ge
friends. He procures two patients, designated by the names of Anna M----
and E---- A----, who are said to be very susceptible of the mesmeric
state, and sight or mesmeric perception is manifested in a dark closet,
with large towels over the head, through the abdomen, through cards,
books, &c. &c. Anna M. is mesmerised unconsciously when in a separate
house from the mesmeriser; they predict remedies for themselves and
others, read thoughts,[4] state how they and others can be further
mesmerised and demesmerised.

As an instance of the curative effects, and the power of predicting
remedies, we cite the following:--

"Accident threw in my way a lad of nineteen years of age, a Swiss
peasant, who for three years had nearly lost the faculty of sight.
His eyes betrayed but little appearance of disorder, and the
gradual decay of vision which he had experienced, was attributed to
a paralysis of the optic nerve, resulting from a scrofulous
tendency in the constitution of the patient. The boy, whom I shall
call by his Christian name of Johann, was intelligent,
mild-tempered, extremely sincere, and extremely unimaginative. He
had never heard of mesmerism till I spoke of it before him, and I
then only so far enlightened him on the subject, as to tell him
that it was something which might, perhaps, benefit his sight. At
first he betrayed some little reluctance to submit himself to
experiment, asking me if I were going to perform some very painful
operation upon him; but, when he found that the whole affair
consisted in sitting quiet, and letting me hold his hands, he no
longer felt any apprehension.

"Before beginning to mesmerise, I ascertained, with as much
precision as possible, the patient's degree of blindness. I found
that he yet could see enough to perceive any large obstacle that
stood in his way. If a person came directly before him, he was
aware of the circumstance, but he could not at all distinguish
whether the individual were man or woman. I even put this to the
proof. A lady of our society stood before him, and he addressed her
as 'mein herr,' (sir.) In bright sunshine he could see a white
object, or the colour scarlet, when in a considerable mass, but
made mistakes as to the other colours. Between small objects he
could not at all discriminate. I held before him successively, a