,,psychomancy4      ,,spirit-,,rappings 
,,and ,,table-,,tippings    ,,exposed4  
,,by    ,,prof4 ,,charles ,g4 ,,page1   
,m4 ,d41 ,,etc4      ,,new-,,york3 ,d4  
,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 #bjj        
,,broadway4    ,,mdcccliii4             
,entered according to ,act of ,congress1
 in the year #ahec1 by ,d4              
,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,in the     
,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court
      of the ,united ,states for the    
,southern ,district of ,new-,york4      
,,spirit-,,rappings4      ,the          
wide-spread and alarming mania of       
,spirit-rappings and  table-tippings of 
the present day1 is only a modification1
 or  new garb1 of devilish              
instrumentalities1 operating through    
human  machinations1 which have infested
 society from time immemorial4 ,we      
start with this proposition1 harsh as it
 may sound to some1 and if we  should   
fail to sustain it by facts1 reasoning1 
and common sense1 to  the entire        
satisfaction of all1 we still say to the

 unbelievers in our  doctrine1 show us  
the proof to the contrary2 and with a   
confidence  firm as our belief in ,holy 
,writ1 and the unfailing laws of ,god1  
we challenge the exhibition to our      
senses of any performance with          
spirit-rappings1 or table-tippings1     
which cannot be explained upon  natural1
 and well known natural laws4 ,we will  
here premise1 that  we do not attribute 
to ,satan any direct agency in this     
matter other  than has always been      
ascribed to him in the crimes and       
misdeeds of man  from the fall down to  
this present time4 ,that neither the    
prince of  the power of the air1 nor his
 imps 7unless they be in human shape71  
rap out intelligence by sounds1 get     
under tables and tip them over1  swing  
them round1 or perform any of these     
extraordinary feats1 which  so many     
among us are determined to invest with  
supernatural character  and origin4 ,nor
 do we consider that the arch-enemy of  
man has brought  any new power or agency

 into operation to further his          
mischievous  designs4 ,,far ,,from ,,it4
 ,a new power8 ,it would frustrate his  
schemes  in their very inception4 ,a new
 power8 ,it is a lawful subject of      
pursuit1 to the very exhaustion of      
mental resources4 ,a new power8  ,its   
bare mention is an arousing signal to   
the devotees of science1 and  upon the  
first scintillation of plausibility1 the
 midnight lamp will  burn throughout    
,christendom1 till its capabilities and 
subserviency  to man's actual wants are 
unfolded4 ,no6 the tempter knows his    
game  and tools1 and perhaps his own    
limits1 all too well to give to man a   
new and legitimate object of research1  
and thus divert investigation  from     
hallucinating and mercenary sorceries to
 that which is lawful  and truthful4 ,he
 works with his own and old tools1 upon 
and through  that most successful       
instrumentality1 over which1 by long and
 dire  experience1 he has acquired such 
mighty ascendency--the human soul4      

,this is his pliant tool1 and here his  
stronghold4 ,to those who  regard the   
,scriptural account of the devil's      
existence and agency as  allegorical1   
our argument1 in its cardinal character 
and bearing1 will  apply with the same  
force1 for they have only to invest the 
mind of  man with all the force and     
attributes that the allegory gives to   
both  combined1 and we address ourselves
 to them with the same interest and     
hope of success as with those who       
believe the ,scripture implicitly  to   
the letter4 ,to all alike1 the deep1    
untiring1 unending wiles of  the human  
soul are familiar themes1 and it matters
 but little to our  present purpose1    
whether these impious transactions      
proceed from the  main-spring of        
unaided1 uninspired thought1 or whether 
the unheeding  thought is impressed by  
supernal powers4 ,there is in the mind a
  strong and often morbid appetency for 
the supernatural and marvellous2  a     
proneness to inquire beyond what is     

actually revealed2 and1 worse  than     
this1 a prurience of power1 either real 
or specious1 to exalt one  above his    
fellow mortals1 and give the weight of  
,divine authority to  his words and     
acts4 ,from this desire originates      
priestcraft1 astrology  and sorcery1 and
 in the former habitude of the mind lies
 the secret  of their success and       
perpetuation4 ,it has been a real source
 of  distress to us1 to see professing  
,christians1 even among our immediate   
friends1 pushing their inquiries beyond 
the confines of realities into  the     
spirit-world1 forgetting or             
misapprehending the injunctions of      
,scripture forbidding us to look into   
such things1 and unconscious of  the    
fact1 that their well-meant invocations 
of spirits by the tipping  of tables and
 rappings1 was1 in every step and act of
 repetition1  lending encouragement to  
the mercenary and nefarious schemes of a
  certain set of vile impostors1 who    
originated the cheat1 and were          

continuing its practice for the sake of 
filthy lucre4 ,to them1 and  to all1 we 
say ,stop6 ere this temerity be visited 
with the righteous  judgments of an     
offended ,deity1 who has pronounced1 in 
his holy  oracles1 in clear and         
unmistakable language1 his malediction  
of sorcery  and witchcraft2 has set the 
bounds of human inquiry where time stops
  and eternity begins1 and sealed up the
 future in impenetrable mystery2  who   
has refused to the yearning hearts of   
fond and bereaved parents  all knowledge
 of their dear departed1 save the hopes 
and consolations  of the ,scripture4    
,what6 shall the ,,great ,,judgment be  
anticipated1 and  the archives of       
eternal retribution be read by the      
knocking of sticks  upon the floor1 or  
the upsetting of tables8 ,shall eternity
 be made  subordinate to time2 the      
immortal to the mortal8 ,shall the      
silence of  the grave be disturbed by   
grovelling mountebanks1 or its stern    
abodes  become vocal through these gross

 mediums of rappers and tippers8        
,,impious6 ,,impious6 ,we need not quote
 ,scripture against this unholy         
pursuit1 for its anathemas are full and 
loud1 and he who runs may read4  ,we    
know there are those who are innocently 
engaged in the invocation  of spirits1  
and who seem to take delight in holding 
converse with  their departed friends1  
as they suppose4 ,we ask them to pause1 
and  consider well what they are doing6 
to look around1 and see the  devastation
 of human intellect1 the fearful        
swellings of the madhouse  rolls1 the   
frightful deeds of blood and violence1  
and the stupendous  frauds1 all begotten
 of this monster mania6 ,are these the  
fruits of  legitimate and holy deeds8   
,are these your consolations while at   
your  spiritual shrines8 ,do they not   
bear evidence in themselves of their    
diabolical origin1 and are they not     
warnings to you to beware1 lest in  your
 attempts to enter beyond the veil into 
the ,holy of ,holies1 you  be struck    

down also8 ,if these pests of society   
are beyond the reach of  earthly        
tribunals1 will you countenance and     
encourage their career8  ,shall we be   
met here with the assertion that there  
are religious  maniacs1 that religious  
excitement makes madmen1 and leads to   
deeds of  violence8 ,we spurn the       
fallacy2 and with proud defiance1 armed 
with the  ,rock of ,ages1 we hurl back  
the apology in the very teeth of the    
casuist  who made it1 and1 fearless of  
his replication1 triumphantly assert    
that  the true religion of ,jesus       
,christ1 whose first fruits and very    
essence  is peace to the soul1 ,,never  
,,drove ,,any ,,body ,,mad4    ,we      
profess a profound reverence for all    
that is holy1 and from our  earliest    
recollection have been imbued with a    
deep dread of profanity  in any shape1  
and approached this mockery of high     
,heaven with some  reluctance1 unwilling
 that our veneration should suffer so   
much  violence4 ,but we felt justified1 

in the full assurance that this  thing  
was not of ,heaven1 but of men4 ,for the
 sake of unravelling  this imposture and
 illusion1 for this purpose alone1 we   
have put  ourselves frequently in the   
attitude of dupes of these impostors1   
and feigning for a time conviction and  
conversion1 have led them on  till they 
were completely baffled in every attempt
 to perform their  tricks1 and the      
spirits became powerless and silent as  
the mortal  tenements they once         
actuated4 ,when we first sat down to a  
table with  a few well-meaning and      
particular family friends to conjure    
spirits1  we confess to a momentary     
feeling of horripilation1 not from fear 
of  meeting a visitor from another      
world1 but from the impression that the 
very act was heaven-daring and profane4 
,but when we came to utter  the         
,rapper's ,shibboleth1 ,if there are any
 spirits present1 will  they please to  
signify it by tipping the table8 the    
thoughts of  sacrilege vanished1 and    

were immediately supplanted by an       
irresistible  sense of the ridiculous1  
and the smile and the laugh rose above  
all  convictions of solemnity or        
irreverence4 ,will the spirits please to
  tip the table8 was again and again    
reiterated1 but no table tipped  for us4
 ,perhaps we are not mediums1 said one4 
,the spirits have  declared that ,i am a
 medium1 said another2 but that ,great  
,exorcist1  common sense1 was present   
and prevalent on this occasion2 and the 
spirits would not communicate1 and the  
table would not tip1 certainly  not1 of 
itself4 ,we introduced every variety of 
manipulation of  crossing hands1        
interlocking fingers1 and1 in spite of  
all1 and the  most patient persistence1 
the table proved true to its lifeless   
character1 and the universal law that   
matter is inert1 and cannot  move of    
itself4 ,what could have been the cause 
of this abortive  conjuration8 ,were the
 spirits present1 and not disposed to   
gratify  a certain class of dilettanti  

who were present8 ,were they jesting    
and teazing1 or in bad humor with our   
persons1 our fixtures1 or our           
espionage8 ,for we had heard from very  
respectable sources1 of the  spirits    
jesting and taunting those present on   
such occasions4 ,or were  they far away 
on some errand of duty1 or busy and     
monopolized for some  special tippings  
elsewhere8 ,this last idea seems to be  
precluded by  the fact that certain     
great spirits1 such as ,channing1       
,webster1 ,clay  and ,calhoun1 who      
figure so largely on these occasions1   
rap and tip in  different places at the 
same time4 ,what mummery is all this to 
the  mind that believes in the          
omnipresence of the ,great ,god himself1
 who  cannot look upon such practices   
but with abhorrence4 ,are you1          
,christian  man or woman1 one whit      
better for these doings than that woman 
with  the familiar spirits1 the ,witch  
of ,endor8#a ,are you not rather her    
disciple8 and is she not held up to you 

for an example and a warning8  ,do you  
think that rappings and table-tippings  
give respectability to  witchcraft8 ,is 
reading the future and the invisible    
world by rappings  and tippings any     
better than the doings of yonder        
wretched crone1 who  works out in her   
concealed abode the same problems by    
packs of cards  and mystical            
incantations8 ,are you not ministering  
encouragement to her  hagship1 and      
pursuing her very vocation1 though under
 another name8  ,shall not this         
veritable beldame rise up in judgment1  
and plead in  justification of          
fortune-telling the example of the      
,christian ,church  in spirit-rapping   
and table-tipping8 ,perhaps you think   
that these  seeming wonders are fraught 
with more interest1 novelty1 and        
mystery1  than the magical              
demonstrations of old4 ,why1 in very    
truth1 they are  contemptibly           
insignificant when compared with the    
witcheries of old4  ,read ,upham's      

letters on the witchcraft of the ,new   
,england ,colonies1 ,sir  ,walter       
,scott's demonology and witchcraft1 and 
see how the rappings and  tippings      
dwindle before the performances of the  
witches of yore4 ,after  reading these1 
study well ,sir ,david ,brewster's      
,natural ,magic--a book  that should be 
in the hands of every one who takes     
interest in these  marvels of the day4  
,there you will see how phenomena1 at   
first sight  inexplicable1 are solved by
 the touch-stones of science and common 
sense4 ,you will there find that sorcery
 was not to be stopped entirely  by the 
gibbet1 the gallows or the stake1 but   
that the light of reason  and science   
were most effectual in promoting its    
overthrow4 ,sir ,walter  ,scott says of 
the opposers of witchcraft in the       
seventeenth century1  that the pursuers 
of exact science to its coy retreats    
were sure to be  the first to discover  
that the most remarkable phenomena in   
nature are  regulated by certain fixed  

laws1 and cannot be rationally referred 
to  supernatural agency 7meaning1 of    
course1 supernatural interference71  the
 sufficing cause to which superstition  
attributes all that is  beyond her own  
narrow power of explanation4 ,each      
advance in natural  knowledge teaches   
us1 that it is the pleasure of the      
,creator to govern  the world by the    
laws which he has imposed1 and which in 
our times are  not interrupted or       
suspended4    ,in all ages1 the ,church 
has attributed sorcery to the agency of 
the  devil4 ,if this is his work1 he    
certainly proceeds upon the same general
  modus operandi as ever4 ,as one       
artifice wears out1 or is exploded by   
the power of science1 he resorts to     
another2 that is1 he prompts new  tricks
 by his own unseen influences1 upon the 
minds of those who become  his willing  
instruments4 ,the most gross of all is  
spirit-rapping1  and next1 the subtle   
delusions of mesmerism1 and             
table-tippings4 ,we  cannot stop here to

 discuss mesmerism1 for whatever there  
may be in  it of lawful inquiry1 surely 
the sending of clairvoyant spirits to   
the portals of heaven or hell1 to bring 
back descriptions of those  abodes and  
their inhabitants1 is sorcery of the    
most impious character4  ,some years ago
 said a distinguished poet1 ,satan now1 
is wiser than  of yore2 doubtless he has
 advanced a few degrees in strategy1    
since  ,pope's time1 and as the light   
and power of science and wisdom         
increase1  so does he deepen his plots  
and shift his points of attack4 ,now we 
will  repeat here1 that it is entirely  
immaterial to our purpose whether our   
readers believe in the seen or unseen1  
direct or indirect influences  of the   
devil upon mind or matter1 or in neither
 one nor the other4 ,if  they do not    
believe that he goes about like a       
roaring lion1 seeking  whom he may      
devour1 if they do not believe in the   
existence of such  a malignant being1   
they have only this alternative1 that   

