power seemed to stop. At this moment a friend of ours happened to come in-the individual, in fact, who had originally introduced the subject of Mesmerism to our notice. He told us to have patience; and assured us we should elicit all the phenomena in time. "We must educate our patient," he said. We assure our readers there is nothing like patience. After allowing Mary to sleep two or three hours, we awoke her, and she went away for that time. We mesmerized the same person again in a few days; and this time we succeeded in removing all sense of feeling. Moreover, when we ate biscuit, she moved her lips and jaws, as if in eating, and appeared to swallow: on being asked what she was doing, she affirmed that she was eating biscuit. She was also very angry when our hands were pricked, for she suffered too. In this particular case she manifested a phenomenon we have never scen described. In the first instance, when our right hand was pricked, she felt the smart also in her right hand, rubbing it quickly on the knee to ease the pain: and the same with her left when our left was made to suffer. After some passes somewhat transverse, the sensations appeared to be reversed: for we found that she felt in her left hand the feelings of our right, and in her right of our left. Similar passes being made again, the original state of sympathy was restored. This curious experiment was subsequently repeated on her at several mesmeric sittings, and always with the same result. Now, what made her come to be mesmerized a second time? Why, this: She sat down the first time with a violent pain in the side, to which she had been subject as long as she could remember: moreover, she had a bad toothache. As soon as she was fairly entranced, she began to writhe about on her chair, through the increase of the pain in the side. We applied our hand to the part, and mesmerized; and in about half a minute the pain was completely cured, and had not returned when we last heard, after a considerable interval. The toothache also was removed, but without any particular operations on our part. This person was mesmerized several times subsequently, and experienced a general improvement of health; insomuch that she shortly removed to undertake duties for which she previously had not sufficient strength. We thus ended our experiments on her. But before we close the account of her case, it may be as wall to mention, that it rarely happens that a person is entranced so speedily as this patient was. Indeed, on one occasion she was entranced, and awakened again, three times within one minute. We have not adverted to her dislike of being left by the mesmerizer, and her repugnance to the touch of other people unless put in communication by the mesmerizer, because she did not show these phenomena so strongly as we have seen them since. But there was one individual whose touch she could not endure, always shuddering violently when in contact with him. On one occasion he sat down at about the distance of six feet from her, on the further corner of an ottoman, the other corner of which touched her chair, and thus established a line of communication. She shuddered violently, until he arose again. It is remarkable that she was quite unacquainted with his person, and distinguished him only by his disagreeable touch. We have since seen many similar instances, which we will hercafter particularize. Mary was mesmerized by several other persons, after she had been three or four times under us. From some she experienced, at least, no ill effect; but others appeared to dart a pain into her head and spine, which lasted a day or two, and it required some exertion on our part to rid her of them. These facts would seem to point to the inference that various bodily emanations proceed from various people, differing according to their peculiar circumstances, and that the affections are not altogether swayed by admiration of person or mind; but in some degree also by a certain unseen and occult bodily influence; for, assuredly, we oftentimes like or dislike we know not why. With respect to the existence of the vital or nervous fluid, and its emanation, we offer no remarks at present, but hope to have an opportunity to refer to it on a future occasion. Miss A. was subject to severe headaches and pains in the side and chest, and was altogether out of health; but being of a cheerful disposition, and dependant on her labour for a livelihood, she never flinched from her occupation. She had been strongly urged to submit herself to be mesmerized; but feared the operation too much, as we have said, until having seen Mary mesmerized two or three times, and finding the effects not merely innocuous, but beneficial, she took courage and ventured to submit herself to our influence. The first day we operated for an hour. In a short time her eyelids dropped; but presently, when we believed her asleep, she opened her eyes and said that she was somewhat drowsy; at the same time, she was starting with the pains in her body, which had been very strongly excited, and could not be allayed by mesmerizing on the parts affected. In this state she continued to the end of the hour, opening and shutting her eyes, but longing above all things to go to sleep, and continually