SCIENCE AND THE " SPIRITS." 339 



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 my- 

 self 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 oscillat- 

 ing in the glasses, and I was asked whether that was not 

 convincing. I readily granted the fact of motion, and be- 

 gan 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 offense, to express 

 the conviction which I really entertained? 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 pro- 

 duce a peculiar 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, demanded whether it 

 was the hair that had moved the table. The promptness 

 of my negative probably satisfied him that my notion was 

 a very different one. 



The superhuman power of the spirits was next dwelt 

 upon. The strength of man, it was stated, was unavailing 

 in opposition to theirs. No human power could prevent 

 the table from moving when they pulled it. During the 

 evening this pulling of the table occurred, or rather was 

 attempted, three times. Twice the table moved when my 

 attention was withdrawn from it; on a third occasion, I 

 tried whether the act could be provoked by an assumed air 

 of inattention. Grasping^ the table firmly between my 

 knees, I threw myself back in the chair, and waited, with 