they must  find the devil's equivalent  
in the human heart1 which though a less 
palatable doctrine1 will answer the     
design of this argument1 which is  to   
show that these pretended wonders of    
knocks and table movements  are         
illusory1 nefarious and mischievous1    
originating chiefly from  evil-minded   
persons1 and perpetuated by the         
indifference of careless  observers1 the
 connivance of others1 and mainly by the
 fanaticism1  ignorance1 and            
credulousness of a large class of       
persons found in every  community4      
,these have been recognized in all ages 
as the principal  ingredients in        
sorcery1 but there is yet another       
element which is doing  much to foster  
this crime1 and although not a new      
feature1 yet is quite  prevalent at this
 time1 and less excusable than it was in
 the days of  ,bacon and ,napier4 ,sir  
,walter ,scott1 in one of his letters1  
has this  point in our discussion so    
strongly portrayed1 that we take the    

liberty  of quoting him at some length1 
rejoicing in the opportunity of adding  
his great wisdom and authority in these 
matters1 to our own efforts4  ,speaking 
of the causes which retarded the        
subversion of witchcraft  in the        
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1    
among learned men1 he  says1 ,the       
learned and sensible ,dr4 ,webster1 for 
instance1 writing  in the detection of  
the supposed witchcraft1 assumes1 as a  
string of  undeniable facts1 opinions   
which our more experienced age would    
reject  as frivolous fancies2 for       
example1 the effects of healing by the  
weapon-salve1 the sympathetic powder1   
the curing of various diseases by       
apprehensions1 amulets1 or by           
transplantation4 ,all of which undoubted
  wonders he accuses the age of desiring
 to throw on the devil's back--an       
unnecessary load1 certainly1 since such 
things do not exist1 and it  is         
therefore in vain to seek to account for
 them4 ,it followed1 that  while the    

opposers of the ordinary theory might   
have struck the deepest  blow at the    
witch hypothesis by an appeal to common 
sense1 they were  themselves hampered by
 articles of philosophical belief1      
which1 they  must have been sensible1   
contained nearly as deep draughts upon  
human  credulity as were made by the    
demonologists1 against whose doctrine   
they protested4 ,this error had a doubly
 bad effect1 both as degrading  the     
immediate department in which it        
occurred1 and as affording a  protection
 for falsehood in other branches of     
science4 ,the champions  who1 in their  
own province1 were obliged by the       
imperfect knowledge  of the times to    
admit much that was mystical and        
inexplicable2 those  who opined1 with   
,bacon1 that warts could be cured by    
sympathy--who  thought1 with ,napier1   
that hidden treasure could be discovered
 by the  mathematics--who salved the    
weapon instead of the wound1 and        
detected  murders as well as springs of 

water by the divining-rod1 could not    
consistently use1 to confute the        
believers in witches1 an argument       
turning on the impossible or the        
incredible4    ,such were the obstacles 
arising from the vanity of philosophers 
and  the imperfection of their science1 
which suspended the strength of  their  
appeal to reason and common sense1      
against the condemning of  wretches to a
 cruel death1 on account of crimes1     
which the nature of  things rendered in 
modern times impossible4    ,thus       
learned men seeking to unravel          
mysteries1 for want of sagacity and     
full knowledge1 may become the          
apologists of sorcery and witchcraft4   
,bacon was obliged to be a philosopher  
for the whole enlightened  world2 but1  
in our day1 so vast has each branch of  
science become1  that any one of them   
would be full enough for a ,bacon's     
grasp1 and  philosophers hardly dare to 
venture outside of their own boundaries1
  lest they become1 or be considered    

philosophists4 ,we hear men of  science 
abused because they take such obstinate1
 inexorable positions  against these    
fooleries4 ,this they are bound to do4  
,familiar  with the laws of nature1 all 
real phenomena are alike marvellous to  
their minds1 and those which claim to be
 miraculous1 supernatural1  and1 par    
excellence1 the ,,marvellous1 they      
repudiate summarily as  absurdities1    
knowing that if they cannot disabuse the
 popular mind1  they can prove their    
irrationality to their own entire       
satisfaction1 at  least4 ,formerly      
fortune-tellers were sometimes styled   
,philomaths1 but  we think that as      
fortune-telling has degenerated into    
such disrepute1  the name is unworthily 
applied1 and we propose to transfer it  
to that  class of learned writers of the
 present day1 who seek to trace these   
tricks of raps and tips to the direct   
agency of the devil1 or evil or  good   
spirits2--supposing these spirits to    
make the sounds or movements1  and to   

give the communications2--and to that   
class specially who  attribute these    
phenomena to electricity1 magnetism1 or 
to the action  of some power or fluid   
hitherto unknown2 in short1 to all1 who 
look  upon these things as any thing    
else than impostures and illusions4     
,these are the philomaths of the present
 day1 and while they thus stand  in the 
way of advancement in true knowledge1   
they are1 in effect1  fostering error1  
superstition1 and sorcery4 ,we boast in 
our day of the  enlightenment of the    
masses1 the spread of education and the 
diffusion  of knowledge2 but for all    
this1 necromancy is not dead nor        
stifled2  and is now like a baleful     
poison running rife through our land1   
upon  the most preposterous foundations 
and pretexts4 ,spirits1 rapping upon    
doors1 floors1 and tables1 upsetting    
tables and swinging them about  the     
room8 ,spirits1 do you say8 ,has a      
spirit flesh and blood8 ,has a  spirit  
bones1 muscles1 fingers1 heels1 toes1   

and sticks8 ,,do ,,spirits  ,,wear      
,,petticoats and long dresses8 ,a new   
fluid1 says another  philomath4 ,a new  
fluid1 forsooth8 ,none other than that  
old fluid of  credulity or gullibity1 if
 we may be allowed the latter term4 ,an 
old fluid1 says another4 ,electricity or
 magnetism in some shape4  ,this is     
insufferable4 ,since the first          
discoveries in electricity and          
magnetism1 these agents have had to take
 the paternity of every rare  and       
inexplicable phenomenon4 ,this is much  
more the case now than when  ,sir       
,walter ,scott wrote his letters on     
witchcraft1 though he says that  the    
divining-rod1 and other remarkable and  
misconceived phenomena1 were  assigned  
to the agency of electricity and        
magnetism4 ,at the present  times these 
subtle agents are the common scape-goats
 for mesmeric1  electro-biological1     
psychological1 and every other kind of  
phenomenon1  the cause of which eludes  
the senses1 and the new-fangled farce of

  rappings and tippings must fain take  
advantage of the same subterfuge  in    
order to make its way to popular        
credence4 ,unfortunately1 in this  case 
an accurate knowledge of the laws of    
electricity is possessed  by            
comparatively few persons2 and the      
electric fluid1 or power of  magnetism1 
becomes a very clever instrument in the 
hands of charlatans  and empirics1      
through which to enforce upon the       
popular mind the  reality of their      
tricks and impostures4 ,to one who has  
an adequate  knowledge of the laws of   
electricity and magnetism1 it is more   
than  amusing to see with what pedantic 
gravity these latter philomaths  descant
 upon electricity and magnetism1        
contorting and butchering  their        
established laws all the while1 to      
explain some vile juggle1 or  unravel   
the psychomancy of rappers and tippers2 
and also to see with  what avidity their
 inflated arguments are gulped by gaping
 crowds1 who  apparently are unwilling  

or unable to swallow a single naked     
truth4  ,it is often said that men love 
to be deceived4 ,this is true to some   
extent1 and it is sometimes the case    
that a quack will draw crowds  around   
him where a truly learned man could not 
get a foothold4 ,the  truth however is  
mighty1 and will prevail1 and the power 
of learning  always has been1 and will  
be felt1 though it may be somewhat slow 
to assert and maintain its supremacy4   
,in verity1 there is not one  property1 
condition1 or law of electricity or     
magnetism1 so far as they  have been    
established by experiment and science1  
that would explain  rappings and        
tippings without doing violence to      
philosophy4 ,a few years  ago1 a medical
 friend and brother came to our house   
late at night1  in considerable         
trepidation1 and wished us to go and see
 a woman who  was bewitched in an       
extraordinary manner4 ,at intervals she 
would be  seized with convulsions1 and  
while the fit was on her she pulled pins

  out of the hands1 arms1 and legs of   
bystanders1 and tossing the pins  into  
her mouth1 swallowed them4 ,we          
remonstrated with him1 but though       
highly intelligent1 and excelling in his
 profession1 our friend the  ,doctor    
would not give it up4 ,he had seen it1  
believed it1 but could not  account for 
it1 and came to us specially to         
ascertain if ,,electricity  had not     
something to do with it4 ,knowing that  
the witches of old had  a special fancy 
for pins1 and fully prepared to see     
nothing more than  a dexterous feat of  
legerdemain1 we consented to go1 late as
 it was1  and as soon as the pretty     
little elf1 who was lying upon a pallet 
upon  the floor1 had become convulsed1  
and pulled a pin from our person1 and   
swallowed it1 we discovered the quomod1 
and the next day1 with a  little        
practice1 we were able to go into very  
fair convulsions1 and  could draw out   
pins and swallow them as skilfully as   
the witch herself4  ,our good friend1   

the doctor1 had not even noticed that   
the convulsive  movements were all      
confined to the voluntary actions upon  
the muscles1  so engrossed was he with  
the idea of the supernatural character  
of  this performance4 ,it is remarkable 
to notice how the scrutinizing  powers  
of the most astute1 fail as soon as they
 entertain the remotest  idea of the    
supernatural in these cases4 ,this girl 
was visited by  hundreds of respectable 
and intelligent persons in our          
community1 and  notwithstanding a       
publication which was made exposing the 
trick1 but  few were able to discover it
 for themselves1 and the greater portion
  believed it to be a genuine           
performance1 and alms were freely given 
in  sympathy for her unfortunate        
condition4 ,our sympathies were enlisted
  for those whom she bewitched1 and we  
must give the enchantress  credit for   
more shrewdness than her customers1 and 
we believe she  reaped quite a rich     
harvest for her skill in legerdemain4   

,we cite this  case to show what        
violence is done to science to account  
for modern  sorceries4 ,remember1 we are
 called on to decide if electricity     
played any part in this extraordinary   
exhibition4    ,many years ago a person 
of the name of ,hannington came to      
,salem1  ,massachusetts1 then the place 
of our residence1 to exhibit the        
so-called mysterious lady4 ,this lady   
had the power of naming and  describing 
various things which she could not see1 
declare names  written upon bits of     
paper handed to persons promiscuously in
 the  audience1 and a variety of        
performances1 which completely astounded
 her  visitors4 ,their programme        
announced that they had visited the     
principal  cities in this country and   
,europe1 and that her extraordinary gift
 of  divination had baffled the ablest  
researches4 ,we were invited to see     
this great modern ,pythoness1 and       
specially for the purpose of judging    
whether it was an auricular illusion4   

,in a word1 whether it might  not be an 
extraordinary case of ventriloquism1 for
 this seems to have  been the last      
resort for a solution of the problem1   
with those who  repudiated witchery4    
,electricity would not answer this time1
 and the  science of sound had to be    
mutilated for the occasion4 ,being      
ourselves  expert in the performance of 
ventriloquism1 and familiar with the    
laws  of acoustics1 it needed but a     
moment to decide that ventriloquism was 
utterly inadequate to the solution of   
the puzzle1 and before we left  the room
 we discerned the whole trick1          
disconcerted the performers very        
essentially1 and the next day published 
a full exposure1 after which  the       
whereabouts of the mysterious lady was a
 greater mystery than  her performances 
had been4    ,a few years since1 an     
account was published throughout this   
country and  ,europe1 of a prodigy in   
the shape of an electrical girl in      
,paris1  who was indued with an         

extraordinary power--electrical of      
course--by  which1 when she attempted to
 sit down in a chair1 it was thrown from
  her with great violence4 ,this was one
 of the wonders of the day1 and  after  
having deceived multitudes1 and become  
an object of universal  interest and    
sympathy1 she fell into the hands of a  
select committee  of the ,academy of    
,sciences1 with ,arago at their head4   
,does any one  suppose that ,arago ever 
entertained for a moment the idea of    
electrical  action in this connection8  
,not at all6 ,arago immediately set     
himself  to the examination of the girls
 heels1 and soon found that she moved   
the chairs by muscular effort4 ,by long 
practice she had acquired such  skill   
and power of kicking1 or thrusting the  
chair away from herself1  that it was   
always done without exhibiting any      
motion exterior to  her dress1 or the   
slightest disturbance of her person4 ,so
 much for  electricity or the new fluid 
in this case4 ,this kicking girl was    

styled the ,electrical girl1 or the     
,electrical wonder4 ,of course she      
belonged to the new fluid class1 for no 
one acquainted with the laws  of        
electricity1 would have entertained a   
suspicion that electricity had  any     
thing to do with the phenomenon4    ,we 
may be accused of being somewhat        
dogmatical in this treatise1  and       
perhaps we are so1 while we have to deal
 with so many fanatics  and pragmatical 
philomaths4 ,for the superstitious and  
ignorant1 we  have some charity1 but we 
confess that we have little or no       
patience  for those among educated men1 
who are wearers of the amulets of       
electricity1 magnetism1 or new fluids4  
,they evince more pedantry  than        
penetration1 and are inexcusable        
disseminators of sophistry  and error4  
,they are exactly in the category of the
 believers in  perpetual motion1 and1 in
 fact1 the ascription of such phenomena 
as  table-tippings to electricity1      
magnetism1 or some new fluid1 goes  a   

