The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-27

when sanctioned by court. Such an ex-
animation could rarely or never be used
unless the person under examination
consented to be hypnotised. Suppose
then a crime has been committed under
hypnoti Influence. The law should
treat both the criminal who suggests
and the subject who receives the sug-
! gestion, according to the brOadest and
! most humane sociological principles.
Both persons might be restrained OF
their liberty"
Julian HawthOrne's Views.
Julian Hawthorne said: THE law
should and must in some way take
cogniaance of hypnotism No man can
meet another's thoughts. the thoughts
that sre transcribed by himself, with
out something emanating from Vt. some
mutual influence which continues as
long as the association or longer. 1t Is
perfectly true that a hypnotized person
may have hypnctized himself. The
great orator who gets up to speak and
forgets his ego is hypncI;ized. especially
when he is ut his best.
"T!r> great poets and actors are self
hyrnotized. and in their hypnotic state
ltberata then higher powers. There Is
a story told about The great Henry Clay.
When he once s.artsd to speak. and
when In tiha full tide of his oratory. he
forgot himself ana nearly always sat
down exhausted. So one night when he
was about to speak he told a friend to
stop him after five minutes. The friend
allowed him to speak ten. and then
tai1 h,-t C1av maid M
attention. Af.er fifteen minutes he
stuck a pin into him and then stuck a
blade of a penknife into his leg and
continued to do so at Intervals for an
hour and half, when the orator sat
down completely exhausted and COM
pletely oblivious to what his friend had
been doing. asking: Have been speak
ing more than five minutes? That was
claimed that he was self-hypnotized.
Succi. the Italian who tasted for forty
six days once In New York city. always
claimed that he was self-hypnotised.
Hypnotism was one of the subjects
discussed by the American. Association
Of Psychologists at a recent meeting in
Princeton. These psychologists deny
that a person in a hypnotic state can
perform any act which is not done GUS
tomarily by him when in a normal state
of mind. A hypnotized man will not
commit crime unless he Is a habitual
criminal, nor will a man commit muir
der unless ne is confirmed man-killer.
II a person is hypnotized and the sug-
gestion Is made to him that he stab
man, he will go through the motions
of plunging knife into his opponents
body IL a paperknife or ruler is placed
in his hand, but II a dagger is given
him he will only pretend to stab. The
same rule applies IL a suggestion Is
made that he shoot some imaginary
person. Under no circumstances will
he fire loaded revolver in the direc-
ton of his supposed foe.
Experiments In Hypnotism.
DR.. Mcdonald, of Washington. is a
student of hypnotism. He Is a pupil of
DIR. Bernhardt, under whom he studied
for some time. At an example Of the
power Of the operator over a patient,
he said that Bernhardt had hypno-
tized group of men in hospital so
frequently that when he entered the
room all he had to do was to raise his
finger and the men fell promptly into
hypnotic sleep. At the commence
ment of the experiment he had lab
ored over some Of the men for two
hours before they succumbed. With
each repetition the hypnotic state was
obtained in a shorter period of time.
None Of the men suffered from mental
maladies, but all were victims of pull
monary weaknesses.
DR.. Mcdonald said that in hypnotism
the upper eyelids were tired and caused
to fall as in sleep, and they remained
closed from exhaustion. A person could
hypnotize himself almost as easily as
an operator could produce the Illusion.
An he had to do was to look steadily at
some object and allow his mind to be
passive. Every one who had tried the
experiment knew that telling Of diz-
ziness and numbness came over him
after a short time. The doctor uses two
instruments in the production of the
hypnotic state. One consists of row
Of small revolving mirrors, at which
the patient looks steadily. The Sec
ond consists of a velvet band fastened
about the forehead, from which a silver
ball hangs dependent and so arranged
that 1t rests on the forehead above the
nose, and directly between the eyes.
The patient must look upward steadily,
and allow his mind to be free from any
train Of thought. DR.. Mcdonald stands
beside him and suggests mis- mental
state. Now your eyes are heavy" he
says. "You are going to Sleep" Your
eyes close" "Your eyelids." 'They
were shut" "They are shut" "YOu
are asleep" Any suggestion made by
the operator will be carried out, pro-
vided the patient performs the act
customarily when awake.
According to the doctor talking In
the sleep Is a form Of self-hypnotism,
Of which somnambulism Is the highest
form. One is an illusion In which the
muscles Of the Jaws and tongue act. In
the second form, which Is more ad-
vanced, the patient sits up In bed. and
In the third and highest. ne walks in
his sleep. At no time will he perform
an act Of violence. Hypnotic crime is
an impossibility. unless a criminal is
hypnotized. Notwithstanding the teach
irgs Of German hypnotlsts. a jury In
that country had recently found a man
guilty, the doctor said. and the Judge
had gwen him a light sentence. as he
believed that the man had committed
the crime while hypnotized. Should.
at any time, the operator say to the
patient that he was not falling asleep.
or ridicule him In any way, he will
awaken al once.
Other Strange Experiences.
w. r. Newbold gave the results on the
experimental production Of illusions
and hallucinations, and exhibited his
apparatus and mode Of work. He said
he had crystal bah, which rested on a
black india rubber stand. This. on one
occasion, he laced in the lap Of " young
lax]y and asked her to look at the ball