A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY. 265 



producing all the phenomena of trance nay, one may 

 say all those observed among hibernating animals at 

 will. Thua there is the well-known case of Colonel 

 Townsend, who ' ' possessed the remarkable faculty of 

 throwing himself into a trance at pleasure. The heart 

 ceased, apparently, to throb at his bidding, respiration 

 seemed at an end, his whole frame assumed the icy chill 

 and rigidity of death, while his face became colour- 

 less and shrunk, and his eyes fixed, glazed, and 

 ghastly ; even his mind ceased to manifest itself, for 

 during the trance it was as utterly devoid of conscious- 

 ness as his body of animation. In this case he would 

 remain for hours, when these singular phenomena 

 wore away and ho returned to his usual condition." 



The strange stories told of the Fakirs and their power 

 of suspending active vitality for much longer periods 

 has been attested by English officers and medical 

 men. We are told that the less-advanced Yogi can 

 only enter the state of abstraction called reverie ; but 

 the higher orders can simulate absolute inanition, the 

 heart apparently ceasing to beat, the lungs to act, and 

 the nerves to convey impressions to the brain, even 

 though the body be subjected to processes which would 

 cause extreme torture under ordinary conditions. 

 (f When in this state/' says Dr. Carpenter, " the Yog, 

 are supposed to be completely possessed by Brahmai 

 ' the supreme soul/ and to be incapable of sin, in 

 thought, word, or deed ; " indeed, it would be difficult 

 to imagine how a man in a state of absolute inanition 

 could be capable of sin. Dr. Carpenter ascribes this 



