MESMERIC EXHIBITIONS.-Mr. Keely, who has been quite successful in attracting notice, and interesting the public mind, as a mesmeric operator, has recently been demonstrating his powers before a Cincinnati audience, during the month of April. From what I have seen of Mr. Keely and his operations, I was more favorably im pressed, than by the popular rumors which I had previously heard. Mr. K., although not a scientific man, is a man of very good sense, who talks directly to the point, and conveys his ideas clearly. He does not profess philosophy, science or literature-but professes to verify and display the operation of the magnetic power of one individual over another, in a satisfactory manner. Conceiving that, although much has been said about magnetism, it is still necessary that more should be done to demonstrate its truth and satisfy the public, he has undertaken to give these demonstrations. The method which he adopts, and which, within the last few years, has become quite prevalent among the mesmeric operators of our country, is much more convenient and economical of labor than the old fashioned method of putting a patient to sleep by gazing in his eyes, or by passes over his head. A number of small coins are distributed among the audience, who are requested to hold them in their hands and gaze upon them steadily, until they experience a somnolent influence. This is a natural method of inducing the somnolent, or what has been called the mesmeric state, by which any number of individuals may somnolize themselves at once, without requiring any especial assistance from the operator, who superintends.

Somnolence is one of our natural faculties, the organ of which is located in the temples, about an inch behind the outer angle of the brow. Hence all human beings are capable of becoming somnolent, under the proper influences. The natural cause of wakefulness is the variety of impressions made by external objects; the loss of this variety causes somnolence. Fixing the eye on one object, or giving the ear to one monotonous tone, produces a somnolent influence upon any one. When the silver coins, used for this purpose, have been distributed and gazed upon by the members of the audience some fifteen or twenty minutes, several are found in a sufficiently somnolent state to be controlled by the operator, although no especial connection or sympathetic relation has been established between them.

Mr. K. then selects those who are most fully under the somnolent influence, and exhibits his power over them by giving commands which they are compelled to obey, and making assertions which they are compelled to believe. He will place one of the hands upon the head, and tell the subject that he cannot possibly remove it. The positive assurance is believed, and the subject finds that he cannot remove his hands by any effort of his will. He is in such a passive state that he is compelled to do as he is told, and to believe all that is said to him. If he is told emphatically that the cravat around his neck is a snake, he will throw it down and avoid

it with marks of terror; if he is told that the piece of money which is placed in his hand is red hot, he throws it down and complains of his hand being burnt; if he is told that the water he is drinking contains a dose of salts, he spits it out with marks of disgust; if told that he is the President of the United States, he personates the character; if any of his friends or family are introduced to him by a new name, he receives them in the new characters and denies all knowledge of their true names; if told that a glass of water is a glass of brandy, he drinks it as such, and becomes intoxicated accordingly. In short, he is governed entirely by his faith and imagination, and these are governed by Mr. K.

In addition to a great variety of amusing experiments, in which the patient is made to perform any part that the operator pleases, useful physiological results are produced upon the same principle, viz., stamping an impression upon the mind of the subject when he is in this passive, credulous condition, which impression will become realized by the power of the mind over the body. In this unlimited reliance upon the power of faith and imagination, Mr. Keely differs from the old-fashioned operators. In fact, it can scarcely be said that his operations are by means of animal magnetism. They exhibit, first, independent, self-produced, natural somnolence; and, second, the power of the mind over the body. The operator does not necessarily use any animal magnetism, for he relies not upon nervauric manipulations, but upon his voice, assertions and commands. He assures the patient that he has a pain in his shoulder, and the pain is felt; or, he assures him the pain is gone, and, lo! it actually disappears.

This doctoring by faith and imagination has, no doubt, a rather ludicrous air at first, and makes a mere puppet of the subject. Nevertheless, it has produced very striking results in the cure of diseases, as well as in the amusement of the public. These results are splendid demonstrations of the power of imagination, and the facility with which we may control the imagination by an imperative manner and make it execute our will.

In addition to the self-somnolizing process with the coin, Mr. K. increases the submissive pliability of his subjects by requiring them to fix their eyes upon the coin, and then waving it before them, in various directions, causing them to turn rapidly to follow his movements, until they become quite bewildered, and surrender passively to his guidance.

The most novel feature of Mr. K.'s experiments, is his plan of startling the patient by a sudden explosion of his voice, to assist the effect of his assertions and commands. For example, he will say, "When I count four, you will wake up and will be perfectly relieved of this pain;" or, "when I count four, you will wake up with a complete paralysis of your right arm: one-two-three-FOUR!" At the word FOUR, loudly uttered, the patient wakes, startled by the noise, and finds himself in the promised condition-if his faith and somnolence have been sufficient.

JOURNAL OF MAN.

Vol. I, No. 6.-JUNE, 1849.

ART. I. ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN.

A KNOWLEDGE of the structure of the brain is indispensable to every student of anthropology. Yet this knowledge is not at present conveniently accessible. The treatises upon phrenology in general currency, to which the reader might look for information, are not satisfactory upon this subject; and the work of Dr. Spurzheim, upon the Anatomy of the Brain, which we might suppose would be at the same time the highest authority, and the clearest treatise for the phrenologist and physiologist, is utterly unfit for the general reader, and unsatisfactory even to the anatomist, on account of its deficiency in clearness and fullness of description. The production of an English anatomist, "Solly upon the Brain," is the best treatise for the study of cerebral anatomy at presentwithin my knowledge. A smaller work, entitled, "Brigham on the Brain," by A. Brigham, M. D., of Hartford, Connecticut, presents, in a clear and satisfactory manner, the present state of knowledgeof the brain and nervous system, as derived from anatomical, physiological and pathological research, without including any thing from phrenological sources, or from nervauric experiments. (Too many of our medical and philosophical writers have been accustomed to treat of the brain and mind of man, as though the researches of Gall and his followers had no existence.)

An adequate knowledge of the structure of the brain for the purposes of the phrenological student, may be furnished by a brief essay, with suitable engravings. A faithful sketch will show, not only that the subject is generally imperfectly understood by medical men, but that some important misconceptions exist among phrenologists.

Q