LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 6, 8 January 1904, Page 4

LITERATURE.

THE HIGHEK HYPNOTISM, wh&n they foumi ri ' iHtoforo ' a tlri.u oi the blade was lmriod m his and the rest .of the SSd stmißht "I'- 'llwug-i Mw'd the pavement oi the cour \»- toio the Church lvut tar awa>, allli wen, " months ; am! even attu sU rO.Clc'J. it wus l"" 0 ""' 1 thd Zm not have bod tU. strength lo drive that machete so deepYet it was now clear from Cr-isto-Joro's iwcrs that at the tunc lie ic£n,od from abroad, his calm e*U,ior hid a terrible thirst Hii uuntc fcccaaa.. she wmild >«>t ««1 l'«"> : and that, even wlrile he mingled in soc i tv life was luit hones to linn ; and he'l...d sworn the destruction oi them San Angelo, an hour from the citv oi Mexico by electric cars, is a Cosmopolitan ciiele. K<hters. tiavcllers, Ba<MU« musicians, poetfi, astrcrnimers, a world of eccentric genius ; no American tliinrt,le-pu. ties to davvlle over ; no KnßHnt> t«s. houi.arjisi.i lifted » rto Ph' los >°I ,h > • Hci -.ice and itf> occult shadow Itishjn.r from brni-n to -brain such is th!;i wiiusu.il life. His an upper, rwvlh.J9ti-aU.il. of the Mexican soC i;oii Cris-toforo, back from a >eai in l'aris and Vienna, sat next to Flora at one of her 11 o clock suppe,,. opposite was Maria (whorn all the world kinew he had tnul • Ijaid to marry) as placid, as gloi ioua AuJaltwiau beauty, as ever, ana w, ad able to look him straight in the eve. Because it usud to be hinted ti;at CiistoAoro had even tried bvyiiutism in his desperation to wi-n M-uria, Flora, the malicious wou.j' have given her bead to marry fhe Machiau'U-ian fellow nerscli; would keep the conversation on that science ; which settled Cristoforo. • •'j lie old Stupid sort of hypnotism— cGirtrollin-g one mind by anottoer—is a back number,'' said Cristoforo, stroking his lean, sallowface after a custom o-f his, and looking solemnly cutvning. "It is as bulling as telegraphy with wires." Theie was a general outburst ; ladjes ior&ot thvir dessert ; musicians yippi'iig black coffee. > loin cried out, "What ! He has brought boiuo to us some new European mystery. Explain. Is the new hypnotism to ke more—«h—more ellcctive than the old ?" Some oi' the company politely chortled in thvir throats. That was a direct stab at his failure to win Maria. Ciistoforo tuinc.l his coii eye lVoni Maria (wlio answered it with wide g-knvmg onb of self- j possession) and back again. Tlkii, Klaring, he replied, "It is." "Oh, tell us !" cried a dozen men arji women, leaning eagerly over the booid. Cristoforo cleared his throat and tovvi wvth his cofiee cup. "The higher 'i.ypLVvism has arrived," suiid he, slowly. "As in telegraphy, we are cow en the point of doing away with cunjbersome wires. and send the spark of intelligence leaping the eea. by Marconi's system, so in hyj)nolisni. r i'he ojj way is stupid, my tft-iu.l is acting cm yours, leaving yojrs to mo\e your muscles. But as psyehc'kigy, electricity, ar.d chemistry are m>w a.pproaohiiig one another, aj.rl the greatest minds begin to st*e that life is electricity, so Jiypnoti-./Lis Ix.*g/n to comprehend that i the mi.nd of ouo person may act directly o*a the muscles of another—tihat is, upon the nerves that move those muscles—with no clumsy oi the seccnd mind. The | fjpark of my brain's power might ! kap the gulf between me and y;ur haj.iJ, fij-'J move Uiat ha mi. Your nWi.d wcaM play mo part in that. i"n a few yeurs tl:e hypnotis*t will no rooie act ujx>:i thv subject's luain, cPumsily sug-gesting that it move the muixrle. No. The hypinotist's own tia'in will mow it

The company ga.ad oil Dan Cristoioro's sft-arj), katfreiy countenance. Flora Maria's full red lips emilcd idly, but her eyes were uinking -in a curious fashion. '•'What !" criuJ Flora, sarcastic, "will yo<u be able to move the other persc'D'e tungue, too?" "I ?" asked Crislo-Joro, cold and ; Surprised. "Not 1. The hypnotists.' He IjoiJ a queer, look, as though -all his muscled were powerfully contiactcd. His brow was movst as with groat effort. His eyes wide, motionless, stared at the toluv cup. Across tlx* table tl.e hvls of

Marie's black Andal us ran oibs were batting with unwanted rapidity. She jnit up her l.iat.d and rubbed them, surprised at their nervous tricks. A loi.£ yi-fc''. as 01 immense effort suspended, escaped Cristoforo ; his own lids si.'j-t aui i>pciK 1 ; he let down from h-.'a tensv-nw.-;, ur.d turnv i w ilh clever tuse to Flora. "As for tongue.*," he said, ■"some day whon you are inclined to be cutting, 1 may, at a -disvanrce, hoki yours."

