Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-09-09


lace aud body could never be counterieited. Indeed
how could any one have well initiated the mysterious
workings Of Nature How superior this exhibition
to The acting Of the l1umbusgers indeed how supe-
ror is Nature 10 Art, Mrs Siddons in all her glory
could not have surpassed this aress young girl in those
workings Of the PASSIONS and those contortons of the
muscles and the thrilling glaring of the bloodshcteyr
which Wrought SO powerfully upon the spectators, and
melted The young lady into flood of passionate tears
The idea of The slightest deception is ridiculous This
truly marvellous Incident is hard 10 be believed; but it
IS supported by The strongest evidence and how
discredit IL will add that every precaution taken
by Dir. r. to prevent nj from having the most distant
idea OF the Injunction of the night before, the hour
&C. should add that since l2 NJ. of Wednesday
Nj. has suffered pain of the head 1t had not
entirely disappeared yesterday.
This phenumpnon.t though one Of the hest attPsted IN
mesinercs, is one of Tie most extraordinary phenone
na which relate TO The human mind. OF The fact it,
self, stned above there cannot he the slightest
sonable donbt. The injunction laid upon M''T, was
made upon her in our presence, whilst size III a
state OF instrumentation. The whole train OF circutn-
stances orblds The idea Of the slightest plot or collus
ion She dad not breathe word of il, the next dny-
nor did the idea seem to come into her head, except
when the time approached l2 o'clock. The deep, and
in fact alarming, excitement Of her nervous system;
The thrilling effect which it had upon every bystander
its continuance from l2 o'clock until after night; and
indeed the more reduced action during The whole of
yesterday, apparently affecting principally The BRAIN,
vous system existed. 1t il wonderful, but not less
true. We from home from 10 till after 0 clock
not hearing nor thinking Of tie confirmation OF The
lnJunclonLu the excited state of the system, attend
ed not only b. several persons Of observation, but by
physician who vent with Mr.. French, leave US not n
doubt CT the uuquesunable truth and impressive cha
rncier of tie phenome ION. = Editor
Strange as il may seem, il is not new phenomenon
Gentlemen Of the highest credibilty have assured us
of lis occurrence South Of james River; and Towns.
hrnd gives the following remarkable instances in page
l3J:
1.-The mcsmerzer, by the expression Of his desire,
make the patient remember certain things at a
particular time, subsequent 10 sleep waking, aud moi
I'LL the very moment fixed beforehand for the recur
of the suspended recoections. Thus +. A., in
mesmcrism was told Ia remember al nine the following
morning. and till lhcn that he should 10 fetch
ri party to hear beautiful that To be
performed in church at Antwerp. The person with
whom he lodged and in whose he slept, informed
subsequently that, when The clock struck nine, E.
A. was in bed, when suddenly he started up saying,
sit is very odd, but 10 remember that am 10
take Mrs. to church." lie then dressed quickly
aud 10 fulfil his engagement. asked him in
what manner lie idea had occurred TO his mind If it
like III. recollection Of something heard in dream.
lie replied that il did not resemble this in the least,
but curious and mdescribnble sensation as
If thought Fitted past him from he knew not where,
and fled away rapidly that TO trace lis origin was
impossible In S!eep-waking lie could not give me Il
much better account Of the phenomenon. IL was, lie
sad, something pre- arranged in tie mechanism OF the
bra and which, like spring ola watch, was set IN
Eiolion at gwen moment. There was nothing very
satisfactory in this explanations As 10 the phenome
itself, and The members Of my family have wit.
messed il again and again. We have tired II IN MI
mute circun,> anccs, difficult Of remembrance, such
ION the day succeeding the. sleep wakng) 10 sit IN
particular chair begin with particular dish ri din
ner to cut po;aoe when first taken the plate into
four pieces, &c and The result always salIsacio
~ have also tred If the circumstances desired 10 be
remembered would hc recalled 10 the sleep walker be-
fore the proper hour but there evidently 10 means
ofdoing 50. Tie very first time ! told Anna NJ ---
TO rememb anything at fixed hour-l desired her 10
call to mind three the following day, that size must
ask Of PARTY To take walk.
CATER her awa king, some one inadvertently said,
DO you remember any thing about coming {" morrow.
10 walk with US Z She sad, after reflection, No, in.
deed, remember nothing about that; and, besldcs
have engagement for Tomorrow
"Soon after these, however, the next day, Ania ap
pcacd out of breath, and with face Of wonder ex-
calming, 'Do tell me; was to come here or not:
Size then related tia she had been out 10 dinner and
in the midst Of that meal, something seemed to tell her
that she had promised to 10 Us; and that such was
the force of The IMPRESSION she could not help leaving
the party and Fastening 10 ascertain the truth from our
selves "
will add that on Tuesday night several of hr GEN
temen thought that many Of the substances eaten by
na.ien,, from their smell, noise Of chewing o: swirl
lowing, &c &c To tsst this. on Wednesday night
one Of the most intelligent of the gentlemen was
put 10 the test-his eyes were bandugrd and
come one sat facing him (ns in the experiments the
niyLt before Brad eaten by the apparent operator
he pronounced TO be nothing Ind cuhs he pronounced TO
be ,riae-and this too, after he had been allowed ample
time discern The substances by the aid OF all his wax
ing senses except that Of sight.
| cannot omit an anccdo,e. On Monday mig ht Nj
F. drank wine and NJ. replied she drinking wine
On being told next morning that she had been drinking
wine she in al atless tCne said MIss NJ, why did you
let me drink wine; an member of lie Temperance
Society,"
Blu, have dome In justice TO Mr. French and your
self have made this irregular statement. The facls
! have stated what firmly bciierc sac. III do
not see them, never sac any thing.
shall not 90 into the general argument upon the
subject, refer to The Books for the evidence, and tho
laws Even the report Of the French Academy Of Sci.
cnces in lisa upon which the Richmond Wing, ,go-
rant is of The whole subject lays such stress pre-.
pared, il is said by own Franklin, but dssented
from by the celebrated Jusseu, one Of the Comms-
son does mol really shake The system. They say, "that
which we have learned, or, at least, that winch has
been proved 10 us in clear and satisfactory manner,
by our enqnirns into the phenomena OF mesmersn -,
that man ac, upon man, ut all times ana almost at
WILL hy striking his imagination that Signs ana gsS,
lures The most simple may produce the most PoccJW
,Gsets that the acton of man upon the Imagination may
be- reduced to an act and conducted after certain me-
thod when exercised npon patients who have faith in
The proceedings" Now, ] will not insist upon the
fact, ba, Inc operations of Nesmer at that day we're
in many respects different from the phenomena exh-
bi,ed al present But the argument itself falls before
the simple fact. 1t the effect of "lmaginaon' say
the Acsdenicians How can TINT be? Conccde even
liza, the force oil Ina yinaon assists in bringing the
nervous patient into the mesmerc state how does that
account for the phenomena exhibited IN that state:-
a..
presented TO the senses Of the mesmerizer or
rLene How can they be explained, without calling in
n new influence, which compes the patient TO taste,
and smell and feel in many cases. as the operator tastes
and smells, and feels, But this IS mot The only report
made by the French neutrality-suspicious. for, and
sometimes against. The Committee of the Medica
section of The French Royal Academy, were at one
time .staggered by the extraordinary taes which they
Witnessed" and compelled to "gve reluctant assent
to The pre,ensions of the magnetzers," though they
say, as every cautious will say, who confines him
self to the maxim, see, therefore, bshere' we
50 ,n, nd hptipf of all that we have