Mesmerism and Its Opponents v2

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MESMERISM

ITS

OPPONENTS.

GEORGE

SANDBY,

M.A.

VICAR

OP

rMXTON,

SUPFOLK.

**

AU

things

are

marked

and

stamped

with

this

triple

haracter;

of

the

power

qf

God,

the

difference

o/wa/wre,

and

the

use

qfman

Bacon,

Advancement

of

Learnings

book

ii.

Gratia

docet

de omni

re,

et

in

orani

scientta

utilitatis

fructum,

atque-

Dei

landem

et

konorem

quserere.

Thomas A

Kempis,

De Imitatione

Christi,

lib. iii.

54..

^ttaviti

Haitian,

CONSIDERABLY

ENLARGED,

WITH

AN

INTRODUCTORY

CHAPTER.

LONDON:

LONGMAN,

BKOWN, GREEN,

AND

LONGMANS,

FATEBNOSTSB-BOW.

1848.


8/395

L

:

S

R

S

N


9/395

To

CAPTAIN

JOHN

JAMES,

ETC.

ETC. ETC.

I

CANNOT

dedicate

this

little

Work

more

appro-riately

than

to

you,

through

whom I

became first

acquainted

with the

great

truths of which it

treats,

and

to

whose

kindness and cordial

sym-athy

I

am

so

deeply

indebted.

Believe

me

to

remain.

My

dear

rriencl,

Yours

most

sincerely,

GEORGE

SANDBY,

Jun.


10/395


11/395

PREFACE

TO

THE

SECOND

EDITION.

In

presenting

fresh

edition of

my

little work

to

the

Public,

perhaps

I shall be

pardoned

if

I

submit

a

few

pre-iminary

observations

as

to

its

nature

and

origin

for

the

earnest

part

that I take in the

promotion

of the somewhat

unpopular

subject

of which it

treats

has

probably

excited

surprise.

With

many,

I

appear

to

be

stepping

aside from

my

own vocation,

in

a cause

where far

abler

men

have

failed before

me,

with little other

prospect

than

that of

losing

the

good

opinion

of the

judicious,

nd of

incurring

an

unnecessary

amount

of

ill-will

and

misrepresentation.

With

others,

the

move

is.

regarded

as

one,

that

profes-ionally

pursues

a

wrong,

or

at

least,

n

unusual direction

;

and

the

conventionalist

and

the

fastidious

give

me,

there-ore,

their cold

contempt.

For all

this,

and

more

I

am

.prepared.

My object

s

to

do

good,

great

and essential

good

to

the

many

and

to

the miserable

;

and

a

littleodium

and

ridicule

can

be

easily

overborne.

And

yet

(as

is

the

case

most

commonly

in the

world)

my

motives

have

been

rather

of

a

mixed

nature

;

and

neither is

the

matter

of the

volume

so

very

unprofessional.

To

treat

of the real

bearing

of

Mesmerism

on

religion

nd

on

religious

inds

;

to

disabuse the

pious

but

prejudiced

Christian

of his

scruples

as

to

its

use

*

;

and to

justify

y

friends

and

*

A letter

from

Mr.

Symes,

surgeon,

of Grosvenor

Street,published

in

the 18th

No.

of

the

Zoist,

shows

a

melancholy

instance

of conscientious

delusion,

arising

from

ignorance.^p.

171.

A

3


12/395

VI PREFACE TO

THE

myself

or

our own

practice

this

was

my

original

esign

other branches

of

the

subject

presented

hemselves

inci-entally

by

the

way

;

experience

nd

opportunity

nabled

me

to

give

information

where

much

was

wanted;

one

thing

led

to

another,

till,

t

last,

little

tract,

that

was

commenced with the sole

purpose

of

dealing

ith

a

mis-pplied

doctrine of

Scripture,

welled

into

the

present

heterogeneous

able of

contents

;

and

the

whole

aspect

or

the

questionpassed

nder review.

Providential circumstances

had

led

me

to an

acquaint*,

ance

with

Mesmerism,

for which I

have

still

the

greatest

reason

to

bless God.

Superstition,

owever,

has

its

slaves

in

every

spot;

and

I

was

soon

pelted

with

pamphlets

through

the

post,

and made the

mark

for

grave

and

evil-

natured

censure.

Satan and

his

emissaries

were

said

to

have

crept

into

my

house

unawares

;

and

the

anathema

of Mr. M'Neile

were

called

arguments

in

proof.

Some

slight

otice

seemed

desirable

;

and

I therefore

purposed

to

examine

the

melancholybigotry

hat

prompted

these

reproaches,

nd show how the

very

same

ignorance

ad

equally

assailed,ven

in

recent

times,

remedies

and dis-overie

the

innocency

f

which

could

now

be

no

longer

Called

in

question.

t

was

explained

o

the

well-meaning

opponent,

that

phenomena,

which shocked

his

faith and

distracted his

devotions,

ere

the

harmless

result of

a

simple

process

in

nature,

and

were

merely

remarkable

because

they

were new.

I

was

immediately

et

by

the

very

opposite

rgument.

If,

it

was

replied,

Mesmerism

be

neither

preternatural

nor

Satanic,

your

faith

as a

Christian

is

not

the

less

placed

in

jeopardy

for

wonders

and

cures

similar

in

degree

to

those

which

your

own

science

boasts

of,

are

recorded

in

the Old

and

New

Testaments,

nd

form,

in

fact,

the

basis

on

which

allbeliefin

them

is

grounded

:

if

the

one

be

onlyof

nature,

so

also

must

be the

other.

'

These


13/395

SECOND

EDITION.

Vli

views

are

more

prevalent

han

it

may

be

at

first

suspected,

and

their

birthplace

ill

be

found

in

Germany,

Eichter

*,

rector

of the

principal

ucal

school

at

Dessau,

when

pub-ishing

some

years

back

Considerations

on

Animal

Mag-etism,

stated

that

magnetism

solves

those

enigmas

which

appertain

especially

o

Christianity;

nd

added,

that

all

the

miracles

of the New

Testament

were

performed

by

this

extraordinary

gency.

The

rector

declared

further,

hat St.

Paul,

Luther,

and

the Saviour

were

all

magnetists.

ichorn

and

Professor

Paulus,

with their

rationalistic

interpretations,

ay

be

considered

as

the

originators

f

a

doctrine,

hich the

deisticalmesmerists

of

Germany

caught

hold

of

and

improved,

It is

character-stic

of

this

theory,

ays

a

writer

of

a

congenialhough

different

school

(that

of

Strauss)

nd whose Lectures in

London obtained

recently

ome

notoriety,

to

regard

Christ

as

a

wise

man,

healing

isease

by

felicitous

accident,

by

medical

skill,

r

by

the

natural

action

of his faith

;

and in

every

narrative of miracle

to cast

about

for

some

supposable

erm

of

fact,

out

of

which

the mistake

or

exaggerationight

have

innocently

rown.

Speaking

of

Eichorn,

the

same

lecturer

observes,

While

men

were

ignorant

oj

nature

and her

laws,

they

made

every

thing

supernatural

nd divine.

