- ^%a^aAA, Sir I^^B ky^KbJW ^WAWAprB m^m mdMmmww: 0$H Mm mmmmm. * ^m, .AAA.AaA GGU99X HWPWBS^ gssseasss^sse^essseeasee©^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 3GWQ^a^C^^^Q^ c ^^ e£gQ^' A AAA AaAA mmm. ■■• A A! A 1 i ■ ^aaA i««S»iiM^w K%{9KMSJErff aAAAaAaA amw]fflARRtaafi»ms 'OAAAA/VNiAr CTffli i i :«/>sr«K, a ^AAAv/^>£UAgaA". Mfift Aa_ 1 '/"\a/\aj ^^M^miM ^ a A' r y a ^n a'p.fr*& ~ A'.^n « a KIIE«£fc¥fJ ^fiA^rwrsKnw«! ^AaA»A A^aCAa'' 'PM^wfiSyw^ UiwMkntih 'AAAAAA^aAaVn ;0^no,.. A .^----- - -": *&*&&&$* rfWW BS&HfifeH KB ^TO^R^Ia/^ immmMM n a a, o-aa a rwio A A A A SHttkH ^aA^^^^AAaKA/^a! "«*^giiaS aAA^ -,1a aspp A '0 A . A ''■A'!m';A 1?«V PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION IN ANIMAL MAGNETISM. BY J. P. F. DELEUZE. h TRANSLATED BY THOMAS C. HARTSHORN REVISED EDITION.] WITH AN APPENDIX OF NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR, AND LETTERS FROM EMINENT PHYSICIANS AND OTHERS, DESCRIPTIVE OF CASES IN THE UNITED STATES. NEW-YORK: D. APPLETON the nervous symptoms were gradually disappearing, and totally disappeared by the middle of the month. The patient recovered her freshness and gayety, the blood retook its natural course, and in the month of March her health was restored. 160 CHAPTER VIII. OF THE INCONVENIENCES, THE ABUSES, AND THE DANGERS, OF MAGNETISM, AND OF THE MEANS OF PREVENTING THEM. I The opposers of magnetism, after declaring that it does not exist, have declaimed against the dangers which attend it. I will not stop to prove that what they have said of the processes employed to put it in action, and of the effects it produces, is very far from the truth, and that the anecdotes they have cited to render it odious are entirely foreign to it. I agree that magnetism has been sometimes abused, and is still liable to be abused again. But a danger ceases to be important when we are warned of it, and have easy and certain means of avoiding it. Magnetism is an agent of inconceivable power. Its utility depends upon the way in which it is employed ; and in this it is like fire, the use of which is not interdicted for fear of conflagration. They who will conform to the directions laid down in the preceding chapters, will never have occasion to fear the least inconvenience from the "use of magnetism. Yet, as many of my readers may not see the importance of the precautions I have recommended ; as others may be alarmed by what has been said of the bad consequences of some treatments; as others, finally, may reproach me with having misstated the motives of those who condemn magnetism, — I think it proper to devote an article to recapitulate and develope what has been said on this subject. I would rather fall into repetitions than leave the least uncertainty about things which are essential. I am now going to point out the inconveniences, the abuses, and the dangers, of magnetism; and I will show that all, without exception, will be infallibly avoided by applying the principles which I have established. To obtain more order and clearness in this discussion, I CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 161 will consider magnetism under three points of view ; and I will speak, first, of the moral dangers which may attend the practice ; secondly, of the disorder which a wrong di- rection of this agent, or the want of some essential condi- tions, may produce in the animal economy ; thirdly, of the inconveniences which spring from a blind confidence in somnambulists, and from the erroneous opinions to which a person is sometimes conducted by a sight of extraordinary phenomena, 1. — Of the Moral Dangers of Magnetism, and of the Means of obviating them. In describing the processes, I said that we might employ light frictions, the application of the hands upon the chest, upon the heart, upon the knees, blowing with the mouth, looking steadily at the patient, &c. ; but I also said that these processes, pointed out as the most active, may be laid aside for others, which, sustained by the will and the atten- tion, will be equally efficacious. When a man is desired to magnetize a woman who is ill, he ought to avoid what- ever may wound the most scrupulous modesty, or cause the least embarrassment, and even whatever might to a spectator seem improper. He will not place himself directly in front of the person whom he intends to magnetize ; he will not request her to look at him; he will merely ask her to abandon herself entirely to the influence of the action ; he will take her thumbs during some moments, and he will then make passes at a distance, without touching her. It is unnecessary to observe that some one of the family, or a female friend, ought always to be present If the magnetic processes are attended with any incon- veniences, it is neither in society, where one is obliged to avoid impropriety of conduct, nor in the public treatments, where all things are ordered in a decent manner. It is in the hospitals, — and I ought to fix the attention of superin- tending physicians upon this point ; not that they should restrain the employment of this salutary agent, but that they should direct and oversee the method of employing it ; for it will be their fault if any thing reprehensible should be mingled with the good which ought to be derived from it. I will explain. 14* 162 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. VIIJ. Physicians and medical students attached to the hospitals are now beginning to try the action of magnetism. They choose, in preference, young women or young girls attacked with nervous diseases, because they believe them more susceptible, and more likely to present curious phenomena. As they are accustomed to touch indiscriminately all the patients, either to ascertain the seat of disease, or to dress their wounds and ulcers, and as they never have any other idea than that of fulfilling the duties with which they are charged, they do not suspect that the magnetic processes demand a particular reserve, and precautions taken before- hand to banish every thing which might act upon their imagination or upon that of the patient. I am willing to believe that they respect themselves so much as never to permit the least thing injurious to modesty, and to repel every thought foreign to the end proposed ; but the very effort which is made to chase away an intrusive idea turns one aside from the object which alone ought to occupy the attention. They ought, therefore, to distrust themselves ; to dread equally the impressions which they can experience, and those which they can produce ; and to take measures in advance, so that nothing shall trouble the purity of an influence which has, at the same time, both a physical and a moral effect. These are the counsels which I ought to give in relation to this subject, until magnetism is so generally known, established, and practised, as to render them unneces- sary. When a physician intends to magnetize a woman who keeps her bed, the clothes ought to be kept over her. If she can rise, she ought to be clad in the most decent man- ner. The physician will not touch her except to take her thumbs, or to make frictions along the feet outside of her garments. All the passes will be made at a distance. It is often necessary to concentrate the action upon an organ ; for example, upon the solar plexus, the liver, or the spleen. In this case, he will present the fingers brought to a point, or else he will make use of a glass or steel rod, in order to avoid touching. It would be proper to have a nurse near the bed during the sitting. No person should enter the room. The magnetizer should not permit himself to make any experiment ; and, if he obtains somnambulism, he will CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 163 ask the patient only about her disease, and the means of curing it. He will give an account to the chief physician of the results of the treatment. It may happen that a nurse, endowed with intelligence and kindness, may perceive, with her own eyes, the effi- cacy of magnetism, and feel the desire and the power of doing good. In this case, the magnetizer will excite her confidence, and get her to take his place after giving her suitable instructions how to proceed. He will always rec- ommend to her not to speak of it. The time is not yet arrived for nurses to consider the exercise of magnetism as one of their most important functions. I have here spoken of the employment of this agent in the hospitals merely because several trials have been re- cently made of it there.* I suppose that, if the young phy- sicians continue to occupy themselves with it, they will not neglect to learn the conditions essential to the success of the trials which they would make to furnish a powerful auxiliary to therapeutic medicine. Let us return to the employment of magnetism in society. The precautions already pointed out will suffice to banish all the inconveniences attending it, when it is merely in- tended to make use of it several days, and when neither somnambulism nor magnetic sleep presents itself. But there must necessarily be many others in chronic com- plaints which appear to require a very long treatment, and whose cure is preceded by crises and by a decided mag- netic state. In these kinds of diseases, magnetism between persons of different sexes ought to be proscribed, unless the principles and morals of the two individuals prevent the fear of an improper influence. The only men who can undertake the treatment of a young woman are the father or the husband. I have told the reason in another place. I think it useless to go into greater details. I ought only to point out the exceptions to what I have given as a general rule. * It is now used in them very extensively in many parts of Eu- rope. Sir David Brewster says that the medical colleges in Ger- many have professors whose business it is to deliver lectures on this subject, in its connection with medicine. I have learned the same fact from an intelligent German, and from several travellers. — Trans. 164 MEANS OF AVOIDING [cHAP. VIII. These are to be sought in the advanced age of one of the parties, and in the difference of circumstances in which they are found. I foresee that some one will seek to put me in contra- diction with myself. " You have," says one, " a hundred times uttered the wish that physicians only would make use of magnetism ; how, then, can women be magnetized unless by men 1 " This is my reply : — It is to be desired that experienced physicians only should be charged with the direction of the magnetic treat- ments ; but it is one thing to have the direction of a treat- ment, and another to perform the manipulatory processes. A physician might gather round a magnetic reservoir a great number of sick persons of all ages and of each sex, and devote his cares to each one according to circum- stances ; yet he cannot charge himself with a direct treat- ment, but by observing all the proprieties, by banishing all the possible dangers, and preventing even ill-founded sus- picions. He must, therefore, cause another person to take his place to magnetize a female patient, and choose for this purpose a woman instructed by him how to proceed, and having equally the confidence of himself and of the patient. I say more : When magnetism shall be generally recog- nized, when it shall become an essential part of medicine, — and this time is, perhaps, not far distant, — the physician who has an extensive practice will have two treatments, one for men, and another for women. He will thus avoid affording occasion for improper remarks. As magnetism establishes confidence and friendship be- tween the magnetizer and the patient, the precaution of interdicting the use of it between persons of different sexes is not the only one to be taken, especially in regard to young persons, being, as they are, more susceptible of new impressions. If the father or the mother cannot themselves magnetize their son or their daughter, they ought to know the character and the principles of the person who performs the office for them, not only because opinions are commu- nicated by intimacy, but because, in long treatments, and particularly when somnambulism occurs, the magnetizer will at length, even without his own knowledge, exert a moral influence capable of modifying the temper, the sen- CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 165 tiraents, and the principles, of him to whom he restores health. As to the rest, persons who, without any selfish motive, undertake the treatment of a disease, are urged by the desire of doing good ; and charity supposes almost all the virtues. What has been related of the dependence which som- nambulists have upon their magnetizer, has given rise to ill-founded prejudices against somnambulism. But this dependence is only relative. It has necessary limits, and cannot have the consequences which some have dreaded. The somnambulist preserves his reason, and the use of his will. When he perceives that the magnetizer designs his benefit, he yields to him ; and, fortified by him, he deter- mines to vanquish a bad habit, to resist an inclination or an injurious fantasy, to take a medicine to which he feels a repugnance, and which he has judged necessary. He profits by the ascendency of the latter to work for himself, and to put himself in an advantageous position, which may be continued in the waking state. Sometimes he obeys the orders of his magnetizer in things that are indifferent, because the desire of satisfying him predominates over the reluctance which he experiences; but the magnetizer could not obtain from him either the revelation of a secret which it is his duty or his interest to conceal, nor things essen- tially contrary to the principles of honesty, to which he is attached in the common state. A reprehensible act of volition would cause him to revolt, and throw him into convulsions.* The experiments which have been made to show that one could make somnambulists obey his will, have always * M. Passavant expresses himself thus, citing, in support of his opinions, several remarkable facts : — " Exterior agents may, in spite of ourselves, carry disorder into our physical organization ; but our moral constitution depends only upon our will. Thus, so long as a man wills to be free, he remains so in somnambulism as much as in the ordinary state. One might wound or kill, but he could not demoralize, a human being without his consent." Yet suppose the possibility of a lethargic somnambulism, and the existence of a being sufficiently depraved to take advantage of it ; we need not inquire whether any damage might result, if we observe the rule laid down above, — that a woman, when magnetized, ought always to have a female friend near her. 166 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. been experiments of curiosity, without any moral danger, but very imprudent, since they fatigue the patients useless- ly, and may prevent their restoration. People will abso- lutely interdict them when magnetism shall be so well known as not to astonish by its phenomena, and when they are well convinced that it is a sort of profanation to employ for amusement a faculty which God has given us to do good to our fellow-creatures. I will finish this article by a remark worthy of attention. It is, that, among those who are induced by curiosity to at- tempt magnetism, some renounce it as soon as their curi- osity is satisfied ; and some, on the contrary, attach them- selves more and more to the practice, as their curiosity is extinguished. These last are captivated solely by the pleasure of doing good. The enjoyments of the mind are enfeebled by the loss of novelty; those of the heart become more lively the longer we have enjoyed them. The source of the last is inexhaustible. 2. — Of the Dangers that may occur to the Animal Economy, either by the Abuse or the Misapplication of Magnetism, and of the Means of avoiding them. Those who have wished to inspire the fear of employing this agent as a curative means, have based their obser- vations upon very specious reasoning, which would be unjust if applied to ordinary medicine. Since magnetism has a very powerful action, they have said that this action ought to be salutary or injurious, according to the nature of the disease. If it is a tonic, it will augment the evil when there is too much excitement ; if it is soothing, it can produce no good results in a torpid state of the system. The defenders of this agent have answered that it can- not be compared to medicines which have in themselves a determinate property. Magnetism, say they, acts upon the whole system ; it seconds the efforts which nature is making to throw off the principle of the disease. If it soothes, it is by reestablishing the equilibrium ; if it strengthens, it is by recalling the vital fluid into the organs in which there is a deficiency. The answer is dictated by the theory which is most ap- parently true ; and I think that if magnetism were em- CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 167 ployed in all its purity, and freed from all extraneous prin- ciples, it could not in any case be injurious. Some privileged beings exist who are endowed with a lively faith, which never hesitates; with a confidence exempt from pride; with a charity so expansive that they foiget themselves, and are identified with the suffering being. The union of these qualities puts them into a state for employing this agent, during which they are directed by an instinct more sure than all the calculations of reason. The power of their soul predominates over all the interior forces of the patient. It excites or soothes them at will. Their action, sometimes insufficient, will be always more or less salutary. But I ought here to consider magnetism as it can be practised at the present time, and by the per- sons to whom this instruction is addressed. Let us not, then, dwell upon an abstract theory. Let us consult experience, to know if, in certain circumstances, magnetism has not done some evil. Let us listen to those physicians who condemn the use of it, not to dispute with them, but to profit by whatever truth may be found in the motives of their opinion. Innumerable facts, collected for forty years, have demonstrated in general the curative power of magnetism. But has it not sometimes produced effects contrary to what people have desired to obtain ? If it be true that it has, we must examine in what circum- stances they have occurred, to what causes they ought to be attributed, and what precautions we ought to take to pre- vent the recurrence hereafter. I am persuaded there is hardly a disease which, by itself, is of a nature to be aggravated by magnetism properly em- ployed. But it may happen that magnetism does not agree with this or with that individual, either because of peculiar temperament; or because there exists no sympathy be- tween him and the magnetizer; cr because the latter has too strong an action, which produces trouble; or because the action is too feeble, so that it induces a struggle in which it cannot triumph; or because he does not know the mode of application which is useful. In these circum- stances, it is prudent not obstinately to struggle against obstacles, unless the patient is forced by a kind of instinct to demand its continuance. There are certain persons on whom magnetism causes a nervous irritation. When this 168 MEANS OP AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. is perceived, it would be well to magnetize at a distance, with the intention of soothing, and withdraw one's self gradually from one end of the apartment to another ; you will even draw off the fluid by transversal passes ; you will not give yourself any uneasiness ; but you will stop if you do not make a state of calmness succeed this first nervous shock. We know by the somnambulists that, in certain cases, magnetism ought to be employed with much reserve, and that its application ought to vary according to circum- stances, either in the degree of force, in the duration of the sittings, or in the choice of the processes. When there is an exaltation of the nervous system, it is prudent to moderate, or even to suspend, the action. The species of nervous irritation of which I have spoken, does not in the least resemble the pains which magnetism produces or renews in an affected organ. These pains prove the action of magnetism, and result from its efforts to expel the principle of disease ; and they often make known the seat of it. It is customary to continue these critical pains for a certain time, and to calm them as well as we can before the end of the sitting. You may expect to see them renewed at the following sitting, and some- times in the intervals, until there is no longer an obstruction to the free circulation of the fluid ; and you need not be affrighted on account of them. In palsy, magnetism often excites lively pains, because it reestablishes sensibility in the limbs before restoring movement to them. This leads me to speak of a real danger, — the interruption of a treatment commenced, and the omission to sustain a crisis which has been excited, and which nature cannot develope and terminate without being aided by magnetism. This danger is nothing in slight and recent indispositions; but it is very serious in organic and long-standing diseases. A person might do much mischief by magnetizing with energy only once to drive off an internal pain caused by a tumor, or by a humor which, for many years, attacks an organ at certain periods. When a person has deranged a movement which was established, or excited a contrary movement, it is necessary to regulate it so that it may not bring on any disorder. The accidents which have oc- curred by the rude interruption of a treatment ought not to be attributed to magnetism, but to the imprudence of CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 169 the magnetizer. I shall make myself better understood by citing two examples. The first is that of a lady who for twelve years had a violent headache every month. One day, when I was at her house, and she was suffering much, I relieved her of the attack in half an hour. The following month, the headache having returned, she sent for me. I relieved her as before. The next day she was very well ; but two days afterwards she had insupportable pains in the body. She was attacked with a violent fever, which lasted six weeks, and of which she was cured by ordinary medi- cine. Since that time she has not had a return of the headache. I do not doubt that this acute disease was pro- duced by the humor displaced by me; and that it would not have taken place, if, when I drove off the headache at first, I had continued to magnetize her for a month, in order to produce some crisis. The second fact is still more remarkable. It clearly proves that one ought not to permit himself to attempt the action of magnetism, except when he is sure of continuing it as long as it is necessary. A girl of sixteen, who lived in the country, having had a fall, experienced, for several months, pains in the head, and became completely blind, having the gutta screna. Per- sons who took much interest in her caused her to be placed under the care of able oculists. She was sent forthwith to the Hotel Dieu, where all the remedies were essayed. She was finally declared incurable; and, as her parents were without fortune, she was sent to the Salpe- triere. She was there for three years, when a medical student, who was magnetizing a lady, proposed to her to come to the house of that lady, telling her he had hopes of curing her. She accepted the offer with gratitude; and some of her acquaintances undertook to see that she was attended thither every day. She came then to the lady's house, and he who had offered her his cares magnetized her with energy for an hour, by putting his hands upon her head. She experienced an extraordinary sensation, which, nevertheless, was not painful ; but the following night she was attacked with violent pains in the head. She returned to the house of the lady, but she did not find the magnetizer, who had left word that unexpected circum- stances obliged him to suspend the treatment. The pains 15 170 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. increased from day to day. They finally became insup- portable, and were accompanied with a fever, which con- tinued every evening and a part of the night. The poor girl was sent to the infirmary, where many remedies were administered to her without effect. She was eleven months in this suffering condition, when some one requested me to magnetize her. She came to my house every day. I employed magnetism by the long pass, and made passes along the legs, which became at first so benumbed that she could not move them. After five sittings, she was restored; and, since that period, she has enjoyed good health, excepting her blindness. This is the same girl whose treatment I continued for nearly a year, because the effects which I had produced after the cessation of the pains made me hope to restore her sight. I spoke of this in the preceding chapter. It is evident that the pains in the head were critical pains, pro- duced by magnetism, and that they would have ceased in a few days, if the crisis had been sustained. Perhaps, at that time, vision might have been restored. In certain organic diseases which are very severe and long-seated, the efforts of nature to take a new direction may produce the most painful and alarming crises. If the magnetizer is frightened, if he interrupts the action, the patient runs the risk of succumbing. In these cases, happily very rare, it would be necessary to have a somnam- bulist sufficiently clairvoyant to announce the crises, to describe the manner of developing them, and the results which they ought to have. The magnetizer would be equally assured, if he were directed by a physician versed in the knowledge of magnetism. If this aid be wanting, I can only recommend confidence and courage. I have seen the interruption or the false direction of a treatment have, in the course of time, the most fatal consequences ; but I have never seen a serious accident follow a violent crisis, the developement of which has not been hindered. Many persons fear that magnetism excites nervous com- motions, and even convulsions, because they recall to mind the effects which were produced at first by Mesmer. But at the time when Mesmer connected patients for the first time around the baquet, he knew neither the means of directing the agent that he employed, nor of calming the CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 171 crises ; and since 1784, the true principles of magnetism being well known, the scenes which once made so much noise are no longer reproduced. But it is well to say here in what case nervous crises may occur, and how all their inconveniences may be avoided. Magnetism really produces nervous crises in disorders of the nervous system ; but they are necessary for the cure ; they are the consequences of the efforts of nature to change a bad direction, and reestablish the equilibrium. The magnetizer does not interrupt them ; he calms them by a soothing action, and by his will. Let him not be troubled, — let him have patience and the desire of doing good, — and after the crisis the patient will find himself better than before. It is very essential to know that magnetism renews attacks which it gives the strength to support ; but it accel- erates the progress, to destroy the cause of the disease. Magnetism also excites nervous motions when people make use of it out of curiosity, to exert its power, or to obtain singular effects ; when its action is concentrated upon the head, or when an extraordinary force is employed sud- denly, while the subject resists the action ; when, instead of being tranquil, the operator is himself agitated. Do not magnetize unless you are yourself in a state of calm, and nothing disturbs the employment of your faculties. Employ your force gradually. Have no other desire than that of curing, and you will never excite the least trouble in the one you magnetize. If, in a treatment wherein several persons unite in a chain, or around a magnetic reservoir, a nervous crisis displays itself, the patient attacked by it should be instantly taken from the chain, and led to another place, that he may be calmed. It is known that nervous attacks are commu- nicated by imitation or by sympathy ; and this is a reason for not exposing the other patients to them. I ought here to reiterate a condition essential to the suc- cess of every treatment; namely, that the magnetizer must be in good health. Rheumatic pains, nervous affections, and especially organic diseases, are communicated from the magnetizer to the person magnetized, with facility propor- tioned to the thoroughness of the communication between them. In the state of disease, the vital fluid may be vitiated, or at least morbific principles may be thrown off with it. I 172 MEANS OF AVOIDING [GHAP. VIII. will add, that in the magnetic communication there is estab- lished a sympathy between the similar organs of the two individuals ; whence it follows that a person whose lungs are delicate, cannot, without danger, magnetize any one whose lungs are affected.* Hitherto I have spoken only of the dangers to which we are exposed in magnetizing, without precautions, persons who are not somnambulists. Those which spring from somnambulism are still greater. To avoid them, it is ne- cessary to know them, and I will, therefore point them out. I have just said that a magnetizer whose health is essen- tially bad may communicate the disease to the person whom he magnetizes. This thing is especially to be feared in somnambulism. I have several times seen the proof of it. I will merely recite a fact which- struck me forcibly. A young lady who for a long time had a very serious ner- vous disease, was magnetized by a friend of her family, who rendered her a somnambulist the first day. She very soon had favorable crises, and her health appeared to be sensibly ameliorated. She flattered herself with the pros- pect of obtaining a complete cure, when her magnetizer was attacked with an inflammation of the larynx. As he could no longer go out of his own house, he sent every evening to the patient a magnetized handkerchief, which renewed somnambulism for two hours. The young lady was very soon attacked with the same disease, accompanied by the most alarming symptoms. Happily, another magnetizer came to her aid — a circumstance which did not prevent her from being in the greatest danger when the former one died. And it was only after a very long treatment, and making use of all the remedies which her clairvoyance sug- gested, that she was perfectly reestablished in health. I will not here return to the accidents that may result from temporary imprudences ; I confine myself to a succinct summary of what I have said on this subject. Never in- terrupt a crisis. Do not suffer your somnambulist to be touched by any one who is not in communication with him* * The magnetizer who enjoys good health sometimes sympathet- ically experiences the pains of his patient, but he does not catch the principles of the disease ; the reason of which is, that, as he throws the fluid from himself, he is active, and not passive ; he gives, and does not receive.. CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 173 Do not put him in communication with any one, except it be for some good purpose, and ivhtn he desires it. Avoid magnetizing him in presence of many persons. Occupy yourself solely with his health, Follow the processes which he indicates to you. Do not fatigue him with cxper* iments. If you neglect these precautions, you will diminish his lucidity, retard his cure, and do him an injury. Yet this injury may be ordinarily repaired by proper cares; and the greater part of magnetizers are not instructed on this point by their own experience. The dangers of which I am about to speak are, happily, much less frequent. They are not caused by a momentary fault of the magnetizer, but by the abuse of his own power. They are, with some individuals, the natural consequences of somnambulism ; and, as they are very serious and diffi* cult to remedy, the magnetizer ought to conduct himself in such a manner as infallibly to prevent them. Persons who have been for a long time somnambulists have been known to preserve, even after their restoration to health, a nervous susceptibility which renders them im- pressible in the highest degree ; and the slightest action of magnetism may cause them to fall again into an imperfect somnambulism. Some of them have been seen to be habit- ually in a magnetic state. This is a great inconvenience, and you must avoid it by observing the following directions : — Do not magnetize your somnambulist any longer than he tells you it is necessary. Never speak to him, after he awakes, of what he said in somnambulism. In terminating each sitting, disembarrass him of the fluid with which he is charged, and wake him perfectly, so that there may be no intermediate point between the ordinary and the somnam- bulic state. As soon as your patient is cured, refrain ab- solutely from the desire of preserving in him the somnam* bulic faculties; will, on the contrary, that they cease, until a new complaint renders them useful to him. Somnambu- lists who are no longer ill are generally poor somnambu- lists ; and the tendency to somnambulism is not in accord- ance with the ordinary habits of life. Many magnetizers preserve somnambulists after their cure, and they hope through them to render service to other patients ; but it is wrong to have confidence in such somnambulists. They are often made use of for experiments of curiosity. They 15* 174 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. THJL are exhibited to persons who interrogate them upon various subjects. All this does no good. It does not even convince the incredulous ; and this presents many inconveniences. I know that some exceptions to this rule may be cited y and that somnambulists, when thoroughly cured, have been known to preserve, for many years, a surprising clairvoy- ance. This phenomenon is very infrequent. It has its source in moral and physical dispositions, independent of the magnetizer's influence, since persons who have never been magnetized have been seen to be naturally in a state simi- lar to that of the most extraordinary magnetic somnambu- lists; but this state demands so much management, and re- quires so much prudence, discretion, and disinterestedness,, to derive advantage from it, that a wise man will not seek to produce it, or to sustain it by magnetic action. But the inconveniences of a somnambulism too much prolonged, and made almost habitual, are nothing, compared to the dangers to which one is exposed by turning somnam- bulism aside from the single end to which it should be directed ; that is, by exciting the faculties of somnambulists to obtain of them surprising things, from which they can derive no advantage, either to their health, or to the per- fecting of their moral qualities. There is not the least doubt that such an abuse of magnetism may carry trouble into the nervous system, and derange the imagination. If you exact of your somnambulist things which are difficult and contrary to his will ; if you should wish to act upon him in such a manner as to make him see the dead or spirits ; if you compel him to go into distant times or places, to discover things lost, or to announce the future, to tell you what numbers will be fortunate in a lottery — a thing which he knows no better than you ; if you interrogate him about po- litical affairs, &c, — you will do him much mischief, and might even make him idiotic. If this should occur, it will be your own fault; it ought not to be attributed to mag- netism, but wholly to your temerity. Somnambulism will never produce the least disorder when not abused ; and we are sure of not abusing it when we employ it solely for the purpose of learning the means of doing good to the somnam- bulist, or to the patients with whom he consents to interest himself. Somnambulism of itself is a state of calm, during which all the forces of nature put themselves in equilibrium. CHAP. Vin.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 175 The stream of life then flows freely ; its waters, united in a single channel, are purified in their tranquil current ; but if you build dikes, it will overflow its banks, and produce the greatest disasters. In many works on magnetism, and especially in those which have been published in Germany, the authors have distinguished different degrees or states of somnambulism, the most elevated of which has been called ecstasy, or magnetic exaltation. I spoke of this extraordinary state in the preceding chapter. I ought here to state that it is very dangerous, and that, in the hands of a magnetizer who lacks force, coolness, and experience, and who is governed by the desire of witnessing marvels, it may be attended with the most fatal consequences. When this state has reached a certain decree, the magnetizer has no longer anv control over it. If, then, you see somnambulism taking this direc- tion, it is necessary forthwith to oppose it ; and if you fear you shall not succeed, you should renounce the treatment. It is never at the first time that this state becomes suffi- ciently manifest for the will of the magnetizer to be ineffi- cient. I think this danger has never been better exposed than in a pamphlet entitled " Memoire sur le Magnetisme animal, presente a V Academic de Berlin" 1820. This is from the pen of a distinguished physician, and I knew the man whose somnambulism was the subject of his observa- tions. I believe that the accidents which have sometimes re- sulted from somnambulism, have never occurred except when it has been pushed too far, or when its beneficial and restorative action has been counteracted. 3. — Of the Dangers to which Persons expose themselves who place too much Confidence in Somnambulists. Many enthusiastic magnetizers have a blind faith in their somnambulists. They believe them infallible, both in the judgment they give of their own disease, and in that which they give of the diseases of others. If the remedies ordered by them do not succeed, they suppose it is because the pre- scriptions have not been followed with sufficient exactitude; if the remedies have done mischief, they regard the mis- chief as a necessary crisis. As they have sometimes seen 176 MEANS OF AVOIDING [cHAt\ VltL inconceivable wonders, they have become credulous, and this credulity makes them lose all prudence. Even when a mischance arrives, they continue in the illusion. There are, without doubt, some somnambulists endowed with such a lucidity, that when they have been placed in communication with a sick person, they clearly explain the origin, the cause, and the nature of the disorder, and pre- scribe the most suitable remedies by indicating the effects they ought to produce, and the crises which are to be expected. They announce a disease which will develope itself in several months, and the precautions which ought to be taken when the first symptoms are perceivable. They even see the moral condition of the patient, penetrate his thoughts, and give him appropriate advice ; but these som- nambulists are rare ; and even those who have given proofs of this inconceivable clairvoyance, do not always preserve it, and do not possess it except at certain moments. It often happens also that the clairvoyance of somnam- bulists is not extended equally to all objects ; they see very well things which no person in the ordinary state could conjecture ; and they do not perceive others which a phy- sician would notice at the first glance of the eye. Let us not doubt of the faculties of somnambulists, but let us be the more prudent, since we are engaged in a career in which we do not see the rocks and quicksands. In order to avoid all the dangers of a blind confidence, observe the following directions: — When you have been so happy as to meet with a som- nambulist who has given proofs of his lucidity, present your patient to him, sustain his attention, and let him speak without interrogating him. If he perfectly describes the symptoms of the disease; if he points out the origin of it; if he speaks of remedies which have been employed, and of the effects they have produced ; if he sees clearly what it is impossible to divine, and especially what you are ignorant of yourself, as it has often happened to me, — it is evident that he is well acquainted with the disease, and this knowl- edge will be very useful to you. Then you will request him to point out the treatment to be pursued. If this treatment exhibits nothing that can be injurious, and if it does not oblige the patient to renounce that which CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 177 he is already pursuing, and from which he has experienced relief, — if the somnambulist affirms that the medicines which he points out will produce such or such an effect, and that the patient will be cured after having experienced such or such a crisis, — you will follow his prescriptions with the most rigorous exactitude. But if, among the remedies indicated, there are some which, in certain cases, might do mischief, you will apply to an enlightened physician, who, if he be not a partisan of magnetism, may be at least exempt from prejudice, and you will submit to him the advice of the somnambulist, which you will follow in case he sees no danger in it. You will not put your somnambulist in consultation with the physi- cian, provided the physician is not himself a magnetizer ; for, in talking with him, the somnambulist may yield to his vanity, and say things not prompted by instinct ; but you will combine what he says with what the physician in whom you repose entire confidence tells you. By this means, you will have no risk to run ; and, even if the treat- ment does not succeed, you will have no cause for self- reproach. There are at Paris somnambulists who make a profession of giving advice for a fee, and the enemies of magnetism do not fail to say that their somnambulism is pretended. I can affirm the contrary, and I have examined a great num- ber of them with the most scrupulous attention. I have collected a large number of facts, which I have examined in such a manner as to leave me in no uncertainty on this head. They differ among themselves in the degree of their faculties and of their moral qualities ; but all are really somnambulists.* Among those whom I have observed, there is not one that I have not known to commit errors ; but there is not one that has not exhibited to me proofs of clairvoyance. This clairvoyance has appeared to me imperfect and limited * It is possible to feign an imperfect somnambulism in presence of persons who take no precautions to verify the reality ; and I rec- ollect having been for three days the dupe of a person whom I thought incapable of deceiving me : but whatever address the pre- tended somnambulist may have, you may discern the deception at the first examination. The faculties peculiar to somnambulists can- not be successfully imitated by any one who does not possess them. 178 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. on several occasions. At other times, they have singularly astonished me. For instance, I have conducted to the houses of these somnambulists patients whom they could not have known, and of whose state I was myself ignorant; and I have seen them, after a quarter of an hour of concen- tration and of silence, divine the origin, the cause, and the stages of the diseases, determine the seat of the pains, dis- cover what no physician could perceive, and describe with exactitude the character, the habits, and the inclinations of those who consult them. I have seen some of them who have cured very severe acute diseases, and inveterate chronic disorders, by boldly changing the treatment pur- sued up to that time. Each of the somnambulists of whom I speak has methods of investigation peculiar to himself. The attention of some is at first struck with the most serious evil ; others examine separately and successively all the organs, commencing at the head ; and it is only after having viewed them apart, that they endeavor to determine their reciprocal influence. There are some of them who, to make this examination, do nothing more than to touch with one hand the pulse of the patient, while with the other they feel over all the body ; they thus perceive by sympathy which are the affected organs, and they sometimes experience the pains of the patient so much as to suffer considerably after the sitting. Some of them consult for persons who are absent and unknown to them. Some hair of the patient, or something which he has worn for several days on the stomach, next to the skin,* suffices to put them in such close communica- tion with him, that they will describe exactly and minutely his physical and moral condition. I do not pretend that they do not often deceive themselves; but I have seen them many times succeed, in an astonishing manner, in cases where they had nothing to guide them, and where the dis- ease for which they were consulted had characteristics too rare for them to come at the truth by conjecture or chance. If he who consults has for his aim, not to enlighten himself, but to put the somnambulist to the proof, it is possible that, * It is necessary to envelope these things in paper, and not to have had the packet opened, when it is presented to the somnam* bulist. CAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 179 without knowing it, he will exert an influence which will furnish him with new reasons for his incredulity. To what I have just said of the somnambulists by pro- fession, in reference to their varying faculties, I ought to add that I have noticed in many of them much uprightness and sensibility. Some of them take the most lively interest in their patients, and magnetize them with zeal. I have seen them carefully distinguish between what they thought themselves sure of, and what they thought merely probable, and refuse to give a consultation when they did not feel themselves to be in possession of sufficient clairvoyance; or, when the state of the patient appeared desperate, they would not declare the opinion they had formed respect- ing it. The part which these somnambulists have taken, of giv- ing consultations every day, which fatigue them, obliges them to take care of themselves, and renounce all other business. It is proper that they should be recompensed for their trouble, and the sacrifice of their time. The per- sons who apply to them are very glad to be able to acquit themselves of the obligation, if they have received good advice ; and as no one designs to deceive them, they have no reason to complain, if they have merely satisfied their curiosity. This is what I had to say to justify an abuse which will exist so long as magnetism is not practised in families, under the direction of a physician, and which, in the actual circumstances of the case, ought not to be condemned.* But without pretending to make any particular application, * Some men, who have not taken the pains to inform themselves of the services rendered every day by the somnambulists of whom I speak, would have the police forbid their giving consultations. Such a measure would create inconveniences a thousand times more seri- ous than the ones sought to be obviated. In the first place, these somnambulists could no longer find a magnetizer who, by a disinter- ested zeal, would consent to direct them and sustain their strength. In the second place, those of the somnambulists who have the most delicacy, would think they ought to renounce a practice which is interdicted to them. Finally, those who, in spite of the law, would continue to see patients, having risks to run, would demand a higher price for their services, and require secrecy ; and the persons who obtain a consultation from them, would not dare to submit it to a physician, for fear of compromising their obligations to the somnam- bulists. 180 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. — without disapproving what exists, — I ought to show that somnambulists by profession, those especially who succeed in throwing themselves into the crisis, ought in general to inspire less confidence than those of whom I spoke farther back, and who, in the waking state, are ignorant of the faculties with which they are endowed daring sleep. What I am about to say is supported by the true principles of magnetism, and confirmed by numerous observations. In order to have a somnambulist judge correctly the state of a disease, he must in some sort identify himself with the patient ; for, the motive which determines him to identify himself with a suffering being, can be no other than the sentiment of pity, or the love of good. It supposes a for- getfulness of one's self, and personal interest must neces- sarily alter its purity. When somnambulism, by being too much prolonged, be- comes a habit, there is established a communication between this and the ordinary state. Instinct no longer acts inde- pendently. The acquired ideas, recollections, prejudices, interests, are mingled with that species of inspiration which developes in the somnambulist a faculty absolutely foreign to those which we enjoy in the common state. Professional somnambulists are rarely in a state of ab- straction (isoles;) from which it is to be presumed that they have not reached the degree of concentration which ordinarily precedes perfect clairvoyance. As they see many patients in the course of the day, the impressions which they receive change their nature at every moment, and it is difficult for them to identify themselves alternately with each one of those for whom they are consulted. Besides, to see the disease, to describe its symptoms, to divine its origin, is not all. The somnambulist is also required to point out the treatment. The faculty of seeing remedies is very different from that of seeing diseases, and is not always united with it. It may also be remarked that many professional somnambulists have a pharmacy peculiar to themselves. They order, according to circumstances, a certain number of medicines which they are acquainted with, because they have made use of them, and their complicated prescriptions often appear to embrace useless things. The lucidity of somnambulists varies from one moment CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 181 to another. A somnambulist who consults only with the desire of relieving a suffering being, when he perceives that he is not for the moment endowed with perfect clair- voyance, says to his magnetizer, " I do not see well to-day. The patient must return, and try to find me in a more favorable condition. I am not well acquainted with the disease; I cannot devise the remedy. I suspect such or such to be the case ; but I am not certain, and I cannot permit myself to say positively," &c. The somnambulists who receive in succession several patients, each one at the hour they have appointed, think themselves obliged to answer the questions put to them, provided they do not experience too much fatigue ; they rarely think of examining themselves, to be sure of their own lucidity. They would not willingly deceive you ; but they depend upon the first sensations they feel, and pre scribe remedies after the habitudes they have acquired. As they desire you to entertain as favorable an opinion of their lucidity as they themselves do, they are dexterous in the manner of expressing themselves. If they perceive that they have erred, they endeavor to rectify their judgement, and to persuade you that you have not well understood them. When they do not discover the essential disease, they almost always conjecture some of the symptoms; and, if you appear surprised at it, they profit by this discovery to direct themselves and to augment your confidence. If the remedies they have ordered do not produce the effects they expected, they do not on that account think themselves in error ; they find pretexts for excusing their error, and plausible reasons for modifying their treatment. All this may take place, without any misgivings, and with an entire honesty on their part ; for our interest influences our man- ner of viewing things, our decisions, and our conduct, without our knowing it. Somnambulists of this species have often gone to see physicians who are prejudiced against magnetism, and who wish to sustain their incredulity by experiments. They have almost always succeeded in putting them at fault ; and they have thence concluded that all those who profess to have acquired proof of the lucidity of somnambulists are dupes. If they had known the principles of magnetism, thev would not have drawn this conclusion. Somnara- 16 182 MEANS OF AVOIDING [CHAP. Villa- bulists of whom insidious questions are asked, are mucfe embarrassed; and, if vanity, or the fear of avowing their ignorance, determines them to answer, they make efforts, they are troubled, they speak at random, and very soon they are put in contradiction with themselves by some one better informed than they are. Besides, in order to have a somnambulist lucid, he must be sustained by the confi- dence and the will of the person who magnetizes him, and he who is put in communication must desire to receive useful advice from him. If he is exempt from all interest, — if he preserves his independence, — he will tell the one who comes to consult him, and whose intentions are not in accordance with his, "I cannot consult for you; I am not in condition to answer your questions." But in the contrary case, it is natural that he should employ the re- sources of his wit to supply the instinctive faculties which fail him.* Yet these somnambulists may be very useful ; and, as I have said, there are some of them who are endowed with the most astonishing faculties, and whose goodness of heart raises them above every other sentiment. Even those whose clairvoyance is very imperfect, have, at cer- tain moments, and as it were by flashes, a surprising lucid- ity. One might apply to them, not to put them to the proof, but to hear their advice with attention, and to de- rive from it some information. Tt is not during the sitting, but it is afterwards, that we ought to weigh, combine, and discuss, what they have said, in order to judge of the degree of confidence which they merit. I will point out the conduct you ought to pursue, and which you can do without fear. If you decide to consult one of these somnambulists, do not limit yourself to the inquiry whether he has given proofs of lucidity ; endeavor also to find out whether in his conduct he has always shown himself worthy of esteem. * What I say here is founded upon facts which have been related to me, and not upon my own observations. I never permitted my- self to consult somnambulists to put them to the proof*. I have not even gone to the houses of any except those whom I knew to have given evidence of clairvoyance. It seems to me not very proper to employ insidious means to learn the truth. It discovers itself to him who searches for it with perseverance and honest intentions. CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 183 We cannot be certain that a somnambulist will not deceive himself, but it is at least necessary to be assured that he is incapable of deceiving others. If the somnambulist has a sensible and enlightened man for a magnetizer, this will be one motive for confidence. It is desirable for you not to be known, directly or indi- rectly, to the somnambulist, in order to be sure that he knows nothing of your disease; but this is not always possible. In all cases, when you have been put in communication with him, you will not inform him of what you suffer; yoo will answer yes or no to his questions, without testifying the least surprise. If he describes the symptoms of your disorder, if he discovers its origin, if he finds out what could not be known by his senses, you will have some reason to believe in his clairvoyance, and you will take §i ite of all the remedies that he prescribes to you. It is not until he has finished telling you what he has seen and perceived, and what he advises you to do, that you will permit yourself to invite him to direct his attention to any particular organ, or to interrogate him upon any thing which disquiets you. I suppose that, after having quitted him, and reflected upon what he has told you, you will be entirely satisfied, and even astonished, at the judgement he has formed of your condition. You will then address yourself to a candid physician, and submit to him the ad- vice of the somnambulist, before you take the remedies prescribed; f)r it may happen that there is a complication of diseases of which the somnambulist has seen but one. It may also be that the somnambulist sees the disorder very well, but mistakes in regard to the remedy. The physi- cian will certainly find in the advice of the somnambulist perceptions calculated to enlighten him: but it belongs to him to appreciate them, and to modify the treatment in consequence. When a lucid somnambulist prescribes remedies for himself, we should conform ourselves exactly to his pre- scriptions. If he is charged with only one patient in whom he takes interest, and to whom he devotes himself, he ought to be heard with great confidence ; and you will follow his advice, provided there appears to be nothing in it of a dan- gerous character. The physician is solely to approve or to disapprove. But with the somnambulists of whom I 184 MEANS OP AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. have just spoken, the physician ought to preserve his su- premacy, and direct the treatment, while he profits by the intelligence of the somnambulist, and makes use of the remedies indicated, if he sees therein no inconvenience. If reason permits us to depend solely and unreservedly upon a somnambulist by profession who has given proofs of lucidity, it is only when physicians have declared the case to be beyond the resources of their art, and that they know no means of curing the patient which has not been tried. As much as I love to contemplate somnambulism in its purity, when the soul, disengaged from sensation and all terrestrial interest, sees nothing without her but what is en- lightened by the torch of charity, — it is painful for me to consider it as a complicated faculty, of which I know neither the principle, the direction, nor the limits, pre- senting itself with vacillating and diversified characters. But the details into which I have entered appeared to me necessary, because this work is not destined solely for per- sons who wish to practise magnetism to do good, but also for those who, having heard of cures effected by somnam- bulists, come to consult them without having the least idea of the circumstances which favor or trouble their clairvoy- ance, and without being acquainted with the precautions which are necessary to distinguish between their instinctive notions and the illusions to which they are often exposed. Somnambulists may give erroneous views to those who consult them with too much confidence, not only in regard to the treatment of diseases, but also in regard to things not less important. I have seen persons who, at sight of the somnambulic phenomena, were led to the adoption of most absurd and extravagant opinions. I know that a thorough knowledge of somnambulism places one beyond the reach of this danger ; but there are few persons who have sufficiently studied this state to escape being dazzled by its phenomena, and to distinguish what is produced by the imagination from what is perceived by the new faculty developed or revealed by the interior sentiment. I should wander from the path before me, if I stepped aside to enter into many details on this subject. It should suffice for me simply to trace the route you ought to follow, so as not to be led astray ; yet I will make a few observations, in the CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES, 185 first place, which will render the justness and the impor- tance of my counsels more perceivable. In somnambulists there are developed faculties of which we are deprived in the ordinary state; such as seeing without the aid of the eyes, hearing without the aid of the ears, seeing at a distance, reading the thoughts, appre- ciating time with rigorous exactitude, and, whit is still more astonishing, having a presage of the future. But there is often with somnambulists an extraordinary exal- tation of the faculties with which we are endowed. Thus, among them, the imagination may assume a prodigious ac- tivity ; the memory may recall a thousand ideas which were entirely effaced ; the elocution may become so elegant, so pure, so brilliant, as to seem the product of inspiration. But all this does not exclude error. The exercise of the faculties peculiar to somnambulists, as well as that of our ordinary faculties, has need of being attended with certain conditions, in order to give us exact notions. Experience and habit have taught us to recognize these conditions as it regards the external senses. We know that for our eyes to impart to us a just idea of the form and color of objects, these objects must be situated in the light, at a certain dis- tance, and that the rays of light reflected from them must not pass through a medium which distorts the images. On the contrary, we are ignorant of the qualities necessary to the free unfolding of the new faculty of the somnam- bulist. Further, this faculty acts alone, while the testi- mony of each of our senses is rectified by that of the others. As to the exaltation of our ordinary faculties, if all were exalted together, and to the same degree, harmony would be preserved, and man in somnambulism would be, in all respects, superior to what he is in the ordinary state. But it is not so. One faculty is exalted, if not at the ex- pense of the others, at least more than the others ; it pre- dominates, and harmony no more exists. It sometimes happens that reason bears the sway, which is a happy cir- cumstance ; but this is precisely what strikes people least forcibly. The astonishing fact is, to hear a somnambulist display much information upon a subject to which he had heretofore paid no attention; and people do not reflect that things which he may have heard or seen at a very distant 16* 186 MEANS OP AVOIDING [CHAP. VIII. period, come up before his mind with extreme vividness; that certain associations between objects become perceiv- able to him, which are imperceptible to us ; that the preju- dices of his childhood operate afresh upon him in all their power ; that his imagination can realize the phantoms it has created ; that the facility of associating his ideas, of expressing them in the most delightful manner, of investing them with all the charms of poetry, of joining them with some unperceived truths, which he causes to shine with the brightest splendor, — is not, by any means, a proof of the truth of what he believes and of what he says; that the faculty of prevision, the most inconceivable of all, never extends but to a certain number of objects ; that it is con- ditional; and that, if there are facts enough to prove its existence, there is not a case where we can reckon upon the exactitude of its application ; finally, that all the facul- ties of the mind can draw man far from the truth when their exaltation has destroyed the equilibrium which ought to reign among them, and which is necessary to maintain the supremacy of reason. We will now see how we may prevent somnambulists from running into error, and preserve ourselves from the influence of their illusions over us. The only infallible means is, not to let them busy themselves on any thing except the subjects in relation to which experience has taught us they have lights which we cannot have ; that is, in regard to their own health, and the health of those who are perfectly in communication with them, and to interdict them absolutely from all religious, metaphysical, and politi- cal discussion. The precept I here give is not in contradiction with what I have said farther back relative to somnambulists, who, of themselves, and without being invited, expose the fundamental ideas of religion. These ideas are inherent in the human soul, which cannot know itself without also knowing the cause and the end of its existence; without ascending to its origin ; without perceiving its relation to other souls free from matter. The existence of God, Providence, the immortality of the soul, are proved to us by the order of the universe, and especially by the inner sense; and the knowledge of the essential principles of morals is the result of the unfolding of our intelligence. CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 187 For the view of the order of the universe will be the more clear, the inner sense will be the more quick, the unfolding of intelligence will be the more regular, the more the soul is disengaged from all terrestrial interest, the more estranged from all passion. And this is the reason why the somnambulist, abstracted and concentrated in him- self, is, in this respect, more enlightened than we. But in regard to things which have been revealed to man, or which have been taught us by tradition, it does not belong to somnambulists to instruct us ; they have merely the same gift that we have. Their disposition to piety might edify us; but if we make them reason about mysteries, their imagination will be exalted, and they will give into all sorts of errors; they will no longer draw consequences from innate principles, but from the prejudices of child- hood, or from some hypothetical views. They will con- duct us into an ideal world, where, as in the actual world, illusion and reality will be mingled, not to be separated except by the aid of reason and experience. Even when, in this ideal world, the somnambulist sees what is concealed from us, he cannot communicate it to us, more than we can give to those who are born blind an idea of the phe- nomena of vision. I know that many persons have been led to embrace the reveries of what is called illuminism, by the confidence they have had in mystic or ecstatic somnambulists. The way to escape from this danger is, not to let the somnambulist wander into the regions of fantasy, and to limit ourselves, as to religious doctrines, to what we are required to be- lieve. God has revealed to us what it behoves us to know, and the indiscreet curiosity which would go beyond this, will be always punished. Ecstatic somnambulism is often exhibited without being induced by magnetism. They who enter into this state manifest, upon certain points, a clairvoyance which would appear miraculous ; they do not exhibit less in the strangest errors ; and they have exerted the most fatal influence upon those who have had the imprudence to listen to them as oracles. If it is dangerous to consult somnambulists upon the dogmas of religion, it is not less so to consult them upon political affairs. I have seen men, otherwise well in- 138 MEANS OF AVOIDING [ciIAP. VIII. formed, become the dupes of their visions and their pre- dictions. I cannot too much recommend your never per- mitting them to enter upon such a course. The metaphysical acumen of certain somnambulists is sometimes very surprising. Doubtless it is better than that of the materialists, but it does not repose upon a solid basis. It generally conducts us to systems analogous to those of the Alexandrian school, or of the Eclectics of the third century, in which sublime truths were associated with senseless creeds. Somnambulists who give themselves up to this species of research, ordinarily lose the most impor- tant faculties; and the proofs of lucidity which they exhibit in relation to certain things of a useless nature, merely serve to mislead the judgement of those who mistake their visions for realities. I have seen persons who had certain proofs of the clair- voyance of a somnambulist, consult him about the conduct of their domestic affairs, and suffer themselves to be guided by him ; and I have also seen them by this means take im- prudent steps. I do not deny that a somnambulist may sometimes, and in certain circumstances, give excellent advice, because of the penetration he possesses, and even because of his ability to foresee the issue of an event which is in progress; but for this it is necessary for him to speak of his own accord, yielding to his instinct, without being excited, without being solicited, and without reasoning. A very good somnambulist, who is in thorough communi- cation with you, will tell you, " Beware of such a person ; he is deceiving you:" or, "Do not undertake such a journey ; the result will be unfortunate." This merits some attention. But, if you argue with him, he will enjoy no advantage over you, except that of having more wit, and more facility in conveying his thoughts. I repeat it for the last time, — if you desire to avoid the danger of the influence which somnambulists may exercise over you, do not consult them except about what apper- tains to their real interest, and about what they may know better than you, namely, upon the means of reestablishing their health, or of directing their moral conduct. In many works upon magnetism, somnambulism has been represented as a state of purity, in which man is supe- rior to the passions, and would reject the slightest thought CHAP. VIII.] ITS DANGERS AND ABUSES. 