violently the actions of kicking1 whipping1 and spurring4 ,his observations regarding orders from his master's customers1 the payment at the turnpike-gate1 c4 were seemingly rational4 ,the eyes when opened were perfectly sensible to light4 ,it appears that flagellation even had no effect in restoring the patient to a proper sense of his condition4 ,the pulse in this case was #acj1 full and hard2 on the abstraction of thirty ounces of blood it sunk to #hj1 and diaphoresis ensued4 ,after labouring under this phrenzy for the space of an hour1 he became sensible2 was astonished at what he was told had happened1 and stated that he recollected nothing subsequent to his having fetched some water and moved from one chair to another1 which indeed he had done immediately before his delirium came on4 ,,cast4 ,in the monastery of ----1 this story was told to a party of ,alpine travellers1 to beguile our winter's evening4 ,a melancholic nobleman of ,italy1 ,signor ,augustin1 walked usually at the waning of the moon4 ,the walk was always preceded by his lying on his back1 with eyes fixed and open4 ,at this time the beatings of his heart were scarcely perceptible4 ,during this state1 he noticed none of his companions around him2 but if any noise was made by them1 his steps were hurried and agitated1 and if the noise was increased1 a sort of maniacal state was induced4 ,in his sleep he would saddle and mount his horse1 he would listen at a key-hole if he heard noises in another room1 and1 if he entered his billiard-room1 he would seem to be playing with the cue4 ,on returning to his bed1 he usually slept for ten hours after his walk4 ,tickling would always rouse him4 ,in a ,gazette of ,augsburg1 ,i have read this sad story3 8,dresden was the theatre of a melancholy spectacle on the #bjth ult4 ,as early as seven in the morning a female was seen walking on the roof of one of the loftiest houses in the city1 apparently occupied in preparing some ornaments as a ,christmas present4 ,the house stood as it were alone1 being much higher than those adjoining it1 and to draw her from her perilous situation was impossible4 ,thousands of spectators had assembled in the streets4 ,it was discovered to be a handsome girl1 nineteen years of age1 the daughter of a master baker1 possessing a small independence bequeathed to her by her mother4 ,she continued her terrific promenade for hours1 at times sitting on the parapet and dressing her hair4 ,the police came to the spot1 and various means of preservation were resorted to4 ,in a few minutes the street was thickly strewn with straw1 and beds were called for from the house1 but the heartless father1 influenced by the girl's stepmother1 refused them4 ,nets were suspended from the balcony of the first floor1 and the neighbours fastened sheets to their windows4 ,all this time the poor girl was walking in perfect unconsciousness1 sometimes gazing toward the moon1 and at others singing or talking to herself4 ,some persons succeeded in getting on the roof1 but dared not approach her for fear of the consequences if they awoke her4 ,towards eleven o'clock she approached the very verge of the parapet1 leaned forwards1 and gazed upon the multitude beneath4 ,every one felt that the moment of the catastrophe had arrived4 ,she rose up1 however1 and returned calmly to the window by which she had got out4 ,when she saw there were lights in the room she uttered a piercing shriek1 which was reechoed by thousands below1 and fell dead into the street40 ,such would have been the result1 according to poetical justice1 in the beautiful romance of 8,la ,sonnambula40 ,had ,amina been awakened while she was descending1 she would probably have toppled down headlong6 ,,ev4 ,custom would render these wakings less formidable perhaps4 ,there was a family alluded to by ,dr4 ,willis1 in which the father and many sons jostled each other nightly in their sleep-walk4 ,this was probably but a cheerful recognition and to sleep again4 ,in ,fraser's ,magazine is recorded a very curious story of this sort4 ,if ,i remember right1 an individual had the mortification of discovering every morning when he awoke1 that the shirt in which he had slept was gone4 ,some trick was supposed to have been played upon him by an inmate of the house2 and1 thinking that the practical joke would soon be abandoned1 he went on day after day1 till his stock of linen was completely exhausted4 ,the individuals of the family were now anxiously examined1 but no tidings of the stray linen could be obtained4 ,it was at last suspected that some depredator had entered the house and unswathed his sleeping victim1 and a strict watch was made on the following night4 ,at a suitable hour the somnambulist was seen to quit his bed1 to pass through a skylight window to the roof of the house1 to enter by another window a garret that was always locked1 and to return shirtless to his lair4 ,the garret was examined1 and the thousand and one shirts were found carefully wrapped up and deposited in a pyramid4 ,something like this is the story of the spectre of ,tappington1 in the ,ingoldsby legends4 ,the actions1 therefore1 unlike the ideas of a dream1 are often neither heterogeneous nor inconsistent1 and it is astonishing to observe the exactness with which the work is executed4 ,dr4 ,pritchard tells the case of a farmer who arose1 saddled his horse1 and rode to market in his sleep3 the ,archbishop of ,bordeaux the case of a student1 who composed both theological essays and music thus unconsciously4 ,now if the dreamer be awakened1 he will relate the circumstances of his dream clearly2 but the somnambulist1 if roused1 will generally express himself unconscious of what he intended1 or of what he had done4 ,it is1 by the bye1 often dangerous1 on another account1 to wake the sleep-walker2 indeed1 we have recorded the case of a young lady who was walking in a garden in her sleep2 she was awoke1 and almost instantly died4 ,but in some future somnambulism the same actions will be again performed unheeded4 ,and if there be memory of the sleep-walk1 the somnambulist1 ,i believe1 always relates his actions as the mere ideas of a dream1 and is long a sceptic of the fact1 even if there are visible signs of his exertions4 ,,cast4 ,i can illustrate this question from the recollection and knowledge of an ancestor of my own4 ,early on a morning1 an immense number of foot-prints were observed by the men about a gate 7on a farm in ,sussex71 which were not there overnight4 ,on their return the servant girl was relating her dream2 that she was told the cows had got into a wrong field1 and that she had gone out1 opened the gate1 and driven them back4 ,and ,i remember reading that a young gentleman of ,brenstein was seen to rise1 get out of his window on the roof1 and take a brood of young magpies from their nest1 and wrap them in his cloak4 ,he then returned quietly to his bed1 and in the morning related his dream1 to his two brothers4 ,they had slept with him1 and had witnessed this feat1 of which he would not be persuaded until they showed him the birds in his cloak4 ,i interrupt you1 ,evelyn4 ,,ev4 ,it is evident1 as in dreams1 and in rare cases of disease1 that the mind of the somnambulist is often a contrast to its waking faculty4 ,the memory will leap over intervals4 ,dr4 ,dyce records an illustration of this4 ,a girl1 in a state of somnambulism1 was taken to church1 and wept at the subject of the sermon4 ,she never adverted to this impression when she awoke2 nor could she be brought to recollect it until1 in her next sleeping paroxysm1 she spoke of it distinctly4 ,in delirium1 also1 we see these intervals of thought4 ,the patient will commence a subject in the delirious state2 when this has subsided1 the subject is dropped4 ,in the next attack of delirium it will again be started1 ay1 and at the very point1 even the word itself1 at which it was broken off4 ,we read1 in an ,american journal1 that a man1 previous to an attack of mania which lasted several years1 had placed his work tools in the hollow of a tree4 ,to them no allusion was made during the period of his disorder4 ,when1 however1 this passed off1 he directed his son to fetch them1 believing that he left them only yesterday4 ,in the same book1 too1 we learn of that lady who became maniacal as she was engaged in needle-work4 ,for seven years she thought not of this2 but directly she recovered1 she asked for her needle-work and canvass4 ,the same may occur in intoxication also1 which is but another form of delirium4 ,in ,mr4 ,combe's work we are told of a drunken man who left a parcel at a wrong house4 ,when sober1 he recollected nothing of the circumstance2 but when again intoxicated1 he soon remembered his error1 and reclaimed the parcel4 ,,astr4 ,these cases form high contrasts with ,hamlet's proof of insanity3 ----8,bring me to the test1 ,and ,i the matter will reword1 which madness ,wou'd gambol from40 ,,ev4 ,yet if you analyze their nature you will find them even proofs of derangement2 for you thus see that the faculty of memory is changed according to the state of mind4 ,in the following case1 by ,dr4 ,abercrombie1 we shall find the same variation in impression and taste4 ,a girl1 in her early youth1 expressed her abhorrence of tunes played on the violin1 which she termed a discordant fiddle4 ,she was after this introduced into more refined society1 and became a somnambulist4 ,during her paroxysm she imitated the beautiful airs which she said she had formerly heard on this same violin4 ,lieutenant ,c---- was once my patient1 and died a maniac4 ,the insanity arose from thwarted ambition1 and was confirmed by his notion that he had seen his death-fetch4 ,for some time he walked and talked in his sleep2 subsequently he would walk for an hour round the table unconsciously4 ,in him1 too1 was this change of feeling4 ,he once talked little1 and cared less for his child2 but now he would caress it fondly1 and expressed the deepest anxiety for it4 ,it was difficult to decide1 at times1 whether this gentleman was awake or not2 indeed1 these states of mania1 which have been termed 8melancholia errabunda0 by ,bellini and ,montalti1 are closely allied to somnambulism1 for the walker is absorbed in deep thought1 and totally unconscious of his actions4 ,and the analogy appears to have been recognised by the law4 ,it is well known that the brother of ,lord ,colepeper1 who was a great dreamer and somnambulist1 shot a guardsman and his horse4 ,he was found guilty2 but he was pardoned on the ground of his complete unconsciousness in his somnambulism4 ,we do not wonder more to see the perfection with which these unconscious labours of the somnambulist are performed1 than at the ease and power which is evinced1 and the very slight fatigue which ensues2 although the occupation might have been most laborious4 ,as in chorea the most delicate girls will dance incessantly for twenty-four hours1 resting merely for one sole hour2 and yet they will sit down perfectly cool and free from fatigue4 ,,ida4 ,is it not wonderful that the somnambulist will incur great dangers with complete sang-froid8 ,they will walk over ----8,torrents roaring loud1 ,on the unsteadfast footing of a spear20 or scale the gigantic precipice1 the mere contemplation of which would fright their mind from its propriety1 when awake4 ,i remember to have read of a ,french ,jew1 who walked by chance across a dangerous pass over a brook1 in the dark1 without the slightest fear or harm4 ,the next day1 perceiving what danger he had incurred1 he fell down dead4 ,,ev4 ,it is equally curious that a concentration of nervous energy1 which is here the result of unconsciousness1 should also be produced by fear in some cases1 which1 in others1 paralyses2 but this is indeed a slight degree of heroism1 or energy of despair4 ,thus we leap far higher1 and run much faster1 when danger threatens1 than we could believe4 ,these are all very apt illustrations of somnambulism4 ,i will check myself in quotations of more1 as the phenomena may closely resemble each other4 ,but what is its philosophy1 and how can ,i venture on its explanation1 which involves the most intricate pathology of the nervous system8 unless1 with the self-complacency of quaint old ,burton1 ,i cut the ,gordian knot by this affirmation1--8,there is nothing offends but a concourse of bad humours1 which trouble the phantasy4 ,these vapours move the phantasy1 the phantasy the appetite1 which1 moving the animal spirits1 causeth the body to walk up and down1 as if it were awake40 ,thus much ,i may expound to you1 if ,i am again allowed to run up our scientific scale4 ,the philosophy of the dream and of incubus refers to the activity of the brain with a passive body2 for somnambulism1 we require an active body1 with an unconscious brain4 ,now there are four sources of nervous influence3--the brain and cerebellum1 within the skull2 the marrow in the spinal canal2 and the nervous bundles in the large cavities1 termed ganglia4 ,it is on the independent or unconscious function of the marrow1 chiefly1 that those mysterious actions1 which do not seem to be willed by a conscious mind1 depend4 ,in the day-dream1 a thought or form shall present itself1 even at a time when the mind is employed on subjects of a contrasted nature4 ,these thoughts1 or forms1 are usually fraught with a high degree of pleasure or of pain1 or refer to events of vital importance1 to the dreamer2--such are the objects of the lover's idolatry1 the anticipation of misfortune1 or subjects of prospective felicity4 ,under this excitement1 the influence of external objects is often for a time lost2 the retina may be struck by a ray1 or the membrana tympani by a vibration1 but the mind shall fail in its perception1--no internal impression being made4 ,this cannot arise from a point of the retina1 or the expansion of the auditory nerve being pre-occupied1 as some have supposed4 ,the idea of material impression must fail in explanation2 for1 on the instant that the mind is awakened1 the external impression is again perceived4 ,the external sense1 in this case1 is not in fault2 nor is its direct influence on the sensorium suspended2 for we find that a person will continue to read in this state1 as it were mechanically2 but the attention is diverted by deep thought1 so that the reader1 at the end of his task1 may have no remembrance of what he has been reading4 ,let me tell of a curious little episode of ,dr4 ,darwin's1 which will aid me in my illustration4 ,a young lady was playing on the piano a very elaborate piece of music4 ,it was correctly and scientifically performed1 although she was agitated during her task2 and when it was over1 the lady burst into tears4 ,she had been watching all the time a favourite canary in the fluttering of death2 and with this catastrophe her mind was almost wholly occupied1 but her fingers did not err in their complicated and delicate motions1 which they undoubtedly would have done1 if the will or mind alone had directed them4 ,in sanity of mind1 and in mania1 the most philosophical distinction is based on the health or disease of memory4 ,the ecstacy of madness may not seem perhaps more irrational than an ecstatic vision1 but the maniac will not re-word the matter2 whereas the mere visionary will repeat the action of the trance as a dream4 ,,astr4 ,but there is a sort of somnambulism the reverse of this4 ,in the retreat to ,corunna1 many of the soldiers1 although exhausted by a long march1 and having actually fallen asleep1 continued to move forwards1 leaving their companions behind1 who halted and laid down to repose4 ,,ev4 ,this is the continued association of that excitement which has produced muscular motion4 ,the mind was exhausted and sleepy1 the brain was inert2 but we believe that the spinal marrow does1 of itself1 effect motion1 while the will and consciousness sleep2 and we may also stand and sleep4 ,these soldiers did not walk in their sleep1 but slept in their walk4 ,,astr4 ,i am informed1 too1 that ,richard ,turpin1 in allusion to his famous flight to ,york1 asserted that ,black ,bess appeared to gallop unconsciously4 ,,ev4 ,it is true2 and when we reflect on this gigantic feat1 we may suppose that the mare gallopped the farther1 because her consciousness of fatigue was not awake1 and her muscular energy was thus concentrated4 ,paralyzed muscles will often quiver when the sound limb is quiet2 the brain's influence being1 in this case too1 inert1 sensation is diminished2 but involuntary motion continues from a habit in the muscle1 or the excitement of unexhausted irritability1 as in chorea1 spasm1 c4 ,and in some cases of post mortem galvanism1 ,dr4 ,dunbar1 of ,virginia1 passed the galvanic aura along the ulnar nerve of an executed negro1 and the fingers instantly quivered1 and assumed the attitude and action of one playing on a flute or the strings of a violin4 ,,astr4 ,it is possible1 then1 to move without our willing to do so1 or being conscious of our act4 ,,ev4 ,there are believed to be1 indeed it is almost a demonstration1--four sets of nerves1 traced along the spinal marrow4 ,two to the brain1 of sensation and volition1 by which the mind feels what the body touches1 and transmits its will to the muscles2 two others to the marrow1 by which it also is stimulated by outward touch1 and by which it excites the muscles to motion4 ,now when the brain's influence is kept from muscle1 that muscle will still possess irritability1 derived from the spinal marrow2 nay1 that irritability will be greater1 because it has not been expended by the acts of that volition1 which resides solely in the brain1 and which is now cut off4 ,thus the excito-motory function1 and the influence of volition1 are in these cases antagonists4 ,and this principle of the incident and reflex spinal nerve is an explanation of the curious dilemma1 regarding the suspension of the will in sleep and dream1 to which ,dr4 ,stewart alludes4--8,not a suspension of volition1 but only of its influence over those organs1 which it moves when we are awake40 ,decide for yourselves between the physical and metaphysical theories4 ,yet1 do you not see that all this does not essentially require the direction of mind8 ,if you tickle the palm of a sleeping child1 it will close its hand upon your finger2 if you awake it1 and engage its attention1 it will often leave its hold4 ,this is a fact proved by the anencephalous or brainless children4 ,even the puppy1 deprived of its brain1 and also the mammary ftuses of the kangaroo and opossum1 fix eagerly on the nipple when it touches their lips4 ,there is a beautiful mechanism in the foot of the roosting birds1 adapted to this physiological law4 ,the tendon of the claws is tightened immediately they are touched1 by which action they contrive to grasp the bough or perch even when asleep4 ,in cases of paralysis even1 the foot will sometimes be instantly drawn up1 although it does not possess the least sensation2 we may assert1 then1 that irritability is in an inverse ratio to sensibility4 ,the polype1 in which we trace no brain or nerve1 exists and moves by its irritability1 and without sensation or consciousness4 ,we know also that the vis insita1 or vis nervosa of a muscle1 that is1 its irritability1 exists even after the animal life has ceased4 ,the turtle will live and move long after its brain has been removed4 ,the heart itself1 an involuntary muscle1 is stimulated also to action without sensation4 ,the heart of the assassin1 ,bellingham1 beat long after he was cut from the gallows4 ,if ,i have made these things clear1 ,i am now prepared to explain1 with some anticipation1 those two curious contrasts1 somnambulism and incubus4 ,if the spinal or motive nerves be asleep1 and the cerebral or intellectual1 or volition nerves1 awake1 we shall have night-mare2 if1 on the contrary1 the motive nerves are in excess1 beyond the sensiferous or volition nerves1 we have sleep-walking4 ,,astr4 ,i believe the philosophy of ,leibnitz affirms two perceptions2 one with1 and another without1 consciousness4 ,i do not recollect if he distinguishes the seat of these perceptions2 but1 if the brain be that which perceives1 ,i presume consciousness will follow that perception sometimes in so slight a degree as not to excite judgment or reflection4 ,am ,i correct8 ,,ev4 ,you have adopted the common error of metaphysicians4 ,if1 in the abstraction of waking moments1 some persons talk to themselves1 as it were unconsciously1 so1 from the reflex influence1 may volition and motion occur1 with as little self-feeling4 ,that the immediate impression1 however1 and a necessity of action1 may combine1 is illustrated by ,dr4 ,beattie's case of the officer who could be thus excited in his sleep4 ,by a whisper in his ear1 he was induced to go through the whole ceremony of a duel1 and did not completely wake until the report of his pistol roused him4 ,this gentleman was also told that he had fallen overboard1 and he began to imitate the motions of swimming2 then that a shark was following him1 when he would dive off his couch upon the floor2 and when he was told that the battle was raging around him1 he proved himself an arrant coward by running away4 ,somnambulism may be induced by congestion or irritation of that point where the incident nerve blends with the grey matter of the spinal marrow1 producing internal irritation1 as the tickling of the foot does through the cutaneous nerves of a senseless limb4 ,,cast4 ,we are thankless creatures1 dear ,evelyn1 but all this reiteration bewilders me1 does it not you1 ,ida8 ,yet1 in my simplicity1 ,i can but think it unphilosophical entirely to disregard the will as the spring of our actions4 ,,ev4 ,if ,i must ,,explain1 fair lady1 ,i cannot avoid prolixity4 ,but to your question ,i will answer1 no2 for somnambulism may be excited by the memory of an intention4 ,in the experiment made by the committee of the physical society of ,lausanne1 on the ,sieur ,devaud1 of ,vevay1 it was proved that on the evening before the fit of somnambulism1 his head was heavy1 and he had a sense of oppression on his eye-lids4 ,if1 at this time1 the mind was impressed by some legend1 or story1 or incident1 the actions of the sleep-walk were perfectly coincident with such a subject4 ,if a romantic tale of banditti were related1 his alarm would be apparent in his subsequent sleep4 ,in this somnambulist was beautifully illustrated the effect of permanent impression on the brain1 rendering1 for a time1 the sense of vision useless2 for having once perused his paper1 it was so imprinted on his mind1 that the exact spot for each letter was exactly fixed on by the finger4 ,and we have heard of one more interesting case1 in which the somnambule1 remembering that he had made errors in his writing1 traced1 on a blank paper substituted for that written on1 the corrections1 in the very places corresponding to the erroneous writing4 ,and that here was memory was proved in this1 that during the time his eyes were shut1 the pen was dropped on the very spot where the inkstand stood2 but this being removed1 no ink was obtained1 and the writing was blank4 ,now we believe that there are certain vessels which contribute to nervous energy1 perhaps by secreting a nervous fluid in the brain1 or by concentrating electricity1 which ,dr4 ,faraday believes may constitute the animal portion of the nervous system4 ,this influence may be profusely accumulated in a waking state2 the resolution to act has been formed2 or1 there may be a rapid production in sleep of this energy4 ,then1 when sleep occurs1 this impression becomes uncontrolled4 ,the third form of insanity of ,spurzheim1 irresistibility1 exists1 and the night-walk takes place4 ,and indeed it may form an interesting analogy to that satiety of the voluptuary1 8,childe ,harold10 8,who e'en for change of scene wou'd seek the shades below10 and to one unhallowed story related in 8,salmonia40 ,from this excess there is the stimulus of pain to move2 one of the most powerful motives of human action4 ,cardan1 if we may believe in his 8,opera et ,vita10 was at least a monomaniac2 and he 8was wont instinctively1 as it were1 to relieve this tendency of his mind by the excitement of bodily pain40 ,i may assure you that ,i have1 during my professional studies1 often witnessed 7and indeed have sometimes suggested7 a remedy on this knowledge3 you may be aware1 that a severe and painful disorder will mitigate1 if not entirely dissipate1 that apathetic misery which springs from a vacant or unoccupied mind4 ,in contrasting childhood and age1 we witness these curiosities in the restless activity of youth and early manhood1 for at these periods we are very constant somnambulists2 not so in the passive state of old age1 in which sleep-walking is very rare4 ,something of this we see also in the growing pains and fidgets of girls and those whose duties are sedentary4 ,exercise is the relief for all this4 ,now when the sleep-walk has exhausted this excess of irritability or electricity 7if it be so71 the dreamer returns to bed and sleep4 ,a hint is here thrown out to us1 that if powerful exertion be employed previous to sleep1 the night-walk might not ensue4 ,lethargy often terminates in somnambulism4 ,if ,i may for another moment still prose over the intricate1 but deeply interesting question of the pathology of somnambulism1 ,i will observe1 that we often find it one symptom of madness or idiocy1 and we know that somnambulism not seldom terminates in epilepsy4 ,in the brains of epileptic idiots1 who are very determined somnambulists1 we discover changes the most various2 effusion1 congestion1 ossification of membranes1 ramollissement1 indurcissement1 bony spicul1 or points pressing the brain1 tubercles1 cysts4 ,in some1 the skull assumes the density of ivory4 ,yet in those persons who have been known to be sleep-walkers1 the inspection is seldom satisfactory4 ,plethora of the head has often1 however1 preceded the sleep-walk4 ,signor ,pozzi1 physician to ,benedict ,,xiv41 if he submitted not to depletion each second month1 became a somnambulist2 and we have known that in chorea1 previous to the dance1 and in some cases of somnambulism also1 pain has been felt from the occiput along the course of the spinal marrow4 ,this is from immediate excitement2 but dyspepsia and other abdominal derangements may so influence the ganglia and nerves of organic life1 and through them the brain and cord1 as to excite sleep-walking by remote sympathy4 ,that injuries of the nervous matter about the nape of the neck are of the highest importance in our studies of these eccentric actions1 is certain4 ,the experiments of ,flourens show that the progressive or forward motion of animals1 is influenced by varied states of the cerebellum4 ,when ,majendie cut through the corpora striata1 the animal darted forward2 when the pons ,varolii was cut1 the animal rolled over sixty times in a minute4 ,when a soldier is struck by a ball about the cervical vertebr1 he often springs from the ground and drops dead4 ,it is our duty1 then1 not to slight the condition of the somnambulist4 ,if simple irritation be its exciting cause1 much benefit may be derived from counter-action on the surface1 and other remedial means4 ,even if there be diseased structure1 some palliation may be afforded4 ,as preventives of the fit1 we may inculcate an abstinence from late meals1 exercise in the evening previous to retirement to rest1 a high pillow1 c4 ,if the propensity continue in spite of our efforts1 it will be right to have the windows fastened or locked1 and the door of the chamber bolted without2 or to confine the ankle or wrist to the bed-post by a long fillet1 which may by its detention awake the sleeper on starting from the bed4 ,,imitative ,,monomania4 8,men1 wives1 and children1 stare1 cry out1 and run1 ,as it were doomsday40 ,,julius ,c,,sar4 ,there are other very curious analogies of somnambulism1 which are marked by a power of action that appears preternatural4 ,and here again we witness the irresistibility of motion1 which seems to subvert the laws of gravitation and the principles of mechanics4 ,the involuntary twitchings and contortions of ,st4 ,vitus's dance present the slighter form of these eccentric actions1 which1 in the intense degree1 become like the fury of a raving maniac4 ,in young girls there often is a proneness to be excited by slight causes1--to be startled by mere trifles4 ,savarry tells us of a man who1 at two o'clock each day1 was irresistibly impelled to rap at doors and make very odd noises1 and felt intense pleasure in doing this4 ,if this had occurred in the night1 it would have been termed somnambulism4 ,gall also relates of a young man at ,berlin1 who1 after rolling about in his bed