can be drawn from them. All these precautions by the Holy Roman Inquisition, on the other hand, indicate the growing interest which was spreading throughout Italy through the use of magnetism and the problems involved in it. It was just at this period that various authors began to deal with this matter under the influence of French and English publications. In 1840 in Milan news was released of the former magnetic seances attended by the celebrated French novelist Honore de Balzac, which were referred to by Giovanni Rajberti ( 1805-61), the well known author if Il Gatto (Milano, 1845), in his book Il voLgo e La medicina (10) in which he criticizes the doctrine of homeopathy and defines animal magnetism as" one of so many systematized deliriums which distinguish the deviations of the human reason". In a chapter in the same book (pp. 171 -173), entitled" L'uomo grande e il nano", a report is referred to concerning a magnetic experiment in which he himself was a spectator. Balzac, in the summer of 1838, when he was the guest of a Milanese family, wanted to exhibit his magnetic powers on a valet. Rajberti writes: - " Scowling in a frightful way like one possessed, he pointed at him, making waving passes with his hands, sweating and panting on account of the intense concentration of mind and body in this work ", but in vain. The attempt was then repeated on a subject better adapted to the process, namely a certain Gattino, a dwarf and hunchback, but with the same lack of success. After repeated attempts, however, Gattino began to show a more stupid expression than usual, to gape with rounded mouth and to droop his eyelids more and more slowly in a gloomy silence. Balzac, irritated by the lack of attention paid by Rajberti, who at this time was reading a book, stamped on the floor; Rajberti then hastened to ask the dwarf" more awake than ever" if he had slept, but he replied that he was about to go to sleep. A few words were sufficient to awaken him completely and the magnetizer had no further success. Ba!zac was no longer heard to speak ofmagnetism. 1 In 1842 there was published in Corfu a book (11) on facts relating to mesmerism by Angelo Cogevina, a physician and surgeon and superintendent of the Civil Hospital at Corfu, and Francesco Orioli, a professor at the university and director of the Ionian College and a corresponding member of the Institute at Florence and of many scientific academies in Europe . In this book were reported several cases treated with magnetic therapy. 1 For Balzac's interest in occultism scc A. Cabani:s, Balzac 'ignori (Paris, dJgg) , pp.65-80.
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The phenomena of magnetism, indeed, were beginning to be much heard of, and were exciting great interest and, attracted by the novelty, there were many who actively or passively supported the practice of mesmerism in its various forms and manifestations, with a consequently increased production of publications on the matter. In 1847 the Holy Office intervened again, with the decree of 28 July in which it expressed itself in the following terms : "'When free from all errors, sorcery, explicit or implicit invocation of demons, the use of magnetism, that is to say solely as a method of serving physical ends that are otherwise lawful, is not morally forbidden, provided that it is not directed to an unlawful purpose or in any evil way whatever. . "The application, then, of principles and methods that are entirely physical to matters and effects that are truly supernatural in order to explain these physically is a sin that is altogether illicit and heretical" (8, p . 563). On account of this decree the reading and distribution of a certain number of books on magnetism was forbidden. Animal magnetism in Italy, however, was the subject of numerous studies by respectable persons such as physicians, scholars and literary men, but at the same time it was also practised by unscrupulous persons so that side by side with objective works of a certain scientific value there flourished other publications that were superficial, biased and oflittle worth or were exclusively inspired by controversial aims. Interest in magnetism was naturally greater among physicians on account of the possible therapeutic attraction which this doctrine seemed able to offer. Thus for example, Dr. C. A. Calderini, at first sceptical of l\lesmer's theory, was converted to it after having been present at the public performances given at Milan in 1850 by the celebrated magnetizer Auguste Lassaigne, the husband of the famous French somnambule Prudence Bernard. With the co operation of several physicians in that city he submitted to accurate analysis a series of magnetic phenomena (12) . Following his example, Dr. Pietro Beroaldi, Director of the Civil Hospital of Viccnza, carried out various experiments and analysed a series of mesmeric phenomena in the same hospital in 1851 (13).1 The sympathizers and followers increased and various magnetic societies flourished in imitation of those already existing at that time in France and abroad, with whieh they maintained contact; magnetic sittings also increased and also theoretical and practical courses in magnetism. 1
For a full er account see pp. j 53 If.
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The first magnetic society in Italy was the Societa Bio-M agnetica, founded in Genoa in 1853 by Giacomo Ricci. In 1855 there was fouuded in Turin the Societ~l Filomagnetica by Francesco G uidi who in 1856 published in Turin the journal Luce l'vlagnetica of which he was director and editor. In 1856 Pietro D'Amico founded at Bologna the Societ~l :rvIagnetica d'Italia of which D 'Amico was president and which had amongst its members Victor Hugo, Bargoni the j"'Iinister of Public Education, Professor A. Palagi the Director of the Observatory of the University of Bologna, etc. A magnetizer of national fame often felt the need to have at his disposition his own paper for the support and propaganda of his claims. Thus there flourished numerous mesmeric reviews, which generally had a short life. In Turin, for example, there were Il iVlagnetofilo (1854-5) continued as Il j\/esmerista, the previously men tioned Luce iV/agnetica and IliHagnetologo of Guidi. At Genoa there appeared La Salute (1865), directed by D'Amico, the organ of the Societa I\tIagnetica of Bologna. There arose, moreover, for social gatherings and study, magnetic circles, magnetic academies, athen aeums and magnetic hospitals. Examples of these are the Circolo Magnetico and the Istituzione di Benefieenza M esmerica directed by Borgna and Guidi at Turin. Francesco Guidi was certainly one of the most active exponents of Italian mesmerism. In 1851, with the enthusiasm of a neophyte, he wrote his first book (9) issued in Turin in which he showed his faith and his hope for the success of animal magnetism, expounding the advantages to be derived from it and examining the therapeutic, psychological, moral and social aspects. In 1852 he again published at Turin a translation (14) together with personal notes, of a French book by L. M. Hebert (IS)' To Guidi we owe the I talian works of the type then prevalent regarding mesmerism. In his numerous works the author had recourse not only to a small group of sympa thizers, but indicated his clear desire to obtain converts. In 1854 there appeared at Milan a treatise (16) on the theoretical and practi cal aspects of animal magnetism, in which he expressed in ten lessons the course in mesmerism which he had held in various Italian cities, followed by other works. l\1esmerism, which at first was the privilege of the nobility and the moneyed middle class, was in this "\'ay popularized and brought to the knowledge of the majority and this was perhaps the reason why works on it were placed on the Index. Guidi had to wage a hard struggle on two fronts: on the one hand he was attacked by alleged magnetizers with few scruples, such as Zanardelli, G. Demarchi, P. C. Demaris, Ruatti, G.
1 Thc London IVlcsmcric Infirmary was founded in January 1846 at thc house of Henry G. F. i\foreton, sccond Earl of Ducie (1802 -1353 ), who was Lord·in-waiting to the Quecn. Four years latcr the committee scnt out a noticc to all donors and subscribcrs that thc house was open to reccive patients. Two male mesmerists and One female were appointed and a number of striking cures wcre reported, and in 1351 the Archbishop of Dublin and the fifth Earl Stanhope became Vice Presidents. [Ed.] • Jury Magl1
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Pertusio, B. Fenoglio, L. Berrutti, Guastalla, etc., whom he tried repeatedly to expose: on the other hand he was attacked by the Medical Council of Turin which requested from the local government repressive laws against the magnetizers. Guidi in consequence began, in contrast to some of his colleagues, to avoid major dissen tions and resigned from the Society that he himself had founded and which in a short time ceased to exist. On the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of l\1esmer, namely 23 May 1855, Guidi founded the Societa Mesmerica d'lstruzione, Propaganda e Beneficenza, modelled on that of the l\tI esmeric Infirmary in London. 1 After a few months of life this institution seems to have brought satisfactory results to the poor patients who came there and would perhaps have had a more pros perous future if it had been financially supported. Later Guidi left Piedmont for Savoy, Switzerland, France and later Milan, where he founded an Istituto Zoomagnetico di Propaganda ed Istruzione in which magnetic and somnambulistic cures were practised.
THE RISE AND DECLINE OF INTEREST
In the second half of the nineteenth century there was a growing interest in mesmeric practices. Contemporary with Guidi, Cogevina, Orioli and Terzaghi may be noted other magnetizers, such as Jacopo San Vitale, famed as the Nestor of Italian magnetizers, Pietro Gatti, the first exponent of animal magnetism in Genoa, C. Dugnani, the first Italian to have a medal of honour from the l\1agnetic Jury of Encouragement and Reward 2 in Paris in 1850, Pietro D'Amico, considered by many to have been the first true magnetizer in Italy, 11. Poeti, Bonajuti, Butti, Consoni, Danzi, Vandoni, A. Berti, besides many others who exhibited for the most part in the theatres. Notwithstanding the repeated declarations of the more serious practitioners of mesmerism on the scientific, positive and natural character of the new doctrine, not a few persons sought or hoped to
find in magnetic sittings a satisfaction for their curiosity, together with occult and mysterious phenomena passing beyond normal limits into those of the supernatural. It must be recorded that at this period, above all in America and England, there was an increasing interest in Spiritualism which specifically aimed at contact with the world of the Beyond. Some of the participants in magnetic sittings hoped likewise and certainly such hopes were further stimulated by the repeated declarations of the magnetizers that they were ignorant of the exact causes that influenced their magnetic phenomena. This confusion between the scientific doctrine and the spiritistic practice was the cause of a strong opposition by the Church towards animal magnetism, both at the beginning and in the course of its gradual and slow acceptance in the scientific field and in its thera peutic applications. It must also be remembered that magnetic phenomena were sometimes misused for purposes of gain by magne tizers who in appropriate shows had the sole purpose of presenting entertainments and marvels to the public. Thus it happened that the true magnetizers, or, as Guidi himself defined them, the" magnetizers of good faith", also came to be accused of a lack of scientific seriousness and such criticism threatened to compromise their positive achievements. With the spread of mesmerism in Italy, there was an increase not only in its supporters but also in its opponents, its difficulties, deceptions and religious and moral problems. InJuly 1856 an Encyclical of the Holy Office, signed by Cardinal Vincenzo Macchi, was sent to all its Christian bishops and put them on guard against the dangers of the abuse of magnetic phenomena, making a distinction between what was in the domain of scientific research and what was mere curiosity about supernatural pheno mena, both superstitious and often immoral (see 8, p. 568; 17, pp. 382 ff.) Conflicting ideas however, often arose between mesmerists themselves who found themselves harmed by competition. Such internal conflicts certainly did nothing to help the progress of the science and offered an easy target to the adversaries of mesmerism. L. Stefanoni in his book ( 18) published in 18go, wishing to draw up a critical account of the material, gave a documented report of a series of facts that had led the author to radically negative conclusions on the existence of magnetism and magnetic phenomena. The numerous incidents reported, including those by the major repre sentatives of magnetism, such as F. Guidi, P. D'Amico, Pilati and
A. Zanardelli. in fact left the reader somewhat perplexed about the authenticity of many of the alleged cures effected by a number of mesmerists, while tending to exclude completely the genuine production of almost all the paranormal phenomena reported by the authors quoted and condemned by Stefanoni as clever mystifications. For example, in Chapter 8 of his book (18, p. 2 I 7 ff.) he gives a long account of codes as described by Emilio Roncaglia (45) who at that time was describing such experiments in much the same way as Gandon was doing in France. In 1868 it appears that in Ancona an acrimonious controversy broke out between Antonio Zanardelli, who was known to be a magnetizer of the old school, and the conjurer Francesco Castagnola. The latter attempted to duplicate the magnetic phenomena exhibited by Zanardelli's subject which was followed by further newspaper publicity, the Corriere delle Nlarche publishing letters on both sides. Castagnola endeavoured to bring the matter to a head by offering a prize ofL.soo to any magnetizer who, eithcr in public or private, was able to demonstrate at least two of the magnetic phenomena in question, namely thought-transference and clairvoy ance ( 18, pp. 150-153). Prizes continued to be offered ranging from L. 1000 to L.3000 but were not claimed. 'vVe shall confine ourselves here to examining in detail the prin cipal experiments carried out in Italy in which it would seem that parapsychological phenomena may have been verified. At the same time an attempt has been made to distinguish genuine magnetic phenomena as compared with all those supposed to be such and bascd primarily on the belief of others. I t is not surprising that the latter were characterized by their more sensational tele pathic and clairvoyant aspects, etc. to which the attention and cur iosity of the spectators and the hope of the magnetizers were mainly directed. A great part of the experiments in divination, vision at a distance, retrovision, prevision, not to speak of the so-called" trans cendental magnetism" with its voices, dreams, apparitions and pro phecies, celestial visions and evocations of the spirits, the reading and transmission of thoughts and clairvoyance, when submitted to accurate control proved for the most part not to be supernormal. Just as the Burdin prize of 3,000 francs set up in France in 18371 and offered to a person who could demonstrate eyeless-vision re mained without successful competitors, so did a similar fate befall the 1 This was the prize offered on 5 September 1837 by "'L C. Burdin to anyone " qui aura la facultc d e lire sans Ics seeours des yeux ct de la lumicre" (See 1<))
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other prizes. offered in Italy, such as that ofL.2,000 in 1869 arising from a challenge between the magnetizer D'Amico and Guidi in which it was a question of making a diagnosis oran unknown malady and the very important offer by Stefanoni in 1879 ofL.3,000 to any one who was capable by means of magnetism of producing the phenomena of clairvoyance, thought-transference and proofs of the existence of the magnetic fluid. Stefanoni also seemed to be successful in demonstrating the falsity of the experiments conducted by magnetizers such as Pilati, the married couple Sisti and Castagnola, Astorre Monsagrati ofLivorno, Antonio Banello ofUdine, and B. Figari ofCamogli. None of these, although continuing to give exhibitions on the theatrical stage and before curious crowds, had the courage to submit themselves to a serious scientific examination that might contribute to the progress of science by accurate experiments conducted in the presence of competent and cautious persons. Thus, towards 1875, magnetism seemed to be starting its slow but sure decline. The stage with the usual performances was already beginning to attract less interest. The aspect of spiritism that from 1848 was confused with mesmerism still succeeded in keeping it alive, but the main centre of interest in magnetism, now gradually becoming better known as hypnotism, was slowly turning towards the cure of diseases, above all of hysteria, a field in which it notably influenced the concepts of both suggestion and auto-suggestion. At first, however, it sought to determine the true influences of the magnet on this type of illness. Towards the end of 1866 Professor C. Maggiorani, director of the Clinica Neuropatica of Rome, was obtaining publicityon account of the " nervous crises" which he asserted he could produce in hystcrical patients by means of the magnet and he published numer ous works regarding this (20-22). His experiments, which may be considered as intermediate between those carried out by Braid and those by Charcot, were continued by his successor Ezio Sciamanna in collaboration with O. Parisotti. In contrast to those who still believed in the power of the magnet, Dal Pozzo (23) in 1869 was speaking of radiations and wave move ments, maintaining that thought could be transferred to another individual by means of vibrations, which activated the surrounding field, especially if the persons were in contact. DalPo2zo considered the somnambulist condition as a " physiological state" that might be produced artificially especially in individuals of a nervous temperament and in either healthy or pathological conditions. 148
During this conditi.on the " vital, organic and sensory functions would be disturbed by external actions which in their turn would produce inhibitory and dynamo-genetic effects in the organism ". Various Italians had been present at the experiments at the Salpetriere, among them being Dr. Domenico Miliotti, who made known Charcot's methods both by collecting and translating some of his lessons (24) and by articles in medical periodicals reporting Charcot's methods for producing the various forms of hypnosis. As a consequence, following the example set by Charcot and his pupils, the study and applications of hypnotism were introduced into Italian clinics (Cf. 25). In Milan Edoardo Gonzales, the dircctor of the Provincial 1vlental Hospital in Mombello, carried out hypnotic experiments on hysterical subjects in his institute. These he favoured, while he opposed all public demonstrations in theatres. In Padua Dr. Tebaldi, the psychiatrist and Professor of Neuro-pathology at the University, was also engaged in hypnotism and scientific contribu tions on hypnotism were also published by G. Seppilli and A. Tamburini (26). Two of the most notable exponents of hypnotic phenomena in general were Lombroso and Morselli, both of whom were actively engaged in the Italian scientific world. Cesare Lombroso (1836 1909) author of the famous study Genio e Fotlia (27), Professor in ordinary of legal medicine, public hygiene, psychiatry and finally criminal anthropology in Turin, published various works on hypnotism of which he was a tenacious upholder (28-30). Lom broso also occupied himself extensively with mediumistic pheno mena: in the Turin journal Ga;:;;:;etta Le/leraria of 1890 and later on variou$ occasions some of his articles appeared on telepathy and other higher phenomena of mediumship and as an explanation he postulated the existence of powerful and obscure psycho-physical energies. There remains his well-known experiences with the famous medium Eusapia Palladino, who later was exposed in fraud and in whom, on the other hand, he had had complete faith . Although mainly remembered for his work in criminology, he made contributions to a number of other subjects as, for example, cretinism, peUagra and even the poisons arising [rom the use of maize. It was probably on account of his psychiatric work that his interest in crime arose and proceeding thence, he directed his attention to theories of criminal anthropology which, mainly on account of the enthusiasm of some of his pupils among whom 149
Morselli who studied him directly and M. Giordano (34), besides ordinary hypnotic phenomena he did not seem to arouse telepathic phenomena. l These experiments let loose a veritable hypnotic" fever" whilst controversies became more acute and criticisms intensified. Indeed Dr. Gonzales of Milan described the enthusiasm aroused as a " hysterical epidemic". This did not fail to arouse serious alarms which led the Consiglio Superiore di Sanita in Rome to issue a decree on 27 June 1886 forbidding magnetic shows to be held in public. Lombroso, Gonzales, Tebaldi and Bossi all aligned themselves in favour of this decision although they were definitely in tavour ofmagnetic practices (See 25; also 35, p. 105 and 36). At the same sitting of the Consiglio in Rome it was admitted that hypnotic phenomena were scientifically proved, but the danger that might arise from uncontrolled public exhibitions was denounced. Thus public sittings were prohibited and Donato was forced to leave Italy for Argentina. Nevertheless, public sittings continued, although with some alterations in the programme, exciting an unchanged interest that was concentrated above all, as had been the case in earlier times, on those magnetic phenomena called" higher", such as clairvoyance, telepathy, divination, etc. Among those who claimed to succeed in producing such pheno mena was Pickman, who was for a short time in Italy and who is discussed later (see pp. 172 fr.). After the appearance of Pickman , thought-reading" magnetiz ers multiplied in Italy and it may be said that all these were clearly tricksters. One of the most noted was Robert 2 of:Milan. Stefanoni challenged him to prove his claims under adequate control conditions, but his proposal was rejected. On the other hand, others who had accepted, such as Bernabei and Eltore, failed completely. t-.lany were the promises that were broken and deceptions that were made in order that animal magne tism might still continue to win the great favour of an era. But towards the end of the nineteenth century its definite decline began. The numerous tricksters, often supported and favoured in good faith by ingenuous physicians and scientists, merely caused great confusion in the ideas and opinions already formed about animal
Enrico Ferri was the best known, made him appear to hold views which can hardly be fairly attributed to him. What, unfortunately, Lombroso lacked was his clear understanding of the nature of evi dence in scientific work and h e was also weak in his power of pre senting his theories in logical sequence. The British iVIedical Journal (23 Oct. 1909, II, p. 1262) in his obituary noted many of these characteristics but on the other hand declared that he was "a shrewd observer ", a quality hardly apparent in his work on para normal phenomena. As the review stated, " much of his work was fantastic and inaccurate ", but it must be admitted that he stimulated research in various fields and will long be remembered for his industry and versatility. Enrico Morselli (1852- I 929) the director of the Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Genoa, was probably the most serious student of hypnotic and mediumistic phenomena, which he observed closely for a long time and on which he published numerous works (e.g. 31-33). The attitude of Morselli towards the higher phenomena of mediumship was not one of incredulity but of cautious experimenta tion: he did not yet consider it " scientifically confirmed". For the explanation of hypnotic phenomena :Nlorsclli returned to the conception of experimental neurosis. According to this author, hypnotism is "a more or less profound artificial sleep in which certain regions of the brain remain paralysed while others are abnormally exalted". From the contrast and the various combina tions between the paralytic state of some parts and functions of the brain with the state of exaltation of other parts and nerve functions there would spring all the immensely varied and surprising pheno menology of magnetism, hypnotism and somnambulism, Braidism, fascination and other similar processes. Like Lombroso, Vinccnzo Cervello, a Professor of the University of Palermo, asserted that he had obtained phenomena of the trans position of the senses, divination of unknown objects and transmis sion of thought. Similarly, Professor Semmola of Naples confirmed the existence of such phenomena. At this time (1886) great enthusiasm was aroused by the hypnotic shows of Zanardelli at Rome, of Rummo at Naples, of Giovanni :Miroglio and various other hypnotizers of ksser fame. But the one who aroused the greatest interest was the Belgian Donato (A. E. d'Hont) who, after giving exhibitions in Belgium, Holland, France and Russia, organized spectacular public performances in Turin and l\rlilan. During these performances, however, as also stated by
1 It ought perhaps to be stated here that Donato himself said that h e did not think he possessed any supernatural gift and did not believe in either thought transmission or mental suggestion. See J. R. L. Dclboeuf, Afagnetiseurs e/ NIidecille (Paris, 18go, pp. 113; Ig). 2 For Robert cf. C. Richel (37, p. 590).
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magnetism. However, despite these confusions, there was the begin ning of a better clarification and a clearer distinction between mag netism, hypnotism and spiritism and of a natural explanation of all the magnetic phenomena. The importance of suggestion and auto suggestion in the production of hypnotic phenomena became in creasingly more evident. As to the factors responsible for causing these phenomena, more and more weight was given to those of suggestion, such as imagination, psychological disposition, and the sensitivity of the hypnotized subject, while there was a progressive decrease in the importance formcrly assigned to the concept of the hypnotizer's" magnetic fluid" which came to be attributed to his power of exercising a psychological influence over the hypnotized subject. Thus Morselli judged hypnotism as a measure of a neurosis, as did Mosso. Francesco Vizioli at the Medical Congress in Perugia in 1885 gave a lecture with the significant title: " On the hypnotic disease and on suggestions" (38). In its ethical aspect hypnotism was in general considered per missible only when employed in medical experiments directed to the investigation of existing morbid (hysterical) states. From the relig ious aspect a decree of the Holy Office of26July 1899 was recorded which in reply to questions on hypnotic experiments declared these permissible provided the premise was admitted that it was not desired to obtain the required effect if this had to depend on a preternatural cause, or if it might be a cause of scandal, or if it treated of matters which certainly surpassed the forces of nature. (See 39, p. 33; 4 0 , II, pp. 3 2 , 33, 35)· With the gradual decline of popular interest, animal magnetism, stripped of what was superfluous and in this way becoming identified with hypnotism, was confined almost entirely to its use as a thera peutic means of treating various neurotic conditions.
RECORDS OF PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA
A great number of parapsychological phcnomena, such as thought-transmission, divination, transposition of the senses, retro cognition, vision both at a distance and through opaque bodies, etc. are reported in Italian reviews and publications during the nineteenth century. Generally speaking, however, it is a question either of anecdotal stories, of which the value and trustworthiness rest solely on the seriousness and respectability of the reporter, or of public experi 15 2
ments, carried out for the most part on the stage by various mag netizers and their somnambules. An exception may be made of some experiments carried out in Milan in 1850 by the famous magnetizer Lassaigne and Mme Prudence Bernard, of which there exist detailed reports that show that certain precautionary measures were taken which, at that period, provide evidence of a more serious attitude to study and research. The first, reported by C. A. Calderini (12 ), refers to two experi ments that took place on 6 and 9 September 1850 in the hall attached to the Scala Theatre in Milan, in the presence of numerous persons and especially medical men, among whom werc Drs. Gasparini, B. Biondclli and A. Bonati, as well as Calderini. In experiments with Prudence Bcrnard, precautions to avoid her seeing normally were of various kinds and an account of many of these will be found in the French Section of this series. In the pre sent case the methods adopted were bandages applied over the eyes, together with two large wads of cotton wool, which were kept in place by winding a scarf many times round the head where it acted as a bandage and was fastened behind. As was quite common in Prudence's performances, a game of ecarte \vas at first proposed. The Director of the Numismatic Cabinet, Bernardino Biondclli, was presented to Prudence while Lassaigne stood at her side but a short distance away and did not look at the cards. It seemed to Calderini that she was not really playing but simply turning over the cards and always guessing them. She conversed with her partner as if she saw both the cards and the way they were being played. According to what has been reported, various telepathic pheno mena were noted as occurring in the sitting of 6 Scptcmbcr, but no particular care was taken, since Lassaigne was always left in close contact with Prudence and was practically free to act as hc wanted. In the next sitting, however, things were differently arranged. Calderini promoted the experiment and the following is an abbre viated account of his report: " It was proposed to me to ask that Prudence's eyes should be bandaged and that she should have cotton put in her ears; that Lassaigne should in one experiment persuade the somnambule to have her mouth stopped up by a handkerchief inside it or one wound round her head and knotted behind; that he should neither move, nor speak, nor shuffle his feet, nor touch the somnambule during the experiment; that he should transmit his mental commands while standing at a considerable distance L
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from the somnamoult: and through a dosed door, a screen or some other large opaque body; moreover, except in the experiments in which it was strictly necessary, he was not to know what was wanted of the somnambule nor who would be put into rapjJort with her. By usc of these precautions it seemed to me that I should succeed in excluding any communication between the two, except mental. I should at least have succeeded in inferring that this communication had not occurred through the ordinary channels of the senses. These precautions, however, were not adopted. Lassaigne was kind enough to permit ~vlasserotti and myself (the arch sceptics), Pessani and Bonati to carry out the tests (of 9 September) without the least intervention by himself, from the initial magnetizing to the last test. This concession of his meant that every means of communication between the two was excluded Cop. cit., p. 412]. We started the experiments by giving this instruction: Lassaigne is to put himself at a distance from Prudence and to magnetize her to the point of somnambulism and catalepsy; if necessary, we are to assure ourselves of the reality of the state of somnambulism since this is easily simulated under attempts at magnetizing by a new operator; to experiment in the transmission of thought to the somnambule, fust by speaking in a low voice in the ear of the magnetizer, then presenting to the magnetizer in writing what is to be transmitted, and finally making a personal proof, that is to say by transmitting ourselves without the intervention of the magnetizer. These are the experiments as they were made and which were successful. Lassaigne allowed Prudence to be put into the somnambulist state by the one of us, Masserotti, who had produced the mesmeric sleep in other subjects and who was asked by us to act as operator. \Ve were in a large room in the presence of a few people: Prudence was seated at a distance from the few persons assembled and encircled at a short distance by us experimenters. Lassaigne at first seated himself on a sofa some distance away; after a short time he left the room, then returned during the experiments. He never took any part in our tests nor did he ever know beforehand what we wanted Prudence to do. \ Ve excluded him, however, from the time that magnetization began, during the experiments and until the somnambule was awakened and restored to a condition of normality. ~'lasserotti had induced in her the magnetic sleep and thence somnambulism" (op. cit., p. 413 ).
After having been assured of Prudence's somnambulism by means of pricking with pins on the hands and arms, bending back the .ling finger and examination of the pupils, Calderini continues (op . cit., p. 415) : " vVe began the tests and the first experiment did not succeed; she was blindfolded with large wads of cotton wool and a scarf was wound
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round her head; then the whole of the head was covered with a shawl which fell down as far as the llCck. Every possibility of her being able to see was thus eliminated. A playing card was taken and, without even looking at it, was held in front of thc nape of her neck. At first she said she could not distinguish it clearly and then asked for the card to be held a short distance away from her head, saying that she had confused sight of it, in the same way as when a book is held too near to the eyes. But she again saw nothing. The test did not even succeed with cards made to pass behind the nape of her neck at the distance which she asked for them to be. \ Ve then carried out experiments in transmission of thought and of will. From his sofa Lassaigne himself advised us to attempt the former. All the rest was invented by us without any of those present knowing anything about it. Lassaigne advised ~Iasserotti to magnetize an object and to place it on a table mixed up with others; after that to order her to pick it out and mentally transmit to her what she was to do with it. Nlasserotti mesmerized a card which happened to bc on a little table together with other objects. Prudencc, who was behind thc table, was invited to select the mesmerized object. \Vith both hands she turned everything over, took somc objects, estimated their weight, smelt them, but could not pick out the obj ect, saying that all the objects seemcd mesmerized to her. Finally she succeeded in picking out the card, more by a process of elimination than by any other method. This uncertainty and confusion was attributed to the fact that Nlasserotti during the pro cess of mesmerizing the card had not isolated it from the other objects, on which he had made the mesmeric fluid fall also, and thus this error was explained Cop. ciL, p. 416]. V'ie proceeded with the examination; I myself, in a very low voice and so that no one else could hcar, whispercd in the ear of~ Iasserotti to give the card to a gentleman present in the room and at some distance from us. Masserotti mentally ordered her to do what I had decided. In doing this he did what he had seen Lassaigne do; that is to say he stood behind and at some distance from the somnambule, holding out his arms as if guiding her and every now and then he actcd as if sprinkling some thing with his hands. Then the suspicion entered our minds that NIas serotti's glance, fixed on the gentleman towards whom he had strongly directed the somnambule, might have served as a sign either for Prudence or for some other pcrson (if there might have bcen a plot) and that it was for this reason that the experiment succeeded. I thought then of somc thing that would free us from this suspicion. I advised iVfasserotti to try to make Prudence operate on an object mixed up with many others in such a way that she alone might be able to see it distinctly with the eye of the mind, but that the others wcre not in a position to distinguish what he had ftxcd on. No one, not evcn I myself, knew the object of the experiment; it was left to the choice of 1hsserotti. Prudcnce, th rough the influence of the mesmerizer's will, got up from her scat and went towards a fireplace on the shelf of which \vere many objects arranged in
ISS
symmetrical order: pcxldulurn docks, vases, knick-knacks, but thc cxpnimenl did nol succeed. Dr. Bonati took me and l'essani aside out side the room and ad\'ised us that in order to succeed we should by agree ment amongst ourselves, put ourselves in the positions ofsympathy and antipathy towards Prudence. I accepted the experiment through which I was able to experiment directly so that my will, cxpressed only mentally and not in words, might act on the somnambule. Pezzani left me to play the syrnpa thetic role. I returned into the hall and each of us took one of Prudence's hands to put ourselves in rapport with her. I took the left hand and Pessani the right and each of us mentally tried to ieel what had been arranged as well as he could. After a few moments Prudence firmly squeezed my hand, bringing it to her side and turning her whole person towards me while obviously repelling Pessani . This experiment succeeded in overcoming my incredulity" (op. cit., p. 422). He then continued: " The plain and clearly defined events that I had seen were not sufficient for me: what was wanted was that Lassaigne and l'vlasserotti should produce these same phenomena with another somnambule, not Prudence, which would show that these phenomena did not depend on any attl"ibute ofthe two on whom the tests were made but also on others, perhaps on us all, allowing for differences in degree" (op. cit. , p. 423). The next sitting took place on 13 September and, as before, in Milan in the house of Mrs. M. Castiglioni and in the presence of the medical Teaching Faculty of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan (41). Those present were: Professor Bartolomeo Panizza, Dr. Giovanni Strambio, Dr. Luca Cozzi and Antonio Bonati invited by the Teaching Faculty; Drs. Andrea Verga, Gaetano Strambio, Vincenzo ~1:asserotti, Carlo Ampelio Caldcrini, A ntonio Trezzi, Carlo Alfieri, Cesare Castiglioni, Ambrogio de Marchi Gherini, Antonio Quaglino, Federico Castiglioni, Andrea Buffini and Drs. Serafino Biffi and Emilio Valsuani, Mrs. Castiglioni, th e lady of the house, and Dr. Adolfo Bauer. Dr. Paolo Pessani and Dr. A. Bonati accompanied Prudence. Dr. Gaetano Strambio acted as secretary and compiler of the report. On this occasion Lassaigne did not permit others to magnetize Prudence, stating that putting his subject into rapport on successive occasions with different fluids limitcd the possibility of success, as had been shown by thc failurc of the preceding sitting . Lassaignc hypnotized Prudence and after the verification of her state of somnambulism they commcnced experiments in thought transmission.
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At first orders to take certain objects were given in a low voice to Lassaigne, (who stood a few feet away from Prudence) and then Prudence was guided by the magnetizer, who made various gestures, towards the object chosen. These experiments were succcssful but, as many of those prese nt observed, the various gestures, rustling noises and sounds of breathing made by Lassaigne might be inter preted as an agrccd code; on the other hand, the experiments carried out by giving a spoken order into the ear of Lassaignc " showed rather in favour of Prudence' s hearing than of the alleged thought-transmission" . For this reason one wonders why at least the order was not given to Lassaigne in writing. The report of the sitting states: " Dr. Paolo Pessani, conforming to these experimental conditions, wrote an order on a li ttle card' in sight of Lassaigne '. But Quaglino declared that however sure one mightbe of Pessani's integrity one must take account of the fact that he had cntel'ed the room accompanied by Prudence and that a circumstance like this must be carefully considered in scientific exper:iments of this sort." The following experiments then followed and it is reported that: " I. Dr. Andrea Buffini (while sitting at the secretary's table) wrote down an order on a little card and communicated it to Drs. Strambio and Calderini; he then handed the card to Dr. Cesare Castiglioni and took up his position on the left side of Lassaigne, standing behind Prudence's chair. Cesare Castiglioni took the card to Lassaigne and he read it, pronouncing the words in a low voice and then, turning to Castiglioni as if he did not understand, asked in a whisper, ' Casser ? ' , Cassel', briser' replied Castiglioni in the affirmative. Then Lassaigne stretched out his right arm towards Prudence; she got up and walking round to the right side of her chair passed close to Lassaigne and stopped in front of Dr. lluffini. She felt his clothes, took the watch-chain from his waistcoat and the watch from his pocket, holding it in turns to her ears, her eyes and her forehead with signs of impatience and un certainty. Lassaigne, who was only a few steps away from her, followed every movement she made with lively gesticulations, assumed an air of com mand, perpetually breathed heavily through his mouth and nose, advanced and abruptly withdrew his hands and arms and exhorted Prudence in a loud voice to pay attention and obey. It was necessary to make efforts, he said to her, violent efforts. Prudence replied that she could not do it. Finally she unhooked the key from the watch and those present declared that this was enough and that they could pass on to the next experiment. The order written by Buffini was as follows :
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, Elle doit venir ~l moi et cassel" une chaine d'or' [i.e. ' She must come to me and break a gold chain.'] 2. Dr. Cesare Castiglioni handed to Prudence a little parcel, entrusted to him before the sitting by Dr. Gaetano Sttambio. With her hands she endeavoured to ascertain the contents, smelt it repeatedly, placed it on her forehead and on the epigastric region and said that it was a question of human hair. And as no one said anything she asked if she was right or wrong and if this man was or was not gravely ill. Unable to gain anything by such questions, Prudence lamented the fact that nobody knew how to help her or direct her and she asked to be allowed to hold between her two hands the hands of the person who had given her the packet. Castiglioni agreed and Prudence, repeatedly pressing his hands to her heart, said that she saw that the sick man to whom the hairs belonged was weak in the chest and the upper part of the left lung was swollen. Asked if she saw anything else and having received a negative reply, Castiglioni showed the card given to him by Strambio and read on it: ' Tuberculosis ofthe upper left lung, in a woman seven months pregnant suffering from transitory and acute neuralgia '. 3. Another packet for Prudence was given to her by F. Castiglioni. Prudence, holding it behind her back, took out of the little wrapper a tuft of hair. Castiglioni took back the carton and gave it to Strambio, then put his two hands between those of Prudence and, in answer to her question, assured her that the person about whom he wished to consult her had indeed been present in his memory. Prudence smelt the hairs several times, put them on her forehead, her heart and the epigastric region and said that they belonged to a thin, pale and very nervous lady, afflicted with a very irritable lung disease, with a weak chest, inflam mation of the stomach, the intestines and the bladder. \Vhen the test was over and it was known that she had nothing more to add, Strambio rcad on the card given to him by Castiglioni the words: 'Hairs of a healthy little boy '.1 4. Over each of Prudence's eyes was placed a wad of cotton over which Lassaigne had placed a folded handkerchief which was knotted at the nape of the neck. Lassaigne asked for a pack of playing cards and while it was being looked for Dr. Verga gave him a book which he said was in French and which he gave Prudence to read. Lassaigne repeated the invitation, saying that it was necessary to proceed slowly, but finally he consented . A table was brought near to Prudence on which a book bound in red leather was placed. Prudence put both her hands on the closed book and when asked said that it was written in French. She turned the book round from one side to the other a~ if to have a better look at it. She then said that the illustrations were confused, hesitated a long time before replying that they showed houses, plants, animals and human beings: finally she said that they were men and that it was a question ofsteel engravings: invited to read some phrases she said that she saw on 1 Cf. Lassaigne (42, p. 70), although this may refer to another incid ent.
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one half of a page on the right hand side the words' ccpendant, je pense que' and would not add anything more to this. She pointed out that she saw these words on pages;) or 7. The book, which was entitled Paris, illustrations, .vas opened and it was found that the first engraving represented a landscape and that the words above mentioned were not to be read on the pages indicated, nor on any page between the fourth and the eleventh. 5· C. Castiglioni, with the consent of Lassaigne, handed to Prudcnce a package asking her to read what was written within. She put her hands on it and said that it was a single word written in small characters and she was able to distinguish the letters' a ' and' I ' but could not sec anything else. On opening the packet which contained the writing there was found a small pink card on which was written in large characters' L'Abeille ' I and on the lower edge of the card there was written' c'est une gazette medica Ie '. 6. In his turn Verga wanted to repeat this test and presented a folded piece of paper to Prudence which she kept putting on her head and forehead and in this way she uncovered the edge which covered the writing; then she put her hands over it and said she saw an ' e " an ' m ' and a 'c' and nothing else. On the paper was written the motto: , L'art d'experimenter n'est pas l'art de tout Ie monde '. 7· It was then wished to attempt to see if by chanee it might not be easier for Prudence to see larger objects. Gherini, seated in front of her, began a game of cards. Prudence took her own cards without arranging them, then in the usual way began to throw them down one by one. Quaglino noticed that rays oflight were entering through the shift ing of a bandage. He put a scarf over the head and ncck of Prudence. She continued to play but in such a way that she either did not take up the cards when she won or else took them up when she had made a mistake, just as if she had not seen them. 8. Lassaigne put ten cards face up on the table, inviting C. Castiglioni to choose one mentally. Castiglioni replied that he had done so and Prudence then took his hands and held them for a short lime between her own, then she decisively picked up the cards, smelt them one by one, weighed them on her hand, put them all together except for one, the ace of diamonds, which she presented to Castiglioni as the one he had thought of, but Castiglioni denied that this was the one he had thought of and the test was repeated with the same result and the bandage and wads were taken away from Prudence's eyes. g. It was wished to establish the fact of the direct transmission of thought without Lassaigne acting as intermediary and as a first step F. Castiglioni was invited to try. Lassaigne gave him a pack of cards and told him to magnetize it by rubbing it gently between the two palms of his hands. Castiglioni obeyed and, without telling Lassaigne anything, gave Prudence the card, putting himself in contact with her with his I Possibly L'"Jbeille ;'v[Micale.
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right hand while he thought of the person to whom he wanted Prudence to hand the card. Prudence, holding Castiglioni by the hand, got up from her chair, walked with uncertain steps five or six paces and after having nearly given the card to lVIrs. Castiglioni she said that the person wanted was lwt a lady and handed the card to Dr. Bauer pronouncing the words, ' C'est it vous '. Castiglioni said that the person to whom he wished the card to be given was Quaglino, who was sitting in front of Prudence and for whom it was not necessary for her to lea\"C her seat. 10. C. Castiglioni now prepared himself for a new experiment and, with a firm idea in his mind, he offered his hand to Prudence to put himself in raj)porl. Prudence got up, asking Castiglioni to support her with his hand, and went towards Gherini who was sitting in front of the chair where she was seated, felt him over, took away his watch and his tiepin, then left him and approached Calderini who was sitting near. She took away Calderini's right hand glove and took it to Castiglioni, show ing her pleasure at having found it. Castiglioni denied that what he was thinking of had been carried out. Then Lassaigne observed that an experiment carried out in this way could not succeed since it was neces sary to give in advance at least an indication of the kind of action that it was desired should be carried out. C. Castiglioni then said that it was a question of taking an object and he began to carry out the test again with the same idea as in the first place. Prudence, who had remained seated in her chair, got up again and taking C. Castiglioni's hand started towards F. Castiglioni who was standing near Gherini and Calderini ; she fumbled in his clothes, took away and put back into the pocket of his overcoat his pocket-book, finally untying the knot of his tie. Dr. C. Calderini said that he wanted her to take off from the right hand of Calderini, with whom she had first been in raj)port, the copper ring. 1 I. Straillbio whispered an order to l'-,;Iasserotti so that the latter might get it carried out by Prudence, putting himself in rapport with her as usual. Prudence got up and holding Nlasserotti's hand went across the room to the left. She felt over one of the people there and presented an object to ~'lasserotti, who denied that it was the required object. Prudence then fumbled about in the clothes of Giovanni Strambio who was seated at the side of the table occupied in writing notes, and at last she went to this table on which there was some paper where the accounts of the experiments were wri tten and on the paper was the pen used. To the right and left of the paper there were a little porcelain "ase holding four or five pens, then a little dark coloured inkstand, then a larger one in sih'er, a little silvel' one, a little lid also ofsilver, a block of white paper, a pack of playing cards and finally a pocket knife with a white handle. Prudence took up and then laid down one object after another, and then handed to Masserotti the little silver lid and the pocket knife, repeating that the object fixed on was white, but finally, tired of making these useless attempts, she stated that she was unable to carry out what was required of her. The order given by Gaetano Strambio to !vlasserotti 160
was as follows: 'Come to the table and thro\\ on the ground the pen have been using '. At half past four in the afternoon Lassaigne awakened Prudence, after repeating several times that experiments carried out under the influence of so many wills different from his own could not completely succeed and saying, that he travelled the world in order to give entertainments and not to attempt scientific experiments. After this the session was termina ted."
