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diff --git a/38448-h/38448-h.htm b/38448-h/38448-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba92dac --- /dev/null +++ b/38448-h/38448-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14706 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<!-- $Id: header.txt 236 2009-12-07 18:57:00Z vlsimpson $ --> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Modern Magic, by M. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Modern Magic + +Author: Maximilian Schele de Vere + +Release Date: December 30, 2011 [EBook #38448] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN MAGIC *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Cathy Maxam and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter"><a id="icover" name="icover"></a> +<img src="images/icover.jpg" alt="cover" /> + + +</div> + + + +<h1><span class="smcap">Modern Magic.</span></h1> + +<p class="center small pb">BY</p> + +<p class="center big pb">M. SCHELE DE VERE.</p> + +<p class="pt pnarrow"><i>Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem +Cogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat.</i></p> + +<p class="attr pb"><span class="smcap">Horace.</span></p> + +<div class="figcenter"><a id="i007" name="i007"></a> +<img src="images/i007.jpg" alt="logo" /> + + +</div> + +<p class="center">NEW YORK:</p> +<p class="center big">G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS,</p> +<p class="center small"><span class="smcap">Fourth Avenue and Twenty-Third Street.</span></p> +<p class="center">1873.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<p class="center pb"> +<span class="smaller">Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1878, by</span><br /> +<span class="small">G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS</span>,<br /> +<span class="smaller">In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington</span>. +</p> +<p class="center pt bt bb"> +<span class="smcap smaller">Lange, Little & Hillman,<br /> +printers, electrotypers and stereotypers,<br /> +108 To 114 Wooster Street, N. Y.</span><br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> + + +<p>The main purpose of our existence on earth—aside +from the sacred and paramount duty of securing our +salvation—is undoubtedly to make ourselves masters +of the tangible world around us, as it stands revealed +to our senses, and as it was expressly made subject to +our will by the Creator. We are, however, at the same +time, not left without information about the existence +of certain laws and the occurrence of certain phenomena, +which belong to a world not accessible to us by +means of our ordinary senses, and which yet affect seriously +our intercourse with Nature and our personal +welfare. This knowledge we obtain sometimes, by special +favor, as direct revelation, and at other times, for +reasons as yet unknown, at the expense of our health +and much suffering. By whatever means it may reach +us, it cannot be rejected; to treat it with ridicule or to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +decline examining it, would be as unwise as unprofitable. +The least that we can do is to ascertain the precise +nature of these laws, and, after stripping these +phenomena of all that can be proved to be merely incidental +or delusive, to compare them with each other, +and to arrange them carefully according to some standard +of classification. The main interest in such a task +lies in the discovery of the grain of truth which is +often found concealed in a mass of rubbish, and which, +when thus brought to light, serves to enlarge our +knowledge and to increase our power. The difficulty +lies in the absence of all scientific investigation, and in +the innate tendency of man to give way, wantonly or +unconsciously, to mental as well as to sensual delusion.</p> + +<p>The aim of this little work is, therefore, limited to +the gathering of such facts and phenomena as may +serve to throw light upon the nature of the magic +powers with which man is undoubtedly endowed. Its +end will be attained if it succeeds in showing that he +actually does possess powers which are not subject to +the general laws of nature, but more or less independent +of space and time, and which yet make themselves +known partly by appeals to the ordinary senses and +partly by peculiar phenomena, the result of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +activity. These higher powers, operating exclusively +through the spirit of man, are part of his nature, which +has much in common with that of the Deity, since he +was created by God "in His own image," and the Lord +"breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man +became a living <i>soul</i>." This soul is not, as materialists +maintain, merely the sum of all perceptions obtained +by the collective activity of bodily organs—a conclusion +which would finally make it the product of mere +material atoms, subject to constant physical and +chemical changes. Even if it were possible—which we +deny—to reduce our whole inner life, including memory, +imagination, and reason, to a system of purely +physical laws, and thus to admit its destruction at +the moment of death, there would still remain the +<i>living soul</i>, coming directly from the Most High, and +destined to continue throughout eternity. This soul is, +hence, independent of time. Nor is it bound by space, +except so far as it can commune with the outer world +only by means of the body, with which it is united in +this life. The nature of this union is a mystery as yet +unfathomed, but precisely because it is such a mystery, +we have no right to assume that it is altogether indissoluble +during life; or, that it ceases entirely at the +moment of death. There is, on the contrary, over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>whelming +evidence that the soul may, at times, act +independently of the body, and the forces developed on +such occasions we have, for the sake of convenience +rather than on account of the special fitness of the +term, preferred to call <i>magic</i> powers.</p> + +<p>There is no evidence whatever before us as to the +mutual relations of soul and body after death. Here, +necessarily, all must be mere speculation. Nothing +more, therefore, will be claimed for the following +suggestions. When the body becomes unfit to serve +any longer as an abode and an instrument to the soul, +the tie which was formed before or at the moment of +birth is gradually loosened. The soul no longer +receives impressions from the outer world such as the +body heretofore conveyed to it, and with this cessation +of mutual action ends, also, the community of sensation. +The living soul—in all probability—becomes +conscious of its separation from the dead body and +from the world; it continues to exist, but in loneliness +and self-dependence. Its life, however, becomes only +the more active and the more self-conscious as it is no +longer consumed by intercourse with the world, nor +disturbed by bodily disorders and infirmities. The soul +recalls with ease all long-forgotten or much-dimmed +sensations. What it feels most deeply at first is, we may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +presume, the double grief at being separated from the +body, with which it has so long been closely connected, +and at the sins it has committed during life. This +repentance will be naturally all the heartier, as it is no +longer interrupted by sensual impressions. After a +while this grief, like all sorrows, begins to moderate, +and the soul returns to a state of peace: sooner, of +course, in the case of persons who in their earthly life +already had secured peace by the only means revealed to +man; later, by those who had given themselves entirely +up to the world and their passions. At the same time +the living soul enters into communion with other souls, +retaining, however, its individuality in sex, character, +and temper, and, possibly, proceeds on a course of +gradual purification, till it reaches the desired haven in +perfect reconciliation with God. During this intermediate +time there is nothing known to us which +would absolutely forbid the idea that these living souls +continue to maintain some kind of intercourse with +the souls of men on earth, with whom they share all +that constitutes their essential nature, save only the +one fact of bondage to the body. Nor is there any +reason why the soul in man should not be able, by its +higher powers, to perceive and to consort with souls +detached from mortal bodies, although this intercourse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +must needs be limited and imperfect because of the +vast difference between a free soul and one bound to an +earthly, sinful body. For man, when he dies, leaves +behind in this world the body, dead and powerless, a +corpse. He continues, however, to live, a soul, with all +the peculiar powers which make up our spiritual +organism; that is to say, the true man, in the higher +sense of the word, exists still, though he dwell in +another world. This soul has now no longer earthly +organs of sense to do its bidding, but it still controls +nature which was made subject to its will; it has, +moreover, a new set of powers which represent in the +higher world its higher body, and the character of its +new active life will be all the more elevated, as these +organs are more spiritual. Man cannot but continue to +develop, to grow, and to ripen, in the next world as he +did in this; his nature and his destiny are alike incompatible +with sudden transitions and with absolute rest. +The soul must become purer and more useful; its +organs more subtle and more powerful, and it is of this +life of gradual improvement and purification that we +may occasionally obtain glimpses by that communion +which no doubt still exists between earth-bound souls +and souls freed from such bondage.</p> + +<p>There are, it is well known, many theologians who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +sternly deny any such further development of man's +spiritual part, and insist upon looking at this life as the +only time of probation accorded to him, at the end of +which immediate and eternal judgment is rendered. +Their views are entitled to the utmost consideration +and respect. But different opinions are entertained by +some of their brethren, not less eminent in piety, profound +learning, and critical acumen, and hence at least +equally deserving of being attentively listened to and +carefully regarded. So it is also with the belief in the +possibility of holding intercourse with disembodied +spirits. Superficial observers are ready to doubt or to +deny, to sneer haughtily, or to scoff contemptuously. +But men of great eminence have, from time immemorial, +treated the question with great attention and deep +interest. Melanchthon wrote: "I have myself seen +ghosts, and know many trustworthy people who affirm +that they have not only seen them, but even carried on +conversations with them" (De Anima Recogn.: Wittemb. +1595, p. 317), and Luther said nearly the same; Calvin +and Knox also expressed similar convictions. A faith +which has lasted through all ages of man's history, and +has such supporters, cannot but have some foundation, +and deserves full investigation. Alchemy, with its visionary +hopes, contained, nevertheless, the germ of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +modern chemistry, and astrology taught already much +that constitutes the astronomy of our day. The same +is, no doubt, the case with Modern Magic, and here, +also, we may safely expect to find that "out of darkness +cometh light."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + +<table cellspacing="10" summary="contents"> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">I.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">Witchcraft</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">13</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">II.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#II"><span class="smcap">Black and White Magic</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">43</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="tdc">III.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#III"><span class="smcap">Dreams</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">94</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">IV.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#IV"><span class="smcap">Visions</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">116</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">V.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#V"><span class="smcap">Ghosts</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">155</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">VI.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#VI"><span class="smcap">Divination</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">270</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">VII.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#VII"><span class="smcap">Possession</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">340</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">VIII.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#VIII"><span class="smcap">Magnetism</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">376</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">IX.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">Miraculous Cures</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">429</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class="center">X.</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#X"><span class="smcap">Mysticism</span></a></td> +<td></td> +<td class="tdr">448</td> +</tr> + + +</table> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center biggest"><span class="smcap">Modern Magic.</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="I" id="I"></a>I.</p> + +<h2>WITCHCRAFT.</h2> + +<p class="small ps">"Witchcraft is an illegitimate miracle; a miracle is legitimate +witchcraft."—<span class="smcap">Jacob Boehme.</span></p> + + +<p>Perhaps in no direction has the human mind ever +shown greater weakness than in the opinions entertained +of witchcraft. If Hecate, the oldest patroness +of witches, wandered about at night with a gruesome +following, and frightened lovers at their stealthy meeting, +or lonely wanderers on open heaths and in dark +forests, her appearance was at least in keeping with the +whole system of Greek mythology. Tacitus does not +frighten us by telling us that witches used to meet at +salt springs (Ann. xiii. 57), nor the Edda when speaking +of the "bearers of witches' kettles," against whom +even the Salic Law warns all good Christians. But +when the Council of Ancyra, in the fifth century, fulminates +its edicts against women riding at night upon +weird animals in company with Diana and Herodias, +the strange combination of names and the dread penalties +threatened, make us almost think of witches as of +real and most marvelous beings. And when wise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +councillors of French Parliaments and gray dignitaries +of the Holy German Empire sit in judgment over a +handful of poor old women, when great English bishops +and zealous New England divines condemn little +children to death, because they have made pacts with +the Devil, attended his sabbaths, and bewitched their +peaceful neighbors—then we stand amazed at the delusions, +to which the wisest and best among us are +liable.</p> + +<p>Christianity, it is true, shed for a time such a bright +light over the earth, that the works of darkness were +abhorred and the power of the Evil One seemed to be +broken, according to the sacred promises that the seed +of woman should bruise the serpent's head. Thus +Charlemagne, in his fierce edict issued after the defeat +of the Saxons, ordered that death should be inflicted +on all who after pagan manner gave way to devilish +delusions, and believed that men or women could be +witches, persecuted and killed them; or, even went so +far as to consume their flesh and give it to others for +like purposes! But almost at the same time the belief +in the Devil, distinctly maintained in Holy Writ, spread +far and wide, and as early as the fourth century diseases +were ascribed not to organic causes, but to demoniac +influences, and the Devil was once more seen bodily +walking to and fro on the earth, accompanied by a host +of smaller demons. It was but rarely that a truly +enlightened man dared to combat the universal superstition. +Thus Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, shines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +like a bright star on the dark sky of the ninth century +by his open denunciation of all belief in possession, in +the control of the weather or the decision of difficulties +by ordeal. For like reasons we ought to revere the +memory of John of Salisbury, who in the twelfth +century declared the stories of nightly assemblies of +witches, with all their attending circumstances, to be +mere delusions of poor women and simple men, who +fancied they saw bodily what existed only in their +imagination. The Church hesitated, now requiring her +children to believe in a Devil and demons, and now +denouncing all faith in supernatural beings. The thirteenth +century, by Leibnitz called the darkest of all, +developed the worship of the Evil One to its fullest perfection; +the writings of St. Augustine were quoted as +confirming the fact that demons and men could and +did intermarry, and the Djinns of the East were mentioned +as spirits who "sought the daughters of men +for wives." The first trace of a witches' dance is found +in the records of a fearful Auto-da-fè held in Toulouse +in the year 1353, and about a century later the Dominican +monk, Jaquier, published the first complete work +on witches and witchcraft. He represented them as +organised—after the prevailing fashion of the day—in a +regular guild, with apprentices, companions, and masters, +who practised a special art for a definite purpose. +It is certainly most remarkable that the same opinion, +in all its details, has been entertained in this century +even, and by one of the most famous German philoso<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>phers, +Eschenmayer. While the zeal and madness of +devil-worshippers were growing on one side, persecution +became more violent and cruel on the other side, +till the trials of witches assumed gigantic proportions +and the proceedings were carried on according to a regular +method. These trials originated, invariably, with +theologians, and although the system was not begun by +the Papal government it obtained soon the Pope's legal +sanction by the famous bull of Innocent VIII., <i>Summis +desiderantes</i>, dated December 4, 1484, and decreeing +the relentless persecution of all heretical witches. The +far-famed <i>Malleus maleficatum</i> (Cologne, 1489), written +by the two celebrated judges of witches, Sprenger and +Gremper, and full of the most extraordinary views and +statements, reduced the whole to a regular method, and +obtained a vast influence over the minds of that age. +The rules and forms it prescribed were not only observed +in almost all parts of Christendom, but actually +retained their force and legality till the end of the +seventeenth century. Nor were these views and practices +confined to Catholic countries; a hundred and +fifty years after the Reformation, a great German jurist +and a Protestant, Carpzon, published his <i>Praxis Criminalis</i>, +in which precisely the same opinions were +taught and the same measures were prescribed. The +Puritans, it is well-known, pursued a similar plan, and +the New World has not been more fortunate in avoiding +these errors than the Old World. A curious +feature in the above-mentioned works is the fact that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +both abound in expressions of hatred against the female +sex, and still more curious, though disgraceful in the +extreme, that the special animosity shown by judges of +witchcraft against women is solely based upon the +weight which they attached to the purport of the +Mosaic inhibition: "Thou shalt not suffer a <i>witch</i> to +live" (Exodus xii. 18).</p> + +<p>These are dark pages in the history of Christendom, +blackened by the smoke of funeral piles and stained +with the blood of countless victims of cruel superstition. +For here the peculiarity was that in the majority +of cases not the humble sufferers whose lives were sacrificed, +but the haughty judges were the true criminals. +The madness seems to have been contagious, for Protestant +authorities were as bloodthirsty as Catholics; +the Inquisition waged for generations unceasing war +against this new class of heretics among the nations of +the Romanic race. Germany saw great numbers sacrificed +in a short space of time, and in sober England, +even, three thousand lost their lives during the Long +Parliament alone, while, according to Barrington, the +whole number who perished amounted to not less than +thirty thousand! If only few were sacrificed in New +England, the exception was due more to the sparse +population than to moderation; in South America, on +the contrary, the persecution was carried on with relentless +cruelty. And all this happened while fierce +war was raging almost everywhere, so that, while the +sword destroyed the men, the fire consumed the women!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +Occasionally most startling contrasts would be exhibited +by different governments. In the North, James I., +claiming to be as wise as Solomon, and more learned +than any man in Christendom, imagined that he was +persecuted by the Evil One on account of his great +religious zeal, and saw in every Catholic an instrument +of his adversary. His wild fancy was cunningly encouraged +by those who profited by his tyranny, and +Catholics were represented as being, one and all, given +up to the Devil, the mass and witchcraft, the three unholy +allies opposed to the Trinity! In the South, the +Republic of Venice, with all its petty tyranny and proverbial +political cruelty, stood almost alone in all +Christendom as opposed to persecutions of wizards and +witches, and fought the battle manfully on the side of +enlightenment and Christian charity. The horrors of +witch-trials soon reached a height which makes us +blush for humanity. The accused were tortured till +they confessed their guilt, so that they might lose not +only life upon earth, but also hope for eternity. If, +under torture, they declared themselves innocent, but +ready to confess their guilt and to die, they were told +that in such a case they would die with a falsehood on +their lips, and thus forfeit salvation. Some of the sufferers +were found to have a stigma on their bodies, a +place where the nerves had been paralysed, and no pain +was consequently felt—this was a sure sign of their +being witches, and they were forthwith burnt; if they +had no such stigma, the judge decided that the Devil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +marked only his doubtful adherents, and left his trusty +followers unmarked! The terror became so great that +in the seventeenth century repentant "witches abounded, +because it had become customary" merely to hang or +to decapitate those who confessed, while all others were +burned alive. Hundreds suffering of painful diseases or +succumbing to unbearable privations, forthwith fancied +themselves bewitched, or actually sought relief from +the ills of this life by voluntarily appearing before the +numerous tribunals for the trial of witchcraft. The +minds of men were so thoroughly blinded, that even +when husbands testified the impossibility of their wives +having attended the witches' sabbath, because they had +been lying all night by their side in bed, they were told, +and quite ready to believe, that a phantom had taken +the place of their absent wives! In one of the most famous +trials five women confessed, after suffering unspeakable +torture, that they had disinterred an infant, +the child of one of their number, and supped upon it +with the Devil; the father of the child persevered till +the grave was opened, and behold, the child's body was +there unharmed! But the judges declared it to be a +phantom sent by the Evil One, since the confession of +the criminals was worth more than mere ocular proof, +and the women were burnt accordingly. (Horst. Demonomagie, +i. p. 349.) The most signal proof of the +absurdity of all such charges was obtained in our own +country. Here the number of those who complained +of being plagued and injured by demoniac agencies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +became larger in precise proportion as trials increased +and condemnations succeeded. But when nineteen of +the accused had been executed, and the judges becoming +appalled at the daily growing number of complaints, +set some of the prisoners free, and declined to +arrest others, there was suddenly an end of these grievances, +no more accounts of enchantment and witchcraft +were heard, and soon the evil disappeared entirely.</p> + +<p>It was a similar return to reason which at last led in +Europe also to a reaction. The Doge of Venice and the +Great Council appealed to the pope, Leo X., to put a +curb upon the intemperate zeal of his ministers, and he +saw himself forced to check the merciless persecution. +Occasionally voices had been raised, already before that +public appeal, condemning such wholesale slaughter; +among these were men like Bacon of Verulam, Reginald +Scotus, and, marvel of marvels, two famous +Jesuits, Tanner and Spee. And yet even these merciful +and enlightened men never, for a moment, doubted +the genuineness of witchcraft and its fatal effects. +Father Spee, a most learned man, writing against the +ceaseless persecutions of pretended witches, nevertheless +declared, in 1631, in his renowned <i>Cautio criminalis</i>, +by far the best work written on that side of the +question, that "there are in the world some few wizards +and enchanters, which could not be denied by any +body without frivolity and great ignorance," and even +Bayle, while condemning the cruelty of witches' trials,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +seriously proposes to punish witches for their "ill-will." +Vaudé, the well-known librarian of Cardinal Mazarin, +wrote an able work as an apology of all the great men +who had been suspected of witchcraft, including even +Clemens V., Sylvester II., and other popes, and a renowned +Capuchin monk, d'Autun, pursued the same +subject with infinite subtlety of thought and great happiness +of diction in his <i>L'incrédulité savante et la crédulité +ignorante</i>. A witch was, however, still condemned +to be burned in 1698, in Germany; fortunately the +judge, a distinguished jurist of the University of Halle, +was remonstrated with by an esteemed colleague, and +thus induced to examine himself as well as the whole +grievous subject with unsparing candor. This led him +to see clearly the error involved in trials of witchcraft, +and he wrote, in 1701, a most valuable and influential +work against the Crime of Magic. He succeeded, especially, +in destroying the enormous prestige heretofore +enjoyed by Del Rio's great work <i>Disquisitiones magicæ</i>, +the favorite hand-book of judges of all lands, which +was even adopted, though from the pen of a Jesuit, by +the Protestants of Germany. In no case, however, +were the personal existence of the Devil, and his activity +upon earth, denied by these writers; on the contrary, +it is well known that Luther, Melanchthon, and even +Calvin, continued always to speak of Satan as having a +corporeal existence and as being perceptible to human +senses. The negation contended for applied only to his +direct agency in the physical world; his moral influ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>ence +was ever readily admitted. Sporadic cases of +witchcraft, and their trial by high courts of justice, +have continued to occur down to our day. Maria +Theresa was the first peremptorily to forbid any further +persecutions on account of <i>Veneficium</i>, as it had become +the fashion to call the acts of magic by which men or +beasts were said to be injured. There are, however, +writers who maintain, in this century, and in our generation, +even, the direct agency of the Devil in daily +life, and see in demoniac sufferings the punishment of +the wicked in this life already.</p> + +<p>The question of how much truth there may have +been in this belief in witchcraft, held by so many nations, +and persevered in during so many centuries, has +never yet been fully answered. It is hardly to be presumed +that during this long period all men, even the +wisest and subtlest, should have been completely +blinded or utterly demented. Many historians as well +as philosophers have looked upon witchcraft as a mere +creation of the Inquisition. Rome, they argue, was in +great danger, she had no new dogma to proclaim which +would give food to inquiring minds, and increase the +prestige of her power; she was growing unpopular in +many countries heretofore considered most faithful and +submissive, and she was engaged in various dangerous +conflicts with the secular powers. In this embarrassment +her Inquisitors looked around for some means of +escape, and thought a remedy might be found in this +new combination of the two traditional crimes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +heresy and enchantment. Witchcraft, as a crime, +because of the deeds of violence with which it was +almost invariably associated, belonged before the tribunal +of the secular judge; as a sin it was to be punished +by the bishop, but as heresy it fell, according to +the custom of the day, to the share of neither judge nor +bishop, but into the hands of the Inquisition.</p> + +<p>The extreme uniformity of witchcraft from the +Tagus to the Vistula, and in New England as in Old +England, is adduced as an additional evidence of its +having been "manufactured" by the Inquisition. +Nothing is gained, however, by looking upon it as +a mere invention; nor would such an explanation +apply to the wizards and witches who are repeatedly +mentioned and condemned in Holy Writ. Witchcraft +was neither purely artificial, a mere delusion, nor can +it be accounted for upon a purely natural basis. +The essential part in it is the magic force, which +does not belong to the natural but to the spiritual +part of man. Hence it is not so very surprising, as +many authors have thought it, that thousands of +poor women should have done their best to obtain +visions which only led to imprisonment, torture, and +death by fire, while they procured for them apparently +neither comfort nor wealth, but only pain, +horror, and disgrace. For there was mixed up with +all this a sensation of pleasure, vague and wild, +though it was in conformity with the rude and +coarse habits of the age. It is the same with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +opium eater and hasheesh smoker, only in a more +moderate manner; the delight these pernicious drugs +afford is not seen, but the disease, the suffering, and +the wretched death they produce, are visible enough. +The stories of witches' sabbaths taking place on +certain days of the year, arose no doubt from the +fact that the prevailing superstition of the times +regarded some seasons as peculiarly favorable for the +ceremony of anointing one's self with narcotic salves, +and this led to a kind of spiritual community on +such nights, which to the poor deluded people appeared +as a real meeting at appointed places. In like +manner there was nothing absolutely absurd or impossible +in the idea of a compact with the Devil. +Satan presented himself to the minds of men in those +ages as the bodily incarnation of all that is evil and +sinful, and hence when they fancied they made a +league with him, they only aroused the evil principle +within themselves to its fullest energy and activity. +It was in fact the selfish, covetous nature of man, +ever in arms against moral laws and the commandments +of God, which in these cases became distinctly +visible and presented itself in the form of a vision. +This evil principle, now relieved from all constraint +and able to develop its power against a feebly resisting +soul, would naturally destroy the poor deluded +victim, in body and in spirit. Hence the trials of +witchcraft had at least some justification, however +unwise their form and however atrocious their abuses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +The majority of the crimes with which the so-called +witches were charged, were no doubt imaginary; but +many of the accused also had taken real delight in +their evil practices and in the grievous injury they +had done to those they hated or envied. Nor must +it be forgotten that the age in which these trials +mainly occurred was emphatically an age of superstition; +from the prince on his throne to the clown +in his hut, everybody learnt and practiced some kind +of magic; the ablest statesmen and the subtlest philosophers, +the wisest divines and the most learned +physicians, all were more or less adepts of the Black +Art, and many among them became eminently dangerous +to their fellow-beings. Others, ceaselessly +meditating and brooding over charms and demoniac +influences, finally came to believe in their own powers +of enchantment, and confessed their guilt, although +they had sinned only by volition, without ever being +able really to call forth and command magic powers. +Still others labored under a regular panic and saw +witchcraft in the simplest events as well as in all +more unusual phenomena in nature. A violent tempest, +a sudden hailstorm, or an unusual rise in rivers, +all were at once attributed to magic influences, and +the authorities urged and importuned to prevent a +recurrence with all its disastrous consequences by +punishing the guilty authors. Has not the same +insane fury been frequently shown in contagious diseases, +when the common people believed their foun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>tains +poisoned and their daily bread infected by Jews +or other suspected classes, and promptly took justice +into their own hands? It ought also to be borne +in mind, as an apology for the horrible crimes committed +by judges and priests in condemning witches, +that in their eyes the crime was too enormous and +the danger too pressing and universal to admit of +delay in investigation, or mercy in judgment. The +severe laws of those semi-barbarous times were immediately +applied and all means considered fair in eliciting +the truth. Torture was by no means limited +to trials of witches, for some of the greatest statesmen +and the most exalted divines had alike to endure +its terrors. Moreover no age has been entirely free +from similar delusions, although the form under which +they appear and the power by which they may be +supported, differ naturally according to the spirit of +the times. Science alone cannot protect us against +fanaticism, if the heart is once led astray, and fearful +crimes have been committed not only in the name +of Liberty but even under the sanction of the Cross. +Basil the Great already restored a slave <i>ad integrum</i>, +who said he had made a pact with the Devil, but +the first authentic account of such a transaction +occurs in connection with an Imperial officer, Theophilus +of Adana, in the days of Justinian. His +bishop had undeservedly humiliated him and thus +aroused in the heart of the naturally meek man intense +wrath and a boundless desire of revenge.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +While he was in this state of uncontrollable excitement, +a Jew appeared and offered to procure for him +all he wanted, if he would pledge his soul to Satan. +The unhappy man consented, and was at once led +to the circus where he saw a great number of torch-bearers +in white robes, the costume of servants of +the church, and Satan seated in the midst of the assembly. +He obeyed the order to renounce Christ and +certified his apostacy in a written document. The +next day already the bishop repented of his injustice +and restored Theophilus in his office, whereupon the +Jew pointed out to him how promptly his master +had come to his assistance. Still, repentance comes +to Theophilus also, and in a new revelation the Virgin +appears to the despairing man after incessant prayer +of forty days and nights—a fit preparation for such +a vision. She directs him to perform certain atoning +ceremonies and promises him restoration to his +Christian privileges, which he finally obtains by finding +the certificate of his apostasy lying on his breast, +and then dies in a state of happy relief. After that +similar cases of a league being made with Satan occur +quite frequently in the history of saints and eminent +men, till the belief in its efficacy gradually died out +and recent efforts like those recorded by Goerres +(III. p. 620) have proved utterly fruitless.</p> + +<p>Among the magic phenomena connected with witchcraft, +none is more curious than the so-called witches' +sabbath, the formal meeting of all who are in league<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +with Satan, for the purpose of swearing allegiance to +him, to enjoy unholy delights, and to introduce neophytes. +That no such meeting ever really took place, +need hardly be stated. The so-called sabbaths were +somnambulistic visions, appearing to poor deluded +creatures while in a state of trance, which they had +produced by narcotic ointments, vile decoctions, or +even mere mental effort. For the most skillful among +the witches could cause themselves to fall into the +Witches' Sleep, as they called this trance, whenever +they chose; others had to submit to tedious and often +abominable ceremonies. The knowledge of simples, +which was then very general, was of great service to +cunning impostors; thus it was well known that certain +herbs, like aconite, produce in sleep the sensation +of flying, and they were, of course, diligently employed. +Hyosciamus and taxus, hypericum and asafœtida were +great favorites, and physicians made experiments +with these salves to try their effect upon the system. +Laguna, for instance, physician to Pope Julius III., +once applied an ointment which he had obtained from +a wizard, to a woman, who thereupon fell into a sleep +of thirty-six hours' duration, and upon being aroused, +bitterly complained of his cruelty in tearing her from +the embraces of her husband. The Marquis d'Agent +tells us in his <i>Lettres Juifs</i> (i. l. 20), that the celebrated +Gassendi discovered a drug which a shepherd used to +take whenever he wished to go to a witches' assembly. +He won the man's confidence, and, pretending to join<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +him in his journey, persuaded him to swallow the +medicine in his presence. After a few minutes, the +shepherd began to stagger like an intoxicated person, +and then fell into profound sleep, during which he +talked wildly. When he roused himself again many +hours afterwards, he congratulated the physician on +the good reception he had met at Satan's court, and +recalled with delight the pleasant things they had +jointly seen and enjoyed! The symptoms of the +witches' sleep differ, however; while the latter is, in +some cases, deep and unbroken, in other cases the +sleepers become rigid and icy cold, or they are subject +to violent spasms and utter unnatural sounds in +abundance. The sleep differs, moreover, from that of +possessed people in the consciousness of bodily pain +which bewitched people retain, while the possessed +become insensible. Invariably the impression is produced +that they meet kindred spirits at some great +assembly, but the manner of reaching it differs greatly. +Some go on foot; but as Abaris already rode on a spear +given to him by Apollo (Iamblichus De Vita, Pyth. c. +18), others ride on goats. In Germany a broomstick, +a club, or a distaff, became suitable vehicles, provided +they had been properly anointed. In Scotland and +Sweden the chimney is the favorite road, in other +countries no such preference is shown over doors and +windows. The expedition, however joyous it may be, +is always very fatiguing, and when the revellers awake +they feel like people who have been dissipated. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +meetings differ in locality according to size: whole +provinces assemble on high, isolated mountains, among +which the Brocken, in the Hartz Mountains, is by far +the most renowned; smaller companies meet near +gloomy churches or under dark trees with wide-spreading +branches.</p> + +<p>In the north of Europe the favorite resort is the Blue +Mountain, popularly known as Blokulla, in Sweden, +and as Blakalla in Norway, an isolated rock in the sea +between Smoland and Oland, which seems to have had +some association in the minds of the people with the +ancient sea-goddess Blakylle. In Italy the witches +loved to assemble under the famous walnut tree near +Benevent, which was already to the Longobards an object +of superstitious veneration, since here, in ancient +times, the old divinities were worshipped, and afterwards +the <i>strighe</i> were fond of meeting. In France +they had a favorite resort on the Puy de Dôme, near +Clermont, and in Spain on the sands near Seville, +where the <i>hechizeras</i> held their sabbaths. The Hekla, +of Iceland, also passes with the Scandinavians for a +great meeting-place of witches, although, strangely +enough, the inhabitants of the island have no such tradition. +It is, however, clear that in all countries where +witchcraft prospered, the favorite places of meeting +were always the same as those to which, in ancient +times, the heathens had made pilgrimages in large +numbers, in order to perform their sacrifices, and to +enjoy their merry-makings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + +<p>In precisely the same manner the favorite seasons for +these ghastly meetings correspond almost invariably +with the times of high festivals held in heathen days, +and hence, they were generally adopted by the early +Christians, with the feast and saints' days of Christendom. +Thus the old Germans observed, when they +were still pagans, the first of May for two reasons: as a +day of solemn judgment, and as a season for rejoicing, +during which prince and peasant joined in celebrating +the return of summer with merry songs and gay dances +around the May-pole. The witches were nothing loth +to adopt the day for their own festivities also, and +added it to the holidays of St. John the Baptist and St. +Bartholomew, on which, in like manner, anciently the +holding of public courts had brought together large +assemblies. The meetings, however, must always fall +upon a Thursday, from a determined, though yet unexplained +association of witchcraft with the old German +god of thunder, Donar, who was worshipped on the +Blocksberg, and to whom a goat was sacrificed—whence +also the peculiar fondness of witches for that animal. +The hours of meeting are invariably from eleven o'clock +at night to one or two in the morning.</p> + +<p>The assembly consists, according to circumstances, +of a few hundred or of several thousands, but the +female sex always largely prevails. For this fact +the famous text-book of judges of witchcraft, the +<i>Malleus</i>, assigned not less than four weighty reasons. +Women, it said, are more apt to be addicted to the fear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>ful +crime than men because, in the first place, they are +more credulous; secondly, in their natural weakness +they are more susceptible; thirdly, they are more imprudent +and rash, and hence always ready to consult +the Devil, and fourthly and mainly, <i>femina</i> comes from +<i>fe</i>, faith and <i>minus</i>, less, hence they have less faith!</p> + +<p>The guests appear generally in their natural form, +but at times they are represented as assuming the shape +of various animals; the Devil's followers having a decided +preference for goats and for monkeys, although the +latter is a passion of more recent date. The crowd is +naturally in a state of incessant flowing and ebbing; +the constant coming and going, crowding and pressing +admits of not a moment's quiet and even here it is +proven that the wicked have neither rest nor peace.</p> + +<p>Among this crowd flocks are seen, consisting of toads +and watched over by boys and girls; in the centre sits +Satan on a stone, draped in weird majesty, with terrible +but indistinct features, and uttering short commands +with an appalling voice of unnatural and unheard of +music. A queen in great splendor may sit by his side, +promoted to the throne from a place among the guests. +Countless demons, attending to all kinds of extraordinary +duties, surround their master; or, dash through +the crowd scattering indecent words and gestures in all +directions. English witches meet, also, innumerable +kittens on the Sabbath and show the scars of wounds +inflicted by the malicious animals. Every visitor must +pay his homage to the lord of the feast, which is done<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +in an unmentionable manner; and yet they receive +nothing in return—according to their unanimous confessions—except +unfulfilled promises and delusive +presents. Even the dishes on the table are but shams; +there is neither salt nor bread to be found there. They +are bound, besides, to pledge themselves to the performance +of a certain number of wicked works, which +are distributed over the week, so that the first days are +devoted to ordinary sins and the last to crimes of +special horror. Music of surpassing weirdness is heard +on all sides, and countless couples whirl about in restless, +obscene dances; the couples joining back to back +and trying in vain to see each other's faces. Very often +young children are brought up by their mothers to be +presented to the Master; when this is done, they are +set to attend the flocks of toads till the ninth year, +when they are called up by the Queen to abjure their +Christian faith and are regularly enrolled among +witches.</p> + +<p>The descriptions of minor details vary, of course +according to the individual dispositions of the accused, +whose confessions are invariably uniform as to the facts +stated heretofore. The coarser minds naturally see +nothing but the grossest indecency and the vilest indulgences, +while to more refined minds the apparent occurrences +appear in a light of greater delicacy; they hear +sweet music and witness nothing but gentle affection +and brotherly love. But in all cases these witches' +sabbaths become a passion with the poor deluded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +creatures; they enjoy there a paradise of delight,—whether +they really indulge in sensual pleasure or +surrender mind and will so completely to the unhallowed +power that they cease to wish for anything else, +and are plunged in vague, unspeakable pleasure. And +yet not even the simple satisfaction of good looks is +granted them; witches are as ugly as angels are fair; +they emit an evil odor and inspire others with unconquerable +repugnance.</p> + +<p>How exclusively all these descriptions of witches' +sabbaths have their origin in the imagination of the +deluded women is seen from the fact that they vary +consistently with the prevailing notions of those by +whom they are entertained; with coarse peasants, the +meetings are rude feasts full of obscene enjoyments; +with noble knights, they become the rovings of the +wild huntsman, or a hellish court under the guise of a +Venus' mountain; with ascetic monks and nuns, a subterranean +convent filled with vile blasphemies of God +and the saints. This only is common to all such +visions, that they are always conceived in a spirit of +bitter antagonism to the Church: all the doctrines not +only but also the ceremonies of the latter are here +travestied. The sabbath has its masses, but the host is +desecrated, its holy water obtained from the lord of the +feast; its host and its candles are black, and the <i>Ite +missa est</i> of the dismissing priest is changed into: "Go +to the Devil!" Here, also, confession is required; but, +the penitent confesses having omitted to do evil and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +being guilty of occasional acts of mercy and goodness; +the penalty imposed is to neglect one or the other of +the twelve commandments.</p> + +<p>When witches were brought to trial, one of the first +measures was to search for special marks which were +believed to betray their true character. These were +especially the so-called witches' moles, spots of the size +of a pea, on which for some reason or other the nerves +had lost their sensibility, and where, in consequence, no +pain was felt. These were supposed to have been +formed by being punctured, the Evil One performing +the operation with a pin of false gold, with his claws or +his horns. Other evidences were found in the peculiar +coloring of the eyes, which was said to represent the +feet of toads; in the absence of tears when the little +gland had been injured, and, above all, in the specific +lightness of the body. In order to ascertain the latter +the accused were bound hand and foot crosswise, tied +loosely to a rope, and then, three times, dropped into +the water. If they remained floating their guilt was +established; for either they had been endowed by their +Master with safety from drowning, or the water refused +to receive them because they had abjured their baptism! +It need not be added that the executioners soon found +out ways to let their prisoners float or sink as they +chose—for a consideration.</p> + +<p>Witches' trials began in the earliest days of Christianity, +for the Emperor Valens ordered, as we +learn from Ammianus Marcellinus, all the wiz<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>ards +and enchanters to be held to account who had +endeavored by magic art to ascertain his successor. +Several thousands were accused of witchcraft, but the +charge was then, as in almost every later age, in most +cases nothing more than a pretext for proceedings +against obnoxious persons. The next monster process, +as it began to be called already in those early +days, was the persecution of witches in France under +the Merovingians. The child of Chilperic's wife had +died suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, +which led to the imprisonment of a prefect, Mummolus, +whom the queen had long pursued with her +hatred. He was accused of having caused her son's +death by his charms, and was subjected to fearful +tortures in company with a number of old women. +Still, he confessed nothing but that the latter had +furnished him with certain drugs and ointments +which were to secure to him the favor of the king +and the queen. A later trial of this kind, in which +for a time calm reason made a firm stand against +superstition, but finally succumbed ingloriously, is +known as the <i>Vaudoisie</i>, and took place in Arras +in 1459. It was begun by a Count d'Estampes, but +was mainly conducted by a bishop and some eminent +divines of his acquaintance, whose inordinate zeal +and merciless cruelty have secured to the proceedings +a peculiarly painful memory in the annals of the +church. A large number of perfectly innocent men +and women were tortured and disgracefully executed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +but fortunately the death of the main persecutor, +DuBlois, made a sudden end to the existence of witchcraft +in that province. One of the most remarkable +trials of this kind was caused by a number of little +children, and led to most bloody proceedings. It +seems that in the year 1669 several boys and girls in +the parish of Mora, one of the most beautiful parts +of the Swedish province of Dalarne, and famous +through the memory of Gustavus Vasa and Gustavus +III., were affected by a nervous fever which left them, +after their partial recovery, in a state of extreme +irritability and sensitiveness. They fell into fainting +fits and had convulsions—symptoms which the simple +but superstitious mountaineers gradually began +to think inexplicable, and hence to ascribe to magic +influences. The report spread that the poor children +were bewitched, and soon all the usual details +of satanic possession were current. The mountain +called Blakulla, in bad repute from of old, was +pointed out as the meeting-place of the witches, +where the annual sabbath was celebrated, and these +children were devoted to Satan. Church and State +combined to bring their great power to bear upon the +poor little ones, an enormous number of women, +mostly the mothers of the young people, were involved +in the charges, and finally fifty-two of the latter with +fifteen children were publicly executed as witches, +while fifty of the younger were condemned to severe +punishment! More than three hundred unfortunate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +children under fourteen had made detailed confessions +of the witches' sabbath and the ceremonies +attending their initiation into its mysteries. A similar +fearful delusion took hold of German children in +Würtemberg, when towards the end of the seventeenth +century a large number of little boys and girls, none +of whom were older than ten years, began to state +that they were every night fetched away and carried +to the witches' sabbath. Many were all the time fast +asleep and could easily be roused, but a few among +them fell regularly into a trance, during which their +little bodies became cold and rigid. A commission +of great judges and experienced divines was sent to +the village to investigate the matter, and found at +last that there was no imposture attempted, but that +the poor children firmly believed what they stated. +It became, however, evident that a few among them +had listened to old women's tales about witches, with +eager ears, and, with inflamed imaginations, retailed +the account to others, till a deep and painful nervous +excitement took hold of their minds and +rapidly spread through the community. Many of +the children were, as was natural at their age, led +by vanity to say that they also had been at the sabbath, +while others were afraid to deny what was so +positively stated by their companions. Fortunately +the commission consisted, for once, of sensible men +who took the right view of the matter, ordered a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +good whipping here and there, and thus saved the +land from the crime of another witches' trial.</p> + +<p>Our own experiences in New England, at the time +when Sir William Phipps was governor of the colonies, +have been forcibly reported by the great Cotton +Mather. Nearly every community had its young +men and women who were addicted to the practices +of magic; they loved to perform enchantments, to +consult sieves and turning keys, and thus were gradually +led to attempt more serious and more dangerous +practices. In Salem, men and women of high +standing and unimpeached integrity, even pious members +of the church, were suddenly plagued and tortured +by unknown agencies, and at last a little black +and yellow demon appeared to them, accompanied +by a number of companions with human faces. +These apparitions presented to them a book which +they were summoned to sign or at least to touch, +and if they refused they were fearfully twisted and +turned about, pricked with pins, burnt as if with +hot irons, bound hand and foot with invisible fetters, +and carried away to great distances. Some were left +unable to touch food or drink for many days; others, +attempting to defend themselves against the demons, +snatched a distaff or tore a piece of cloth from them, +and immediately these proofs of the real existence +of the evil spirits became visible to the eyes of the +bystanders. The magic phenomena attending the +disease were of the most extraordinary character.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +Several men stated that they had received poison because +they declined to worship Satan, and immediately +all the usual sequences of such treatment +appeared, from simple vomiting to most fearful suffering, +till counteracting remedies were employed +and began to take effect. In other cases the sufferers +complained of burning rags being stuffed into their +mouths, and although nothing was seen, burnt +places and blisters appeared, and the odor and smoke +of smouldering rags began to fill the room. When +they reported that they were branded with hot irons, +the marks showed themselves, suppuration took +place, and scars were formed which never again disappeared +during life—and all these phenomena were +watched by the eager eyes of hundreds. The authorities, +of course, took hold of the matter, and many +persons of both sexes and all ages were brought to +trial. While they were tortured they continued to +have visions of demoniac beings and possessed men +and women; when they were standing, blindfolded, +in court, felt the approach of those by whom +they pretended to be bewitched and plagued, and +urgently prayed to be delivered of their presence. +Finally many were executed, not a few undoubtedly +against all justice, but the better sense of the authorities +soon saw the futility, if not the wickedness of +such proceedings, and an end was made promptly, +witchcraft disappearing as soon as persecution relaxed +and the sensation subsided.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> + +<p>Similar trials have nevertheless continued to be held +in various parts of Europe during the whole of the +last century, and many innocent lives have been forfeited +to this apparently ineradicable belief in witchcraft. +Even after torture was abandoned in compliance +with the wiser views of our age, long imprisonment +with its attending sufferings and great anxiety as +to the issue, proved fully sufficient to extort voluntary +confessions, which were, of course, of no value in themselves, +but served the purpose of keeping alive the +popular superstition. In 1728 a specially fearful trial +of this kind took place in Hungary, during which +nearly all the disgraceful scenes of mediæval barbarity +were reënacted, and which ended in a number of cruel +executions. The last witches' trial in Germany took +place in 1749, when the mother-superior of a convent +near Würzburg, in Bavaria, known as Emma Renata, +was condemned to be burnt, but by the leniency of the +authorities, was allowed to die by decapitation. Switzerland +was the scene of the last of these trials ever +held, for with this act of justice, as it was called by the +good people of Glarus, the persecution ended.</p> + +<p>Even in England, however, the feeling itself seems to +have lingered long after actual trials had ceased. Thus +it is well known that the terrible trial of witches held +at Marlboro, under Queen Elizabeth, led to the establishment +of a so-called witches' sermon to be delivered +annually at Huntingdon, and this custom was faithfully +observed down to the latter part of the eighteenth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +century. Nearly about the same time—in 1743—an +earnest effort was made in Scotland to kindle once +more the fire of fierce persecution. In the month of +February of that year, the Associate Presbytery, in a +public document addressed to the Presbytery of the +Seceded Churches, required for certain purposes a +solemn acknowledgment of former sins, and a vow to +renounce them forever. Among these sins that austere +body enumerated the "<i>abolition</i> of the death penalty +for witchcraft," since the latter was forbidden in Holy +Writ, and the leniency which had taken the place of +the former severity in punishing this crime, had given +an opening to Satan to tempt and actually to seduce +others by means of the same old accursed and dangerous +snares.—(<i>Edinb. Rev.</i>, Jan. 1847.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="II" id="II"></a>II.</p> + +<h2>BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC.</h2> + +<p class="small ps center">"Peace!—the charm's wound up."—<span class="smcap">Macbeth.</span></p> + + +<p>The most startling of all scenes described in Holy +Writ—as far as they represent incidents in human life—is, +no doubt, the mysterious interview between unfortunate +King Saul and the spirit of his former patron, +the prophet Samuel. The poor monarch, abandoned +by his friends and forsaken by his own heart, turns in +his utter wretchedness to those whom he had but +shortly before "put out of the land," those godless +people who "had familiar spirits and the wizards." +Hard pressed by the ancient enemy of his people, the +Philistine, and unable to obtain an answer from the +great God of his fathers, he stoops to consult a witch, a +woman. It seems that Sedecla, the daughter of the +Decemdiabite—for so Philo calls her according to Des +Mousseaux—had escaped by her cunning from the fate +of her weird sisters, and, having a familiar spirit, foretold +the future to curious enquirers at her dwelling in +Endor. At first she is unwilling to incur the penalty +threatened in the king's decree, but when the disguised +monarch, with a voice of authority promises her impunity, +she consents to "bring up Samuel." As soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +as the fearful phantom of the dread prophet appears, +she becomes instinctively aware of the true character +of her visitor, and, far more afraid of the power of the +living than of the appearance of the departed, she cries +out trembling: "Why hast thou deceived me? Thou +art Saul!" Then follows the appalling scene in which +Samuel reproves the miserable, self-despairing king, +and foretells his death and that of his sons.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt that we have here before us +an instance of genuine magic. The woman was evidently +capable of casting herself into a state of ecstasy, +in which she could at once look back into the past and +forward into the future. Thus she beholds the great +prophet, not sent by God from on high, as the Holy +Fathers generally taught, but according to the then +prevailing belief, rising from Sheol, the place of departed +spirits, and then she utters, unconsciously, his +own words. For it must not be overlooked that Samuel +makes no revelations, but only repeats his former +warnings. Saul learns absolutely nothing new from +him; he only hears the same threatenings which the +prophet had pronounced twice before, when the reckless +king had dared to sacrifice unto God with his own +hand (I. Sam. xiii.), and when he had failed to smite +the Amalekite, as he was bidden. Possessed, as it +were, by the spirit of the living Samuel, the woman +speaks as he had spoken in his lifetime, and it is only +when her state of exaltation renders her capable of +looking into the future also, that she assumes the part<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +of a prophetess herself, and foretells the approaching +doom of her royal visitor.</p> + +<p>That the whole dread scene was fore-ordained and +could take place only by the will of the Almighty, +alters nothing in the character of the woman with the +familiar spirit. It is a clear case of necromancy, or +conjuring up of the spirits of departed persons, such as +has been practised among men from time immemorial. +Among the chosen people of God persons were found +from the beginning of their history who had familiar +spirits, and Moses already fulminates his severest anathemas +against these wizards (Lev. xx. 27). They appear +under various aspects, as charmers, as consulters +of familiar spirits, as wizards, or as necromancers +(Deut. xviii. 11); they are charged with passing their +children through the fire, with observing times (astrologers); +with using enchantments; or they are said in +a general way to "use witchcraft" (II. Chron. xxxiii. 6). +That other nations were not less familiar with the art +of evoking spirits, we see, for instance, in the "Odyssey," +which mentions numerous cases of such intercourse +with another world, and speaks of necromancers as +forming a kind of close guild. In the "Persius" of +Æschylus the spirit of Darius, father of Xerxes, is +called up and foretells all the misfortunes that are to +befall poor Queen Atossa. The greatest among the +stern Romans could not entirely shake off the belief in +such magic, in spite of the matter-of-fact tendencies of +the Roman mind, and the vast superiority of their in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>telligence. +A Cato and a Sylla, a Cæsar and a Vespasian, +all admitted, with clear unfailing perception, +the small grains of truth that lay concealed among the +mass of rubbish then called magic. Even Christian +theology has never absolutely denied the existence of +such extraordinary powers over the spirits of the departed, +although it has consistently attributed them to +diabolic influences.</p> + +<p>In this point lies the main difference between ancient +and modern magic. For the oldest Magi whom we +know were the wise men of Persia, called, from <i>mah</i> +(great), Mugh, the great men of the land. They were +the philosophers of their day, and, if we believe the +impartial evidence of Greek writers—not generally apt +to overestimate the merits of other nations—they were +possessed of vast and varied information. Their aim +was the loftiest ever conceived by human ambition; it +was, in fact, nothing less than the erection of an intellectual +Tower of Babel. They devoted the labors of a +lifetime, and the full, well-trained vigor of their intelligence +to the study of the forces of nature, and the +true character of all created beings. Among the latter +they included disembodied spirits as well as those still +bound up with bodies made of earth, considering with +a wisdom and boldness of conception never yet surpassed, +both classes as one and the same eternal creation. +The knowledge thus acquired they were, moreover, +not disposed merely to store away in their +memory, or to record in unattractive manuscripts;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +they were men of the world as well as philosophers, +and looked for practical results. Here the pagan spirit +shone forth unrestrained; the end and aim of all their +restless labors was Power. Their ambition was to control, +by the superior prestige of their knowledge, not +only the mechanical forces of Nature, but also the +lesser capacities of other created beings, and finally +Fate itself! Truly a lofty and noble aim if we view it, +as in equity we are bound to do, from their stand-point, +as men possessing, with all the wisdom of the earth, as +yet not a particle of revealed religion.