340 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 
eyes fixed on vacancy, for the pull. It came. For some 
seconds it was pull spirit, hold muscle; the muscle, however, 
prevailed, and the table remained at rest. Up to the present 
moment this interesting fact is known only to the partic- 
ular spirit in question and myself. 
A species of mental scene-painting, with which my own 
pursuits had long rendered rne familiar, was employed to 
figure the changes and distribution of spiritual power. The 
spirits, it was alleged, were provided with atmospheres, 
which combined with and interpenetrated each other, and 
considerable ingenuity was shown in demonstrating the 
necessity of time in effecting the adjustment of the atmos- 
pheres. A rearrangement of our positions was proposed and 
carried out; and soon afterward my attention was drawn to 
a scarcely sensible vibration on the part of the table. 
Several persons were leaning on the table at the time, and 
I asked permission to touch the medium's hand. "Oh! 
I know I tremble," was her reply. Throwing one leg 
across the other, I accidentally nipped a muscle, and pro- 
duced thereby an involuntary vibration of the free leg. 
This vibration, I knew, must be communicated to the floor, 
and thence to the chairs of all present. I therefore inten- 
tionally promoted it. My attention was promptly drawn 
to the motion; and a gentleman besivle me, whose value as 
a witness I was particularly desirous to test, expressed his 
belief that it was out of the compass of human power to 
produce so strange a tremor. " I believe," he added, 
earnestly, " that it is entirely the spirits' work." " So do 
I," added, with heat, the candid and warm-hearted old 
gentleman A. " Why, sir," he continued, "I feel them 
at this moment shaking my chair." I stopped the motion 
of the leg. "Now, sir," A. exclaimed, "they are gone." 
I began again, and A. once more affirmed their presence. 
I could, however, notice that there were doubters present, 
who did not quite know what to think of the manifestations. 
I saw their perplexity; and, as there was sufficient reason to 
believe that the disclosure of the secret would simply pro- 
voke anger, I kept it to myself. 
Again a period of conversation intervened, during which 
the spirits became animated. The evening was confessedly 
a dull one, but matters appeared to brighten toward its 
close. The spirits were requested to spell the name by 
which I was known in the heavenly world. Our host com- 
