he realm of the known.
The trance caused by regarding fixedly a gleaming point produces in
the brain, in his opinion, an accumulation of a peculiar nervous
power, which he calls "electrodynamism." If this is directed in a
skillful manner by the operator upon certain points, it manifests
itself in certain situations and actions that we call hypnotic. Beyond
this somewhat questionable theory, both books contained a detailed
description of some of the most important phenomena; but with the
practical meaning of the phenomena, and especially with their
therapeutic value, the author concerned himself but slightly. Just on
account of this pathological side, however, a certain attention has
been paid to hypnotism up to the present time.

In the year 1847 two surgeons in Poictiers, Drs. Ribaut and Kiaros,
employed hypnotism with great success in order to make an operation
painless. "This long and horrible work," says a journal of the day,
"was much more like a demonstration in a dissecting room than an
operation performed upon a living being." Although this operation
produced such an excitement, yet it was twelve years later before
decisive and positive official intelligence was given of these facts
by Broca, Follin, Velpeau, and Guerinau. But these accounts, as well
as the excellent little book by Dr. Azam, shared the fate of their
predecessors. They were looked upon by students with distrust, and by
the disciples of Mesmer with scornful contempt.

The work of Demarquay and Giraud Teulon showed considerable advance in
this direction. The authors, indeed, fell back upon the theory of
James Braid, which they called stillborn, and of which they said,
"_Elle est restee accrochee en route_;" but they did not satisfy
themselves with a simple statement of facts, as did Gigot Suard in his
work that appeared about the same time. Through systematic experiments
they tried to find out where the line of hypnotic phenomena intersected
the line of the realm of the known. They justly recognized that
hypnotism and hysteria have many points of likeness, and in this way
were the precursors of the present Parisian school. They say that from
magnetic sleep to the hypnotic condition an iron chain can be easily
formed from the very same organic elements that we find in historical
conditions.

At the same time, as if to bring an experimental proof of this
assertion, Lasigue published a report on catalepsy in persons of
hysterical tendencies, which