sonous substance which has the power of producing hallucinations.

Example 123. Some years ago a musician and composer, who was borne down by domestic calamities, determined to put an end to his existence. For this purpose he took a large dose of stramonium. The poison first produced giddiness, but soon gave rise to symptoms resembling those of drunkenness. He saw troops of men whirling before him, and endeavouring to entangle him in their disordered movements. All the persons of the ballet in Gustave, at which he had assisted on the previous night, presented themselves before him, mocking him and tormenting him in every possible manner. He lost his consciousness, and fell on the ground, when he was carried to the policecourt, where he became extremely violent, thinking he was surrounded by thieves and assassins, who intended to ill-use him. The figures appeared by hundreds, filling the room, and were possessed of the most hideous countenances.

Taken to the Hôtel-Dieu, he was treated as a furious madman, whom it was necessary to put in confinement. The next day, when he was brought to my establishment, his excitement, although very decided, was much diminished. The pupils still remained somewhat dilated, and he was still surrounded by phantoms. These phenomena soon ceased, and at the end of three days he was completely recovered.

:

In November, 1843, three young children ate some seeds of the stramonium. They soon exhibited the usual symptoms produced by this drug to these were added, in two of the children, numerous and continued hallucinations of sight. The next day all the symptoms were much diminished, the youngest continuing very weak in its legs. On the third day

all the symptoms had disappeared, as if by enchantment.*

Many of the patients who were treated with the stramonium, according to the plan of Dr. Moreau, saw animals in their beds. This hallucination occurred principally during the night.

The berries of the belladonna will likewise produce hallucinations or illusions. In the Dictionnaire des Sciences Médicales a case is mentioned where a company of soldiers, having eaten some of these berries by mistake, were attacked by numerous illusions. M. Baillarger, in his clinical lectures at the Salpêtrière, has related several cases of this kind. A cook, at the monthly period, took some infusion of belladonna, which brought on an attack of delirium. She saw herself surrounded by a number of little animals, which ran along the ground; she endeavoured to put her hand upon one of them, but only took hold of a leaf, as in the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights, or in those legends of treasures sold by the devil.

The third section comprises hallucinations complicated with mental diseases. It is to be observed, that in many instances they precede the insanity, and that then they ought to be considered as the cause of it; but in a great number of cases they arise during the progress of the mental disease. They are then only a result, a symptom, and complication of it. Several questions here suggest themselves: Do the hallucinations depend upon the organic changes superinduced by the mental disease? Are they associated with the psycho-cerebral excitement which has produced the insanity? In a word, are they physical or moral ? The distinction is often very difficult, yet the nature of the hallucinations and their immediate

* Examinat. Med. 15 Mai, 1843.

connexion with the cause of the insanity, justify us in thinking that they often arise from moral causes. With this reservation, we are of opinion that the action of mental diseases, although imperfectly known, should nevertheless be classed amongst the physical

causes.

The fourth section contains the hallucinations of nervous diseases not constituting forms of insanity, and those of nightmare and ecstasy. What we have just stated with regard to the distinction between moral and physical causes, will also apply to the present section.

The fifth section includes the hallucinations which are observed in inflammatory, acute, chronic, and other diseases. These have been already considered in a former chapter.

We have thus endeavoured to trace out, as far as was in our power, the causes of hallucinations. In doing this we do not suppose that none have been omitted, but at least we feel satisfied of having accumulated essential materials towards a complete etiology of this disease.

339

CHAPTER XII.

HALLUCINATIONS IN RELATION TO PSYCHOLOGY, HISTORY, MORALITY, AND RELIGION.

THE time has come when it is necessary for us to consider collectively the examples which have been recorded, the observations we have made upon them, and the brief but complete demonstration which we have given of the return of the sensations to the state they were in at the time of the conception of an idea, and of the conversion of the conception into a hallucination (reflex sensation). The intelligent reader ought now to recognise the scientific character of our opinion, and to perceive that it is based on a legitimate induction from a principle inherent in the nature of man-that of forming a mental representation of objects. In order to demonstrate the physiological character which we have assigned to one series of hallucinations, it is necessary to establish our theory, with its immediate consequences, and to answer the objections which have been raised against it. There is no one who has not repeatedly called up in his mind the recollection of a friend, a landscape, or a statue; and in proportion to the strength of his will and the power of his imagination, the image has been indistinct and obscure, as if seen through a mist, or clear, vivid, and well-defined, but still inferior to the original.

Practice will render the images more definite and more truthful, so that under some circumstances they become as real as the original sensations. Several years ago, when we devoted ourselves to this kind of

research, we have frequently seen the figure of a clergyman, an intimate friend, whom we had selected for the experiment on account of his artistic appearance. At that period we could summon his image before us whenever we chose, whereas now it only appears to us from time to time, and independent of our will. It has the size and characters of the original, and faithfully represents all the details of his person and dress. We see it smile, talk, preach, and make use of his habitual attitudes. This mental representation is visible to us whether our eyes are open or shut. The image is external, in front of us, and in the direction of the visual ray; it has a shadowy appearance, and is of a different nature to an objective sensation; but nevertheless we see it with a perfect outline, with the hues of life, and possessing in its peculiar way all the characters of the real object. In this case it is therefore impossible to make use of any other term than the word see. It is useless to say that to see an object, and to represent that object to oneself, are two things totally distinct, and that there is a vast difference between these impressions. Our reply is, we have the sensation of an idea, an image, so truly represented, that were we an artist, it would not be merely a resemblance, but as a ray of light emanating from our interior sense, which we could reproduce upon the

canvas.

M. Boisbaudrant, one of the professors at the École Impérial of drawing, has endeavoured to make his pupils avail themselves of this power of mental representation of objects, or, as it has been termed, the mnemonic faculty of painters. He places before them a model, and directs them to examine it carefully; at the end of a few minutes it is removed, and he then tells them to draw the model from memory. The following are the answers of some of the students