148 BAILLY. 



tire hours ; and finally, on another day, other circum- 

 stances remaining the same, the effect would be positively 

 null. A certain magnetizer exercised a brisk action on 

 a certain patient, and was absolutely powerless on anoth- 

 er who, on the contrary, entered into a crisis under the 

 earliest efforts of a second magnetizer. Instead of one 

 or two universal fluids, there must, then, to explain the 

 phenomena, be as many distinct fluids, and constantly 

 actin ", as there exist animated or inanimate beings in 

 the world. 



The necessity of such a hypothesis evidently upset 

 Mesmerism from its very foundations ; yet the illuminati 

 did not judge thus. All bodies became a focus of special 

 emanations, more or less subtle, more or less abundant, 

 and more or less dissimilar. So far the hypothesis found 

 very few contradictors, even among rigorous minds ; but 

 soon these individual corporeal emanations were endowed, 

 relatively towards those, (without the least appearance of 

 proof,) either with a great power of assimilation, or with 

 a decided antagonism, or with a complete neutrality ; but 

 they pretended to see in these occult qualities the mate- 

 rial causes of the most mysterious affections of the soul. 

 Oh ! then doubt had a legitimate right to take possession 

 of all those minds that had been taught by the strict pro- 

 ceeding of science not to rest satisfied with vain words. 

 In the singular system that I have been explaining, when 

 Corneille says, 



" There are some secret knots, some sympathies, 

 By whose relations sweet assorted souls 

 Attach themselves the one to the other ..." * 



and when the celebrated Spanish Jesuit Balthazar Gra- 



* " II est des noeuds secrets, il est des sympathies, 

 Dont par les doux rapports les ames assorties 

 S'attachent Tune a 1'autre." 



