Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1895-03-06
Hypnotization.

This growing force; at first vague,
laughed at fad in the hands of the
charlaten, humbug and nuisance;
yet has more potency than we proba.
bly, ever dream of. "Hypnotization,"
says Binet, "can be produced by
strong and sudden excitement of the
senses. The patient becomes hypno.
tized, and hence obedient to the hyp-
notizer." Bowls Sidas in The Atlantic
Monthly for February, attributes mob
cruelty and disturbance to hypnotism.
''The mob is hypnotized by a strong,
sudden action, and becomes for time
obedient to him who hypnotized it;
that is, to the ring leader, to the hero"
Again Krafft-Ebing tells Of pc
caliar state, namely, fascination. ''In
this state the patient feels herself to
he pure automaton, and knows her
self as absent from the body, existing
only as m image in the experimenter's
eye. This disappearance of the con-
sciousness of personality is OF great
interest,"" A similar state but Of less
intensity, we find in the mob when
fascinated by its hero; something ap-
preaching The hypnotic state OF fas-
cination. Again We find in our courts
that the person who actually put to
death another was acquitted of the
crime while tho hypnotizer under
whose spell the act was done was con-
victed and punished as the real crimi-
nal. We sincerely hope, however,
hypnotic influence will not be added
to that other and threadbare legal
fraud, insanity, to further "cheat the
gallows of its dues"
Another prominent investigator on
hypnotism is Professor Alfred 5.
Warthen, demonstration of medicine in
the University of Michigan. Accord
ing to that eminent authority, The
Medical News, some remarkable re-
suits proceeded from Professor War
thens experiments with mtisic on
mesmerism. The patient was first
hypnotized and Wagner's "Ride of the
Walkure" was played at him on the
piano. Immediately the subject
showed intense excitement; appeared
to be in great agony and he broke out
in profuse perspiration. On awaken
ing from his trance, the patient de-
clared that he had not perceived the
music as sound, but as feeling; as if
he were riding furiously through the
air.
Another extraordinary effect was
produced on bypnotized patient by
suddenly changing from the music OF
Wagner to other and inferior strains.
''The subjects face became ashy pale,
the pulse dropped from 100 to forty
beats per minute and became irregu-
lar, soft and small; the respirations
were decreased in number and became
signing in character. On being nwak-
ened the subject said lie had been op-
pressed by a horrible fear because
everything had suddenly seemed to
come to an end" The inference is
perfectly plain. Professor Warthen
has established the fact that devotees
of music drama are mesmeriZed and
incapable of independent thought or
emotion while the drama is being en-
acted.
The memory of Wagner just as fully
hypnotizes the German as the photo.
graph of the diabolical S7engali infu-
enced Trilby long after his death.
These searching Investigations and
honest experiments unquestionably
demonstrate that this lite understood
force, hypnotism, is worthy of pro-
found consideration and exhaustive in
yestigation.