840 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



eyes fixed on vacancy, for the pull. It came. For soin6 

 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 me 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, ami 

 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 beside 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 7 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 corn- 



