Hospital & Teaching Center



Yours, S. HAHNEMANN.

Cothen, April 8th, 1834.

We must do all in our power to raise our institution. If that is not done now, it will never happen.

Esteemed Sirs, I wish to know why Director Dr. Schweikert has not received from you the grant of 100 Rth., doubling his stipend, which I have promised him, due at Easter for the first quarter, as you had the available money, and I wait for you to carry out this agreement, as a keen management of the hospital constitutes the pivot of the whole undertaking.

As soon as I am informed that this has been done, I shall send you 300 Rth. from subscriptions received, so that you can pay to the Director at Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas quarters, one hundred Rth. each time, thus doubling his stipend.

Yours faithfully, SAMUEL HAHNEMANN.

To Mr. M. Lux for the Inspectors of the Homoeopathic Hospital, Cothen, May 23rd, 1834.

SUPPLEMENT 151.

HAHNEMANN COLLECTS CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE HOSPITAL

Dr. Hermann Lovy, of Prague, sent 179 thaler 2 ggr. and wrote at the same time: Prague.

April 30th, 1834.

I must apologise for not fulfilling your desire of collecting annual contributions, I can well understand that it would be desirable for the institution to be able to rely with certainty upon an annual support, and I am willing to pay a yearly contribution in accordance with my small means. I could not and would not force my patients, and if I had insisted on demanding an annual subscription I should not have received anything from some of them, and very little generally, while now after a time I can ask again and collect a handsome amount. When you publish the list of names of the supporters in Prague please mention the town (Prague) as a confirmation of the money received, but do not mention it as having come through me, because the Government may not like to see that I have collected contributions for a foreign institution. It is only fair that every homoeopathic physician should contribute, as he owes his reputation and practice to homoeopathy. I shall pay this contribution every year as long as the institution works in the way it should, and brings honour to homoeopathy.

On May 23rd, 1834, Dr. Lovy, of Prague, whilst announcing another 8 fl. sent a reminder for the receipt of the 179 thalers 2 ggr.; in October 1834, he sent a further contribution of 28fl.

Dr. Griesselich wrote to Hahnemann: Karlsruhe, May 20th, 1834.

Since Schweikert has had the hospital we have been more hopeful here; the predecessor and his two rare annual reports have done much harm here, and have spread mistrust.I have sent your letter to Mr. von Lotzbeck; he will do nothing for the Leipsic institution. Also several belonging to the Association of Baden will do nothing, since it has not accomplished anything.

SUPPLEMENT 152.

HAHNEMANN’S VISIT TO THE HOMOEOPATHIC HOSPITAL AND SCHOOL AT LEIPSIC.

Dr. Schweikert’s “Zeitung der homoeopatischen Heilkunst” of June 28th, 1834 reported: The 17th of this month was an important and joyful day for our hospital and school which was founded by the Society of Homoeopathic Physicians, and maintained in this city by private efforts and charitable contributions. During the forenoon, the hospital was inspected by the Honourable Hofrath Dr. Hahnemann, the President of the Society. He arrived from Cothen for this purpose, the previous day, accompanied by his three daughters, Dr. Lehmann, Mr. Isensee, Councillor of Justice, Mr. and Mrs. Rhost, and Dr. Jahr.

The resident homoeopathic physicians had been invited to meet him the same evening to discuss several new arrangements to be made, which would promote the success of the hospital and school. They celebrated the arrival of their Master, with a serenade before the windows of the Hotel Pologne, where he was staying, and at the conclusion, the crowd assembled in the street, burst forth with a shout of applause. He not having visited Leipsic for thirteen years, was greatly surprised by this demonstration of welcome, and several of the friends who surrounded him, exclaimed, “Vox populi, vox Dei!”.

The hospital was festively decorated for this reception of Hahnemann who was solemnly received and welcomed, in the Boardroom, by the Director Dr. Schweikert with an address in Latin, in the presence of almost all the homoeopathic physicians of Leipsic, and a considerable number of ladies and gentlemen.

The venerable man, then in his seventy-ninth year, replied in German, and expressed his gratitude towards the Director, as well as his satisfaction with the institution he was now managing. He made a donation to the funds, and gave presents to the nursing staff and then visited the wards, where he expressed his complete satisfaction with the treatment, and care taken of the patients. He dined at midday in his rooms with many of his admirers, and after enjoying the afternoon in the little Swiss hut of the Rosenthal, he spent a few hours with his guests in instructive and pleasant conversation. His time did not allow him to tarry any longer in Leipsic, and he left early the following morning, the 18th, accompanied with many hearty wishes for a long and happy life.

