Examples of True and False
Mesmerism.
BANT ABE TUB rilETENBERS.
On. of tb. Kr CuN In WMofc. Pop.
l.r Opinion Km Trinmphed Over fikap
tlo.1 Science How Snakei Charm The
; Hypnotising Mnohln Amusing Fnftos,
Mannerism In a varus, nnsclimtiflc term,
which biu nn fixed meaning in the popular
mind, flynotlsm is hut little if any bet
tor. (Idyllic potoncy Is entirely too solsn
title, and animal magnetism is a phrase oov.
sring too much ground. We might oa!l it
the "snake ohann," but It la not confined
to snakes or even to people of snaky dispo
sitions. What, then, shall we call this oc
cult and mysterious power just now at
tracting so ruuou attention?
DR. BUTS nVTNOTIZER.
Let us Unit we what It 1b, and u no de
scription 1b practicable examples must be
employed. Some yean ago an Ithaca (N,
Y.) gentleman named Reynolds acquired
the power to an extraordinary degree and
convinced tlie mutt critical audiences Id
that collide town. Among others a vener
able professor in Cornell university attend
ed one evening's performance with tbe
avowed intent to show the absurdity of the
thing. He consented to be a subject and
In a few minutes watt crawling under a
table In pursuit of imaginary gold
pieces, He was convinced.
Reynolds would make people pick grapeti
from phantom Tines, climb frantically up
the aidea of a door or window case to escape
the rising tide of the viewless ocean, and
would, by a tow pannes, make a man bo
rigid that he would lie stretched like a log
between two chairs, upon which his head
and feet alone restedso rigid indeed that
two meu could stand upon his unsupported
stomach or buck without bending it. This
power is now supposed to have been the
secret of those extraordinary performances
by the camisardB and cnuvulHionnaires of
France. A philosophic historian noted for
bis caution records that he aaw one wom
an in a tnmce and "rigid aa seasoned oak"
receive BO blows of on iron bar wielded with
all the strength of a still wurt soldier. Can
the mind conceive of a more pitiable sjieo
taclea community mud with religious
fervor and a military governor striving to
cure it with stripes and bruising and deuthf
India furnishes scores of examples. Every
one has beard of the wonderful tricks done
by her native conjurers, which are now
supposed to be mere hypnotic delusion.
Here is a familiar case as related by Dr. U
W. Dill of Boston:
"It was on the street in Madras, and the
fakir was a tali bronwd native. He gazed
around the circle until bis piercing black
eyes met those of each attentive sectHtor.
Then he uncoiled a slender rope and throw
It up in the air. It caught on some invisi
ble hook and hung down. Next the In
dian laid a handkerchief on the road, and
making motions over it something under
neath begun to move.' The handkerchief
was tJtkeu off, and there lay a tiny infant.
Blowing gontly upon its lace, the fakir
made it grow, and in a few moments the
babe was on its feet, a babe no longer, but
an agile and bright faced bid.
"The Indian motioned upward, and the
boy begau to climb the rope. Boon he was
out of bight, though the rope continued to
away with his struggles of asoent. The
magician then shook it and pulled it side
ways, and we could bear a faint scream of
protest from the clouds. Then there was
' the sound of a falling body, and the child
lay criuUted at our feet The Indian quick
ly made a pass, and the lad was alive and
ready to go skyward again."
Womlurful, wonderful indeed! And the
explanation is scarcely less so, JJext time
the doctor took with him a quick pencil
artist and a photographer. The artist saw
the miracle, as did all the others, and
sketched it, but when the photographic
negative was developed it showed only the
fakir and tho orowd no boy no rope! The
fakir bad hypnotized tho orowd and made
them think they saw a marvel, but he
. could not hypnotise the camera. The ever
faithful lines of light recorded only what
actually occurred.
