MESMERISM. 683 



At length, however, she was put to sleep again for the same 

 time as before. The patients, when about to sleep, either 

 showed a fixed stare, or they looked heavy and their eyelids 

 gradually dropped or winked ; their breathing became heavy ; 

 and sometimes they changed from waking to sleeping in an 

 instant. When they were asleep, the head nodded or fell in 

 one direction or another, the arms fell, they breathed loud or 

 even snored. In some, twitchings of the fingers, feet, arms, legs, 

 or face took place : in the hysterical girl the eyeballs rolled rapidly 

 from side to side, or the lower lip was raised and depressed. 

 These movements were the more striking that they alternated. 

 On awaking, she never could open her eyes ; but, on the Baron's 

 making a few transverse passes above and below them, she opened 

 them instantly. This invariably occurred : I and others every day 

 made the same passes in vain. If we raised her eyelids, they in- 

 stantly fell. We begged her to open them ; but, till the fingers 

 of him who had mesmerised her made transverse movements, they 

 remained closed, however long we waited. In the rest, the sleep 

 lasted a short time only : from a few minutes to a quarter of an 

 hour : but in her it was very protracted ; it was often so profound 

 that she did not feel pricking nor pinching ; and it seldom ceased 

 till put an end to. This the Baron always did instantly at our 

 desire, by transverse movements ; when she got up, rubbing her 

 eyes and looking drowsy for a minute, and then walked away as 

 if nothing had occurred. The man often on awaking complained 

 of a pain in some part or other, or some very strange sensation, 

 which was immediately dissipated by transverse movements. At 

 first he liked the process and prepared the chair with delight : 

 but, after a time, he took a dislike to it, and at length requested 

 not to be mesmerised, but to trust to medicines for his cure, and I 

 of course did not oppose his wishes. Yet at both periods the 

 effects were precisely the same upon him. 



One of the students tried the process upon an epileptic girl, 

 a patient of the gentleman with whom he lived at the distance of 

 several miles from the College, and sent her presently off to 

 sleep for several hours. He offered to bring her to the Hos- 

 pital, as she was so susceptible of mesmeric influence ; and she 

 came three times a week. Her eyelids were always closed pre- 

 sently : and she never could open them till the Baron made 

 transverse passes around them. I always attempted, but in 



