302 Another View of Levitation: July, 
the past, having little sympathy with progress and little ten- 
dency to look forward. 
We do not see that the time is come for an international 
patent law,—the interests of nations are not sufficiently 
alike, even if we include the more advanced nations only,— 
but in the matter of copyright the union is much nearer the 
possible, and that nation which advances most in justice 
and wisdom will assist most readily in forming it. This, 
however, requires discussion from another point of view, 
and we shall not continue the subject at present. We do 
not pretend to have discussed the patent question, but have 
only brought forward some of the points which seem to 
have been most negleCted, and, being fundamental, are sug- 
gestive of many important details. 
Ill. ANOTHER VIEW OF LEVITATION. 
ro 
EN a recent number of this Journal several instances were 
given of the ecstatic rising of Saints during prayer or 
deep absorption of mind. Amongst other things it was 
said that these levitations, as they were called, did not occur 
among Saxon Saints. This, we think, is an oversight, as 
we have the liftings of St. Dunstan—a true Saxon, we 
suppose, the Dun is clearly not the Celtic noun—and 
St. Edmund (king), an Angle not easily distinguished 
from a Saxon. The first will be found narrated, under 
the name of that Saint, in Butler’s “ Lives of the Saints ;” 
the second is mentioned in a note under ‘‘ The Life of 
St. Philip Neri.” It may, however, be true that the Saxon 
Saints are less connected with the subjeét than others. 
This leads to the question, Is it because of the less excitable 
character of that nation? and we next naturally ask if it is 
a matter of nerves physically, or is it because of the less 
imaginative character of that practical race? The tendency 
of the article connected levitation as among the Saints 
with modern Spiritualism, which certainly flourishes most 
in a very excitable, although also practical, nation. 
It may be a little foreign to the point to introduce here 
circumstances, or rather narrations, from a literature almost 
unknown in England,—levitation of a character more 
romantic, incredible, and, we may add, fantastical; but, on 
the other hand, it is a part of scientific enquiry to neglect 
no view of a question, and if, by going in the direction now 
