,,modern ,,magic4    ,,by    ,m4        
,,schele ,,de ,,vere4    ,non fumum ex  
fulgore1 sed ex fumo dare lucem         
,cogitat1 ut speciosa dehinc miracula   
promat4    ,,horace4    ,illustration   
,,new ,,york3   ,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s     
,,sons1   ,,fourth ,,avenue ,,and       
,,twenty-,,third ,,street4   #ahgc4     
,entered according to act of ,congress1 
in the year #ahgh1 by   ,g4 ,p4         
,,putnam',s ,,sons1   ,in the ,office of
 the ,librarian of ,congress1 at        
,washington4    ,,lange1 ,,little       
,,hillman1   ,,printers1 ,,electrotypers
 ,,and ,,stereotypers1   #ajh ,,to #aad 
,,wooster ,,street1 ,n4 ,y4             
,,preface4   ,the main purpose of our   
existence on earth--aside from the      
sacred and paramount duty of securing   
our salvation--is undoubtedly to make   
ourselves masters of the tangible world 
around us1 as it stands revealed to our 
senses1 and as it was expressly made    
subject to our will by the ,creator4 ,we
 are1 however1 at the same time1 not    

left without information about the      
existence of certain laws and the       
occurrence of certain phenomena1 which  
belong to a world not accessible to us  
by means of our ordinary senses1 and    
which yet affect seriously our          
intercourse with ,nature and our        
personal welfare4 ,this knowledge we    
obtain sometimes1 by special favor1 as  
direct revelation1 and at other times1  
for reasons as yet unknown1 at the      
expense of our health and much          
suffering4 ,by whatever means it may    
reach us1 it cannot be rejected2 to     
treat it with ridicule or to decline    
examining it1 would be as unwise as     
unprofitable4 ,the least that we can do 
is to ascertain the precise nature of   
these laws1 and1 after stripping these  
phenomena of all that can be proved to  
be merely incidental or delusive1 to    
compare them with each other1 and to    
arrange them carefully according to some
 standard of classification4 ,the main  
interest in such a task lies in the     

discovery of the grain of truth which is
 often found concealed in a mass of     
rubbish1 and which1 when thus brought to
 light1 serves to enlarge our knowledge 
and to increase our power4 ,the         
difficulty lies in the absence of all   
scientific investigation1 and in the    
innate tendency of man to give way1     
wantonly or unconsciously1 to mental as 
well as to sensual delusion4  ,the aim  
of this little work is1 therefore1      
limited to the gathering of such facts  
and phenomena as may serve to throw     
light upon the nature of the magic      
powers with which man is undoubtedly    
endowed4 ,its end will be attained if it
 succeeds in showing that he actually   
does possess powers which are not       
subject to the general laws of nature1  
but more or less independent of space   
and time1 and which yet make themselves 
known partly by appeals to the ordinary 
senses and partly by peculiar phenomena1
 the result of their activity4 ,these   
higher powers1 operating exclusively    

through the spirit of man1 are part of  
his nature1 which has much in common    
with that of the ,deity1 since he was   
created by ,god in ,his own image1 and  
the ,lord breathed into his nostrils the
 breath of life and man became a living 
soul4 ,this soul is not1 as materialists
 maintain1 merely the sum of all        
perceptions obtained by the collective  
activity of bodily organs--a conclusion 
which would finally make it the product 
of mere material atoms1 subject to      
constant physical and chemical changes4 
,even if it were possible--which we     
deny--to reduce our whole inner life1   
including memory1 imagination1 and      
reason1 to a system of purely physical  
laws1 and thus to admit its destruction 
at the moment of death1 there would     
still remain the living soul1 coming    
directly from the ,most ,high1 and      
destined to continue throughout         
eternity4 ,this soul is1 hence1         
independent of time4 ,nor is it bound by
 space1 except so far as it can commune 

with the outer world only by means of   
the body1 with which it is united in    
this life4 ,the nature of this union is 
a mystery as yet unfathomed1 but        
precisely because it is such a mystery1 
we have no right to assume that it is   
altogether indissoluble during life2 or1
 that it ceases entirely at the moment  
of death4 ,there is1 on the contrary1   
overwhelming evidence that the soul may1
 at times1 act independently of the     
body1 and the forces developed on such  
occasions we have1 for the sake of      
convenience rather than on account of   
the special fitness of the term1        
preferred to call magic powers4  ,there 
is no evidence whatever before us as to 
the mutual relations of soul and body   
after death4 ,here1 necessarily1 all    
must be mere speculation4 ,nothing more1
 therefore1 will be claimed for the     
following suggestions4 ,when the body   
becomes unfit to serve any longer as an 
abode and an instrument to the soul1 the
 tie which was formed before or at the  

moment of birth is gradually loosened4  
,the soul no longer receives impressions
 from the outer world such as the body  
heretofore conveyed to it1 and with this
 cessation of mutual action ends1 also1 
the community of sensation4 ,the living 
soul--in all probability--becomes       
conscious of its separation from the    
dead body and from the world2 it        
continues to exist1 but in loneliness   
and self-dependence4 ,its life1 however1
 becomes only the more active and the   
more self-conscious as it is no longer  
consumed by intercourse with the world1 
nor disturbed by bodily disorders and   
infirmities4 ,the soul recalls with ease
 all long-forgotten or much-dimmed      
sensations4 ,what it feels most deeply  
at first is1 we may presume1 the double 
grief at being separated from the body1 
with which it has so long been closely  
connected1 and at the sins it has       
committed during life4 ,this repentance 
will be naturally all the heartier1 as  
it is no longer interrupted by sensual  

impressions4 ,after a while this grief1 
like all sorrows1 begins to moderate1   
and the soul returns to a state of      
peace3 sooner1 of course1 in the case of
 persons who in their earthly life      
already had secured peace by the only   
means revealed to man2 later1 by those  
who had given themselves entirely up to 
the world and their passions4 ,at the   
same time the living soul enters into   
communion with other souls1 retaining1  
however1 its individuality in sex1      
character1 and temper1 and1 possibly1   
proceeds on a course of gradual         
purification1 till it reaches the       
desired haven in perfect reconciliation 
with ,god4 ,during this intermediate    
time there is nothing known to us which 
would absolutely forbid the idea that   
these living souls continue to maintain 
some kind of intercourse with the souls 
of men on earth1 with whom they share   
all that constitutes their essential    
nature1 save only the one fact of       
bondage to the body4 ,nor is there any  

reason why the soul in man should not be
 able1 by its higher powers1 to perceive
 and to consort with souls detached from
 mortal bodies1 although this           
intercourse must needs be limited and   
imperfect because of the vast difference
 between a free soul and one bound to an
 earthly1 sinful body4 ,for man1 when he
 dies1 leaves behind in this world the  
body1 dead and powerless1 a corpse4 ,he 
continues1 however1 to live1 a soul1    
with all the peculiar powers which make 
up our spiritual organism2 that is to   
say1 the true man1 in the higher sense  
of the word1 exists still1 though he    
dwell in another world4 ,this soul has  
now no longer earthly organs of sense to
 do its bidding1 but it still controls  
nature which was made subject to its    
will2 it has1 moreover1 a new set of    
powers which represent in the higher    
world its higher body1 and the character
 of its new active life will be all the 
more elevated1 as these organs are more 
spiritual4 ,man cannot but continue to  

develop1 to grow1 and to ripen1 in the  
next world as he did in this2 his nature
 and his destiny are alike incompatible 
with sudden transitions and with        
absolute rest4 ,the soul must become    
purer and more useful2 its organs more  
subtle and more powerful1 and it is of  
this life of gradual improvement and    
purification that we may occasionally   
obtain glimpses by that communion which 
no doubt still exists between           
earth-bound souls and souls freed from  
such bondage4  ,there are1 it is well   
known1 many theologians who sternly deny
 any such further development of man's  
spiritual part1 and insist upon looking 
at this life as the only time of        
probation accorded to him1 at the end of
 which immediate and eternal judgment is
 rendered4 ,their views are entitled to 
the utmost consideration and respect4   
,but different opinions are entertained 
by some of their brethren1 not less     
eminent in piety1 profound learning1 and
 critical acumen1 and hence at least    

equally deserving of being attentively  
listened to and carefully regarded4 ,so 
it is also with the belief in the       
possibility of holding intercourse with 
disembodied spirits4 ,superficial       
observers are ready to doubt or to deny1
 to sneer haughtily1 or to scoff        
contemptuously4 ,but men of great       
eminence have1 from time immemorial1    
treated the question with great         
attention and deep interest4            
,melanchthon wrote3 ,i have myself seen 
ghosts1 and know many trustworthy people
 who affirm that they have not only seen
 them1 but even carried on conversations
 with them 7,de ,anima ,recogn43        
,wittemb4 #aeie1 p4 #cag71 and ,luther  
said nearly the same2 ,calvin and ,knox 
also expressed similar convictions4 ,a  
faith which has lasted through all ages 
of man's history1 and has such          
supporters1 cannot but have some        
foundation1 and deserves full           
investigation4 ,alchemy1 with its       
visionary hopes1 contained1             

nevertheless1 the germ of modern        
chemistry1 and astrology taught already 
much that constitutes the astronomy of  
our day4 ,the same is1 no doubt1 the    
case with ,modern ,magic1 and here1     
also1 we may safely expect to find that 
out of darkness cometh light4           
,,contents4     ,i4   ,,witchcraft      
#ac    ,,ii4   ,,black ,,and ,,white    
,,magic      #dc    ,,iii4   ,,dreams   
#id    ,,iv4   ,,visions                
#aaf    ,v4   ,,ghosts                  
#aee    ,,vi4   ,,divination            
#bgj    ,,vii4   ,,possession           
#cdj    ,,viii4   ,,magnetism           
#cgf    ,,ix4   ,,miraculous ,,cures    
#dbi    ,x4   ,,mysticism               
#ddh     ,,modern ,,magic4     ,i4      
,,witchcraft4      ,witchcraft is an    
illegitimate miracle2 a miracle is      
legitimate     witchcraft4              
--,,jacob ,,boehme4   ,perhaps in no    
direction has the human mind ever shown 
greater weakness than in the opinions   
entertained of witchcraft4 ,if ,hecate1 

the oldest patroness of witches1        
wandered about at night with a gruesome 
following1 and frightened lovers at     
their stealthy meeting1 or lonely       
wanderers on open heaths and in dark    
forests1 her appearance was at least in 
keeping with the whole system of ,greek 
mythology4 ,tacitus does not frighten us
 by telling us that witches used to meet
 at salt springs 7,ann4 xiii4 #eg71 nor 
the ,edda when speaking of the bearers  
of witches' kettles1 against whom even  
the ,salic ,law warns all good          
,christians4 ,but when the ,council of  
,ancyra1 in the fifth century1          
fulminates its edicts against women     
riding at night upon weird animals in   
company with ,diana and ,herodias1 the  
strange combination of names and the    
dread penalties threatened1 make us     
almost think of witches as of real and  
most marvelous beings4 ,and when wise   
councillors of ,french ,parliaments and 
gray dignitaries of the ,holy ,german   
,empire sit in judgment over a handful  

of poor old women1 when great ,english  
bishops and zealous ,new ,england       
divines condemn little children to      
death1 because they have made pacts with
 the ,devil1 attended his sabbaths1 and 
bewitched their peaceful neighbors--then
 we stand amazed at the delusions1 to   
which the wisest and best among us are  
liable4  ,christianity1 it is true1 shed
 for a time such a bright light over the
 earth1 that the works of darkness were 
abhorred and the power of the ,evil ,one
 seemed to be broken1 according to the  
sacred promises that the seed of woman  
should bruise the serpent's head4 ,thus 
,charlemagne1 in his fierce edict issued
 after the defeat of the ,saxons1       
ordered that death should be inflicted  
on all who after pagan manner gave way  
to devilish delusions1 and believed that
 men or women could be witches1         
persecuted and killed them2 or1 even    
went so far as to consume their flesh   
and give it to others for like purposes6
 ,but almost at the same time the belief

 in the ,devil1 distinctly maintained in
 ,holy ,writ1 spread far and wide1 and  
as early as the fourth century diseases 
were ascribed not to organic causes1 but
 to demoniac influences1 and the ,devil 
was once more seen bodily walking to and
 fro on the earth1 accompanied by a host
 of smaller demons4 ,it was but rarely  
that a truly enlightened man dared to   
combat the universal superstition4 ,thus
 ,agobard1 archbishop of ,lyons1 shines 
like a bright star on the dark sky of   
the ninth century by his open           
denunciation of all belief in           
possession1 in the control of the       
weather or the decision of difficulties 
by ordeal4 ,for like reasons we ought to
 revere the memory of ,john of          
,salisbury1 who in the twelfth century  
declared the stories of nightly         
assemblies of witches1 with all their   
attending circumstances1 to be mere     
delusions of poor women and simple men1 
who fancied they saw bodily what existed
 only in their imagination4 ,the ,church

 hesitated1 now requiring her children  
to believe in a ,devil and demons1 and  
now denouncing all faith in supernatural
 beings4 ,the thirteenth century1 by    
,leibnitz called the darkest of all1    
developed the worship of the ,evil ,one 
to its fullest perfection2 the writings 
of ,st4 ,augustine were quoted as       
confirming the fact that demons and men 
could and did intermarry1 and the       
,djinns of the ,east were mentioned as  
spirits who sought the daughters of men 
for wives4 ,the first trace of a        
witches' dance is found in the records  
of a fearful ,auto-da-fe held in        
,toulouse in the year #acec1 and about a
 century later the ,dominican monk1     
,jaquier1 published the first complete  
work on witches and witchcraft4 ,he     
represented them as organised--after the
 prevailing fashion of the day--in a    
regular guild1 with apprentices1        
companions1 and masters1 who practised a
 special art for a definite purpose4 ,it
 is certainly most remarkable that the  

same opinion1 in all its details1 has   
been entertained in this century even1  
and by one of the most famous ,german   
philosophers1 ,eschenmayer4 ,while the  
zeal and madness of devil-worshippers   
were growing on one side1 persecution   
became more violent and cruel on the    
other side1 till the trials of witches  
assumed gigantic proportions and the    
proceedings were carried on according to
 a regular method4 ,these trials        
originated1 invariably1 with            
theologians1 and although the system was
 not begun by the ,papal government it  
obtained soon the ,pope's legal sanction
 by the famous bull of ,innocent        
,,viii41 ,summis desiderantes1 dated    
,december #d1 #adhd1 and decreeing the  
relentless persecution of all heretical 
witches4 ,the far-famed ,malleus        
maleficatum 7,cologne1 #adhi71 written  
by the two celebrated judges of witches1
 ,sprenger and ,gremper1 and full of the
 most extraordinary views and           
statements1 reduced the whole to a      

regular method1 and obtained a vast     
influence over the minds of that age4   
,the rules and forms it prescribed were 
not only observed in almost all parts of
 ,christendom1 but actually retained    
their force and legality till the end of
 the seventeenth century4 ,nor were     
these views and practices confined to   
,catholic countries2 a hundred and fifty
 years after the ,reformation1 a great  
,german jurist and a ,protestant1       
,carpzon1 published his ,praxis         
,criminalis1 in which precisely the same
 opinions were taught and the same      
measures were prescribed4 ,the          
,puritans1 it is well-known1 pursued a  
similar plan1 and the ,new ,world has   
not been more fortunate in avoiding     
these errors than the ,old ,world4 ,a   
curious feature in the above-mentioned  
works is the fact that both abound in   
expressions of hatred against the female
 sex1 and still more curious1 though    
disgraceful in the extreme1 that the    
special animosity shown by judges of    

witchcraft against women is solely based
 upon the weight which they attached to 
the purport of the ,mosaic inhibition3  
,thou shalt not suffer a witch to live  
7,exodus xii4 #ah74  ,these are dark    
pages in the history of ,christendom1   
blackened by the smoke of funeral piles 
and stained with the blood of countless 
victims of cruel superstition4 ,for here
 the peculiarity was that in the        
majority of cases not the humble        
sufferers whose lives were sacrificed1  
but the haughty judges were the true    
criminals4 ,the madness seems to have   
been contagious1 for ,protestant        
authorities were as bloodthirsty as     
,catholics2 the ,inquisition waged for  
generations unceasing war against this  
new class of heretics among the nations 
of the ,romanic race4 ,germany saw great
 numbers sacrificed in a short space of 
time1 and in sober ,england1 even1 three
 thousand lost their lives during the   
,long ,parliament alone1 while1         
according to ,barrington1 the whole     

number who perished amounted to not less
 than thirty thousand6 ,if only few were
 sacrificed in ,new ,england1 the       
exception was due more to the sparse    
population than to moderation2 in ,south
 ,america1 on the contrary1 the         
persecution was carried on with         
relentless cruelty4 ,and all this       
happened while fierce war was raging    
almost everywhere1 so that1 while the   
sword destroyed the men1 the fire       
consumed the women6 ,occasionally most  
startling contrasts would be exhibited  
by different governments4 ,in the       
,north1 ,james ,i41 claiming to be as   
wise as ,solomon1 and more learned than 
any man in ,christendom1 imagined that  
he was persecuted by the ,evil ,one on  
account of his great religious zeal1 and
 saw in every ,catholic an instrument of
 his adversary4 ,his wild fancy was     
cunningly encouraged by those who       
profited by his tyranny1 and ,catholics 
were represented as being1 one and all1 
given up to the ,devil1 the mass and    

witchcraft1 the three unholy allies     
opposed to the ,trinity6 ,in the ,south1
 the ,republic of ,venice1 with all its 
petty tyranny and proverbial political  
cruelty1 stood almost alone in all      
,christendom as opposed to persecutions 
of wizards and witches1 and fought the  
battle manfully on the side of          
enlightenment and ,christian charity4   
,the horrors of witch-trials soon       
reached a height which makes us blush   
for humanity4 ,the accused were tortured
 till they confessed their guilt1 so    
that they might lose not only life upon 
earth1 but also hope for eternity4 ,if1 
under torture1 they declared themselves 
innocent1 but ready to confess their    
guilt and to die1 they were told that in
 such a case they would die with a      
falsehood on their lips1 and thus       
forfeit salvation4 ,some of the         
sufferers were found to have a stigma on
 their bodies1 a place where the nerves 
had been paralysed1 and no pain was     
consequently felt--this was a sure sign 

of their being witches1 and they were   
forthwith burnt2 if they had no such    
stigma1 the judge decided that the      
,devil marked only his doubtful         
adherents1 and left his trusty followers
 unmarked6 ,the terror became so great  
that in the seventeenth century         
repentant witches abounded1 because it  
had become customary merely to hang or  
to decapitate those who confessed1 while
 all others were burned alive4 ,hundreds
 suffering of painful diseases or       
succumbing to unbearable privations1    
forthwith fancied themselves bewitched1 
or actually sought relief from the ills 
of this life by voluntarily appearing   
before the numerous tribunals for the   
trial of witchcraft4 ,the minds of men  
were so thoroughly blinded1 that even   
when husbands testified the             
impossibility of their wives having     
attended the witches' sabbath1 because  
they had been lying all night by their  
side in bed1 they were told1 and quite  
ready to believe1 that a phantom had    

taken the place of their absent wives6  
,in one of the most famous trials five  
women confessed1 after suffering        
unspeakable torture1 that they had      
disinterred an infant1 the child of one 
of their number1 and supped upon it with
 the ,devil2 the father of the child    
persevered till the grave was opened1   
and behold1 the child's body was there  
unharmed6 ,but the judges declared it to
 be a phantom sent by the ,evil ,one1   
since the confession of the criminals   
was worth more than mere ocular proof1  
and the women were burnt accordingly4   
7,horst4 ,demonomagie1 i4 p4 #cdi47 ,the
 most signal proof of the absurdity of  
all such charges was obtained in our own
 country4 ,here the number of those who 
complained of being plagued and injured 
by demoniac agencies became larger in   
precise proportion as trials increased  
and condemnations succeeded4 ,but when  
nineteen of the accused had been        
executed1 and the judges becoming       
appalled at the daily growing number of 

complaints1 set some of the prisoners   
free1 and declined to arrest others1    
there was suddenly an end of these      
grievances1 no more accounts of         
enchantment and witchcraft were heard1  
and soon the evil disappeared entirely4 
,it was a similar return to reason which
 at last led in ,europe also to a       
reaction4 ,the ,doge of ,venice and the 
,great ,council appealed to the pope1   
,leo ,x41 to put a curb upon the        
intemperate zeal of his ministers1 and  
he saw himself forced to check the      
merciless persecution4 ,occasionally    
voices had been raised1 already before  
that public appeal1 condemning such     
wholesale slaughter2 among these were   
men like ,bacon of ,verulam1 ,reginald  
,scotus1 and1 marvel of marvels1 two    
famous ,jesuits1 ,tanner and ,spee4 ,and
 yet even these merciful and enlightened
 men never1 for a moment1 doubted the   
genuineness of witchcraft and its fatal 
effects4 ,father ,spee1 a most learned  
man1 writing against the ceaseless      

persecutions of pretended witches1      
nevertheless declared1 in #afca1 in his 
renowned ,cautio criminalis1 by far the 
best work written on that side of the   
question1 that there are in the world   
some few wizards and enchanters1 which  
could not be denied by any body without 
frivolity and great ignorance1 and even 
,bayle1 while condemning the cruelty of 
witches' trials1 seriously proposes to  
punish witches for their ill-will4      
,vaude1 the well-known librarian of     
,cardinal ,mazarin1 wrote an able work  
as an apology of all the great men who  
had been suspected of witchcraft1       
including even ,clemens ,v41 ,sylvester 
,,ii41 and other popes1 and a renowned  
,capuchin monk1 d',autun1 pursued the   
same subject with infinite subtlety of  
thought and great happiness of diction  
in his ,l'incredulite savante et la     
credulite ignorante4 ,a witch was1      
however1 still condemned to be burned in
 #afih1 in ,germany2 fortunately the    
judge1 a distinguished jurist of the    

,university of ,halle1 was remonstrated 
with by an esteemed colleague1 and thus 
induced to examine himself as well as   
the whole grievous subject with         
unsparing candor4 ,this led him to see  
clearly the error involved in trials of 
witchcraft1 and he wrote1 in #agja1 a   
most valuable and influential work      
against the ,crime of ,magic4 ,he       
succeeded1 especially1 in destroying the
 enormous prestige heretofore enjoyed by
 ,del ,rio's great work ,disquisitiones 
magicae1 the favorite hand-book of      
judges of all lands1 which was even     
adopted1 though from the pen of a       
,jesuit1 by the ,protestants of         
,germany4 ,in no case1 however1 were the
 personal existence of the ,devil1 and  
his activity upon earth1 denied by these
 writers2 on the contrary1 it is well   
known that ,luther1 ,melanchthon1 and   
even ,calvin1 continued always to speak 
of ,satan as having a corporeal         
existence and as being perceptible to   
human senses4 ,the negation contended   

for applied only to his direct agency in
 the physical world2 his moral influence
 was ever readily admitted4 ,sporadic   
cases of witchcraft1 and their trial by 
high courts of justice1 have continued  
to occur down to our day4 ,maria        
,theresa was the first peremptorily to  
forbid any further persecutions on      
account of ,veneficium1 as it had become
 the fashion to call the acts of magic  
by which men or beasts were said to be  
injured4 ,there are1 however1 writers   
who maintain1 in this century1 and in   
our generation1 even1 the direct agency 
of the ,devil in daily life1 and see in 
demoniac sufferings the punishment of   
the wicked in this life already4  ,the  
question of how much truth there may    
have been in this belief in witchcraft1 
held by so many nations1 and persevered 
in during so many centuries1 has never  
yet been fully answered4 ,it is hardly  
to be presumed that during this long    
period all men1 even the wisest and     
subtlest1 should have been completely   

blinded or utterly demented4 ,many      
historians as well as philosophers have 
looked upon witchcraft as a mere        
creation of the ,inquisition4 ,rome1    
they argue1 was in great danger1 she had
 no new dogma to proclaim which would   
give food to inquiring minds1 and       
increase the prestige of her power2 she 
was growing unpopular in many countries 
heretofore considered most faithful and 
submissive1 and she was engaged in      
various dangerous conflicts with the    
secular powers4 ,in this embarrassment  
her ,inquisitors looked around for some 
means of escape1 and thought a remedy   
might be found in this new combination  
of the two traditional crimes of heresy 
and enchantment4 ,witchcraft1 as a      
crime1 because of the deeds of violence 
with which it was almost invariably     
associated1 belonged before the tribunal
 of the secular judge2 as a sin it was  
to be punished by the bishop1 but as    
heresy it fell1 according to the custom 
of the day1 to the share of neither     

judge nor bishop1 but into the hands of 
the ,inquisition4  ,the extreme         
uniformity of witchcraft from the ,tagus
 to the ,vistula1 and in ,new ,england  
as in ,old ,england1 is adduced as an   
additional evidence of its having been  
manufactured by the ,inquisition4       
,nothing is gained1 however1 by looking 
upon it as a mere invention2 nor would  
such an explanation apply to the wizards
 and witches who are repeatedly         
mentioned and condemned in ,holy ,writ4 
,witchcraft was neither purely          
artificial1 a mere delusion1 nor can it 
be accounted for upon a purely natural  
basis4 ,the essential part in it is the 
magic force1 which does not belong to   
the natural but to the spiritual part of
 man4 ,hence it is not so very          
surprising1 as many authors have thought
 it1 that thousands of poor women should
 have done their best to obtain visions 
which only led to imprisonment1 torture1
 and death by fire1 while they procured 
for them apparently neither comfort nor 

wealth1 but only pain1 horror1 and      
disgrace4 ,for there was mixed up with  
all this a sensation of pleasure1 vague 
and wild1 though it was in conformity   
with the rude and coarse habits of the  
age4 ,it is the same with the opium     
eater and hasheesh smoker1 only in a    
more moderate manner2 the delight these 
pernicious drugs afford is not seen1 but
 the disease1 the suffering1 and the    
wretched death they produce1 are visible
 enough4 ,the stories of witches'       
sabbaths taking place on certain days of
 the year1 arose no doubt from the fact 
that the prevailing superstition of the 
times regarded some seasons as          
peculiarly favorable for the ceremony of
 anointing one's self with narcotic     
salves1 and this led to a kind of       
spiritual community on such nights1     
which to the poor deluded people        
appeared as a real meeting at appointed 
places4 ,in like manner there was       
nothing absolutely absurd or impossible 
in the idea of a compact with the       

,devil4 ,satan presented himself to the 
minds of men in those ages as the bodily
 incarnation of all that is evil and    
sinful1 and hence when they fancied they
 made a league with him1 they only      
aroused the evil principle within       
themselves to its fullest energy and    
activity4 ,it was in fact the selfish1  
covetous nature of man1 ever in arms    
against moral laws and the commandments 
of ,god1 which in these cases became    
distinctly visible and presented itself 
in the form of a vision4 ,this evil     
principle1 now relieved from all        
constraint and able to develop its power
 against a feebly resisting soul1 would 
naturally destroy the poor deluded      
victim1 in body and in spirit4 ,hence   
the trials of witchcraft had at least   
some justification1 however unwise their
 form and however atrocious their       
abuses4 ,the majority of the crimes with
 which the so-called witches were       
charged1 were no doubt imaginary2 but   
many of the accused also had taken real 

delight in their evil practices and in  
the grievous injury they had done to    
those they hated or envied4 ,nor must it
 be forgotten that the age in which     
these trials mainly occurred was        
emphatically an age of superstition2    
from the prince on his throne to the    
clown in his hut1 everybody learnt and  
practiced some kind of magic2 the ablest
 statesmen and the subtlest             
philosophers1 the wisest divines and the
 most learned physicians1 all were more 
or less adepts of the ,black ,art1 and  
many among them became eminently        
dangerous to their fellow-beings4       
,others1 ceaselessly meditating and     
brooding over charms and demoniac       
influences1 finally came to believe in  
their own powers of enchantment1 and    
confessed their guilt1 although they had
 sinned only by volition1 without ever  
being able really to call forth and     
command magic powers4 ,still others     
labored under a regular panic and saw   
witchcraft in the simplest events as    

well as in all more unusual phenomena in
 nature4 ,a violent tempest1 a sudden   
hailstorm1 or an unusual rise in rivers1
 all were at once attributed to magic   
influences1 and the authorities urged   
and importuned to prevent a recurrence  
with all its disastrous consequences by 
punishing the guilty authors4 ,has not  
the same insane fury been frequently    
shown in contagious diseases1 when the  
common people believed their fountains  
poisoned and their daily bread infected 
by ,jews or other suspected classes1 and
 promptly took justice into their own   
hands8 ,it ought also to be borne in    
mind1 as an apology for the horrible    
crimes committed by judges and priests  
in condemning witches1 that in their    
eyes the crime was too enormous and the 
danger too pressing and universal to    
admit of delay in investigation1 or     
mercy in judgment4 ,the severe laws of  
those semi-barbarous times were         
immediately applied and all means       
considered fair in eliciting the truth4 

,torture was by no means limited to     
trials of witches1 for some of the      
greatest statesmen and the most exalted 
divines had alike to endure its terrors4
 ,moreover no age has been entirely free
 from similar delusions1 although the   
form under which they appear and the    
power by which they may be supported1   
differ naturally according to the spirit
 of the times4 ,science alone cannot    
protect us against fanaticism1 if the   
heart is once led astray1 and fearful   
crimes have been committed not only in  
the name of ,liberty but even under the 
sanction of the ,cross4 ,basil the      
,great already restored a slave ad      
integrum1 who said he had made a pact   
with the ,devil1 but the first authentic
 account of such a transaction occurs in
 connection with an ,imperial officer1  
,theophilus of ,adana1 in the days of   
,justinian4 ,his bishop had undeservedly
 humiliated him and thus aroused in the 
heart of the naturally meek man intense 
wrath and a boundless desire of revenge4

 ,while he was in this state of         
uncontrollable excitement1 a ,jew       
appeared and offered to procure for him 
all he wanted1 if he would pledge his   
soul to ,satan4 ,the unhappy man        
consented1 and was at once led to the   
circus where he saw a great number of   
torch-bearers in white robes1 the       
costume of servants of the church1 and  
,satan seated in the midst of the       
assembly4 ,he obeyed the order to       
renounce ,christ and certified his      
apostacy in a written document4 ,the    
next day already the bishop repented of 
his injustice and restored ,theophilus  
in his office1 whereupon the ,jew       
pointed out to him how promptly his     
master had come to his assistance4      
,still1 repentance comes to ,theophilus 
also1 and in a new revelation the       
,virgin appears to the despairing man   
after incessant prayer of forty days and
 nights--a fit preparation for such a   
vision4 ,she directs him to perform     
certain atoning ceremonies and promises 

him restoration to his ,christian       
privileges1 which he finally obtains by 
finding the certificate of his apostasy 
lying on his breast1 and then dies in a 
state of happy relief4 ,after that      
similar cases of a league being made    
with ,satan occur quite frequently in   
the history of saints and eminent men1  
till the belief in its efficacy         
gradually died out and recent efforts   
like those recorded by ,goerres 7,,iii4 
p4 #fbj7 have proved utterly fruitless4 
,among the magic phenomena connected    
with witchcraft1 none is more curious   
than the so-called witches' sabbath1 the
 formal meeting of all who are in league
 with ,satan1 for the purpose of        
swearing allegiance to him1 to enjoy    
unholy delights1 and to introduce       
neophytes4 ,that no such meeting ever   
really took place1 need hardly be       
stated4 ,the so-called sabbaths were    
somnambulistic visions1 appearing to    
poor deluded creatures while in a state 
of trance1 which they had produced by   

narcotic ointments1 vile decoctions1 or 
even mere mental effort4 ,for the most  
skillful among the witches could cause  
themselves to fall into the ,witches'   
,sleep1 as they called this trance1     
whenever they chose2 others had to      
submit to tedious and often abominable  
ceremonies4 ,the knowledge of simples1  
which was then very general1 was of     
great service to cunning impostors2 thus
 it was well known that certain herbs1  
like aconite1 produce in sleep the      
sensation of flying1 and they were1 of  
course1 diligently employed4 ,hyosciamus
 and taxus1 hypericum and asafoetida    
were great favorites1 and physicians    
made experiments with these salves to   
try their effect upon the system4       
,laguna1 for instance1 physician to     
,pope ,julius ,,iii41 once applied an   
ointment which he had obtained from a   
wizard1 to a woman1 who thereupon fell  
into a sleep of thirty-six hours'       
duration1 and upon being aroused1       
bitterly complained of his cruelty in   

tearing her from the embraces of her    
husband4 ,the ,marquis d',agent tells us
 in his ,lettres ,juifs 7i4 l4 #bj71    
that the celebrated ,gassendi discovered
 a drug which a shepherd used to take   
whenever he wished to go to a witches'  
assembly4 ,he won the man's confidence1 
and1 pretending to join him in his      
journey1 persuaded him to swallow the   
medicine in his presence4 ,after a few  
minutes1 the shepherd began to stagger  
like an intoxicated person1 and then    
fell into profound sleep1 during which  
he talked wildly4 ,when he roused       
himself again many hours afterwards1 he 
congratulated the physician on the good 
reception he had met at ,satan's court1 
and recalled with delight the pleasant  
things they had jointly seen and        
enjoyed6 ,the symptoms of the witches'  
sleep differ1 however2 while the latter 
is1 in some cases1 deep and unbroken1 in
 other cases the sleepers become rigid  
and icy cold1 or they are subject to    
violent spasms and utter unnatural      

sounds in abundance4 ,the sleep differs1
 moreover1 from that of possessed people
 in the consciousness of bodily pain    
which bewitched people retain1 while the
 possessed become insensible4           
,invariably the impression is produced  
that they meet kindred spirits at some  
great assembly1 but the manner of       
reaching it differs greatly4 ,some go on
 foot2 but as ,abaris already rode on a 
spear given to him by ,apollo           
7,iamblichus ,de ,vita1 ,pyth4 c4 #ah71 
others ride on goats4 ,in ,germany a    
broomstick1 a club1 or a distaff1 became
 suitable vehicles1 provided they had   
been properly anointed4 ,in ,scotland   
and ,sweden the chimney is the favorite 
road1 in other countries no such        
preference is shown over doors and      
windows4 ,the expedition1 however joyous
 it may be1 is always very fatiguing1   
and when the revellers awake they feel  
like people who have been dissipated4   
,the meetings differ in locality        
according to size3 whole provinces      

assemble on high1 isolated mountains1   
among which the ,brocken1 in the ,hartz 
,mountains1 is by far the most renowned2
 smaller companies meet near gloomy     
churches or under dark trees with       
wide-spreading branches4  ,in the north 
of ,europe the favorite resort is the   
,blue ,mountain1 popularly known as     
,blokulla1 in ,sweden1 and as ,blakalla 
in ,norway1 an isolated rock in the sea 
between ,smoland and ,oland1 which seems
 to have had some association in the    
minds of the people with the ancient    
sea-goddess ,blakylle4 ,in ,italy the   
witches loved to assemble under the     
famous walnut tree near ,benevent1 which
 was already to the ,longobards an      
object of superstitious veneration1     
since here1 in ancient times1 the old   
divinities were worshipped1 and         
afterwards the strighe were fond of     
meeting4 ,in ,france they had a favorite
 resort on the ,puy de ,dome1 near      
,clermont1 and in ,spain on the sands   
near ,seville1 where the hechizeras held

 their sabbaths4 ,the ,hekla1 of        
,iceland1 also passes with the          
,scandinavians for a great meeting-place
 of witches1 although1 strangely enough1
 the inhabitants of the island have no  
such tradition4 ,it is1 however1 clear  
that in all countries where witchcraft  
prospered1 the favorite places of       
meeting were always the same as those to
 which1 in ancient times1 the heathens  
had made pilgrimages in large numbers1  
in order to perform their sacrifices1   
and to enjoy their merry-makings4  ,in  
precisely the same manner the favorite  
seasons for these ghastly meetings      
correspond almost invariably with the   
times of high festivals held in heathen 
days1 and hence1 they were generally    
adopted by the early ,christians1 with  
the feast and saints' days of           
,christendom4 ,thus the old ,germans    
observed1 when they were still pagans1  
the first of ,may for two reasons3 as a 
day of solemn judgment1 and as a season 
for rejoicing1 during which prince and  

peasant joined in celebrating the return
 of summer with merry songs and gay     
dances around the ,may-pole4 ,the       
witches were nothing loth to adopt the  
day for their own festivities also1 and 
added it to the holidays of ,st4 ,john  
the ,baptist and ,st4 ,bartholomew1 on  
which1 in like manner1 anciently the    
holding of public courts had brought    
together large assemblies4 ,the         
meetings1 however1 must always fall upon
 a ,thursday1 from a determined1 though 
yet unexplained association of          
witchcraft with the old ,german god of  
thunder1 ,donar1 who was worshipped on  
the ,blocksberg1 and to whom a goat was 
sacrificed--whence also the peculiar    
fondness of witches for that animal4    
,the hours of meeting are invariably    
from eleven o'clock at night to one or  
two in the morning4  ,the assembly      
consists1 according to circumstances1 of
 a few hundred or of several thousands1 
but the female sex always largely       
prevails4 ,for this fact the famous     

text-book of judges of witchcraft1 the  
,malleus1 assigned not less than four   
weighty reasons4 ,women1 it said1 are   
more apt to be addicted to the fearful  
crime than men because1 in the first    
place1 they are more credulous2         
secondly1 in their natural weakness they
 are more susceptible2 thirdly1 they are
 more imprudent and rash1 and hence     
always ready to consult the ,devil1 and 
fourthly and mainly1 femina comes from  
fe1 faith and minus1 less1 hence they   
have less faith6  ,the guests appear    
generally in their natural form1 but at 
times they are represented as assuming  
the shape of various animals2 the       
,devil's followers having a decided     
preference for goats and for monkeys1   
although the latter is a passion of more
 recent date4 ,the crowd is naturally in
 a state of incessant flowing and       
ebbing2 the constant coming and going1  
crowding and pressing admits of not a   
moment's quiet and even here it is      
proven that the wicked have neither rest

 nor peace4  ,among this crowd flocks   
are seen1 consisting of toads and       
watched over by boys and girls2 in the  
centre sits ,satan on a stone1 draped in
 weird majesty1 with terrible but       
indistinct features1 and uttering short 
commands with an appalling voice of     
unnatural and unheard of music4 ,a queen
 in great splendor may sit by his side1 
promoted to the throne from a place     
among the guests4 ,countless demons1    
attending to all kinds of extraordinary 
duties1 surround their master2 or1 dash 
through the crowd scattering indecent   
words and gestures in all directions4   
,english witches meet1 also1 innumerable
 kittens on the ,sabbath and show the   
scars of wounds inflicted by the        
malicious animals4 ,every visitor must  
pay his homage to the lord of the feast1
 which is done in an unmentionable      
manner2 and yet they receive nothing in 
return--according to their unanimous    
confessions--except unfulfilled promises
 and delusive presents4 ,even the dishes

 on the table are but shams2 there is   
neither salt nor bread to be found      
there4 ,they are bound1 besides1 to     
pledge themselves to the performance of 
a certain number of wicked works1 which 
are distributed over the week1 so that  
the first days are devoted to ordinary  
sins and the last to crimes of special  
horror4 ,music of surpassing weirdness  
is heard on all sides1 and countless    
couples whirl about in restless1 obscene
 dances2 the couples joining back to    
back and trying in vain to see each     
other's faces4 ,very often young        
children are brought up by their mothers
 to be presented to the ,master2 when   
this is done1 they are set to attend the
 flocks of toads till the ninth year1   
when they are called up by the ,queen to
 abjure their ,christian faith and are  
regularly enrolled among witches4  ,the 
descriptions of minor details vary1 of  
course according to the individual      
dispositions of the accused1 whose      
confessions are invariably uniform as to

 the facts stated heretofore4 ,the      
coarser minds naturally see nothing but 
the grossest indecency and the vilest   
indulgences1 while to more refined minds
 the apparent occurrences appear in a   
light of greater delicacy2 they hear    
sweet music and witness nothing but     
gentle affection and brotherly love4    
,but in all cases these witches'        
sabbaths become a passion with the poor 
deluded creatures2 they enjoy there a   
paradise of delight1--whether they      
really indulge in sensual pleasure or   
surrender mind and will so completely to
 the unhallowed power that they cease to
 wish for anything else1 and are plunged
 in vague1 unspeakable pleasure4 ,and   
yet not even the simple satisfaction of 
good looks is granted them2 witches are 
as ugly as angels are fair2 they emit an
 evil odor and inspire others with      
unconquerable repugnance4  ,how         
exclusively all these descriptions of   
witches' sabbaths have their origin in  
the imagination of the deluded women is 

seen from the fact that they vary       
consistently with the prevailing notions
 of those by whom they are entertained2 
with coarse peasants1 the meetings are  
rude feasts full of obscene enjoyments2 
with noble knights1 they become the     
rovings of the wild huntsman1 or a      
hellish court under the guise of a      
,venus' mountain2 with ascetic monks and
 nuns1 a subterranean convent filled    
with vile blasphemies of ,god and the   
saints4 ,this only is common to all such
 visions1 that they are always conceived
 in a spirit of bitter antagonism to the
 ,church3 all the doctrines not only but
 also the ceremonies of the latter are  
here travestied4 ,the sabbath has its   
masses1 but the host is desecrated1 its 
holy water obtained from the lord of the
 feast2 its host and its candles are    
black1 and the ,ite missa est of the    
dismissing priest is changed into3 ,go  
to the ,devil6 ,here1 also1 confession  
is required2 but1 the penitent confesses
 having omitted to do evil and being    

guilty of occasional acts of mercy and  
goodness2 the penalty imposed is to     
neglect one or the other of the twelve  
commandments4  ,when witches were       
brought to trial1 one of the first      
measures was to search for special marks
 which were believed to betray their    
true character4 ,these were especially  
the so-called witches' moles1 spots of  
the size of a pea1 on which for some    
reason or other the nerves had lost     
their sensibility1 and where1 in        
consequence1 no pain was felt4 ,these   
were supposed to have been formed by    
being punctured1 the ,evil ,one         
performing the operation with a pin of  
false gold1 with his claws or his horns4
 ,other evidences were found in the     
peculiar coloring of the eyes1 which was
 said to represent the feet of toads2 in
 the absence of tears when the little   
gland had been injured1 and1 above all1 
in the specific lightness of the body4  
,in order to ascertain the latter the   
accused were bound hand and foot        

crosswise1 tied loosely to a rope1 and  
then1 three times1 dropped into the     
water4 ,if they remained floating their 
guilt was established2 for either they  
had been endowed by their ,master with  
safety from drowning1 or the water      
refused to receive them because they had
 abjured their baptism6 ,it need not be 
added that the executioners soon found  
out ways to let their prisoners float or
 sink as they chose--for a              
consideration4  ,witches' trials began  
in the earliest days of ,christianity1  
for the ,emperor ,valens ordered1 as we 
learn from ,ammianus ,marcellinus1 all  
the wizards and enchanters to be held to
 account who had endeavored by magic art
 to ascertain his successor4 ,several   
thousands were accused of witchcraft1   
but the charge was then1 as in almost   
every later age1 in most cases nothing  
more than a pretext for proceedings     
against obnoxious persons4 ,the next    
monster process1 as it began to be      
called already in those early days1 was 

the persecution of witches in ,france   
under the ,merovingians4 ,the child of  
,chilperic's wife had died suddenly and 
under suspicious circumstances1 which   
led to the imprisonment of a prefect1   
,mummolus1 whom the queen had long      
pursued with her hatred4 ,he was accused
 of having caused her son's death by his
 charms1 and was subjected to fearful   
tortures in company with a number of old
 women4 ,still1 he confessed nothing but
 that the latter had furnished him with 
certain drugs and ointments which were  
to secure to him the favor of the king  
and the queen4 ,a later trial of this   
kind1 in which for a time calm reason   
made a firm stand against superstition1 
but finally succumbed ingloriously1 is  
known as the ,vaudoisie1 and took place 
in ,arras in #adei4 ,it was begun by a  
,count d',estampes1 but was mainly      
conducted by a bishop and some eminent  
divines of his acquaintance1 whose      
inordinate zeal and merciless cruelty   
have secured to the proceedings a       

peculiarly painful memory in the annals 
of the church4 ,a large number of       
perfectly innocent men and women were   
tortured and disgracefully executed1 but
 fortunately the death of the main      
persecutor1 ,du,blois1 made a sudden end
 to the existence of witchcraft in that 
province4 ,one of the most remarkable   
trials of this kind was caused by a     
number of little children1 and led to   
most bloody proceedings4 ,it seems that 
in the year #affi several boys and girls
 in the parish of ,mora1 one of the most
 beautiful parts of the ,swedish        
province of ,dalarne1 and famous through
 the memory of ,gustavus ,vasa and      
,gustavus ,,iii41 were affected by a    
nervous fever which left them1 after    
their partial recovery1 in a state of   
extreme irritability and sensitiveness4 
,they fell into fainting fits and had   
convulsions--symptoms which the simple  
but superstitious mountaineers gradually
 began to think inexplicable1 and hence 
to ascribe to magic influences4 ,the    

report spread that the poor children    
were bewitched1 and soon all the usual  
details of satanic possession were      
current4 ,the mountain called ,blakulla1
 in bad repute from of old1 was pointed 
out as the meeting-place of the witches1
 where the annual sabbath was           
celebrated1 and these children were     
devoted to ,satan4 ,church and ,state   
combined to bring their great power to  
bear upon the poor little ones1 an      
enormous number of women1 mostly the    
mothers of the young people1 were       
involved in the charges1 and finally    
fifty-two of the latter with fifteen    
children were publicly executed as      
witches1 while fifty of the younger were
 condemned to severe punishment6 ,more  
than three hundred unfortunate children 
under fourteen had made detailed        
confessions of the witches' sabbath and 
the ceremonies attending their          
initiation into its mysteries4 ,a       
similar fearful delusion took hold of   
,german children in ,wuertemberg1 when  

towards the end of the seventeenth      
century a large number of little boys   
and girls1 none of whom were older than 
ten years1 began to state that they were
 every night fetched away and carried to
 the witches' sabbath4 ,many were all   
the time fast asleep and could easily be
 roused1 but a few among them fell      
regularly into a trance1 during which   
their little bodies became cold and     
rigid4 ,a commission of great judges and
 experienced divines was sent to the    
village to investigate the matter1 and  
found at last that there was no         
imposture attempted1 but that the poor  
children firmly believed what they      
stated4 ,it became1 however1 evident    
that a few among them had listened to   
old women's tales about witches1 with   
eager ears1 and1 with inflamed          
imaginations1 retailed the account to   
others1 till a deep and painful nervous 
excitement took hold of their minds and 
rapidly spread through the community4   
,many of the children were1 as was      

natural at their age1 led by vanity to  
say that they also had been at the      
sabbath1 while others were afraid to    
deny what was so positively stated by   
their companions4 ,fortunately the      
commission consisted1 for once1 of      
sensible men who took the right view of 
the matter1 ordered a good whipping here
 and there1 and thus saved the land from
 the crime of another witches' trial4   
,our own experiences in ,new ,england1  
at the time when ,sir ,william ,phipps  
was governor of the colonies1 have been 
forcibly reported by the great ,cotton  
,mather4 ,nearly every community had its
 young men and women who were addicted  
to the practices of magic2 they loved to
 perform enchantments1 to consult sieves
 and turning keys1 and thus were        
gradually led to attempt more serious   
and more dangerous practices4 ,in       
,salem1 men and women of high standing  
and unimpeached integrity1 even pious   
members of the church1 were suddenly    
plagued and tortured by unknown         

agencies1 and at last a little black and
 yellow demon appeared to them1         
accompanied by a number of companions   
with human faces4 ,these apparitions    
presented to them a book which they were
 summoned to sign or at least to touch1 
and if they refused they were fearfully 
twisted and turned about1 pricked with  
pins1 burnt as if with hot irons1 bound 
hand and foot with invisible fetters1   
and carried away to great distances4    
,some were left unable to touch food or 
drink for many days2 others1 attempting 
to defend themselves against the demons1
 snatched a distaff or tore a piece of  
cloth from them1 and immediately these  
proofs of the real existence of the evil
 spirits became visible to the eyes of  
the bystanders4 ,the magic phenomena    
attending the disease were of the most  
extraordinary character4 ,several men   
stated that they had received poison    
because they declined to worship ,satan1
 and immediately all the usual sequences
 of such treatment appeared1 from simple

 vomiting to most fearful suffering1    
till counteracting remedies were        
employed and began to take effect4 ,in  
other cases the sufferers complained of 
burning rags being stuffed into their   
mouths1 and although nothing was seen1  
burnt places and blisters appeared1 and 
the odor and smoke of smouldering rags  
began to fill the room4 ,when they      
reported that they were branded with hot
 irons1 the marks showed themselves1    
suppuration took place1 and scars were  
formed which never again disappeared    
during life--and all these phenomena    
were watched by the eager eyes of       
hundreds4 ,the authorities1 of course1  
took hold of the matter1 and many       
persons of both sexes and all ages were 
brought to trial4 ,while they were      
tortured they continued to have visions 
of demoniac beings and possessed men and
 women2 when they were standing1        
blindfolded1 in court1 felt the approach
 of those by whom they pretended to be  
bewitched and plagued1 and urgently     

prayed to be delivered of their         
presence4 ,finally many were executed1  
not a few undoubtedly against all       
justice1 but the better sense of the    
authorities soon saw the futility1 if   
not the wickedness of such proceedings1 
and an end was made promptly1 witchcraft
 disappearing as soon as persecution    
relaxed and the sensation subsided4     
,similar trials have nevertheless       
continued to be held in various parts of
 ,europe during the whole of the last   
century1 and many innocent lives have   
been forfeited to this apparently       
ineradicable belief in witchcraft4 ,even
 after torture was abandoned in         
compliance with the wiser views of our  
age1 long imprisonment with its         
attending sufferings and great anxiety  
as to the issue1 proved fully sufficient
 to extort voluntary confessions1 which 
were1 of course1 of no value in         
themselves1 but served the purpose of   
keeping alive the popular superstition4 
,in #agbh a specially fearful trial of  

this kind took place in ,hungary1 during
 which nearly all the disgraceful scenes
 of mediaeval barbarity were reenacted1 
and which ended in a number of cruel    
executions4 ,the last witches' trial in 
,germany took place in #agdi1 when the  
mother-superior of a convent near       
,wuerzburg1 in ,bavaria1 known as ,emma 
,renata1 was condemned to be burnt1 but 
by the leniency of the authorities1 was 
allowed to die by decapitation4         
,switzerland was the scene of the last  
of these trials ever held1 for with this
 act of justice1 as it was called by the
 good people of ,glarus1 the persecution
 ended4  ,even in ,england1 however1 the
 feeling itself seems to have lingered  
long after actual trials had ceased4    
,thus it is well known that the terrible
 trial of witches held at ,marlboro1    
under ,queen ,elizabeth1 led to the     
establishment of a so-called witches'   
sermon to be delivered annually at      
,huntingdon1 and this custom was        
faithfully observed down to the latter  

part of the eighteenth century4 ,nearly 
about the same time--in #agdc--;an      
earnest effort was made in ,scotland to 
kindle once more the fire of fierce     
persecution4 ,in the month of ,february 
of that year1 the ,associate            
,presbytery1 in a public document       
addressed to the ,presbytery of the     
,seceded ,churches1 required for certain
 purposes a solemn acknowledgment of    
former sins1 and a vow to renounce them 
forever4 ,among these sins that austere 
body enumerated the abolition of the    
death penalty for witchcraft1 since the 
latter was forbidden in ,holy ,writ1 and
 the leniency which had taken the place 
of the former severity in punishing this
 crime1 had given an opening to ,satan  
to tempt and actually to seduce others  
by means of the same old accursed and   
dangerous snares4--7,edinb4 ,rev41 ,jan4
 #ahdg47     ,,ii4  ,,black ,,and       
,,white ,,magic4      ,peace6--the      
charm's wound up4      --,,macbeth4     
,the most startling of all scenes       

described in ,holy ,writ--as far as they
 represent incidents in human life--is1 
no doubt1 the mysterious interview      
between unfortunate ,king ,saul and the 
spirit of his former patron1 the prophet
 ,samuel4 ,the poor monarch1 abandoned  
by his friends and forsaken by his own  
heart1 turns in his utter wretchedness  
to those whom he had but shortly before 
put out of the land1 those godless      
people who had familiar spirits and the 
wizards4 ,hard pressed by the ancient   
enemy of his people1 the ,philistine1   
and unable to obtain an answer from the 
great ,god of his fathers1 he stoops to 
consult a witch1 a woman4 ,it seems that
 ,sedecla1 the daughter of the          
,decemdiabite--for so ,philo calls her  
according to ,des ,mousseaux--had       
escaped by her cunning from the fate of 
her weird sisters1 and1 having a        
familiar spirit1 foretold the future to 
curious enquirers at her dwelling in    
,endor4 ,at first she is unwilling to   
incur the penalty threatened in the     

king's decree1 but when the disguised   
monarch1 with a voice of authority      
promises her impunity1 she consents to  
bring up ,samuel4 ,as soon as the       
fearful phantom of the dread prophet    
appears1 she becomes instinctively aware
 of the true character of her visitor1  
and1 far more afraid of the power of the
 living than of the appearance of the   
departed1 she cries out trembling3 ,why 
hast thou deceived me8 ,thou art ,saul6 
,then follows the appalling scene in    
which ,samuel reproves the miserable1   
self-despairing king1 and foretells his 
death and that of his sons4  ,there can 
be no doubt that we have here before us 
an instance of genuine magic4 ,the woman
 was evidently capable of casting       
herself into a state of ecstasy1 in     
which she could at once look back into  
the past and forward into the future4   
,thus she beholds the great prophet1 not
 sent by ,god from on high1 as the ,holy
 ,fathers generally taught1 but         
according to the then prevailing belief1

 rising from ,sheol1 the place of       
departed spirits1 and then she utters1  
unconsciously1 his own words4 ,for it   
must not be overlooked that ,samuel     
makes no revelations1 but only repeats  
his former warnings4 ,saul learns       
absolutely nothing new from him2 he only
 hears the same threatenings which the  
prophet had pronounced twice before1    
when the reckless king had dared to     
sacrifice unto ,god with his own hand   
7,i4 ,sam4 xiii471 and when he had      
failed to smite the ,amalekite1 as he   
was bidden4 ,possessed1 as it were1 by  
the spirit of the living ,samuel1 the   
woman speaks as he had spoken in his    
lifetime1 and it is only when her state 
of exaltation renders her capable of    
looking into the future also1 that she  
assumes the part of a prophetess        
herself1 and foretells the approaching  
doom of her royal visitor4  ,that the   
whole dread scene was fore-ordained and 
could take place only by the will of the
 ,almighty1 alters nothing in the       

character of the woman with the familiar
 spirit4 ,it is a clear case of         
necromancy1 or conjuring up of the      
spirits of departed persons1 such as has
 been practised among men from time     
immemorial4 ,among the chosen people of 
,god persons were found from the        
beginning of their history who had      
familiar spirits1 and ,moses already    
fulminates his severest anathemas       
against these wizards 7,lev4 xx4 #bg74  
,they appear under various aspects1 as  
charmers1 as consulters of familiar     
spirits1 as wizards1 or as necromancers 
7,deut4 xviii4 #aa72 they are charged   
with passing their children through the 
fire1 with observing times              
7astrologers72 with using enchantments2 
or they are said in a general way to use
 witchcraft 7,,ii4 ,chron4 xxxiii4 #f74 
,that other nations were not less       
familiar with the art of evoking        
spirits1 we see1 for instance1 in the   
,odyssey1 which mentions numerous cases 
of such intercourse with another world1 

and speaks of necromancers as forming a 
kind of close guild4 ,in the ,persius of
 ,a,eschylus the spirit of ,darius1     
father of ,xerxes1 is called up and     
foretells all the misfortunes that are  
to befall poor ,queen ,atossa4 ,the     
greatest among the stern ,romans could  
not entirely shake off the belief in    
such magic1 in spite of the             
matter-of-fact tendencies of the ,roman 
mind1 and the vast superiority of their 
intelligence4 ,a ,cato and a ,sylla1 a  
,caesar and a ,vespasian1 all admitted1 
with clear unfailing perception1 the    
small grains of truth that lay concealed
 among the mass of rubbish then called  
magic4 ,even ,christian theology has    
never absolutely denied the existence of
 such extraordinary powers over the     
spirits of the departed1 although it has
 consistently attributed them to        
diabolic influences4  ,in this point    
lies the main difference between ancient
 and modern magic4 ,for the oldest ,magi
 whom we know were the wise men of      

,persia1 called1 from mah 7great71      
,mugh1 the great men of the land4 ,they 
were the philosophers of their day1 and1
 if we believe the impartial evidence of
 ,greek writers--not generally apt to   
overestimate the merits of other        
nations--they were possessed of vast and
 varied information4 ,their aim was the 
loftiest ever conceived by human        
ambition2 it was1 in fact1 nothing less 
than the erection of an intellectual    
,tower of ,babel4 ,they devoted the     
labors of a lifetime1 and the full1     
well-trained vigor of their intelligence
 to the study of the forces of nature1  
and the true character of all created   
beings4 ,among the latter they included 
disembodied spirits as well as those    
still bound up with bodies made of      
earth1 considering with a wisdom and    
boldness of conception never yet        
surpassed1 both classes as one and the  
same eternal creation4 ,the knowledge   
thus acquired they were1 moreover1 not  
disposed merely to store away in their  

memory1 or to record in unattractive    
manuscripts2 they were men of the world 
as well as philosophers1 and looked for 
practical results4 ,here the pagan      
spirit shone forth unrestrained2 the end
 and aim of all their restless labors   
was ,power4 ,their ambition was to      
control1 by the superior prestige of    
their knowledge1 not only the mechanical
 forces of ,nature1 but also the lesser 
capacities of other created beings1 and 
finally ,fate itself6 ,truly a lofty and
 noble aim if we view it1 as in equity  
we are bound to do1 from their          
stand-point1 as men possessing1 with all
 the wisdom of the earth1 as yet not a  
particle of revealed religion4  ,it was 
only at a much later period that a      
distinction was made between ,white     
,magic and ,black ,magic4 ,this arose   
from the error which gradually          
overspread the minds of men1 that such  
extraordinary powers--based1 originally1
 only upon extraordinary knowledge--were
 not naturally given to men2 but1 could 

only be obtained by the special favor of
 higher beings1 with whom the owner must
 needs enter into a perilous league4 ,if
 these were benevolent deities1 the     
results obtained by their assistance    
were called ,white ,magic2 if they were 
gods of ill-repute1 they granted the    
power to perform feats of ,black ,magic1
 acts of wickedness1 and crimes4        
,christianity1 though it abolished the  
gods of paganism1 maintained1           
nevertheless1 the belief in             
extraordinary powers accorded by        
supernatural beings1 and the same       
distinction continued to be made4 ,pious
 men and women performed miracles by the
 aid of angels and saints2 wicked       
sinners did as much by an unholy league 
with the ,evil ,one4 ,the ,egyptian     
charmer1 of ,apulejus1 who declared that
 no miracle was too difficult for his   
art1 since he exercised the blind power 
of deities who were subject to his will1
 only expressed what the lazzarone of   
,naples feels in our day1 when he whips 

his saint with a bundle of reeds1 in    
order to compel him to do his bidding4  
,magicians did not change their         
doctrine2 they hardly even modified     
their ceremonies2 their allegiance only 
was transferred from ,jupiter to        
,jehovah1 even as the same column that  
once bore the great ,thunderer on       
,olympus1 is now crowned by a statue of 
,peter ,boanerges4 ,nor has the race of 
magicians ever entirely died out2 we    
find enough notices in classic authors1 
whose evidence is unimpeachable1 to know
 that the ,greeks were apt scholars of  
the ancient ,magi and transferred the   
knowledge they had thus obtained and    
long jealously guarded1 to the priests  
of ,egypt1 who in their turn became the 
masters of the two mightiest nations on 
earth4 ,first ,moses sat at their feet  
till1 at the age of forty1 he was       
learned in all the wisdom of the        
,egyptians1 and could successfully cope 
with their magicians and sorcerers4     
,then the land of the ,nile fell into   

the hands of the ,romans1 and poverty   
and neglect drove the wise men of ,egypt
 to seek refuge in the capital of the   
world1 where they either lived upon the 
minor arts and cunning tricks of their  
false fate1 or1 being converted to      
,christianity1 infected the pure faith  
with their ill-applied knowledge4       
,certain portions of true magic survived
 through all persecutions and           
revolutions2 some precious secrets were 
preserved by the philosophers of later  
ages and have--if we believe the        
statements made by trustworthy writers  
of every century--ever since continued  
in the possession of ,freemasons and    
,rosicrucians2 others became mixed up   
with vile superstitions and impious     
practices1 and only exist now as the    
,black ,art of so-called magicians and  
witches4  ,wherever magic found a       
fertile soil among the people1 it became
 a science1 handed down from father to  
son1 and such we find it still in the   
,east ,indies and the ,orient generally2

 when it fell into the hands of         
skeptics1 or weak1 feeble-minded men1 it
 degenerated with amazing speed into    
imposture and common jugglery4 ,what is 
evident about magic is the              
well-established fact that its          
ceremonies1 forms1 and all other        
accessories are almost infinite in      
variety since they are merely accidental
 vehicles for the will of man1 and real 
magicians know very well that the       
importance of such external aids is not 
only overrated but altogether           
fallacious4 ,the sole purpose of the    
burning of perfumes1 of imposing        
ceremonies and awe-inspiring procedures1
 is to aid in producing the two         
conditions which are indispensable for  
all magic phenomena3 the magician must  
be excited till his condition is one    
resembling mental intoxication or       
becomes a genuine trance1 and the       
passive subject must be made susceptible
 to the control of the superior mind4   
,for it need not be added1 that the     

latter will all the more readily be     
affected1 the feebler his will and the  
more imperfect his mental vision may be 
by nature or may have been rendered by  
training and careful preparation4 ,hence
 it is that the magic table of the      
dervish2 the enchanted drum of the      
shaman2 the medicine-bag of the ,indian 
are all used for precisely the same     
purpose as the ring of ,hecate2 the     
divining rod and the magic wand of the  
enchanter4 ,legend and amulet1 mummy and
 wax-figure1 herb and stone1 drug and   
elixir1 incense and ointment1 are all   
but the means1 which the strong will of 
the gifted ,master uses in order to     
influence and finally to control the    
weaker mind4 ,thus powerful perfumes1   
narcotic odors1 and anaesthetic salves  
are employed to produce enervation and  
often actual and complete loss of       
self-control2 in other cases the        
neophyte has to turn round and round    
within the magic circle1 from east to   
west1 till he becomes giddy and utterly 

exhausted4 ,it is very curious to       
observe how1 as far as these            
preparations go1 in the most distant    
countries and among the most different  
forms of society the same means are     
employed for the same purpose3 the      
whirling dance of the fanatic dervish is
 perfectly analogous to the wild raving 
of our ,indian medicine-man1 who ties   
himself with a rope to a post and then  
whirls around it in fierce fury4 ,thus1 
also1 the oldest magicians speak with   
profound reverence of the powers of a   
little herb1 known to botanists as      
,hypericum perforatum ,l41 and behold6  
in the year #ahfj a ,german author of   
eminence1 ,justinus ,kerner1 still      
taught seriously1 that the leaves of    
that plant were the best means to banish
 evil spirits6 ,mandrake and elder have 
held their own in the false faith of    
nations from the oldest times to our    
day1 and even now ,germans as well as   
slaves love to plant the latter         
everywhere in their graveyards1 as      

suggestive of the realm of spirits6     
,white ,magic1 though strictly forbidden
 by the ,church in all ages1 seems      
nevertheless to have had irresistible   
attractions for wise and learned men of 
every country4 ,this charm it owes to   
the many elements of truth which are    
mixed up with the final error2 for it   
aims at a thorough understanding of the 
mysteries of ,nature--and so far its    
purpose is legitimate and very tempting 
to superior minds--but only in order to 
obtain by such knowledge a power which  
,holy ,writ expressly denies to man4    
,when it prescribes the study of ,nature
 as being the outer temple of ,god and  
represents all the parts of this vast   
edifice1 from the central sun of the    
universe to the minutest living         
creation1 as bound up by a common       
sympathy1 no objection can be made to   
its doctrines1 and even the greatest    
minds may fairly enroll themselves here 
as its pupils4 ,but when it ascribes to 
this sympathy an active power and       

attributes to secret names of the       
,deity1 to certain natural products1 or 
to mechanically regulated combinations  
of the stars1 a peculiar and            
supernatural effect1 it sinks into      
contemptible superstition4 ,hence the   
constant aim of all ,white ,magic1 the  
successful summoning of superior spirits
 for the purpose of learning from them  
what is purposely kept concealed from   
the mind of man1 has never yet been     
reached4 ,for it is sin1 the same sin   
that craved to eat from the tree of     
knowledge4 ,hence1 also1 no beneficial  
end has ever yet been obtained by the   
practices of magic1 although wise and   
learned men of every age have spent     
their lives and risked the salvation of 
their souls in restless efforts to lift 
the veil of ,isis4  ,black ,magic1 the  
,kishuph of the ,hebrews1 avows openly  
its purpose of forming a league with    
evil spirits in order to attain selfish 
ends1 which are invariably fatal to     
others4 ,and yet it is exactly here that

 we meet with great numbers of          
well-authenticated cases of success1    
which preclude all doubt and force us to
 admit the occasional efficiency of such
 sinful alliances4 ,the art flourishes  
naturally best among the lowest races of
 mankind1 where gross ignorance is      
allied with blind faith1 and the absence
 of inspiration leaves the mind in      
natural darkness4 ,we cannot help being 
struck here also with the fact that the 
means employed for such purposes have   
been the same in almost all ages4       
,readers of classic writers are familiar
 with the drum of ,cybele--the          
,laplanders have from time immemorial   
had the same drum1 on which heaven1     
hell1 and earth are painted in bright   
colors1 and reproduce in pictorial      
writing the letters of the modern       
spiritualist4 ,a ring is placed upon the
 tightly stretched skin1 which slight   
blows with a hammer cause to vibrate1   
and according to the apparently erratic 
motions of the ring over the varied     

figures of gods1 men1 and beasts1 the   
future is revealed4 ,the consulting     
savage lies on his knees1 and as the    
pendulum between our fingers and the    
pencil of ,planchette in our hand write 
apparently at haphazard1 but in reality 
under the pressure of our muscles acting
 through the unconscious influence of   
our will1 so here also the beats of the 
hammer only seem to be fortuitous1 but1 
in reality1 are guided by the ecstatic  
owner4 ,for already ,olaf ,magnus       
7,hist4 ,goth4 ,l4 #c1 ch4 #bf7 tells us
 that the incessant beating of the drum1
 and the wild1 exulting singing of the  
magician for hours before the actual    
ceremony begins1 cause him to fall into 
a state of exaltation1 without which he 
would be unable to see the future4 ,that
 the drum is a mere accident in the     
ceremony was strikingly proved by a     
,laplander1 who delivered up his        
instrument of witchcraft to the pious   
missionary 7,tornaeus7 by whom he had   
been converted1 and who soon came to    

complain that even without his drum he  
could not help seeing hidden things--an 
assertion which he proved by reciting to
 the amazed minister all the minute     
details of his recent journey4 ,who can 
help1 while reading of these savage     
magicians1 recalling the familiar ring  
and drumstick in the left hand of the   
,roman ,isis--statues with a drum above 
the head1 or the rarely missing ring and
 hammer in the hands of the ,egyptian   
,isis8 ,it need hardly be added that the
 ,indians of our continent have         
practised the art with more or less     
success from the day of discovery to our
 own times4 ,already ,wafer in his      
,descr4 of the ,isthmus of ,darien      
7#afii7 describes how ,indian sorcerers1
 after careful preparation1 were able to
 inform him of a number of future       
events1 every one of which came to pass 
in the succeeding days4 ,the prince of  
,neu-,wied again met a famous           
medicine-man among the ,crea ,indians1  
whose prophecies were readily accepted  

by the whites even1 and of whose power  
he witnessed unmistakable evidence4     
,bonduel1 a well-known and generally    
perfectly trustworthy writer1 affirms1  
from personal knowledge1 that among the 
,menomonees the medicine-men not only   
practise magic1 but are able to produce 
most astounding results4 ,after beating 
their drum1 ,bonduel used to hear a     
heavy fall and a faint1 inarticulate    
voice1 whereupon the tent of the charmer
 though fifteen feet high1 rose in the  
air and inclined first on one and then  
on the other side4 ,this was the time of
 the interview between the medicine-man 
and the evil spirit4 ,small doll-like   
figures of men also were used1 barely   
two inches long1 and tied to            
medicine-bags4 ,they served mainly to   
inflame women with loving ardor1 and    
when efficient could drive the poor     
creatures to pursue their beloved for   
days and nights through the wild        
forests4 ,other missionaries also affirm
 that these medicine-men must have been 

able to read the signs and perhaps to   
feel in advance the effects of the      
weather with amazing accuracy1 since    
they frequently engaged to procure      
storms for special purposes1 and never  
failed4 ,it is interesting to notice    
that according to the unanimous         
testimony of all writers on ,indian     
affairs1 these medicine-men almost      
invariably find a violent and wretched  
death4  ,it is not without interest to  
recall that the prevailing forms of the 
magic of our day1 as far as they consist
 of table-moving1 spirit-rapping1 and   
the like1 have their origin among the   
natives of our continent4 ,the earliest 
notice of these strange performances    
appeared in the great journal of        
,augsburg1 in ,germany 7,allgemeine     
,zeitung71 where ,andree mentioned their
 occurrence among ,western ,indians4    
,sargent gave us next a more detailed   
description of the manner in which many 
a wigwam or log-cabin in ,iowa became   
the scene of startling revelations by   

means of a clumsy table which hopped    
merrily about1 or a half-drunk1         
red-skinned medium1 from whose lips fell
 uncouth words4 7,spicer1 ,lights and   
,sounds1 p4 #aij47 ,it was only in #ahdg
 that the famous ,fox family brought    
these phenomena within the pale of      
civilization3 having rented a house in  
,hydeville1 ,n4 ,y41 already ill-reputed
 on account of mysterious noises1 they  
reduced these knockings to a kind of    
system1 and1 by means of an alphabet1   
obtained the important information that 
they were the work of a spirit1 and that
 his name was ,charles ,ray4 ,margaret  
,fox transplanted the rappings to       
,rochester2 ,catherine1 only twelve     
years old1 to ,auburn1 and from these   
two central places the new ,magic spread
 rapidly throughout the ,union4         
,opposition and persecutions served1 as 
they are apt to do1 only to increase the
 interest of the public4 ,a ,mrs4       
,norman ,culver proved1 it is true1 that
 rappings could easily be produced by   

certain muscular movements of the knee  
and the ankle1 and a committee of       
investigation1 of which ,fenimore       
,cooper was a member1 obtained ample    
evidence of such a method being used2   
but the faith of the believers was not  
shaken4 ,the moving of tables1          
especially1 furnished to their minds new
 evidence of the actual presence of     
spirits1 and soon circles were          
established in nearly all the ,northern 
and ,western ,states1 formed by persons 
of education without regard to          
confession1 who called themselves       
,spiritualists or ,spiritists1 and their
 most favored associates ,media4 ,a     
number of men1 whose intelligence and   
candor were alike unimpeachable1 became 
members of the new sect1 among them a   
judge1 a governor of a ,state1 and a    
professor of chemistry4 ,they organized 
societies and circles1 they published   
journals and several works of interest  
and value1 and produced results which   
more and more strengthened their        

convictions4  ,the new art met1         
naturally1 with much opposition1        
especially among the ministers and      
members of the different churches4 ,some
 of the opponents laughed at the whole  
as a clever jugglery1 which deserved its
 great success on account of the        
smartness of the performers2 others     
denounced it as a heresy and a crime2   
the former1 of course1 saw in it nothing
 but the hand of man1 while the latter  
admitted the agency of spirits1 but of  
spirits from below and not from above4  
,an amusing feature connected with      
public opinion on this subject was1 that
 when trade was prosperous and money    
abundant1 spiritualism also flourished  
and found numerous adherents1 but when  
business was slow1 or a crisis took     
place1 all minds turned away from the   
favorite pastime1 and instinctively     
joined once more with the pious         
believers in the denunciation of the new
 magic4 ,thus a kind of antagonism has  
gradually arisen between orthodox       

,christians and enthusiastic            
spiritualists2 the controversy is       
carried on with great energy on both    
sides1 and1 alas6 to the eye of the     
general observer1 magic is gaining      
ground every day1 at least its adherents
 increase steadily in numbers1 and even 
in social weight4 7,tuttle1 ,arena of   
,nature47 ,not long ago the ,national   
,convention of ,spiritualists1 at their 
great meeting at ,rochester1 ,n4,y4     
7,august1 #ahfh71 laid down nineteen    
fundamental principles of their new     
creed2 their doctrines are based upon   
the fact that we are constantly         
surrounded by an invisible host of      
spirits1 who desire to help us in       
returning once more to the father of all
 things1 the ,great ,spirit4  ,modern   
magic met with the same opposition in   
,europe4 ,the ,french ,academy1         
claiming1 as usually1 to be supreme     
authority in all matters of science1    
declined1 nevertheless1 to decide the   
question4 ,arago1 who read the official 

report before the august body1 closed   
with the words3 ,i do not believe a word
 of it6 but his colleagues remembered1  
perhaps1 that their predecessors had    
once or twice before committed          
themselves grievously4 ,had not the same
 ,academy pronounced against the use of 
quinine and vaccination1 against        
lightning-rods and steam-engines8 ,had  
not ,reaumur suppressed ,peyssonel's    
,essay on ,corals1 because he thought it
 was madness to maintain their animal   
nature2 had not his learned brethren    
decreed1 in #ahjb1 that there were no   
meteors1 although a short time later two
 thousand fell in one department alone2 
and had they not1 more recently still1  
received the news of ether being useful 
as an anaesthetic with scorn and        
unanimous condemnation8 ,perhaps they   
recalled ,dr4 ,hare's assertion that our
 own ,society for the ,advancement of   
,useful ,knowledge had1 in #ahee1       
refused to hear a report on             
,spiritualism1 preferring to discuss the

 important question3 ,why do roosters   
always crow between midnight and one    
o'clock8 ,at all events they heard the  
report and remained silent4 ,in the same
 manner ,alexander von ,humboldt refused
 to examine the question4 ,this         
indifference did not1 however1 check the
 growth of ,spiritualism in ,france1 but
 its followers divided into two parties3
 spiritualists1 under ,rivail1 who      
called himself ,allan ,cardec1 and      
spiritists1 under ,pierard4 ,the former 
died in #ahfi1 after having seen his    
,livre des ,esprits reappear in fifteen 
editions2 to seal his mission1 he sent1 
immediately after his death1 his spirit 
to inform his eager pupils1 who crowded 
around the dead body of their leader1 of
 his first impressions in the spirit    
world4 ,if the style is the man 7le     
style c'est l'homme71 no one could doubt
 that it was his spirit who spoke4      
,perhaps the most estimable high-priest 
of this branch of modern magic is a well
 known professor of ,geneva1            

,roessinger1 a physician of great renown
 and much beloved by all who know him4  
,he is1 however1 a rock of offense to   
,american spiritualists1 because he has 
ever remained firmly attached to his    
religious faith1 and admits no spiritual
 revelations as genuine which do not    
entirely harmonize with the doctrines of
 ,christ and the statements of the      
,bible4 ,unfortunately this leads him to
 believe that his favorite medium1 a    
young lady enjoying the mystic name of  
,libna1 speaks under the direct         
inspiration of ,god himself6 ,in        
,england the new magic has not only     
numerous but also influential adherents1
 like ,lord ,lytton and the ,darwinian  
,wallace2 papers like the ,star and     
journals like the ,cornhill ,magazine1  
support it with ability1 and names like 
,home in former years and ,newton in our
 day1 who not only reveal secrets but   
actually heal the sick1 have given a new
 prestige to the young science4 ,the    
works of ,howitt and ,dr4 ,ashburner1 of

 ,mrs4 ,morgan and ,mrs4 ,crossland have
 treated the subject under various      
aspects1 and in the year #ahga1         
,crookes1 a well-known chemist1         
investigated the phenomena of ,home's   
revelations by means of an apparatus    
specially devised for the purpose4 ,the 
result was the conviction that if not   
spiritual1 they were at least not       
produced by any power now known to      
science4--,quart4 ,journ4 of ,science1  
,july1 #ahga4  ,in ,germany the new     
magic has been far less popular than    
elsewhere1 but1 in return1 it has been  
there most thoroughly investigated4 ,men
 of great eminence in science and in    
philosophy have published extensive     
works on the subject1 which are1        
however1 more remarkable for zeal and   
industry than for acute judgment4       
,gerster in ,regensburg claimed to have 
invented the ,psychography1 but ,szapary
 in ,paris and ,cohnfeld in ,berlin     
discovered at the same time the curious 
instrument known to us as ,planchette4  

,the most practical measure taken in    
,germany for the purpose of ascertaining
 the truth was probably the formation of
 a society for spirit studies1 which met
 for the first time in ,dresden in      
#ahfi1 and purposes to obtain an insight
 into those laws of nature which are    
reported to make it possible to hold    
direct and constant intercourse with the
 world of spirits4 ,here1 as in the     
whole tendency of this branch of magic1 
we see the workings not merely of idle  
curiosity but of that ardent longing    
after a knowledge of the future and a   
certainty of personal eternity1 which   
dwells in the hearts of all men4  ,the  
phenomena of modern magic were first    
imperfect rappings against the wall1 the
 legs of a table or a chair1 accompanied
 by the motion of tables2 then followed 
spirit-writing by the aid of a          
psychograph or a simple pencil1 and     
finally came direct spirit-writings1    
drawings by the media1 together with    
musical and poetical inspirations1 the  

whole reaching a climax in              
spirit-photographs4 ,the ringing of     
bells1 the dancing of detached hands in 
the air1 the raising up of the entire   
body of a man1 and musical performances 
without human aid were only accomplished
 in a few cases by specially favored    
individuals4 ,two facts alone are fully 
established in connection with all these
 phenomena3 one1 that some of the latter
 at least are not produced by the       
ordinary forces of nature2 and the      
other1 that the performers are          
generally1 and the medium always1 in a  
more or less complete state of trance4  
,in this condition they forget          
themselves1 give their mind up entirely 
into the hands of others--the media--and
 candidly believe they see and hear what
 they are told by the latter is taking  
place in their presence4 ,hence also the
 well-established fact that the spirits 
have never yet revealed a single secret1
 nor ever made known to us anything     
really new4 ,their style is invariably  

the same as that in which ecstatic and  
somnambulistic persons are apt to speak4
 ,a famous ,german spiritualist1        
,hornung1 whose faith was well known1   
once laid his hands upon his planchette 
together with his wife1 and then asked  
if there really was a world of spirits8 
,to the utter astonishment of all       
present1 the psychograph replied ,no6   
and when questioned again and again1    
became troublesome4 ,the fact was simply
 that the would-be magician's wife did  
not believe in spirits1 and as hers was 
the stronger will1 the answer came from 
her mind and not from her husband's4 ,on
 the other hand1 it cannot be denied    
that media--most frequently delicate    
women of high nervous sensibility1 and  
almost always leading lives of constant 
and wearying excitement--become on such 
occasions wrought up to a degree which  
resembles somnambulism and may really   
enable them1 occasionally1 in a state of
 clairvoyance1 to see what is hidden to 
others4 ,it is they who are vitalized1  

as they call it1 and not the knocking   
table1 or the writing planchette1 and   
hence arises the necessity of a medium  
for all such communications4 ,that there
 are no spirits at work in these        
phenomena requires hardly to be stated2 
even the most ardent and enthusiastic   
adherents of the new magic cannot deny1 
that no original revelation concerning  
the world of spirits has yet been made1 
but that all that is told is but an echo
 of the more or less familiar views of  
men4 ,it is far more interesting to     
notice1 with ,coleman1 the electric and 
hygroscopic condition of the atmosphere1
 which has evidently much to do with    
such exhibitions4 ,the visions of hands1
 arms1 and heads1 which move about in   
the air and may occasionally even be    
felt1 are either mere hallucinations or 
real objective appearances1 due to a    
peculiar condition of the air1 and      
favorably interpreted by the predisposed
 mind4 ,hence1 also1 our own continent  
is1 for its superior dryness of         

atmosphere1 much more favorable to the  
development of such phenomena than that 
of ,europe4  ,spiritualists in the ,old 
as in the ,new ,world are hopeful that  
the new magic will produce a new        
universal religion1 and a better social 
order4 ,in this direction1 however1 no  
substantial success has yet been        
obtained4 ,outsiders had expected that  
at least an intercourse with departed   
spirits might be secured1 and thus the  
immortality of man might be practically 
demonstrated4 ,but this also has not yet
 been done4 ,what then can we learn from
 modern magic8 ,only this3 that there   
are evidently forces in nature with     
whose character and precise intent we   
are not yet acquainted1 and which yet   
deserve to be studied and carefully     
analyzed4 ,modern magic exhibits certain
 phenomena in man which are not subject 
to the known laws of nature1 and thus   
proves that man possesses certain powers
 which he fails or does not know how to 
exert in ordinary life4 ,where these    

powers appear in consequence of special 
preparation or an exceptional condition 
of mind1 they are comparatively         
worthless1 because they are in such     
cases merely the result of physical or  
mental disease1 and we can hope to      
profit only by powers employed by sound 
men4 ,but where these powers become     
manifest by spontaneous action1         
apparently as the result of special     
endowment1 they deserve careful study1  
and all the respect due to a new and    
unknown branch of knowledge4  ,nor must 
it be overlooked1 that1 although modern 
magic as a science is new1 most of the  
phenomena upon which it is based1 were  
well known to the oldest nations4 ,the  
,chinese1 who seem to have possessed all
 the knowledge of mankind1 ages before  
it could be useful to them1 or to       
others1 and to have lost it as soon as  
there was a call for it1 had1 centuries 
ago1 not only moving tables1 but even   
writing spirits4 ,their modern          
planchette is a small board1 which they 

let float upon the water1 with the legs 
upward2 they rest their hands upon the  
latter1 and watch the gyrations it makes
 in the water4 ,or they hold a small    
basket with a camel's-hair brush        
attached to one end suspended over a    
table upon which they have strewn a     
layer of flour2 the brush begins to move
 through the flour and to draw          
characters in it1 which they interpret  
according to their alphabet4 ,the       
priests of ,buddha in ,mongolia1 also1  
have long since employed moving tables1 
and for a good purpose1 usually to      
detect thieves4 ,the lama1 who is       
appealed to for the purpose1 sits down  
before a small four-legged table1 upon  
which he rests his hands1 whilst reading
 a book of devotion4 ,after perhaps half
 an hour1 he rises1 and as he does so1  
holding his hand steadily upon the      
table1 the table also rises and follows 
his hand1 which he raises till hand and 
table are both level with his eyes4     
,then the priest advances1 the table    

precedes him1 and soon begins to move at
 such a rate that it seems to fly       
through the air1 and the lama can hardly
 follow4 ,sometimes it falls down upon  
the very spot where the stolen goods are
 hidden2 at other times it only         
indicates the direction in which they   
are to be sought for2 and not           
unfrequently it refuses altogether to   
move1 in which event the priest abandons
 the case as hopeless4 7,nord4 ,biene1  
,april #bg1 #ahec47 ,here also it is    
evident that the table is not the       
controlling agent1 but the will of the  
lama1 whom it obeys by one of those     
mysterious powers which we call magic4  
,it is the same force which acts in the 
divining rod1 the pendulum1 and similar 
phenomena4  ,the name of ,medium is an  
,american invention1 and is based upon  
the assumption that only a few favored  
persons are able to enter into direct   
communication with spirits1 who may then
 convey the revelations they receive to 
others4 ,they are generally children and

 young persons1 but among grown men also
 certain constitutions seem to be better
 adapted to such purposes than others4  
,in almost all cases it has been        
observed1 that the electric condition of
 the medium is a feature of greatest    
importance2 the more electricity he     
possesses1 the better is he able to     
produce magic phenomena1 and when his   
supply is exhausted by a long session1  
his power also ceases4 ,hence1 perhaps1 
the peculiar qualification of children2 
while1 on the other hand1 the fact that 
they not unfrequently are able to answer
 questions1 in languages1 of which they 
are ignorant1 proves that they also do  
not themselves give the reply1 but only 
receive it from the questioner1 and     
state it as it exists in the mind of the
 latter4 ,hence1 also1 the utter        
absurdity of so-called spirit paintings1
 and1 still worse1 of poetical effusions
 like ,mr4 ,harris' ,lyric of the       
,golden ,age1 in eleven thousand four   
hundred and thirty wretched verses4 ,for

 what the circle does not know          
individually or collectively1 the medium
 also is not able to produce4 ,this     
truth is made still more evident by the 
latest phenomena developed in           
spiritualistic circles1 the so-called   
trance speaking1 which may be heard     
occasionally in ,new ,york circles1 and 
which requires no interposition of a    
medium4 ,for here1 also1 we are struck  
by the utter absence of usefulness in   
all these revelations2 the inspired     
believers speak1 they recite poetry1 but
 it remains literally vox et praeterea  
nihil1 and we are forcibly reminded of  
the words of ,a,eschylus1 who already   
said in his ,agamemnon 7v4 #aabg71      
,did ever seers afford delight8         
,the long practised art of all the seers
 whom      ,ever the gods inspired1     
revealed      ,naught but horrors and a 
wretched fate4  ,among the media of our 
day1 ,home is naturally facile princeps4
 ,a ,scotchman by birth1 he claims that 
his mother already possessed the gift of

