San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-10-19
HOW TO MESMERIzE.
MAN, BY which the Subject Is Thrown into 4
Trance.

nam. by Which the subJect u Thrown Into q
Trance.
recent writer on the mysteries OF
,nesmerism says: / lay it down as a
natter which can be verified by all
Who are curious enough to try it, that
the mesmeric conditions can be pro-
Sueed without the supposition of a
snbtile fluid, without the cabalistic
masses of the mesmerist, without the
boouet, the magnetic rod, OF any of
tbe mysterious means employed by the
nrofessionals to heighten the effect of
what would be too simple and too I'M
attractive if performed straightfor-
wardly. The directions are these:
Place the person to be operated on,
naturally in a'chair. With your left
hand suspend by a string, about a
foot from the eyes, some small object,
dark marble, or a bright steel ball or
a diamond-it matters not what,
though something bright is, perhaps,
preferable. Direct the subject to
fasten his eyes and concenter his atten-
ton on the object. Slowly raise your
left hand until the object is as far
above the eyes of the patient as is
compatible with his gazing steady at
it. Watch his eyes. At first you will
see the pupils contract but after few
seconds they will expand rapidly.
When they are at point of greatest
expansion, move the first two fingers
of your right hand from the object d.
rectly toward the eyes, the fingers be-
ing separated, forklike, to embrace
both eyes. As the fingers approach,
the eyes will close, and the subject
will be unable to open them. After
quarter of a minute, the subject will be
thoroughly under control, so that the
operator may make him believe what
ever he tells him. Leftquiet, the sub
ject will sink into profound torpor,
during which his ears may be pierced,
his cheeks sewed to his nose, and even
q finger cut off without pain. To
arouse him-and this is an important
step-wind, either from hand bellows
OF a fan, should be directed against his
eyes, or else his eyes should be tickled
with a feather. The rationale of the
method is simple. The fixed stare of
the subject fatigues his retinal nerves,
and when the operators fingers APP
proach, the eyelids close, as eyelids
always do when the eyes are threat
ened. But the fatigue of the nerves
has produced muscular fatigue as well,
transient paralysis of the eyelids has
resulted, and they cannot be opened.
The eyeids being then closed, the del
icste frontal nerves exhausted, and the
mind made vacant by monotonous at
tention to one subject, the patient is
in a condition to fall asleep-and he
does fall asleep. He is now ready to
dream. The only thing remaining to
dois to make him dream.
But how is this to be affected?
Dreaming as has long been determined,
is the result of external suggestion,
DR.. Gregory, to illustrate, having been
thinking of Vesuvius, went to bed
with jug of hot water at his feet, and
dreamed that he was climbing the
sides of the burning mountain. DR..
Reid read book on the Indians, put
blister to his head on retiring, and
thought in his sleep that he was being
scalped. Both the dreams as all 9th
ers are, were caused by suggestions
offered externally. These suggestions,
being received while the directing
power, the common sense of the mind
was in allegiance, owing to sleep, were
interrupted very enormously, yet &C
cording to plain laws of association.
The hot water in one case called up
the previous subject Of thought, Vesu-
vlus; the singing blister in the other,
the equally singing scalping-knife.
1t is now easy to see how the sleeping
subject may be made to accept as
truth, whatever he is told.