366 ON UTERINE IRRITATION, AND ITS EFFECTS 



parate and independent trains of thought, and two indepen- 

 dent mental capabilities, in the same individual ; each train 

 of thought, and each capability, being wholly dissevered from 

 the other, and the two states in which they respectively pre- 

 dominate subject to frequent interchanges and alternations. 



The particulars will be most agreeably communicated, in the 

 order of their occurrence which is followed by Dr Dyce, — 



part of the narrative being given in the words of Mrs L , 



in whose house the patient lived as a servant, and the rest in 

 the words of Dr Dyce himself, consisting of the facts which 

 fell under his own observation. 



The history of the complaint, while under the eye of this 

 gentleman, extends from the 2d of March 1815, to the 11th of 

 the following June, including a period of more than three 

 months. But the symptoms had made their appearance in the 

 end of the preceding December. 



The first symptom was an uncommon propensity to fall 

 asleep in the evenings, for which she was reproved by Mrs 



L . This was followed by the habit of talking in her sleep 



on these occasions. She not only uttered such wild inco- 

 herent expressions as persons, under the affection of sleep-talk- 

 ing commonly do, but repeated the occurrences of the day. 

 She also sang musical airs, both sacred and profane. 



One evening, in the house of an acquaintance of Mrs L , 



where she seems to have come for the purpose of seeing her 

 mistress home, she fell asleep in this manner, imagined herself 

 an Episcopal clergyman, went through the ceremony of bap- 

 tizing three children, and gave an appropriate extempore 

 prayer. Her mistress shook her by the shoulders, on which 

 she awoke, and appeared inconscious of every thing except 

 that she had fallen asleep, of which she shewed herself asham- 

 ed. 



Another 



