eriments which we shall presently mention, we approached,
as though watching the experiment, very near to G., and frequently
without his at all flinching; at other times we were told by Mr M. not
to come too near, and once in particular we observed, that having had
one knee and toe in close juxtaposition, almost in contact, with the
patient's, we retained it so for several seconds before he withdrew his
leg. These facts, which would probably be explained by mesmerists on the
ground of the whole power of sensation being concentrated upon one
object, rendered, however, the experiments upon mesmeric attraction
inconclusive. Passing over several experiments, such as the
mesmerisation of water, showing community of taste, in which, after some
hesitation, the patient selected from three or four glasses of water one
which had been tasted by the mesmeriser, we come to the most important
point, viz. the clairvoyance. One of the party stood behind the patient,
and he was asked how the former was dressed; his reply, after some
hesitation was, "not over nice--he has a queerish waist-coat on," (it
was a plain white.) A book was then taken off the table--one of the
annuals. Mr M. held his hands tightly over the eyes of G., and the
title-page was presented open opposite the covered eyes of the latter;
after struggling and moving his head about for some time, just as if
endeavouring to catch a glimpse of the book, he mentioned the place of
publication, and afterwards the title. Other experiments were proposed,
such as holding a book behind the party, or to different parts of his
body; but of these some did not succeed, others were not tried. To
obviate the doubt of the book having been previously seen, we were
requested to write, in large letters, a word on a card, such as a
slightly educated person could read, and to present it, looking at the
same time as closely as we wished at the eyes of G., the lids of which
were, as before, apparently tightly held down by Mr M. We did so: the
word was _Peru_; and, after some struggles, the word was read certainly
without an exposure of any part of the eye to us. We now proposed, as
likely to be more satisfactory, to write another word on a similar card,
and, instead of the hands of the mesmeriser being held over the eyes, to
place a piece of thin paper over the card. This, it was said, was
useless and would not succeed, as the influence would not be transmitted
through the person of the mesmeriser