for some time1 and jumping out and in repeatedly in his sleep1 at last started up awake1 astonished at the crowd around his bed4 ,and ,dr4 ,darwin writes of a boy1 nine years old1 who went through a course of gymnastics1 with an occasional song between the acts4 ,at length he seemed bursting1 and soon sank down in a stupor4 ,,astr4 ,i have read1 7,i think in ,mezeray17 of an epidemic mania of this sort1 in which the creatures tore off their clothes1 and ran naked through the streets and churches1 until they fell breathless on the ground4 ,some of them swelled even to bursting1 unless they were bound down by cords4 ,the disease was referred to the agency of demons1 and treated by exorcisms2 they even tore their flesh to free themselves from their possessing devils4 ,i have seen also a confident story of some nuns1 who jumped so high during an hysteric ecstacy1 that they were at length seen to fly2 in imitation1 perhaps1 of the ,corybantes1 the priests of ,cybele1 who1 in the celebration of their mysteries1 leaped and raved1 like madmen in the midst of their shrieks and howlings4 ,,ev4 ,all these eccentricities amount to complete monomania for the time they last1 and they are marked often by a very violent imitative propensity2 like the delirium which came upon the ,abderites1 on witnessing the performance of the 8,andromeda0 of ,euripides1 by ,archelas4 ,of such nature was the 8dancing mania0 of the middle ages2 the tarantula of ,apulia1 in which melancholy was succeeded by madness2 the feats of the ,jumpers of ,cornwall1 and the ,convulsionnaires of the ,parisian miracles4 ,yet with all this apparent violence1 there might be a power of control by management4 ,on some sudden and extreme mental influence1 there was in the ,maison de la ,charit1 at ,haerlem1 an infectious convulsion of this nature1 so that the troop of little scholars1 girls and boys1 were a mere legion of dancing maniacs2 and nothing appeared to relieve them1 until a ruse of the physician ,borhave put to flight the illusion4 ,with a solemn voice he pronounced1 in the hearing of the little creatures1 his decision that each of them should be burned to the bone of the arm with a red hot iron4 ,from that moment the mania subsided4 ,dr4 ,hecker1 in his account of the ,dance of the middle ages1 notices two forms of this national monomania3--8,tarantulism10 and the 8,danse de ,saint ,guy40 ,the first was marked by all sorts of illusions1 demonomania1 obscene dancing1 groaning1 and falling down senseless4 ,the persons who believed themselves bitten by the tarantula became sad and stupid4 ,the flute or guitar alone could give them succour4 ,at the sound of its music they awoke1 as if by enchantment2 their eyes opened1 their movements1 which at first slowly followed the music1 gradually became animated1 until they merged into an impassioned dance4 ,to interrupt the music was disastrous3--the patients relapsed into their stupidity1 until they became exhausted by fatigue4 ,during the attacks1 several singular idiosyncracies were manifested1 contrary to what occurred in ,germany4 ,scarlet was a favourite colour1 though some preferred green or yellow4 ,a no less remarkable phenomenon was their ardent longing for the sea2 they implored to be carried to its shores1 or to be surrounded by marine pictures2 some even threw themselves into the waves4 ,but the dominant passion was for music1 though they varied in their particular tastes4 ,some sought the braying sound of the trumpet1 others the softer harmony of stringed instruments4 ,there was once a woman of ,piedmont who was charmed by the 8capriccio10 played by the leader of an orchestra1 into an ecstatic dance4 ,in her1 the sensations1 as she expressed them1 were so 8strangely mingled10 as powerfully to illustrate the fine line of distinction between pleasure and pain4 ,she gradually became weaker1 and the memory of the music was so intense1 that1 while she was irresistibly impelled to this maniacal dance1 her expressions were those of acute pain1 and her cries were constantly of those 8horrid sounds40 ,in six months1 this unhappy creature died exhausted4 ,the ,tigretier1 of ,abyssinia1 is believed in ,africa to be the effect of demoniac influence4 ,indeed there is in this strange state a complete metamorphosis of features1 and voice1 and manner4 ,in the hearts1 even of the women1 the affections of nature and of attachment seem to be annihilated1 and they seem overwhelmed by some oppressive weight1 which is dissipated only by almost preternatural exertion1 excited by the charm of music2 in which wild dance the female is dressed in ornaments of silver1 like the chiefs of battle4 ,this maniac movement is often1 ,i believe1 kept up from early morning until sunset1 ere the accumulation of energy is exhausted2 and even then the woman will start off suddenly and outrun the fleetest hunter1 until she drops as if dead4 ,but it seems the climax of the cure is not complete1 until she drops all her ornaments1 and a matchlock is fired over her1 when she owns her name and family1 both having been previously denied4 ,she is taken to the church and sprinkled with holy water1 and then the spell is broken4 ,there is another strange monomania1 an incitement to suicide1 evinced in that loathsome disease of the ,lombard and ,venetian plains1 ,pellagra4 ,the prevailing fashion is drowning2 so that ,strambi has termed this monomania1 water-madness4 ,others are driven on by still more horrible fancies4 ,thus ,grenier wrapped himself in a wolf-skin1 and murdered young maids that he might devour them4 ,and1 among ourselves1 the desire to change the infant into a cherub1 has led the wild fanatic to the murder of the innocents6 ,,astr4 ,this1 ,i suppose1 is ,lycanthropy1 or wolf-madness1 on which old ,burton so funnily expatiates2 and to which the author of the old play of 8,lingua0 also points1 alluding to the 8,thousand vain imaginations1 ,making some think their heads as big as horses1 ,some that they're dead1 some that they're turned to wolves40 ,in the woods of ,limousin1 in ,france1 the belief in the power of changing from men to wolves is still prevalent4 ,the ,loup-garoux1 or ,wehr-wolf1 was thought to have been in league with ,satan4 ,in my wanderings through ,poictou1 these monsters seemed to me to confine their unholy powers to midnight prowling1 and the wolf-howl4 ,yet ,marie1 in the 8,lai du ,bisclavaret10 endows them with the cannibalism of the goul and the vampire3 8,so ,garwal roams in savage pride1 ,and hunts for blood1 and feeds on men2 ,spreads dire destruction1 far and wide1 ,and makes the forests broad his den40 ,,ev4 ,the extraordinary effects of the instinct of imitation in spreading these epidemics1 is but an example on the grand scale of what we see daily instances of in yawning1 hiccoughing1 coughing1 and other similar acts1 and in the propagation of hysteria and epilepsy4 ,some persons1 again1 possess an irresistible tendency to imitate others in mere trifling things4 ,tissot relates a case of a female1 who never could avoid doing every thing she saw any one else do4 ,she was obliged to walk blindfolded in the streets2 and1 if you tied her hands1 she experienced intolerable anguish until they were loosened4 ,there was another girl1 that was seen by ,dr4 ,horn1 at ,salzburg1 who sat cross-legged1 like a hog4 ,she had been brought up in a sty4 ,even during the ,commonwealth1 the religious fanaticism of the ,quakers carried the proselytes to such a pitch1 that the preachers were thrown into excessive convulsions1 and seemed possessed of demons4 ,the churches were broken into1 and the ministers insulted and attacked in the pulpits4 ,chains1 and locks1 and the pillory1 which were inflicted on these mad people1 failed1 as it might be expected1 in restoring their senses1 although they bore them with the most astonishing fortitude4 ,in their worshipping1 the same eccentricities were seen3 after a deep and long silence1 a number of the devotees rose at once1 and declaimed4 ,the presumptuous imitation of the ,saviour was a favourite illusion2 and the forty-days' fast sometimes terminated in death4 ,naylor1 convinced of his divine identity1 rode in procession on a mule1 while his deluded proselytes spread their garments1 and sang ,hosannas to him4 ,nay1 the purity of the female mind was so grossly perverted1 that a ,quakeress walked naked into a church1 before ,cromwell1 as a sign to the people6 ,there was a letter in an 8,aberdeen ,herald10 dated ,invergordon1 ,sept4 #i1 #ahdj1 from which ,i quote this story3 8,i had the curiosity to go to the church of ,roskeen1 last night1 to observe the workings of a revival4 ,i was prepared for something extraordinary1 but certainly not for what ,i saw4 ,the sobs1 groans1 loud weeping1 fainting1 shrieking1 mingled in the most wild and unearthly discordance with the harsh cracked voice of the clergyman1 who could only at intervals be heard above the general weeping and wailing4 ,i was struck by the cries being all from young voices2 and on examining a little more closely1 ,i found that the performers were almost wholly children--girls1 varying from five to fourteen years of age2 a few young women1 perhaps a dozen1 but not a single man or lad4 ,i stood for nearly half an hour by three girls1 the eldest about twelve years of age1 who were in the most utter distress1 each vying with the other in despairing cries4 ,their mother came to them1 but made no exertion to check their bursts of--,i don't know what to call it4 ,in the church-yard there were lots of children in various stages of fainting4 ,one poor girl seemed quite dead1 and ,i insisted on one of the old crones1 who was piously looking on1 to go for some water1 or to attempt something to give her relief1 but was told1 #8,it was no' a case for water2 it was the ,lord1 and he would do as he liked with her4 ,she was seeing something we didna see1 and hearing something we didna hear4' ,she was lying on the ground1 supported by her father4 ,indeed the poor ignorant parents have been worked upon until they believe they are highly honoured by the ,lord1 by having such signs of the ,spirit manifested in their families4 ,the service1 if it may be called so1 was in ,gaelic40 ,in the reign of the second ,george1 ,count ,zinzendorf came from ,germany and established the principles of the ,hernhutters1 or ,moravians4 ,these were debased by ceremonies1 which they misnamed worship1 of the most licentious character4 ,like ,mahomet1 ,zinzendorf proclaimed himself a prophet and a king1 and in his presumption of an immediate appeal to1 and answer from1 the ,saviour1 in all matters of doubt1 made a host of proselytes4 ,,ida4 ,in our own day1 another delirious profanation of the holy name of the ,saviour has been exhibited1 in the imitative monomania of ,sir ,william ,courtenay 7as he was called71 in ,kent4 ,in ,may1 #ahch1 this wild enthusiast 7whose beauty of feature and expression closely resembled the paintings of ,christ by ,guido and ,carlo ,dolce1 and who1 to heighten this resemblance1 wore his hair and beard in a peculiar form1 and clothed himself in a robe7 gained by his art numerous disciples in ,kent1 who implicitly believed his divine nature and mission4 ,his career was1 however1 soon closed in a very awful and bloody tragedy--the death of himself1 of many of his followers1 and of the military who were called out to secure him4 ,his disciples1 to the last1 not only believed in his divine nature1 but even after his interment were watching in implicit belief of his approaching resurrection6 ,the mania of the 8unknown tongues0 has almost equalled this delusion4 ,if we presume to analyse1 on the principles of philosophy or reason1 those religious eccentricities1 which seem1 even in the mind of the fanatic1 to spring from sincerity or conviction1 they must yet1 ,i suppose1 be termed maniacal1 and this without the slightest profanation of the ,divine will4 ,evil1 doubtless1 is permitted for a wise purpose1 and while we deplore its immediate effects1 we must not hope to reveal its origin or its end4 ,at ,brighton1 some time ago1 while at one of the ,millennium chapels1 the wife of ,caird1 who was then preaching1 uttered a dismal howling of this unknown language1 which paralysed some1 and threw into convulsions many others of the congregation4 ,a young ,french lady among them instantly was struck with maniacal despondency1 and1 after some infliction of self-torture1 became delirious and died in a hospital4 ,we learn from ,plutarch1 that in ,milesium there was once a prevalent fashion among the young girls to hang themselves2 while the same mania once spread among the demoiselles of ,lyons1 to drown themselves in the ,rhone4 ,the ,convulsionists of ,paris1 in #agbd1 not only inflicted self-torture1 but in their wild delight solicited the bystanders to stone them4 ,the commission of a great or extraordinary crime to this day produces1 not unfrequently1 a kind of mania of imitation in the district in which it happened4 ,i have known incidents1 falsely called religious1 to occasion similar events2 and what is remarkable1 the scene or place of the first event seemed to favour its repetition1 by other persons approaching it4 ,thus a supposed miracle having been performed before the gate of the convent of ,st4 ,genevieve1 such a number of similar occurrences happened on the same spot in a few days1 that the police was compelled to post a peremptory notice on the gate1 prohibiting any individual from working miracles on the place in question4 ,when the locality was thus shut up1 the thaumaturgia ceased4 ,it is not long since we witnessed in ,paris two events of a similar character4 ,about four years ago1 at the ,hotel des ,invalides1 a veteran hung himself on the threshold of one of the doors of a corridor4 ,no suicide had occurred in the establishment for two years previously1 but in the succeeding fortnight five invalids hung themselves on the same cross-bar1 and the governor was obliged to shut up the passage4 ,during the last days of the empire1 again1 an individual ascended the column in the ,place ,vendome1 and threw himself down and was dashed to pieces4 ,the event excited a great sensation2 and in the course of the ensuing week1 four persons imitated the example1 and the police were obliged to proscribe the entrance to the column4 ,the same mania was almost induced by the suicide of a foolish girl1 who leaped from the balcony of our own city column on ,fish-street ,hill4 ,indeed ,monseigneur ,mare1 of ,paris1 alludes to a society enrolled for the mere purpose of suicide2 and there was an annual ballot to decide which of these miserable creatures should be immolated as the suicide of the year66 ,dr4 ,burrows1 ,i remember also1 relates cases analogous to these4 ,they occurred in the ranks of some army on the continent1 in which there was an epidemic propensity to suicide1 until the general began to hang the soldiers on trees as scarecrows4 ,the mania1 as you may believe1 very soon subsided4 ,,ev4 ,your curiosities eclipse mine1 ,ida4 ,but the natural leaning to the marvellous1 will1 without mania or fanaticism1 by the mere sympathy of intercommunicating minds1 spread wide these illusions1 even in the most simple instances4 ,some time since1 a very large assemblage were watching with intense interest the stone lion of the ,percies1 at ,northumberland ,house4 ,they were unanimous in the conviction that he was swinging his tail to and fro2 a false impression1 of course1 which had gradually accumulated from this solitary exclamation of a passenger3 8,by heaven1 he wags his tail60 ,of this sort of illusion ,i was myself a witness4 ,beneath the western portico of ,st4 ,paul's1 a crowd of gazers were bending their eyes on the image of the saint1 who was nodding at them with a very gracious affability4 ,curiosity had risen to the pitch of wonder at a miracle1 when suddenly a sparrow-hawk flew from the ringlets of the saint1 and the illusion vanished4 ,these eccentricities1 you will perceive1 occurred spontaneously2 and it is a most interesting study to note the analogies between these diseased actions1 and those resulting from the influence of certain gases and vegetable juices4 ,i have known the seeds of stramonium1 when swallowed by children1 produce a temporary delirium1 and a state of chorea1 singing1 dancing1 laughing1 and other mad frolics1 which could not be controlled4 ,and in the 8,history of ,virginia10 by ,beverly1 it is recorded1 that during the rebellion of ,bacon1 at ,james ,town1 some soldiers1 after eating the young leaves of stramonium for spinach1 enacted 8a very pleasant comedy1 for they turned natural fools upon it for several days4 ,one would blow up a feather into the air1 another would dart straws at it with much fury1 another1 stark naked1 was seen sitting up in a corner1 like a monkey1 grinning and making mouths40 ,in this frantic condition they were confined for safety4 ,in eleven days they recovered1 but had no memory of the delirium4 ,such also is the effect of large quantities of black henbane4 ,dr4 ,patouillet1 of ,toucy1 in ,france1 in #agcg witnessed a mania of this sort in nine persons1 who had eaten of that root4 ,it was marked by the strangest actions and expressions4 ,in these also there was no recollection of the illusion4 ,but the closest analogy1 in point of concentrated energy1 to eccentric somnambulism1 is the effect of the inhalation of the 8gaseous oxide of azote10 or 8protoxide of nitrogen10 the laughing-gas4 ,so intense is its impression on the nerves and blood of the brain1 that it effects a perfect metempsychosis4 ,this gas contains a greater relative proportion of oxygen than common air1 and it is inhaled through a tube from a bladder or silk bag4 ,after a little giddiness and headache1 the breather soon begins to feel a very delicious thrilling2 the eyes are dazzled by even common objects1 so much are the senses excited4 ,pride and pugnacity are quickly developed3 we think ourselves grand seignors1 and elevated far beyond the common class of mortals4 ,we expect from all a salaam1 and1 with all the proud dignity of papacy1 wonder that the people do not fall down and kiss our toe4 ,we turn a deaf ear to all which is addressed to us2 in short1 we are dissociated from all around us4 ,sir ,humphrey ,davy1 as the effect was wearing off1 seemed to have been charmed into the combined philosophy of ,berkley and ,hume4 ,he writes1 8with the most intense belief and prophetic manner1 ,i exclaimed3 #8,nothing exists but thoughts2 the universe is composed of impressions1 ideas1 pleasures1 and pains4'0 ,this brilliancy is probably the effect of scarlet or highly oxygenized blood1 acting on the brain and nerves of the senses4 ,the duration of this gaseous influence is usually from five minutes to a quarter of an hour4 ,it is not1 however1 always so transient4 ,from the record of ,professor ,silliman1 it seems to have converted an 8,il ,penseroso0 into a 8,l',allegro40 ,a man of melancholy became a man of mirth3 and1 although before his inhalation he had no sweet tooth in his head1 he began to eat little except sugar and sweet cakes1 and to swallow molasses with his meat and potatoes4 ,although sparring is the grand amusement of the gas-breather1 yet we can often decide on the shades of character1 however studiously they may have been concealed from us in sane moments4 ,a gentleman among my fellow-students threw himself forcibly on his back1 by his attempts to spout ,shakspere with dignity and effect4 ,another threw himself prostrate in the snow1 and rolling himself over and back across the quadrangle at ,guy's1 turned himself into an immense cylindrical snowball4 ,another snapped his fingers in defiance1 and walked with a most pompous strut1 and without his hat1 to the middle of ,london ,bridge1 ere he was brought to his senses4 ,indeed these experiments seem so replete with the ludicrous1 that ,i wonder ,cruikshank and ,hood have not often caught a fact1 as a theme for their brilliant fancy4 ,,reverie4 8,that fools should be so deep-contemplative40 8,in his brain ,he hath strange places cramm'd ,with observation1 the which he vents ,in mangled forms40 ,,as ,,you ,,like ,,it4 ,,astr4 ,i was dreaming last night1 ,evelyn1 of your eccentric puppets2 and ,i cannot but wonder at the contrasted influences of nitrous oxide on the brain and marrow1 as you say4 ,in one1 we see the wondrous phenomena of somnambulism2 in the other1 a state of apathy1 like the almost senseless reverie of the idiot4 ,,ev4 ,you are shrewd1 ,astrophel1 and have hit on these objective analogies with the acuteness of a pathologist4 ,contrasts they truly are2 and yet there is a natural transition from one to the other4 ,somnambulism is the most eccentric condition of sleep2 and ,reverie is that state which constitutes the nearest approximation to slumber4 ,but the ,french verb1 rver1 is a comprehensive word1 signifying all the eccentricities of mind1 from idiocy to divine philosophy2 so that its derivative1 8,reverie10 may be construed into ,dream1 ,delirium1 ,raving1 ,thought1 ,fancy1 ,meditation1 ,abstraction4 ,you may wonder at this combination1 but1 however you may smile1 the existence of every one is marked by a certain degree of moral or instinctive mania1 modified by the peculiarity of habit1 taste1 or sentiment2 and1 ,i may add1 of intellectual monomania 78monomanie raisonnante071 in reference to some particular subject4 ,there may indeed be an incubation of madness2 and1 if circumstances occur to sit and hatch1 the germs will be developed4 ,when these two1 moral and intellectual error 7which may separately pass current in the world for eccentricity71 unite1 then the man is mad1 and becomes an irresponsible agent4 ,the term 8,reverie10 then1 will imply the varied conditions of that faculty1 which phrenology terms concentrativeness2 the extremes of which mark the idiot and the sage4 ,idiocy is the most abject and imperfect condition of the waking mind1 resembling closely the first disposition to slumber1 the sensation of doziness4 ,the creature will commit the most absurd acts1 and utter the most ridiculous or profane expressions1 without the redeeming apology of being engaged in abstract thought or abstruse calculation4 ,it is consolatory1 however1 to know that this weakness is usually connate1 or manifested at the very dawn of intellect2 so that we have not the painful study of contrasting1 in one being1 the light of mind with its shadowy darkness4 ,the idiot1 indeed1 often appears so little more than a laughing or a dancing vegetable1 that pity yields to curiosity and mirth2 and1 instead of mourning1 we work into the plot and incidents of a novel or a stage farce1 either that strange mixture of weakness and cunning which is delineated in ,davie ,gellatly1 or the absolute imbecility of ,audrey1 ,slender1 and ,sir ,andrew ,aguecheek4 ,but this melancholy being is not always a solitary curiosity4 ,in many districts1 especially in the stream-fed valleys of ,europe and ,asia1 nature fails1 by wholesale1 in the development of that 8paragon of animals10 man4 ,such are the ,capots1 or ,cretins1 of ,chinese ,tartary1 as we learn from ,sir ,george ,staunton2 those of the ,rhone and ,tyrolese valleys2 the ,coliberts of ,rochelle2 the ,cagneux of ,brittany2 the ,gaffos of ,navarre2 the ,gavachos of ,spain2 and the ,gezitani of the ,pyrenees4 ,the condition of the lowest class of these wretched beings is indeed that of idiocy2 their intellectual power being little more than the mental blank which would mark the acephalous1 or brainless monsters1 could such abortions attain the age of maturity4 ,it is mere animal life1 with the very faintest stamp of intelligence4 ,the ,cretin is from four to five feet high1 cadaverous1 flabby1 the head immensely out of proportion1 the skin studded with livid eruptions1 the eyes blear and squinting1 the lips slavering1 the limbs weak and crooked2 and 7like the ,stulbings of ,swift7 the senses are imperfect1 the hearing and speech often absolutely lost1--the expression being that of a fool or a satyr4 ,and dissection demonstrates the frequent causes of all this2 for1 in the skull of these beings1 we often find a bluish jelly1 instead of healthy brain4 ,this diseased pulp is thus the source of both animal and intellectual apathy4 ,the idiot will often seem insensible to pain1 while his flesh is burning2 and objects or subjects do not cause sufficient impression on this pulpy brain to produce their image1 so that the being may almost live without a sense4 ,,cast4 ,this is a dreary1 but1 ,i suppose1 a faithful picture1 and shows us one of those impressive contrasts which nature is fraught with4 ,the ,cretin dwarf amidst the gigantic sublimity of the ,alps2 the lava stream rolling over the chestnut groves of ,valombrosa2 the malaria that steams up from the ,pontine even to ,albano2 the murky sulphur cloud that floats over ,avernus1 and the ,solfaterra2 and the poison-snake creeping among the honied flowers and purple festoons which gild the prairies and interlace the forests of ,columbia1 show us how intimately are blended the lights and shadows of creation4 ,yet ,evelyn will let me ask him if there are not many beautiful stories1 which we may have deemed the creation of poesy1 proving that idiotism is not always definite and permanent4 ,i ought to blush while ,i recite them4 ,the romance of ,cymon and ,iphigenia is not a mere fable4 ,i have heard a story of a youth who was an idiot to his #agth year4 ,at this time he saw a beautiful girl1 and instantly felt deep and devoted love for her2 and became1 from this almost divine influence1 as acute in intellect as his playmates4 ,,astr4 ,and what writeth the quaint ,anatomist of ,melancholy8--8,we read in the lives of the ,fathers a story of a child that was brought up in the wilderness from his infancy by an old hermite4 ,now come to man's estate1 he saw by chance two comely women wandering in the woods4 ,he asked the old man what creatures they were4 ,he told him fayries4 ,after a while talking obiter1 the hermite demanded of him which was the pleasantest sight that he ever saw in his life8 ,he readily replied1 the two fayries he espied in the wilderness4 ,so that without doubt there is some secret loadstone in a beautiful woman1 a magnetique power40 ,,ida4 ,we do not hold your gallantry lightly1 ,astrophel2 there is some hope of your conversion4 ,,ev4 ,that mind is termed weak1 where there is a want of the power of fixing the attention to one object1 a wandering of the imaginative faculty4 ,a train of ideas arises1 between the links of which there is some remote relation2 but its beginning and end may appear so dissonant1 that the absent person will fail to recognize the connexion1 until1 by an effort to retrace the steps of thought1 the mystery is developed4 ,,ida4 ,the subjects of this form of reverie are1 ,i presume1 the wool-gatherers of society1 being 8every thing by turns1 and nothing long20 and often1 like the dog in the fable1 losing the substance while they grasp at the shadow2 others employ their time by sitting 8,musing all alone1 ,building castles in the air10 forming plans and projecting schemes which shall fill men's minds with wonder1 and their own pockets with gold4 ,but these castle-builders are1 alas6 but the dupes of their own mad fancy4 ,the card-house is nearly finished1 and one imprudent touch of the child topples it down headlong4 ,one of the most salutary lessons on this foible is the fable of the ,persian visionary1 the glassman ,alnaschar1 who1 by rehearsing one kick of the foot1 that was to indicate his despotic will1 broke into ten thousand pieces the basket of merchandize1 which1 by its accumulating profits1 was to raise him to the highest dignities4 ,such are the results of self-glamourie or castle-building4 ,,ev4 ,it is a moral lesson of great worth1 dear ,ida4 ,but these wanderings are often assimilating the true delirium of fever1 of which the dreams of ,piranesi are examples4 ,in his sketches of these illusions he figures himself as ascending by steps so high that he at length vanishes into the clouds4 ,now there are many curious instances of forgetfulness1 as there may be a confusion of ideas from this deficiency of concentration1 memory being1 as it were1 deranged4 ,from study1 or intense thought1 a jumble of strange ideas will sometimes force themselves involuntarily on the mind1 displacing or confusing the subject of meditation4 ,thus a ,german1 of the name of ,spalding1 of high attainments1 informs us1 that after great mental labour1 he was intending to write this receipt3 8fifty dollars1 being one half-year's rate10 but quite unconsciously concluded it thus3 8fifty dollars through the salvation of ,bra40 ,and the author of the 8,spiritual ,treasury10 ,mason1 