NOTES ON GHOSTS AND GOBLINS. 435 



he suddenly and without conceivable motives planned 

 and carried out a most elaborate and complicated 

 imposture, is to suppose what is wholly incredible.' 

 (That is, we must not suppose so because we cannot 

 suppose so.) c Mr. Owen shows further that the cir- 

 cumstances are such that M. Bach could not have been 

 an impostor even had he been so inclined, and con- 

 cludes by remarking, " I do not think dispassionate 

 readers will accept such violent improbabilities. But 

 if not, what interesting suggestions touching spirit- 

 intercourse and spirit-identity connect themselves with 

 this simple narrative of M. Bach's spinet ! " 



Here is a story which to most readers, I venture to 

 say, appears absurd on the face of it, suggesting not 

 ' interesting,' but utterly ludicrous ' ideas of spirit 

 intercourse ;' yet we are to believe it, or else indicate 

 exactly how our doubts are divided between Mr. Owen 

 himself (who may have been somewhat misled by his 

 evidence), the Bachs, father and son, the spiritualist 

 friends who instructed M. Bach how to become ' a 

 writing medium,' and so on. 



Again, we are to believe all such stories unless we 

 are prepared Avith an explanation of every circum- 

 stance. It seems to me that it would be as reasonable 

 for a person who had witnessed some ingenious con- 

 juring tricks to insist that they should be regarded as 

 supernatural, unless his hearers were prepared to 

 explain the exact way in which they had been man- 

 aged. Indeed, the stress laid by the superstitious on 



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