Cartes, he came home to his convent excessively heated; to allay his thirst he drank cold water, and soon after was seized with an illness which produced an abcess in his side, of which he expired on the 1st of September, 1648. The character of Mersenne as a philosopher and a mathematician is well known in the learned world. To that disposition which led him to the most abstruse studies, he joined a nice and judicious ear, and a passionate love of music; these gave a direction to his pursuits, and were productive of numberless experiments and calculations tending to demonstrate the principles of harmony, and prove that it is independent of habit or fashion, custom or caprice, and, in short, has its foundation in nature, and in the original frame and constitution of the universe. In the year 1636 he published at Paris, in a large folio volume, his "Harmonie Universelle," in which he treats of the nature and properties of sound, of instruments of various kinds, of consonances and dissonances, of composition, of the human voice, of the practice of singing, and a great variety of other matters concerning music. Indeed Dr. Burney remarks—"This work, notwithstanding the author's partiality to his country, want of taste and of method, contains many curious researches and ingenious philosophical experiments, which have been of the greatest use to subsequent writers, particularly Kircher and his followers." A new edition, corrected and enlarged, was translated into Latin, and published by the author in 1648, the year of his death, under the title of "De Sonorum Natura, Causis et Effectibus."—E. F. R.
MERSLIAKOFF, Alexis Fedorovitch, a Russian poet and miscellaneous writer, was born at Dalmatova, Perm, in 1778. An ode on the peace with Sweden, which he wrote in his fifteenth year, procured him the patronage of the empress, who provided for his education at Moscow. In 1810 he became professor of poetry and eloquence in the university there. He contributed to the literature of his country translations of various classical authors, and wrote some excellent national songs and lectures on literature.—R. H.
MERTON, Walter de, twice chancellor of England in the troublous reign of Henry III., and the founder of Merton college, Oxford. He gained great distinction as a student at the university. Although of the ecclesiastical order, his knowledge of law and capacity for business well fitted him for the office of vice-chancellor, from which he was promoted in 1260 to the post of chancellor without the consent of the barons. He acted indeed as the king's minister until the monarch was compelled to submit to Simon de Montfort, who with the barons removed Walter de Merton from his office in 1263. On the accession of Edward I. in 1272, the council, during the king's absence in the Holy Land, appointed Merton chancellor again. For two years he exercised his power with great ability, and to the advantage of the kingdom, then resigned the seals, and was made bishop of Rochester. The remainder of his life he employed in building, endowing, and making statutes for Merton college. He died in 1277.—R. H.
MERULA, Giorgio, family name Merlani or Merlano, author and editor, born at Alessandria della Paglia in the Milanese, about 1424; died in Milan in 1494. At the instigation of Luigi Sforza, he composed his "Antiquitates Vicecomitum"—printed partly in his lifetime, partly after his death. He was the first to combine in one annotated edition the four Latin agricultural writers, Cato, Varro, Columella, and Palladius. He also issued other classic works, and brought to light certain ancient MSS. preserved in the abbey of Bobbio.—C. G. R.