Useful inventions

were

deemed

special

orkings

of the

mind

of God. Eichorn considers

that there

was

no

fraud

in the

matter

of

miracles,

nly

the

colouring

hich fact

receives from the

opinions

f

the

narrator,

nd that

the

miracles

were

natural

occurrences,

misunderstood

and

misreported. f

r.

Justice

Coleridge,

in

his

Kecollections of

his

great

kinsman,

says,

Returning

to

the

Germans,

he

(Coleridge)

aid the

state

of

their

*

Not

the

famous

Jean

Paul,

nor

any

relation.

He

was

a

man

of

pro-ound

erudition,

and

a

great

mathematician

and

critic,

nd

was

well known

in

Germany.

He

died about three

years

back.

[

arwood's

Anti-supernatuialism,

.

2.

\

Ibid.

p.

7,

8.

A

4


14/395

Vm

PREFACE

TO

THE

religion,

hen

he

was

in

Grermany,

as

really

shocking.

He found

professors

n the

universities

lecturing

against

material

points

n

the

Gospel.

He

instanced

Paulus,

whose

lectures

he

attended

:

the

object

as

to resolvethe

miracles,

into

natural

operations. *

erman

rationalism,

as

may-e

seen,

therefore,

as

the

school which

first

applied

he

wonders

of

Mesmerism

in

support

of

a

deistical

heory,?

It

was

easy

for

the

rationalist

to

say,

that

the

miracles

of

our

Divine Master

were

natural occurrences,

ut

it

Was

not

so

easy

to

find

a

key

by

which

their

hypothesis

could

be

explained

and

magnetism

seemed

to

ofier

a

ready:

solution

for

the

difficulty.

he

suggestion

as

adoptedi

in all

haste

by

the

warm

German

mind,

which

so

loves

the marvellous

;

the idea

spread

quickly

into

France,

and

took

deep

root

in its infidel

soil,

s

is

seen

by

many

of

their

publications

n

the

subjectf;

nd

soon

crossed

over

into this

country

with

other continental

importations.

s

a

knowledge

of

Mesmerism

gainedground

in

England,

o

did this

persuasion

advance

also,

and,

forming

in

the

Mesmeric

world

a

distinct

school,

ave

serious

uneasiness

to

many

pious

friends

of

the

cause.

Of

this

it is

as

idle

to

pretend

n

ignorance,

s

it

would

be

to

be blind

to

the

approach

f

an

enemy,

and

then

hope

that that

enemy

had

no

existence.

Neither

would

it

be

reasonable

to

blame

Mesmerism

for

the

tenet,

and

exclaim

against

its

practice

as

the

source

of such

unhallowed

opinions.

Which

of

God's

gifts

ave

not

been turned

against

he

Giver

?

It

*

Coleridge's

able

Talk,

vol.

ii.

p.

346.

f

See

particularly

he

writings

f MM.

Mialle,

and

Foissac

and

Theodore

Bouys.

^

Mr.

Cummlng,

the

eloquent

inister

of

the

Scottish

Church

in

Loudon

says

beautifully

n

a

charming

little

tract,

called

Infant

Salvation

A

repugnance

to

a

truth

may

invent

innumerable

objections.

.

.

Evil

men

can

turn

any mercy

into

means

of

evil.

...

To

object

to

a

doctrine

because

it

may

be

abused,

or

to

rejectitibecause

it

may

be

perverted,

s

just

to

imitate

the

man

who

would

cut

down

a beautiful

fruit-tree,

ecause

caterpillars

find

food from

its

leaves,

nd

spiders

eave

their

webs

amid

its

branches

p.

34.


15/395

SKCOND

EDITION.

IX

was

far

better

to

meet

the evil

at

once,

to

point

out

the

broad line of

separation

hat

runs

between the

two

princi-les,

and

to

show with

what

unexamining

haste

the

theory

had

been

adopted.

And

this I

determined,

with

God's

help,

to

attempt,

and

to

clear

away

the cloud

of

mysticism

hat

hung

over

the

subject.

Thus there

were

two

most

adverse

antagonists

o

deal

with,

those

who

elevated

a

newly-found

physical

nfluence into

the

magic

of Satan

;

and those who

strove to

retranslatethe

super-atural

back

into the

natural.

*

I

combated both

in

succession;

and

have

some reason

to

hope

that

my

labours

have

not

been

altogether

ruitless,

f

Again

was

I

met

from

a

fresh

quarter

with

a

not

unfre-

quent

objection,

an

objection,

lso,

more

plausible

han

real. Mesmerism

was

immoral;

why,

then,

incur

an

odium from the

advocacy

f

a

system

that

was

liable

to

grave

abuses,

and whence

painful

results had

:

actually

arisen?

Here,

also,

it

was

requisite

o

show

that the

alleged

vils

were

not

essential

to

the

practice

that

if

they

existed,

they

did

not

counterbalance

the

far

greater

advantages;

hat

they

need

not

exist

at

all,

f the

conditions

and

rules

which the

leading

Mesmerists

had

established

were

carefully

bserved

;

and

if

not observed,

that

the

opportunities

or

wrong-doing

ere

scarcely

reater

than

those

which

accompanied

everal

parts

of

medical

treat-ent.

The

use

of

opiates

ad

its

evils

;

to

this

might

now

be

added

the

intoxicating

ffects from

the inhalation

*

Expression

in

Harwood's

Anti-supernaturalism.

ee also

on

this

subi

ject

a recent

and

popular

French

work,

Salverte's

Philosophy

of

Apparent

Miracles,

r

Les

Sciences

Oceultes,

f

The late

Charlotte

Elizabeth,

he

editress of

the

Christian

Lady's

Magazine,

J

in

her

Ijetter

o

Miss

Martineau

on

Mesmerism,

also

places

some

magnetic

wonders

on

a

level

with

the

miracles,

though

on

different

principles

o

those

mentioned above. She

considers

them

as

diabolical

**

imitations,

devised

by

Satan

to

throw

soul-destroying

oubts

on

the

miracles

of

the

Saviour.

p.

13. Hence

the

increased

necessity

or dis-inguishi

between

them.


16/395

X

PKEEACB

TO

THl

of

ether,

n

wMch,

morally,

have

never

yet

heard

even

the

hint of

an

objection,

hough

every

one

may

see

to

what

vile

purposes

it

might

be rendered subservient.

But

so

it

is in this

world;

give

an

adversary

n

evil

name,

and

there

is

no

crime

of

which he

will

not

be

deemed

capable.

Opium

and

ether

may,

according

o

the

proverb,

alk

within the

stable-door,

nd

place

their hands

on

the

neck

of

the

animal,

and

no

harm is

feared

or

suspected

while

poor

Mesmerism

cannot

even

cast

a

glance

within

the

precincts,

ut

an

outcry

is

straightway

aised

by

these

drug-admiringurists,

s

to

all

our

morals

being

im-erille

by

a

strange

and

anomalous

remedy

Thus

far,

then,

the

argument

of

my

little

work

might

be

regarded

s

steictly

efensive.