 ,second ,sight1 and that in their home 
near ,edinburgh similar endowments were 
frequent among their neighbors4 ,at the 
age of three years he saw the death of a
 cousin1 who lived in a distant town1   
and named the persons who were standing 
around her couch2 he conversed          
constantly in his childish way with     
spirits and heard heavenly music2 his   
cradle was rocked by invisible hands1   
and his toys came unaided into his      
hands4 ,when ten years old he was taken 
to an aunt in ,america1 in whose house  
he had no sooner been installed than    
chairs and tables1 beds and utensils1   
began to move about in wild disorder1   
till the terrified lady sent the unlucky
 boy away4 ,attending once an exhibition
 of table-moving he fell into fits and  
suddenly became cataleptic2 during the  
paroxysm he heard a summoning1 then the 
spirits announced the wrecking of two   
sailors1 the table began to rock as in a
 storm1 the whistling of the wind       
through the tackle1 the creaking of the 

vessel1 and the dull1 heavy thud of the 
waves against her bows1 all were        
distinctly heard1 and finally the table 
was upset1 while the spirits announced  
the name and the age of the perishing   
seamen4 ,from that day ,home carefully  
cultivated his strange gifts1 and       
developed what he considered a decided  
talent for reading the future4 ,as a    
young man he returned to ,europe and    
soon became famous4 ,florence was1 for a
 time1 the principal stage of his       
successes2 here he not only summoned the
 spirits of the departed1 but was raised
 by invisible powers from the ground and
 hovered for some time above the heads  
of his visitors4 ,the superstitious     
,italians finally became excited and    
threatened him with death1 from which a 
,count ,branichi saved him at great     
personal peril4 ,in ,naples the spirits 
suddenly declared their intention to    
leave him on ,february #aj1 #ahef1 and  
to remain absent for a whole year2 they 
did so1 and during the interval ,home   

enjoyed better health than ever in his  
life6 ,in ,rome he became a ,catholic1  
and good ,pio ,nono himself offered him 
his crucifix to kiss1 with the words3   
,that is the only true magic            
wand6--unfortunately this was not       
,home's view always2 at least we find   
him in #ahfd in the same city in        
conflict with the papal police1 who     
ordered him to cease all intercourse    
with higher as well as with lower       
spirits1 and finally compelled him to   
leave the ,eternal ,city4 ,he then      
claimed publicly1 what1 it must not be  
forgotten1 he had consistently          
maintained from the beginning of his    
marvelous career1 that he was the       
unwilling agent of higher powers1 which 
affected him at irregular times1        
independent of his will1 and often      
contrary to his dearest wishes4 ,it must
 be added that he gave the strongest    
proof of his sincerity by never         
accepting from the public pecuniary     
compensation for the exhibition of      

peculiar powers4  ,his exterior is      
winning2 he is of medium height1        
light-haired and light-complexioned1 of 
slender figure2 simple and well-bred in 
his manners1 and of irreproachable      
morale4 ,the highest circles of society 
have always been open to him1 and his   
marriage with a daughter of the ,russian
 general ,stroll has given him wealth   
and an agreeable position in the world4 
,as the spirits had predicted1 they     
returned on the #ajth of ,february1     
#aheg1 and announced themselves by      
repeated gentle knockings--in other     
words1 ,home's former nervous disease   
returned1 and with it his exceptionable 
powers4 ,he was then in ,paris1 and soon
 excited the attention of the fair but  
superstitious ,empress1 whose favor he  
speedily obtained by a revelation       
concerning the ,empereur de l'avenir1 as
 the spirits had the gallantry to call  
her infant son4 ,napoleon also began to 
take an interest in the clever1 talented
 man1 whose special gifts did not       

prevent him from being a pliant courtier
 and a cunning observer4 ,he showed     
himself grateful for the kindness with  
which ,eugenie provided for his sister's
 education by exerting his powers to the
 utmost at the ,tuileries1 and by       
revealing to the ,emperor the secrets he
 had skillfully elicited during his     
spiritual sessions1 from statesmen and  
generals4 ,at the house of ,prince      
,murat he performed1 perhaps1 the most  
surprising feats he has ever            
accomplished3 seated quietly in his     
arm-chair1 he caused tables to whirl    
around1 the clocks in two rooms to stand
 still or to go at will1 all the bells  
in the house to ring together or        
separately1 and handkerchiefs to escape 
irresistibly from the hands and the     
pockets of several persons1 the ,emperor
 included4 ,then the floor seemed to    
sink1 all the doors of the house were   
slammed to and opened again1 the        
gaslights became extinct1 and when they 
as suddenly blazed up again1 ,home had  

disappeared without saying good-bye4    
,the guests left the house quietly and  
in a state of great and painful         
excitement4 ,at another exhibition in   
,prince ,napoleon's house1 a renowned   
juggler was present by invitation to    
watch ,home1 but he declared1 soon1 that
 there was no jugglery1 such as he knew1
 in what he saw1 and the meeting1 during
 which the most startling phenomena were
 exhibited1 ended by ,home's falling    
into a state of fearful catalepsy4      
,perhaps nothing can speak more clearly 
of the deep interest felt in the modern 
magician by the highest in the land1    
than the fact that more than once       
private sessions were held at the       
,tuileries1 at which1 besides himself1  
the ,emperor and the ,empress1 only one 
person was allowed to be present1 the   
,duke of ,montebello4 ,it is said1      
though not by ,home himself1 that at one
 of these meetings the sad fate of the  
,empire was clearly predicted1 and even 
the time of the ,emperor's death        

ascertained4 ,one achievement of modern 
magic in which ,home is unique1 is the  
raising of his body into the air2 no    
other person having as yet even         
attempted the same exploit4 ,he is      
lifted up in a horizontal position1     
sometimes only to a short distance from 
the floor1 but not unfrequently1 also1  
nearly to the ceiling2 on one occasion1 
in ,bordeaux1 he remained thus suspended
 in the sight of several persons for    
five minutes4 ,another speciality of    
his1 is the lengthening of his body4    
,according to a statement deserving full
 credit 7,human ,nature1 ,dec4 #ahfh71  
he can1 when in a state of trance1 add  
four inches to his stature6 ,finally1 he
 has been repeatedly seen passing in the
 air out of one window of the room in   
which his visitors were assembled1 and  
returning through another window1 an    
exhibition which almost always ended in 
the complete exhaustion and apparent    
illness of the magician4  ,home himself 
maintains that he performs no miracles1 

and is not able to cause the laws of    
nature to be suspended for a moment1 but
 that he is gifted with an exceptional  
power to employ faculties which he      
possesses in common with all his        
brethren4 ,in him they are active2 in   
the vast majority of men they lie       
dormant1 because man is no longer       
conscious of the full and absolute      
control over ,nature1 with which he has 
been endowed by the ,creator4 ,he adds  
that it is faith alone1 without the aid 
of spirits1 which enables him to cause  
mysterious lights to be seen1 or heavy  
pieces of furniture to move about in the
 air1 and to produce strange sounds and 
peculiar visions in the mind of his     
friends4 ,on the other hand1 when he is 
lifted up into the air1 or enabled to   
read the future1 and to reveal what     
absent persons are doing at the moment1 
he professes to act as a willingless    
instrument of spirits1 having neither   
the power to provoke his ability to     
perform these feats1 nor to lay it aside

 at will4 ,occasionally he professes to 
be conscious of an electric current1    
which he is able to produce at certain  
times and in a certain state of mind2   
this emanation protects his body against
 influences fatal to others1 and enables
 him1 for instance1 to hold live coals  
in his hand1 and to thrust his whole    
head into the chimney fire4 ,this       
certain state of mind1 as he calls it1  
is simply a state of trance4 ,hence the 
extremely variable nature of his        
performances1 and his great reluctance  
to appear as a magician at the request  
of others4 ,nor is he himself always    
quite sure of his own condition2 thus1  
in the winter of #ahgj1 when he wished  
to exhibit some of the simplest         
phenomena in the presence of a number of
 savants in ,st4 ,petersburg1 he failed 
so completely in every effort1 that the 
committee reported him virtually1 though
 not in terms1 an impostor4 ,the same   
happened to him at a first examination  
held by ,mr4 ,crookes1 a well-known     

professor of chemistry1 in company with 
,messrs4 ,cox and ,huggins2 they did not
 abandon their purpose1 however1 and at 
the next meeting1 when certain          
antipathic spectators were no longer    
present1 ,home displayed the most       
remarkable phenomena4 ,the committee    
came to the conclusion that he was      
enabled to perform these feats by means 
of a new psychic force1 which it was    
all-important for men of science to     
investigate thoroughly4  ,the number of 
men and women who possess similar       
endowments1 though generally in an      
inferior degree only1 is very great1    
especially in the ,united ,states4 ,only
 one feature is common to them all--the 
state of trance in which they are       
enabled to produce such startling       
phenomena--in all other respects they   
differ widely1 both as to the nature of 
their performances and as to their      
credibility4 ,for1 from the first       
appearance of media in spiritualistic   
circles1 in fact1 probably already in   

the exhibitions of the ,fox family1     
delusion and willful deception have been
 mixed up with actual magic4 ,tables    
have been moved by clever legerdemain2  
spirit rappings have been produced by   
cunning efforts of muscles and sinews2  
ventriloquists have used their art to   
cause extraordinary noises in the air1  
and ,pepper's famous ghosts have shown  
the facility with which the eye may be  
deceived and the other senses be taken  
captive4 ,the most successful deception 
was practised by the so-called          
,davenport ,brothers1 whose well-known  
exhibitions excited universal interest1 
as long as the impression lasted that   
they were the work of invisible spirits1
 while they became even more popular and
 attractive when their true nature had  
been discovered1 on account of the      
exquisite skill with which these        
juggling tricks were performed4  ,the   
masters of physical science have amply  
proved that table-moving is a simple    
mechanical art4 ,faraday and ,babinet   

already called attention to the fact    
that the smallest muscles of the human  
body can produce great effects1 when    
judiciously employed1 and cited1 among  
other instances1 the so-called ,electric
 ,girl1 exhibited in ,paris1 who hurled 
a chair on which she had been sitting1  
by muscular power alone1 to a great     
distance4 ,the same feat1 it is         
well-known1 has been repeatedly         
accomplished by other persons also4     
,like muscular efforts are made--no     
doubt often quite unconsciously--by     
persons whose will acts energetically1  
and when several men co-operate the     
force of vibrations produced in a kind  
of rhythmical tact1 becomes truly       
astounding4 ,we need only remember1 that
 the rolling of a heavily laden cart in 
the streets may shake a vast1 well-built
 edifice from roof to cellar1 and that  
the regular tramp of a detachment of men
 has more than once caused suspension   
bridges1 of great and well-tried        
strength1 to break and to bury hundreds 

of men under their ruins4 ,thus a few   
children and delicate women alone can1  
by an hour's steady work and undivided  
attention1 move tables of such weight   
that a number of strong men can lift    
them only with difficulty4 ,the only    
really new force which has ever appeared
 in this branch of modern magic is the  
,od of ,baron ,reichenbach2 its presence
 and efficacy cannot be denied1 although
 the manner in which it operates is     
still a mystery4 ,in the summer of #ahfa
 the ,german baron found himself in a   
company of table-movers at the house of 
,lord ,william ,cowper1 the son-in-law  
of ,lord ,palmerston4 ,to prove his     
faith he crept under the heavy          
dining-table1 resting with his full     
weight on one of the three solid feet   
and grasping the other two firmly with  
his hands4 ,the wood began to emit low1 
electric sounds1 then came louder noises
 as when furniture cracks in extremely  
dry weather1 and finally the table began
 to move4 ,reichenbach did his best to  

prevent the movement1 but the table     
rushed down the room1 dragging the      
unlucky baron with it1 to the intense   
amusement of all the persons present4   
,the ,german savant maintains that this 
power1 possessed only by the privileged 
few who are peculiarly sensitive1       
emanates from the tips of the fingers1  
becomes luminous in the dark1 and acts  
like a lever upon all obstacles that    
come in its way4 ,as the existence of   
,od is established beyond all doubt1 and
 its effects are admitted by all who    
have studied the subject1 we are forced 
to look upon it as at least one of the  
mysterious elements of modern magic4    
,the ,od is1 as far as we know1 a       
magnetic force2 for as soon as certain  
persons are magnetized they become      
conscious of peculiar sensations1 heat  
or cold1 headache or other pains1 and1  
if predisposed1 of a startling increase 
of power in all their senses4 ,they see 
lights of every kind1 can distinguish   
even minute objects in a dark room1 and 

behold beautiful white flames upon the  
poles of magnets4 ,reichenbach obtained1
 as he believed1 two remarkable results 
from these first phenomena4 ,he         
concluded that polar lights1 aurora     
boreales1 etc41 were identical with the 
magnetic light of the earth1 and he     
discovered that sensitive1 sickly       
persons1 who were peculiarly susceptible
 to magnetic influences1 ought to lie   
with the head to the north1 and the feet
 to the south in order to obtain        
refreshing sleep4 ,the next step was an 
effort to identify the ,od with animal  
magnetism2 ,reichenbach found that      
cataleptic patients who perceived the   
presence of magnets with exquisite      
accuracy1 and followed them like        
mesmerized persons1 were affected alike 
by his own hands or those of other      
perfectly sound1 but strongly magnetic  
men4 ,he could attract such unfortunate 
persons by his outstretched fingers1 and
 force them to follow him in a state of 
unconsciousness wherever he led them4   

,according to his theory1 the two sides 
of man are of opposite electric nature  
and a magnetic current passes           
continually from one side to the other2 
sensitive persons though blind-folded1  
know perfectly well on which side they  
approach others4  ,gradually ,baron     
,reichenbach extended the range of his  
experiments1 employing for that purpose1
 besides his own daughter1 especially a 
,miss ,nowotny1 a sad sufferer from     
cataleptic attacks4 ,she was able to    
distinguish1 by the sensations which    
were excited in her whole system1 more  
than six hundred chemicals1 and arranged
 them1 under his guidance1 according to 
their electro-chemical force4 ,another  
sick woman1 ,miss ,maiss1 felt a cool   
wind whenever certain substances were   
brought near her1 and by these and      
similar efforts in which the baron was  
aided by many friends1 he ascertained   
the fact1 that there is in nature a     
force which passes through all          
substances1 the human body included1 and

 is inherent in the whole material      
world4 ,this force he calls the ,od4    
,like electricity and magnetism1 this   
,od is a polar force1 and here also     
opposite poles attract1 like poles repel
 each other4 ,the whole subject1        
although as yet only in its infancy1 is 
well deserving of careful study and     
thorough investigation4  ,the           
manifestations of so-called spirits have
 naturally excited much attention1 and  
given rise to the bitterest attacks4 ,in
 ,england1 especially1 the learned world
 is all on one side and the             
,spiritualists all on the other2 nor do 
they hesitate to say very bitter things 
of each other4 ,the ,saturday ,review1  
more forcibly than courteously1 speaks  
of ,american spiritualists thus3 ,if    
this is the spirit world1 and if this is
 spiritual intelligence1 and if all the 
spirits can do1 is to whisk about in    
dark rooms1 and pinch people's legs     
under the table1 and play ',home1 ,sweet
 ,home1' on the accordeon1 and kiss     

folks in the dark1 and paint baby       
pictures1 and write such sentimental1   
namby-pamby as ,mr4 ,coleman copies out 
from their dictation--it is much better 
to be a respectable pig and accept      
annihilation than to be cursed with such
 an immortality as this4 ,to which the  
,spiritual ,magazine 7,jan41 #ahfb71    
does not hesitate to reply4 ,we shall   
not eat breakfast bacon for some time1  
for fear of getting a slice of the      
editor of the ,saturday ,review1 in his 
self-sought appropriate metempsychosis4 
,it must be borne in mind1 however1 that
 spiritualists everywhere appeal to     
their own reason as the highest tribunal
 before which such questions can be     
decided1 and to the laws of nature1     
because as they say1 they are identical 
with the laws of practical reason4 ,they
 believe1 as a body1 neither in angels  
nor in demons4 ,their spirits are simply
 the purified souls of departed men4    
,protestant theologians1 who admit of no
 purgatory1 see in these exhibitions    

nothing but the deeds of ,satan4        
,catholic divines1 on the other hand1   
and ,protestant mystics1 who1 like the  
,german1 ,schubert1 believe that there  
exist what they curiously enough call a 
more peaceful infernal spirit1 ascribe  
them to the agency of evil spirits4 ,in 
the great majority of cases1 however1   
the spirits have clearly shown          
themselves nothing else but the product 
of the media4 ,the latter1 invariably   
either of diseased mind by nature or    
over-excited for the occasion1 believe  
they see and hear manifestations in the 
outer world1 which in reality exist only
 in their own consciousness4 ,a         
,catholic medium is thus visited by     
spirits from heaven and hell1 while the 
,protestant medium never meets souls    
from purgatory4 ,nothing has ever been  
revealed concerning the future state of 
man1 that was not already well known    
upon earth4 ,most diverting are the     
jealousies of great spirits1 of ,solomon
 and ,socrates1 ,moses and ,plato--when 

the media happen to be jealous of each  
other6 ,a somewhat satirical writer on  
the subject explains even the fact that 
spirits so often contradict each other  
and say vile things of sacred subjects1 
by the inner wickedness of the media1   
which comes to light on such occasions1 
while they carefully conceal it in      
ordinary life6 ,if these spirits are    
really the creations of the inner magic 
life1 of which we are just learning to  
know the first elementary signs1 then   
the powers which are hidden within us   
may well terrify us as they appear in   
such exhibitions1 while we will not be  
surprised at the manner in which many an
 ordinary mortal appears here as a poet 
or a prophet--if not as a wicked demon4 
,nor must it be overlooked that our     
memory holds vast treasures of knowledge
 of which we are utterly unconscious    
until1 under certain circumstances1 one 
or the other fact suddenly reappears    
before our mind's eye4 ,the very fact   
that we can1 by a great effort and      

continued appeals to our memory1 recall 
at last what was apparently utterly     
forgotten1 proves the presence of such  
knowledge4 ,a state of intense          
excitement1 of fever or of trance1 is   
peculiarly favorable to the recovery of 
such hidden treasures1 and there can be 
no doubt that many a medium honestly    
believes to receive a new revelation1   
when only old1 long forgotten facts     
return to his consciousness4 ,generally 
however1 we repeat1 nothing is in the   
spirit that is not in the medium4 ,the  
,american spiritualist conjures up only 
his own countrymen1 and occasionally    
some world-renowned heroes like         
,napoleon or ,caesar1 ,shakespeare or   
,schiller1 while the cosmopolitan       
,german receives visits from men of all 
countries4 ,finally it must be borne in 
mind that1 according to an old proverb1 
we are ever ready to believe what we    
wish to see or hear1 and hence the      
amazing credulity of the majority of    
spiritualists4 ,even skeptics are not   

free from the influence of this         
tendency4 ,when ,dr4 ,bell1 the eminent 
physician of ,somerville1 ,mass41       
investigated these phenomena of modern  
magic1 many years ago1 he promptly      
noticed that the spirits never gave     
information which was not already in the
 possession of one or the other person  
present4 ,only in a few cases he        
acknowledged with his usual candor1 and 
at once1 at the meeting itself1 that a  
true answer was returned4 ,but when he  
examined1 after his return home1 these  
few exceptional revelations1 he         
discovered that he had been mistaken1   
and that these answers had been after   
all as illusory as the others4  ,there  
can be no doubt therefore1 that modern  
magic1 as far as it consists in         
table-moving and spirit-rapping1 with   
their usual accompaniments1 is neither  
the work of mechanical jugglery         
exclusively1 nor1 on the other hand1 the
 result of revelations made by spirits4 
,in the mass of accumulated evidence    

there remain however1 after sifting it  
carefully1 many facts which cannot be   
explained according to the ordinary     
course of nature4 ,the power which      
produces these phenomena must be        
classified with other well-known powers 
given to man under exceptional          
circumstances1 such as the safety of    
somnambulists in dangerous places2 the  
cures performed by faith1 and the       
strange exhibitions made by diseased    
persons1 suffering of catalepsy and     
similar affections4 ,if men1 under the  
influence of mesmerism1 in a state of   
ecstatic fervor1 or under the pressure  
of strong and long-continued excitement1
 show powers which are not possessed by 
man naturally1 then modern magic also   
may well be admitted as one of the means
 by which such extraordinary1 and as yet
 unexplored forces are brought to light4
 ,all that can be reasonably asked of   
those who so peremptorily challenge our 
admiration1 and demand our respect for  
the new science1 is that it shall be    

proved to be useful to man1 and this    
proof is1 as yet1 altogether wanting4   
,in ,mexico the preparation for acts of 
magic seems to have been downright      
intoxication2 at least we learn from    
,acosta1 in his ,hist4 nat4 y moral de  
los ,indias 7lv471 that the priests1    
before sacrificing1 inhaled powerful    
perfumes1 rubbed themselves with        
ointments made of venomous animals1     
tobacco and hempseed1 and finally drank 
chica mixed with various drugs4 ,thus   
they reached a state of exaltation in   
which they not only butchered numbers of
 human beings in cold blood1 and lost   
all fear of wild beasts1 but were also  
able to reveal what was happening at a  
great distance1 or even future events4  
,we find similar practices1 also1 nearer
 home4 ,the ,indians of ,martha's       
,vineyard had1 before they were         
converted1 their skillful magicians1 who
 stood in league with evil spirits1 and 
as pawaws discovered stolen things1     
injured men at a distance1 and clearly  

foretold the coming of the whites4 ,the 
pious ,brainert gives us full accounts  
of some of the converted ,delawares1    
who1 after baptism1 felt the evil spirit
 depart from them1 and lost the power of
 magic4 ,one1 a great and wicked        
magician1 deplored bitterly his former  
condition1 when he was a slave of the   
evil one1 and became1 in the good       
missionary's words3 an humble1 devout1  
hearty1 and loving ,christian4 ,it is   
more difficult to explain the magic of  
the so-called ,archbishop ,beissel1 the 
head of the brotherhood at ,ephrata1 in 
,pennsylvania1 who1 according to        
contemporary authorities oppressed by   
his magic the father and steward of the 
convent1 ,eckerling1 to such a degree1  
that he left his brethren and sought    
refuge in a hermit's hut in the forest6 
,the spirits of departed brethren and   
sisters returned to the refectory at    
this bishop's bidding2 they partook of  
bread and meat1 and even conversed with 
their successors4 ,there can be no doubt

 that ,beissel1 abundantly and          
exceptionally gifted1 possessed the     
power to put his unhappy subordinates1  
already exhausted by asceticism of every
 kind1 into a state of ecstasy1 in which
 they sincerely believed they saw these 
spirits1 and were subjected to magic    
influences4 ,that such power has by no  
means entirely departed from our        
continent1 may be seen in the atrocities
 perpetrated at the command of the      
negroes' ,obee1 of which                
well-authenticated records abound in    
,florida and ,louisiana1 as well as in  
,cuba4  ,the ,indo-,germanic race has   
known and practised black magic from    
time immemorial1 and the ,vendidad      
already explains it as an act which     
,ahriman1 the ,evil ,spirit1 brought    
forth when overshadowed by death4 ,in   
,egypt it flourished for ages1 and has  
never become entirely extinct4 ,jannes  
and ,jambres1 who led the priests in    
their opposition to ,moses 7#b4 ,tim4   
iii4 #h71 have their successors in our  

day1 and the very miracles performed by 
these ancient charmers have been        
witnessed again and again by modern     
travelers4 ,holy ,writ abounds with     
instances of every kind of magic2 it    
speaks of astrology1 and prophesying    
from arrows1 from the entrails of       
animals1 and from dreams2 but1 strangely
 enough1 the charming of serpents and   
the evil eye are not mentioned1 if we   
except ,balaam4 ,the ,kabbalah1 on the  
contrary1 speaks more than once of the  
evil eye 7ain hara71 and all the        
southern nations of ,europe1 as well as 
the ,slavic races1 fear its weird power4
  ,the eye is1 however1 by no means     
employed only to work evil2 by the side 
of their mal occhio the ,italians have  
another gift1 called attrativa1 which   
enables man1 apparently by the force of 
his eye only1 to draw to himself all    
whom he wishes to attract4 ,the         
well-known ,saint ,filippo ,neri thus   
not only won all whom he wished to gain 
over1 by looking at them1 but even dogs 

left their beloved masters and followed 
him everywhere4 ,cotton ,mather tells us
 in his ,magnolia that quakers          
frequently by the eye only--though      
often1 also1 by anointing or breathing  
upon them--compelled others to accompany
 them1 to join their communion1 and to  
be in all things obedient to their      
bidding4 ,tom ,case1 himself a quaker1  
certainly possessed the power of        
overwhelming those at whom he looked    
fixedly for a while1 to such a degree   
that they fell down as if struck with   
epilepsy2 once1 at least1 he turned even
 a mad bull1 by the force of his eye1   
till it approached him humbly and licked
 his hand like a pet dog4 ,even in our  
own age ,goethe has admitted the power  
of certain men to attract others by the 
strength of their will1 and mentions an 
instance in which he himself1 ardently  
wishing to see his beloved one1 forced  
her unconsciously to come and meet him  
halfway4 7,eckermann1 iii4 #bja47  ,it  
avails nothing to stigmatize a faith so 

deeply rooted and so universal as mere  
superstition4 ,among the mass of errors 
which in the course of ages have        
accumulated around the creed1 the little
 grain of truth1 the indubitable power  
of man's mind to act through the eye1   
ought not to be overlooked4  ,it is the 
same with the magic known as such to the
 two great nations of antiquity4 ,if the
 ,greeks saw in ,plato the son of       
,apollo1 who came to his mother         
,perictione in the shape of a serpent1  
and in ,alexander the ,great the son of 
,jupiter ,ammon1 they probably intended 
merely to pay the same compliment to    
their countrymen which modern nations   
convey by calling their rulers ,kings   
and ,kaisers by the ,grace of ,god4 ,but
 the consistency with which higher      
beings came to visit earth-born man in  
the shape of favored animals1 is more   
than an accident4 ,the sons of ,god came
 to see the daughters of men1 though it 
is not said in what form they appeared1 
and the suggestion that they were the   

giants upon the earth1 mentioned in     
,holy ,writ1 is not supported2 but      
exactly as the gods came from ,olympus  
in the shape of bulls and rams1 so the  
evil spirits of the ,middle ,ages       
appeared in the shape of rams and cats4 
,a curious instance of the mixture of   
truth and falsehood appears in this     
connection4 ,it is well-known that the  
,italians of the ,south look upon       
,virgil as one of the greatest magicians
 that ever lived1 and ascribe to his    
tomb even now supernatural power4 ,the  
poet himself had1 of course1 nothing    
whatever to do with magic2 but his      
reputation as a magician arose from the 
fact that1 next to the ,bible1 his      
verses became1 at an early period1 a    
favorite means of consulting the future4
 ,sortes ,virgilianae1 the lines which  
upon accidentally opening the volume    
first met the eye1 were a leading       
feature of the art known as stichomania4
  ,the story of the greatest magician   
mentioned in the ,new ,testament has    

been thoroughly examined1 and the main  
features1 at least1 are well            
established4 ,simon ,magus was a        
magician in the sense in which the      
ancients used that term2 but he         
possessed evidently1 in addition1 all   
the powers claimed by better            
spiritualists1 like ,home in our day4 ,a
 native of ,gitton1 a small village of  
,samaria1 he had early manifested       
superior intellectual gifts1 accompanied
 by an almost marvelous control over the
 minds of others4 ,by the aid of the    
former he produced a lofty gnostic      
system1 which crumbled1 however1 to     
pieces as soon as it came into contact  
with the inspired system of             
,christianity4 ,his influence over      
others led him1 in the arrogance which  
is inherent to natural man1 to consider 
himself as the ,great ,divine ,power1   
which appeared in different forms as    
,father1 ,son1 and ,spirit4 ,he         
professed to be able to make himself    
invisible and to pass1 unimpeded1       

through solid substances--precisely as  
was done in later ages by ,saint        
,dominic and other saints 7,goerres4    
,mystic1 ii4 #egf7--to bind and to      
loosen others as well as himself at     
will2 to open prison doors and to cause 
trees to grow out of the bare ground4   
,before utterly rejecting his           
pretensions as mere lies and tricks1 we 
must bear in mind two facts3 first1 that
 modern jugglers in ,india perform these
 very tricks in a manner as yet         
unexplained1 and secondly1 that he1 in  
all probability1 possessed merely the   
power of exciting others to a high state
 of exaltation1 in which they candidly  
believed they saw all these things4 ,at 
all events1 his magic deeds were        
identical with the miracles of later    
saints1 and as these are enthroned in   
shrine and statue in ,rome1 so the      
,eternal ,city erected to ,simon ,magus1
 also1 a statue1 and proclaimed him a   
god in the days of ,claudius6 ,another  
celebrated magician of the same race1   

was ,sedechias 7,goerres4 ,mystic1 iv4  
ii4 #ga71 who lived in the days of      
,saint ,louis1 and who1 once1 in order  
to convince the skeptics of his day of  
the real existence of spirits1 such as  
the ,kabbalah admits1 ordered them to   
appear in human form before the eyes of 
the monarch4 ,instantly the whole plain 
around the king's tent was alive with a 
vast army2 long rows of bright-colored  
tents dotted the lowlands1 and on the   
slopes around were encamped countless   
troops2 whilst mounted squadrons        
appeared in the air1 performing         
marvelous evolutions4 ,this was probably
 the first instance of those airy hosts1
 which have ever since been seen in     
various countries4  ,the ,christian era 
gave to magic phenomena a new and       
specific character2 what was a miracle  
in apostolic times remained in the eyes 
of the multitude a miracle to our day1  
when performed by saints of the         
church--it became a crime and an        
abomination when the authors were       

laymen1 and yet both differed in no     
single feature4 ,the most remarkable    
representative of this dual nature of   
supernatural performances is1 no doubt1 
,dr4 ,faust1 whom the great and pious   
,melanchthon states to have well known  
as a native of the little village of    
,knittlingen1 near his own birth-place1 
and as a man of dissolute habits1 whom  
the ,devil carried off in person4 ,his  
motto1 which has been discovered under a
 portrait of his 7,hauber's ,bibl4      
,mag471 was characteristic of his faith3
 ,omne bonum et perfectum a ,deo1       
imperfectum a diabolo4 ,his vast        
learning1 his great power over the      
elements1 and the popular story of his  
pact with the ,evil ,one1 made him a    
hero among the ,germans1 of whose       
national tendencies he was then the     
typical representative4 ,unfortunately1 
however1 nearly every ,christian land   
has had its own ,faust2 such was1 for   
instance1 in ,spain the famous ,dr4     
,toralba1 who lived in the sixteenth    

century1 and by the aid of a servile    
demon read the future1 healed the sick1 
traveled through the air1 and even when 
he fell into the hands of the           
,inquisition1 obtained his release      
through the ,great ,admiral of ,castile4
 ,gilles de ,laval1 who was publicly    
burnt in #addj1 and ,lady ,fowlis1 of   
,scotland1 are parallel cases4  ,one of 
the most absurd ceremonies belonging to 
black magic1 was the well-known         
,taigheirm1 of the ,scotch ,highlands1 a
 demoniac sacrifice evidently handed    
down from pagan times4 ,the so-called   
magician procured a large number of     
black cats1 and devoted them1 with      
solemn incantations1 and while burning  
offensive incense of various kinds1 to  
the evil spirits4 ,then the poor victims
 were spitted and slowly roasted over a 
fire of coals1 one after the other1 but 
so that not a second's pause occurred   
between the death of one and the        
sufferings of the next4 ,this horridly  
absurd sacrifice had to be continued for

 three days and nights1 during which the
 magician was not allowed to take any   
food or drink4 ,the consequence was1    
that if he did not drop down exhausted  
and perish miserably1 he became         
fearfully excited1 and finally saw      
demons in the shape of black cats who   
granted him all he desired 7,horst4     
,deuteroscopia1 ii4 #ahd74 ,it need     
hardly be added that in the state of    
clairvoyance which he had reached1 he   
only asked for what he well knew was    
going to happen1 and that all the       
fearful visions of hellish spirits      
existed only in his overwrought         
imagination4 ,but it will surprise many 
to learn that such taigheirms were held 
as late as the last century1 and that a 
place is still shown on the island of   
,mull1 where ,allan ,maclean with his   
assistant1 ,lachlain ,maclean1          
sacrificed black cats for four days and 
nights in succession4 ,the elder of the 
two passed for a kind of high-priest and
 chief magician with the superstitious  

islanders2 the other was a young        
unmarried man of fine appearance1 and   
more than ordinary intelligence4 ,both  
survived the fearful ceremony1 but sank 
utterly exhausted to the ground1 unable 
to obtain the revelation which they had 
expected2 nevertheless they retained the
 gift of second sight for their lives4  
,it must not be imagined1 finally1 that 
the summoning of spirits is a lost art2 
even in our day men are found who are   
willing to call the departed from their 
resting-place1 and to exhibit them to   
the eyes of living men4 ,the best       
explanation of this branch of magic was 
once given by a learned professor1 whom 
the ,prince ,elector of ,brandenburg1   
,frederick ,,ii41 sent for from ,halle1 
in order to learn from him how spirits  
could be summoned4 ,the savant declared 
that nothing was easier1 and supported  
his assertion by a number of actual     
performances4 ,first the spectator was  
prepared by strong beverages1 such as   
the ,egyptian sorcerers already used to 

employ on similar occasions1 and by the 
burning of incense4 ,soon he fell into a
 kind of half-sleep1 in which he could  
still understand what was said1 but no  
longer reflect upon the sense of the    
words2 gradually his brain became so    
disturbed1 and his imagination so highly
 excited1 that he pictured to himself   
images corresponding to the words which 
he heard1 and called them up before his 
mind's eye as realities4 ,the magician1 
protected against the effects of the    
incense by a sponge filled with an      
alcoholic mixture1 then began to        
converse with his visitor1 and tried to 
learn from him all he could concerning  
the person the latter wished to see1 his
 shape1 his clothes1 etc4 ,finally the  
victim was conducted into a dark room1  
where he was suddenly asked by a stern1 
imperious voice3 ,do you not see that   
woman in white8 7or whatever the person 
might be17 and at once his over-excited 
imagination led him to think that he    
really beheld what he expected or wished

 to see4 ,this was allowed to go on till
 he sank down exhausted1 or actually    
fainted away4 ,when he recovered his    
consciousness1 he naturally recollected 
but imperfectly what he had seen while  
in a state of great excitement1 and his 
memory1 impaired by the intermediate    
utter exhaustion and fainting1 failed to
 recall the small errors or minute      
inaccuracies of his vision4 ,all that   
was left of the whole proceeding was a  
terrifying impression on his mind that  
he had really seen the spirits of       
departed friends4  ,such skillful       
manoeuvres were more than once employed 
for sinister purposes4 ,thus it is a    
well-known historical fact that the men 
who obtained control over ,king         
,frederick ,william ,,ii41 after his    
ascension to the throne1 and held it for
 a time by the visions which they showed
 him1 employed means like these to      
summon the spirits he wished to see4    
,the master in this branch of black     
magic was undoubtedly ,joseph ,balsamo1 

the ,count ,cagliostro of ,french       
history4 ,he was neither a magician in  
the true sense of the word1 nor even a  
religious enthusiast1 but merely an     
accomplished juggler and swindler1 who  
had acquired1 by natural endowment1     
patient study1 and consummate art1 a    
great power over the minds of others4   
,he played upon the imagination of men  
as upon a familiar instrument1 and the  
greatest philosophers were as easily    
victimized by him as the most           
clear-sighted women1 in spite of the    
natural instinct which generally        
protects the latter against such        
imposition4 ,his secret--as far as the  
summoning of the spirits of the departed
 is concerned--has died with him1 but   
that enlightened1 conscientious men     
candidly believed they had been shown   
disembodied spirits1 is too well        
established by memories of ,french and  
,dutch writers to be doubted4 ,in the   
meetings of his lodges of ,egyptian     
,freemasons he1 as ,grand ,cophtha1 or  

those whom he had qualified by breathing
 upon them1 employed a boy or a girl1   
frequently called up at haphazard from  
the street1 but at other times carefully
 prepared for the purpose1 to look into 
the hand or a basin of water4 ,the poor 
child was1 however1 first made          
half-unconscious1 being anointed with   
the oil of wisdom1 no doubt an          
intoxicating compound1 and after        
numerous ceremonies1 carried into a     
recess called the ,tabernacle1 and      
ordered to look into the hand or a basin
 of water4 ,after the assembly had      
prayed for some time1 the ,dove1 as they
 called the child1 was asked what he    
saw4 ,ordinarily he beheld first an     
angel or a priest--probably the image of
 ,cagliostro himself in his sacerdotal  
robes--but frequently also monkeys1 the 
offspring of a skeptical imagination4   
,then followed more or less interesting 
revelations1 some utterly absurd1 others
 of real interest1 and at times actual  
predictions of future events4           

,cagliostro himself1 during his last    
trial before the ,inquisition of ,rome1 
while readily confessing a large number 
of impostures1 stoutly maintained the   
genuineness of these communications and 
insisted that they were the effects of a
 special power granted by ,god4 ,his    
assertion has some value1 as the shrewd 
man knew very well how much more he was 
likely to gain by a prompt avowal than  
by such a denial2 his wife1 also1       
although his accomplice in former years1
 and now by no means disposed to spare  
her quasi-husband1 always stated that   
this was a true mystery which she had   
never been able to fathom4 ,if we add to
 these considerations the fact that     
numerous masters of lodges1 even in     
,holland and ,england1 obtained the same
 results1 and that they cannot all have 
been impostors or deluded victims1 there
 remains enough in these                
well-established phenomena to ascribe   
them to a mysterious1 magic power4      
7,compendio della vita1 etc4 di ,g4     

,balsamo1 ,roma1 #agia47 ,it is in fact 
quite evident that the unfortunate      
juggler possessed in a very rare degree 
a power akin to that practised by a     
,mesmer1 a ,home1 and other men of that 
class1 without having the sense to      
understand its true nature or the       
ambition to employ it for other than the
 lowest selfish purposes4 ,trials of    
magicians1 who have conjured up the dead
 and compelled them to reveal the       
future1 are still taking place every now
 and then2 in the year #ahej not less   
than four men1 together with their      
associates1 were accused of this crime  
in enlightened ,germany1 and the        
proceedings in one case1 which occurred 
in ,munich1 created no small sensation4 
,black magic1 therefore1 must also be   
looked upon as by no means a mere       
illusion1 much less as the work of evil 
spirits4 ,the results it obtains at     
times are the work of man himself1 and  
exist only within his own conscience4   
,but if man can produce such marvelous  

effects1 which lie apparently beyond the
 range of the material world1 how much  
more must the ,creator and ,preserver of
 all things be able to call forth events
 which transcend--to our mind--the      
limits of the tangible world4 ,such     
occurrences1 when they have a higher    
moral or religious purpose in view1 we  
call ,miracles1 and they remain         
incomprehensible for all whose knowledge
 is confined to the physical world4     
,above the laws of nature there rules   
the ,divine ,will1 which can do what    
,nature cannot do1 and which we can only
 begin to understand when we bear in    
mind the fact that by the side of the   
visible order of the world or above it1 
there exist spiritual laws as well as   
spiritual beings4 ,in a miracle1 powers 
are rendered active which ordinarily    
remain inactive1 but which exist none   
the less permanently in the world4      
,hence all great thinkers have readily  
admitted the existence of miracles3 a   
,locke and a ,leibnitz as well as1 more 

recently1 a ,stahl and a ,schopenhauer4 
,locke1 in his ,discourse of ,miracles1 
goes so far as to call them the very    
credentials of a messenger sent from    
,god1 and asserts that ,moses and       
,christ have alike authenticated the    
truth and the divine character of their 
revelations by miracles4 ,even their    
possible continuance is believed in by  
those who hope that men will ever       
continue among us who have tasted the   
good word of ,god and the powers of the 
world to come4 7,hebrews vi4 #e47       
,,iii4  ,,dreams4      ,to              
sleep--perchance to dream4              
--,,hamlet4   ,of the two parts of our  
being1 one1 spiritual and heaven-born1  
is always active1 the other1 the bodily1
 earth-born part1 requires frequent and 
regular rest in sleep4 ,during this time
 of repose1 however1 the mind also      
ceases apparently its operations1       
merely1 however1 because it has no      
longer servants at its command1 who are 
willing and able to give expression to  

its activity4 ,when the senses are      
asleep the mind is deprived of the usual
 means of communication with the outer  
world2 but this does not necessarily    
condemn it to inaction4 ,on the         
contrary1 it has often been maintained  
that the mind is most active and capable
 of the highest achievements when       
released from its usual bondage to the  
senses4 ,already ,a,eschylus in his     
,eumenides says3      ,the mind of      
sleepers acts more cunningly2     ,the  
glare of day conceals the fate of men4  
,it seems1 however1 as if the           
intermediate state between the full     
activity of wakeful life and the        
complete repose of the senses in sound  
sleep1 is most favorable to the         
development of such magic phenomena as  
occur in dreams4 ,the fact that the     
susceptibility of the mind is at that   
time peculiarly great is intimately     
connected with the statement recorded in
 ,holy ,writ1 that ,god frequently      
revealed ,his will to men in dreams4 ,if

 we admit the antiquity of the book of  
,job1 we see there the earliest known   
announcement of this connection4 ,in a  
dream1 in a vision of the night1 when   
deep sleep falleth upon men1 in         
slumberings upon the bed2 then ,he      
openeth the ears of men and sealeth     
their instruction 7xxxiii4 #ae74 ,next  
we are told that ,god came to ,abimelech
 in a dream by night 7,gen4 xx4 #c71 and
 from that time we hear of similar      
revelations made by night in dreams     
throughout the whole history of the     
chosen people4 ,frequently1 however1 the
 dreams are called visions4 ,thus       
,balaam prophesied3 ,he hath said1 which
 heard the words of ,god and knew the   
knowledge of the ,most ,high1 which saw 
the vision of the ,almighty1 falling    
into a trance1 but having his eyes open4
 ,daniel had his secret revealed in a   
night vision1 but such favor was denied 
to ,saul1 for the ,lord answered him    
not1 neither by dream nor by ,urim1 nor 
by prophets4 ,to ,solomon1 on the       

contrary1 the ,lord appeared in a dream 
by night many times2 ,joel was promised 
that old men should dream dreams and    
young men shall see visions1 a pledge   
quoted by ,st4 ,peter as having been    
amply fulfilled in his day 7,acts ii4   
#ag74 ,for dreams did not lose their    
importance at the coming of ,christ4 ,to
 his reputed father the ,angel of the   
,lord appeared in a dream1 bidding him  
to take ,mary to his wife2 again he was 
warned in a dream not to return to      
,herod1 and the ,lord spake to ,paul in 
the night by a vision more than once1 as
 he was by a dream also sent to         
,macedonia4  ,what in these and similar 
cases is accepted as divine inspiration1
 is in secular history generally looked 
upon as mysterious1 magic revelation2   
but the phenomena remain the same in all
 instances1 and those appearing in      
dreams are identical with the symptoms  
exhibited in revelations occurring      
during the day1 when the favored        
recipient is wide awake4 ,clairvoyance  

by night differs in no way from         
clairvoyance during the day2 a state of 
ecstasy1 a trance1 is necessary in      
either case4 ,that prophetic dreams     
generally remain unknown--outside of    
,holy ,writ--must be ascribed to the    
fact that they leave no recollection    
behind1 unless they are continued into a
 state of half-sleep1 from which a      
sudden awakening takes place2 and soon  
then they are invariably clothed in some
 allegoric form1 and become liable to be
 erroneously or1 at least1 imperfectly  
interpreted4 ,thus dreams1 like trances1
 often prefigure death under the form of
 a journey1 and represent the dying man 
as an uprooted tree1 a withered flower1 
or a drowning swimmer4 ,the early       
,christians1 foreseeing martyrdom1 very 
frequently received in dreams an        
intimation of their impending fate under
 such symbolic forms1 and1 what was     
quite peculiar to their visions was that
 they often extended to the pagan       
jailors and keepers1 whose minds had    

been excited by witnessing the          
sufferings and the constancy of their   
victims1 and who1 in many cases1 became1
 in consequence of these dreams1        
converts to the new faith4 ,the         
facility1 however1 with which such      
symbols can be misunderstood1 has been  
as fatal to dreams in the estimation of 
most men1 as the inaccurate manner in   
which the real revelation is often      
presented to the still half-sleeping    
mind4 ,hence the popular belief that    
dreams go by contraries1 as vulgar slang
 expresses it4 ,this faith is based upon
 the well-established fact that a       
genuine dream1 in the act of impressing 
itself upon memory1 often suffers not   
only mutilation but actual reversion4   
,thus ,rogers saw1 in a dream1 ,hikey1 a
 small1 weak man1 murder a powerful     
giant1 ,caulfield--in the actual        
encounter1 which he had really foreseen1
 the latter killed his puny antagonist4 
,it is1 therefore1 as dangerous to      
believe in dreams1 as to deny their     

value altogether and to ascribe all     
realizations of dreams1 with1 ,macnish1 
to mere accident4 7,sleep1 p4 #ha47 ,men
 of cool judgment and clear mind have at
 all times been found on the side of    
believers1 and even our great ,franklin1
 with his eminently practical mind and  
well-known aversion to every kind of    
superstition1 firmly trusted in views   
which he believed to have come to him in
 dreams4  ,antiquity believed in dreams1
 not only as means by which the ,gods   
revealed their will1 but as special     
favors accorded to fortunate men4 ,thus 
we are told that once two men were      
traveling together from ,arcadia to     
,megara2 when they reached the city1 one
 of the two remained at an inn1 while   
the other went to stay with a a friend4 
,both1 wearied by the journey1 retired  
to rest2 but the traveler who was at a  
private house dreamt in the night that  
his friend urged him to come to his     
assistance1 as the innkeeper was about  
to murder him4 ,terrified by the vivid  

dream1 he jumped up2 but1 upon          
reflection1 he concluded that the whole 
was but an idle fancy1 and lay down     
again4 ,thereupon the dream was         
repeated2 but this time his friend      
added1 that it was too late to come to  
his aid now1 as he had been murdered1   
and his body would in the morning be    
carried out of the city1 concealed under
 a load of manure4 ,this second dream   
made such an impression upon the        
,arcadian that he went at an early hour 
to the city gate1 and to his amazement  
soon saw a wagon loaded with manure     
approaching the place where he stood4   
,he stopped the driver and asked him    
what he had hidden in his wagon8 ,the   
man fled1 trembling2 the body of the    
murdered friend was found1 and the      
treacherous innkeeper paid with his life
 for his crime4 7,cicero1 ,de divin47   
,one of the oldest of well-authenticated
 dreams in ,christian times1 revealed to
 ,st4 ,basil the death of ,julian the   
,apostate4 ,it seemed to him in his     

sleep that he saw the martyr ,mercurius 
receive from ,god the order to kill the 
tyrant1 and after a short time return   
and say3 ,o ,lord1 ,julian is killed as 
,thou hast commanded6 ,the saint was so 
firmly convinced of having received a   
direct revelation from heaven1 that he  
immediately made the news known to the  
people1 and thus gained new honor when  
the official information at last        
arrived4 7,vita ,s4 ,basil41 etc41 p4   
#fib47 ,here1 also1 the deep-seated     
hatred of the ,christian priest against 
the ,emperor1 who dared to renew the    
worship of the ancient gods of the      
,pagans1 no doubt suggested the vivid   
dream1 while1 on the other hand1 the    
transmission of the actual revelation   
was so imperfect as to change the real  
occurrence--,julian's death by a        
,persian lance--according to the        
familiar way of thinking of ,st4 ,basil1
 into his execution at divine command by
 a holy martyr4 ,there is no lack of    
renowned men of all ages who have had   

their remarkable dreams1 and who have1  
fortunately for future investigation1   
recorded them carefully4 ,thus          
,melanchthon tells us that he was at a  
convent with a certain ,dr4 ,jonas1 when
 letters reached him requesting him to  
convey to his friend the sad news of his
 daughter's sudden death4 ,the great    
reformer was at a loss how to discharge 
the painful duty1 and driven by an      
instinctive impulse1 asked ,dr4 ,jonas  
whether he had ever had any remarkable  
dreams4 ,the latter replied that he had 
dreamt1 during the preceding night1 of  
his return home1 and of the joyful      
welcome he had met from all his family1 
except his oldest daughter1 who had not 
appeared4 ,thereupon ,melanchthon told  
him that his dream had been true1 and   
that he would never see his daughter    
again1 as she had been summoned to her  
eternal home4 ,petrarch had a dream     
which was evidently also the reflex of  
his thoughts in the day-time1 but       
accompanied by a direct revelation4 ,he 

had been1 for some days1 very anxious   
about the health of his patron1 a       
,colonna1 who was ,bishop of ,lombez1   
and one night saw himself in a dream    
walking by his friend's side1 but unable
 to keep pace with him2 the bishop      
walked faster and faster1 bidding him   
stay behind1 and when the poet insisted 
upon following him1 he suddenly assumed 
a death-like appearance1 and said1 ,no1 
,i will not have you go with me now6    
,during the same night in which         
,petrarch had this dream in ,parma1 the 
bishop died at his palace in ,lombez4   
,the well-known ,thomas ,wotton1 also1  
dreamt a short time before his death1   
while residing in ,kent1 that he saw    
five persons commit a robbery at        
,oxford4 ,on the following day he added 
a postscript to a letter which he had   
written to his son ,henry1 then a       
student at that university1 in which he 
mentioned his dream1 and asked if such a
 robbery had really taken place4 ,the   
letter reached the young man on the     

morning after the crime had been        
committed1 when town and university were
 alike in a state of intense excitement4
 ,he made the letter immediately known  
to the authorities1 who found in the    
account of the dream so accurate a      
description of the robbers1 that they   
were enabled at once to ascertain who   
were the guilty persons1 and to have    
them arrested before they could escape4 
7,beaumont1 p4 #bbc47 ,the great ,german
 poet ,gustav ,schwab received the first
 intimation of the ,french ,revolution  
in #ahdh through a remarkable dream     
which his daughter had in the night     
preceding the #bdth of ,february4 ,she  
had been attacked by a malignant fever1 
and was very restless and nervously     
excited2 during that night she saw1 in  
her feverish dreams1 the streets of     
,paris filled with excited crowds1 and  
was forced to witness the most fearful  
scenes4 ,when her father came to her    
bedside next morning1 she gave him a    
minute description of the building of   

barricades1 the bloody encounters       
between the troops and the citizens1 and
 of a number of sad tragedies which she 
had seen enacted in the narrow and dark 
streets of the great city4 ,the father1 
though deeply impressed by the vivid    
character of the dream1 ascribed it to a
 reminiscence of the scenes enacted     
during the ,revolution of #aghi1 and    
dismissed the subject1 although his     
child insisted upon the thoroughly      
modern character of the buildings1 and  
the costumes and manners of all she had 
seen4 ,great was1 therefore1 the        
amazement of the poet and of all who had
 heard of the dream1 when1 several days 
afterwards1 the first news reached them 
of the expulsion of the ,orleans family1
 and much greater still when the papers 
brought1 one by one1 descriptions of the
 scenes which the feverish dream had    
enabled the girl to see in minute       
detail1 and yet with unerring accuracy4 
,it is true that the poet1 in whose     
biography the dream with all the        

attending circumstances is mentioned at 
full length1 had for years anticipated  
such a revolution1 and often1 with a    
poet's graphic power1 conjured up the   
scenes that were likely to happen       
whenever the day of the tempest should  
arrive4 ,thus his daughter's mind had1  
no doubt1 long been filled with images  
of this kind1 and was in a state        
peculiarly susceptible for impressions  
connected with the subject4 ,there      
remains1 however1 the magic phenomenon  
that she saw1 not a poet's fiction1 but 
actual occurrences with all their       
details1 and saw them in the very night 
during which they happened4 ,in the     
papers of ,sir ,robert ,peel was found a
 note concerning his journey from       
,antibes to ,nice1 in #ahed4 ,he was on 
board the steamer ,erculano1 which1 on  
the #beth of ,april1 so violently       
collided with another steamer1 the      
,sicilia1 that it sank immediately1 and 
two-thirds of the passengers perished4  
,among those who were rescued were the  

great ,english statesman and the maid of
 two ladies1 the wife and the daughter  
of a counselor of a ,french court of    
justice at ,dijon4 ,the young girl had  
had a presentiment of impending evil1   
but her wish to postpone the journey had
 been overruled4 ,the father1 also1     
though knowing nothing of the precise   
whereabouts of his beloved ones1 had    
been much troubled in mind about their  
safety1 and in the very night in which  
the accident happened1 saw the whole    
occurrence in a harassing dream4 ,he    
distinctly beheld the vessel disappear  
in the waves1 and a number of victims1  
among whom were his wife and his child1 
struggling for life1 till they finally  
perished4 ,he awoke in a state of great 
anguish1 summoned his servants to keep  
him company1 and told them what he had  
dreamt4 ,a few hours later the telegraph
 informed him of the accident1 and of   
his own grievous affliction4 7,journ4 de
 l'ame1 ,fevr4 #aheg1 p4 #bec47  ,while 
in these dreams events were made known  

which happened at the same time1 in     
other dreams the future itself is       
revealed4 ,cicero1 in his work on       
,divination 7,i4 #bg1 and ,,ii4 #ff71   
and ,valerius ,maximus have preserved a 
number of such dream-visions1 which were
 famous already in the days of          
antiquity2 a dream concerning the tyrant
 ,dionysius was especially well known4  
,it seems that a woman1 called ,himera1 
found herself in a dream among the gods 
on ,olympus1 and there saw chained to   
the throne of ,jupiter a large man with 
red hair and spotted countenance4 ,when 
she asked the divine messenger who had  
carried her to those regions1 who that  
man was1 he told her it was the scourge 
of ,italy and ,sicily1 a man who1 when  
unchained1 would destroy many cities4   
,she related her dream on the following 
morning to her friends1 but found no    
explanation1 till several years         
afterwards1 when ,dionysius ascended the
 throne4 ,she happened to be in the     
crowd which had assembled to witness the

 triumph of the new monarch1 and when   
she saw the tyrant1 she uttered a loud  
cry1 for she had recognized in him the  
man in chains under ,jupiter's throne4  
,the cry attracted attention2 she was   
brought before ,dionysius1 forced to    
relate her dream1 and sent to be        
executed4 ,equally well known was the   
remarkable dream which ,socrates had a  
short time before his death4 ,his       
sentence had already been passed1 but   
the day for its execution was not yet   
made known1 when ,crito1 one of his     
friends1 came to him and informed him   
that it would probably be ordered for   
the next morning4 ,the great philosopher
 replied with his usual calmness3 ,if   
such is the will of the gods1 be it so2 
but ,i do not think it will be          
to-morrow4 ,i had1 just before you      
entered1 a sweet dream4 ,a woman of     
transcending beauty1 and dressed in a   
long white robe1 appeared to me1 called 
me by name1 and said1 ',in three days   
you will return to your beloved ,phthia'

 7,socrates' native place74 ,he did not 
die till the third day4  ,alexander the 
,great came more than once1 during his  
remarkable career1 in peculiar contact  
with prophetic dreams4 ,he was thus     
informed of the coming of ,cassander    
long before he ever saw him1 and even of
 the influence which the still unknown  
friend would have on his fate4 ,when the
 latter at last appeared at court1      
,alexander looked at him long and       
anxiously1 and recognized in him the man
 he had so often seen in his dreams4 ,it
 so happened1 however1 that before his  
suspicions assumed a positive form1 a   
,greek distich was mentioned to him1    
written to prove the utter worthlessness
 of all dreams1 and the effect of these 
lines1 combined with the discovery that 
,cassander was the son of his beloved   
,antipater1 induced him to lay aside all
 apprehensions4 ,nevertheless1 his      
friend subsequently poisoned him in cold
 blood4 ,not less famous was the dream  
which warned ,caius ,gracchus of his own

 sad fate4 ,he saw in his sleep the     
shadow of his brother ,tiberius1 and    
heard him announce in a clear voice1    
that ,caius also would share his tragic 
end1 and be murdered like himself in the
 ,capitol4 ,the great ,roman frequently 
related this dream1 and the historian   
,coelius records that he heard it       
repeated during ,gracchus' life-time4   
,it is well known that the latter       
afterwards became a tribune1 and was    
killed while he held that office1 in the
 same manner as his brother4 ,cicero    
also had his warning dream4 ,he was     
escaping from his enemies1 who had      
driven him out of ,rome1 and seeking    
safety in his ,antium villa4 ,here he   
dreamt1 one night1 that1 as he was      
wandering through a waste1 deserted     
country1 the ,consul ,marius met him1   
accompanied by the usual retinue1 and   
adorned with all the insignia of his    
rank1 and asked him why he was so       
melancholy1 and why he had fled from    
,rome4 ,when he had answered the        

question1 ,marius took him by his right 
hand1 and summoning his chief officer to
 his side1 ordered him to carry the     
great orator to the temple of ,jupiter1 
built by ,marius himself1 while he      
assured ,cicero he would there meet with
 new hopes4 ,it was afterwards          
ascertained that at the very hour of the
 dream1 the ,senate had been discussing 
in the temple of ,jupiter the speedy    
return of ,cicero4 ,it would have been  
well for the great ,caesar1 also1 if he 
had deigned to listen to the warning    
voice of dreams1 for in the night before
 his murder1 his wife1 ,calphurnia1 saw 
him1 in a dream1 fall wounded and       
copiously bleeding into her arms1 and   
there end his life4 ,she told him of her
 dream1 and on her knees besought him   
not to go out on that day2 but ,caesar1 
fearing he might be suspected of giving 
undue weight to a woman's dreams1 made  
light of her fears1 went to the ,senate1
 and met his tragic fate4 ,among later  
,romans the ,emperor ,theodosius was    

most strikingly favored by dreams1 if we
 may rely upon the statement of         
,ammianus ,marcellinus 7,i4 #bi74 ,two  
courtiers1 anxious to ascertain who     
should succeed the ,emperor ,valens on  
the throne1 employed a kind of magic    
instrument1 resembling the modern       
psychograph1 and succeeded in           
deciphering the letters ,theod4 ,their  
discovery became known to the jealous   
emperor1 who ordered not only           
,theodorus1 his second secretary of     
state1 to be executed1 but with him a   
large number of eminent personages whose
 names began with the ominous five      
letters4 ,for some unknown reasons1     
,theodosius1 then in ,spain1 escaped his
 suspicions1 and yet it was he1 who1    
when ,valens fell in the war against the
 ,goths1 was summoned home by the next  
emperor1 ,gratianus1 to save the empire 
and assume the supreme command of the   
army4 ,when the successful general      
returned to ,byzantium to make his      
report to the emperor1 he had himself a 

dream in which he saw the great         
,patriarch of ,antioch1 ,meletius1      
invest him with the purple1 and place   
the imperial crown upon his head4       
,gratianus1 struck by the brilliancy of 
the victory obtained at the moment of   
supreme danger1 made ,theodosius        
,emperor of the ,east1 and returned to  
,rome4 ,during the following year 7#chj7
 a great council was held in            
,constantinople1 and here1 amid a crowd 
of assembled dignitaries of the church1 
,theodosius instantly recognized the    
,bishop of ,antioch1 whom he had never  
seen except in his dream4  ,it is not   
generally known that the prediction of  
future greatness which ,shakespeare     
causes the three witches to convey to   
,macbeth1 rests on an historic basis4   
,the announcement came to him1 however1 
probably not at an actual meeting1 but  
by means of a prophetic dream1 which    
presented to the ambitious chieftain the
 appearance of an encounter with        
unearthly agents4 ,this presumption is  

strengthened by the first notice of the 
mysterious event1 which occurs1 it is   
believed1 in ,wyntownis ,cronykil1 where
 ,macbeth is reported to have had a     
vivid dream of three weird women1 who   
foretold him his fate4 ,boethius derived
 his information from this source1 and  
for unknown reasons added not only      
,banquo as a witness of the scene1 but  
described it1 also1 first of all        
chroniclers1 as an actual meeting in a  
forest4  ,the report that the discovery 
of the famous ,venus of ,milo was due to
 a dream1 is not improbable1 but is as  
yet without sufficient authentication4  
,the ,french ,consul1 ,brest1 who was a 
resident of ,milo1 dreamed1 it is       
stated1 two nights in succession1 that  
he had caused diggings to be made at a  
certain place in the island and that his
 efforts had been rewarded by the       
discovery of a beautiful statue4 ,he    
paid no attention to the dream2 but it  
was repeated a third time1 and now so   
distinctly that he not only saw clearly 

all the surroundings1 but1 also1 the    
traces of a recent fire on the spot that
 had been pointed out to him before4    
,when he went on the following day to   
the place1 he instantly recognized the  
traces of fire1 began his researches1   
and discovered not only the ,venus1 now 
the glory of the ,louvre1 but1 also1    
several other most valuable statues4    
,the well-known dream concerning ,major 
,andre is open to the same objections1  
although it is quoted in good faith by  
,mrs4 ,crowe 7i41 p4 #ei74 ,we are told 
that the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,cunningham1 the    
poet1 saw in a dream a man who was      
captured by armed soldiers and hanged on
 a tree4 ,to his utter consternation1 he
 recognized on the following day1 in    
,major ,andre1 who was then for the     
first time presented to him1 the person 
he had seen in his dream4 ,the latter   
was then just on the point of embarking 
for ,america1 where he met with his sad 
fate4  ,a large number of dreams which  
are looked upon as prophetic1 are       

nothing more than the result of         
impressions made on the mind during     
sleep by some bodily sensation4 ,a      
swelling or an inflammation1 for        
instance1 is frequently announced       
beforehand by pain in the affected part 
of the body2 the mind receives through  
the nerves an impression of this pain   
and clothes it1 during sleep and in a   
dream1 into some familiar garb1 the     
biting of a serpent1 the sting of an    
insect1 or1 even1 the stab of a dagger4 
,an occasional coincidence serves to    
lend prestige to such simple and        
perfectly natural dreams4 ,thus         
,stilling 7,jenseits1 p4 #bhd7 records  
the well-known story of a young man in  
,padua1 who dreamed one night that he   
was bitten by one of the marble lions   
which stand before the church of ,st4   
,justina4 ,passing by the place1 on the 
following day1 with some companions1 he 
recalled the dream1 and putting his hand
 into the mouth of one of the lions1 he 
said1 defiantly3 ,look at the fierce    

lion that bit me last night4 ,but at the
 same moment he uttered a piercing cry  
and drew back his hand in great terror3 
a scorpion1 hid in the lion's mouth1 had
 stung him1 and the poor youth died of  
the venom4 ,the ,german poet ,conrad    
,gessner dreamed1 in a similar manner1  
that a snake bit him in his left breast2
 the matter was completely forgotten1   
when five days later a slight rising    
appeared on the spot1 which speedily    
developed itself into a fatal ulcer1 and
 caused his death in a short time4  ,far
 more interesting1 and occasionally     
productive of good results1 are dreams  
which might be called retrospective1    
inasmuch as they reveal events of the   
past1 which stand in some connection    
with present or impending necessities4  
,many of these1 no doubt1 arise simply  
from the recovery of forgotten facts in 
our memory2 others1 however1 cannot be  
thus explained4 ,justinus tells us of   
,dido's dream1 in which she saw her     
departed husband1 ,sichaeus1 who pointed

 out to her his concealed treasures and 
advised her to seek safety in flight4   
,st4 ,augustine also has an account of a
 father who after death appeared to his 
son and showed him a receipted account1 
the loss of which had caused his heir   
much anxiety4 7,de cura pro mortuis1 ch4
 xi47 ,after ,dante's death the         
thirteenth canto of his ,paradise could 
nowhere be found1 and the apparent loss 
filled all ,italy with grief and sorrow4
 ,his son1 ,pietro ,alighieri1 however1 
saw a long time afterwards1 in a dream1 
his father1 who came to his bedside and 
told him that the missing papers were   
concealed under a certain plank near the
 window at which he had been in the     
habit of writing4 ,it was only when all 
other researches had proved vain1 that1 
attention was paid to the dream2 but    
when the plank was examined the canto   
was found in the precise place which the
 dream had indicated4  ,a similar dream 
of quite recent occurrence was          
accidentally more thoroughly            

authenticated than is generally the case
 with such events4 ,the beautiful wife  
of ,baron ,alphonse de ,rothschild of   
,paris had lost a valuable ring while   
hunting in the woods near her castle of 
,ferrieres4 ,it so happened that early  
associations made the jewel specially   
dear to her1 and she felt the loss      
grievously2 a reward of fifteen hundred 
francs was1 therefore1 offered at once  
for its recovery4 ,the night after the  
hunt1 the daughter of one of the keepers
 saw in a dream an unknown man of       
imposing appearance1 who told her to go 
at daybreak to a certain crossroad in   
the forest1 where she would find the    
ring at the foot of a beech-tree1 close 
to the highway4 ,she awakes1 dresses    
herself at once1 and goes to the place  
of which she has dreamed2 after half an 
hour's walk she reaches the crossroads  
and almost at the same moment sees      
something glittering and shining like a 
firefly1 picks it up1 and behold6 it is 
the ring4 ,the girl had not even seen   

the hunt1 nor did she know anything of  
the loss of the jewel2 the whole        
occurrence1 and the place where it was  
lost1 all were pointed out to her in her
 dream4 7,le ,monde ,illustre1 ,dec4    
#ae1 #ahfj74  ,it has already been      
mentioned that the question has often   
been mooted whether the mind was really 
quite at rest during sleep1 or still    
operative in dreams4 ,some authors deny 
its activity altogether2 others admit a 
partial activity4 ,the philosopher ,kant
 went so far as to maintain that        
perceptions had during sleep were       
clearer and fuller than those of the    
day1 because of the perfect rest of the 
other senses4 ,recollection1 alone1 he  
added1 was missing1 because the mind    
acted in sleep without the cooperation  
of the body4  ,there are1 however1      
certain facts which seem to prove that  
the mind does1 at least1 not altogether 
cease its activity while the body is    
asleep4 ,how else could we explain the  
power many persons undoubtedly possess  

to awake at a fixed hour1 and the       
success with which1 more than once1     
great mental efforts have been made     
during profound sleep8 ,of the latter1  
,tartini's famous sonata is a striking  
instance4 ,he had endeavored in vain to 
finish this great work2 inspiration     
would not come1 and he had abandoned the
 task in despair4 ,during the night he  
had a dream in which he once more tried 
his best1 but in vain2 at the moment of 
despair1 however1 the ,devil appeared to
 him and promised to finish the work in 
return for his soul4 ,the composer1     
nothing loath1 surrenders his soul and  
hears his magnificent work gloriously   
completed on the violin4 ,he wakes up in
 perfect delight1 goes to his desk1 and 
at once writes down his ,devil's        
,sonata4 ,even children are known       
occasionally to be able to give         
intelligent answers while fast asleep2  
the questions1 however1 must be in      
accordance with the current of their    
thoughts1 otherwise they are apt to be  

aroused4 ,a case is quoted by ,reil of  
two soldiers who used1 at times1 to keep
 up an uninterrupted conversation during
 a whole night1 while they were to all  
appearances fast asleep4 ,a lady1 also1 
was unable to refuse answers to         
questions put to her at night1 and had  
at last to lock herself in carefully    
whenever she went to sleep4  ,hence it  
is that some of the most profound       
thinkers who have discussed the subject 
of dreams1 like ,descartes and          
,leibnitz1 ,jouffroy and ,dugald        
,stewart1 ,richard and ,carus1 with a   
number of others1 assert the            
uninterrupted wakefulness of the mind4  
,some authors believe that the spiritual
 part of man needs no sleep1 but        
delights in the comfort of feeling that 
the body is in perfect repose1 and of   
forgetting1 by these means1 for a time  
the troubles of daily life1 and the     
responsibilities of our earthly         
existence4 ,they base this view upon the
 fact1 that1 as far as we can judge1 the

 mind is1 during sleep1 independent of  
the body and the outer world4 ,thinking 
is quite possible during sleep without  
dreaming1 and certain bodily sensations1
 even1 are correctly perceived1 as when 
we turn over in our sleep1 because lying
 on one side produces pain or           
uneasiness4 ,we not only talk while we  
are asleep1 but laugh or weep1 sigh or  
groan4 ,a slight noise1 a whispered     
word1 affect the course of our thoughts1
 and produce new images in our dreams1  
as certain affections and even the      
pressure upon certain organs are sure to
 produce invariably the same dreams4    
,space and time disappear1 however1 and 
naturally1 because we can measure them  
only by the aid of our senses1 and these
 are1 for the time1 inactive4 ,hence    
,dugald ,stewart ascribes the manner in 
which a moment's dream often comprises a
 year1 or a whole lifetime1 to the fact 
that1 when we are asleep1 the images    
created by our imagination appear to be 
realities1 while those which we form    

when we are awake are known to us to be 
mere fictions1 and hence not subject to 
the laws of time4  ,it will not surprise
 us1 therefore1 to find that this       
activity of the mind1 deprived of the   
usual means of making itself known to   
others by gesture1 sound1 or action1    
seeks frequently a symbolical utterance1
 and this is the grain of truth here    
also hid under the vast amount of       
rubbish1 known as the interpretation of 
dreams4 ,troubles and difficulties may  
thus appear as storms2 sorrow and grief 
as tears2 troubled waters may represent 
pain1 and smooth ice impending danger2 a
 dry river-bed an approaching famine1   
and pretty flowers great joy to come1   
provided1 always1 we are disposed to    
admit a higher class of prophetic       
dreams4 ,such a view is supported by    
high authority1 for since the days of   
,aristotle1 great writers1 divines as   
well as philosophers1 have endeavored to
 classify dreams according to their     
nature and importance4 ,the great       

reformer1 ,melanchthon1 in his work on  
the soul1 divided them into common      
dreams1 void of importance2 prophetic   
dreams1 arising from the individual     
gifts of the sleeper2 divine dreams1    
inspired by ,god either directly or     
through the agency of angels1 and       
finally1 demoniac dreams1 such as the   
witches' sabbath4 ,one great difficulty 
attending all such classification       
arises1 however1 from the well-known    
fact1 already alluded to1 that external 
sensations are by far the most frequent 
causes of dreams4 ,even these have been 
systematically arranged by some writers1
 most successfully1 perhaps1 in the work
 of ,maine de ,biran1 but he overlooks  
again the numerous cases in which       
external noises and similar accidents   
produce a whole train of thoughts4 ,thus
 ,pope dreamed of a ,spaniard who       
impudently entered his library1         
ransacked the books on the shelves1 and 
turned a deaf ear to all his            
remonstrances4 ,the impression was so   

forcible that he questioned all his     
servants1 and investigated the matter   
thoroughly1 till he was finally forced  
to acknowledge that the whole           
transaction was a dream caused by the   
fall of a book in his library1 which he 
heard in his sleep4 ,a still more       
remarkable case occurred once in a hotel
 in ,dantzic1 where not one person only1
 but all the guests1 without exception1 
dreamed of the sudden arrival of a      
number of travelers1 who disturbed the  
whole house1 and took possession of     
their rooms with unusual clatter and    
noise4 ,not one had arrived1 but during 
the night a violent storm had arisen1   
causing doors to slam and               
window-shutters to flap against the     
house1 noises which had aroused in more 
than fifty people precisely the same    
impressions4     ,,iv4  ,,visions4      
,concipiendis visionibus quas phantasias
 vocant4      --,,quintilian4           
,visions1 that is1 the perception of    
apparently tangible objects in the outer

 world1 which only exist in our         
imagination1 have been known from time  
immemorial among all nations on earth4  
,they are1 in themselves1 perfectly     
natural1 and can frequently be traced   
back without difficulty to bodily       
affections or a disordered state of the 
mind1 so that many eminent physicians   
dispose of them curtly as mere          
incidental symptoms of congestion or    
neuralgia4 ,they may present real men   
and things1 known beforehand1 and now   
reproduced in such a manner as to appear
 objectively2 or they may be ideal      
forms1 the product of the moment1 and   
incompatible with the laws of actual    
life4 ,persons who have visions and know
 nothing of their true nature1 are apt  
to become intensely excited1 as if they 
had been transferred into another world4
 ,the images they behold seem to them of
 supernatural origin1 and may inspire   
them with lofty thoughts and noble      
impulses1 but only too frequently they  
disturb their peace of mind and lead    

them to crime or despair4  ,when visions
 extend to other senses besides sight1  
and the peculiar state of mind by which 
they are caused affects different parts 
of the body at once1 they are called    
hallucinations2 most frequent among     
insane people1 of whom1 according to    
,esquirol1 eighty in a hundred are thus 
affected1 they are generally quite      
insignificant2 while visions through the
 eye1 are often accompanied by very     
remarkable magic phenomena4 ,thus the   
visions which great men like ,cromwell  
and ,descartes1 ,byron or ,goethe1      
record of their own experience1 were    
evidently signs of the great energy of  
their mental life1 while in others they 
are as clearly symptoms of disease4     
,ascribed by the ancients to divine     
influence1 ,christianity has invariably 
denounced them--when not indubitably    
inspired by ,god1 as in the case of the 
martyr ,stephen and the apostle ,st4    
,john--as works of the ,devil4 ,at all  
times they have been communicated to    

others1 either by contagion or1 in rare 
cases1 by the imposition of hands1 as   
they have been artificially produced4   
,thus extreme bodily fatigue and utter  
prostration after long illness are apt  
to cause hallucinations4 ,albert ,smith1
 for instance1 while ascending ,mont    
,blanc1 and feeling utterly exhausted1  
saw all his surroundings clearly with   
his eyes1 and yet1 at the same time1    
beheld marvelous things with the        
so-called inner sense4 ,a ,swiss who1 in
 #ahdh1 during a severe cold1 crossed   
from ,wallis to ,kandersteg by the      
famous ,gemmi ,pass1 eight thousand feet
 high1 saw on his way a number of men   
shoveling the snow from his path1       
fellow-travelers climbing up on all     
sides1 and rolling masses of snow which 
changed into dogs2 he heard the blows of
 axes and the laughing and singing of   
distant shepherds1 while his road was   
utterly deserted1 and not a human soul  
within many miles4 ,his hands and feet  
were found frozen when he arrived at    

last at his quarters for the night1 and 
ten days later he died from the effects 
of his exposure4 ,during the retreat of 
the ,french from ,russia the poor       
sufferers1 frozen and famished1 were    
continually tormented by similar        
hallucinations1 which increased their   
sufferings at times to such a degree as 
to lead them to commit suicide4 ,another
 frequent cause of visions is           
long-continued fasting combined with    
more or less ascetic devotion4 ,this is 
said to explain why the prophets of the 
,old ,testament were so vigorously      
forbidden to indulge in wine or rich    
fare4 ,thus ,aaron was told3 ,do not    
drink wine nor strong drink1 thou nor   
thy sons with thee1 when ye go into the 
tabernacle 7,levit4 x4 #i72 ,moses      
remained forty days1 and neither did eat
 bread nor drink wine1 when he was on   
,mount ,sinai 7,deuter4 ix4 #i72 the    
,nazarites were ordered not to drink any
 liquor of grapes1 nor to eat moist     
grapes or dried1 and even to abstain    

from vinegar 7,numbers vi4 #c71 and     
,daniel and his companions had nothing  
but pulse to eat and water to drink     
7,dan4 i4 #ab71 in order to prepare them
 for receiving wisdom and knowledge and 
the understanding of dreams and visions4
  ,narcotics also1 and1 in our day1 most
 of the anaesthetics can produce visions
 and hallucinations1 but the result is  
in all such cases much less interesting 
than when they are produced             
spontaneously4 ,tobacco and opium1      
betel1 hasheesh1 and coca are the       
principal means employed2 but ,siberia  
has besides its narcotic mushrooms1     
,polynesia its ava1 ,new ,granada and   
the ,himalaya the thorn-apple1 ,florida 
its emetic apalachine1 and the northern 
regions of ,america and ,europe have    
their ledum4 ,the most effective among  
these narcotics seems to be the ,indian 
hemp1 since the visions it produces     
surpass even the marvelous effects of   
opium1 as has been recently again most  
graphically described by ,bayard        

,taylor4 ,laughing-gas1 also1 has       
frequently similar effects1 and affords1
 besides1 the precious privilege of     
freedom from the painful1 often         
excruciating consequences of other      
narcotics4 ,when perfumes are employed  
for the express purpose of producing    
visions1 it is difficult to ascertain   
how much is due to their influence1 and 
how much to the over-excited mind of the
 seer4 ,benvenuto ,cellini              
describes--though probably not in the   
most trustworthy manner--the amazing    
effect produced upon himself and a boy  
by his side1 by the perfumes which a    
priest burnt in the ,coliseum4 ,the     
whole vast building seemed to him filled
 with demons1 and the boy saw thousands 
of threatening men1 four huge giants1   
and fire bursting out in countless      
places4 ,the great artist was told1 at  
the same time1 that a great danger was  
threatening him1 and that he would      
surely lose his beloved ,angelica within
 the month2 both events occurred as     

predicted1 and thus proved that in this 
case at least magic phenomena had       
accompanied the visions4 7,goethe1 ,b4  
,cellini1 l4 iv4 ch4 #b47  ,among other 
external causes which are apt to produce
 visions1 must be mentioned violent     
motions1 especially when they are       
revolving1 as is the case with the      
,shamans of the ,laplanders and the     
dancing ,dervishes of the ,east2        
self-inflicted wounds1 such as the      
priests of ,baal caused in order to     
excite their power of divination1 and   
long-continued imprisonment1 as         
illustrated in the well-known cases of  
,benvenuto ,cellini and ,silvio         
,pellico4 ,the latter was constantly    
tormented by sighs or suppressed        
laughter which he heard in his dungeon2 
then by invisible hands pulling at his  
dress1 knocking down his books or trying
 to put out his light1 till he began    
seriously to suspect that he might be   
the victim of invisible malignant       
powers4 ,fortunately all these phenomena

 disappeared at break of day1 and thus  
his vigorous mind1 supported by true    
piety1 was enabled to keep his judgment 
uninjured4  ,diseases of every kind are 
a fruitful source of visions and some   
are rarely without them2 but the        
character of visions differs according  
to the nature of the affections4        
,persons who suffer with the liver have 
melancholy1 consumptive patients have   
cheerful visions4 ,epileptics often see 
fearful spectres during their paroxysms1
 and persons bitten by mad dogs see the 
animal that has caused their sufferings4
 ,the case of the bookseller ,nicolai in
 ,berlin is well known2 the disease of  
which he suffered1 is not only very     
common in some parts of ,russia1 but    
productive of precisely the same        
symptoms4 ,the patients experience first
 a sensation of great despondency1      
followed by a period of profound        
melancholy1 during which they see       
themselves surrounded by a number of    
persons1 with whom they converse and    

quarrel1 half conscious of their own    
delusion and yet not able to master it  
wholly4 ,they are generally bled1       
whereupon the images become transparent 
and shrink into smaller and smaller     
space1 till they finally disappear      
entirely4 ,affections of the heart and  
the subsequent unequal distribution of  
the blood through the system are apt to 
produce peculiar sounds1 which at times 
fashion themselves into loud and        
harmonious pieces4 ,the excitement      
usually attendant upon specially fatal  
plagues and contagious diseases         
increases the tendency which the latter 
naturally have to cause hallucinations4 
,during a plague in the reign of        
,justinian1 men were seen walking       
through the crowd and touching here and 
there a person2 the latter were at once 
attacked by the disease and invariably  
succumbed4 ,upon another such occasion  
marks and spots appeared on the clothing
 of those who had caught the contagion1 
as if made by invisible hands1 the      

sufferers began next to see a number of 
spectres and died in a short time4 ,the 
same symptoms have accompanied the      
cholera in modern times1 and more than  
once strange1 utterly unknown persons   
were not only seen but heard1 as they   
were conversing with others2 what they  
said was written down in many cases1 and
 proved to be predictions of approaching
 visits of the dread disease to         
neighboring houses4 ,a magic power of   
foresight seems in these cases to be    
developed by the extreme excitement or  
deep anxiety1 but the unconscious       
clairvoyance assumes the form of persons
 outside of their own mental sphere1    
within which they alone existed4  ,by   
far the most frequent causes of visions 
are1 however1 those of psychical nature1
 like fixed ideas1 intense passions1 or 
deep-rooted prejudices1 and concealed   
misdeeds4 ,when they are produced by    
such causes they have often the         
appearance of having led to the         
commission of great crimes4 ,thus       

,julian the ,apostate1 who had caused   
the image of his guardian angel to be   
put upon all his coins and banners1     
naturally had this form deeply impressed
 upon his mind4 ,in the night before a  
decisive battle1 he saw1 according to   
,ammianus ,marcellinus1 this protecting 
genius in the act of turning away from  
him1 and this vision made so deep an    
impression upon his mind that he        
interpreted it as an omen of his        
impending death4 ,on the following day  
he fell in battle4 ,the fearful penalty 
inflicted upon ,charles ,,ix4 by his own
 conscience is well known2 after the    
massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew he saw1 by
 day and by night1 the forms of his     
victims around him1 till death made an  
end to his sufferings4 ,on our own      
continent1 one of the early conquerors  
gave a striking instance of the manner  
in which such visions are produced4 ,he 
was one of the adventurers who had      
reached ,darien1 and was on the point of
 plundering a temple2 but1 a few days   

before1 an ,indian woman had told him   
that the treasures it held were guarded 
by evil spirits1 and if he entered it   
the earth would open and swallow up the 
temple and the conquerors alike4        
,nothing daunted1 he led his men to the 
attack2 but1 as they came in sight1 he  
suddenly saw1 in the evening light1 how 
the colossal building rocked to and fro 
as in a tempest1 and thoroughly         
intimidated he rode away with his       
followers1 leaving the temple and its   
treasures unharmed4 ,that visions are   
apt to precede atrocious crimes is quite
 natural1 since they are in such cases  
nothing but the product of the intense  
excitement under which murders are often
 committed2 but1 it would be absurd to  
look upon them as motive causes4        
,ravaillac had constant visions of      
angels1 saints1 and demons1 while       
preparing his mind for the assassination
 of ,henry ,,iv41 and the young student 
who attempted the murder of ,napoleon at
 ,schoenbrunn repeatedly saw the genius 

of ,germany1 which appeared to him and  
encouraged him to free his country from 
the usurper4 ,persons who attempt to    
summon ghosts are very apt to see them1 
because their mind is highly wrought up 
by their proceedings and they           
confidently expect to have visions4 ,but
 some men possess a similar power       
without making any special effort or    
peculiar preparations1 their firm       
volition sufficing for the purpose4     
,thus ,talma could at all times force   
himself to see1 in the place of the     
actual audience before whom he was      
acting1 an assembly of skeletons1 and he
 is said never to have acted better than
 when he gave himself up to this        
hallucination4 ,painters1 also1         
frequently have the power to summon     
before their mind's eye the features of 
those whose portrait they are painting2 
,blake1 for instance1 was able actually 
to finish likenesses from images he saw 
sitting in the chair where the real     
persons had been seated4  ,while visions

 are quite common1 delusions of the     
other senses are less frequent4 ,the    
insane alone hear strange conversations4
 ,hallucinations of the taste cause     
patients to enjoy delightful dishes1 or 
to partake of spoiled meat and other    
unpalatable viands1 which have no       
existence4 ,sweet smells and incense are
 often perceived1 bad odors much less   
frequently4 ,the touch is of all senses 
the least likely to be deceived2 still  
deranged people occasionally feel a     
slight touch as a severe blow1 and      
persons suffering from certain diseases 
are convinced that ants1 spiders1 or    
other insects are running over their    
bodies4  ,the favorite season of visions
 is night--mainly the hour about        
midnight--and in the whole year1 the    
time of ,advent1 but also the nights    
from ,christmas to ,new ,year4 ,this is1
 of course1 not a feature of            
supernatural life1 but the simple effect
 of the greater quiet and the more      
thoughtful1 inward life1 which these    

seasons are apt to bring to busy men4   
,the reality of our surroundings        
disappears with the setting sun1 and in 
deep night we are rendered almost wholly
 independent of the influence exercised 
in the day by friends1 family1 and even 
furniture4 ,all standards of            
measurement1 moreover1 disappear1 and we
 lose the correct estimate of both space
 and time4 ,turning our thoughts at such
 times with greater energy and          
perseverance inward1 our imagination has
 free scope1 and countless images appear
 before our mind's eye which are not    
subject to the laws of real life4       
,darkness1 stillness1 and solitude1 the 
three great features of midnight        
seasons1 all favor the full activity of 
our fancy1 and set criticism at defiance
 by denying us all means of comparison  
with real sounds or sights4 ,at the same
 time1 it is asserted1 that under such  
circumstances men are also better       
qualified to perceive manifestations    
which1 during the turba of daily life1  

are carelessly ignored or really        
imperceptible to the common senses4 ,so 
long as the intercourse with the world  
and its exigencies occupy all our       
thoughts1 and self-interest makes us    
look fixedly only at some one great     
purpose of life1 we are deaf and blind  
to all that does not clearly belong to  
this world4 ,but when these demands are 
no longer made upon us1 and especially  
when1 as in the time of ,advent1 our    
thoughts are somewhat drawn from earthly
 natures1 and our eyes are lifted       
heavenward1 then we are enabled to give 
free scope to our instincts1 or1 if we  
prefer the real name1 to the additional 
sense by which we perceive intangible   
things4 ,a comparison has often been    
drawn between the ability to see visions
 and our power to distinguish the stars4
 ,in the day1 the brilliancy of the sun 
so far outshines the latter1 that we see
 not a single one2 at night they step   
forth1 as it were1 from the dark1 and   
the deeper the blackness of the sky1 the

 greater their own brightness4 ,are     
they1 on that account1 nothing more than
 creatures of our imagination1 set free 
by night and darkness8  ,as for the     
favorite places where visions most      
frequently are seen1 it seems that      
solitudes have already in ancient times 
always been looked upon as special      
resorts for evil spirits4 ,the deserts  
of ,asia1 with their deep gullies and   
numerous caves1 suggested a population  
of shy and weird beings1 whom few saw   
and no one knew fully4 ,hence the       
fearful description of ,babylon in her  
overthrow1 when ,their houses shall be  
full of doleful creatures1 and owls     
shall dwell there and satyrs shall dance
 there4 7,isaiah xiii4 #ba74 ,the ,new  
,testament speaks in like manner of the 
deserts of ,palestine as the abode of   
evil spirits1 and in later days the     
,faroe ,islands were constantly referred
 to as peopled with weird and unearthly 
beings4 ,the deserts of ,africa are full
 of ,djinns1 and the vast plains of the 

