suddenly plunged back into a dungeon with chains upon his shoulders,
you must admit the shock is terrible."

"Do I not know it?" answered the old man feelingly. "The return is
far more to be dreaded than the escape into that life which you were
at first inclined to call unreal; and yet, Mr. Henley, you must admit
that it is difficult to decide the question of reality between the
two worlds."

"True," answered Paul; "and yet I know that what I have just seen can
be nothing else than a hypnotic vision; it is impossible it should be
otherwise, for it has gone--and beyond my power to recall. What
amazes me to the point of stupefaction is the marvelous impression of
truth with which hypnotism can fill one. I had always imagined the
effect was more in the nature of a dream, but this was vivid, sharp,
and perfect as the everyday life about me. I am more bewildered than
I have words to express."

"And yet," answered Ah Ben, "you still insist that the things you saw
were unreal, because, as you say, they were the result of hypnotism.
It seems difficult to convince you of what I have already told you,
that hypnotism is not a cause of hallucination, but of fact. You
insist that because the minority of men only are subjected to
hypnotic tests, the impressions produced must be false. You will not
admit that a minority has any claim to a hearing, although their
evidence is based upon precisely the same testimony as that of the
majority--namely, the five senses. You have no better right to assume
that your present surroundings are any more truthfully reported by
your senses than those of your recent experience. You see, you hear
and touch; did you not do the same in Levachan?"