Just at the moment of that solemn condemnation by the French Academy of Medicine, mesmerism flourished in England. It had many sincere and learned advocates, such as Gregory, Mayo, Ashburner, Colquhoun, and others, but the one that interests us most is Dr. John Elliotson (1791-1868) one of the most distinguished physicians of that period, Lecturer on Medicine at University College, and one of the founders of University College Hospital, President of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, the first physician to practise auscultation, and to use the now so familiar stethoscope, who employed "animal magnetism" in the treatment of diseases, and invited the medical profession to witness the amputation of a leg of a patient while in the mesmeric state, chloroform not having been up to then discovered.

Elliotson got acquainted with the phenomena through Baron du Potet de Sennevoy, whom we have already mentioned, and who had arrived in England from Paris in order to perform certain experiments. Baron du Potet issued invitations to the leading members of the English faculty to visit his house in order to witness the extraordinary effect of this powerful agent, and to judge for themselves as to the absence of collusion between himself and the patients submitted to the magnetic influence. Dr. Elliotson resolved to ascertain whether he could produce the same phenomena. The effect was as astonishing as it was satisfactory to the doctor's mind. He completely succeeded in inducing mesmeric sleep and all the wonderful results attributed to this agent. A new field of inquiry was opened, as he thought, and he pursued the subject, in all its ramifications, with great zeal and perseverance. He magnetised several patients admitted into the Hospital, and in the presence of a number of scientific gentlemen, he exhibited the extraordinary effects of his manipulations. Several patients labouring under epilepsy were submitted to the operation, with considerable apparent benefit. At first he found a number of medical men willing to witness the phenomena, but when Mr. "Wakley, the editor of the Lancet, wrote what was supposed to be an exposure, a storm was raised, the medical witnesses were declared as credulous, the practices as fraudulent, and the subjects as impostors. Elliotson was abused in unmeasured terms by his own colleagues, and even those who had been convinced of the truth of these phenomena had not the pluck to stand up for him.

The Lancet exposure took place at a seance to which Mr. Wakley, the editor, had been invited. It was due, I think, to the same cause to which must be attributed much of the ill-repute of mesmerism and hypnotism even in more recent times, namely to the unfortunate selection of hysterical patients, who are not to be depended on for a test-examination by a company of sceptics. All men who practise mesmerism and hypnotism get a number of hysterical patients, which patients are apt to develop in the hypnotic state emotional "crises," just as many of Mesmer's patients manifested round his famous tub, and just as a hundred years later Professor Charcot's and Dr. Luys's patients did, of whom we shall speak in the next chapter. Such subjects, though excellent for treatment, are totally unsuitable for purposes of test-examinations, for which only "normal" subjects should be chosen, or at all events patients whose mental state can be relied upon. Mesmer's hysterical subjects failed to convince the Academy; Charcot's practice, although it gained him renown, is disregarded to-day; Luys's hysterical subjects were exposed by Ernest Hart, then editor of the British Medical Journal. Elliotson, who had invited public examination of two of his best subjects—the Oakley sisters, who suffered from hystero-epilepsy,—failed in the same manner.

Everything which ingenuity could suggest was adopted to induce him to abandon the subject, and to throw ridicule upon it, but without having any effect on Elliotson's mind. The attacks on him were carried on with so much invective and vituperation, that as a result a resolution was passed by the Council of University College to the effect " that the Hospital Committee be instructed to take steps as they shall deem most advisable to prevent the practice of mesmerism or animal magnetism in future within the hospital," in consequence of which Elliotson resigned his position as physician to the hospital.

Dr. Elliotson did not feel his loss from a pecuniary point of view, as he was possessed of a fortune sufficiently ample to enable; him to dispense with all professional emoluments. He was, however, ruined professionally, and though subsequently crowds of people attended his meetings, and though many who went to scoff returned firmly persuaded of the existence of such an agent as mesmerism, nevertheless the nonrecognition of his work by his own profession made him a wretched man, and he bore his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. Nowadays, when hypnotism is acknowledged, the attitude of Elliotson's contemporaries is excused by finding fault with his character, he being described as a wilful, headstrong, and rather eccentric man.

