REPORT ON ANIMAL MAGNETISM. 141 
that no geometer, from Newton to Laplace, had thought 
of. | 
The work of Bailly gave rise to trouble, spite, and 
anger, among the Mesmerists. It was for many months 
the target for their combined attacks. All the provinces 
of France saw refutations of the celebrated report arise : 
sometimes under the form of calm discussions, decent and 
moderate ; but generally with all the characteristics of 
violence, and the acrimony of a pamphlet. 
It would be labour thrown away now to go to the dusty 
shelves of some special library, to hunt up hundreds of 
pamphlets, even the titles of which are now completely 
forgotten. The impartial analysis of that ardent contro- 
versy does not call for such labour; I believe at least 
that I shall attain my aim, by concentrating my attention 
on two or three writings which, by the strength of the 
arguments, the merit of the style, or the reputation of 
their authors, have left some trace in men’s minds. 
In the first rank of this category of works we must 
place the elegant pamphlet published by Servan, under 
the title of Doubts of a Provincial, proposed to the Gen- 
tlemen Medical Commissioners commanded by the King 
to examine into Animal Magnetism. 
The appearance of this little work of Servan’s was 
saluted in the camp of the Mesmerists with cries of 
triumph and joy. Undecided minds fell back into doubt 
and perplexity. Grimm wrote in Nov. 1784: “No 
cause is desperate. That of magnetism seemed as if it 
must fall under the reiterated attacks of medicine, of. 
philosophy, of experience and of good sense. ... Well, 
M. Servan, formerly the Attorney-General at Grenoble, 
has been proving that with talent we may recover from 
any thing, even from ridicule.” 