</p> + +<p>It was only at a much later period that a distinction +was made between White Magic and Black Magic. +This arose from the error which gradually overspread +the minds of men, that such extraordinary powers—based, +originally, only upon extraordinary knowledge—were +not naturally given to men; but, could only be +obtained by the special favor of higher beings, with +whom the owner must needs enter into a perilous +league. If these were benevolent deities, the results +obtained by their assistance were called White Magic; +if they were gods of ill-repute, they granted the power +to perform feats of Black Magic, acts of wickedness, +and crimes. Christianity, though it abolished the gods +of paganism, maintained, nevertheless, the belief in extraordinary +powers accorded by supernatural beings, +and the same distinction continued to be made. Pious +men and women performed miracles by the aid of +angels and saints; wicked sinners did as much by an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +unholy league with the Evil One. The Egyptian +charmer, of Apulejus, who declared that no miracle +was too difficult for his art, since he exercised the blind +power of deities who were subject to his will, only +expressed what the lazzarone of Naples feels in our +day, when he whips his saint with a bundle of reeds, in +order to compel him to do his bidding. Magicians did +not change their doctrine; they hardly even modified +their ceremonies; their allegiance only was transferred +from Jupiter to Jehovah, even as the same column that +once bore the great Thunderer on Olympus, is now +crowned by a statue of Peter Boanerges. Nor has the +race of magicians ever entirely died out; we find +enough notices in classic authors, whose evidence is unimpeachable, +to know that the Greeks were apt scholars +of the ancient Magi and transferred the knowledge +they had thus obtained and long jealously guarded, to +the priests of Egypt, who in their turn became the +masters of the two mightiest nations on earth. First +Moses sat at their feet till, at the age of forty, he "was +learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," and could +successfully cope with their "magicians and sorcerers." +Then the land of the Nile fell into the hands of the +Romans, and poverty and neglect drove the wise men +of Egypt to seek refuge in the capital of the world, +where they either lived upon the minor arts and cunning +tricks of their false fate, or, being converted to +Christianity, infected the pure faith with their ill-applied +knowledge. Certain portions of true magic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +survived through all persecutions and revolutions; +some precious secrets were preserved by the philosophers +of later ages and have—if we believe the statements +made by trustworthy writers of every century—ever +since continued in the possession of Freemasons and +Rosicrucians; others became mixed up with vile superstitions +and impious practices, and only exist now as +the Black Art of so-called magicians and witches.</p> + +<p>Wherever magic found a fertile soil among the people, +it became a science, handed down from father to +son, and such we find it still in the East Indies and the +Orient generally; when it fell into the hands of skeptics, +or weak, feeble-minded men, it degenerated with amazing +speed into imposture and common jugglery. What +is evident about magic is the well-established fact +that its ceremonies, forms, and all other accessories +are almost infinite in variety since they are merely +accidental vehicles for the will of man, and real magicians +know very well that the importance of such +external aids is not only overrated but altogether fallacious. +The sole purpose of the burning of perfumes, +of imposing ceremonies and awe-inspiring procedures, +is to aid in producing the two conditions which are +indispensable for all magic phenomena: the magician +must be excited till his condition is one resembling +mental intoxication or becomes a genuine trance, and +the passive subject must be made susceptible to the +control of the superior mind. For it need not be +added, that the latter will all the more readily be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +affected, the feebler his will and the more imperfect his +mental vision may be by nature or may have been +rendered by training and careful preparation. Hence +it is that the magic table of the dervish; the enchanted +drum of the shaman; the medicine-bag of the Indian +are all used for precisely the same purpose as the ring +of Hecate; the divining rod and the magic wand of the +enchanter. Legend and amulet, mummy and wax-figure, +herb and stone, drug and elixir, incense and +ointment, are all but the means, which the strong will +of the gifted Master uses in order to influence and +finally to control the weaker mind. Thus powerful +perfumes, narcotic odors, and anæsthetic salves are employed +to produce enervation and often actual and complete +loss of self-control; in other cases the neophyte +has to turn round and round within the magic circle, +from east to west, till he becomes giddy and utterly +exhausted. It is very curious to observe how, as far as +these preparations go, in the most distant countries and +among the most different forms of society the same +means are employed for the same purpose: the whirling +dance of the fanatic dervish is perfectly analogous to +the wild raving of our Indian medicine-man, who ties +himself with a rope to a post and then whirls around it +in fierce fury. Thus, also, the oldest magicians speak +with profound reverence of the powers of a little herb, +known to botanists as <i>Hypericum perforatum L.</i>, and +behold! in the year 1860 a German author of eminence, +Justinus Kerner, still taught seriously, that the leaves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +of that plant were the best means to banish evil spirits! +Mandrake and elder have held their own in the false +faith of nations from the oldest times to our day, and +even now Germans as well as slaves love to plant the +latter everywhere in their graveyards, as suggestive of +the realm of spirits!</p> + +<p>White Magic, though strictly forbidden by the +Church in all ages, seems nevertheless to have had +irresistible attractions for wise and learned men of every +country. This charm it owes to the many elements of +truth which are mixed up with the final error; for it +aims at a thorough understanding of the mysteries of +Nature—and so far its purpose is legitimate and very +tempting to superior minds—but only in order to +obtain by such knowledge a power which Holy Writ +expressly denies to man. When it prescribes the study +of Nature as being the outer temple of God and represents +all the parts of this vast edifice, from the central +sun of the universe to the minutest living creation, as +bound up by a common sympathy, no objection can be +made to its doctrines, and even the greatest minds may +fairly enroll themselves here as its pupils. But when it +ascribes to this sympathy an active power and attributes +to secret names of the Deity, to certain natural products, +or to mechanically regulated combinations of the stars, +a peculiar and supernatural effect, it sinks into contemptible +superstition. Hence the constant aim of all +White Magic, the successful summoning of superior +spirits for the purpose of learning from them what is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +purposely kept concealed from the mind of man, has +never yet been reached. For it is sin, the same sin that +craved to eat from the tree of knowledge. Hence, also, +no beneficial end has ever yet been obtained by the +practices of magic, although wise and learned men of +every age have spent their lives and risked the salvation +of their souls in restless efforts to lift the veil of Isis.</p> + +<p>Black Magic, the Kishuph of the Hebrews, avows +openly its purpose of forming a league with evil +spirits in order to attain selfish ends, which are invariably +fatal to others. And yet it is exactly here that +we meet with great numbers of well-authenticated +cases of success, which preclude all doubt and force +us to admit the occasional efficiency of such sinful +alliances. The art flourishes naturally best among +the lowest races of mankind, where gross ignorance +is allied with blind faith, and the absence of inspiration +leaves the mind in natural darkness. We cannot +help being struck here also with the fact that the +means employed for such purposes have been the same +in almost all ages. Readers of classic writers are +familiar with the drum of Cybele—the Laplanders +have from time immemorial had the same drum, on +which heaven, hell, and earth are painted in bright +colors, and reproduce in pictorial writing the letters +of the modern spiritualist. A ring is placed upon +the tightly stretched skin, which slight blows with +a hammer cause to vibrate, and according to the +apparently erratic motions of the ring over the varied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +figures of gods, men, and beasts, the future is revealed. +The consulting savage lies on his knees, and +as the pendulum between our fingers and the pencil +of Planchette in our hand write apparently at haphazard, +but in reality under the pressure of our muscles +acting through the unconscious influence of our +will, so here also the beats of the hammer only seem +to be fortuitous, but, in reality, are guided by the +ecstatic owner. For already Olaf Magnus ("Hist. +Goth." L. 3, ch. 26) tells us that the incessant beating +of the drum, and the wild, exulting singing of the +magician for hours before the actual ceremony begins, +cause him to fall into a state of exaltation, without +which he would be unable to see the future. That +the drum is a mere accident in the ceremony was +strikingly proved by a Laplander, who delivered up +his instrument of witchcraft to the pious missionary +(Tornaeus) by whom he had been converted, and +who soon came to complain that even without his +drum he could not help seeing hidden things—an +assertion which he proved by reciting to the amazed +minister all the minute details of his recent journey. +Who can help, while reading of these savage magicians, +recalling the familiar ring and drumstick in the +left hand of the Roman Isis—statues with a drum +above the head, or the rarely missing ring and hammer +in the hands of the Egyptian Isis? It need +hardly be added that the Indians of our continent +have practised the art with more or less success from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +the day of discovery to our own times. Already +Wafer in his "Descr. of the Isthmus of Darien" (1699) +describes how Indian sorcerers, after careful preparation, +were able to inform him of a number of future +events, every one of which came to pass in the succeeding +days. The prince of Neu-Wied again met +a famous medicine-man among the Crea Indians, +whose prophecies were readily accepted by the whites +even, and of whose power he witnessed unmistakable +evidence. Bonduel, a well-known and generally perfectly +trustworthy writer, affirms, from personal knowledge, +that among the Menomonees the medicine-men +not only practise magic, but are able to produce most +astounding results. After beating their drum, Bonduel +used to hear a heavy fall and a faint, inarticulate +voice, whereupon the tent of the charmer though +fifteen feet high, rose in the air and inclined first on +one and then on the other side. This was the time of +the interview between the medicine-man and the +evil spirit. Small doll-like figures of men also were +used, barely two inches long, and tied to medicine-bags. +They served mainly to inflame women with +loving ardor, and when efficient could drive the poor +creatures to pursue their beloved for days and nights +through the wild forests. Other missionaries also +affirm that these medicine-men must have been able +to read the signs and perhaps to feel in advance the +effects of the weather with amazing accuracy, since +they frequently engaged to procure storms for special<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +purposes, and never failed. It is interesting to notice +that according to the unanimous testimony of all +writers on Indian affairs, these medicine-men almost +invariably find a violent and wretched death.</p> + +<p>It is not without interest to recall that the prevailing +forms of the magic of our day, as far as they consist of +table-moving, spirit-rapping, and the like, have their +origin among the natives of our continent. The +earliest notice of these strange performances appeared +in the great journal of Augsburg, in Germany (<i>Allgemeine +Zeitung</i>), where Andree mentioned their occurrence +among Western Indians. Sargent gave us next +a more detailed description of the manner in which +many a wigwam or log-cabin in Iowa became the scene +of startling revelations by means of a clumsy table +which hopped merrily about, or a half-drunk, red-skinned +medium, from whose lips fell uncouth words. +(Spicer, "Lights and Sounds," p. 190.) It was only in +1847 that the famous Fox family brought these phenomena +within the pale of civilization: having rented a +house in Hydeville, N. Y., already ill-reputed on account +of mysterious noises, they reduced these knockings to a +kind of system, and, by means of an alphabet, obtained +the important information that they were the work of +a "spirit," and that his name was Charles Ray. Margaret +Fox transplanted the rappings to Rochester; +Catherine, only twelve years old, to Auburn, and from +these two central places the new Magic spread rapidly +throughout the Union. Opposition and persecutions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +served, as they are apt to do, only to increase the +interest of the public. A Mrs. Norman Culver proved, +it is true, that rappings could easily be produced by +certain muscular movements of the knee and the +ankle, and a committee of investigation, of which +Fenimore Cooper was a member, obtained ample evidence +of such a method being used; but the faith of +the believers was not shaken. The moving of tables, +especially, furnished to their minds new evidence of +the actual presence of spirits, and soon circles were +established in nearly all the Northern and Western +States, formed by persons of education without regard +to confession, who called themselves Spiritualists or +Spiritists, and their most favored associates Media. +A number of men, whose intelligence and candor were +alike unimpeachable, became members of the new sect, +among them a judge, a governor of a State, and a professor +of chemistry. They organized societies and +circles, they published journals and several works of +interest and value, and produced results which more +and more strengthened their convictions.</p> + +<p>The new art met, naturally, with much opposition, +especially among the ministers and members of the +different churches. Some of the opponents laughed at +the whole as a clever jugglery, which deserved its great +success on account of the "smartness" of the performers; +others denounced it as a heresy and a crime; +the former, of course, saw in it nothing but the hand +of man, while the latter admitted the agency of spirits,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +but of spirits from below and not from above. An +amusing feature connected with public opinion on this +subject was, that when trade was prosperous and money +abundant, spiritualism also flourished and found numerous +adherents, but when business was slow, or a +crisis took place, all minds turned away from the +favorite pastime, and instinctively joined once more +with the pious believers in the denunciation of the new +magic. Thus a kind of antagonism has gradually +arisen between orthodox Christians and enthusiastic +spiritualists; the controversy is carried on with great +energy on both sides, and, alas! to the eye of the +general observer, magic is gaining ground every day, +at least its adherents increase steadily in numbers, and +even in social weight. (Tuttle, "Arena of Nature.") +Not long ago the National Convention of Spiritualists, +at their great meeting at Rochester, N.Y. (August, +1868), laid down nineteen fundamental principles of +their new creed; their doctrines are based upon the +fact that we are constantly surrounded by an invisible +host of spirits, who desire to help us in returning once +more to the father of all things, the Great Spirit.</p> + +<p>Modern magic met with the same opposition in +Europe. The French Academy, claiming, as usually, +to be supreme authority in all matters of science, +declined, nevertheless, to decide the question. Arago, +who read the official report before the august body, +closed with the words: "I do not believe a word of it!" +but his colleagues remembered, perhaps, that their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +predecessors had once or twice before committed themselves +grievously. Had not the same Academy pronounced +against the use of quinine and vaccination, +against lightning-rods and steam-engines? Had not +Réaumur suppressed Peyssonel's "Essay on Corals," +because he thought it was madness to maintain their +animal nature; had not his learned brethren decreed, +in 1802, that there were no meteors, although a short +time later two thousand fell in one department alone; +and had they not, more recently still, received the news +of ether being useful as an anæsthetic with scorn and +unanimous condemnation? Perhaps they recalled Dr. +Hare's assertion that our own Society for the Advancement +of Useful Knowledge had, in 1855, refused to +hear a report on Spiritualism, preferring to discuss the +important question: "Why do roosters always crow +between midnight and one o'clock?" At all events +they heard the report and remained silent. In the +same manner Alexander von Humboldt refused to +examine the question. This indifference did not, however, +check the growth of Spiritualism in France, but +its followers divided into two parties: spiritualists, +under Rivail, who called himself Allan Cardec, and +spiritists, under Piérard. The former died in 1869, +after having seen his <i>Livre des Esprits</i> reappear in +fifteen editions; to seal his mission, he sent, immediately +after his death, his spirit to inform his eager +pupils, who crowded around the dead body of their +leader, of his first impressions in the spirit world. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +the style is the man (<i>le style c'est l'homme</i>), no one +could doubt that it was his spirit who spoke.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most estimable high-priest of this +branch of modern magic is a well known professor +of Geneva, Roessinger, a physician of great renown +and much beloved by all who know him. He is, however, +a rock of offense to American spiritualists, because +he has ever remained firmly attached to his +religious faith, and admits no spiritual revelations as +genuine which do not entirely harmonize with the doctrines +of Christ and the statements of the Bible. Unfortunately +this leads him to believe that his favorite +medium, a young lady enjoying the mystic name of +Libna, speaks under the direct inspiration of God +himself! In England the new magic has not only +numerous but also influential adherents, like Lord +Lytton and the Darwinian Wallace; papers like the +<i>Star</i> and journals like the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i>, support +it with ability, and names like Home in former years +and Newton in our day, who not only reveal secrets +but actually heal the sick, have given a new prestige to +the young science. The works of Howitt and Dr. +Ashburner, of Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Crossland have +treated the subject under various aspects, and in the +year 1871, Crookes, a well-known chemist, investigated +the phenomena of Home's revelations by means of an +apparatus specially devised for the purpose. The result +was the conviction that if not spiritual, they were +at least not produced by any power now known to science.—<i>Quart. +Journ. of Science</i>, July, 1871.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> + +<p>In Germany the new magic has been far less popular +than elsewhere, but, in return, it has been there +most thoroughly investigated. Men of great eminence +in science and in philosophy have published extensive +works on the subject, which are, however, more remarkable +for zeal and industry than for acute judgment. +Gerster in Regensburg claimed to have invented +the Psychography, but Szapary in Paris and Cohnfeld +in Berlin discovered at the same time the curious instrument +known to us as Planchette. The most practical +measure taken in Germany for the purpose of +ascertaining the truth was probably the formation of a +society for spirit studies, which met for the first time +in Dresden in 1869, and purposes to obtain an insight +into those laws of nature which are reported to make +it possible to hold direct and constant intercourse +with the world of spirits. Here, as in the whole tendency +of this branch of magic, we see the workings +not merely of idle curiosity but of that ardent longing +after a knowledge of the future and a certainty of personal +eternity, which dwells in the hearts of all men.</p> + +<p>The phenomena of modern magic were first imperfect +rappings against the wall, the legs of a table or a +chair, accompanied by the motion of tables; then +followed spirit-writing by the aid of a psychograph or +a simple pencil, and finally came direct "spirit-writings," +drawings by the media, together with musical +and poetical inspirations, the whole reaching a climax +in spirit-photographs. The ringing of bells, the danc<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>ing +of detached hands in the air, the raising up of the +entire body of a man, and musical performances without +human aid were only accomplished in a few cases +by specially favored individuals. Two facts alone are +fully established in connection with all these phenomena: +one, that some of the latter at least are not produced +by the ordinary forces of nature; and the other, +that the performers are generally, and the medium +always, in a more or less complete state of trance. In +this condition they forget themselves, give their mind +up entirely into the hands of others—the media—and +candidly believe they see and hear what they are told +by the latter is taking place in their presence. Hence +also the well-established fact that the spirits have +never yet revealed a single secret, nor ever made +known to us anything really new. Their style is invariably +the same as that in which ecstatic and somnambulistic +persons are apt to speak. A famous German +spiritualist, Hornung, whose faith was well +known, once laid his hands upon his planchette +together with his wife, and then asked if there really +was a world of spirits? To the utter astonishment +of all present, the psychograph replied No! and when +questioned again and again, became troublesome. The +fact was simply that the would-be magician's wife +did not believe in spirits, and as hers was the stronger +will, the answer came from her mind and not from her +husband's. On the other hand, it cannot be denied +that media—most frequently delicate women of high<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +nervous sensibility, and almost always leading lives of +constant and wearying excitement—become on such +occasions wrought up to a degree which resembles +somnambulism and may really enable them, occasionally, +in a state of clairvoyance, to see what is hidden +to others. It is they who are "vitalized," as they +call it, and not the knocking table, or the writing +planchette, and hence arises the necessity of a medium +for all such communications. That there are no +spirits at work in these phenomena requires hardly to +be stated; even the most ardent and enthusiastic adherents +of the new magic cannot deny, that no original +revelation concerning the world of spirits has yet +been made, but that all that is told is but an echo of +the more or less familiar views of men. It is far more +interesting to notice, with Coleman, the electric and +hygroscopic condition of the atmosphere, which has +evidently much to do with such exhibitions. The +visions of hands, arms, and heads, which move about +in the air and may occasionally even be felt, are either +mere hallucinations or real objective appearances, due +to a peculiar condition of the air, and favorably interpreted +by the predisposed mind. Hence, also, our own +continent is, for its superior dryness of atmosphere, +much more favorable to the development of such phenomena +than that of Europe.</p> + +<p>Spiritualists in the Old as in the New World are +hopeful that the new magic will produce a new universal +religion, and a better social order. In this di<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>rection, +however, no substantial success has yet been +obtained. Outsiders had expected that at least an intercourse +with departed spirits might be secured, and +thus the immortality of man might be practically +demonstrated. But this also has not yet been done. +What then can we learn from modern magic? Only +this: that there are evidently forces in nature with +whose character and precise intent we are not yet acquainted, +and which yet deserve to be studied and +carefully analyzed. Modern magic exhibits certain +phenomena in man which are not subject to the known +laws of nature, and thus proves that man possesses certain +powers which he fails or does not know how to +exert in ordinary life. Where these powers appear in +consequence of special preparation or an exceptional +condition of mind, they are comparatively worthless, +because they are in such cases merely the result of +physical or mental disease, and we can hope to profit +only by powers employed by sound men. But where +these powers become manifest by spontaneous action, +apparently as the result of special endowment, they deserve +careful study, and all the respect due to a new and +unknown branch of knowledge.</p> + +<p>Nor must it be overlooked, that, although modern +magic as a science is new, most of the phenomena upon +which it is based, were well known to the oldest nations. +The Chinese, who seem to have possessed all the knowledge +of mankind, ages before it could be useful to them, +or to others, and to have lost it as soon as there was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +call for it, had, centuries ago, not only moving tables, +but even writing spirits. Their modern planchette is a +small board, which they let float upon the water, with the +legs upward; they rest their hands upon the latter, and +watch the gyrations it makes in the water. Or they +hold a small basket with a camel's-hair brush attached +to one end suspended over a table upon which they +have strewn a layer of flour; the brush begins to move +through the flour and to draw characters in it, which +they interpret according to their alphabet. The priests +of Buddha in Mongolia, also, have long since employed +moving tables, and for a good purpose, usually to detect +thieves. The lama, who is appealed to for the purpose, +sits down before a small four-legged table, upon which +he rests his hands, whilst reading a book of devotion. +After perhaps half an hour, he rises, and as he does so, +holding his hand steadily upon the table, the table also +rises and follows his hand, which he raises till hand +and table are both level with his eyes. Then the priest +advances, the table precedes him, and soon begins to +move at such a rate that it seems to fly through the air, +and the lama can hardly follow. Sometimes it falls +down upon the very spot where the stolen goods are +hidden; at other times it only indicates the direction in +which they are to be sought for; and not unfrequently +it refuses altogether to move, in which event the priest +abandons the case as hopeless. (<i>Nord. Biene</i>, April +27, 1853.) Here also it is evident that the table is not +the controlling agent, but the will of the lama, whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +it obeys by one of those mysterious powers which we call +magic. It is the same force which acts in the divining +rod, the pendulum, and similar phenomena.</p> + +<p>The name of Medium is an American invention, and +is based upon the assumption that only a few favored +persons are able to enter into direct communication with +spirits, who may then convey the revelations they receive +to others. They are generally children and young +persons, but among grown men also certain constitutions +seem to be better adapted to such purposes than others. +In almost all cases it has been observed, that the electric +condition of the medium is a feature of greatest importance; +the more electricity he possesses, the better is +he able to produce magic phenomena, and when his supply +is exhausted by a long session, his power also ceases. +Hence, perhaps, the peculiar qualification of children; +while, on the other hand, the fact that they not unfrequently +are able to answer questions, in languages, of +which they are ignorant, proves that they also do not +themselves give the reply, but only receive it from the +questioner, and state it as it exists in the mind of the +latter. Hence, also, the utter absurdity of so-called spirit +paintings, and, still worse, of poetical effusions like Mr. +Harris' "Lyric of the Golden Age," in eleven thousand +four hundred and thirty wretched verses. For what the +"circle" does not know individually or collectively, the +medium also is not able to produce. This truth is +made still more evident by the latest phenomena developed +in spiritualistic circles, the so-called trance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +speaking, which may be heard occasionally in New York +circles, and which requires no interposition of a medium. +For here, also, we are struck by the utter absence +of usefulness in all these revelations; the inspired +believers speak, they recite poetry, but it remains literally +<i>vox et præterea nihil</i>, and we are forcibly reminded +of the words of Æschylus, who already said in his +"Agamemnon" (v. 1127),</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4q">"Did ever seers afford delight?<br /></span> +<span class="i4">The long practised art of all the seers whom<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Ever the gods inspired, revealed<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Naught but horrors and a wretched fate."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Among the media of our day, Home is naturally +<i>facile princeps</i>. A Scotchman by birth, he claims that +his mother already possessed the gift of Second Sight, +and that in their home near Edinburgh similar endowments +were frequent among their neighbors. At the +age of three years he saw the death of a cousin, who +lived in a distant town, and named the persons who +were standing around her couch; he conversed constantly +in his childish way with spirits and heard heavenly +music; his cradle was rocked by invisible hands, +and his toys came unaided into his hands. When ten +years old he was taken to an aunt in America, in whose +house he had no sooner been installed than chairs and +tables, beds and utensils, began to move about in wild +disorder, till the terrified lady sent the unlucky boy +away. Attending once an exhibition of table-moving +he fell into fits and suddenly became cataleptic; during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +the paroxysm he heard a summoning, then the spirits +announced the wrecking of two sailors, the table began +to rock as in a storm, the whistling of the wind through +the tackle, the creaking of the vessel, and the dull, heavy +thud of the waves against her bows, all were distinctly +heard, and finally the table was upset, while the spirits +announced the name and the age of the perishing +seamen. From that day Home carefully cultivated his +strange gifts, and developed what he considered a +decided talent for reading the future. As a young man +he returned to Europe and soon became famous. Florence +was, for a time, the principal stage of his successes; +here he not only summoned the spirits of the departed, +but was raised by invisible powers from the ground and +hovered for some time above the heads of his visitors. +The superstitious Italians finally became excited and +threatened him with death, from which a Count Branichi +saved him at great personal peril. In Naples the +spirits suddenly declared their intention to leave him +on February 10, 1856, and to remain absent for a whole +year; they did so, and during the interval Home +enjoyed better health than ever in his life! In Rome +he became a Catholic, and good Pio Nono himself +offered him his crucifix to kiss, with the words: "That +is the only true magic wand!"—unfortunately this was +not Home's view always; at least we find him in 1864 +in the same city in conflict with the papal police, who +ordered him to cease all intercourse "with higher as +well as with lower spirits," and finally compelled him to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +leave the Eternal City. He then claimed publicly, +what, it must not be forgotten, he had consistently +maintained from the beginning of his marvelous career, +that he was the unwilling agent of higher powers, +which affected him at irregular times, independent of +his will, and often contrary to his dearest wishes. It +must be added that he gave the strongest proof of his +sincerity by never accepting from the public pecuniary +compensation for the exhibition of peculiar powers.</p> + +<p>His exterior is winning; he is of medium height, +light-haired and light-complexioned, of slender figure; +simple and well-bred in his manners, and of irreproachable +morale. The highest circles of society have always +been open to him, and his marriage with a daughter of +the Russian general Stroll has given him wealth and an +agreeable position in the world. As the spirits had +predicted, they returned on the 10th of February, 1857, +and announced themselves by repeated gentle knockings—in +other words, Home's former nervous disease +returned, and with it his exceptionable powers. He +was then in Paris, and soon excited the attention of +the fair but superstitious Empress, whose favor he +speedily obtained by a revelation concerning the "Empereur +de l'avenir," as the spirits had the gallantry to +call her infant son. Napoleon also began to take an +interest in the clever, talented man, whose special gifts +did not prevent him from being a pliant courtier and a +cunning observer. He showed himself grateful for the +kindness with which Eugenie provided for his sister's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +education by exerting his powers to the utmost at the +Tuileries, and by revealing to the Emperor the secrets +he had skillfully elicited during his spiritual sessions, +from statesmen and generals. At the house of Prince +Murat he performed, perhaps, the most surprising feats +he has ever accomplished: seated quietly in his arm-chair, +he caused tables to whirl around, the clocks in +two rooms to stand still or to go at will, all the bells in +the house to ring together or separately, and handkerchiefs +to escape irresistibly from the hands and the +pockets of several persons, the Emperor included. Then +the floor seemed to sink, all the doors of the house +were slammed to and opened again, the gaslights became +extinct, and when they as suddenly blazed up +again, Home had disappeared without saying good-bye. +The guests left the house quietly and in a state of +great and painful excitement. At another exhibition +in Prince Napoleon's house, a renowned juggler was +present by invitation to watch Home, but he declared, +soon, that there was no jugglery, such as he knew, in +what he saw, and the meeting, during which the +most startling phenomena were exhibited, ended by +Home's falling into a state of fearful catalepsy. Perhaps +nothing can speak more clearly of the deep interest +felt in the modern magician by the highest in +the land, than the fact that more than once private +sessions were held at the Tuileries, at which, besides +himself, the Emperor and the Empress, only one person +was allowed to be present, the Duke of Monte<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>bello. +It is said, though not by Home himself, that at +one of these meetings the sad fate of the Empire was +clearly predicted, and even the time of the Emperor's +death ascertained. One achievement of modern magic +in which Home is unique, is the raising of his body +into the air; no other person having as yet even +attempted the same exploit. He is lifted up in a horizontal +position, sometimes only to a short distance +from the floor, but not unfrequently, also, nearly to the +ceiling; on one occasion, in Bordeaux, he remained +thus suspended in the sight of several persons for five +minutes. Another speciality of his, is the lengthening +of his body. According to a statement deserving full +credit ("Human Nature," Dec. 1868), he can, when in +a state of trance, add four inches to his stature! +Finally, he has been repeatedly seen passing in the air +out of one window of the room in which his visitors +were assembled, and returning through another window, +an exhibition which almost always ended in the +complete exhaustion and apparent illness of the magician.</p> + +<p>Home himself maintains that he performs no miracles, +and is not able to cause the laws of nature to be +suspended for a moment, but that he is gifted with an +exceptional power to employ faculties which he possesses +in common with all his brethren. In him they +are active; in the vast majority of men they lie dormant, +because man is no longer conscious of the full +and absolute control over Nature, with which he has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +been endowed by the Creator. He adds that it is faith +alone, without the aid of spirits, which enables him to +cause mysterious lights to be seen, or heavy pieces of +furniture to move about in the air, and to produce +strange sounds and peculiar visions in the mind of his +friends. On the other hand, when he is lifted up into +the air, or enabled to read the future, and to reveal what +absent persons are doing at the moment, he professes +to act as a willingless instrument of spirits, having +neither the power to provoke his ability to perform +these feats, nor to lay it aside at will. Occasionally he +professes to be conscious of an electric current, which +he is able to produce at certain times and in a certain +state of mind; this emanation protects his body against +influences fatal to others, and enables him, for instance, +to hold live coals in his hand, and to thrust his whole +head into the chimney fire. This "certain state of +mind," as he calls it, is simply a state of trance. Hence +the extremely variable nature of his performances, and +his great reluctance to appear as a magician at the request +of others. Nor is he himself always quite sure +of his own condition; thus, in the winter of 1870, when +he wished to exhibit some of the simplest phenomena +in the presence of a number of savants in St. Petersburg, +he failed so completely in every effort, that the +committee reported him virtually, though not in terms, +an impostor. The same happened to him at a first +examination held by Mr. Crookes, a well-known professor +of chemistry, in company with Messrs. Cox and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +Huggins; they did not abandon their purpose, however, +and at the next meeting, when certain antipathic +spectators were no longer present, Home displayed the +most remarkable phenomena. The committee came to +the conclusion that he was enabled to perform these +feats by means of a new "psychic force," which it was +all-important for men of science to investigate thoroughly.</p> + +<p>The number of men and women who possess similar +endowments, though generally in an inferior degree +only, is very great, especially in the United States. +Only one feature is common to them all—the state of +trance in which they are enabled to produce such startling +phenomena—in all other respects they differ widely, +both as to the nature of their performances and as to +their credibility. For, from the first appearance of +media in spiritualistic circles, in fact, probably already +in the exhibitions of the Fox family, delusion and +willful deception have been mixed up with actual +magic. Tables have been moved by clever legerdemain; +spirit rappings have been produced by cunning +efforts of muscles and sinews; ventriloquists have used +their art to cause extraordinary noises in the air, and +Pepper's famous ghosts have shown the facility with +which the eye may be deceived and the other senses be +taken captive. The most successful deception was +practised by the so-called Davenport Brothers, whose +well-known exhibitions excited universal interest, as +long as the impression lasted that they were the work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +of invisible spirits, while they became even more popular +and attractive when their true nature had been discovered, +on account of the exquisite skill with which +these juggling tricks were performed.</p> + +<p>The masters of physical science have amply proved +that table-moving is a simple mechanical art. Faraday +and Babinet already called attention to the fact that +the smallest muscles of the human body can produce +great effects, when judiciously employed, and cited, +among other instances, the so-called Electric Girl, +exhibited in Paris, who hurled a chair on which she +had been sitting, by muscular power alone, to a great +distance. The same feat, it is well-known, has been +repeatedly accomplished by other persons also. Like +muscular efforts are made—no doubt often quite unconsciously—by +persons whose will acts energetically, +and when several men co-operate the force of vibrations +produced in a kind of rhythmical tact, becomes truly +astounding. We need only remember, that the rolling +of a heavily laden cart in the streets may shake a vast, +well-built edifice from roof to cellar, and that the +regular tramp of a detachment of men has more than +once caused suspension bridges, of great and well-tried +strength, to break and to bury hundreds of men under +their ruins. Thus a few children and delicate women +alone can, by an hour's steady work and undivided attention, +move tables of such weight that a number of +strong men can lift them only with difficulty. The +only really new force which has ever appeared in this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +branch of modern magic is the Od of Baron Reichenbach; +its presence and efficacy cannot be denied, +although the manner in which it operates is still a +mystery. In the summer of 1861 the German baron +found himself in a company of table-movers at the +house of Lord William Cowper, the son-in-law of Lord +Palmerston. To prove his faith he crept under the +heavy dining-table, resting with his full weight on one +of the three solid feet and grasping the other two +firmly with his hands. The wood began to emit low, +electric sounds, then came louder noises as when furniture +cracks in extremely dry weather, and finally the +table began to move. Reichenbach did his best to prevent +the movement, but the table rushed down the +room, dragging the unlucky baron with it, to the +intense amusement of all the persons present. The +German savant maintains that this power, possessed +only by the privileged few who are peculiarly sensitive, +emanates from the tips of the fingers, becomes luminous +in the dark, and acts like a lever upon all obstacles that +come in its way. As the existence of Od is established +beyond all doubt, and its effects are admitted by all who +have studied the subject, we are forced to look upon it +as at least one of the mysterious elements of modern +magic.</p> + +<p>The Od is, as far as we know, a magnetic force; for +as soon as certain persons are magnetized they become +conscious of peculiar sensations, heat or cold, headache +or other pains, and, if predisposed, of a startling increase<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +of power in all their senses. They see lights of every +kind, can distinguish even minute objects in a dark +room, and behold beautiful white flames upon the poles +of magnets. Reichenbach obtained, as he believed, two +remarkable results from these first phenomena. He +concluded that polar lights, aurora boreales, etc., +were identical with the magnetic light of the earth, and +he discovered that sensitive, sickly persons, who were +peculiarly susceptible to magnetic influences, ought to +lie with the head to the north, and the feet to the south +in order to obtain refreshing sleep. The next step was +an effort to identify the Od with animal magnetism; +Reichenbach found that cataleptic patients who perceived +the presence of magnets with exquisite accuracy, +and followed them like mesmerized persons, were affected +alike by his own hands or those of other perfectly +sound, but strongly magnetic men. He could attract +such unfortunate persons by his outstretched fingers, +and force them to follow him in a state of unconsciousness +wherever he led them. According to his theory, +the two sides of man are of opposite electric nature and +a magnetic current passes continually from one side to +the other; sensitive persons though blind-folded, know +perfectly well on which side they approach others.</p> + +<p>Gradually Baron Reichenbach extended the range of +his experiments, employing for that purpose, besides his +own daughter, especially a Miss Nowotny, a sad sufferer +from cataleptic attacks. She was able to distinguish, +by the sensations which were excited in her whole sys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>tem, +more than six hundred chemicals, and arranged +them, under his guidance, according to their electro-chemical +force. Another sick woman, Miss Maiss, felt +a cool wind whenever certain substances were brought +near her, and by these and similar efforts in which the +baron was aided by many friends, he ascertained the +fact, that there is in nature a force which passes through +all substances, the human body included, and is inherent +in the whole material world. This force he calls +the Od. Like electricity and magnetism, this Od is a +polar force, and here also opposite poles attract, like +poles repel each other. The whole subject, although as +yet only in its infancy, is well deserving of careful study +and thorough investigation.</p> + +<p>The manifestations of so-called spirits have naturally +excited much attention, and given rise to the bitterest +attacks. In England, especially, the learned world is all +on one side and the Spiritualists all on the other; nor do +they hesitate to say very bitter things of each other. +The <i>Saturday Review</i>, more forcibly than courteously, +speaks of American spiritualists thus: "If this is the +spirit world, and if this is spiritual intelligence, and if all +the spirits can do, is to whisk about in dark rooms, +and pinch people's legs under the table, and play 'Home, +Sweet Home,' on the accordeon, and kiss folks in the +dark, and paint baby pictures, and write such sentimental, +namby-pamby as Mr. Coleman copies out from their +dictation—it is much better to be a respectable pig and +accept annihilation than to be cursed with such an im<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>mortality +as this." To which the <i>Spiritual Magazine</i> +(Jan., 1862), does not hesitate to reply. "We shall not +eat breakfast bacon for some time, for fear of getting a +slice of the editor of the <i>Saturday Review</i>, in his +self-sought appropriate metempsychosis." It must +be borne in mind, however, that spiritualists everywhere +appeal to their own reason as the highest tribunal +before which such questions can be decided, and +to the laws of nature, because as they say, they are +identical with the laws of practical reason. They +believe, as a body, neither in angels nor in demons. +Their spirits are simply the purified souls of departed +men. Protestant theologians, who admit +of no purgatory, see in these exhibitions nothing but +the deeds of Satan. Catholic divines, on the other +hand, and Protestant mystics, who, like the German, +Schubert, believe that there exist what they curiously +enough call a "more peaceful infernal spirit," ascribe +them to the agency of evil spirits. In the great majority +of cases, however, the spirits have clearly shown +themselves nothing else but the product of the media. +The latter, invariably either of diseased mind by nature +or over-excited for the occasion, believe they see +and hear manifestations in the outer world, which in +reality exist only in their own consciousness. A +Catholic medium is thus visited by spirits from heaven +and hell, while the Protestant medium never meets +souls from purgatory. Nothing has ever been revealed +concerning the future state of man, that was not al<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>ready +well known upon earth. Most diverting are the +jealousies of great spirits, of Solomon and Socrates, +Moses and Plato—when the media happen to be jealous +of each other! A somewhat satirical writer on +the subject explains even the fact that spirits so often +contradict each other and say vile things of sacred +subjects, by the inner wickedness of the media, which +comes to light on such occasions, while they carefully +conceal it in ordinary life! If these spirits are really +the creations of the inner magic life, of which we are +just learning to know the first elementary signs, then +the powers which are hidden within us may well terrify +us as they appear in such exhibitions, while we +will not be surprised at the manner in which many an +ordinary mortal appears here as a poet or a prophet—if +not as a wicked demon. Nor must it be overlooked +that our memory holds vast treasures of knowledge of +which we are utterly unconscious until, under certain +circumstances, one or the other fact suddenly reappears +before our mind's eye. The very fact that we can, by a +great effort and continued appeals to our memory, +recall at last what was apparently utterly forgotten, +proves the presence of such knowledge. A state of +intense excitement, of fever or of trance, is peculiarly +favorable to the recovery of such hidden treasures, and +there can be no doubt that many a medium honestly +believes to receive a new revelation, when only old, +long forgotten facts return to his consciousness. Generally +however, we repeat, nothing is in the spirit that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +is not in the medium. The American spiritualist conjures +up only his own countrymen, and occasionally +some world-renowned heroes like Napoleon or Cæsar, +Shakespeare or Schiller, while the cosmopolitan German +receives visits from men of all countries. Finally +it must be borne in mind that, according to an old +proverb, we are ever ready to believe what we wish to +see or hear, and hence the amazing credulity of the +majority of spiritualists. Even skeptics are not free +from the influence of this tendency. When Dr. Bell, +the eminent physician of Somerville, Mass., investigated +these phenomena of modern magic, many years +ago, he promptly noticed that the spirits never gave information +which was not already in the possession of +one or the other person present. Only in a few cases +he acknowledged with his usual candor, and at once, +at the meeting itself, that a true answer was returned. +But when he examined, after his return home, these +few exceptional revelations, he discovered that he had +been mistaken, and that these answers had been after +all as illusory as the others.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt therefore, that modern magic, +as far as it consists in table-moving and spirit-rapping, +with their usual accompaniments, is neither the work +of mechanical jugglery exclusively, nor, on the other +hand, the result of revelations made by spirits. In the +mass of accumulated evidence there remain however, +after sifting it carefully, many facts which cannot be +explained according to the ordinary course of nature.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +The power which produces these phenomena must be +classified with other well-known powers given to man +under exceptional circumstances, such as the safety of +somnambulists in dangerous places; the cures performed +by faith, and the strange exhibitions made by +diseased persons, suffering of catalepsy and similar +affections. If men, under the influence of mesmerism, +in a state of ecstatic fervor, or under the pressure of +strong and long-continued excitement, show powers +which are not possessed by man naturally, then modern +magic also may well be admitted as one of the means +by which such extraordinary, and as yet unexplored +forces are brought to light. All that can be reasonably +asked of those who so peremptorily challenge our admiration, +and demand our respect for the new science, +is that it shall be proved to be useful to man, and this +proof is, as yet, altogether wanting.</p> + +<p>In Mexico the preparation for acts of magic seems to +have been downright intoxication; at least we learn +from Acosta, in his <i>Hist. nat. y moral de los Indias</i> +(lv.), that the priests, before sacrificing, inhaled powerful +perfumes, rubbed themselves with ointments made +of venomous animals, tobacco and hempseed, and +finally drank chica mixed with various drugs. Thus +they reached a state of exaltation in which they not +only butchered numbers of human beings in cold +blood, and lost all fear of wild beasts, but were also +able to reveal what was happening at a great distance, +or even future events. We find similar practices, also,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +nearer home. The Indians of Martha's Vineyard had, +before they were converted, their skillful magicians, +who stood in league with evil spirits, and as pawaws +discovered stolen things, injured men at a distance, and +clearly foretold the coming of the whites. The pious +Brainert gives us full accounts of some of the converted +Delawares, who, after baptism, felt the evil spirit +depart from them, and lost the power of magic. One, +a great and wicked magician, deplored bitterly his +former condition, when he was a slave of the evil one, +and became, in the good missionary's words: "an +humble, devout, hearty, and loving Christian." It is +more difficult to explain the magic of the so-called +Archbishop Beissel, the head of the brotherhood at +Ephrata, in Pennsylvania, who, according to contemporary +authorities "oppressed by his magic the father +and steward of the convent, Eckerling, to such a +degree, that he left his brethren and sought refuge in a +hermit's hut in the forest! The spirits of departed +brethren and sisters returned to the refectory at this +bishop's bidding; they partook of bread and meat, and +even conversed with their successors. There can be no +doubt that Beissel, abundantly and exceptionally gifted, +possessed the power to put his unhappy subordinates, +already exhausted by asceticism of every kind, into a +state of ecstasy, in which they sincerely believed they +saw these spirits, and were subjected to magic influences. +That such power has by no means entirely departed +from our continent, may be seen in the atrocities<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +perpetrated at the command of the negroes' Obee, of +which well-authenticated records abound in Florida +and Louisiana, as well as in Cuba.</p> + +<p>The Indo-Germanic race has known and practised +black magic from time immemorial, and the Vendidad +already explains it as an act which Ahriman, the Evil +Spirit, brought forth when overshadowed by death. In +Egypt it flourished for ages, and has never become entirely +extinct. Jannes and Jambres, who led the priests +in their opposition to Moses (2. Tim. iii. 8), have their +successors in our day, and the very miracles performed +by these ancient charmers have been witnessed again +and again by modern travelers. Holy Writ abounds +with instances of every kind of magic; it speaks of +astrology, and prophesying from arrows, from the entrails +of animals, and from dreams; but, strangely +enough, the charming of serpents and the evil eye are +not mentioned, if we except Balaam. The Kabbalah, +on the contrary, speaks more than once of the evil eye +(ain hara), and all the southern nations of Europe, as +well as the Slavic races, fear its weird power.</p> + +<p>The eye is, however, by no means employed only to +work evil; by the side of their <i>mal occhio</i> the Italians +have another gift, called <i>attrativa</i>, which enables man, +apparently by the force of his eye only, to draw to +himself all whom he wishes to attract. The well-known +Saint Filippo Neri thus not only won all whom he +wished to gain over, by looking at them, but even dogs +left their beloved masters and followed him everywhere.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +Cotton Mather tells us in his "Magnolia" that quakers +frequently by the eye only—though often, also, by +anointing or breathing upon them—compelled others +to accompany them, to join their communion, and to +be in all things obedient to their bidding. Tom Case, +himself a quaker, certainly possessed the power of overwhelming +those at whom he looked fixedly for a while, +to such a degree that they fell down as if struck with +epilepsy; once, at least, he turned even a mad bull, by +the force of his eye, till it approached him humbly and +licked his hand like a pet dog. Even in our own age +Goethe has admitted the power of certain men to +attract others by the strength of their will, and mentions +an instance in which he himself, ardently wishing +to see his beloved one, forced her unconsciously to come +and meet him halfway. (Eckermann, iii. 201.)</p> + +<p>It avails nothing to stigmatize a faith so deeply rooted +and so universal as mere superstition. Among the mass +of errors which in the course of ages have accumulated +around the creed, the little grain of truth, the indubitable +power of man's mind to act through the eye, ought +not to be overlooked.</p> + +<p>It is the same with the magic known as such to the +two great nations of antiquity. If the Greeks saw in +Plato the son of Apollo, who came to his mother +Perictione in the shape of a serpent, and in Alexander +the Great the son of Jupiter Ammon, they probably +intended merely to pay the same compliment to their +countrymen which modern nations convey by calling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +their rulers Kings and Kaisers "by the Grace of God." +But the consistency with which higher beings came to +visit earth-born man in the shape of favored animals, +is more than an accident. The sons of God came to +see the daughters of men, though it is not said in what +form they appeared, and the suggestion that they were +the "giants upon the earth," mentioned in Holy Writ, +is not supported; but exactly as the gods came from +Olympus in the shape of bulls and rams, so the evil +spirits of the Middle Ages appeared in the shape of +rams and cats. A curious instance of the mixture of +truth and falsehood appears in this connection. It is +well-known that the Italians of the South look upon +Virgil as one of the greatest magicians that ever lived, +and ascribe to his tomb even now supernatural power. +The poet himself had, of course, nothing whatever to +do with magic; but his reputation as a magician arose +from the fact that, next to the Bible, his verses became, +at an early period, a favorite means of consulting the +future. <i>Sortes Virgilianæ</i>, the lines which upon +accidentally opening the volume first met the eye, were +a leading feature of the art known as stichomania.</p> + +<p>The story of the greatest magician mentioned in the +New Testament has been thoroughly examined, and the +main features, at least, are well established. Simon +Magus was a magician in the sense in which the +ancients used that term; but he possessed evidently, +in addition, all the powers claimed by better spiritualists, +like Home in our day. A native of Gitton, a small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +village of Samaria, he had early manifested superior +intellectual gifts, accompanied by an almost marvelous +control over the minds of others. By the aid of the +former he produced a lofty gnostic system, which crumbled, +however, to pieces as soon as it came into contact +with the inspired system of Christianity. His influence +over others led him, in the arrogance which is inherent +to natural man, to consider himself as the Great Divine +Power, which appeared in different forms as Father, +Son, and Spirit. He professed to be able to make himself +invisible and to pass, unimpeded, through solid +substances—precisely as was done in later ages by Saint +Dominic and other saints (Goerres. Mystic, ii. 576)—to +bind and to loosen others as well as himself at will; +to open prison doors and to cause trees to grow out of +the bare ground. Before utterly rejecting his pretensions +as mere lies and tricks, we must bear in mind two +facts: first, that modern jugglers in India perform +these very tricks in a manner as yet unexplained, and +secondly, that he, in all probability, possessed merely +the power of exciting others to a high state of exaltation, +in which they candidly believed they saw all these +things. At all events, his magic deeds were identical +with the miracles of later saints, and as these are +enthroned in shrine and statue in Rome, so the Eternal +City erected to Simon Magus, also, a statue, and proclaimed +him a god in the days of Claudius! Another +celebrated magician of the same race, was Sedechias +(Goerres. Mystic, iv. ii. 71), who lived in the days of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +Saint Louis, and who, once, in order to convince the +skeptics of his day of the real existence of spirits, such +as the Kabbalah admits, ordered them to appear in +human form before the eyes of the monarch. Instantly +the whole plain around the king's tent was alive with +a vast army; long rows of bright-colored tents dotted +the lowlands, and on the slopes around were encamped +countless troops; whilst mounted squadrons appeared +in the air, performing marvelous evolutions. This was +probably the first instance of those airy hosts, which +have ever since been seen in various countries.</p> + +<p>The Christian era gave to magic phenomena a new +and specific character; what was a miracle in apostolic +times remained in the eyes of the multitude a miracle +to our day, when performed by saints of the church—it +became a crime and an abomination when the +authors were laymen, and yet both differed in no single +feature. The most remarkable representative of this +dual nature of supernatural performances is, no doubt, +Dr. Faust, whom the great and pious Melanchthon +states to have well known as a native of the little village +of Knittlingen, near his own birth-place, and as a +man of dissolute habits, whom the Devil carried off in +person. His motto, which has been discovered under a +portrait of his (Hauber's "Bibl. Mag."), was characteristic +of his faith: <i>Omne bonum et perfectum a Deo, imperfectum +a diabolo</i>. His vast learning, his great power +over the elements, and the popular story of his pact +with the Evil One, made him a hero among the Ger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>mans, +of whose national tendencies he was then the +typical representative. Unfortunately, however, nearly +every Christian land has had its own Faust; such was, +for instance, in Spain the famous Dr. Toralba, who +lived in the sixteenth century, and by the aid of a +servile demon read the future, healed the sick, traveled +through the air, and even when he fell into the hands +of the Inquisition, obtained his release through the +Great Admiral of Castile. Gilles de Laval, who was +publicly burnt in 1440, and Lady Fowlis, of Scotland, +are parallel cases.</p> + +<p>One of the most absurd ceremonies belonging to +black magic, was the well-known Taigheirm, of the +Scotch Highlands, a demoniac sacrifice evidently handed +down from pagan times. The so-called magician +procured a large number of black cats, and devoted +them, with solemn incantations, and while burning +offensive incense of various kinds, to the evil spirits. +Then the poor victims were spitted and slowly roasted +over a fire of coals, one after the other, but so that not +a second's pause occurred between the death of one and +the sufferings of the next. This horridly absurd sacrifice +had to be continued for three days and nights, +during which the magician was not allowed to take +any food or drink. The consequence was, that if he +did not drop down exhausted and perish miserably, he +became fearfully excited, and finally saw demons in the +shape of black cats who granted him all he desired +(Horst. "Deuteroscopia," ii. 184). It need hardly be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +added that in the state of clairvoyance which he had +reached, he only asked for what he well knew was +going to happen, and that all the fearful visions of +hellish spirits existed only in his overwrought imagination. +But it will surprise many to learn that such +"taigheirms" were held as late as the last century, and +that a place is still shown on the island of Mull, where +Allan Maclean with his assistant, Lachlain Maclean, +sacrificed black cats for four days and nights in succession. +The elder of the two passed for a kind of high-priest +and chief magician with the superstitious islanders; +the other was a young unmarried man of fine +appearance, and more than ordinary intelligence. Both +survived the fearful ceremony, but sank utterly exhausted +to the ground, unable to obtain the revelation +which they had expected; nevertheless they retained +the gift of second sight for their lives.