OF ALL the facts that operate to make our lives doubtful in their success or failure, is the appalling ease with which, on some unforeseen occasion, and in some unexpected and unexplainable manner, we yield advantages that our better judgment should have clung to andheld in its keeping. In other words we are not always able to take care of ourselves. The loss of control is not due so much to our breaking down after a certain amount of resistance, as to our willingness to yield. Often our minds are led to think that it is the right thing to do. Startling propositions contain elements of conviction that rushus to a change of view, almost before we know it. Let us see what these are. At the present stage of our study we may regard magnetism as a central trunk of influence, having four branches; each individual being capable of using, as well as controlled by, any one or all of the four, although his or her temperament may prevail in one only. The arrangement is not a scientific one; but, beingcorrect in fact and illustrating the true relationship of life more accurately than science may do in this part of our study,we are compelled to adopt it. In every created being there is an aggregation of individual energiesleft to drift. They furnish the general basis of power. When properly excited they become concentrated and, for a time, are irresistible. So it occurs that many unmagnetic persons are sometimes "aroused," as they choose to call it, and show a force that had never been credited to them.

The energies of the body that arouse magnetism, show themselves very distinctly in one way or another.

The pupil of the eye is not supposed to have color. It is a dark hole, and all dark holes show absence of color, for absence of light can have no other result; and absence of color always means the appearance of black. An orator whose eyes were a brilliant blue, addressed an audience with eloquent passion. To the surprise of those who knew him in private life only, his blue eyes had disappeared; they were displaced by great orbs of black. These friends sat directly in front of him, and were sure of the fact. An actor likewise surprised some acquaintances; his gray eyes changing to black.

But then the occurrence is a very common one, although it may not be observed as often as it transpires. The pupil of the eye indicates the magnetic condition. When the energy is lacking or is held in abeyance, the pupil is exceedingly small, unless the person is subject to abnormal nervous conditions. The small size of the pupil is due to lack of vitality in the optic nerve and brain as applied to the eye. The most magnetic men we have met were accustomed to carry the eyes as though they were dead; the fires slumbered, but had not gone out. Blue eyes show a large field of blue when the pupils are contracted. So do gray eyes, or those of any color. But as the magnetic fire is kindled the field is lessened because the pupil of the eye expands, the aperture is enlarged just in proportion as the energy within takes possession of the orb; and, under great nervous excitement, the pupil, black, blazing and intense, drives the curtain widely apart until there is no trace of the iris, and consequently no color to the eye. It is jet black.

Under such circumstances the effect is sometimes awful, especially if the fire is kept within steady control.

Some persons who are able to master the wills of others depend solely on this power of expanding the pupil of the eye. The beholder realizes that a change is taking place in the character of the face before him, but he does not analyze its nature. He may be influenced to a degree that leaves him practically helpless, yet he is not by any means put into a hypnotic sleep.

It is not possible to hypnotize a person unless there is a tendency in that person toward catalepsy, which is a morbid condition of the nerves.

You may lake lessons, become an expert, and possess the full power, yet where are your subjects? The healthy man or wooman will not permit you to manipulate the senses, nor could you succeed if you were to try. That weakling who is to be pitied because of a deficient vitality is your only prey. The triumph is void of honor. The king has conquered a rag doll. There are schools of hypnotism, but their pupils practice upon cataleptics, upon diseased people, and, after graduation, they are powerless, for they have not acquired magnetism. The latter power is universal. All the world is its teachers, and all the world its subjects.

What the individual is able to find out for himself will not be told him by instinct or nature. God does nothing for humanity that it is able to do for itself. The life of the race is made necessary, and the impulses of instinct and desire are accordingly given first place in the habits and cravings of the mind and body. With animals below man this rule is reversed.

With them, as with man, gain is sought, but for the purpose ofmaintaining life. Every beast, bird and serpent plays some important part in the plan of existence. Life dies most happily and must easily in the clutches of other life. The bird that must end its days in the slow processes of old age suffers many a month of torture waiting for the end; but in the jaws of the eator the fangs of the snake it finds a pleasurable release from the agonies of living; an enjoyment that is participated in by thevictim as much as by the devourer.