We now report the concluding statements concerning the sitting and regarding the part that parapsychological phenomena played in them: "The undersigned, Drs. Giovanni Strambio, Luca C ozzi, Andrea Verga, Vincenzo iVlasserotti, Antonio Trezzi, Carlo ,\ifieri, Cesare Castiglioni, Ambrogio de Marchi Gherini, Antonio Quaglino, Fcderico Castiglioni, Andrea Buffini, Serafino Biffi, Emilio Valsuani, Carlo Ampelio Calderini, Antonio Bonati, Paolo Pessani and Gaetano Strambio the Secretary. After careful observation and consideration of the events produced at the sitting of 13 September 1850, in the presence of the Medical Tcaching Faculty of the Ospedale Maggiore and limiting ourse\yes to the evidence of these alone ... we feci ourselves authorized to formulate the following conclusions : I. The
somnambulist state of i\Ime Prudence is highly disputable. orders which are expressed vcrbally to i\'1. Lassaigne are carried out by i\
The action of one individual on another, so as to produce sleep, anaesthesia, catalepsy and phenomena which could relate to the increased or decreased acuity of the senses, is recognized as physiologically possible. The transposition of the senses and vision through opaque objects cannot be regarded as proved, when such phenomena may become confused with the vicarious accentuation of other senses. Divination, the instant transmission of will or thought, can be regarded as experimentally far from proved." 161
On the evening of 25 Septemuer 1850, on the initiative of the Society for the Encouragement of Science,ILetters and Arts of ~'1ilan, and in the presence of 63 members, Lassaigne and Nfme Prudence were illvited " to make experiments of a scientific character" (43). A Commission appointed for the purpose was created, chosen strictly from those within the Society and composed of Dr. Salvatore Pagliaghi, President, and Mr. Francesco Brioschi, an engineer, Dr. Antonio Taschini and Nfr. Carlo Tenca, Secretaries. The Com mission had the task of drawing up the report of the sitting and of arranging in advance all the necessary precautionary measures in order to give to the experiments every possible guarantee of their serious nature. The Commission decided that it would itself provide all the objects that might be used during the sitting, that no person apart from the the members of the Society could be present at the sitting, that the members must communicate in writing and under their own signature what they wished 1'1. Lassaigne to make Mmc Prudence carry out. The Commission had also requested that Prudence should keep her ears plugged and her eyes bandaged, but Lassaigne did not accept this condition and proposed instead that he should keep a handkerchief over his mouth during some of the experiments. The Commission in addition appointed Messrs Cesare Cantu, and Francesco Pertusati and Drs. Angelo Dubini and Luigi Marchetti to superintend closely the conduct of the experiments. Nfme Prudence was carefully examined both before and after her passing into the somnambulist state, which was tested by establishing the fact that she was anaesthetic to extremely painful stimuli. A first experiment in the deviation of a compass needle had no success. Some experiments in finding objects, by a written request to Lassaigne on the part of various members, were carried out correctly by Prudence. There then followed other experiments which have a certain interest and which are therefore given as reported: " Experiment No.6. NI. Lassaigne offers to perform an experiment at a distance. j'vIme Prudence has to choose from 5 chairs the one that will be indicated by him while he is in another room. The 5 chairs are then put in a straight line in front oL'vImc Prudence. But j\lr. Voltolina, the engineer, wanted to add 3 more. ;\1. Lassaigne was opposed to this stating that a greater number than 5 would prevent him from recording clearly the position of the chair that he wished to indicate. He offers instead of chairs to arrange five other objects. It was agreed to put on the 5 chairs 5 hats, 3 black and 2 white, and 1\1. Lassaigne announces
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that he would make 1\'Ime. Prudence choose one of them by making that one seem heavier than the others. He went into the next room accompanied by many members, among whom were iVlessrs. Cantu, Pertusati, Dubini, Voltolina and Sedini. The last named returned after some time, took Prudence's hand and led her near to where the chairs were. Beginning from the left, she took up the first four hats and after hesitating between the second and the third hats, finding them both of equal weight, she finally took up the third white hat belicving this to be the heaviest. As a matter of fact this was the hat chosen beforehand, conforming with what had been said to Lassaigne in the next room, where he remained until the completion of the experiment. .. No.8. Lassaigne proposed that he, outside the room, should make Prudence sing and cease singing according to indications received from one of the members. Accompanied by various members, including Cantu, Pertusati, Marchetti, Dubini, Erba and Triaca, he retired to an adjacent room with the doors closed. After some time Lassaigne presented himself at the door and announced that the delay was due to the fact that the members had not yet decided upon the method of giving the signal. After a little time Prudence began to sing, interrupt ing and resuming the song three times. After the members had returned into the room with Lassaigne it became known that the beginning and the interruptions of the song occurred immediately, or a few seconds after the orders given to Lassaigne, which consisted of a pressure of the hand on his shoulders. NO.9. Lassaigne was asked if he would make further thought transmissions, while he remained in the neighbouring room. He replied that it was necessary for him to see or hear Prudence during the experiment, so that he could determine whether the orders transmitted were or wcre not carried out and so that he could direct her. It was then decided that he should place himself behind a screen, already in position, in such a way that through a glazed aperture he was able to follow her movements with his eyes. Behind the screen were some of those present, including Triaca and Pertusati. After a moment Prudence got up and put down her right leg with a trembling motion. Triaca, who had ordered this movement to be carried out, also ordered her to put her hand to her side, but this movement was not carried out since Lassaigne said that the screen was placed in a position in which he could see only Prudence's back and he asked for her to change her position. After she had placed herself in profile Prudence brought her hand to her forehead, which was exactly the new order given by Triaca.... " A later experiment in telepathy carried out with the complete exclusion of Lassaigne failed. " No. II. Dr. S. Pagliaghi took the right hand of Prudence with his own, with the idea of making her say what he was thinking of, which he
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had not communicated to Lassaigne nor to the others. She began to say that the matter referred to Pagliaghi and that it was he whom she saw. He was not standing but was seated on something and it was dark. Then Prudence complained that he did not help her by confirm ing what she said; 1\1. Lassaigne intervened, saying that it was necessary to encourage her in this way. She then resumed and said that Pagliaghi was not alone but that there was another person with him and this person was a man. She went on to say that this man had a sinister appearance and seemed as if he were following him. Lassaigne advised her not to lose herself in details but to concentrate on the main fact. She went on to say that this man wanted to do harm to Pagliaghi, who was afraid, pale and with a haggard look, and that she heard much noise. She said that the darkness prevented her from seeing clearly. Then Lassaigne advised her again to go direct to the fact. And she repeated that Pagliaghi was pale. Lassaigne asked her the reason for this and she again said that she could not see dearly but had heard the noise of something which had fallen. At this point Pagliaghi got up saying that he had imagined himself to be in the company of another man in a little boat on the lake and to be in danger of his life owing to a storm having blown up, but in the end they were saved. No. 12. Sedini then put himself in communication with Prudence and with the same intention as Pagliaghi had had; he told no one the story which Prudence had to repeat. She began by saying that she saw nothing, not even Sedini himself. Then she added that he was on a journey, pretending to be in a carriage with a horse in front. But Lassaigne became impatient: and she said that with him near her his influence did not allow her to carry out, step by step, the thought that only gradually entered her mind; Lassaigne then withdrew behind the screen. She went on by saying that they were passing through a little town, where they would have liked to stop but continued on towards a great house which was not a hotel and into which he had gone, climbed the stairs and came into a room, adding that he was afraid but she did not know what it was about; perhaps they wanted to rob him, to over come and master him, but he wanted to resist, and they tried to do him harm, to assassinate him. Then she said that she heard something moving, shouts, and a dog which terrified him. At this point Sedini, who during Prudence's story had already confirmed some of the details, exhibited much astonishment and told how he himself had been thinking or an incident that had happened to him when he was a young man. He had set out from 1\Tilan by carriage and having arrived at Saronno had been taken to be put up at a great house; having gone up to the bedroom allotted to him he heard cries and noises as if of chains, which made him think that evildoers might attack him and hence he was very much afraid. These noises continued but at last he found out that in a room close to his own there was a dog tied up by a chain. The dog, hearing the noises he made moving about
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the room, tried to release itself as if to run away from him. Sedini added that each time Prudence showed herself uncertain in her story he concentrated intensely 011 the detail he wanted her to say, obtaining his aim."
At this point the experiments ended. And it is to be noted, added the compilers of the report, that these experiments were carried out in a room which Lassaigne and Prudence had entered for the first time, where there were neither mirrors nor floorboards and the paved floor was covered with a carpet; that Lassaigne, during the entire sitting, remained almost always behind Prudence and at a distance of two, three or four paces, and that the persons whose task it was to control him never saw him move his lips either when he was reading the written orders or when he was having them carried out; neither did he do anything or make any noise that might be interpreted as a form ofcode between himselfand Prudence. The Society had invited Lassaigne to another sitting which was to be completely devoted to experiments in thought-transmission without the collaboration of Lassaigne. But Lassaignc refused owing to the fact that he was expected in Venice (42). The clear discrepancy between the results of the reported sittings is very perplexing: unlike the preceding sessions, indeed, the last sitting showed a surprising percentage of successes. Complicity on the part of some or those present cannot a priori be ruled out, although it appears improbable. On the other hand, the precaution ary measures taken during the course of the experiments, although far from perfect, can nevertheless be considered as limiting the possibility of a conventional code between Lassaigne and Prudence. Doubtless if the experimenters had been less ingenuous and had exercised a greater rigour and control the telepathic phenomena produced by Lassaigne and Prudence might have been confirmed as worthy of attention. Another series of mesmeric experiments of which we possess a detailed description is that reported by P. Beroaldi ([3) . The experiments took place, at varying intervals in ) 850- ) 85 [ at the Ospedale Provinciale ofVicenza and were of the nature of researches designed to study the eventual production of mesmeric phenomena, the transmission of thought and clairvoyance. Two men and t\\'o women, patients convalescing in the hospital, were used as voluntary subjects. Acting as magnetizers were two of the physicians in the hospital, Dr. Andrea Vaccari and Dr. Giuseppe Toffoletto in collaboration with Mr. Luigi Dalla Vecchia, "a gentleman cultivated in physical science ". 165
The experiments took place on the hospital premises in the presence of the Director, two physicians, two surgeons from the hospital and other professional persons and other local authorities. In Beroaldi's account, however, only the experiments with the two female patients are reported. First the 22 year old Rosa Velo, who was convalescing after a slight arthritic and bronchial complaint was magnetized by Toffo letto. Six sittings were held from I to 10 December 1850. Th,.: patient rapidly fell into a deep hypnotic state, often reaching th e cataleptic state. Velo, according to the account, correctly followed numerous orders mentally given to her by Toffoletto but thought of from time to time by one of those present. The magnetizer stood at a distance of three or four paces behind the subject while attempting to transmit mental orders, the orders being communicated to the magnetizer by one of those present drawn by lot" in another place, with every precaution" and some times written down. The mental orders were not carried out when the magnetizer was in another room . Velo succceded, moreover, in executing successfully mcntal orders, even complicated ones, which werc directly given by the Director of the hospital and other physicians present. All the m edical men, with the exception of the magnetizer, knew what the orders were. She succeeded also, when sight was excluded, in knowing precisely when the magnetizer was tasting sugar. In the following experiments Orsola Bajo, a 26 year old patient, was employed. She was of nervous temperamcnt and was afflicted with ankylosis of the articulation of the right knee. Six sittings were held with her from 3 to I9 January I8S!. Toffoletto and Vaccari actcd as magnetizers after the second sitting. Bajo never reached the cataleptic condition nor was she cver able to carry out required actions or mental orders. Neverthcless, according to the report, it '.vas possible to establish the fact of vision with eyes closed and perfectly bandaged ( 13, p . 3 I). The eyes were covered over with cotton and with a thick and wide coloured scarf, wrapped round eight times. All those present superintended the bandaging, some testing it on themselves, and all agreed that it was absolutely impossible for the patient to see. Besides, in the course of the first sitting the cotton and the shawl were substituted by a mask, consisting of two pieces of cardboard stuck together, which hermetically sealed the eye sockets. Bajo correctly read several words written in printed characters on little picccs of cardboard which were given her to hold and which I66
were unknown to the magnetizer, who stood at several paces distant with his face turned away. In the course of the sitting Bajo suc ceeded several times in distinguishing various colours (handkerchiefs, playing cards), in counting exactly the number of persons present and in recognizing those persons who were presented to her and the positions they assumed, in distinguishing the value of playing cards and naming various other objects shown to her. Few errors were noted. However the test of deviations of the magnetic needle failed. During the last sitting Irene Tromben, a 20 year old patient, was also magnetized by l\h. Alvera ( 13, p. 52). Having reached the magnetic state, the patient succeeded, amongst other things, in beginning and ceasing to sing at command. The mental order was given to her by the magnetizer who was in another room together with numerous other people, amongst whom was the Director of the hospital. The latter took it in turns, with an agreed sign, to communicate the order to the magnetizer. This series of experiments may be considered particularly interesting on account of various factors present: firstly they were all conducted within a hospital and there were always present qualified persons representative of the medical faculty of the said hospital. Particularly worthy of note is the fact that both the mes merizers and their subjects were not professionals and did not work for money or to obtain publicity. It was in fact a question ofphysi cians of the hospital and of convalescing patients who had recovered and who lent themselves voluntarily to these experiments. All these factors obviously reduce the probability of the existence of possible trickery. During the course of the sittings, moreover, precautionary measures were also taken which, even if not entirely satisfactory, can be considered among the more scrupulous of those generally adopted, as compared with similar experiments conducted in Italy at the same period. The results, especially with the subject Bajo, are very, perhaps excessively, surprising: almost no mistake in the clairvoyant experiments. Since, however, the measure of control adopted cannot be considered adequate, above all those di,·ected towards avoiding the occurrence of conventional signs, any more than those intended to exclude the possibility of normal vision, the results must be accepted with understandable reserve. Once again the ingenuousness of these researches is surprising. One wonders why they did not propose experimcnts that were r67
simpler and more foolproof, such as stating the value of a playing card shown covered to the subject. The compiler of the report, Beroaldi (the Director of the hospital in question), moreover, showed himself perhaps too enthusiastic over the powers of animal magnetism, to the point of making us doubt at times his objectivity and his critical faculty, and this is also a point which should be borne in mind in the complex task of appraising the validity of the experiments cited. All the most noted Italian magnetizers, such as Pietro d'Amico, (44), Antonio Zanardelli and Francesco Guidi, boasted of having succeeded in the production of parapsychological phenomena with their somnambules. Francesco Guidi, probably the most famous Italian magnetizer of the period, lists the following among the parapsychological pheno mena produced by his subjects Stefano U., Pietro D., Enrichetta A., Caterina L., and especially Amerigo P. and Erminia S.: "trans position of the senses, thought-transmission, eyeless vision, vision through opaque objects, vision at a distance, diagnosis and therapy of diseases at a distance, divination, retrocognition, speculations about the other world, and other clairvoyant phenomena" (16, pp. 209 ff.) Guidi was originally connected with the direction of various theatres and claimed that he had such a passion for the" new science" of mesmerism that he gave up his job entirely to devote all his time to it. He travelled around giving exhibitions of the powers of the somnambules accompanying him and in February 1851 he was showing at Wauxhall pleasurc resort in Paris in the Rue de la Douanc when his subject Amerigo was demonstrating what were claimcd to be the higher phenomena. At Turin Guidi was also present at Lassaigne's experiments and while he says he was convinced of the great telepathic faculty of Mme Prudence he explicitly accused Lassaigne of being fraudulent and of " mixing the true with the false ". Reporting, Guidi stated: (16, p. 229). " I put myself in rapport with her (i.e. Prudence) without confiding anything to her magnetizer, and she immediately and perfectly des cribed to me a trip from Turin to Rome, passing through Genoa where we embarked, disembarking at Civitavecchia by the lonely road leading to Rome, stopping halfway at a little village called Palo and seeing in the distance the eternal city of the seven hills, entering into it and stop ping in a great square of which she gave an exact description which could refer only to the Piazza del Popolo. The journey that passed through my mind, as in the varying scenes of a moving panorama, was described 168
by the somnambule and, what is even more surprising, the somnambule fdt she was really travelling and in particular she had the sensation of being in a ship between sky and water." This might be a testimony of some interest if the author were worth attention, which is certainly not the case. The following is an extract from a letter to Luigi Stefanoni from Dr. Alessandro Cugini, Professor of hygiene and legal medicine at the University of Parma (18, p. 129). "In the month of July 1860 Mr. Guidi gave, in the Royal Theatre of Parma, two magnetic sittings which, as always and from beginning to end, were satisfying to initiates and novices but did not satisfy those for whom the spectacular and the strange were not sufficient to convince them of the authenticity of the experiments. For some of the latter, among whom I was one, Mr. Guidi proposed to give an experiment in a room of the national guard, where there was neither a stage nor anything that could lend itself to trickery. In this third and let us say private test NIr. Guidi's clairvoyante in fact saw nothing. Indeed, from the hairs of a person (enclosed within a sheet of paper) presented to her by Mr Guidi it was never possible for her to gather anything true about the physical and moral state of that person, nor was there even once any way by which she could guess where a person was with whom the magnetizer had put her in rapport or could cross in the correct direction the short distance which divided the experimental room from the other one. It was then that someone thought of trying a kind of experimentum crucis concerning her clairvoyance: for that purpose some hairs of a little dog were enclosed within a small bit of paper and handed over to the somnambule." Cugini goes on to say that Guidi's somnambule stated that they were the hairs of a man, latcr describing his characteri3tics ( 18, p. 13 0 .) Stefanoni then referred to numerous written statements accord ing to which Guidi, who was a self-nominated professor, was shown to be an untrustworthy person. Indeed, none of these magnetizers had accepted a large prize publicly offered by Stcfanoni to anyone who carried out one of the following experiments : 1. Clairvoyance: r eading a number of five figures through a sheet of paper. 2. Thought-transmission: the number will be communicated to the magnetizer, who will be able to transmit to thesomnambule by thought, only, however, after one of them has been so separated 169 M
from the other that there can be no communication between them by hearing or by sight. Instead of accepting, the magnetizer B. Figari came forward and offered some ridiculous conditions: his somnambule would divine the diseases of the persons present only if they had declared the symptoms of the disease and the seat of the malady! (18, p. 159). Generally speaking, the Roman Catholic authors, such as G. G. Franco (cf. 35, 39), G. M. Caroli (8), Savino (46) and Lapponi (47) showed themselves the most credulous and they reported very numerous examples of clairvoyant phenomena, etc. (often without even naming those who produced them), the reality of which they declared themselves convinced as evidence of diabolic intervention. Still, Caroli himself showed himself disappointed in Cahagnet's famous somnambule Adele Maginot: having been personally present at a few experiments, he stated that" the infallible AdeIe fell into numerous errors in reply to questions put to her by myself" (8, p. 164). Again, Carolijoined with Guidi in criticizing as devoid ofany serious nature the experiments of1'1r. Mongruel and his Sibyl: this couple travelled in Italy exhibiting little cards bearing the words " La Sybille Moderne, passe, present, a venir " .1 Verati also reported various clairvoyant phenomena mostly veri fied in France and although he stated that he was convinced of the reality of clairvoyance and of thought-transmission he wrote: " I, however, have so far not been able to observe any phenomena like visions, within or without, or seeing at a distance, and once the following incident happened with my own somnambule. I was given by a worthy physician a piece of money wrapped up in paper, so that I might ask the somnambule to identify it; she made efforts to name it, but in vain: she complained ofsevere pain in the forehead and abruptly gave me back the coin, saying in a loud voice that she neither wished to see nor do anything about it. Some persons insisted on obtaining from her what was wanted and begged her again to comply. Then she came and whispered to me in a \'oice that was hardly intelligible even to me (the others were in a circle at a distance of five or six paces) and asked me what the coin was. As might be imagined, I gave a categorical refusal and she became angry, got up and wanted to go into the other room where there were only a few persons who knew her" (48, iii, pp. 361 - 2 ). 1 For the Nlongruel case sec p. 197 in the French Section of this series where bibliographical references are given.
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As is now clear, we are confronted by a mass of anecdotal material, examples of which could be multiplied, in which the reported parapsychological phenomena are hardly worth attention because of the total absence of the slightest control conditions. Dr. A. Battandier, in a correspondence from Rome to the paper Cosmos (Paris) of 7 June 1886 (49) refers to some experiments in magnetism that Zanarddli carried out on his wife Emma at which he was personally present as one of a number of doctors who were among the audience. He stated that after thc subject had been put into a somnambulist state Zanardelli obtained hypnotic phenomena through orders given mentally. 1'l oreover, members of the audience were themselves able to obtain similar phenomena through orders given in the same way, putting themselves into communication with the subject by simple contact or communicating with the magnetizer who was in his customary rapport with the somnambule. vVc have already referred to the method he used to hypnotize her, which was in every way similar to that practised by Donato, that is to say pressure on the hands and a fixed stare. The transmission of a mental order demands that the person giving it has to think strongly about what he wishes done and this concentration of the will must persist until the order is finally executed. \Vhoever does not wish to communicate directly with the somnambule and takes advantage of thc magnetizer as inter mediary takes him by the hand and with a fixed stare (so he says) unites his own thought with that of thc magnetizer, and thus the command may be transmitted mentally to the lady with whom he is in constant magnetic rapport. Now as regards the experiments. A spectator holds his handkerchief tightly in his hand, mentally ordering the somnambulc to smell a particular kind of perfume that might be on the handkerchief. The handkerchief itself is now put into the hand of the somnambule who, having smelt it, names the scent which she smclls there and which is the one wished for (op. cit., p. 25 8 ). Another spectator imagines some scene or other and immediately the somnambule describes it, although with some inaccuracies. But she leaves no doubt that she is really seeing the scene asked for. Another wishes Emma to imagine herself walking in a meadow and meeting there a big snake which threatens to twist its coils around her. Instantly she seems to see this because she draws back, presses her clothes around her and tries to jump up on the chairs; her signs of terror eventually become so real that the spectator cuts short the test by imagining that the serpent leaves her. Anel
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immediately the appearance of the somnambulc becomes quiet and the joy of liberation is depicted on her facc . Others order her, always mentally, to change her bracelet from the left to the right arm, to exchange chairs, to make three turns round her own seat, to take a handkcrchief Ii·om the pocket of a spectator, or to extinguish certain candles. Everything is done precisely as commandcd. Someonc orders her to remain completely motionless: to the great surprise of thc audience she stops still and is beginning to exprcss doubt as to whether she can carry out the command when the person who gave the order declares that this is nothing other than the order that was given to her. She is very successful in describing minutely objects that the spectators have on their persons or in their pockets. Also in the case when you imagine you have something which you do not really possess she will describe exactly the object of your imagination. On the contrary she does not discover something that you have but have forgotten. Similarly she will tell you thc time by your watch, even if you have changed it from thc correct time. But to do this it is necessary for you to know the time at which you have set it (op. cit., p. 259). From this account it seems obvious that all these alleged para normal phenomena were fraudulent and do not merit serious attention. About 1890 the famous performer Pickman was exhibiting in Italy in the theatres of various cities, among them Turin, i\1ilan and Genoa, and the crowds of spectators were sent into ecstacies by his series of highly effective experiments. We can get an idea of these exhibitions through a description of them left by Cesare Lombroso who says: " After he had been stimulated by fasting and large amounts of strong coffee and by the applause which greeted his popular conjuring tricks, he could put himself in communication with the first comer (unless he held him in great antipathy and distrust ) and when the latter ordered him, thinking hard (although, be it well understood, in the French language and not otherwise), to perform a reslricted number of actions, such as guessing numbers or words, tracing with closed eyes a very complicated design and performing certain actions upon given persons, such as hitting them with so many blows on the head, clipping glasses on to the nose and, above all and always, guessing who might have assassinated a certain spectator, and the knife, chosen from twelve similar ones, that might have wounded him and the reason for the injury
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and the place in which he had hidden the imaginary corpse and his clothes ; all this while his eyes were bandaged, his ears plugged and while persons other than the participants adopted the most rigorous precautions against fraud" (50, p. 207). Lombroso personally studied Pickman and the results of this investigation are reported in the article published by him in 18go and elsewhere (Cf. Ga::.;;:. Lett., 1890, xiv, pp. 12 ff; La Civ. Cattolica, 1890, 14 ser., vi, pp. 285-31 r ; Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Oct. r8go, iv, p. 303 and for a latcr account sec the Annales d. sci. ps)'chiques, 1904, xiv, pp. 264-273). In the same report there is r ecorded a complete psychiatric and anthropometric exam ination of Pickman, who was classed as neuropathic and hysterical, with a ccntral nervous system in unstable equilibrium which much resembled that of a somnambulist subject. In the same article are then summarized some experiments carried out by Pickman in the presence of the same scientist. Lombroso reported : " In my laboratory, without contact and with eyes and ears bandaged, he guessed 9 times out of 10 a playing card; he guessed 7 times out of 10 without his eyes bandaged. vVhether the hypnotizer was in the same room or in another had no influence. It is curious that numbers distributed on 20 similar pieces of card were guessed by him with less success (6 or 7 out of to ), always without contact; and 8 out of 10 when touching the agent. He was never successful with the numbers unless he could touch them with a rod or with his hand; then he stopped on the number, sometimes hesitating over the preceding or following number; but unless he touched the card he did not succeed. On the other hand when it was a question of carrying out certain actions (such as shaving, kneeling, looking for a book or a jewel pur posely hidden in a distant place) he succeeded completely. Making his wife sit down he stood ncar her, we chose a card and a number and his wife guessed it immediately 9 times out of 10. He knew that his wife, who must have been neurotic, had a certain faculty but he said he did not want to take advantage of this because after these sittings she felt herself becoming stupid and she had to put aside her own intelligence in order to be directed by him" (op. cit., p. 207). From this it may be concluded that in the majority of the experi ments Pickman obtained better results if he maintained physical contact with the person who was to transmit the thought to him. Lombrose himself observed: "He who has watched Pickman closely will have been able to observe how on a few occasions he had the lucidity of reading a thought at
I7 3
a short distance away; he more often needed to touch the hand of the agent and even pressed it violently and repeatedly to his cheek and to the nape of his neck as if to facilitate the passage of his physical vibrations (op. cit., p. 213).
Morselli made a strong point of this necessity for physical contact in his criticism of the telepathic faculty of Pickman, to whom he dedicated a book (51). Enrico Morselli relates how, when Pickman was in Genoa in June 18go to give a public exhibition, he had invited him to a private sitting for scientific purposes. Pickman only accepted with reserva tions: he refused to be examined and, on the other hand, carried out experiments in " magnetic attraction" in the course of which, according to Morselli, he was cleverly able to take out his watch, get the two secretaries present to read the number inside it and then to guess the number during his evening show. Morselli said: " I t was just this trick that led to the great fiasco at Genoa and to his hasty departure from the country. Thus, hardly had his experiments begun when the public were convinced that there was no trace of divination but only of a great ability to make usc of the' unconscious movements' of his guides, as I have said. He was asked by all for a greater seriousness in experiment and the removal from the stage of all persons who were not well known. Affected by the initial suspicion of the spectators, Pickman suddenly wanted to take his revenge; he proceeded to guess ... the number on the inside case of my watch, which was 2653 : a number which I declared I had never read, did not know, and which I therefore could certainly not transmit by thought! But Pickman, stung to the quick by the public uproar and perhaps fearing that as a consequence I should refuse to take part in the experiment, insisted, pretended to enter into a half-hypnotic cataleptic state while I kept one hand on his head and in the other the closed watch, and natur ally he guessed 2653. But it is easy to understand the consequences of this over ingenious fraud. Never in my life have I been present at such an uproar of hissing, shouts, Homeric laughter, while the poor diviner, bathed in sweat, pretended he wished to knock his head against the cloth wall of the wings. And it is to be noted that not only for me but also for one of my friends, also a student of hypnotic phenomena, did Pickman prepare the same trick. He himself wrote to him, after hurriedly leaving Genoa, boasting of being able to guess the number of a watch without even the owner who wore it knowing of it, and indeed he did guess this other number which was 47500" (51, p. 8).
It is not entirely clear what happened both before and during this experiment and a contemporary account published in the
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Genoa paper Caifaro (20 June, r8go) does not throw much light on it. The reporter stated that at the meeting Pickman asked Morselli for his watch and asked him to look at the number inscribed on the inside of the case. In reply, Morselli said that he could not open the watch with his fingers, to which Pickman replied by saying that it did not matter as he was going to guess the number in the watch, which Morselli stated that he himself did not know. It was there fore a test not of thought-transmission but of clairvoyance. Pickman put one hand on 110rselli's head and then in what was said to be a state of auto-hypnosis wrote down a number, after which lYforselli opened his watch with his penknife and compared the numbers, ascertaining that that written by Pickman was correct. Although the report stated that the audience applauded he went on to say that the objection was raised that this was not a cause of thought-trans mission since Morselli did not know the number and an indescrib able uproar followed. Some thought that it was a case of trickery, others accused Morselli of acting as a confederate. To the suspicion that he was a confederate Morselli merely shrugged his shoulders and said that frankly he had doubts about this experiment. It was known that he had relations with Pickman before the meeting and so his doubts were more than justified. As to his own opinion, 110r selli himself admitted the probability that Pickman, clever conjurer that he was, had been able to succeed in getting hold of the watch and reading its number without being observed. It would appear then that Morselli as well as others did not believe in the paranormality on this occasion of Pickman's clairvoy ance, although a normal explanation of Pickman's Success seems to have been pure speculation. What is obvious is that, if normal, Pickman or his assistant got possession of Morselli's watch, opened it to read the number, closed it and returned it to the Professor. vVhatever we may think of Pickman's ingenuity, we can hardly fail to be struck by the poor quality of Morselli's powers of observation and what might lead some to distrust the accuracy of the many observations he made with other mediums. Morselli firmly denied that Pickman, during his experiments, needed to be able to enter into a hypnotic condition. At the most there was a strong concentration of attention on the little indications that were unconsciously provided for him by the persons who guided him and by the public. On the other hand he had two qualities. One was that of being a very clever conjurer (preparing the public, influencing it to expect unusual events, distracting the attention of the spectators at the decisive moment of the experiment, using
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confederates, taking advantage of the good faj th or others and keep ing something in reserve in case of failure) . Also he possessed, sharpened by practice, a singular perceptiveness through the tactile, thermal, visual, auditory and olfactory senses. :M orselli also said that he believed that Pickman's hysterical states, which occurred particularly when the experiments showed signs of failing, were a good means of claiming the indulgence of the public. :M orselli then procceded to detailed criticism of the best of the phenomena produced by Pickman in Italian theatres. J. Guessing a person's though/so I\10rselli observes that Pickman began this experiment after having held the hand of his guide for some time: this gave him the first" impulse ", but a " muscular" not a psychical impulse through the light pressure and quivering of the muscles. Morselli stated, following Beard: " Everyone knows that a ll representations or ideas have a motor content which tends to be transformed into actions: thus it happens that the person who has the idea that Pickman or the thought-reader should go towards a given place or object, unconsciously transforms, despite his own wishes, this idea into an actual movement of his muscles, and the reader does nothing but follow the impulse received" (51, p.6).
The author records also that Pickman never worked without some con/act either at the beginning or in the course of the experiment: when he was uncertain he always again sought the hand of the person who was guiding him, thus receiving new indications in order to arrive at the supposed divination. 2.
Knocking on the head of a spectator a determined number
of times.
During this experiment, according to l'vlorselli, Pickman always held the hand of the person who was thinking of the number of blows: the physical psychological mechanism is then based on the perception of unconscious muscular movements and this in a way that is even clearer and more simple than in the first experiment. 3. Following, with ryes bandaged, a line traced in chalk on the floor.
In order to explain this experiment, other than by the accustomed help of the guide and the public, Morselli puts forward the hypo thesis that Pickman, with his exquisite tactile sensibility, succeeded in perceiving under his foot the tracing of chalk, without, however, excluding th e possibility that Pickman could in fact see: " The bandage was put on at the beginning of the evening by him self, and certainly in the more or less hysterical movements and con vulsions that he adopted in the wings or on the stage he could easily have
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misplaced it so as to permit him a view of the floor. Pickman, indeed, during both this experiment and the following ones, always walked about with his head lifted and his face upwards, certainly in order to look under the bandage" (op. cit. , p. 8) .
4 . Discovering an object hidden all a chosen !Jerson. Here again :M orselli invokes the involuntary agreement of the subject, repeating that we can neve,' think of a movement without also showing a tendency to perform it. Then noting that Pickman during these experiments required that he should be allowed music IVlorselli does not exclude the possibility that through suitable variations in the tempo and tone of the sounds Pickman might arrive at the necessary information. 5. Guessing or writing down a number thought of Morselli notes that during this experiment Pickman was always in immediate con tact with the hand of the agent, which was put on his head, and thus he had nothing to do but mechanically follow the "impulses" transmitted to him by the muscles that were more or less tense or with more or less pressure. The figures transmitted by Pickman on the slate examined by Morselli were 30 cm. high, drawn with many uncertainties, that is to say in accordance with their possible origin in the light pressures and so forth of the person giving the suggestion. 6. Discovering the actors of an imaginary assassination, indicating the place where the victim was wounded, the homicidal knife and the object stolen.
The discovery of the assassin, of the victim and of the point at which he was wounded would occur merely by a vailing himself of the unconscious collaboration of the agent. !vlorselli adduces as a proof of this the fact that in an exhibition at Genoa a person was chosen as guide who was little disposed to betray by movements and postures his mental representations of the acts to be accomplished, and Pick man, unable to guess anything, asked for him to give way to some one else. In these experiments Pickman was also accustomed to indicate which knife, selected from a heap of twelve, had been used in the mock assassination. :Nlorselli observes that in this case the agent could not transmit any thought, having lost sight of the knife, which he had just marked but which was at a distance at which the agent was unable to distinguish it from the others. It could then only be a case of clairvoyance, conlinued l'vlorsclli (but Pickman had never claimed as much), or of some clever trick, such as taking advantage of an increased warmth of the handle of the knife handled by different persons as compared with other handles, or, better, of a difference in weight, having recourse here to an accomplice who cleverly substituted the eleven knives remaining on the table with
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psychic communication with anyonc in the room, all this must be defined as lucidity or reading at a distance rather than as thought transmission. He was able more easily to carry out an act suggested to him and written on paper enclosed in an envelope by a person unknown to him. And this was also repeated in my laboratory. Regis indeed took in his hand the envelope containing the piece of paper with the written order, felt it and finally put it between the palms of his hands as in the act of prayer (the only thing written on the scrap of paper was' Kneel down and pray'). Regis was told: 'You have not done everything that was ordered'. Then Regis got up in a tired way from his seat and knelt down. On the other hand, when required to guess a playing card 01 which one of us was thinking, or a card with a number put among 5 other similar cards, he only guessed correctly twice out of sixteen tests (12%), although he held the hand of the person who was thinking of it. We presented an envelope (always in the laboratory) with inside it a drawing of a pelican and asked him to reproduce it. 'With eyes covered with a double bandage he succeeded, although somewhat roughly, being in the dark and not being a good draughtsman. Another time we made a drawing of the head and leg of a horse which we placed in an envelope; when asked to reproduce it he made a sketch which suggested the head of a man. \"'hen he sensed some disapproval he superimposed on this shapeless form another drawing which showed three legs and part ofthe body ofa horse, saying that it was a horse. This might be an imperfect thought-transmission which lacked precision and not reading at a distance, since no line resembled the figure drawn by us although the essence of it was apparent. At the third test (the drawing of a clock) he failed completely; that is to say he wrote some letters and then suddenly stopped saying that he was tired. In order to do all this it was necessary that first he should fast and drink a great quantity of rum, up to a half litre; then it was always necessary for his eyes and ears to be bandagcd; his pulse and breathing became three times as fast and he was convulsed in a way that made him seem epileptic. Afterwards he remained exhausted, half blind, lacking in feeling and almost completely insensible to pain, as if he were coming out of a comatose state. It is curious that his history was analogous to that of Pickman. His father was a chef who drank much wine, but not spirits, and was a skilful magnetizer; his mother was a hysteric and suffered from palpitations and a cough; the paternal grandfather died from alcoholism, while the maternal grandfather suffered from a violent temper" (54" pp. 73 ff.)
Fronda with the 20 year old subject E.B., about whom were given some data on the patient's case history and personality. The report continues: " The following researches concern some highly controversial pheno mena (transposition of the senses and vision at a distance) and therefore I wished to take my time over them, testing and retesting and going over all the precautions in order to eliminate every source of error and to protect myself from any trickery. I first took two pictures and showed them to B .... telling him what they were; I put up the two pictures on a little table and made B .... sit down in such a way as to have the table behind him; then I took first one and then the other picture, doing it always in such a way that it was absolutely impossible for him to sec them and then asked him which of the two I had taken. He never failed to state without hesita tion which picture was the one asked for. To the first two pictures I then added a third, and later a fourth and a fifth and repeated the test, changing at random the ones shown behind him. In twenty experi ments he failed only in three (15 %). I attempted the same test by putting behind the doO!' of the room one or other of the five pictures that were used for the first experiment, and invited the subject to guess them. In ten tests he failed only twice (20% ); but only through his earnest desire to reply in too much of a hurry, because after better consideration he corrected himself twice f!'Om error. It is noteworthy that ifhe was made tosit down near another person he became completely disorientated; as also if the light was placed opposite him and compelled him to lower his eyes. He hardly ever made a mistake when he was able to remain for some minutes with his hand in front of his eyes and with his ears plugged, an attitude that he attempted to adopt independent of my will (the monoideic state like Regis and Pickman). Asked in what way he managed to guess the names of the pictures, he replied : 'I feel myself urged to say a name and I say it without knowing why'. Here therefore it is not a case of transposition of vision nor of vision at a distance: it is a case of truly precise thought-reading "1 (54, pp. 80 ff.).
According to the description at least a part of these experiments was carried out with the subject in a state of trance. In the follow-
After describing snme anthropometric studies on this subject the report describes some experiments carried out by Grimaldi and
I The report as it stands scarcely carries conviction. It would appear not to be impossible for the subject to have seen the pictures in one of the small reflectors commonly used by gamblers, and the fact that he failed when a person sat ncar him and when the light was in front of him rather supports this idea. In the case of the picturc.'S exhibited behind the door comment is impossible, since none of the facts which it is important to know is given. [Ed.]
180
181
ing experiments, on the other hand, it is clearly specified that B. was in a hypnotic state :
III a second sitting B. hypnotized by Dr. Ventra, did not produce any phenomena of importance. In the third sitting B. reproduced the head of a man and of a bird, adding respectively an ear and feathers which were lacking in the originals. On the other hand, he failed in the reproduction of a tree, as in three following experiments. In the fourth sitting B. remained a long time in a state of catalepsy without replying and the sitting was discontinued. In the fifth sitting, conducted with the same great care as the preceding ones, B. reproduced the name Margherita firstly as Maria and a second time as .Margherita. The word Amore was not guessed till the second time, being transmitted the first time as l'vlarier. The name Andrea was reproduced without error with a writing that resembled that of a child who was learning to write. Three later tests proved negative. After a pause the experi menters present in turn gave some mental suggestions to B. But it was not specified whether the mental suggestion imparted was known to all the experimenters and what precautions were taken to exclude knowledge of it completely from the subject. Some mental commands were carried out with exactitude and promptness, such as those to go and touch the keys of the piano and to open a door. \-Vhen he was ordered to go and take an inkstand, instead of obeying, B. took a pen and started to write. The experiments again had to be discontinued since B. fell into convulsions and into a cataleptic state, and for this reason, the authors say, he v\'as in no state to continue, as had becn the case in a preceding experiment. Finally, a report is given of a piece of research conducted by Dr. E. Ardu where it is said:
" After having hypnotized him I said to E.B. : 'What number am I thinking of?' And the subject immediately repeated cxactly the number thought of. In the second trial the experiments succeeded equally well. Then a chain was formed of three persons together with the hypnotized ~ubject and the hypnotist, who was one of the chain, asked him: 'What number am I thinking of?' The reply was in correct several times. A new test of the following kind was then attempted: each of those who formed part of the chain thought of a number, a number agreed upon in another room far from the subject, and one of them asked him what was the number of which he was thinking. The subject almost always replied with a number representing the sum of the numbers thought of by everyone or something very like it" (54, p. 82). There now follows a description of other sittings in which, how ever, it is not specified in what state E.B. was during the series: at times it would appear that he wa~ in a waking state, but more often it would seem that he was in a condition of trance: " First sitting. The patient is cheerful because he thinks he will succeed in the experiments in thought-reading. A bandage, accurately tied over the eyes, makes it absolutely impossible for him to see; the same bandage also passes over the cars, which are also plugged with cotton wool. The experiments are confined to the reproduction of geometrical figures which one of US draws at a certain distance from the subject, behind him; hc was so placed that hc could not see the drawing except through an abnormal transposition of the sense of sight. The first figure, a rhombus, he reproduced with a certain difficulty, although it took only a very short time to draw the first line; after a few seconds hc quickly drew the other three lincs. A cirele was reproduced immed iately, with a resolute impaticnt movement. He showed difficulty in the reproduction of a triangle ; after taking a long time to think about it he drew two sides; the third, that of the base, was drawn with obvious uncertainty; instead of a straight line it was a zig-zag" (54, p. 83 )·
" On 6 December 1890 a certain Giuseppe Falqui offered himself for examination at the school of psychiatry. He announced that he was a hypnotic subject and a thought-reader and produced testimonials from medical and scientific persons well known in our universities. He went from country to country, offering himself to medical men as a subject, in exchange for a pecuniary reward. He told of having met in Bologna the famous Pickman who, having tried some experiments on him, had called him an excellent comrade. It must be added that, like Pickman, he linked his profession as a hypnotic subject with that of conjurer. He was accepted, paid and subjected to examination."
After a pause of ten minutes the subject faithfully reproduced the figure of a polygon, which might also have been the outline of a house; in a subsequent experiment he reproduced, in two versions, the figure of a cone upside down. At this point "there were indications of exhaustion, reddening of the face and slowness in movements. Two experiments, therefore, did not succeed. Before the bandage was taken offB . . .. was in semi-cataleptic state."
Here follows a case history and an account of the physical examination of the subject with a description of the tests.
182
183
........
After he had been put into the hypnotic state, various tests were carried out in order to determine his condition. Various experiments in thought-transference followed: on a slate put behind him were drawn diagrams which he had to reproduce on another slate. A triangle: error. A clock face: error. The figure 8: he wrote 18. Other figures; other numbers: errors. The author concludes: "Falqui showed some neuropathic condition (an early form of hypnosis) but is in no sense a thought-reader. A large part of his hyp notic phenomena are due to more or less unconscious deception. It is possible that Falqui does not lend himself entirely willingly to this mysti fication and believes, to some extent, that he possesses the phenomena that he simulates" (54, pp. 91 ff. ).
Lombroso's conclusions at the end of his inquiry were that the experiments conducted with the two subjects B. and Regis prove the reality of thought-transmission, just as the experiments with Falqui show that scientific men are able easily to unmask frauds with the means at their disposal. These" demonstrations" are brought forward by Lombroso in order to defend the veridical character of his experiments with Pickman. lYloreover, according to Lombroso, Pickman, B. and Regis all fall into the same category. In oommenting on this inquiry on thought-transmission it must be observed that the results obtained with the two subjects B. and Regis must be treated with great reservation, given the well-known credulity of Lombroso. While accepting the good faith and the seriousness of purpose of Lombroso and his collaborators in conducting various researches, one cannot think other than that in these cases, as with that of Pickman, he again let himself be deceived by clever tricksters'! 1 The literature on Pickman ( 1857-1925) is \"Cry extensive and the evidence is almost conclusive that he was a highly skilful showman who originally had been associated with Donato and who had learnt a great deal from him. His opinion of Lombroso was hardly flattering. Never did he meet, he said, in the whole of his career such a sucker. It was only necessary for some practical joker to tell him a good story and out came his notebook and" Observation 4613" was entered ! Sometimes he used to come and see Pickman where he was staying, bringing with him all kinds of complicated apparatus which he applied to Pickman's body for purposes that he could not understand. One day Pickman thought he would try a trick on him, saying that he was now going to tcst his force on Lombroso's own body and make him feel the force of attraction on his shoulder blades. Getting behind him Pickman seized between his thumb and index finger Lombroso 's jacket and pulled it. Lombroso perceived nothing and was absolutely enchanted at the phenomenon. ''''hen the master had departed Pickman's secretary said he
18 4
In the second half of the nineteenth century the spmt1st1c movement began to penetrate into Italy from England and France, at first hesitantly and then afterwards ever more openly, according to changes in the political conditions of the various Italian states. This led to a new wave of reports of the higher phenomena of mediumship which were usually poorly documented (cf. 55). Controlled experiments and documented researches, however, are lacking owing to the absence in Italy of any institute comparable to that such as, for instance, the Society for Psychical Research in London. It is true that such societies were founded, first in Florence through the work of Dr. Olinto Del Torto, then in Milan, through Angelo Brofferio and finally in Turin through the initiative of C. Baudi di Vesme. But these societies were of short duration.
