Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-06
MARvELs OF HYPNoTIsM.
A Peculiarly Of the Weak and Diseased
A Dangerous Power to Deal With.

From the New York Sun. I
Nothing that has recently appeared In print
has excited . wider interest than the full and
accurate report which We published Last Sum
day OF the proceedings and debates which en-
gagged the hypnotic congress held In Paris in
the latter part OF August. The marvels Of hyp.
notism, first partially revealed by James Braid
Of Manchester ct the end of the eighteenth
century, have been very widely talked about Of
late and wonderful stories have been told con-
corning them. As an object Of curiosity they
have taken the place of the marvels of mes
merism, which surprised the world at intervals
from the time OF DIR. Franklin down to about
thirty years ago, when they were over.
Swallowed by the greater maryels Of spirit rap
ping. Hypnotism has, however, great advant-
age over Its predecessors. It is more scien.
tifc and has been studied By men of eminence,
whose reputation precludes the idea Of inn
posture or deception.
THE PROCESS OF HYPNorrsN
is TO put the patient to sleep. This sleep seems
to be essentially the same as that induced by
mesmerism, and the mode of producing IT is
intrinsically similar. The mesmeric patient is
seated in front OF the operator, and his stten-
ton is fixed upon him by means of passes with
the hands made over the forehead, around the
head, and downward along the form of the
patient. The hypnotic sleep is brought about
by fixing the attention Of the patient upon
some object placed at Q suitable distance,
usually shining object, or one moving in O
manner to cause his eyes to -fasten upon it,;
and the one way seems as eficacious as the
other. Next, hypnotism operates upon the
sleeping patient by what il called suggestion;
that is to say. by putting into his mind an i'm
perative idea Of something that must be done
by him after the hypntoic sleep is over. This
idea, or command, possesses the patient when
he is restored to Consciousness, and, though
he retains no knowledge of its origin, he feels
that he is bound to execute it,
PROMPTED TO CRIME.
Thus on one occasion DR.. Charcot told girl
in the hypnotic state that at IL o'clock the next
day she must come into his laboratory and stab
him to the heart with dagger which lay habit
ually on the table there. In obedience to this
suggestion the girl came into the room at the
appointed time. She was wide awake, and it
though she did not speak to Dr. Charcot, she
gave evidence OF unwillingness to perform the
deed that had been imposed upon her. But
she picked up the dagger-the blade had been
changed for blade OF paper-and struck him
with 1t upon the breast She did it unwillingly,
but the power of the suggestion was too strong
for her to resist.
This power has been used with some advan-
tage In cases OF mild wickedness, and with
greater advantage with young criminals and
mischievous boys. 1t has been found sufficient
TO produce, for time at least, seeming
change in their characters and dispositions.
Wicked young men have been made gentle and
kindly, as long as the suggestion has lasted,
and bad boys have been made good. There is
also evidence to show that by means of hypnot-
ism state Of an@sthesia may sometimes be
produced, SO that operations of surgery may be
performed without causing pain, Just az if ether
or chioroform had been administered to the
patient.
TWO OPPOSING SCHOOLS.
These studies Of hypnotism have been go
ing on in Europe for the last five or six years,
and one interesting result is the fact that the
Investigators are already divided into two OPP
posing schools. one with DR.. Charcot at its
mead, maintaining that the only subjects who
are uniformly influenced by the hypnotic con-
troll are persons, male or female, more or less
a1ected with hysteria; and the other, composed
OF professors OF the University of Nancy and
their adherents, maintaining that certain pro-
portion OF those who are in a normal condition
can also be influenced. All of them, however,
agree that 1t Is dangerous power to deal with,
leaving after its application the danger Of seri.
Gus nervous diseases; that it should never be ap-
pied except by an intelligent and skillful
physician; and that public exhibitions of it for
the qualification Of mere curiosity should not
be allowed.
On the whole, hypnotism would seem to be Of
about the same value as the mesmerism of the
last century, and not Of much more. Owing to
It's uncertain and rather morbid character it
does not seem likely to enter to any consider
aDIe extent into the regular practice of the
healing art. 1t may yet come to something of
more importance, but the fact that it has been
known now for nearly a century is not very en-
couraging in that direction. II will probably
always remain among the curious debifities and
eccentrlcities OF the nervous system, a peculi-
arity of the weak and diseased, from which the
healthy and the strong are exempt