REMARKABLE EXPERIMENTS WITH HYPNOTISM.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2558, 1 December 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

REMARKABLE EXPERIMENTS WITH HYPNOTISM.

M. Jui.es Lieokois, Professor of the Faculty of Law at Nancy, has lately made some remarkable experiments connected with hypnotism. It is already well known that a subject who has been thrown into a hyphotic trance will, upon awakening, immediately execute any "suggestion," however criminal, that has been made during sleep by a person who possesses the dangerous poiver of absolutely directing the will of another. The object of M. Liegeois's experiments was to ascertain if it would be possible when a crime had been committed by a hypnotic subject to discover the author of the criminal suggestion, who, in such a case, would obviously be the really guilty party. This important problem in medical jurisprudence has for some time attracted a great deal of interest in France, and a number of lawyers and medical men were present during the experiments. Here is one of the experiments out of many. A lady who was well known to be a hypnotic subject was thrown into an artificial sleep, and M. LiiSgcois then suggested to her that upon awaking she should shoot with a revolver a certain Monsieur 0., who was supposed to have insulted her. She was enjoined to say, if she was questioned, that M. Li6geois had held no communication with her upon the subject, and that she had cot been under the influence of any one, but had acted entirely of her own volition. A revolver, loaded with a blank charge, having been placed upon a table close at hand, the lady was awakened. The instant she perceived Monsieur 0.. who was in the room, she seized the revolver and fired at him. She was then again put to sleep, this time by Dr Li(sbault, who played the part of medicolegal expert and proceeded to interrogate her. The lady admitted the supposed crime, and in obedience to the injunction she had received, stoutly denied all suggestion. So far it seemed that here was a certain means of escape for the real criminal who had suggested the supposed murder ; but an ingenious test was then resorted to which proved that the suggester was never very safe after a 11. M. Lidbault made these threesuggestions : — " 1. When you see the instigator of you r crime enter the room you must go to sl<'«p for the space of two minutes. 2. When you awaken you must look fixedly at him, and not take your eyes from his until I say, ' That will do.' 3. You must then stand in front of him and endeavour, by extending your skirts, to conceal him from view." The lady was awakened, and in a short time M. Li<sgeois, who had suggested the shooting, came into the room, in which about a dozen persons were assembled. Almost at once she went to sleep. In about two minutes she awoke, fixed her gaze steadfastly upon M. Lidgeois, and followed him, step by step, round the room. M. LiiSgeois, went iuto another apartment, the lady following him. He sat down, and she at once extended her dress in front of him as though to conceal him. When she regained her normal condition she remembered nothing of what had happened. Happily there is good reason to believe that the number of persons capable of being hypnotised is comparatively small ; and it is doubtful whether, after all, hypnotic suggestions would be of much use to the boldest and most adroit villain—except, in a " shilling shocker."