The company applauded that i/reczily. Flo-ra was cne of those wenm-n vrYjo think tlvey may linallv win an old 'bachelor after all, if tivey keep jab' \ at hitu long erAAiyh. An uiitor, an astronomer, arid a dillotuirtb in art took up the uubject. The couvei'sation became rare, imaginative, eacy.

Maria was always wt-ari.-d by Don Cristo-foro. She was inclined to yawn. She thanked tier stars that sQa- bad not been fool enough to marry so repulsive a man, and sat at a diamond tbat flut.-:K<d on Utf lisJvt lniiJkllf linger. As shv dill ao, the finger twitch.i.l. It seamed that she was extrao-.'.linurily nervous. Then iniuwaivs the linger lifted itself, nujlc a tiny circuit, and fell back. She shiwrul, swwping the company with furtive glance. All were absorlxsl in the lvigl,.'!- hv[>-Dut-isni—Rave Cristw.-oro, un whose forehead she saw- the gleaming-bends of sweat. Auui'ii sh.- heai-J that long si&ii of effw t su'Jdt.nly suspiT.!,l(xl. •■to we in.toi.tl to linger with Flora all night ?" »a;-,l he, with easv camaraderie : ai.a -tlie coiii|>uiiy rose. Maria was dumb-, as she retii<U with lior uncle, the astronomer, to that oßd walled domai.'!i of tlw.'ii-.s, j u-;t i,,.yond the great trees of the l'luza de Sa-n Jacinto.

Cristoforo kept bachelor rooms in Uie bouse of a Fund, aoiuaintmnce, who was ra-p'idly ruining irijiisL-ir at Monte Carlo. The was oi>l>oiJitc a 'quaint cb.irch, with a paved- court, surroinuhtd hv a wall In Ms bjJroom, Cri.sU/oro looked at Tins eyes in a mirror.

■"They smart ; tVy are inflamed he said.

f'faeii -he wrote in a journal r 3—Siic-cr..J v( l in contro-llimr eyelids. Find ti.ut it reacts on en own. My eyes «mart as though the\ ria»d been held ojven too lori'g-. Suecowled in controlling (iivger " I'ii .i that ray own is a little stiff so that I write with dillicu>ty."

There are others of Cod"s creatures so culm as c.-itai. 1 ] Afexloan-Anialus-.'am won,en like Maria Hut as tile days went on, she grew nervous*, suffered ironi lusouuiaa Jost colour and lityh ; and among her friends it was whisperud (bat n|ututid grown eccentric.

On a Simctay, Miaria and Flora went to mass toother. As thvv entered -the little paved court of the church they passed Cristoforo soiim 7J' t00 > dnissud as for a promenakle on the Paris-iaiu boulevards. Maria ntayh'ty and .splt,«.l-i'd heiwg. did ev«n look at him. , Alt F, oln ma'-!' Pile of 1 ht polite jiiiln at hi.s rvTh,, women knelt barelvaJui on the stone floor of tire church ihe mating himself on a u . nc|l l;iIl them. The devil was j„ . him nf * n* 1 " sl.'Jif>ely arm of Mar,a raisuj, , um h- a rir • through the air, a,.,J la , lihl , a tj , on the heart of Flora. An instant s I frofound umawment, tbua jfcin

I copied ovor in a faint. A. hubbub •arose ; Flora, at first angry, then excusing the act as a nervous accident. got her now levivmg companion home.

immediately upon the fainting of Maria, Cristol'oro Jia-fl been seen walking hrisikly out of church. in haste lie had retirud to his rooms, \flsere he arrixiid in an coiiidition. h»*art failing him. cold sweat drippin-g from his brow, yet with a demoniac exultation cid by every line of that cimning, leathery lace. Hi» rig'ht arm hun-g still at his side. Having lai'n down for an hour till his exhaustion was relieved, he wrote m his book :

"Feb. 21.—Progress is on the whole rapid. Succeeded in controlling whole arm. But the reaction on self )>ec<«nes more uml more plain. Usiivg the power on her seems to impair the use of it on me. My right arm was helpless for an hour, a.nd is now - w o numb I write with ditlicplty." When he had written that he sat for a lowg time with his head !n his hands. Mis arm was paralysed. So terrible were the possibilities into which his thoughts ran ; so -dreadTul the results ?hat might ensue, did he succeed to the utmost in his diabolical plan of revenue, that at length when he arose he looked like a physical wreck. " J wilit ""I (give it up if it kills

