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MESMERISM IN INDIA FORTY YEARS AGO.

The

At Sunderland small print could be distinctly read. telegraph at Belford, it is said, would not work! This phenomenon was seen all over this kingdom, and also at Naples. Professor Challis observed it at Cambridge, and remarked that the crown of light to which the rays converged was very near the point of the heavens to which the magnetic needle now points.

Various are the opinions as to the cause of aurora. Most philosophers consider their origin to be of an electrical nature. Dr. Faraday considers it very probable "that it is a luminous accumulation of electricity, flowing from the equator to the poles, for the restoration of electric equilibrium." But whatever may be its true physical cause, it presents to our view some of the most magnificent, sublime, awful, and mysterious phenomena which appear in the visible portion of the heavens, and evidently displays the majesty and glory of the Creator, and demonstrates his power in causing the invisible elements of nature to produce scenery so grand, majestic, and diversified. Notwithstanding science has not yet entirely unfolded their mysterious origin, they undoubtedly tend to subserve some highly beneficial purposes in the grand system of creation.

The astral causes of this meteor were ↳ and stat., and four aspects in operation.

MESMERISM IN INDIA FORTY YEARS AGO.

(From the Zoist, October 1848.)

THE first instance I can recollect occurred to me so far back as 1808; yet every circumstance attending it is as fresh now in my memory as though but yesterday. A poor young Hindoo female had fallen into a miserable state of health, the effects of severe privation during the previous great famine, was epileptic, and subject to occasional fits of insanity. A veyragey (mendicant devotee) offered to undertake her cure by performing a religious ceremony or muntra; and as the family lived in the same building with me and my military detachment, and had no objection to my being present, I attended. The man commenced with the usual Hindoo offerings, such as burning frankincense, breaking a cocoa-nut, and invoking some god, and particularly Seetaram; seated the woman on the ground with her back and head against the wall; took from his long matted hair a string of large sandal-wood beads, which he held up before her eyes and directed her to look at; then made passes with it from her head downwards, occasionally stopping to breathe upon or lay his hand

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upon her chest. She soon became drowsy, and appeared to sleep, when a handful of wood-ashes were called for, waved over head, thrown in the air, and the charm was pronounced complete; he then retired to a little distance, and sat counting the beads, but with his eyes attentively fixed on her, and muttering as if in prayer. In about half an hour he started up, snapped his fingers, called out loudly, "Seetaram!!" which was loudly responded to by the Hindoos present; took his patient by the hand, and told her to go about her family work. To the astonishment of her family and all present she obeyed, walked direct to the quern or hand-mill, and began grinding corn for the evening's meal—a work, I am certain, she had been incapable of performing for months. Looking upon this as mere priestly deception, I declined being present at any future visits. However, her mother, brother, and several men of the detachment, assured me afterwards that this man not only put her to sleep whenever he came, but made her speak during that sleep, describe her disease, and what would cure it.

Among other things, she particularly mentioned animal food, eggs, fowls, &c., and which I laughingly advised them to give her by all means. I laughed at the poor people as fools, and abused the man as a knave. But his mild good-humoured rebuke is often now present to my mind. "Youth! the hair on your chin is incomplete; by the time it is like mine you will think differently of me." The woman recovered, and rapidly so. When the cholera first made its appearance at Surat, in 1817 or 1818, I was one day active in assisting the native adjutant of my regiment in causing the poor fellows attacked with this dreadful disease to be carried as quickly as possible from the barrack-sheds to the hospital. I found one, a Sipahee of my own company, lying under a tree with one of these veyrageys exorcising him, as I thought, with a bangle or ornamental ring, worn on the wrist, made of curiously-twisted iron. My first feeling was the wish to roll one into the river close by, and carry the other into the building. However, the sufferer called out lustily, "Captain, for God's sake leave us alone; he is doing me more good than the doctor will." He got over the attack, as I dare say many others have done, without medical assistance; but frequently declared to me his conviction that the Fakeer and his ring had cured him, for he felt it reducing the spasms. Of course, I could only look upon this as the effect of imagination, and, whenever I related the case, always attached the story of my poor old rheumatic aunt and her metallic tractors of the year '97.

In the year 1826 I was at Mocha, on the Red Sea, and suf

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MESMERISM IN INDIA FORTY YEARS AGO.

fering from fever, without any European medical attendant. My native hucheem or doctor, whom I only valued as an excellent nurse, introduced a certain Syed to me as a celebrated traveller; but, in reality, to charm me to sleep. Perfectly unaware of his intentions, I must acknowledge that whenever this man sat before me, counting his beads with a peculiar fixed look, I always felt a strong tendency to sleep; and once, I believe, actually fell fast asleep before him. On awaking up with his hand upon my chest, I angrily ordered him out of the house, when the hucheem confessed the deception. The fever, however, increased until delirium came on. About midnight the hucheem left me for the purpose of seeing his family. The moment he was out of the room, I flew to the water jars, and indulged in what he had always strenuously interdicted-a cold douche-returned to bed in my wet shirt, and fell asleep. At daylight I awoke, and found the poor hucheem standing by the bed, his hand upon my pulse, tears in his eyes, exclaiming, "O thank God, thank God, your fever is gone, and all Abdalla, the mad man, told me is true." In explanation, he confessed that, becoming alarmed at my delirium, he had gone in search of the mad man, for a fall or prediction as to my eventual recovery. "I found him," said he, "in the very mood I wished for, moaning and talking quietly to himself; and in reply to my question, whether you would recover, he said, 'Away with you, wretch! the Captain is quite well: I see him now, sleeping under the white curtains, his shirt and bed clothes wet, a towel round his head, and his servant, Kassim, watching over him.' Guess the joy of your slave when I returned and found you exactly as he had said."