during his devotion to its composition1 had1 as he believed1 taken the address of a visitor on whom he was to wait2 but on referring to his note1 he read1 not the address1 but--8,acts ii4 verse #h40 ,children have naturally a want of power of concentration4 ,i have told you that if a new or more attractive object strikes their sight1 they will drop that which they were holding2 and ,foote would often1 while taking a pinch1 let his snuff-box fall from his hand1 if for a moment his attention was diverted4 ,,astr4 ,the reverse of wandering1 then1 you term concentrativeness4 ,you would not stigmatize the passive or involuntary form of abstraction1 as the reverie of a monomaniac4 ,,ev4 ,no4 ,as attention is concentration of a sense1 abstraction is the concentration or attention of the mind2 therefore the power of fixing the senses and forgetting the mind1 is attention1 that of fixing the mind and forgetting the senses1 is abstraction--philosophy1 if you will4 ,the active form1 the power of fixing the attention on one subject1 or of separating ideas and bringing them into association on one point1 is the great characteristic of the philosopher and the mathematician4 ,that inattention to minuti during this abstraction1 has1 ,i grant1 caused the shafts of satire to be profusely flung at many a 8learned pundit20 for the jokes of ,rabelais are eclipsed by the eccentricities of our sages3 ,dominie ,sampson is no caricature4 ,as ,i trace these forms of reverie from monomania to its curious contrast1 the folie raisonnante of men of one idea1 7in which there is an aberration of intellect1 or want of consciousness on all subjects but one17 and so on to philosophical abstraction1 we shall learn1 not without some humility1 how close an alliance does really exist between great wits and madness4 ,the records of history and fiction teem with the illusions of the monomaniacs from intense impression4 ,the madness of ,ophelia and of ,lear1 are true and faithful illustrations of the effects of brooding over sorrow4 ,in the monarch1 indeed1 that one momentary glimpse of reason when the word 8king0 like an electric shock falls on his ear1 and1 for an instant1 lights up his intellect1 which as suddenly darkness again overshadows1 beautifully shows forth by contrast this madness of one idea4 ,dr4 ,gooch relates the case of a lady1 who in consequence of an alarm of fire1 believed that she was the ,virgin ,mary1 and that her head was constantly encircled by a brilliant halo or glory4 ,a gentleman1 on narrowly escaping from the earthquake at ,lisbon1 fell into a state of delirium whenever the word 8earthquake0 was pronounced in his hearing4 ,in 8,pechlin0 we read of a lady1 who gazed with painless interest on the comet of #afha until she observed it through a telescope of high power2 the terror was so intense1 that she was frightened to death even in a few days4 ,dr4 ,morrison relates the case of an insane gentleman who had consulted a gypsy1 and was instantly in a state of high excitement1 whenever a subject associated with her prophecies was alluded to4 ,my friend1 ,dr4 ,uwins1 informed me of an intellectual young gentleman1 who from some morbid association with the idea of an elephant1 was struck by an horrific spasm whenever the word was named1 or even written before him2 and to such a pitch was this infatuation carried1 that elephant paper1 if he were sensible it were such1 produced the same effect4 ,the ,reverend ,john ,mason1 of ,water ,stratford1 evinced in every thing sound judgment1 except that he believed that he was ,elias1 and foretold the advent of ,christ1 who was to commence the millennium at ,stratford4 ,dr4 ,abercrombie writes of a young botanist who had gained a prize3 he thought he was in a boat sailing to ,greenwich on a botanical excursion1 and conversed rationally on all points but that of the prize1 which he asserted another student had gained4 ,hear1 too1 another rhapsody of the 8,opium-,eater40 ,after a close and intense study of the works of ,livy1 the words ,consul ,romanus seemed to haunt his mind4 8,at a clapping of hands would be heard the heart-rending sounds of #8,consul ,romanus2' and immediately came sweeping by in gorgeous paludaments1 ,paulus ,marius girt round by a company of centurions1 with the crimson tunic hoisted on a spear1 and followed by the alalagmos of the ,roman legions40 ,there is a story 7written in the seventeenth century7 of a youth1 who in a playful frolic put a ring on the marriage finger of a marble ,venus2 and a strange illusion came upon him that she had thus become his wife1 and1 in obedience to the injunctions of the ceremony1 came to his bed when the sable canopy of night was spread around them4 ,so intense was this illusion1 and so cold and loveless was his heart withal1 that1 as the story goes1 an exorcist was employed to dissolve the spell which had so firmly bound him4 ,,ida4 ,i believe it was ,mrs4 ,barry1 who 7as we read in the 8,last ,essays of ,elia107 averred that when playing the child of ,isabella1 she felt the burning tears of ,mrs4 ,porter fall on her neck1 as she was breathing o'er her some pathetic sentence4 ,even the study of ,lady ,macbeth1 in midnight solitude1 so intensely excited the imagination of ,mrs4 ,siddons1 that ,campbell says1 as she was disrobing herself in her chamber1 she trembled with affright1 even at the rustling of her own silk attire4 ,,ev4 ,i could add many stories to yours1 ,ida4 ,this sensibility1 if protracted or in excess1 becomes the ,panophobia of ,esquirol4 ,he attended once a lady whom the slightest noise alarmed1 and who was wont to scream with affright at the simple moving of herself in bed4 ,from the journal of ,esquirol ,i will quote other fragments1 in which we see that every object was associated with one image4 8,during our promenade he 7a gallant general7 interrupted me several times1 in the midst of a very connected conversation1 saying1 8,do you hear how they repeat the words #8coward1 jealous8' c40 ,this illusion was produced by the noise of the leaves and the whistling of the wind among the branches of the trees1 which appeared to him well-articulated sounds2 and1 although ,i had each time combated it with success1 the illusion returned whenever the wind agitated the trees anew4 8,a young married man was in a state of fury whenever he saw a woman leaning on a man's arm1 being convinced that it was his own wife4 ,i took him to the theatre at the commencement of his convalescence1 but as soon as a lady entered the saloon accompanied by a gentleman1 he became agitated1 and called out eagerly several times1 #8,that is she1 that is she4' ,i could hardly help laughing1 and we were obliged to retire4 8,a lady1 twenty-three years of age1 afflicted with hysterical madness1 used to remain constantly at the windows of her apartment during the summer4 ,when she saw a beautiful cloud in the sky1 she screamed out #8,garnerin1 ,garnerin1 come and take me6' and repeated the same invitation until the cloud disappeared4 ,she mistook the clouds for balloons sent up by ,garnerin40 ,,cast4 ,there is here as much romance1 as when ,ajax mistook a drove of oxen for the armed ,greeks1 or ,don ,quixote the windmills for a band of ,spanish giants4 ,,ev4 ,again1 ,dr4 ,beddoes relates the case of a scholar1 who locked himself up to study the ,revelation4 ,the confinement brought on dyspeptic pains and spasms1 and he was persuaded that 8the monster blasphemy1 with ten heads1 was preying on his vitals40 ,the ,reverend ,simon ,brown died with the conviction that his rational soul was annihilated by a special fiat of the ,divine will2 and a patient in the ,friends' 8,retreat10 at ,york1 thought he had no soul1 heart1 or lungs4 ,from 8,tulpius0 we learn1 that the wife of ,salomon ,galmus sank into a state of extreme melancholy1 from the deep conviction that she was a visitant from the tomb1 but sent back to the world without her heart1 for ,god had detained that in heaven4 ,such illusions are sometimes excited by wounds of the brain4 ,a soldier of the field of ,austerlitz was struck with a delirious conviction that he was but an ill-made model of his former self4 8,you ask how ,pre ,lambert is10 7he would say27 8he is dead1 killed at ,austerlitz2 that you now see is a mere machine1 made in his likeness40 ,he would then often lapse into a state of catalepsy insensible to every stimulus4 ,dr4 ,mead tells us of an ,oxford student1 who ordered the passing bell to be rung for him1 and went himself to the belfry to instruct the ringers4 ,he returned to his bed only to die4 ,a ,bourbon prince thought himself dead1 and refused to eat until his friends invited him to dine with ,turenne and other ,french heroes long since departed4 ,there was a tradesman who thought he was a seven-shilling piece1 and advertised himself thus3 8,if my wife presents me for payment1 don't change me40 ,accuse me not of transatlantic plagiarism4 ,bishop ,warburton tells us of a man who thought himself a goose pie2 and ,dr4 ,ferriday1 of ,manchester1 had a patient who thought he had swallowed the devil4 ,so indeed thought ,luther4 ,as in ,hudibras1 8,did not the devil appear to ,martin ,luther in ,germany for certain80 ,in ,paris there lived a man who thought he had with others been guillotined1 and when ,napoleon was emperor1 their heads were all restored1 but in the scramble he got the wrong one4 ,and there is the 8,visitor of ,phantaste0 in the old play of 8,lingua10 who exclaims3 8,no marvel1 for when ,i beheld my fingers1 ,i saw they were as transparent as glass40 ,you perceive that the illusions of ,pope's 8,rape of the ,lock0 are not all fictions3 the maids who fancied they were turned into bottles1 were not more in error than these philosophers with their maladie imaginaire4 ,,cast4 ,is there not wisdom1 ,evelyn1 in nursing some of these innocent illusions8 ,i remember ,kotzebue1 in his 8,journey to ,paris10 relates the following anecdote of a young girl1 romantically in love4 ,her lover had often accompanied her on the harp3 he died1 and his harp had remained in her room4 ,after the first excess of her despair1 she sunk into the deepest melancholy1 and much time elapsed ere she would sit down to her instrument4 ,at last she did so1 gave some touches1 and1 hark6 the harp1 tuned alike1 resounded in echo4 ,the good girl was at first seized with a secret shuddering1 but soon felt a kind of soft melancholy3 she was firmly persuaded that the spirit of her lover was softly sweeping the strings of the instrument4 ,the harpsichord1 from this moment1 constituted her only pleasure1 as it afforded her the certainty that her lover was still hovering near her4 ,one of those unfeeling men1 who want to know and clear up every thing1 once entered her apartment4 ,the girl instantly begged him to be quiet1 for at that very moment the dear harp spoke most distinctly4 ,being informed of the amiable illusion which overcame her reason1 he laughed1 and1 with a great display of learning1 proved to her by experimental physics1 that all this was very natural4 ,from that instant the maiden grew melancholy1 drooped1 and soon after died4 ,,ev4 ,truth is not always to be spoken1 nor too much energy exerted1 in our treatment2 for many a mad act1 as it will be called1 is resorted to1 as a relief4 ,tirouane de ,mericourt was wont to saturate her bedclothes with cold water1 then lie down on it4 ,although an extreme remedy1 it might yield her relief from burning pains4 ,in the darker ages1 she would have been chained and scourged4 ,but from ,marcus ,donatus we read the following case of still more melancholy interest2 another illustration of your question1 dear ,castaly3 8,vicentinus believed himself too large to pass one of his doorways4 ,to dispel this illusion1 it was resolved by his physician that he should be dragged through this aperture by force4 ,this erroneous dictate was obeyed2 but1 as he was forced along1 ,vicentinus screamed out in agony1 that his limbs were fractured1 and the flesh torn from his bones4 ,in this dreadful delusion1 with terrific imprecations against his murderers1 he died40 ,,abstraction ,,of ,,intellect4 8,i love to cope him in these sullen fits1 ,for then he's full of matter40 ,,as ,,you ,,like ,,it4 ,,astr4 ,so that in these cases it is one faculty only which is interrupted1 and not the combined intellect4 ,but all the faculties but one may be deranged1 may they not8 ,,ev4 ,yes4 ,when the patient is insane on all points but one1 we term it1 8,folie raisonnante40 ,the very idiot1 indeed1 is often fond of most exact arrangement4 ,the savage of ,aveyron instantly put things in order when they were deranged4 ,white1 in his 8,history of ,selborne10 records the propensities of an idiot1 who1 he says1 was a very ,merops-apiaster1 or ,bee-bird4 ,honey-bees1 humblebees1 and wasps1 were his prey3 he would seize them1 disarm them of their weapons1 and suck their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags4 ,except in this adroitness1 he had no understanding4 ,pinel states the case of a mechanical genius1 who became insane1 believing his head to be changed4 ,yet he invented mechanism of the most intricate combinations4 ,we are informed1 too1 of a clergyman1 who was ever insane1 but when delivering his discourses from the pulpit4 ,i believe some parts of a national establishment were constructed from the plans of one of its inmates1 who was to all other intents and purposes a madman4 ,dr4 ,uwins once told me1 that some of the lines in his biographical work were written by a maniac in the ,hoxton ,asylum1 who was ever aware of the approach of his mania4 ,these lines were thought to be among the best in the work4 ,nay1 idiots will sometimes reason1 and work out a syllogism4 ,i think ,dr4 ,conolly relates a story of two1 who quarrelled1 because each asserted that he was the ,holy ,ghost2 at length1 one decided that the other was the ,holy ,ghost1 and that he could not be1 because there were not two4 ,from this 8folie raisonnante0 there is an easy transition to that eccentricity which seems to be a set-off against the strength of mind of the deep thinker4 ,the permanent derangement1 however1 we term insanity2 the transient1 eccentricity4 ,marullus informs us that ,bernard rode all day long by the ,lemnian ,lake1 and at last inquired where he was4 ,archimedes rushed into the street naked from the bath1 in an ecstacy at having discovered the alloy in the crown of ,syracuse4 ,pinel tells us of a priest1 who1 in an abstract mood1 felt no pain1 although part of his body was burning4 8,viote10 says ,zimmerman1 8during his fits of mathematical abstraction1 would often remain sleepless and foodless for three days and nights40 ,and ,plato thus records an instance of the abstraction of ,socrates3--8,one morning he fell into one of these raptures of contemplation1 and continued standing in the same posture till about noon4 ,in the evening1 some ,ionian soldiers went out1 and1 wrapping themselves up warm1 lay down by him in the open field1 to observe if he would continue in that posture all night2 which he did until the morning1 and as soon as the sun rose he saluted it1 and retired40 ,this is mental abstraction with a vengeance6 ,,astr4 ,i will laugh with you at these oddities1 ,evelyn2 yet not a whit less ludicrous are some of the vagaries of the learned ,thebans of modern times4 ,the abstractions of ,newton were proverbial4 ,it may not be true1 that he once inserted the little finger of a lady1 whose hand he was holding1 into his pipe1 instead of a tobacco-stopper2 or that he made a small hole in his study-door for the exit of a kitten1 by the side of a large one for the cat3 it is certain1 however1 that he was once musing by his fire1 with his knees close to the bars1 when1 finding his legs in danger of being grilled1 he rang his bell1 and1 in a rage1 desired his servant to take away the grate4 ,dr4 ,hamilton1 author of the acute 8,essay on the ,national ,debt10 visited his college class in the morning with his own black silk stocking on one leg1 and his wife's white cotton on the other2 and would sometimes occupy the whole class time by repeatedly removing the students' hats from his table1 which they as often placed there4 ,he would run against a cow1 and beg madam's pardon1 hoping he had not hurt her2 and he would bow politely to his wife in the street1 without recognition4 ,yet with all this he would1 at any time1 directly converse on a scientific subject beautifully and eloquently4 ,bacon1 the sculptor1 in a rich full dress was finishing ,howard's statue in ,st4 ,paul's1 and1 being cold1 put on a ragged green and red shag waistcoat4 ,in this trim he walked out to call on some ladies in ,doctors' ,commons4 ,on his return he told his son that they were sadly disposed to laugh about nothing4 ,on being convinced1 however1 of his condition1 he remembered the people he passed also giggled1 and cried out1 8,he does it for a wager40 ,hogarth paid a visit1 in his new carriage1 to the ,lord ,mayor1 and1 after his audience1 walked home in his state clothes1 leaving his carriage at a private door of the ,mansion-,house4 ,dr4 ,harvest1 of ,ditton1 a very learned man1 would unconsciously allow his horse to be loosened from his grasp1 and walk home with the bridle on his arm4 ,he would walk into his church on ,sunday1 with his fowling-piece4 ,he would write a letter1 address it1 and send it to three different persons4 ,he lost a lady1 the daughter of a bishop1 as his wife1 by going out to catch gudgeons1 forgetting that it was the morning of his marriage ceremony2 and he once threw a glass of wine at backgammon1 and swallowed the dice6 ,after this we can no longer call caricatures the abstract philosopher who boiled his watch1 and held the egg in his hand as the time-keeper2 or the ,american1 who put his candle to bed1 and blew himself out2 or the lady1 who believed herself to be a post-letter1 but waited patiently until the letter-sorter had examined her1 to ascertain if she was single or double4 ,,ev4 ,there is some hope of you now1 dear ,astrophel1 for you are returning to matters of fact4 ,from the deep interest of dramatic scenes may spring the same apathy as that which you have illustrated4 ,dr4 ,fordyce writes of one who forgot he was sitting on a hard bench1 when ,garrick brought in his dead ,cordelia in his arms4 ,and even the impression of fatigue and pain will often1 for a time1 leave us1 when we are gazing on architectural or picturesque beauty4 ,,ida4 ,are not those minds which are easily influenced by morbid sensibility1 the minuti of existence1 often thus depressed into a condition somewhat resembling the moroseness of these half-idiots8 ,,ev4 ,ay1 even the mighty minds of heroes and of monarchs4 ,queen ,elizabeth was often wont to sit alone1 in the dark1 in sorrow and in tears4 ,we know not if the fate of ,essex or of ,mary were the cause1 but the marble mind of ,elizabeth was dissolved before she died4 ,in ,sully's 8,mmoires10 also1 we read that the solitude of ,charles ,,ix41 of ,france1 was saddened by remorse1 for his memory was ever pealing in his ear the shrieks and groans of the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew4 ,during this influence we may often find that the features or actions are so deeply expressive as to prove an involuntary1 though correct1 index of the thought4 ,according to the passions or subjects which occupy the mind1 will be the play of feature or the movement of the body4 8,we might almost suppose the body thought40 ,this 8brown study0 is the slightest form of that state which the ,french term ennui1 in which the mind too often is left to prey upon itself1 having1 as it were1 no sympathy with the world4 ,its more severe symptoms are those of misanthropy1 melancholy1 and hypochondriasis1 inducing but too often that extreme tedium vit1 the climax of which is suicide4 ,out of the first1 which is but the mere ripple of derangement1 we may be laughed or coaxed2 nay1 it may yield to the positive suffering of the body4 ,the second is like the deep still water1 the awful calmness antecedent to a tempest4 ,in the words of ,lord ,erskine1 8,reason is not driven from her seat1 but distraction sits down on it along with her1 holds her trembling on it1 and frights her from her propriety4 ,and then comes often o'er the mind a very coward sentiment1 echoing the demoniac resolution of ,spenser's 8,cave of ,despair03 8,what if some little payne the passage have1 ,that makes frayle flesh to fear the better wave8 ,is not short payne well borne1 that brings long ease1 ,and layes the soule to sleep in quiet grave80 ,,ida4 ,despair will often rouse even the most sensitive beings to the most patient fortitude4 ,how is this8 ,,ev4 ,not rouse1 but depress--not fortitude1 but apathy4 ,i could excite your deepest sympathy and wonder1 ,ida1 by the history of the young and beautiful ,ann ,g----n1 who was hung for child-murder2 in whom the convulsive agony which followed her sentence at length ended in a resignation which some would term heroism4 ,during the nights in which ,i myself watched her slumbers1 both from deep scientific interest1 and the request of her judges1 her actions were automatic2 her existence was one perfect trance2 and she met her fate as if life and its consciousness had long been parted4 ,even an intense blow will sometimes1 as it were1 annihilate sensibility1 creating an icy apathy to all subsequent inflictions2 which was the effect on ,mandrin1 during the tortures of the wheel2 for he smiled at the third blow1 to find that it hurt him so little4 ,,ida4 ,then we are to contrast the state of the unhappy girl with the voluntary endurance of heroism depending on the power of concentrating mind8 ,the almost superhuman endurance of pain is finely displayed among the ,north ,american ,indians1 who even chant their own death-song calmly amidst worse than the tortures of the ,inquisition1 or sustain with a smile those probationary trials for the dignities of a chief1 or the admission to the class of warriors1 that are modelled with all the refinement of cruelty4 ,on the banks of the ,orinoco1 especially1 7if ,robertson be right1 or ,gumilla1 his authority1 to be believed17 the ordeal begins by a rigid fast1 reductive of the body's energy2 then commences a flaying of his body by lashes as dreadful as the knout1 by the hands of the assembled chiefs1 and then1 if the slightest sensibility be evinced1 he is disgraced for ever4 ,his raw and reeking flesh is then exposed to the stings and venom of insects and reptiles1 and again suspended over the scorching and suffocating flames of herbs of the most disgusting odour2 and1 to close this tale of torture1 it is not seldom that the victim sinks in mortal agonies beneath the dreadful ordeal4 ,,ev4 ,the two great springs of voluntary endurance of pain are religion and honour4 ,thus1 among other heroic acts of ,england's martyrs1 ,cranmer held the apostate hand which signed his recantation in the midst of the flames until it was wasted4 ,and the unyielding fortitude with which the victim bore the rack and other excruciating tortures of the popish ,inquisition is almost beyond belief4 ,the fanaticism of the wild enthusiasts of the east it were profanation to call religion2 but with the hope of rejoining her husband in the realms of bliss1 the ,hindoo widow clasps his corpse in her arms1 and1 without a sigh1 sets the torch to his funeral pile4 ,and1 to inherit the paradise of ,brahma1 the ,fakir or ,yoghee keeps his fist clenched for years1 until the nails grow through his hand2 or forces the hooks between his ribs1 and whirls himself aloft until he expires1 or throws himself prostrate beneath the crushing wheels of ,juggernaut4 ,it is written that ,cardan rendered himself by great efforts insensible to external irritants4 ,and analogous to this1 was the almost superhuman effort of that determined action of ,muley ,moloch quoted in the 8,spectator10 from ,vertot's 8,revolutions of ,portugal30--8,in a condition of extreme prostration he was borne in a litter with his army4 ,on the sounding of a retreat1 although in a half-dying state1 he leaped from the litter1 and led his quailing troops to a charge1 which ended in victory4 ,ere this was accomplished his life was fast ebbing1 and1 reclining on his litter1 and enjoining the secrecy of his staff1 with his finger on his lip1 he died40 ,but my analysis will be incomplete1 if ,i do not revert to a point that ,i had almost forgotten4 ,these abstract moods have often been confounded with the visions of slumber1 being adduced as proofs of the perfection of mind during sleep4 ,you reminded me1 ,astrophel1 of the brilliant parody composed by ,mackenzie1 of the versification of ,voltaire and ,la ,fontaine1 of the solution of the difficult problem by ,condorcet1 of the discussion of abstruse points of policy by ,cabanis4 ,you might have added ,condillac1 who asserts that when he was composing the 8,cours d',etudes10 he often left a chapter unfinished1 but had it all in his mind when he awoke4 ,and ,franklin assures us1 that he often dreamed of the issue of important events in which he was engaged1 believing the vision to be the influence of inspired prophecy4 ,dr4 ,haycock1 of ,oxford1 too1 is said to have composed and preached sermons in his sleep1 in despite even of buffetings4 ,these are not dreams1 but the reveries of philosophers and poets4 ,the faculties of perception are suspended3 one only object occupies the mind1 and the impression on the memory is vivid and permanent4 ,of this reverie ,i do not recollect a more interesting illustration than the 8,dream of ,tartini10 and its exquisite product1 8,la ,sonata di ,diavolo40 ,this admirable violinist and once esteemed composer1 relates the following anecdote as the origin of his chef-d'uvre1 the 8,devil's ,sonata40 8,one night1 it was in the year #agac1 ,i dreamed that ,i had made over my soul to his satanic majesty4 ,every thing was done to my wink2 the faithful menial anticipated my fondest wishes4 ,among other freaks1 it came into my head to put the violin into his hands1 for ,i was anxious to see whether he was capable of producing anything worth hearing upon it4 ,conceive my astonishment at his playing a sonata1 with such dexterity and grace1 as to surpass whatever the imagination can conceive4 ,i was so much delighted1 enraptured1 and entranced by his performance1 that ,i was unable to fetch another breath1 and1 in this state1 ,i awoke4 ,i jumped up and seized upon my instrument1 in the hope of reproducing a portion1 at least1 of the unearthly harmonies ,i had heard in my dream4 ,but all in vain3 the music which ,i composed under the inspiration1 ,i must admit the best ,i have ever written1 and of right ,i have called it the #8,devil's ,sonata2' but the falling off between that piece and the sonata which had laid such fast hold of my imagination is so immense1 that ,i would rather have broken my violin into a thousand fragments1 and renounced music for good and all1 than1 had it been possible1 have been robbed of the enjoyment which the remembrance afforded me40 ,in the cases of precocious children1 who are said to have 8lisp'd in numbers10 ,i do not doubt that the secret may be referred to this concentration of genius4 ,mozart composed a sonata at the age of four4 ,the precocious little girl1 ,louisa ,vinning1 who was called the 8,infant ,sappho10 has yet eclipsed ,mozart in this2 that at the age of two years and eight months she sang repeatedly a melody perfectly new1 and so perfect1 that it was written down from her lips1 and entitled1 8,the ,infant's ,dream40 ,during all this1 the little creature was in such a state of apparent abstraction1 that it was believed by all around her that she walked and talked in her sleep4 ,these mental concentrations can1 by some enthusiasts1 be produced at pleasure4 ,the paroxysm of the improvisatore1 for instance4 ,but it is an effort which1 like the dark hour of the ,caledonian seer1 is not endured with impunity3 it points1 indeed1 emphatically to the limit beyond which mind should not be strained4 ,the ,marquis de ,moschati expressed himself to us1 as experiencing excitement like intoxication when he sat himself to compose1 and threw his whole soul into his subject4 ,it commenced with irregular and laborious breathing1 excessive palpitations1 vertigo1 tinnitus aurium1--the perception of objects being lost4 ,then came romantic fancies1 like the visions of opium1 8thoughts that breathe1 and words that burn40 ,at the conclusion was felt excessive exhaustion1 and a state of mild catalepsy ensued for five or six days together4 ,this excited talent1 therefore1 is an evanescent madness4 ,,cast4 ,another fling at poesy4 ,were ,i an improvisatrice1 you would not so libel my inspiration4 8,listen1 lords and lady