64 THE INVISIBLE INFLUENCE

I then fixed the Sage with my eyes, and we each stared at one another,
until the Sage began to show a vacant stare. This process lasted
a minute or so. (It is of course the first stage of ordinary hypnosis;

the glare of my eyes appeared to overcome the Sage, so that he
was now obedient to my will: this is very different from the process
used in medical hypnosis where the will of the patient is actually
greatly strengthened.) The Sage saw my eyes getting larger and
larger, brighter and brighter, greener and greener, and still brighter
and brighter; and now he looked into the black dilated pupils of
my eyes and became dazed and staggering. In this state he
imitated everything that I did, even against his own will, for he
simply could not help himself. He followed every movement
I made, and when I stepped backwards he followed me, and when
I went forwards he retraced his steps and so kept his distance
from me. When I told him that he would be compelled to do
anything which I did, and I signed a letter, he immediately signed
a letter with my signature and not his signature; and so accurate
was that signature that I know the bank would have passed it as
genuine (this is a point for Judges to remember). My gestures
counted so much in this state that I had to watch my every pose.
In order to make the Sage sit down, I suggested that he should
do so, but also at the same time made the necessary gesture with
my hands. It must be remembered that the Sage's eyes were
wide open all the time. Now by a pure simple gesture of my hands
I drew him to me, and with equal ease repelled him. (This is
known as the Draw and Repel Phenomenon.) As it was not now
necessary that the Sage should see what I did, I turned him round
with his back to me; still he imitated very accurately every move-
ment I made, although there was no mirrors in the room and he
could not possibly see with his bodily eyes what I was doing. I
even closed his eyes for him, but this made no difference. At
this stage the Knight Commander asked how this was done. I
replied, "My opinion as to how this phenomenon is produced, is
that the subject becomes so sensitive to movements of the air and
to the minutest noise, that he can detect exactly from this which
limb the hypnotist moves and exactly where he moves it to."

I now shook hands with the Sage who was still hypnotised,
and said "good-bye" to him, and as he walked out of the room,
I fixed my eyes on a crack in the earth floor and continued to look
at it; during this time the Sage appeared to be glued to that spot,
and although he tried hard, he could not move a limb. (Donato
called this The Evil Eye: it can be seen in this way how much
superstition has arisen.) I now commanded the Sage to "wake