The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-01-19
WONDERS OF THE TRANCE.
Some New and Curious Experiments in the
Office of DIR. Beard.
New York sun, january L.


New York sun, January
DR.. George NJ Beard who has given much
attention TO the subject of nervous dis
orders. and has written an exhaustive work
on the trance state made experiments
yesterday in mis- office, at Is East Twenty
ninth street, with three subjects, in the
presence of several other physicians.
The first subject was Charles A. Rogers, a
machinist, twenty years old. He is of me-
dunn height, solidly built, and in perfect
health, rs he has been from childhood.
His ability to go into the trance state was
discovered in the course of some recent eX-
hibitions in mesmerism given in Masonic
Temple. DIR. Beard first seated the young
man and babe him close his eyes, and then
pressed the thumb of the right hand
against the forehead, midway between the
eyes. This was followed by a few strokes
upon the arms and body, and the young
man was in trance. Many of the expert
ments usually made by mesmerists were
tried with success. and then DR.. Beard said
that he would make the young man entirely
rigid. After a few strokes on the arms and
limbs and the announcement that he
was now perfectly rigid, the young man
became as stiff as though dead for hours.
His color remained natural. and the action
of the heart and the breathing were acceler-
ated. The young man while in this state
was lifted by the head and heels, and his
body was inhexible. 1t was held by the
doctors that in this condition any surgical
operation might have been performed on
the young man more satisfactorily that with
the use of aneSthetics. But as the suscepti-
bility to the trance condition is limited to
one out of every ten human beings, it can
not be generally employed instead of anas-
theticS.
The young man was next tested. while
partially i'm a trance, as to the loss of sensi-
bility. He was informed that his left hand
was numb and powerless. 4 pin was
pushed into a finger of that hand and no
| sign of pain accompanied the act. When
the other hand was pricked the young man
started with an exclamation of pain. Even
| to the contact of an electric brush, charged
with Faradaic current. the left hand was
/ insensible, though in the normal condition
the pain therefrOm IS greater than that caused
I by contact with red-hOt iron. The
slightest touch of the brush to the right
hand or face of the subject caused unmis-
| taxable evidence of severe pain. On being
awakened he had no recollection of any
painful feeling in the left hand, though in q
moment he complained of the wound the
pin had made. AnRsthesia of the left side
of the face was produced, so that the pull
ing of the hair or mustache was not felt.
The same treatment on the other side caused
pain and shrinking. Ii was found on ex.
animation that the temperature was
$50 on the side OF the forehead which
the patient imagined was anes
thized. On the other side it was only 940
A bottle of bisulphide of carbon. which DIR
Beard said had 1.-The worst smell under
Heaven" was produced and uncorkeC
under the young mans nose. When asked
if it did not smell sweet to one nOstril under
which it was held, he exclaimed: Yes, i
-. IL
without being asked as to its perfume, n,
discovereditS true smell and recoiled. To on,
side of his tongue citric acid was made t
seem sweet, and to the otherith adits natura
disagreeable sour taste. In the test 70
color blindness, after being informed that i
he closed one eye he could not tell the right
color of anything he saw, he called ball o
pink cord white; white card, he said, wa
blue: piece of cloth of several shades, h
said, was pink The patient was brough
out OF the trance and DIR. Beard was cOnvers
ing with the other physician, when tn
young man cried out: Doctor, you did no
nix this eye | can't see right yet"
The Doctor waved his hand before the ey
and said, Its all right now"
The young man smiled and said, IS
it is"
From these and other experiments, Dr
Beard holds that the trance condition
subjective. 1t depends upon the condition
of the one who experiences ii. Any on
who can inspire the person capable of franc
with the belief that he can enforce the con
ditiOn upon the subject of frances, can sue
coed in bringing IL about. 1t is not mat
ter of will power in the manipulation, but o
susceptibility in the one who goes into mes
meric frances.
Similar experiments to those describe,
above were made with james Wilson, TWEEN
| q plpPE m n IN
David w. Wright, about thirty years old
who DIR. Beard said was perhaps the bes
subject known TO psychologists anywhere
Both Rogers and Wilson were able in som
small degree 10 resist the enforcement of tn
trance condition, but Wright had no powe
whatever in that direction. Wilson, whel
in the trance was informed that he was befor
a large audience, and it was desired that h,
should declaim for their pleasure some
| thing from Shakespeare. Arising and step
ping out into the middle of the room, h.
began Hamlet's soliloquy. While he was il
the midst of his speaking he dashed hi
hand across his foreheadand started forward
but his power of speech was gone. His lip
continued moving. DIR. Beard had touched
the back Of the speakers neck. After
short interval, when the trance subject
face had gown red and the veins of hi
neck stood out like whipcords with his vain
effort to speak aloud, another slight blow
from the Doctor restored the power of audi
bic speech, and the soliloquy was taken VI
at the exact point where the speaker hac
reached in his pantomimic efforts
Wright, who has weak eyes, was expert
mentea with in the trance state by Dr. Nit
tendorf, an oculist The subject, when in
trance, sat motionless for ten minutes, with
wide-Open eyes, as Dr. Mittendorf peered
steadily into the pupil with an optical in
strument, which threw n bright raw of light
upon the retina. The Doctor said that such
steady, unflinching gaze was barely possible
to the strongest-willed man in his normal
| condition