Toeffect this purpose it is essential that the bird should be trapped by a power that paralyzes his wings. The chatter of the eat is done to catch the ear, and thence the eye of the bird.

Magnetism does the rest. Until the bird sees the expanded pupil of the eye of the cat, it is free; but after that it is lost.

The snake likewise draws its prey by the same law. Fish in the sea are known to hold their victims by a similar use of the eye.The nobler of the savage beasts, such as the lion, the tiger, the hyena, and countless others, are all given the magnetic power as an aid to their purpose of gain.

Ascending still higher up the ladder of animal life we find thatthe valuable dog and the spirited horse have the same power.Without it the supreme qualities of these better companions of man would be dulled.

In each and every instance where the lower forms of life, or humanity itself, may be seen to give evidence of the power of magnetism, the proof is present in the expanded eye-pupil. It does not follow that any man or woman can, at will, cause the eye-pupil to expand, but it is invariably true that the normal expansion of this part of the eye is the result of excessive magnetism. The abnormal expansion is due to the nervous powers running wild; the latent energy is let loose and is uncontrolled. One is the valued steed obeying the command of its master; the other is the valued steed running away with his master.

The increase of magnetism leads to the power of expansion; but it does not follow that the power is to be always employed. On the other hand the most magnetic men and women do not allow this power to manifest itself except when they choose to call it into use; they seem to be the very opposites of what they are, for their eyes are apparently lifeless, and even droop like those in a half-sleep. They are in a state of resting most of the time, thus being better prepared for the lightning energy that may be called forth by some special need.

Outward light expands and contracts the eye-pupil; but this is a mechanical action. The cat closes its iris to a vertical line, when it is out in the sun; but let a bird come near by and the iris will instantly give way, allowing the pupil to expand so as to cover the whole area, even in the brightest glare of sunlight. Here we see the inward power out-weighing the outward power.

The authenticated eases of freedom from pain while in the clutches of savage beasts are too numerous to admit of question. The hunter who said, "I was quite conscious of the tiger's teeth penetrating my shoulder, but, instead of hurting me, they seemed devoid of pain," voiced the experience of many others. The bird suffers nothing while in the jaws of the cat. Something in the expanded pupils and glaring balls of the captor has lessened the will of the prey, and the sensation of drowsiness that follows may deaden the feeling in the nerves.

The power referred to is not only natural, but is as common as anything in Nature. It is said that a man who faces a wild animal can hold it at bay by a steadfast gaze; yet few persons are willing to depend upon so frail a defense. The statement is correct only so far as the man is able to maintain an energy of power in the eye under the present principle. If the animal magnetism of the beast is of a more enduring quality, the vitality of the man will soon be broken; and this the beast expects and looks for. A quick drowsiness follows, and soon all is over. There are, however, instances well verified where men have not only withstood the gaze of savage beasts, but have actually cowed them by the eye, and this in the haunts of Nature.