189 which would wound decency or the moral sense. Those who have sustained this thesis are supported by some facts; but the principle generalized is absolutely false. Many somnambulists preserve the passions and the inclinations which they had in the waking state. There are some of them who would sacrifice themselves for others ; there are some who are profoundly selfish ; there are some who are of angelic purity, and these would go into convulsions if the magnetizer had a thought injurious to modesty. Some may be found who preserve in somnambulism the depravity which they display in the ordinary state. There are some of them who calculate their own interests, and profit by what is told them to procure themselves some advantages. Vanity and jealousy are sentiments very common among them. It follows, from all I have just said, that the greatest wis- dom and the greatest prudence are requisite for the good management of somnambulists, and for preventing their gaining an ascendency over the magnetizer; that he ought always to preserve his supremacy, and yet not to make use of it except to retain them in subjection, and never to excite them ; finally, that this state, in some sort supernatural, may, in bad hands, be attended with many dangers. But let plain and upright men be fearless; let them but exercise an unshaken will for good: let them employ somnambulism only for the object for which Providence has destined it ; let them repress their curiosity, the spirit of proselytism, the rage for experiments ; let a compassionate charity, an un- bounded confidence, be the only motives of their action, — and they will never have any thing to dread. 190 CHAPTER IX. OF THE MEANS OF DEVELOPING IN OURSELVES THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES, AND OF DERIVING ADVANTAGE FROM THIS DEVELOPEMENT. When Mesmer announced his discovery, he would not divulge a secret of which he thought himself the sole pos- sessor, unless they would allow him a certain number of select students, to whom he could explain all his theory, and at the same time teach them the mode of its application. But to let the world know how vast and important that theory was, and to establish his priority of discovery, (pour prendre date,) he published its fundamental principles in twenty-seven propositions, the proofs of which he reserved, and the developement of which he promised to give, and also to explain its consequences, as soon as they had con- sented to arrange the matter, and to take the measures he judged proper to prevent the abuse of his principles, and the robbing him of the glory of having discovered them. These propositions were very obscure. Several of them seemed contrary to the received principles of physics. They have never been clearly explained, and yet the practice of mag- netism has been attended with the greatest success. This proves that they were not so important as their author thought them; and that the effects which he produced, and those which his pupils produced, were not essentially allied to his doctrine. Yet we cannot but agree that the asser- tions of Mesmer merit the greatest attention, if not for the general system of physics with which he associated his dis- covery, at least as far as it relates to the proper action of magnetism, its power, its effects, to the means of directing and strengthening its action, and to the utility derivable from it, especially in the treatment of diseases ; for Mesmer was both a good observer and a learned physician. The twenty-seventh of the propositions of Mesmer com- CHAP. IX.] THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. 191 mences in this manner : "This doctrine will put the physi- cian in the way of forming a correct judgement of the degree of each individual's health." People have not sufficiently reflected upon this proposi- tion, and they will search in vain in most of the works upon magnetism to discover how it leads the physician to decide in relation to the state of the sick. Mesmer also said, in the thirteenth proposition, "Experi- ment has proved the existence of a subtile matter, which penetrates all bodies without apparently losing its activity ." This proposition has been left unexplained, as well as the twenty-seventh. Mesmer afterwards spoke much of the currents, and no account has been given of what he meant by the term. The supposition of currents passing and repassing through bodies, as that of the poles, appertains to the general system of Mesmer, and I agree that it is useless to look into this subject now ; but if we can ascertain, by experiment, the flowing of a subtile fluid, and if the name current is given to this emanation, the nature of this emanation, the degree of force with which it escapes, and the cause of the direc- tion it takes, are physical and physiological problems which ought to be examined with the greatest care. The phenomenon mentioned by Mesmer has been known to a great number of his scholars. It was in particular known to M. d'Eslon, who fixed upon this subject the at- tention of almost all those to whom he taught the practice of magnetism. This knowledge was common to several of the members of the Society at Strasburg ; and yet, in the numerous memoirs which they have published, they have spoken of it only in a vague manner, as of a thing known to all the world by an oral tradition, which it is therefore useless to explain. I have myself scarcely said any thing upon this subject in my "Critical History," because I did not well understand its nature, and not being endowed with the faculty of perceiving in myself the diseases of others, and not having paid attention to the action of the currents, I could not speak of it from my own experience. I have since read some manuscripts of M. d'Eslon, in which the question has been treated of; I have also read a manuscript work, written thirty-six years ago, by a highly-intelligent gentleman, an excellent observer, and who, having first 192 TO DEVELOPE IN OURSELVES [CHAP. IX, been instructed by M. d'Eslon, had added much to the knowledge he had acquired as a pupil ; and I am convinced that what I had neglected to look into, was a very remark- able phenomenon, the observation of which is the most use- ful in the practice of magnetism. M. de Lausanne recently gave a long extract from the manuscript I have just cited. It forms the first volume of the work entitled " The Processes and Principles of Mag- netism" 2 vols. 8vo. 1819. I invite those who wish to practise magnetism to read this work with the greatest at- tention, and to exercise themselves patiently in the method taught by the author. Of course I cannot here lay down all the principles, nor give their explanation. I must limit myself to let the reader know the principal phenomenon, and the indications with which it furnishes us, the better to suc- ceed in the treatment of diseases. It is well known that good somnambulists discover the seat of the diseases of persons put in communication with them, sometimes by experiencing, sympathetically, pains in the part of their body corresponding with that which is af- fected in the patient; sometimes by passing the hands over them, and examining with attention from the head to the feet. It is also well known that without any instruction they magnetize much better than they do when awake, and that they give to the magnetic fluid the most suitable di- rection. This faculty of perceiving the seat of diseases, and the direction which we ought to give to the fluid, does not be- long exclusively to somnambulists ; it is also developed in many magnetizers, when they are attentive to the different sensations they experience, either while magnetizing various patients, or while carrying the action of magnetism upon any organ of a patient with whom they are in communi- cation. I know many magnetizers, who, when they hold their hand upon the seat of an internal disease, perceive a pain which extends to the elbow ; their hand is benumbed, and even becomes swollen. This effect diminishes with the disease ; it ceases with the cure ; and its cessation indicates that magnetism is no longer necessary. I saw a physician experience this sensation the first time he attempted to magnetize. With others it does not show CHAP, IX.] THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. 193 itself until after reiterated attempts. I have not observed it in myself, because my occupations have not permitted me to magnetize except by intervals, and when I was induced to it by the desire of alleviating a sick person. Yet some effects which I have perceived in various circumstances, make me think I should have acquired it, had I taken care to notice the causes which produced them. The delicate tact which enables us to perceive the seat, and sometimes the nature, of the disease ; to foretell a crisis which is in progress ; to judge of the moment when a crisis will terminate ; and to choose, as by instinct, the processes best calculated to direct the action well, — being the most useful of all the faculties to the magnetizer, I am going to treat succinctly of the mode of acquiring it, and of making use of it. What I shall say is not the result of my own experience, but of the explanation which many magnetizers have given me of the method pursued by themselves, by whom I have seen wonderful cures effected ; of my conver- sations with the late M. Varnier, with many pupils of M. d'Eslon, and many members of the Society of Strasburg ; of the theory explained in the work I have just cited ; of some observations which I extracted from the English work of Dr. de Maineduc ; * and finally, of the examination and com- parison of a great number of facts which I have witnessed, and of all those which I have been able to collect. When a man magnetizes, he puts himself, by the exer- tion of his will, in a state different from his habitual one ; he concentrates his attention upon a single object ; he throws off and directs beyond himself the nervous or vital fluid ; and this new manner of being renders him suscep- tible of new impressions. He first perceives a change operated in himself by the action in which he is engaged. He then experiences, by the reaction of him whom he mag- netizes, various sensations which affect him more or less, according to the degree of susceptibility with which he is endowed, and according to the degree of attention which he pays to recognise and distinguish them. * I have no longer this book in my possession. It was published at London, nearly thirty years ago, in an octavo edition. The au- thor therein unfolds a curious, but very systematic theory ; and it demands of those who wish to practise magnetism a knowledge of things which do not appear to me at all necessary. 17 194 TO DEVELOPE IN OURSELVES [CHAP. 1X» The change which occurs in us when we act magnet- ically, — that is to say, when the passes we make are mag- netic, — and the feeling which persuades us we are in com- munication with him whom we wish to magnetize, are things which it is impossible to describe, but which they who are in the habit of magnetizing, and who have ob- served what passes in themselves, recognise with certainty. This disposition is composed of a determined intention, which banishes all distraction without our making any effort ; of a lively interest which the patient inspires in us, and which draws us towards him ; and of a confidence in our power, which leaves us in no doubt as to our success in alleviating him. When experience has taught you that you are susceptible of this feeling, if you do not perceive it after you have tried a quarter of an hour, it is useless to continue ; the efforts of will that you could make would be unavailing. You will try two or three times more on the following days, and you will cease if you have no more success ; for then it proves that you are not in a state to magnetize, or that your action does not agree with the person on whom you wish to act. On the contrary, if you perceive in yourself a manifestation of the disposition of which I speak, you should persevere ; for, when the pa- tient feels nothing, it is extremely probable that you exer- cise upon him a real action, whose effects will be mani- fested in the sequel, either by some crises or by an amelioration of health. Besides the change in the moral dispositions, there are also some signs purely physical, or some sensations which will indubitably assure the magnetizer that he has estab- lished a communication, and exercises a magnetic action. Commonly his hands are warm; it seems as if the vital action were carried outwards. I have been intimately connected with a man who had a very energetic and a very salutary magnetic power. When he had begun to act upon any one, he was obliged to continue nearly three quarters of an hour, or otherwise he found himself the rest of the day in a state of agitation. When he had once put the fluid in motion within himself, it was necessary to let it pass off in the direction he had given it. He ceased, if at the end of a quarter of an hour his hands were not warmed. In the last case, he was sure CHAP. IX.] THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. 195 that he had not acted ; in the first, he was sure of the con- trary; and I have never seen him deceived, although at first the patient experienced nothing. I am acquainted with a lady, who, when she begins to magnetize, experiences much heat in the hands. After a sitting of three quarters of an hour, (more or less, which depends upon whether the person she magnetizes draws off more or less of the fluid,) her hands become very cold. Then she acts no more. The same thing takes place when she magnetizes water. Her magnetic faculties are reestab- lished after an hour of repose, especially when she walks in the open air. Some magnetizers feel, at the end of several minutes, a correspondence which is established between their two hands, so that when they place one upon the stomach of the patient, and the other behind his back, it seems to them as if their hands touch each other. This sensation proves that the fluid penetrates the patient. Let us now come to the effects produced upon the mag- netizer by the reaction of his patient. These effects occur only when the communication is well established. They can manifest themselves to a greater or less degree by three phenomena of a different order. The first of these phe- nomena is very ordinary, and known to a great number of magnetizers. The two others do not show themselves dis- tinctly, except to those who have made them an object of incessant study ; perhaps it is even necessary to have pecu- liar dispositions to acquire the knowledge of them. I here stop a moment to tell the means which the author of the work published by M. de Lausanne has pointed out to establish the intimate communication which is necessary to the end which he proposes, namely, the examination of diseases. Place yourself in such a manner that all the parts of your body may be as much as possible opposite to the corre- sponding parts of the patient's body, and hold him by the thumb six or eight minutes, directing your will and con- centrating your attention upon him. Then make very slow passes along the arms and before the body, from the head to the feet, or at least to the knees. Withdraw your- self by degrees to make passes at first at the distance of an inch, then at several inches, giving to your hands only the 196 TO DEVELOPE IN OURSELVES [CHAP. IX* force necessary to sustain them, continuing to observe well all your sensations. Here I will tell you what you will experience, in a man- ner more or less sensible, perhaps at the first time, perhaps at the end of eight or ten sittings, perhaps only at the end of some months. I am ignorant whether there are persons who have not the necessary temperament to obtain this end. To determine this, it would be requisite to know whether they who have never attained it, have not, like me, failed in patience and perseverance in their researches, and whether the habit of magnetizing without taking notice of their sensations, has not hindered them from following the necessary course to develope them. These are the three phenomena, and this is the advan- tage derivable from them. 1. While drawing your hands slowly before your patient, at the distance of three or four inches, and holding your fingers slightly bent, you will feel, either at the ends of the fingers, or at the palm of the hand, different sensations, as they pass along before the affected organ of the patient. These sensations will be either of cold, or of prickly heat, or of slight pain, or of numbness. They will indicate to you the principal seat of the disease, and consequently the part upon which you ought to direct the action. 2. You may experience a feeling of pain or a difficulty in the internal organs of your body, corresponding with those which are affected in your patient. This is a sym- pathetic action noticed in many somnambulists. It is evident that this sensation intimates to us the seat and the nature of the disease. I will add one thing, the reason of which I will soon explain. If you experience pain in an organ on the right or on the left of your body, you should first approach by little and little to render the sensation more strong, and then withdraw yourself gradually to the distance of two or three feet; for it may be that the affected organ of your patient may act at a little distance upon the organ in you which is opposite; that his spleen, for in- stance, may make its action be felt upon your liver; but by withdrawing yourself, you may be sure that the sensation will be transferred from the right to the analogous organ on the left. 3L And here there is something more important which CHAP. IX.] THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. 197 has been unhappily too much neglected in our day. You will perceive, as it were, a vapor which escapes from cer- tain parts of the body of your patient, and takes a certain direction. This vapor will act upon you as a slight force, which will attract or repel your hand, and which will con- duct it from one place to another, provided you abandon yourself entirely to its action. These are what are called the currents. The faculty of perceiving them is often acquired only after a time, longer or shorter ; but when they are once recognised, you will follow them naturally; you magnetize, as it were, by instinct; you will assist nature by carrying the vital action upon the deficient organ ; you will augment or moderate your force at will. It is by these currents that the analogous organs of the magnetizer are sometimes affected. The currents will enable you to perceive a crisis which is at hand. They also indicate the moment when it is terminated ; for then calmness is reestablished : you are withdrawn far from the body, and you feel nothing further to attract you to it. They also enable you to discover the principal focus of the disease, and they direct you to follow all its ramifications, A very severe disorder of the liver, or of the spleen, or of some other viscus of the abdomen, is often accompanied with no pain in that organ ; but it pro- duces either headaches, or ophthalmias, or earaches, or appearances of an affection of the chest. The currents conduct you to the part where the cause of the disease re- sides ; they direct your action ; they can even indicate to the physician the remedies to be employed to aid and favor the work of nature, excited by magnetism. It is almost useless to say that, to observe the currents carefully, the magnetizer must be free from distraction ; but it is well to remark that, when he has once habituated himself to being directed by them, he needs to make no effort of attention to follow them. I am acquainted with a man who was closely allied to him whose work I have cited. He perceives the disorder of those whom he magnetizes ; he experiences beforehand, and sometimes in a very painful manner, the crises which they are soon to experience, and which he developes in them. When he is in communication, he examines succes- sively all the parts of the patient's body; he shuts his eyes, 17* 198 TO DEVELOPE IN OURSELVES [CHAP. IX, and concentrates his attention. He very soon perceives his hand to be, as it were, wrapped in a vapor, the current of which he follows involuntarily, and this vapor conducts him, by different routes, to the place where it must stop. I have sometimes seen him magnetize several hours in succession. He does not cease until the crisis is terminated. I will enter into no further details concerning the cur- rents, because those who shall once have acquired the faculty of perceiving them, will read the work I have cited, and then conduct themselves according to the experience they will soon secure. But I ought to add something rela- tive to the sensations which are felt at the ends of the fingers, at the roots of the nails, or in the palm of the hand, because this phenomenon is more frequent, and it is good to be aware of the indications thence to be derived, accord- ing to the opinions of those who have observed them. What I am going to say on this subject is extracted from the work entitled " Principes du Magnetisme," and from that of Dr. de Maineduc. "A sensation of cold almost always indicates an ob- struction, an enlargement, inaction, or a stagnation of the humors. You must at first exert a gentle and soothing action, augment it gradually, concentrate it upon the spot that produces coldness, and then spread it out to reestablish the equilibrium. If the patient feels a sensation of cold from your hand, you should continue until you have changed it into a sensation of gentle heat, in which you will not always succeed at the first sitting." — Prin. du " A dry and burning heat announces a great tension of the fibres, and inflammation. You must use the circular motion, to spread the fluid, until this heat, becomes gentle and moist." — Ibid. " The pricking sensations at the ends of your fingers indicate the existence of a humor more or less acrid, if they are felt when you hold them before the viscera ; they are the proof of an irritation, and of what is commonly called acrimony in the blood, if they are perceived when you touch the head or the arm." — Ibid. " Numbness at the ends of your fingers indicates want of circulation. You must then magnetize with activity, to reestablish the currents." — Ibid. CHAP. IX.] THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. 199 " The magnetizer sometimes feels a fluctuating move- ment in his hands and fingers. This indicates a move- ment of the patient's blood, and an incipient evacuation, which you must favor, by making passes along the sides and thighs." — Ibid. "When there is sordes (glaircs) in the stomach- or lungs, the magnetizer experiences a sensation of thickness and stiffness of the fingers. Sometimes he feels at the ends of the fingers a circular pressure, as though a thread were bound round them." — Maincduc. " When the nerves have lost their tone, he perceives a weakness in his fingers and wrist." — Ibid. " In obstructions, the magnetizer has a sensation of acri- mony, dryness, contraction, and formication, if there is no inflammation ; and of heat, if there is inflammation." — Ibid. " Contusions produce heaviness and swelling in the •hand." — Ibid, " The presence of worms excites formication and pinch- ing (piticement) in the fingers." — Ibid. I will say no more on this subject, because, if it appears to me indisputable that the sensations experienced by the magnetizer indicate the seat of the disease, it seems very doubtful whether he can, by means of them, determine its character. We are indebted to M. Babst for the knowledge of the means of exploring the nature of a disease in which he has always succeeded. He has observed that, when he puts his hand upon the seat of the disease, the pulse is raised. In consequence, after being put in communication, he draws his right hand slowly before the body of the patient ; he holds, at the same time, his left hand closed, so as to feel the pulsation of the artery in the thumb, and directs ah his attention to that hand. When the pulsations are accel erated, he stops ; and if the acceleration continues, he con- cludes that he has found the seat of the disorder. I have tried in vain to experience this effect, but I advise magnet- izers to observe it. It seems to me that a person might feel more distinctly the acceleration of the arterial move- ment, by placing a finger of the left hand upon the temporal artery. 200 THE MAGNETIC FACULTIES. [CHAP. IX. The theory treated of in this chapter will not be of much utility to the greater part of the persons to whom this in- struction is addressed; but as many of them will be disposed to acquire the faculties of which I speak, I thought it my duty to point out the means of developing them. Let not others be disquieted on this account : by conforming to the principles I have given, they will be always sure of doing much good. Magnetism, considered as a means of relieving our fellow- men, of aiding the action of nature, of facilitating the crises, of assisting ordinary medicine, is an instrument of charity which all men of good intentions may employ with success, without any study, without any knowledge of the physical sciences. One might even say that an innate instinct often induces us to exercise it ; and perhaps the practice of ob- serving every thing, of explaining every thing, of admitting nothing which lacks accordance with our acquired notions, of rejecting every thing of which our senses do not afford a direct proof, and every thing not found in the philosophy we have adopted, is much less favorable to the exercise of this faculty than a benevolent simplicity unaccustomed to investigation and discussion. Why do children whom we have seen magnetize, magnetize with success ? They do not account for what they do, but they believe they will, and they perform cures in proportion to their strength. Yet magnetism presents phenomena which may enlighten us upon our physical organization, and upon the faculties of our soul. It is an action in living beings resembling attraction in inanimate matter. This action hath its laws. Let physicians, physiologists, and metaphysicians, unite to study them, and they will soon make a science whose appli- cation will add much to the various branches of knowledge which are destined to strengthen the ties that bind men together, and diminish the ills to which they are exposed. 201 CHAPTER X. OF THE STUDIES BY WHICH A PERSON MAY PERFECT HIMSELF IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF MAGNETISM. Magnetism may be considered under two points of view — either as the mere employment of a faculty which God has given us, or as a science whose theory embraces the greatest problems of physiology and psychology, and whose applications are extremely varied. Hence it follows that the persons who are engaged in this subject may be divided into two classes. The first class comprehends those who, having recog- nised in themselves the faculty of doing good by magnet- ism, or, at least, hoping to succeed therein, wish to make use of it in their families, or among their friends, or with some poor patients, but who, having duties to fulfil or busi- ness to follow, do not magnetize except in circumstances where it appears to them necessary, without seeking pub- licity, without any motive but that of charity, without any other aim than that of curing or relieving suffering hu- manity. , The second class is composed of men who, having lei- sure, wish to join to the practice of magnetism the study of the phenomena it exhibits; to enter largely into it; to estab- lish treatments for taking care of many patients at a time ; to form pupils capable of aiding them; to have somnambu- lists who may enlighten them ; to examine closely, compare and arrange the phenomena, in such a way as to establish a regular code of laws, whose principles may be certain, and whose consequences, extending daily, may lead to new applications. This class is separated from the preceding by a great number of degrees, which must be successively mounted before one can find himself situated where he can command 202 OF THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [CHAP. X. a more extended horizon. I therefore advise those of the former class not to think of passing beyond their limits unless they are masters of their own time, and have some preliminary knowledge. Their lot is very good ; they are strangers to the vanities and the inquietudes which attend new attempts, to the uncertainty which springs from the conflict of opinions and of various points of view under which things are presented to us ; they taste without mix- ture or distraction the satisfaction of doing good. May they be so wise as not to meddle with any theory, or to search for extraordinary phenomena ! Let them continue to employ, with confidence and self-collectedness, the pro- cesses by which they have succeeded, without any other design than to benefit the patient in whom they are inter- ested. When they have obtained a cure, they will speak of it unboastingly, so as to engage other persons to employ the same means. The instruction I am publishing is suffi- cient to direct them in all cases ; they will not even need to have recourse to it, except according to circumstances. As to the persons who desire to belong to the second class, I advise them to consider at first the extent of the career they will have to run. It is better not to enter it, than to stop in the midst of their enterprise. In what ap- pertains to the practice, a prudent simplicity is preferable to science. In what relates to theory, imperfect notions expose us to dangerous errors. The laborer who cultivates his farm, as his fathers did before him, collects every year the price of his labors. Should he give way to an inclina- tion to pursue an experimental method, he might be ruined before he is enlightened by his own experience. It is not in my power to impart to others much of the knowledge they ought to have ; but I perceive the need of it. I see the superiority of those who possess it ; and I could point out the mode they must pursue to acquire it, and especially the disposition of mind which is requisite to di- rect its application to the object in view. I think it useful, therefore, to end this work with some ad- vice to those who wish to elevate themselves into the region of which I have only had a glimpse, but the chart of which is well known to me through the relations of those who have run over it with more or less success. I suppose the men whom I now address to be entirely convinced of the power CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OP MAGNETISM. 203 of magnetism, and to have recognised in themselves the faculty of using it, and of producing the most surprising and the most salutary effects. Without this first condition, what I am going to say would be to them absolutely useless. It is desirable that persons who wish to study this sub- ject thoroughly, should have at first some elementary no- tions of physics, of anatomy, of physiology, and of medicine, in order to appreciate the facts, and to avoid being duped by the errors which are found in various books. There is also a necessity for them to be versed in that part of philos- ophy which treats of the origin of ideas, of the develope- ment and of the relation of the various faculties of the soul, so that the view of certain marvellous facts may not precip- itate them into false systems. Supposing a person to have the dispositions, the faculties, and the preliminary knowledge, of which I speak, he must read in order what has been written upon magnetism. I think that they who are not acquainted with foreign lan- guages may commence with my " Critical History," not be- cause this work is worth more than many others, but be- cause it presents in a mass, and gives an idea of, the history, the proofs, the processes, the phenomena, the application to the cure of diseases, the means of avoiding the incon- veniences, and, finally, because it contains a succinct notice of all the books which had appeared in France upon the same subject at the time when it was published. To those books, which I have classified, may be added i( Les Annates du Magnetisme," " La Bibliotheque du Mag- netisme" and other works recently printed, of which it is easy to procure a catalogue. You should not neglect to inform yourself of the objections made by physicians, and of the explanations they have given of the phenomena, the reality of which they do not deny.* * You will find, in my " Defence of Magnetism," some references to most of the articles in which it has been attacked. Those objec- tions which it is essential to know, were afterwards collected, and presented, with much talent, in the article " Mesmerism," in the Encyclopaedia. I owe thanks to the author of the article for the great politeness with which he has spoken of me. I do not think myself deserving of the eulogium he passes upon me ; but I think, if his article had not been composed before the publication of my " Defence of Magnetism," he would have found in it a solution of most of the difficulties he proposes ; and I would have voluntarily depended upon his judgement. 204 OF THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [CHAP. X. You will consult the works on medicine and physiology, in which the authors, treating of questions foreign to mag- netism, have been led to assent to its action and to the effects it produces. Such is the work of M. Georget, en- titled " Physiologic du Systeme Nerveux." You will also examine into the nature of the diseases in which some of the most extraordinary phenomena of magnetism are spon- taneously presented, as may be seen in the work of Dr. Petetin, and in the history of Mademoiselle Julie, by M. le Baron de Strombeck. You will not fail also to read the fine dissertation of Van Helmont, the writings of Maxwell, Wirdig, and other authors of the same time, who are quoted by Thouret, in his " Rechcrches et JDoutes," although he read them su- perficially. But the instruction to be obtained from French and Latin books is nothing compared to what may be obtained by those who are acquainted with foreign languages. The Dutch work of the celebrated Dr. Backer, of Groningen contains excellent precepts and very curious facts ; and the German works of Kluge, Wienholt, Wolfart, Eschenmayer, Passivant, Ennemoser, Kieser, and Nees-von-Esenbeck, are an inexhaustible mine. All these authors agree to the same facts ; they differ in regard to method and explanation ; they have combined the knowledge acquired by magnetism with what they have drawn from other sciences ; and several of thern have associated the theory of magnetism with the most elevated philosophy. Ennemoser has much erudition; and, although not much of a critic, he points out traces of magnetism in the historians and philosophers of antiquity. Kluge was the first to give a classical work, in which phe- nomena are compared and explained by a very ingenious hypothesis, based chiefly upon anatomy and physiology. Wienholt collects a great number of facts, carefully observed and ingenuously discussed. Wolfart has published in suc- cession all that he has observed, either in his individual prac- tice or in his public treatment, in which he is aided by several of his pupils. He has thrown great light upon the application of magnetism to the cure of diseases. He adopt- ed, expanded, and rectified, the theory of Mesmer. Eschen- mayer admits the existence of an organic ether, spread every where, and much more subtile than light. In other CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OF MAGNETISM. 205 respects, he is a metaphysical spiritualist. Passivant unites his theory to the most touching and sublime religious senti- ments. His work carries light to the head and charity to the heart. Kieser is a bold and systematic genius, who searches for the explanation of the phenomena in a very singular theory of the general system of nature. Nees- von-Esenbeck, and the authors of " Hermes" modified the hypothesis of Kieser. Without adopting the opinions of these various authors, you will at least derive this advan- tage from the study of them, namely, the certainty of the principles in which they all agree, and the facts upon which they equally depend, which have been observed with the greatest care. In studying these various works upon magnetism, we ought not to lose any opportunity to make observations for ourselves. I ought here to lay it down as an important principle, unhappily too much neglected, not only by those who are pursuing these investigations by themselves, but still more by those who have undertaken the task of en- lightening others by their writings. In all sciences, we should commence by the most simple principles, and pass, by degrees, to such as are complex. The solution of the highest problems in physics would be unintelligible to him who is ignorant of the laws of motion and the action of electricity and caloric. It is the same in the study of this subject. You should begin by closely examining the most simple and the most common effects, such as are daily produced with perfect facility, such as merely prove that magnetism produces influences which are peculiar to itself, before you think of taking notice of the striking phenomena, such as somnambulism ; for these are complicated by several causes which it is first necessary to study separately. While reading works published upon magnetism, you should not neglect to form acquaintance with persons who practise it ; to see, test, and collect, new phenomena ; to dis- tinguish what is common to all, and what is peculiar to each of them. You will endeavor to discriminate, in the various phenomena which the same somnambulist often presents, those which originate in the action of the magnetizer, from those which may have been produced or modified by the will or by the imagination of the patient ; those which are 18 206 OP THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [CHAP. X. owing to a very great excitation of the organs of sense, from those which announce the developement of a peculiar sense ; finally, those which demonstrate a clairvoyance more or less extensive, but which is displayed only in re- gard to real and sensible objects, from those where the same clairvoyance is clouded with illusions. You will also ex- amine whether there is not a magnetic force pervading na- ture, which acts upon men when disposed to receive it, and when voluntarily placed in circumstances that may con- centrate and direct it. After having collected a great number of phenomena, you should endeavor to class and compare them, and to establish a theory resulting from this comparison, if, per- chance, we have arrived to the point where it would be truly philosophical to form a theory. Up to the present time, nearly all the writers, who have wished to lay down general principles, have founded them upon some facts of the same- order, without regard to other facts, to which they are not applicable. This is very natural, for the reason that the somnambulists of the same magnetizer have generally a certain analogy among themselves, because of the identity of the influence exerted over them. Hence, to discover general laws, it is necessary not only to have seen many facts with your own eyes, but to have collected a great number of others, which are to be carefully proved, and all their circumstances scrutinized. As to the curative action of magnetism, independently of the indications which somnambulism has been able to furnish, we cannot know how far it extends, — in what diseases and upon what temperaments it is most efficacious, — until physicians shall have submitted to the magnetic treatment a great number of patients whom they have ex- amined before the treatment, to determine the nature of the disease, and to know if it be curable by ordinary means, and, after the treatment, to judge of the changes that may have been produced. Yet the multitude of cures effected in a short time by the magnetic practice, in certain disor- ders whose character is well marked, such as rheumatisms, intermittent fevers, glandular enlargements, contusions, &c, is a proof of its efficaciousness in diseases of the same kind. I have now pointed out the kinds of knowledge to be CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OF MAGNETISM. 207 acquired, and the objects requiring attention, if you wish to examine the general subject of magnetism, to determine the rank it occupies among the grand phenomena of animated nature, to discover its laws, and to fix its applications. But I have not yet spoken of the plan to be pursued to gain skill in the practice, without which the notions drawn from books amount to nothing. I have merely said it is neces- sary to pass from the most simple to the most complex facts, and this is all that the method of study proper for magnetism has in common with what is appropriate to other sciences. In these, the more ardor one has for the work, the more activity in vanquishing obstacles, the more desire of discovering truth, the greater will be his prog- ress. In the investigation of magnetism, these qualities would be more injurious than useful, if they were not united with much reserve, patience, and moderation. In the physical sciences, and even in medicine, there are two means of acquiring knowledge — observation and experi- ment ; in the practice of magnetism, there is but one, — for he who magnetizes ought never to make experiments. He should let the phenomena present and develope themselves, and note them down after each sitting. The most difficult thing for a magnetizer who wishes to gain instruction is, that he must have in himself, as it were, two persons, who must not exist together, but successively ; one to act, and the other to reason. While you are magnetizing, you must occupy yourself wholly with the cure of the patient, to whom you have devoted your time. You must not investigate ; you must not take note of any thing ; you must withdraw from all prejudices, opinions, and knowledge : even reason itself ought not to be busy ; the soul ought to have but one fac- ulty active, — the will to do good ; the mind but one idea, — confidence of success.* But after the termination of the sitting, you will recall * You must conform to this precept not only when you are your- self magnetizing, but also when you are admitted to see phenomena. You must then unite intentions with the magnetizer, and look on attentively without permitting yourself to form any judgement. In a. word, you must conduct yourself when you assist at a magnetic sitting, just as if you were carrying on the process yourself, with this single difference, that, when you are merely a witness, you must not sxert your will but in subordination to that of the magnetizer. 208 OF THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [CHAP. X. to your mind what you have seen ; you will take note of it ; you will combine all the circumstances, search into the causes, and try to reach results which will be more certain as succeeding observations confirm them. The magnetizer, while acting, should have unbounded confidence ; he should doubt of nothing. But when he takes note of the phenom- ena presented to him, he should be distrustful, doubtful of every thing, and admit no fact except upon incontestable evidence ; no principle, unless supported by a series of observations congruent with themselves, and which are not contrary to any of the received truths of physics and physiology. This self-denial is a thing very difficult to men habitu- ated to observe coolly, and to men who suffer themselves to be carried off by their imagination : and this is the reason why men who possess simplicity of character and little knowledge of the subject, are often more proper to cure diseases, than those who are versed in the sciences, and especially than those who have a lively imagination. Greatrakes, the Irish gentleman, who was so successful in curing various diseases, was neither a learned man, nor an enthusiast. Many rustics and matrons, who believe they possess the gift of healing, — some of them, bruises ; others, the tooth- ache ; and others, attacks of fevers, — often succeed ; and if they were more enlightened they might not succeed so well. When I laid it down as a principle that the magnetizer ought to interdict himself from all experiment, I wished to speak solely of the direct action which one individual ex- erts over another by an emanation from himself, imparted by his will and by the appropriate processes, and of the natural developement of phenomena which this action pro- duces. But this principle is no longer applicable, or at least it should be modified, as it respects modes of treat- ment, or the means of directing, strengthening, and con- centrating the action which magnetism may exert of itself, when once put in motion. Upon this subject, a man who has well studied the particular effects of this agent, and who has an acquaintance with the physical and natural sciences, ought to permit himself various trials, to ascertain the best means of employing an agent which is, perhaps, CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OP MAGNETISM. 209 diffused through all nature. For instance, what relates to the construction of baquets, or magnetic reservoirs; to the direction of extensive treatments; to the employment of the chain, and to the precautions it requires; to the influence exerted by certain substances ; to the property which cer- tain substances have of imparting a particular quality to the fluid passing through them ; to the question whether there are bodies which insulate the magnetic fluid* or re- tard its action, and others which are conductors of its ac- tion, or concentrate it so as to render it stronger ; to the difference which the seasons, the hour of the day, the presence or the absence of the light, the temperature, the state of the atmosphere, &c, can make in the effects of magnetism ; and, finally, to the action of magnetism upon animals, and even upon vegetables. All this cannot be known except by trials made prudently, but frequently, and taking note of all the circumstances. Let no one be in haste to form a theory ; for it is easy to select facts in support of such an hypothesis as one might desire to ima- gine, without having this scaffolding of plausible proofs serve for the erection of a solid edifice. It is necessary for a long time to collect all the known facts ; to group, to ar- range, to class them, and to remain in doubt in relation to the causes, until we see a theory spring spontaneously from their arrangement, and until the applications and the consequences of this theory lead to results seen and an- nounced beforehand. A man of distinguished learning has just published, in Germany, a work, in two volumes octavo, in which he con- siders magnetism in all its relations. He believes there is in magnetism two different actions — one which depends * What we call the magnetic fluid may be, as Van Helmont thought, and as Kieser believes, an agent which penetrates all bodies. The recent discoveries of M. CErsted, of M. Ampere, and of many other celebrated physicians ; the researches of Messieurs Provost and Dumas, and of various physiologists, upon the influence of electri- city in the phenomena of the animal economy ; the observations of M. de Humboldt upon the electric gymnotus, &c, may give us some light upon this subject. But the problem does not consist in this ; it is in the power which man has of directing this fluid, of modifying it, of communicating to it such or such a virtue. This problem I believe to be incapable of solution, because our external senses teach us nothing about the internal principle of life. 18* 210 OF THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [cHAP. X. upon a vital principle spread throughout nature, and circu- lating in all bodies; the other, the same principle, modified by man, animated by his spirit, and directed by his will. He thinks that the first sort of magnetism, which he calls tellurism, or siderism, can be employed without the con- currence of the human will, and solely by the action of certain mineral or vegetable substances. According to him, a baquet regularly constructed can, without having been magnetized, act upon a patient who comes to place himself there every day for a certain time, and produce, in the course of time, most of the phenomena obtained by the magnetic processes. I invite philosophers to examine this theory. My ignorance of the German language does not permit me to judge of it ; but the testimony of Kieser is of great weight ; and if, as I suppose, there is reason to reject his theory, there is none at all to deny the facts upon which he sustains it, and which are certainly worthy of attention. This is not the place to enter into greater details upon the researches to which a person should devote himself, when he wishes to study magnetism as a science. He who has this object in view will learn, by reading the works published within a few years, what things ought most particularly to fix his attention. I merely recommend to him not to neglect any thing; to consult the works of the enemies of magnetism as well as those of its partisans; to search out, in the books of historians, philosophers, and physicians, phenomena analogous to those which the prac- tice of magnetism brings to our view ; to separate them from all the hypotheses to which they have given birth, and not to be hasty in adopting general principles. By reading the works published upon magnetism in the various schools, from Van Helmont to the present time, we shall soon perceive that there are effects which have been exhibited every where, always with the same characteristics; and phenomena which are presented only in certain schools and by certain magnetizers, and which one might vainly seek to reproduce himself. These phenomena ought not to be rejected ; the most of them are real, though often at- tributed to chimerical causes: people have drawn errone- ous conclusions from them, and you cannot use too much care to distinguish facts in themselves from the colors with which they have been invested by enthusiastic and credu- lous narrators. CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OF MAGNETISM. 211 I have now pointed out the road for you to follow, if you would reach the elevation from whence you may behold the subject in all its extent, penetrate its depths, see through the veil which covers some of its mysteries, free it from what does not belong to it, and determine the part it acts in the drama of Nature. But upon the route I have traced out, there are stumbling-blocks of which I should warn you, because it is essential to avoid them if you would make a just application of the knowledge you have acquired by reading and observation. I have said that one would gain but vague ideas from books, if he had not been first convinced, by his own expe- rience, of the power of magnetism. The phenomena of somnambulism which it offers are truly wonderful and in- structive, and it is impossible to get a conception of them if you have not seen some of them with your own eyes. The various relations that have been given contain facts so unlike in appearance, that you cannot perceive the tie which connects them, — so marvellous, that you are dazzled, and know not on what to rest your faith. When you have once produced these extraordinary phenomena yourself, you are at least convinced of their reality ; and you might employ the time which you would, perhaps, have uselessly sacrificed in satisfying yourself by reading, in examining its successive stages and its circumstances. Even in this case, much attention and prudence are requisite, to dis- criminate, in the discourses and in the perceptions of som- nambulists, what appertains to the exaltation of the senses, to the nervous susceptibility, to the influence of acquired ideas, to the errors of the imagination, from the manifes- tation or the developement of a real faculty, absolutely for- eign to those which we enjoy in our ordinary state. I have many examples of somnambulists endowed with an astonishing clairvoyance, in the exercise of their new fac- ulty applied to things positive and within their scope, who would speak at random if asked by what means they were enabled to see, and especially when requested to speak on subjects which excite their imagination. I would compare somnambulism to a microscope which causes objects at its focus to be distinctly seen, though imperceptible to the naked eye ; but, on this side of or beyond the focus, the rays cross each other, the hues become more brilliant, and 212 OF THE STUDIES APPERTAINING [CHAP. X. the images are wholly distorted. The clairvoyance of somnambulists, inconceivable as it is, is not less incontest- able ; there is no exaggeration in what has been related concerning it; but it is in each individual limited to cer- tain objects, and confined to a certain order of ideas ; and it is only by comparison between great numbers of facts, in which truth has been separated from illusion, that you will be enabled to perceive the extent of which it is sus- ceptible, what is its origin, and what are the conditions which favor its developement. If two magnetizers were each to form a theory of somnambulism from the facts ex- hibited by their respective somnambulists, it is very proba- ble that those theories would not resemble each other. I go further, and affirm that, by reasoning from some phe- nomena considered separately, a person might form not only the strangest hypotheses, but might also be induced to deny even the reality of magnetism. I have told you to how many errors you may be exposed by an incomplete and limited examination of the phenom- ena. I ought now to advert to those which spring from an inconsiderate application of the branches of knowledge which do not belong to magnetism. I am convinced that a person will never make a real progress in the science of magnetism when he looks for its principles in other sciences. To explain magnetic phe- nomena by the laws of electricity or galvanism, by anatom- ical considerations of the functions of the brain and nerves, would be very much like explaining vegetation by crystal- ography. It is essential for learned men and physicians to know that the most profound knowledge of physics and of physiology will never lead them to the discovery of the theory of magnetism; yet this knowledge will be useful to secure the observers from many errors, by enabling them to distinguish what belongs to magnetism from what is due to other causes, by furnishing them the means of veri- fication, by authorizing them to reject all consequences essentially contrary to well-known physical laws. Magnetism, considered as an agent, is entirely different from the other agents of nature. It has its own laws, which are not identical with the laws of matter. Considered as a science, it has peculiar principles, which cannot be known except by observation, no idea of which can be caught from CHAP. X.] TO A KNOWLEDGE OP MAGNETISM. 213 known sciences. So much I can say with certainty ; but I permit myself here to add an opinion, common with me and many enlightened men, but which I merely propose as an opinion The theory of magnetism is based upon this great prin- ciple, that there is in nature two sorts of elements, radical- ly different in their characteristics and properties, — spirit and matter; that these two elements act, the one upon the other, but each one possessing laws peculiar to itself. Among the laws that regulate the action of matter upon matter, many have been successively brought to light by observation, determined by calculation, and verified by ex- periment : such are the laws of motion, of attraction, of electricity, of the transmission of light, &c. It is not so with the mind ; although the existence of our soul has been demonstrated, and many of its faculties are known to us, its nature is a mystery, its union with organized matter in- conceivable, and most of the laws by which mind acts upon mind are unknown. Living bodies which are composed of mind and matter,* act upon living bodies by the combi nation of the peculiar properties of the two. It is perceiv able that there are in this action two distinct elements, and a mixed element. The knowledge of the laws that govern them constitutes the science of magnetism ; and it is only by observing, contrasting, and comparing, the various phe- nomena, that we can arrive at the discovery and the eluci dation of these laws. Hence it follows that those who would establish a theory of magnetism upon the properties of matter, and those who search for it wholly in the faculties of the soul, strike * Instead of recognizing only two elements in man, it would per- haps be more exact to distinguish three, — the soul, the body, and an intermediate element, which is the principle of life. This was the opinion of the ancients, who designated the last as the spirit, or the chariot of the soul, {char de V ame.) This is also the opinion of most somnambulists who have reached the highest degree of clairvoyance. It will be perceived that this metaphysical question is foreign to my subject. I speak of it merely to avoid the imputation of not know- ing it. That there are in sentient beings two elements essentially different, is an incontestable fact : one is matter, the other is not. The principle of life is distinct from matter, because it is a princi- ple which acts upon matter and organizes it ; it is distinct from the principle of intelligence, because the plants are alive. 214 OP THE STUDY OP MAGNETISM. [CHAP. X. equally aside of the truth. Magnetism, being an emana- tion from ourselves, directed by volition, partakes equally of the two elements which compose our being. This is not the place to enlarge upon this idea. The object I proposed to myself being to teach the practice of magnetism, it is rather to restrain than to excite the per- sons who wish to study it profoundly, that I have permit- ted myself to lay down the route they should follow, and the difficulties they must vanquish to effect their object. Longer details would be useless; I will therefore merely sum up, in a brief way, what I have said in this chapter. To practise magnetism, you have need only of will, con- fidence, and charity ; and all the books which have been written since men have been treating it as a discovery, would add nothing essential to the principles proclaimed by M. de Puysegur ; namely, an active will to do good; a jirm belief in our 'power ; and an entire confidence in em- ploying it. To examine into the cause and the similarity of the phenomena, you must have first acquired, by your own experience, an entire conviction of the power of the agent. Next, you must have gained a general acquaintance with the natural laws, then of the organization of man, and of the various conditions in which he is found; and, finally, you must rise to another class of ideas, in order to become acquainted with the influence of mind upon organized matter, and to explain how one man acts upon another by his will. Let us thank Heaven that the exercise of a faculty so useful, so sublime, as that of magnetism, demands only sin- gleness of faith, purity of intention, and the developement of a natural sentiment which connects us with the suffer- ings of our fellow-men, and inspires us with the desire and the hope of relieving them. What need have we to consult the wavering decisions of the mind, when we may act effi- caciously by abandoning ourselves to the impulse of the heart? 