AFTER a tour in Switzerland in 1776, Mesmer returned to Vienna. His fame was already considerable, and his unorthodox methods had aroused the active hostility of the Medical Faculty. Mesmer's patients were drawn chiefly from desperate cases which the doctors had failed to cure. Many remarkable successes were reported. These the orthodox practitioners denied. They were by no means satisfied that "a charlatan," as they called Mesmer, should bring their own methods into disrepute. Baron von Stoerck, President of the Faculty of Vienna, and First Physician to the Emperor, advised Mesmer not to make his discovery public, lest he should incur the enmity of the profession. This advice came somewhat late, since Mesmer was already well hated by his professional brethren. They laughed at his theory and denied his practice, adopting the tactics which they have used, in similar circumstances, since
the days of AEsculapius. They refused to examine his patients before treatment began, and afterwards denied that there had been any serious illness. Mesmer, however, had the courage of his opinions, and refused to be silenced or ignored. He considered the pursuit of truth to be of more value than professional reputation.
His final encounter with the medical men of Vienna was brought about by his treatment of a gifted young pianist, Mademoiselle Paradis.
Mademoiselle Paradis, a protegee of the Empress Maria Theresa, from whom she received a pension, had lost her eyesight from paralysis of the optic nerve. Having undergone treatment from the leading physicians of Vienna without benefit, she was placed under the care of Mesmer.
After a brief treatment from Mesmer Mademoiselle Paradis was able to distinguish the outlines of articles brought near her. At first her returning sense of vision was very sensitive. If a lighted candle was held near her eyes, even though bound by a thick cloth, the effect upon her sight was as a flash of lightning. The appearance of the human form, seen for the first time, distressed her greatly. The nose on the human countenance moved her to laughter.
Speaking of noses, "They seem," she said, "to threaten me, as though they would bore my eyes out."
At first she found it of the utmost difficulty to remember the names of colours. The relative distances of objects puzzled her so that she was afraid to move about freely as formerly.
Her improving sight also occasioned her difficulty in playing the piano. Whereas, when she was blind, she could execute the most difficult movements, she now found it no easy task to play even the simplest piece. Her eyes persisted in following her fingers as they moved over the keys, with the result that she was continually missing the notes.
The case of Mademoiselle Paradis became something like a cause celebre in the medical circles of Vienna. Despite the obvious facts, the doctors who had treated her without success denied that any improvement of sight had taken place. Mademoiselle Paradis, they declared, merely "imagined that she could see." At first Herr Paradis, her father, was delighted.
He caused particulars of the case to be published in the newspapers. Herr von Stoerck himself came and witnessed the cure and admitted its genuineness.
Opposition, however, came from Professor
Hehl, Herr Ingenhaus, a friend of his, and Herr Barth, professor of anatomy and specialist in diseases of the eye. To Mesmer, in private, Herr Barth admitted that Mademoiselle Paradis could see; but afterwards, in public, he declared that she was "still quite blind."
These three united to get Mademoiselle Paradis out of Mesmer's hands before he should have time to complete the cure.
With this object they successfully appealed to the avarice of Herr Paradis. They persuaded him that, so soon as his daughter regained her sight completely, the pension she received from the Empress would cease.
The argumentum ad hominem proved entirely successful. Mademoiselle Paradis was taken home by her parents. For the time it appeared as though Mesmer's enemies had triumphed.