I

had

to

show,

in self-

justification

lone,

that

a

discovery,

rom

which

I

had

largely

profited,

as

neither

satanic,

nor

immoral,

nor

subversive of

Gospel

evidence,

or one

which

a

Christian,

need fear

to

encourage

;

and

here

the

demonstration

might

have

stopped

but,

having

once

adventured

into the

field,

I felt

that

it

was

idle

to

withdraw

tillthe best

results

of

my

own

practice

nd

observation

were

offered

to

the

service

of

the sick

room. This,

of

course,

was

to

pass

the

professional

arrier,

and

to

expose

myself

to

the

usual

charge

of

ignorance

nd

interference. But it

was a

good

cause

and

a

righteous,

was

able

show

to

the

medical

sceptic,

rom

my

own

experience

nly,

that

most

of

the

reasons

on

which he

grounded

his

disbelief

were

based

on

mistaken

and

hastilydopted

views,

in

direct contradiction

to

the

actual

workings

of

nature,

I

was

anxious,

also,

to

encourage

the relativesof

many

a

sufferer

in

their

employ-ent

of

a

healing

and

merciful

art,

by

the

relation

of

what I had

myself

seen,

and

done,

and

studied. For

oftentimes,ndeed,

has

some

sad invalid

been

presented

o

my

notice,

the

racking

gony

of his

pains,

the

wasted

helplessness

f

his

form,

the

despairing

isery

of

his


17/395

SECOND

EDITION.

xi

^ySj

or

the

fever of

his

brain

have,

as

the

case

may

have

been,

given

fearful

indications

of

the

past

and

of

the

future;

hope

and

reliefhad

in

vain

been

sought

through

the

ordinary

ppliances

Soft,

gentlest,

riendlyleep

Sweet

holiday

Of

all

earth's

good

the

help,

Or

origin *

had for

hours

and

nights

een absent

from

the

chamber

But

at

length

the

soothing

and

of

the

Mesmerist

is

sum-oned;

his

gentle,patient,

persevering

reatment

is

adopted

and

pursued

;

and

then,

after

a

time,

what

a

change

what

a

healthful

happy

transformation

comes

over

the whole

system

of

one

so

lately

nd

so

fearfully

afflicted

A

new

life

Flows

through

his

renovated

frame

;

His

limbs,

that

late

were

sore

and

stiff,

Feel

all

the

freshness

of

repose

;

His

dizzy

brain

is

calm'd

;

The

heavy

aching

of

his

lids

is

gone

;

For

Laila,

from the

bowers

of

paradise,

Has

borne

the

healing

fruit

f

That,

too,

which

was

the

most

wanted,

the

most

courted,

the

most

ardentlyrayed

for,

and the

most

diffi-ult

to

obtain,

is

now

the

first

to

reappear,

and

the

easiest

to

be

secured.

Great

nature's

second

course,

balm

of

hurt

minds,

chief nourisher

in

life's

feast,

ollows

readily

and

peacefully

rom the

composing

hand.

The

magnetist

returns,

and

in

a

little

moment

Day

is

over,

night

is

here

;

Closed

are

the

eye

and

ear

In

sleep,

n

sleep

Fain

is

silent

:

toil

reposes

:

*

* *

*

Neither

moan

nor

weep

:

Dreams

and

all

the

race

of

Fear

Fade

away

and

disappear

In

the

deepestdeep

l |

*

Barry

Cornwall,Fragments,

239.

f

Thalaba,

book ii.

p.

9,

J

Barry

Cornwall,

Fragments,

39.


18/395

XU

PREFACE

TO

THE

Thishave

I

seen

over

and

over

again,

and with

all

the

attendant

blessings

f

oonvalespence

and

therefore

is

it,

that I

am

so

earnestly,

nd,

perchance,

o

unwisely

en-husiastic

in

pressing

he

merits

of

this

marvellous

power

upon

the notice

of

a

numerous

and

benevolent

profession.

The

present

edition

(which

I have

endeavoured

to

make

a

littleHandbook

of

Mesmerism,

from

its

replies

o

our

very

opposite

opponents,

nd

from its

information

tinder various heads

for different

inquirers,)

ontains a

large

mount

of

new

matter.

An

introductory

hapter

n

the

opposition

f scientific

and

medical

men

to

the claims

of Mesmerism

is first

given,

with tables

of

surgicalperations

hat have

been

performedduring

mesmeric

insensibility.

heir

number

will be

found

to

be

greater

than is

generallyupposed.

Several

recent

paniphlets,

hat have

reasserted

the

charge

of

irreligion

nd satanie

agency,

are

examined

;

and

some

curious

quotations

rom

sermons

and

tracts,

in

which the

very

same

accusations

against

noculation

were

published

bout

a

century

back,

are

laid before

the

reader

for

his instruction

and

amusement.

The

conduct

of the

Church

of Rome in

regard

to

Mes-erism

is

given

in the first

chapter.

The

statement

is

both

interesting

nd

important.

In

the seventh

chapter,

large

variety

f fresh

instances

of natural

ecstatics and

sleepwalkers

ill be found. The

close

relation,

r

rather

identity,

f

the

singular

henomena

that

they

have

manifested

with

phenomena

that

have since

been

developed

n

mesmeric

patients,

rove

the truthfulness

and

genuine

character

of the latter.

It

will

be

seen,

moreover,

that

the former

are

not isolated

cases

(as

it

isasserted

in the

British

and

Foreign

Medical

Review

for

April,

1845),

but

extremely

umerous;

for

many

more

than

I

have

given

could

be

added.

The

argument,

then.


19/395

SECOND EDITION. XIU

that

they

furnish

is

a

useful

one,

and is

pressed

n

the

reader's

attention.

Facts of

this

description,

hieli

arise

in

the

order

of

nature,

and

agree

in

the

main,

and

vary

only

with

the

accidents of

climate,creed,

and

constitution,

show

the

conformity

f

Mesmerism

with

general

xpe-ience.

They

strengthen

he

reasoning

hat

Mr. Towns-

hend

brings

orward

in his third

book,

to

prove

that

the

magnetic

ondition

is

not

an

insulated

phenomenon,'nor

n

interruption

o

the

universal

order,

but

a

link in

the

eternal chain of

things. p.184.)

And

the

more

that

the

student

of

nature

shall

examine

the

history

of

the

cataleptic

nd

ecstatic

state,

as

recorded

by

different

religious

riters,

owards the

confirmation

of their

respec-ive

faiths,

the

more

will

he

perceive good

ground

for

understanding

hat Mesmerism

is

nothing

else

than

a

simplereproductiony

artificial

eans

of real

phenomena

and

facts

that

are as

old

as

the

creation.

An additional

chapter

will

be

also

given,

embracing

practical

nformation for

the

use

of

the

learner.

Instruc-ions

in

the

art

of

mesmerising

id

not

fair

within

the

original

urposes

with which

this

work

was

commenced,

and the

subject

as

omitted

in

the

first

edition.

But

I

have

been

so

frequentlyppealed

o

by

letter

for

guidance

in

the

management

of

a

patient

and

parties,iving

t

a

distance,

and

deprived

of

the

opportunity

f

personal

observation,

(the

best

school after

all,)

ave

so

often

expressed

he

opinion

hat

information

on

that head

was a

desideratum

in

the

book,

that

I have

endeavoured

to

supply

the omission.

