1 62 SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS. 



in front of the figure, and it vanished." . . . Shortly after the figure 

 appeared again, and " I was penning a sentence to address to him, when I 

 discovered I did not dare to speak. I was afraid of the sound of my own 

 voice ! There he sat, and there sat I. I turned my head and finished 

 writing. Having finished my task, I shut the book, and threw it on the 

 table ; it made a slight noise as it fell ; the figure vanished." 



Now here we have a perfectly plain narrative, clear and full, A ghost 

 appeared ; he is described distinctly. How can we account for the appari- 

 tion ? In the first place, someone might have played a trick, but that idea 

 was put aside by Dr. Wilks, who attempted to explain the appearances. 

 He went fully into the question, and as it bears upon our explanation of 

 the reality of Spectral Illusions, we may condense his evidence. It will 

 of course be conceded that all the usual objects seen by people are 

 material, and the image of what we look at is formed upon the retina in the 

 manner already explained. But all images upon the retina are not 

 immediately observed; the impression may, to a certain extent, remain. 

 Words are often impressed upon the brain, words which we in our sober 

 senses would never think of repeating, and yet when we are delirious we 

 give vent to these expressions, of whose very nature and meaning we are 

 perfectly unconscious. It is, according to our reference (Dr. Wilks), " quite 

 possible for the perceptive part of the brain to be thrown into an active 

 condition quite independent of the normal stimulus conducted to it from the 

 retina." If, under these circumstances, an object be viewed independently, 

 and, as it were, unconsciously, it is merely, we believe, a parallel to the 

 impression of words before noted. Sound and light are governed by the 

 same laws. In fevers we fancy we see all kinds of things which have no 

 existence. In dreams we hear noises ; and many a time people dreaming 

 have been awakened by the report of a gun, or the ringing of a bell which had 

 no material origin, the nerves were excited, the " perceptive centre " of 

 the brain was moved. 



But if sight and hearing thus have their origin from the brain and not 

 from without, there must have been some predisposing cause, some excite- 

 ment to induce such a condition of things. " The impressions become 

 abnormal and subjective, the normal condition being objective, the 

 impression is received from without, and impressed upon the eye. 



Now, let us consider the " ghost " ! Lately there have been many 

 instances brought forward of " spiritual " appearances, but we think nobody 

 has ever seen a "material" ghost ; yet on the other hand none of us have 

 any knowledge of anything in the likeness of a ghost, or that has not a 

 material basis which can bring forward an image on the retina ! Therefore 

 we are brought to the conclusion that apparitions are spectres emanating 

 from within the brain, not from any outward manifestation, because it is 

 within the experience of everybody that in bad health, or disordered diges- 

 tive functions, images are produced in the brain and nerves of the eye. 



These remarks have perhaps been made before in one form or other, but 