CONQUEST OF T1IE CORNELL PHOFKSHOR,
Unquestionably, if human testimony is
Df auy -value whatever in relation to the
marvelous or semi miraculous, there is a
mysterious force of awful potency which
tome Dooole can exert on some.uthera, The
testimony may be called universal, ior
since history began there has never been a
people, savage or civiliz-ed, but testified to
many such Instances, The people's reli
gion has bad little to do with it. Ancient
Israelite and modern Hindoos, the hard
beaded Scotch of the highlands and the
volatile Greeks and Sicilian, have agreed
to the letter, and now the scici.uflo men of
England and America, after wandina out
long against the alleged "superstitions ofj
wie umearnen, concede iar more tnan toe
nnleamed ever claimed.
If there ever was a "backwoods notion"
ridiculed withont mercy, it was the belief
that serpents have power to charm. But
the fact is now conceded. It Is set forth in
the latest works on ophiology, and the
method of It Is explained by Charcot Buys
and otherspecialistsinParis. And finally, '
as If to surfeit us with marvels, Dr. Suysj
has actually Invented a charming machine,
If onemaycallitsncb, a sort of double act
ing rotary hypnotimer, which, be thinks,
operates on the same principle as tbe ser
pent's eyes.
It Is a little piece of clockwork which
causes two mirrors or bright disks of metal j
to revolve rapidly in opposite directions. ;
This device, says a recent eyewitness, was
placed before tbe patients where they could
regard It steadily. They were bidden to rid
their minds of engrossing thoughts and fix
them on the glitter of tbe whirling glass.
In a short time all of them succumbed to
the same spell that a bird falls under when
looking into the diamond blaze of a ser
pent's eye. They were completely hypno
tized and were ready to respond to the ver
bal directions of tbe operator.
It should be added that all these patients
were susceptible and bad previously been
hypnotized. Otherwise tbe doctors think
not more than a third of them would have
succumbed to tbe influence. Everybody
has beard or read queer old stories of the
effects of mirrors on animals, and there is
no longer reason to doubt their truth. An
other fact is equally certain that for every
real hypuotizer or mesmerizer there are
at least ten amateurs or pretenders, And
this it is which has created so widespread a
prejudice against mesmerism, so called.
Of the fakirs who travel through the coun
try giving "shows" at "one night stands"
it is safe to say that lit out of HO are "fakes."
And yet they give a man tbe worth of his
money, for their performances are, as a
rule, veiy amusing.
Among the most noted of these is Mme,
Anastaaiado ; b'lt, on second thoughts,
it is nut well to advertise her by name. One
of her great tricks is "sewing a man to
gether." Of course the "gentlemen from the
audience" who "volunteer to come for
ward," etc., are her own employees properly
disguised and known In the business as
"horses," If, as often happens, a real vol
unteer goes forward, why, there is the usual
come off, "Many people are not susceptible,"
etc For her great trick she has a "sub
ject" whose ears have been "pierced," as
the ladies say, at the point where there iB
very little feeling and which is ordinarily
"pierced" for earrings.
The needle and white thread are put
through this and thou through the loose
skin ou tbe "horse's" wrist, then through
his other ear, etc., and through it ail he
feels about as much pain as a pin scratch
would produce in a sensitive part Then
Mme. Auastasia de , etc, lays her hand
upon her heart and calls upon any and all
physicians present to say if etc So much
for the madame. Hut the master in this
line, a genius who really deserves praise
and has been on the road' for 20 years, is
a well known New Yorker whom it is
safe to call Dr. Jay.
He has at least SO "horses" In his em
ploy, and some of them have been bis
uhorses" for a dozen years. Of course they
have some other business, for Dr. Jay only
employs them for an hour or two at night.
He not only puts pins through the ear, as
Mme. Auastasia does, but runs a needle
through the tongue and does many other
wondurful things, But his chief talent
consists in amusing the audience. He 1b
an artist la that line. He waits till pre-
INSENSIBLE TO PAIN.
ceding performers have left all in good
humor. Then bis "subjects" are got into
the "hypnotic trance" aud told that the
tide is coming in to where they sit ou the
rocks.' They climb up on their chairs, then
throw off their coats, vests, shoes and socks
and sprawl all over the stage as they (sup
posedly) swim ashore, while the audience
goes into convulsions of laughter.
