There have been recorded several instances in which mesmeric cases have been tested by unprejudiced observers, and which have led to the conclusion that in these particular cases either imposition was practised or a false conclusion had been drawn from the facts. In the 01180 of two girls put to the test by )1r. Wakley, editor of the Lancet,' and recorded in that periodical for September 1, 1838, there was strong reaaon to believe that many of the phenomena attributed to animal magnetism were assume( at the volition of the patient. Another Instance is recorded by Sir John Forbes, in the same journal for August 3, 1844, In which lie tested the powers of elairrerisee of a French youth named Alexis. In these experiments, which were con ducted before many observers, the youth entirely failed to give evidence of any extraordinary mental powers during the mesmeric !state.
A more scientificwas given to whole of the phenomena of animal magnetism 17171teichenbach,a distinguished German chemist, who Imagined he had discovered a new force in nature, which he called Ord force, ur Odyle. This he regarded an a peculiar force In nature, whose presence could only be detected by of a highly susceptible mature, suet all his experiments upon the subject were performed through the agency of such individuals. lie applied his conclusions to the explanation of the phenomena of animal magnetism, but the cis eurratance of all his experiments haring been performed through the medium of other", and those confessedly in a morbid state, has led to the very general rejection of him theory.
Another form which the public exhibition of animal magnetism has assumed is that which is called "electro-biology." In the public per formances of lecturers on this subject, persons are made to gaze for a certain length of time on a piece of money which is placed in their hawk In susceptible individuals this produces a kind of cataleptic from which they pass to a aleepwaking state. It is in this con dition they exhibit all the phenomena of the mesmeric state. They become the victims of every suggestion made to them by the operator. If he tells them they are drunk, they stagger; if he says a glass of water is sweet. bitter, acid, or strong, they appear to believe it. In this state, also, they are capable of exerting an amount of muscular power of which they are utterly incapable whilst in their natural state. The mode of producing this sleep is nothing more than that which had been discovered by lslr. Braid, and the term electro-biolou was only adopted to awaken attention to an old subject.
Although not essentially connected with mesmerism, from the absence of the characteristic sleep, yet having a relation to mesmerism in the mental states of those who are operated upon, we may here refer to table-turning, table-talking, spirit-rapping, and magnetometry.
The process of table-turning consists in the moving a table round, as the result of several persons joining their hands and resting them upon the table. They then resolve that the table shall move in one direc tion, and without any conscious effort on their part, the table moves. Professor Faraday showed by means of an ingenious instrument, that muscular force was exerted by the individuals surrounding the table, and that, when it was all made to tell in one direction the table moved in that direction, but if no force was exerted, or the force was exerted in different directions, the table did not move. In this case it was
clearly shown that the persons operating were under the influence of a suggestion which, without Professor Faraday's instrument, they could hardly have suspected.
An instrument called a magnetometer was invented, which was sup posed to indicate delicate magnetic states of the system. It consisted merely of a piece of sealingwax, or wood, suspended on a string of silk. A variety of curious effects were said to be arrived at by this instrument. It moved in one direction when held by males, and another when held by females. It was influenced by persons holding different kinds of metals in their hands, and so on The whole of this subject, however, was exploded wheu it was found that no definite effects were produced when persons were blindfolded. llere, again, the operators were the victims of their suggestions. They exercised their volition unconsciously, and attributed it to the existence of a mysterious force. This explanation serves to explain the further absurdities of table-talking and spirit-rapping. In the former the stopping of the turning-table when a question was asked, was certainly the result of the suggestion in the miuds of those who were turning the table, and thus answers were got to all kinds of questions.
In spirit-rapping there appears to be more than mere self-delusion. In this case a person called a medium undertakes to communicate with spirits. The presence of the spirit is indicated by raps. These raps are uudoubtedly performed by the medium, whilst the answers given to questions put by deluded persons, are dependent on the medium shrewdly taking advantage of their being under the influence of their own suggestions.
With regard to the mesmeric sleep, there can be no doubt that it is a real phenomenon, as well as the sleep-waking condition. It is, how ever. when persons are in this condition that they become, as it were, the slaves of suggestion. It is thus that tine Cleetra-bi0i0giet plays upon them at his will, and it is in this state that they become clair voyant and universally lucid under thq same law of suggestion.
The known fact of the great increase of force that takes place iu normal conditions of the system when the whole attention is concen trated on an idea, serves to explain the feats of strength performed by persons in the sleep-waking state. The whole of this curious subject has been ably discussed by Dr. Carpenter in an article in the ' Quarterly Review.' Although so many of the phenomena of mesmerism admit now of a rational explanation, it is still practised as a mystery, and largo portions of the public give credence to the most marvellous assertions of those who practise it. In many of the cases exhibited before the public there is really 110 sleep-waking at all, and the persons who exhibit clair voyance, and a power of reading thoughts without language, and books without eyes, are clever conjurors, who are perfectly awake, and exhibit none of the genuine symptoms of those psychological states which have excited so much interest in the minds of an uneducated public. [Son sa uneusat]