exclaiming, Why don't you send me to sleep?""Can't you send 66 me to sleep?" We believe that this longing to go to sleep is a sign that sleepwaking will be eventually excited-at least we found it so with her. We mesmerized her for an hour three times on different days, and only produced the drowsiness above described; at length, on the fourth time, after operating for about five-and-thirty minutes, she passed into the perfect state of sleepwaking. This we perceived first by her exclaiming, when we let go her hand, "Oh! do not go away!" "Previously to this her eyes had been generally closed; but she was liable to be startled by any noise or disturbance: now, however, nothing appeared to arouse her but the manipulations and operations of the mesmerizer. She was always very angry when any one, except him, used the passes to awaken her; and we have seen other persons make resistance on similar occasions. But we have several times seen Mary mesmerized by one person and aroused by another, provided the proper means were employed. The pains to which Miss A. was subject were the obstacles to her falling into the trance, and it was when their violence was in some degree abated by the employment of Mesmerism that she yielded at length; and this, as we have seen, required several sittings to effect. After we had once thus obtained a mesmeric influence over her, we found that the pains were much more easily removed than before. We have seen, that in Mary's case the pain was excited and removed very speedily at the commencement of the mesmeric sleep, and thus it was in the case of Miss A. likewise; at the commencement of every sitting the pains were increased, and then removed, by placing the hand on the part where the pain resided, and mesmerizing. The pains were thus removed for a period of two or three days; and during the whole time that she was mesmerized (which was generally twice a-week during a period of three months,) the pains never came on with their former violence and continuance; but she only experienced an occasional sharp shooting pain. She had been an invalid for fifteen years; but, notwithstanding the inveterateness of her maladies, she experienced a general restoration of health-her digestive powers were much strengthened, and all her friends were struck with the marked improvement in her appearance. After some time we were able easily to remove the pains in the waking state, as well as in the state of sleepwaking. At this circumstance we are not surprised, knowing, as we do, that a similar effect may be produced without any approach being made to the state of sleepwaking, or indeed without any impression of any kind being visible at the time of operation. We have seen a person mesmerized for St. Vitus' dance, and the abatement of the affection from sitting to sitting was the only perceptible effect. There was no drowsiness whatever, nor were there any signs of mesmeric influence upon her; unless, indeed, we might be allowed to suppose that the starts arising from her malady were slightly increased during the time that the mesmerizer was employing his art. From such cases as this, and we have seen others like it, we are well assured that they are in error who pronounce that there is no effect, because they do not see it in others, or feel it in themselves, during mesmeric operations. It is in making mistakes of this kind that persons frequently find occasion to laugh at Mesmerism as all a delusion. This same patient was operated upon by one individual for a month or more, three times a week, before she began to be affected even with drowsiness during the sitting, but finally she used to be thrown into the perfect trance. At the commencement of mesmerizing Miss A., it required some persuasion to induce her to submit to the operation; but when she had begun to experience the benefit of it, she used to come of her own accord to be mesmerized if the pain came before the day appointed for the sitting. The time required to throw her into a trance diminished rapidly, after that state had been once obtained. At the sixth sitting the eyes closed in three minutes, and the trance was perfect in ten; and the time diminished gradually to a period of less than two minutes. This is only in accordance with facts generally observed, that a person who is very little subject to the power of Mesmerism, or even apparently not at all subject to it, may, by repeated trials, be thrown into the trance-though this, as we have before observed, is not at all necessary when Mesmerism is employed as a medical cure. It is, probably, the attraction towards the mesmerizer that exists in sleepwaking that has given rise to the name of animal magnetism applied to it: but it is curious that mesmerized persons are susceptible to the touch of the magnet. Miss A. was slightly so. Ricard, a French writer on Mesmerism, asserts in his book that he rendered magnetic a bar of steel, an entranced person assisting him. This we endeavoured on one occasion to repeat, but without success. Be that as it may, we know that the magnet produces a slight pricking sensation when held near some persons in a state of sleepwaking. The effects are described as being occasionally stronger than this. As an instance of a similar phenomenon, we