And such is mesmerism "as she is prac
ticed," It simply requires good "horses" to
make It a first class burlesque, and, using
the accepted slang, it is on the whole
"horse play." The subject dance about,
break chairs, pound each other and cavort
around lu all sorts of wild ways. The
"mesmerio medium" might as well be off
thestuge. And it is a point worth noting
that iu private conversation every "hyp
notizer" and every "horse" of this class de
clares that there Is nothing in mesmerism.
To a "horse" who held forth at a New York
city resort a reporter of The Herald cited
the fact that there was a real man named
Mesmer who practiced a real art,
"Oh, come off!" was the response, "We
know all about that. The man it was
named for was a fakir, and he introduced
it In a dime museum, and if you'll go to
my room I'll give you the year and date."
And this is the curse of science. Each
step in advance must be on disputed ground,
and for one honest, earnest inquirer there
are many "fakirs" aud impostors, while the
great army of the queer and oracy rush in
and try to make this mysterious power bus
Uin their theories about. attttudaut spirits-
the return of the dead, witchcraft and sec
ond sight. But hypnotism is now beyond
all that. Men of science declare that it is a
reality, but most of them deny that a man
can be induced to commit a crime against
his will or do any other of the queer things
alleged In court. In short, they say a man's
nature cannot be changed by it, and if he
commits a crime when hypnotized it is be
cause bis Instincts are criminal. And such
would seem to be tbe common sense view
of it, Jerome Jacquin.
Oyster Prospects Are Good.
The past few weeks have been busy
ones with the oyster planters, and lovers
of the oyster will be glad to hear that
the prospects of a large set are good, and
the bivalves should be plenty the coming
season. It is estimated that over a mil
lion bushels of shells have been laid
down here, the largest planters being H,
C. Rowe & Co., 180,000 bushels; Luding-i
ton & Co., 75,000; F. Mansfield & Sons,
70,000; C. Parmalee, 40,000; Lancraft
Bros., 100,000; Chipman & Co., 55,000:
Bishop & Co., 85,000; B. M. Roweft Son,
80,000; tfunu & Co., 25,000; Jeremiah
Smith & Sons, 100,000; C. D. Parmalee.
45,000; M. Coleman, 20,000; Isaac E.
Brown, 25,000.
Many of the large dealers here have
beds at Stratford, Norwalk and Bridge
port, and reports from these sections are
equally encouraging. The value of tbe
Bbells delivered at tbe beds is about
eight cents per bmbel, which gives some
idea of tbe importance of tho oyster in
dustry, a poor set meaning a sure loss to
the planters.
Clams are very scarce at tbe grounds
around Savin Rock, Oyster Point,
Crane's Bar and South End, and the few
dug are small and lack sweetness. Large
quantities are being brought here from
Martha's Vineyard in sloops. These are
planted in the Quinnipiac river and dug
aa required for the trade. Lobsters are
very scarce and the trade is so unprofit
able that but few pots are placed. Crabs,
on the contrary, are anusually plenty,
and large catches are made in all the
bays and inlets. New Haven Letter.
Wonderful Growth of Eloetrle Travel,
Only twelve years have elapsed since
the first crude suggestions of tbe prac
tical working of an electric railway were
made, and four years ago a list of a
dozen would comprise every such road
in the world in even passably successful
operation, whatever the method of ap
plication Tbe first large commercial
electric railway was, after many difficul
ties and discouragements, opened in the
early part of 1888 at Richmond, Va.,
and Bince that demonstration was made
the industry has grown until there are
now in operation or under contract, on
the general tines laid down at Richmond,
not less than 350 roads in the United
States, Europe, Australia and Japan, re
quiring more than 4,000 cars and 7.000
motors, with more than 2.600 miles of
track, a daily mileage of nearly 500.000
miles, and carrying nearly a billion pas
sengers annually. Fully. 10,000 people
are employed on these roads, and there
has never been an authenticated report
of death ou account of the electrical
pressure used. Over $50,000,000 are in
vested in this industry in' this country
alone. Frank J. Sprague In Forum.