,east are peopled with weird            
apparitions4 ,the solitudes of          
,norwegian mountain districts abound    
with gnomes and sprites1 and waste      
places everywhere are no sooner         
abandoned by men than they are occupied 
by evil spirits and become the scenes of
 wild and gruesome visions4             
,well-authenticated cases of visions are
 recorded in unbroken succession from   
the times of antiquity to our own day1  
and leave no doubt on the mind that they
 are not only of common occurrence among
 men1 but generally1 also1 accompanied  
by magic phenomena of great importance4 
,the ancients saw1 of course1 most      
frequently their gods2 the pagans1 who  
had been converted to ,christianity1    
their former idols threatening them with
 dire punishment2 and ,christians1 their
 saints and martyrs1 their angels and   
demons4 ,thus all parties are supported 
by authorities in no way peculiar to one
 faith or another1 but common to all    
humanity2 and the battle is fought1 for 

a time at least1 between faith and      
faith1 and between vision and vision4 ,a
 famous rhetor1 ,aristides1 who is      
mentioned in history as one of the      
mightiest champions polytheism ever has 
been able to raise against triumphant   
,christianity1 saw1 in his hours of     
exaltation1 the great ,a,esculapius1 who
 gave him directions how to carry on his
 warfare4 ,at such times his public     
addresses became so attractive that     
thousands of enthusiastic hearers       
assembled to hang upon his lips4 ,the   
story of the genius of ,socrates is well
 known2 ,aulus ,gellius tells us how the
 great sage was seen standing motionless
 for twenty-four hours in the same      
place1 before joining the expedition to 
,potidea1 so absorbed in deep thought   
that it seemed as if his soul had left  
the body4 ,dion1 ,plato's most intimate 
friend1 saw a huge ,fury enter his house
 and sweep it with a broom2 a conspiracy
 broke out1 and he was murdered1 after  
having lost his only son a few days     

before4 7,plutarch's ,life of ,dion1    
#ee47 ,the same ,simonides1 who         
according to ,valerius ,maximus 7,de    
,somniis1 l4 i4 ch4 #e71 had escaped    
from shipwreck by the timely warning of 
a spirit1 was once dining at the        
magnificent house of ,skopas at ,cranon1
 in ,thessaly1 when a servant entered to
 inform him that two gigantic youths    
were standing at the door and wished to 
see him immediately4 ,he went out and   
found no one there2 but1 at the same    
moment1 the roof and the walls of the   
dining-room fell down1 burying all the  
guests under the ruins 7,phaedrus'      
,fab41 iv4 #bd74 ,the ancients looked   
upon the vision1 in both cases1 as      
merely effects of the prophetic power of
 the poet1 which saved him from         
immediate death2 once in the form of a  
spirit and the second time in the form  
of the ,dioscuri4 ,for1 as ,simonides   
had shortly before written a beautiful  
poem in honor of ,castor and ,pollux1   
his escape and the friendly warning were

 naturally attributed to the heroic     
youths1 who constantly appear in history
 as protective genii4 ,in ,greece they  
were known to have fought1 dressed in   
their purple cloaks and seated on       
snow-white horses1 on the side of the   
,locri1 and to have announced their     
victory on the same day in ,olympia1 and
 ,sparta1 in ,corinth1 and in ,athens   
7,justin1 ix4 #c74 ,in ,rome they were  
credited with the victory on the banks  
of ,lake ,regillus1 and reported to     
have1 as in ,greece1 dashed into the    
city1 far ahead of all messengers1 to   
proclaim the joyful news4 ,during the   
,macedonian war they met ,publius       
,vatinius on his way to ,rome and       
informed him that1 on the preceding day1
 ,a,emilius ,paulus had captured        
,perseus4 ,delighted with the news1 the 
prefect hastens to the ,senate2 but is  
discredited and actually sent to jail on
 the charge of indulging in idle gossip1
 unworthy of his high office4 ,it was   
only when at last messengers came from  

the distant army and confirmed the      
report of ,perseus' captivity1 that the 
unlucky prefect was set free again and  
honored with high rewards4  ,in other   
cases the warning genius was seen in    
visions of different nature4 ,thus      
,hannibal was reported to have traced in
 his sleep the whole course and the     
success of all his plans1 by the aid of 
his genius1 who appeared to him in the  
shape of a child of marvelous beauty1   
sent by the great ,jupiter himself to   
direct his movements1 and to make him   
master of ,italy4 ,the child asked him  
to follow without turning to look back1 
but ,hannibal1 yielding to the innate   
tendency to covet forbidden fruit1      
looked behind him and saw an immense    
serpent overthrowing all impediments in 
his way4 ,then came a violent           
thunderstorm with fierce lightnings1    
which rent the strongest walls4         
,hannibal asked the meaning of these    
portents1 and was told that the storm   
signified the total subjection of       

,italy1 but that he must be silent and  
leave the rest to fate4 ,that the vision
 was not fully realized1 was naturally  
ascribed to his indiscretion4 ,the      
genius of the two ,consuls1 ,p4 ,decius 
and ,manlius ,torquatus1 assumed1 on the
 contrary1 the shape of a huge phantom  
which appeared at night in their camp at
 the foot of ,vesuvius1 and announced   
the decision that one leader must fall  
in order to make the army victorious4   
,upon the strength of this vision the   
two generals decided that he whose      
troops should first show signs of       
yielding1 should seek death by advancing
 alone against the ,latin army4 ,the    
legions of ,decius1 therefore1 no sooner
 began to fall back1 than he threw      
himself1 sword in hand1 upon the enemy1 
and not only died a glorious death for  
his country1 but secured a brilliant    
victory to his brethren4  ,at a later   
period a genius saved the life of       
,octavian1 when he and ,antony were     
encamped at ,philippi1 on the eve of the

 great battle against ,brutus and       
,cassius4 ,the vision appeared not to   
himself1 however1 but to another person1
 his own physician1 ,artorus1 who1 in a 
dream1 was ordered to advise his master 
to appear on the battle-field in spite  
of his serious indisposition4 ,octavian 
followed the advice and went out1 though
 he had to be carried by his men in a   
litter2 during his absence the soldiers 
of ,brutus entered the camp and actually
 searched his tent1 in which he would   
have perished inevitably without the    
timely warning4 ,of a very different    
nature was the vision of ,cassius1 the  
lieutenant of ,antony1 who1 during his  
flight to ,athens1 saw at night a huge  
black phantom1 which informed him that  
he was his evil spirit4 ,in his terror  
he called his servants and inquired what
 they had seen1 but they had noticed    
nothing4 ,thus tranquilized1 he fell    
asleep again1 but the phantom returned  
once more1 and disturbed his mind so    
painfully that he remained awake the    

rest of the night1 surrounded by his    
guards and slaves4 ,the vision was      
afterwards interpreted as an omen of his
 impending violent death4  ,the ,emperor
 ,trajan was saved from death during a  
fearful earthquake by a man of colossal 
proportions1 who came to lead him out of
 his palace at ,antioch2 and ,attila1   
who1 to the surprise of the world1      
spared ,rome and ,italy at the request  
of ,pope ,leo the ,great1 mentioned as  
the true motive of his action the       
appearance of a majestic old man in     
priestly garments1 who had threatened   
him1 drawing his sword1 with instant    
death if he did not grant all that the  
,roman high-priest should demand4  ,in  
other cases1 which are as numerous as   
they are striking1 the genius assumes   
the shape of a woman4 ,thus ,dio        
,cassius 7,hist4 ,rome1 l4 lv471 as well
 as ,suetonius 7,claudius1 l4 i71 relate
 that when ,drusus had ravaged ,germany1
 and was on the point of crossing the   
,elbe1 the formidable shape of a        

gigantic woman appeared to him1 who     
waded up to the middle of the stream and
 then called out3 ,whither1 ,o ,drusus8 
,canst thou put no limit to thy thirst  
of conquest8 ,back6 the end of thy deeds
 and of thy life is at hand6 ,history   
records that ,drusus fell back without  
apparent reason1 and that he died before
 he reached the banks of the ,rhine4    
,tacitus tells us1 in like manner1 a    
vision which encouraged ,curtius ,rufus 
at the time when he1 a gladiator's son1 
and holding a most humble position1 was 
accompanying a quaestor on his way to   
,africa4 ,as he walked up and down a    
passage in deep meditation1 a woman of  
unusual size appeared to him and said3  
,thou1 ,o ,rufus1 shalt be proconsul of 
this province6 ,the young man1 perhaps  
encouraged and supported by a vision    
which was the result of his own         
ambitious dreams1 rose rapidly by his   
eminent ability1 and after he had       
reached the consulate1 really obtained  
the province of ,africa 7,ann41 xi4     

#ba74 ,the younger ,pliny1 who tells the
 same story in his admirable letter to  
,sura on the subject of magic1 adds that
 the genius appeared a second time to   
the great proconsul1 but remained       
silent4 ,the latter saw in this silence 
a warning of approaching death1 and     
prepared for his end1 which did not fail
 soon to close his career4  ,it is very 
striking to see how in these visions    
also the inner life of man was          
invariably clearly and distinctly       
reflected4 ,the ambitious youth saw his 
good fortune personified in the shape of
 a beautiful woman1 which his excited   
imagination called ,africa1 and which he
 hoped some time or other to call his   
own4 ,brutus1 on the contrary1 full of  
anticipations of evil1 and suffering1   
and perhaps unconsciously1 bitter       
remorse on account of ,caesar's murder1 
saw his sad fate as a hideous demon4    
,the army1 also1 sharing1 no doubt1     
their leader's dark apprehensions1      
looked upon the black ,a,ethiopian who  

entered the camp as an evil omen4 ,the  
appointed meeting at ,philippi was      
merely an evidence of the superior      
ability of ,brutus1 who foresaw the     
probable course of the war and knew the 
great strategic importance of the famous
 town4  ,in the same manner a tradition 
was long cherished in ,augsburg of a    
fanatic heroine on horseback1 who       
appeared to ,attila when he attempted to
 cross the river ,lech on his way from  
,italy to ,pannonia4 ,she called out to 
him3 ,back6 and made a deep impression  
upon his mind4 ,the picture of the giant
 woman was long preserved in a ,minorite
 convent in the city1 and was evidently 
,german in features and in costume4 ,it 
is by no means impossible that the lofty
 but superstitious mind of the ruthless 
conqueror1 after having long busied     
itself with his approaching attack upon 
a mighty1 unknown nation1 personified to
 himself in a momentary trance the      
genius of that race in the shape of a   
majestic woman4  ,this was all the more 

probable as ,holy ,writ also presents to
 us a whole series of mighty women who  
exercised at times a lasting influence  
on the fate of the chosen people1 and   
the world's history abounds with similar
 instances4 ,there was ,deborah1 a      
prophetess who judged ,israel at that   
time1 and went to aid in the defeat of  
,sisera1 and there was ,huldah1 the     
prophetess1 who warned ,josiah1 king of 
,judah4 ,we have the same grand images  
in ,greek and in ,roman history1 and    
,german annals mention more than one    
,jettha and ,velleda4 ,the series of    
warnings given by the more              
tender-hearted sex runs through the     
annals of modern races from the oldest  
times to our own day4 ,one of the latest
 instances happened to a king well known
 for his sneering skepticism and his    
utter disbelief of all higher powers4   
,this was ,bernadotte1 who forsook his  
benefactor in order to mount the throne 
of ,sweden1 and turned his own sword    
against his former master4 ,long years  

after the fall of ,napoleon1 he was on  
the point of sending his son ,oscar with
 an army against ,norway1 and met with  
much opposition in the ,council of      
,state4 ,full of impatience and         
indignation1 he mounted his horse and   
rode out to cool his heated mind2 as he 
approached a dark forest near           
,stockholm1 he saw an old woman sitting 
by the wayside1 whose quaint costume and
 wild1 disheveled hair attracted his    
attention4 ,he asked her roughly what   
she was doing there8 ,her reply was3 ,if
 ,oscar goes into the war which you     
propose1 he will not strike but receive 
the first blow4 ,the king was impressed 
by the warning and returned1 full of    
thoughts1 to his palace2 after a        
sleepless night he informed the ,council
 of ,state that he had changed his      
views1 and would not send the prince to 
,norway 7,la ,presse1 ,may #d1 #ahdd74  
,even if we accept the interview with   
the woman as a mere vision1 the effect  
of the king's long and anxious          

preoccupation with an important plan    
upon the success of which the security  
of his throne and the continuation of   
his dynasty might depend1 the question  
still remains1 why a man of his tastes  
and haughty skepticism should have      
clothed his doubts in words uttered by  
an old woman1 dressed in fancy costume8 
,the number of practical1 sensible men  
who have1 even in recent times1 believed
 themselves under the special care and  
protection of a genius or guardian      
angel1 is much larger than is commonly  
known4 ,the ancients looked upon a      
genius as a part of their mythology2 and
 modern ,christians1 who cherish this   
belief1 refer to the fact that the      
,saviour said of little children3 ,in   
heaven their angels do always behold the
 face of my ,father 7,matt4 xviii4 #aj74
 ,these visions--for so they must be    
called--vary greatly in different       
persons4 ,to some men they appear only  
when great dangers are threatening or   
sublime efforts have to be made2 while  

in others1 they assume1 by their        
frequency1 a more or less permanent     
form1 and may even be inherited1        
becoming tutelary deities of certain    
houses1 familiar spirits1 or specially  
appointed guardian angels of the members
 of a family or single individuals4     
,hence1 the well-known accounts of the  
genius of ,socrates and the familiar    
spirits of the ,bible1 in ancient times4
 ,hence1 also1 the almost uninterrupted 
line of similar accounts through the    
,middle ,ages down to our own day4      
,thus1 ,campanella stated that whenever 
he was threatened with misfortune1 he   
fell into a state half way between      
waking and sleeping1 in which he heard a
 voice say3 ,campanella6 ,campanella6   
and several other words1 without ever   
seeing a person4 ,calignan1 ,chancelor  
of ,navarre1 heard in ,bearn1 his name  
called three times1 and then received a 
warning from the same voice to leave the
 town promptly1 as the plague was to    
rage there fearfully4 ,he obeyed the    

order1 and escaped the ravages of the   
terrible disease 7,beaumont1 ,tractat41 
etc41 p4 #bjh74 ,the ,jesuit ,giovanni  
,carrera had a protecting genius1 whom  
he frequently consulted in cases of     
special difficulty4 ,he became so       
familiar with him1 that he had himself  
waked every night for his prayers1 but  
when at times he hesitated to rise at   
once1 the spirit abandoned him for a    
time1 and ,carrera could only induce him
 to come back by long-continued praying 
and fasting 7,hist4 ,s4 ,j41 iii4 p4    
#agg74  ,the ,bernadottes had a         
tradition that one of their ancestors   
had married a fairy1 who remained the   
good genius of the family1 and long     
since had predicted that one of that    
blood would mount a throne4 ,the        
,bernadotte who became a king never     
forgot the prophecy1 and was largely    
influenced by it1 when the ,swedish     
nobles offered him the throne4 ,it is   
well known that ,napoleon himself either
 believed1 or affected to believe1 in a 

good genius1 who guided his steps and   
protected him from danger4 ,he appeared1
 according to his own statements1       
sometimes in the shape of a ball of     
fire1 which he called his star1 or as a 
man dressed in red1 who paid him        
occasional visits4 ,general ,rapp       
relates that1 in the year #ahjf1 he once
 found the ,emperor in his room1        
apparently absorbed in such deep        
meditation that he did not notice his   
entrance1 but that1 when fairly aroused1
 he seized ,rapp by the arm and asked   
him if saw that star8 ,when the latter  
replied that he saw nothing1 ,napoleon  
continued3 ,it is my star2 it is        
standing just above you4 ,it has never  
forsaken me2 ,i see it on all important 
occasions2 it orders me to go on1 and   
has always been a token of success4 ,the
 story1 coming from ,general ,rapp      
himself1 is quoted here as endorsed by  
the great historian1 ,amedee ,thierry4  
,des ,mousseaux reports the following   
facts upon the evidence of trustworthy  

personal friends4 7,la ,magie1 etc41 p4 
#cff47 ,a ,mme4 ,n41 the daughter of a  
general1 was constantly visited by her  
mother1 who had died long ago1 and      
received from her frequent information  
of secret things1 which procured for    
herself the reputation of being a       
prophetess4 ,at one time her mother's   
spirit warned her to try and prevent her
 husband1 who would die by suicide1 from
 carrying out his purpose4 ,every       
precaution was taken1 and even the      
knives and forks were removed after     
meals2 but it so happened that a soldier
 of the ,national ,guard came into the  
house and left his loaded gun in an     
anteroom4 ,the lady's husband           
unfortunately chanced to see it1 took it
 and blew his brains out on the spot4   
,a peculiarly interesting class of      
visions are those to which great artists
 have1 at times1 owed their greatest    
triumphs4 ,here1 also1 the line between 
mere delusion and real magic phenomena  
is often so faint as to escape          

attention4 ,for artists must needs      
cultivate their imagination at the      
expense of other faculties1 and         
naturally live more in an ideal world   
than in a real world4 ,preoccupied as   
they are1 by the nature of their        
pursuits1 with images of more than      
earthly beauty1 they come easily to form
 ideals in their minds1 which they      
endeavor to fix first upon their memory1
 and then upon canvas or in marble1 on  
paper or in rapturous words4 ,raphael   
,sanzio had long in vain tried to       
portray the ,holy ,virgin according to a
 vague ideal in his mind2 at last he    
awoke one night and saw in the place    
where his sketch was hanging a bright   
light1 and in the radiance the ,mother  
of ,christ in matchless beauty1 and with
 supernatural holiness in her features4 
,the vision remained deeply impressed   
upon his mind1 and was ever after the   
original of which even his best         
,madonnas could only be imperfect       
copies4 ,benvenuto ,cellini1 when sick  

unto death1 repeatedly saw an old man   
trying to pull him down into his boat1  
but as soon as his faithful servant came
 and touched him1 the hideous vision    
disappeared4 ,the artist had evidently a
 picture of ,charon and his ,acherontic 
boat in his mind1 which was thus        
reproduced in his feverish dreams4 ,on  
another occasion1 when he had long been 
in prison1 and in despair contemplated  
suicide1 an unknown being suddenly      
seized him and hurled him back to a     
distance of four yards1 where he        
remained lying for hours half dead4 ,in 
the following night a fair youth        
appeared to him and made him bitter     
reproaches on account of his sinful     
purpose4 ,the same youthful genius      
appeared to him repeatedly when a great 
crisis approached in his marvelously    
adventurous life1 and more than once    
revealed to him the mysteries of the    
future4 7,goethe's ,benv4 ,cell4 i4 p4  
#cge47 ,poor ,tasso had fearful         
hallucinations during the time when his 

mind was disordered1 but above them all 
hovered1 as it were1 the vision of a    
glorious ,virgin surrounded by a bright 
light1 which always comforted and       
probably alone saved him from           
self-destruction4 ,like ,raphael1       
,dannecker also had long tried in vain  
to find perfect expression for his ideal
 of a ,christ on the ,cross2 one night1 
however1 he also saw the ,saviour in a  
dream1 and at once proceeded to form his
 model1 from which was afterwards copied
 the well-known statue of transcendent  
beauty and power4  ,paganini used to    
tell with an amusing air of assumed awe 
and reverence1 that his mother had seen1
 a few days before his birth1 an angel  
with two wings and of such dazzling     
splendor that she could not bear to look
 at the apparition4 ,the heavenly       
messenger invited her to express a wish1
 and promised that it should be         
fulfilled4 ,thereupon she begged him on 
her knees to make her ,nicolo a great   
violinist1 and was told that it should  

be so4 ,the vision--perhaps nothing more
 than a vivid form of earnest desire and
 fervent prayer--had1 no doubt1 a       
serious influence on the great artist1  
who was himself strangely susceptible to
 such impressions4 7,moniteur1 ,sept4   
#cj1 #ahfj47  ,nothing can here be said1
 according to the purpose of these      
sketches1 of the long series of visions 
vouchsafed to martyrs and saints2 their 
history belongs to theology4 ,but holy  
men have1 independent of their religious
 convictions1 often been as famous for  
their visions as for the piety of their 
hearts1 and their achievements in the   
world4 ,loyola1 for instance1 with his  
faculties perpetually strained to the   
utmost1 and with his thoughts bent      
forever upon a grand and holy aim1 could
 not well fail to rise to a state of    
psychic excitement which naturally      
produced impressive visions4 ,hence he  
continually saw strange sights and heard
 mysterious voices1 the effect now of   
extreme despondency and now of restored 

confidence in ,god and in himself as the
 agent of the ,most ,high4 ,and yet     
these visions never interfered with the 
clearness of his judgment nor with his  
promptness and energy in acting4        
,luther1 also1 one of the most practical
 men ever called upon to act and to lead
 in a great crisis1 had visions2 he saw 
the ,devil and held loud discussions    
with him2 he suffered by his            
persecutions1 and made great efforts to 
rid himself of his unwelcome guest1     
while engaged in his great work1 the    
translation of the ,bible4 ,for he was1 
after all--and for very great and good  
purposes--only a man of his age1 imbued 
with the universal belief in the        
personal existence and constant presence
 of ,satan1 and felt1 at the same time1 
that he was engaged in a warfare upon   
the results of which depended not only  
the earthly welfare1 but the eternal    
salvation of millions4  ,it is difficult
 to say whether ,mohammed1 who had      
undoubtedly visions innumerable1        

received any aid from his hallucinations
 in devising his new faith4 ,men of     
science tell us that he suffered of     
,hysteria muscularis1 a disease not     
uncommon in men as well as in women1    
which produces periodical paroxysms and 
is characterized by an alternate        
contraction and expansion of the        
muscles4 ,when the attack came the      
prophet's lips and tongue would begin to
 vibrate1 his eyes turned up1 and the   
head moved automatically4 ,if the       
paroxysms were very violent he fell to  
the ground1 his face turned purple1 and 
he breathed with difficulty4 ,as he     
frequently retained his consciousness he
 pretended that these symptoms were     
caused by angels' visits1 and each      
attack was followed by a new revelation4
 ,the disease was the result of his     
early lawless life and of the freedom   
which he claimed1 even in later         
years--pleading a special dispensation  
from on high as a divinely inspired     
prophet4 ,it is not to be wondered at   

that the new religion1 springing from   
such a source1 and proclaimed amid the  
mountains and steppes of ,arabia1 which1
 according to popular belief1 are all   
alive with djinns and demons1 should be 
largely based upon visions and          
hallucinations4  ,the important part    
which visions hold in the history of the
 various religions of the earth lies    
beyond our present purpose2 we know1    
however1 that the records of ancient    
temples1 of prophets1 saints1 and       
martyrs1 and of later convents and      
churches1 abound with instances of such 
so-called revelations from on high4     
,they have more than once served at     
critical times to excite individuals and
 whole nations to make sublime efforts4 
,one of the best known cases of the     
former class is that of ,constantine the
 ,great1 who told ,eusebius of          
,caesarea1 affirming his statement with 
a solemn oath1 that he saw in #cab1     
shortly before the decisive battle at   
,rome against his formidable adversary  

,magentius1 a bright cross in the       
heavens1 surrounded by the words3 ,in   
hoc signo vinces4 ,but this vision stood
 by no means alone4 ,he himself beheld1 
besides1 in a dream during the following
 night1 the ,saviour1 who ordered him to
 use in battle henceforth a banner like 
that which he had seen in his vision4   
,nazarius1 a pagan1 also speaks of a    
number of marvelous signs in the heavens
 seen in ,gaul immediately before the   
emperor's great victory4 ,nor can it be 
doubted that this vision not only       
inspired ,constantine with new hopes and
 new courage1 enabling him to secure his
 triumph1 but also induced him1 after   
his success1 to avow himself openly a   
convert to the faith of ,christ4  ,the  
visions of that eminent man ,swedenborg 
are too well known to require here more 
than a mere allusion4 ,beginning his    
intercourse with the supernatural world 
at the ripe age of forty-five1 he soon  
gave himself up to it systematically1   
and felt compelled to make his daily    

conversations1 as well as the           
revelations he received from time to    
time1 duly known to the public4 ,thus he
 wrote with an evident air of firm      
conviction3 ,i had recently a conference
 with the ,apostle ,paul2 and at another
 time he assured a ,wuertemberg prelate1
 ,i have conferred with ,st4 ,paul for a
 whole year1 especially about the words 
in ,romans iii4 #bh4 ,three times ,i    
have conversed with ,st4 ,john1 once    
with ,moses1 and a hundred times with   
,luther1 when the latter confessed that 
he had taught fidem solam contrary to   
the warning of an angel1 and that he had
 stood alone when renouncing the pope4  
,with angels1 finally1 ,i have held     
constant intercourse for the last twenty
 years1 and still hold daily            
conversations4  ,classic as well as     
,christian art1 is indebted to visions  
for more than one signal success4 ,on   
the other hand1 they have as frequently 
been made to serve vile purposes1 mainly
 by feeding superstition and supporting 

religious tyranny4 ,we need only recall 
the terrible calamity caused by a       
wretched shepherd boy in ,france1 who1  
in #abac1 saw1 or pretended to see1     
heavenly visions1 ordering him to enlist
 his comrades1 and with their aid1 to   
rescue the ,holy ,land from the         
possession of infidels4 ,thousands of   
little children were seized by the      
contagious excitement1 and leaving their
 home and their kindred1 followed their 
youthful leader1 unchecked by the       
authorities1 because of the             
interpretation applied to the words of  
,jesus3 ,suffer little children to come 
unto ,me6 ,not one of them ever reached 
,palestine1 as all perished long before 
they had reached even ,southern ,france4
  ,it is not exactly a magic phenomenon1
 but certainly a most startling feature 
in visions1 that the minds of many men  
should be able1 by their own volition1  
to create images and forms so perfectly 
like those existing in the world around 
us1 that the same minds are incapable of

 distinguishing where hallucination and 
reality touch each other4 ,this faculty 
varies1 of course1 as much as other     
endowments3 sometimes it produces       
nothing but vague1 shapeless lights or  
sounds2 in other persons it is capable  
of calling up well-defined forms1 and of
 causing even words to be heard and pain
 to be inflicted4 ,during severe        
suffering in body or soul1 it may become
 a comforter1 and in the moment of      
passing through the valley of the shadow
 of death1 it is apt to soothe the      
anguish1 by visions of heavenly bliss1  
but to an evil conscience it may also   
appear as an avenger1 by prefiguring    
impending judgment and condemnation4 ,it
 is this influence on the lives of men1 
and their great moral importance1 which 
lends to visions--and in a certain      
degree even to                          
hallucinations--additional interest1 and
 makes it our duty not to set them aside
 as mere idle phantoms1 but to try to   
ascertain their true nature and final   

purpose4 ,this is all the more          
necessary1 as in our day visions are    
considered purely the offspring of the  
seer's own mental activity1 a truth     
abundantly proven by the simple fact    
that blind or deaf people are quite as  
capable of having visions and           
hallucinations1 as those who have the   
use of all their senses4  ,thus these   
magic phenomena have1 in an unbroken    
chain1 accompanied almost all the great 
men who are known to history1 from the  
earliest time to our own day4 ,in modern
 times they have often been successfully
 traced to bodily and mental disorders2 
but this fact diminishes in no way the  
interest which they have for the student
 of magic4 ,the great ,pascal1 who was  
once threatened with instant death by   
the upsetting of his carriage1          
henceforth saw perpetually an abyss by  
his side1 from which fiery flames issued
 forth2 he could conceal it by simply   
placing a chair or a table between it   
and his eyes4 ,in the case of the       

,english painter ,blake1 who had visions
 of historic personages which appeared  
to him in idealized outlines1 his       
periodical aberrations of mind were     
accepted as sufficient explanation4 ,the
 bookseller ,nicolai1 of ,berlin1 on the
 contrary1 who1 like ,beaumont1 saw     
hundreds of men1 women1 and children    
accompanying him in his walks or        
visiting him in his chamber1 found his  
ghostly company dependent on the state  
of his health4 ,when he was bled or when
 leeches were applied1 the images grew  
pale1 and disappeared in part or        
dissolved entirely4 ,a peculiarity of   
his case was1 that he never saw visions 
in the dark1 but all his phantasms      
appeared in broad daylight1 or at night 
when candles had been brought in or a   
large fire was burning in the fireplace4
 ,captain ,henry ,bell had been         
repeatedly urged by a ,german friend of 
his1 ,caspar von ,sparr1 to translate   
the ,table-talk of ,martin ,luther1     
which1 having been suppressed by an     

edict of the ,emperor ,rudolphus1 had   
become very rare1 and of which ,sparr   
had sent him a copy1 discovered by      
himself in a cellar where it had lain   
buried for fifty-two years4 ,captain    
,bell commenced the work2 but abandoned 
it after a little while4 ,a few weeks   
later a white-haired old man appeared to
 him at night1 pulling his ear and      
saying3 ,what6 will you not take time to
 translate the book8 ,i will give you   
soon a place for it and the necessary   
leisure4 ,bell was much startled2 but   
nevertheless neglected the work4 ,a     
fortnight after the vision he was       
arrested and lodged in the gate-house of
 ,westminster1 where he remained for ten
 years1 of which he spent five in the   
translation of the work4 7,beaumont1    
,tractat41 p4 #gb47 ,even religious     
visions have by no means ceased in      
modern times1 and more than one         
remarkable conversion is ascribed to    
such agency4 ,we do not speak of        
so-called miracles like that of the     

children of ,salette in the department  
of the ,isere1 in #ahdi1 or the recent  
revelations at ,lourdes1 and in         
,southern ,alsace1 which were publicly  
endorsed by leading men of the church1  
and have furnished rich material even   
for political demonstrations4 ,the      
vision of ,major ,gardiner1 also1 who1  
just before committing a sinful action1 
beheld the ,saviour and became a changed
 man1 has been so often published and so
 thoroughly discussed that it need not  
be repeated here4 ,the conversion of    
young ,ratisbone1 in #ahdc1 created at  
the time an immense sensation4 ,he was  
born of ,jewish parents1 but1 like only 
too many of his race1 grew up to become 
a freethinker and a scoffer1 rejecting  
all faiths as idle superstitions4 ,one  
day he strolled into the church ,delle  
,fratte in ,rome1 and while sunk in deep
 meditation1 suddenly beheld a vision of
 the ,virgin ,mary1 which made so deep  
an impression upon him that it changed  
the whole tenor of his life4 ,he gave up

 the great wealth to which he had fallen
 heir1 he renounced a lovely betrothed1 
and resolutely turning his back upon the
 world1 he entered1 as a novice1 into a 
,jesuit convent2 thus literally         
forsaking all in order to follow        
,christ4  ,the magic phenomena          
accompanying visions1 have1 among       
nations of the ,sclavic race1 not       
unfrequently a specially formidable and 
repellent character1 corresponding1 no  
doubt1 with the temperament and turn of 
imagination peculiar to that race4 ,the 
,sclaves are apt to be ridden by        
invisible men1 till they drop down in a 
swoon2 they are driven by wild beasts to
 the graves of criminals1 where they    
behold fearful sights1 or they are      
forced to mingle with troops of evil    
spirits roving over the wide1 waste     
steppes1 and they invariably suffer from
 the sad effects of such visions1 till a
 premature death relieves them after a  
few months4 ,in ,wallachia a special    
vision of the so-called ,pickolitch is  

quite common1 and has1 in one case at   
least1 been officially recorded by      
military authorities4 ,a poor private   
soldier1 who had already more than once 
suffered from visions1 was ordered to   
stand guard in a lonely mountain pass1  
and forced by the rules of the service  
to take his place there1 although he    
begged hard to be allowed to exchange   
with a brother soldier1 as he knew he   
would come to grief4 ,the officer in    
command1 struck by the earnestness of   
his prayer1 promised to lend him all    
possible assistance1 and placed a second
 sentinel for his support close behind  
him4 ,at half past ten o'clock the      
officer and a high civil functionary saw
 a dark figure rush by the house in     
which they were2 they hastened at once  
to the post1 where two shots had fallen 
in rapid succession1 and found the inner
 sentinel1 the still smoking rifle in   
hand1 staring fixedly at the place where
 his comrade had stood1 and utterly     
unconscious of the approach of his      

superior4 ,when they reached the outer  
post they found the rifle on the ground1
 shattered to pieces1 and the heavy     
barrel bent in the shape of a scythe1   
while the man himself lay at a          
considerable distance1 groaning with    
pain1 for his whole body was so severely
 burnt that he died on the following    
day4 ,the survivor stated that a black  
figure had fallen1 as if from heaven1   
upon his comrade and torn him to pieces 
in spite of the two shots he had fired  
at it from a short distance1 then it had
 vanished again in an instant4 ,the     
matter was duly reported to             
headquarters1 and when an investigation 
was ordered1 the fact was discovered    
that a number of precisely similar      
occurrences had already been officially 
recorded4 ,the vision is1 of course1    
nothing more than a product of the      
excited imagination of the mountaineers1
 who lend the favorite shape of a       
,pickolitch to the frequent1            
bizarre-looking masses of fog and mist  

which rise in their dark valleys1 hover 
over gullies and abysses1 and driven by 
a sudden current of wind1 fly upward    
with amazing rapidity1 and thus seem to 
disappear in an instant4 ,the           
apprehension of the poor sentinel1 on   
the other hand1 was a kind of           
clairvoyance produced by the combined   
influence of local tradition1 the       
nightly hour and the dark pass1 upon a  
previously-excited mind1 while the      
vision of the two officers was a similar
 magic phenomena1 the result of the     
impressions made upon them by the       
instant prayer of the victim1 and a hot 
discussion about the reality of the     
,prikolitch4 ,the sentinel probably saw 
a weird shape and fired2 the gun burst  
and killed him outright1 setting fire to
 his clothes1 a supposition strengthened
 by the statement that the poor fellow1 
anticipating a meeting with the spectre1
 had put a double charge into his rifle4
 ,the accident teaches once more that a 
mere denial of facts and a haughty smile

 at the idea of visions profit us       
nothing1 while a calm and careful       
examination of all the circumstances may
 throw much light upon their nature1 and
 help1 in the course of time1 to        
extirpate fatal superstitions1 like     
those of the ,prikolitch4  ,it is       
interesting to see how harmless and even
 pleasant are1 in comparison1 the       
visions of men with well-trained minds  
and kindly dispositions4 ,the bookseller
 ,nicolai entertained his               
phantom-guests1 and was much amused1 at 
times1 by their conversation4 ,macnish  
7,sleep1 p4 #aid7 tells us the same of  
,dr4 ,bostock1 who had frequent visions1
 and of an elderly lady whom ,dr4       
,alderson treated for gout1 and who     
received friendly visits from kinsmen   
and acquaintances with whom she         
conversed1 but who disappeared instantly
 when she rang for her maid4 ,another   
patient of ,dr4 ,alderson's1 who saw    
himself in the same manner surrounded by
 numbers of persons1 even felt the blows

 which a phantom-carter gave him with   
his whip4 ,although in all these cases  
the visions disappeared after energetic 
bleeding and purging1 the phenomena were
 nevertheless real as far as they       
affected the patient1 and have in every 
instance been fully authenticated and   
scientifically investigated4 ,the       
well-known author1 ,macnish1 himself was
 frequently a victim of this kind of    
self-delusion2 he saw during an attack  
of fever fearful hellish shapes1 forming
 and dissolving at pleasure1 and during 
one night he beheld a whole theatre     
filled with people1 among whom he       
recognized many friends and             
acquaintances1 while on the stage he saw
 the famous ,ducrow with his horses4 ,as
 soon as he opened his eyes the scene   
disappeared1 but the music continued1   
for the orchestra played a magnificent  
march from ,aladdin1 and did not cease  
its magic performance for five hours4   
,the vision of the eye seems thus to    
have been under the influence of his    

will1 but his hearing was beyond his    
control4  ,a very interesting class of  
visions accompanied by undoubted magic  
phenomena1 and as frequent in our day as
 at any previous period1 is formed by   
those which are the result of climatic  
and topographic peculiarities4 ,we have 
already stated that the peculiar        
impression made upon predisposed minds  
by vast deserts and boundless wastes is 
frequently ascribed1 by the             
superstitious dwellers near such        
localities1 to the influence of evil    
spirits4 ,such a vision is the ,ragl of 
,northern ,africa1 which occurs either  
after fatiguing journeys through the    
dry1 hot desert1 in consequence of great
 nervous excitement1 or as one of the   
symptoms of typhoid fever in native     
patients4 ,seeing and hearing are alike 
affected1 the other senses only in rare 
cases4 ,ordinarily the eye sees         
everything immensely magnified or oddly 
changed2 pebbles become huge blocks of  
stone1 faint tracks in the hot sand     

change into broad causeways or ample    
meadows1 and distant shadows appear as  
animals1 wells1 or mountain-dells4 ,if  
the moon rises the vision increases in  
size and distinctness2 the scene becomes
 animated1 men pass by1 camels follow   
each other in long lines1 and troops are
 marching past in battalions4 ,then the 
ear also begins to succumb to the charm2
 the rustling of dry leaves becomes the 
sweet song of numerous birds2 the wind  
changes into cries of despair1 and the  
noise of falling sand into distant      
thunder4 ,the brain remains apparently  
unaffected1 for travelers suffering of  
the ,ragl are able to make notes and    
record the symptoms1 although the       
note-book looks to them like a huge     
album with costly engravings4 ,there can
 be little doubt that the great afflux  
of blood to the eyes and the ears is the
 first cause of these phenomena1 but the
 peculiar nature of the visions remains 
still a mystery4 ,one striking          
peculiarity is their unvarying identity 

in men of the same race and culture2    
,europeans have their own hallucinations
 which are not shared by ,africans2 the 
former see churches1 houses1 and        
carriages1 the latter mosques1 tents1   
and camels1 thus proving here also the  
fact that these delusions of the senses 
are produced in the mind and not in the 
outer world4 ,travelers who suffer from 
hunger or from the dread effects of the 
simoon are naturally more subject to the
 ,ragl than others2 the visions         
generally appear towards midnight and   
continue till six or seven o'clock in   
the morning1 while during the day they  
are only seen in cases of aggravated    
suffering4 ,another peculiarity is the  
fact that these visions connect         
themselves only with small objects and  
moderate sounds2 the gentle friction of 
a vibrating tassel on his camel's neck  
appeared to the great explorer          
,richardson like the clacking of a      
mill-wheel1 but the words shouted by his
 companion sounded quite natural4 ,thus 

he saw in every little lichen a green   
garden spot1 but the stars he discerned 
distinctly enough to direct his way by  
them even when suffering most intensely 
from the ,ragl4  ,the ,fata ,morgana of 
the so-called ,great ,desert in ,oregon1
 in which the waters of the ,paducah1   
,kansas1 and ,arkansas lose themselves  
to a great extent1 is a kindred         
affection4 ,here also phantoms of every 
kind are seen1 gigantic horsemen1       
colossal buildings1 and flitting fires2 
but the absence of heat makes the       
visions less frequent and less distinct4
 ,the ,indians1 however1 like the ,moors
 of ,africa1 dread these apparitions and
 ascribe them to evil spirits4 ,these   
phenomena have besides a special        
interest1 by proving how constantly in  
all these questions of modern magic     
facts are combined with mere delusions4 
,the flitting fires1 to which we        
alluded1 for instance1 are not mere     
visions1 but real and tangible          
substances1 the effect of gaseous       

effusions which are quite frequent on   
these steppes4 ,so it is also with the  
local visions peculiar to mountain      
regions1 like the ,little ,gray ,man of 
the ,grisons in ,switzerland and the    
gnomes of miners in almost all lands4   
,the dwellers in ,alpine regions        
acquire--or even inherit1 it may be--a  
peculiar power of divination with regard
 to the weather2 they feel              
instinctively1 and without ever giving  
themselves the trouble of trying to     
ascertain the reason1 the approach of   
fogs and mists1 so dangerous to the     
welfare of their herds and their own    
safety4 ,this presentiment is clothed by
 local traditions and their own vivid   
imaginations in the familiar shape of   
supernatural beings1 and what was at    
first perhaps merely a form of speech1  
has gradually become a deep-rooted      
belief handed down from father to son4  
,they end by really seeing--with their  
mind's eye--the rising mists and        
drifting fogs in the shape which they   

have so often heard mentioned1 or give  
to rising gases1 far down in the bowels 
of the earth1 the form of familiar      
gnomes4 ,these visions are hence not    
altogether produced by the imagination1 
but have1 so to say1 a grain of truth   
around which the weird form is woven4   
,a numerous class of visions1 presenting
 some of the most interesting phenomena 
of this branch of magic1 must be looked 
upon as the result of the innate desire 
to fathom the mystery of future life4   
,the human heart1 conscious of          
immortality by nature and assured of it 
by revelation1 desires ardently to lift 
the veil which conceals the secrets of  
the life to come4 ,among other means to 
accomplish this1 the promise has often  
been exacted of dear friends1 that they 
would1 after death1 return and make     
known their condition in the other      
world4 ,such compacts have been made    
from time immemorial--but so far their  
only result has been that the survivors 
have believed occasionally that they    

have received visits from deceased      
friends--in other words1 that their     
state of great excitement and eager     
expectation has caused them to have     
visions4 ,it remains true1 after all1   
that from that bourne no traveler ever  
returns4 ,nevertheless1 these visions   
have a deep interest for the            
psychologist1 as they are the result of 
unconscious action1 and thus display    
what thoughts dwell in our innermost    
heart concerning the future4     ,v4    
,,ghosts4      ,sunt aliquid manes2     
letum non omnia finit4   ,there are few 
subjects1 outside of the vexed questions
 of ,theology1 on which eminent men of  
all nations and ages have held more     
varied views than so-called ghosts4 ,the
 very term has been understood          
differently by almost every great writer
 who has approached the boundary line of
 this department of magic4 ,the word    
which is now commonly used in order to  
designate any immaterial being1 not made
 of the earth1 earthy1 or perhaps1 in a 

higher sense1 the body spiritual of ,st4
 ,paul1 was in the early days of        
,christianity applied to the visible    
spirits of deceased persons only4 ,in   
the ,middle ,ages again1 when everything
 weird and unnatural was unhesitatingly 
ascribed to diabolic agency1 these      
phenomena1 also1 were regarded as       
nothing else but the ,devil's work4     
,theologians have added in recent days a
 new subject of controversy to this     
vexed matter4 ,the divines of the       
seventeenth and eighteenth century      
denied1 of course1 the possibility of a 
reappearance of the spirits of the      
departed1 as they were in consistency   
bound to deny the existence of a        
purgatory1 and yet1 from purgatory alone
 were these spirits1 according to       
popular belief1 allowed to revisit the  
earth--heaven and hell being            
comparatively closed places4 ,as the    
people insisted upon seeing ghosts1     
however1 there remained nothing but to  
declare them to be delusions produced   

for malign purposes by the ,evil ,one   
himself2 and so decided1 not many       
generations ago1 the ,consistory of     
,basle in an appeal made by a ,german   
mystic author1 ,jung ,stilling4 ,and yet
 it is evident that a number of eminent 
thinkers1 and not a few of the most     
skeptic philosophers even1 have believed
 in the occurrence of such visits by    
inmates of ,sheol4 ,hugo ,grotius and   
,puffendorf1 whose far-famed worldly    
wisdom entitles their views to great    
respect1 ,machiavelli and ,boccaccio1   
,thomasius and even ,kant1 all have     
repeatedly admitted the existence of    
what we familiarly call ghosts4 ,the    
great philosopher of ,koenigsberg enters
 fully into the subject4 ,immaterial    
beings1 he says1 including the souls of 
men and animals1 may exist1 though they 
must be considered as not filling space 
but only acting within the limits of    
space4 ,he admits the probability that  
ere long the process will be discovered1
 by which the human soul1 even in this  

life1 is closely connected with the     
immaterial inmates of the world of      
spirits1 a connection which he states to
 be operative in both directions1 men   
affecting spirits and spirits acting    
upon men1 though the latter are         
unconscious of such impressions as long 
as all is well4 ,in the same manner in  
which the physical world is under the   
control of a law of gravity1 he believes
 the spiritual world to be ruled by a   
moral law1 which causes a distinction   
between good and evil spirits4 ,the same
 belief is entertained and fully        
discussed by ,french authors of         
eminence1 such as ,des ,mousseaux1 ,de  
,mirville1 and others4 ,the ,catholic   
church has never absolutely denied the  
doctrine of ghosts1 perhaps considering 
itself bound by the biblical statement  
that the graves were opened and many    
bodies of the saints which slept1 arose 
and came out of the graves and went into
 the holy city and appeared unto many4  
7,st4 ,matt4 xxvii4 #eb47 ,tertullian1  

,st4 ,augustine1 and ,thomas de         
,aquinas1 all state distinctly1 as a    
dogma1 that the souls of the departed   
can leave their home1 though not at     
will1 but only by special permission of 
the ,almighty4 ,st4 ,augustine mentions 
saints by whom he was visited1 and      
,thomas de ,aquinas speaks even of the  
return of accursed inmates of hell1 for 
the purpose of terrifying and converting
 criminals in this world4 ,the          
,encyclopedia of ,catholic ,theology    
7iv4 p4 #dhi7 states that although the  
theory of ghosts has never become a     
dogma of the ,holy ,church1 it has ever 
maintained itself1 and existed in the   
days of ,christ1 who did not condemn it1
 when it was mentioned in his presence4 
7,st4 ,matt4 xiv4 #bf2 ,st4 ,luke xxiv4 
#cg47  ,calmet1 the well-known          
,benedictine ,abbot of ,senon1 in       
,lorraine1 who was one of the most      
renowned theological writers of the     
eighteenth century1 says 7i4 #ag73      
,apparitions of ghosts would be more    

readily understood if spirits had a     
body2 but the ,holy ,church has decided 
that angels1 devils and the spirits of  
the departed are pure immaterial        
spirits4 ,since this question transcends
 our mental faculties1 we must submit to
 the judgment of the ,church1 which     
cannot err4 ,another great theologian1  
the ,german ,bengel1 on the contrary1   
assumed that probably the apparitions of
 the departed have a prescribed limit   
and then cease2 they continue probably  
as long as all the ties between body and
 soul are not fully dissolved4 ,this    
question of the nature of our existence 
during the time immediately following   
death1 is1 it is well known1 one of the 
most vexed of our day1 for while most   
divines of the ,protestant ,church      
assume an immediate decision of our     
eternal fate1 others admit the          
probability of an intermediate state1   
and the ,catholic ,church has its       
well-known probationary state in        
purgatory4 ,it may as well be stated    

here at once that the whole theory of   
ghosts is admissible only if we assume  
that there follows after death a period 
during which the soul undergoes1 not an 
immediate rupture1 but a slow1 gradual  
separation from its body1 accompanied by
 a similar gradual adaptation to its new
 mode of existence4 ,whether the spirit1
 during this time1 is still sufficiently
 akin to earthy substances to be able to
 clothe itself into some material       
perceptible to the senses of living men1
 is of comparatively little importance4 
,the idea of such an ethereal body is   
very old1 and has never ceased to be    
entertained4 ,thus1 in #acjf1 already   
,guido de la ,tones1 who died in        
,verona1 appeared during eight days to  
his wife1 his neighbors1 and a number of
 devout priests1 and declared in answer 
to their questions that the spirits of  
the departed possessed the power to     
clothe themselves with air1 and thus to 
become perceptible to living beings4    
,bayle also1 in his article on ,spinoza 

7note #b71 advocates the possibility1 at
 least1 of physical effects being       
produced by agents whose presence we are
 not able to perceive by the use of our 
ordinary senses4 ,even so eminently     
practical a mind as ,lessing's was      
bewildered by the difficulties          
surrounding this question1 and he       
declared that here his wits were at an  
end4  ,another great ,german writer1    
,goerres1 in his ,christian ,mystic     
7iii4 p4 #cjg71 not only admits the     
existence of ghosts1 but explains them  
as the higher prototypal form of man    
freed from the earthy form1 the spectrum
 relieved of its envelope1 which can be 
present wherever it chooses within the  
prescribed limits of its domain4 ,this  
view is1 however1 not supported by the  
experience of those who believe they    
have seen ghosts2 for the latter appear 
only occasionally in a higher1 purified 
form1 resembling ethereal beings1 as a  
mere whitish vapor or a shape formed of 
faint light2 by far more generally they 

are seen in the form and even the       
costume of their earthy existence4 ,the 
only evidence of really supernatural or 
magic powers accompanying such phenomena
 consists in the ineffable dread which  
is apt to oppress the heart and to cause
 intense bodily suffering2 in the cold  
chill which invariably precedes the     
apparition1 and in the profound and     
exquisitely painful emotion which is    
never again forgotten throughout life4  
,as yet1 the subject has been so little 
studied by candid inquiries1 that there 
are but a few facts which can be        
mentioned as fully established4 ,the    
form and shape under which ghosts       
appear1 are the result of the           
imagination of the ghost seer only1     
whether he beholds angels or devils1 men
 or animals4 ,if his receptive power is 
highly developed1 he will see them in   
their completeness1 and discern even the
 minutest details2 weak persons1 on the 
other hand1 perceive nothing more than a
 faint1 luminous or whitish appearance1 

mere fragmentary and embryonic visions4 
,these powers of perception may1        
however1 be improved by practice1 and   
those who see ghosts frequently1 are    
sure to discover one feature after      
another1 until the whole form stands    
clearly and distinctly before their     
mind's eye4 ,the ear is generally more  
susceptible than the eye to the approach
 of ghosts1 and often warns the mind    
long before the apparition becomes      
visible4 ,the noises heard are apt to be
 vague and ill defined1 consisting      
mainly of a low whispering or restless  
rustling1 a strange moving to and fro1  
or the blowing of cold air in various   
directions4 ,many sounds1 however1 are  
so peculiar1 that they are never heard  
except in connection with ghosts1 and   
hence1 baffle all description4 ,it need 
not be added1 that the great majority of
 such sounds also exist only in the mind
 of the hearer1 but as the latter is1 in
 his state of excitement1 fully         
persuaded that he hears them1 they are  

to him as real as if they existed       
outside of his being4 ,nor are they     
always confined to the ghost seer4 ,on  
the contrary1 the hearing of such sounds
 is as contagious as the seeing of such 
sights2 and not only men are thus       
affected1 and see and hear what others  
experience1 but even the higher animals1
 horses and dogs1 share in this         
susceptibility4 ,when ghosts appear to  
speak1 the voice is almost always       
engastrimantic1 that is1 the ghost seer 
produces the words himself1 in a state  
of ecstatic unconsciousness1 and        
probably by a kind of instinctive       
ventriloquism4 ,to these phenomena of   
sight and hearing must be added1        
thirdly1 the occasional violent moving  
about of heavy substances4 ,furniture   
seems to change its place1 ponderous    
objects disappear entirely1 or the whole
 surrounding scene assumes a new order  
and arrangement4 ,these phenomena1 as   
far as they really exist1 must be       
ascribed to higher1 as yet unexplained  

powers1 and suggest the view entertained
 by many writers on the subject1 that   
disembodied spirits1 as they are freed  
from the mechanical laws of nature1     
possess also the power to suspend them  
in everything with which they come in   
contact4 ,the last feature in           
ghost-seeing1 which is essential1 is the
 cold shudder1 the ineffable dread1     
which falls upon poor mortal man1 at the
 moment when he is brought into contact 
with an unknown world4 ,already ,job    
said3 ,fear came upon me and trembling1 
which made all my bones to shake4 ,then 
a spirit passed before my face2 the hair
 of my flesh stood up 7iv4 #ad1 #ae74   
,this sense of vague1 and yet almost    
intolerable dread1 resembles the agony  
of the dying man2 it is perfectly       
natural1 since the seeing of ghosts1    
that is1 of disembodied spirits1 can    
only become possible by the more or less
 complete suspension of the ordinary    
life in the flesh4 ,for a moment1 all   
bodily functions are suspended1 the     

activity of the brain ceases1 and       
consciousness itself is lost as in a fit
 of fainting4 ,this rarely happens      
without a brief instinctive struggle1   
and the final victory of an unseen and  
unknown power1 which deprives the mind  
of its habitual mastery over the body1  
is necessarily accompanied by intense   
pain and overwhelming anguish4          
,well-authenticated cases of the        
appearance of spirits of departed       
persons are mentioned in the earliest   
writings4 ,valerius ,maximus relates in 
graphic words the experience of the poet
 ,simonides1 who was about to enter a   
vessel for the purpose of undertaking a 
long journey with some of his friends1  
when he discovered a dead body lying    
unburied on the sea-shore4 ,shocked by  
the impiety of the unknown man's        
friends1 he delayed his departure to    
give to the corpse a decent funeral4    
,during the following night1 the spirit 
of this man appeared to him and advised 
him not to sail on the next day4 ,he    

obeys the warning2 his friends leave    
without him1 and perish miserably in a  
great tempest4 ,deeply moved by his sad 
loss1 but equally grateful for his own  
miraculous escape1 he erected to the    
memory of his unknown friend a noble    
monument in verses1 unmatched in beauty 
and pathos4 ,phlegon1 also1 the freedman
 of the ,emperor ,hadrian1 has left us  
in his work1 ,de ,mirabilibus1 one of   
the most touching instances of such     
ghost-seeing2 it is the well-known story
 of ,machates and ,philimion1 which     
,goethe reproduced in his ,bride of     
,corinth4 ,nor must we forget the       
numerous examples of visions in dreams1 
by which the ,almighty chose to reveal  
,his will to his beloved among the      
chosen people--a series of apparitions1 
which the ,church has taken care to     
continue during the earlier ages1 in    
almost unbroken succession from saint to
 saint4 ,pagans were converted by such  
revelations1 martyrs were comforted1 the
 wounded healed1 and even an ,emperor1  

,constantine1 cured of leprosy1 by the  
appearance of the two apostles1 ,peter  
and ,paul4  ,the truth1 which lies at   
the bottom of all such appearances1 is  
probably1 that ghostly disturbances are 
uniformly the acts of men1 but of men   
who have ceased for a time to be free   
agents1 and who have1 for reasons to be 
explained presently1 acquired           
exceptional powers4 ,thus1 a famous     
jurist1 ,counselor ,hellfeld1 in ,jena1 
was one evening on the point of signing 
the death warrant of a cavalry soldier4 
,the subject had deeply agitated his    
mind for days1 and before seizing his   
pen1 he invoked1 as was his custom in   
such cases1 the aid of the ,almighty    
through ,his holy spirit4 ,at that      
moment--it was an hour before           
midnight--he hears heavy blows fall upon
 his window1 which sound as if the panes
 were struck with a riding-whip4 ,his   
clerk also hears the blows distinctly1  
and begins to tremble violently4 ,this  
apparent accident induces the judge to  

delay his action2 he devotes the next   
day to a careful re-perusal of the      
evidence1 and is now led to the         
conviction that the crime deserves only 
a minor punishment4 ,ere the year has   
closed1 another criminal is caught1 and 
volunteers the confession that he was   
the perpetrator of the crime for which  
the soldier was punished4 ,in that      
solemn moment1 it was1 of course1 only  
the judge's own mind1 deeply moved and  
worn out by painful work1 which warned  
him in a symbolic manner not to be      
precipitate1 and the very fact that the 
blows sounded as if they had been       
produced by a whip proved his           
unconscious association of the noise    
with the cavalry soldier4 ,and yet he   
and his clerk believed and solemnly     
affirmed1 that they had heard the       
mysterious blows6 ,this dualism1 which1 
as it were1 divides man into two beings1
 one of whom follows and watches the    
other1 while both are unconscious of    
their identity1 is the magic element in 

these phenomena4 ,this unconsciousness1 
proving--as in dreams--the inactivity of
 our reason1 produces the natural       
effect1 that we fancy all ghostly       
appearances are foolish1 wanton and     
wicked4 ,the fact is1 moreover that they
 almost always proceed from a more or   
less diseased or disturbed mind1 and    
acquire importance only in so far as it 
is our duty here also to eliminate truth
 from error4 ,thus only can we hope to  
counteract their mischievous tendency1  
and to prevent still stronger delusions 
from obtaining a mastery over weak      
minds4 ,this is the purpose of a club   
formed in ,london in #ahfi1 the members 
of which find amusement and useful      
employment in investigating all cases of
 haunted houses and other ghostly       
appearances4  ,that the belief in       
ghostly disturbances is not a modern    
error1 we see from ,st4 ,augustine1 who 
already mentions the farm of a certain  
,hasparius as disquieted by loud noises 
till the prayer of a pious priest       

restored peace4 ,the ,catholic ,church  
has a ,st4 ,caesarius1 who purified in  
like manner the house of the physician  
,elpidius in ,ravenna1 which was filled 
with evil spirits and only admitted the 
owner after he had passed through a     
shower of stones4 ,another saint1       
,hubertus1 was himself annoyed by ghosts
 in his residence at ,camens1 and never 
succeeded in obtaining peace till he    
died1 in #ieh4 ,wicked or interested men
 take1 of course1 but too readily       
advantage of the credulity of men and   
employ similar disturbances for personal
 purposes2 such was the case with the   
ghosts that haunted the ,council house  
in ,constance and the palace at         
,woodstock in ,cromwell's time4 ,the    
case of a scrupulously conscientious    
,protestant minister in ,germany1 which 
created in #agai a great excitement     
throughout the empire1 is well          
calculated to show the real nature of a 
number of such ghostly disturbances4 ,he
 had been called to the death-bed of a  

notorious sinner1 a woman1 who desired  
at the last moment to receive the       
comforts of religion4 ,unfortunately he 
reached her house too late2 she was     
already unconscious1 and died in his    
presence1 as he thought1 unreconciled   
with her ,god and with himself1 whom she
 had often insulted and cursed in life4 
,deeply disturbed he returned home1 and 
after having dwelt upon the painful     
subject with intense anxiety for several
 days he began to hear footsteps in his 
house4 ,gradually they became more      
frequent2 then he distinguished them    
clearly as a woman's step1 and at last  
they were accompanied by the dragging of
 a gown4 ,watches were set1 sand was    
strewn1 dogs were kept in the house--but
 all in vain2 no trace of man was found1
 and still the sounds continued4 ,the   
unhappy man prayed day and night1 and   
the noise disappeared for a fortnight4  
,when he ceased praying they returned1  
louder than ever4 ,he sternly bids the  
ghost desist1 and behold6 the ghost     

obeys4 ,when he asks if it is a good    
angel or a demon1 no answer is given2   
but the question3 ,art thou the ,devil8 
finds an immediate reply in rapid steps 
up and down the house--for the poor     
man's mind was filled with the idea that
 such things can be done only by the    
,evil ,one4 ,at last he summons all his 
remaining energy and in a tone of       
command he orders the ghost to depart   
and never to reappear4 ,from that moment
 all disturbances cease--and very       
naturally1 for the haunted1 disturbed   
man1 had fully recovered the command    
over himself2 the dualism that produced 
all the spectral phenomena had ceased1  
and the restored mind accomplished its  
own cure4 ,as these phenomena are thus  
produced from within1 it appears        
perfectly natural also that they should 
be reported as occurring most frequently
 in the month of ,november4 ,religious  
minds and superstitious dispositions    
have brought this fact into a quaint    
connection with the approach of         

,advent-time1 but the cause is probably 
purely physical2 the dark and dismal    
month with its dense fogs emblematic of 
coming winter predisposes the mind to   
gloomy thoughts and renders it less     
capable of resisting atmospheric        
influences4  ,a very general belief     
ascribes such disturbances1 under the   
name of haunted houses1 to the souls of 
deceased persons who can find no rest   
beyond the grave4 ,the series of ghost  
stories based upon this supposition     
begins with the account of ,suetonius   
and continues unbroken to our day4 ,then
 it was the spirit of ,caligula1 which  
could not be quiet so long as his body1 
which had only been half burned1        
remained in that disgraceful condition4 
,night after night his house and his    
garden were visited by strange          
apparitions1 till the palace was        
destroyed by fire and the emperor's     
sisters rendered the last honors to his 
remains4  ,thus the disposition of      
modern inquiries to trace back all      

popular accounts of great events1 all   
familiar anecdotes and fairy tales1 and 
even proverbs and maxims1 to the        
ancients1 has been fully gratified in   
this case also4 ,they were not only     
known to antiquity1 but formed a staple 
of popular tales4 ,thus the younger     
,pliny tells us one which he had        
frequently heard related4 ,at ,athens   
there stood a large1 comfortable        
mansion1 which1 however1 was            
ill-reputed4 ,night after night1 it was 
said1 chains were heard rattling1 first 
at a distance1 and then coming nearer1  
till a pale1 haggard shape was seen     
approaching1 wearing beard and hair in  
long dishevelled locks and clanking the 
chains it bore on hands and feet4 ,the  
occupants of the house could not sleep1 
were terrified1 sickened and died4 ,thus
 it came about that the fine building   
stood empty1 year after year1 and was at
 last offered for sale at a low price4  
,about that time the philosopher        
,athenodorus came to ,athens and saw the

 notice2 he had his suspicions aroused  
by the small sum demanded for the house1
 inquired about the causes and rented   
the house4 ,for he was a man of courage 
and meant to fathom the mystery4  ,on   
the evening of the first day he         
dismissed his servants and remained     
alone in the front room1 writing and    
occupying himself1 purposely1 with grave
 and abstract questions1 so as to allow 
no opening for his imagination4 ,as soon
 as all was quiet around him the        
clanking and rattling of chains begins2 
but he pays no heed and continues to    
write4 ,the noise approaches and enters 
the room2 as he looks up he sees the    
well-known weird shape before him4 ,it  
beckons him1 but he demands patience and
 writes on as before2 then the ghost    
shakes his chains over his head and     
beckons once more imperatively4 ,now he 
rises1 takes his lamp1 and follows his  
visitor through the passages into a     
court-yard1 where the ghost disappears4 
,the philosopher pulls up some grass on 

the spot and marks the place4 ,on the   
following day he appeals to the         
authorities to cause the place to be dug
 up2 and when this is done1 the bones of
 an old man1 loaded with heavy chains1  
are found4 ,from that time the house was
 left undisturbed1 as if the departed   
had only desired to induce some         
intelligent person to bestow upon him   
the honors of a decent burial1 which    
among the ancients were held            
all-important4 7,letter to ,sera1 l4    
vii4 #bg47 ,the story told by ,lucian   
7,philopseudes1 xxx47 is almost         
identical with that of ,pliny4 ,here1   
also1 a house in ,corinth1 once         
belonging to ,eubatides1 was left       
unoccupied1 for the same reasons1 and   
began to decay1 when the ,pythagorean1  
,arignotus1 determined to ascertain the 
reality of these nightly appearances4   
,he goes there after midnight1 places   
his lamp on the floor1 lies down and    
begins to read4 ,soon a horrible monster
 appears1 black as night1 and changes   

from one disgusting beast into another1 
till at last it yields to the stern     
command of the intrepid philosopher and 
disappears in a corner of the large     
room4 ,when day breaks1 workmen are     
brought in to take up the floor2 a      
skeleton is found and decently interred1
 and from that day the house is left to 
its usual peace and quiet4 7,epist4 l4  
vii4 #bg47 ,plutarch1 also1 in his ,life
 of ,cimon1 states that the baths at    
,chaeronea were haunted by the ghost of 
,damon1 who had there found his death2  
the doors were walled up and the place  
forsaken1 but up to his day no relief   
had been devised1 and fearful sights and
 terrible sounds continued to render the
 place uninhabitable4  ,nor are ,eastern
 lands unacquainted with this popular   
belief4 ,egypt has its haunted houses in
 nearly every village1 and in ,cairo    
there are a great number1 while in      
,tunis whole streets were abandoned to  
ghostly occupants4 ,in ,nankin a great  
mandarin owned a spacious building which

 he could neither occupy himself nor    
rent to others1 because of its evil     
reputation4 ,at last the ,jesuit        
,riccius1 a missionary1 offered to take 
it for his order2 the fathers moved into
 it1 conquered the ghosts by some means 
best known to themselves1 and not only  
obtained a good house but great prestige
 with the natives for their triumph over
 the spirits 7,c4 ,hasart4 ,hist4       
,eccles4 ,sinica1 p4 #d1 ch4 iii474     
,the same singular belief is not only   
met with in every age and among the most
 enlightened nations1 but even in our   
own century a similar case occurred and 
is well authenticated4 ,the ,duke       
,charles ,alexander of ,wuertemberg of  
unholy memory1 died at the town of      
,ludwigsburg1 perhaps by murder4 ,for   
years afterwards the palace was the     
scene of most violent disturbances2 even
 the sentinels1 powerful and well-armed 
men1 were bodily lifted up and thrown   
across the parapet of the terrace4 ,at  
other times the whole building appeared 

to be filled with people2 doors were    
opened and closed1 lights were seen in  
the apartments and dim figures flitted  
to and fro4 ,large detachments of troops
 under the command of officers1         
specially selected for the purpose1 were
 ordered to march through the palace    
more than once1 on such occasions1 but  
never discovered a trace of human agency
 7,kerner4 ,bilder4 p4 #adc74 ,even the 
great ,frederick of ,prussia1 a man     
whose thoroughly skeptical mind might   
surely be supposed to have been free    
from all superstition1 was once forced  
to admit his inability to explain by    
natural causes an occurrence of the     
kind4 ,a ,catholic priest in ,silesia   
lost his cook1 who had been specially   
dear to him2 her ghost--as it was       
called--continued to haunt the house1   
and1 most strange of all1 not in order  
to disturb its peace1 but to perform the
 usual domestic service4 ,the floors    
were swept1 the fires made1 and linen   
washed1 all by invisible hands4         

,frederick1 who accidentally heard of   
the matter1 ordered a captain and a     
lieutenant of his guard to investigate  
it2 they were received by the beating of
 drums and then allowed to witness the  
same household performances4 ,when the  
grim old captain broke out in a fearful 
curse1 he received a severe box on the  
ears and retreated utterly discomfited4 
,upon his report to the king the house  
was pulled down and a new parsonage     
erected at some distance from the place4
 ,the occurrence is mentioned in many   
historical works and quoted without     
comment even by the great historian     
,menzel4 ,another striking case of a    
somewhat different character1 was fully 
reported to the ,colonial ,office in    
,london4 ,the scene was a large vault in
 the island of ,barbadoes1 hewn out of  
the live rock and accessible only       
through a huge iron door1 fastened in   
the usual way by strong bolts and a     
lock1 the key to which was kept at the  
,government ,house4 ,during the year    

#ahai it was opened four times for      
purposes of interment1 and each time it 
was observed that all the coffins in the
 vault had been violently thrown about4 
,the ,governor1 ,lord ,combermere1 went 
himself1 accompanied by his staff and a 
number of officers1 to examine the      
place1 and found the vault itself in    
perfect order and without a trace of    
violence4 ,he ordered the door to be    
closed with cement and placed his seal  
upon the latter1 an example followed by 
nearly all the bystanders4 ,eight months
 later1 the #bhth of ,april1 #ahbj1 he  
had the vault opened in the presence of 
a large company of friends and within   
sight of a crowd of several thousands4  
,the cement and the seals were found to 
be perfect and uninjured2 the sand which
 had been carefully strewn over the     
floor of the vault showed no footmark or
 sign whatever1 but the coffins were    
again thrown about in great confusion4  
,one1 of such weight that it required   
eight men to move it1 was found standing

 upright1 and a child's coffin had been 
violently dashed against the wall4 ,a   
carefully drawn up report with          
accompanying drawings was sent home1 but
 no explanation has ever been           
discovered4 ,scientific men were        
disposed to ascribe the disturbance to  
earthquakes1 but the annals of the      
island report none during those years2  
there remains1 however1 the possibility 
that the examination of the vault was   
after all imperfect1 and that the sea   
might have had access to it through some
 hidden cleft4 ,in that case an         
unusually high tide might very well have
 been the invisible agent4  ,even the   
,indian of our far ,west cherishes the  
same superstitious belief1 and in his   
lodge on the slopes of the ,rocky       
,mountains1 he hears mysterious         
knockings4 ,to him they are the kindly  
warning of a spirit1 whom he calls the  
,great ,bear1 which announces some great
 calamity4  ,that certain localities    
seem to be frequented by ghosts1 that   

is1 to be haunted1 with special         
preference1 must be ascribed to the     
contagious nature of such mental        
affections as generally produce these   
phenomena4 ,this is1 moreover1 by no    
means limited1 as is commonly believed1 
to ,northern regions1 where frequent    
fogs and dense mists1 short days and    
long nights1 together with sombre       
surroundings and awe-inspiring sounds in
 nature1 combine to predispose the mind 
to expect supernatural appearances4     
,thus1 for instance1 fair ,suabia1 one  
of the most favored portions of         
,germany1 sweet and smiling in its      
fertile plains1 and by no means         
specially gruesome1 even in the most    
secluded parts of the ,black ,forest1   
teems with haunted localities4 ,dr4     
,kerner's home1 ,weinsberg1 enjoyed     
ghostly visits almost in every house2   
the neighborhood was similarly favored1 
and even in the open country there are  
countless peasants' cottages and        
noblemen's seats1 which are frequented  

by ghosts4 ,one of the most attractive  
estates in ,wuertemberg was purchased in
 #ahae by a distinguished soldier1 whose
 dauntless courage had caused him to    
rise rapidly from grade to grade under  
the eye of the great ,napoleon4 ,soon   
after his arrival his wife was aroused  
every night by a variety of mysterious  
noises1 rising from weird1 low whinings 
to terrific explosions4 ,the colonel    
also heard them1 and tried his best to  
ascertain the cause4 ,night after night1
 moreover1 the great castle clock1 which
 went perfectly well all day long1      
struck at wrong hours1 and was found all
 wrong in the morning4 ,the disturbing  
powers soon became personal2 for one    
night1 when the colonel1 sitting at the 
supper table1 and hearing the usual     
sounds1 said angrily1 ,i wish the ghost 
would make himself known6 a fearful     
explosion took place1 knocking down the 
speaker and bringing all the inmates of 
the house to the room4 ,search was      
immediately instituted1 and the main    

weight of the great clock was discovered
 to be missing4 ,a new weight had to be 
ordered1 and only long afterwards the   
old one was found wedged in between two 
floors above the clock4 ,nor were the   
disturbances confined to the castle3 at 
midnight the horses in the stable became
 restless and almost wild1 tearing      
themselves loose and sweating till they 
were covered with white foam4 ,one night
 the colonel went to the stable1 mounted
 his favorite charger1 who had borne him
 in the din and roar of many a battle1  
and awaited the striking of midnight4   
,instantly the poor animal began to     
tremble1 then to rear and kick          
furiously1 until his master1 famous as a
 good horseman1 could hold him in no    
longer1 and was carried around the      
stable by the maddened horse so as to   
imperil his life4 ,after an hour1 the   
poor creatures began to calm down1 but  
stood trembling in all their limbs2 the 
colonel's own horse succumbed to the    
trial and died in the morning4 ,a new   

stable had to be built1 which remained  
free from disturbances4  ,by far the    
most remarkable and1 strange enough1 at 
the same time the best authenticated of 
all accounts of disturbances caused by  
recently departed friends is found in a 
memoir written by the sufferer herself1 
and addressed to the famous ,baron      
,grimm under the pseudonym of ,mr4      
,meis4 ,through the latter the story    
reached ,goethe1 who at once            
appropriated it in all its details1 and 
merely changing the name of the         
principal to ,antonelli1 inserted it in 
his ,conversations of ,german           
,emigrants4 ,the same event is fully    
related in the ,memoirs of the          
,margravine of ,anspach as a story which
 at that time created a great sensation 
in ,paris1 and excited universal        
curiosity4 ,but even greater authority  
yet is given to this account by the fact
 that it was officially recorded in the 
police reports of ,paris1 from which it 
has been frequently extracted for       

publication4 ,mdlle4 ,hippolyte ,clairon
 makes substantially the following      
statements3 ,in the year #agdc my youth 
and my success on the stage procured for
 me much attention from young fops and  
elderly profligates1 among whom1        
however1 ,i found frequently a few      
better men4 ,one of these1 who made a   
deep impression upon me1 was a ,mr4 ,s41
 the son of a merchant from ,brittany1  
about thirty years old1 fair of         
features1 well made1 and gifted with    
some talent for poetry4 ,his            
conversation and his manners showed that
 he had received a superior education1  
and that he was accustomed to good      
society1 while his reserve and          
bashfulness1 which prevented him from   
allowing his attachment to be seen1 made
 him all the dearer to me4 ,when ,i had 
ascertained his discretion1 ,i permitted
 him to visit me1 and gave him to       
understand that he might call himself my
 friend4 ,he took this patiently1 seeing
 that ,i was still free and not without 

tender feelings1 and hoping that time   
might inspire me with a warmer          
affection4 ,who knows what might have   
happened6 ,but ,i used to question him  
closely1 both from curiosity and from   
prudence1 and his candid answers        
destroyed his prospects2 for he         
confessed that1 dissatisfied with his   
modest station in life1 he had sold his 
property in order to live in ,paris in  
better society1 and ,i did not like     
this4 ,men who are ashamed of themselves
 are not1 it seems to me1 calculated to 
inspire others with respect4 ,besides1  
he was of a melancholy and dissatisfied 
temper1 knowing men too well1 as he     
said1 not to despise and avoid them4 ,he
 intended to visit no one but myself1   
and to induce me also to see no one but 
him4 ,you may imagine how ,i disliked   
such ideas4 ,i might have been held by  
garlands1 but did not wish to be bound  
with chains4 ,from that moment ,i saw   
that ,i must disappoint his hopes1 and  
gradually withdrew from his society4    

,this caused him a severe illness1      
during which ,i showed him all possible 
attention4 ,but my steady refusal to do 
more for him only deepened the wound1   
and at the same time the poor young man 
had the misfortune of being stripped of 
nearly all his property by his faithless
 brother1 to whom he had intrusted the  
sale of all he owned1 so that he saw    
himself compelled to accept small sums  
from me for the payment of his daily    
food and the necessary medicines4  ,at  
last he recovered part of his property1 
but his health was ruined2 and as ,i    
thought ,i was rendering him a real     
service by widening the distance between
 us1 ,i refused henceforth to receive   
his letters and his visits4  ,thus      
matters went on for two years and a     
half1 when he died4 ,he had sent for me1
 wishing to enjoy the happiness of      
seeing me once more in his last moments1
 but my friends would not allow me to   
go4 ,he had no one near him except his  
servants and an old lady1 who had of    

late been his only companion4 ,our      
lodgings were far apart3 his near the   
,chaussee-d',antin1 where only a few    
houses had as yet been built1 and mine  
near the ,abbey of ,st4 ,martin4 ,my    
daily guests were an agent1 who attended
 to all my professional duties1 ,mr4    
,pipelet1 well known and beloved by all 
who knew him1 and ,rosely1 one of my    
fellow-comedians1 a kind young man full 
of wit and talent4 ,we had modest little
 suppers1 but we were merry and enjoyed 
ourselves heartily4 ,one evening ,i had 
just been singing several pretty airs   
which seemed to delight my friends1 when
 the clock struck eleven1 and at the    
same moment an extremely sharp cry was  
heard4 ,its plaintive sound and long    
duration amazed everybody2 ,i fainted   
away and remained for nearly a quarter  
of an hour unconscious4  ,my agent was  
in love with me and so mad with jealousy
 that when ,i recovered1 he overwhelmed 
me with reproaches1 and said the signals
 for my interview were rather loud4 ,i  

told him that as ,i had the right to    
receive when and whom ,i chose1 no      
signals were needed1 and this cry had   
surely been heart-rending enough to     
convince him that it announced no sweet 
moments4 ,my paleness1 my tremor1 which 
lasted for some time1 my tears flowing  
silently and almost unconsciously1 and  
my urgent request that somebody would   
stay up with me during the night1 all   
these signs convinced him of my         
innocence4 ,my friends remained with me1
 discussing the fearful cry1 and        
determining finally to station guards   
around the house4  ,nevertheless the    
dread sound was repeated night after    
night2 my friends1 all the neighbors1   
and even the policemen who were         
stationed near us1 heard it distinctly2 
it seemed to be uttered immediately     
under my window1 where nothing could    
ever be seen4 ,there was no doubt       
entertained as to the person for whom it
 was intended1 for whenever ,i supped   
out1 no cry was heard2 but frequently   

after my return1 when ,i entered my room
 and inquired about it of my mother and 
my servants1 it suddenly pierced the air
 anew4 ,once the president of the court1
 at whose house ,i had been entertained1
 proposed to see me home in safety2 at  
the moment when he wished me good-night 
at the door1 the cry was heard right    
between us1 and the poor man had to be  
lifted into his carriage more dead than 
alive4  ,another time my young          
companion1 ,rosely1 a clever1 witty man1
 who believed in nothing in heaven or on
 earth1 was riding with me in my        
carriage on our way to a friend who     
lived in a distant part of the city4 ,we
 were discussing the fearful torment to 
which ,i was exposed1 and he1 laughing  
at me1 at last declared he would never  
believe it unless he heard it with his  
own ears1 and defied me to summon my    
lover4 ,i do not know how ,i came to    
yield1 but instantly the cry was        
repeated three times1 and with          
overwhelming fierceness4 ,when our      

carriage reached the house1 the servants
 found us both lying unconscious on the 
cushions1 and had to summon assistance  
before we recovered4 ,after this ,i     
heard nothing for several months1 and   
began to hope that all was over4 ,but ,i
 was sadly mistaken4  ,the members of   
the king's troop of comedians had all   
been ordered to appear at ,versailles1  
in honor of the dauphin's marriage1 and 
as we were to spend three days there1   
lodgings had been provided4 ,it so      
happened1 however1 that a friend of     
mine1 ,mme4 ,grandval1 had been         
forgotten1 and seeing her trouble1 ,i at
 last offered her1 towards three o'clock
 in the morning1 to share my room1 in   
which there were two beds4 ,this forced 
me to take my maid into my own bed1 and 
as she was in the act of coming1 ,i said
 to her3 ',here we are at the end of the
 world1 the weather is abominable1 and  
the cry would find it hard to follow us 
here6' ,at that moment it resounded     
close to us2 ,mme4 ,grandval jumped up  

terribly frightened1 and ran through the
 whole house1 waking everybody1 and     
keeping us all in such a state of       
excitement that not an eye was closed   
the whole night4 ,seven or eight days   
later1 as ,i was chatting merrily with a
 number of friends1 at the striking of  
the hour1 a shot was heard1 coming      
apparently through my window4 ,we all   
heard it and saw the fire1 but the pane 
was not broken4 ,everybody thought at   
once of an attempt to murder me1 and    
some friends hastened instantly to the  
,chief of ,police4 ,men were immediately
 sent to search the houses opposite1 and
 for several days and nights the street 
was strictly guarded by a number of     
soldiers2 my own house was searched from
 roof to cellar1 and friends came in    
large companies to assist in watchings3 
nevertheless1 the shot fell night after 
night at the same hour1 for three       
months1 with unfailing accuracy4 ,no    
clue was found and no sign was seen save
 the sound of the shot and the sight of 

the fire4 ,daily reports of the         
occurrence were sent to the headquarters
 of the police1 new measures were       
continually devised and applied1 but the
 authorities were baffled as well as all
 who tried to fathom the mystery4 ,i    
became at last quite accustomed to the  
disturbance1 and was in the habit of    
speaking of it as the doing of a bon    
diable1 because he contented himself so 
long a time with jugglers' tricks2 but  
one night as ,i had stepped through the 
open window out upon a balcony1 and was 
standing there with my agent by my side1
 the shot suddenly fell again and       
knocked us both back into the room1     
where we fell down as if dead4 ,when we 
recovered our consciousness1 we got up1 
and after some hesitation1 confessed to 
each other that our ears had been       
severely boxed1 his on the right side   
and mine on the left1 whereupon we gave 
way to hearty laughter4 ,the next night 
was quiet1 but on the following day ,i  
was riding with my maid to a friend's   

house1 where ,i had been invited to meet
 some acquaintances4 ,as we passed      
through a certain part of the city1 ,i  
recognized the houses in the bright     
moonlight1 and said jestingly3 ',this   
looks very much like the part of town   
where poor ,s4 used to live4' ,at the   
same moment a near church clock struck  
eleven1 and instantly a shot was fired  
at us from one of the buildings1 which  
seemed to pass through our carriage4    
,the coachman thought we had been       
attacked by robbers1 and whipped his    
horses to escape2 ,i knew what it meant1
 but still felt thoroughly frightened1  
and reached the house in a state little 
suited for social enjoyment4 ,this was1 
however1 the last time my unfortunate   
friend used a gun4  ,in place of the    
firing there came now a loud clapping of
 hands1 with certain modulations and    
repetitions4 ,this sound1 to which ,i   
had become accustomed on the stage by   
the kindness of my friends1 did not     
disturb me as much as my companions4    

