I have paid very close attention to this circumstance, and have been repeatedly convinced, that whenever the disease attacked in this manner, I was always asleep at the commencement of the paroxysm, and that as soon as I became conscious of my situation, or in other words, _awake_, the power of volition was completely suspended, although very little inconvenience arose from it; for, on making the attempt to move, which appears very easy to do, I have always felt the paroxysm of Night-Mare to be completely formed, and the difficulty of respiration, which before did not exist, immediately to come on, and with it all the anxiety and distress which characterize this disease. From this I infer, that a suspension of volition always exists during a paroxysm of Incubus, but that this is not alone sufficient to constitute a complete Night-Mare, even when attended with a consciousness of our situation. It is likewise necessary that the involuntary action of the respiratory organs should experience some interruption, and I am disposed to think that the circulation through the lungs, and the action of the heart itself, partakes of this interruption. I conceive also, that the difficulty of inflating the lungs is always increased in proportion as the patient becomes more awake. 3d. It has almost constantly occurred to me, especially since the disease had gained such considerable strength, that the power of volition has been partially recovered for some time before the paroxysm ceases. I have always recovered this power, first in the lower extremities, and last of all in the head. It begins first to return in one or both feet, and by moving them about as well as circumstances will allow, I recover by degrees the command over the muscles of the legs and thighs, and afterwards of the arms, but partially, and not without great exertion, which exhausts me much, and does little good towards shaking off the paroxysm. I have however at sea frequently profited by this power, for I have been able to communicate a considerable motion to the cot in which I slept, by pushing against the foot of it with one of my feet, until it swung so much as to touch against something, and by that means produce a shock, which being external, has frequently dispelled the fit. It is really surprizing how slight an impression from without is sufficient sometimes to recover the patient. Although I have frequently rolled about the bed, and kicked all the bed-clothes off from me, I have not been able to succeed for a long time in recovering myself from the paroxysm, when it has instantly disappeared on receiving a moderate shock from another person, or even by any one taking hold of my hand.