CONCLUSIONS
The introduction into Italy of the doctrine and practice of animal magnetism encountered serious initial difficulties, above all by reason of the attitude of the Catholic Church. Although after some delay, the interest of the scientific world and of public opinion was, however, very keenly shown. Proof may be found of it in the great number of writings regarding mesmeric theories which were published in Italy, cspecially during the first half of the nineteenth century, together with the starting of various reviews and magnetic societies. The contents of these publications do not differ from those published abroad and, as elsewhere, the currents of opinion which are shown there are essentially three: there are firstly those of fanatical supporters, those of uncompromis ing opponents, and those, on the other hand, of persons who while not denying a priori the ~'i:istence of the phenomena under discus sion awaited some serious proof that would confirm them. Among these last were above all medical men, especially psychiatrists. In the second half of the century there took place a gradual certainly had some cheek, to which Pickman replied that he wanted to know just how far the stupidity of a great scientist could extend. Even the scientific value of his work wa~ criticized by G. Nazari (56) in 1887 in which he emphasized the superficiality of certain of his observations. In his book ( 18) Stefanoni in Chapters 11 and 12 devotes a considerable amount of space to Pickman which should be consulted by those who find Pickman's work of interest. Richet secms to have thought that although many of Pickman's experiments in thought-transmission may have been due to muscle-reading, he had perhaps some little developed faculty of cryptaesthesia (37, p. 113). [Ed.] N
I8S
substitution lor the tcrms " animal magnetism" or " mesmcrism " of the term" hypnotism", which, however, remained distinct apart from certain connections ii'om that of" spiritism". Generally speaking, the Italian contributions present no original elements except perhaps those theoretical points of view put forward by Dal Pozzo and Morselli. It is certain, however, that first magnetism and then hypnotism had in Italy moments of great succcss, not only on thc stage but also in hospitals and medical clinics. During the demonstrations of or the experiments in animal mag netism and hypnotism it seemed that proof was given with a certain frequency of parapsychological phenomena such as thought-trans mission, clairvoyance, divination transposition of the senses and so on. A precise evaluation of the events reported, however, is particu larly difficult. Adventurers and tricksters abounded, as did ingen uous if quite sincere persons, and in an appraisal based on works that are often of a partisan character it is hard to distinguish, in the multiplicity of facts and personages, the genuine from the false. The majority of the cases, moreover, present one with a simple anecdote of no scientific value whatever. The reports of the organized experiments are, on the other hand, often incomplete and poorly documented. It may be affirmed with certainty that no experiment, of those which have come to our notice, has been conducted under satisfactory conditions from the methodological point of view. vVhen, moreover, in these experi ments a minimum standard of control conditions has been reached the higher mediumistic phenomena have not been verified. \Ve have sought to point out that one of the factors responsible in Italy for the almost total lack of studies conducted with a certain degree of methodological rigour is the absence of any institutions comparable with the Societies for Psychical Research in England and the United States. For these reasons the literature on the controversies under examination has shown an obviously disappointing appearance. In the course of our research we have therefore deliberately omitted many reports of experiments in which the higher phenomena were produced but which could not in any way be appraised, either because the subject or the observers are unworthy of atten tion or because of the ncarly total absence of any methodological criterion. "\Ie have nevertheless reported some typical cxamples while we r86
have limited ourselves to reporting fully on two series of experiments which, for various reasons, appearcd to us to offer, in spite of evident omissions, a high degree of authenticity and for this reason of interest. REFERENCES The following list is in no sense a bibliography. It is simply a short-title list of books and articles mentioned in the text. Although in many cases the titles are abbreviated, enough is given to enable any reader to follow up the reference if he wishes to do so. I. ~losso,
ANGELO. "~'lesmer e il magnetismo." (In: La vila Italiana durante la riveluzionejraTICese e l'Imj;ero (.l'vlilano, 1897), pp. 57-95.) 2. GIRAUD, S. Lettre de AI.r Giraud doc/eur en medicine de la Faculte de Turin, d lvI.r Ie comte N.N., d Crtfmone. Turin, 8 decembre, 1784. 3. PUNGlLEONI, GIUSEPPE. Rijlessioni sulla primaTia cagione dei sogni e del sOlllwmbulismo. Parma, 18°4. 4,. PUNGlLEONI, GIUSEPPE. Alcune rijlessioni sui sogni ed il sonnambulismo. Roma, [832. 5. POLl, GIUSEPPE SAVE.R[O. Breve saggio sulla calamila e sulle sue virtu medi dnali. Napoli, 18[5. 6. CIVILT,\ (LA) Cattolica, 1857,3 ser., VII, pp. 586-603. 7. i'vloNTICELLI, A. SlIlla callsa dei fenomeni mesmerici. 2 vols. Bergamo, 1856 . 8. CAROLl, G. 1\1:. Del lvIagnetismo animale ossia 11lesmerismo in ordil!e alia ragiolle e rivelazione. Napoli, 1859. 9. GUIDI, FRANCESCO. AIagllelismo animale e sonllambulismo magnetico. Torino, [851. roo RAJBERTl, G[OVANNI. II volgo e la medicina. Milano, 1840. [I. COGEIlINiI., ANGELO & OR[OLl, FRANCESCO. Falti relativi al mesmerismo e cure mesmeriche. ... Corfu, 1842. [2. CALDERINI, CARLO AMPELlO. "Ragguaglio di csperienze mesmeriche." (A7!1!ali univ. di med., d350, CXXXIV, 3 ser., XXXVIII, pp. 401 426.) Lettera del Redattore alia signora G.P. 13. BEROALDI, PIETRO. "Sui magnctismo animale; osservazioni cd esperienze. . . (Allnali univ. di med., [852, CXXXIX, 4 ser., III, pp. 5-7 0 .) 14,. HEBERT, L.]'vI. Piccolo catechismo magnetico 0 no.~iolli ele1?!CIltari di mag I!etismo. Torino, [852. IS. HEBERT, L. M. Petit catechisme magnltique 011 notiolls lUmentaires de mesmerisme. Paris, 1852. 16. GUIDI, F. Trattato teorico-pralico di magnetismo animale. ~1ilano, 1854. 17. GUIDI, F. Ill\1agnetismo animale considerato. ... Ivlilano, 1860. 1!3. STEI'ANON1, LUIGI. jV!agnetismo ed ijmotismo svelali. Roma, 1890.
r87
19. DUBOIS, E. F. & BURDIN, C. fIistoire acad!mique du magnetisme animal. Paris, 1841 (p. 575). See also Bull. de l'Acad. royale de Medecine, 1837-38, II, pp. 19,29,41, 126,560. 20. IVIAGGIORANI, C. La magnete e i nervosi; centuria di osservazioni. l\Iilano, etc., 1869. 2 I. l\1AGGIORANI, C. Saggio di una storia fiziologiea della magnete. Roma, 18 73_ 22. l\'iAGGIORANI, C. Influenza del magnetismo sulla vita animale. Napoli, 1880. 23. DAL Pozzo DI wIoMBELLo, E. A. Tmttato pmtieo del magnetismo animale. Foligno, 1869_ 24. MILIOTTI, D. (Ed.) CHARCOT, J. M. Leziani cliniche dell'anno sealastica, 1883-84 suile malattie del sistema nerL'osa. Milano, 1885 . 25. E., A.C. L'ipnotismo e il Consiglio Superiare sanitario del Regno d' Italia Roma, 1886. This work is signed A.C.E. 26. SEPPILLI, G. & TAMBURINI, A. "Contribuzione allo studio spcrimentale dell'ipnotismo." (Rivista slJerimentale di fren. e di med. legale, 1881 1882, fasc. iii etc., pp. 261 ff.) 27. LOMBROSO, C. Genia e Follia . ... Milano, 1864. 28. LOMBROSO, C., Studi sull'ipnatismo. Torino, 1887. 29. LOMBROSO, C., Rieerehe suiJenameni ipnatiei e SpiTitiei. Torino, 1909. 30. LOMBROSO, C. & OTTOLENGHI, S. Nuovi studi sull'ijmatismo e sulla eredulita. Torino, 1889. 3 I. l\·IORSELLI, E. Il Magnetismo Animale . ... Torino, 1886. 32. 1'IoRSELLI, E. I Jenameni telepatiei e Ie allueinazioni veridiche. Fil'enze, 1897. 33. MORSELLI, E. & TANZI, E., Cantributa sperimentale allafisiopatologia dell' ipnatisma. Milano, 1889. 34. GIORDANO, M., II magnetismo animale e laJaseinazione del Donato. Torino, 1886. 35. FRANCO, G. G., L'ipnotisrno tomato di moda. Storia e disquisL-:ione seientifica. Prato, 1886. 36. VIZ lOLl, F., Relazione sull'operato del Consiglio Superiore di Sanita." (Giornale di Neuropatologia, marzo, 1886, pp. 136-161. ) 37. RICHET, C., Trait! de ivUtapsyehique. 2 ed. Paris, 1923. 38. VIZ lOLl, F., "Del mOl'bo ipnotico e delle suggestioni." (Giomale di Neuropatologia, 1885, III, pp. 289-342.) Cf. Aui Congo gen. d.Associa zione Med. Ital., 1886, XI, pp. 222-226. 39. FRANCO, G. G. "Presentimenti e Telepathie." (La Ciu. Caito!., 1900, 17 seJ'. IX, pp. 33-40.) 40. OjETTI, B. SYllolJsis rerum moralium et juris pontifieii, aljJ/tabetico ordine digesta. Ed. altera. 2 vols. Prati, 19°4-19°5. 41. STRAMBIO, G. "Su' l magnetismo animale...." (Gazz. med. ita!' lomb. Milano, 1852, 3 sel'., III, pp. 141-148.) 42. LASSAIGNE, A., M!moires d'un magnetiseur, contenant biograjJ/tie de la somnambule Prudence Bemard. Paris, 1851.
" PROCESSO vel'bale degli esperimenti di magnetisrno animale dato dal Sl'. Lassaigne e della Sl'a. Prudence nell'adunanza della Societa d'Incorragiamento di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti di 1'I ilano, la sera del 25 settembre 1850." (Gaa . med. ital. lomb., ,Milano, 185°,3 ser., I, pp.281- 28 9·) D'A~!lco, P. Guida teorieo-pmtiea del1llagnetismo animale. Bologna, 1867· 44· RONCAGLlA, E. A. II segreto della seeanda vista spiegato mediante la crittalagia 45· madema. l\Iodena, 1854. 46. SAVINO, E., II magnetismo, l'ipnatisma e 10 spiritisma, avuera Satana e la madema magia. ... Benevento, 18 95.
L:\PPONI, G., Ipnatisma e Spiritismo. Roma, 18 97.
47 · 48 . VERA,TI, L. Sulla staria, tearia et pmtica del magnetisma animale. . . . 4 vols., Firenze, 1845-6. 49· BATTANDIER, A., "Quelques phenomenes d'hypnotisme." (Cosmos , Paris, 7 juin 1886,35 ann., n.s., nr. 71, pp. 25 6 -26 1. ) 50. LOMBROSO, C., " Pickman e la trasmissione del pensiero." (Arehivio di Psichiatria, AntTapalagia. ..., 1890, XI, pp. 207-218.) 51. NloRSELLI, E., Le cosidetle esperienze di "divinadane del pensiera" del Pickman. Fil'enze, 18go. 52. BETToLl, P., Rivelaziani cd insegnamenti del giuco col simulare i Jellame n magnetici ed ipnatici. Milano, 189!. 53· P:\GLIANI, G., " Trasmissione del pensiero in uno isterico." (A rchiuia di Psichiatria, Antropalagia. ... , 1890, XI, pp. 218-2 I 9·) 54· LOMBROSO, C., GRIMALDI, E. & ARDU, E.," Inchicsta sulla trasmissione del pensiero." (Archivio di Psichiatria, AnlrojJalagia. ..., 1891, XII, pp. 58- 108.) 55· ERMAcoRA, G. B., Fenameni rimarcheiJali di medianita osseruati senza /lIedi di prrifessiane. Torino, 1892. Originally appeared in the Annali della Spirilisma in ltalia, 1892, anna 29, pp. 85 ff. 56. NAZARI, G ., II prof. Cesare Lambroso e il valare scientifico delle sue ol;ere. Oderzo, 1337·
188
18 9
4-3'
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Hypnotism in Spain, Portugal and Latin America by
ERIC
J.
DINGWALL
" Ciencia cs locura si buen seso no la cura."
INTRODUCTION
THE present section deals with hypnotism as seen in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. In these countries the emphasis from the first was mainly on the medical aspect of the question, since the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church with its fear of anything paranormal unconnected with religion, and even with it, prevented public demonstrations in which such phenomena were exhibited and con fined such experiments to private circles where the results were not described in newspapers and periodicals. Few experiments of any value were reported in the Spanish and Portuguese literature, although a few writers printed some of their observations in other countries whereas other observers, with the exception perhaps of distinguished physicians like Fajardo in the I880s, confined their remarks almost solely to hypnotism in its therapeutic setting.
19 2
Hypnotism in Spain, Portugal and
La tin America
1800- 1 900
IN considering the growth and practice of mesmeric or magnetic experiments together with the use of mesmerism for medical treat ment in various countries it is important to remember that the development of the subject was much influenced by prevailing conditions at the time. The litcracy of the population, the condition and depth of medical studies, the attitude of religious bodies and many other factors, all exercised a marked influence; and where, as in Spain and Portugal, ecclesiastical power was often dominant, so its approval or censure did much to further or curb tht practice of mesmerism in general. Moreover, factors such as those due to previous theoretical expositions of similar subjects did much to delineate the course which was ultimately to be pursued. A good example of this can be seen in Sweden, where as early as 1787 the phenomena exhibited by magnetized subjects were becoming known but, owing to the enormous influence of Swedenborg and his teaching, the results were soon interpreted as messages from the spirit world. It was thus thatthe descriptions given by the entranced somnambules assumed a spiritistic setting, just as in France it was through the teaching of Cahagnet that the mesmeric trance soon became the mediumistic trance and interest in spiritistic phenomena swamped the manifestations as seen in the usual mesmeric state. in Spain and Portugal, however, the disturbed political condi tions of the first quarter of the nineteenth century were hardly conducive to any wide diffusion of the knowledge of mesmerism and its phenomena. Doubtless small magnetic societies and circles existed and a certain interest among medical men is suggested by a decree of Ferdinand VII (1784- I 833 ) confining magnetic practice to orthodox medicine, of which the exponents had begun to famil 193
iarize themselves with mesmeric treatment through the French journals which were beginning to circulate in both countries. Among those who towards the middle of the century were beginning to concern themselves with mesmerism and its effects was Dr. Ram6n Come\las, a Spanish physician who had lived in Mexico and who, as in so many other cases, combined an interest in mes merism with homeopathy. In his review of animal magnetism (1), which was published in Madrid in 1846, he contributed what seems to have been the first serious book on mesmerism to be issued in Spain, and it is in this volume that the use of mesmerism in medicine was recognized and its employment by lay persons discouraged. The author was himself a member of a Spanish mesmeric and " philanthropico-magnetic " society, as it was called, and thus his influence and the expression of his views as to the proper use of mesmerism had some considerable effect. Since the methods used by mesmerists elsewhere in Europe were little known in Spain and Portugal, the literature of the subject, scanty as it is, was almost wholly confined to medical sources. For example, a year after the appearance of the book by ComeIIas, Dr. A. lVt Aceyedo contributed to a medical journal a series of articles (2) on the essential nature and origin of the magnetic fluid in man kind wherein the medical faculty was given a broad general view of the subject clearly gathered from French and similar sources. In Portugal first hand knowledge was even scantier than in Spain. In 18 48 it was reported (3) that at Coimbra, some 175 km. N.N.E. of Lisbon and the seat of an ancient and famous university, a lecturer on animal magnetism knew so little of the subj ect that hc was unaware of the possibility of magnetizing a patient without contact. By the middle of the century interest in mesmerism especially relating to its use in medical treatment was shown by articles appear ing in Spanish medical journals such as El Siglo lV/Mica or Espana Afidica (cf. 4, 5, 6) and in 1858 a French physician, Pien-e Jhotil, described (7) how over two years previously he had left France to practise mesmerism in Brazil, where the regulations, similar to those already existing, permitted mesmeric treatment to be given to patients by registered medical practitioners. Although in the earlier part of the nineteenth century the study of mesmerism was strictly limited to certain groups, interest in the subject was not wholly absent. In 1832 at a session of the Sociedade de Mcdicina do Rio de Janeiro it received a letter Irom Dr. Leopoldo Gamard accompanied by a monograph on animal magnetism to which he hoped the Society would pay serious attention. The paper
194
was accordingly passed to lVfr. Cuissard who was asked to make a report and submit it to the Society, a task which he fulfilled, handing his report in, in October of the same year. After a short historical introduction in which he mentions the appointment of the French Commission, he stated that in order to arrive at the truth in science, a sceptical examination was necessary, and that this was the way in which the marvellous phenomena of animal magnetism should be investigated. It was, he stated, hardly philosophic to deny what could not be explained, but in this case scepticism was justified in view of the mystifications and errors with which the subject abounded. It was for this reason, he continued, that he found himself both friendly and hostile to animal magnetism at the same time, since on the one hand he had to admit the reality of certain of the results claimed, and on the other because he had to reject all the tricks of the magnetizers, together with the various errors which they had incorporated into their work and the indiscreet experiments to which they so boldly had lent themselves. These statements by Cuissard certainly suggest that at the time that he was writing his report, mesmerism was being practised in Brazil and that, as in other countries, trickery on the part of the magnetizers and their subjects had been observed. On the other hand, it would seem to be possible that what Cuissard was discussing was magnetism in general, as it is clear from a later section of his report that he was well acquainted with the French investigators and their work, such as Bertrand, GeOl'get and Rostan. As to the desirability of advising the Society to enquire into the matter, he came to a negative conclusion and even regarding the therapeutic aspects of mesmerism he thought that it was somewhat absurd to investigate and use an unknown agent, which it was not possible to control. The risks both to health and morals, he maintained, had been stressed by certain of the French observers and he had there fore come to the conclusion that the paper by Gamard should be rejected. "The science that we study every day, gentlemen," he stated, "is not any kind of occult science and no one moving in scientific circles wishes to become a performer in the market-place." In 1857 Dr. J. M. N. Garcia published in the Annaes Brasiliensis de lvledicilla a paper in which he discussed the alleged eyeless-sight which had been attributed to somnambules and where he came to the conclusion that this dermal-vision was connected with hyper aesthesia of touch and sight which were both already recognized by medical science. In r861 the Socicdade Propaganda de IVfagnclismo and Jury
195
Magnetico do Rio d e J a neiro were founded in Brazil and approved by the government, the purpose being to form an association to study magnetism both from the experimental and therapeutic aspects, while avoiding any discussion from the religious or political point of view. Article 14 of the Charter enjoined the members to look out for and expose cases of charlatanism, an exhortation which clearly assumed that cases of trickery in mesmerism were not un known in Brazil at that time. Although it was proposed by the Society to publish a journal, 0 AIagnetismo, I am not aware whether this actually appeared and therefore am unable to say whether many cases oJ paranormal phenomena were published in its pages and came under the scrutiny of the Society. Apart from the medical uses of magnetic and mesmeric treat ment, the mental state of the somnambules became soon confused ,vith the trance state of the mediums, for by 1861 Spiritualism had begun to interest numbers of persons both in Spain and Portugal. French and Italian literature became more widely known and table turning and table-rapping had become so popular that the ecclesias tical authorities in Barcelona decided to take drastic action on 9 October 1861 (see 8,9). Three hundred boob and pamphlets were seized and publicly burnt by a priest in full canonicals carrying a cross in one hand and a torch in the other. A huge crowd assembled, some of which approved while others jeered and a few tried to do their best to save a few copies from the flames. If one considers the literature of the later period it seems clear that the interest in mesmerism was dwindling in proportion as that in the phenomena of the mediums increased. In 1872 Manso (10) and Paillome (11) wrote books in which both subjects were dealt with and the same combination was to be found in 1880 when L. Garcia Ramon wrote a similar treatise (12). According to Dr. Francisco Fajardo (28) somnambulcs who operated in Brazil about 1884 were inserting their advertisements in journals such as the Gazeta de Noticias from which it appeared that they combined consultations with exhibitions of fortune-telling by cards. \'\Then the experiments in France on the infiuenee of medicaments at a distance were being conducted by observers like Bourru, Burot and Luys interest was aroused in Brazil and attempts were made to repeat the experiments. These tests were undertaken under the general direction of Professor Erico Coelho, an eminent physician and a friend of D r. Fajardo. The experiments appear to have been well designed and carried out, but unfortunately the results, it
I9 6
sccms, were wholly negative and nothing was observed which COI1 firmed the astonishing findings of workers in F rance. Interest in these experiments naturally led to an examination of the claims for the reality of mental suggestion, for at that period physicians in Brazil were becoming acquainted with the work of Richet and his friends which were being publicized in the Rev1le Philosophiq1le. The experiments were again mainly under the direction of Coelho who, according to Fajardo, was able to obtain examples of mental suggestion with relative ease. Some of these experiments were concerned with a hysterical female patient, who at the time was being treated by Coelho and proved an excellent subject, willingly agreeing to co-operate in the tests which took place about 1888. In some of these experiments the subject was first hypnotized and then told to pay particular attention to what was said to her. She was then told that a suggestion was going to be given to her mentally and that she had to carry it out. This order was to read part of a newspaper of the previous day in the hearing of her husband. About an hour later she bcgan to look over a pile of newspapers lying on a table and after a short time she pulled out a pagc of a newspaper published the previous day, went up to her husband and b egan to read it aloud. Having finished reading she said that she had already read the column, which was in yesterday's issue. Later experiments seemed to indicate clearly that the mental suggestion had been received and an attempt made to obey it, but sufficient details are not given to permit of any useful discussion of the results. Similar phenomena, according to Fajardo, were obtained by other observers such as Professor Francisco de Castro, Luiz Alves and other medical friends of Professor Coelho (28, p. 26 3). After discussing the various theories advanced to explain mental suggestion, Fajardo, who admitted that he had never himself had the opportunity to test it, had himself come to believe in it, mainly owing to the standing of those who claimed to have performed successful experiments. In these matters he appeared to agree with the conclusions ofOchorowicz with whose work on mental suggestion he was, apparently, well acquainted. But it was owing to the assurance of his " illustrious master", Professor Coehlo, that Fajardo had come to the conclusion that since nobody could doubt the integrity of so famous a physician as Coelho, the reality of mental suggestion as defined by Richet could not be denied.
197
At this period, then, Spanish and Portuguese contributions to the literature of mesmerism were mainly medical and psychological, and there will be found appended to this account (13-37) a selected list of titles drawn from the literature of Spain, Portugal and Latin Amcrica. In examining a number of these contributions nothing has been found resembling the experimental material offered in the literature of other countries and indced, were such records sub mitted, it is probable that their scientific value would have been even less than that to be found in French, German and Italian sources. The close relation that mesmerism seemed to have to Spiritualism incurred the hostility and condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church and medical men, even when they knew that mesmeric treatment was sometimes efficacious, took good care to confine their interest to such matters as hysteria, anaesthesia and suggestion and did not attempt to inquire too closely into the so-called higher phenomena even if these had been observed by them during their practice.! This condition of affairs is wcll exemplified in one important case connected with Dr. Alfredo Barcellos, a physician living at Botafogo not far from Rio de Janeiro, who used hypnotism for the benefit of his patients and who was reported to have observed paranormal phenomena on certain occasions although he generally l'efrained from taking notes at the time which obviously takes away a certain value from his accounts. The observations of Dr. Barcellos which seem to have been made from 1888 onwards were told by him to Professor A. Alexander of Rio de Janeiro who ,vas a Corresponding Member of the Society for Psychical Research in London (see 38). Among the patients treated by Barcellos were two where examples of clairvoyance or lucidity were observed. Both were female: one (Miss E.) was a young lady of 17 who was supposed to be suffering from hysteria of an acute type; and the other (Mrs. G. de M. ) was a married woman who, after a severe operation, exhibited a number of hysterical symptoms besides falling into a state oLnoso mania forwhieh a variety of remedies were prescribed, none of which produced much beneficial effect. 1 This can be seen from the long section on mental suggestion which was included in Dr. Sanchez Herrero's book (I 7b) where he discusses the experiments at Hanc with Gibcrt,Janet and Ochorowicz and quotcs from a casc known to him. It seems clear from his account that h e accepted mental suggestion but did not attempt to describe any systematic experiments to test his opinion even if he made any with that end in vicw.
19 8
The records of the phenomena occurring with :Miss E. are not full or detailed enough to ,van'ant too much credence being placed upon them. It was said that on more than one occasion she was successfully hypnotized at a distance; and after one ofthese incidents the whole story was dictated to Professor Alexander by Dr. Barcellos himself on the evening after it had occurred. He told his interviewer that on 22 June 1896 towards ten o'clock in the evening the father of 'Miss E., General Carlos de Aranjo, called at his house which was at some considerable distance from Botafogo and asked him to go to his daughter who was suffering from" formidable hysterical attacks" (p. 9 I). Being very tired, Dr. Barcellos said that he would go early on the following morning but in the meantime he would compensate for his personal absence by sending to her a mental order to go to sleep and during her sleep to recover her calmness and tranquillity. In addition to this the physician gave the General a letter which he was to hand to his daughter if she were in a fit condition to read it. On the other hand, if she were still in a severe hysterical state then he was to apply the letter to her forehead and make passes with it, " all this to provide against the possible failure of the attempt at hypnotiza tion at a distance" which he was about to make. Having given the General the letter and verified the time Barcel los asked him on arrival home to make careful inquiry" whether the time at which E. had there fallen into a calm and deep sleep coin cided, or not, with the hour then noted for the commencement of the experiment" . On the departure of the General, Barcellos proceeded to concen trate on the suggestion that Miss E. should fall asleep and become calm, relaxed and tranquil. On the following morning whcn he arrived at the patient's house he found that, about ten minutes later than the time at which the General had left his house, Miss E. had fallen into the hypnotic sleep and was no longer agitated. Wishing to obtain further evidence and confirmation about this incident and others in which Miss E. apparently showed paranormal abilities, Professor Alexander during the course of the following year discussed the whole affair with the General who confirmed what Barcellos has previously reported although he candidly admitted that his memory of the whole of the material was not entirely perfect. Nevertheless, he gave Professor Alexander a number of other instances which had occurred during the course of his daughter's illness which seemed to indicate that :Miss E. was often aware of the presence of Dr. Barcellos at some distance and which 199
suggested some sort of telepathic rapport as between physician and patient, an idea which received some support from Miss E.'s fiance who was also interviewed by Professor Alexander and who readily replied to questions put to him. \Vith regard to the second case mentioned above, namely that of Mrs G. de M., the observations, such as they were, extended over the years 1895-6 and the testimony collected to substantiate the evidence in this instance appears to be somewhat stronger than that produced to support the claims of Miss E. The deposition of Dr. Barcellos was dictated to Professor Alexander in November r896 and is of considerable length (38, pp. 101 ff.) After her failure to respond to orthodox treatment for the ail ments of which she complained after her operation, Mrs G. de M. finally submitted to being hypnotized although at first attempts she proved to be a somewhat intractable subject. Later, however, she became a difIicult but at times an excellent subject when she passed into the lighter state and it was in :March 1895 that she first showed an example of lucidity of a rather curious kind. Dr. Barcellos had visited her after a professional call on another patient (Mrs. X.) who was suffering from anaemia and slight attacks of fever for which he had prescribed various remedies, leaving his patient in fair health and spirits and talking with her children. When his second patient, however, was hypnotized, she immediately began to make certain statements about 1\1rs. X . who" had just had a fit " but, not being able to locate Dr. Barcellos, had had to summon another physician who had arrived but was unable to save his patient's life. Had Dr. Barcellos not eaFled at a druggist on his way home and had there been informed that :M rs X. was searching for him, he would not have known till later that he was wanted. As it was, when he arrived at the house Mrs. X. had already expired. On visiting Mrs. G. de M. for further treatment Dr. Barcellos narrated to her the facts relating to the case of 1\tfrs. X. and asked her how she accounted for these, suggesting that it seemed to be a case of telepathy between herself and him . 1\;frs. de IV!., however, violently dissented from this idea declaring that she saw and heard what was going on in IVlrs. X.'s house and that she was forced so to see and hear by the guardian angel of Dr. Barcellos whom she claimed to see standing behind the physician. Apart fi'om the examples of clairvoyance presented by i\1rs. de 1\1. she also at times gave some evidence for prevision which, for the most part, concerned persons in the immediate entourage of Dr. Barcellos and his family. For instance, she gave information 200
about the illness both of his wife and his son (op. cit., pp. r05 ff.) the details of which were at times surprisingly accurate. A few of the cases concerned relations of Dr. Barcellos himself and so we can, perhaps, feel a greater satisfaction regarding the accuracy and reliability of his reports than we might be inclined to do if the details had been supplied by comparative strangers. Thus in one case relating to his niece, thesomnambule not only showed herself aware of the illness but stated that, in spite of her remarkable vitality, the patient was being harmed by the number and nature of the medicaments prescribed. At first Mrs. de M. stated that the girl would recover, but later she declared that she would not survive the wrong treatment to which she was being subjected and that she would succumb to it, a prognosis which unfortunately proved to be correct. These records from the memory and in some instances from the case-notes of Dr. Barcellos as narrated to and collected by Professor Alexander are the most detailed and interesting that I have noted in Spanish and Portuguese literature relating to hypnotism and the paranormal. Although some of the evidence is open to serious criticism it must, I think, be admitted that the records suggest quite strongly that the two subjects exhibited some remarkable pheno mena if we can accept the assurances of the witnesses that normal knowledge of the facts was ruled out. It may, however, be suggested
that the sensitives concerned were in fact what are called" mediums"
and that the hypnotic conditions were actually mediumistic trances
and therefore do not come within this survey. I t can therefore be said in conclusion that Spanish and Portu guese literature contributed nothing of importance towal'ds the study of paranormal phenomena as reported during the course of mesmeric treatment or experimentation. Had the work of the Abbe Faria (1736-r819) been in Portuguese and not in French (39,4 0 ) he would have been mentioned in this Section, since he was one of the earliest mesmeric operators to stress the importance of the subjective element in the phenomena,
o
201
REFERENCES
20. GONZALEZ, J. R. El hipnolismo ~·erdadero. Madrid, 1888. 2 I. VILLALONGA, L. Imporlallcia de la teraptulica hijmotico-sugesliva. Habana,
18 95.
22. 1-10NT' ALVERNE DE SEQUEIRA, G. H)'Pnotismo e suggesliio. Lisboa, 1888. 23. PEIXOTO DE NIoURA, C. S. Physiologia e pathologia dos pherlOmenos 11)'pnoticos. Rio de Janeiro, 1888. '24. VINE GAS, V. M. El hipnotismo. 1-1exico, 1888. 25. GARciA ALONSO, D., " Histerismo grave notablemcnte aliveado pOl' d
hipnotismo." (Corr. mid. caslellano, 1888, v, p. 241.)
26. "HIPNOTmL\NfA." (El Siglo mid., 1888, XXXV, p. 34.)
27. PULIDO, A. [& others.], "Una sesion de hipnotismo en la Sociedad
espanola de higiene." (El Siglo mid., 1888, XXXV, pp. 129; 161;
177; 225; 241. )
28. FAJARDO, FRANCISCO. Hypllolismo. Rio de Janeiro, 1889. 29. FAJARDO, FRANCISCO. Tratado de H)'PlZOtismo. Rio de .Janeiro, 1896. An enlarged edition of No. 28. go. GARciA ALONSO, D., "Histerismo rebelde eUl'ado par sugestion alucinatoria." (Corr. mid. castellallO, 188g, vi, p. 20g.) 31. PULIDO, A., "EI hipnotismo y su empleo medico." (Cron. mM., Valencia, 1888-g, xii, pp. 41-48.) 32. ARAG6N OVEJERO. El Itipnolismo y la sugestion. Astorga, 1892. 33. VILL\LONGA, L. Apuntes de terapeutica hipn6tico-sugestiva. Habana, 18g2. 34. C..... STELLS, F., "EI suerro y el hipnotismo." (Rev. de hig. y pol. saIl .,
Barcelona, 1892, iii, pp. 168; 181. )
35. BERTRr\N y RUBIO, E., " Sobre hipnotismo y otras cosas." (Rev. de. cien.
mid. de Barcelona, 1893, xix, pp. 121 ; 16g; 221 ; 265; 316; 513,
52 9.)
36. PICADO, J. S., " Hipnotismo y fascinaci6n . .." (An . del circ. mid. argent.,
Buenos Aires, 1895, xviii, pp. 306-313.)
37. NIARIANl, J. M., " Sugesti6n in hipnotismo." (Rev. de mid.y cirug.jmict.,
Madrid, 1896, xxxix, pp. 64 I -75 I. )
38. BARCELLOS, ALFREDO., "Supernormal phenomena observed during
hypnotic treatment." (J oumal of the Society for Psychical Research,
1897, viii, pp. 88-95: 99- I 16.)
39. FARlA, ]. CUSTODIO, l'abbe de. De la cause du sommeil lucide ou elude de la
nalure de I' homme . ... Paris, 18 I g. Al though the work was announced
as in three volumes only one seems to have been issued, a reprint
of this being published in Paris in 1906.
40. MONlS, E. 0 Padre Faria na hisloria do hipnolismo. Lisboa, 1923. A short history of the position held by the Abbe Faria in thc early days of animal m agnetism and mesmerism.
The following list is in no sense a bibliography. It is simply a short-title list of books and articles mentioned in the text. Although in many cascs the titles are abbreviated, enough is given to enable any reader to follow up the reference if he wishes to do so. I. COMELLAS, R. Resella sobre el magnetismo animal. NIadrid, 1846. 2. ACEVEDO, A. NI. "Esencia y origen del fluido magnctico dentro del hombre." (Bo l. de med. cirug.yjarnz ., Madrid, '1847,3 ser., ii, pp. 8g; gg; 107.) 3. See Journal du }y/agnilisme, 1848, vi, p. 281.
4. QUINTANA, J., "Cuatro palabras sobre el magnetismo animal.' (El
Siglo Midico, 1856, iii, pp. 273-275.)
5. DE OLAVIDE, J. E., " Del hipnotismo." (Espaiia l'-'Udica, 1860, v, p. 42. )
6. A., M. [i.e. Castelo y Serra.], "~1as noticias sobre el hipnotismo."
(El Siglo Midico, 1860, vii, pp. 3 ; 54.)
7. JHOTlL, P., See Joumal du lWagnitisme, 1858, xvii, pp. 342-344 and 1860,
xix, pp. 352-359 quoting from the Jomal do Commercio, 7 junho,
1860, xxxv, nr. 157.
8. See The Times (London), Oct. 16, 1861, p. 8b. 9. SAINT DOMINIQUE," La Queuedu moyen-age." (RevueSpirite, 1861, iv,
pp. 3 21 -3 25; 38 7-390 .)
10. MANSO, ]. ~1., El espiritismo. }v[as sobre el magnetismo )' el espiritismo. Barcelona, 1872. I I. PAILLOME. El magnelismo, el espiritisnlO y la posesion. Barcelona, 1872.
12. GARciA-RAMON, LEOPOLDO. El magnetismo, sonambulismo y espiritis7llo. Esludios curiosos y filos6ficos. Paris, 1880. 13. MORAE-S, 1-1ELLO. lWemoria sobre 0 jluido universal ou etfler. Rio dc Janeiro, 1876. 14. RENJIFO, 1-1. P., " El magnetismo como anestesico." (Cae . cient. de
Venezuela, Caracas, 1878, ii, pp. 213; 22 I.)
'5. LAZARO ADRADAS, C., "Dos palabrassobremas opinionesen el hipnotismo
con relacion a lahisteria." (Rev. de mid.), cil1lg.pract., 1885, xvi, pp. 231;
569·)
16. 1-IOIRA, O. & BENAVENTE, D. HijJnotismo y sllgestioll. Santiago de Chile, 1887. 17. SANCHEZ HERRERO, A., " La hipnotizaci6n generalizada. . ." (!Wid.
castellana, 1887, ii, pp. 9-14. )
17a. SANCHEZ HERRERO, A.," Del hipnotismo." (Corr. mid. castellano,
188 7, iv, pp. 73; 79·)
17b. SANCHEZ H ERRERO, A. El hiplZOtismo y la sugesliol!. Valladolid, l\Iadrid, 1889. 18. LABADIE, F., " Contribuci6n para el estudio del hipnotismo en 1-'1cxico."
(Cae . med. de Mexico, 1887, xxii, pp. 450-46 I. )
19. CALATRAVENO, F. El hilmolisnzo al aleance de lodas la s intdigencias. :vladrid, I1.l8H.
202
20 3
.........
INDEX OF NAMES The number in brackets following the name is that in the List of References, R referring to the Russian Section, P to the Polish Section, I to the Italian Section and S to the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Section. A., E., 168
Aberle, D. F. , 103
Acevedo, A. M., (S 2), 194
Aksakov, A. N., (R [8), [7, [8,77, 78,
98 , 104, 105
Aleksandrovna, S., 38, 49, 53
Alexander III, 32
Alexander, A., 198
Alfieri , C., 156, 161
Alvera, [67
Alves, L., 197
Andreev, 47, 49, 50, 52, 54
Andreyevski, 27
Arag6n Ovejero, (S 32), 203
Aranjo, C. dc, 199
Ardu, E., (I 54), 183
Ashburner, .1. , 22
Assier, A.d', 78
Averkev, 33
Azam, E., 97
B. , Dr., 52
B., AIr., 28
B., lv[iss, 29
B., E., 181 IT.
Babkevich, 64
Baerwald, R ., (R [5, 16), 74, 75, 105
Bajo, 0., [66 Balzac, H. dc, 142
Banello, A., 148
Barcellos, A., (S 38), 198 IT.
Bargoni, 144
Barrett, \Y., 76, I 14
Battandier, A., (I 49), I71, 172
Bauer, A., 156, 160
Bazhenov, N., (R 26), 96, 97, 105
Beard, G. 1',,1. ,82,87,88
Bcitraub, 14
Bekhterev, V. ~·L, (R 27), 22, 96, 97, 98, 105 Belin , E., 93, 94
Benavente, D., (S 16), 202
Bernabei,15 1
Bernard, P. , 143, [53 fr., 188
Bernheim , H., [16, 131
Beroaldi, P, (I 13), 143, 165 fr.
Berrutti, L., 145
Berti, A., 145
Bertran y Rubio, E., (S 35), 203
Bertrand, A., 195
Bervy, B., 76
Betling, P., 15, 16
Bettoli , P., (I 52), 173
Biernacki, E., 130
Biffi, S., 156, 161
Binet, :\., 55
Biondelli, B., 153
Bishop, W . 1.,22,23,27,87,88 Blackburn, D., 25
Blagova, A. K., 14
Bodisco, C. A., 32
Bonajuti, 145
Bonati, A., 153, IS,!. 156, 161
Borgna, C., 140, 144
Borodin,27 Bossi , 151
Botkin, S. P. , 92, 95
Bourru, H., 196
Braid,]., 3, 80, 96, 103,112, 129,148
Brioschi, F., 162
Brofrerio, A., 185
Brown, ] . R., 87, 88
Brown-Scquard, C. E., 129
Brugmanns, A., 12
Brunengo, G., (I 7), 140
Bubnov,81 Buchanan,]. R. , 50
Buffini, A., 156, 157, 161
Bukser, 19
Burdin, C., (I 19), 147
Burgemeister, 14
Burot, P., 196
20 5
Butlerov, A. l'vI., 3, 13, 23, 24, 78, 79, 84, 90, 9 8 Butti, 145 Bystrov, 24 Cabancs, A., 142 Cahagnet, L., 170, 193 Calatra\'cno, F., (S (9),202 Calderini, C. A., (I (2),143, 153 fl'. Calmeil, L. F., 98 Cantu, C., 162, 163 Caroli, G. ~'I. , ( I 8), 170 Carpenter, n., 58, 78,88,96, 103, 13 1 Castagnola, F. , 147, 148 Castells, F., (S 34), 203 Castelo y Serra, (S 6), 202 Castiglioni, C., 157 ff. Castiglioni, F ., 156, 158, , 61 Castiglioni, M., 156, 160 Castraeanc degli Antellminclli , C., 1..j.! Castro, F. dc, 197 Cervello, V., 139, ISO Chakhovskaya, 14 Charcot, j. M., (I 24), 97, 103, 116, 131,135, 14.8 , 149 Charykov, 64 Chowrin, :\. N., Jee Kho\'rin, .\. N. Codd'::, L., 140 Coelho, E., 196, 197 Cogevina, A., (I I [ ) , [42, 145 Comellas, R., (S I ) , [94 Condillac, E., dc, 96 Consoni, [.15 Cozzi, L., 156, ,[61 Crookes, W., 76 Cugini, A., 169 Cuissaro, [95 Cumberland, S., 2~, 23 , 27, 7B, 79, El7. 9 0 , 12 4 Cybulski, N., (P 14·, (5), [3 0 , ['ll, 135 Czaplicka, tv!. A., 103 CZyflSki, C. L., (1' 17, [B ), 132, 133, [35
'·V.
DanOli, 139, 145 Dclboeuf, j. R. L., 151 Dclcuze, j. P. F., 8, I I Del Torto, 0., 185 Demarchi, G., 144 Demaris, P. C., [44 D enton, E. M. F., 50 Denton, ",,r., 50 De Olavide,.1. E., (S 5), 202 Dingwall, E. j., 98 Dobroliubov, N. A., 76 Dobroslavin, 27 Donato, 77,109 fT., 122, [50,151, [7[, 184 Drozdov, V. I., (R 23), 9·10 95 Dubini, A. , [62, [63 Dubois, E. F., (I (9 ), 188 Dubrov, R., 30, 3[ Dugnani, C., 139, [45 Dunia,2[ Du Potet d.e Senne\'oy, J. D., 3, [4 Duval, 82
E., AIr.,
Hublier,39 Hufeland, C. \V. von, Hufeland, F., 6 Hugo, V., 144 Hussey, E. L., 10
Frapart, N. N., 39 Freud, S., 19 Fronda, R., 179, [8[ Galton, F., 88 Gamard, L., Ig4, 195 Gareia,.1. M. N., 195 Garcia Alonso, D., (S 25, 30), 203 Garcia-Ramon, L., (S 12), 196
.r
Garner, C., 22
Gasparini, 153 Gatti, P. , 140, 145 Gattino, 142 Gauss, K. F., 8[ GeOl'get, E . .1., 195 Gcssmann, G. 'V., (1' g) , 115, [3 '~ Gherini, A. de ~'I. , 156, ' 59, 160, [6[ Gibert,J. H. A., [98 Giordano, M., (I 3·4), [51 Giraud, S., (I 2), 1010 Gonzales, E., qg, 151 Gonzalez, j. R. , (S 20), 203 Goste,", 64 Grashey, H., 132 Grassct, .1., (P (0), 115, [3-1 Gravier, L., 33 Gregory, ' ·V., 78 Greshner,24 Grigorev, N. I. , (R 24) , 93, 105 Grigorovich, '9 Grigov, C. A. , 3[ Grimaldi, E., (I 54), [Bo Guastalla, [45 Guidi, F., (I g, [6, (7), 139, 140, [44, 145,146,148,168 ff. Gurney, E., 25, 84, 9 1 Gurovieh, 20 Guseva, [7
2 [
E., l\liss, 198 ff. E., A. C., (I 25), 188 E., Martha, 93 Edward, the Confessor, [0 Egorov, 27 Elpe,24 Eltorc, 151 Emelie, 39 Encaussc, G., [32 Erba, [63 Ermaeora, G. B., (I 55), 189 Eschcnmaycr, C. A. A. von, 13 Eugi,n e, 28, 29
F., L., 99, 100 Fajardo, F., (S 28, 29 ), 192, Ig6, [97 Falqui, G., [83, 184 Faria, J. C., de (S 39), 103,201,203 Feldman, O.J., 19 fT., 31,32, 38, 9~ Fenoglio, B., [-1-5 Ferdinand VII, [93 D., P., 163 Ferri, E., 150 DOli Pozza di Mombcllo, E . •\., ( I 23), Fi gari, B., [48, 170 14.D, d}6 Fish.e r, .13 D'All1ico, P., (I .1'\.), [44·, [45 , 14 6 , l ·f3, Fludd, R., 80 [6B Focht, 15 Danilevsky, V. 1. , (R 22 ), 94,103,105, Franco, G. G., (I 35, 39), 170 [3 0 206
Hall, T. H. , 25 Hammersehlag, .H . E., [32 I-Iansen, C., 19, 22, So, 8'2 Hansen, F . C. C., 89 Hartmann, E. vo n , 32 Hauffe, F., 82 Hebert, L. :\1., ( I q, (5), 1.1-4 He idenhain , R., gl, 85,103, TIl, 111 Heineken, .J., I I Heller, R., 23 Hcrzen, .A. I. , 102, T05 Home, D. D., 17, If) d'Hont, A. E., 103, 150
anet, P., I g8 .Jendrassik, E., 55 jhotil, P., (S 7), 194 .Tung, C. G., g8
K., ,\Ir.,
20
Katia, 30, 31 Katkov, J\L N., 76 Ka\ounnik,4 Khovrin, A. N., (R 8, (0), 3, [3, 26, 33 ff., g2, 94, 103, 104 Kiesewetter, C. , 18 Kircher, A., 80 Kluge, C. A. F., .4, 6 , 1[, [2 Knishin, M . A., 61 Kobylianski , L. R., (R 25), 95 Kobylin,24 Kolodkine, P., [8 Korehagin, L. G., H, 9~ Korsakov, 15 Kraszc\vski, J. I. , 12 I, [ r)f)
L., ,'vIrs., 20 L., C., 168 Labadie, F., (S 18) , 202 Labry, R ., (R 28), 105 Lankester, E. R., 88 Lapponi, G., (I 47), 170 Lassaigne, :\., (I 42,43), [43, 153 ff. Lavrov, 46,47,48, 50, 52 Lazaro Andradas, C., (S 15) , 202 Lcbcdinski, M . S., (R 20) , 3, 105 Lehmann, A., 89 Leibnitz, G. W., 96 Leonie, 127 l.even tal, [4 Liehtenstaedt, j. R. , (R 3, 4, ) 4 fT. , [04 Licbeault, A. :\., [03, 131 Llorente,j. A., 98 Lobaehevski, N. r., 8 [ Lombroso, C., (I 27-30, So. 54), 13U, '49, 150, [51 , 172 ff., IS!) Lucille, 77, 109 ff. Lu),s,j. B. , Ig6
20 7
~
II
Lyman, H. M., 87 Lysenko, N. A., 30, 31 1\1., Mr., 2 [ M., AIrs., [25, 126 M., A., (S 6), 202 M., G. de, [98 If. M ., S., 33 If. i\J-v., 40 i\Iac, [79 Macchi, V., 137, [46 Maggiorani, C., (I 20-22), 148 i\.faginot, A., 170 Makovski, 23 Malfatti, G., 140 Manso,]. M., (S 10), 196 Marchetti, L., [62, 163 Marcuse, F. L., 103 Marghcrita, [83 I\'faria, 183 Mariani,J. M., (S 37), 203 Maslovski, 64 i\Jasserotti, V., [54 If., 160, [6[ Mathieu, P. F., 98 Maxwell, 'V., 80 Mendelciev, D. 1., 17, [8 'M esmer, F. A., 3,78,80,95, 140, 143 , [45, [87 Mikeshin , 2[ Miliotti, D., (I 24), 149 Miroglio, G., 150 Moira , 0., (S 16), 202 i\'IolI,A., 55,121,132 Mongrucl, L. P., 170 Monis, E., (S 4°),203 i\Ionsagrati, A. , 148 Nlont'Alverne de Sequeira, G., (S 22 ), 20 3 Monticelli, A., (17), 187 M oraes, M., (S 13) , 202 N[oreton, H . G. F., 145 Morselli, E., (I 3 1-33, 51) , 138, 149, 150,151,152, 17'! fr., IU6 Moser, F., (R 17), 75, 105 Mosso, A., (I I ), 140, 152 i\,rura, 179 i\Iyers, F. 'V. H, 84, 90, 91
N., Dr., 92 N., E. , 30, 31 Nazari, G., (I 56), 185 Nikolski, 63
Ochorowicz,]., (P 1-8, 1[-13,) 3,83, 10 3, 108 If., 133, '34, 135, '97, 19 8 Ojetti, B., (140), 188 Orioli, F., (I II), 142, '45 Orlowski, 115, 130 Ottolenghi, S., (I 30), 179
P., A., ,68 P., Count dc, 128 Palagi, A., 144 Pagliaghi, S., 162, 163, 164 Pagliani, G., (I 53), 178 Paillome, (S II ), 196 Palladino, E., 149 Panizza, B., 156 Papus, 132, 133 Paracclsus, A, T., 80 Parisotti, 0., 148 Parrot, G. F., (R I), 3, 4, 5, 6, 64, [04 Pashkov, A. I., 14, [5 Pavlov, A. P., 2, 104 Peano, C., 140 Peixoto de Moura, C. S., (S 23), 203 Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo, M., (R 9), 17, 69 If., '04 Pertusati, F., 162, 163 Pertusio, G. , 145 Pessani, P., 154, 156, 157, [6[ Pttetin, ]. H. D., 12 Petty, 17 Picado, J. S., (S 36), 203 Pickman, 151, 172 ff. Pigeaire, L., 39 Pilati, 146, 148 Pimenova, E. , (R 29), 102 , 103,. 105 Pintncr, R., 89 Piper, E., 103 Pius IX, [39 Plug, A., 1[8 Podmore, F., 17, 122 Pocti, i\1., [45 Pogorelski, M. n., (R 5), 9, [2, 98 If., [04 Poli, G. S., (I 5), 140 Preyer, W., 88, 90, 131 Prybytkov, V., 24 Pulido, A., (S 27, 31), 203 Pungileoni, G., (I 3, 4), 140 Pushkin, A. S., 102
208
Quaglino, A., 156, 157, 159, 161 Quintana, ]., (S 4), 202
R .,Mr., 112 Raciborski, 130 Rajbcrti, G., (I 10), 142 Rakov,64 Reed, H. B., 89 Regis, 17g, 180, 181 Reichenbach, C. von, 114, 122 Renjifo, i\f. P., (S 14),202 Ricard,]. J. A., 33 Ricci, G., 144 Richet, C., (R II: I 37), 74, 78 , 9 0 , 104,115,120,15 1,197 Riemann, B., 81 Robert, 151 Robert-Houdin, J. E., 23 Roberts, P., Ig, 22, 8[ Robertson, C., 88 Rochas D'Aiglun, E. A. A. dc, 101, 102 Romanes, G . .1.,88 Roncaglia, E., (145), 147 Roncoroni, L., '79 Rostan, L., 195 Ruatti, '44 Rubino, A., 139 Rummo, 150 Rzeczniowski, L., 115, 130 S., Colonel, 28 S., Countess, 82 S., Aliss, 118 S., E., 168 St. Artcmski, S., 17 Saint Dominique, (S 9) , 202 Sanchez Herrero, A., (S 17, 17a, 17b), 198,202 San Vitale,J., 139, 145 Savino, E., (I 46), 170 Schrcnck-Notzing, A. von, 73 Schroder, C., 60 Sciamanna, E., 148 Scchcnov, 1., 79, g6, 13 [ Sedini, 163, 164 Semmola, 150 Seppilli, G., (I 26), 149 Shchclochilin, N., 45, 4 6 Shiltov, A. 1"1., 90, 91 Sidgwick, H., 8g Sikorski,]. A., 26, 27, 88,13 1 Sisti, 148
Slavinski, 27 Smith, G. A., 25, 89 Sosnowski, K., 130 Speranski, 52, 53 Spiro, P. A., 26 Stalin, J., 10 3 Stanhope, Earl, 145 Stasov, V. V., 27 Staso,-a, N. V., 27 Stcfanoni, L., (118),146,147,148, 16g, 178, 185 Stcfanowska, i\J., 130 Stieglitz, J., 9 Strambio, G., (I 41 ) , 156 If. Stroganov, S. A., 44 Sushchinski, 27 Swedenborg, 1., 193 Szapiry, F., 77 Szokalski, 130
T., Mrs., 67 Tamburini, A., (I 26), 149 Tanagra, A ., 60 Tani, G., 17 Tanzi, E., (I 33), 188 Tardy de i\lontravcl, A. A., 12 Tarkhanov, I. R., (R 7), 26,81,85 fr., 104, 13 1 Taschini, A., 162 Tchalygin,16 Tchekhovskavo, 29 Tebaldi, 149, 151 Tenca, C., 162 Tcrzaghi, G., 139, 145 Thompson, H. S., 22 Thomson, ,,,., 114 Tischncr, R., (R 12-14), 74, 105 Tolfoletto, G., 165, 166 Tolstoy, S., 76 Tooker, VI., 10 Trczzi, A., 156, 161 Triaca, [63 Troitski, A. A., 52, 53, 56 Trombcn, 1., 167 Turunov, Y. , 15 U., S., 168 Ulezko, K. P., 31 V. , JUr., 91 Vaccari, 165, 166 Valsuani, E., 156, 16,
20 9
Vandoni, 139, 145
Vasiliev, L. L., (R 21 ), 3, 104, 105
Vecchia, L. D., 165
Velianski, D., (R 2), 3, 4, 9 ff., 102,
10 4
Velo, R., 166
Ventra, 183
Verati, L., (I {8) , [70
Verga, A., 156, 158, 159, [6[
Vesme, C. B. di, 185
Villalonga, L., (S 21, 33), 203
Vinegas, V. lvI., (S 24), 203
Vishkovata, E. A., 15
Vizioli, F., (I 36, 38), [52
Voltolina, 162, 163
Wagner,~.