step beyond perpetual motion1 if that is
 possible4 ,most of the  plodders after 
perpetual motion expect to get1 by some 
new adjustment1  a machine that will    
barely move of itself without any great 
surplus  of power2 but according to this
 new table-tipping philosophy1 we       
certainly should look for any amount of 
horse power1 without any  consumption of
 material1 and no other expense than    
that of keeping  a clever medium at     
hand4 ,on the principle of touching a   
heavy table  lightly 7for the touch must
 be light according to rule71 and thus  
causing by incantations the table to    
tip1 rise up1 whirl about1 etc41  it    
would cost but little to move a church  
or a mountain1 and mediums  should be in
 great demand for mechanical purposes1  
as being cheaper  and safer than steam  
engines4 ,how strange it does appear1   
that these  pseudo-philosophers have    
entirely lost sight of the one great    
radical  principle of all dynamic       
science1 viz41 that action and reaction 

are  equal1 and never have attached the 
least value to the fact1 that when      
persons put their hands lightly upon    
tables1 their hands always  follow the  
motion of the table1 whichever way the  
table moves4 ,it  certainly appeared to 
us a very significant fact1 when we     
first saw  the performance1 and if      
considered in connection with           
electricity1  or the new fluid1 is      
sufficiently anomalous to require a     
careful  analysis4 ,but more of this    
anon1 as we propose to examine the      
rappings  first4 ,this imposture        
originated with two girls1 by the name  
of ,fox1  from ,rochester1 ,new-,york1  
who are now1 with their mother1         
travelling  through the country1 and    
exhibiting their art for money4 ,a few  
weeks  ago1 the ,fox-mother gave us an  
account of this wonderful development   
of noises or rappings about the two     
daughters1 and from her we learned  that
 the noises were kept up for a long time
 before they discovered  the cause4 ,at 

first they were annoyed by them1 but1   
after a while1  they became so familiar 
with the sounds1 that they took but     
little  notice of them1 until they      
discovered the mode of communicating    
with  their authors1 and ascertained    
that the sounds were made by spirits  of
 the departed4 ,according to her        
account1 the spirits then rapped at     
points remote from the girls1 but it    
seems that the spiritual habit has      
changed somewhat1 for since the girls   
have been on exhibition1#b the  spirits 
rap nowhere except directly under the   
girls1 and about their  feet1 or upon   
something with which their persons or   
dresses are in  contact4 ,we had no     
desire to see these creatures1 except to
 discover  the precise means by which   
they made the raps1 and although fully  
prepared to condemn them before we paid 
them a visit1 we preferred not  to      
condemn them unseen1 lest1 on that      
ground1 the clique of rappers  should   
have some advantage over our argument4  

,it amuses us greatly at times1 when    
discussing these matters with our       
friends1 to be told that our opinions   
are all made up beforehand1  that we are
 prejudiced1 c4 ,we admit the charge1   
and say frankly  we are prejudiced1 and 
mean to prejudge any effort to make     
black  appear to be white1 and white1   
black2 and declare the pretensions of   
these rappers and tippers to be as      
grossly absurd and silly1 as any        
monstrosity in the shape of a           
proposition1 that ever emanated from a  
crazy or evil designing brain4 ,when we 
are told that a table is moved  by the  
mere effort of the will1 that it moves  
about when it is not  touched1 we deny  
the statement flatly at once1 and       
challenge the  reproduction of the      
miracle1 and when we are told that      
spirits rap  upon tables1 floors1 doors1
 walls1 or any thing else1 we deny the  
statement1 and challenge the production 
of any kind of rap or sound  in these   
cases1 which is not clearly traceable to

 human agency4  ,perhaps it will be     
inferred that we either do or should    
take ground  against supernatural       
interference and miracles altogether1   
seeing  that we are prepared to condemn 
priori1 these manifestations1  claiming 
for themselves supernatural origin4 ,we 
confess that one of  the greatest       
obstacles we have to encounter in the   
course of this  exposition1 is the      
deep-rooted belief in the existence1 at 
the present  day1 of miraculous powers1 
agencies and deeds1 and the readiness   
with  which many persons ascribe every  
thing which eludes their judgment or    
senses1 and especially whatever savors  
in the least of religion1 to  superhuman
 agency4 ,we do not mean to draw upon   
,holy ,writ for arguments  in support of
 our decision1 upon these rappings and  
tippings1 but  anticipating the         
reception we shall meet1 with this class
 of persons1  we must advert briefly to 
the grounds of their belief and         
objection1  and at the same time define 

our own position4 ,we here find         
ourselves  arrayed against learned      
divines of the present day1 who1 failing
 to  account for these strange doings   
upon the supposition of human agency1   
resort to their belief in the           
superhuman1 and consistently with  their
 professional calling1 must evidently   
found their views upon  scripture4      
,failing to discern the finger of ,god1 
they have come  to their last resort1   
that these manifestations are the work  
of the  devil1 or of evil spirits4      
,without claiming any depth in biblical 
lore1 we ask them where is the authority
 for any such conclusion in  the ,bible8
 ,the ,bible teaches plainly of the     
devil's agency1 of his  operations upon 
the heart of man1 and so far would such 
a construction  be justifiable1 but no  
farther4 ,there is not one instance     
recorded1  in which ,satanic agency was 
recognizable by man as immediate4 ,by   
their fruits ye shall know them1 is a   
sufficient rule of judgment  for any    

deeds1 pretensions1 or manifestations   
whatsoever2 and here  they should rest  
content1 and instead of going beyond the
 record1  might safely administer the   
general caution1 that these lies are of 
their father1 the devil1 without        
introducing the whole ,pandemonium  into
 our houses1 to overturn our tables and 
upset the laws of gravity  and          
mechanical philosophy4 ,we believe that 
miracles were performed  of old1 for    
holy purposes1 and no other2 that they  
were necessary to  enforce the truth of 
revelation2 that the day of miracles has
 gone  by1 and that they ceased when    
their necessity ceased4 ,we have our own
  mode of fixing that period1 but the   
discussion would be too far from  our   
present purpose1 and we have digressed  
too much already4 ,we take  the ground  
that every witch1 wizard1 magician1     
astrologer1 sorcerer1  necromancer1 and 
fortune-teller1 from the earliest1 down 
to the present  time1 has had no more   
power over matter1 or the laws of       

nature1 than  any other person1 and that
 whoever lays claim to familiar spirits1
  foresight1 or any direct communication
 with the invisible world1  through raps
 and tips1 is either witch1 wizard1     
conjurer1 or sorcerer  de facto4#c ,the 
prime movers in all these marvels are   
impostors1  and their disciples1 dupes4 
,while the former are filling their     
coffers at the expense of the latter1   
they must often indulge in secret       
merriment at the credulity of their     
adherents2 and particularly at the      
grave discussions of the learned clergy 
and others upon electricity1  magnetism1
 the new fluid1 the nervous fluid1 or   
the devil's immediate  agency1 as       
probable causes of these strange        
phenomena4 ,surely the  children of this
 world are wiser than the children of   
light4 ,the  juggler with his           
legerdemain far outstrips any thing that
 has ever been  accomplished by rappers 
and tippers1 but then he tells you that 
he  performs by sleight of hand1 and    

that unless your eyes are quicker than  
his hands1 you will be deceived4 ,if    
certain of his performances were to  be 
introduced with some religious jargon   
and pretext1 his success in  infatuating
 the mass of the people1 would put the  
rappers and tippers  entirely in the    
shade1 for the tricks of these latter   
are clumsy and  poorly done at the best4
 ,mr4 ,anderson1 the professed juggler1 
known  as the ,wizard of the ,north1    
has1 to his great credit1 published  a  
series of communications1 in which he   
boldly avers that these  rappers are all
 impostors1 and has contrived a system  
of rapping and  spiritual               
communications1 quite as successful as  
those of the original  fraternity4 ,he  
has failed1 however1 to elucidate the   
whole subject1  from the fact that he   
has been contented with a mere          
imitation1 which  the rappers will of   
course pronounce a counterfeit4 ,our    
first visit  to the rappers1 was in     
company with a gentleman of high        

eminence in  science1 of keen           
discernment1 and very fruitful in       
expedients4 ,we had  formed no          
particular plan of procedure1 except    
that we had agreed to  feign belief in  
these performances1 lest incredulity    
might prove an  obstacle to             
investigation1 and keep the rappers too 
much on their  guard4 ,repudiating all  
idea of the supernatural1 we were not   
liable  to any distraction on that      
account1 and our attention was directed 
entirely to the scrutiny of the         
performances1 with reference to their   
solution upon established principles of 
evidence and natural laws4 ,if  the     
advocates of this new spiritual         
philosophy should object to this        
prejudication1 our answer is1 that aside
 from our prior experience in           
unravelling many such pretended wonders1
 we hold our position to be  entirely   
justifiable1 on the ground of           
probabilities1 and that hitherto  we    
have never known an instance in which so

 much of presumption was not  in such   
cases1 legitimated in the conclusion of 
facts4    ,be this as it may1 we had    
resolved to follow up these rappings and
  tippings to see whether they were     
impostures1 delusions1 or illusions1    
one or all4 ,after the mother of the    
,fox girls had given us an account  of  
the spiritual visitation of her         
daughters1 they three took seats  at a  
large circular table1 and we joined the 
circle sitting opposite  to them4 ,we   
were directed to ask if there were any  
spirits present4  ,this done1 ,,bang1   
,,bang upon the table announced the     
presence of the  spirits4 ,the table was
 evidently struck underneath by         
something hard1  solid1 material1 and so
 as to jar the table perceptibly to the 
hand  resting upon it4 ,our coadjutor   
feigned surprise and alarm1 and stooped 
to look under the table1 when the raps  
immediately ceased4 ,this he  repeated  
several times and each time the raps    
ceased4 ,we asked again  if there were  

any spirits present1 but no answer came 
while he had his  eyes below the level  
of the table top1 but as soon as he sat 
up1 the  raps upon the table commenced  
again4 ,he however was so persevering   
in his scrutiny about the table as to   
give us a good opportunity to  say--for 
mere effect--,why do you look under     
there1 you cannot see  a spirit8 ,the   
rappers finding themselves baffled in   
making their  demonstrations through the
 table1 were forced to retreat from it1 
and  taking their seats a short distance
 from the table1 the rappings  then     
commenced upon the floor immediately    
under the girls1 or about  their feet4  
,both the girls were rappers1 but one   
conspicuously so1 she  rapping much     
louder than the other1 and did most of  
the rapping for  the occasion4 ,both the
 girls wore long dresses sweeping the   
floor1 but  the principal rapper ought  
to have been attended by a train bearer4
  ,are there any spirits present8 was   
again asked1 and the raps came  promptly

 and so thick and fast that the spirits 
seemed anxious to make  some            
communications1 so we proceeded to this 
part of the ceremony4  ,the instructions
 being given to us how to proceed1 we   
commenced by  asking several questions1 
but to these we received either no      
answers1  or incorrect ones4 ,the       
programme was this3 ,we were to write   
down three  names#d of spirits1 one of  
which was to be the name of the spirit  
we intended to invoke4 ,we were then to 
put down the names of three  diseases1  
one of which was to be the disease of   
which the person  had died4 ,we were    
then to put down three places1 one of   
which was to  be the place where the    
person died4 ,we were then to point     
seriatim  to the names of the persons1  
and that when we pointed to the name  of
 the person intended1 the spirit would  
signify his presence and  approbation1  
by two raps1 which mean ,,yes4 ,names of
 others1 or those  not intended1 would  
be answered by one rap1 which meant     

