Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 43.djvu/535

ple come to the clinique, and there are not many strangers, and so I was told that it was not worth while my coming for the next week or two, and Dr. Luys did not expect me.

She then gave us a long list of her capacities, which run through the whole gamut of the phenomena described in the volumes of the professor at La Charité, She was duly put to sleep, and then I produced my tube, I had on the mantelpiece a number of tubes which I had taken at random from the laboratory of my brother-in-law, M. Vignal, containing a great variety of crystalline substances. These, however, she had already spied on the mantelpiece on coming in, and she said, "Oh, I must warn you that I am not at all susceptible to dry powders in tubes, only to fluids, and you won't get any effects with those." Respecting her scientific prudery and affected hypnotic exclusiveness, I humored her by immediately sending to the neighboring chemist for some tubes containing alcohol, valerian, cherry-laurel water, distilled water, and solution of burned sugar. One of the medical frequenters of the Charité was kind enough to go and get them, and he was good enough to see also that all the tubes were incorrectly labeled. A private mark on the corks indicated the true contents, which were duly entered in the notes of the sitting. I now said to him, "Kindly give me the valerian," in a low voice which she was supposed not to hear. This was duly placed in contact with the skin of the neck, the actual contents of the tube being alcohol. Then came the cat performance to perfection. I will do Jeanne (the other name under which this lady will be found spoken of in the lectures of Dr. Luys) the justice to say that she was by far the most accomplished performer of the three of his subjects whom I saw go through this performance at my rooms and at the Charité under similar circumstances. She scratched, she mewed to perfection, she washed imaginary whiskers, she spat, she licked her hands, she lapped milk from a saucer; and when you "pressed the button" at her back she sat up rigid as on hind quarters and caressed her face with her paws with a truly feline grace. She came back to her chair, or was supported back, for she was still supposed to be in deep somnambulism, and we brought into use the tube which was labeled cherry-laurel water, but which really contained valerian. Now commenced another performance, which among the trained subjects of the Charité is supposed to be identified with the "effect at a distance" of the fluid described on the label. After a decent period of waiting she fell slowly on her knees, her face assumed the characters of ecstasy, her eyes were fixed on space, and her features composed with great art to an affected expression of pious rapture; the hands were held up imploringly, then her head dropped and her arms folded across her breast as in prayer. Her hands presently were extended and her