Mesmerism Modified.— Jiat even long before the sup- posed discovery of Mesmer had been subjected to the test of scientific investigation, mesmerism had entered on a new pha.se, and assumed a form dift'ering widely in many respects from tliat wliich it obtained from the hands of its author. We allude to what is scientifically termed Magmtic Summimhidism, and which was tirst brought before the public for consideration by one of
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Mesmer's pupils, the marquis de Puysegur. In the hands of Mesmer animal magnetism was simply a cura- tive agent; in the hands of Puysegur, however, we find it not only to be a curative means, but to confer the power of detecting the morbid condition of parts, both in the person operated on and in others, and the instinc- tive knowledge of the remedies required to effect a cure. With this important advance, the mesmeric system was after this time advocated by Mesmer himself, and hence the mistake on the part of some that Mesmer was acquainted with the phenomena of somnambulism and had discoursed upon them from the very first during his stay in Paris. But whether De Puysegur or Mesmer be the discoverer of magnetic somnambulism, certain it is that if this discovery had not been made, animal mag- netism would have found its resting-place in the grave of Mesmer. Remodelled by this valuable addition, new life was infused into the expiring sj'stem ; " a life so vig- orous, indeed, that it has been sufficient to keep it alive till the present time."
The art of inducing the magnetic state, as practiced by its discoverer, Mesmer, involved the use of appara- tus— the baquet, or magnetic tub, iron rods, etc.; but the means which De Puysegur first used, and which became the more common, are passes made by the hands of the raagnetizer from the head of the " subject" or pa- tient downward, or simply making him fix his eyes on the operator. " Ordinarily," we are told, " the magnet- izer and the patient are seated opposite to each other; the former, with each hand, lays hold of the opposite hand of the latter, with the balls of the thumbs resting against each other. Thus they sit for five or ten min- utes, or until the influence begins to be felt. The mag- netizer then withdraws his hands, and makes slow pass- es with open hands and outspread fingers over the patient from the head to the foot, turning the hands away while )noving them upward, and while making the down^vard passes keeping the points of the fingers within an inch or two of the patient's clothing. After making a dozen or two of such passes, the magnetizer resumes his former position. During the whole of this process he keeps his attention on the patient, and exer- cises his will in silent commands that he shall become somnambulic. The patient should be still, quiet, and resigned. Some persons can be mesmerized within a few minutes ; others can not be affected by trials of an hour daily for weeks ; but after the experiment has once succeeded, it can be more easily repeated. The patient becomes more susceptible, and the magnetizer more powerfid, by every successful trial. The patient who could not, at first, be thrown into the mesmeric sleep in less than an hour of constant contact with the operator, ma}' at last be magnetized in a few minutes or seconds, without contact, bv the mere outstretched hand, glance, or even will of the mesmerist." According to the mes- meric theory, the nervous energy of the operator has overpowered that of the subject, as a powerful magnet does a weak one, and the two are in rapport, as it is termed. In some cases the mesmeric trance assumes the form of clairvoyance.
The various stages of the magnetic influence mes- merizers distinguish as six different classes. " The first stage is that of waking magnetization. The patient feels a singular influence pervading his body, frequently a pricking, somewhat like that felt in a limb asleep. Sometimes there is an increase of temperature and sweat. The second stage is that of drowsiness. The pidse be- comes fuller, the breathing slower; there is a feeling as though warmth were radiating from the stomach ; there is a heavy pressure on the eyelids, which close against the will of- the patient, and he is unable to open them; but still he retains his normal consciousness and sensa- tion. The third stage is that of coma, or senseless sleep, wherein he is insensible to the loudest noises, and all the nerves of sensation are as if benumbed. The fourth stage is that of magnetic somnambulism. The patient awakes from the third stage into a new sphere of exist- VI.— I