217 APPENDIX NOTE 1. This work ivas originally published in three parts, and the appen- dix of each part embraced such communications as were received at the time of its publication. It was then intended to make a new arrangement of these and the translator's notes as soon as another edition should be put to press ; but, on refection, it seems better to preserve the original form, and to add the new ones at the con- clusion. It must now appear to every one conversant with Mesmerism, that many of the experiments detailed in this Appendix must have been injurious to the subjects of them, and can find no excuse except in the inexperience of those who permitted them, and in their strong desire to convince scientific men of the power of this agency, then re- cently introduced to our notice. It is, however, useful to let them remain, since they tend to lessen the public curiosity to see them re- peated, in proportion to the authenticity by which they are sup- ported ; and since they establish, by the most respectable testimony, the fact of the wonderful influence which may be exercised. To tliat portion of the correspondence to which physicians of high standing have contributed, we must look for the legitimate exercise of this agency. In such hands, it is destined to produce much good, as an auxiliary to medicine. NOTE II. — Page 25. A child about nine years of age, attending the school of Miss S***, in this city, was, about a month ago, during an intermission, found to be asleep in the school -room. One of the young scholars came and gave information. Miss S # * # and others tried to rouse her ; but, not succeeding, they became alarmed. A young medical student, a son of Commodore John Orde Creighton, being called in, soon perceived that she was in a magnetic sleep. A little girl, about ten years old, betrayed her agency in the matter by bursting into tears. She was so much terrified at the result of the mis- 19 218 appendix. chief, that Miss S*** called her into another room, soothed her distress, and told her she need not be frightened ; she had only to go to Anne, and ask her to wake up. This was done. She merely spoke to her, and she came out of her magnetic state, with that smile upon her visage which is peculiar to those who are gently roused from it. The child had been once before, and only once, put into the somnambulic state. It was effected in about five minutes, by a lady who had never before tried her hand at this business. I learned these particulars from Mr. Benjamin Cozzens, and Mr. Joseph Balch, Jr. An instance of the power of magnetizing without manipula- tion, and causing sleep at the first trial, is afforded in the case of a woman who, being in a nervous state, was put to sleep for the first time by her husband, in the course of fifteen minutes, with- out her knowing any thing of his intention ; she sitting at one part of the room, and he in another. When she was asleep, he went into an adjoining room, out of her direct vision, and, taking down a book, began to read it. After being some time in the mag- netic state, she was awakened. She related correctly what he had done, and evinced the usual proofs of clairvoyance. The gentle- man is a resident of this city, a friend of mine, on whose veracity I can depend. Dr. ## *, of this city, informed me that one of his daughters, seven years of age, put her little sister, between two and three years of age, into a deep magnetic sleep, so that her mother could not rouse her. Some time afterwards, she was very eager to experience the effect again, and cried because she was not permitted to be magnetized. See page 152. An instance occurred of one boy's putting another into the same state, which was related to me by an eye-witness of the fact It took place in this city. NOTE III. — Page 40. The power exercised over the imagination of the patient is not the least singular thing connected with the subject. The success of all experiments of this kind depends upon the control which the magnetizer has over his own imagination, as well as upon the strength which belongs to it. A long practice will enable a man to call up a clear conception of the axticle which he wishes to administer ; and he will succeed in proportion to the clearness and strength of this conception, other things being equal. A glass of water being held in your hand, you will cause the magnetizer to be called into another room, where a person whom you select will whisper to him what you wish to have it taste like. APPENDIX. 219 The magnetizer returns, fixes his mind upon the glass of water, to impart to it the desired quality, and requests the somnambulist to take it from your hand and drink it. He will then ask him what he is drinking 1 . The somnambulist rarely fails to tell, if it be any thing with which he is acquainted. It may be he is but slightly acquainted with the liquor whose taste is induced into the glass of water : in this case is evidently involved' another condition to render the trial satisfactory, viz., the patient must know the article attempted to be imposed upon him. An empty glass does as well as a full one. A peach may thus be transformed into an apple, a pear, an iron ball, &c. A hand- kerchief folded may be changed into a child, a cat, or a dog, and thrown into the lap. In the first case, it will be fondled ; in the second, thrown off with violence, or caressed, as the feeling or the prejudice may happen to be. Nor is it the fact, as some suppose, that the effect is produced merely upon the imagination of the patient. Any medicine which the magnetizer can form a strong conception of may be administered in this manner, and will be accompanied with all its usual effects, as if it were really taken. This is a well- known and common fact. This brings me to the design of this note. At page 39, men- tion is made of magnetized water. An explanation of its uses, and of the manner of preparing it, will be found on the 56tb page. Water is magnetized by making a few passes along the vessel containing it, stirring it Avith the thumb, and accompany- ing the action with a steady exercise of the will, as to the effects which it shall produce. This experiment differs from the ones described above, since they were to influence the taste merely. In the present case, the taste is not altered much, and sometimes not at all. " The patient generally distinguishes it from other water by a peculiar sensation which it excites in the stomach." NOTE IV. — Page 76. Clairvoyance. — This term is used to denote the faculty peculiar to somnambulists and epileptic persons, which enables them to see things near, and also things distant, without appear- ing to use the eye. It seems to be a more expressive word than any in the English language that could be brought to convey its meaning, because the idea meant to be conveyed is peculiar ; and we must either limit a familiar word to one of its significations, invent a new one, or adopt that which is already introduced, and is appropriate in the technology of magnetism. Its literal signi- fication is, clear-sightedness; its technological signification is s clear-sightedness in the somnambulic state. 220 APPENDIX. Somnambulists, when they wish to examine an object atten- tively, generally press it lightly against the epigastrium. The translator has seen one case where the seat of vision was on the back part of the head ; and another, where it was on one side of the head, near the organ designated by Spurzheim as alimentive- ness. The objects examined, such as bank bills, and the super- scriptions of letters, are always held with the blank side next to the seat of vision, so as to be read from right to left. Mr. Stephen Covill, of Troy, New York, being desirous of testing the clairvoyant power of one of our somnambulists, and being withal a skeptic, notwithstanding the evidence offered by the statements and by the thorough convictions of some of his own friends, wrote a sentence upon a piece of paper, without the knowledge of any person, enclosed it between two thick cards, folded them all up in a deep-blue sheet of paper, to prevent the transmission of light, took the precaution to seal it with his own seal and a number of wafers, and put the whole into a larger sheet, directed to Mr. Isaac Thurber. Mr. Thurber presented the letter, sealed, as it came, to Miss Brackett, while she was in the somnambulic state, in the presence of Mr. Henry Hopkins, and a number of others, and requested her to read the contents without breaking the seals. Miss B. took the letter with her on retiring for the night. In the morning she gave the following as the sentence contained therein, which Mr. Hopkins wrote down at her dictation : — " No other than the eye of Omnipotence can read this in this envelopement. * * * * # * 1837." The letter was then sent back in an envelope, the seals not having been broken, with the above sentence written upon the outside of it. There was something where the stars are placed which she could not read. This number will be published before an answer can be received, from Troy. In the second number, it shall be made known, whatever may be its purport. The following letter may serve to show on what basis we raise our confidence : — " Sir : Previous to the experiment of Mr. Stephen Covill, of Troy, I had done this thing to try the clairvoyant power of Miss B. I wrote this sentence on a sheet of paper, " Animal Magnetism may be rendered useful" and carefully folded up the sheet so that the writing was covered with three thicknesses, sealing it with four seals. I then directed it to Dr. Capron, with a request that he would find out the contents of the letter, and write the same on the back of it. No person but myself knew what was in it Dr. Capron brought it the next day to my counting-room, and it was opened in the presence of a number of witnesses, APPENDIX. 221 "The writing on the back corresponded exactly with the writing inside, and°the seals had not been broken. " On another occasion, Miss B., who, by the way, is perfectly blind in the natural state, as Mr. Jesse Metcalf will inform you, — for she has resided many weeks in his family, — recognized a lady of her acquaintance in a house about a quarter of a mile off. Miss B. had never been there till that morning, and then only in spirit. My object in sending her to that house was, to see if she would recognize that lady, who, I knew, was there on a visit Yours, "ISAAC THURBER." In order to prove whether a somnambulist can really visit a place where he has never been before, and describe the present appearance of things there, many trials have been made. One of these was made by a young lady in this city, who sent a som- nambulist to the residence of her father, and received a satisfac- tory description of it. After the sitting was at an end, she in- vited the patient to go home with her ; and as the latter had been told to remember, when awake, what she had seen when in the magnetic state, she readily told at the door of several rooms what she had seen within. Still the suspicion very naturally remained, that the somnam- bulist derives all his notions from the mind of the person in com- munication, which, though it be an astounding circumstance, would induce us to view the subject in an entirely different light To try this, I one day put an old spike into a gun-barrel, and placed it about four or five feet from my writing-desk, against the wall. I then sent a note to Dr. Brownell, who was with one of his patients in the somnambulic state, requesting him to ask her what was in a gun-barrel lying on my desk. The lad who car- ried the note did not know its contents, and did not go into the house, but came immediately back. In about thirty minutes, a line came from Dr. Brownell, stating that there was no gun-bar- rel on my desk ; but that there was one leaning against the wall a short distance from it Other facts affording similar proofs are abundant. It is proper to state that the gun-barrel had prob- ably never been in the room before. A still more interesting proof is exhibited in the following re- lation, which, 1 am authorized to say, is true in all its important facts, and is known to have created a great sensation at the time. Fortunately the witnesses are gentlemen of high standing, and of scientific attainments, whose words are the currency of truth. The relation is extracted from a long and interesting article in the " Salem Gazette." ** Dr. b**##*#* ? f Providence, operated upon a young lady, 19* 222 APPENDIX. who, during the period of magnetic sleep, frequently left the body, and could see and hear without the aid of eyes or ears. She could tell correctly the time by a watch, though enveloped in a cloth, and at the same time having a bandage over her eyes. The doctor had a patient, sick, as was believed, of the liver com- plaint, and bade the girl, who was sitting near him, go (in spirit) to the man's house. Arrived, she, at the doctor's request, de- scribed the house, that there might be no mistake, and then en- tered. ' What do you see ? ' asked Dr. B. ' A man sick.' ' Now I want you to tell me what ails him. First look at his head ; is that well?' 'Yes.' 'How do you know? Do you mean to say that you see the internal organization ? ' ' Yes.' ' Is the liver, heart, &c, well ? ' ' Yes ; it looks just the same as yours, or anybody's else.' ' Well, do you see any thing wrong?' « Yes, there is an enlargement of the spleen.' Several questions were then put to confuse her, and also to ascertain if she knew what the spleen was, and where situated ; to all which she gave satis- factory replies. Still the doctor was incredulous. But now comes the proof. In four days, the man died ; and Dr. B., having obtained permission to institute a, post mortem examination, called on every physician in the city, and narrated the story of the girl. In presence of several of them, the body was subsequently open- ed, when, to their surprise, the girl was right — all that ailed the man was an enlargement of the spleen. " What shall we say to this fact ? It is substantiated beyond the possibility of a doubt, as may be learned by any one passing through Providence. Shall we set it down among the list of curious coincidences, or admit that the girl actually possessed a supernatural sense of vision, and that, for the time being, her im- mortal spirit, released from the body, roved freely and at the wili of the operator ! " As in the state of vision, the fact is no more strange than in the well-attested case of the famed Springfield somnambulist Now, if we admit that the soul, in this case, saw without the aid of the eyes, why not admit that, in certain states of the nervous system, other senses or faculties of the mind may also act inde- pendently of their material organs ? We know the soul thus exists after death, and why not in the state of temporary death caused by animal magnetism ? What know we of the nature of that deathless spark within us ? And if we allow that it may, without the body, enter the next room, we cannot deny the pos- sibility that it may in the same manner annihilate time and space, and travel hundreds of miles as easily and quickly as it can so many feet " But some say, ' We cannot believe that God has given such a dangerous power to the human will. It is out of the common order of nature ; it is a miracle ; we cannot believe it' But who can set bounds to the dominion of the human will ? Man APPENDIX. 223 — before the steady gaze of whose eye the forest-king trembles and flees ; whose power extends to the huge dwellers in ocean's unfathomed infinite : man — at whose nod the giant oak, which for centuries has braved heaven's thunderbolts, falls prostrate, and rises again in beauty to adorn his mansion; who lays his will upon the everlasting rock, and it becomes as wax ; whose highway is earth, and air, and ocean ; whose servant is the light- ning; w r hose intellect spans earth and encircles heaven ; thinking, reasoning, godlike man — who can set bounds to the untried power of his mysterious will ? Who shall say to it, ' Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther ' ? " Now, though, in the above-mentioned cases, our will operates through more tangible means, the facts, were they not so com- mon, are as wonderful as the alleged fact that this same mighty agent, operating through the nervous system, produces all the wonders of animal magnetism. If actual experiment demon- strates the fact, fools may laugh, but wise men believe ; and, be- lieving, bow down and adore with deeper reverence that Great Being from whose almighty will these millions of human wills emanated." On reading this communication, which nearly accorded with what I had heard stated, I conversed with Dr. B., who is one of our oldest physicians, and asked him whether trie statement there made was correct. He replied that it was, in substance ; but some of the particulars were imperfectly stated. He gave me the following account : — " The patient lived more than a quarter of a mile from my resi- dence. I requested a somnambulist, then at my house, to see if she could find such a man, at the same time pointing out to her the situation of the house, which was not in sight from the room where we continued all the time. She saw him. On being asked in what room, she replied, in the third room back from the street. She was then requested to describe the situation of the furniture in it, in order to discover whether she had got into the right place, and whether her clairvoyance might be trusted to at that time: she described it very exactly. " I then told her my patient had been sick a long time, and de- sired her to examine him, and tell what the disease was. " She said, 'He looks so bad I do not like to do it' I replied, 'Never mind that; it looks bad to you, because you have not been accustomed to looking at the interior of a body.' " As I supposed him to be affected with a diseased liver, and with indigestion arising from a diseased state of the stomach, I asked her to look at the stomach, to see if that was diseased; she answered, ' No.' " « Is the liver diseased ? ' ' No.' 224 APPENDIX. " * Well, examine the whole intestinal canal, and see if there is any disease there.' " ' I do not see any,' said she. " « Examine the kidneys.' ' Nothing is the matter with them.' " Not knowing what other part to call her attention to, I re- quested her to look at every part of him. " After some little time, she says, ' His spleen is swelled ; it is enlarged.' " ' His spleen ! ' said I ; ' when we speak of a person who is spleeny, we suppose he has an imaginary complaint What do you mean ? ' " Said she, ' The part called the spleen is enlarged.' " * How do you know it is enlarged ? ' t " ' It is a great deal larger than yours.' " ' Do you see mine ? ' ' Yes.' u ' How large is his spleen ? ' " ' It is a great deal longer and thicker than your hand.' " I then asked her to put her hand where the spleen is situated. She immediately placed her hand over the region of the spleen. " I then asked her what the shape of the stomach was. She replied, that it was like a flower in the garden. I was not ac- quainted with that flower, and do not recollect the name she gave it " I then requested her to recollect all about this, saying I wished to talk with her about it when she awoke. " After she came out of the somnambulic state, she was asked whether she remembered having examined the sick person. She remembered it. " ' What part did you tell me was diseased ? ' After a little consideration, she replied, 'I believe I told you the spleen is enlarged.' " ' How came you to call it the spleen ? ' " ' I do not know.' " 'Did you ever hear any description of the internal organs, or see any plates of them ? ' ' No.' " ' Should you know the plate representing the stomach, if you were to see it ? ' " ' I think I should, if it looked like it.' " ' I will go into the library, and bring out some plates, to see whether you know the internal organs.' " While I was gone into the library, she said to a lady present 4 Every once in a while I saw fluids pass from his stomach into his bowels.' " On returning with the volume of plates, in order to ascertain whether she really distinguished the different organs, I showed her a plate somewhat resembling the stomach, and asked her if that was what she saw for the stomach. She said, « No.' Turn- ing to several plates in succession, she declared that neither of them resembled the stomach. APPENDIX. 225 « Then turning- to the true plate, as if accidentally, while throw- ing open the leaves, intending to pass it by, unless she noticed it, — she immediately cried out, ' That's it ; that's what I saw for the stomach.' " I then conversed with her in relation to the other viscera ; and she gave a very correct description of them, as she had done in her sleep. I asked her if she had conversed upon the subject, or seen any plates of the internal organs. She declared she never had. " Seven days after this, the patient was taken more seriously ill, and died on Saturday, the third day following. " On Monday, a. post mortem examination took place ; previous to which I invited all the physicians whom I could find in the city. " Eighteen persons were present, of whom sixteen were physi- cians. " I then stated all the particulars of the examination by the somnambulic patient, and requested the physicians to examine the body to see if they could discover the diseased spleen from external examination. They, with one voice, declared they could not. " I then opened the body, and, to the utter astonishment of the physicians present, found the spleen so enlarged as to weigh fifty- seven ounces. Its usual weight is from four to six ounces. " No other disease was perceptible, except a general inflam- mation, which, no doubt, came on about three days before his death."* NOTE V. — Page 165. Among the somnambulists that I have seen, there has been a peculiar delicacy exhibited while in the magnetic state. Though the magnetizer undoubtedly possesses the power of changing the appearance of things to their perception, — such as turning an apple into a walnut, and water into lemonade, — yet he, probably, cannot destroy that native sense of propriety which seems to be quickened in the somnambulist * "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn: " Sir : In the account you have given, from conversation with me, of the discovery of the diseased spleen, you have stated that all the physi- cians present at the pose mortem examination, declared they could not discover, by external manipulation, any enlargement of that organ. Two of those gentlemen have since told me that they, individually, did not make such examination. I therefore beg you would make this correction in your second edition. A general invitation was given to examine the body. If there were any who did not do it, it was presumable that they were satisfied with the examination of those who took that trouble. B," 226 APPENDIX. Foissac says, page 392, that " when M. de Puysegur saw, in 1784, the control which he exercised over somnambulists, he was affrighted at the thought that others might turn aside this power from its holy intention. But all his patients declared to him that they preserved in that state their judgement and their reason ; that they perceived very quickly the designs of the magnetizer, and that these could readily cause them to awake. The authors 1 have cited in the preceding paragraph are of the same opinion. My somnambulists have told me exactly the same things. If, then, some instances of a contrary nature are thrown out against us, I will say that magnetism has been the pretext, and not the cause, of these disorders ; because it does not take from all those who practise it, the vicious propensities of their hearts, and all the abuses of which complaint is made, would have existed as much without it as with it." i +**' NOTE VI. — Page 71. The gentlemen who have practised magnetism in this country have arrived to the observation of the same general rules which govern the more experienced practitioners of Europe. This is the more remarkable, since they have been obliged to depend upon the experience which they gained from their own practice, through a want of proper means of information. This fact, about the consequences of making short passes before the head, which M. Deleuze calls charging it too much, was observed to me by one of them who had never read on the subject. NOTE VII. — Page 48—90. It is not to be wondered at, then, if some rough attempts made to rouse a somnambulist, by persons who doubted the reality of the sleep, have effected the object and thrown a temporary sus- picion upon Mesmerism itself, as though it professed to do what it could not perform. One instance of this kind has sometimes produced strong skepticism in the minds of many persons. Hence it is proper to know that there is always a liability, though a very slender probability, of having a patient waked by such means. Unfortunately, the curious phenomena must be exhibited, before magnetism can gain converts to faith in its curative and restorative virtues ; and few are satisfied with hearing about the power possessed by somnambulists, of visiting in spirit the houses of their neighbors and friends ; each one claims the privilege of sending one into his own house, and hearing his own furniture APPENDIX. 227 described. They want the proof of Didymus ; and when they have obtained it, they depart in wonder and astonishment, like the woman of Samaria from the well of Sychar, and relate what they have seen, to excite the wonder and astonishment of others. Hence they who merely hear of these phenomena, form an esti- mate of the subject not from its real utility, but from its curious nature. And there is some danger of having its curative and restorative powers overlooked in the rage of curiosity. When this rage shall have subsided, the magnetizers will have leisure to pursue their avocation without interruption. Jlnd the maxims of the benevolent Deleuze, who forbids such experiments, will com- mand the respect and the attention which they deserve. NOTE VIII. — Page 90. PARALYSIS. The translator has himself witnessed the exertion of this par- alyzing power, both upon patients who were in the magnetic sleep, and upon others while they were not. He has not, however, seen a person paralyze the limbs of another who had never been put into the magnetic sleep by him. It seems to be a necessary condition that a perfect communication shall have been established at some previous time. The power which is gained by the prac- tice of magnetism is, however, so great, that it may be found to be effectual in a trial of this kind, without this condition. When the patient is in the state of magnetic sleep, this paral- ysis of the limbs, of the muscles of the face, of the tongue, and of the eyelids, has been produced in the presence of many per- sons, who tried all means to detect imposture or mistake. The magnetizer would act, by the will merely, upon the part indicated on a slip of paper thrust into his hands, he continuing at the dis- tance of eight or ten feet from the person whose limbs were to be paralyzed, and not uttering a single audible word. Nor was this effect produced by strangers whom we do not know. On the contrary, they are our own citizens, in whom we have perfect confidence as to their integrity of purpose ; and who have never been known to be devoted to tricks of legerdemain and diablerie. " Providence, August 25, 1837. "Sir: In the 'Practical Instruction in Animal Magnetism,' which I am now publishing in English, the author mentions the power that some magnetizers have of paralyzing the limbs of a patient in the magnetic state. But the instance which you re- cently related to me is so much more extraordinary, that I wish 228 APPENDIX. to obtain from you, in writing, a statement of the facts in relation to it, with permission to make use of it in a note. I shall esteem it a valuable addition to the authentic matter to be embraced in the appendix of each number of that work. " Yours, respectfully, «T. C. HARTSHORN. « Dr. Thomas H. Webb." "Providence, Sept. 1, 1837. " Dear Sir : My time has been so much occupied, of late, as to have rendered it impossible for me, until the present moment, to reply to your note of the 25th ult; and even now I am so cir- cumstanced as to be unable to do more than write a very brief reply. " In conversation with Mr. Daniel Greene, of Pawtucket, who, as you probably well know, is the most powerful, as he has been the most extensive, magnetizer in this country, I inquired if he were able to magnetize, and thereby obtain control over, a single limb, ivhttst the rest of the body remained in a natural state. He said that he had done it, in the case of Miss J., with whom you are acquainted, and would attempt it on another patient that we were going to see that afternoon, if reminded of it. " The individual alluded to had never been magnetized but three times, and did not present a very striking exemplification of the usual magnetic phenomena. After trying various experiments, that consumed several hours, we left the house, having forgotten the subject matter of my interrogatory. But, upon recollecting it, we returned, and the patient reseated herself upon being re- quested so to do, without any reason being given her for making the request. " Mr. Greene then went through the usual manipulations some dozen or twenty times, confining them to the space reaching from the top of the left shoulder to the extremities of the fingers on the same side. He afterwards requested her to raise the left hand to the head. She said she could not. There was evident- ly a powerful effort made to do this, as was shown by the working of the muscles inserted into the upper portion of the shoulder ; but the limb remained powerless and motionless, not obeying the dictates of the owner's will. She was asked to raise her right arm to the head, which was done promptly, and with perfect ease and freedom. Again she was directed to stretch out the left hand, but unavailingly. It was completely paralyzed — devoid of motion and sensation. I gave it a severe pinch, nip- ping with the thumb and finger, as hard as I deemed it prudent to, leaving deep impressions with my nails. Upon inquiring if it did not hurt her, she, with an incredulous smile, observed that I had not done any thing to her. I then, without saying any APPENDIX. 229 thing, pinched, in the same manner, though less severely, the other hand, when she drew back from me with a sudden start, and complained that I hurt her. The arm, to one lifting it, was a perfect dead weight. I poised it on my lingers, and Mr. G. restored it ; and there was a very marked difference in it and about it, as it passed from the magnetic to the natural state. " To a person not acquainted with the magnetizer, magnetizee, and the gentlemen present,* there will of course appear nothing conclusive upon the subject of magnetism, in what is here de- tailed ; but to those of us who had previously examined other patients, and satisfied ourselves of the existence of a power by means of which, to a certain extent, one individual may obtain mental mastery over another, the experiment was satisfactory. " (Should a suitable opportunity hereafter present, I may furnish you with a statement of some singular cases which I have wit- nessed. In the mean time, I remain, « Yours, &c. THOMAS H. WEBB. " Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." Among the persons who have possessed this extraordinary power, Gassner deserves especial mention. A brief notice of him may be found in the volume of Doctor Foissac, page 446. I will translate a portion of it " John Joseph Gassner, born at Braz, in the circle of Suabia, 1727, having been delivered by exorcism from a long-continued disease, which had resisted all the resources of the medical art, persuaded himself that the greater part of human infirmities might be attributed to no other cause than demoniacal posses- sion, and that they should be treated with exorcism. He began by curing the sick persons of his own parish ; but very soon Switzerland, Tyrol, and Suabia, sent him theirs, and he cured four or five hundred a year. After having gone over different provinces, he established himself at Ratisbon, under the protec- tion of the lord bishop, (prince- eveque.) The number of persons resorting to him was so considerable, that he often had ten thou- sand of them encamped in the neighborhood of Ratisbon. Gass- ner regarded faith as an essential condition to be cured. It was rare to have the patients delivered from their afflictions at the first exorcism. He consecrated to them several hours, and often many days. When he wished to act upon a patient, he made him place himself on his knees before him; he almost always touched the affected part Sometimes he rubbed his hands upon his waist or upon his neck, but it was not always the case. * Mr. Benjamin Hathaway, of Providence, and Mr. Abner Jones, of JNew York, were present. 20 230 APPENDIX. " Gassner had the power, by his will, to make the pulse of his patients vary ; he made it small, great, strong, feeble, slow, quick, irregular, intermittent ; and, finally, just as the phy- sicians who were present requested of him. He paralyzed their limbs ; caused them to weep, to laugh ; and soothed or agitated them simply by expressing his order in Latin, or rather, mentally. "He thus operated the most extraordinary cures. They found a small number of persons to contradict the facts. But, strange to tell, the celebrated De Haen,* one of the first physicians of his age, not conceiving how Gassner had been able to perform such cures, concluded that his power was derived from the devil. He, however, first argued the question whether they could have been done by sympathy, or by magnetism ; but he declared he did not know any one sufficiently well versed in occult philosophy to perform such wonderful things. "About this time, Mesmer published his first observations. On his journey to Munich, being consulted by the elector of Bavaria, in relation to the cures of the curate of Ratisbon, he recognised in his exorcisms the presence of the virtues of ani- mal magnetism, the nature and the properties of which it was reserved for him to make known." Mesmer himself was endowed with the same degree of power, which, whether exerted in the form of exorcism or of manipulation, would have exhibited effects equally remarkable. From the notes reported by Thouret, in his " Recherches et Doutes" I shall translate a few instances. "Mesmer, being one day with Messrs. Camp*** and d'E*** near the great basin of Meudon, proposed that they should pass alternately round to the other side of the basin, while he re- mained in his place. He made them plunge a cane into the water, and plunged his own into it. At this distance, M. Camp*** experienced an attack of the asthma, and M. d'E*** a pain in the side, to which he was subject Some persons have been seen who were not able to sustain the experiment without fainting. " One day, Mesmer was walking in the woods of the country beyond Orleans. Two girls, taking advantage of the freedom of the country, went ahead of the company to chase him. He be- gan to run ; but, suddenly turning round, he presented his cane towards them, forbidding them to come farther. Immediately their knees bent under them, and they could not advance. " One evening, Mesmer went into the garden of M. le Prince de Soubise, with six persons. He prepared a tree, and, a short time after, Mme. la M. de *** and Mesdemoiselles de Pr*** and P*** fell senseless. Mme. la D*** de T*** held on to the tree with- * De Hagn, under whom Mesmer studied. APPENDIX. 231 out power to leave it M. le C** # de Mons* was obliged to sit down on a bank, not being- able to sustain himself on his limbs. I do not recollect what effect M. Ang****, a very strong man, experienced, but it was terrible. Mesmer then called his servant to take away the bodies ; but, I do not know how it was, although well accustomed to this sort of scene, even he found himself in no condition to act. It was necessary to wait a long time for each one to come to himself." NOTE IX. — Page 89. In the report of the committee appointed by the Royal Acad- emy of Medicine at Paris, and read to that learned body in 1831, may be found the following statement : — " You have all heard of a fact which at the time fixed the attention of the Chirurgical Section,* and which was commu- nicated to it at the session of April 16, 1829, by M. Jules Clo- quet. The committee thought it their duty to imbody it in this report, as one of the least equivocal proofs of the power of the magnetic sleep. It relates to Madame Plantin, aged G4 years, living at 151 Rue Saint-Denis, who consulted M. Cloquet, on the 8th of April, 1829, about an ulcerated cancer on her right breast, which she had had many years, and which was compli- cated with a considerable enlargement of the axillary ganglions. M. Chapel ain, the physician of this woman, whom he had mag- netized for some months, with the intention, as he said, of re- ducing the enlargement of the breast, had been able to obtain no other result than a very profound sleep, during which her sensi- bility appeared to be annihilated, but the ideas preserved all their lucidity. He proposed to M. Cloquet that he should operate upon it while she was plunged into the magnetic sleep. M. Cloquet, considering the operation to be indispensable, consented to do it ; and it was agreed that it should take place on the following Sunday, April 12. The two evenings previous, this woman was magnetized several times by M. Chapelain, who dis- posed her, when in somnambulism, to support the operation with- out fear, and even led her to speak of it with composure, while, as soon as she waked, she repelled the idea with horror. " On the day appointed for the operation, M. Cloquet, on his arrival at half past ten o'clock in the morning, found the patient dressed, and seated in an arm-chair, in the position of a person peacefully wrapped in a natural sleep. It was nearly an hour * The Academy was, in 1820, divided into three sections — Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy. — Trans. 232 APPENDIX. since she had returned from mass, which she always attended at the same hour. M. Chapelain had put her into the magnetic sleep since she came back. The p itient spoke with great calmness of the operation she was about to undergo. Every ar- rangement having been made for the operation, she undressed herself, and sat down upon a chair. " M. Chapelain held the right arm, the left arm being suffered to hang by her side. M. Pailloux, a student at the Saint-Louis Hospital, was charged to hand the instruments and to make the ligatures. First an incision was made from the armpit, above the tumor, to the inner side of the breast. The second, commencing at the same point, separated the tumor below, and passed round to meet the first. M. Cloquet dissected the enlarged ganglions with caution, on account of their proximity to the axillary artery, and took off the tumor. The time consumed in the oper- ation was ten or twelve minutes. "During all this time, the patient continued to converse tran- quilly with the operator, and did not exhibit the slightest sign of sensibility ; no movement of the limbs or of the features, no change in the perspiration, nor in the voice, no emotion, not even in the pulse, were manifested ; the patient did not cea^e to be in the state of self-forgetfulness and passive insensibility, in which she was several minutes before the operation. They were not obliged to hold her ; they merely sustained her. A ligature was applied to the lateral thoracic artery, which was exposed during the extraction of the ganglions. The wound was closed with sticking plaster, and dressed ; the patient was put on the bed, still in the state of somnambulism, and left there forty-eight hours. An hour after the operation, a slight hemorrhage ensued, which did not continue. The first dressing was removed on the succeeding Tuesday, April 14. The wound was cleansed and dressed anew ; the patient manifested no sensibility nor pain. The pulse preserved its natural beat. " After the dressing had been put on, M. Chapelain awoke the patient, whose somnambulic sleep had lasted ever since one hour before the operation, that is to say, for two days. This woman did not appear to have any idea or any impression of what had passed ; but, on learning that she had been operated upon, and seeing her children around her, she experienced a very lively emotion, which the magnetizer terminated by putting her asleep immediately." The following names were appended to this report: — Bourdois de la Motte, President ; Fouquier, Guenoau de Mus- sy, Guersent, Itard. *T. J. Leroux, Marc, Thillaye, Husson* APPENDIX. 233 NOTE X. " Providence, August. 31 1837. « Sir : In compliance with your request, expressed in a note, dated the 24th inst., I herewith furnish you a statement of the case of somnambulism which I have under my charge, to append as a note to the work you have in progress. "Numerous professional engagements at this time will render the statement necessarily very brief and general in its character. This brevity, however, is less to be regretted, as you are able to obtain statements of many of the particulars from a number of re- spectable gentlemen, who have witnessed the case, and who could command more time to devote to making particular experiments. "Miss L. Brackett, the subject of this case, is a respectable and intelligent young lady from Dudley, Mass. Four years since, when about sixteen years of age, she had the misfortune to have an iron weight, weighing two or three pounds, fall from a height upon the top of her head. The injury which she sus- tained was so considerable as to deprive her of her reason for a number of months, during which time she was subject to the most violent spasms, and other serious derangements of her ner- vous system. From the immediate effects of this injury she gradually recovered, and at the end of the year her general health was partially restored. Notwithstanding, however, the improve- ment in her general health, an affection of her eyes, which com- menced immediately after the reception of the injury, and which threatened total blindness, was daily growing worse. The disease with which her eyes were affected is called amaurosis ; it is an affection of the optic nerves, often of a paralytic character. As is usual in cases of amaurosis, the loss of sight was very gradual ; and it was not till the end of two and a half years that it was entirely destroyed. Simultaneously Avitli the loss of sight, she sustained a loss of voice, which was so complete, that for fifteen months she was unable to utter a single guttural sound, and could only whisper in almost inaudible tones. "This was her state, in respect to her eyes and vocal organs, when I first saw her, about the middle of May last ; and her gen- eral health, though somewhat improved, was still far from being good. " Considering her case as a hopeless one, arrangements had been made by her friends to send her to the Asylum for the Blind in Boston, in hopes of her being able, after finishing her education, to obtain a livelihood as a teacher in that or some other similar institution. When on her way to Boston, she stopped, for the purpose of making a visit of a few days, with some friends which she had residing in this city. Being in attendance, at the time, in the family of one of her friends, I was requested to see her 20* 234 APPENDIX. and examine her case, rather as a matter of curiosity, than from & hope that I should be able to prescribe a remedy for her deplora- ble malady. In the course of conversation with her, I found that all the usual means in such cases had been perseveringly employed by the most skilful physicians, without material benefit. "There being-, at this time, a considerable excitement upon the subject of animal magnetism, and being myself engaged in investigating it with a view to its remedial effects, and having become fully convinced of its salutary influence upon some dis- eases, especially those of a paralytic character, — it occurred to me that it might be beneficially practised in this case, upon the supposition that her complaints were dependent upon a paralysis of the nerves supplying the affected organs ; and I accordingly, as a dernier resort, proposed a trial of it. The following day, having consulted her friends and obtained their consent, she desired me to make an experiment. The first sitting occupied about forty minutes, before she was thrown into a profound mag- netic sleep. On this occasion, she manifested many of the usual phenomena of that state. She walked about the house, drank her tea, &c, with as much ease and confidence as she could have done, had she been in the full possession of her sight, and in a waking state. "From the time of the first experiment to the present date, being three and a half months, she has been magnetized daily, sometimes twice daily, with the exception of thirteen days at one time, and three or four at another. The number of times she has been magnetized, therefore, considerably exceeds one hundred. " The magnetic phenomena, though very astonishing at first, became more and more so from day to day. Whether it were in consequence of the magnetic state becoming more and more per- fect the more she was magnetized, or whether, by becoming bet- ter acquainted with the subject, we learn to elicit those phenomena with the better success, it is difficult to determine ; but it is probable that it is owing to a combination of both these causes. "The somnambulic, or perhaps more properly the magnetic phenomena, have been of several different kinds, and each kind manifested in several different ways. The first and most obvious of these phenomena is what the French term clairvoyance — clear- sightedness, mental vision, or vision without the use of the visual organs. This wonderful power is manifested, first, in her being- able to see any object that is presented to her, when in the mag- netic sleep, though totally blind when awake. Experiments have been varied and multiplied almost indefinitely, to prove the ex- istence of this power, and with entire success, as you have had frequent opportunities to witness. Objects, when examined by her, are never held in a direction to be seen with the eyes, but are laid down upon the top of the back part of the head, from which point she has generally seen, though the seat of vision APPENDIX. 235 has varied at different times. She has been able, though with more exertion, to see objects that were enclosed in boxes, trunks, and watch-cases ; to read letters that were folded, &c. " Secondly, this power is manifested in the ability to see ob- jects not present — in a distant city, for instance. In the exercise of this power, another seems to be necessary — that of locomo- tion, as it has been called, or of transporting herself from one place to another. This she says she does through the air. " Another description of phenomena, which may be called those of intelligence, is manifested in the somnambulist's under- standing the will of the mignetizer, or of the person with whom she may he in communication. To test this power, I have made a great number of experiments, which have been almost uniformly successful. She can, for instance, be willed to have in her hand various kinds of fruits, cakes, wines, animals, birds, &c. ; or any other things may be changed from one to another at the will of the magnetizer. "There is a class of phenomena which seem to partake more of a physical character than those above mentioned, as wit- nessed in the attraction which takes place between the hand of the magnetizer and the magnetized, and also as witnessed in the attraction and repulsion in the application of the artificial mag- net. I do not wish to be understood to mean that this phenom- enon certainly partakes of a physical character, though the sudden, powerful, and apparently involuntary action of the muscles seems to favor this opinion. On the contrary, it must be admitted that the patient, in this case, not only understands the will of the magnetizer, but observes all his actions ; and therefore these mo- tions may be voluntary and in obedience to his will. Or, in using the magnet, a powerful influence may be produced upon the imagination, and those effects may be occasioned by the imagi- nation acting upon an excitable nervous system. " The want of time and opportunity on my own part, and the desire to have as many distinguished and scientific persons see and investigate this case in their own way, as has been consistent with her convenience, have prevented my making experiments calculated to establish this point conclusively; neither have I, for the same reasons, been able to determine, satisfactorily, whether all the senses can be used in reference to things not present, as is the case with virion, though from some recent ob- servations, I hive myself no doubt of the fact. " In speaking of the magnetic phenomena, I mean only to refer to those which have been manifested in this particular case. Many others, differing materially from these, have been observed in other cases, of which it is neither necessary nor proper that I should speak at this time. Should I, however, ever find it con- venient to communicate to the public a more detailed and better digested history of this case, — which is my present intention, — 236 APPENDIX. I shall attempt, after giving the result of my investigations, to follow out the classification of the phenomena which I have here merely glanced at. By pursuing this mode, perhaps we may arrive at some rational theory. At present, however, until a greater number of facts have been established, and more clearly arranged, to attempt to theorize appears to me to be entirely futile. " In conclusion, it gives me great pleasure to be enabled to say from my own observations, that, however interesting animal mag- netism may be when considered in relation to science, however interesting as matter of curiosity and wonder, or however inter- esting it may be as a means of discovering the condition of our absent friends, or the machinations of our enemies, it is still more interesting as the means of mitigating the suffering incident to human nature. It will be recollected I have stated that, when Miss Brackett came to this city, about the middle of May last, her general health was far from being good ; she was totally blind, and unable to speak excepting in the lowest whisper. Her condition is materially different at this time. Her health is good; her vision is partially restored ; and she speaks in her natural tone of voice. " With much respect, " Yours, &c. " Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." G - CAPRON. Providence, August 30, 1837. Mr. Henry Hopkins states that Miss Brackett has lived in his family, as an invited guest, four or five weeks, at different times. He is satisfied that she was totally blind Avhen she first came to live with him. Her voice, when he first became ac- quainted with her, was so low and weak that it was difficult to hear her speak. Her eyes were very much inflamed and painful ; the lids were scarcely open ; they were easily affected by the light, so as to be painful. She has since improved very much in her eyesight Her eyes have assumed a healthy appearance; they are not troublesome. She can even lay aside the green shades, which she used to wear, without experiencing inconvenience, except in a very bright light. She is now able, in the natural state, to dis- cern the outlines of objects, such as a book, or a fan, for instance. There is also a very great improvement in her appetite, appear- ance, and general health. She has been magnetized almost daily by Dr. Capron ; and it is to this that this improvement is to be attributed. Her natural cheerfulness and elasticity of spirits have improved with her health. In the magnetized state, she enjoys a walk as much as any one, and often walks in the garden among the flowers. If she wishes to examine any flower very closely, sht APPENDIX. 237 holds it just behind her head, near the top, ivithout taking off her bonnet ; in this mariner she holds whatever things she examines. To look at any picture hanging- up in a room, in a house where she has not been before, she steps into a chair, and brings the top of her head towards it. Mr. Hopkins permits me to publish the above statement. Mr. Jesse Metcalf says he has known Miss B. about two months. She has resided in his family, at different times, about four weeks. He was not acquainted with her when she first came to Providence, and could not understand her very well at first, because her voice was very feeble ; she did not speak, ex- cept in low whispers. Her health was quite delicate, and her appetite poor. Her eyes appeared to be quite inflamed ; it was necessary to keep the blinds of the room almost always closed, and the lamp where it could not shine so as to pain her eyes. While at his house, she has generally been magnetized every day. She would sometimes remain in the magnetized state ten or twelve hours, during which she would walk about the house as well as any other person ; but when she was in her ordinary state, she would have to grope about, and feel her way. In the mag- netized state, she enjoys vision, looking at objects with great pleasure, especially pictures, portraits, &c. This makes her de- light in being in that state. She describes such tilings very accurately. Mr. Metcalf says that her general health and her appetite are very much improved. When in the somnambulic state, she walks along the streets with perfect ease, and hears any person she is directed to, very well. She has been to meeting three times with his family in that state, and could remember some parts of the discourses, having heard them very well. When Dr. Capron leaves her in the magnetic state, he first tells her to answer and converse with all his family, or with some member of it She cannot then talk with any but these persons; nor can she hear any thing addressed to her by any one else. She cannot, when in that state, hear the conversation between any two individuals. She can only see their lips move, and wonders they do not talk. She cannot even hear the person Avith whom she converses, when he talks with any body else. She hears him only when he addresses her. Miss B. is intelligent, has received a good edu- cation, and is cheerful and pleasant. When in the magnetized state, she can tell imnie liately in ivhat part of the house every mem- ber of the family is, without moving or turning from her seat. Mr. M. has eleven in the family, including Miss B., Avho is now stay- ing with him. Miss B. says the walls of the house, as do all other walls, 233 APPENDIX. appear to be transparent. She can see through them, and yet she can see them, and describe what kind of paper, or paint, is on them. Miss B. is of pleasing manners, and is an invited guest in his house, where she has interested all the family. Mr. Metcalf permits me to publish this statement, which he made at my request. Unless she is magnetized, she cannot enjoy the pleasure of reading, and this is one cause of her being so fond of remaining magnetized. While she was residing at the mansion of Stanford Newel, Esq., she found there Hannah More's " Private Devotions," a small work which has been printed since she became blind. This she took with her when she retired one night; and in the morning, before she was restored to the natural state, she observed that she had been reading most of the night. There was no light in the room. One of the ladies of Mr. Newel's family soon discov- ered that by giving out the first line of several of the poems, she was able to repeat the whole, verbatim. In this manner she had learned at least twenty of the pieces. I have seen the book. It is the fine-type edition of Messrs. Crocker & Brewster; Boston, 1836. This exercise doubtless has a tendency to retard the progress of her cure ; but the natural activity of her mind makes it difficult for her to sit idle. NOTE XI. The following paper was drawn uo by M. B. L # *' ## * # *, a gen- tleman at the head of one of our noblest literary institutions, from notes taken at the time of experimenting. One thing adds much to its value ; and that is, the early date at which it ivas drawn up. This serves also to explain why circumstances are stated so mi- nutely, which are now so well known to be attendant on most experiments of the kind. There is no danger of carrying such minuteness too far in this subject, since those whi are familiar with its phenomena, and those who are not, are equally prone to form hasty conclusions, without sufficiently considering the great variety of phases they present, and the intricacy of principles they may involve. To make theories is very easy ; but to observe facts requires patience and caution. Hence we hear men, every day, in regard to this subject, speak dogmatically, as though they had established every thing they utter by a carpful observation of the facts as they exist; whereas its acknowledged difficulties ought to make us more cautious, and more willing to bestow care upon it. This paper was not intended for publication. APPENDIX. 239 ' ; Providence, 12th month, 1836. " To assist the memory of the writer, and for the gratification of a few of his particular friends, the following brief account of animal magnetism, as witnessed and practised by himself, has been penned. It contains a simple statement of certain phenom- ena produced upon one individual by another, principally by the agency of the icill, assisted by certain manipulations, known by the name of 'passes.' The attention of the writer was first called to the subject by perusing notices, published in Boston papers, of wonderful effects, caused by Bugard and others, such as producing a sleep so profound that a tooth could be, and actu- ally was, drawn, without occasioning any painful sensation. Far from putting confidence in these statements, but little was thought of the subject, till an intimate friend gave him some account of a lecture he had attended, (perhaps the evening previous,) on animal magnetism, by Charles Poyen. He was unphilosophical enough to exclaim, 'I do not believe it!' and to attempt to prove its fallacy by its strangeness. This circumstance is men- tioned to show that the writer was far from being prejudiced in favor of what was then generally believed to be a humbug. tt As, however, it became the general topic of conversation, and as questions of this sort — 'What do you think, Mr. , of animal magnetism ? ' 'Dost thou think, M , there is any thing in animal magnetism?' were repeatedly asked, to which, of course, he could give no satisfactory answer, he came to the conclusion to embrace every opportunity for gaining information, which could lend assistance in forming a judgment. Far from finding an associate in his immediate circle, he undertook the investigation alone. " To carry into effect this resolution, Charles Poyen's lectures were attended, his experiments at Pawtucket witnessed, and finally the Report of the French Commissioners read. (It is proper to remark that the experiments at Pawtucket were far from being satisfactory. It seemed to be the opinion of the ex- perimenter that the object in coming was rather to behold won- ders than to investigate. There was apparently, therefore, no exertion to remove whatever might lead to suspicion of artifice.) But still being unsatisfied, the only way remaining seemed to be for the writer to experiment for himself, which he did, as follows : — "First attempt — Individual, L T , a young man, about twenty-three years of age, in good health, except occa- sional difficulty of digestion. Time, twenty-five minutes. Ef- fects, nothing worthy of note. " Second attempt. — Subject, time, and effect, same as last. "Third attempt. — Subject, a young lady, about seventeen years old, in good health ; said to be nervous. Time and effect, same as above. 240 APPENDIX. "Fourth attempt. — Subject, time, and effect, same as before. "Fifth attempt — Subject, a young lady, about eighteen years of age, apparently in good health. Time, twenty-five or thirty minutes. Effects, drowsiness and great difficulty of keeping the eyes open, flow of saliva to the mouth. " Sixth attempt. — Subject, G C , a lad fourteen years old, subject to attacks of croup. Knew nothing more of anima* magnetism than the name. Of good endowments, and an inno- cent and affectionate disposition. "12 mo. 13th. — Time, effects, &c. — He was called to the writer's room about 5 P. M., seated in a rocking-chair, and told that he was to be magnetized, and all that he must do was, to sit still, and keep his eyes open as long as he could ; to which he assented. There was no one in company except his brother. The manipulations were the same as those mentioned in the French report, under the name of 'passes.' Notwithstanding re- peated laughter from the brother, yet scarcely five minutes had elapsed, before evident effects were produced — an incessant tremor of the hands, and, occasionally, motions of the feet Ten minutes, convulsions increased, particularly in the hands and arms ; lids partly closed, with constant motion, resembling rapid winking. Fifteen minutes, convulsions continued ; lids closed, but still in motion. Twenty minutes, little change during the last five minutes ; occasionally, sudden convulsive motions of the whole body. The magnetizer now despaired of producing sleep, supposing the nervous system to be affected by the imagination, and mistaking the convulsive motions of the eyelids for voluntary. The process ceased. The brother, with a laugh, exclaimed, 'George!' But no reply was obtained. The magnetizer. — ' Art thou sleepy, George ? ' ' Yes,' replied G. C. ' How long before thou wilt be asleep ? ' ' One minute.' S. A. (a teacher) was called in, and requested to ask him a question; which he did repeatedly, without getting any answer, till the magnetizer mentally directed him to reply, when he answered immediately. The company were completely astounded. It appeared to be the general wish that he should be waked. His eyes remaining closed, he was, however, asked how many there were in the room ; to which he replied correctly. A knife was held before his forehead, and he was requested to name it. Reply, ' A knife.' 'How dost thou know?' 'It has iron about it' His brother, being requested to wake him, endeavored to by shaking him, speaking his name aloud, &c, but in vain. 'Come, George, it is time to wake up,' said the magnetizer, taking him by the hand. He immediately rubbed his eyes, and arose from his seat The trembling of his hands still continued, but ceased in a few min- utes. Said he felt well, " Second sitting. — Commenced magnetizing about 7 P. M. In twelve minutes, profound sleep was produced, accompanied by APPENDIX. 245. convulsive motions, as before. He went to sleep in presence of his class, twenty-five in number. He was asked how many there were present ; to which he replied, without hesitation, i Thirteen.' {Wrong.) The great ease with which he comprehended the wiit of the magnetizer at this sitting, is remarkable. A single mental request was sufficient to cause him to take or reject the hand of any one present ; and by the same means, communication with those around him was readily established and broken off. Sev- eral articles, as knives, pencils, &c, were presented to different parts of his head, which he named, generally, correctly. At this sitting, and most of the following, he manifested great uneasiness at the presence of iron. ' What is it, George ? ' (A key being held by his forehead.) ' A key,' — at the same time withdrawing his head. After repeatedly endeavoring in vain to awake him, his schoolmates retired ; when the magnetizer left him for a few minutes, to invite the superintendents and teachers to witness magnetic sleep. Upon the return of the magnetizer, being asked who was present, he repeated the names of several of the teach- ers. (Right.) And being asked whether any women were in the room, he spoke the names of most of the females present. Again he was requested to tell what was held by his head, which he did, generally, correctly, and invariably took or rejected the hand of any one, at the will of the magnetizer. He would also converse, or not, according as he was commanded to, or not, by the thoughts of the magnetizer. S. A # ** # * requested him to rise and walk with him, which proposal being mentally opposed by the magnetizer, he could not be prevailed upon to comply, till the magnetizer, in accordance with the wish of S. A., expressed by a sign, willed that he should rise ; when he immediately arose. Magnetizer offered his arm, which was accepted. Magnetizer asked him if he perceived a comb before his face ; to which he replied in the affirmative. (A comb.) Being requested to re- member the comb after the sleep ended, he promised to do so. Finally, all being perfectly satisfied that he was completely sub- ject to the will of the magnetizer, and that he alone could awake him, ' Come, George,' said the magnetizer, < it is time to get up.' He immediately rubbed his eyes and awoke. Being asked if he knew what he had done, he replied, ' No,' (hesitatingly.) ' Some- thing about a comb.' He thought he should not remember the comb, as he did not see it distinctly. Upon presenting two dis- similar ones, he immediately selected it. He said he had some recollection of a key, and that he knew it to be a key, because he ' felt a bunch of attraction, a line of attraction, and a ring of attraction? " 12 mo. 14th. — Third sitting. — Pulse seventy-nine, sleep in nine minutes, lids closed. Magnetizer put the questions, and received the answers which follow : < Is I D in the room ? ' 'I can't see him.' ' Dost thou feel pleasant ? ' ' Yes.' 21 242 APPENDIX. * How many are present, George ? ' ' Thirty-eight,' — moving his head round as if to count them. (Right.) ' Dost thou count thy- self? ' ' No.' ' Dost thou count me ? ' ' No.' « Dost thou count Jonathan ? ' ' No.' (There were thirty-eight in the room be- sides the three excepted.) ' Dost thou count Samuel ? ' ' Don't know.' ' What lesson art thou to recite this morning ? ' ' Spell- ing.' (Right.) 'From what book?' 