gay40 ,in the summer of #ah--1 after the ,eisteddfod at ,cardiff1 we wandered over the hills to ,caerphilly1 the gigantic towers of ,owain ,glyndwr4 ,as ,i lay under the celebrated ,hanging ,tower1 which is projecting eleven feet beyond its base1 ,i reflected on the strange circumstance of the arrest of so gigantic a mass in its progress to prostration4 8,what10 ,i exclaimed1 8is the power by which it is suspended80 ,my imagination heightened my reverie1 and placed before me the image of the ,destroyer1 with his emblematic scythe and glass1 and he answered me thus3-- 8,half-dreaming mortal1 listen6 ,it is ,i1 ,time1 the destroyer1 whose gigantic arm ,lifted this pond'rous ruin from its base4 ,why hangs it thus1 arrested in its course1 ,in bold defiance of attraction's law8 ,why1 like its once proud lord1 renown'd ,glyndwr1 ,sinks not its mouldering grandeur to the ground8 ,behold an emblem of vitality6 ,a type of mortal man1 of thee1 of all6 ,like this grey wall1 thy tott'ring steps are staid1 ,and on a thread thy fragile life is hung2 ,yet leaning1 ever leaning1 to the grave4 ,one moment more1 an atom of an age1 ,this mould'ring ruin1 trembling on its base1 ,may1 like the marble shafts of lone ,palmyra1 ,be hurl'd to earth1 and crumble into dust2 ,and1 like the ruin1 thou60 ,and yet ,i was not mad4 ,,ev4 ,i talk not of a gentle heart like yours1 fair ,castaly2 but of that extreme1 when ideas are received by a mind nearly exhausted1 and lie for a while dormant4 ,as sleep and fatigue wear off1 and consciousness returns1 these images are suddenly and brilliantly lighted up4 ,if intense impression shall have been made on the heart or mind1 intense will be the abstraction of the enthusiast4 ,until one thought is touched1 the patient is sane2 but1 when the chord vibrates1 then1 as in the pathetic episode of ,sterne's ,maria1 the paroxysm is expended in a flood of tears1 or in a mad fit1 or in a gush of wildest music4 ,to the latter cause1 we owe many beauties of composition4 ,demarini1 the ,italian tragedian1 acted a prison-scene before ,paganini1 in which1 with the pathos of deep distress1 the victim prayed for death4 ,the maestro retired to bed1 but not to sleep2 his excited brain relieved its painful sympathies by the composition of the 8,adagio apassionato40 ,carl ,maria ,von ,weber witnessed the waltzing of his wife with a gallant cavalier4 ,he retired in a mood of jealous frenzy1 and expressed the ideas which rankled in his heart by the 8,invitation la ,walse40 ,,astr4 ,well1 is there not something special in all this8 ,,ev4 ,yes1 truly1--a power imparted to some1 withheld from others1--genius4 ,,astr4 ,yet1 in explanation of this abstract reverie1 the phrenologist will1 ,i dare say1 satisfy himself by merely deciding that the organ of concentrativeness is strongly developed4 ,,ev4 ,it is clear1 at least1 that the deep interest of the subject of reflection overbalances the influence of the external senses4 ,the impression of objects is either too slight1 or rapid1 to produce perception1 or 7in other words71 however the impression may be imparted to the brain by the nerve1 the brain is not sensible of it1 and there is therefore no perception4 ,so intense indeed has been this influence1 that ,pliny contemplated the volcanic philosophy amidst the ashy cloud of ,vesuvius by which he was destroyed4 ,and ,archimedes was so intent in solving a problem1 during the siege of ,syracuse1 that no sense of danger impelled him to avoid the storm1 or fly from the dagger of the assassin4 ,while ,parmegiano was painting at ,rome the 8,vision of ,st4 ,jerome10 which now adorns the ,national ,gallery of ,england1 the famous siege of that city was concluded by its spoliation4 ,yet ,parmegiano 7absorbed with his painting7 was unconscious of the tumult1 until his studio was burst open by some of the soldiers of the enemy4 ,a similar story is told1 also1 of ,protogenes1 when ,demetrius was laying siege to ,rhodes4 ,,cast4 ,the flappers of ,laputa would soon have dispelled this reverie4 ,,ev4 ,but if they had thus flourished their official bladders1 perhaps the 8,principia ,mathematica0 had not been written2 for ,newton explained the extent of his discoveries by his 8always thinking unto them40 ,somewhat like the effect of intense study on the mind1 the muscles of the limbs will be influenced by one long-directed habit4 ,paganini was observed1 on board a steam-boat1 constantly to repose on the sofa4 ,during this state of reverie1 his left arm assumed the peculiar attitude in which he held his violin1 until he saw that he was noticed1 when he altered its position4 ,the right hand of ,benjamin ,west1 of which ,i saw a posthumous model at ,lord de ,tabley's1 appeared to have taken that form in which he was wont to hold the pencil4 ,by this concentration1 this full possession of the mind1 the wildness of fancy in the dark is often the source of terror2 but this is ever lessened or dispelled by any sound or sight which presents a subject to the perceptive faculty4 ,such is the sudden glimmer of a light1 the barking of a dog1 or the almost instinctive effort of the school-boy1 8,whistling aloud to keep his courage up40 ,all these cases1 then1 indicate concentration of mind4 8,mental conception is uninfluenced by conscious perception40 ,i may add1 that1 in the heat of engagement1 soldiers and sailors are often unconscious of being even seriously wounded4 ,in the battle of ,lake ,thrasymene1 the armies of ,rome and ,carthage were so absorbed in the tumult and din of war1 that an earthquake1 which spread desolation around them1 was unheeded by these determined soldiers4 ,,ida4 ,i have gleaned enough from your illustrations1 ,evelyn1 to believe that we may explain by them that solemn and last reverie of the dying1 when all other ideas have ceased to influence1 but the most impressive-- 8,the ruling passion strong in death20 when earthly life is on the wane1 and the spirit1 in this expiring thought1 takes its last farewell of the flesh4 ,i remember some beautiful evidences of this influence4 ,it was observed that ,porson1 after a paralytic fit1 scarcely uttered a word of ,english2 but to the last moment spoke ,greek fluently4 ,dr4 ,adam 7a master of ,sir ,walter ,scott71 on the subsidence of delirium1 exclaimed1 8,it grows dark--the boys may dismiss20 and instantly expired4 ,the last words of ,dr4 ,abercrombie were addressed to an imaginary patient1 regarding the care of his digestive functions4 ,some time after the trial of the ,bristol magistrates1 ,lord ,tenterden lapsed into a stupor from exhaustion4 ,a short period before death he rallied1 and1 after conversing with his friends for a few minutes1 he raised himself on his couch1 and said1 8,gentlemen of the jury1 you may retire20 and then fell back and expired4 ,,somnolence4--,,trance4--,,catalepsy4 ----8,in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death1 ,thou shalt remain full two and forty hours1 ,and then awake1 as from a pleasant sleep40 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet4 ,,cast4 ,evelyn1 you have again bewildered my thoughts4 ,sleep1 that should be the anodyne of the mind1 has awakened afresh my curiosity4 ,i am in a mood for mystery4 ,any more wonders8 ,,ev4 ,the prototypes of sleep1 dear ,castaly1 are all 8mysteries10 as you call them1 and marked by ever-varying shades4 ,the most impressive conditions of the mind are these3 ,unconscious and passive1 as in sound sleep4 ,conscious yet passive1 as in dreaming4 ,conscious and willing1 yet powerless1 as in night-mare4 ,unconscious yet active1 as in somnambulism4 ,if we go deeper in our analysis1 we shall discover a state more wondrous still than all we have unravelled1 in which mind is unconscious1 sensationless1 unwishing1 motionless1 powerless1 as in trance or catalepsy2 an absolute apathy of body and complete oblivion of mind4 ,and yet life is there6 ,in the dream of night-mare1 you remember1 there is a will1 but no power4 ,in the absolute senselessness of trance1 all sympathy between the brain or spinal marrow1 or the influence of the nerves of motion1 or of the will on muscle1 altogether cease4 ,i will not fatigue you with varieties1 such as carus1 catalepsy1 and the like1 or with mere medical definitions1 as syncope or fainting1 epilepsy1 apoplexy1 and their analogies4 ,by the term trance ,i would define all those conditions in which there is protracted derangement of volition or the will2 sensibility and voluntary action being suspended1 while the vital functions are performed1 yet with diminished energy2 the 8deep sleep0 of ,paracelsus1 ,hieronymus ,fabricius1 ,celsus1 and other writers of antiquity4 ,in some the rosy colour of the lips and cheeks will not fade2 in others1 they are pale and bloodless2 the body becomes cold as marble1 the pulse often imperceptible1 and the vapour of breathing on a polished surface alone distinguishes the still living being from the perfect work of the sculptor4 ,i have1 however1 had patients who were rosy when they fell asleep1 but became pale about the end of the second day4 ,girls often smile sweetly in full catalepsy1 but the countenance will become anxious as waking approaches2 and this must ever excite suspicion4 ,the body indeed is1 to the external world1 dead2 for although the cataleptic will often swallow food1 while all the other muscles are in spasm1 this may1 ,i believe does1 depend on mere irritability1 by which1 as ,i before told you1 the brain is first excited1 and then directs a movement without the mind's feeling4 ,catalepsy is so peculiar to young females of extreme sensibility1 that it may be considered an intense hysteria1 depending on certain sympathies1 or resulting from sudden or powerful influences on the passions4 ,the form of catalepsy marked by hysteria is least dangerous2 but it is very stubborn4 ,probably this is the form so common in ,germany4 ,previous to the cataleptic acme girls are often maniacally violent1 and will then suddenly regain their temper and their reason4 ,they will sit and play with their fingers in a sullen mood1 and the power of motion and speech and other acts of volition may be alternately impaired or lost4 ,in some1 the sleep has been preceded by fits of lethargy1 by lassitude1 and inaptitude to exertion1 and perhaps a propensity to sleep-walking4 ,the decided state of catalepsy has begun in an epileptic convulsion4 ,in all1 ,i think1 ,i have seen combined with this disorder1 irregular determination of blood2 in one case1 where the taste and smell were gone for four or five months1 the climax was suicide by arsenic4 ,the countenance is almost always placid in cataleptic sleep2 the eyes being turned up1 the pupils dilated1 but the eyelids closed4 ,if the fit be the result of sudden fright1 the features will remain as they were at that moment--the eyelid fixed1 but the pupil usually sensible4 ,the joints and muscles are pliable1 and may be moulded to any form1 but they remain in that position as rigidly fixed as the limbs of a clay figure1 or the anchylosed joints of the self-torturing fakir2 insensible to all stimuli1 beating1 tickling1 or pricking4 ,i have seen patients lapse into a state of catalepsy1 in a moment1 without a struggle4 ,i remember1 during one of my visits to the asylum in ,hoxton1 a maniac1 who often in the midst of his occupation became instantaneously a statue2 leaning a little forward1 one arm lifted up1 and the index finger pointed as at some interesting object2 the eye staring and ghastly1 and the whole expression as of one rapt in an ecstacy of thought or vision4 ,the waking from a trance1 like the recovery from the asphyxia of drowning1 is painful4 ,it is attended with a struggle1 and the hand is almost invariably placed firmly over the heart1 as if its actions were a painful effort to overcome congestion4 ,in some cases1 indeed1 a purple hue will suddenly suffuse the cataleptic body2 the limbs are then extremely rigid1 but become pliant when the healthy tint is restored4 ,the sensation in the brain of the cataleptic1 as of those recovering from drowning1 resembles the pricking of needles1 the circulation soon becoming accelerated4 ,hunger is usually intense when the patient awakes4 ,the usual duration of catalepsy is from twenty to forty hours4 ,the return of volition is commonly marked by perspiration2 this premonitory sign is often followed by a piercing shriek1 as in the case of night-mare1 and1 indeed1 in a slight degree1 of an infant's cry as soon as it is born4 ,it has appeared to me that the cataleptic is marked by extremes of feeling and disposition4 ,the sensibility either being too dull for the feeling of joy1 or so intensely excited by pleasure1 as to approach the confine of delirium4 ,one of my patients1 in particular1 who was an eighty-hour sleeper1 endured a metamorphosis from religious enthusiasm to theatrical mania4 ,her ,bible was discarded for romances and play-books1 and even the most licentious volumes4 ,,cast4 ,i have read1 7,i suppose in some moth-eaten tomes enshrined ,i know not where17 of a scholar of ,lubeck1 who slept seven years2 in ,diogenes ,laertius1 of ,epimenides1 who slept fifty-one years in a cave2 in ,ricaut1 of the seven devoted sleepers of ,ephesus 7the same1 ,i presume1 as the seven illustrious sleepers of ,mahomet's tale in the ,koran72 and of the ,leucomorians1 who fall asleep with the swallows early in ,november1 and wake at the end of ,april4 ,one moment more among the legends of romance4 ,in the 8,hierarchie of the ,blessed ,angels0 it is written1 that in a dark cavern of the ,baltic1 there were discovered five men in ,roman habits1 so deeply sleeping1 that all efforts to awaken them were unavailing4 ,ogier the ,dane is now sleeping in the dungeon of ,cronenburg ,castle--7so recordeth the 8,danske ,folk ,saga407 ,prince ,arthur1 too1 was lying1 when a chronicle was writ1 in a trance at ,avelon2 and the ,britons1 with implicit belief1 were watching for his awaking4 ,years have passed since these mysterious legends were penned1 and ,i dare not say that the spells are broken yet4 ,,ev4 ,if they then slept1 sweet ,castaly1 they are surely sleeping now4 ,tales lose nothing by telling1 and nature is often thus magnified into a miracle4 ,you may however believe this1 that a periodical catalepsy with intervals may last even for years4 ,the 8,memoirs of the ,academy of ,berlin0 record the case of a woman1 who sunk into catalepsy twice a day for many years2 during which period she was married1 and became the almost unconscious mother of children4 ,nay1 there is a story of ,mynheer ,vander ,gucht1 of ,bremen1 who1 with very brief intermissions1 slept and dreamt for thirty years2 so that1 on the return of travellers by sea or land1 the primal question was1 if ,mr4 ,vander ,gucht was up6 ,,ida4 ,catalepsy1 ,i believe1 has been often feigned2 and1 although it is astonishing with what apathy pain may be endured1 the imposture1 ,i presume1 may be usually discovered by the proposition of some horrible remedy4 ,,ev4 ,frequently2 but many impostors have withstood the test1 and triumphed in their deception4 ,yet it is true that the perfect state of catalepsy has been1 in very rare instances1 voluntarily produced2 thus exhibiting the complete influence of will over an involuntary muscle1 the heart4 ,the case of ,colonel ,townsend ,i adduce1 as one of undoubted authority4 ,this officer was able to suspend the action both of his heart and lungs1 after which he became motionless1 icy cold1 and rigid1--a glassy film overspreading his eyes4 ,as there was no breathing1 there was no vapour apparent on the glass1 when held to his mouth4 ,during the many hours in which this voluntary trance existed1 there was a total absence of consciousness1 yet a faculty of self-reanimation6 ,avicenna speaks of one that could 8cast himself into a palsie when he list20 and ,celsus1 of a priest that could 8separate himself from his senses when he list1 and lie like a dead man1 void of life and sense40 ,cardan1 the ,pavian astrologer1 brags of himself that he could do as much1 and that 8when he list40 ,dr4 ,cleghorn1 of ,glasgow1 relates the case of a man who could stop the pulse at his wrist1 and reduce himself to the condition of syncope1 by his will1 of course4 ,barton1 the holy maid of ,kent1 was enabled thus to 8absorb her faculties40 ,restitutus1 a presbyter1 could also throw himself into a trance1--being insensible1 except to the very loudest sounds4 ,so says ,augustin4 ,,astr4 ,so that there may not be much imposture in the case1 recorded in the 8,spectator10 of ,nicholas ,hart1 a professor of somnolency1 who lived by sleeping4 ,the following is his advertisement in the 8,daily ,courant10 of that time3-- 8,nicholas ,hart1 who slept last year in ,saint ,bartholomew's ,hospital1 intends to sleep this year at the #8,cock and ,bottle1' in ,little ,britain40 ,i will freely confess to you1 ,evelyn1 my scepticism as to these ultra romantic legends2 but may my own memory fail me not1 while ,i relate a few strange stories1 and demand of yourself confirmation4 ,euphemia ,lindsay1 of ,forfarshire1 slept eight weeks1 having taken nothing but 7possibly7 a little cold water4 ,in the eighth week she died4 ,angelica ,vlies1 of ,delft1 had fasted in a state of insensibility from #ahbb to #ahbh4 ,she took nothing but water1 tea1 and whey1 and these in the most minute quantities4 ,in a record1 ,a4,d4 #aede1 ,i read that 8,william ,foxley1 a pot-maker to the ,mint in ,london1 slept in the ,tower of ,london 7not being by any means to be waked7 fourteen days and fifteen nights2 and1 when he waked1 it seemed to him that the interval was but as one night40 ,samuel ,clinton1 of ,timbury1 near ,bath1 often slept for a month2 and once1 from ,april to ,august4 ,he would1 during this period1 suddenly wake1 but ere food could be administered to him1 he lapsed again into a trance4 ,margaret ,lyall 7of ,edinburgh7 slept from the morning of ,june #bgth to the evening of the #cjth1 then from ,july #ast to ,august #hth4 ,her breathing was scarcely perceptible1 and her pulse low2 one arm was sensitive1 the other senseless1 to the pricking of pins4 ,she had never any subsequent cognizance of this sleep4 ,a lady1 at ,nismes1 had periodical attacks of trance2 and it is curious that the intervals of waking were always of the same duration as the previous time of sleeping1 however these might vary4 ,in the year #agch1 ,elizabeth ,orvin slept for four days2 and1 for the period of ten years afterwards1 passed seventeen hours of the twenty-four in sleep4 ,no stimuli were powerful enough to rouse her3 acupuncturation1 flagellation1 and even the stinging of bees were ineffectual4 ,like many other somnolents1 she was morose and irritable1 especially previous to the sleeping-fit4 8,elizabeth ,parker1 of ,morley ,saint ,peter1 in ,norfolk1 for a considerable time was very irregular in her times of waking1 which was once in seven days2 after which they became irregular and precarious1 and though of shorter duration1 they were equally profound2 and every attempt at keeping her awake1 or waking her1 was vain4 ,various experiments were tried1 and an itinerant empiric1 elated with the hope of rousing her from what he called counterfeit sleep1 blew into her nostrils the powder of white hellebore2 but the poor creature remained insensible to the inhumanity of the deed1 which1 instead of producing the boasted effect1 excoriated the skin of her nose1 lips1 and face40 ,the records of medicine1 ,i doubt not1 may add a volume to these simple stories1 and1 perchance1 may unfold to us something of the exciting causes which have induced these strange conditions2 yet they seem to me so various1 in some the effect being so sudden1 in others so gradual1 that it were vain for me to conjecture4 ,,ev4 ,the influence of fear1 and fright1 and extreme joy1 will often produce instantaneous paralysis2 while that of intense study1 or anxiety1 will steal on by degrees2 and then1 while in some cases the senses will be entirely apathetic1 in others1 they will be acutely excited4 ,mendelssohn almost every evening immediately fell into a trance whenever 8philosophy0 was even named in his presence2 and so acutely deranged was then his conception of sound1 that a voice of stentorian force seemed to ring in his ears1 repeating to him any impressive conversation he had heard during the day4 ,without presuming to satisfy ,astrophel in explaining the full pathology of these curious cases1 ,i may1 by analogy1 illustrate his question by alluding to the acute influence which impressions exert on the mind1 and1 through it1 on the body4 ,captain ,d----1 on service in ,ceylon1 was ordered to march to the ,kandian territory4 ,this district had been the grave of many officers who had resided in it4 ,from this circumstance1 and the anticipation of a similar fatality to himself1 he became speechless1 and died in fifty hours4 ,during the plague of ,egypt1 lots were drawn for a decision as to what surgeon should remain with the sick on the departure of the troops4 ,mr4 ,dick1 the army inspector1 relates that on one occasion the surgeon on whom the lot fell dropped dead4 ,in the treaty with ,meer ,jaffier1 ,colonel ,clive omitted the name of the ,gentoo merchant1 ,omichund4 ,this man was induced to expect treasures to the amount of one million1 for his aid in deposing the ,bengal nabob4 ,from this disappointment he became speechless1 and subsequently insane4 ,george ,grokatski1 a ,polish soldier1 deserted4 ,he was discovered a few days after1 drinking and merry-making4 ,on his court-martial he became speechless1 unconscious1 and fixed as a statue4 ,for twenty days and nights he lay in this trance1 without nourishment2 he then sunk and died4 ,some girls 7as we read in ,platerus7 playing near a gibbet1 one wantonly flung stones at the criminal suspended on it4 ,being violently struck the body swung1 and the girl1 believing that it was alive1 and was descending from the gibbet1 fell into violent convulsions and died4 ,the following case1 although not fatal1 very powerfully displays the paralyzing effects of imagination4 ,a lady in perfect health1 twenty-three years of age1 was asked by the parents of a friend to be present at a severe surgical operation4 ,on consideration1 it was thought wrong to expose her to such a scene1 and the operation was postponed for a few hours4 ,she went to bed1 however1 with the imagination highly excited1 and awoke in alarm hearing1 or thinking she heard1 the shrieks of her friend under the agony of an operation4 ,convulsions and hysterics supervened1 and1 on their subsiding1 she went into a profound sleep1 which continued sixty-three hours4 ,the most eminent of the faculty were then consulted1 and she was cupped1 which awoke her2 but the convulsions returned1 and she again went to sleep1 and slept1 with few intermissions1 for a fortnight4 ,the irregular periods continued for ten or twelve years2 the length of the sleeping fits from thirty to forty hours4 ,then came on irritability1 and total want of sleep1 for three months2 her usual time for sleeping being then forty-eight hours4 ,but if the sudden transition be excess of joy1 its effect may be equally melancholy4 ,wescloff was detained as a hostage by the ,kalmucs1 and carried along with them in their memorable flight to ,china4 ,his widowed mother had mourned him dead1 and1 on his sudden return1 the excess of joy was instantaneously fatal4 ,in the year #aedd the ,jewish pirate1 ,sinamus ,taffurus1 was lying in a port of the ,red ,sea1 called ,orsenoe1 and was preparing for war1 being then engaged in one with the ,portuguese4 ,while he was there he received the unexpected intelligence that his son 7who in the siege of ,tunis had been made prisoner by ,barbarossa1 and by him doomed to slavery7 was suddenly ransomed1 and coming to his aid with seven ships1 well armed4 ,he was immediately struck as if with apoplexy1 and expired on the spot4 ,a ,swiss student1 writes ,zimmerman1 yielded himself to intense metaphysical study1 which gradually produced a complete trance of the senses2 the functions of the body being not inactive4 ,after the lapse of a year of apparent idiocy1 each sense was successively excited by its proper stimulus2 the ear by loud sounds1 c4 ,when these were restored1 the mind was again perfect1 although in this effort his strength was nearly exhausted4 ,i may add that lunar influence1 though it is now somewhat out of fashion1 was formerly believed even by so sage a physician as ,dr4 ,mead and others1 and ,astrophel will thank me for blending with his own examples the following case of catalepsy in a moon-struck maiden4 ,at the full of the moon this damsel fell in a fit2 the recurrence obeying the regular periods of the tide4 ,during the flood she lay in a speechless trance1 and revived from it on the ebb4 ,her father was engaged on the ,thames1 and so struck was he with the regularity of these attacks1 that on his return from the river he correctly anticipated the condition of his daughter2 and even in the night he has arisen to his work1 as her cries on recovering from the fit were always a correct monitor to him of the turning of the tide4 ,,premature ,,interment4--,,resuscitation4 8,oh sleep6 thou ape of death1 lie dull upon her2 ,and be her sense but as a monument1 ,thus in a chapel lying40 ,,cymbeline4 8,sleep may usurp on nature many hours40 ,,pericles4 ,,ida4 ,these stories are1 indeed1 painfully interesting2 but tell us1 ,evelyn1 is it so certain that the shaft of ,azrael had irretrievably struck these unhappy creatures of whom you speak8 ,is it not to be feared that instances of premature sepulture have too often occurred from want of scientific discernment8 ,on the exhumation of the ,cimetire des ,innocents at ,paris1 during the ,napoleon dynasty1 the skeletons were many of them discovered in attitudes indicating a struggling to get free3 indeed some1 we are assured1 were partly out of their coffins4 ,to avert this awful catastrophe it was the custom1 in the provinces of ,germany1 to place a bell-rope in the hand of a corpse for twenty-four hours before burial4 ,we may look on this1 perhaps1 as one natural source of romance and mystery2 for the ringing of bells by the dead has been a favourite omen of the ghostly legends4 ,,ev4 ,alas6 even my own professional study and duties have not been free from these melancholy scenes2 and if ,i make not your gentle heart to tremble1 fair ,castaly1 ,i will recount some of those unhappy instances of fatality1 to which the errors and neglect of man may doom his fellow-mortal4 ,miss ,c---- 7of ,c---- ,hall1 in ,warwickshire17 and her brother were the subjects of typhoid fever4 ,she seemed to die1 and her bier was placed in the family vault4 ,in a week her brother died also1 and when he was taken to the tomb1 the lady was found sitting in her grave-clothes on the steps of the vault2 having1 after her waking from the trance1 died of terror or exhaustion4 ,a girl1 after repeated faintings1 was apparently dead1 and was taken1 as a subject1 into the anatomical theatre of the 8,salpetrire10 at ,paris4 ,during the night1 faint groans were heard in the theatre1 but no search was made4 ,in the morning1 it was evident that the girl had attempted to disengage herself from the winding-sheet1 one leg being thrust from off the trestles1 and an arm resting on an adjoining table4 ,a slave girl of ,canton1 named ,leaning1 apparently died4 ,she was placed in a coffin1 the lid of which remained unfastened1 that her parents might come and see the corpse4 ,three days after the apparent death1 while the remains were being conveyed to the grave1 a noise or voice was heard proceeding from the coffin1 and on removing the covering1 it was found the woman had come to life again4 ,in #ahch1 at ,tonnieus1 in the ,lower ,garonne1 as the graveman threw earth on a coffin he also heard groans4 ,much terrified1 he ran away1 and a crowd assembled4 ,on opening the coffin1 the face of the buried man was distorted1 and he had disengaged his arms from the folds of his winding sheet4 ,the ,emperor ,zeno was1 as it is written1 prematurely buried2 and1 when the body was soon after casually discovered1 it was found that he had1 to satisfy acute hunger1 eaten some flesh from his arm4 ,,astr4 ,one might think that ,master ,ainsworth1 from this record1 sketched the episode of the sexton and the old coffin in his 8,rookwood40 ,the truth is equal to the fiction4 ,,cast4 ,when ,i was at ,breslau1 in #ahce1 7and this is not one of ,astrophel's fictions17 a nun of the ,ursuline ,convent was placed in her coffin in the church4 ,at midnight1 the sisters assembled to chaunt the vigils over the body of their sainted sister4 ,while the holy hymn was echoing through the oratory1 the nun arose1 tottered to the