</p> + +<p>It must not be imagined, finally, that the summoning +of spirits is a lost art; even in our day men are +found who are willing to call the departed from their +resting-place, and to exhibit them to the eyes of living +men. The best explanation of this branch of magic +was once given by a learned professor, whom the Prince +Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick II., sent for from +Halle, in order to learn from him how spirits could be +summoned. The savant declared that nothing was +easier, and supported his assertion by a number of +actual performances. First the spectator was prepared +by strong beverages, such as the Egyptian sorcerers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +already used to employ on similar occasions, and by the +burning of incense. Soon he fell into a kind of half-sleep, +in which he could still understand what was said, +but no longer reflect upon the sense of the words; +gradually his brain became so disturbed, and his imagination +so highly excited, that he pictured to himself +images corresponding to the words which he heard, and +called them up before his mind's eye as realities. The +magician, protected against the effects of the incense by +a sponge filled with an alcoholic mixture, then began +to converse with his visitor, and tried to learn from +him all he could concerning the person the latter +wished to see, his shape, his clothes, etc. Finally the +victim was conducted into a dark room, where he was +suddenly asked by a stern, imperious voice: "Do you +not see that woman in white?" (or whatever the person +might be,) and at once his over-excited imagination led +him to think that he really beheld what he expected or +wished to see. This was allowed to go on till he sank +down exhausted, or actually fainted away. When he +recovered his consciousness, he naturally recollected +but imperfectly what he had seen while in a state of +great excitement, and his memory, impaired by the +intermediate utter exhaustion and fainting, failed to +recall the small errors or minute inaccuracies of his +vision. All that was left of the whole proceeding was +a terrifying impression on his mind that he had really +seen the spirits of departed friends.</p> + +<p>Such skillful manœuvres were more than once em<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>ployed +for sinister purposes. Thus it is a well-known +historical fact that the men who obtained control over +King Frederick William II., after his ascension to the +throne, and held it for a time by the visions which +they showed him, employed means like these to summon +the spirits he wished to see. The master in this +branch of black magic was undoubtedly Joseph Balsamo, +the Count Cagliostro of French history. He +was neither a magician in the true sense of the word, +nor even a religious enthusiast, but merely an accomplished +juggler and swindler, who had acquired, by +natural endowment, patient study, and consummate +art, a great power over the minds of others. He +played upon the imagination of men as upon a familiar +instrument, and the greatest philosophers were as +easily victimized by him as the most clear-sighted women, +in spite of the natural instinct which generally +protects the latter against such imposition. His +secret—as far as the summoning of the spirits of the +departed is concerned—has died with him, but that +enlightened, conscientious men candidly believed they +had been shown disembodied spirits, is too well established +by memories of French and Dutch writers to be +doubted. In the meetings of his "lodges of Egyptian +Freemasons" he, as Grand Cophtha, or those whom he +had qualified by breathing upon them, employed a boy +or a girl, frequently called up at haphazard from the +street, but at other times carefully prepared for the +purpose, to look into the hand or a basin of water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +The poor child was, however, first made half-unconscious, +being anointed with the "oil of wisdom," no +doubt an intoxicating compound, and after numerous +ceremonies, carried into a recess called the Tabernacle, +and ordered to look into the hand or a basin of water. +After the assembly had prayed for some time, the +"Dove," as they called the child, was asked what he +saw. Ordinarily he beheld first an angel or a priest—probably +the image of Cagliostro himself in his sacerdotal +robes—but frequently also monkeys, the offspring +of a skeptical imagination. Then followed more or +less interesting revelations, some utterly absurd, others +of real interest, and at times actual predictions of +future events. Cagliostro himself, during his last trial +before the Inquisition of Rome, while readily confessing +a large number of impostures, stoutly maintained +the genuineness of these communications and insisted +that they were the effects of a special power granted +by God. His assertion has some value, as the shrewd +man knew very well how much more he was likely to +gain by a prompt avowal than by such a denial; his +wife, also, although his accomplice in former years, and +now by no means disposed to spare her quasi-husband, +always stated that this was a true mystery which she +had never been able to fathom. If we add to these +considerations the fact that numerous masters of +lodges, even in Holland and England, obtained the +same results, and that they cannot all have been impostors +or deluded victims, there remains enough in these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +well-established phenomena to ascribe them to a mysterious, +magic power. (<i>Compendio della vita, etc. di G. +Balsamo</i>, Roma, 1791.) It is in fact quite evident that +the unfortunate juggler possessed in a very rare degree +a power akin to that practised by a Mesmer, a Home, +and other men of that class, without having the sense +to understand its true nature or the ambition to employ +it for other than the lowest selfish purposes. +Trials of magicians, who have conjured up the dead +and compelled them to reveal the future, are still taking +place every now and then; in the year 1850 not +less than four men, together with their associates, were +accused of this crime in enlightened Germany, and the +proceedings in one case, which occurred in Munich, +created no small sensation.</p> + +<p>Black magic, therefore, must also be looked upon as +by no means a mere illusion, much less as the work of +evil spirits. The results it obtains at times are the +work of man himself, and exist only within his own +conscience. But if man can produce such marvelous +effects, which lie apparently beyond the range of the +material world, how much more must the Creator and +Preserver of all things be able to call forth events +which transcend—to our mind—the limits of the tangible +world. Such occurrences, when they have a +higher moral or religious purpose in view, we call Miracles, +and they remain incomprehensible for all whose +knowledge is confined to the physical world. Above +the laws of nature there rules the Divine Will, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +can do what Nature cannot do, and which we can only +begin to understand when we bear in mind the fact that +by the side of the visible order of the world or above +it, there exist spiritual laws as well as spiritual beings. +In a miracle, powers are rendered active which ordinarily +remain inactive, but which exist none the less permanently +in the world. Hence all great thinkers have +readily admitted the existence of miracles: a Locke +and a Leibnitz as well as, more recently, a Stahl and a +Schopenhauer. Locke, in his "Discourse of Miracles," +goes so far as to call them the very credentials of a +messenger sent from God, and asserts that Moses and +Christ have alike authenticated the truth and the +divine character of their revelations by miracles. Even +their possible continuance is believed in by those who +hope that men will ever continue among us who "have +tasted the good word of God and <i>the powers of the +world to come</i>." (Hebrews vi. 5.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="III" id="III"></a>III.</p> + +<h2>DREAMS.</h2> + +<p class="small ps center">"To sleep—perchance to dream."—<span class="smcap">Hamlet.</span></p> + + +<p>Of the two parts of our being, one, spiritual and +heaven-born, is always active, the other, the bodily, +earth-born part, requires frequent and regular rest in +sleep. During this time of repose, however, the mind +also ceases apparently its operations, merely, however, +because it has no longer servants at its command, who +are willing and able to give expression to its activity. +When the senses are asleep the mind is deprived of the +usual means of communication with the outer world; +but this does not necessarily condemn it to inaction. +On the contrary, it has often been maintained that the +mind is most active and capable of the highest +achievements when released from its usual bondage to +the senses. Already Æschylus in his "Eumenides" +says:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">The mind of sleepers acts more cunningly;<br /></span> +<span class="i4">The glare of day conceals the fate of men.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>It seems, however, as if the intermediate state between +the full activity of wakeful life and the complete repose +of the senses in sound sleep, is most favorable to the +development of such magic phenomena as occur in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +dreams. The fact that the susceptibility of the mind +is at that time peculiarly great is intimately connected +with the statement recorded in Holy Writ, that God +frequently revealed His will to men in dreams. If we +admit the antiquity of the book of Job, we see there +the earliest known announcement of this connection. +"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep +falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then +He openeth the ears of men and sealeth their instruction" +(xxxiii. 15). Next we are told that "God came to +Abimelech in a dream by night" (Gen. xx. 3), and from +that time we hear of similar revelations made by night +in dreams throughout the whole history of the chosen +people. Frequently, however, the dreams are called +visions. Thus Balaam prophesied: "He hath said, +which heard the words of God and knew the knowledge +of the Most High, which saw the vision of the +Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes +open." Daniel had his secret "revealed in a night +vision," but such favor was denied to Saul, for "the +Lord answered him not, neither by dream nor by +Urim, nor by prophets." To Solomon, on the contrary, +"the Lord appeared in a dream by night" many times; +Joel was promised that "old men should dream dreams +and young men shall see visions," a pledge quoted by +St. Peter as having been amply fulfilled in his day (Acts +ii. 17). For dreams did not lose their importance at +the coming of Christ. To his reputed father "the +Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream," bidding him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +to take Mary to his wife; again he was warned in a +dream "not to return to Herod," and the Lord spake +"to Paul in the night by a vision" more than once, +as he was by a dream also sent to Macedonia.</p> + +<p>What in these and similar cases is accepted as divine +inspiration, is in secular history generally looked upon +as mysterious, magic revelation; but the phenomena +remain the same in all instances, and those appearing +in dreams are identical with the symptoms exhibited in +revelations occurring during the day, when the favored +recipient is wide awake. Clairvoyance by night differs +in no way from clairvoyance during the day; a state of +ecstasy, a trance, is necessary in either case. That +prophetic dreams generally remain unknown—outside +of Holy Writ—must be ascribed to the fact that they +leave no recollection behind, unless they are continued +into a state of half-sleep, from which a sudden awakening +takes place; and soon then they are invariably +clothed in some allegoric form, and become liable to be +erroneously or, at least, imperfectly interpreted. Thus +dreams, like trances, often prefigure death under the +form of a journey, and represent the dying man as an +uprooted tree, a withered flower, or a drowning swimmer. +The early Christians, foreseeing martyrdom, very +frequently received in dreams an intimation of their +impending fate under such symbolic forms, and, what +was quite peculiar to their visions was that they often +extended to the pagan jailors and keepers, whose minds +had been excited by witnessing the sufferings and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +constancy of their victims, and who, in many cases, +became, in consequence of these dreams, converts to the +new faith. The facility, however, with which such +symbols can be misunderstood, has been as fatal to +dreams in the estimation of most men, as the inaccurate +manner in which the real revelation is often presented +to the still half-sleeping mind. Hence the popular +belief that dreams "go by contraries," as vulgar slang +expresses it. This faith is based upon the well-established +fact that a genuine dream, in the act of impressing +itself upon memory, often suffers not only +mutilation but actual reversion. Thus Rogers saw, in +a dream, Hikey, a small, weak man, murder a powerful +giant, Caulfield—in the actual encounter, which he had +really foreseen, the latter killed his puny antagonist. +It is, therefore, as dangerous to "believe in dreams," as +to deny their value altogether and to ascribe all realizations +of dreams, with, Macnish, to mere accident. +("Sleep," p. 81.) Men of cool judgment and clear mind +have at all times been found on the side of believers, +and even our great Franklin, with his eminently practical +mind and well-known aversion to every kind of +superstition, firmly trusted in views which he believed +to have come to him in dreams.</p> + +<p>Antiquity believed in dreams, not only as means by +which the Gods revealed their will, but as special favors +accorded to fortunate men. Thus we are told that once +two men were traveling together from Arcadia to +Megara; when they reached the city, one of the two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +remained at an inn, while the other went to stay with a +a friend. Both, wearied by the journey, retired to +rest; but the traveler who was at a private house +dreamt in the night that his friend urged him to come +to his assistance, as the innkeeper was about to murder +him. Terrified by the vivid dream, he jumped up; but, +upon reflection, he concluded that the whole was but an +idle fancy, and lay down again. Thereupon the dream +was repeated; but this time his friend added, that it +was too late to come to his aid now, as he had been +murdered, and his body would in the morning be +carried out of the city, concealed under a load of +manure. This second dream made such an impression +upon the Arcadian that he went at an early hour to the +city gate, and to his amazement soon saw a wagon +loaded with manure approaching the place where he +stood. He stopped the driver and asked him what he +had hidden in his wagon? The man fled, trembling; +the body of the murdered friend was found, and the +treacherous innkeeper paid with his life for his crime. +(Cicero, <i>De divin.</i>)</p> + +<p>One of the oldest of well-authenticated dreams in +Christian times, revealed to St. Basil the death of +Julian the Apostate. It seemed to him in his sleep +that he saw the martyr Mercurius receive from God +the order to kill the tyrant, and after a short time +return and say: "O Lord, Julian is killed as Thou +hast commanded!" The saint was so firmly convinced +of having received a direct revelation from heaven,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +that he immediately made the news known to the +people, and thus gained new honor when the official +information at last arrived. (<i>Vita S. Basil.</i>, etc., p. 692.) +Here, also, the deep-seated hatred of the Christian +priest against the Emperor, who dared to renew the +worship of the ancient gods of the Pagans, no doubt +suggested the vivid dream, while, on the other hand, +the transmission of the actual revelation was so imperfect +as to change the real occurrence—Julian's +death by a Persian lance—according to the familiar +way of thinking of St. Basil, into his execution at +divine command by a holy martyr. There is no lack +of renowned men of all ages who have had their remarkable +dreams, and who have, fortunately for future +investigation, recorded them carefully. Thus Melanchthon +tells us that he was at a convent with a +certain Dr. Jonas, when letters reached him requesting +him to convey to his friend the sad news of his +daughter's sudden death. The great reformer was at a +loss how to discharge the painful duty, and driven by +an instinctive impulse, asked Dr. Jonas whether he +had ever had any remarkable dreams. The latter replied +that he had dreamt, during the preceding night, +of his return home, and of the joyful welcome he had +met from all his family, except his oldest daughter, +who had not appeared. Thereupon Melanchthon told +him that his dream had been true, and that he would +never see his daughter again, as she had been summoned +to her eternal home. Petrarch had a dream<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +which was evidently also the reflex of his thoughts in +the day-time, but accompanied by a direct revelation. +He had been, for some days, very anxious about the +health of his patron, a Colonna, who was Bishop of +Lombez, and one night saw himself in a dream walking +by his friend's side, but unable to keep pace with him; +the bishop walked faster and faster, bidding him stay +behind, and when the poet insisted upon following +him, he suddenly assumed a death-like appearance, and +said, "No, I will not have you go with me now!" +During the same night in which Petrarch had this +dream in Parma, the bishop died at his palace in +Lombez. The well-known Thomas Wotton, also, +dreamt a short time before his death, while residing +in Kent, that he saw five persons commit a robbery at +Oxford. On the following day he added a postscript to +a letter which he had written to his son Henry, then a +student at that university, in which he mentioned his +dream, and asked if such a robbery had really taken +place. The letter reached the young man on the morning +after the crime had been committed, when town +and university were alike in a state of intense excitement. +He made the letter immediately known to the +authorities, who found in the account of the dream so +accurate a description of the robbers, that they were +enabled at once to ascertain who were the guilty persons, +and to have them arrested before they could +escape. (Beaumont, p. 223.) The great German poet +Gustav Schwab received the first intimation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +French Revolution in 1848 through a remarkable +dream which his daughter had in the night preceding +the 24th of February. She had been attacked by a +malignant fever, and was very restless and nervously +excited; during that night she saw, in her feverish +dreams, the streets of Paris filled with excited crowds, +and was forced to witness the most fearful scenes. +When her father came to her bedside next morning, +she gave him a minute description of the building of +barricades, the bloody encounters between the troops +and the citizens, and of a number of sad tragedies +which she had seen enacted in the narrow and dark +streets of the great city. The father, though deeply +impressed by the vivid character of the dream, ascribed +it to a reminiscence of the scenes enacted during +the Revolution of 1789, and dismissed the subject, +although his child insisted upon the thoroughly modern +character of the buildings, and the costumes and +manners of all she had seen. Great was, therefore, the +amazement of the poet and of all who had heard of the +dream, when, several days afterwards, the first news +reached them of the expulsion of the Orleans family, +and much greater still when the papers brought, one +by one, descriptions of the scenes which the feverish +dream had enabled the girl to see in minute detail, and +yet with unerring accuracy. It is true that the poet, +in whose biography the dream with all the attending +circumstances is mentioned at full length, had for years +anticipated such a revolution, and often, with a poet's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +graphic power, conjured up the scenes that were likely +to happen whenever the day of the tempest should +arrive. Thus his daughter's mind had, no doubt, long +been filled with images of this kind, and was in a state +peculiarly susceptible for impressions connected with +the subject. There remains, however, the magic phenomenon +that she saw, not a poet's fiction, but actual +occurrences with all their details, and saw them in the +very night during which they happened. In the papers +of Sir Robert Peel was found a note concerning his +journey from Antibes to Nice, in 1854. He was on +board the steamer Erculano, which, on the 25th of +April, so violently collided with another steamer, the +Sicilia, that it sank immediately, and two-thirds of the +passengers perished. Among those who were rescued +were the great English statesman and the maid of two +ladies, the wife and the daughter of a counselor of a +French court of justice at Dijon. The young girl had +had a presentiment of impending evil, but her wish to +postpone the journey had been overruled. The father, +also, though knowing nothing of the precise whereabouts +of his beloved ones, had been much troubled in +mind about their safety, and in the very night in which +the accident happened, saw the whole occurrence in a +harassing dream. He distinctly beheld the vessel disappear +in the waves, and a number of victims, among +whom were his wife and his child, struggling for life, +till they finally perished. He awoke in a state of great +anguish, summoned his servants to keep him com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>pany, +and told them what he had dreamt. A few +hours later the telegraph informed him of the accident, +and of his own grievous affliction. (<i>Journ. de l'âme</i>, +Févr. 1857, p. 253.)</p> + +<p>While in these dreams events were made known +which happened at the same time, in other dreams the +future itself is revealed. Cicero, in his work on Divination +(I. 27, and II. 66), and Valerius Maximus have +preserved a number of such dream-visions, which were +famous already in the days of antiquity; a dream concerning +the tyrant Dionysius was especially well known.</p> + +<p>It seems that a woman, called Himera, found herself +in a dream among the gods on Olympus, and there saw +chained to the throne of Jupiter a large man with red +hair and spotted countenance. When she asked the +divine messenger who had carried her to those regions, +who that man was, he told her it was the scourge of +Italy and Sicily, a man who, when unchained, would +destroy many cities. She related her dream on the following +morning to her friends, but found no explanation, +till several years afterwards, when Dionysius +ascended the throne. She happened to be in the crowd +which had assembled to witness the triumph of the +new monarch, and when she saw the tyrant, she +uttered a loud cry, for she had recognized in him the +man in chains under Jupiter's throne. The cry attracted +attention; she was brought before Dionysius, +forced to relate her dream, and sent to be executed. +Equally well known was the remarkable dream which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +Socrates had a short time before his death. His sentence +had already been passed, but the day for its execution +was not yet made known, when Crito, one of his +friends, came to him and informed him that it would +probably be ordered for the next morning. The great +philosopher replied with his usual calmness: "If such +is the will of the gods, be it so; but I do not think it +will be to-morrow. I had, just before you entered, a +sweet dream. A woman of transcending beauty, and +dressed in a long white robe, appeared to me, called me +by name, and said, 'In three days you will return to +your beloved Phthia' (Socrates' native place)." He +did not die till the third day.</p> + +<p>Alexander the Great came more than once, during his +remarkable career, in peculiar contact with prophetic +dreams. He was thus informed of the coming of Cassander +long before he ever saw him, and even of the +influence which the still unknown friend would have +on his fate. When the latter at last appeared at court, +Alexander looked at him long and anxiously, and +recognized in him the man he had so often seen in his +dreams. It so happened, however, that before his +suspicions assumed a positive form, a Greek distich +was mentioned to him, written to prove the utter +worthlessness of all dreams, and the effect of these +lines, combined with the discovery that Cassander was +the son of his beloved Antipater, induced him to lay +aside all apprehensions. Nevertheless, his friend subsequently +poisoned him in cold blood. Not less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +famous was the dream which warned Caius Gracchus +of his own sad fate. He saw in his sleep the shadow +of his brother Tiberius, and heard him announce in a +clear voice, that Caius also would share his tragic end, +and be murdered like himself in the Capitol. The +great Roman frequently related this dream, and the +historian Cœlius records that he heard it repeated +during Gracchus' life-time. It is well known that the +latter afterwards became a tribune, and was killed +while he held that office, in the same manner as his +brother. Cicero also had his warning dream. He was +escaping from his enemies, who had driven him out +of Rome, and seeking safety in his Antium villa. +Here he dreamt, one night, that, as he was wandering +through a waste, deserted country, the Consul Marius +met him, accompanied by the usual retinue, and +adorned with all the insignia of his rank, and asked +him why he was so melancholy, and why he had fled +from Rome. When he had answered the question, +Marius took him by his right hand, and summoning +his chief officer to his side, ordered him to carry the +great orator to the temple of Jupiter, built by Marius +himself, while he assured Cicero he would there meet +with new hopes. It was afterwards ascertained that at +the very hour of the dream, the Senate had been discussing +in the temple of Jupiter the speedy return of +Cicero. It would have been well for the great Cæsar, +also, if he had deigned to listen to the warning voice +of dreams, for in the night before his murder, his wife,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +Calphurnia, saw him, in a dream, fall wounded and +copiously bleeding into her arms, and there end his +life. She told him of her dream, and on her knees +besought him not to go out on that day; but Cæsar, +fearing he might be suspected of giving undue weight +to a woman's dreams, made light of her fears, went to +the Senate, and met his tragic fate. Among later +Romans the Emperor Theodosius was most strikingly +favored by dreams, if we may rely upon the statement +of Ammianus Marcellinus (I. 29). Two courtiers, +anxious to ascertain who should succeed the Emperor +Valens on the throne, employed a kind of magic instrument, +resembling the modern psychograph, and succeeded +in deciphering the letters Theod. Their discovery +became known to the jealous emperor, who +ordered not only Theodorus, his second secretary of +state, to be executed, but with him a large number of +eminent personages whose names began with the ominous +five letters. For some unknown reasons, Theodosius, +then in Spain, escaped his suspicions, and yet it was +he, who, when Valens fell in the war against the Goths, +was summoned home by the next emperor, Gratianus, +to save the empire and assume the supreme command +of the army. When the successful general returned to +Byzantium to make his report to the emperor, he had +himself a dream in which he saw the great Patriarch +of Antioch, Meletius, invest him with the purple, and +place the imperial crown upon his head. Gratianus, +struck by the brilliancy of the victory obtained at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +moment of supreme danger, made Theodosius Emperor +of the East, and returned to Rome. During the following +year (380) a great council was held in Constantinople, +and here, amid a crowd of assembled dignitaries +of the church, Theodosius instantly recognized the +Bishop of Antioch, whom he had never seen except in +his dream.</p> + +<p>It is not generally known that the prediction of +future greatness which Shakespeare causes the three +witches to convey to Macbeth, rests on an historic +basis. The announcement came to him, however, +probably not at an actual meeting, but by means of a +prophetic dream, which presented to the ambitious +chieftain the appearance of an encounter with unearthly +agents. This presumption is strengthened by +the first notice of the mysterious event, which occurs, it +is believed, in "Wyntownis Cronykil," where Macbeth +is reported to have had a vivid dream of three weird +women, who foretold him his fate. Boethius derived +his information from this source, and for unknown +reasons added not only Banquo as a witness of the +scene, but described it, also, first of all chroniclers, as +an actual meeting in a forest.</p> + +<p>The report that the discovery of the famous Venus +of Milo was due to a dream, is not improbable, but is as +yet without sufficient authentication. The French +Consul, Brest, who was a resident of Milo, dreamed, it is +stated, two nights in succession, that he had caused +diggings to be made at a certain place in the island and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +that his efforts had been rewarded by the discovery of a +beautiful statue. He paid no attention to the dream; +but it was repeated a third time, and now so distinctly +that he not only saw clearly all the surroundings, but, +also, the traces of a recent fire on the spot that had +been pointed out to him before. When he went on the +following day to the place, he instantly recognized the +traces of fire, began his researches, and discovered not +only the Venus, now the glory of the Louvre, but, also, +several other most valuable statues. The well-known +dream concerning Major André is open to the same +objections, although it is quoted in good faith by Mrs. +Crowe (i., p. 59). We are told that the Rev. Mr. Cunningham, +the poet, saw in a dream a man who was +captured by armed soldiers and hanged on a tree. To +his utter consternation, he recognized on the following +day, in Major André, who was then for the first time +presented to him, the person he had seen in his dream. +The latter was then just on the point of embarking for +America, where he met with his sad fate.</p> + +<p>A large number of dreams which are looked upon as +prophetic, are nothing more than the result of impressions +made on the mind during sleep by some bodily +sensation. A swelling or an inflammation, for instance, +is frequently announced beforehand by pain in the +affected part of the body; the mind receives through +the nerves an impression of this pain and clothes it, +during sleep and in a dream, into some familiar garb, +the biting of a serpent, the sting of an insect, or, even,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +the stab of a dagger. An occasional coincidence serves +to lend prestige to such simple and perfectly natural +dreams. Thus Stilling ("Jenseits," p. 284) records the +well-known story of a young man in Padua, who dreamed +one night that he was bitten by one of the marble lions +which stand before the church of St. Justina. Passing +by the place, on the following day, with some companions, +he recalled the dream, and putting his hand into the +mouth of one of the lions, he said, defiantly: "Look at +the fierce lion that bit me last night." But at the same +moment he uttered a piercing cry and drew back his +hand in great terror: a scorpion, hid in the lion's +mouth, had stung him, and the poor youth died of the +venom. The German poet Conrad Gessner dreamed, in +a similar manner, that a snake bit him in his left +breast; the matter was completely forgotten, when five +days later a slight rising appeared on the spot, which +speedily developed itself into a fatal ulcer, and caused +his death in a short time.</p> + +<p>Far more interesting, and occasionally productive of +good results, are dreams which might be called retrospective, +inasmuch as they reveal events of the past, +which stand in some connection with present or impending +necessities. Many of these, no doubt, arise +simply from the recovery of forgotten facts in our memory; +others, however, cannot be thus explained. Justinus +tells us of Dido's dream, in which she saw her +departed husband, Sichæus, who pointed out to her his +concealed treasures and advised her to seek safety in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +flight. St. Augustine also has an account of a father who +after death appeared to his son and showed him a receipted +account, the loss of which had caused his heir +much anxiety. (<i>De cura pro mortuis</i>, ch. xi.) After +Dante's death the thirteenth canto of his Paradise could +nowhere be found, and the apparent loss filled all Italy +with grief and sorrow. His son, Pietro Alighieri, however, +saw a long time afterwards, in a dream, his father, +who came to his bedside and told him that the missing +papers were concealed under a certain plank near the +window at which he had been in the habit of writing. +It was only when all other researches had proved +vain, that, attention was paid to the dream; but when +the plank was examined the canto was found in the +precise place which the dream had indicated.</p> + +<p>A similar dream of quite recent occurrence was accidentally +more thoroughly authenticated than is generally +the case with such events. The beautiful wife +of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild of Paris had lost a +valuable ring while hunting in the woods near her castle +of Ferrières. It so happened that early associations +made the jewel specially dear to her, and she felt the +loss grievously; a reward of fifteen hundred francs +was, therefore, offered at once for its recovery. The +night after the hunt, the daughter of one of the keepers +saw in a dream an unknown man of imposing appearance, +who told her to go at daybreak to a certain +crossroad in the forest, where she would find the ring +at the foot of a beech-tree, close to the highway. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +awakes, dresses herself at once, and goes to the place of +which she has dreamed; after half an hour's walk she +reaches the crossroads and almost at the same moment +sees something glittering and shining like a firefly, +picks it up, and behold! it is the ring. The girl had +not even seen the hunt, nor did she know anything of +the loss of the jewel; the whole occurrence, and the +place where it was lost, all were pointed out to her in +her dream. (<i>Le Monde Illustré</i>, Dec. 15, 1860).</p> + +<p>It has already been mentioned that the question has +often been mooted whether the mind was really quite +at rest during sleep, or still operative in dreams. Some +authors deny its activity altogether; others admit a +partial activity. The philosopher Kant went so far as +to maintain that perceptions had during sleep were +clearer and fuller than those of the day, because of the +perfect rest of the other senses. Recollection, alone, he +added, was missing, because the mind acted in sleep +without the coöperation of the body.</p> + +<p>There are, however, certain facts which seem to +prove that the mind does, at least, not altogether cease +its activity while the body is asleep. How else could +we explain the power many persons undoubtedly possess +to awake at a fixed hour, and the success with +which, more than once, great mental efforts have been +made during profound sleep? Of the latter, Tartini's +famous sonata is a striking instance. He had endeavored +in vain to finish this great work; inspiration +would not come, and he had abandoned the task in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +despair. During the night he had a dream in which +he once more tried his best, but in vain; at the moment +of despair, however, the Devil appeared to him +and promised to finish the work in return for his soul. +The composer, nothing loath, surrenders his soul and +hears his magnificent work gloriously completed on the +violin. He wakes up in perfect delight, goes to his +desk, and at once writes down his "Devil's Sonata." +Even children are known occasionally to be able to +give intelligent answers while fast asleep; the questions, +however, must be in accordance with the current +of their thoughts, otherwise they are apt to be aroused. +A case is quoted by Reil of two soldiers who used, at +times, to keep up an uninterrupted conversation during +a whole night, while they were to all appearances fast +asleep. A lady, also, was unable to refuse answers to +questions put to her at night, and had at last to lock +herself in carefully whenever she went to sleep.</p> + +<p>Hence it is that some of the most profound thinkers +who have discussed the subject of dreams, like Descartes +and Leibnitz, Jouffroy and Dugald Stewart, +Richard and Carus, with a number of others, assert the +uninterrupted wakefulness of the mind. Some authors +believe that the spiritual part of man needs no sleep, +but delights in the comfort of feeling that the body is +in perfect repose, and of forgetting, by these means, +for a time the troubles of daily life, and the responsibilities +of our earthly existence. They base this view +upon the fact, that, as far as we can judge, the mind is,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +during sleep, independent of the body and the outer +world. Thinking is quite possible during sleep without +dreaming, and certain bodily sensations, even, are +correctly perceived, as when we turn over in our sleep, +because lying on one side produces pain or uneasiness. +We not only talk while we are asleep, but laugh or +weep, sigh or groan. A slight noise, a whispered word, +affect the course of our thoughts, and produce new +images in our dreams, as certain affections and even +the pressure upon certain organs are sure to produce +invariably the same dreams. Space and time disappear, +however, and naturally, because we can measure +them only by the aid of our senses, and these are, +for the time, inactive. Hence Dugald Stewart ascribes +the manner in which a moment's dream often comprises +a year, or a whole lifetime, to the fact that, when +we are asleep, the images created by our imagination +appear to be realities, while those which we form when +we are awake are known to us to be mere fictions, and +hence not subject to the laws of time.</p> + +<p>It will not surprise us, therefore, to find that this +activity of the mind, deprived of the usual means of +making itself known to others by gesture, sound, or +action, seeks frequently a symbolical utterance, and +this is the grain of truth here also hid under the vast +amount of rubbish, known as the interpretation of +dreams. Troubles and difficulties may thus appear as +storms; sorrow and grief as tears; troubled waters +may represent pain, and smooth ice impending danger;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +a dry river-bed an approaching famine, and pretty +flowers great joy to come, provided, always, we are disposed +to admit a higher class of prophetic dreams. +Such a view is supported by high authority, for since +the days of Aristotle, great writers, divines as well as +philosophers, have endeavored to classify dreams according +to their nature and importance. The great reformer, +Melanchthon, in his work on the soul, divided +them into common dreams, void of importance; prophetic +dreams, arising from the individual gifts of the +sleeper; divine dreams, inspired by God either directly +or through the agency of angels, and finally, demoniac +dreams, such as the witches' sabbath. One great difficulty +attending all such classification arises, however, +from the well-known fact, already alluded to, that external +sensations are by far the most frequent causes of +dreams. Even these have been systematically arranged +by some writers, most successfully, perhaps, in the +work of Maine de Biran, but he overlooks again the +numerous cases in which external noises and similar +accidents produce a whole train of thoughts. Thus +Pope dreamed of a Spaniard who impudently entered +his library, ransacked the books on the shelves, and +turned a deaf ear to all his remonstrances. The impression +was so forcible that he questioned all his +servants, and investigated the matter thoroughly, till +he was finally forced to acknowledge that the whole +transaction was a dream caused by the fall of a book +in his library, which he heard in his sleep. A still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +more remarkable case occurred once in a hotel in +Dantzic, where not one person only, but all the guests, +without exception, dreamed of the sudden arrival of a +number of travelers, who disturbed the whole house, +and took possession of their rooms with unusual clatter +and noise. Not one had arrived, but during the night +a violent storm had arisen, causing doors to slam and +window-shutters to flap against the house, noises +which had aroused in more than fifty people precisely +the same impressions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV.</p> + +<h2>VISIONS.</h2> + +<p class="center small pt">Concipiendis visionibus quas phantasias vocant.</p> + +<p class="attr small pb"> +<span class="smcap">Quintilian.</span><br /> +</p> + + +<p>Visions, that is, the perception of apparently tangible +objects in the outer world, which only exist in +our imagination, have been known from time immemorial +among all nations on earth. They are, in +themselves, perfectly natural, and can frequently be +traced back without difficulty to bodily affections or +a disordered state of the mind, so that many eminent +physicians dispose of them curtly as mere incidental +symptoms of congestion or neuralgia. They +may present real men and things, known beforehand, +and now reproduced in such a manner as to appear +objectively; or they may be ideal forms, the product +of the moment, and incompatible with the laws of +actual life. Persons who have visions and know +nothing of their true nature, are apt to become intensely +excited, as if they had been transferred into +another world. The images they behold seem to them +of supernatural origin, and may inspire them with lofty +thoughts and noble impulses, but only too frequently +they disturb their peace of mind and lead them to +crime or despair.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>When visions extend to other senses besides sight, +and the peculiar state of mind by which they are +caused affects different parts of the body at once, they +are called hallucinations; most frequent among insane +people, of whom, according to Esquirol, eighty in a +hundred are thus affected, they are generally quite insignificant; +while visions through the eye, are often +accompanied by very remarkable magic phenomena. +Thus the visions which great men like Cromwell and +Descartes, Byron or Goethe, record of their own experience, +were evidently signs of the great energy of +their mental life, while in others they are as clearly +symptoms of disease. Ascribed by the ancients to +divine influence, Christianity has invariably denounced +them—when not indubitably inspired by God, as in the +case of the martyr Stephen and the apostle St. John—as +works of the Devil. At all times they have been +communicated to others, either by contagion or, in +rare cases, by the imposition of hands, as they have +been artificially produced. Thus extreme bodily fatigue +and utter prostration after long illness are apt to cause +hallucinations. Albert Smith, for instance, while ascending +Mont Blanc, and feeling utterly exhausted, saw +all his surroundings clearly with his eyes, and yet, at +the same time, beheld marvelous things with the so-called +inner sense. A Swiss who, in 1848, during a +severe cold, crossed from Wallis to Kandersteg by the +famous Gemmi Pass, eight thousand feet high, saw on +his way a number of men shoveling the snow from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +path, fellow-travelers climbing up on all sides, and +rolling masses of snow which changed into dogs; he +heard the blows of axes and the laughing and singing +of distant shepherds, while his road was utterly deserted, +and not a human soul within many miles. +His hands and feet were found frozen when he arrived +at last at his quarters for the night, and ten days later +he died from the effects of his exposure. During the +retreat of the French from Russia the poor sufferers, +frozen and famished, were continually tormented by +similar hallucinations, which increased their sufferings +at times to such a degree as to lead them to commit +suicide. Another frequent cause of visions is long-continued +fasting combined with more or less ascetic +devotion. This is said to explain why the prophets of +the Old Testament were so vigorously forbidden to indulge +in wine or rich fare. Thus Aaron was told: +"Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor thy +sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle" (Levit. +x. 9); Moses remained forty days, and "neither did eat +bread nor drink wine," when he was on Mount Sinai +(Deuter. ix. 9); the Nazarites were ordered not to +"drink any liquor of grapes, nor to eat moist grapes or +dried," and even to abstain from vinegar (Numbers vi. +3), and Daniel and his companions had nothing but +"pulse to eat and water to drink" (Dan. i. 12), in +order to prepare them for receiving "wisdom and knowledge +and the understanding of dreams and visions."</p> + +<p>Narcotics also, and, in our day, most of the anæsthet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>ics +can produce visions and hallucinations, but the +result is in all such cases much less interesting than +when they are produced spontaneously. Tobacco and +opium, betel, hasheesh, and coca are the principal +means employed; but Siberia has besides its narcotic +mushrooms, Polynesia its ava, New Granada and the +Himalaya the thorn-apple, Florida its emetic apalachine, +and the northern regions of America and +Europe have their ledum. The most effective among +these narcotics seems to be the Indian hemp, since the +visions it produces surpass even the marvelous effects +of opium, as has been recently again most graphically +described by Bayard Taylor. Laughing-gas, also, has +frequently similar effects, and affords, besides, the precious +privilege of freedom from the painful, often excruciating +consequences of other narcotics. When +perfumes are employed for the express purpose of producing +visions, it is difficult to ascertain how much is +due to their influence, and how much to the over-excited +mind of the seer. Benvenuto Cellini describes—though +probably not in the most trustworthy manner—the +amazing effect produced upon himself and a boy by +his side, by the perfumes which a priest burnt in the +Coliseum. The whole vast building seemed to him +filled with demons, and the boy saw thousands of +threatening men, four huge giants, and fire bursting +out in countless places. The great artist was told, at +the same time, that a great danger was threatening +him, and that he would surely lose his beloved Angelica<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +within the month; both events occurred as predicted, +and thus proved that in this case at least magic phenomena +had accompanied the visions. (<i>Goethe, B. Cellini</i>, +l. iv. ch. 2.)</p> + +<p>Among other external causes which are apt to produce +visions, must be mentioned violent motions, especially +when they are revolving, as is the case with the +Shamans of the Laplanders and the dancing Dervishes +of the East; self-inflicted wounds, such as the priests +of Baal caused in order to excite their power of divination, +and long-continued imprisonment, as illustrated in +the well-known cases of Benvenuto Cellini and Silvio +Pellico. The latter was constantly tormented by sighs +or suppressed laughter which he heard in his dungeon; +then by invisible hands pulling at his dress, knocking +down his books or trying to put out his light, till he +began seriously to suspect that he might be the victim +of invisible malignant powers. Fortunately all these +phenomena disappeared at break of day, and thus his +vigorous mind, supported by true piety, was enabled to +keep his judgment uninjured.</p> + +<p>Diseases of every kind are a fruitful source of visions +and some are rarely without them; but the character +of visions differs according to the nature of the affections. +Persons who suffer with the liver have melancholy, +consumptive patients have cheerful visions. +Epileptics often see fearful spectres during their paroxysms, +and persons bitten by mad dogs see the animal +that has caused their sufferings. The case of the book<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>seller +Nicolai in Berlin is well known; the disease of +which he suffered, is not only very common in some +parts of Russia, but productive of precisely the same +symptoms. The patients experience first a sensation +of great despondency, followed by a period of profound +melancholy, during which they see themselves surrounded +by a number of persons, with whom they converse +and quarrel, half conscious of their own delusion +and yet not able to master it wholly. They are generally +bled, whereupon the images become transparent +and shrink into smaller and smaller space, till they +finally disappear entirely. Affections of the heart and +the subsequent unequal distribution of the blood +through the system are apt to produce peculiar sounds, +which at times fashion themselves into loud and harmonious +pieces. The excitement usually attendant +upon specially fatal plagues and contagious diseases increases +the tendency which the latter naturally have to +cause hallucinations. During a plague in the reign of +Justinian, men were seen walking through the crowd +and touching here and there a person; the latter were +at once attacked by the disease and invariably succumbed. +Upon another such occasion marks and +spots appeared on the clothing of those who had caught +the contagion, as if made by invisible hands, the sufferers +began next to see a number of spectres and died +in a short time. The same symptoms have accompanied +the cholera in modern times, and more than once +strange, utterly unknown persons were not only seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +but heard, as they were conversing with others; what +they said was written down in many cases, and proved +to be predictions of approaching visits of the dread +disease to neighboring houses. A magic power of foresight +seems in these cases to be developed by the extreme +excitement or deep anxiety, but the unconscious +clairvoyance assumes the form of persons outside of +their own mental sphere, within which they alone +existed.</p> + +<p>By far the most frequent causes of visions are, however, +those of psychical nature, like fixed ideas, intense +passions, or deep-rooted prejudices, and concealed misdeeds. +When they are produced by such causes they +have often the appearance of having led to the commission +of great crimes. Thus Julian the Apostate, who +had caused the image of his guardian angel to be put +upon all his coins and banners, naturally had this form +deeply impressed upon his mind. In the night before +a decisive battle, he saw, according to Ammianus +Marcellinus, this protecting genius in the act of turning +away from him, and this vision made so deep an +impression upon his mind that he interpreted it as an +omen of his impending death. On the following day +he fell in battle. The fearful penalty inflicted upon +Charles IX. by his own conscience is well known; +after the massacre of St. Bartholomew he saw, by day +and by night, the forms of his victims around him, till +death made an end to his sufferings. On our own +continent, one of the early conquerors gave a striking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +instance of the manner in which such visions are produced. +He was one of the adventurers who had +reached Darien, and was on the point of plundering a +temple; but, a few days before, an Indian woman had +told him that the treasures it held were guarded by evil +spirits, and if he entered it the earth would open and +swallow up the temple and the conquerors alike. Nothing +daunted, he led his men to the attack; but, as they +came in sight, he suddenly saw, in the evening light, +how the colossal building rocked to and fro as in a +tempest, and thoroughly intimidated he rode away with +his followers, leaving the temple and its treasures +unharmed. That visions are apt to precede atrocious +crimes is quite natural, since they are in such cases +nothing but the product of the intense excitement +under which murders are often committed; but, it +would be absurd to look upon them as motive causes. +Ravaillac had constant visions of angels, saints, and +demons, while preparing his mind for the assassination +of Henry IV., and the young student who attempted +the murder of Napoleon at Schönbrunn repeatedly saw +the genius of Germany, which appeared to him and +encouraged him to free his country from the usurper. +Persons who attempt to summon ghosts are very apt to +see them, because their mind is highly wrought up by +their proceedings and they confidently expect to have +visions. But some men possess a similar power without +making any special effort or peculiar preparations, their +firm volition sufficing for the purpose. Thus Talma<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +could at all times force himself to see, in the place of the +actual audience before whom he was acting, an assembly +of skeletons, and he is said never to have acted better +than when he gave himself up to this hallucination. +Painters, also, frequently have the power to summon +before their mind's eye the features of those whose +portrait they are painting; Blake, for instance, was +able actually to finish likenesses from images he saw +sitting in the chair where the real persons had been +seated.</p> + +<p>While visions are quite common, delusions of the +other senses are less frequent. The insane alone hear +strange conversations. Hallucinations of the taste +cause patients to enjoy delightful dishes, or to partake +of spoiled meat and other unpalatable viands, which +have no existence. Sweet smells and incense are often +perceived, bad odors much less frequently. The touch +is of all senses the least likely to be deceived; still +deranged people occasionally feel a slight touch as a +severe blow, and persons suffering from certain diseases +are convinced that ants, spiders, or other insects are +running over their bodies.</p> + +<p>The favorite season of visions is night—mainly the +hour about midnight—and in the whole year, the time of +Advent, but also the nights from Christmas to New +Year. This is, of course, not a feature of supernatural +life, but the simple effect of the greater quiet and the +more thoughtful, inward life, which these seasons are apt +to bring to busy men. The reality of our surroundings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +disappears with the setting sun, and in deep night we +are rendered almost wholly independent of the influence +exercised in the day by friends, family, and even furniture. +All standards of measurement, moreover, disappear, +and we lose the correct estimate of both space +and time. Turning our thoughts at such times with +greater energy and perseverance inward, our imagination +has free scope, and countless images appear before +our mind's eye which are not subject to the laws of real +life. Darkness, stillness, and solitude, the three great +features of midnight seasons, all favor the full activity +of our fancy, and set criticism at defiance by denying +us all means of comparison with real sounds or sights. +At the same time, it is asserted, that under such circumstances +men are also better qualified to perceive manifestations +which, during the <i>turba</i> of daily life, are +carelessly ignored or really imperceptible to the common +senses. So long as the intercourse with the world +and its exigencies occupy all our thoughts, and self-interest +makes us look fixedly only at some one great +purpose of life, we are deaf and blind to all that does +not clearly belong to this world. But when these demands +are no longer made upon us, and especially when, +as in the time of Advent, our thoughts are somewhat +drawn from earthly natures, and our eyes are lifted +heavenward, then we are enabled to give free scope to +our instincts, or, if we prefer the real name, to the additional +sense by which we perceive intangible things. A +comparison has often been drawn between the ability to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +see visions and our power to distinguish the stars. In +the day, the brilliancy of the sun so far outshines the +latter, that we see not a single one; at night they step +forth, as it were, from the dark, and the deeper the blackness +of the sky, the greater their own brightness. Are +they, on that account, nothing more than creatures of +our imagination, set free by night and darkness?</p> + +<p>As for the favorite places where visions most frequently +are seen, it seems that solitudes have already +in ancient times always been looked upon as special +resorts for evil spirits. The deserts of Asia, with their +deep gullies and numerous caves, suggested a population +of shy and weird beings, whom few saw and no one +knew fully. Hence the fearful description of Babylon +in her overthrow, when "Their houses shall be full of +doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there and satyrs +shall dance there." (Isaiah xiii. 21). The New Testament +speaks in like manner of the deserts of Palestine +as the abode of evil spirits, and in later days the Faroe +Islands were constantly referred to as peopled with +weird and unearthly beings. The deserts of Africa are +full of Djinns, and the vast plains of the East are peopled +with weird apparitions. The solitudes of Norwegian +mountain districts abound with gnomes and sprites, and +waste places everywhere are no sooner abandoned by +men than they are occupied by evil spirits and become +the scenes of wild and gruesome visions.</p> + +<p>Well-authenticated cases of visions are recorded in +unbroken succession from the times of antiquity to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +our own day, and leave no doubt on the mind that +they are not only of common occurrence among men, +but generally, also, accompanied by magic phenomena +of great importance. The ancients saw, of course, +most frequently their gods; the pagans, who had been +converted to Christianity, their former idols threatening +them with dire punishment; and Christians, their +saints and martyrs, their angels and demons. Thus all +parties are supported by authorities in no way peculiar +to one faith or another, but common to all humanity; +and the battle is fought, for a time at least, between faith +and faith, and between vision and vision. A famous +rhetor, Aristides, who is mentioned in history as one of +the mightiest champions polytheism ever has been able +to raise against triumphant Christianity, saw, in his +hours of exaltation, the great Æsculapius, who gave +him directions how to carry on his warfare. At such +times his public addresses became so attractive that +thousands of enthusiastic hearers assembled to hang +upon his lips. The story of the genius of Socrates is +well known; Aulus Gellius tells us how the great sage +was seen standing motionless for twenty-four hours in +the same place, before joining the expedition to Potidea, +so absorbed in deep thought that it seemed as if his +soul had left the body. Dion, Plato's most intimate +friend, saw a huge Fury enter his house and sweep it with +a broom; a conspiracy broke out, and he was murdered, +after having lost his only son a few days before. +(Plutarch's "Life of Dion," 55.) The same Simonides,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +who according to Valerius Maximus (<i>De Somniis</i>, l. i. ch. +5), had escaped from shipwreck by the timely warning +of a spirit, was once dining at the magnificent house +of Skopas at Cranon, in Thessaly, when a servant +entered to inform him that two gigantic youths were +standing at the door and wished to see him immediately. +He went out and found no one there; but, at the same +moment, the roof and the walls of the dining-room fell +down, burying all the guests under the ruins (Phædrus' +Fab., iv. 24). The ancients looked upon the vision, in +both cases, as merely effects of the prophetic power of +the poet, which saved him from immediate death; once +in the form of a spirit and the second time in the form +of the Dioscuri. For, as Simonides had shortly before +written a beautiful poem in honor of Castor and Pollux, +his escape and the friendly warning were naturally +attributed to the heroic youths, who constantly appear +in history as protective genii. In Greece they were +known to have fought, dressed in their purple cloaks +and seated on snow-white horses, on the side of the +Locri, and to have announced their victory on the same +day in Olympia, and Sparta, in Corinth, and in Athens +(Justin, ix. 3). In Rome they were credited with the +victory on the banks of Lake Regillus, and reported to +have, as in Greece, dashed into the city, far ahead of all +messengers, to proclaim the joyful news. During the +Macedonian war they met Publius Vatinius on his way +to Rome and informed him that, on the preceding day, +Æmilius Paulus had captured Perseus. Delighted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +with the news, the prefect hastens to the Senate; but is +discredited and actually sent to jail on the charge of +indulging in idle gossip, unworthy of his high office. +It was only when at last messengers came from the +distant army and confirmed the report of Perseus' +captivity, that the unlucky prefect was set free again +and honored with high rewards.</p> + +<p>In other cases the warning genius was seen in visions +of different nature. Thus Hannibal was reported to +have traced in his sleep the whole course and the +success of all his plans, by the aid of his genius, who +appeared to him in the shape of a child of marvelous +beauty, sent by the great Jupiter himself to direct his +movements, and to make him master of Italy. The +child asked him to follow without turning to look +back, but Hannibal, yielding to the innate tendency to +covet forbidden fruit, looked behind him and saw an +immense serpent overthrowing all impediments in his +way. Then came a violent thunderstorm with fierce +lightnings, which rent the strongest walls. Hannibal +asked the meaning of these portents, and was told that +the storm signified the total subjection of Italy, but +that he must be silent and leave the rest to fate. That +the vision was not fully realized, was naturally ascribed +to his indiscretion. The genius of the two Consuls, P. +Decius and Manlius Torquatus, assumed, on the contrary, +the shape of a huge phantom which appeared at +night in their camp at the foot of Vesuvius, and announced +the decision that one leader must fall in order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +to make the army victorious. Upon the strength of +this vision the two generals decided that he whose +troops should first show signs of yielding, should seek +death by advancing alone against the Latin army. +The legions of Decius, therefore, no sooner began to +fall back, than he threw himself, sword in hand, upon +the enemy, and not only died a glorious death for his +country, but secured a brilliant victory to his brethren.</p> + +<p>At a later period a genius saved the life of Octavian, +when he and Antony were encamped at Philippi, on +the eve of the great battle against Brutus and Cassius. +The vision appeared not to himself, however, but to +another person, his own physician, Artorus, who, in a +dream, was ordered to advise his master to appear on +the battle-field in spite of his serious indisposition. +Octavian followed the advice and went out, though he +had to be carried by his men in a litter; during his +absence the soldiers of Brutus entered the camp and +actually searched his tent, in which he would have +perished inevitably without the timely warning. Of a +very different nature was the vision of Cassius, the +lieutenant of Antony, who, during his flight to +Athens, saw at night a huge black phantom, which +informed him that he was his evil spirit. In his terror +he called his servants and inquired what they had seen, +but they had noticed nothing. Thus tranquilized, he +fell asleep again, but the phantom returned once more, +and disturbed his mind so painfully that he remained +awake the rest of the night, surrounded by his guards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +and slaves. The vision was afterwards interpreted as +an omen of his impending violent death.</p> + +<p>The Emperor Trajan was saved from death during a +fearful earthquake by a man of colossal proportions, +who came to lead him out of his palace at Antioch; and +Attila, who, to the surprise of the world, spared Rome +and Italy at the request of Pope Leo the Great, mentioned +as the true motive of his action the appearance +of a majestic old man in priestly garments, who had +threatened him, drawing his sword, with instant death +if he did not grant all that the Roman high-priest +should demand.</p> + +<p>In other cases, which are as numerous as they are +striking, the genius assumes the shape of a woman. +Thus Dio Cassius ("Hist. Rome," l. lv.), as well as Suetonius +("Claudius," l. i), relate that when Drusus had +ravaged Germany, and was on the point of crossing the +Elbe, the formidable shape of a gigantic woman appeared +to him, who waded up to the middle of the +stream and then called out: "Whither, O Drusus? +Canst thou put no limit to thy thirst of conquest? +Back! the end of thy deeds and of thy life is at hand!" +History records that Drusus fell back without apparent +reason, and that he died before he reached the banks of +the Rhine. Tacitus tells us, in like manner, a vision +which encouraged Curtius Rufus at the time when he, +a gladiator's son, and holding a most humble position, +was accompanying a quæstor on his way to Africa. +As he walked up and down a passage in deep medita<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>tion, +a woman of unusual size appeared to him and +said: "Thou, O Rufus, shalt be proconsul of this province!" +The young man, perhaps encouraged and +supported by a vision which was the result of his own +ambitious dreams, rose rapidly by his eminent ability, +and after he had reached the consulate, really obtained +the province of Africa (Ann., xi. 21). The younger +Pliny, who tells the same story in his admirable letter +to Sura on the subject of magic, adds that the genius +appeared a second time to the great proconsul, but +remained silent. The latter saw in this silence a warning +of approaching death, and prepared for his end, +which did not fail soon to close his career.