,,no4 ,we made no  progress1 however1   
and1 although there was an abundance of 
rapping1  there was no communication1 no
 intelligence1 no confirmation to us1 of
  what we already knew 7in the          
imperfection of human knowledge71 and we
  appealed with an air and tone of      
assumed navet to the rappers to  know if
 perhaps our failures were not owing to 
our great wickedness8  ,oh1 no6 said the
 ,mother ,fox1 it will happen so        
sometimes4 ,just  then a gentleman      
entered who1 it appears1 was a devotee  
of ,rappism1  and a daily worshipper at 
the ,fox shrine1 for the purpose of     
holding  communication with the spirit  
of a departed wife4 ,as we had failed1  
entirely1 to elicit even a respectable  
guess in answer to our  inquiries of the
 spirits1 and this gentleman had been   
more highly  favored1 his visit was     
rather fortunate at this juncture1 for  
it gave  us an opportunity to observe   
more closely than when our minds were   
occupied with the manipulation of the   

spiritual telegraph4    ,mr4 99 99 99   
commenced at once with an account of his
 previous interviews  and then proceeded
 to inquire for his beloved spirit4     
,rap1 rap1  indicated her presence1 and 
he asked some several questions which   
were  answered to his satisfaction1 the 
,fox mother repeating over and over  the
 alphabet1 so fast that we could not    
follow to get the answer for  ourselves1
 but the rappers being in good practice1
 seemed to find  no difficulty in       
keeping pace4 ,we saw in this           
individual1 a degree  of infatuation    
rarely to be met with in intelligent men
 of the  world1 and unmistakable        
evidence of entire mental hebetude upon 
this  particular subject4 ,we1 however1 
turned his fascination to a very good   
account1 as we shall presently show4 ,we
 inquired if these rappings ever        
occurred any where except immediately   
about the persons of these girls4  ,oh  
yes1 was the mother's answer1 the sounds
 have been made in that  wardrobe1 and  

upon the door1 etc4 ,we pressed hard to 
have the raps  from the wardrobe1 but to
 our surprise and disappointment the    
girl got  into the wardrobe1 leaving the
 door open1 and so snugly was she       
encased  there in consequence of a      
partition in the wardrobe1 that her     
dress was  largely in contact with three
 sides or walls of the little apartment4
  ,of course we did not expect any      
better or different performance from    
that with which we had been entertained 
outside the wardrobe4 ,will the  spirit 
rap here8 says the girl1 and rap1 rap1  
it came on the floor of  the wardrobe4  
,she was then requested to have the     
rappings made upon the  sides and back  
of the wardrobe1 which she did1 taking a
 little extra  time to arrange herself  
for these performances4 ,she then       
requested us  to put our ear to the top 
of the wardrobe and the rap would       
proceed  from that quarter4 ,we were not
 to be entrapped by this trick1 for we  
knew full well the old and trite        

experiment of placing the ear upon one  
end of a long stick when a sound is made
 upon the other end4 ,in this           
experiment the sound will always appear 
to be made near the ear4 ,we  therefore 
kept our attention fixed upon the bottom
 or lower part of  the wardrobe1 and    
while some present1 misled by the       
artifice1 supposed  the sound came from 
the upper part of the wardrobe1 we      
observed that  the sound was produced   
where it was at first1 down below1 and  
that  it was not modified in the least1 
which certainly ought to have been  the 
case1 if the sound had been made        
opposite to the person's ear4  ,the girl
 then called attention to several points
 in the upper part  of the wardrobe1 and
 it appeared to the satisfaction of some
 present  that the sounds came from     
those points1 while to us it was        
perfectly  evident that the sounds were 
not at all changed in direction or      
character1 and in reality proceeded from
 the old quarter4 ,our knowledge  of    

ventriloquism also fortified us against 
this trick4 ,ventriloquism  is a        
deception1 the success of which depends 
upon a certain power  of modulating the 
voice1 a correct ear for imitation of   
sounds1 and  skill and judgment in      
selection of time1 place and            
circumstances for  the performance4     
,when persons present are not aware or  
apprised of  the attempt to deceive     
them1 the ventriloquist is not obliged  
to be  very particular in his selection4
 ,but when his intention is announced   
or anticipated1 his art is exercised to 
direct the attention of his  auditors to
 the quarter from which he wishes the   
sound to appear to  come4 ,if our       
readers will turn to ,brewster's        
,natural ,magic on this  subject1 they  
will find many interesting tricks       
described on this  principle4 ,nothing  
is more easy than to deceive completely1
 by calling  the attention of persons   
present to sounds from a certain        
position or  direction1 while in reality

 the sounds are made elsewhere and in a 
remote quarter1 provided the real origin
 of the sounds be concealed  from the   
sight4 ,so it was in the case of the    
raps1 with those whose  eyes and        
expectations were fixed upon the top of 
the wardrobe4 ,the  trick was poorly    
done however1 for the sound did not     
undergo the proper  modification1 and in
 fact it was out of the girl's power to 
modify it  to suit this case4 ,for the  
origin of the raps1 being concealed     
under  her dress1 she could not divest  
it of its muffled character without     
exposing her art4 ,it is particularly   
worthy of note here1 that for  these    
experiments in the wardrobe no          
particular spirit was invoked1  and the 
raps were continued as long as necessary
 for the gratification  of the          
bystanders1 and were several times      
commenced without any  particular       
invocation on the part of the girl1 she 
evidently forgetting  the dignity of the
 spirit in the excitement of the moment4

 ,this over1  it was desired to have the
 spirits knock at the door1 but they    
could  not manifest without the girl's  
immediate presence1 and accordingly1    
she placed herself against the outside  
of the room door1 which was  about two  
thirds open1 she taking hold of the     
latch4 ,we were about  to take position 
outside1 in the passage1 when she       
remarked that the  spirits would rap    
much better if we took hold of the door4
 ,this was  rather more necessary than  
cunning1 and the rapper knew of course  
that  unless she or some one held the   
door1 the knock upon it would move  the 
door on its hinges away from her4 ,when 
she was fairly fixed with  her dress in 
contact with the door1 the raps         
commenced upon the door4  ,after this   
she turned her head and asked if the    
spirit would please to  rap in the      
passage1 when she gave rather a feeble  
rap1 which suited  the trick tolerably  
well and here the rapping ended for this
 visit4  ,the rap from the passage      

explained the purpose of keeping us in  
the  room1 for if we had gone into the  
passage the trick would have failed  for
 us1 as we should have been able from   
our position there1 to refer  the sound 
to the right quarter viz41 about the    
girl's feet4 ,on the  second visit we   
were there with our former coadjutor and
 several other  gentlemen of eminence1  
and a lady of the highest               
respectability1 strong  mind1 and       
distinguished for her indomitable energy
 and perseverance4  ,our quondam        
enthusiast we found there at his matins1
 in company with  several persons       
eminent in political life4 ,one of them1
 a member of  ,congress1 had been       
endeavoring to get some spiritual       
communications1  but became so disgusted
 with the bad guessing of the ,fox      
girls1 that  he left the room4 ,the     
enthusiast1 ,mr4 99 99 991 then invoked 
his favorite  spirit and proposed a     
question1 the answer to which was       
spelled out by  the ,fox mother as      

before1 and he expressed himself        
perfectly satisfied  with the answer4   
,we then took our turn4 ,we put down    
upon paper the  names of three departed 
spirits1 three diseases1 and three      
places4 ,in  pointing to these names    
with the pencil1 we took good care to   
conceal  the pencil movement behind a   
book1 and carefully guarded against any 
emphatic movement which should betray   
our will to the practiced eyes  of the  
girls4 ,the raps came for the wrong     
spirit1 and rapped the wrong  disease1  
and place of death4 ,we then made       
another effort4 ,three names  were      
selected1 as follows1 ,webster1 ,clay1  
and ,calhoun2 ,webster's was  the spirit
 we invoked1 and they hit it right this 
time for the name1  but mark the sequel4
 ,the answer was that ,webster died of  
,,croup6 and  at ,salem1 ,mass4 ,of     
course we did not indicate by any look  
or movement  that our inquiries had been
 answered correctly or incorrectly until
  we had got through4 ,our scientific   

friend next made a trial1 and his       
answers were more ludicrous if possible 
then those we had obtained4  ,he        
attempted in several ways to get replies
 from the spirits1 being  always careful
 to give no clue to his thoughts by     
outward signs1 but  all to no purpose4  
,the spirits1 judging from the raps1    
were there in  abundance1 but no        
intelligence1 or correct answers could  
be had from  them4 ,next another friend 
of ours came to the trial4 ,he had not  
been  accustomed to investigate such    
tricks1 and very imprudently suffered   
,mr4 99 99 99 to put the questions for  
him4 ,the answers came in accordance    
with the facts1 that is the right spirit
 was designated by the raps1  and the   
manner of his death4 ,mr4 99 99 99 put  
the questions each in  different tone   
and shape1 and the girls undoubtedly    
read him as they  had done before4      
,noticing this1 we remarked to ,mr4 99  
99 99 that as he  had been so successful
 we would like to have him inquire for  

us1 to  which he readily assented4 ,we1 
however premised1 that he must use  the 
same intonation and language in asking  
each question1 which  he agreed to do1  
as far as he could4 ,this we exacted1   
not because we  had any suspicion of    
collusion in this case1 but as we       
explained it  at the time1 because many 
persons would unwittingly by emphasis or
  some significance indicate to the     
rappers1 or any shrewd person1 the      
particular object he had in view4 ,with 
these precautions1 the question  was put
 to the rappers4 ,we were to fix our    
thoughts upon a particular  spirit1 the 
disease of which the person died1 and   
the place where2  the name with two     
others was put down upon paper1 the     
disease with  several others1 and also  
the place of death with two others4 ,mr4
 99 99  99 propounded as follows3 ,will 
the spirit inform us of the spirit the  
gentleman is thinking of8 ,rap1 rap6    
,yes4 ,will it inform us correctly8     
,rap1 rap6 ,yes4 ,pointing to a name    

with a pencil1 he asked1 ,is it  this8  
,rap6 ,no4 ,is it this8 ,rap1 rap6 ,yes4
 ,pointing to the diseases  and places1 
with the same question each time2 when  
the whole was gone  through with1 ,mr4  
99 99 99 asked1 ,has the spirit informed
 us correctly8  ,rap1 rap6 ,yes4 ,we    
were thinking of ,webster's spirit1 and 
the result  was this4 ,the rappers hit  
it right as to the name1 but they       
informed  us this time that ,mr4        
,webster died of ,,fungus ,h,,matodes1  
in ,newark1 ,new  ,jersey4    ,this was 
too much for forbearance1 but still we  
kept our purpose of  investigation in   
view1 and again pleaded our own         
wickedness as the  probable cause of    
these failures4 ,oh6 no1 said they1 it  
will happen  so sometimes4 ,what a      
deeply disgusting spectacle6 ,these     
girls and  their mother sitting there1  
with all gravity1 and pretending to be  
the  mediums of communication with      
disembodied spirits1 and dealing out    
such nonsense as that just related4     

,the rappers were then sitting some     
distance from the table1 and we  asked  
if the ,spirits would rap upon the      
table8 ,rap6 ,no4 ,will the  spirit     
please to rap upon the table8 ,rap1 rap1
 rap4 ,not now4 ,it  seems that three   
raps for the expression ,not now was a  
part of the  spiritual stenography1 as  
they had occasion to use this evasion   
quite  often to escape difficulties4    
,will the spirit please to explain why  
it  will not rap upon the table8 ,rap1  
rap1 rap6 ,not now4 ,when will it8      
,this evening1 at such an hour1 naming  
it4 ,this last communication  was       
spelled out by the ,fox mother1 and a   
time was named at which it  would be    
impossible to get an opportunity to     
propound such a question1  as they held 
their spiritual levee in the evening to 
crowds4 ,moreover1  we had no desire to 
repeat the question to these tricksters1
 to  be shuffled1 as we most certainly  
should have been1 with the same         
prevarication4 ,on the occasion of our  

first visit1 ,mr4 99 99 99 said that    
the spirits had rapped upon his foot1   
while sitting at a table4 ,the          
experiment was repeated by request1 and 
very likely would have been  successful1
 if we had not fixed our eyes very      
intently upon his and  the rappers'     
feet4 ,as it was1 this feat was not     
performed4 ,on the  second visit1 we    
implored the spirits to rap upon our    
feet4 ,not now1  was the answer4 ,it was
 evident that we were not receiving our 
money's  worth of spiritual             
manifestations according to the         
show-bill2 but1 as  every failure was   
our gain1 we were not disposed to       
quarrel with the  rappers or the        
spirits4 ,one of my scientific friends  
then asked if  they would not rap if    
they were suspended in a swing1 or stood
 upon a  pillow8 ,oh yes1 was the reply1
 we have done that2 that has all been   
tried4 ,one of the ,fox girls proposed  
to send upstairs for a pillow1  but it  
occurred to us that they might rap while

 standing upon any  common-sized pillow1
 for the reason that their dresses would
 cover  and extend beyond the pillow1   
and thus give them an opportunity to get
  their rapping instrument down upon the
 floor over the sides of the  pillow4   
,we therefore proceeded immediately1    
while they were engaged in  some        
conversation1 to make up a cushion upon 
the floor to suit our own  views4 ,we   
gathered a number of cloaks1 and laid   
them folded upon the  floor1 so as to   
make a circular cushion of about three  
and a half feet  diameter1 and so thick 
that we were persuaded no ordinary raps 
with  their instrument could be heard   
through the soft mass1 or if any sound  
should be produced it would be so       
modified as to betray its origin4  ,the 
,fox mother objected to this            
preparation2 but the girls said1 ,we    
know we can rap2 the spirits will rap   
there1 for they have always done  so4   
,by way of an excuse for making this    
cushion1 we remarked that one  of the   

coats was silk1 and that we would       
ascertain if electricity had  any thing 
to do with it4 ,the ,fox mother said1   
,all that had been tried  before2 and   
that the girls#e;could rap standing upon
 glass tumblers1  and that she knew it  
must be the spirits1 for these          
manifestations  had been with them now  
for six years4 ,we replied 7to keep up  
our  argument71 ,you know that there are
 persons who think these sounds are  all
 due to some modification of            
electricity1 and others who think that  
electricity is the very essence of      
spirituality1#f and we wish to see  in  
this case how far it may be concerned in
 the phenomena4 ,there  was no resisting
 this1 and we were allowed to proceed4  
,the result was  exactly as we          
anticipated4 ,while standing upon the   
cushion they could  not rap at all4 ,the
 principal rapper saw her predicament1  
and took her  stand upon the cushion so 
that her dress was partly over the edge 
of  the cushion1 but this we objected   