,they would station themselves around my
 door and under my window2 they heard it
 distinctly1 but could not see a trace  
of any person4 ,i do not remember how   
long this continued2 but it was followed
 by the singing of a sweet1 almost      
heavenly melody1 which began at the     
upper end of the street and gradually   
swelled till it reached my house1 where 
it slowly expired4 ,then the disturbance
 ceased altogether4  ,the only light    
that was ever thrown upon the mystery   
came from an old lady who called on me  
on the pretext of wishing to see my     
house which ,i had offered for rent4 ,i 
was very much struck by her venerable   
appearance and her evident emotion4 ,i  
offered her a chair and sat down        
opposite to her1 but was for some time  
unable to say a word4 ,at last she      
seemed to gather courage and told me    
that she had long wished to make my     
acquaintance1 but had not dared to come 
so long as ,i was constantly surrounded 
by hosts of friends and admirers4 ,at   

last she had happened to see my         
advertisement and availed herself of the
 opportunity in order to see me--and to 
visit my house1 which had a deep though 
melancholy interest in her eyes4 ,i     
guessed at once that she was the        
faithful friend who alone remained by   
the bedside of poor ,s41 when he was    
prostrated by a fatal disease and       
refused to see anybody else4 ,for       
months1 she now told me1 he had spoken  
of nothing save of myself1 looking upon 
me now as an angel and now as a demon1  
but utterly unable to keep his thoughts 
from dwelling uninterruptedly upon the  
one subject which filled his mind and   
his heart alike4 ,i tried to explain to 
the old lady how ,i had fully           
appreciated his good qualities and noble
 impulses1 finding it1 however1         
impossible to fall in with his peculiar 
views of society and to promise1 as he  
insisted ,i should do1 to forsake all ,i
 loved for the purpose of living with   
him in loneliness and complete          

retirement4 ,i told her1 also1 that when
 he sent for me to see him in his last  
moments1 my friends prevented my going1 
and that ,i felt myself that the sight  
of his death under such circumstances   
would have been dangerous in the extreme
 to my peace of mind1 besides being     
utterly useless to the dying man4 ,she  
admitted the force of my reasoning1 but 
repeated that my refusal had hastened   
his end and deprived him at the last    
moment of all self-control4 ,in this    
state of mind1 when a few minutes before
 eleven1 the servant had entered and    
assured him in answer to his passionate 
inquiry1 that no one had come1 he had   
exclaimed3 ',the heartless woman6 ,she  
shall gain nothing by her cruelty1 for  
,i will pursue her after death as ,i    
have pursued her during life6' and with 
these words on his lips he had expired4 
,the impression produced by this        
thoroughly authenticated recital is a   
strong argument in favor of a continued 
connection after death of the human soul

 with the world in which we live4 ,there
 was a man whose whole existence was    
absorbed by one great and all-pervading 
passion2 it brought ruin to his body and
 disabled his mind from correcting the  
vagaries of his fancy4 ,he died in this 
state1 with a sense of grievous wrong   
and intense thirst of revenge uppermost 
in his mind4 ,then follow a number of   
magic phenomena1 witnessed1 for several 
years1 by thousands of attached friends 
and curious observers1 defying the      
vigilance of soldiers and the acuteness 
of police agents4 ,these disturbances1  
at first bearing the stamp of willful   
annoyance1 gradually assume a milder    
form1 as if expressive of softening     
indignation2 they become weaker and less
 frequent1 and finally cease altogether1
 suggestive of the peace which the poor 
erring soul had at last found1 by       
infinite mercy and goodness1 when safely
 entering the desired haven4  ,on the   
other hand--for contrasts meet here as  
well as elsewhere--these phenomena have 

been frequently ascribed to purely      
physical causes1 and in a number of     
cases the final explanation has         
confirmed this suggestion4 ,a           
hypochondriac artist1 for instance1 was 
nightly disturbed by a low but furious  
knocking in his bed1 which was heard by 
others as well as by himself4 ,he       
prayed1 he caused priests to come to his
 bedside1 he had masses read in his     
behalf1 but all remained in vain4 ,then 
came a plain1 sensible friend1 who1 half
 in jest and half in earnest1 covered   
his big toe with a brass wire which he  
dipped into an alkaline solution1 and   
behold1 the knockings ceased and never  
returned6 7,dupotel1 ,animal ,magn47 ,in
 another case a somnambulistic woman    
frightened herself as well as others by 
most violent knockings whenever she was 
disappointed or thwarted2 her physician1
 suspecting the cause1 finally gave her 
antispasmodic remedies1 and it soon     
appeared that in her nervous spasms the 
muscles had been vibrating forcibly     

enough to produce these disturbances4   
,since these discoveries it has been    
found that almost anybody may produce   
such knockings--which stand in a        
suspicious relationship to              
spirit-rappings--by exerting certain    
muscles of the leg2 some men1 who have  
practised this trick for scientific     
purposes1 like ,professor ,schiff1 of   
,florence1 are able to imitate almost   
all the various knockings generally     
ascribed to ghosts and spirits4 ,the    
public performances of ,mr4 ,chauncey   
,burr1 in ,new ,york1 gave very striking
 illustrations of this power1 and a ,mr4
 ,shadrach ,barnes rapped with his toes 
to perfection4  ,in a large number of   
cases such phenomena appear in          
connection with persons who suffer of   
some nervous disease1 and then the      
knockings are1 of course1 produced      
unconsciously1 and may be accompanied by
 evidences of exceptional powers4 ,it   
need not be added1 however1 that the two
 symptoms are not necessarily of the    

same nature2 generally the mechanical   
knockings precede the development of    
ecstatic visions4 ,a girl of eleven     
years1 the child of humble ,alsatian    
parents1 presented1 in #aheb1 this      
succession of symptoms very strikingly4 
,the child had a habit of falling asleep
 at all hours2 at once mysterious       
knockings began to perform a dance or a 
march1 and continued daily for more than
 an hour4 ,after some time the poor girl
 began1 also1 to talk in her sleep1 and 
to converse with the knocking agent4    
,she would order him to beat a tattoo1  
or to play a quickstep1 and immediately 
it was done4 ,the directions of         
bystanders1 even when not uttered but   
merely formed earnestly in their mind1  
were obeyed in like manner4 ,finally the
 child1 getting no doubt worse and      
unmercifully excited by the crowds of   
curious people who thronged the house1  
began to admonish her audience1 and to  
preach and pray2 during these           
exhortations no knockings were heard1   

but she became clairvoyant and          
recognized all the persons present1 even
 with her eyes closed4 ,she fancied that
 a black man with a red shawl produced  
the knockings and delivered the         
speeches4 ,her clairvoyance became at   
last so striking that her case excited  
the deepest interest of persons in high 
social position1 and several physicians 
examined it with great care4 ,her       
disease was declared to be neurosis     
coeliaca 7,magicon1 v4 #bgd74  ,a very  
peculiar and utterly inexplicable       
phenomenon belonging to this class of   
ghostly appearances is the complete     
removal of persons by an unseen power4  
,the idea of such occurrences must have 
been current among the ,jews1 for when  
there appeared a chariot of fire and    
horses of fire 444 and ,elijah went up  
by a whirlwind into heaven 7,,ii4 ,kings
 ii4 #aa71 the sons of the prophets did 
not at once resign themselves1 but sent 
fifty strong men to seek him1 lest      
peradventure the ,spirit of the ,lord   

hath taken him up and cast him upon some
 mountain or into some valley 7v4 #af74 
,in the ,new ,testament the same        
mysterious removal is mentioned in the  
case of ,philip1 after his interview    
with the ,ethiopian1 whom he baptized4  
,the ,spirit of the ,lord caught away   
,philip1 that the eunuch saw him no     
more1 and ,philip was found at ,azotus  
7,acts viii4 #ci1 #dj74 ,what in these  
cases was done by divine power1 is said 
to be occasionally the work of an       
unknown and unseen force4 ,generally1 no
 doubt1 men or children lose themselves 
by accident1 either when they are       
already from illness or other cause in a
 state of semi-consciousness1 or when   
they become so bewildered and frightened
 by the accident itself1 that they fancy
 they must have been carried away by a  
mysterious power4 ,the best             
authenticated case is reported in       
,beaumont 7p4 #fe74 ,an ,irish steward1 
crossing a field1 saw in it a large     
company feasting1 and was invited to    

join their meal4 ,one of them1 however1 
warned him in a whisper not to accept   
anything that should be offered4 ,upon  
his refusal to eat1 the table vanished  
and the men were seen dancing to a merry
 music4 ,he was again invited to join1  
and when he refused1 all disappeared1   
and he found himself alone4 ,he hurried 
home thoroughly terrified1 and fainted  
away in his room4 ,during the night he  
dreamt--or really saw--that one of the  
mysterious company appeared at his      
bedside and announced to him that if he 
dare leave the house on the following   
day1 he would be carried away4 ,he      
remained at home till the evening1 when1
 thinking himself safe1 he stepped      
across the threshold4 ,instantly his    
companions saw him1 with a rope around  
his body1 hurried away so fast that they
 could not follow4 ,at last they meet a 
horseman whom they request by signs to  
arrest the unhappy victim2 he seizes the
 rope and receives a smart blow1 but    
rescues the steward4 ,lord ,orrery      

desired to see the man1 and when the    
latter presented himself before the     
earl1 he reported that another nightly  
visitor had threatened him as before4   
,he was1 thereupon1 placed in a large   
room under the guard of several stout   
men2 a number of distinguished persons1 
two bishops among them1 went constantly 
in and out4 ,in the afternoon he was    
suddenly lifted into the air2 a famous  
boxer1 ,greatrix1 who had been specially
 engaged to guard him1 and another      
powerful man1 seized him by the         
shoulders1 but he was dragged from their
 grasp and for some time carried about  
high above their heads1 till at last he 
fell into the arms of some of his       
keepers4 ,during the night the same     
apparition stood once more by his       
bed-side1 inviting him to drink of a    
gray porridge1 which would cure him of  
all ills and protect him against further
 violence4 ,he suffered himself to be   
persuaded1 when the visitor made himself
 known as a former friend who had to    

attend those mysterious meetings in     
punishment of the dissolute life he had 
led upon earth1 and who now wished to   
save another unhappy fellow-being from a
 like sad fate4 ,at the same time he    
reminded him of his neglect to pray1 and
 then disappeared4 ,the steward speedily
 recovered from his fright1 and was no  
further molested4 ,there can be little  
doubt that the man was ill at ease in   
body and in conscience1 and that this   
double burden was too heavy to bear for 
his mind2 his thoughts became           
disordered1 till he felt an apparently  
external power stronger than his own    
will1 and thus not only imagined strange
 visions1 but actually obeyed erratic   
impulses of his diseased mind1 as if    
they were acts of violence from without4
  ,a favorite pastime of these          
pseudo-ghosts is the throwing of stones 
at the buildings or even into the rooms 
of those whom they wish to annoy4 ,good 
,cotton ,mather loved to tell stories of
 such perverse proceedings1 and states  

at length the sufferings of ,george     
,walton1 at ,portsmouth1 in #afhb4      
,invisible hands threw such a hailstorm 
of stones against his house1 that the   
door was burst open1 although the       
inhabitants1 when hit by the stones1    
only felt a slight touch4 ,then the     
stones began to fly about inside1 and to
 destroy the window-panes from within2  
when picked up by some of the witnesses1
 they proved to be burning hot2 they    
were marked and placed upon a table1    
whereupon they commenced to fly about   
once more4 ,it is characteristic of the 
whole proceeding that the only person   
really injured by the operation was the 
owner of the house1 a quaker6 ,the      
learned author delights also in recitals
 of children who were plagued by evil   
spirits1 having forks and knives1 pins  
and sharp scissors stuck into their     
backs1 and whose food1 at the moment    
when it was to be carried from the plate
 to the mouth1 flew away1 leaving yarn1 
ashes1 and vile things to reach the     

palate6 ,at other times the disturbance 
assumes a somewhat more dignified form1 
and appears as the ringing of bells4    
,thus ,baxter tells us of a house at    
,colne ,priory1 in ,essex1 where1 for a 
time1 every morning at two o'clock a    
large bell was heard1 while in the      
parish of ,wilcot1 a smaller bell waked 
the vicar night after night with its    
tinkling1 and yet could not be heard    
outside of the dwelling4 ,physicians    
know very well how readily the pressure 
of blood to certain vessels in the head 
produces the impression of the ringing  
of bells1 and experience tells us how   
easily men are made to believe that they
 see or hear what others assure them is 
seen or heard by everybody4 ,even the   
great ,john ,wesley seems not to have   
been fully convinced of the purely      
natural character of such disturbances1 
when they annoyed his venerable father  
at ,epworth ,rectory2 and ,dr4          
,priestley1 a calm and cautious writer1 
says of these phenomena3 ,it is perhaps 

the best-authenticated and the best-told
 story of the kind that is anywhere     
extant1 on which account1 and to        
exercise the ingenuity of some          
speculative person1 ,i thought it not   
undeserved of being published4 ,it seems
 that in #agaf the rectory became the   
scene of strange disturbances1 which    
were at first ascribed to one of the    
minister's enemies1 ,jeffrey4 ,the      
inmates heard an incessant walking      
about1 sighing and groaning1 cackling   
and crowing2 a hand-mill was set        
whirling around by invisible hands1 and 
the ,amen6 with which ,wesley's father  
ended the family prayer was accompanied 
by a noise like thunder4 ,even the      
faithful watchdog was disturbed and his 
instinct overawed1 for he sought refuge 
with men1 and barked furiously1 till his
 excitement rose to a state resembling  
madness1 he even anticipated the coming 
of the disturbance1 and announced it by 
his intense agitation4  ,the subject is 
one of extreme difficulty because of the

 large number of cases in which all such
 disturbances have been clearly traced  
to the agency of dissatisfied servants1 
hidden enemies1 or envious neighbors1   
whose sole purpose was a desire to drive
 the occupant from his house1 or to     
diminish its value4 ,it is              
characteristic of human nature that the 
cunning and the skill displayed on such 
occasions even by ignorant servants and 
awkward rustics are perfectly amazing1 a
 fact which proves anew the assertion of
 old divines1 that the ,devil is vastly 
better served than the ,lord of ,heaven4
 ,even the best authenticated case of   
such mysterious disturbances1 ,kerner's 
so-called ,seeress of ,prevorst1 is not 
entirely free from all suspicion4 ,mrs4 
,hauffe1 a lady of delicate health1     
great nervous irritability1 and a mind  
which was1 to say the least1 not too    
well balanced1 became the patient of    
,dr4 ,justinus ,kerner1 in southern     
,germany4 ,besides her mysterious power 
to reveal unknown things1 to read the   

future1 and to prescribe for herself and
 others1 of which mention has been made 
before2 she was also pursued by every   
variety of strange noises4 ,plates and  
glasses1 tables and chairs were         
violently thrown about in the house in  
which she lived2 a medicine phial rose  
slowly into the air and had to be       
brought back by one of the bystanders1  
and an easy-chair was lifted up to the  
ceiling1 but came down again quite      
gently4 ,the suffering woman was the    
only one who knew the cause of these    
phenomena2 she ascribed them all to a   
dark spirit1 ,belon's companion1 who    
appeared to her as a black column of    
smoke1 with a hideous head1 and whose   
approach oppressed even some of the     
bystanders--especially the patient's    
sister4 ,he was not content with        
disturbing ,mrs4 ,hauffe only1 but      
carried his wantonness even into the    
homes of distant friends and kinsmen4 ,a
 pious minister1 who frequently visited 
the poor sufferer1 was contagiously     

affected by the ill-fated atmosphere of 
her house2 night after night he was     
waked up1 by a bright spirit1 who       
coughed and sighed and sobbed in his    
presence1 till a fervent prayer drove   
him away2 if the poor divine1 however1  
prayed only faintly or entertained      
doubts in his heart1 the spirit mocked  
him with increased energy4 ,later even  
the minister's wife succumbed1 saw the  
same luminous appearances and heard the 
same mysterious noises1 till the whole  
matter was suddenly brought to an end by
 an amulet6 ,to this class of           
occurrences belongs also the experience 
of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,phelps of ,stratford1
 ,connecticut4 ,one fine day he found1  
upon returning from church1 that all the
 doors of his house1 which he had       
carefully locked1 were open and         
everything in the lower rooms in a state
 of boundless confusion4 ,nothing1      
however1 had been stolen4 ,in the upper 
story a room was found to be occupied by
 eight or ten persons diligently reading

 in an open ,bible1 which each one held 
close to his face4 ,upon examination    
these readers were discovered to be     
bundles of clothes carefully and most   
cunningly arranged so as to represent   
living beings4 ,everything was cleared  
away and the room was locked2 but in    
three minutes1 the clothing1 which had  
been put aside1 disappeared1 and when   
the door was opened the same scene was  
presented4 ,for seven long months the   
house was haunted by most extraordinary 
phenomena2 noises of every kind were    
heard by day as well as by night2       
utensils and window-panes were broken   
before the eyes of numerous witnesses by
 invisible hands1 and the son of the    
house1 eleven years old1 was bodily     
lifted up and carried away to some      
distance4 ,the most searching inquiry   
led to no result1 until at last ,dr4    
,phelps1 almost in despair1 applied to  
some spiritualists1 and in consequence  
of the hints he received was enabled to 
bring the disturbances to a speedy end  

7,rechenberg1 p4 #eh74  ,stone-throwing 
seems to be a favorite amusement with   
,eastern ghosts also2 at least we are   
told that it is quite frequent in the   
western part of the ,island of ,java1   
where the ,sunda people live amid       
gigantic mountains and still active     
volcanoes4 ,they believe in good and    
evil spirits1 and are firmly convinced  
that constant intercourse is kept up    
between earth-born men and heavenly     
beings4 ,the whole ,indian ,archipelago 
is filled with the latter1 and hence1   
the throwing of stones1 sand and gravel1
 by invisible hands1 has a name of its  
own1 it is called ,gundarua4 ,some      
thirty years ago1 a ,german happened to 
be ,assistant-,resident at ,sumadang1 in
 the service of the ,dutch government4  
,his wife had taken a fancy to a native 
child ten years old1 who was allowed to 
go in and out the house at will4 ,one   
morning during the ,german's absence1   
the child's white dress was found to be 
soiled all over with red betel-juice1   

and at the moment when her patroness    
made this discovery1 a stone fell       
apparently from the ceiling1 at her     
feet4 ,the same phenomenon was repeated 
over and over again1 till the lady1 in  
her distress1 appealed to a neighboring 
native sovereign1 who promised his      
assistance4 ,he sent immediately a large
 force of armed men1 who surrounded the 
house and watched the room2             
nevertheless1 the red spots reappeared  
and stones fell as before4 ,towards     
evening1 a ,mohammedan mufti1 of high   
rank1 was sent for2 but he had scarcely 
opened his ,koran1 to read certain      
sentences for the purpose of exorcising 
the demons1 when the sacred book was    
hurled to one side and the lamp to      
another4 ,the lady took the child to the
 prince's residence to spend the night  
there1 and no disturbance occurred4 ,but
 when her husband1 for whom swift       
messengers had been sent out1 returned  
on the following day1 the same trouble  
occurred2 the child was spit at with    

betel-juice and stones kept falling from
 on high4 ,soon the report reached the  
,governor-,general at ,breitenzorg1 who 
thereupon sent a man of great military  
renown1 a ,major ,michiels1 to          
investigate the matter4 ,once more the  
house was surrounded by an armed force1 
even the neighboring trees were         
carefully guarded1 and the major took   
the little girl upon his knees4 ,in     
spite of all these precautions1 her     
dress was soon covered with red spots1  
and stones flew about as before4 ,no    
one1 however1 was injured4 ,they were   
gathered up1 proved to be wet or hot1 as
 if just picked up in the road1 and at  
night filled a huge box4 ,the same      
process continued1 when a huge sheet of 
linen had been stretched from wall to   
wall1 so as to form an inner ceiling    
under the real ceiling2 and now not only
 stones1 but also fruit from the        
surrounding trees1 freshly gathered1 and
 mortar from the kitchen fell into the  
newly formed tent4 ,at the same time the

 furniture was repeatedly disturbed1    
tumblers and wineglasses tossed about1  
and marks left on the large mirror as if
 a moist hand had been passed over the  
surface4 ,the marvelous occurrences were
 duly reported to the home government1  
and the king1 ,william ,,ii41 ordered   
that no pains should be spared to clear 
up the matter4 ,but no explanation was  
ever obtained2 only the fact was        
ascertained that similar phenomena had  
been repeatedly observed in other parts 
of the island also1 and were considered 
quite ordinary occurrences by the       
natives4 ,certain families1 it may be   
added1 claim to have inherited from     
their ancestors the power to make       
themselves invisible1 a gift which is   
almost invariably accompanied by the    
,gundarua2 as these native families     
gradually die out1 the symptoms of the  
latter also disappear more and more4    
,there is no doubt that here1 as in the 
,russian poganne 7cursed places which   
are haunted by ghosts71 the belief in   

such appearances1 bequeathed through    
long ages from father to son1 has       
finally obtained a force which renders  
it equal to reality itself4 ,reason is  
not only biased1 but actually held      
bound2 the mind is wrought up to a state
 of excitement in which it ceases to see
 clearly1 and finally visions assume an 
overwhelming force1 which ends in       
symptoms of what is called magic4 ,the  
same law applies1 for instance1 to the  
ancient home of charmers and magicians1 
the land of the ,nile1 where also the   
studies of the ancient ,magi have been  
assumed by a succession of learned men1 
till they were taken up by fanatic      
,mohammedans1 whose creed arranges      
invisible beings1 angels1 demons1 and   
others1 in regular order1 and assigns   
them a home in distinct parts of the    
universe4 ,it is not without interest to
 observe that even ,europeans1 after a  
long residence in the ,orient1 become   
deeply imbued with such notions1 and men
 like ,bayle ,st4 ,john1 in his account 

of magic performances which he          
witnessed1 do not seem able to remain   
altogether impartial4  ,one of the most 
remarkable phenomena belonging to this  
branch of magic is the appearance of    
living or recently deceased persons to  
friends or supplicants4 ,the peculiarity
 in this case consists in the constantly
 changing character of the appearance3  
the double--as it is called--is the     
vision of the dying man1 which appears  
to others or to his own senses4 ,the    
former class of cases was well known in 
antiquity1 for ,pythagoras already had1 
according to popular report1 appeared to
 numerous friends before he died4       
,herodotus and ,maximus ,tyrius state   
both1 that ,aristaeus sent his spirit   
into different lands to acquire         
knowledge1 and ,epimenides and          
,hernestinus1 from ,claromenae1 were    
popularly believed to be able to visit1 
when in a state of ecstasy1 all distant 
countries1 and to return at pleasure4   
,st4 ,augustine1 also1 states 7,sermon1 

#abc7 that he1 himself1 had appeared to 
two persons who had known him only by   
reputation1 and advised them to go to   
,hippons in order to obtain their health
 there by the intercession of ,st4      
,stephen4 ,they really went to the place
 and recovered from their disease4 ,at  
another time his form appeared to a     
famous teacher of eloquence in ,carthage
 and explained to him several most      
difficult passages in ,cicero's writings
 7,de cura pro mortuis1 ch4 ii74 ,the   
saints of the ,catholic church having   
possessed the gift of being in several  
places at once1 apparently so very      
generally1 that the miracle has lost its
 interest1 except where peculiar        
circumstances seem to suggest the true  
explanation4 ,such was1 for instance1   
the last-mentioned case1 recited by ,st4
 ,augustine 7,de ,civ4 ,dei4 l4 #h4 ch4 
#ah74 ,praestantius requested a         
philosopher to solve to him some doubts1
 but received no answer4 ,the following 
night1 however1 when ,praestantius lay  

awake1 troubled by his difficulties1 he 
suddenly saw his learned friend standing
 by his bedside and heard from his lips 
all he desired to know4 ,upon meeting   
him next day1 he inquired why he had    
been unwilling to explain the matter in 
the daytime1 and thus caused himself the
 trouble of coming at midnight to his   
house4 ,i never came to your house1 was 
the reply1 but ,i dreamt that ,i did4   
,here was very evidently a case of magic
 activity on the part of the            
philosopher1 whose mind was1 in his     
sleep1 busily engaged in solving the    
propounded mystery and thus affected not
 himself only1 but his absent friend    
likewise4  ,the story of ,dr4 ,donne's  
vision is well known1 and deserves all  
the more serious attention as his candor
 was above suspicion1 and his judgment  
held in the highest esteem4 ,he formed  
part of an embassy sent to ,henry ,,iv4 
of ,france1 and had been two days in    
,paris1 thinking constantly and         
anxiously of his wife1 whom he had left 

ill in ,london4 ,towards noon he        
suddenly fell into a kind of trance1 and
 when he recovered his senses related to
 his friends that he had seen his       
beloved wife pass him twice1 as she     
walked across the room1 her hair        
dishevelled and her child dead in her   
arms4 ,when she passed him the second   
time1 she looked sadly into his face and
 then disappeared4 ,his fears were      
aroused to such a degree by this vision 
that he immediately dispatched a special
 messenger to ,england1 and twelve days 
later he received the afflicting news   
that on that day and at that hour his   
wife had1 after great and protracted    
suffering1 been delivered of a          
still-born infant 7,beaumont1 p4 #if74  
,in ,macnish's excellent work on ,sleep1
 we find 7p4 #ahj7 the following        
account3 ,a ,mr4 ,h4 went one day1      
apparently in the enjoyment of full     
health1 down the street1 when he saw a  
friend of his1 ,mr4 ,c41 who was walking
 before him4 ,he called his name aloud1 

but the latter pretended not to hear    
him1 and steadily walked on4 ,h4        
hastened his steps to overtake him1 but 
his friend also hurried on1 and thus    
remained at the same distance from him2 
thus the two walked for some time1 till 
suddenly ,mr4 ,c4 entered a gateway1 and
 when ,mr4 ,h4 was about to follow1     
slammed the door violently in his face4 
,perfectly amazed at such unusual       
conduct1 ,mr4 ,h4 opened the door and   
looked down the long passage1 upon which
 it opened1 but saw no one4 ,determined 
to solve the mystery1 he hurried to his 
friend's house1 and there1 to his great 
astonishment1 learnt that ,mr4 ,c4 had  
been confined to his bed for some days4 
,it was not until several weeks later   
that the two friends met at the house of
 a common acquaintance2 ,mr4 ,h4 told   
,mr4 ,c4 of his adventure1 and added    
laughingly1 that having seen his double1
 he was afraid ,mr4 ,c4 would not live  
long4 ,these words were received by all 
with hearty laughter2 but only a few    

days after this meeting the unfortunate 
friend was seized with a violent        
illness1 to which he speedily succumbed4
 ,what is most remarkable1 however1 is  
that ,mr4 ,h4 also followed him1 quite  
unexpectedly1 soon to the grave4        
,whatever may have been the nature of   
the event itself1 it cannot be doubted  
that the minds of both friends were far 
more deeply impressed by its            
mysteriousness than they would probably 
have been willing to acknowledge to     
themselves1 and that the nervous        
excitement thus produced brought out an 
illness lurking already in their system1
 and rendered it fatal4 ,a very         
remarkable case was that of a           
distinguished diplomat1 related by ,a4  
,moritz in his ,psychology4 ,he was     
lying in bed1 sleepless1 when he noticed
 his pet dog becoming restless1 and     
apparently disturbed to the utmost by a 
rustling and whisking about in the room1
 which he heard but could not explain4  
,suddenly a kind of white vapor rose by 

his bed-side1 and gradually assumed the 
outline and even the features of his    
mother2 he especially noticed a purple  
ribbon in her cap4 ,he jumped out of bed
 and endeavored to embrace her1 but she 
fled before him and as suddenly         
vanished1 leaving a bright glare at the 
place where she had disappeared4 ,it was
 found1 afterwards1 that at that        
hour--#aj o'clock ,a4 ,m4--the old lady 
had been ill unto death1 lying still and
 almost breathless on her couch2 she had
 felt the anguish of death in her heart1
 and had thought so anxiously of her son
 and her sister1 that her first question
 when she recovered was1 whether she had
 not perhaps been visited by the two    
persons who had thus occupied her whole 
mind4 ,it was also ascertained that1    
contrary to a life's habit1 she had on  
that day worn a purple ribbon in her    
night-cap4 ,a ,german professor once    
succeeded in establishing the connection
 which undoubtedly exists between the   
will of certain persons and their       

appearance to others4 ,he had only been 
married a year in #ahbc1 when he was    
compelled to leave his wife and to      
undertake a long and perilous journey4  
,once1 sitting in a peculiarly sad and  
dejected mood alone in a room of his    
hotel1 he longed so ardently for the    
society of his wife1 that he felt in his
 heart as if1 by a great effort of will1
 he should be able to see her4 ,he made 
the effort1 and1 behold6 he saw her     
sitting at her work-table1 busily       
engaged in sewing1 and himself1 as was  
his habit1 on a low foot-stool by her   
side4 ,she tried to conceal her work    
from his eyes4 ,a few days later a      
messenger reached him1 sent by his wife1
 who was in great consternation and     
anxiety4 ,on that day she also had      
suddenly seen her husband seated by her 
side1 attentively watching her at work1 
and continuing there till her father    
entered the room1 upon which the        
professor had instantly disappeared4    
,when he returned to his house he made  

minute inquiries as to the work he had  
seen in the hands of his wife1 and this 
was of such peculiar character as to    
exclude all ideas of a mere dream on his
 part4 ,here also the supreme will of   
the professor must have endowed him for 
the moment with exceptional powers1     
enabling him to make himself visible to 
his wife1 while the latter1 with the    
ardent love which bound her to her      
husband1 was at the same moment         
sympathetically excited1 and thus       
enabled to second his will1 and to      
behold him as she was accustomed to see 
him most frequently4  ,owen in his      
,footfalls on the ,boundary of ,another 
,world1 reports fully a remarkable case 
here repeated only in outline4 ,robert  
,bruce1 thirty years old1 served as mate
 on board a merchant vessel on the line 
between ,liverpool and ,st4 ,john in    
,new ,brunswick4 ,when the ship was near
 the banks he was one day about noon    
busy calculating the longitude1 and     
thinking that the captain was in his    

cabin--the next to his own--he called   
out to him3 ,how have you found it8     
,looking back over his shoulder1 he saw 
the captain writing busily at his desk1 
and as he heard no answer1 he went in   
and repeated his question4 ,to his      
horror the man at the desk raised his   
head and revealed to him the face of an 
entire stranger1 who regarded him       
fixedly4 ,in a state of great excitement
 he rushed to the upper deck1 where he  
found the captain and told him what had 
occurred4 ,thereupon both went down2    
there was no one in the cabin1 but on   
the captain's slate an unknown hand had 
written these words3 ,steer ,,nw46 ,no  
effort was spared to solve the mystery2 
the whole vessel was searched from end  
to end1 but no stranger was discovered2 
even the handwriting of every member of 
the crew was examined1 but nothing found
 resembling in the least degree the     
mysterious warning4 ,after some         
hesitation the captain decided1 as      
nothing was likely to be lost by so     

doing1 to obey the behest and ordered   
the helmsman to steer northwest4 ,a few 
hours later they encountered the wreck  
of a vessel fastened to an iceberg1 with
 a large crew and a number of           
passengers1 in expectation of certain   
death4 ,when the unfortunate men were   
brought back by the ship's boats1 ,bruce
 suddenly started in utter amazement1   
for in one of the saved men he          
recognized1 by dress and features1 the  
person he had seen at the captain's desk
 in the cabin4 ,the stranger was        
requested to write down the words3      
,steer ,,nw46 and when the words were   
compared with those still standing on   
the slate1 they were identical6 ,upon   
inquiry it turned out that the          
shipwrecked man had at noon fallen into 
a deep sleep1 during which he had seen a
 ship approaching to their rescue4 ,when
 he had been waked half an hour later he
 had confidently assured his            
fellow-sufferers that they would be     
rescued1 describing even the vessel that

 was to come to their assistance4 ,words
 cannot convey the amazement of the     
unfortunate men when they saw1 a few    
hours afterwards1 a ship bear down upon 
them1 which bore all the marks predicted
 by their companion1 and the latter     
assured ,robert ,bruce that everything  
on board the vessel appeared to him     
perfectly familiar4  ,cases in which men
 have been seen at the same time at two 
different places are not less frequent1 
though here the explanation is much less
 easy4 ,a ,french girl1 ,emilie ,sagee1 
had even to pay a severe penalty for    
such a peculiarity3 she was continually 
met with at various places at once1 and 
as she could not give a satisfactory    
excuse for being at one place when her  
duties required her to be at another1   
she was suspected of sad misconduct4    
,she lived as governess in a            
boarding-school in ,livonia1 and the    
girls of the institute saw her at the   
same time sitting among them and walking
 below in the garden by the side of a   

friend1 and not unfrequently two ,miss  
,sagees would be seen standing before   
the blackboard1 looking exactly alike   
and performing the same motions1        
although one of them only wrote with    
chalk on the board4 ,once1 while she was
 helping a friend to lace her dress     
behind1 the latter looked into the      
mirror and to her horror saw two persons
 standing there1 whereupon she fell down
 fainting4 ,the poor ,french girl lost  
her place not less than nineteen times  
on account of her double existence      
7,owen1 ,footfalls1 etc41 p4 #cdh74     
,occasionally this double appears to    
others at the same time that it is seen 
by the owner himself4 ,thus the ,empress
 ,elizabeth1 of ,russia1 was seen by a  
,count ,o4 and the ,imperial ,guards1   
seated in full regalia on her throne1 in
 the throne-room1 while she was lying   
fast asleep in her bed4 ,the vision was 
so distinct1 and the terror of the      
beholders so great1 that the ,empress   
was actually waked1 and informed of what

 had happened1 by her lady-in-waiting1  
who had herself seen the whole scene4   
,the dauntless ,empress did not hesitate
 for a moment2 she dressed hastily and  
went to the throne-room2 when the doors 
were thrown open1 she saw herself1 as   
the others had seen her2 but so far from
 being terrified like her servants1 she 
ordered the guard to fire at the        
apparition4 ,when the smoke had passed  
away1 the hall was empty--but the brave 
,empress died a few months latter 7,bl4 
aus ,prevost1 ,v4 p4 #ib74 ,jung        
,stilling mentions another striking     
illustration4 ,a young lieutenant1 full 
of health and in high spirits1 returns  
home from a merry meeting with old      
friends4 ,as he approaches the house in 
which he lives1 he sees lights in his   
room and1 to his great terror1 himself  
in the act of being undressed by his    
servant2 as he stands and gazes in      
speechless wonder1 he sees himself walk 
to his bed and lie down4 ,he remains for
 some time dumbfounded and standing     

motionless in the street1 till at last a
 dull1 heavy crash arouses him from his 
revery4 ,he makes an effort1 goes to the
 door and rings the bell2 his servant1  
who opens the door1 starts back         
frightened1 and wonders how he could    
have dressed so quickly and gone out1 as
 he had but just helped him to undress4 
,when they enter the bedroom1 however1  
they are both still more amazed1 for    
there they find a large part of the     
ceiling on the bed of the officer1 which
 is broken to pieces by the heavy mortar
 that had fallen down4 ,the young       
lieutenant saw in the warning a direct  
favor of ,providence and lived          
henceforth so as to show his gratitude  
for this almost miraculous escape       
7,jenseits1 p4 #aje74  ,not unfrequently
 the seeing of a double is the result of
 physical or mental disease4 ,persons   
suffering of catalepsy are especially   
prone to see their own forms mixing with
 strange persons1 who people the room in
 which they are confined4 ,insanity1    

also1 very often begins with the idea1  
that the patient's own image is         
constantly by his side1 accompanying him
 like his shadow wherever he goes1 and  
finally irritating him beyond endurance4
 ,in these cases there is1 of course1   
nothing at work but a diseased          
imagination1 and with the return of     
health the visions also disappear4      
,perhaps the most important branch of   
this subject is the theory1 cherished by
 all nations and in all ages1 that the  
dying possess at the last moment and by 
a supreme effort1 the mysterious power  
of making themselves perceptible to     
friends at a distance4 ,we leave out1   
here also1 the numerous instances told  
of saints1 because they are generally   
claimed by the ,catholic ,church as     
miracles4 ,one of the oldest            
well-authenticated cases of the kind1   
occurred at the court of ,cosmo de'     
,medici1 in #adii4 ,in the brilliant    
circle of eminent men which the great   
merchant prince had gathered around him1

 two philosophers1 ,michael ,mercatus1  
papal prothonotary1 and ,marsilius      
,ficinus were prominent by their vast   
erudition1 their common devotion to     
,platonic philosophy1 and the ardent    
friendship which bound them to each     
other4 ,they had solemnly agreed that he
 who should die first1 should convey to 
the other some information about the    
future state4 ,ficinus died first1 and  
his friend1 writing early in the morning
 near a window1 suddenly heard a        
horseman dashing up to his house1       
checking his horse and crying out3      
,michael6 ,michael6 nothing is more true
 than what is said of the life to come6 
,mercatus immediately opened the window 
and saw his bosom friend riding at full 
speed down the road1 on his white horse1
 until he was out of sight4 ,he         
returned1 full of thought1 to his       
studies2 but wrote at once to inquire   
about his friend4 ,in due time the      
answer came1 that ,ficinus had died in  
,florence at the very moment in which   

,mercatus had seen him in ,rome4 ,our   
authority for this remarkable account is
 the ,cardinal ,baronius1 who knew      
,mercatus and heard it from his own     
lips2 but the dates which he mentions do
 not correspond with the annals of      
history4 ,he places the event in the    
year #adia1 but ,michele de' ,mercati   
was papal prothonotary under ,sixtus ,v4
 7#aehe-ij7 and could1 therefore1 not   
have been the friend of ,ficinus1 the   
famous physician and theologian1 who was
 one of ,savonarola's most distinguished
 adherents4  ,nor can we attach much    
weight to the old ballads of ,roland1   
which recite in touching simplicity the 
anguish of ,charlemagne1 when he heard  
from afar the sound of his champion's   
horn imploring him to come to his       
assistance1 although the two armies were
 at so great a distance from each other 
that when the ,emperor at last reached  
the ill-fated valley of ,ronceval1 his  
heroic friend had been dead for some    
days4 ,calderon depicts in like manner1 

but with the peculiar coloring of the   
,spanish devotee1 how the dying ,eusebio
 calls his absent friend ,alberto to his
 bedside1 to hear his last confession1  
and how the latter1 obeying the         
mysterious summons1 hastens there to    
fulfil his solemn promise4  ,a          
well-known occurrence of this kind is   
reported by ,cotton ,mather as having   
taken place in ,new ,england4 ,on ,may  
#b;d1 #afhg1 at #e o'clock ,a4 ,m41 a   
young man1 called ,beacon1 then living  
in ,boston1 suddenly saw his brother1   
whom he had left in ,london1 standing   
before him in his usual costume1 but    
with a bleeding wound in his forehead4  
,he told him that he had been foully    
murdered by a reprobate1 who would soon 
reach ,new ,england2 at the same time he
 described minutely the appearance of   
his murderer1 and implored his brother  
to avenge his death1 promising him his  
assistance4 ,towards the end of ,june   
official information reached the colony 
that the young man had died on ,may     

#b;d1 at #e o'clock ,a4 ,m41 from the   
effects of his wounds4 ,but here1 also1 
several inconsistencies diminish the    
value of the account4 ,in the first     
place1 the narrator has evidently       
forgotten the difference in time between
 ,london and ,boston in ,america1 or he 
has purposely falsified the report1 in  
order to make it more impressive4 ,then 
the murderer never left his country2    
although he was tried for his crime1    
escaped the penalty of death by the aid 
of influential friends4 ,it is1 however1
 possible that he may have had the      
intention of seeking safety abroad at   
the time he committed the murder4  ,the 
apparition of the great ,cardinal of    
,lorraine at the moment of death1 is    
better authenticated4 ,d',aubigne tells 
us 7,hist4 ,univer4 #aegd1 p4 #gai7 that
 the queen ,catherine of ,medici1 was   
retiring one day1 at an earlier hour    
than usual1 in the presence of the ,king
 of ,navarre1 the ,archbishop of ,lyons1
 and a number of eminent persons1 when  

she suddenly hid her eyes under her     
hands and cried piteously for help4 ,she
 made great efforts to point out to the 
bystanders the form of the ,cardinal1   
whom she saw standing at the foot of her
 bed and offering her his hand4 ,she    
exclaimed repeatedly3 ,monsieur le      
,cardinal1 ,i have nothing to do with   
you6 and was in a state of most fearful 
excitement4 ,at last one of the         
courtiers had the wit to go to the      
,cardinal's house1 and soon returned    
with the appalling news that the great  
man had died in that very hour4 ,to this
 class of cases belongs also the        
well-known vision of ,lord ,lyttleton1  
who had been warned that he would die on
 a certain day1 at midnight1 and who did
 die at the appointed hour1 although his
 friends had purposely advanced every   
clock and watch in the house by half an 
hour1 and he himself had gone to bed    
with his mind relieved of all anxiety4  
,jarvis1 in his ,accreditated ,ghost    
,stories1 p4 #ac1 relates the following 

remarkable case3 ,when ,general ,stuart 
was ,governor of ,san ,domingo1 in the  
early part of our war of independence1  
he was one day anxiously awaiting a     
certain ,major von ,blomberg1 who had   
been expected for some time4 ,at last he
 determined to dictate to his secretary 
a dispatch to the ,home ,government on  
this subject1 when steps were heard     
outside1 and the major himself entered1 
desiring to confer with the ,governor in
 private4 ,he said3 ',when you return to
 ,england1 pray go into ,dorsetshire to 
such and such a farm1 where you will    
find my son1 the fruit of a secret union
 with ,lady ,laing4 ,take care of the   
poor orphan4 ,the woman who has reared  
him has the papers that establish his   
legitimacy2 they are in a red morocco   
pocket-book4 ,open it and make the best 
use you can of the papers you will find4
 ,you will never see me again4'         
,thereupon the major walked away1 but   
nobody else had seen him come or go1 and
 nobody had opened the house for him4 ,a

 few days later1 news reached the island
 that the vessel on which ,blomberg had 
taken passage1 had foundered1 and all   
hands had perished1 at the very hour    
when the former had appeared to his     
friend the ,governor4 ,it became also   
known that the two friends had pledged  
each other1 not only that the survivor  
should take care of the children of him 
who died first1 but also that he should 
make an effort to appear to him if      
permitted to do so4 ,the ,governor found
 everything as it had been told him2 he 
took charge of his friend's son1 who    
became a protege of ,queen ,charlotte1  
when she heard the remarkable story1 and
 was educated as a companion of the     
future ,george ,,iv4  ,lord ,byron tells
 the following story of ,captain ,kidd4 
,he was lying one night in his cabin    
asleep1 when he suddenly felt oppressed 
by a heavy weight apparently resting on 
him2 he opened his eyes1 and by the     
feeble light of a small lamp he fancied 
he saw his brother1 dressed in full     

uniform1 and leaning across the bed4    
,under the impression that the whole is 
a mere idle delusion of his senses1 he  
turns over and falls asleep once more4  
,but the sense of oppression returns1   
and upon opening his eyes he sees the   
same image as before4 ,now he tries to  
seize it1 and to his amazement touches  
something wet4 ,this terrifies him1 and 
he calls a brother officer1 but when the
 latter enters1 nothing is to be seen4  
,after the lapse of several months      
,captain ,kidd received information that
 in that same night his brother had been
 drowned in the ,indian ,sea4 ,he       
himself told the story to ,lord ,byron1 
and the latter endorsed its accuracy    
7,monthly ,rev41 #ahcj1 p4 #bbi74  ,one 
of the most remarkable interviews of    
this kind1 which continued for some     
time1 and led to a prolonged and        
interesting conversation during which   
the three senses of sight1 hearing1 and 
touch1 were alike engaged1 is that which
 a ,mrs4 ,bargrave had on the #hth of   

,september1 #ahje4 ,according to an     
account given by ,jarvis 7,accred4      
,ghost ,stories1 ,lond41 #ahbc71 she was
 sitting in her house in ,canterbury1 in
 a state of great despondency1 when a   
friend of hers1 ,miss ,veal1 who lived  
at ,dover1 and whom she had not seen for
 two years and a half1 entered the room4
 ,the two ladies had formerly been very 
intimate1 and found equal comfort1      
during a period of great sorrow1 in     
reading together works treating of      
future life and similar subjects4 ,her  
friend wore a traveling suit1 and the   
clocks were striking noon as she        
entered2 ,mrs4 ,bargrave wished to      
embrace her1 but ,miss ,veal held a hand
 before her eyes1 stating that she was  
unwell and drew back4 ,she then added   
that she was on the point of making a   
long journey1 and feeling an            
irresistible desire to see her friend   
once more1 she had come to ,canterbury4 
,she sat down in an armchair and began a
 lengthened conversation1 during which  

she begged her friend's pardon for      
having so long neglected her1 and       
gradually turned to the subject which   
had been uppermost in ,mrs4 ,bargrave's 
mind1 the views entertained by various  
authors of the life after death4 ,she   
attempted to console the latter1        
assuring her that a moment of future    
bliss was ample compensation for all    
earthly sufferings1 and that if the eyes
 of our mind were as open as those of   
the body1 we should see a number of     
higher beings ready for our protection4 
,she declined1 however1 reading certain 
verses aloud at her friend's request1   
because holding her head low gave her   
the headache4 ,she frequently passed her
 hand over her face1 but at last begged 
,mrs4 ,bargrave to write a letter to her
 brother1 which surprised her friend    
very much1 for in the letter she wished 
her brother to distribute certain rings 
and sums of money belonging to her among
 friends and kinsmen4 ,at this time she 
appeared to be growing ill again1 and   

,mrs4 ,bargrave moved close up to her in
 order to support her1 in doing so she  
touched her dress and praised the       
materials1 whereupon ,miss ,veal told   
her that it was recently made1 but of a 
silk which had been cleaned4 ,then she  
inquired after ,mrs4 ,bargrave's        
daughter1 and the latter went to a      
neighboring house to fetch her2 on her  
way back she saw ,miss ,veal at a       
distance in the street1 which was full  
of people1 as it happened to be         
market-day1 but before she could        
overtake her1 her friend had turned     
round a corner and disappeared4  ,upon  
inquiry it appeared that ,miss ,veal1   
whom she had thus seen1 whose dress she 
had touched1 and with whom she had      
conversed for nearly two hours1 had died
 the day before6 ,when the question was 
discussed with the relatives of the     
deceased1 it was found that she had     
communicated several secrets to her     
,canterbury friend4 ,the fact that her  
dress was made of an old silk-stuff was 

known to but one person1 who had done   
the cleaning and made the dress1 which  
she recognized instantly from the       
description4 ,she had also acknowledged 
to ,mrs4 ,bargrave her indebtedness to a
 ,mr4 ,breton for an annual pension of  
ten pounds1 a fact which had been       
utterly unknown during her lifetime4    
,in ,germany a number of such cases are 
reported1 and often by men whose names  
alone would give authority to their     
statements4 ,thus the philosopher       
,schopenhauer 7,parerga1 etc41 ,i4 p4   
#bgg7 mentions a sick servant girl in   
,frankfort on the ,main1 who died one   
night at the ,jewish hospital of the    
former ,free ,city4 ,early the next     
morning her sister and her niece1 who   
lived several miles from town1 appeared 
at the gate of the institution to make  
inquiries about their kinswoman4 ,both1 
though living far apart1 had seen her   
distinctly during the preceding night1  
and hence their anxiety4 ,the famous    
writer ,e4 ,m4 ,arndt1 also1 quotes a   

number of striking revelations which    
were in this manner made to a lady of   
his acquaintance4 ,thus he was once1 in 
#ahaa1 visiting the ,island of ,ruegen1 
in the ,baltic1 and having been actively
 engaged all day1 was sitting in an     
easy-chair1 quietly nodding4 ,suddenly  
he sees his dear old aunt ,sophie       
standing before him2 on her face her    
well-known sweet smile1 and in her arms 
her two little boys1 whom he loved like 
his own4 ,she was holding them out to   
him as if she wished to say by this     
gesture3 ,take care of the little ones6 
,the next day his brother joined him and
 brought him the news that their aunt   
had died on the preceding evening at the
 hour when she had appeared to ,arndt4  
,wieland1 even1 by no means given to    
credit easily accounts of supernatural  
occurrences1 mentions in his ,euthanasia
 a ,protestant lady of his acquaintance1
 whose mind was frequently filled with  
extraordinary visions4 ,she was a       
somnambulist1 and subject to cataleptic 

attacks4 ,a ,benedictine monk1 an old   
friend of the family1 had been ordered  
to ,bellinzona1 in ,switzerland1 but his
 correspondence with his friends had    
never been interrupted for years4 ,years
 after his removal the above-mentioned  
lady was taken ill1 and at once         
predicted the day and hour of her death4
 ,on the appointed day she was cheerful 
and perfectly composed2 at a certain    
hour1 however1 she raised herself       
slightly on her couch1 and said with a  
sweet smile1 ,now it is time for me to  
go and say good-bye to ,father ,c4 ,she 
immediately fell asleep1 then awoke     
again1 spoke a few words1 and died4 ,at 
the same hour the monk was sitting in   
,bellinzona at his writing-table1 a     
so-called pandora1 a musical instrument1
 by his side4 ,suddenly he hears a noise
 like an explosion1 and looking up      
startled1 sees a white figure1 in whom  
he at once recognizes his distant friend
 by her sweet smile4 ,when he examined  
his instrument he found the             

sounding-board cracked1 which1 no doubt1
 had given rise to his hearing what he  
considered a warning voice4 ,the ,rev4  
,mr4 ,oberlin1 well-known and much      
revered in ,germany1 and by no means    
forgotten in our own country1 where a   
prosperous college still bears his name1
 declares in his memoirs that he had for
 nine years constant intercourse with   
his deceased wife4 ,he saw her for the  
first time after her death in broad     
daylight and when he was wide awake2    
afterwards the conversations were       
carried on partly in the day and partly 
at night4 ,other people in the village  
in which he lived saw her as well as    
himself4 ,nor was it by the eye only    
that the pious1 excellent man judged of 
her presence2 frequently1 when he       
extended his hand1 he would feel his    
fingers gently pressed1 as his wife had 
been in the habit of doing when she     
passed by him and would not stop4 ,but  
there was much bitterness and sorrow    
also mixed up with the sweetness of     

these mysterious relations4 ,the        
passionate attachment of husband and    
wife could ill brook the terrible       
barrier that separated them from each   
other1 and often the latter would look  
so wretched and express her grief in    
such heartrending words that the poor   
minister was deeply afflicted4 ,the     
impression produced on his mind was that
 her soul1 forced for unknown reasons to
 remain for some time in an intermediate
 state1 remained warmly attached to     
earthly friends and lamented the        
inability to confer with them after the 
manner of men4 ,after nine years the    
husband's visions suddenly ended and he 
was informed in a dream that his wife   
had been admitted into a higher heaven1 
where she enjoyed the promised peace    
with her ,saviour1 but could no longer  
commune with mortal beings4  ,it is well
 known that even the great reformer1    
,martin ,luther1 knew of several similar
 cases1 and in his ,table ,talk mentions
 more than one remarkable instance4     

,another well-known and much discussed  
occurrence of this kind happened in the 
days of ,mazarin1 and created a great   
sensation in the highest circles at     
,paris4 ,a marquis of ,rambouillet and a
 marquis of ,preci1 intimate friends1   
had agreed to inform each other of their
 fate after death4 ,the former was      
ordered to the army in ,flanders1 while 
the other remained in the capital4 ,here
 he was taken ill with a fever1 several 
weeks after parting with his friend1 and
 as he was one morning towards #f       
o'clock lying in bed awake1 the curtains
 were suddenly drawn aside1 and his     
friend dressed as usual1 booted and     
spurred1 was standing before him4       
,overjoyed1 he was about to embrace him1
 but his friend drew back and said that 
he had come only to keep his promise    
after having been killed in a skirmish  
the day before1 and that ,preci also    
would share his fate in the first combat
 in which he should be engaged4 ,the    
latter thinks his friend is joking1     

jumps up and tries to seize him--but he 
feels nothing4 ,the vision1 however1 is 
still there2 ,rambouillet even shows him
 the fatal wound in his thigh from which
 the blood seems still to be flowing4   
,then only he disappears and ,preci     
remains utterly overcome2 at last he    
summons his valet1 rouses the whole     
house1 and causes every room and every  
passage to be searched4 ,no trace1      
however1 is found1 and the whole vision 
is attributed to his fever4 ,but a few  
days later the mail arrives from        
,flanders1 bringing the news that       
,rambouillet had really fallen in such a
 skirmish and died from a wound in the  
thigh2 the prediction also was          
fulfilled1 for ,preci fell afterwards in
 his first fight near ,st4 ,antoine     
7,petaval1 ,causes ,celebres1 xii4      
#bfi74  ,the parents of the well-known  
writer ,schubert were exceptionally     
endowed with magic powers of this kind4 
,the father once heard1 as he thought in
 a dream1 the voice of his aged mother1 

who called upon him to come and visit   
her in the distant town in which she    
lived1 if he desired to see her once    
more before she died4 ,he rejected the  
idea that this was more than a common   
dream2 but soon he heard the voice      
repeating the warning4 ,now he jumped up
 and saw his mother standing before him1
 extending her hand and saying3         
,christian ,gottlob1 farewell1 and may  
,god bless you2 you will not see me     
again upon earth1 and with these words  
she disappeared4 ,although no one had   
apprehended such a calamity1 she had    
actually died at that hour1 after       
expressing in her last moments a most   
anxious desire to see her son once more4
  ,tangible perceptions of persons dying
 at a distance are1 of course1 very     
rare4 ,still1 more than one such case is
 authoritatively stated2 among these1   
the following3 ,a lawyer in ,paris had  
returned home and walked1 in order to   
reach his own bedroom1 through that of  
his brother4 ,to his great astonishment 

he saw the latter lying in his bed2     
received1 however1 no answer to his     
questions4 ,thereupon he walked up to   
the bed1 touched his brother and found  
the body icy cold4 ,of a sudden the form
 vanished and the bed was empty4 ,at    
that instant it flashed through his mind
 that he and his brother had promised   
each other that the one dying first     
should1 if possible1 give a sign to the 
survivor4 ,when he recovered from the   
deep emotion caused by these thoughts1  
he left the room and as he opened the   
door he came across a number of men who 
bore the body of his brother1 who had   
been killed by a fall from his horse    
7,la ,patrie1 ,sept4 #bb1 #aheg74 ,the  
,count of ,neuilly1 also1 was warned in 
a somewhat similar manner4 ,he was at   
college and on the point of paying a    
visit to his paternal home1 when a      
letter came telling him that his father 
was not quite well and that he had      
better postpone his visit a few days4   
,later letters from his mother mentioned

 nothing to cause him any uneasiness4   
,but several days afterward1 at one     
o'clock in the morning1 he thought1     
apparently in a dream1 that he saw a    
pale ghastly figure rise slowly at the  
lower end of his bed1 extend both arms1 
embrace him and then sink slowly down   
again out of sight4 ,he uttered         
heart-rending cries1 and fell out of his
 bed1 upsetting a chair and a table4    
,when his tutor and a man-servant rushed
 into the room1 they found him lying    
unconscious on the floor1 covered with  
cold1 clammy perspiration and strangely 
disfigured4 ,as soon as he was restored 
to consciousness1 he burst out into     
tears and assured them that his father  
had died and come to take leave of him4 
,in vain did his friends try to calm his
 mind1 he remained in a state of utter  
dejection4 ,three days later a letter   
came from his mother1 bringing him the  
sad news1 that his father had died on   
that night and at the hour in which he  
had appeared by his bedside4 ,the       

unfortunate ,count could never entirely 
get rid of the overwhelming impression  
which this occurrence had made on his   
mind1 and was1 to the day of his death1 
firmly convinced of the reality of this 
meeting 7,dix ,annees d' emigration4    
,paris1 #ahfe74  ,we learn from such    
accounts that there prevails among all  
men1 at all ages1 a carefully repressed1
 but almost irresistible belief in      
supernatural occurrences1 and in the    
close proximity of the spirit world4    
,this belief is neither to be treated   
with ridicule nor to be objected to as  
unchristian1 since it is an abiding     
witness that men entertain an           
ineradicable conviction of the          
immortality of the soul4 ,no arguments  
can ever destroy in the minds of the    
vast majority of men this innate and    
intuitive faith4 ,we may decline to     
believe with them the existence of      
supernatural agencies1 as long as no    
experimental basis is offered2 but we   
ought1 at the same time1 to be willing  

to modify our incredulity as soon as an 
accumulation of facts appear to justify 
us in so doing4 ,our age is so          
completely given up to materialism with 
its ceaseless hurry and worry1 that we  
ought to hail with a sense of relief new
 powers which require examination1 and  
which offer to our intellectual         
faculties an untrodden field of         
investigation1 full of incidents        
refreshing to our weary mind1 and       
promising rich additions to our store of
 knowledge4  ,it can hardly be denied   
that there is at least a possibility of 
the existence of a higher spiritual     
power within us1 which1 often slumbering
 and altogether unknown1 or certainly   
unobserved during life1 becomes suddenly
 free to act in the hour of death4 ,this
 may be brought about by the fact that  
at that time the strength of the body is
 exhausted1 and earthly wants no longer 
press upon us1 while the spiritual part 
of our being1 largely relieved of its   
bondage1 becomes active in its own      

peculiar way1 and thus acquires a power 
which we are disposed to call a magic   
power4 ,this power is1 of course1 not   
used consciously1 for consciousness     
presupposes the control over our senses1
 but it acts by intuitive impulse4      
,hence the wide difference existing     
between the so-called magic of charmers1
 enchanters1 and conjurors1 justly      
abhorred and strictly prohibited by     
divine laws1 and the effects of such    
supreme efforts made by the soul1 which 
depend upon involuntary action1 and are 
never made subservient to wicked        
purposes4  ,the results of such         
exertions are generally impressions made
 apparently upon the eye or the ear2 but
 it need not be said that what is seen  
or heard in such cases1 is merely the   
effect of a deeply felt sensation in our
 soul which seeks an outward expression4
 ,if our innermost being is thus        
suddenly appealed to1 as it were1 by the
 spirit of a dying friend or companion1 
his image arises instantaneously before 

our mind's eye1 and we fancy we see him 
in bodily form1 or our memory recalls   
the familiar sounds by which his        
appearance was wont to be accompanied4  
,dying musicians remind distant friends 
of their former relations by sweet      
sounds1 and a sailor1 wounded to death1 
appears in his uniform to relatives at  
home4 ,the series of sights and sounds  
by which such intercourse is            
established1 varies from the simplest   
and faintest vision to an apparently    
clear and distinct perception of        
well-known forms1 and constitute feeble1
 hardly perceptible1 sighs or sobs to   
words uttered aloud1 or whole melodies  
clearly recited4 ,if a living person1 by
 such an unconscious but all-powerful   
effort of will1 makes himself seen by   
others1 we call the vision a double1 in 
,german1 a ,doppelgaenger2 if he        
produces a state of dualism1 such as has
 been mentioned before1 and sees his own
 self in space before him1 we speak of  
second sight4  ,such efforts are1       

however1 by no means strictly limited to
 the moment of dissolution1 when soul   
and body are already in the act of      
parting4 ,they occur also in living     
persons1 but almost invariably only in  
diseased persons4 ,the exceptions belong
 to the small number of men in whom     
great excitement from without1 or a     
mysterious power of will1 cause a state 
of ecstasy2 they are1 in common         
parlance1 beside themselves4 ,in this   
condition1 their soul is for the moment 
freed from the bondage in which it is   
held by its earthy companion1 and such  
men become clairvoyants and prophets1 or
 they are enabled actually to affect    
other men at a distance1 in various     
ways4 ,thus it may very well be1 that   
strange visions1 the hearing of         
mysterious voices1 and especially the   
most familiar phenomenon1 second sight1 
are in reality nothing more than        
symptoms of a thoroughly diseased       
system1 and this explains very simply   
the frequency with which death follows  

such mysterious occurrences4  ,men have 
claimed--and proved to the satisfaction 
of more or less considerable numbers of 
friends--that they could at will cause a
 partial and momentary parting between  
their souls and their bodies4 ,here also
 antiquity is our first teacher1 if we  
believe ,pliny 7,hist4 ,nat4 vii4 c4    
#eb71 ,hermotimus could at his pleasure 
fall into a trance and then let his soul
 proceed from his body to distant       
places4 ,upon being aroused1 he reported
 what he had seen and heard abroad1 and 
his statements were1 in every case1     
fully confirmed4 ,cardanus1 also1 could 
voluntarily throw himself into a state  
of apparent syncope1 as he tells us in  
most graphic words 7,de ,res4 ,var4 v4  
iii4 l4 viii4 c4 #dc74 ,the first       
sensation of which he was always fully  
conscious1 was a peculiar pain in the   
head1 which gradually extended downward 
along the spine1 and at last spread over
 the extremities--evidently a purely    
nervous process4 ,then he felt as if a  

door was opened1 and he himself was     
leaving his body1 whereupon he not only 
saw persons at a distance1 but noticed  
all that befell them1 and recalled it   
after he had recovered from the trance4 
,an old ,german ,abbe ,freitheim1 of    
whose remarkable work on ,steganographie
 7#afba71 unfortunately only a few      
sheets have been preserved1 claims the  
power to commune with absent friends by 
the mere energy of his will4 ,i can1    
says he1 make known my thoughts to the  
initiated1 at a distance of many hundred
 miles1 without word1 writing or cypher1
 by any messenger4 ,the latter cannot   
betray me1 for he knows nothing4 ,if    
needs be1 ,i can even dispense with the 
messenger4 ,if my correspondent should  
be buried in the deepest dungeon ,i     
could still convey to him my thoughts as
 clearly1 as fully1 and as frequently as
 might be desirable1 and all this1 quite
 simply1 without superstition1 without  
the aid of spirits4  ,the famous        
,agrippa 7,de occulta philos41 ,lugduni1

 ,,iii4 p4 #ac7 quotes the former       
writer1 and asserts that he also could1 
by mere effort of will1 in a perfectly  
simple and natural manner convey his    
thoughts not to the initiated only1 but 
to any one1 even when his               
correspondent's present place of        
residence should be unknown4 ,the most  
remarkable1 and1 at the same time1 the  
best authenticated case of this kind1 is
 that of a high ,german official        
mentioned in a scientific paper 7,nasse4
 ,zeitschrift fuer psychische ,aerzte1  
#ahbj71 and frequently copied into      
others4 ,a ,counsellor ,wesermann       
claimed to be able to cause distant     
friends to dream of any subject he might
 choose4 ,whenever he awoke at night and
 made a determined effort to produce    
such an effect1 he never failed1        
provided the nature of the desired dream
 was calculated to startle or deeply    
excite his friends4 ,his power was      
tested in this manner4 ,he engaged to   
cause a young officer1 who was stationed

 at ,aix-la-,chapelle1 nearly fifty     
miles from his own home1 to dream of a  
young lady who had died not long ago4   
,it was eleven o'clock at night1 but by 
some accident the lieutenant was not at 
home in bed1 but at a friend's          
country-seat1 discussing the ,french    
campaign4 ,suddenly the colonel1 his    
host1 and he himself see at the same    
time the door open1 a lady enter1 salute
 them sadly1 and beckon them to follow  
her4 ,the two officers rise and leave   
the room after her1 but once out of     
doors1 the figure disappears1 and when  
they inquire of the sentinels standing  
guard outside1 they are told that no one
 has entered4 ,what made the matter more
 striking yet1 was the fact that        
although both men had seen the door     
open1 this could not really have been   
so1 for the wood had sprung and the door
 creaked badly whenever it was opened4  
,the same ,wesermann could1 in like     
manner1 cause his friends to see his own
 person and to hear secrets which he    

seemed to whisper into their ears       
whenever he chose2 but he admitted upon 
it that his will was not at all times   
equally strong1 and that1 hence1 his    
efforts were not always equally         
successful4 ,cases of similar powers are
 very numerous4 ,a very curious example 
was published in #aheb1 in a work on    
,psychologic ,studies 7,schlemmer1 p4   
#ei74 ,the author1 who was a police     
agent in the ,prussian service1 asserted
 that persons who apprehended being     
conducted to gaol with special anxiety1 
often made themselves known there in    
advance1 announcing their arrival by    
knocks at the gates1 opening of doors1  
or footsteps heard in the room set aside
 for examining new comers4 ,one day1 not
 the writer only1 but all the prisoners 
in the same building1 and even the      
sentinel at the gate heard distinctly a 
great disturbance and the rattling of   
chains in a cell exclusively            
appropriated to murderers4 ,the next day
 a criminal was brought who had         

expressed such horror of this gaol1 and 
made such resistance to the officials   
who were to carry him there1 that it had
 become necessary1 after a great uproar1
 to chain him hands and feet4 ,it is    
well known that the mother of the great 
statesman ,canning at one time of her   
life suffered under most mysterious     
though harmless nightly visitations4    
,her circumstances were such that she   
readily accepted the offer of a dwelling
 which stood unoccupied1 with the       
exception of the basement1 in which a   
carpenter had his workshop4 ,at         
nightfall he and his workmen left the   
house1 carefully locking the door1 but  
night after night1 at twelve o'clock    
precisely1 work began once more in the  
abandoned part of the house1 as far as  
the ear could judge1 and the noise made 
by planing and sawing1 cutting and      
carving increased1 till the fearless old
 lady slipt down in her stocking feet   
and opened the door4 ,instantly the     
noise was hushed1 and she looked into   

the dark deserted room4 ,but as soon as 
she returned to her chamber the work    
began anew1 and continued for some time2
 nor was she the only one who heard it1 
but others1 the owner of the house      
included1 heard everything distinctly4  
,the following well-authenticated       
account of a posthumous appearance1 is  
not without its ludicrous element4 ,a   
court-preacher in one of the little     
,saxon ,duchies1 appeared once in bands 
and gowns before his sovereign1 bowing  
most humbly and reverently4 ,the duke   
asked what he desired1 but received no  
answer except another deep reverence4 ,a
 second question meets with the same    
reply1 whereupon the divine leaves the  
room1 descends the stairs and crosses   
the court-yard1 while the prince1 much  
surprised at his strange conduct1 stands
 at a window and watches him till he    
reaches the gates4 ,then he sends a page
 after him to try and ascertain what was
 the matter with the old gentleman1 but 
the page comes running back almost      

beside himself1 and reports that the    
minister had died a short while before4 
,the prince refuses to believe his      
report1 and sends a high official1 but  
the latter returns with the same report 
and this additional information3 ,the   
dying man had asked for writing         
materials1 in order to recommend his    
widow to his sovereign1 but had hardly  
commenced writing the letter when death 
surprised him4 ,the fragment was brought
 to the duke and convinced him that his 
faithful servant1 unable to reach him by
 letter1 and yet nervously anxious to   
approach him1 had spiritually appeared  
to him in his most familiar costume     
7,daumer1 ,mystagog4 ,i4 p4 #bbd74      
,before we regret such statements or    
treat them with ridicule1 it will be    
well to remember1 that men endowed with 
an extraordinary power of controlling   
certain faculties of body and soul1 are 
by no means rare1 and that the          
difference between them and those last  
mentioned1 consists only in the degree4 

,we speak of the power of sight and     
limit it ordinarily to a certain        
distance--and yet a ,hottentot1 we are  
told1 can perceive the head of a gazelle
 in the dry1 uniform grass of an        
,african plain1 at the distance of a    
thousand yards6 ,many men cannot hear   
sounds in nature which are perfectly    
audible to others1 while some persons   
hear even certain notes uttered by tiny 
insects1 which escape altogether the    
average hearing of man4 ,patients under 
treatment by ,baron ,reichenbach1 saw   
luminous objects and the appearance of  
lights hovering above ground1 where     
neither he nor any of his friends could 
perceive anything but utter darkness1   
and the special gift with which some    
persons are endowed to feel1 as it were1
 the presence of water and of metals    
below the surface1 is well              
authenticated4 ,poor ,caspar ,hauser1   
bred in darkness and solitude1 felt     
various and deep impressions upon his   
whole being during the first months of  

his free life1 whenever he came in      
contact with plants1 stones or metals4  
,the latter sent a current through all  
his limbs2 tobacco fields made him      
deadly sick1 and the vicinity of a      
graveyard gave him violent pains in his 
chest4 ,persons who were introduced to  
him for the first time1 sent a cold     
current through him2 and when they      
possessed a specially powerful physique1
 they caused him abundant perspiration1 
and often even convulsions4 ,the waves  
of sound he felt so much more acutely   
than others1 that he always continued to
 hear them with delight1 long after the 
last sound had passed away from the ears
 of others4 ,it may be fairly presumed  
that this extreme sensitiveness to      
outward impressions is originally       
possessed by all men1 but becomes       
gradually dulled and dimmed by constant 
repetition2 at the same time it may     
certainly be preserved in rare          
privileged cases1 or it may come back   
again to the body in a diseased or      

disordered condition1 and at the moment 
of dissolution4  ,nor is the power      
occasionally granted to men to control  
their senses limited to these2 even the 
spontaneous functions of the body are at
 times subject to the will of man4 ,an  
,englishman1 for instance1 could at will
 modify the beating of his heart        
7,cheyne1 ,new ,dis41 p4 #cjg71 and a   
,german produced1 like a veritable      
ruminant1 the antiperistaltic motions of
 the stomach1 whenever he chose         
7,blumenbach1 ,phys4 ,sec4 #bid74 ,other
 men have been known who could at any   
moment cause the familiar goose-skin1 or
 perspiration1 to appear in any part of 
the body1 and many persons can move not 
only the ears--a lost faculty according 
to ,darwin--but even enlarge or contract
 the pupil of the eye1 after the manner 
of cats and parrots4 ,even the          
circulation of the blood has been known1
 in a few rare cases1 to have been      
subject to the will of men1 and the     
great philosopher ,kant did not hesitate

 to affirm1 supported as he was by his  
own experience1 that men could1 if they 
were but resolute enough1 master1 by a  
mere effort of the will1 not a few of   
their diseases4  ,a striking evidence of
 the comparative facility with which men
 thus exceptionally gifted1 may be able 
to imitate certain magic phenomena1 was 
once given by an excellent mimic1 whom  
,richard describes in his ,theorie des  
,songes4 ,he could change his features  
so completely that they assumed a       
deathlike appearance2 his senses lost   
gradually their power of perception1 and
 the vital spirit was seen to withdraw  
from the outer world4 ,a slow1 quivering
 motion passed through his whole system 
from the feet upward1 as if he wished to
 rise from the ground4 ,after a while   
all efforts of the body to remain       
upright proved fruitless2 it looked as  
if life had actually begun to leave it  
already4 ,at this moment he abandoned   
his deception and was so utterly        
exhausted that he heard and saw but with

 extreme difficulty4  ,in the face of   
these facts the possibility at least    
cannot be denied that certain specially 
endowed individuals may possess1 in     
health or in disease1 the power to      
perceive phenomena which appear all the 
more marvelous because they are beyond  
the reach of ordinary powers of         
perception4  ,in our own day            
superstition and wanton1 or cunningly   
devised1 imposture have been so largely 
mixed up with the subject1 that a strong
 and very natural prejudice has         
gradually grown up against the belief in
 ghosts4 ,every strange appearance1     
every mysterious coincidence1 that      
escaped the most superficial            
investigation1 was forthwith called a   
ghost4 ,history records1 besides1       
numerous cases in which the credulity of
 great men has been played upon for     
purposes of policy and statecraft4 ,when
 the ,german ,emperor ,joseph showed his
 great fondness of ,augustus of         
,saxony--afterwards king of ,poland--his

 ,austrian counsellors became alarmed at
 the possible influence of such intimacy
 of their sovereign with a ,protestant  
prince1 and determined to break it off4 
,night after night1 therefore1 a fearful
 vision arose before the ,german        
emperor1 rattling its chains and        
accusing the young prince of grievous   
heresy4 ,augustus1 however1 known       
already at that time for his gigantic   
strength1 asked ,joseph's permission to 
sleep in his room2 when the ghost       
appeared as usual1 the young prince     
sprang upon him1 and feeling his flesh  
and blood1 threw him bodily out of a    
window of the second story into a deep  
fosse4 ,the unfortunate king of         
,prussia1 ,frederick ,william ,,ii41    
fell soon after his ascension of the    
throne into the hands of designing men1 
who determined to profit by his great   
kindness of heart and his tendency to   
mysticism1 and began to work upon him by
 supernatural apparitions4 ,one of the  
most cunningly devised impostures of the

 kind was practised upon ,king ,gustavus
 ,,iii4 of ,sweden by ambitious noblemen
 of his court4  ,the scene was the      
ancient ,lofoe church in ,drotingholm1 a
 favorite residence of former ,swedish  
monarchs4 ,the king's physician1 ,iven  
,hedin1 learnt accidentally from the    
sexton that his master had been spending
 several nights in the building1 in     
company with a few of his courtiers4    
,alarmed by this information he         
persuaded the sexton to let him watch   
the proceedings from a secret place in  
the old steeple of the church4 ,an      
opportunity came in the month of        
,august1 #aghb1 and he had scarcely     
taken possession of his post when two of
 the royal secretaries came in1 closed  
the door1 and arranged a curious        
contrivance in the body of the building4
 ,to his great surprise and amusement   
the doctor saw them fasten some         
horse-hairs to the heavy chandeliers    
suspended from the lofty ceiling1 and   
then pin to them masks sewed on to white

 floating garments4 ,finally large      
quantities of incense were scattered on 
the floor and set on fire1 while all    
lights1 save a few thin candles1 were   
extinguished4 ,then the king was ushered
 in with five of his courtiers1 made to 
assume a peculiar1 very irksome         
position1 and all were asked to hold    
naked swords upon each other's breasts4 
,thereupon the first comer murmured     
certain formulas of conjuration1 and    
performed some ceremonies1 when his     
companion slowly drew up one of the     
masks4 ,it was fashioned to resemble the
 great ,gustavus ,adolphus1 and in the  
dimly-lighted church1 filled with dense 
smoke1 it looked to all intents and     
purposes like a ghost arising from the  
vaults underneath4 ,it disappeared as   
slowly into the darkness above1 and was 
immediately followed by another mask    
representing ,adolphus ,frederick1 and  
even the physician1 who knew the secret1
 could not repress a shudder1 so        
admirably was the whole contrived4 ,then

 followed a few flashes of lightning1   
during which the horse-hairs were       
removed1 lights were brought in1 and the
 king1 deeply moved and shedding silent 
tears1 escorted from the building4 ,the 
faithful physician watched his          
opportunity1 and when a favorable hour  
appeared1 revealed the secret to his    
master1 and thus1 fortunately for       
,sweden1 defeated a very dangerous and  
most skillfully-conducted conspiracy4   
,even ventriloquism has lent its aid to 
many an historical imposture1 as in the 
case of ,francis ,i4 of ,france1 whose  
valet1 ,louis of ,brabant1 possessed    
great skill in that art1 and used it    
unsparingly for his own benefit and to  
the advantage of courtiers who employed 
him for political purposes4 ,he even    
persuaded the mother of a beautiful and 
wealthy young lady to give him her      
daughter's hand by imitating the voice  
of her former husband1 and commanding   
her to do so in order to release him    
from purgatory6  ,we fear that to this  

class of ghostly appearances must also  
be counted the almost historical ,white 
,lady of the ,margraves of ,brandenburg4
  ,report says that she represents a    
,countess ,kunigunde of ,orlamuende1 who
 lived in the fourteenth century and    
killed her two children1 for which crime
 she was executed by order of a         
,burggrave of ,nuremberg4 ,history1     
however1 knows nothing of such an event1
 and the ,white ,lady does not appear   
till #adhf1 when she is first seen in   
the old palace at ,baireuth4 ,this was  
nothing but a trick of the courtiers2   
whenever they desired to leave the      
dismal town and the uncomfortable       
building1 one of the court ladies       
personated the ghost1 and occasionally1 
even two white ladies were seen at the  
same time4 ,in #aedj the ghost met with 
a tragic fate2 it had appeared several  
times in the castle of ,margrave ,albert
 the warrior1 and irritated the prince  
to such a degree that he at last seized 
it one night and hurled it headlong down

 the long staircase4 ,the morning dawn  
revealed his chancellor1 ,christopher   
,strass1 who had betrayed his master and
 now paid with a broken neck for his    
bold imposture4 ,after this catastrophe 
the ,white ,lady was not seen for nearly
 a hundred years1 when she suddenly     
reappeared in ,baireuth4 ,in the year   
#afgg the then reigning ,margrave of    
,brandenburg found her one day sitting  
in his own chair and was terrified2 the 
next day he rode out1 fell from his     
horse1 and was instantly killed4 ,from  
this time the ,white ,lady became a part
 of the history of the house of         
,brandenburg1 accompanying the princes  
to ,berlin and making it her duty to    
forewarn the illustrious family of any  
impending calamity4 ,king ,frederick ,i4
 saw her distinctly1 but other          
sovereigns discerned only a vague       
outline and now and then the nose and   
eyes1 while all the rest was closely    
veiled4 ,in the old palace at ,baireuth 
there exist to this day two portraits of

 the ,white ,lady1 one in white1 as she 
appeared of old1 and very beautiful1 the
 other in black satin1 with her hair    
powdered and dressed after more modern  
fashion--there is no likeness between   
the two faces4 ,the ghost was evidently 
a good patriot1 for she disturbed       
,french officers who were quartered     
there1 in the new palace as well as in  
the old1 and as late as #ahjf thoroughly
 frightened a number of generals who had
 laughed at the credulity of the        
,germans4 ,in #ahji ,general d',espagne 
roused his aides in the depth of night  
by fearful cries1 and when they rushed  
in he was found lying in the centre of  
the room1 under the bedstead4 ,he told  
them that the ,white ,lady1 in a costume
 of black and white1 resembling one of  
the portraits1 had appeared and         
threatened to strangle him2 in the      
struggle she had dragged the bedstead to
 the middle of the room and there upset 
it4 ,the room was thoroughly searched at
 his command1 the hangings removed from 

the walls1 and the whole floor taken up1
 but no trace was found of any opening  
through which a person might have       
entered2 the doors had been guarded by  
sentinels4 ,the general left the place  
immediately1 looking upon the vision as 
a warning of impending evil1 and1 sure  
enough1 a few days later he found his   
death upon the battle-field of ,aspern4 
,even the great ,napoleon1 whose        
superstition was generally thought to be
 confined to his faith in his star1     
would not lodge in the rooms haunted by 
the ,white ,lady1 and when he reached   
,baireuth in #ahab1 a suite of rooms was
 prepared for him in another wing of the
 palace4 ,it was1 however1 noticed that 
even there his night's rest must have   
been interrupted1 for on the next       
morning he was remarkably nervous and   
out of humor1 murmuring repeatedly ,ce  
maudit chateau1 and declaring that he   
would never again stay at the place4    
,when he returned to that neighborhood  
in #ahac1 he refused to occupy the rooms

 that had been prepared for him1 and    
continued his journey far into the      
night1 rather than remain at ,baireuth4 
,the town was1 however1 forever relieved
 of its ill-fame after #ahbb4 ,it is not
 without interest that in the same year 
the steward of the royal palace died1   
and report says in his rooms were found 
a number of curiosities apparently      
connected with the ,white ,lady's       
costume2 if this be so1 his ardent      
patriotism and fierce hatred of the     
,french might well furnish a cue to some
 of the more recent apparitions4 ,the   
,white ,lady continued to appear in     
,berlin1 and the terror she created was 
not even allayed by repeated discoveries
 of most absurd efforts at imposture4   
,once she turned out to be a white towel
 agitated by a strong draught between   
two windows2 at another time it was a   
kitchen-maid on an errand of love1 and a
 third time an old cook taking an airing
 in the deserted rooms4 ,she appeared   
once more in the month of ,february1    

#ahbj1 announcing1 as many believed1 the
 death of the reigning monarch1 which   
took place in ,june2 and quite recently 
7#ahgb7 similar warning was given       
shortly before the emperor's brother1   
,prince ,albrecht1 died in his palace4  
,white ladies are1 however1 by no means 
an exclusive privilege of the house of  
,brandenburg2 ,scotland has its ancient 
legends1 skillfully used in novel1 poem 
and opera1 and ,italy boasts of a ,donna
 ,bianca1 at ,colalta1 in the ,marca    
,trivigiana1 of whom ,byron spoke as if 
he had never doubted her existence4     
,ireland has in like manner the         
,banshee1 who warns with her plaintive  
voice the descendants of certain old    
families1 whenever a great calamity     
threatens one of the members4 ,curiously
 enough she clings to these once        
powerful but now often wretchedly poor  
families1 as if pride of descent and    
attachment to old splendor prevailed    
even in the realms of magic4            
,historical ghosts play1 nevertheless1 a

 prominent part in all countries4       
,lilly1 ,baxter and ,clarendon1 all     
relate the remarkable warnings which    
preceded the murder of ,villiers1 ,duke 
of ,buckingham4 ,in this case the       
warning was given not to the threatened 
man1 but to an old and faithful friend1 
who had already been intimate with the  
duke's father4 ,he saw the latter appear
 to him several nights in succession1   
urging him to go to the duke1 and after 
revealing to him certain peculiar       
circumstances1 to warn him against the  
plots of his enemies1 who threatened his
 life4 ,parker was afraid to appear     
ridiculous and delayed giving the       
warning4 ,but the ghost left him no     
peace1 and at last1 in order to decide  
him1 revealed to him a secret only known
 to himself and his ill-fated son4 ,the 
latter1 when his old friend at last     
summoned courage to deliver the         
mysterious message1 was at first        
inclined to laugh at the warning2 but   
when ,parker mentioned the father's     

secret1 he turned pale and declared only
 the ,evil ,one could have entrusted it 
to mortal man4 ,nevertheless1 he took no
 steps to rid himself of his traitorous 
friend and continued his sad life as    
before4 ,the father's ghost thereupon   
appeared once more to ,parker1 with deep
 sadness in his features and holding a  
knife in his hand1 with which1 he said1 
his unfortunate son would be murdered4  
,parker1 whose own impending death had  
been predicted at the same time1 once   
more waited upon the great duke1 but    
again in vain2 he was rudely sent back  
and requested not to trouble the        
favorite's peace any more by his foolish
 dreams4 ,a few days afterwards         
,lieutenant ,felton assassinated the    
duke with precisely such a knife as     
,parker had seen in his visions4  ,a    
similar occurrence is related of the    
famous ,duchess of ,mazarin1 the        
favorite of ,charles ,,ii41 and ,madame 
de ,beauclair1 who stood in the same    
relation to ,james ,,ii4 ,the two       

ladies1 who were bosom friends1 had     
pledged their word to each other1 that  
she who died first should appear to the 
survivor and inform her of the nature of
 the future state4 ,the duchess died2   
but as no message came from her1 her    
friend denied stoutly and persistently  
the immortality of the soul4 ,but many  
years later1 when the promise was long  
forgotten1 the duchess suddenly was seen
 one night1 gliding softly through the  
room and looking sweetly at her friend1 
whispering to her3 ,beauclair1 between  
twelve and one o'clock to-night you will
 be near me4 ,the poor lady died at the 
appointed hour 7,nork4 ,existence of    
,spirits1 p4 #bfj74 ,less               
well-authenticated is the account of a  
warning given to ,king ,george ,i4      
shortly before his death1 although it   
was generally believed throughout       
,england at the time it occurred4 ,the  
report was that the ,queen1 ,sophia1    
repeatedly showed herself to her        
husband1 beseeching him to break off his

 intercourse with his beautiful friend1 
,lady ,horatia4 ,as these requests      
availed nothing1 and the monarch refused
 even to believe in the reality of her  
appearance1 she at last tied a knot in a
 lace collar1 declaring that if mortal  
fingers could untie the knot1 the king  
and ,lady ,horatia might laugh at her   
words4 ,the fair lady tried her best to 
undo it1 but giving it up in despair1   
she threw the collar into the fire2 the 
king1 highly excited1 snatched the lace 
from the burning coals1 but in so doing1
 touched with it the light gauze dress  
of his companion4 ,in her terror she ran
 with great swiftness through room after
 room1 thus fanning the flames into a   
blaze1 and perished amid excruciating   
pains4 ,the king1 it is well known1 died
 only two months later4  ,a case which  
created a very great sensation at the   
time when it happened1 and became       
generally known through the admirable   
manner in which it was narrated by the  
eloquent ,bernardin de ,st4 ,pierre     

