Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-09-27
NIGHT OF FRANKS.
THE OCCULT, MESMERIO FORCE RUNS RAM
PANT AT TIE OPERA HOUSE.
Funny Subjects See Startling Scenes-Thsy Dance
Sing Shoot Birds, Laugh, Cry, and Get
Fall-Prof Flynn Keeps the
0n-Lookers Busy.

Were you ever mesmerizedP Well, it
feels funny, so they say, a strange per-
version of the senses such as one cannot
we'll describe. There is probably no
form OF entertainment that will produce
more continuous merriment than one
Of mesmerism. So many startling and
unexpected things happen that they
become almost irresistible. 1t was that
way last night at the Opera House when
Prof. J. f. Flynn opened three nights
engagement. There was good attend
ance, and the on-looKers at times be-
came almost cOnVulSed.
There were some who seemed to Ques-
ton whether or not the performance
was genuine, as the Prof. was known TO
have on the stage as subjects one or
two who travelled with him. Still
there were three or four Wheeling per-
sons acting as subjects also, and all per-
formed so natural that it could hardly
seem to be other than mesmerism. At
the private session yesterday afternoon,
as well as at the evening performance,
there were several doctors present,
and about the genuineness Of the per-
Torrance opinion seemed to be divided.
1t is difficult for an on-lOOker to real
lie that peculiar nervous condition in
which the body and mind Of an indivld-
'ual are supposed to be influenced by
mysterious force emanating from an
other person. The Professor before
operating on the subject passes his hand
wand-lke about his (the subject's)
head. The eyelids then close, or the
operator gently closes them with the
tips OF his fingers, at the same time
gently Stroking the cheeks. Often a
Migratory motion of the eyellds was OBJ
served when they were closed, or
a slight spasm Of the eyelids. The
patient was then in q sleep-like con-
dition, and the limbs often remain
ed in almost any position in which the
operator placed them, as in cataleptic
condition.
At the same time subjects were
caused to make movements in obedi-
ence to the commands of the Professor.
and to act according TO ideas sug-
gested to him. Thus, they ate a raw
onion with gusto, apparently under the
impression that IL was an apple, they
made wry faces in drinking glass of
water when told that 1t was castor oil;
they rode on chairs as though in a
horse-race, fought with imaginary enc
mics and showed tokens of affection TO
imaginary friends. Many disorders OF
sensation were also observed such as
defective color, perception, the hearing
OF special sounds which have no objec-
tive existence, deafness 10 certain tones,
or perverted sensations, such as
tingling, pricking, rubbing, etc. In
bringing the subject back TO his normal
condition the Professor blows in the
ewes, and claps his hands All sorts Of
unexpected prankS were performed,
one OF which was the cunning expedi-
ton where two of the subjects ran all
over the thester and in among the peo-
pie shooting birds with brOom-stick.
One of the most remarkable tlluStra-
tions at the afternoon session was pol
itical Grafton by one Of the subjects
changed during the course Of delivery
three times, Democrat, Republican and
Prohibition.
Some claim that these pranks are
supernatural, others that they indicate
a specific force exerted by the expert
menter upon a passive subject.
While the Professor was playing,
Dsychologically speaking, upon the
sensorium of the subject, the REGISTER
reporter was enjoying simultaneous
chat with disciple of Esculapius, and
learned for positive fact that after the
retina is effected, a stimulus is sent
to the copora quadrigemina along the
fibres of the optic nerve. The cause OF
the mesmeric influence lies in the inhi-
hilton OF the activity Of the ganglion
cells OF the cerebral cOrtex. The read
ers will kindly regard this valuable
pointer on the extreme quiet