iS2 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



by causing the eyes, or rather their optical axes, to be con- 

 verged upon a point, was adopted, we must conclude that 

 this part of the method is not absolutely essential to success. 

 Indeed, the circumstance that in some of Braid's public 

 experiments numbers of the audience became hypnotised 

 without his knowledge, shows that the more susceptible 

 'subjects' do not require to contemplate a point near and 

 slightly above the eyes, but may be put into the true 

 hypnotic state by methods which, with the less susceptible, 

 produce only the electro-biological condition. 



It will be well, however, to inquire somewhat carefully 

 into this point. My present object, I would note, is not 

 merely to indicate the remarkable nature of the phenomena 

 of hypnotism, but to consider these phenomena with direct 

 reference to their probable cause. It may not be possible 

 to obtain a satisfactory explanation of them. But it is 

 better to view them as phenomena to be accounted for 

 than merely as surprising but utterly inexplicable circum- 

 stances. 



Now we have fortunately the means of determining the 

 effect of the physical relations involved in these experi- 

 ments, apart from those which are chiefly due to imagina- 

 tion. For animals can be hypnotised, and the conditions 

 necessary for this effect to be fully produced have been 

 ascertained. 



The most familiar experiment of this sort is sometimes 

 known as Kircher's. Let the feet of a hen be tied together 

 (though this is not necessary in all cases), and the hen 

 placed on a level surface. Then if the body of the hen is 

 gently pressed down, the head extended with the beak 

 pointing downwards, touching the surface on which the hen 

 stands, and a chalk mark is drawn slowly along the surface, 

 from the tip of the beak in a line extending directly from the 

 bird's eye, it is found that the hen will remain for a con- 

 siderable time perfectly still, though left quite free to move. 

 She is, in fact, hypnotised. 



We have now to inquire what parts of the process just 



