170 SPECTRES OCCASIONED BY DIJEASS, 



Narrative and I had recourfe to feveral medicines, and was at laft again 



fpeares^pro- obliged to have recourfe to the application of leeches to the 



duced by nervous anus. 



indifpofition. ^IjJj ^^j performed on the 20th of April at eleven o'clock 



in the forenoon. I was alone with the furgeon, but during 

 the operation, the room fwarmed with human forms of every 

 defcription, which crouded faft one on another ; this continued 

 till half pad four o'clock, exactly the time when the digeftion 

 commences. I then obferved that the figures began to move 

 more flowly; foon afterwards the colours became gradually 

 paler; every feven minutes they loft more and more of their 

 intenfity, without any alteration in the diftind figure of the 

 apparitions. At about half paft fix o'clock all the figures 

 were entirely white, and moved very little ; yet the forms 

 appeared perfe6lly diftindl; by degrees they became vif^bly 

 lefs plain, without decreafing in number, as had often formerly 

 been the cafe. The figures did not move off, neither did they 

 vanifh which alfo had ufually happened on other occafions. 

 In this inftance they diffolved immediately into air ; of fome 

 even whole pieces remained for a length of time, which alfo 

 by degrees were loft to the eye. At about eight o'clock there 

 did not remain a veftige of any of them, and I have never 

 fince experienced any appearance of the fame kind. Twice 

 or thrice fince that time I have felt a propenfity, if I may be 

 > fo allowed to exprefs myfelf, or a fenfation as if I faw fome- 

 thing which in a moment again was gone. I was even fur- 

 prifed by this fenfation whilft writing the prefent account, 

 having, in order to render it more accurate, perufed the papers 

 of 1791, and recalled to my memory all the circumftances of 

 that time. So little are we fometimes, even in the greatefl 

 compofure of mind, mafters of our imagination. 



This is an exaft narrative of the apparitions which I ob- 

 ferved during tbe difordered ftate of my nerves : and I fhall 

 now add a few obfervations, partly with the intention of ex- 

 plaining their origin from other obfervations made on myfelf, 

 and partly with a view of pointing out at leaft fome diftant 

 pfychological confequences, which might be deduced from this 

 remarkable cafe. 



Experience fhews that we may, in various manners, ima- 

 gine that we fee figures, and even hear them when they do 

 not really exift. 



1ft 



