WAS KING MILAN HYPNO. TISED? An Extraordinary Story.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 376, 12 June 1889, Page 3

WAS KING MILAN HYPN O. TISED? An Extraordinary Story.

The following, signed 'Viator, 5 and dated Belgrade, appears in a recent issue of the ' Standard ' : For some time before, and ever since King 1 Milan's renunciation of his throne, it was very common to hear the Servians declare that he had been ( dosed,' and was not acting as a free a^enb. His most intimate associates and friends assert their firm conviction that he was not responsible for his action when he abdicated ; and after collecting a certain amount of evidence I am inchned to lean towards their opinion. At least, in placing the following facts upon record, anybody who has any experience of the results to be, obtained by hypnotism can scarcely fail to draw the conclusions deduced. After .having the circumstances brought before them, perhaps the experts will pronounce their verdict."

The King's Temperament The facts are as follows, stated in their most naked And briefest form : First. King Milan's' temperament. There is a consensus of testimony, including that of His Majesty himselt, that his nerves were entirely unstrung, or otherwise in a high state oi tension ; that he ate little, and suffered from insomnia and various symptoms of the hysterical temperament.

Madame Ciiristitcil. Secondly. That Madame Artemis* a Christifcch possessed a most unaccountable influence over Kins: Milan, especially distorting all his views as regards herself Although, without exception, all who know Madame Artemisia consider he/ intellectually beneath the average oi women, the King was wont to declare that her knowledge and grasp of all subjects political and mundane were greater than those of all his Ministers and Court put together. Nobody ever arrived at a solution of the extraordinary estimate put by Milan upon this lady's accomplishments. Hypnotic Experiments by ' The Serpent-

EYED. ' Thirdly. That Madame Artemisia and her sister were perpetually engaged in hypnotic and thought-reading experiments, both privately and in the select company of the King and one or two others. Fourthly. That the King was frequently the object of these experiments in thought-reading, and was considered a good ' medium.' Fifthly. That Madame Artemisia goes familiarly by the nickname of the f serpent-eycd' amongst many of her friends.

•I Must Do It.' Sixthly. That Avhen speaking of his abdication the King, when fairly cornered in argument, would answer, 'It is no use of your talking, 1 must do it,' in the tone and manner so familiar to those who have studied hypnotism. Stbange Behaviour at tiie Abdication^ Seventhly. The King's behaviour on the morning of the abdication. Here I quote several eye-witnesses : He came in briskly enough, and then suddenly stopped with his eyes downcast. When he began speaking, one of his most intimate friends standing by could hardly believe it was his voice. 'He was speaking like a ventriloquist, and if I had not seen his lips moving 1 could never have believed it was Milan.' Another officer remarks : ' Directly he entesed he seemed to lose his self-control and to be acting under compulsion. When he had finished he raised his eyes for the first time, and they had a wandering, sleepy look. He soon recovei'ed his normal bearing, though.'

Somk Facts in Hypnotism. So much for the particular facts in this case. The accepted facts in general hypnotism which bear upon it are as follows :— First. All nervous aud particularly hysterical temperaments are "peculiarly susceptible to hypnotic influence. Secondly. This influence is exercised with greater facility by persons with whom the subjecb is in daily and close intercourse, as was King Milan with Madame Chribtitch. Thirdly. Nothing would be easier than for an operator to dictate to a subject who was frequently under his or her influence any action, the most serious equally with the most frivolous. Whatevercommand waslaid upon him Avould be blindly and punctually executed, as has been proved hundreds of times. Fourthly. In a case of exceeding gravity like the present one, the operator would probably not only forbid the subject to state that he had been acting under compulsion, but would buggest strongly that the acfa was entirely spontaneous, and based on such and such reasons. Fitthly. The operator would also probably guard against detection by suggesting that the subject should deny ever having been hypnotised. Cases ot this kind are frequent, and a denial coming from King Milan himself would be utterly valueless in the eyes of Dr. Charcot, or any other student. The Only Link Wanting. The only link wanting in the chain i s proof that Milan was once mesmerised by Madame Christitch. If he had submitted once to her influence, no further cause need be sought for. Opportunity was not wanting in their lives for her to hypnotise him as frequently as she desired, and control every action of his career. I have it irom individuals who were present that Milan exhibited himself as a medium, and there is, therefore, the strongest presumptive evidence that he had also lent himself to Madam Artemisia as a subject. His whole behaviour in resisting the advice of ail his friends (in the divorce,asin the abdication), and persisting in spite of all arguments in obeying what was considered an inexplicable caprice, is explained if we substitute hypnotic suggestion for caprice. The secret has been well kept and probably will never emerge from the region of conjecture ; but the foregoing touches it closely.