Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-01-23
ROMANCE OF HYPNoTISM.
IT SEEMS TO BE AS OLD As THE
WORLD is.
Although Hypnotists Were P~ersecuted
I'm England Sixty Years Ago, 1t
Was Finally Admitted
More or Less.

o-
with humbug. 1t Is seen and heard
of most In platform exhibitions. where
there is every possibility of collision, and
in novels. where 1t is a tedious piece Of
machinery. Given %hypnotism. as the now
elist understand it, and everything may
happen. To destroy one twin, the villain
.hypnotizes his sister, tells the sister to
take prussic acid and suggests that 1t
shall not disagree with her. So he poisons
his victim. quite safely. As a matter Of
fact, experts are divided on the question
If an ordinary character is hyp-
Noticed and hidden to commit a murder
that day week. the "~post-hypnotic' sug-
gestion will take effect. On the whole, the
opinion that a person will not run con-
tary to his ordinary conscience under sug-
gestion Seems the better. Mr.. Vincent has
put forth a volume on ~"Hypnotism.' says
the London News. which seems rather sup
erfiuous. The work in that series by NM:
Binet and Fere. on Animal Magnetism"
pea to cover the whole ground. espe-
ciaily In the historical section. Hypno-
has always been going on: The Eskimos
call it The Sleep of the Shadow" and
use II, for curative purposes. The seers of
most low races produce the sleep in them,
then become. or affect to become, clair
%voyant." Examples are commonly met. in
old and new books of travel. among Red
Indians. Lapps. Samoyeds, Maoris; nor do
the travellers fail to b. impressed by their
experiences.
Among the Egyptians.
The Egyptian examples of cure by pass
es," from the monuments. are perhaps sus-
ceptible of other explanations. but Scion,
to '.stroking." This was practiced by
"the miraculous Conformist," at
the time Of the Restoration, but, in a
passage quoted, Martial seems rather to
refer IN massage than m ANYTHING meSmer.
Paracelsus. and others babble freely Of
these themes, but seem to have scorned
practical proof. The well worn story of
Mesmer is repeated in his work: Mesmer
had made some empirical discoveries, but his
theory Of an universal fluid, animal mag
all theories guessed at after very imperfect
experiments. Mesmer's patients do not
seem to have fallen into the hypnotic sleep.
which is analogous to spontaneous SOM
Puysegur first laid emphasis
on his condition, just before the Revolution.
The Academy of France made a report in
1881. but were afraid to publish 1t, because
1t was too favorable, especially in clairvoy-
against the success of certain experiments
in clairvoyance. and it wanted no courage
to publish that report. 1t would hardly be
scientific to conclude that there is no such
thing as ~clafrvoyance, because a given SUBJ
ject. or a given occasion, does not succeed.
However, the academy settled that the
WuOl6 4uSSllOu was closed. IQelr afQfma.
tive report Of 1881 was just as valuable as
their negative report OF 1887, and neither
was worth much.
Work of Thackeray's Friend.
When Thackeray's friend, Dr.. Ellotson.
took up the subject in England after 1887.
''the most vile and indecent charges were
leveled at him." Science, somehow, does
not appear to be more happy than theology
In fostering a dispassionate frame of mind.
Eraid however, proved that the sleep
could be produced In all kinds of ways.
through physiological notifications of
the nervous system" Braid's hypothesis,
."Hypnotism." though prosecuted at first.
had not fathomed the theory Of ~'sugges-
tion." and we do not see that anybody
has fathomed It. in spite Of physiological
attempts at explanation. Say you hypno-
ter on his nose. A blister is evolved. some
how, n you explain by the suggestive.
ness Of suggestion. just as you explain an
architiaconal functions" Somehow we
seem to get not forrarder." Four e
in Mr.. Vincent's book sum up the history
Of hypnottsm for the last thirty years. and
seems to prefer the Nancy school. MN.
Binets and Fere were Of the Salpetriere
school and plenty Of experiments have
neither school. Now there comes in an
insuperable difficulty. All these expert
ments are made by human beings on hui
man beings. not by man on inanimate nat
ure. not. by man on man by the aid Of
drugs. Therefore. one student will succeed
in experiments which another student will
never be able to repeat. THE second lion
thinks the first a bore" and his expert
ments erroneous or fraudulent. Yet. in
the nature of things. there must be success
es by ono man with ono subject which
cannot be repeated by another man with
another subject, or even with the same.
Even In medicine. drugs have not always
the. same effect on all persons, or at all
abysmal depths of personality" always be
capable of reproduction. This Is ineyitabie.
and It Is as inevitable that the unsuccessful
should disbelieve. Consequently the rarer
hypnotic phenomena. such as c%iairvoyance
In or out of the hypnotic state, Thought
transference." sleep caused by Suggestion
from a distance at an hour chosen by lot
and to the patient. are all per
haps incapable Of scientific demonstration.
"Mesmeric Ideas"
Mr.. Vincent talks as II "mesmerto ideas.
were now held, where they are held in Eng
land. on h responsibility Of the late Mr..
Quincy and his friends. Yet we think that