that to condemn before I had examined was as unjust to others as it was unsatisfactory to myself, I accepted readily the proposition of my friend to introduce me to an acquaintance of his in Antwerp who had learned the practice of the mesmeric art from a German physician. We waited together on Mr. K, the mesmeriser, (an agreeable and well-informed person) and stated to him that the object of our visit was to prevail on him to exhibit to us a specimen of his mysterious talent. To this he at first replied that he was rather seeking to abjure a renown that had become troublesome, half the world viewing him as a conjuror, and the other half as a getter up of strange comedies; but," he kindly added, "if you will promise me a strictly private meeting, I will, this evening, do all in my power to convince you that mesmerism is no delusion. This being agreed upon, together with a stipulation that the members of my own family should be present on the occasion, I, to remove all doubt of complicity from every mind, proposed that Mr. Kshould mesmerise a person who should be a perfect stranger to him. To this he readily acceded; and now the only difficulty was to find a subject for our experiment. At length we thought of a young person, in the middling class of life, who had often done fine work for the ladies of our family, and of whose character we had the most favourable knowledge. Her mother was Irish; her father, who had been dead some time, had been a Belgian, and she spoke English, Flemish, and French, with perfect facility. Her widowed parent was chiefly supported by her industry, and, in the midst of trying circumstances, her temper was gay and cheerful, and her health excellent. That she had never seen Mr. K―― we were sure; and of her probity and incapacity for feigning we had every reason to be convinced. With our request, conveyed to her through one of the ladies of our family, for whom she had conceived a warm affection, she complied without hesitation. Not being of a nervous, though of an exciteable temperament, she had no fears whatever about what she was to undergo. On the contrary, she had rather a desire to know what the sensation of being mesmerised might be. Of the phenomena which were to be developed in the mesmeric state she knew absolutely nothing. Thus all deceptive imitation of them on her part was rendered impossible. About nine o'clock in the evening our party assembled for what in foreign phrase is called “une séance magnétique." Anna M- -, our mesmerisée, was already with us. Mr. Karrived soon after, and was introduced to his young patient, whose name we had purposely avoided mentioning to him in the morning not that we feared imposition on either hand, but that we were determined, by every precaution, to prevent any one from alleging that imposition had been practised. Utterly unknown as the parties were to each other, a game played by two confederates was plainly out of the question. Almost immediately after the entrance of Mr. K-we proceeded to the business of the evening. By his directions, Mademoiselle M― placed herself in an arm-chair at one end M of the apartment, while he occupied a seat directly facing hers. He then took each of her hands in one of his, and sat in such a manner as that the knees and feet of both should be in contact. In this position he remained for some time motionless, attentively regarding her with eyes as unwinking as the lidless orbs which Coleridge has attributed to the Genius of Destruction. We had been told previously to keep utter silence, and none of our circle, composed of some five or six persons felt inclined to transgress the order. To me, novice as I was at that time in such matters, it was a moment of absorbing interest. That which I had heard mocked at as foolishness that which I myself had doubted as a dream, was perhaps about to be brought home to my conviction, and established for ever in my mind as a reality. Should the present trial prove successful, how much of my past experience must be remodelled and reversed! Convinced as I have since been to what valuable conclusions the phenomena of mesmerism may conduct the inquirer, never, perhaps, have I been more impressed with the importance of its pretensions than at that moment when my doubts of their validity were either to be strengthened or removed. Concentrating my attention upon the motionless pair, I observed that Mademoiselle M seemed at her ease, and occasionally smiled, or glanced at the assembled party; but her eyes, as if by a charm, always reverted to those of her mesmeriser, and at length seemed unable to turn away from them Then a heaviness, as of sleep, seemed to weigh down her eyelids, and to pervade the expression of her countenance; her head drooped on one side; her breathing became regular; at length her eyes closed entirely, and, to all appearance, she was calmly asleep in just seven minutes from the time when Mr. K first commenced his operations. I should have observed that, as soon as the first symptom of drowsiness was manifested, the mesmeriser had withdrawn his hands from those of Mademoiselle M and had commenced what are called the "mesmeric passes," ‚”* conducting his fingers slowly downward, without contact, along the arms of the patient. For about five minutes Mademoiselle M— continued to repose tranquilly, when suddenly she began to heave deep sighs, and to turn and toss in her chair. She then called out, "Je me trouve malade! Je m'étouffe!" and, rising in a wild manner, she continued to repeat, "Je m'étouffe!" evidently labouring under an oppression of the breath. But all this time her eyes remained fast shut, and, at the command of her mesmeriser, she took his arm, and walked-still with her eyes shut to the table. Mr. K then said, "Voulezvous que je vous éveille?" "Oui, oui," she exclaimed, "Je m'etouffe." Upon this, Mr. K again operated with his hands, but in a different set of movements, and, taking out his handkerchief, * The term means nothing more than such motions as I have described. agitated the air around the patient, who forthwith opened her eyes, and stared about the room like a person awaking from sleep. No traces of her indisposition, however, appeared to remain, and, soon shaking off all drowsiness, she was able to converse and laugh as cheerfully as usual. On being asked what she remembered of her sensations, she said that she had only a general idea of having felt unwell and oppressed; that she had wished to open her eyes, but could not. They felt as if lead were on them. Of having walked to the table she had no recollection. Notwithstanding her having suffered, she was desirous of being again mesmerised, and sat down fearlessly to make a second trial. This time it was longer before her eyes closed, and she never seemed to be reduced to more than a state of half unconsciousness. When the mesmeriser asked her if she slept, she answered in the tone of utter drowsiness, "Je dors, et je ne dors pas." This lasted some time, when Mr. K declared that he was afraid of fatiguing his patient (and probably his spectators too), and that he should disperse the mesmeric fluid. To do so, however, seemed not so easy a matter as the first time when he awoke the sleepwaker. With difficulty she appeared to rouse herself, and even after having spoken a few words to us, and risen from her chair, she suddenly relapsed into a state of torpor, and fell prostrate to the ground, as if perfectly insensible. Mr. KMr. K entreating us not to be alarmed, raised her up, placed her in a chair, and supported her head with his hand. It was |