648 Mr. F. Gallon [May 13, 



whenever he bent his head and closed his eyes and thought of a 

 rose, a sort of rosette made its appearance, which would not keep its 

 shape steady for a moment, but unfolded from within, throwing 

 out a succession of petals, mostly red but sometimes green, and that 

 it continued to do so without change in brightness and without 

 causing him any fatigue so long as he cared to watch it. Mr. 

 Henslow, when he shuts his eyes and waits, is sure in a short 

 time to see before him the clear image of some object or other, but 

 usually not quite natural in its shape. It then begins to change from 

 one object to another, in his case also for as long a time as he cares 

 to watch it. Mr. Henslow has zealously made repeated experiments 

 on himself, and has drawn what he sees. He has also tried how far 

 he is able to mould the visions according to his will. In one case, 

 after much effort, he contrived to bring the imagery back to its 

 starting point, and thereby to form what he terms a " visual cycle." 

 The following account is extracted and condensed from his very 

 interesting letter, and will exj^lain the photographs from his drawings 

 that I am about to throw on the screen. 



The first image that spontaneously presented itself was a cross- 

 bow ; this was immediately provided with an arrow, remarkable for 

 its pronounced barb and superabundance of feathering. Some person, 

 but too indistinct to recognise much more of him than the hands, 

 apjieared to shoot the arrow from the bow. The single arrow was 

 then accomjDanied by a flight of arrows from right to left, which com- 

 pletely occupied the field of vision. These changed into falling stars, 

 then into flakes of a heavy snow-storm ; the ground gradually aj)peared 

 as a sheet of snow where previously there had been vacant space. 

 Then a well-known rectory, fish-ponds, walls, &c., all covered with 

 snow, came into view most vividly and clearly defined. This somehow 

 suggested another view, impressed on his mind in childhood, of a 

 spring morning, brilliant sun, and a bed of red tulips : the tulips 

 gradually vanished except one, which appeared now to be isolated and 

 to stand in the usual point of sight. It was a single tulip, but became 

 double. The petals then fell off rapidly in a continuous series until 

 there was nothing left but the pistil, but (as is almost invariably the 

 case with his objects) that part was greatly exaggerated. The stigmas 

 then changed into three branching brown horns; then into a knob, 

 while the stalk changed into a stick. A slight bend in it seems to 

 have suggested a centre-bit ; this passed into a sort of pin passing 

 through a metal plate ; this again into a lock, and afterwards into a 

 nondescript shape, distantly suggestive of the original cross-bow. 

 Here Mr. Henslow endeavoured to force his will upon the visions, and 

 to reproduce the cross-bow, but the first attempt was an utter failure. 

 The figure changed into a leather strap with loops, but while he still 

 endeavoured to change it into a bow the strap broke, the two ends 

 were separated, but it happened that an imaginary string connected 

 them. This was the first concession of his automatic chain of thoughts 

 to his M'ill. By a continued effort the bow came, and then no difficulty 



