The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-03-07
HYPNOTISM.
a Study In the Mysterious and!
Bewildering Art.
An Interesting Description Of the Cell,
That Closes In by Sevon Degrees on
Its Viotim-How Misunderstanding
L. Accomplished.


Is Accomplished.
What most deeply interests the unin-.
formed mind concerning hypnotism is
the exaggerated conditions which are
reported. propose to give my descrip-
ton, writes Arthur Howton in New
York World, which will unburden this
so-called weird art of many misrcpre-
sensations. Unjust say, however, that
1t moro than ful6lls the claims of its
opponents In that it is useful and ex-
tremely powerful adjunct in minorl
surgical operations, on account of the
ease with which local or general
anesthesia may be produced, not to-
mention its value rs q sedative and,
nerve reouperator; also It Is fair to say
that mind-reading done by hypnotic
subjects Is sometimes almost mex
plicable. It Is this last fact which
keeps the old magnetism" alive 40
cording to the best authorities there arc
seven stages Of hypnotis with well
marked characteristics.
The first stage of hypnotis is the legor
sommeil. OF light sleep Of DIR. Liebault.
In this stage the subject is in an or
binary doze, produced by gentle,
monotonous movement Of the hands in
the form of passes, fixing the patients
eyes steadily upon some bright small
object, thus producing slight cerebral
exhaustion. There Is no special peculi-
arity about this stage except that the
subject is more susceptible to sugges-
ton, but the least noise or bursuuo
movement will restore his equanimity;
the subject in this condition has not lost
consciousness.
The second stage or sommeil profond,
Is also named by DIR. Licbault, of Nan
cy, and the special characteristics arc
that the subject is in deep sleep, but
retains consciousness of what is going
on around him. He is in state of very
much increased susceptibility to suggos-
tion-so much so, in fact, that If told
that he can not open his Dyes he can
not do SO. His general condition Is one
of natural sleep except that in ordinary
sleep the patient hears nothing, and
sound will awake him, whereas in this
sleep the patient If spoken to will IN
swer, and even loud noises will not
startle him. This stage is induced by
continuation of tho method given for
the first stage.
The third stage, of solnnambulism
Is the first In which the subject COM
pletely loses control Of his actions.
In this condition he hears and sees
no one except the operator, unless
he is placed In harmony with him.
There is also in this condition a certain
association Of ideas, In that the SOM
nambulist if set to washing his hands
will not continue the operation forever,
but will, after n reasonable time, ask
for towel. This condition is lost in
deeper stages In this condition there
is slSin-deep inscnsibility to pain, and
the pupils OF the eyes are contracted;
but the greatest popularity of this stage
lies in the hypcresthetic powers In
duced in some subjects. It Is to this
popularity that we owe the wonders of
mind reading, as in this condition
good subjects senses are SO infinitely
sharpened that they can catch clew
given by an operator which would fail
to reach the sharpcst unhypnotizcd per
son in the world.
The fourth stage is catalcpsy. This
is the first stage which is absolutely
pathological, and is not, as in the form
or stages, merely psychical effects. In
this stage the subjects muscles are
all in o flaccid or wax-like condition,
md if the subjects limbs are
awkward or uncomfortable 1t may
be, he will retain it, while his
breathing and pulse will remain moro
regular than any one in q normal con-
dition could possibly attempt to simu-
late. This has been proven by the
sphymographic charts of Tamburine
and Seppili. In this stage the ocular
and pateltar reflex is almost entirely
deficient.
The fifth stage is lcthargy. This is
stage which is dangerous for any one
not fully competent and with long eX-
perience to meddle with, on account of
the acute tetanus which always accom-
panies it. The general idea is expressed
by the German investigators that these
effects are produced by suggestion and
imitation. This is erroneous, however,
as has been demonstrated by the
cliniquo of Prof. Charcot la Salt
petrierc, Paris. The special symptoms
are first, IN entirely relaxed condition
of the muscles, so that if the subject is
raised up and let fall he will drop in n
heap, and without the least ability to
better his position. Secondly, there is
n neuro-muscular hypercxcitability
which manifests itself upon the least
stimulation. For instance, if the mas
setter or muscle of the jaw is touched it
will contract as from tetanic spasm.
The danger lies In the liability of
these tetantfc cOntractions spreading