MESMER, Friedrich Anton, the author of the doctrine of animal magnetism, or mesmerism, was born at Marsburg in Baden in 1734. He was educated at the schools of Dillingen and Ingoldstadt, and he afterwards studied medicine at Vienna. It is said that when a student of medicine he was addicted to the study of astrology, and it would appear that he early conceived the notion of a force, or element of extreme subtlety, pervading the universe, and permeating and influencing all bodies. He settled in practice as a physician at Vienna, and first attracted public notice by the publication of a thesis entitled "De Planetarum Influxu." In this he promulgated a theory founded upon the supposed existence of the pervading element above referred to, and asserted that the heavenly bodies exert an influence over it analogous to that which they exercise over the sea and atmosphere, and that through its medium they sensibly affect the bodies, and especially the nervous systems, of men and animals. By its means he accounted for the various morbid affections which recur periodically. In order to turn his theory to practical account, he began the practice of magnetizing for the cure of diseases. He commenced operating with magnets, attributing to them the same powers he had previously ascribed to the planets. His method of proceeding consisted in stroking with the magnet the diseased part. Not long after the commencement of his empirical career, he received the information that he was trenching on ground already occupied by another charlatan. Father Hell, a Vienna professor, had previously performed some problematical cures by the application of magnets; and recognizing in Mesmer a rival, he accused him of stealing his invention. A controversy ensued, in which Mesmer was defeated. But fruitful in invention, he adroitly quitted the debatable point, and affirmed that the magnetic instrument used was of no importance, and that he could substitute animal magnetism for mineral. It is said that he obtained the first idea of animal magnetism from a mystical monk, who in 1776 was pretending to cure the prince bishop of Ratisbon of blindness, by exorcism. Mesmer proclaimed loudly to the world the virtues of his new discovery. He invited the opinion of the Royal Society of London, the Academy of Sciences of Paris, and the Academy of Berlin. His application was treated by those bodies with the neglect it deserved; and it does not appear that its author met with much better success at Vienna. He had alleged the cure of Mademoiselle Paradis, a celebrated vocalist, who was the subject of gutta serena; but it soon afterwards became known that she was as blind as ever, and the consequence was that the author of the imposture found it necessary to leave the city. He then practised his art for a short time in Germany and Switzerland; but seeking a wider and more remunerative field, in 1778 he went to Paris, where the novelty of his pretensions, and the mystery of his practice, rapidly attracted public attention. He quickly obtained patients, and made a convert of Deslon, a member of the faculty. About this time Mesmer published an account of his theory, to which many answers from scientific men appeared. To one of these Mesmer deigned to reply. In his answer, he modestly proclaimed himself a man of genius and the benefactor of his species. He demanded from the French government a chateau and its lands as a reward for the benefits he had bestowed on the public, and threatened that should his request not be granted, he would leave Paris. The government declined complying with his demand, but they offered him a life-rent of twenty thousand francs per annum, and they further guaranteed a yearly sum of ten thousand francs, provided he would allow a commission of three scientific men, nominated by the ministry, to examine and report on his practice. Mesmer would not assent to the condition, and accordingly he left Paris with some of his patients, and went to Spa. Whilst at Spa it was proposed amongst his converts and admirers, that a subscription should be raised for him, on the condition that he would communicate the secret of animal magnetism to each of the subscribers. Mesmer accepted the offer, and soon returned to Paris. Amongst his converts were La Fayette, D'Eprémenil, and Bergasse. On arriving in Paris, he commenced operations on a grand scale. His patients were received in a large hall, hung with mirrors, and but dimly lighted. Silence reigned, only interrupted by soft strains of music which floated at intervals through the room. The patients were made to sit in a circle round a kind of vat, containing a farrago of chemical ingredients, which he asserted was a magnetic battery, and termed a Vaquet. They were put in communication with it and with each other by cords, or jointed rods, or by holding hands. When the imaginations of the patients had been sufficiently acted on, and their expectation sufficiently excited, Mesmer appeared, holding a magic rod, and walked slowly and solemnly around the circle. Some he affected to influence by a look or touch, or by passes with his hand, others by the motions of his magic wand. It may be easily supposed that the effect which these arts produced on invalids already worked up to the highest pitch of nervous excitement, often took the form of various nervous affections, such as catalepsy, convulsions, palpitations, &c. These were all referred to salutary crises, and it was asserted that by their production many cures were effected. These proceedings attracted such general attention, that at length in 1784 the French government thought it incumbent on them to appoint a scientific commission to examine this mysterious method of cure. Accordingly a committee of inquiry, consisting of the physicians Majault, Sallin, Darcet, and Guillotin, and of the academicians Franklin, Leroi, Bailly, De Bory, and Lavoisier, proceeded to investigate the practice of M. Deslon, the pupil of Mesmer
