Case CXV

"About twelve years ago," says the author, "I had an attack of fever, brought on by a violent inflammation of the left lung, from a cold taken in the great thaw of 1795. The pulse beat 110 in a minute, and the complaint, which lasted for several weeks, was accompanied during its whole course by disordered perception. On the first night following the attack of fever, I had a fatiguing dream; it seemed to me that I was in the midst of an immense system of mechanical combinations, every part of which turned round with great noise and extreme rapidity; at the same time, I had an idea that the object of all this bewildering operation was to cure my sickness. When my agitation had reached a certain point I awoke with a start, then fell off to sleep again, to have my dream renewed. These alternatives having occurred several times, I thought that if I could destroy the existing impression the form of the dream would change. It appeared to me that the best chance of success would be to link some visible object with the idea of the cure. My efforts were successful; for, in the next attack, a bottle, which I had fixed in my mind, presented itself; the rotation ceased, and my dreams, although disturbed by incongruous ideas, were more varied and less painful.

* Observations on a peculiar Nervous Affection incident to Travellers in Sicily and Southern Italy, by J. Hungerford Sealy, M. D. - Medico- Chirur-gical Review, July, 1844.

"The medical treatment consisted in applications of leeches to the side affected, bleeding, and saline mixtures.

"The second night was one of great restlessness; accompanied with drowsiness, and strange and inconsistent dreams, in which it was difficult to distinguish sleeping from waking, but which did not leave the same inquietude of mind which had augmented the sufferings of the preceding night. In the morning the sensations had undergone a notable change; the real impressions produced by surrounding objects took the place of the phantoms. Perfectly awake, calm, with the entire use of memory and reason, conversing with my attendants, and distinguishing clearly exterior objects, I was charmed by a succession of figures, which my will could neither prevent, retain, nor drive away.

"Sometimes they appeared suddenly; but most generally approached gradually, as if emerging from a cloud before showing themselves in all their splendor. Each figure was visible for the space of five or six seconds; it then vanished slowly, until there remained nothing but an opaque and dark vapor, in the midst of which another figure was almost immediately formed; they all interested me in the highest degree by the beauty of their forms and the variety of their expressions.

"Their attention was uniformly fixed upon me, although none of them spoke. I thought I could look into the souls that animated these amiable and intelligent countenances. The admiration, the sentiment of joy and affection which I experienced in contemplating them, and the regret that I felt when each one vanished, entirely riveted my attention; and this condition was only interrupted when I spoke to the persons in my chamber.

"A particular medicine which I took caused these visions to cease suddenly. I do not know for how long a time they ceased; but they returned under the form of books, parchments, and printed papers. I seem to recollect that these were illegible, or that they appeared and vanished instantaneously."

"These were all illusions of sight; once, indeed, I heard musical sounds, and, shortly afterwards falling asleep, an animal jumped upon my back, uttering such shrill and piercing cries that my sleep was entirely broken."*

Hallucinations have been attendant on a suppression of the hemorrhoidal flux. We read the following in the Archives de Medecine: -