My

own

experience,

hich

is

now

neither

slight

or

superficial,

ill

form

the

basis

of

the

instruction.

But

copious

information

from

Deleuze,

EUiotson,

Gauthier,

Townshend,

Teste,

and

other

writers

and

authorities

on

the

subject

ill

be

introduced.

If the

student

wishes

to

pursue

the

subject

ore

in

detail,

he Instruction

Pratique

of

the

excellentand sober-


20/395

2ilV

PREFACE

TO

THE

SECUHU

JiuixiujN.

minded

Deleuze

is

the

first

book

that

I

should

recommend.

There

is

an

English

translation,

of the merits of which

I

know

nothing.

Gauthier's

Traite

Pratique

abounds

with

information

and

knowledge

of

the

subject,

but

it

has

the

besetting

sin

of

many

French

treatises,

being

too

voluminous

and

prolix.

Mr.

Bailli^re

of

Regent

Street has

published

a

transla-ion

of.

Teste's

Practical

Manual

;

in

fact,

every

book

On

Mesmerism will

be

found

in

his excellent

shop.

Last of

all,

Dr. EUiotson's Letters in

the

Zoist,

con-aining

the narrative of

his

principal

cases,

should

form

an

indispensable portion

of the medical

inquirer's

reading.

In those valuable

papers,

nothing

is taken for

granted,

and neither

theories

nor

fancies

appear,

but

facts,

care-ully

observed

and

well-recorded facts

alone,

proceed

from

the

pen

of

one

who is the

most

cautious

of

men

in

first

entertaining

an

opinion,

but

the

most

conscientious

and

courageous

in

maintaining

it,

when

once

he is

certified

of its

reality.

For,

''

The Truth

is feeilocjs never to the

True,

Nor Knowledge

to the

Wise

:

but

to

the

fool,

And

to

the

false,

error

and

truth

alike.

*

So

says

Mr.

Bailey,

in his

strange

but

strikingly

ower-ul

poem

of Festus

;

with whose

appropriate

words

I

now

commend the

following

pages

to

the consideration of

the

reader.

*

Festus,

p.

41.


21/395

PREFACE

TO

THE FIRST EDITION.

The

following

pages

have

grown

out

of

a

little

pampUetj

that

was

published

last

summer,

called

Mesmerism,

the

Gift of God.

The favourable

reception

of

that letter

by

the

public,

and

the

demand

for

a

second

impression,

ave

induced

the

Author,

at

the

suggestion

of several

friends,

to enter

more

fully

into

the

subject,

and

to meet

the various

and

contra-ictory

objections

that

are

popularly

advanced.

This

work,

therefore,

professes,

ot

only

to

treat

of

the

religiousscruples

that

have

been

raised

in

the minds of

some

Christians,

but

to

discuss

with the

philosopher

the

previous

question

as

to

the

truth

of

Mesmerism,

for

a

due

inquiry

into

which,

circumstances

have

greatly

favoured

the

writer.

The

First

Chapter

is

little

more

than

a

reprint

of

the

original

pamphlet,

in

answer

to

the

charge

of

Satanic

agency.

The Second

Chapter

enters

more

at

large

into the

same

topic

;

and

showing

the

tendency

of the

human mind

to

see

the

mysterious

in the

inexplicable,

roves,

by

example,

the

periodical

e-appearance

of

this

absurd

accusation.

The Author

also examines

the

unfortunate

mistake,

which

too

many

of his

own profession

re

disposed

o

commit,

be

their

religious

reed

what

it

may,

of

thinking

that

they

do

God

service

by

depreciating

is

gifts

because

the

parties

that

employ

them

hold

opposite

tenets

to

their

own.


22/395

XVI PREFACE

TO

THJi

This

feeling

sshown

to

arise,

ometimes from

a

zeal

with-ut

knowledge,

and often

from

that

love

of

spiritua

power,

which

has

disfigured

he

brightest

ages

in

the

history

f the

Church.

The

Third and

Fourth

Chapters

contain

an

analysis

f

the

common

objections

gainst

the

truth

of

Mesmerism.

Some

remarkable

cases

are

adduced

from

the writer's

own

experience.

n

accumulation

of

other factsis

given

from

the

testimony

of

parties

hose

standing

n

society

s

a

pledge

or

the

correctness

ofwhat

they

state.

The

curative

power

of

Mesmerism

in disease is

proved

by

induction

and

observation.

And

the

medical

profession

s

invited

to

a

reconsideration

of tlieirunfavourable verdict.

The

rifth

Chapter

discusses

a common

opinion

s

to

the

dangers

f

Mesmerism

;

and its

fallacy

sin

great

measure

exposed.

At

the

request

of

a

friend,

he Sixth

Chapter

has

exa-

tained,

at

some

length,

he

bearing

of

the

wonders

of

Mesmerism

on

the miracles

of the New Testament.

It

is

notorious,

that

a

feeling

s

gainingground

that

these

several

facts

exhibit

an

equality

f

power

;

and

that

the

divine

'nature

of the

one

is

impaired

by

the

extraordinary

character

of

the

other.

The

consideration

of this

part

of

the

subject

necessarily

ed

to

a

detailed

analysis

f

the

Scriptural

vents :

of

course

the

unbeliever

in

the

pheno-ena

will

deem

such

an

inquiry

preposterous

and

laugh-ble

;

the

Christian,

owever,

who

knows that

Mesmerism

is

an

existing

act

in

nature,

will

not

regard

the

examina -

tion

as

superfluous

and

even

to

the

philosopher

uch

an

investigation

ught

to

be

interesting.

The

concluding

hapter

compares

the

phenomena

of

natural

somnambulism

and

of

Mesmerism

with

certain

modern

miracles

among

the

Wesleyans

and

the

B-oman

Catholics.

The

latter

-facts

are

stripped

f

the

marvellous

by

a

narrative

of what

occurred

in

the house

of

a friend.


23/395
http://www.forgottenbooks.com/in.php?btn=6&pibn=1000009185&from=pdf


24/395


25/395

.CONTENTS.

Preface

to

the

Secokd

Edition

]

-

.

-

.

Page

v

Preface

to

the

First Edition

-----

xv

Introductory

Chapter

on

Hostility

of

Scientific

and Medical

Men

to

Mes-erism

-....---1

CHAPTER

I.

Progress

of Mesmerism.

Opposition

^ij

1V^B. mprisn1

Charge

of

Satanic

'

Agency.

Sermon

preached

at

Liverpool.

Rev.

Hugh

M'Neile.

Mesmerism

and

Electricity.

Mesmerism

not

supernatural.

Why

General Laws

of Mesmerism

not

stated.

-

Why

Mesmeric

Phenomena

not

uniform

in

all

Patients.

Sermon

unworthy

of

Mr. M'Neile's Re-utation.

Mesmerism and

the Court

of

Rome.

Mesmerism

and

Charlotte

Elizabeth.

Mesmerism tested

by

the

word of God.

Dialogue

between

a

Mesmerist and

a

Christian,

Mr.

Bickersteth

and

Mr. Close

on

Mesmerism

-

-

.

