12 



ANNUAL ADDEESS. 



not is, I believe, being still angrily debated in her own country, 

 and I read in a newspaper that the unbelieving have gone so 

 far as to suggest that somebody or something has been dressed 

 up to represent the lady wdio has for some considerable period 

 been in lier grave. Whatever may be tlie truth about the lady 

 herself there can be no doubt that the statement of Mr. Ladd is 

 borne out by much testimony. 



It would be too long a task to go through all the catalogue of 

 cant phrases wdiich represents the barren nonsense of this new- 

 phase of human folly, but the recollection of table turning is 

 still too recent to allow us to forsjet that form of error. A 

 number of distinguished men were invited by the Eoyal 

 Institution to contribute certain essays. They were not asked 

 to write against table turning, but their essays collected were 

 fitly described as a treatise on education, and they were directed 

 to the discipline of the Mind. 



I ask would it not be possible to ask for aid to the Victoria 

 Institute to deal with the same simplicity and terseness in 

 respect of some of the problems which appear to have misled 

 and to be still further misleading the nations. Of this last 

 phase of popular delusion Mr. George B. Cutler, of Yale, treats 

 at pnge 220 of his treatise, A Copy of a Montldy Puhlication 

 of what is called the Society of Silent Unity, He tells us that 

 a certain leaf is of red paper, and in addition to elaborate 

 instructions for its use given by the editor, the sheet has 

 printed on it the following : — " This sheet has been treated by 

 the Society of Silent Unit}^ after the manner mentioned in 

 Acts xix, 11 and 12. 



" Disease will depart from those who repeat silently while 

 holding this in hand the words printed herein : Attirmation for 

 Strength and Power, February 20th to March 20th. Held 

 daily at 9 p.m. 



" The Strength and Power of the Divine Mind is now esta- 

 blished in me and will go out no more. Affirmation for 

 Prosperity, held daily at 12 noon. The Kiches of the Lord 

 Christ are now poured out upon me and I am supplied with 

 everything." 



Then follow some testimonials such as one sees following the 

 advertisements of quack medicines. 



One of them runs thus : " AYliile holding the red |eaf in my 

 liands it caused vibration through my whole system and 

 rheumatic pains that I was troubled with disappeared as if by 

 mngic." 



Another : " Your treatments for prosperity have done us 



