FORTUNES WHEEDLED BY HYPNOTISM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2387, 30 November 1899, Page 61

FORTUNES WHEEDLED BY HYPNOTISM.

A STARTLING METHOD OF MONEYMAKING. Occult influence 'as a road' to wealth may appeal to m?.u> people as being a fantastic, notion born of a wild" freak of imagination (writes of well-known solicitor), but I can tell you that in recent years various science-;, bordering more or less on the occult, have played an all -important part in many a stirring but unrecorded legal drama, and tint mysterious agencies are much moie rc-foited to in order to gain the ends of unscrupulous persons than the public is aware of. The following are a fpw cases in point. Some (ime ac;o a well-to-do client of mine died, and by the only will which could be found she had bequeathed a life income in her proiiertv to hei housekeeper, a dark, handsome Frenchwoman whom we will call Madame. X , and had left all her relations unprovided for. The will wos in perfect order, and had been dnvwn up by a solicitoi who practised in a town some distance away. I interviewed him at once, but all he could tell me was that he was telegraphed for when the will was made, that the testator was in bed suffering, as the doctor said, from nervous exhaustion, that he had drawn up the' will as instructed, and had seen the lady sign it. "Was Madame X there atrthe time?" I inquired.

"There was a dark, fine-looking woman in au ante-room, whom I took to bo the housekeeper," He'replied, "but no communication passed between the two while I was preparing the will."

There seemed certainly nothing in the circiimstances to show undue influence, which was, of course, the only ground upon which the will could be set aside. Seeing that the life interest was a valuable one, £1200 a year, the deceased's relations naturally wanted to dispute the will, but we hadn't -1 tittle of real evidence on which to found a case, and there seemed nothing for it but to jjay Madame X—— bar splendid

annuity in the shape or a quarterly cheque for £300.

Months elapsed, when at last information of a somewhat startling nature concerning the past life of the handsome housekeeper reached us. The private inquiry agents whom I had instructed had wormed out the very facts I so much wanted to know. She had practised for years, they told me, in a provincial town, and had toured in all the larger cities of Great Britain, as well as abroad, as a lecturer and professor of hypnotism, clairvoyance, and kindred sciences. I collected newspaper reports of these lectures, in which she had x publicly declared that practised hypnotists could exercise a potent influence over any subject who was placed unreservedly in their hands, and she gave cases she had known where .the will, of, one person v had been controlled ;and held in subjection' bythat of another. • These' newspaper reports were the salvation of our case, for they gave us something really tangible to work upon ; and, by other inquiries in the same direction, having got sufficient evidence to prove that undue influence had been exercised over the testator, we refused to continue the annuity, and appealed to the court.

Madame X was naturally furious when her right -to the bequest, was disputed, but when I explained, to -her what we knewof her past life, and ' read the damaging extracts from her lectures', she, began to see things in their true light. Fighting the case, however, meant for my clients disclosures which would be exceedingly distasteful to' them, but at the eleventh hour Madame X "gave us a hint that such revelations could be avoided by an arrangement, and she coolly suggested an amount on payment of which she would "clear out." Ultimately, the sum of £2000 was agreed upon, the money was paid over, and the fair hypnotist "cleared out." The above is a full description of one case; and the following are the main outlines of another remarkable case of the same nature. It is not often such domestic dramas get into the newspapers, the reason being that in a public trial whole families are sometimes placed in the most trying position. I could name case after case which has been settled for this reason, as many persons will sacrifice almost anything rather than allow a scandal to be created in their family. The special instance I have in my mind among others was that of a retired business man whose Avill I proved not very ,long ago, and among the bequests was one to his medical attendant io* £5000, a larger sum than had- been left to any of the testator's own family. It would be too long a story to go into all the remarkable facts of this case, • but for months previously the doctor and his patient were continually together. The doctor had something of an uncanny reputation as being a believer and dabbler in occult science, and under his tuition the mail of business soon became ,a convert, and consented to^arfous hypnotic' experiments being tried ujyui'-him with a view td*the benefit of his'health. His sudden death earners a great shock to his relatives, but they experiencad., another shock when they found that -the'efoefor had been ! made executor and chief legatee of his will. Thete was not -the slightest reason , in the world why the testator should have left fcuch a legacy, but such was the facr. We had a strong case, however, in more respects than one. I believe we could have been successful in a claim against the doctor for improper treatment, but for the satisfaction of all parties a compromise was come to.

At the same time it must not be supposed that it would, have been easy for us to have brought home to the doctor a charge of undue influence, exercised by the aid of his mysterious powers. The average British juryman is chary of believing anything he cannot see, and he may lake a little convincing that the will of one person may hold that of another in 'complete subjection.

Yet, in face of the facts given above, and of similar cases which might be cited, to what other conclusion can one .arrive? At any rate the law of England has recognised at length that such an influence may Ipe exercised, as the results of .some recent piobate cases abundantly s-how, as well as others which have never come to light.