Mr. Cleveland's Washington Church.
It is understood that Dr. Sunderland's
church, the old First Presbyterian, will
again number Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland
among its pewholders. It was Dr. Sunder
land who married Mr. and Mrs, Cleveland,
and Mrs. Cleveland during her former resi
dence in Washington was an attendant al
most every Sunday and quite active in the
charitable and social work of the church.
The First Presbyterian is one of tbe old
est and also one of the least pretentious of
all the churches in the national capital. It
Is a plain, red brick building, without any
steeple, aud its architecture is scarcely ec
clesiastic, but a sign on tbe front of it
speaks more eloquently than towering spire
or jingling chimes. It reads: "The church
1b open from 9 until 5 daily. Come iu and
pray." This injunction will be obeyed by
large numbers of sinners, it is fair to say,
especially when Mrs. Cleveland is worship
ing in the pew which bears on its gate a
silver plate thus engraved, "The Presi
deut." Revived By the Watermelon.
A singular story comes from St. El
mo. On Thursday while the baggage
team and wagon that runs to Porters
ville was on the road some distance from
the station, a thunderstorm arose.
Lightning struck a tree near the road,
splitting it in two. The same bolt
jumped to the wagon, knocked down
the mule and the boy driver; The boy,
in falling, struck bis head on a Georgia
watermelon, tbe force of the fall break
ing the melon, aud the boy's head sinking
into the cavity in the melon. The mule
lay stunned some minutes, and, recover
ing, got up and resumed bis way. The boy
having fortunately fallen with his head
Into the melon, the water in it had the
effect of reviving him, and he shortly
regained consciousness. The only dam
age to the wagon was a split spoke.
Mobile (Ala.) Register.
pouietitLuated Partridges.
Miss Fannie Newman, living near
Lexington, has a genuine curiosity iu
the shape of six partridges, which are as
tame and docile as possible. Some time
ago her brother in plowing a field came
across a nest containing a number of
partridge eggs, and gave them to his sis
ter, who placed them under a hen, and
in due time they wera hatched out A
motherly little banUm hen has taken
the birds under her wing, and, from the
fuss and noise she makes over them,
seems to take delight in her downy
charges. It is a pretty eight to see them
together. Carrollton (Mo.) Democrat
The Original Allan Quatermain
Lives In South Africa.
HIS NAME IS FREDERICK SIUUS.
The NovelUt'S Account of Him Not Exag
gerated, but Be Never Had a Wife An
other Sooth African Fighter Gouveia
the terrible and Ills Frightful Fate.
What reader of Rider Haggard's wosks
has not learned to know and love old Allan
Quatermain, the hero of so many of the
novels that a decade ago took the literary
world by storm and won for themselves an
impregnable place in the popular favor?
W ho that followed him through the vicis
situdes and triumphs of the numerous
stories in which he figured could refrain
from a sigh as he laid down the book after
reading the last chapter of the story bear
ing the old hero's name for a title, realizing
that the author had done with him for
ever f It was like losing a dear old friend,
and one parted from him with great regret.
Hut,, though Haggard found it advisable
for literary reasons to kill his hero off, It
will be pleasing for many of his friends to
learn that the original of the character la
still alive in South Africa, and that he is
just such a man as the novelist has depicted
and has had almost as many and danger
ous encounters and narrow escapes. His
name is Frederick Courtenay Selaus and
he is an Englishman by birth, having gone
to South Africa in 1871, when only IS
rs old. Mr. Kelaus nas never been
married and is still very much alive. Un
til recently be practically lived far in
tbe interior, where white men had never
been. Hardly a year went by without hia
exploring some unknown territory and re
turning laden with trophies of the chase
and bringing carefully drawn sketch maps
of the country explored. Twice he has been
granted awards by tbe Hoyal Geograpical
society for the excellent work done by him
in that line.