When we recollect that in Prance physicians who supported or practiced mesmerism were struck off the "Register," and when we consider the treatment Elliotson received in England, it is rather funny reading in a contemporary medical journal:

"And we cannot but observe with suspicion, that no one ever comes forward to practice mesmerism, who is in the slightest degree known in the scientific world, or who by his works and writings does not show himself to be totally ignorant of everything connected with the living body in health or disease. Nay, even of its supporters, we are not aware of any persons of repute, except Mr. Cuvier and Dr. Elliotson, who have ever said a word in favour of it."

This is, of course, absurd, for Mesmer himself was a physician, so were many of his disciples, so were the members of the second commission of the Royal Academy of Medicine, who drew up the favourable report; and Gregory, Mayo and Ashburner were all doctors, the former two being Fellows of the Royal Society.

The article continues with another insinuation: "Besides we are not convinced that sufficient testimonials have yet been produced of the credibility of the cases at present before the public; for we happen to be acquainted with rather a singular circumstance which preceded the visit of the magnetiser to the University College (North London) Hospital. He had been introduced at the Middlesex Hospital, and there, on several successive days, and in the presence of the physicians, surgeons and numerous visitors, he selected a few hysterical girls on whom to try his powers, but entirely in vain—they were scarcely even freightened. Someone present laughed, and whispered: 'Send him to the North London—he'll succeed there.' To that institution he accordingly went, and the prediction has been completely fulfilled."

What was the opinion of recognised medical authorities of that day, can be gauged also by the fact that Sir Astley Cooper always refused to witness mesmerism "because he had a character to lose," and Sir Benjamin Brodie used to say that "he disliked turning his horses' heads towards Russell Square to see a patient, lest people should think he was going to that scene of humbug, University College Hospital."

At this time a contemporary of Elliotson, James Esdaile, a surgeon in the employ of the East India Company, used mesmerism for the production of anaesthesia in surgical operations.

James Esdaile, son of the Rev. Dr. Esdaile of Perth, was born in 1808, and after graduating in Edinburgh in 1830, obtained an appointment in the East India Company, where, in 1845, when in charge of the

Native Hospital at Hooghly, he made his first mesmeric experiments, and operated on a Hindoo convict with a double tumour. In consequence of his success, a small hospital in Calcutta was placed at his disposal by the Government in 1846. Esdaile performed hundreds of operations on persons in the trance. In 1847, the medical officers reported that complete insensibility to pain was obtained by mesmerism in the most severe operations, and that its influence in reducing shock was decidedly favourable.

The utility of mesmeric or hypnotic unconsciousness had been established beyond the possibility of any reasonable doubt, not only with regard to minor surgery, extraction of teeth, etc., but also with respect to some of the more important surgical operations, as the removal of a breast, the removal of a limb, etc.

There can be no doubt that but for the discovery of ether, and especially chloroform and their effects, in 1847, the application of hypnotic anaesthesia would have made much greater progress than it did. British medical journals either took no notice of these painless operations, or described Esdaile as an honest fool, who was deceived by his patients—a set of hardened and determined impostors.

Esdaile was not the first to use the power of mesmerism for producing anaesthesia. Recamier used "magnetic" sleep in surgical operations in 1821.

Jules Cloquet, in 1829, operated on a lady, Madame Plaintain, sixty-four years of age, removing one of her breasts on account of a cancerous tumour, while she was in the mesmeric trance. During the whole operation the patient continued to converse tranquilly with the operator, and gave not the least sign of sensibility; no movement in the limbs or in the features, no change in the respiration nor in the voice, nor in the pulse, were observed. The patient continued in the state of indifference and of automatic impassibility, in which she was some minutes before the operation. There was no necessity for holding her, all that was required was to support her. There was no pain either after the operation, and her pulse and temperature remained normal.