altar1 knelt before the cross1 and prayed4 ,the sisters with a cry of horror awoke the abbess2 and on her arrival1 the nun again arose1 and lay down in her coffin4 ,the physician of the convent was speedily summoned1 but1 on his arrival1 he found her dead4 ,there can scarcely be drawn a scene1 combining the sublime and beautiful of romance1 in higher intensity than this4 ,it was the spectral visitation of a seraph4 ,,ida4 ,like many sublimities of nature1 these mysteries have been profaned by unholy imitation2 as for instance1 the reanimation of the nuns in the opera of 8,robert le ,diable40 ,but there is an awful romance mingled with the history of those melancholy creatures1 from whose inanimate clay the immortal spirit was thought to have parted1 still more impressive4 ,that instinctive1 that inexpressible dread1 with which we contemplate a corpse1 is nothing in comparison with that thrill of astonishment which overwhelms us1 when a body becomes 7as in the miraculous recall of ,lazarus7 reanimated2 when a spirit appears to visit us from the dead4 ,yet this is not fear1 for we know it cannot injure us2 it is a feeling that we are with something beyond ourselves spiritual1 which had seemed to have endured a transfiguration1 and been admitted into the order of angelic beings4 ,there must be something of the supernatural which creates this fearful wonder2 an impression on the heart that is an especial influence of the ,deity4 ,else should we not behold with dread1 instead of a sacred pleasure1 the success of our efforts in cases of suspended animation8 ,this visitation from another world is one of the surest indications of our spirituality2 and like the reanimation of soul and mind1 and consciousness1 from deep and undreaming sleep1 lighting up the body into brilliancy and beauty1 might drown a sceptic's reasoning in a flood of holy faith1 and overwhelm him with the belief of immortality4 ,,cast4 ,it is this combination of vitality and death--so seemingly a paradox--that forms the basis of many of our deepest romances2 as the 8,spectre ,life in ,death10 in the ,ancient ,mariner1 of the melancholy ,coleridge1--himself a wild visionary of the first order4 ,if ,i remember1 he is writing of a spectre ship4-- ----8,betwixt us and the sun4 ,and straight the sun was fleck'd with bars-- 7,heaven's mother send us grace67 ,as if through a dungeon-grate he peer'd ,with broad and burning face4 ,alas6 7thought ,i1 and my heart beat loud17 ,how fast she neers and neers4 ,are those her sails that glance in the sun1 ,like restless gossameres8 ,are those her ribs1 through which the sun ,doth peer1 as through a grate8 ,and is that woman all her crew8 ,is that a ,death--and are there two8 ,is ,death that woman's mate8 ,her lips were red1 her looks were free1 ,her locks were yellow as gold1 ,her skin was as white as leprosy1 ,the night-mare ,life in ,death was she1 ,who thicks man's blood with cold40 ,,ev4 ,it is melancholy that a noble mind should be so perverted by poppy-juice4 ,and yet the ,mahometan beats him hollow at this sort of burlesque4 ,there is a fiction in ,sale's notes to the 8,koran40 ,during the building of his magnificent temple1 ,king ,solomon sleeps in death4 ,he remains supported by his staff1 on which he had been leaning1 until a worm eats away the prop1 and the body falls prostrate to the ground4 ,but we need not go to the ,east for our specimens4 ,even in the year #ahci1 in our ,emerald ,isle of superstition1 they would have us believe a miracle of this kind4 ,in a field near ,lurgan1 a man1 called ,farland1 had received money from a widow1 wherewith to pay her rent2--this he failed to do4 ,on her remonstrance and declaration1 she was asked to name her witnesses4 ,she answered1--8,no one but ,god and herself40 8,then10 rejoined the man1 8your ,god was asleep at the time40 ,the attestation of three witnesses records1 that he was instantly struck in a trance as he was resting on his spade1 and in that attitude he had ever since continued6 ,,cast4 ,and is it not a blot on the page of science1 that so many ill-fated creatures are thus1 through an error1 doomed to dissolution8 ,say1 gentle ,evelyn1 has not your philosophy discovered some mode of discernment between life and death1 which would smile the philanthropist on to patient watching8 ,,ev4 ,to a degree4 ,but it were vain to offer here precepts for such discrimination1 which1 sooth to say1 are not yet absolute4 ,the rosy tint of complexion may remain for some time1 and even perspiration may break forth1 after death2 or the body may assume the most deathlike aspect1 and yet vitality is only in abeyance4 ,among our recoveries1 it is true1 there are many spontaneous rousings1 and this especially if deep impression has been the cause of trance4 ,listen to the following1 from a journal of #ahcd3--8,the wife of ,thomas ,benson1 livery-lace maker1 of ,great ,queen ,street1 ,lincoln's ,inn ,fields1 being suddenly taken ill1 to all appearance expired2 and1 when every symptom of life had fled1 the body was duly laid out4 ,on the following night1 between nine and ten o'clock1 whilst the undertaker was in the house receiving instructions for the funeral1 to the astonishment and terror of the whole family1 ,mrs4 ,benson came down stairs1 having been in a trance nearly thirty hours4 ,her situation has so terribly shocked her1 that but faint hopes are entertained of her recovery40 ,it is melancholy to know how often these cases are abandoned to nature2 but science may do much1 and should do more1 to relieve them2 although we possess not the wondrous phial of ,renatus1 nor have developed the creative mysteries of ,prometheus or ,frankenstein4 ,yet the recovery of ,franois de ,civille1 was almost as great a wonder4 ,he was thrown1 at the siege of ,rouen1 into insensibility4 ,he was1 in this state1 carried home by his servant4 ,during a week he became warm1 but exhibited no other sign of life4 ,he was1 at this period1 flung out of a window by the besiegers1 and cast upon a dunghill1 where he lay naked for three or four days4 ,yet1 even after this1 he was restored to life4 ,,astr4 ,you confess the wonder1 ,evelyn1 that is some concession2 you may1 perchance1 believe another of equal interest4 8,my mother being sick to death of a fever three months after ,i was born1 which was the occasion she nursed me no longer1 her friends and servants thought1 to all outward appearance1 she was dead1 and so almost two days and a night4 ,but ,dr4 ,winston coming to comfort my father1 went into my mother's room1 and looking earnestly in her face1 said1 #8,she is so handsome1 and looks so lovely1 ,i cannot think she is dead2' and suddenly took a lancet out of his pocket1 and with it cut the sole of her foot1 which bled4 ,upon this he immediately caused her to be laid upon the bed again1 and to be rubbed1 and such means1 as she came to life1 and opening her eyes1 saw two of her kinswomen stand by her1 my ,lady ,knolleys and my ,lady ,russell1 both with great wide sleeves1 as the fashion then was1 and said1 #8,did not you promise me fifteen years1 and are you come again8' which they not understanding1 persuaded her to keep her spirits quiet in that great weakness wherein she then was2 but some hours after she desired my father and ,dr4 ,howlsworth might be left alone with her1 to whom she said1 #8,i will acquaint you1 that during the time of my trance ,i was in great quiet1 but in a place ,i could neither distinguish or describe2 but the sense of leaving my girl1 who is dearer to me than all my children1 remained a trouble upon my spirits4 ,suddenly ,i saw two by me clothed in long white garments1 and methought ,i fell down upon my face upon the dust1 and they asked me why ,i was so troubled in so great happiness4 ,i replied1 ,o let me have the same grant given to ,hezekiah1 that ,i may live fifteen years1 to see my daughter a woman2 to which they answered1 ,it is done1 and then at that instant ,i awoke out of my trance4' ,and ,dr4 ,howlsworth did then affirm that that day she died made just fifteen years from that time40 ,i remember a story of the effect of deep impression on a sensitive mind3 the sleep of a love-sick ,juliet1 without the entrancing draught of the friar4 ,a young ,french lady in the ,rue ,st4 ,honor1 at ,paris1 was condemned by her father to a hated marriage while her heart was devoted to another4 ,she fell into a trance1 and was buried4 ,under some strange influence her lover opened her grave1 and she was revived1 and married4 ,thus the romance of the 8,beauty of ,verona0 was acted without its tragedy4 ,i have heard1 but where ,i recollect not1 a story of another ,french lady1 who was actually the subject of an anatomist4 ,on the evidence of some faint signs of vitality1 he not only restored the lady to life1 but united himself to her in marriage4 ,there is no doubt1 also1 that ,rachael1 ,lady ,russell1 would have been buried alive1 had not the devoted affection of her husband1 and his constant visits to her coffin1 prevented it4 ,i read1 too1 that ,shorigny1 an hysterical girl in ,paris1 was watched daily by her physician1 after he was assured by the friends that she was dead4 ,on the sixth day1 the cloth covering was seen to move1 the eyes soon after opened1 and she gradually recovered4 ,,ev4 ,it is one of the anomalies of our science1 that similar causes will often produce opposite effects4 ,we may be thrown into trance by fright2 and intense alarm may be the cause of recovery4 ,i may relate an oriental anecdote as an analogy1 which1 however1 ,i beg you to receive with some reservation4 ,a ,persian1 at the siege of ,sardis1 was about to kill ,crsus1 whom he did not recognise4 ,by his side was the king's dumb child1 who1 in a sudden paroxysm of agony1 screamed out1 8,kill not ,crsus40 ,from this instant 7as it were a miracle71 ,herodotus writes1 his speech was fully restored6 ,we learn from ,bourgeois1 in #ahch1 that a medical man1 from the sudden influence of grief1 sunk into a cataleptic state1 but his consciousness never left him4 ,the lamentations of his wife1 the sympathetic condolence of his medical friends1 and the arrangements regarding his funeral1 were to him distinctly audible4 ,he knew that he was in his coffin1 and that there was a solemn procession following him to the grave4 ,as the solemn words of 8,earth to earth0 were uttered1 and the dust fell on his coffin lid1 the consciousness of this1 and his horror at his impending fate1 burst the fetters of his icy trance--he shrieked aloud1 and was saved4 ,in the 8,psychological ,magazine0 we read of a lady who fell into a state of catalepsy1 after a violent nervous disorder4 8,it seemed to her1 as if in a dream1 that she was really dead4 ,yet she was perfectly conscious of all that happened around her in this dreadful state4 ,she distinctly heard her friends speaking1 and lamenting her death1 at the side of her coffin2 she felt them pull on her dead clothes1 and lay her in it4 ,this feeling produced a mental anxiety which was indescribable4 ,she tried to cry1 but her soul was without power1 and could not act on her body4 ,she had the contradictory feeling1 as if she were in her own body1 and yet not in it1 at one and the same time4 ,it was equally impossible for her to stretch out her arm1 or to open her eyes1 as to cry1 although she continually endeavoured to do so4 ,the internal anguish of her mind was1 however1 at its utmost height1 when the funeral hymns were sung1 and when the lid of the coffin was about to be nailed on4 ,the thought that she was to be buried alive was the first one which gave activity to her soul1 and caused it to operate on her corporeal frame40 ,i have been assured that the soldier who has been placed in his grave by such an error1 has been awoke in his coffin by the volley fired over him4 ,parallel with these are the instances in which vitality seemed to be instantly excited by acute pain4 ,i remember the case of a cataleptic girl1 related by the ,abb ,menon1 who was doomed to dissection2 the first stroke of the scalpel awoke her1 and she lived4 ,cardinal ,sommaglia was not so fortunate4 ,he fell into syncope from intense grief1 and it was decided that he should be opened and embalmed4 ,as the surgeon's knife punctured the lungs1 the heart throbbed1 and the cardinal attempted to avert the knife with his hand2 but the die was cast1 and he shortly died4 ,the ,abb ,prevost was also sacrificed in this way4 ,as ,vesalius1 the physician of ,philip ,,ii41 was opening the thorax of a ,spanish gentleman1 the heart palpitated4 ,death also occurred here4 ,vesalius was brought before the ,inquisition1 but was pardoned4 ,a gentleman was seized1 apparently with apoplexy1 while at cards4 ,a vein was opened in both arms1 but no blood flowed4 ,he was placed in a room with two watchers1 who slept1 alas6 too long2 for in the morning the room was deluged with blood from the punctures1 and his life was gone4 ,these are indeed unhappy instances of the errors of omission and commission entailed on the fallibility of science4 ,i believe a ,french author1 ,bruhier1 has collected fifty-two cases of persons buried alive1 four which were dissected prematurely1 fifty-three which recovered1 and seventy-two which were falsely reported dead4 ,,astr4 ,there is a solemn problem associated with this1 on which ,i have often reflected1 the solution of which1 ,i presume1 your philosophy cannot offer to us4 ,at what moment would the mind cease to influence the body1 were there no recovery from the trance8 ,i have sometimes felt a mysterious influence1 apart1 ,i am sure1 from philosophy1 that whispered me1 the life1 which ,i had watched in its ebb1 was at length gone4 ,yet1 of the transit of an immaterial spirit1 although convinced of the sublime truth1 it is certain we know nothing4 ,,ev4 ,nothing demonstrative4 ,it is not1 however1 when the body seems dead1 for consciousness1 or the systemic life1 may for awhile be suspended by mere cold4 ,but dissolution is that point1 unknown to us1 when the principle of life 7whether that be the influence of arterial blood1 or electricity1 magnetism1 or galvanism17 is not excitable--when molecular death has ensued2 not even irritability1 that vis insita or vis nervosa of ,haller1 remaining4 ,of course mind must instantly depart on the commencement of decomposition1 the brain being then totally incompatible with mind4 ,the stoics believed the soul to occupy the body until it was putrified1 and resolved into its materia prima4 ,,astr4 ,i once thought1 ,evelyn1 that the difference in the tenacity of life in the man and the zoophyte might with some subtlety be explained on this principle--thus3 ,that the life of a reasoning creature was in its soul2 that of an inferior animal in its spinal irritability4 ,thus1 when man is decapitated1 his soul is gone from him--he is dead2 but when vitality is in the vis nervea1 as in the insect1 life may exist without a head1 that is1 the organ of a soul4 ,the butterfly will flutter1 ,i am told1 long after decapitation4 ,,ev4 ,the excito-motary principle illustrates this fact1 without the requisition of such a notion2 and life1 we know1 may be artificially sustained for a time after decapitation4 ,the interesting physiology of the reflex actions of a nerve explains this1 and all the terrific convulsions of galvanized bodies4 ,,cast4 ,i think ,i have a glimpse of your meaning1 ,evelyn4 ,may we not believe1 then1 that there is truth in the affirmation1 that ,charlotte ,corday's cheeks blushed at her exposure after her decollation8 ,,ev4 ,there is far more romance than truth1 fair ,castaly1 in this story2 but ,i do believe the probability of a story almost as marvellous1 that the lips of ,mary ,stuart prayed visibly after her head fell from her body4 ,smmering has written1 that if the open eyes of a decollated head be turned full on the sun1 the lids will immediately close1 but this of course without consciousness4 ,,cast4 ,and yet some learned men believed the head of ,charlotte ,corday sensible of its state1 from this asserted fact of its blushing4 ,,ev4 ,they should not have believed without complete evidence4 ,indeed1 this question may now be deemed decided in the negative1 by the experiments of a learned professor of ,heidelburg1 on the head of ,sebastian ,zink1 decollated at ,rastadt4 ,on placing bitters on the tongue1 and hallooing 8pardon0 in his ear at the instant of decapitation1 it was proved that there was an utter insensibility to all4 ,,ida4 ,then sensation is instantly destroyed4 ,in this1 as in all his dispensations1 how is the mercy of the ,deity displayed6 ,,ev4 ,it is still a question with us1 whether our physical sensations on the point of dissolution are often so acute as they appear4 ,cabanis and the famous ,guillotine declared their conviction that no pain was felt at the moment of or after decapitation4 ,in the works of ,lord ,bacon1 we read of one who was suspended till he was all but dead1 and his declaration was that his suffering was a mere trifle4 ,cowper also left a manuscript1 in which he states that in one of his three attempts at suicide1 he hung himself over his door in the ,temple1 but that he did not suffer in the least4 ,,ida4 ,and in drowning8 ,,ev4 ,while the medical committee of the ,humane ,society were framing those scientific rules which have rendered the process of resuscitation so successful1 ,i remember especially one pale and melancholy girl1 who glided in before us like a spectre4 ,she had attempted suicide1 but her intention was happily thwarted1 after she had been for many minutes in the water1 and was apparently lifeless4 ,true1 the mental agony which prompts to such an act1 will often overwhelm sensation2 but this creature was conscious of her act1 and assured us that the sensation of drowning was but an intense feeling of faintness preceding a sinking into insensibility1 with a short spasmodic struggle2 an uneasiness rather than a pain4 ,when ,clarence therefore1 recounting his dream1 exclaims1-- 8,my ,god1 methought what pain it was to drown60 ,i believe1 he should rather have referred his feelings to his recovery1 if the words of the pale girl were true2 for1 when consciousness and sensation are returning1 the feeling is intense4 ,throughout the body1 as it is recovering from apathetic numbness1 the sense of returning circulation of the blood is terrible3 an acute sensation of pins and needles in the brain and the marrow of the spine4 ,no wonder1 then1 that these resuscitated beings will request that no efforts may be made1 should they again be in the state of suspended animation4 ,the sensation on being born is probably as acute as that on dissolution4 ,,ida4 ,then there is consciousness8 ,,ev4 ,the evidence of ,dr4 ,adam ,clarke will illustrate this interesting question4 ,yet ,i differ somewhat with him1 regarding so perfect a consciousness during submersion4 ,in his life1 you will see the following dialogue with ,dr4 ,lettsom1 in which ,clarke describes his own case of immersion3 8,dr4 ,lettsom said1--#8,of all that ,i have seen restored1 or questioned afterwards1 ,i never found one who had the smallest recollection of any thing that passed1 from the moment they went under water1 till the time in which they were restored to life and thought4' ,dr4 ,clarke answered ,dr4 ,l41--#8,i knew a case to the contrary4' #8,did you1 indeed8' #8,yes1 ,dr4 ,l41 and the case was my own4 ,i was once drowned4' ,and then related the circumstances1 and added1--#8,i saw my danger1 but thought the mare would swim1 and ,i knew ,i could ride when we were overwhelmed4 ,it appeared to me1 that ,i had gone to the bottom with my eyes open4 ,at first1 ,i thought ,i saw the bottom clearly1 and then felt neither apprehension nor pain2 on the contrary1 ,i felt as if ,i had been in the most delightful situation2 my mind was tranquil and uncommonly happy4 ,i felt as if in ,paradise1 and yet ,i do not recollect that ,i saw any person2 the impressions of happiness seemed not to be derived from any thing around me1 but from the state of my mind4 ,and yet ,i had a general apprehension of pleasing objects2 and ,i cannot recollect that any thing appeared defined1 nor did my eye take in any object1 only ,i had a general impression of a green colour1 as of fields or gardens4 ,but my happiness did not arise from these1 but appeared to consist merely in the tranquil1 indescribably tranquil1 state of my mind4 ,by and by1 ,i seemed to awake as out of a slumber1 and felt unutterable pain and difficulty of breathing2 and now ,i found ,i had been carried by a strong wave1 and left in very shallow water upon the shore1 and the pain ,i felt was occasioned by the air once more inflating my lungs and producing respiration4 ,how long ,i had been under water ,i cannot tell2 it may however be guessed at by this circumstance3 when restored to the power of reflection1 ,i looked for the mare1 and saw her walking leisurely down shore towards home1 then about half a mile distant from the place where we were submerged4 ,now1 ,i aver1--#ast4 ,that in being drowned ,i felt no pain2--#bnd4 ,that ,i did not1 for a simple moment1 lose my consciousness2--#crd4 ,i felt indescribably happy1 and1 though dead as to the total suspension of all the functions of life1 yet ,i felt no pain in dying2 and ,i take for granted1 from this circumstance1 those who die by drowning feel no pain1 and that probably it is the easiest of all deaths2--#dth4 ,that ,i felt no pain till once more exposed to the action of the atmospheric air1 and then ,i felt great pain and anguish in returning to life1 which anguish1 had ,i continued under water1 ,i should have never felt2--#eth4 ,that animation must have been totally suspended from the time ,i must have been under water1 which time might be in some measure ascertained by the distance the mare was from the place of my submersion1 which was at least half a mile1 and she was not1 when ,i first observed her1 making any speed2--#fth4 ,whether there were any thing preternatural in my escape1 ,i cannot tell2 or whether a ground swell had not1 in a merely natural way1 borne me to the shore1 and the retrocession of the tide 7for it was then ebbing71 left me exposed to the open air1 ,i cannot tell4 ,my preservation must have been the effect of natural causes2 and yet it appears to be more rational to attribute it to a superior agency4 ,here then1 ,dr4 ,l41 is a case widely different1 it appears1 from those you have witnessed1 and which argues very little for the modish doctrine of the materiality of the soul4' ,dr4 ,lettsom appeared puzzled with this relation1 but did not attempt to make any remarks on it40 ,and well he might2 for if animation were totally suspended1 consciousness would have been suspended also4 ,,transmigration4--,,analysis ,,of ,,trance4 8,thou shalt hold the opinion of ,pythagoras1 ere ,i will allow of thy wits2 and fear to kill a woodcock1 lest thou dispossess the soul of thy grandam40 ,,twelfth ,,night4 8,through all thy veins shall run ,a cold and drowsy humour1 which shall seize ,each vital spirit40 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet4 ,,astr4 ,you have granted me more than you desire1 dear ,evelyn4 ,if life be restored1 it had never deserted the body1 and yet the mind had deserted it4 ,the mind and body1 then1 are both independent of each other4 ,from this truth1 a metaphysical question of deep and wondrous interest arises4 ,in what condition does the mind exist1 during so long a period1 uninfluencing and uninfluenced by the power of perception8 ,i remember searching for some elucidation of this mystery among those ghost-stories of the ,hebrews1 founded on the 8purgatorie of souls0 in ,stehelin's 8,traditions of the ,jews10 but ,i rose from my reading unenlightened4 ,,ida4 ,and ever will1 ,astrophel4 ,profane curiosity must fail in such a study2 adoration alone can sanctify this mystic question1 on which theologians and philosophers1 even those devoutly confident in the sublime truths of immortality1 have so essentially differed4 ,like ,astrophel1 ,paley inquires where is the soul during suspended vitality8 and ,priestly1 where when the body was created8 ,hume1 with the subtlety of a sceptic1 asks how can the soul long be the same1 seeing that1 like the body1 its particles are constantly changing8 ,while ,glanville thinks himself a wondrous wight1 as he prates of its 8essential spissitude1 a something that is more subtle than body1 contracting itself into a less ubi40 ,were this sublime secret fathomable by the deepest intellect1 then would be unfolded things above1 which are ordained to be ever mysteries to creatures on earth2 such as the future existence of the spirit1 and the nature of ,paradise4 ,although revelation has given us glimpses1 enough to satisfy humble devotion1 what mind can decide on the exact nature and changes of its own future state8 ,the negative answer is at once returned by the variety of these learned opinions3--,that the soul is1 immediately after death1 submitted to its reward or punishment2--,that its state after death is one of half happiness or misery1 until it be again joined to its body on the resurrection2 and then it shall enjoy or suffer the extremes of felicity or torment2--,that the soul rests in quiet unconsciousness until the day of judgment2--,and lastly1 that souls are purified by purgatory and comparative suffering1 and then are admitted into the realms of perpetual enjoyment4 ,,astr4 ,is it not strange that in this notion of purgatory1 with slight variations1 pagans1 and ,romanists1 and ,egyptians1 and ,brahmins1 so nearly accord8 ,in the creed of the ,brahmins1 there is something of sublimity1 whatever may be their error1 and ,ida will not chide1 if ,i repeat the essence of their creed1 which ,robertson has gathered from the 8,baghvat ,geeta40 8,every intelligent nature1 particularly the souls of men1 they conceived to be portions separated from this great spirit2 to which1 after fulfilling their destiny on earth1 and attaining a proper degree of purity1 they would be again reunited4 ,in order to efface the stains with which a soul1 during its residence on earth1 has been defiled by the indulgence of sensual and corrupt appetites1 they taught that it must pass1 in a long succession of transmigrations1 through the bodies of different animals1 until1 by what it suffers and what it leaves in the various forms of its existence1 it shall be so thoroughly refined from all pollution1 as to be rendered meet for being absorbed into the divine essence1 and returns1 like a drop1 into that unbounded ocean from which it originally issued40 ,aristotle1 in taking up this notion of transmigration in his book 8,de ,anim10 says that 8the soul was always joined to a body1 sometimes to one1 sometimes to another40 ,and from this idea were taken the stories of ,fadlallah and the ,dervis1 in the 8,spectator10 of the 8,transmigrations of ,indus10 and the beautiful fable of 8,psyche10 or the soul1 which when a body died1 could not live alone on earth1 and so crept into another4 ,herodotus1 in the second book of his history1 has some allusions to the ,egyptian creed2 and1 indeed1 the fear of this transmigration was the origin of mummies among the ,copts4 ,their belief that the soul 7the immortality of which they very early1 if not the first1 decided17 could not leave the body when entire1 induced them to preserve that body as long as possible2 and the mummy unrollers and hieroglyphic readers must commit sad sacrilege1 by exposing their sacred dust to the decomposition of air4 ,when the body was dissolved1 however1 the soul entered that of some animal that instant born2 and profane commentators have1 on this creed1 presumed to explain the sacred story of the 8banishment and savage life of ,nebuchadnezzar40 ,at the end of #cj1jjj years1 it again entered that of a man2 and it is likely that their object in embalming was1 to have the soul re-enter the same body from choice and habit4 ,simonides1 four hundred years after the siege of ,troy1 ungallantly reversed this doctrine1 deciding that 8the souls of women were formed of the principles and elements of brutes40 ,the ,pythagorean system was1 if not more courteous1 at least more just4 8,thus all things are but altered1 nothing dies2 ,and here and there th' embodied spirit flies4 ,by time1 or force1 or sickness1 dispossess'd1 ,and lodges1 where it lights1 in bird or beast2 ,or hunts without1 till ready limbs it find1 ,and actuates those according to their kind4 ,from tenement to tenement is toss'd1 ,the soul is still the same1 the figure only lost40 ,this is from ,dryden's translation of ,chaucer4 ,and ,burton's record is as follows3 8,the ,pythagoreans defend ,metempsychosis and ,palingenesia1 that souls go from one body to another1 epot prius ,lethes nud1 as