Morris tribune., 1888-12-12
VALUE OF MESMERISM.
THE THEREPEuSlS OF HYPNoTlsM
AS A MEDICAL STUDY.

An Annsthetic rs Perfect as Ether
Story of the seven Headed Cow-Re
be!lious Rcsponsives-Can Crime Be
Commit ed by the Aid OF sresmerism'
1t is conceivable that mesmerism might
injure an invalid If he have heart dis
episode, rapture of Joy or convulsion
rious or even fatal. just as 1t might in his
normal condition.
Fhis possibility is abundantly Offset by
the value of mesmaxism as therapeutic
agent. The responsive can be made 50
intoxicated on water. which he has been
told is whisky, as to exhibit all symptoms
of extreme inebriety; can be made dis
gustingly sea sick by being told that he
Is at sea In storm. and can be at once
physically affected by an imaginary medi-
cine. His temperature can be changed,
his eye dilated and his pulse quickened.
Mesmerism is as perfect an an@sthetic as
ether, and as harmless as water. Any
mesmerized person can OF once, by q
single stroke of the hand, be rendered to.
tally insensible to pain. and can have 0
tooth drawn, cataract removed, 0 can
Ger cut out. or an arm cut on without
feeling the slightest pain. This has been
so often demonstrated that amputations
frequently take place under its influence
in the Paris hospitals. and 1t is success
fully employed In obstetrics. Though
only fraction of patients viii be found
eligible as candidates for this annihilator
of pain, it's utility is so obvious 1t cannot
be long before medical societies will take
up the therepeusis of mesmerism as q
serious study, and army surgeons viii
be required to have as practical knowl.
edge of it as Of any part of the pharma.
copeia-
1t is quite erroneous to suppose that
the conduct Of the responsive is directed
in detail by the operator. He only sug-
gests the general line of thought, and
each responsive pursues it according to
his own knowledge. experience or preju
dices. / say to my responsives, for in
stance. that have a wonderful educated
cow with seven heads They all want
to see it. | call their attention to the
imaginary stable door Dear by; they look
toward 1t. and when / snap my fingers
they all see seven headed cow enter.
Now, by questioning them it becomes
obvious that they all see different cow.
Unless | have designated her color one
sees white cow another red cow, and
SO on. .-. .-s
Then / tell them that she can dance,
can waltz and keep time with music.
hand one cane, telling him it is flute,
and that he is an eminent performer, and
he goes through the motions of playing
to the dancing cow. They all hear differ
ent tunes, but the exhibition is satisfac-
tory. now add that the cow can sing
can sing different part with each mouth
can sing seven ballads ut once. At thiE
point there is some incredulity expressed.
They see the cow stand up on her hind
legs and hear the seven ballads-and this,
/ may as well add, is the narrative Of an
actual experiment.
Five of the six mesmerized persons be-
ieved that she sang. She is singing
Tit Willow said one. And "A War
rior Bold, said another.
81 hear singing" said the incredulous
one, turning to me. "'Annie Laurie, isn't
it? How do you work her-the machinery,
meant"
The others laughed at him. "Why,
the COW SINGS" said young lady. Cant
you hear her sing? Can't you see her
sing?"
..sShe looks as If she sang" conceded
Incredulous II see her mouths move all
around She sounds as if she sang; but
she doesn't sing. Cows don't sing"
Every well, what is it, then2" asked
one of the others.
"a tube and hole in the floor, said
1ncredulous, "or perhaps ventriloquism. "
"AwP exclaimed the first, derisively.
GS~~n ,%,sl - had
I've made a study of ventriloquism.
"Well, I've made study Of cowl" per-
sisted the scoffer obstinately. 49, q.
Sometimes turn the responsives into
children. and have them play school with
infinite fun; sometimes transport them
over. ocean to Africa or Japan on the en-
chanted carpet, where for brief space
they. enjoy all the delights Of travel;
sometimes we participate in battles, in
political campaigns. in exciting TRADE,
and sometimes Socrates, Moses or Con-
fucius is introduced and interviewed, the
intelligent responsive furnishing both
questions and answers in q curious dual
action of the mind that is highly enter
tanning.
Not only the reason sometimes rebels as
above, but the conscience also. As rule
responsives can be completely dominated
and made to do anything of which they
are physically capable. They could gen.
orally be induced to take poison, or jump
off the house, or throw themselves under
q locomotive, or attack one another with
deadly weapons. But there are some ex-
ceptions. Twas unable to overcome the
fear fof one of my responsives. whom !
sent to assault an imaginary Indian in the
park. He refused to go, and said it was
difficult to kill an Indian"
"A young lady, one of the brightest sen.
sitives have ever seen, steadfastly re-
fuses to play cards. I tell her she is
Buffalo Bill, and easily induce her to as
sumo his character, but when cards are
suggested, ''No, I never play cards. It
Is wrongin she says, and / cannot move
her. I could make her jump out through
the window or put her hands in the fire,
but play cards she will not. / was puz-
zled sby it till, inquiring. ascertained
that her religious parents had brought
her up very strictly and taught her it was
wicked to play cards.
And this brings us to the question much
mooted of late, whether crime can be com
mitted by the aid or mcsmerism If so,
it Is brought into relation, not only With
meditine, but with Jurisprudence; not
only withthe pharnnacopoeia, but the pen
itentfary. 1t is obvious that If cases of
this kind occur the one 10 whom punish
ment must be dealt out is. the mesmerist.
could probably induse any one of my
resp6nsives to take his life In my pres.
ence Or to-assault any body within reach,
but The mind wanders curiously in this
strange condition, and generally takes
little coz nizance of surrounding objects
I have used the word probably" in thig
sentence because the conduct of mes
merized persons cannot be positively pre-
dicted. The mental impression may not
in given case be sufficiently vivid and
to induce action, or the in
tention may be counteracted by the
trained moral sense asserting itself ant
overhalancing the confused hypnotic tie,
dency. wv. 4. Croffnt in North America
Review. ss
h The Prince of Wales continues to gal
In flesh, much to his chagrin.
The American Tough"
{ The tough is product peculiar to
American city life In other countries,