The Spirit LandEmmons, Samuel B. (Samuel Bulfinch)
Religion
The Spirit Land
Emmons, Samuel B. (Samuel Bulfinch)
Occultism -- Early works to 1900; Spiritualism
A similar experiment was soon afterwards made on two poor females, at
Dr. Franklin's house. These women were separated from each other. Three
of the commissioners remained with one of them in one chamber, and two
of them with the other, in an adjoining chamber. The first had a
bandage over her eyes, and was then made to believe that M. Deslon came
in and commenced magnetizing her, although he never entered the room.
In three minutes the woman began to shiver. She felt, in succession, a
pain in her head, and a pricking in her hands. She became stiff, struck
her hands together, got up, stamped, &c., but nothing had been done to
her. The woman in the adjoining chamber was requested to take her seat
by the door, which was shut, with her sight at liberty. She was then
made to believe that M. Deslon would magnetize the door on the opposite
side, while the commissioners would wait to witness the result. She had
scarcely been seated a minute before she began to shiver. Her breathing
became hurried; she stretched out her arms behind her back, writhing
them strongly, and bending her body forwards; a general tremor of the
whole body came on. The chattering of the teeth was so loud as to be
heard out of the room; and she bit her hand so as to leave the marks of
her teeth in it; but M. Deslon was not near the door, nor in either
chamber, nor was either of the women touched, not even their pulse
examined. We perceive, then, that these effects were produced solely by
the imagination, and the above facts exhibit very satisfactorily the
power which the mind has over the body. The symptoms were not feigned,
but, in the peculiar state of mind of these persons, they were
involuntary and irresistible. They believed they should be effected in
this manner; the idea was formed in their imaginations, and the nerves
were acted upon precisely as though what they conceived was real, and
the muscular effects followed. And as the patients themselves could not
explain the causes of these effects, they very naturally attributed the
whole to magnetism. When the commissioners explained the matter,
magnetism ceased to produce these wonderful effects. The minds of
persons were enlightened upon the subject, and they no longer expected
to be influenced in this manner, and accordingly they were not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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