There are some authorities who think the effect of chloroform occasionally is due to suggestion, inasmuch as the patient frequently is asleep after a few breaths. I am not in a position to decide the question, but that it is possible I am assured by a friend—a dentist, who tells me. that he frequently has placed the inhaler over the patient's head, and acted as if he gave gas, without really doing so, and yet the patient succumbed just the same, and felt no pain while his tooth was extracted. Dr. Hallauer (Berliner klinische Wochenschrift, 1908), a specialist for diseases of women, has performed painless operations in the same manner. He proceeds as follows: All the preparations for an anaesthetic are gone through as usual. Once on the operating table, he applies from ten to fifteen drops of chloroform to the mask in full view of the patient, and tells her to breathe quite quietly. When there are any movements, struggling, or coughing he removes the mask for a few moments, and carefully places it again over the face as soon as this has subsided. Then he adds from time to time two or three drops of chloroform, mentioning the fact aloud as he does so, and stroking the forehead or hair always in one direction. He explains to the patient that she is getting sleepy, and that sensation is gradually disappearing. The suggestion that complete unconsciousness is setting in comes next, but this should not be effected until drowsiness has set in. If sleep does not follow, the possibility of operating under "waking suggestion" may be tried, and in most cases this succeeds. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to follow each step of the operation carefully, and to announce aloud any manipulation which may be painful in a guarded manner. As a rule, the patients only feel what is told them, and the real pain is absent. His method does not require more than from twenty to forty drops of chloroform for any one operation. As soon as the operation is over, he tells the patient to wake up, and it is his experience that she awakes quite fresh and capable of getting up, without experiencing any ill after-effects. At times patients are restless, but when told to be calm they become quiet and when they awaken they say they have felt nothing. Others remain quiet and motionless, but contend later that they have felt everything. Usually, however, when they are questioned as to what they felt, they are unable to give any details which can be traced to any step of the operation. One of the chief advantages of the method, in his opinion, is that if it fails it is easy to continue the administration of chloroform in the usual manner. Under no circumstances can an attempt to carry out a suggestive anaesthesia do the patient any harm. He therefore advises others to adopt his method.

Local insensibility to pain for minor operations on the throat has been induced by Barth, by a similar method of suggestion by persuading the patient that the solution of common salt with which his throat was painted was cocaine, and, therefore, rendered the mucous membrane insensitive.

While Elliotson and Esdaile are forgotten to-day there was yet a third medical man, James Braid, who interested himself in the subject, and whose work has been revived in recent years, making his name famous.

With James Braid (1795-1860) mesmerism started on a new career and received a new name: hypnotism, from hypnosis=sleep. He was a Manchester surgeon, who attended in 1841 the conversazioni of Lafontaine, a professional mesmerist, and readily perceived that all the phenomena were not the result of trickery.

He found that intense gazing upon an object, accompanied by concentration of mind, will displace the threshold of consciousness to a greater or less extent, depending upon the mental characteristics of the individual and the circumstances surrounding him. The subconscious mind is thus brought into play.

One of the first discoveries made by Braid was that the hypnotic condition could be induced in persons who have never seen or heard of hypnotic phenomena. He says:

"In order to prove my position still more clearly, I called up one of my men-servants, who knew nothing of mesmerism, and gave him such directions as were calculated to impress his mind with the idea that his fixed attention was merely for the purpose of watching a chemical experiment in the preparation of some medicine, and being familiar with such, he could feel no alarm. In two minutes and a half his eyelids closed slowly with a vibrating motion, his chin fell on his breast, he gave a deep sigh, and instantly was in a profound sleep, breathing loudly. ... In about one minute after his profound sleep I aroused him, and pretended to chide him for being so careless, said he ought to be ashamed of himself for not being able to attend to my instruction for three minutes without falling asleep, and ordered him downstairs. In a short time I recalled this young man, and desired him to sit down once more, but to be careful not to go to sleep again, as on the former occasion. He sat down with this intention; but at the expiration of two minutes and a half his eyelids closed, and exactly the same phenomena as in the former experiment ensued."

