Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-09-02
EXPERIMENTS IN MksMERrsM.
Making Subjects Insensible to Pain-A Girl
sPersuaded That Cow Sings, but Posi-
lively Refuses to Play Cards.

Making Subjects Insensible to Pain-A Girl
Is Persuaded That Cow Sings, but Posi-.
lively Refuses to Play Cards.
A CtoFta In North American Rsrieto.
Mesmerizsd sensitiyes do not See any OF
the objects or people in the room except
the operator, or hear anything except his
voice. They can be made apparently
cognizapt of their surroundings only by
having their attention explicitly called to
them by the operator. Even then they
generally see imaginary objects only.
Their eyes are open and their sight appears
to an occulist entirely normal, but there
is no co. ordination of the faculties. If
introduce "a gentleman" they treat him
as such; if I introduce him as "a young
person." they wonder whether he is boy
or girl, and are liable to address him as
either.
Mesmerism is as perfect apBsthetic as
ether, and as harmless as water. Any
mesmerized person can at once, by single
stroke of the hand, be rendered totally in-
sensible to pain, and can have tooth
drawn, a cataract removed, q cancer cut
out or an arm cut off without feeling the
slightest pain. This has been 30 often
demonstrated that amputations frequently
take place under its influence in the Paris
hospitals, and it is successfully employed
in obstetrics.
1t is quite erroneous to suppose that the
conduct of the responsive is directed in de-
tail by the operator. He only suggests the
general line of thought, and each respon-
sive pursues it according to his own knowl-
edge, experience or prejudices l say to
nay responsives, for instance, that l have
wonderful educated cow with seven head.
They all want to see it, Icall their atten.
tion to the imaginary stable door near by;
they look toward it, and when snap my
fingers they all see seven-hesded COW
enter. Now, by questioning them, it be-
comes obvious that they all see different
COW. Unless I have designated her color,
one sees white COW, another red COW,
and so on.
Then tell them that she can dance
can waltz and keep time with music. /
hand one a cane telling him il is a flute
and that he is an eminent performer, and
he goes through ire motions Of playing to
the dancing COW. They all hear different
tunes, but the exhibition is satisfactory.
l now add that the COW can sing-can sing
seven ballads at once. At this point there
is perhaps some incredulity expressed.
They see the COW stand up on her hind legs
and hear the seven ballads-and this, l
may az we'll add, is the narrative of an
actual experiment.
Five of the six mesmerized persons be-
lieved that she sang. "She is singing Tit
Willow" said one. "And "A Warrior
Bold" said another.
81 hear singing" said the incredulous
one turning to me. "'Aunie Laurie, isn't
il? How do you werk her?-the machinery,
meaD?"
The others laughed at him. "Why, the
COW sings" said young lady. "Can't
You hear her sing? Can't you see her sing?"
As rule the responsives can BIO COM
pletely dominated and made TO do any
thing of which they are physically capable
They could generally be induced to take
poison, or jump off the house, or throw
themselves under locomotive, or attack
one another with deadly weapons; but
tueIc dic oOIuc cACcptiohS. "ao uunoic
to overcome the fear of one of my respon-
sive, whom sent TO assault an imaginary
Indian in the park. He refused to 60, and
said it was difficult to kill an Indian"
A young lady, one of the brightest sensi-
tives have ever seen, steadfastly refuses
tn play cards. I tell her she is Buffalo
Bill, and easily induce her TO assume his
character, but when cards are suggested.
mo never play cards. 1t is wrong"
she says, and cannot move her. l could
make her jump out through the window or
put her hands in the fire, bat play cards
she will not was puzzled by it till, in
curing. sscertaired that her religious
parents had brought her up very strictly
and taught her it was wicked to play
cards"