The herald., 1898-03-14


ease itself.
| Could / afford the luxury of a Charcot,
would throw physic to the dogs. As it is,
] must continue to contribute toward the
building up of drug stores all over the
country. standing them off when I may.
l believe in the efficacy of hypnotism, and
l am looking forward to the perfection OF
the automatic machine for producing the
influence which Chicago physician is
| perfecting. and an account Of which read
in The Herald only a few days ago. The
patient has but to stretch himself out on
this machine, touch q button. and the Won
| derful device does the rest. 1t talks to the
| sufferer in low sweet. far-away tones
and he goes to sleep under the influence OF
the soft cadences Of the movement.
0 O O
| was once very skeptical regarding hyp-
notism. and in my manly strength and
vigor the most expert operators were baf-
fled in their attempts to put me under the
strange influence. But time came when
the strongest anacsthetics. administered
up to the danger point, were powerless to
relieve the paroxysms of pain / suffered
Then came man reputed to possess won.
derful occult forces--a regular in the medi-
cal profession, who. for reasons of his own
did not boast of its possession and seldom
resorted to 1t.
| Disposing himself quietly by my side in
the bed of suffering in which lay. he be-
gan talking in soothing way. anon tell
| ing me the pains were leaving me- until
finally. and in an incredibly short space OF
time, they disappeared completely. While
perfectly ctescious of what was being
done-conscious of all that was said and OF
every movement of the doctor-I expert
enced the most remarkable sensations. al
OF delightful nature but puzzling to 6
degree He finally arose from the couch
ana prepared to leave the chamber. assur.
ing me the pains would not return in his
absence. Nor did they though he was
gone long time. 1t was a blissful period
l was not only free from pain. but was
highly exhilarated. / felt etherealized-
really in state of ecstacy-and yet per.
fectly conscious. On quitting the apart.
ment the doctor told me my eyes were
closed and that / could not open them un.
til his return. And. sure enough that was
true, although | made what seemed to me
a strong physical effort. and felt rather
amused than otherwise that doctor ha6
at last the better of me- When he re.
| turned-oh unkind moment all of the
pains came back, reappearing the moment
he placed his foot upon the threshold. And
although for seventeen weeks thereafter
ne attended me and often saw me in the
| Nii' 'N7 VI Nic ltIIiblt BdTONNSn1S, ne never
again offered to use the weird force withir
him to relieve me- Nor did / ever refe,
to the matter. l attributed it to his ex
IRENE sensitiveness, the fear that he nigh
be criticised for employing agencies no
| then perhaps, so much as now esteemed
as legitimate.
Ever after dependence was had upor
electricity and upon the hated drugs An,
among these that were most efficaciou:
was that subtle compound known a.
"bhang not much used in this country
Bhang is Anglo-English for "hashish.
the dried leaves and capsules of the Indiar
hemp, otherwise Cannabis Indica. contain
inS a narcotic resin and volatile oil, pre-
pared for smoking and as an infusion to b,
drunk. 1t is widely used in oriental coun
tries as a hypnotic and intoxicant, givint
to the sensations an excessive vividness
lmpartinS to visible objects grotesqu,
forms, and producing the most incongruou.
effects upon the brain. No two person,
ever experience the same sensations from
thc use OF bhang; hence my story may no
be altogether wanting in interest. Th
sensations felt We're not intermingled bu
very distinct. They were something lik,
this:
Inc 1lrst phase-For seven hours afte
the drug was administered was convulse,
loudly boisterously. Perfectly conscious
OF what was going on about me full,
aware OF the cause of my merriment. bu
reahzlng that 1t sprang from no secret Ella
tlon or pride of my heart. | was yet utterl,
unable TO control the emotion The sensa
tlon was ALMOST continuous, Welding n
times 10 feeling of dreadful seriousness
mat ehded IN tears and then again break
lllS out, WhiIe my cheeks were damp witt
the saline fluid. in a food OF laughter tba
proved at last contagious. for remembe
distinctly seeing my nurses making fulfil
eHorts TO control their risibles. Precisel
as the scenes change on the stage did thi
sensatlon come to an end, and INN nediateI
was introduced
Ihe second phase-This was also mos
amusing. but ! had little difficulty I'm con
trolling myself, although before me wa
ample occasion for merriment. One faith
Iul nurse had been suddenly metamor
PHoSea INTO a monkey, another into
Dear my good doctor was as fine speci
men OF lion as ever was beheld in Val
Ampurgs S SHOW. But / was in no sens
terrorized by this weird ensemble. fo
each sat quietly by my bedside and IooLe
coinpassiohately upon me--even lovingly.
, iInaeiheo-ahd none Of them made a sinsl
hostlie demonstration. The conversatio
contlnued between them and me and
iitlu no ulliculty In recognizing the yoic
: OF each. How long this illusion lasted
; cannot say, but it seemed interminablt
) ana yet the sensa ton was in no sense dis
2 agreeable. All the time | was consciou.
ana Iater was told that, beyond calm
my laVorlte nurse monkey and givin
: 'her huch pam by my insistence that sh
perfectly resembled one, there was moth
ing IN my appearance or actions to indI
cate What was passing through my dis
J ordered brain. With something like
} shock, the animal faces about me van
ished as they had come, and for a n1omcn
all ABOUT me assumed normal aspect
Then was ushered in
The third phcse-One of my bed post
seemed to extend quite to the ceIlins
while the other disappeared wholly fror
, view The clock on the manteI, once
looked at 1t, appeared to be nine feet 1
, height; but. again, in my effort to verif
the illusion. it had completely changed II
, form and dimensions and was fully ST
feet wide. All other visible object. too
| on weird and incongruous shapes. main
, tanning no distinct feature long, and keer
, ing me busy guessing what they would
next. But soon came
The fourth phase-In my hand wa.
card, with half dozen printed lines eac
preceded by number. This / attemnte
to read to my attendants. But imagine m
chagrin when l found that in each cas-,
although l tried to read rapidly, the printe
words disappeared before could finish th
line. I remember we'll my discontinue
felt much as a person does who. essavin
to tell good story, forgets the vital thin
in it before the relation closes. One lin
1 tL@r sct~1