Smyrna times., 1888-10-24
VALUE OF MESMERISM.
THE THEREPEUSIS OF HYPNOTlSM
AS A MEDICAL STUDY.

Of extreme inebriety; can be made dis
gustingly sea sick by being told that he
is at sea in a 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 at once, by
single stroke of the hand, be rendered to-
tally insensible to pain, and can have q
tooth drawn, cataract removed, q can
Ger cut out, or an arm cut off without
feeling the slightest pain. This has been
so often demonstrated that amputations
frequently take place under its influence
In the Paris hospitals, and it is success
fully employed in obstetrics. Though
only fraction of patients will be found
eligible as candidates for this annihilator
of pain, its utility is so obvious it cannot
be long before medical societies will take
up the therepeusis of mesmerism as a
serious study, and army surgeons will
be required to have as practical knowl-
edge OF 1t as Of any part of the pharma-
cOpoeia.
1t is quite erroneous to suppose that
the conduct of the resposive is directed
In detail by the operator. He only sug-
gests the general line of thought, and
each responsive pursues it according to
MS own knowledge, experience or preju
dlces. l say to my responsives, for in
stance, that l have q wonderful educated
COW with seven heads. They all want
to see it. l call their attention to the
imaginary stable door near by; they look
toward it, and when l snap my fingers
they all see a seven headed cow enter.
Now, by questioning them it becomes
obvious that they all see a different COW.
Unless | have designated her color one
sees white cow, another a red cow, and
so on.
Then | tell them that she can dance.
can waltz and keep time with music. 1
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 at once. At this
point there is some incredulity expressed.
Ihey 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-
heyed that she sang. 'She is singing
Tit Willow" said one. "And a War.
Tior Bold, said another.
Il hear singing" said the incredulous
one, turning to me. "'Annie Laurie, isnf
itr How do you work her-the machinerv
mean2'
The others laughed at him. "Wbv
the COW sings, said young lady. "Cant
sing2"
"She looks as if she sang" conceded
ncredulOus. Il see her mouths move ali
around. She sounds as if she sang; but
she doesn't sing. Cows don't sing"
very well, what is it, then?' asked
one of the others.
"A tube and hole in the floor" said
ncredulous, ''Or perhaps ventriloouism.
'Aw! exclaimed the first, derisivelv.
r,Ventnloquism does not work like that
I've made study of ventrilouuism.
well, I've made a study Of cowl" men,
sisted the scoffer obstinately.
sometimes l turn the responsives into
children, and have them play school with
INFINITE fun; sometimes transport them
over ocean to Africa OF Japan on the en-
rhanted carpet, where for a brief spaca
they enjoy all the delights of travel.
sometimes we participate in battles in
political campaigns. in exciting TRADE.
and sometimes Socrates, Moses or Con.
!ucius is introduced and interviewed. the
Intelligent responsive furnishing both
questions and answers in a curious duai
action Of the mind that is highly enter.
tanning.
Not only the reason sometimes rebelsas
ABOVE, but the conscience also. As a ruIe
resPonsiyes can be completely dominated
ana made to do anything Of which thev
are physically capable. They could gem
eraliy be induced to take poison, or Jump
OH the mouse, or throw themselves under
Z locomotive, or attack one another with
neaoly weapons. But there are some ex- i
SepVlOns' was unable to overcome the
teaf OF one OF my responsives. whom I
senS 10 assault an imaginary Indian in the
park. He refused to 20, and said it was
difficult to kill an Indian"
A young lady, one Of the BRIGHTEST SEN
sitives l have ever seen, steadfastlv 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, mo, 1 never play cards. Il
Is Wrongl she says, and cannot move
her' could make her jump out through
the window or put her hands in the fire.
put play cards she viii not. was puz.
zled by 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 of mesmerism. If So
II is brought into relation, not only Will
medicine, but with jurisprudence; not
only with the pharmacopeia, but the pen.
itentiary. It is obvious that If cases Of
this kind occur the one to whom punish
ment must be dealt out is the mesmerist.
could probably induce any one Of nv
responsives to take his life in nv pres
enee or to assault anybody within reach.
but the mind wanders curiously in this
strange condition, and generally takes
nItle cognizance Of surrounding objects.
have used the word probably" in this
sentence because the conduct Of mes
Iliierlzed persons cannot be positively pre-
elcted- The mental impression may not
"a given case be sufficiently vivid and
dominating to induce action, or the in
tention may be counteracted bv the
framed moral sense asserting itself and
overwhelming the confused hypnotic ten
qency.--W. A. Croffut in North American
Review. ie'-i