I must point out that in giving publicity to these stories I do not betray any trust; as, apart from having the sanction of my guests, or, as some would term them, victims--I have so altered names, places, and dates as to make the individuality of the narrators quite secure from discovery and consequent annoyance. It may be asked, “Why do you go to the trouble of hypnotizing your guests, when they would probably tell you a story without being placed under mesmeric control?” Now I am quite aware that “The Ancient Mariner” “stopped one of three,” because the said one was _unwilling_, and therefore had to be fixed with his “glittering eye,” but _my_ guests are _willing_ ones. They would probably, out of courtesy to me, as host, tell me a story in a sociable manner enough, but then, would they tell me the whole truth? Would they not be liable to gloss over certain incidents, to suppress others, and to add (for the sake of embellishment) many little touches, which, however interesting and probable, might not be strictly veracious? Probably they would; and loving as I do to hear a _true_ story, I always prefer to hypnotize my guest, who then gives me the facts just as they come uppermost in his mind, and his narration is free from flourishes or any great amount of extraneous or interpolated matter. I do not know that I have anything else of a personal nature to place before the reader, but will commence the first story after I have premised it by a few words upon the narrator. Dr. Nosidy is what many persons would term “a genius deranged.” It must, however, be remembered, that frequently only a very thin partition divides the genius from the madman, and one can recall the names of many great geniuses, who in their day were looked upon rather as lunatics than as shining lights of the world. The Doctor, by his personal appearance and conversation, did not in the least impress me with the idea that he was suffering from any mental aberration, but I must admit his remarkable story gave me grounds for surmising, that he was either a man far in advance of the times, or else one who would, at no distant period, be likely to end his career under lock and key. He was a small man with a bald head, round the circumference of which grew a fringe of curly grey hair. His eyes were dark and sparkling, his nose large and aquiline, and his mouth broad and thin, indicative of volubility and power, with perhaps some acerbity of temper. When I explained to him my hypnotic powers he fell in with my humour at once, and in a few minutes, being placed in the trance state, commenced the following curious recital, which I will call “The Strange Discovery of Doctor Nosidy.” I. THE STRANGE DISCOVERY OF DOCTOR NOSIDY.