NOTES ON GHOSTS AND GOBLINS. 437 



fore they need only be ignored ; and they feel much 

 ' worrited ' that fresh evidence should be adduced, and 

 fresh converts made, some of whom are so unreasonable 

 as to ask for a new trial, on the ground that the 

 former verdict was contrary to the evidence.' 



All this affords excellent reason why the ' converts ' 

 should not be ridiculed for their belief ; but something 

 more to the purpose must be urged before 6 the philo- 

 sophers ' can be expected to devote very much of their 

 time to the inquiry suggested. It ought to be shown 

 that the well-being of the human race is to some 

 important degree concerned in the matter, whereas the 

 trivial nature of all ghostly conduct hitherto recorded 

 is admitted even by 'converts.' It ought to be - 

 shown that the principles of scientific research can 

 be applied to this inquiry ; whereas, before spirits were 

 in vogue the contrary was absolutely the case, while 

 it is scarcely going too far to say that even the 

 behaviour of spirits is to be tested only by ' converts,' 

 and in the dark. It ought, lastly, to be shown that 

 the ' scores and even hundreds ' of well-attested facts, 

 admittedly singular, and even, let us say, admittedly 

 inexplicable, are not more in number than the singular 

 and seemingly inexplicable facts likely to occur (by 

 mere casualty) among the millions of millions of 

 events which are continually occurring; but this is 

 very far from having been as yet demonstrated: on 

 the contrary, when we consider the scores and hundreds, 

 and even thousands of facts which, though they have 

 been explained, yet seemed for awhile (and might 