Wienholt, A., I I
\viesin,14
Winn, R., (R 30), 105
\Volfart, C., I I
Wundt., W., 89
X., AIrs., 200 X., F., 97
Yakolev, M. P., 61
Yap, P. M., 103
P., (R [9), IS, 23, 26,
7<) ff., G4, 9}, 98, IO.~., 105
Zagorski,N., <)2, 1[2
Zanardelli, [44, 147, [50, 1611, 171
Zedlitz auf Luga, H., [32
Zerboglio, 179
Ziefeld, [9,28
Zigmont, A. S., 31
SUBJECT INDEX
:\ksakov, A. N., on somnambulism, 78
opinion on animal magnetism, 77
Alchemy, 12
Amnesia, somnambulism and, <)7
Anaesthesia, 35
Oehorowicz on, I 13
Angina pectoris, 37
Animal magnetism. See also Iv/mo/ism
and headings beginning J1agnelic Aksakov's opinion, 77
Balzac's experiments, 142
causing sensation of heat, 8
Cogevina on, 142
communication to inorganic bodies, 7
co nfli ct with ciain'oyanee, 6
defin i tion, 3
early experiments in Italy, 1.1.0
factors affecting, <)
heal ing effects, I 2, 14, [5
in plants, 33
in Russia, early research, 3- [ 3
go lden age, 13-22
Katkov's opinion, 76
legal regulation, 4
Liehtenstaedt's opinion, 5, 6
medical a~pccts. See lvIedical magnetism
mystical aspects, 7, 10
nature of, 6
Ochorowicz on, 109, 114
Pogorelski on, <)<)
relation to orthodox science, 76-9 I
Stieglitz's opinion, 9
Velianski's opinion, [0-1 I, 12
Wagner's opinion, 79
Animals, hypnosis of, 9h 130
Arctic hysteria, 103
Astral bodies, 32-33
Auditory hallucinations, prodl'ecd by
visual impressions, 63-64
Auto-hypnosis, 2<)
Auto-suggestive concentration , 7:"
Baerwald, Richard, on hyperaesth esia,
74
Balzac, I-Ionon; dc, experimenl.s in
magnetism, 142
2IO
Baql1et, use of, 5
Barcellos, A. , on mental suggestion, [99
Battandier, A., on experiments with
Zanardelli, 'l 71
Bazhenov, N., on hypnotism, 96-97
on social aspects of hypnotism, 96
on suggestion, 97
Behaviour, effect of hypnosis, 21
Bekhterev, V. i\-1. , on hypnotism and
nervous reflex, 97-98
Belin, E., on hypnotism in animals, 94
on stealing while in hypnotic trance,
93
Bernard, Prudence, cxperiments with,
[53- 16 5
Betling, Pavel, cures of, 15-17
Binet, Alfred, on /Joints de rep ere, 54
Bishop, \\'. 1., exper iments on thought-
reading, 88
performances of 22,
Braid, James, names hypnotism, 3
Brain, in hypnotic state, [3
Brown , J. R. , on thought-transference,
88-89
Burgcmeister, Dr., cures by, 14
Butlcrov, A. )\-1., on thought-trans
mission, 23, 78-7<), 90
Calderini, C. A., experiments with Prudence Bernard, 153- [65 on medical uses of hypnotism , [~3 Cancer, cures of, [7 Carpenter, \.\,. 13. , Oll motor id eas, BIl on sense organs, 58
on unconscious cerebration, 78, 96
Catalepsy, Ochorowicz's experiments,
I I I, 112
Cerebration, unconsci olls, 78, 96
C hakhovskaya, Princess, cure of, LJ.
Circulation, effect on touch, 68-69
Clairvoyance, and muscular vibrations,
38
associated with somnambulism, 6
case of Princess Chakhovskaya, 14
definition, I I
2 I I
Clairvoyance-continucd
developmcnt of, during magnetic sleep, 16
effect of menstruation, 65-66 exhibitions of, 148, 151 experiments, C!0-2 I finding objects by, 162, 177 in magnetic state, 6, 27-28, 34 medical diagnosis by, 158, C!00-201 ]'\'Iorselli on, 175 Ochorowicz on, 117-118 physiological importance, 8 Pogorelski on, 99 prizes offered for, 147, 148, 169- '70 relation to hypnosis, 82-83 rclation to thought-transferencc, 26 Tambov experiments, 33-75 Verati on, 170 Wagner's opinion, 81 Clairvoyants, deception among, 25n, 39n, 89M, 151-152, 18In Coelho, E., on mental suggestion, 197 Cogevina, A., on magnctism, 142 Colour, recognition by touch, 49, 50, 55-56, 58 -60 , 65- 68 , 70 -7 2
Colour-blindness, 36 Colour vision, during hypnosis, 20 Compass deviation, 162 Correspondences, theory of, 13 Cuissard, on hypnotism, 195 Cumberland, Stuart (Charles Garncr), performaees by, 22, 23 Cumberlandism. See Jt;[uscies, uncon scious activity oj Cybulski, N., on hypnosis, 13! Czyirski, C. L., on hypnotism, 132 Dal Pozzo, on thought-transferencc, [48 Deaf-mutism, cure of, 14 Deafness, cure of, 15 Deception, among elairvoyants, 25", 39M, 89n, [51-152, 18In Morselli on, 178 Pickman's admissions, 18.¥! precautions against, 40, ,pn, 43, 44, 46, 47-48 , 50, 51, 55, 56, 62, 63,
6.4, [55, 167 Disease, ncrvous transmission of, [2,t. [27 Donato (A. E. d'Hont), experiments of, Jogn,
110, tIl, 112, 122, 150
Drozdov, V.!., on hypnosis, 94-95
self-induced
Electrical phenomena, relation to
animal magnetism, 9
Emotions, effect of hypnosis, C!O
Energophore, [00
English Commission, on thought
transfc.r cnce, 88
Epilepsy, 34, 35
hypnotic cure, [9
sugges tion and, 36-37
Eugene, expcrimcnts with, 28
Exhibitions of clairvoyance, [48, [5 [,
[72
Eyeless-vision, Calderini's experiments
with Prudence Bernard, [53-[60
Garcia on, [95
Lombroso's experiments, [79-[80,
[8[
l\'f orsclli on, [76
Ochorowicz on, 118-119, [2[-[22
Toffoletto's experiments, [66-[ 67
Eyesight, changes during hypnosis, 20
Fajardo, F., theories of, [97
Feldman, O. j., and telekineticpheno
mena, 3[-2
experiments in clairvoyance, C!0-2 [
on hypnotic modification of natural
faculties, [9
Finding objects by clairvoyance, [62,
[77
Fingcrtips, recognition of colour by,
58-59, 65, 66-68, 70-7[
sensitivity of, 57
Garcia,j. M. N., on eyeless-vision, [95
Garner, Charles (Cumberland), public
performances, 22, 23
Gessman, G. "V., on hypnoscope, r [5
Great Britain, interest in mesmerism, [3
Grigorev, N. 1., on metallotherapy, 95
Guidi, F., on his experiments, [68
on hypnotism, [44
Guseva, cure of, [7
Hallucinations, effect of suggestion, 54
visual, 50, 5 [
Hallucinatory images, 48
in trance state, 48
realism of, 54
212
Hauffe, Frau (Seeress of Prevorst), 82-83 Healing, by touch, [0 Hearing, hyperaesthesia of, 63, [22 Heart, influenced by suggestion, 37 Heat, caused by animal magnetism, 8 d'Hont, A. E. (Donato), experiments of, Iogn, 110, Ill, 112, 122, 150
Hyperaesthesia, 93-94 Baerwald's opinion, 74 Oehorowicz on, 122 of senses, 34, 4[ n, 52, 53, 64,69, 73, 74, 75 Tisehner's opinion, 74 visual, 56, 75 Hypnoscopc, 115-116 Hypnotism, and nervous reflexes, 97-
98
and though t-transference, 26 at a distance, [99 auto-, 29
Butlerov's opinion, 23
contact between subject and hypnotizer, 84
Cuissard on, [95 cures by, [9 Cybulski on, [3 [
Czynski on, [32
effect on behaviour, 2 [
effect on memory, 20
double personality during, 30
gap in literature, v
Guidi on, [44
in animals, 94, [30
in Italy, [39-[87 in Poland, 108-[31 in Russia, 2-105 in Spain, Portugal and Sou thAmcrica, [93- 20 3 insanity cured by, [9 in terest in, v Lombroso's contribution, [49-[ 50 mechanism, 86 medical usc of. See ,Medical magtletism mediumistic phenomena and, 3[-32 modifying natural faeuities, [9 Morselli on, [50 nervous activity and, 85-86 Ochorowicz on states of, [[6-[ [7 Ochorowiez's definition, 3 Ochorowiez's experiments, [ [ 0 origin of tel-m, 3
physical basis of, 102
physiological basis, 98
Pimenova on, 102
practical applications, [03
problem solving during, 20
psychological, 25, C!6, 82, 97-93
relation between operator and subject,
129, 13[
relation to clairvoyance, 32-83
rclation to orthodox science, 76-9 [
rise in interest in Italy, [45-[47
Roman Catholic opposition to, [39,
'40-[4[, [43, 146, [52, 193, [9 3
self-induced, 94-95
social aspects of, 96-97
stealing while in trance, 93
Tarkhanov on, 84-87
techniques, [[
"Vagner's opinion, 25, 79,8[-84
Hysteria, 34, 35, [98, 199
Insanity, cure by hypnosis, [9 Insomnia, hypnotic cure of, 92
International Congress of Psychology and Physiology, 3
Italy, hypnotism in, [39-[87 Katkov, on animal magnetism, 76
Khovrin, and the Tambov experiments, 33-75
Kluge, on degrees of magnetism, 6
Lassaigne, Calderini's experiments with,
[53- [65
Leonie, Ochorowicz on, [27
Levitation, and hypnosis, 32
Liehtenstaedt,j. R., on medical aspects
of magnetism, 5, 6
on physiological aspects of clair voyance, 8
opinion on magnetic fluid , 7, 8
opinion on nature of magnetism, 6
opinion on predictions of somnam buies, 7
Lombroso, C., experiments on thought
transmission, [79-[ 85
on hypnotism, [49-[50
on Pickman's experiments, [72
Lucille, Ochorowicz's experiments with,
[09-1 [2
21 3
Luminous phenomena, Pogorelski's Nervous activity and hypnotism , a5-8G,
experiments, 100
97-9 8
Lysenko, N. A., on double personality Nervous crises, 148
in hypnosis, 30
Ncrvousdiseases, hypnotie eurc,1 2,14,15
Neuralgia, cure of, 16
M., Miss (Tambov experiments), 33-75
r-,·Iagnet, action ol~ I 13, I 15
Ochorowicz, 1., defining animal Oehorowiez on, 113
magnetism, 3
expcriments on catalepsy, I II , 112
pain produced by, 93 95,
Magnetic fluid, Lichtenstaedt's opinion, exper iments with Luci lle, IOg-11 2
invcnts hypnoseope, 115-1 IG
7,8 Velianski's opinion, IO
on differcnces between hypnotism
Magnetic half-sleep, I I
and magnetism, I 12
Magnetic readiness, 10
on cycless vision, 118-119, 121-122
Magnetic sleep, I I, 36-37
on hypnotic states, I 16-117
Velianski's theory, 13
on Leonie, 127
r-,'Iagne tic state, clairvoyance in, 27, 3.~
011 magnetism, 113, 114
production of, I I
on medical use of hypnotism, 12 3-124
\"'agner's opinion, al
on mental suggestion, 120- I 2 I, 124 :Ylagnetized water, medical use of, 92
126
IvIedical diagnosis, by clairvoyance,
on nervous transmission of disease,
158 ,200-201
124, 12 7
on relation between operator and
r-,fedical magnetism, 19, 79-80,91-102,
194, 200-201
subject, 129, 131
on skin sensitivity, I 10- I I I
Calderini on, 143
Lichtenstacdt's opinion, 6
on thought-transmission, 12 I, 124,
l\.faggiorani's experiments, 148
12 9
Ochorowicz on, 11 4, 123-124,
work of, 108- I 30
127-128
i\lt:diumistic phenomena, a nd hypnosis, Pain, and hypnosis, 37, 119
produced by magnet, 93, 95
3 1 -3 2
Paralysis, curc of, 14
r-,femory, 20, 34
!\.fcndeleiev, Professor D. 1. , attacks on Parrot, G. F., influencc of, 3, G
paranormal studies, 1771
opinion on physicians as invcstigators,
:\·Ienstrual period, effect on clair
5
Pashkov, A. 1. healing activities of,
voyance, 65-66
~lId c ntal suggestion, Barcellos's experi
14- 15
Pcrovsky-Pctrovo-Solovovo, Count, ex ments, 199
perimcnts, 69
Coelho's experiments, 197
Ochorowicz on, 124-126
Personality and clairvoyance, 34-35
r-,'Iesmer, inaugurating hypnotism , 3
Phosphenophorc, 100
Physicians as investigators, 4-5
theory of ether, 78
Metallotherapy, Grigorev on, 95
Pickman, dceeption by, 18471
lVletals, effects of, 5, 24
Lombroso on, 172-173
Metal objects, usc in hypnotism, I I
Morselli on, '174-178
Pim enova, E., on somnambulism and
},'Iorselli, E., on hypnotism, 150
hypnotism, 102
on Pickman's exhibitions, 174-178
r-"Ioser, Fanny, on Tambov experiments, Plants, magnetism in, 33
Pogorelski, M. B., on animal magnet
75
Motor ideas, 88
ism, 99
on extcriorization of sensibility. 101
Muscles, unconscious activity of, 22, 24,
on luminous phenomena, 100
25, 26, 38, 7~ 7g R , 87
214
on physiological basis of hypnotism , Somnambules, deccption by, 39 98
paranormal phenomena associated Points de le}Je,-e, 5571
with, 27-33
Binet's opinion, 5't
predictions of, 7
Poland, hypnotism in, 108-134
visual hallucinations, 50, 51
Pope, opposition to hypnotism, 139, Somnambulism, Aksakov's opinion, 78
140 - 14 1, 143,146 , 152, 193, 198
amncsia and, 97
Portugal, hypnotism in, 193-194
associated with clairvoyance, 6
Prediction, 37
control of, at distance, 9
Prizes for clair\"oyanec, 169-170
d cfinition, I I
Prybytkov, V., on thought-transference,
cffect on practice of magnctism, 5
24
Pimenova on, 102
Psychometry, origin of, 50
prescription dictating during, 14
Pogorclski on, 99
Wagncr's thcories, 81
"Psycho-physical transmission", I 29- I 30 South Amcrica, hypnotism in, 195-201
Spain, hypnotism in, 193 -1 94
Spelling, reversal of, I 18, I 19
Rajhcrti, G., on Balzac's experiments, Spiritualism, European spread of, 17
142
in Spain and Portugal, 196
Reading, with finger tips, 57
rise of, 146
Rheumatoid arthritis,. cure of, 15
Spiro, P. A., on thought-transference,
Ricard, 1.1., on plant magnetism, 33
26
Richet, Charles, on cryptesthesia, 74
Stasova, N. V., experimen ts with, 27-28
Robert, of lVIilan, 151
Stcaling, while in hypnotic trancc, 93
Roberts, P., cxperimcnts, 81
dc Rochas, A., on exteriorization of Stefanoni, L. , challcnges Robert of
Milan, 151
sensibility, 101
on magnctism, 146
Roman Catholic Church, opposition to
hypnotism, 139, 140-141, 143, 146, Stieglitz, J., on animal magnetism, 9
Suggestion, and epi lepsy, 36-37
152, 193, 198
Bazhcnov on, 97
curing pain, 37
\'on Schrenk-Notzing, f\., on the case of
eITect on hallucinations, 54, 62
Miss M., 73
influencing heart, 37
Scaled letter experiments, Belin on, 9.4
mental, and thought-transference,
Tambo\' experiments, 38-48
83- B·4 Secret illumination, I I
Ochorowicz on, 120-121
Seercss of Prevors t, 82-83
producing' marks on skin, 37
Self-deccption, and thought-readin g', 87
Tarkhanov's theory, fl5, 36
Senses, hypersensitivity of. See HyjJer aesthesia Tambov experiments, 33-75
transfer of 58-65, 70-73
Tarkhanov, 1. R ., on hypnosis, 84-87
Sensibility, c.xteriorization of, Pogorclski
on suggestion, 86
on, 101
on thought-reading at a distancc, 90
Shiltov, A. r-"r., on thought-transfc·r enee,
on thought-transference, 87
90 -9 1
Taste, hypersensitivity of, 63
Sight, hypcrsensitivity of, 56, 75
transference of, 63, 7 1-72
Skin, sensitivity of, I 10-1 I I
Telekinetic phenomena, 32
Social aspects of hypnotism, 96-97
Telepathy and thought-reading. See
Society for National H ealth, 27
Thollghl-lrall:fferc71ce Socit:ty for Psychical Rcsearch, 17, 25, Though t-transferc nce :
185, 186
Aksakov's views, 77
.';ocil.'ly of Experimentall'sycilOiogy, and hypnosis, "r,
+.
~n
:i
Though t- transfcrence--contillued
and mental suggestion, 83-84
and mesmerism, 22
and muscular contraction~, 26
and self deception, 87
at a distance, 90
Butlerov's views, 23, 79, 90
by muscle vibrations, 22, 24, 25, 38
Calderini's e.xperiments with Pru denceBernard, 155-158, 163-164
controversy over, 22-27
Cumberland's experiments, 124
Dal Pozzo on, I ~
deception in, 2511
experiments on, conditions for, 24
Feldmans' experiment~, 21
involuntary aids to, 89
Lombroso's experiments, 178- [85
Morsclli on, [76
Ochorowicz on, [2[, 124, 129
of colour, 72
of taste, 7[-72
Pogordski on, 99
prizes offered for, [48
Prybytkov's opinion, 24
relation to clairvoyance, 26
requirements, [71
Richet on, 64
Shiltov on, 90-9 [
Tarkhanov on, 87
Toffolctto's experiments, 165, 166,
16 7
\.vagner's opinion, 25
Tischner, R., on !vliss M., 64
Toffoletto, G., experiments of, [65, [66,
[67
Touch, colour perceived by, 59, 60, 65,
66-68, 70-7 [
distinguishing flavours by, 63
eITeet of circulation, 68-6g
healing power of, [0
hypersensitivi ty of, 52, 53n, 57, 63
Trance, hallucinatory images, in, 48
psychological basis, 8[
Travelling clairvoyance, 80
experiments with Eugene, 28
Feldman's experiments, 21
Guidi's account, 168
Ochorowicz on, 1 [6-1 [7
Velianski, D., definitions of aspects of magnetism, 10-11
influence of, 3
on physical basis of hypnotism, 102
on producing magnetic state, I 1
on unity of Nature, 12
opinion on hypnotism, 9
opinion on magnetic fluid, [0
theory of correspondences, 13
Verati, on clairvoyance, 170
Vishkovata, Ekaterina A., cure of, 15
Vision, substitution of touch for, 57
et seq. Visual hallucinations, 50, 51, 62
V isual impressions producing auditory
hallucinations, 63-64
\.vagner, N. P., on animal magnetism, 79
on medical use of hypnotism, 97-80,
81
on thought-transference, 25
theory of hypnotism, 25, 81-8.+
Ziefeld, e.'Cperiments of, 23
Edinburgh: Pl'inte
Other volumes in this series are: Volume I Hypnotism in France. Volume III Hypnotism in Russi a and Poland, Ital y, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Volume IV Hypnotism in the U.S.A. and Great Britain.
ABNORMAL HYPNOTIC
PHENOMENA
of Nineteenth-Century
A Survey
Cases
Edited by
ERIC
J.
DINGWALL, D.Se. VOLUME 11
Belgium and the Netherlands
GEORGE ZORAB
Germany LISELOTTE MOSER
Dr.Phil., Diplom-Psychologin
Sean dina via
ERIK BJELFVENSTAM
...........
11,111
B.~N I
BARNES & NOBLE, Inc.
NEvV YORK
PUBLISHERS & BOOKSELLERS SINCE 1873
This series of lour volumes under the general title Abnormal Hyp notic Phenomena is sponsored by The Parapsychology Foundation Inc. of New York and is issued under their auspices.
First Edition
J.
19 6 7
& A. Churchill Ltd., London
Standard Book Number
Vol. II 7000 1309 1
First published in the United States,
J'
by Barnes & Noble, I nc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVl'.D
This hook may not he reproduced by any meal1S, in whole or in part, without the jJermission of the Publishers.
Printed in Great Britait:
GENERAL INTRODUCTION THE object of the present series of volumes is to fill a gap in the litera ture of hypnotism as far as a number of countries is concerned both in the Old and New W orlds. Generally speaking, 2.ccounts ofalleged paranormal phenomena occurring in the mesmeric and hypnotic states have been omitted by writers on hypnotism and no detailed treatment of this aspect of the question has so far been published. The main reason \Vhy this gap in the literature of hypnotism exists is that in the nineteenth century interest in mesmerism was aroused and maintained not only bv' accounts of the therapeutic value of mesmeric treatment and'its ~se as an anaesthetic agent in surgery, but also because paranormal phenomena were said to occur with very many of the somnambules. Thought-transmission, eye less-sight, travelling clairvoyance and mental suggestion at a distance were all said to occur constantly; and the fear of being thought unorthodox and tainted by the" occult" eHcetively pre vented many serious men of learning from becoming too closely associated with the mesmerists, both medical and lay. The aim here, therefore, is to raise the curtain on the almost unkno'wn and forgotten activities of the mesmerists of the nine teenth century, while concentrating on the paranormal aspects of their work. Since reports of such phenomena occurring in the hypnotic state begin to disappear before the end of the nineteenth century and are rarely reported in the first part of the twentieth, the account of mesmerism here presented ceases at the end of the nineteenth century. Although in some countries of Europe reports of paranormal phenomena in mesmerism are far slighter than others, attempts have been made to give a general picture or the scene while paying greater attention to countries like France, Germany and England, where a mass of material exists from which it is hoped a representative collection of cases has been examined. In each section the opinions and conclusions of the contributor are his or her own. Great care has been taken to avoid mistakes, although it cannot be hoped that a work of this magnitude will be free from errors, and both the editor and the contributors will be grateful to any readers for their corrections and criticisms.
CONTENTS General Introduction
Page v
BELGIUM
I ntroduction
3
Lafontaine in Belgium
6
Electrical and Galvanic Theories
21
Delboeuf and his Followers
35
Short-title List of References
49
THE NETHERLANDS
Introduction
51
The Dutch Golden Age of Animal Mesmerism, 1814-1818
55
l\finor Cases in the Intermediate Period
77
The Work of H. G. Becht
84
Revius, Riko and the Later Hypnotists
90
Final Remarks and Observations
97
Short-title List of References
99
GERMANY
The Development of Mesmerism i. The theories of Mesmer and other magnetizers Ii. The investigation of paranormal phenomena vii
103 1 13
12 3
Some Early Nineteenth-century :rvIagnetizers i. The Case of IVlaria Rubel ii. The Cases of Marie Koch, M. Schurr and Others
14 8
Dr. Justinus Kerner and the Seeress of Prevorst
161
The Development from M esmerism to Hypnotism
174
Later Experiments in Hypnotism
180
Concluding Observations
194
Short-title List of References
195
13 6
SCANDINAVIA
Experiments in Sweden
20 3
Experiments in Norway in the Nineteenth Century
23 6
Experiments in Denmark in the Nineteenth Century
240
Short-title List of References
245
INDE X OF NAMES
247
SUBJECT INDEX
25 2
Hypnotism in Belgium and the Netherlands by GEORGE ZORAB
"VallS voyez qu'en ce fait la plus forte apparence
Peut jeter dans l'esprit une fausse creance. De cet exemple-ci ressouvenez-vous bien; Et quand vous verriez tout, ne croyez jamais rien." MOLIERE.
Sganarelle, Sc. XXIV.
INTRODUCTION
IN Belgium the influencc of 1!Iesmer was first felt when he left France and settled at Spa in 1781. After his return to Paris some interest was sustained, but it was ouly much later after Belgium had gained its indepcndence in 1830 that keen interest in mcsmcrism was aroused. During the next ten ycars the subjcct was much discussed, and under the influence of }"LvL L afontaine and Idjiez the pheno mena of mesmerism became known through accounts published in various newspapers and magazincs, but by 13Go intcrest in scientific circles was waning and mesmeric manipulations were mainly con fined to medical treatment. Various public performers like Donato travelled about the country demonstrating hyp notic phenomena; but la tel' investiga tors like Delbocuf and Crocq fouuel Ii ttle evidence of any paranormal phenomena bcing observed during the mesmeric trance, although these had been reported in earlier items by a number of other less critical observers in Belgium. In the Netherlands the situation was not wholly unlike that in Belgium, although in the late eighteenth ccntury the opposition of academicians like Voltelen postponed open intcrest in the suLjcet on the part of mcdical men and others. German influences later spread from the East causing consideraLle discussion in various circles. Even medical men, having read a ccounts by their German colleagues of the marvellous phenomena associated with mesmerism, became themselves practitioners, and Holland 's golden age may be said to have lasted from 181 4 to 1818. Numbers of publications detail the findings of the various investigators; and many of these describing their experiments stress the paranormal phenomena which they had themselves obscrved. As the ycars went by and as spiritistic influences madc themselves felt during the second half of the nineteenth century, so did the old mcsmerism become one with the newer Spiritualism, only later to break off again and becomc the hypnotism that we know to-day.
Hypnotism in Belgium 1800- 1 900
INTRODUCTION
The author wishes to cxtend his thanks to various pcrsons and institutions for much help and assista n ce givcn to him during the ,york, among them being the authorities at the Koninklijke Biblio theek in The Haguc, the Bibliothcque Royale at Brussels, and M. M. Dutilleux of the Bibliotheque Centrale de la Ville de Liege. He is especially indebted to the Archives Department of the Munici pality of Amsterdam for kindly permitting the reproduction of the portrait of P. G. van Ghert from their Topographical Atlas.
THE first time that the influence of Mesmer affected Belgian enquirers was when he found antagonism against his person and system was growing so powerful in Paris that he decided to leavc France and for a time settled at Spa, the famous Belgian watering place, in 1781. It was said that iYfesmer's health had become so impaired by what he had experienced in Paris that in an attempt to improve his health and spirits he stayed on in Spa for some time before returning to France or Germany. Even at Spa, how ever, several rich and influential patients from both France and Belgium, who did not wish to interrupt the mesmeric treatment that they had found so beneficial, approached Mesmer and begged him to continue his treatment ( I ) . During his stay at Spa, several of his friends and supporters in France urged :M esmer to return to that country and to start organ izing there a group of disciples whom he could train and instruct in the art of healing according to the methods of animal magnetism discovered by him. After some hesitation Mesmer finally yielded to his friends' proposals and once back in France he started to encourage the formation of several societies which were called Harmonial Societies where the secrets of animal magnetism and its succcssful application in healing all kinds of complaints were made known. In order to become a member of one of these societies it was said that an entrance fee of a hundred Louis d'or had to be paid, and in this way Mesmer at the time that he retired to Switzerland at the outbreak of the French Revolution had acquired a considerable fortune. After iYfesmer's return to Paris, three separate schools Of
2
3
mesmerism could be distinguished in France and Belgium. There was, to begin with, that group practising the methods used by Mesmer himself, which were considered to be of a purely physical nature. Currents of the all-healing and vi lal animal magnetism were directed on to the patient by bringing the latter into contact with m agnetized iron rod~ sticking out of tu bs full of wa ter and pieces of broken glass. T his apparatus was called in France the baquet, a lthough the vital m agnetism could also be reflected from mirrors and transported by harmonious m usical tunes. Another method used by the m esmerist was to transfer the magnetic fluid by pressing parts of his body against those of the patient. Another school of thought was that favoured by the M arquis de Puysegur, who discovered that the condition of somnambulism could be induced by making "passes" over the patient; this theory influenced the whole later evolution of mesmerism and became the system generally adopted by most of the nineteenth-century supporters of the theory of the magnetic fluid and of those who later joined the Spiritualist movement. The inducement of the somnambulist state was considered especially fm'ourable to the emergence of remarka ble phenomena, several of which might be regarded prima Jacie as of a paranormal nature. These phenomena, including many we now term "nor mal", were advanced by the mesmeris t5 as sound proof of the reality and spirituality of the magnetic fluid. They also claimed that the remarl,able phenomena manifesting themselves during the somnambulist condition (telepathy, clairvoyance, curative powers, etc. ) also proved that man is in possession of an immortal soul, displaying its faculties already in the mortal body when stimulated by the magnetic fluid to do so. A third school under the lead ership of the Chevalier Barbarin \vas also formed and developed a therapeutic sys tem based on the presumed transference of the vital magnetic fluid simply by the mesmerist's firm belief and strong volition that the patient be cured. Prayer, also, was considered conducive to concentrating the magnetic fluid for curative purposes. As the disciples of Barbarin did not make use of any physical means to bring about their cures they became known as spiritualists. Their slogan was: Veuillez le bien, aUez et guirissez! Barbarin's followers were convinced that by the simple effort of their will power they could cure sick persons, even from a considerable distance. In 1786 groups of Barbarin spiritualists could be found at Lyon (France) and Os tend (Belgium) (2, 3).
During the golden period of animal magnetism in France, Belgium, then under Austrian domination, seems to have stood practically aside, hardly taking any part in the raging controversy centring around 'Mesmer's therapeutic system. Although we have found only two papers published in Brussels in 1784 treating the subject (4, 5), there must have been some interest in the matter in certain circles, otherwise it is difficult to explain why a large group of Barbarin disciples had gathered at the Belgian port of O stend. This branch of mesmeric spiritualists flourished there for a few years until the beginning of the French Revolution, which great social upheaval killed all interes t in Mesmer and his thera peutic methods, involving the Os tend group also. Napoleon, too, discouraged mesmerism, and so for several decades mesmeric therapeutics in Belgium remained in abeyance. In view of the fact that Barbarin's disciples were not interested in somnambulism and its phenomena, no mention is made by the followers of this school of phenomena of a possibly paranormal nature. Not only in Belgium but also in several European countries interest in mesmerism diminished. Germany, however, was tr.e exception and in this country, just about the time that the French Revolution started, mesmerism according to Puysegur's system developed rapidly after Lavater had made it known to some wel1 known physicians of the town of Bremen in the year 1787. From there it spread in a great wave all over the country, convincing a great number of Germany's most prominent scholars and medical doctors that somnambulistic mesmerism should be considered a great asset to medical science. Between 1795 and 1810 mesmerism was an accepted and extensively employed therapeutic method; and the remarkable condition of somnambulism, \\'ith its con comitant phenomena of apparent extrasensory perception, greatly influenced the view of life ( Weltanschallullg) of the German philoso phers, poets and novelists. In the course of the first decade of the nineteenth century German enthusiasm for mesmeric procedures in healing and curing the sick spread to Holland, where it started what may be termed the Dutch golden age of mesmerism (1814- 1818). But here it stopped, for we find no mention made of mesmeric activities in neighbouring Belgium about that time. Even after the two countries had been united after the fall of Napoleon, Belgium seems to have remained passive and uninterested in the fascination of m esmerism tha t s till held the learned classes of Holland in its spell. During the period that Belgium was united with Holland
4
5
(1815-1830) practically complete silence reigned in the former country regarding the subject of mesmerism. Though in the above-mentioned period a great number of treatises and papers in Dutch were published on the subject in the northern parts of the Netherlands, I know of only one doctor's thesis referring to somnambulism and the curative prospects of mesmerism; this was written in Latin and printed at Ghent in 1829 (6). 'When Belgium had gained its independence in 1830, mesmerism suddenly started to attract the interest of philosophers, medical men and intellectual laymen. This sudden interest was probably due to the attention mesmerism had received in France about that same time, for in the latter country several medical Commissions had been set up to investigate the claims put forward for the healing powers of the magnetic fluid and the remarkable and wonderful phenomena it allegedly produced in the induced somnambulistic state. LAFONTAINE IN BELGIlJM
Between 1830 and 1840 mesmerism in its somnambulistic expression was a much discussed topic at Brussels and a few other large Belgian towns. It seems that mesmeric therapeutics were also actively applied throughout the country. According to Dr. D. Cremmens (7 ) he had been busy magnetizing his patients from 1833 omvards, achieving a large number of cures with this kind of treatment. Reading through the several descriptions he gives us about the cases treated by him, it becomes clear that most, if not all, of his patients showed typical hysterical symptoms or other nervous complaints that, as we now know full wcll, react very favourably to treatment by suggestion. Though Cremmens mentions various somnambulistic cases induced by his magnetic manipulations, in which there apparently existed a complete rapport between mesmerist and magnetized subject, he does not tell us about a single instance of what we today would term a paranormal phenomenon (e.g. extrasensory perception). Crem mens' medical treatment consisted of presenting patients to one of his somnambulists (he himself acting as mesmerist) and ordering the latter to diagnose the patient's illness and prescribe medicine in order to effect a definite cure. All this points to the typical mesmeric procedure in accordance with Puysegur's system that had become generally accepted in most countries where mesmerism was being practised. It is further apparent from Cremmens' writings that such somnambulistic diagnosis followed by curative 6
prescriptions (regarded as generally effective) were considered examples of what Cremmens himself termed clairvision (clairvoy ance) (7, p. I I) . \Vhether the clairvision Cremmens described is to be placed on the same level as the paranormal phenomenon of telepathy or clairvoyance, is greatly to be doubted, especially so as we cannot 1I0W ascertain whether the diagnoses of the patients were really apposite, and, if so, whether all measures had been taken to prevent the somnambulist from obtaining sensory cues helpful in giving the correct answers. Cremmens also organized public demonstrations, somewhat in the same fashion as modern mediums giving public psychometric sittings, etc. These seances, however, had nothing to do with spirit communications but wcre all directed towards therapeutic purposes, his somnambulist diagnosing illnesses and giving curative indications. There is little doubt that such gatherings had great propaganda value, giving the lay public the impression that somnambulists were far better acquainted with questions of health and disease than the most learned medical doctors. It was about this time, i.e. during the decade 1830-1840, that one of the foremost mesmerists or magnetizers of the last century, IV1. Charles Lafontaine, came in contact with the procedures of animal magnetism at Brussels, and was soon to become himself one of those persons who put their mark on European somnambu lism and the various types of paranormal phenomena believed to accompany it. \Vhen Lafontaine became known as a mesmerist of uncommon powers, he travelled extensively throughout Europe, accompanied by a lady somnambulist said to possess extraordinary faculties, some of which appeared to be of a paranormal nature. Here, however, we shall have to keep to Lafontaine's experiences in Belgium, leaving it to other writers to follow him in the countries with which they deal. In his book (8, i, p. 47) Lafontaine relates how, after having received an excellent education in France, he accompanied a highly placed aristocrat to Brussels in 1835 in order to transact some business in the Belgian capital. It was here that Lafontaine became acquainted with M. J. B. A. M. Jobard (1792- 1861). Jobard had received an excellent education and was noted for his services to Belgian industry, being appointed the director of the l'vlusee de l'lndustrie. His activities included the founding of the Belgian newspaper Le Courrier Beige, and his interests in animal magnetism and Spiritualism were widely known and commented on.
7
\Vhen Lafontaine arrived at a certain club of magnetizers he met there about 30 persons standing around a young girl who was being put into the somnambulistic condition by a Dutch physician. The mesmerist doctor, observing Lafontaine's apparent scepticism, turned to the newcomer and requested him to ask the somnam bulist, lying on a couch with her eyes closed, to name the objects he had in one of his pockets. The mesmerist assured him that the girl, who was in a condition of trance at that moment, would certainly know what he was carrying in any of his pockets. Not believing for one single moment what he was being told but purely out of politeness, Lafontaine consented to try out the proposed experiment and indicated his coat pocket as the one to which the somnambulist should direct her clairvoyant faculties. Thereupon ' the somnambulist took hold of his ha:ld, and without hesitating even for a fraction of a second she announced: "You will fiud in that pocket a five francs piece, one of two francs and a ten centime coin". She was absolutely correct (8, i, p. 47). Lafontaine now started to accuse M. Jobard, the gentleman who had introduced him to the mesmeric circle, of making a fool of him and of informing the mesmerist beforehand what he was carrying in his pocket. The mesmerist, however, at once intervened and suggested that Lafontaine should try another experiment. The suggestion was that he should stand aside from the company present in the room, write a few words on a piece of paper which he then was to fold in such a way that the writing would remain invisible to anyl:::ody looking at it. He should then hand the folded strip of paper to the somnambulist, who would at once read what had been written without the use of her eyes. To tell the truth, he was not in the least interested in the proposed experiment, especially as he still believed that he was going to be the victim of some adroitly applied illusionist trick. Still, as he was not prepared to act in another man's house in a boorish way, he consented to play his part in the new experiment. So he wrote some words on a piece of paper that he rolled into a little tube. 'With this paper h e approached the somnambulist and placed one end of the rolled up paper in her hand, holding on firmly to the other end. H e then begged her to inform him what was written on the scrap of paper. Directly after he had uttered his question she answered: "You pay me cor.lpli ments; you say I am pretty". He told her that he was in no way satisfied with her answer which had not been accurate. He once again repeated the question 8
~
and urged her to say exactly what words he had put down on the paper. "\Vell then," she said, "the words arc: you ... you are pretty." Her answer gave the exact wording. He was dumb with amazement, for he had left the company to write the words all by himself, and certainly nobody could have guessed what he had written (8, i, pp. 48-49). The above m entioned experiences greatly stimulated Laloll taine's interest in animal magnetism, so that he started to study mesmerism under the guardianship of the Dutch physician. One day he requested the doctor to magnetize him. Lafontaine ap peared to be such a good subject that after only a few "passes" he fell into the somnambulistic state. \Vhen he awoke and found that he had been in a trance, he became strongly convinced of the truth of the vital magnetic fluid, believing that only by the cause of some physical agency (animal magnetism) could the doctor have induced the somnambulistic condition in him (8, i, pp. 50-5 I). Thus he now resolved to devote his life to the study and practice of mesmerism, convinced as he was that the vital fluid was an enormous boon to mankind and that only mesmerism was able to cure and heal all those complaints and illnesses against which the medical science of his days stood powerless. Lafontaine's confidence in his own magnetic powers was greatly strengthened a short time afterwards when he succeeded in relieving a middle-aged man from the severe rheumatic pains he was suffer ing. The man's pains vanished, it is said, in the course of only one treatment in one sitting. From the above it may probably be concluded that at that time mesmerism and the so-called manipulation of the vital magnetic fluid was mainly directed towards curing the sick. The importance of mesmerism had principally to be sought in its therapeutic useful ness. The unusual phenomena believed to emerge during the somnambulistic condition, such as extrasensory perception, were not the first thing people werc looking for. NIesmerists regarded such somnambulistic phenomena as of secondary importance, and only useful for propaganda purposes to convince the sceptic of the existence of the remarkable vital magnetic fluid and its healing properties. The mesmerists believed that their theories of the all penetrating and all-present animal magnetism solved practically all medical, philosophical and even theological problems. There seemed to be various kinds of magnetic treatment. The two principal ones were the following. First, the mesmerist in some way, for instance by making "passes", by concentrating the B
.