invariably found in Miss A. a repugnance to the back of the hand, which she asserted to arise from a pricking sensation when the knuckles came in contact with her; and we frequently repeated the experiment by presenting our knuckles to her hand or chin, always with the same effect. But the touch of the palm of the hand, on the contrary, was very grateful to her. Supposing that this effect might be produced by the method of mesmerizing, we on one occasion changed the system of making passes; and instead of presenting, as previously, the palm of the hand in that operation, we presented the back, always avoiding touching with the palm : but, as soon as she was entranced, she became sensible, as before, to the action of the knuckles. Of the cause of this it might be venturous to speak; for, in effect, we know not the exact mode of operation of Mesmerism-the exact chain of exciting causes called into operation-the minute forces of attraction or repulsion-or of whatever kind they are, that tend to produce the changes among the infinitely small molecules of the body, and produce the effects we see; of all this we know no more than we do of the chain of cause and effect called into operation by rhubarb or senna, or any other of a good housewife's medicaments. To be sure, on administering some common simple remedy, by dint of experience, we are able to foretel that certain effects will follow; similar in kind, but different in degree in different individuals. We know that our experience in this case agrees with our experience in other cases, that a wide difference exists between individuals. Now, does the same law of difference obtain in Mesmerism? Yes, it does; the effects of Mesmerism are similar in kind, but different in degree in different individuals: of which fact any one may satisfy himself, if he will be at the trouble to peruse the works on Mesmerism. Of the practical utility of Mesmerism, we have given one or two instances, in which it has been the direct means of cure. It may also be applied indirectly, as a subsidiary in surgical operations. We have seen a person thrown into the mesmeric trance: while she was in that state, and without feeling, or impassive, seven teeth were extracted without appearing to produce the slightest degree of pain. In fact, she exhibited the greatest merriment after one or two teeth had been extracted: anticipating what a woful change her appearance would undergo-they being front teeth. She permitted her teeth to be drawn with none of that flinching so disagreeable to the operator in injuring the operation, only interrupting him now and then by an occasional burst of laughter. A short time after the teeth were extracted she was awakened, and the operator jokingly observed, "Well, so you would not have your teeth out." She exclaimed, "Oh, how tiresome!" Presently she felt for the teeth in her mouth, and found them gone. Her countenance showed marks of surprise: but then, perceiving at once the basin of blood, alluding to the observation of the operator she exclaimed, "How can you say so !" Thus she demonstrated how very little pain the operation had cost her. Multiplied instances of this kind are on record. The utility of Mesmerism to the physician and surgeon being demonstrated, it will only remain to point out the eminent services it is capable of rendering in physiology and metaphysics. It is but very little that we know of our own nature, and every advancement that we make towards the comprehension of it should be hailed with eagerness. It is by the contemplation of created objects that we are Jed from the creature to the Creator; and what object more perfect than man among the creation have we the means of contemplating! By means of Mesmerism we can test the truth of phrenology, and examine the working of the human mind. If we value the metaphysical researches of Locke, shall we not enter with gratitude into the field of inquiry opened by Mesmerism? It is a manifest advantage to substitute certainty for conjecture. When new facts are brought under our observation, we should not refuse to examine them because they are new. It is sometimes objected against Mesmerism, that the facts it discloses are contrary to our experience. Now, we would ask, what single fact of our experience does it contradict? It adds to our experience, but that is not contradicting it. If we attend to this distinction, we shall be the better prepared to observe the unparalleled novelty of the mesmeric facts. Mesmerism is an inductive science; and can be disproved only by showing that the experiments upon which it is founded are either altogether fabricated or delusory. It is certainly quite ridiculous for men to despise it because such things as are disclosed by it never fell within the range of their observation, or because it may happen to contradict some cherished prejudice. Let men investigate before they give a decision; and let them point out where the fallacy lies before they overwhelm the science with contempt. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, (To be continued.) NATURE'S MISTAKE. NATURE one day upon a novel plan L. It may be as well to specify time and place. The operation was performed Sept. 25, 1812; Mr. Prideaux, of Southampton, being the operator. |