122. Let us now consider the second phenomenon, that of transfiguration. This
consists in the change of aspect of a living body. As an illustration of this
phenomenon, we adduce a fact that occurred in the years 1858 and 1859, in the
neighbourhood of St Etienne, and for the authenticity of which we can vouch. A young
lady, about fifteen years of age, had the singular faculty of transforming herself; that is
to say, she could assume, at times, the appearance of persons who were dead : the
illusion was so complete that the person simulated appeared to be actually present, so
exact was the resemblance of features, expression, voice, and even of peculiarities of
speech. This phenomenon occurred hundreds of times, without the girl's will having
anything to do with it. She often assumed the appearance of her brother, who had been
dead many years, presenting
the similitude not only of his face, but his height, and the size of his body. A physician
of the place, who had several times witnessed these strange occurrences, made the
following experiment, with a view to assuring himself that he was not under an illusion.
We have the fact from his own lips, from the girl's father, and from several other ocular
witnesses, of most honourable character, and unquestionable veracity. It occurred to the
physician to weigh this young lady, first in her normal state, and then in her state of
transfiguration, when she had assumed the appearance of her brother, who was more
than twenty years of age when he died, and much larger and stronger than his sister. He
did so, and found that, in her transfigured state, her weight was almost doubled. This
experiment was conclusive, and rendered it impossible to attribute her appearance to an
optical illusion. Let us try to explain this fact, which, at one time, would have been
called a miracle, but which we may now simply speak of as "a phenomenon."
