At  length  the  iron  gate  of  the  prison,  shutting  with
great  force,  awoke  me  again.  I  made  my  repeater
strike ;  it  was  little  more  than  midnight,  so  that  the
horrible  phantasmagoria  had  lasted  no  longer  than  ten,
minutes  :  that  is  to  say,  the  time  necessary  for  relieving
the  sentry  and  shutting  the  gate.  The  cold  was  severe,
and  the  watchword  short.  The  next  day  the  turnkey
confirmed  my  calculations.  I,  nevertheless,  do  not  re-
member one  single  event  in  my  life  the  duration  of
which  I  have  been  able  more  exactly  to  calculate."


INSANITY    AND    DRKAMING.  43

How  closely  do  these  phenomena,  resemble  those
automatic  operations  of  the  intellect,  observed  in  in-
sanity? In  the  latter  condition,  the  rapidity  of,  as  well
as  the  loss  of  volitional  power  over,  certain  trains  of
thought,  are  significant  and  characteristic  symptoms.