■me," he said. " She has ruined me as it is ; I -.shall conquer her and die for i) ii Jimust." Two weeks went 1:\ ; it was whispered about that Maria was certainh crazy, so qwerly 4 he acted ; also that Hon Cristoforo, her old lover, was losing his heulth alarmingly ; he suffered from an intermittent paralysis. Ah—how powerful his love tor her had been, that these mental eccentricities of 'hers so affected him. No wonder that Cristoforo lookeA like a wreck, when he loved Maria so that all Europe could not keep him away from her: when she still d«*ove him to despai*. with scorn ; and when, to cap the climax, before his very eyes was the magnificent be. loved losing Jkv nrmd. Even yet, however, both occasionally appeared -at little social functions of the distinguished circle in which they had tam wont to move. Again in Flora's dining-room,'hung with tapestries of the Empire, by the way) the same guests appeared on a night in March. Through the doors they trooped, gayly chaffing Cristoforo about some occukism or other. Marra was before him : he. like a skull, a smile dried on his Sips, walked after. It was then thai there occurred a thing so unaecomilabk and distressing that the eonvpnr.y halted where they were, as though attacked with some sickness. Maria had just uttered a particularly scornful sentiment derogratory of his position in some psychological matter. Then it was that her long an-teryoni-sm so maddened hv;n that the whole of Iris (juder power leaped up to humble her. He stopp.-d. His muscles seemed 'drawn into knots. ITis eyes were on the floor ; his face became ghastly ; and the rorce -began to act.

She suddenly ran before the guests 'and, wheeling so that s-he factd them, delilTeiately sat herself tlown tt|«vn the table and swung her feet like a schoolgirl sitting on a fciuce. But the puerility and misplaced frolic of that act were offset, reaitlered irickening, by the agony of struggle depicted upon her coiimteniance. Her free mind j.rotostcid, fought for her tody's liberty, -an-d as (vile sat she yilt ieked, anl:l fell senseh.'ss across clatteri-n-g dis-h^.

They carried her out ; but here was Cristoforo fallen to the floor.

"Help me up," he s-aid hoarselj "I've lost the use of mv limbs somehow." ' 1

He, too, was Ijorne home. There was no supper at Flora's that night, nut the guests remained there ailother hour to hear news of the two .stricken ones. •

.<~ PI "?!'- V '"sa-w." wliisrix'ral tliev. Tcrrrblo ! Terrible ! And poor old a:l . Cr 'stoforo, how incredibly her nrislortune afleets him i"

t ' l : ist , ofo ™ l«y K'itting his ' K " J - "e l>atl a nurse wnt to care for him. H'is le"s were completely paralysed, and manv of the muscles of his trunk wore'ternporanly useless.

In a few days he Wm , f wheelod out in an i<i>valid chair. Sometimes he could hobble a few steps himself. He Iwt a „ w assocates i„ the j. ]flzu fc San c nto, 0n.,1 sat tlwrc on a bench sl-nl"fhv vit \V K ' m ' at thei '' "' ayS his >°ok«i Maria. to, J**** K»'o®t Of herself, came lalXing near, unconscious of him I w'T ,' Uy I,is chair the big trws chatting, with a Basque m usk , ftn . Tho J, Wa •mm hf, T : ' SUffC "- saw «• s«'cat ■« "h T' SaW Ul ° S laro in- lil-s J hen he perceived that Maria «>alk-i"K yonder, acted strangely' .She lais.id her arms, and went cr'v ■ng out in- a toud and solemn to-.ie • li[,p e lovwl " on Oistoforo all my

i.^ n cric<l tllrw u, " es ' her face uiawn into an -expression of horrori Sh . e Walkud lx ' fo, ' e th * pu(>~ i oi San Angel. Stuggyji'Mi-ir like n drunken woman, she disappeared in£.*VSs IH,USO - A,w ' ««•>

frienk- "!»> hwe. and his L i ' <0 "" n B then'. «hook their wb ow Iriu,, um | whispero.l of thv. latest Ireak of the mud Maria Could it i w ? H iad she reailv loved ! , ali , tllis t'""-' ? What w-as " the AW ml thvng, then, that had held was Klav|nff t . hei , t 1 ™ C"sto,o,-o slowlj grew u , iule ~f ,'i 1 cottld Sjirok quickly ; he could move his arms and l<«,r S n lif i I ' ignominy was still to !' v la ' a l ,Kl upon her. S<v how surelv ri ' tl >vere(l-thoug.] 1 slowly _ -■very lresh blow.

