Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/559

 ANIME ANJOU 527 therapeutics." This report was adopted by the academy Sept. 5, 1837. In the same month M. Burdin, a member of the academy, made a standing offer of 3,000 francs to whoever within two years should produce a clairvoyant able to read without the use of the light, the eyes, or the touch. The conditions of the trial were afterward modified so that the paper to be read might be illuminated, provided the eyes of the clairvoyant were properly covered, and the sense of touch might be used as an aid, but with a smooth glass surface covering the object to be examined. The time during which the prize was to remain open was also extended to three years. The money was deposited with a notary subject to the order of the academy, and a committee appointed to supervise the experiments. Several clairvoyants appeared as contestants for the prize at various times, but the committee in each case reported their com- plete failure. About 1840 a new and prominent student of animal magnetism appeared in the person of Mr. Braid of Manchester, England, who discovered that he could produce sleep in most persons whom he tried, by ordering them to look steadily at some small object about a foot from the eyes, and above their level. He gave the name of "hypnotism " to the sleep and somnambulism thus produced, and styled his theory for the explanation of the phenomena " neurypnology." The principles discovered by him were applied by other persons in vari- ous ways, and variously styled "biology," "electro-biology," &c. All the phenomena produced under these different names are sub- stantially mesmeric. Mr. Braid had no faith in clairvoyance proper; but he admitted an "exaltation of the senses" in the mesmeric and hypnotic states, giving a delicacy of per- ception, and sometimes a perspicacity of rea- soning, exceeding that of the normal state. These views were sanctioned by Dr. William B. Carpenter in his " Human Physiology." Re- cently there has been no special change in the doctrine of clairvoyance, except that it has become somewhat closely connected with that of spiritualism. While the members of the medical profession, with few exceptions, have always opposed the claims of mesmerism, these have nevertheless found supporters in many men of learning and eminence ; among them, be- sides those already mentioned, are Laplace, Cu- vier, Agassiz, Hufeland, Sir William Hamilton, Dr. Herbert Mayo, and Prof. Edward Hitchcock. For information in regard to the theories of its advocates, see Deleuze's " Practical Instruction in Mesmerism; " "Letters on Animal Magnet- ism," by Prof. William Gregory; "Mesmerism, its History, Phenomena, and Practice," by Wil- liam Lang ; " Facts in Mesmerism," by the Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend ; " Truth in Popu- lar Superstitions," by Dr. Herbert Mayo ; and "Practical Instruction in Animal Magnetism," by Dr. Alphonse Teste. ANIME (Fr., animated), a resin supposed to be derived from the hymencea courbaril of South America. It exudes from wounds in the bark, and collects between the principal roots. This resin is soft and sticky, and melts easily, diffus- ing white fumes and a very pleasant odor. Insects are generally entrapped in such num- bers in it, that it is said to well merit its name of animated. The Brazilians use it internally in diseases of the lungs. It was formerly em- ployed in the composition of ointments and plasters, but at present its only use is for var- nishes and incense. ANISE SEED, the fruit of the pimpinella ani- sum, a native of Europe and Africa. It is extensively employed as a carminative medi- cine, and for the purpose of flavoring liqueurs or medicines. It yields an aromatic oil both by distillation and expression, which is used Anise (Pimpinella anisum). for the same purposes as the seed, and is also a favorite article with vermin-killers, who em- ploy it to disguise the scent of poisonous baits. The anise-seed cordial of the shops is a com- pound of alcohol, anise seed, and angelica. The plant is cultivated in Malta and Spain, and grows spontaneously in Egypt and the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, especially Scio. The genus pimpinella belongs to the umbelliferous tribes of plants inhabiting mead- ows and mountains in Europe and Africa. ANJOU, an ancient province of N. W. France, chiefly constituting the present department of Maine-et-Loire, with Angers for its capital. In the time of the Romans it was inhabited by the Andegavi. During the Frankish and feu- dal eras its counts played an important part in European history. The eldest branch of the family traced its descent to the days of Charles the Bald in the 9th century, and the younger branches to those of Louis VIII. and XL, in the 13th. Among the eminent counts of Anjou, those of the name of Foulques or Fulk were distinguished as crusaders, especially Foulques V., who in 1131 succeeded his father-in-law Baldwin II. as king of Jerusalem. His son Geoffrey, surnamed Plantagenet, became