A good practical joke to play in a rollicking party, where you can
venture to do it, is that of mesmerizing; you of course manage
beforehand to lead the conversation to the subject of mesmerism, then
profess to have wonderful powers in that line yourself. After more or
less persuasion, allow yourself to be induced to operate. You then say:
"Well, I will try if there is any person in the company who is
susceptible to the magnetic influence. It is only in rare cases we find
this susceptibility; the person must be of exquisitely fine organization
and steady nerve. Few people can look one long enough in the face to
come under the influence; and, if the current be suddenly broken, the
result is apt to be very serious, if not fatal, by producing suspended
action of the heart and vital organs generally."
Having now fully impressed on your audience the absolute necessity of
keeping still, you begin to look into the eyes of different persons,
press their hands, make passes at them, etc., as though you were
searching for the right temperament. At last you come to your intended
victim, and pronounce him just the man. You now seat him in a chair,
whilst you go into another room to prepare the necessary implements.
These are two plates, each having on it a tumblerful of water. One
plate, however, must be thoroughly blackened at the bottom, by holding
it in the smoke of a lamp or candle. This done, you carry the plates and
tumblers into the audience, and hand the one which is black to the
victim, who is seated in a chair.
Before commencing operations, you must warn the audience that it is
absolutely necessary that they observe strict silence, as the least word
or exclamation will break the charm, and be attended with painful
effects to both operation and operatee. You may tell how, after being
once disturbed in this manner, you had most painful shooting-pains in
your nose for fifteen minutes, that being the point in contact with your
finger at the moment of interruption. All this is to prevent any one
giving vent to some exclamation calculated to betray the trick to your
victim.
[Illustration: COLORED MESMERISM.--_See page 19._]
You now seat yourself opposite the subject, and desire him to keep his
eyes steadily on yours, and imitate the motions of your fingers. You
then commence. First, you dip your finger in the water, and draw it down
the centre of your nose; he does the same; then you rub the bottom of
your plate with your fingers, and draw it over your chin; he follows
your example, and makes a black smudge on his face; you rub the bottom
of the plate again, and draw your finger over your nose, and so on for
several minutes, till the victim has smeared himself all over with
black. You then rise and compliment him on the steadiness with which he
underwent the ordeal, adding, however, that he has too powerful a
nervous organization for you to operate on. The victim will generally
rise with a rather complacent smile at these compliments, at which point
the audience will generally explode with laughter. The victim looks
puzzled--more laughter--the victim, thinking they are laughing at your
failure, joins in the merriment, which generally has the effect of
convulsing every one, when the climax is reached by handing a mirror to
the unhappy operatee, who usually looks glum, and does not see much fun
in the joke.