men into wolves1 beares1 dogs1 hogs1 as they were inclined in their lives1 or participated in conditions3 #8----inque ferinas ,possumus ire domus pecudumque in corpora condi4' 8,lucian's cock was first ,euphorbus1 a captaine3 #8,ille ego 7nam memini7 ,trojani tempore belli ,panthoides ,euphorbus eram4'0 ,and ,plato1 in ,timus1 and in ,phdo-- ,,ev4 ,enough of ,plato1 dear ,astrophel2 or believe1 with me1 that his philosophy on this point was merely figurative of the similarity of mind1 or genius1 or feature1 between the dead and the living2--as it was said of old1 that the soul of ,raphael had transmigrated to the body of ,francesco ,mazzola 7,parmegiano71 because his style and personal beauty so closely resembled those of the all but divine master of his art4 ,and pray what was the gist of that special astronomer1 who affirmed that he 8saw something written in the moon80--,a wild romance only8 ,no1 forsooth4 ,pythagoras may classically vociferate-- 8----errat1 et illinc1 ,huc venit1 hinc illuc1 et quoslibet occupat artus ,spiritus3 eque feris humana in corpora transit1 ,inque feras noster40 ,but read further1 and you will find the high moral to be a severe injunction against flesh-eating3 8,then let not piety be put to flight1 ,to please the taste of glutton appetite2 ,but suffer innate souls secure to dwell1 ,lest from their seats your parents you expel3 ,with rabid hunger feed upon your kind1 ,or from a beast dislodge a brother's mind40 ,think you this injunction will be obeyed1 in the face of the 8,almanac des ,gourmands80 ,,ida4 ,evelyn is severe4 ,may ,i tell him that1 among the records of the ,east1 he will find incidents blended with this idea which may almost consecrate the creed of a ,pagan4 ,as the honey is hung close to the poisoned sting of the bee1 there may be a bright spot to illuminate the gloomy annals of superstition4 ,the very belief in transmigration may impart an atom of mercy1 even to an infidel2 and where superstition1 shorn of the light of ,christianity1 must prevail1 it were better sure to foster that notion which may1 even in one little sentiment1 half humanize the heart4 ,listen to this contrast1 between some orient sects1 along the eastern shores of ,hindostan4 ,the daughters of ,guzzerat fold their infants to their bosoms drugged with opium2 and when the babe is thus poisoned1 the ,hindu girl will answer with a languid and seeming innocent smile1 8,it is not difficult to blast a flower-bud40 ,then the ,kurrada ,brahmins 7as we read in the 8,rudhiradhyaya071 believing themselves the agents of ,vishara ,boot1 the spirit of poison1 sacrifice the pundits to their vampire goddess1 ,maha-,lackshmi4 ,equally blind1 yet more happy in the nature of their superstition1 are the ,shravuch ,banians1 or the proselytes of ,jena4 ,the ,yati1 or officiating priest of this order1 in purifying the temples1 sweeps the floor with the ,raju-hurrun1 a broom of cotton-threads1 lest hapless one little insect may be destroyed4 ,and this we may believe1 from the creed of transmigration being influential among these people4 ,sir ,paul ,rycaut also1 in his oriental history1 informs us of parallel incidents among the devout ,mahomedans1 who1 believing that in the body of a brute may reside the soul of a departed relative1 ransom1 with their gold1 many a bird that would otherwise flutter away its captivity in a cage4 ,,cast4 ,i will not flout your praises1 ,ida2 but1 in our own island1 this illusion has rather led to captivity4 ,i remember the story of a lady1 living in ,worcestershire1 who1 under the innocent delusion that her daughters were changed into singing-birds1 hung her pew in the cathedral with cages of goldfinches and linnets4 ,and ,lord ,orford1 in his 8,reminiscences10 thus records the monomania of the ,duchess of ,kendal3 8,in a tender mood1 he 7,king ,george7 promised the duchess that if she survived him1 and it were possible for the departed to return to this world1 he would make her a visit4 ,the duchess1 on his death1 so much expected the accomplishment of that engagement1 that a large raven1 or some black fowl1 flying into one of the windows of her villa1 at ,isleworth1 she was persuaded it was the soul of her departed monarch so accoutred1 and received and treated it with all the respect and tenderness of duty1 till the royal bird1 or she1 took the last flight40 ,,astr4 ,you spoke of the absolute senselessness of trance2 and yet there were some hints of the awakening power of fear4 ,is this consistent8 ,,ev4 ,i expected your objection4 ,in the cases of perfect catalepsy1 the brain is not conscious of its mind1 or if the mind be active1 there is no assurance of its activity4 ,but1 as its faculties are awakened1 it usually begins to work exactly where it left off2--one of the most imposing proofs1 both of a separate existence during life1 and of our bodies' unconsciousness of this transient disunion4 ,,astr4 ,i may own1 ,evelyn1 that your illustrations of our questions1 in despite of some straining at explanation1 carry1 on many points1 conviction to my own mind1 but not on all4 ,there is another question equally interesting with the former4 ,how is vitality preserved during this protracted abstinence8 ,,ev4 ,remember1 dear ,astrophel1 my confession1 that there are inexplicable mysteries4 ,but1 to the point of your last question4 ,we are aware of the long period during which the body may fast after shipwreck1 or beneath a fallen cliff1 or even on the incarceration of animals for the purpose of experiment4 ,thus ,captain ,bligh1 and seventeen persons1 sailed four thousand miles in an open boat1 with a small bird occasionally for the food of all4 ,the ,juno's crew1 wrecked off ,aracan1 existed twenty-three days without food2 and the wreck of the ,medusa is fresh in our memories4 ,here the body feeds on its own fat1 shrinking until that supply is lost1 and then it dies4 ,i might relate to you the very impressive stories of ,anne ,moore1 of ,tutbury2 of ,janet ,m',cleod1 told by ,dr4 ,mackenzie2 and many strange facts related by ,dr4 ,willan1 ,sir ,william ,hamilton1 and others4 ,i might refer you to legends1 of which ,i can scarcely press for your belief4 ,as the strange but authenticated story of ,anna ,garbero1 of ,racconiggi1 forty miles from ,turin1 who existed without nutrition for two years1 becoming like a shrivelled mummy4 ,and that of ,eve ,hergen1 who existed thirteen years upon the odour of flowers6 ,but even with that incredulous frown of ,astrophel's1 and that faint smile of thine1 fair ,castaly1 let me at once to my explanations4 ,in natural sleep the functions of the body are impeded4 ,one of these is digestion4 ,as there is little waste of the system there is little necessity for repletion1 and life can be supported by a very slight action of the heart1 a minute current of blood2 like the slender vitality of infants1 who1 even in a state of health1 seem frequently scarcely to breathe4 ,the circulation is materially influenced in sleep1 the pulse being slower and more feeble than during waking2 the relaxation of the cutaneous vessels inducing frequent perspiration1 especially in debilitated systems1 and in the last stages of adynamic fevers4 ,the body of the cataleptic patient descends to the condition of less complex animal life1 in which there appears a much greater simplicity of organization2 and we well know1 as we descend in the scale of creation1 towards the cold-blooded single-hearted animals1 and especially if we reach the zoophyte1 in how exact a proportion to this simplicity of structure is the tenacity of life increased4 8,fish10 says ,sir ,john ,franklin1 8were taken out of the nets frozen1 and became a solid mass of ice1 being by a blow of a hatchet easily split open2 they1 however1 recovered their vitality on being thawed40 ,a course of systematic abstinence will enable us1 if we wished it1 to endure extreme privations1 which a high feeder would soon sink under2 and this is probably the discipline adopted by the fakirs of ,india1 who fast so long under the influence of superstitious devotion4 ,vaillant's spider lived without food nearly one year2 ,john ,hunter's toad fourteen months2 land tortoises eighteen months2 a beetle three years2 and two serpents1 according to ,shaw1 five years2 an antelope has survived twenty days without food2 some dogs forty days2 an eagle #bc days4 ,now all animals fall asleep at certain temperatures1 which they cannot resist1 but the common effect of extreme cold is death4 ,dr4 ,solander was yielding to the influence of intense cold in ,terra del ,fuego1 but was saved by the firmness of ,sir ,joseph ,banks4 ,richmond1 the black1 lay down on the snow to sleep1 and died4 ,there is a close analogy between this state and the hybernation of animals1 although the causes are not similar4 ,animalcul often become torpid for lack of moisture1 and1 even after the lapse of twenty-seven years1 have been revivified by water4 ,the small furcularia anastobea will repeatedly become animated and lively by a single drop of water1 its previous condition being completely quiescent4 ,the snail1 the alligator1 indeed most of the ophidian and saurian reptiles1 assume the torpid state in a period of extreme drought2 and ,humboldt states this also of the centenes solosus1 a ,madagascar hedgehog4 ,this hybernation of animals1 as of the marmot and the dormouse1 resembles the deep sleep arising from cold of a certain degree2 for if this be intense1 they will sometimes be momentarily roused from it4 ,they may be constantly kept awake by heat and powerful light4 ,thus hybernation and the sleep of plants take place from the withdrawal of stimuli2 heat being the animal--light the vegetable stimulus4 ,,cast4 ,the sleep of plants8 a fiction surely6 ,,ev4 ,nay1 a truth4 ,the irritability of plants is excited by their peculiar stimulus2 when this is withdrawn1 they fall to sleep4 ,most of the discous flowers turn to the sun in his course1 as the sun-flower1 the helianthus1 and the croton4 ,the acacia leaves at noon point towards the zenith4 ,the tamarind1 the oxalis1 and the trefoil1 fold their leaves on the exclusion of light4 ,the evening primrose shuts its blossom at sunset1 while that minion of the moon1 the night-blowing cactus1 then only begins to bloom2 perhaps like the owl1 and goat-sucker1 and bat1 who find the sun too powerful an excitant4 ,vegetables may be put asleep by the withdrawal of proper stimulus1--the exclusion of this light4 ,but this is a law of nature1 and ordained for a special purpose4 ,it is chiefly during fructification2 the leaves at night folding round the flowers and seed-vessels1 to protect them from the chilling blight of the night cold1 which would congeal their juices4 ,in this condition of the plant its irritability ceases1 but the circulation of its sap-vessels is not suspended4 ,its vitality continues1 but if the exercise of its peculiar phenomena be long discontinued1 it will fade and die4 ,now the vis insita of the muscle resembles vegetable irritability2 and1 as this is lost and sensibility suspended1 the body is indeed in a condition of vegetable sleep2 for vegetables have not of course sensation1 although the ,darwinian romance would endow the diona1 the hedysarum1 and the mimosa with sensibility1 and all the blossom-beauties of ,flora with the fervour of sexual passion4 ,trance then is caused by the removal of a stimulus4 ,as somnambulism may result from a redundancy of nervous energy1 trance and catalepsy1 as well as incubus1 seem to arise from an inefficient secretion or supply of this quality1 in whatever it may consist1 or an impediment to its transmission from the sensorium or brain to the expansion of a nerve4 ,thus the motive power of a muscle is in these diseases suspended1 which in paralysis may be permanently impaired or destroyed4 ,to describe this state1 ,i must abound in negatives4 ,the brain is not conscious3 there is no sensation4 ,even the marrow by its reflex faculty does not excite a muscle3 there is no action3 the mind has no cognizance3 the body is for a time paralyzed4 ,what is there then which may be termed life8 merely involuntary circulation and gentle breathing4 ,in this condition also there is a congestion of dark blood about the brain and in the right side of the heart2 the circulation being reduced to an extreme lentor or sluggishness1 while in real asphyxia there is a total stagnation4 ,i have done with minute pathology3 as there are however two diseases1 epilepsy and insanity1 which may be the result of catalepsy1 ,i may offer a precept on the point4 ,the propensity to trance cannot suddenly be averted1 but the state of the body and mind are important studies for our treatment4 ,melancholy and apathy are the features of the mind of the cataleptic1 and languor and faulty secretions the symptoms of the body4 ,cheerful society1 sympathy with suffering1 but firmness in resisting sloth and erroneous fancies1 and the direction of the patient's mind to moral recreations1 comprehend the sum of our mental treatment4 ,it is equally essential to ensure regulation of the secretions1 especially those of the liver4 ,we should employ cupping from the nape of the neck1 if there be pain1 or heat1 or fulness of the head1 and constant but gentle exercise4 ,the head should not be low during sleep1 nor should food be taken within two hours of retiring to rest4 ,i believe obedience to these slight precepts will frequently mitigate1 perhaps in the end avert the attacks1 especially if they have arisen from diseased conditions of the body1 or gloomy or depraved studies1 and deep contemplation4 ,the most simple or unconnected form of catalepsy1 is that most likely to end in madness4 ,perhaps1 too1 in deep and gloomy subjects1 which begin by absorbing mind and sense1 the end is thus2 so that cataleptic abstraction is but the reverie or foretaste of mania4 ,as to suspected cases of still existing vitality3 where there is plethora1 ,i would employ bleeding1 or cupping1 insufflation1 ,galvanism2 and ,i should not in extreme cases fear acupuncture of the heart1 and galvanic shocks then transmitted through the needle4 ,beclard1 in 8,la ,piti10 in ,paris1 allows the needle to remain three or four minutes and then withdraws it1 and ,i have learned from my oriental friends1 that the ,chinese practice this mode extensively4 ,,mesmerism4 8,thus smiling1 as some fly had tickled slumber1 ,not as ,death's dart1 being laugh'd at40 ,,cymbeline4 8,by some illusion see thou bring her here1 ,i'll charm his eyes against she doth appear40 8,such tricks hath strong imagination40 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream4 ,,ida4 ,you are very formidable creatures1 ,evelyn1 if you can touch and wound the heart of a sensitive girl so easily2 we must be wary1 dear ,castaly4 ,it must be a desperate case that justifies so desperate a remedy2 yet1 with all this danger1 the magi of our day will1 as ,i have heard1 induce by their art this very state of trance4 ,,astr4 ,magnetic sleep4 ,if the phenomena of this animal magnetism be not a mystery1 it is at least a curiosity4 ,and yet ,evelyn will tell us that they1 too1 obey the common laws of our nature4 ,i believe1 however1 there are stories of most strange and novel interest1 beyond the scope even of his philosophy4 ,,ev4 ,the hand of a magnetiser seems1 ,i confess1 to effect a wonder2 but your challenge will be fatal to you1 ,astrophel4 ,in this same question of animal magnetism we may discover the spring of all your mysteries4 ,the close analogies between the natural and imparted phenomena of trance and magnetic sleep and somnambulism1 and somnambulic blindness1 and magnetic ecstacy2 even the frauds of lucid vision and clairvoyance1 and the vaunted gift of prophetic divination1 with the explanation of some1 and the refutation of others1 will dispel the most subtle arguments in proof of divine influence2 seeing that the process is conducted by men of mortal mould1 who claim no merit even for the possession of occult learning4 ,,cast4 ,mercy1 dearest ,evelyn1 mercy4 ,no more philosophy to-night4 ,the smile of yon planet ,venus1 that was twinkling from out its cerulean blue1 is veiled in a cloud2 for our cold discourse is treason to its influence4 ,be ready with your stories1 ,astrophel4 ,,ev4 ,the history of ,mesmerism is a romance in itself1 dear ,castaly4 ,if ,i invade not the province of ,astrophel1 ,i will1 as some apology for my dull prosing1 sketch its progress by way of episode4 ,you must know1 then1 that it was ,maximilian ,holl who first1 from the influence of his magnets on the body1 imparted the practical idea of animal magnetism to ,mesmer1 who had already written his inaugural thesis1 at ,vienna1 on 8,planetary ,influence10 and had laid down this unblushing aphorism3 8,there is one health1 one disease1 one remedy1 and one physician1 and that physician am ,i40 ,his immediate proselytes were ,deslon at ,paris1 and ,gmelin at ,heilbronne1 and ,reicke at ,stutgard1 and ,klug at ,berlin4 ,encouraged by the ,swedenborgian tenets1 this magic brought immense revenue into the purses of ,mainanduc in ,england1 and the rest of its revivers2 so that one hundred guineas were given for a course of lectures and experiments1 and fifteen guineas for a consultation and the imparting of its influence4 ,in after times ,miss ,prescott1 among others1 gained great fame in the art3 but ,de ,lauterbourg was one of its most popular professors4 ,three thousand patients1 it is said1 were often waiting for the magnetic influence about his house at ,hammersmith4 ,in #aghd an ordonnance of the ,french king confirmed ,mesmer in his working of these apparent miracles4 ,by tractions on the body1 either with the hand or by substances magnetized with his 8imponderable fluid10 by champooing1 and the accompaniment of sweet music1 a state of enchantment of the senses was induced4 ,convulsions and mania were often excited in the 8,hall of ,crisis10 which was lined by soft cushions to protect the convulsionaries4 ,these paroxysms and tempests of the brain ,mesmer seemed to control1 like a second ,prospero1 with his wand of enchantment1 gliding1 in robes of silk1 among the multitude of devotees1 whom novelty and voluptuousness had attracted to his shrine4 ,to study and report on these mysteries1 commissioners were appointed by the 8,faculty of ,medicine10 by the 8,academy of ,sciences10 and by the 8,royal ,society of ,medicine40 ,these savans referred all to the influence of imagination1 or of emotion in sensitive systems2 and that there must be this sensitive predisposition is often proved1 for idiots1 and those who have been blindfold1 and unconscious children1 remain uninfluenced1 although it is declared by one that he magnetized an idiot baby6 ,i must observe1 that before the commissions in ,paris1 especially that of which ,franklin was a member1 not the slightest influence was observed2 and the experiments of ,monsieur ,berner1 who was the chief manipulator1 were a perfect failure1 especially in regard to the clairvoyance4 ,astrophel reminds me by his frown---- ,,astr4 ,that magnetic power is not granted to all2 that all possess not the essential qualities of mind and body4 ,it was affirmed that the operator must have his mind abstracted1 and teeming with affection and benevolence towards his patients2 must believe himself a very magnet1 and feel a desire of benefiting mankind4 ,thus a sympathy1 or incorporation of atmospheres1 was induced1 by which disease was influenced2 and even in persons distant from each other1 by an intensity of thought the patient tasted1 smelt1 or heard1 the flavours1 odours1 or sounds which at that moment affected the senses of the operator4 ,the magnetizer must thus be confident that1 by his will1 he can pass his whole nervous energy into his patient4 ,it is essential1 also1 that the mind of the patient should have a corresponding willingness to be magnetized4 ,,ev4 ,and this congenial platonism is sometimes so intense1 that offers of magnetic marriage are made by the ecstatic ladies to their magnetizers1 even though it may not be leap-year1 on the plea that the loneliness of magnetic widowhood distressed them1 and that the possession of a sleeping partner was better than sleeping alone4 ,under this interesting disposition for magnetic union1 the eyes of the maiden being fixed on the magnetizer intensely1 his hands were passed before her body1 his fingers thus forming natural conductors1 by which the magnetic fluid was conveyed from the positive to the negative magnetic body4 ,then came the wonders of this influence4 ,the patient was warmed by the benevolence of the magnetizer1 who felt an aura or tingling in the part corresponding to any painful part of the patient's body which was relieved or cured4 ,indeed1 ,bertrand assures us that many told him they saw a blue fluid streaming from his fingers when he magnetized them4 ,the secret of this is closely analogous to the effect of brooding over sorrow3 the mind of the patient is concentrated on the spot to which the passes are directed2 and1 as we know that disease can be excited thus by imagination 7especially in the hypochondriac71 so it is a truth that this concentration may remove disease and pain1 especially by the superaddition of faith4 ,,astr4 ,but the magnetizer1 as they said1 was not always in a state to operate1 and required a certain training4 ,so it was observed that ,casper ,hauser's cat did not follow him after he had eaten meat2 his magnetic and somnambulant qualities were destroyed by animal food1 although they were so abundant in his wilder state1--as his history will thus illustrate to those who believe it3 8,as ,i came into the room1 and the door of the deceased person was opened1 which ,i did not know1 ,i felt a sudden dragging on both sides of my breast1 as if any one wished to pull me into the room4 ,as ,i went on and proceeded towards the sick person1 a very strong breath blew on me from behind1 and the pulling which ,i felt before in my breast ,i now felt in my shoulders4 ,i went towards the window2 the sick person followed me4 ,at the time that ,i wished to ask a question of ,mr4 ,von ,gutter1 ,i felt a trembling in my left foot1 and it became unwell4 ,she went back again1 and that trembling left me4 ,she seated herself under the canopy and said1 #8,will not the gentleman sit down8' ,hereupon ,mr4 ,professor ,hensler said to her1 she should see me4 ,so as she drew nigh to me1 within two or three steps1 ,i was still more unwell than before1 and ,i felt pains in all my limbs4 ,mr4 ,professor ,hensler told her that ,i was the man who had been wounded 7that is1 by the attempt which had been made to assassinate him72 at the same time she noticed my scar1 and pointed towards it2 then came the air strong upon my forehead1 and ,i felt pain in it1 also my left foot began to tremble greatly4 ,the sick person seated herself under the canopy1 and said that she was ill2 and ,i also said that ,i was so unwell that ,i must sit down4 ,i sat down in the other room3 now the other foot began to twitter4 ,although ,mr4 ,von ,gutter held my knees1 ,i could not keep them still4 ,now a violent beating of my heart came on me1 and there was a heat in all my body3 that beating of the heart left me afterwards2 and ,i had a twittering in my left arm1 which ceased after some minutes1 and ,i was again something better4 ,this condition lasted until the next morning1 then ,i had a headache again and a twittering in all my limbs1 still not so violent4 ,in the afternoon1 about three o'clock1 it came again something less1 and left me earlier3 then ,i was quite well again40 8,the ,somnambulist was greatly affected by the presence of ,hauser4 ,i heard that1 afterwards1 when she was asleep1 she had said these words1--#8,that was a hard struggle for me4' ,she felt indisposition from this process even on the next day40 ,,ev4 ,the first sensation from magnetism is usually that of slight vertigo1--a state of musing or reverie succeeding1 the mind being lulled into abstraction1 as it is by the rippling of water1 the busy hum of bees1 or the murmuring of the olian-harp4 ,i would explain this feeling by the term1 confusion of the senses2 for a certain period must elapse ere an external object make an impression on the mind4 ,when1 therefore1 objects or sounds become extremely rapid1 the perception is confused1 and the mind1 left as it were to itself1 cannot follow the impressions so as to associate them1 and thus the magnetic ecstacy ensues4 ,,astr4 ,but ,monsieur de ,paysegur1 who first excited magnetic somnambulism1 magnetized trees and ropes1 by which he converted those who clung to them into sleep-walkers4 ,dr4 ,elliotson1 also1 mesmerized a sovereign1 by merely looking on it2 and a girl1 who intuitively selected it from a heap of others1 was instantly struck with coma4 ,,ev4 ,the last is a very frail experiment4 ,paysegur often failed in his illustrations1 and then the cunning juggler explained this1 by affirming that the trees counter-magnetized each other4 ,now1 whatever may be the influence imparted by this traction1 the phenomena of excited somnambulism are similar precisely to those spontaneously occurring4 ,magnetic sleep1 or ecstasis1 is its precursor2 and there is a total unconsciousness of it when awake4 ,here is one of those close analogies that are the most potent arguments on which the question of magnetism rests4 ,for1 in all the states alluded to1 the interval of ecstacy is a blank4 ,and1 as in the cases of intense alarm1 as you remember1 the mesmeric ecstacy will cause a sensitive girl to forget the present1 while the scenes of youth and infancy pass vividly before her memory4 ,now the effects of the passes of magnetism are referred to six degrees1--the chief conditions being those of sleep1 somnambulism1 and clairvoyance4 ,the essence of the last1 it seems1 is combined with a blending of one's own feeling and nature with those of others2--a reuniting1 in fact1 of body and soul once separated from that individual whole1 which some philosophers1 as ,hecker1 believed the whole human race to be4 ,you observe my fidelity1 ,astrophel4 ,it must be confessed1 that some of the experiments at which ,i have myself assisted exhibit very strange results4 ,in some1 there is the propensity to chatter nonsense1--a system of one form of hysteria1 of which the analogy is perfect4 ,one little jade created much amusement1 by inserting supernumerary syllables1 thus--opporwaytuniwhatsty4 ,the insensibility of the nostril to the most powerful ammonia is a very imposing fact2 one which must strike us more than that of insensibility of the eye to light1 or the ear to sounds4 ,for the faculty of perception may be often suspended in either of those organs of sense1 if attention be powerfully diverted to another point1 or1 as it is by the abstraction of magnetic ecstacy1 not directed to any4 ,so that ,i do not wonder when thoughtless proselytes believe these effects to be miraculous1 or credit the assertions of ,pereaud1 in his 8,antidmon of ,mascon10 that1--8,the devil causeth witches to fall into ecstacies1 so that a man would say their souls were out of their body40 ,or those of ,bodin1 in his 8,theatre of ,universal ,nature10 that 8those that are rapt of the devil feel neither stripes nor cuttings40 ,so that the honour of the magnetic monomania must at last be conceded to the fallen angel4 ,,ida4 ,and are all these wonders worked only to excite curiosity8 ,,astr4 ,i believe there is some good in it4 ,is it not certain1 that during this state of magnetic sleep1 operations have been performed without creating pain8 ,the lady on whom ,mons4 ,chopelain operated1 talked coolly and unconsciously during its performance4 ,and ,jules ,cloquet1 in ,paris1 amputated the breast of a lady who had been put into an ecstacy or state of apathetic trance by a mesmerizer4 ,,ev4 ,it is1 ,i believe1 quite true that she was perfectly unconscious of the operation4 ,but even this is not safe4 ,pain is given us as a warning against extreme injury2 that by our complaint or suffering1 the surgeon's mind may be on its guard4 ,for the body is so far in disorder when it is chilled by this apathetic spell1 that it may sink under fatal injuries1 although they may be endured by the mind unconscious of its peril or its state4 ,as a very curious antitype to these cases1 it is stated in a medical gazette1 that a young lady fell down in an hysterical fit and was insensible for two days4 ,as a puffy swelling arose1 she was trephined1 but there was no disease of the brain4 ,in two days after this1 she awoke and expressed all the steps of the operation1 of which she had been painlessly sensible4 ,,astr4 ,and in this state of ecstasis1 is there not strange havoc played with the senses1 by their seeming displacement