SCIENCE AND SPIRITS. 403 



place at a private residence in the neighborhood of Lon 

 don. My host, his intelligent wife, and a gentleman who 

 may be called X., were in the house when I arrived. 1 

 was informed that the &quot; medium &quot; had not yet made her 

 appearance ; that she was sensitive, and might resent sus 

 picion. It was therefore requested that the tables and 

 chairs should be examined before her arrival, in order to be 

 assured that there was no trickery in the furniture. This 

 was done ; and I then first learned that my hospitable host 

 had arranged that the seance should be a dinner-party. 

 This was to me an unusual form of investigation ; but I 

 accepted it, as one of the accidents of the occasion. 



The &quot; medium &quot; arrived a delicate-looking young lady, 

 who appeared to have suffered much from ill health. I 

 took her to dinner and sat close beside her. Facts were 

 absent for a considerable time, a series of very wonderful 

 narratives supplying their place. The duty of belief on 

 testimony was frequently insisted on. X. appeared to be 

 a chosen spiritual agent, and told us many surprising 

 things. He affirmed that, when he took a pen in his hand, 

 an influence ran from his shoulder downward, and impelled 

 him to write oracular sentences. I listened for a time, 

 offering no observation. &quot;And now,&quot; continued X., &quot; this 

 power has so risen as to reveal to me the thoughts of others. 

 Only this morning I told a friend what he was thinking of, 

 and what he intended to do during the day.&quot; Here, I 

 thought, is something that can be at once tested. I said 

 immediately to X. : &quot; If you wish to win to your cause an 

 apostle, who will proclaim your principles to the world 

 without fear, tell me what I am now thinking of.&quot; X. 

 reddened, and did not tell me my thought. 



Some time previously I had visited Baron Reichenbach, 

 in Vienna, and I now asked the young lady who sat beside 

 me, whether she could see any of the curious things which 

 he describes the light emitted by crystals, for example ? 