9
fluid in water the patient had to drink, etc., conducted the vital fluid to the patient's body. Second, the mesmerist put a trained subject to sleep, leaving it to the cntranccd somnambulist to diagnose the complaints [rom which the patient was suffering and to prescribe medicine and therapeutic meamres. It also often happened, if he could easily succeed in doing so, that the mesmerist directly mesmerized the patient and put him in the somnambulistic state, ordering him to diagnose his own illness and prescribe the necessary medicines. Lafontaine started his mesmeric career by applying the vital magnetic fluid, of the existence of which he had become thoroughly convinced, for therapeutic purposes. However, by a mere coin cidence he came in contact with his first good somnambulistic subject who was the impetus that put Lafontaine on the road towards carefully developing those remarkable somnambulistic phenomena in order to convince the sceptical public of the reality of the vital fluid as a natural fact in nature and of the greatest importance to human health and spiritual development. In his book (8, i, pp. 57-60) Lafontaine tells us how he encountered his first somnambulistic subject. One night, while he was sauntering through Brussels after darkness had fallen, he suddenly heard a woman screaming for help. Running in the direction of the shouting, he found a woman being attacked by two men. He at once went to her assistance and fought the men away from the young woman; after a few moments the men took to their heels, and he then accompanied the girl to her home. As she appeared to be very much upsct, he tried to calm her by making magnetic "passes" over her head and shoulders, and after he had been successful in calming her to some extent, he went home. The next morning he returned to the house of this woman, whose name was lVlarie, and magnetized her again. She very quickly fell into a somnambulistic state, and while in that condition suddenly exclaimed: "Hallo, that's funny, here are my two cousins coming to visit me; they are just now coming up to the frcnt door". And indeed, Marie had hardly finished speaking when Lafontaine heard the front-door bell ringing. This fact of spon taneous clairvoyance (luciditi d distance is the term used by Lafon taine) had greatly perplexed him and in fact he was completely dumbfounded. After a while Marie requested him to awaken her. vVhen she awoke from her somnambulistic condition she was greatly astOtl 10
ished to find her two cousins, who had come all th e way from Nivelles (a little Belgian town 18 miles from Brussels) on a surprise VISIt. The latter, too, were very much surprised to find rvlarie just awaking from her sleepy condition. Happy at having found such a good subject, Lafontaine con tinued treating Marie with animal magnetism, in order to cure her of severe nervous attacks to whieh she was liable. Gradually these began to subside under the influence of Lafontaine's mesmeric therapeutics. In the meanwhile he noted several instances of what appeared to be telepathic, clairvoyant and precognitive occurrences (8, i, p. 65). This case might have been a case of paranormal cognition or extrasensory perception. On the other hand one should not lose sight of the possibility that Marie in her hypersensitive condition in the somnambulistic state could have heard her cousins' footsteps outside on the pavement and recognized them as belonging to her cousins. \Ve can remark the same circumstances when a dog shut up in a room may perceive the arrival of its master a good time before the inmates of the house are aware of it. It is well known in hypnotic investigations that in the trance or somnambulistic state a hyperacuity of the senses is induced that may suggest that paranormal faculties are at work, although in fact the phenomena witnessed remain within the domain of the "normal". Another incident with the same subject is of some interest. Sometimes when on his way to lVlarie, Lafontaine bought a book at some bookseller's shop, a book of which he knew only the title at the moment of buying. Hardly had Marie been put into the somnambulistic condition than she named the title of the book just purchased, its author, and what was still more remarkable, she said whether it was a good or a bad book and whether it would interest Lafontaine or bore him. Then, upon his request and with out her having touched the book or before the book had been opened in her presence, she read a sentence on a certain page indicated and of which he did not have the slightest knowledge, having himself not read the book or even having opened it (8, i, p.65 )· Lafontaine stated that he obtained from Marie all kinds of information about what his friends were doing, what they experi enced and what was happening in their entourage. He had often the greatest pleasure in seeing his friends become completely dumb founded when he related to them what they had done or said or even thought in the greatest secrecy a short time before. I I
The same thing happened onc day when he said to M. d'Ambru I1lCo:nil, a former court ofIicial to Charlcs X of Francc: "You passed the night in a house where you should never have gonc. You will be forced to leave Brussels within two d ays from now. " In fact, Ambrumenil had to leave Brusscls for the N ctherlands in a hurry owing to an ill-fated duel at which Lafontaine was present in the capacity of a witness and second. All this Maric had announced some days in advance (8, i, pp. 66- 70) . Lafontaine goes on to remark that Nlaric's somnambulism \vas in a high degree of a clairvoyant (lucide) nature. She could with the greatest ease perceivc what happcned in rooms other than the one in which she found hcrself. This also was the casc with events happening outside her home. One day, for example, she correctly announced to Lalontaine that a client was approaching her house and was going to order a suit of clothcs to be made by her father who was a tailor (8, i, p. 72). Lafontaine also rclates how he was able to keep :Marie in a somnambulistic condition during eight days at a stretch without this abnormal state doing her an y harm (8, i, pp. 72-73). This is the last we hear about Marie. Aftcr these Bruss els adyentures Lafontaine soon returned to Paris, where he seems to have continued his mesmeric practices, working as a propagandist for the wonderful all-healing magnctic fluid, producer of paranormal phenomena. If we can accept Lafontaine's descriptions of Marie's apparent paranormal faculties at thcir face value, there can be little doubt that Marie was a highly gifted psychic who could compete with the best of our clairvoyant and psychometric mediums. So far as we know, her paranormal perceptions remained in the domain of the mental and comprised telepathic, clairvoyant and precognitive impressions only. 'Ve never read about occurrcnccs of a physical nature (psychokinesis, apports, materialization, etc. ) , so ou t standing in the reports of the later Spiritualistic mcdiums. There is another fact to be noted about these mesmerized somnambulists of the first half of the nineteenth century. Contrary to what happened to the trance and other so-called mediums of the Spiritu alist movement starting and expanding during thc latter half of the last century, the somnambulists hardly ever gave instances of communications alleged to be coming hom d eceased persons. Paranormal phenomena produced by these somnambulists generally manifested themselves as the result of the inherent faculties of those in the somnambulistic condition, while the later trance-mediums (somnambulism and trance may be regarded as physiologically the
same thing) were believed to be only the intcrmediariessupplying the spirits of the d eceased with the energy they need ed to produce paranormal phenomena. As a great many somnambulis ts devel oped into trance-mediums, acting as mouth pieces to the surviving spirits of the dead directly after the tidal wave of modern Spiritual ism had swept over their various countries, it may be confidently assumed that the spiritistic tendencies of the somnambulistic utterances and manifestations were induced by suggestion, gener a ted by the spiritistic conceptions which had become widespread. Lafontaine's several somnambulists, "vith \vhom he toured Europe demonstrating their paranormal faculti es and making propaganda for the vital magnetic fluid, did not seem to have been contaminated by the Spiritualistic infection, for we do not hear that their manifestations ever took on the form ot' spiritistic com munications. It is possible that Lafontaine himself remained imm une to Spiritualistic ideas and clung to his magnetic theories to explain the paranormal manifestations which some at least of his somnambulists w ere believed to produce. After having passed one or two years in Paris, Lafontaine returned to his beloved Brussels in 1839, where he renewed his friendship withJobard, who introduced him to a group of influential mesmerists. It seems that several of these mesmerists gave public demonstrations to make known the remarkable powers and salutary value of the magnetic fluid. Hardly anything about these public performances and the outstanding results obtained there is men tioncd in the papers and the periodicals of the time at our disposal. Lafontaine gives high praise to a member of the above-mentioned group, the landscape painter wI. E. ~Iontius, who, though o[ poor constitution, possessed enormous magnetic powers which very much surprised Lafontaine (8, i, p. 84). It was also in the course of this same visit to Brussels that Lafontaine made the acquaintance of 1\rL Victor Idjiez, the founder and editor of the mesmerist journal Le lvIagnetophile (9) to which Lafontaine contributed some articles . It was this 1'.1. Idjicz, who in Lafontaine's opinion was a very intelligent man, who persuaded him to accompany him to l'.ifons and there conduct a number of public seances. The box-office receipts of thesc publi c demon strations would be for the benefit of the victims of the fires that had raged at the neighbouring villages of Horloz, Stockein, etc. Some of the results of these Nlons sittings were described by L afontaine as follows, and indicated that M. Idjiez, also, was a powerful and successful mesmerist.
12
13
At one seance that took pl a ce ill the large hall of the town hall of l\1ons, which the municipality had most kindly put at their disposal, lVi . Idjiez presented an excellent somnambule to the numerous public present. The subject was a young girl, the daugh ter of the military hospital 's hall-porter in the town of ~dons. It appeared that M. Idjiez had developed in this girl the faculty of clairvoyance to such a high degree that during the sitting she was able to perceive correctly the time marked on the watches of various persons present. Even when the hands had been changed at random she was able to indicate with exactness the time a certain watch showcd. She also could read correctly the contents of two billets, written on the spot in the course of the seance. The pieces of paper had been doubly and triply folded so that not the least sign of lettering could be seen, and all precautions were said to have been taken to avoid the somnambulist from knowing in the ordinary way what had been written (8, i, pp. 84- 85 ). How far the case described above can be accepted as a clear example of extrasensory perception cannot now be decided with any degree oC certainty. Significant details are so scantily given that a correct judgment in this matter is impossible. If it had been during the performance that M. Idjiez had for the first time dis covered clairvoyan t faculties in the girl, then he would have had no time to train her to react to a code taught her to distinguish between the various positions of the watches' hands. However, any explanation on the hypothesis of a code would become un tenable if the mesmerist did not have any knowledge of the time a certain watch indicatcd. The same difllculties arise in the case of the billet-reading. Was the scrap of papcr first handed to the mesmerist and did the latter put it in the hands of the somnambulist or hold it against the subject's forehead? Or did the billet-writer take the same precautions as did Lafontaine in the case above quoted whcn he took care to keep con trol over the folded billet while the clairvoyant read it? All such qucstions are not answered in the descriptions we possess, so that no certainty can be reached as to the authenticity of the extrasensory perception the subject is alleged to have demonstrated. One gets the impression, ho\vever, that the subject in this sitting at .Mons met M. Idjiez for the first time at the seance, and that her clairvoyant performances greatly impressed the audience who may well have known the background of the girl in a small town like l'vlons, just over a ccntury ago. There seems to have been a lively interest among the educated
classes at 1/Ion5 in the phcnomcna of animal magnetism. In the next casc the subject appeared to havc belonged to thc higher classes of lVIons society. Lafontaine wrote that after having been prescnt at a mesmerist's sitting at 1 110ns on I July, J 839, and on her ,va y home, 1,fme Magauden,l a young married woman of 19, fell into a somnam bulistic condition. In that state she could divinc all kinds of hidden and wrapped objects put in her hands or applied to her forehead. She could perceive the words "Idjiez" and "theIesie" penned on a piece of paper and presented to her in the middle of two opaque pieces of blank paper. If one held a piece of gold in one's closed fist and approached her with the closed fist she experienced a strong feeling of repugnance. If instead of gold it was a piece of copper or an object made of that metal, the somnambulist's repul sive action was not so intense as with gold. Of all the metals, only silver gave her an agreeable impression. When a closed box was placed in her hands she was able to say in a few moments that a ring of enamel with a dog's head imprinted upon it could be found in that box. The statement was correct. For the second time the same box was presented to the young woman. But now she remarked that the box contained a small ring belonging to her sister; this, too, was the correct answer. It seemed as if she was able to see with her fingertips, for all the time her fingers were moving about during the experiments. Now and then she irritated hcr fingertips by scratching them with her thumbnail. \Vhen asked why she did this, she replied that it was done to wear ou t the skin of her fingers. In the somnambulistic state she was able to perceive a word or figures written on a piece of paper far away from her; she also correctly indicated two portraits and a miniature locked in a box. She could also say exactly what movements a person made who was completely outside her normal sight. All this and several other remarkable experiments Mme Magauden performed in the somnambulistic condition, and every time with excellent results. Lafontaine stated that a report of all the remarkable perform ances and mesmeric demonstrations given by the somnambulist was drawn up by Mme Felix de la Motte, who was lVIme 1 Iagau den's mother and herself a distinguished writer and literary critic. This report was entitled: "Perceiving without the use of the eyes or of touch; perception through thick walls separating one floor from the other. Mind reading [connaissance des pensees] ; Automatism
14
IS
l
1
Sometimes spelt j\'lahaudcll.
or 'rapport' of a physiological llatme between mesmerist and his subject". Being associated with the Academy of Hainaut, Mme de la l'.'l otte read this report to the members of the Academy. After having listened in silence to what the lecturer had to say, the members' astonishment was extreme (10, p. 467). Mme Felix de la Motte and her daughter, Mme 1hgauden, were well-known and respected persons belonging to the higher Belgian society circles. Tbe former had built up for herself an excellent literary reputation as a poetess and plaY"\Tight, and there can be no reasonable doubt that the phenomena occurring in l'.'lme Magauden's somnambulistic state happened as described, and that Mme Magauden had suddenly developed into an excellent subject for the production of paranormal phenomena. This is, however, the only time we hear about i\Ime lv1agauden m a highly gifted paranormal subject. Further experiment~ were not conducted with her, probably because as a lady of the le:;ser aristocracy and of independent means there: was no chance for the mesmerist to associate himself with her and give public demonstrations of her paranormal gift~. It appears that during the period here described (1830- 1840) M. Lafontaine and ?\-1. Idjiez were strong and successful mesmerists. M. Idjiez (9, II, r2) was an intelligent and well-educated man, very much interested in the phenomena of animal magneti'>m, "spiritual" phrenology, Egyptian occultism and the like, all of which trends of thought he tried to blend together. Although he worked and flourished in this period, justly to be called the Belgian golden age of mesmerism, and must have me'>merized hundreds of people, apparently only one or two were said to become highly gifted paranormal subjects. This fact seems to suggest that pro ducing the somnambulistic state by mesmeric "passes" and such procedures common to the magnetic practices of the first half of the nineteenth century docs not necessarily mean at the same time that the thus mesmerized subject was more apt to produce para normal phenomena than persons not so treated. It seems that during the most popular period of animal magnetism in Belgium (and the same applied in what happened in the neighbouring country of Holland) paranormally highly gifted subjects remained relatively rare. Just as in the Netherlands, enormous numbers of persons mmt have been publicIy or privately mesmerized in Belgium during the decade following the latter country's independ ence. Still, though there thus existed every opportunity to show
the effectiveness of the magnetic procedures and to incite the treated subjects to produce p aranormal phenomena, the paranormall y gifted remained extremely rare. If such a subject was discovered, this generally happened in a kind of outburst, an eruption of the paranormal at the very first time the somnambulistic condition was induced. There was no gradual development of the paranormal gifts in the course of a shorter or longer series of magnetic sittings. Such sudden surfacing of the paranormal faculties seemed to indicate that these faculties were there all the time latently present in that special subject, and that the passing into the trance or somnambulistic state (brought about by \vhatever procedure) only lifted, so to speak, the lid off Pandora's box of paranormal gifts. Tbe mesmerists of the time were rather quickly satisfied regard ing the unusual, " supernatural" or paranormal character of the phenomena their subjects were able to manifest under their mes meric influence. A great numLer of remarkable phenomena, hOWe\·el', considered by them as watertight proof for the "miracu lous" nature of the magnetic fluid would today be classified outside the paranormal and relegated to the field of" normal" psychology. One of these so-called wonderful effects of the magnetic fluid was the anaesthetizing of healthy and sane persons, simply by making some "passes" or similar procedures. The reverse, i.e. transferring pain from one person to another in an instant, was also one of those remarkable feats of which the magnetic fluid was considered capable. In those days very little was known about the effects of suggestion, so that it is not to be wondered at that when the painlCl--magnetizer M. E. Montius (13) succeeded in transfer ring a severe pain in the shoulder in one of tho:;e present in his rooms to five other men also visiting him at the same time, this fact made such a deep impression that ?\-1. F. Lebrun, one of the gentle men present at the seance, wrote an article l (L'}!;mancipatiol1, 4 August r 838) praising in glowing terms the wonderful effects of the vital magnetic fluid. Of course, such a transference of pain and other sensations from one to another, plainly by suggestion exer cized by a mesmerist of repute, has nothing to do with the para normal as now conceived. But for the investigators of mesmerism living more than a hundred years ago such transferences of pain, the anaesthetizing of limbs, producing the cataleptic state, etc., were as miraculous as purely paranormal phenomena. As we have said, one of the first prominent men to be interested
r6
r7
1 "Unc Expf:riencc de une autre."
11agn~tismc.
Transmission de douleurs d'une personne tl
in animal magnetism in Belgium \\'a5 lVI. .Tabard, the mall who introduced Lafontaine to the circle or mc~merists under the leader ship of the Dutch ph~ician who astonished Lafontaine wilh the clairvoyant phenomcna of his somnambulist. _M . Jobard, too, seems to have experienced the rare occurrence of observing the sudden outburst of paranormal phenomena during the somnam bulistic state. The case J obard describes concerns a boy or 15 years whom he magnetized and who allegedly was able to produce clairvoyant phenomena. In one of his books (10, p. 463) Du Potet states that towards the end of 1836 ~-1. Jobard was on a short visit to Verviers (an industrial town in the east of Belgium) where he met two engineers, lVI. Houget and NI. Teston. One evening he magnetized 1'1. Houget's son in the presence of his parents and his teacher. The boy very soon fell into a somnambulistic condition and quickly started to show that he was in the possession of what seemed to be astonishing clairvoyant gifts. Having been blind folded, he could read print with great rapidity and accuracy. M. Teston, who was also presen t, remained incredulous, so that he went up to the boy and pressed his fingertips to the dinner napkin which, folded in eight, was tied round the boy's eyes without, however, interfering with the correct descriptions of the percipient. A piece of wood was even held between the boy's blindfolded eyes and the objects presented to him for description, but his perception remained undiminished. 'Vithout any faltering he went on correctly stating what objects were presented to him : "a woollen sock with two needles stuck in it; a German book, from the pages of which he read two passages; my Berquin [one of the boy's school books] ". M. Teston then took out his watch and held it behind the boy's head, and asked him: "'Vhat time is it?" "Eigh t 0' clock and eight minutes", replied the boy, which was correct. Du Potet adds that he had obtained the details of this incident from MM. J obard and Teston themselves.! The above case gives us one of those typical, though rare in stances of a supposed sudden uprush of paranormal phcnomena when the subject is put into the somnambulistic state. Of course, we are now not in a posi tion to be absolutely certain that the boy did not cheat and simulate clairvoyant or telepathic phenomena. That those pre~ent at the sitting were aware of the possibilities of fraudulent "peeping" can be noted by the behaviour of ?d. Teston, who by pressing his fingertips to the bandage covering the boy's eyes, or by holding a board between the object to be perceived and 1
A report was also published in the Le Courrier Beige for 8 June 1833 .
the blindfolded eyes, tried to cut out this conscious or unconscious peeping. He also tried to avoid the normal use of the boy's eyes by holding his watch to be read against the boy's .occiput. Even viewcd critically, I feel that the probability that young Houget did manifest paranormal gifts during the experiment is pretty high, though of course we can never be sure. This is thc more true because the published report related events of about two years previously and notes were not made directly after the experiments. On the other hand, we have the t.estimony of the critically minded Ilvi. Teston, assuring Baron du Potet that he was very much im pressed by what he himself had experienced during the boy's somnambulistic state. NI. Jobard himself seems to have been a very firm believer in the clairvoyant powers .of mesmerized subjects. He had written to the Brussels daily papers suggesting, in reference to the con troversy raging at the time in France regarding the reality of extra sensory perception and the possibility of inducing this by mesmeric manipulations, that the Paris Royal Academy of l\-fedicine should forward to the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences at Brussels a porcelain or metal tube, made in one solid piece, and that a certain object be inserted in this tube, the name of whieh was known only to the experimenters in Paris. The tube, furthermore, was to be well packed in paper or cardboard covers and then should be put into the hands of M. Jobard, who would return it completely intact after having designated (presumably with the help of one of his mesmeric subjects) what object the tube contained ( ro, P·4 65)· As far as I am aware, NI. Jobard's proposal was never adopted and the experiment did not take place. It \-,-as about this time (1839) that Lafontaine experienced a case of what some parapsychologists have termcd "travelling clairvoyance'. If the facts bc truly given, \ve have here a good case of paranormal cognition. During his sojourn at Brussels in 18 39, Lafontaine sta ted, he mesmerized the sister of Mile Jawureck, the well-known opera singer. '''hen put in the somnambulistic condition she requested him to allow her to be scnt to l\-1ons. 'Vhen she was thus transported (in spirit) she suddenly cried out: " 0, blood! blood!" and then went into frighful convulsions, so that he was forced to calm her. 'Vhen she recovered somewhat, she transferred herself again to the city of Mons, and he then under stood, piecing togcther words and pieces of sentences she uttered sobbing and crying, that an officer with whom she was well
18
19
acquai nted had been forced into having a duel and had been severely wounded by on e of hi ~ intimate frien ds, a brother officer in the same rcgi m ent. The next morning thc lady ill question received a letter dis patched [rom Mons, informing her about the duel and begging her to set out [or M ons as quickly as possible ( 14, pp. 149- 150; also 15, p. 235 ). It is not clear from the description whether the somnambulist claimed to be present at the duel itself and perceived what hap pened to her intimate friend at that very moment. It looks as i[ she ob tained a general impression of the event and the unhappy results to her friend. However this may be, some doubt also remains as to the clearly defincd nature of the paranormal experience. For example, did she have some notion [rom information received in a normal manner of what was going to happen in 1\110ns? If not, why then did she request Lafontaine to transfcr her to 1\110ns during the somnambulistic state? V'l as this to allov" her to get an impression of what was happening to her friend or lover? She must have been uneasy about something going on in J\fons, other wise there cannot have been any sense in asking to be projected clairvoyantly to J\Ions. \Ve cannot answer the question about the casc's paranormal character if we do not know exactly what J\tflle Jawureck's sister was aware of regarding this duel and the parties involved. If she had been informed by her friend or somebody else that there had been a quarrel and a duel had been agreed to, on such and such a date, her anxiety [or hcr friend's welfare may well have givcn her the impression during th e somnambulistic condition that he had been wounded, etc. \Ve cannot be sure. Perhaps some might give hcr the benefit of the doubt and assume that vlie have here a case of travelling clairvoyance, the only single case of tile kind I could find in Belgium. As. has been said, the dccade 183°- 13/.].0 can be justly styled the Belgian golden age of animal magnetism. During the lattcr half of this period several daily p a pers (L'!ndipelldalll ; Le CouITier Belge; L' f'mallcipatioll) published articles on the subject. Some medical men started to treat their patients with me)1TIcrisl11, claiming that the vital fluid had worked wonderful cures in cases believed to be hopeless. The general public began to be seriously intcrested and started to attcnd the public sittings 01' professional mcsmerists who demonstrated thcir subjects in the somnambulistic statcs and showed them capable of all kinds of uncommon performances. On rare occasions there would, perhaps, occur some phenomena of a 20
truly paranorm.al nature, comparable to thosc we now tcrm extra scnsory perception. No melltion, however, is ever 11lade of what during lhe modern Spiritualist movement would be termed physical phenomena . There may have been some spontaneollS cases of ph ysical phenomena (poltergeist phenomena, rappings, etc.) in Belgium at the time, but no such cases wcre reported in connection with mcsmerically induced somnambulism. As is shown in the cases quoted above, paranormal manilCstations were of a mental character and included all the known varieties of paranormal cognition. In 1836-1838 Professor H . Ahrens, who lectured on p~ychology at the Brussels University, published a book ( 16) in which a whole chapter was devoted to animal magnetism and mental alienation. Ahrens' point of view is that the somnambulistic state is indeed an abnormal condition, without however being pathological. SpontallcollS and artificially induced somnambulism may be re garded as a special variety of the waking statc, with only this difference that in the somnambulistic condition the spirit (soul) and the body are more independent one from the other, each of the t\\·o entities returning to their own specific characteristics. This means that the spirit can now more easily manifest its natural faculties, such as extrasensory perception in all its different varieties, diagnostic knowledge and insight to cure diseases, etc. Ahrens also accepts the existence of the astral body as a kind of intermediary betvveen the spirit and the material body. He also points out that tlte intuitive knowledge which the spirit manifests during the somnambulistic ,tatc brings us directly into contact \\'ith the reality of things. For that reason the somnambulist can supply us only with facts and not with theories concerning the essence or things. ELECTRICAL AND GALVANIC THEORIES
At the bcginning of" the following dccade (1840- 1850) public intcrest in the subject was still strong but the practical application of the "vital fluid" [or medical purposes was on the wane. This rej ection of mesmerism by medical men was probably due to the disa p pointment felt at the inconstancy of thc mesmeric results. In some cases it was a success and in many others it appeared to fail completely though the malady being treated was the same. T wenty years earlier this same process could have bcen observed in Holland. After thc ~rcat mesmeric boom in the years 1811 - 1813 in the latter country, with many prominent medical men proclaiming animal 21
magnetism as the most important discovery of all times and indeed a panacea for all existing complaints and illnesses, a reaction set in towards 1820 as it was found that mesmerism as a therapeutic agency fell far short of the high expectations this kind of treatment had evoked. This has caused thc greater part of the medical profession in the Netherlands to regard mesmerism with suspicion ever sincc. This same coursc of events could be noted in Belgium, when about 1845 the popularity of mcsmerism was beginning to fade. Though the therapeutic use of animal magnetism was on the wane, theoretical interest in explaining the uncommon phenomena emerging dming the somnambulistic state was growing in philo sophical circles. Such an intcrest was shown by M . N. E. Tandel (17), wbo read a paper on the subjcct which was publishcd by the Belgian Royal Academy. His thesis was a refutation of :M aine de Biran's thcory of two indcpendent egos in one and the same human individual, a conception believed to be based on evidence derived from conditions obscrved during sleep, drcams and somnambulism. It was thought that there existed no connection bctween the ego of the waking state and that ego emerging and manifesting itself during sleep or the somnambulistic condition. Thc often-observed phenomenon that the somnambulist did not remcmber anything of what had happened during the trance or somnambulistic state greatly strengthened and supported this dual conception. Tandel, however, contended that there did exist an interdependency or connection between the \yaking state and that of somnambulism. He pointed out that the laws of association were absolutely the same during somnambulism and waking life. In support of his contention, Tandel mentioncd the fact that in 1828 he was present at a sitting in the course of which the well-known Dutch mesmcrist, P. C. van Chcrt, put the subject in a somnambulistic condition. He ordcred the subject, a lady, once in this state, to remember when she awoke every single thing that had happcned during her trance as soon as he, van Chert, named the number seven. \'Yhcn the subject awoke and van Chert said "seven" she at once remem bcrcd eyer)' event and all the conversation occurring during the state of somnambulism. According to Tandel this proved that there rcally exists only one ego and that the memories of the somnambulistic ego and the waking stage ego are to be considered fundamentally one. In his paper Tandel did not once mention any paranormal phenomena manifesting during the somnambulistic state. He
seems to be concerned only with normal psychological factors coming to light during the mesmeric condition. " Thether he him self ever experienccd truly paranormal phenomena in the course of his mesmeric studies, we cannot say. The decade under discussion in some respects brought about a shift towards favouring more natural explanations of the obscrved mesmeric phenomcna. The most prominent Belgian writcr on the subject was the pricst (later he retired from Holy Orders) the Comte de Robiano, a man of great erudition and a polyglot of distinction. In his book on the subject (18), running into several editions, he tricd to defend animal magnetism against the antagon ism of a great many high functionaries of the Roman Catholic Church who considered the mesmeric practices and the alleged supernatural phenomena of somnambulism (telepathy, clairvoy ance, etc. ) of direct satanic origin, and therefore to be forbidden . Robiano, however, contended that all phenomena observed in mesmeric states were to be regarded as natural effects and that these were simply the result of galvanic (electrical) currents active during mesmeric manipulations. There was nothing supernatural, divine or satanic about the much talked of magnetic fluid; it was but another word for galvanism, and all mesmeric phenomena, common or uncommon, were based on and could be explained in terms of galvanism (toti et soli deJillito ) by a galvanic action (18, p.6). Robiano declarcd himself a staunch disciple of the French physician Pctetin who, during the last two decades of the eighteenth century, attempted to explain the somnambulistic and other mcsmeric phenomena by assuming that everything was based on electrical action influencing the nervous system (19). Robiano also believed this to be the case and therefore he suggested that mesm erism or animal magnetism should in futurc be named La Ndvr1l1gie, for thc latter term drew attention to the fact that the nerves were principally concerned in producing all the mesmeric phenomena, which were, therefore, derived from natural (electrical) causes and hence also purely natural. As long as these faculties and powers '.vere applicd for the good of humanity there should be no reason whatever to forbid people to be present at mesmeric sittings or to seck the assistance of mesmerists and their somnam buIes to cure illnesses. One of the reasons why Robiano adhcred firmly to the belief that the vital fluid was nothing other than electrical in nature was that the application of the so-called galvanic rings acted as well as,
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or even better than living mesmerists in inducing the somnam bll.listic condition. Robiano wrote (18, p. 23) that these galvanic rings were imported into Belgium from Great Britain in great quantities (presumably about 1842), and advertised as an un doubted panacea for every possible complaint and illness. If such a ring was "charged" by making a few passes over it, and applied to a subject already used to being put into a somnambulistic sleep, it would take effect immediately. If, on the other hand, the ring was used in the case of a person who had never been magnetized, it would at once have the desired effect by bringing about the somnambulistic state. According to Robiano, who experimented with the rings, these worked more quickly and were more effecti\'e in producing somnambulism than were well-trained mesmerists. Other metals in certain combinations, but without needing to be "charged" beforehand by making a few passes over them, Robiano found to be a8 effective as the imported galvanic rings. If the subject held in olle hand a piece of zinc, and in the other a piece of gold, the result would be the same, for the subject would then quickly fall into a somnambulistic trance. It was not necessary in such cascs to have a person present who could act as a kind of magnetic or galvanic agent since the subject, holding a certain efficient combination of metals in his hands, would automatically drop into the somnambulistic state. The same result could be obtained if the subject put his feet on metal plates or sheets. Even from a distance the metals were effective in producing somnambulism if the metals were connected vvith the subject's body by chains, rope, etc. The influence of the metals on the human body was always, in Robiano's experience, instantaneous and infallibly the same, never even for a single moment changing in its effect or results. Robiano, who seems to have experimented extensively with certain subjects, was absolutely convinced that his observations in connection with the influence of metals as a causa tive factor in producing the mesmeric phenomena were so exact that, in his opinion, scientific deductions could be based on them without any serious objections. Not only could Robiano induce somnambulism in his subjects by applying certain metal combina tions to their hands or feet ( 18, p. 26 ) but he could also promptly awake them from the deepest somnambulistic state by holding a piece of coal under their noses. He remarks (p. 27) that when a piece of coal is placed on a paralyzed arm or leg, or on limbs stiffened to a degree to make them resemble logs of wood, or 011 a body in a complete and serious condition of catalepsy (all these
conditiom presumably the result of mesmeric or hypnotic manipu lations) thc abnormal condition will at once be eliminated and the limbs and body of the subject will instantaneously return to normal. Robiano further says that a piece of coal simply applied to the subject's nostrils will promptly awaken him when in a state of clear-cut somnambulism. Robiano mentioned, in the coursc of his discussion, that he was able to make himself understood by the somnambulist who was completely isolated (not even listening to the orders of his mesmCl' ist) by speaking to him directly in front of the subject's solar plexus or to his hand with the fingers held togetheL Robiano was convinced that the wearing of copper and zinc belts around the body could cure all kinds of complaints and ill nesses, such as chronic headaches or neuralgic pains. The thera peutic value of such metal belts was even greatcr than that of the mesmerists who claimed to cure the various diseases by virtue of the vital fluid. It is clear that this metal therapy and the various and constant reactions of Robiano's subjects encouraged and reinforced Robiano's own preconceived belief in the validity of his galvanic or electrical hypothesis, namely, that all mesmeric phenomena originated in galvanic CUrl-ents influencing the nervous system. It is also clear that suggestion of these preconceived ideas of what was to happen during the somnambulistic state led Robiano's subjects to react only in the way they believed would please their mesmerist. Thus the subjects' reaction and behaviour conforming in every way with Robiano's ideas on the matter again gave extra support to his theories which he found confirmed in this manner. This whole process of suggestion and counter-suggestion on which Robiano's firm conviction regarding the galvanic origin of the somnambulistic and mesmeric phenomena was based may be looked upon as a beautiful example of what Ehrenwald (20) has termed doctrinal comjJliance, that is to say mutual interplay between experimentalist and subject, generally of an unconscious nature, that is often encountered in the research connected with animal magnetism, modern Spiritualism, psychical research, etc. 1 As we have already seen, Robiano had a natural explanation for what many highly placed dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church in those days considered proof of a satanic influence to 1 Some of de Rochas's experiments and conclusions referring to the so-called exteriorization of sensibility have certainly been contaminated by the above mentioned process.
c
24
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which the somnambulistic subjects were believed lO be subject and which showed itself by the manifestation of alleged supernatural phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance or precognition (18, p. 93). For instance, he regarded clairvoyance as " a concentration of the radiation existing in our vital sphere that is brought about by the continuous intention and will-power we exert". Robiano thus favoured what we would now term a physical explanation of extrasensory perception. Robiano may well be regarded as one of the pioneers of the electro-biological conception of mesmerism, believing that most if not all mesmeric phenomena allegedly caused by the influence of the mysterious vital fluid could just as well be brought about by a kind of electrical treatment. In the United States NIr.]. S. Grimes coined the term electro-biology in 1848 to denote somnambulism and its concomitant phenomena produced when the subject was brought into contact with some sort of electrical apparatus. This electro-biological system attracted much attention and became quite the fashion in the 'sixties, when for instance in Holland public seances were held to induce somnambulism and all the various phenomena of animal magnetism by simply touching the subjects with some kind of apparatus purporting to generate an electrical current. Several of these electrical contrivances were so poorly constructed that there was no possibility of an electrical current being generated. Nevertheless, the effect of this apparatus on the subjects was as great as when electrical energy was being produced or when powerful living mesmerists were manipulating the subjects, thus shmving the powerful effect of suggestion, a psychological factor that was hardly recognized at the time. We know, for instance, that about 1860 the apparatus used by the Dutchman de Koningh (who achieved mu ch success in evoking somnambulism and all kinds of mesmeric phcnomena with the use of his machine) was supposed to be of an electrical nature but was not even able to generate a milli-ampere of electricity. His electro biological experiments attempting to show that animal magnetism was nothing other than electricity so gl'eatly impressed his COIl temporaries that from that time the Dutch words for" to biologize" meant the same as "to mesmerize". The following decade ( 1850- I 860) shows but Ii ttle progress in animal magnetic research and conceptions. Interest in scientific circles was waning and philosophy ,vas turning away somewhat im patiently from the still very elusive and mysterious vital fluid which purported to be able to produce the most wonderful phenomena.
In one of his books ('21) the Belgian philosophcr, F. Coyteux, devotes chapter XIV to the question of animal magnetism. Coy teux's philosophy seems to have been very similar to Bishop George Berkeley's, that is to say that the universe is really not conceivable apart f!'Om mind. J\!latter and external thing" are therefore impossible and inconceivable if they are considered to have an existence beyond the circle of consciousness. Thus, in a sense, Coyteux denies that the facts of mesmerism can really be proved in a philosophkal sense and that the existence of the vital fluid must be denied also. As he puts it (p. 421) "la matiere n'est pas". Notwithstanding Coyteux's philosophy, it appears that he was interested in the phenomena of animal magnetism and attended various seances at which such phenomena as cyelcss-sight '",ere demonstrated. Since he was well-cdueated and a highly intelligent observer, his opinions of what he observed are well worth con sideration. In those cases where the somnambulist gave answers to various questions, Coyteux came to the conclusion that the replies were generally of too vague a character to be of any "alue; he dismissed the theory that the incredulity of the questioner paralyzed the magnetic power, since he preferred the more normal explanation that this claim was simply to avoid having to answer questions which the somnambule found embarrassing. J\loreover, he stated (p. 427) that he had been present at somc seances in which he suspected that the somnambule was not in the magnetic state at all and was really wide awake, interpreting various signs and so on which gave him a lead in replying to some of the questions that were asked. For example, one question that Coyteux himself asked was about his own age, to which the answer was given "about 50", but when he persisted and asked for the day of his birth the somnambule co uld not reply and Coyteux was told that this question was too precise and beyond the powers of the subject. It would appear f!'Om Coyteux's account that at one or more seances eyeless-vision was demonstrated. Thus the somnambulc played ecarte with the eyes "parfaitement bandes". This test Coyteux thought was a failure, since there were too many mistakes and in addition he noticed that, before playing, the subject handled the cards in such a way that Coyteux thought that the possibility existed that there was the faculty of discerning the cards by touch. Not only did Coyteux think that normal processes were at work, but even that the subject had confederates who used signs which the subject was able to interpret, signs which had been arranged in advance and which, when no bandages were employed and the
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eyes apparently closed, the subject was a ble to catch now and then at the appropriate moments. Sometimes from the way the question was put the: subject might be able to guess what the correct answer should be. Generally speaking, Coyleu.x came to the conclusion that, from his own observations and what he knew about thc subject, these professional performers werc unlikely to be gen uine and \\Oere simply trading on the simplicity of the public. It was true, he continued, that men of good faith existed who were entirely convinced of the reality of magnetic phenomena, but he thought that the probability was that they had become thc dupes of the somnambules with whom they had experimented. Summing up his conclusions, Coyteux ended by asking, "Que de faux somnam buies qui sont parvenus a eapter et tramper la eonfianee de savants tres-reeommandabIes? Que de pieges, sur ce terrain, ont ete tendus a la bonne foi." In the latter half of the decade being discussed, modcrn Spiritual ism started to draw the attention or the Belgian public to so-called spiritistie phenomena, such as discarnate entities believed to manifest themselves by table-tilting and certain kinds of physical phenomena, including telekinesis. It was thought that the spirits of the deceased made use of certain persons, called mediums, from whom they drew a kind of magnetic power necessary for their manifestations. There soon existed a gradual merging of mesmer ism and spiritism, somnambulists turning into spiritistie tranee mediullIs. Soon the impressive somnambulistic phenomena, which up to that time had been considered the main proof of the existence of the mysterious vital fluid, \\Oere advanced as proof of the rcality of the discarnatc entitics and the possibility of communication between the living and the dead. It was in those days that thc famous medium, D. D. Home, toured the countries or Europe demonstrating his exceptional paranorl1lal gifts and providing propaganda for the spiritistic hypothesis to explain his remarkable mediumistic phenomena. Home stayed a few days at Brussels in the spring of 1858, after having visitcd the :'\etherlands with great success, but his visit to the Belgian capital \\Oas a failure as he was rather ill at the time and not able to produce phenomena of any importance. During the next decade ( 1860-1870) we find the learned and well-known medical doctor, H. van Hobbed;:, defcnding the value of mesmerism as a therapeutic agency for several specified com plaints, principally those of a nervous origin. In his book (22 ) he points out that mesmerism in Belgium was knowll by various
nam es, such a3 zoiJ-elcclricity, electro-biology, ekctrieity of thc human body, etc. In his opinion, however, the agency active in mcsmerism had nothing to do with physical energies, natwoa l electricity, magnetism, etc. It was solely an energetic process formed by the concentration of will-power. The so-called magncLic or vital fluid was concentrated and projected by intention, will and intense desire (22, PP' 7- 8). All other applied accessory measures and manipulations were unnecessary and of littlc or no value. He declared hc wa~ not against the usc of m esmerism for a treatment of choice, and affirmed that he had come across very remarkable successcs in the case of nervous disorders in womcn. However, hc felt that in order to make treatment a success the patient should submit to the mesmeric therapy with his own free will. According to van Holsbeek, some of the rare phenomena said to manifest in the course of mesmeric treatment a re : /!.l'eless-vision; traniference of the senses, so that the subject is able to perecive with his solar plexus, tips of the fingers, forehead or occiput; j'rophelical divination (prccognition); diagnosing ilIne~scs and ploeseribing the cure; thought-traniference between subject and mesmerist or with anybody else 'with whom the subject finds himself en rapporl. The somnambulisti c subject is also able to describe the charaetcr of those presented to him. Though one gets the impression on reading the book that van Holsbeek may have had personal experiences in the matter of paranormal phenomena, he declares that he never encountered such a fact in his life, though he must have had a vcry extensive knowledge and experience of somnambulism and other mesmeric phenomena. But on the other hand we sho uld keep the fact in "iew that his conceptions regarding the frontiers betwecn the "normal" and the "paranormal" \verc somewhat different from our modern ideas and definitions. For instance, he says (22, p. 14) : "\Ve believe that what is termed distant vision (les vues ell distance) is simply a case of thought-transference. That is to say that the person who takes the somnambulist's hand ancl sends him travelling to the consultant's home, does so himself by his own thoughts. The somnambulist, without going to the consultant's home, perceives that home in the thoughts and pcrceptions of thc consultant with whom the somnambulist is in contact by touch of hand. \Ve are of the opinion that the same thing happens in the case of precognitions (jJropMtisations)." Van Holsbeek here expresses, morc than twenty years before the foundation of the London Society for Psychical Research, the
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supremacy of the telepathic hypothe~is as an explanation' of the alleged phenomena ()f' clair\"oyance and precognition, But it is clear from the way van Holsbeck cxpresses himself on the matter that he does not wnsider thought-transference (telepathy) a, a specific paranormal phenomenon. One has the impression that what he terms thought-reading is regarded by him as a rare but natural and" normal" fact and nothing to marvel about. In the course of his book van I-Iolsbeek makes some interesting remarks on the behaviour of somnambulists. He writes that the somnam bulists, of whom many are women, are very much attached to their mcsmerists whosc orders they execute with the greatcst docility and precision. The somnambulists are, says van Holsbeek, very jealous of Due another. \Vhen one somnambulist hears about the achievemcnts of' another he is always convinced that he himself i., {~lr bettcr as r egards his own pcrformances and is boastful all the time about his own wonderful achievements (p. 15). It is a rather curious fact that (22, p. 18) in surgical operations he has more trust in mesmeric anaesthesia than in that induced by the newly discovered, but in those days still dangcrous, chloroform. There is little doubt that he saw many operations being performed under what is now knovvn as hypnosis, which suggests that opera tions under hypnosis were far more frequent in those days (1840 1860) than we now realize. In the next decade (1870- 1880) scientific and medical interest in animal magnetism and its concomitant theories was generally at a low ebb. The mesmeric demonstrations were no longer attended by the highly educated classes but were no\1' given in market squares, fairs and dubious shows where they catered for the attention of the lower and uneducated classes who were still impressed by mesmeric and somnambulistic phenomena. Mes merists and magnetizers were still trying to win the favour of all those possible clients whose complaints and illncsses appeared to be incurable by the medical profession. By writing pamphlets and booklets and advertising their therapy by means of the vital fluid, these men attempted to draw the interest of the public (23 , 24). In 1875 a book was published in fortnightly instalments by a writer under the name of Dr. Conrad (36) . This volume can be regarded as a kind of popular manual on mesmerism, the author himself being all enthusiastic supporter of the vital fluid hypothesis. He regarded the magnetic fluid as the pivot upon which all creation turned and the only single remedy for the complaints and maladies of mankind (3 6, pp. 1- 2), In his book he gave a general review
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of the history of mesmerisnl, togeth er with an cxtensive record oj" all the important mesmeric phenomena, gathering and qlloting most of his material from French sources. Although he expresses his own belief in all the bigher phenomena, he does not mention a single example of a personal experiencc of such phenomena. He stated (36, p. 40) that there was no doubt that genuine clairvoyant som nambulists existed, but at the same time expressed his belief that excellent subjects of this sort were extremely rare, even going so far as to add that out of every 10,000 subjects there was, perhaps, only one thus highly gifted. He th en went on to say that at the time of writing the people of Brussels were acquainted with one whose clairvoyant powers (luciditi) caused greater astonishment every day, but unfortunately he never describcd what the pheno mena wcre nor in what circumstances the clairvoyant faculties were observed and tested. Conrad was one of those who appears to have been impressed by a possible relation between ecstacy and magnetic somnambu lism. It is in this connection that he regarded the famous stigmatic, Louise Lateau, as a religious somnambulist and he believed that her stigmata and ecstacies were to be easily explained by the influence of animal magnetism (36, p. 50). Dea!ing with thought-transmission (penetratioll de fa jJeI!see) Conrad maintained that a number of religious ecstatics and som nambulists had been able to read the thoughts of those present by means apart altogether from the ordinary channels of sense. Indeed, he stated (3 6 , p. 63) that he had personally met one or two som nambules who were gifted with this faculty and which he had himself actually seen at work. But unfortunately he does not describe what exactly it was that he saw and what precisely were the phenomena which were being exhibited and the reasons why at the time he believed the thought-transmission to be paranormal. The greater part of Conrad's book is devoted to a description of the curative powers of animal magnetism and therefore doc, not concern us here. There seems, however, no reasonable doubt that the author connected animal magnctism with alleged electric properties in the human body which he describes in one place as "the incomparable human electric machine". Apart, however, from these considerations, it seems to be clear that Conrad regarded the higher phenomena as not solely dependent on mesmeric influenee~ but as able to manifest themselves in all kinds of different circumstances dependent on various statcs and conditions prevailing at the time.
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a \\'ord or making a single movement, La execute the various move ments and exercises Aksakov had \\Titten on each card. These si.'( movemen ts were the foll owing: ( I ) strctching forward the left arm; (2) ra ising the right arm to a perpcndicular pos ition above the head; (3) pl a cing both hands on top of the head; (4) folding th c hands in praycr ; (5) making a knot in a handkcrchief, and (6) touching the left ear with her l-ight hand. Aksakov stood next to Donato, while Lucille in a profound somnambulistic sleep sat in an armchair near the window in the front part of the room. Donato read what was written on the first card, stared at Lucille, and in a very short time Lucille's left hand started to move away from her body and fina lly was strctehed straight in front of her. The arm remained rigidl y stretchcd out until D onato gave the order to relax, when the ann retur ned to its natural and comfortable position. After the first experiment Aksakov had the subject's head covered over b y a handkerchief. In the coursc of the third experiment D onato stood behin d Lucille but this experiment failed. Aksakov now took up a position next to Donato who \\'as still standing behind the somnambulist. He requested Donato to concentrate his will-power on a certain part of Lucille's occiput that he indicated with one of his fingers. As his finger approached the subject's occiput her hea d started to incline more and more forward (presumabl y showing a kind of repulsion effect in conncction with a hand being not that of her mesmerist). During the fifth experiment Dona to again stood behind Lucille and stretched out his hand above her hcad but not touching her. Hereupon the subject got up from hcr chair and following Donato's hand walked over to the table on which Aksakov's hand kerchief was lying. Slowly she reached out her hand and pulled a corner of the handkerchief towards her and tied it into a knot. At the bcginning of the sixth experiment Donato stood in front of the somnambulist about two or three paccs away from her and stared at her steadily and in completc silence. \Vithin a short time Lucille's hand went upwards until it reachcd her chest and then up it went still higher until finally it came up to the same h eight as her car w hich she thcn touched with her fingers. Aksakov mentions the fact that during the experiments complete silence reigned and that Donato did not try to give the slightest sign. Donato is said to have remained absolutely immobile. According to Aksakov these experiments gave him the personal conviction, leaving not the slightest doubt, that extrasensory perception was the only explanation for what he had seen happening
Hypnotism, the mature and far more scientifically orientated development of animal magnetism, had not yet attracted the full attention of medica l scicnce and psychiatry and thc theory of the vital fluid was still held by successful mesmcrists who with their female somnambulists travelled through Europc, demonstrating the power of the human will, as it was believed, in manifesting extraordinary powers. One of thesc mesmerists with an inter national reputation, demonstrating his somnambulist's remarkable fa cu lties in many countrics, was the Belgian-born performer calling himself DOllato ,,·ho in the decade here under discussion lived in Paris . Donato's somnambulist, :M lle Lucille, was ablc to demonstrate all the usual somnambulistic phenomena that in those days wel-e still regarded as practically impossible in the waking state and outside magnetic in lluence. As examples of the marvellous and unique working of the magnetic fluid, Donato, by making a few passes over his subject, induced cataleptic conditions, or insensi bility of the various limbs. He showed that his hand attracted the somnambulist as if it were a magnet, while the hands of other people repulsed her. It was claimed that during the induced cataleptic state she did not react to an electric current passing through her body for ten minutes. However, the strength of the current is nowhere mentioned. On I I November 1877, Lucill e had the misfortune while in the somnambulistic statc to fall off thc high bridge connecting the stage with the auditorium, hurting herself badly by falling on the zinc screen behind the conductor's stand. Though she had lacerated her arm she did not give the least sign of feeling pain till Donato awoke her from her magnetic sleep. \Yhen the doctor had to sew up the gaping wound he requested Donato to put Lucille again into the somnambulistic slcep, so that the arm could be trcated in the completc insensibility of the patient. l A. 1\. Aksakov, the Russian savant and Editor of PS)'chische Studien believed that telepathic communication between Donato and Lucille could be established. In order to tes t such possible thought-transference between them he conducted a series of experi ments on 17 November 1878 in Germany. Aksakov had taken with him six cards on each of which he had indicated in writing what he wished to have performed by the subject. After the subject had been put into a magnetic sleep, Aksakov gave Donato a card, asking him to order Lucille, only by looking at her, without saying 1
PS)'chische Studien, 18i9, pp.
