VIII. 



MODERN WITCHCRAFT. 1 



ON this most dismal of subjects Dr. Hammond 

 has given us a book that is both sensible and en- 

 tertaining. His survey of so-called " spiritualis- 

 tic " phenomena is extensive, and with a large and 

 important part of them his intimate acquaintance 

 with abnormal states of the nervous system has 

 enabled him to deal very successfully. The re- 

 sults of a physician's experience are, moreover, 

 very happily supplemented by historical research. 

 One of the excellent points about Dr. Hammond's 

 book is its frequent comparison of contemporary 

 delusions with those of earlier times. He makes 

 such wholesome use of the annals of witchcraft 

 and the biographies of mediaeval saints, mystics, 

 and charlatans, as fairly entitles his book to a 

 prominent place on the Index Expurgatorius. 

 The marvels countenanced from time to time by 



1 Spiritualism and Allied Causes and Conditions of Nervous De- 

 rangement. By W. A. Hammond, M. D. New York: G. P. Put- 

 iiam and Sons. 1876. 