7,journal de ,trevoux1 vol4 viii471 was 
that of the priest ,bezuel4 ,when a     
young man of #ae1 and at college1 he    
contracted an intimate friendship with  
the son of a royal official1 called     
,desfontaines4 ,the two friends often   
spoke of future life1 and when parted in
 #afif1 they signed with their blood a  
solemn compact1 in which they agreed    
that the first who died should appear   
after death to the survivor4 ,they wrote
 to each other constantly1 and          
frequently alluded in their letters to  
the agreement4 ,a year after their      
parting1 ,bezuel happened to be1 one    
day1 in the fields1 delivering a message
 to some workmen1 when he suddenly fell 
down fainting4 ,as he was in perfect    
health1 he knew not what to think of    
this accident1 but when it occurred a   
second and a third time1 at the same    
hour1 on the two following days1 he     
became seriously uneasy4 ,on the last   
occasion1 however1 he fell into a       
trance1 in which he saw nothing around  

him1 but beheld his friend              
,desfontaines1 who seized him by the arm
 and led him some thirty yards aside4   
,the workmen saw him go there1 as if    
obeying a guardian hand1 and converse   
with an unseen person for three quarters
 of an hour4 ,the young man heard here  
from his friend's lips1 that he had been
 drowned while bathing in the river     
,orne on the day and at the hour when   
,bezuel had had his first fainting fit1 
that a companion had endeavored to save 
him1 but when seized by the foot by the 
drowning man1 had kicked him on the     
chest1 and thus caused him to sink to   
the bottom4 ,bezuel inquired after all  
the details and received full answers1  
but none to questions about the future  
life2 nevertheless1 the apparition      
continued to speak fluently but calmly1 
and requested ,bezuel to make certain   
communications to his kinsmen1 and to   
repeat the seven penitential psalms1    
which he ought to have said himself as a
 penance4 ,it also mentioned the work in

 which ,desfontaines had been engaged up
 to the day of his death1 and some names
 which he had cut in the bark of a tree 
near the town in which he lived4 ,then  
it disappeared4 ,bezuel was not able to 
carry out his friend's wishes1 although 
the arm by which he had been seized1    
reminded him daily of his duty by a     
severe pain2 after a month1 the drowned 
man appeared twice more1 urging his     
requests1 and saying each time at the   
end of the interview1 bis1 bis1 just as 
he had been accustomed to do when in    
life4 ,at last the young priest found   
the means to do his friend's bidding2   
the pain in the arm ceased instantly and
 his health remained perfect to the end 
of his life4 ,when he reached ,caen     
where ,desfontaines had perished1 he    
found everything precisely as he had    
been told in his visions1 and two years 
afterwards he discovered by chance even 
the tree with the names cut in the bark4
 ,the amiable ,abbe de ,st4 ,pierre does
 his best to explain the whole          

occurrence as a natural series of very  
simple accidents2 there can be1 however1
 no doubt of the exceptionable character
 of the leading features of the event1  
and the priest1 from whose own account  
the facts are derived1 must evidently in
 his trance have been endowed with      
powers of clairvoyance4  ,in the first  
part of this century a book appeared in 
,germany which led to a very general and
 rather violent discussion of the whole 
subject4 ,it was written by a ,dr4      
,woetzel1 whose mind had1 no doubt1 been
 long engaged in trying to solve        
mysteries like that of the future life1 
since he had early come in contact with 
strange phenomena4 ,the father of a dear
 friend of his having fainted in        
consequence of receiving a serious      
wound1 was very indignant at being      
roused from the state of perfect bliss  
which he had enjoyed during the time4   
,he affirmed that in the short interval 
he had visited his brother in ,berlin1  
whom he found sitting in a bower under a

 large linden-tree1 surrounded by his   
family and a few friends1 and engaged in
 drinking coffee4 ,upon entering the    
garden1 his brother had risen1 advanced 
towards him and asked him what had      
brought him so unexpectedly to ,berlin4 
,a few days after the fainting-fit a    
letter arrived from that city1 inquiring
 what could have happened on that day   
and at that hour1 and reciting all that 
the old gentleman had reported as having
 been done during his unconsciousness6  
,nor had the latter been seen by his    
brother only1 but quite as distinctly by
 the whole company present2 his image   
had1 however1 vanished again as soon as 
his brother had attempted to touch him  
7,woetzel1 p4 #bae74 ,from his work we  
learn that he had begged his wife on her
 death-bed to appear to him after death1
 and she had promised to do so2 but soon
 after her mind became so uneasy about  
the probable effects of her pledge1 that
 her husband released her1 and abandoned
 all thoughts on the subject4 ,several  

weeks later he was sitting in a locked  
room1 when suddenly a heavy draught of  
air rushed through it1 the light was    
nearly blown out1 a small window in an  
alcove sounded as if it were opened1 and
 in an instant the faint luminous form  
of his wife was standing before the     
amazed widower4 ,she said in a soft1    
scarcely audible voice3 ,charles1 ,i am 
immortal2 we shall see each other again4
 ,woetzel jumped up and tried to seize  
the form1 but it vanished like thin     
mist1 and he felt a strong electric     
shock4 ,he saw the same vision and heard
 the same words repeatedly2 his wife    
appeared as he had last seen her lying  
in her coffin2 the second time a dog1   
who had been often petted by her1 wagged
 his tail and walked caressingly around 
the apparition4 ,the book1 which        
appeared in #ahjd1 and gave a full      
account of all the phenomena1 met with  
much opposition and contempt2 a number  
of works were written against it1       
,wieland ridiculed it in his            

,euthanasia1 and others denounced it as 
a mere repetition of former statements4 
,the author was1 however1 not abashed by
 the storm he had raised2 he offered to 
swear to the truth of all he had stated 
before the ,great ,council of the       
,university of ,leipzig1 and published a
 second work in which he developed his  
theory of ghosts with great ability4    
,according to his view1 the spirits of  
the departed are for some time after    
death surrounded by a luminous essence1 
which may1 under peculiarly favorable   
circumstances1 become visible to human  
eyes1 but which1 according to the       
weakness of our mind1 is generally      
transformed by the imagination only into
 the more familiar form of deceased     
friends4 ,he insists1 besides1 upon it  
that all he saw and heard was an        
impression made upon the outer senses   
only1 and that nothing in the whole     
occurrence originated in his inner      
consciousness4 ,as there was nothing to 
be gained for him by his persistent     

assertions1 it seems but fair to give   
them all the weight they may deserve1   
till the whole subject is more fully    
understood4  ,another remarkable case is
 that of a ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,james1 at    
whose house the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,mills1 a    
,methodist preacher1 was usually        
entertained when his duties brought him 
to their place of residence4 ,one year  
he found they had both died since his   
last visit1 but he staid with the       
orphaned children1 and retired to the   
same room which he had always occupied4 
,the adjoining room was the former      
chamber of the aged couple1 and here he 
began soon to hear a whispering and     
moving about1 just as he used to hear it
 when they were still alive4 ,this      
recalled to him the reports he had heard
 in the town1 that the departed had been
 frequently seen by their numerous      
friends and kinsmen4 ,the next day he   
called upon a plain but very pious      
woman1 who urged him to share her simple
 meal with her2 he consented1 but what  

was his amazement when she said to him  
at the close of the meal3 ,now1 ,mr4    
,mills1 ,i have a favor to ask of you4  
,i want you to preach my funeral sermon 
next ,sunday4 ,i am going to die next   
,friday at three o'clock4 ,when the     
astonished minister asked her to explain
 the strange request1 she replied that  
,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,james had come to her to
 tell her that they were ineffably      
happy1 but still bound by certain ties  
to the world below4 ,they had added that
 they had not died1 as people believed1 
without disposing of their property1 but
 that1 in order to avoid dissensions    
among their children1 they had been     
allowed to return and to make the place 
known where the will was concealed4     
,they had tried to confer with ,mr4     
,mills1 but his timidity had prevented  
it2 now they had come to her1 as the    
minister was going to dine that day at  
her house4 ,finally they had informed   
her of her approaching death on the day 
she had mentioned4 ,the ,methodist      

minister looked1 aided by the heirs and 
a legal man1 for the will and found it  
at the place indicated4 ,nanny1 the poor
 woman1 died on ,friday1 and her funeral
 sermon was preached by him on the      
following ,sunday 7,rechenberg1 p4      
#ahb74  ,a certain ,dr4 ,t4 ,van ,velseu
 published in #ahgj1 in ,dutch1 a work1 
called ,christus ,redivivus1 in which he
 relates a number of very remarkable    
appearances of deceased persons1 and    
among these the following3 ,a friend of 
the author's1 a man of sound1 practical 
mind1 and a declared enemy of all       
superstition1 lost his mother whom he   
had most assiduously nursed for six     
weeks and who died in full faith in her 
,redeemer4 ,a few days later his nephew 
was to be married in a distant province1
 but although no near kinsman of his1   
except his mother1 could be present1 he1
 the uncle1 could not make up his mind  
so soon after his grievous loss1 to     
attend a wedding4 ,this decision        
irritated and wounded his sister deeply 

and led to warm discussions1 in which   
other relatives also took her side1 and 
which threatened to cause a serious     
breach in the family4 ,the mourner was  
deeply afflicted by the scene and at    
night1 having laid the matter before    
,god1 he fell asleep with the thought on
 his mind3 ',what would your mother     
think of it8' ,suddenly1 while yet wide 
awake1 he heard a voice saying3 ',go6'  
,although he recognized the voice       
instantly1 he thought it might be his   
sister's and drew the bed-curtain aside1
 to see who was there4 ,to his amazement
 he saw his mother's form standing by   
his bedside2 terrified and bewildered he
 dropped the curtain1 turned his face to
 the wall and tried to collect his      
thoughts1 but at the same time he heard 
the same voice say once more3 ',go6' ,he
 drew the curtain again and saw his     
mother as before1 looking at him with   
deep love and gentle urgency4 ,this     
excites him so that he can control      
himself no longer2 he jumps up and tries

 to seize the form--it draws back and   
gradually dissolves before his eye4 ,now
 only he recalls how often he has       
conversed with his mother about the     
future life and the possibility of      
communication after death2 he becomes   
calm1 decides to attend the wedding and 
sleeps soundly till the morning4 ,the   
next day he finds his heart relieved of 
a sore burden2 he joins his friends at  
the wedding and finds1 to his infinite  
delight1 that by his presence only a    
serious difficulty is avoided and peace 
is preserved in a numerous and          
influential family4 ,in this case the   
effect of the mind on the imagination is
 strikingly illustrated1 and although   
the vision of the mother may have       
existed purely in the son's mind1 the   
practical result was precisely the same 
as if a spirit had really appeared in   
tangible shape so as to be seen by the  
outward eye4  ,in some instances        
phenomena1 like those described1 are    
apparently the result of a disturbed    

conscience1 and occur1 therefore1 in    
frequent repetition4 ,already ,plutarch1
 in his ,life of ,cimon1 tells us that  
the ,spartan general1 ,pausanias1 had   
murdered a fair maiden1 ,cleonice1      
because she overthrew a torch in his    
tent and he imagined himself to be      
attacked by assassins4 ,the ghost of the
 poor girl1 whom he had dishonored in   
life and so foully killed1 appeared to  
him and threatened him with such fearful
 disgrace1 that he was terrified and    
hastened to ,heraclea1 where            
necromancers summoned the spirits of the
 departed by their vile arts4 ,they     
called up ,cleonice1 at the great       
commander's request1 and she replied    
reluctantly1 that the curse would not   
leave him till he went to ,sparta4      
,pausanias did so and found his death   
there1 the only way1 says the historian 
of the same name1 in which he could ever
 be relieved of such fearful guilt4     
,baxter1 also1 tells us 7p4 #cj7 of a   
,rev4 ,mr4 ,franklin1 whose young son   

repeatedly saw a lady and received at   
her hands quite painful correction4     
,thus1 when he was bound apprentice to a
 surgeon1 in #affa1 and refused to      
return home upon being ordered to do so1
 she appeared to him1 and when he       
resisted her admonitions1 energetically 
boxed his ears4 ,the poor boy was in bad
 health and seemed to suffer so much    
that at last the surgeon determined to  
consult his father1 who lived on the    
island of ,ely4 ,on the morning of the  
day which he spent travelling1 the boy  
cried out3 ,oh1 mistress1 here's the    
lady again6 and at the same time a noise
 as of a violent blow was heard4 ,the   
child hung his head and fell back dead4 
,in the same hour the surgeon and the   
boy's father1 sitting together in       
consultation1 saw a lady enter the room1
 glance at them angrily1 walk up and    
down a few times and disappear again4   
,the fancy that murdered persons        
reappear in some shape after death for  
the purpose of wreaking their vengeance 

upon their enemies1 is very common among
 all nations1 and has often been vividly
 embodied in legends and ballads4 ,the  
stories of ,hamlet and of ,don ,giovanni
 are based upon this belief1 and the    
older chronicles abound with similar    
cases belonging to an age when violence 
was more frequent and justice less      
prompt than in our day4 ,thus we are    
told in the annals of the famous castle 
of ,weinsberg in ,suabia--justly        
renowned all over the world for the rare
 instance of marital attachment         
exhibited by its women--that a steward  
had wantonly murdered a peasant there4  
,thereupon disturbances of various kinds
 began to make the castle uninhabitable2
 a black shape was seen walking about   
and breathing hot and hateful odors upon
 all it met1 while the steward became an
 object of special persecution4 ,the    
townspeople at first were skeptic and   
laughed at his reports1 but soon the    
black visitor was seen on the ramparts  
of the town also and created within the 

walls the same sensation as up at the   
castle4 ,the good citizens at last      
observed a solemn fast-day and performed
 a pilgrimage to a holy shrine at       
,heilbrum4 ,but all was in vain1 and the
 disturbances and annoyances increased  
in frequency and violence1 till at last 
the unfortunate steward died from       
vexation and sorrow1 when the whole     
ceased and peace was restored to town   
and castle alike 7,crusius1 ,suabian    
,chron4 ii4 p4 #dag74  ,another case of 
this kind is connected with a curious   
token of gratitude exhibited by the     
gratified victim4 ,a president of the   
,parliament of ,toulouse1 returning from
 ,paris towards the end of the          
seventeenth century1 was compelled by an
 accident to stop at a poor country     
tavern4 ,during the night there appeared
 to him an old man1 pale and bleeding1  
who declared that he was the father of  
the present owner of the house1 that he 
had been murdered by his own son1 cut to
 pieces1 and buried in the garden4 ,he  

appealed to the president to investigate
 the matter and to avenge his murder4   
,the judge was so forcibly impressed by 
his vision that he ordered search to be 
made1 and lo6 the body of the murdered  
man was found1 and the son1             
thunderstruck by the mysterious         
revelation1 acknowledged his guilt1 was 
tried1 and in course of time died on the
 scaffold4 ,but the murdered man was not
 satisfied yet2 he showed himself once  
more to the president and asked how he  
could prove his gratitude8 ,the latter  
asked to be informed of the hour of his 
death1 that he might fitly prepare      
himself1 and was promised that he should
 know it a week in advance4 ,many years 
afterwards a fierce knocking was heard  
at the gate of the president's house in 
,toulouse2 the porter opened but saw no 
one2 the knocking was repeated1 but this
 time also the servants who had rushed  
to the spot found nobody there2 when it 
was heard a third time they were        
thoroughly frightened and hastened to   

inform their master4 ,the latter went to
 the door and there saw the             
well-remembered form of his nightly     
visitor1 who told him that he would die 
in eight days4 ,he told his friends and 
his family what had happened1 but only  
met with laughter1 as he was in perfect 
health and nothing seemed more          
improbable than his sudden death4 ,but  
as he sat1 on the eighth day1 at table  
with his family1 a book was mentioned   
which he wished to see1 and he got up to
 look for it in his library4 ,instantly 
a shot is heard2 the guests rush out and
 find him lying on the floor and        
weltering in his blood4 ,upon inquiry it
 appeared that a man1 desperately in    
love with the chamber-maid and jealous  
of a rival1 had mistaken the president  
for the latter and murdered him with a  
pistol 7,de ,segur1 ,galerie morale et  
politique1 p4 #bba74  ,among the        
numerous accounts of visions which seem 
to have been caused by an instinctive   
and perfectly unconscious perception of 

human remains1 the story of the ,rev4   
,mr4 ,lindner1 in ,koenigsberg1 is      
perhaps the best authenticated1 and from
 the character of the man to whom the   
revelation was made1 the most           
trustworthy4 ,it is fully reported by   
,professor ,ehrmann of ,strasburg1 in   
,kies4 ,archiv4 x4 iii41 p4 #adc4 ,the  
minister1 a modest1 pious man1 awoke in 
the middle of the night1 and saw1 by the
 bright moonlight which was shining into
 the room1 another minister in gown and 
bands1 standing before his open bible1  
apparently searching for some quotation4
 ,he had a small child in his arms1 and 
a larger child stood by his side4 ,after
 some time spent in speechless          
astonishment1 ,mr4 ,lindner exclaimed3  
,all good spirits praise ,god6 whereupon
 the stranger turned round1 went up to  
him and offered three times to shake    
hands with him4 ,mr4 ,lindner1 however1 
refused to do so1 gazing at the same    
time intently at his features1 and after
 a while he found himself looking at the

 air1 for all had disappeared4 ,it was a
 long time afterwards1 when sauntering  
through the cloisters of his church1 he 
was suddenly arrested by a portrait     
which bore all the features of the      
minister he had seen on that night4 ,it 
was one of his predecessors in office1  
who had died nearly fifty years ago in  
rather bad odor1 reports having been    
current at the time1 as very old men    
still living testified1 that he had had 
several illegitimate children1 of whose 
fate nothing was known4 ,but there was a
 still further sequel to the minister's 
strange adventure4 ,in the course of the
 next year his study was enlarged1 and  
for that purpose the huge ,german stove 
had to be removed2 to the horror of the 
workmen and of ,mr4 ,lindner1 who was   
promptly called to the spot1 the remains
 of several children were found         
carefully concealed beneath the solid   
structure4 ,as there is no reason to    
suspect self-delusion in the reverend   
man1 and the vision cannot well be      

ascribed to any outward cause1 it must  
be presumed that his sensitive nature   
was painfully affected by the skeletons 
in his immediate neighborhood1 and that 
this unconscious feeling1 acting through
 his imagination1 gave form and shape to
 the impressions made upon his nerves4  
,in another case the principal person   
was a candidate of divinity1 ,billing1  
well known as being of a highly         
sensitive disposition and given to      
hallucinations2 the extreme suffering   
which the presence of human remains     
caused to his whole system had been     
previously already observed4 ,the great 
,german fabulist1 ,pfeffel1 a blind man1
 once took ,billing's arm and went with 
him into the garden to take an airing4  
,the poet noticed that when they came to
 a certain place1 the young man         
hesitated and his arm trembled as if it 
had received an electric shock4 ,when he
 was asked what was the matter1 he      
replied1 ,oh1 nothing6 ,but upon passing
 over the spot a second time1 the same  

tremor made itself felt4 ,pressed by    
,pfeffel1 the young man at last         
acknowledged that he experienced at that
 spot the sensation which the presence  
of a corpse always produced in him1 and 
offered to go there with the poet at    
night in order to prove to him the      
correctness of his feelings4 ,when the  
two friends went to the garden after    
dark1 ,billing perceived at once a faint
 glimmer of light above the spot4 ,he   
stopped at a distance of about ten      
yards1 and after a while declared that  
he saw a female figure hovering above   
the place1 about five feet high1 with   
the right arm across her bosom and the  
left hand hanging down by her side4     
,when the poet advanced and stood on the
 fatal spot1 the young man affirmed that
 the image was on his right or his left1
 before or behind him1 and when ,pfeffel
 struck around him with his cane1 it    
produced the effect as if he were       
cutting through a flame which instantly 
reunited4 ,the same phenomena were      

witnessed a second time by a number of  
,pfeffel's relations4 ,several days     
afterwards1 while the young man was     
absent1 the poet caused the place in the
 garden to be dug up1 and at a depth of 
several feet1 beneath a layer of lime1 a
 human skeleton was discovered4 ,it was 
removed1 the hole filled up1 and all    
smoothed over again4 ,after ,billing's  
return the poet took him once more into 
the garden1 and this time the young man 
walked over the fatal spot without      
experiencing the slightest sensation    
7,kieser1 ,archiv41 etc41 p4 #cbf74  ,it
 was this remarkable experience which   
led ,baron ,reichenbach to verify it by 
leading one of his sensitive patients1 a
 ,miss ,reichel1 at night to the great  
cemetery of ,vienna4 ,as soon as she    
reached the place she perceived         
everywhere a sea of flames1 brightest   
over the new graves1 weaker over others1
 and quite faint here and there4 ,in a  
few cases these lights reached a height 
of nearly four feet1 but generally they 

had more the appearance of luminous     
mists1 so that her hand1 held over the  
place where she saw one1 seemed to be   
enveloped in a cloud of fire4 ,she was  
in no way troubled by the phenomena1    
which she had often previously observed1
 and ,baron ,reichenbach thought he saw 
in them a confirmation of his theory    
about the ,od-light4 ,there can be1     
however1 little doubt that the luminous 
appearance1 perceptible though it be    
only to unusually sensitive persons1 is 
the result of chemical decomposition1   
which has a peculiar influence over     
these persons4  ,hence1 no doubt1 the   
numerous accounts of will-o'-the-wisps  
and ghostly lights seen in graveyards2  
the frightened beholder is nearly always
 laughed at or heartily abused1 and more
 than one poor child has fallen a victim
 to the absurd theory of curing it of   
foolish fears4 ,there can be no doubt   
that light does appear flickering above 
churchyards1 and that there is something
 more than mere idle superstition in the

 corpse-candles of the ,welsh and in the
 elf-candles of the ,scotch1 which are  
seen1 with foreboding weight1 in the    
house of sickness1 betokening near      
dissolution4 ,at the same time1 it is   
well known that living persons also     
have1 under certain circumstances1 given
 out light1 and especially from their   
head4 ,the cases of ,moses1 whose face  
shone with unbearable brightness1 and of
 the martyr ,stephen1 are familiar to   
all1 and the halo with which artists    
surround the heads of saints bears      
eloquent evidence of the universal and  
deeply-rooted belief4 ,but science also 
has fully established the fact that     
light appears as a real and unmistakable
 luminous efflux from the human body1   
alike in health and in mortal sickness4 
,by far the most common case of such    
emission of light is the emission of    
sparks from the hair when combed4       
,before and during the electrical       
dust-storms in ,india1 this phenomenon  
is of frequent occurrence in the hair of

 both sexes4 ,in dry weather1 and when  
the hair also is dry1 and especially    
immediately before thunderstorms1 the   
same sparks are seen in all countries4  
,dr4 ,phipson mentions the case of a    
relative of his1 whose hair 7exactly one
 yard and a quarter long71 when combed  
somewhat rapidly with a black           
gutta-percha comb1 emits sheets of light
 upward of a foot in length1 the light  
being composed of hundreds of small     
electric sparks1 the snapping noise of  
which is distinctly heard4  ,but        
electric light is sometimes given off by
 the human body itself1 not merely from 
the hair4 ,a memorable instance of this 
phenomenon is recorded by ,dr4 ,kane in 
the journal of his last voyage to the   
,polar regions4 ,he and a companion1    
,petersen1 had gone to sleep in a hut   
during intense cold1 and on awaking in  
the night1 found1 to their horror1 that 
their lamp--their only hope--had gone   
out4 ,petersen tried in vain to get     
light from a pocket-pistol1 and then    

,kane resolved to take the pistol       
himself4 ,it was so intensely dark1 he  
says1 that ,i had to grope for it1 and  
in so doing1 ,i touched his hand4 ,at   
that instant the pistol--in ,petersen's 
hand--became distinctly visible4 ,a pale
 bluish light1 slightly tremulous1 but  
not broken1 covered the metallic parts  
of it4 ,the stock1 too1 was distinctly  
visible as if by reflected light1 and to
 the amazement of both of us1 also the  
thumb and two fingers with which        
,petersen was holding it--the creases1  
wrinkles and circuit of nails being     
clearly defined upon the skin4 ,as ,i   
took the pistol my hand became          
illuminated also4 ,this luminous and    
doubtless electric phenomenon took place
 in highly exceptional circumstances1   
and is the only case recorded in recent 
times4 ,but a far more remarkable       
phenomenon of a similar kind is         
mentioned by ,bartholin1 who gives an   
account of a lady in ,italy1 whom he    
rightly styles mulier splendens1 whose  

body became phosphorescent--or rather   
shone with electric radiations--when    
slightly rubbed with a piece of dry     
linen4 ,in this case the luminosity     
appears to have been normal1 certainly  
very frequent under ordinary            
circumstances1 and the fact is well     
attested4 ,mr4 ,b4 ,h4 ,patterson       
mentions in the journal ,belgravia      
7,oct41 #ahgb71 that he saw the flannel 
with which he had rubbed his body1 emit 
blue sparks1 while at the same time he  
heard a crackling sound4 ,these facts   
prove that the human body even in       
ordinary life1 is capable of giving out 
luminous undulations1 while science     
teaches us that they appear quite       
frequently in disease4 ,here again1 ,dr4
 ,phipson mentions several cases as the 
result of his reading4 ,one of these is 
that of a woman in ,milan1 during whose 
illness a so-called phosphoric light    
glimmered about her bed4 ,another       
remarkable case is recorded by ,dr4     
,marsh1 in a volume on the ,evolution of

 ,light from the ,human ,subject1 and   
reads thus3 ,about an hour and a half   
before my sister's death1 we were struck
 by luminous appearances proceeding from
 her head in a diagonal direction4 ,she 
was at the time in a half-recumbent     
position1 and perfectly tranquil4 ,the  
light was pale as the moon1 but quite   
evident to mamma1 myself1 and sisters1  
who were watching over her at the time4 
,one of us at first thought it was      
lightning1 till shortly afterwards we   
perceived a sort of tremulous glimmer   
playing around the head of the bed1 and 
then1 recollecting that we had read     
something of a similar nature having    
been observed previous to dissolution1  
we had candles brought into the room1   
fearing that our dear sister would      
perceive the luminosity1 and that it    
might disturb the tranquillity of her   
last moments4  ,the other case relates  
to an ,irish peasant1 and is recorded   
from personal observation by ,dr4       
,donovan1 in the ,dublin ,medical       

,press1 in #ahgj1 as follows3 ,i was    
sent to see ,harrington in ,december4   
,he had been under the care of my       
predecessor1 and had been entered as a  
phthisical patient4 ,he was under my    
care for about five years1 and ,i had   
discontinued my visits1 when the report 
became general that mysterious lights   
were seen every night in his cabin4 ,the
 subject attracted a great deal of      
attention4 ,i determined to submit the  
matter to the ordeal of my own senses1  
and for this purpose ,i visited the     
cabin for fourteen nights4 ,on three    
nights only ,i witnessed anything       
unusual4 ,once ,i perceived a luminous  
fog resembling the aurora borealis2 and 
twice ,i saw scintillations like the    
sparkling phosphorescence exhibited by  
sea-infusoria4 ,from the close scrutiny 
,i made1 ,i can with certainty say1 that
 no imposition was either employed or   
attempted4  ,the only explanation ever  
offered by competent authority of the   
luminous radiations from persons in     

disease1 ascribes them to an efflux or  
escape of the nerve-force1 which is     
known to be kindred in its nature to    
electricity1 transmuting itself into    
luminosity as it leaves the body4 ,the  
,seeress of ,prevorst reported that she 
saw the nerves as shining threads1 and  
even from the eyes of some persons rays 
of light seemed to her to flash         
continually4 ,other somnambulists also1 
as well as mesmerized persons1 have seen
 the hair of persons shine with a       
multitude of sparks1 while the breath of
 their mouth appeared as a faint        
luminous mist4  ,the same luminosity is1
 finally1 perceived at times in         
graveyards1 and would1 no doubt1 have   
led to careful investigation more       
frequently1 if observers had not so     
often been suspected of superstitious   
apprehensions4 ,in the case of ,baron   
,reichenbach's patients1 however1 no    
such difficulty was to be feared2 they  
saw invariably light1 bluish flames     
hovering over many graves1 and what made

 the phenomena more striking still1 was 
the fact that these moving lights were  
only seen on recent graves1 as if       
naturally dependent upon the process of 
decomposition4 ,if we connect this with 
our experience of luminosity seen in    
decaying vegetables1 in spoiled meat1   
and in diseased persons1 we shall be    
prepared to believe that even so-called 
ghost stories1 in which mysterious      
lights play a prominent part1 are by no 
means necessarily without foundation4   
,cases in which deceased persons have   
made themselves known to survivors1 or  
have produced1 by some as yet           
unexplained agency1 an impression upon  
them through other senses than the      
sight1 are very rare4 ,occasionally1    
however1 the hearing is thus affected1  
and sweet music is heard1 in token1 as  
it were1 of the continued intercourse   
between the dead and the living4 ,one   
instance may serve as an illustration4  
,the ,countess ,a4 had all her life been
 remarkable for the strange delight she 

took in clocks2 not a room in her castle
 but had its large or small clock1 and  
all these she insisted upon winding up  
herself at the proper time4 ,her        
favorite1 however1 was a very curious   
and most costly clock in her            
sitting-room1 which had the form of a   
,gothic church1 and displayed in the    
steeple a small dial1 behind which the  
works were concealed2 at the full hour a
 hymn was played by a kind of music-box 
attached to the mechanism4 ,she allowed 
no one to touch this clock1 and used to 
sit before it1 as the hand approached   
the hour1 waiting for the hymn to be    
heard4 ,at last she was taken ill and   
confined for seven weeks1 during which  
the clock could not be wound up1 and    
then she died4 ,for special reasons the 
interment had to take place on the      
evening of the next day1 and1 as the    
castle was far from any town1 the       
preparations took so much time that it  
was nearly midnight before the body     
could be moved from the bedroom to the  

drawing-room1 where the usual ceremonies
 were to be performed4 ,the transfer was
 accomplished under the superintendence 
of her husband1 who followed the coffin1
 and in the presence of a large number  
of friends and dependents1 while the    
minister led the sad cortege4 ,at the   
moment when the coffin approached the   
favorite clock1 it suddenly began to    
strike2 but instead of twelve1 it gave  
out thirteen strokes1 and then followed 
the melody of a well-known hymn3        
,let us with boldness now proceed       
,on the dark path to a new life4  ,the  
minister1 who happened to have been     
sitting a little while before by the    
count's side1 just beneath the clock1   
and had mournfully noticed its silence  
after so many years1 was thunderstruck1 
and could not recover his self-control  
for some time4 ,the count1 on the       
contrary1 saw in the accident a solemn  
warning from on high1 and henceforth    
laid aside the frivolity which he had so
 far shown in his life as well as in his

 principles 7,evening ,post ,germ41     
#ahdj4 ,no4 #ahg74  ,there are finally  
certain phenomena belonging to this part
 of magic1 which have been very         
generally attributed to an agency in    
which natural forces and supernatural   
beings held a nearly equal share4 ,they 
suggest the interesting but difficult   
question1 whether visions and ecstasy   
can extend to large numbers of men at   
once8 ,and yet without some such        
supposition the armies in the clouds1   
the wild huntsman of the ,ardennes1 and 
like appearances cannot well be         
explained4 ,here also no little weight  
must be attached to ancient             
superstitions which have become1 as it  
were1 a part of a nation's faith4 ,thus 
all ,northern ,germany has from the     
earliest days been familiar with the    
idea of the great ,woden ranging through
 its dark forests1 at the head of the   
,walkyries and the heroes fallen in     
battle1 while his wolves and his raven  
followed him on his nightly course4     

,when ,christianity changed the old gods
 of the ,german race into devils and    
demons1 ,woden became very naturally the
 wild huntsman1 who was now escorted by 
men of violence1 bloody tyrants1 and    
criminals1 often grievously mutilated or
 altogether headless4 ,there can be     
little doubt but that these visions also
 rested upon some natural substructure3 
exceptional atmospheric disturbances1   
hurricanes coming from afar and crashing
 through mighty forests1 or even the    
modest tramp of a band of poachers heard
 afar off1 under favorable circumstances
 by timid ears4 ,the very fact that the 
favorite time for such phenomena is the 
winter solstice favors this supposition4
 ,they are1 however1 by no means limited
 to seasons and days1 for as late as    
#ahdb a number of wheat-cutters left in 
a panic the field in which they were    
engaged1 because they believed they     
heard ,frau ,holle with her hellish     
company1 and saw ,faithful ,eckhard1 as 
he walked steadily before the           

procession1 warning all he met to stand 
aside and escape from the fatal sight4  
,an occurrence of the kind1 which took  
place in #aheg1 was fortunately fully   
explained by careful observers3 the     
cause was an immense flock of wild      
geese1 whose strange cries resembled in 
a surprising manner the barking of a    
pack of hounds during a hunt4 ,another  
occurrence during the night of ,january 
#cj1 #ahdi1 threw the whole neighborhood
 of ,basle in ,switzerland into painful 
consternation4 ,the air was suddenly    
filled with a multitude of whining      
voices1 whose agony pierced the hearts  
of all who heard them2 men and beasts   
seemed to be suffering unutterable      
anguish1 and to be driven with furious  
speed from the mountain-side into a     
valley near ,magden2 here all ended in  
an instant amid rolling thunder and     
fearful flashes of lightning4 ,a fierce 
storm arising in distant clefts and     
crevices1 and carrying possibly         
fragments of rock1 ice1 and moraine     

along with it1 seems here to have been  
the determining cause4  ,another class  
of phenomena of this kind relates to the
 great battles that have at times       
decided the fate of the world4 ,thus    
,pausanias already tells us 7,attica1   
#cb71 and so do other historians of     
,greece1 how the ,plain of ,marathon    
resounded for nearly four centuries     
every year with the clash of arms and   
the cries of soldiers4 ,it was evidently
 the deep and lasting impression made   
upon a highly sensitive nation1 which   
here was bequeathed from generation to  
generation1 and on the day of the       
battle1 when all was excitement1        
resulted in the perception of sounds    
which had no real existence4 ,events of 
such colossal proportions1 which        
determine in a few hours the fate of    
great nations1 leave naturally a        
powerful impress upon contemporaries not
 only1 but also upon the children of    
that race4 ,such was1 among others1 the 
fearful battle on the ,catalaunian      

,fields1 in which the ,visi-,goths and  
,aetius conquered ,attila1 and one      
hundred and sixty-two thousand warriors 
were slain4 ,it was at the time reported
 that the intense bitterness and        
exasperation of the armies continued    
even after the battle1 and that for     
three days the spirits of the fallen    
were contending with each other with    
unabated fury4 ,the report grew into a  
legend1 till a firm belief was          
established that the battle was fought  
year after year on the memorable day1   
and that any visitor might behold the   
passionate spirits as they rose from    
their graves1 armed with their ancient  
weapons and filled with undiminished    
fury4 ,one by one the soldiers of the   
two armies1 it was said1 leave their    
lowly graves1 rise high into the air1   
and engage in deadly but silent strife1 
till they vanish in the clouds4 ,it is  
well known how successfully the great   
,german painter1 ,kaulbach1 has         
reproduced the vision in his magnificent

 fresco of the ,hunnenschlacht4 ,in     
other countries these ghostly visions   
assume different forms4 ,thus the       
neighborhood of ,kerope1 in ,livonia1 is
 in like manner renowned for a long     
series of fearful butcheries during the 
wars between the ,german knights and the
 ,muscovites4 ,there also1 night after  
night1 the shadowy battle is fought over
 again2 but the clashing of arms and the
 hoarse war-cries are distinctly heard1 
and the pious traveler hastens away from
 the blood-soaked plains1 uttering his  
prayers for the souls of the slain4 ,in 
the ,highlands of ,scotland also1 and on
 the adjoining islands1 most weird and  
gruesome sights have been watched by    
young and old in every generation4 ,the 
dark1 dismal atmosphere of those        
regions1 the dense fogs and impenetrable
 mists1 now rising from the sea1 and now
 descending from the mountains1 and the 
fierce1 inclement climate1 have all     
combined for ages to predispose the mind
 for the perception of such strange and 

mysterious phenomena4 ,nearly every clan
 and every family has its own particular
 ghost1 and besides these the whole     
nation claims a number of common visions
 and prophetic spirits1 whose harps and 
wild songs are heard faintly and        
fearfully sounding on high4 ,a friend of
 ,mr4 ,martin1 the author of a work on  
,second ,sight1 used to recite several  
stanzas belonging to such a prophetic   
song1 which he had heard himself on a   
sad ,november day1 as it came to him    
through the drooping clouds and sweeping
 mists from the summit of a lonely      
mountain4 ,at funerals also1 wonderful  
voices were heard high in the air1 as   
they accompanied the chanting of the    
people below1 with a music not born upon
 earth1 and filling the heart with      
strange but sweet sadness4 ,nearly the  
same visions are seen and the same songs
 are heard in ,sweden and ,norway1      
proving conclusively that like climatic 
influences produce also a similar magic 
life1 in individuals not only1 but in   

whole nations4 ,for even if we are      
disposed to look upon these phenomena as
 merely strange appearances of clouds   
and mists1 accompanied by the howling   
and whistling of the wind and the       
tumbling down of rocks and gravel1 there
 remains the uniformity with which      
thousands of every generation interpret 
these sights and sounds into weird      
visions and solemn chantings4  ,it is1  
however1 not quite so evident why the   
peculiar class of visions which is often
 erroneously called second sight--the   
beholding of a double--should be almost 
entirely confined to these same northern
 regions4 ,it is1 of course1 not unknown
 to other lands also1 and even ,holy    
,writ seems to justify the presumption  
that the idea of a double was familiar  
to the people of ,palestine4 ,for the   
poor damsel ,rhoda1 who for gladness did
 not open the door at which ,peter      
knocked1 after he had been miraculously 
liberated1 but ran to announce his      
presence to the friends who were        

assembled at the house of ,mark's       
brother1 was first called mad1 and then 
told3 ,it is his angel 7,acts xii4 #ac74
 ,they evidently meant1 not that it was 
the spirit of their deceased friend1    
since they would have been made aware of
 his death1 but a phantom representing  
his living body4 ,but the number of     
authentic cases of persons who have seen
 their own form1 is vastly greater at   
the ,north than anywhere else4 ,the     
,celtic superstition of the fetch1 as   
the appearance of a person's double is  
there called1 is too well known to      
require explanation4 ,but the vision    
itself is one of the most interesting in
 the study of magic1 since it exhibits  
most strikingly the great power which   
the human soul may1 under peculiar      
circumstances1 gain and exercise over   
its own self1 leading to complete       
self-delusion4  ,a case in which this   
strange abdication of all self-control  
led to most desirable consequences1 is  
mentioned by ,dr4 ,mayo4 ,a young man   

recently from ,oxford once saw a friend 
of his enter the room in which he was   
dining with some companions4 ,the new   
comer1 just returning from hunting1     
seemed to them to look unusually pale   
and was evidently in a state of great   
excitement4 ,after much urging he at    
last confessed that he had been         
seriously disturbed in mind by a man who
 had kept him close company all the way 
home4 ,this stranger1 on horseback like 
himself1 had been his exact image1 down 
to a new bridle1 his own invention1     
which he had tried that day for the     
first time4 ,he fancied that this double
 was his own ghost and an omen of his   
impending death4 ,his friends advised   
him to confer with the head of his      
college2 this was done1 and the latter  
gave him much good advice1 adding the   
hope that the warning would not be      
allowed to pass unimproved4 ,it is      
certain that the apparition made so     
strong an impression upon the young man 
as to lead to his entire reformation1 at

 least for a time4  ,it is claimed by   
many writers that there are persons who 
continually have visions1 because they  
live in constant communication with     
spirits1 although in all cases they have
 to pay a fearful penalty for this sad  
privilege4 ,they are invariably diseased
 people1 mostly women1 who fall into    
trances1 have cataleptic attacks1 or    
suffer of even more painful maladies1   
and during the time of their affliction 
behold and converse with the inmates of 
another world4 ,the most renowned of    
these seers was a ,mrs4 ,hauffe1 who has
 become well known to the reading world 
through ,dr4 ,j4 ,kerner's famous work1 
,the ,seeress of ,prevorst4 ,a peculiar 
feature in her case was the fact that   
the visions she had were invariably     
announced to bystanders by peculiar     
sounds1 heard by all who were present4  
,the forms assumed by her mysterious    
visitors varied almost infinitely2 now  
it was a man in a brown gown1 and now a 
woman in white4 ,often1 when the spirits

 appeared in the open air1 and she tried
 to escape from them by running1 she was
 bodily lifted up and hurried along so  
fast that her companions could not keep 
pace with her4 ,it was only later in    
life that she fell as a patient into the
 hands of ,dr4 ,kerner1 who was quite   
distinguished as a poet1 and had a great
 renown as a physician for insane people
 of a special class4 ,his house at      
,weinsberg in ,wuertemberg1 was filled  
to overflowing with persons of all      
classes of society1 from the highest to 
the lowest1 and all had visions4 ,nor   
was the doctor himself excluded2 he also
 was a seer1 and has given in the       
above-mentioned book a full and most    
interesting account of the diseases in  
connection with which magic phenomena   
are most frequently observed4 ,by the   
aid of careful observation of actual    
facts1 and using such revelations       
vouchsafed to him and others as he      
believed fully trustworthy1 he formed a 
regular theory of visions4 ,first of all

 he admits that the privilege of        
communing with spirits is a grievous    
affliction1 and that all of his more    
thoughtful patients continually prayed  
to be delivered of the burden4 ,it is   
evident from all he states that not only
 the body1 but the mind also            
suffers--and in many cases suffers unto 
destruction--under the effects of such  
exceptional powers2 that in fact the    
lines of separation between this life   
and another life can never be crossed   
with impunity4 ,his most interesting    
patient1 ,mrs4 ,hauffe1 presents the    
usual mixture of mere fanciful imagery  
with occasional flashes of truth2 her   
genuine revelations were marvelous1 and 
can only be explained upon the ground of
 real magic2 but with them are mixed up 
the most absurd theories and the most   
startling contradictions4 ,she insisted1
 however1 upon the fact that only those 
spirits could commune with mortal man   
who were detained in the middle         
realm--between heaven and hell--the     

spirits of men who were in this life    
unable1 though not unwilling1 to believe
 that ,god could forgive their sins for 
the sake of ,christ's death4 ,she was   
often tried by ,dr4 ,kerner and others2 
she was told that certain still living  
persons had died1 and asked to summon   
their spirits1 but she was never misled4
 ,there can be no doubt that the poor   
woman was sincere in her statements2 but
 she was apparently unable to           
distinguish between real visions in a   
trance and the mere offspring of her    
imagination4 ,that her peculiarities    
were closely connected with her bodily  
condition is1 moreover1 proved by the   
fact that her whole family suffered in  
similar manner and enjoyed similar      
powers2 a brother and a sister1 as well 
as her young son1 all had visions and   
heard mysterious noises4 ,the latter    
were1 in fact1 perceptible to all the   
inmates of the strange house2 even the  
great skeptic1 ,dr4 ,strausz1 who once  
visited it1 heard long1 fearful         

groanings close to his amiable hostess1 
who had fallen asleep on her sofa4 ,nor 
were the ghosts content with disturbing 
the patients and their excellent        
physician2 they made themselves known to
 their friends and neighbors1 also1 and 
even the good minister in the little    
town had much to suffer from nightly    
knockings and strange utterances4  ,dr4 
,kerner himself heard many spirits1 but 
saw only one1 and that only as a grayish
 pillar2 on the other hand he witnessed 
countless mysterious phenomena which    
occurred in his patients' bedrooms4 ,now
 he beheld ,mrs4 ,hauffe's boots pulled 
off by invisible hands1 while she       
herself was lying almost inanimate1 in a
 trance1 on her bed1 and now he heard   
her reveal secrets which1 upon writing  
to utterly unknown persons at a great   
distance1 proved to be correctly stated4
 ,what makes a thorough investigation of
 all these phenomena peculiarly         
difficult1 is the fact that ,dr4        
,kerner's house became an asylum for    

somnambulists as well as for real       
patients1 and that by this mixture the  
scientific value of his observations1 as
 regards their psychological interest1  
is seriously impaired4 ,he himself was a
 sincere believer in magic phenomena2   
almost all of his friends and neighbors1
 from the humblest peasant to the most  
cultivated men of science1 believed in  
him and his statements1 and there can be
 no doubt that astonishing revelations  
were made and extraordinary powers      
became manifest in his house4 ,but here1
 also1 the difficulty of separating the 
few grains of truth from the great mass 
of willful1 as well as of unconscious   
delusion1 is almost overwhelming1 and   
our final judgment must be held in      
suspense1 till more light has been      
thrown on the subject4 ,dr4 ,kerner's   
son1 who succeeded his father at his    
death in #ahfb1 still keeps up the      
remarkable establishment at ,weinsberg2 
but exclusively for the cure of certain 
diseases by magnetism4     ,,vi4        

,,divination4      ,there shall not be  
found among you any one that useth      
divination4      --,,deut4 xviii4 #i4   
,the usual activity of our mind is      
limited to the perception of the world  
around us1 and its life1 as far as the  
power of our senses reaches2 it must1   
therefore1 necessarily be confined      
within the limits of space and time4    
,there are1 however1 specially favored  
men among us who profess an additional  
power1 or even ordinary men may be thus 
endowed under peculiar circumstances1 as
 when they are under the influence of   
nervous affections1 trances1 or even    
merely in an unusual state of           
excitement4 ,then they are no longer    
subject to the usual laws of distance in
 space1 or remoteness in time2 they     
perceive as immediately present what    
lies beyond the reach of others1 and the
 magic power by which this is           
accomplished is called ,divination4     
,this vision is never quite clear1 nor  
always complete or correct1 for even    

such exceptionable powers are in all    
cases more or less subject to the       
imperfections of our nature2 habitual   
notions1 an ill-executed imagination1   
and often a disordered state of the     
system1 all interfere with its perfect  
success4 ,these imperfections1 moreover1
 not only affect the value of such magic
 perceptions1 but obscure the genuine   
features by a number of false statements
 and of erroneous impressions1 which    
quite legitimately excite a strong      
prejudice against the whole subject4    
,hence1 especially1 the rigor of the    
,church against divination in every     
form2 it has ever ascribed the errors   
mixed up with the true parts of such    
revelations to the direct influence of  
the ,evil ,one4 ,the difficulty1        
however1 arises that such magic powers  
have nothing at all to do with the      
question of morality2 the saint and the 
criminal may possess them alike1 since  
they are elements of our common nature1 
hidden in the vast majority of cases1   

and coming into view and into life only 
in rare exceptional instances4          
,divination1 as freed from the ordinary 
limits of our perceptions1 appears      
either as clairvoyance1 when things are 
seen which are beyond the range of      
natural vision1 or as prophecy1 when the
 boundary lines of time are overstepped4
 ,the latter appears again in its       
weakest form as a mere anticipation of  
things to come1 or rises to perfection  
in the actual foretelling of future     
events4 ,it is sad enough to learn from 
the experience of all nations that the  
occurrences thus foreseen are almost    
invariably great misfortunes1 yet our   
surprise will cease if we remember that 
the tragic in life exercises by far the 
greatest influence on our mind1 and     
excites it far beyond all other events4 
,nor must we overlook the marvelous     
unanimity with which such magic powers  
are admitted to exist in ,man by all    
nations on earth4 ,the explanation1     
also1 is invariably the same1 namely1   

that ,man possessed originally the      
command over space and time as well as  
,god himself1 but that when sin came    
into the world and affected his         
earth-born body1 this power was lost1   
and preserved only to appear in         
exceptional and invariably most painful 
cases4 ,so thought the ancients even    
long before revelation had spoken4 ,they
 believed that ,man had had a previous  
god-like existence before appearing upon
 earth1 where he was condemned to       
expiate the sins of his former life1    
while his immortal and divine soul was  
chained to a perishing earthy body4     
,plato1 ,plutarch1 and ,pythagoras1     
,cicero 7in his book ,de ,divinatione71 
and even ,porphyrius1 all admit without 
hesitation the power of divination1 and 
speak of its special vigor in the       
moments preceding death4 ,melanchthon   
ascribed warning dreams to the prophetic
 power of the human soul4 ,brierre de   
,boismont also is forced to admit that  
not all cases of clairvoyance and       

prophesying are the results of          
hallucination by diseased persons2 he   
speaks1 on the contrary1 and in spite of
 his bitter skepticism1 of instances in 
which the increased powers of perception
 are the effect of supernatural         
intuition4  ,one of the most prolific   
sources of error in ,divination has ever
 been the variety of means employed for 
the purpose of causing the preparatory  
state of trance4 ,it is well known in   
our day that the mind may be most       
strangely affected by innumerable       
agencies which are apparently purely    
mechanical1 and often utterly absurd4   
,such are an intent gazing at           
highly-polished surfaces of metal1 or   
into the bright inside of a gold cup1 at
 the shining sides of a crystal1 or the 
varying hues of a glass globe2 now      
vessels filled with pure water1 and now 
ink poured into the hand of a child1    
answer the same purpose4                
,fortune-telling from the lines of the  
hand or the chance combinations of      

playing-cards are1 in this aspect1 on a 
par with the prophecies of astrologers  
drawn from the constellations in the    
heavens4 ,it need hardly be added that  
this almost infinite variety of more or 
less absurd measures has nothing at all 
to do with the awaking of magic power1  
and continues in use only from the      
prestige which some of the means1 like  
the cup of ,joseph and the mirror of    
,varro1 derive from their antiquity4    
,their sole purpose is uniformly to     
withdraw the seer's attention from all  
outward objects1 and to make him1 by    
steadily gazing at one and the same     
object1 concentrate his thoughts and    
feelings exclusively upon his own self4 
,experience has taught that such        
efforts1 long continued1 result finally 
in utter loss of feeling1 in            
unconsciousness1 and frequently even in 
catalepsy4 ,it is generally only under  
such peculiarly painful circumstances   
that the unusual powers of our being can
 become visible and begin to operate4   

,while these results may be obtained1 as
 recent experiments have proved1 even by
 mere continued squinting1 barbarous    
nations employ the most violent means   
for the same purpose--the whirling of   
dervishes1 the drumming and dancing of  
northern shamans1 the deafening music of
 the ,moors1 are all means of the same  
kind to excite the rude and fierce      
nature of savages to a state of         
excessive excitement4 ,in all cases1    
however1 we must notice the comparative 
sterility of such divination1 and the   
penalty which has to be paid for most   
meagre results by injuries inflicted    
upon the body1 and by troubles caused in
 the mind1 which1 if they do not become 
fatal to life1 are invariably so to     
happiness and peace4 ,that the sad      
privilege may have to be paid for with  
life itself1 we learn already from      
,plutarch's account of a priestess who  
became so furious while prophesying1    
that not only the strangers but the     
priests themselves fled in dismay1 while

 she herself expired a few hours later  
7,,ii4 p4 #dch74  ,the state in which   
all forms of divination are most apt to 
show themselves is by theologians called
 ecstasis1 when it is caused by means   
specially employed for the purpose and  
appears as a literally being beside     
one's self2 by its side they speak of   
raptus1 when the abnormal state suddenly
 begins during an act of ordinary life1 
such as walking1 working1 or even       
praying4 ,the distinction is of no value
 as to the nature of the magic powers   
themselves1 which are in all cases the  
same2 it refers exclusively to the outer
 form4  ,one of the simplest methods is 
the ,deasil-walking of the ,scotch      
,highlanders3 the seer walks rapidly    
three times1 with the sun1 around the   
person whose future is to be foretold1  
and thus produces a trance1 in which his
 magic powers become available4 ,walter 
,scott's ,chronicles of the ,canongate  
gives a full account of this ceremony4  
,robin ,oig's aunt performs the         

ceremony1 and then warns him in great   
terror1 that she has seen a bloody      
dagger in his hand1 stained with        
,english blood1 and beseeches him to    
stay at home4 ,he disregards the omen1  
kills the same night an ,englishman1 a  
cattle-dealer1 and pays for the crime   
with his life4  ,in the ,east1 on the   
contrary1 the usual form is to employ a 
young boy1 taken at haphazard from the  
street1 and to force him to gaze        
intently at ,indian ink poured into the 
hollow of the hand1 at molten lead1 wax 
poured into cold water1 the paten of a  
priest or a shining sword1 with which   
several men have been killed4 ,general  
readers will recall the famous boy of   
,cairo1 who saw thus1 in the dark1      
glittering surface of ink1 the great    
,nelson--curiously enough as in a       
mirror1 for he reported the image to be 
without the left arm and to wear the    
left sleeve across the breast1 while the
 great admiral had lost his right arm   
and wore the right sleeve suspended4    

,burke1 in his amusing ,anecdotes of the
 ,aristocracy1 etc4 7,i4 p4 #abd71      
relates how the magician ,magraubin in  
,alexandria appeared with a ten-year-old
 ,coptic boy before the officers of ,h4 
,m's4 ship ,vanguard4 ,after burning    
much incense and uttering many          
unintelligible formulas he rolled a     
paper in the shape of a cornucopia1     
filled it with ink1 and bade the boy    
tell them what he saw4 ,as usual1 he saw
 first a broom sweeping1 and was        
thoroughly frightened4 ,when a young    
midshipman asked him to inquire what    
would be his fate1 he described         
instantly a sailor with gold on the     
shoulders1 fighting against ,indians    
till he fell dead2 then came friends and
 buried him under a tree on a hill4 ,the
 midshipman1 ,croker1 returned home1    
abandoned the sea1 and became a         
landowner in one of the midland counties
 of ,england1 where he often laughed at 
the absurd prediction4 ,long years      
afterwards1 however1 when there was a   

sudden want of seamen1 he was recalled  
into service and sent on a long cruise4 
,he rose to become a captain1 and while 
in command of a frigate fell1 upon the  
island of ,tongataboo1 in a skirmish    
with the natives1 whereupon he was      
interred there under a lofty palm-tree  
which stood on a commanding eminence4   
,the same author repeats 7,i4 p4 #ceg7  
the well-known story of ,lady ,eleanor  
,campbell1 which is in substance as     
follows3  ,poor ,lady ,primrose1 a      
daughter of the second ,earl of         
,loudoun1 had for years endured the     
saddest lot that can befall a noble     
woman3 she had been bound by marriage to
 a husband whose dissolute habits and   
untamable passions inspired her with    
fear1 while his short love for her had  
long since turned into bitter hatred4   
,at last he formed the resolution to rid
 himself forever of his wife1 whose very
 piety and gentleness were a standing   
reproof to his villainy4 ,by a rare     
piece of good luck she was awake when he

 came from his deep potations1 a bare   
sword in his hand1 and ready to kill    
her2 she saw him in the mirror before   
which she happened to be sitting1 and   
escaped by jumping from a window and    
hastening to her husband's own mother4  
,after this attempt at her life he      
disappeared1 no one knew whither1 but   
the poor lady1 forsaken and yet not a   
widow1 could not prevent her thoughts   
from dwelling1 by day and by night1 year
 after year1 upon the image of her      
unfortunate husband and his probable    
fate in foreign lands4 ,it was1         
therefore1 not without a pardonable     
interest that she heard1 one winter1    
people talk of a foreigner who had      
suddenly appeared in ,canongate and     
created a great sensation throughout    
,edinburgh by his success in showing to 
inquiring visitors what their absent    
friends were doing4 ,her intense anxiety
 about her husband and her natural      
desire to ascertain whether she was     
still a wife or already a widow1        

combined to tempt her to call on the    
magician2 she went1 therefore1 with a   
friend1 both disguised in the tartans   
and plaids of their maids4 ,before they 
reached the obscure alley to which they 
had been directed1 they lost their way1 
and were standing helpless1 exposed to  
the cold1 stormy weather1 when suddenly 
a deep voice said to them3 ,you are     
mistaken1 ladies1 this is not your way6 
,how so8 asked ,lady ,primrose1         
addressing a tall1 gentlemanly looking  
man1 with a stern face of deep olive    
color1 in which a pair of black eyes    
shone like stars1 and dressed in an     
elegant but foreign-looking costume4    
,the answer came promptly3 ,you are     
mistaken in your way1 because it lies   
yonder1 and in your disguise1 because it
 does not conceal you from him who can  
lift the veil of the ,future6 ,then     
followed a short conversation in which  
the stranger made himself known as the  
magician whom they were about to visit1 
and1 by some words whispered into the   

lady's ear1 as a man who not only       
recognized her as ,lady ,primrose1 but  
who also was perfectly well acquainted  
with all the intimate details of her    
history4 ,amazed and not a little       
frightened1 the two ladies accepted his 
courteous invitation to follow him1     
entered the house1 and were shown into a
 simply furnished room1 where the       
stranger begged them to wait for him1   
till all was ready for the ceremony by  
which alone he could satisfy their      
curiosity4 ,after a short pause he      
reappeared in the traditional costume of
 a magician1 a long tunic of black      
velvet which left his breast1 arms1 and 
hands free1 and requested ,lady         
,primrose to follow him into the        
adjoining room4 ,after some little      
hesitation she left her companion and   
entered the room1 which was perfectly   
plain1 offering nothing to attract the  
eye save the dark curtains before the   
windows1 an old-fashioned arm-chair1 and
 a kind of altar of black marble1 over  

which a large and beautiful mirror was  
suspended4 ,before the latter stood a   
small oven1 in which some unknown       
substance burnt with a blue light1 which
 alone feebly lighted up the room4 ,the 
visitor was requested to sit down1 to   
invoke help from above1 and to abstain  
from uttering a sound1 if she valued her
 life and that of the magician4 ,after  
some simple but apparently most         
important ceremonies1 the magician threw
 a pinch of red powder upon the flame1  
which instantly changed into bright     
crimson1 while a few plaintive sounds   
were heard and red clouds seemed to rise
 before the mirror1 broken at short     
intervals by vivid flashes of lightning4
 ,as the mist dispersed the glass       
exhibited to the lady's astonished eye  
the interior of a church1 first in vague
 outlines undulating as passing clouds  
seemed to set them in motion1 but soon  
distinctly and clear in the minutest    
details4 ,then a priest appeared with   
his acolytes at the altar1 and a wedding

 party was seen standing before him1    
among whom ,lady ,primrose soon         
recognized her faithless husband4       
,before she could recover from her      
painful surprise she saw a stranger     
hastily entering the church1 wrapped in 
his cloak2 at the moment when the       
priest1 who had been performing the     
usual ceremony1 was about to join the   
hands of the couple before him1 the     
unknown dropped his cloak and rushed    
forward4 ,lady ,primrose saw it was her 
own brother1 who drew his sword and     
attacked her husband2 suddenly a thrust 
was made by the latter which threatened 
to be fatal1 and the poor lady cried    
out3 ,great ,god1 they will kill my     
brother6 ,she had no sooner uttered     
these words than the whole scene in the 
mirror became dim and blurred1 the      
clouds rose again and formed dense      
masses1 and soon the glass resumed its  
ordinary brightness and the flame its   
faint blue color4 ,the magician1        
apparently much excited1 informed the   

lady that all was over1 and that they   
had escaped a most fearful danger1      
incurred by her imprudence in speaking4 
,he would accept no reward1 stating that
 he had merely wished to oblige her1 but
 would not have dared do so much1 if he 
had foreseen the peril to which they had
 both been exposed4 ,lady ,primrose1    
accompanied by her friend1 reached home 
in a state of extreme excitement1 but   
immediately wrote down the hour and the 
day of her strange adventure1 with a    
full account of all she had seen in the 
magic mirror4 ,the paper thus drawn up  
she sealed in the presence of her       
companion and hid it in a secret drawer4
 ,not long afterwards her brother       
returned from the ,continent1 but for   
some time refused to speak at all of her
 husband2 it was only after being long  
and urgently pressed by the poor lady1  
that he consented to tell her1 how he   
had heard of ,lord ,primrose's intention
 to marry a very wealthy lady in        
,amsterdam1 how by mere chance he had   

entered the church where the marriage   
ceremony was to be performed1 and how he
 had come out just in time to prevent   
his brother-in-law from committing      
bigamy4 ,they had fought for a few      
minutes without doing each other any    
injury1 and after being separated1 he   
had remained1 while ,lord ,primrose had 
disappeared1 no one knew whither4 ,upon 
comparing dates and circumstances1 it   
appeared that the mirror had presented  
the scene faithfully in all its details2
 but the ceremony had taken place in the
 morning1 the visit to the magician at  
night1 so that the latter had1 after    
all1 only revealed an event already     
completed4 ,there remains1 however1 the 
difficulty of accounting for the means  
by which in those days--about #agjj--;an
 event in ,amsterdam could possibly have
 been known in ,edinburgh1 the night of 
the same day on which it occurred4  ,in 
,france1 under ,louis ,,xiv41 a glass of
 water was most frequently used as a    
mirror in which to read the future4 ,the

 ,duke of ,st4 ,simon reports that the  
,duke of ,orleans was thus informed that
 he would one day become ,regent of     
,france4 ,the ,abbe ,choisy mentions a  
remarkable occurrence which took place  
at the house of the ,countess of        
,soissons1 a niece of the great         
,cardinal ,mazarin4 ,her husband was    
lying sick in the province of           
,champagne1 and she was anxious to know 
whether she ought to undertake the long 
and perilous journey to him or not2 in  
this dilemma a friend offered to send   
for a diviner1 who should tell her the  
issue of her husband's illness4 ,he     
brought her a little girl1 five years   
old1 who1 in the presence of a number of
 distinguished persons of both sexes1   
began1 under the nobleman's direction1  
to tell what she saw in a glass of      
water4 ,when she began by saying that   
the water looked as if it were troubled1
 the poor lady was so frightened that   
her friend suggested he would ask the   
spirit to show the child not her husband

 himself1 but a white horse1 if the     
,count was dead1 and a tiger if he was  
alive4 ,then he asked the girl what she 
saw now8 ,ah6 she cried out at once1    
what a pretty white horse6 ,the company1
 however1 refused to be content with one
 trial2 five times in succession the    
test was altered1 and in such a manner  
that the little child could not possibly
 be aware of the choice1 but in each    
case the answer was unfavorable to the  
absent ,count4 ,it appeared1 afterwards1
 that he had really died a day or two   
before the consultation4 ,one of the    
most striking cases of such exceptional 
endowment was a ,frenchman1 ,cahagnet1  
who in his work1 ,lumiere des ,morts    
7,paris1 #ahea71 claimed to see remote  
objects and persons4 ,he used to make a 
mental effort1 upon which his eyes      
became fixed and he saw objects at a    
great distance1 reading the title and   
discerning the precise shape of books in
 public libraries1 or watching absent   
friends engaged in unusual occupations6 

,this state of clairvoyance1 however1   
never lasted more than sixty seconds1   
nor could he ever see the same object   
twice--limitations of his endowment     
which secured for him greater credit    
than he would have otherwise possessed4 
,occasionally he would assist the effort
 he had to make by fixedly gazing at    
some shining object1 such as a small    
flaw in a mirror or a glass4 ,another   
restraint under which he labored1 and   
which yet increased the faith of others1
 consisted in this1 that such sights as 
presented themselves spontaneously to   
him proved invariably to be true1 while 
the visions which he purposely evoked   
were not unfrequently unfounded in fact4
  ,among recent magicians of this class1
 a ,parisian1 ,edmond1 is perhaps the   
most generally known4 ,he is a man      
without education1 who leads a life of  
asceticism1 and is said to equal the    
famous ,lennormand in his ability to    
guess the future by gazing intently at  
certain cards4 ,the latter1 although not

 free from the charge of charlatanism1  
possessed undoubtedly the most          
extraordinary talent of divining the    
thoughts of those who came to consult   
her1 and an almost marvelous tact in    
connecting the knowledge thus obtained  
with the events of the day4 ,she began  
her career already as a young girl at a 
convent-school1 where her playmates     
asked her laughing who would be the next
 abbess1 and she mentioned an entirely  
unknown lady from ,picardy as the one   
that would be appointed by the king4    
,contrary to all expectations the       
favorite candidates were put aside1 and 
the unknown lady appointed1 although    
eighteen months elapsed before her      
prophecy was fulfilled4 ,as early as    
#aghi she predicted the overthrow of the
 ,french government1 and during the     
,revolution her reputation was such that
 the first men of the land came to      
consult her4 ,the unfortunate princess  
,lamballe and ,mirabeau1 ,mme4 de ,stael
 and the king himself1 all appeared in  

her stately apartments4 ,her efforts to 
save the queen1 to whose prison she     
managed to obtain access1 were          
unsuccessful2 but when her aristocratic 
connections caused her to be imprisoned 
herself1 even the noble and virtuous    
,mme4 ,tallien sought her society4 ,the 
new dynasty1 whose members were almost  
without exception more or less          
superstitious1 as it is the nature of   
all ,corsicans1 consulted her           
frequently2 the great ,napoleon came to 
her in #agic1 when he was disgusted with
 ,france1 and on the point of leaving   
the country2 he sent for her a second   
time in #ahja to confer with her at     
,malmaison1 and the fair ,josephine     
actually conceived for her a deep and   
lasting attachment4 ,afterwards1        
however1 she became as obnoxious to the 
,emperor as his inveterate enemy1 ,mme4 
de ,stael2 she was repeatedly sent to   
prison because she predicted failures1  
as in the case of the projected invasion
 of ,england1 or because she revealed   

the secret plans of ,napoleon4 ,the     
,emperor ,alexander of ,russia also     
consulted her in #ahah1 and of the      
,prussian king1 ,frederick ,william     
,,iii41 it is at least reported that he 
visited her incognito4 ,after the year  
#ahcj she appeared but rarely in her    
character as a diviner2 she had become  
old and rich1 and did not perhaps wish  
to risk her world-wide reputation by too
 numerous revelations4 ,she maintained1 
however1 for the rest of her life the   
most intimate relations with many       
eminent men in ,france1 and when she    
died1 in #ahdc1 seventy-one years old1  
leaving to her nephew a very large      
fortune1 her gorgeous funeral was       
attended by a host of distinguished     
personages1 including even men of such  
character as ,guizot4 ,and yet she also 
had not disdained to use the most absurd
 and apparently childish means in order 
to produce the state of ecstasy in which
 she alone could divine3 playing-cards  
fancifully arranged1 the white of an    

egg1 the sediment of coffee1 or the     
lines in the hand of her visitors4 ,at  
the same time1 however1 she used the    
information which she casually picked up
 or purposely obtained from her great   
friends with infinite cunning and       
matchless tact1 so that the better      
informed often asked her laughingly if  
her familiar spirit ,ariel was not also 
known as ,talleyrand1 ,david1 or        
,geoffroy8 ,the charlatanism which often
 and most justly rendered her           
proceedings suspicious to sober men1 was
 in fact part of her system2 she knew   
perfectly well the old doctrine1 mundus 
vult decipi1 and did not hesitate to    
flatter the fondness of all ,frenchmen  
for a theatrical mise en scene4         
,dryden's famous horoscope of his       
younger son ,charles was probably       
nothing more than one of those rare but 
striking coincidences of which the laws 
of probability give us the exact value4 
,he loved the study of astrology and    
never omitted to calculate the nativity 

of his children as soon as they were    
born4 ,in the case of ,charles he       
discovered that great dangers would     
threaten him in his eighth1             
twenty-third1 and thirty-third or       
forty-third year2 and sure enough those 
years produced serious troubles4 ,on his
 eighth birthday he was buried under a  
falling wall2 on the twenty-third he    
fell in ,rome from an old tower1 and on 
his thirty-third he was drowned in the  
,thames4  ,divination by means of       
bones--generally the shoulder bones of  
rams--is quite common among the ,mongols
 and ,tongoose1 and the custom seems to 
have remained unchanged through         
centuries4 ,for ,purchas already quotes 
from the ,journal of the ,minorite monk 
,guillaume de ,rubruguis1 written in    
#abee1 a description of the manner in   
which the ,great ,khan of ,mongolia     
tried to ascertain the result of any    
great enterprise which he might         
contemplate4 ,three shoulder bones of   
rams were brought to him1 which he held 

for some time in his hands1 while deeply
 meditating on the subject2 then he     
threw them into the fire4 ,after they   
were burnt black they were again laid   
before him and examined2 if they had    
cracked lengthways the omen was         
favorable1 if crossways the enterprise  
was abandoned4 ,almost identically the  
same process is described by the great  
traveler ,pallas1 who witnessed it      
repeatedly and obtained very startling  
communications from the ,mongol priests4
 ,but here also violent dancing1        
narcotic perfumes1 and wild cries had to
 aid in producing a trance4 ,the        
,laplanders have1 perhaps1 the most     
striking magic powers which seem to be  
above suspicion4 ,at least we are       
assured by every traveler who has spent 
some time among them1 from ,caspar      
,peucer 7,commentaries1 etc41           
,wittebergae1 #aehj1 p4 #acb7 down to   
the tourists of our days 7,six ,months  
in ,lapland1 #ahgj71 that they not only 
see persons at the greatest distance1   

but furnish minute details as to their  
occupation or surroundings4 ,after      
having invoked the aid of his gods the  
magician falls down like a dead man and 
remains in a state of trance for        
twenty-four hours1 during which         
foreigners are always warned to have him
 carefully guarded1 lest the demons     
should carry him off4 ,during this time 
the seer maintains that his soul opens  
the gates of the body and moves about   
freely wherever it chooses to go4 ,when 
he returns to consciousness he describes
 accurately and minutely the persons    
about whom he has promised to give      
information4 ,in the ,east ,indies it is
 well known clairvoyance has existed    
from time immemorial1 and the kind of   
trance which consists in utter oblivion 
of actual life and perfect abstraction  
of thought from this world is there     
carried out to perfection4 ,the faithful
 believer sits or lies down in any      
position he may happen to prefer for the
 moment1 fixes his eyes intently upon   

the point of his nose1 mutters the word 
,one1 and finally beholds ,god with an  
inner sense1 in the form of a white     
brilliant light of ineffable splendor4  
,some of these ascetics pass from a     
simple trance to a state of catalepsy1  
in which their bodies become insensible 
to pain--but this kind of ecstasis is   
not accompanied by divination4  ,another
 branch of divination conquers the      
difficulty which distance in space      
opposes to our ordinary perceptions4 ,in
 all such cases it is of course not our 
hearing or smelling which suddenly      
becomes miraculously powerful1 but      
another magic power1 which causes       
impressions on the mind like those      
produced by the eye and the ear4 ,the   
oldest well-authenticated instance of   
magic hearing is probably that of       
,hyrcanus1 the high-priest of the ,jews1
 who while burning incense in the       
temple1 heard a voice saying3 ,now      
,antiochus has been slain by thy sons4  
,the news was immediately proclaimed to 

the people1 and some time afterward     
messengers came announcing that         
,antiochus had thus perished as he      
approached ,samaria1 which he desired to
 relieve from the besieging army under  
the sons of ,hyrcanus 7,josephus1       
,antiq4 lxiii4 ch4 #ai74 ,a still more  
striking instance is also reported by a 
trustworthy author 7,theophylactos      
,simocata1 l4 viii4 ch4 #ac74 ,a man in 
,alexandria1 ,egypt1 saw1 as he returned
 home about midnight1 the statues before
 the great temple moved aside from their
 seats1 and heard them call out to him  
that the ,emperor had been slain by     
,phocas 7#fjb74 ,thoroughly frightened  
he hastened to the authorities1         
reporting his adventure2 he was carried 
before ,peter1 the ,viceroy of ,egypt1  
and ordered to keep silence4 ,nine days 
later1 however1 the official news came  
that the ,emperor had been murdered4 ,it
 is evident that the knowledge of the   
event came to him in some mysterious    
way1 and for an unknown purpose2 but    

that what he saw and heard1 was purely  
the work of his imagination1 which      
became the vehicle of the revelation4   
,there exists a long1 almost unbroken   
series of similar phenomena through the 
entire course of modern history1 of     
which but a few can here find space4    
,richelieu tells us in his ,memoires    
7,coll4 ,michaud--,poryoulat1 #b;d      
series1 vii4 p4 #bc71 that the ,prevost 
des ,marechaux of the city of           
,pithiviers was one night engaged in    
playing cards in his house1 when he     
suddenly hesitated1 fell into a deep    
musing1 and then1 turning to his        
companions1 said solemnly3 ,the king has
 just been murdered6 ,these words made a
 deep impression upon all the members of
 the assembly1 which afterward changed  
into genuine terror1 when it became     
known that on that same evening1 at the 
same hour of four o'clock1 ,p4 ,m41     
,henry ,,iv4 had really been murdered4  
,nor was this a solitary case1 for on   
the same day a girl of fourteen1 living 

near the city of ,orleans1 had asked her
 father1 ,simonne1 what a king was8     
,upon his replying that it was the man  
who commanded all ,frenchmen1 she had   
exclaimed3 ,great ,god1 ,i have this    
moment heard somebody tell me that he   
was murdered6 ,it seems that the minds  
of men were just then everywhere deeply 
interested in the fate of the king1 and 
hence their readiness to anticipate an  
event which was no doubt very generally 
apprehended2 even from abroad numerous  
letters had been received announcing his
 death beforehand4 ,in the two cases    
mentioned this excitement had risen to  
divination4 ,the author of the famous   
,zauber ,bibliothek1 ,horst1 mentions   
7i4 p4 #bhe7 that his father1 a         
well-known missionary1 was once         
traveling in company with the renowned  
,hebrew scholar ,wiedemann1 while a     
third companion1 ordinarily engaged with
 them in converting ,jews1 was out at   
sea4 ,it was a fine1 bright day2 no rain
 or wind visible even at a distance4    

,wiedemann had walked for some time in  
deep silence1 apparently engaged in     
praying1 when suddenly he stopped and   
said3 ,monsieur ,horst1 take your diary 
and write down1 that our companion is at
 this moment exposed to great peril by  
water4 ,the storm will last till night  
and the danger will be fearful2 but the 
,lord will mercifully preserve him and  
the vessel1 and no lives will be lost4  
,write it down carefully1 so that when  
our friend returns1 we may jointly thank
 ,god for ,his great mercy4 ,the        
missionary did so1 and when the three   
friends were united once more their     
diaries were compared1 and it appeared  
that the statement had been exact in all
 its details4  ,clairvoyance1 as far as 
it implies the seeing of persons or the 
witnessing of events at a great         
distance1 is counted among the most     
frequent gifts of early saints1 and ,st4
 ,augustine mentions a number of        
remarkable cases4 ,not only absent      
friends and their fate were thus beheld 

by privileged ,christians1 but even the 
souls of departing saints were seen as  
they were borne to heaven by angelic    
hosts4 ,the same exceptional gifts were 
apparently granted to the early ,jesuit 
fathers2 thus ,xavier once saw          
distinctly a whole naval expedition     
sailing against the pirates of ,malacca 
and defeating them in a great naval     
battle4 ,he had himself caused the fleet
 to be sent from ,sumatra1 and remained 
during the whole time in a trance4 ,he  
had fallen down unconscious at the foot 
of the altar1 where he had been         
fervently praying for a long time1 and  
during his unconsciousness he saw not   
only a general image of what was        
occurring at a distance of #bjj         
,portuguese leagues1 but every detail1  
so that upon recovering from the trance 
he could announce to his brethren the   
good news of a great victory1 of the    
loss of only three lives1 and of the    
very day and hour on which the official 
report would be received 7,orlandini1 l4

 vii4 ch4 #hd74 ,queen ,margaret1 not   
always reliable1 still seems to state   
well-known facts only1 when she tells us
 in her famous ,memoires 7,paris1 #afeh7
 the visions of her mother1 the great   
,queen ,catherine de ,medici4 ,the      
latter was lying dangerously ill at     
,metz1 and ,king ,charles1 a sister1 and
 another brother of ,margaret of        
,valois1 the ,duke of ,lorraine1 and a  
number of eminent persons of both sexes1
 were assembled around what was believed
 to be her death-bed4 ,she was          
delirious1 and suddenly cried out3 ,just
 see how they run6 my son is victorious4
 ,great ,god6 raise him up1 he has      
fallen6 ,do you see the ,prince of      
,conde there8 ,he is dead4 ,everybody   
thought she was delirious1 but on the   
next evening a messenger came bringing  
the news of the battle of ,jarnac1 and  
as he mentioned the main events1 she    
calmly turned to her children1 saying3  
,ah6 ,i knew2 ,i saw it all yesterday6  
,it seems as if in times of great and   

general expectation1 when bloody battles
 are fought1 and the destiny of empires 
hangs in the scales1 the minds of the   
masses become so painfully excited that 
the most sensitive among them fall into 
a kind of trance1 and then perceive1 by 
magic powers of divination1 what is     
taking place at great distances4 ,this  
over-excitement is1 moreover1 not       
unknown to men of the highest character 
and the greatest erudition4 ,calvin1    
whose stern1 clear-sighted judgment     
abhorred all superstition1 nevertheless 
once saw a battle between ,catholics and
 ,protestants with all its details4     
,swedenborg1 whose religious enthusiasm 
never interfered with his scrupulous    
candor1 saw more than once with his     
mind's eye events occurring at a        
distance of hundreds of miles4 ,his     
vision of the great fire at ,stockholm  
is too well authenticated to admit of   
doubt4 ,not less reliable are the       
accounts of another vision he had at    
,amsterdam in the presence of a large   

company4 ,while engaged in animated     
conversation1 he suddenly changed       
countenance and became silent2 the      
persons near him saw that he was under  
the influence of some strong impression4
 ,after a few moments he seemed to      
recover1 and overwhelmed with questions1
 he at last reluctantly said3 ,in this  
hour the ,emperor ,peter ,,iv4 of       
,russia has suffered death in his       
prison6 ,it was ascertained afterwards  
that the unfortunate sovereign had died 
on that day and in the manner indicated4
  ,among modern seers the most          
remarkable was probably the well-known  
poet1 ,emile ,deschamps1 who published  
in #ahch interesting accounts of his own
 experiences4 ,when he was only eight   
years old it was decided that he should 
leave ,paris and be sent to ,orleans2   
this troubled him sorely1 and in his    
great grief he found some little comfort
 in setting his lively fancy to work and
 to imagine what the new city would be  
like4 ,when he reached ,orleans he was  

extremely surprised to recognize the    
streets1 the shops1 and even the names  
on the sign-boards1 everything was      
exactly as he had seen it in his        
day-dreams4 ,while he was yet there he  
saw his mother1 whom he had left in     
,paris1 in a dream rising gently        
heavenwards with a palm-branch in her   
hand1 and heard her voice1 very faint   
but silvery1 call to him1 ,emile1       
,emile1 my son6 ,she had died in the    
same night1 uttering these words with   
her departing breath4 ,later in life he 
often heard strange but enchanting music
 while in a state of partial ecstasis2  
he saw distant events1 and1 among       
others1 distinctly described a          
barricade1 the defenders of the         
adjoining house1 and certain events     
connected with the fight at that spot1  
as they had happened in ,paris on the   
same day 7,le ,concile de la libre      
pensee1 i4 p4 #ahc74  ,a still higher   
power of divination enables men to read 
in the faces and forms of others1 even  

of totally unknown persons1 not only the
 leading traits of their character1 but 
even the nature of their former lives4  
,there can be no doubt that every       
important event in our life leaves a    
more or less perceptible trace behind1  
which the acute and experienced observer
 may learn to read with tolerable       
distinctness and accuracy4 ,it is well  
known how the study of the human face   
enables us thus to discern one secret   
after another1 and how really great men 
have possessed the power to judge of the
 capacity of generals or statesmen to   
serve them1 by natural instinct and     
without any effort4 ,we say of specially
 endowed men of this class1 that they   
can read the souls of men1 and what is  
most interesting is the well-established
 fact that the purer the mind and the   
freer from selfishness and conceit1 the 
greater this power to feel1 as it were1 
the character of others4 ,hence the     
superiority of women in this respect2   
hence1 especially1 the unfailing        

instinct of children1 which enables them
 instantly to distinguish affected love 
from real love1 and makes them shrink   
often painfully from contact with evil  
men4  ,when this power reaches in older 
men a high degree of perfection1 it     
enters within the limits of magic1 and  
in this form was well known to the      
ancients4 ,the ,neo-,platonic ,plotinus 
is reported by ,porphyrius to have been 
almost marvelously endowed with such    
divining powers2 he revealed to his     
pupils the past and the future events of
 their lives alike1 and once charged the
 author himself with cherishing thoughts
 of suicide1 when no one else suspected 
such a purpose4 ,in like manner1 we are 
told1 ,ancus ,naevius1 the famous augur 
of the first ,tarquins1 could read all  
he desired to know in the faces of      
others4 ,the saints of the church were  
naturally as richly endowed1 and from   
,filipo ,neri to ,xavier nearly all     
possessed this peculiar gift of         
divination4 ,but other men1 also1 and by

 no means always those most abundantly  
endowed with mental superiority1 have   
frequently a peculiar talent of this    
kind4 ,thus the well-known writer       
,zschokke1 the author of the admirable  
work1 ,hours of ,devotion1 gives in his 
autobiographical work1 ,selbstschau1 a  
full account of his peculiar gifts as a 
seer1 which contains the following      
principal facts3 ,at the moment when an 
utter stranger was first introduced to  
him1 he saw a picture of his whole      
previous life rising gradually before   
his mind's eye1 resembling somewhat a   
long dream1 but clear and closely       
connected4 ,during this time he would1  
contrary to his general custom1 lose    
sight of the visitor's face and no      
longer hear his voice4 ,he used to treat
 these involuntary revelations at first 
as mere idle fancies1 till one day he   
was led by a kind of sportive impulse to
 tell his family the secret history of a
 seamstress who had just left the room1 
and whom he had never seen before4 ,it  

was soon ascertained that all he had    
stated was perfectly true1 though known 
only to very few persons4 ,from that    
time he treated these visions more      
seriously1 taking pains to repeat them  
in a number of cases to the persons whom
 they concerned1 and to his own great   
amazement they turned out in every case 
to be perfectly accurate4 ,the author   
adds one case of peculiarly striking    
nature3 ,one day1 he says1 ,i reached   
the town of ,waldshut1 accompanied by   
two young foresters1 who are still      
alive4 ,it was dusk1 and tired by our   
walk we entered an inn called ,the      
,grapevine4 ,we took our supper at the  
public table in company with numerous   
guests1 who happened to be laughing at  
the oddities and the simplicity of the  
,swiss1 their faith in ,mesmer1 in      
,lavater's ',system of the              
,physiognomy1' etc4 ,one of my          
companions1 hurt in his national pride1 
asked me to make a reply1 especially    
with regard to a young man sitting      

opposite to us1 whose pretentious airs  
and merciless laughter had been         
peculiarly offensive4 ,it so happened   
that1 a few moments before1 the main    
events in the life of this person had   
passed before my mind's eye4 ,i turned  
to him and asked him if he would answer 
me candidly upon being told the most    
secret parts of his life by a man who   
was so complete a stranger to him as ,i 
was8 ,that1 ,i added1 would certainly go
 even beyond ,lavater's power to read   
faces4 ,he promised to confess it       
openly1 if ,i stated facts4 ,thereupon  
,i related all ,i had seen in my mind1  
and informed thus the whole company at  
table of the young man's history1 the   
events of his life at school1 his petty 
sins1 and at last a robbery which he had
 committed by pilfering his employer's  
strong-box4 ,i described the empty room 
with its whitewashed walls and brown    
door1 near which on the right hand1 a   
small black money-box had been standing 
on a table1 and other details4 ,as long 

as ,i spoke there reigned a deathlike   
silence in the room1 which was only     
interrupted by my asking the young man1 
from time to time1 if all ,i said was   
not true4 ,he admitted everything1      
although evidently in a state of utter  
consternation1 and at last1 deeply      
touched by his candor1 ,i offered him my
 hand across the table and closed my    
recital4  ,this popular writer1 a man of
 unblemished character1 who died in     
#ahej1 regretted by a whole nation1     
makes this account of his own prophetic 
power still more interesting by adding  
that he met at least once in his life   
another man similarly endowed4 ,i once  
encountered1 he says1 while travelling  
with two of my sons1 an old ,tyrolese1 a
 peddler of oranges and lemons1 in a    
small inn half concealed in one of the  
narrow passes of the ,jura ,mountains4  
,he fixed his eyes for some time upon my
 face1 and then entered into            
conversation with me1 stating that he   
knew me1 although ,i did not know him1  

and then began1 to the intense delight  
of the peasants who sat around us and of
 my children1 to chat about myself and  
my past life4 ,how the old man had      
acquired his strange knowledge he could 
not explain to himself or to others1 but
 he evidently valued it highly1 while my
 sons were not a little astonished to   
discover that other men possessed the   
same gift which they had only known to  
exist in their father4  ,it must not be 
forgotten that the human eye has1 beyond
 question1 often a power which far      
transcends the ordinary purposes of     
sight1 and approaches the boundaries of 
magic4 ,there is probably no one who    
cannot recall scenes in which the       
soothing and cheering expression of     
gentle eyes has acted like healing balm 
on wounded hearts2 or others1 in which  
glances of fury and hatred have caused  
genuine terror and frightened the       
conscience4 ,history records a number of
 instances1 from the glance of the      
,saviour1 which made ,peter go out and  

weep bitterly1 to the piercing eye of a 
well-known ,english judge1 which made   
criminals of every rank in society feel 
as if their very hearts lay open to the 
divining eye of a master4 ,this peculiar
 and almost irresistible power of the   
eye has not inaptly been traced back to 
the gorgon head of antiquity--a         
frightful image from ,hades with a dread
 glance of the eye1 as it is called by  
,homer 7,il4 viii4 #cdi2 ,odyss4 xi4    
#fcc74 ,the same fearful expression1    
chilling the blood and almost arresting 
the beating of the heart1 is frequently 
mentioned in modern accounts of visions4
 ,thus the ,demon of ,tedworth recorded 
by ,glanvil 7,sadd4 ,triumph4 #dth ed4  
p4 #bgj71 consisted of the vague        
outlines of a human face1 in which only 
two bright1 piercing eyes could be      
distinguished4 ,in other cases1 a faint 
vapor1 barely recalling a human shape1  
arises before the beholder1 and above it
 are seen the same terrible eyes        
,sent from the palace of ,ais by fearful

 ,persephoneia4  ,magic divination in   
point of time includes the class of     
generally very vague and indefinite     
perceptions1 which we call              
presentiments4 ,these are1              
unfortunately1 so universally mixed up  
with impressions produced after the     
occurrence--vaticinium post             
eventum--that their value as interesting
 phenomena of magic is seriously        
impaired4 ,there remains1 however1 in a 
number of cases1 enough that is free    
from all spurious admixture1 to admit of
 being examined seriously4 ,the ancients
 not only believed in this kind of      
foresight1 but ascribed it with         
,pythagoras to revelations made by      
friendly spirits2 in ,holy ,writ it     
rises almost invariably1 under direct   
inspiration from on high1 to genuine    
prophecy4 ,it reveals not only the fate 
of the seer1 but also that of others1   
and even of whole nations2 the details  
vary1 of course1 according to the       
prevailing spirit of the times4  ,when  

