Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-03
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIspArcH.,


was in itself good enough to make up
days programme. "Hypnotism" was the
subject, ably discussed by DR.. NJ. c. Lock
wood, pastor of the First Baptist Church of
Cincinnati, o.
'Within the past year our subject has
been made very popular" he said. 1.-The
newspaper has found in it great resources
for sensation, and has added to the facts the
wonders of most fertile imagination. In
one way the lecturer is weakened by the
newspaper reports, in that if he adheres
closely to his own experiments and gives
nothing but the truth, he appears tame
beside the marveIs with which the gullible
public has been entertained. In another
way he is helped, for the exaggerations
make him more bold to tell all he has
learned. At first it was only with great
caution that we hinted at the possibilities
of the practice Of hypnotism, lest our good
should be spoken of as evil.
UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA.
"What men have called supernatural are
phenomena which they could not explain.
about the supernatural. Natural law is
what we have found out about the super
natural will. God reigns. To find out how
He makes the reverent soul more reverent,
fills the heart with awe and makes our lite
very serious matter.
"Hypnotism has revealed that there was
wisdom in abandoning any effort to identify
sensation with consciousness at any point.
There is relation and one which can be
thrown out of gear. Thus far we can go
into definition of what hypnotism does;
il does not change consciousness from
one kind to another, as is held by
seme, but perverts its normal or har-
monious relations to the senses. To assert
more is to enter upon speculation-a task
too great for our present purpose, and one
which the present ignorance of the nervous
system renders not only difficult, but vain.
We may venture that if the nerves are the
vehicles of the spiritual, we may find that
hvpnotism will reveal the supremacy of
spirit over physical sensations, theory
which, if true, will unravel the mystery of
demonology in the New Testament along
the very lines suggested by Maurice in his
treatise on the Gospel of the Kingdom by
Luke. Has not human thought been too
materialistic; taking on the color of the
age? Concerned with wrestling with flesh
and food. we have forgotten the battle with
the unseen powers of evil about US.
AN ANCIENT PRACTICE.
t'The practice of hypnotism is not recent
one. In the shades and graves of ancient
pagan temples the priests performed many
cures of disease and produced deep sleep
and prophetic dreams. 1t can be traced
amid the cults of India, and solves the
mystery of the horrible witchcraft period of
American and English history. 1t accounts
for the persistent belief of many in clairvoy-
ance, ghosts and charms, and for the cures
wrought by medical empiricsm in many
ages Faith and prayer cures belong to this
category, and so-called mind-reading is
to be classed under the same
head. 1t has had more to do with
the extension of diseases than it has been
credited with. The measure OF its good is
probably commensurate with the measure of
its evil.
1.-The method of producing hypnosis, or
nerve sleep, as it is called, varies according
to the fancy of the operator. 1t is not uni
form even in the same operator. The end to
be sought is to secure an impression on the
subject. When the impression is once made
clear and definite there is little trouble in
COMPLETING THE PROCESS.
Sometimes holding the hand Of subject,
and pressing upon some spot in the wrist, 1
suggest that there will be tingling sensa-
ton in the elbow. If you can surround
yonr subjects with a feeling of mystery and
inspire in them the expectation of being
subjects you will add to the probabilities of
r. a
antagonism is to generally insure failure.
"Persons who are in no way antagonistic
or srgumentive are easiest to hypnotic.
You cannot hypnotic fool. Once in your
control you can make them do anything
YOU wish, good or evil. They will commit
murder with impunity. The most truthful
person, if told to tell a falsehood at a GER
tain hour tomorrow, will do it. There is
no limit to our control over them. have
given a lady all the symptoms of pneumonia
and high fever when in this state.
A CASE IN POINT.
"a young lady was given toy pistol
which we made her understand was loaded
and she shot ruthlessly at friends aud ac-
Quaintances upon cur command. Giving
her a paper dagger 1 said, Here is a steel
dagger; take it and kill him, and pointed
SO very dear gentleman fiIend. At first
the struck at him lightly, Dut when COM
manded she hit him with force that nearly
threw him over. We pointed 10 an emerald
on his shirt bosom, See you have danger
ously stabbed him. Look at the blood.
What shall we do %
Better send for the Doctor was the
cool reply.
But you have killed him. He is going
to die.
II know It, she said.
w hen told after awakening of what she
had done she could remember nothing. The
next day, however, when aga:a in a trance,
she told the whole story of her dream with
absolute correctness
sP1rITUALIsrs IN TROUBLE.
The rSpiritualists at ChautauJua were in
hot water to-day. For once they were in a
position where they could account for that:
be is fraud and deceiver," and this IS
what one or two persons said conceTn;nc
DR.. NJ. c. Lockwood, OF Cincinnati who
last evening performed the various phenom1
ena OF the spirit and tonight gave an ex-
pose of the way he did it. The Spiritual:.ls
called his tricks fraud, and that was nre-
eisely what it was, and what the doctor
claims ali communications of the so-oaIled
spirits are.