to1 and requested her to stand upon  the
 centre of the cushion1 upon the plea   
that if her dress touched the  floor1 it
 would conduct away the electricity4 ,a 
perfectly empirical  reason1 of course2 
but they were none the wiser for that1  
and as soon  as every thing was arranged
 to our liking1 she invoked the spirit  
to  rap4 ,no rap came4 ,again and again 
the spirit was besought1 but no         
response was given4 ,she then asked her 
sister to come and stand upon  the      
cushion with her1 thinking1 in her      
subtlety1 that two of them would  occupy
 so much room as to give one1 at least1 
a chance to have her  dress over the    
edge of the cushion4 ,but this we were  
prepared for2 and  gathered in the      
skirts of their dresses upon the        
cushion1 upon the same  plea as before4 
,the result was the same as with one4   
,no raps4 ,the fact  was1 their arts    
were completely baffled1 the spirits had
 fled1 and the  experiment not only     
proved the falsity of the assertion that

 they could  rap standing on cushions1  
or when suspended in a swing1 but       
afforded  the most conclusive evidence  
of the immediate and wilful agency of   
these ,fox girls in producing these     
sounds4    ,thinking to redeem          
themselves from the inevitable verdict  
of this  trial1 the principal rapper    
proposed to stand upon glass tumblers1  
to see if the spirits would rap then1 as
 they had done on former  occasions4    
,she took her stand upon the tumblers4  
,this elevated the  lower border of her 
dress above the floor1 and it so        
happened that  one of our number was    
sufficiently far from her that he could 
have  seen her feet on the rapping      
instrument4 ,she invoked the spirit4    
,will  the spirit please to rap8 ,no    
rap4 ,she then stooped a little1 as if  
addressing the spirit below4 ,will the  
spirit please to rap now8 ,no  rap4 ,she
 then stooped a little more1 and by this
 time her dress was  fairly down upon   
the floor1 so as to cover feet and      

tumblers4 ,will  the spirit please to   
rap now8 ,rap1 rap4 ,this was very      
adroitly done1  but the trick was clear 
to us4 ,how strange it is1 that she     
should have  been obliged to stoop1 and 
to have invoked the spirit three times  
before the answer came2 and1 moreover1  
that she should look down to the  floor 
for the spirit2 and how passing strange 
it is that these modern  spirits should 
have such a fondness for long dresses   
and girls'  toes4 ,we then requested her
 to stand upon a chair1 and rap4 ,this  
she  did promptly1 and the rap came at a
 bidding4 ,the sound was different  from
 that produced upon the carpeted floor1 
and underwent just the  proper          
modification of a blow struck upon a    
hard1 uncovered1 wooden  seat4 ,here we 
stopped1 having seen quite enough of    
this game of ,fox  and ,geese4 ,before  
leaving the room1 one of the rappers    
requested  our scientific friend not to 
publish them1 and another stepped up to 
the lady present1 saying1 ,you do not   

think that ,i have any machinery  about 
me to make these sounds1 do you8 ,we    
have it on the authority  of this lady1 
who seemed determined to leave nothing  
untried to lead  to the detection of    
this imposture1 that she asked these    
rappers if  they would consent to a     
private examination of their persons1   
and that  they refused it positively1   
adding that if she had any doubt as to  
the  reality of these spiritual         
manifestations she would have           
satisfactory  revelations made to her in
 her bed-chamber five weeks from that   
time4  ,this prophetic intelligence they
 rapped out for the occasion according  
to their own fancy and usual evasive    
duplicity in such cases4 ,the five      
weeks have passed1 but the lady has1 of 
course1 received no spiritual           
visitations as predicted4    ,our       
readers are now ready to ask if we have 
discovered the machinery  or            
instrumentality by which these girls    
make the sounds4 ,in answer1  we say    

that our investigation is conclusive    
that these sounds are  entirely at the  
control of these girls1 and that we have
 placed them  in situations where they  
could not rap at all4 ,and if1 after all
 this1  we have invented several modes  
by which the rappings can be made as    
successfully as by them1 we think we    
have discovered enough4 ,during  each of
 our two visits1 we noticed1 by very    
cautious and careful  inspection1 one   
interesting and significant fact--that  
each rap was  attended with a slight    
movement of the person of the rapper1   
and  that a very distinct motion of the 
dress was visible about the right       
hypogastric region4 ,while watching this
 point the girl noticed us1  and        
immediately rose1 went to the window1   
and dropped the curtain to  darken the  
room1 which was on the north side of the
 building1 and full  dark enough before4
 ,when she sat down she drew her shawl  
over this  part of her person4 ,this was
 on the first visit4 ,on the second     

visit1  we were soon discovered watching
 this movement again1 and she rose and  
procured a shawl with which she covered 
her person as before4 ,we do not        
pretend to decide that this movement had
 any direct connection with  the        
instrument by which she rapped upon the 
floor2 if so1 it was very  clumsy and   
awkward1 for we have devised a mode of  
rapping that involves  no such motion1  
and which we will shortly explain4 ,it  
may have been  that this movement was   
connected with the device for rapping   
upon the  table4 ,we are of opinion that
 when they rapped upon the table1 it was
  upon the under side of the table-top  
and not about their feet4 ,they  did    
not1 and evidently could not1 rap upon  
the table without sitting  closely up to
 the table4 ,if this conjecture1 as to  
the rap under the  table-top1 is right1 
the movement we saw is easily accounted 
for4 ,be  it so1 or be it not1 we have  
invented a contrivance which raps upon  
the under side of the table-top1 and    

which involves precisely the  motion we 
discovered4 ,it requires but little     
exercise of ingenuity to  contrive means
 of producing these sounds4 ,it has been
 stated that a  relative of these girls 
has made a public statement under oath1 
that  they produce the raps with their  
toes1 in a peculiar manner acquired  by 
long practice4 ,the public papers tell  
us that electro-magnetism  has been     
employed to carry out this fraud4 ,the  
snapping of the joints  has been        
resorted to by another2 and indeed we   
can easily imagine  a variety of ways in
 which these sounds are1 or may be      
produced4  ,the ,fox girls rapped upon  
neither of these plans4 ,the sound was  
machine-like1 and too loud for a sound  
that could be made by striking  the     
naked or unarmed toe upon the floor1 and
 entirely too loud for1  and differing  
in character from1 the snapping of the  
joints1 and as to  electro-magnetism1 it
 was entirely out of the question in    
this case4  ,the ,fox girls visit the   

houses of strangers and rap always with 
the  same ease every where4 ,the raps   
are never remote from their persons but 
always directly about their feet1 unless
 it be when they are sitting  at the    
table1 as we have before said1 when the 
rap appears to be on the  under side of 
the table-top1 although we would not    
undertake to decide  fully upon this    
latter point1 as they would not allow us
 to choose our  position so as to judge 
of the true direction of the sound2 for 
as soon  as my coadjutor looked under   
the table1 the spirits decamped and we  
had no rapping4 ,there are certain      
circumstances1 under which no ear1      
however skilful and practised1 can judge
 correctly of the position or  distance 
where certain sounds originate4 ,such a 
case is exemplified in  the common      
speaking tubes used in public houses and
 elsewhere4 ,when you  place your ear   
near the tube1 the voice appears to be  
uttered close to  the ear1 though the   
person speaking may be at a great       

distance4 ,the  ,invisible ,lady is     
another instance1 for a full account of 
which1 see  ,brewster's work on ,natural
 ,magic4 ,but the most remarkable       
illustration  of this case is exhibited 
in the following manner4 ,if you take an
 iron  rod ten1 twenty1 fifty1 or one   
hundred feet in length and strike it  at
 one end1 the blow is heard by a person 
having his ear close at  the other end  
precisely as if the blow was struck near
 his ear4 ,this  illusion is more       
remarkable if the listener cannot hear  
the original  blow through the medium of
 the air4 ,to make the whole experiment 
very  imposing1 suppose an iron rod1    
three-fourths of an inch in diameter1   
projecting three or four feet through   
the floor of a large hall1 and  that    
this projecting part is a continuation  
of a rod passing beneath  the floor of  
the room1 and concealed entirely from   
observation and  terminating out of     
doors1 or in a distant apartment4       
,whenever a blow  is struck upon the    

remote and concealed end1 the sound not 
being heard  except through the medium  
of the rod1 appears to every person     
present1  precisely as if it issued from
 the projecting end within the hall4    
,with  proper pre-concertion and        
ceremonial preparation1 such a          
contrivance  as this would far exceed1  
in mysterious character1 the shallow    
trickery of these feet-rappers4 ,from   
this experiment1 which we have  tried   
with entire success with a rod only     
twenty feet in length1 we  see how      
closely we must look to all the         
attendant circumstances and             
possibilities of the case1 before we can
 conclude strictly upon the  position of
 the origin of sounds1 where their      
origin is out of sight4  ,we know that  
the rapping was always about their heels
 when these  girls sat in chairs1 stood 
upon the floor1 or in chairs1 or stood  
in  the wardrobe1 or rapped upon the    
door4 ,for this part of the performance 
we had abundant opportunities for       

examination1 and if these girls will    
stand upon the floor and allow us to    
examine their feet1 at the time  of the 
rapping1 we defy them and their spirits 
to produce the rappings  without a full 
exposure4 ,it is worthy of note that    
witches have always  been far more      
numerous than wizards4 ,there are       
reasons for such  disparity in numbers1 
but this rapping business is            
particularly the  province of females4  
,there are no male rappers unless it be 
of late1  since they have resorted to   
confederacy1 or electrical or mechanical
  tricks4 ,there are no men-rappers who 
rap upon such an extensive scale  as the
 ,fox girls4 ,the latter are not        
confined to a certain table1 a  certain 
room1 or certain spots in a room1 or a  
certain house4 ,they  carry their       
,rattle-traps about with them1 and go   
from house to  house1 and their familiar
 spirits are very sociable1             
unceremonious1  and accommodating4 ,if  
they will but adopt the ,bloomer        

costume1  our word for it1 the spirits  
would signify their disapprobation by   
departing at once4 ,relying upon their  
sex they trust the courtesy of  their   
visitors as sufficient protection       
against the examination of even  their  
feet1 and therefore they make bold to   
wear unusually long dresses  the better 
to conceal their movements and rapping  
apparatus4 ,when the  girl stood upon   
tumblers1 she did not venture to rap    
till1 by gradual  stooping1 she brought 
her dress down so as to cover her feet  
and touch  the floor4 ,there are then   
special reasons why this kind of        
witchery  should be played off by       
females4 ,the ,fox style of rapping     
,,cannot be  performed by men1 or in the
 male attire4 ,we do not attribute to   
woman  more or greater proneness1 or    
power to deceive than to man2 but when  
woman undertakes to deceive1 she is     
generally more successful4 ,she  is less
 suspected1 has fewer motives1 runs     
greater risk1 and incurs  greater loss  

in the event of disclosures1 and with   
the blandishments  of person and sex1   
she silences opposition1 smothers       
inquiry1 defies  and escapes inspection1
 and lastly takes captive the head with 
the  heart4 ,possessed of greater       
susceptibilities and easily impressed2  
she  is more readily carried away by new
 and strange fascinations1 and in  times
 of certain remarkable developements of 
sympathetic witchcrafts1  she is the    
first to be imposed upon and most apt to
 impose upon  herself4 ,this            
characteristic is well illustrated in   
the case of the  jerks1 a species of    
witch mania which prevailed in this     
country  so extensively many years ago1 
in which women figured so largely4      
,sympathetic action is potential with   
both sexes1 but especially with  women  
does it overpower sense1 reason and     
volition1 giving rise to  temporary     
insanity4 ,we are however uncharitable  
enough to believe that1  in many cases1 
upon these occasions the surrendry of   

the judgment  and bewilderment of the   
imagination is not altogether           
involuntary1  and that the whole        
operation of being bewitched might be   
arrested  at a certain stage of its     
progress by an effort to resist1 except 
perhaps in conditions of extreme        
hysteria and nervous prostration1  or   
irritability4 ,we have seen a young lady
 of the very highest  respectability at 
a table-tipping1 tugging away at the    
table to make  it move1 and all the     
while endeavoring to conceal her        
exertions1 and  declaring1 when         
interrogated1 that she did not make the 
slightest  effort4 ,can it be that she  
had become so infatuated as to forget   
that she was1 or to persuade herself    
that she was not1 deceiving1  and yet   
all the while to be so assiduous and    
adroit in accomplishing  her object8    
,charity says yes4 ,well6 after all1    
there is something  in the feat of      
deceiving and blinding reverend and     
grave ,senators1  ,judges and ,priests1 

well calculated to whet the pride1      
stimulate the  cunning1 and foster the  
love of power in a young ,miss1         
especially when  her arts are practised 
upon some doings not embraced in the    
criminal  code nor amenable to law4     
,there are probably--paradoxical as it  
may  seem--cases of honest deception4   
,the desire to accomplish something     
great1 something exceeding the common   
course of familiar phenomena1  may be so
 strong as to beget an entire perversion
 of all truthfulness1  a self           
sanctioning of error1 artfulness1 and   
imposture1 oblivion of  conscience1 an  
enthusiastic profession of faith and    
spirited advocacy  of the new           
developments1 a bending of every thing  
to conceal the fraud1  and withal a     
remarkable preservation of the          
appearance of sincerity1  and an air of 
ingenuousness so well put on as to      
appear natural1 which  go very far to   
inveigle those who may witness the      
performances4    ,of the modes we have  

devised of producing rappings we will   
not explain  more than one1 that being  
sufficient to effect rapping sounds     
without  disturbance of the person4 ,we 
have contrived a great many1 and        
although  we have not seen the          
particular mode employed by the ,fox    
girls1 yet  we can rap just as well4 ,a 
piece of soft metal such as lead1 shaped
  like a chain shot or dumb-bell1 tied  
to the great toe may be made  to pound  
upon the floor1 the door1 the bottom of 
a wardrobe1 or any  surface or thing    
which may be under or about the feet1   
with forcible  demonstrations4 ,if any  
person will make the effort to move the 
toe up  and down while the sole of the  
foot rests firmly upon the floor1 it    
will be found that a considerable motion
 may be effected1 and of course  a      
rapping1 without a disturbance of the   
person4 ,a little practice  will make   
perfect4 ,in order to walk about without
 the rattling of the  rapping piece1 it 
is necessary to tie to one end of it an 

