n a
head which hath been cut off; he knoweth how to make a lion follow him,
as if led by a rope; and he knoweth the number of the stars of the house
(constellation) of Thoth." The decapitation trick is thus no new thing,
while the experiment performed with the lion, possibly a hypnotic feat,
shows hypnotism to be old.

In the _Arabian Nights_, and in various other fairy tales, we also read
of the sudden appearance and disappearance of palaces, castles, and
other buildings of monumental character. This strange phenomenon has
frequently been paralleled in recent times. It is a species of
hallucination, induced by auto-suggestion or hetero-suggestion--that is,
suggestion given to oneself, or suggestion from outsiders. Madame
Blavatsky, in her _Nightmare Tales_, relates an interesting experience
of this character:

"A curious optical effect then occurred. The room, which had been
previously partially lighted by the sunbeam, grew darker and darker
as the star increased in radiance, until we found ourselves in an
Egyptian gloom. The star twinkled, trembled, and turned, at first
with a slow, gyratory motion, then faster and faster, increasing
its circumference at every rotation until it formed a brilliant
disk, and we no longer saw the dwarf, who seemed absorbed in its
light.... All being now ready, the dervish, without uttering a
word, or removing his gaze from the disk, stretched out a hand, and
taking hold of mine he drew me to his side, and pointed to the
luminous shield. Looking at the place indicated, we saw large
patches appear, like those of the moon. These gradually formed
themselves into figures, that began moving themselves about in
higher relief than their natural colours. They neither appeared
like a photograph nor an engraving, still less like the reflection
of images on a mirror, but as if the disk were a cameo, and they
were raised above its surface--then endowed with life and motion.
To my astonishment and my friend's consternation, we recognized the
bridge leading from Galata to Stamboul spanning the Golden Horn
from the new to the old city. There were the people hurrying to and
fro, steamers and caiques gliding on the blue Bosphorus, the
many-coloured buildings, villas, palaces reflected in the water;
and the whole picture illuminated by the noonday sun. It passed
like a panorama, but so