448 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



knocks meant ' Not yet,' and that three knocks meant 

 * Yes.' In answer to a question whether I was a medi- 

 um, the response was three 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 

 myself 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 

 oscillating in the glasses, and I was asked whether that 

 was not convincing. I readily granted the fact of 

 motion, and began 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 

 offence, to express the conviction which I really enter- 

 tained? 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 produce a pecul- 

 iar 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, de- 

 manded whether it was the hair that had moved the 



