8o 
A New Theory of Trance: 
[January, 
ordinarily permanently affedling the health in other respedls. 
The liability to trance, like the liability to various other 
fundtional disturbances of the nervous system, does not 
conflidl with general good health and longevity. 
Thirdly, — That this hypothesis explains the difference be- 
tween trance and ordinary sleep, which in some respedts it 
so much resembles. Sleep is a normal state, a partial 
cessation of the adlivity of all the faculties, a lowering of 
the adlivity in all the regions, but not a suspension of the 
adtivity of any except the will, which, as we have seen, is 
simply a co-ordinated adtion of the faculties. When a per- 
son who is sleeping gets up and walks in his sleep — in other 
words, passes into the somnambulistic form of trance — the 
change that takes place in the brain is this ; while sleeping 
the adlivity of all the faculties was lowered ; on going into 
trance the adlivity of all the faculties becomes suspended, 
and the entire cerebral adlivity is concentrated in some one 
faculty or limited group of faculties. 
Fourthly, — That this hypothesis explains the phenomenon of 
dual life and double consciousness, which has been regarded as 
one of the greatest and most inexplicable mysteries of trance. 
In trance — even in the most profound instances ever ob- 
served — there is probably always consciousness at the time, 
hut it is not always or usually remembered consciousness. 
On awaking, as on awaking from ordinary sleep, the dreams, 
that may have been adlive and numberless, fade as a cloud ; 
possibly not even a glimpse of them may be caught and 
held before the mind long enough to become a permanent 
and recolledtible impression during the normal state. But 
on resuming the trance state the exalted fundtional adlivity 
of the region of the brain in which the cerebral force is 
concentrated is able to bring these impressions of the pre- 
vious attack of trance, forgotten during the intervening 
normal state, to consciousness, and thus the subjedt carries 
on an independent trance life, just as though there had been 
no intervening normal state. On returning to the normal 
state, the cerebral force being again diffused through the 
whole brain, is insufficient to enable the subjedt to recal the 
experience of the trance, but quite sufficient to enable him 
to recal the experiences of his previous normal state. Thus 
he leads two lives, the normal life and the trance life, and 
they are independent of each other. 
In cases of dual life the trance life is the more brilliant 
and adlive in certain features, as by this hypothesis it natu- 
rally would be. In a case under the observation of the late 
Dr. J. R. Mitchell, a young girl in trance life was quick, 
