Three of the other gentlemen, among whom was the writer of this article, felt the trance force in a slight degree. The completely developed medium was in the most perfect trance; could be convinced of anything at once; was clairvoyant, ecstatic, mesmeric, somnambulic, and in fact took any form of ideomania at will. We have been at perhaps over a hundred séances of mesmeric, biologic, and so-called spiritual subjects or mediums, but have never seen so perfect a subject so soon developed and upon so pure a principle." These cases are adduced to show the effect of the mind upon the body, and of the mind upon its own faculties. The young man particularly mentioned by the "Gazette" could have had every tooth extracted, or even a limb amputated, without consciousness. After he had resumed his normal state, such was his susceptibility that a word would have sent him back to sleep.
found. This behavior, both brutal and coarse, and cruel to the mother of the dead young girl, is, I am very sure, incompatible with any theory of Miss being in her usual senses. In fact she was made ill by this circumstance, and conceived the greatest aversion toward you. Her friend had been buried but a few days. [These facts were unknown to me, and as soon as possible her attention was diverted from them. As the whole was imaginary, this was easily done. Author.] One of the most amusing incidents was the honest conviction with which a prominent lawyer believed himself sitting on a log looking into the muddy bottom of a stream of water. Another, that of a young man whose trembling legs were made to bend under the enormous weight of an envelope placed over his head, when told it weighed a ton. The above are a few of the things I saw about which I am positive my memory of the events is perfect. Also, that you stated that you would not and did not exercise any act of volition or influence upon your "subjects," but merely waited for them to fall into the hypnotic state giving rise to the phenomena described.
Ithaca, New York, January 30, 1886.
