It was perfectly rigid.
There was no doubt about it--the man was in a cataleptic trance.

I felt for the pulse again; it was lost.
I was no stranger to this curious phenomenon, where the mind is perfectly awake, but every bodily faculty is lulled to sleep beyond possible excitation, unless the right means be employed.

I went out and breathed the cool night air, bidding the servants be quiet, as the sahib was asleep.

When sufficiently refreshed I re-entered the room, cast off my slippers, and stood a moment by my friend, who was as rigid as ever.
Nature, in her bountiful wisdom, has compensated me for a singular absence of beauty by endowing me with great strength, and with one of those exceptional constitutions which seem constantly charged with electricity.

Without being what is called a mesmerist, I am possessed of considerable magnetic power, which I have endeavoured to develop as far as possible.