Case XXXVIII

Mathews, whose curious case Haslam has described in a pamphlet, believed himself the victim of a troop of wretches, living in an obscure place near London. These persecutors, by their talents in pneumatic chemistry, had the power to inflict on him several kinds of torture. At one time, they held tight the fibres of his tongue; at another, they spread a veil over his brain, and thus intercepted the communication between his heart and mind. By the aid of a magnetic fluid, they bound him nearly to suffocation, introduced gas into his skull, stretched his brain, distended his nerves, and threw all his thoughts into disorder. In order to discover by what means these invisible tormentors made him thus suffer, he invented a strange machine, the design of which he exhibited. The assassins, as he called them, had similar machines in a number of different places, which they used for the purpose of tormenting persons, or making them act as they chose.*

M. Calmeil reports the case of a veteran who felt himself every night nailed in a coffin, and carried in men's arms, by a subterranean road, from Oharenton to Vincennes, where a funeral service was chanted in the chapel of the chateau. The same invisible persons brought him back, and placed him on his bed.

We attended an Englishman who thought he was carried off at night, to distant countries - to the East, to Cairo, to London; he complained of the ill treatment he received from the agents who were charged with the mission. He declared that they bound his arms and his neck, and covered him with bruises. The idea made him very unhappy. Madame D. frequently pointed out imaginary marks of blows, which were given her during the night by individuals who wished to do her violence. In bygone days, the devil would have been accused of the crime; in this case, we see only an exaggerated physical fact, which many can appreciate. Sorcerers rode to their place of rendezvous on a broom-handle, on a he-goat, or a hairy man; they were conscious of the movement. The sensation of flying is rather com-mon. Frequently in dreams, we feel ourselves borne along with the rapidity of an arrow; we accomplish great distances, just lightly touching the ground. We have noticed this fact in a literary man of our acquaintance, whom we several times found with fixed eyes, and who said to us, "I am flying; do not stop me!" On returning to himself, he described his sensations; and it seemed to him that he really had flown. This sensation was experienced so far back as the times of St. Jerome, who relates that frequently in his dreams, he felt himself flying over mountains, seas, etc.*

* Illustrations of Madness, exhibiting a Singular Case of Insanity, by John Haslam, London, 1843.

Madame D'Arnim, Goethe's friend, in speaking of this fact, says: "I was certain, that I flew, and floated in the air. By a simple elastic pressure of the point of the toe, I was in the air. I floated silently and deliciously at two or three feet above the earth; I alighted, mounted again; I flew from side to side, and then returned. A few days after, I was taken with fever; I went to bed and slept. It happened two weeks after I was confined."†

The strange tactile sensations noticed in many insane persons appear to us rather to belong to hypochondriacal illusions.

Amongst the remarkable cases of hallucination of touch, we must not omit Berbiguier, who thought that goblins were continually moving over his body, and fatigued him so much that he was obliged to sit down. These invisible enemies travelled over him day and night, and their odor was so bad as nearly to suffocate him. To defend himself against their power, he fancied that he adroitly seized them under his linen, fixed them to his mattress with millions of pins, or put them into bottles.‡

Hallucinations of Smell. - It is stated that these may exhibit themselves at the commencement of all cases of insanity, and especially in partial delirium. It has been remarked that, while saints perfume, devils infect an apartment. Hallucinations of smell, like those of taste, very seldom exist alone; they are combined with those of sight, hearing, and touch. They are less frequent than hallucinations of the other senses.

* Saint Jerome, Polemique, c. Rufin, liv. i. Pantheon litteraire. † Correspondence de Goethe et de Bettina, translated by M. Sebast. Albin, t. i. p. 68. ‡ Berbiguier, op. tit. vol. i. p. 126, et seq.

Deranged persons, who experience these hallucinations, complain of being pursued by offensive effluvias, or they believe they inhale the most delicious perfumes, whilst in truth there is no scent near them; some, indeed, before their attack, are deprived of smell. An insane woman declares that there exist under the Salpdtriere (an insane hospital), vaults, in which a number of men and women are strangled; every day she perceives a horrible smell arising from the decomposition of all these bodies buried under ground.* We have, in our establish* ment, a lady, who, after attempting to strangle herself, per-ceived everywhere the smell of coal; she stopped up her nose, inhaled vinegar, etc. This scent followed her constantly. M. Esquirol reports a similar case.

Hallucinations of Taste. - These are not more common than the preceding. The patients, especially those who are in the first stage of madness with general paralysis, express delight at the good fare they have had; praise the flavor of the dishes, and the aroma of the wines, when really they have tasted nothing. A lady, who had been noted for her intelligence, passed days in tasting imaginary dishes. Sometimes the impressions are distressing; they eat raw flesh, chew arsenic, or devour earth; sulphur and flames play round their mouths. Others swallow nectar and ambrosia, †

Hallucinations, unaccompanied by one of these principal forms of madness, are rare, and it may be said that, in this respect, they have numerous points of correspondence with pure monomania. Almost always, in fact, we notice some disorder of the intellect, of the affections, or of the propensities, etc. We will furnish three examples, presented by Esquirol, as cases of simple hallucination. One of these subjects expresses himself in suitable and choice terms on religion and the miracles, but, during this serious conversation, depicts a host of strange objects. Another, who has only hallucinations of hearing, has a confused perception of the circumstances which surround him, but does not suitably appreciate persons, things, or events. A third, after having written several pages glowing with enthusiasm, and exceedingly well arranged, adds that "Jesus Christ is coming."

* Le1ut, op. tit.

† Esquirol, Des Maladies Ment. t. i. p. 198, etc.

Experience has proved, without question, that hallucinations may be manifested in those who have no delirium; but they are one of the elements of delirium most frequently met with in mental alienation,- in a certain number of nervous diseases, in several inflammatory affections, and in some severe fevers.

Recapitulation. - In hallucinations compatible with reason, the error is almost always acknowledged, or, if it escape attention, it exercises no influence on the conduct. In hallucinations which have the characteristic of insanity, the actions, in an immense majority of cases, are the consequences of morbid sensations, so convinced is the madman of their reality.

Of all hallucinations, those of hearing are the most common, exceeding the others by about sixty-six per cent. The weakening, or the entire privation of the sense is no obstacle to their production. This characteristic completely distinguishes them from illusions.

Hallucinations of hearing usually come from without; but they sometimes are seated in the interior of the body; they are often isolated; they may be combined with hallucinations of sight, and less frequently with those of the other senses.

Hallucinations of sight are those which have attracted most attention. With these are associated the curious phenomena of visions. In all times, visionaries have played an important part in history. These hallucinations, being only a colored reflection of the thoughts habitual to the individual, may be infinitely varied, and assume as many forms as there are individuals. Their production does not depend on the integrity of the sense of sight, since the blind are thus affected. The hallucinated believe they can see within their bodies, which is the case also with those who are magnetized, and with somnambulists. Hallucinations of hearing are often associated with those of sight; and from their union the most singular phenomena arise.

Hallucinations of the touch are less distinct than the preceding, because they are often confounded with neuralgic and visceral illusions. Well-attested facts place this position beyond doubt.

Hallucinations of smell and taste come after the preceding, with respect to frequency; those of smell may be observed at the commencement of all kinds of insanity. These hallucinations are scarcely ever isolated; they are associated with others, and especially with illusions.

Hallucinations without complication are rare; they are almost always linked with one of the forms of madness.