</p> + +<p>It is very striking to see how in these visions also the +inner life of man was invariably clearly and distinctly +reflected. The ambitious youth saw his good fortune +personified in the shape of a beautiful woman, which +his excited imagination called Africa, and which he +hoped some time or other to call his own. Brutus, on +the contrary, full of anticipations of evil, and suffering, +and perhaps unconsciously, bitter remorse on account of +Cæsar's murder, saw his sad fate as a hideous demon. +The army, also, sharing, no doubt, their leader's dark +apprehensions, looked upon the black Æthiopian who +entered the camp as an evil omen. The appointed +meeting at Philippi was merely an evidence of the superior +ability of Brutus, who foresaw the probable +course of the war and knew the great strategic importance +of the famous town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the same manner a tradition was long cherished +in Augsburg of a fanatic heroine on horseback, who +appeared to Attila when he attempted to cross the river +Lech on his way from Italy to Pannonia. She called +out to him: "Back!" and made a deep impression +upon his mind. The picture of the giant woman was +long preserved in a Minorite convent in the city, and +was evidently German in features and in costume. It +is by no means impossible that the lofty but superstitious +mind of the ruthless conqueror, after having long +busied itself with his approaching attack upon a +mighty, unknown nation, personified to himself in a +momentary trance the genius of that race in the shape +of a majestic woman.</p> + +<p>This was all the more probable as Holy Writ also +presents to us a whole series of mighty women who exercised +at times a lasting influence on the fate of the +chosen people, and the world's history abounds with +similar instances. There was Deborah, "a prophetess +who judged Israel at that time," and went to aid in the +defeat of Sisera, and there was Huldah, the prophetess, +who warned Josiah, king of Judah. We have the same +grand images in Greek and in Roman history, and German +annals mention more than one Jettha and Velleda. +The series of warnings given by the more tender-hearted +sex runs through the annals of modern races +from the oldest times to our own day. One of the +latest instances happened to a king well known for his +sneering skepticism and his utter disbelief of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +higher powers. This was Bernadotte, who forsook his +benefactor in order to mount the throne of Sweden, +and turned his own sword against his former master. +Long years after the fall of Napoleon, he was on the +point of sending his son Oscar with an army against +Norway, and met with much opposition in the Council +of State. Full of impatience and indignation, he +mounted his horse and rode out to cool his heated +mind; as he approached a dark forest near Stockholm, +he saw an old woman sitting by the wayside, whose +quaint costume and wild, disheveled hair attracted his +attention. He asked her roughly what she was doing +there? Her reply was: "If Oscar goes into the war +which you propose, he will not strike but receive the +first blow." The king was impressed by the warning +and returned, full of thoughts, to his palace; after a +sleepless night he informed the Council of State that +he had changed his views, and would not send the +prince to Norway (<i>La Presse</i>, May 4, 1844). Even if +we accept the interview with the woman as a mere +vision, the effect of the king's long and anxious preoccupation +with an important plan upon the success of +which the security of his throne and the continuation +of his dynasty might depend, the question still remains, +why a man of his tastes and haughty skepticism should +have clothed his doubts in words uttered by an old woman, +dressed in fancy costume?</p> + +<p>The number of practical, sensible men who have, +even in recent times, believed themselves under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +special care and protection of a genius or guardian +angel, is much larger than is commonly known. The +ancients looked upon a genius as a part of their mythology; +and modern Christians, who cherish this belief, +refer to the fact that the Saviour said of little children: +"In heaven their <i>angels</i> do always behold the face of +my Father" (Matt. xviii. 10). These visions—for so +they must be called—vary greatly in different persons. +To some men they appear only when great dangers are +threatening or sublime efforts have to be made; while +in others, they assume, by their frequency, a more or +less permanent form, and may even be inherited, becoming +tutelary deities of certain houses, familiar spirits, or +specially appointed guardian angels of the members of +a family or single individuals. Hence, the well-known +accounts of the genius of Socrates and the familiar +spirits of the Bible, in ancient times. Hence, also, the +almost uninterrupted line of similar accounts through +the Middle Ages down to our own day. Thus, Campanella +stated that whenever he was threatened with misfortune, +he fell into a state half way between waking and +sleeping, in which he heard a voice say: "Campanella! +Campanella!" and several other words, without ever +seeing a person. Calignan, Chancelor of Navarre, +heard in Béarn, his name called three times, and then +received a warning from the same voice to leave the +town promptly, as the plague was to rage there fearfully. +He obeyed the order, and escaped the ravages of +the terrible disease (Beaumont, "Tractat.," etc., p. 208).<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +The Jesuit Giovanni Carrera had a protecting genius, +whom he frequently consulted in cases of special difficulty. +He became so familiar with him, that he had +himself waked every night for his prayers, but when at +times he hesitated to rise at once, the spirit abandoned +him for a time, and Carrera could only induce him to +come back by long-continued praying and fasting +("Hist. S. J.," iii. p. 177).</p> + +<p>The Bernadottes had a tradition that one of their ancestors +had married a fairy, who remained the good genius +of the family, and long since had predicted that one +of that blood would mount a throne. The Bernadotte +who became a king never forgot the prophecy, and was +largely influenced by it, when the Swedish nobles offered +him the throne. It is well known that Napoleon +himself either believed, or affected to believe, in a good +genius, who guided his steps and protected him from +danger. He appeared, according to his own statements, +sometimes in the shape of a ball of fire, which he called +his "star," or as a man dressed in red, who paid him +occasional visits. General Rapp relates that, in the year +1806, he once found the Emperor in his room, apparently +absorbed in such deep meditation that he did not +notice his entrance, but that, when fairly aroused, he +seized Rapp by the arm and asked him if saw that star? +When the latter replied that he saw nothing, Napoleon +continued: "It is my star; it is standing just above +you. It has never forsaken me; I see it on all important +occasions; it orders me to go on, and has always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +been a token of success." The story, coming from General +Rapp himself, is quoted here as endorsed by the +great historian, Amédée Thierry.</p> + +<p>Des Mousseaux reports the following facts upon the +evidence of trustworthy personal friends. (<i>La Magie</i>, etc., +p. 366.) A Mme. N., the daughter of a general, was constantly +visited by her mother, who had died long ago, +and received from her frequent information of secret +things, which procured for herself the reputation of +being a prophetess. At one time her mother's spirit +warned her to try and prevent her husband, who would +die by suicide, from carrying out his purpose. Every +precaution was taken, and even the knives and forks +were removed after meals; but it so happened that a +soldier of the National Guard came into the house and +left his loaded gun in an anteroom. The lady's husband +unfortunately chanced to see it, took it and blew +his brains out on the spot.</p> + +<p>A peculiarly interesting class of visions are those to +which great artists have, at times, owed their greatest +triumphs. Here, also, the line between mere delusion +and real magic phenomena is often so faint as to escape +attention. For artists must needs cultivate their imagination +at the expense of other faculties, and naturally +live more in an ideal world than in a real world. Preoccupied +as they are, by the nature of their pursuits, +with images of more than earthly beauty, they come +easily to form ideals in their minds, which they endeavor +to fix first upon their memory, and then upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +canvas or in marble, on paper or in rapturous words. +Raphael Sanzio had long in vain tried to portray the +Holy Virgin according to a vague ideal in his mind; at +last he awoke one night and saw in the place where his +sketch was hanging a bright light, and in the radiance +the Mother of Christ in matchless beauty, and with +supernatural holiness in her features. The vision remained +deeply impressed upon his mind, and was ever +after the original of which even his best Madonnas +could only be imperfect copies. Benvenuto Cellini, +when sick unto death, repeatedly saw an old man +trying to pull him down into his boat, but as soon as +his faithful servant came and touched him, the hideous +vision disappeared. The artist had evidently a picture +of Charon and his Acherontic boat in his mind, which +was thus reproduced in his feverish dreams. On +another occasion, when he had long been in prison, and +in despair contemplated suicide, an "unknown being" +suddenly seized him and hurled him back to a distance +of four yards, where he remained lying for hours half +dead. In the following night a "fair youth" appeared +to him and made him bitter reproaches on account of +his sinful purpose. The same youthful genius appeared +to him repeatedly when a great crisis approached in his +marvelously adventurous life, and more than once +revealed to him the mysteries of the future. (Goethe's +"Benv. Cell." i. p. 375.) Poor Tasso had fearful hallucinations +during the time when his mind was disordered, +but above them all hovered, as it were, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> +vision of a glorious Virgin surrounded by a bright light, +which always comforted and probably alone saved him +from self-destruction. Like Raphael, Dannecker also +had long tried in vain to find perfect expression for his +ideal of a Christ on the Cross; one night, however, he +also saw the Saviour in a dream, and at once proceeded +to form his model, from which was afterwards copied +the well-known statue of transcendent beauty and +power.</p> + +<p>Paganini used to tell with an amusing air of assumed +awe and reverence, that his mother had seen, a few +days before his birth, an angel with two wings and of +such dazzling splendor that she could not bear to look +at the apparition. The heavenly messenger invited her +to express a wish, and promised that it should be fulfilled. +Thereupon she begged him on her knees to +make her Nicolo a great violinist, and was told that it +should be so. The vision—perhaps nothing more than +a vivid form of earnest desire and fervent prayer—had, +no doubt, a serious influence on the great artist, who +was himself strangely susceptible to such impressions. +(<i>Moniteur</i>, Sept. 30, 1860.)</p> + +<p>Nothing can here be said, according to the purpose +of these sketches, of the long series of visions vouchsafed +to martyrs and saints; their history belongs to +theology. But holy men have, independent of their +religious convictions, often been as famous for their +visions as for the piety of their hearts, and their +achievements in the world. Loyola, for instance, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +his faculties perpetually strained to the utmost, and +with his thoughts bent forever upon a grand and holy +aim, could not well fail to rise to a state of psychic +excitement which naturally produced impressive visions. +Hence he continually saw strange sights and heard +mysterious voices, the effect now of extreme despondency +and now of restored confidence in God and in +himself as the agent of the Most High. And yet these +visions never interfered with the clearness of his judgment +nor with his promptness and energy in acting. +Luther, also, one of the most practical men ever called +upon to act and to lead in a great crisis, had visions; +he saw the Devil and held loud discussions with him; +he suffered by his persecutions, and made great efforts +to rid himself of his unwelcome guest, while engaged +in his great work, the translation of the Bible. For he +was, after all—and for very great and good purposes—only +a man of his age, imbued with the universal +belief in the personal existence and constant presence +of Satan, and felt, at the same time, that he was engaged +in a warfare upon the results of which depended +not only the earthly welfare, but the eternal salvation +of millions.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to say whether Mohammed, who had +undoubtedly visions innumerable, received any aid from +his hallucinations in devising his new faith. Men of science +tell us that he suffered of <i>Hysteria muscularis</i>, a disease +not uncommon in men as well as in women, which +produces periodical paroxysms and is characterized by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +an alternate contraction and expansion of the muscles. +When the attack came the prophet's lips and tongue +would begin to vibrate, his eyes turned up, and the head +moved automatically. If the paroxysms were very violent +he fell to the ground, his face turned purple, and +he breathed with difficulty. As he frequently retained +his consciousness he pretended that these symptoms +were caused by angels' visits, and each attack was followed +by a new revelation. The disease was the result +of his early lawless life and of the freedom which he +claimed, even in later years—pleading a special dispensation +from on high as a divinely inspired prophet. It is +not to be wondered at that the new religion, springing +from such a source, and proclaimed amid the mountains +and steppes of Arabia, which, according to popular belief, +are all alive with djinns and demons, should be +largely based upon visions and hallucinations.</p> + +<p>The important part which visions hold in the history +of the various religions of the earth lies beyond our +present purpose; we know, however, that the records +of ancient temples, of prophets, saints, and martyrs, and +of later convents and churches, abound with instances +of such so-called revelations from on high. They have +more than once served at critical times to excite individuals +and whole nations to make sublime efforts. +One of the best known cases of the former class is that +of Constantine the Great, who told Eusebius of Cæsarea, +affirming his statement with a solemn oath, that he +saw in 312, shortly before the decisive battle at Rome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +against his formidable adversary Magentius, a bright +cross in the heavens, surrounded by the words: <i>In hoc +signo vinces</i>. But this vision stood by no means alone. +He himself beheld, besides, in a dream during the following +night, the Saviour, who ordered him to use in +battle henceforth a banner like that which he had seen +in his vision. Nazarius, a pagan, also speaks of a number +of marvelous signs in the heavens seen in Gaul immediately +before the emperor's great victory. Nor can +it be doubted that this vision not only inspired Constantine +with new hopes and new courage, enabling +him to secure his triumph, but also induced him, after +his success, to avow himself openly a convert to the +faith of Christ.</p> + +<p>The visions of that eminent man Swedenborg are +too well known to require here more than a mere allusion. +Beginning his intercourse with the supernatural +world at the ripe age of forty-five, he soon gave himself +up to it systematically, and felt compelled to make his +daily conversations, as well as the revelations he received +from time to time, duly known to the public. +Thus he wrote with an evident air of firm conviction: +"I had recently a conference with the Apostle Paul;" +and at another time he assured a Würtemberg prelate, +"I have conferred with St. Paul for a whole year, especially +about the words in Romans iii. 28. Three times +I have conversed with St. John, once with Moses, and +a hundred times with Luther, when the latter confessed +that he had taught <i>fidem solam</i> contrary to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +warning of an angel, and that he had stood alone when +renouncing the pope. With angels, finally, I have +held constant intercourse for the last twenty years, and +still hold daily conversations."</p> + +<p>Classic as well as Christian art, is indebted to visions +for more than one signal success. On the other hand, +they have as frequently been made to serve vile purposes, +mainly by feeding superstition and supporting religious +tyranny. We need only recall the terrible calamity +caused by a wretched shepherd boy in France, who, in +1213, saw, or pretended to see, heavenly visions, ordering +him to enlist his comrades, and with their aid, to +rescue the Holy Land from the possession of infidels. +Thousands of little children were seized by the contagious +excitement, and leaving their home and their +kindred, followed their youthful leader, unchecked by +the authorities, because of the interpretation applied to +the words of Jesus: "Suffer little children to come unto +Me!" Not one of them ever reached Palestine, as all +perished long before they had reached even Southern +France.</p> + +<p>It is not exactly a magic phenomenon, but certainly +a most startling feature in visions, that the minds of +many men should be able, by their own volition, to create +images and forms so perfectly like those existing in +the world around us, that the same minds are incapable +of distinguishing where hallucination and reality touch +each other. This faculty varies, of course, as much as +other endowments: sometimes it produces nothing but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +vague, shapeless lights or sounds; in other persons it is +capable of calling up well-defined forms, and of causing +even words to be heard and pain to be inflicted. During +severe suffering in body or soul, it may become a +comforter, and in the moment of passing through the +valley of the shadow of death, it is apt to soothe the +anguish, by visions of heavenly bliss, but to an evil conscience +it may also appear as an avenger, by prefiguring +impending judgment and condemnation. It is this influence +on the lives of men, and their great moral importance, +which lends to visions—and in a certain degree +even to hallucinations—additional interest, and makes +it our duty not to set them aside as mere idle phantoms, +but to try to ascertain their true nature and final purpose. +This is all the more necessary, as in our day visions +are considered purely the offspring of the seer's own +mental activity, a truth abundantly proven by the simple +fact that blind or deaf people are quite as capable of +having visions and hallucinations, as those who have +the use of all their senses.</p> + +<p>Thus these magic phenomena have, in an unbroken +chain, accompanied almost all the great men who are +known to history, from the earliest time to our own +day. In modern times they have often been successfully +traced to bodily and mental disorders; but this +fact diminishes in no way the interest which they have +for the student of magic. The great Pascal, who was +once threatened with instant death by the upsetting of +his carriage, henceforth saw perpetually an abyss by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +side, from which fiery flames issued forth; he could +conceal it by simply placing a chair or a table between +it and his eyes. In the case of the English painter +Blake, who had visions of historic personages which +appeared to him in idealized outlines, his periodical +aberrations of mind were accepted as sufficient explanation. +The bookseller Nicolai, of Berlin, on the contrary, +who, like Beaumont, saw hundreds of men, +women, and children accompanying him in his walks +or visiting him in his chamber, found his ghostly +company dependent on the state of his health. When +he was bled or when leeches were applied, the images +grew pale, and disappeared in part or dissolved entirely. +A peculiarity of his case was, that he never saw visions +in the dark, but all his phantasms appeared in broad +daylight, or at night when candles had been brought +in or a large fire was burning in the fireplace. Captain +Henry Bell had been repeatedly urged by a German +friend of his, Caspar von Sparr, to translate the Table-talk +of Martin Luther, which, having been suppressed by +an edict of the Emperor Rudolphus, had become very +rare, and of which Sparr had sent him a copy, discovered +by himself in a cellar where it had lain buried for fifty-two +years. Captain Bell commenced the work; but +abandoned it after a little while. A few weeks later a +white-haired old man appeared to him at night, pulling +his ear and saying: "What! will you not take time to +translate the book? I will give you soon a place for it +and the necessary leisure." Bell was much startled;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +but nevertheless neglected the work. A fortnight after +the vision he was arrested and lodged in the gate-house +of Westminster, where he remained for ten years, of +which he spent five in the translation of the work. +(Beaumont, "Tractat.," p. 72.) Even religious visions +have by no means ceased in modern times, and more +than one remarkable conversion is ascribed to such +agency. We do not speak of so-called miracles like +that of the children of Salette in the department of +the Isère, in 1849, or the recent revelations at Lourdes, +and in Southern Alsace, which were publicly endorsed +by leading men of the church, and have furnished rich +material even for political demonstrations. The vision +of Major Gardiner, also, who, just before committing a +sinful action, beheld the Saviour and became a changed +man, has been so often published and so thoroughly +discussed that it need not be repeated here. The conversion +of young Ratisbone, in 1843, created at the +time an immense sensation. He was born of Jewish +parents, but, like only too many of his race, grew up to +become a freethinker and a scoffer, rejecting all faiths +as idle superstitions. One day he strolled into the +church Delle Fratte in Rome, and while sunk in deep +meditation, suddenly beheld a vision of the Virgin +Mary, which made so deep an impression upon him +that it changed the whole tenor of his life. He gave +up the great wealth to which he had fallen heir, he +renounced a lovely betrothed, and resolutely turning +his back upon the world, he entered, as a novice, into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +Jesuit convent; thus literally forsaking all in order to +follow Christ.</p> + +<p>The magic phenomena accompanying visions, have, +among nations of the Sclavic race, not unfrequently a +specially formidable and repellent character, corresponding, +no doubt, with the temperament and turn of +imagination peculiar to that race. The Sclaves are apt +to be ridden by invisible men, till they drop down in a +swoon; they are driven by wild beasts to the graves of +criminals, where they behold fearful sights, or they are +forced to mingle with troops of evil spirits roving over +the wide, waste steppes, and they invariably suffer from +the sad effects of such visions, till a premature death +relieves them after a few months. In Wallachia a +special vision of the so-called Pickolitch is quite common, +and has, in one case at least, been officially recorded +by military authorities. A poor private soldier, +who had already more than once suffered from visions, +was ordered to stand guard in a lonely mountain pass, +and forced by the rules of the service to take his place +there, although he begged hard to be allowed to exchange +with a brother soldier, as he knew he would +come to grief. The officer in command, struck by the +earnestness of his prayer, promised to lend him all +possible assistance, and placed a second sentinel for his +support close behind him. At half past ten o'clock +the officer and a high civil functionary saw a dark +figure rush by the house in which they were; they +hastened at once to the post, where two shots had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +fallen in rapid succession, and found the inner sentinel, +the still smoking rifle in hand, staring fixedly at the +place where his comrade had stood, and utterly unconscious +of the approach of his superior. When they +reached the outer post they found the rifle on the +ground, shattered to pieces, and the heavy barrel bent +in the shape of a scythe, while the man himself lay at a +considerable distance, groaning with pain, for his whole +body was so severely burnt that he died on the following +day. The survivor stated that a black figure had +fallen, as if from heaven, upon his comrade and torn +him to pieces in spite of the two shots he had fired at +it from a short distance, then it had vanished again in +an instant. The matter was duly reported to headquarters, +and when an investigation was ordered, the +fact was discovered that a number of precisely similar +occurrences had already been officially recorded. The +vision is, of course, nothing more than a product of the +excited imagination of the mountaineers, who lend the +favorite shape of a "Pickolitch" to the frequent, bizarre-looking +masses of fog and mist which rise in their dark +valleys, hover over gullies and abysses, and driven by a +sudden current of wind, fly upward with amazing +rapidity, and thus seem to disappear in an instant. +The apprehension of the poor sentinel, on the other +hand, was a kind of clairvoyance produced by the combined +influence of local tradition, the nightly hour and +the dark pass, upon a previously-excited mind, while +the vision of the two officers was a similar magic phe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>nomena, +the result of the impressions made upon them +by the instant prayer of the victim, and a hot discussion +about the reality of the "Prikolitch." The sentinel +probably saw a weird shape and fired; the gun +burst and killed him outright, setting fire to his clothes, +a supposition strengthened by the statement that the +poor fellow, anticipating a meeting with the spectre, +had put a double charge into his rifle. The accident +teaches once more that a mere denial of facts and a +haughty smile at the idea of visions profit us nothing, +while a calm and careful examination of all the circumstances +may throw much light upon their nature, +and help, in the course of time, to extirpate fatal +superstitions, like those of the "Prikolitch."</p> + +<p>It is interesting to see how harmless and even +pleasant are, in comparison, the visions of men with +well-trained minds and kindly dispositions. The bookseller +Nicolai entertained his phantom-guests, and was +much amused, at times, by their conversation. Macnish +("Sleep," p. 194) tells us the same of Dr. Bostock, +who had frequent visions, and of an elderly lady whom +Dr. Alderson treated for gout, and who received friendly +visits from kinsmen and acquaintances with whom she +conversed, but who disappeared instantly when she +rang for her maid. Another patient of Dr. Alderson's, +who saw himself in the same manner surrounded by +numbers of persons, even felt the blows which a phantom-carter +gave him with his whip. Although in all +these cases the visions disappeared after energetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +bleeding and purging, the phenomena were nevertheless +real as far as they affected the patient, and have in +every instance been fully authenticated and scientifically +investigated. The well-known author, Macnish, +himself was frequently a victim of this kind of self-delusion; +he saw during an attack of fever fearful +hellish shapes, forming and dissolving at pleasure, and +during one night he beheld a whole theatre filled with +people, among whom he recognized many friends and +acquaintances, while on the stage he saw the famous +Ducrow with his horses. As soon as he opened his +eyes the scene disappeared, but the music continued, +for the orchestra played a magnificent march from +Aladdin, and did not cease its magic performance for +five hours. The vision of the eye seems thus to have +been under the influence of his will, but his hearing +was beyond his control.</p> + +<p>A very interesting class of visions accompanied by +undoubted magic phenomena, and as frequent in our +day as at any previous period, is formed by those which +are the result of climatic and topographic peculiarities. +We have already stated that the peculiar impression +made upon predisposed minds by vast deserts and +boundless wastes is frequently ascribed, by the superstitious +dwellers near such localities, to the influence +of evil spirits. Such a vision is the Ragl of Northern +Africa, which occurs either after fatiguing journeys +through the dry, hot desert, in consequence of great +nervous excitement, or as one of the symptoms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +typhoid fever in native patients. Seeing and hearing +are alike affected, the other senses only in rare cases. +Ordinarily the eye sees everything immensely magnified +or oddly changed; pebbles become huge blocks of +stone, faint tracks in the hot sand change into broad +causeways or ample meadows, and distant shadows appear +as animals, wells, or mountain-dells. If the moon +rises the vision increases in size and distinctness; the +scene becomes animated, men pass by, camels follow +each other in long lines, and troops are marching past +in battalions. Then the ear also begins to succumb to +the charm; the rustling of dry leaves becomes the +sweet song of numerous birds; the wind changes into +cries of despair, and the noise of falling sand into distant +thunder. The brain remains apparently unaffected, +for travelers suffering of the Ragl are able to +make notes and record the symptoms, although the +note-book looks to them like a huge album with costly +engravings. There can be little doubt that the great +afflux of blood to the eyes and the ears is the first cause +of these phenomena, but the peculiar nature of the +visions remains still a mystery. One striking peculiarity +is their unvarying identity in men of the same +race and culture; Europeans have their own hallucinations +which are not shared by Africans; the former +see churches, houses, and carriages, the latter mosques, +tents, and camels, thus proving here also the fact that +these delusions of the senses are produced in the mind +and not in the outer world. Travelers who suffer from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +hunger or from the dread effects of the simoon are +naturally more subject to the Ragl than others; the +visions generally appear towards midnight and continue +till six or seven o'clock in the morning, while during +the day they are only seen in cases of aggravated suffering. +Another peculiarity is the fact that these +visions connect themselves only with small objects and +moderate sounds; the gentle friction of a vibrating +tassel on his camel's neck appeared to the great explorer +Richardson like the clacking of a mill-wheel, but +the words shouted by his companion sounded quite natural. +Thus he saw in every little lichen a green garden +spot, but the stars he discerned distinctly enough +to direct his way by them even when suffering most intensely +from the Ragl.</p> + +<p>The Fata Morgana of the so-called Great Desert in +Oregon, in which the waters of the Paducah, Kansas, +and Arkansas lose themselves to a great extent, is a +kindred affection. Here also phantoms of every kind +are seen, gigantic horsemen, colossal buildings, and +flitting fires; but the absence of heat makes the visions +less frequent and less distinct. The Indians, however, +like the Moors of Africa, dread these apparitions and +ascribe them to evil spirits. These phenomena have besides +a special interest, by proving how constantly in all +these questions of modern magic facts are combined with +mere delusions. The flitting fires, to which we alluded, +for instance, are not mere visions, but real and tangible +substances, the effect of gaseous effusions which are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +quite frequent on these steppes. So it is also with the +local visions peculiar to mountain regions, like the Little +Gray Man of the Grisons in Switzerland and the +gnomes of miners in almost all lands. The dwellers in +Alpine regions acquire—or even inherit, it may be—a +peculiar power of divination with regard to the weather; +they feel instinctively, and without ever giving +themselves the trouble of trying to ascertain the reason, +the approach of fogs and mists, so dangerous to +the welfare of their herds and their own safety. This +presentiment is clothed by local traditions and their +own vivid imaginations in the familiar shape of supernatural +beings, and what was at first perhaps merely a +form of speech, has gradually become a deep-rooted belief +handed down from father to son. They end by +really seeing—with their mind's eye—the rising mists +and drifting fogs in the shape which they have so often +heard mentioned, or give to rising gases, far down in +the bowels of the earth, the form of familiar gnomes. +These visions are hence not altogether produced by the +imagination, but have, so to say, a grain of truth around +which the weird form is woven.</p> + +<p>A numerous class of visions, presenting some of the +most interesting phenomena of this branch of magic, +must be looked upon as the result of the innate desire +to fathom the mystery of future life. The human +heart, conscious of immortality by nature and assured +of it by revelation, desires ardently to lift the veil which +conceals the secrets of the life to come. Among other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +means to accomplish this, the promise has often been +exacted of dear friends, that they would, after death, +return and make known their condition in the other +world. Such compacts have been made from time +immemorial—but so far their only result has been that +the survivors have believed occasionally that they have +received visits from deceased friends—in other words, +that their state of great excitement and eager expectation +has caused them to have visions. It remains true, after +all, that from that bourne no traveler ever returns. +Nevertheless, these visions have a deep interest for the +psychologist, as they are the result of unconscious +action, and thus display what thoughts dwell in our +innermost heart concerning the future.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="V" id="V"></a>V.</p> + +<h2>GHOSTS.</h2> + +<p class="center small ps">"Sunt aliquid manes; letum non omnia finit."</p> + + +<p>There are few subjects, outside of the vexed questions +of Theology, on which eminent men of all nations +and ages have held more varied views than so-called +ghosts. The very term has been understood differently +by almost every great writer who has approached the +boundary line of this department of magic. The word +which is now commonly used in order to designate any +immaterial being, not made of the earth, earthy, or +perhaps, in a higher sense, the "body spiritual" of St. +Paul, was in the early days of Christianity applied to +the visible spirits of deceased persons only. In the +Middle Ages again, when everything weird and unnatural +was unhesitatingly ascribed to diabolic agency, +these phenomena, also, were regarded as nothing else +but the Devil's work. Theologians have added in +recent days a new subject of controversy to this vexed +matter. The divines of the seventeenth and eighteenth +century denied, of course, the possibility of a reappearance +of the spirits of the departed, as they were in +consistency bound to deny the existence of a purgatory, +and yet, from purgatory alone were these spirits, accord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>ing +to popular belief, allowed to revisit the earth—heaven +and hell being comparatively closed places. As the +people insisted upon seeing ghosts, however, there +remained nothing but to declare them to be delusions +produced for malign purposes by the Evil One himself; +and so decided, not many generations ago, the Consistory +of Basle in an appeal made by a German mystic +author, Jung Stilling. And yet it is evident that a +number of eminent thinkers, and not a few of the most +skeptic philosophers even, have believed in the occurrence +of such visits by inmates of Sheol. Hugo Grotius +and Puffendorf, whose far-famed worldly wisdom entitles +their views to great respect, Machiavelli and Boccaccio, +Thomasius and even Kant, all have repeatedly admitted +the existence of what we familiarly call ghosts. The +great philosopher of Königsberg enters fully into the +subject. "Immaterial beings," he says, "including +the souls of men and animals, may exist, though they +must be considered as not filling space but only acting +within the limits of space." He admits the probability +that ere long the process will be discovered, by which +the human soul, even in this life, is closely connected +with the immaterial inmates of the world of spirits, a +connection which he states to be operative in both +directions, men affecting spirits and spirits acting upon +men, though the latter are unconscious of such impressions +"as long as all is well." In the same manner in +which the physical world is under the control of a law +of gravity, he believes the spiritual world to be ruled by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +a moral law, which causes a distinction between good +and evil spirits. The same belief is entertained and +fully discussed by French authors of eminence, such as +Des Mousseaux, De Mirville, and others. The Catholic +church has never absolutely denied the doctrine of +ghosts, perhaps considering itself bound by the biblical +statement that "the graves were opened and many +bodies of the saints which slept, arose and came out of +the graves and went into the holy city and appeared unto +many." (St. Matt. xxvii. 52.) Tertullian, St. Augustine, +and Thomas de Aquinas, all state distinctly, as a dogma, +that the souls of the departed can leave their home, +though not at will, but only by special permission of +the Almighty. St. Augustine mentions saints by whom +he was visited, and Thomas de Aquinas speaks even of +the return of accursed inmates of hell, for the purpose of +terrifying and converting criminals in this world. The +"Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology" (iv. p. 489) states +that "although the theory of ghosts has never become +a dogma of the Holy Church, it has ever maintained +itself, and existed in the days of Christ, who did not +condemn it, when it was mentioned in his presence." +(St. Matt. xiv. 26; St. Luke xxiv. 37.)</p> + +<p>Calmet, the well-known Benedictine Abbot of Senon, +in Lorraine, who was one of the most renowned theological +writers of the eighteenth century, says (i. 17): +"Apparitions of ghosts would be more readily understood +if spirits had a body; but the Holy Church has decided +that angels, devils and the spirits of the departed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +are pure immaterial spirits. Since this question transcends +our mental faculties, we must submit to the +judgment of the Church, which cannot err." Another +great theologian, the German Bengel, on the contrary, +assumed that "probably the apparitions of the departed +have a prescribed limit and then cease; they continue +probably as long as all the ties between body and soul +are not fully dissolved." This question of the nature +of our existence during the time immediately following +death, is, it is well known, one of the most vexed of our +day, for while most divines of the Protestant Church +assume an immediate decision of our eternal fate, others +admit the probability of an intermediate state, and the +Catholic Church has its well-known probationary state +in purgatory. It may as well be stated here at once +that the whole theory of ghosts is admissible only if we +assume that there follows after death a period during +which the soul undergoes, not an immediate rupture, +but a slow, gradual separation from its body, accompanied +by a similar gradual adaptation to its new mode +of existence. Whether the spirit, during this time, +is still sufficiently akin to earthy substances to be able +to clothe itself into some material perceptible to the +senses of living men, is of comparatively little importance. +The idea of such an "ethereal body" is very +old, and has never ceased to be entertained. Thus, in +1306, already Guido de la Tones, who died in Verona, +appeared during eight days to his wife, his neighbors, +and a number of devout priests, and declared in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +answer to their questions that the spirits of the departed +possessed the power to clothe themselves with +air, and thus to become perceptible to living beings. +Bayle also, in his article on Spinoza (note 2), advocates +the possibility, at least, of physical effects being +produced by agents whose presence we are not able to +perceive by the use of our ordinary senses. Even so +eminently practical a mind as Lessing's was bewildered +by the difficulties surrounding this question, and he +declared that "here his wits were at an end."</p> + +<p>Another great German writer, Goerres, in his "Christian +Mystic" (iii. p. 307), not only admits the existence +of ghosts, but explains them as "the higher prototypal +form of man freed from the earthy form, the spectrum +relieved of its envelope, which can be present wherever +it chooses within the prescribed limits of its domain." +This view is, however, not supported by the experience +of those who believe they have seen ghosts; for the +latter appear only occasionally in a higher, purified +form, resembling ethereal beings, as a mere whitish +vapor or a shape formed of faint light; by far more +generally they are seen in the form and even the costume +of their earthy existence. The only evidence of +really supernatural or magic powers accompanying +such phenomena consists in the ineffable dread which is +apt to oppress the heart and to cause intense bodily suffering; +in the cold chill which invariably precedes the +apparition, and in the profound and exquisitely painful +emotion which is never again forgotten throughout life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> + +<p>As yet, the subject has been so little studied by candid +inquiries, that there are but a few facts which can +be mentioned as fully established. The form and shape +under which ghosts appear, are the result of the imagination +of the ghost seer only, whether he beholds angels +or devils, men or animals. If his receptive power is +highly developed, he will see them in their completeness, +and discern even the minutest details; weak persons, +on the other hand, perceive nothing more than a faint, +luminous or whitish appearance, mere fragmentary and +embryonic visions. These powers of perception may, +however, be improved by practice, and those who see +ghosts frequently, are sure to discover one feature after +another, until the whole form stands clearly and distinctly +before their mind's eye. The ear is generally +more susceptible than the eye to the approach of ghosts, +and often warns the mind long before the apparition becomes +visible. The noises heard are apt to be vague and +ill defined, consisting mainly of a low whispering or +restless rustling, a strange moving to and fro, or the +blowing of cold air in various directions. Many sounds, +however, are so peculiar, that they are never heard except +in connection with ghosts, and hence, baffle all +description. It need not be added, that the great majority +of such sounds also exist only in the mind of the +hearer, but as the latter is, in his state of excitement, +fully persuaded that he hears them, they are to him as +real as if they existed outside of his being. Nor are +they always confined to the ghost seer. On the contrary,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +the hearing of such sounds is as contagious as the seeing +of such sights; and not only men are thus affected, +and see and hear what others experience, but even the +higher animals, horses and dogs, share in this susceptibility. +When ghosts appear to speak, the voice is almost +always engastrimantic, that is, the ghost seer produces +the words himself, in a state of ecstatic unconsciousness, +and probably by a kind of instinctive ventriloquism. +To these phenomena of sight and hearing must be added, +thirdly, the occasional violent moving about of heavy +substances. Furniture seems to change its place, ponderous +objects disappear entirely, or the whole surrounding +scene assumes a new order and arrangement. These +phenomena, as far as they really exist, must be ascribed +to higher, as yet unexplained powers, and suggest the +view entertained by many writers on the subject, that +disembodied spirits, as they are freed from the mechanical +laws of nature, possess also the power to suspend +them in everything with which they come in contact. +The last feature in ghost-seeing, which is essential, is +the cold shudder, the ineffable dread, which falls upon +poor mortal man, at the moment when he is brought +into contact with an unknown world. Already Job +said: "Fear came upon me and trembling, which made +all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my +face; the hair of my flesh stood up" (iv. 14, 15). This +sense of vague, and yet almost intolerable dread, resembles +the agony of the dying man; it is perfectly natural, +since the seeing of ghosts, that is, of disembodied spirits,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +can only become possible by the more or less complete +suspension of the ordinary life in the flesh. For a moment, +all bodily functions are suspended, the activity of +the brain ceases, and consciousness itself is lost as in a +fit of fainting. This rarely happens without a brief +instinctive struggle, and the final victory of an unseen +and unknown power, which deprives the mind of its +habitual mastery over the body, is necessarily accompanied +by intense pain and overwhelming anguish.</p> + +<p>Well-authenticated cases of the appearance of spirits +of departed persons are mentioned in the earliest writings. +Valerius Maximus relates in graphic words the +experience of the poet Simonides, who was about to +enter a vessel for the purpose of undertaking a long +journey with some of his friends, when he discovered a +dead body lying unburied on the sea-shore. Shocked +by the impiety of the unknown man's friends, he delayed +his departure to give to the corpse a decent funeral. +During the following night, the spirit of this man appeared +to him and advised him not to sail on the next +day. He obeys the warning; his friends leave without +him, and perish miserably in a great tempest. Deeply +moved by his sad loss, but equally grateful for his own +miraculous escape, he erected to the memory of his unknown +friend a noble monument in verses, unmatched +in beauty and pathos. Phlegon, also, the freedman of +the Emperor Hadrian, has left us in his work, <i>De Mirabilibus</i>, +one of the most touching instances of such +ghost-seeing; it is the well-known story of Machates<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +and Philimion, which Goethe reproduced in his "Bride +of Corinth." Nor must we forget the numerous examples +of visions in dreams, by which the Almighty chose +to reveal His will to his beloved among the chosen people—a +series of apparitions, which the Church has taken +care to continue during the earlier ages, in almost unbroken +succession from saint to saint. Pagans were +converted by such revelations, martyrs were comforted, +the wounded healed, and even an Emperor, Constantine, +cured of leprosy, by the appearance of the two apostles, +Peter and Paul.</p> + +<p>The truth, which lies at the bottom of all such appearances, +is probably, that ghostly disturbances are +uniformly the acts of men, but of men who have ceased +for a time to be free agents, and who have, for reasons +to be explained presently, acquired exceptional powers. +Thus, a famous jurist, Counselor Hellfeld, in Jena, was +one evening on the point of signing the death warrant +of a cavalry soldier. The subject had deeply agitated +his mind for days, and before seizing his pen, he invoked, +as was his custom in such cases, the "aid of the Almighty +through His holy spirit." At that moment—it +was an hour before midnight—he hears heavy blows fall +upon his window, which sound as if the panes were +struck with a riding-whip. His clerk also hears the +blows distinctly, and begins to tremble violently. This +apparent accident induces the judge to delay his action; +he devotes the next day to a careful re-perusal of the +evidence, and is now led to the conviction that the crime<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +deserves only a minor punishment. Ere the year has +closed, another criminal is caught, and volunteers the +confession that he was the perpetrator of the crime for +which the soldier was punished. In that solemn moment, +it was, of course, only the judge's own mind, +deeply moved and worn out by painful work, which +warned him in a symbolic manner not to be precipitate, +and the very fact that the blows sounded as if they had +been produced by a whip proved his unconscious association +of the noise with the cavalry soldier. And yet +he and his clerk believed and solemnly affirmed, that +they had heard the mysterious blows! This dualism, +which, as it were, divides man into two beings, one of +whom follows and watches the other, while both are +unconscious of their identity, is the magic element in +these phenomena. This unconsciousness, proving—as +in dreams—the inactivity of our reason, produces the +natural effect, that we fancy all ghostly appearances are +foolish, wanton and wicked. The fact is, moreover that +they almost always proceed from a more or less diseased +or disturbed mind, and acquire importance only in so +far as it is our duty here also to eliminate truth from +error. Thus only can we hope to counteract their mischievous +tendency, and to prevent still stronger delusions +from obtaining a mastery over weak minds. This +is the purpose of a club formed in London in 1869, the +members of which find amusement and useful employment +in investigating all cases of haunted houses and +other ghostly appearances.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<p>That the belief in ghostly disturbances is not a modern +error, we see from St. Augustine, who already mentions +the farm of a certain Hasparius as disquieted by +loud noises till the prayer of a pious priest restored +peace. The Catholic Church has a St. Cæsarius, who +purified in like manner the house of the physician +Elpidius in Ravenna, which was filled with evil spirits +and only admitted the owner after he had passed +through a shower of stones. Another saint, Hubertus, +was himself annoyed by ghosts in his residence at +Camens, and never succeeded in obtaining peace till he +died, in 958. Wicked or interested men take, of course, +but too readily advantage of the credulity of men and +employ similar disturbances for personal purposes; such +was the case with the ghosts that haunted the Council +house in Constance and the palace at Woodstock in +Cromwell's time. The case of a scrupulously conscientious +Protestant minister in Germany, which created +in 1719 a great excitement throughout the empire, is +well calculated to show the real nature of a number of +such ghostly disturbances. He had been called to the +death-bed of a notorious sinner, a woman, who desired +at the last moment to receive the comforts of religion. +Unfortunately he reached her house too late; she was +already unconscious, and died in his presence, as he +thought, unreconciled with her God and with himself, +whom she had often insulted and cursed in life. Deeply +disturbed he returned home, and after having dwelt +upon the painful subject with intense anxiety for sev<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>eral +days he began to hear footsteps in his house. Gradually +they became more frequent; then he distinguished +them clearly as a woman's step, and at last they were +accompanied by the dragging of a gown. Watches +were set, sand was strewn, dogs were kept in the house—but +all in vain; no trace of man was found, and still +the sounds continued. The unhappy man prayed day +and night, and the noise disappeared for a fortnight. +When he ceased praying they returned, louder than +ever. He sternly bids the ghost desist, and behold! the +ghost obeys. When he asks if it is a good angel or a +demon, no answer is given; but the question: Art thou +the Devil? finds an immediate reply in rapid steps up +and down the house—for the poor man's mind was +filled with the idea that such things can be done only +by the Evil One. At last he summons all his remaining +energy and in a tone of command he orders the +ghost to depart and never to reappear. From that moment +all disturbances cease—and very naturally, for the +haunted, disturbed man, had fully recovered the command +over himself; the dualism that produced all the +spectral phenomena had ceased, and the restored mind +accomplished its own cure. As these phenomena are +thus produced from within, it appears perfectly natural +also that they should be reported as occurring most frequently +in the month of November. Religious minds +and superstitious dispositions have brought this fact +into a quaint connection with the approach of Advent-time, +but the cause is probably purely physical; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +dark and dismal month with its dense fogs emblematic +of coming winter predisposes the mind to gloomy +thoughts and renders it less capable of resisting atmospheric +influences.</p> + +<p>A very general belief ascribes such disturbances, under +the name of "haunted houses," to the souls of +deceased persons who can find no rest beyond the +grave. The series of ghost stories based upon this supposition +begins with the account of Suetonius and continues +unbroken to our day. Then it was the spirit of +Caligula, which could not be quiet so long as his body, +which had only been half burned, remained in that disgraceful +condition. Night after night his house and +his garden were visited by strange apparitions, till the +palace was destroyed by fire and the emperor's sisters +rendered the last honors to his remains.</p> + +<p>Thus the disposition of modern inquiries to trace +back all popular accounts of great events, all familiar +anecdotes and fairy tales, and even proverbs and maxims, +to the ancients, has been fully gratified in this case +also. They were not only known to antiquity, but +formed a staple of popular tales. Thus the younger +Pliny tells us one which he had frequently heard related. +At Athens there stood a large, comfortable mansion, +which, however, was ill-reputed. Night after night, it +was said, chains were heard rattling, first at a distance, +and then coming nearer, till a pale, haggard shape was +seen approaching, wearing beard and hair in long dishevelled +locks and clanking the chains it bore on hands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +and feet. The occupants of the house could not sleep, +were terrified, sickened and died. Thus it came about +that the fine building stood empty, year after year, and +was at last offered for sale at a low price. About that +time the philosopher Athenodorus came to Athens and +saw the notice; he had his suspicions aroused by the +small sum demanded for the house, inquired about the +causes and rented the house. For he was a man of +courage and meant to fathom the mystery.</p> + +<p>On the evening of the first day he dismissed his servants +and remained alone in the front room, writing and +occupying himself, purposely, with grave and abstract +questions, so as to allow no opening for his imagination. +As soon as all was quiet around him the clanking and +rattling of chains begins; but he pays no heed and continues +to write. The noise approaches and enters the +room; as he looks up he sees the well-known weird +shape before him. It beckons him, but he demands +patience and writes on as before; then the ghost shakes +his chains over his head and beckons once more imperatively. +Now he rises, takes his lamp, and follows his +visitor through the passages into a court-yard, where +the ghost disappears. The philosopher pulls up some +grass on the spot and marks the place. On the following +day he appeals to the authorities to cause the place +to be dug up; and when this is done, the bones of an old +man, loaded with heavy chains, are found. From that +time the house was left undisturbed, as if the departed +had only desired to induce some intelligent person to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +bestow upon him the honors of a decent burial, which +among the ancients were held all-important. ("Letter +to Sera," l. vii. 27.) The story told by Lucian ("Philopseudes," +xxx.) is almost identical with that of Pliny. +Here, also, a house in Corinth, once belonging to +Eubatides, was left unoccupied, for the same reasons, +and began to decay, when the Pythagorean, Arignotus, +determined to ascertain the reality of these nightly +appearances. He goes there after midnight, places his +lamp on the floor, lies down and begins to read. Soon +a horrible monster appears, black as night, and changes +from one disgusting beast into another, till at last it +yields to the stern command of the intrepid philosopher +and disappears in a corner of the large room. +When day breaks, workmen are brought in to take up +the floor; a skeleton is found and decently interred, and +from that day the house is left to its usual peace and +quiet. ("Epist." l. vii. 27.) Plutarch, also, in his "Life +of Cimon," states that the baths at Chæronea were +haunted by the ghost of Damon, who had there found +his death; the doors were walled up and the place forsaken, +but up to his day no relief had been devised, +and fearful sights and terrible sounds continued to render +the place uninhabitable.</p> + +<p>Nor are Eastern lands unacquainted with this popular +belief. Egypt has its haunted houses in nearly +every village, and in Cairo there are a great number, +while in Tunis whole streets were abandoned to ghostly +occupants. In Nankin a great mandarin owned a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +spacious building which he could neither occupy himself +nor rent to others, because of its evil reputation. +At last the Jesuit Riccius, a missionary, offered to take +it for his order; the fathers moved into it, conquered +the ghosts by some means best known to themselves, +and not only obtained a good house but great prestige +with the natives for their triumph over the spirits (C. +Hasart. <i>Hist. Eccles. Sinica</i>, p. 4, ch. iii.).</p> + +<p>The same singular belief is not only met with in +every age and among the most enlightened nations, but +even in our own century a similar case occurred and is +well authenticated. The Duke Charles Alexander of +Würtemberg of unholy memory, died at the town of +Ludwigsburg, perhaps by murder. For years afterwards +the palace was the scene of most violent disturbances; +even the sentinels, powerful and well-armed men, were +bodily lifted up and thrown across the parapet of the +terrace. At other times the whole building appeared to +be filled with people; doors were opened and closed, +lights were seen in the apartments and dim figures flitted +to and fro. Large detachments of troops under +the command of officers, specially selected for the purpose, +were ordered to march through the palace more +than once, on such occasions, but never discovered a +trace of human agency (Kerner. <i>Bilder.</i> p. 143). Even +the great Frederick of Prussia, a man whose thoroughly +skeptical mind might surely be supposed to have been +free from all superstition, was once forced to admit his +inability to explain by natural causes an occurrence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +the kind. A Catholic priest in Silesia lost his cook, +who had been specially dear to him; her ghost—as it +was called—continued to haunt the house, and, most +strange of all, not in order to disturb its peace, but to +perform the usual domestic service. The floors were +swept, the fires made, and linen washed, all by invisible +hands. Frederick, who accidentally heard of the matter, +ordered a captain and a lieutenant of his guard to +investigate it; they were received by the beating of +drums and then allowed to witness the same household +performances. When the grim old captain broke out +in a fearful curse, he received a severe box on the ears +and retreated utterly discomfited. Upon his report to +the king the house was pulled down and a new parsonage +erected at some distance from the place. The occurrence +is mentioned in many historical works and +quoted without comment even by the great historian +Menzel. Another striking case of a somewhat different +character, was fully reported to the Colonial Office in +London. The scene was a large vault in the island of +Barbadoes, hewn out of the live rock and accessible +only through a huge iron door, fastened in the usual +way by strong bolts and a lock, the key to which was +kept at the Government House. During the year 1819 +it was opened four times for purposes of interment, and +each time it was observed that all the coffins in the +vault had been violently thrown about. The Governor, +Lord Combermere, went himself, accompanied by his +staff and a number of officers, to examine the place, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +found the vault itself in perfect order and without a +trace of violence. He ordered the door to be closed +with cement and placed his seal upon the latter, an example +followed by nearly all the bystanders. Eight +months later, the 28th of April, 1820, he had the vault +opened in the presence of a large company of friends +and within sight of a crowd of several thousands. The +cement and the seals were found to be perfect and uninjured; +the sand which had been carefully strewn over +the floor of the vault showed no footmark or sign +whatever, but the coffins were again thrown about in +great confusion. One, of such weight that it required +eight men to move it, was found standing upright, and +a child's coffin had been violently dashed against the +wall. A carefully drawn up report with accompanying +drawings was sent home, but no explanation has ever +been discovered. Scientific men were disposed to ascribe +the disturbance to earthquakes, but the annals of +the island report none during those years; there remains, +however, the possibility that the examination of +the vault was after all imperfect, and that the sea might +have had access to it through some hidden cleft. In +that case an unusually high tide might very well have +been the invisible agent.</p> + +<p>Even the Indian of our far West cherishes the same +superstitious belief, and in his lodge on the slopes of the +Rocky Mountains, he hears mysterious knockings. To +him they are the kindly warning of a spirit, whom he +calls the Great Bear, which announces some great +calamity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> + +<p>That certain localities seem to be frequented by ghosts, +that is, to be haunted, with special preference, must be +ascribed to the contagious nature of such mental affections +as generally produce these phenomena. This is, +moreover, by no means limited, as is commonly believed, +to Northern regions, where frequent fogs and dense +mists, short days and long nights, together with sombre +surroundings and awe-inspiring sounds in nature, combine +to predispose the mind to expect supernatural appearances. +Thus, for instance, fair Suabia, one of the +most favored portions of Germany, sweet and smiling in +its fertile plains, and by no means specially gruesome, +even in the most secluded parts of the Black Forest, +teems with haunted localities. Dr. Kerner's home, +Weinsberg, enjoyed ghostly visits almost in every house; +the neighborhood was similarly favored, and even in the +open country there are countless peasants' cottages and +noblemen's seats, which are frequented by ghosts. One +of the most attractive estates in Würtemberg was purchased +in 1815 by a distinguished soldier, whose dauntless +courage had caused him to rise rapidly from grade +to grade under the eye of the great Napoleon. Soon +after his arrival his wife was aroused every night by a +variety of mysterious noises, rising from weird, low +whinings to terrific explosions. The colonel also heard +them, and tried his best to ascertain the cause. Night +after night, moreover, the great castle clock, which went +perfectly well all day long, struck at wrong hours, and +was found all wrong in the morning. The disturbing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +powers soon became personal; for one night, when the +colonel, sitting at the supper table, and hearing the +usual sounds, said angrily, "I wish the ghost would make +himself known!" a fearful explosion took place, knocking +down the speaker and bringing all the inmates of +the house to the room. Search was immediately instituted, +and the main weight of the great clock was discovered +to be missing. A new weight had to be ordered, +and only long afterwards the old one was found wedged +in between two floors above the clock. Nor were the +disturbances confined to the castle: at midnight the +horses in the stable became restless and almost wild, +tearing themselves loose and sweating till they were +covered with white foam. One night the colonel went +to the stable, mounted his favorite charger, who had +borne him in the din and roar of many a battle, and +awaited the striking of midnight. Instantly the poor +animal began to tremble, then to rear and kick furiously, +until his master, famous as a good horseman, could hold +him in no longer, and was carried around the stable by the +maddened horse so as to imperil his life. After an hour, +the poor creatures began to calm down, but stood trembling +in all their limbs; the colonel's own horse succumbed +to the trial and died in the morning. A new +stable had to be built, which remained free from disturbances.