The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-24

1NA HOOANQAgA GA ~ NdubutAy kNAAtANAAeAA
sport. IN a treat. When BrOOkfetd by a
process OR ~telopathy tells him he holds
three queeDs in the draw and no cries. God
Almighty gives you a mind like that and
you won't 20 with mo 70 C~incinnatil" there
ian't a touch Of soorn in your laughter.
Porhaps there ought to be. but instead
you wish him luokl
Again We are brought TO the question,
h is there In ~telepnthy2 II there is a
better question to start a discussion with
than this the writer has yet to find IL. There
In a wOll known artist in this city n af-
firms, and whose vito supports him. that
before their marriage he could will her to
do so and 80 when she was absent from
him and she would do IL; and that since
their marriage. IL he is reading. shy. a tale
Of Poe downstairs at 2 A. NJ. and gasps ut a
Shivory climax she will scream In her sleep
up In the chamber. Instances Of the
case in hand in the play-tbe reading OF
cards by telepathy-can DO recited doubt
less by tho thousand. On the other hand.
In tho 1908 edition OF Bramwells work on
-Hypnotism' he says: After many years
hypnotlo work and frequent opportunities
OF Investigating the experiments Of others.
l have seen nothing. absolutely nothing.
which might be fairly considered as afford
ing even hes slightest evidence Of. the exis-
n Of telepathy. or any Of the so-called
occult phenomena" He then describes
q series of experiments in reading cards
conducted by a committee Of the Society
for Psychical Research. where the sub
jects were generally hypnotized land so
abnormally susceptible-BrOokfeld in the
play was not in a hypnotic state) and states
that the percentage of correct guesses fell
-far below the number which ought to have
been reached according to the laws OF
chance" But he leaves Mr.. Thomas this
loophoIe: Despite all this 1t would be-
unphilosophlo to deny the possibility Of
telepathy, and l arm quite ready to be con-
WINGED Of its existence II any one can divine
even al few as six out Of every dozen cards
selected by the operator under circun-
stances similar to those described
Tho ruth s. science as yet knows nothing
about t~elepathy. thought transEerence and
the Hike. II il cannot affirm. neither can It
deny. The whole subject lies in the misty
borderland of this world of mind and matter.
And whatever Mr.. Thomas himself believes,
he hit on a subtle way alike to confound his
critics and 70 stimulate and excite tho in
terest OF his audiences.
But when We come to %hypnotism, science
has a word TO say. Here We are still on
debatable ground. to be sure. but ground
where some milestones already emerge
from the mist; some things are clear and
certain. There has been and still is much
popular misunderstanding OF hypnotism;
much bysterical rot 10 believed about il.
Braid found il n superstition. dominated
by the theories OF mesmerism 1.-THE trans
ference OF vital duid" from operator to
subject) in 1871. When he died, in 1890. he
had left ID IN the way 10 becoming a science
He had shown hat the hypnotic state (the
name is his. as well as the scientific aHirma-
ton OF the facts) is not objective but sub
~jective. And he wa in a way to the theory
now pretty generally held that the hyp-
motto state 10 but an unloosing Of the forces
Of the -subiminal SELF" which recent psy-
chology has shown find their way to inHu-
ence sven normal" actions and play a
great part In the religious life. 1t is rot
that only certain people a hypnotize or
be hypnOtized. Any intelligent doctor can
be taught the trick; It can even be taught
TO a subject 50 hat he can hypnotic him
self. And It has been proved that about
% per cent. Of the adult human race are
capable OF being hypnotized. OF this Q
per cent. remainder a large portion are
the imbecile and insane. who cannot he
Influenced. Another error still prevalent
is that veal willed people are more easily
subjected. The contrary is the case, for
an a rule fixity Of attention is required 20
bring the hypnotic state about. But the
chief popular error that modern practi"e
has tended to disprove almost without a
-A-l-- - -..--SsA. = A. -
ton that the ~hypnotized subject loses his
volitional power. is at the mercy Of the
man who has hypnotized him. In 1897
Bernheim still maintained that five out Of
100 subjects oould be made to do anything;
that ia. To commit crimes or acts contrary
to their norma impulses and moral sense.
But other and more recent investigations
take away wen these five and declare that
not only in the hypnotic state is the vo-
ltional power alive hut the moral sense
is even keener thar at other times. You
cannot make a subject do what he abso-
lutely doesn't want to do. is the latest die
tum. Finally, it was stated by Braid that
no one can be affected by hypnotism at
any stage Of the process unless by volun-
tary compliance" and it is equally certain
to-day that mere fear of %hypnotism ALSO
lutely precludes it's possibility. There can
not be an unwilling subject.
Now the application Of this to "The
Witching Hour" is quite appa rent to those
who have seen the play. The climax OF
the third act hinges on hypnotism. Hard
muth rushes in and jams a revolver against
B~rookfeld'- heart. The latter flashes on
a light directly over his face and looks into
the murderer's eyes, fixing his attention.
you cannot kill me" he Gays. -You can
not pull hat trigger. You cannot even
hold that gun" The revolver falls 10 the
floor with a rash. I'D like TO know how
in hell you did that" says the bewildered
Hurdmuth. and the curtain falls.
Precisely. That is the question you too
ask when you leave the playhouse. It is
TO the credit OF Mr. Thomas's story telling
ability that IL you are easily moved in the
theatre you don't ask il on the spot. That
BrO1kfeId should hypotize a man in the
fash Of an eye, especially a man over whom
he had sxerted an influence for some years,
is quite believable, provided the man con-
sented. Many physicians can hypnotic as
quickly. But that he should hypnotize a
man who most certainly was not giving his
consent, and should make him do the very
49, - ,,-NnsnI- al "a -. - a