The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1881-05-06
MESMERISM IN COURT.
Remarkable Spectacle in Pnris--How q
Prisoner was Acquitted.

htHluilAuDIe EpeCtiCic III TuIIs~~Iiu" .
Prisoner was Acquitted.
The court of appeals in Paris has
been the scene of q most curious anC
remarkable spectacle. A young man
named Didier was lately arrested fol
an offense in the Champs Elysees and
sentenced to three months imprison.
ment. In prison he was examined by
Drs. Mottet and Mesnet, two well.
known specialists in mental diseases
who reported that he lived in q state OF
constant somnambulism, the attacks oil
which can be provoked at will. The
case was heard ON appeal, and tue
Judges were about to withdraw to con.
slider their verdict when the doctors
offered to confirm the statements made
in their report BY practical experiments
on the spot. The bench con.
scented, and then occurred the follow.
ing painful scene, described by the
Paris correspondent of the London
Standard: DR.. Mottct, followed by the
magistrates and the prisoner, retired
into a side Don Here, by the usual
mode of rapid passes of the hands be.
fore his eyes and q strong, fixed gaze,
the unhappy "subject" was mesmerized.
Didier was her left in charge of two OF
the municipal guards on service, the
doctors and the judges returned to the
court, and the door of the room was
shut. DR.. Mottet now called the pris.
oner by his name. The next second o
fearful noise was heard. 1t came from
the sick young man. A few minutes
before a touch of the finger would have
almost knocked him over, so feeble and
emaciated was he. Now, under the in.
fuence of magnetism, he was like o
raging lion. Upsetting the guards who
held him by the wrists, he rushed at the
door, broke it open, and, knocking down
everybody in his way, ran up
to Dr.. Mottet. Here he suddenly
stopped, and fixing his eyes on his
mesmerizer trembled from head to foot
in a manner terrible to see. Shrieks OF
horror then ran through the court, The
doctor her set to work. "Undress
yourself" said he to the prisoner IL q
second Didier stripped himself OF
nearly all his garments. "Dress your.
self again." said the doctor, and again
the prisoner obeyed with the same
lightning rapidity. The experiment
appeared conclusive. DIR. Mottet then
awoke his "subject" by blowing on his
face. Didier fell to the ground as il
shot. The doctor, however, soon
brought him round again. "Why did
you undress yourself before these
gentlemen ?" asked DR.. Mottet; "that
was very improper" Didier, gazing
~withvacant establishment replied "N hat
l undressed myself? Impossible" And
the young man chung to the doctor
for protection like O child. The bench,
however, was not convinced, and ap.
peared to look on the whole affair as 0
comedy. DR.. Mesnet, in his turn, now
operated on The prisoner. Having mes.
merized him he ordered him to write
from memory a letter addressed to him
while in prison. Didier replied; "Can.
not, because / am in prison" The
doctor insisted, w%hereupon the prisoner
sat down to a table and wrote, word for
word, the letter in question, without o
mistake. While he was writing
it DR.. Mottet took a long needle out Of
his instrument-case and plunged it into
the young mans neck, but he felt moth
ing. BY this time, however, the bench
had seen enough of these painful OK.
periments, and some of the audience
out "Assez assez !" the sitting
to an end. The court, consider.
ing the prisoner was not responsible foi
his acts, quashed the verdict of the
court, and the unhappy man was
discharged.