</p> + +<p>By far the most remarkable and, strange enough, at +the same time the best authenticated of all accounts +of disturbances caused by recently departed friends is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +found in a memoir written by the sufferer herself, and +addressed to the famous Baron Grimm under the pseudonym +of Mr. Meis. Through the latter the story +reached Goethe, who at once appropriated it in all its +details, and merely changing the name of the principal +to Antonelli, inserted it in his "Conversations of +German Emigrants." The same event is fully related +in the "Memoirs of the Margravine of Anspach" as "a +story which at that time created a great sensation in +Paris, and excited universal curiosity." But even +greater authority yet is given to this account by the +fact that it was officially recorded in the police reports +of Paris, from which it has been frequently extracted +for publication. Mdlle. Hippolyte Clairon makes substantially +the following statements: "In the year 1743 +my youth and my success on the stage procured for me +much attention from young fops and elderly profligates, +among whom, however, I found frequently a few better +men. One of these, who made a deep impression upon +me, was a Mr. S., the son of a merchant from Brittany, +about thirty years old, fair of features, well made, and +gifted with some talent for poetry. His conversation +and his manners showed that he had received a superior +education, and that he was accustomed to good society, +while his reserve and bashfulness, which prevented him +from allowing his attachment to be seen, made him all +the dearer to me. When I had ascertained his discretion, +I permitted him to visit me, and gave him to +understand that he might call himself my friend. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +took this patiently, seeing that I was still free and not +without tender feelings, and hoping that time might +inspire me with a warmer affection. Who knows what +might have happened! But I used to question him +closely, both from curiosity and from prudence, and +his candid answers destroyed his prospects; for he confessed +that, dissatisfied with his modest station in life, +he had sold his property in order to live in Paris in +better society, and I did not like this. Men who are +ashamed of themselves are not, it seems to me, calculated +to inspire others with respect. Besides, he was +of a melancholy and dissatisfied temper, knowing men +too well, as he said, not to despise and avoid them. He +intended to visit no one but myself, and to induce me +also to see no one but him. You may imagine how I +disliked such ideas. I might have been held by garlands, +but did not wish to be bound with chains. +From that moment I saw that I must disappoint his +hopes, and gradually withdrew from his society. This +caused him a severe illness, during which I showed +him all possible attention. But my steady refusal to +do more for him only deepened the wound, and at the +same time the poor young man had the misfortune of +being stripped of nearly all his property by his faithless +brother, to whom he had intrusted the sale of all he +owned, so that he saw himself compelled to accept +small sums from me for the payment of his daily food +and the necessary medicines.</p> + +<p>"At last he recovered part of his property, but his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +health was ruined; and as I thought I was rendering +him a real service by widening the distance between us, +I refused henceforth to receive his letters and his visits.</p> + +<p>"Thus matters went on for two years and a half, when +he died. He had sent for me, wishing to enjoy the +happiness of seeing me once more in his last moments, +but my friends would not allow me to go. He had no +one near him except his servants and an old lady, who +had of late been his only companion. Our lodgings +were far apart: his near the Chaussée-d'Antin, where +only a few houses had as yet been built, and mine near +the Abbey of St. Martin. My daily guests were an +agent, who attended to all my professional duties, Mr. +Pipelet, well known and beloved by all who knew him, +and Rosely, one of my fellow-comedians, a kind young +man full of wit and talent. We had modest little +suppers, but we were merry and enjoyed ourselves +heartily. One evening I had just been singing several +pretty airs which seemed to delight my friends, when +the clock struck eleven, and at the same moment an +extremely sharp cry was heard. Its plaintive sound +and long duration amazed everybody; I fainted away +and remained for nearly a quarter of an hour unconscious.</p> + +<p>"My agent was in love with me and so mad with +jealousy that when I recovered, he overwhelmed me +with reproaches, and said the signals for my interview +were rather loud. I told him that as I had the right +to receive when and whom I chose, no signals were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +needed, and this cry had surely been heart-rending +enough to convince him that it announced no sweet +moments. My paleness, my tremor, which lasted for +some time, my tears flowing silently and almost unconsciously, +and my urgent request that somebody +would stay up with me during the night, all these +signs convinced him of my innocence. My friends remained +with me, discussing the fearful cry, and determining +finally to station guards around the house.</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless the dread sound was repeated night +after night; my friends, all the neighbors, and even the +policemen who were stationed near us, heard it distinctly; +it seemed to be uttered immediately under my +window, where nothing could ever be seen. There was +no doubt entertained as to the person for whom it was +intended, for whenever I supped out, no cry was heard; +but frequently after my return, when I entered my +room and inquired about it of my mother and my +servants, it suddenly pierced the air anew. Once the +president of the court, at whose house I had been +entertained, proposed to see me home in safety; at the +moment when he wished me good-night at the door, +the cry was heard right between us, and the poor man +had to be lifted into his carriage more dead than +alive.</p> + +<p>"Another time my young companion, Rosely, a clever, +witty man, who believed in nothing in heaven or on +earth, was riding with me in my carriage on our way +to a friend who lived in a distant part of the city. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +were discussing the fearful torment to which I was +exposed, and he, laughing at me, at last declared he +would never believe it unless he heard it with his own +ears, and defied me to summon my lover. I do not +know how I came to yield, but instantly the cry was +repeated three times, and with overwhelming fierceness. +When our carriage reached the house, the servants +found us both lying unconscious on the cushions, and +had to summon assistance before we recovered. After +this I heard nothing for several months, and began to +hope that all was over. But I was sadly mistaken.</p> + +<p>"The members of the king's troop of comedians had +all been ordered to appear at Versailles, in honor of the +dauphin's marriage, and as we were to spend three days +there, lodgings had been provided. It so happened, +however, that a friend of mine, Mme. Grandval, had been +forgotten, and seeing her trouble, I at last offered her, +towards three o'clock in the morning, to share my room, +in which there were two beds. This forced me to take +my maid into my own bed, and as she was in the act of +coming, I said to her: 'Here we are at the end of the +world, the weather is abominable, and the cry would find +it hard to follow us here!' At that moment it resounded +close to us; Mme. Grandval jumped up terribly +frightened, and ran through the whole house, waking +everybody, and keeping us all in such a state of excitement +that not an eye was closed the whole night. Seven +or eight days later, as I was chatting merrily with a +number of friends, at the striking of the hour, a shot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +was heard, coming apparently through my window. +We all heard it and saw the fire, but the pane was not +broken. Everybody thought at once of an attempt to +murder me, and some friends hastened instantly to the +Chief of Police. Men were immediately sent to search +the houses opposite, and for several days and nights the +street was strictly guarded by a number of soldiers; +my own house was searched from roof to cellar, and +friends came in large companies to assist in watchings: +nevertheless, the shot fell night after night at the same +hour, for three months, with unfailing accuracy. No +clue was found and no sign was seen save the sound of +the shot and the sight of the fire. Daily reports of the +occurrence were sent to the headquarters of the police, +new measures were continually devised and applied, +but the authorities were baffled as well as all who tried +to fathom the mystery. I became at last quite accustomed +to the disturbance, and was in the habit of speaking +of it as the doing of a <i>bon diable</i>, because he contented +himself so long a time with jugglers' tricks; but one +night as I had stepped through the open window out upon +a balcony, and was standing there with my agent by my +side, the shot suddenly fell again and knocked us both +back into the room, where we fell down as if dead. When +we recovered our consciousness, we got up, and after +some hesitation, confessed to each other that our ears +had been severely boxed, his on the right side and mine +on the left, whereupon we gave way to hearty laughter. +The next night was quiet, but on the following day I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +was riding with my maid to a friend's house, where I +had been invited to meet some acquaintances. As we +passed through a certain part of the city, I recognized +the houses in the bright moonlight, and said jestingly: +'This looks very much like the part of town where +poor S. used to live.' At the same moment a near +church clock struck eleven, and instantly a shot was +fired at us from one of the buildings, which seemed to +pass through our carriage. The coachman thought we +had been attacked by robbers, and whipped his horses +to escape; I knew what it meant, but still felt thoroughly +frightened, and reached the house in a state little +suited for social enjoyment. This was, however, the +last time my unfortunate friend used a gun.</p> + +<p>"In place of the firing there came now a loud clapping +of hands, with certain modulations and repetitions. +This sound, to which I had become accustomed on the +stage by the kindness of my friends, did not disturb me +as much as my companions. They would station themselves +around my door and under my window; they +heard it distinctly, but could not see a trace of any person. +I do not remember how long this continued; but +it was followed by the singing of a sweet, almost heavenly +melody, which began at the upper end of the street +and gradually swelled till it reached my house, where +it slowly expired. Then the disturbance ceased altogether.</p> + +<p>"The only light that was ever thrown upon the mystery +came from an old lady who called on me on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +pretext of wishing to see my house which I had offered +for rent. I was very much struck by her venerable appearance +and her evident emotion. I offered her a chair +and sat down opposite to her, but was for some time +unable to say a word. At last she seemed to gather +courage and told me that she had long wished to make +my acquaintance, but had not dared to come so long as +I was constantly surrounded by hosts of friends and admirers. +At last she had happened to see my advertisement +and availed herself of the opportunity in order to +see me—and to visit my house, which had a deep +though melancholy interest in her eyes. I guessed at +once that she was the faithful friend who alone remained +by the bedside of poor S., when he was prostrated +by a fatal disease and refused to see anybody +else. For months, she now told me, he had spoken of +nothing save of myself, looking upon me now as an +angel and now as a demon, but utterly unable to keep +his thoughts from dwelling uninterruptedly upon the +one subject which filled his mind and his heart alike. +I tried to explain to the old lady how I had fully appreciated +his good qualities and noble impulses, finding it, +however, impossible to fall in with his peculiar views +of society and to promise, as he insisted I should do, to +forsake all I loved for the purpose of living with him in +loneliness and complete retirement. I told her, also, +that when he sent for me to see him in his last moments, +my friends prevented my going, and that I felt +myself that the sight of his death under such circum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>stances +would have been dangerous in the extreme to +my peace of mind, besides being utterly useless to the +dying man. She admitted the force of my reasoning, +but repeated that my refusal had hastened his end and +deprived him at the last moment of all self-control. In +this state of mind, when a few minutes before eleven, +the servant had entered and assured him in answer to +his passionate inquiry, that no one had come, he had +exclaimed: 'The heartless woman! She shall gain +nothing by her cruelty, for I will pursue her after death +as I have pursued her during life!' and with these +words on his lips he had expired."</p> + +<p>The impression produced by this thoroughly authenticated +recital is a strong argument in favor of a continued +connection after death of the human soul with +the world in which we live. There was a man whose +whole existence was absorbed by one great and all-pervading +passion; it brought ruin to his body and disabled +his mind from correcting the vagaries of his fancy. +He died in this state, with a sense of grievous +wrong and intense thirst of revenge uppermost in his +mind. Then follow a number of magic phenomena, +witnessed, for several years, by thousands of attached +friends and curious observers, defying the vigilance of +soldiers and the acuteness of police agents. These disturbances, +at first bearing the stamp of willful annoyance, +gradually assume a milder form, as if expressive +of softening indignation; they become weaker and less +frequent, and finally cease altogether, suggestive of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +peace which the poor erring soul had at last found, by +infinite mercy and goodness, when safely entering the +desired haven.</p> + +<p>On the other hand—for contrasts meet here as well +as elsewhere—these phenomena have been frequently +ascribed to purely physical causes, and in a number of +cases the final explanation has confirmed this suggestion. +A hypochondriac artist, for instance, was nightly +disturbed by a low but furious knocking in his bed, +which was heard by others as well as by himself. He +prayed, he caused priests to come to his bedside, he had +masses read in his behalf, but all remained in vain. +Then came a plain, sensible friend, who, half in jest +and half in earnest, covered his big toe with a brass wire +which he dipped into an alkaline solution, and behold, +the knockings ceased and never returned! (Dupotel, +"Animal Magn.") In another case a somnambulistic +woman frightened herself as well as others by most +violent knockings whenever she was disappointed or +thwarted; her physician, suspecting the cause, finally +gave her antispasmodic remedies, and it soon appeared +that in her nervous spasms the muscles had been +vibrating forcibly enough to produce these disturbances. +Since these discoveries it has been found that almost +anybody may produce such knockings—which stand in +a suspicious relationship to spirit-rappings—by exerting +certain muscles of the leg; some men, who have practised +this trick for scientific purposes, like Professor +Schiff, of Florence, are able to imitate almost all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +various knockings generally ascribed to ghosts and +spirits. The public performances of Mr. Chauncey +Burr, in New York, gave very striking illustrations of +this power, and a Mr. Shadrach Barnes rapped with his +toes to perfection.</p> + +<p>In a large number of cases such phenomena appear +in connection with persons who suffer of some nervous +disease, and then the knockings are, of course, produced +unconsciously, and may be accompanied by evidences +of exceptional powers. It need not be added, however, +that the two symptoms are not necessarily of the same +nature; generally the mechanical knockings precede +the development of ecstatic visions. A girl of eleven +years, the child of humble Alsatian parents, presented, +in 1852, this succession of symptoms very strikingly. +The child had a habit of falling asleep at all hours; at +once mysterious knockings began to perform a dance +or a march, and continued daily for more than an hour. +After some time the poor girl began, also, to talk in her +sleep, and to converse with the knocking agent. She +would order him to beat a tattoo, or to play a quickstep, +and immediately it was done. The directions of bystanders, +even when not uttered but merely formed +earnestly in their mind, were obeyed in like manner. +Finally the child, getting no doubt worse and unmercifully +excited by the crowds of curious people who +thronged the house, began to admonish her audience, +and to preach and pray; during these exhortations no +knockings were heard, but she became clairvoyant and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +recognized all the persons present, even with her eyes +closed. She fancied that a black man with a red shawl +produced the knockings and delivered the speeches. +Her clairvoyance became at last so striking that her +case excited the deepest interest of persons in high +social position, and several physicians examined it with +great care. Her disease was declared to be neurosis +cœliaca ("Magicon," v. 274).</p> + +<p>A very peculiar and utterly inexplicable phenomenon +belonging to this class of ghostly appearances is the +complete removal of persons by an unseen power. The +idea of such occurrences must have been current among +the Jews, for when "there appeared a chariot of fire +and horses of fire ... and Elijah went up by a whirlwind +into heaven" (II. Kings ii. 11), the sons of the +prophets did not at once resign themselves, but sent +fifty strong men to seek him, "lest peradventure the +Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him +upon some mountain or into some valley" (v. 16). In +the New Testament the same mysterious removal is +mentioned in the case of Philip, after his interview +with the Ethiopian, whom he baptized. "The Spirit of +the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him +no more," and "Philip was found at Azotus" (Acts +viii. 39, 40). What in these cases was done by divine +power, is said to be occasionally the work of an unknown +and unseen force. Generally, no doubt, men or +children lose themselves by accident, either when they +are already from illness or other cause in a state of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +semi-consciousness, or when they become so bewildered +and frightened by the accident itself, that they fancy +they must have been carried away by a mysterious +power. The best authenticated case is reported in +Beaumont (p. 65). An Irish steward, crossing a field, +saw in it a large company feasting, and was invited to +join their meal. One of them, however, warned him in +a whisper not to accept anything that should be offered. +Upon his refusal to eat, the table vanished and the +men were seen dancing to a merry music. He was +again invited to join, and when he refused, all disappeared, +and he found himself alone. He hurried +home thoroughly terrified, and fainted away in his +room. During the night he dreamt—or really saw—that +one of the mysterious company appeared at his +bedside and announced to him that if he dare leave the +house on the following day, he would be carried away. +He remained at home till the evening, when, thinking +himself safe, he stepped across the threshold. Instantly +his companions saw him, with a rope around his body, +hurried away so fast that they could not follow. At +last they meet a horseman whom they request by signs +to arrest the unhappy victim; he seizes the rope and +receives a smart blow, but rescues the steward. Lord +Orrery desired to see the man, and when the latter +presented himself before the earl, he reported that +another nightly visitor had threatened him as before. +He was, thereupon, placed in a large room under the +guard of several stout men; a number of distinguished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +persons, two bishops among them, went constantly in +and out. In the afternoon he was suddenly lifted into +the air; a famous boxer, Greatrix, who had been +specially engaged to guard him, and another powerful +man, seized him by the shoulders, but he was dragged +from their grasp and for some time carried about high +above their heads, till at last he fell into the arms of +some of his keepers. During the night the same apparition +stood once more by his bed-side, inviting him to +drink of a gray porridge, which would cure him of all ills +and protect him against further violence. He suffered +himself to be persuaded, when the visitor made himself +known as a former friend who had to attend those mysterious +meetings in punishment of the dissolute life +he had led upon earth, and who now wished to save +another unhappy fellow-being from a like sad fate. At +the same time he reminded him of his neglect to pray, +and then disappeared. The steward speedily recovered +from his fright, and was no further molested. There +can be little doubt that the man was ill at ease in body +and in conscience, and that this double burden was too +heavy to bear for his mind; his thoughts became disordered, +till he felt an apparently external power +stronger than his own will, and thus not only imagined +strange visions, but actually obeyed erratic impulses of +his diseased mind, as if they were acts of violence from +without.</p> + +<p>A favorite pastime of these pseudo-ghosts is the +throwing of stones at the buildings or even into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +rooms of those whom they wish to annoy. Good Cotton +Mather loved to tell stories of such perverse proceedings, +and states at length the sufferings of George +Walton, at Portsmouth, in 1682. Invisible hands +threw such a hailstorm of stones against his house, +that the door was burst open, although the inhabitants, +when hit by the stones, only felt a slight touch. Then +the stones began to fly about inside, and to destroy the +window-panes from within; when picked up by some +of the witnesses, they proved to be burning hot; they +were marked and placed upon a table, whereupon they +commenced to fly about once more. It is characteristic +of the whole proceeding that the only person really injured +by the operation was the owner of the house, a +quaker! The learned author delights also in recitals +of children who were plagued by evil spirits, having +forks and knives, pins and sharp scissors stuck into +their backs, and whose food, at the moment when it +was to be carried from the plate to the mouth, flew +away, leaving yarn, ashes, and vile things to reach the +palate! At other times the disturbance assumes a +somewhat more dignified form, and appears as the +ringing of bells. Thus Baxter tells us of a house at +Colne Priory, in Essex, where, for a time, every morning +at two o'clock a large bell was heard, while in the parish +of Wilcot, a smaller bell waked the vicar night after +night with its tinkling, and yet could not be heard outside +of the dwelling. Physicians know very well how +readily the pressure of blood to certain vessels in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +head produces the impression of the ringing of bells, +and experience tells us how easily men are made to +believe that they see or hear what others assure them +is seen or heard by everybody. Even the great John +Wesley seems not to have been fully convinced of the +purely natural character of such disturbances, when +they annoyed his venerable father at Epworth Rectory; +and Dr. Priestley, a calm and cautious writer, says of +these phenomena: "It is perhaps the best-authenticated +and the best-told story of the kind that is anywhere +extant, on which account, and to exercise the ingenuity +of some speculative person, I thought it not undeserved +of being published." It seems that in 1716 the rectory +became the scene of strange disturbances, which were +at first ascribed to one of the minister's enemies, Jeffrey. +The inmates heard an incessant walking about, sighing +and groaning, cackling and crowing; a hand-mill was +set whirling around by invisible hands, and the Amen! +with which Wesley's father ended the family prayer +was accompanied by a noise like thunder. Even the +faithful watchdog was disturbed and his instinct overawed, +for he sought refuge with men, and barked +furiously, till his excitement rose to a state resembling +madness, he even anticipated the coming of the disturbance, +and announced it by his intense agitation.</p> + +<p>The subject is one of extreme difficulty because of +the large number of cases in which all such disturbances +have been clearly traced to the agency of dissatisfied +servants, hidden enemies, or envious neighbors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +whose sole purpose was a desire to drive the occupant +from his house, or to diminish its value. It is characteristic +of human nature that the cunning and the skill +displayed on such occasions even by ignorant servants +and awkward rustics are perfectly amazing, a fact +which proves anew the assertion of old divines, that +the Devil is vastly better served than the Lord of Heaven. +Even the best authenticated case of such mysterious +disturbances, Kerner's so-called Seeress of Prevorst, +is not entirely free from all suspicion. Mrs. +Hauffe, a lady of delicate health, great nervous irritability, +and a mind which was, to say the least, not too +well balanced, became the patient of Dr. Justinus +Kerner, in southern Germany. Besides her mysterious +power to reveal unknown things, to read the future, +and to prescribe for herself and others, of which mention +has been made before; she was also pursued by +every variety of strange noises. Plates and glasses, +tables and chairs were violently thrown about in the +house in which she lived; a medicine phial rose slowly +into the air and had to be brought back by one of the +bystanders, and an easy-chair was lifted up to the ceiling, +but came down again quite gently. The suffering +woman was the only one who knew the cause of these +phenomena; she ascribed them all to a dark spirit, +Belon's companion, who appeared to her as a black column +of smoke, with a hideous head, and whose approach +oppressed even some of the bystanders—especially +the patient's sister. He was not content with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +disturbing Mrs. Hauffe only, but carried his wantonness +even into the homes of distant friends and kinsmen. A +pious minister, who frequently visited the poor sufferer, +was contagiously affected by the ill-fated atmosphere of +her house; night after night he was waked up, by a +"bright spirit," who coughed and sighed and sobbed in +his presence, till a fervent prayer drove him away; if +the poor divine, however, prayed only faintly or entertained +doubts in his heart, the spirit mocked him with +increased energy. Later even the minister's wife succumbed, +saw the same luminous appearances and heard +the same mysterious noises, till the whole matter was +suddenly brought to an end by an amulet! To this +class of occurrences belongs also the experience of the +Rev. Dr. Phelps of Stratford, Connecticut. One fine +day he found, upon returning from church, that all the +doors of his house, which he had carefully locked, were +open and everything in the lower rooms in a state of +boundless confusion. Nothing, however, had been +stolen. In the upper story a room was found to be occupied +by eight or ten persons diligently reading in an +open Bible, which each one held close to his face. Upon +examination these readers were discovered to be bundles +of clothes carefully and most cunningly arranged so as +to represent living beings. Everything was cleared +away and the room was locked; but in three minutes, +the clothing, which had been put aside, disappeared, +and when the door was opened the same scene was presented. +For seven long months the house was haunted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +by most extraordinary phenomena; noises of every kind +were heard by day as well as by night; utensils and window-panes +were broken before the eyes of numerous +witnesses by invisible hands, and the son of the house, +eleven years old, was bodily lifted up and carried away +to some distance. The most searching inquiry led to +no result, until at last Dr. Phelps, almost in despair, +applied to some spiritualists, and in consequence of the +hints he received was enabled to bring the disturbances +to a speedy end (<i>Rechenberg</i>, p. 58).</p> + +<p>Stone-throwing seems to be a favorite amusement with +Eastern ghosts also; at least we are told that it is quite +frequent in the western part of the Island of Java, where +the Sunda people live amid gigantic mountains and still +active volcanoes. They believe in good and evil spirits, +and are firmly convinced that constant intercourse is +kept up between earth-born men and heavenly beings. +The whole Indian Archipelago is filled with the latter, +and hence, the throwing of stones, sand and gravel, by +invisible hands, has a name of its own, it is called Gundarua. +Some thirty years ago, a German happened to be +Assistant-Resident at Sumadang, in the service of the +Dutch government. His wife had taken a fancy to a +native child ten years old, who was allowed to go in and +out the house at will. One morning during the German's +absence, the child's white dress was found to be +soiled all over with red betel-juice, and at the moment +when her patroness made this discovery, a stone fell apparently +from the ceiling, at her feet. The same phe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>nomenon +was repeated over and over again, till the lady, +in her distress, appealed to a neighboring native sovereign, +who promised his assistance. He sent immediately +a large force of armed men, who surrounded the house +and watched the room; nevertheless, the red spots reappeared +and stones fell as before. Towards evening, a +Mohammedan mufti, of high rank, was sent for; but he +had scarcely opened his Koran, to read certain sentences +for the purpose of exorcising the demons, when the sacred +book was hurled to one side and the lamp to another. +The lady took the child to the prince's residence to spend +the night there, and no disturbance occurred. But when +her husband, for whom swift messengers had been sent +out, returned on the following day, the same trouble +occurred; the child was spit at with betel-juice and +stones kept falling from on high. Soon the report +reached the Governor-General at Breitenzorg, who thereupon +sent a man of great military renown, a Major +Michiels, to investigate the matter. Once more the +house was surrounded by an armed force, even the +neighboring trees were carefully guarded, and the major +took the little girl upon his knees. In spite of all these +precautions, her dress was soon covered with red spots, +and stones flew about as before. No one, however, was +injured. They were gathered up, proved to be wet or +hot, as if just picked up in the road, and at night filled +a huge box. The same process continued, when a huge +sheet of linen had been stretched from wall to wall, so +as to form an inner ceiling under the real ceiling; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +now not only stones, but also fruit from the surrounding +trees, freshly gathered, and mortar from the kitchen fell +into the newly formed tent. At the same time the furniture +was repeatedly disturbed, tumblers and wineglasses +tossed about, and marks left on the large mirror +as if a moist hand had been passed over the surface. +The marvelous occurrences were duly reported to the +home government, and the king, William II., ordered +that no pains should be spared to clear up the matter. +But no explanation was ever obtained; only the fact was +ascertained that similar phenomena had been repeatedly +observed in other parts of the island also, and were +considered quite ordinary occurrences by the natives. +Certain families, it may be added, claim to have inherited +from their ancestors the power to make themselves +invisible, a gift which is almost invariably accompanied +by the Gundarua; as these native families gradually die +out, the symptoms of the latter also disappear more +and more. There is no doubt that here, as in the Russian +<i>poganne</i> (cursed places which are haunted by ghosts), +the belief in such appearances, bequeathed through long +ages from father to son, has finally obtained a force +which renders it equal to reality itself. Reason is not +only biased, but actually held bound; the mind is +wrought up to a state of excitement in which it ceases +to see clearly, and finally visions assume an overwhelming +force, which ends in symptoms of what is called +magic. The same law applies, for instance, to the ancient +home of charmers and magicians, the land of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +Nile, where also the studies of the ancient Magi have +been assumed by a succession of learned men, till they +were taken up by fanatic Mohammedans, whose creed +arranges invisible beings, angels, demons, and others, +in regular order, and assigns them a home in distinct +parts of the universe. It is not without interest to observe +that even Europeans, after a long residence in the +Orient, become deeply imbued with such notions, and +men like Bayle St. John, in his account of magic performances +which he witnessed, do not seem able to remain +altogether impartial.</p> + +<p>One of the most remarkable phenomena belonging to +this branch of magic is the appearance of living or +recently deceased persons to friends or supplicants. +The peculiarity in this case consists in the constantly +changing character of the appearance: the double—as +it is called—is the vision of the dying man, which +appears to others or to his own senses. The former +class of cases was well known in antiquity, for Pythagoras +already had, according to popular report, appeared +to numerous friends before he died. Herodotus and +Maximus Tyrius state both, that Aristæus sent his +spirit into different lands to acquire knowledge, and +Epimenides and Hernestinus, from Claromenæ, were +popularly believed to be able to visit, when in a state of +ecstasy, all distant countries, and to return at pleasure. +St. Augustine, also, states ("Sermon," 123) that he, +himself, had appeared to two persons who had known +him only by reputation, and advised them to go to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +Hippons in order to obtain their health there by the intercession +of St. Stephen. They really went to the +place and recovered from their disease. At another +time his form appeared to a famous teacher of eloquence +in Carthage and explained to him several most difficult +passages in Cicero's writings (<i>De cura pro mortuis</i>, ch. +ii). The saints of the Catholic church having possessed +the gift of being in several places at once, apparently so +very generally, that the miracle has lost its interest, +except where peculiar circumstances seem to suggest +the true explanation. Such was, for instance, the last-mentioned +case, recited by St. Augustine (<i>De Civ. Dei.</i> +l. 8. ch. 18). Præstantius requested a philosopher to +solve to him some doubts, but received no answer. The +following night, however, when Præstantius lay awake, +troubled by his difficulties, he suddenly saw his learned +friend standing by his bedside and heard from his lips +all he desired to know. Upon meeting him next day, +he inquired why he had been unwilling to explain the +matter in the daytime, and thus caused himself the +trouble of coming at midnight to his house. "I never +came to your house," was the reply, "but I dreamt that +I did." Here was very evidently a case of magic activity +on the part of the philosopher, whose mind was, in +his sleep, busily engaged in solving the propounded +mystery and thus affected not himself only, but his +absent friend likewise.</p> + +<p>The story of Dr. Donne's vision is well known, and +deserves all the more serious attention as his candor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +was above suspicion, and his judgment held in the +highest esteem. He formed part of an embassy sent to +Henry IV. of France, and had been two days in Paris, +thinking constantly and anxiously of his wife, whom he +had left ill in London. Towards noon he suddenly fell +into a kind of trance, and when he recovered his senses +related to his friends that he had seen his beloved wife +pass him twice, as she walked across the room, her hair +dishevelled and her child dead in her arms. When she +passed him the second time, she looked sadly into his +face and then disappeared. His fears were aroused to +such a degree by this vision that he immediately dispatched +a special messenger to England, and twelve +days later he received the afflicting news that on that +day and at that hour his wife had, after great and protracted +suffering, been delivered of a still-born infant +(Beaumont, p. 96). In Macnish's excellent work on +"Sleep," we find (p. 180) the following account: "A +Mr. H. went one day, apparently in the enjoyment of +full health, down the street, when he saw a friend of +his, Mr. C., who was walking before him. He called +his name aloud, but the latter pretended not to hear +him, and steadily walked on. H. hastened his steps to +overtake him, but his friend also hurried on, and thus +remained at the same distance from him; thus the two +walked for some time, till suddenly Mr. C. entered a +gateway, and when Mr. H. was about to follow, slammed +the door violently in his face. Perfectly amazed at +such unusual conduct, Mr. H. opened the door and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +looked down the long passage, upon which it opened, +but saw no one. Determined to solve the mystery, he +hurried to his friend's house, and there, to his great +astonishment, learnt that Mr. C. had been confined to +his bed for some days. It was not until several weeks +later that the two friends met at the house of a common +acquaintance; Mr. H. told Mr. C. of his adventure, +and added laughingly, that having seen his +double, he was afraid Mr. C. would not live long. +These words were received by all with hearty laughter; +but only a few days after this meeting the unfortunate +friend was seized with a violent illness, to which he +speedily succumbed." What is most remarkable, however, +is that Mr. H. also followed him, quite unexpectedly, +soon to the grave. Whatever may have been +the nature of the event itself, it cannot be doubted that +the minds of both friends were far more deeply impressed +by its mysteriousness than they would probably +have been willing to acknowledge to themselves, and +that the nervous excitement thus produced brought +out an illness lurking already in their system, and rendered +it fatal. A very remarkable case was that of a +distinguished diplomat, related by A. Moritz in his +"Psychology." He was lying in bed, sleepless, when +he noticed his pet dog becoming restless, and apparently +disturbed to the utmost by a rustling and whisking +about in the room, which he heard but could not explain. +Suddenly a kind of white vapor rose by his +bed-side, and gradually assumed the outline and even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +the features of his mother; he especially noticed a +purple ribbon in her cap. He jumped out of bed and +endeavored to embrace her, but she fled before him and +as suddenly vanished, leaving a bright glare at the +place where she had disappeared. It was found, afterwards, +that at that hour—10 o'clock <span class="smcap">A. M.</span>—the old +lady had been ill unto death, lying still and almost +breathless on her couch; she had felt the anguish of +death in her heart, and had thought so anxiously of +her son and her sister, that her first question when she +recovered was, whether she had not perhaps been +visited by the two persons who had thus occupied her +whole mind. It was also ascertained that, contrary to a +life's habit, she had on that day worn a purple ribbon +in her night-cap. A German professor once succeeded +in establishing the connection which undoubtedly +exists between the will of certain persons and their +appearance to others. He had only been married a +year in 1823, when he was compelled to leave his wife +and to undertake a long and perilous journey. Once, +sitting in a peculiarly sad and dejected mood alone in +a room of his hotel, he longed so ardently for the +society of his wife, that he felt in his heart as if, by a +great effort of will, he should be able to see her. He +made the effort, and, behold! he saw her sitting at her +work-table, busily engaged in sewing, and himself, as +was his habit, on a low foot-stool by her side. She +tried to conceal her work from his eyes. A few days +later a messenger reached him, sent by his wife, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +was in great consternation and anxiety. On that day +she also had suddenly seen her husband seated by her +side, attentively watching her at work, and continuing +there till her father entered the room, upon which the +professor had instantly disappeared. When he returned +to his house he made minute inquiries as to the work +he had seen in the hands of his wife, and this was of +such peculiar character as to exclude all ideas of a +mere dream on his part. Here also the supreme will +of the professor must have endowed him for the moment +with exceptional powers, enabling him to make +himself visible to his wife, while the latter, with the +ardent love which bound her to her husband, was at +the same moment sympathetically excited, and thus +enabled to second his will, and to behold him as she +was accustomed to see him most frequently.</p> + +<p>Owen in his "Footfalls on the Boundary of Another +World," reports fully a remarkable case here repeated +only in outline. Robert Bruce, thirty years old, served +as mate on board a merchant vessel on the line between +Liverpool and St. John in New Brunswick. When the +ship was near the banks he was one day about noon +busy calculating the longitude, and thinking that the +captain was in his cabin—the next to his own—he +called out to him: How have you found it? Looking +back over his shoulder, he saw the captain writing busily +at his desk, and as he heard no answer, he went in +and repeated his question. To his horror the man at +the desk raised his head and revealed to him the face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +of an entire stranger, who regarded him fixedly. In a +state of great excitement he rushed to the upper deck, +where he found the captain and told him what had occurred. +Thereupon both went down; there was no one +in the cabin, but on the captain's slate an unknown +hand had written these words: Steer NW.! No effort +was spared to solve the mystery; the whole vessel was +searched from end to end, but no stranger was discovered; +even the handwriting of every member of the +crew was examined, but nothing found resembling in +the least degree the mysterious warning. After some +hesitation the captain decided, as nothing was likely to +be lost by so doing, to obey the behest and ordered the +helmsman to steer northwest. A few hours later they +encountered the wreck of a vessel fastened to an iceberg, +with a large crew and a number of passengers, in +expectation of certain death. When the unfortunate +men were brought back by the ship's boats, Bruce suddenly +started in utter amazement, for in one of the +saved men he recognized, by dress and features, the person +he had seen at the captain's desk in the cabin. The +stranger was requested to write down the words: Steer +NW.! and when the words were compared with those +still standing on the slate, they were identical! Upon +inquiry it turned out that the shipwrecked man had at +noon fallen into a deep sleep, during which he had seen +a ship approaching to their rescue. When he had been +waked half an hour later he had confidently assured +his fellow-sufferers that they would be rescued, de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>scribing +even the vessel that was to come to their assistance. +Words cannot convey the amazement of the unfortunate +men when they saw, a few hours afterwards, +a ship bear down upon them, which bore all the marks +predicted by their companion, and the latter assured +Robert Bruce that everything on board the vessel appeared +to him perfectly familiar.</p> + +<p>Cases in which men have been seen at the same time +at two different places are not less frequent, though +here the explanation is much less easy. A French girl, +Emilie Sagée, had even to pay a severe penalty for such +a peculiarity: she was continually met with at various +places at once, and as she could not give a satisfactory +excuse for being at one place when her duties required +her to be at another, she was suspected of sad misconduct. +She lived as governess in a boarding-school in +Livonia, and the girls of the institute saw her at the +same time sitting among them and walking below in +the garden by the side of a friend, and not unfrequently +two Miss Sagées would be seen standing before the +blackboard, looking exactly alike and performing the +same motions, although one of them only wrote with +chalk on the board. Once, while she was helping a +friend to lace her dress behind, the latter looked into +the mirror and to her horror saw two persons standing +there, whereupon she fell down fainting. The poor +French girl lost her place not less than nineteen times +on account of her double existence (Owen, "Footfalls," +etc., p. 348).<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + +<p>Occasionally this "double" appears to others at the +same time that it is seen by the owner himself. Thus +the Empress Elizabeth, of Russia, was seen by a Count +O. and the Imperial Guards, seated in full regalia on +her throne, in the throne-room, while she was lying fast +asleep in her bed. The vision was so distinct, and the +terror of the beholders so great, that the Empress was +actually waked, and informed of what had happened, by +her lady-in-waiting, who had herself seen the whole +scene. The dauntless Empress did not hesitate for a +moment; she dressed hastily and went to the throne-room; +when the doors were thrown open, she saw herself, +as the others had seen her; but so far from being +terrified like her servants, she ordered the guard to fire +at the apparition. When the smoke had passed away, +the hall was empty—but the brave Empress died a few +months latter (<i>Bl. aus Prevost</i>, V. p. 92). Jung +Stilling mentions another striking illustration. A +young lieutenant, full of health and in high spirits, +returns home from a merry meeting with old friends. +As he approaches the house in which he lives, he sees +lights in his room and, to his great terror, himself in +the act of being undressed by his servant; as he stands +and gazes in speechless wonder, he sees himself walk to +his bed and lie down. He remains for some time +dumbfounded and standing motionless in the street, +till at last a dull, heavy crash arouses him from his +revery. He makes an effort, goes to the door and rings +the bell; his servant, who opens the door, starts back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +frightened, and wonders how he could have dressed so +quickly and gone out, as he had but just helped him to +undress. When they enter the bedroom, however, they +are both still more amazed, for there they find a large +part of the ceiling on the bed of the officer, which is +broken to pieces by the heavy mortar that had fallen +down. The young lieutenant saw in the warning a +direct favor of Providence and lived henceforth so as +to show his gratitude for this almost miraculous escape +("Jenseits," p. 105).</p> + +<p>Not unfrequently the seeing of a "double" is the +result of physical or mental disease. Persons suffering +of catalepsy are especially prone to see their own forms +mixing with strange persons, who people the room in +which they are confined. Insanity, also, very often +begins with the idea, that the patient's own image is +constantly by his side, accompanying him like his +shadow wherever he goes, and finally irritating him +beyond endurance. In these cases there is, of course, +nothing at work but a diseased imagination, and with +the return of health the visions also disappear.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most important branch of this subject +is the theory, cherished by all nations and in all ages, +that the dying possess at the last moment and by a +supreme effort, the mysterious power of making themselves +perceptible to friends at a distance. We leave +out, here also, the numerous instances told of saints, +because they are generally claimed by the Catholic +Church as miracles. One of the oldest well-authen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>ticated +cases of the kind, occurred at the court of Cosmo +de' Medici, in 1499. In the brilliant circle of eminent +men which the great merchant prince had gathered +around him, two philosophers, Michael Mercatus, papal +prothonotary, and Marsilius Ficinus were prominent by +their vast erudition, their common devotion to Platonic +philosophy, and the ardent friendship which bound +them to each other. They had solemnly agreed that he +who should die first, should convey to the other some +information about the future state. Ficinus died first, +and his friend, writing early in the morning near a +window, suddenly heard a horseman dashing up to his +house, checking his horse and crying out: "Michael! +Michael! nothing is more true than what is said +of the life to come!" Mercatus immediately opened +the window and saw his bosom friend riding at full +speed down the road, on his white horse, until he was +out of sight. He returned, full of thought, to his +studies; but wrote at once to inquire about his friend. +In due time the answer came, that Ficinus had died in +Florence at the very moment in which Mercatus had +seen him in Rome. Our authority for this remarkable +account is the Cardinal Baronius, who knew +Mercatus and heard it from his own lips; but the dates +which he mentions do not correspond with the annals +of history. He places the event in the year 1491, but +Michele de' Mercati was papal prothonotary under Sixtus +V. (1585-90) and could, therefore, not have been the +friend of Ficinus, the famous physician and theologian,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +who was one of Savonarola's most distinguished +adherents.</p> + +<p>Nor can we attach much weight to the old ballads of +Roland, which recite in touching simplicity the anguish +of Charlemagne, when he heard from afar the sound of +his champion's horn imploring him to come to his +assistance, although the two armies were at so great a +distance from each other that when the Emperor at last +reached the ill-fated valley of Ronceval, his heroic friend +had been dead for some days. Calderon depicts in like +manner, but with the peculiar coloring of the Spanish +devotee, how the dying Eusebio calls his absent friend +Alberto to his bedside, to hear his last confession, and +how the latter, obeying the mysterious summons, hastens +there to fulfil his solemn promise.</p> + +<p>A well-known occurrence of this kind is reported by +Cotton Mather as having taken place in New England. +On May 2d, 1687, at 5 o'clock <span class="smcap">A. M.</span>, a young man, called +Beacon, then living in Boston, suddenly saw his brother, +whom he had left in London, standing before him in +his usual costume, but with a bleeding wound in his +forehead. He told him that he had been foully murdered +by a reprobate, who would soon reach New England; +at the same time he described minutely the appearance +of his murderer, and implored his brother to +avenge his death, promising him his assistance. Towards +the end of June official information reached the colony +that the young man had died on May 2d, at 5 o'clock +<span class="smcap">A. M.</span>, from the effects of his wounds. But here, also,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +several inconsistencies diminish the value of the account. +In the first place, the narrator has evidently forgotten +the difference in time between London and Boston in +America, or he has purposely falsified the report, in +order to make it more impressive. Then the murderer +never left his country; although he was tried for his +crime, escaped the penalty of death by the aid of influential +friends. It is, however, possible that he may have +had the intention of seeking safety abroad at the time +he committed the murder.</p> + +<p>The apparition of the great Cardinal of Lorraine at +the moment of death, is better authenticated. D'Aubigné +tells us (<i>Hist. Univer.</i> 1574, p. 719) that the +queen Catherine of Medici, was retiring one day, at an +earlier hour than usual, in the presence of the King of +Navarre, the Archbishop of Lyons, and a number of +eminent persons, when she suddenly hid her eyes under +her hands and cried piteously for help. She made great +efforts to point out to the bystanders the form of the +Cardinal, whom she saw standing at the foot of her bed +and offering her his hand. She exclaimed repeatedly: +"Monsieur le Cardinal, I have nothing to do with you!" +and was in a state of most fearful excitement. At last +one of the courtiers had the wit to go to the Cardinal's +house, and soon returned with the appalling news that +the great man had died in that very hour. To this class of +cases belongs also the well-known vision of Lord Lyttleton, +who had been warned that he would die on a +certain day, at midnight, and who did die at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +appointed hour, although his friends had purposely advanced +every clock and watch in the house by half an +hour, and he himself had gone to bed with his mind +relieved of all anxiety. Jarvis, in his "Accreditated Ghost +Stories," p. 13, relates the following remarkable case: +"When General Stuart was Governor of San Domingo, +in the early part of our war of independence, he was one +day anxiously awaiting a certain Major von Blomberg, +who had been expected for some time. At last he determined +to dictate to his secretary a dispatch to the +Home Government on this subject, when steps were +heard outside, and the major himself entered, desiring +to confer with the Governor in private. He said: +'When you return to England, pray go into Dorsetshire +to such and such a farm, where you will find my +son, the fruit of a secret union with Lady Laing. +Take care of the poor orphan. The woman who has +reared him has the papers that establish his legitimacy; +they are in a red morocco pocket-book. Open it and +make the best use you can of the papers you will find. +You will never see me again.' Thereupon the major walked +away, but nobody else had seen him come or go, and +nobody had opened the house for him. A few days later, +news reached the island that the vessel on which Blomberg +had taken passage, had foundered, and all hands +had perished, at the very hour when the former had +appeared to his friend the Governor. It became also +known that the two friends had pledged each other, not +only that the survivor should take care of the children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +of him who died first, but also that he should make an +effort to appear to him if permitted to do so. The +Governor found everything as it had been told him; +he took charge of his friend's son, who became a <i>protégé</i> +of Queen Charlotte, when she heard the remarkable +story, and was educated as a companion of the future +George IV."</p> + +<p>Lord Byron tells the following story of Captain +Kidd. He was lying one night in his cabin asleep, +when he suddenly felt oppressed by a heavy weight +apparently resting on him; he opened his eyes, and by +the feeble light of a small lamp he fancied he saw his +brother, dressed in full uniform, and leaning across the +bed. Under the impression that the whole is a mere +idle delusion of his senses, he turns over and falls +asleep once more. But the sense of oppression returns, +and upon opening his eyes he sees the same image as +before. Now he tries to seize it, and to his amazement +touches something wet. This terrifies him, and he +calls a brother officer, but when the latter enters, +nothing is to be seen. After the lapse of several +months Captain Kidd received information that in that +same night his brother had been drowned in the Indian +Sea. He himself told the story to Lord Byron, +and the latter endorsed its accuracy (<i>Monthly Rev.</i>, +1830, p. 229).</p> + +<p>One of the most remarkable interviews of this kind, +which continued for some time, and led to a prolonged +and interesting conversation during which the three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +senses of sight, hearing, and touch, were alike engaged, +is that which a Mrs. Bargrave had on the 8th of September, +1805. According to an account given by +Jarvis ("Accred. Ghost Stories," Lond., 1823), she was +sitting in her house in Canterbury, in a state of great +despondency, when a friend of hers, Miss Veal, who +lived at Dover, and whom she had not seen for two +years and a half, entered the room. The two ladies +had formerly been very intimate, and found equal comfort, +during a period of great sorrow, in reading +together works treating of future life and similar subjects. +Her friend wore a traveling suit, and the clocks +were striking noon as she entered; Mrs. Bargrave +wished to embrace her, but Miss Veal held a hand +before her eyes, stating that she was unwell and drew +back. She then added that she was on the point of +making a long journey, and feeling an irresistible desire +to see her friend once more, she had come to Canterbury. +She sat down in an armchair and began a +lengthened conversation, during which she begged her +friend's pardon for having so long neglected her, and +gradually turned to the subject which had been uppermost +in Mrs. Bargrave's mind, the views entertained by +various authors of the life after death. She attempted +to console the latter, assuring her that "a moment of +future bliss was ample compensation for all earthly +sufferings," and that "if the eyes of our mind were as +open as those of the body, we should see a number of +higher beings ready for our protection." She declined,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +however, reading certain verses aloud at her friend's request, +"because holding her head low gave her the +headache." She frequently passed her hand over her +face, but at last begged Mrs. Bargrave to write a letter +to her brother, which surprised her friend very much, for +in the letter she wished her brother to distribute certain +rings and sums of money belonging to her among +friends and kinsmen. At this time she appeared to be +growing ill again, and Mrs. Bargrave moved close up +to her in order to support her, in doing so she touched +her dress and praised the materials, whereupon Miss +Veal told her that it was recently made, but of a silk +which had been cleaned. Then she inquired after Mrs. +Bargrave's daughter, and the latter went to a neighboring +house to fetch her; on her way back she saw Miss +Veal at a distance in the street, which was full of +people, as it happened to be market-day, but before she +could overtake her, her friend had turned round a +corner and disappeared.</p> + +<p>Upon inquiry it appeared that Miss Veal, whom she +had thus seen, whose dress she had touched, and with +whom she had conversed for nearly two hours, had died +the day before! When the question was discussed with +the relatives of the deceased, it was found that she had +communicated several secrets to her Canterbury friend. +The fact that her dress was made of an old silk-stuff +was known to but one person, who had done the cleaning +and made the dress, which she recognized instantly +from the description. She had also acknowledged to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +Mrs. Bargrave her indebtedness to a Mr. Breton for an +annual pension of ten pounds, a fact which had been +utterly unknown during her lifetime.</p> + +<p>In Germany a number of such cases are reported, +and often by men whose names alone would give +authority to their statements. Thus the philosopher +Schopenhauer (<i>Parerga</i>, etc., I. p. 277) mentions a sick +servant girl in Frankfort on the Main, who died one +night at the Jewish hospital of the former Free City. +Early the next morning her sister and her niece, who +lived several miles from town, appeared at the gate of +the institution to make inquiries about their kinswoman. +Both, though living far apart, had seen her distinctly +during the preceding night, and hence their anxiety. +The famous writer E. M. Arndt, also, quotes a number +of striking revelations which were in this manner +made to a lady of his acquaintance. Thus he was once, +in 1811, visiting the Island of Rügen, in the Baltic, +and having been actively engaged all day, was sitting +in an easy-chair, quietly nodding. Suddenly he sees +his dear old aunt Sophie standing before him; on her +face her well-known sweet smile, and in her arms her +two little boys, whom he loved like his own. She was +holding them out to him as if she wished to say by this +gesture: "Take care of the little ones!" The next +day his brother joined him and brought him the news +that their aunt had died on the preceding evening at +the hour when she had appeared to Arndt. Wieland, +even, by no means given to credit easily accounts of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +supernatural occurrences, mentions in his "Euthanasia" +a Protestant lady of his acquaintance, whose mind +was frequently filled with extraordinary visions. She +was a somnambulist, and subject to cataleptic attacks. +A Benedictine monk, an old friend of the family, had +been ordered to Bellinzona, in Switzerland, but his +correspondence with his friends had never been interrupted +for years. Years after his removal the above-mentioned +lady was taken ill, and at once predicted +the day and hour of her death. On the appointed day +she was cheerful and perfectly composed; at a certain +hour, however, she raised herself slightly on her couch, +and said with a sweet smile, "Now it is time for me to +go and say good-bye to Father C." She immediately +fell asleep, then awoke again, spoke a few words, and +died. At the same hour the monk was sitting in Bellinzona +at his writing-table, a so-called pandora, a musical +instrument, by his side. Suddenly he hears a noise +like an explosion, and looking up startled, sees a white +figure, in whom he at once recognizes his distant friend +by her sweet smile. When he examined his instrument +he found the sounding-board cracked, which, no doubt, +had given rise to his hearing what he considered a +"warning voice." The Rev. Mr. Oberlin, well-known +and much revered in Germany, and by no means forgotten +in our own country, where a prosperous college still +bears his name, declares in his memoirs that he had for +nine years constant intercourse with his deceased wife. +He saw her for the first time after her death in broad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +daylight and when he was wide awake; afterwards the +conversations were carried on partly in the day and +partly at night. Other people in the village in which +he lived saw her as well as himself. Nor was it by the +eye only that the pious, excellent man judged of her +presence; frequently, when he extended his hand, he +would feel his fingers gently pressed, as his wife had +been in the habit of doing when she passed by him and +would not stop. But there was much bitterness and +sorrow also mixed up with the sweetness of these mysterious +relations. The passionate attachment of husband +and wife could ill brook the terrible barrier that +separated them from each other, and often the latter +would look so wretched and express her grief in such +heartrending words that the poor minister was deeply +afflicted. The impression produced on his mind was +that her soul, forced for unknown reasons to remain for +some time in an intermediate state, remained warmly +attached to earthly friends and lamented the inability +to confer with them after the manner of men. After +nine years the husband's visions suddenly ended and +he was informed in a dream that his wife had been admitted +into a higher heaven, where she enjoyed the +promised peace with her Saviour, but could no longer +commune with mortal beings.