136 
Mesmerism. 
[March, 
induce, in certain individuals, a state of trance closely ana- 
logous to Somnambulism, or sleep-walking, and characterised 
by the presence of phenomena of so marvellous a nature 
that, unless supported as they are by the most incontro- 
vertible evidence, they would inevitably be regarded as 
fictitious. 
We shall now proceed to the consideration of the supposed 
causes of those psychological and physiological phenomena 
which accompany that peculiar state of mind and body 
known as the Mesmeric Trance. These causes classified 
and enunciated take the form of two conflicting theories. 
The theory which first presents itself for examination — 
namely, that of Animal Magnetism, or Mesmerism proper — 
was first advanced by Anton Mesmer, a native of Musberg 
and an M.D. of Vienna, and has subsequently been promul- 
gated by most votaries of Mesmerism. It is to this effect : 
— “ There exists in Nature an imponderable fluid which can 
disengage itself from one body and be transmitted to ano- 
ther, and by means of which man is enabled to exercise 
over his fellow-creatures a singular and unaccountable in- 
fluence.” This fluid, which is supposed to resemble elec- 
tricity in some of its properties, — namely, that of attraction 
and repulsion, — and in possessing two poles, is stated to be 
developed in the tissues of the human system by the decom- 
position of its molecular constituents, thus bearing an evi- 
dent analogy to the manner in which the electric fluid may 
be produced. The body is, for various reasons, supposed to 
be not only a generating machine for this fluid, but a magnet 
in the proper sense of the word. If this be the case we 
may safely assume that any two selected points may be taken 
to represent the respective poles of the magnet. The hands, 
or distal ends of the upper extremities, are taken for obvious 
reasons, — viz., the nervo-electric fluid before alluded to is 
collected in the nerve-centres of the system, and, conducted 
by the nerves themselves, radiates to the general surface of 
the body. It is not then improbable that in the feet and 
hands, where the nerve-trunks break up and ramify so com- 
pletely, the emanations from these surfaces will be consider- 
able. This consideration, together with the fact that the 
hands form a ready means of transmitting the fluid, suffi- 
ciently explains the origin of the mysterious passes made by 
the operator over the body of the subject. In like manner 
it is supposed that this fluid passes from that great nerve- 
centre, the brain, along the optic nerves, to the eyes them- 
selves, and from thence to the surrounding medium of air. 
It is further surmised that by the intense concentration of 
