5 86 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tion concerning the reality or non-reality of the spiritualistic phenom- 

 ena that we must take some sort of attitude toward it. I confess 

 that, after all I have observed, this question would be for me an ex- 

 tremely painful one if, with you and the eminent men whose authority 

 you follow, I bad to regard as excluded every possible explanation of 

 the phenomena in a natural way in a way which leaves the universal 

 law of causation untouched. 



As to the experiments which I saw myself, I believe that they 

 will not fail to produce upon every unprejudiced reader, who has ever 

 seen skillful prestidigitateurs, the impression of well-managed feats 

 of jugglery. You certainly, respected sir, as I think I may conclude 

 from your article, appear scarcely to have accumulated experiences in 

 this direction. This is perfectly intelligible in the case of one whose 

 time has been occupied in earnest studies. But, before you pronounced 

 judgment upon this question with so great precision, it would perhaps 

 have been not altogether out of order, if I may venture to say so, to 

 see and study the performances of a skillful magician. If, indeed, the 

 independent experimental cultivation of this field is closed to us by 

 the direction of our studies, we should still not neglect, before pro- 

 nouncing a judgment, to become acquainted with phenomena which the 

 most zealous disciples of spiritualism admit to have a close external re- 

 lation to the spiritualistic manifestations. I can not find that any one 

 of the experiments which I saw with Mr. Slade was above the powers 

 of a good juggler. If the latter has, by means of a place chosen by 

 himself, more extensive apparatus and assistants, more favorable con- 

 ditions, so, on the other hand, it is not to be denied that Mr. Slade, by 

 reason of the restriction to a smaller number of experiments, the fixing 

 of the participants to a single table, and especially the fact that he 

 does not need to keep to any programme, and that an experiment can 

 occasionally miscarry without damaging his reputation, has advantages 

 on his side. If the " professor of magic " now and then makes use of 

 glitter and parade, in order to distract attention, Mr. Slade attains the 

 same end, in perhaps a still more effectual manner, by means of the 

 subjective fits to which he is exposed. 



In my absence certainly much more astonishing performances took 

 place than those which I saw myself. For my judgment of these per- 

 formances, though other observers were convinced of their trustworthi- 

 ness, is decisive. One who enters upon observations with this presup- 

 position, will naturally regard as superfluous the precautions which 

 another deems indispensable ; he can leave unmentioned some inci> 

 dental circumstances of the experiment, the knowledge of which 

 would essentially change the estimate of it. This does not involve 

 the slightest reproach against the observer ; he acts in his good faith 

 in the trustworthiness of his objects, in a faith which does honor to 

 his feelings, to the same extent that it robs his observations of con- 

 vincing power. Therefore, respected sir, there remains for me no 