,narses was ruling over ,italy1 a young 
shepherd in the service of ,valerianus1 
a lawyer1 was seized by the plague and  
fell into syncope4 ,he recovered for a  
time1 and then declared that he had been
 carried to heaven1 where he had heard  
the names of all who in his master's    
house should die of the plague1 adding  
that ,valerianus himself would escape4  
,after his death everything occurred as 
he had predicted4 ,an ,english minister1
 ,mr4 ,dodd1 one night felt an          
irresistible impulse to visit a friend  
of his who lived at some distance4 ,he  
walked to his house1 found the family   
asleep1 but the father still awake and  
ready to open the door to his late      
visitor4 ,the latter1 very much         
embarrassed1 thought it best to state   
the matter candidly1 and confessed that 
he came for no ostensible purpose1 and  
really did not know himself what made   
him do so4 ,but ,god knew it1 was the   
answer1 for here is the rope with which 
,i was just about to hang myself4 ,it   

may well be presumed that the ,rev4 ,mr4
 ,dodd had some apprehensions of the    
state of mind of his friend2 but that he
 should have felt prompted to call upon 
him just at that hour1 was certainly not
 a mere accident4  ,the family of the   
great ,goethe was singularly endowed    
with this power of presentiment4 ,the   
poet's grandfather predicted both a     
great conflagration and the unexpected  
arrival of the ,german ,emperor1 and a  
dream informed him beforehand of his    
election as alderman and then as mayor  
of his native city4 ,his mother's sister
 saw hidden things in her dreams4 ,his  
grandmother once entered her daughter's 
chamber long after midnight in a state  
of great and painful excitement2 she had
 heard in her own room a noise like the 
rustling of papers1 and then deep sighs1
 and after a while a cold breath had    
struck her4 ,some time after this event 
a stranger was announced1 and when he   
appeared before her holding a crumbled  
paper in his hand1 she had barely       

strength enough to keep from fainting4  
,when she recovered1 her visitor stated 
that in the night of her vision a dear  
friend of hers1 lying on his deathbed1  
had asked for paper in order to impart  
to her an important secret2 before he   
could write1 however1 he had been seized
 by the death-struggle1 and after       
crumpling up the paper and uttering two 
deep sighs he had expired4 ,an          
indistinct scrawl was all that could be 
seen2 still the stranger had thought it 
best to bring the paper4 ,the secret    
concerned his now orphaned child1 a girl
 whom ,goethe's grandparents thereupon  
took home and cared for affectionately  
7,goethe's ,briefwechsel1 #c;d ed41     
,,ii4 p4 #bfh74  ,bourrienne tells us in
 his ,memoires several instances of     
remarkable forebodings on the part of   
,napoleon's first wife1 ,josephine4 ,her
 mind was probably1 by her education and
 the peculiar surroundings in which she 
passed her childhood1 predisposed to    
receive vivid impressions of this kind1 

and to observe them with great care and 
deep interest4 ,thus she almost         
invariably predicted the failure of such
 of her husband's enterprises as proved 
unsuccessful4 ,after ,bonaparte had     
moved into the ,tuileries on the #ahth  
,brumaire1 she saw1 while sitting in the
 room of poor ,marie ,antoinette1 the   
shadow of the unfortunate queen rise    
from the floor1 pass gently through the 
apartment1 and vanish through the       
window4 ,she fainted1 and from that day 
predicted her own sad fate4 ,on another 
occasion the spirit of her first        
husband1 ,beauharnais1 appeared before  
her with a gesture of solemn warning2   
she immediately turned to ,napoleon1    
exclaiming3 ,awake1 awake1 you are      
threatened by a great danger6 ,there    
seemed to be1 for some days1 no ground  
for apprehension1 but so strong were her
 fears that she secretly sent for the   
minister of police and entreated him to 
take special measures for the safety of 
the ,first ,consul4 ,at eight o'clock of

 the evening of the same day the latter 
left the ,tuileries on his way to the   
opera2 a terrible explosion was heard in
 the ,rue ,st4 ,nicaise1 where          
conspirators attempted to blow up the   
dictator1 and he narrowly escaped with  
his life4 ,josephine at once hastened to
 his side1 and after having most        
tenderly cared for the wounded1 embraced
 ,napoleon in public with tears         
streaming down her face1 and implored   
him hereafter to listen more attentively
 to her warnings4 ,napoleon1 however1   
though superstitious enough firmly to   
believe in what he called his star1 and 
even to see it shining in the heavens   
when no one else beheld it1 never would 
admit the value of his wife's           
forebodings4  ,presentiments of this    
kind are most frequently felt before    
death1 and it is now almost universally 
believed that the impending dissolution 
of the body relieves the spirit in many 
cases fully enough from its bondage to  
endow it with a clear and distinct      

anticipation of the coming event4 ,a    
large number of historical personages   
have thus been enabled to predict the   
day1 and many even the hour of their own
 death4 ,the ,connetable de ,bourbon1   
who was besieging ,rome1 addressed1     
according to ,brantome 7,vies des gr4   
capitaines1 ch4 #bh71 on the day of the 
final assault1 his troops1 and told them
 he would certainly fall before the     
,eternal ,city1 but without regret if   
they but proved victorious4 ,henry ,,iv4
 of ,france1 felt his death coming1     
according to the unanimous evidence of  
,sully1 ,l',etoile1 and ,bassompierre1  
and said1 before he entered his coach on
 the fatal day3 ,my friend1 ,i would    
rather not go out to-day2 ,i know ,i    
shall meet with misfortune4 ,on the     
#afth of ,may1 #ahac1 four days before  
the battle of ,bautzen1 two of          
,napoleon's great officers1 the ,duke of
 ,vicenza and ,marshal ,duroc1 were in  
attendance at ,dresden while the emperor
 was holding a protracted conference    

with the ,austrian ambassador4 ,the     
clock was striking midnight1 when       
suddenly ,duroc seized his companion by 
the arm and with frightfully altered    
features1 looking intently at him1 said 
in trembling tones3 ,my friend1 this    
lasts too long2 we shall all of us      
perish1 and he last of all4 ,a secret   
voice tells me that ,i shall never see  
,france again4 ,it is well known that on
 the day of the battle a cannon-ball    
which had already killed ,general       
,kirchner1 wounded ,duroc also mortally1
 and when he lay on his deathbed he once
 more turned to the ,duke of ,vicenza   
and reminded him of the words he had    
spoken in ,dresden4  ,the trustworthy   
author of ,eight ,months in ,japan1 ,n4 
,luehdorf1 tells us 7p4 #aeh7 a         
remarkable instance of unconscious      
foreboding on the part of a common      
sailor4 ,the ,american barque ,greta was
 in #ahee chartered to carry a great    
number of ,russians1 who had been       
shipwrecked on board the frigate ,diana 

during an earthquake at ,simoda to the  
,russian port of ,ayan4 ,a sailor on    
board was very ill1 and shortly before  
his death told his comrades that he     
would soon die1 but that he was rather  
glad of it1 as they would all be        
captured by the ,english1 with whom     
,russia was then at war4 ,the report of 
his prediction reached the captain's    
cabin1 but all the officers agreed that 
such an event was next to impossible2 a 
dense fog was making the ship perfectly 
invisible1 and no ,english fleet had as 
yet appeared in the ,sea of ,okhotsk1   
where the ,russians had neither vessels 
nor forts to tempt the ,british4 ,the   
whole force of ,england in those waters 
was at that moment engaged in blockading
 the ,russian fleet in the ,bay of      
,castris in the ,gulf of ,tartary4      
,nevertheless it so chanced that a      
,british steamer1 the corvette          
,barracouta1 hove in sight on the #ast  
of ,august and captured the vessel1     
making the ,russians prisoners of war4  

,,second ,,sight4  ,a special kind of   
divination1 which has at times been     
evidenced in certain parts of ,europe1  
and is not unknown to our ,north-western
 ,indians1 consists in the perception of
 contemporaneous or future events1      
during a brief trance4 ,generally the   
seer looks with painfully raised        
eyelids1 fixedly into space1 evidently  
utterly unconscious of all around him1  
and engaged in watching a distant       
occurrence4 ,a peculiar feature of this 
phenomenon1 familiar to all readers as  
second sight1 is the exclusion of       
religious or supernatural matters2 the  
visions are always strictly limited to  
events of daily life3 deaths and births1
 battles and skirmishes1 baptisms and   
weddings4 ,the actors in these scenes   
are often personally unknown to the     
seer1 and the transactions are as       
frequently beheld in symbols as in      
reality4 ,a man who is to die a violent 
death1 may be seen with a rope around   
his neck or headless1 with a dagger     

plunged into his breast1 or sinking into
 the water up to his neck2 the sick man 
who is to expire in his bed1 will appear
 wrapped up in his winding sheet1 in    
which case his person is more or less   
completely concealed as his death is    
nearer or farther off4 ,a friend or a   
messenger coming from a great distance1 
is seen as a faint shadow1 and a        
murderer or a thief1 as a wolf or a fox4
 ,another peculiar feature of second    
sight is the fact that the same visions 
are very frequently beheld by several   
persons1 although the latter may live   
far apart and have nothing in common    
with each other4 ,the phenomena are     
sporadic in ,germany and ,switzerland1  
in the ,dauphine and the ,cevennes2 they
 occur in larger numbers and are often  
hereditary in certain families1 in      
,denmark1 the ,scotch ,highlands and the
 ,faroe ,islands4 ,in ,gaelic1 the      
persons thus gifted are called          
,taishatrim1 seers of shadows1 or       
,phissichin1 possessing knowledge       

beforehand4 ,hence1 they have been most 
thoroughly studied in those countries1  
and ,mr4 ,martin has gathered all that  
could be learnt of second sight in the  
,shetlands1 in a work of great interest4
 ,here the phenomena are not            
unfrequently accompanied by magic       
hearing also1 as when funerals are seen 
in visions1 and at the same time the    
chants of the bystanders and even the   
words of the preacher are distinctly    
heard4 ,the most marked form of this    
feature is the taisk or wraith1 a cry   
uttered by a person who is soon to die1 
and heard by the seer4 ,the dwellers on 
those remote islands are also in the    
habit of smelling an odor of fish1 often
 weeks and months before the latter     
appear in their waters4 ,a special kind 
of divination exists in ,wales and on   
the ,isle of ,man1 where the approaching
 death of friends is revealed by        
so-called body lights1 caulawillan      
cyrth4  ,the entirely unselfish         
character of second sight must not be   

overlooked1 as far as it increases in a 
high degree the value of such phenomena 
and adds to their authenticity4 ,in the 
great majority of cases the persons and 
events seen under such circumstances are
 of no interest to the seer2 they are   
frequently utterly strange and unknown  
to him1 and hence find no sympathy in   
his heart4 ,it appears as if1 by some   
unknown and hence magic process1 a      
window was opened for the soul to look  
out and behold whatever may happen to be
 presented to the inner vision2 this    
image is then transferred to the outer  
eye1 and the seer's imagination makes   
him believe that he sees in reality what
 is revealed to him by this mysterious  
process4 ,hence also the facts that the 
persons gifted with second sight1 so far
 from laboring under diseases of any    
kind1 are almost without exception      
simple1 frugal men1 free from chronic   
affections1 and perfect strangers to    
hysterics1 spasms1 or nervous           
sufferings4 ,insanity and suicide are as

 unknown to them as drunkenness1 and no 
case of selfish interest or willful     
imposture has ever been recorded in     
connection with second sight4 ,this does
 not imply1 however1 that efforts have  
not been made by others to profit by the
 strange gifts of such persons2 but even
 the career of the famous ,duncan       
,campbell1 a deaf and dumb ,scot1 who1  
in the beginning of the last century1   
created an immense sensation in ,london1
 only proved anew the well-known        
disinterestedness of these seers4 ,in   
many instances the gift of second sight 
is treated with indifference1 and hardly
 noticed4 ,such was the case with ,lord 
,nelson1 who is reported to have        
exhibited the gift of a kind of second  
sight1 at least in two                  
well-authenticated cases1 related by    
,sir ,thomas ,hardy to ,admiral ,dundas1
 and quoted by ,dr4 ,mayo1 as he had the
 account from the latter4 ,captain      
,hardy heard ,nelson order the commander
 of a frigate to shake out all sails to 

sail towards a certain place where he   
would in all probability meet the       
,french fleet1 and as soon as he had    
made it out1 to run into a certain port 
and there to wait for ,nelson's arrival4
 ,when the officer had left the cabin1  
,nelson turned to ,hardy1 saying3 ,he   
will go to the ,west ,indies2 he will   
see the ,french2 he will make the port  
,i told him to make1 but he will not    
wait for me--he will sail for ,england4 
,the commander actually did so4 ,in this
 case1 however1 ,nelson may possibly    
have only given a striking evidence of  
his power to read the character of men1 
and to draw his conclusions as to their 
probable action4 ,in the following      
instance his knowledge appeared1 on the 
contrary1 as a magic phenomenon4 ,it was
 shortly before the battle of           
,trafalgar1 when an ,english frigate was
 made out at such a distance that her   
position could not be accurately        
ascertained4 ,suddenly ,nelson turned to
 ,hardy1 who was standing by his side1  

and said3 ,the frigate has sighted the  
,french4 ,hardy had nothing to say in   
reply4 ,she sights the ,french2 she will
 fire presently4 ,in an instant the low 
sound of a signal-shot was heard afar   
off6  ,in other cases the curious gift  
is borne with great impatience1 and     
becomes a source of intense suffering4  
,this is certainly very pardonable in   
men who read impending death in the     
features of others1 and hence are       
continually subject to heart-rending    
impressions4 ,sometimes the moribund    
appears as if he had been lying in his  
grave already for several days1 at other
 times he is seen wrapped up in his     
shroud or in the act of expiring4 ,in   
some parts of ,germany the approaching  
death of a neighbor is announced by the 
appearance of ,death itself1 not in the 
familiar mythological form1 but as a    
white1 luminous appearance1 which either
 stops before the house of the person   
who is to die soon1 or actually enters  
it and places itself by the side of the 

latter4 ,occasionally the image is seen 
to fill the seat or to walk in a        
procession in the place of a man as yet 
in perfect health1 who nevertheless soon
 falls a victim to some disease or      
sudden attack4  ,second sight is1 like  
all similar magic phenomena1 frequently 
mentioned in the writings of the        
ancients4 ,homer mentions a case in his 
,odyssey 7xx4 v4 #cea74 ,apollonius of  
,tyana was delivering an oration at     
,ephesus1 when he suddenly stopped in   
the middle of a sentence and beheld in a
 vision the ,emperor ,domitian at ,rome1
 in the act of succumbing to his        
murderers4 ,he fell into a kind of      
trance1 his eyes became fixed1 and he   
exclaimed in an unnatural voice3 ,down  
with the tyrant6 7,vita ,apoll4 ,zenobis
 ,anolo interprete4 ,paris1 #aeee1 l4   
viii4 p4 #efb47 ,henry ,,iv41 when still
 ,prince of ,navarre1 saw on the eve of 
,st4 ,bartholomew several drops of blood
 falling upon the green cloth of the    
card-table at which he was seated in    

company with several courtiers2 the     
latter beheld the fearful and ominous   
sight as well as he himself4 ,german    
writings abound with instances of men   
having seen their own funeral several   
days before their death1 and in many    
instances the warning is reported to    
have had a most salutary effect in      
causing them to repent of their sins and
 to prepare for the impending summons4  
,one of the most remarkable instances is
 that of a distinguished professor of   
divinity1 ,dr4 ,lysius1 in ,koenigsberg4
 ,he had inherited special magic powers 
through many generations from an early  
ancestor1 who saw a funeral of very     
peculiar nature1 with all the attending 
circumstances1 long before it actually  
took place4 ,he himself had his first   
revelation when1 lying in bed awake1 he 
saw suddenly his chamber quite light1   
and something like a man's shadow pass  
him1 while on his mind1 not on his ear1 
fell the words3 ,umbra matris tuae4     
,although his mother had just written to

 him that she was in unusually good     
health and spirits1 she had died that   
very night4 ,on another occasion he     
astonished his friends by telling them  
what a superb new building he had seen  
erected in ,koenigsberg1 giving all the 
details of church and school-room to a  
little gate in a narrow alley4 ,many    
years afterwards such a building was    
really erected there1 and he himself    
called to occupy part of it1 when that  
little gate became his favorite         
entrance4 ,although he had many such    
visions1 and his wife1 succumbing to the
 contagious influence of magic powers1  
also foresaw more than one important    
event1 he sternly refused to attach any 
weight to his own forebodings or those  
of other persons4 ,thus a poor woman1   
possessing the gift of second sight1    
once came to some members of his family 
and told them she had seen seven        
funerals leave his house2 when this was 
reported to him1 he denounced the       
superstition as unchristian1 and forbade

 its being mentioned again in his       
presence4 ,but1 although there was not a
 sick person in the house at the time1  
and even the older members of the family
 were unusually hale and hearty1 in a   
few weeks every one in the house was    
dangerously ill1 the head of the family 
alone excepted1 and as three only       
escaped1 the seven deaths which had been
 foreseen actually took place4  ,the    
annals of ,swedish history 7,arndt1     
,schwed4 ,gesch4 p4 #cag7 record a      
remarkable case of this kind4 ,the scene
 was the old castle of ,gripsholm1 near 
,stockholm1 a place full of terrible    
reminiscences1 and more than once made  
famous by strange mysteries4 ,a great   
state dinner given to a prince of       
,baden1 had just ended1 when one of the 
guests1 ,count ,froelich1 suddenly gazed
 fixedly at the great door of the       
dining-hall1 and when he regained his   
composure1 declared he had just seen    
their princely guest walk in1 wearing a 
different uniform from that in which he 

was actually dressed1 as he sat in the  
place of honor4 ,it was1 however1 a     
custom of the prince's to wear one      
costume one day and another the next    
day1 and thus to change regularly2      
,count ,froelich had seen him in that   
which he would accordingly wear the next
 day4 ,the impression was beginning to  
wear away1 and the accident was nearly  
forgotten1 when suddenly a great        
disturbance was heard without1 servants 
came running in1 women were heard       
crying1 and even the officers on guard  
were seriously disturbed4 ,the report   
was that ,king ,eric's ghost had been   
seen4 ,on the following day the ,prince 
of ,baden was thrown from his carriage  
and instantly killed2 his body was      
brought back to ,gripsholm4  ,here also 
we meet again with the exceptional      
powers granted to ,goethe4 ,he had just 
parted with one of his many loves1 the  
fair daughter of the minister of        
,drusenheim1 ,friederike1 and was riding
 in deep thought upon the footpath1 when

 he suddenly saw1 not with the eyes of  
the body1 but of the spirit1 his own    
self in a new light gray coat1 laced    
with gold1 riding towards him4 ,when he 
made an effort to shake off the         
impression1 the vision disappeared4 ,it 
is strange1 however1 he tells us        
himself1 that ,i found myself eight     
years later riding on that same road1 in
 order to see ,friederike once more1 and
 was then dressed1 by accident and not  
from choice1 in the costume of which ,i 
had dreamt 7,aus ,meinem ,leben1 iii4 p4
 #hd74 ,a kindred spirit1 ,sir ,humphry 
,davy1 had once a vision1 which         
strangely enough was fulfilled more than
 once4 ,in his attractive work          
7,consolations in ,travel1 p4 #fc71 he  
relates how he saw1 when suffering of   
jail fever1 the image of a beautiful    
woman1 with whom he soon entered into a 
most interesting conversation4 ,he was  
at the time warmly attached to a lady1  
but the vision represented a girl with  
brown hair1 blue eyes and blooming      

complexion1 while his lady-love was pale
 and had dark eyes and dark hair4 ,his  
mysterious visitor came frequently1 as  
long as he was really sick1 but as his  
strength returned1 her visits became    
rarer1 and at last ceased altogether4   
,he forgot it entirely2 but ten years   
later he suddenly met in ,illyria1 a    
girl of about fourteen or fifteen years1
 who strikingly resembled the image he  
had seen1 and now recalled in all its   
details4 ,another ten years passed1 and 
the great chemist met once more in      
traveling1 a person who as strikingly   
resembled his first vision1 and became  
indebted to her tender care and kindness
 for the preservation of his life4  ,in 
some parts of the world this gift of    
second sight assumes very peculiar      
forms4 ,in ,africa1 for instance1 and   
especially in the countries adjoining   
the ,sahara1 men and women are found who
 possess alike the power of seeing      
coming events beforehand4 ,more than    
once ,european travelers have been      

hospitably received by natives who had  
been warned of their coming4 ,richardson
 tells us in his graphic account of his 
,mission to ,central ,africa1 that his  
arrival had thus been announced to the  
chief and the people of ,tintalus in    
these words3 ,a caravan of ,englishmen  
is on the way from ,tripoli1 to come to 
you4 ,the seer was an old negro-woman1 a
 reputed witch1 who had a great         
reputation for anticipating events4 ,in 
the ,isle of ,france--we learn from     
,james ,prior in his ,voyage in the     
,indian ,seas--there are many men who   
can see vessels at a distance of several
 hundred miles4 ,one of them described  
accurately and minutely the wreck of a  
ship on the coast of ,madagascar1 from  
whence it was to bring provisions4 ,a   
woman expecting her lover on board      
another ship1 inquired of one of these  
seers if he could give her any comfort3 
he replied promptly that the vessel was 
only three days' sail from the island1  
and that her friend was then engaged in 

washing his linen4 ,the ship arrived at 
the appointed time1 and the man         
corroborated the seer's statement4 ,the 
great navigator relates even more       
surprising feats accomplished by the    
director of signals1 ,faillafe1 who saw 
vessels distinctly at a distance of from
 sixty to one hundred sea miles4 ,their 
image appeared to him on the horizon in 
the shape of a light brown cloud with   
faint outlines1 but yet distinctly      
enough to enable him to distinguish the 
size of the vessel1 the nature of its   
rigging1 and the direction in which it  
was sailing4  ,second hearing seems to  
be limited to the eastern part of       
,scotland1 where it occurs occasionally 
in whole families4 ,mrs4 ,crowe         
mentions1 for instance1 a man and his   
wife in ,berwickshire1 who were both    
aroused at night by a loud cry which    
they at once recognized as peculiar to  
their son4 ,it appeared afterwards that 
he had perished at sea in that night and
 at the same hour when the cry was heard

 7,i4 p4 #afa74 ,in another case a man  
in ,perthshire was waked by his wife1   
who told him that no doubt their son had
 been drowned1 for she had distinctly   
heard the splash as he fell into the    
water1 and had been aroused by the      
noise4 ,here also the foreboding proved 
true3 the man had fallen from the       
yardarm1 and disappeared before a boat  
could be lowered1 although his fall had 
been heard by all aboard4  ,it must     
finally be mentioned that second sight  
has been noticed not in men only1 but   
even in animals4 ,horses especially seem
 to be extremely sensitive to all magic 
influences1 and accounts of their       
peculiar conduct under trying           
circumstances are both numerous and     
perfectly well authenticated4 ,thus a   
minister in ,lindholm1 the ,rev4 ,mr4   
,hansen1 owned a perfectly gentle and   
good-natured horse1 which all of a      
sudden refused to stand still in his    
stable1 began to tremble and give all   
signs of great fear1 and finally kicked 

and reared so wildly that he had to be  
removed4 ,as soon as he was placed in   
another stable he calmed down and became
 perfectly quiet4 ,it was at last       
discovered that a person endowed with   
second sight had ascribed the strange   
behavior of the horse to the fact that a
 coffin was being made before his open  
stable1 and that the horse could not    
bear the sight4 ,the man was laughed at1
 but not long after the minister's wife 
died1 and for some special reasons the  
coffin was actually made in full view of
 the former stable of the horse 7,kies4 
,arch4 viii4 p4 #aaa74 ,dogs also have  
been reported in almost innumerable     
cases to have set up a most painful     
howling before the approaching death of 
inmates of a house where they were kept4
  ,in ,england and in ,germany          
especially1 they are considered capable 
of seeing supernatural beings4 ,when    
they are seen to cower down of a sudden1
 and to press close to the feet of their
 masters1 trembling often in all their  

limbs1 and looking up most piteously1 as
 if for help1 popular belief says3 ,all 
is not right with the dog1 or ,he sees  
more than men can see4 ,the memory of   
,balaam's ass rises instinctively in our
 mind1 and we feel that this part of    
creation1 which groaneth with us for    
salvation1 and which was included among 
those for whose sake the ,lord spared   
,nineveh1 may see what is concealed from
 our eyes4 ,samuel ,wesley tells us     
expressly how a dog1 specially bought   
for the purpose of frightening away the 
evil-disposed men who were at first     
suspected of causing the nightly        
disturbances at the parsonage1 barked   
but once the first night1 and after that
 exhibited1 upon the recurrence of those
 noises1 quite as much terror as the    
children4  ,nor are dogs and horses the 
only animals considered capable of      
perceiving by a special instinct of     
their own the working of supernatural   
agencies4 ,during a series of mysterious
 disturbances in a ,german village1 the 

chickens fled in terror from the garden1
 and the cattle refused to enter the    
enclosure1 when the appearances were    
seen4 ,swiss herdsmen have a number of  
stories concerning feyed places in the  
,alps1 to which neither caress nor      
compulsion can induce their herds to go1
 even when pasture is rare everywhere   
else1 and rich grass seems to tempt them
 to come to the abhorred meadows4       
,storks have been known to have         
abandoned the rooftree on which for     
years they had built their nest1 and in 
every case the forsaken house was burnt 
during the summer4 ,this and other      
peculiarities of sagacious animals have 
been especially noticed in ,denmark1    
where all animals are called synsk1     
seers1 when they are believed to possess
 the gift of second sight4   ,,oracles  
,,and ,,prophecies4  ,the highest degree
 of divination is the actual foretelling
 of events which are yet to happen4 ,the
 immediate causes which awaken the gift 
are of the most varied character1 and   

often very curious4 ,thus a young       
,florentine1 ,gasparo1 who had been     
wounded by an arrow1 and could not be   
relieved1 began in his fearful suffering
 to pray incessantly1 day and night2    
this excited him to such a degree that  
he finally foretold not only the name of
 his visitors1 but also the hour at     
which they would come1 and finally the  
day of his complete recovery2 he also   
knew1 by the same instinct1 that later  
in life he would go to ,rome and die    
there4 ,when the iron point was at last 
removed from his wound1 his health began
 to improve1 and at once his prophetic  
gift left him and never returned4 ,he   
went1 however1 to ,rome1 and really died
 in the ,eternal ,city 7,colquhoun1 p4  
#ccc74 ,the priests of ,apollo1 at      
,colophon1 intoxicated themselves with  
the water of his fountain1 which was as 
famous for bestowing the gift of        
prophecy as ,a,esculapius' well at      
,pergamus and the springs near his      
temple at ,pellena4 ,in other temples   

vapors were inhaled by the prophetic    
priests4 ,in the prophet-schools of the 
,israelites music seems to have played a
 prominent part1 for ,samuel told ,saul 
he would meet at the hill of ,gad a     
company of prophets coming down from the
 high place with a psaltery and a tabret
 and a pipe before them4 ,the ,jews     
possessed1 however1 also other means to 
aid in divining3 ,joseph had his cup1 a 
custom still prevalent in the ,east2 and
 the ,high ,priest1 before entering into
 the ,holiest1 put on the ,thummim with 
its six dark jewels and the ,urim with  
its six light-colored jewels1 whereupon 
the brilliant sparkling of the precious 
stones and the rich fumes of incense    
combined with the awful sense of the    
presence of ,jehovah in predisposing his
 mind to receive revelations from on    
high4 ,the false prophets of ,baal1 on  
the contrary1 tried to produce like     
effects by bloody means3 ,they cut      
themselves with knives and lancets till 
the blood gushed out upon them1 and then

 they prophesied4 ,it has already been  
mentioned that in ,india the glance was 
fixed upon the navel1 until the divine  
light began to shine before the mind's  
eye--in other words1 until a trance is  
induced1 and visions begin to appear4   
,the changes which immediately precede  
dissolution seem1 finally1 to be most   
favorable to a development of prophetic 
powers4 ,already ,aretaeus1 the         
,cappadocian1 said that the mind of many
 dying persons was perfectly clear1     
penetrating and prophetic1 and mentions 
a number of cases in which the dying had
 begun to converse with the dead1 or    
foretold the fate of those who stood by 
their bedside4 ,thus ,homer also makes  
dying ,hector warn ,achilles of his     
approaching end1 and ,calanus1 when in  
the act of ascending the funeral pile1  
replies to ,alexander's question if he  
had any request to make3 ,no1 ,i have   
nothing to ask1 for ,i shall see you the
 day after to-morrow6 ,and on that day  
the young conqueror died4  ,suetonius   

reports that the ,emperor ,augustus was 
passing away almost imperceptibly1 when 
he suddenly shuddered and said that     
forty youths were carrying him off4 ,it 
so happened that when the end came1     
forty men of his body-guard were ordered
 to raise and convey the body to another
 room in the palace4 ,there are a few   
cases known in which apparently dying   
persons1 after delivering such          
prophecies1 have recovered and retained 
the exceptional gift during the         
remainder of their lives1 but these     
instances are rare and require          
confirmation4  ,as all magic phenomena  
are liable to be mixed up with delusion 
and imposture1 so divination of this    
kind also has been frequently imitated  
for personal or political purposes4 ,the
 ancient oracles already gave frequently
 answers full of irony and sly humor4   
,the story of ,king ,alexander of       
,epirus is well known1 who was warned by
 the oracle at ,dodona to keep away from
 the ,acherusian waters1 and then       

perished in the river ,acheros1 in      
,italy4 ,thus ,henry ,,iv4 of ,england  
had been told that he would die at      
,jerusalem2 he thought only of          
,palestine1 but met his death           
unconsciously in a room belonging to the
 ,abbey of ,westminster1 which bore the 
name of the holy city4 ,in ,spain1      
,ferdinand the ,catholic received       
warning that he would die at ,madrigal1 
and hence carefully avoided the city of 
that name2 but when his last illness    
overtook him at an obscure little town1 
he found that it was called ,madrigaola1
 or ,little ,madrigal4 ,the historian   
,mariana 7,hist4 de rebus ,hisp41 l4    
xxii4 chap4 #ff7 also mentions the      
despair of the famous favorite ,don     
,alvarez de ,luna1 whom an astrologer   
had warned against ,cadahalso1 a village
 near ,toledo2 the unfortunate man died 
on the scaffold which is also called    
cadahalso4 ,in ,france it was the fate  
of the superstitious queen1 ,catherine  
de ,medici1 to experience a similar     

mortification3 the famous ,nostradamus  
had predicted that she would die in ,st4
 ,germain1 and she carefully avoided    
that palace2 but when her last end came1
 she found herself sinking helpless into
 the arms of a courtier called ,st4     
,germain4  ,nor is there any want of    
false prophecies from the time when     
,jeremiah complained that a wonderful   
and horrible thing is committed in the  
land2 the people prophesy falsely 7,jer4
 v4 #cj71 to the great money crisis in  
#aheg1 which filled the land with       
predictions of the approaching end4     
,periods of great political or religious
 excitement invariably produce a few    
genuine and a host of spurious prophets1
 which represent the sad forebodings    
filling the mind of a distressed nation 
and avail themselves of the credulity of
 all great sufferers4 ,some of the most 
absurd prophecies have nevertheless     
caused a perfect panic1 extending in    
some cases throughout whole countries4  
,thus in #aegh a famous astrologer1 the 

father of all weather prophecies in our 
almanacs1 predicted that in the month of
 ,february1 #aebd1 when three planets   
should enter at once the constellation  
of the fishes1 a second deluge would    
destroy the earth4 ,the report reached  
the ,emperor ,charles ,v41 who submitted
 the matter to his ,spanish theologians 
and astrologers4 ,they investigated it  
with solemn gravity and found it very   
formidable2 from ,spain the panic spread
 through the whole of ,europe4 ,when    
,february came thousands left their     
houses and sought refuge on mountain and
 hill-top2 others hoped to escape on    
board ships1 and a rich president at    
,toulouse actually built himself a      
second ark4 ,when the deluge did not    
take place1 divines and diviners were by
 no means abashed2 they declared that   
,god had this time also taken pity upon 
sinful men in consideration of the      
fervent prayer of the faithful1 as he   
had done before in the case of ,nineveh4
 ,the fear of the last judgment has at  

all times so filled the minds of men as 
to make them readily believe a          
prediction of the approaching end of the
 world1 an event which1 it is well      
known1 the apostles1 ,martin ,luther1   
and certain modern divines1 have        
persistently thought immediately        
impending4 ,sects have arisen at various
 epochs who have looked forward to the  
second ,advent with a sincerity of      
conviction of which they gave striking  
and even most fearful evidence4 ,the    
,millerites of the ,union have more than
 once predicted the coming of ,christ1  
and in anticipation of the near ,advent1
 disposed of their property1 assumed the
 white robes in which they were to      
ascend to heaven1 and even mounted into 
the topmost branches of trees to shorten
 the journey4 ,in ,switzerland a young  
woman of ,berne became so excited by the
 coming of judgment1 which she fixed    
upon the next ,easter day1 that she     
prophesied daily1 gathered a number of  
followers around her1 and actually had  

her own grandfather strangled in order  
to save his soul before the approaching 
,advent4 7,stilling1 ,jenseits1 p4      
#aag47  ,not unfrequently prophecies are
 apparently delivered by intermediate   
agents1 angels1 demons or peculiarly    
marked persons4 ,it was no doubt an     
effect of the deep and continued        
excitement felt by ,caius ,cassius1 that
 his mind was filled with the image of  
murdered ,caesar1 and hence he could    
very easily fancy he saw his victim in  
his purple cloak1 horse and rider of    
gigantic proportions1 suddenly appear in
 the din of the battle at ,philippi1    
riding down upon him with wild passion4 
,it is well known that the impression   
was strong enough to make him1 who had  
never yet turned his back upon the      
enemy1 seek safety in flight1 and cry   
out3 ,what more do you want if murder   
does not finish you8 7,valer4 ,max4 ,i4 
#h47  ,it must lastly be borne in mind1 
that prophecies have not remained as    
sterile as other magical phenomena4     

,already ,herder mentions the advantages
 of ancient oracles4 ,he says 7,ideen   
zur ,phil4 d4 ,geschichte1 iii4 p4      
#baa73 ,many a tyrant and criminal was  
publicly marked by the divine voice 7of 
oracles71 when it foretold their fate2  
in like manner it has saved many an     
innocent person1 given good advice to   
the helpless1 lent divine authority to  
noble institutions1 made known works of 
art1 and sanctioned great moral truths  
as well as wholesome maxims of state    
policy4 ,it need hardly be added that   
the prophets of ,israel were the main   
upholders of the religious life as well 
as of the morality of the chosen people2
 while the priests remained stationary  
in their views1 and contented themselves
 with performing the ceremonial service 
of the temple1 the prophets preserved   
the true faith1 and furthered its       
gradually widening revelation4 ,in their
 case1 however1 divination was so       
clearly the result of divine            
inspiration1 that their prophecies can  

hardly be classed among magic phenomena4
 ,the ground which they have in common  
with merely human forebodings and       
divinings1 is the state of trance in    
which alone prophets seem to have       
foretold the future1 whether we believe 
this ecstatic condition to have been    
caused by music1 long-protracted prayer 
or the direct agency of the ,holy       
,spirit4  ,this ecstasy was in the case 
of almost all the oracles of antiquity  
brought on by inhaling certain gases    
which rose from the soil and produced   
often most fearful symptoms in the      
unfortunate persons employed for the    
purpose4 ,at the same time they were    
rarely free from an addition of         
artifice1 as the priests not only filled
 the mind of the pythoness beforehand   
with thoughts suggested by their own    
wisdom and political experience1 but the
 latter also frequently employed her    
skill as a ventriloquist1 in order to   
increase the force of her revelations4  
,hence the fact1 that almost all the    

,greek oracles proceeded from deep      
caves1 in which1 as at ,dodona and      
,delphi1 carbonic gas was developed in  
abundance2 hence1 also1 the name of     
ventriloqua vates1 which was commonly   
given to the ,delphi ,pythia4 ,the      
oldest of these oracles1 that at        
,dodona1 foretold events for nearly two 
thousand years1 and even survived the   
almost universal destruction of such    
institutions at the time of ,christ2 it 
did not actually cease till the third   
century1 when an ,illyrian robber cut   
down the sacred tree4 ,the oracle of    
,zeus ,trophonius in ,boeotia spoke     
through the patients who were brought to
 the caves1 where they became           
somnambulists1 had visions and answered 
the questions of the priests while they 
were in this condition4 ,the ,romans    
also had their somnambulist prophets    
from the earliest days1 and whenever the
 state was in danger1 the ,sibylline    
books were consulted4 ,christianity made
 an end to all such divination in ,italy

 as in ,greece4 ,it is strange that the 
vast scheme of ,egyptian superstition   
shows us no oracles whatever2 but among 
the ,germans prophets were all the more 
numerous4 ,they foretold war or peace1  
success or failure1 and exercised a     
powerful influence on all affairs4 ,one 
of the older prophetesses1 ,veleda1 who 
lived in an isolated tower1 and allowed 
herself to be but rarely consulted1 was 
held in high esteem even by the ,romans4
 ,the ,celts had in like manner         
prophet-,druids1 some of whom became    
well known to the ,romans1 and are      
reported to have foretold the fate of   
the emperors ,aurelian1 ,diocletian and 
,severus4  ,we have the authority of    
,josephus for the continuance of        
prophetic power in ,israel even after   
the coming of ,christ4 ,he tells us of  
,jesus1 the son of ,ananus1 who ran for 
seven years and five months through the 
streets of ,jerusalem1 proclaiming the  
coming ruin1 and1 while crying out ,woe 
is me6 was struck and instantly killed  

by a stone from one of the siege engines
 of the ,romans4 7,jos41 l4 vi4 c4 #ca47
 ,josephus himself passes for a prophet1
 having predicted the fall of the city  
of ,jotapata forty-seven days in        
advance1 his own captivity1 and the     
imperial dignity of ,vespasian as well  
as of ,titus4 ,of northern prophets1    
,merlin is probably the most widely     
known2 he was a ,celtic bard1 called    
,myrdhin1 and his poems1 written in the 
seventh century1 were looked upon as    
accurate descriptions of many subsequent
 events1 such as the exploits of ,joan  
of ,arc4 ,in the sixteenth century      
,nostradamus took his place1 whose      
prophetic verses1 ,vraies ,centuries et 
,propheties1 are to this day current    
among the people1 and now and then      
reappear in leading journals4 ,he had   
been a professor of medicine in the     
,university of ,montpellier1 and died in
 #aeff1 enjoying a world-wide reputation
 as an astrologer4 ,his brief and often 
enigmatical verses have never lost their

 hold on credulous minds1 and a few     
striking instances have1 even in our    
century1 largely revived his credit4    
,such was1 for instance1 the stanza     
7,no4 #aj73      ,un empereur naitre    
pres d',italie1      ,qui a l'empire    
sera vendu tres cher2      ,diront avec 
quels gens il se rallie1      ,qu'on    
trouvera moins prince que boucher1      
which was naturally applied to the great
 ,napoleon and his marshals4  ,another  
northern prophet1 whose predictions are 
still quoted1 was the ,archbishop of    
,armagh1 ,malachias1 who1 in #aacj1     
foretold the fate of all coming popes2  
as in almost all similar cases1 here    
also the accidental coincidences have   
been carefully noted and pompously      
proclaimed1 while the many unfulfilled  
prophecies have been as studiously      
concealed4 ,it is curious1 however1 that
 he distinctly predicted the fate of    
,pius ,,vi41 whom he spoke of as ,vir   
apostolicus moriens in exilo 7he died1  
#agii1 an exile1 in ,valence71 and that 

he characterized ,pius ,,ix4 as ,crux de
 ,cruce4 ,st4 ,bridget of ,sweden had   
the satisfaction of seeing her          
prophecies approved of by the ,council  
of ,basle2 they were translated         
subsequently into almost every living   
language1 and are still held in high    
esteem by thousands in every part of    
,europe4 ,the most prominent name among 
,english prophets is probably that of   
,archbishop ,usher1 who predicted       
,cromwell's fate1 and many events in    
,england and ,ireland1 the result1 no   
doubt1 of great sagacity and a          
remarkable power of combination1 but    
exceeding in many instances the ordinary
 measure of human wisdom4 ,an entirely  
different prophet was ,rice ,evans      
7,jortin1 ,rem4 on ,eccles4 ,hist41 p4  
#cgg71 who1 fixing his eye upon the     
hollow of his hand1 saw there images of 
,lord ,fairfax1 ,cromwell1 and four     
other crowned heads appearing one after 
another2 thus1 it is said1 he predicted 
the ,protectorate and the reign of the  

four sovereigns of the house of ,stuart4
 ,jane ,leade1 a most extraordinary and 
mysterious person1 founded in #afig1    
when she had reached the age of         
seventy-four1 her so-called             
,philadelphian ,society1 a prominent    
member of which was the famous ,pordage1
 formerly a minister and then a         
physician4 ,this very vain woman        
maintained that she was inspired in the 
same manner as ,st4 ,john in ,patmos1   
and that she was compelled by the power 
of the ,holy ,spirit to foretell the    
future4 ,in spite of her erroneous      
announcement of the near ,millennium1   
she foretold many minor events with     
great accuracy1 and was highly esteemed 
as a prophet4 ,dr4 ,pordage had mainly  
visions of the future world1 which were 
all characterized by a great purity of  
heart and wildness of imagination4      
,swedenborg also had many prophetic     
visions1 but their fulfillment belongs  
exclusively to future life1 and their   
genuineness1 firmly believed by the     

numerous and enlightened members of the 
,new ,church1 cannot be proved to others
 in this world4  ,one of the most       
remarkable cases of modern prophesying  
which has been officially recorded1 is  
connected with the death of ,pope       
,ganganelli4 ,the latter heard that a   
number of persons in various parts of   
,italy had predicted that he would soon 
end his life by a violent death4 ,he    
attached sufficient importance to these 
reports to hand the matter over to a    
special commission previously appointed 
to examine grave charges which had been 
brought against the ,jesuits1 perhaps   
suspecting that the ,order of ,jesus was
 not unconnected with those predictions4
 ,among the persons who were thereupon  
arrested was a simple1 ignorant         
peasant-girl1 ,beatrice ,rensi1 who told
 the gendarme very calmly3 ,ganganelli  
has me arrested1 ,braschi will set me   
free1 implying that the latter would be 
the next pope4 ,the priest at           
,valentano1 who was arrested on the same

 day 7#abth of ,may1 #aggd71 exclaimed  
quite joyously3 ,what happens to me now 
has been predicted three times already2 
take these papers and see what my       
daughter 7the ,rensi7 has foretold4     
,upon examination it appears that the   
girl had fixed the pope's day upon the  
day of equinoxes1 in the month of       
,september2 she announced that he would 
proclaim a year of absolution1 but not  
live to see it2 that none of the        
faithful would kiss his foot1 nor would 
they take him1 as usual1 to the ,church 
of ,st4 ,peter4 ,at the same time she   
spoke of a fierce inward struggle       
through which the ,holy ,father would   
have to pass before his death4 ,soon    
after these predictions were made       
officially known to the pope1 the bull  
against the order of ,jesuits was laid  
before him2 the immense importance of   
such a decree1 and the evident dangers  
with which it was fraught1 caused him   
great concern1 and when he one night    
rose from his bed to affix his          

signature1 and1 frightened by some      
considerations1 threw away the pen only 
to take it up at last and sign the      
paper1 he suddenly recalled the prophecy
 of the peasant-girl4 ,he drove at once 
to a great prelate in ,rome1 who had    
formerly been the girl's confessor1 and 
inquired of him about her character2 the
 priest testified to her purity1 her    
unimpeached honesty1 and her simplicity1
 adding that in his opinion she was     
evidently favored by heaven with special
 and very extraordinary powers4         
,ganganelli was made furious by this    
suggestion1 and insisted upon it that   
his commission should declare all these 
predictions wicked lies1 the            
inspirations of the ,devil1 and condemn 
the sixty-two persons who had been      
arrested to pay the extreme penalty in  
the ,castle of ,st4 ,angelo on the #ast 
of ,october4 ,in the meantime1 however1 
his health began to suffer1 and his mind
 was more and more deeply affected4     
,beatrice ,rensi had been imprisoned in 

a convent at ,montefiascone2 on the     
#bb;d of ,september she told the        
prioress that prayers might be held for 
the soul of the ,holy ,father2 the      
latter informed the bishop of the place1
 and soon the whole town was in an      
uproar4 ,late in the afternoon couriers 
brought the news that ,ganganelli had   
suddenly died at eight o'clock in the   
morning2 the body began to putrefy so   
promptly that the usual ceremonies of   
kissing the pope's feet and the transfer
 to ,st4 ,peter's became impossible6    
,the most curious effects of the girl's 
predictions appeared however1 when the  
,conclave was held to elect a successor4
 ,many ,cardinals were extremely anxious
 that ,braschi should not be elected1   
lest this should be interpreted as a    
confirmation of the prediction1 and     
hence as the work of the ,evil ,one2    
others again looked upon the girl's     
words as an indication from on high2    
they carried the day4 ,braschi was      
really chosen1 and ascended the throne  

as ,pius ,,vi4 ,the commission1 however1
 continued the work of investigation1   
and finally acquitted the ,jesuits of   
the charge of collusion2 ,beatrice      
,rensi's predictions were declared to be
 supernatural1 but suggested by the     
,father of ,lies1 the accused were all  
set free4 ,the ,bishop of               
,montefiascone1 ,maury1 reported        
officially in #ahjd that the girl had   
received a pension from ,rome until the 
,french invasion1 then she left the     
convent in which she had peacefully and 
quietly lived so long1 and was not heard
 of again4  ,the famous predictions of  
,jacques ,cazotte1 a man of high        
literary renown and the greatest        
respectability1 were witnessed by       
persons of unimpeachable character and  
have been repeatedly mentioned as       
authentic by eminent writers4           
,laharpe--not the tutor of the ,russian 
,emperor ,alexander--reports them fully 
in his ,o,euvres choisies1 etc4 7i4 p4  
#fb72 so do ,boulard1 in his ,encycl4   

des gens du ,monde1 and ,william ,burt1 
who was present when they were made1 in 
his ,observations on the ,curiosities of
 ,nature4 ,it is well known that        
,cazotte had joined the sect of         
,martinists1 and among these enthusiasts
 increased his natural sensitiveness and
 his religious fervor4 ,with a mind thus
 predisposed to receive strong          
impressions from outside1 and filled    
with fearful apprehensions of the       
future1 it was no wonder that he should 
fall suddenly into a trance and thus be 
enabled by extraordinary magical        
influences to predict the horrors of the
 ,revolution1 the sad fate of the king  
and the queen1 and his own tragic end4  
,the report of his predictions as made  
by ,jean de ,laharpe1 who only died in  
#ahbc1 and with his well-established    
character and high social standing      
vouched for the genuineness of his      
experience1 is substantially as follows3
 ,he had been invited1 in #aghh1 to meet
 at the palace of the ,duchess de       

,gramont some of the most remarkable    
personages of the day1 and found himself
 seated by the side of ,malesherbes4 ,he
 noticed at a corner of the table       
,cazotte1 apparently in a deep fit of   
musing1 from which he was only roused by
 the frequent toasts1 in which he was   
forced to join4 ,when at last the guests
 seemed to be overflowing with fervent  
praises of modern philosophy and its    
brilliant victory over old religious    
superstitions1 ,cazotte suddenly rose   
and in a solemn tone of voice and with  
features agitated with deep emotion said
 to them3 ,gentlemen1 you may rejoice1  
for you will all see that great and     
imposing revolution1 which you so much  
desire4 ,you1 ,m4 ,condorcet1 will      
expire lying on the floor of a          
subterranean prison4 ,you1 ,m4 ,n41 will
 die of poison2 you1 ,m4 ,n41 will      
perish by the executioner's hand on the 
scaffold4 ,they cried out3 ,who on earth
 has made you think of prisons1 poison1 
and the executioner8 ,what have these   

things to do with philosophy and the    
reign of reason1 which we anticipate and
 on which you but just now congratulated
 us8 ,that is exactly what ,i say1      
replied ,cazotte1 in the name of        
philosophy1 of reason1 of humanity1 and 
of freedom1 all these things will be    
done1 which ,i have foretold1 and they  
will happen precisely when reason alone 
will reign and have its temples4        
,certainly1 replied ,chamfort1 you will 
not be one of the priests4 ,not ,i1     
answered the latter1 but you1 ,m4 de    
,chamfort1 will be one of them and      
deserve to be one2 you will cut your    
veins in twenty-two places with your    
razor1 and yet die only several months  
after that desperate operation4 ,you1   
,m4 ,vicque d',azyr1 will not open your 
veins1 because the gout in your hands   
will prevent it1 but you will get       
another person to open them six times   
for you the same day1 and you will die  
in the night succeeding4 ,you1 ,m4      
,nicolai1 will die on the scaffold1 and 

you1 ,m4 ,bailly1 and you1 ,m4          
,malesherbes4 ,god be thanked1 exclaimed
 ,m4 ,richer1 it seems ,m4 ,cazotte only
 deals with members of the ,academy4    
,but ,cazotte replied instantly3 ,you   
also1 ,m4 ,richer1 will die on the      
scaffold1 and they who sentence you1 and
 others like you1 will be nevertheless  
philosophers4 ,and when is all this     
going to happen8 asked several guests4  
,within at most six years from to-day1  
was the reply4 ,laharpe now asked3 ,and 
about me you say nothing1 ,cazotte8 ,the
 latter replied3 ,in you1 sir1 a great  
miracle will be done2 you will be       
converted and become a good ,christian4 
,these words relieved the company1 and  
all broke out into merry laughter4 ,now 
the ,duchess of ,gramont also took      
courage1 and said3 ,we women are        
fortunately better off than men1        
revolutions do not mind us4 ,your sex1  
ladies1 answered ,cazotte1 will not     
protect you this time1 and however      
careful you may be not to be mixed up   

with politics1 you will be treated      
exactly like the men4 ,you also1        
,duchess1 with many ladies before and   
after you1 will have to mount the       
scaffold1 and more than that1 they will 
carry you there on the hangman's cart1  
with your hands bound behind your back4 
,the duchess1 perhaps looking upon the  
whole as a jest1 said1 smiling3 ,well1  
,i think ,i shall at least have a coach 
lined with black4 ,no1 no1 replied      
,cazotte1 the hangman's cart will be    
your last carriage1 and even greater    
ladies than you will have to ride in it4
 ,surely not princesses of the royal    
blood8 asked the duchess4 ,still greater
 ones1 answered ,cazotte4 ,but they will
 not deny us a confessor8 she continued4
 ,yes1 replied the other1 only the      
greatest of all who will be executed    
will have one4 ,but what will become of 
you1 ,m4 ,cazotte8 asked the guests1 who
 began at last to feel thoroughly       
uncomfortable4 ,my fate1 was the reply1 
will be the fate of the man who called  

out1 ,woe6 over ,jerusalem1 before the  
last siege1 and ,woe6 over himself1     
while a stone1 thrown by the enemy1     
ended his life4 ,with these words       
,cazotte bowed and withdrew from the    
room4 ,however much of the details may  
have been subsequently added to the     
prediction1 the fact of such a prophecy 
has never yet been impugned1 and        
,william ,burt1 who was a witness of the
 scene1 emphatically endorses the       
account4  ,even the stern ,calvinists   
have had their religious prophets1 among
 whom ,du ,serre is probably the most   
interesting4 ,he established himself in 
#afhf in the ,dauphine1 but extended his
 operations soon into the ,cevennes1 and
 thus prepared the great uprising of    
,protestants there in #afhh1 which led  
to fearful war and general devastation4 
,special gifts of prophecy were accorded
 to a few generally uneducated persons2 
but in these they appeared very         
strikingly1 so that1 for instance1 many 
young girls belonging to the lowest     

classes of society1 and entirely        
unlettered1 were not only able to       
foretell coming events1 but also to     
preach with great eloquence and to      
interpret ,holy ,writ4 ,these phenomena 
became numerous enough to induce the    
camisards1 as the rebellious            
,protestants of the ,cevennes were      
called1 finally to form a regular system
 of inspiration4 ,they spoke of four    
degrees of ecstasis3 the first          
indication1 the inspiring breath1 the   
prediction1 and the gifts2 the last was 
the highest4 ,the spirit of prophecy    
could be communicated by an inspired    
person to others2 this was generally    
done by a kiss4 ,even children of three 
and four years were enabled to foretell 
the future1 and persevered1 although    
they were often severely punished by    
their parents1 whom the authorities held
 responsible for their misconduct1 as it
 was called4 7,theatre ,sacre des       
,cevennes1 p4 #ff47  ,nor has this gift 
of prophesying been noticed only in men 

of our own faith and our race4  ,an     
author whose trustworthiness cannot be  
doubted for a moment1 ,jones ,forbes1   
gives in his ,oriental ,memoirs         
7,london1 #ahjc71 an instance of the    
prophesying power of ,east ,indian      
magicians1 which is as well             
authenticated as remarkable4 ,a ,mr4    
,hodges had accidentally made the       
acquaintance of a young ,brahmin1 who1  
although unknown to the ,english        
residents1 was famous among the natives 
for his great gifts4 ,they became fast  
friends1 and the ,indian never ceased to
 urge ,hodges to remain strictly in the 
path of duty1 as by so doing he was sure
 to reach the highest honors4 ,in order 
to enforce his advice he predicted that 
he would rise from the post he then     
occupied as ,resident in ,bombay to     
higher places1 till he would finally be 
appointed governor4 ,the prediction was 
often discussed among ,hodges' friends1 
and when fortune favored him and he     
really obtained unusually rapid         

preferment1 he began to rely more than  
ever on the ,indian's prediction4 ,but  
suddenly a severe blow shattered all his
 hopes4 ,a rival of his1 ,spencer1 was  
appointed governor1 and ,hodges1 very   
indignant at what he considered an act  
of unbearable injustice1 wrote a sharp  
and disrespectful letter to the         
,governor and ,council of the ,company4 
,the result was his dismissal from the  
service and the order to return to      
,europe4 ,before embarking he sent once 
more for his friend1 who was then living
 at one of the sacred places1 and when  
he came informed him of the sad turn in 
his affairs and reproached him with his 
false predictions4 ,the ,indian1        
however1 was in no way disconcerted1 but
 assured ,hodges that although his      
adversary had put his foot on the       
threshold1 he would never enter the     
palace1 but that he1 ,hodges1 would1 in 
spite of appearances1 most surely reach 
the high post which he had promised him 
years ago4 ,these assurances produced no

 great effect1 and ,hodges was on the   
point of going on board the ship that   
was to carry him to ,europe1 when       
another vessel sailed into the harbor1  
having accomplished the voyage out in a 
most unusually short time1 and brought  
new orders from ,england4 ,the ,court of
 ,directors had disapproved of          
,spencer's conduct as ,governor of      
,bengal1 revoked his appointment1       
dismissed him from service1 and ordered 
,hodges to be installed as ,governor of 
,bombay6 ,from that day the ,brahmin    
obtained daily more influence over the  
mind of his ,english friend1 and the    
latter undertook nothing without having 
first consulted the strangely gifted    
native4 ,it became1 however1 soon a     
matter of general remark1 that the      
,brahmin could never be persuaded to    
refer in his predictions to the time    
beyond the year #agga1 as he had never  
promised ,hodges another post of honor  
than that which he now occupied4 ,the   
explanation of his silence came but too 

soon1 for in the night of the #bb;d of  
,february1 #aggb1 ,hodges died suddenly1
 and thus ended his brilliant career1   
verifying his friend's prophecy in every
 detail4   ,,the ,,divining ,,rod4  ,the
 relations in which some men stand to   
,nature are sometimes so close as to    
enable them to make discoveries which   
are impossible to others4 ,this is1 for 
instance1 the case with persons who feel
 the presence of waters or of metals4   
,the former have1 from time immemorial1 
generally used a wand1 the so-called    
divining rod1 which1 according to       
,pliny1 was already known to the ancient
 ,etruscans as a means for the discovery
 of hidden springs4 ,an ,italian author1
 ,amoretti1 who has given special       
attention to this subject1 states that  
at least every fifth man is susceptible 
to the influence of water and metals1   
but this is evidently an overestimate4  
,in recent times many persons have been 
known to possess this gift of           
discovering hidden springs or           

subterranean masses of water1 and these 
have but rarely employed an instrument4 
,catharine ,beutler1 of ,thurgovia1 in  
,switzerland1 and ,anna ,maria ,brugger 
of the same place1 were both so         
seriously affected by the presence of   
water that they fell into violent       
nervous excitement when they happened to
 cross places beneath which larger      
quantities were concealed1 and became   
perfectly exhausted4 ,in ,france a class
 of men1 called sourciers1 have for ages
 possessed this instinctive power of    
perceiving the presence of water1 and   
others1 like the famous ,abbe           
,paramelle1 have cultivated the natural 
gift till they were finally enabled1 by 
a mere cursory examination of a         
landscape1 to ascertain whether large   
masses of water were hidden anywhere1   
and to indicate the precise spots where 
they might be found4  ,why water and    
metals should almost always go hand in  
hand in connection with this peculiar   
gift1 is not quite clear2 but the staff 

of ,hermes1 having probably the form of 
the divining rod1 was always represented
 as giving the command over the         
treasures of the earth1 and the ,orphic 
,hymn 7v4 #ebg7 calls it1 hence1 the    
golden rod1 producing wealth and        
happiness4 ,on the other hand1 the      
,aquae ,virgo1 the nymph of springs1 had
 also a divining rod in her hand1 and   
,numa1 inspired by a water nymph1       
established the worship of waters in    
connection with that of the dead4 ,for  
here1 also1 riches and death seem to    
have entered into a strange alliance4   
,del ,rio1 in his ,disquisitiones       
magicae1 mentions thus the ,zahuri of   
,spain1 the lynx-eyed1 as he translates 
the name1 who were able on ,wednesdays  
and ,saturdays to discover all the veins
 of metals or of water beneath the      
surface1 all hidden treasures1 and      
corpses in their coffins4 ,there is at  
least one instance recorded where a     
person possessed the power to see even  
more than the ,zahuris4 ,this was a     

,portuguese lady1 ,pedegache1 who first 
attracted attention by being able to    
discover subterranean springs and their 
connections1 a gift which brought her   
great honors after she had informed the 
king of all the various supplies of     
water which were hidden near a palace   
which he was about to build4 ,shafts    
were sunk according to her directions1  
and not only water was found1 but also  
the various soils and stones which she  
had foretold would have to be pierced4  
,she also seems to have cultivated her  
talent1 for we hear of her next being   
able to discover treasures1 even        
valuable antique statues1 in the        
interior of houses1 and finally she     
reached such a degree of intuition1 that
 she saw the inner parts of the human   
body1 and pointed out their diseases and
 defects4  ,savoy seems to be a         
specially favorable region for the      
development of this peculiar gift1 for  
if in ,cornwall one out of every forty  
men is believed to possess it1 in ,savoy

 the divining rod is in the hands of    
nearly every one4 ,but what marks the   
talent in this case as peculiar is that 
it is by no means limited to the        
discovery of water1 but extends to other
 things likewise4 ,a very wealthy       
family1 called ,collomb1 living in      
,cessens1 boasted of more than one      
member who was able1 by the aid of the  
rod and with bandaged eyes1 to discover 
not only pieces of money1 but even      
needles1 evidently cases of personal    
susceptibility to the presence of       
metals1 aided by electric currents4     
,once1 at least1 the gift was made      
useful4 ,a number of bags filled with   
wheat had been stolen from a neighboring
 house1 and the police were unable to   
discover the hiding-place4 ,at the      
request of his friends one of the       
,collombs undertook the search with the 
aid of the divining rod2 he soon found  
the window through which the bags had   
been handed out2 he then followed the   
track along the banks of the river      

,cheran1 and asserted that the thief had
 crossed to the other side4 ,at that    
time nothing more was discovered2 but   
soon afterwards a miller living across  
the river was suspected1 the bags were  
found1 and the culprit sent to the      
galleys4 7,revue ,savoisienne1 ,april   
#ae1 #aheb47 ,dr4 ,mayo mentions1 mainly
 upon the authority of ,george          
,fairholm1 a number of instances in     
which persons belonging to all classes  
of society have exhibited the same gift1
 but ascribes its efficacy to the       
presence of currents of ,od4  ,the      
divining rod1 originally a twig of      
willow or hazel1 is often made of metal1
 and the impression prevails that in    
such cases an electric current1 arising 
from the subterranean water or metals1  
enters the diviner's body by the feet1  
passes through him1 and finally affects 
the two branches of the rod1 which      
represent opposite poles4 ,it is certain
 that when the electric current is      
interrupted1 the power of the divining  

rod is suspended4 ,dr4 ,mayo tells us of
 a lady of his acquaintance in          
,southampton1 who at his request used a 
divining rod of copper and iron wire1   
made after the fashion of the usual     
hazel rod2 it answered the purpose      
fully1 but when the ends touched by her 
hands were covered with sealing-wax1 it 
became useless2 as soon as she put her  
fingers in contact with the unprotected 
wire1 the power instantly returned4     
,this certainly seemed to be strong     
evidence of the existence of an electric
 current4 ,nevertheless1 many believe   
that the divining rod acts in all cases 
simply as an extension of the arms1 and 
thus serves to make the vibrations of   
the muscles more distinct4 ,it is by    
this theory they explain the fact which 
has caused serious trouble to careful   
inquirers like ,count ,tristan and ,dr4 
,mayo1 that the gift of using the       
divining rod varies with the state of   
health in the individuals in whom it has
 been discovered4     ,,vii4            

,,possession4      ,thereupon ,st4      
,theophilus made a pact with the ,devil4
      --,,acta1 ,s4 ,s41 #d ,february4  
,many forms of insanity1 it is well     
known1 are accompanied by the fixed idea
 that the sufferer is continually       
associated with another being1 a friend 
or an enemy1 a man1 an animal1 or a mere
 shadow4 ,somnambulists1 also1 not      
unfrequently fancy that they obtain     
their exceptional knowledge of hidden   
things1 not by intuition or instinct1   
but through the agency of a medium1 whom
 they look upon as an angel or a demon4 
,there is1 however1 a third class of    
cases1 far more formidable than either  
of those mentioned1 in which the mind is
 disturbed1 and magic phenomena are     
produced by an agency apparently        
entirely independent of the patient     
himself4 ,such are possession1 vampirism
 and zoanthropy--three frightful forms  
of human suffering1 which are           
fortunately very rare1 being limited to 
certain localities in space1 to a few   

short periods in time1 and to men of the
 lowest grade only4  ,possession is that
 appalling state of mind which makes the
 patient believe that he is in the power
 of a foreign evil being1 which has for 
the time full control over his body4    
,this power it abuses by plaguing the   
body in every imaginable way1 by        
distorting the features till they assume
 a scornful1 diabolical expression1 and 
above all1 by causing the sufferer to   
give utterance to cynical remarks and   
horrible blasphemy4 ,all these phenomena
 are based upon the division of the     
patient's individuality1 which cannot be
 remedied by any effort of his own1 and 
which makes him look upon the evil      
principle in his nature as something    
outside of himself1 and no longer under 
his control4 ,the phenomena which       
accompany possession are too fearful in 
their nature1 and yet at the same time  
too exceptional to keep us altogether   
and easily from believing1 as many      
thoughtful and even pious men have      

thought1 that in these cases a real     
demon takes possession of the afflicted4
 ,the bitter hatred against religion1   
which is always a symptom of possession1
 would naturally tend to enforce such a 
presumption4 ,the possessed know not    
only their own sins1 but also those of  
the bystanders1 and use this knowledge  
with unsparing bitterness and cruel     
scorn2 at the same time they feel the   
superiority of others with whom they may
 come in contact1 as the demoniacs of   
the ,bible never failed to recognize in 
,christ the ,son of ,god4 ,from the     
numerous cases of modern possession     
which have been investigated1 we derive 
the following information as to its real
 nature4 ,possession is invariably a    
kind of insanity1 which is accompanied  
by exceptional powers1 producing magic  
phenomena2 it is also invariably        
preceded by some grave disorder or      
dangerous disease4 ,the former may be of
 purely mental nature1 for violent      
coercion of will1 sudden and subversive 

nervous shocks or long-continued        
enforcement of a hateful mode of life1  
are apt to produce the sad effect4      
,hence its frequent occurrence in       
monasteries1 orphan asylums and similar 
institutions1 where this kind of        
insanity is1 moreover1 liable to become 
epidemic4 ,at other times the cause is a
 trivial one1 and then a peculiar       
predisposition must be presumed which   
only needed a decisive act to bring the 
disturbed mind to its extremity4 ,but   
possession is not merely an affection of
 the mind1 it is also always a disease  
of the body1 which in the bewildered and
 disordered imagination of the patient  
becomes personified in the shape of a   
demon2 hence the graver the disease1 the
 fiercer the demon4 ,as sickness worries
 the patient1 robs him of his appetite  
and makes all he used to like           
distasteful to him1 so the demon also   
suffers no enjoyment2 interferes with   
every pleasure1 and consistently rages  
especially against religion1 which alone

 could give consolation in such cases4  
,the outbursts of rage in demoniacs1    
when efforts are made to exorcise or    
convert them1 even although nothing but 
prayers may be attempted1 is ascribed to
 an instinctive repugnance of the       
sufferers for means which they feel to  
be utterly inappropriate to their       
case--very much as if men1 mad with     
hunger1 were to be fed with moral       
axioms4 ,possession is finally sometimes
 limited to parts of the body2 as when a
 demoniac is spoken of who was dumb     
7,matt4 ix4 #cb71 and another who was   
blind and dumb 7,matt4 xii4 #bb74 ,in   
other cases the body is endowed with    
supernatural strength1 and four or five 
powerful men have been known to be      
scarcely able to hold a frail girl of   
fifteen4  ,a peculiar feature in        
possession is1 that during the most     
violent attacks of apparent fury1       
accompanied by hideous cries and        
frightful contortions1 the pulse is not 
quickened and the physical strength of  

the patient does not seem in the least  
diminished4 ,the disease1 however1      
naturally affects his whole system and  
exhausts it in time4 ,the possessed man1
 who unlike somnambulists retains1      
during the paroxysms1 full control over 
all his senses1 never speaks of the     
demon that possesses him1 but the demon 
speaks of him as of a third person1 and 
at the same time of himself1 a feature  
which powerfully contributes to the     
popular belief of actual demons dwelling
 in these unfortunate persons4 ,and yet1
 after the paroxysm is over1 the poor   
sufferer knows nothing of the horrible  
things he has done1 and of the fearful  
words he has uttered2 if he is told what
 has occurred1 he is terribly shocked1  
and bitterly repents his misdoings4     
,the paroxysms are twofold3 in the body 
they appear as violent convulsions      
accompanied by a contraction of the     
throat and the globulus hystericus2     
saliva forms in abundance1 black1       
coal-like lumps are thrown up and the   

breath is hot and ill-smelling4 ,in this
 mental form they appear as a raging of 
the demon against the possessed and     
against religion--in fact a struggle of 
the patient with himself and his former 
convictions4 ,occasionally the good     
principle within him assumes1 in        
contradistinction to the demon who      
personifies the evil principle1 the form
 of a guardian angel1 who comforts the  
poor sufferer as he is tossed to and fro
 like a ship in a tempest1 and promises 
him assistance4 ,nor is the demon always
 alone2 there may be1 as ,holy ,writ    
teaches1 seven1 thousands1 or their name
 may be ,legions1 for these visionary   
beings are only so many representatives 
of certain evil principles at work in   
the soul of the possessed4 ,some        
patients have been enabled to trace this
 connection and to discover that each   
symptom of their disease was thus       
personified by a separate demon to whom 
in their paroxysms they ascribed the    
infliction3 ,lucifer caused pricking and

 stinging pains1 ,anzian tearing and    
scratching1 ,junian convulsions of      
limbs1 etc4 ,the fearful suffering which
 demoniacs have to undergo and the still
 more harassing conflicts in their soul 
drive them frequently to despair and    
engender thoughts of suicide4 ,during   
these paroxysms the struggle between    
light and darkness1 heaven and hell1    
eternal bliss and damnation1 angel and  
devil1 is carried on with such energy   
and dramatic truthfulness that those who
 witness it are apt to become deeply    
excited and often suffer not a little   
from the violent transitions from       
sympathy to horror and from heartfelt   
pity to unspeakable disgust4 ,as soon as
 the dualism in the soul relaxes1 and   
with it the disease becomes milder1 the 
demon also grows more quiet2 a happy    
moment of rest ensues1 which the        
exorciser calls the period of           
conversion2 and when this has once taken
 place the patient is no longer able to 
distinguish the demon as apart from     

himself1 the contradistinction exists no
 more1 and he is reconciled to his true 
self4  ,there is no instance known in   
which an intelligent1 well-educated     
person has become possessed2 the        
terrible misfortune falls exclusively   
upon rude and coarse natures1 a fact    
which explains the coarseness and       
rudeness of so-called demons4 ,medicinal
 remedies are seldom of much avail1 as  
the disease has already reached a stage 
in which the mind is at least as much   
affected as the body4 ,exorcising has   
frequently been successful1 but only    
indirectly1 through the firm faith which
 the sufferer still holds in his        
innermost heart4 ,the great dogma that  
,christ has come into this world to     
destroy the works of the ,evil ,one1 has
 probably been inculcated into his mind 
from childhood up1 and can now begin    
once more1 after long obscuration1 to   
exercise its supreme power4 ,the cure   
depends1 however1 not only on the       
presence of such faith1 but rather on   

the supremacy which the idea of         
,christ's power gains over the idea of  
the devil's power4 ,hence the symptoms  
of possession not unfrequently cease    
under a fervent invocation of the       
,saviour1 if the exorciser is able by   
his superior energy of will to create in
 the patient a firm faith in the power  
of the holy name4 ,this expulsion of the
 demon is1 of course1 nothing more than 
the abandonment of the struggle by the  
evil principle in the sufferer's soul1  
by which the good impulses become once  
more dominant1 and a healthy1 natural   
state of mind and body is restored4  ,it
 must1 however1 not be overlooked that  
the views of possession have changed    
essentially in different nations and    
ages4 ,at the time of ,christ's coming  
the belief in actual possession1 the    
dwelling of real demons in the body of  
human beings1 was universal1 and to this
 belief the language of ,holy ,writ     
naturally adapts its records of         
miracles4  ,the ,kabbalah as well as the

 ,talmud contain full accounts of a     
kingdom of hell1 opposed to the heavenly
 kingdom1 with ,smaal as head of all    
satanism or evil spirits1 defying       
,jehovah4 ,the latter are allowed to    
dwell upon earth side by side with the  
sons of ,adam1 and occasionally to      
possess them and to live in their souls 
as in a home of their own4 ,in other    
cases it was the spirit of a deceased   
person which1 condemned for sins        
committed during life to wander about as
 a demon1 received permission to enter  
the soul of a living being4 ,the ,new   
,testament mentions at least seven cases
 of possession1 from the woman whose    
suffering was simply ascribed to the    
,devil's agency1 to ,mary ,magdalene who
 was relieved of seven demons1 and the  
,gadarene1 who had a legion of devils4  
,the ,catholic ,church also has always  
taught the existence of evil spirits2   
doctrinal works1 however1 mention only  
one1 ,diabolus or ,satanas4 ,although   
the ,church adheres consistently to the 

theory of actual possession1 it teaches 
that demons cannot wholly take          
possession of a human soul1 but only    
force it to obedience or accept         
voluntary submission4 ,hence their power
 over the body also never becomes       
absolute1 but is always shared with the 
soul of the sufferer4 ,among            
,protestants many orthodox believers    
look upon possession as a mere delusion 
practised by the ,evil ,one2 others     
admit its existence1 but attribute it to
 the souls of deceased persons and not  
to demons4 ,this was the doctrine of the
 ancient ,greeks1 who1 like the ,romans1
 seem to have known but a few rare cases
 of possession1 which they ascribed to  
departed spirits4 ,thus ,philostratus1  
in his life of ,apollonius 7l4 iii4 ch4 
#ch71 mentions a young man who was for  
two years possessed by a demon          
pretending to be the spirit of a soldier
 killed in battle4 ,nearly all nations  
on earth have records of possession4    
,thus cases occurring in ,china and     

,japan and in the ,indies are attributed
 to the influence of certain deities1 as
 the ,hindoos know neither a hell nor a 
devil4 ,early travelers1 like ,blom and 
,rochefort1 report1 in like manner1 that
 in some of the islands of the          
,caribbean ,sea evil spirits are        
believed to obtain at times possession  
of women and then to enable them to     
foretell the future4 ,according to      
,ellis the inhabitants of the ,sandwich 
,islands were much plagued by evil      
spirits dwelling in some of their       
brethren4  ,it was only towards the     
latter part of the last century that    
possession was found to be nothing more 
than a peculiar disease arising from the
 combination of an unsound mind with an 
unsound body4 ,this discovery was first 
made by ,farmer in ,england1 and by     
,semler in ,germany2 since that time the
 symptoms of the character of the       
affection have been very generally      
studied and thoroughly investigated4    
,thus it has been discovered that       

similar phenomena are occasionally      
observed in typhus and nervous fevers4  
,first the patients fancy they feel     
somebody breathing by their side1 or    
blowing cold air upon their head2 after 
long unconsciousness they are apt to    
imagine that they are double1 and have  
been known to hesitate where to carry   
the spoon containing their medicine4 ,in
 still more marked cases1 persons who   
have suffered from the effects of some  
great calamity1 and have thus been      
brought to the verge of the grave1 have 
even acted two different                
individualities1 of which one was pious 
and the other impious1 or one speaking  
the patient's native tongue and the     
other a foreign language4 ,as they      
recovered and as the return of health   
brought back bodily and mental strength1
 this dualism also ceased to be         
exhibited during the paroxysm1 and      
finally disappeared altogether4         
,possession is generally announced some 
time beforehand by premonitory symptoms1

 but the first cause is not always      
easily ascertained4 ,when we are told   
that certain cases have originated in a 
hastily spoken word1 a fierce curse or  
an outburst of passion1 we only learn   
thus what was the first occasion on     
which the malady has been noticed1 but  
not what was the first cause4 ,this lies
 almost invariably in moral corruption2 
the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the  
eye1 and the pride of the heart are by  
far the most frequent sources of the    
frightful disease4 ,occasionally a very 
great and sudden grief1 like the        
unexpected death of a beloved person1 or
 too great familiarity with evil        
thoughts in books or in conversation1   
produce the same effect--in fact all the
 various causes which result in insanity
 may produce also possession4 ,nor must 
serious bodily injuries be forgotten4 ,a
 student of the ,university of ,halle   
considered himself possessed1 and the   
case puzzled experienced physicians for 
some time1 till it was ascertained that 

he had received a violent blow upon the 
head1 which required trepanning4 ,before
 the operation could be undertaken1     
however1 matter began to ooze out from  
the ear1 and he suddenly was relieved   
from the paroxysms and all thoughts of  
possession4 ,convents are naturally very
 frequently scenes of possession--the   
inmates are either troubled by bitter   
remorse for sins which have led them to 
seek refuge in a holy place1 where they 
cannot find peace1 or they succumb to   
the rigor of severe discipline and are  
unable to endure the constant privation 
of food or sleep4 ,the sin against the  
,holy ,ghost1 which unfortunate persons 
have imputed to themselves1 has produced
 many a case of possession4 ,when the   
mind is thus predisposed by great       
anguish of soul or a long-continued     
inward struggle1 the most trifling      
incident suffices in determining the    
outbreak of the disease4 ,one patient   
became possessed because his wife told  
him to go to the ,devil1 and another    

because he had in jest exorcised a demon
 in a playmate2 now a man curses himself
 in a moment of passion1 and then a boy 
drinks hastily a glass of cold water    
when overheated1 and both fall victims  
to the disease4  ,the magic phenomena   
accompanying possession are by far the  
most remarkable within the whole range  
of modern magic1 but a number of the    
more striking are frequently identical  
with those seen in religious ecstasy4   
,demoniacs also exhibit the traces of   
injuries inflicted by demons1 as saints 
show the stigmas1 and their wounds heal 
as little as those of stigmatized       
persons4 ,they share in like manner with
 religious enthusiasts paroxysms during 
which they remain suspended in the air1 
fly up to the ceiling or are carried to 
great distances without touching the    
ground4 ,the strength of the possessed  
is amazing4 ,a monk1 known in           
ecclesiastical history as ,brother      
,rafael of ,rimini1 could not be bound  
by any ropes or chains2 as soon as he   

was left alone he broke the strongest   
fetters1 raced up the roof of the       
church1 ran along the topmost ridge1 and
 was often found sitting on the great   
bell1 to which no one else had ever been
 able to gain access4 ,at last the      
demons led him to the top of the steeple
 itself and were about to hurl him down1
 as he said2 the abbot and his monks and
 an immense crowd of people assembled   
below1 and besought him to invoke the   
aid of their patron saint so as to save 
body and soul4 ,it does not appear by   
what miraculous influence a change was  
wrought in the poor man2 but he did     
raise his voice1 which had not been     
heard to address a saint for many years1
 and instantly his mind returned1 he    
found his way down to the church and was
 cured4  ,the most frequent symptom in  
possession is a strong antipathy against
 everything connected with religion2 the
 holy names of ,god and ,christ1 the    
presence of priests1 the singing of     
hymns and the reciting of prayers1      

excite intense pain1 and provoke        
outbursts of fury4 ,even young children 
manifest this aversion1 especially when 
they have previously been forced to     
attend church1 and to engage in         
devotional exercises against their      
inclination4 ,hence it is1 also1 that   
paroxysms are most frequent at the      
regular hours of divine service1 or     
break forth suddenly at the sight of a  
procession or the hearing of ringing    
bells4 ,the symptom itself arises       
naturally from the imaginary conflict   
between a good and an evil principle1   
the latter being continually in arms    
against anything that threatens to crush
 its own power4 ,all the other symptoms 
of this fearful disease occur1 also1 in 
,st4 ,vitus' dance1 in catalepsy1 and   
even in ordinary trances2 only they     
appear more marked1 and make a greater  
impression upon bystanders1 because they
 are apparently caused by a foreign     
agent1 the possessing demon1 and not by 
the patient himself4 ,as the digestive  

organs are in all such cases            
sympathetically excited1 and seriously  
affected1 a desire for unnatural food is
 very frequent2 the coarsest victuals   
are preferred2 unwholesome1 and even    
injurious substances are eagerly        
devoured2 and medicines as well as      
strengthening food are vehemently       
rejected4 ,the sufferer is apt to       
interpret this as a new plague1 his     
demon refusing him his legitimate       
sustenance1 and compelling him to feed  
like an animal4  ,one of the most       
remarkable historical cases of apparent 
possession accompanied by magic         
phenomena1 was that of ,mirabeau's      
grandmother4 ,married when quite young  
to the old marquis1 she tried after his 
death to protect herself against the    
temptations of the world1 and of her own
 heart1 by ascetic devotion4 ,in her    
eighty-third year1 she was attacked by  
gout which affected her brain1 and she  
became insane1 in a manner which        
according to the views of her days was  

called possession4 ,it was found        
necessary to shut her up in a bare room 
with a pallet of straw1 where no one    
dared enter but her valet1 a man seventy
 years old1 with whom she had fallen in 
love6 ,for1 strange as it may appear1   
her fearful affliction restored to her  
the charms of youth2 she1 who had been  
reduced to a skeleton by old age and    
unceasing devotion1 suddenly regained   
the plumpness of her early years1 her   
complexion became fair and rosy1 her    
eyes bright and even1 her hair began to 
grow out once more4 ,but1 alas6 her     
tongue1 also1 had changed2 once afraid  
to utter a word that could be           
misinterpreted1 the unruly member now   
sent forth speeches of incredible       
licentiousness1 and overwhelmed the old 
servant with terms of endearment and    
coarse allusions4 ,at the same time the 
retired ascetic became a violent        
blasphemer1 and would allow no one to   
enter her chamber who had not first     
denied ,god1 threatening to kill him    

with her own hands if he refused4 ,for  
four long years the unfortunate lady    
endured her fearful affliction1 till    
death relieved her of her               
sufferings--but the student of history  
traces to her more than one of the      
startling features in the character of  
her grandson1 the ,mirabeau of the      
,revolution4 7,buelau1 ,geh4 ,gesch41   
xii47  ,relief is generally possible    
only when a powerful hold has been      
obtained upon the mind of the patient2  
after that appropriate remedies may be  
applied1 and the body will be restored  
to its natural healthy condition4 ,in a 
few cases remarkable incidents have     
produced a cure1 such as the sudden     
clanking of chains1 or a peculiarly     
fervent and impressive prayer4 ,even a  
night's sound sleep1 induced by utter   
exhaustion1 has had the happiest effect4
  ,it seems as if1 the train of thoughts
 once forcibly interrupted1 a return to 
reason and an abandonment of fixed ideas
 become possible4 ,even a specially     

violent paroxysm may be salutary2       
probably by means of the severe struggle
 and extreme excitement which it is apt 
to produce4 ,many patients1 under such  
circumstances1 fall prostrate on the    
ground1 losing their consciousness1 and 
awake after a while as from a dream1    
without being able to remember what has 
happened4 ,in other cases the           
hallucination continues to the last     
moment1 and leads the patient to imagine
 that the demon leaves him in the shape 
of a black shadow1 a bird1 or an insect4
 ,such recoveries are almost invariably 
accompanied by violent efforts to       
discard foreign matters1 which have been
 lodged in the system1 and largely      
contributed to produce the disease4     
,exorcism has1 of course1 no direct     
effect3 even when the power to cast out 
devils 7,mark xvi4 #ag7 is given1 it is 
not said by what means the casting out  
is to be accomplished1 except that it   
must be done in the ,saviour's name4    
,the formalities1 carefully regulated   

and prescribed by many decrees of the   
,church since the third century1 do no  
good except so far as they re-awaken    
faith1 impart hope1 and free the mind   
from distressing doubts4 ,ignatius      
,loyola never cured possessed persons   
otherwise than by prayer4 ,as early as  
the sixteenth century a case is recorded
 clearly illustrating the true nature of
 exorcism4 ,a demon was1 after many     
fruitless attempts1 at last driven out  
by a particle of the cross of our       
,saviour1 but in departing he declared  
in a loud voice that he knew full well  
the nature of the piece of wood2 it was 
cut from a gallows and not from the true
 cross1 nevertheless he was forced to go
 because the exorcist willed it so1 and 
the patient believed in his power4 ,the 
same rule applies to cures achieved by  
relics2 not that these had any effect1  
but in the long-cherished faith of the  
possessed1 that they might and could    
wield such power over evil spirits4     
,the main point is here also the energy 

of will in the exorciser1 and that this 
special gift is by no means confined to 
men was strikingly illustrated by a     
famous lady1 the wife of a ,marquis de  
la ,croix1 who was a ,spanish general   
and ,viceroy of ,galicia4 ,in her youth 
a matchless beauty with almost perfect  
classical features1 she retained an     
imposing carriage and bewitching grace  
throughout a long life1 and even in old 
age commanded the admiration of all who 
came in contact with her1 not only by   
the superiority of her mind but also by 
the beauty of her eyes and the charming 
expression of her features4 ,after the  
death of her husband she had much to    
endure from neglect in the great world1 
from sickness and from poverty1 doubly  
hard to bear because standing in painful
 contrast to the splendor of her former 
life4 ,the effects of a violent attack  
of sickness produced at last a partial  
disturbance of her mind1 which showed   
itself in visions and the power to drive
 demons from the possessed4 ,her theory 

was that as the sins of men caused their
 diseases1 and as the ,devil was the    
cause of all sins1 sickness was         
invariably produced by demoniac agency2 
she distinguished1 however1 between     
sufferers who had voluntarily given     
themselves up to sin1 and thus to the   
service of the ,devil1 and those who had
 unawares fallen into his hands4 ,her   
practice was simple and safe3 she       
employed nothing but fervent prayer and 
the imposition of hands1 which she had  
moistened with holy water or oil4 ,in   
the course of time she found her way to 
,paris1 and there met1 amid many        
skeptics1 also with countless believers1
 some of whom belonged not only to the  
highest classes of society1 but even to 
the sect of ,free-thinkers1 then        
prominent in the ,french capital4 ,such 
were ,marshal ,richelieu1 ,count        
,schomberg1 an intimate of the famous   
circle-meeting at ,baron ,holbach's     
house1 and even the illustrious ,buffon4
 ,when she was engaged in exorcising1   

her imposing stature1 her imperious eye 
and commanding voice aided her at least 
as much as her perfect faith and        
striking humility1 so that her patients1
 after a short demur1 willingly looked  
upon her as a saint who might1 if she   
but chose1 perform miracles4 ,with such 
a disposition obedience was no longer   
difficult1 and the remarkable lady      
healed all manners of diseases1 from    
modest toothache to rabid madness4 ,even
 when she was unsuccessful1 as          
frequently happened1 she won all hearts 
by her marvelous gentleness and humble  
piety4 ,thus1 when a possessed man was  
brought to her in the presence of an    
illustrious company1 and all her efforts
 and prayers were fruitless1 she placed 
herself bravely between the enraged man 
and her friends whom he threatened to   
attack4 ,he began to foam at the mouth1 
and amid fearful convulsions and dread  
imprecations1 broke out into a long     
series of terrible accusations against  
the poor lady1 charging her with all her

 real and a host of imaginary sins1 till
 she could hardly stand up any longer4  
,she listened1 however1 with her arms   
folded over her bosom and her eyes      
raised to heaven1 and when the madman at
 last sank exhausted to the ground1 she 
fell upon her knees and said to the     
bystanders3 ,gentlemen1 you see here a  
punishment ordained by ,god for the sins
 of my youth4 ,i deserve this           
humiliation in your presence1 and ,i    
would endure it before all ,paris if ,i 
could thus make atonement for my        
misdeeds4 7,mem4 du ,baron de ,gleichen1
 p4 #adi47  ,one of the most fearful    
features of possession is its tendency  
to spread like contagion over whole     
communities4 ,many such cases are       
recorded in history4 ,the monks of the  
,convent of ,quercy were thus attacked  
in #adia1 and suffered1 from the oldest 
to the youngest1 during four months1    
incredible afflictions4 ,they ran like  
dogs through the fields1 climbed upon   
trees1 imitated the howling of wild     

beasts1 spoke in unknown tongues1 and   
foretold1 at the same time1 future      
events4 7,goerres1 iv4 ,,ii47 ,in the   
year #aeff a similar malady broke out in
 the ,orphan ,house at ,amsterdam1 and  
seventy poor children became possessed4 
,they also climbed up the walls and on  
the roofs1 swallowed hairs1 needles1 and
 pieces of glass and iron1 and distorted
 their features and their limbs in a    
fearful manner4 ,what1 however1 made the
 greatest impression upon the good      
citizens of the town were the magic     
phenomena connected with their disease4 
,they spoke to the overseer and even to 
the chief magistrate of their secret    
affairs1 made known plots hatched       
against the ,protestants and foretold   
events which happened soon after4 ,in a 
convent of nuns at ,yssel in the        
,netherlands1 a single nun1 ,maria de   
,sains1 caused one of the most fearful  
calamities among her sisters that has   
ever been known4 ,naturally a woman of  
superior mind1 but carried away by evil 

passions1 she finally succumbed to the  
struggle between the latter and the     
strict rules of her retreat2 she began  
to accuse herself of horrible crimes and
 excesses4 ,the whole country was       
amazed1 for she had passed for a great  
saint1 and now1 of a sudden1 she        
confessed that she had murdered         
numberless little children1 disinterred 
corpses1 and carried poor girls to the  
meeting of witches4 ,all these misdeeds1
 which existed only in her disordered   
imagination1 she ascribed to the agency 
of a demon1 by whom she was possessed1  
and before many weeks had passed1 every 
nun and lay sister in the ill-fated     
convent was possessed in precisely the  
same manner6  ,one of the most recent   
cases of possession is reported by      
,bishop ,laurent of ,luxemburg1 in a    
pamphlet on the subject4 ,in the year   
#ahdc a woman1 thirty-four years old1   
was brought to him who had been         
possessed since her fifteenth year1 and 
who exhibited the remarkable phenomenon 

that in her sound moments she spoke no  
other language but the patois of her    
native place1 while in her paroxysms she
 used ,latin1 ,french1 and ,german at   
will4 ,when the good bishop threatened  
the demon1 the latter attacked him in   
return1 troubling him with nightly      
visits and suggesting to him sinful     
doubts of the existence of ,god and the 
efficacy of ,christ's sacrifice4 ,this  
fact shows how easily such disturbances 
of mind can be transferred to others1   
when disease or mental struggles have   
prepared a way4 ,fortunately the bishop 
first mastered his own doubts1 and1 thus
 strengthened1 obtained the same mastery
 over the possessed woman4 ,he commanded
 the demon to come out of her1 whereupon
 she fell into convulsions1 speaking in 
a disguised tone of voice2 but after a  
while drew herself up1 and now her face 
was once more free from anguish1 and    
angel-like4 ,another bishop1 who had    
been requested to exorcise possessed    
persons in ,morzine1 in the ,chablais1  

was not so successful4 ,at this place1  
in #ahcg1 a little girl1 nine years old1
 in consequence of a great fright1 fell 
into a deathlike sleep1 which returned  
daily1 and lasted about fifteen minutes4
 ,a month later1 another girl1 eleven   
years old1 was attacked in the same way1
 and soon the number of afflicted       
persons rose to twenty1 all girls under 
twenty years4 ,after a while they       
declared that they were possessed by    
demons1 and ran wild through the fields1
 climbed to the top of lofty trees1 and 
fell into violent convulsions4 ,in vain 
did the local priest and his vicar      
attempt to arrest the evil2 the girls   
laughed them to scorn4 ,when the civil  
authorities interfered1 they were met   
with insults and blows2 the guilty were 
fined1 but the number steadily          
increased1 and now grown women also were
 found in the crowd4 ,at last the       
official reports reached ,paris1 and the
 minister sent the chief superintendent 
of insane asylums to the village4 ,he   

immediately distributed all the affected
 among the adjoining towns and hamlets1 
to break off the association1 and sent  
the priest and his vicar to their       
superior1 the bishop of ,annecy4 ,a few 
only of the women recovered1 several    
died and one man also succumbed2 others1
 when they returned to ,morzine1        
relapsed1 and in #ahfd the malady began 
to spread once more so fearfully that   
the bishop of ,annecy himself came to   
exorcise the possessed4 ,seventy of them
 were brought to the church1 where the  
most fearful scenes took place2 howling 
and yelling filled the sacred building1 
seven or eight powerful men scarcely    
succeeded in bringing one possessed     
child to the altar1 and when there1 the 
demoniacs broke out in horrible         
blasphemies4 ,the bishop1 exhausted by  
the intense excitement1 and suffering   
from serious contusions inflicted upon  
him by the unfortunate women1 had to    
leave the place1 unable to obtain any   
results4 ,even as late as #ahfi two     

demons were solemnly exorcised upon an  
order from the bishop of ,strasbourg1   
and with the consent of the prefect of  
the department4 ,the ceremony took place
 in the ,chapel of ,st4 ,george1 in the 
presence of the lady-abbesses1 under the
 direction of the ,vicar-,general of the
 diocese1 assisted by other dignitaries 
and the ,superior of the ,jesuits4 ,the 
two boys who were to be relieved had    
long been plagued with fearful visions  
and publicly given evidence of being    
possessed1 for twenty or thirty times   
they had been led into a public square  
in the presence of large crowds1 and    
there they had pulled feathers out of a 
horrible monster which they saw above   
them in a threatening attitude2 these   
feathers they had handed to the         
bystanders1 who found that when they    
were burnt they left no ashes4 ,when the
 two children were brought to the house 
of the ,sisters of ,charity1 they became
 clairvoyant1 and revealed to the good  
ladies1 although they had never seen    

them before1 their family relations1    
their antecedents and many secrets4     
,they also spoke in unknown tongues1 and
 exhibited all the ordinary phenomena of
 possession4 ,the official report       
containing these statements1 and closing
 with their restoration to health and   
reason1 is so far trustworthy as it is  
signed by several hundred persons1 among
 whom the government authorities1       
officers1 professors and teachers are   
not wanting4  ,there can be little doubt
 that the dancing mania which broke out 
repeatedly in various parts of the      
continent of ,europe1 was a kind of     
possession4 ,the facts are recorded in  
history2 the explanation only is left as
 a matter of discussion4 ,in #acgd1 when
 a new and magnificent church was to be 
consecrated1 in ,liege1 large numbers of
 people came from ,north ,germany2 men  
and women1 possessed by demons1 half    
naked1 wreaths on their heads1 and      
holding each other's hands1 performed   
shameless dances in the streets1 the    

churches1 and houses4 ,when they fell   
down exhausted they had spasms1 and     
convulsions2 at their own request1      
friends came and pressed violently upon 
their chests1 till they grew better4    
,their number soon reached thousands1   
and other thousands joined them in      
,holland and ,brabant1 although the     
priests frequently succeeded in         
exorcising them--whenever their mind was
 still sound enough to recall their     
early reverence for holy men and their  
faith in holy things4 ,some time before1
 the good people of ,perugia had taken  
it into their heads that their sins     
required expiation1 and had begun to    
scourge themselves publicly in the most 
cruel manner4 ,the ,romans were infected
 soon after1 and copied their example2  
from thence the contagion spread1 and   
soon all over ,italy men1 women1 and    
children were seen inflicting upon      
themselves fearful punishment in order  
to drive out the evil spirits by whom   
they fancied themselves possessed4      

