Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-05-28

that can be said about them. These ehecs. OF whate.
YER kind-whether triAing or important, whether OF
short or Of long duration, whether natural or suPe!nS
effects will not pretend to cbarac.er1ei
but will say, that suo them, as Organ says WIN my
own eyes, Contorted limbs have seen restored 10
their natural position in few moments and w,hou!
suffering to the patient-s hand that bad been cosea
for thirty years, regained its and action,
les, who had been electrified Intellectually hundred
times over have thrown away their crutches ana NOV
cd unassisted from place TO place-tumours ana hssu
las have disappeared beneath the hand that pressed
them-rheumatic, and other pains OF long standing,
have ceased on the instant; papitations OF the hear
and nervous disorders have been Gained; wounds OF
the most inveterate kind-of which no cure mad oeeh
attempted lattery. on account OF the pam a"ehoan'
on even an examination of them-bave been washed,
dressed and bound up. without exciting any tears but
those of pleasure and gratitude these Things can
bear testimony to- and in referring to them here,
have been particularly careful to suppress every thing
but that to which have been an actual eyewitness
To this testimony in favor Of the cures re-,
sul,ing (no matter howl from the presence OF
Madame Saint Amour in The city OF Nantes,
there has been nothing 10 the shape OF absolute
testimony opposed There has, OF course, been
plenty of contempt and ridicule put forth byihe
:" instruiis," the espritz jorfs' in which every
French provincial city abounds, even more, IN
proportion perhaps to its population. than the
metropolis itself. But no one comes forward
10 deny any Of the individual cures or a,nello-
ra'ions stated to have been Witnessed by the
persons from whom We take our Information.
On The other hand, the testimony OF those per-
sons is very greatly strengthened by their rea'
dinrss 10 admit the facts which il remains fol
US to s,ate-nam-ly, that The alleged cures have
in most cases been OF very brief duration; aud
tha' in consequence, there has been violent
re &C lion in the minds OF the people against
Nj sdame Sain, Amour, and the town Of NAMES
has been delugtd with songs, eP'grams, pas
qulnadee. and sa,ires, in which no hing has
been spared to turn into contempt The preten'
sions of the fair Swsdenbo'sian, and even tx
cite the public Indignation against her: all
which she is said 10 have borne with exempa
ry patience and humility.
What, the reader will perhaps ask, villa, are
the differences We would draw from The relation
we have Just placed before them? Do we hold
tina, the pr ayers OF the far devo,ee were &C.
tualIy efficaoious in performing he temporary
cures which, from some cause or other, did IN
fact take pl ,ce? We do no, scruple 10 reply in
The affirmative to this lass our sion: but, never
theless, we would not have our reply invested
with me- nins which does moi belong 10 it,
That certain curative efft c S were produced, we
believe; and that they were produced without
the intervention Of a miracle, we believe equal.
"; though no, without the intervention of an
agency altogether different from those which
are called into action under any Of the ordinary
modes Of arine bodily mall dies; and an agen-
cy hat, we verify believe, nigh, be employed
in many cases with an fleet having all the out
ward appearance of what is understood, in po-
pular language, ny the tr@. miraculous. In q
word, these cures Of Madame Ssinl Amour
may be described as so many psychological Ia
ther than physiological fae's, the philosophical
ex amns,ion of which might lead 10 The mos
important and interesting results in various
points Of view, but chief, as showing the ex.
uaorGinary influence which the mind exercises
over The body. and the astonishing CORES pond
rnce and analogy that oubsist between the ope-
rsiions OF the Two.
We ma, possiblybe induced to return TO this
subjec', for The purpose of bringing forward a
variety of historical facts, which bear in d mos
interesting manner on This ques'ion-one of
the mos, important, even il practical poin, Of
view, about which the human mind an employ
itself.