o eat, instead
of to abstain from food, she took nourishment readily, and soon
developed an extraordinary appetite.

"An immediate improvement in her condition was noticeable, and as her
general bodily health improved, the illusions became less and less
frequent, and she was discharged from the asylum as cured in less than
three months."

Watson paused and gazed meditatively at the end of his cigar. "Ever
tried to hypnotize an insane person, Jennings?"

"Not that I remember."

"You, Morris?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Hm! Well, sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you don't; more often
you don't. There was one patient, a man by the name of Allen, who had
been a sailor. He was subject to fits of extreme melancholia, and at
times was positively dangerous, as he imagined some one was trying to
poison him.

"I never succeeded in hypnotizing him, although I tried repeatedly.
However, I saw him every day, and as his general health improved, his
attacks of melancholia became less frequent. He seemed grateful to me
for taking an interest in him, and often talked with me about his early
life and the out-of-the-way countries he had visited. Shortly after I
was called away and did not return to the asylum for two weeks, and when
I did go back I found that Allen was dead. He had cut his throat one
afternoon with a large pocket-knife and made a mighty clean job of it,
too.

"Well," continued the doctor, "among his effects they found a package
addressed to me, which contained a letter and a silver coin. The coin
you now hold in your hand, the letter I have here in my desk."

He opened a drawer and took out a large yellow envelope containing a
number of pages of closely written manuscript.

"This letter," said Watson, as he slowly turned over the pages,
"contains a story so strange that I did not for a moment believe it had
any foundation in fact; but during the past year or two I have learned
certain things which have caused me to change my opinion. Whether the
story is true or not we will, of course, never know, but I _now_ believe
that it is a true record of events which actually happened. I have made
some inquiries and find that the places mentioned do exist, or did at
the time this story was written, and--but never mind; I will read you
the letter and you can form your own conclusions:

"'DR. S. T. WATSON:

"'DEAR SIR: I have made up my mind to kill myself, but before I die I
wish to make a confession of my wron