The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-19 00:00:00

PRICE -5d

wake up the organs of tune. He did so, by simply re-
versing the motions With his thumbs over those portions.
He then directed her to play one of her favourite tunes,
The Old Arm-Chair.' She attempted, but immedi-
ately said, she - Could not remember the air;' She said
she could remember the words, and repeated them ; but
could not play the tune.
" I next requested him to mesmerise the organs of
time again ; and to reverse the motions over the organs
of language. He did so, and then requested her to play.
She commenced the tune, but could not repeat the words,
Mr. Peale tried various ways to induce her to repeat the
words, but she as often signified her inability to remem-
ber them. I then pointed out to him, without speaking,
the organs of individuality, and requested him to wake
them up also. He then questioned her, and she de-
clared herself unable to tell the name of any person, nut
excepting her own.

" He then re-mesmerized these organs, and reversed
the motions over the organs of tune and eventuality i
after which, she could not tell how old she was, or any
event connected with her life: and in reply to the various
questions which Mr. Peale put to her, she invariably de-
clared that she had forgotten, or did not know!"
Dr. Elliotson then read very long extracts from the
Boston and Kentucky papers, which related a vast num-
ber of public experiments of a similar nature, and with
similar results, performed by Dr. Collyer, Dr. Buchanan,
and others, but it is impossible to make room for them here.
In each case, it is represented that the organs, as named by
the phrenologists, invariably manifested, under the mes-
meric influence, the functions attributed to them. The rela-
tions excited the greatest surprise in the meeting, and were
listened to with deep attention. He then stated that
whilst these things were proceeding in America, expe-
riments precisely of the same character and effect were
carried on in different parts of England by gentlemen
who knew nothing of the operations of each other, or of
those which were going on in America. He had sent
down.copies of the American papers to Hampshire to
Dr. Engledue, with -a.request that he would hand them
to Mr. 'Gardiner, a gentleman of the highest respectabi-
lity and learning, the son of Sir James Gardiner, an old
member of this Society. It happened curiously enough
that when Dr. Engledue went over to Southampton to
give the packet of papers (which he himself had not
opened) to Mr. Gardiner, he found that gentleman,
Mansfield, and others, actually engaged in a
series of experiments, which, on afterwards looking into
the packet, they found to correspond exactly with those
of Drs. Buchanan and Collyer. Dr. Elliotson then read
from the Hampshire Telegraph a long account of experi-
ments by Mr. Gardiner, from which we can only make j
room for the following :
" I asked the patient referred to (9 young lady ignorant
of phrenology), when in the trance, with what part of
the brain she kept a secret ? She replied—' On the
side of my brain.' Upon asking her to point out the
spot, she placed her finger exactly on the organ of
secretiveness in my head. I placed my finger on her
organ of secretiveness, when she said, Yes, just there
where I am touching my head.' In the trance she
fancies the two movements are identical. Having
asked her where she felt anger, she placed her finger
upon my organ of destructiveness. I inquired—where
she felt hunger; her finger rested on my organ of alimen-
tiveness. I interrogated her as to the time: she was wholly
unable to tell me. The idea then struck me that I might
possibly enable her to estimate the hour by exciting the
organ of time. With this view I rubbed the forehead
gently at the required spot, exerting my volition to the
utmost, of course ; she very shortly exclaimed oh !
that makes me feel so odd.' I asked in what way? She
replied, 6lt makes me know what time it is.' She
then told me the time with almost perfect accuracy.
She would afterwards always estimate the lapse of time
—intervals—with astonishing accuracy, upon my ex-
citing the organ of time on her forehead. Her finger
rubbed on my forehead produced invariably the same
results (this is true of all the organs). Upon my ex-,
citing her organ of tune in the same way, she said
that makes me feel so very cheerful—it makes me
like to hear some singing.' I requested her to sing.
She persisted • in asserting her inability until I ener-
getically excited self-esteem, when she said, try,'
and she forthwith hummed an air. When her organ
of colour was excited she exclaimed with animation
" oh, oh ! I see green, yellow, purple, &c., such
beautiful colours." If when she was unable to dis-
tinguish an object clearly, I excited individuality, she in-
stantly perceived it distinctly. In the trance she is never
aware of her locality, until the proper organ is excited.—
Upon one occasion I excited constructiveness. when she
expressed a desire to make a cap-model, which she exe-
cuted upon being supplied with materials.—The organ
called wit or mirthfulness being excited, she very soon
began to laugh involuntarily, although I steadily main-
tained my gravity. I continued the operation, which
produced an increase in her mirth tail she fell into a
continuous fit of laughter, exclaiming as well as she
could—' I shall die of laughing.' Upon exciting her
organ of destructiveness, her whole aspect and tone gra-
dually underwent the most marked change ; the milk
of human kindness ' gradually turned to gall and
venom ; she pouted, frowned, threatened, stormed,
clenched her fist, and finally became exasperated.
Thinking I had gone far enough, I breathed on the
organ with a view to reduce its activity, and she very
soon became calm, losing every symptom of anger.
The most beautiful results were elicited by exciting the
organ of imitation. She commenced mimicking and imi-
tating with extraordinary and ludicrous accuracy seve-
ral peculiarities of her acquaintances and friends, not
omitting my friend Mr. Mansfield and myself in the act
of magnetising. Suddenly by the exercise of my whole
energy, I paralysed the organ, and instantly her power
of imitation vanished. I re-excited the organ, when she

„ .
immediately repeated her wonderful mimickry to our in-
tense gratification.”
In a letter to the same paper by Dr. Engledue, con-
firming the statements of Mr. Gardiner, the writer says :
The discoverer of the true philosophy of man was
compelled to leave the land of his birth ; and the philo-
sop'ler of this country, to whom we are indebted in a
great measure for the promulgation of the remedial
power of animal magnetism, was ejected from a college
boasting of its liberal foundation, of its liberal profes-
sors, yet not possessing sufficient liberality to listen to
the voice of truth."
After having read those extracts the President stated
that Mr. Atkinson, a member of the Society, who was
then in the room, had made similar experiments with
the like success, of which he would read an account at
the next meeting. his statements were confirmed by
two other members then also present, Mr. Kirby and
Mr. Nodin.

After a few words from those gentlemen in corrobora-

two, and from Mr. Logan nod other members, expressive
of their:curiosity, and of their conviction that the' sub-
ject deserved attention and investigation, the meeting
adjourned.