SLEEP. 



695 



may be determined to particular muscles, as 

 Mr. Braid iias shown, either by a suggestion 

 (so to speak) applied directly to themselves, 

 or by the induction of such a mental state as 

 shall be most fitted to call them into energetic 

 operation. Thus the extensor muscles of a 

 limb may be excited to contraction by gently 

 rubbing or pressing the surface above them ; 

 and this contraction may not merely raise the 

 limb, but may keep it fixed in a cataleptiform 

 manner for a much longer time than any 

 voluntary effort could accomplish. This con- 

 traction may be caused to give way at any 

 moment, by gently wafting a current of air 

 over the same surface, which seems to call off 

 the attention from the muscles to the skin. 

 In order to throw an extraordinary degree of 

 power into a group of muscles by a mental 

 process, all that is required is to suggest the 

 action, and to assure the somnambulist that it 

 can be accomplished with the greatest facility 

 if he will only determine to do it. Thus, we 

 have seen one of Mr. Braid's hypnotised sub- 

 jects, a man remarkable for the poverty of his 

 muscular development, lift a twenty-eight 

 pound weight upon his little finger alone, 

 and even swing it round his head, upon 

 being assured that it was as light as a 

 feather. We have every reason to believe 

 that the personal character of this individual 

 placed him above the suspicion of deceit ; and 

 it is obvious that if he had practised such a 

 feat (which very few, even of the strongest 

 men, could accomplish without practice), the 

 effect would have been visible in his muscular 

 development. The same individual declared 

 himself altogether unable to raise a handker- 

 chief from the table,, after many apparently 

 strenuous efforts ; having been assured that 

 its weight was too great for him to move. 

 Of course, there was not an equal proof of the 

 absence of deception in this second case as in 

 the first j but if the reality of the first be ad- 

 mitted, there need be no difficulty in the re- 

 ception of the second,, since both are manifes- 

 tations of that mental condition which has 

 been shown to be so characteristic of this 

 state, the possession of the mind by a 

 dominant idea, which, when infused into it 

 (as it were) by the principle of suggestion, 

 directs the bodily movements, and is not cor- 

 rected by the teachings of ordinary experience, 

 or even by present sensations, if the mental 

 assurance be strong enough to cause these to 

 be disregarded. 



Of the causes of somnambulism, no very 

 definite account can be given. In some 

 persons this state recurs frequently, or even 

 habitually ; in others occasionally. In the 

 case formerly detailed, its access might gener- 

 ally be traced to some strong mental emotion. 

 Those in whom it presents itself spontaneously 

 are said to be natural somnambulists ; but it 

 may be induced, not merely in them, but in 

 others who have manifested no predisposition 

 to it, by certain artificial procedures. In 

 many cases this may be effected through the 

 mind alone, the simple expectation of the 

 result being sufficient to bring it about. Thus 



the Abbe Faria was accustomed to induce 

 somnambulism by placing his patient in an 

 arm-chair, and then, after telling him to shut 

 his eyes and collect himself, pronouncing in a 

 strong voice and imperative tone the word 

 " dormez," which generally produced on the 

 individual an impression sufficiently strong to 

 give a slight shock, and occasion warmth, 

 transpiration, and sometimes somnambulism. 

 The following case is another illustration 

 of the effect of this state of expectation, 

 acting in concurrence with a fixed position. 

 The subject of it was a lady who had pre- 

 viously shown great susceptibility to the 

 " mesmeric " and " hypnotic " processes. 

 " We now requested our patient to rest 

 quietly at the fire-place, to think of just what 

 she liked, and look where she pleased, except 

 at ourselves, who retreated behind her chair, 

 saying that a new mode was about to be 

 tried, and that her turning round would 

 disturb the process. We very composedly 

 took up a volume which lay on the table, 

 and amused ourselves with it for about five 

 minutes ; when, on raising our eyes, we 

 could see, by the excited features of other 

 members of a little party that were assembled, 

 that the young lady was once more magne- 

 tised. We were informed by those who had 

 attentively watched her during the progress 

 of our little stratagem, that all had been, 

 in every respect, just as before. The lady 

 herself, before she was undeceived, expressed 

 a distinct consciousness of having felt our 

 unseen passes streaming down the neck."* 



Perhaps the most effectual of all modes of 

 inducing somnambulism is that discovered by 

 Mr. Braid, and practised extensively by him 

 under the designation of hypnotism.-f- The 

 following is his description of his mode of in- 

 ducing it, and of the phenomena attending its 

 production. "Take any bright object (I gene- 

 rally use my lancet-case) between the thumb 

 and fore and middle fingers of the left hand ; 

 hold it from about eight to fifteen inches from 

 the eyes, at such position above the forehead 

 as may be necessary to produce the greatest 

 possible strain upon the eyes and eyelids, 

 and enable the patient to maintain a steady 

 fixed stare at the object. The patient must 

 be made to understand that he is to keep the 

 eyes steadily fixed on the object, and the 

 mind riveted on the idea of that one object. 

 It will be observed that, owing to the con- 

 sensual adjustment of the eyes, the pupils will 

 be at first contracted ; they will shortly begin 

 to dilate, and after they have done so to a 

 considerable extent, and have assumed a wavy 

 motion, if the fore and middle fingers of the 

 right hand, extended and a little separated, 

 are carried from the object towards the eyes, 

 most probably the eyelids will close invo- 

 luntarily, with a vibratory motion. . . . After 

 ten or fifteen seconds have elapsed, by gently 

 elevating the arms and legs, it will be found 



* Brit, and For. Med. Rev., vol. xix. p. 477. 



f Neurypnology, or the Rationale of Nervous 

 Sleep, considered in relation with Animal Magnetism, 

 &c., by James Braid, M. R. C. S. E., &c. 

 Y Y 4 



