Page:Angels of Mons second edition.pdf/50

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

THE ANGELS OF MONS

been misled by an effect of afterglow or an aurora mingled with strange-shaped clouds. One has seen clouds that are dragonish; there is no reason why better figures should not be formed by wind and cloud and light on the circle of the skies.

Then there is the possibility of hallucination to which I incline for the present, awaiting clearer light. In the case of the corporal, and in the case of the colonel, there was present that condition which is most favourable to hallucination; that is, extreme fatigue—fatigue of mind and of body too. Why this should be I know not; but it seems certain that hallucination depends very largely on this toxic state, or rather, perhaps, on the stupor that it induces. You may obtain this stupor, with its hallucinations, by overdoses of alcohol; and then the result is called delirium tremens. You may obtain it by the

48

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.