HYPNOTISM. 261 



When he had suflicieiitly recovered, he told me he had never 

 seen a snake in the wild state before. He had only seen half-dead 

 looking specimens behind thick sheets of glass in a Zoo. When 

 he suddenly saw the form of a six-foot Cobra, with hood expanded, 

 facing him threateningly, he instantly lost all power of movement. 

 He said he seemed to freeze. He essayed to cry out, but his 

 tongue and larynx were paralysed. In fact, the sudden shock 

 and fright had temporarily paralysed the nerve centres in his brain 

 which controlled the movements of his muscles. He was un- 

 conscious to all else but the Cobra. Its keen shiny eyes and 

 threatening aspect monopolized his senses. In a dim far-off way 

 he wondered when it was going to bite. 



The man was certainly completely fascinated, but the con- 

 dition was induced by the sudden shock of extreme fright to 

 his nervous system, not by any hypnotic power exercised upon him 

 by the snake. The sight for the first time of a large Cobra, with 

 hood expanded, and reared ready to deliver a deadly thrust, 

 shocked his motor nerve centres into a state of temporary paralysis. 



Hypnotism. 



It is quite possible for a person to induce a condition of self- 

 hypnosis by focussing or concentrating his mind upon some object, 

 such as a bright coin, or staring fixedly at the reflection of his 

 eyes in a mirror and suggesting to himself that he is growing 

 sleepy, more sleepy, asleep. He may not be able to induce a con- 

 dition of actual unconsciousness in this way, but this concentra- 

 tion of the mind and repeated suggestion of sleep will make him 

 very susceptible. Self-suggestion is a great aid in helping to 

 overcome bad habits and nervous diseases. I have known 

 people, who, by intently watching some object and excluding 

 everything else from their minds, lose all power of movement. 

 They remained, sometimes for half an hour, staring fixedly, and 

 when the condition of hypnosis passed off, or when aroused by 

 being shaken, they declared they either could not remember 

 anything, or had only a glimmering of consciousness after con- 

 centrating for five minutes upon whatever object was selected. 



There is no reason to doubt that this condition can be induced 

 by intently watching a snake, particularly so if it be a Cobra 