102-106.
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during these Donato experiments. Lucille's eyes had remained closed all the time, \dlile during some or' the experiments the mesmerist had stood behind his subject. I am not at all sure whether Aksakov's experiments (there were only SLX of them ) with Donato acting a$ an agent may be con sidered as any evidence for the existence of paranormal cognition. The fact that Donato was always only onc or t\\'o paces away from the subject and together with her in the same room in many ways invalidates the results claimed to have been obtained. Such an experimental set-up as conducted by Aksakov would certainly not be accepted as valid in an evidential sense in modern times. It is also hardly possible for a single observer to keep a watchful eye on the subject as well as on tile agent during every single moment of the experiment. The hyperacuity of the somnambulist's senses may have made it possible for thc agent to have whispered in a very low voice some indications as to what the subject was expected to do, unheard by Aksakov. I t seems that during mesmeric demonstrations in theatres, etc ., Donato generally limited himself to the impressive though uncommon phenomena of a "nol'mal" nature which somnambu lists are able to show in this condition, such as rigidity of the limbs, cataleptic conditions and hallucinatory impressions. PertI' (25, p. 102 ) writes that he was prcsent at one of Donato's public demon strations, with Lucille as the subject, at Bern (Switzerland) on 4 l\O\'ember 1880. There were no telepathic or similar mani festations, but one of the things that impressed Perty was the great muscular strength Lucille developcd during her somnambulistic trance. This gave him the conviction that Donato's methods were based on hypnotic rather than on m2..gnetic influence. The som nambulist was 110t put to sleep by letting her stare into a crystal ball but simply by Donato staring at her, the same mesmeric method being used by that other internationally knowi1 mesmerist, Regazzoni. Perty also believcd that the grcat muscular strength shown by Lucille during her mcsmeric trance could hardly have been produced by animal magnetism but should be regarded as of a typical hypnotic nature. The same applied, he thought, to the blind obedience Lucille sho\\'ed to Donato. According to Leon Tetard, quoted by Delboeuf (26, p. 19), Donato himself stated that he did 110t believe in thought-trans mission or mental suggestion and stressed the role of suggestion in the magnetic state. Indeed, in 1880 he \\Tote of himself that "je n'ai cru posscder un don surnaturel, mais seulement un dOll
From 1880 till the end of the century there \va, little interest m Belgium in animal magnetism and theories of the vital fluid. I t seems tha t Ii'om now on Belgian scientists and phil030phers enthusiastically joined the French medical doctors and psychiatrists in the exploration of the quickly expanding field of research in hypnosis and its phenomena. It was soon found, as Braid had demonstrated some thirty years before, that the phenomena of hypnoti:an and of magnetism were practicu.lly identical, and, having bccome convinced of the important role that suggestion (in all its various kinds) plays in thc production of hypnotic phenomena, researchers quickly came to the conclusion that the conception of a mysterious magnetic fluid as a causative factor was unnecessary. Just as in physics the hypothetical workl became unnecessary to explain certain facts in nature, so the scientific development cf hypnosis research had no longel' any usc for the animal magnetic fluid. Compal-ed 'with what happened in France (Charcot and his disciples) only very few Belgians made a memorable contribution to hypnotic research. Hypnotic investigations scemed to have been a speciality of French enquirers, at least during the 1880 - 18go decade. One of the best known Belgian investigators was Professor J. R. L. Delboeuf (1831 - 1896), a man of great erudition, as well versed in mathematics as in classical and modern letters. In contrast to the majority of his French and Belgian colleagues studying hypnotic phenomena, Delboeuf held no medical qualifica tions. His interest in mesmerism seemed to have been mainly in its presumcd therapeu tic value in cu ring a variety of ailments and eliminating pain, and also in the far-reaching psychological im plications 0[' the demonstration of the influence of the mind on bodily processes. Probably because he was not a qualified medical man himself, he was also very active in defending the rights of mesmerists to give public demonstrations of the faculties and powers of their somnambulists, thereby showing the lay public the power of the vital fluid (or rather suggestion as Delbocuf himself would have termed it) to strengthen or alter personality traits and moral and intellectual faculties. His rather emotional defence of
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nail/ret, qui me snfTit amplement" (26, p. II ?,). There seems no reason to doubt that Don a to was simply an adroit slLDwman whose feals naturally baffled many credulous persons such as Aksakov.
DEL130EUF ;\:-ID HIS FOLLO\VERS
~
lllesmerisLS and laymen practising h )fpnosis [or therapeutic purposes occurred at a tim \! when the Belgia n Governmcnt w a~ engaged in getting a law accepted by p a rliament to prohibit hypnotiz ing by the lay public, privately or publicly, and to permit it to bc used on ly by those persons who had passed th e nccessary examinations in medicine. T his situation exposed D clboellf to a number of rath er violent attacks by the medical profession. H is attitude in this matteI' \\"a~ largely dctermined by his vic\\~ concerning the rcaction of the mesmerized pel'son to the suggestions imposed on him. Many experiments with his subjects had convinced Delboeuf that one could not induce a hypnotized person, even by repeated suggestions or orders, to do things against his moral convictions. This was in contrast to the opinion of most imTstigators of hypnosis in those days who declared that a mesmcrized person should be rcgardeu as an automaton, absolutely at the mercy ofthc hypnotizer, as passive as a wa lking-stick in the hand; of it, owner. The lVfin ister of Justice, M. J. L e J eune, dcclared himself an adherent of this "walking stick" hypothesis when he defended the passing of a law prohibiting laymen from practising hypnosi.s. He stated that "it was absolutcly true th'). t a mesmerht could induce his magnet ized subject to pcrpetrate the mmt awful criminal acts" (28, p. 55 0).1 Delboeuf hin1.~ cl C seems to have possessed considerable mesmeric powers and claims to ba\"c cured all kinds of ailments and illnesses, especially those that v. e now know to be or a nervous nature. He also had the luck to come across a Iew excellent subjects, among them two pea~ant girls, with whom lie (ovid experiment as much as he iiked and who lent themselves even to be burned or wounded with pins, without complaining. D elboeuf's cxperiments with symmetrical burns which he COli Icl, purely by suggestion, either bring into a state of inflammation or heal quickly and smooth ly, are well known. Although D elboeuf had every opportu nity to work with a great number of sensitivcs and somnam b uli:;ts of both sexes in the course of many year.; and \I'as abic to observe many kinds of remarkable hypnotic phenomena, it is important to note that he never seems to havc become satisfied that the higher phenomcna o[ mesmerism, ~ o often reported in literatt:.re, \\'ere facts in natur(:. On a number of occasions he stated that in regard to certain tests, such as those dealing with lost objects and the cffect of sub 1 This was the law of ~o j\-1arch l()g2 (J\Jon/l. du 4 juin 1892 ) . Sec Pasillomi2 1892, 256, Pl'. 23 [ IT.
,tanee-; in closed phiah, lIe was never able to satisfy himself that there was an ything paranormal in the results observed (cL R elIne de Beigique, N ovember 1886) . In a paper (27 ), be mentions a case w hich seem s almost certainly to have been that oC the french somnambulist L eonie who, it will bc r emembcrcd, was investigated by Janet, R.icbet and an English delcgation led by F. W . H. Myers in the spring of 1886. He stated that he found great dilTiculty in accepting the theory of mental suggestion at a distance and had to admit that he suspected that coincidences, auto-suggestions and "des complaisances dans l'observation" played their part in the rcsults. Nevertheless, from what he himself stated, it is clcar that he did not wish to go on record as denying that such phenomena evcr took place; rather, he preferred to adopt an attitude of sus pended judgment, since he himself had never been able to obscrve such phenomena under control eonditiom which were dictated by himself in his own milieu. This is especially intercsting, since it is clear that in spite of his friendship and association with F. 'N, H. ~Ifyers he was unable to bring himself to believe in the results of the experiments in thought-transmission carried 011 by the leaders of thc Society for Psychical Research. Delboeuf seemcd to have bcen very unlucky with his experi ments \\'ith subjects said to have been paranormally gifted. \Vhen visiting Nan cy and the representatives of thc Nancy school (Lic beault, Licgeois, Bernheim, etc. ), in 1889, Delboeufwas introduced to a young girl of 17 'sh o according to Liebeault and his colleagues possessed great paranormal gifts when in the somnambulistic sta te. D elbocuf then goes on to say that he was suffering from a cataract of the right eye. "~ hen the subject had been put to slcep D clboeuf consulted her on the lollowing matter: "I am sllffering li'om an ailment that is not painful. Though it i, of a rather serious natur(;, I am not worrying myself about it. Can you tell me what it is?" );"0 answer. "I already lCarcd that you would not be able to give me a correct answer. It is too difficult. But I will now help you by giving you some indications. It is my eye that Ius been troubling me. 'Vhich eye is it ?" "The left eye." To those prescnt he made a sign of denial. At that moment M . Liebeault intervcned and said to the somnambulist: 'The left eye? '\'hat do you mean? The gentleman's left eyc, or the eye on your left?" "The one that is on m y left." "You mean to say, tbe gentleman's right eye?" " Yes, naturally." "'Veil, then," ~v1. Delboeuf continued, "what is the matter with my right eye?" "You are far-sighted and cannot sce from near-by. You
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are quickly tired when working. KolI' and then yo w' eyelids stick together ... occasioning greal discomfort to you. " After having heard that Delboeuf's eye did not pa in llirn in any way, Liebeault rcma rkcd that this painlcss condition was probably the reason that thc somnambulist could not get correct impressions (29, pp. 45- 46). Delboeuf's opinion concerning the reality of cxtrasensory pel' ception was shared by another Belgian prominent in hypnotic research. This was Dr. ]. Crocq (fils ) who was the first to give clinical lessons in hypnosis and its phenomcna in a Brussels hospital and who a lso contributed towards introducing hypnosis in the curriculum of medical sciences at the Belgian universities. On several points he differed in opinion from D clboeuf, but he had never come across a case of mental suggcstion or cxtragensory perception so well authcnticated that it could convince him of the reality of paranormal cognition. In his book on hypnotism and crime, published in 1894, he writes: ") conducted a grcat number of experiments with subjects who were either in the waking state or put into a somnambulistic sleep. I made them divine the symbols of playing cards or some object I held in my cl osed hand. I have tried to transfer to the subject by mental suggestion, instructions, certain names, hallu cinations, etc., but I never had better resul ts than IvL Gilles de La Tourette who repeated thc clairvoyance playing cards cxperimcnts conducted by C . Richct and who never obtaincd any other results than those of the level of mean chance expectation. I am there/ore fmced to deny the existcnce of mental suggc:;tion" (30, p. 126). Crocq also seems to have visited several clairvoyant, claiming to divine all sorts of things about a person unk nown to them. In the above-mentioned book (30, pp. 128-1 30) he gives us a very amusing story about one of his visits to a Bnmcb clairvoyant when he was pumped by the clairvoyant's accomplices in order to supply this "divining" lady with personal data about h.imself. \,yhcn hc accused them of fraudulent practice.> trouble ensued and Crocq was thrown out of the house. In his textbook on hypnotism, in which hc revicwed the whole field of hypnotic researches and theories as it was known at the end of the last century, he kept to his opinioil. that there was no such thing as extrasensory pcrception. Though he kept an open mi11d regarding the whole field of parapsychology as it was thcn devclop ing (ESP investigation in France and England, the remarkable mediumistic phenomena of a physical naturc of Eusapia Palladino,
ctc. ) there was nothing, hc wrote, that could convince him of the existence of paranormal cognition. "I have been present," he writes, "at a gr eat number of public performances where it was claimcu that mental suggestion would be demonstrated. I havc, however, in cvcry instance discovered the trick, often only per ceivable with the greatest difficulty, that guided the somnambulist. These somnaml.mlists were succe~sful by employing a kind of agreed upon alphabet" (30 , p. 439). A little further on he goes on to say: "Hence, I have come to the conclusion that I ,,-ill not categorically deny the existence of mental suggestion but that I do grcatly doubt that it really exists for nothing of an exact nature proves its reality" (30, p. 440). Crocq shows the same scepticism towards the c1aims of Col. de Roehas to have proved the existence of what the latter terms "extcriorization of sensibility" and consequently thc reality of the vital magnctic fluid so dear to the mesmerists of the first half of the ninetecnth century. From the start Crocq doubted that the explanation submitted by Rochas of what he had observed during his experiments with some of his somnambu list~ \vas the correct one; in criticizing Rochas's claims he coined the term pseHdo exteriorization to denote that there was no question of a real exterior ization of the sensibility but that such phenomena could easily be attributed to suggestion and unconscious training of the somnam bulists with whom Rochas . . I'orked for years (31, pp. 312- 313). Therefore what Rochas regarded as indications of thc existence and manikstation of the fluidic and supernatural efRuence (considered by the mesmerists to be the causc of all kinds of remarkable mag netic phenomena) wcre quite without foundation. It is Crocq 's merit to have bcen the first to direct a questionnaire to a grcat many prominent investigators of hypnotic phcnomena not only in Europe but also in the United States. No seientiJic value can be attached to such a collection of opinions, howcver prominent the men may have been who expressed them, but it does show that on many interesting points in connection with hypnotic research and theories therc existed a wide divergence of opinion about the true significance of certain observed phenomena occurring during hypnosis and somnambulism . There is little point, after more than half a century, in trying to unravel this complicated tangled skcin of false and correct observations, wishful thinking and unsatisfactory experimental conditions which formed the basis of certain claims. In retrospect, however, it can be said that of all the various phenomena in discussion during the 'nineties, such
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as the transfert by applying magnets, the influence of va rious metals on the behaviour of the hypnotizcc.l subjects, the influence of drugs from a distance, Baraduc's polarization theory of the vital fluid, etc., only one survives up to modern timcs. That phenomenon, alrcady di'icusscd in Crocq's ccnsus of hypnotism, is extra'iensory perception. Certainly, even today its exi,tence i" denied by some and affirmed by others, and its reality is still an open question, but it is constantly debatcd with acrimony and it shows no signs of being banished to the limbo of discarded theories, hypotheses and phenomena. In connection with the theme of this present work, mesmeric and hypnotic procedures and paranormal phenomena, it seems to me to be a quite significant fact that Delboeuf's and Crocq's experience points to the conclusion that paranormal phenomena are very rarely produced by mesmeric manipulations alone. Here we have two men, each outstanding in his own department, medical and non-medical, who in the course of many years must have observed hundreds of cases of hypnotically induced somnambulism and similar conditions, declaring that they had never come across a case of paranormal cognition or one indicating a paranormal physical influence. Delboeuf mentions having been present at several public demonstrations of mesmerism at Li ege where such famous mesmerists as Donato, Hansen and Leon showed their remarkable influence on their somnambulists and subjects recruited from the public. But these demo nstratiom did not impress Delboeuf in any way as showing traces of paranormally induced behaviour or extrasensory perception. If we raise the question why Delboeuf and Crocq during their long series of experiments with hypnotized subjects (Delbocuf adopted the procedure of the old mesmerists, making passes and such manipulations to induce magnetic sleep or somnolence in his subjects, while Crocq made use of the more modern mcthods of hypnotism ) never came in contact with an authentic case of para normal phenomena, we can only advance our personal opinion and suggest that they were either very unlucky in not finding a gifted subject among the hundreds with whom they worked or that they were mentally so averse from the idea of the existence of extra sensory perception (clairvoyance, telepathy, etc.) that thcy un consciously inhibited paranormal phenomena in their subjects. There is a good deal of resemblance bet'vveen establishing the existence of the phenomenon of causing blisters and other organic changes by simple suggestion and establishing paranormal phcno
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mena. Both types of phenomena seem to have been rare and dependent on the constitution of the subject and perhaps also on the mental aptitude of the experimenter. Dclboeuf could not produce such physical changes among his own subjects, though some with whom he worked during several years wcre highly suggestible. The only time he saw the production of blisters by suggestion was during his visit to the Salpetriere when under quite good conditions he could follow the development of the blister after Charcot had suggested to the subject that a piece of burning \vax had dropped on to a certain spot on her wrist. Though the wrist had been bandaged and glycerine applied to the spot indicated after a short interval blisters began to show themselves. By the next day the blister had become so enlarged that it was 1 inch long and l inch broad (2 7, pp. 136- 137). Incidentally it was Delboeuf who, then just starting his studies of animal magnetism, 'was the first to suggest that the stigmatization of the famous Belgian Louise Lateau was due to the action of the imagination on the body and that the stigmata were the product of auto-suggestion. Although the great Virchow, in discussing the case of Louise Lateau in 1876 had cried ou t: "i t is ei ther a fraud or a miracle", the young pro fessor Delboeuf, known to but a few of his colleagues, had given it as his opinion in 1869 (Journal de Liege, 22 December 1869) that such stigmata should not be considered as a miraculous event but as natural processes of mind influencing the body. Crocq, on the other hand, never had the opportunity of ob serving a single case of vesiculation by suggestion. Although he was aware that some of his colleagues were lucky enough to produce such blistering effects by suggesting to the subject that he \vas being burned on a certain spot on his body or that a vesicatory had been applied to a certain place, Crocq, without denying the possibility of such bodily effects by pure suggestion, Lelieved this a very rare phenomenon, the production of which only succeeded with hysterical persons. In this connection he also remarked that Louise Lateau's stigmata, certainly to be regarded as authentic and not the result of fraudulent practices, should be explained as the result of auto-suggestion and that their production was only made possible by Louise's pathological, hysterical constitution (31, pp. 43 6-437) . It is rather remarkable that the two Belgian leaders in hypnotic research during the last two decades of the nineteenth century both declared that they did not come across one single paranormal phenomenon, notwithstanding the fact that they experimented on D
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a large scale with hundreds or subjects. De1boeuf lived with an excellent subject in his house for several years and had cvery oppor tunity to observe her girts, if any, of a paranormal nature. He could induce any kind of insensibility in this subject (her first parturition happened undcr hypnosis without her feeling the least pain) and she obeyed any post-hypnotic suggestion, but she never gave him one instance of having had a paranormal impression. On the other hand we have the case of the female subject of 11. A. Denis, a businessman living at Verviers, who is said to have had frequent paranormal impressions in relation to events occurring to himself, to whom she seems to have been much attached. These paranormal impressions did not occur during experiments especially conducted to find out whether extrasensory perception existed, but were more or less of a spontaneous nature. 1-1. Denis published his experiences with this subject in an article (3 2) pointing out that a good deal had to be taken for granted in this matter and depended on his own trustworthiness. Still, he described some interesting cases which seem to be well supported. 1-1. Denis apparently treated his subject in accordance with the old mesmeric precepts, basing himself on the concept of the vital fluid. In the first case mentioned he remarks that on 13 May 1893 he visited Col. de Rochas in Paris and was present at some experi ments conducted with Rochas's subject, NIlle Lux, with a view to demonstrating the reality of the exteriorization of sensibility and that of the astral, the fluidic body. After his return to Verviers, he decided to start experiments with his own subject, Mlle Aloud, in order to see if he could obtain with her the same results as Rochas had had. On 29 May he entered his subject's house (she lived about a quarter of a mile away from his own residence) and found her in bed and asleep. He was told that she had been indisposed for some time. :M. Denis put himself at once in magnetic contact with her and ordered her to describe her ailment and prescribe medicines and a regime to cure herself. This she did. "Suddenly she told me," 1r1. Denis writes, "as if in a dream: '\rVhen you were in Paris, you stared with gr.eat curiosity at a woman'. Very much surprised, I asked her to explain herself more fully. 'You looked at a woman who was singing trills.' '\rVhere did this happen?' 'In a large hall where there were quite a lot of people. You used all kinds of glasses in examining this person.' " "This is what happened. In the evening of 13 NIay, one of my relations and myself decided to visit Eldorado'! At a certain [1 A music hall.]
moment a lady appeared on the stage, named MUe Polaire, a singer in whom I believed to recognize the subject of Col. de Rochas, despite the fact that the thiel. layer of powder and rouge had changed the expression on her face. I examined her from a distance with great care but could not satisfy myself that she really was identical with the subject of Rochas.... The detail about" using all kinds of glasses in examining this person" is very typical, for not trusting to my own spectacles which I deemed insufficient for my purpose, I made use of those belonging to my relation who accompanied me, hoping in this way to see more clearly if Mlle Polaire ,vas or was not Rochas's subject. '" Did the singer sec me among the spectators?' I asked her. 'No.' '\rVhat more did you observe?' 'That you were accom panied by a person you esteem highly.' "Continuing the conversation I asked her: 'Did you s.ee me somewhere else in Paris?' 'Yes, in a long street; you were walking very fast, nearly running.' 'Can't you remember some details of that street, so that I could recognize it?' 'No, that strcet wasn't fine looking, but neither was it ugly.' "I presume that the street she was talking about must have been the Rue de l'Universite. I walked right down it from the Boulevard St. Germain to the Rue Jacob. The street seemed endless to me, as I was very much in a hurry at the time. By now very much interested, I went on questioning my subject. 'Did you see me somewhere else? ' 'Yes, you were together wi th a gentleman who was making a great many movements in front of a woman. He held an object in his hands, the influence of which upon the woman was visible.' " I t was certainly Col. de Rochas and the piece of wax in which he had dissolved the effluences of his projected subject [sujet exter ioriseJ. 'On which story did we find ourselves?' 'You weren't on a story.' This is quite true, since the experiments were con ducted on the ground floor" (32, pp. 1- 3). M. Denis now recalled his subject to the waking state and ordered her during the somnambulistic condition to note down in writing all the impressions she was going to receive in future. Another case related by M. Denis is the following (3 2, pp. 8 ff.). "On 27 or 28 September I was sojourning in Paris, and there I cut my finger while lifting up a chest. \rVhen I returned to Ver viers a week later, my subject in the somnambulistic state told me that she had seen me on that occasion. I reprimanded her for not noting down her impressions, and I then and there handed her a
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pen to rectify immediately \dmt she had forgotten. The (allowing dialogue ensued: 'Sir, I saw you in Paris; you had hurt yourself and were bleeding prolllsely. You \\ CIT ill a uael state. ' 'Did I hurt myself so badly?' '0, certainly!' ' \ \l hich finger \\ as hurt?' 'It was bet\-,'een the first and sccond phalange of the left hand.' 'What is the name of this finger ?' 'The index.' (All these details are correct.) 'Continue,' I said. 'You were busy taking meaSUl'e ments in a small room.' 'Did I hurt myself while taking measure ments? ' '1\0, it was after you had taken the measurements, but you also took measurements after the accident.' 'Do you rcmember the date?' 'No, no!' 'During which part of the day did I take the first measurements?' 'In the morning.' 'And when did I hurt my finger?' 'During the afternoon.' 'Did you see who was with me?' Here I was thinking of my daughter who twice ban daged my finger, as the blood was running profusely. 'No, but I did see a man who put something on your finger.' "Somewhat surprised that my subject did not mention my daughter who had twice bandaged my finger and not remembering that somebody else had attended to my finger, I again put the question: 'Are you sure that it was a man?' 'Yes,' she answered. "I then remembered that one or two hours after I wounded my finger (I dined during that interval) I went to a chemist's shop where the man had covered the finger with collodion in order to prevent the wound getting infected, "Although my subject had not noted down her impressions at the time, I am convinced that she did have them at the time I cut my finger, so proving their paranormal nature. The reason for my conviction is that at the very moment the subject had perceived my blood running profusely she started packing her portmanteaux. vVhen she awoke from her somnambulistic sleep she found- without knowing what had happened and what had made her pack her bags-her valises fully packed and the cupboards in great disorder. Astonished at what had happened, she told her neighbour, Mme C. G. about it, that is to say before I returned to Verviers. It is possible that when in the somnambulistic state she had perceived me wounded, the idea forced itself upon her to depart directly for Paris to help and nurse me." :M . Denis obtained a written statement from Mme C. G. attesting that before his return to Verviers, !v1lle Aloud, the subject, had told her that to the subject's great astonishment the latter had found her bags fully packed and her apartment turned into utter confusion (32, p. 10).
In his article 1\1. Denis quotes several othcr cases of alleged telepathic contact betweell his somnambllLi~l and himself, all oC which he him'i.df considered or a paranorma l nature. During the last decade of the nineteenth century, two Belgian writers published books in which they reviewed the various prob lems connected with hypnosis and mental suggestion. T he first of these was Albert Bonjean, a man of legal training, who experi mented with a number of excellent hypnotic subjects and wa~ able to induce in them all the ordinary phenomena of mesmerism such as positive and negative hallucinations and even cases of elementary stigmata coupled with bleeding on certain patches of the skin (33, pp. 100 ff. ). from his account it would appear that he endeavoured to obtain mental suggestion vvith many oj' the subjects witlI \\Ihom he worked, but was never able to obtain results which leel him to believe in its reality (33 , p. 274)· Although Bonjean was clearly impressed by Ochorowicz's book l on mental suggestion, he remained highly scep tical and stated that at the moment of writing he had very little belief in the reality of mental suggestion and felt inclined to admit that many experi ments which had been conducted to prove its existence were not completely water-tight. H e went on to say that in addition his own scepticism was based on the many experiments he had con ducted with his own subjects during several months, all of which tests were either completely negative or had given results of a very doubtful nature (33, p. 274). Unfortunately hc docs not describe the kind of experiments he conducted, but stated that he never lost heart and continued the work with the same enthusiasm as when he started. It is possible that his disbelief in mental suggestion was stimu lated by his experiences with the female somnambulist, Lully, and her mesmerist, who claimed apparently that his subject was a highly gifted clairvoyant and was able to demonstrate thought transmission (pp. 261 ff. ). Bonjean believed that he had dis covered the trick by which the somnambulist and her manager communicated with each other. Contrary to the performances by Pickman and Zamora, Lully's mesmerist had to know first what his subject had to divine and such a procedure is, of course, very suspicious and suggests that somehow there must be a sensory contact between the two. On the other hand, Lully's performances had made a great impression and certain French investigators like
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1 De La suggestion published in 1889.
metltaL~,
Paris, 1887.
The second edition or this work was
Grasset and Sa.baticr of the University of l\10ntpellier were inclined to believe that Lull), had genuine para normal faculties, although it seemed that Grasset was not altogether satisfied that every possible precaution had been taken to exclude normal communica tion between Lully and her mesmerist. 1 From Bonjean's account, it seems that he first met Lully when she was giving her performances at a fair in Verviers in Belgium. Careful observation convinced him that Lully and her mesmerist communicated with each other by lip-reading. The mesmerist always placed himself at some distance from the somnambulist and facing her, while the latter was seated on a chair with eyes closed and seemingly in a hypnotic trance. Her eyes were neither covered nor blindfolded and success was obtained every time as long as no screen was placed between the two and the one could freely see the face of the other. But as soon as Bonjean got a chance to place himself between the two so that Lully could no longer see the lips or her mesmerist, then her powers immediately disappeared. Another suspicious fact that Bonjean noted was that the mesmerist refused to follow his suggestion and turn his face to the wall during the experiment. These facts strongly suggested to Bonjean that silent moving of the lips on the part of the mesmerist gave the subject all the indications that she needed. Bonjean, as we have said, appeared to have gained much success in producing stigmata and bleeding on the subject's skin by simple suggestion. In conformity with the views concerning this subject which were generally held in his own time, he con sidered such phenomena within the realm of normal psychology, although, owing to their rare occurrence, some late nineteenth century investigators of hypnotic phenomena questioned the possibility of producing such organic changes by suggestion alone. Indeed, such phenomena induced solely by suggestion seem today to have become so rare that some modern parapsychologists, not knowing how to explain such changes through knowledge obtained 1 Professor J. Grasset of the medical faculty of the University of Montpellier was one of the many French medical men of the period who was keenly interested in the problems of occultism generally. He had little critical faculty and is well known for his connection with the case of Anna Briou, whose claims to demon strate eyeless-vision were exciting considerable interest in French circles between 1896 and 18g8. Armand Sabatier was another writer of a rather similar sort who asked such questions as to whether the material universe was eternal and how souls were made. Both of them had had, as far as is known, no training in the detection of simple tricks such as wcre common amongst the performers of the period. [Ed.j
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in the further understanding of psycho-somatic manifestations admit that they feel inclined to regard such phenomena as res ulting from ccrt(lin paranormal factors, for example jJS)dlOkinesis (3 -I, p. 1'2] ) . The second of these two authors, H. Nizet, discussed the case for the reality or otherwise of mental suggestion at great length without, however, coming to a definite conclusion. In his book (3 5) he preserves an open mind on the whole question and states as his personal opinion that the existence of mental suggestion cannot be considered so far as proved. Quoting a number of persons with an excellent reputation both in the field of psychology and psychiatry who regarded mental suggestion as a fact he appears not to mention any positive or negative experiments which he had made himself in this special field. Summing up his own conclusions on the subject (35, p. loB ) he states that although experimenters like O chorowicz, Richet and others have convinced themselves that mental suggestion is a fact, he himself is of the opinion that one should still reserve one's judgment and postpone affirming its occurrence in view of the fact that the experimental findings so far cannot be considered con clusive. Indeed, in this matter the Hippocratic aphorism, Experi mentum fallax, judicium difJicile, should always be kept in mind. In the course of his discussion, Nizet devoted some pages (35, pp. 12 7 ff.) to the performances of stage performers like Pickman and Zamora, at whose stage demonstrations he himself was present when they were given in Brussels. Noting that Lombroso appears to have been convinced of Pickman's telepathic facuities, Nizet declares that he himself was rather impressed, although, as he points out, care should be exercized in view of the fact that Pickman was an excellent professional illusionist. In this connection Nizet's rather simple state of mind is illustrated (3 5, p. 128) by his statement that Pickman appeared to be quite sincere during some of the experiments. For demonstrating mental suggestion Nizet states that the subject was isolated and those taking part in the experiment then agreed upon a kind of simulated theft or murder as this kind of game appeared to be the most conducive to favour the emergence of mental suggestion. Thus, for example, it was agreed that one of the company should act the part of the person to be murdered, and the knife with which the murder was supposed to be committed was placed among other similar knives. No guidance or contact was made with the person who knew what the subject had to indicate and it is said that the experiments were successfully repeated 47
time after time, while those with contact did not succeed more often than those without. According to Nizet (35, p. 128), Pick man, dUl"ing these experiments, appeared to be in a kind of light trance (condition seconde ) which could not be considered, according to him, either as a state of hypnosis or one of full awareness. He does not seem to have discussed the theory that this alleged con dition \vas just part of Pickman's performance in order to deceive the investigators. Although Nizet seems to have been impressed by these Brussels experiments he was certainly not convinced thatthought-transmission was the only explanation. He believed that the experiments were not conducted ill a manner which could be considered entirely satisfactory and that they should be repeated with still greater care. He declared, therefore (p. 131), that definite conclusions should not be drawn from these tests, but at the same time he appeared to agree with the opinion of those present at the experiments that the manner in which the demonstrations were conducted were of such a nature that doubt was inclined to shift and give an affirmative answer as regards the existence of mental suggestion. Nizet held the same opinion with regard to the performances of Zamora and stated that he was as good as Pickman, quoting a French case in which Zamora was able to discover the buried spoils of a theft which the police had been unable to trace. Nizet was naturally also interested in the question of the influence of medica ments at a distance, which had intrigued so many of the French investigators. Like other critical enquirers he had to admit that the experiments personally conducted in this field only gave con fused and doubtful results (35, p. 123). If we review the development of mesmerism and hypnotism in Iklgium during the whole of the nineteenth century and the existing evidence of thc reality of paranormal phenomena appearing with the help of mesmeric or hypnotic procedures, the conclusion can hardly be avoided that the paranormal was but rarely encountered, especially when hypnotic and mesmeric researches came to be conducted by eminent men of the medical and scientific pro fessions. We find that in Belgium, as in the Netherlands in the same period, hardly any of these men encountered really para normally gifted subjects. It cannot be said that they were not on the alert for such phenomena. They recognized the possibility of such phenomena but they simply did not meet with cases of, say, extrasensory perception under conditions adequate to convince them of its existence. Apparently it did not matter whether the
I. KLUGE, C. A. F., Versueh einer Darstellung des animalisehen JHagTlCtismus als Heilmitlel. Berlin, 1811. 2. SYSTE~IE raisonne du magnetisme universel, d'apres les prine/pes de Af. Afesmer . .. Paris, 1786. 3. 1\1., M . T. D. [i.e. A. A. Tardy de j\Jontravcl]. Lettres pour scrvir de suite a l'Essai sur la tMorie du somnambulisme magn';tique. Londres, 17 8 7. 4. P * * *, l'abbe [i.e. I'abbe Petiot?]. Autres reL'eries sur Ie magnetisme animal, a un aeademicien de province. Br:uxelles, 1784. 5. LETTRE de Afr. A. d AIr. B. sllr Ie livre intitute: Recherches et doutes sur Ie magnetisme ani mal [By M. A. Thourct]. 13ruxelles, 1784. 6. j\LUINE, E. H., De magnetismo animali. Gandavi, 1829. 7· CREMMENS, D. & TARTE, .1., Le propagateur de magnetisme animal. Bruxdles, 1841. 8. LAFONTAINE, C., Afemoi1'es d'un magnitiseur. 2 vols. Paris, 1866.
9· MAG:'
10. Du POTET DE SENNE VOY, .1. D., Baron. Traiti eomlJlet de magnetisme animal. 7 cd. Paris, 1904. II. IDJIEZ, V., JJ. Eugel/e de Pradel d Bruxelles, en 1839. Soirees plm!nologieo magl/eliques et littiraires. Bruxelles, 1840. 12. IDJIEZ, V., Dissertation hislorique et seientifique sur la Trinite Eg)ptienne ... et d' 1111 essai de bibliographie magnitique. Bruxelles, 1844.
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49
mesmeric or hypnotic trance or somnambulistic sleep had been indu ced by "magnetic passes" or by methods proposcd by Braid and his followers. One has the impression that paranormal gifts are engrained in the constitution of some people and that, if con ditions are favourable, they may emerge, whatever the methods used to bring them out. A more or less erotic bond between mes merist or hypnotizer and the subject may, it seems, greatly favour the appearance of paranormal phenomena if there exists a con stitutiQnal aptitude to produce such phenomena. It is possible that the special relationship existing between medical men and patients treated with hypnotism at the Salpetriere and Nancy were not conducive to such phenomena. These conditions were probably better in spiritistic circles where it was a common practice that the "mediums" were magnetized and thus entranced.
REFERENCES The following list is in no Sense a bibliography. It is simply a short-title list of books and articles mentioned in the text. Althol(gh in many cases the titles are abbreviated, enough is given to enable any reader to follow up the reference if he wishes to do so.
J 3.
14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Ig. 20. 21. 22, 23. 24, 25. 26. 27. 28. 2g. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34, 35. 36.
IVloNTrus, E., Fails curiellY el illltfressanlJ prodllils jlaT la puissancc dll magnilisll1{ animal et cOff//I/es rcndlls des expb"ienccJ remark"hlt:s o/lln'e.> en Belgiqne. llnu{ciles, iCl4.~. L\FO:-/TAINE, C., L'Art de maglllJliser. 3 cd. l'aris & Gcneve, 1860. l'vloUTIN, L, Le maglli lisme IWlIlain. 4 ed. Paris, 1920. AHRENS, H., COUTS de j)s)'c/lOlogie . .. 2 vols. Paris, 1836- 8. TANDEL, N. E. (AUnts . .. jmb. j)aT l'Acad. roy'. des sciences el belles-lellres de Brlltelles, Tomc XV, 2C partic, 1841 - 1842). llruxelles, 1843 . ROBIANO, L. ;'vI. G. [called AloIS] Comle de. AhHller, Galvani el les lheologiellS. Bruxelles, 1845. PETETIN,]. H. D. , Eleclricite animale .. , Paris, 1808. EHRENWALD, ]., "The telepathic hypothesis and doctrinal compliance in psychotherapy." (A mer. J OUT!!. of PS)'cllOlhera/J}', 1957, XI, pp. 359- 379·) COYTEUX, F., Exj)oj'e d'lIn syslerne phil()sophiqu~ suivi d'une Ilufo rie des senliments au perceptions . .. 3 ed. Bruxelles, 1855. HOLSBEEK, H. van., LeUres sur le magntlisme animal. Bruxelles, 1863. DUR;\NT, V., La pile lIlagnclique vitale el 5011 applicalion au Imih'menl des malades. Bruxelles, 1874. DURANT, V., AppeTru de La doclrine medicale du magnetis me vital. Schaer beek, 1875. PERTY, l'v1., Die sichtbare und die uT/sichlvare Well, Diesseils wid Jellseits. Leipzig und Heidelberg, 1881. DELBoEuF,]. R. L., !HagnelisellTS el JHedicills. Paris, 1890. DELBoEuF,]. R. L., "Une visite a la Salpetrii:re." (Revue de Belgique, 1886, Ann. 18, tome LIV, pp. 121-147: 258- 275.) DELBoEu!',]. R. L.,;"L'hypnose et les suggestions criminellcs." (Bullelin de l'Academie ro),ale de Belgique, 1894, 3 ser., XXVIII, pp. 5~H -553· ) DELBoEuF, .1. R. L., Le magnetisme animal. A propos d'une visile d ['icole de Nallc}'. Paris, 188g, CROCQ., .1. (fils), L'H),pnolisme el le crime. Bruxelles, 1894. CROCQ.,.1. (fils), L'Hypnolisme scienlijiqlle. Paris, 1896. DENIS, A., "Quelques phenomenes de telepathie," (Annales des Sciences PSJ,chiques, 1~95, V, pp. 1- 32.) BON]EAN, A., L'H}jJ1lolisme, ses mppoTls avec le droit el la lhirajJcutique. La suggestion mentale. Paris, 1890. WEST, D. ]., Psychical Research loda)'. London, 1954· NIZET, H ., L'H),pnotisme. Etude critique. Bruxelles, 1892. CONRAD, Dr., Le mesmtrisme, ou les merveilles du magnelisme. Bruxelles, 18 75.
50
Hypnotism in the Netherlands 1800- 1 900
I NTRODUCTION DURI:-.IG the second half of the eighteenth century educated classes in the Netherlands were already well acquainted with the possibility of the existence of paranormal phenomena, and interesting and sometimes even heated di scussions can be noted in thc literature of the time pro and con the rcality of thcse phenomena and their bearing on the generally accepted philosophical and religious view of life, particularly in relation to the phenomenon of pre cognition. \Vhen finally, several decades later, mesmerism with its remark able phenomena of somnambulism made its appearance in the Netherlands, these phenomena, a certain number of which certainly appeared to have a typical paranormal character as defined today, failed to impress the scholars in the same way as extrasensory per ception (ESP) did in the twentieth century. ESP at the beginning of the last century was only one more proof of the reality of that mysterious agency, animal magnetism. Mesmerism and the doctrines of animal magnetism did not spread to the Netherlands from the south, from France and Belgium, but from the east, from Germany, and at a time when the pro pounder of the theory of the" universal fluid", Dr. F. A. Mesmer, was passing his last days in a small Swiss town. Although one of the schools of animal magnetism, that of Bar barin, had already successfully penetrated as far as Ostend, the final invasion of thc Dutch frontiers by the curative doctrines of 1-fesmer and Puysegur was definitely hindered for the time being by a strong opposition from the Dutch medical authority of Leiden University, Professor F.]. Voltelen, who fiercely attacked the theory of animal
51
magnctism. Mentioning these theories Voltclen went so far a.~ to use such ter ms as "fiur y-talcs" and "fraudulent inventioll", in cluding both Gassner and Mesmer in his den unciation and speaking of the latter's shameful frauds (schalldelijke bedriegerijen) in Vienna (1, p. 54; 65 (in Dutch translation) ). Early in the nineteen th century animal magnetism and its con comitant somnambulism (Puysegur's method) had a great vogue in Germany, and several famous and authoritative medical doctors of that country, such as C. A. F . Kluge, D. G. Kieser, etc., wrote long volumes about the wonderful results obtained while treating their patients with animal magnetic manipulations, at the same time describing various cases of typical paranormal phenomena, collec tively ascribed to "clairvoyance". Dutch medical men became greatly impressed by the enthusiasm of their German collcagues and now started experimenting seriously with the hypothetical magnetic fluid. Owing to the results apparently obtained, the majority of Dutch physicians and philosophers also bccame highly enthusiastic. Holland now entered into its golden age of mesmerism (1814- 1818) . Animal magnetism then became a subject for general discussion and, just as happened during the beginning of the Spiritualistic period in many countries, all kinds of private circles started experimenting 'with" the fluid". At tea-parties, clubs and social gatherings it was the subject brought up for discussion, while it seems that the numbers of young women who consented to be brought into a somnambulistic state were very large.. The medical treatment by animal magnetic methods applied by the German and Dutch doctors was similar to that which de veloped out of Puysegur's discovery of somnambulism. This method generally consisted in making various "passes" over the patient's body, laying on of hands, or staring fixedly into the eyes, \\'ith the purpose of getting the ailing person into a sleepy condition and aiming at the development of somnambulism which would make it possible for the patient to talk, answer questions and write. Just as nearly a century later Charcot distinguished various hypnotic stages, each with its typical phenomena and symptoms, so the early mesmerists distinguished at least seven or cight somnambulistic conditions. In the fourth or fifth stage of the latter classification it was bclic\"ed that the patient bccame lucid or clairvoyant and that he then would be able to demonstrate all kinds of supernatural or superhuman faculties. Some of these, as described by the old mes merists, would undoubtedly fall within the modern category of the paranormal. During magnetic treatment all endeavours were
directed towards evoking the somnambulist statc, as it wa~ believed that in this condition thc instinctive and spiritual faculties of the ind.ividual would be so heightened that the patient would be able to diagnose correctly his illness and prescribe the fitting medicines and cures, even if that patient did not have the slightest knowledge of anatomy, physiolog)" pharmacology, etc. These ideas were based 011 the assumption that animal magnetism would in a sense loosen a man's soul from the fleshly, earthly bonds, so that its natural capacity to know and understand pl'actically everything in this universe would come into full play. In this condition of being more or less free from the body, the soul could then give all necessary indications to cure completely its body's ailments. It should here be emphazised that it was not the mesmerist who must be considered as the therapeutic agent but the patient himself. By manipulating him according to some magnetic method the patient was brought into a state by the magnetizer which, so it was believed, allowed contact in a more direct way with his soul or spirit, and this higher and immortal part of man could then be consulted as to the best way to rid the patient of his illnesses. Such a som nambulist could successfully treat not only himself but also those sick persons who were brought into contact with him. It is indeed interesting to remark how many cures were reported in those days, especially of nervous complaints, by what we now would call auto posthypnotic commands; for instance, the patient in a somnambu lant state would say: "If I drink a pint of magnetized water this evening, tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock my bowels will be well opened" (if the patient was suffering from serious constipation) and, similarly, menstruation could often be induced. Such phenomena and many others reported in the literature of the time as having been observed during the somnambulant ,tate, or one resembling it, were considered to be supernormal, proving at the same time the reality of that semi-spiritual agency, animal magnetism. A number of these phenomena, however, the modern parapsychologist would not classify as paranormal. The phenomena that were considered in the beginning of the last century as part of the somnambulant state and a tokenofthewonder ful effect of animal magnetism (but which I do not wish to regard as strictly paranormal, and therefore will not be discussed in this section), are: 1. The patient could predict correctly whcn attacks \vould come on, or when the cure would be complete. Predictions con cerned with the effect of medicines fall in this same class.
