ees 
138 BAILLY. 
The touching or stroking practised in mesmeric treat- 
ments, as auxiliaries of magnetism, properly so called, 
required no direct experiments, since the principal agent, 
—since magnetism itself, had disappeared. Bailly, 
therefore, confined himself, in this respect, to anatomical 
and physiological considerations, remarkable for their 
clearness and precision. We read, also, with a lively in- 
terest, in his report, some ingenious reflections on the 
effects of imitation in those assemblages of magnetized 
people. Bailly compares them to those of theatrical 
representations. He says: “Observe how much stron- 
ger the impressions are when there are a great many 
spectators, and especially in places where there is the 
liberty of applauding. This sign of particular emotions 
produces a general emotion, participated in by every- 
body according to their respective susceptibility. This 
is also observed in armies on the day of battle, when the 
enthusiasm of courage, as well as panic-terrors, propa- 
gate themselves with so much rapidity. The sound of 
the drum and of military music, the noise of the cannon, 
of the musquetry, the cries, the disorder, stagger the 
organs, impart the same movement to men’s minds, and 
raise their imaginations to a similar degree. In this 
unity of intoxication, an impression once manifested be- 
comes universal; it encourages men to charge, or deter- 
mines men to fly.” Some very curious examples of 
imitation close this portion of Bailly’s report. 
The commissioners finally examined whether these 
convulsions, occasioned by the imagination or by magnet- 
ism, could be useful in curing or easing the suffering per- 
sons. ‘Ihe reporter said: “ Undoubtedly, the imagination 
of sick people often influences the cure of their maladies 
very much. . . . There are cases in which every thing 
