12 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



[July 6, 1883. 



few friends invited the mesmerist to try his powers on as 

 many as could be brought together, at a day's notice, in my 

 room. Tliere came, in all, forty-two, including seven or 

 eight " dons " (among them the Rev. S. Parkinson, my 

 private tutor), about a score of Wranglers, and ten or 

 twelve first-class Classics — " in sooth a goodly company." 

 Zamoiski came along in due time, with a galvanic apparatus 

 to keep him lively. He wanted to go through his customary 

 discourse; but "we would none of it." We wanted 

 simply to test his power of influencing mind and muscle. 

 He tried nearly all of us (all, in fact, who were not 

 unwilling). Among the number was my friend, W. Baily 

 (Second Wrangler that year), who had been influenced to 

 some degree — slight, but enough to show the reality of the 

 phenomenon at the public exhibition — and Mr. Garrett, 

 our organist (collegian also), who had felt the influence of 

 Dove and other mesmerists. Zamoiski failed all round at 

 the first trial. On this Mr. Garrett said : " You ought to 

 succeed with me ; for Dove did," or words to that effect. 

 Zamoiski then gave his whole energies to influencing him, 

 and at last with such success as to make Mr. Garrett 

 forget (or rather become for a few moments unable to 

 recall) his own name. After this he tried others with 

 whom he had Ijefore failed, but in whom he had recognised 

 signs of yielding to the mesmeric influence (whatever it 

 may be). He achieved a fair measure of success. My 

 friend Baily was so far influenced as to be unable to 

 open his eyes except with an effort. Others were unable to 

 strike the mesmerist's hand, though they went willingly — 

 even rather viciously — for it. (This had happened in the 

 public exhibition with well-known University men, some 

 of whom, as Ingham of the 'Varsity boat, would have 

 made M. Zamoiski remember the evening, if they had got 

 in at his rather soft-looking hand with their clenched 

 fists, as they tried hard to do.) One or two had to struggle 

 to remember their names, but succeeded after afew seconds. 

 As I had expected, nothing very wonderful was done, but 

 every experiment was satisfactory, as the whole company 

 were known to each other, and all anxious to put Zamoiski 

 to the test Several who were not actually influenced 

 said they felt they had to exert an active resisting power. 

 I was not one of these. He tried his power on me in 

 public and in my rooms, and I noticed only that a sort of 

 resistance was excited which was barely noticeable, so easy 

 it seemed to overcome the influence he was trying to exert. 

 Even this I only noticed when, of set purpose, I sought 

 to yield my mind to any influence which might be exerted 

 upon it by him. 



A FEW days later my fencing-master, Jackson, a 

 sixteen-stone man, of splendid muscular development and 

 full of vitality, told me that, while showing what Zamoiski 

 had done and tried to do, he had found that he himself 

 possessed the same power, and in rather greater degree. 

 Zamoiski was a fat man, but not muscular. He seemed 

 to be full of coarse vitality ; but his lecturing (save the 

 mark !) did not suggest the idea of superabundant mental 

 power. 



The phenomena which the Pyschical Society are en- 

 deavouring to investigate are akin to those called mesmeric 

 in several respects. There is nothing supernatural about 

 them, though much that is mysterious, in the same sense 

 that (for example) gravity is mysterious (l)ut in infinitely 

 less degree). Of course, to unscientific minds they neces- 

 sarily appear either miraculous on the one hand, or 

 imaginable on the other. Fortunately, it is not from either 

 class of mind that science expects any developments in the 

 way of progress. The most brilliant idea which has yet 

 occurred to such minds has been that of proflering a wager ! 



Of Mr. Bishop personally, I may say, vidi tantum. Like 

 his fellow-countryman, the late Dr. Beard (a thoroughly 

 scientific inquirer, almost equally abused by the would-be 

 keen ones), he appeared to me a man of an intensely 

 nervous temperament. I know, from the report of trusted 

 friends, that his powers of thought-reading and feeling- 

 reading are very great ; and in the range of such 

 powers in what he claims to do and to have done 

 there is certainly nothing beyond the natural. That he 

 should obtain money through the exercise of his gifts does 

 not seem to me open to exception, any more than that 

 Bishops of another sort should receive money for exercising 

 spiritual gifts — a point about which a certain Jewish writer 

 has made very sensiVile remarks. It is unfortunate, perhaps, 

 that so few take interest in purely scientific research that 

 Mr. Bishop has had (I suppose) no choice but to relieve his 

 mind-experiments with conjuring tricks ; but in this there is 

 nothing more objectionable than there is in the lecturer on 

 astronomy relieving the strained attention of his hearers by 

 an occasional anecdote or jest. The cool assumption that, 

 because the power claimed by Mr. Bishop is beyond tJteir 

 slow minds, dullards are free to treat him as if he were a 

 proved swindler, would be discreditable to them in the 

 extreme, if it were not that — presumably — they know no 

 better. 



A Cheap .\sd Good Telescope. — We have received 

 from Mr. Theobald one of his singularly cheap telescopes, 

 which we have had excellent opportunities of testing during 

 the last few weeks at the seaside. It is an excellent in- 

 strument — a perfect marvel for the price. It conies 

 sharply and cleanly into focus, has a uniform field, and 

 gives clear and good definition. We have not yet tried it 

 on many double stars, not having a suitable stand. But it 

 has done well with those we have tried. This little tele- 

 scope will be found to give very pleasing miniatures of the 

 lunar views described by F.R.A.S. , though, of course, the 

 young observer must not expect it to show such details as 

 a 3-inch telescope presents. We hope soon to test the 

 work of this capital little telescope on Jupiter and Saturn, 

 and will report the results in due course. 



Powder Magazixe Fired by Lightning. — A telegram 

 from Scutari, Albania, dated Sth ult, says: — "The 

 powder magazine of the fortress of Scutari was struck 

 to-day by lightning. A great explosion followed, and a 

 portion of the bazaar was destroyed. Many persons are 

 reported killed." Later information says that ten soldiers 

 and seven civilians were killed, and forty soldiers and 

 fifteen civilians injured. 



The Forth Bridge. — On Thursday, the 14th inst. Sir 

 Thomas Tancred, one of the contractors for the Forth 

 Bridge, laid, with Masonic honours, the first granite block 

 of stone in connection with the structure. He was accom- 

 panied by Mr. Symons, one of the Government Inspectors, 

 Mr. Gray, manager of the works at North Queensferry, and 

 several other gentlemen. The stone, of pure Aberdeen 

 granite, weighing about 10 cwt, was placed at the south- 

 west corner of pier No. 12 from the south end of the 

 bridge, which is situated a little to the east of the church 

 at North Queensferry. There are now at the works — 

 north and south — nearly 100 tons of Aberdeen granite for 

 the outer casing of the piers. Four steam stone-crushers, 

 each capable of crushing 80 to 90 tons per day, are at 

 work preparing the whinstone for centring of the piers, 

 and all along the line the greatest activity prevails in 

 getting ready the preparatory operations required for this 

 great structure. 



