The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-11-30


ular study of morbid path
ology, has an interesting article in the
Century on "The Eternal Gullible,
With Confessions Of Professional
'Hypnotist. ," Mr.. Hart says he does
not deny the physical facts of hypno-
tism and its heteronyms, but he cor
siders the general Interpretation Of
them erroneous.
Some little time ago, says Mr..
Hart, was the recipient of the con-
fessions of q professional subject, who
had come to see the error of his ways,
or, as l fear is more probable, finding
his occupation gone (for your Sub
iect" loses his commercial value by
over-use), was not unwilling to unfold
the story of his professional" life for
a consideration. He was sent to me
by the editor of London Truth, into
whose sympathetic ear he had first
poured the story of his career as a
corpus vile of pseudo-scientific exper-
iment. The confessions of this in
genious youth are amusing and in
structive, though, as in most conf
dences of the kind, the light is thrown
strongly on the sins and shortcomings
of others, while the penitent's own
peccadillos are left in shadow. They
are, unfortunately, too long to give in
full, but I may say that the original
documents submitted to me prove
that in the most noted hyp-
motto exhibitions given on public
platforms at the Aquarium in Lon
don, and other places of amuse-
ment, the performers, both hypno-
tizersand hypnotized, are, almost with
out exception, conscious humbugs,
going through prearranged "show,
and, to quote the Yates sacer of the
Heather Chinee, "the same with in
tent to deceive" In the inner cir
Giles of the music-halls, the cline" of
the professional subject is, I find, as
we'll recognized as that Of the contor-
ZIONIST, or any other variety of noun
tebank. He is engaged in the usual
way, and his earnings are proportion
ate to his professional skill, that is, to
his power of quilting the groundlings.
Nor, taking into account the disagree
able experiences which he has to go
through, can it be said that his line of
business is particularly remunerative.
His muscles must be under eXtraordi-
nary control; his palate must be dis
ciplined to tolerate, and his stomach
to retain such delicacies as castor oil,
mustard, Cayenne pepper, paratlin, and
ipecacuanha; and he must bear pain
with the impressive stoicism of an In
dian brave. 1t is clear that profess
sional subject must not only be born,
but must be made, aud to the making
of him there must go an amount of
trouble worthy of better cause. His
professional equipment must include
some measure of histrionie ability, as,
in his time, he has many parts to
play. Above all, he must, like the
Roman augurs, cultivate command
of countenance which shall prevent
his laughing outright in the faces OF
his dupes.
Ny interesting penitent has allowed
me the privilege of seeing his business
correspondence, from which the story
of his professional life, from year to
year, can be extracted. According to
these documents, his first introduction
to mesmerism was at St. James's Hall ;
this important event is best described
in his own words:
"When / first went to the above
show, Twas sitting among the audience,
when mesmerized subjected rushed
up to me, and said the place was on
fire. He tried to pulled me away from
my seat, but would not go, till al
last Mr.. - came up and awakened
him. AS was leaving the building
that subject came up to me, and apollo
gized for the trouble he had coca
stoned me. He asked me whether
would have o ticket for the following
evening; he gave me ticket, and
came again the following evening
When l saw him again, he asked me /
| believed in it; answered yes. HI
asked me if 1 thought / could do tn,
same; said no. He said he woul(
teach me if liked"
My penitent has been endowed b,
nature with n countenance which re
sembles Pindar's verses in being "sig
nificant to the initiated. " lam there
fore not surprised that he was quick.
recognized by the sympathetic intui
ton of kindred spirit, as one borl
to hypnotic greatness. In his modes
difidence as to his capacity in that di
rection we may recognize the "uncon
sciousness" which, according to Car
lyle, is distinguishing attribute o
the highest genius. An appointment
was made for the following mornin
at an address in the classic region o
Drury Lane, and there the neophyt
received his first lesson in the myster