THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SELF. 383 



blings through the forest, her tricks and humor, all were faded from her 

 memory, and not a shadow left behind. Her parents saw their child ; 

 her brothers and sisters saw their sister. She now had all the knowledge 

 that she had possessed in her first state previous to the change, still 

 fresh and in as vigorous exercise as though no change had been. But 

 any new acquisitions she had made, and any new ideas she had obtained, 

 were lost to her now — yet not lost, but laid up out of sight in safe-keep- 

 ing for future use. Of course her natural disposition returned ; her 

 melancholy was deepened by the information of what had occurred. All 

 went on in the old-fashioned way, and it was fondly hoped that the 

 mysterious occurrences of those five weeks would never be repeated, but 

 these anticipations were not to be realized. After the lapse of a few 

 weeks she fell into a profound sleep, and awoke in her second state, 

 taking up her new life again precisely where she had left it when she 

 before passed from that state. She was not now a daughter or a sister. 

 All the knowledge she possessed was that acquired during the few weeks 

 of her former period of second consciousness. She knew nothing of 

 the intervening time. Two periods widely separated were brought into 

 contact. She thought it was but one night. 



" In this state she came to understand perfectly the facts of her case, 

 not from memory, but from information. Yet her buoyancy of spirits 

 was so great that no depression was produced. On the contrary, it 

 added to her cheerfulness, and was made the foundation, as was every- 

 thing else, of mirth. 



"These alternations from one state to another continued at intervals 

 of varying length for fifteen or sixteen yeaj-s, but finally ceased when 

 she attained the age of thirty-five or thirty-six, leaving hev permavently 

 in her second state. In this she remained without change for the last 

 quarter of a century of her life." 



Tlie emotional opposition of the two states seems, how- 

 ever, to have become gradually effaced in Mary Reynolds : 



"The change from a gay, hysterical, mischievous woman, fond of 

 jests and subject to absurd beliefs or delusive convictions, to one retain- 

 ing the joyousness and love of society, but sobered down to levels of prac- 

 tical usefulness, was gradual. The most of the twenty-five years which 

 followed she was as different from her melancholy, morbid self as from 

 the hilarious condition of the early years of her second state. Some of 

 her family spoke of it as her third state. She is described as becoming 

 rational, industrious, and very cheerful, yet reasonably serious ; pos- 

 sessed of a well-balanced temperament, and not having the slightest 

 indication of an injured or disturbed mind. For some years she taught 

 school, and in that capacity was both useful and acceptable, being a 

 general favorite with old and young. 



"During these last twenty-five years she lived in the same 

 house with the Rev. Dr. John V. Reynolds, her nephew, part of that 



