Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-15
HYPNOTISM'S SECRET.
Apparent Wonders That Are the Re-
suit of Simple Suggestions.
OWNING THOUGHTS OF OTHERS.
The Extreme susceptibility of Some
Hysterical Subjects
EXPLAINING DIR. LUYS EXPERIMENTS

EXPLAINING DIR. LUIS EAPERIMENTS
'In witnessing the experiments Of the
exteriorization of the human body as made
bv DR.. Luys at the La Charlie Hospital,
Paris" said Dr.. Franklin, who is now
practicing hypnotism in this city for thera-
peutic results, ''THE DIsPATCH's French
correspondent took it for granted that See
ing is believing But the veriest tyro in
suggestive hypnotism could soon convince
him of his error. For after he bad become
acquainted with the silently working,
purely mental suggestion, which plays
pranks, both known and unknown, to the
operator, generally unknown to the subject,
and always unknown to the bystanders,
with its aid it is by no means difficult to
explain the wonders which were shown him
by DR. Luys"
'The experiments and demonstrations of
Luys, OF La Charlie, and Charcot, of La
Salpietrie, Paris, have been abnormal prod
uets of hypnotism, elucidated from hyster-
ical subjects, which is state of suggested
somnambulism. Interesting as the phe-
nomena may be from a psychological or
q
part of the application of hypnotic sugges-
tion to the treatment of disease and the
alleviation of human suffering than would
be an exhibition of the poisonous effects of
strychnine, cannabis Indica or ether and
chloroform is part of ordinary medical
practice.
Susceptibility of Hysterical Subjects.
'Iuvs, with Charcot, believes that hyster-
ical individuals are almost the only ones &C.
cessible to hypnosis, and regard hypnosis as
morbid affection of the nervous system.
Hence their experiments are always demon
strsted upon markedly hysterical subjects.
Charcot has been using the same eight or
ten hystericals for a number of years. Some
years ago Luys proclaimed and demon
strated the possibility of the action of drugs
at distance from the patient or by the ap-
plication of Theoretically sealed bottles to
the neck, etc
"a miserable failure resulted before a
commission of investigation, where all un-
conscious suggestions were prevented.
This investigation with others shows that
the experiments had been conducted
without anyone to criticize and nothing had
been done to exclude the possibility of sug-
gestion. which explains everything.
''Prot Seguin, the celebrated New York
Neurolo list d seen Luys perform his ex-
periments At Seguin's request, Dr. A.
Ford Of the lunatic asylum at Zurich,
Switzerland, performed Luys' experiments
with closed medicine bottles, upon four of
Ford's best somnambulists The result was
negative The only interesting feature
was, a hyrnotized woman who had an
alcohol bottle on her neck, and had prev
iouslv stated that she felt nothing, was
asked whether she did not have head
ache.
The Effect of Suggestion.
''She answered, yes Then, if she was not
dizzy, as if drunk. she again answered, yes
This was followed by symptoms of drunken
ness Hence it appeared that a single in
sinuating question may act suggestively.
They also produced all symptoms of the
corresponding drugs, even vomiting, by
suggestion with wrong or empty bottles,
as control experiments.
CDR. C. Lloyd Tuckey, who saw Luys' ex-
periments before the Academy of Medicine
OF Paris, repeated them and found that on
holding glass tubes, which he had filled
with tartar emetic or ipecac, near the SUBJ
ject's back, he being in q state of somnam-
bulism and igforant of any proceedings, he
was invariably attacked by nausea, agita-
tion and violent fits of vomiting. These
symptoms ceased as soon as the tubes were
removed. But when the tubes we're pre-
pared by third person and covered with
paper so that DR.. Tuckey was himself
ignorant of the nature of their contents, he
no longer showed the physiological effects |
of the drugs used. These experiments OF
DR.. Tuckey were repeated in the presence
of his colleagues at the hospital of the Fate |
bene Fratelii' in Florence, and the con,
clusions were that in these highly nervous
subjects the slightest hint by word or ges-
ture excites the suggested effect.
limitations by Hypnotic Subjects.
"Drs. Liebault, Bernheim, Brannis and
others of the Nancy School support these
of fSeguin, Forel and Tuckey
bv showing that when they, in their meth
cd of suggestive practice, explsined to |
hysterical patients the effects produced by |
Luvs and Charcot, although they may
never before have been produced upon the |
patient so informed, the effects were at |
once forthcoming.
''Dr Bjornstrom says regarding clair
vovance-while animal magnetism was in |
vogue, this name was generally given to |
the wonderful gift, found in a great many |
somnambulists, of seeing clearly in darkness |
both literally and fguratively speaking |
that is, perceiving by the external senses |
with supernatural acuteness, and also to |
erasping by the internal sense things that |
were beyond the natural powers OF concep- |
tion. in addition to a certain divinatory |
power of reading the thoughts and feelings |
of Others, this last phrase applys directly |
to Luys' cases. Nothing has been so mis-
used in the service of humbug and char
latanry as the clairvoyance. The key to |
the solution of the whole subject of clair |
yoyance has been found in hypnotism, and |
especially in the modern theory of sugges
tion. The sharpened wits of the sonambu-
list explain the phenomena which have
been quoted as proofs of specific clairvoy-
snce.
The Acceptance of Thought Suggestion.
ut is being daily evidenced throughout
the world by physicians using hypnotism
that frequent hypnosis increases the sug-
gestibility of the individual, and especially
NAV cause him to do without verbal CON-
mand everything that he had down in the
first or even subsequent hypnosis appar-
emily instinctively. As Bernheim says,
the somnambulist appears to concentrate
his entire attention upon divining the
wishes of the hypnotjzer Hence the many
cases where q somnambulist has exhibited
unusual and, for her degree of culture, in
explicable medical knowledge, might best
be explained, at least when physician was
present, by the fact that it was the knowl-
edge and ideas of the physician which were
transmitted to her brain, usually unbe-
known to him, by mental suggestion and
which for the moment made her SO learned.
When like prophecies she tells the
thoughts, secrets or past experiences of
persons present, who are to her entire