510 The American Naturalist. 



fJune, 



(smaller) portion of the yolk— sac thus constricted off was darker and 

 had begun to undergo decay. The opening in the abdominal wall is 

 nearly oval, 9 mm. long by 7 mm. broad. The edges are smooth as if 

 about a natural opening. 



A glance at the accompanying figure will reveal a certain amount 

 of asymmetry, due mostly to the position of the yolk sac. 



The youngster was hatched alive. How long he might have lived, 

 or whether the opening would have healed cannot be said, as the owner 

 did not give it a chance. 



In all probability the condition just described was caused by some 

 inadvertent movement of the embryo, thus displacing the yolk sac or 

 a part of it.— Francis E. Lloyd. 



PSYCHOLOGY. 



A Study in Morbid Psychology, with some Reflections. 



— When Descartes uttered his famous aphorism, " Cogito, ergo sum," he 

 reasonably flattered himself on having made an irrefutable proposition. 

 But the " abysmal depths of personality " are not as easily sounded as 

 the great French philosopher imagined. Certainly something thinks; 

 but is it one consciousness or more that is represented in one human 

 brain ? The celebrated experiments of Professor Janet, of Havre, led to 

 the discovery of no less than three distinct personalities in his patient, 

 Madam B., and the no less noted cases of Felida X. and of Louis V. 1 

 show one or more personalities controlling the same brain. And there 

 are epileptiform and hypnotic states where all the functions of civilized 

 society are discharged without the consciousness of the ordinary pri- 

 mary self. 



I will now proceed to describe the case, which forms the main sub- 

 ject of this article — that of Ansel Bourne, a carpenter and itinerant 

 preacher of Rhode Island. The experiences of Ansel Bourne are 

 amongst the most curious to be met with in the annals of morbid psy- 

 chology. Whether the symptoms of this case are due to epilepsy 

 —"masked epilepsy"— or post-epileptic mental disturbance, they are 

 equally worthy a study. 



Ansel Bourne, who is of New England parentage, was born in Xew 

 York City, July 8, 1826, and worked steadily at his trade as a carpen- 



cle " Double Consciousness," in the Dictionary of Psychologi- 

 i by D. Hack Duke, M. I)., where cases are given, including 

 nd Felida X. (cases 4 and 7). 



