Page:The wonders of optics (1869).djvu/72

 Langlois, a distinguished artist, living at Rouen, tells us that Talma, with whom he was extremely intimate, confided to him that, whenever he went upon the stage, he had the power, by mere force of will, to cause the clothes and flesh of his numerous auditory to disappear, and become transformed from living beings into so many skeletons. When his imagination had peopled the house with these singular phantoms, the emotion he felt was so great that it gave his dramatic powers still greater force, and enabled him to produce the wonderful effects that have made his name so famous.

Wigan says, that he once knew a most intelligent and amiable man, who could at will evoke his own image. He often laughed at seeing his second self standing before him, the phantom appearing to laugh as heartily as himself. This illusion was for a long time a matter of amusement to him, but at last he became persuaded that he was haunted by his own double. His second self appeared to hold arguments with him continually, and beat him frequently on various points of dispute, a matter which mortified him excessively, as he was rather proud of his powers of reasoning. This gentleman, although always considered as being somewhat eccentric, was never put under the slightest restraint, and at last the creature of his imagination so tormented him, that he resolved not to live through another year. He consequently paid all his debts, arranged his affairs, and waited pistol in hand until the clock struck twelve on the 31st of December, and then deliberately blew out his brains.

In Abercromby on the Mind we read an account of the observations made by a gentleman who was the victim of illusions during the whole of a pretty long life. If he met a friend in the street, he was unable to tell at first whether he saw a real human being or only a phantom. By close examination he could detect a dif