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2. The so-called phenomenon of ald.osco/Jia, rather common in t.he early period of lllagneti~m. In the somnambulant condition thc patient would oftcn describc anatomical details which he claimed to see in his o\vn or other people's bodies. Hc was heard to say that he perceivcd his brains, nerves, blood vessels, intestines, and what was wrong with them. He would give descriptions about the thick ness of his blood, of its colour, the condition of his lungs, etc. Such autoscopic impressions, however, ncver exceeded the patient's ana tomical knowledge or fancies, or what was known to the medicine of the period. Judged by our modern standards and scientific findings, practically all such autoscopicimpressions and claims, regarded in those days as sound evidencc for clairvoyance, arc quite uneviden tial. 3. The older magnetic literature often mentions a transference of the sensory channcls of perception, such as seeing or hearing by the pit of the stomach, the finger-tips or shouldcrs. Such a trans fercnce was for the older mesmerists a sure sign that the subjcct had developed a high degree of clairvoyance. I shall only cite such cases of sensorial transference when sufficient cvidence is forthcoming that all normal sensory cues were excluded. This is very often not the case, for the mcsmerists were generally too easily satisfied that the somnambulist was not able to perceive by normal mcans. They had little idea of the possible hyperaesthe~ia of subjects in the hyp notic trance and similar states. 4- Another phenomenon that was considered a typical outcome of the wonderful effects of animal magnetism was that generally the subject was en rap/Jort with the mesmcrist and only heard and reacted to the latter's voice. \Vhen other people prescnt in the room screamed at the subject at the top of their voices he would then remain absolutely deaf and show no signs of having heard the slight est noise. \Vhen the phenomena from this kind of ra/J/Jort are obtained within the possible reach of the subject's sensorium (for instance, if the mesmerist magnetizes a piece of string, and any person getting hold of this string automatically establishes ra/Jport with the subject) then, of course, such phenomena are still well within the domain of normal psychology. If, hmvever, such a rajJPort is brought about, without the subject having the slightcst chance ofknmving about it by normal means (e.g. the string is held or taken to another house, a different part of the town, ctc. ), then there is some reason to regard the positive results of such experiments as some evidence of ESP.
54
THE DUTCH GOLD E N AGE OF ANIM A L
jvlAG NE T l S M
( 13q - r8r8 ) One of the first to become intercsted in animal magnetism and its application as a therapeutic agency was the lawyer P. G. van Ghert, who probably camc into contact with the theory in Germany during the first years of the nineteenth century. \Vhen he returned to Holland he started to experiment with the" fluid" and to treat the siek at Amsterdam by means of the magnetizing method s then very much in vogue. In r8r4 van Ghert published a report (2) of a successful treatment of a lady, lasting a full year ( r80g- r8ro), during which she \vas regularly magnetized twice or three times a week. This lady, who quickly developed into an excellent somnam b ulist, directing her cure and prescribing for her various ailments in the somnambulant stage, also may have pos~essed some paranormal faculties. Some cases showing jJrimafacie paranormal characteristics are given below in translation. For example, in a case of what seems like travelling clairvoyance, van Ghert reports that, at a sitting, a gentleman who was present had an aunt living at Doetinchem (a town roo miles east of Amster dam ). Van Ghert requested the patient to go to that town and have a look around. "'Very well,' she answered, 'but first you will have to tell me where Doetinehem is situated.' 'In the county of Gelderland.' Looking round about her for a few moments, she pointed with her hand in a certain direction and asked, 'Is Doetinchem to be found in that direction?' 'Indeed.' 'Is it a village?' 'No, a little town.' 'Through the town there runs a broad street, doesn't it, and the town looks rather neat and clean.' Thereupon she gave a description of t\\·o streets, asking us, 'Doesn't the gentleman's aunt live in that street, on the left hand side?' 'Yes.' 'Isn't there a high stoop in front of the house?' 'No.' 'Then I must be mistaken, and the aunt must live in the house next door to the one I have just mentioned. Hasn't the house a step-roof?' 'Correct.' 'This house's stoop is flush with the ground, and it seems to me that there is a little bcnch on it.' 'Correct.' 'Flanking the house is a passage that runs quite straight.' 'Indeed.' 'On the right hand side of the house there are two windows, they seem to be sliding-windows, and on the top story three windows.' 'Quite correct.' 'How many windows do you see on the left hand side?' the patient was asked. 'I can only see one,' she answered. 'There are three.' 'There is a room on the left side.' "Right, enter that room.'
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"The somnambulist now gave a description of the room, the chimney-corner, a writing desk with a clock placed upon it, etc. There was n othing in the subj ect's description of the room and its furniture that did not correspond \\'ith what the gentleman present remembered about that room. But it should be mentioned that he did not remember all details summed up by the subj ect. "\Ve asked her how many windows she saw in this room. 'Three,' she answered. \Vhen seemingly standing in front of the house, she had stated that this particular room had only one window. 'There is in this room a portc-brisee [folding-doors].' 'Correct.' 'The door seems to have a whitish tint but I can't see the exact colour. Next door to this room it seems the living-room is situated.' 'Right.' 'Two mirrors hang in the living-room, the larger one against the wall, the smaller one against the side-panel.' 'Correct.' 'There is a gentleman in the house who appears to live there.' 'No.' 'Still, this gentleman very often frequents the house. Nearby the lady of the house sits a servant girl.' 'Yes, that is possible.' 'Doesn't the lady wear spectacles?' 'Indeed.' 'She can also knit very well, doesn't she?' 'Yes, a great deal of her time is taken up by knitting.' 'There is a little dog in the house.' 'What is the dog like?' 'White, I believe with brown markings. It has a collar on with little bells.' 'Correct.' 'There is also another dog with longish hair.' 'That may be.' 'The lady is very fond of reading.' 'Yes, that is true.' 'There is a staircase in the passage.' ' j'vlaybe.' 'The kitchen is small but nice and clean. To the right is a small back-yard.' 'Quite so.' 'In that back-yard is a kind of stockade on which dish-cloths, etc. are hung to dry.' 'Correct.' 'Attached to the house, outside, is a little gate.' 'That may be so.' 'It is a little gate where the men go to urinate.' ':Maybe.''' (2, pp. 89- 90 ) \ 'Ve should keep in mind that van Chert's treatment of this and other patients often took the form of public seances to which he invited medical men, professors and others in order to demonstrate to them the wonderful effects of animal magnetism. Some of these effects, rare no doubt, may, if true, be considered of a paranormal nature, although in those days they were regarded as quite normal. The following case seems again one of travelling clairvoyance, or some other facult y, the subject being the same patient mentioned above. The seance took place on 1 June 1809, and is here described (2, p. 119). "One of the gentlemen present, a lieutenant, asked the patient if she could have a look at his family and see how they fared. 'I shall have to know first of what kind of persons the family consists, and
where they all h"e,' she remarked. ' In the county or Gelderland , where my uncle and my brothers and sisters live.' 'You have got a sisler who looks very pale ... a girl moping all the lime, without the slightes t rea~o n for such a sta te of mind.' 'Correct.' •Your other sister is not a pretty girl.' 'You are right, she is indeed not hand some.' ' She is disfigw'ed by having had smallpox.' ' Correc t.' 'Your uncle is a Lall and thin man.' 'Indeed.' 'lIe is a grumpy kind or man.' 'COITect. · 'His health is at a very low ebb.' 'Yes, sn 1 g uess.' 'He is a ll iht! time throwing up phlegm. ' 'Yes, he docs. I have a brother, have a look a t him. ' 'Isn' t h e miserly ?' ' Yes, as avaricious as I never eX'-perienced before.' 'You have more than once kicked up a row with h im.' 'Oh, yes .' ' Y Oll are at va ri a nce with rum, are you not?' 'Yes.'" D uring one of these seances, on f7 June, one of the visitors present asked the patient to go a nd see his brother.; and sisters. W ha t she said she saw, however, was completely 'vTong. \Vhen she wa~ requested by the same gentlema n to Imvc: a look at h is married sister, living a t '5 Hertogen bosch (70 Ill.ile~ frolll Amsterdam) the somnambulist was more su ccessful. She dcscribed lhc sister as having a little ba by, still being suckled, and appearing to be a girl. The sister also seem ed to suffer [rom an ulcerating breast. After an enquiry h ad been m ade, it was fo und lhat what was said about the sister was correct (2, pp. 13 8- 139). A great impression was made on the educated cla~scs in the Netherl ands by the publication of a book devoted to animal mag netism, written b y three fully qualified medical m en, one of whom was a professor of the 'University o[ G roningen (3) . The book ap p eared in two vol umes , the first in 1814 and t.he second in 1818. I t was really this first volume which paved the way for the application of arumal magnetism for I..herapeuuc purp oses in Hollan d . T he approval given by Profcssor C . Bakker to mesmerism encouraged th e whole m edical profession to start experimenting with it and to publish the results they obtain ed. T hough , indeed , mention is made in the fi rst vol ume (p. 82) of paranormal phenomena occur ring in the magnetic sleep (telepathy, precognition , etc.) , as des cri bed in m any publications on the subject, the a u thors themselves did not give any ins tances of paranorm al occurrences experienced by themselves. In the second volume, however, some exampl es of such paranormal events are quoted. Though some m ay think tllat the pr ediction of the occurrence of certain symptom s 0 1' attacks of ailments the somnambulist is going to suffer in the neal' Or distant fu ture should not be regarded as
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paranormal (precognition), still, as a matter of interest, I am going to cite here one such case, leaving it to the read er to judge for him self whether such predictions in the somnambulant state should be considered" normal" or "paranormal". Bakker reported that A. G ., 25 years old and suffering from complaints of the oesophagus, had become a good somnambulist during her treatment with magnetism. Being in the somnambulant state on 16 November 1816, the patient became uneasy and then remarked that she would have colicky cramps on Christmas Day in the evening at 7 o'clock. These cramps would not have any connection with her present illness, but would be the result of catch ing a cold. Nevertheless the colicky cramps would have to be treated with magnetism. On 24 December the medical practitioner, Dr. 'Volthers, had some reason to believe that he would be called to his patient the next evening at 7 o'clock, for the patient ""ould then be attacked by colicky cramps. Everything happened as predicted. Though the attack was rather a severe one, it soon abated after magnetizing manipulations (3, ii, p. (7 6 ). In another case which suggests clairvoyance or telepathy, the patient, A. G., was asked why her sister who was expected to arrive that day from one of the islands to the north of Holland had not yet come. The somnambulist answered that she had been detained at Zoutcamp (a place about 25 miles from the somnambulist's house) by a skipper with \vhom she was bargaining about the purchase of golden pippins. The truth of this vision was completely verified some time later (3, ii, p. 177)· Another case (3, ii, p. 181 ) with the same sensitive might perhaps be interpreted as one of precognition. On 3.January she stated that she had to be bled on 5 January at 10 o'clock in the morning. The blood-letting should be slight but it would be necessary to do it, for she was going to have a bad fright. The cause of the fright she would only tell to her mesmerist when the two of them would be alone together. She then told him that she was going to be greatly frightened by a burglary to be committed in the house she was living in. She proceeded to name various home remedies that should be administered to her in order to calm her after her fright. The next day, 4 January, the somnambulist gave the following explanation of what was going to happen that evening. The man who was going to burgle the house would try to get hold of foodstuffs . But when the somnambulist discovered him he would hit at her with a piece of cloth or a sack that he had in his possession, and by so doing the lamp she would be carrying would be struck out of her 58
hand. The light would then be extinguished; the thief would drod what he had stolen and make his escape. She could not see him clearly but only as in a flash. But never would the thief return and try again to burgle the house. A moment before and directly after the light was extinguished she 'Nould scream; this would happen between 8 and 9 p.m. and there was nothing that could be done to avoid what was going to happen as predicted. No attempt should be made to prevent the burglary and her discovery of it. The next day she would have much to say against having herself bled but the blood-letting must take place in any case. Being convinced that the prediction would be realized, both Bakker and vVolthers desired to be witnesses of what was going to happen. After the master of the house had been informed that about the t-i me mentioned above something was going to happen in his house without his suffering any harm, the two proposed that they should be allowed to enter a room behind his shop surreptitiously, in order to look through the glass windows, while keeping themselves in the dark, and then see what would happen. As the master of the house was completely convinced of the honesty of A. G ., his servant, and of the truth of what she had pronounced in the magnetic sleep (of which he had had quite a lot of experience), he willingly consented. But when a few minutes before 8 o'clock they ",'ere preparing to enter the room before the appointed time, a servant of the shop owner suddenly knocked at their door to inform them that the maidservant (the somnambulist) had met with an accident. Direct ly they arrived at the house they heard what had happened from the maidservant. She had gone to the back of the store-room to pack away some utensils and had heard somebody walking about, when suddenly a man had approached her, had struck at her with an empty sack or a piece of cloth, thereby extinguishing the lamp she was carrying which fell to the floor: when she had let out a scream the man had dropped a sack, half filled with salt which he was carry ing and ran away as quickly as he could. After investigating the store-room the two doctors found the sack of salt and the lamp lying on the floor as indicated by the maidservant. They also heard from the shop-owner why the garden back door had remained open. The authors of the treatise reviewed here never seem to have thought that their somnambulist might have hoaxed them and have staged this whole robbery scene in order to impress them with her paranormal faculties. vVe know that hysterical persons may easily tell stories and act fraudulently only to make an impression on those with whom the hysterical individual is concerned. On the other 59
hand, no indications can be brought forward in this case supporting sllch a fra udulent act, and although this cannot be considered a well-evidenced case or precognition, it ough t to be considered in relation to other cases. For instance a s.imilur casc t3, ii, p. (78) is quoted by the same authors, again concerned with a precognitive impression that the somnambulist was going to hurt hl.rsclf;lt a certain hOllr of the day . It appears that at 9 a.m. on the morning of In November 18 16 the patien t predicted tha t on the same afternoon between 4 p .m. and 5 p.m. she would knock her head against a door and inj ure it rather severely, causing attacks 0(' dizziness. Owin1; t.o Ulis inj ury her clairvoyant faculties would remain in aheyance Lhc next morning, Ig Kovember. On that day their patient had bouts of dizziness and her bead showed a rather nasty wound, caused by the accident the day before. The members of the bousehold wbo knew about her prediction had advised bel', making use of some pretext or other, to remain scated q uietly in her chair during the time the p redicted accident was going to happen. This had also been her intention, but at a quarter to five in the afternoon a sudden bustle and move m ent in the household business had made her forget her intention to remain seated. She ran swiftly to a room at the ba ck of the house, and knocked her head agains t one of the doors of a close t-bed which had been left open. In the early days of animal m agnetism it wru; usual to prescribe magnetized water for the patient to drink as il was believed to be an excell ent m edicine fo!' all kinds of ailments. T he mesmcrist made passes over bot tles of ordinary water , 0 1' various other manipulations which were thought to charge the water with magnetism . If a patient wanted to {all into a somnambulan t staLe or de('p sleep it was often enough lor him to touch a bottle of water magnetized by his or her mesm erist. One of the phenomena that continued to be a subject of grea t wonder was the fact that many somnamb ulists were able to distinguish between magnetized and non-magnetized water, in wha tever way the experiment to test this power was made. I t is possible that, at least in some instances, a kind of E SP may have functioned in distinguishing between manipulated and non-manipu lated water. T his faculty was considered greally ( 0 support the hypothesis that animal magnetism wa~ a real source of energy. The authors of the book we are here quoting mention some cases within their own experience wbereby a somnambulist was able under all circulllstances to perceive the difference between water magnetized or not.
In this ca;e they stated (3, ii, pp. 20 ff.) Ulat the somnambulist C. alway!; knew, in whatever \\uy or manner thcy tested her, how to dis tingt ish between the two kinds ofwatc:l'. She claimed to perceive the difference not by taste but uy a certain feeling in her stomach . In dirrcrentiating bel\\ecn the two kinds, it did not make any dif f~ rence whcUlershe or magnctized water with which they s plied hel' daily . In order to test her sensitivity to magnetism they several times sent her onc or both boltles Wlmagnetized ; bu t in variably the patient then claimed that the water did not have the U~ t1al effect on bel' and there had not been any relief. In her s,omnambulant stalc and \\ith her clairvoyant facul ties in f~ul operation .JlC would always know which of thcm had magnetized the botLle or glass of\\,ater, and also how often they had made passes in doing so. \Vhencver she was given water thal had been magnetized by somebody other than her own mesmerists, she invaria.bly got severe ga!ltric spasms. She U1en declared that the water had been treated by a stranger, and was even able to say who that stranger was. On a certain day she informed them that a shru b growing in a tub in the room had been \\'atercd with magnetized water. After making enquirie;; they found Ihat the informa tion was correct a nd that by mistake the plant had been moistened with magne tized water at a time between her last somnam bulant l>tate a nd the one before. The ability to distinguish magnet!zed water, at leas t in the case mentioned above, appears to point t.owards ESP if the facts are as sla ted. The gastric cramps, indicating tha t the water drunk had been magnetized by somel.>ody other tban Bakker and 'Voltbers, might possibly be regarded as symboLlzing the indigestibility of the water, because it was charged by somebody el~e's magnetism . In this case, therefore, we fi nd ESP impressions manifesting themselvcs by m eans of motor automatism , as may be the case in dowsing, table-tilting, planchcttc-writing, elc. An inter<...~ting e.xample or an alleged cure through the use of magnetized water is that mentioned by van Ghel·t, the mesmerist a lready mentioned. lie stated (4, pp. 12- 13) that a patient could at any time distinguish between ordinary water a nd wa ter he had m agnetized , remarking that magnetized water had a saltish taste, very agreeable like mineral watcr, a nd that it smel t of all kinds or fragrant flowers, lil,c roses .... H e had tr eated several patients \\'ho
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assured him ofthe same thing. One of these was quite an uneducated peasant girl who had been born with a "peppercorn", a pimple on her chin as large as a small pea. Together with four other patients she was bcing treated for nervous attacks and fits, with successful results. \Vhen she ,vas in the somnambulant state he once asked her whether he should concentrate his magnetic treatment on the pimple on her chin. After obtaining her consent he concentrated his ,.. . ill power and thoughts upon the pimple, and at once it began to move up and down in a way comparable to the movement of a grain of gold which one tries to liquefy by placing it on a fanned piece of red-hot charcoal. The chin itself then began to move. The patient's teeth started to chatter {i'om the pain she was feeling but she endured the pain for so long a time that the pimple became completely inflamed. She then requested him to moisten the pimple with magnetized water. This he did but now the pain became so violent that she fainted away. 'When she awoke from her swoon, she com plained of feeling a kind of burning pain where the pimple was. The latter had become red like a drop of blood. He gave her a little bottle filled with magnetized water to take home with her, and advised her to wet some bandages with the water and apply them as a compress to her chin during the night. But when, before going to bed, she wanted to place the compress on her chin she felt such a terrible pain that she thought he had deceived her and had given her nitric acid instead of magnetized water. But as the pimple dis figured her and she observed that it had become very much in flamed and she hoped that it would disappear completely, she endured the pain and applied the remedy for such a time until the pimple, festering all the time, had completely disappeared. This case was, of course, quoted by the author to draw attention to the great therapeutic powers of animal magnetism, however applied, and at the same time giving proof of its reality as a vital energy, existing in nature. In their account of some of their cases Bakker and vVolthers appear to have differentiated between clairvoyance and telepathy. Thus in dealing with the phenomena exhibited by the maid-servant, A. G., they state (3, ii, p. 187 ) that she suddenly remarked, after hav ing slept for a few minutes, that something had happened to :M r. \V., referring to a death that occurred that very morning, and of which perhaps she could have known. This seemed to be a sort of intro duction to another statement which concerned something which had happened to one of her Ji:iends . At the moment she was not yet able to see clearly, but a few minutes later she went on to say that she
knew that it happened at lot a great distance, naming the part of the town. She remained sitting with her hand pressed against her forehead for a few mere minutes, as if in dcep concentration. She then went on, "Oh, now I know what it is. It happencd in the house of . . ., in ... strcet; somebody had a fall and this girl injured her hand, but of the latter I am not quite sure." Finally she said, speaking rapidly, "She cut herself with glass, she is one of the servant girls. " There is no doubt at all, according to the authors, that what belell her girl iriend, just mentioned, was unknown to the somnambulist. But as they had been informed of the accident some hours previously, the question could be raised whether she had perceived directly what had happened to her girl friend, or whether she, indirectly, had derived her knowledge from tapping their thoughts. But apart from the fact that there was no reason to suppose that the somnam bulist could not easily have arrived at the knowledge by means of her own faculties, the following indications did not support the idea of thought-transmission, viz. ( I) the thoughtful attitude and the gradual, step by step development of obtaining her knowledge; (2) and this is the decisive point, none of them knew of the case in such a wealth of detail as told them by the somnambulist. It might be assumed therefore that the somnambulist not only knew about ailments etc. by direct knowledge and without tapping the mind of the mesmerist but also knew about them in all their smallest details of time, location and development. The first volume of the book published by Bakker and his two medical colleagues in 1814, supporting in many ways the theory of animal magnetism, soon gave rise to an avalanche of books, pam phlets and articles for and against the subject. Dozens of papers were published, several by competent and qualified medical men, relating their experiences with magnetism in therapeutics. Van Ghert (see p. 55) in 1815 published his jl;[nemosyne (4), where he published several cures and experiences he had met with as a mesmerist practitioner. Van Ghert seems to have been a powerful and successful mesmerist but he did not entirely conform to the magnetizing method"" in vogue in those days. In some ways he returned to the methods of Mesmer himself which most of the mag netizing practitioners had already discarded some time before. Van Ghert's therapeutics aimed at having his patient go through a state of crisis, i.e. attacks of spasms and convulsive motions of the muscles, very similar to those to be observed during an epileptic fit. Such convulsive attacks may be compared with those :Mesmer
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provoked at his famous baqllet seances. There is little doubt that these attacks of crisi, which seem to h ave greaUy benefited the patient were induced by ~uggc~tion on the part of the mc~merist . In the course of his book van Gherl d escribed several instances of alleged travelling clairvoyance (ESP projection) . H e ''/ri tes : "After having sat quit.:tly for a leW' moments, the somnambuli st, l'vliss K ., :;aid to me, 'I :ice youI' father ... (he is alive, and a t that time was staying at 's Hel·togenbosch) . He is sitting \\-ith his hand on his side.' 'Indeed, tllal i~ one: of his habits.' 'lIe Sl.lrrers from rheumatism.' 'Ye" corret:l.' 'He is a vcry kind man, and would like to hel p a nybody, bu t often he h:lS only met wi [h ingratitude fOThis kindness. He is mdallcl10ly and pondel:~ too m uch.' 'Ye~, tha t is so.' "She then continued to give further details and describe several more characteristic.:; or my father ~o very typical of the man that anybod y who knew him would recognize him from the d(!';crip tiol1 given. She then remarkt:d : 'It seems tha t you are thu Jking of somebod y w ho is expected to arrive in town soon.' 'Yes, it is a friend of mine whom I have not seen for eigh t years.' ' Where is he at the momen t ?' 'J n Brussels.' 'But where has he been for such a long time ?' 'In Germany, where he studied medicine.' 'What is his name ?' ' Doctor Snieders.' 'Isn' t he a tall and stout ma n ?' ' H e is indeed tall, but as far a~ I am aware rather thi n .' ' He has fair hai r, and looks healthy and well.' ' Yes, correct.' ' He wears a handsome ring on one of his fi ngers.' " My fri end had indeed grOWl! very stout and wore a fine ring, as re marked by the somnambulist. " A fcw days after my patient had given the above impressions of m y father, the latter arrived in town by chance. He came along with me to my patient, l'vfiss K. , who a t onee greeted him as my father, saying that she had met him somewhere else, without know ing where. She was very m uch su rpri~cd tha t she could nol rc member where she had met m) father (the latter had never seen Miss K. in his life) . My rather, also, was very much in trigued by all this as hc also had not the slightest idea where he could have met 1\Iiss K . " Some days later the same thing happened with Dr. Snieders whom tviiss K . thought she had seen before. In the presence of both these gentlem en she CQuld not keep herseJ.(' awake and quickly fell in to a somnambulant state. She Lhen rememhered a t once tha t she had seen the two 1ll\:!Jl only during her state of crisis but assured us with all the force at her comma nd tha t she had seen them as clearly and e..'( actly as she had seen them when she was in her normal state."
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Pietc)' Gabriel van G hert Reproduced b" kind p e nllissi"" or (;"111 . . \I'.. hiddic llS[ (T()pografj~"hl' .\llas) . . \m studa l1l
I Toface I)· 64
I n another case of "hal could be described as tra velling clair voyance van Gbert stated (4, pp. 131'-132) that one da y wh en busy magnetizing a dilferent paLicnt from the one previously mentioned she said in the somnambulant slale: " • Shall 1 have a look at yOUl" friend, Dr. Verhagen, living at J\Iegen?' 'Certainly, d o so.' ' A p assage runs all through the house, finally coming out in the gal"den.' , Rig ht.' 'I can see the doctor but I do not know what he is doing; I believe he will soon come here and visit you. Dr. Verhagen's mother is dres~ed in a gO\\ 11 of a colour between red and green, with litt1t: round flo\\cfs. It seems that Dr. Verhagen has a sister who is an imbecile.' 'Quite right: 'I a lso see another sis ter of his with brow n eyes. She is quite a bright girl. She is a beautiful girl.' 'Yes, very beau tiful.' 'But isn't there, j ust opposite the doctor's house, a hou.~e larger and higher Ulan his?' 'Yes, the french school.' 'That house seem5 Lo ha ve five windows in a row across . The win dows arc painted green. ' " AILhough th e subject had , van G hcrt stated , never been to Me gen, had never met th e family ofDr. Ver hagen p ersonally or heard talk aboL;.t them, she gave a correct descrip tion of the house in which he lived and its environment. She also e..'Cactly descri bed his sis ters and the d.rcs.~ his mother wore that day, which was confirm ed by D r. Verhagen wh en he answered van Ghert's letter, informing him of wha t had happened during the sitting and what th e som na mbulist believed she had seen in connection with his house and fa mily. Slle had made on ly one mistake, for instead of being green the windows had been painted bro"l.vn. Tn a further ca~e when magnetizing a clairvoyan t lady, van Ghert (4, p . 130) stated that she asked him if he was goin g out that evening to which be answered in the affinn ative. '''Are you going to Pastor Bcu.kman?' she asked. ' Yes .' Then, after thinking lo r a few moments, she said, 'Do you know whom you are going to meet there?' I a nswered, ' Probably nobody.' . Yes,' she l'en1al"ked, 'it is indeed tr ue tha t I have never been in Pastor Beukman 's house, Gut that does n ot m ean that I cannot see what is going on there. Pastor Beukman is busy p olling in the fireplace. Now h e is sitting a t the table with another gentleman, who is chatting excitedly. M r . Schran t is also talking wi th a gen tleman; these n'/o last named gentlemen are standing.''' ·When van Ghert arrived at Pastor Beukman's house h e met only three gentlemen lhcrc, Professor Lexius, Mr. ]. D . Janssen a nd Pastor Beukman . He then related to them wh a t the clairvoyan t in her magnetic sleep purported to have seen in connection with
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Van Ghcrt, a follower of Kant, apparently did not believe in precognition.
instances of ESP, although in some cases the description does not state with certainty that every possible measure was taken to exclude sensory cues. This applies especially to the experiments whereby it is presumed that the subject perceives by means of the pit of his stomach, finger tips, shoulder, etc. As the subject during the som nambulant state generally had his eyes closed the experimenters often took it for granted that the somnambulist's sight had been effectually excluded. One morning he stated (4, pp. 23- 24) that his patient (Mrs. Millet, aged 19) had greatly heightened clairvoyant faculties. She could perccive clearly anything held before the pit of her stomach, e.g. a portrait which she could identify so clearly that she could even give the name of the person who was pictured thereupon. She could also tell the time on a watch that was held before her; and she could always name the exact minute to vvhich the hands of the watches pointed. The various watches held before the pit of her stomach all differed in the time indicated. In a further instance (4, pp. 25 ff.) van Ghert stated that she not only could see very well by means of the pit of her stomach but she even assured them that she saw her sister walking in the Plantage (i.e. the plantation in Amsterdam). The sister was dressed in a new gown of a yellow colour that the somnambulist had never seen, and she said that the sister intended to visit her doctor at 1 o'clock. After investigating the matter it was found that the course of events had been precisely as the clairvoyant had indicated. The sister did take a walk in the Plantage, being dressed in a yellow gown. Next day the sister, with the same yellow dress on, came in order to be present at the magnetizing seance of the subject. vVhen the subject awoke from the magnetic sleep, she declared that she saw her sister's yellow dress for the first time. Some more cases of alleged transposition of the senses are re corded by van Ghert. In one (4, p. 37) he wrote that during a seance some of the persons present requested him to show them some interesting experiments. Complying, be held several objects in front of his clairvoyant's fingers and pit of the stomach. When he asked the clairvoyant to be permitted to blindfold her with a piece of thick cloth, she readily consented. Directly he had done so she was able to perceive (by means of the pit of her stomach and of the tips of her fingers ) as well and clearly as a person whose eyesight had not been excluded. In order to stop every possibility of fraud and normal perception, and also to conduct these experiments in the best possible manner, he held the objects at a distance from the pit
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themselves and their respective positions in the room, adding that in view of the fact that only threc persons were present, in different places from where she had seen them, he II"aS n ow convinced that the somnambulist had had a wrong impression. His surprise can be imagined when the gentlemen told him that a 1CW moments before his arrival they had occupied the front room, \vherc thcre was a fire-place, and that :Mr. Janssen and Pastor Beukrnan werc seated at the table, talking together" At the same time r-.Jr. Sehrant, ,,"ho had just left before van Ghe!'t entered the house but had been present in the room at the time mentioned by the clairvoyant, had b een tall,ing to Professor Lexius, both these gentkmcn remaining on their feet. The following case by van Ghert (4, p. 16) should perhaps better be regarded as one of pseudo-precognition and as a kind of posthypnotic fulfilment of statements given in the somnambulant (trance) condition than as an example of tru e precognition. In the somnambulant state a patient once said to him: '" I shall be very unlucky today, for I shall knock my arm several times, and if I am not careful and watchful, it is possible that I shall break my arm above the elbow. If I take care and do not climb on chairs, stoves or other heights then I shall only knock my arm above the elbow. People therefore have to take good care of me, and as soon as I have knocked my elbow, a brandy compress will have to be put on the injured spot.... ' "Owing to chance-coincidence,l the patient did indeed have many mishaps that day, and did knock her arm and injure it rather severely above the elbow, as appeared from her own story about the course of events, the facts of which could be verified by what her husband and several other reliable people told m e about what happened." The next day in her magnetic sleep she stated that, just as she had predicted and foretold in her sleep, she had been very unlucky. Going out with her husband and hardly having reached the street, she knocked her right foot \vith such force that she lost her balance; she would have fallen down , if her husband had not caught hold of her and kept her on her feet. This had happened three times that day, without her falling down. At night, when stepping into bed, she slipped down from the bed and falling down with her arm on the bed-plank, she had injured her arm very severely abovc the elbow, just as she had predicted during ber magnetic sleep. Bandages impregnated with brandy had been wound round the injured spot. The following examples taken from van Ghert are possible 1
of the stomach and had her stre tch ou t her arm as fa r as it would go so that everybody present cOllld convince himself th at the somnam bulist did n ot peep out under the eye-bandages and perceived the things in a nannal way . Therefore she truly perceived by means of h er stom ach and finger tips. O n another occasion (4, p. 67) it \Val; said lhat the patient \Va~ so highly d au"Voyan t that she !lot onl y could perceive all objects by means ()f the pit of the stomach, shoulders or fingt:rltpS and distin guish them a t once, hut ~hc \Va<; even abJe to sec b lindfolded the things held at a distance of nearly two fcet so that it became im possible for hcl' to see th e objects by peeping und er the eye-bandages. In this cond ition sh e could read tht:. bigger letters of a new~pape r when h e held the newspaper agains t the finger tIps of her outstretched arm and kep t the letter; covered with his other hand . lIe considered that it was absolu tely impossible fo r her to sec either with her eyes or with the pit of her stomach. In another case (4, p p . 127-128), van G h eJ't treated a scrofulous young boy who had become highly clairvo)'au t in the so\n uam bulis tic sta te. Not only could he then perceive by meam of the p it of t he stomach or his finger tips, but he could even read the lettering on pieces of prin ted paper shu t in a tobacco box and held in fron t of his stomach. He was also very successful in seeing a nd counting playin g car ds when pla ced in the box. The boy, ho\,\:evel', was very obstinate and often refused to b ring his clairvoyan t faculties into p la y. One day, apart from van O hert and the p a tien t, the on ly other persons p resent were the boy's lather and !vIr. Kilian, on e of va n Ghert's acq uain ta nces, who had j ust come over from a distant p art of the coun try. 11r. Kilian was unknown to the subject or hls father, the latter not even knowing his Sill'name, as in th ei r presence on ly his Christian name, T OaD was used. The fat her a'iked hi" clairvoyan t son, whether he was willing to try to read through a metal tobacco box. After the boy had given his consent, the father re tired to ano ther room and there p u t a printed card in to the tobacco box and held the closed box in fr ont of the pit of the boy's stomach. After a few moments he said, that it was a p rin ted card, which was correct. Ne;'
'" I t is written sO'ip t,' the boy remarked. ' I ndeed.' 'I will spell it. . . k . . i . . I. . i . . o .. n; it is kilion.' ' Ko,' I said , 'it is lillian .' But wh en we had a better look a t tlte card, \\ e observed that the written A looked very sim ilar to an 0." The above ca~c at first sigh t may give us the impression or being one ofparanonllal cognition . it would be 11ccessary to b e sure that the father was n ot in connivance with his sou, or that the former d id not whisper wha t he had to say to the boy, d uring the moments th e tobacco box was held in [rant o[ the clairvoyant's stomach . In the course of his book van Ghert gives some examples of the transference of sensation which are of some interest (4, pp. 27-30), as \-"hen without M rs. l\1illct knowing a nything abou t it he was given a little glass of gin and bitters. Directly he had tasted a little of the drink, the sonmambulist's face showed clearly all th e signs of loath ing . She started to cough and rem arked, " I say, this is very un pleasan t, I have got gin a nd bitters in my th roat." In another ins tance h e says that without g'iving her the chance of knowin g about it, he placed a li ttle piece of ginger-bread with peel in his mouth. A t on ce th e subj ect tasted it but was mistaken the first time, and imagined it to be peppermint. But, clitcctly after, she rectified her mistake by crying, " X o, no, 1 mad e a mistake ; I taste ginger-bread, which was ver y pungent an d thr ew me into confusion. " The next case is really one o[ object-reading (psychometry) which was often practised in those d ays, in ord er to get impressions regarding pe rsons, sick or healthy, no t present a t the sea nce . The usual object to be used in such psychometric seances was a piece of cloth or han dkerchief the person concerned had wor n [or some days on his naked body, to have it ch arged with animal m agnetism , a nd sent over folded in a silk cloth as silk was considered to have insulat ing properties. For example h e recorded ({, p. 32) tha t one of his patients, a you ng man, was VCl'y successful in getting impl'es~ions, while m anipu lating p ieces of clo th d uring the somnam bulistic state. D uring a therapeutic seance, a nd in the p resence of a clergyman , 11r. Statius, and others, this clairvoya nt was handed such a little piece of doth. The sick person, who had worn tb~ p iece of cloth for some time on his naked body, and the disease from which he was suffer ing were absolutely unknown to va n G her t a nd the clairvoyant. "After ha ving fi ngered the cloth for a few m inutes the clair voyant said, ' It is from a woman.' ' Exact.' ' She is about 48 years old.' , Correct.' ' T here is something the m atter with her
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stomach, her illness is centred there.' 'Correct.' 'She cannot digest any food, for as soon as food entel'S her stomach a feeling of nausea comes over her and she vomits.' 'Absolutely correct.' 'She is weak sighted and a little time ago started to wear spectacles.' 'Yes, four months ago .. .' 'At this very moment the woman suffers from a pain in the head, just above her eyes; but in no other part of her body.' (vVe at once sent somebody to enquire into this matter, and were informed that it was exactly as told by the clairvoyant.) 'I am not sure,' he remarked, 'but it seems to me that one of the fingers of this woman's right hand is stiff.' 'Indeed, her right thumb got frozen and has become quite stiff.'" Another example of this kind of seance was recorded (4, pp. 95 97) by van Chert of two of his subjects who were handling a piece of cloth, worn by somebody unknown to them, in order to get impres sions about their health, ailments, etc. :Miss K. said that it was an unmarried woman, which was correct, and then said that the woman was generally of a melancholy mind. Van Chert replied that this was not always the case as at times she was quite cheerful. The somnambulist then said she was not a young woman, saying she was about 30 years old, which was correct. She followed this up by say ing that the patient was not a tall woman, that she was liable to attacks of intense dizziness and that her illness was caused by a terrible fright she experienced, owing either to having fallen in a pond or stream, or from a ladder. All these facts were correct, and the patient had, as a girl, fallen into a ditch full of water. Miss K. said that that was not the fright she meant, but one experienced at a later date. Van Chert said that that was quite correct, as some time before the patient had fainted outright after she had had a very close escape from falling down from a ladder on which she was standing. The somnambule then said that that incident happened in the after noon and that the patient now felt a pain in her back and had a kind of obstruction in the lower part of her abdomen, all of which was correct. In the course of his work van Chert mentions cases of rapport between operator and subject which suggested some form of tele pathic communication. For example he described (4, pp. 68-69) how during a certain period he used to magnetize two patients living in the same district. Their houses stood diagonally vis-a-vis. It was really incredible how quickly the one in the normal state was able to become aware that he was busy treating the other one. Both assured him that it gave them a very unpleasant feeling to know that the neighbour was being magnetized. If often happened that the
one not being treated could no longer resist this overpowering feel ing, and was forced to enter the house of thc neigh bour and get him self magnetized too. It might be suggested that in this case one patient saw van Chert entering the house and that therefore no telepathic rajJPorl was evidenced. In another case a young man \vhom van Chert was treating with magnetism was so very sensitive in regard to this kind of sym pathetic rapjJort that at a mile's distance he could feel at what time the mesmerist had started treating one of his female patients, how long she remained in the magnetic sleep and in what part of her body she was having the most pain . Several times it happened that when the young man was brought into the somnambulistic state at this distance from the second patient, and she \vas feeling much pain at that very moment, the somnambulist would remark, that l\'liss M ..., the poor girl, was having a terrific pain in her side, in her head, or any other part of her body that actually was hurting her at that same moment. \Vhen van Chert \vent to l\1iss M ... he \vas always able to verify that what the young man had said concerning her condition was correct. A faculty often claimed by somnambules of the period was that of being able to solve cases such as theft. Van Chert describes (4, pp. 75- 77) such a case in his own experience by relating the story of how his subject in the somnambulistic state said that the servant girl had been stealing. This girl, so he was told, had hidden the stolen things in a dark corner and covered them up with dust and dirt, in order to leave them there till the loss of the objects would have been forgotten. Asked if she would be able to find the stolen things she said that she could do so if ]'vII's. H., the mistress of the house, ,"ould accom pany her. Thereupon she took ]'vII's. H's hand, and still in a somnam bulant state and with her eyes closed, got up from the sofa on which she was sitting. In this same somnambulistic condition she descen ded the stairs, walked along the passage and requested that the door of the entrance to the cellar be opened. She went down the cellar's stairs and walked straight on to a dark corner, where a little barrel was placed on which some matting and cloth \vere lying. After taking the stuff away, she thrust her hand into the barrel and took out the lady's handbag and a handkerchief, handing both objects over. She then returned upstairs and seated herself on the sofa. After having thought for a few moments, she said, " It seems to me that something also has been stolen from Mr. H." Van Chert enquired of Mrs. H. about this matter but she told
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him that she did not know anything about it. His patient, however, persisted in saying, "SLitI, it l<; true, in the room farthes t back :r-. rr. H . must have had something lying in a sm all drawer." :Mrs . H. a nswered, "Only his shoc-buckh:s." " W ell, tbese, too, have dis appeared." A t once Mrs. H . went to the room indicated, looked in to the drawer menti oned by the ~omllambulis t and noted tha t again the somnambulis t had made a correct statem ent. The patient in the magn etic ~J ecp then "ven t on La say, "These buckles are m ade of coppcr, gilued copper, aren't they?" .. Ye;, in deed !" "The scrvant girl has a lso taken away these buckles and sold them to a Jew. If that man had been her e, I wo uld recognize him immecliately. He m ust have worn a wh ile cap and a grey coaL T h e servant girl did n' t get m uch [or the buckles." "How m uch ?" " Only four pence, for he said tha t the b uckles con tained only copper and so weren' t worth more. VVi lh this m oney and that taken from the lady's handbag she bought hersel[ sweets." Having said this she turned to Mrs. H . and told her to put the servant to th e tes t in a roundabout way and then she would soon be detec ted, lor if n ot she would contin ue her thefts. In discussing this case va n C hert sta ted tha t he did not know what to believe and the refore he thought it best to investigate the whole malter as carefull)Tas possible befo re the somnambulist's statements could be accepted. He therefore asked 1\'[r8. H. to watch the servant carefully and to tes t her honesty a t every convenient occasion. She promised van Chert that she would do so and after a bout six days the servant had been caught stealin g several times and having been forced partly to confess her lhefts she was dismissed . Altho ugh the statements at his subj ect had been justiii.ed regard ing the thefts, van C her t questioned both M rs. H. and M iss K . about the case and they both agreed that the subject had not consciously known w ho the thief was or where the stolen obj ects had been concealed. It was believed a t one time in the past (and the same idea has been revived today) tha t there exists a m ys terio us sympathetic bond between hum an beings and their secretions and various bodily parts. A sympathetic bond of this kind was, it seems, supposed to cause certain effects which were d escribed by D r. Alexander N uman (1780- 1852) an agricnltW"al and veteri nary specialist of Croningen and a member of the committee surveyin!! the ac tivities or medical practitioners or that cou nty.