'Philadelphia Expositor.' (Right.) ' What smell has this ?' (Ammonia.) ' Acid.' 'What is this?' (a shell being presented.) 'Paper.' (Paper being near in magnetizer's other hand.') 'What is it, George ? (The paper being removed.) ' A shell.' ' Feel any thing ? ' (Being pricked under the nail with a pm.) ' Yes.' (At the same time manifesting sensation.) ' What is the matter ? ' ' Pricking me.' 'What with?' 'A pin.' 'Who pricked thee?' ' J ******* {§#**#*.» (Right.) 'What is this?' (A file being presented.) 'Steel.' 'What is this?' (Hare's aerometer.) 'Some copper about it.' ' What is this ? ' (Button.) ' Button.' ' How many in the room? ' ' About seventy.' (Being eighty.) ' What time is it ? ' (Being five minutes after nine.) ' Quarter of nine.' ' How dost thou tell ? ' 'By watch.' ' Who has it ? ' ' Moses.' (The magnetizer.) ' What time dost thou say it is ? ' ' No — a little past nine.' ' Wilt thou wake, George, in just three min- utes from now ? ' ' Yes.' (He fulfilled his promise to a second.) " N. B. Pulse somewhat increased. "12 mo. 18th. — Commenced about half past 6, P. M. Sound sleep in four minutes. At this time, magnetized readily obeyed the will of magnetizer, and generally told correctly what was held before him. He manifested much uneasiness at the presence of iron, &c, as before. Convulsive motions about the same as previous sittings. He told the number of persons correctly, some of whom had come in after he was put asleep. He was re- quested to wake in two and a half minutes. In two and a quar- ter minutes, sleep ended. " About five minutes after, he was again put to sleep in two minutes, by the will alone of the magnetizer, who sat at the dis- tance of four feet. Lids fixed, but not closed. He shut them at the wish of the magnetizer, accompanied by a motion of the hand downwards. He told the number in the room correctly, and answered various questions put to him by others, when per- mitted by the magnetizer. Convulsive motions entirely ceased. Magnetizer stepped to a. distant part of the room, and mentally requested magnetized to come to him. He complied. Finally, he was requested to awake in just ten minutes, which he did to a second. " Lastly, magnetizer retired to an adjoining room, and willed him to sleep in one and a half minutes. After a few experi- ments, to be fully satisfied that he was asleep, magnetizer waked him. APPENDIX. 243 w 12 mo. 19th. — Fifth sitting. — G. C**** was explaining to his teacher the method of solving 1 a question in algebra, after which he was to solve two others to finish his lesson. He knew nothing of the intention to put him asleep. Magnetizer seated himself in a room at least seventy feet distant, between whom and magnetized there were as many as three stone and brick walls, besides several partitions. To take the nearest route from one to the other, seven doors are to be passed through, five of which were shut. The process of magnetizing continued about two and a half minutes, when magnetizer went to ascertain the re- sult. He found magnetized explaining his sum, but manifesting a fixedness of countenance. After he had gone through the ex- planation, which, as his teacher informed, was rather singularly accomplished, he commenced upon the questions following. G. R* ## , a teacher, spoke to him, but could get no answer. Magnet- izer then stepped to an adjoining room, and magnetized about a minute longer. On returning, he could perceive no change. Magnetized still sat engaged about his lesson. His eyes were open, and he was free from convulsive motions. Magnetizer said, ' Come, George, wake up.' No reply or sign of waking. ' When art thou going to wake up ? ' ' When I get my sums done.' Magnetized took off his cravat, and laid it aside ; being asked the reason, he said, ' It is warm.' Magnetizer, feeling some anxiety at his inability to wake him, rendered him some assistance, at the same time telling him to finish his lesson as soon as he could, and then to wake. Several attempts were made to deceive him, that he might get through sooner ; but one only succeeded, at which time he was looking in his book for the answer. As soon as the questions were solved, he rubbed his eyes and awoke. Being questioned, he said he remembered nothing that had oc- curred, not having seen the magnetizer before that moment since quarter past 3, P. M. We proceeded immediately to the ta- ble ; but just as we were leaving the room, he inquired for his cravat, not recollecting that he had laid it aside. After tea, mag- netizer told him he had interrupted him some during the after- noon, and wished to know if he had finished his lesson. He re- plied, 'I have two more sums to do ;' entirely forgetting that he had solved them during his sleep. " Sixth sitting. — Sleep produced in half a minute. A bar magnet was brought near, when magnetized manifested great uneasiness. Magnetizer said, ' What is it, George ? ' ' Magnet.' 'Why dost thou not sit still?' 'It hurts.' 'Which pole is to- wards thee ? ' ' North pole,' (right,) — at the same time moving his head towards it. ' How dost thou know ? ' 'It pulls.' Upon re- versing the poles, he instantly started back as if touched by a hot iron. ' Which pole is it ?' ' South.' (Right.) 'How dost thou know ? ' 'It pushes.' This experiment was several times repeat- ed, with the same result In a word, it was impossible to deceive 244 APPENDIX. him. Whether the ' magnetizer ' or any other person held the magnet, he invariably moved his head toward the north, and from the south pole, even when it was presented at the distance of eight feet. Indeed, he showed, by words and various movements, that he was not at all pleased with the experiment. Magnetizer extended his hand towards him, to which he moved his head. Being asked how it felt, he replied, ' It pulls.' It seemed to be rather agree- able to him than otherwise. Magnetizer then withdrew his hand, and brought his head near to the forehead of the magnet- ized, at which he manifested the same uneasiness as at the south pole of the magnet. The novel thought occurred to the magnet- izer, that perhaps himself might be magnetized, negatively, by induction. He therefore concluded to form the circuit, and know the result. It was formed by placing the hand of the magnetizer upon the head of the magnetized, and the hand of the magnet- ized upon the head of the magnetizer. Just as the connection was being made, the magnetized sprang as if he had received an electric shock, though nothing was felt by magnetizer. I**** jj#####« tried the same, with the same result. Magnetizer — 1 What is the matter, G eorge ? ' ' Giving me shocks.' The con- nection was made by several persons, (perhaps five,) taking hold of hands. Still, the shocks were felt. To ascertain whether the will of the magnetizer was at all concerned in the production of the shocks, he willed that the magnetized should feel cold, where the connection was made. But in vain ; the shocks were felt as before. Glass proved not to be a non-conductor. On being waked, he had no recollection of what had occurred, but complained that he felt as if he had been receiving severe elec- tric shocks. " 12 mo. 25th. — Seventh sitting. — Magnetizer at least one and a half miles distant. — Time, 6, P. M. — Perfect sleep in one minute. Magnetizer directed him to shut his eyes ; also, to tell one present, J. L. S ##### , that he was coming, and then proceed- ed to join the company. At the same time, magnetized whis- pered something which was not audible. A communication being thus established between him and J. L. S*****, the fol- lowing questions were put and answers received : — " ' Where is the magnetizer ? ' ' Coming.' ' Where was he when he put thee to sleep ? ' 'In a house, and sitting.' (Right) It may be proper here to remark, that G. C #### was informed that he was to be magnetized some time during the evening, but not at what hour. Neither did he know whether the magnetizer was at the institution at the time or not. ' How dost thou know ? ' 4 1 saw him.' 'Has he an umbrella?' 'Yes.' 'How dost thou know ? ' 'I feel he has his hand on it.' ' Canst thou see the streets, or the lamps in the streets ? ' ' No.' ' Canst thou see the bridge?' 'No; it is dark.' 'In what direction is he?" (Magnetized placed his hand upon his forehead, and then moved APPENDIX. 245 it towards the place at which he said the magnetizer was.) ' How dost thou know he is in that direction ? ' ' 1 feel him pull.' (At the same time manifesting uneasiness at what he called the pull- ing of the magnetizer. The last two questions were often re- peated, and the same answers as often received.) < Shall I stop the pulling ? ' ' Thou canst not stop it ; no one can stop it' ' Is he walking, or running ? ' ' Running, now.' (Magnetizer does not now recollect whether he ran any or not.) ' How many are there in the room, and who are they?' 'Four. J. L. S # *** # , J. q##*# ? j$ g*****^ an( j m y S elf.' (Two entered while he was asleep.) " Magnetized was shocked, as at the last sitting. When mag- netizer had approached about one mile, he wished him to speak to J. L. S # * ### and C. W. J****** ? supposing them both to be present. About the same time, he took J. L. S* #### by the hand, and with the other seemed to feel for some one. Being asked by J. L. S ## ** # what he wished, he replied, < C* #### * W. J******.' At the same time, magnetizer wished him to speak to none but the two individuals just mentioned, when he ceased to answer the questions of J. C ****, his brother, with whom he had been conversing, without any directions from the magnetizer. During the early part of his sleeping, he made various gestures, supposed to indicate a wish to hurry the mag- netizer, saying at the same time, ' Faster ! faster ! ' "At thirty-five minutes past 6 o'clock, magnetizer arrived, and found magnetized asleep, in company with J. C # *** and J. L. S** ## *. Of his own accord, on the entrance of the magnet- izer, he put out his hand, smiled, and seemed glad to see his friend. After a few moments in conversation, the sleep of the magnetized was terminated by the will of the magnetizer." note xn. To Messrs. A. V. and C. C. Potter, to whom I am indebted for many opportunities of seeing and trying interesting experiments, I take this occasion to express my thanks. The former gentle- man, in addition to all other obligations, has furnished me the following account of his experience as a magnetizer. It is very observable, to one who has had a chance to become acquainted with the statements of foreign writers, that there is a striking similarity of conclusion between them and our own magnetizers, in cases where it was almost impossible for the latter to obtain the notions of the former. This is certainly a priori proof of the strongest kind in favor of the reality of magnetism, and of the universality of its principles ; and it should be an inducement, to euch as have leisure, to investigate the subject, until those prin- 21* %4& APPENDIX. ciples are as clearly demonstrable as those of electricity. I would remark that Mr. P. differs from some others in regard to the intuitive knowledge of time, which is claimed as one of the faculties of somnambulists. He has even now a patient who wakes every morning precisely at the hour he tells her to the evening previous, — a fact which I learned from Captain James Brattelle, in whose family she now resides. This young lady, whose case is a very peculiar one, cannot see while in the mag- netic state. Her waking up at the hour indicated by her mag- netizer is a strong objection to his own conclusion, which is y that somnambulists borrow their notions of time from the thoughts of others, or see it on the nearest watch or other timepiece. This ease, however, has occurred since the article below was written. " The first good subject I ever obtained, was a married lady, of about twenty-three. At the fifth sitting, of about forty minutes each, she became sound asleep. 1 asked her, after a few ques- tions in regard to her feelings, whether she could see any thing out of the room where she was sitting. She replied that she could. I asked her the time, by the clock in the other room. She said, twenty-tivo minutes past eight ; upon looking, I found it to be correct to a minute. I knew that she had never been in my shop, where men only had been employed. I asked her how it appeared. She gave a correct account of its appearance. I then asked her if there was any one in at the time. She said there were three. I supposed that there was no one there ; it being evening, and at a time when it was generally closed. I went directly thither, and, to my astonishment, I found three of my apprentices at work. On my return, I took an out of the way road, and sat down upon a drag for a few moments, to see if she would observe it. When I returned, she told me exactly where I had been, what way I returned, and observed that the short time I sat upon that drag could not have rested me, " I asked her to tell the number of persons in the room directly over where we sat, it being occupied by another family. She answered, * There are seven ; Mr. Day, his wife, and two children, a small girl who lives with them, and two ladies that I do not recollect to have seen before.' I sent up the maid directly to as- certain the fact. While she was gone, I asked the patient what she said, and to whom she spoke. She replied, that she spoke to Mr. Day, and asked him what time in the evening it was ; and no one but him made reply. k The girl asked the time of night, as a pretext to ascertain the number in the room. She stated the number precisely the same as my subject. There were two ladies there whom she did not know. The maid was not in the room when my subject told the number in the chamber, nor did she know the reason of my sefcd- iag her on such an errand* APPENDIX. 247 " I took a number of small things from the shelf, and enclosed them perfectly tight in my hand, and she told what they were. I took my watch and covered it as closely as possible in my handkerchief; she mentioned the time to a minute. I took a piece of blank paper, and marked one or two capital letters with a lead pencil, and placed them between the leaves in the middle of a book. She had no difficulty in telling what they were. She would frequently tell the time of day by a dozen watches that were in the room, without their being taken from the fob. " I have the most indisputable proof of their seeing to a great distance, although they frequently fail in experiments of this kind. I find a great difference in the veracity of subjects, owing partly, I think, to their vanity and desire to answer every thing that is asked them, and partly to their inability at times to dis- tinguish small objects. They sometimes appear to draw largely from their imaginations and preconceived opinions. They are apt to get into this habit after being magnetized a great number of times. I consider the information obtained from new subjects to be much the most correct. "Two gentlemen came to see one of my subjects one evening ; they had passed Newport that afternoon, and had observed some things to test her clairvoyance. They sent her into a room of a house there, to which she and myself were total strangers, where she found an old gentleman asleep in his chair. They said it could not be otherwise than correct, as it was a fixed habit for the occupant of the house to sleep at that time in the evening, in his chair. " She gave a minute description of every house and room which they directed her to. On asking her the time of night by the clock at Newport, she said that the clock did not go, and both hands hung directly down. The gentlemen were astonished at its correctness, as they saw them taking down the clock when they passed through in the afternoon, and remarked that it would be a perfect test of her clairvoyance. Newport is thirty miles distant, and a place where my subject had never been. I do not mention this as an insulated fact, but as one that will not admit of contradiction, not only from the nature of the proof, but the character of the witnesses ; they being the Honorable Judge Durfee and Judge Staples, both of our Supreme Court, and Horace Manchester, Esq., attorney, of this city. " I have had gentlemen from Boston, Salem, Newport, Taunton, New Bedford, New York, and other places, who have witnessed experiments of seeing to a great distance ; and in such cases I have directed my subject to go (as we term it) to their respective places of abode, and have generally enforced the most perfect conviction. "I sent a subject to New York that was never in the city. She gave a most correct description of Trinity Church, the monuments 248 APPENDIX. in the enclosure, their situation, and the whole of its internal structure. I then sent her into a broker's office in Wall Street, (Mr. Vernon's.) He informs me that the description is correct She said she saw nothing except a few books and some money. She could not see any goods, although I called it a store. Mr. Vernon was an entire stranger to myself, as well as to the som- nambulist. " A good clairvoyant will never fail to tell the denomination of a bill, the superscription on a letter, or any sentence distinctly written, even if it is folded so as to bring the writing on the in- side. I have lately been trying some very interesting experi- ments, in connection with two or three gentlemen, upon the faculty of clairvoyance, which I should not feel justified in laying before the public in their present unfinished state. " I have found that all my clairvoyants can tell the time ; but upon asking them how they tell, they will say they see some neighboring clock ; such as that in their own house, or the near- est church. I said to a patient of mine one evening, ' Can you tell what time it is ? ' She said, f No ; our clock does not go." 1 Upon looking, I found the clock had been stopped fifteen minutes — two hours after she had been put into the magnetic sleep. I have told them to wake by a prescribed time, and have found them very accurate. At other times, they would wake before half the period had elapsed. " There are some subjects, however, that are very exact in their time of waking, very rarely varying more than six seconds from the prescribed time. I have told others to wake in four minutes, and in four minutes more to go to sleep again ; they would wake in three minutes, or less, and go to sleep again in the same time. I have told others to wake in four minutes by a certain clock, or watch, and go to sleep in the same time ; they would wake at the exact time, and go to sleep one minute, or one minute and a half, too soon. So that I am convinced, not only from the artificial divisions of time, but from a great number of experiments, that they either see some timepiece, or guess at its duration." NOTE XIII. S OMNAMB UL1SM, No one who reads medical works is ignorant of the frequent occurrence of natural somnambulism. A hundred cases could undoubtedly be quoted from the best authorities. A remarkable and well-authenticated one recently appeared in the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal." I do not know whether to class APPENDIX. 249 the following relation, which I find in a very old translation of Pliny's " Natural History," with facts or with fictions. Does not its resemblance to what is known to take place in induced somnam- bulism, authorize us to consider it as having some foundation in truth ? " We read in Chronicles, that the ghost of Hermotimus Clazo- menius was accustomed to abandon his body for a time, and, wan- dering up and down in far countries, used to bring home news, from remote places, of such things as could not possibly be known, unless it had been present there ; and all the while his body lay, as it were, half dead in a trance. This practice it continued so long, that at last the Cantharidae, who were his mortal enemies, took his body and burnt it to ashes ; and by that means disappointed his poor soul, when it came back again, of that sheath, as it were, or case, where she meant to bestow her- self." — Pliny, b. 7, ch. 52. There is some similarity between the above relation and the following, which is extracted from Watson's " Annals of Phila- delphia," page 235, edition of 1830 : — " The good people of Caledonia have so long and exclusively engrossed the faculty of second sight, that it may justly surprise many to learn that we also have been favored with at least one case as well attested as their own. I refer to the instance of Eli Yarnall, of Frankford. Whatever were his first peculiarities, he in time lost them. He fell into intemperate habits, became a wanderer, and died in Virginia, a young man. He was born in Bucks county, and, with his family, emigrated to the neighbor- hood of Pittsburg. There, when a child seven years old, he sud- denly burst into a fit of laughter in the house, saying he saw his father (then at a distance) running down the mountain side, trying to catch a jug of whisky which he had let fall. He saw him overtake it. When the father came home, he confirmed the whole story, to the great surprise of all.- The boy, after this, ex- cited much wonder and talk in the neighborhood. Two or three years after this, the family was visited by Robert Verree, a pub- he Friend, with other visiting Friends from Bucks county. I have heard, in a very direct manner, from those who heard Ver- ree's narrative, that he, to try the lad, asked him various questions about circumstances then occurring at his own house, in Bucks county ; all of which he ascertained to have been really so at that precise time. Some of the things mentioned were these, viz.: ' I see your house is made partly of logs and partly of stone ; before the house is a pond, which is now let out ; in the porch sits a woman, and a man with gray hairs ; in the house are sev- eral men,' &c. " When Verree returned home, he ascertained that bis mill- 250 APPENDIX. pond before his house had been just let out, to catch muskrats ; that the man in the porch was his wife's brother, Jonathan ; that the men in his house were the mowers, who had all come in because of a shower of rain. In short, he said every iota was exactly realized. " The habit of the boy, when he sought for such facts, was, to sit down, and hold his head downwards, his eyes often shut ; and after some waiting, declared what he saw in his visions. He has been found abroad in the fields, sitting on a stump and crying ; on being asked the reason, he said he saw great destruction of human life by men in mutual combat. His descriptions answered exactly to sea fights and army battles, although he had never seen the sea, nor ships, nor cannon ; all of which he fully de- scribed as an actual looker-on. Some of the Friends, who saw him, became anxious for his future welfare, and, deeming him possessed of a peculiar gift and a good spirit, desired to have the bringing of him up. He was therefore committed to the mastery of Nathan Harper, engaged in the business of tanning, m Frankford. There he excited considerable conversation ; and so many came to visit him as to be troublesome to his master, who did what he could to discourage the calls. Questions, on his part, were therefore shunned as much as he could. He lost his faculty by degrees, and fell into loose company, which of itself prevented serious people from having any further wish to interrogate him. " To instance the kind of inquiries which were usually pre- sented to him, it may be stated that wives, who had missed their husbands long, supposed by shipwreck, for instance, would go to him and inquire. He would tell them, it is said, of some still alive, what they were about, &,e. Another case was, a man, for banter, went to him to inquire who stole his pocket-book ; and he was answered, no one ; but you stole one out of a man's pocket when at the vendue ; — and it was so. " His mother would not allow him ' to divine for money,' lest he should thereby lose the gift, which she deemed heaven- derived. "These are strange things. I give these facts as I heard them." The above were cases of natural somnambulism ; and it is to be observed, that such subjects are frequently in condition to talk with any who address them. This was the case with the Springfield somnambulist, who was recently thrown into induced somnambulism by a gentleman of this town, as will be seen by his letter, published in this Appendix.* It is laid down by some * The same has been done in the case of the Uxbridge somnambulist. She was found, as I am told by Dr. Parsons, to be exceedingly susceptible to the action of magnetism. APPENDIX. 251 writers on magnetism, that the diseases which produce the one may be cured by the other. Where somnambulism is induced by the magnetic process, the magnetizer gains such a mastery over the patient, as to turn his clairvoyance to a useful purpose ; which is, to look into the nature of the disease which made him naturally subject to this crisis, and to point out its proper rem- edy. Not only so, but magnetism alone, without other aid, re- stores such persons to health, and then generally ceases to act In one of the numbers of " The Magnetizer," a series of pa- pers published by the translator in the " Providence Journal," the following description of a magnetic sitting may be found. It is designed to convey to the imagination of the reader who has never seen any thing of the kind, a correct conception of the real power exerted, and of the feelings excited by its contem- plation. " / confess that 1 am sometimes astonished at my oivn indifference to the singula)' phenomena exhibited by my friend, while he is in the magnetic sleep. He is this evening sitting beside me in his arm- chair, while 1 am at the desk penning these observations. He has been asleep about an hour. No one is present but myself. He is immovable — in his deep and placid serenity. His breath is scarce- ly heard ; the pattering of the rain-drops against the casement comes with thrilling distinctness of sound to break the stillness of the room ; and, now and then, the lightning, which leaps from the riven cloud, sends foiih its rolling thunder in the distance. But these cannot arouse him from his slumber. There is on his coun ienance that godlike tranquillity which the ancient artists strove to express in the representations of their fabled deities. His eyes art closed ; he feels not mortal touch ; the surgeon might sever his sev- eral joints, and the exquisite nerves of feeling shall not convey the intimation to the brain. There is no restless movement, no nervous irritation, as in ordinary repose. " In vain has Carlos, who has just entered, called him by his name. He answers not. How shall he hear the voice of friendship who hears not the voice of thunder ? His ears are sealed as with seven seals. The mysterious will hath closed the avenues of intel- ligence in the mortal body. But from this dreary death of sensa- tion, how quickly is he roused ! By a simple volition I cause him to see, to hear, to recognise, every thing about him. I can send him forth instantly, through the thick darkness of night, into distant lands, and cause him to bring us tidings of our absent fiends. His spirit seems to delight in this activity ; his intellectual countenance brightens up with various emotions. He glides along the surface of the earth and ocean, as rapid as the lambent borealis ; and ever and anon, as different scenes arrest his attention, he bursts out into 252 APPENDIX. involuntary exclamations of pleasure or surprise, of joy or sorrow. The smile that tells of some ludici-ous sight is occasionally seen to play over his features. Anon, the hot tears course down his cheeh Powerful feeling is in every lineament. He is weeping over a death-bed scene which he accidentally witnesses in a distant city ; and he cries aloud, ivith the generous fervor of excited sympathy, 1 He is gone ! poor man ! She has no protection for her orphan children — but God!' " Instantly, by a power ivhich is more mysterious to myself than I think it seems to others, I replunge him into the profoundest sleep ; I sprinkle the waters of Lethe over his spirit. His muscles lose their tension ; his limbs, their elasticity ; his senses forget their office ; the placid serenity of slumber settles upon his features, and he becomes as void of sensation, of motion, of volition, as the beau- tiful creations of Canova, or the stony victims of Medusa. 11 It is sometimes necessary to send a somnambulist to examine the sick. This has been practised to some extent here ; and it will be practised much when magnetism becomes more exten- sively appreciated in this country. Great caution should be used, in such cases, to test the clairvoyance ; and it seems proper to give some hints to those who seek direct evidence of this power from somnambulists. 1st If you send them away, give them time enough to look round after you have assured yourself that there is no mistake in the house to which you send them. 2d. If you are in communication, keep yourself perfectly free from excitement, and attend to what the somnambulist says. 3d. Ob- serve simplicity of conduct ; not wearying the somnambulist by asking questions which manifest skepticism, or an intention to embarrass him. 4th. Be careful, as far as possible, not to ask unimportant questions ; for the somnambulist, if properly trained, does not view your interrogatories as intended to test his clair- voyance, but to obtain information of things as they are. Apollo himself, in the palmy tranquillity of his soul, took it in high dud- geon, says Plutarch, to be interrogated about so many trifles. Besides, most somnambulists imagine you to be present with them wherever they go, and think you can see as well as they can. It therefore requires caution and skill, not only to obtain information from them, but also to direct their attention to the proper objects. The Marquis de Puysegur says, in his work entitled "J?e- cherches Physiologiques sur VHomme," page 423, " There are somnambulists whose active energy makes them almost sponta- neously perceive all that can be useful and salutary to them- selves. There are also some who are inert and indolent, whose intuitive faculties are not manifested unless their developement is aided. A somnambulist may be compared to a person having very good eyes, who is unexpectedly placed upon an eminence APPENDIX. 253 rising from a vast plain. His vision would sweep over a great extent, without distinguishing any thing. He would wonder at all things, without remarking any ; and the most beautiful situa- tions, the most interesting objects, would often be the very ones to which he would pay no attention. It is exactly so with many somnambulists. If you do not arrest and fix their attention upon that which ought particularly to interest them, they will often observe nothing in the vast and indefinite domain of their per- ception." NOTE XIV. TRAVELLING SOMNAMBULISTS. The somnambulist always appears to have a perfect knowledge of what the magnetizer is doing. If he occasionally loses trace of him, it is because some other person is in communication, and absorbs his whole attention. But the magnetizer generally keeps his control over his patient, even though at a distance from him ; that is, he can cause him to sink into a state of insensibility ; he can make him answer the question of one person, and return no answer to the question of another ; can make him lose the power of seeing any one present ; can make him call for any particular article of food ; can wake him suddenly, &c, — all by the mere power of the will. It sometimes happens that such experiments fail ; but it is evident that the patient commonly has the faculty of divining the will of his magnetizer. He seems to be drawn towards him by an intense impulse. He can almost always tell where he is. I have known one somnambulist, who, when left, by the physician that magnetized her, would voluntarily trace him through all his professional calls, and give a pretty correct account of them to the persons left in communication with her. At the same time, she would mention how many and what de- scription of persons were in the several rooms of his patients. I could never discover an architectural anomaly in the descrip- tions given by somnambulists of the houses to which they are sent. It is not proper, however, to conclude that they never commit such an error, though I have made many experiments of the kind. I will explain my meaning. Somnambulists frequently get into the wrong house, and fre- quently give a wrong description when they get into the right house ; and it requires some tact to draw from them a correction of the errors into which they fall at the first sight, as well as to discover the cause of their being led into the commission of such errors. But when they get into a house, or imagine they have got into one, — which neither they nor any present have ever been into, — 22 254 APPENDIX. they will give such a description as will be congruent in itself, whether it be true or false, in respect to the house supposed to be visited. Thus, if the somnambulist describes the fireplace in the parlor as being on the north side, and a door as being on the right of the fireplace leading into the room back of the parlor, he will, when carried into that back room, make the fireplace there correspond with the position of the chimney previously in- dicated in the description of the first room. As soon as I took notice of this congruency, I varied the experiments very much, to ascertain whether it is always so. After examining one room in a house, in relation to the position of the windows and the grates, I proceeded to the second or third story in one of the back rooms, to get a description of it ; then down into the yard, to get a description of the back part of the house ; then into the front yard, to look into the parlor window, and describe the situation of things from this new point of view ; then to one side of the house, to look in at a window into a room in which we had not yet been ; then into a room in the second story, directly over the room back of the parlor, and the fireplace was found to be on the south side, exactly corresponding with the rest of the description. This experiment has been tried by me when I was not in communication with the somnambulists, but conducted it through a person who was in communication with them, in re- spect to buildings which neither of us had ever seen. But, it may be said, the somnambulist, having a good idea of the manner in which houses are generally built, could not fail in a matter of that kind ; and if he merely imagines himself to be in a distant house, he would not be so obscure in his imaginary per- ceptions as to make such an architectural error ; for the imagina- tion must grasp the whole object at once in all its complexity. Besides, there is also reason to believe that ' the somnambulist borrows the whole description from the model in the mind of the person in communication with him. To all this it may be replied, that innumerable examples are given, some in this book, of the power not only of transition, but also of transition and clairvoyance united, which were prop- erly verified. And, in the next place, these trials were, some of them, made when the person in communication had no particular knowledge of architecture, and no intimation of the design of the experiment. Hence we must adopt the obvious explanation. If you wish to carry a somnambulist to your own house, or to the house of a friend, it is not necessary for you to trace out the path for him to travel ; at least I have found it so in all the trials I have made, and they are many. Just take the hand of the somnambulist, observing first to request to be put in communica- tion with him. You must remember, by the way, that it requires much circumspection on your part in making the proper advances, especially if the somnambulist be a woman, and you a stranger. APPENDIX. 255 After being put in communication, take his hand, and ask him if he will go with you to your house ; (you need not tell him where or in what direction it is ; ) and if he says he does not know the way, tell him you will go with him. If he consents to go with you, carry your mind home, and he will soon be there with you. Bid him let you know when he arrives. He will enter the house, and will surprise you by the correct description which he will give you of it. At the same time, if you have or- dered some one of your family to make an arrangement of the furniture in a particular room, without letting you know what the arrangement is, you will probably discover that he does not de- rive his ideas from your own mind. You may, however, influence his mind, and mislead him. He will sometimes make wonderful mistakes in some things, while he is wonderfully correct in others. He who is acquainted with the mode of proceeding, will frequent- ly, by attending closely to their motions, discover the cause of their mistakes. T have known several cases analogous to this. You send a somnambulist to examine the house of a friend. He describes the house correctly, and your friend correctly. He says, your friend is sitting at his desk in his study. You go off satisfied that all is right ; but on writing an account, and receiving an answer from your friend, you are astonished to learn that he was not at home on the day in question. How did Somnambulus contrive to give such a description of him, if he did not see him ? The following letters present instances of the kind to which 1 refer. FROM DOCTOR HARTSHORN. " Providence 7 September 1, 1837. " Dear Sir : In compliance with your request, I cheerfully submit to you an account of an experiment in animal magnetism, made a few evenings since by Mr. William Grant, at his father's residence, in High Street. The person magnetized was a young lady, a relative of the family. Similar experiments had often been made by him, and it was by particular request that he con- sented to gratify the curiosity of a few individuals on this occa- sion. There were present, Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut, Dr. Brownell, of this city, Major Lomax, of the U. S. Army, Mr. E. Dyer, Jr., Mr. Potter, and myself. Mr. Grant placed himself in front of his patient, and, fixing his eyes steadily upon her, she soon gave evidence of being in the magnetic sleep. As it seemed to us among the most interesting and extraordinary facts, in connection with this subject, that the person magnetized could visit mentally, and describe, distant places and objects, we con- cluded to test her powers in that way. The magnetizer was accord- ingly requested to direct her to Newport She soon signified her 256 APPENDIX. arrival, and was directed from the landing, through the town, to the residence of Major Lomax. Passing through the front door into the entry, and then into one of the side rooms, she gave such a description of the interior, the furniture, and family, as to satisfy all present that she was not exercising the Yankee prerogative of guessing. Major Lomax had previously intimated to me that, if she would hit upon and describe a particular article of furni- ture in his house, it would serve, as forcibly as any thing could, to remove his doubts, inasmuch as the article in question was rare, probably what she had never seen. She was now directed to return to the entry, and enter the room on the opposite side. As soon as she had entered the room, she declared it to be a parlor ; and immediately her attention was arrested by an object which she said was a musical instrument. She was told to play upon it ; but she said she could not, because it was covered. She was asked what the covering was, and answered it was green baize. She now went through the motions of untying the covering, lifting it from the instrument, and laying it aside. She was now told by Mr. Grant, who did not know what the instru- ment was, and who alone was in communication with her, to strike the keys ; but she declared there were no keys. She now drew her hand rapidly across, as if to vibrate the strings of an instrument, at the same time turning her ear, and listening with apparent surprise and pleasure. She next took hold with her thumb and finger, and motioned as if to spring the chords. She was asked what the instrument was, and answered that she could not tell ; that she had never seen any thing like it before. To the question if it were a guitar, she answered that it was not : that she had seen a guitar ; that this was not like one ; that it had many more strings, and was much larger. This description Major Lomax assured the company corresponded with the fact. There was in the parlor a harp of large size, and it had a cover- ing of green baize cloth. Upon subsequent inquiry, it was ascer- tained that the harp had been on that evening removed from the front parlor to the one immediately in the rear, communicating with the first, however, by means of a door.* The gentlemen were assured that the young lady had never been in Newport, and she was also a stranger to them. "It should be remarked, in conclusion, that this statement has been submitted to Major Lomax, and has his concurrence. " Yours, very respectfully, "ISAAC HARTSHORN. « Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." * It is asserted by all clairvoyants, that walls always seem to be trans- parent. When told to pass from one room to another through the parti- tion or a fastened door, they appear to find no difficulty in doing it;-«- 2 Vans.. APPENDIX. 257 FROM REV. FREDERICK A. FARLEY. " Tuesday Morning, October 3. "My dear Sir: In reply to your note of yesterday, I am happy to give you any statement of facts in my power ; nor can I have the least objection to the use of my name in connection therewith, since I mean that it shall be a statement of facts, and neither more nor less. " Somewhere about two months since, I asked Miss Brackett, (the blind lady,) in an interview at my own house, she being in the state of magnetic somnambulism, to go with me to Boston. 1 guided her to the house of a brother-in-law, and she described with remarkable accuracy much of the arrangement of the house, the furniture of the drawing-rooms, &c. As I understand you, in your present inquiries, to seek illustrations ' of the uncertainty which attends the relations of somnambulists when they are at a distance in spirit, and of the singular errors and illusions to which they are liable,' I confine myself to this point. Miss B. said there was a gentleman in the front parlor, standing near the win- dow, reading a letter ; and upon requesting her to describe him, she described the occupant of the house as accurately as I should have done to any inquirer. She said, indeed, that his hair was 'very thin,' when I should have said he was 'bald on the top of the head ;' and that he wore spectacles which had ' not silver bows,' when I should have said they had ' gold ' bows. Upon seeking to know how far these statements corresponded with the facts, it was found that the occupant of the house was not at home at that hour, (half past 6 o'clock, P. M.,) not having been at home between half past 3 o'clock and 8 o'clock. "Again, she said that a man was spreading a cloth on the floor in the back parlor ; and a little black boy came in, and they talked together. It was, indeed, about the hour when the male domestic of the family might have been preparing for the even- ing meal ; but it was found that nobody interrupted him. " Upon leaving the house, she crossed the street to inspect the church on Church Green. While apparently engaged in exam- ining its exterior, she of a sudden drew herself up with an air of great dignity, saying, 'I'll thank you to mind your own busi- ness,' or words to that effect. ' What now ? ' I asked. She replied, 'That boy is troubling me!' I, as if I saw him, com- manded him to desist. ' There, he is laughing at you,' said she. ' Well, then I'll kick him,' I rejoined, accompanying the words with a suitable movement of the foot. ' Ah, you've made him cry, now,' she replied. " After this, upon returning through the streets, she complained constantly of being jostled by the crowd ; although, as I after- wards learned, there was nothing to cause any unusual crowd at that time. 22* 258 APPENDIX. " In this interview, Miss B. exhibited the faculty of clairvoy- ance, in my house, with perfect accuracy. I do not remember a single error in regard to the things around her in several distinct rooms. And, as I before hinted, the external appearance of the house at Boston, its entry or hall, both drawing-rooms, the china closet, and many articles of furniture, both what thev were, and where placed, she also described as well. " Very truly yours, "FREDERICK A. FARLEY." FROM DOCTOR JOHN FUNT. " Boston, October 1, 1837. " Dear Sir : I have been so much engaged since my return from Providence, that I have not until now found leisure to com- ply with your request ; and even now I fear I shall be able to give you but a very succinct account of the state of things on my return to Boston. In your note of the 28th September, you wish to know if Miss Brackett was correct in relation to the fire in Pearl Street. You will perhaps recollect that she did not say there was a fire ; but after having visited my house, on going into the street, she made this remark : ' What is the cause of so many people's running ? ' and then observed, ' There is a lamp raised upon a pole.' And, on requesting her to follow them, she soon said she was in Pearl Street, but that the people were re- turning. There was no alarm of fire on that evening ; neither could I ascertain that there was any disturbance in the streets for several days. Finally, however, a friend, Mr. E., was passing the evening at my house, and in conversation incidentally re- marked that there was a disturbance at a neighboring house a few evenings before, and that the watchman sprung his rattle ; consequently many people were collected in the street. Upon making particular inquiries respecting the evening, I ascertained, for a certainty, that it was on the evening, and at the veinf time, we were in communication with Miss Brackett. That a lamp was taken from the engine-house — it being next door to the watch-house — on the alarm being given by the watch, I think very probable. The fact, however, is not known. Miss B., you may remember, would not give any account of my parlors, but answered all questions by saying, ' You can see as well as I can.' Neither was I much more successful on visiting the office ; for she dismissed that with two or three remarks, such as, ' You are not very neat;' 'It looks nearly as bad as Dr. Capron's ; ' which, sub rosd, was satisfactory evidence to my mind that she must have seen it. I then prevailed upon her to step into the kitchen ; and upon inquiring if any one was there, she answered that there was a girl about twenty-five years of age, dressed in a small figured pink calico dress, and that she was mixing bread or APPENDIX. 259 cake, and that no one was with her. Immediately upon my re- turn, I inquired of the girl whether she mixed any bread or cake on Tuesday evening, and she gave a decided negative answer; but said she mixed bread on Monday evening. 1 then left her, and concluded that Miss B. must have been mistaken. The girl soon followed me into the parlor, with eyes as large as tolerably-sized tea-cups, and exclaimed, ' Why, yes, sir, I did bring some dough from the cellar into the kitchen, and worked it over, and put it into the closet' Upon asking her what time in the evening, she said, 'Between half past 9 and 10 o'clock ;' which corresponds with the time when Miss B. was on her visit to Boston. " With regard to her giving you cistern water * to drink, from a tin wash-bowl, and her remarks concerning the dog, I was fully satisfied of the correctness of her statements then, and have found no cause to alter my opinion since my return. You will recol- lect, upon leaving my house, I took her to visit the house of a sister of mine, Mrs. G , and upon going, as I supposed, into the parlor, she evidently took another door leading from the same entry, and went into Mrs. G.'s chamber. For, after giving her a reasonable time to look around, she says, " If you will get up, 1 * In order to obtain a more particular description of things, 1 said to Miss B., — Dr. Flint and myself being both in communication with her, — " Let us sit down here in the parlor. I wish you would have the good- ness to ask the girl to bring me some water." Miss B., immediately gliding down into the kitchen, made the request ; but, after waiting for a reply, she added, " I shall have to do it myself, for she will not answer me." She returned, and, with her fingers arranged as if she were holding a dish, said, " Here it is ; the girl would not answer me." 1 drank. She took the vessel, and, carrying it to the place from whence she took it, she exclaimed, " There, 1 have given Mr. Hartshorn water out of the wrong pump : this is the good water. I gave him the hand-basin to drink from." Dr. Flint inquired where she got it, and she described the cistern pump, and said she found the basin hanging up by the side of it. " But," said she, " the other pump has good water in it, for I drew some and tasted it. I hope you will excuse me, sir." Dr. Flint, several of whose friends from Boston were present, assured me, as he has in this letter, that the description of the relative position of the pumps, &c, was accurate. It may as well be added in this place, that it was necessary for each of us to have hold of the young lady's hand, or to touch her person, other- wise the communication is entirely destroyed. Once, when I wished Dr. Flint to converse with her alone, I withdrew my hand from hers, saying, before releasing it, " 1 will return directly." " I wonder he should go off so," said Miss B. During the time the two were in conversation, I re- tained my seat; and. on taking her hand again, she asked me where I had been, observing, " I wonder you could leave me in the house of a stranger." But when a somnambulist is not sent abroad, it is not by any means necessary to retain the hand. You may be in communication, though at any part of the room. Sometimes he is told to converse with all who are present. Then he hears every thing addressed directly to him, but not .he conversation of others. [See Note X.] 260 APPENDIX. will pm your dress for you. Your brother is in the other room, and wishes to see you." She likewise remarked, that there was a child in the bed with her, (Mrs. G.,) about eighteen months old* Mrs. G. was in bed at that time, and her little girl, about four years old, with her. I would remark, that Miss B. was correct with respect to the color of Mrs. G.'s hair. " I fear I have not given you a sufficiently-minute account of the matter, but want of time must be my excuse. If there are any particulars upon which you would like a more detailed ac- count, I shall be happy to furnish them. " I am, sir, very respectfully, " Your friend and servant, "JOHN FLINT. " Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." NOTE XV. In note fourth of part first, I detailed the experiment of Mr. Covill, of Troy, in New York ; and as no reply had been received, I promised to make known the result in this part As the whole has been laid before the public in Colonel Stone's " Letter to Dr. Brigham" I will merely add, that Mr. Isaac Thurber has received a letter from the gentleman in question, which confirms the truth of Colonel Stone's statement. Miss B. read the sealed packet in the following manner : — " No other than the eye of Omnipotence can read this in this en- velopement. **** # * 1837." The true reading was, — " No other than the eye of Omnipotence can read this sentence in this envelope. Troy, New York, August, 1837." "Providence, Octobers, 1837. " Dear Sir : About three weeks since, I received a letter Rev. Richard Stone, pastor of the First Congregational So- Tf West Bridgewater, Mass., enclosing one addressed to ackett, with a request that she would read it without g the seals. As he is a particular friend of hers, she was J induced to do it, though such communications have gen- erally been read with reluctance, as it requires great exertion to read through several thicknesses of paper, as is frequently ne- cessary. " I addressed a line to Mr. Stone, giving Miss Brackett's read- ing of the letter directed to her, and have just received an answer from him, in which he says, ' Your letter containing mine, with APPENDIX. 261 the seals unbroken, came safely to hand, and, to my gratification, it was read correctly.' " Should you consider this fact of any importance, you are at liberty to make such disposition of it as you may think proper. " Yours, with respect, "G. CAPRON. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." Experiments of this kind have been tried frequently. The fact that some somnambulists have the faculty of seeing through opaque substances, is established beyond a doubt. [See Note X.] NOTE XVI. When a somnambulist has any thing in his hand, the magnet- izer may will him to give it to any person in the room, and it will be done accordingly, though not a word be said by any one. If another individual attempt to take it by grasping it, or by insinu- ating his hand between the object and the hand of the person to whom it is offered, the somnambulist evades him with the rapidi- ty of thought, and places it where he was requested to place it I have seen several persons try in this manner, all at a time, to seize the object, but without success. With almost inconceiva- ble dexterity of evasion, the somnambulists retained their own hold, and conveyed the charge in safety. What is equally singular was related to me by Mr. Pot- ter. A patient of his, with whom I am acquainted, when she is in the somnambulic state, though she does not see, that is, has no clairvoyance, when requested to hand any object to another, though the magnetizer endeavor to exert no influence at the time, will not give it up to any hut the person designated. She does not offer any explanation of this herself, but says she always knows when the right person presents his hand, even when he says nothing. This has been Avitnessed by several of my friends. The case of this young lady is a strong one to prove the allevi- ating power of magnetism. She is under the medical care of Dr. L. L. Miller. [See a note at the end of the Appendix.] NOTE XVII. Somnambulists frequently display ingenuity and acuteness of thought which are very striking. An instance may be given which was related to me by Dr. Cleveland, of Pawtuxet. Professor Yates, of Schenectady, and Rev. Mr. Dumont, of Newport, had been admitted by him to see a patient of his, while 262 APPENDIX. in the somnambulic state. After various experiments to test the clairvoyance of the lady, one of the gentlemen, perhaps to dispel the lingering mist of incredulity, opened the Testament, and, pointing to a verse, requested her to read it. She declined read- ing it ; but at length said she would read one on the opposite leaf. On being desired to do so, she pointed her finger to the following passage, and read it : " Except ye see signs and won- ders, ye will not believe ! " — John iv. 48. NOTE XVIII. The following passage is extracted from one of the letters of Lafayette to Washington. As it was written in English, the reader will perceive the peculiarities which stamp it as the pro- duction of a foreigner. It is found in the "Memoirs, Corre- spondence, and Manuscripts, of General Lafayette, published by his Family," 3 vols., just issued by Messrs. Saunders & Otley, New York. " A German doctor, called Mesmer, having made the greatest discovery upon animal magnetism, he has instructed scholars, among whom your humble servant is called one of the most enthusiastic. I know as much as any conjurer ever did, which reminds me of our friend's at Fishkill interview with the devil, that made us laugh so much at his house ; and, before I go, I will get leave to let you into the secret of Mesmer, which, you may depend upon, is a grand philosophical discovery." NOTE XIX. Somnambulism will probably give the death-blow to supersti- tion, at least in some of its forms. The superstitious are they who, through ignorance, attribute natural appearances and events to a supernatural cause, and are the least likely to have faith in the power of this agent. Prepossessed, as they generally are, with the opinion that a supernatural influence is exerted in all uncommon things which they cannot account for, they are un- willing to listen to one who refers them to a principle whose laws are but little known. They see all history full of unac- countable relations ; and they look upon the attempt to explain them rationally as daring, and even impious. Such is the case with some very conscientious, but very weak, people. They do not consider that Omnipotence is displayed as much in the ex- traordinary application of known principles, as in the application of those which are hidden from us ; and that the idea of a contra- APPENDIX. 263 vention of natural laws, does not of necessity enter into the sig- nification of the word miracle. The word miraculous, meaning wonderful, may with propriety be applied to every exertion of divine power which surpasses our ordinary experience. But if it were necessary to quiet the apprehensions of such people, it might be stated that the least miracle recorded in holy writ is beyond comparison greater than any thing effected by this agent. The turning of water into wine, and the healing of the sick by the touch, are the only things that are approached in semblance by the magnetic action. To affirm that the two things are the same, is an assumption not warranted by a careful attention to the facts. And if, in the two cases, the same agent is employed, we cannot help perceiving a vast difference in the effects pro- duced. In one, the cure is instantaneous ; in the other, long and tedious. In the one, there is no failure ; in the other, there is uncertainty. The tree that is caused to spring from the earth instantane- ously to a great growth, and the one that throws out its branches one by one, gaining its maturity in a hundred years, may both be sustained by the same laws of vegetative growth, accelerated in one case, and not in the other. Yet the first exhibits an instance of miraculous power exerted, and the other follows the course of nature in its slow developement. It is not, therefore, a derogation from the virtue of recorded miracles to suppose we have obtained a faint glimpse of the principles by which they were performed ; but the supposition is gratuitous. The crude and ill-digested state of our knowledge on this sub- ject, the wonderful effects which have been produced, and the suggestive energy with which they are fraught, have led enthu- siastic men into a wide and boundless field of speculation. They imagine there are no limits to this power because they cannot fix them. They are like the first discoverers of Nootka Sound, who laid it down on their charts as a vast inland sea, simply because the mist prevented their seeing the opposite shore. They do mis- chief to the cause of truth by rash attempts to sustain unfounded theories ; and they are they who have broached the doctrine to which allusion has been made. When we examine the subject coolly, we shall find in it traces of what has been practised for centuries. Witchcraft, magic, exorcism, and sorcery, will soon be capable no more of perplex- ing the minds of men ; for superstition will be known no more. As the progress of astronomy dispelled the dread inspired by eclipses and by comets, which "from their horrid hair shook pestilence and war," so may the discovery of this new power in the human mind destroy the lingering remnants of superstition, while it also rescues from the reproach of utter falsehood many a tale of barbaric times. 264 APPENDIX. NOTE XX. — Page 108. Transmission of Pain. — The transmission of the symptoms from the magnetizer to the magnetized is frequent, and it is for this reason that Deleuze considers good health indispensable in a magnetizer. In the case of Madame Montaux, we see the opposite effect taking place. If this occurs more frequently than we are aware of it, it may account for the peculiar oppression and weakness which some persons feel after magnetizing. And if there be any truth in the theory of a fluid, the directions given by Deleuze to flirt the fingers at the termination of a pass, in order to throw it off from ourselves, derive additional weight from this circumstance, and are worthy of being implicitly followed in cases of contagious disease. I have known a somnambulist, when in her natural state, to be afflicted with a violent side-ache, in consequence of sitting down and taking the hand of a patient then being magnetized for that complaint. Her susceptibility to the magnetic influence was so great that, although the magnetizer did not direct his attention to her, she was the first of the two to fall into the magnetic state. The same thing has been observed by the celebrated physiol- ogist Georget. He says that, whenever he put his somnambulists in communication with a sick person, they immediately experi- enced a pain, an uneasiness, and sometimes a sharp affection, in the corresponding organs. NOTE XXL — Page 119. The Magnetic Fluid. — I have heard patients say they can see the magnetic fluid, as did those of M. N. Whether this is an illusion of the imagination, or whether there is in reality a fluid, has long been a matter of question among the learned. M. Bertrand, in his work on somnambulism, rejects the opinion of its existence. He says that the idea originates or is per- petuated in the minds of the magnetizers, and is thence trans- fused into the minds of their patients. That such might be the case, were there no fluid, there cannot be much doubt ; but it has frequently happened that patients have professed to see the fluid when they who magnetized them were not fluidists. And it must also be remembered that the imagination of somnam- bulists cannot be permanently affected in regard to an object. As soon as the will of the operator ceases to act, the object returns to what it really is. For instance, he may cause a lady's work-bag to have the appearance of a child, and he may in- APPENDIX. 265 duce the patient to caress it as such ; but the moment he with- draws his attention from the subject, it returns to its proper appearance, and she hugs the illusion no more.* If you try this experiment, and find out that every impression of that kind is of necessity transient, will there not be some difficulty in adopting Bertrand's notion? Besides, it requires a positive ef- fort to induce a deception of any kind ; and many who try to do it, fail, because they have not exerted sufficient energy of con- ception. It would therefore seem impossible for a mere opinion among magnetizers that such a fluid does exist, to produce an illusion so strong as to deceive their somnambulists, and make them constantly affirm the same thing in regard to its ex- istence. It should, however, be borne in mind, as somnambulism pre- sents so great a variety of phases, and is attended with such diversity of powers, we cannot be too cautious in adopting the- ories, especially such as tend to foreclose all further investigation of the points in question. It ought to be stated here, that some somnambulists do not see any fluid, even when their attention is drawn to it If any one thinks this a strong objection to the theory of a fluid, let him remember that somnambulists vary greatly in the power of clairvoyance ; and not only so, the same individual has it at one time very weak, and at another time very strong. It is difficult to conceive how any effect can take place without a material medium. It may be granted that somnambulism may, under certain circumstances, occur by the mere power of the imagination ; but this does not by any means admit the conclu- sion that the phenomena are attributable to the same cause, or that the will and influence of another's mind do not produce any effect when they are exerted. Polarity may be given to an iron rod, heated to a certain degree and held in a certain direction, by a smart blow at one end with a hammer ; and the rod may acquire polarity by the silent operation of nature in the course of a long time, if left in the same position. But if, from the lat- ter fact, we infer that the hammer had no agency in the former one, we are guilty of an absurdity altogether analogous to the one hinted at above. Allowing, then, that the effect is produced by the vis volunta- tis of the magnetizer, and that it is difficult to conceive how it can act without a medium, we should not reject an opinion which is supported by the authority of perhaps nine tenths of the Euro- pean writers on the subject, unless we can present the apology * I am assured by Dr. Cleveland, of Pawtuxet, that he has one patient whom neither he nor any other person has ever succeeded in deceiving by experiments of this kind, though they have been often tried. 