At 7.30 my Mother and I went to the Assembly rooms to a lecture on craniology and phrenology and mesmerism. A table full of skulls was set out and the lecture was given by a Mr. Hume. We had seen it advertised on the pier. He talked a good deal of wild nonsense and examined the heads of two or three of the audience whose moral and mental qualities he appraised highly. Then began the mesmerism. A number of men came up on the platform from the body of the room and offered themselves to be operated on. They were placed in a semi-circle on chairs sitting with their faces to the wall and their backs to the audience. A young lady went to the piano and began playing low soft dreamy music. The Mesmerist passed between his victims and the wall and after making a few passes over their faces and arms and looking intently into their eyes he soon had 8 out of the 10 prostrate on the floor in a mesmeric sleep. << less