3. They _often_ appeared to be the result of ennui, monotony, and the
influence of imagination.
4. Lastly, _they are developed independently of these causes, very
probably by the effects of magnetism alone_.
The points of this report that I have printed in italics prove most
clearly that the members of the commission, all of whom were decidedly
adverse to the doctrine, were convinced, at least to a certain extent, by
the experiments they had witnessed, of some singular powers residing in
this mysterious science. Such must have been the case, since we find three
members seceding from their associates, Laennec, Double, and Magendie, all
well known as distinguished physiologists, somewhat inclined to pure
materialism, and what may be termed _matter-of-fact_ men, who would
hesitate in yielding their belief to any assertion that the scalpel could
not demonstrate. Notwithstanding the protest of these gentlemen, the
following were the conclusions of the commission:
1. Contact of the thumbs and magnetic movements are the means of relative
influence employed to transmit magnetic action.