elastic  cord1 a piece of vulcanized    
rubber answering very well1 and fasten  
this around the waist4 ,a slight        
stooping or sitting down will leave  the
 instrument free to work4 ,if you have  
thin shoes or slippers on1 it  may be   
affixed outside of the slippers1 or you 
can have it attached to  the toe1 and   
make the slipper large enough to slip   
over the whole and  slip it off1 when   
rappings are called for4 ,one other     
element and we are  all equipped for    
spiritual rappings2 petticoats or long  
dresses are  indispensable to complete  
the invention4 ,whatever be the         
contrivance  adopted to rap upon the    
floor1 the whole must be concealed      
within the  sanctuary of skirts beyond  
the invasion of the curious or rude4 ,we
  have other more perfect1 better       
concealed rapping instruments than the  
one just described1#g but not quite so  
simple or easy of application4          
,moreover the one described gives the   
double rap1 7a peculiarity of  the ,fox 

contrivance47 ,these girls managed their
 instrument adroitly1  and deserve some 
little credit for their ingenuity in    
contriving and  operating an instrument 
so successfully as to baffle the        
scrutiny  of thousands of their         
visitors4 ,they walk freely about with  
their  instruments1 though a lady       
remarked to us that they both walked    
very  awkwardly4 ,with local            
preparations mysterious rappings may be 
produced in a variety of ways1 but these
 girls1 the prototypes of  all rappers1 
neither employed or needed any aid from 
electro-magnetic  motions1 acoustic     
science1 or confederacy to practise     
their arts1  they used more ingenious   
and simple means4 ,it is possible to    
make a  rapping electro-magnetic        
movement1 battery and all1 small enough 
to be  carried under the dress1 but like
 the telegraph1 it must be controlled   
by volition and muscular action of the  
operator1 and where is the  advantage of
 this over a mechanical instrument that 

raps directly8  ,there is no necessity  
for wonderment or the taxation of       
ingenuity on  account of these rapping  
sounds so long as you are excluded from 
a  personal examination of the rappers4 
,we wish very much that the civil       
authorities would pounce upon these     
rappers in the very act 7for  obtaining 
money upon false pretences7--7or some   
other plea7 and make  a forcible        
disclosure of their trappings4 ,we      
believe that this can and  should be    
done1 and that such a proceeding would  
meet the full sanction  of law and      
justice2 that universal public opinion  
would sustain it1  and we have no doubt 
of the nature and effect of the         
denouement4  ,if it had already been    
done1 we should have been spared the    
labor of  this treatise at least1 and we
 need not advert to the vast amount of  
suffering and vice that would have been 
forestalled4    ,seeing then1 that we   
can rap1 yes1 and give the double rap1  
how shall  we account for the           

extraordinary prophecies1 messages1     
coincidences  and communications in     
accordance with facts8 ,we wish this had
 been  the only difficulty to surmount1 
for it perplexes much less than  the    
feminine security of these rappers      
against the inspection  of their actual 
quomod4 ,we can most safely presume that
 if by  search warrant1 stratagem1 or vi
 et armis1 the rapping instrument  of   
these ,fox girls had been exposed to the
 public1 there would not  have been one 
doubt about the nature and origin of the
 spiritual  communications1 nor the     
question ever asked1 how it happened    
that  these communications were so      
wonderfully true to fact4 ,brains1      
books1  good and bad spirits1 devils and
 all would not have been needed for     
this discussion4 ,indeed where is the   
necessity at all1 of dragging out  human
 weakness1 credulity1 and duplicity to  
solve the psychological  part of this   
fraud and forgery1 if we can rap as well
 as the ,fox girls  7the great guns of  

rappism71 and on the strength of our    
rappings tell  more truth and fewer lies
 than their spirits1 what need have we  
of metaphysical disquisitions on the    
handwriting found in a drawer  or any   
where else1 resembling ,mr4 ,calhoun's1 
,john ,smith's1 or any  other of the    
great departed8#h ,so far as our        
experience went1 the  ,fox girls made   
few1 very few good hits1 and perpetrated
 a vast amount  of most intolerable     
nonsense and contradiction2 enough of   
itself1  even if the rappings had been  
made outside the pale of their queenly  
robes one inch1 two feet1 above their   
heads1 in the aerial centre  of the     
room1 disconnected with every tangible  
and visible thing1 to  have turned any  
sensible man on his heel instanter1 with
 contempt and  disgust4 ,but for the    
sake of those who are duped or perplexed
 by these  communications1 we must spend
 a little breath to enlighten them4     
,when  a man suspects supernatural      
agency or interference in physical1     

really visible1 sensible1 or tangible   
demonstrations1 he is ready to  believe 
any thing communicated at the time1 and 
when he comes to the  full belief in    
divine interposition1 his faith is      
perfected4 ,where1  by long practice1   
preparation and skill1 tricks are       
performed with  a view to imposition1 it
 requires the highest degree of         
coolness1  calmness1 and                
self-possession1 to resist the          
impression of the  superhuman1 and      
however well fortified we may be in     
these respects1 it  is hardly to be     
expected that we should be able to      
discover the real  nature of the        
performance without some experience and 
practice on our  side4 ,the instant the 
idea of the superhuman gets possession  
of the  mind all fitness for            
investigation and power of analysis     
begins to  vanish1 and credulity swells 
to its utmost capacity4 ,the most       
glaring  inconsistencies and absurdities
 are not discerned and are swallowed    

whole1 and so deep is the blindness and 
so extraordinary in its  character1 that
 we have seen a convert made to         
spiritual rappism  upon the strength of 
one single coincidence selected from    
among a  great mass of disgusting       
mummery and perversion of truth4 ,not   
one of  the discrepancies1 were of any  
importance with him2 one lucky hit  of  
the rappers and the whole performance1  
errors1 raps and all were  invested with
 supernatural power4 ,now1 how does it  
happen1 that the  believer in such cases
 does not notice the incongruities and  
failures1  or does not appear to notice 
them4 ,this is somewhat of a            
psychological  phenomenon1 but might as 
well be explained on the ground of      
unfairness1  as any other2 unfairness is
 as often the beginning and             
accompaniment  of infatuation1 as a     
mental incapacity for more than one     
idea4 ,a  shrewd person can1 at any     
time1 take a promiscuous company1 and   
with  the imposture of rapping1 or any  

other trick1 calculated to divert  the  
attention1 and a mode of spelling out   
communications similar to  that adopted 
by the ,fox girls1 make out as many or  
more wonderful and  seemingly           
supernatural communications as they1    
certainly not more of  error and        
absurdity4 ,we were once riding in a    
stage-coach1 with a  gentleman1 who1    
after a long journey1 laid a wager with 
another that he  would tell the         
occupation of every person in the coach4
 ,to the surprise  of all he won the    
wager4 ,a lady present1 apparently much 
hurt1 asked  how he knew she was a      
housekeeper4 ,the reply was1 ,because ,i
 saw you  frequently putting your hands 
to your belt--for the keys4 ,many of our
  shrewd itinerant phrenologists1 after 
the parade of measuring and  fumbling   
one's head1 and a few master-key        
questions1 will portray the  life and   
character with a wonderful degree of    
accuracy4 ,our stage-coach  pythonist   
had1 during the journey1 watched the    

motions1 complexion1  conversation1     
expression of countenance1 appearance of
 the hands1 the  dress1--in fine1 ever  
little circumstance of habit or person1 
and it so  happened judged rightly in   
each case4 ,it is so with the           
phrenologist1  who draws his information
 mostly from similar sources4#i ,it is  
so  with the rappers2 they observe      
carefully1 have experience with persons 
of all classes1 and generally1 unless   
molested by some skeptic1 have  every   
thing in their own way4 ,their visitors1
 especially the dupes1  betray more to  
these rappers than their own skill can  
eliminate1 and  it is surely to be      
expected that they should hit right     
sometimes4 ,upon  mere hap-hazard       
conjecture1 this might happen           
occasionally1 but with  all the arts and
 aids of preparation1 credulity1 and    
fanaticism1 they  become as successful  
as the oracles of ,delos and ,lesbos4   
,before concluding the subject of       
rappings we remark briefly that a       

,,spirit that cannot or will not tell   
the truth on all occasions1 is  wholly  
unworthy our credence or respect2 and   
believing1 as we do1 that  miracles are 
,god's prerogative and all miraculous   
power is withheld  from evil spirits as 
militating with the plan of ,revelation1
 we needed  no further investigation for
 our own satisfaction1 than to know that
  a very large part of their pretended  
communications were grossly  erroneous2 
but we have held it to be important for 
the sake of others  that the whole      
subject should be examined4 ,the fever  
has somewhat  abated of late1 but unless
 boldly and vigorously assailed it will 
reappear under some new pretension with 
exacerbations more virulent  than ever4 
,,footnotes3    #a ,this witch of ,endor
 it seems was the only woman with a     
familiar  spirit that had escaped death 
under the royal edict of ,saul1 and how 
successfully she bewitched or juggled   
,saul our readers all know4 ,we  refer  
them one and all to the #aith ,chap4    

,leviticus1 #cast verse--,,ed4    #b ,in
 ,washington4    #c ,the ,bible teaches 
of witches and wizards with familiar    
spirits1  and that they were to be put  
to death2 of magicians1 astrologers1    
sorcerers1 soothsayers1 and false       
prophets2 but the only account of a     
miraculous performance by the devil1 is 
that of his first great and  momentous  
fraud upon our race in the garden of    
,eden1 and this is by  some considered  
as allegorical4 ,through that act he got
 possession of  the human heart1 and he 
needs now no external manifestations to 
further  his intrigues4    ,pharaoh's   
magicians were able1 by their arts1 to  
imitate to a certain  extent only1 the  
miracles of ,moses and ,aaron4 ,they    
turned their rods  into serpents1 the   
river into blood1 and caused frogs to   
come out of  their hiding-places1 but   
when it came to the conversion of the   
small  dust into lice1 their magic was  
baffled1 and then the magicians said    
unto ,pharaoh ,this is the finger of    

,god4    ,the raising of ,samuel's      
spirit1 and his prophecy of the result  
of  the battle1 was a professional trick
 of the witch of ,endor1 and no  more   
remarkable than many of the doings      
related of the rappers and  tippers1 and
 of mesmerizers who send clairvoyants to
 explore the  ,,unknown ,,world4        
,considering all the circumstances1 we  
think that many  hits1 or conjectures of
 false prophets1 or fortune-tellers of  
the  present day1 have been quite as    
successful1 and even more wonderful1    
than this feat of the witch of ,endor4  
,we know that some ,commentators  regard
 the raising of ,samuel's ghost1 and the
 prophecy of the result  of the battle1 
as the work of ,god1 and not of the     
witch herself1 or  her master2 and to   
such a conclusion they seem to be       
forced1 if they  admit any thing        
superhuman about it1 for it would not   
answer to accord  so much power to a    
witch1 accursed of the law4 ,how such an
 explanation  can be reconciled with    

,divine attributes and teachings1 we are
 at loss  to conceive4 ,the account     
tells us that ,saul had sought the ,lord
 in  vain4 ,the ,lord had refused to    
communicate with him4 ,shall it be said 
then that the ,almighty is capable of   
trifling8 7for this seems to be  the    
alternative47 ,that he made known his   
will through a witch2 and  that1 in     
,saul's 7the ,lord's anointed7 last     
extremity1 the ,lord forced  him to     
believe a lie or an accursed witch8 ,is 
not this the inference1  the inevitable 
conclusion8 ,how readily all difficulty 
vanishes by  expounding this transaction
 upon the very same principles that we  
apply  to spirit-rapping1 viz43 that it 
was a juggle1 and like all witchcraft   
of whatsoever kind1 was of human        
immediate instrumentality4 ,to affirm   
of such performances that they are      
inexplicable1 and amazing1 is no        
argument in favor of their superhuman   
character4 ,they are not more  wonderful
 or difficult of explanation1 than      

hundreds of tricks which  we see1 and of
 which we read every day1 as performed  
by jugglers4  ,to the great mass of     
mankind these latter are equally        
puzzling1 and  would undoubtedly pass   
for miracles1 were it not for the fact  
that  they are professedly tricks4 ,we  
believe in the all-pervading1           
all-controlling1 all-sustaining power of
 ,god1 in ,divine interposition1        
special ,providences1 and the efficacy  
of prayer1 as taught in the             
,scriptures1 after our own              
interpretation4 ,we believe that        
miracles are  ,god's prerogative1 and   
believing thus1 we conclude that the    
working  of miracles by the devil1 or   
evil spirits1 would furnish an excuse   
for man's unbelief or infidelity4 ,most 
earnestly1 therefore1 do we  deprecate  
the advancement of any theory 7for it   
can be but theory at  the best71 which  
attributes these and kindred delusions1 
to the direct  agency of the devil1 or  
evil spirits4 ,such teachings are       