</p> + +<p>It is well known that even the great reformer, Martin +Luther, knew of several similar cases, and in his +"Table Talk" mentions more than one remarkable instance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p> + +<p>Another well-known and much discussed occurrence +of this kind happened in the days of Mazarin, and created +a great sensation in the highest circles at Paris. A +marquis of Rambouillet and a marquis of Preci, intimate +friends, had agreed to inform each other of their +fate after death. The former was ordered to the army +in Flanders, while the other remained in the capital. +Here he was taken ill with a fever, several weeks after +parting with his friend, and as he was one morning towards +6 o'clock lying in bed awake, the curtains were +suddenly drawn aside, and his friend dressed as usual, +booted and spurred, was standing before him. Overjoyed, +he was about to embrace him, but his friend +drew back and said that he had come only to keep his +promise after having been killed in a skirmish the day +before, and that Preci also would share his fate in the +first combat in which he should be engaged. The latter +thinks his friend is joking, jumps up and tries to +seize him—but he feels nothing. The vision, however, +is still there; Rambouillet even shows him the fatal +wound in his thigh from which the blood seems still to +be flowing. Then only he disappears and Preci remains +utterly overcome; at last he summons his valet, +rouses the whole house, and causes every room and +every passage to be searched. No trace, however, is +found, and the whole vision is attributed to his fever. +But a few days later the mail arrives from Flanders, +bringing the news that Rambouillet had really fallen in +such a skirmish and died from a wound in the thigh;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +the prediction also was fulfilled, for Preci fell afterwards +in his first fight near St. Antoine (Petaval, <i>Causes +Célèbres</i>, xii. 269).</p> + +<p>The parents of the well-known writer Schubert were +exceptionally endowed with magic powers of this kind. +The father once heard, as he thought in a dream, +the voice of his aged mother, who called upon him to +come and visit her in the distant town in which she +lived, if he desired to see her once more before she died. +He rejected the idea that this was more than a common +dream; but soon he heard the voice repeating the warning. +Now he jumped up and saw his mother standing +before him, extending her hand and saying: "Christian +Gottlob, farewell, and may God bless you; you will not +see me again upon earth," and with these words she +disappeared. Although no one had apprehended such a +calamity, she had actually died at that hour, after +expressing in her last moments a most anxious desire +to see her son once more.</p> + +<p>Tangible perceptions of persons dying at a distance +are, of course, very rare. Still, more than one such +case is authoritatively stated; among these, the following: +A lawyer in Paris had returned home and walked, +in order to reach his own bedroom, through that of his +brother. To his great astonishment he saw the latter +lying in his bed; received, however, no answer to his +questions. Thereupon he walked up to the bed, +touched his brother and found the body icy cold. Of a +sudden the form vanished and the bed was empty. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +that instant it flashed through his mind that he and +his brother had promised each other that the one dying +first should, if possible, give a sign to the survivor. +When he recovered from the deep emotion caused by +these thoughts, he left the room and as he opened the +door he came across a number of men who bore the +body of his brother, who had been killed by a fall from +his horse (<i>La Patrie</i>, Sept. 22, 1857). The Count of +Neuilly, also, was warned in a somewhat similar manner. +He was at college and on the point of paying a +visit to his paternal home, when a letter came telling +him that his father was not quite well and that he had +better postpone his visit a few days. Later letters from +his mother mentioned nothing to cause him any uneasiness. +But several days afterward, at one o'clock in +the morning, he thought, apparently in a dream, that +he saw a pale ghastly figure rise slowly at the lower end +of his bed, extend both arms, embrace him and then +sink slowly down again out of sight. He uttered heart-rending +cries, and fell out of his bed, upsetting a chair +and a table. When his tutor and a man-servant rushed +into the room, they found him lying unconscious on +the floor, covered with cold, clammy perspiration and +strangely disfigured. As soon as he was restored to +consciousness, he burst out into tears and assured them +that his father had died and come to take leave of him. +In vain did his friends try to calm his mind, he remained +in a state of utter dejection. Three days later +a letter came from his mother, bringing him the sad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +news, that his father had died on that night and at the +hour in which he had appeared by his bedside. The +unfortunate Count could never entirely get rid of the +overwhelming impression which this occurrence had +made on his mind, and was, to the day of his death, +firmly convinced of the reality of this meeting (<i>Dix +Années d' émigration.</i> Paris, 1865).</p> + +<p>We learn from such accounts that there prevails +among all men, at all ages, a carefully repressed, but +almost irresistible belief in supernatural occurrences, +and in the close proximity of the spirit world. This +belief is neither to be treated with ridicule nor to be +objected to as unchristian, since it is an abiding witness +that men entertain an ineradicable conviction of +the immortality of the soul. No arguments can ever +destroy in the minds of the vast majority of men this +innate and intuitive faith. We may decline to believe +with them the existence of supernatural agencies, as +long as no experimental basis is offered; but we ought, +at the same time, to be willing to modify our incredulity +as soon as an accumulation of facts appear to +justify us in so doing. Our age is so completely given +up to materialism with its ceaseless hurry and worry, +that we ought to hail with a sense of relief new powers +which require examination, and which offer to our intellectual +faculties an untrodden field of investigation, +full of incidents refreshing to our weary mind, and +promising rich additions to our store of knowledge.</p> + +<p>It can hardly be denied that there is at least a pos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>sibility +of the existence of a higher spiritual power +within us, which, often slumbering and altogether unknown, +or certainly unobserved during life, becomes +suddenly free to act in the hour of death. This may +be brought about by the fact that at that time the +strength of the body is exhausted, and earthly wants +no longer press upon us, while the spiritual part of our +being, largely relieved of its bondage, becomes active in +its own peculiar way, and thus acquires a power which +we are disposed to call a magic power. This power is, +of course, not used consciously, for consciousness presupposes +the control over our senses, but it acts by intuitive +impulse. Hence the wide difference existing +between the so-called magic of charmers, enchanters, +and conjurors, justly abhorred and strictly prohibited +by divine laws, and the effects of such supreme efforts +made by the soul, which depend upon involuntary +action, and are never made subservient to wicked purposes.</p> + +<p>The results of such exertions are generally impressions +made apparently upon the eye or the ear; but it +need not be said that what is seen or heard in such +cases, is merely the effect of a deeply felt sensation in +our soul which seeks an outward expression. If our +innermost being is thus suddenly appealed to, as it +were, by the spirit of a dying friend or companion, his +image arises instantaneously before our mind's eye, and +we fancy we see him in bodily form, or our memory +recalls the familiar sounds by which his appearance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +was wont to be accompanied. Dying musicians remind +distant friends of their former relations by sweet +sounds, and a sailor, wounded to death, appears in his +uniform to relatives at home. The series of sights and +sounds by which such intercourse is established, varies +from the simplest and faintest vision to an apparently +clear and distinct perception of well-known forms, and +constitute feeble, hardly perceptible, sighs or sobs to +words uttered aloud, or whole melodies clearly recited. +If a living person, by such an unconscious but all-powerful +effort of will, makes himself seen by others, we call +the vision a "double," in German, a "Doppelgänger;" +if he produces a state of dualism, such as has been mentioned +before, and sees his own self in space before him, +we speak of second sight.</p> + +<p>Such efforts are, however, by no means strictly limited +to the moment of dissolution, when soul and body are +already in the act of parting. They occur also in living +persons, but almost invariably only in diseased persons. +The exceptions belong to the small number of men in +whom great excitement from without, or a mysterious +power of will, cause a state of ecstasy; they are, in common +parlance, "beside themselves." In this condition, +their soul is for the moment freed from the bondage in +which it is held by its earthy companion, and such men +become clairvoyants and prophets, or they are enabled +actually to affect other men at a distance, in various +ways. Thus it may very well be, that strange visions, +the hearing of mysterious voices, and especially the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +most familiar phenomenon, second sight, are in reality +nothing more than symptoms of a thoroughly diseased +system, and this explains very simply the frequency +with which death follows such mysterious occurrences.</p> + +<p>Men have claimed—and proved to the satisfaction of +more or less considerable numbers of friends—that they +could at will cause a partial and momentary parting between +their souls and their bodies. Here also antiquity is +our first teacher, if we believe Pliny (<i>Hist. Nat.</i> vii. c. +52), Hermotimus could at his pleasure fall into a trance +and then let his soul proceed from his body to distant +places. Upon being aroused, he reported what he had +seen and heard abroad, and his statements were, in every +case, fully confirmed. Cardanus, also, could voluntarily +throw himself into a state of apparent syncope, as +he tells us in most graphic words (<i>De Res. Var.</i> v. iii. l. +viii. c. 43). The first sensation of which he was always +fully conscious, was a peculiar pain in the head, which +gradually extended downward along the spine, and at +last spread over the extremities—evidently a purely +nervous process. Then he felt as if a "door was opened, +and he himself was leaving his body," whereupon he +not only saw persons at a distance, but noticed all that +befell them, and recalled it after he had recovered from +the trance. An old German Abbé Freitheim, of whose +remarkable work on <i>Steganographie</i> (1621), unfortunately +only a few sheets have been preserved, claims the +power to commune with absent friends by the mere energy +of his will. "I can," says he, "make known my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +thoughts to the initiated, at a distance of many hundred +miles, without word, writing or cypher, by any messenger. +The latter cannot betray me, for he knows nothing. +If needs be, I can even dispense with the messenger. +If my correspondent should be buried in the deepest +dungeon I could still convey to him my thoughts as +clearly, as fully, and as frequently as might be desirable, +and all this, quite simply, without superstition, +without the aid of spirits."</p> + +<p>The famous Agrippa (<i>De occulta philos., Lugduni</i>, +III. p. 13) quotes the former writer, and asserts +that he also could, by mere effort of will, in a +perfectly simple and natural manner convey his +thoughts not to the initiated only, but to any one, +even when his correspondent's present place of residence +should be unknown. The most remarkable, +and, at the same time, the best authenticated case +of this kind, is that of a high German official mentioned +in a scientific paper (<i>Nasse. Zeitschrift für +psychische Aerzte</i>, 1820), and frequently copied into +others. A Counsellor Wesermann claimed to be able +to cause distant friends to dream of any subject he +might choose. Whenever he awoke at night and made +a determined effort to produce such an effect, he never +failed, provided the nature of the desired dream was +calculated to startle or deeply excite his friends. His +power was tested in this manner. He engaged to cause +a young officer, who was stationed at Aix-la-Chapelle, +nearly fifty miles from his own home, to dream of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +young lady who had died not long ago. It was eleven +o'clock at night, but by some accident the lieutenant +was not at home in bed, but at a friend's country-seat, +discussing the French campaign. Suddenly the colonel, +his host, and he himself see at the same time the +door open, a lady enter, salute them sadly, and beckon +them to follow her. The two officers rise and leave the +room after her, but once out of doors, the figure disappears, +and when they inquire of the sentinels standing +guard outside, they are told that no one has entered. +What made the matter more striking yet, was the fact +that although both men had seen the door open, this +could not really have been so, for the wood had sprung +and the door creaked badly whenever it was opened. +The same Wesermann could, in like manner, cause his +friends to see his own person and to hear secrets which +he seemed to whisper into their ears whenever he +chose; but he admitted upon it that his will was not +at all times equally strong, and that, hence, his efforts +were not always equally successful. Cases of similar +powers are very numerous. A very curious example +was published in 1852, in a work on "Psychologic +Studies" (Schlemmer, p. 59). The author, who was a +police agent in the Prussian service, asserted that persons +who apprehended being conducted to gaol with +special anxiety, often made themselves known there in +advance, announcing their arrival by knocks at the +gates, opening of doors, or footsteps heard in the room +set aside for examining new comers. One day, not the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +writer only, but all the prisoners in the same building, +and even the sentinel at the gate heard distinctly a +great disturbance and the rattling of chains in a cell +exclusively appropriated to murderers. The next day +a criminal was brought who had expressed such horror +of this gaol, and made such resistance to the officials +who were to carry him there, that it had become necessary, +after a great uproar, to chain him hands and feet. +It is well known that the mother of the great statesman +Canning at one time of her life suffered under most +mysterious though harmless nightly visitations. Her +circumstances were such that she readily accepted the +offer of a dwelling which stood unoccupied, with the +exception of the basement, in which a carpenter had +his workshop. At nightfall he and his workmen left +the house, carefully locking the door, but night after +night, at twelve o'clock precisely, work began once +more in the abandoned part of the house, as far as the +ear could judge, and the noise made by planing and +sawing, cutting and carving increased, till the fearless +old lady slipt down in her stocking feet and opened the +door. Instantly the noise was hushed, and she looked +into the dark deserted room. But as soon as she returned +to her chamber the work began anew, and continued +for some time; nor was she the only one who +heard it, but others, the owner of the house included, +heard everything distinctly.</p> + +<p>The following well-authenticated account of a posthumous +appearance, is not without its ludicrous ele<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>ment. +A court-preacher in one of the little Saxon +Duchies, appeared once in bands and gowns before his +sovereign, bowing most humbly and reverently. The +duke asked what he desired, but received no answer except +another deep reverence. A second question meets +with the same reply, whereupon the divine leaves the +room, descends the stairs and crosses the court-yard, +while the prince, much surprised at his strange conduct, +stands at a window and watches him till he reaches the +gates. Then he sends a page after him to try and ascertain +what was the matter with the old gentleman, +but the page comes running back almost beside himself, +and reports that the minister had died a short while +before. The prince refuses to believe his report, and +sends a high official, but the latter returns with the +same report and this additional information: The dying +man had asked for writing materials, in order to +recommend his widow to his sovereign, but had hardly +commenced writing the letter when death surprised +him. The fragment was brought to the duke and convinced +him that his faithful servant, unable to reach him +by letter, and yet nervously anxious to approach him, +had spiritually appeared to him in his most familiar costume +(Daumer, <i>Mystagog.</i> I. p. 224).</p> + +<p>Before we regret such statements or treat them with +ridicule, it will be well to remember, that men endowed +with an extraordinary power of controlling certain faculties +of body and soul, are by no means rare, and that +the difference between them and those last mentioned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +consists only in the degree. We speak of the power of +sight and limit it ordinarily to a certain distance—and +yet a Hottentot, we are told, can perceive the head of a +gazelle in the dry, uniform grass of an African plain, at +the distance of a thousand yards! Many men cannot +hear sounds in nature which are perfectly audible to +others, while some persons hear even certain notes +uttered by tiny insects, which escape altogether the +average hearing of man. Patients under treatment by +Baron Reichenbach, saw luminous objects and the appearance +of lights hovering above ground, where neither +he nor any of his friends could perceive anything but +utter darkness, and the special gift with which some +persons are endowed to feel, as it were, the presence of +water and of metals below the surface, is well authenticated. +Poor Caspar Hauser, bred in darkness and solitude, +felt various and deep impressions upon his whole +being during the first months of his free life, whenever +he came in contact with plants, stones or metals. The +latter sent a current through all his limbs; tobacco fields +made him deadly sick, and the vicinity of a graveyard +gave him violent pains in his chest. Persons who were +introduced to him for the first time, sent a cold current +through him; and when they possessed a specially powerful +physique, they caused him abundant perspiration, and +often even convulsions. The waves of sound he felt so +much more acutely than others, that he always continued +to hear them with delight, long after the last sound +had passed away from the ears of others. It may be fairly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> +presumed that this extreme sensitiveness to outward impressions +is originally possessed by all men, but becomes +gradually dulled and dimmed by constant repetition; at +the same time it may certainly be preserved in rare privileged +cases, or it may come back again to the body in +a diseased or disordered condition, and at the moment +of dissolution.</p> + +<p>Nor is the power occasionally granted to men to control +their senses limited to these; even the spontaneous +functions of the body are at times subject to the will of +man. An Englishman, for instance, could at will modify +the beating of his heart (Cheyne, "New Dis.," p. 307), +and a German produced, like a veritable ruminant, the +antiperistaltic motions of the stomach, whenever he +chose (Blumenbach, <i>Phys.</i> § 294). Other men have +been known who could at any moment cause the familiar +"goose-skin," or perspiration, to appear in any part +of the body, and many persons can move not only the +ears—a lost faculty according to Darwin—but even enlarge +or contract the pupil of the eye, after the manner +of cats and parrots. Even the circulation of the blood has +been known, in a few rare cases, to have been subject to +the will of men, and the great philosopher Kant did not +hesitate to affirm, supported as he was by his own experience, +that men could, if they were but resolute +enough, master, by a mere effort of the will, not a few of +their diseases.</p> + +<p>A striking evidence of the comparative facility with +which men thus exceptionally gifted, may be able to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +imitate certain magic phenomena, was once given by an +excellent mimic, whom <i>Richard</i> describes in his <i>Théorie +des Songes</i>. He could change his features so completely +that they assumed a deathlike appearance; his +senses lost gradually their power of perception, and the +vital spirit was seen to withdraw from the outer world. +A slow, quivering motion passed through his whole system +from the feet upward, as if he wished to rise from +the ground. After a while all efforts of the body to +remain upright proved fruitless; it looked as if life had +actually begun to leave it already. At this moment he +abandoned his deception and was so utterly exhausted +that he heard and saw but with extreme difficulty.</p> + +<p>In the face of these facts the possibility at least cannot +be denied that certain specially endowed individuals +may possess, in health or in disease, the power to +perceive phenomena which appear all the more marvelous +because they are beyond the reach of ordinary powers +of perception.</p> + +<p>In our own day superstition and wanton, or cunningly +devised, imposture have been so largely mixed up +with the subject, that a strong and very natural prejudice +has gradually grown up against the belief in ghosts. +Every strange appearance, every mysterious coincidence, +that escaped the most superficial investigation, +was forthwith called a ghost. History records, besides, +numerous cases in which the credulity of great men +has been played upon for purposes of policy and statecraft. +When the German Emperor Joseph showed his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +great fondness of Augustus of Saxony—afterwards +king of Poland—his Austrian counsellors became +alarmed at the possible influence of such intimacy of +their sovereign with a Protestant prince, and determined +to break it off. Night after night, therefore, a fearful +vision arose before the German emperor, rattling its +chains and accusing the young prince of grievous heresy. +Augustus, however, known already at that time +for his gigantic strength, asked Joseph's permission to +sleep in his room; when the ghost appeared as usual, +the young prince sprang upon him, and feeling his +flesh and blood, threw him bodily out of a window of +the second story into a deep fosse. The unfortunate +king of Prussia, Frederick William II., fell soon after +his ascension of the throne into the hands of designing +men, who determined to profit by his great kindness of +heart and his tendency to mysticism, and began to +work upon him by supernatural apparitions. One of +the most cunningly devised impostures of the kind +was practised upon King Gustavus III. of Sweden by +ambitious noblemen of his court.</p> + +<p>The scene was the ancient Lofoe church in Drotingholm, +a favorite residence of former Swedish monarchs. +The king's physician, Iven Hedin, learnt accidentally +from the sexton that his master had been +spending several nights in the building, in company +with a few of his courtiers. Alarmed by this information +he persuaded the sexton to let him watch the proceedings +from a secret place in the old steeple of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> +church. An opportunity came in the month of August, +1782, and he had scarcely taken possession of +his post when two of the royal secretaries came in, +closed the door, and arranged a curious contrivance in +the body of the building. To his great surprise and +amusement the doctor saw them fasten some horse-hairs +to the heavy chandeliers suspended from the lofty ceiling, +and then pin to them masks sewed on to white +floating garments. Finally large quantities of incense +were scattered on the floor and set on fire, while all +lights, save a few thin candles, were extinguished. +Then the king was ushered in with five of his courtiers, +made to assume a peculiar, very irksome position, and +all were asked to hold naked swords upon each other's +breasts. Thereupon the first comer murmured certain +formulas of conjuration, and performed some ceremonies, +when his companion slowly drew up one of the +masks. It was fashioned to resemble the great Gustavus +Adolphus, and in the dimly-lighted church, filled +with dense smoke, it looked to all intents and purposes +like a ghost arising from the vaults underneath. It +disappeared as slowly into the darkness above, and was +immediately followed by another mask representing +Adolphus Frederick, and even the physician, who knew +the secret, could not repress a shudder, so admirably +was the whole contrived. Then followed a few flashes +of lightning, during which the horse-hairs were removed, +lights were brought in, and the king, deeply +moved and shedding silent tears, escorted from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +building. The faithful physician watched his opportunity, +and when a favorable hour appeared, revealed +the secret to his master, and thus, fortunately for +Sweden, defeated a very dangerous and most skillfully-conducted +conspiracy.</p> + +<p>Even ventriloquism has lent its aid to many an historical +imposture, as in the case of Francis I. of France, +whose valet, Louis of Brabant, possessed great skill in +that art, and used it unsparingly for his own benefit +and to the advantage of courtiers who employed him +for political purposes. He even persuaded the mother +of a beautiful and wealthy young lady to give him her +daughter's hand by imitating the voice of her former +husband, and commanding her to do so in order to +release him from purgatory!</p> + +<p>We fear that to this class of ghostly appearances +must also be counted the almost historical White Lady +of the Margraves of Brandenburg.</p> + +<p>Report says that she represents a Countess Kunigunde +of Orlamünde, who lived in the fourteenth century +and killed her two children, for which crime she was +executed by order of a Burggrave of Nuremberg. History, +however, knows nothing of such an event, and +the White Lady does not appear till 1486, when she is +first seen in the old palace at Baireuth. This was nothing +but a trick of the courtiers; whenever they desired +to leave the dismal town and the uncomfortable building, +one of the court ladies personated the ghost, and +occasionally, even two white ladies were seen at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +same time. In 1540 the ghost met with a tragic fate; +it had appeared several times in the castle of Margrave +Albert the warrior, and irritated the prince to such a +degree that he at last seized it one night and hurled it +headlong down the long staircase. The morning dawn +revealed his chancellor, Christopher Strass, who had betrayed +his master and now paid with a broken neck for +his bold imposture. After this catastrophe the White +Lady was not seen for nearly a hundred years, when she +suddenly reappeared in Baireuth. In the year 1677 the +then reigning Margrave of Brandenburg found her one +day sitting in his own chair and was terrified; the next +day he rode out, fell from his horse, and was instantly +killed. From this time the White Lady became a part +of the history of the house of Brandenburg, accompanying +the princes to Berlin and making it her duty to +forewarn the illustrious family of any impending calamity. +King Frederick I. saw her distinctly, but other +sovereigns discerned only a vague outline and now and +then the nose and eyes, while all the rest was closely +veiled. In the old palace at Baireuth there exist to this +day two portraits of the White Lady, one in white, as +she appeared of old, and very beautiful, the other in +black satin, with her hair powdered and dressed after +more modern fashion—there is no likeness between the +two faces. The ghost was evidently a good patriot, for +she disturbed French officers who were quartered there, +in the new palace as well as in the old, and as late as +1806 thoroughly frightened a number of generals who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +had laughed at the credulity of the Germans. In 1809 +General d'Espagne roused his aides in the depth of night +by fearful cries, and when they rushed in he was found +lying in the centre of the room, under the bedstead. +He told them that the White Lady, in a costume of +black and white, resembling one of the portraits, had +appeared and threatened to strangle him; in the struggle +she had dragged the bedstead to the middle of the +room and there upset it. The room was thoroughly +searched at his command, the hangings removed from +the walls, and the whole floor taken up, but no trace +was found of any opening through which a person +might have entered; the doors had been guarded by +sentinels. The general left the place immediately, +looking upon the vision as a warning of impending +evil, and, sure enough, a few days later he found his +death upon the battle-field of Aspern. Even the great +Napoleon, whose superstition was generally thought to +be confined to his faith in his "star," would not lodge +in the rooms haunted by the White Lady, and when he +reached Baireuth in 1812, a suite of rooms was prepared +for him in another wing of the palace. It was, however, +noticed that even there his night's rest must have +been interrupted, for on the next morning he was remarkably +nervous and out of humor, murmuring +repeatedly "<i>Ce maudit château</i>," and declaring that he +would never again stay at the place. When he returned +to that neighborhood in 1813, he refused to occupy the +rooms that had been prepared for him, and continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +his journey far into the night, rather than remain at +Baireuth. The town was, however, forever relieved of +its ill-fame after 1822. It is not without interest that +in the same year the steward of the royal palace died, +and report says in his rooms were found a number of +curiosities apparently connected with the White Lady's +costume; if this be so, his ardent patriotism and fierce +hatred of the French might well furnish a cue to some +of the more recent apparitions. The White Lady continued +to appear in Berlin, and the terror she created +was not even allayed by repeated discoveries of most +absurd efforts at imposture. Once she turned out to be +a white towel agitated by a strong draught between two +windows; at another time it was a kitchen-maid on an +errand of love, and a third time an old cook taking an +airing in the deserted rooms. She appeared once more +in the month of February, 1820, announcing, as many +believed, the death of the reigning monarch, which +took place in June; and quite recently (1872) similar +warning was given shortly before the emperor's brother, +Prince Albrecht, died in his palace.</p> + +<p>White ladies are, however, by no means an exclusive +privilege of the house of Brandenburg; Scotland has +its ancient legends, skillfully used in novel, poem and +opera, and Italy boasts of a Donna Bianca, at Colalta, +in the Marca Trivigiana, of whom Byron spoke as if he +had never doubted her existence. Ireland has in like +manner the Banshee, who warns with her plaintive +voice the descendants of certain old families, whenever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> +a great calamity threatens one of the members. Curiously +enough she clings to these once powerful but +now often wretchedly poor families, as if pride of +descent and attachment to old splendor prevailed even +in the realms of magic.</p> + +<p>Historical ghosts play, nevertheless, a prominent part +in all countries. Lilly, Baxter and Clarendon, all +relate the remarkable warnings which preceded the +murder of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. In this case +the warning was given not to the threatened man, but +to an old and faithful friend, who had already been +intimate with the duke's father. He saw the latter +appear to him several nights in succession, urging him +to go to the duke, and after revealing to him certain +peculiar circumstances, to warn him against the plots +of his enemies, who threatened his life. Parker was +afraid to appear ridiculous and delayed giving the +warning. But the ghost left him no peace, and at last, +in order to decide him, revealed to him a secret only +known to himself and his ill-fated son. The latter, +when his old friend at last summoned courage to +deliver the mysterious message, was at first inclined to +laugh at the warning; but when Parker mentioned the +father's secret, he turned pale and declared only the +Evil One could have entrusted it to mortal man. +Nevertheless, he took no steps to rid himself of his +traitorous friend and continued his sad life as before. +The father's ghost thereupon appeared once more to +Parker, with deep sadness in his features and hold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>ing +a knife in his hand, with which, he said, his +unfortunate son would be murdered. Parker, whose +own impending death had been predicted at the same +time, once more waited upon the great duke, but again +in vain; he was rudely sent back and requested not to +trouble the favorite's peace any more by his foolish +dreams. A few days afterwards Lieutenant Felton +assassinated the duke with precisely such a knife as +Parker had seen in his visions.</p> + +<p>A similar occurrence is related of the famous Duchess +of Mazarin, the favorite of Charles II., and Madame de +Beauclair, who stood in the same relation to James II. +The two ladies, who were bosom friends, had pledged +their word to each other, that she who died first should +appear to the survivor and inform her of the nature of the +future state. The duchess died; but as no message came +from her, her friend denied stoutly and persistently the +immortality of the soul. But many years later, when +the promise was long forgotten, the duchess suddenly +was seen one night, gliding softly through the room +and looking sweetly at her friend, whispering to her: +"Beauclair, between twelve and one o'clock to-night +you will be near me." The poor lady died at the +appointed hour (Nork. "Existence of Spirits," p. 260). +Less well-authenticated is the account of a warning +given to King George I. shortly before his death, +although it was generally believed throughout England +at the time it occurred. The report was that +the Queen, Sophia, repeatedly showed herself to her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +husband, beseeching him to break off his intercourse +with his beautiful friend, Lady Horatia. As these +requests availed nothing, and the monarch refused even +to believe in the reality of her appearance, she at last +tied a knot in a lace collar, declaring that "if mortal +fingers could untie the knot, the king and Lady +Horatia might laugh at her words." The fair lady +tried her best to undo it, but giving it up in despair, +she threw the collar into the fire; the king, highly +excited, snatched the lace from the burning coals, but +in so doing, touched with it the light gauze dress of +his companion. In her terror she ran with great swiftness +through room after room, thus fanning the flames +into a blaze, and perished amid excruciating pains. +The king, it is well known, died only two months +later.</p> + +<p>A case which created a very great sensation at the +time when it happened, and became generally known +through the admirable manner in which it was narrated +by the eloquent Bernardin de St. Pierre (<i>Journal +de Trévoux</i>, vol. viii.), was that of the priest Bezuel. +When a young man of 15, and at college, he contracted +an intimate friendship with the son of a royal official, +called Desfontaines. The two friends often spoke of future +life, and when parted in 1696, they signed with their +blood a solemn compact, in which they agreed that the +first who died should appear after death to the survivor. +They wrote to each other constantly, and frequently +alluded in their letters to the agreement. A year after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +their parting, Bezuel happened to be, one day, in the +fields, delivering a message to some workmen, when he +suddenly fell down fainting. As he was in perfect health, +he knew not what to think of this accident, but when +it occurred a second and a third time, at the same hour, +on the two following days, he became seriously uneasy. +On the last occasion, however, he fell into a trance, in +which he saw nothing around him, but beheld his friend +Desfontaines, who seized him by the arm and led him +some thirty yards aside. The workmen saw him go +there, as if obeying a guardian hand, and converse with +an unseen person for three quarters of an hour. The +young man heard here from his friend's lips, that he +had been drowned while bathing in the river Orne on +the day and at the hour when Bezuel had had his first +fainting fit, that a companion had endeavored to save +him, but when seized by the foot by the drowning man, +had kicked him on the chest, and thus caused him to +sink to the bottom. Bezuel inquired after all the details +and received full answers, but none to questions +about the future life; nevertheless, the apparition continued +to speak fluently but calmly, and requested Bezuel +to make certain communications to his kinsmen, +and to repeat the "seven penitential psalms," which he +ought to have said himself as a penance. It also mentioned +the work in which Desfontaines had been engaged +up to the day of his death, and some names which +he had cut in the bark of a tree near the town in which +he lived. Then it disappeared. Bezuel was not able to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +carry out his friend's wishes, although the arm by which +he had been seized, reminded him daily of his duty by +a severe pain; after a month, the drowned man appeared +twice more, urging his requests, and saying each time +at the end of the interview, "<i>bis, bis</i>," just as he had +been accustomed to do when in life. At last the young +priest found the means to do his friend's bidding; the +pain in the arm ceased instantly and his health remained +perfect to the end of his life. When he reached Caen +where Desfontaines had perished, he found everything +precisely as he had been told in his visions, and two +years afterwards he discovered by chance even the tree +with the names cut in the bark. The amiable Abbé +de St. Pierre does his best to explain the whole occurrence +as a natural series of very simple accidents; there +can be, however, no doubt of the exceptionable character +of the leading features of the event, and the priest, +from whose own account the facts are derived, must +evidently in his trance have been endowed with powers +of clairvoyance.</p> + +<p>In the first part of this century a book appeared in +Germany which led to a very general and rather violent +discussion of the whole subject. It was written by a +Dr. Woetzel, whose mind had, no doubt, been long +engaged in trying to solve mysteries like that of the +future life, since he had early come in contact with +strange phenomena. The father of a dear friend of his +having fainted in consequence of receiving a serious +wound, was very indignant at being roused from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> +state of perfect bliss which he had enjoyed during the +time. He affirmed that in the short interval he had +visited his brother in Berlin, whom he found sitting in +a bower under a large linden-tree, surrounded by his +family and a few friends, and engaged in drinking +coffee. Upon entering the garden, his brother had +risen, advanced towards him and asked him what had +brought him so unexpectedly to Berlin. A few days +after the fainting-fit a letter arrived from that city, +inquiring what could have happened on that day and +at that hour, and reciting all that the old gentleman +had reported as having been done during his unconsciousness! +Nor had the latter been seen by his +brother only, but quite as distinctly by the whole company +present; his image had, however, vanished again +as soon as his brother had attempted to touch him +(Woetzel, p. 215). From his work we learn that he +had begged his wife on her death-bed to appear to him +after death, and she had promised to do so; but soon +after her mind became so uneasy about the probable +effects of her pledge, that her husband released her, and +abandoned all thoughts on the subject. Several weeks +later he was sitting in a locked room, when suddenly a +heavy draught of air rushed through it, the light was +nearly blown out, a small window in an alcove sounded +as if it were opened, and in an instant the faint luminous +form of his wife was standing before the amazed +widower. She said in a soft, scarcely audible voice: +"Charles, I am immortal; we shall see each other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +again." Woetzel jumped up and tried to seize the +form, but it vanished like thin mist, and he felt a +strong electric shock. He saw the same vision and +heard the same words repeatedly; his wife appeared as +he had last seen her lying in her coffin; the second +time a dog, who had been often petted by her, wagged +his tail and walked caressingly around the apparition. +The book, which appeared in 1804, and gave a full +account of all the phenomena, met with much opposition +and contempt; a number of works were written +against it, Wieland ridiculed it in his "Euthanasia," +and others denounced it as a mere repetition of former +statements. The author was, however, not abashed by +the storm he had raised; he offered to swear to the +truth of all he had stated before the Great Council of +the University of Leipzig, and published a second work +in which he developed his theory of ghosts with great +ability. According to his view, the spirits of the departed +are for some time after death surrounded by a +luminous essence, which may, under peculiarly favorable +circumstances, become visible to human eyes, but +which, according to the weakness of our mind, is generally +transformed by the imagination only into the +more familiar form of deceased friends. He insists, +besides, upon it that all he saw and heard was an impression +made upon the outer senses only, and that +nothing in the whole occurrence originated in his +inner consciousness. As there was nothing to be +gained for him by his persistent assertions, it seems<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +but fair to give them all the weight they may deserve, +till the whole subject is more fully understood.</p> + +<p>Another remarkable case is that of a Mr. and Mrs. +James, at whose house the Rev. Mr. Mills, a Methodist +preacher, was usually entertained when his duties +brought him to their place of residence. One year he +found they had both died since his last visit, but he +staid with the orphaned children, and retired to the +same room which he had always occupied. The adjoining +room was the former chamber of the aged +couple, and here he began soon to hear a whispering +and moving about, just as he used to hear it when they +were still alive. This recalled to him the reports he +had heard in the town, that the departed had been frequently +seen by their numerous friends and kinsmen. +The next day he called upon a plain but very pious +woman, who urged him to share her simple meal with +her; he consented, but what was his amazement when +she said to him at the close of the meal: "Now, Mr. +Mills, I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to +preach my funeral sermon next Sunday. I am going +to die next Friday at three o'clock." When the astonished +minister asked her to explain the strange request, +she replied that Mr. and Mrs. James had come to her +to tell her that they were ineffably happy, but still +bound by certain ties to the world below. They had +added that they had not died, as people believed, without +disposing of their property, but that, in order to +avoid dissensions among their children, they had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> +allowed to return and to make the place known where +the will was concealed. They had tried to confer with +Mr. Mills, but his timidity had prevented it; now they +had come to her, as the minister was going to dine that +day at her house. Finally they had informed her of +her approaching death on the day she had mentioned. +The Methodist minister looked, aided by the heirs and +a legal man, for the will and found it at the place indicated. +Nanny, the poor woman, died on Friday, and +her funeral sermon was preached by him on the following +Sunday (Rechenberg, p. 182).</p> + +<p>A certain Dr. T. Van Velseu published in 1870, in +Dutch, a work, called <i>Christus Redivivus</i>, in which he +relates a number of very remarkable appearances of +deceased persons, and among these the following: "A +friend of the author's, a man of sound, practical mind, +and a declared enemy of all superstition, lost his mother +whom he had most assiduously nursed for six weeks +and who died in full faith in her Redeemer. A few +days later his nephew was to be married in a distant +province, but although no near kinsman of his, except +his mother, could be present, he, the uncle, could not +make up his mind so soon after his grievous loss, to +attend a wedding. This decision irritated and wounded +his sister deeply and led to warm discussions, in which +other relatives also took her side, and which threatened +to cause a serious breach in the family. The mourner +was deeply afflicted by the scene and at night, having +laid the matter before God, he fell asleep with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> +thought on his mind: 'What would your mother think +of it?' Suddenly, while yet wide awake, he heard a +voice saying: 'Go!' Although he recognized the voice +instantly, he thought it might be his sister's and drew +the bed-curtain aside, to see who was there. To his +amazement he saw his mother's form standing by his +bedside; terrified and bewildered he dropped the curtain, +turned his face to the wall and tried to collect his +thoughts, but at the same time he heard the same +voice say once more: 'Go!' He drew the curtain again +and saw his mother as before, looking at him with deep +love and gentle urgency. This excites him so that he +can control himself no longer; he jumps up and tries +to seize the form—it draws back and gradually dissolves +before his eye. Now only he recalls how often he has +conversed with his mother about the future life and the +possibility of communication after death; he becomes +calm, decides to attend the wedding and sleeps soundly +till the morning. The next day he finds his heart +relieved of a sore burden; he joins his friends at the +wedding and finds, to his infinite delight, that by his +presence only a serious difficulty is avoided and peace +is preserved in a numerous and influential family. In +this case the effect of the mind on the imagination is +strikingly illustrated, and although the vision of the +mother may have existed purely in the son's mind, +the practical result was precisely the same as if a spirit +had really appeared in tangible shape so as to be seen +by the outward eye."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> + +<p>In some instances phenomena, like those described, +are apparently the result of a disturbed conscience, and +occur, therefore, in frequent repetition. Already Plutarch, +in his "Life of Cimon," tells us that the Spartan +general, Pausanias, had murdered a fair maiden, +Cleonice, because she overthrew a torch in his tent and +he imagined himself to be attacked by assassins. The +ghost of the poor girl, whom he had dishonored in life +and so foully killed, appeared to him and threatened +him with such fearful disgrace, that he was terrified +and hastened to Heraclea, where necromancers summoned +the spirits of the departed by their vile arts. +They called up Cleonice, at the great commander's +request, and she replied reluctantly, that the curse +would not leave him till he went to Sparta. Pausanias +did so and found his death there, the only way, says +the historian of the same name, in which he could ever +be relieved of such fearful guilt. Baxter, also, tells us +(p. 30) of a Rev. Mr. Franklin, whose young son repeatedly +saw a lady and received at her hands quite painful +correction. Thus, when he was bound apprentice to +a surgeon, in 1661, and refused to return home upon +being ordered to do so, she appeared to him, and when +he resisted her admonitions, energetically boxed his +ears. The poor boy was in bad health and seemed to +suffer so much that at last the surgeon determined to +consult his father, who lived on the island of Ely. On +the morning of the day which he spent travelling, the +boy cried out: "Oh, mistress, here's the lady again!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +and at the same time a noise as of a violent blow was +heard. The child hung his head and fell back dead. +In the same hour the surgeon and the boy's father, sitting +together in consultation, saw a lady enter the +room, glance at them angrily, walk up and down a few +times and disappear again.</p> + +<p>The fancy that murdered persons reappear in some +shape after death for the purpose of wreaking their +vengeance upon their enemies, is very common among +all nations, and has often been vividly embodied in legends +and ballads. The stories of Hamlet and of Don +Giovanni are based upon this belief, and the older +chronicles abound with similar cases belonging to an +age when violence was more frequent and justice less +prompt than in our day. Thus we are told in the annals +of the famous castle of Weinsberg in Suabia—justly +renowned all over the world for the rare instance +of marital attachment exhibited by its women—that a +steward had wantonly murdered a peasant there. +Thereupon disturbances of various kinds began to +make the castle uninhabitable; a black shape was seen +walking about and breathing hot and hateful odors +upon all it met, while the steward became an object of +special persecution. The townspeople at first were +skeptic and laughed at his reports, but soon the black +visitor was seen on the ramparts of the town also and +created within the walls the same sensation as up at the +castle. The good citizens at last observed a solemn fast-day +and performed a pilgrimage to a holy shrine at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +Heilbrum. But all was in vain, and the disturbances +and annoyances increased in frequency and violence, +till at last the unfortunate steward died from vexation +and sorrow, when the whole ceased and peace was restored +to town and castle alike (Crusius, "Suabian +Chron." ii. p. 417).</p> + +<p>Another case of this kind is connected with a curious +token of gratitude exhibited by the gratified victim. +A president of the Parliament of Toulouse, +returning from Paris towards the end of the seventeenth +century, was compelled by an accident to stop +at a poor country tavern. During the night there appeared +to him an old man, pale and bleeding, who +declared that he was the father of the present owner of +the house, that he had been murdered by his own son, +cut to pieces, and buried in the garden. He appealed to +the president to investigate the matter and to avenge +his murder. The judge was so forcibly impressed by +his vision that he ordered search to be made, and lo! +the body of the murdered man was found, and the son, +thunderstruck by the mysterious revelation, acknowledged +his guilt, was tried, and in course of time died +on the scaffold. But the murdered man was not satisfied +yet; he showed himself once more to the president +and asked how he could prove his gratitude? The +latter asked to be informed of the hour of his death, +that he might fitly prepare himself, and was promised +that he should know it a week in advance. Many +years afterwards a fierce knocking was heard at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +gate of the president's house in Toulouse; the porter +opened but saw no one; the knocking was repeated, +but this time also the servants who had rushed to the +spot found nobody there; when it was heard a third +time they were thoroughly frightened and hastened to +inform their master. The latter went to the door and +there saw the well-remembered form of his nightly +visitor, who told him that he would die in eight days. +He told his friends and his family what had happened, +but only met with laughter, as he was in perfect health +and nothing seemed more improbable than his sudden +death. But as he sat, on the eighth day, at table with +his family, a book was mentioned which he wished to +see, and he got up to look for it in his library. Instantly +a shot is heard; the guests rush out and find +him lying on the floor and weltering in his blood. +Upon inquiry it appeared that a man, desperately in +love with the chamber-maid and jealous of a rival, had +mistaken the president for the latter and murdered him +with a pistol (De Ségur, <i>Galérie morale et politique</i>, +p. 221).</p> + +<p>Among the numerous accounts of visions which seem +to have been caused by an instinctive and perfectly unconscious +perception of human remains, the story of the +Rev. Mr. Lindner, in Königsberg, is perhaps the best +authenticated, and from the character of the man to +whom the revelation was made, the most trustworthy. +It is fully reported by Professor Ehrmann of Strasburg, +in <i>Kies. Archiv.</i> x. iii., p. 143. The minister, a mod<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>est, +pious man, awoke in the middle of the night, and +saw, by the bright moonlight which was shining into +the room, another minister in gown and bands, standing +before his open bible, apparently searching for some +quotation. He had a small child in his arms, and a larger +child stood by his side. After some time spent in speechless +astonishment, Mr. Lindner exclaimed: "All good +spirits praise God!" whereupon the stranger turned +round, went up to him and offered three times to shake +hands with him. Mr. Lindner, however, refused to do +so, gazing at the same time intently at his features, and +after a while he found himself looking at the air, for all +had disappeared. It was a long time afterwards, when +sauntering through the cloisters of his church, he was +suddenly arrested by a portrait which bore all the features +of the minister he had seen on that night. It was one +of his predecessors in office, who had died nearly fifty +years ago in rather bad odor, reports having been current +at the time, as very old men still living testified, +that he had had several illegitimate children, of whose +fate nothing was known. But there was a still further +sequel to the minister's strange adventure. In the course +of the next year his study was enlarged, and for that +purpose the huge German stove had to be removed; to +the horror of the workmen and of Mr. Lindner, who was +promptly called to the spot, the remains of several children +were found carefully concealed beneath the solid +structure. As there is no reason to suspect self-delusion +in the reverend man, and the vision cannot well be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +ascribed to any outward cause, it must be presumed that +his sensitive nature was painfully affected by the skeletons +in his immediate neighborhood, and that this unconscious +feeling, acting through his imagination, gave +form and shape to the impressions made upon his +nerves.</p> + +<p>In another case the principal person was a candidate +of divinity, Billing, well known as being of a highly +sensitive disposition and given to hallucinations; the +extreme suffering which the presence of human remains +caused to his whole system had been previously +already observed. The great German fabulist, Pfeffel, +a blind man, once took Billing's arm and went with +him into the garden to take an airing. The poet noticed +that when they came to a certain place, the young +man hesitated and his arm trembled as if it had received +an electric shock. When he was asked what +was the matter, he replied, "Oh, nothing!" But upon +passing over the spot a second time, the same tremor +made itself felt. Pressed by Pfeffel, the young man at +last acknowledged that he experienced at that spot the +sensation which the presence of a corpse always produced +in him, and offered to go there with the poet at +night in order to prove to him the correctness of his +feelings. When the two friends went to the garden +after dark, Billing perceived at once a faint glimmer +of light above the spot. He stopped at a distance of +about ten yards, and after a while declared that he saw +a female figure hovering above the place, about five feet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +high, with the right arm across her bosom and the left +hand hanging down by her side. When the poet advanced +and stood on the fatal spot, the young man +affirmed that the image was on his right or his left, +before or behind him, and when Pfeffel struck around +him with his cane, it produced the effect as if he were +cutting through a flame which instantly reunited. +The same phenomena were witnessed a second time by +a number of Pfeffel's relations. Several days afterwards, +while the young man was absent, the poet caused the +place in the garden to be dug up, and at a depth of +several feet, beneath a layer of lime, a human skeleton +was discovered. It was removed, the hole filled up, +and all smoothed over again. After Billing's return +the poet took him once more into the garden, and this +time the young man walked over the fatal spot without +experiencing the slightest sensation (<i>Kieser, Archiv.</i>, +etc., p. 326).</p> + +<p>It was this remarkable experience which led Baron +Reichenbach to verify it by leading one of his sensitive +patients, a Miss Reichel, at night to the great cemetery +of Vienna. As soon as she reached the place she perceived +everywhere a sea of flames, brightest over the +new graves, weaker over others, and quite faint here +and there. In a few cases these lights reached a height +of nearly four feet, but generally they had more the appearance +of luminous mists, so that her hand, held +over the place where she saw one, seemed to be enveloped +in a cloud of fire. She was in no way troubled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +by the phenomena, which she had often previously +observed, and Baron Reichenbach thought he saw in +them a confirmation of his theory about the Od-light. +There can be, however, little doubt that the luminous +appearance, perceptible though it be only to unusually +sensitive persons, is the result of chemical decomposition, +which has a peculiar influence over these persons.</p> + +<p>Hence, no doubt, the numerous accounts of will-o'-the-wisps +and ghostly lights seen in graveyards; the +frightened beholder is nearly always laughed at or +heartily abused, and more than one poor child has +fallen a victim to the absurd theory of "curing it of +foolish fears." There can be no doubt that light does +appear flickering above churchyards, and that there is +something more than mere idle superstition in the +"corpse-candles" of the Welsh and in the "elf-candles" +of the Scotch, which are seen, with foreboding weight, +in the house of sickness, betokening near dissolution. +At the same time, it is well known that living persons +also have, under certain circumstances, given out light, +and especially from their head. The cases of Moses, +whose face shone with unbearable brightness, and of +the martyr Stephen, are familiar to all, and the halo +with which artists surround the heads of saints bears +eloquent evidence of the universal and deeply-rooted +belief. But science also has fully established the fact +that light appears as a real and unmistakable luminous +efflux from the human body, alike in health and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +mortal sickness. By far the most common case of such +emission of light is the emission of sparks from the +hair when combed. Before and during the electrical +"dust-storms" in India, this phenomenon is of frequent +occurrence in the hair of both sexes. In dry weather, +and when the hair also is dry, and especially immediately +before thunderstorms, the same sparks are seen in all +countries. Dr. Phipson mentions the case of a relative +of his, "whose hair (exactly one yard and a quarter long), +when combed somewhat rapidly with a black gutta-percha +comb, emits sheets of light upward of a foot in +length," the light being "composed of hundreds of small +electric sparks, the snapping noise of which is distinctly +heard."</p> + +<p>But electric light is sometimes given off by the human +body itself, not merely from the hair. A memorable instance +of this phenomenon is recorded by Dr. Kane in the +journal of his last voyage to the Polar regions. He and +a companion, Petersen, had gone to sleep in a hut during +intense cold, and on awaking in the night, found, to their +horror, that their lamp—their only hope—had gone out. +Petersen tried in vain to get light from a pocket-pistol, +and then Kane resolved to take the pistol himself. "It +was so intensely dark," he says, "that I had to grope for +it, and in so doing, I touched his hand. At that instant +the pistol—in Petersen's hand—became distinctly visible. +A pale bluish light, slightly tremulous, but not +broken, covered the metallic parts of it. The stock, too, +was distinctly visible as if by reflected light, and to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +amazement of both of us, also the thumb and two fingers +with which Petersen was holding it—the creases, +wrinkles and circuit of nails being clearly defined upon +the skin. As I took the pistol my hand became illuminated +also." This luminous and doubtless electric +phenomenon took place in highly exceptional circumstances, +and is the only case recorded in recent times. +But a far more remarkable phenomenon of a similar +kind is mentioned by Bartholin, who gives an account +of a lady in Italy, whom he rightly styles <i>mulier splendens</i>, +whose body became phosphorescent—or rather +shone with electric radiations—when slightly rubbed +with a piece of dry linen. In this case the luminosity +appears to have been normal, certainly very frequent +under ordinary circumstances, and the fact is well attested. +Mr. B. H. Patterson mentions in the journal <i>Belgravia</i> +(Oct., 1872), that he saw the flannel with which he +had rubbed his body, emit blue sparks, while at the same +time he heard a "crackling" sound. These facts prove +that the human body even in ordinary life, is capable of +giving out luminous undulations, while science teaches +us that they appear quite frequently in disease. Here +again, Dr. Phipson mentions several cases as the result +of his reading. One of these is that of a woman in Milan, +during whose illness a so-called phosphoric light +glimmered about her bed. Another remarkable case is +recorded by Dr. Marsh, in a volume on the "Evolution +of Light from the Human Subject," and reads thus: +"About an hour and a half before my sister's death,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +we were struck by luminous appearances proceeding +from her head in a diagonal direction. She was at the +time in a half-recumbent position, and perfectly tranquil. +The light was pale as the moon, but quite evident +to mamma, myself, and sisters, who were watching over +her at the time. One of us at first thought it was lightning, +till shortly afterwards we perceived a sort of +tremulous glimmer playing around the head of the bed, +and then, recollecting that we had read something of +a similar nature having been observed previous to dissolution, +we had candles brought into the room, fearing +that our dear sister would perceive the luminosity, and +that it might disturb the tranquillity of her last moments."</p> + +<p>The other case relates to an Irish peasant, and is recorded +from personal observation by Dr. Donovan, in the +<i>Dublin Medical Press</i>, in 1870, as follows: "I was sent +to see Harrington in December. He had been under the +care of my predecessor, and had been entered as a phthisical +patient. He was under my care for about five years, +and I had discontinued my visits, when the report became +general that mysterious lights were seen every +night in his cabin. The subject attracted a great deal of +attention. I determined to submit the matter to the +ordeal of my own senses, and for this purpose I visited +the cabin for fourteen nights. On three nights only I +witnessed anything unusual. Once I perceived a luminous +fog resembling the aurora borealis; and twice I +saw scintillations like the sparkling phosphorescence ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>hibited +by sea-infusoria. From the close scrutiny I +made, I can with certainty say, that no imposition was +either employed or attempted."</p> + +<p>The only explanation ever offered by competent +authority of the luminous radiations from persons in +disease, ascribes them to an efflux or escape of the nerve-force, +which is known to be kindred in its nature to +electricity, transmuting itself into luminosity as it +leaves the body. The Seeress of Prevorst reported that +she saw the nerves as shining threads, and even from +the eyes of some persons rays of light seemed to her to +flash continually. Other somnambulists also, as well as +mesmerized persons, have seen the hair of persons shine +with a multitude of sparks, while the breath of their +mouth appeared as a faint luminous mist.</p> + +<p>The same luminosity is, finally, perceived at times in +graveyards, and would, no doubt, have led to careful +investigation more frequently, if observers had not so +often been suspected of superstitious apprehensions. +In the case of Baron Reichenbach's patients, however, +no such difficulty was to be feared; they saw invariably +light, bluish flames hovering over many graves, and +what made the phenomena more striking still, was the +fact that these moving lights were only seen on recent +graves, as if naturally dependent upon the process of +decomposition. If we connect this with our experience +of luminosity seen in decaying vegetables, in spoiled +meat, and in diseased persons, we shall be prepared to +believe that even so-called ghost stories, in which mys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>terious +lights play a prominent part, are by no means +necessarily without foundation.