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Article NOTES ON SOMNAMBULISM. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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Notes On Somnambulism.
—in abstraction or reverie , a partial abeyance of the bodily functions takes place—in sleep , the soul revels apart from material hindrances . " " And lastly , " I added , " between sleep and death , is that mysterious state called trance , wherein the soul appears to have departedleaving the body inactive and clay-likecontinuing
, , for periods of days and even weeks . I cannot omit to tell you , before Ave part , an extraordinary case , quoted by Mr . Moore , in his ' Power of the Soul over the Body' ( to which I refer you for more detail on these matters ) , in Avhich the actor had the poAver of apparently laying doAvn his life , and , after a state of spaceat will resuming itor at leastthe power of adopting a
, , , trance . A Colonel ToAvnsend , residing at Bath , sent for Drs . Baynard and Oheyne , and a Mrs . Skrine , to give them some account of an odd sensation which he had for some time felt , which Avas , that he could expire when he pleased , and by an effort , come to life again . He insisted so much on their seeing the trial made , that they were forced at last to
comply . They all three felt his pulse , which was distinct , and had the usual beat . Pie then composed himself on his back for some time . By the nicest scrutiny , they were soon unable to discover the least sign of life , and at last were satisfied that he was actually dead , and were just about to leave himwith the idea that the experiment had been carried too
, far , when they observed a slight motion in the body , and gradually the pulsation of the heart returned , and he quite recovered . In the evening of the same clay , however , he composed himself in the same manner and really died . Disease of the heart , under unnatural attention to the organ , caused the phenomena . "
" How powerfully , " remarked Mr . Clairvoy , " do the circumstances of Juliet ' s trance enAvrap our attention ; not only in its fatal termination , but also where Friar LaAvrenee is previously describing the effects of his potion : —
' Take thou this phial , being then in bed , And this distilled liquor drink thou off—¦ When , presently , through all thy veins shall run A cold and drowsy humour ; for no pidse Shall keep his native progress , but surcease . No warmth , no breath shall testify thou liv ' st ; Tho roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade To paly ashes ;—thy eyes' windows fall , Like deathwhen he shuts up the day of life .
, Each part , deprived of supple government , Shall , stiff and stark and cold , appear like death ; And hi this borrowed likeness of shrunk death Thou slialt continue two-and-forty hours , And then awake as from a pleasant sleep . '
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On Somnambulism.
—in abstraction or reverie , a partial abeyance of the bodily functions takes place—in sleep , the soul revels apart from material hindrances . " " And lastly , " I added , " between sleep and death , is that mysterious state called trance , wherein the soul appears to have departedleaving the body inactive and clay-likecontinuing
, , for periods of days and even weeks . I cannot omit to tell you , before Ave part , an extraordinary case , quoted by Mr . Moore , in his ' Power of the Soul over the Body' ( to which I refer you for more detail on these matters ) , in Avhich the actor had the poAver of apparently laying doAvn his life , and , after a state of spaceat will resuming itor at leastthe power of adopting a
, , , trance . A Colonel ToAvnsend , residing at Bath , sent for Drs . Baynard and Oheyne , and a Mrs . Skrine , to give them some account of an odd sensation which he had for some time felt , which Avas , that he could expire when he pleased , and by an effort , come to life again . He insisted so much on their seeing the trial made , that they were forced at last to
comply . They all three felt his pulse , which was distinct , and had the usual beat . Pie then composed himself on his back for some time . By the nicest scrutiny , they were soon unable to discover the least sign of life , and at last were satisfied that he was actually dead , and were just about to leave himwith the idea that the experiment had been carried too
, far , when they observed a slight motion in the body , and gradually the pulsation of the heart returned , and he quite recovered . In the evening of the same clay , however , he composed himself in the same manner and really died . Disease of the heart , under unnatural attention to the organ , caused the phenomena . "
" How powerfully , " remarked Mr . Clairvoy , " do the circumstances of Juliet ' s trance enAvrap our attention ; not only in its fatal termination , but also where Friar LaAvrenee is previously describing the effects of his potion : —
' Take thou this phial , being then in bed , And this distilled liquor drink thou off—¦ When , presently , through all thy veins shall run A cold and drowsy humour ; for no pidse Shall keep his native progress , but surcease . No warmth , no breath shall testify thou liv ' st ; Tho roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade To paly ashes ;—thy eyes' windows fall , Like deathwhen he shuts up the day of life .
, Each part , deprived of supple government , Shall , stiff and stark and cold , appear like death ; And hi this borrowed likeness of shrunk death Thou slialt continue two-and-forty hours , And then awake as from a pleasant sleep . '