mischievous in  their tendency1 and     
militate with the true interests of     
,christianity1  just as far and as long 
as they have no better foundation than  
theory1  speculation1 or conjecture1 and
 are wanting in proof positive1         
invincible and overwhelming1 of their   
correctness4--,c4,g4,p41 ,ed4    #d ,we 
were thus given to understand that      
spirits retain their earthly  names1 and
 answer to them4 ,it occurred to us1    
therefore1 that if we put  down the name
 of ,john ,smith we should be sure of a 
response4--,c4 ,g4 ,p41  ,ed4    #e ,the
 expression was very common with them   
that they could rap1 or  had rapped4    
,rather careless1 certainly6    #f ,we1 
of course1 had no more thought of       
electrical agency here than  in the rap 
of an auctioneer's hammer4--,c4,g4,p41  
,,ed4    #g ,we have made excellent     
rappings with this instrument1 and      
accompanied them with very wonderful    
communications4--,,ed4    #h ,whatever  
respect we may have for the memory of   

the great1 we feel  at liberty to banter
 their spirits if we catch them in bad  
company1 and  at base tricks4--,,ed4    
#i ,we believe in the fundamental       
doctrines of phrenology1 but have no    
faith whatever in this common empirical 
trade of delineating character          
promiscuously by the contour of the head
 alone4--,,ed4                          
,,table-,,tippings4      ,this fallacy  
demands our most rigid scrutiny1 and    
none the less of  severe reprobation1   
from the fact that it is engaged in1 to 
a great  extent1 by respectable and     
intelligent persons4 ,the business of   
,spiritual ,rappings is a sheer and     
miserable imposture1 and as the         
performers are obliged to invent and    
manage the machinery1 or whatever       
instrumentality produces the sounds1    
there is no possibility of their        
deceiving themselves4 ,the table-tipping
 is rather a case of delusion1  or      
self-imposition1 though there are       
occasionally actors in this  performance

 who betray insincerity1 and some whose 
actions give the  lie direct to their   
professions4 ,how it happened that      
,,tables were  selected for the         
demonstrations of departed spirits1 or  
the operations  of the new fluid1 is    
beyond our wisdom to explain4 ,why      
should not  the pump-handle work sua    
sponte1 the cradle rock itself1 or the  
coach  start off without horses1 as well
 as tables jump about the room at the   
mere imposition of hands1 or the behest 
of those wonderful personages  entitled 
mediums8 ,is there any thing in the     
shape1 material1 purpose1  or history of
 a table that it should become1 par     
excellence1 the  connecting link between
 the natural and the spiritual world8 or
 that  it should be the great reservoir 
of electricity1 magnetism1 new  fluid1  
od1 or what not8 ,perhaps legs are      
indispensable to  this new species of   
dancing and jumping4 ,but1 as in many of
 the best  authenticated cases1 the     
table moves along the floor with a      

gradual1  slow1 and dignified motion1   
without jumping1 and more especially as 
many of the tables are upon castors1 we 
see no reason why wheels  should not be 
better than legs1 and why coaches will  
not do as well1  or better1 than        
tables--for the rolling friction is much
 less than  the sliding friction1 and   
carriages could be made very light for  
this  particular purpose4 ,these tipping
 magicians are not very fruitful in     
expedients or they would have attempted 
long ago the speculation of a  new line 
of spiritual coaches on common roads1   
propelled by mediums4    ,but to the    
point4 ,one of the first table-tippings 
that came under our  notice was one     
which had become quite celebrated1 and  
of which we had  heard a great deal     
before we came to witness it4 ,we were  
informed1  by persons of high           
intelligence1 who had been              
eye-witnesses1 and  participated in the 
experiments1 that when several persons  
joined hands  around this table1 in     

connection with the medium1 the table   
began to  move about the room with      
force1 celerity1 and apparent life4     
,that  forcible resistance could not    
stop it1 and that the performers were   
hardly able to keep up with its motion4 
,that1 on the same occasion1  heavy     
bodies were lifted from the floor by the
 mere superposition  of hands1 without  
grasping2 in other words1 that by laying
 the hand  upon a heavy article1 and    
raising the hand1 the dead weight lifted
  itself from the floor1 and followed   
the motion of the hand4 ,our  informants
 were men of high standing1 of high     
endowments and general  intelligence1   
men of veracity1 and men whose opinions 
were worth much  in legal questions and 
matters of state4 ,oh6 what a discovery 
and  development was here4 ,,adieu ,,ye 
,,levers1 ,,screws1 ,,wedges2 ,,pulleys1
 ,,screw  ,,and ,,lever-,,jacks1        
,,cranes ,,and ,,boom-,,derricks1       
,,steam1 ,,gas1 ,,and ,,every  ,,kind   
,,of ,,engine1 ,,horse ,,and ,,all      

,,other ,,powers1 ,,fire1 ,,air1 ,,and  
,,water1  ,,electricity ,,and           
,,magnetism1 ,,chemical1 ,,mechanical1  
,,and ,,all ,,subservient  ,,agencies1  
,,one ,,and ,,all1 ,,adieu6 ,mind has   
subverted the laws of matter2  all      
philosophy is merged in spirituality1   
and volition has become the  all-potent1
 all-sufficient1 all-pervading power2   
the crazy and pitiable  seekers after   
perpetual motion are become the master  
spirits of the  age1 and gravity and    
friction have given way to two new      
controlling  principles1 levity and     
non-resistance4 ,suffice it to say1 we  
laughed at  our informants1 and gave    
them a flat contradiction1 that they had
 not  seen what they related4 ,it is    
well worthy of remark here1 that we have
  never yet known any one of our        
acquaintance to take serious offence at 
the most positive contradictions upon   
this subject1--a proof1 to our  mind1   
that there is a secret1 deep-seated1    
smothered conviction against  the       

reality and genuineness of these        
manifestations4 ,a curious element  of  
our composition it is1 that honest men  
find no little difficulty in  deceiving 
themselves1 and take so little or no    
umbrage at being charged  with this kind
 of deception4    ,imbued deeply        
ourselves with an ardent penchant for   
novelties upon  every subject1 and a    
determination to ferret out the         
extraordinary  pretensions of this new  
wonder1 we have taken occasion to       
inquire  of persons1 from all parts of  
the country1 where these exhibitions    
have been made1 and we assure our       
readers that although the time may  thus
 have been profitably spent1 the inquiry
 became tedious even to  disgust4 ,we   
heard substantially the same story from 
all2 viz41 that the  tables tipped and  
moved about without visible agency1 and 
yet1 in  almost every case1 upon close  
sifting and careful cross-examination1  
we found that somebody had hands upon   
the table during the whole of  its      

gambols4 ,surely the devil has to do    
with table-tippings1 for  we have never 
seen honest-minded persons so unfair and
 oblique on  any other subject before4  
,not that the fiend tips1 kicks1 or     
propels  in any way the tables1 but that
 he tips either the conscience or  the  
judgment to a deplorable extent to      
sustain the cheat4 ,in every  inquiry   
and investigation we have found gross   
and weak exaggeration1  and have fully  
resolved that we will maintain1 to the  
last extremity1  the position of        
unqualified1 uncompromising denial and  
opposition1 to  the highest testimony of
 earth1 as to the verity of             
table-tippings1  spirit-rappings1 or any
 kindred chicanery of miraculous or     
spiritual  purport4 ,we were much       
gratified recently at the remark of an  
experienced friend1 that he would not   
believe these things1 even if he  saw   
them with his own eyes4 ,there was      
meaning in the remark4 ,he would  not   
admit the testimony of others to such an

 anomaly1 and he would not  trust or    
believe himself if he should give way to
 the conviction that  all of            
mathematical and mechanical science1 all
 of religion and bible  teaching1 and   
all of common sense1 was to be          
contravened and exploded  by these new  
manifestations1 promising endless       
perplexity1 confusion1  crime1 and      
insanity1 and no good to any body4 ,our 
friends repeatedly  say to us1 we don't 
see how these things can be1 but we     
cannot  discredit the opinion and       
testimony of ,mr4 ,a41 ,dr4 ,b41 ,prof4 
,c41 ,rev4  ,mr4 ,d41 ,judge ,e41 ,hon4 
,mr4 ,f41 c4 ,we think it hard to impugn
 such  testimony1 and why should not    
their word in this matter go as far as  
yours8 ,our plain answer is this3 if we 
tell you that black is white1  and white
 is black1 we do not expect our         
testimony to be regarded2 and  we take  
the same privilege in repudiating all   
testimony1 from whatever  source1 of a  
similar character4 ,it was a strong1    

though reverential1  position of ,st4   
,paul1 that even an angel from heaven   
would be accursed  if he preached any   
other doctrine than that which he1      
,paul1 had  preached1 for he well knew  
that an angel from heaven could not     
preach  any other4    ,with all         
reverence we say it1 we feel a sort of  
inspiration upon the  laws of reaction1 
gravity1 and friction1 based upon the   
experience of  every moment of          
remembered life1 that compels us to     
reject peremptorily  the testimony of   
our best friends1 of the most           
distinguished and  credible persons1 or 
of the most exalted intellects1 when    
they tell us  that by the mere          
superposition of hands1 or by the effort
 of the will1  a table moves off by     
itself1 or lifts itself from the floor  
without  visible agency4 ,there are     
several individuals in this place1      
ourselves  among the number1 who have   
agreed to give two thousand dollars to  
any person who will show to us such a   

feat performed by a table4 ,we  feel    
entirely safe in the offer1 and moreover
 think it prudent1 in  case we should   
deposit the money1 to deposit it in a   
,savings ,bank  paying interest1 for    
otherwise the money might be lying idle 
for a  whole lifetime4 ,we might        
hesitate1 if there were the remotest    
chance  of explaining such extraordinary
 appearances upon any principle of      
science2 but the fact is1 these         
assertions contravene all science1  and 
bear absurdity on their very front4 ,we 
hear some say1 gravity1  electricity1   
and magnetism cause bodies to move      
without visible  agencies or connection4
 ,yes6 they do2 they always have1 and   
always  will4 ,but here1 in the year of 
our ,lord one thousand eight hundred    
and fifty-three1 we must be told1 for   
the first time1 that the human  body has
 analogous powers to magnets and        
thunder-clouds2 and1 more than  this1   
that no regular law of traction or      
attraction1 propulsion or  repulsion1   

governs this marvellous1 new1 nervous1  
corporeal1 carneous  power1 odylic      
force1 or what not1 but that it is      
subject to all the  anomalous1          
capricious and vicious directions and   
governance of human  volition4    ,we   
have too much contempt for odylic       
philosophy1 or any such chimera  or     
vagary1 to stop and discuss it here4 ,we
 have for twenty years1 ever  since the 
revival of ,slumbering ,mesmerism1 by   
,dr4 ,poyen1 of ,lowell1  ,mass41 made  
diligent inquiry and patient1           
persevering effort to obtain  from among
 the great mass of mesmeric performances
 some evidence of a  new principle1 new 
force1 or any resolution of nervous or  
sensorial  agency into physical power   
other than that of a mind upon its own  
body1 and have never yet seen the most  
faint indications of any such  nervous  
power as these modern psychologists     
pretend to unfold to us4  ,what6 a      
nervous force that acts exterior to1 and
 independent of1  its own tenement and  

rightful fulcrum8 that propels masses   
heavier  than the body corporate1       
without rending the latter in twain8 ,of
  one thing we feel assured1 that this  
new-fangled philosophy is a  poisonous1 
though covert fang1 secretly gnawing at 
the very root of  ,christian faith4 ,it 
made a bold sally in that coarse        
proposition of  ,miss ,martineau        
respecting our ,saviour's miracles--too 
coarse indeed  to meet with favor--and  
now assails1 under a less offensive and 
more  sophistical garb1 of odylic force2
 seeking to explain a mystery  of the   
,bible 7always an infidel effort71 and  
to bring miracles and  ,god's           
prerogatives within the scope and       
control of human reason and  action4 ,we
 ask any theologian who may incline to  
apply such tests to  the solution of    
miraculous performance1 if he supposes  
that if the  mountain had removed1 and  
been cast into the sea1 at the bidding  
of  the disciple 7with faith as a grain 
of mustard-seed71 that disciple  would  

have been the source of the propelling  
power1 and felt fatigue1  depression1 or
 reaction in proportion to the mass to  
be removed8 ,if1  when at the call of   
,joshua1 the huge orb of earth stood    
still upon its  axis1 the vast momentum 
recoiled1 through odylic ether1 upon    
poor  ,joshua's brain8 ,we can all      
accept the proposition of ,archimedes   
,give  me a place whereon to stand1 and 
,i will move the world2 but who upon    
the largest latitude of plastic1 ductile
 ,,od1 or any other principle or        
pretext of mesmeric sophistry1 would    
venture to arrest and propel the  earth 
by the odylic1 nervous1 sensorial agency
 of one of its little  creatures1 held  
to its centre by indomitable gravity4   
,perchance it may  be reasoned that from
 ,joshua's cerebral fountain there      
issued a vast  stream of odylic essence1
 or psychological fluid1 whose mighty   
gushing  into space was equal to the    
momentum of huge earth1 and reacting1   
like  water in the mill-wheel1 caused   

the great sphere to stop4 ,oh6 how      
hazardous1 yea impious1 is the attempt  
to explain a miracle--,god's            
prerogative1 ,god's interposition in    
former times1 though not above  human   
command upon the touchstones of prayer  
and faith1 yet always  and forever above
 human ken4 ,our ,saviour himself said1 
,of myself ,i  can do nothing1 and his  
miracles were prefaced with prayer4     
,,god of the  ,bible6 while thy word    
stands1 the wisdom of the wise and      
prudent shall  not prevail over the     
faith1 simplicity and common-sense      
philosophy of  thy ,babes4    ,it is    
painful and humiliating to see the      
efforts of certain prominent  men       
publicly advocating the genuineness of  
these manifestations1 and  especially so
 when we consider the character of the  
assertions and  arguments brought       
forward in support of their doctrines4  
,one of the  most recent and striking is
 this4 ,mr4 ,calhoun's spirit on being  
consulted through the ,fox mediums as to