,noble and humble1 rich and poor1 old   
and young1 all joined the crowds which  
in the daytime filled squares and       
streets1 and at night1 under the        
guidance of priests1 marched with waving
 banners1 and blazing torches1 in vast  
armies through the land4 ,nor can we    
shut our eyes to the fact that the      
,jumpers and ,jerkers of the ,methodist 
,church present to us instances of the  
same mental disorder1 caused by         
over-excitement1 which in earlier days  
was called possession1 and that1 hence1 
these aberrations1 also1 infinitely     
varied as they are1 according to the    
temper of men and the habits of the     
locality in which they occur1 must be   
numbered among the phenomena of modern  
magic4   ,,vampirism4  ,occasionally    
possession is not attributed to demons1 
but to deceased men who come by night   
from their graves1 and suck the blood of
 their victims1 whereupon the latter    
begin to decline and finally die a      
miserable death1 while the buried man   

lives and thrives upon his ill-gotten   
food4 ,this is vampirism1 the name being
 derived from the once universal belief 
that there existed vampires1 huge bats1 
who1 whilst fanning sleeping men with   
their soft wings1 feasted upon their    
life's blood and only left them when    
they had turned into corpses4 ,popular  
credulity added a number of horrid      
details to the general outline1 and     
believed that the wretched victims of   
vampirism became themselves after death 
vampires1 and thus forever continued the
 fearful curse4 ,it was long thought    
that vampirism was known only to the    
nations of the ,slavic race1 but recent 
researches have discovered traces of it 
in the ,east ,indies1 and in ,europe    
among the ,magyars4 ,even the ,sanscrit 
already appears to have had a term of   
its own for the vampires--,pysachas1    
hostile beings1 eager for the flesh and 
blood of living men1 who gratify their  
cruel lust mainly at the expense of     
women when they are asleep1 drunk1 or   

insane4  ,careful writers like ,calmet  
and others have1 it is true1 always     
maintained that1 while the existence of 
vampirism cannot be denied1 the         
phenomena attending it are in all cases 
the creations of diseased minds only4   
,on the other hand1 it is a             
well-established fact that the bodies of
 so-called vampires1 when exhumed1 have 
been found free from corruption1 while  
in all the corpses around them          
decomposition had long since begun4 ,in 
the face of such facts vampirism cannot 
be dismissed as simply the product of   
heated and over-excited imaginations1   
although it must be admitted that its   
true nature is still to all intents and 
purposes a profound mystery4 ,according 
to popular belief the unusual           
preservation of the corpses indicates   
that death has not yet obtained full    
dominion over the bodies1 and that hence
 the soul has not yet departed to its   
eternal home4 ,a kind of lower organic  
life1 it is said1 continues1 and as long

 as this lasts1 the soul wanders about1 
as in a dream1 among the familiar scenes
 of its earthly life and makes itself   
known to the friends of its former      
existence4 ,the life thus extended      
requires blood in order to sustain      
itself1 and hence the minds of those who
 come in magic contact with the soul of 
a vampire1 become filled with sanguinary
 thoughts1 which present themselves to  
their imagination as the desire to suck 
blood and thus lead to the actual       
performance4 ,the fact that vampirism is
 epidemic1 like many similar mental     
diseases1 has led to the belief that the
 living are brought into close          
connection with the dead and are        
infected by them1 while in reality there
 is no bond between them but a common   
misfortune4 ,nor must it be forgotten   
that in this disease1 as in the plague1 
the mere thought of being seized often  
suffices to cause death without any     
warning symptoms1 and hence the great   
number of deaths in localities where    

vampirism has been thought to prevail4  
,for very few of those who are attacked 
succeed in escaping1 and if they survive
 they retain for life the marks left by 
their wounds4 ,the penalty1 moreover1 is
 not always undeserved2 vampirism rarely
 if ever attacks men of pure hearts and 
sober minds2 it is found1 on the        
contrary1 exclusively among             
semi-barbarous nations and only in      
persons of rude1 savage1 and sinful     
disposition4  ,traces of vampirism have 
been discovered in the most distant     
parts of the earth1 and often without   
apparent connection4 ,the ,bruholaks of 
,greece1 genuine vampires whose         
appearance was ascribed to the direct   
influence of the ,evil ,one1 may        
possibly have been imported by the      
numerous immigrants of ,slavic origin   
7,huet1 ,pensees ,diverses1 ,paris1     
#agbb71 but in ,finland also the belief 
is1 according to ,castren1 almost       
universal1 that the spirits of the      
departed have the power to vex and      

torment persons in their sleep1 and to  
afflict them with sorrow and disease4   
,in the ,sunda and ,molucca islands     
genuine vampirism is well known1 and the
 ,dyaks of ,borneo also believe in an   
evil spirit who sucks the blood of      
living persons till they expire4        
,poland and ,western ,russia have1      
however1 been for two centuries the     
stage on which most of these dread      
tragedies have occurred4 ,men and women 
were reported to have been seen in broad
 daylight sucking the blood of men and  
beasts1 while in other cases dogs and   
even wolves were suspected of being     
upires or vampires1 as blood-suckers are
 called in most ,slavic dialects4 ,the  
terror grew as these reports found their
 way into newspapers and journals1 till 
fear drove men and women to resort to   
the familiar remedy of mixing blood with
 the meal used for their bread2 they    
escaped not by any healing powers       
inherent in the horrid mixture1 but     
thanks to the faith they had in the     

efficacy of the prescription and the    
moral courage exhibited in its          
application4 ,to prevent the spreading  
of the epidemic the bodies of the       
vampires were disinterred1 and when     
found bleeding1 were decapitated or     
impaled or burned in public4 ,in some   
parts of ,hungary the disease appeared  
in the shape of a white spectre which   
pursued the patients2 they declined     
visibly and died in a week or a         
fortnight4 ,it was mainly in this       
country that physicians attending the   
disinterment of suspected bodies noticed
 the presence of more or less           
considerable quantities of blood1 which 
was still fluid and actually caused the 
cheeks to look reddish4 ,some of the    
witnesses even thought they noticed an  
effort to breathe1 faint pulsations1 and
 a slight change of features2 these     
were1 however1 evidently nothing more   
than the effects of currents of air     
which accompanied the opening of the    
coffin4 ,it was here also that animals  

were first believed to have been        
attacked by vampires2 cows were found   
early in the morning bleeding profusely 
from a wound at the neck1 and horses    
standing in their stalls trembling1     
covered with white foam1 and so         
thoroughly terrified as to become unfit 
for use4  ,another period of excitement 
due to accounts of vampirism comprised  
the middle of last century1 when all    
,europe was deeply agitated on the      
subject4 ,the ,emperor of ,germany and  
other monarchs appointed committees of  
learned men to investigate the matter2  
theologians and skeptics1 philosophers  
and physicians1 took up the discussion1 
and hundreds of volumes were published  
on the mysterious question1 but no      
satisfactory result was ever obtained4  
,many declared the whole a fable or     
merely the effect of diseased           
imaginations1 others looked upon it as a
 malignant and epidemic disease1 and not
 a few as the unmistakable work of the  
devil4 ,learned men searched the        

writings of antiquity1 and soon found   
more traces of the fearful disease than 
they had expected4 ,they discovered that
 in ,thessaly1 ,epirus1 and some parts  
of the ,pieria1 men were reported by    
ancient writers as wandering about at   
night and tearing all whom they met to  
pieces4 ,the ,lamiae of the ,greeks and 
the ,strigae of the ,romans evidently   
belonged to the same category1 while the
 later ,tympanites of the ,greeks were  
persons who had died while under the ban
 of the church and were therefore doomed
 to become vampires4 ,the ,slavic       
population of ,moravia and ,bohemia was 
in those days especially rich in        
instances of vampirism1 and so many     
occurred in ,hungary that the ,emperor  
,charles ,,iv4 intrusted the            
investigation of the matter to a prince 
of ,wuertemberg1 before whom a number of
 cases were fully authenticated4 ,men   
who had died years before1 were seen to 
return to their former homes1 some in   
the daytime1 some at night1 and the     

following morning those whom they had   
visited were found dead and weltering in
 their blood4 ,in a single village      
seventeen persons died thus within three
 months1 and in many instances1 when    
bodies were disinterred1 they were found
 looking quite alive4 ,at this time the 
,sorbonne at ,paris also took up the    
subject1 but came to no conclusion1 save
 that they disapproved of the practice  
of disinterring bodies1 because         
vampires1 as cataleptics1 might be      
restored to life by bleeding or magnetic
 treatment1 according to the opinion of 
the learned ,dr4 ,pierard4 7,revue      
,spirit41 iv47  ,here we come at last to
 the grain of truth around which this   
mass of popular superstition has        
gradually accumulated1 and the ignorance
 of which has caused hundreds of        
innocent human beings to die a miserable
 death4 ,there can be no doubt that     
cases of suspended animation or apparent
 death have alone given rise to the     
whole series of fearful tales of        

vampirism4 ,the very words of a recital 
belonging to the times1 and to the      
districts where vampirism was prevalent1
 prove the force of this supposition4   
,erasmus ,francisci states that1 in the 
duchy of ,krain1 a man was buried and   
then suspected of being a vampire4 ,when
 disinterred his face was found rosy1   
and his features moved as if they       
attempted to smile2 even his lips opened
 as if gasping for air4 ,a crucifix was 
held before his eyes and a priest called
 out with a loud voice3 ,peace6 ,this is
 ,jesus ,christ who has rescued thy soul
 from the torment of hell1 and suffered 
death for thee6 ,the sound seemed to    
penetrate to his ear1 and slowly a few  
tears began to trickle down his cheeks4 
,after a short prayer for his poor soul1
 his head was ordered to be cut off2 a  
suppressed cry was heard1 the body      
turned over as if still alive1 and when 
the head was severed a quantity of blood
 ran into the grave4 ,it was as clear a 
case of a living man who had been buried

 before death as has ever been          
authenticated4 ,nor are such cases as   
rare as is popularly believed4 ,high    
authorities assure us that1 for         
instance1 after imperfect poisoning1 in 
several kinds of suffocation1 and in    
cases of new-born children who become   
suddenly chilled1 a state of body is    
produced which presents all the symptoms
 of complete suspension of the functions
 of life4 ,such apparent death is1      
according to the same high medical      
authority1 a period of complete rest1   
based upon a suspension of the activity 
of the heart1 the lungs1 and all        
spontaneous functions1 extending        
frequently to the sense of touch1 and   
the intellect even4 ,at the same time   
the natural heat of the body sinks until
 it seems to have disappeared           
altogether4 ,the duration of this       
exceptional state is uncertain1 at times
 the patient awakes suddenly1 and in    
full possession of all his faculties2 in
 other cases external means have to be  

employed to restore life4 ,among many   
well-authenticated cases of this kind1  
two of special interest are mentioned by
 ,dr4 ,mayo4 ,cardinal ,espinosa1 the   
minister of ,philip ,,ii4 of ,spain1    
died after a short period of suffering4 
,his rank required that he should be    
embalmed1 and his body was opened for   
the purpose4 ,at the moment when lung   
and heart were laid open to view1 the   
surgeon observed that the latter was    
still beating1 and the ,cardinal1       
awaking1 had actually strength enough to
 seize with his hand the knife of the   
operator4 ,the other case is that of a  
well-known ,french writer1 the ,abbe    
,prevost1 who fell down dead in the     
forest of ,chantilly4 ,his apparently   
lifeless body was found1 and carried to 
a priest's house in the neighborhood4   
,the surgeon ascribed his death to      
apoplexy2 but the authorities ordered a 
kind of coroner's inquest1 and the body 
was opened4 ,during the operation the   
,abbe suddenly uttered a cry of         

anguish--but it was too late6  ,if a    
certain number of such cases of apparent
 death has really given rise to the     
faith in vampirism1 then it is equally  
possible to suppose1 that this kind of  
trance--for which there may exist a     
special predisposition in one or the    
other race--may become at times         
epidemic4 ,persons of peculiar          
nervousness will be ready to be         
affected1 and a locality in which this  
has occurred may soon obtain an         
unenviable reputation4 ,even where the  
epidemic does not appear in full force1 
a disturbed state of the nervous system 
will be apt to lead to dreams by night1 
and to gossip in the daytime1 on the    
fatally attractive subject1 and the     
patient will soon dream1 or really      
imagine1 that a person who has died of  
the disease has appeared to him by      
night1 and drawn his strength from him1 
or1 in his excited fancy1 sucked his    
life's blood4 ,by such means even the   
popular way of speaking of nocturnal    

visits made by the vampire's ghost is   
not so entirely unfounded as would      
appear at first sight1 and the          
superstition is easily shown to be not  
altogether absurd1 but to be based upon 
a small substructure of actual truth4   
,it is remarkable1 however1 that the    
,germanic race has never furnished any  
instances of vampirism1 although their  
ancient faith in a ,walhalla1 where     
their departed heroes feast sumptuously1
 and their custom to place food in the  
graves of their friends would have      
seemed most likely to reconcile them to 
the idea that men continue to live in   
their graves4  ,how sadly persistent1 on
 the other hand1 such superstitions are 
among the lower races1 and in specially 
ignorant communities1 may be gathered   
from the fact that1 as late as #ahfa1   
two corpses were disinterred by the     
peasants of a village of ,galicia1 and  
decapitated4 ,the people believed them  
to be vampires1 and to have caused a    
long-protracted spell of bad weather6   

,,zoanthropy4  ,even more fearful yet   
than vampirism is the disease1 very     
common already in the days of antiquity1
 which makes men think that they have   
changed into beasts1 and then act as    
such1 according to the logic of         
insanity4 ,petronius is probably the    
first to mention1 in his ,feast of      
,trimalchio1 a case of lycanthropy1 when
 ,niceros relates how someone who was   
journeying with him threw off his       
garments1 changed into a wolf and ran   
away into the forest4 ,when he returned 
home1 his account continues1 he found   
that a wolf had fallen upon his flock1  
but had been wounded by a servant in the
 neck with a lance4 ,thereupon he goes  
to inquire after his fellow-traveler1   
and finds him sick in bed with a        
physician by his side1 who binds up an  
ugly wound in his neck4 ,the well-known 
writer took this episode from the       
,arcadians1 a rude nation of shepherds1 
whose flocks were frequently attacked by
 wolves1 and among whom stories of men  

changed into wild beasts1 were quite    
current4 ,nor must we forget1 among     
historic personages1 the daughter of    
,king ,proetus of ,argos1 who believed  
herself changed into a cow2 and of      
,nebuchadnezzar1 who according to his   
own touching account was driven from    
meat1 did eat grass as oxen1 and his    
body was wet with the dew of heaven1    
till his hairs were grown like eagle's  
feathers1 and his nails like bird's     
claws4 7,daniel iv4 #cc47 ,the early    
days of ,christianity are naturally full
 of incidents of this kind1 but what is 
remarkable1 zoanthropy was then already 
treated as a mere delusion4 ,the holy   
man ,macarius once saw a large          
procession approaching his hermitage in 
,egypt2 it was headed by a number of    
persons who led a large and             
imposing-looking woman by a bridle1 and 
followed by a crowd of people of all    
ages4 ,when they came near they told his
 disciples that the woman had been      
changed into a mare1 and had thus       

remained for three days and nights      
without food--would the saint pray over 
her and restore her to her natural      
condition8 ,the delusion was so forcibly
 contagious that the disciples also     
forthwith saw a mare1 and not a woman1  
and refused to admit the animal to the  
presence of the hermit6 ,fortunately the
 latter had retained his self-control2  
he rebuked his followers1 saying3 ,you  
are the real beasts1 that imagine you   
see something which does not exist4     
,this woman has not been changed1 but   
your eyes are deluded4 ,then he poured  
holy water over her1 and at once        
everybody saw her once more in her      
natural shape4 ,he dismissed her and her
 escort with the words3 ,go more        
frequently to church and take the holy  
sacrament2 then you will escape such    
fearful punishment4  ,during the ,middle
 ,ages a similar disease existed in many
 parts of ,europe2 men were changed into
 dogs or wolves1 sometimes as a divine  
punishment for great crimes1 at other   

times in consequence of a delusion      
produced by ,satan4 ,such unfortunate   
men walked on all fours1 attacked men   
and beasts1 but especially children1    
killed and devoured them4 ,they actually
 terrified many people into believing as
 confidently in this delusion as they   
believed in it themselves6 ,for this is 
one of the specially fearful magic      
phenomena of zoanthropy that it is apt  
to produce in healthy persons the same  
delusion as in the sufferer4 ,many cases
 also are recorded of persons lying in  
deep sleep1 produced by narcotic        
ointments1 who1 seeing visions1 fancied 
that they were acting like wolves4 ,in  
the year #aeih such a disease raged as  
an epidemic in the ,jura mountains1 till
 the ,french ,parliament determined to  
make an end of it by treating all the   
afflicted either as insane or as persons
 possessed by the devil and therefore   
deserving instant death4 ,among ,slavic 
nations and the ,magyars lycanthropy is 
so closely connected with vampirism that

 it is not always easy to draw the line 
between the two diseases4 ,there can be 
no doubt1 however1 that it is merely a  
variety of possession1 arising from the 
same unhappy state in which dualism is  
developed in the soul1 and two wills    
contend with each other for superiority 
to the grievous injury of mind and body4
 ,the only distinctive feature is this1 
that in lycanthropy not only the        
functions of the brains but also those  
of the skin are disordered1 and hence an
 impression arises that the latter is   
hairy and shaggy after the manner of    
wild beasts4  ,the ,german ,waehrwolf   
7were-wolf or man-wolf7 is the same as  
the lycanthropos of the ,scythians and  
,greeks and the versipellis of the      
,romans2 he was in ,german mythology    
connected with ,woden4 ,hence1 probably1
 the readiness with which the disease   
during the ,middle ,ages took hold of   
the minds of ,germans2 but at that      
period nearly all the nations of ,europe
 firmly believed in the reality of such 

changes4  ,as late even as the beginning
 of the sixteenth century cases of this 
kind occurred in ,france1 where the     
possessed were known as loups-garoux4 ,a
 young man of ,besancon was thus brought
 before the ,councilor of ,state1 ,de   
l',ancre1 at ,bordeaux1 and accused of  
roving like a wild animal through the   
neighboring forests4 ,he confessed      
readily that he was a huntsman in the   
service of his invisible master1 the    
devil1 who had changed him into a wolf  
and forced him to range by the side of  
another more powerful wolf through the  
country4 ,the poor fellow shared the    
usual fate of his fellow-sufferers1 who 
were either subjected to a sharp        
treatment of exorcism or simply executed
 as heretical criminals4  ,in our day   
lycanthropy is almost entirely limited  
to ,servia and ,wallachia1 ,volhynia and
 ,white ,russia4 ,there1 however1 the   
disease breaks out frequently anew1 and 
popular belief knows a variety of means 
by which a man may be changed into a    

wolf2 the animal differs1 however1 from 
a genuine wolf in his docked tail and   
his marked preference for the blood of  
young children4  ,in ,abyssinia there   
exists1 according to ,pearce1 a belief  
that men are occasionally changed into  
hyenas--the wolves of that country--but 
this sad privilege is limited to workers
 in clay and iron1 called ,booda among  
the ,amharas1 who wear a gold earring of
 special form as a distinction from     
other inferior castes4  ,it will thus be
 seen that1 like all other varieties of 
possession1 zoanthropy also is simply a 
kind of insanity1 and our amusement at  
the marvelous conduct of werewolves will
 vanish1 if we recall the entire change 
produced in man by the loss of reason4  
,in that sad condition he endures       
fatigue1 cold or heat1 and hunger as no 
healthy man ever can learn to do2 he    
does not mind the severest castigation1 
for his body is almost insensible1 it   
ceases to be susceptible to contagious  
diseases and requires1 in sickness1     

double or treble doses of medicine4 ,if 
we once know the precise nature of an   
insane person's hallucination1 his      
actions will be apt to appear quite     
consistent1 and thus lycanthropy also   
not only produces the fine connection of
 a change into a wolf1 but causes the   
sufferer to conduct himself in all his  
ways like the animal which he           
represents4     ,,viii4  ,,magnetism4   
,great is the power of the hand4        
--,,st4 ,,augustine1 ,op41 iv4 #dhg4    
,mesmer1 who was the first to make the  
anaesthetic effects of certain passages 
of the hand over the bodies of patients 
known to the public1 sought originally  
to explain them by the agency of        
electricity2 but as early as #aggc he   
ascribed them to magnetism4 ,from that  
day he employed magnets1 and by passing 
them over the affected parts of his     
patients1 he performed remarkable cures 
for many years in the city of ,vienna4  
,he looked upon the magnet as the       
physician1 which cured the patient in   

the same way in which it attracted iron4
 ,soon after1 however1 he became        
acquainted with the famous ,father      
,gassner1 of ,ratisbon1 who had obtained
 precisely the same results1 without a  
magnet1 by simple manipulations1 and1   
henceforth1 he also treated his patients
 with the hand only2 but he retained the
 old name1 looking now upon himself1 and
 others who were endowed in the same    
manner1 as possessing the powers of a   
strong magnet4 ,in the meantime one of  
his pupils1 the ,marquis de ,puysegur1  
had quite accidentally discovered the   
peculiar nature of somnambulism1 and    
with rare foresight profited by the     
moments of clear consciousness which at 
times interrupted the trance1 in order  
to learn from his patients themselves   
the means of curing their diseases4 ,he 
had from that moment devoted all the    
leisure of his life to the study of     
these singular but most beneficial      
phenomena1 employing only the simplest  
manipulations in place of the more      

exciting means used by ,mesmer1 and     
doing an immense amount of good by his  
judicious cures4  ,mesmer1 in the course
 of time1 adopted the better method of  
his former pupil1 and now his system was
 complete4 ,he used magnetism for purely
 practical purposes3 he cured diseases  
by throwing well-qualified persons into 
the peculiar sleep produced by          
magnetizing them1 and availed himself of
 the effects of this half-sleep upon    
their varied constitutions1 for his     
curative purposes4 ,at the same time1   
however1 he ascribed the influence which
 he claimed to have over persons whom he
 had thus magnetized1 to a most         
delicate1 all-pervading medium2 this1 he
 maintained1 was the sole cause of      
motion1 light1 heat1 and life itself in 
the universe1 and this he stated he was 
communicating by his process of         
magnetizing in a sufficient degree to   
his patients to produce startling but   
invariably beneficial results4 ,it is   
well known how his removal from ,vienna1

 where he had begun his remarkable      
career1 to ,paris1 increased in almost  
equal proportions the number of         
enthusiastic admirers1 and of bitter    
adversaries4 ,in spite of an unfavorable
 judgment rendered by a committee of the
 ,academy in #aghd1 his new doctrines   
spread rapidly through all the          
provinces2 so-called ,harmonic          
,societies were formed in almost every  
town1 and numerous institutions sprang  
up founded upon the new system of       
magnetizing patients4 ,it is curious    
that of the nine members of that        
committee1 among whom ,franklin was not 
the least renowned1 only one1 the great 
savant ,jussieu1 refused to sign the    
report because it was founded upon a few
 isolated facts1 and sent in a separate 
memoir1 in which he described animal    
heat as the universal agent of life4    
,equally curious objections were made by
 others2 thus in another report of the  
,academy1 the king was requested to     
prohibit the practice of magnetism1     

because it was dangerous to the morals  
of the people1 and in the great hospital
 of the ,charite1 magnetic treatment was
 forbidden1 because the new system had  
caused for a long time warm discussions 
between the best informed men of        
science6 ,urged by repeated petitions1  
the ,academy appointed1 in #ahbe1 a     
second committee to investigate the     
matter1 which finally reported a firm   
conviction of the genuineness and       
efficacy of magnetism1 and recommended a
 further examination of this important  
branch of psychology and natural        
science4 ,a permanent committee was     
thereupon directed to take charge of the
 matter1 before which a very large      
number of important facts were          
authenticated2 but in #ahdj1 and        
subsequently1 once more1 unfavorable    
reports were laid before the august body
 and adopted by small majorities4  ,in  
,england magnetism met with fierce and  
violent opposition1 the faculty being no
 little incensed by this new and        

unexpected competitor for fees and      
reputation4 ,dr4 ,elliotson1 a professor
 in the ,university of ,london1 and     
director of a large hospital1 had       
actually to give up his place1 because  
of the hostility engendered by his      
advocacy of the new doctrine4           
,afterwards the controversy1 though by  
no means less bitter1 was carried on    
with more courtesy1 and the subject     
received1 on the whole1 all the         
attention it deserved4 ,germany alone   
has legally sanctioned magnetism as a   
scientific method within the range of   
the healing art1 and the leading powers1
 like ,prussia1 ,austria1 and ,saxony1  
have admitted its practice in public    
hospitals4 ,unfortunately1 much         
deception and imposture appeared from   
the beginning in company with the       
numerous genuine cases1 and led many    
eminent men to become skeptics4 ,the    
,russian government has limited the     
permission to practice by magnetic cure 
to well-informed physicians2 but the    

,holy ,curia1 the pope's authority1     
after admitting magnetism1 first as a   
well-established fact1 has subsequently 
prohibited it by a decree of the        
,inquisition 7#bast ,april1 #ahda7 as   
conducive to infidelity and immorality4 
,in spite of all these obstacles1       
magnetism1 in its various branches of   
somnambulism and clairvoyance1 of       
mesmerism and hypnotism1 is universally 
acknowledged as a valuable doctrine1 and
 has led to the publication of a copious
 literature4  ,magnetizers claim--and   
not without some show of reason--that   
their art was not unknown to antiquity1 
and is especially referred to in ,holy  
,writ4 ,they rest their claim upon the  
importance which has from time          
immemorial been ascribed to the action  
of the hand as producing visions and    
imparting the gift of prophecy4 ,when   
,elisha was called upon to predict the  
issue of the war against ,moab1 he sent 
for a minstrel1 and it came to pass1    
when the minstrel played1 that the hand 

of the ,lord came upon him4 7#b ,kings  
iii4 #ae47 ,in like manner the hand of  
the ,lord was upon ,ezekiel among the   
captives by the river of ,cheber and he 
prophesied 7,ezekiel i4 #c72 years after
 he says again3 ,the hand of the ,lord  
was upon me in the evening 7xxxiii4     
#bb71 and once more3 the hand of the    
,lord was upon me 7xl4 #a74 ,it is      
evident that according to biblical usage
 in these cases the manner of acting    
attributed to ,god is described after   
the usage prevailing among men1 and that
 the hand upon men represented the usual
 method of causing them to fall into a  
trance4 ,but this placing the hand upon 
a person was by no means confined to    
cases of visions2 it was employed also  
in blessings and in sacrifices1 in      
consecrations and miraculous cures4     
,daniel felt a hand touching him1 which 
set me upon my knees and the palms of my
 hands 7,dan4 x4 #aj71 while soon after 
the same hand strengthened him 7#ag72   
and even in the ,new ,testament a high  

privilege is expressed by the words3    
,the hand of the ,lord was with him4    
7,luke i4 #ff47 ,in other cases a finger
 is substituted for the hand1 as when   
the magicians of ,pharaoh said3 ,this is
 the finger of ,god 7,exodus viii4 #ai71
 and the two tables of testimony are    
said to have been written with the      
finger of ,god 7,exodus xxxi4 #ah72 in  
the same manner ,christ said3 ,if ,i    
with the finger of ,god cast out devils4
 7,luke xi4 #bj47 ,what makes this      
reference to finger and hand in ,eastern
 magic and in biblical language         
peculiarly interesting is the fact that 
neither ,greeks nor ,romans ever        
referred in like manner to such an      
agency4 ,it is evident that these       
nations1 possessing the ancient wisdom  
of the ,east and the revealed knowledge 
of the chosen people1 were alone fully  
acquainted with the power which the hand
 of man can exercise under peculiar     
circumstances1 and hence looked upon it 
in ,god also1 as the instrument by which

 visions were caused and miracles       
performed4 ,hence1 no doubt1 also the   
mysterious hand1 which from time        
immemorial has been used as one of the  
emblems of supreme power1 often called  
the hand of justice1 but evidently      
emblematic of the hand of ,god1 which   
rests upon the monarch who rules by the 
grace of ,god4 ,magnetizers connect all 
these uses made of the hand with their  
own method1 which consists almost       
invariably in certain passes made with  
the whole hand or with one or more      
fingers4  ,whatever may be thought of   
this connection between the meaning of  
the hand in biblical language1 and the  
magnetism of our day1 there can be no   
doubt as to the fact that the ancients  
were already quite familiar with the    
phenomena which have startled our       
century as something entirely new4 ,the 
so-called temple-sleep of the ,greeks   
was almost identical with modern        
somnambulism2 the only essential        
difference being that then the gods of  

,olympus were seen1 and lent their      
assistance1 in the place of the saints  
of the ,middle ,ages1 and the mediums of
 our own day4 ,incense1 mineral waters1 
narcotic herbs1 and decoctions of       
,strychnos or ,halicacabum1 were1       
according to ,pliny1 employed to produce
 the peculiar sleep4 7,hist4 ,nat4 l4   
xxi4 ch4 #ca47 ,the patients fell asleep
 while lying on the skins of recently   
killed animals in the ,temples of       
,a,esculapius1 and other beneficent     
deities1 and in their sleep had dreams  
with revelations prescribing the proper 
remedies4 ,the priests also1 sometimes1 
dreamt for their visitors--for a        
consideration--or1 at least1 interpreted
 the dreams of others4 ,even magnetism  
by touch was perfectly familiar to the  
ancients1 as appears from words of      
,plautus3 ,quid1 si ego illum tractim   
tangam1 ut dormiat8 7,what if ,i were to
 touch him at intervals so that he      
should fall asleep87 ,plutarch even     
speaks of magnetizing by touching with  

the feet1 as practised by ,pyrrhus4     
,other writers discovered that the      
,sibyls of ,rome1 as well as the ,druids
 of the ,celts1 had been nothing more   
than well-trained somnambulists1 and ere
 long distinct traces of similar        
practices were found in the annals of   
the ,egyptians also4  ,one of the       
earliest cases1 which was thoroughly    
investigated1 and carefully watched1 is 
reported by ,dr4 ,petetin1 of ,lyon1 in 
his famous ,memoir on ,catalepsy and    
,somnambulism4 7,lyon1 #aghg47 ,his     
patient was a lady who had nursed her   
child with such utter disregard of her  
own health that her whole system was    
undermined4 ,after an attack of most    
violent convulsions1 accompanied with   
apparent madness1 she suddenly began to 
laugh1 to utter a number of clever and  
witty sayings1 and finally broke out    
into beautiful songs2 but a terrible    
cough with hemorrhages ended the crisis4
 ,similar attacks occurred with         
increasing frequency1 during which she  

could read1 with closed eyes1 what was  
placed in her hand1 state hour and      
minute on a watch by merely touching the
 crystal1 and mention the contents of   
the pockets of bystanders4 ,she stated  
that she saw these things with varied   
distinctness2 some clearly1 others as   
through a mist1 and still others only by
 a great effort4 ,the reporter expresses
 his belief that the stomach in this    
case performed all the functions of the 
senses1 and that the epidermis1 with its
 network of fine nerves1 acted in place 
of the usual organs4 ,petetin was also  
the first to enter into direct relations
 with his somnambulist2 he could induce 
her at will to become clairvoyant1 and  
make himself understood by her whenever 
he directed his voice toward the only   
sensitive part4 ,gradually1 however1 it 
was discovered that the degree of close 
communication 7rapport7 between the two 
parties depended as largely on the      
correspondence of character between them
 as on the energy of will in the        

magnetizer and the power of imagination 
possessed by the patient4 ,deleuse1 one 
of the professors of the ,jardin des    
,plantes1 in ,paris1 gave much attention
 to the subject1 and in his numerous    
publications maintained the existence of
 a magnetic fluid by the side of the    
superior power with which some men are  
endowed1 and that both were employed in 
influencing others4 ,he was frequently1 
and violently1 attacked on the score of 
his convictions1 especially after       
several cases of cunning deception had  
become known4 ,for very soon the innate 
desire for notoriety led many persons to
 pretend somnambulism1 and skillfully to
 imitate the phenomena of clairvoyance1 
displaying1 as is not unfrequently the  
case1 in these efforts a skill and a    
perseverance which would have secured   
them great success in any legitimate    
enterprise4 ,a number of volumes        
appeared1 mostly in ,germany1 professing
 to contain accounts of marvelous cures 
achieved by magnetism1 which upon       

examination proved to be altogether     
fictitious4 ,france1 however1 abounded  
more than any other country with        
impostors1 and every kind of deception  
and cheating was carried on there1 at   
the beginning of this century1 under the
 cloak of mesmerism4 ,young girls1      
stimulated by large rewards1 and well   
trained by hospital surgeons1 would     
submit to brutal treatment1 and profess 
to reveal1 during well-simulated        
trances1 infallible remedies for        
grievous diseases4 ,the followers of    
,mesmer degraded his art by making it a 
merry pastime or a lucrative exhibition1
 without regard to truthfulness1 and    
without reverence for science4 ,even    
political intriguers1 and financial     
speculators1 availed themselves of the  
new discovery2 precisely as in our day  
spirit-rapping and kindred tricks are   
used4 ,in ,england1 and in the ,union1  
mesmerism fared little better2          
especially with us1 it soon fell into   
the hands of quacks and charlatans who  

made it a source of profit2 at the same 
time it assumed various new names1 as1  
electro-biology1 hypnotism1 and others4 
,the idea that somnambulism was the     
effect of angelic or demoniac influences
 was once largely entertained1 but has  
long since given way to more scientific 
views4 ,but it cannot be said that the  
true nature of the active principle has 
yet been fully ascertained1 and so far  
the results of mesmerism must be classed
 among magic phenomena4 ,what is alone  
clearly established is the power which  
the strong will of the magnetizer       
evidently exercises over the patient1   
and the fact that this energy acts      
through the hands as its organs4 ,the   
patient1 on his side1 undergoes by such 
an exercise of a foreign will a complete
 change of his individuality2 the action
 of his brain is modified and he falls  
into magnetic sleep4 ,many intelligent  
somnambulists have distinctly stated    
that they obey the will of their master 
and not his hands2 that manipulation1 in

 fact1 merely serves to communicate this
 will to their inner sense4 ,whether the
 connection which evidently exists      
between the two parties is established  
merely for moral agencies or by an      
infinitely subtle fluid1 which may      
possibly be the ,od of ,baron           
,reichenbach--this question remains as  
yet undecided4 ,so much only is quite   
certain that neither the will alone     
suffices to produce the magic phenomena 
of magnetism1 nor heat and electricity1 
as the physicist ,parrot maintained2 as 
little can electro-magnetism1 unaided1  
be the cause of such results1 though the
 great ,robiano stoutly asserted its    
power2 man is a dualism of spirit and   
body1 and both must be influenced alike 
and together1 in order to obtain perfect
 mastery4 ,the most plausible           
explanation yet offered by men of       
science is1 that by the will of the     
magnetizer his own nervous and mental   
system assumes a certain condition which
 changes that of the subject into one of

 opposite polarity1 paralyzes some of   
his cerebral functions and causes him to
 fall into a state resembling sleep4    
,the stronger and healthier man affects 
the nervous system of a feeble and less 
healthy man according to his own more or
 less strongly marked individuality1 and
 the spiritual influence naturally      
develops itself in the same proportions 
as the material influence4 ,hence the   
thoughts and feelings1 the convictions  
and the faith of the magnetizer are     
reflected upon the mind of his subject4 
,even ,mesmer himself had not yet       
reached this point2 he was1 up to his   
death1 content to ascribe the power of  
the magnetizer to the waves of an       
universal fluid set in motion by the    
superior energy of specially endowed    
persons4 ,according to his doctrine     
thoughts were conveyed by means of this 
mysterious fluid in precisely the same  
manner in which light and sound are     
borne onward on the waves of the air    
that surrounds us4 ,they proceed from   

the brain and the nerves of one person  
and reach those of another person in    
this imperceptible manner2 to dispatch  
them on their errand1 volition is       
required2 to receive them1 willingness  
and a certain natural predisposition1   
since there are men incapable of being  
reached in this way1 as there are others
 who are deprived of sight or hearing4  
,as the conveying fluid is far more     
subtle than the thinnest air1 permeates 
the whole universe and bears a close    
resemblance to the fluid which sets our 
nerves in motion1 there is no other     
limit to the effects of volition on the 
part of the so-called magnetizer than   
the strength of his will4 ,if he        
possesses this in a sufficiently high   
degree1 he can affect those who are     
subject to his superiority even at the  
greatest distance4 ,moreover1 if his    
influence is sufficiently effective the 
somnambulist acquires new and heretofore
 unknown powers2 he sees the interior of
 his own body1 recognizes its defects   

and diseases1 and by a newly-awakened   
instinct1 perceives what is necessary to
 restore its perfect order4 ,such were  
the views of ,mesmer4  ,besides this    
theory a number of others have been     
published from time to time1 by men of  
science of almost all countries--even   
modern philosophers1 like the ,german   
,schopenhauer1 having entered the lists 
in defense of their favorite ideas4 ,the
 most striking view published in recent 
times1 is found in the works of ,count  
,robiano1 a learned abbe and a          
brilliantly successful magnetizer4 ,he  
ascribes all the phenomena of           
somnambulism to the purely physical     
activity of the nerves1 and proposes to 
call his new physical science neururgy4 
,he identifies the nervous fluid with   
galvanism and voltaic electricity1 and  
asserts that by a galvanic battery all  
the results can be obtained which       
mesmerism claims as its own4 ,he also   
states that galvanic rings1 bracelets1  
belts and necklaces cause immediately   

somnambulism in well-qualified persons1 
while carbon held before the nostrils of
 somnambulists in deep sleep1 awakes    
them instantly1 and at the same time    
releases limbs held in cataleptic       
rigidity4 ,alabaster1 soda1 and wax have
 similar effects1 but less promptly1 and
 the wind from a pair of bellows has    
equal power4 ,according to his theory1  
currents of what he calls the           
galvanic-neururgic fluid1 are capable of
 producing all the well-known symptoms  
and phenomena of thought from idiocy to 
genius1 and from unconscious sleep to   
the highest excitement2 the process by  
which these results can be obtained is a
 suspension of the vital equilibrium by 
disease1 intoxication1 abstinence1      
long-continued fasting and prayer and   
the like4 ,if the marvelous fluid is    
unequally distributed through the       
system1 catalepsy ensues4 ,the novelty  
and force of ,robiano's doctrines       
attracted much attention1 but a series  
of experiments conducted by eminent men 

soon proved that galvanism alone        
produced in no instance somnambulism1   
but invariably required the aid of      
volition1 which the learned ,italian in 
his modesty had probably underrated1 if 
not altogether overlooked4  ,it is a    
matter more of curiosity than of real   
interest that the ,chinese have--now for
 nearly eleven hundred years--believed  
in an inherent power possessed by every 
human being1 called yu-yang1 which is   
identical with an universal yu-yang4    
,according to this view1 every person   
endowed with the proper ability can     
dispose of his own yu-yang and diffuse a
 portion of it over others1 so as to    
cure their infirmities4 ,the ,french    
missionary ,amyot communicated this to  
,puysegur 7,du ,magnetisme ,animal1     
,paris1 #ahjg1 p4 #chg71 and looked upon
 the yu-yang as the universal vital     
power which produces everything4        
,before we dismiss any such theory--in  
,china or nearer home--with a           
supercilious smile1 it is well to recall

 the reception which the first          
revelation of electricity in the human  
body met among our savants4 ,the        
doctrine had to pass through the usual  
three stages of contempt1 controversy   
and final adoption4 ,john ,wesley1 more 
than a hundred years ago1 said of it3   
,with what vehemence has it been        
opposed6 ,sometimes1 by treating it with
 contempt1 as if it were of little or no
 use2 sometimes by arguments such as    
they were1 and sometimes by such        
cautions against its ill effects1 as    
made thousands afraid to meddle with it4
 ,now1 every elementary text-book       
teaches that all created living bodies  
are electric1 and that some persons1    
animals1 and plants are so in a very    
high degree4 ,to establish this truth   
poor puss has had to suffer much in     
order to give out electric sparks1 and  
the sensitive plant has had to show how 
its leaves      ,with quick horror fly  
the neighboring hand1  which draws from 
them the electricity of which it        

contains more than other plants4        
,physicians have learnt that a person   
who has the small-pox cannot be         
electrified1 the body being fully       
charged and refusing to receive more    
electricity1 while sparks may be drawn  
from the body of a patient dying with   
cholera4 ,now this once despised power1 
in the shape of voltaic electricity1    
adorns our tables with electro-plate    
works of art1 carries our thoughts      
around the globe1 blasts rocks1 fires   
cannons and torpedoes1 and even rings   
the bells of our houses4 ,now little    
chain batteries1 that can be carried in 
the waistcoat pockets1 produce powerful 
shocks and cure grievous diseases1 while
 tiny bands1 which yet can decompose    
water in a test-tube1 are worn by       
thousands as a protection against       
intense suffering and utter prostration4
 ,what in this case happened to         
electricity may very well be the fate of
 the new power also1 which is the true  
agent in all that we carelessly call    

magnetism4  ,somnambulism and           
clairvoyance1 by whatever means they may
 have been caused1 differ in this from  
dreams and feverish fancies1 that the   
outer senses are rendered inactive and  
in their place peculiar inner life      
begins to act1 while the subject is     
perfectly conscious4 ,the magic         
phenomena differ naturally infinitely   
according to the varying natures of the 
patients4 ,in the majority of cases     
sleep is the only result of magnetizing2
 a few persons become genuine           
somnambulists and begin to speak1 first 
very indistinctly1 because the organs of
 speech are partially locked and the    
consciousness is not fully aroused4 ,as 
the spasms cease1 speech becomes freer1 
and as the mind clears up1 the thoughts 
also reveal themselves more distinctly4 
,these symptoms are ordinarily          
accompanied by others of varying        
character1 from simple heat in the      
extremities and painful sobbing to      
actual syncope4 ,in almost all such     

cases1 however1 the nervous system is   
suffering from a violent shock1 and this
 produces spasms of more or less        
appalling violence4 ,the temper of the  
sufferers--for such they are all to some
 degree--varies from deep despondency to
 exulting blissfulness1 but is as       
changeable as that of children1 and     
resembles but too frequently the        
capricious and unintelligible mental    
condition of insane persons4  ,those who
 are for the first time thrown into     
magnetic sleep generally feel after     
awaking as if a great change had taken  
place in them2 they are apt to remain   
serious1 and apparently plunged in deep 
thought for several days4 ,if their case
 is in unskillful hands1 nervous        
disorders are rarely avoided2 phantastic
 visions may be seen1 and convulsions   
and more threatening symptoms even may  
occur4 ,youth is naturally more         
susceptible to the influence of         
magnetism than riper years2 really old  
persons have never yet been put to      

sleep4 ,in like manner women are more   
easily controlled than men1 and hence   
more capable of being magnetized than of
 magnetizing others4 ,if men appear more
 frequently in the annals of this new   
branch of magic than women1 this is due 
merely to the fact that men appear      
naturally1 and so far at least          
voluntarily more frequently in public   
statements than women4 ,the latter1     
moreover1 are very rarely found able to 
magnetize men1 simply because they are  
less in the habit of exerting their will
 for the purpose of influencing others2 
the exceptions were mostly so-called    
masculine women4 ,over their own sex1   
however1 they are easily able to obtain 
full control4  ,among the curious       
symptoms accompanying the magic         
phenomena of this class1 the following  
deserve being mentioned4 ,a             
distinguished physician1 ,dr4 ,heller1  
examined the blood corpuscules of a     
person in magnetic sleep and found that 
their shape was essentially modified2   

they were raised and pointed so as to   
bear some resemblance to mulberries2 at 
the same time they exhibited a vibrating
 motion4 ,another symptom frequently    
observed in mesmerism are electric      
shocks1 which produce sometimes a       
violent trembling in the whole person   
before the beginning of magnetic sleep  
and after it has ceased4 ,as many as    
four thousand such shocks have been     
counted in an hour2 they are especially 
frequent in hysterical women and then   
accompanied by severe pain1 in men they 
are of rarer occurrence4 ,finally1 it   
appears from a number of                
well-authenticated cases that magnetic  
convulsions are contagious1 extending   
even to animals4 ,persons suffering with
 catalepsy have more than once been     
compelled to kill pet cats because the  
latter suffered in a similar manner     
whenever the attacks came1 and the same 
has been noticed in favorite dogs which 
were left in the room while magnetic    
cures were performed4 ,this is all the  

more frequently noticed as many         
magnetizers look upon convulsions as    
efforts made by nature to restore the   
system to a healthy condition1 and hence
 excite in their patients convulsions   
without magnetizing them fully4  ,a new 
doctrine concerning the magic phenomena 
of magnetism establishes a special force
 inherent in all inorganic substances1  
and calls it ,siderian4 ,this theory is 
the result of the observation that      
certain substances1 like water and      
metal1 possess a special power of       
producing somnambulism1 and at one time 
a peculiar apparatus1 called baquet1 was
 much in use1 by means of which several 
persons1 connected with each other and  
with a vessel filled with water and     
pieces of metal1 were rendered          
clairvoyant4 ,the whole subject has not 
yet been fully investigated1 and hence  
the conclusions drawn from isolated     
cases must be looked upon as premature4 
,it has1 however1 been established      
beyond doubt that metals have a peculiar

 power over sensitive persons1 in their 
natural sleep as well as in the magnetic
 sleep4 ,many somnambulists are         
painfully affected by gold1 others by   
iron2 a very sensitive patient could1   
after an instant's touch1 distinguish   
even rare metals like bismuth and cobalt
 by the sensations which they produced  
when laid upon her heart4 ,dr4 ,brunner1
 when professor of physics in ,peru1 had
 a patient who could not touch iron     
without falling into convulsions1 and   
was made clairvoyant by simply taking   
her physician's pocket-knife in her     
hand4  ,this ,siderian or ,astral force1
 so called from a presumed influence    
exercised by the heavenly bodies1 as    
well as by all inorganic substances1    
admits of no isolation1 although it is  
possessed in varying degrees by certain 
metals and minerals4 ,it has no effect  
even upon the electrometer or the       
magnetic needle2 its force is radiating1
 quite independent of light1 but        
considerably increased by heat4 ,persons

 magnetized by the mysterious force of  
the baquet have1 however1 an astonishing
 power over the magnetic needle and can 
make it deflect by motion1 fixed glance1
 or even mere volition4 ,in ,galignani's
 ,messenger 7#beth of ,october1 #ahea7  
the case of ,prudence ,bernard in ,paris
 is mentioned1 who forced the needle to 
follow the motions of her head4         
,whatever we may think of the value of  
this theory1 it cannot be denied that   
the effect which certain physical       
processes going on in the atmosphere    
have on our body and mind alike is very 
striking and yet almost entirely        
unknown4 ,science is leisurely gathering
 up facts which will no doubt in the end
 furnish us a clue to many phenomena    
which we now call magic1 or even        
supernatural4 ,thus almost every hour of
 the day has its peculiarity in         
connection with ,nature3 at one hour the
 barometer1 at another the thermometer  
reaches its maximum2 at other periods   
magnetism is at its highest or the air  

fullest of vapor1 and to these various  
influences the diseases of men stand in 
close relation4 ,when ,auroras are seen 
frequently the atmosphere is found to be
 surcharged with electricity2 they are  
intimately connected with gastric       
fevers1 and according to some           
physicians1 even with typhus and        
cholera4 ,it has also been ascertained  
that the progress of the cholera and the
 plague--perhaps also of common         
influenza--coincides accurately with the
 isogonic line2 these diseases disappear
 as soon as the eastward declination of 
the magnetic needle ceases4 ,in recent  
times a correspondence of the spots in  
the sun with earth-magnetism has also   
been observed4 ,in like manner it has   
been established that continued positive
 electricity of the air1 producing ozone
 in abundance1 is apt to cause catarrhs1
 inflammations1 and rheumatism1 while   
negative electricity causes nervous     
fevers and cholera4 ,even the moon has  
recovered some of its former importance 

in its relations to the human body1 and 
although the superstitions of past ages 
with their absurd exaggerations have    
long since been abandoned1 certain facts
 remain as evidences of a connection    
between the moon and some diseases4     
,thus the paroxysms of lunatics1        
epileptics1 and somnambulists are       
undoubtedly in correspondence with the  
phases of the moon2 madmen rave most    
furiously when the latter is full1 and  
its phases determine with astonishing   
regularity the peculiar affections of   
women1 as was triumphantly proven by the
 journal kept with admirable fidelity   
during the long life of ,dr4            
,constantine ,hering of ,philadelphia4  
,another name given to these phenomena  
is the ,hypnotism of the ,english4      
7,braid1 ,neurohypnology1 ,london1      
#ahdc47 ,this theory is based upon the  
fact that sensitive persons can be      
rendered clairvoyant by looking fixedly 
at some small but bright object held    
close to their face1 and by continuing  

for some time to fix the mind upon the  
same object after the eyelids have      
closed from sheer weariness4 ,the method
 of producing this magnetic sleep1 and  
some of the symptoms peculiar to        
mesmerized persons1 has since been      
frequently varied4 ,dodds makes the     
patient take a disk of zinc1 upon which 
a small disk of copper is laid1 into his
 hand1 and regard them fixedly2 thus he 
produces what he calls electro-biology4 
,catton1 in ,manchester1 ,england1      
prefers a gentle brushing of the        
forehead1 and by this simple means      
causes magnetic sleep4 ,braid's         
experiments1 in which invariably        
over-excitement of nerves was followed  
by torpor1 rigidity1 and insensibility1 
have since been repeated by eminent     
physicians with a view to produce       
anaesthesis during painful operations4  
,they have met with perfect success2 and
 the removal of the shining object1     
fresh air1 and slight frictions1        
sufficed to restore consciousness4 ,the 

same results have been obtained in      
,france1 where1 according to a report   
made to the ,french ,academy1 in #ahei1 
by the renowned ,dr4 ,velpeau1 persons  
induced to look at a shining object1    
held close between their eyes1 began to 
squint violently1 and in a few moments  
to fall1 utterly unconscious and        
insensible1 into magnetic sleep4 ,maury 
explains the process as one of vertigo1 
which itself again is caused by the     
pressure of blood upon the brain1 and   
adds1 that any powerful impression      
produced upon the retina may have the   
same effect4 ,hence1 no doubt1 the mal  
occhio of the ,italians1 inherited from 
the evil eye of the ancients2 hence the 
often almost marvelous power which some 
men have exercised by the mere glance of
 the eye4 ,the fixed look of the        
magnetizer1 which attracts the eye of   
the patient1 and holds it1 as it were1  
spell-bound1 has very much the same     
effect1 and when this look is carefully 
cultivated it may put others beside     

themselves--as was the case with ,urbain
 ,graudier1 who could1 at any time1     
cause his arms to fall into a trance by 
merely fixing his eyes upon them for a  
few minutes4  ,from all these           
experiments we gather1 once more1 that  
men can1 by a variety of means1 which   
are called magnetism or mesmerism1      
influence others who are susceptible1   
till the latter fall into magnetic      
sleep1 have cataleptic attacks1 or      
become clairvoyant4 ,it is less certain 
that1 as many assert1 these results are 
obtained by means of a most subtle1 as  
yet unknown1 fluid1 which the magnetizer
 causes to vibrate in his own mind1 and 
which passes from him1 by means of his  
hands1 into the patient1 where it       
produces effects corresponding to those 
felt by the principal4 ,to accomplish   
even this1 it is absolutely necessary   
that the magnetizer should not only     
possess a higher energy than his        
patient1 but also stand to him in the   
relation of the positive pole to the    

negative4 ,the extent of success is     
measurable by the strength of will on   
one hand1 and the degree of             
susceptibility on the other2 both may be
 infinitely varied1 from total absence  
to an overwhelming abundance4 ,practice1
 at least1 however1 aids the magnetizer 
effectually1 and certain ,french and    
,italian masters have obtained          
surprising results4 ,the most striking  
of these is still the cataleptic state1 
which they cause at will4 ,breathing1   
pulsation1 and digestion continue       
uninterrupted1 but the muscles are no   
longer subject to our will2 they cease  
to be active1 and hence the patient     
remains immovable in any position he may
 be forced to assume4  ,the general     
symptoms produced by magnetizing are    
uniformly the same3 as soon as a        
sufficient number of passes have been   
made from the head downward the patient 
draws a few deep inhalations1 and then  
follow increased animal heat and        
perspiration1 the effect of greater     

activity of the nerves1 while pain      
ceases and cheerfulness succeeds        
despondency4 ,if the passes are         
continued1 these symptoms increase in   
force1 produce their natural            
consequences1 and1 the functions        
becoming normal1 recovery takes place4  
,magnetic sleep is frequently preceded  
by slight feverishness1 convulsive      
trembling and fainting4 ,the eyelids1   
half or entirely closed1 begin to       
tremble1 the eyeballs turn upward and   
inward1 and the pupils become enlarged  
and insensible to light4 ,the features  
change in a striking manner1 peculiar to
 this kind of sleep1 and easily         
recognized4 ,after several experiments  
of this kind have been made upon        
susceptible persons1 the outward sleep  
begins to be accompanied by an inner    
awakening1 at first in a half-dreamy    
state and gradually more fully1 till    
conversation can be attempted4          
,contrary to the general impression1    
faith does not seem to be an essential  

element of success1 at least on the part
 of the patient1 for infants and very   
young children have been rendered       
clairvoyant as well as grown persons4   
,on the other hand1 natural             
susceptibility is indispensable1 for    
,deleuse 7,def4 du ,magnetisme1 p4 #aef7
 states that in his extended practice he
 found only one out of twenty persons   
fit to be magnetized4 ,of those whom he 
could influence1 only one in twenty     
could converse in his sleep1 and of five
 of this class not more than one became 
fully clairvoyant4 ,certain persons1    
though well endowed1 impress their      
patients unfavorably1 cause a sensation 
of cold instead of heat in their system1
 and produce a feeling of strong        
aversion4 ,the most remarkable feature  
in all these relations1 however1 is the 
fact that the patient not unfrequently  
affects the magnetizer1 and this in the 
most extraordinary manner4 ,one         
physician took into the hand with which 
he had touched a dying person1 two      

finches2 they immediately sickened and  
died a few days later4 ,another1 a      
physically powerful and perfectly       
healthy man1 who was treating a patient 
suffering of tic douloureux by means of 
magnetism1 became unwell after a few    
days1 and on the seventh day fell       
himself a victim to that painful        
disease1 till he had to give up the     
treatment4 ,he handed his patient over  
to a brother physician1 who suffered in 
the same manner1 and actually died in a 
short time4  ,after continued practice  
has strengthened the magnetizer1 his    
passes often become unnecessary1 and he 
can at last1 under favorable            
circumstances1 produce magnetic sleep by
 a simple glance or even the mere       
unuttered volition4 ,some physicians had
 only to say ,sleep6 and their patient  
fell asleep2 others were able to move   
the sleepers from their beds by a slight
 touch with the tip of the thumb4 ,one  
of this class1 after curing a poor boy  
of catalepsy1 retained such perfect     

control over him that he only needed to 
point at him with his finger1 or to let 
him touch some metal which he had       
magnetized1 in order to make him fall   
down as if thunderstruck4 ,the great    
,german writer1 known as ,jean ,paul1   
relates of himself that he1 in a large  
company and by merely looking at her    
fixedly1 caused a ,mrs4 ,k4 twice to    
fall almost asleep and to make her heart
 beat and her color go1 till ,s4 had to 
help her4 ,the ,abbe ,faria1 who seems  
to have been specially endowed with such
 power1 would magnetize perfect         
strangers by suddenly stretching out his
 hands and saying in an authoritative   
tone3 ,sleep1 ,i will it6 ,he had a     
formidable competitor afterwards in     
,hebert1 who played almost at will with 
a large number of spectators in his     
crowded hall1 making them follow him    
wherever he led1 or causing them to fall
 asleep by simply making passes over the
 inside of their hats4 ,in the case of  
young girls he produced rigidity of     

members with great facility1 and then   
caused them to assume any position he   
chose2 his patients were utterly        
helpless and powerless4 ,dupotet1       
already mentioned1 possessed similar    
influence over others2 he once          
magnetized an athletic man of ripe      
years1 by merely walking around the     
chair on which he was seated1 and forced
 him to turn with him by jerks4 ,on     
another occasion he made a white        
chalk-mark on the floor1 and then       
requested a gentleman to put both his   
feet upon the spot2 while he remained   
quietly standing by the side of his     
friends4 ,after a few minutes the       
stranger began to shut his eyes1 and his
 body trembled and swayed to and fro1   
till it sank so low that the head hung  
down to the hips--at last ,dupotet      
loosened the spell by upward passes4 ,an
 ,italian1 ,ragazzoni1 excited in #ahei1
 no small sensation by his remarkable   
success as a magnetizer4 ,unlike other  
physicians1 he used an abundance of     

gestures to accompany the active play of
 his expressive features1 and yet by    
merely breathing upon persons he could  
check their respiration and the         
circulation of their blood2 in like     
manner he caused the chest to swell and 
paralyzed single limbs or the whole     
body4 ,he pushed needles through the    
hand or the skin of the forehead without
 causing a sign of pain2 he enabled his 
patients to guess his thoughts1 and set 
them walking1 running or dancing1       
although they were in one room and he in
 another4 ,when he had paralyzed their  
senses1 burning sulphur did not affect  
their smell1 nor brilliant light the    
open pupil2 the ringing of a large bell 
close to the ear and the firing of a    
pistol remained unheard4 ,in fine1 he   
repeated all the experiments already    
made by ,puysegur with his patient1     
,victor1 but generally without the use  
of passes4 7,schopenhauer1 ,ueber d4    
,willen in d4 ,natur4 #ahfg1 p4 #ajb47  
,maury1 who has given a most interesting

 and trustworthy account of similar     
cases 7,revue des ,deux ,mondes1 #ahfj1 
t4 #be71 states in speaking of ,general 
,noizet1 that the latter caused him to  
fall asleep by saying3 ,dormes6         
,immediately a thick veil fell upon his 
eyes1 he felt weak1 began to perspire1  
and felt a strong pressure upon the     
abdomen4 ,a second experiment1 however1 
was less successful4  ,besides passes1 a
 variety of other means have been       
employed to produce magnetic sleep and  
kindred phenomena4 ,dr4 ,bendsea1 one of
 the earlier practitioners1 frequently  
used metal mirrors or even ordinary     
looking-glasses2 another ,dr4 ,barth1   
maintained that by touching or          
irritating any part of the outer skull1 
the underlying portions of the brains   
could be excited4 ,by thus pressing upon
 the organ of love of children1 his     
patients would at once begin to think of
 children1 and often caress a cushion4  
,in this theory he is supported by      
,haddock1 who first discovered that the 

magnetizer's will could force his       
patient to substitute his fancies for   
the reality1 and1 for instance1 to      
believe a handkerchief to be a pet dog  
or an infant1 and an empty glass to be  
filled with such liquids as he          
suggested4 ,the influence in such cases 
must1 however1 be rather ascribed to the
 fact that the magnetizers were also    
phrenologists1 than to the presumed     
organs themselves4  ,it must lastly be  
mentioned that some persons claim to    
possess the power to magnetize          
themselves1 and ,dupotet1 a trustworthy 
authority in such matters1 supports the 
assertion4 ,a case is mentioned in the  
,journal de l'ame 7iv4 p4 #ajc71 of a   
man who could hypnotize himself from    
childhood up1 by merely fixing his eye  
for some time upon a certain point2 in  
later years1 probably by too frequent   
excitement of this kind1 he was apt to  
fall into trances and to see visions4   
,the sympathetic relations which by     
magnetism are established between two or

 more persons who are in a state of     
somnambulism or clairvoyance1 is        
commonly called rapport1 although there 
is no apparent necessity for preferring 
a ,french word4 ,the closest relations  
exist naturally between the magnetizer  
and his subject1 and the intensity of   
the rapport varies1 of course1 with the 
energy of will of the one1 and the      
susceptibility of the patient of the    
other4 ,the same rapport exists1        
however1 often between the patients of  
the same magnetizer1 and may be         
increased by merely joining hands1 or a 
strong effort of will on the part of the
 physician4 ,it has often been claimed  
that mesmerism produces exceptionally by
 rapport what in twins is the effect of 
a close natural resemblance and         
contemporaneousness of organization4    
,clairvoyants endowed with the highest  
powers which have yet been observed1    
thus see not only their own body as if  
it were transparent1 but can in like    
manner watch what is going on within the

 bodies of others1 provided they are    
brought into rapport with them1 and     
hence their ability to prescribe for    
their ailments4 ,puysegur was probably  
the first to discover this peculiarity3 
he was humming to himself a favorite air
 while magnetizing a peasant boy1 and   
suddenly the latter began to sing the   
same air with a loud voice4 ,haddock's  
patients gave all the natural signs of  
pain in different parts of the body1    
when he was struck or pinched1 while at 
the very time they were themselves      
insensible to pain4 ,dr4 ,emelin found  
that when he held his watch to his right
 ear1 a female patient of his heard the 
ticking in her left ear2 if he held it  
to her own ear she heard nothing4 ,he   
was1 also1 not a little astonished when 
another patient1 in a distant town to   
which he traveled1 revealed to him a    
whole series of professional meditations
 in which he had been plunged during his
 journey4 ,and yet such a knowledge of  
the magnetizer's thoughts is nothing    

uncommon in well-qualified subjects who 
have been repeatedly magnetized4 ,mrs4  
,crowe mentions the case of a gentleman 
who was thus treated while he was at    
,malvern and his physician at           
,cheltenham4 ,he was lying in magnetic  
sleep1 when he suddenly sprang up1      
clapped his hands together1 and broke   
out into loud laughter4 ,his physician  
was written to and replied that on the  
same day he had been busy thinking of   
his patient1 when a sudden knock at the 
door startled him and made him jump and 
clap his hands together4 ,he then       
laughed heartily at his folly6 7,i4 p4  
#adj47 ,dupotet once saw a striking     
illustration of the rapport which may   
exist between two patients of the same  
magnetizer1 even where the two are      
unknown to each other4  ,he was treating
 some of his patients in a hospital in  
,st4 ,petersburg1 by means of magnetism1
 and found1 to his surprise1 that       
whenever he put one of them to sleep in 
the upper story1 the other in the lower 

story would also instantly drop asleep1 
although she could not possibly be aware
 of what was going on upstairs4 ,this   
happened1 moreover1 not once1 but       
repeatedly1 and for weeks in succession4
 ,if both were asleep when he came on   
his daily round1 he needed only arouse  
one to hear the other awake with a start
 and utter loud cries4  ,magnetic sleep 
generally does not begin immediately1   
but after some intermediate danger2 most
 frequently ordinary sleep serves as a  
bridge leading to magnetic sleep1 and   
yet the two are entirely different      
conditions4 ,when at last sleep is      
induced1 various degrees of exceptional 
powers are exhibited1 which are         
evidences of an inner sense that has    
been awakened1 while the outer senses   
have become inactive4 ,the patient is1  
however1 utterly unconscious of the fact
 that his eyes are closed1 and believes 
he sees through them as when he is      
awake4 ,when somnambulists are asked why
 they keep their eyes shut1 they answer3

 ,i do not know what you mean2 ,i see   
you perfectly well4 ,the highest degree1
 but rarely developed in specially      
favored persons1 consists of perfect    
clairvoyance accompanied by a sense of  
indescribable bliss2 in this state the  
spiritual and moral features of the     
patient assume a form of highest        
development1 visions are beheld1 remote 
and future things are discerned1 and    
other persons may be influenced1 even if
 they are at a considerable distance4   
,it is in this condition that persons in
 magnetic sleep exhibit in the highest  
degree the magic phenomena of magnetism4
 ,the latter are generally accompanied  
by a sensation of intense light1 which  
at times becomes almost painful1 and has
 to be allayed by the physician1        
especially when it threatens to         
interfere with the unconscious          
conversations of the patient4 ,this     
enjoyment has1 however1 to be paid for  
dearly1 for it exhausts the sleeper1 and
 in many instances it so closely        

resembles the struggle of the soul when 
parting from the body in death1 that    
dissolution seems to be impending4      
,somnambulists themselves maintain that 
such magnetic sleep shortens their lives
 by several years1 and has to be        
interrupted in time to prevent it from  
becoming fatal4 ,recollection rarely    
survives magnetic sleep1 but after      
awaking1 vague and indistinct impulses  
continue1 which stand in some connection
 with the incidents of such sleep4 ,a   
well known magnetizer1 ,mouillesaux1    
once ordered a patient1 while sunk in   
magnetic sleep1 to go on the following  
day and call on a person whom she did   
not like4 ,the promise was given        
reluctantly1 but not mentioned again    
after she awoke4 ,to test the matter1   
the physician went1 accompanied by a few
 friends1 on the next day1 to that      
person's house1 and1 to their great     
surprise1 the patient was seen to walk  
up and down anxiously before the door1  
and at last to enter1 visibly           

embarrassed4 ,mouillesaux at once       
followed her and explained the matter2  
she told him that from the moment of her
 rising in the morning she had been     
haunted by the idea that she ought to go
 to this house1 till her nervousness had
 become so painful as to force her to go
 on her unwelcome errand4 7,expose des  
,cures1 etc41 iii4 p4 #gj47  ,the power 
to perceive things present without the  
use of the ordinary organs1 and to      
become aware of events happening at a   
distance1 has been frequently ascribed  
to an additional sense1 possibly the    
,common ,sense of ,aristotle4 ,its      
fainter operations are seen in the      
almost marvelous power possessed by bats
 to fly through minute meshes of silk   
nets1 stretched out for the purpose1    
even when deprived of sight1 and to find
 their way to their nests without a     
moment's hesitation4 ,cuvier ascribed   
this remarkable power to their          
exquisitely developed sense of touch1   
which would make them aware of an almost

 imperceptible pressure of the air2 but 
while this might explain their avoiding 
walls and trees1 it could not well apply
 to slender silk threads4 ,another      
familiar illustration is found in the   
perfectly amazing ability often         
possessed by blind1 or blind and deaf   
persons1 who distinguish visitors by    
means neither granted nor known to their
 more fortunate brethren4 ,it is        
generally believed that in such cases   
the missing senses are supplied by a    
superior development of the remaining   
senses1 but even this assertion has     
never yet been fully proved1 nor if     
proved1 would it supply a key to some of
 the almost marvelous achievements of   
blind people4  ,this new or general     
sense seems only to awaken in           
exceptional cases and under peculiar    
circumstances4 ,that it never shows     
itself in healthy life is due to the    
simple fact that its power is then      
obscured by the unceasing activity of   
the ordinary senses4 ,a peculiar1 and as

 yet unexplained feature of this power  
is the tendency to ascribe its results1 
not to the ordinary organs1 but by a    
curious transposition to some other part
 of the body1 so that persons in        
magnetic sleep believe1 as the          
magnetizer may choose1 that they see1 or
 smell1 or hear by means of the         
finger-tips1 the pit of the stomach1 the
 forehead1 or even the back of the head4
 ,it is true that savants like ,alfred  
,maury 7,revue des ,deux ,mondes1 #ahfj1
 t4 #be7 and ,dr4 ,michea ascribe these 
new powers only to an increased activity
 of the senses2 but nothing is gained by
 this reasoning1 as such an astounding  
increase of the irritability of the     
retina or the tympanum is as much of a  
magic phenomenon as the presumed new    
sense4 ,the simple explanation is that  
it is not the eye which sees nor the ear
 which hears1 but that images and       
sound-waves are carried by these organs 
to the great nervous centre1 where we   
must look for the true source of all our

 perceptions4 ,if in magnetic sleep the 
same images and waves can be conveyed by
 other means1 the result will be        
precisely the same as if the patient was
 observing with open eyes and ears4  ,a 
lady treated by ,despine thus heard with
 the palm of her hand and read by means 
of the finger-tips1 which she passed    
rapidly over the letters presented to   
her in her sleep4 ,at the same time she 
invariably ascribed the sensations she  
experienced to the natural senses2      
flowers1 for instance1 laid down unseen 
by her1 so as barely to touch her       
fingers1 caused her to draw in air      
through the nostrils and to exclaim3    
,ah1 how sweet that is6 and if objects  
were placed against the sole of her     
foot1 she would often exclaim3 ,what is 
that8 ,i cannot see it distinctly4      
,somnambulists can1 hence1 carry on     
domestic work in the dark with the same 
success as in broad daylight1 and a     
patient whose case has been most        
carefully investigated1 could hem the   

finest linen handkerchiefs by holding   
the needle to her brow1 high above her  
eyes4 ,thus persons have seen by means  
of almost every part of the body1 a fact
 which has led more than one            
distinguished physiologist to assume    
that1 under special circumstances1 all  
the papillae of nerves in the epidermis 
may become capable of conveying the     
sensual perceptions ordinarily assigned 
only to certain organs1 as the eye or   
the ear4 ,even this supposition1        
however1 would not suffice to explain   
the ability possessed by some magnetized
 persons to see and hear by means of    
their fingers1 even without touching the
 objects or when separated from the     
latter by an intervening wall4  ,the    
highest magic phenomena connected with  
magnetic sleep consist in the perception
 of hidden things and in the influence  
exercised over persons at a distance4   
,only a few of these can be explained by
 natural laws and by the increased power
 of the senses frequently granted to    

peculiarly constituted or diseased      
persons4 ,the senses1 on the contrary1  
cease to operate1 and man1 for a time1  
becomes endowed with a higher power1    
which is probably part and portion of   
his spiritual being1 as made after the  
image of the ,most ,high1 but obscured  
and rendered inoperative by the         
subjection of the soul to the earthborn 
body4 ,nor is this power always under   
his control2 as if to mark its          
supernatural character1 the patient very
 often perceives what is perfectly      
indifferent to himself1 and is forced1  
almost against his own will1 to witness 
or foresee events1 the bearing of which 
he cannot discern4 ,generally1          
therefore1 the importance of these      
revelations is of less interest than the
 manner in which they are made1 which is
 invariably of the kind we call magic4  
,this is still further attested by the  
difficulty1 which is almost always felt1
 of translating them1 as it were1 into  
ordinary language1 and hence the many   

allegoric and symbolic forms under which
 they are made known4 ,future events are
 often not seen1 but read in a newspaper
 or heard as recited by strangers2 in   
other cases they are apparently imparted
 by the spirits of deceased persons4 ,a 
very frequent form is the impression    
that the soul leaves the body and1      
pursuing the track of a person to whom  
the magnetizer points1 with all the     
fidelity and marvelous accuracy of a    
well-trained dog1 finally reaches him   
and sees him and his surroundings4 ,nor 
is the distance a matter of             
indifference2 like the ordinary senses1 
this new sense also seems to have its   
laws and its limits1 and if the task is 
too heavy and the distance too great1   
the perception remains vague and        
indefinite4 ,most important of all is   
the fact that1 unlike spiritual visions1
 magnetism never enables the sleeper to 
go beyond the limits of our earthly     
home4 ,on the other hand1 time is no    
more an obstacle than space1 and genuine

 somnambulists have seen past and future
 events as well as distant scenes4      
,mistakes1 however1 occur here as with  
all our other senses2 as healthy persons
 see amiss or hear amiss1 so magnetic   
sleepers also are not unfrequently      
mistaken--errors to which they are all  
the more liable as the impressions      
received by magic powers have to be     
translated into the language adapted to 
ordinary senses4  ,among somnambulists  
of this class ,alexis is one of the best
 known1 and has left us an account of   
many experiments in his ,explication du 
,sommeil ,magnetique4 ,alexis was once  
put into magnetic sleep by a friend of  
,dr4 ,mayo1 and then ordered to go to   
,boppard1 on the ,rhine1 and look for   
him2 ,alexis1 after some hesitation1    
stated that he had found him1 and       
described--although he had never seen   
him before--his appearance and dress1   
not only1 but also the state of mind in 
which he was at that moment1 all of     
which proved afterward to be perfectly  

correct4 ,alexis declared that his      
perceptions varied very much in         
clearness1 and that his power to see    
friends at a distance depended largely  
on the affection he felt for them4 ,in  
all instances his magic powers were far 
inferior to those of his natural senses1
 although they never misled him1 as the 
latter had done occasionally4 ,in the   
,bibliotheque du ,magnetisme ,animal    
7vii4 p4 #adf71 a remarkable case is    
reported as attested by undoubted       
authority4 ,the ,english consul1        
,baldwin1 was1 in #agie1 visited by an  
,italian improvisatore1 who happened to 
have a small medicine-chest with him4   
,in the consul's kitchen was a little   
,arab1 a scullion1 who suffered of a    
harassing cough1 and whom his master    
magnetized in order to cure him4 ,while 
in his sleep the boy saw the            
medicine-chest1 of which he had known   
nothing before1 and selected among the  
phials one with sugar of agrimonium1    
which relieved him of his troubles4 ,the

