Both,however,wereinsensibleofitsinfluence;andmostcertainlyitisimpossibleineithercasetoattributethissensibilitytotheimagination。“Thefirstcasehasbeenalreadydisposedof。Withregardtothesecond,itisverypossibletoattributealltheresultstoimagination。Itcannotbecontended,thatbecausetheladwasdeafanddumbhehadnounderstanding,thathecouldnotseethestrangemanipulationsofthemagnetiser,andthathewasunawarethathiscurewastheobjectoftheexperimentsthatwerethusmadeuponhim。Hadhenofancymerelybecausehewasdumb?andcouldhe,forthesamereason,avoidfeelingaheavinessinhiseyelids,anumbness,andasleepiness,whenhewasforcedtositfortwoorthreehourswhileM。
Foissacpointedhisfingersathim?Asfortheameliorationinhishealth,noargumentcanbeadducedtoprovethathewasdevoidoffaithintheremedy;andthat,havingfaith,heshouldnotfeelthebenefitofitaswellasthousandsofotherswhohavebeencuredbymeanswhollyasimaginary。
Thethirdcaseisbroughtforwardwithastillgreatershowofauthority。Havingmagnetisedthechildandthedumbyouthwithresultssoextraordinary,M。FoissacnexttriedhishanduponaCommissioner。
M。Itardwassubjectedtoacourseofmanipulations;theconsequenceswereaflowofsaliva,ametallicsavourinthemouth,andasevereheadach。Thesesymptoms,saythereporters,cannotbeaccountedforbytheinfluenceofimagination。M。Itard,itshouldberemarked,wasaconfirmedvaletudinarian;andabeliever,beforetheinvestigationcommenced,inthetruthofmagnetism。Hewasaman,therefore,whosetestimonycannotbereceivedwithimplicitcredenceuponthissubject。
Hemayhaverepeated,andsomayhisbrotherCommissioners,thattheresultsabovestatedwerenotproducedbythepoweroftheimagination。ThepatientsofPerkins,ofValentineGreatraks,ofSirKenelmDigby,ofFatherGassner,wereallequallypositive:butwhatavailedtheirassertions?Experiencesoonmadeitmanifest,thatnootherpowerthanthatofimaginationworkedthewondersintheircase。
M。Itard’sisnothalfsoextraordinary;theonlywonderis,thatitshouldeverhavebeeninsistedupon。
TheCommissionershaving,astheythought,establishedbeyonddoubttheexistenceofthemagneticfluid,andthesearealltheirproofs,nextproceededtoinvestigatethemoremarvellousphenomenaofthescience;suchasthetransferofthesenses;thecapabilityofseeingintoone’sownorotherpeople’sinsides,andofdiviningremedies;andthepowerofprophecy。Afewexampleswillsuffice。
M。PetitwasmagnetisedbyM。Dupotet,whoassertedthatthesomnambulistwouldbeabletochoose,withhiseyesshut,amesmerisedcoinoutoftwelveothers。Theexperimentwastried,andthesomnambulistchosethewrongone。[ReportoftheCommissioners,p。
BaptisteChametwasalsomagnetisedbyM。Dupotet,andfellintothesomnambulicstateaftereightminutes。Asheappearedtobesufferinggreatpain,hewasaskedwhatailedhim,whenhepointedtohisbreast,andsaidhefeltpainthere。Beingaskedwhatpartofhisbodythatwas,hesaidhisliver。[Ibid,p。137。]
MademoiselleMartineauwasmagnetisedbyM。Dupotet,anditwasexpectedthathercasewouldprovenotonlythetransferofthesenses,butthepowerofdiviningremedies。Hereyeshavingbeenbandaged,shewasaskedifshecouldnotseeallthepersonspresent?
Shereplied,no;butshecouldhearthemtalking。Noonewasspeakingatthetime。Shesaidshewouldawakeafterfiveortenminutessleep。
Shedidnotawakeforsixteenorseventeenminutes。Sheannouncedthatonacertaindayshewouldbeabletotellexactlythenatureofhercomplaint,andprescribetheproperremedies。Ontheappointeddayshewasaskedthequestion,andcouldnotanswer。[ReportoftheCommissioners,p。139。]
MademoiselleCouturier,apatientofM。deGeslin,wasthrownintothestateofsomnambulism,andM。deGeslinsaidshewouldexecutehismentalorders。OneoftheCommitteethenwroteonaslipofpaperthewords“Goandsitdownonthestoolinfrontofthepiano。“HehandedthepapertoM。deGeslin,whohavingconceivedthewordsmentally,turnedtohispatient,andtoldhertodoasherequiredofher。Sheroseup,wenttotheclock,andsaiditwastwentyminutespastnine。
Shewastriedninetimesmore,andmadeasmanymistakes。[Idem,p。
PierreCazotwasanepilepticpatient,andwassaidtohavethepowerofprophecy。Beingmagnetisedonthe22ndofApril,hesaidthatinnineweeksheshouldhaveafit,inthreeweeksafterwardsgomad,abusehiswife,murdersomeone,andfinallyrecoverinthemonthofAugust。Afterwhichheshouldneverhaveanattackagain。[Idem,p。
180]Intwodaysafterutteringthisprophecy,hewasrunoverbyacabrioletandkilled。[ForeignQuarterlyReview,vol。xii。p。439]A
postmortemexaminationwasmadeofhisbody,whenitwasascertainedbeyonddoubt,thatevenhadhenotmetwiththisaccident,hecouldneverhaverecovered。[Attheextremityoftheplexuschoroideswasfoundasubstance,yellowwithin,andwhitewithout,containingsmallhydatids——ReportoltreCommissioners,p。186。]