</p> + +<p>Cases in which deceased persons have made themselves +known to survivors, or have produced, by some as +yet unexplained agency, an impression upon them +through other senses than the sight, are very rare. +Occasionally, however, the hearing is thus affected, and +sweet music is heard, in token, as it were, of the continued +intercourse between the dead and the living. +One instance may serve as an illustration.</p> + +<p>The Countess A. had all her life been remarkable for +the strange delight she took in clocks; not a room in +her castle but had its large or small clock, and all these +she insisted upon winding up herself at the proper time. +Her favorite, however, was a very curious and most +costly clock in her sitting-room, which had the form of +a Gothic church, and displayed in the steeple a small +dial, behind which the works were concealed; at the +full hour a hymn was played by a kind of music-box +attached to the mechanism. She allowed no one to +touch this clock, and used to sit before it, as the hand +approached the hour, waiting for the hymn to be heard. +At last she was taken ill and confined for seven weeks, +during which the clock could not be wound up, and +then she died. For special reasons the interment had +to take place on the evening of the next day, and, as +the castle was far from any town, the preparations took +so much time that it was nearly midnight before the +body could be moved from the bedroom to the drawing-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>room, +where the usual ceremonies were to be performed. +The transfer was accomplished under the superintendence +of her husband, who followed the coffin, and in +the presence of a large number of friends and dependents, +while the minister led the sad cortége. At the +moment when the coffin approached the favorite clock, +it suddenly began to strike; but instead of twelve, it +gave out thirteen strokes, and then followed the melody +of a well-known hymn:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4q">"Let us with boldness now proceed<br /></span> +<span class="i4">On the dark path to a new life."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The minister, who happened to have been sitting a little +while before by the count's side, just beneath the clock, +and had mournfully noticed its silence after so many +years, was thunderstruck, and could not recover his +self-control for some time. The count, on the contrary, +saw in the accident a solemn warning from on high, +and henceforth laid aside the frivolity which he had so +far shown in his life as well as in his principles +("Evening Post" [Germ.], 1840. No. 187).</p> + +<p>There are finally certain phenomena belonging to +this part of magic, which have been very generally attributed +to an agency in which natural forces and +supernatural beings held a nearly equal share. They +suggest the interesting but difficult question, whether +visions and ecstasy can extend to large numbers of men +at once? And yet without some such supposition the +armies in the clouds, the wild huntsman of the Ardennes, +and like appearances cannot well be explained.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +Here also no little weight must be attached to ancient +superstitions which have become, as it were, a part of +a nation's faith. Thus all Northern Germany has from +the earliest days been familiar with the idea of the +great Woden ranging through its dark forests, at the +head of the Walkyries and the heroes fallen in battle, +while his wolves and his raven followed him on his +nightly course. When Christianity changed the old +gods of the German race into devils and demons, +Woden became very naturally the wild huntsman, who +was now escorted by men of violence, bloody tyrants, +and criminals, often grievously mutilated or altogether +headless. There can be little doubt but that these visions +also rested upon some natural substructure: exceptional +atmospheric disturbances, hurricanes coming +from afar and crashing through mighty forests, or even +the modest tramp of a band of poachers heard afar off, +under favorable circumstances by timid ears. The very +fact that the favorite time for such phenomena is the +winter solstice favors this supposition. They are, however, +by no means limited to seasons and days, for as +late as 1842 a number of wheat-cutters left in a panic +the field in which they were engaged, because they believed +they heard Frau Holle with her hellish company, +and saw Faithful Eckhard, as he walked steadily before +the procession, warning all he met to stand aside and +escape from the fatal sight. An occurrence of the kind, +which took place in 1857, was fortunately fully explained +by careful observers: the cause was an immense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> +flock of wild geese, whose strange cries resembled in a +surprising manner the barking of a pack of hounds +during a hunt. Another occurrence during the night +of January 30, 1849, threw the whole neighborhood of +Basle in Switzerland into painful consternation. The air +was suddenly filled with a multitude of whining voices, +whose agony pierced the hearts of all who heard them; +men and beasts seemed to be suffering unutterable anguish, +and to be driven with furious speed from the +mountain-side into a valley near Magden; here all +ended in an instant amid rolling thunder and fearful +flashes of lightning. A fierce storm arising in distant +clefts and crevices, and carrying possibly fragments of +rock, ice, and moraine along with it, seems here to have +been the determining cause.</p> + +<p>Another class of phenomena of this kind relates to +the great battles that have at times decided the fate of +the world. Thus Pausanias already tells us ("Attica," +32), and so do other historians of Greece, how the Plain +of Marathon resounded for nearly four centuries every +year with the clash of arms and the cries of soldiers. +It was evidently the deep and lasting impression made +upon a highly sensitive nation, which here was bequeathed +from generation to generation, and on the +day of the battle, when all was excitement, resulted in +the perception of sounds which had no real existence. +Events of such colossal proportions, which determine +in a few hours the fate of great nations, leave naturally +a powerful impress upon contemporaries not only, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +also upon the children of that race. Such was, among +others, the fearful battle on the Catalaunian Fields, in +which the Visi-Goths and Aetius conquered Attila, and +one hundred and sixty-two thousand warriors were slain. +It was at the time reported that the intense bitterness +and exasperation of the armies continued even after the +battle, and that for three days the spirits of the fallen +were contending with each other with unabated fury. +The report grew into a legend, till a firm belief was +established that the battle was fought year after year +on the memorable day, and that any visitor might +behold the passionate spirits as they rose from their +graves, armed with their ancient weapons and filled +with undiminished fury. One by one the soldiers of +the two armies, it was said, leave their lowly graves, +rise high into the air, and engage in deadly but silent +strife, till they vanish in the clouds. It is well known +how successfully the great German painter, Kaulbach, +has reproduced the vision in his magnificent fresco of +the "Hunnenschlacht." In other countries these +ghostly visions assume different forms. Thus the +neighborhood of Kerope, in Livonia, is in like manner +renowned for a long series of fearful butcheries during +the wars between the German knights and the Muscovites. +There also, night after night, the shadowy battle +is fought over again; but the clashing of arms and the +hoarse war-cries are distinctly heard, and the pious +traveler hastens away from the blood-soaked plains, +uttering his prayers for the souls of the slain. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +Highlands of Scotland also, and on the adjoining +islands, most weird and gruesome sights have been +watched by young and old in every generation. The +dark, dismal atmosphere of those regions, the dense +fogs and impenetrable mists, now rising from the sea, +and now descending from the mountains, and the fierce, +inclement climate, have all combined for ages to predispose +the mind for the perception of such strange and +mysterious phenomena. Nearly every clan and every +family has its own particular ghost, and besides these +the whole nation claims a number of common visions +and prophetic spirits, whose harps and wild +songs are heard faintly and fearfully sounding on +high. A friend of Mr. Martin, the author of a work on +"Second Sight," used to recite several stanzas belonging +to such a prophetic song, which he had heard himself +on a sad November day, as it came to him through +the drooping clouds and sweeping mists from the summit +of a lonely mountain. At funerals also, wonderful +voices were heard high in the air, as they accompanied +the chanting of the people below, with a music not +born upon earth, and filling the heart with strange but +sweet sadness. Nearly the same visions are seen and +the same songs are heard in Sweden and Norway, +proving conclusively that like climatic influences produce +also a similar magic life, in individuals not only, +but in whole nations. For even if we are disposed to +look upon these phenomena as merely strange appearances +of clouds and mists, accompanied by the howling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +and whistling of the wind and the tumbling down of +rocks and gravel, there remains the uniformity with +which thousands of every generation interpret these +sights and sounds into weird visions and solemn chantings.</p> + +<p>It is, however, not quite so evident why the peculiar +class of visions which is often erroneously called second +sight—the beholding of a "double"—should be +almost entirely confined to these same northern regions. +It is, of course, not unknown to other lands also, and +even Holy Writ seems to justify the presumption that +the idea of a "double" was familiar to the people of +Palestine. For the poor damsel Rhoda, who "for gladness" +did not open the door at which Peter knocked, +after he had been miraculously liberated, but ran to announce +his presence to the friends who were assembled +at the house of Mark's brother, was first called mad, +and then told: "It is his angel" (Acts xii. 13). They +evidently meant, not that it was the spirit of their deceased +friend, since they would have been made aware +of his death, but a phantom representing his living +body. But the number of authentic cases of persons +who have seen their own form, is vastly greater at the +North than anywhere else. The Celtic superstition of +the "fetch," as the appearance of a person's "double" is +there called, is too well known to require explanation. +But the vision itself is one of the most interesting in +the study of magic, since it exhibits most strikingly the +great power which the human soul may, under peculiar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> +circumstances, gain and exercise over its own self, leading +to complete self-delusion.</p> + +<p>A case in which this strange abdication of all self-control +led to most desirable consequences, is mentioned +by Dr. Mayo. A young man recently from Oxford once +saw a friend of his enter the room in which he was +dining with some companions. The new comer, just +returning from hunting, seemed to them to look unusually +pale and was evidently in a state of great excitement. +After much urging he at last confessed that he +had been seriously disturbed in mind by a man who had +kept him close company all the way home. This +stranger, on horseback like himself, had been his exact +image, down to a new bridle, his own invention, which +he had tried that day for the first time. He fancied +that this "double" was his own ghost and an omen of +his impending death. His friends advised him to confer +with the head of his college; this was done, and the +latter gave him much good advice, adding the hope that +the warning would not be allowed to pass unimproved. +It is certain that the apparition made so strong an impression +upon the young man as to lead to his entire +reformation, at least for a time.</p> + +<p>It is claimed by many writers that there are persons +who continually have visions, because they live in constant +communication with spirits, although in all cases +they have to pay a fearful penalty for this sad privilege. +They are invariably diseased people, mostly women, +who fall into trances, have cataleptic attacks, or suffer of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> +even more painful maladies, and during the time of their +affliction behold and converse with the inmates of +another world. The most renowned of these seers was a +Mrs. Hauffe, who has become well known to the reading +world through Dr. J. Kerner's famous work, "The +Seeress of Prevorst." A peculiar feature in her case was +the fact that the visions she had were invariably announced +to bystanders by peculiar sounds, heard by all +who were present. The forms assumed by her mysterious +visitors varied almost infinitely; now it was a +man in a brown gown, and now a woman in white. +Often, when the spirits appeared in the open air, and she +tried to escape from them by running, she was bodily +lifted up and hurried along so fast that her companions +could not keep pace with her. It was only later in life +that she fell as a patient into the hands of Dr. Kerner, +who was quite distinguished as a poet, and had a great +renown as a physician for insane people of a special +class. His house at Weinsberg in Würtemberg, was filled +to overflowing with persons of all classes of society, +from the highest to the lowest, and all had visions. Nor +was the doctor himself excluded; he also was a seer, +and has given in the above-mentioned book a full and +most interesting account of the diseases in connection +with which magic phenomena are most frequently observed. +By the aid of careful observation of actual +facts, and using such revelations vouchsafed to him and +others as he believed fully trustworthy, he formed a +regular theory of visions. First of all he admits that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +the privilege of communing with spirits is a grievous +affliction, and that all of his more thoughtful patients +continually prayed to be delivered of the burden. It is +evident from all he states that not only the body, but +the mind also suffers—and in many cases suffers unto +destruction—under the effects of such exceptional +powers; that in fact the lines of separation between this +life and another life can never be crossed with impunity. +His most interesting patient, Mrs. Hauffe, presents +the usual mixture of mere fanciful imagery with occasional +flashes of truth; her genuine revelations were +marvelous, and can only be explained upon the ground +of real magic; but with them are mixed up the most +absurd theories and the most startling contradictions. +She insisted, however, upon the fact that only those +spirits could commune with mortal man who were +detained in the middle realm—between heaven and hell—the +spirits of men who were in this life unable, +though not unwilling, to believe that "God could forgive +their sins for the sake of Christ's death." She was +often tried by Dr. Kerner and others; she was told that +certain still living persons had died, and asked to summon +their spirits, but she was never misled. There can +be no doubt that the poor woman was sincere in her +statements; but she was apparently unable to distinguish +between real visions in a trance and the mere offspring +of her imagination. That her peculiarities were +closely connected with her bodily condition is, moreover, +proved by the fact that her whole family suffered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +in similar manner and enjoyed similar powers; a +brother and a sister, as well as her young son, all had +visions and heard mysterious noises. The latter were, +in fact, perceptible to all the inmates of the strange +house; even the great skeptic, Dr. Strausz, who once +visited it, heard "long, fearful groanings" close to his +amiable hostess, who had fallen asleep on her sofa. Nor +were the ghosts content with disturbing the patients and +their excellent physician; they made themselves known +to their friends and neighbors, also, and even the good +minister in the little town had much to suffer from +nightly knockings and strange utterances.</p> + +<p>Dr. Kerner himself heard many spirits, but saw only +one, and that only as "a grayish pillar;" on the other +hand he witnessed countless mysterious phenomena +which occurred in his patients' bedrooms. Now he beheld +Mrs. Hauffe's boots pulled off by invisible hands, +while she herself was lying almost inanimate, in a +trance, on her bed, and now he heard her reveal secrets +which, upon writing to utterly unknown persons at a +great distance, proved to be correctly stated. What +makes a thorough investigation of all these phenomena +peculiarly difficult, is the fact that Dr. Kerner's house +became an asylum for somnambulists as well as for real +patients, and that by this mixture the scientific value +of his observations, as regards their psychological +interest, is seriously impaired. He himself was a sincere +believer in magic phenomena; almost all of his +friends and neighbors, from the humblest peasant to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +the most cultivated men of science, believed in him and +his statements, and there can be no doubt that astonishing +revelations were made and extraordinary powers +became manifest in his house. But here, also, the difficulty +of separating the few grains of truth from the +great mass of willful, as well as of unconscious delusion, +is almost overwhelming, and our final judgment must +be held in suspense, till more light has been thrown on +the subject. Dr. Kerner's son, who succeeded his +father at his death in 1862, still keeps up the remarkable +establishment at Weinsberg; but exclusively for +the cure of certain diseases by magnetism.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI.</p> + +<h2>DIVINATION.</h2> + +<p class="small ps">"There shall not be found among you any one that useth divination."—<span class="smcap">Deut.</span> +xviii. 9.</p> + + +<p>The usual activity of our mind is limited to the perception +of the world around us, and its life, as far as +the power of our senses reaches; it must, therefore, +necessarily be confined within the limits of space and +time. There are, however, specially favored men among +us who profess an additional power, or even ordinary +men may be thus endowed under peculiar circumstances, +as when they are under the influence of nervous +affections, trances, or even merely in an unusual +state of excitement. Then they are no longer subject +to the usual laws of distance in space, or remoteness +in time; they perceive as immediately present +what lies beyond the reach of others, and the magic +power by which this is accomplished is called Divination. +This vision is never quite clear, nor always complete +or correct, for even such exceptionable powers are +in all cases more or less subject to the imperfections of +our nature; habitual notions, an ill-executed imagination, +and often a disordered state of the system, all interfere +with its perfect success. These imperfections, +moreover, not only affect the value of such magic perceptions, +but obscure the genuine features by a num<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>ber +of false statements and of erroneous impressions, +which quite legitimately excite a strong prejudice +against the whole subject. Hence, especially, the rigor +of the Church against divination in every form; it has +ever ascribed the errors mixed up with the true parts +of such revelations to the direct influence of the Evil +One. The difficulty, however, arises that such magic +powers have nothing at all to do with the question of +morality; the saint and the criminal may possess them +alike, since they are elements of our common nature, +hidden in the vast majority of cases, and coming into +view and into life only in rare exceptional instances.</p> + +<p>Divination, as freed from the ordinary limits of our +perceptions, appears either as clairvoyance, when things +are seen which are beyond the range of natural vision, +or as prophecy, when the boundary lines of time are +overstepped. The latter appears again in its weakest +form as a mere anticipation of things to come, or rises +to perfection in the actual foretelling of future events. +It is sad enough to learn from the experience of all +nations that the occurrences thus foreseen are almost +invariably great misfortunes, yet our surprise will cease +if we remember that the tragic in life exercises by far +the greatest influence on our mind, and excites it far +beyond all other events. Nor must we overlook the +marvelous unanimity with which such magic powers +are admitted to exist in Man by all nations on earth. +The explanation, also, is invariably the same, namely, +that Man possessed originally the command over space<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +and time as well as God himself, but that when sin +came into the world and affected his earth-born body, +this power was lost, and preserved only to appear in +exceptional and invariably most painful cases. So +thought the ancients even long before revelation had +spoken. They believed that Man had had a previous +god-like existence before appearing upon earth, where +he was condemned to expiate the sins of his former +life, while his immortal and divine soul was chained to +a perishing earthy body. Plato, Plutarch, and Pythagoras, +Cicero (in his book <i>De Divinatione</i>), and even +Porphyrius, all admit without hesitation the power of +divination, and speak of its special vigor in the moments +preceding death. Melanchthon ascribed warning +dreams to the prophetic power of the human soul. +Brierre de Boismont also is forced to admit that not all +cases of clairvoyance and prophesying are the results +of hallucination by diseased persons; he speaks, on the +contrary, and in spite of his bitter skepticism, of +instances in which the increased powers of perception +are the effect of "supernatural intuition."</p> + +<p>One of the most prolific sources of error in Divination +has ever been the variety of means employed for +the purpose of causing the preparatory state of trance. +It is well known in our day that the mind may be +most strangely affected by innumerable agencies which +are apparently purely mechanical, and often utterly +absurd. Such are an intent gazing at highly-polished +surfaces of metal, or into the bright inside of a gold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +cup, at the shining sides of a crystal, or the varying +hues of a glass globe; now vessels filled with pure +water, and now ink poured into the hand of a child, +answer the same purpose. Fortune-telling from the +lines of the hand or the chance combinations of playing-cards +are, in this aspect, on a par with the prophecies +of astrologers drawn from the constellations in the +heavens. It need hardly be added that this almost infinite +variety of more or less absurd measures has +nothing at all to do with the awaking of magic power, +and continues in use only from the prestige which +some of the means, like the cup of Joseph and the +mirror of Varro, derive from their antiquity. Their +sole purpose is uniformly to withdraw the seer's attention +from all outward objects, and to make him, by +steadily gazing at one and the same object, concentrate +his thoughts and feelings exclusively upon his own +self. Experience has taught that such efforts, long +continued, result finally in utter loss of feeling, in +unconsciousness, and frequently even in catalepsy. It +is generally only under such peculiarly painful circumstances +that the unusual powers of our being can become +visible and begin to operate. While these results +may be obtained, as recent experiments have proved, +even by mere continued squinting, barbarous nations +employ the most violent means for the same purpose—the +whirling of dervishes, the drumming and dancing +of northern shamans, the deafening music of the +Moors, are all means of the same kind to excite the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +rude and fierce nature of savages to a state of excessive +excitement. In all cases, however, we must notice the +comparative sterility of such divination, and the penalty +which has to be paid for most meagre results by +injuries inflicted upon the body, and by troubles caused +in the mind, which, if they do not become fatal to life, +are invariably so to happiness and peace. That the +sad privilege may have to be paid for with life itself, +we learn already from Plutarch's account of a priestess +who became so furious while prophesying, that not +only the strangers but the priests themselves fled in +dismay, while she herself expired a few hours later +(II. p. 438).</p> + +<p>The state in which all forms of divination are most +apt to show themselves is by theologians called <i>ecstasis</i>, +when it is caused by means specially employed for the +purpose and appears as a literally "being beside one's +self"; by its side they speak of <i>raptus</i>, when the abnormal +state suddenly begins during an act of ordinary +life, such as walking, working, or even praying. The +distinction is of no value as to the nature of the magic +powers themselves, which are in all cases the same; it +refers exclusively to the outer form.</p> + +<p>One of the simplest methods is the Deasil-walking +of the Scotch Highlanders: the seer walks rapidly three +times, with the sun, around the person whose future is +to be foretold, and thus produces a trance, in which his +magic powers become available. Walter Scott's "Chronicles +of the Canongate" gives a full account of this cere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>mony. +Robin Oig's aunt performs the ceremony, and +then warns him in great terror, that she has seen a +bloody dagger in his hand, stained with English blood, +and beseeches him to stay at home. He disregards +the omen, kills the same night an Englishman, a cattle-dealer, +and pays for the crime with his life.</p> + +<p>In the East, on the contrary, the usual form is to +employ a young boy, taken at haphazard from the street, +and to force him to gaze intently at Indian ink poured +into the hollow of the hand, at molten lead, wax poured +into cold water, the paten of a priest or a shining +sword, with which several men have been killed. General +readers will recall the famous boy of Cairo, who saw +thus, in the dark, glittering surface of ink, the great +Nelson—curiously enough as in a mirror, for he reported +the image to be without the left arm and to wear the +left sleeve across the breast, while the great admiral had +lost his right arm and wore the right sleeve suspended. +Burke, in his amusing "Anecdotes of the Aristocracy," +etc. (I. p. 124), relates how the "magician" Magraubin +in Alexandria appeared with a ten-year-old Coptic boy +before the officers of H. M's. ship <i>Vanguard</i>. After +burning much incense and uttering many unintelligible +formulas he rolled a paper in the shape of a cornucopia, +filled it with ink, and bade the boy tell them what +he saw. As usual, he saw first a broom sweeping, and +was thoroughly frightened. When a young midshipman +asked him to inquire what would be his fate, he +described instantly a sailor with gold on the shoulders,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +fighting against Indians till he fell dead; then came +friends and buried him under a tree on a hill. The +midshipman, Croker, returned home, abandoned the +sea, and became a landowner in one of the midland +counties of England, where he often laughed at the absurd +prediction. Long years afterwards, however, when +there was a sudden want of seamen, he was recalled +into service and sent on a long cruise. He rose to become +a captain, and while in command of a frigate fell, +upon the island of Tongataboo, in a skirmish with the +natives, whereupon he was interred there under a lofty +palm-tree which stood on a commanding eminence. +The same author repeats (I. p. 357) the well-known +story of Lady Eleanor Campbell, which is in substance +as follows:</p> + +<p>Poor Lady Primrose, a daughter of the second Earl +of Loudoun, had for years endured the saddest lot that +can befall a noble woman: she had been bound by marriage +to a husband whose dissolute habits and untamable +passions inspired her with fear, while his short love +for her had long since turned into bitter hatred. At +last he formed the resolution to rid himself forever of +his wife, whose very piety and gentleness were a standing +reproof to his villainy. By a rare piece of good +luck she was awake when he came from his deep potations, +a bare sword in his hand, and ready to kill her; +she saw him in the mirror before which she happened +to be sitting, and escaped by jumping from a window +and hastening to her husband's own mother. After this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> +attempt at her life he disappeared, no one knew whither, +but the poor lady, forsaken and yet not a widow, +could not prevent her thoughts from dwelling, by day +and by night, year after year, upon the image of her +unfortunate husband and his probable fate in foreign +lands. It was, therefore, not without a pardonable interest +that she heard, one winter, people talk of a foreigner +who had suddenly appeared in Canongate and +created a great sensation throughout Edinburgh by his +success in showing to inquiring visitors what their absent +friends were doing. Her intense anxiety about her +husband and her natural desire to ascertain whether +she was still a wife or already a widow, combined to +tempt her to call on the magician; she went, therefore, +with a friend, both disguised in the tartans and plaids +of their maids. Before they reached the obscure alley +to which they had been directed, they lost their way, and +were standing helpless, exposed to the cold, stormy +weather, when suddenly a deep voice said to them: +"You are mistaken, ladies, this is not your way!" +"How so?" asked Lady Primrose, addressing a tall, +gentlemanly looking man, with a stern face of deep +olive color, in which a pair of black eyes shone like +stars, and dressed in an elegant but foreign-looking +costume. The answer came promptly: "You are mistaken +in your way, because it lies yonder, and in your +disguise, because it does not conceal you from him who +can lift the veil of the Future!" Then followed a +short conversation in which the stranger made himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +known as the magician whom they were about to visit, +and, by some words whispered into the lady's ear, as a +man who not only recognized her as Lady Primrose, +but who also was perfectly well acquainted with all the +intimate details of her history. Amazed and not a little +frightened, the two ladies accepted his courteous +invitation to follow him, entered the house, and were +shown into a simply furnished room, where the stranger +begged them to wait for him, till all was ready for the +ceremony by which alone he could satisfy their curiosity. +After a short pause he reappeared in the traditional +costume of a magician, a long tunic of black +velvet which left his breast, arms, and hands free, and +requested Lady Primrose to follow him into the adjoining +room. After some little hesitation she left her companion +and entered the room, which was perfectly plain, +offering nothing to attract the eye save the dark curtains +before the windows, an old-fashioned arm-chair, +and a kind of altar of black marble, over which a large +and beautiful mirror was suspended. Before the latter +stood a small oven, in which some unknown substance +burnt with a blue light, which alone feebly lighted up +the room. The visitor was requested to sit down, to invoke +help from above, and to abstain from uttering a +sound, if she valued her life and that of the magician. +After some simple but apparently most important ceremonies, +the magician threw a pinch of red powder upon +the flame, which instantly changed into bright crimson, +while a few plaintive sounds were heard and red clouds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> +seemed to rise before the mirror, broken at short intervals +by vivid flashes of lightning. As the mist dispersed +the glass exhibited to the lady's astonished eye +the interior of a church, first in vague outlines undulating +as passing clouds seemed to set them in motion, +but soon distinctly and clear in the minutest details. +Then a priest appeared with his acolytes at the altar, +and a wedding party was seen standing before him, +among whom Lady Primrose soon recognized her faithless +husband. Before she could recover from her painful +surprise she saw a stranger hastily entering the +church, wrapped in his cloak; at the moment when +the priest, who had been performing the usual ceremony, +was about to join the hands of the couple before him, +the unknown dropped his cloak and rushed forward. +Lady Primrose saw it was her own brother, who drew +his sword and attacked her husband; suddenly a +thrust was made by the latter which threatened to +be fatal, and the poor lady cried out: "Great God, +they will kill my brother!" She had no sooner uttered +these words than the whole scene in the mirror became +dim and blurred, the clouds rose again and formed +dense masses, and soon the glass resumed its ordinary +brightness and the flame its faint blue color. The +magician, apparently much excited, informed the lady +that all was over, and that they had escaped a most fearful +danger, incurred by her imprudence in speaking. +He would accept no reward, stating that he had merely +wished to oblige her, but would not have dared do so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +much, if he had foreseen the peril to which they had +both been exposed. Lady Primrose, accompanied by +her friend, reached home in a state of extreme excitement, +but immediately wrote down the hour and the +day of her strange adventure, with a full account of all +she had seen in the magic mirror. The paper thus +drawn up she sealed in the presence of her companion +and hid it in a secret drawer. Not long afterwards her +brother returned from the Continent, but for some time +refused to speak at all of her husband; it was only +after being long and urgently pressed by the poor lady, +that he consented to tell her, how he had heard of Lord +Primrose's intention to marry a very wealthy lady in +Amsterdam, how by mere chance he had entered the +church where the marriage ceremony was to be performed, +and how he had come out just in time to prevent +his brother-in-law from committing bigamy. They +had fought for a few minutes without doing each other +any injury, and after being separated, he had remained, +while Lord Primrose had disappeared, no one knew +whither. Upon comparing dates and circumstances, it +appeared that the mirror had presented the scene faithfully +in all its details; but the ceremony had taken +place in the morning, the visit to the magician at night, +so that the latter had, after all, only revealed an event +already completed. There remains, however, the difficulty +of accounting for the means by which in those +days—about 1700—an event in Amsterdam could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +possibly have been known in Edinburgh, the night of +the same day on which it occurred.</p> + +<p>In France, under Louis XIV., a glass of water was +most frequently used as a mirror in which to read the +future. The Duke of St. Simon reports that the Duke +of Orleans was thus informed that he would one day +become Regent of France. The Abbé Choisy mentions +a remarkable occurrence which took place at the +house of the Countess of Soissons, a niece of the great +Cardinal Mazarin. Her husband was lying sick in the +province of Champagne, and she was anxious to know +whether she ought to undertake the long and perilous +journey to him or not; in this dilemma a friend +offered to send for a diviner, who should tell her the +issue of her husband's illness. He brought her a little +girl, five years old, who, in the presence of a number of +distinguished persons of both sexes, began, under the +nobleman's direction, to tell what she saw in a glass of +water. When she began by saying that the water looked +as if it were troubled, the poor lady was so frightened +that her friend suggested he would ask the spirit to +show the child not her husband himself, but a white +horse, if the Count was dead, and a tiger if he was alive. +Then he asked the girl what she saw now? "Ah!" +she cried out at once, "what a pretty white horse!" +The company, however, refused to be content with one +trial; five times in succession the test was altered, and +in such a manner that the little child could not possibly +be aware of the choice, but in each case the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +answer was unfavorable to the absent Count. It appeared, +afterwards, that he had really died a day or two +before the consultation. One of the most striking +cases of such exceptional endowment was a Frenchman, +Cahagnet, who in his work, <i>Lumière des Morts</i> (Paris, +1851), claimed to see remote objects and persons. He +used to make a mental effort, upon which his eyes became +fixed and he saw objects at a great distance, reading +the title and discerning the precise shape of books +in public libraries, or watching absent friends engaged +in unusual occupations! This state of clairvoyance, +however, never lasted more than sixty seconds, nor +could he ever see the same object twice—limitations of +his endowment which secured for him greater credit +than he would have otherwise possessed. Occasionally +he would assist the effort he had to make by fixedly +gazing at some shining object, such as a small flaw in a +mirror or a glass. Another restraint under which he +labored, and which yet increased the faith of others, +consisted in this, that such sights as presented themselves +spontaneously to him proved invariably to be +true, while the visions which he purposely evoked were +not unfrequently unfounded in fact.</p> + +<p>Among recent magicians of this class, a Parisian, +Edmond, is perhaps the most generally known. He is +a man without education, who leads a life of asceticism, +and is said to equal the famous Lennormand in his +ability to guess the future by gazing intently at certain +cards. The latter, although not free from the charge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> +of charlatanism, possessed undoubtedly the most extraordinary +talent of divining the thoughts of those +who came to consult her, and an almost marvelous +tact in connecting the knowledge thus obtained with +the events of the day. She began her career already +as a young girl at a convent-school, where her playmates +asked her laughing who would be the next +abbess, and she mentioned an entirely unknown lady +from Picardy as the one that would be appointed by +the king. Contrary to all expectations the favorite +candidates were put aside, and the unknown lady appointed, +although eighteen months elapsed before her +prophecy was fulfilled. As early as 1789 she predicted +the overthrow of the French government, and during +the Revolution her reputation was such that the first +men of the land came to consult her. The unfortunate +princess Lamballe and Mirabeau, Mme. de Staël and +the king himself, all appeared in her stately apartments. +Her efforts to save the queen, to whose prison +she managed to obtain access, were unsuccessful; but +when her aristocratic connections caused her to be imprisoned +herself, even the noble and virtuous Mme. +Tallien sought her society. The new dynasty, whose +members were almost without exception more or less +superstitious, as it is the nature of all Corsicans, consulted +her frequently; the great Napoleon came to her +in 1793, when he was disgusted with France, and on +the point of leaving the country; he sent for her a +second time in 1801 to confer with her at Malmaison,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> +and the fair Josephine actually conceived for her a +deep and lasting attachment. Afterwards, however, +she became as obnoxious to the Emperor as his inveterate +enemy, Mme. de Staël; she was repeatedly sent +to prison because she predicted failures, as in the case +of the projected invasion of England, or because she +revealed the secret plans of Napoleon. The Emperor +Alexander of Russia also consulted her in 1818, and of +the Prussian king, Frederick William III., it is at least +reported that he visited her incognito. After the year +1830 she appeared but rarely in her character as a +diviner; she had become old and rich, and did not perhaps +wish to risk her world-wide reputation by too +numerous revelations. She maintained, however, for +the rest of her life the most intimate relations with +many eminent men in France, and when she died, in +1843, seventy-one years old, leaving to her nephew a +very large fortune, her gorgeous funeral was attended +by a host of distinguished personages, including even +men of such character as Guizot. And yet she also +had not disdained to use the most absurd and apparently +childish means in order to produce the state of +ecstasy in which she alone could divine: playing-cards +fancifully arranged, the white of an egg, the sediment +of coffee, or the lines in the hand of her visitors. At +the same time, however, she used the information which +she casually picked up or purposely obtained from her +great friends with infinite cunning and matchless tact, +so that the better informed often asked her laughingly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> +if her familiar spirit Ariel was not also known as +Talleyrand, David, or Geoffroy? The charlatanism +which often and most justly rendered her proceedings +suspicious to sober men, was in fact part of her system; +she knew perfectly well the old doctrine, <i>mundus vult +decipi</i>, and did not hesitate to flatter the fondness of +all Frenchmen for a theatrical <i>mise en scène</i>.</p> + +<p>Dryden's famous horoscope of his younger son +Charles was probably nothing more than one of those +rare but striking coincidences of which the laws of probability +give us the exact value. He loved the study of +astrology and never omitted to calculate the nativity of +his children as soon as they were born. In the case of +Charles he discovered that great dangers would threaten +him in his eighth, twenty-third, and thirty-third or +forty-third year; and sure enough those years produced +serious troubles. On his eighth birthday he was buried +under a falling wall; on the twenty-third he fell in Rome +from an old tower, and on his thirty-third he was +drowned in the Thames.</p> + +<p>Divination by means of bones—generally the shoulder +bones of rams—is quite common among the Mongols +and Tongoose, and the custom seems to have +remained unchanged through centuries. For Purchas +already quotes from the "Journal" of the Minorite +monk Guillaume de Rubruguis, written in 1255, a description +of the manner in which the Great Khan of +Mongolia tried to ascertain the result of any great enterprise +which he might contemplate. Three shoulder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> +bones of rams were brought to him, which he held for +some time in his hands, while deeply meditating on the +subject; then he threw them into the fire. After they +were burnt black they were again laid before him and +examined; if they had cracked lengthways the omen +was favorable, if crossways the enterprise was abandoned. +Almost identically the same process is described by +the great traveler Pallas, who witnessed it repeatedly +and obtained very startling communications from the +Mongol priests. But here also violent dancing, narcotic +perfumes, and wild cries had to aid in producing a +trance. The Laplanders have, perhaps, the most striking +magic powers which seem to be above suspicion. +At least we are assured by every traveler who has spent +some time among them, from Caspar Peucer ("Commentaries," +etc., Wittebergae, 1580, p. 132) down to the +tourists of our days ("Six Months in Lapland," 1870), +that they not only see persons at the greatest distance, +but furnish minute details as to their occupation or +surroundings. After having invoked the aid of his +gods the magician falls down like a dead man and remains +in a state of trance for twenty-four hours, during +which foreigners are always warned to have him carefully +guarded, "lest the demons should carry him off." +During this time the seer maintains that his "soul opens +the gates of the body and moves about freely wherever +it chooses to go." When he returns to consciousness +he describes accurately and minutely the persons about +whom he has promised to give information. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +East Indies it is well known clairvoyance has existed +from time immemorial, and the kind of trance which +consists in utter oblivion of actual life and perfect abstraction +of thought from this world is there carried +out to perfection. The faithful believer sits or lies +down in any position he may happen to prefer for the +moment, fixes his eyes intently upon the point of his +nose, mutters the word One, and finally beholds God +with an inner sense, in the form of a white brilliant +light of ineffable splendor. Some of these ascetics pass +from a simple trance to a state of catalepsy, in which +their bodies become insensible to pain—but this kind +of <i>ecstasis</i> is not accompanied by divination.</p> + +<p>Another branch of divination conquers the difficulty +which distance in space opposes to our ordinary perceptions. +In all such cases it is of course not our hearing +or smelling which suddenly becomes miraculously +powerful, but another magic power, which causes +impressions on the mind like those produced by the eye +and the ear. The oldest well-authenticated instance of +magic hearing is probably that of Hyrcanus, the high-priest +of the Jews, who while burning incense in the +temple, heard a voice saying: "Now Antiochus has +been slain by thy sons." The news was immediately +proclaimed to the people, and some time afterward messengers +came announcing that Antiochus had thus +perished as he approached Samaria, which he desired to +relieve from the besieging army under the sons of +Hyrcanus (Josephus, "Antiq." lxiii. ch. 19). A still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +more striking instance is also reported by a trustworthy +author (Theophylactos Simocata, l. viii. ch. 13). A +man in Alexandria, Egypt, saw, as he returned home +about midnight, the statues before the great temple +moved aside from their seats, and heard them call out +to him that the Emperor had been slain by Phocas +(602). Thoroughly frightened he hastened to the +authorities, reporting his adventure; he was carried before +Peter, the Viceroy of Egypt, and ordered to keep +silence. Nine days later, however, the official news +came that the Emperor had been murdered. It is +evident that the knowledge of the event came to him in +some mysterious way, and for an unknown purpose; but +that what he saw and heard, was purely the work of his +imagination, which became the vehicle of the revelation.</p> + +<p>There exists a long, almost unbroken series of similar +phenomena through the entire course of modern history, +of which but a few can here find space. Richelieu tells +us in his <i>Mémoires</i> ("Coll. Michaud—Poryoulat," 2d +series, vii. p. 23), that the <i>Prévost des Maréchaux</i> of the +city of Pithiviers was one night engaged in playing +cards in his house, when he suddenly hesitated, fell into +a deep musing, and then, turning to his companions, +said solemnly: "The king has just been murdered!" +These words made a deep impression upon all the members +of the assembly, which afterward changed into +genuine terror, when it became known that on that +same evening, at the same hour of four o'clock, <span class="smcap">P. M.</span>, +Henry IV. had really been murdered. Nor was this a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> +solitary case, for on the same day a girl of fourteen, +living near the city of Orleans, had asked her father, +Simonne, what a king was? Upon his replying that it +was the man who commanded all Frenchmen, she had +exclaimed: "Great God, I have this moment heard +somebody tell me that he was murdered!" It seems +that the minds of men were just then everywhere deeply +interested in the fate of the king, and hence their readiness +to anticipate an event which was no doubt very +generally apprehended; even from abroad numerous +letters had been received announcing his death beforehand. +In the two cases mentioned this excitement had +risen to divination. The author of the famous <i>Zauber +Bibliothek</i>, Horst, mentions (i. p. 285) that his father, a +well-known missionary, was once traveling in company +with the renowned Hebrew scholar Wiedemann, while a +third companion, ordinarily engaged with them in converting +Jews, was out at sea. It was a fine, bright day; +no rain or wind visible even at a distance. Wiedemann +had walked for some time in deep silence, apparently +engaged in praying, when suddenly he stopped and +said: "Monsieur Horst, take your diary and write down, +that our companion is at this moment exposed to great +peril by water. The storm will last till night and the +danger will be fearful; but the Lord will mercifully +preserve him and the vessel, and no lives will be lost. +Write it down carefully, so that when our friend returns, +we may jointly thank God for His great mercy." The +missionary did so, and when the three friends were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> +united once more their diaries were compared, and it +appeared that the statement had been exact in all its +details.</p> + +<p>Clairvoyance, as far as it implies the seeing of persons +or the witnessing of events at a great distance, is +counted among the most frequent gifts of early saints, +and St. Augustine mentions a number of remarkable +cases. Not only absent friends and their fate were thus +beheld by privileged Christians, but even the souls of +departing saints were seen as they were borne to heaven +by angelic hosts. The same exceptional gifts were apparently +granted to the early Jesuit fathers; thus Xavier +once saw distinctly a whole naval expedition sailing +against the pirates of Malacca and defeating them in a +great naval battle. He had himself caused the fleet to +be sent from Sumatra, and remained during the whole +time in a trance. He had fallen down unconscious at +the foot of the altar, where he had been fervently praying +for a long time, and during his unconsciousness he +saw not only a general image of what was occurring at +a distance of 200 Portuguese leagues, but every detail, +so that upon recovering from the trance he could +announce to his brethren the good news of a great victory, +of the loss of only three lives, and of the very day +and hour on which the official report would be received +(Orlandini, l. vii. ch. 84). Queen Margaret, not always +reliable, still seems to state well-known facts only, when +she tells us in her famous <i>Mémoires</i> (Paris, 1658) the +visions of her mother, the great Queen Catherine de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +Medici. The latter was lying dangerously ill at Metz, +and King Charles, a sister, and another brother of Margaret +of Valois, the Duke of Lorraine, and a number of +eminent persons of both sexes, were assembled around +what was believed to be her death-bed. She was delirious, +and suddenly cried out: "Just see how they run! +my son is victorious. Great God! raise him up, he has +fallen! Do you see the Prince of Condé there? He is +dead." Everybody thought she was delirious, but on the +next evening a messenger came bringing the news of the +battle of Jarnac, and as he mentioned the main events, +she calmly turned to her children, saying: "Ah! I +knew; I saw it all yesterday!" It seems as if in times +of great and general expectation, when bloody battles +are fought, and the destiny of empires hangs in the +scales, the minds of the masses become so painfully excited +that the most sensitive among them fall into a +kind of trance, and then perceive, by magic powers of +divination, what is taking place at great distances. This +over-excitement is, moreover, not unknown to men of +the highest character and the greatest erudition. Calvin, +whose stern, clear-sighted judgment abhorred all superstition, +nevertheless once saw a battle between Catholics +and Protestants with all its details. Swedenborg, whose +religious enthusiasm never interfered with his scrupulous +candor, saw more than once with his mind's eye +events occurring at a distance of hundreds of miles. +His vision of the great fire at Stockholm is too well +authenticated to admit of doubt. Not less reliable are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> +the accounts of another vision he had at Amsterdam in +the presence of a large company. While engaged in animated +conversation, he suddenly changed countenance +and became silent; the persons near him saw that he +was under the influence of some strong impression. +After a few moments he seemed to recover, and overwhelmed +with questions, he at last reluctantly said: +"In this hour the Emperor Peter IV. of Russia has +suffered death in his prison!" It was ascertained afterwards +that the unfortunate sovereign had died on that +day and in the manner indicated.</p> + +<p>Among modern seers the most remarkable was probably +the well-known poet, Émile Deschamps, who +published in 1838 interesting accounts of his own experiences. +When he was only eight years old it was +decided that he should leave Paris and be sent to +Orleans; this troubled him sorely, and in his great +grief he found some little comfort in setting his lively +fancy to work and to imagine what the new city would +be like. When he reached Orleans he was extremely +surprised to recognize the streets, the shops, and even +the names on the sign-boards, everything was exactly +as he had seen it in his day-dreams. While he was yet +there he saw his mother, whom he had left in Paris, in +a dream rising gently heavenwards with a palm-branch +in her hand, and heard her voice, very faint but silvery, +call to him, "Émile, Émile, my son!" She had +died in the same night, uttering these words with her +departing breath. Later in life he often heard strange<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> +but enchanting music while in a state of partial ecstasis; +he saw distant events, and, among others, distinctly +described a barricade, the defenders of the adjoining +house, and certain events connected with the fight at +that spot, as they had happened in Paris on the same +day (<i>Le Concile de la libre pensée</i>, i. p. 183).</p> + +<p>A still higher power of divination enables men to +read in the faces and forms of others, even of totally +unknown persons, not only the leading traits of their +character, but even the nature of their former lives. +There can be no doubt that every important event in +our life leaves a more or less perceptible trace behind, +which the acute and experienced observer may learn to +read with tolerable distinctness and accuracy. It is +well known how the study of the human face enables +us thus to discern one secret after another, and how +really great men have possessed the power to judge of +the capacity of generals or statesmen to serve them, by +natural instinct and without any effort. We say of +specially endowed men of this class, that they "can +read the souls of men," and what is most interesting is +the well-established fact that the purer the mind and +the freer from selfishness and conceit, the greater this +power to feel, as it were, the character of others. Hence +the superiority of women in this respect; hence, especially, +the unfailing instinct of children, which enables +them instantly to distinguish affected love from real +love, and makes them shrink often painfully from contact +with evil men.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> + +<p>When this power reaches in older men a high degree +of perfection, it enters within the limits of magic, and +in this form was well known to the ancients. The Neo-Platonic +Plotinus is reported by Porphyrius to have +been almost marvelously endowed with such divining +powers; he revealed to his pupils the past and the future +events of their lives alike, and once charged the +author himself with cherishing thoughts of suicide, +when no one else suspected such a purpose. In like +manner, we are told, Ancus Nævius, the famous augur +of the first Tarquins, could read all he desired to know +in the faces of others. The saints of the church were +naturally as richly endowed, and from Filipo Neri to +Xavier nearly all possessed this peculiar gift of divination. +But other men, also, and by no means always +those most abundantly endowed with mental superiority, +have frequently a peculiar talent of this kind. Thus +the well-known writer Zschokke, the author of the admirable +work, "Hours of Devotion," gives in his autobiographical +work, <i>Selbstschau</i>, a full account of his +peculiar gifts as a seer, which contains the following +principal facts: At the moment when an utter stranger +was first introduced to him, he saw a picture of his +whole previous life rising gradually before his mind's +eye, resembling somewhat a long dream, but clear and +closely connected. During this time he would, contrary +to his general custom, lose sight of the visitor's face +and no longer hear his voice. He used to treat these +involuntary revelations at first as mere idle fancies, till<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +one day he was led by a kind of sportive impulse to +tell his family the secret history of a seamstress who +had just left the room, and whom he had never seen before. +It was soon ascertained that all he had stated +was perfectly true, though known only to very few persons. +From that time he treated these visions more +seriously, taking pains to repeat them in a number of +cases to the persons whom they concerned, and to his +own great amazement they turned out in every case to +be perfectly accurate. The author adds one case of peculiarly +striking nature: "One day," he says, "I reached +the town of Waldshut, accompanied by two young +foresters, who are still alive. It was dusk, and tired by +our walk we entered an inn called The Grapevine. We +took our supper at the public table in company with +numerous guests, who happened to be laughing at the +oddities and the simplicity of the Swiss, their faith in +Mesmer, in Lavater's 'System of the Physiognomy,' etc. +One of my companions, hurt in his national pride, +asked me to make a reply, especially with regard to a +young man sitting opposite to us, whose pretentious +airs and merciless laughter had been peculiarly offensive. +It so happened that, a few moments before, the +main events in the life of this person had passed before +my mind's eye. I turned to him and asked him if he +would answer me candidly upon being told the most +secret parts of his life by a man who was so complete a +stranger to him as I was? That, I added, would certainly +go even beyond Lavater's power to read faces. He prom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>ised +to confess it openly, if I stated facts. Thereupon +I related all I had seen in my mind, and informed thus +the whole company at table of the young man's history, +the events of his life at school, his petty sins, and at last +a robbery which he had committed by pilfering his employer's +strong-box. I described the empty room with its +whitewashed walls and brown door, near which on the +right hand, a small black money-box had been standing +on a table, and other details. As long as I spoke there +reigned a deathlike silence in the room, which was only +interrupted by my asking the young man, from time to +time, if all I said was not true. He admitted everything, +although evidently in a state of utter consternation, and +at last, deeply touched by his candor, I offered him my +hand across the table and closed my recital."</p> + +<p>This popular writer, a man of unblemished character, +who died in 1850, regretted by a whole nation, makes +this account of his own prophetic power still more interesting +by adding that he met at least once in his life +another man similarly endowed. "I once encountered," +he says, "while travelling with two of my sons, an old +Tyrolese, a peddler of oranges and lemons, in a small inn +half concealed in one of the narrow passes of the Jura +Mountains. He fixed his eyes for some time upon my +face, and then entered into conversation with me, stating +that he knew me, although I did not know him, and +then began, to the intense delight of the peasants who +sat around us and of my children, to chat about myself +and my past life. How the old man had acquired his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> +strange knowledge he could not explain to himself or to +others, but he evidently valued it highly, while my sons +were not a little astonished to discover that other men +possessed the same gift which they had only known to +exist in their father."</p> + +<p>It must not be forgotten that the human eye has, +beyond question, often a power which far transcends the +ordinary purposes of sight, and approaches the boundaries +of magic. There is probably no one who cannot +recall scenes in which the soothing and cheering expression +of gentle eyes has acted like healing balm on +wounded hearts; or others, in which glances of fury and +hatred have caused genuine terror and frightened the +conscience. History records a number of instances, from +the glance of the Saviour, which made Peter go out and +weep bitterly, to the piercing eye of a well-known English +judge, which made criminals of every rank in society feel +as if their very hearts lay open to the divining eye of a master. +This peculiar and almost irresistible power of the eye +has not inaptly been traced back to the gorgon head of +antiquity—a frightful image from Hades with a dread +glance of the eye, as it is called by Homer (Il. viii. 349; +Odyss. xi. 633). The same fearful expression, chilling +the blood and almost arresting the beating of the heart, +is frequently mentioned in modern accounts of visions. +Thus the Demon of Tedworth recorded by Glanvil +("Sadd. Triumph." 4th ed. p. 270), consisted of the +vague outlines of a human face, in which only two bright, +piercing eyes could be distinguished. In other cases, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> +faint vapor, barely recalling a human shape, arises before +the beholder, and above it are seen the same terrible eyes</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Sent from the palace of Ais by fearful Persephoneia."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Magic divination in point of time includes the class +of generally very vague and indefinite perceptions, +which we call presentiments. These are, unfortunately, +so universally mixed up with impressions produced +after the occurrence—<i>vaticinium post eventum</i>—that +their value as interesting phenomena of magic is seriously +impaired. There remains, however, in a number +of cases, enough that is free from all spurious +admixture, to admit of being examined seriously. The +ancients not only believed in this kind of foresight, but +ascribed it with Pythagoras to revelations made by +friendly spirits; in Holy Writ it rises almost invariably, +under direct inspiration from on high, to genuine +prophecy. It reveals not only the fate of the seer, but +also that of others, and even of whole nations; the +details vary, of course, according to the prevailing +spirit of the times.</p> + +<p>When Narses was ruling over Italy, a young shepherd +in the service of Valerianus, a lawyer, was seized +by the plague and fell into syncope. He recovered for +a time, and then declared that he had been carried to +heaven, where he had heard the names of all who in his +master's house should die of the plague, adding that +Valerianus himself would escape. After his death +everything occurred as he had predicted. An English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +minister, Mr. Dodd, one night felt an irresistible impulse +to visit a friend of his who lived at some distance. +He walked to his house, found the family asleep, but +the father still awake and ready to open the door to his +late visitor. The latter, very much embarrassed, thought +it best to state the matter candidly, and confessed that +he came for no ostensible purpose, and really did not +know himself what made him do so. "But God knew +it," was the answer, "for here is the rope with which +I was just about to hang myself." It may well be +presumed that the Rev. Mr. Dodd had some apprehensions +of the state of mind of his friend; but that he +should have felt prompted to call upon him just at that +hour, was certainly not a mere accident.</p> + +<p>The family of the great Goethe was singularly endowed +with this power of presentiment. The poet's +grandfather predicted both a great conflagration and +the unexpected arrival of the German Emperor, and a +dream informed him beforehand of his election as +alderman and then as mayor of his native city. His +mother's sister saw hidden things in her dreams. His +grandmother once entered her daughter's chamber +long after midnight in a state of great and painful excitement; +she had heard in her own room a noise like +the rustling of papers, and then deep sighs, and after a +while a cold breath had struck her. Some time after +this event a stranger was announced, and when he +appeared before her holding a crumbled paper in his +hand, she had barely strength enough to keep from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> +fainting. When she recovered, her visitor stated that +in the night of her vision a dear friend of hers, lying +on his deathbed, had asked for paper in order to impart +to her an important secret; before he could write, +however, he had been seized by the death-struggle, and +after crumpling up the paper and uttering two deep +sighs he had expired. An indistinct scrawl was all +that could be seen; still the stranger had thought it +best to bring the paper. The secret concerned his now +orphaned child, a girl whom Goethe's grandparents +thereupon took home and cared for affectionately +(<i>Goethe's Briefwechsel</i>, 3d ed., II. p. 268).