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The author stated (5 , pp. 21 - 22) that previously he treated a girl of about 20 years of age with animal magnetism. For the last three years the girl had been suffering from an intermittent fever (tertian fever) which was a ccompanied by serious disorders of the circulation of the blood, especially in the vessels of the abdomen. One day, after this patient had been brought to a state of som nambulism and a high degree of clairvoyance, he followed her own instruction and bled her. The idea came then to him to ask her whether if the blood thus drained were magnetized while she was not present, such a manipulation would cause her to drop asleep. She confirmed that this would be the case if the blood were magneti zed within twclve hours of having been drained off. After the blood had cooled, it became covered by a rather round, thick though somewhat curled, clotted layer (crusta phlogistica). Eleven hours after having bled her, he broke off a piece from the clotted cake of blood and placed the clot on a smooth, fiat piece of glass that just previously he had magnetized for the purpose indi cated above. Vyhen the next morning the patient arrived at Nu man's residence to be magnetized by him, she told him, without the least prompting by him or in reply to any suggestions on his part, that something very unusual had happened to her the evening be fore. Between 7 and 8 p.m. she had paid a visit to her sister who lived not far distant from the patient's own home. There she sud denly, in the presence of several other persons in the room, had fallen asleep. All those present were quite shocked when they saw her faint suddenly, and there was some consternation felt about her condition. They tried by all means to awaken her but without success. She had slept for about an hour, this being the usuallcngth of time for her to remain in her crisis, after which time she awoke in a cheerful mood and felt quite restored and well. The sister's house, where she fell asleep, was about a mile distant from Numan's own house. In her magnetic sleep, directly following the conversation, she was able to state with more exactness the time of her falling asleep the evening before, and this moment corresponded completely with the time he had magnetized the blood. Numan writes that these phenomena cannot be explained by the imagination of the patient, as she was the first he ever treated in this manner and that she therefore could have no idea regarding the typical effect~ of animal magnetism. As he had only talked about magnetizing the blood with her when she was in the somnambulistic state, she could have no knowledge about the procedure during her waking state, a view F
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prevalent at the time and which Numan shared although its validity has since been shown to be faulty. When the health of this patient improved, the mesmerist having followed the various indications given by the somnambulist as to medicines, diet, etc., she again instructed her mesmerist to bleed her. This happened twice, and on both occasions Numan tried the same experiment as cited above but without success. According to the somnambulist this failure was due to the fact that the blood had become much more healthy and so magnetism had no longer any effect upon it. Numan obtained exactly the same results with another female patient who showed similar symptoms. Twice he magnetized the blood of this patient while she was away from him at a distance of two miles. Both times she fell asleep immediately he started treating her blood. But when she was getting better, and her somnambulistic crises had reached their peak, results were no longer obtained when he magnetized her blood without her knowing anything about it. The above case is instructive as it concerns the whole complex of beliefs which had formed around animal magnetic treatment. One of these doctrines was that when the patient recovered the magnetism had no longer any effect on him. I t was sometimes considered by early mesmerists a sound indication of health improvement when the somnambulistic state became shorter and shorter every time in the course of treatment, and when it became more and more difficult for the mesmerist to induce it in his patient. These conceptions, of course, soon became known to the patients and they rcacted accord ingly. That the mental suggestion (considered the result of an existing sympathetic bond between the individual and his severed parts) no longer took effect, once the patient was recovering his health, has to be looked upon from the same point of view. That the patient fell asleep the first time that the mesmerist magnetized the clot of blood belonging to the patient might be explained by some by suggesting that there existed a continuous telepathic rapport between the mesmerist and patient. According to this view the pars pro 1010 idea is prevalent here, and as soon as the patient tele pathically got the impression that the mesmerist was manipulating a piece of her blood (being herself) she fell asleep. She herself, when asked about it, had affirmed that she would do so, and so her subliminal self was paranormally alert for the sign that the mesmerist was attempting the experiment. That she no longer reacted when she considered herself getting better might be regarded as a kind of "psi-missing". The telepathic impulse was actually present but the
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subliminal self no longer passed it on, for such a situation no longer conformed to certain accepted doctrines. In the course of his discussion Numan noted what he considered to be a paranormal rapport between mesmerist and patient. Thus he reported (5, p. 41) that when on a certain day he was suffering from a disorder of the bowels and felt sick, one of his somnambulists advised him to take some purgative but not an emetic. As he believed this to be sound advice, he took at home a purgative (senna leaflets, tamarind and magnesium salt). Not only did she experience at the same time as himself a loosening of the bowels (though she lived two miles away from him), but she also felt the same symptoms of sick ness and pain that he was having at that time. Although Numan may have believed this case to be an example of paranormal rapport, his account of it will hardly inspire confidence in the modern reader. A year after the publication of Numan's book appeared a work by VV. van der Held on his experiences. One of his cases of travelling clairvoyance (6, p. 13) may be worth quoting. A patient, Mr. W. R., was brought into rapport with the clairvoyant somnambulist, in order to obtain a good diagnosis of his ailments. One day, owing to an illness, he was unable to keep his appointment with the somnam bulist. About half an hour before the sitting in which Held was to mesmerize the clairvoyant and induce in her the somnambulistic state, he went to Mr. \V. R.'s house, and arranged that he was to stay in bed as he had taken a sudorific, and that Held was not going to bring him in contact with the clairvoyant that afternoon. Held then returned to his house and fifteen minutes later started to mag netize the clairvoyant and brought her into the usual somnambulistic state. She showed her great annoyance that Mr. \V. R. was not at the seance and that no rapport could be established between her and him. She was then told that Mr. W. R. was not feeling well and that he had gone to bed. " She then said, 'No, he is not in bed, but is sitting on a chair in the room at the back of the house'. Though I had extreme con fidence in the powers of this clairvoyant, I now felt that she had made a mistake. This feeling was strongly supported by the fact that when I arrived at the house ofMr. 'vV. R. about an hour later, I found him in the very same position as ".:hen I left him, that is to say in bed in the middle room of his house. "I was greatly surprised, however, to be informed that he had formed the mistaken belief that I had agreed to come to his house, bringing the clairvoyant with me, and that I was going to mesmerize her in his house. He had therefore got up from his bed, and
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exactl}' at the moment when the clairvoyant h.,d informed me of his whereabouts he had gone to the baek room to fetch something, but feeling exhausted, had rested on a chair in that room for five minutes." In 1817 a very interesting debate was published ( 14) between J. A. U ilkens and J. Buys. Jacobus A. U ilkens (1782 - 1825), a school inspector, was a writer of some versatility a nd contributed a number of education books on natural science. Buys, (1764-1838) on the other hand, was also noted for his contributions to the physical sciences and in their discussion a number of points of interest emerge regarding alleged paranormal phenomena in which Uilkens was apparentl y a believer. For example (p. 547) he mentions people who were born blind, but nevertheless were able to distinguish colours with their fingers, a faculty which it is uncertain whether the writer considered to be paranormal. On th e other hand, he had himself made some experiments with his own som nambulist, a woman some 45 years old who after three weeks' training became an excellcnt magnetic subject. In one of the tests (p. 552) Uilkens describes an incident which illustrates how experiments of that kind were largely conditioned by the beliefs of the operators. In a cup board stood an uncorked bottle of currant wine and U ilkens, apparently thinking it was something else, poured himself out a glass of it and drank the contents. His sornnambule, who was in the magnetic state, shook herself and screwed up her mouth, reply ing when he asked her what was the matter with her by saying that the stuff might be called wine, but it was as sour as vinegar. From the account it is clear tha t U ilkens believed that the use of the normal senses was excluded during the magnetic sleep and there is no evi dence which would lead us to suppose that the lady did not know what the bottle contained. Another experiment was, perhaps, rather better designed, but can hardly be considered conclusive. O ne day U ilkells took a little box and put in it a small key. He docs not say when he put the key in the box, which is of importance in view of what followed. Hold ing the box in front of the subject's stomach, he asked her what it was, to which she replied that it was a little box and when asked what ,vas in it said that there was a little key. Some thirty persons were present at this test and many of them considered that the per formance was fraudulent , since it seemed to be too wonderful to be true. Th ere is, however, no need to consider that the phenomena were fraud ulent, since Uilkens a ppears not to have givc:n any evidence
Towards 1820 the popularity of animal magnetism in the Nether lands hac! already begun to fade. In the second volume of his book (3) Pr01essor Bakker was already complaining that he and his colleagues were no longer getting the excellent results with magnetic methods which they had obtained five to six years earlier. The somnambulistic state was getting more and more difficult to induce, and there was also a great scarcity of good mesmerists. Another factor, also, was that the treatment usually took so long. Patients had to be treated with magnetism for many months, and if success was achieved within a year, one could be very pleased. All these drawbacks induced medical men to abandon animal magnetism and try other more satisfactory methods. Animal magnetism bceame in this way discredited among orthodox physicians and thus the method
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that a simple normal proccdw·e was not a l work. I-le does not even say whe ther the key was wrapped up, a nd since he also om ils to teU us whether the subject was able to see normally or nOl , it is impos sible to be s ure whether the subject did not simply see the box in front of her and heard the key rattling inside. It is through accounts like th ese that the incompetence of these early investigators in magnetism can be measured. In another simila r test, which apparently was in the nature of a p ublic demonstration, Uilkens took his handkerchief and asked a member of the a udience to put some thing inside it and not to tell him what i t was. This was done and the handkerchief was held before the subject in the same way as was the little box. When asked what it was she replied that it was a cloth and when asked what was inside it, she said that it was a pipe cleaner. Uilkcns then unfolded the handkerchief a nd showed that the subject had correctly seen and described the object. In the course of the d.iscussion, Buys suggested that Uilkens' subject might like to try to divine the contents of a sealed box to be supplied by him and by his associates. To this simple request Uilkens replied (p. 558) that he could no longer try this experiment since he had given up his mesmeric work and no longer had his somnambule at his disposal. In these tests it is interesting to observe that it seems to have been generally believed at the time that the subjects, once in the mesmeric state, did not know what was going on around them. T he fact that the subject closed his eyes was, it was thought, sufficient proof that he saw nothing. M INO R C ASES IN THE IN TERME DIAT E P ERIOD
became limited to unorthodox practitioners, some of whom enjoyed renown in Holland. 1-.1r. van der Lee was one of these and in the 1820S the daily newspapers and many pamphlets gave him extravagant praise in view of the great many wonderful cures he was said to have achieved. The methods were the same as applied by Bakker, van Ghert, Numan and others, that is to say, a subject magnetized by the mes merist was brought into a somnambulistic state and then was able to diagnose the ailments and prescribe medicines. Patients either were present in person or sent a piece of their clothing, a night-cap or something similar. The somnambulist of:Mr. van der Lee, who was a grocer, was his own daughter. Few detailed accounts were printed concerning the exploits of these operators and their somnambulists. There may have been manifestations of paranormal phenomena as often described by the older mesmerists but we know little about them. One or two accounts, hO\'Ilever, have been preserved. In 1837 appeared a book by a well-known pharmacist of the period, Bernard Meylink, who was interested in animal magnetism and its psychological implications. He maintained that (7, p. 19) in a higher state of development the somnambulist could perceive objects enclosed in opaque boxes, cnvelopes, etc. He himself was once present at a sitting when the somnambulist was able to read a letter in a sealed envelope. Several times he had held a watch against the pit of the stomach of the same patient and she always correctly stated the time indicated by that watch, however much the watch's time differed from the actual time at that moment. Another case cited (7, pp. 80- 81) by IVIeylink is that of a som nambulist who correctly diagnosed illnesses through the handling of a sleeping-cap worn by the patient. This record was given to the author by one of his friends and stated that in the autumn of 1835 it was decided to consult the somnambulist of NIr. B. J odocus Meyer, a well-known mesmerist, on behalf of the 1 I-year old daughter of a Deventer merchant (cf. 8 and 9). During the whole year this girl had been suffering from convulsive attacks, in many ways similar to those occurring in cases of epilepsy. She had these attacks as often as from one to four times a week and the patient suffered a great deal from them. How much she suffered could easily be seen by the oppressed feeling in her breasts, her violent movements, the intense flushing of her face and so on. The attacks lasted from thirty minutes to a full hour and the only thing that she could do to make them more bearable was to stretch herself full length on the floor of
the room. \Vhen she recovered from the attack there was complete amnesia in regard to what had happened during the time the attack lasted. \Vhen treatment by orthodox medical men had been of no avail, it was decided to consult the Rotterdam somnambulist, M iss Stef fens, and so a night-cap the child used to wear, and \vhich was duly wrapped in silk, was forwarded to l\1r. N1eyer, together with the following letter: "Sir, together with this letter you will find a night cap, in which the patient has slept for a week. The patient who wore the cap is an II-year-old girl. \Vill you, please, request your somnambulist to look into the matter, for we would like to know what ails the child and what medicine could be given her with success. I am, dear sir, etc." These were the only words written to l\/1r. ~.IIeyer and the answer received was amazingly correct. The child's mother affirmed that every word written by the somnambulist as regards her daughter's symptoms were absolutely true and to the point and that the pre scribed medicines were administel'ed in full confidence. Fairly soon after the prescribed medicincs had been taken regularly, the child got rid of a large quantity of .vorms. Afterwards there was a slow recovery, the patient became stronger and the attacks were less frequent. After having taken the medicines for a month, a night-cap was sent off for the second time. New medicines were prescribed and having taken these for a fortnight the child became quite healthy and suffered no longer from convulsive attacks. It appears that -:Meylink observed other mesmeric phenomena which, if described correctly, can be considered by some as para normal. Thus the ral)port between operator and subject was occa sionally such that he records (7, p. 22) that cases \vere known where the subject was able to tell when the mesmerist put a piece of sugar in his mouth and say that she had a sweet taste and that when the operator fclt pain she felt likewise. Again, cases of travelling clairvoyance were noted by Meylink. On one occasion (7, p. 26) the somnambulist in her magnetic sleep was able to describe a town, a house, and a person who \vas staying there at the time, with such great accuracy that it was recognized at once as correct, though the person described was staying 130 miles away from the subject, and the latter had never been in that house 01' town, or had ever met the person she clairvoyantly perceived. A year before Meylink's little booklet saw the light of day, there had been published, also at Deventer, a book ( I I) attributed to P. C.
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patients with whom he had been working for many yeal"S. He soon found that he was able to obtain almost all the mesmeric phcnomena through the use of this method (13, p. 16) and although Electro Biology undoubtedly produced many of the phenomena associated with animal magnetism, it was Hoek's opinion that there was a pronounced difference between the two systems. Following the statements of his own somnambulist, Hoek maintained that, from his point of view, Electro-Biology only actcd on the bodily functions, while animal magnetism (levens-magnetismus) brought about a direct manifestation of the faculties of the soul or spirit (13, p. 23 ) . About the middle of the last century, before the great invasion of American Spiritualism into Europe had taken place which caused, as one migh t say, the transference of the phenomena of animal mag netism to the domain of spirit intervention, the spirits were not generally believed to make use of animal magnetism to produce the phenomena called spiritualistic. The mesmerists already had full knowledge of the various forms of extrasensory perception, such as telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition. These phenomena, from the beginning of the nineteenth century, puzzled the scientists, and innumerable discussions took place about the probabilities and improbabilities of paranormal cognition. Prizes were offered to those somnambulists who could perceive script locked in metal boxes, etc., but so far as I am aware such a challenge was never met in the Netherlands.! The explanatory hypotheses put forward sounded quite modern. There was, for instance, the hypothesis of the sixth sense to explain ESP, and this sense was thought to be found in the solar plexus. If one reads through this old mesmerist literature one cannot help thinking that there is indeed nothing new under the sun, and I am sure that the paranormal has not become any clearer to us moderns than to the investigators of the I840s. Typical paranormal phenomena in connection with animal magnetism are rarely reported at this time. A number of somnam bulists, hO\-vever, expressed their opinion on quite a number of sub jects, presuming that in their condition their own knowledge and means of perception greatly exceeded those of the common mortal in the waking state. Some of the subjects discussed were conditions existing in other planets, the nature of cholera, the events in con nection with Christ's Passion, etc. It is curious to note that physical phenomena have been hardly ever reportcd as produced by the somnambulists. In Holland, at
least, not a word is said regarding the possibilities of telekinesis, apports or materialization. So far as I know, not a single case is known from this country occurring before 1850. The production of physical phenomena was probably never suggested by the mesmerists to their subjects, and so no motive existed to produce this kind of manifestation, in contrast to the mental phenomena which were much sought after and generally believed to accompany the treat ment by means of animal magnetism. It is only after Spiritualistic phenomena of the physical type became known in the Netherlands that we hear about such manifestations. The only case of physical phenomena in connection with somnambulism and animal mag netism is the one reported by Siemelink (15 ), whose real name was H. ]. van Kesteren and who, before the Spiritualistic period, was a well-known mesmerist, treating all kinds of illnesses with magnetism. From the description he gives us, it is clear that the physical mani festations were the result of the spreading of Spiritualistic reports coming from the United States, England and France. The same prob ably applies to the automatic writing ofSiemelink's somnambulist. On 27 December 1857 he wrote (IS, p. 183) that between 8.45 and 9 p.m . his somnambulist, Miss]. P. van der Goorberg, living at Delft, started to write automatically for the first time (haar eerste spiritualistische schrift ). This event, happening in his own house, was preceded by various Spiritualistic manifestations in his room, in the presence ofseveral persons gathered there to witness the seance. The furniture in the room moved about without any visible contact; raps were produced alternatively in the tables, the doors and in the walls. After these manifestations the somnambulist asked them to hand her a pencil an" paper, on receiving which she wrote in an unconscious state a poem, the somnambulist herself attributing it to her sister who died four years before. As may be noted, it was the medium or somnambulist who made the remark that a deceased person, her sister, was writing by means of the somnambulist's hand. The latter also said that the hand writing was that of her sister. The poem was a religious one and sounded very much like some hymn, of a type sung in the Protestant churches. This case, too, gives a clear idea how about 1857 the somnambulists, who before had nothing to do with spirits of the deceased, suddenly turned into Spiritualistic mediums, under the influence of the Spiritualist movement. One of the Dutch physicians who continued treating patients by means of magnetism so that they were brought into a somnam bulistic state, was Dr. A. Hock, mentioned earlier, who also
1 For an interesting example of one of these challengcs see the highly in stru ctive correspondence bctween ]. A. Uilkens and ]. Buys (14).
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published a considerable amount on the subject. Hoek was very weU known in The Hague a bout the middle of the last centmy and later on especially as the obstetrician of Q ueen Juliana's grandmother . He assisted at the birth of Q ueen ·Wilhelmina. H cre is a case of a correct diagnosis by one of his somnambulists (16, pp. 14- r 5). One day H oek received a piece of cloth with thc request to ask his somnambulist to look into the case. H e had not the sligh test knowledge about the person or persons who sought information from his somnambulist. H e gave the somnambulist the piece of cloth, asking her to diagnose the case, but she could not come to any conclusion. Several times he heard her mutter under her breath, " How curious these things are". At last she said that it seemed to her that two persons were concerned with the pi ece of cloth; at one moment she believed that it was an ailment of the spine, in com bination with something the matter with the chest, but then again it appeared to her to be an illness of the liver of a clropsical person who suffered from severe pains in the right side. She returned the piece of cloth to him, saying, "I cannot make it out, I have the greatest difficulty in distinguishing bet\'/een the two p ersons . I cannot prescribe any medicine either, as what \""ould be beneficial for the one would be bad for the other. " H oek became very annoyed with his somnambulist, as he be lieved her impressions to be erroneous and becausc such a thing had not happened before. However, he had badly misjudged her. vVhen he had informed thc sender of the piece of cloth of the som nambulist's imprcssions, in reply it was said that every confidence should be given to the somnambulist, for the patient who had \\'orn the piece of cloth had indecd chest complaint:>'a nd an ailment of the spine. This patient, however, had given the piece of cloth to anothcr person who wrapped up the cloth and posted it. T his p erson had been anaemic for a long time, suffering at the same time with severe pains in the right side, owing to an ailment of the liver.
Together \vith Dr. Hoek, Dr. H . G. I3echt, for many years town physician (stadsgeneesheer) of The Hagu e, was a grea t believer in the effectiveness of animal magnetism to cure or improve the health of the sick. The first time hc was induced to appl y mesmeric measures to a patient signified a turning-point in his life, espccially a~ the patient gave him an excellent instance of precognition which so baffled him when he found it to be true that he completely changed
bis m ore or less m a terialistic view of life and became a great a d herent of mesm eric phenomena, and later of Spiritu alism. He de3cribcs in detail this moving experience in one of his books ( r 7, pp. 2- 46). As the prediction was ma de during a course of' animal magnetic treatment (it did not cure the patient of her far-ad vanced tuberculosis but acted as an excellent palliativc, and kept death from the patient's door for many months) and before the Spiritualistic invasion of the continent of Europe, I have included the case in this section. One afternoon in the late summer of r849, Dr. VV. H. M. , [Dr. W . H. M eyer?] residing in the Nobclstraat, The Hague, and I3echt, who had lodgings in the Oude M oistraat in the same town, were summoned, probably because they were the two nearest doc tors, to the bed-side of M iss L. G . L. in the M olenstraat as she had just had a very severe attack of haemoptysis. T he paticnt, a young girl of 23, was lady-in-waiting to Princess Maria nne, one of the daughters of King \Villiam I. The doctors regarded her case as extremely serious and had not the slightest hope that she would recover. Becht was then a young man, while his colleague, D r . M. , be longed to a former generation and had alrcady reached the sixties. One day, when Becht visited thc patient, the latter became very distresscd and could hardly breathe, so that she was believed to be moribund. Becht gripped her hand and cried with great emotion, "Louise, I will it, you must not die". Directly after this she seemed to drop into a peaceful sleep and her pulse beat became strong and regular. In this mesmeric condition she began to talk and said that she had to be magnetized regularly, drink magnctized water, etc. vVhen she came to her senses, she could not remember anything of what had happened. She appeared to be an excellent mesmeric subject and soon one word uttered by Becht w"s sufficient to put her in a somnambulistic state. The drinking of magnctized water was continued and seemed to do the patient a great deal of good. Several months passed. The patient moved to another house and now resided with a lady-friend, much older than herself, in a house at the Amsterdamsche Veerkade in the central part of T he Hague. One spring day in 1850, the patient being in the somnam bulistic condition which always gavc her great relief, she started to talk in a rather melancholy ·way. "Next spring I shall not see; I shall no longer be alive when spring comes next year. I perceive a room, looking out on to a garden. W hat is that? A garden, a large garden, bu t no fiowers,
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could not give her any relief; the only thing that did have some effect \\'as the drinking of magnetized water, the only beverage that was not immediately vomited. It was Becht's custom (17, p. 39) to visit the patient during the forenoon and stay with her for a short time. He then returned at 7 p.m. to magnetize her. Onc day, hO'wever, hc had planned to go to the opera with some friends, and had booked his seats a few days in advance. Because of this engagement he went to NIiss Louise an hour earlier. He found her sick-bed surrounded by some of the inmates of the house, owing to her condition having become a great deal worse, or at least so it seemed. She hel"Self was very calm and she asked him whether he had been requested by her friends to come earlier than usual. \Vhen he said no, she answcl'ed that it would not be necessary to magnetize her that evening, as she felt strangely changed. Something extraordinary had happcned or was going to happen soon, she believed. She felt rathcr well, only her hands and feet were as cold as ice, a cold which was extending upwards to her arms and legs. Becht offcred to takc hold o1'her hands and said that hot water bottles would bc put at her feet. The patient insisted after a while that Becht should lcave her and when he departed put something into his hand as a memento. All through the opera performance Becht fclt a great uneasiness creeping over him, and he therefore did not enjoy this rare outing as he had imagined he would. Returning home, he asked his servant whether there had been any calls or messages while he was away. The servant answered that there was a message that :Miss L. died at 7 o'clock that evening. Becht ,,,as astonished as he had left her bed side only a few minutes befOl"e seven. The thought then suddenly struck Becht that the deceased had just so predicted that it would happen at 7 o'clock in the evening, when hc and other persons would stand round her bed, and he would grasp her dying hands. And he suddenly remembered that there would be the room looking out on to the garden, winter-time, lighted lamps, the illness of Dr. :M., all those things of which she spoke at the time. Everything seemed to be as predicted by her but the only thing he could not remember was the predicted day of her death. He was very glad that at least one detail of the foresight had perhaps not come true. If only he had given attention to those details and kept them in mind, he could perhaps have influenced the course of events and prevented the predicted details from bccoming realities. In his great dismay he left his house and went to the residence of his future in-laws, and found them still awake. They, too, were 88
astonished to hear how completely the prediction had been realized. Becht said what a pity it was that he did not make a note or the predicted day of her death, but his fiancee's mother replied that she had done so, but could not remember where she put the note away. However, she was pretty sure that it was the 17th January that she had been told. Becht asked her to search for the note, although deep in him was a hope that it ""ould never be found. But that wa') not so: after searching in all kinds of cupboards and drawers, they finally found the note in her sewing-basket. It was a small piece of paper, folded twice, on which was written in pencil: "Nliss L. 17 January 1851, at 7 o'clock in the evening. Dr. ~1. to-day year. The Hague, 10 April, 1850." Confronted with such overwhelming evidence he capitulated and had to acknowledge that his whole philosophic view of life was crumbling to the ground. His last hope, though a forlorn one, was that maybe Dr. M.'s date of death would not come true. He was wrong. In the town's registers of births and deaths the reader will find that not only J\-liss Louise Geertruida L. died on 17 January, at 7 p.m., but also that Dr. Willem Hendrik M.'s death was on 10 April of the same year, exactly as the clairvoyant had foretold. One of the Dutch physicians who remaincd a believer in animal magnetism all his life and worked with many somnambulists wa') A. Hoek. He was, however, a man who was quite convinced that there was a good deal of humbug in clairvoyant manifestations, and he gave it as his opinion that clairvoyance was a rare occurrence (16). As regards precognition he only mentions one instance which he was able himself to verify. It is in his little book (18), in which he de scribes the cure of a young woman showing all the symptoms of insanity. The patient, J\-liss B., born at Delft, and 22 years old, had been completely insane for five months. As a last resort Hoek had been asked to magnetize her, which he did for the first time on 12 Dec ember, 1850,1 and the patient immediately fell into a somnam bulistic state. Hoek seemed to have had a great sympathy for the girl for he took her into his house for treatment, which rather an noyed Mrs. Hoek as he seemed to have had more than professional interest in her. The case of ~1iss B. is an ~xtremely interesting one, as in the somnambulistic state she started a kind of psychoanalytic treatment upon herself, relating why she had got these fits of insanity. The girl had had a very unhappy youth and several 1
Note that this incident occurred 18 years before date of publication.
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frightening episodes had unbalanced her emotionally. Most of these episodes had happened in her nin th year. By speaking of these episodes in all their details she underwent a kind of mental catharsis and her condition slowly got better. It was also found that her fiances suicide, after she had broken off the engagement, had caused a severe mental trauma. In the course of the treatment a secondary personality made its appearance who directed the cure and indi cated what had to be done to restore the patient's health and mental sanity. In the somnambulistic condition it was predicted, several months beforehand, that her last attack would occur on 10 ?vIay 1851, a prediction which was realized. In the course of one of these somnambulistic states she predicted that she would go to Java some years later, contract a happy marriage there and have several children. In 1868 Hoek received a letter from her, stating she had married a headmaster in Java, was very happy and that several children had already been born to her.
He requested her to shake hands with him, and directly upon touch ing him she fell into the mesmeric sleep. It appeared that she was suffering from swollen glands in one of her breasts, caused by a fall against a cupboard. According to the instructions received in the somnambulistic state the breast was treated with compresses of magnetized water. In six weeks' time she was cured. In the meanwhile a very close rapport had developed between the young lady and Revius and there were constant indica tions of telepathic contact between the two. One day wishing to try the experiment whether she would be able to guess his thoughts, or rather know them, at a distance of 120 miles, the lady living in the east of Holland while Revius had his home in the west at The Hague, he wrote on a piece of paper: "embrace my photograph". After writing these words, he breathed upon the piece of paper, folded it in two and glued down the edges. This piece of paper was enclosed in his letter to her. In the letter he wrote that he wanted her to read what was said upon the glued down piece of paper, without opening it. After having read the contents clairvoyantly, she should note down her impression, and only after having done all this was she to open it in the presence of witnesses, and compare her impre')sion with what was actually noted dO\vn upon the little piece of paper. While reading h is letter her hand got hold of his photograph, which she embraced, and wrote down the exact words he had jotted down on the glued down paper. Her mother and sister were present and witnessed the opening of the sealed paper (p . 95). Again, on Friday, 8 November 1861, Revius wrote her a letter, saying that she should try to know what he had written on a separate piece of paper, while he was busy writing to her. This time, h ow ever, he did not enclose that piece of paper in the letter but kept it on his writing-desk. He also wrote her that he wanted her to fall into a somnambulistic sleep at 5 p.m. To do this she had to seat herself before a table on which she had to place writing-material and some paper beforehand. She received his letter on Sunday, 10 November at 8.30 a.m. and answered him that same evening that she had read half of his letter and then suddenly put it down unwillingly. Her hand started to tremble violently, and was, so to speak, drawn towards her dressing case. It took from the dressing-case pencil and paper and wrote only the words: "Go forth, embrace your mother". These were almost the words Revius had written on a piece of paper while composing his letter to her o.n 8 November. He had not in fact thought of the
REVIUS, RIKO AND THE LATER HYPKOTlSTS
We may regardJ. Revius (19) as one of the principal representa tives of tlie transitional period between mesmeric times and those of modern Spiritualism in the Netherlands. He could be considered as a man who had nominally given up his somnambulistic and animal magnetic notions and had gone over to Spiritualism, but had taken all his ideas and concepts with him. In his publications one can clearly observe how somnambulism and Spiritualism mingle and hO\\1 the latter dre\v heavily upon the former in all its manifestations and conceptions. The next case shows that somnambulism as such is not an infallible method of inducing paranormal phenomena at will in subjects but that it can only bring out what is already latent and potentially present in the subject. Revius wrote (19, pp. 93- 99) that in the autumn of 1860 he met a healthy young lady, 22 years old, whom he did not know. Those present in the room, where h e paid his visit, soon started to talk about table-tilting and then some of the young people began to experiment with the table. Very soon after they had gathered round the table he observed that the hand of the young lady that was lying upon the table began to move in a spasmodic manner. He put a pencil in her hand and at once she started to write. Directly after having written the first word she fell into a mag netic sleep. Some days later Revius again met the lady at his friend's house.
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letter she imagined that she kne\l· his thoughts. \Vas it really his desire that she should give him a description of the power that made her write in the magnetic sleep about the so-called "unconscious life"? Also, he desired to know what that power could do for other people and what relation existed between his magnetic power and her newly formed impressions. Revius's comment regarding the answer to the second question was that the conformity between question and reply was none too clear. One of Revius's contemporaries and just as deeply influenced as Revius by both animal magnetism and Spiritualism was A. ]. Riko (20, 21). He tells us in his book (20) that he once had an excellent magnetic subject whom he could bring into a somnam bulistic sleep at any moment he chose to do so, and without her knowing anything about it. He succeeded in putting her to sleep, regardless of distance and intervening walls or obstacles. He claims to have proved his power over his subject several times to the in
mates of the suLjeCl's house and memLers of her family. As Riko does not mention any special instances with a detailed description of what happened during such a case of m ental suggestion, I need not go any further into what Riko calls" spiritual correspondencc". In this same book, he also records the fact that in the year 1 86 1 he made the acquaintance of the young lady, that excellent subjcct of NIr. Revius whom we have mentioned above. Riko says that though the young lady was not very keen herself about the experi ments Revius conducted with her, she dutifully put herself at his disposal as she felt very thankful to him as he had cured her in the course of a magnetic treatment. Riko writes that there existed such a telepathic rapport between the two that every time Revius sent her a present, such as a book or some music, she used to thank him for his gifts before the articles had come into her possession. Riko writes (20, pp. 249 - 252) that "one day :Mr. Revius re ceived a letter from this lady saying: 'Yesterday, at about 3 o' clock in the afternoon, I found myself in your office, and I seated myself at your right-hand side. You were busy writing a letter to me but I was unable to read what you wrote. You folded the letter, and added one of your photographs to the letter, after having chosen one from a number of photographs. Letter and photo you thcn put into an envelopc. I expect that letter tomorrow. For more than an hour I stood in your neighbourhood but you did not perccive me, which greatly surprised me. I was also astonished to see that I could not warn you that I was standing in the room.' "All these impressions seemed to have been quite correct, as appeared from 1'1r. Revius's letter which had crosscd the one the young lady had sent off. In NIl'. Revius's opinion this case is proof of thc possibility that a person's spirit or mind can travel out of the body." Riko further wrote (20, pp. 250 ff. ) that if the young lady lent herself for Spiritualistic experiments, extraordinary manife~tations took place. Heavy objects moved about, simply because she willed them to do so, and all this in full light and without any contact. Sometimes it happened that some piece of furniture was set in motion with such strength and power, while putting only her two fingers upon the object, that even the combined strenuous resistance of two men could not stop it in its course. It also occurred more than once that she, sitting on her chair, was transported from one side of the room to the other, chair and all. She was a highly gifted clairvoyant. Several times i\tfr. Revius asked her, while they were having a seance, to leave the sitting-room
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words: Go forth ", for he had presumed that she would read his letter in the presence of her mother, while actually she did this in her own room. She further wrote in her letter that in the aftcrnoon she fell asleep vcry soon and slept excellently. Even before 5 p.m. she felt an inclination to fall askep. Greatly interested, her mother re mained in her room and took care that she should not be disturbed. I twas quiet and dark in the room. She remained asleep until 6 p.m. and then wrote what was enclosed in her letter to him. The last sentence of the letter said that ~>'1r. Revius was thinking of her with great intensity at that very moment. Knowing that she would be in a magnetic sleep at that hour, he had centred with great interest all his thoughts on her. To be quite sure that what he had written down for this experiment would not be communicated to her before she had received his letter of 8 November, he informed some of his friends about this experiment only on 11 November, that is to say after her answering letter had been posted on 10 November, which he expected to receive on 12 November, and actually did come on that day. Revius further wrote ( 19, p. 97) that in his letter of 17 November to the same young lady he said that she should try to know the two thoughts he had written down in his notebook while composing the letter. These though ts were: (1) I wish to know what we have to under stand by " the unconscious life", and (2) If there exists a manner or method, <;
by waJ' if which I and other persolls could know your thoughts bJ' a kind if transference, I desire to become acquainted with that manner or method. In reply she answered on 19 November that while reading his
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and stay lor a moment in his office, farther away in the house. \Vhen she had entered the office, he would write a sentence or a question on a piece of paper. Every time she was able to perceive what was written on thc piece of paper during her absence from the sitting-room. She was also able to read printed or written matter folded in a cloth or put in a closed box. On a certain occasion, while the young lady was busy in the liv ing room of l\1r. Revius's house and he was sitting before his desk in his office, the latter requested one of his employees to write some thing, it did not matter what, on a piece of paper. \'''hen he had done so, he wa~ asked to put that piece of paper in an envelope and close it, without acquainting Mr. Revius of what he had written. \Vhcn all this had been done, the young lady was requested to come to the office, where she was presented with the sealed envelope. After standing quietly for a few moments, she pressed the finger-tips of both her hands against her forehead, and then remarked: "You did not wri te this". "That doesn't matter," said NIr. Revius, "please write the same words on the outside of the envelope." She took NIr. Revius's hand and placed it for a moment against her forehead; directly afterwards she took a pencil and without a moment's hesitation she wrote down a sentence. The envelope was opened. It was found to contain a folded piece of paper on which the same words were written as those jotted down by the subject on the outside of the same envelope. An example of what looks like pure clairvoyance is described by Riko (20, p. 253). He stated that a medium in The Hague on more than one occasion \va~ able to give a demonstration of the faculty. A book was taken out of a bookcase at random, no one knowing the title of the book or what it was. A paper-knife or some other flat object was then slipped between the pages of the book and the medium was asked to reproduce the first word appearing on the top or bottom of the page. The medium then took a pencil and wrote down the word which, after verification, was always found to be correct. Riko added that none of those present believed that the phenomena were produced through the action of the spirits. In considering this account, it is interesting to observe how Riko stated that the company did not know the title of the book and the medium had no knowledge of it. No details whatever are given to show that this was possible or even likely. Although the paper knife was slipped between the pages of the book, Riko states that what the medium was asked to produce was the first word appearing
on the top or the bOltom of the page, whereas of course there were two pagcs to choose from. In the course of his work Riko came across a n umber of subjects who were able to produce, according to himself; remarkable pheno mena. In a paper (22) published in 1893, he described the work of three of his subjects and he mentioned the fact that in every case he was able to produce mental suggestion at a distance. In one of these cases the subject \vas a man who consented to demonstrate his powers in a large haH where Riko had collectecl about ISO persons from the educated classes. The subject stood at one end of the hall, while Riko \vent to the other end and invited a'i many people who felt so disposed to come and form a large circle around him, while the rest of the audience remained seated. Riko then asked one of those standing near him to give a tug at his coat as a sign that the subject at the other end of the hall should fall into the magnetic sleep. After the sign had been given he concentrated his will on the subject falling asleep and at that very moment the som nambule sat down and fcll into the magnetic condition. After another kind of signal had been agreed, Riko stated that he was able in the same way to make the subject play the piano, or to stop playing it, to make him sit down upon a chair, or stand upon it, to take off his coat or to put it on again. These phenomena were, to Riko, clear proofs that will-power alone "can have a magical influence when exercised at a distance" (p. 174). Another of his subjects, a young lady sensitive, was also able to demonstrate telepathic influence exercised by ?vIr. Riko, who acted as mesmerist. In order to satisfy a sceptical friend who was acquain ted with the subject, Riko made an agreement with this person that, when they were together visiting the somnambule, Riko would, at an agreed sign, will the subject, without giving any indication, to go to the fire and see that it was burning correctly. His friend arrived at the somnambule's house before Riko had come, the latter arriving about half an hour later. \'''hile the two men were talking with the subject, Riko's iriend gave him the agreed signal. Immediately the lady got up Irom her seat, walked to the fire to see that everything was all right and re turned to the table. Somewhat later the three played a game of cards and again the signal was given with the same result. The pheno menon was repeated so many times that evening that the lady at last exclaimed: "I do not know what is the matter with mc, but I do not scem able to leave that fire alone!" (pp. 177- 178). In this case it appears that the subject in question \Va, not put
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into the magnetic sleep and therefore seems to be an instancc of mental suggestion at a distance cxcrcised upon the subject in norm al state. In another case Riko stated that one of his other patients, a rather dull girl, fell asleep whenever he gave the order, even when he was at a distance of several miles from the patient's house. He claimed that the moments at which he gave the order to sleep coincided every time with the falling asleep of the subject according to what had been noted by the girl's parents. It is extremely difficult to evaluate the paranormal character of the cases mentioned by Riko. He was himself completely convinced that he 'witnessed mental suggestion in the cases he discussed. But he gives so few details and indications about the exact conditions prevailing during the experiments that we cannot be in any way certain that the subjects were unable to get impressions by sensory cues of what they were expected to do. In view of Riko's position and good standing we may perhaps eliminate blatantly fraudulent practices in these cases. It must be l-emembered that Riko was not a professional mesmerist who made money out of public performances. Thus it seem5 possible that mental suggestion may have been present in the cases he describes and another fact which perhaps may be of some significance is that of all the very many people Riko mes merized and with whom he experimented he only mentions a very few cases in which the subjects were able to demonstrate paranormal phenomena. When investigating the subliminal self in 1895, Mr. F. W. H. Myers contributed a paper (24) on the subject to the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research and included in it an account by Dr. F. van Eeden, a physician in Amsterdam and a corresponding member of the S.P.R. "OnJanuary 1Ith, 1892, I treated 1\1iss 1\1. for hysteric aphonia. I sent her to sleep in my own study. As she showed signs of simula tion, and seemed to need an energetic treatment, I threatened to throw a glass of cold watcr in her face, if she did not speak im mediately in a clear voice. I was obliged to fulfil the threat with the expected result. She awoke and spoke in a clear loud voice. This was the first time in five years' practice that I took this measure, and I told nobody of it." Two days later another patient, Nliss F., was again treated in the same chair in his consulting-room. She had been treated several times before, always in the same place and easily passed into a quiet sleep. This time, however, she told him after the treatment had been
concluded that her sleep had been much disturbed, for she had heard him sa ying in a threatening voice that he was going to awake her by throwing a glass of cold water in her face. As she was very afraid of cold water she was, therefore, in a state of constant fear and un easiness. The fact was that van Eeden had said nothing of the kind, had not left her alone in the consulting-room and had not spoken to anybody of the previous incident \vith Miss M. In corroboration of the physician's statement, Miss A. F. con sented to supply her own version, which is dated August 13th, 1895. Saying that often during her sleep she seemed to hear voices speaking at a distance, though not to herself, she went 011 to say that on this special occasion she had distinctly heard the physician's voice saying: "And so I threw a cup of water into her face". She went on to mcn tion, that having a particular dislike of being frightened, she thought how very angry she would be if van Eeden had behaved so badly. Dr. van Eeden considered this a very strange case or telepathic influence and if he is correct in stating that he told no one of what had occurred two days before at the session with Miss M. and it is certain that M iss M. was not acquainted with Miss F., or anybody who could have told Miss F . the facts, then the theory of telepathic impression would appear to have some support.
One of the facts that emerges from a study of the literature of animal magnetism in the Netherlands is that the accounts of alleged paranormal phenomena in the mesmeric trance are so rare. And if they do occur they appear in connection with only a few subjects who were described as being gifted in this respect. I t cannot be denied that during the decade I8IO-1820 a great number of persons were magnetized, generally for therapeutic purposes, and thereby often brought into a more or less profound state of somnambulism. But relatively very fcw were credited with being able to produce phenomena which, according to our modern views, may be regarded as of a paranormal nature. Several competent authors on the subject complained of this rarity and if they do mention it from their O\yn experience the phenomena concerned generally occurred in connec tion with a single subject. It is, of course, true that a great mass of observations have never been published but, nevertheless, the evidence we possess seems strongly to support the presumption that the manifestation of paranormal phenomena is exclusively bound up with the constitution of each individual and that it does not seem to
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be the result of a faculty inherent in every human being. Once a pel'son possessed that faculty it would secm that it was easily stimu lated to manifest itself under the conditions and suggestions present in the mesmeric situation, together with the rapport which was quickly established between mesmerist and subject. The situation, indeed, did not differ essentially from that seen during mouern hypnotic ses sions. Any difference should, perhaps, be sought in the suggcstions brought to bear on the subject, either by the mesmerist himself or by the cultural patterns and climate to which the somnambulist was subject. Another factor tpat may have been of great importance in influencing the successful emergence of paranormal phenomena wa'>, perhaps, the close ties that in early days were invariably allowed to develop between mesmerist and subject and which easily induced the latter, if female, to offer, so to speak, her paranormal gifts as a love-token to the mesmerist. The fact that in most cases mesmerist and subject were of different sexes strengthens the theory that erotic interests may have furthered the manifestations of the paranormal and those phenomena believed by the subject to be pleasing to the mesmerist. It would seem, also, that the mesmeric situation whereby a lengthy contact is established and maintained between mesmerist and subject, as described by writers like van Chert, Hoek , Revius and others, is in many ways beneficial to the arousal of paranormal faculties if these are assumed to be dormant in the subject with whom experiments are made. It is, indeed, almost certain that the mag netic manipulations and the rather intimate personal relations between magnetizer and subject had an advantageous influence in this matter, since it must not be forgotten that in many cases the somnambules were hysterics and suffering from various nervous disorders. The success of A. de Rochas and several other French investigators who applied the same methods eighty years later is probably to be attributed to the same situation and the relation ships they were able to create and it must be remembered that they were constantly 011 the look-out for phenomena of this nature. The reader of this section will have observed that practically all parapsychical phenomena (ESP, precognition, etc.) were already known 150 years ago and that even object-reading (psychometry) had already been developed and extensively used as a means of diagnosis. On the other hand, there would appear to be very little mention of the occurrence of any physical phenomena. It was only forty years later \vhen, through the influence of Spiritualism, physical phenomena began to be familiar to European investigators that a few somnam bulists were reported as being the centre of such
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manifestations as raps and the movements of objects without contact. For example, if the accounts are to be believed, one of the subjects associated with Revius seems to have been a versatile medium not only in the region of mental phenomena but also giving demonstra tions of physical phenomena in excellent light. There seems little doubt that these exhibitions of physical mediumship were given a starting-point through the growing influence of Spiritualism in Europe, an interest which was much stimulated in the Netherlands by the visit of D. D. Home to Holland in 1858. (See 23). In concluding this survey of paranormal phenomena in the Netherlands as seen in the mesmeric situation from 1800 to 1900, it will be observed that there are practically no detailed experiments recorded which would be likely to carry conviction to the minds of any critical students of the subject. In this connection, however, it cannot therefore be concluded that no paranormal phenomena ever occurred with Dutch magnetic subjects. All we can say is that the evidence presented for such occurrences is no more sufficient to compel belief that it is in the case of so many of the other somnam buIes working at the time in different European countries. 'Vere modern experiments to show that conclusive evidence is to be ob tained as to the real existence of such faculties as mental suggestion, eyeless-sight or travelling clairvoyance then, perhaps, we might take a more favourable view of accounts of such phenomena recorded in earlier times. The situation being what it is, an attitude of sus pended judgment might perhaps be considered by some the best one to be adopted at the moment of writing. REFE.RENCES The following list is in no sense a bibliography. It is simply a short-title list of books and articles mentioned in the text. Although in many eases the titles are abbreviated, enough is given to enable any reader to follow up the reference if he wishes to do so.
F . .I., Oratio de magnetismo animale, jJublice kabita die VllI Feb,.. 1791. Lugduni Batavorum, 1791. The Dutch translation of this work was published the same year and was reviewed at length in the Alg. Vaderl. Lettel'-Oefningen, 1792, p. 329. 2. GIIERT, P . G. VAN., Dagboek eener magnetiscke bekandelillg. Amsterdam, 181 4. 3, BAKKER, G., \'VOLTHERS, H., & HENDRIKSZ, P., Bijdragen tot den tegen woordigen staat vall ket animalisck magnetismus ill ons vaderland. Gron ingen, 2 vols., 1814- 1818, I. VOLTELEN,
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4-. GHERT, P. G. VAN., ,\1Ilemo~l'1le of all.lltcekeningcll vall lIIerkwaardige vencltijllsels van Itel allimalisch l/lagnctislIllls . AmSlen.lam , 18 I 5. 5. NU~IAN, A., Verltalldeling oua het dierlijk magnetismll.'! al,r dCI! grondsiag ter verklaring der p"y.rische levensbetrekkingcn of SJlmpatlzic tllsschefl de dierlijke iigchalllen. Groning·en, 1815. 6. HELD, \'Y. VAN DEn., Beiangrijke bijdragell tot het animalisch magmtislltlls . .• in brieven. Dordrecht, 1816. 7. ~'IEYLINK, B., lets over !tel dierlijk lIlagnetismus, ook ill ue1·balld mel het zieleltven. Deventer, 1837. 8. MEYER, B. j., Em woord ter verdediging l'an het dieTiijk lIlagnetis1l1us ell somnamblllismlls. Rotterdam, 1829. 9. ~'IEYER, B. j., }(ieul<-'e bijdragm tot de mcrkwaardige luaamemingen van hel dierlijk maglletismus. Amstcrdam, 1837. 10. GURNEY, E., ~'[YERS, F. \-Y. H., & POm-IORE, F., Phantasms of the Living. 2 vols. London, 1886. [I. BELANGRIJKE versch ijllselm van het zieleleven, medegedeeld C/l beoordeeld. Dcycntcr, 13:,6. This book has been attributed to P. C. Molhuyscn. 12. ELECTRISCIIE (DE) biologie, Twar de ieen ()ijze vaf' den heer de Konillgh. 13· 14·· 15· 16.
17· 18. Ig.
20 . 21.
22.
Hypnotism in Germany
by
LISELOTTE :MOSER Dr.phil., Diplom-PS)'c/lOlogin
Amsterdam, 1852 . HOEK, A., Electro-biologie en levms-maglZttisl1llls. 's Gravcnhagc, [8Y2 . UILKENS, j. A. & Buys, j. In : Vadnialldsclze Letteruefeningen, 1817, pp. 397-4 11 : 54 1- 55g: 700 - 708 . SIEMELINK [pscud., i.c . H. j. van Kestcrcn], De eell11:igfteid ontlilild of het leven na den dood. Amsterdam, [858. HOEK, A., De heiderziendheid, een verschijnsel, dat nu en dall ill het levells magnetismus wordt aangetroJlm. 's-Graycnhage, 1854. BECHT, H . G., De mesmerisclte loo.·eriantaam. Eel/c hladzijde uit mijlle praktijk . .. Ensehede, 1876. HOEK, A., Eenvolldige mededeelillgen aangaande de genezing vall eene krallk zimzige door het levens-maglletismus . 's Gravcnhage, 1868. REVI1,;s, .1., Het iv/aglletisme. Proeve hoe ieder Itet magnctisme als genees middel op Zijll Ituisgenooten ell anderCll weldadig kan toepassell . 's G ravcn hage, [862. RIKO, A . .1., Humbug ell Ernst. Enschcdc, 1886. RIKO, A . .1., Handboek ler beoefelling van het magl1etisme . .. 's-Gravenhagc, 2 e uitgavc, 1896. RIKO, A. j ., "Dl'ie merkwaardigc magnctischc suj c ttcn". (SJlliim:.
Translated from the German by
ERIC
J.
DINGWALL
" Dcr hat die NIacht, an den die l\fcngc glaubt." FREDERICK THE CREAT
Bijdragen tol de studie ~'all het mensc/zenraadsei en de jij)·chische wetenscltajJjJen, 1893, i, pp. 170- 184- ) 23· ZORAH, G., "~'Iedium Home gaf seanccs in paleis Noordeindc" . (Het Vaderlal1d, I juli, I g6 I. ) 24· l\oIYE.RS, F. W. H., "The Subliminal Self". (Proceedings of the Society fo r PSJ'cltical Ruearch, 1895, xi, pp. 362-363.)
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