Hahnemann’s married daughter, Dellbruck, wrote: Stotteritz, June 28th, 1834.

Dear good father and dear sisters,

I have not experienced such a happy day for many years, as when you and my dear sisters came to me; it is a great pity that I could not give you any honours, as time was too short. The whole village would have liked to have seen you, and it talks of your renown.

Dr. Moritz Muller relates (To the History of Homoeopathy, page 90): Hahnemann came to Leipsic in June 1834 to inspect the hospital. In the forenoon of June the 18th, I received through a waiter of the Hotel Pologne, an ordinary invitation from him, inviting me to a discussion there in evening, As it was not an invitation to a meeting of directors, and I could not be expected to call on him until he had given me satisfaction for personal insults, I therefore politely declined the invitation… When those who had been invited had assembled, he sent to me, Dr. Franz, my personal friend and a pure homoeopath, in order to invite me to come. I sent back the message that when I wanted anything from Hahnemann I would come to him, should he want anything from me he would have to take the trouble to come to me. (Hartmann had declined the invitation for the same reason.)

Thus was broken the bond of a friendship of many years, which in spite of a difference of opinion had united Dr. Franz and me.

SUPPLEMENT 153.

DR. SCHWEIKERT’S REQUEST TO HAHNEMANN CONCERNING THE STIPEND.

(See also Supplement 150.)

Leipsic, 2.2.35

I am grateful to you and much obliged for the good opinion you have of me and my work in the hospital, and for the way you speak of it, and I can also truly assure you that I strain all my faculties, in order to serve the institution; I am equally convinced that if my salary is not increased to 800 Rths. and sanctioned by the Board of Inspection, I am facing the ruin of my children and myself; I certainly have brought a great sacrifice in my financial position and life generally by taking over the directorship of the hospital, as I know best how much this year has cost me; without capital I am not in a position to keep this up much longer, however much I wish to do so. The Board of Inspectors have not yet given their sanction, and I do not like to ask them for it; this would only happen if you urged our friend Franz to take the matter in hand, but it would have to be a written agreement. I am willing, now that my salary is due, to write a receipt for 200 Rth. for the quarter, and if they refuse it, to tender my resignation, and I shall then hear what those gentlemen have to say, yet I will first await your reply to these lines. But I beg of you most urgently that you should settle this question; I as father of family ought to see this realised; I readily grant you that I hold a true post of honour, and I am very proud of it, but wife and children have to live also, and living is dear here, as you know yourself. But this communication of mine must remain private between us please; my great confidence in you, and your affection for me, induce me to make it. I hope that no one will buy the piece of garden over our heads. If we postpone the purchase. They now say that someone wants to erect a sugar refinery on that site-that would be a damnum irreparable for the institution.

Your devoted, SCHWEIKERT.

Hahnemann had already written on this matter to the Board of Inspectors of the hospital (Haubold, Franz and LUx):

Esteemed Sirs and dear Colleagues, Although I have not seen any written record of the expenditure and receipts of our Homoeopathic Clinic, yet the news received appears so re-assuring (on this point Hahnemann had been deceived-R.H.) that I may hope that the Inspectors from now onwards, may grant out of their own funds, to the Director of the Institution, Dr. Schweikert, the necessary and adequate quarterly salary of 2000 thalers, without my help. I would have been able to contribute 100 thalers through contributions from abroad, towards the salary promised him by the Board in the beginning, if the contributions promised from Lyon has passed through my hands, but as they have been paid in directly to the hospital, the purpose has been accompanied without my help.

Richard Haehl
Richard M Haehl 1873 - 1932 MD, a German orthodox physician from Stuttgart and Kirchheim who converted to homeopathy, travelled to America to study homeopathy at the Hahnemann College of Philadelphia, to become the biographer of Samuel Hahnemann, and the Secretary of the German Homeopathic Society, the Hahnemannia.

Richard Haehl was also an editor and publisher of the homeopathic journal Allgemcine, and other homeopathic publications.

Haehl was responsible for saving many of the valuable artifacts of Samuel Hahnemann and retrieving the 6th edition of the Organon and publishing it in 1921.
Richard Haehl was the author of - Life and Work of Samuel Hahnemann