University of Virginia Library

Hidden agents

The mild forms of animal magnetism are disappear- ing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front. The looms of crime, hidden in the dark re- cesses of mortal thought, are every hour weav- ing webs more complicated and subtle. So secret are the present methods of animal magnetism that they ensnare the age into indolence, and produce the very apathy on the subject which the criminal desires. The following is an extract from the Boston Herald:

"Mesmerism is a problem not lending itself to an easy explanation and development. It implies the exercise of despotic control, and is much more likely to be abused by its possessor, than otherwise employed, for the in- dividual or society."