Braid relates another interesting anecdote showing that suggestion is not a necessary factor in the induction of the hypnotic state. He says:

"After my lecture at the Hanover Square Rooms, London, on the 1st of March, 1842, a gentleman told Mr. Walker, who was along with me, that he was most anxious to see me, that I might try whether I could hypnotise him. He said both himself and friends were anxious he should be affected, but that neither Lafontaine nor others who had tried him could succeed. Mr. Walker said, 'If that is what you want, as Mr. Braid is engaged otherwise, sit down, and I will hypnotise you myself in a minute.' When I went into the room, I observed what was going on, the gentleman sitting staring at Mr. Walker's finger, who was standing a little to the right of the patient, with his eyes fixed steadily on those of the latter. I passed on and attended to something else; and when I returned a little after, I found Mr. Walker standing in the same position, fast asleep, his arm and finger in a state of cataleptiform rigidity, and the patient wide awake and staring at the finger all the while."

This is a clear case of the induction of the hypnotic condition without the aid of suggestion. We recommend it to the notice of those who hold that " hypnotism is nothing but suggestion."

Braid's method of proceeding was to take any bright object and hold it from eight to fifteen inches from the eyes, in such a position above the forehead as to produce a strain on the eyes and eyelids, while the patient maintained a steady fixed stare at the object.

The first result produced is a condition resembling sleep—nervous sleep—neuro-hypnotism, or short "Hypnotism," which is the name which Braid gave it. The term "Hypnotism" is still the favourite one to-day, but is open to much more objection than Mesmerism. It involves the theory that the mesmeric condition is one of sleep, which is not in accordance with the facts. "Animal Magnetism" again involves a special theory, while "suggestion" only covers a limited portion of the ground.

Braid's clinical experiences were precisely similar to those of Mesmer. Later, however, on finding that his experiments succeeded with the blind as well, he extended his speculations and developed the theory of "suggestion." Hypnotism acts subjectively and objectively, he found, and the expectant idea in the mind of the patient is the real agent.

Still later, he discovered that suggestion was possible without hypnotism by mere concentration of mind in the waking state, on account of the " expectancy;" but he was constrained to admit that the expectant idea was not the only thing.

Braid and the later Nancy School were really anticipated by the Abbe Faria, already mentioned, who came to Paris from India. In 1814 he showed by experiments that no unknown force was necessary for the production of the phenomena, that the cause of the sleep was in the person who was sent to sleep, and that all was subjective. Shortly afterwards the Abbe was suspected of fraud, simply because he was tricked by an actor who had been persuaded to feign sleep while pretending to submit honestly to the process of hypnotising. Thus Faria, a thoroughly honourable man, was set down as a swindler, in spite of the fact that for a long time he alone, almost, held the true view of these phenomena.

Braid's hypnotism has remained in great favour for years, for his method was simple and easily applied, and appeared to demolish the pet theory of the mesmerists. True, the higher phenomena could not be produced by his method, but it promised a physiological explanation, and, best of all, animal magnetism or mesmerism had been given a new name. Indeed, clairvoyance and thought-transference are practically lost arts, considered as a result of hypnotic processes. Braid could not cause his subjects to obey his mental orders, and he disbelieved in the power of clairvoyance, although some of his subjects could tell the shape of what was "held at an inch and a half from the skin on the back of the neck, crown of the head, arm, or hand, or other parts of the body."

On the other hand, he did believe in the excitation of various mental powers by touching different regions of the head, such as I demonstrated in a previous chapter, and made repeated experiments. This conviction of such a cautious and sceptical investigator as Braid was, should arrest attention. In reality, it is used as an excuse by modern critics who make out that the neglect of Braid by his contemporaries was due to this unlucky mixture of localisation theories of the brain with his own discoveries. This, however, is a far-fetched reason.