-

,

-60

CHAPTER IL

Mesmeric

Agent

invisible.

GravitatiflP.

Anecdote

from West

Indies.

New

System

of

Remedies marvellous.

Power

of

Clergy,

and

Spiritual

Tyranny

Witchcraft.

Bark

introduced

by

Jesuits.

Inocujatiou..

Vaccination.

Sin of

arraigning

God's Bounties.

What

Scripture

Doctrine

of Evil

Spirits.

Chaygp

hrni,ightagninst^lVTp^prispr^.

Lines

On

hearing

Mesmerism called

Impious

- -

-

94

CHAPTER in.

XTptlpl'*''^' '''

Mpsmg *' ^

Author's

own

Experience.

Remarkable

Cases.

MesmerLsers in

England.

Cures

and

Operations

in

England.

Progress

in,

Scotland

In

Germany-^

In France

Ir _UnitgaLStates.

'Mesmerism

proved

to

he

a

powerful

RpmpHy

in Pain anH DUoagg

119

CHAPTER IV.

Arguments against

Truth

of Mesmerism.

Monotony.

I^^SUUi''

Imitation.

Faith.

Imagination.

Mesmerise

me,

and I will

believe

you.

First French

Report,

Second

French

Report

of

Medical

Men

alone,

Mr.

Wakley.

London

University.

Roval

Medical and

Chirurgical

Society.

British

Association

and

Mr. Braid.

British

Associations

and

Phrenology.

British

Association

and

Ether

and

Mesmerism.

Great

Names

among

Believers

in

Mesmerism

-167


26/395

XX

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

Dangers

of

Mesmerism,

physical

and moral.

Danger

of

Mesmerising

he

Healthy

for Amusement

Calmness,

?

Qnalifinatinn

for

aJVlesmeriser.

.^

Danger

from

Imperfect

Waking.

Cross-

Mesmerism.

Objections

on

the

Ground

of

Morality

answered.

Rules

fijy

esmerising.

At-

tachment

to^^aaeriser.

What it is.

Horror

of

Mesmerism.

Ujtlieulties

f

Mesmerism.

Hint for

Younger

Members

of

the

Faculty

.......

Page

215

CHAPTER VI.

Opposition

o

Mesmerism from its

presumed

Miraculous

Aspect.

Secret

Apprehension

of

the

Christian.

German

Rationalism.

New

School

of

Infidelity

n

the

Doctrine of Nature.

Salverte's

Occult Sciences.

American

Revelations. Charlotte

Elizabeth

and Mr.

Close

on

Miracles

and

Mesmerism.

Dr.

Arnold's

Opinion.

The

Mesmeric

Cures and

the

Miracles of

the

New Testament

compared.

Touch of

the

Mesmeriser.

Why

did

Miracles,

f

Mesmeric,

cease

?

Argument

from

Archbishop

of Dublin.

Mesmeric Predictions.

Clairvoyance

ot

Miraculous

....--.

234

CHAPTER VII.

Explanation

of Marvels and fancied Miracles.

Ecstatic Dreamers and

Revelations.

The

Maid

of

Kent,

the

Prophetess

of

the

Catholics.

Margaret

Michelson,

the

Prophetess

of

the

Covenanters.

The

Shep-erdess

of

Cret.

The

Bohemian

Prophetess.

Sister

Germaine

of

Brazil.

Martha

Brossier,

he

Witch

of

Paris.

The

entranced

Female,

or

Wesleyan

Prophetess.

John

Evans

and

the

Demon

of

Plymouth

Dock.

Lord

Shrewsbury'sTyrolese

Ecstatics.

Revelations of

the

Seeress

of

Prevorst.

Remarkable Sermons of Rachel

Baker,

Divine

Revelations

of

Nature,

by

an

American

Clairvoyant.

The

Mesmeric

Prophetess.

The

SleepingHaymaker.

.^

The

Sleeping

Sol-ier.

Mesmeric

Action

contagious.

MaxurelLand-Bacon.

oiuMsgnetic

Sympathy

and

Virtue

. .

.

. .

-

267

CHAPTER VIII.

General Rules for

Mesmerising.

Domestic

Mesmerism.

Sleep

not

necessary

DifFerenee-oLJEftects.Can

any

one

Mesmerise

?

Modes

of

Mesmerising.

Patient

not

to

be

awakened.

LengthenedSleep

not

dangerous.

Methods

of

Demesmerising.

Exertion

of

the

Will.

Warmth.

Benefit

from

Experiments.

Good

Sleep

at

Night.

Absence of

Mesmeriser

and

Contact of

Third

Party.

Class

of

Diseases

affected

by

Mesmerism.

Epilepsy Organic

Disease.

Paralysis

Different

Stages

of

Mesmeric

Condition.

Freedom of

Manner.

|

Clairvoyance.

Conclusion

-

-

- -

.319

APPENDIX.

No.

I. Instances

of

Clairvoyance

nconnected

with

Mesmerism

-

347

No. II.

Ecstasy

and

Sleep-waking,

nd

Insensibility

o

Pain,

independenf

of

Mesmerism

---...

35

'

No. III.

Lightness

f

Bodyi

c.

-

.

.

.

.

354

No. IV.

Speakingstrange

Languages,

c.

-

.

.

. sgg


27/395

MESMERISM

AKD

ITS

OPPONENTS.

INTEODUCTORY

CHAPTER,

It

was

one

of

Fontenelle's

sayings,

that

if

he held

every

truth in

his

hand,

he

would take

good

care

and

not

open

it

;

a

prudential

maxim,

indicative

of that

calculating

reserve

with

which

cotemporaries

taxed

him

;

and

though

its

adoption

in

practice

may,

doubtless,

have

contributed

to

his

own

ease

and

interests,

uch

a

feeling,

if

generally

cted

on,

would be fatal

to

the

well-being

of

human

kind.*

With

so

cautious

a

spirit

as

the

academician

afflicted,

such

a

coward

was

he

in

his

own

esteem,

that it

was

observed

respecting

him,

that

he

always

.found

a

pretext

for

strangling

iscussion

;

a

strange

character this for

a

philosopher

yet

Fontenelle

was

wise

in his

generation.

This

indifference for

onward

investigations,

his

con-entment

with

admitted

truisms,

were

favourable

to

his

health

and

popularity.

Voltaire

called him

a

universal

genius

;

and

his life

was

prolonged

to

the

exact

term

of

a

centuiy.f

* **

Le

caractSre

de

Fontenelle

est

* * *

une reserve

calculee.

* * *

H

disait

souvent

que

s'iltenait

toutes

les

verites dans

sa

main,

il

se

garderait

bien de

I'ouvrir. .

Biographie

Universelle,

it.

Fontenelle.

f

La

Motte,

dans

une

lettre

a

la

Duchesse

du

Maine,

I'accusait,

n

plaisantant,

'user

de

pretextes

pour

Itrangler

ea

diaeussions. Fontenelle

was

born

in

1657,

and

died

\T5T.-~Ibid.

B


28/395

2

MESMERISM

AND ITS OPPONBJNTIS.