23 %66 APPENDIX. of a thorough investigation. We may hold it in doubt until it is proved to be correct. But we could give another reason in favor of the theory. The passes are always made downwards to produce an effect, and upwards, or transversely, when we wish to lessen the magnetic action, or relieve it entirely. Let any one try the one for the other, and the result may assist him in perceiving the force of the argument If a patient re- quires the manipulations in order to be put to sleep, and you cannot effect it by the upward passes, is it not a proof that the imagination does not play the most important part in producing the magnetic sleep ? Of course, it must not be forgotten that some magnetizers make no passes at all with very susceptible persons ; but since the passes are generally requisite, we may argue from the general fact. Sitting once with a somnambulist while she was in a mag- netized state, she observed to me, " You could magnetize very well; you can magnetize my hand;" at the same time she ex- tended her hand towards me. I took her lightly by the wrist, and, with my other hand, made several passes along her hand from the wrist to the ends of the fingers. It was paralyzed. I suspected she had done it voluntarily, for I have heard of their doing it of their own accord,* and I had determined not to exert any will during the manipulation. Several persons in the room came to examine the hand. " Now bring it back again," said the somnambulist. " Well," said I ; and I began the passes in the same direction as before. The rigidity of the fingers and the tension of the muscles became extreme. She seized my wrist, and, with considerable violence, made me change the di- rection of the passes from the fingers to the wrist; and eight or ten of them restored the hand to the natural state. This is a question which may one day be satisfactorily settled ; and, per- haps, it involves important considerations in regard to the pro- cesses employed in curing the sick. * Miss A****, a young lady magnetized by Mr. William Grant, of Prov- idence, has the power of paralyzing either of her own arms or fingers, when she is in the natural state, and that by the mere force of her own will. While Miss A**** was on a visit in !New York, Dr. David L. Rogers called upon her, stating his desire to investigate the subject, and his utter disbelief in its power. Miss A. being in the natural state, Mr. Grant, in order to convince him that he possessed this power, requested Dr. Rogers to magnetize the lower part of one of her arms. The doctor took hold of the forearm, and at the same time, as he afterwards declared, willed to have the shoulder paralyzed. On asking the question, it was found that she could move the forearm very well, but, on requesting her to move her shoulder, it was completely paralyzed, so that she could not move it. APPENDIX. 267 NOTE XXII. — Page 136. Scrofula. — Mr. Daniel Greene, of Pawtucket, has been suc- cessful in diseases of this class. 1 have seen one of his pa- tients, thirteen years of age, a somnambulist, whom he has cured of the king's evil. NOTE XXIII. — Page 139. Epilepsy. — Miss *#****, of this city, has been successfully treated for this complaint by Dr. Brownell. He began to mag- netize her in the month of January last, and has continued the treatment up to the present time. This young woman has exhib- ited some of the most striking traits of clairvoyance. Among the many individuals who have had an opportunity to witness them, p.to Rev. John A. Clark, of Philadelphia, Rev. Drs. Yates and Potter, of Schenectady, Rev. A. Kaufman, of Charleston, S. C, and Dr. Joshua B. Flint, of Boston. In the consultations she has had, she has been successful in pointing out the causes and the seats of some diseases ; and so much confidence has been inspired in the correctness of her observations, that few who know the circumstances, would hesitate to rely upon them in cases of dis- location, of diseases which affect the bones, &c. She is not a * somnambulist by profession," and is not, therefore, liable to the suspicion which is involved in the consideration of pecuniary interest. In order to state this case correctly, I have just been to see Dr. Brownell, and gathered the following particulars in the course of conversation : — She had been troubled with epileptic fits about six years. They were at first irregular in their attacks, but afterwards they came on as frequently as once a fortnight, and sometimes once a week ; and they were very severe. She has been under mag- netic treatment about eight months, during which no medicinal remedies have been administered. At the first sitting, which lasted about three quarters of an hour, no apparent effect was produced by the manipulations. At the second, sleep was induced in about twenty minutes. At the third, in about ten minutes. At the fourth sitting, she was put into the magnetic sleep in a minute, the magnetizer standing about eight feet off, and making no motions of the hands ; since which time no manipulatory processes have been used. She is generally awakened by making the reversed passes ; but is easily roused by the volition of the magnetizer. If she is told to wake up at any given time, she is punctual in doing it Dr. Brownell once left her in the somnambulic state at his own 268 APPENDIX. house, and in communication with several visitors, bidding her to wake up at 5 o'clock. He then took the Fall River steamer, which started at 3 o'clock, intending to be absent about twen- ty-four hours. While on the passage, about ten miles down the river, fearing that the visitors at his house might, by their experiments and conversation with her, prevent the patient fiom waking at the specified time, and being desirous of trying the extent of his influence, he told the Rev. Frederick A. Farley, who was in the boat, that he intended to "cut off the communi- cation between them." On his return, he learned that she had ceased speaking at fifteen minutes before 4 o'clock, after which no one in the room could get any replies to the questions which were asked her. On waking up at the appointed time^ (5 o'clock,) before the visitors had retired, she gave as a reason for her conduct, that Dr. Brownell had told her not to answer them. The health of this young lady appears now to be fully estab- lished. She has not had an epileptic fit since the commence- ment of the treatment. In the magnetic state, she declares that she is perfectly cured, and shall have no return of the disorder.* NOTE XXIV. — Page 148. Blindness.. — In the Appendix to the first part of this work, I have inserted some articles in relation to Miss Loraina Brackett, which the reader will recollect. Since those articles were pub- lished, I have received, among other foreign books on the subject, two large volumes, containing an alphabetical list of cures effected in France, from the time of Mesmer to the present, to which Be- leuze refers in a note, p. 154. Among these cures, which, by the way, are duly authenticated by the names of physicians, patients, and witnesses, so that they may as justly claim our attention as any on record, there are several performed upon persons totally or partially blind. It will be recollected that Mesmer had nearly succeeded in restoring perfect sight to Mademoiselle Paradis, at Vienna, and would doubtless have succeeded thoroughly, had he been per- mitted to remain secure from the attacks of bigotry and igno- rant malice. The whole of that case is detailed at length in these volumes. Many others also may be found under the heads * This case ocetirred more than five years ago. Dr. Brownell ceased the treatment on her assuring him, while in somnambulism, of her com- plete restoration, and future exemption from the attacks. She said it would be injurious to prolong the treatment. Her brother, Mr. Thomas M. Parker, recently informed me that her health has continued very good; and her appearance seems fully to justify the assertion. (1843.) APPENDIX. 269 of Cteite, Goutte Sereine, and OpMalmie. I cannot refrain from translating two of them. "M. Hebert was at Paris in January, 1814, among the con- scripts destined to join the grenadiers of the guard. Certain writings which had been given him to do at the barracks, and in the performance of which he had already passed several nights, occasioned an inflammation of the right eye. Having gone to pay a visit to M. Ducommun, the latter proposed to magnetize him. He consented, but with the air of a person who placed no faith in it. The next day, he returned, with his eye still more red than it was the day before. M. Ducommun put him in com- munication with a somnambulist, who prescribed leeches at the temples. The two succeeding days, not having seen him, M. Ducommun went to him, and found him on a bed, surrounded with domestics, neighbors, a nurse, and all the medical parapher- nalia. He was told that M. Hebert had passed a very bad night ; that he had had a frightful delirium ; that four persons could hardly hold him; and that the physician had declared him to be affected with a nervous malignant fever. He approached the bed gently, and placed his hand upon the pit of his stomach, scarcely touching him, and saying nothing. At the end of several minutes, M. Hebert was in somnambulism, and could tell the cause of his disorder. It was the optic nerve, which, irritated by the inflam- mation of the eye, had communicated the same irritation by sym- pathy to all the nervous system. In the evening, M. Ducommun returned, and found the patient sitting near the fire, alone with his nurse. The latter told him he had been better during the day. He approached him, put him to sleep by touching his stomach, and made him write down the state of his health, and the remedies proper for him. He ordered for himself a copious bleeding on the right arm, leeches at the temples, clysters, bath- ing of the feet, barley-broth (sirop oVorgeat) for drink, &c. When he was awakened, M. Ducommon showed him his pre- scription, and told him to request his physician to bleed him the next morning, if it appeared to him proper. ' He will be so much the more willing,' replied Hebert, ' as he told me this morning such was his intention.' "The next day, February 3d, M. Ducommun arrived, and asked the patient the effects of the bleeding. < The physician would not do it' * Why ? he ordered it himself.' ' Yes ; but when he knew that I had been magnetized, and that my own prescrip- tion, given in somnambulism, had been presented to him, he was excited against you, and he went out, declaring he would never set foot in the house again.' " M. Ducommun was grieved by this disappointment ; but he put M. Hebert asleep, who told him to send for a surgeon merely to bleed him. As soon as the patient was bled, he experienced 23 * 270 APPENDIX. relief. On the 5th, he caused leeches to be applied at 9 o'clock in the morning. On the 6th, he was much better; he ordered for himself clysters and foot-baths ; and finally, on the 27th, he said the eye was cured, and that it was only necessary to cover it with a bandage to protect it from the cold. " The next day, he wrote to his father an account of his disease, and the singular circumstances of his cure ; and, as nothing pre- vented his going out, he came to pass the evening at M. Ducom- mun's, and to be magnetized. Three or four hours had hardly passed away, when he perceived a foreign body introduced into his weak eye, which had there caused a little globule of blood. He prescribed for himself an emollient and cooling poultice ; and, in case the blood were not dissipated at the end of two days, a leech was to be applied to the eye, directly on the af- fected part. " The next morning, the mistress of the house where he resided sent a servant to M. Ducommun, to inform him that M. Hebert had just been arrested by two agents of police, who, without hearing his expostulations, and without regarding the state of his disease, had compelled him to dress himself forthwith, and car- ried him away with the poultice over his eye. M. Ducommun ran immediately, but he could obtain no information from the persons in the hotel. No one had thought or dared to ask these agents whither they were conducting M. Hebert. He went to the police office, without any information ; he went to the houses of all the friends of the prisoner, without introductions. Finally, after fifteen days of fruitless search and painful expectation, he received a letter from M. Hebert, in which he announced to him that he had been arrested as a refractory conscript ; that, without more ample information, they had cast him into a cold and damp prison, where he had nothing but straw for bed and covering ; that the fever had seized him anew, and the ophthalmia had returned ; but, nevertheless, the symptoms had diminished by degrees, and he was cured ; but had lost his right eye entirely.* " On the reception of this distressing intelligence, M. Ducom- mun wrote forthwith to general the Baron Preval, to obtain leave of absence for M. Hebert, having still the hope of restoring sight to him. The general had the goodness to grant the request " Hebert hastened to the house of M. Ducommun. After many explanations of his adventure, and its sad results, and after the examination of his eye, which appeared to be very good, but which was insensible to the impression of the strongest light, the latter magnetized him. Hebert was no sooner in the magnetic state, than he burst out into the most lively emotions of anger and despair. ' Wretches ! ' cried he ; 'to treat me like a vile * Many examples of the danger of interrupting magnetic treatment are: given in this work. — Trans. APPENDIX. 271 criminal ! to throw me into prison! to refuse me all aid ! If I am not dead, it is no fault of theirs ! What injustice ! what infamy ! ' "'My friend, be calm.' ' Ah, sir, let me breathe out my rage and my chagrin. In the wakeful state I command myself; but I injure myself by doing it. This tends to console me, and dissi- pate the sadness into which I am plunged.' " When his passion was calmed, M. Ducornmun demanded whether his eye was irretrievably lost. He examined it with attention, and said, no ; there were three days left to commence a new treatment ; and if it were not done in that space of time, there were no human means capable of curing it. 'How many days are required to accomplish a complete cure ? ' ' Twelve? "As soon as he was awakened, M. Ducornmun told him to go and ask leave of absence for a fortnight, to enable him to bring him under treatment. He obtained it the next day, and returned in the evening with his father, who, alarmed at what had befallen his son, had come from Merlerault, where he lived. " When the elder Hebert was gone, M. Ducornmun put the young man asleep. The crisis occurred as he had announced it, but much weaker than the first one. ' Do not abandon me,' said he to his magnetizer ; ' if you do not treat me yourself, I shall never recover my health.' ' What must be done to your eye, to commence with?' 'Recall the ophthalmia; my eye is in the condition of a limb broken and unskilfully set, which ought to be broken anew.' ' How much time have we now to commence a new treatment ? ' ' Until 12 o'clock, to-morrow.' ' Why not a. longer time ? ' ' Because there still remains a trace of the last inflammation, which would cease at that epoch. If it were com- pletely passed, the eye would be radically cured, and I should be one-eyed for life ; but by means of the remains of this inflamma- tion, not apparent, it is true, but which nevertheless exist-, I will recall the disease ; I will treat it as it ought to have been treated, and as fast as the pain and the inflammation disappear, the sight will return.' " He then said it was necessary to put a handful of coarse salt into boiling water, to place his eye above the vapor, and to con- tinue this three days, in order to bring on a speedy inflammation. M. Ducornmun observed to him, that, according to the laws of chemistry, the salt does not volatilize with the steam, and, in con- sequence, the irritation he wished to produce could not occur. ' I am sorry for chemistry,' said he, ' but I assure you the water will raise a part of the salt, which will irritate the eve and bring on an inflammation.' " This effect took place as he had predicted. "The fourth day, he ordered for himself the following collyrium : Boil a fresh egg till it is hard, take off the shell, cut it into two equal parts, take away the yolk, put in the place of it a piece of white vitriol as large as a pea, moisten the whole with four 272 APPENDIX. spoonfuls of rose-water, put it into a fine linen cloth, press out the liquid through the linen, and use it to make three injections daily into the affected eye. " This collyrium, three drops of which were put into the eye by the end of the finger, as he had directed, was the only remedy employed in the cure. On the fifth day, the patient said he could see the light, if one would uncover his eye a moment. The ex- periment was made for my own satisfaction ; but only once. On the tenth day, the inflammation began to diminish, the pain was not so sharp, and he could bear daylight for a few instants. On the twelfth, he was perfectly cured. He then ordered for him- self the use of green spectacles for two months, because his eye would be still feeble and delicate all that time, on account of the various treatments which it had received. " Some days after his entire cure, he gave notice to M. Ducom- mun, that he should lose his clairvoyance in less than two days. 'Will you cease to sleep?' 'No; I shall always sleep when you wish me to ; but I shall cease to see so long as I am well.' At these words, M. Ducommun testified his sorrow at losing him at the moment when he had a sick son. M. Hebert reflected an instant ; all at once he uttered a cry of joy, and informed him he had just found out how to preserve his clairvoyance while in health. He afterwards told him what was to be done for this purpose, put off the execution of it till the next day, and made him promise never to tell this method to any person, not even to himself, when he should awake. The next day after he had been put into somnambulism in pursuance of his own direction, he assured us he should be clairvoyant so long as he was in good health ; but, by a change in the ordinary laws of magnetism, he should see no more when sick, provided the same means were not employed which had then just been used.* " M. Ducommun adds, that he never saw a somnambulist less fatigued with holding consultations, more prompt and correct in seeing diseases, or more sure in pointing out the remedy or the treatment. Such was the superiority of his clairvoyance, that other somnambulists asked his advice. " We once had occasion to see M. Hebert in somnambulism ; he was wounded in the knee, and at first consulted one of the most celebrated physicians in Paris, M. D** # . Not being satisfied with his advice, he came to M. Ducommun to be magnetized. As soon as he was in somnambulism, he mentioned the consulta- tion of the doctor, and told us in what respect appearances had deceived him. Then he detailed the cause and the effects of his disease, and pointed out the remedies with the greatest readiness and the most entire confidence." * " ' We know,' says the compiler, ' that the execution of this means was preceded by a terrible nervous crisis.' " — Trans. APPENDIX. 273 The next case which I shall translate is that of the Mar- chioness of Rousses, aged forty-five years, at Paris, in 1818, under the charge of M. B* # *, a member of the Society of Mag- netism, originally published in the "Biblioifaque du Magnetisme" No. 16, p. 47. " On the 26th of June, 1816, Madame la Marquise des Rousses, coming from mass at the church of Saint Sulpice, where she had had a long fainting fit, while in the midst of the Petit-Bourbon Street, was suddenly struck with an attack of the gutta serena, She was conducted home by her attendants, and had lost her sight. A large blister was applied immediately to the back of the neck. The next day, when it was removed, she experienced something like an electric shock ; she saw something flash before her eyes ; and she fainted again. Recovering her senses, she perceived that all hope was vain ; she was totally blind. "During the first months of her disease, the marchioness expe- rienced inconceivable pains in the head. The disease, without being apparent, manifested itself all at once by a swelling so extraordinary in the muscles of the back part of the head, that her head-dress was moved by the violence of their contraction. Not able to endure the bed, she thus passed three months ex- tended upon a sofa, and without sleeping. M. l'Abbe d'A # * T*** had then occasion to see her. He magnetized her ; but in- dispensable affairs obliged him to discontinue the treatment. Her health grew worse, and she removed into the country. "Finally, after two years and a half of suffering, she returned to Paris in the beginning of July, 1818, and stopped at the house of M. l'Abbe d'A***. By good fortune, she there met M. B***, to whom she spoke of her sad condition. Touched with her mis- fortunes, he proposed to magnetize her. She consented to it, and in a few minutes she was in somnambulism. Her clairvoy- ance was gradually developed in a singular manner. One day, consulting with herself about the fate of her son, who had been absent ten years, she saw him arrive from America, and land at Calais three days afterwards. It will be seen that this circum- stance was not, as some might think, altogether foreign to the treatment of Madame des Rousses. She caused M. B*** to write a letter to her son, and with her own hand added to the letter two lines, while she was in the somnambulic state, and announced the time when an answer would arrive. The answer did not arrive at the time specified ; * and the inquietude of Ma- dame des Rousses caused her to quit the country seat where she lived, and where M. B*** used to go every week to magnetize * " M. des Rousses remained but a few days at. Calais. Important affairs obliged him to go suddenly to Havre ; and this is what pre- vented his answer from arriving in due season." 274 APPENDIX. her, and she returned to Paris. M. B** # arrived at her house with a somnambulist, M. Lemaire, a young soldier, of twenty- three years, blind also, in consequence of a gun-shot wound in the head. M. B** # put the two in communication, and made them examine each other's case. Madame des Rousses told M. Lemaire that he would see well enough to walk. And he, in his turn, assured her that the same cause which had deprived her of sight would restore it, viz., the blood. l A strong excitement? said he, ' will give it an impetuous tendency to the head.'' ' Yes, it is true ; and I see all the humors flow out by the ears. This excitement will be occasioned by the presence of my dear son; and I shall see him at Havre. I must go thither ; I must depart immediately.' Instantly Madame des Rousses employed herself in searching the places where the hacks usually st:ind. She looked at them all, and finally found some in the Bouloy Street ' There are two left,' said she. Some one went and ascertained it to be a fact. Filled with confidence in divine Providence, Madame des Rousses departed the same day for Havre, and, some days after her arrival, she had the happiness of embracing her son. The impression of this moment produced an extraordi- nary effect upon her organs. She seemed to herself absolutely light-headed. The second day she experienced in her head the most violent pains, and especially on the night of the 20th and 21st of October. Finally, between 4 and 5 o'clock in the morn- ing, after a moment of horrible sufferings, she heard, as she thought, the report of a pistol close to her ears. She fainted, and remained in a profound stupor until 8 o'clock in the morn- ing, when some one entered to call her. " They found her inundated with blood, and with a very black matter, which had flowed from the ears during the sleep which had succeeded her fainting fit. She put her hand to her head, and, raising the bandage which she kept constantly over her eyes, she perceived with rapture that the sight was restored to them. " The physician, who was immediately sent for, was confounded by an effect so extraordinary. He declared that the flowing which had taken place through the ears, ought, according to all the rules of the art, to have been diffused over the back part of the brain, and consequently to have occasioned the death of the pa- tient. Madame des Rousses did not recollect, in her ordinary state, that she had two months before announced this effect, and that from this moment she had requested M. B # '* # not to go be- yond the ears at each pass, in order to concentrate the action of the fluid there. " Since her return to Paris, she has been magnetized many times, and has ordered for herself the few medicaments which were necessary for the completion of the cure. M. B ### attended her to one of the sittings of the magnetic society, in order to remove all doubt in respect to this case. While there, Madame APPENDIX. 275 des Rousses, in compliance with the desire of some one of the members, took the first volume presented to her, and read with- out hesitation. At present, her sight is so strong that she can read, work, or write, even without the aid of glasses. " We have entered into some details in regard to the Mar- chioness des Rousses, because we have had the happiness of seeing her many times. We were present when she made the relation of her treatment in somnambulism. It is impossible to imagine any thing more touching and interesting." NOTE XXV. The reader is here presented with letters from various physi cians, which cannot fail to be highly interesting, not only from the nature of the cases whose treatment is described, but from the high characters of the authors in their own profession. Most of the intelligent physicians of the country are turning then attention to this subject, with a desire to become acquainted with its claims as a remedial agent ; and, so far, it has sustained itself to the satisfaction of all who have approached it in this spirit These letters embrace precisely such cases as are stated in Deleuze, and have thus stamped the " Practical Instruction " with marks of its intrinsic value. FROM DOCTOR CLEVELAND. "Pawtuxet, October 2, 1837. « Dear Sir : It gives me much pleasure to comply with your request that 1 would communicate to you for publication the re- sults of my experience and observations in animal magnetism, as a therapeutic agent in the removal or mitigation of disease. I am the more, willingly disposed to submit the following cases, from the firm conviction that many persons who are laboring under severe indisposition, and who might be relieved, hesitate about having recourse to this agent, because they have not suffi- cient evidence of its power. If, by communicating them, I can induce such persons to have confidence enough in it to make a trial of its efficacy, I will also suggest the propriety of applying to some magnetizer who has an acquaintance, not only with the diseases to which we are liable, but also with the complicated machine upon which he is to act, and with the peculiar sympa- thetic movements which are constantly going on, and are ever liable to be excited therein.* * The observation here made by Dr. Cleveland is worthy of attention. It requires no little exertion of magnanimity to rise above the fear of hav- ing selfish motives attributed to us, when a sense of duty obliges us to tell what we believe to be an important truth. It will be found, when Deleuze 276 APPENDIX. " First Case,. — The first case I will present is that of Miss , possessing a constitution originally firm, but recently much impaired by disease, affecting principally the nervous system. Neither the patient nor myself had ever seen any manipulations, and she knew nothing of magnetism, even by name, as it was then but recently introduced to public notice in New England. " About the first of January of the present year, she was at- tacked with an inflammation of the lungs. Her nerves became so much excited as to baffle all the ordinary means of quieting them, or of producing sleep. She was fast sinking for the want of rest, the least noise, even the snapping of the fire, throwing her into painful spasms. " Having heard of the effects of animal magnetism in cases of this kind, I gave it a trial, which resulted in procuring more quiet sleep, in five successive hours, than she had experienced in as many preceding days. But it took me an hour and a half before she was put into this sleep, and my perseverance was rewarded by the most clairvoyant somnambulism at this first essay. This was repeated daily, with the same happy effects in relation to the repose which she enjoyed; and she soon became convalescent A firmness was imparted to the nerves, which 1 had despaired of imparting by the usual medicinal means ; and although she is not restored to perfect health, her life was, in my opinion, preserved wholly by the salutary influence of the magnetic practice. " Dr. Eldridge, of East Greenwich, Dr. Perry, of Newport, Dr. Cleveland, of Pawtucket, and many other physicians, have had an opportunity to see this patient. Her clairvoyance is very lucid, and, while in the magnetic state, she reads any book with facility, though every precaution be used to bandage and secure her eyes. " Case second. — I was called to attend Miss , and found her laboring under a severe attack of the tic douloureux. I pursued the ordinary course of treatment for four days, without affording her the least alleviation. On the evening of the fourth day, I resorted to magnetism. After an hour and a half, complete relief was obtained. Owing, however, to the disturbed state of her mind, perfect sleep was not induced, though I have good evi- dence of her not having closed her eyes one hour for the three preceding days and nights. At the end of seven hours, the pain returned, though it was less violent I saw her soon after, and removed it as before, in one fourth part of the time. In ten hours, it returned again, when, by a slight effort, it was permanently re- moved. Somnambulism did not occur. is thoroughly studied, and when the subject of which he treats is better known, that his cautions on this head are not the result of timidity, but of well-informed fear, Jest it should be abused by the ignorant. His character and his long practice have justly made the u Practical Instruc- tion " the text-book of all European practitioners. APPENDIX. 277 " Case third. — On the third day of last June, I was requested to visit Mrs. , of Providence, between thirty and forty years of age, from whom, and from her attending physician, Dr. L. L. Miller, I obtained the following histoiy of her recent and her then present situation. She had been laboring for three montJis under an affection of the liver. During this time, she had not left her chamber, had become considerably emaciated, and was daily losing her strength. Her nervous system had become so much deranged that she could not see her friends, could not sit up but a few minutes at once, and, at that time, she was suffering for the want of sleep. This deprivation of sleep was the occasion of my being called to see her. "I found that the principal cause of her suffering was the large accumulation of bile, which nothing but powerful doses of calomel could remove. From this she experienced temporary relief, al- though she said it rapidly exhausted her strength. In short, she appeared to be convinced that she could not continue long, and was satisfied that this was also the opinion of her physician. ' Now,' said she, ' if you can, by the aid of magnetism, afford me any alleviation from my present sufferings, — if you can in the least smooth my passage to the tomb, — it is all I can expect' "The first attempt to procure sleep proved successful in thirty minutes ; and, though she slept but one hour, she felt much re- freshed, it being the first she had had in forty-eight hours. The next morning, I found she had passed a comfortable night I then magnetized her again, which had the effect of procuring a copious evacuation of bile, affording her all the relief, ivithout being attended with the debilitating effects, of calomel. Magnetism was continued several days, followed by the same results, and thus rendering- the use of cathartics unnecessary. Her health soon began to improve, and at the end of two weeks she was able to ride out I discontinued my visits on being assured by her that she was getting well fast enough. She was confident that she owed her restoration to magnetism, and she recently assured me that she should resort to it again, if she found herself re- lapsing into her former .miserable condition. " Case fourth. — Mrs. W , about thirty years old, was afflict- ed with hypochondriasis. I cannot give a better account of her situation than by giving Dr. Cullen's description of this disease, as every symptom therein described obtained in the present case. ' The state of mind peculiar to hypochondriasis,' says Dr. C, ' is characterized by languor, listlessness ; a want of resolution and activity with respect to all undertakings ; a disposition to seri- ousness, sadness, and timidity, as to all future events ; an appre- hension of the worst or the most unhappy state of tilings ; and therefore, upon slight grounds of apprehension of great evil, such 24 278 APPENDIX. persons are peculiarly attentive to their health, to even the small- est change of feeling in their bodies; and from any unusual sensation, perhaps of the slightest kind, they apprehend great danger, and death itself. In respect to these feelings and fears there is commonly the most obstinate belief and persuasion.' "Considering Mrs. W a suitable subject to receive benefit from magnetism, I obtained permission to make use of it, though she was entirely skeptical, and thought the whole process of magnetism ridiculous and chimerical. On the first trial, August 12th, 1837, 1 had the satisfaction of inducing magnetic sleep in less than five minutes, and it continued five hours. " When she awoke, the favorable change in her appearance was evident to all the family. I saw her the second day after, and she appeared to be much improved. She was magnetized again, with the same eifect as before. "As her place of residence is Jive miles from my own, I had an understanding with the husband and family that she should retire precisely at 9 o'clock, or before that time, in the evening, and I was to magnetize her as soon after as would be convenient, without regard to the place where 1 might be at the moment. My attempts to magnetize her under the above circumstances were perfectly successful, not only in inducing sleep, but also in the entire removal of all those unpleasant symptoms enumerated above. She is now enjoying better health than she has for the last four years, which blessing she and her friends attribute to the influence of animal magnetism. " Yours, respectfully, "THOMAS CLEVELAND. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." FROM DOCTOR CUTTER. "Nashua, N. H., September 19, 1837. "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn: " Sir : Yours of the 14th came to hand three days since ; but, being engaged extensively in the practice of medicine, I have not had an opportunity to reply ere this. Although not habituated to writing for the public eye, yet sometimes the cause of truth may require our observations and experience, however limited, to be made public, our private feelings to the contrary not- withstanding. For the last four years, I have felt an interest in animal magnetism. For the last few months, I have been prac- tically engaged in its investigation. I am convinced that it is based upon truth, or, in other words, that it is a real science. I have come to this conclusion from sober reflection and observa- APPENDIX. 279 tion. As all truth is of value, and none need fear the truth if their conduct is right, this may be made a blessing to our country. " My attention has been directed principally to its use as a re- medial agent in disease. I have attempted but few of the many interesting experiments which may be performed upon persons in a magnetic sleep, except for its therapeutic power. I do not un- derrate them as connected with science ; but the investigation and treatment of disease is my business, and in this I use mag- netism, and deem it of much utility. Among the number that I have magnetized for disease, there have been more than twenty perfect somnambulists. Some of them excel in pointing out and describing disease ; and to this I have directed their attention, among my patients. Out of several cases of examination of patients by somnambulists, I will briefly relate two. " Sept 10, 1837, I put Miss M., a somnambulist, living in my family, into a magnetic sleep, for a headache, as she supposed. In about half an hour, Mr. Samuel F. Jenness came to my house, by previous appointment, accompanied by Miss Martha Dunn, aged twenty-four, who has been deaf and dumb for twenty-two years. This was caused by sickness. Health is now good ; formation of head apparently perfect ; intellect very good. I re- quested Miss M., the somnambulist, to examine Miss D. After a little time, the somnambulist said that there was a reddish-yel- low body in the brain connected with the nerve that went to the ear ; and that Miss D. could not hear or talk. I asked Miss M. if Miss D. could see ; she replied that she could. I then asked the somnambulist if Miss D. could smell ; and the reply was, that she could. The somnambulist and Miss D. had no knowledge of each other previous to the examination ; no person in my fami- ly knew of the examination previous to its taking place. Sub- sequently, Miss M. informed me that she knew nothing of deaf persons, or the cause of deafness. " Aug. 16, 1837, I put the same somnambulist into a mag- netic sleep ; and, by appointment, my respected and talented friend, Dr. Bartlett, mayor of Lowell, came in with his lady. I then sent a short distance for Mrs. Collins, who had a child about nine months old, which had been afflicted with incipient cataract in both eyes for four months. Mrs. Collins has previously had three children similarly diseased, who died young, with disease in the head. The child, being asleep, was examined by the som- nambulist, who soon said that there was something in the body of the ehild's eye that prevented its seeing well. She further said that this was caused by the nerves of the eye being diseased in the brain. I am certain, as Mrs. Collins had recently come into town from Lynn, that Miss M. could not have known of the /child's eyes being diseased previous to the examination ; and no 280 APPENDIX. person in my house knew of the examination previous to its oc- currence. "For some months I have been in the practice of using magnet- ism in the treatment of many diseases, among which I may name tic douloureux, rheumatism, cephalalgia, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, tonsillitis, spinal irritation, hemorrhoids, delirium tre- mens, ulcers, and paralysis. With the exception of three cases, the results have been salutary ; and in these cases no influence was induced by magnetism. The effects of magnetism I have found to be various, and yet I have noted some results which 1 term general ; among which I may name increased activity of the capillary circulation, warmth and free perspiration, removal of pain, and somnolence. The last is not so common as the for- mer. I will relate a case or two of diseases, and their cure by magnetism. I shall relate only three, in which I am certain im- agination did not cause the result. " Eleazer Barret, aged about forty-five, for eight years past has been afflicted with a paralysis of the right arm. For the space of three years, he has been suffering from pain in the back of the •lead, attended with dyspnoea and cough. Some months since, out of curiosity, he challenged me to put him to sleep. I mag- netized him at his house, and produced sleep in about fifteen minutes. The warmth of the skin and the circulation of the capillary vessels were much increased, perspiration was free, and the paralyzed arm became warm and swelled. I repeated it four times. The pain in the head, neck, and chest, together with the dyspnoea and cough, were removed ; mobility and sensibility were restored to the paralyzed arm. I have obtained the same result in two other cases of paralysis. " Miss R. Mclntyre for about two years has been afflicted with an irritable ulcer on the ankle, the diameter of which was about two inches. The pain has been so smart as, much of the time, to prevent sleep ; and it caused much swelling of the foot. She made application for medical aid to many good surgeons, but re- ceived no benefit. June 29, 1837, Miss M. applied to me to try the effects of magnetism. Without attempting to produce sleep, I magnetized the ulcer and foot. The immediate effect was the cessation of the excruciating pain, a visible diminution of the redness around the ulcer, followed by a subsidence of the swell- ing. The foot, which had been for months cold, became warm. Without any other means being used, the ulcer rapidly healed, and is now entirely well. Her health has not suffered by the healing of the ulcer. This interesting phenomenon and fact, of the redness attendant on the inflammation surrounding the ulcer subsiding under the immediate action of magnetism, has been witnessed by many in this place, among whom I may name Dr Ebenezer Dearborn, of Nashua, and Drs, Bartlett and Kimball 3 of Lowell, APPENDIX. '{281 « If the magnetic power, whatever it may be, immediately re- moves the pain, the swelling, the redness, and the heat attendant on the inflammatory areola of this ulcer, why will it not in the same manner in inflammation of the brain, lungs, stomach, liver, or any other organ ? Some other facts which have come under my notice, lead me to believe that such is the case. Facts like the above open an interesting field of inquiry for the philanthro- pist and the scientific physician. I wish that some investigating physician would enter this field of inquiry, and make public his observations for the benefit of suffering humanity. " I have perused with much pleasure the first number of your translation of the work of the venerable and philanthropic De- Jeuze. With pleasure I can give my testimony in favor of the truth of many of his statements in that work, and I presume that most of the statements which I have not verified are equally correct " Yours respectfully, « CALVIN CUTTER." FROM THE SAME. "Nashua, N. H., October 3, 1837. * Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn : " Sir : In conformity with your respectful request, I will now briefly detail a few observations in addition to my former communication. To render this agent more useful, it has ap- peared to me a desideratum to convince people that we could act. upon local and definite parts of the system, the other parts re- maining uninfluenced Although this requires a greater effort, •on the part of the magnetizer, than to affect the whole system, yet I have succeeded in this, in many cases, to my own satisfac- tion, and producing an entire conviction of the utility of magnet- ism in many beholders. " In two instances, I have succeeded in curing complete paraly- sis of the limbs of persons who had not been previously magnet- ized, and this without any somnolence ; and in these cases the individuals were unbelievers in magnetism. These experiments are important and interesting, as they show the ability which good magnetizers possess to act upon the diseased organs of the system without altering the state of the normal organs, which very much enhances the value of magnetism as a remedial agent in disease ; for it is well known to physicians that, to cure dis- eased organs, the medicine given often induces functional disease in some other organ of vital importance ; and happy is it for the patient, if the functional disease thus induced does not become organic. If we can show, by careful experiment and observation, that the above statement, in relation to the local effects, is true, certainly the remedial power of magnetism is a boon not to be 24* 282 APPENDIX. despised. As it is probable that many cases of fatal disease commence with only an irritation of some organ, and as probably this irritation is at its commencement merely an increase of the sensibility, inducing an influx of fluids to the part, and as the direct and apparently specific effect of magnetism is to lessen the sensibility and vascular activity of the organs, might we not expect relief by the use of magnetism in irritated and inflamed organs ? This relief I have obtained in irritated and inflamed brain, bronchia, lungs, liver, stomach, and limbs. I will here mention that the patients whom I have magnetized for the above- named diseased organs, make use of the same language to de- scribe the effects of magnetism upon them, as in case of magnetic paralysis of the limbs ; and the consecutive warmth and perspira- tion are the same in both cases. Hence I infer that the action of magnetism upon the important and vital organs is the same as upon the limbs. This is to me an interesting field of inquiry. " I will now detail a case or two. " Mrs. Ober, a respectable lady of this town, had been afflicted with an inveterate cutaneous disease, of about eighteen months' standing. This was attended with an intolerable itching, to so great an extent that sleep was often prevented, sometimes for many days and nights in succession. At the request of the fam- ily, and in particular of her son, Dr. Benjamin Ober, of Montville, Maine, I magnetized her in the month of June. This I repeated several times. She became a good somnambulist. To the sur- prise of all, the intolerable itching was removed immediately, and returned no more. Under the use of magnetism, the cutaneous eruption subsided ; but in a little time I ceased to magnetize this lady. In August, she died of dysentery. " June 9, 1837. — I was called to attend Mrs. Fern, of this vil- lage, as accoucheur. She had been in travail about forty-eight hours, and her labor pains had been somewhat irregular. She had obtained no sleep for three nights. At her request, and in presence of Mrs. Lawrence and Mrs. Weston, I magnetized her. She went into a magnetic sleep in less than one minute. I would mention that 1 had never seen Mrs. Fern previous to this evening. Her sleep was very quiet She slept about three hours, and then awoke very much refreshed. To my own surprise, and the aston- ishment of all present, we observed this curious and interesting fact and phenomenon, viz., that the specific and regular uterine contractions attending accouchment continued with perfect regular- ity. After she came out of the magnetic sleep, she was much refreshed, and it was apparently of benefit to her. " The following are the names of some of those who have been magnetized by me for diseases : — Eliza Barrett, Abigail Wynn, Mrs. Marshall, Deacon E. Barrett, Mrs. Sargent, Mrs. Ober, Flora Fuller, Sarah Mevens, Mary Russell, Mary M. Kean, Mrs. Ames, Miss Tarbell, Mrs. Adams, Rebecca Mclntyre, Miss Woodbury, APPENDIX. 283 Mrs. Fern, Mrs. Smith, Samuel Lawrence, Sally Putney, Mrs. Shurtliff, Mrs. Frost, Mrs. Reed, Miss Noyes, Miss Brigham, Mrs. Merrill, Miss Phelps, Susan Hartshorn, Moses Saunders, Abigail Gage. Almira Cartee, Mrs. Butler, Hannah Conrey, Martha Dunn, Miss Adams, Miss Dustin, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Cutter-. " I name only those on whom the magnetic action was well marked. I have as yet found only two individuals who were not susceptible of magnetic influence. " A list of all who have witnessed my magnetic experiments would fill an entire sheet 1 will name only Drs. Bartlett and Kimball, of Lowell ; Dearborn, of Nashua ; Ober, of Montville, Maine ; Rev. Messrs. Pratt and Smith, of Nashua ; Rev. Mr. Porter, of Lowell ; Rev. Mr. Carpenter, of Milford ; and Rev. Mr. Pease, of Hudson. To this list I could add some hundred of other citizens. " Yours, "C. CUTTER. " P. S. Write me relative to the third number soon, as I am having new and interesting cases daily, some of which I would communicate if desired. Use any part of the above you please." FROM DOCTOR CAPRON. "Providence. October 10, 1837. " Dear Sir : As you have requested that, should any thing interesting occur in my practice in reference to the subject of animal magnetism generally, and especially when remedially employed, I would communicate the same to append to the second part of the work you are publishing, I have hastily drawn up the following statement of a few cases which have fallen under my observation. Should you consider them of sufficient interest to enhance the value of your publication, you are at liberty to use them. "It is not pretended that magnetism has acted as a specific in any of these cases ; but that it was a valuable auxiliary in the treatment of them, and that it may be employed as such in the treatment of diseases generally, does not, in my mind, admit of a doubt. " Case first. — On the evening of the 25th of last month, 1 was requested to visit Mrs. L., in High Street, who, on the previous morning, had had a severe paroxysm of the fever and ague. Upon inquiry, I found that she Avas attacked by this disease in its usual form the fore part of August, soon after returning from a journey in the western country. She immediately put herself under the care of skilful physicians, and followed their prescrip- 284 APPENDIX. tions about two weeks ; but the progress of the disease was not arrested, medicine in this case not having its usual beneficial effects. She was advised by one of her physicians to have re- course to magnetism, and Mr. P. was sent for to magnetize her. Having magnetized her once to establish the communication, he commenced the second operation as the cold stage of the parox- ysm was beginning. In about twenty minutes, the patient began to feel more comfortable ; in thirty, the cold stage had entirely passed off, and was succeeded by an agreeable glow of heat The paroxysm, in this instance, was very much shortened in all its stages, and she was soon materially improved, though she took but little medicine after this time. " Mr. L., her husband, seeing the beneficial effect of these two operations, was induced to continue the treatment himself, by magnetizing her daily, and on some days several times. While this was continued, she had no return of the disease ; but Mr. L.'s business calling him again to the west, the treatment was discon- tinued, and in about three weeks she had a relapse of it in a more severe form. The fever was of the tertian type, the paroxysms returning every third day, and constantly increasing in severity, except an interruption of three or four days. " When I first saw her, about ten o'clock in the evening, she was suffering from a violent headache. For several hours pre- vious, she had been delirious, from the intensity of the fever. Understanding that magnetism had been of service to her on a former occasion, I thought it proper to make a trial of it, and was gratified with the success of the experiment. Her headache was cured in a few minutes ; she became tranquil ; the fever in some measure subsided ; and in a short time I left her compara- tively very comfortable. " The following day, though somewhat more comfortable, her state did not differ materially from what it had usually been on the days when she had been exempt from fever. I called on the third day, at the hour when the paroxysm was expected to return. The cold stage had begun. The hands and feet were cold, and purple under the nails ; the surface generally, and especially the nose, was cold and contracted. The shaking had not yet com- menced. " Being anxious to put in requisition all the means in my power to arrest the paroxysm, I gave a dose of Dover's powder, and immediately began to magnetize her. During the first twenty minutes, there was occasionally a shudder from the cold, when she began to feel warm and comfortable ; and, in a few minutes more, the cold stage had entirely subsided, instead of lasting two or three hours, as it had previously done. The Dover's powder produced slight sickness at the stomach, and she vomited once moderately. The succeeding hot and sweating stages were al- most entirely prevented, and she was as free from fever and dis- APPENDIX. 285 tress when I left her, an hour after my arrival, as she had usually- been on the days of the intermission. " It must be admitted that the medicine given in this instance probably had some agency in arresting the disease ; but if we recollect that, when Mr. P. magnetized her, the same effects pre- cisely were produced, although she took no medicine at that time, and that, notwithstanding she left off taking medicine entirely, the paroxysms did not return as long as she continued that treat- ment, it must certainly be admitted that magnetism was the most efficient agent employed. It is now thirteen days since I was called to her, and she has had no recurrence of the paroxysms except the one I have mentioned. Magnetism has not been trusted to alone in this case, though it has frequently been prac- tised, particularly for the headache, to which she has been subject, and which it has never failed to relieve in a very few minutes. " Though Mrs. L. has never been somnambulic, she has been generally put into a magnetic sleep, which has been very sooth- ing and restorative. She is now nearly free from disease. " Case second. — The second case which I shall mention where magnetism has been employed to advantage, is that of Mrs. C. This Avas a case of the most violent distress in the head, depend- ent upon a relapse of fever, which partook of the irritative rather than of the inflammatory or typhoid character. This affection of the head, which was somewhat different from the common head- ache, returned with great severity every afternoon. The usual remedies, though perseveringly employed for four or five days, had failed to give much relief. My success in the case of Mrs. L. suggested to me the propriety of trying magnetism in this, and I accordingly proposed it. At this proposition, Mrs. C. smiled with a look of incredulity, having never had the least confidence in the existence of such an agent. She consented, however, to make a trial of it. In five minutes, her head was relieved, and, at the end of twelve or fifteen, was quite free from distress. It did not return again that afternoon. She has since been mag- netized several times, with a similar result. " In this case, it was not carried so far as to produce sleep, though there is no doubt that this effect would have been pro- duced, had the operation been continued long. Mrs. C. has now no doubt of the magnetic influence. " Case third. — In December last, I was requested to visit Miss M., a young lady who had for nearly two years been subject to epileptic fits.* During the first year, she had only three or four ; but, during the second, they had become more frequent, so that * See Note XXIIL, for another case of epilepsy. 286 APPENDIX. she had had three within the two weeks immediately preceding my first visit. She was put upon such a course of medicine and measures as are usually prescribed in such cases ; but with only partial success, as she continued to have a fit every two months until May. " A trial was now made of magnetism, and medicines were almost wholly discontinued. She was occasionally magnetized for six weeks, at first by myself, and afterwards by another gen- tleman. The whole number of sittings may have been twelve or fifteen. While this treatment was continued, and for three months afterwards, she had no recurrence of the fits. Two weeks ago, however, she had a return of the disease. " Sleep was not induced in this patient, though the magnetic influence was very apparent. The young lady herself is fully sensible of the benefit derived from it ; and, had the treatment been persevered in, I am persuaded a recurrence would have been prevented. " Case fourth. — The next case I shall mention is that of Miss O., who, if I mistake not, was the first somnambulist in this city. This young lady, who had been in delicate health for four years, was afflicted with a most distressing spasmodic cough, recurring periodically every evening. Most of the articles of the materia medica had been employed for this cough, without the least bene- fit, but magnetism never failed to silence it in a very short time ; on some occasions, in less than two minutes, as was witnessed by a considerable number of the physicians of this place. * Case fifth. — Some time in the course of the last spring, I was called upon to go and extract some teeth for a lady, who had been for a number of weeks tormented with that worst of all torments, the teethache. It was her desire to be put into the magnetic state, that she might not be sensible of the pain of ex- tracting. To gratify her, I made the experiment, with little confidence of success, I acknowledge. I continued the process about half an hour without producing sleep. Being fatigued, I discontinued it, and advised her to have them extracted in the waking state ; but, to my surprise, her teeth were so effectually relieved from the pain, that she considered the operation of ex- tracting unnecessary. " Three months afterwards, she informed me that she had had no return of this troublesome affection. " Case sixth. — While visiting a patient in the westerly part of the city a few weeks since, Mrs. J., a lady apparently in delicate health, came into the room, who, as I was informed, had been magnetized, and manifested several of the phenomena of somnam- bulism. After having some conversation with her, 1 was anxious APPENDIX. 287 to see the character of her somnambulism, and she consented to let me magnetize her I put her into a state of somnambulism in a very short time, not exceeding fifteen minutes. Considering that she had been magnetized only once in several months, and then by a different person from the one who first put her asleep, I found her powers somewhat extraordinary. In the evening of the following day, I was called upon to prescribe for this lady in a case of violent pains of a spasmodic character in the stomach and bowels. I gave her immediately a dose of anodyne medi- cine, and, knowing the influence magnetism had had upon her, I thought it proper to try it. About ten or twelve minutes after I commenced the manipulations, she was entirely free from pain, though not asleep. " I left her at the end of half an hour, with directions to repeat the same kind of medicine she had already taken, should the pain return. She afterwards informed me that it did return soon after I left, and that several doses of the medicine were taken, with only partial success. Had the relief, in the first instance, been wholly dependent upon the anodyne, it is rational to suppose that the operation of the succeeding doses would have been more prompt than that of the first, as the anodyne was accumulating upon the system. " It is proper to observe, in this place, that this lady subsequent- ly informed me that, on the evening when I first magnetized her, she was threatened with the indisposition for which I was after- wards called to prescribe, and experienced an alleviation, though she did not mention it at the time. " After receiving your note, I called upon this patient to learn the particulars of her case previous to my seeing her. And she informed me that some time in the latter part of March, or the first of April last, she was magnetized by Mr. H., of Brown Uni- versity. She did not believe in magnetism, and submitted to it rather to convince the gentleman, who was an advocate of it, of his error, than from the expectation of receiving any benefit from it ; but, to her very agreeable surprise, after these few experi- ments, she found herself nearly cured of an inveterate palpitation which had for several years rendered her life miserable and ap- parently precarious. So severe indeed was this affection, that she had not, for a year or more, been able to ascend a flight of stairs, or walk an eighth of a mile, without stopping to recover from the agony occasioned by the exertion. " It is now six months since she was first magnetized, during which time she has been entirely free from the complaint, with the exception of a few slight attacks within the last six or eight weeks. " Case seventh. — The 20th of September, 1 received a message to visit Mr. D., a gentleman who has a painful affection of the hip 288 APPENDIX. and back. Having-, a number of times, been relieved from his excruciating sufferings by being magnetized by Mr. P., he was desirous of continuing this treatment, with the hope not only of relief, but of a permanent cure. " Upon examination, I found his disease to be one not likely to be cured by magnetism alone, and advised him to an efficient sur- gical course of treatment. I, however, magnetized him a number of times, and always with some mitigation of his sufferings. He was not put into a sound magnetic sleep r but the influence was certain. " Case eighth. — 1 magnetized a young lady for a distressing affection of the whole nervous system, attended with erratic pains in the head and eyes, wakefulness, and disturbed and unrefresh- ing slumbers. The optic nerves participated in this affection to such a degree that she apprehended a total loss of vision. She was frequently annoyed by the appearance of dark motes floating before her eyes, and other ocular spectra, as is frequently ob- served in cases of incipient amaurosis. The number of sittings was twelve ; and the benefit to her general health was unequiv- ocal. Her nervous system was soothed and strengthened, and her slumbers became calm and restorative. The effects of mag- netism in this case were somewhat peculiar; for, though her physical system was completely under its influence, her mental faculties continued wakeful, and her senses were unusually acute. When apparently in a sleeping state, she was perfectly conscious of her situation, which is not usual in somnambulism, ' or in ordinary sleep. " This case is reported to show the influence exerted by mag- netism upon the system generally, and especially in affections of the nerves. " Case ninth. — In answer to an inquiry in your note of the 8th instant, respecting the health of Miss Brackett, it gives me much pleasure to inform you that, notwithstanding an alarming general indisposition of two or three weeks' continuance, her vision is still improving. She believes herself capable of walking the streets safely without a guide ; she can judge of the comparative size of even small objects, and readily distinguish colors when there is a strong contrast. " Her present indisposition has proceeded from an accidental cause. It has been of a highly inflammatory nature, and, when she was in a waking state, attended with great pain and suffer- ing. Under these circumstances, magnetism has been invaluable to her, as it has never failed to render her insensible to suffering, and has wholly superseded the disagreeable necessity of giving opiates. She is now convalescent, and we hope soon to see her, not only in the enjoyment of good general health, but in the full APPENDIX. l&Si3 possession of that most useful as well as delightful of our senses, — vision. " The subjects of all the above cases are respectable and intel- ligent persons, living in this city ; and most of them may be re- ferred to, should any one have a particular interest in obtaining further information in relation to them. " With much respect, «G. CAPRON, "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn. NOTE XXVI. — Pages 75—88. Deleuze remarks, in the chapter on somnambulism, that " Som- nambulists whose interior faculties have acquired great energy, are often found in a frame of mind of which you might avail yourself advantageously to make them follow a course of regi- men, or do things useful to them, but contrary to their inclina- tions. The magnetizer can, after it has been mutually agreed upon, impress upon them, while in the somnambulic state, an idea or a determination which will influence them in the natural state, without their knowing the cause." He then gives in- stances to show in what cases this influence may be exerted. Following up this intimation, the author of the following letter, who is acquainted with this work in the original, has arrived at. some important results in verification of what Deleuze and other writers have stated in reference to this curious branch of the subject FROM DOCTOR ROBBINS. " Uxbridge. October 3, 1837. " Dear Sir : I had the pleasure, some days ago, of receiving a copy of the first part of your work, and the accompanying letter. I am particularly pleased with the execution and the whole char- acter of this specimen of the performance. I feel that, when com- pleted, it will render the subject strong in ample evidence both of its power and its utility. You are at liberty to publish the sub- joined article, if it meets your purpose. " Yours, respectfully, "J. W. ROBBINS. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." 