SUPPLEMENT 214.
HAHNEMANN’S FIRST AND SECOND WIFE SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF FRENCH OPINION.
In Michaud’s “Biographie Universelle Ancienne et Moderne” (Paris by Madame C. Desplaces) appeared an essay on S. Hahnemann.
In one passage of this work Hahnemann’s heroic decision to give up a profession which did not satisfy his inner conscience is praised, and the attitude, taken by his first wife Henriette, nee Kuchler, as to this renunciation of the professional activity of many years, is described in the following words:
He had already an old practice and a good reputation; he was married and was the head of a numerous family. To crown his troubles he was exposed to the reproached of his wife and his daughters. The mother, embittered by privations which he inflicted upon the family and who was incapable of understanding the feelings which animated her husband, reproached him bitterly with having exchanged comfort for poverty and having sacrificed what is real in life for empty dreams and chimera.
And:
In the year 1830, on March 31st, hahnemann lost his first wife; at that time renown, comfort and peace had entered his house, and long before her death she had found leisure and opportunity to abjure the prejudices which she had previously conceived concerning the character and abilities of the one to whom fate had linked her.
The criticism of the second wife, Melanie d’Hervilly, reads:
In the year 1835, a French woman, a Mademoiselle d’Hervilly, came to kothen to consult Hahnemann. she was distinguished for her intellectual charms and advantaged, and possessed unusual knowledge for her sex. She appreciated and admired him, and this admiration ended in marriage, which gave uninterrupted happiness to the old man during his remaining years. He had at last reached a peaceful haven after a very storm-tossed life. In the midst of the esteem of his followers and pupils, surrounded by the consideration, love and affection of a wife who not only understood him, but also took part in his work and his studies.; at last grown rich through the gain which his profession brought him, he constantly up to his last hour blessed the event which had brought him into our country.
(Taken from the little essay “True Sketches, etc.”)
SUPPLEMENT 242.
OPEN LETTER TO THE WIDOW OF DR. HAHNEMANN IN PARIS.
Concerning her declaration of April 21st, 1865 (see Supplement 51) a ” pupil of Hahnemann” published in NO.I of the 76th volume of the “Allg. hom. Ztg.,” of the year 1868, the following challenge:
Unfortunately tow more years have elapsed and we have not yet seen a single line of the alleged existing Hahnemann manuscript. The need for a new edition of the “Organon” which has been out of print for a long time, becomes more urgent each day, whilst the patience of the homoeopaths is becoming exhausted.
Herewith a public reminder is being sent to you requesting you to fulfil the promise which you made of your own free will on April 21st, 1865, unless you which to expose yourself to the suspicion that a manuscript of the 6th Edition of the “Organon” does not exist, and that your public declaration was made expressly to prevent a useful undertaking of Hahnemann’s grandson, and this from motives of unkindness and personal dislike.
That the manuscript actually existed was shown later.
SUPPLEMENT 243.
FROM CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING HAHNEMANN’S LITERARY LEGACY.
Rough drafts of two letters by Madame Hahnemann, from Paris to Dr. Bayes of London (1877?)
I received the letter which you were good enough to write to me. i have read it repeatedly with great interest and have been very please to read of your devotion to the true doctrine which the Founder had continued to perfect till the end of his days.
All Hahnemann’s manuscripts have been preserved by me as precious treasures, they are written by his own hand and therefore their genuineness cannot be doubted.
They consist of:
1. First: The Sixth Edition of the “Organon” in which the author had added all the correction made to his precepts, which he had undertaken. These corrections are the definite result of his long experience, they have been made by his own hand on the original manuscript of the old edition, therefore the latter loses all interest by the publication of this Sixth Edition.
2. Hahnemann’s records of patients (38 German and 16 French, totaling 54 — R.H.)
3. Correspondence: this was so voluminous that I was unable to count the letters and therefore I have weighed them. They are 20 Kilogrammes in weight; each letter has marginal notes by Hahnemann. (An examination shows that there were actually 37 Kilogrammes –R.H.)
4. Symptom Register (Repertories) compiled by him and partly copied by his favourite follower, Dr. Gross.
All available material consists of original manuscripts which I shall hand over in the original, as they are.
All these valuable manuscripts must be arranged before publication and here I must add an explanation.
Hahnemann had been pursued during the whole of his long life by the jealousy of his pupils. Some remained faithful to him but others became his declared and personal enemies and have been persecuted him through newspapers which were established for the purpose of destroying his new doctrine, for instance Griesselich.
They wished to annihilate homoeopathy by their old allopathic prescriptions. They asserted that Hahnemann himself used methods of the old school for the treatment of patients and allowed others to do the same, for instance, venesections, vesicatories, purgatives, etc.
Hahnemann who by long practice of his own doctrine had become convinced that it alone was sufficient in all cases of disease, was deeply affected when he discovered that they desired to supercede it entirely by the application of allopathic methods. In order to save it from destruction and from fear of the lack of conscience on the part of copyists and editors of his literary legacy, he charged me with the duty of having copies of his valuable manuscripts made under my own supervision. He explained how the copies could be made and printed, and repeatedly demanded a solemn oath, which I shall keep, to have all copies of his works made under my supervision so that no bad false alterations in the text should be possible.
As he advised me to wait for the publication until the anger of his contemporaries had subsided, I waited in accordance with his order; and then, when I was beginning with this great work, suddenly the war of 1871 came, which by destroying my property robbed me of my capital.
I am now forced to devoted the whole of my time to medical practice in order to earn my own living and cannot give my time to the important work which these manuscripts demand for their publication. In order to be able to give up my present patients I should require immediately a sum of money to make good the loss of income and to give me the necessary peace for this great work for which, however, certain preparations have been made.
In order to obtain this sum of money so that I might devote my whole time to this great task there would be one remedy, that is, that in England a collection should be made among physicians and patients. A small sum which each one of these doctors and their patients would give, would only be a small sacrifice and would soon amount to the sum which I should utilise to replace the income from my practice.
Dr. C. Dunham, of New York, had proposed to me to organise such a fund and had made all preparations when his death ended the matter.
If you, Sir, should be willing to prepare the way for a similar subscription, you would be sure of great success thanks to the great personal esteem which you enjoy, and the help of your powerful patrons; the question is only do you wish to do it
?
Then in a few months the sixth edition of the “Organon” could be printed; because I should immediately proceed with this work as soon as I had the certainly that I would be helped with this great task which is certain to bring in a great deal of money, and you could then do what you liked with the proceeds.
As regards the profits from the sale of the books I renounce them entirely and leave them to him who has had the trouble of collecting a sufficiently large sum in favour.
I have not written to you form so long because my time has been very much occupied by numerous patients which the bad season of the year brings me.
You can remain assured that it would be my inmost wish to publish Hahnemann’s work which contains so many treasures for humanity, and that it would be a real joy to me to work at it although the task would be an arduous one.
Yours truly.
II
Dear doctor,
I have received your letter for which I asked and notice that you are disappointed with the contents of mine. You ask me to send you the manuscripts; but you do not know that it would require a case of a cubic metre in size in order to send you everything. You would find many large and small sheets all written in a very fine German handwriting, which you and your colleagues, however capable they may be, could not possibly put in order. If, as you say you are coming to Paris, I will show them to you.
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