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. The reporter said : " Undoubtedly, the imagination 

 of sick people often influences the cure of their maladies 

 very much. . . . There are cases in which every thing 



