Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-12-23

ing in profitable and delightful wav lis
tentng to the paper of DIR. G. s. Pratt ON
"Seep and its allied conditions" and ioin-
ing in the discussion which it suggested
The general subject, sleep, was treated NV
the essayist in three parts, or from three
different points of view:
lst, The cause, nature, and necessity of
normal sleep.
"a me accidents or phenomena of sleep,
including dreams, somnambulism, etc
I'd, Induced sleep or hypnotism.
Psychologists differ as to the natural Or
immediate cause of sleep. The most cen
orally accepted theory is, however. that
during sleep the brain contains less blood
than in the waking hours Experiments
on dogs by eminent physicians, and obser-
Vations OF the human brain where accident
or surgical operation has exposed it TO
view, prove that it contains a diminished
amount of blood during sleep. Some of
the more familiar causes of sleep, as ex-
IRENE heat, cold, and the ingestion of
hearty meal, are well known to all.
The exciting cause of sleep is the neces-
sity That the loss of substance by the brain
during its period of activity should be re-
stored. The state of general repose which
accompanies sleep is of especial value to
the nervous system, and the other struct-
ures of the body are benefited in a greater
or less degree, All know, too, how inn
perative is the demand for sleep when too
long denied. Damiens, the unatc who
attempted the assassination of Louis XIV,
was subjected to the most Infamous tor
lures before his final execution, vet he slept
upon the rack, and it was only by chang
Ing the mode of torture that he could be
kept awake. The deprivation of sleep he
described as the greatest torture of all. A
Chinese murderer, who was sentenced to
death by being deprived of sleep endured
the torture until the 10Th day, but long be-
fore this he begged to be put to death by
any manner of torture rather than suffer
the torments of being kept from sleep.
After considering the extent to which
the natural functions of the body are
carried on during sleep, the subject of
dreams was taken up and treated in an in
teresting way. The savage conceives that
In dreams his second half leaves the body
and goes forth to unfamiliar regions to
meet the departed second selves of his dead
ancestors. A more thoughtful and intel
lectual view regards the visions of the
night as symbolic pictures unfolded to the
inner eye of the soul, bringing often
prophecy of some event which is to happen
in the future. The careful study of mental
life in its intimate relation to bodily opera
mystery, fanciful or morbid, which sur
rounds the subject of dreams. AS a rule
they are due to external stimuli which reach
the brain through the medium of the spe-
cial senses. Sight is the most common
avenue for the transmission of these slim
uli Touch is also an important factor,
while smell and taste play less prominent
part. Many curious illustrations were given
of the way in which certain dreams can be
produced. The common form of night
mare, in which we vainly try to flee from
some impending evil, are usually due to
some awkward position of the body or to a
dsordered state of the abdominal organs.
In point of public interest that part of
the paper devoted to hypnotism and its
phenomena calls for the leading share of
attention. Hypnotism, the essayist said,
Is the modern and scientific term for that
class of phenomena which, under the name
OF animal magnetism or mesmerlsm, has
excited interest for at least a century.
Many of the facts relating to it have
been known since the earliest times, and
were used in the service of mysticism,
representation and religion by the priests
of ancient Egypt, the old Indian fakirs' the
Greek oracles, and the magicians OF the
middle ages, no less than by quacks and
Charlatans in our own time. In the earliest
supernatural origin. After the coming OF
Christianity they gradually came to be re-
garded as rather the works of the devil
and those who manifested them were
thought to be possessed or bewitched. The
insensibility to pain, the clairvoyance ant
the abnormal development of certain senses
were Enthusiastically the same conditions
which we know under the general name Ol
hypnotism today.
The subject, yelled in mysticism, and
used in the service of fraud and quackery
was first brought prominently into puOll'
notice by Mesmer, and by him was termed
animal magnetism. Mesmer was porn II
1854 and was educated rs a physician
Early in his practice he used animal mag
netism as a remedy, and explained III
action as due TO corresponding magnetic
quality of the human body. Later he helC
this quality to be common TO all bodies ah'
the bond which held together the universe
He was considered a jugger by his pro
fessional brethren, and the learned societies
of Europe ignored his claims. lie settie'
in Paris, where his mystic doctrine aCtracI
ed attention and became the rage OF tn
idle and fashionable world who Hooked U
his so-called "banquets," where he operat
ed upon scores of cases at once. The eX
pectations of the benefits of this so-calle'
discovery had no limit, and Mesmer MAJ
numerous students and imitators.
The definition of the worl hypnotlsm
the science of the seep-like state, AM
nearly corresponds to the old term mag
netic sleep. 1t is generally understood I
include a certain train OF nervous pheIloll
ena resulting in persons susceptible 10 II
from external agencies acting through I'll
nervous system. A majority of people ar
susceptible to the hypnotic influence, ou
children and young people are the bes
subjects. Idiots cannot be hypnotlzed an
the insane only with difficulty. The meth
DDS used to produce this sleep are classlhe
into two groups, the physical and psychlca
The former acts through the sensor
nerves. The lat er is produced by suggees
ton. The sense of sight is the most easll
effected, and is more frequently the int
dunn through which the hypnotic lnnnehc
Is produced. 1t may also be produce
- through the sense of hearing. The sens
of touch was employed by older observers
But while 1t may be induced by the mos
varied and widely different methods tn
success of any seems to depend upon u
COOPERATION or willingness OF the suoJec
although cases are recorded where the col
dition has been introduced against the WI
of the individual. There are three MAJ
stages-the cataleptic, the letharglc al
the somnambulistic. OF these the iatIer
laA in