MAMMALIA — MAN. 41 



celebrated German bookseller, and member of the Royal Society of Berlin. 

 It is related by himself. Nicolai had for years been subject to a congestion 

 in the head, to relieve which, he wj^s frequently blooded by leeches. 



"In the first two months of the year 1791, (says he,) I was much affected 

 in my mind, by several incidents of a very disagreeable nature ; and on the 

 24th of February, a circumstance occurred which irritated me extremely. 

 At ten o'clock in the forenoon, my wife and another person came to console 

 me ; I was in a violent perturbation of mind, owing to a series of incidents 

 which had altogether wounded my moral feelings, and from which I saw 

 no possibility of relief, when suddenly I observed, at the distance of ten 

 paces from me, a figure — the figure of a deceased person. I pointed at it, 

 and asked my wife whether she did not see it. She saw nothing, but being 

 much alarmed, endeavored to compose me, and sent for the physician. The 

 figure remained some seven or eight minutes, and at length I became a 

 little more calm ; and, as I was extremely exhausted, I soon afterwards fell 

 into a troubled kind of slumber, which lasted for half an hour. The vision 

 was ascribed to the great agitation of mind in which I had been, and it was 

 supposed I should have nothing more to apprehend from that cause ; but 

 the violent affection having put my nerves into some unnatural state, from 

 this arose further consequences, which require a more detailed description. 



"In the afternoon, a little after four o'clock, the figure which I had seen 

 in the morning, again appeared. I was alone when this happened ; a cir- 

 cumstance which, as may be easily conceived, could not be very agreeable. 

 I went, therefore, to the apartment of my wife, to whom I related it. But 

 thither, also, the figure pursued me. Sometimes it was present, sometimes 

 it vanished; but it was always the same standing figure. A little after six 

 o'clock, several stalking figures also appeared ; but they had no connection 

 with the standing figure. I can assign no other reason for this apparition 

 than that, though much more composed in my mind, I had not been able so 

 soon entirely to forget the cause of such deep and distressing vexation, and 

 had reflected on the consequences of it, in order, if possible, to avoid them; 

 and that this happened three hours after dinner, at the time wlien the diges- 

 tion just begins. 



"At length I became more composed, with respect to the disagreeable 

 incident which had given rise to the first apparition ; but though I had used 

 very excellent medicines, and found myself in other respects perfectly well, 

 yet the apparitions did not diminish, but, on the contrary, rather increased 

 in number, and were transformed in the most extraordinary manner. 



"After I had recovered from the first impression of terror, I never felt 

 myself particularly agitated by these apparitions, as I considered them to 

 be, what they really were, the extraordinary consequences of indisposition ; 

 on the contrary, I endeavored as much as possible to preserve my com- 

 posure of mind, that I might remain distinctly conscious of what passed 

 within me. I observed these phantoms with great accuracy, and very often 

 6 



