New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-09-03
HEALING MINDS DISEASED.
THE LATE DIR. crARCors HYPNOTIC ExHt
BITIONS-DR. BLANCHE

,roro tho most marvellous legcfdemaln ever He"'
But II they were genuine manifestations OF psye"o'
nbvs;oloaical forces, they have opened new ere
in the science of humanity. 1t will not do TO cah
thcm mere development of mesmerIsm. Ihey
on incomparabIy beyond anything OF which MICS
IIer ever dreamed
Tho story OF Jean Martin Charcots life, in ont
limo may bc briefly told. lie was born In Parls
IN November 30, 1925 lie was pupil OF claude
p,rnard ut the University Of Paris. In 1s4s ne
n,ssed an examination with highest honors and
became house student in the hospitals. Five
years later he took his degree. In 1860 he became
hrsician professor and lecturer mt the Sapcfriere
Tbrtcen wears later he became professor OF patho-
,ooicaI anatomy in the Medical Faculty Of Paris,
and in 1882 "A special chair was established Tor
him. with reference to clinical treatment oil ner-
vous maladies 1t should also he added thas
early in life he married an enormously rich willow,
whose fortune materially assisted him in the great
work of his life.
J Il Was about 1856 that DR.. Oharcot's lectures
at the Spetrere began to attract attention 10
had ,b,n already devoted bis life TO the study OF
cerebral and nervous diseases, and to the end he
pursued that course without swerying. lie was
not svmnotbetic hut cold and self absorbed
Ills patients we've to him mere subjects for en-
perimcnt and investigation, like the rabbits ana
guinca-pr,s in N. Pasteur's laboratory. lie did
rot> even seem to care much whether h. cnreo
their lis or not His aim was rather to ilnd OUT
what allied them, and what caused the trouble
His cean-cut face rescmbled that Of Napoleon, ID
Mcissonier's picture of the Retreat from Moscow
IL was inscrutable sphinx. HIS deep pldck
eyes were merely the lenses Of miscroscope'
Ills manner was severe, and often seemed "n-
feeling II. seldom prescribed for the patients
who were brought to him. lie left that lot tho
otbcr doctors TO do. lie would only examine
tl,e,n. ascertain what was the matter with them,
and if possible what had caused it, Yet he dio
much in this way, Tor the alienation of shherlns'
m,.c, perhaps, than any other man oil his tine'
He gave the wrld, for example, much Oh Hs
bet knowledge Of the nature ana CAUSES OF
hys.eria, and showed that it Is complaint by no
,neac. confined TO the female sex. Multiple
scleros;s and other nervous diseases, aplasla, or
tongue paralysis and epilepsy, were greatly IL
llmined by him.
lecture by him at the Salpetriere was one Of
the great shows of Paris There thronged TO hear
and TO see all sorts and conditions OF people.
There were. of course. many earnest medical
students There were also many idle sight
-secrs. newspaper men seeking sensational items.
neuropathic people who were led by irresistible
fascination of this man who played on nerves and
brains as on the strings of the harp. All tnis
gave to his ecture-ha the appearance OF
theatre There was. too. much that was theatrl-
cal or seemed So in his demonstrations. lie
seemed 10 work miracles. Ills hypnotic expert
ucnts bew;ldcred the senses OF all Dehoiders..
He stood there calm and impassve, and made the
wills Of others subject to his own, ruling them
As a magician might have done. Yet he ala
nothing for mere effect He simply searching
for the secrets of the human mind, will, s0ulj
life
Nothing, indeed, could be more startling than
some of his experiments in hypnotic suggestion.
The patient vas absolutely subject to his Will
Dr. Charcot did not have to speak a WORD OK
command He made the patient obey MS UNI
uttered thoughts lie thought sleep, and the
patient slept: stand. lie down. rum Jump and the
patient obeyed steal and the patient picked
pockets with the skill Of Fagin; kill, and tho
patient became an incarnate fury. lie thought
Of alcoholic drinks and instantly the patient
was intoxicated; of belladonna. and the pupils
of the PATIENTS eyes grew larger; of opium,
and they We're contracted. He thought OF
snuff and the patient sneezed; Of itching. and he
scratched himself; of tickling. and he laughed
of a knock-down blow and he reeled and fell!
II he had thought Of DEATH would the patient
have died 4? He confessed that he longed to try
the experiment but did not dare to do so. for he
felt confident that it would succeed. lie could
send a man out to steal, or forge, or murder.
1t was a power the possession of which weighed
upon him as an awful responsibility Tho
thought that Others might also acquire such
power and exercise it for such ends as they
pleased, filled him with CONSERVATION, and there
was no one more eagef than he for stringent
laws to regulate the practice of hypnotlsm lie
almost felt that he had liberated an awful genie.
or created a Frankensten. and there was q COM
pusion upon him to restrain its potency within
the narrow but deep channels of science and
benefcence.
There was no one more respectful in his treat
ment OF popular notions and superstitions than he.
He thought in fact, that such things had their
basis in truth far oftener than Is supposed. The
idea that people became moonstruclS, plad
through lunar influence, hence Inmates, is a case
in point 1t has been regarded az an idle SUPER
stiIOn But Dr. Charcot believed il to he a
scientific truth There are not only tides in the
ocean. The atmosphere, too has tides, CORE
spending with them. 1t tiuctuates under the
moons attraction, rising and falling several miles.
This must have some effect upon the nerves OF
all highly organized creatures, and why, asked
Dr. Charcot may it not drive the representative
TO actual madness? That it did so he firmly DO
eved.
DR.. Charcot's death was sudden and unexpected,
although his health had for some time been lar
from robust IIe was taking vacation trip In
the Forest of Morvan with two or three other
sst up late, talking about biology: psychology
md Kindred topics. At midnight, after planning
.Yrsion Dr Chaycot went to his room. lie began
, letter to his son, but stopped midway, with the
words hope to finish o As We sn mast st
vept IN he'd where. at daybreak, he was found
lead. lie had been stricken with angina pectorls
At almost exactly the same hour Dr. Blanche h
nr diseased minds in all France. But he was Ia
most respects the very opposite Of DR.. Chafcot,
whose senior no was by 1--WE years, His aim