Part 20 (1/2)

”'I think I am getting insane. At dinner time I would wear my hat during the meal.'

”On further inquiry, I obtained the following story, which I give substantially in the original language:

”'As I was going in to dinner, my girl asked me what I was going out for. ”I am not,” says I. ”I am going to eat my dinner.” ”Then what have you got your hat on for?” says she. I put my hand to my head, and there was my bonnet. ”Lord, Mamie!” says I, ”am I going crazy?” ”No, mother,”

she says, ”you often do foolish things.” I began to get frightened, but took off my bonnet and went into the next room to dinner.'

”Then the younger child similarly asked her where she was going, and called attention to her having her bonnet on. A second time she raised her hand to her head, and to her surprise found that her bonnet was really there. She again took it off, and later, when her husband entered, the same thing was repeated; but when she found her bonnet on her head for the third time, she made excuse of the stormy words that ensued to declare she would 'keep it on now till she was through.' After dinner, being alarmed, she consulted a neighbor about it.”

But the longest time on record for the carrying out of a post-hypnotic suggestion was made by a subject of Doctor Liegeois, another of the early French investigators. Doctor Liegeois hypnotized a young man, and said to him:

”A year from to-day this is what you are going to do, and what you are going to see: You will call at Doctor Liebeault's office in the morning, and tell him that you have come to thank him and Doctor Liegeois for all they have done to improve your health. While you are talking to him, you will see enter the room a dog with a monkey riding on its back. They will perform a thousand tricks that will amuse you very much.

”Then you will see a man come in, leading a great American grizzly bear, which will also perform tricks. It will be a tame bear, so that you will not be at all frightened. The man will be delighted at recovering his trained dog and monkey, which he thought he had lost. Before he leaves you will borrow a few cents from Doctor Liebeault to give to him.”

Doctor Liegeois, after repeating these complicated and absurd directions, awoke the young man, and by cautious questioning ascertained that his memory was a perfect blank for all that had been said to him while he was hypnotized. Great care was taken not to recall to his mind at any time the command given to him, and which his hypnotic self was expected to remember and perform on the appointed day.

Exactly a year later, at nine in the morning, Doctor Liegeois went to Doctor Liebeault's office, where he waited half an hour, and then returned home, thinking that the experiment had failed. But at ten minutes to ten the young man arrived. There was nothing about his appearance to indicate that he was in any abnormal condition.

He greeted Doctor Liebeault, explained that he had come to thank him for his kindness to him, and inquired for Doctor Liegeois, whom he said he had expected to find there. A few minutes afterward, Doctor Liegeois having meanwhile been hastily summoned, the young man cried out that a monkey had just come in, riding on the back of a dog. He watched the antics of these imaginary animals with great interest, laughing heartily, and describing the tricks he fancied he saw them performing.

After this, he announced the arrival of a man who was evidently the owner of the monkey and the dog, and he begged Doctor Liebeault to lend him a little money to reward the man for the amus.e.m.e.nt his animals had given him. But he saw no bear.

A moment later he was conversing with the two physicians, in evident ignorance of all that he had just been saying and doing. He angrily denied that there had been any animals in the room. When asked why he himself was there, he could give no definite reply. Doctor Liegeois immediately put him into the hypnotic state, and demanded:

”Do you know why you came here this morning?”

”Of course I do.”

”Why was it?”

”Because you told me to.”

”When?”

”A year ago.”

”But you did not come at nine o'clock?”

”You did not tell me to come at nine o'clock. You said to come at exactly a year from the time you were talking to me. It was ten minutes to ten when you gave me your command.”

”And why did you not see the bear?”

”Because you said nothing about a bear when you repeated your orders.

You spoke only once of a bear. Everything else you spoke of twice. I thought you had changed your mind about the bear.”[51]

[51] Dr. Liegeois's account of his many hypnotic experiments, as given in his ”De la Suggestion et du Somnambulisme dans leurs Rapports avec la Jurisprudence et la Medecine legale,”

forms one of the most striking contributions to the literature of hypnotism.