■ntc» tl m . y Wm ■ nto plaza. U wa,i noised about . a soi t oI gala occasion lor J) on ■la - wlT' "I 1 Mne his saiufs i' k ''':' on hv ,vas going to cele- ; f" tlte lact that tine |».ualvsis waeaMng him. A dozen of his friends ■amc though the plaza to cheer the ■Z''t"n T ai, ' d tllc uy^i 'onoiner - >o, walked yonder with his niec- & Here ' J, 01l Cl . isU „ ■oio, anlJ here came the editor the musjciauis, the dilletantes j„ ' moment was at hand. ' .ft deemed thai Don Cristoforo " I at once thrown into Staling aL ,j rill u tolM , mn i-hiin-, s-till. wi\ iilid vi'tvs ai (i . j "f 1 a I the ;acLto. "■ ln ' iWtm " '■"»< s« u Maria yonder disengacod 1,,,,. „ that of in.,. k , , u an " proachml. n w ' 1 "I 1" —or. wo; coiuirwiv' a ''f ■wv frn«j«'Ls 011..1 of J in\<> you, ' H ] V( i sa j{j wan( marry you." ;ant wHh 1 ""^' 1 lhw »- "on rr -he fierce li K ?|,t with n ,

Vs usual, Shi! became helpless ; and lie.v carnnl Jn»r home. Cristoforn was also taken to bis house being now dumb and motionless. Hai-liv any of his muscles could- he mow'but alter a day he was able to a little a«ain IUKI lnak „ his wants known.

Now her humiliation fully accomiire h j!; : vith no re «> -deetr© for We t wvwtbelcsa his mjna t«<

ward health. He watcht'd his muscles for a week ; they improved no more. A month. They improved not. His mind st-ag'gvM'od ; his doom was surely at ha ml. He had gone too far. Calmly, lie decided to slay himself.

Hut how accomplish that, self-de-Htructioin now at last so passionately desirtvl ? H<* had sonn' little use of liis own limbs to l>e sure ; but no power to strike a blow, no nveans ol obtaining poison. Throughout the unspeakable hours of a do/.on lonely nights he lay plaiimiiug. And the new science, the accursiid secret, should die with him—hul how ?—Ah illuminating thought at last. True that he had' no control over his own muscles ;he had transferred that control to hers. Hers wonikl still, perlutps, obey him.

".Juan," muttcrud he to the servant, "come ; put. me in the chair ; wheel me ont to t/he churchyard. 1 want to bask in the j-mn of that still spot." The summer day was beautiful and warm. The paved court of the church was very lo>nely when they came through the big wooden doors lUiu.i resUd therein.

"Leave me,- .Juan, and go buy me some oranges." mutteivvl t'ristoforo. stretching out stiff in his chair ami turning his eyes to tilie sky. " I wmit to swallow a little of (he juice. You can it into my mouth for me. .Juan."

Juan's white clothes, .Juan's sandals, J nun's black hair, disappeared. The church doors yomler were closed : the shadows of trees lay on tht-se paving stones ; und here in a secluded anid lonely corner lay Bon Cristoforo stretc.hod out stiff, like a mummy.

J* or the last time the muscles on his face seemed knotu-d, and the cold sweat stood out in beads. For te?ii long minutes thus he lav.

11l the house, beyond the beaiiititu! IMa/a de San Jacinto Maria, who had seemed better of late, arose from her clua-ir. Her face wo'ie its look of -horror again ! its evidences of tight between the free mind and the enslaved, controlling muscles. On the wall hung swords, daggers, inatclwtcs—a style oi ornament all'ected -by her imcle and familiar -to her friends. o„e oi the mat-heles she took, huge, heave, bllunt thi-njg, and witltal murderous.' Out of the h-oiiwe, under the trees -Vlaria walked steadily ; the whole width of the |>laza, uikl oil -into a ■narrow street. Jlere was the high wooden .dwo,-, giving emiaiuu through thv wn n j nto tho ( . 0 , u . ( c the church. Maria walked through. All was still, warm, the air dreumv With Slimmer ; yonder lay Don Cris-to-ioro the sweat glistening on his foreheaid, Ins body stretched out M-ariu came to him, and both hands' holding the machete, were raised! 10 , 'f* to ; a convulsion shook her boidy ; j lPr whHlo sn|l , strove against tlw crime. JJ„ t he <*>, strove. His eyes were shut • }j! s facc was drawn and quiveriii" ■' his nerves w-ere like wires that break! I or one instant their minds lought . conflict terrific. But the spark ( ,f omnia,,d leaped the gulf ; , Ie opci : a ! InL . .." IUSCIeS hw al '» ls - She Cluil«, Hcming EnUirce, in the San Tiancisco Ar-goimut.