and with some, during the first conscious stage; and with some weak-minded, or highly imaginative or credulous and concentrative people, even in the waking condition." (Braid on The Power of the Mind over the Body, 1846; p. 31.)

APPENDIX I.

MR. BRAID'S EXPERIMENTS ON SUBJECTIVE SENSATIONS.

"A lady, upwards of fifty-six years of age, in perfect health, and wide awake, having been taken into a dark closet, and desired to look at the poles of the powerful horse-shoe magnet of nine elements, and describe what she saw, declared, after looking a considerable time, that she saw nothing. However, after I told her to look attentively, and she would see fire come out of it, she speedily saw sparks, and presently it seemed to her to burst forth, as she had witnessed an artificial representation of the volcano of Mount Vesuvius at some public gardens. Without her knowledge, I closed down the lid of the trunk which contained the magnet, but still the same appearances were described as visible. By putting leading questions, and asking her to describe what she saw from another part of the closet (where there was nothing but bare walls) she went on describing various shades of most brilliant coruscations and flame, according to the leading questions I had put for the purpose of changing the fundamental ideas. On repeating the experiments, similar results were repeatedly realised by this patient. On taking this lady into the said closet after the magnet had been removed to another part of the house, she still perceived the same visible appearances of light and flame when there was nothing but the bare walls to produce them; and, two weeks after the magnet was removed, when she went into the closet by herself, the mere association of ideas was sufficient to cause her to realise a visible representation

of the same light and flames. Indeed such had been the case with her on entering the closet ever since the few first times she saw the light and flames. In like manner when she was made to touch the poles of the magnet when wide awake, no manifestations of attraction took place between her hand and the magnet, but the moment the idea was suggested that she would be held fast by its powerful attraction, so that she would be utterly unable to separate her hands from it, such result was realised; and, on separating it, by the suggestion of a new idea, and causing her to touch the other pole in like manner, predicating that it would exert no attractive power for the fingers or hands, such negative effects were at once manifested. I know this lady was incapable of trying to deceive myself, or others present; but she was self-deceived and spell-bound by the predominance of a pre-conceived idea, and was not less surprised at the varying powers of the instrument than others who witnessed the results." (Op. cit., p. 19.)

Other subjects' taken by Mr. Braid into his dark closet, and unable to see anything in the first instance, when told to look steadily at a certain point (though there was no magnet there) and assured that they would see flame and light of various colours issuing from it, very soon declared that they saw them; and in some of them the same sensations could be called up in open daylight.-The following was an experiment made, with and without the magnet, upon the sensations of the general surface; the 'subject' being a young gentleman twenty-one years of age :

"I first operated on his right hand, by drawing a powerful horse-shoe magnet over the hand, without contact, whilst the armature was attached. He immediately observed a sensation of cold follow the course of the magnet. I reversed the passes, and he felt it less cold, but he felt no attraction between his hand and the magnet. I then removed the cross-bar, and tried the effect with both poles

alternately, but still there was no change in the effect, and decidedly no proof of attraction between his hand and the magnet. In the afternoon of the same day I desired him to look aside, and hold his hat between his eyes and his hand, and observe the effects when I operated on him, whilst he could not see my proceedings. He very soon described a recurrence of the same sort of sensations as those he felt in the morning, but they speedily became more intense, and extended up the arm, producing rigidity of the member. In the course of two minutes this feeling attacked the other arm, and to some extent the whole body; and he was, moreover, seized with a fit of involuntary laughter, like that of hysteria, which continued for several minutes-in fact, until I put an end to the experiment. His first remark was, 'Now this experiment clearly proves that there must be some intimate connection between mineral magnetism and mesmerism; for I was most strangely affected, and could not possibly resist laughing during the extraordinary sensations with which my whole body was seized, as you drew the magnet over my hand and arm.' I replied that I drew a very different conclusion from the experiments, as I had never used the magnet at all, nor held it, nor anything else, near to him; and that the whole proved the truth of my position as to the extraordinary power of the mind over the body." (Op. cit., p. 14.)

Phenomena of the same kind were found to be producible without the use of a magnet at all:

"Another interesting case of a married lady, I experimented with, in the presence of her husband, as follows. I requested her to place her hand on the table, with the palm upwards, so situated as to enable her to observe the process I was about to resort to. I had previously remarked, that by my drawing something slowly over the hand, without contact, whilst the patient concentrated her attention on the process, she would experience some peculiar sensations in conse

quence.

I took a pair of her scissors, and drew the bowl of the handle slowly from the wrist downwards. I had only done so a few times, when she felt a creeping, chilly sensation, which was immediately followed by a spasmodic twitching of the muscles, so as to toss the hand from the table, as the members of a prepared frog are agitated when galvanised. I next desired her to place her other hand on the table, in like manner, but placed so that by turning her head in the opposite direction she might not see what was being done, and to watch her sensations in that hand, and tell us the result. In about the same length of time similar phenomena were manifested as with the other hand, although in this instance I had done nothing whatever, and was not near her hand. I now desired her to watch what happened to her hand, when I predicated that she would feel it become cold, and the result was as predicted; and vice versâ, predicating that she would feel it become intensely hot, such was realised. When I desired her to think of the tip of her nose, the predicated result, either of heat or cold, was speedily realised in that part.

"Another lady, twenty-eight years of age, being operated on in the same manner, whilst looking at my proceedings, in the course of half-a-minute, described the sensation as that of the blood rushing into the fingers; and when the motion of my pencil-case was from below, upwards, the sensation was that of the current of blood being reversed, but less rapid in its motion. On resuming the downward direction, the original feeling occurred, still more powerfully than at first. This lady being requested now to look aside, whilst I . operated, realised similar sensations, and that whilst I was doing nothing.

"The husband of this lady, twenty-eight and a half years of age, came into the room shortly after the above experiment was finished. She was very desirous of my trying the effect upon him, as he was in perfect health. I requested

him to extend his right arm laterally, and let it rest on a chair with the palm upwards, to turn his head in the opposite direction so that he might not see what I was doing, and to concentrate his attention on the feelings which might arise during my process. In about half-a-minute he felt an aura like a breath of air passing along the hand; in a little after a slight pricking, and presently a feeling passed along the arm, as far as the elbow, which he described as similar to that of being slightly electrified. All this while I had been doing nothing, beyond watching what might be realised. I then desired him to tell me what he felt Now-speaking in such a tone of voice as was calculated to lead him to believe I was operating in some different manner. The result was that the former sensations ceased; but, when I requested him once more to tell me what he felt now, the former sensations recurred. I then whispered to his wife, but in a tone sufficiently loud to be heard by him, observe now, and you will find his fingers begin to draw, and his hand will become clenched-see how the little finger begins to move, and such was the case; see the next one also going in like manner, and such effects followed; and finally, the entire hand closed firmly, with a very unpleasant drawing motion of the whole flexor-muscles of the fore-arm. I did nothing whatever to this patient until the fingers were nearly closed, when I touched the palm of his hand with the point of my finger, which caused it to close more rapidly and firmly. After it had remained so for a short time, I blew upon the hand, which dissipated the previously existing mental impression, and instantly the hand became relaxed. The high respectability and intelligence of this gentleman rendered his testimony very valuable; and especially so, when he was not only wide awake, but had never been either mesmerised, hypnotised, or so tested before." (Op. cit., pp. 15-17.)