|gg SPECTRES OCCASIONEB BY DISEASE. 



Narrative and always remain no lefs inexplicable to us than the origin of 

 remarks on thofepowersby which confcioufnefs and fancy are made to exift. 

 du'ctdb ^nervous ^he figure of the deceafed perfon never appeared to me 

 "mdilpoficion. after the firft dreadful day; but feveral other figures (hewed 

 themfelves afterwards very diftinftly; fometimes fuch as I 

 knew, riioftly, however, of perfons I did not know, and 

 amongft thofe known to me, were the femblances of both 

 living and deceafed perfons, but moflly the former: and I made 

 the obfervation that acquaintance with whom I daily converfed 

 never appeared to me as phantafms; it was always fuch as 

 were at a diftance. When thefe apparitions had continued 

 fome weeks, and I could regard them with the greatell com- 

 pofure, I afterwards endeavoured, at my own pleafure to call 

 forth phantoms of feveral acquaintance, whom I for that rea- 

 fon reprefented to my imagination in the moft lively manner, 

 but in vain. — For however accurately I pidured to my mind 

 the figures of fuch perfons, I never once could fucceed in my 

 defireof feeing them externally; though I had fome (hort time 

 before feen them as phantoms, and they had perhaps after- 

 wards unexpe6tedly prefented themfelves to me in the fame 

 manner. The phantafms appeared to me in every cafe invo- 

 luntarily, as if they had been prefented externally, like the 

 phenomena in nature, though they certainly had their origin 

 internally ; and at the fame time I was always able to diftin- 

 guifli with the greatefl precifion phantafms from phenomena. 

 Indeed, I never once erred in this, as I was in general per- 

 feftly calm and feIf-colle6led on the occafion. I knew ex- 

 tremely well, when it only appeared to me that the door was 

 opened, and a phantom entered, and when the door really 

 was opened and any perfon came in. 



It is alio to be noted, that thefe figures appeared to me at 

 all times, and under the moft different circumftances, equally 

 diftinfl and clear. Whether I was alone, or in company, 

 by broad day-light equally as in the night time, in my own as 

 well as in my neighbour's houfe ; yet when I was at ano- 

 ther perfon's houfe, they were lefs frequent, and when I 

 walked the public fireet tliey very feldom appeared. When 

 I (hut my eyes fometimes the figures difappeared, fometimes 

 they remained even after I hadclofed them. If they vaniflied 

 in the former cafe, on opening my eyes again, nearly the 

 fame figures appeared which I had feen before. 



I fome- 



