SCIENCE AKD SPIRITUALISM. 253 



published an account of the experiments which I described in a 

 former letter, and added to his own testimony that of the eminent 

 physicist and astronomer Dr. Huggins, and Sergeant Cox. Subse- 

 quently, that is, in the last number of the Quarterly Journal of Science, 

 he has published the particulars of another series of experiments. 



I will not now enter upon the details of these, but merely state 

 that the conclusions of Mr. Crookes are directly opposed to those of 

 the Spiritualists. He positively, distinctly, and repeatedly repudi- 

 ates all belief in the operations of the supposed spirits, or of any 

 other supernatural agency whatever, and attributes the phenomena 

 he witnessed to an entirely different origin, viz. to the direct agency 

 of the medium. He supposes that a force analogous to that which 

 the nerves convey from their ganglionic centres to the muscles, in 

 producing muscular contraction, may by an effort of the will be 

 transmitted to external inanimate matter, in such a manner as to in- 

 fluence, in some degree, its gravitating power, and produce vibratory 

 motion. He calls this the psychic force. 



Now, this is direct and unequivocal anft-spi ritualism. It is a 

 theory set up in opposition to the supernatural hypotheses of the 

 Spiritualists, and Mr. Crookes 's position in reference to Spiritualism 

 is precisely analogous to that of Faraday in reference to table-turn- 

 ing. For the same reasons as those above quoted, the great master of 

 experimental investigation examined the phenomena called table- 

 turning, and he concluded that they were due to muscular force, just 

 as Mr. Crookes concludes that the more complex phenomena he has 

 examined are due to psychic force. 



Speaking of the theories of the Spiritualists, Mr. Crookes, in his 

 first paper (July, 1870), says : " The pseudo- scientific Spiritualist 

 professes to know everything. No calculations trouble his serenity ; 

 no hard experiments, no laborious readings ; no weary attempts to 

 make clear in words that which has rejoiced the heart and elevated 

 the mind. He talks glibly of all sciences and arts, overwhelming the 

 inquirer with terms like ' electro-biologize,' ' psychologize,' ' animal 

 magnetism,' etc., a mere play upon words, showing ignorance rather 

 than understanding." And further on he says : "I confess that the 

 reasoning of some Spiritualists would almost seem to justify Fara- 

 day's severe statement that many dogs have the power of coming to 

 more logical conclusions." 



I have already referred to the muddled misstatement of Mr. 

 Crookes 's position by the newspaper writers, who almost unani- 

 mously describe him and Dr. Huggins as two distinguished scientific 

 men who have recently been converted to Spiritualism. The above 

 quotations, to which, if space permitted, I might add a dozen others 

 from either the first, the second, or third of Mr. Crookes's papers, in 

 which he as positively and decidedly controverts the dreams of the 

 Spiritualists, will show how egregiously these writers have been de- 

 ceived. They have relied very naturally on the established respecta- 

 bility of the Quarterly Review, and have thus deluded both themselves 

 and their readers. Considering the marvellous range of subjects 

 these writers have to treat, and the acres of paper they daily cover, it 

 is not surprising that they should have been thus misled in reference 

 to a subject carrying them considerably out of their usual track ; but 

 the oifeuce of the Quarterly is not so venial. It assumes, in fact, a 

 very serious complexion when further investigated. 