But

timidity

ike

this

is

a

sorry

counsellor;

and

a

favourite

as

our

author still

is

for

the charm and

variety

f

his

writings,

his

dread of

encounteringpposition,

his

slavish

suppression

f

inquiry,

essens,

n

large

easure,

our

respect

for

his

memory

;

and it

suffers,

n the estimation

of all

generous

minds,

what

Southey

calls

an

abatement

in

heraldry. *

Now

in

this

reluctance for the liberation of

truth,

which

Fontenelle

expressed

in the

above

often

quoted

sentiment,

there

is

a

something

which

may

remind

the

reader

of

the

medical

profession

n

regard

o

their

present

atj;itude

n

the

study

of

Mesmerism.

They

too

seem

/followers

in

the

same

cautious,

unrisking,ninvestigatin

school

;

they

too

seem

wanting

in

their

usual

independence

and frank-hearted

sincerity

they

too

seem

unwilling;,

like

the

philosophic

entenarian,

to

unclasp

their

hands,

and

give

truth

its

freest

circulation

:

and

yet,

while

they

resemble

him in these

several

points,

here

is

a

distinction

between

them,

which is

somewhat

in

favour

of the

aca-emical

secretary.

When Fontenelle

said,

that

though

his hand

were

full

of

truths,

he

would

not

open

it

for

any

consideration,

is

motives

were

rather selfish

than

unphilosophical.

e

had,

in

fact,

o

turn

for

being

a

martyr

in

a

good

cause

;

he

had

no

wish

to

be the victim

of

any

fashionable

outcry,

or

held

forth

as

the

referee

for

every

doctrine

under

discussion.

If

a

truth could

only

be

maintained

under

his

championship,

he

truth

must

go

to

the wall.

If

the

public

ould

only

be

benefited

at

his

inconvenience,

he

public

must

forego

he

advantage.

Not

that

he

objected

to

the

knowledge

of

truth for

himself

and

his

own

private

investigations;

t

was

its

escape

into

the

world that

he

dreaded;

he

might

study

it,

and

examine it

in

his

closet

*

See

Southey's

etter

to

William

Smith,

where he

speaks

of

the

present

Loid

Jeffrey

nd

the

Edinburgh

Eeyiew,

,


29/395

INTRODUCTORY

CHAPTER.

3

at

home;

only

let

him

be

spared

the

dangers

of

a

dis-overe

and

the

responsibility

f

letting

oo

much

light

upon

mankind.

Now

in all this

reserve

and

holding

back from free

investigation,

here

is

much,

as we

before

said,

that

re-embles

our

medical

friends

on

the

Mesmeric

question;

they

are,

indeed,

ll

this,

nd

something

ore.

Fonte-

nelle

would

not

open

his

hands

to

communicate

know-edge;

but

they

will

not

open

theirs

to

receive

it;

Fontenelle

would

not

risk his

ease

for

the

instruction

of

society,

ut

they

wiU

not

pass

from

professional

outine

even

for

their

own.

Fontenelle

was

selfish,

imid,

and

shrinking

rom

consequences

;

but

they

are

rather

il-^

liberal,

nphilosophic,

nd

retrogressive.

ruth,

even

for

its

own

sake,

or

for

its

benefit

on

others,

eems

to have

neither charm

nor

recommendation

with

them.

They

close

their

eyes,

they

stop

their

ears,

they

harden

their'

hearts,

they

desire

not to

be informed

or

set

right

n

this'

subject,

e

the

advantages

r

the

gratification

hat

they

may

*

It

may

not

be

without its

use

to

ask,

what

can

be

the

unexpressed

otives

on

the

part

of

medical

m^n for this

Strange

disinclination

for the

study

of

Mesmerism?

for

that

some

secret

reasons are

at

the

bottom of

their

conduct,

is

a

point

that

no

longer

admits

of

a

doubt

Whilst

almost

every

other educated

person

is

beginning

o

allow,

that

there

is

much

more

of

probability

nd

reality

in

the

representations

f

the

Inesmerists,

han

originall

'

*

Every

experienced

esmerist could

bring

forward

some

story

or

other,-

similar

to

the

following

tatement

mentioned

by

Mr.

Spencer

Hall

:

It is

worth

recording,

s a

feature of

the

age,

that

a

physician

of

fashionable

practice

n

the

town

(Halifax),

n

being

invited

to

assist

in

an

investigation,

protested

against

it

altogether

n

the

most

contemptuous

terms, on

the

ground

that the

fallacy

f mesmerism

was

too

apparent

to

permit

him

to

entertain

the

thought

that

it

needed

inquiry

t

all

;

in

short,

that

any

such

inquiry

ould be

disgraceful

o

the

profesaion.

ee

Mr.

S.,

Hall's

very

inte-esting

Mesmeric

Experiences,

.

35.

E

2


30/395

4

MESMERISM

AND ITS

OPPONENTS.

men

were

prepared

to

expect,

the

profession

till

withholds

its

adhesion.

They

may,

perhaps,

ot

be

so

loud

and

offensive

in

their

vituperations

nd

ridicule

as

they

were

a

few years back

;

they

may

have altered their

tack,

and

become

more

silent

and

self-distrusting

still,

s

a

body,

they

openly

proclaim

n

unyielding

cepticism

they

dislike,

f

they

do

not

actuallyeject,

nquiry

and

seldom

voluntarily

r

with

a

good

grace,

either start

or

pursue

the

subject

n

conversation.*

In

stating

his,

t is

of

course

remembered

with

pleasure,

hat

very many

have

co-operated

n

our

investigations

ith

a

most

candid and

honourable

spirit

that

the number

of those

that

have

openly

joined

our

ranks is

increasing

very

day,

and

already

orms

a

highly

respectable

inority

and

that the

younger

men,

and

more

especially

he

students

in

the

hospitals,

re

not

undesirous of

acknowledging

he claims

of

the science

to

its

place

among

their

physiological

e-earches

;

still

it

must

with

regret

be

confessed

that

the

largemajority

f

experiencedractitioners,

.

e.

those

who

have

secured

an

advanced

standing

n

their

pro-ession,

do hold

aloof from all

serious

investigations

pon

the

question,

nd if

they

do

not

give

utterance to

their

feelings

y

an

open

expression

of

contempt,

are

at

least

mysteriously

umb

or

politely

vasive

on

the

.topic

and

it

is,

therefore,

y

wish,

in

a

temperate

and

-friendlypirit,

o

consider

closely,

hat

can

he the

.:vunexpressed

easons

for

so

lingular

violation of their

-general

sages.

Of

course,

they

would

themselves

say,

that the

Tcason

was

a

simple

one,

that the

facts

alleged

were

so

monstrous

in

themselves,

and

so

opposed

to

the

laws

of

nature,

that

no

inquiry

as

needed

;

for that

their

mere

statement

carriedwith

them

to

the

medical mind

*

In

saying

this,

I

am

not

so

much

giving

tterance

to

my

own

cxpfi-

rierice,

s

recording

he

observations

of

almost

all

mcsmerisers with

whom

I

have

spoken

on

the

pojnt

in

question.


