Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-09-30


The Phreno heameric phenomena have, in addition
TO other aston nding facts, far strengthened the
pretensions Of Mesmerism TO be regarded as one oil
the many mysterious operations OF Nature as TO render
thorough and nquisitorIal investigation o. the sub
iect the mperatye duty Of enlightened and scien
life community To the religious, the moral, and the
scientific il pregnant with deep and absorbing inter-
est Such, then, being the claims OF this subject to
consideration, let its phenomena be freely discussed
and subjected TO all the toriuTes OF experimental nqu.
silon If be mposture il will then be detected, and
the mpos.ors consigned to mer,ed scorn and contempt
it. on the contrary be of Natures laws, its truth
will then be satisfactorily established. Tins course,
no doubt an insect Editor lone Of Mac Flecnoe 8 Illus
tfous descendants) would tell me has been adopted,
and has ultimaed explosion of the whole matter
as an mposture humbug, &c, &c; that the report OF
the college of learned physicians 10 conclusive, and
presents bar TO any further of the subject
That report conclusive TO my mind OF one thing, that
Mr. French is uggler, no trickster His reputation
ne gentleman a man of letters and refinement, for
bids The bare suspicion; and the report itself furnishes
additional proof jugger will scarcely ever fail IN
performing his tricks of lcgerdcman; they depending
upon mechanical dexterlty, and IN many cases upon
cousion-ond Why Because juggler will ever
undertake to execute any feat, if The mode and man
ner Of his performing it be prescribed by others, who
interfere with view TO detection And, suppose The
execution Of The feat 10 depend entirely on colluson
would he attempt lis execution under circumstances
where collision was physically impossible Had Mr.
French been tricRsler, anu MS lrlckS uePeHuHS
collusnn, is il reasonable, probable, that he
would have acquesced in the course of procedure
adopted by the Richmond physicians, knowing that his
reputation stake The supposition is wholly at
variance with common sense but grant, for the sake
Of argument, that mesmersm is humbug, and Mr..
French a humbugger-yet how unphosophcal and
illogical 10 deduce this conclusion from the failure OF
few ex periments. May not Chemistry, and the other
sciences ending experiment. be with The same To-
eica proprlety pronounced humbug cheat &c. because
the operator does uniformly succeed with his exper
men,s: Does not the history of physical science in it's
infancy inform US, that failure after failure. warded
the ndefagabe abors Of the experimental, who, no.
thing daunted worked on, " cheered by the radiant
form of truth still smiling at his heart: Ard even
now in the perfected state of those sciences the ope-
rator adept az he in his ana ytica and synlhetIcai
processes is often baled md forced in fit of disgust
and mortiGcation to throw aside his retots, crucbles,
and receivers, pronouncng in his heart hearty male
dic,on akalies and acids; but the medical Swans
would exclaim, Away with chemistry; and certain
Editor remarkable for his ignorance and dogmatism,
would cry nut, "a humbug, cheat, imposture blown
sky high By the by, how unfortunate for this remark
able genius that he did not flourish under the dspen.
sation of Dizziness. With what grace and dignity
would he have filed the first place in the Dunciad-
His sod stupidity, his fine a,tainments in blllngsgae
literature and his intimate acquaintance with all the
proundites of the Bathos, giving precedence over all
other rivals,
to reign without dispute,
Through all realms Of nonsense, absolute"
Such would have bee the distinguished honor bestow
ed upon one Of the most gifted of Dizziness, II
some malignant star had not postdated his native
hour to period when Dryden, no Pope should
1--we to reward his llustrous merits with the NEED Of
poetic Immortality. What an exquisite dish would