Braid, in 1842, offered a demonstration on hypnotism to the Medical Section of the British Association held that year in Manchester, but his offer was spurned, whereupon he gave a private seance. He aroused but little attention during his lifetime. No wonder that the subject with his death and that of Elliotson was relegated to the travelling showman.

As recently as 1879 such a travelling hypnotist, the renowned Hansen, like the Abbe Faria, only just escaped imprisonment in Vienna for what was still held to be fraudulent practices. He was ordered to leave Austria, and went to Breslau, where he succeeded in convincing Heidenhain, Professor of Physiology, of the reality of Hypnotism. Heidenhain investigated the phenomena seriously, and converted the German medical profession. Krafft-Ebing and Benedikt of Vienna, Mobius and Wundt of Leipsic, Preyer and Eulenburg of Berlin, to mention only a few medical celebrities who had seen Hansen operate, now took the subject up in earnest. Giving honour to whom honour is due, they recognised the merit of James Braid, and translated his works which had been quite forgotten in England. In 1880 the British Medical Association invited one of these German Professors, Dr. Preyer, of the University of Jena, a great authority on "Braidism," as he called hypnotism, to come over and explain to an English medical audience what Mr. Braid, their distinguished countryman, whom the Germans had learned to honour, had achieved. From this time the practice of hypnotism as a means of therapeutic suggestion was tolerated. Ten years later the subject had made so much progress that at the Birmingham meeting of the British Medical Association in 1890, a committee of physicians was appointed to test hypnotism psychologically, physiologically and therapeutically. In the report of this committee, not only was the reality of hypnotism recognised, and its symptoms described, but hypnosis was warmly recommended for therapeutic purposes, especially for insomnia, pain, and numerous functional disorders. The results in dipsomania were mentioned as peculiarly encouraging. Last year, Dr. George H. Savage, in his Harveian Oration, gave a learned discourse on Hypnotism, recommending a more extended use than it at present enjoys.

It is, therefore, about thirty years since hypnotism has been considered seriously in England. There has been no more serious adverse criticism since then. The last abusive article appeared in 1883, when Messrs. Gurney and Myers published their investigations into hypnotism, when a renowned medical journal wrote:

" The medical profession has made up its mind about these hypnotic manifestations long ago, and satisfied itself that they consist of a small nucleus of genuine phenomena, and a huge mass of wilful deception and vulgar buffoonery. Medical men have enough to do in dealing with the sad realities of life, and in the persuit of legitimate science, and have no time to waste on the curious conundrums that may be prepared for them by idlers, poets, and philosophers, or in the detection of fraud."

The phenomena of mesmerism and hypnotism has been neglected for so long because official medical authorities have declared them to be due either to fraud, self-deception, or credulity, created public prejudice against their investigation and the practice of the art. Once the prejudice is created, no medical man of any standing cares to go contrary to public opinion, and risk the loss of his means of livelihood, fearing the public would not come to him, if he used methods which are condemned by his superiors. That is why so many valuable truths have been relegated to oblivion, only to be unearthed a century later, when the ground was better prepared for it. When men discover what they ignored before, then reasons are invented, either that the new subject is really not the old one—for instance, that hypnotism has nothing to do with mesmerism—or that the originators were mere charlatans, like Mesmer, or of peculiar character, like Elliotson, or that they held other views in addition to their very valuable theories, which were absurd or are still thought absurd, as was the case with Braid. The history of Medicine is full of such examples.

Doctors, always very careful of the dignity of their profession, and properly so, are afraid of compromising themselves or making themselves ridiculous by approaching these unusual subjects which had hitherto proved perilous to the renown of those who had ventured to deal with them. Hence it was that hypnotism was acknowledged only after two savants, whose influence was decisive, intervened; these were Charcot in France and Heidenhain in Germany,