and their increasing number completely overpowered the suffrages of
reason.

Messmer, at length perceived that in his native country, he should never
be able to reach the point which he had fixed upon, as the termination
of his magnetical career. The Germans began to discredit his pompous
claims; but it was only after repeated failures in some promised cures,
that he found himself under the necessity of seeking protection in
Paris. There he met with a most flattering reception, being caressed,
and in a manner adored by a nation which has always been extravagantly
fond of every new thing, whimsical and mysterious. Messmer well knew how
to turn this natural propensity to the best advantage. He addressed
himself particularly to the weak; to such as wished to be considered men
of profound knowledge, but who, when they were compelled to be silent
from real ignorance, took refuge behind the impenetrable shield of
mystery. The fashionable levity, the irresistible curiosity, and the
peculiar turn of the Parisians, ever solicitous to have something
interesting for conversation, to keep their active imagination in play,
were exactly suited to the genius and talents of the inventor of animal
magnetism. We need not wonder, therefore, if he availed himself of their
moral and physical character, to ensure a ready faith in his doctrines,
and success to his pretended experiments: in fact, he found friends and
admirers wherever he made his appearance. His first advertisement was
couched in the following high-sounding terms:

"Behold a discovery which promises unspeakable advantages to the human
race, and immortal fame to its author! Behold the dawn of an universal
revolution! A new race of men shall arise, shall overspread the earth,
to embellish it by their virtues, and render it fertile by their
industry. Neither vice nor ignorance, shall stop their active career;
they will know our calamities only from the records of history. The
prolonged duration of their life will enable them to plan and accomplish
the most laudable undertakings. The tranquil, the innocent
gratifications of that primeval age will be restored, wherein man
laboured without toil, lived without sorrow, and expired without a
groan! Mothers will no longer be subject to pain and danger during their
pregnancy and child-birth: their progeny will be more robust and brave;
the now rugged and difficult path of education will be rendered smooth
and easy; and hereditary compla