or transference8 ,the philosophers will tell us that the ganglia in the abdomen become as it were little brains1 and the plexusses and the nerves of the skin become1 like those of the senses1 capable of imparting the idea of visible objects to those ganglia and of rendering a slight whisper distinctly audible4 ,this is all very fine1 and very material2 but this straining at explanation is itself a proof of mystery4 ,van ,ghest records the case of ,mademoiselle ,b----1 a young lady who was magnetized3 she assured him that while she was intently looked upon1 she felt her eyes and brain leave her head1 and become fixed in her stomach1 in which situation she saw acutely2 but if she was in the slightest degree disturbed1 the eyes and their sense seemed to return to her head4 ,the stories recorded in the book of the ,rev4 ,chauncey ,townsend are not less curious than this4 ,,ev4 ,although ,i take the metaphysics of a divine with reservation1 his facts may not be doubted4 ,for there are other powerful impressions that will produce phenomena as curious4 ,the arm of a young man in the 8,ospidale della ,vitta10 at ,bologna1 in #ahcb1 was grasped by a convulsive patient4 ,violent spasms succeeded1 and he lost the senses of taste1 smell1 and sensibility of the skin1 but he could hear if the voice was applied on the stomach2 and could1 at that spot1 discriminate between different substances4 ,another patient in the same hospital was subject every third day to violent convulsions1 during the continuance of which1 he lost entirely the use of all his senses1 and could neither hear1 see1 nor smell4 ,his hands also became so firmly clenched1 that it would be impossible to open them without breaking the fingers4 ,nevertheless1 ,dr4 ,ciri1 the physician under whose charge he was placed1 discovered that the epigastric region1 at about two fingers breadth above the navel1 received all the impressions of the senses1 so as to replace them completely4 ,if the patient was spoken to whilst the finger was placed on this spot1 he gave answers1 and even1 when desired1 opened his hands of his own accord4 ,if any substance or matter was placed there1 he could describe its form and quality1 its colour and smell4 ,as long as the finger was kept on the stomach1 the convulsion gradually diminished until it entirely disappeared2 but if the finger were placed on the heart1 the convulsion returned with increased violence1 and continued as long as the finger was kept in that position4 ,if a flute was played while the finger was kept on the stomach1 the patient heard the music2 but if the finger was taken away1 and placed on the heart1 and then taken back again to its former position1 the man asked why they played by intervals2 yet the flute had never ceased4 ,these experiments were all made in the presence of the professors and students of the hospital4 ,i will not counsel you1 ,astrophel1 as to the extent of your belief in these strange tales1 but extreme exaggeration often lessens the interest which scientific minds would take in these curiosities4 ,these pictures are correct in their outline1 but the artists have not spared their colours4 ,they will remind us1 who are learned in legends1 of that illusive monomania among the monks of ,mount ,athos1 who believed that they could at pleasure attain a celestial vision by communing devoutly with the ,deity1 while their attention or their sight were directed to the umbilicus6 ,and they were therefore called 8,omphalopsychians40 ,we discover also very close analogies to this mental concentration1 in the acuteness with which one sense is endowed on the failure of another4 ,the delicacy of touch in the blind is often extreme2 ,i knew a blind lady who played an excellent rubber1 passing her finger lightly over the card spots2 and more curious still are the cases of ,miss ,m',avoy1 of ,stanley the organist1 and of ,professor ,saunderson4 ,de ,luc tells us of a lady1 who read distinctly by passing her fingers over the page1 even of a strange book4 ,in ,laura ,bridgman1 an ,american girl1 an inmate of the ,institution of ,boston since #ahcg1 the whole faculty of perception was concentrated in the one sense of touch4 ,at the age of two1 sight1 and hearing1 and smelling1 and almost taste1 deserted her4 ,to this interesting creature1 through the acuteness of her sense of touch in tracing letters1 has been imparted so much knowledge1 that the moral sentiments and the congenial affections of the heart are now beautifully displayed in her character4 ,if by the dumb alphabet1 or finger-talking1 conversation is commenced with her1 she follows the fingers with her arm with extreme rapidity1 so that scarce a letter escapes her4 ,such are the wonders of this child's intelligence1 that her mind has been cited as illustrative of innate sentiment2 but the very facility is enough to explain her actions4 ,le ,cat writes of a blind sculptor at ,voltera1 who modelled features most faithfully by the touch4 ,a ,french gentleman lost the integrity of every sense1 but sensation remained in half of his face1 on which he received the correspondence of his friends by their tracing on it letters or forms4 ,in ,mr4 ,eschke's establishment at ,berlin1 conversation was carried on by tracing letters on the clothes of the back4 ,a ,bolognese1 on witnessing a woman in acute hysteria1 became occasionally convulsed1 and impenetrably deaf2 if1 however1 the slightest whisper was breathed to the pit of the stomach1 he heard distinctly4 ,from ,andral's ,lectures1 to please you1 ,astrophel1 ,i will select this fragment3 8,i saw yesterday a young lady who has been frequently magnetized1 and who1 on my visit1 presented some very remarkable circumstances4 ,after a fit of indigestion she fell into the ecstatic state1 in which she continued when ,i saw her4 ,her skin was perfectly insensible1 and her eyes were open like animals' in whom the fifth pair of nerves has been divided4 ,she could perceive light1 knew the difference between day and night for instance1 but she could see and distinguish nothing else4 ,she could not speak1 but by signs expressed that her intellect was unusually active4 ,but the most remarkable of the phenomena she presented was a singular exaltation of the sense of hearing4 ,so extraordinarily delicate had this become1 that she distinctly perceived sounds inaudible to myself and several other persons40 ,carus1 unmindful of the existence of a state of abstract reverie resembling sleep1 records the case of a young ecclesiastic1 who composed sermons in a state of slumber1 correcting and adding to them with peculiar care4 ,and this is the deduction3 that the sense of vision seemed to be transferred to the fingers1 as the eyes were perfectly blinded to the writing paper4 ,his eyes1 when he sat for his portrait1 should have been painted at the tips of his fingers4 ,james ,mitchell1 congenitally deaf and blind1 discriminated his friends from strangers1 and even formed a fair estimate of character1 by the smell of the parties4 ,and there was a deaf woman 7writes ,le ,cat7 who could read1 and even tell the difference of languages1 from the silent motion of the lip4 ,from these very curious illustrations we may confess that these lines in ,hudibras are no fiction3 ----8,communities of senses ,to chop and change intelligences1 ,as ,rosicrucian virtuosis ,can see with ears and hear with noses40 ,for so strange are the synonymes of the senses1 that the blind will express their notion of colour by sound2 the tint of scarlet is like the sound of a trumpet4 ,from this hint1 probably1 ,st4 ,amand1 in the 8,pilgrims of the ,rhine10 speaks of a visible music4 ,,ida4 ,do we not perceive1 also1 something of this acuteness in the sense of touch under certain other conditions8 ,in the story of ,caspar ,hauser1 whether it be romance or reality1 we read the following illustration of the effect of mineral traction3 8,once1 when the physician1 ,dr4 ,osterhausen1 and the royal crown fiscal1 ,brunner1 from ,munich1 happened to be present1 ,daumer led ,caspar1 in order to try him1 to a table covered with an oil cloth1 upon which lay a sheet of paper1 and desired him to say whether any metal was under it4 ,he moved his finger over it1 and then said1 #8,there it draws4' #8,but this time1' replied ,daumer1 #8you are nevertheless mistaken1 for1' withdrawing the paper1 #8nothing lies under it4' ,caspar seemed at first to be somewhat embarrassed1 but he put his finger again to the place where he thought he had felt the drawing1 and assured them repeatedly that he there felt a drawing4 ,the oil cloth was then removed1 a stricter search was made1 and a needle was actually found there40 ,caspar ,hauser might have felt this1 or a cunning youth might have palmed on us his idea for a truth4 ,yet ,i confess ,parkinson also relates the case of a woman who fainted on the touch of a stethoscope1 exclaiming that it was 8drawing her too strongly40 ,,cast4 ,and of clairvoyance4 ,have you no incidents1 ,astrophel8 ,,astr4 ,many4 ,listen to the following fragments4 ,one from ,andral's ,lectures3 8,m4 ,feruss was present at the experiment4 ,a watch was held behind the individual's head4 #8,i see1' said he1 #8something that shines4' #8,what is it8' #8,a watch4' ,he was asked the hour1 and replied exactly4 ,two different watches were tried4 ,he was equally precise4 ,the watches were taken out of the room1 and the hands altered4 ,he still told the hours and minutes expressed on the dials40 ,another from an ,english newspaper1 in #ahcc3 8,mr4 ,barnaby 7'twas at ,bow-street7 took his watch from his pocket1 and said1 #8,what have ,i got in my hand8' #8,a watch1' was the reply4--#8,what is it made of8' #8,gold4'--#8,what chain is attached to it8' #8,none at all1' said the boy3 #8there is a riband to it4'--#8,can you tell at what hour the hand stands8' #8,yes1 at twelve4' ,mr4 ,b4 showed his watch1 and the hands were at twelve precisely4 ,mr4 ,b4 then produced his purse from his pocket1 and asked the boy the colour of it1 and what it contained1 and his answers were1 without having the least opportunity of turning round towards the bench1 that one end of the purse was brown1 and the other yellow1 and that the brown end contained sovereigns1 and the yellow end silver4 ,mr4 ,b4 admitted the correctness of the description1 and1 taking some silver from his pocket1 asked the boy to describe the different pieces4 #8,what is this8' #8,sixpence1' said the boy1 #8and of the date #ahai4'--#8,what is the next8' #8,a shilling1 and dated #ahaf1' was the reply4 ,and when the clerk brought forth another coin1 and asked similar questions1 the boy said1 #8,that is a sixpence of the date of #ahag2' and all these guesses proved to be correct40 ,townsend and ,wood1 at ,antwerp and ,paris1 produced this second sight in several instances4 ,e4 ,a41 with eyes bandaged1 read two hundred pages of print1 and even written music4 ,,ev4 ,a little more sifting of these cases1 ,astrophel1 and they would resemble that of the cataleptic female of ,amiens1 related by ,petelin2 who also professed to tell the spots of a card1 unseen by her4 ,but it was discovered that the physician glided it beneath the bedclothes4 ,or that told by ,bertrand1 of another ecstatic female3--8,while lying entranced in a chamber illuminated by a candle1 her ring was removed from her finger by ,monsieur ,bertrand1 and given to a person standing near him4 ,she was asked who had her ring1--#8,mr4 ,eyre has it in his trowsers pocket4' ,mr4 ,bertrand exclaimed that she was wrong1 for it was not to ,mr4 ,eyre the ring was given4 ,the lady persisted in her statement1 and1 on immediate inquiry1 it was found that the person who first was given the ring had secretly conveyed it to ,mr4 ,eyre40 ,the pages of history are not deficient in these pretensions to miracle4 ,from ,ulrick ,zwingle we learn that ,thomas ,aquinas1 the evangelical doctor1 professed1 by intense thought1 to throw himself into ecstacy2 in which1 strange visions and mysteries of another existence passed before him4 ,matthew ,paris writes of a monk of ,evesham1 and of a certain ,sir ,owen1 that1 in one of these ecstacies1 was favoured with an introduction into ,saint ,patrick's purgatory4 ,so the mad visionary1 ,jacob ,bhm1 fell into many strange trances1 and at last were revealed to him1--8,the origin of nature2 the formation of all things2 and even divine principles and intelligent natures60 ,but the case of ,santa ,theresa1 if we can but believe the testimony of so accomplished an hypocrite1 presents phenomena far more remarkable than all these4 8,her frame was naturally delicate1 her imagination lively1 and her mind1 incapable of being fixed by trivial objects1 turned with avidity to those which religion offered1 the moment they were presented to her view4 ,but1 unfortunately1 meeting with the writings of ,saint ,jerome1 she became enamoured of the monastic life1 and1 quitting the line for which nature designed her1 she renounced the most endearing ties1 and bound herself by the irrevocable vow4 ,deep melancholy then seized on her1 and increased to such a degree1 that for many days she lay both motionless and senseless1 like one who is in a trance4 ,her tender frame1 thus shaken1 prepared her for ecstacies and visions1 such as it might appear invidious to repeat1 were they not related by herself and by her greatest admirers4 ,she tells us that1 in the fervour of her devotion1 she not only became insensible to every thing around her1 but that her body was often lifted up from the earth1 although she endeavoured to resist the motion4 ,and ,bishop ,yessen relates in particular1 that1 when she was going to receive the ,eucharist at ,avila1 she was raised in a rapture higher than the grate1 through which1 as is usual in nunneries1 it was presented to her4 ,she often heard the voice of ,god1 when she was recovered from a trance2 but sometimes the devil1 by imitation1 endeavoured to deceive her1 yet she was always able to detect the fraud40 ,so that ,theresa's life was an elysium on earth1 and she might well have cried out in her ecstacy1-- 8----sic sine vit1 ,vivere quam suave est1 sic sine morte mori40 ,yet the modern proselytes to ,mesmerism would scarcely believe this a fiction1 but an illustration of that lucid vision which may1 it is believed1 be so highly excited1 as to associate the being with universal nature3 a creed grounded on the expansion or illimitable nature of thought or mind1 by which it seems to leave the body1 carrying with it its consciousness4 ,so the disciples of ,mesmer asserted1 that1 when they thought or spoke warmly of absent persons1 they would both appear in their eidlon2 and also that they were1 at that exact time1 speaking or thinking of them4 ,this was ,shelley's conviction1 that minds sympathetically imparted ideas and thoughts1--particles1 indeed1 of the 8mens divinior40 ,so that they might well see in the dark4 ,brown would be in a flood of joy to hear the affirmations of these ecstatics1 whose spirits1 as they believe and avow1 are for the time released from the chains of mortality4 8,why10 exclaimed one of these half-spiritualized creatures1--8,why do you bring me again to life8 ,would you depart from me1 my body would grow cold1 my soul would not return to it1 and ,i should be happy40 ,,astr4 ,you are fond of caricature1 ,evelyn4 ,i speak of sober truths only4 ,i am told that the powers of acquirement may be so increased by magnetism1 as to resemble new faculties4 ,a lady1 during a sort of ecstacy1 sung most scientifically church music2 although1 when awake1 she entirely failed1 and had forgotten all4 ,and others will speak languages and sentiments1 of which they are perfectly unconscious when awake4 ,there was a girl in the vicinity of ,bedford ,row1 of whose case there are related similar wonders of this magnetically-imparted accomplishment2 and her beauty was so enchanting1 as to transcend the brightest visions of ,michael ,angelo or ,correggio4 ,,ev4 ,like that of the inspired somnambule1 of whom ,wolfart thus writes in his 8,annals30 8,an evil spirit ushered in her somnambulic sleep1 and then a good spirit spread its wings around her2 and when they had conversed1 he flew with her to the ,eternal ,city1 through the sun and the moon2 and while there1 tranced scenes were around her1 and her spirit was enjoying her beatitude3 her face was like the face of a seraph1 and no mortal painter might essay to trace its beauty40 ,so say those who saw this mystery4 ,,astr4 ,yet1 as to the prophetic power imparted by magnetism1--cases are recorded by our enthusiastic proselytes1 which throw the spells of the conjuror into an eclipse-- ,,ev4 ,and therefore forbid belief4-- ,,astr4--,even those displayed before our learned bodies4 ,madame ,celini ,sauvage1 you remember1 in the presence of the committee1 in ,paris1 was placed in somnambulism4 ,even while insensible to stimuli she formed1 it is recorded1 a correct judgment of the diseases of persons around her1 especially in the person of ,m4 ,marc1 one of the committee2 and in that of a young lady1 on whom ,m4 ,dupuytren had operated for dropsy1 and had tried the effects of the milk of a goat which had been anointed with mercury4 ,madame1 unconscious of this1 prescribed the very same remedy4 ,you remember the report1 ,evelyn4 ,,ev4 ,i remember1 but believe it not4 ,,cast4 ,and is it thus with all our legends8 have you no more faith in your own order8 ,there is the learned physician1 ,justin ,kerner4 ,you have not forgotten1 ,astrophel1 his beautiful story of that most accomplished somnambule1 the ,prophetess of ,prevorst1 who seemed1 as she said1 to draw from the air a living principle1 and whose very vitality1 it was believed1 was preserved by the magnetic influence4 ,the body of this ethereal creature enfolded her spirit like a veil of film1--she was a very flower of light living on sun-beams4 ,her senses were lighted up by the minutest atom4 ,a web of gossamer stung her waxen skin like a nettle4 ,at the pale green light of a glow-worm1 she fell into ecstatic sleep2 and then1 7as to my own ,tasso17 came to her spectral visitants1 with whom she conversed1 and whose colourless forms were visible even to her earthly companions4 ,this fair creature had1 as the story goes1 been some time dead1 when her mother made passes over her cold face and lips2 and lo6 her eyes opened1 and a tremor was on her lip4 ,were ,i ,astrophel1 methinks ,i would make a pilgrimage to ,lowenstein1 where her body lies4 ,and now1 ,evelyn1 if you will1 reprove me for my wildness1 but confess there must be a sort of truth in legends so circumstantial as these4 ,,ev4 ,a fair question1 dearest ,castaly4 ,yes1 it is the crude or false interpretation of that sort of truth1 a transient glimpse it may be1 of some embryo principle1 that leads to popular error4 ,a baseless theory is raised on an isolated fact2 and infantile science1 bursting from its leading-strings ere it can crawl1 topples headlong down the precipice1 and splits on the rock of hypothetical presumption4 ,and then the confusion into which the mind is thrown by the definitions and conclusions of magnetizers1 would make a very ,babel of the fair field of philosophy4 ,the least perplexing1 perhaps1 is that of the ,french savans who referred magnetism to the efforts of a fluid matter consisting of fire1 air1 and spirit1 to preserve its equilibrium in certain bodies which were1 as to their capacity for this fluid1 in a state of plus and minus4 ,there is nothing very unphilosophical in this2 for the essence of magnetism is somewhat analogous to eccentric derangement of mind1 a disturbance of that order or symmetry among the faculties and actions1 by which one is highly excited and another is comparatively passive4 ,in a word1 ,mesmerism is true in part3 it may induce catalepsy1 somnambulism1 exalted sensation1 apathetic insensibility1 suspended circulation1 even death4 ,clairvoyance and prophecy alone are the impositions as regards its effects1 as the 8blue flame0 at the finger tips is of its nature4 ,one folly more4 ,mesmer himself vaunted to ,dr4 ,von ,ellikon1 8twenty years ago ,i magnetized the sun20 c4 so that the miracle of ,joshua was but a stroke of magnetism4 ,indeed1 ,richter1 rector of the ,school of ,dessau1 affirms that all the miracles of the ,testament were but the sequences of magnetic passes4 ,and ,kieser refers all to a 8telluric spirit10 a sort of magic1 of which the sun and moon are the grand reservoirs2 nay1 this influence is the real cause of sleep and waking4 ,,ida4 ,so that we are mesmerized by the moon at night-fall1 and unmesmerized by the sun at the opening of the dawn4 ,,ev4 ,then there were some aphorisms of ,wolfart about fiddling to the viscera with his magnetic medicine1 and working them up1 as it were1 to a jig or a bolero4 ,these are the visions of a madman4 ,but surely the illusion regarding this mysterious fluid is confessed in ,dupotet's own notion of his own wondrous faculty1 when he asserts his belief that animal magnetism is analogous to the royal touch1 and the mysteries of ,apollo1 and sculapius1 and ,isis1 the miracles of ,vespasian1 and the ,sibylline prophecies4 ,,astr4 ,you sneer at this as you did at the blue flame2 but ,dupotet assures us that while he is magnetizing his patients1 he feels a sensation at the points of his fingers resembling the aura from diffused electricity4 ,now is it not fair to ask if electro-magnetism may not reside in the animal as well as in the mineral1 in man as well as in the torpedo and gymnotus4 ,and why may there not be a condition of intercommunication or en rapport1 a magnetic aura creeping through the nerves of each body8 ,we should not1 therefore1 make any hasty decision against the presence of an aura streaming from the fingers and directed by the will4 ,monsieur ,deleuze said1 in ,paris1 8,i do not know if this be material or spiritual1 nor to what distance it is impelled2 but it is impelled and directed by my will1 for if ,i cease to will1 the influence instantly ceases40 ,i remember ,priestly opined that phlogiston in our bodies produced electricity1 which was destined for our own purposes merely4 ,but as the silurus and the torpedo possess the power of imparting theirs1 although at the expense of their animal power1 ,i presume to think that concentrated mind may impart our own nervous influence to others4 ,,ev4 ,i admire the acuteness of your question1 ,astrophel2 but you are now come down from your clouds2 you are descending unawares to physiology4 ,there are1 doubtless1 many peculiar states of the nervous system at present inexplicable4 ,i grant it is possible that the influence of the nervous energy may become so eccentric as to illustrate the phenomena of magnetism1 if1 as some believe1 this influence depends on a subtle fluid analogous to light1 heat1 and electricity2 the nerve conveying this fluid as the wire conducts the electric4 ,thus an influence1 which is apparently physical1 may be1 in reality1 mental1 for there is usually consciousness of the contact4 ,m4 ,bertrand believed that the mind alone of the patient was acted on1 and this is strengthened by the experiments of the ,abb ,faria1 who produced many of these phenomena by merely exclaiming to his sensitive visitors1 8,dormez40 ,,astr4 ,well1 you are drawing the influences of mind and body very closely together1 ,evelyn4 ,if animal magnetism be not the universal influence of sensitive beings1 what is personal sympathy8 ,,ev4 ,it is not that mysterious freemasonry of the senses which may impart a superhuman knowledge1 or confer a power of personal recognition4 ,yet we are required to believe such stories4 ,,astr4 ,and are there not many well attested8 ,there was a ,monsieur de la ,tour ,landrie1 a nobleman of ,france1 who so powerfully influenced a young shoemaker by whom he was measured1 that the youth fell into a senseless syncope1 and profuse hmorrhage succeeded it4 ,this influence was repeated1 and excited so deep an interest in the mind of the noble1 that he instituted an inquiry regarding his birth and fortunes4 ,and the result was1 that ,monsieur de la ,tour discovered in the humble mechanic the son of his sister1 the ,baronne de ,vesines4 ,the thrill of feeling with which the lover touches the lip of his mistress1 the intense delight with which the mother presses her infant to her bosom1 are illustrations of that power to which ,i allude4 ,it is the magnetic touch of beauty which sends the fires of passion not only through the bounding heart of youth1 but even through the icy veins of the stoic4 8,he that would preserve the liberty of his soul10 said ,socrates1 8must abstain from kissing handsome people40 8,what1 then10 said ,charmides1 8must ,i be afraid of coming near a handsome woman8 ,nevertheless1 ,i remember very well1 and ,i believe you do so too1 ,socrates1 that being one day in company with ,critobulus's beautiful sister1 who resembles him so much1 as we were searching together for a passage in some author1 you held your head close to that beautiful virgin1 and ,i thought you seemed to take pleasure in touching her naked shoulder with yours40 8,good ,god60 replied ,socrates1 8,i will tell you truly how ,i was punished for it for five days after4 ,i thought ,i felt in my shoulder a certain tickling pain as if ,i had been bit by gnats1 or pricked with nettles2 and ,i must confess1 too1 that during all that time ,i felt a certain hitherto unknown pain at my heart40 ,,ev4 ,so that 8the crime10 like that of ,sir ,peter ,teazle1 8carried its punishment along with it40 ,but you must see that the mind of ,socrates first appreciated beauty1 ere this influence was imparted to him4 ,imagination is not certainly idle here1 yet ,i grant1 that if the charm of substantial beauty or endearment be wanting1 poesy will ever be but a cold and joyless sentiment4 ,,astr4 ,then there is another mysterious sympathy1 the fascination of the evil eye1 or fascino4 ,there were1 both in ,africa and in ,illyria1 writes ,aulius ,gellius1 certain families believed to possess the power of destroying trees1 flowers1 and children1 and this by merely praising them2 and ,plutarch and ,pindar refer to the credence of the ,greeks on this point1 who were wont to invoke the ,fate ,nemesis against this fascination of an evil eye4 ,i think1 too1 traces of this credence may be found in ,ovid1 and ,horace1 and ,pliny4 ,,ev4 ,yes1 and in modern ,italy the professors of the art are yet termed jettatori1 or eye-throwers4 ,but ,valletta1 an ,italian author1 conscious of the truth1 boldly disclaims for his countrymen the notion of demoniac influence1 referring it to physical impression1 somewhat resembling the fascination of the eye of the rattlesnake1 that drops1 as we are told1 the bird from the branch into its mouth4 ,in that exquisite sympathy between mind and body 7the sequence of an influence on sensibility1 or on the senses7 consists the secret of all this4 ,you remember the effects of intense impression on the mind in the excitement of catalepsy1 and indeed in causing instantaneous death3 this is intense influence on the sensibility4 ,the effects of deep impression on the sight or touch1 by the passes of magnetism1 are magnetic ecstacies3 this is intense influence on the senses4 ,so that all your mysteries are the result of this influence passing through the brain to the body2 and the vaunted miracles of ,mesmer1 and ,bertrand1 and ,dupotet1 are1 as ,i have said1 impositions1 chiefly as regards the nature of their influence4 ,and1 like these1 the doctrines of ,fludd the ,seeker1 of the ,abb ,nollet1 of ,lavater1 of ,nicetas the ,jesuit1 and the quaint ideas of many other visionaries1 which you may read in their writings1 are really explicable by the laws of physiology4 ,when the magnetiser asserts that a patient should possess a disposition to be acted on1 he unwarily divulges his own secret2 for this is nothing more than blind faith in a promise4 ,and this credulity is most characteristic of that disordered condition of a nerve1 acute sensibility1 in which the slightest causes may effect a seeming wonder4 ,nay1 even disease and death were so induced during the manipulations of ,hensler and ,emmelin4 ,this also is the secret of that influence imparted by the touch of a seventh son2 or of the hand of a criminal hanging on the gallows2 or the revolting precept of ,pliny1 that an epileptic should drink the blood of a dying gladiator1 as it gushes from his wound2 or the stroking of ,valentine ,greatrex2 the sympathetic powder of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby2 the tractors of ,perkins2 of chiromancy1 rhabdomancy1 and of other curiosities recorded in tracts and journals4 ,in my professional life1 ,i have seen the same influence1 though infinitely less in degree1 imparted