SCIENCE AND THE "SPIRITS." 339 
brisk and vigorous knocks. I noticed that the knocks 
issued from a particular locality, and therefore requested 
the spirits to be good enough to answer from another 
corner of the table. They did not comply; but I was 
assured that they would do it, and much more, by and by. 
The knocks continuing, I turned a wine glass upside 
down, and placed my ear upon it, as upon a stethoscope. 
The spirits seemed disconcerted by the act; they lost 
their playfulness, and did not recover it for a considerable 
time. 
Somewhat weary of the proceedings, I once threw my- 
self back against my chair and gazed listlessly out of the 
window. While thus engaged, the table was rudely 
pushed. Attention was drawn to the wine, still oscillat- 
ing in the glasses, and I was asked whether that was not 
convincing. I readily granted the fact of motion, and be- 
gan to feel the delicacy of my position. There were 
several pairs of arms upon the table, and several pairs of 
legs under it; but how was I, without offense, to express 
the conviction which I really entertained? To ward off 
the difficulty, I again turned a wine glass upside down and 
rested my ear upon it. The rim of the glass was not level, 
and my hair, on touching it, caused it to vibrate, and pro- 
duce a peculiar buzzing sound. A perfectly candid and 
warm-hearted old gentleman at the opposite side of the 
table, whom I may call A., drew attention to the sound, 
and expressed his entire belief that it was spiritual. I, 
however, informed him that it was the moving hair acting 
on the glass. The explanation was not well received; and 
X., in a tone of severe pleasantry, demanded whether it 
was the hair that had moved the table. The promptness 
of my negative probably satisfied him that my notion was 
a very different one. 
The superhuman power of the spirits was next dwelt 
upon. The strength of man, it was stated, was unavailing 
in opposition to theirs. No human power could prevent 
the table from moving when they pulled it. During the 
evening this pulling of the table occurred, or rather was 
attempted, three times. Twice the table moved when my 
attention was withdrawn from it; on a third occasion, I 
tried whether the act could be provoked by an assumed air 
of inattention. Grasping the table firmly between my 
knees, I threw myself back in the chair, and waited, with 
