MAMMALIA— MAN 43 



" It is also to be noted, that these figures appeared to me at all times, 

 under the most different circumstances, equally distinct and clear. Whe- 

 ther I was alone or in company, by broad daylight equally as in the night- 

 time, in my own as well as in my neighbor's house ; yet when I was at 

 another person's house they were less frequent, and when I walked the 

 public street they very seldom appeared. When I shut my eyes, sometimes 

 tb*" figures disappeared, sometimes they remained, even after I had closed 

 tuy eyes. If they vanished in the former case, on opening my eyes again 

 the same figures appearea which I had seen before. 



"I sometimes conversed with my physician and my wife, concerning the 

 phantasms which at the time hovered around me ; for in general the forms 

 appeared oftener in motion than at rest. They did not always continue 

 present — they frequently left me altogether, and again appeared for a shorter 

 or longer space of time, singly or more at once ; but, in general, several 

 appeared together. For the most part, I saw human figures of both sexes ; 

 they commonly passed to and fro as if they had no connection with each 

 other, like people at a fair, where all is bustle ; sometimes they appeared to 

 have business with one another. Once or twice I saw amongst them persons 

 on horseback, and dogs and birds ; these figures all appeared to me in their 

 natural size, as distinctly as if they had existed in real life, with the several 

 tints on the uncovered parts of the body, and with all the different kinds 

 of colors of clothes. But I think, however, that the colors were somewhat 

 paler than they are in nature. 



"None of the figures had any distinguishing characteristic; they were 

 neither terrible, ludicrous, nor repulsive : most of them were ordinary ap- 

 pearances — some were even agreeable. 



" On the whole, the longer I continued in this state, the more did the 

 number of phantasms increase, and the apparitions become more frequent. 

 About four weeks afterwards, I began to hear them speak : sometimes the 

 phantasms spoke with one another, but for the most part they addressed 

 themselves to me : those speeches were in general short, and never con- 

 tains 1 any thing disagreeable. Intelligent and respected friends often 

 appeared to me, who endeavored to console me in my grief, which still left 

 deep traces in my mind. This speaking I heard most frequently when I 

 was alone ; though I sometimes heard it in company, intermixed with the 

 conversation of real persons ; frequently in single phrases only, but some- 

 times even in connected discourse. 



" Though at this time I enjoyed rather a good state of health, both in body 

 and mind, and had become so very familiar with these phantasms, that at 

 last they did not excite the least disagreeable emotion, but on the contrary 

 afforded me frequent subjects for amusement and mirth; yet, as the disorder 

 sensibly increased, and the figures appeared to me for whole days together, 

 and even during the night, if I happened to awake, I had recourse to several 

 medicines, and was at last again obliged to have recourse to the application 

 of leeches. 



