III.
A PROFESSOR of mental pathology, called Sikorsky, has lately described in the Kiev University Records an epidemic of insanity, called by him "Malevanism," which had appeared in several villages of the Vassilkovsky district in the province of Kiev. This malady arose, in Professor Sikorsky's words, from the fact that several people living in those villages under the influence of a man called Malevanny imagined that the end of the world would come very shortly, and consequently, changing their whole manner of life, began giving away their belongings, dressing up in fine clothes, eating good things and drinking, and gave up working. The Professor considered the condition of these people abnormal. He says: "Their extraordinary serenity often passed into exaltation—a joyful condition resting on no external causes. They were sentimentally disposed; courteous to excess, talkative, emotional, with tears of joy that came easily and as easily vanished. They sold the necessities of life to purchase parasols, silk kerchiefs, and such articles. And the kerchiefs only served them as a decoration.
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