When at Jeddah, the following year, a Turkish durveish volunteered to cure me of a nervous head-ache. I felt relief; but as the pain returned, I declined his further services. His practice was to make passes over the forehead with an iron stile, as if writing the la illa, &c. of the Muhamedan creed. The process of Ootar-from the Oordoo verb ootarna, to take down-is common all over India for the cure of snake and scorpion bites. I will relate one instance. When returning from Bombay to Aurungabad, in 1845, one of my palanquin-bearers was bitten in the foot by a snake; but, as it was nearly dark, and the reptile escaping into a hedge, we could not ascertain its class. A village was fortunately at hand, and a charmer was sent for. He came, and, for the promise of a small fee, undertook the cure. He made passes over the leg, from the knee downwards, sometimes with his hand merely, sometimes with wood-ashes, which he also sprinkled on the wound, but principally with a small palm-leaf

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hand-broom, used commonly for sweeping the house floors. In about an hour the pain in the foot and numbness of the leg had ceased, the man fell asleep, and the next morning assisted in carrying me sixteen or eighteen miles.

From the marks of the teeth, and the symptoms which followed the bite, there could, I think, be no mistake as to the danger the man was in. The practice of "receiving the god into the body" is common among Dhers and other low castes among the Mahratta tribes of the western side of India, and particularly among the syces or horse-keepers in the cavalry regiments. The person receiving this rite is generally washed at the nearest rivulet or even well, and seated in a circle with several others, each of them supporting with one hand a brass dish, containing a few brass images, frankincense, sandal wood paste, cocoa-nut, and invariably a piece of turmeric. The bystanders, with a gooroo or priest, commence a quick but monotonous chant, accompanied with the sound of small brass bells, cymbals, and tom-toms; the seated party frequently responding with loud shouts, and raising the brass dish above their heads. The chief actor presently begins to sway himself about, sob, hiccup, and even roll on the ground in strange convulsions, the eyes assuming a ghastly appearance, and the body frequently rigid. Questions are now put to him about his own or some other person's health, good or bad fortune, absent persons, obtaining offspring, &c. and the replies taken as oracular. Sometimes it is undertaken as a vow, similar to the swinging ceremony or churruck pooja. I have once or twice detected imposture, and where the convulsions were only feigned; but I declare I have often seen these men perfectly insensible to pinching, beating, pricking, &c. I was once present when some young Muhumedans rushed in and tumbled the man neck and heels down a flight of stone steps, cut and bruised him severely; but he remained insensible for some time. How this state is brought about I cannot conjecture. Certainly nothing like manipulation or mesmeric passes were ever resorted to. It could not be by the common intoxication of bang or other drugs; because, once through the ceremony, and out of the fit, they become instantly sensible, but forget every thing that has passed. When interpreter to my regiment, I had two or three instances of complaints to investigate, in which men were charged with witchcraft, for making people "follow them about in a foolish halfstupid manner." I had never then heard of mesmerism. only now regret that I should have lost so many excellent opportunities of searching into these and similar subjects. An officer, formerly of the Bombay army, and I believe, still

I can

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ASTROLOGY AND THE PRESS.

in existence, once attempted to study this "magic;" but, what with the rigid fasts imposed upon him by his instructor, and the threats of his commanding officer, he gave it up.

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remain, my dear Sir,
Your's very sincerely,

M. E. BAGNOLD.

28, Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood,

23d July, 1848.

The above narrative is by Colonel Bagnold, a gentleman of the highest character and of distinguished talent. And we would invite those persons who dispute the realities of the mesmeric phenomena daily witnessed in this country to reflect on the evidence it affords of old and established customs in India, which are nearly allied to mesmerism; and which clearly shew the possibility of exciting the brain until the spiritual existence (mysterious as it is) displays itself, and declares to man that he is truly something more than a mere clod of the valley. The searcher after truth will do well to peruse an article in No. XXIII of the Zoist, entitled "Cure of a true Cancer of the Female Breast with Mesmerism, by Dr. Elliotson." This article, we perceive, has been published as a pamphlet by Walton and Mitchell, 24, Wardour-street, and gone through several editions: it will repay the perusal. As to the god Seetaram here mentioned, we have little doubt it is the ASH-TAR of the Phoenicians; which was the planet Venus.

ASTROLOGY AND THE PRESS.

THERE are some fair men among the press Editors: the following is from the Family Herald, which sells 100,000 a week:AMO." Is the study of astrology prejudicial to religion?" Certainly not. Astrology is full of the most sublime, religious ideas, and its principle is accepted, at least, if not borrowed, by the first and greatest of all religions. Thus, for instance, prophecy accepts the basis of astrological direction when it substitutes a day for a year, as 1260 days for 1260 years. All interpreters of prophecy proceed upon this principle, and this is the very basis of astrology itself, without which it could have no existence. Here, therefore, prophecy and astrology agree in principle. The Scriptures say nothing against astrology. They rebuke astrologers, and laugh at their pretensions; but they do the same with priests, magistrates, and all other wiseacres and rulers amongst men. When the three astrologers came from the east to see the young Saviour, they had his star to guide them, and it guided them aright. Whether this was natural or miraculous it matters not; the Scriptures respect the idea of the astrological direction in the particular case alluded to. In the wars of the Jews, also, we are told by the sacred writer that the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. What this means we do not pretend to say. All that we affirm is, that though there be many severe

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