HYPNOTISED BY A PAIR OF EYES 10,000 MILES AWAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2616, 25 September 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

HYPNOTISED BY A PAIR OF EYES 10,000 MILES AWAY.

ROMANTIC STORY OF A PHOTOGRAPH.

This is a wonderful, yet true .story of sentimental hypnotism and how a girl’s lovely eyes drew an unknown man ICfiOOO miles across the ocean. Miss Eleanor Wrightrorth, a beautiful young girl living near Melbourne, had been studying deeply all the books she could obtain on hypnotism, mesmerism, Oriental occultism, and kindred subjects. She read about the wonderful experiments of Dr. Charcot, the French surgeon, who put hie patients in a hypnotic state and was then able to perform the most painful operations on them without anaesthetics. She learned how to hypnotise persons hersolf, and achieved very remarkable success .at it. She noted that inanimate things such as glass and metal balls, and other glistening objects could produce a hypnotic condition in persons who gazed steadily at them. The hypnotic power is frequently possessed by the human eye, and this organ is quite commonly employed by hypnotists in putting their subjects into a trance. The round, shining appearance of the eye has much to do with inducing the hypnotic state, although the human will power that lies behind it probably exercises the predominating influence. Miss Wrightforth was particularly interested to read about several cases in which the hypnotising expression of the eyes had been transfer, 'ed to a photograph and the photograph had then thrown those who gazed fixedly upon it into a hypnotic condition. In these oases the eyes were very large, brilliant and striking. Apparently the hypnotising force .and intention of the original sitter had combined with the striking appearance of the eyes, as reproduced in the photograph, to produce a strongly hypnotic effect on those who looked at it. CAUGHT BY THE CAMERA. Now, Miss Wrightforth possessed extraordinarily large, brilliant and beauti. fill eyes, and, being an observant girl, she well knew that in direct personal intercourse they exercised a strong hypnotic influence. She felt irresistibly tempted to try her hypnotic power indirectly through a photograph. The next time she went to the photographers she fixed her eyes irresistibly with the steady gaze that she had learned by long practice to assume, and then she said to herself: “I wili that the one who sees this photograph and can read the secrets of my soul that shine in my eyes shall oorne to me, whatever the distance or obstacles that may separate us.” The thought was expressed beyond recall, and the photograph was finisned. As soon as she had acted, Miss 'Wrightforth feared that she might have done wrong. ‘‘Perhaps this picture will disturb some innocent person’s life now living happily far away and entirely unconscious of my existence,” she murmured. “But yet, I believe that I have expressed myself so that only' one 'who is attuned to read me can respond.” Miss Wrightforth gave a few of the photographs to her women friends, none to men. Months passed by without anything remarkable happening in connection with them, and she almost forgot about the hypnotic expression she had willed into them.

WEALTHY ENGLISHMAN FALLS UNDER THE SPELL. But the hypnotic expression was doing its work wonderfully well, as the extraordinary chain, of circumstances now to be related will prove. A young Englishman named Lionel Clogher (pronounced “Clore,” if you don’t mind) was living peaceably in London, engaging in the usual sports of his countrymen and enjoying a handsome income. Suddenly his commonplace and unromantic existence was strangely and mysteriously disturbed: He had a girl cousin, the wife of a naval officer, who had just returned from Axistraiia, where sue had spent much time at Melbourne. Young Clogher went to call upon her return to London. No sooner had he said “How do yon do?” that he caught sight of a girl’s photograph belonging to his cousin. It was as if a hypnotic spell had been instantly cast over him. He stood before the photograph spellbound, looking straight into the great grey, shining, tearless eyes of a lovely girl that seemed to look through his very soul and follow him wherever he went. They peered out across tho wide world spaces above a spray of lilies as pure and as beautiful as her own young face. His cousins made fun ‘of him and joked him about the matter, but ho only looked preoccupied and plied them with questions. “Did her eyes look like that in reality?” “Did she have just that wonderful expression ” “Were they as big and shining as that, and did she ever smile?” To these questions they give a cheerful .affirmative, and they kindly added that the girl was disengaged. Lionel sighed as if a great sorrow had been lifted from him. He spent all his spare time at his cousin’s standing before the picture. ' Finally, to save themselves trouble, they let him have it to take away with Him tn his home. He set it up beside his bed at night, so that he could see those eyes the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. And the spell of the eyes grew stronger instead of wearing away; he could not shake himself free from their fascination. The eyes had the power of following ’him about his- room. From whatever point he looked at them they were always fixed straight on him. Even when he went away from the picture the eyes were always with him, locking straight into his heart. ‘ “Come to me. Come to me. I want you !” the eyes were perpetually saying to him. y Is it necessary -to explain that the great eyes were those- of EleanorWrightforth? She had given her photograph with the hypnotic gaze to Clogher’s cousin and thus it had come to exercise its power, as she had half dreaded, over one entirely unknown to her. - OFF TO AUSTRALIA. He was hypnotised. He was helplessly in ilove with a picture; with a pair of eyes on paper that beckoned him unceasingly. * He got deeper and deeper in love and he suddenly told his cousins that he was going away. ‘Where?” they asked.

“Oh, any place,” he answered, “but I have got to travel. It is of no. use to stay at home.” His cousins looked at each other and smiled wisely, and the wife said: “Well, how about Australia? You have never seen it and ijt’s a very interesting voyage, just about right for “That’s just gvhat I thought,” said Lionel guilelessly, and so he went on the fastest ship that sailed. 1 Even at that he was impatient and nervous and paced the deck and would have nothing to do with any of the pretty girls on board, 'who were immensely interested in him, because he. was so handsome and tall, .and had such in interesting melancholy air. The stewardess told them about the photograph of a girl with remarkable eyes m his state room. Then they all knew he was in love and he appeared more fascinating than ever as he paced the deck and looked impatiently out across the sea.

Well, he got there after a long time and went post haste to present his cousin’s letter. When he looked into the eyes of the reality he nearly fainted, for the real eyes were so much more beautiful than those In the photograph. Miss Eleanor thought he was ill, because he went so white. She thought him a very strange young man when he continued to stare at her .and said very little. She thought him stupid, although she had to admit he was handsome, but like, the girl in Kipling’s “Brushwood Boy” she later learned the reason and then—well, then everythin?! was all right, for she fell in love with him as it was ordained by fate that she should, and they are soon to bo married.