Theinquestwhichhadbeenthemeansofelicitingthese,alongwithmanyotherfacts,havingsatforupwardsoffiveyears,themagnetisersbecameanxiousthatthereportshouldbereceivedbythesolemnconclaveoftheAcademie。Atlengthadaythe20thofJune1831wasfixedforthereading。AllthedoctorsofParisthrongedaroundthehalltolearntheresult;thestreetinfrontofthebuildingwascrowdedwithmedicalstudents;thepassageswereobstructedbyphilosophers。“Sogreatwasthesensation,“saysM。
Dupotet,“thatitmighthavebeensupposedthefateofthenationdependedontheresult。“M。Husson,thereporter,appearedatthebarandreadthereport,thesubstanceofwhichwehavejustextracted。Hewasheardatfirstwithgreatattention,butasheproceededsignsofimpatienceanddissentweremanifestedonallsides。TheunreasonableinferencesoftheCommissioners——theirfalseconclusions-theirtoopositiveassertions,werereceivedwithrepeatedmarksofdisapprobation。Someoftheacademiciansstartedfromtheirseats,andapostrophisingtheCommissioners,accusedthemofpartialityorstolidity。TheCommissionersreplied;until,atlast,theuproarbecamesoviolentthatanadjournmentofthesittingwasmovedandcarried。Onthefollowingdaythereportwasconcluded。Astormydiscussionimmediatelyensued,whichcertainlyreflectednocreditupontheopponentsofAnimalMagnetism。Bothsideslosttemper-theanti-magnetistsdeclaringthatthewholewasafraudandadelusion;
thepro-magnetistsremindingtheAcademythatitwastoooftenthefateoftruthtobescornedanddisregardedforawhile,butthateventuallyhercausewouldtriumph。“Wedonotcareforyourdisbelief,“criedone,“forinthisveryhallyourpredecessorsdeniedthecirculationoftheblood!“-“Yes,“criedanother,“andtheydeniedthefallingofmeteoricstones!“whileathirdexclaimed“Grandeestveritasetpraevalebit!“Somedegreeoforderbeingatlastrestored,thequestionwhetherthereportshouldbereceivedandpublishedwasdecidedinthenegative。Itwasafterwardsagreedthatalimitednumberofcopiesshouldbelithographed,fortheprivateuseofsuchmembersaswishedtomakefurtherexamination。
Asmighthavebeenexpected,magnetismdidnotsufferfromadiscussionwhichitsopponentshadconductedwithsomuchintemperance。Thefollowersofmagnetismwereasloudaseverinvauntingitsefficacyasacure,anditsvalue,notonlytothescienceofmedicine,buttophilosophyingeneral。ByforceofrepeatedoutcriesagainstthedecisionoftheAcademie,andassertionsthatnewfactswerediscovereddayafterday,itsfriends,sixyearsafterwards,prevaileduponthatlearnedandinfluentialbodytoinstituteanotherinquiry。TheAcademie,inthusconsentingtorenewtheinvestigationafterithadtwicesolemnlydecidedonceinconjunctionwith,andonceinoppositiontoacommitteeofitsownappointmentthatAnimalMagnetismwasafraudorachimera,gavethemoststrikingproofofitsownimpartialityandsinceredesiretoarriveatthetruth。
ThenewCommissionwascomposedofM。Roux,thePresident;andMessieursBouillard,Cloquet,Emery,Pelletier,Caventon,Oudet,Cornac,andDuboisd’Amiens。ThechiefmagnetiserupontheoccasionwasM。Berna,whohadwrittentotheAcademieonthe12thofFebruary1837,offeringtobringforwardthemostconvincingproofsofthetruthofthenew“science。“TheCommissionersmetforthefirsttimeonthe27thofFebruary,anddeliveredtheirreport,whichwasdrawnupbyM。Duboisd’Amiens,onthe22ndofAugustfollowing。Afteracarefulexaminationofalltheevidence,theydecided,asMessieursBaillyandFranklinhaddonein1784,thatthetouchings,imagination,andtheforceofimitationwouldaccountsatisfactorilyforallthephenomena;thatthesupposedMesmericfluidwouldnot;thatM。Berna,themagnetiser,labouredunderadelusion;andthatthefactsbroughtundertheirnoticewereanythingbutconclusiveinfavourofthedoctrineofAnimalMagnetism,andcouldhavenorelationeitherwithphysiologyorwiththerapeutics。
ThefollowingabridgmentofthereportwillshowthattheCommissionersdidnotthusdecidewithoutabundantreason。Onthe3rdofMarchtheymetatthehouseofM。Roux,thePresident,whenM。
Bernaintroducedhispatient,ayounggirlofseventeen,ofaconstitutionapparentlynervousanddelicate,butwithanairsufficientlycoolandself-sufficient。M。BernaofferedeightproofsofAnimalMagnetism,whichhewouldelicitinhercase,andwhichheclassedasfollow:——
Hewouldthrowherintothestateofsomnambulism。
Hewouldrenderherquiteinsensibletobodilypain。
Hewouldrestorehertosensibilitybyhismerewill,withoutanyvisibleoraudiblemanifestationofit。
Hismentalordershoulddepriveherofmotion。
Hewouldcauseher,byamentalorder,toceaseansweringinthemidstofaconversation,andbyasecondmentalorderwouldmakeherbeginagain。
Hewouldrepeatthesameexperiment,separatedfromhispatientbyadoor。
Hewouldawakeher。
Hewouldthrowheragainintothesomnambulicstate,andbyhiswillsuccessivelycausehertoloseandrecoverthesensibilityofanypartofherbody。