When Mr. Haggard was in South Africa
a dozen years ago, be was a great friend of
Selaus. He lived with him, camped with
him, hunted with him, and when he wrote
his novels he put his friend in them as
their hero. His description of Quatermain
bt merely a photograph of Selaus with af ew
FREDERICK COURTENAY SELAUS.
years added to his age. The little details
of thought, manner and prejudice attrib
uted to Quatermain are all Selaus' The
short stories of adventure told in the course
of the novels are all veritable adventures of
Selaus, and, finally, at least two-thirds of
Quatermain's pithy sayings originated with
belaus. - - - 1 -
And lovable as Quatermain is no one can
say that be is an unduly flattered portrait
of Selaus. For over SO years the latter has
hunted, traveled and explored throughout
South Africa and yet is thought not
to have an enemy or even an ill wisher
throughout the country. 1 he natives fairly
adore him, the whites have nothing but
good to say of him, while one and all trust
him absolutely and completely.
In the course of his life in Africa he has
had many hairbreadth escapes. He has
published a book recounting many of his
hunting adventures. Others he bos omitted,
because, as he says, no one would believe
them. 1 et they are true, even though often
apparently impossible.
Another and far different South African
character was Manuel Antonio de Souza,
called Gouveia, whose life and death would
have furnished a fitting subject for Hag
gard in his best vein. Gouveia was for SO
years the governor of the large Portuguese
province of Gorongoza, south of the Zam
besi and west of Mozambique, succeeding
his father in that dignity and as chief of a
tribe of about 800 warriors.
At the beginning of his career Gouveia
Inaugurated the very astute policy of as
sisting his weaker neighbors against the
stronger in their battles, and when by his
aid they had overcome their enemies be
made the victors pay him tribute, incor
porating the remnants of the vanquished
forces into his own tribe. ' Thus he became
lord paramount of the country for miles
around. ,
Hut a dismal fate befell him. Owing to
disputes between the Portuguese and Brit
ish over the possession of Manicaland Gou-
Yeia's allies deserted him, and his tributary
tribes revolted. At the head of the rebels
was McCombie, chief of a tritie to the north.
and him Gouveia resolved to attack, though
he could muster but 1,500 men, while Mc
Combie bad 8,000.
The odds were not so great after all, for
Gouveia's men were well armed and bad
two machine guns. But Mb time had come.
McConibie's men cut off his supplies, and
he must either attack or flee. All his life
tbe bold plan bad served him best, and he
marched in the night to attack McCombie
and marched straight into an ambush. Ex
pecting to surprise, he was surprised. Ex
pecting to attack, he was attacked. The
first rush of McCombie's men broke on the
machine guns. In a twinkling the whites
In charge were slain, the Kaffir gunners
scattered or killed,, and Gouveia's chief re-.
liance rendered useless.
His folloV'ers, broken into several de-
tacned parties, t&etr wnite leaders dead,
themselves surrounded by five times their
own number, must have realized that their
chief who had so lone led thein to victory
had now led them.fo death. But not "a
man flinched. With a courage not rare
among the more manly tribes of Africa
they fought until the very last, dying In
their places to a man, '
How uotiveia met his death is unknown.
Only after the battle was over the rising
(tun saw Lis body surrounded by a horde of
savages, more like demons than men, who
howled with rapture and frenzy as they
tore his bleeding heart from his yet brertth-
tng body and devoured it, that they might
gain the skill and courage that had for so
long rendered him invincible. Of all Gou
veia's force one man alone escaped, and be
only did so because he had been wounded
snd sent to M asHikesni to recover two weeks
before the battle,
An ObHtaale.
A theological Btudeut who had preached
one Sunday in a city at a considerable
distance from the school which he at
tended wished to take the early train
back on Monday moming.
