LOST IN LONDON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1002, 17 December 1910, Page 14

LOST IN LONDON.

PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP A DUAL PERSONALITY. The "London Evening News" publishes some figures; of the amazing number of persons who'disappear.in London, and are never again heard of." "

According, to tho'police, between 30,000 and 40,000 disappearances ar.o reported in the Metropolis in a year. ' Over 10,000 of these on an average remain mysteries. Since 1906 London's "lost" have numbered 1 an, army: largo enough to fill a city, the size of' Worcester. These 40,000 people havo vanished as completely as though they had taken to'themselves wings and flown ,to another planet. , .-• Frequently - when, .the-search ' for man or a woman fails a motive is at least discovered for their absenca from home, but a number of recent cases have a new feature. The police and tho social workers who, assist, them to hunt for. 'peoplo in whose circumstances they could find 110 cine at all to an explanation of their conduct.

' Liko the cadet who was found recently after-a fortnight's wandering, ..the people .in.-the, list may have lost .their memory. ■Forvwant of any 'other'theory that is the ,'ond - most commonly accepted, and the .frequency... of -cases of. . the,.sort of . undoubted' genuineness is ' occupying many medical men.

"But thero is. a morbid-minded class who must.be dealt with more individually," said a nerve specialist, to whom inquiries wore addressed. "I mean those people who hypnotise themselves, and develop a' kind of dual personality. Each case varies widely-in character, and tho hypnotic is still so obscure a condition that.one cannot speak with any great certainty on the methods which may have been adopted to induce it. Not many instances. of this kind, come to light, but there is no. doubt that a number of disappearances would be accounted for by the fact that such peoplo wander out of their common path absolutely undistracted or checked by familiar places or objects.''..