Evening star., 1900-07-14
HYPNOTISM BY MAIL
Modern Institutes for Turning Out
Amateur Svengahs.
4 new And DANGEROUS ENTERPRISE
Opens Up a Field Of Opportunity y
for Evil Doors.
HOW LESSONS ARE GIVEN

| 'Hypnotism taught by mail!''
The idea is fascinating-dangerousy fas-
| cinating. The price Is meager-dangerously
| meager. We see the enterprise more and
| more widely advertised from month to
| month. Tom. Dick and Harry-or any un-
| scrupulous degenerate-can become a mon-
arch Of esoteric science. an emperor of
| sorcery. in less than jiffy.
For the benefit of Evening Star readers ]
have been pursuing various and sundry
| personal mail courses in the mystic
art" According to my long-distance PRO
fessors' have purchased all educational
qualifications essential to a Svengali of the
| first magnitude.
1 possess the secret power to make you
| obey my most tyrannical command. swal-
| low and digest my most barefaced lie,
grovel before me in most servile dread, deed
| to me your vast estate. l have had con-
tNferred upon me the golden key to unwilling
| virgin hearts, the mystic spade of the un-
| derminer of family hearthstones, the magic
| batterng ram of the wrecker of happy
| homes. 1 am the hoodoO's Jonah and the
| Jonah's hoOdoo, too. And 1t cost me but
a dime. 10 cents. the tenth part of a dollar"
| This was the pr -ce OF one p roma course,
| dl iedSl. olHtTS cstiIt nSHeT. one OI NY
| preceptors encourages me to penetrate
! deeper into the unknown and avail myself
of several postgraduate courses, some of
them being sod alone" writes he. 'as high
as so and 500" Progress is his watch
word. Look out for a Svengali trust,
| Some of these mail courses" are printed
in cheap pamphlet form. Others are in
typewritng neatly mime -sraphed. One
professor adopting the latter scheme binds
each course" under a cover adorned by
huge gilt letters and groups of line cuts
| showing the marvellous antics which the
victims of amateur hypnotism can be made
| to perform 1T is a scientific fact that
any one can hypnotic if they only learn
| the right method of doing it, is a sample
| of his literary talent and persuasive force.
| All of these !ong-distance professors adopt
| the 'step right up, gents" style of the side
show barker.
Easy Methods of Svengnliizing.
I have already mastered several scores of
distinct methods of Svengalizing helpless
victims l say mastered" because mas
terry according to my instructors, arrives
simultaneously with the stereotyped les
sons.
Method number one Is to place my vic
tim upon an easy chair or couch and lay
my hand. with fingers extended. over his
head Then 1 must make passes down
toward his extremities, as near his face and
body as possible. but without touching
him" q must not touch" him until he
becomes unconscious. Otherwise he may
call in the police. l must take care at the
end of each pass to close my hand until
it returns to his head. Then I must eX-
tend my fingers and proceed as before.
Once in awhile l must point my fingers
close to his eyes. Continuing this perform
ance until his eyelids quver, l must all the
while earnestly will that he derive beneht
therefrom If I raise his hand and find
that it falls like dead weight; if l tuck
up his eye,idS and find his eyeballs turned
,j@,- I'D hsc
pupils much enlarged and falling to grow
smaller when lighted candle is held near
them, then l may rest reasonably assured
that the Jig is up with him. To be posi-
tive I may give him a vigorous jam with
a pin applied to the back of his hand. Then
if he fails to jump, I may be satisfied that
he is mine for keeps. Next 1 should place
my hand on his forehead and thus deepen
his sleep. But "as a rule / must avoid
concentrating my hypnotic force upon his
brain or heart Otherwise | may chance
to kill him, leave him a fnaming idiot or
meet with some such trifiing accident La
bic to shrink his confidence.
Other Tricks of the Trade.
Adopting another prescribed method, I
must first Danish fear from my victims
mind by discoursing in silver-tongued elo-
uuence upon the benefits of hypnotism.
Then I must exclaim: Look at me and
think of nothing but sleep! Your eyelds be-
gin to feel heavy, your eyes tired! They be-
gin to wink, they are getting moist, you
cannot see distinctly! They are closedi''
Some patients will be completely over
come by my self-assurance as to fall in
stantly into helpless slumber. With the
more stubborn l must geSticulate for en-
phasis. 'It makes little difference what
sort of gesture is made" 1 can stand on
my head and wave my feet. If l desire. If
the gestfculation method does not work. 1
must hold two fingers Of my right hand be-
fore his eyes and ask him to look at them.
Then, If success is not met, can pass both
hands several times before his eyes and
persuade him to stare me full in the face
and concentrate his attention upon the idea
of sleep. Then I must pow-wow to him
awhile longer and glibly lie to him until
he is deceived into the belief that his eyes
are closing; that he cannot possibly open
them, whether or no. If he then fails TO
sleep I must blandly assure him that sleep
is not essential, anyway; that he is hyp-
notified, though wide awake. If he per-
sistently refuses to close his lids after all
this must then close them for him. That
is an easy matter. L must stretch them
slowly over his eyes: 1 must hold them
shut for awhile, assuring him that they are
stuck together: that his desire for sleep is
becoming greater and greater. If this is
said in voice becoming lower and lower,
sleep will ensue in three minutes.
Should these simple methods fail 1 must
take up some bright, glistening object and
hold it at an angle of forty-five degrees be-
fore his eyes. at distance of foot there
from. This will impart the greatest poss-
BILE strain to his optics and their lids. His
pupils will grow smaller, then larger. then
wary in expression. Still holding the
bright object in my left hand. two fingers
Of my right must be moved from the object
toward his eyes, which will probably close
involuntarily. All this while my victim
must be concentrating his mind upon sleep
and picturing to himself that he Is going
into the hypnotic condition.
1 may further command stubborn SUBJ
ject to close his eyes and to gaze at an
imaginary spot the middle of his fore
head. While he is doing this should grasp
his head and press the ball of my thumb
between his eyes-upon his "organ of indi-
viduality." Then I must snap my fingers
near his left ear. tell him to open his eyes.
command him to close them and say
Sleep! Sleep! Sleep If this fails can let
him close his eyes, place my fingers on his
forehead and tell him to imagine he sees