25 290 APPENDIX. CORRECTION OF THE HABITS OF SOMNAMBULISTS. The influence which the magnetizer, with the consent of the somnambulist, is able, through his somnambulism, to exert upon his waking state, may be readily proved by a variety of experi- ments of pure curiosity ; but the magnetizer should seldom in- dulge in such kind of experimenting. This power may, however, be frequently rendered highly useful in the correction of habits — and those not only bodily, but mental. The following instances where the writer has, with some success, employed this influence for the benefit of his patients, may serve as illustrations of this power, and may induce magnetizers to have recourse, in all simi- lar cases, to its exercise. One individual, of a highly-nervous temperament, and much affected with dyspepsia, had at times a craving almost irresistible for certain fruits and aliments, which were sure to distress her stomach and aggravate her nervous symptoms. Having, upon my first essay of magnetism, with great facility induced somnambu- lism, I resolved to make trial of this power, with little confidence, however, in the success of the attempt, impossible as it had been to restrain her in the use of those articles. I accordingly en- joined upon her, in the most impressive manner, not to indulge herself in their use. The day following, having procured an apple, she wished to eat it, but found herself under the control of a mysterious influence, which rendered it morally impossible. It seemed to her that a person told her, while asleep, not to eat such things; "And," said she, "I do not think I shall be able to eat one all summer." I soon found that I had not included in my prohibition one important item, namely, tea — in the use of which she had for years been in the practice of freely indulging, and which I be- lieved to exert so unfavorable an influence upon her nerves, that I had for a long time employed every means to induce her to abandon it, but without success. I therefore issued the order; and, as every law has usually its appropriate penalty, I annexed it, as follows, namely, that the use of the smallest quantity should be followed by nausea. The experiment was perfectly success- ful, all succeeding attempts to take tea being followed by dis- I tressing sickness. As long as she remained in the family where she then was, she continued unable to take either tea or the interdicted articles of food. I was, two months afterwards, in- formed that those habits remained corrected, and it is to be hoped that they are permanently cured. Another somnambulist I had observed to have the habit of con- veying air into the stomach in the act of swallowing. Suspecting that the practice tended to increase the distress which she some- times experienced at the stomach, I directed her to swallow no APPENDIX. 291 more air, or, if she did so, that she should be seized with a pain in the throat. This pain was actually observed, by the inmates of the family where she was boarding-, to seize her twice on the day following ; and she afterwards informed me, in somnambu- lism, that she believed she was getting cured of the habit A third patient had long indulged freely in the use of tea and coffee, and they had become, as she supposed, absolutely neces- sary to enable her to continue her labor. Endowed, as she was in her somnambulism, with the faculty of prevision of a character almost perfect in regard to the exacerbations of her own disease, and the effects which were to result from different agents, I de- sired her to examine the influence of tea and coffee upon her sys- tem. The result of her examination was an acknowledgement of their bad effect, and her consent that I should break her of the habit of using them. I accordingly issued the prohibition, ac- companied with the penalty that they should taste unpleasantly, and be followed by nausea. The next day, to her utter astonish- ment,(for she retained, while awake, no trace of what had occurred in her somnambulism,) both her tea and coffee were not only offensive to her taste, but the forced introduction of small quan- tities into the stomach, from the conviction that she could not do without them, was followed by distressing sickness of considera- ble duration. The various attempts which she has at intervals made to take them have for months been followed by the same results. A similar course was subsequently pursued in regard to snuff. She had long been in the habit of using this article in considera- ble quantities. The result of her examination of it during her somnambulism was, that it was decidedly prejudicial, but that its use ought not to be at once abandoned. She accordingly con- sented that I should restrict her to the use of six pinches daily. I did so, adding the injunction that whatever she should take beyond the prescribed number should seem extremely nauseous and offensive. She assented, but went on, for some time after waking, in its use as before. At length, after taking a pinch, the sudden contortions of her countenance, and her strong exclama- tions of loathing and disgust, plainly indicated what had occurred. She had unwittingly transgressed her limits ; she had taken the prohibited pinch, and could take no more during the day. The following day, she could take it ; but her passion for it daily di- minished, as she was several times dreadfully annoyed by the seventh pinch. The habit was thus entirely broken, and but a trifle in comparison has been used in several months. She attrib- uted the effect to the constant use of magnetized water. From the following example, we should be led to suppose that certain habits and weaknesses, more especially mental, might be corrected by the same means, which, unfortunately, are applica- ble only to somnambulists.. One of my patients had always been 292 APPENDIX. unable to see any one in convulsions, or in great distress, or to assist in rendering the necessary attention to a corpse. If obliged to be present upon such occasions, the effect, both upon her mind and body, was severe and distressing. She told me, in her som- nambulism, that she had exerted herself strongly to overcome this weakness, which was a source of much mortification and incon- venience to her, but without success, and she begged me to assist her. I accordingly pursued, in this instance, the same course as before. Apparently assured now, in her own mind, of the cure of her failing, she thanked me in the most grateful terms ; and, al- though totally ignorant, while awake, of what had occurred in her somnambulism, she assisted at the next preparation for a funeral without any exhibition whatever of her former weakness. These facts, like others appertaining to animal magnetism, will doubtless appear of a very extraordinary character, and fail to gain the credence of those who have not examined the subject in the true spirit of philosophic investigation ; but they are confirmed by many writers on the subject. A work entitled " Cures effected in France by Animal Magnetism," details various similar facts. To those who wish to apply the science to use, these facts may serve to furnish hints which may lead to highly-useful results, It would give the writer pleasure to exhibit the evidence of these or any other facts of interest in his possession to such as may wish candidly to investigate the subject NOTE XXVIL — Page 89. Insensibility to Pain. — The following letter from Dr. Esten, surgeon dentist, of this city, gives the particulars of ope- rations performed by him while the patient was in the somnam- bulic state. "Providence, October 4, 1837. "Dear Sir: I cheerfully comply with your request. Some time during the last summer, I was informed by Dr. Brownell that one of his patients was at his house in the magnetic sleep, and was invited to call and see her. I accepted the invitation^ and found the lady sleeping. After some curious experiments, she was aAvakened. She requested me to examine her teeth, which she said she had unfortunately broken off by a fall, and expressed a desire to have some new ones inserted. Upon ex- amination, I found her teeth badJy decayed and broken, and informed her that it would be necessary to have the roots of some of the broken teeth extracted, and others cut off to a level with the gums, before she could have artificial ones inserted. It was accordingly agreed that, on some suitable occasion, it should APPENDIX. 293 be done, while she was asleep. Several weeks after, I was again called in by Dr. B., and found the lady sleeping very comfortably in an easy chair. I immediately extracted the roots of four front teeth, which had been broken off, without awaking her, or even disturbing her repose. The case was rather a severe one, as the teeth were broken down so low that I could not take hold of them with a pair of forceps, and was obliged to take them out with a hook which I use for such a purpose. On examining them about a week after, I found it to be necessary to remove one more. She was put asleep, and I extracted the tooth. She appeared not to know what I was doing, and manifested no signs of pain. She did not on this, or on the former occasion, spit the blood from her mouth. It was removed by a towel, the corner of which was laid in her mouth. After I had extracted this last tooth, Dr. B. asked her whether it hurt her. She replied by saying, ' Does what hurt ? ' She afterwards came to my office with Dr. B., and, after being magnetized, had the two central incisors cut off to a level with the gums, and holes were drilled into the roots of them, preparatory to inserting artificial ones. She afterwards had seven artificial teeth inserted. The operation was not all performed at one time, but at two or three different sittings. Every part of the work usually attended with any pain was done while she was asleep; and, according to all appearances, and her own testi- mony, she was not sensible of any pain. She was several times asked by Dr. Brownell, during the most painful part of the ope- ration, if it hurt her ; she always replied by saying, ' Does what hvrtV «W. T. ESTEN. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." The readers of the " Boston Medical and Surgical Journal " will remember a similar case detailed at length by Dr. Benjamin H. West, in the twenty-second number of the fourteenth volume of that valuable work. The operation was performed by Dr. Har- wood, surgeon dentist, on an epileptic patient of Monsieur Bugard, an accomplished French teacher of that city, in the presence of Professor Treadwell, of Harvard University, Drs. Ware, Lewis, Lodge, A. D. Parker, Esq., and Messrs. Ware and West, med- ical students. The latter gentleman, the writer of the article, had previously extracted a molar tooth from the same patient, who was a girl of nearly thirteen years old, without producing the slightest indication of feeling on her part. The Taunton Whig, of September 13th, gives an account of a similar operation, by Dr. Nahum Washburn, upon an intelligent young gentleman, now a medical student of that town. The character of the witnesses who are named precludes the possibil- ity of a doubt in regard to the literal correctness of the relation. 25* 294 APPENDIX, It is somewhat singular that in Taunton almost all the somnam- bulists are men. "A gentleman who had a carious tooth was desirous of having it extracted while under the magnetic influence, and seated him- self for that purpose. He was put into a state of perfect mag- netic sleep in the course of five minutes, at a distance of eight feet, by a friend who had magnetized him many times before. In that state, he remarked that the room was too light, and a silk handkerchief was therefore bound over his already closed eye- lids. Being then asked if he wished to have his tooth extracted, he answered that he did. After a lapse of a few minutes, the magnetizer, standing at a distance, willed him to open his mouthy which he did, asking, at the same time, if it was wide enough. " The magnetizer then retired to an adjoining room, and the operation was performed during his absence.* I was near the patient, watched him closely, and did not observe any sign of suffering. There was not the slightest contraction of a muscle, either of his face or limbs, during the operation ; no change of the countenance, or of the respiration. His whole body remained as perfectly composed as in the most quiet natural sleep. A bowl was placed under his chin, but he made no effort to free his mouth from the blood which flowed out between his lips, until the magnetizer returned, and willed him to do so. "He inquired 'what made him spit so much;' and shortly after complained of the ' stuff running down his throat.' Being asked what it was, he replied, after tasting, that he 'did not know.' " He was permitted to sleep a few minutes more, when the magnetizer went into an adjoining room, and willed him to awake in ten minutes. Ir\ precisely that time, there was a considerable movement of the eyelids. The sleep continued three minutes longer. "Soon after awaking, he observed the bowl containing the * Dr. Cleveland, of Pawtuxet, mentioned to the translator a curious fact, which fully agrees with what has been asserted in a previous note, namely, the somnambulist always appears to know what his magnetizer is doing. Having put one of his patients into the somnambulic state, for the pur- pose of performing a slight surgical operation, he found that he could not do it himself, because the patient, though insensible to the touch o r others, exhibited towards himself a perfect consciousness and sensibility which he could not annihilate long enough to continue the operation. The moment his mind was fixed upon the object, it was withdrawn from the exertion of the will, so that consciousness and sensation instantly returned to baffle his purpose. It may be further observed that, in Clo- quet's excision of a cancerated ulcer, mentioned in part first, the patient was magnetized by another person. If this should be discovered to be a general principle, we shall see one more reason for Deleuze's instruction? to keep the intention well sustained. APPENDIX. 295 blood in a chair by his side, and, immediately placing his finger upon the cavity, asked, with the appearance of great surprise, if his tooth had been extracted. He declared that he was not until then aware that the operation had been performed. "The tooth was a large one, had two stout fangs, and came out unusually hard. It was one of the molar teeth of the un- der jaw. "I have shown this communication to Messrs. C. R. Atwood, Hiram M. Barney, Samuel C. West, Horatio Gilbert, Francis S. Munroe, and Jonathan Hodges, who were present, and to Dr. Nahum Washburn, who operated, and have their authority to state that it is an accurate recital of the incidents of the scene. «G." NOTE XXVIII. — Page 76. Distant Clairvoyance. — The following letters are inserted for the purpose of gratifying a rational curiosity in regard to the wayfarings of the spirit in somnambulism. Others will appear in the third part. They are from gentlemen who are well known in this quarter, and their authority is second to none which can be produced. The reflecting mind will find in them enough to excite activity of thought, and the most sensual enough to be kindled into a spiritual flame, though it flicker and be temporary in its rising. That the human spirit hath power to leave the body, and take cognisance of things distant in space, is but an elementary truth in this branch of psychology. He who cannot frasp the evidence on which it rests, with a firm hold, will find imself constantly vacillating between belief and incontinence of faith; but he who has once weighed it, and suffered the con- viction to produce its legitimate effect, will find his notions of things to cohie quickened and informed, and be happy in the consciousness of immortality. For, if we are convinced that the spirit can be absent, or partially absent, from the body, and, while deriving little or no sensation from it, be engaged in real scenes in other climes, we are furnished with the aliment which strength- ens our conceptions of a separate spiritual existence, so that the doctrine of a future state appears to be consequent upon our na- ture, if not susceptible of direct proof. FROM E. L. FROTHINGHAM, ESQ. "Boston, October 3, 1837, " Dear Sir : 1 have just received your note of the 30th ult* ? containing a request that I would send to you some account of 296 APPENDIX. my experience in animal magnetism, while on a visit to Provi- dence in August last. You are perfectly welcome to all my ex- perience, and should be still more welcome were it of greater importance. The facts which I have to state are more general in their character, and of course less satisfactory, in some re- spects, than they would have been had I not been so limited in time. On this account, they may not be thought of sufficient importance to require their publicity, as many others may be furnished, if 1 may judge from what I have heard related by oth- ers, which are much more circumstantial, and therefore more generally interesting. " Hearing from many sources of the wonders of animal mag- netism previous to my visit to Providence, and being anxious to satisfy myself of the real or visionary character of these phenom- ena, on my arrival there I obtained an introduction to Dr. Capron, who, upon being made acquainted with my wishes, very politely expressed a willingness to gratify my curiosity, and appointed a meeting for this purpose on the afternoon of the next day. At the time appointed, I was introduced to Miss Brackett, the inter- esting young woman whose case you have laid before the public. After the process of magnetizing had been completed, she, at the request of Dr. Capron, rose from her chair, to which she had been previously led in a helpless state, walked through the room witli the greatest confidence, avoiding the chairs which stood in her way, and passed into the next room. In a few moments, she re- turned, equipped for a walk, and, accompanied by one of the fam- ily, but without any assistance, passed rapidly down a flight of stone steps into the street, and disappeared. The change from sightless helplessness to clear-sighted confidence was remarkably striking. In a few moments, we followed, and, on stopping at the house where she had been directed to go, we found this blind young lady, now endowed with more than natural sight, running through the house like a young girl let loose from school on a holyday, and examining pictures in a very novel manner, by placing her back towards them. " After being seated, she, at the request of Dr. Capron, agreed to accompany him to Boston; for, being a stranger to her, and unaccustomed to such odd ways of travelling, I did not feel my- self competent to take charge of her. The journey to Boston was accomplished in about one minute, passing, as she said, through the air, on a line with the railroad. On arriving at the depot in Boston, she was directed through several streets, com- plaining, all the while, of being jostled by the crowd, to my res- idence. She described correctly the external appearance of the house, and, upon entering, three members of my family, in a very particular and correct manner, even some particular points of dress quite unusual, which, upon my return to Boston, I found to have been correct I also ascertained that the individuals of the APPENDIX. 297 family not described by her were absent at that time. From some cause, however, nothing more could be extracted from her, the answer to all questions being, ' You can see them as well as I.' As she appeared to be so uncommunicative, a second meeting was appointed to take place on the evening of the following day, which I attended with a friend, Mr. Nathaniel W. Brown, of your city, being the only individuals present at this experiment, excepting the members of the family. " Miss Brackett appeared to be in the magnetic sleep when we arrived. In a few moments after, Dr. Capron, having other engagements for the evening, left the house, placing Mr. B. and myself in communication with Miss Brackett, and directing her to wake at half past 9 o'clock. As some time was consumed in visiting Mr. B.'s house, which resulted very satisfactorily to him, there was something less than an hour left at my disposal previous to the time set for the termination of her sleep. This, you must be aware, was altogether insufficient for a full experi- ment, as it is impossible, in these cases, to hurry any thing ; and this, joined to that unwillingness to describe formerly alluded to, renders the facts obtained less particular and numerous than 1 wished. However, although not fruitful in particulars, this ex- periment may be found to illustrate some 'principles in the most striking manner ; and this, after all, is the principal object "The same process was employed in accomplishing the jour- ney to my house in Boston, as before, and her description of its external appearance was in the same words. " Upon entering the house, she described a painted carpet, and a very peculiar table, which were in the entry. As she said there was no individual in the lower part of the house, I invited her up stairs into the parlor. In this room, without any leading questions being put to her, she described many of the principal articles of furniture, ornaments, and pictures, in the order in which they are placed in the room, and in such a manner that each article was immediately recognized by me, although her descriptions were general. " Upon entering the room, I asked her to tell me what there was in it that pleased her. She immediately commenced de- scribing a figure with her hand, as if passing over a solid, smooth substance. 'What are you looking at?' 'Why, this portrait' ' What kind of a portrait is it ? ' ' Why, it is white : how smooth it is ! ' ' How heavy is it ? ' ' It is very heavy. I should think it was marble.' ' What kind of a shelf does it stand upon ? ' 'It does not stand upon any shelf; but on a projection from the fire- place.' This was her description of a marble bust, weighing not far from one hundred weight, standing upon a Doric stove which projects into the room. She distinguished differences of size, figure, weight, color, and surface, (as smooth or rough,) in the articles which she described ; and, although many things were 298 APPENDIX. omitted, and some only partially indicated, not the slightest mis- take was made, although many attempts were made to mislead her. The subject of two pictures, which she very obstinately refused to give me a description of, she very readily described to me when she awoke. In this room she recognised my daughter, and said she had seen her before, but could find no other person in the house. I then asked her to pass into the chamber, and look for the children. After a moment's pause, she stooped over, and turned her hand, as if turning down the clothes of a bed", and said there was a child asleep ; but that his head was entirely covered with clothes. At this she seemed quite disturbed. She said the child was very uncomfortable, and that 'it was not healthy to be so covered up.' " As there was now very little time to spare, I said, ' Let us go down stairs ; perhaps we shall now be able to find the rest of the family.' In a moment she said, ' Good evening.' On asking her whom she saw in the room below, she described three individuals, two of whom she recognised as having seen the day before, and the other as an elderly Quaker lady, whose very peculiar dress she described with the greatest accuracy, and with considerable humor. This was the close of my experiment, as the time fixed by Dr. Capron for her to awake was near at hand ; and I hastened to conduct her back to Providence. I arrived at the end of my imaginary journey just as the time expired, at which moment she awoke. On my return home, I ascertained that all her descriptions relaxing to the individuals of my family were perfectly correct. "At the time of our supposed visit, my daughter was alone in the house, — with the exception of the children, who were in bed, — and sitting in the room where she was described to be. The other three members of the family did return about the time at which our experiments concluded, and were in the lower room, as described by Miss Brackett. Furthermore, Mrs. F., on visiting the little boy on her return, found him in precisely the uncom- fortable situation which so much distressed the sympathetic invis- ible visitant. " You will excuse me from making any observations or offering* any opinion upon these remarkable phenomena. As facts, you are perfectly welcome to them, and to make what use of them you please ; being satisfied that all remarkable facts, but particu- larly those of a character not referable to any known principle, should be made public. " Yours, truly, "E. L. FROTHINGHAM. "Mr.T.C. Hartshorn." APPENDIX. 299 FROM MONSIEUR B. F. BUGARD. "Boston, October 10, 1837. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn: " Dear Sir : I do not delay a moment to answer yours of the 7th inst At another time, you shall hear from me again; at present, 1 will relate a fact about a somnambulist. " About three months ago, I went to the house of Mr. L., to spend an evening. I found him and his lady at home, and with them their son A., Mrs. C, a French lady, and Mr. G., a friend of mine. Mrs. C. not feeling very well, one of the company sug- gested to me that I ought to magnetize her. Having offered my services to relieve her in that way, she accepted the offer. I put her asleep in less than five minutes. As it generally, though not always, happens in such cases, she answered all my questions. " This lady has come to this country with her husband, leaving m Paris her mother and three children. After a little conversa- tion, during which she drank some tea, I sent her home to Paris, to look after her family there. She answered a question in rela- tion to their health, by saying that her eldest daughter was not well, but was affected with sore eyes ; that a certain physician was in attendance, whom she named distinctly, but whose name is at this moment out of my memory ; that her second daughter had a cold, and that her little son was perfectly well. " Upon asking her whether her mother had attended church during the day, it being Sunday, she replied that she attended in the morning, but not in the afternoon. On being requested to look at the clock, and tell the time, she replied, without hesitation, ; 4 o'clock ; ' and on making the calculation myself, / found her to he correct.* " I soon after awoke her by the mere exertion of my will. She was not aware of having taken any tea, and although she put the question to every one in turn whether she had taken any, she remained unconvinced of what she had actually done. " About five or six weeks after this experiment, Mrs. C. re- ceived a letter from her mother, corifirming every particular she had said concerning her children. " I would observe that, when awake, I asked her what o'clock she thought it then was at Paris. She was obliged to calculate, and, in giving the answer, she was far from being positive. If any one desires to know who these persons are, whose initials only are given, I shall at any time be ready to give them, together with such additional proof as may be wanted. " I am your obedient servant, "B.F. BUGARD." * I have tried this experiment by sending several somnambulists far to the west. The result showed a correspondence between the time and the longitude, though the signification of the latter word was unknown to two of them. — Trans. 300 APPENDIX. FROM REVEREND E. B. HALL. " Providence, December 1, 1837. "To Mr. T. C. Hartshorn : " Dear Sir : You wish me to write you something about my experience and opinions on the subject of animal magnetism. I have been unwilling to say any thing publicly about that of which I know so little ; and I should decline now, if my name had not already appeared in several journals without my permission, and in support of facts not correctly given. It was so in the refer- ence to me which the appendix to your first number contained, afterwards quoted by Colonel Stone, although there was no exag- geration. A man's own opinion may be of little importance ; but truth is of great importance on all subjects, and especially as to matters of observation and fact. I feel willing, therefore, and feel it to be due to others, to say, in brief, what I have seen and what I believe. " I can do this best by giving a view, first, of the principles by which, not I alone, but many observers in this city, have exam- ined this subject, and then of some of the results, so far as they can be called results. There seems to be an impression abroad, and here also, with many, that those of us who have not had suffi- cient confidence in our own wisdom, nor seen sufficient cause in the facts offered, to pronounce this whole affair an imposition, or reject it as an absurdity, are altogether believers and dupes. How far we are dupes, I am not concerned to say. That we are not believers, I do say. I believe I may say it of a very large portion of the intelligent in this place, though I am not authorized to speak for others. What is exactly intended, in saying that we are not believers, will appear from what follows. It may not be useless, to this or any cause, to speak of principles of evidence, — the kind of inquiry and test to which all matters of this kind should be subjected, — and the distinction between inquiring and believing. Candor and credulity are too often confounded. The first is one of the noblest of traits, most rare and most useful ; the last is one of the most common and most hurtful. Let me recommend, on this subject, the perusal of some pieces ascribed to Judge Williams, of Taunton, published first in a paper there, and afterward appended to a pamphlet by Charles Poyen, as writ- ten by 'a member of the Massachusetts Bench.' " The reality of that which is called animal magnetism is pure- ly a question of fact. As such I view it ; as such alone do I attach any importance to that which is said or done about it Whether it be new or old ; whether it agree with preconceived opinions or oppose them all ; whether the wise men in France of the last century, or those of the present, believe or disbelieve ; whether the marvellous powers here supposed, if real, would do most good or evil ; whether the « possessed nuns,' the ' Salem APPENDIX. 301 witches,' and the ' old wives,' of all ages and hoth sexes, have not wrought as great wonders as the modern somnambulists, — are all questions of lively interest, it is true, and proper inquiry, but utterly impotent, if not irrelevant, in settling a question of fact Then, as to fears or hopes in regard to the truth of animal mag- netism, I have neither. I have not the least solicitude that it should prove either true or false. I know it is either true or false, whether proved so or not, whether I believe or reject, or any man, or all men. If it be false, it will do no great harm. If true, it will do good ; for all truth is good, and does good. Its interfer- ence with any other truth is an impossibility. It is not in the power of animal magnetism, or any tiling else, known or un- known, to destroy one particle of truth in religion, or nature, or man. Truths are never destroyed. They are not of man ; he can neither create nor annihilate the smallest of them. They are of God, and they are imperishable. There is but one question and one investigation, in this or any subject, that should awaken great, anxiety, or be deemed essential — What is truths " Now, in seeking the truth, in regard to animal magnetism, there seems to me to have been too much credulity, a too easy faith, with many. The public at large are incredulous, and they ought to be. Some of them, to be sure, are very weakly incredu- lous, from self-conceit, or obstinacy, or timidity, or blank igno- rance. But many are wisely incredulous. A healthy mind will never, as it cannot, believe that which is wholly strange, intrinsi- cally improbable, and not yet supported by evidence adapted to its nature or proportioned to its magnitude. And much of the evidence offered in this case, and relied on, is neither of the kind nor degree that the case demands. I have seen many trials, where the truth of every thing was almost taken for granted ; and the men and women merely looked on with open mouths. Supposing the ' subject ' was of course asleep, and insensible to all sounds and sights, they have openly said and done every thing, and then wondered that she knew it ! Tins is singular folly. It is child's play. The true principle in testing such supposed wonders, is to take nothing for granted ; no, nothing. 1 go to the examinations without assuming a single fact in the case, but rather distrusting every thing until it is proved. The whole matter is improbable ; i. e. is opposed by all we have ever seen, and all we know. I have a right, therefore, to institute the most rigid and suspicious scrutiny on every point I will not believe because the operator is an honest man, and the subject pure and true. That I do not dispute, and it is to be taken into the account But it does not of itself prove much in a case like this. The best men in the world may be deceived, and so may the wisest Nay, such is human nature, that, in certain circumstances, the best and wisest may deceive others, however unintentionally. I will not believe even my own senses, in matters so unaccountable, until I have 26 302 APPENDIX. had frequent opportunities of examining. I hold that any thing which is possible, is more probable than that a person should see without eyes, and travel without moving-. I demand, therefore, for such facts, such evidence as it is not possible to evade or resist. So long- as there can be any evasion or other explanation, my own mind will not receive the appearances as facts, whether others receive them or not, whether I wish to receive them or not " I distrust all appearances that may be feigned, or in which imagination may be the sole agent ; and the power of imagina- tion is almost indefinite. I distrust all answers given to leading questions. A very great portion of the questions which I have heard put to supposed somnambulists, have been suggestive. I distrust all information given, when that information could have been obtained either from hints carelessly dropped in the room, or from personal intercourse and previous knowledge of objects and places. To make out a case of actual clairvoyance, or of mental locomotion, there must be not only no probability, but no possibility, of any of the above helps or explanations. Nor can I conceive of but one kind of proof of this particular power, so inconceivable and inexplicable. That proof is the consciousness of holding in one's mind a fact unknown to all others, proposing the inquiry ourselves in the most guarded manner, without any suggestion, or hint, or help of any kind, and then hearing a true and unequivocal answer. It is little to hear others ask questions, when you know not what communication there may have been previously. It is insufficient to be told even that letters were read, through bandages and envelopes many, if you know nothing of the actors, even if you believe their assertions. For letters have been read, by peculiar processes, without being opened ; and letters have been opened and returned so well sealed^ that the writer himself could not detect any appearance of change. So that, while I disclaim all suspicion of foul play in the cases of this kind occurring here, I insist that they are not positive proof of the power of seeing through opaque substances, except where the letter is not for a moment lost sight of by the writer or opera- tor. If it is not lost sight of, but openly read, and its contents correctly told, then is this also evidence of the highest kind ; supposing, as before, that the writer is sure no one but himself knows what the letter contains. " These things are said, not for their peculiar value, but in ex- planation of the kind of feeling and principles of evidence which many in this place have brought to this subject. They show that, so far at least, there has been no very great credulity or liability to be deceived. And I believe I may add, — to speak now more definitely of the results, — that, whether deceived or not, some of us have not been satisfied. I know of few intelli- gent observers of animal magnetism in Providence who look upon the subject as settled, or who wish to be considered as any APPENDIX. 303 other than interested and candid inquirers. If there are those who know not the difference between inquirers and believers, or who think that the only wise ones are the scoffers, we must be excused from going into any argument with them or about them. It is violating all probability and all common sense, to suppose that hundreds of men and women, of every profession and station, of unimpeachable veracity, and at least respectable information, without any concert, compensation, or assignable motive, should engage in the same childish attempts at imposition, produce the same strange results, and in different places become operators or subjects on a large scale, for no earthly end but the pleasure of being duped ! Then, to crown the wisdom of such a supposition, it is only necessary to take a single case ; for instance, that of a young woman, of good sense and character, feigning total blind- ness for a year or two before she hears of animal magnetism, in order to be prepared for it; subjecting herself to all manner of privations ; denying herself the agreeable privilege of seeing, working, eating, walking, or doing any thing with comfort ; falling repeatedly, in this pretended blindness, so as to receive serious injury, and remain for weeks in severe pain and dangerous illness ; then all at once contriving, her eyes still closed and covered, to walk about easily and to see correctly ; not for her own comfort or gain, but only for the public entertainment or public suspicion ; her family, physicians, and friends at home, all the while assert- ing her actual blindness, and all with whom she lives being unable to detect in her a single appearance of insincerity, or even power of management ; yet all an imposition ! Believe it who will. Find its parallel or explanation, if possible, in any case of witchcraft or delusion, or rather, imposition ; for it is important to distinguish. Delusion there may be, of some kind, in this very case, and every other ; but imposition there is not, if any evidence can be trusted, or any fact proved by testimony or observation. "This is the first result to which I am brought, viz., that there is no intentional deception in this matter. I do not say that none who have ever engaged in animal magnetism have been deceivers, or that there has been no wilful deception in a single instance here. I mean simply that, as a general, if not a universal fact, the circumstances of the case forbid a suspicion of fraud. Self-delusion there may be. But an attempt to delude others, any kind of collusion or imposition, artifice, management, hum- bug, there is no reason to suspect. Those only who exhibit themselves for mon^y, give room for any such suspicion ; and they may not have been guilty. In the most remarkable cases we have had, in almost every case that I have seen or heard, there has been an utter absence of all ground for suspicion of motives. Nor have I known of more than one observer who has imputed bad motives ; and he has given more evidence, in his book, of having practised, than of having detected, fraud. 304 APPENDIX. " A second conclusion to which I have come, in common with most inquirers, is in favor of the reality of the magnetic sleep. This follows indeed from a belief in the honesty of those con- cerned. But it deserves notice as a conviction almost universal now, in the minds of those who have given any attention to the subject. There is no reason for the least doubt, that a peculiar sleep is produced by certain manipulations, differing widely from common sleep, accompanied often by a suspension of sensibility, and sometimes by a remarkable activity of mind and power of communication. So far as this constitutes animal magnetism, I doubt if there are many informed minds, in this or any city, or any country, who doubt its reality. " Of all beyond this, there are many who doubt, and there is reason for great diffidence and caution. In all that pertains to the action of one mind upon another without words or signs, i. e. the power of simple volition, — and all that is meant by clairvoy- ance, especially the faculty of inspecting human bodies, and visiting in spirit distant places, — I have no opinions which can be called conclusions, or absolute convictions. Much of the evi- dence adduced in support of these wonderful faculties, is to me wholly insufficient. I do not mean that it is suspicious or unim- portant, but insufficient to produce conviction. I have seen evi- dence, at times, which in itself was irresistible ; facts which I defy any man to account for, on any known principles. But the powers themselves which these facts tend to prove, are so amaz- ing, so utterly incomprehensible and tremendous, that my mind demands more evidence, repeated in every variety of circum- stance, and tested by all orders of men. before it will or can fully believe. Then, too, there are so many failures made by every somnambulist, so many inequalities, inconsistencies, and perplex- ities, that it becomes the part of wisdom, if not of necessity, to suspend judgment, and wait for greater revelations. Inequalities, it is true, and failures, are no proof of the absence of the power. They belong to all states of mind, and occur often even in the natural sciences. They weigh something in favor of the honesty of the parties. And at all events, until we know what the power is, we have no right to prescribe laws or conditions, to say that it must always do this or never do that. We ought only to exam- ine the more closely and widely on this account, and draw infer- ences and pronounce judgments with extreme caution. " ' But there are the facts? you say — ' what will you do with them W I can only say I know not what to do with them. Facts they are ; so far as I can discover. I have witnessed them, I have tried them severely, I have been compelled to admit them in some cases. The evidence has sometimes, in some few instances of my own observing, been as high and complete as I can conceive. But the cases have not been sufficiently numerous and varied, the evidence not sufficiently tested, to sustain belief in such man- APPENDIX. 305 strous capacities. I will believe any thing, or, more properly, I must believe any and every thing, that is proved, whether I un- derstand its nature or not, whether I can reconcile it or not with my preconceived notions. Its relations, its purpose, its uses, and consequences, I leave with Him who gives all powers and or- dains all truth. But it must be proved ; and the proof must be proportioned to the nature and magnitude of the thing to be established. " You may wish me to refer to some facts. It cannot be ne- cessary, and I have already been too long. In the particular case with which my name has been connected, I had Miss B. wholly under my own control. I questioned her about places and objects which she had never seen, and some of which, as they then existed, no creature but myself could have known. I proposed the questions in the most guarded manner. I had never been satisfied before, and I did not expect to be then. But, if not sat- isfied, I was confounded. She described distant objects, ivhose position in some cases I had just changed, whose existence in other cases I did not then know or believe, so truly, so wonderfully, that I could only marvel. At other times, she has done the same in regard to my own house, and houses in other towns and states. Then, as to her power of seeing, (not taking her blindness for granted, though unquestionable,) I have tried it in various ways, and am convinced that she sees either by some other organ than the eye, or with such rays of light only as can penetrate all sub- stances, if there are any such. / have seen a sealed letter, con- taining a passage enclosed in lead, ichich letter she held at the side of her head not more than a moment, all in sight, then gave it back to the writer, and afterward wrote what she had read in it: the letter was opened in my presence, and the two writings agreed in every word, there being two differences in spelling only. Of her power, or that of any somnambulist, to examine bodies and de- scribe diseases in others, I have seen no satisfactory proof. But one of our first physicians, who has published nothing on the subject, has recently told me of a case of his own which is enough to silence, if not convince, most skeptics. "I regard the whole subject as a matter of curious study. It has no claim to be called a science, for that denotes something known and settled. It is hardly a subject for lectures or public discourses, much less for exhibition and profit. It should be subjected to private and quiet examinations, scientific inquiry, patient, rigid, unsparing experiment, yet candid and kind. If it will not bear this trial, let it fall. If it will, let us learn what it is. There is much doing now, I am told, privately and encour- agingly. Yet it will not surprise me if the whole matter dies away soon, and is not revived again for years. I am not san- guine about its progress or its benefits. If wisely pursued, neither weakly trusted nor weakly scorned, whatever of truth or 26 * 306 APPENDIX. delusion it contains will appear in good time. As yet, I believe little, but hope something, and fear nothing. " With great regard, "E. B. HALL." FROM THE REV. MR. KENT. "Roxbury, November 27, 1837. «Mr. T. C. Hartshorn: "Dear Sir: I shall give you a simple narrative of what passed in my presence, on the evening when Miss Brackett was put into the magnetic sleep and conducted to my place of residence in Roxbury, as the facts appeared to me, leaving you to make such a use of it as you may think proper, and others to draw whatever inferences from it they please. If charged with too great mi- nuteness, I will only say that my desire and purpose is to state the whole truth, without coloring or reservation. " Intending to visit the Mansfield mines in my August vacation, I was induced, by friends in Boston, who had recently witnessed the powers of different somnambulists, to go on to Providence,, and seek an opportunity to see them myself. One of these friends kindly obtained for me the letter of introduction pre- sented to you by me from your brother in Boston, in which he simply mentioned my being « a brother teacher,' and one anxious to see the effects of animal magnetism, from other motives than those of mere curiosity. Not a syllable was said, and I am sure no one could have conjectured, about the objects I should wish to have described, and which were described by Miss Brackett with a promptness, accuracy, and particularity, which amazed me. You must remember, also, that, in the course of my conversation with you, I had avowed myself, as I really was, before trial, a skeptic on the whole subject, to be reclaimed only by evidence which should seem to me irresistible ; and a determination to watch, with the closest scrutiny, every circumstance, look, and move- ment, that might pass before me ; and 1 distinctly remember that this was, also, your evidently sincere and repeatedly expressed desire. " Meeting accidentally with my friend Mr. Joseph Harring- ton, Jr. of this place, who assured me of his strong desire to witness an exhibition of somnambulic clairvoyance, if it existed, I requested, in your presence, the privilege of having him accom- pany me, which Mr. Metcalf, at whose house Miss B. was then residing, very kindly and politely granted. After calling, with Mr. Harrington, on Dr. C apron, the magnetizer, stating the mo- tive which led me to wait on him and solicit the favor of seeing his patient in the magnetic sleep, and having the hour fixed upon, we went to Mr. Metcalf's at half past 7, P. M. and APPENDIX. 307 were introduced to Miss Brackett. Dr. Capron soon came in, with several other gentlemen and ladies, who were successively introduced ; and, in a few minutes, he proposed to commence the process of magnetizing, after I had placed a rocking-chair where I pleased, and Miss B. had been led to it in the perfect attitudes of blindness, by Miss Metcalf. "In order to prevent unfairness or collusion between the parties, i requested that lamps might be placed near, and directly before, Miss B., and took my seat at her side. Dr. Capron readily com- plied with my request, but said that, as her eyes were still, as they had been for several days, inflamed, it would be necessary to put a bandage, or cotton, before them, to prevent the effects of too strong a light I proposed the latter ; it was brought, and, in our presence, rolled into balls, and inserted between the spec- tacles she wore and her eyes, in such a manner that it would have been impossible for her, even with the best eyes, to see a ray of light. This cotton was watched, and it remained in its place through the vjhole time. Of the process of magnetizing, I will only mention one or two phenomena which I have not seen stated. After Miss Brackett was apparently in a profound sleep, Dr. Capron re- quested us to observe the effect of pointing his fingers towards, but without touching by several inches, her hand. At first, her arm and hand Avere gently agitated, the agitation increasing as his fingers approached, until her hand was drawn or attracted with violence up to the magnetizer's. The experiment was repeatedly tried on the right and left hands, according to our di- rection, in every instance successfully, and with the same result, without a word spoken, or sign given, which could have indi- cated which hand would be approached. We were then requested to try the same experiment ourselves, and did so without the least effect "On being roused by Dr. Capron, Miss Brackett instantly started from her chair, and, to our astonishment, passed twice round the room, with a rapid and sure step, avoiding every indi- vidual and article of furniture, and saying that she "could not, and would not, stay where there were so many people." She then hurried through the parlor to the door of the entry, seized its handle instantly and unerringly, and, turning her face towards us, opened it, and gained the outer step, where Dr. Capron took her arm, and, persuading her to return, seated her in the chair she had left, when she was again introduced to all the strangers present; the first introduction having been made while she was in her natural state, the last while in the magnetic state. " Dr. Capron then requested a tumbler of water to be brought, and, after drinking about half of it himself, he roused Miss B., who had apparently sunk into a profound and quiet sleep, as she afterwards did repeatedly, and requested her to drink some of it She did so, when Mr. Harrington drew to a corner of the room, 308 APPENDIX. and, after writing on a slip of paper, beckoned me to him, and simply held the paper before me, on which was written, ' Will the contents of the tumbler to be castor oil,'' or words to that effect He then beckoned to Dr. Capron, who went to him, and, reading the sentence, indicated by a nod that he would cheerfully do it ; and, retaking his seat, which was placed between two and three feet before Miss Brackett, he said, without moving a limb, or uttering a syllable more, — " ' Come, Lurena, drink a little of this, and you will feel better, I think ; ' alluding, as I supposed, to a severe headache, of which she had spoken to us in the course of our conversation, before the doctor's entrance. " She raised the tumbler to her lips, and suddenly replaced it in her lap, with evident nausea and aversion. " Dr C. ' Come, drink a little of it. It is very good.' " Miss B. ' Good ! ' moving her lips ; ' you know it is not good.' "Dr. C. 'Why?' " Miss B. ' Why ? It makes me sick.' " Dr. C. ' O, no ; drink one mouthful.' "She did so; and, had she witnessed the ceremony of taking pure castor a thousand times, the apparent effect on her could not have been more true to nature. " Mr. Harrington again summoned the doctor, and whispered, too low to be heard by any other person in the room, ' Will, now, that it is snuff? He returned, and repeated only words resembling those used in the first experiment. On looking into the tumbler, she seemed to smile ironically, and said, — " • Drink this ! drink this ! you know I cannot,' with an expres- sion of countenance which any one, seeing snuff to be the con- tents of a tumbler about to be drank off, must have assumed. "I then requested Dr. C, in the same manner, to 'ivill it to he pleasant lemonade.'' After long persuasion, without a word or gesture, however, which could have indicated the nature of my request, on Dr. C.'s part, she put the tumbler cautiously to her lips, and, tasting, drank the whole of the water that remained. " Dr. C. ' Well, Lurena, how do you like that ? ' "Miss B. 'Why, it's very good, but a little too sour? " Some one of the strangers present now requested, in a whis- per, that he would ' will the tumbler to be filled ivith an ice-cream. 1 I sat at Miss B.'s elbow, and watched both her countenance and Dr. C.'s words and motions. Collusion, or any thing like a secret understanding between them in what followed, I believe to have been impossible. " Dr. C. ' Come, Lurena, drink what I have got for you now. You will find it very good.' " Rousing, she looked into the empty tumbler, and continued silent. On further inquiry, she said, — " ' You know I cannot drink it' APPENDIX. 309 "Dr. C. 'Why?' " Miss B. ' I've been waiting for a spoon this half hour. 1 " A spoon was then brought and given her. She raised the tumbler, and, imitating to perfection the manner of a lady taking an ice-cream in a fashionable and elegant circle, she finished it, and replaced the tumbler in her lap, as one waiting for a servant to take it « Dr. C. < Well, is not that good ? ' " Miss B. « Yes, it's very good, but a little too highly flavored for me.' "I should have mentioned that, while eating it, she put her hand to her face in apparent pain. "Dr. C. ' What is the matter with your face ? ' " Miss B. ' Why, it makes my teeth ache, it 's so cold' "I then requested Dr. Capron to take the tumbler from her, and, in a whisper scarcely audible to him, to ' ivill a black kitten to be in her lap' He assented, and, taking his seat before her, as I did mine at her side, he said, without previously uttering a syllable, even in whisper, to any one, or making the least motion, 'Lurena, come, wake up, and see what you have in your lap.' She seemed gradually to wake. ' What have you in your lap?' Looking down, she instantly began to draw her arms up with aversion at the object seen, but remained silent. " Dr. C. < What is the matter ? Is it not pretty ?' " Drawing her arms still farther up, she said, evidently offended, 1 Pretty ? no. What have you put that in my lap for ? I sha'n't take it! I won't!' " Dr. C. ' O, yes ; take it' " Miss B. ' I wonV " Dr. C. ' Well, if you do not like it, give it to me.' Lifting it precisely as one would by the nape of the neck, and tossing it she said, ' There, take the dirty black thing!' "The preceding experiments were tried, in consequence of our having heard that similar ones had been made without failure in any instance ; and I am as certain as I am of being able to see or hear any thing directly before me, that no direction, either by a whisper, pause, or gesture, was given by the magnetizer to the magnetized ; and I know that the directions I gave Dr. C. could not have been anticipated by him or any one else. "I now requested Dr. Capron to take her to Roxbury, and to ' stop in front of the Universalis meeting-house at the bottom of the hill,' as the nearest prominent object to my own house. " Dr. C. ' Well, Lurena, Mr. Kent wishes us to go to Roxbury and visit his house. Will you go ? ' "Miss B. ' Yes, I should like to go very well.' " Dr. C, ' In what way shall we go ? ' " Miss B. ' We will go through the air, if you please, and I should like to go high.' « Dr. C, at some one's suggestion. « Why do you wish to go high ?' 310 APPENDIX. " Miss B. ' Why, to avoid the steeples and trees that will be in our way.' "The appearance manifested on her passage from place to place, has been correctly described by others. In about one and a half minutes, Dr. C. said, — " ' Well, Lurena, have we got there ? ' " Miss B. 'Yes, we have ;' with an appearance of exhaustion. P At this moment, Dr. Capron proposed to put me in communi- cation with her, as he had engagements to attend to at the hour arrived. I requested, however, that I might first see you take the guidance of her, as I was wholly ignorant of the manner of it Dr. C. mentioned that this might be as well, and introduced you. " Mr. H. 'Miss Brackett, how do you do ? I am very happy to meet you in Roxbury.' " Miss B. ' Why, Mr. Hartshorn, how came you to be here ? ' " Mr. H. ' I am here on a visit.' " You were not in the room when all present were led up and mentioned or introduced, after she was magnetized. Mr. Har- rington now requested you to ask her what she saw. "Mr. H. ' Well, Miss Brackett, what building have we here ?' " Miss B. ' Why do you ask that question ? You can se,e for yourself, as well as I can.' "Mr. H. ' Yes, but I should like to know how we agree. 5 " Miss B. ' Why, it is a large meeting-house.' "Mr. H. ' Well, look round ; look up; what o'clock is it?' " Miss B., after apparent examination. ' It has no clock. 1 This is correct. " Mr. H. ' What do you see ? Are there any lights ? ' " * Yes, there are ; and what strange people they are in Roxbu- ry, to have lights on posts in the daytime ! If I could only reach higher, I would take them down, it looks so silly.' " Mr. Harrington now directed you to ask what she saw before the meeting-house. "Miss B. 'I see a building.' « Mr. H. < What sort of a building is it ? ' "Miss B. 'It is a brick one.' Correct. " Mr. H., at Mr. Harrington's suggestion. ' Now, Miss Brack- ett, we will go to this building. Are we there ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes, we are.' " Mr. H. ' Well, should you like to go in, and see what there may be there ? ' " Miss B. ' I should.' " Mr. H., after a moment's pause. ' What do you see ? ' " Miss B. ' O, how beautiful these are ! How good they taste ! ' She then appeared to eat some kind of fruit ; but, suddenly stopping, said, ' O, I forgot ; I have no money, sir ; 1 beg your pardon;' and apparently kid down what she held in her hand. "Mr. H. 'What are you eating, Miss Brackett? Do }Ovl wish for money ? Here it is.' APPENDIX, 311 ■5 Miss B., smiling with evident pleasure. ' I thank you ; ' and seeming to take up the fruit again and eat it, said, ' How pleasant it is! It is so good I think I'll take another.' She did so. " Mr. H., by direction. « What sort of fruit is it ? ' " Miss B. ' I don't hardly know. They are apples or pears. They taste very good.' " Mr. H. « Well, Miss Brackett, look round and see what else you may like. It will refresh you to take something after your rapid journey.' In a few moments, putting her left hand under the chin, she seemed like one attempting to crack a hard-shelled nut with the teeth. " Mr. H. < What have you there ? ' " Miss B. i Why, it's a Castalia nut, and so hard that I can't crack it ;' trying with still greater effort. " Mr. H. ' Castalia nut ? You mean, do you not, the Castana nut ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes ; I don't know what you call it ; but J call it. a Castalia nut.' " Mr. H. ' Well, shall we go now ? ' " Miss B. ' If you please. But, O, I haven't paid the gentle- man. There, sir ; ' laying, as it were, money upon a counter. " The building where this imaginary scene passed is a brick one, occupied at present as a West India goods store. The day after my return from Providence, I called at this store and in- quired, first, whether the storekeeper had any fruit for sale on Wednesday evening. He replied in the affirmative, and directed me to a basket of apples which he said had been on the counter three or four days. On tasting one, I certainly should not have doubted the correctness of Miss B.'s taste, had she been present when she seemed to enjoy them so much in imagination. ' Have you any Castana nuts?' 'You will find them in the window next to the door.' They were there in one of the three divisions of a box, containing different kinds of nuts. " At the door of the store you will remember having put me in communication with her. " Mr. H. ' Miss Brackett, here is our mutual friend, Mr. Kent, who was introduced to you in Providence.' " l Good evening, Miss Brackett ; I am very glad to see you in Roxbury ; ' taking her hand. " Miss B. ' Why, Mr. Kent, how did you get here so soon ? ' with apparent surprise and emphasis. " ' I followed you in the railroad cars,' " Miss B. ' la the cars ! That is impossible ! You could not travel so fast in the cars as I did through the air.' " * Well, suppose, then, that I came in the stage.' " Miss B. ' In the stage ! You have just said you came in the cars ! Your stones do not seem to hang together ; ' smiling. u 'I confess, Miss Brackett, that I cannot tell you how I came ; 312 APPENDIX. but that is of no consequence ; it is certain I am here, and wish you to go with me to my house, a short distance from this, Will you attend me ? ' " Miss B. * Yes, sir, I will,' " After a time sufficient to conduct her only a few steps, and giving two or three directions, I said, ' Stop, we must go back and start again. I believe I am wrong.' She laughed audibly. ' What are you laughing at, Miss Brackett ? ' "Miss B. 'Why, I am laughing at the fact that you, a gen- tleman, should invite me to attend you to your house, ivhen you don't know the way there yourself! ' I cheerfully confess, sir, that my feelings at this moment, in consequence of what I had wit- nessed and heard after her arrival in Roxbury, very much resem- bled those of an oratorical tyro, who has lost the place in his manuscript, and stands before an audience evidently waiting for words, which it is not in his power to command, utterly at fault ! I did not feel certain that I should select such landmarks and use such terms as would be sure to guide such a companion to the house, and said, 'I am very free to acknowledge, Miss Brackett, that you may have a better guide, under my direction, and here is our friend, Mr. Hartshorn, Avho will take you in charge.' « Mr. H. ' Will you go with me to Mr. Kent's ? ' "Miss B., with evident pleasantry. 'I will; for he does not seem to know the way there himself! ' " Mr. H., by direction. ' We are now at the first corner on the right, Miss Brackett. What do you see ? ' " Miss B. ' See ? A large brick house.' " Mr. H. ' Is it a tavern ? ' " Miss B. ' It may be. I think it is.' " Mr. H. ' We will go forward a little. What do you see ? ' " Miss B., after a pause. ' I shall not tell you, for you can see it yourself.' " Mr. H. ' I wish to see whether we agree in opinion.' " Miss B. ' It's a very large barn.' The stable by which she must pass measures ninety feet by thirty-two. " Mr. H. ' Is there any thing on the top of it ? Look up.' " Miss B., after looking up. ' Why, what curious people there are here ! They keep lamps on posts burning in the day- time, and put creatures on their barns.' There is on this livery stable an unusually large gilded vane, in the form of a horse. "Mr. H. 'We will now go forward, cross a street, and on the left-hand corner is Mr. Kent's house.' After a short pause, * Are we there ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes.' " Mr. H. ' What is there before his house ? ' " Miss B. ' I sha'n't tell you, for you know.' " Mr. H. ' O, yes, tell me. Is there any yard here ? ' As you had never seen my house, your question was put at random. "MissB. 'Yard? Yes.' APPENDIX. 31$ u Mr. H. ' What sort of one is it ? ' " Miss B. ' Why do you ask such questions ? ' " Mr. H. ' Is it a gravelled one ? ' " Miss B. ' No ; it is a green one ; you know it is.' She seemed here, as in several other instances, to feel that she was trifled with. Her answer was correct. " Mr. H. ' Well, we will go in and enter the room on the left. Are we there ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes. What a handsome carpet this is ! ' " Mr. EL, by direction. ' What kind of a carpet is it ? Is it Brussels, Kidderminster, or what is it ? ' " Miss B. ' 1 hardly know what to call it. It's a very hand- some one, but it is not woollen. 1 The carpet is a painted canvass, one which had been purchased at the factory and laid down a short time before. "I was here again put in communication with her. 