The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-21

never been particularly Interested In sst. She
hsd no acouaintances who were artists. and
there was nothing In her environment spe-
cially to attract her attention to the subject
Nevertheless. her desire to become an artist
grow stronger and stronger. until she felt
forced to yield. She finally employed n
teacher. and eventually became very proficient.
1t was afterwnrd ascertained that the tenant
who occupied the house before she took POS
session was an enthusiastic devotce OF art.
The Same lady rented n house some years
later which she felt Obliged to leave on
account Of the evil influence which It
seemed TO exert upon her. II was an
almost ideal house In it's appointments
md the arrangement OF the rooms. and when
she FIRST entered 1t she was enthusiastic In her
admiration. but she never spent q comfortable
day there. Naturally OF n cheerful disposition.
she became gloomy and respondent without
any apparent cau.e and was ut last forced to
yiold to her feelings md vacate the premises.
An inquiry into tho history OF the house re-
vealed the fact TINT 1t had formerly been occu-
pied by "A lady whose husband Ind Ill treated
her and had finally deserted her under cir
cumstances OF peculiar a%trocity. The history
OF the house from the time when the afflicted
lady left It has been one OF constant change
OF tenants. No death has ever occurred
there. tragic or otherwise. and consequently
1t cannot he said to be haunted In the
ordinary acceptation OF the torn. that
is. by spirits Of the dead. But. queries
the author. is 1t not haunted for all that2 Ia 1t
not haunted by the thoughts engendcred from
tho mental agony OF the poor woman whose
life was blasted by the perildy OF an unfaithfnl
husband? The suggestions are made tentn-
lively and for tho purpose Of directing the at
tention OF those interested to a relatively new
line OF Investigation. May It not be true that
any great emotion can leave its impress upon
the locality in which it is experienced 1t may
not be perceptible to the objective senses. but
may 1t not have the power to Impress the sub
~jective mind Of those who are brought within
Its environment and to create in them the
same emotions as those experienced BY the
former occupants Of the premises2
Nv.
Those persons who remember Du Maurier's
striking story OF Peter Ibbetson. will be in
terested In Mr.. Hudson's contention. based on
facts brought out by the London Society for
Psychical Research. thattwo subjective minds
whose bodies are far distant may commune
cate with one another during sleep. A number
Of remarkable examples Of such oommunica-
lions are cited. and to the authors mind the
q Sh"s k"S Soos
bic condition for the conveyance Of telepathio
Impressions is attained when both parties are
in q state Of natural sleep. and that such i'm
pressions can 10 so conveyed from tho agent
to the percipIent by an effort OF will on the
part OF tho former Just before going to
sleep. II this conclusion 10 indeed we'll
founded. its application to the convey
ance Of therapeutic suggestions from the
hearer to the patient 10 obvious. Mr..
Hudson tells us that over q hundred expert
ments in psycho-therapeutios have been mad
by himself and one or two others to whom
he has conHded his theory. without . single
failure. One case is that Of . relative who had
for many years been afflicted with q nervous
disorder. accompanied By rheumatism OF the
most painful character. He was subject to
sxcruciatin9 spasms during his nervous at
tacks. and was frequently brouRhtto the verge
Of the grave. In short. he seemed to be q
hopeless invalid. with nothing to look to for
relief but death. Tho treatment began on
May Is. 1890. Two persons we're informed Of
the proposed experiment, and were requested
to note the time when the treatment began.
They were pledged to secrecy. and to this day
the patient is not aware that he was made the
subject OF an experiment In psycho-therapsu-
tics. After the lapse OF a few months one
Of the persons intrusted with tho secret
met the invalid. and learned to her sur.
prise and delight that he was comparatively
well. When asked when he began to I'm prove
his reply was: About tho middle of May"
Since then lie has been able at all times to at
tend to the duties Of his vocation. that OF jour.
nalist and magazine writer. and has had no
recurrence OF his old trouble. A fact OF pecu-
liar significance connected with the case
should not be overlooked. and this 10 that the
patient was a thousand miles distant from tho
healer when the cure was performed. OF
course. the cure may have been a coincidence,
and had 1t stood as a solitary instance, that
would be the most rational way OF accounting
for 1t. But the author submits that q hum
dred such condolences do not happen in suc-
cession without a single break. Other pa
tients. we are assured. have been successfully
treated Mt distances varying from one to three
hundred miles. Mr.. Hudson repeats that he
has not thus far experienced a single
failure where the proper conditions have
been observed. In two cases the pa
tients were not perceptibly benefited. but
In both OF those they were notified OF the in-
tended experiments and were profoundly
skeptical. In these cases tho healer Is thought
to have encountered adverse skeptical auto
suggestion on the part OF the patient or of his
immediate friends. AS regards the method OF
operation. this seems to be extremely simple.
All that is required on the part oi the operator
is that he shall be possessed OF an earnest
desire to cure the patient: that he shall con-
c~en,rate his mini just before going to sleep
upon tho work in hand and direct his sub
iective mind to occupy itself during the night
In conveying therapeutic suggestions to tho
patient. To that end the operator must ac-
custom himself to the ASSUMPTION thar his
subjective mind Ia n distinct entity. that 1t
must be treated as such. and guidoI and di-
rected in the work to be done. One would
naturally assume that the work would be more
effective II the o%perator knew the character
OF tho disease with which the patient IL
afflicted. rs he would then lie able t" give his
directions more specifically. But. according