31/395
http://www.forgottenbooks.com/in.php?btn=6&pibn=1000009185&from=pdf


32/395

6 MESMERISM AND

ITS OPPONENTS.

of serious

earnestness

is

supposed

to be

lurking

at

the

bottom.

They

little

dream,

that their cautious

retreat

from

a

participation

n

the

practice

s

rather

attributed

to

a

ZaeV oyawi

pprehension

f

a

future loss of

income,

than

to

a

philosophic

onviction of scientific

superiority.

rue

it

is,

that

the

love

of

money

is

the

root

of aU evil

:

and

that

medical

men,

like other

mortals,

re

not

to

be

regarded

as

independent

of

its influence

;

but

the

tenor

of their

general

onduct

makes

a

charge

of this

nature

ridiculous

and

unmerited.

My

own

experienceand

I have

had

but

too

many

painfulopportimities

f

forming

an

opinion)^

TTOuld

lead

to

the

conclusion,

that

no one

profession

s

so

little

under the bias

of

mercenary

motives.- No

men

give

so

much of

a

gratuitous

nbought

assistance,

r

sacrifice

so

tauch time and

labour without

a

prospect

of

remuneration)

as

do

they.

And

to

suppose

that

a

liberal and

educated

profession

ike

this

would

oppose

themselves

to

the

progress

of

a

great

scientific

discovery

rom

an

ungenerous appre-ension

of its

proving

detrimental

to

their

interest,

s

monstrous

in

the extreme.*

They

themselves

must

feel,

that

a mere

defence from such

an

imputation

s

almost

as

insulting

s

it is

unnecessary.

But

it

is

necessary,

more

necessary

than

theyimagine.

If I

have heard

the

opinion

nce,

I

have

heard it hundreds of

times,

and

not

uttered

casually

r

in

badinage,

ut

gravely

aintained

and

insisted

upon,

as a

matter

of

certainty.

t

is,

in

fact,

the

all

but

universal inference ;

and

it would

really

eem

de-irabl

that the

parties

hus

misunderstood

should be made

aware

of the

construction to which their

reserved

dealing

*

Dr. Elliotson

has

well

observed,

Some

have

been

hostile

from

fancy

that

their

pockets

would suffer

:

but

many

with

abundant

means,

and

more

practice

han

they

could

get

through,

nay,

some

retired

from

practice,

ave

manifested

the

same

spirit.

Zoist,

No.

xv.

p.

.S77.

Dr.

E.

agrees,

there-ore,

with

me

in

tracing

the

hostility

o

a

different

cause

than

the

question

of income.


33/395

INTEODUCTOEY

CHAPTEE.

7

has thus

rendered

them

liable.

But,

in

truth,

the

opinion

is

itself

also

founded

on

a

mistake.

Mesmerism

must

partake

much

more

of the

miraculous

character*,

efore

the

sanguinenticipations

f

some

ardent

partisans

an

thus

be

realised.

Its

effects

are

indeed

great

and

various,

and

often

most

unexpected,riumphing

ver

many

of

the

evils

of life in

a

way

delightful

or

the

Christian

to

witness,

but

yet

must

they

be

regarded

rather

as

auxiliary

o

the

practitioner,

han

superseding

is

attendance,

ather

as

adding

a

fresh item

to

the

former

resources

of his

art,

than

dispensing

ith

his

kind

and

ne-essary

care.

That

Mesmerism

is

now

exercised

by

non-rofessional

parties,

s

indeed

a fact,

but

one

rather

re-ulting

from

its

present

unfixed

position,

han

desirable

in

itself,

r

likely

o

continue.

It is

because

they

who

ought

to

be its

champions

and directors stand

coldly

aloof,

nd

reject

llaid

through

its

influence.

But

let

its

claims,s

those of

an

important

branch

of

therapeutic

ractice,

e

once

fuUy

recognised

and

that

such

a

day

is

steadily

p-roachin

very

many

indications

give

certain

proof)j

nd

a

different

state

of

things

would

then

ensue.

No

longer

would

a

few

incurable

cases,

where

the

despairinghy-ician

had

taken

his

leave,

be

transferred,

ometimes

at

almost

the

agonies

f

death,

to

a

mesmerising

cquaintance

to

try

if he

could

procure

relief;

but

the disease

would, be

grappled

ith

at

the

earlier

stages

of

its

development

ith

a more

certain

assurance

of

success.

No

longer

would

\

the

hesitating

atient,hrough

the fear

of

offending

he /

medical

friend,

surreptitiously

dmit

into

the

sick

room

some

/

amateur

magnetist,

ith

a

distressing

esponsibility

or

all

(^

parties

but

the treatment

would

be

adopted,

penly

and

more

agreeably,

y

the

express

direction

of

professional

advice.

As

it

is.

Mesmerism

is

generally

mployed

as

the

*

See

the

chapter

on

a

Comparison

between

Mesmeric Cures and

the

Miracles

of

the

New

Testament.

B

4


34/395

mesmerism:

and

its opponents.

last

resource,

when

every

other

remedy

has

been

tried and

failed

;

it is

employed

too,

with

an

unpleasant

eeling

f

risk

and

uncertainty,

f

without

the

sanction

of

a re-ular

practitioner.

nd

thisis

a

jiosition

ost

painful

o

the sick

person,

and

one

from

which he

would

gladly

escape.

They

know

but little of the real

invalid,

who

imagine

that

he

ever

desires

to

rid himself

of

the

visits,

r

shake oifthe

authority,

f

the medical

man.

The

sons

of

Esculapius

re,

in

essentials,

s

supreme

in the sick cham-er,

as

the

Belgianpriest

n his

confessional,

r

the Wes-

leyan

minister

in

a

Welsh conventicle. It is

only

when

repeated

ailureshave

followed the

prescription,

hat their

power

ceases,

or

the charm isbroken. It

is

only

when the

more

orthodox

systems

have

lost

their

effect,

hat the

aid

of

the

heterodox

mesmerist is

called

in.

But

let

the

faculty

hemselves

once

include

magnetic

reatment

within

the

legitimate

eans

of

relief,

nd in

no

very

serious

case

would

it

be

resorted

to

without their

approval.

Of

course

medical

men,

with

large

r

increasingractice,

ould

not

themselves

enjoy

sufficient

leisure

to

mesmerise

extensively;

they

could

but

give

directionsfor

its

use,

and

supervise

ts

application

still,

he

treatment

Itself

would In the

main

be

subject

o

their

pleasure,

hilst,

most

probably,

ere

and

there,^

ome

of

the

younger

members,

with

peculiar

physical

nd

moral

qualifications,

ould devote

themselves

almost

exclusively

o

the

practice

but

to

suppose

that,

when

once

established.

esmerism

would

be

widely

em-loyed

without

the

sanction

of

the

practitioner,

r

that it

would

banish the

physician

rom

the

sick

house.

Is

an

erroneous

view

arising

rom

an

ignorance

f human

nature,

Jt

is

repeated,

hat the

patients

hemselves

would

neither

wish

nor

agree

to

it

;

nor

in

very

serious

diseases

would

the

magnetiser

imself

be

covetous

of

such

anxious

respon-ibility.