'Well, Miss Brackett, you see me now at home, and I wish you to look round this room and tell me what you think of the different objects here.' " Miss B., apparently looking at the wall. ' O, what a beauti- ful picture this is ! It would be perfect if the hair of the lady was pushed a little farther back. It comes too low over the forehead.' Speaking in a whisper to herself, ' O, what hair ! it spoils it I wish I could push it back ; ' motioning with her fingers, as if attempting to do so. ' How beautiful that arm is ! ' The picture described is a Chinese copy of a lady holding a kitten in her arms, and hangs nearest the door. Although it has been there three years, I was unconscious of any striking defect in the hair, but found, on my return, that no artist, with perfect eyes and the most discriminating taste, could have made more just criticism upon it than she did. Her remark upon the arm was precisely the same, in words, that I have repeatedly heard made by others. " '• We will now, Miss Brackett, pass on, if you please. What do you see here ? ' " Miss B. ' See ! what you see, sir, — a table.' '"Is there any thing over it?' " Miss B. ' O, that lady is perfect How beautiful she is ! ' with earnest emphasis. The painting over the table is a Chinese copy, also, of a full-length portrait of ' the Maid of Athens,' and was correctly described. " ' Is there any thing on this table ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes ; and they are the handsomest of the kind I ever saw. How very beautiful these are ! I must look into one of them.' " ' Well, Miss Brackett, open and look into it' " Miss B., seeming to make an unsuccessful attempt ' I can't ; it is locked.' " At your suggestion. ' You can look through the top of it' 27 314 APPENDIX. « Miss B. ' No ; I want the key. I shall not look through the cover of such a one as this is.' " ' Well, here is the key ; ' putting the ends of my fingers to hers, "Miss B», trying it, and handing it back again. 'It does not fit.' " ' O, I have given you the wrong one. This is the key.' " Miss B., holding it up, and looking at it with a smile. ' What a pretty, cunning little key this is ! I never saw one of such a color.' Inserting and carefully turning it, she opened the box, and seemed to admire the inside. There were on the table two Chinese work-boxes, having the usual pieces within, and, what 1 believe is not common, a very beautiful cluster of flowers painted on white satin, in the cover of each, with a third, resembling them in external appearance. The key was described with, amusing and singular accuracy ; and I found, on my return, that Mrs. K. had locked the outside work-box, in compliance with our agreement before I left home, that she should make what striking alterations, unknown to me and every one else, in my room, she pleased. I, in a few moments, asked what else she saw on the table, having in my own mind a large book of paintings on rice paper, which I remembered leaving on this table before the work- boxes, of whose merits I was curious to learn her opinion. She smiled, but would make no reply. " *■ I wish you now to look at the fireplace. Is there any thing before it ? ' u Miss B. ' Yes. O, what a singular and splendid urn that is ! I never saw one so large, and of such a color.' "'What is its color?' " Miss B. ' I don't know what color to call it ; ' speaking in an undertone. ' It looks white — red.' The urn standing there was a large one, of polished variegated porphyry. " ' Now, Miss Brackett, look over the mantel-piece ; look high. Is there any thing there ? ' " Miss B., speaking with evident emotion and veneration. ' O, how beautiful — beautiful!' And, as she spoke, she bent forward, folded her arms on her breast, and put herself exactly in the attitude of our Saviour, as he is painted in a miniature which represents him at the moment when he said, ' Thy will be done.' This painting is on ivory, three inches square in the clear, set in a deep and broad gilt frame, and hangs about one and a half feet over the mantel-piece. It was received from Canton, and placed there but a few days before, and I know that no individual in America, except my family, had then seen it. I continued, — " ' What do you see, Miss Brackett ? ' " Miss B., raising her eyes. ' What a beautiful picture that is ! * " ' Is it a large one ? ' u Miss B. ' No ; it's a very small one. It's too small.' "■ ' Is it as small as the one opposite ? ' APPENDIX. 315 tt Miss B. ' Yes ; why, you know it is as small again.' Correct, " ' Well, look down ; is there any thing under it?' " Miss B. ' You know there is.' "'What is it?' " Miss B., promptly. ' It 's an image 1 of ChrisV There was, standing directly under the picture, a cast-iron image of our Saviour bearing his cross, in bass-relief. " l What more do you see here ? ' " Miss B. ' What large and beautiful vases these are ! ' " ' Vases ! How many are there ? ' " Miss B. ' Why, you can see as well as I do. There are two.' There were four glass shades, or vases, covering large specimens of Chinese rice-paper flowers ; two of them touching each other at each end of a long and broad mantel-piece. « ' We will now, if you please, go into the other room, and see what may be there.' " Miss B. ' Stop a moment ; I want to rest me on this sofa ; my he id aches.' A sofa stands between the fireplace and door, by which she would naturally pass. " In a few moments. ' Will you go now ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes, I will.' " « And what do you find in this room ? 7 " Miss B. ' What ! are there pictures here, too ? But 1 dotft like this room so well as the other.' " ' You do not ? Look round, if you please, and tell me what the pictures are.' " Miss B. ' Why, I don't know what they are. There is one that looks like an apostle.' There was no such picture in the room, although there had been hut a few days before. 'O, these are beautiful. O, they are beautiful, very beautiful.' " ' What are they ? ' "MissB. ' Why, this book of pictures. Don't you see them?"' " < Where are they ? ' " Miss B. ' On the piano-forte. But I must go back into the other room. I want to look longer at the pictures there.' I found, on my return, that Mrs. K. had removed this book from the table in the other room, where I left it, to the piano, in this room ; and, in sport, placed a coffee-pot in its stead. Whether or not this was the object smiled at, but not mentioned, I leave others to decide. Re- turning with my charge to the other room, I requested Dr. Ca- pron, who had now come in, to receive her from me. He did so, and, after indulging her in looking at the pictures a short time, on which she made the same remarks as before, he said, — "'Well, Lurena, Mr. Kent wishes us, now, to go up stairs. Will you go ? ' « Miss B. ' Yes, I will.' "Dr. C* 'We will go up and enter the left-hand door.' * These and many of the succeeding questions were put by my direc- tion, Dr. C. being unacquainted with my house. 316 APPENDIX. " ' What do you see here ? ' " Miss B. ' See ! I see a lady.' " Dr. C. ' How is she dressed ? ' Her answer was correct " « How old is she ? ' " Miss B. ' Why, that is a polite question ! Madam, bowing and smiling as she spoke, ' the gentleman wishes me to ask you how old you are ! ' " Dr. C. ' How old do you think she is ? ' " Miss B., raising her eyes. ' I don't know. I should think she is about twenty.' " Dr. C. ' Are there any other persons in the room ? ' "Miss B. 'No.' Mrs. K. was the only person up, in the chamber, at the time. There were, however, two children asleep in the bed. " Dr. C. ' We will now go forward and down stairs, and pass through the left-hand door.' " « What sort of room is it ? ' "Miss B. 'It's a large kitchen.' Correct. In a short time she seemed to be sipping something. "Dr. C. 'What have you found, Lurena, — any thing to eat?' "Miss B. 'Eat! no. It's water, and very good water too.' There is in the corner of this kitchen a small table, on which my cook keeps habitually a water-pail, and generally a long-handled tin dipper in it. On my return, I inquired of her if she remem- bered certainly whether there was water left in the pail on the evening mentioned. She replied that she was certain of having left it half full, in consequence of finding more water in the boiler than she expected on that evening. This pail, however, 1 found, without letting any one know the object of my examina- tion, to be left empty when my domestics retired, four nights in succession. I now directed Dr. Capron to take her into the next apartment, 'the pump-room, with a lattice front,' forgetting, in my astonishment at what had passed before me, that there was an inter- mediate room. " Dr. C. ' Well, we will now go into the next room. What sort of room is it ? ' " Miss B. ' Why, this is a kitchen too, only it is a smaller one.'' Correct " Dr. C. ' We will go through the next one, and take the left- hand door into another room. Are we there ? ' " Miss B. ' Yes, but,'' with evident surprise, ' why did they tell me Mr. Kent was a minister ? It isn't true. He's a schoolmaster ! ' Dr. C. looked at me, and appeared, at least, to believe that his patient was here at fault You will remember having assured me, sir, on the evening when we separated before the Franklin House in Providence, that you had mentioned me, both to Miss Brackett and Dr. Capron, only as a minister. On my stating to APPENDIX. 317 the latter that, although I had been a minister, she was correct, he said, ' A schoolmaster, Lurena ? Why do you say he is a school- master ? ' " Miss B. ' Why, you say this is his room, and he is a school- master because this is a school-room. And I never saw such a one. He lias pictures here too. And what singular desks these are ! He has chairs fixed instead of seats.' It would have been impossible for a person with perfect eyes, and in broad sunlight, to give a more accurate description of this room than she did. I could not at this moment repress my impatience to have her conducted to the room above, the character and contents of which, I was sure, could be known neither to yourself, to Dr. Capron, to Miss Brackett, nor to any one else in Providence, except Mr. Harrington, who had been totally silent on the subject, from the fact that I had myself scrupulously guarded against giving the least hint of them to any one, that less than three days had elapsed since my letter of introduction to you was written, that I was a perfect stranger to your brother in Boston, who penned it, and that to entertain a moment's suspicion of collusion between him and the gentleman who obtained it for me, by which any intelli- gence of the truth might have been secretly communicated, would be a gross and unpardonable insult to unimpeachable in- tegrity. " Dr. C. at length said, * Come, Lurena, we will now go out of this room, and up stairs into the room above, which Mr. Kent wishes us to see. Will you go ? ' " Miss B. < Stop ; I can't go up yet I must sit down in this chair and rest me ; my head aches.' " Dr. C. ' Well, sit down ; we need not be in haste.' He then made a few motions with the hands before her, after which she soon roused, and said, in reply to his invitation, * I don't want to go up these stairs.' "Dr. C. 'Why?' " Miss B. * Because they are so steep and twisting.' Appa- rently making an effort, ' They are the hardest stairs I ever went up.' The stairs leading to the room above are in one corner of the school-room, not out of it ; are ' steep and twisting,' and have more than once occasioned in others the same complaint while ascending them. " Dr. C. ' Well, are you in the room ? ' " Miss B. « Yes. Why, is it possible ? What a singular man Mr. Kent is ! He is a minister and a schoolmaster, and keeps a museum. I must see all these things. I could stay here four or five days ; yes, a month. How many things there are ! ' While she appeared to examine objects, I requested Dr. C. to question her in relation to what she saw. He did so. " Miss B. « Why, what a curious loindow that is! I never saw one before that went clear across a room ! And onlv look ! 27* 318 APPENDIX. He has got it full behind the windows, too. What large things ! The glass seems to magnify them.' My astonishment was at this moment complete. There is a glass window, or partition^ across the room, to secure my apparatus, and several large articles connected with natural history. " Dr. C. * What now do you see ? Look up.' " Miss B. ' Why, that is very handsome.' «Dr. C. 'What is it?' " Miss B. ' It looks like marble.' Alluding, as I supposed, to a bust of plaster of Paris, standing on a pedestal against the par- tition. " Dr. C. ' Are there any shells here ? ' " Miss B. ' Why do you ask me that question, when you know I have just put one into your hand ? ' There were shells within her reach. After she had seemed to examine the different objects around with the different sensations which they were adapted to produce, I requested Dr. C. to take her to a friend's house in this place ; but she refused decidedly to go, saying, she would leave this room to see no other one in Roxbury. She was then charged to remember some of the things, with a view to having them described the next day, assured that she might re- turn to look at my cabinets when, and stay as long as, she pleased. " Reconducted to Providence in the same manner as she came to Roxbury, and reentering the room at Mr. Metcalf 's, she in- stantly said, ' Why, there are two gentlemen here, to whom I have not been introduced ! ' It was acknowledged, and she was introduced to these gentlemen, strangers from a distant state, who had entered the room between her leaving and returning to Providence. " In eight or ten days after, the parents of Mr. Harrington called upon me and expressed a wish to see my cabinets, saying that they had received a letter from him, (he had not yet returned home,) mentioning that Miss Brackett had returned to them, and spent the night in examination, after being put into the magnetic sleep ; that she had described to Miss Metcalf, the next day, cer- tain objects which he mentioned, but which they had decided not to name, until they had seen for themselves. We went to the room, where they found every object Mr. H. had specified in his letter — a bust of Milton, a large table in the centre of the room, several pictures scattered on one side of it, which belong to a perspective box, and a box covered with paper, which strikingly resembles what Miss Brackett said it was — ' something like Mo- saic work.'' I could not account for her recognition of Milton's bust, seen, as it was, in a teacher's room, or ' museum,' where any other than his would be likely to have place, until I found, on being requested by a gentleman to examine it, what I had for- gotten — the name, ' Milton,' written deeply and legibly on the back of it, which touched a board partition. APPENDIX. 319 " I am aware, sir, that there may seem to be indelicacy in thus exposing to the public the objects to be found in a private dwell- ing, and I would, if I could, have avoided it. But I promised, at the moment of leaving you, to describe and place at your dis- posal an account of what I saw and heard. It is right to keep that promise ; and, in doing this, I have felt obliged to give liter- ally the questions asked and answers returned. You have, ac- cording to my best recollection, the whole truth, without reservation or intentional coloring. The facts, as they appeared to me, are at your disposal. With the inferences to be drawn from them I have nothing here to do, and cheerfully leave the subject with those who may think it worthy either of their ridicule or serious consideration, calmly and humbly asking for myself, ' What shall we do with these things ? ' " Yours, very respectfully and truly, "BENJAMIN KENT." FROM MR. JOSEPH HARRINGTON, JUN. " Roxbury, November 29, 1837. " Dear Sir : I was present at the above-mentioned interview of my friend, Mr. Kent, with Miss Brackett ; and with the excep- tion of a few unimportant particulars, wherein my memory does not distinctly serve me, I bear unhesitating witness to the truth of every statement contained in his communication. Unless our senses were grossly deceived, or our judgments thoroughly be- wildered, we were, on the evening referred to, spectators of won- derful and unexplained mental phenomena. And most desirous must every lover of truth be, that the subject of 'animal mag- netism ' should receive that attention which it merits, and that its juggles, if it possess any, should be exposed, or its astounding revelations be corroborated by accumulated testimony, and its mysterious nature unravelled. If your humble servant, sir, has been duped, hardly less wonderful is the dexterity of the impos- tors than somnambulism itself. " With great respect, " Your obedient servant, "JOSEPH HARRINGTON, Jun. " Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." FROM MR. FREDERICK S. CHURCH. " Providence, September 1, 1837. ** Mr. T. C. Hartshorn : "Sir: In a conversation with you a few evenings ago, you asked of me a short sketch of what I had seen of the phenomenon called somnambulism. " In reply, I can only say that my observation has been con- 320 APPENDIX. fined principally to one case, and that of a young lady of this city known to you. I first saw her the latter part of May, and having previously heard much, but seen nothing, I was, like most others, rather incredulous respecting the facts related to me by those who had witnessed them. After seeing her put into an appa- rently sound and quiet sleep, from which she could not be awak- ened by any of the means usually employed to rouse sleeping persons, the magnetizer proceeded to show the influence of his will, by causing her to see things which existed only in imagina- tion ; for instance, to drink water from an empty cup, and to eat bread, fruit, cake, &c, from an empty plate. She was also made to see and describe distinctly the number of persons in the room, articles of small size wrapped in many thicknesses of cloth, or in the pockets of the persons present. Having known of her being sent abroad and describing persons and things, and having found her descriptions to be generally correct, where proof was to be had, I was once induced to request her being sent to the Island of Cuba, knowing that, if she could describe things there of which neither she nor any one present, save myself, had the most remote conception, it would, in my mind, put the matter of her spiritual vision beyond the possibility of a doubt. The re- quest was complied with, by sending her along the sea-coast in a south-westerly direction, until she came to the peninsula of Flor- ida. She was then directed to go directly south over the sea, until she came to land. Not more than half a minute elapsed before she announced her arrival. She was then told to seek a city. It was almost immediately found, and, being called on to describe the entrance from the sea, I was satisfied she was at Matanzas. Wishing at that time to have her at Havana, she was directed to go west about sixty miles, until she came to another city, which she did. Being told to enter it by the harbor, and relate what she saw on the right-hand side going in, she described a large stone building, unfinished, which I knew to be a new prison then building, likewise the city walls, mounted with cannon, the shipping and the harbor generally, with the forts on the opposite side of the entrance, Moro Castle, Castle Blanco, the lighthouse, &c. Leading questions were of course avoided. " She also described correctly the quay, the launches loading from an open shed, with many persons there collected, standing smoking, &c. ; which place is used as a kind of Exchange, where the ' merchants do most congregate. 1 "She was then directed to enter a large building in that vicini- ty — the Cathedral ; and her description of it was very minute, and, so far as my memory served, was very correct Being asked what kind of church it was, she replied she did not know, having never seen any thing of the kind before. Observing a number of priests officiating at the altar, her attention was directed to them. On being asked their probable age, she said that « two were near- APPENDIX. 321 ly bald, and three, although very young 1 , were beginning to be so;' fully satisfying me that she recognised the 'priest with the shaven crown.' 1 She saw one bearing a bright vessel, suspended by a chain, from whence issued a smoke, which he swung before , and others engaged apparently at prayer, and kneeling before the altar. Occasionally a lid would close over it, and the smoke cease, when it would be handed to a boy in attendance, then taken back again, and so used several times during the cere- mony. She described with exactness the organ as being very small for so large a building, and much out of place, which is the fact, being situated in an arch of the ceiling above the capi- tals of the columns ; the floor of the altar as being beautifully inlaid with marble, in Mosaic ; also the many and splendid paint- ings on the walls. " At another time, she visited Matanzas, describing the vessels in the harbor with sufficient exactness for me to identify one in which I was interested ; the quay or landing ; the public square, with orange-trees on the border, and a marble statue in the centre ; the church at that place, with the peculiar architecture and location of the town ; together with the interior of the church, the altar, statues, ornaments, &c, including a miniature brig sus- pended from the ceiling, by some pious individual, who had been saved from shipwreck by praying heartily to his patron saint, and thus fulfilled his vows by dedicating the said vessel to his or her glory. " I recognised, by her description, three ladies of my acquaint- ance at their residence. And her whole description, so far as my memory could be relied on, was strictly correct. I would ob- serve, that, on first being sent to Cuba, no name of place was given her, and nearly ten days elapsed before I met her again, when she asked me where she had been sent ; as she knew it must have been in a foreign country, the appearance of things being so entirely different from any thing she had before seen. "I close by giving you the assurance of my most implicit belief in what I have witnessed, only stating facts, and not at- tempting to account for them. " Respectfully yours, « FREDERICK S. CHURCH." NOTE XXIX. — Page 102. It may be that Deleuze had then in his mind the lamented Georget, who had published his work on physiology a few years before. I am sure the reader will be obliged to°me for trans- lating the brief notice of him taken by M. Foissac, page 283. " The experiments at the Hotel Dieu have proved the reality of a particular agent, entirely independent of the patient's imagi- 322 APPENDIX. nation. Those of La Salpetriere afford instances of the extraordi- nary phenomena of somnambulism, produced and tested by men who are an ornament to science, and whose talents and integrity no person has yet dared to dispute. It was not the love of the marvellous, nor of notoriety, Avhich induced M. Georget to study the subject. In his work on madness, he inserted the following passage: 'So long as these magnetizers perform their experi- ments in the dark, with the aid of their abettors ; so long as they do not work their miracles before the Academy of Sciences or the Faculty of Medicine, they will permit us to omit the trouble of refuting their reveries or their faith.' But Georget's incredu- lity having been shaken by the experiments of the Hotel Dieu, he examined with distrust what he at first rejected with dis- dain ; and, six months after having written the preceding lines, he added, in a note, while his work was in the press, that he had since witnessed several magnetic phenomena, and that he had himself put to sleep several of his convalescent patients, and caused them to speak, of which we shall present a very succinct analysis. "When he put his somnambulists in communication with a sick person, they immediately experienced a pain, an uneasiness, and sometimes a sharp affection in the corresponding organs. It often happened that they were immediately attacked with epilepsy and hysterical fits when they touched persons afflicted with these maladies, just before the attacks came on.* "A somnambulist, who had an inflammation of the left lobe of the lungs, said she saw very well, and as if with her eyes, the organs of her chest, and, in fact, gave a very remarkable descrip- tion of them. The heart, said she, is enveloped by a membrane to which it does not adhere ; it receives seven vessels, two of which, appearing largest, were agitated by a peculiar movement The disordered lobe appeared very red, resembling the liver in some parts, and presenting grayish spots in several others. The healthy lobe had a rosy appearance. In proportion as the inflam- mation diminished, she saw less and less clearly, and finally could not see at all. There was a relapse, and lucidity returned ; but it was limited to the diseased lobe, the other organs being no more seen. Georget observed several facts of the same kind. "The therapeutic resources of his somnambulists presented nothing very remarkable. They rarely employed any but those remedies which were daily made use of in their presence — bleed- ing, leeches, baths, moxas, blisters, and few potions. He always administered every thing they prescribed for themselves, and never had reason to repent of doing it. 'It was curious,' says he, 'to see them, when awake, exclaim against their own prescriptions while blisters or moxas were in preparation.' One of them, * See note on transmission of pain. APPENDIX. 323 however, caused eighteen or twenty moxas to be applied to her- self, several setons or issues, and a great number of blisters, in the space of eighteen months. " Georget could, at pleasure, deprive his somnambulists of sen- sation. The skin was totally insensible to the lively irritation of hot water deeply charged with ground mustard-seed, and even to the burning of the moxa — a burning and irritation which were extremely painful, when, by his will, the skin resumed its sensibility. "He suspended the muscular power of his somnambulists with the same success, sometimes in one part, and sometimes in an- other, and sometimes in all. . One day, he tried this power upon the respiratory muscles, and he produced such an immobility of the thorax, and such danger of suffocation, as very much to alarm himself, and make him determine to attempt nothing of the kind again. He says that, if one were to recall a patient from the somnambulic state without having restored motion to the mus- cles, and their proper faculties to the senses, a paralysis of the muscles and of sensation will continue.* Nothing could equal the surprise and fright which such a phenomenon caused to a person who experienced it for the first time, whether it were the loss of hearing, of speech, or of motion. ' The most singular phenomenon, and the most worthy of attention,' continues Geor- get, ; relates to the foreknowledge of organic action, more or less distant in point of time. J have seen, positively seen, a great many times, somnambulists announce, several hours, several days, twenty days beforehand, the hour, the minute, even, of the attack of epilep- tic and hystencjits, and of the menstrual eruptions, and indicate the duration and the intensity of the attacks — things which were exactly verified.'' "Six months after writing this article, he had observed many other new and extraordinary facts. He promised, in a note, to report an instance in the chapter on epilepsy ; but when, in his second volume, he traced the history of that disease, he added that the reason which had made him defer the publication of these phenomena to the article on magnetism, induced him to put it off to another period. He says, nevertheless, the person to whom he referred had displayed to him instances of prevision and clairvoyance so astonishing, that he had never read any thing so extraordinary, in any work on magnetism, not even in those of Petetin. "This somnambulist, Petronille, declared that a great fright would cure her. After she had been thrown into one, she as- * I have the authority of two magnetizers, in this place, to state this fact as having fallen within their own practice ; but the subjects, on being plunged again into the magnetic state, were relieved, and then were awakened free from pain. 324 APPENDIX. sured her friends, while in somnambulism, that she was radically cured. In fact, she experienced no new attack during three months, while before she used to have two every day. " The author of ' Cures effected in France,'' states, in his first volume, page 259, that this patient, Petronille, said, one day, to Dr. Londe, one of the French physicians sent into Poland to observe the cholera, that in fifteen days he would have an affair of honor, and would be wounded. Dr. Londe consigned this fact to his memorandum, without attaching importance to it ; and he appeared to have forgotten it, when, fifteen days afterwards, he received a sword-cut from the hand of one of his associates. " In the ' Physiology of the Nervous System,'' Georget makes no mention of the names of his somnambulists, nor of the place where he made his experiments, nor of the numerous witnesses,, physicians, and others, who were convinced, like himself. l It is because,'' says he, ' we live in an age when it is permitted to conceal our belief in magnetism. 1 " How shall we reconcile this timidity with the courageous hom- age which, in his work, he renders to all useful discoveries, and especially to magnetism ? The true reason of his reserve and his silence was, the fear of displeasing those who had the admin- istration of the hospitals, who had severely interdicted all essays of that nature. He proposed to publish, at some future day, more in detail, if his time should permit him, the result of his observa- tions. He expressed his desire to me, in the last interview I had with him ; he wished to recommence his experiments, and give himself up wholly to new researches. 'For I am persuaded,' said he to me, ' that great truths have escaped observers ; but, far from accusing them of exaggeration, I rather believe they have, in their recitals, kept below the reality. I believe, for example, that there is no perfect mode of treatment but that which somnambulists prescribe for themselves ; and that it is possible to render their admirable instinct serviceable to others. In one disease, [fluxion de poitrine,) every physician knows that bleeding is ne- cessary, but he does not know the precise moment of the opera- tion, at what vein it ought to be done, and the exact quantity of blood it is necessary to draw, &c.' " He then read to me the details of his first experiment at the Salpetriere. The woman whom he magnetized became somnam- bulous, and, in the midst of great agitation, told him that, at a certain period, she would be attacked by a serious disease, and die of it, at such a day and such an hour. Georget, not then knowing any works in which facts of this kind were mentioned, and ignorant that somnambulists could themselves give the means of turning aside the effects of their previsions, believed it must of necessity be accomplished. Full of terror and grief, he hastened to awake her ; and, at the time indicated, she fell a victim to the disease which she had foreseen. APPENDIX. 325 " Georget died at the commencement of a career so brilliantly begun, in the midst of the labors he had sketched out for him- self, and of his dreams of the future. All the physiological facts which he had observed with so much care, are probably lost to science ; for, since his death, no person has spoken of publish- ing the notes which he left. But he himself rendered a last, a striking homage to the principles of magnetism, by these words inserted in his will: 'I will not finish this document without adding to it an important declaration. In 1821, in my work on the " Physiology of the Nervous System" I proudly professed mate- rialism. The preceding year, I had published a treatise on " Mad- ness" in which are laid down principles contrary to, or at least different from the ideas in agreement with, the general belief, (pp. 48, 51, 52, 1 14 ;) and hardly had I published the " Physiology of the Nervous System" when new meditations upon a very ex- traordinary phenomenon — somnambulism — would permit me no longer to doubt of the existence in us, and out of us, of an intel- ligent principle, altogether different from material existences. It is, if you please, the soul and God. In regard to this matter, / have a profound conviction, founded upon facts which are not to be controverted. This declaration will not see the light, until no one can doubt its sincerity or suspect my intentions. If I cannot publish it myself, I urgently entreat the persons who may take notice of it, at the opening of the present testament, that is to say, after my death, to give it all the publicity possible. March 1,1826'" NOTE XXX. FROM MOSES B. LOCKWOOD. " Respected Friend : In the appendix to the second part of thy translation of ' Deleuze's Practical Instruction? I notice a number of cures that have been either wholly or partially ef- fected through the agency of animal magnetism. It seems de- sirable to record as many cases of this kind as facts will permit. If an unbeliever be told of an individual who, after being mag- netized, has ceased to be afflicted by a malady that had been hanging about him perhaps for years, he will be very likely to reply, 'It wasn't magnetism; it will happen so sometimes.' Chance, however, can only be brought to bear against solitary instances. By multiplying cases, retreat, under cover of 'It will happen so sometimes,' will be cut off. " It is for this reason that 1 take additional pleasure in comply- ing with thy request. « q < q####^ f or f our or £ ve w i n t erS) hag been subject to the 28 326 APPENDIX. croup, (as he, and those who have attended him, termed it,) so that scarcely the space of two weeks, during either of these winters, elapsed, without his becoming an inmate of the nursery, until the 12th month, 13th day, 1836, when T magnetized him, not only wishing to put him asleep, hut also to cure his disease. No med- icine was used ; yet he has not had a return of it since. " The following facts go to show that ' the phenomena of ani- mal magnetism are not produced solely through the influence of the imagination.' In endeavoring to ascertain this point, in the early part of my experimenting, frequent occasion was taken to magnetize an individual when he was totally ignorant of my intention, and when his mind was closely engaged with other things. For example, when he was studiously endeavoring to solve some mathematical question, or to commit some passage to memory, I have repeatedly caused him to sleep, simply by the action of my will ; being, in some cases, with my face towards him, in some with it from him ; sometimes in the same, at others in a different, room ; generally in the same house, but occasion- ally at a much greater distance. On one occasion, we were at dinner, he at one table and I at another, and so situated that my face could not be seen by him. When I went to the table, 1 had not even thought of magnetizing at that time ; but, as his mind appeared to be very far from magnetism, it seemed to be a very favorable opportunity to test the point; and, although no one around me suspected what was going on, yet, in less than three minutes, his head dropped upon the shoulder of the one that was next to him. I then awaked him, when he turned round, and cast a look towards me, by which I understood that he knew what I had been doing. In this and the other instances alluded to, it would be absurd to endeavor to maintain that his imagination produced the result. ' The phenomena of animal magnetism are not produced,' therefore, ' solely through the in- fluence of the imagination.' " Clairvoyance. — After putting a patient asleep, I left him for the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of his account of what was transpiring at a distance. He was in communication with C. W. J. With me were M. B. H. and J. C. On our return, after an absence of about an hour, C. W. J. informed us that the magnetized had traced our course ; said that I ' fell down on some ice in the path,' &c. He said, further, that, while we were returning, 'just before we came to a rope-walk, we all laughed very loud at something which M. B. H. told us.' He was correct in all these instances. " Respectfully, "MOSES B. LOCKWOOD. "Thomas C. Hartshorn," APPENDIX. 327 NOTE XXXI. LETTERS FROM PHYSICIANS. FROM DOCTOR CUTTER, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. " Nashua, November 22, 1837. " Sir : The second number of your translation of Deleuze's work was duly received. No encomium of mine can add to its intrinsic merit The chapters ' on the precautions in the clwice of a magnetizer,' and ' magnetism applied to disease in connection with medicine? need only to be read to be appreciated by the moral, the intelligent, and the humane. As your valuable appendix is intended to record facts and observations made by American citizens, I send you a few cases. " Neuralgia, or Tic Douloureux. — I was called to see Miss E. M... of this town. The disease was confined to the right side of tue face, the portio dura of anatomists being diseased. This was of long standing. I proposed the trial of magnetism. To this she assented. Somnambulism occurred in a few minutes. After she had slept a little time, I awoke her. The pain was gone. I repeated magnetism several times. There has been no return of the pain. " JYeuralgia, after filling a carious tooth. — Miss D. applied to a skilful dental surgeon, Dr. J. M. Reed, for advice relative to a carious tooth. Dr. R. filled the tooth with gold foil. But, the nerve being exposed and very sensitive, the filling was of neces- sity removed. It was replaced and removed several times, the young lady not being able to endure the pain caused by the pres- sure of the gold on the sensitive and diseased nerve. All the branches of the trifacial nerve had become painful. After the tooth had been filled, she applied to me to render my aid in giving relief by magnetism. At the first sitting, the pain was completely removed, but sleep was not induced. In a little time, there was a partial return of the pain, and I again magnetized her. At this sitting, she became a lucid somnambulist ; the pain was entirely removed, and has not returned From the result of this and some other cases, I think magnetism worthy the attention of dental surgeons. "Delirium Tremens. — June 20, 1837. — Mr. S. L., afflicted with delirium tremens, caused by the free use of stimulating drinks, applied to me for medical advice, having passed several days and nights without sleep, and having used opiates in large doses without ben Q fit I tried the effect of magnetism. In a little time, it caused tranquillity, followed by sleep. I repeated it two or three times, and the man was able to resume his usual business. In this form of disease, when there is an increase of 328 APPENDIX. action, with a diminution of the powers of the system, I think patients may receive much benefit from the use of magnetism. " Bronchitis. — Aug. 27. — Miss A. C. for two years had been laboring under chronic bronchitis, characterized by cough, dysp- noea, pain in the chest and between the shoulders. After trying many tilings, she consented to make trial of magnetism. She was magnetized several times. At each sitting, the dyspnoea, pain, and cough, were removed. This I could effect without influencing any other part of the system. The paroxysms of coughing and dyspnoea became less severe and less frequent, but her circumstances prevented her from continuing the use of magnetism but a little time. She is now much better, but not well. " Dyspepsia and Spinal Irritation. — Miss F. F. for some years had been afflicted with pain in the stomach and back, attended with soreness, appetite capricious, and, when food was taken, it caused much distress. Under the circumstances, at her request, I magnetized her. It caused sleep, free sweating, and complete relief from pain. Magnetism was repeated several times. The pain in the back and stomach, and distress after taking food, were completely removed. In this case, the patient became a lucid somnambulist After the disease was removed, this lady ceased to be a somnambulist, and was not susceptible of magnetic influ- ence. This is worthy of observation in using magnetism as a remedial agent. " Partial Paralysis. — A few months since, I was consulted by Miss S. H., who for more than four years had been troubled with pain in the back part of the head, and want of feeling and strength of the muscles on one side, something like the wry neck. I advised a frial of magnetism, as she had been under different methods of treatment, and had received no benefit. To this she consented. At the first sitting, imperfect sleep was induced, fol- lowed by very free sweating in the paralyzed part. I repeated magnetism several days in succession. The pain in the head was removed, and sensibility and mobility restored to the parts paralyzed. In this case, somnambulism was complete. She is now perfectly well. " Headache and Dyspepsia. — A few months since, 1 was called to see a lady from Chelmsford, Mass., who for some two years had been afflicted with much pain and heat in the stomach and chest, and a peculiar, heavy pain in the head, for which she had tried many things, and had found no relief. This case was attended with pallor of the skin, and great coldness of the ex- tremities. I made use of gentle aperient medicine, and magnet- ism. At the first sitting, the pain in the bead and stomach was much increased primarily, but this was followed in a little time by relief from pain, free sweating, and warmth in the skin and extremities. I continued to magnetize this lady for about two APPENDIX, 329 weeks, once each day. The effects after each sitting were the same as at first ; but the primary increase of pain gradually di- minished, until the magnetic action was quite agreeable. The disease in the head, lungs, and stomach, was completely removed in about, three weeks ; and this lady has since remained well. " Hepatitis and Cephalalgia. — About three months since, Miss A. applied to me for medical advice relative to a pain in the head and the region of the liver. Her food caused much distress. These complaints were of some years' standing, for which she had taken much medicine. She had been salivated three times for the pain in the side, without benefit. At her request, 1 tried magnetism. The pain in the head was completely removed after a tew sittings, and returned no more ; but the side was not bettered. I applied a blister to the right side, and con- tinued the use of magnetism. The pain in the region of the liver yielded immediately, and has not since returned. This lady is now perfectly well. In this case, magnetism and vesication mutually aided each other. " Chronic Inflammation of the stomach and bowels. — In the early part of last summer, I was applied to by Mrs. S. A. for medical advice. It was her desire to be magnetized. This was one of the most complicated cases of disease I ever saw. For more than ten years, this lady had been afflicted with great pain in the head, dizziness, want of sleep ; and so great was this, that she said she had not slept one night soundly for many years, and frequent- ly passed many nights in succession without sleep. There was constant pain in the left side, steady pain and soreness in the stomach and bowels, attended with frequent paroxysms of vomit- ing blood, with discharges of the same per anum. At these times, the tumefaction of the bowels was great, attended with severe pains resembling colic, retention of urine, and pain in voiding the same. Food, and all things taken into the stomach, caused great distress, if not rejected. This had been the case for many years. These are a few of the leading symptoms. She had applied to many medical men for aid, and was nothing bet- tered. " I commenced the treatment by trying the power of magnet- ism. At the third sitting, complete magnetic sleep was produced. 1 continued this for some days, and I found that her rest became better, the cephalic and abdominal pains less severe. After some little time, I ceased magnetizing this lady myself, and Mrs. Cutter commenced magnetizing her. From time to time, I gave such medicines as the case seemed to require, with external counter- irritation. Mrs. A. became a lucid somnambulist, examined her- self, and directed such things as she said would be of benefit These prescriptions I followed, as they appeared to me to be proper. She is now comparatively well. She sleeps well, and has been able to eat any thing for months without uneasiness or pain. 26* 330 APPENDIX. The pain and dizziness in her head very much lessened. The pain, with discharges of blood from the stomach and bowels, is entirely removed. The urinary trouble is much relieved. Within a few days, she examined herself when in the magnetic state. She said that magnetism had been of great benefit to her, but that the medicine she had taken had been very important. She said that the blood vomited came from a sore in the stomach, and not from the bowels, as I had supposed ; and that this was cured by magnetism and a particular medicine, and that it was now completely well. This, she says, was the cause of the food's dis- tressing her. She says there are eight large scars on the inside of the bowels, where there were sores for a long time. She says the bladder is small, and will never be well ; but it is now some- what better. She has been uniform in her assertions at the dif- ferent times she has examined herself. I might mention that she says her head has been much benefited by magnetism, but is not well, and never will be. She said her side would be well ; and such is the case at this time. In this case, I think the union of medicine and magnetism has been very happy, and the results highly satisfactory in removing a mass of disease which many good judges had deemed incurable. This and some other cases treated by me this season, fully sustain many of the remarks of the excellent Deleuze in his chapter on the connection of magnet- ism with medicine, and in that on somnambulism. "Yours, &c, "CALVIN CUTTER. " Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." FROM THE SAME. "Nashua, November 29, 1837. " Sir : The following observations are at your disposal ; do with them as you may think proper. It is known to the observing physician and others, that we frequently meet with diseases in which there is a local increase of vital power or action. These are, in general, characterized by preternatural heat, arterial throb- bing, swelling, and frequently pain, commonly termed inflamma- tion. We also meet with diseases in which there is an apparent diminution of the local, and, it may be, general vital forces, dis- tinguished by a diminution of heat, arterial action, and contrac- tion of the size of the parts, commonly seen in cases of paralysis and debilitating diseases. Now, it is obvious to any person, that, in most cases, a remedy producing the same uniform effects would not be proper in the two above-named classes of disease. Ceteris paribus, if it benefited the one, it would injure the other. Consequently, if the magnetizer cannot modify the effects of the influence which he may exert, he cannot benefit diseases APPENDIX. 331 of a sthenic and asthenic character by this agent It will be seen by my remarks, that I think it highly necessary for the mag- netizer to be a person well acquainted with the causes and char- acter of diseases, or that he should act under the direction of some person who has this knowledge. Magnetism should not be used at hap-hazard to cure diseases by every ignorant person, or any ignorant person who may by chance have learned that he has this natural and inherent power. If this care is pursued, magnetism may continue reputable and useful. In relation to the ability which I possess of modifying this influence, so as to cause, by my ivill alone, either sedative, stimulant, or soporific effects, I have been making observations for some time, and upon different persons, and am satisfied that it can be done, although difficult To accomplish it easily, I am obliged to keep in mind the relative anatomy of the different parts of the system, particu- larly that of the nervous system. The following are my observa- tions on this point : — " About the middle of November, I accidentally met a lad in the street a son of Mr. Wm. Lovejoy, who was obliged to use two crutches in consequence of a complete paralysis of one leg, from the hip downward. He is about seven years old, and has been in this state more than rive years. It is said to have followed, and to have been caused by, a severe fever. He could move the toes of the diseased limb a very little. He was brought to my office, and I took one of his hands, and held it a little time, and then passed my fingers over his arm a few times, with the inten- tion to paralyze his arm. I then asked him to move his arm, and he could not There had been nothing said relative to magnet- ism in his presence, and consequently imagination was not on the alert A short time after, I saw the boy at Mr. Lovejoy's house. Without making any remarks concerning my desires, 1 took his hand, with the intention to put the boy to sleep. In about one minute, he was in a profound sleep. In a short time, I awoke him, and then passed my fingers over the diseased limb several times. This limb is always cold. After being magnet- ized as above named, I examined the limb, and found it of an icy coldness, and no mobility in the toes. "On the following day, I again called, and found the limb with its wonted coldness. I then magnetized, with the intention of removing the coldness without causing the least loss of motion. In a few minutes, the limb became quite warm, as much so as the other, with some moisture, and he could move the toes much more freely. In the experiments on the limb, the head was not affected In these different experiments, the lad and those present were not made aware of my intention until after magnetizing. " I have obtained similar results on many different persons ; but the above I deem satisfactory, as the age and circumstances of the lad, and his entire ignorance of magnetism, preclude the 332 APPENDIX. probability of that active and almost universal agent, imagination, being in the field of this experiment "CALVIN CUTTER. "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." FROM DOCTOR CLEVELAND. "Pawtuxet. December 10, 1837. "Dear Sir: On the 31st of May last, I was called to see Mis. , a lady about fifty years old, whom I found laboring under a violent inflammation of the chest On the 3d of June, her symptoms became alarming. At a consultation of physicians, her case was considered quite hopeless. Her pulse was inter- mitting, her extremities cold ; she had a partial delirium, a wake- fulness that had continued forty-eight hours, restlessness, and extreme distress in the system generally, and especially in the chest Further attempts were made to procure sleep, which, as heretofore, proved unavailing. Opium, in its various preparations, was resorted to, both internally and externally, with no other effect than aggravation of suffering. From idiosyncrasy, she was never able to procure rest from this drug. At the expiration of twelve hours, I found her appearance still worse, symptoms of mortification being more decided. " Under the circumstances, I was induced to magnetize her, though I had but slight hopes of affording relief. At the end of thirty minutes, I threw her into a quiet sleep. My own surprise was surpassed by that of her friends, who were entirely ignorant of the cause of her sudden and unexpected relief. She awoke at the end of two hours, without exhibiting any particular change in her appearance, except a greater regularity of the pulse. In a few hours, she was magnetized again, and warmth was restored to the extremities ; the circulation was also improved. " She was magnetized a third time, and awoke twenty-four hours after the first operation, with her reason perfectly restored. From this time, her disease assumed a more favorable turn. She was occasionally magnetized with much relief, until her natural sleep was restored, and recovery ensued. " Not much doubt can exist as to the cause of the changes which took place during the twenty hours alluded to above, as no other means than magnetism was made use of during that time ; and without this, it is more than probable that the case would have terminated fatally. " On the 31st of August of the present year, I was called upon to attend Mrs. , # who was suffering a severe and deep-seated * The translator had conversed with the husband of this lady, a respect- able trader of this city, in relation to this case, before he received Dr. C.'s account of it, which confirms that gentleman's statement. APPENDIX. 333 pain in the breasts, arising from a scrofulous affection. Although there was no obstruction to the flow of milk upon the application of the child or of the pump, yet the pain produced by them was almost insupportable. The ordinary means had been resorted to, but not successfully even in the slightest degree. Her sufferings, on the contrary, were daily increased, until other organs, from a peculiar sympathy well known to nursing women, became affected to such a degree, that the application of the child or of the pump induced such violent spasms, that it became absolutely necessary to abandon the use of both as the means of removing the superabundance of milk. " Recourse was had to magnetism. Sleep was produced in forty minutes, and sensibility so far suspended that, instead of its requiring several persons to confine her to the bed, as heretofore, while attempting to nurse the child, she expressed the greatest delight while it was nursing, turned her face towards it, (her eyes being closed,) and caressed and fondled it in the most affection- ate manner. I cautioned her to retain a knowledge of her im- pressions when she awoke, to which she replied, ' You need not fear ; I never shall forget them ! ' "It being necessary for me to leave her, I asked her how long she would sleep ; to which she promptly replied, 'A week ! ' " Her friends being unwilling that I should leave her in the magnetic state, I remained two hours, during which time her sleep was uninterrupted. I then left her, with the assurance that I would return as soon as possible. About six hours afterwards, I found her suffering, though less severely than before. The same pleasant effects followed in the second magnetic sleep, into which she was immediately thrown. After directing some neces- sary arrangements for the night, I put her in communication with her husband and the nurse, and retired, leaving a request that I should be called if occasion required it. " On calling again the next morning at five o'clock, she was still in the magnetic state, having been so seven hours, although she had been removed to another bed, had taken refreshments sev- eral times herself, and attended duly to the demands of her child. "Her sufferings from this time became less severe, although permanent relief was not obtained until a suppuration had taken place in one of her breasts. " Yours, « THOMAS CLEVELAND. " Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." FROM DOCTOR UTLEY. "Providence, October 13, 1837. "Dear Sir: I feel that I should do injustice to withhold some facts that have recently come under my observation, apper- 334 APPENDIX. taining to the subject in which you are interested. Notwith- standing my former skepticism in reference to this matter, I must, when constrained by incontrovertible evidence, own myself a be- liever. " After having heard much from credible authority, and wit- nessed some astounding facts myself in two cases, I resolved, if a favorable opportunity ever presented, to ascertain whether I had the power of effecting what is denominated the magnetic sleep ; and, in compliance with your request, I submit to your dis- posal the detail of the following case : — "Mrs. W. C. is about twenty-six years of age. Her health had been very feeble several months, and she had been most of the time under medical treatment. One day, as I was leaving the room of the patient, I was requested by several of those who were present, among whom was the husband and mother, together with the patient, to magnetize her ; they having reference to the operation as a remedy for her restless nights, and violent pain in the head, with which she had been afflicted several weeks. In answer to them, I acknowledged my inexperience in the subject. However, after they had repeated their importunities, with an evident expression of skepticism depicted in their countenances, I asked the patient if she was sincere in her request. She said she was willing I should make the trial, although she was skepti- cal in regard to it. " Thus privileged, I made a persevering effort by manipulating, accompanied with concentration of thought, and all the benevo- lent and pure emotions I was capable of feeling towards a fellow- being, at the same time somewhat faithless in regard to my success ; but determined to make a thorough trial. After manip- ulating about twenty minutes, I discovered in the patient an in- clination to close the eyes. This appearance evidenced nothing more than an inclination to natural sleep, as would be consequent upon soothing the nervous system in this manner. After contin- uing the manipulations about ten minutes more, her chest heaved with a sigh, and she completely closed her eyes as in a natural sleep. Still doubting my success as to its being a magnetic sleep, I thought I would test it. I passed my right hand at a distance from her left, and willed her to take my hand. She as promptly obeyed as though she had consented to a verbal request I became convinced that a magnetic sleep was produced. I then, to satisfy myself and others present that there was no de- ception on her part, bandaged her eyes with several thicknesses of a handkerchief, with portions of it placed upon the inner can- thus next the nose, which precaution rendered it impossible for her, under any circumstances, to use her natural organs of sight I then brought my hands together at a distance from hers, and rotated my thumbs over each other, with a mental request that she should do likewise, which desire she as promptly obeyed as APPENDIX. 335 though she had seen the motion of my thumbs with her naked eyes, and heard my voice with her natural organs of hearing. I then reversed the motion of my thumbs, and every motion and position of my hands, thumbs, ringers, and arms, was responded to by her in obedience to my will, as though they had been di- rected and moved by my own muscles and powers of volition. I then tried her powers of speech, and asked her if her head was free from pain. She said it was. I asked her if she felt comfort- able in every other respect. She said she did. I then tested her discerning powers. I held my watch to the back of her head, and requested her to tell which side of it was next to her head. She answered correctly. ' Can you discern the hands of my watch ? ' ' Yes.' ' Will you tell me what time it is ? ' She an- swered, but not correctly, within several minutes. I then asked her if she could see the clock, which was in an adjoining room. It was impossible for the patient, or any others in the room where we were, to see it with natural vision. She said she could see it. 'Can you see the hands of the clock ?' ' Yes.' 'Will you tell me the time by it?' She told to a minute. The same questions in reference to the time, by the clock, were repeated in the course of her sleep, and answered correctly. I then requested her to tell me how many persons there were present in the room. She hesitated about long enough to count them, and answered correctly. I asked her in what position, and what part of the room, certain individuals were. She told correctly. 1 promiscu- ously placed the hands of those present in hers, and requested her to designate and call by name the person whose hand she had hold of. She told correctly, with one or two exceptions, which mistakes were corrected on asking the question the second time ; and, after various other experiments, to test the magnetic vision, I requested her to wake at such a minute by my watch. She passed over the appointed time about five minutes, with all the appearances of rousing from her usual sleep. I asked her if she felt refreshed from her recent sleep. Said she, ' I feel re- freshed, and free from pain in my head, but have not been in a natural sleep. I have been in an indescribable state, and felt perfectly obedient to what you desired me to do, but cannot now recollect what particular requests you made when I was in that state.' "This want of recollection corresponds with other reports upon the subject; for I did not will her to remember the experi- ments that were performed. After informing her of some aston- ishing facts in regard to them, she expressed doubts of the propriety of putting one into such a state, and manifested an un- willingness ever to be magnetized again ; but, taking into consid- eration its remedial effects in her case, I thought I should do right to insist upon a repetition, and obtained the privilege but three subsequent times, the fourth and last time in the presence 336 APPENDIX. of Dr. Miller, who had been my consulting physician in the case ; and for further information and evidence in regard to these experiments and others instituted by himself, you are referred to him for testimony.* " Yours, with much esteem, "L. UTLEY. " Mr. T. C. Hartshorn." FROM DOCTOR TOOTHAKER. " Cambridgeport, December 6, 1837. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn : " Dear Sir : Yours of the 2d instant was duly received ; since which my engagements have been such, that, till the present moment, I have had no opportunity of answering it. I am perfect- ly willing to furnish you with any facts within my knowledge, on the subject of animal magnetism, which are of a character suited to a popular work. The detail of some cures, in which I have used it successfully as a remedy, would be better suited to the columns of a medical journal, where they may at some future time appear. " My attention was directed particularly to the subject of ani- mal magnetism, nearly a year since, by the urgent solicitation of a literary friend, that I should read the report of the French Academy. I was, at first, entirely incredulous, and unwilling even to read attentively. But 1 soon found there was testimony of such a character in its favor, as to demand of every physician a candid examination of the subject. Further to satisfy myself of the reality of the alleged phenomena, I commenced experi- ments upon a girl, aged about sixteen, in whose case idiocy and mania were combined. I thought her a favorable subject for ex- periments, as there was no possibility of deception. After two or three sittings, I succeeded in producing evident drowsiness, as was apparent to all present. She gaped several times, dreuled, and presented other phenomena, common harbingers to sleep. When in this state, she will always start suddenly, as if to re- lieve herself of its spell, and has never gone into a sound mag- netic sleep. On one occasion, she immediately after left the room, and went up stairs into her sleeping chamber alone, which she had never before done in her life. " These experiments, made on such a subject, so far convinced me of the reality of a natural power of this kind, given to man * Her complaint was dyspepsia, and her stomach was apt to reject her food a short time after eating. But after being magnetized, it appears to have acquired, in a greater measure, the power of retaining nutriment. She also slept without the anodynes which she had formerly taken. Dr. Miller sent her to examine a patient of his, and her description of the disorder was strikingly correct. APPENDIX. 337 by his Creator, that I determined to test it by further experi- ments, when opportunity offered. I consequently soon tried the manipulations on a young lady of lymphatic temperament, and plethoric habit, who was in rather poor health at the time. At the second or third sitting, a tolerably sound magnetic sleep was produced, yet she never became a somnambulist, strictly, and would wake if I conversed much with her. " The third subject of my experiments, Mrs. M., who was an entire unbeliever in it, became a somnambulist by three or four sittings. I am certain she is capable of receiving impressions, when in the magnetic state, by the will alone. April 13th, mag- netized her the sixth time. While she was eating a seed-cake, I willed to have it taste bitter, without saying a word or making a sign. She immediately said, ' It is as sour as swill,' and threw it away. She soon after said, 'It is bitter.' I gave her a piece of wheat bread to eat, and ivilled it to be brown bread. I then asked what kind of bread it was ; she said, ' Brown.' "April 20th. — Magnetized her in presence of several literary gentlemen of this place. The experiments were proposed by them, singly, to me, in another room, that there might be no pos- sibility of her hearing. I gave her an empty tumbler, and asked her to drink some lemonade ; at the same time I willed it to be tea. She made the motions of drinking, and said, 'It tastes sick- ish.' 