‘Not everyone would agree with me in that, of course. But the visions of many modern religious figures — St Augustine, Luther — are most probably neurotic in their origins.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Oh yes.’

‘What does Dr Kindermann think?’

‘Oh, Kindermann holds some very unusual theories. I’m not sure I understand his work, but he’s a very brilliant man.’ He picked up my wrist. ‘Yes indeed, a very brilliant man.’

The doctor, who was Swiss, wore a three-piece suit of green tweed, a great moth of a bow-tie, glasses and the long white chin-beard of an Indian holy man. He pushed up my pyjama sleeve and hung a little pendulum above the underside of my wrist. He watched it swing and revolve for a while before pronouncing that the amount of electricity I was giving off indicated that I was feeling abnormally depressed and anxious about something. It was an impressive little performance, but none the less bullet-proof, given that most of the folk who checked into the clinic were probably depressed or anxious about something, even if it was only their bill.

‘How are you sleeping?’ he said.

‘Badly. Couple of hours a night.’

‘Do you ever have nightmares?’

‘Yes, and I don’t even like cheese.’

‘Any recurring dreams?’

‘Nothing specific.’

‘And what about your appetite?’

‘I don’t have one to speak of.’

‘Your sex life?’

‘Same as my appetite. Not worth mentioning.’

‘Do you think much about women?’

‘All the time.’

He scribbled a few notes, stroked his beard, and said: ‘I’m prescribing extra vitamins and minerals, especially magnesium. I’m also going to put you on a sugar-free diet, lots of raw vegetables and kelp. We’ll help get rid of some of the toxins in you with a course of blood-purification tablets. I also recommend that you exercise. There’s an excellent swimming-pool here, and you may even care to try a rainwater bath, which you’ll find to be most invigorating. Do you smoke?’ I nodded. ‘Try giving up for a while.’ He snapped his notebook shut.

‘Well, that should all help with your physical well-being. Along the way we’ll see if we can’t effect some improvement in your mental state with psychotherapeutic treatment.’

‘Exactly what is psychotherapy, Doctor? Forgive me, but I thought that the Nazis had branded it as decadent.’