 the object of these spiritual          
manifestations1 replies1 that they are  
instituted to prove to the  unbelieving 
the ,,immortality ,,of ,,the ,,soul1 and
 to propagate peace and  harmony among  
men4#aj ,hear it1 all ,christendom1     
believers1 readers  and hearers of the  
,,word6 ,the great conflict and triumph 
of the ,gospel  is to be crowned by the 
deductions of these new ,,fox           
,,theologists1  or1 rather1 as a more   
legitimate inference1 the ,word of ,god 
is to  be superseded and must now give  
place to the higher manifestations  of  
,rochester spirit-rappings and          
table-tippings4 ,it is no less than  a  
denial of the sufficiency of revelation 
for the very purpose for  which it was  
intended1 and denying this it denies the
 whole4 ,all other  reasons1 arguments1 
developments1 experiments1 doubts1      
suspicions  and manifestations aside1   
this rapping and tipping theology has   
now  taken a decided and hostile stand  
against the ,,bible1 and as such it     

must be treated4 ,hear it1 and mark it  
well6 ,the ,bible is discarded  as      
plainly and fully as if it had been     
uttered in so many words4 ,in  vain does
 ,holy ,writ every where teach of the   
immortality of the soul1  in vain are   
its maledictions against sorcery and    
witchcraft1 in vain  does it pronounce  
,anathema ,maranatha against additions  
to its divine  pretensions1 in vain its 
precept that no prophecy of ,scripture  
is of  private interpretation1 in vain  
does it declare that an unbeliever      
would not believe though one rose from  
the dead1#aa in vain have  been the     
,bible societies1 missionary and all the
 mighty efforts to  spread              
,christianity1 ,,all is to be blotted   
out before the new light of  ,rochester 
knockings and ,fox legerdemain4 ,but why
 should we indulge  in appeals1 tirades1
 irony1 or satire1 knowing all the while
 that we  have positive demonstrations  
yet to present of the utter fallacy of  
table-tippings2 proofs irrefragible of  

the mundane1 mortal1 corporeal1         
physical1 muscular character of         
table-tippings8 ,we have our reasons4   
,if we are to encounter fools and       
fanatics1 witches and wizards1  devils  
and dupes1 we must assail in every      
vulnerable quarter1 for  even           
demonstrations of fact are sure to be   
denied upon some impudent  pretext1 and 
in such cases facts are not all-puissant
 weapons1 and  require an auxiliary     
guard4 ,with the candid and the         
wavering1 however1  our demonstrations  
will be appreciated1 and we trust       
conclusive4  ,reverting to the first    
case of table-tipping that came under   
our  notice1 having heard much of the   
extraordinary performances we went  in  
company with a scientific friend to see 
for ourselves4 ,the medium  was a       
sprightly young girl1 whose reputation  
for sincerity might have  been her      
dearest treasure4 ,the wonderful feats  
of this medium were  recounted to us1   
and we longed for the verification4     

,after a brief  conversation1 she with  
another young lady1 7about half medium7 
placed  hands upon a small table1 our   
friend joining the circle4 ,their hands 
were so placed1 that the right hand of  
one concealed the left hand of  the     
other4 ,after a while1 the table began  
to move4 ,this was natural1  certainly1 
for we noticed that this medium was     
working very hard  with her concealed   
hand to move it4 ,perhaps her mother saw
 this1 for  she rose from her seat and  
said1 ,you are not tricking1 now8 ,no1  
indeed1 mother1 ,i'm not tricking2 see  
how lightly ,i press6 ,what a  comment  
was all this upon the recital just made 
by her mother to us of  the astonishing 
feats of moving heavy dining-tables1    
tearing up the  carpets1 moving         
pianofortes1 c46 ,our friend beginning  
to suspect the  voluntary character of  
this motion of the table1 made a counter
 effort  with his fingers 7better       
concealed than that of the medium for   
the  reason that he was possessed of far

 greater strength71 and the table       
stopped moving4 ,but this was not all4  
,we detected upon the countenance  of   
the medium an expression of             
disappointment1 and further1 a more     
palpable striving to move the table1 in 
consequence of this resistance1  which  
she seemed not to suspect4 ,all this    
seems too farcical to relate1  and yet  
the superhuman performances of this very
 medium had been  described to us by    
eye-witnesses of the highest            
respectability as  marvellous1 and      
astounding in the extreme1 and our      
principal informant  was a gentleman    
well known for his astuteness1 had some 
years back  published an excellent work 
upon mathematics1 and was as well       
qualified  as the average of learned men
 to observe and decide upon such        
matters4  ,his testimony was confirmed  
by several others1 all witnesses of the 
highest respectability1 and what was it 
all worth8 and what is all  other       
testimony worth upon this aerial        

vaulting of tables8 ,perhaps we  are    
mistaken as to the effort made by this  
medium to move the table4  ,let us see6 
,we placed a sheet of paper on the table
 under her hand1 and  as soon as the    
table was desired to move1 behold the   
sheet of paper  moved over the          
table-top1 while the table stood still4 
,here is the  demonstration of this     
fallacy1 and although in such a shape   
that it  may be cavilled at1 yet it is1 
however1 the elementary key1 and to us  
all-sufficient in itself4 ,we will1     
however1 develope it in such form  as to
 be beyond all cavil4 ,we witnessed1    
after this1 many abortive  attempts by  
mediums and others to move tables1 and  
some other attempts  that began to      
succeed1 till we applied our mechanical 
tests1 when the  new fluid1 electricity1
 magnetism1 nervous power1 odylic force1
 all  resolved themselves into muscular 
action1 and the tables never moved      
unless clearly pushed4 ,as to tables    
moving in any way without being         

touched1 we repeat that it has never    
been done1 and challenge proof to  the  
contrary4    ,illustration3 ,fig4 #a4   
,we have traced up many such            
exaggerations1 and invariably found the 
story to be that the mediums were not   
moving it1 but merely had their  hands  
lightly upon it4 ,after we had baffled  
the tippings by the  sheet of paper1 we 
were on another occasion told1 that     
paper was a  non-conductor of           
electricity1 and that if this agent had 
any thing to  do with it1 the paper     
might intercept the action4 ,willing to 
indulge  the whim we substituted for the
 paper the instrument represented in    
,fig4 #a1 well known as the parallel    
ruler4 ,it is simply a flat ruler  7a71 
furnished with four rollers 7b7 7b71    
upon which it rests4  ,the slightest    
pressing forward of the fingers upon the
 ruler 7a7  causes it to glide easily   
forward upon the table4 ,of course the  
result was the same as with the paper4  
,upon invoking the spirits1 or  exerting

 the will1 the ruler moved upon the     
table1 while the table  stood fast4 ,if1
 then1 the paper moved1 and the ruler   
moved1 ought  we not to infer that the  
friction between the fingers and the    
paper or  the fingers and the ruler was 
greater than the friction between the   
paper and the table or the ruler and the
 table8 ,certainly4 ,it must be         
remembered here that the rule of tipping
 is1 to press or touch very  lightly    
with the fingers4 ,ought we not to infer
 that the paper and the  ruler were     
pushed by the hand1 since the hands     
followed them in their  motion8         
,certainly1 upon the common doctrine of 
touch and go2 but these  new            
philosophers will not allow us even this
 inference1 and maintain  that the      
odylic power moves both hand and paper4 
,a most versatile1  vicarious agent or  
power is this ,,od4 ,well1 odd as it is 
odd1 we have  given the tippers full    
swing1 and we now administer their      
quietus4  ,fig4 #b is an illustration of

 our mode of annihilating odylic power  
and  a positive cure for the malady of  
spiritual medium4 ,let the bodies  of   
the tippers or mediums be fastened or   
restrained from motion in any  way back 
or forth1 and then let their arms be    
stretched straight out1  as shown in the
 figure1 and their hands locked1        
superposed1 or placed  in any way they  
please upon the table4 ,sitting with the
 breast closely  against the back of the
 chair is a convenient way of           
restraining the  forward motion4 ,now   
let them invoke the spirits1 exert the  
will1 let  them cry out and howl1       
,belial won't come1 the table won't     
move1 for  all the mediums of earth1 and
 passive matter holds true to her law of
  inertia4 ,if the table should be moved
 towards them1 it will be seen  that if 
the arms be kept straight1 the hands    
keeping their position1  will appear to 
move over the table4 ,we take some      
credit to ourselves  for this discovery1
 and we have been much surprised that   

men of  science1 men of mechanical minds
 who have witnessed table-tippings have 
never thought to apply some rule or test
 of mechanics to solve this  mystery4#ab
    ,illustration3 ,fig4 #b4    ,the    
very first thing to arrest our attention
 in table-tipping was  the fact that the
 hands 7no matter how lightly they      
pressed7 moved  always with the table   
back and forth2 and this suggested at   
once our  mechanical tests4 ,how strange
 it is that any mortal in possession of 
his senses1 should move a table1 and not
 know it6 ,and yet it is so1 it  has    
been so1 but1 we trust1 it will be so no
 more4 ,if any medium or  tipper can    
gainsay this demonstration1 we should be
 glad to hear from  him1 and would like 
to employ him1 at a high salary1 as a   
mechanical  agent1 to overcome for us1  
in a multitude of ways1 the operations  
of  gravity and friction4 ,the traders  
and merchants generally must have a     
care of these tippers2 for1 in buying   
and selling1 they can tip the  scales   

with more ease than tables4 ,we have1   
however1 no doubts as to  the results1  
if any one will try these experiments   
fairly4 ,it will be  a cause of chagrin 
to some of those honest-minded tippers1 
who have  all along been believing that 
the spirits tipped the table1 and that  
they were in reality holding communion  
with their departed friends4 ,if  we    
prove the table-tipping to be the result
 of a muscular movement1 we  need not   
dwell upon the psychological phenomena  
of the extraordinary  coincidences1     
messages1 c4 ,they are all referable to 
that peculiar  condition of mind1       
,,infatuation1 under which judgment is  
suspended1  memory quickened1           
sensitiveness exalted1 imagination      
predominant1 and  involuntary actions   
induced4           99       99       99 
99       99    ,in concluding this work1
 we remark that our investigations have 
fastened error1 mercenary motives1      
imposture1 and illusion upon  those     
doings1 so far as they have come under  

our observation4 ,our  opportunities    
have been of the best kind as respects  
the rappings1  for they were with the   
,fox girls1 who were the leaders in this
  whole business of rappings and        
tippings2 and1 suffice it to say1 we    
effectually prevented their rapping4    
,when error and falsehood are driven    
from one subterfuge they soon find      
another2 and as the surveillance of     
truth and science approaches  their     
hiding places1 they resort to more      
covert retreats2 and these  girls may   
hereafter contrive some new mode of     
rapping not explicable  upon our theory1
 but it is enough for us to know that it
 will be still  a trick4 ,we have had as
 wonderful performances related to us as
 have  ever been heard of elsewhere2    
but1 upon close sifting2 they have all  
proved to be within the pale of human   
conception4 ,doubtless all these  tricks
 will assume different shapes from day  
to day and place to place1  and the     
performances in ,england1 ,france1 and  

,germany1 may all differ  from ours and 
from each other4 ,the tricks must       
improve1 in order  to sustain their     
pecuniary value1 or bolster reputation2 
and however  successful and impenetrable
 they may become1 they are none the less
  tricks1 and have one common origin4   
,if any one deems that he hath a spirit1
 or any new power beyond  jugglery1 let 
him come1 and we will welcome him with a
 close  examination2 and if we are      
baffled1 and cannot make our position   
good1  he shall have the reward we have 
specified in a previous part of this    
work4 ,those who make these tricks their
 profession have the advantage  of long 
practice1 preparation1 and confederacy2 
but let them come and  claim the prize1 
if they will and can4    ,we have       
recently heard of some refined tricks at
 table-tipping1 in  which other         
preparations were made than the mere    
superposition of  hands4 ,although we   
had rather see them than hear of them1  
we have only  to say to those who may   

see them 7or think they see them71      
,divest  yourselves of all idea of the  
supernatural1 or any new fluid1 or new  
law1 or property whatever1 and1         
regarding the performance either as  a  
trick or case of illusion1 scrutinize   
sharply every movement and  circumstance
 in connection1 and you will find that  
either the table  does not move1 or1 if 
it does move1 you will see what actuates
 it4  ,remember6 there are controlling  
and controllable agents that can  raise 
a table from the floor2 but the action  
of the will1 or the mere  superposition 
of hands1 ,,never6      ,,the ,,end4    
,,footnotes3    #aj ,a recent           
conspicuous writer1 in giving an account
 of this great  communication from the  
great spirit of ,mr4 ,calhoun1 says1 its
 spiritual  character was confirmed by  
the rising of the table from the floor1 
and  other wonderful signs4--,c4 ,g4    
,p41 ,,ed4    #aa ,the actual           
reappearance of dead ,dives1 in propria 
persona1 was  declared by the ,almighty 

as inadequate to convince unbelieving   
,jews2  but it seems that for ,gentiles 
the presence of the spirit without the  
body is all-sufficient4--,,ed4    #ab   
,these experiments were made in         
,february and ,march1 #ahec1 and1  since
 the above was written1 we are pleased  
to find that ,faraday has  taken the    
matter in hand1 and pursued a course of 
investigation similar  to our own4