The

druggist,

ndeed,

might

suffer

from the

change

and

a

large

amount

of his

poisonous

oses

might


35/395

INTEODUCTOEY

CHAPTEE.

9

remain

unshaken

on

his

shelves

;

but

the

power,

the

influ-r

ence,

and,

to

come

to

the

point,

he

income,

of the

real

physiologist

nd

physician

ould

be

extended and

im-roved

;

Mesmerism would

take its

natural

place

amidst

the

other

appliances

of the

healing

art

;

and the

lecturerand

ii-responsible

anipulator

ould

in

great

mea-ure

disappear.*

But,

whilst it

were

almost

an

impertinence

o

vindicate

the character

of

professional

en

from

the

above

illiberal

imputation,

t

cannot

be

said that

a

dread of the

subject

has

not

in

some

measure

guided

their

conduct.

They

have

had

their fears of

Mesmerism,

though

in

a

different

sense

to

that

intended

by

the

public.

For the science

is

un-opular.

Perhaps

itwould

be

more

accurate to

say

that

it

was

unpopular,

ince

a more

favourable

estimation of its

value

has

for

some

littletime

been

gaining

ground.

Still,

it

were

idle

to

deny

that Mesmerism

has

laboured

under

many

an

unfortunate

and

odious

appellation.

he

notion

of

its

unreality

nd

falsehood,

the

accusation of

impos-ure,

the

potent

cry

of

Satanic

agency,

o

captivatin

with

weak

and

excitable

women,

ignorant

s

they

are

that

the

very

same

clamour

has

been

raised

on

points

herein

such

an

opinion

would

be

now

scouted,

an

erroneous

idea

of the

impropriety

f the

practice,

and,

more

than

all,

the

novelty

of the

thing,

and the

unpleasantness

attendant

on

unestablished

theories

:

all

these

causes

con-ributed

to

render

the

science

unpopular,

nd

to

attach

an

*

Most

mesmerisers

with

whom

I

am

acquainted

ather

seek

the

coun-enance

of medical

men,

than

set

themselves

up

as

their

rivals.

One of

the

most

laborious

and

benevolent

mesmerists

has

often

said,

that

he

only

practises

he

art

because

the

regular

practitioner

efuses to

employ

it. The

language

f

Gauthier

is

the

most

usual

:

Je

pose

toujours

comme

uri

fait

acquis

qu'il

e

doit

point

y

avoir de

traitemeut,

s'il

n'est

ordonne

ou

eonseille

par

un

medecin,

dont

le

magnetiseur

est

le

prepos^,

Trait

J^atique,

. 29. See also the

language

of

Mesmer,

quoted

by Gauthier,

p.

697.,

stating

hat the

physician

is

alone

capable

of

putting

his

system

into

practice.

See also

Gauthier's

own

language

to

the

medical

world,

p.

698.

See also some

excellent

remarks

of

Dr.

EUiotson,

in

Zoist,

vol. iv.

p.

377.


36/395

10

MESMEEISM

AND ITS

OPPONENTS.

undesirable

reputation

o

its

premature

advocacy.

The

day

is

not

so

distant,

hen it

would have

been

as

much

a

mark

of

ill-breeding

o

name

the

name

of

Mesmerism

to

ears

polite

and

scientific,

s

to start

the

topic

of

parlia-entary

reform

at

the

table

of

a

boroughmonger,

r

to

insist

on

the

justice

f

an

increased

grant

to

Maynooth

to

an

Irish

Orangeman.

Animal

magnetism

was,

in

shorty

tabooed

in

fashionable circles.

And

this is

what medical

men

both

feltand

knew.

They

felt

thait,

rue

or

false,

t

was

an

unwelcome

topic

and

that

to

inquire

into it

would

be

as

unwise,

as

to

practise

t would be unsafe.

Added

to

which,

there

was

the dread of ridicule from

professional

rethren,

the

apprehension

f

being

singled

out,

sneered

down,

and

pointed

at,

if

they

meddledj

how-ver

disereetly,

ith the

unclean

thing.

Thus,

many

causes

concurred

to

render Mesmerism

distasteful

to

the

practitioner

a

beacon

to

avoid,

-not

a

light

o

lead

men

on;

and

not

many,

therefore,

entured

on

the

study.

That

fine

and

manlyphilosophy

hich shrinks

not

from

following

ut

a

fact,

let it

carry

you

where it

may

;

that

love

of

truth

at

all

price

that

high

conscientiousnessof

principle,

hich would

be

ashamed

to

disown

the

convic'

tions

of

the

understanding,

e

the

consequences

howevel?

inconvenient;

ll

these

qualifications

elong,

apparently,

but

to

few.

;

.

To

show the

world

what

longexperience

ains,

Requires

not

courage,

tho' it

calls

for

pains

But

at

life's

outset to

inform

mankind,

Is

a.

bold

effortf

a

valiant

mind. *

These,then,

are

the

reasons,

which

sufficiently

xplain

the

shyness

f medical

men

for

embarking

in the

practice

the

shyness,

e

mean,

of those who

had

not

yet

established

a

firm

footing

n

their

vocation,

and

whose

risks

would

be

so

far

greater

than

any

advantage

cquired;

and

he

must

Crabbe's

Borough,

Letter

VII.


37/395

INTEODUCTOKY CHAPTER.

U

frst

be

well

assured of his

own

moral

courage

and inde-endence

who

would

pronounce

a

sweeping

condemnation

on

such

prudentialegard

o

worldly

prospects.

All

this

applies,

owever,

exclusively

o

the

rising

and

younger

members

of

the

profession.

he

question

yet

remains,

what isit

that has hindered the

leaders of the

body,

those

whose

names are

too

firmly

ixed

to

be

damaged

by

an

unpopularnovelty,

-what is

it

that has hindered

them

irom

giving

n

honest,

earnest,

impartial

nvestigation

o

a

subject,

ith such

large

claims

to

inquiry,

s

the science

of

mesmerism

?

My

own

impression

s,

that

their resistance

has

arisen,

partly

rom

their

being

committed

to

a

positive

nd

adverse

opinion,

nd

partly

from tha,t

pride

of intellectwhich

belongs

o

remarkably

o

scientific

men,

indisposing

hem

as

itdoes

to

receive

any

statements

as

true

which

are

in

contradiction

of their

own

pre-arranged

nd

pre-conceive

notions.

That

they

have

committed

themselves

is certain.

In

an

evil

and

hasty

hour

they

decided

with

senatorial

authority,

that

the mesmerical

representations

ere

an

absurdity,

and

in

the

nature

of

things

could

not

be

true.

To

pass

over

the declarations

of

Continental

physicians,

nd the

old

story

of

the

French

academies,

it is

sufficient

to

say

that

the

leaders

in

Englishpractice

t

once

pronounced,

ex

cathedra,

against

he

science.

Without

study,

without

inquiry,

ithout

making

a

natural

comparison

etween

the

snagnetic

ppearances

and

certain

analogous

acts

which

had

presented

themselves

spontaneously

n

several

sickly

persons,

and,

being

recorded

by

men

of

their

own

pro-ession

might

have

thrown

some

light

n

the

question

with

only

here

and there

a

Documents

Mesmerism and Its Opponents v2