He was delayed in starting, and had to
stop on the way to get a check cashed,
so that when he reached tbe upper end
of the station the train which had
stopped at the other end bad already
started out.
It would pass him, however; so he
waited, and when the baggage car
came along he threw his bag on board,
and with sensible precaution decided to
wait for the last car before jumping on
himself. .
The bystanders watched the proceed
ing with interest, and broke into laugh
ter as the rear car came along. There, on
the lower step of the rear platform, stood
a man who must have weighed fully
three hundred pounds, an effective hin
drance to any attempt toward boarding
the train.
The young man fell back and waited
for the next train, while the obstacle
continued in his position on the steps
quite unconscious of anything except the
cigar he was smoking. Youth's Com
panion. '
The Original Four Hundred.
It is generally thought that the saying ,
that the only people in New York worth
knowing can be numbered by 400 was
originated by Ward McAllister, but it
can be found in the Bible. Acts v, 80,
which speaks of Theudas boasting him
self to be somebody, to whom a number
of men, about 400, joined themselves,
who were scattered "and brought to
naught. The verse referred to reads as
follows, "For before these days rose up
Theudas, boasting himself to be some
body, to whom a number of men, about
400, joined themselves, who were slain,
and all, aa many as obeyed him, were
scattered and brought to nought."
Another verse worth mentioning in
this connection is from I Samuel xxii, 2,
"And everyone that was in distress, and
everyone that was in debt, and every
one that . was discontented, gathered
themselves unto him, and he became a
a captain over them, and there Were
with him about 400 men." Keystone.
1 Coldi In S a niftier. . -
To talk of guarding against cold in
summer seems absurd, and yet it is as
necessary, as in winter. Where the cli
mate is changeable a hot day is often
followed by a cool evening or a sudden
rainstorm chills the air, or a cold wind
springs up, grateful after.tbe heat but
dangerous to those who are thinly clad
unless they are protected- from it by
proper covering.
Cotton Is a good conductor of heat
and allows it to escape rapidly from the
surface of the body. As soon as th
surrounding air becomes cooler than the
skin It Bteals tbe heat which the body re
quires for its owu needs. A fresh sup
ply of heat must be produced, and thus
the system is overtaxed to supply the
demands of the robber. Flannel is a
bad conductor and guards the ten (let
body more faithfully, retaining the beat.
Elizabeth R. Scovil in Ladies' Home
Journal . 1
Fifty Pent of RaUIemaket.
Charles Everitt and a party of friends
were enjoying themselves in tbe wooda
near Stroudsburg, Sunday, when they
suddenly found that they were in a don
of rattlesnakes. On every Bide were big
black rattlers, making the air ring with
the weird music of their tuils, Everitt
and the others pitched into the snakes
with clubs and stones and succeeded in
killing thirteen. Double that many more
escaped. When tbe rattles were counted
on the dead reptiles it was found that
they numbered 142, while the total length
of the snakes was over fifty feet,--f,ort
Jervis(N. Y.J Union.
Vliii tort to Burns' Monument.
The visitors to Bums' monument dur
ing the late Glasgow fair week fairly
broke the record in point of numbers.
Fully 3,000 persons paid for admission
to the monument during the week, being
about 200 in excess of any previous yeur.
It is estimated that about one in three of
those who go out to the Banks of Doon
go in to see the monument, and, accord
ing to this calculation, no fewer than
6,000 strangers made pilgrimage to the
spot during the week. Ayr (Scotland)
Advertiser,
Travels of a Needle.
Mrs. J. Campbell, of this place, when
a girl nine years old, ran a needle in her
right arm just above the elbow. Little
was thought of the occurrence nntil a
few days ago, when she suffered great
pain in her left arm. The family phy
sician made an examination and found
the pain was caused by the needle,
which was removed. During the twenty
years intervening the needle traveled up
the right arm, across the shoulder and
down the left arm. Philadelphia Press,