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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL 



to its influence. [We can speak oracularly rthout 



this ; having had the most pleasing proofs of it.] 1 

 have often produced curious and very marked effects 

 upon cats, and have always found them remark- 

 ably sensitive to the mesmeric power. In some, 

 the passes appear to produce a state of great irri- 

 tability. In others, contrary effects are excited. I 

 have very lately succeeded, after much opposition 

 from pussy, in completely entrancing her. Now, 

 as in human beings who are sensitive the upward 

 mesmeric passes are sometimes dangerous, and 

 productive of very curious states, — so, in all cats, 

 backward passes from the tail to the head produce 

 irritation. I have frequently heard it remarked, 

 that black cats are highly electrical, and that a 

 cat taken into a dark place, and rubbed backwards, 

 will emit electrical sparks. I am not quite disposed 

 to believe that these sparks when seen are thrown 

 off by the cat. There may sometimes be a curious 

 sympathetic attraction between a cat and a human 

 being, and the sparks seen may possibly be mes- 

 meric, not electric. Van Helmont (from whose 

 works I think it more than likely that Mesmer 

 obtained much of his knowledge) states, that a 

 cat thrown into the lap of a magnetised patient, 

 will produce convulsions. Some few years ago, 

 watching by the bedside of a dying friend (a 

 gentleman who had always expressed a dislike 

 to cats, and who during his long illness could 

 not bear the presence of one — in fact his lady was 

 compelled to banish the cat from the house), I 

 was much astonished by his remarking to me, in 

 a voice expressive of fear and much agitation, that 

 a cat was in the house. On my telling him that 

 it could not be so (for that some days previously I 

 had requested his wife to send the cat away), he 

 spoke more earnestly, — imploring me to go and 

 see ; for that he felt there was one in the house. 

 I left his room accordingly; and found, down stairs, 

 a strange cat. Of course I sent the animal away ; 

 and he immediately felt relief. It is often said, 

 that cats go away to die. Indeed 1 have known 

 many (after much bodily suffering) to suddenly 

 disappear. What influences them ? Where does 

 their instinct lead them ? — John James Bird. 



[This inherent Mesmeric power over man and 

 animals ought to he no secret. If time permitted, 

 we feel sure we could be pleasingly eloquent on 

 the subject, and entertain our readers with a 

 detail of our interesting experiments this way 

 (even from boyhood), that would hold them spell- 

 bound. It is this cherished power(felt and enjoyed) 

 that blesses us with so many dear, kind friends. 

 Opportunity will bring our " little secret " on the 

 tapis some day ; and we will try and impart it. It 

 is " worth knowing."] 



The Charms of Flowers. — Oh, — my best and 

 dearest of Editors (excuse my rapture, for the 

 " coming season" makes my whole existence, as 

 you say, fairly "poetry") — is not the very name of 

 a flower in early spring quite enchanting? It is 

 so suggestive of all that is fresh and lovely in 

 nature ! When you come down to Henley, and 

 walk with our "happy family" (for we all love 

 you) by the side of our picturesque river — I have 

 lots of walks in store for you ! — how we will revel 

 in scenes of beauty, and engage in conversation 

 on those topics in which you so much delight ! 

 [Positively, our brain reels !] You love our 



sweet mother, — Nature. So do I. So do we all. 

 Only think of what she is planning in her 

 slumbers, — of which, recently, you sang so 

 sweetly ! Was there ever such a mother ? Surely 

 not. How I do long to gaze upon her earliest 

 work, — the realisation of her "first impressions ! " 

 Then, — to trip after her, morning by morning, 

 day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute ! 

 But I will not be impatient. Whilst she is finish- 

 ing her refreshing nap — her face beaming with 

 love and beauty, let us, too, pleasingly dream of 

 what awaits us, and worship Nature's God for his 

 goodness to us children of men. Oh, those gems 

 that sparkle in Nature's diadem — the rich em- 

 broidery, and the glittering adornments of her 

 gayest and her simplest robes — the pearls, the 

 rubies, the diamonds, the sapphires, the gorgeous 

 jewels that enrich and beautify her fair person ! Are 

 they not sweet flowers ? Who does not love 

 flowers? The highest and the lowliest, the rich 

 and the humble; those who are gifted with high 

 intellect, and those of limited capacity, — all unite 

 in this one sweet sense of the beautiful. It is a 

 sad house that has no flowers in it ! Aye; and 

 that is a hard and harsh soul which can let the 

 beautiful summer-time glide away, and find no 

 pleasure in looking upon this choicest gift of 

 nature. We may expect to find — and we do find, 

 the exquisite blossoms of our own land, and rare 

 exotics, in the lordly dwellings of the rich. Yet 

 we see the humbler, but not less lovely, in the 

 homes of the poor; all as carefully tended and 

 cherished as their means and limited time will 

 permit, even though it be one small flower in a 

 little pot, struggling for life in a smoky garret. — 

 Honeysuckle, Henley. 



[Really, Honeysuckle, — if you paint your 

 pictures after this fashion, we fear we shall be 

 oftener found at Henley than at our proper post. 

 A desk, a stool, an " attic" dwelling, a dreary 

 look-out below (slightly relieved by an old dirty 

 flower-pot above, occupied by a faded China-aster), 

 and the frantically -horrible sounds ground by an 

 Italian nondescript out of the bowels of an 

 organ (!) in the street — these are our present pros- 

 pects. And yet you sing to us about nature and 

 flowers, till our very heart aches ! Let that 

 "little spare room" be got ready, — s'il vous plait.'] 



Longevity of the Ass. — Some people say it is 

 impossible to state the average duration of this 

 animal's life. [It is so.J Others say, you rarely, 

 if ever, meet with a dead one. [This, too, is 

 another curious fact.] Be that as it may, I send 

 you an interesting account of an animal who has 

 lived to the age of seventy. It is taken from the 

 Bury Post: — " A donkey has just died at Forn- 

 ham, All Saints, having attained the venerable 

 age of seventy years and upwards. It formerly 

 belonged to the Cornwallis family, and was ridden 

 by the Lady Ann, after whom it was named ; but 

 a few years ago, being parted with on account of 

 its then old age, it came into the family of Mrs. 

 Browne, of Fornham, through whose kindness it 

 had for a long time lived a life of ease, ranging at 

 large over the fields ; it latterly had been fed on 

 bran and soft food, in consequence of its inability 

 to eat grass, the teeth being completely worn 

 away." Surely the longevity of this donkey argues 

 well for the kindness of its mistress; and let us 



