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. I 

 was informed that the " medium " 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 " medium " 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. " And now," continued X., " 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." Here, I 

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

 immediately to X. : " 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." 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 ? 



