The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-04-03
mOpERN BLAOK MAGIC,

Witches or conjurors we hanged or
burned a century or two ago for doing no
more than physicians of standing do to-
day in experiments in hypnotism. The
negro hoodoo doctors accomplish the
same class of feats, but make expert
ments more picturesque by means of
incarnation and grotesque acoompani-
ments. In extreme cases of hypnotizing
the subject regards the operator with the
same mixed feeling of fear and dislike
that the conjured had in relation to the
conjuror. This was shown in recent
trial in Europe. A suit was brought
against physician for damages on the
ground that he had injured the plaintiff |
by hypnotizing him. At the trial it was
noticed that some of the testimony given
by witness for the plaintiff was incoher-
ent and confusing, and the plaintiff final
ly interrupted the proceedings by de-
claring that the court, the witnesses,
everybody, in fact, had been hypnotized
by the defendant This sounds like rank
lunacy, and as far as medieval witch
hunter could go. Yet Jules Liegois, pro-
fessor in the law faculty at Nancy,
France, and one of the leading authori
ties in regard to hypnotism, makes
equivalent statements in book which
he has just published on the subject OF
lhypnotism in its medico-legal aspects.
In it he describes actual legal proceed
lings in which he believes hypnotism
played an important part He declares
that it has been demonstrated by repeat
ed experiment that suggestion to COM
|, nit crime at certain time may be
made to subject in hypnosism, and that
the suggestion may be carried out by the
, subject while in his normal waking con-
ditiOn at the very time fixed. Thus the
subject would commit the crime with a
/ full knowledge of what he was doing,
but would be able to give no better ex-
PLANTATION of his act than to say that he
! was driven to it by an unaccountable, If
5 resistible impulse. Among the expert
Q ments cited are one in which the hypno-
! tized subject was told to shoot certain
1 person with a sham pistol, and another
, in which the subject was told to offer a
| designated individual glass believed to
l contain poison. In both cases the sug-
gestion was carried out by the subject
some time after waking, and in neither
/ was he able to remember the making OF
: the suggestion. According to Professor
: Liegois it is possible for an operator to
have many crimes committed in this way
: with hardly a possibility of being con.
: nected with them, and his instruments
a would be unable to offer any legal de.
t tense for their acts. Could the most de.
f lluded writer against witchcraft say more
: than this learned modern professor writ
= ing on a scientific topicP
a If such statements, made by a repre-
G sentative af an advanced modern school
= are to be accepted, it would not require
n much more faith to believe the wondrous
: tales of the feats of the Yogis in India
: If hypnotism is able to achieve wha
+ Prof Liegois claims for it, after the lin
= tied study which has been devoted to i
G in the Western world, far greater ough
d to be the works of the very similar magic
the East. The Indian adopts assume
marvels related of them Prof. Max Mule
e said in recent letter to Nature: "Yogi
II consists in dhdudnd, steadfastness
n dhyand, contemplation; and sdmddhi
II meditation These three ar
supposed to impart powers which seen
l. to us incredible, but which nevertheless
d are attested by the ancient Yogis in
s. very bona ,fde spirit, and deserve exami
Y nation, if only as instances of human
credulity. | say nothing of modern i'm
j. postures.
l. Three peasants of the government O
d Saratoff in Russia were recently arreste
e. for numbering man for the sake of hi
Is fat, which they wished to use in tn
IS manufacture of hand of glory. Thi
y device has been highly esteemed for age
l. among thieves who seek the assistanc
If of magic in committing robberies, and
fully described in that accurate an
E. trustworthy work, the "Ingoldsby LIE
II gends," under the title of "The Hand @
Glory" 1t consists essentially of car
,e dies made out of the fat of a murdere
man and other witch's ingredients, tied
" fingers of dead mans hand. The ligh
IN of the candles closes all eyes on whom
it falls, allowing thieves to operate wit
n impunity and ease. The prevalence G
Iy the belief in this device is shown in tina
two other murders to obtain the requ
A site fat were committed last year in tn
v, same government Now this superst
lie ton, which is of undetermined antiquity
lie forms curious link between witchcrai
at and magnetization, spiritualism, an
other similar phenomena. 1t is the ligh
ID from the dead mans hand which is SUI
in posed to put people who see it to sleeI
and it is the hand of the operator which
/ in making the mesmerizing passes, ha
10 more or less to DIT with sending the mt
III dunn into trance state. Very sensitiv
" such as delicate women-not profession
als-declare that they can perceiv
W streams of violet light flowing from tn
fingers of the operator as they are fallin
>" asleep. Illustrated american.