The accounts given in this lesson are intended merely to show the fact that there is in every member of the animal kingdom a magnetic vitality that needs only to be aroused in order to manifest itself. Whether it comes as the power to hypnotize or to magnetize makes little difference in the study of the latent force, but does make a vast difference in the use made of it and the results of that use. Instinct teaches animals of prey to overcome the resistance of their prey after the fighting is over; and the same instinct gives to the victims the relief from all pain ar, the compensation of Nature. The fire that glows in the eyes of the aroused animal comes from the same source as the intensity that shines in the eyes of ahuman being in the exercise of the natural or acquired gifts of personal magnetism. But the uses are different, and theresults of an opposite nature. The only phase of this animal force that is akin to personal magnetism in man, is in the effort to over-master an opponent; but all else is mere hypnotism. Unless a person is a doctor and has to deal with morbid conditions in a patient, there is never any reason why a man orwoman should practice hypnotism; and there are many reasonswhy they should not. Imagine a young man wishing to win the affections and love of a young lady friend who did not carefor him, and seeking to put her to sleep in order to gain her consent. The whole condition is absurd. Or imagine a man who wishes to sell a piece of real estate, hypnotizing the prospective buyer and so securing his signature to the agreement. In the first place, the thing cannot be done in one case in ten thousand if done would not stand the test of a law trial. Yeton the other hand there are hundreds of thousands of men and women in this as in any large country who are unconsciouslyendowed with the semi-power of hypnotism; not one of whom would be willing to have it known that such a power was possessed, nor would it be believed if urged upon them as a fact. We have met in the past forty-five years more than five thousand doctors who possess this power of semi-hypnotism. This profession seems to fall into its use naturally; and it helps. Almost every patient knows some favorite physician whose voice and touch are soothing and assuring. Such a gift is undoubtedly helpful in curing the sick. Talking with a number of doctors and telling them that they were employing semi-hypnotic methods, they one and all denied it, but we proved to quite a number of them that the assertion was well founded. Other doctors seem to realize that their presence, voice and touch gave relief and confidence and imparted soothing qualities to their patients; and they agreed that they had known for a long time that this was true. But one doctor said rather earnestly, "I have never put a patient into a hypnotic sleep in my life."—Nor had he; but he had calmed them, inspired them with confidence in him, and had given them relief from pain of the body and worry of the mind. These effects verge closely on personal magnetism, and often merge into it.

Lawyers who tried this semi-hypnotic power over juries or courts, would achieve nothing. What helps the doctors would injure the cause of the advocates. Dentists follow the doctors in this line of influence, and business men make use of both personal magnetism and semi-hypnotism in their dealings where they achieve unusual success.

Ministers may become a source of danger if they employ the semi-hypnotic power; but otherwise if they use personal magnetism. A very remarkable case occurred in New York City years ago when some parishioners of a church made in open meeting the charge that was repeated in the papers, that one of the ablest and most successful preachers in that city was resorting unconsciously to the use of this semi-hypnotic power, both in his sermons and in his conversations with the members of his congregation. Following this charge, some reporters attended the church for several Sundays, and found nothing out of the ordinary. The preacher had changed his methods, after consulting with an expert in this line.

After the lapse of several months when the interest had subsided, we visited the city for a series of Sundays in order to bear the minister. It seemed that his voice under certain emotional feelings possessed what is known as HEALING TONES; or such tones as a man or woman who is a natural magnetic healer employs in effecting cures of maladies that are not curable under ordinary treatment. These tones are fully described later on in this work. We had several talks with the preacher, and found him to be most sincere in his claim that he did not know he had these semi-hypnotic tones in his voice. We ex-plained to him what they were, how they were produced, and how they differed from the ordinary tones of the speaking voice. A peculiar fact is that during several visits to the church we had heard these tones and had recognized them, and at the same time had noted the effect of their continual use on the members of the congregation. Of course a drowsy sermon in any drowsy voice with drowsy ideas will induce natural sleep; but hypnotic tones will not do this; and as they do not go far enough to bring on actual hypnotic sleep, they bring the hearers into a widely awakened interest in which their thinking powers seem to follow closely the thoughts of the preacher, to go and come with him, and toempty their minds of all else except the offerings of the preacher.

People who recall the great work done by Mr. Moody and Who heard him repeatedly, may think that he possessed these tones, and that his success was due to a semi-hypnotic voice. true that he came close to this quality of voice, but still employed only his power of personal magnetism for his success.

We have seen an audience contribute over one hundred thousend dollars in a benefit meeting, and not for charity, as the result of the semi-hypnotic influence in the tones of the voice.

Wewill learn all about them as we reach later lessons in this book.

The human voice has a number of tones that exert a marked andinstant influence over hearers. These tones are quickly acquired, when the way of producing them is understood. One tonemay be used by mothers in putting their babies to sleep.

Oneby teachers in securing and holding the attention andrespect of their pupils. An entirely different tone may be used by merchants and salesmen in winning success. There is a tone of the voice that arouses instantly the desire of an audience to listen and give absorbed interest in what is said. These are magnetic and not hypnotic.