'What is it?' ' Tea,' she answered. Also by will made an apple taste bitter, and, soon after, sweet as honey. These and other similar experiments were entirely satisfactory to those gen- tlemen who proposed them, though they were previously some- what incredulous. "May 2d. — Magnetized the same patient. There were pres- ent Drs. J. V. C. Smith,* editor of the ' Medical and Surgical Journal,' and Leland, of Boston. Standing at some distance from her, I willed her to wake. She said, ' Don't be willing me to wake.' Dr. Smith wrote for me to have a pleasant apple she was eating taste like a cranberry. She immediately said, 'It tastes very sour;' and, after much solicitation to tell what it tasted like, she said, ' Cranberry. I knew before, but would not tell, you are always asking so many questions.' " With respect to clairvoyance, I am perfectly satisfied she has at times seen objects that she could not possibly have seen when awake. But, as she complains of severe headache after much effort to see, and my principal object has been the restoration of her health, I seldom urge her with experiments of this kind. At one time, she sat with her back towards the door of another room, and a lady present passed through the door, and selected * Dr. Smith had given me some account of these experiments, previous to my writing to Dr. Toothaker. Many physicians in Boston and its vi- cinity are engaged in investigating the utility of Mesmerism as an auxil- iary in medical treatment. — Trans. 29 338 APPENDIX, a book from a large number that were upon the bureau, which; she brought, privately, and held over the head of Mrs. M., then in magnetic sleep. I asked her what was held over her head> She said, 'A book,' and afterwards told the title. There was no- leading question put to elicit the answer, nor could I think of any circumstance by which she would be induced to 'guess right' I must therefore infer that she did actually see it To this some may object, and suppose that I informed her mentally, or by the will. I answer, it was impossible, as I avoided seeing it myself till she told what it was. "June 17th. — Magnetized Mrs. M. She examined. a gentleman who was in poor health, and told correctly his disease, though of such a character that I could not have detected it by any exter- nal examination ; and I knew nothing of it, even by conjecture, till she told. I was informed by them both that she knew nothing of it before, and must infer that she saw it, as she said she did. It was a disease of a portion of the alimentary canal, for which he had formerly been under treatment at the Massachusetts Gen- eral Hospital a long time. "I can establish a communication between her and others, either by will or by contact. This I have done with six or eight per- sons at a time, having them join hands. I have been careful to ascertain that a communication may thus be established without the aid of the will. In support of the theory of some physiolo- gists, that there is a nervous fluid, of an extremely subtile char- acter, by the agency of which the brain and the nerves are enabled to perform their peculiar functions, I will add, that a much longer time is requisite to establish a communication with several persons than with one ; and it is not destroyed for about the same length of time after I let go the hand of the one farthest from the somnambulist. It likewise requires a longer time to establish a communication with some persons than with others. This part of the subject, however, needs further investigation than I have yet been able to give it " Mrs. M. has been afflicted with painful affections of a dis- tressing character, and chronic disease, which seemed to bid defiance to the whole catalogue of remedies in the materia med- ica, but which have been much relieved by the use of magnetism as a remedy. In truth, she seems to be fast recovering the health of former years- "The fourth subject on whom I experimented, was put into the somnambulic state at the second trial. I have, in this case, once or twice, obtained decided evidence in favor of clairvoyance. She was in the magnetic sleep — her eyes closed. I took a newspaper from my pocket, I had just got at the office, and handed it to her. She began to read it A lady present then so blinded her eyes as to be perfectly certain she could not see the least thing if awake, and yet she continued to read. I APPENDIX. 339 'could not have informed her mentally, for I had not read it ; and she afterwards told me she had not before seen it. I have fre- quently relieved this patient of intense pain by the use of mag- netism. A short time before she was magnetized, she applied to me for advice, assuring me that, for nearly or quite a year previ- ously, she had been afflicted with a constant headache, and had used leeches and other remedies, without much effect After being magnetized a few times, she said her headache was cured. It was six or eight months since, and she has had no return of a permanent headache. "I have magnetized several other individuals of both sexes. A little boy, aged five years, was put into a profound sleep in fifteen minutes, at the first trial. Also, two little girls were mag- netized about as easily ; but with none of these have the exper- iments been continued. A young man was so far magnetized, the first trial, that he was utterly unable to keep his eyes open, hut did not sleep. The same effect, with slight sleep, was pro- d -ced upon a gentleman who is engaged in investigating the subject. Probably further experiments would produce the state of somnambulism in him. "I have one other distinct ease of somnambulism; but I could add nothing new with regard to it that would be of special interest. " I have, in this statement of facts relative to magnetic phe- nomena, and the cure of diseases, far out-written my own pre- scribed limits. I have necessarily written hastily, but with an ardent desire that the whole truth may be known relative to so mysterious and deeply-interesting a subject, I submit it to your il. " I am, dear sir, " Very truly yours, "SAMUEL A. TOOTHAKER." FROM MONSIEUR B. F. BUGARD.* " Boston, November 10, 18S7. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn: "Dear Sir: I have just received your favor of the 7th inst Only two of my cases have been published. One of these * Mons. Bugard is now attending lectures in Boston, with the design of entering the medical profession. And, as his course of preparatory studies will soon be finished, he has a right to be placed here among the physicians who have been so kind as to furnish the communications em- braced in this note. He will have the advantage of carrying into his pro- fession the practice of magnetism, which places one more agent in the hands of medical men — calculated not to supersede the use of remedies, but to aid their operation. If any one desires to know how far this practice 340 APPENDIX. was the first given to the public in this part of the country — that of Mrs. Russell, of this city, which appeared in the ' Boston Med- ical and Surgical Journal,' of the precise date of which I am ig- norant, and I have no copy to send you. "Although I am much interested in the subject, I am sorry to be obliged to say that I have been prevented from devoting to it the attention it deserves. The little information I can give you shall be cheerfully granted. It will consist of a few facts only. As to the names of the persons alluded to in them, I do not feel authorized to give more than the initial letters for publication; but, on personal application, I shall be happy to give any one whatever proofs he may desire. " One day, in the fall of 1835, 1 was requested to magnetize Mrs. R., a widow lady of almost forty years of age, who had been, for several years, afflicted with the tic douloureux in the lower part of the spine, and with palpitations of the heart When I went to see her, she had not for a fortnight left her chamber, which was in the fourth story, and she could not move, without assistance, from her bed to her chair, or from her chair to her bed. She wished to be magnetized because all other remedies had proved of no avail ; but, being entirely ignorant of what magnet- ism is, she had merely fallen in with the suggestion of some one that it might prove beneficial to her. After I had magnetized her only three times, she was so much better that she was able to go down into her kitchen, and attend to her daily occupations. At the fourth or fifth sitting, she became a somnambulist. Her health improved so much and so rapidly, that, on the day suc- ceeding the seventh sitting, although she was not perfectly cured, she found herself so well that she went on a visit to Salem, where some of her relations resided. "One day, after putting this lady into somnambulism, I re- quested her daughter, a girl about nine years of age, to speak to her. She addressed her mother several times, calling aloud; but, receiving no answer, she burst into tears, thinking her mother to be dead. I took her little hand, and, placing it in the hand of her mother, told her to speak to her again. Her mother imme- diately answered her call, and the countenance of the child Deamed with joy at the certainty of her being alive. " This lady was prevailed upon to take another magnetizer, obtains in the north of Europe, he will find a brief account, and some references to foreign authorities, in the work of Dr. Poyen, recently pub- lished, entitled "Progress of Animal Magnetism in ISiew England" — -a work which, from the great variety of facts which it contains, is highly interesting, and, from the great number of respectable names avouching them, is worthy of confidence. Of Dr. Poyen's fidelity, those who know him well do not entertain a doubt. He labors under the disadvantage of having introduced a subject entirely new to the unlettered, and of haying been most liberally vilified by men who misunderstood his character. APPENDIX. 341 because I refused to make her an object of exhibition to the •curious. But her health, instead of improving, grew worse, and her new magnetizer, Dr. D., who magnetized her merely for the purpose of making experiments, would have unmercifully sent her to the grave, had she not refused to continue the treatment I mention this circumstance, because it affords a striking proof of what is observed by Deleuze, in his 'Practical Instruction,' as well as by other authors, relative to the dangers that frequently •attend the change of a former successful magnetizer. " Last summer was a year since I was requested to magnetize Mrs. F., who, with other affections, had a pain between the shoulders. At the second sitting, she experienced a sensation like the pain moving about, following the motion of my hands. She soon lost herself in a sleep, or at least in a partial sleep, and I left her. The pain left her too, for she felt it no more. li At another time, this lady was suffering from the tic doulou- reux in the face. In the afternoon, when I came in to give a lesson in French to her two daughters, she was in the same room with us, and in such an agony that I offered to relieve her by the use of magnetism. She assented to the trial. She had been magnetized hardly ten minutes, when I thought she was sound asleep; but she opened her eyes, and said that her pain had sub- sided. I then left her, to attend to the French lessons, which being finished, I requested one «f the young ladies to see how her mother was, she having retired into another room. She went, and returned, saying that her mother was entirely free from pain. I understand that she has not been attacked since, though she had formerly suffered pretty often. " About a year ago, I had occasion to magnetize Mrs. L., a French lady, Avho, for many years, had been afflicted with violent periodical headaches, with excessive vomitings, and some more se- rious affections. The day after the first sitting, she felt much bet- ter, and she continued to improve very rapidly. However, on the morning of the sixth or seventh day of her treatment, at about ten o'clock, her husband came to tell me that his wife had a violent headache, and a very great disposition to vomit I immediately repaired to see her. She was sitting by the fire, having pre- pared some tea to aid the tendency. I magnetized her head only, before she had taken any thing. She soon felt better, and in half an hour the pain had almost subsided. I left her. In the evening, I returned, and found her very well. She said she had not vomited, and, at one o'clock, she had dined with a very good appetite. What is most to be remarked in this case is, that before being magnetized, whenever such a headache took her, it never subsided until she had vomited to exhaustion. " About a year ago, I was called on by Mr. H., who requested me to magnetize his wife. This lady was suffering severely with the tic douloureux in the face. She had been more or less af- 29* 342 APPENDIX. fected with it for several years, and had now suffered for several weeks, without rinding any relief in the remedies of the best physicians of this city. I magnetized her several times without much apparent effect during the operation, but she slept much better afterwards. I think she was put asleep only twice, though I magnetized her about fifteen times. Her health, however, was gradually improving ; the tic douloureux had subsided ; and last week she told me, in the presence of several persons, that it had not returned. " It is not quite a year since I was requested by a gentleman, a Mr. V., to magnetize him. For two or three years, he had had an affection of the stomach, and been treated as a dyspeptic. His physician finally declared his case to be the tic douloureux, and not the dyspepsia. He had been in a state of constipation for nearly a month. I magnetized him only five times. The day after the first sitting, he felt much better, and had satisfactory evacuations. His health improved so much that he renounced the project he had formed of going to Cuba for his restoration. 1 would observe that it is not true that magnetism always has the effect of filling the heart with tender and grateful sentiments ; for this Mr. V. has not yet come to my rooms to thank me for the good I have done him, although he found the way thither to request my services. " One evening, last winter, 1 went to see my friends, Dr. Ben- jamin H. West and Dr. Ruel W. Lawton, who boarded together, and occupied the same room. Some refreshments were brought in during my visit Early in the evening, Dr. L. said to me, — " ' Monsieur Bugard, I know that you have magnetized several persons ; I wish you would give me some information on the sub- ject of magnetism ; I should like to have my mind satisfied ; I do not know what to think of it' " « Well,' said I, ' I can add but very little to what has been published on the subject ; but, if you are willing, I will try to magnetize you? " Although I think it very wrong to magnetize a person in good health, I made him this proposal the more readily because his con- stitution is rather feeble. " « Very well,' replied he. " I began to magnetize him. For a quarter of an hour, he seemed much inclined to laugh ; but I soon perceived I could produce an effect upon him. I therefore continued the manipula- tions, and in less than half an hour from the time of commencing he was perfectly asleep. Whilst he was in that state, Dr. West and I indulged ourselves in demolishing the refreshments. About a quarter of an hour had elapsed, when Dr. Lawton wildly opened his eyes. " I immediately put my right hand on the pit of his stomach, exerting my will to put him asleep. This was done m lees APPENDIX. 343 than half a minute. Then Dr. West and I went on demolish- ing as before ; and ten minutes had hardly elapsed when Dr. L. opened his eyes upon us. " I again placed my right hand upon his epigastrium, and my left on his thigh, grasping it near the knee, putting forth the power of volition ; and again Dr. L. went to sleep in less than no time. " On his awaking, about ten minutes afterwards, I asked him what he thought then of magnetism. ' Well, sir, my skepticism is rather shaken,' was the reply. " Receive the expressions of consideration with which I am "Your most obedient servant, «B. F. BUGARD." FROM DOCTOR BENJAMIN HASKELL.* " Boston, October 20, 1837. "Dear Sir: I owe you an apology for not replying to your letter before. But the truth is, it was not in my power to send you any tiling satisfactory relative to the inquiries you saw fit to make. And, as I was in expectation of receiving some further details from a brother of mine residing in Gloucester, whom I had commissioned to make inquiries of Mr. Blatchford, in particular, on those points which had a bearing on animal magnetism, your object, as well as mine, would be best answered by delay. Yesterday, I heard from him ; but he had not seen, nor was likely to see, him for some time. When any thing comes to my knowledge, calculated to throw light on this intricate subject, I will forward it without delay, that it may obtain all the publicity possible. In the mean while, as you seem somewhat desirous of knowing my views on it, I shall take the liberty to express them without reserve. There is nothing unphilosophical in supposing that somnambulism may be induced by an agency transmitted from one individual to another. At the same time, whenever and however it takes place, it is a disease, and, like all nervous disor- ders, has not only a tendency to recur, but to superinduce other diseases of the same class. I cannot but regard the practice of * 1 wrote to Dr. Haskell, in relation to the case of natural somnambu- lism, which occurred at Gloucester, Mass., in 1834. 1 wished to ascertain whether the subject of that case had ever been brought under the influ- ence of Mesmerism, as three other similar cases have been. I deem his reply worthy of attention, as it embraces an opinion which is* important, if correct, and which deserves weight from the scientific attainments of him who advances it. The case of young Blatchford is given in a ccm- munication to the editor of the '•' Boston Medical and Surgical Journal/' of June 24, 1837, by Dr. Haskell. Dr. H. is also the author of an ingenious article on animal magnetism which appeared in the same Journal, Sep- tember 20, 1837. 344 APPENDIX. it as injurious to those on whom it. is exercised, and, when its nature is fully understood, as morally wrong, except in those cases in which it is made use of as a remedial agent. You have my per- mission to insert this opinion in a note to your translation, and combat it if you think it erroneous. I have never magnetized any one, nor have I made myself acquainted with the steps by which it is done. The interest which I have taken in it is not practical, but theoretical. " Yours respectfully, «B. HASKELL. "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." NOTE XXXII. SEEING THROUGH OPAQUE SUBSTANCES. FROM ISAAC THURBER, ESQ. " Providence. November 4, 1837. "Dear Sir: I take the opportunity, which a few moments of leisure now afford me, to give you an account of a recent visit of Miss B., the blind young lady, to my house. As I suppose you to desire an account, merely, of the phenomena then exhibited while under the magnetic influence, I shall notice briefly the facts in relation to them only. Miss B. came to my house on the morning of the 28th of October, with a view to pass the day with my family : at about the close of the day, she was put into the magnetic sleep by Dr. C. At first, she appeared to be in a state entirely senseless ; from this apparent slumber she was aroused by having her attention directed to the objects around her. Dr. C. then left her in communication with myself and family, with directions to awake precisely at 6 o'clock. During this inter- val, Miss B. appeared cheerful, much disposed to converse, and, at times, quite playful. While in conversation, she expressed a desire to examine the arrangement of the house, the furniture, &c. In passing through the different rooms, she noticed and moved various articles. She was then conducted into a dark room, in which the largest objects could not be discerned by any one who was not possessed of more than ordinary powers of vision. On being requested to give the time by the clock which was in the room, she immediately stepped to the corner in which the clock stood, and replied, ' It is twenty-three minutes past five.' The answer was correct I then asked her if she saw any other object in the room. She replied, 'I am looking at the pictures.' 'What pictures?' 'This one over the fireplace.' The picture alluded to is composed of various emblems, together with a cer APPENDIX. 345 tificate of membership to an institution in this town. Miss B. described the emblems of justice, wealth, industry, and also the certificate, and mentioned the place in the picture which each of them occupied. When speaking of the emblem of wealth, I requested her to place my finger upon it On admitting light into the room, I found my finger pointing to a small figure repre- senting Wealth dispensing her gifts from the horn of plenty. I would here state that Miss B. was never before in this room, and was entirely ignorant of the furniture which it contained. "Having obtained the evidence of clairvoyance, I gave her a sealed paper containing a sentence, which I requested her to read. She held the paper to the side of her head for the space of about one minute, and then returned it to me without appa- rently noticing its contents. No further notice was taken of the letter during her sleep. Some time after she awoke, she gave the substance of the letter to one of my family,, This being com- municated to me, I requested Miss B. to write down the sentence inside, that it might be presented, in her own hand-writing, to a company that would meet with her at Mr. J. M.'s on the follow- ing evening ; at which time the sentence was so presented, in the following words: ' In these latter days, as informer times, the blind receive their sight.'' The letter was then brought forward, the seals of which until this time had not been broken, neither had the sentence or any part of it been communicated to any individual. It was opened by Rev. Mr. Stetson, of Medford, in presence of Rev. E. B. Hall, of this city, Mr. Jesse Metcalf, and a number of others, and found to contain the same sentence as that written by Miss B., differing only in the spelling of two words. The sentence was written on a slip of paper, and this placed be- tween two pieces of sheet lead, the whole enclosed in an envelope in a letter form. "Yours, &c, "ISAAC THURBER. "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." FROM MR. GEORGE HUNT. " Providence, November 22, 1837. "Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn: "Sir: Having heard much of the wonderful powers of Miss Brackett, under the magnetic influence, and being rather skeptical as to her ability to see and describe objects that were previously unknown to her and all who were in attendance, — believing, at the time, that she did not see the real object of her description as it existed, but the mere image of it in the mind of her magnatizer or in the mind of those who were in communi- cation with her, — I was induced to try the experiment alluded to in your note. 346 APPENDIX. "I took a wooden box, made of half-inch stock, measuring eight inches by fourteen, perfectly tight, and filled it with vari- ous articles, curiously arranged. I presented it to Mr. Metcalf for Miss B.'s inspection. On inquiring about the result of her examination, I was informed that she took the box, and held it over her head, and saw a great variety of dried pressed leaves, and some flowers. Dr. Capron requested her to enter the box, which she effected through the key-hole, or the top, — I do not remember which, — and then mentioned two books, one pamphlet with a blue cover, one card, marked L. M., and a substance that looked like tow, which I suppose was the bird's nest made use of on this occasion, the greater part of which was made of tow. She said there were many other things in the box, but the air was so confined that it troubled her to breathe, and she was obliged to come out "Her description, so far as it went, was correct, except as to the nest. In this, however, she was correct as to the substance she saw. In the conclusion of her remarks on the box and con- tents, she seemed to think it. belonged to some old maid. The result of this experiment is in every way satisfactory to me, so far as it goes, inasmuch as no one knew the contents of the box except myself. Every article was packed close, so that no one could have formed any conception of what the box contained by shaking, or otherwise disturbing it. If these facts will aid you, you are welcome to them. " Yours respectfully, "GEORGE HUNT." In the eighth note of part first, several instances of the power of producing paralysis are given ; and I there stated that the power gained by the practice of magnetism may be found effect- ual in producing it without having a communication previously established. The following letter from Dr. Knox, of New York, give3 well-authenticated evidence that the conjecture was not unfounded : — FROM DOCTOR KNOX. " Providence, September 24, 1837. "Mr. T. C. Hartshorn: "Dear Sir: You requested me to communicate to you some facts in animal magn tism which I had observed. Al- though I cannot certainly attach much importance to them, yet, if you can make any use of them, they are perfectly at your service. "A few evenings since, being in company where the subject of animal magnetism — at present so engrossing a theme — was APPENDIX. 347 the topic of conversation, I was requested to magnetize some person present for the amusement of the company. This I de- clined, remarking-, at the same time, that I had frequently known peculiar sensations produced locally by the magnetic passes, and offering to make the attempt. Tn this, much beyond my own ex- pectation, and to the amusement of the company, I was com- pletely successful. The magnetic operations, continued during two minutes, produced complete palsy of the left arm. Besides the complete annihilation of muscular power, the arm lost, to a certain degree, its sensibility, and its temperature was somewhat reduced. The firm health and previous skepticism of the subject of this experiment conspired to render the result remarkable ; while her unquestionable veracity, her eloquent look of surprise, and her reiterated assertions, precluded all suspicion of imposi- tion. There were present, on this occasion, Dr. Parsons, and General Greene, of Providence. "I have frequently made the same experiment, and, in the majority of cases, some peculiar sensations have been the result ; generally a sense of weight in the arm, a degree of immobility, when compared Avith the other arm, and, though less frequently, a sense of pricking, such as occurs when the arm or foot is said to be asleep. Whether these results are the product of an ex- cited imagination, or a direct influence of the will of the magnet- izer, I shall not attempt to decide. At the same time, I must candidly avow that a skepticism, somewhat more than philosoph- ical, with which I commenced the investigation of the claims of animal magnetism, has been vanquished by facts which I have witnessed, (and less than ocular demonstration I did not feel inclined to admit,) and by the curious results which, in a diver- sity of cases, have followed my own experiments. I do not wish to be understood as declaring my belief in all that magnetizers or their patients, much less the retailers at second hand of mag- netic miracles, have asserted. Much allowance must be made for credulity, a love of the marvellous, and that propensity, so common, to make the most of the easy faith of our neighbors. Vet, after all these deductions, I apprehend there will remain a residuum of unimpeachable testimony for facts which have hith- erto been considered as warring with the laws of nature, and as possible only on the supposition of miraculous interposition. "By the politeness of Dr. Capron, I have had several oppor- tunities of seeing Miss Brackett, whose case he has detailed in the first number of your translation. To test the lucidity of this somnambulist, I resorted to an experiment which had previously been frequently tried, and, according to the assertions of the most respectable witnesses, with complete success. I wrote a note of four lines, directed to Miss Brackett, to the contents of which she could have no possible clew. I enclosed it in two envelopes, so that the writing was covered by four folds of paper. 348 APPENDIX. I sealed it with four wafers and four wax seals, and impressed it with a peculiar device. No light, however strong, could render it possible to discover that there was any thing written within. This was left with the somnambulist, and, two days after, Dr, Capron returned it to me with the contents of the note written on the outer envelope, with the exception of one word, which she could not decipher. This was, no doubt, owing to the illegi- ble character of the hand-writing, as, on opening it, I was con- vinced I could not have read it myself but from recollection. She likewise wrote 'sentiments,' instead of 'selections' — another mistake certainly attributable to the same cause. The note con- tained seventeen words, which were known to no one but myself. It was returned as it was given, without the slightest appearance of having been handled or crumpled. The supposition of the removal or opening of the seals was out of the question. The idea that the discovery was a happy conjecture is absurd. To resort to a mathematical expression, the chance of such a solu- tion being unity, no number short of infinity could represent the opposite chances. Such facts as these, I grant, require for their establishment a mass of evidence, great in proportion to their marvellous character. Yet such a weight of testimony is rapidly accumulating, if it does not already exist, as must shake the in- credulity of the most skeptical. The denial that any proof can establish such facts, involves principles no less dangerous than those by which the celebrated Hume vainly sought to overthrow the evidence of Christianity. u Respectfully yours, "J. R. KNOX." NOTE XXXIII. INSENSIBILITY TO PAIN FROM DOCTOR ESTEN. " Providence, November 13, 1837, "Dear Sir: In the appendix of Deleuze, I find it given in the notes as an opinion that the somnambulist always appears to know what the magnetizer is doing, and therefore he cannot perform a surgical operation without producing pain. I am led, by the experiments which I have tried, to think this is not always the case. I think the patient, in the somnambulic state, may sometimes know what the magnetizer is doing, even while he is performing a surgical operation, and may assist in the operation,, and still be insensible to pain. This, perhaps, depends very much upon the degree of sympathy which the operator has for his APPENDIX. 349 patient — a sympathy that induces apprehensions lest the patient should suffer under the operation. " On the 28th of October ultimo, a lady, in company with a friend of hers, called on me to have some teeth filled. One, in particular, was so badly decayed, and so sensitive, that the touch of an instrument produced severe pain, so much so that she could not endure to have it filled until she was magnetized. Knowing that she had been frequently magnetized, I obtained permission to make use of it on this occasion, to ascertain whether 1 could or could not perform the operation without producing pain. I threw her into the magnetic sleep in about five minutes. I then removed that entire portion of the tooth which was cari- ous, without regarding the nerve or membrane, and filled the cavity. During the whole time, she showed no indications of pain. She appeared to know every thing I was doing, talked about the operation, opened her mouth when I approached her with an instrument, and closed it again when I withdrew it 1 asked her if the operation was painful, and she said it ivas not in the least "The pain of removing the carious portion of a tooth, where the nerve and membrane are exposed, as in this case, is greater than that of extracting the tooth. I should not have filled this tooth, on account of the insufferable pain that would have nat- urally attended the work, and which would have followed it, had the patient not been magnetized. " I filled two or three other teeth while the patient was in the somnambulic state; but the one to which particular reference has been made above, is the only one that would naturally be attended with much pain. Before 1 awoke her, I inquired if the tooth ached ; she said it did not, and that it was perfectly easy. On being awaked, she immediately clapped her hand to her face, and said her tooth ached 1 advised her to keep the filling in, to give it a trial, and see if it would not stop aching. The next evening, she sent for me, and informed me that her tooth had continued to ache ever since it was filled, and was then aching violently. I removed the filling, and applied some kre- osote, but without producing the desired effect The tooth con- tinued to ache violently. She was afterwards magnetized ; and, while in that state, she asked for a knitting-needle, which was given her. She heated the needle, and thrust it into her tooth with her own hand, for the purpose of destroying the nerve. In this she was successful. The operation which she performed with her own hands, she said, did not produce pain. " For further satisfaction, I cut around one of her teeth with a gum lancet while she was in the somnambulic state, and placed a pair of extracting instruments upon the tooth, and pulled quite hard, giving it a rotary motion with as much force as the tooth 30 350 APPENDIX. would bear without starting it I asked her if what I had done did not hurt. She said she did not feel it, for I had not pulled any. She then took up the instrument which 1 had laid down, and wished to extract the tooth herself. 1 placed the instrument upon her tooth, when she seized it with both hands, and pulled with so much force that I was obliged to exert my strength to prevent her from starting it The instrument bore so hard upon the tooth and gums as to start the blood. She still said she felt no pain, and she certainly showed no indications of it She bore the whole without changing countenance, or moving a muscle that indicated pain. " 1 think 1 could have extracted either of her teeth without her being sensible of pain, but did not wish to sacrifice a tooth to gratify curiosity. " When she was in my office the first time, I had occasion to take an artificial tooth from a small box in a closet, which had been shut, and into which she could not have looked had she been awake, and in the chair where she then was. She imme- diately told me that I had taken it from a box in the closet, and, rising up, she carried it back to the same box, although there were several others filled with the same sort of teeth. " Yours, respectfully, »W. T. ESTEN." NOTE XXXIV. FROM MR. AMERICUS V. POTTER. " Saratoga Springs, September 14, 1837. "Dear Sir: I embrace the first opportunity to give you the information you asked in regard to the effects of magnetism upon men. I am not prepared to speak positively about the rel- ative susceptibility of the two sexes, as I have attempted to magnetize but few men ; yet I think them the most difficult to magnetize. I speak of susceptibility, because I believe the ac- tion depends as much upon a certain constitutional adaptation as upon the health of the subject "I magnetized Mr. Angell, a gentleman of Providence, of about twenty-five, in good health, of a very active and rather nervous temperament At the first sitting, I closed his eyes in about five minutes. Afterwards, I found no difficulty in doing it in about two, so that he could not open them. I have done it more than once at the distance of half a mile. I was never able to get him beyond this state, although I magnetized him six or eight times for the purpose. APPENDIX. 351 "In five minutes, at the first sitting, I closed a gentleman's eyes, (Mr. Rogers, attorney,) at Saratoga Springs, so that he could not open them. I have not attempted since. "In ordinary cases, when we wish to convince a man of the truth of any thing, we desire and try to open his eyes. But, in this case, you will perceive I have taken a course clean con- trary. I convinced Mr. Rogers of my magnetic power by closing his eyes in spite of his teeth. To tell the truth, he yielded with a good grace, and he is now firm in the faith. I trust no witling will infer from this that we mean to blind people merely to im- pose upon their imaginations, or that Mr. Rogers rushed blindly into a belief in magnetism, without seeing a reason for his sudden conversion. " After a sitting of about twenty minutes with a young man of our city, I found him unable to raise his hand, or even speak, with evident symptoms of somnambulism, although he was not asleep. After two more sittings, of about the same time, he progressed very sensibly, so much so that I could act considera- bly upon the muscles of his arm ; yet I think it would take two or tliree more sittings to make this a perfect case. His health appears to be good, but he has a very slender constitution. " At the solicitation of a gentleman at Newport, I magnetized a very active colored man, a waiter at the Bellevue Hotel, of strong constitution and excellent health. In about forty min- utes, he was unable to speak or move. I raised and extended his arm at an elevation of about thirty degrees, and kept it there at will for more than fifteen minutes ; although I asked him at several different times to drop his arm, he could not do it, unac- companied by my wilL When the influence was thrown off, he did not know that his arm had been moved. I saw symptoms of somnambulism, but had no further opportunity to continue the experiments. This man had never heard of magnetism before, No other case occurs to my mind worth mentioning at this time.* " On my passage from Providence to this place, by the care- lessness of the driver who was to take me at Springfield, I was left, and obliged to wait for the next day's stage. Having seen an account, some four or five years since, of a girl who was a natural somnambulist at that place, I determined to see her if she was to be found. I learned that Dr. Belden was her physician at the time. I called upon the doctor, and stated my business. He received me very courteously, and was perfectly willing to give ma any information. On my declaring it to be my convic- tion that I could produce the same phenomena by magnetization, which she formerly exhibited in a natural way, he expressed his * Since this letter was written, Mr. Potter has magnetized several men. 352 APPENDIX. entire unoelief, yet was willing 1 should try the experiment, with the young lady's consent " I found her to be a girl about the age of nineteen, and hav- ing the appearance of the most perfect health. I sat down before her, holding her thumbs, and in four minutes she was entirely insensible to all external objects-* " Dr. Belden informed me that the appearance of the girl was the same as formerly, when in that state, except that she is much more calm. There was some difficulty in waking her. He ap- peared to express his conviction of the power of magnetism, from the singular and striking effect produced in this case. " Since my arrival here, I have been solicited to prove the existence of the magnetic power by magnetizing various individ- uals. Among them was Mrs. F****, about twenty-five years old, light complexion, hair, and eyes, the daughter of Judge Cowing. She had been subject to tic douloureux, but was not afflicted with it at the time. She possesses a fine mind and a cultivated taste. At the first sitting, of twenty minutes, she ex- perienced a sense of numbness. At the second sitting, the next day, in thirty minutes a state of tranquillity was induced, and a total loss of muscular power. At the third, the above symptoms were much increased. " The fourth sitting Avas at the house of Mr. J. W. Westcott, In twenty minutes, her eyes were closed, and she obeyed a mental request, by raising her hand several times. From this state, sne passed into the most perfect ecstasy, with violent and energetic action of the hands and the muscles of her face, frequently exclaiming, ' O, what thoughts ! if I could only clothe them m words ! ' The motion of her hands and the changes of her ex- pression were as if she were acting some part in a tragedy. Sometimes she burst into violent screams of laughter. After throwing off the influence, she continued in the same state far about an hour, till it gradually wore off, and she was enabled to go home. Before it wore off, her eyes being wide open, she continued the motions of the hands, and watched them without being able to stop them, conversing, at the same time, upon other subjects. She sat down and played upon the piano, without experiencing any difficulty ; but, as soon as she left off playing,, the motions returned, though less violently. " The next sitting was attended with the same results, but of much shorter duration. Mr. Westcott and lady, and four or five others, were present. " My next patient was Miss Maria Read, sixteen years of age the 4th of July last, under the medical attendance of Dr. Steele. 1 understood, from Dr. Allen, that she had suffered a * In a letter from Dr. Belden to the translator, this statement is cQa^ firmed. Dr. Belden died in 1342, APPENDIX. 353 total prostration of strength, and great nervousness, so that she could not hold any thing in her hand. She was troubled, more- over, with an obstruction, and a loss of appetite. Dark complex- ion and eyes. "In twenty minutes, she went into a magnetic state, resem- bling natural sleep. She would not answer the questions of others or of myself. Sometimes she would answer me in a low whisper. Other persons could rouse her by a noise, but not by speaking to her. She was magnetized once a day for ten or fif- teen days. The effect upon her, as I am informed by her mother and herself, is a reestablishment of the strength of her nerves, and an improvement in her general health. " At Saratoga, I put the lady of General Smith asleep in fifteen minutes. For some time, she was unable to speak ; but, when I commenced waking her, she requested me to let her remain in that state, because she ' felt so happy.' At 1 o'clock, she wished to remain until dinner-time, which was at 2. "I then asked her husband to inform me, at 2 o'clock, if every tiling was not right. When the bell rang for dinner, Gen- eral Smith went to her room, took Mrs. S. by the hand, and went down to the table, where she was immediately taken ill. He went back with her to her room, seated her, and returned to the table. At 3 o'clock, he came to her room, and found her on the floor, nearly senseless, quite deranged, and suffering the most excruciating pain in the head, stomach, and bowels. He placed her upon the bed, and applied frictions over the chest and limbs, without giving relief. Although it roused her a little, she re- mained in the same state until 7 o'clock, when Mr. Hubbard chanced to meet me, and informed me that Mrs. S. was danger- ously ill ; but he did not ascribe it to magnetism. I went forth- with to her room, where I found her as above described. I placed one hand upon her forehead, and the other upon her waist, and in five minutes she was entirely restored. General Smith should have informed me, as I had particularly requested him to, as soon as she was taken ill at dinner-time. " October 7th, Albany. Miss S ###### , fair complexion, hair, and eyes. I drew my hand, for two minutes, from the shoulder of the left arm to the ends of the fingers, slightly touching them. She complained of great sense of weakness in the arm. On the next Monday, at 9 o'clock in the morning, there was a pain in the muscle of the left forearm. This had continued from the time I had magnetized it on Saturday, so that she was not able to raise any small weight or to use it 1 restored the arm in five minutes, after a continued paralysis of thirty-six hours. "While in Albany, 1 got acquainted with Dr. March, who, as you well know, lectures on anatomy, and whose anatomical col- lection, by the by, is an exceedingly fine one. My friend, Mr. G., threw Dr. March's little daughter, seven years old, into a mag- 30* 354 APPENDIX. netic sleep in about ten minutes, without touching her, and with- out using the manipulations. To ascertain what effect could be produced at a distance, Mr. G. and Professor McKee being at the Temperance Hotel, and Dr. March being- with the little girl at his own house, about fifty rods distant, he put her into somnambulism in five minutes, " This was only the fourth time of magnetizing her ; and she not only did not know of the attempt, but Dr. March kept her reading. She dropped her book, and fell asleep. "A. K. Hadley, Esq., and another gentleman, a physician, both from Troy, were present. " She has since been magnetized in the presence of Drs. James and George McNaughton, Dr. Peck, and about twenty others, of the first respectability. Dr. March put her to sleep easily. " Mr. G. also magnetized Mr. John Perry, in the presence of Governor Marcy, Mr. Attorney-General Butler, and several phy- sicians, among whom was Dr. March. Sitting at the distance of six feet from Mr. Perry, he began to magnetize him mentally. In five minutes, his eyes were set wide open, but he took no notice of things. In seven minutes, he closed them, and began to trem- ble nervously, and his whole frame to shake. The convulsions were violent, stamping and striking with his fists, and they con- tinued about half an hour. By placing the hand upon the bare neck and breast, and the upper part of the stomach, he finally succeeded in waking him, after carrying him out into the street* " At the second sitting, I threw him into the same state, in pres- ence of Professor McKee and Dr. March, and the effects were about the same. When spoken to, he would not answer. He is an active, healthy, intelligent young man. " Judge Spreicker was also magnetized four times. He was so much affected as not to be able to answer any one but Mr. G. The judge was an unbeliever even after seeing a case of som- nambulism. He is now ready to testify to the power of this agent. " At the house of Rev. Mr. Wycoff, in the presence of the principal of the Female Academy, Dr. James McNaughton, and others, I magnetized Miss Van N., about seventeen years of age, * Mesmer maintained that these convulsions were useful. He endeav- ored to produce them, and the great power with which he was endued was thus exhibited in an extraordinary degree. Experience, however, has shown that they are sometimes attended with effects which are bad, though neither fatal nor permanent. At present, the magnetizers use their infiu- ence soothingly, and find its effects salutary. Their patients are, however, sometimes thrown into convulsions, when the action is too great, or not sustained by firmness of purpose. The Messrs. Potter are abundantly Able to prove the existence of the magnetic power. But to ascertain the true value of it as a means of alleviating and curing the sick, demands in- cessant practice. They have been several times successfully employed by physicians in this city to magnetize their patients. — Trans. APPENDIX. 355 light hair, light eyes, and good health through lite. She settled down from mirth and laughter, in five minutes, to a vacant stare, without winking. In a few minutes more, she closed her eyes. There was a slight trembling of the frame. In fifteen minutes, she would answer no one but myself. She was awaked by re- versed motions in thirty seconds. " Yours, « AMERICUS V. POTTER. " Mr. Thomas C. Hartshorn." NOTE XXXV. — Page 165. Deleuze says that the influence of the magnetizer will be felt even in the waking state. I have evidence of a very curious nature in proof of this assertion. Every one who takes the true way to convince himself of the existence of the agent called Mesmerism, that is, by attempting the proofs on individuals whose state of health he desires to ben- efit, will find nothing more common than this influence over som- nambulists. Georget seems not to have known this, for he might have prevented the repugnance which his patients manifested when they were served with moxas and blisters of their own pre- scription. The reader is referred to the letter of Dr. Robbins, at the twenty-sixth note, for some curious results. In a subsequent letter, that gentleman states that he does not find the plan equally efficacious with all. An inveterate attachment to tobacco in its various shapes, has been entirely destroyed, though the patient, a young medical student of about twenty years of age, knew nothing of the cause of it while in the ordinary state. Many weeks have elapsed, but I am informed that the attachment has not yet revived. It is not therefore so extraordinary that any article of food, when magnetized with the design of changing its taste, and pre- sented to the somnambulist, should retain its induced qualities long after he is awakened from sleep. Any person who is merely put in communication with one, may do this to his own satisfac- tion, without saying a word of his intention even to the patient I have tried this successfully, changing a piece of wheat bread into cake, a part of which was eaten immediately and pronounced to be cake, and the next day the rest was eaten while the patient, who is blind, was in the ordinary state, and did not know that she had had the piece in her hand. How far the experiment would succeed with one who possesses vision, I have never yet availed myself of my opportunities to ascertain. I have in the same manner imparted a peculiar taste to water. Dr. Robbins has tried experiments of the same kind. One of 356 APPENDIX. these he relates in a recent note to me, which exhibits this power of transfusing tastes in a very striking degree. He gave one of his somnambulists a clove to eat, and told her to recollect, after waking, that she had eaten a piece of cinnamon. On waking, she had some of it remaining in her mouth, and thought it was in reality cinnamon, while another clove which she ate had its proper taste. At another time, when she was asleep, he gave her a piece of aloes, not informing her what it was, and told her to have it taste on her awaking like liquorice. Observing it upon the table after waking, she mistook it for opium ; but, on being told to taste it, she did so, and recognised at once the nauseous sweet of liquorice. Such is one of the powers of this unknown agent. It changes the most disgusting bitter in the whole mate- ria medica into the most intense sweet. If any one thinks these experiments were not made with sufficient care, it is easy for him to repeat them in many ways, if he can obtain the privilege of being put in communication with a somnambulist. There is another power closely allied to this which is no less sur- prising. You can induce a desire for a particular species of food at a particular hour of the day. A trial of this was recently made by Dr. Cleveland, of Pawtuxet. The patient, without knowing any thing about the influence which had been exerted the day before, called for the several articles which had been specified for each of the three daily meals. The patient's want of appe- tite f >r several weeks in succession was the reason for pursuing this course, and it was completely successful. Dr. Cleveland once called upon another of his patients, who enjoyed a good appetite, and was anticipating a choice article of food for dinner. He advised her to sleep an hour before dinner; and, while she was in the Mesmeric state, he told her that she must not eat of the dish she was anticipating, but of another one, which he specified. On her awaking, no one being present but the r.urse, who knew the doctor's intention, she refused to par- take of the viand, though it was urged upon her as being well prepared and palatable ; but she called for the substituted food, on which she dined with relish, without suspecting the cause of the change wrought in her appetite. Dr. Cleveland has also succeeded in several other experiments of a highly-useful nature, the particulars of which I have in some letters from him which are now before me. One of these was to induce a spirit of charitable feeling towards an individual who had rendered himself an object of the patient's hatred and indig- nation. Thus far the spirit of forgiveness still prevails, although the somnambulist knows nothing about the influence exerted by the magnetizer to produce this happy result. Some other experiments have been made by him upon several somnambulists to excite cheerfulness, hope, and order, respec- tively, which were attended with success the most complete. APPENDIX. 357 I state these things not to excite the marvellousness of the reader, but with the design of enforcing the precepts of Deleuze, wherein, to the minds of men who are not sufficiently acquainted with the subject, he seems to be over-cautious ; for instance, in the chapter on somnambulism, and especially in his chapter on the choice of a magnetizer. That one could take advantage of the magnetic sleep, in some instances, to subserve an evil purpose, seems now to me unquestionable. But the physician has drugs of most potent effect, a drop or two of which would be immediate in its action, whether the recipient be in good or in bad health ; while, by the aid of Mesmerism, the process is slow, uncertain, and tedious, and seldom effective on persons who are not already prostrated by disease. The physician is one on whom we bestow our confidence in an especial manner, and therefore we are care- ful, in the first place, to choose one on whom we can depend ; having regard not wholly to his skill, but to certain qualities of the head and the heart which vindicate our choice. If the physi- cian we have chosen proposes to try Mesmerism in aid of his remedies, we do not require the exertion of greater confidence than we already repose in him, if we have been governed by the right motive, and have made no mistake, in our choice. He is the proper person to employ this agent, provided he is in good health, and has the good sense to make a trial in spite of his pre- possessions against it Yet there are certain requisites in a magnetizer, which we do not find in some physicians. I cannot do better than to recom- mend the reading of the two chapters referred to above. The principles advanced in them derive support from the facts em- braced in this note, and from the experience of many physicians with whom I have conversed. Many men of science are heartily engaged in the investigation, not, I trust, with partisan feelings, but with the sincere desire of doing good ; and at this very time, though the first excitement is nearly over, there are more som- nambulists and more patients under treatment than at any pre- vious period. They may be stated at several hundreds in this and the adjoining states. The number of somnambulists referred to in this appendix is upwards of sixty, leaving out those who are merely thrown into the Mesmeric state, who are much more numerous. END, 359 NEW APPENDIX. NOTE XXXVI. LETTERS FROM PHYSICIANS. FROM DOCTOR DOUGLAS. " Hamilton, N. Y. June 28, 1843. " Dear Sir: I received yours oi 21st inst. this day, and in compliance with your request, proceed to give you a detail of a lew, out of many cases which have occurred under my own treatment, of the effects of Mesmerism upon disease. --Case 1. — July 1842, evening. I was called to visit Mrs. — . 1 found her in the 7th month of pregnancy, and in severe la- bor, which had continued nearly all day. The pains were now as frequent as every four or five minutes, and very urgent. An examination showed the os uteri to be sufficient- ly dilated to admit the ringer with considerable play, and the tense membrane was plainly felt. She had been, during the whole afternoon, much stupified with opium, in the hope of deferring her confinement until my return, having been absent during the day. She expressed a perfect determination to have nothing done to retard the progress of labor. She had been in the, same condition in her last two pregnancies at the same period, and all the means employed to prevent pre- mature delivery, had only prolonged her suffering. She had sent for me to hasten, and not retard her delivery. With- out saying any thing, I laid my hand carelessly outside of her dress, over the uterus. The first pain, after doing so, was obviously lighter, the second scarcely waked her, and the third did not appear. I remained an hour, during which she slept undisturbed. I directed the husband to repeat the process, if the pain returned. After expressing the confi- dent belief that my hand could have had nothing to do with producing the result which had followed, he promised com- pliance. On visiting her the following evening, I was inform- ed by the husband that her pains had returned twice since my former visit, and he had found himself a better doctor 360 NEW APPENDIX. than T, for he had perfectly stopped them in five minutes. They recurred a few times afterwards, and were allayed by the same means with the same facility. About two months from this period, she was delivered of a large and healthy child. " Case 2.— In May, 1843, I visited Mrs. , a young married lady, who had suffered one abortion at an early pe- riod. She was now at about the same period a second time, and had had regular labor pains for the last twelve hours. Knowing her to be very susceptible to the Mesmeric influence, I laid my hand over the uterus, and the n°xt pain did not occur. She has had several attacks of labor pains since, and the husband informs me that she is so sensitive that she never has a single pain after he lays his hand upon her. " Case 3.— March 29, 1842. Visited Miss T., a girl of about ten or eleven years of age, who had been attacked, the previous day, with acute rheumatism, which had loca- ted in the knees, ancles and feet. These parts were swol- len, hot, red, and intensely tender and painful. She had slept none the previous night, and was loudly crying with pain. The pulse was over 120, with thirst and hot skin. The slightest motion of the affected joints could not be borne. I requested the father to lay his hands on the affected parts and make passes over them, expressing the hope that it would afford her relief. He chose to be excused from what he deemed so useless a process, but at length consented. In about five or six minutes she ceased to groan, and talked cheerfully, saying that her limbs did not ache at all. In from ten to fifteen minutes, she was perfectly relieved, not only from pain, but tenderness also ; and suffered her joints to be pressed and moved lreely in every direction, declar- ing that there was not the slightest tenderness. About the middle of the following night, the pain returned, and was removed by the same process with equal promptitude. Twen- ty-four hours from this, it again returned, and was removed to return no more. "Case 4. — In April last, I was attacked with rheumatism of the feet. It increased during the day, and was so painful at night that I was unable to sleep. At three o'clock in the morning, the pain had become extremely intense, and I sent across the street for Doctor J. Babcock. He applied his hand and made passes over it, for fifteen or twenty minutes, when the pain entirely subsided, leaving slight soreness in one joml NEW APPENDIX. 361 I resumed my ordinary business in the morning, with slight lameness, which disappeared during the day without any recurrence of the pain. " Case 5.— In the Spring of 1842, I suffered a bronchial attack, which, in the afternoon of the second day, had be- come severe, and was attended with tightness of the chest, great soreness of the chest and throat, shortness of breath, incessant and harassing cough, -considerable feverishness, and such a degree of hoarseness that it was difficult to emit a sound above a whisper. By the application of the same hand for about a quarter of an hour, to the throat and chest, I was so perfectly relieved of all these symptoms, that I could not ascertain from any feeling, thai I had a cold or was in the slightest degree unwell. 1 did not feel the least disposi- tion to cough again during the evening or night, though I believe I did not pass five minutes during the previous after- noon without coughing. The change was palpable toothers as well as myself, in the immediate and almost entire restora- tion of my voice. In the morning, the Mesmeric influence seemed to have passed off, and my disease resumed its course, but so much improved that I did not deem it necessary to trouble my friend for another application of the remedy. If I might be allowed to use such a form of expression, I would say that it was three quarters cured. I cannot doubt but another application would have rendered the cure complete. " Case 6.— In March 1842, I attended Miss , for a spi- nal affection. It was extremely tender — very slight pressure producing intense pain on the spot, and in distant parts of the system connected by nervous communication with the part of the spine pressed, and faintness. By passing the hand over the spine for a few minutes, the tenderness was entirely removed, so that any degree of pressure was borne without inconvenience. I then proceeded to make two long and deep issues with caustic potash, one on each side of the spine. During the whole operation, she declared that she did not suffer the slightest pain, but the same sensation of pleasure which she experienced from the passage of my hand in Mesmerising. Just at the close of the operation, she complained of sickness of stomach, an effect which I have often witnessed, on Mesmerising the back, unless some passes are made at the same time over the stomach. The most se- vere pain from these issues was subsequently at any time re- moved in a few moments, by some one passing the hand over them. 31 362 NEW APPENDIX. " Case 7. — In February, 1842, I visited Miss , under the following circumstances. She had been troubled for two or three years, with a chronic affection of the stomach, at- tended with indigestion and vomiting of her food. She had recently been attended by a quack, who had pursued a stim- ulating treatment. This had brought on acute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and bowels, attend- ed with uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhoea. After some days the inflammation had extended to the serous mem- brane, attended by obstinate constipation, and great pain and tumefaction of the bowels. When I saw her, she had vomited almost incessantly for ten days, retaining nothing upon the stomach; she had had no evacuations from the bow- els for four or five days, and the tumefaction was as great as the integuments would admit. The pain was constant and terribly severe. Other symptoms were alarming. The face was pale and sunken, and covered with a clammy sweat — the pulse was a weak and almost undistinguishable flutter. Standing by the bed-side, and reflecting with great anxiety upon the probable impotency of medicine in such a state of things, it being extremely probable that mortificaiion was about to take place, or was already taking place, I almost un- consciously and from habit, laid my hand upon her stomach, and made passes over it and the bowels. In a few minutes- she ceased groaning, and on being asked if she was easy, she replied, ' easier.' In a few minutes after, on being asked again, she replied, ' perfectly easy, and my sickness at stomach is gone.' Her pulse became distinct and lull, and her face, from a deathly paleness, became flushed. I proposed giving her a dose of castor oil, but was assured that that article was always very nauseous to her. I however turned out a full dose,, raised her head and presented it to her, requesting her to take it. She swallowed it deliberately, sipping it clean from the cup,, without manifesting the least dislike. She lay apparently asleep, and at perfect ease, for about four hours, when she waked and soon made an effort to vomit. This sickness was at once allayed by the same means, and the oil repeated. During the night it produced its desired effect, and every immediately alarming symptom had disappeared. By the daily application of Mesmerism, she was in a few days tolerably comfortable. But the bowels, though comparatively free from pain, retained the tenderness and tumefaction. I had often removed the tenderness in a few minutes, and there I had stopped. Continuing the process a little longer than usual one day, I was surprised to observe an obvious dimi- nution of the fullness. Continuing it some timelonger, I was more surprised to find it disappear altogether. Their pres- NEW APPENDIX. 363