by an implicit confidence in the blessings of our science4 ,even ,bertrand honestly confesses its power4 ,a lady was thrown into deep sleep by the touch of a magnet1 sent by him in an handkerchief from the distance of three hundred miles4 ,but the same effect was produced by the contact of unmagnetized cambric2 and ,bertrand allows1 that where an ignorance of his intention existed1 even the magnetized talisman was powerless over his patient4 ,i could tell you tales of bits of wood effecting all the wonders of the metallic tractors of ,perkins2 and cubes of lead1 and those of nickel1 fraught1 as a learned doctor had declared1 with magnetic virtues2 but ,i spare you4 ,from this superstitious faith spring also the miracles of that pious saint1 who had assumed the staff of ,saint ,francis ,xavier1 the ,prince ,hohenlohe4 ,one of these was the cure of ,miss ,o',connor1 attested by ,dr4 ,baddeley1 of ,chelmsford1 who had tried in vain to relieve the lady of acute neuralgia4 ,she was directed to prostrate herself at the altar in ,chelmsford at the moment when the sainted prince would kneel at his shrine in the cathedral of ,bamberg4 ,at the appointed time1 during the solemn celebration of high mass1 as she exclaimed1 8,thy will be done1 ,o ,lord10 the agonizing limb was painless4 ,i do not doubt the possibility of such an incident4 ,and here is the unfolding of another secret of these ,german magnetizers1 who were believed to shoot at their patients with the unerring aim of a rifle1 even though many miles might intervene4 ,nadler1 as we are told in the 8,asclepeion10 was so good a shot1 that he brought a woman to the ground at the moment he fixed his magnetic aura at her1 aiming between the eyes and the bosom1 even at the distance of eighteen miles4 ,i am aware that this1 my philosophy1 would not pass current at the ,vatican1 for 8the congregation of the holy office1 having once applied to the pope1 to know if animal magnetism were lawful1 and if penitents might be permitted to be operated on2 his holiness replied1 that the application of principles and means purely physical to things and effects which are supernatural1 for the purpose of explaining them physically1 is nothing but an unlawful and heretical deception40 ,but ,i may tell you that his holiness himself was once a great monopolist of saints' cures1 if we may believe a book1 printed by ,roberts1 in ,london1 in #afje1 entitled1 8,a ,declaration of egregious ,popish ,impostures1 to withdraw the hearts of religious men1 under pretence of casting out devils2 practised by ,father ,edmunds1 alias ,weston1 a ,jesuite1 and divers ,romish priests his wicked associates40 ,and1 moreover1 the interference of priests has often led to the interdiction of protestants1 in their scientific ministering to disease the most severe1 as typhus fever1 or surgical operations1 because they were heretics2 while the profane ,paracelsus says1 8,it matters not1 by ,god or devil1 so he be cured20 even without an indulgence1 ,i presume1 from ,della ,genga1 or the leave of the sacred college4 ,believe me1 the influence of faith will illustrate all this mystery1 and reduce even these impostures to a simple truth4 ,without it1 only the grossest superstition would believe that sympathy would thus 8take the wings of the morning10 and impart to a mind that was thinking at our antipodes a consciousness of our own sentiments2 for this would be a revival of that blind credulity1 which in the darker ages was reposed in the superhuman agency of magic and of witchcraft4 ,,sibylline ,,influence4 8,she was a charmer1 and cou'd almost read ,the thoughts of people40 ,,othello4 ,,ida4 ,as you unfold the wonders of the mind1 ,evelyn1 the secrets of many splendid mysteries shine forth in the light of your truth2 and the wisdom of 8charmed rings10 8blessed brambles10 and amulets and talismans1 fades before the precepts of a purer faith4 ,yet is there no witchcraft in your philosophy8 ,you have1 methinks1 absolved ,astrophel from spells and dark hours1 for1 in the softened lustre of his eye ,i see a light more holy than its wonted flash of divination4 ,,cast4 ,you have more faith in his conversion than ,i have1 ,ida2 for1 lo ye now6 ,on a mossy stone in ,tintern lay this sable velvet pouch1 which1 from its mystic 'broidery1 might be the lost treasure of a ,rosicrucian cabalist4 8,there's magic in the web of it2 ,a sibyl that had number'd in the world ,the sun to make two hundred compasses1 ,in her prophetic fury sew'd the work40 ,and here is a scroll of vellum folded within it4 ,listen1 and you shall hear the pencillings of some unhappy student1 benighted in the mazes of the ,cabala4 8,the eye of modern philosophy may wink at the wisdom of occult sciences1 and sorcerers and magicians1 necromancers and ,rosicrucians1 cabalists and conjurers1 astrologers and soothsayers1 ,philomaths1 ,drows1 and ,oreades1 wizards and witches1 and warlocks1 and sibyls and gipsies1 may be1 in its estimation1 a mere legion of cyphers4 ,yet faith hath been long and firmly lavished on the art of divination by the learned and mighty men of all ages4 ,the ,chaldean1 who read the stars1 was the coryphus and the type of superhuman knowledge2 the magi of ,persia and ,egypt1 and other orient lands1 followed in his wake4 ,the venerable ,hermes ,trismegistus was surrounded by his proselytes in the year of the world #bjgf2 and ,apollonius and ,zoroaster1 and ,pythagoras1 and1 in later ages1 ,john of ,leyden1 ,roger ,bacon1 and other learned mystagogues1 have imbibed a more than mortal wisdom from the aspect of those starry lights which gem the vaulted firmament2 while the luminous schools of ,padua1 and ,seville1 and ,salamanca1 were rich in the records of occult and mystic learning4 ,emperors and kings1 and ministers1 who ruled the destiny of mighty nations1 have believed4 ,wallenstein was all confiding2 ,richelieu and ,mazarin 7as ,morin writes7 retained soothsayers as a part of their household2 ,napoleon studied with implicit faith his book of fate2 and ,canute1 obedient to his confidence in the virtue of relics1 directed his ,roman agent to buy ,st4 ,augustine's arms for one hundred silver talents1 and one of gold4 8,nay1 what saith divinity itself8 ,glanvil1 the chaplain of ,king ,charles ,,ii41 affirms in his #8,saducismus ,triumphatus1' that #8the disbeliever in a witch must believe the devil gratis2' and ,wesley said1 that #8giving up witchcraft was1 in fact1 giving up the ,bible4' ,now1 as the ,chaldean sophs were divided into three classes--#a4 the #8,ascaphim1' or charmer2 #b4 the #8,mecascaphim1' or magician2 #c4 the #8,chasdim1' or astrologer2 so the legion of modern witches was composed of a mystic tryad1 distinguished by colours that were a symbol of their influence on our mortal frame4 ,the black witch could hurt1 but not help2 the white could help1 but not hurt2 the grey could both help and hurt40 ,,ida4 ,my own ,castaly1 have pity on us4 ,evelyn may unrol the coils of this unholy manuscript if he will4 ,i do believe this lettered clerk has1 in some unhappy hour1 wandered by the ruins of the ,seven ,churches in the valley of ,glendalough2 and there1 creeping up to ,st4 ,keven's bed1 that hangs over the gloomy waters of its lake1 has won the fatal gift of ,catholic magic4 ,or perchance he has sworn allegiance with ,faust and ,friar ,bacon4 ,,astr4 ,if an ,oxford student must kneel at the shrine of a fair lady1 he will whisper this confession4 ,in exploring the treasures of black-letter romance1 he revelled among the occult mysteries1 slighting that pure analysis of nature which is the essence of all philosophy4 ,the legends of ,reginald ,scott1 ,de ,foe1 ,glanvil1 and ,wanley1 were the companions of his pillow2 and thus in poring over the legends of enchantment1 he was himself enchanted1 and contemplated a wondrous history of witchcraft1 where ,sir ,walter himself had failed4 ,let me have light penance1 and ,i promise in the simple and beautiful light of nature alone to read her wonders2 and if ,i dare1 to study astrology in those planet eyes which look so mildly on their proselyte4 ,,ida4 ,or rather1 as the magi of old1 you will burn your books of divination2 and1 like ,friar ,bacon1 who broke the rare glass which showed him things fifty miles off1 you will study divinity1 and become a pious anchorite4 ,,cast4 ,i am happy that you abandon the dark and dooming spells of the magus and the witch1 ,astrophel1 for witchcraft is the unholy opposition of a demon to the ,deity4 ,yet in your fate ,i read my own4 ,but censure not the poetry of that innocent romance that lights up the legends of the berry-brown sibyl1 whether she be a tirauna prowling in the streets of ,madrid1 or a gipsy perched upon the heath-brow of ,norwood2 for theirs are happy prophecies4 ,yet if1 like ,astrophel1 ,i am to be the slave of philosophy1 let me at least make 8a dying and a swan-like end40 ,it was among the heath-valleys1 where nature lay in wild repose around the place of my birth1 that ,i first met the glance of a gipsy's eye4 ,on the northern side of that beautiful sandhill in ,surrey1 that rears its purple and turret-crowned crest between the chalk hills and the weald1 there is a green and bosky glen1 the 8,valley ,lonesome10 ,along the waste of ,broadmoor1 that spreads between the brow of ,leith-,hill and the ,roman camp of ,anstie-bury1 comes rippling down the crystal streamlet of the ,till1 which1 blending with a torrent that leaps from a lofty sand-rock1 steals away amid mosses and cardamines1 and cuckoo-flowers2 now gliding between its emerald banks1 now swelling into a broader sheet1 beneath the beech woods of ,wotton1 the ancient seat of the ,evelyns4 ,there the willows dip their silver blossoms1 and the violet1 almost hidden beneath them1 fills the air with sweetness4 ,there the wild briar wreaths in light festoons its tiny roses1 and the passion-flower1 entwining its luxuriant tendrils around the aspen and the sycamore1 hangs its beautiful blue stars in rich profusion4 ,and there1 among the boughs of lofty elms whose shadows in the early morning darken the casements of ,tillingbourne1 a colony of rooks hang their woody nests2 and the murmurs of the ringdove1 nestling within the woods of ,wotton and the ,rookery1 are heard in the golden noon and sunset of ,june1 floating around this leafy paradise4 ,it was on such an eve that my thoughts had faded into slumber2 and when my eyelids oped1 there was a form of embrowned beauty before me so wild1 yet so majestic1 that ,cleopatra1 in the garb of an ,egyptian slave-girl1 might have stolen upon my sleep3 so scant of clothing1 so lovely of form and feature1 she was like an almond-flower upon a leafless branch4 ,her expression was full of beautiful contrasts1 for1 while her eaglet eye went into my being1 there was a languid smile on her ruddy lip1 as she were about to syllable my own destiny2 and1 indeed1 she did unfold to me many things which have been most strangely worked out and verified in my life4 ,i wept at some of these foretellings1 and she said1 8,tears were the pearls that gem the rose-leaves of life40 ,i smiled at others1 and she said1 8,smiles were the sunlight that warmed their swelling leaflets into beauty40 ,throughout that summer night1 when all were sleeping1 save two romantic girls1 she unfolded to me the secrets of her tribe1 and a mine of mysteries learned from a ,bohemian ,maugrabee4 ,she told me how1 and why1 the ,druids1 when the moon was six days old1 cut the misseltoe with a golden knife2 how the vervain was gathered with the left hand1 at the rising of the dog-star2 and the lunaria was valueless1 if not picked by moonlight2 how the roan-wood1 and the ,banyan seedling1 and the four-leaved shamrock1 bore a charm in their tender leaves against every ill of life4 ,in nature1 she said1 there is no bane without its antidote1 were the intellect of man ripe for its discovery4 ,there are corals and green jaspers1 carved into the forms of dragons and lizards1 hung round an infant's neck1 for the cure of an ague2 the crimson-spotted heliotropium1 to staunch a flow of blood2 a wrapper of scarlet-cloth1 to mitigate the virulence of small-pox2 the blue-flannel1 nine times dyed1 to allay the pains of rheumatism2 and the magic word ,abracadabra1 to sooth the disorders of a nerve4 ,and1 above all1 that wondrous weapon-salve of sympathy1 which once healed on the instant the wound of ,ulysses1 and that which the dainty ,ariel gave to ,miranda1 to charm ,hippolito to life and health2 and that with which the lady of ,branxholme salved the broken lance1 when ,william of ,deloraine was healed4 ,it will be long ere from my memory fade this vision of ,charlotte ,stanley4 ,in pity1 ,evelyn1 leave me this one romance of my young life1--the sheet and taper1 nay1 the ducking-stool for the witch1 if you will1 but deign to bestow one smile upon the gipsies4 ,remember the story of the ,sibylline ,tables4 ,if ,sextus ,tarquin had not frowned on the ,roman gipsy1 she had not burned six of those precious volumes1 which1 from the massive cabinets of stone made to enclose the three that were preserved1 prove that the ,roman thought them priceless4 ,one smile1 ,evelyn1 for my sibyl4 ,,ev4 ,not in memory of the ,sibylline ,tables1 but for your own sake1 dear ,castaly4 ,although the innocence of your nut-brown sibyl is not so clear1 and ,i am somewhat jealous1 too1 of that white magic of hers1 which hath won the belief of so many minds the reverse of illiterate1 who1 from the ,chaldean even to ,bacon and ,william ,lilly1 have spurned philosophy1 and even divinity1 and pinned their faith upon a gipsy's sleeve1 and doted on the inspiration of an astrologer4 ,,ida4 ,forgetful1 it would seem1 that the wicked king of ,babylon found the devout ,daniel1 and ,hananiah1 and ,michael1 and ,azariah1 ten times better than all his magi and astrologers4 ,these are the antiquaries who possess the last relic of the true cross2 or the last morsel of ,shakspere's mulberry1 of which last bit there may be about ten thousand2 such are they who would pen learned theses on the disputed place of sepulture of ,st4 ,denys1 and determine the question1 too1 although one of his heads is in the cathedral of ,bamberg1 another in the church of ,saint ,vitus in the castle of ,prague2 one of his hands in a chapel at ,munich2 one of his bodies1 minus one hand1 in the keeping of the monks of ,saint ,emmeram at ,regensberg2 while the monks of ,saint ,denys possess another1 his head being preserved in the third shrine of the treasury in their cathedral4 ,these may be innocent follies1 but superstition1 alas6 will not always stop here2 fanaticism soon descends to self-infliction1 or to cruelty1 and in that moment it becomes a black stain on the heart of man4 ,yet1 even for the tortures of the ,inquisition 7so exquisite1 that we might believe them the suggestions of a devil71 the jesuit1 ,macedo1 has put forth this profane justification3 that the bloody tribunal was first instituted by the ,deity1 in the condemnation of ,cain and the bricklayers of ,babel4 ,,ev4 ,such was the trial of ordeal instituted for the test of innocence4 ,among the ,anglo-,saxons1 as all the chronicles of their history will show1 this mode of trial prevailed2 as in the ordeals of the ,cross1 of boiling water and of the hot iron2 of cold water1 or drowning2 and of the corsned1 or consecrated cake4 ,equally savage was the trial for murder1 so prevalent in ,scotland1 especially the institution of their ,bahr-recht1 or 8,right of the bier40 ,among the 8decisions0 of ,lord ,fountainhall1 you may read of legends almost incredible4 ,philip1 the son of ,sir ,james ,standfield1 was executed because1 in lifting the corpse of his murdered father from its bier1 blood welled forth from his wound2 and the ,laird of ,auchindrane was tortured1 because a corpse chanced to bleed on the approach of a little girl1 who1 ,i believe1 was merely one of his domestics4 ,but waving these profanations1 the reliques of a darker age1 let me have a word with ,astrophel on parting4 ,the seeming fulfilment of many a sibylline prophecy is perfectly clear as to its source4 ,there may be coincidence1 as in the dream2 or faith and inducement may impart an energy of action1 which may itself work a wonder1 or accomplish that end which is referred to a special power4 ,at the siege of ,breda1 in #afbe1 when fatigue and abstinence had well nigh reduced the garrison to prostration and despair1 the ,prince of ,orange practised this pious fraud on his soldiers3--,he pretended to have obtained a charmed liquor1 so concentrated1 that 7on the principles of homopathy7 four drops would saturate a gallon of water with restorative virtues2 and with so much skill was this administered by the physicians1 that a general restoration was speedily effected4 ,you remember1 ,astrophel1 the temptation of ,diocletian4 ,from ,flavius ,vopiscus we learn1 that he was paying the ,druidess of ,brabant1 with whom he lodged4 8,when ,i am emperor10 he said1 8,i will be more generous40 8,nay10 said the ,druidess1 8you shall be emperor1 when you have killed the ,,boar40 ,he hunted and killed boars incessantly1 but the purple was not offered to him4 ,at length1 the ,emperor ,numerianus was murdered by ,arrius ,aper4 ,this was the eventful moment1 and1 transfixing the heart of ,aper with his sword1 he said1 8,i have slain the boar60 and the imperial crown was his4 ,is not this1 too1 the counterpart of that seeming prophecy of the ,weird ,sisters1 which made ,macbeth a murderer and a king8 ,there was an enchanted stone at ,scone1 in ,scotland1 the palladium of ,scottish liberty1 for it was believed that the lord of that spot on which the stone lay1 should bear sovereign sway4 ,king ,edward bore this talisman away in triumph2 and ,scotland1 depressed by its loss1 became a vassal of the ,english crown4 ,and this faith may invest the merest trifle with a spell4 ,sir ,matthew ,hale was presiding in his court on the trial of a witch4 ,she had cured many diseases by a charm in her possession2 and the evidence seemed conclusive of her guilt4 ,but when the judge himself looked on this charm1 behold6 it was a scrap of paper1 inscribed with a ,latin sentence1 which1 in default of money1 he himself1 while on the circuit1 had given many years before1 in a merry mood1 to mine host1 by way of reckoning4 ,among the many analogies to this story in ancient times1 there was the potent poison-charm or antidote of ,mithridates1 ,king of ,pontus4 ,its effect was supreme4 ,and what its composition8 twenty leaves of rue1 one grain of salt1 two nuts1 and two dried figs6 ,now you will remember that the wizard and the ministers of these charms1 even among savages1 were also their physicians1 and1 among pagans and papists1 their priests4 ,it is clear that the sensitiveness of mind and body under disease1 when the first were consulted1 and under the influence of superstitious fear1 instilled by the priesthood1 rendered them impressible to the most trifling causes4 ,even in minds of superior natural energy1 from the instilment of superstitious ideas in infancy1 a blind faith will often become paramount4 ,such a mind1 and so influenced1 was ,byron's2 and on such a faith he once stole an agate bead from a lady1 who had told him it was an antidote to love4 ,it failed3 had it not1 ,byron might have been a happier man2 but the world would have been 'reft of poesy1 the brightest1 yet the darkest1 that ever flashed on the heart and mind of man4 ,sir ,humphrey ,davy1 you may recollect1 8knew a man of very high dignity1 who never went out shooting without a bittern's claw fastened to his button-hole by a riband1 which he thought ensured him good luck40 ,to illustrate the innocence of your gipsy1 ,castaly1 hear this story4 8,about forty years ago1 a young lady1 afterwards ,mrs4 ,w----1 rallied her companions aloud for listening to the predictions of an itinerant gipsy1 when the latter malignantly threatened her to beware of her first confinement4 ,she was shortly afterwards married2 and1 as the period of her peril approached1 it became evident to her friends that the remembrance of the wizard malediction began to fasten upon her spirits4 ,she survived her time only a few days3 and the medical attendants1 who were men of eminence1 stated it as their opinion1 that mental prepossession alone could be admitted as the cause of her death2 not one unfavourable circumstance having occurred to explain it4 8,and some melancholy illusion of this nature induced fatality in the case of another lady1 7,mrs4 ,s47 who1 according to the statement of the venerable ,mr4 ,cline1 reluctantly submitted to the removal of a small tumour in her breast4 ,unexpectedly1 and without any apparent cause1 she died1 on the morning following the operation4 ,it was then for the first time ascertained that she had prognosticated her death1 and the impression that she should not survive had taken so strong a possession of her mind1 that her minutest household arrangements were preconcerted1 as appeared by the papers found in her cabinet40 ,i believe that many modern instances of gradual and almost imperceptible decay1 may be referred to the influence both of melancholy prophecies and visions on the mind1 although their agency may be unsuspected1 and as obscure as that of the poisonous herbs of the ,thessalian ,erichtho1 or the sorceress of ,neapolis1 or the aqua tofana of the ,italians4 ,and superstitious fear may induce a sudden death4 ,alfred1 a nobleman1 was one of the conspirators against the ,saxon ,athelstan4 ,to justify himself from the accusation1 he went to ,rome1 that he might make oath of his innocence before ,john1 the pope4 ,on the instant he took the oath he was convulsed1 and1 in three days1 died4 ,then as to the language of the stars3--as the phrenologist is much indebted to the principles of ,lavater in forming his estimate of character1 so ,i believe of the astrologer4 ,the aspect of the face is not always disregarded in his prophecy1 while he seems to observe only the aspect of the stars4 ,and although there is often a very strange precision in his guesses1 yet there was once a curious incident in my own presence1 from which we may learn something of this secret4 ,on a visit to a learned astrologer1 7who might rest his fame on another art in which he is so eminent17 our fortunes1 past and future1 were told with extreme minuteness1 and1 ,i confess1 with many coincidences of former times4 ,one was reminded by the seer of a state of deprivation which he endured in the year #ah--1 in the ,mediterranean4 ,the officer remembered in that year being becalmed in a voyage to ,malta1 and1 under a sultry sky with parching thirst1 enduring the want of water for many days4 ,this was conclusive of the fidelity of the planets1 until we discovered that the horoscope was imperfect1 for the officer had given to the astrologer the wrong date of his birth4 ,,cast4 ,and this1 sir1 is your ,philosophy of ,mystery8 ,oh for the forethought of my sibyl1 that ,i might learn my own fate for listening to this treason against the throne of fancy1 on the steps of which ,i have so long offered up my homage--this ruthless spoliation of her dreamy kingdom6 ,,ev4 ,let me for once play the sibyl1 fair ,castaly1 and whisper the penalty in your ear---- ,,ida4 ,a lesson in natural philosophy2 and the apt scholar1 as ,i read it on her cheek1 has in a moment learned it all by heart2 o'ershadowing all her bright visions of earth and its romances4 ,,ev4 ,what marvel that a daughter of earth should be so apt in its philosophy8-- 8,for half her thoughts were of its sun1 ,and half were of its show'rs40 ,but it is not so easy to shake the throne of fancy1 or to lay the genius of romance4 ,he will ever wave his wand of enchantment over the human mind4 ,the poet will still build his air-castles1 and the ghost-seer indulge in his wild visions of nonentity4 ,the wonders of creation will still affect us1 according to the quality of intellect or genius1 or the constitution or cultivation of the mind4 ,the poor ,indian will still 8see ,god in clouds1 and hear him in the wind10 and the untutored rustic be startled by the shadow of a shade4 ,to him the slightest change in the regular course of nature will still be a special miracle3 thunder1 the awful voice of ,divine reproof2 lightning1 the flashes of ,divine displeasure2 the scintillations of the aurora1 the spectral forms of contending armies2 and the comet foretel the wreck of mighty empires4 ,against this untutored devotion ,i would not breathe a thought1--it is the voice of the ,deity speaking to the savage4 ,but it is the privilege1 the duty of intellect1 to think more deeply of the physiology of nature2 and to learn from the physical sciences1 its real utility in the grand scheme of the creation4 ,philosophy1 rising from the sublime study of these beautiful phenomena1 regards them as the pure effect of those elemental laws1 by which the integrity of the universe is preserved4 ,and what ought this philosophy to teach us8 ,not the superstition of the bigot--for the age of special miracles is1 for the present1 past2 not the pride of the fatalist1 who refers all to chance and necessity2 not the mania of the astrologer1 who plumes himself on his prophetic wisdom1 and presumes to interpret to the letter the mysterious voice of his ,creator2 but that true wisdom1 which threw over ,boyle1 and ,locke1 and ,newton1 the mantle of humility and devotion4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the autumn floods had descended from the mountains of ,gwent2 the banks of the meandering ,wye were desolate1 and her woods leafless2 yet the ,abbey of ,tintern was still majestic and unchanged4 ,it had been decided1 that when the summer sun shone again on ,wyndcliff1 the wanderers should revisit the beautiful valleys that lay beneath it1 in memory of happy hours2 but ere this was fulfilled1 changes manifold had come over their destiny1 from which might be fashioned a true love-story4 ,for ,astrophel1 ,ida had unconsciously worked a spell of natural witchcraft1 and his wild thoughts were ever chastened by the pure light of her devotion4 ,and ,evelyn almost confessed to ,castaly1 that there might be a sort of animal magnetism4 ,he has neglected the study of the atomic theory1 for the contemplation of the animated atoms that play around his domestic hearth2 and the heart and life of ,castaly1 a poetry in themselves1 have since interwoven many a blushing flower on the classic pages of his philosophy4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,london3 ,,gilbert ,,and ,,rivington1 ,,printers1 ,,st4 ,,john',s ,,square4 ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,,practical ,,remarks ,,on ,,the ,,diseases ,,of ,,the ,,skin1 ,,on ,,the ,,external ,,signs ,,of ,,disorder1 ,,and ,,on ,,the ,,constitutional ,,peculiarities ,,during ,,infancy ,,and ,,childhood4 8,much useful information conveyed in very few words40--,lancet4 8,mr4 ,dendy has drawn from his opportunities1 as ,surgeon to the ,royal ,infirmary1 valuable materials for various disquisitions on the diseases of infancy40--,british and ,foreign ,medical ,quarterly ,review4 #hvo4 ,price #fs4 #f;d4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,nursery4 ,,precepts ,,for ,,the ,,management ,,of ,,infants1 ,,and ,,for ,,the ,,prevention ,,and ,,domestic ,,treatment ,,of ,,the ,,diseases ,,incidental ,,to ,,childhood4 8,all should study this book1 and instal it in their nurseries40--,metropolitan ,magazine4 8,mr4 ,dendy has done valuable service to the rising generation40--,literary ,gazette4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,page of other books by this same author was moved from the front of the book to the end of the book4 ,archaic spellings have been retained as in the original4 ,punctuation and obvious typesetting errors have been corrected without note4 ,other errors have been corrected as noted below4 page #e1 ,st4 ,hilary at ,poictiers ,st4 ,hilary at ,poitiers page #cj1 ,the ,welch guide was ,the ,welsh guide was page #cc1 to be a meanless to be a meaningless page #dh1 ,praise ,god ,barebones ,praise ,god ,barebone page #ec1 of ,halloween and ,hogmany of ,halloween and ,hogmanay page #ed1 ,stonehenge and ,abury1 ,stonehenge and ,avebury1 page #ed1 when we have past when we have passed page #fg1 the niflheiner1 or hell the niflheimr1 or hell page #ie1 shall be crowned ,king shall ,i be crowned ,king page #ie1 ,westermister ,abbey1 likely refers to ,westminster ,abbey page #ie1 in the of ,hyde the ,park in the ,hyde ,park page #aei1 ,hogmany1 or ,new-year's ,eve1 and ,hogmanay1 or ,new-year's ,eve1 and page #afj1 around the ,feroe ,islands4 around the ,faroe ,islands4 ,end of ,the ,philosophy of ,mystery by ,walter ,cooper ,dendy