 ,italian1 thereupon1 asked also to be  
magnetized2 fell promptly asleep1 and   
wrote in this condition1 with closed    
eyes1 a poem praising the art of        
magnetism4 ,haddock's famous subject1   
,emma1 actually accomplished once the   
crucial test of all magic phenomena--she
 proved the value of magnetism in a     
question of money4 ,in the year #ahdi   
three notes1 amounting to ,l#fej1 had   
been deposited in a bank1 and           
disappeared in the most unaccountable   
manner4 ,one of the clerks confessed1   
that although he had received them1     
wrapped them up in paper1 and placed    
them with a parcel of other notes1 he   
had forgotten to enter them regularly in
 the books4 ,no trace could be          
discovered2 at last the magnetized      
subject was consulted1 and after some   
little time declared that the notes were
 lying in a certain room1 inserted in a 
certain panel1 which she described so   
accurately that upon search being       
instituted the missing notes were found1

 and the clerk's character was cleared4 
,dr4 ,barth magnetized1 in #ahdf1 a lady
 who was filled with anxiety about her  
husband in ,america1 from whom she had  
not heard for a long time4 ,after having
 been put into magnetic sleep several   
times1 she once exclaimed3 ,god be      
thanked1 my poor husband is better4 ,i  
am looking over his shoulder and see him
 write a letter addressed to me1 which  
will be here in six or seven weeks4 ,he 
tells me that he has been ill for three 
months4 ,two months afterwards she      
actually received such a letter1 in     
which her husband informed her of his   
three months' illness1 and regretted the
 pain he had probably caused her by his 
protracted silence4 ,a young lady1      
magnetized by ,robert ,napier in his    
house in ,edinburgh1 not only described 
her parents' house as it appeared at the
 moment1 but also the home of a ,miss   
,b41 in ,new ,south ,wales1 where she   
had never been4 ,in the garden of the   
house she saw a gentleman accompanied by

 a lady in black1 and a dog of light    
color with dark spots2 upon inquiry it  
appeared that ,colonel ,b41 the father  
of the young lady1 had at that time     
actually been in the garden with his    
wife and his dog1 although some of the  
minor details proved to have been       
incorrect4 ,she also gave a minute and  
accurate account of the upper stories of
 ,napier's house1 where she had never   
been2 but recognizing everything only   
gradually1 and correcting the mistakes  
which she had at first committed4 ,thus 
she spoke of ,napier's old aunt as      
dressed in dark colors2 after a while   
she exclaimed3 ,oh1 now ,i see she is   
dressed in white6 ,it appeared afterward
 that the old lady had been sitting in a
 deep arm-chair1 overshadowed by the    
back of the chair1 the gas-light being  
behind her2 just at that moment1        
however1 ,napier's wife had come up1 the
 aunt had leaned forward to speak to    
her1 and thus being brought into the    
light1 had revealed her white           

night-dress4 ,this case is peculiarly   
interesting as proving that the         
perceptions of somnambulists are        
dependent upon conditions similar to    
those which govern the ordinary senses4 
7,colquhoun1 p4 #fbf47  ,according to   
such high authorities as ,hufeland and  
others1 magnetic sleep enables persons  
to see the interior of the bodies of    
others4 ,he himself heard one of his    
female patients1 a woman without any    
knowledge of anatomy1 describe quite    
accurately the inner structure of the   
ear1 and of certain other parts of the  
body4 7,ueber ,sympathie1 p4 #aae47 ,it 
seems to have been well ascertained that
 she had never had an opportunity of    
reading such a description1 even if her 
memory had been retentive enough to     
enable her to recall and recite what she
 had thus chanced to read4 ,the         
clairvoyant ,alexis once saw through the
 clothing of a visitor a scar1 and after
 gazing at it--in his sleep--for a long 
time1 he came to the conclusion that it 

was the effect of a dog's bite1 and     
finally stated all the facts attending  
the accident of which the scar was the  
sole remaining evidence4 ,even          
historical predictions made in magnetic 
sleep are not wanting4 ,the death of a  
king of ,wuertemberg was thus foretold  
by two somnambulists1 who were under    
medical treatment1 and who warned their 
physicians1 well-known and trustworthy  
practitioners of good standing1 of the  
approaching event4 ,the king's death    
took place without being preceded by any
 serious illness1 and in the manner     
minutely predicted by one of the        
patients2 a confirmation which was all  
the more striking1 as the prediction had
 been made in the presence of a number  
of distinguished men1 among whom were a 
minister of the kingdom and several     
divines4 ,another case is that of the   
,swedish king1 ,gustavus ,vasa1 who was 
assassinated in #agib1 by ,ankarstroem4 
,accompanied by his physician1 he once  
called1 as ,count ,haga1 upon a patient 

treated by ,aubry1 a pupil of ,mesmer4  
,she recognized him immediately1        
although plunged in magnetic sleep1 told
 him that he suffered of oppressions of 
the chest1 the effect of a broken arm1  
and foretold him that his life was in   
danger and that he would be murdered4   
,the king was deeply impressed1 and as  
his physician expressed doubt and       
contempt in his face1 he desired that   
the latter should be put en rapport with
 the patient4 ,no sooner was this done  
than the physician's eyes fell1 he sank 
into magnetic sleep1 and when1 after    
some time1 he was aroused he left the   
room in great agitation4 7,a4 ,gauthier4
 ,hist4 du ,somnamb41 ii4 p4 #bdf47  ,an
 occasional phenomenon of magnetic sleep
 is the improvement of the language of  
patients2 this appears not only in the  
case of well-educated persons1 whose    
diction assumes often a high poetical   
form1 but far more strikingly in        
unlettered and ignorant patients1 who   
suddenly manifest an unexpected         

familiarity with the more refined form  
of their native tongue1 and not         
unfrequently even with idioms of which  
they have previously had no knowledge   
whatever4 ,all these different symptoms 
have been authenticated by numerous and 
trustworthy witnesses4 ,humble          
peasant-women have used the most elegant
 forms of their native language2        
travelers have unexpectedly recovered   
the use of idioms once known to them1   
but long since forgotten2 and1 finally1 
a real gift of languages has            
unmistakably enabled patients to use    
idioms with which they had previously   
never come in contact4 ,this phenomenon 
develops itself occasionally into       
poetical improvisations of considerable 
merit1 and the beautiful music which    
many hear in magnetic sleep1 or just    
before dying1 as if coming from another 
world1 is1 in like manner1 nothing but a
 product of their own mental exaltation4
 ,thus persons who spoke merely a local 
dialect1 and were acquainted with no    

other form of their mother-tongue1 when 
placed in magnetic sleep would speak the
 best ,english or ,german1 as if their  
mind1 freed from all fetters1 resumed   
once more the original task of forming  
the language in accordance with their   
heightened capacities4 ,little children1
 whose education had scarcely begun1    
have been known to recite verses or to  
compose speeches1 of which they would   
have been utterly incapable in a healthy
 state1 and of which they had afterwards
 no recollection4 ,macnish mentions a   
young girl who1 when magnetized1 always 
fell back into ,welsh1 which she had    
spoken as a child1 but long since       
forgotten1 and ,lausanne mentions one of
 his patients1 a ,creole1 who came at   
the age of five to ,france1 and late in 
life1 when magnetized1 spoke no longer  
,french but the miserable patois of her 
early years4 ,a young tanner in         
,england1 also1 though utterly          
uneducated1 like the peasant-boy of     
,puysegur1 was able in magnetic sleep to

 speak ,german4 ,whenever another       
person1 at such a time1 spoke to him in 
,english1 his lips began at once to     
move1 and he translated what he heard   
into fair ,german verses4 7,morin1      
,journ4 du ,magn4 #ahed1 ,no4 #aii47    
,it must not be overlooked that the gift
 of singing and of using poetical       
language1 often of great beauty1 is not 
unfrequently developed in fever-patients
 also1 and in insane persons4           
,insensibility to impressions from      
without is another phenomenon which     
magnetic sleep has in common with many  
other conditions4 ,it is produced by    
anaesthetics like chloroform and ether1 
by utter exhaustion in consequence of   
long suffering1 as was the case with    
martyrs and prisoners subjected to      
torture1 and by excessive loss of blood4
 ,but in magnetic sleep it reaches a    
higher degree than under other          
circumstances2 cataleptic patients1 and 
even clairvoyants in moments of greatest
 excitement1 seem to be in a state in   

which the nerves cease to act as        
conveyers of impressions to the brain4  
,this has often led to unwarrantable    
abuse2 physicians1 under the pretext of 
scientific investigation1 inflicting    
severe injuries upon their patients1    
utterly unmindful of the fact that1     
however great the momentary             
insensibility may be1 the sense of pain 
returns at the instant of re-awaking4   
,on the other hand1 physicians have     
taken advantage of this state of        
unconsciousness of pain1 in order to    
perform serious operations4  ,the first 
instance of a surgical operation being  
attempted while the patient was in      
mesmeric sleep1 was that of ,madame     
,plantin1 a lady of sixty-four years1   
who suffered of cancer in the breast4 ,a
 ,mr4 ,chapelain prepared her by        
throwing her for several days into a    
trance by means of the usual mesmeric   
passes4 ,she then manifested the        
ordinary symptoms of somnambulism1 and  
conversed about the impending danger    

with perfect calmness1 while she        
contemplated it1 when conscious1 with   
the utmost horror and apprehension4 ,on 
the #abth of ,april1 #ahbd1 she was     
again thrown into a trance1 and the     
painful and dangerous operation         
accomplished in less than a quarter of  
an hour1 while she conversed with the   
surgeon1 the famous ,dr4 ,ploquet1 and  
showed in her voice1 her breathing1 and 
her pulse not the slightest sign of     
excitement or pain4 ,when the wound was 
bound up1 she awoke1 but upon hearing   
what had taken place1 she became so     
violently excited that the magnetizer   
had to cause her once more to fall      
asleep under his passes4 ,and yet1 in   
spite of this brilliant success1 when   
,dr4 ,warren of ,boston asked the great 
surgeon why he had never repeated the   
experiment1 the latter was forced to    
acknowledge that he had not dared do it1
 because the prejudice against mesmerism
 was so strong in ,paris that a         
repetition would have imperiled his     

position and his reputation6  ,since    
that time mesmerism has been repeatedly1
 and almost always successfully employed
 as an anaesthetic2 ,dr4 ,james ,esdall1
 chief surgeon of the presidency of     
,calcutta1 having reduced the           
application to a regular method4 ,dr4   
,forbes reports two cases of amputation 
of the thigh in magnetic sleep1 which   
were successful1 and similar experiments
 have been made in ,england1 and in     
,india1 with the same happy result4  ,it
 is probably a feature connected with   
this insensibility that persons in      
magnetic sleep can with impunity take   
unusually large doses of medicine1 which
 they prescribe for themselves4 ,for    
magnetic sleep seems to develop1 as we  
have stated1 among other magic          
phenomena1 a peculiar insight also1 into
 diseases and their remedies4 ,although 
diseases may assume a variety of        
deceptive forms1 the predictions made by
 magnetic patients1 many months in      
advance1 seldom fail to be verified4    

,this is a mere matter of instinct1 for 
ignorant persons and young children     
possess the gift in equal degree with   
the best-informed and most experienced  
patients4 ,the remedies are almost      
exclusively so-called simples--a hint of
 some value to physicians--but always   
prescribed with much judgment1 and in a 
manner evincing rare medical tact4 ,the 
dose1 however1 is generally twice or    
three times as much as is ordinarily    
given4 ,magnetic patients prescribe as  
successfully for others1 with whom they 
are placed en rapport1 as for           
themselves1 since a state of perfect    
clairvoyance enables them to judge of   
other persons also with perfect         
accuracy4 ,one of the most remarkable   
cases is mentioned by ,schopenhauer4    
7,parerga1 etc41 ,i4 p4 #bdf47 ,a       
consumptive patient in ,russia directed1
 in her magnetic sleep1 the attending   
physician to put her for nine days into 
a state of syncope4 ,he did so          
reluctantly1 but during this time her   

system seemed to enjoy perfect rest1 and
 by this means she recovered4 ,haddock1 
also1 cured several persons at a        
distance1 by following the directions   
given to him by a patient of his in her 
magnetic sleep2 he handed her a lock of 
hair1 or a few written lines1 which     
sufficed to put her en rapport with the 
absent sufferers4  ,among the magic     
phenomena observed in magnetic sleep we 
must lastly mention ecstatic elevation  
in the air1 the giving out of peculiar  
sounds1 and the power to produce        
extraordinary effects at a distance4    
,even common somnambulists1 it is well  
known1 seem not to be in the same degree
 subject to the laws of gravity as      
persons in a state of wakefulness3 hence
 their amazing exploits in walking on   
roofs1 gliding along narrow cornices1 or
 even running up perpendicular walls4   
,persons in magnetic sleep have been    
known to float on fresh water as well as
 in the sea1 although they were unable  
to swim1 and sank1 if they went into the

 water when awake4 ,dupotel saw one of  
his patients running along the side of  
his room on a small strip of wood which 
was merely tacked on to the wall1 and   
could not have supported a small weight4
 ,this peculiar power is all the more   
fully authenticated as persons have     
fallen from great heights1 while in     
magnetic sleep1 without suffering any   
injury2 but if they are aroused1 and    
then fall1 they invariably become       
subject again to the natural laws1 and  
are often killed4 ,this temporary       
suspension of the law of gravity has    
been compared with similar phenomena in 
science4 ,thus it is well known that a  
galvanic stream passing through coils of
 copper wire will hold an iron needle   
suspended within the coils2 and an iron 
ball dropped into a glass tube between  
two powerful magnets will in the same   
manner remain hanging free in the air4  
,the advocates of this theory reason    
that if magnetism can suspend the law of
 gravity in metals1 it is at least      

possible that it may have a similar     
power in the human body4 ,it has1       
besides1 been observed that certain     
affections1 such as violent nervous     
fevers1 increase the weight of sufferers
 considerably1 while a state of trance  
diminishes it even more strikingly4     
,with regard to the magic phenomena of  
increased intelligence1 ,abercrombie    
mentions the case of a girl who as a    
child had heard a relative play the     
violin with a certain degree of mastery4
 ,later in life she became his patient1 
and in her magnetic sleep repeated      
unconsciously some of the pieces in     
tones very pleasing and closely         
resembling the notes of a violin4 ,each 
paroxysm1 however1 was succeeded by     
certain symptoms of her disease4 ,some  
years afterwards she imitated in like   
manner the sounds of a piano and the    
tones of several members of the family  
who were fond of singing1 in such a     
manner that each voice could be readily 
and distinctly recognized4 ,another year

 passed1 and she conversed with a       
younger companion1 whom she fancied she 
was instructing on topics of political  
and religious interest1 with surprising 
ability and a frequent display of wit4  
,henceforth she led two different kinds 
of life2 when awake she was stupid1     
awkward in her movements1 and unable to 
appreciate music2 in her sleep she      
became clever and showed amazing        
information and great musical talents4  
,at a critical point in her life1 when  
she was twenty-one years old1 a complete
 change took place in the poor girl2 her
 conversation in her magnetic sleep lost
 all its attractions2 she mixed with it 
improper remarks1 and a few months later
 she had to be sent to an insane asylum4
  ,it is only within the present        
generation that the power possessed by  
some men to magnetize animals has been  
revived1 although it was no doubt fully 
known to the ancients1 and may in part  
explain the taming of venomous serpents 
in the ,east4 ,the most remarkable case 

is probably that of ,mr4 ,jan1 director 
of the ,zoological ,gardens at ,milan1  
who charms serpents and lizards4 ,in the
 year #aheh he was requested by a       
learned visitor1 ,professor ,eversmann1 
to allow him to witness some            
experiments2 he at once seized a lizard 
7,l4 viridis7 behind the head and looked
 at it fixedly for a few moments2 the   
animal lay quiet1 then became rigid1 and
 remained in any position which he chose
 to make it assume4 ,upon making a few  
passes with his forefinger it closed its
 eyes at his command4 ,mr4 ,jan         
discovered his gift accidentally one day
 when a whole bagful of lizards 7,l4    
ocellata7 had escaped from him1 and he  
forced them by his will and his eye1 to 
return to his keeping4 7,der ,zoolog4   
,garten4 ,frankfort1 #ahfa1 p4 #eh47 ,a 
,frenchman1 ,treseau1 exercised the same
 power over birds1 which he exhibited in
 #ahfj in ,paris4 ,he magnetized them   
with his hand and his breath1 but as    
nine-tenths of the poor creatures died  

before they became inured to such       
treatment1 no advantage could be derived
 from his talent4 7,des ,mousseaux1 p4  
#caj47 ,a countryman of his1 ,jacques   
,pelissier1 is reported by the same     
authority to have been able to magnetize
 not only birds1 which allowed          
themselves to be taken from the trees1  
but even hares1 so that they remained   
sitting in their forms and were seized  
with the hand 7p4 #cjb74                
,,somnambulism4  ,it is well known that 
somnambulism1 in the ordinary sense of  
the word1 designates the state of       
persons who suffer from an affection    
which disturbs their sleep and causes   
them to perform strange or ordinary     
actions1 as it may happen1 in a state in
 which they are apparently half awake   
and half asleep4 ,this disease is       
already mentioned in the most ancient   
authors1 and its symptoms are correctly 
reported in ,aristotle4 7,de ,gener4    
,anim47 ,he states that the sufferers   
rise in their sleep1 walk about and     

converse1 that they distinguish objects 
as if they were awake1 ascend trees1    
pursue enemies1 perform tasks1 and then 
quietly return to bed4 ,the state of    
somnambulism seems to be intermediate   
between ordinary dreaming and magnetic  
clairvoyance1 and is probably the effect
 of a serious disturbance in our        
physical life1 which causes the brain to
 act in an unusual and abnormal manner4 
,it has always been observed at night   
only1 and most frequently at full moon1 
since the moon seems to affect          
somnambulists not merely by her light1  
but in each of the different phases in a
 peculiar manner4 ,the immediate causes 
of night-walking are often most trivial2
 as ,muratori1 for instance1 tells us of
 a priest who became a somnambulist     
whenever he neglected for more than two 
months to have his hair cut6 ,richard   
7,theorie des ,songes1 p4 #bhh7 mentions
 an analogous case of an old woman whom 
he knew to be subject to the same       
penalty4  ,while nightmares oppress us  

and make apparently all motion          
impossible1 somnambulism1 on the        
contrary1 produces a peculiar facility  
of locomotion and an irresistible       
impulse to mount eminences1 favored     
either by an actual diminution of       
specific gravity1 or by an increase of  
power4 ,this tendency lies again        
half-way between the sensation of       
flying1 which is quite common in dreams1
 and the actual elevation from the      
ground and suspension in the air1 which 
occur in extreme cases of ecstasy4 ,the 
senses remain during night-walking in a 
state of semi-activity2 the somnambulist
 may appear as if fast asleep1 seeing   
and hearing nothing1 so that the loudest
 noises and even violent shaking do not 
rouse him2 or he may1 like a dreamer1 be
 partly under the influence of outward  
impressions4 ,one will rise at night1 go
 to the stable1 saddle his horse and    
ride into the woods1 while another      
mounts the window-ledge and performs all
 the motions of a man on horseback4     

,many move with unfailing certainty on  
perilous paths1 and find their way in   
deepest darkness2 others make blunders  
and fall1 as ,professor ,j4 ,feller did1
 who mistook an open window for a door4 
,by what means they perceive the nature 
of their surroundings1 is still         
unexplained2 it may be the action of the
 ordinary senses1 although these seem to
 be closed1 or they may possess those   
exceptional faculties which constitute  
the magic phenomena connected with      
somnambulism4 ,thus ,forbes 7,brit4 and 
,for4 ,med4 ,rev41 #ahdf7 ascribes their
 power to an increased sensitiveness of 
the retina1 and mentions the case of    
,dr4 ,curry1 who suffered from this     
symptom to such a degree that he        
distinguished every object in a         
completely darkened room with perfect   
ease4 ,in somnambulists1 however1 the   
eyes are generally closed or violently  
turned up2 and in the rare cases in     
which they are open1 they evidently see 
nothing4 ,it is1 besides1 well          

established that people thus affected   
have continued to read1 to play on      
instruments1 and even to write after    
they had fallen sound asleep1 and       
without ever opening their eyes4 ,the   
sensitiveness of the retina could here  
not avail much4 ,a case is mentioned of 
a father who rose at night1 took his    
child from the cradle1 and with wide    
open eyes carried it up and down the    
room1 seeing nothing1 and in such a     
state of utter unconsciousness that his 
wife1 walking by his side1 could safely 
draw all his secrets from him without   
his becoming aware of the process or    
remembering it the next morning4 ,at the
 age of forty-five he ceased to walk in 
his sleep1 but1 instead1 had prophetic  
dreams which revealed to him the        
occurrences of the following day and    
later future events4 7,heer1 ,observ47  
,gassendi 7,phys41 l4 viii4 ch4 #h7     
mentions a young man1 living in         
,provence1 who rose in his sleep1       
dressed1 drew wine in the cellar1 wrote 

up the accounts1 and in the darkest     
night never touched objects that were in
 his way4 ,if he returned quietly to his
 bed1 he slept well1 and strangely      
enough1 recalled everything he had done 
in the night2 but if he was suddenly    
aroused in the cellar or in the street1 
he was seized with violent trembling and
 palpitations of the heart4 ,at times he
 saw but imperfectly2 then he fancied he
 had risen before daybreak1 and lit a   
lamp4 ,the ,encyclopedie ,methodique    
reports the case of a young priest who  
wrote his sermons at night1 and with    
closed eyes1 and then read each page    
aloud1 correcting and improving what he 
had written4 ,a sheet of paper held     
between his eyes and his manuscript did 
not disturb him2 nor did he become aware
 of it if the latter was removed and    
blank paper was substituted2 in this    
case he wrote the corrections precisely 
where they would have been inserted in  
the text4 ,macnish mentions 7,on ,sleep1
 p4 #adh7 the curious case of an        

innkeeper in ,germany1 a huge mass of   
flesh1 who fell asleep at all times and 
in all places1 but who1 when this       
happened while he was playing cards1    
nevertheless continued to follow suit1  
as if he could see what was led4 ,in    
#ahcb1 when he was barely #ej years old1
 he literally fell asleep1 paralysis    
killing him instantly during one of     
these attacks of sleep4 ,the same author
 mentions somnambulists who in their    
sleep walked to the sea-shore and swam  
for some distance without being waked1  
and the case of a ,norwegian who during 
his paroxysms took a boat and rowed     
himself about for some time4 ,he was    
cured of his affection by a tub full of 
water1 which was so placed that he had  
to step into it when leaving his bed4   
,in ,scotland a peasant discovered from 
below the nest of a sea-mew1 which hung 
at an inaccessible height upon a steep  
rock2 some weeks afterwards he rose in  
his sleep1 and to the horror of his     
friends1 who watched him from below1    

climbed to the place1 took the birds1   
and safely returned to his cabin4 ,in   
former ages somnambulists were reported 
to have even committed murder in their  
sleep2 a ,parisian thus rose1 dressed   
himself1 swam across the ,seine1 killed 
his enemy1 and returned the same way    
without ever awaking2 and an ,englishman
 also is reported to have murdered a    
boy1 in a state of unconsciousness1     
while laboring under this affection4    
,modern science1 however1 knows nothing 
of such extreme cases1 and the plea has 
not yet been used by astute lawyers4    
,simple somnambulism is not unfrequently
 connected with magnetic somnambulism1  
and may occasionally be seen even in    
trances during daytime4 ,in such cases  
persons who walk in their sleep may be  
questioned by bystanders1 and in their  
answers prove themselves not            
unfrequently able to foretell future    
events1 or to state what is occurring at
 a distance2 or they perform tasks in   
their sleep which they would not be able

 to accomplish when awake2 they compose 
music1 write poetry1 and read works in  
foreign languages1 without possessing   
the requisite knowledge and training4 ,a
 poor basket-weaver in ,germany once    
heard a sermon which moved him deeply2  
several weeks later he rose at night1   
and repeated the whole sermon from      
beginning to end2 his wife tried in vain
 to rouse him1 and the next morning he  
knew nothing of what had happened4      
,cases of scholars who1 sorely puzzled  
by difficult problems1 gave them up     
before retiring1 and then1 in the night1
 rose in a state of somnambulism1 and   
solved them easily1 are by no means     
uncommon4     ,,ix4  ,,miraculous       
,,cures4      ,spiritus in nobis qui    
viget1 illa facit4      --,,corn4       
,,agrippa1 ,ep4 xiv4   ,the uniform and 
indispensable condition of all          
miraculous cures1 whether produced by   
prayer1 imposition of hands1 penitential
 castigation1 or magic power1 is faith4 
,physician and patient alike must       

believe that disease is the consequence 
of sin1 and accept the literal meaning  
of the ,saviour's words1 when he had    
cured the impotent man near the pool    
called ,bethesda1 and said3 ,behold1    
thou art made whole3 sin no more1 lest a
 worse thing come unto thee4 7,st4 ,john
 v4 #ad47 ,like their great teacher1 all
 the apostles and saints of the church  
have ever insisted upon repentance in   
the heart before health in body could be
 accorded4 ,it is interesting to notice1
 moreover1 that all ,oriental sages1 the
 ,kabbalists and later ,theosophists1   
have1 without exception1 adopted the    
same view1 however widely they may have 
differed on other points4 ,in one       
feature only some disagreed3 they       
ascribed to evil spirits what others    
attributed to sin2 but the difference is
 only nominal1 for men1 by sin1 enter   
into communion with evil spirits1 and   
become subject to their power4 ,hence   
the woman which had a spirit of         
infirmity eighteen years was said to    

have been bound by ,satan1 and when she 
was healed she was loosed from the bond4
 7,luke xiii4 #af47  ,to this common    
faith must be added on the part of the  
physician an energetic will1 and in the 
patient an excited imagination4 ,the    
history of all ages teaches1 beyond the 
possibility of doubt1 that where these  
elements are present results have been  
obtained which excite the marvel of men 
by their astonishing promptness1 and    
their apparent impossibility4 ,they seem
 generally to be the result of certain  
symbolic but extremely simple acts1 such
 as the imposition of hands--which may  
possibly produce a concentration of     
power--the utterance of a blessing1 or  
merely a continued1 fixed glance4 ,the  
main point1 however1 is1 of course1 the 
psychical energy which is here made     
available by a process as yet unknown4  
,prayer is probably the simplest agency1
 since it naturally encourages and      
elevates the innermost heart of man1 and
 fills him with that perfect hope and   

confidence which are necessary for his  
recovery4 ,this hope is1 in the case of 
miraculous cures performed at the       
shrines of saints1 materially           
strengthened by the collective force of 
all preceding cures1 which tradition has
 brought to bear upon the mind1 while   
the senses are powerfully impressed1 at 
the same time1 by the surroundings1 and 
especially the votive offerings         
testifying to the reality of former     
miracles4 ,in the case of relics1 where 
the ,church sees simply miracles1 many  
men believe in a continuing magic power 
perceptible only to very sensitive      
patients2 thus the great theologian1    
,tholuk1 ascribes to the handkerchiefs  
or aprons which were brought from the   
body of ,st4 ,paul1 and drove away      
diseases and evil spirits 7,acts xix4   
#ab71 a special curative power with     
which they were impregnated4 7,verm4    
,schriften1 ,i4 p4 #hj47 ,at certain    
times1 when the mind of a whole people  
is excited1 and hence peculiarly        

predisposed to meet powerful impressions
 from specially gifted and highly       
privileged persons1 such miraculous     
cures are1 of course1 most numerous and 
most striking4 ,this was the case1 for  
instance1 in the first days of          
,christianity1 at the time of the       
,reformation1 and during the years which
 saw the ,order of ,jesuits established4
 ,there is little to be gained1         
therefore1 by confining the era of such 
phenomena to a certain period--to the   
days of the apostles1 when alone genuine
 miracles were performed1 as many       
divines believe1 or to the first three  
centuries after ,christ1 during which   
,tholuk and others still see magic      
performances4 ,magnetic and miraculous  
cures differ not in their nature1 but   
only in their first cause1 precisely as 
the trance of somnambulists is identical
 with the trance of religious           
enthusiasts4 ,the difference lies only  
in the faith which performs the cure2 if
 it is purely human1 the effect will be 

only partial1 and in most cases         
ephemeral2 if divine faith and the      
highest power co-operate1 as in genuine 
miracles1 the effect is instantaneous   
and permanent4 ,hence the contrast      
between the man who at the ,lord's      
bidding took up his bed and walked and  
the countless cripples who have thrown  
aside their crutches at the graves of   
saints1 only to resume them a day or two
 afterward1 when1 with the excitement1  
the newly acquired power also had       
disappeared4 ,but hence1 also1 the      
resemblance between many acts of the    
early ,jesuit ,fathers and those of the 
apostles2 the intense energy of the     
former1 supported by pure and unwavering
 faith1 produced results which were to  
all intents and purposes miraculous4    
,with the death of men like ,st4        
,xavier1 and the rise of worldly        
ambition in the hearts of the ,fathers1 
this power disappeared1 and modern      
miracles have become a snare and a      
delusion to simple-minded believers4    

,the faith in such psychical power      
possessed by a few privileged persons is
 as old as the world4 ,pythagoras       
performed cures by enchantment2 ,a,elius
 ,aristides1 who had consulted learned  
physicians for ten years in vain1 and   
,marcus ,antoninus1 were both cured by  
incubation4 ,tacitus tells us that the  
,emperor ,vespasian restored a blind    
man's sight by moistening his eye with  
saliva1 and to a lame man the use of his
 feet by treading hard upon him4 7,hist4
 l4 iv4 c4 #h47 ,both cures were        
performed before an immense crowd in    
,alexandria1 and in both cases the      
petitioners had themselves indicated the
 means by which they were to be         
restored1 the emperor yielding only very
 reluctantly to their prayers and the   
urgent requests of his courtiers4       
7,sueton41 ,vita ,vespas47 ,pyrrhus1    
king of ,epirus1 had cured colic and    
diseases of the kidneys by placing the  
patient on his back and touching him    
with his big toe 7,plutarch1 ,vita      

,pyrrhi72 and hence ,vespasian and      
,hadrian both used the same method6     
,the imposition of hands1 for the       
purpose of performing miraculous cures1 
has been practised from time immemorial2
 ,chaldees and ,brahmins alike using it 
in cases of malignant diseases4 ,the    
kings of ,england and of ,france1 and   
even the counts of ,hapsburg in         
,germany1 have ever been reputed to be  
able to cure goitres by the touch of    
their hands1 and hence the complaint was
 called the king's evil4 ,the idea seems
 to have originated in the high north2  
,king ,olave1 the saint1 being reported 
by ,snorre ,sturleson as having         
performed the ceremony4 ,from thence1 no
 doubt1 it was carried to ,england1     
where ,edward the ,confessor seems to   
have been the first to cure goitres4 ,in
 ,france each monarch upon ascending the
 throne received at the consecration the
 secret of the modus operandi and the   
sacred formula--for here also the spoken
 word went hand in hand with the magic  

touch4 ,philip ,i4 was the first and    
,charles ,i4 the last monarch who       
performed the cure publicly1 uttering   
the ancient phrase3 ,le roi te touche1  
,dieu te guerisse6 ,in a somewhat       
similar manner the ,saludadores and     
,ensalmadores of ,spain cured1 not      
goitres and stammering only1 as the     
monarchs we have mentioned1 but almost  
all the ills to which human flesh is    
heir1 by imposition of hands1 fervent   
prayer and breathing upon the patient4  
,similar gifts are ascribed to ,eastern 
potentates1 and the ruling dynasty in   
,persia claims to have inherited the    
power of healing the sick from an early 
ancestor1 the holy ,sheik ,sephy4 ,the  
great traveler ,chardin saw patients    
hardly able to crawl dragging themselves
 to the feet of the ,shah1 and          
beseeching him only to dip the end of   
his finger into a bowl of water1 and    
thus to bestow upon it healing power4   
,it will excite little wonder to learn  
that those remarkable men who succeeded 

by the fire of their eloquence and the  
power of contagious enthusiasm to array 
one world in arms against another1 the  
authors of the ,crusades1 should have   
been able to perform miraculous cures4  
,peter of ,amiens and ,bernard of       
,clairvaux obtained such a hold on the  
minds of faithful believers1 that their 
curse produced spasms and fearful       
sufferings in the guilty1 while their   
blessing restored speech to the dumb1   
and health to the sick4 ,here also      
special power was attributed even to    
their clothes1 and many remarkable      
results were obtained by the mere touch4
 ,spain1 the home of fervent ascetic    
faith1 abounds in saints who performed  
miracles1 the most successful of whom   
was probably ,raimundus ,normatus 7so   
called because not born of woman1 but   
cut from his dead mother's body by      
skillful physicians71 who cured1 during 
the plague of #abjj1 great numbers of   
men by the sign of the cross4 ,to this  
class of men belong also1 as mentioned  

before1 the early fathers of the        
,society of ,jesus1 though their powers 
were as different as their characters4  
,ignatius ,loyola1 who represented the  
intelligence of the new order1 performed
 few miraculous cures2 ,xavier1 on the  
contrary1 the man of brilliant fancy1   
was successful in a great variety of    
cases4 ,the first leaders1 like ,loinez1
 ,salmeron and ,bobadilla1 had no magic 
power at all1 but later successors1 like
 ,ochioa ,carrera and ,kepel1 displayed 
it in a surprising degree1 although     
,ochioa's gifts were distinctly limited 
to the healing of the sick by the       
imposition of hands4 ,the whole period  
of this intense excitement extended only
 over sixteen years1 from #aedj to      
#aeef1 after which the vivid faith1     
which had alone made the cures possible1
 disappeared4 ,it is worth mentioning   
that the ,jesuits themselves and most of
 their historians deny that they ever   
had power to perform miracles1 and      
ascribe the cures to the faith of the   

patients alone4 ,st4 ,xavier1 it is well
 known1 brought the dead to life again1 
and even if we assume that they lay only
 in syncope and had not yet really died1
 the recovery is scarcely less striking4
 ,the most remarkable of these cases is 
that of an only daughter of a ,japanese 
nobleman4 ,her death stunned the father1
 a great lord possessed of immense      
wealth1 to such a degree that his       
friends feared for his reason2 at last  
they urged him to apply to the great    
missionary for help4 ,he did so2 the    
,jesuit1 filled with compassion1 asked a
 brother priest to join him in prayer1  
and both fell upon their knees and      
prayed with great fervor4 ,xavier       
returned to the pagan with joyous face  
and bade him take comfort1 as his       
daughter was alive and well4 ,the       
nobleman1 very unlike the father in     
,holy ,writ1 was indignant1 thinking    
that the holy man either did not believe
 his child had died or refused to assist
 him2 but as he went home1 a page came  

running up to meet him1 bringing the    
welcome message that his daughter was   
really alive and well4 ,she told him    
after his return1 that her soul upon    
leaving the body had been seized by     
hideous shapes and dragged towards an   
enormous fire1 but that suddenly two    
excellent men had interposed1 rescuing  
her from their hands1 and leading her   
back to life4 ,the happy father         
immediately returned with her to the    
holy man1 and as soon as his child      
beheld ,xavier and his companion1 she   
fell down at their feet and declared    
that they were the friends who had      
brought her back from the lower world4  
,shortly afterwards the father and his  
whole family became ,christians4        
7,orlandini1 ,hist4 ,soc4 ,jesu41 ix4 c4
 #bac47 ,the case seems to be very      
simple1 and is one of the most          
instructive of modern magic4 ,the girl  
was not dead1 but lay in a cataleptic   
trance1 in which she had visions of     
fearful scenes1 and transformed the     

fierce hold which the disease had on her
 body into the grasp of hostile powers  
trying to obtain possession of her soul4
 ,at the same time she became           
clairvoyant1 and thus saw ,xavier and   
his companion distinctly enough to      
recognize them afterwards4 ,the cure was
 accomplished by the ,almighty in answer
 to the fervent prayer of two pious men 
filled with pure faith1 according to the
 sacred promise3 ,the effectual1 fervent
 prayer of a righteous man availeth     
much4 ,all the more is it to be         
regretted that even in those days of    
genuine piety and rapturous faith1      
foreign elements should at once have    
been mixed up with the true doctrine2   
for already ,caspar ,bersaeus ascribed  
some of his cures to the ,holy ,virgin2 
and soon the power passed away1 when the
 honor was no longer given to ,him to   
whom alone it was due4  ,from that day  
the power to perform miraculous cures   
has been but rarely and exceptionably   
granted to a few individuals4 ,thus     

,matthias ,will1 a ,german divine of the
 seventeenth century1 was as famous for 
his marvelous power over the sick and   
the possessed as for his fervent piety1 
his incessant praying and fasting1 and  
his utter self-abnegation4 ,sufferers   
were brought to him from every part of  
,christendom1 and hundreds who had been 
given up by their physicians were healed
 by his earnest prayers and the blessing
 he invoked from on high4 ,his memory   
still survives in his home1 and an      
inscription on his tombstone records his
 extraordinary powers4 7,cath4 ,encycl41
 ,suppl4 ,i4 #acbj47 ,even the          
,jansenists1 with all their hostility to
 certain usages of the ,church1 had     
their famous ,abbe ,paris1 whose grave  
in the ,cemetery of ,st4 ,medard became 
in #agbg the scene of a number of       
miraculous cures1 fully attested by     
legal evidence and amply described by   
,montgeron1 a man whom the ,abbe had in 
his lifetime changed from a reckless    
profligate into a truly pious           

,christian4 7,la verite des miracles1   
etc41 ,paris1 #agcg47 ,the magic        
phenomena exhibited on this occasion    
were widely discussed and great numbers 
of books and pamphlets written for and  
against their genuineness1 until the    
subject became so obscured by party     
spirit that it is extremely difficult1  
in our day1 to separate the truth from  
its large admixture of unreliable       
statements4 ,a peculiar feature of these
 scenes--admitted in its full extent by 
adversaries even--was the perfect       
insensibility of most of the            
enthusiasts1 the so-called              
,convulsionnaires4 ,jansenists by       
conviction1 these men1 calm and cool in 
their ordinary pursuits1 had been so    
wrought up by religious excitement that 
they fell1 twenty or more at a time1    
into violent convulsions and demanded to
 be beaten with huge iron-shod clubs in 
order to be relieved of an unbearable   
pressure upon the abdomen4 ,they        
endured1 in this manner1 blows inflicted

 upon the pit of the stomach which under
 ordinary circumstances would have      
caused grievous if not fatal            
consequences4  ,the above-mentioned     
witness1 who saw their almost incredible
 sufferings1 ,carre de ,montgeron1      
states that he himself used an iron club
 ending in a ball and weighing from     
twenty to thirty pounds4 ,one of the    
female enthusiasts complained that the  
ordinary blows were not sufficient to   
give her relief1 whereupon he beat her  
sixty times with all his strength4 ,but 
this also was unavailing1 and a large   
and more powerful man who was standing  
near had to take the fearful instrument 
and with his strong arms gave her a     
hundred additional blows6 ,the tension  
of her muscles must have been most      
extraordinary1 for she not only bore the
 blows1 which would have killed a strong
 person in natural health1 but the wall 
against which she was leaning actually  
began to tremble and totter from the    
violent concussion4 ,nor were the blows 

simply resisted by the turgescence of   
the body2 the skin itself seemed to have
 been modified in a manner unknown in a 
state of health4 ,thus one of the       
brothers ,marion felt nothing of thrusts
 made by a sharp-pointed knife against  
his abdomen and the skin was in no      
instance injured4 ,to do this the trance
 in which he lay must necessarily have  
induced an entire change of the organic 
atoms1 and this is one of the most      
important magic phenomena connected with
 this class of visions1 which will be   
discussed in another place4  ,it is well
 known that the cures performed at the  
grave of the ,abbe ,paris and the       
terrible scenes enacted there by these  
convulsionnaires excited so much        
attention that at last the king saw     
himself compelled to put a stop to the  
proceedings4 ,after a careful           
investigation of the whole matter by men
 specially appointed for the purpose1   
the grounds were guarded1 access was    
prohibited1 and the wags of ,paris      

placed at the entrance the following    
announcement3      ,defense de par le   
,roy4 ,defense a ,dieu1           ,de   
faire miracle en ce lieu6  ,ireland had 
in the seventeenth century her          
,greatrakes1 who1 according to          
unimpeachable testimony1 cured nearly   
every disease known to man1 by his      
simple touch--and fervent prayer4       
,valentine ,greatrakes1 of ,waterford1  
in ,ireland1 had dreamt1 in #affb1 that 
he possessed the gift to cure goitres by
 simple imposition of hands1 after the  
manner of the kings of ,england and of  
,france4 ,it was1 however1 only when the
 dream was several times repeated that  
he heeded it and tried his power on his 
wife4 ,the success he met with in his   
first effort encouraged him to attempt  
other cases also1 and soon his fame     
spread so far that he was sent for to   
come to ,london and perform some cures  
at ,whitehall4 ,he was invariably       
successful1 but had much to endure from 
the sneers of the courtiers1 as he      

insisted upon curing animals as well as 
men4 ,his cures were attested by men of 
high authority1 such as ,john           
,glanville1 chaplain to ,charles ,,ii41 
,bishop ,rust1 of ,dromor1 in ,ireland1 
several physicians of great eminence1   
and the famous ,robert ,boyle1 the      
president of the ,royal ,society4       
,according to their uniform testimony   
,greatrakes was a simple-hearted1 pious 
man1 as far from imposture as from      
pretension1 who firmly believed that    
,god had entrusted to him a special     
power1 and succeeded in impressing      
others with the same conviction4 ,his   
method was extremely simple3 he placed  
his hands upon the affected part1 or    
rubbed it gently for some time1         
whereupon the pains1 swellings1 or      
ulcers which he wished to cure1 first   
subsided and then disappeared entirely4 
,it is very remarkable that here also   
all seemed to depend on the nature of   
the faith of the patient1 for according 
to the measure of faith held by the     

latter the cure would be either almost  
instantaneous or less prompt1 and in    
some cases requiring several days and   
many interviews4 ,he was frequently     
accused of practising sorcery and       
witchcraft1 but the doctors ,faiselow   
and ,artetius1 as well as ,boyle1       
defended him with great energy1 while   
testifying to the reality of his cures4 
,one of the best authenticated1 though  
isolated1 cases of this class is the    
recovery of a niece of ,blaise ,pascal1 
a girl eleven years old4 ,she was at    
boarding-school at the famous ,port     
,royal and suffered of a terrible       
fistula in the eye1 which had caused her
 great pain for three years and         
threatened to destroy the bones of her  
face4 ,when her physicians proposed to  
her to undergo a very painful operation 
by means of a red-hot iron1 some        
,jansenists suggested that she should   
first be specially prayed for1 while at 
the same time the affected place was    
touched with a thorn reported to have   

formed part of the crown of thorns of   
our ,saviour4 ,this was done1 and on the
 following day the swelling and         
inflammation had disappeared1 and the   
eye recovered4 ,the young girl was      
officially examined by a commission     
consisting of the king's own physician1 
,dr4 ,felix1 and three distinguished    
surgeons2 but they reported that neither
 art nor nature had accomplished the    
cure and that it was exclusively to be  
ascribed to the direct interposition of 
the ,almighty4 ,the young lady lived for
 twenty-five years longer and never had 
a return of her affection4 ,racine      
described the case at full length1 and  
so did ,arnauld and ,pascal1 all        
affirming the genuineness of the        
miraculous cure4  ,during the latter    
part of the last century a ,father      
,gassner created a very great sensation 
in ,germany by means of his marvelous   
cures and occasional exorcisms of evil  
spirits4 ,he did not employ for the     
latter purpose the usual ritual of the  

,catholic ,church1 but simple imposition
 of hands and invocation of the         
,saviour4 ,nearly all the patients who  
were brought to him he declared to be   
under the influence of evil spirits1 and
 divided them into three classes3       
circumsessi1 who were only at times     
attacked1 obsessi1 or bewitched1 and    
possessi1 who were really possessed4    
,when a sick person was brought to him1 
he first ordered the evil spirit to show
 himself and to display all his powers2 
then he prayed fervently and commanded  
the demon1 in the name of the ,saviour1 
to leave his victim4 ,a plain1          
unpretending man of nearly fifty years1 
he appeared dressed in a red stole after
 the fashion prevailing at that time in 
his native land1 and wore a cross       
containing a particle of the holy cross 
suspended from a silver chain around his
 neck4 ,the patient was placed before   
him so that the light from the nearest  
window fell fully upon his features1 and
 the bystanders1 who always crowded the 

room1 could easily watch all the        
proceedings4 ,frequently1 he would put  
his stole upon the sufferers' head1     
seize their brow and neck with          
outstretched hands1 and holding them    
firmly1 utter in a low voice a fervent  
prayer4 ,then1 after having given them  
his cross to kiss1 if they were         
,catholics1 he dismissed them with some 
plain directions as to treatment and an 
earnest admonition to remain steadfast  
in faith4 ,probably the most trustworthy
 account of this remarkable man and his 
truly miraculous cures was published by 
a learned and eminent physician1 a ,dr4 
,schisel1 who called upon the priest    
with the open avowal that he came as a  
skeptic1 to watch his proceedings and   
examine his method4 ,he became so well  
convinced of ,father ,gassner's powers  
that he placed himself in his hands as a
 patient1 was cured of gout in an       
aggravated form1 and excited the utmost 
indignation of his professional brethren
 by candidly avowing his conviction of  

the sincerity of the priest and the     
genuineness of his cures4  ,there was1  
however1 one circumstance connected with
 the exceptional power of this priest1  
which was even more striking than his   
cures4 ,his will was so marvelously     
energetic and his control over weaker   
minds so perfect that he could at       
pleasure cause the pulse of his patients
 to slacken or to hasten1 to make them  
laugh or cry1 sleep or wake1 to see     
visions1 and even to have epileptic     
attacks4 ,as may be expected1 the       
majority of his visitors were women and 
children1 but these were literally      
helpless instruments in his hands4 ,they
 not only moved and acted1 but even felt
 and thought as he bade them do1 and in 
many cases they were enabled to speak   
languages while under his influence of  
which they were ignorant before and     
after4 ,at ,ratisbon a committee        
consisting of two physicians and two    
priests was directed to examine the     
priest and his cures2 a professor of    

anatomy carefully watched the pulse and 
the nerves of the patients which were   
selected at haphazard1 and all confirmed
 the statements made before2 while three
 other professors1 who had volunteered  
to aid in the investigation1 concurred  
with him in the conviction that there   
was neither collusion nor imposition to 
be suspected4 ,the priest1 who employed 
no other means but prayer and the       
invocation of ,god by the patients1 was 
declared to be acting in good faith1    
from pure motives1 and for the best     
purposes2 his cures were considered     
genuine4 ,there was1 however1 in ,father
 ,gassner's case also an admixture of   
objectionable elements which must not be
 overlooked4 ,the desire for notoriety1 
which enters largely into all such      
displays of extraordinary powers1 led   
many persons who were perfectly sound to
 pretend illness1 merely for the purpose
 of becoming1 when cured1 objects of    
public wonder4 ,on the other hand1 the  
good father himself was1 no doubt1 by   

his own unexpected success1 led to go   
farther than he would otherwise have    
done in his simplicity and candor4 ,he  
formed a complete theory of his own to  
explain the miracles4 ,according to his 
view the first cause of all such        
diseases as had their origin in         
possession1 were the principalities1    
powers1 rulers of the darkness of this  
world1 and spiritual wickedness in high 
places1 which the apostle mentions as   
enemies more formidable than flesh and  
blood4 7,ephes4 vi4 #ab47 ,these1 he    
believed1 dwelt in the air1 and by      
disturbing the atmosphere with evil     
intent1 produced illness in the system  
and delusions in the mind4 ,if a number 
combined1 and with the permission of the
 ,almighty poisoned the air to a large  
extent1 contagious diseases followed as 
a natural consequence4 ,against these   
demons or wiles of the devil 7,ephes4   
vi4 #aa71 he employed the only means    
sanctioned by ,holy ,writ--fervent      
prayer1 and this1 of course1 could have 

no effect unless the patient fully      
shared his faith4 ,this faith1 again1 he
 was enabled to awaken and to strengthen
 by the supreme energy of his will1 but 
of course not in all cases2 where his   
prayer failed to have the desired effect
 he ascribed the disease to a direct    
dispensation from on high1 and not to   
the agency of evil spirits1 or he       
declared the patient to be wanting in   
faith4 ,in like manner he explained     
relapses as the effects of waning faith4
 ,the startling phenomena1 however1     
which he thought it necessary to call   
forth in his patients1 before he        
attempted their restoration1 belong to  
what must be called the magic of our    
day4 ,for these symptoms bore no        
relation to the affection under which   
they suffered4 ,persons afflicted with  
sore wounds1 stiffened limbs1 or        
sightless eyes1 would1 at his bidding1  
fall into frightful paroxysms1 during   
which the breathing intermitted1 the    
nose became pointed1 the eyes insensible

 to the touch1 and the whole body rigid 
and livid4 ,and yet1 when the paroxysm  
ceased at his word1 the patient felt no 
evil effects1 not even fatigue1 and all 
that had happened was generally         
instantly forgotten4 ,the case created  
an immense sensation throughout ,europe1
 and the great men of his age took part 
for or against the poor priest1 who was 
sadly persecuted1 and only now and then 
found a really able advocate1 such as   
,lavater4 ,the heaviest penalty he had  
to bear was the condemnation of his own 
,church1 which accompanied an order     
issued by the ,emperor ,joseph ,,ii41   
peremptorily forbidding all further     
attempts4 ,the pope1 ,pius ,,vii41 who  
had directed the whole subject to be    
examined by the well-known ,congregatio 
,,ss4 ,rituum1 declared in #aggg1 upon  
their report1 that the priest's         
proceedings were heretical and not any  
longer to be permitted1 and ordered the 
bishop1 under whose jurisdiction he     
lived1 to prevent any further exercise  

of his pretended power4 ,all these      
decrees of papal councils and these     
orders of imperial officials could1     
however1 not undo what the poor priest  
had already accomplished1 and history   
has taught us the relative value of     
investigations held by biased priests1  
and those carried out by men of science4
 ,we may well doubt the judgment of an  
authority which once condemned a        
,galileo1 and even now denounces the    
press as a curse2 but we have no right  
to suspect the opinion of men who1 as   
physicians and scientists1 are naturally
 disposed to reject all claims of       
supernatural or even exceptional powers4
  ,in more recent times a ,prince       
,hohenlohe in ,germany claimed to have  
performed a number of miraculous cures1 
beginning with a ,princess              
,schwarzenberg1 whom he commanded in the
 name of ,christ to be well again4 ,many
 of his patients1 however1 were only    
cured for the moment2 when their faith1 
excited to the utmost1 cooled down      

again1 their infirmities returned2 still
 there remain facts enough in his life  
to establish the marvelous power of his 
strong will1 when brought to bear upon  
peculiarly receptive imaginations1 and  
aided by earnest prayer4 7,kies41       
,archiv4 ,,ix4 ii3 #caa47  ,sporadic    
cases of similar powers have of late    
shown themselves in ,paris1 in the      
interior of ,russia1 and in ,ravenna1   
but the evidence upon which the         
statements in public journals are made  
is so clearly unreliable that no        
important result can be hoped for from  
their investigation4 ,the present is    
hardly an age of faith1 and enough has  
surely been said to prove that without  
very great and sincere faith miraculous 
cures cannot be performed4     ,x4      
,,mysticism4      ,credo quia absurdum  
est4      --,,tertullian4   ,one of the 
most remarkable classes of magic        
phenomena1 which combines almost all    
other known features of trances with the
 peculiar kind called stigmatization1 is

 known as ,mysticism in the more limited
 sense of that word4 ,it bears this name
 mainly because it designates attempts  
made to unite in close communion        
humanity with divinity1 and however     
imperfect the success of all these      
efforts may be1 on the whole1 it cannot 
be denied that in individual cases very 
startling results have been obtained4   
,in order to attain their lofty aim1 the
 mystics require an utter deadening of  
all human affections and all natural    
impulses1 and a thorough change of their
 usual thoughts and feelings4 ,above    
all1 the lust of the flesh1 the lust of 
the eye1 and the pride of the heart are 
to be killed by pain2 hence the mystics 
are quite content to suffer1 chastise   
the body1 deny themselves the simplest  
enjoyments1 and rejoice in the actual   
infliction of wounds and mutilations4   
,in return for this complete deadening  
of human affections they are filled with
 an ineffable love of the divine        
,saviour1 the ,bridegroom1 and the ,holy

 ,virgin1 the ,bride1 or even of purely 
abstract1 impalpable beings4 ,they enjoy
 great inner comforts1 and a sense of   
happiness and peace which transcends all
 description4 ,whatever may1 however1   
have been the direct cause of their     
ecstatic condition1 disease1 asceticism1
 self-inflicted torments1 or            
long-continued fervent prayer1 this     
highest bliss is accorded to them only  
during the time of trance4              
,unfortunately this period of happiness 
is not only painfully short1 but also   
invariably followed by a powerful       
reaction2 according to the laws of our  
nature1 supreme excitement must needs   
always subside into profound exhaustion1
 ecstatic bliss into heartrending       
despondency1 and bright visions of      
heaven into despairing views of         
unpardonable sins and a hopeless future4
 ,hence the fearful doctrines of the    
mystics of all ages1 which prescribe    
continuous self-denial as the only way  
to reach ,god1 who as yet is not to be  

found in the outward world1 but only in 
the inner consciousness of the believer4
 ,if the sinner dare not hope to        
approach the ,holy ,one1 the repentant  
believer also is in unceasing danger of 
losing again what he has gained by      
fearful sacrifices4 ,the union between  
him and his ,god must not only be close1
 but uninterrupted1 a doctrine which has
 led to the great favor bestowed by     
mystics upon images derived from earthly
 love3 to them ,god is forever the      
bridegroom1 the soul the bride1 and the 
union between them the true marriage of 
the faithful4 ,by such training1        
skillfully and perseveringly pursued1   
many persons1 especially women1 have    
succeeded in so completely deadening all
 physical functions of their body as to 
reduce their life1 literally1 to the    
mere operations of sensation and vision4
 ,the sufferings produced by these      
efforts to suppress all natural         
vitality1 to kill1 as it were1 the      
living body1 rendering the senses       

inactive1 while still in the full vigor 
of their natural condition1 are often   
not only painful1 but actually          
appalling4 ,a poor woman1 famous for her
 asceticism and her supernatural        
visions1 ,maria of ,agreda1 was never   
able to attend to her devotions in the  
dark1 without enduring actual agony4    
,her spiritual light would suddenly     
become extinguished1 fearful horrors    
fell upon her soul and caused her       
unspeakable anguish1 terrible images as 
of wild beasts and fierce demons        
surrounded her1 the air was filled with 
curses and unbearable blasphemies1 and  
even her body was seized with wild1     
convulsive movements and violent spasms4
 ,no wonder1 therefore1 that numbers of 
these mystics have lost their reason1   
and others have fallen victims to       
terrible diseases4 ,on the other hand1  
it cannot be denied that many also have 
been eminent examples of self-denial and
 matchless devotion1 or genuine heroes  
in combating for their sacred faith and 

the love of their brethren4 ,their very 
errors were so attractive that the      
fundamental mistake was forgotten1 and  
all felt how little1 men who act upon   
mere ordinary motives1 are able to rise 
to the same height of self-sacrifice4   
,nor must it be forgotten1 in judging   
especially the mystics of our days1 that
 their sincerity can never be doubted3  
they have always acted1 and still act   
upon genuine conviction1 and in the firm
 belief that their work is meritorious1 
not in the eyes of men1 but before the  
,almighty4 ,the ascetics of former ages 
are not so easily understood2 they were 
men who proposed not only to limit the  
amenities of life1 but to make our whole
 earthly existence subservient to purely
 divine purposes2 and thus1 for         
instance1 ,francis of ,assisi1          
prescribed absolute poverty as the rule 
of his order4 ,the principal magic      
phenomena accompanying religious ecstasy
 are the insensibility of the body to   
all1 even the most violent injuries1 and

 the perception of matters beyond the   
reach of our senses in healthy life4    
,rigid and long-continued fasting1      
reduced sleep on a hard couch1 and an   
utter abstinence from all other thoughts
 or sentiments but such as connect      
themselves directly with a higher life1 
never fail to produce the desired       
effect4 ,by such means the whole nature 
of man is finally changed2 not only in  
the legitimate relations existing       
between body and mind1 but also in those
 which connect man with nature2 the     
changes are1 therefore1 as much         
physiological as psychical4 ,they result
 at last in the acquisition of a power  
which in the eyes of the mystics is     
identical with that promised in ,mark   
xvi4 #ah4 ,they shall take up serpents1 
and if they drink any deadly thing1 it  
shall not hurt them4 ,extraordinary as  
the accounts of the sufferings and the  
exceptional powers of mystics appear to 
us1 they are in many instances too well 
authenticated to allow any serious      

doubt4 ,thus a famous ascetic1 ,rosa of 
,lima1 was actually injured by healthy  
food1 but on many occasions             
instantaneously strengthened by a mere  
mouthful of bread dipped into pure      
water2 ,bernard of ,clairvaux lived for 
a considerable time on beech-leaves     
boiled in water1 and ,maria of ,oignys  
once subsisted for thirty-five days on  
the holy wafer of the sacrament1 which  
she took daily4 ,mystics who1 like the  
latter1 derived bodily sustenance as    
well as spiritual comfort from the      
,eucharist1 are frequently mentioned in 
the annals of the ,church4 ,others1     
again1 succeeded by constant and extreme
 excitement to heat their blood to such 
an extent that they became insensible to
 outward cold1 even when the frosts of  
winter became intolerable to others4    
,the heart itself seems to be affected  
by such extreme elation2 in ,catherine  
of ,siena its violent palpitations and  
convulsive jerkings could be both seen  
and felt1 when she was in a state of    

ecstasis1 and the heart of ,filippo     
,neri was found1 after death1 to have   
been considerably enlarged1 and actually
 to have broken two ribs by its         
convulsive spasms4  ,among the rarer but
 equally well-established magic         
phenomena of this class must be counted 
the temporary suspension of the law of  
gravity4 ,like the ,brahmins of ,india1 
who have long possessed the power of    
raising themselves unaided from the     
ground and of remaining suspended in the
 air1 ,christian mystics also have been 
seen1 more than once1 to hang as it were
 unsupported high above the ground4     
,they quote1 in support of their faith  
in such exceptional powers1 the fact    
that ,habakkuk also was seized by an    
angel and carried away through the air1 
while even the ,saviour was taken by the
 devil to an exceeding high mountain on 
the top of the temple1 cases in which   
the laws of gravity must have been      
similarly suspended4  ,a large number of
 holy men1 among whom were ,filippo     

,neri1 ,ignatius ,loyola1 and the       
founder of the order of ,dominicans1    
remained thus suspended in the air for  
hours and days2 one of them1 the        
,carmelite monk ,p4 ,dominicus1 in the  
presence of the king and queen of ,spain
 and their whole court4 7,calmet1 p4    
#aec47 ,there are even cases known in   
which this raising of the body has      
happened to pious persons against their 
own desire and to their great and       
sincere distress1 as it attracted public
 attention in a most painful degree4 ,to
 this class of phenomena belongs also   
the luminous appearance which seems at  
times to accompany a high state of      
religious excitement4 ,this was already 
the case with ,moses1 who wist not that 
the skin of his face shone1 and probably
 of ,stephen also1 when those that sat  
in council1 looking steadfastly on him1 
saw his face as it had been the face of 
an angel4  ,the most startling of these 
phenomena1 however1 are those known as  
stigmatization1 when the combined power 

of fervent1 exalted faith and an        
over-excited imagination produces actual
 marks of injuries on the body1 although
 no such injuries have ever been        
inflicted4 ,the annals of the ,church   
abound with instances of women          
especially who1 after long meditation on
 the nature and the merits of           
crucifixion have borne the marks of     
nails in hands and feet1 an effect which
 the science of medicine also admits as 
possible1 inasmuch as similar results   
are of not unfrequent occurrence1 at    
least in newborn infants1 whose bodies  
are marked in consequence of events     
which had recently made a peculiarly    
deep impression upon the mothers4       
,unfortunately mysticism also has not   
been able to keep its votaries free from
 an admixture of imposture4 ,false      
miracles are known to have occurred     
within the ,church as well as without   
it1 and credulity has accepted many a   
statement that could not have stood the 
simplest investigation4 ,it becomes the 

careful student1 therefore1 here also to
 distinguish with the utmost caution    
genuine and well-authenticated facts    
from reckless or willfully false        
statements4 ,even then1 however1 he     
ought not to forget the words of        
,pascal1 who1 in speaking of the        
apostles said3 ,i am quite willing to   
believe stories for whose truthfulness  
the witnesses have suffered death4 ,it  
is even by no means improbable that the 
spiritual world may have its changing   
productions as well as the material     
world1 and as the organisms of the      
,silurian period are impossible in our  
day1 so-called magic results may have   
been obtained by certain former         
generations which lie beyond the power  
of our own4 ,no one can with certainty  
determine1 in this direction1 what is   
possible and what is impossible2 the    
power of man is emphatically a relative 
one1 and each exploit must1 in fairness1
 be judged with a view to all the       
accompanying circumstances4 ,it is as   

impossible for the men of our day to    
erect pyramids such as the old          
,egyptians built1 as it is for an       
individual in good health to perform    
feats of strength of which he may be    
capable under the influence of high     
fever or violent paroxysms4  ,a curious 
feature in these phenomena is the       
intimate relation in which sacred and   
so-called demoniac influences seem to   
stand with one another4 ,the saints are 
represented as tempted by evil spirits  
which yet have no existence except in   
their own heart1 and the possessed1 on  
the other hand1 occasionally have pious 
impulses and holy thoughts4 ,in the     
former case it is the innate sinfulness 
of the heart which creates images of    
demons such as ,st4 ,anthony saw in the 
desert2 in the latter case the guardian 
angels of men are said to come to their 
rescue4 ,there are even instances on    
record of men who have wantonly given   
themselves up to the temporary influence
 of evil spirits--under the impression  

that they could thus please ,god6--as   
travelers purposely suffer the evil     
effects of opium or hasheesh in order to
 test their powers4 ,thus mysticism     
finally devised a complete system of    
angels1 saints1 and demons1 whose varied
 forms and peculiarities became familiar
 to votaries at an early period of their
 lives1 and filled their minds with     
images which afterwards assumed an      
apparent reality during the state of    
trance4 ,that the physical condition    
enters as a powerful element in all     
these phenomena appears clearly from the
 fact that whenever women are liable to 
trances or visions of this kind the     
latter vary regularly with their state  
of health1 and in the majority of cases 
cease at a certain age4 ,this fact      
illustrates in a very characteristic    
manner the mutual relations between body
 and soul2 the condition of the former  
is reflected in the soul by sentiment   
and image1 and the soul in precisely the
 same manner impresses itself upon the  

body4 ,generally this is limited to the 
face1 where the features in their       
expression reproduce more or less       
faithfully what is going on within2 but 
in exceptional cases the psychical      
events cause certain mechanical or      
physical changes in the body which now  
and then result in actual illness or    
become even fatal4 ,experience proves   
that if the imagination is stimulated to
 excessive activity1 it can produce     
changes in the nature of the epidermis  
or even of the mucous membrane1 which   
resemble in everything the symptoms of  
genuine diseases4 ,there are men who    
can1 by an energetic effort of will1    
cause red spots1 resembling             
inflammation1 to appear in almost every 
part of the body4 ,in extreme cases this
 power extends to the production of     
syncope1 in which they become utterly   
insensible to injuries of any kind1 lose
 all power of motion1 and even cease to 
breathe4 ,st4 ,augustine mentions a     
number of such cases4 7,de civit4 ,dei1 

l4 xiv4 ch4 #bd47 ,the remarkable power 
of ,colonel ,townshend of falling into a
 state of syncope is too well           
established to admit of any doubt2 he   
became icy cold and rigid1 his heart    
ceased to beat and his lungs to breathe2
 the face turned deadly pale1 the       
features grew sharp and pointed1 and his
 eyes remained fixed4 ,by an effort of  
his own will he could recall himself to 
life1 but one evening1 when he tried to 
repeat the experiment1 after having made
 it in the morning successfully in the  
presence of three physicians1 he failed 
to awake again4 ,it appeared afterwards 
that his heart was diseased2 he had1    
however1 at the same time1 by careful   
attention and long practice1 obtained   
almost perfect control over that organ4 
7,cheyne1 ,engl4 ,malady1 ,london1      
#agcc1 p4 #cjg47 ,indian fakirs have    
been known to possess a similar power1  
and have allowed themselves to be buried
 in air-tight graves1 where they have   
been watched at times for forty days1 by

 military guards1 and yet at the        
expiration of that time have returned to
 life without apparent injury4 ,a       
similar power over less vital organs of 
the body is by no means rare2 men are   
constantly found who can at will conceal
 their tongue so that even surgeons     
discover it but with difficulty2 others1
 like ,justinus ,kerner1 can empty their
 stomachs of their contents as if they  
were pockets1 or contract and enlarge   
the pupils of the eyes at pleasure4 ,nor
 are cases of ,indians and negroes rare1
 who in their despair have died merely  
because they willed it so4 ,there can be
 no doubt1 therefore1 that if mere      
volition can produce such extraordinary 
results1 still more exceptional effects 
may be obtained by fervent faith and an 
excessive stimulation of the whole      
nervous system1 and much that appears   
either incredible or at least in the    
highest degree marvelous may find an    
easy and yet satisfactory explanation4  
,genuine stigmatization1 that is1 the   

appearance of the five wounds of our    
,saviour1 presents itself ordinarily    
only after many years of constant       
meditation of his passion1 combined with
 excessive fasting and other ascetic    
self-torment4 ,the first stage is apt to
 be a vision of ,christ's suffering1    
accompanied by the offer of a wreath of 
flowers or a crown of thorns4 ,if the   
mystic chooses the former1 the result   
remains within the limits of the general
 effects of asceticism2 should he1      
however1 choose the crown of thorns1 the
 stigmas themselves are apt to appear4  
,this occurs1 naturally1 only in the    
very rare cases1 where the mystic       
possesses that exceptional energy and   
intense plastic power of the imagination
 which are requisite in order to suspend
 the natural relations of soul and body4
 ,then the latter1 already thoroughly   
weakened and exhausted1 becomes so      
susceptible to the influence of the     
soul1 that it reproduces1 spontaneously 
and unconsciously1 the impressions      

deeply engraven on the mind1 and during 
the next ecstatic visions the wounds    
show themselves suddenly4 ,their        
appearance is invariably accompanied by 
violent pain1 which seems to radiate1 in
 fiery burning darts from the wounds of 
the image of ,christ4 ,as the minds of  
mystics differ infinitely in energy of  
will and clearness of perception1 the   
stigmas also are seen more or less      
distinctly2 and their nature varies from
 mere reddish points1 which become      
visible on the head1 as the effect of a 
crown of thorns1 to real bleeding       
wounds4 ,the former are apt to disappear
 as the excitement subsides or the will 
is weakened2 the latter1 however1 are   
peculiar in this1 that they do not      
continue to bleed1 and yet1 also1 do not
 heal up4 ,in women1 only1 they are apt 
to break out again at regular intervals1
 for instance1 on ,fridays1 when the    
mystic excitement again reaches its     
highest degree1 or at other periods when
 pressure of blood seeks an outlet      

through these new openings4 ,as such a  
state can continue only by means of     
lengthened inflammation1 stigmatization 
is always accompanied by violent pains  
and great suffering1 especially during  
the bleeding4  ,the earliest of all     
cases of stigmatization--of which nearly
 seventy are fully authenticated--was   
that of ,francis of ,assisi1 who1 after 
having spent years in fervent prayer for
 permission to share the sufferings of  
the ,saviour1 at last saw a seraph with 
six wings descend toward him1 and       
between the wings the form of a         
crucified person4 ,at the same moment he
 felt piercing pains1 and when he       
recovered from his trance he found his  
hands and feet1 as well as his side1    
bleeding as from severe wounds1 and     
strange1 dark excrescences1 resembling  
nails1 protruding from the wounds in his
 extremities4 ,as this was the first    
case of stigmatization known1 ,francis  
of ,assisi was filled with grave doubts 
concerning the strange phenomenon1 and  

carefully concealed it from all but his 
most intimate friends4 ,still the wounds
 were seen and felt by ,pope ,alexander 
and a number of cardinals during his    
lifetime1 and became an object of       
careful investigation after his death4  
7,philalethes' ,divina ,comm41          
,paradiso1 p4 #add47 ,there is but one  
other case1 as fully authenticated1 in  
which a man was thus stigmatized2 all   
other trustworthy instances are related 
of females4 ,how close the connection is
 between the will and the appearance of 
these phenomena may be seen from one of 
the best-established cases1 that of     
,joanna of ,burgos1 in ,spain1 who had  
shed much blood every week for twenty   
years in following the recital of the   
passion of our ,saviour4 ,when she was  
seventy years old1 her superiors        
prevailed upon her1 by special          
arguments1 to pray fervently for a      
suspension of her sufferings4 ,she threw
 herself down before a crucifix1 and    
remained there a day and a night in     

incessant prayer2 on the next morning   
the wounds had closed1 and never again  
commenced bleeding4 ,another evidence of
 this feature lies in the fact that     
stigmatization occurs mainly in ,italy1 
the land of imagination1 and in ,spain1 
the land of devotion2 in ,germany only a
 few cases are known1 and not one in the
 ,north of ,europe and in ,america4     
,among the famous mystics who do not    
belong as saints or martyrs exclusively 
to the ,church1 stand first and foremost
 ,henry ,suso1 of the ,living ,heart1   
and ,john ,ruysbroek1 the so-called     
,doctor ,ecstaticus4 ,the former1 who   
often had trances1 and once lay for a   
long time in syncope1 has left behind   
him some of the most attractive works   
ever written by religious enthusiasts4  
,he lived in the fourteenth century1 and
 when1 two hundred years later1 his     
grave was opened the body was found     
unchanged1 and fervent admirers believed
 they perceived pleasing odors emanating
 from the remains4 ,the ,dutch divine   

,ruysbroek was even more renowned by his
 holy life and admirable writings than  
by the many marvelous visions which he  
enjoyed4 ,the same century produced the 
most famous preacher ,germany has       
probably ever seen1 ,john ,capistran1   
who attracted the masses by the magic   
power of his individuality and held them
 spell-bound by his burning eloquence4  
,a native of ,capistrano1 in the        
,abruzzi1 where he was born in #ache1 he
 became first a lawyer1 and gained great
 distinction as such in ,sicily4        
,unfortunately he was engaged in one of 
the many petty wars which at that time  
distracted ,italy2 was made a prisoner  
and cast with barbaric cruelty into a   
foul dungeon4 ,here he devoted himself  
to ascetic devotion1 and had a vision   
ordering him to leave the world4 ,when  
he regained his liberty1 at the age of  
thirty1 he entered the order of         
,franciscan monks1 and soon became a    
preacher of world-wide renown4          
,traveling through ,italy1 ,hungary1 and

 ,germany1 he affected his audiences by 
his mere appearance1 and produced truly 
amazing changes in the hearts of        
thousands4 ,in ,vienna he once preached1
 in the open air1 before an assembly of 
more than a hundred thousand men2 the   
people listened to him for hours amid   
loud weeping and sobbing1 and great     
numbers were converted1 including       
several hundred ,jews4 ,in ,bohemia he  
induced in like manner eleven thousand  
,hussites to return to the ,catholic    
,church1 among whom were numerous       
noblemen and ministers4 ,similar        
successes were obtained in almost every 
large town of ,germany1 till he was     
recalled to the ,south1 when ,germany   
became indebted to him and to ,john     
,corvin for its deliverance from the    
,turks and the famous victory of        
,belgrade in #adef4 ,during his whole   
career he continued to have ecstatic    
visions1 to fall into trances of        
considerable duration1 and to behold    
stigmas on his body--yet1 withal1 he    

remained an eminently practical man1 not
 only converting many thousands from    
their religious errors1 but turning them
 also from vicious habits and criminal  
pursuits to a life of virtue4 ,at the   
same time he rendered signal services to
 his brethren in mere worldly matters1  
now pleading and now fighting for them  
with an energy and a success which alone
 would secure him a name in history4    
,the ecstatic nature of another mystic1 
,vincentio ,ferrer1 produced a singular 
effect1 which has never been noticed    
except in biblical history4 ,he was a   
native of ,valencia1 and1 knowing no    
language but the local dialect of his   
country1 he continued throughout life to
 preach in his mother tongue--and yet he
 was understood by all who heard him6   
,this result was at least partially     
explained by the astounding flexibility 
of his voice1 which at all times adapted
 itself so completely to his feelings1  
that its tones found a responsive echo  
in every heart4 ,in vain did the pope1  

,benedict ,,xiii41 offer him first a    
bishopric and afterwards a cardinal's   
hat2 the pious monk refused all honors  
save one1 the title of ,papal           
,missionary1 and in this capacity he    
passed through nearly every land in     
,christendom1 preaching and exhorting   
day and night1 exciting everywhere the  
utmost enthusiasm and converting        
thousands from their evil ways4 ,his    
eloquence and fervor were so great that 
even learned men and fierce warriors    
declared he spoke with the voice of an  
angel1 and criminals of deepest dye     
would fall down in the midst of great   
crowds1 confessing their misdeeds and   
solemnly vowing repentance and          
amendment4  ,the greatest of all        
mystics1 however1 was the               
before-mentioned ,filippo ,neri1 a saint
 of the ,catholic ,church1 whose simple 
candor and truly ,christian humility    
have procured for him the esteem and the
 admiration of men of all creeds and all
 ages4 ,even as a mere child he was     

already renowned for his extraordinary  
gifts as well as for his fervent piety2 
while still a layman he had numerous    
visions and trances1 and when in his    
thirtieth year he had prayed for days   
and nights in the ,catacombs of ,st4    
,sebastian1 his heart became suddenly so
 enlarged that some of the intercostal  
muscles gave way1 and a great swelling  
appeared on the outside1 which remained 
there throughout life1 although without 
causing him any pain4 ,his inner fervor 
was so great as to keep his blood and   
his whole system continually at fever   
heat1 and although he lived exclusively 
upon bread1 herbs1 and olives1 he never 
wore warm clothes1 even in the severest 
winters1 always slept with open doors   
and windows1 and preferred walking about
 with his breast uncovered4 ,during the 
last ten years of his life his body was 
no longer able to sustain his ecstatic  
soul2 whenever he attempted to read mass
 or to preach1 his feelings became so   
excited that his voice failed him1 and  

he fell into a trance of several hours' 
duration4 ,it was in this condition that
 he was frequently lifted up1 together  
with the chair on which he sat1 to a    
height of several feet from the ground4 
,what renders these magic phenomena     
peculiarly interesting1 is the fact that
 ,filippo ,neri not only attached no    
special value to them1 but actually did 
his best to conceal them from the eyes  
of the world4 ,as soon as they began to 
show themselves1 he ceased reading mass 
in the presence of others1 and only     
allowed his attendant to re-enter his   
cell when the latter had convinced      
himself1 by peeping through a narrow    
opening in the door1 that the trance was
 over4 ,when others praised his piety   
and marveled at these wonders1 he       
invariably smiled and said3 ,don't you  
know that ,i am nothing but a fool and a
 dreamer8  ,he added that he would      
infinitely rather do works which should 
prove his faith than be the recipient of
 miraculous favors4 ,but his prestige   

was so great that whenever he was       
prevailed upon or thought it his duty to
 exert his influence1 it was paramount1 
and secured to him a powerful control in
 historical events4 ,thus it was when   
,pope ,gregory ,,xiv4 had excommunicated
 ,king ,henry ,,iv41 and his successor1 
,clement ,,viii41 continued the fearful 
punishment in spite of all the          
entreaties of king and courtiers4       
,filippo ,neri1 foreseeing the dangers  
which were likely to arise from such    
measures for the ,church1 and deeply    
concerned for the welfare of the ,french
 people1 retired to prayer1 inviting the
 pope's confessor to join him in his    
devotions4 ,these had been continued for
 three days without intermission1 when  
at last the saint fell into a trance1   
and upon re-awaking from it1 told his   
companion3 ,to-day the pope will send   
for you to confess him4 ,you will tell  
him1 when his confession is made3       
',father ,filippo has directed me to    
refuse ,your ,holiness absolution1 and  

ever to confess you again till you have 
relieved the ,king of ,france from      
excommunication4' ,clement1 deeply moved
 by this message1 summoned immediately  
the council of cardinals1 and ,henry    
,,iv4 was once more received into the   
bosom of the ,church4 ,in spite of this 
great influence1 ,neri sternly refused  
all honors and dignities1 even the      
purple1 which was offered to him three  
times1 and died in #aeie1 eighty years  
old1 on the day and at the hour which he
 had long since foretold4 ,that his     
visions were accompanied by actual      
stigmatization has already been         
mentioned4  ,our own continent has had  
but one great mystic1 ,rosa of ,lima1   
who is hence known as primus ,americae  
meridionalis flos4 ,she had inherited   
her peculiar organization from her      
mother1 who had frequently seen visions1
 and when the child was three years old1
 changed her name from ,isabel to ,rosa1
 because she had seen a rose suspended  
over the face of her daughter4 ,much    

admired on account of her great beauty  
and rare sweetness1 the young girl      
refused all offers1 and preferred1 in   
spite of the remonstrances of friends   
and of brutal ill-treatment on the part 
of her brothers1 to enter a convent4 ,on
 her way there1 however1 she felt her   
steps suddenly arrested by superior     
force1 and saw in this supernatural     
interruption a hint that she should     
leave the world even more completely    
than she could have done as a nun of the
 ,order of ,st4 ,dominick4 ,she built   
herself1 therefore1 a little cell in her
 father's garden1 and here led a life of
 ecstatic asceticism1 during which she  
often remained for days and weeks       
without food1 and became strangely      
intimate with birds and insects4        
,whenever she took the eucharist1 she   
felt marvelous happiness and fell into  
trances2 in the intervals1 however1 she 
suffered intensely from that depression 
and utter despair which in such cases   
are apt to result from powerful         

reaction4 ,she died quite young1        
exhausted by her ascetic life and       
continued excitement1 and has ever since
 been revered as the patron saint of    
,peru4     ,,the ,,end4     ,,prof4     
,,schele ,,de ,,vere',s ,,works4        
,,wonders ,,of ,,the ,,deep4  ,by ,m4   
,,schele ,,de ,,vere1 ,professor of the 
,university of ,virginia4 ,third        
edition1 #abmo1 cloth1 #a4ej4           
,illustrated1 cloth1 gilt1 #b4          
,,chief ,,contents4       ,pearls4      
,corals4 ,facts and ,fables4 ,mercury4  
,oysters4 ,lighthouses4      ,odd ,fish4
 ,knight in ,armor4 ,a ,pinch of ,salt4 
,a ,grain of ,sand4 ,the      ,earth in 
,trouble4       ,one of the freshest1   
most scientific1 and at the same time   
most      popular and delightful books  
of the kind we have ever read4--,st4    
,john's ,telegraph4       ,these essays 
make a valuable addition to the standard
 literature      of the time4 ,the      
author1 who is one of the profoundest   
scientists      of the age and one of   

the most brilliant essayists of the     
country      has brought from the depths
 of the ocean vast stores of hidden     
knowledge4444 ,the charm of the book is 
the skillful and yet natural      way in
 which plain facts have been put4 ,we   
were attracted toward      them by their
 freshness1 and soon we are following on
 with intense      interest and         
enthusiasm4 ,the chapters on ,pearls1   
,corals1      ,mercury1 and ,a ,pinch of
 ,salt1 and1 in fact1 nearly all the    
others are absorbingly                  
interesting4--,newark1 ,n4 ,j41         
,register4   ,,stray ,,leaves ,,from    
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,nature4  ,new       
edition1 illustrated4 #abmo1 cloth1     
#a4ej4       ,the book is peculiarly    
fascinating4--,chicago ,journal4        
,the entire work is full of charming    
description and pleasant                
information4--,courier-,journal1        
,louisville4       ,this little book    
will prove of great service to hundreds 
of      readers into whose hands it may 

fall4--,new ,haven ,palladium4       ,a 
better work for the young than half the 
story books      published4--,rural ,new
 ,yorker4   ,,the ,,romance ,,of        
,,american ,,history4  #abmo1 cloth     
extra1 #a4ej4       ,,contents4         
,lo6 the ,poor ,indian4 ,the ,hidden    
,river4 ,our ,first ,romance4 ,a ,few   
,town ,names4 ,kaisers1 ,kings1 and     
,knights4 ,lost ,towns4 ,lost ,lands4   
,we can only repeat that it is intensely
 interesting1 and full of               
instructive matter that every ,american 
should make himself familiar            
with4--,toledo ,commercial4       ,in   
the selection of early historical       
curiosities the author has      evinced 
nice taste and tact1 and he possesses in
 an eminent degree      the rare and    
invaluable art of investing the dry     
details of history      with a romantic 
color and hue4--,american ,athenaeum4   
,,modern ,,magic4  #abmo1 cloth4        
,,contents4       ,witchcraft4 ,black   
and ,white ,magic4 ,dreams4 ,visions4   

,ghosts4      ,divination4 ,possession4 
,magnetism4 ,miraculous ,cases4         
,mysticism4  -- ,for sale by all        
,booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt
 of price by  ,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s       
,,sons1 ,publishers1  #dth ,ave4 and    
#bc;d ,st41 ,new ,york4     ,,in        
,,course ,,of ,,publication4  ,putnam's 
,elementary and ,advanced ,science      
,series1  ,adapted to the requirements  
of ,students in ,science and ,art       
,classes1 and ,higher and ,middle ,class
 ,schools4   ,,elementary ,,series4     
,printed uniformly in #afmo1 fully      
,illustrated1 cloth extra1 price1 #fe   
cents each4       #a4 ,,practical       
,,plane ,,and ,,solid ,,geometry4 ,by   
,h4 ,angel1 ,islington        ,science  
,school1 ,london4       #b4 ,,machine   
,,construction ,,and ,,drawing4 ,by ,e4 
,tomkins1 ,queen's        ,college1     
,liverpool4       #c;,a ,,building      
,,construction--,,stone1 ,,brick ,,and  
,,slate ,,work4 ,by ,r4 ,s4             
,burn1 ,c4,e41 ,manchester4       #c;,b 

,,building ,,construction--,,timber     
,,and ,,iron ,,work4 ,by ,r4 ,s4 ,burn1 
,c4,e41 ,manchester4       #d4 ,,naval  
,,architecture--,,shipbuilding ,,and    
,,laying ,,off4 ,by ,s4 ,j4 ,p4         
,thearle1 ,f4,r4,s4,n4,a41 ,london4     
#e4 ,,pure ,,mathematics4 ,by ,lewis    
,sergeant1 ,b4,a41 7,camb417 ,london4   
#f4 ,,theoretical ,,mechanics4 ,by      
,william ,rossiter1 ,f4,r4,a4,s41       
,f4,c4,s41        ,london4       #g4    
,,applied ,,mechanics4 ,by ,william     
,rossiter1 ,f4,r4,a4,s41 ,london4       
#h4 ,,acoustics1 ,,light ,,and ,,heat4  
,by ,william ,lees1 ,a4,m41 ,lecturer on
        ,physics1 ,edinburgh4       #i4 
,,magnetism ,,and ,,electricity4 ,by    
,john ,angell1 ,senior ,science         
,master1 ,grammar ,school1 ,manchester4 
#aj4 ,,inorganic ,,chemistry4 ,by ,dr4  
,w4 ,b4 ,kemshead1 ,f4,r4,a4,s41        
,dulwich        ,college1 ,london4      
#aa4 ,,organic ,,chemistry4 ,by ,w4     
,marshall ,watts1 ,d4,sc41 7,lond417    
,grammar ,school1 ,giggleswick4         

#ab4 ,,geology4 ,by4 ,w4 ,s4 ,davis1    
,,ll4,d41 ,derby4       #ac4            
,,mineralogy4 ,by ,j4 ,h4 ,collins1     
,f4,g4,s41 ,royal ,cornwall             
,polytechnic ,society1 ,falmouth4       
#ad4 ,,animal ,,physiology4 ,by ,john   
,angell1 ,senior ,science ,master1      
,grammar ,school1 ,manchester4          
#ae4 ,,zoology4 ,by ,m4 ,harbison1      
,head-,master ,model ,schools1          
,newtonards4       #af4 ,,vegetable     
,,anatomy ,,and ,,physiology4 ,by ,j4   
,h4 ,balfour1 ,m4,d41        ,edinburgh 
,university4       #ag4 ,,systematic    
,,and ,,economic ,,botany4 ,by ,j4 ,h4  
,balfour1 ,m4,d41        ,edinburgh     
,university4       #ai4 ,,metallurgy4   
,by ,john ,mayer1 ,f4,c4,s41 ,glasgow4  
#bj4 ,,navigation4 ,by ,henry ,evers1   
,,ll4,d41 ,plymouth4       #ba4         
,,nautical ,,astronomy4 ,by ,henry      
,evers1 ,,ll4,d4       #bb;,a ,,steam   
,,and ,,the ,,steam ,,engine--,,land    
,,and ,,marine4 ,by ,henry ,evers1      
,,ll4,d41 ,plymouth4       #bb;,b       

,,steam ,,and ,,steam                   
,,engine--,,locomotive4 ,by ,henry      
,evers1 ,,ll4,d41        ,plymouth4     
#bc4 ,,physical ,,geography4 ,by ,john  
,macturk1 ,f4,r4,g4,s4       #bd4       
,,practical ,,chemistry4 ,by ,john      
,howard1 ,london4       #be4            
,,astronomy4 ,by ,j4 ,j4 ,plummer1      
,observatory1 ,durham4                  
,,transcriber',s ,,note3   ,obvious     
typographical errors in punctuation and 
spelling have been corrected without    
comment4 ,one example of an obvious     
typographical error is on page #aji     
where the word utterred was changed to  
uttered in the phrase3 444 he uttered a 
piercing cry4444  ,in addition to       
obvious errors the following changes    
have been made3       #a4 ,page #cgf3   
,the phrase as early in #aggc was       
changed to as early      as #aggc4      
#b4 ,page #aai3 cocoa was changed to    
coca in the phrase1 444      opium1     
betel1 hasheesh1 and coca4444       #c4 
,page #bji3 ,aureditated was changed to 

,accredited to reflect      the correct 
title of ,jarvis' book3 ,accredited     
,ghost ,stories4       #d4 ,page #baa3  
,aured4 was changed to ,accred4 in the  
phrase1      ,accred4 ,ghost ,stories4  
#e4 ,page #bcd3 aids was changed to     
aides in the phrase1 ,general           
d',espagne roused his aides4444         
#f4 ,on the ad page1 the illustration of
 a hand symbol has been      replaced   
with --4  ,the spelling of most proper  
names has been left unchanged with the  
following exceptions3       #a4         
,goeethe1 ,goethe and ,goethe has been  
standardized to      ,goethe4       #b4 
,page #aji3 ,shilling was changed to    
,stilling 7,jung ,stilling1      author 
of ,jenseits cf4 pp4 #aef1 #bjd1 #cbj74 
#c4 ,page #bce3 ,marca ,erivigiana was  
changed to ,marca ,trivigiana4       #d4
 ,page #bfj3 ,waltyries was changed to  
,walkyries in the phrase1               
,walkyries and the heroes4444       #e4 
,page #cgf3 ,eassner was changed to     
,gassner 7cf4 p4 #dda7 in the           

phrase1 444 famous ,father ,gassner 444 
of ,ratisbon4444       #f4 ,page #djb3  
,mondez was changed to ,mondes in the   
,journal title1      ,revue des ,deux   
,mondes1 7cf4 p4 #djh74  ,in other      
cases1 the author's original spelling   
and use of punctuation has been left    
intact4 ,internal inconsistencies which 
have been retained in this transcription
 as in the original include 7but are not
 limited to73       apostacy_/ apostasy 
pickolitch_/ prickolitch                
,a,ethiopian_/ ,ethiopian      aurora   
boreales_/ aurora borealis       ,on    
page #cai3 444 ,thus in #aegh a famous  
astrologer1 the father of      all      
weather prophecies in our almanacs1     
predicted that in the month      of     
,february1 #aebd4444       ,on page     
#bhg3 the phrase1 444 mutters the word  
,one4444 has been      retained as      
printed1 but may be intended as 444     
mutters the word      ,om4444           
,item number #ah is missing from the ,ad
 page4