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Show EXPERIMENTS IN HYPNOTISM. " In Account of Some ICxtraordfuary Doing Do-ing ut a Meeting In London. Dr. .Stanley, whose performanceat the Hotel Metropole I saw. is a clear exponent expon-ent of hypnotism. Ilia demonstration must have been very striking to some men in the room, to whom, evidently, M. Charcot' experiment at the Salpe-triere Salpe-triere und tlio work of the Xaney school were evidently unknown. -Tho men whom Dr. Stanley had brought forward as subjects were knocked over like nine-pin nine-pin by sudden sleep imposed upon thein in various ways. Ono yielded to the somnolent effect of rotating bright colored col-ored disks. Another toppled off his chair nt the sudden ignition of a magnesium wiro which dazzled his eyes. A third, very Btiscepfibla to the power of suggestion, was tuld that he would go to sleep when he picked a mutch box of the floor. lie stooped for the mutch box, and forthwith rolled heavily off tho platform. plat-form. Fortunately for him hU fall was broken by sympathetic hands. Another, while intent on something el.se, was startled by a sudden noise, instantly he slept the lethargic slpep. Once nc-ain a subje -t's close attention to the ticking of a watch brought on the effective drowsiness, drowsi-ness, and he soon toppled off his chair. A boy, who had in various parts of his frame peculiarly sensitive center of nervous activity, was touched in one of those spots by the operator. In a twinkling he dropped to the lloor asleep. It was a Ktrango Bight, half weird, half ludicrous, to see those ten subjects scattered scat-tered about the floor at the feet of Dr. Stanley, like so many men suddenly bewitched. be-witched. One man had fallen with his hands clasped and raised some distance from bischpst. Ila was allowed to lie in tin attitude for what seemed to be twenty minutes or half an hour. Let uny one lie down and hold up tho arms high above tho chest and see how long he can hold them there, even with the support he will gain by the clasping of his hands. The muscles will not long sustain the experiment. But in tho lethargic sleep of the hypnotized one's sensations of fatigue fa-tigue appear to be suspended. The limbs obey the operator1, and remain in the po- sition in wiucn lie puts tnein. a. he state of catalepsy is easily produced, and then tho men are brought, nt a mere touch of tho hypnotizer'a hand, into that false awaking called somnambulism. Men and boys were kept in this waking-sleeping condition throughout an interval in-terval for refreshment, and, according to the lecturer, whose word there is no reason to doubt, were all unconscious of their exceptional condition as they walked walk-ed about amonj us, Brought back to the platform they were made the victim of hallucinations of that amusing kind to which mesmerists have well accustomed accus-tomed us. But these mesmeric tricks are decidedly more interesting when presented pre-sented as part of an exposition of hypnotism hyp-notism in ita various stages. One experiment, I confess, I do not like. A man is given a strong emetic, and made to drink it under the impression impres-sion that it is a pleasing beverage. But there is this curious interest in the act. Tho natural effect of a strong dose of ipecacuanha wine i to make a man vomit, and, whether he knows or does not know he has taken it, there will be no difference in this physical effect. But in this curious hypnotic condition, it is enough for the man with whom tho patient pa-tient is en rapport to say to him that he is all right, what he has taken will agree with him perfectly, and no bad results will follow. The ordinary physical effect ef-fect of tho emetic is uot produced. Tho post hypnotic suggestion was illustrated il-lustrated in this way: The patient was told in his hypnotic sleep that he was going to awake, and that three minutes after ho would do a certain thing to Dr. Bond which Br. Bond luul himself suggested sug-gested that ho should lx asked to do. This was to take off Ur. Bond' eye- glasses and put them on his own nose. The lad was roused from his fleep. Dr. Bond said to the boy, "Now, are you going to do anything to me?" With an air of surprise .it an odd question the youth made the answer "No." In thrco minute to the second the lad, notwithstanding hi own 8tatemeiit,went up to Dr. Bond, took the eyeglasses from him and wore them himself. When called to account he seemed a little confused con-fused at bis own act and made an apology apolo-gy to Dr. Bond, not for stealing his eyeglasses, eye-glasses, but for having told him before that he did not intend doing anything to him. Ho did not know thou that ho had to do this. London Cor. Providence Journal. |