</p> + +<p>Bourrienne tells us in his <i>Mémoires</i> several instances +of remarkable forebodings on the part of Napoleon's +first wife, Josephine. Her mind was probably, by her +education and the peculiar surroundings in which she +passed her childhood, predisposed to receive vivid impressions +of this kind, and to observe them with great +care and deep interest. Thus she almost invariably +predicted the failure of such of her husband's enterprises +as proved unsuccessful. After Bonaparte had +moved into the Tuileries on the 18th Brumaire, she saw, +while sitting in the room of poor Marie Antoinette, +the shadow of the unfortunate queen rise from the +floor, pass gently through the apartment, and vanish +through the window. She fainted, and from that day +predicted her own sad fate. On another occasion the +spirit of her first husband, Beauharnais, appeared before +her with a gesture of solemn warning; she immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +turned to Napoleon, exclaiming: "Awake, awake, you +are threatened by a great danger!" There seemed to +be, for some days, no ground for apprehension, but so +strong were her fears that she secretly sent for the +minister of police and entreated him to take special +measures for the safety of the First Consul. At eight +o'clock of the evening of the same day the latter left +the Tuileries on his way to the opera; a terrible explosion +was heard in the Rue St. Nicaise, where conspirators +attempted to blow up the dictator, and he narrowly +escaped with his life. Josephine at once hastened +to his side, and after having most tenderly cared +for the wounded, embraced Napoleon in public with +tears streaming down her face, and implored him +hereafter to listen more attentively to her warnings. +Napoleon, however, though superstitious enough firmly +to believe in what he called his "star," and even to see +it shining in the heavens when no one else beheld it, +never would admit the value of his wife's forebodings.</p> + +<p>Presentiments of this kind are most frequently felt +before death, and it is now almost universally believed +that the impending dissolution of the body relieves the +spirit in many cases fully enough from its bondage to +endow it with a clear and distinct anticipation of the +coming event. A large number of historical personages +have thus been enabled to predict the day, and many +even the hour of their own death. The Connétable de +Bourbon, who was besieging Rome, addressed, according +to Brantôme (<i>Vies des gr. capitaines</i>, ch. 28), on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +day of the final assault, his troops, and told them he +would certainly fall before the Eternal City, but without +regret if they but proved victorious. Henry IV. of +France, felt his death coming, according to the unanimous +evidence of Sully, L'Etoile, and Bassompierre, +and said, before he entered his coach on the fatal day: +"My friend, I would rather not go out to-day; I know +I shall meet with misfortune." On the 16th of May, +1813, four days before the battle of Bautzen, two of +Napoleon's great officers, the Duke of Vicenza and +Marshal Duroc, were in attendance at Dresden while the +emperor was holding a protracted conference with the +Austrian ambassador. The clock was striking midnight, +when suddenly Duroc seized his companion by +the arm and with frightfully altered features, looking +intently at him, said in trembling tones: "My friend, +this lasts too long; we shall all of us perish, and he last +of all. A secret voice tells me that I shall never see +France again." It is well known that on the day of the +battle a cannon-ball which had already killed General +Kirchner, wounded Duroc also mortally, and when he +lay on his deathbed he once more turned to the Duke +of Vicenza and reminded him of the words he had +spoken in Dresden.</p> + +<p>The trustworthy author of "Eight Months in Japan," +N. Lühdorf, tells us (p. 158) a remarkable instance of +unconscious foreboding on the part of a common sailor. +The American barque <i>Greta</i> was in 1855 chartered to +carry a great number of Russians, who had been ship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>wrecked +on board the frigate <i>Diana</i> during an earthquake +at Simoda to the Russian port of Ayan. A sailor +on board was very ill, and shortly before his death told +his comrades that he would soon die, but that he was +rather glad of it, as they would all be captured by the +English, with whom Russia was then at war. The report +of his prediction reached the captain's cabin, but +all the officers agreed that such an event was next to +impossible; a dense fog was making the ship perfectly +invisible, and no English fleet had as yet appeared in +the Sea of Okhotsk, where the Russians had neither vessels +nor forts to tempt the British. The whole force of +England in those waters was at that moment engaged +in blockading the Russian fleet in the Bay of Castris in +the Gulf of Tartary. Nevertheless it so chanced that a +British steamer, the corvette <i>Barracouta</i>, hove in sight +on the 1st of August and captured the vessel, making +the Russians prisoners of war.</p> + + +<h3>SECOND SIGHT.</h3> + +<p>A special kind of divination, which has at times been +evidenced in certain parts of Europe, and is not unknown +to our North-western Indians, consists in the perception +of contemporaneous or future events, during a brief +trance. Generally the seer looks with painfully raised +eyelids, fixedly into space, evidently utterly unconscious +of all around him, and engaged in watching a distant +occurrence. A peculiar feature of this phenomenon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +familiar to all readers as second sight, is the exclusion +of religious or supernatural matters; the visions are +always strictly limited to events of daily life: deaths +and births, battles and skirmishes, baptisms and weddings. +The actors in these scenes are often personally +unknown to the seer, and the transactions are as frequently +beheld in symbols as in reality. A man who +is to die a violent death, may be seen with a rope around +his neck or headless, with a dagger plunged into his +breast, or sinking into the water up to his neck; the +sick man who is to expire in his bed, will appear wrapped +up in his winding sheet, in which case his person +is more or less completely concealed as his death is +nearer or farther off. A friend or a messenger coming +from a great distance, is seen as a faint shadow, and a +murderer or a thief, as a wolf or a fox. Another peculiar +feature of second sight is the fact that the same +visions are very frequently beheld by several persons, +although the latter may live far apart and have nothing +in common with each other. The phenomena are sporadic +in Germany and Switzerland, in the Dauphiné and +the Cevennes; they occur in larger numbers and are +often hereditary in certain families, in Denmark, the +Scotch Highlands and the Faroe Islands. In Gaelic, the +persons thus gifted are called Taishatrim, seers of +shadows, or Phissichin, possessing knowledge beforehand. +Hence, they have been most thoroughly studied +in those countries, and Mr. Martin has gathered all that +could be learnt of second sight in the Shetlands, in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> +work of great interest. Here the phenomena are not +unfrequently accompanied by magic hearing also, as +when funerals are seen in visions, and at the same time +the chants of the bystanders and even the words of the +preacher are distinctly heard. The most marked form +of this feature is the taisk or wraith, a cry uttered by a +person who is soon to die, and heard by the seer. The +dwellers on those remote islands are also in the habit of +smelling an odor of fish, often weeks and months before +the latter appear in their waters. A special kind of +divination exists in Wales and on the Isle of Man, where +the approaching death of friends is revealed by so-called +body lights, caulawillan cyrth.</p> + +<p>The entirely unselfish character of second sight +must not be overlooked, as far as it increases in a high +degree the value of such phenomena and adds to their +authenticity. In the great majority of cases the persons +and events seen under such circumstances are of +no interest to the seer; they are frequently utterly +strange and unknown to him, and hence find no sympathy +in his heart. It appears as if, by some unknown +and hence magic process, a window was opened for the +soul to look out and behold whatever may happen to +be presented to the inner vision; this image is then +transferred to the outer eye, and the seer's imagination +makes him believe that he sees in reality what is +revealed to him by this mysterious process. Hence +also the facts that the persons gifted with second +sight, so far from laboring under diseases of any kind,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> +are almost without exception simple, frugal men, free +from chronic affections, and perfect strangers to hysterics, +spasms, or nervous sufferings. Insanity and +suicide are as unknown to them as drunkenness, and +no case of selfish interest or willful imposture has ever +been recorded in connection with second sight. This +does not imply, however, that efforts have not been +made by others to profit by the strange gifts of such +persons; but even the career of the famous Duncan +Campbell, a deaf and dumb Scot, who, in the beginning +of the last century, created an immense sensation in +London, only proved anew the well-known disinterestedness +of these seers. In many instances the gift of +second sight is treated with indifference, and hardly +noticed. Such was the case with Lord Nelson, who is +reported to have exhibited the gift of a kind of second +sight, at least in two well-authenticated cases, related +by Sir Thomas Hardy to Admiral Dundas, and quoted +by Dr. Mayo, as he had the account from the latter. +Captain Hardy heard Nelson order the commander of +a frigate to shake out all sails to sail towards a certain +place where he would in all probability meet the French +fleet, and as soon as he had made it out, to run into a +certain port and there to wait for Nelson's arrival. +When the officer had left the cabin, Nelson turned to +Hardy, saying: "He will go to the West Indies; he +will see the French; he will make the port I told him +to make, but he will not wait for me—he will sail for +England." The commander actually did so. In this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +case, however, Nelson may possibly have only given a +striking evidence of his power to read the character of +men, and to draw his conclusions as to their probable +action. In the following instance his knowledge appeared, +on the contrary, as a magic phenomenon. It +was shortly before the battle of Trafalgar, when an +English frigate was made out at such a distance that +her position could not be accurately ascertained. Suddenly +Nelson turned to Hardy, who was standing by +his side, and said: "The frigate has sighted the French." +Hardy had nothing to say in reply. "She sights the +French; she will fire presently." In an instant the +low sound of a signal-shot was heard afar off!</p> + +<p>In other cases the curious gift is borne with great +impatience, and becomes a source of intense suffering. +This is certainly very pardonable in men who read impending +death in the features of others, and hence are +continually subject to heart-rending impressions. Sometimes +the moribund appears as if he had been lying in +his grave already for several days, at other times he is +seen wrapped up in his shroud or in the act of expiring. +In some parts of Germany the approaching death +of a neighbor is announced by the appearance of Death +itself, not in the familiar mythological form, but as a +white, luminous appearance, which either stops before +the house of the person who is to die soon, or actually +enters it and places itself by the side of the latter. +Occasionally the image is seen to fill the seat or to walk +in a procession in the place of a man as yet in perfect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> +health, who nevertheless soon falls a victim to some +disease or sudden attack.</p> + +<p>Second sight is, like all similar magic phenomena, +frequently mentioned in the writings of the ancients. +Homer mentions a case in his "Odyssey" (xx. v. 351). +Apollonius of Tyana was delivering an oration at +Ephesus, when he suddenly stopped in the middle of a +sentence and beheld in a vision the Emperor Domitian +at Rome, in the act of succumbing to his murderers. +He fell into a kind of trance, his eyes became fixed, and +he exclaimed in an unnatural voice: "Down with the +tyrant!" (<i>Vita Apoll. Zenobis Anolo interprete.</i> Paris, +1555, l. viii. p. 562.) Henry IV., when still Prince of +Navarre, saw on the eve of St. Bartholomew several +drops of blood falling upon the green cloth of the card-table +at which he was seated in company with several +courtiers; the latter beheld the fearful and ominous +sight as well as he himself. German writings abound +with instances of men having seen their own funeral +several days before their death, and in many instances +the warning is reported to have had a most salutary +effect in causing them to repent of their sins and to +prepare for the impending summons. One of the most +remarkable instances is that of a distinguished professor +of divinity, Dr. Lysius, in Königsberg. He had +inherited special magic powers through many generations +from an early ancestor, who saw a funeral of very +peculiar nature, with all the attending circumstances, +long before it actually took place. He himself had his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> +first revelation when, lying in bed awake, he saw suddenly +his chamber quite light, and something like a +man's shadow pass him, while on his mind, not on his +ear, fell the words: <i>Umbra matris tuæ</i>. Although his +mother had just written to him that she was in unusually +good health and spirits, she had died that very +night. On another occasion he astonished his friends +by telling them what a superb new building he had +seen erected in Königsberg, giving all the details of +church and school-room to a little gate in a narrow alley. +Many years afterwards such a building was really erected +there, and he himself called to occupy part of it, when +that little gate became his favorite entrance. Although +he had many such visions, and his wife, succumbing to +the contagious influence of magic powers, also foresaw +more than one important event, he sternly refused to +attach any weight to his own forebodings or those of +other persons. Thus a poor woman, possessing the gift +of second sight, once came to some members of his +family and told them she had seen seven funerals leave +his house; when this was reported to him, he denounced +the superstition as unchristian, and forbade +its being mentioned again in his presence. But, +although there was not a sick person in the house at +the time, and even the older members of the family +were unusually hale and hearty, in a few weeks every +one in the house was dangerously ill, the head of the +family alone excepted, and as three only escaped, the +seven deaths which had been foreseen actually took place.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span></p> + +<p>The annals of Swedish history (Arndt, <i>Schwed. +Gesch.</i> p. 317) record a remarkable case of this kind. +The scene was the old castle of Gripsholm, near Stockholm, +a place full of terrible reminiscences, and more +than once made famous by strange mysteries. A great +state dinner given to a prince of Baden, had just ended, +when one of the guests, Count Frölich, suddenly gazed +fixedly at the great door of the dining-hall, and when he +regained his composure, declared he had just seen their +princely guest walk in, wearing a different uniform from +that in which he was actually dressed, as he sat in the +place of honor. It was, however, a custom of the prince's +to wear one costume one day and another the next day, +and thus to change regularly; Count Frölich had seen +him in that which he would accordingly wear the next +day. The impression was beginning to wear away, and +the accident was nearly forgotten, when suddenly a +great disturbance was heard without, servants came +running in, women were heard crying, and even the officers +on guard were seriously disturbed. The report was +that "King Eric's ghost" had been seen. On the following +day the Prince of Baden was thrown from his +carriage and instantly killed; his body was brought +back to Gripsholm.</p> + +<p>Here also we meet again with the exceptional powers +granted to Goethe. He had just parted with one of his +many loves, the fair daughter of the minister of Drusenheim, +Friederike, and was riding in deep thought upon +the footpath, when he suddenly saw, "not with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> +eyes of the body, but of the spirit," his own self in a +new light gray coat, laced with gold, riding towards +him. When he made an effort to shake off the impression, +the vision disappeared. "It is strange, however," +he tells us himself, "that I found myself eight years +later riding on that same road, in order to see Friederike +once more, and was then dressed, by accident and +not from choice, in the costume of which I had dreamt" +(<i>Aus Meinem Leben</i>, iii. p. 84). A kindred spirit, Sir +Humphry Davy, had once a vision, which strangely +enough was fulfilled more than once. In his attractive +work ("Consolations in Travel," p. 63), he relates how +he saw, when suffering of jail fever, the image of a beautiful +woman, with whom he soon entered into a most +interesting conversation. He was at the time warmly +attached to a lady, but the vision represented a girl +with brown hair, blue eyes and blooming complexion, +while his lady-love was pale and had dark eyes and dark +hair. His mysterious visitor came frequently, as long as +he was really sick, but as his strength returned, her +visits became rarer, and at last ceased altogether. He +forgot it entirely; but ten years later he suddenly met +in Illyria, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years, who +strikingly resembled the image he had seen, and now +recalled in all its details. Another ten years passed, +and the great chemist met once more in traveling, a +person who as strikingly resembled his first vision, and +became indebted to her tender care and kindness for the +preservation of his life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p> + +<p>In some parts of the world this gift of second sight +assumes very peculiar forms. In Africa, for instance, +and especially in the countries adjoining the Sahara, +men and women are found who possess alike the power +of seeing coming events beforehand. More than once +European travelers have been hospitably received by +natives who had been warned of their coming. Richardson +tells us in his graphic account of his "Mission +to Central Africa," that his arrival had thus been announced +to the chief and the people of Tintalus in these +words: "A caravan of Englishmen is on the way from +Tripoli, to come to you." The seer was an old negro-woman, +a reputed witch, who had a great reputation for +anticipating events. In the Isle of France—we learn +from James Prior in his "Voyage in the Indian Seas"—there +are many men who can see vessels at a distance of +several hundred miles. One of them described accurately +and minutely the wreck of a ship on the coast +of Madagascar, from whence it was to bring provisions. +A woman expecting her lover on board another ship, +inquired of one of these seers if he could give her any +comfort: he replied promptly that the vessel was only +three days' sail from the island, and that her friend was +then engaged in washing his linen. The ship arrived +at the appointed time, and the man corroborated the +seer's statement. The great navigator relates even +more surprising feats accomplished by the director of +signals, Faillafé, who saw vessels distinctly at a distance +of from sixty to one hundred sea miles. Their image<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> +appeared to him on the horizon in the shape of a light +brown cloud with faint outlines, but yet distinctly +enough to enable him to distinguish the size of the vessel, +the nature of its rigging, and the direction in +which it was sailing.</p> + +<p>Second hearing seems to be limited to the eastern +part of Scotland, where it occurs occasionally in whole +families. Mrs. Crowe mentions, for instance, a man and +his wife in Berwickshire, who were both aroused at +night by a loud cry which they at once recognized as +peculiar to their son. It appeared afterwards that he +had perished at sea in that night and at the same hour +when the cry was heard (I. p. 161). In another case +a man in Perthshire was waked by his wife, who told +him that no doubt their son had been drowned, for she +had distinctly heard the splash as he fell into the water, +and had been aroused by the noise. Here also the foreboding +proved true: the man had fallen from the yardarm, +and disappeared before a boat could be lowered, +although his fall had been heard by all aboard.</p> + +<p>It must finally be mentioned that second sight has +been noticed not in men only, but even in animals. +Horses especially seem to be extremely sensitive to all +magic influences, and accounts of their peculiar conduct +under trying circumstances are both numerous and +perfectly well authenticated. Thus a minister in Lindholm, +the Rev. Mr. Hansen, owned a perfectly gentle +and good-natured horse, which all of a sudden refused +to stand still in his stable, began to tremble and give<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> +all signs of great fear, and finally kicked and reared so +wildly that he had to be removed. As soon as he was +placed in another stable he calmed down and became +perfectly quiet. It was at last discovered that a person +endowed with second sight had ascribed the strange behavior +of the horse to the fact that a coffin was being +made before his open stable, and that the horse could +not bear the sight. The man was laughed at, but not +long after the minister's wife died, and for some special +reasons the coffin was actually made in full view of the +former stable of the horse (Kies. <i>Arch.</i> viii. p. 111). +Dogs also have been reported in almost innumerable +cases to have set up a most painful howling before the +approaching death of inmates of a house where they +were kept.</p> + +<p>In England and in Germany especially, they are considered +capable of seeing supernatural beings. When +they are seen to cower down of a sudden, and to press +close to the feet of their masters, trembling often in all +their limbs, and looking up most piteously, as if for +help, popular belief says: "All is not right with the +dog," or "He sees more than men can see." The memory +of Balaam's ass rises instinctively in our mind, and we +feel that this part of creation, which groaneth with us +for salvation, and which was included among those for +whose sake the Lord spared Nineveh, may see what is +concealed from our eyes. Samuel Wesley tells us expressly +how a dog, specially bought for the purpose of +frightening away the evil-disposed men who were at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> +first suspected of causing the nightly disturbances at the +parsonage, barked but once the first night, and after +that exhibited, upon the recurrence of those noises, quite +as much terror as the children.</p> + +<p>Nor are dogs and horses the only animals considered +capable of perceiving by a special instinct of their own +the working of supernatural agencies. During a series +of mysterious disturbances in a German village, the +chickens fled in terror from the garden, and the cattle +refused to enter the enclosure, when the appearances +were seen. Swiss herdsmen have a number of stories +concerning "feyed" places in the Alps, to which neither +caress nor compulsion can induce their herds to go, even +when pasture is rare everywhere else, and rich grass +seems to tempt them to come to the abhorred meadows. +Storks have been known to have abandoned the rooftree +on which for years they had built their nest, and +in every case the forsaken house was burnt during the +summer. This and other peculiarities of sagacious animals +have been especially noticed in Denmark, where +all animals are called <i>synsk</i>, seers, when they are believed +to possess the gift of second sight.</p> + + +<h3>ORACLES AND PROPHECIES.</h3> + +<p>The highest degree of divination is the actual foretelling +of events which are yet to happen. The immediate +causes which awaken the gift are of the most +varied character, and often very curious. Thus a young +Florentine, Gasparo, who had been wounded by an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> +arrow, and could not be relieved, began in his fearful +suffering to pray incessantly, day and night; this excited +him to such a degree that he finally foretold not +only the name of his visitors, but also the hour at +which they would come, and finally the day of his complete +recovery; he also knew, by the same instinct, +that later in life he would go to Rome and die there. +When the iron point was at last removed from his +wound, his health began to improve, and at once his +prophetic gift left him and never returned. He went, +however, to Rome, and really died in the Eternal City +(Colquhoun, p. 333). The priests of Apollo, at Colophon, +intoxicated themselves with the water of his +fountain, which was as famous for bestowing the gift +of prophecy as Æsculapius' well at Pergamus and the +springs near his temple at Pellena. In other temples +vapors were inhaled by the prophetic priests. In the +prophet-schools of the Israelites music seems to have +played a prominent part, for Samuel told Saul he would +meet at the hill of Gad "a company of prophets coming +down from the high place with a psaltery and a tabret +and a pipe before them." The Jews possessed, however, +also other means to aid in divining: Joseph had +his cup, a custom still prevalent in the East; and the +High Priest, before entering into the Holiest, put on +the Thummim with its six dark jewels and the Urim +with its six light-colored jewels, whereupon the brilliant +sparkling of the precious stones and the rich +fumes of incense combined with the awful sense of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> +presence of Jehovah in predisposing his mind to receive +revelations from on high. The false prophets of Baal, +on the contrary, tried to produce like effects by bloody +means: "They cut themselves with knives and lancets +till the blood gushed out upon them," and then they +prophesied. It has already been mentioned that in +India the glance was fixed upon the navel, until the +divine light began to shine before the mind's eye—in +other words, until a trance is induced, and visions begin +to appear. The changes which immediately precede +dissolution seem, finally, to be most favorable to a +development of prophetic powers. Already Aretæus, +the Cappadocian, said that the mind of many dying +persons was perfectly clear, penetrating and prophetic, +and mentions a number of cases in which the dying +had begun to converse with the dead, or foretold the +fate of those who stood by their bedside. Thus Homer +also makes dying Hector warn Achilles of his approaching +end, and Calanus, when in the act of ascending the +funeral pile, replies to Alexander's question if he had +any request to make: "No, I have nothing to ask, for +I shall see you the day after to-morrow!" And on +that day the young conqueror died.</p> + +<p>Suetonius reports that the Emperor Augustus was +passing away almost imperceptibly, when he suddenly +shuddered and said that forty youths were carrying +him off. It so happened that when the end came, forty +men of his body-guard were ordered to raise and convey +the body to another room in the palace. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> +are a few cases known in which apparently dying persons, +after delivering such prophecies, have recovered +and retained the exceptional gift during the remainder +of their lives, but these instances are rare and require +confirmation.</p> + +<p>As all magic phenomena are liable to be mixed up +with delusion and imposture, so divination of this kind +also has been frequently imitated for personal or political +purposes. The ancient oracles already gave +frequently answers full of irony and sly humor. The +story of King Alexander of Epirus is well known, who +was warned by the oracle at Dodona to keep away from +the Acherusian waters, and then perished in the river +Acheros, in Italy. Thus Henry IV. of England had +been told that he would die at Jerusalem; he thought +only of Palestine, but met his death unconsciously in a +room belonging to the Abbey of Westminster, which +bore the name of the holy city. In Spain, Ferdinand +the Catholic received warning that he would die at +Madrigal, and hence carefully avoided the city of that +name; but when his last illness overtook him at an +obscure little town, he found that it was called Madrigaola, +or Little Madrigal. The historian Mariana +(<i>Hist. de rebus Hisp.</i>, l. xxii. chap. 66) also mentions the +despair of the famous favorite Don Alvarez de Luna, +whom an astrologer had warned against Cadahalso, a +village near Toledo; the unfortunate man died on the +scaffold which is also called cadahalso. In France it +was the fate of the superstitious queen, Catherine de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> +Medici, to experience a similar mortification: the +famous Nostradamus had predicted that she would die +in St. Germain, and she carefully avoided that palace; +but when her last end came, she found herself sinking +helpless into the arms of a courtier called St. Germain.</p> + +<p>Nor is there any want of false prophecies from the +time when Jeremiah complained that "a wonderful and +horrible thing is committed in the land; the people +prophesy falsely" (Jer. v. 30), to the great money crisis +in 1857, which filled the land with predictions of the +approaching end. Periods of great political or religious +excitement invariably produce a few genuine and +a host of spurious prophets, which represent the sad +forebodings filling the mind of a distressed nation and +avail themselves of the credulity of all great sufferers. +Some of the most absurd prophecies have nevertheless +caused a perfect panic, extending in some cases throughout +whole countries. Thus in 1578 a famous astrologer, +the father of all weather prophecies in our almanacs, +predicted that in the month of February, 1524, +when three planets should enter at once the constellation +of the fishes, a second deluge would destroy the earth. +The report reached the Emperor Charles V., who submitted +the matter to his Spanish theologians and astrologers. +They investigated it with solemn gravity +and found it very formidable; from Spain the panic +spread through the whole of Europe. When February +came thousands left their houses and sought refuge on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> +mountain and hill-top; others hoped to escape on board +ships, and a rich president at Toulouse actually built +himself a second ark. When the deluge did not take +place, divines and diviners were by no means abashed; +they declared that God had this time also taken pity +upon sinful men in consideration of the fervent prayer +of the faithful, as he had done before in the case of +Nineveh. The fear of the last judgment has at all +times so filled the minds of men as to make them readily +believe a prediction of the approaching end of the +world, an event which, it is well known, the apostles, +Martin Luther, and certain modern divines, have persistently +thought immediately impending. Sects have +arisen at various epochs who have looked forward to the +second Advent with a sincerity of conviction of which +they gave striking and even most fearful evidence. The +Millerites of the Union have more than once predicted +the coming of Christ, and in anticipation of the near +Advent, disposed of their property, assumed the white +robes in which they were to ascend to heaven, and even +mounted into the topmost branches of trees to shorten +the journey. In Switzerland a young woman of Berne +became so excited by the coming of judgment, which +she fixed upon the next Easter day, that she prophesied +daily, gathered a number of followers around her, and +actually had her own grandfather strangled in order to +save his soul before the approaching Advent. (Stilling, +"Jenseits," p. 117.)</p> + +<p>Not unfrequently prophecies are apparently delivered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> +by intermediate agents, angels, demons or peculiarly +marked persons. It was no doubt an effect of the deep +and continued excitement felt by Caius Cassius, that +his mind was filled with the image of murdered Cæsar, +and hence he could very easily fancy he saw his victim +in his purple cloak, horse and rider of gigantic proportions, +suddenly appear in the din of the battle at Philippi, +riding down upon him with wild passion. It is +well known that the impression was strong enough to +make him, who had never yet turned his back upon the +enemy, seek safety in flight, and cry out: "What more +do you want if murder does not finish you?" (Valer. +Max. I. 8.)</p> + +<p>It must lastly be borne in mind, that prophecies have +not remained as sterile as other magical phenomena. +Already Herder mentions the advantages of ancient oracles. +He says (<i>Ideen zur Phil. d. Geschichte</i>, iii. p. 211): +"Many a tyrant and criminal was publicly marked by +the divine voice (of oracles), when it foretold their fate; +in like manner it has saved many an innocent person, +given good advice to the helpless, lent divine authority +to noble institutions, made known works of art, and +sanctioned great moral truths as well as wholesome +maxims of state policy." It need hardly be added that +the prophets of Israel were the main upholders of the +religious life as well as of the morality of the chosen +people; while the priests remained stationary in their +views, and contented themselves with performing the +ceremonial service of the temple, the prophets preserved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> +the true faith, and furthered its gradually widening revelation. +In their case, however, divination was so +clearly the result of divine inspiration, that their prophecies +can hardly be classed among magic phenomena. +The ground which they have in common with merely +human forebodings and divinings, is the state of trance +in which alone prophets seem to have foretold the +future, whether we believe this ecstatic condition to +have been caused by music, long-protracted prayer or +the direct agency of the Holy Spirit.</p> + +<p>This ecstasy was in the case of almost all the oracles +of antiquity brought on by inhaling certain gases which +rose from the soil and produced often most fearful symptoms +in the unfortunate persons employed for the purpose. +At the same time they were rarely free from an +addition of artifice, as the priests not only filled the +mind of the pythoness beforehand with thoughts suggested +by their own wisdom and political experience, +but the latter also frequently employed her skill as a +ventriloquist, in order to increase the force of her revelations. +Hence the fact, that almost all the Greek oracles +proceeded from deep caves, in which, as at Dodona +and Delphi, carbonic gas was developed in abundance; +hence, also, the name of <i>ventriloqua vates</i>, which was +commonly given to the Delphi Pythia. The oldest of +these oracles, that at Dodona, foretold events for nearly +two thousand years, and even survived the almost universal +destruction of such institutions at the time of +Christ; it did not actually cease till the third century,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> +when an Illyrian robber cut down the sacred tree. The +oracle of Zeus Trophonius in Bœotia spoke through +the patients who were brought to the caves, where they +became somnambulists, had visions and answered the +questions of the priests while they were in this condition. +The Romans also had their somnambulist prophets +from the earliest days, and whenever the state was +in danger, the Sibylline books were consulted. Christianity +made an end to all such divination in Italy as in +Greece. It is strange that the vast scheme of Egyptian +superstition shows us no oracles whatever; but among +the Germans prophets were all the more numerous. +They foretold war or peace, success or failure, and exercised +a powerful influence on all affairs. One of the +older prophetesses, Veleda, who lived in an isolated +tower, and allowed herself to be but rarely consulted, +was held in high esteem even by the Romans. The +Celts had in like manner prophet-Druids, some of whom +became well known to the Romans, and are reported to +have foretold the fate of the emperors Aurelian, Diocletian +and Severus.</p> + +<p>We have the authority of Josephus for the continuance +of prophetic power in Israel even after the coming +of Christ. He tells us of Jesus, the son of Ananus, +who ran for seven years and five months through the +streets of Jerusalem, proclaiming the coming ruin, and, +while crying out "Woe is me!" was struck and +instantly killed by a stone from one of the siege engines +of the Romans. (Jos., l. vi. c. 31.) Josephus himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> +passes for a prophet, having predicted the fall of the +city of Jotapata forty-seven days in advance, his own +captivity, and the imperial dignity of Vespasian as well +as of Titus. Of northern prophets, Merlin is probably +the most widely known; he was a Celtic bard, called +Myrdhin, and his poems, written in the seventh century, +were looked upon as accurate descriptions of many +subsequent events, such as the exploits of Joan of Arc. +In the sixteenth century Nostradamus took his place, +whose prophetic verses, <i>Vraies Centuries et Prophéties</i>, +are to this day current among the people, and now and +then reappear in leading journals. He had been a professor +of medicine in the University of Montpellier, and +died in 1566, enjoying a world-wide reputation as an +astrologer. His brief and often enigmatical verses have +never lost their hold on credulous minds, and a few +striking instances have, even in our century, largely +revived his credit. Such was, for instance, the stanza +(No. 10):</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<i><span class="i4">Un empereur naître près d'Italie,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Qui à l'empire sera vendu très cher;<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Dirònt avec quels gens il se ralliè,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Qu'on trouvera moins prince que boucher,<br /></span></i> +</div></div> + +<p>which was naturally applied to the great Napoleon and +his marshals.</p> + +<p>Another northern prophet, whose predictions are +still quoted, was the Archbishop of Armagh, Malachias, +who, in 1130, foretold the fate of all coming popes; as +in almost all similar cases, here also the accidental<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> +coincidences have been carefully noted and pompously +proclaimed, while the many unfulfilled prophecies have +been as studiously concealed. It is curious, however, +that he distinctly predicted the fate of Pius VI., whom +he spoke of as "<i>Vir apostolicus moriens in exilo</i>" (he +died, 1799, an exile, in Valence), and that he characterized +Pius IX. as "Crux de Cruce." St. Bridget of +Sweden had the satisfaction of seeing her prophecies +approved of by the Council of Basle; they were translated +subsequently into almost every living language, +and are still held in high esteem by thousands in every +part of Europe. The most prominent name among +English prophets is probably that of Archbishop Usher, +who predicted Cromwell's fate, and many events in +England and Ireland, the result, no doubt, of great +sagacity and a remarkable power of combination, but +exceeding in many instances the ordinary measure of +human wisdom. An entirely different prophet was +Rice Evans (Jortin, "Rem. on Eccles. Hist.," p. 377), +who, fixing his eye upon the hollow of his hand, saw +there images of Lord Fairfax, Cromwell, and four other +crowned heads appearing one after another; thus, it is +said, he predicted the Protectorate and the reign of the +four sovereigns of the house of Stuart. Jane Leade, a +most extraordinary and mysterious person, founded in +1697, when she had reached the age of seventy-four, her +so-called Philadelphian Society, a prominent member +of which was the famous Pordage, formerly a minister +and then a physician. This very vain woman main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>tained +that she was inspired in the same manner as +St. John in Patmos, and that she was compelled by the +power of the Holy Spirit to foretell the future. In +spite of her erroneous announcement of the near Millennium, +she foretold many minor events with great +accuracy, and was highly esteemed as a prophet. Dr. +Pordage had mainly visions of the future world, which +were all characterized by a great purity of heart and +wildness of imagination. Swedenborg also had many +prophetic visions, but their fulfillment belongs exclusively +to future life, and their genuineness, firmly +believed by the numerous and enlightened members of +the New Church, cannot be proved to others in this +world.</p> + +<p>One of the most remarkable cases of modern prophesying +which has been officially recorded, is connected +with the death of Pope Ganganelli. The latter heard +that a number of persons in various parts of Italy had +predicted that he would soon end his life by a violent +death. He attached sufficient importance to these +reports to hand the matter over to a special commission +previously appointed to examine grave charges which +had been brought against the Jesuits, perhaps suspecting +that the Order of Jesus was not unconnected with +those predictions. Among the persons who were thereupon +arrested was a simple, ignorant peasant-girl, +Beatrice Rensi, who told the gendarme very calmly: +"Ganganelli has me arrested, Braschi will set me free," +implying that the latter would be the next pope. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> +priest at Valentano, who was arrested on the same day +(12th of May, 1774), exclaimed quite joyously: "What +happens to me now has been predicted three times +already; take these papers and see what my daughter +(the Rensi) has foretold." Upon examination it appears +that the girl had fixed the pope's day upon the +day of equinoxes, in the month of September; she announced +that he would proclaim a year of absolution, +but not live to see it; that none of the faithful would +kiss his foot, nor would they take him, as usual, to the +Church of St. Peter. At the same time she spoke of a +fierce inward struggle through which the Holy Father +would have to pass before his death. Soon after these +predictions were made officially known to the pope, the +bull against the order of Jesuits was laid before him; +the immense importance of such a decree, and the +evident dangers with which it was fraught, caused him +great concern, and when he one night rose from his +bed to affix his signature, and, frightened by some considerations, +threw away the pen only to take it up at +last and sign the paper, he suddenly recalled the prophecy +of the peasant-girl. He drove at once to a great +prelate in Rome, who had formerly been the girl's confessor, +and inquired of him about her character; the +priest testified to her purity, her unimpeached honesty, +and her simplicity, adding that in his opinion she was +evidently favored by heaven with special and very extraordinary +powers. Ganganelli was made furious by +this suggestion, and insisted upon it that his commis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>sion +should declare all these predictions wicked lies, the +inspirations of the Devil, and condemn the sixty-two +persons who had been arrested to pay the extreme penalty +in the Castle of St. Angelo on the 1st of October. +In the meantime, however, his health began to suffer, +and his mind was more and more deeply affected. +Beatrice Rensi had been imprisoned in a convent at +Montefiascone; on the 22d of September she told the +prioress that prayers might be held for the soul of the +Holy Father; the latter informed the bishop of the +place, and soon the whole town was in an uproar. Late +in the afternoon couriers brought the news that Ganganelli +had suddenly died at eight o'clock in the morning; +the body began to putrefy so promptly that the +usual ceremonies of kissing the pope's feet and the +transfer to St. Peter's became impossible! The most +curious effects of the girl's predictions appeared however, +when the Conclave was held to elect a successor. +Many Cardinals were extremely anxious that Braschi +should not be elected, lest this should be interpreted as +a confirmation of the prediction, and hence as the work +of the Evil One; others again looked upon the girl's +words as an indication from on high; they carried the +day. Braschi was really chosen, and ascended the +throne as Pius VI. The commission, however, continued +the work of investigation, and finally acquitted +the Jesuits of the charge of collusion; Beatrice Rensi's +predictions were declared to be supernatural, but suggested +by the Father of Lies, the accused were all set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> +free. The Bishop of Montefiascone, Maury, reported +officially in 1804 that the girl had received a pension +from Rome until the French invasion, then she left the +convent in which she had peacefully and quietly lived +so long, and was not heard of again.</p> + +<p>The famous predictions of Jacques Cazotte, a man of +high literary renown and the greatest respectability, +were witnessed by persons of unimpeachable character +and have been repeatedly mentioned as authentic by eminent +writers. Laharpe—not the tutor of the Russian +Emperor Alexander—reports them fully in his <i>Œuvres +choisies</i>, etc. (i. p. 62); so do Boulard, in his <i>Encycl. des +gens du Monde</i>, and William Burt, who was present +when they were made, in his "Observations on the Curiosities +of Nature." It is well known that Cazotte had +joined the sect of Martinists, and among these enthusiasts +increased his natural sensitiveness and his religious +fervor. With a mind thus predisposed to receive strong +impressions from outside, and filled with fearful apprehensions +of the future, it was no wonder that he should +fall suddenly into a trance and thus be enabled by extraordinary +magical influences to predict the horrors of +the Revolution, the sad fate of the king and the queen, +and his own tragic end.</p> + +<p>The report of his predictions as made by Jean de Laharpe, +who only died in 1823, and with his well-established +character and high social standing vouched for +the genuineness of his experience, is substantially as +follows: He had been invited, in 1788, to meet at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> +palace of the Duchess de Gramont some of the most +remarkable personages of the day, and found himself +seated by the side of Malesherbes. He noticed at a corner +of the table Cazotte, apparently in a deep fit of +musing, from which he was only roused by the frequent +toasts, in which he was forced to join. When at last the +guests seemed to be overflowing with fervent praises of +modern philosophy and its brilliant victory over old religious +superstitions, Cazotte suddenly rose and in a +solemn tone of voice and with features agitated with +deep emotion said to them: "Gentlemen, you may rejoice, +for you will all see that great and imposing revolution, +which you so much desire. You, M. Condorcet, will +expire lying on the floor of a subterranean prison. +You, M. N., will die of poison; you, M. N., will perish +by the executioner's hand on the scaffold." They cried +out: "Who on earth has made you think of prisons, +poison, and the executioner? What have these things +to do with philosophy and the reign of reason, which +we anticipate and on which you but just now congratulated +us?" "That is exactly what I say," replied Cazotte, +"in the name of philosophy, of reason, of humanity, +and of freedom, all these things will be done, which +I have foretold, and they will happen precisely when +reason alone will reign and have its temples." "Certainly," +replied Chamfort, "you will not be one of the +priests." "Not I," answered the latter, "but you, M. +de Chamfort, will be one of them and deserve to +be one; you will cut your veins in twenty-two places<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> +with your razor, and yet die only several months after +that desperate operation. You, M. Vicque d'Azyr, +will not open your veins, because the gout in your hands +will prevent it, but you will get another person to open +them six times for you the same day, and you will +die in the night succeeding. You, M. Nicolai, will +die on the scaffold, and you, M. Bailly, and you, +M. Malesherbes." "God be thanked," exclaimed M. +Richer, "it seems M. Cazotte only deals with members of +the Academy." But Cazotte replied instantly: "You also, +M. Richer, will die on the scaffold, and they who sentence +you, and others like you, will be nevertheless +philosophers." "And when is all this going to happen?" +asked several guests. "Within at most six years from +to-day," was the reply. Laharpe now asked: "And +about me you say nothing, Cazotte?" The latter replied: +"In you, sir, a great miracle will be done; you +will be converted and become a good Christian." These +words relieved the company, and all broke out into +merry laughter. Now the Duchess of Gramont also +took courage, and said: "We women are fortunately +better off than men, revolutions do not mind us." +"Your sex, ladies," answered Cazotte, "will not protect +you this time, and however careful you may be not to be +mixed up with politics, you will be treated exactly like +the men. You also, Duchess, with many ladies before +and after you, will have to mount the scaffold, and more +than that, they will carry you there on the hangman's +cart, with your hands bound behind your back." The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> +duchess, perhaps looking upon the whole as a jest, said, +smiling: "Well, I think I shall at least have a coach +lined with black." "No, no," replied Cazotte, "the +hangman's cart will be your last carriage, and even +greater ladies than you will have to ride in it." "Surely +not princesses of the royal blood?" asked the duchess. +"Still greater ones," answered Cazotte. "But they will +not deny us a confessor?" she continued. "Yes," replied +the other, "only the greatest of all who will be +executed will have one." "But what will become of +you, M. Cazotte?" asked the guests, who began at last +to feel thoroughly uncomfortable. "My fate," was the +reply, "will be the fate of the man who called out, +Woe! over Jerusalem, before the last siege, and Woe! +over himself, while a stone, thrown by the enemy, ended +his life." With these words Cazotte bowed and withdrew +from the room. However much of the details may +have been subsequently added to the prediction, the fact +of such a prophecy has never yet been impugned, and +William Burt, who was a witness of the scene, emphatically +endorses the account.</p> + +<p>Even the stern Calvinists have had their religious +prophets, among whom Du Serre is probably the most +interesting. He established himself in 1686 in the +Dauphiné, but extended his operations soon into the +Cevennes, and thus prepared the great uprising of Protestants +there in 1688, which led to fearful war and +general devastation. Special gifts of prophecy were accorded +to a few generally uneducated persons; but in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> +these they appeared very strikingly, so that, for instance, +many young girls belonging to the lowest classes of +society, and entirely unlettered, were not only able to +foretell coming events, but also to preach with great +eloquence and to interpret Holy Writ. These phenomena +became numerous enough to induce the <i>camisards</i>, as +the rebellious Protestants of the Cevennes were called, +finally to form a regular system of inspiration. They +spoke of four degrees of ecstasis: the first indication, the +inspiring breath, the prediction, and the gifts; the last +was the highest. The spirit of prophecy could be communicated +by an inspired person to others; this was +generally done by a kiss. Even children of three and +four years were enabled to foretell the future, and persevered, +although they were often severely punished by +their parents, whom the authorities held responsible +for their misconduct, as it was called. (<i>Theâtre Sacré +des Cevennes</i>, p. 66.)</p> + +<p>Nor has this gift of prophesying been noticed only +in men of our own faith and our race.</p> + +<p>An author whose trustworthiness cannot be doubted +for a moment, Jones Forbes, gives in his "Oriental Memoirs" +(London, 1803), an instance of the prophesying +power of East Indian magicians, which is as well authenticated +as remarkable. A Mr. Hodges had accidentally +made the acquaintance of a young Brahmin, +who, although unknown to the English residents, was +famous among the natives for his great gifts. They +became fast friends, and the Indian never ceased to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> +urge Hodges to remain strictly in the path of duty, as +by so doing he was sure to reach the highest honors. +In order to enforce his advice he predicted that he +would rise from the post he then occupied as Resident +in Bombay to higher places, till he would finally be appointed +governor. The prediction was often discussed +among Hodges' friends, and when fortune favored him +and he really obtained unusually rapid preferment, he +began to rely more than ever on the Indian's prediction. +But suddenly a severe blow shattered all his +hopes. A rival of his, Spencer, was appointed governor, +and Hodges, very indignant at what he considered an +act of unbearable injustice, wrote a sharp and disrespectful +letter to the Governor and Council of the Company. +The result was his dismissal from the service +and the order to return to Europe. Before embarking +he sent once more for his friend, who was then living at +one of the sacred places, and when he came informed +him of the sad turn in his affairs and reproached him +with his false predictions. The Indian, however, was +in no way disconcerted, but assured Hodges that although +his adversary had put his foot on the threshold, +he would never enter the palace, but that he, Hodges, +would, in spite of appearances, most surely reach the +high post which he had promised him years ago. These +assurances produced no great effect, and Hodges was on +the point of going on board the ship that was to carry +him to Europe, when another vessel sailed into the harbor, +having accomplished the voyage out in a most unu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>sually +short time, and brought new orders from England. +The Court of Directors had disapproved of Spencer's +conduct as Governor of Bengal, revoked his appointment, +dismissed him from service, and ordered Hodges +to be installed as Governor of Bombay! From that day +the Brahmin obtained daily more influence over the +mind of his English friend, and the latter undertook +nothing without having first consulted the strangely +gifted native. It became, however, soon a matter of +general remark, that the Brahmin could never be persuaded +to refer in his predictions to the time beyond +the year 1771, as he had never promised Hodges another +post of honor than that which he now occupied. The +explanation of his silence came but too soon, for in the +night of the 22d of February, 1772, Hodges died suddenly, +and thus ended his brilliant career, verifying his +friend's prophecy in every detail.</p> + + +<h3>THE DIVINING ROD.</h3> + +<p>The relations in which some men stand to Nature +are sometimes so close as to enable them to make discoveries +which are impossible to others. This is, for +instance, the case with persons who feel the presence of +waters or of metals. The former have, from time immemorial, +generally used a wand, the so-called divining +rod, which, according to Pliny, was already known +to the ancient Etruscans as a means for the discovery +of hidden springs. An Italian author, Amoretti, who +has given special attention to this subject, states that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> +at least every fifth man is susceptible to the influence +of water and metals, but this is evidently an overestimate. +In recent times many persons have been +known to possess this gift of discovering hidden springs +or subterranean masses of water, and these have but +rarely employed an instrument. Catharine Beutler, +of Thurgovia, in Switzerland, and Anna Maria Brugger +of the same place, were both so seriously affected by the +presence of water that they fell into violent nervous +excitement when they happened to cross places beneath +which larger quantities were concealed, and became +perfectly exhausted. In France a class of men, called +<i>sourciers</i>, have for ages possessed this instinctive power +of perceiving the presence of water, and others, like the +famous Abbé Paramelle, have cultivated the natural +gift till they were finally enabled, by a mere cursory +examination of a landscape, to ascertain whether large +masses of water were hidden anywhere, and to indicate +the precise spots where they might be found.</p> + +<p>Why water and metals should almost always go hand +in hand in connection with this peculiar gift, is not +quite clear; but the staff of Hermes, having probably +the form of the divining rod, was always represented +as giving the command over the treasures of the earth, +and the Orphic Hymn (v. 527) calls it, hence, the +golden rod, producing wealth and happiness. On the +other hand, the <i>Aquæ Virgo</i>, the nymph of springs, had +also a divining rod in her hand, and Numa, inspired by +a water nymph, established the worship of waters in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> +connection with that of the dead. For here, also, +riches and death seem to have entered into a strange +alliance. Del Rio, in his <i>Disquisitiones magicæ</i>, mentions +thus the Zahuri of Spain, the lynx-eyed, as he +translates the name, who were able on Wednesdays and +Saturdays to discover all the veins of metals or of water +beneath the surface, all hidden treasures, and corpses +in their coffins. There is at least one instance recorded +where a person possessed the power to see even +more than the Zahuris. This was a Portuguese lady, +Pedegache, who first attracted attention by being able +to discover subterranean springs and their connections, +a gift which brought her great honors after she had informed +the king of all the various supplies of water +which were hidden near a palace which he was about +to build. Shafts were sunk according to her directions, +and not only water was found, but also the various +soils and stones which she had foretold would have to +be pierced. She also seems to have cultivated her +talent, for we hear of her next being able to discover +treasures, even valuable antique statues, in the interior +of houses, and finally she reached such a degree of intuition, +that she saw the inner parts of the human +body, and pointed out their diseases and defects.</p> + +<p>Savoy seems to be a specially favorable region for the +development of this peculiar gift, for if in Cornwall +one out of every forty men is believed to possess it, in +Savoy the divining rod is in the hands of nearly every +one. But what marks the talent in this case as pecu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>liar +is that it is by no means limited to the discovery +of water, but extends to other things likewise. A very +wealthy family, called Collomb, living in Cessens, +boasted of more than one member who was able, by the +aid of the rod and with bandaged eyes, to discover not +only pieces of money, but even needles, evidently cases +of personal susceptibility to the presence of metals, +aided by electric currents. Once, at least, the gift was +made useful. A number of bags filled with wheat had +been stolen from a neighboring house, and the police +were unable to discover the hiding-place. At the request +of his friends one of the Collombs undertook the +search with the aid of the divining rod; he soon found +the window through which the bags had been handed +out; he then followed the track along the banks of the +river Cheran, and asserted that the thief had crossed to +the other side. At that time nothing more was discovered; +but soon afterwards a miller living across the +river was suspected, the bags were found, and the +culprit sent to the galleys. (<i>Revue Savoisienne</i>, April 15, +1852.) Dr. Mayo mentions, mainly upon the authority +of George Fairholm, a number of instances in which +persons belonging to all classes of society have exhibited +the same gift, but ascribes its efficacy to the presence of +currents of Od.</p> + +<p>The divining rod, originally a twig of willow or hazel, +is often made of metal, and the impression prevails that +in such cases an electric current, arising from the subterranean +water or metals, enters the diviner's body by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> +the feet, passes through him, and finally affects the two +branches of the rod, which represent opposite poles. It +is certain that when the electric current is interrupted, +the power of the divining rod is suspended. Dr. Mayo +tells us of a lady of his acquaintance in Southampton, +who at his request used a divining rod of copper and +iron wire, made after the fashion of the usual hazel +rod; it answered the purpose fully, but when the ends +touched by her hands were covered with sealing-wax, +it became useless; as soon as she put her fingers in contact +with the unprotected wire, the power instantly returned. +This certainly seemed to be strong evidence of +the existence of an electric current. Nevertheless, many +believe that the divining rod acts in all cases simply +as an extension of the arms, and thus serves to make +the vibrations of the muscles more distinct. It is by +this theory they explain the fact which has caused serious +trouble to careful inquirers like Count Tristan and Dr. +Mayo, that the gift of using the divining rod varies +with the state of health in the individuals in whom it +has been discovered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII.</p> + +<h2>POSSESSION.</h2> + +<p class="small ps">"Thereupon St. Theophilus made a pact with the Devil."—<span class="smcap">Acta</span>, +S. S., 4 February.</p> + + +<p>Many forms of insanity, it is well known, are accompanied +by the fixed idea that the sufferer is continually +associated with another being, a friend or an enemy, a +man, an animal, or a mere shadow. Somnambulists, +also, not unfrequently fancy that they obtain their exceptional +knowledge of hidden things, not by intuition +or instinct, but through the agency of a medium, whom +they look upon as an angel or a demon. There is, +however, a third class of cases, far more formidable than +either of those mentioned, in which the mind is disturbed, +and magic phenomena are produced by an +agency apparently entirely independent of the patient +himself. Such are possession, vampirism and zoanthropy—three +frightful forms of human suffering, which are +fortunately very rare, being limited to certain localities +in space, to a few short periods in time, and to men of +the lowest grade only.</p> + +<p>Possession is that appalling state of mind which +makes the patient believe that he is in the power of a +foreign evil being, which has for the time full control +over his body. This power it abuses by plaguing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> +body in every imaginable way, by distorting the features +till they assume a scornful, diabolical expression, +and above all, by causing the sufferer to give utterance +to cynical remarks and horrible blasphemy. All these +phenomena are based upon the division of the patient's +individuality, which cannot be remedied by any effort of +his own, and which makes him look upon the evil principle +in his nature as something outside of himself, and +no longer under his control. The phenomena which +accompany possession are too fearful in their nature, +and yet at the same time too exceptional to keep us altogether +and easily from believing, as many thoughtful +and even pious men have thought, that in these +cases a real demon takes possession of the afflicted. The +bitter hatred against religion, which is always +a symptom of possession, would naturally tend to enforce +such a presumption. The possessed know not only +their own sins, but also those of the bystanders, and use +this knowledge with unsparing bitterness and cruel +scorn; at the same time they feel the superiority of +others with whom they may come in contact, as the demoniacs +of the Bible never failed to recognize in Christ +the Son of God. From the numerous cases of modern +possession which have been investigated, we derive the +following information as to its real nature. Possession +is invariably a kind of insanity, which is accompanied +by exceptional powers, producing magic phenomena; +it is also invariably preceded by some grave disorder or +dangerous disease. The former may be of purely men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>tal +nature, for violent coercion of will, sudden and subversive +nervous shocks or long-continued enforcement +of a hateful mode of life, are apt to produce the sad +effect. Hence its frequent occurrence in monasteries, +orphan asylums and similar institutions, where this +kind of insanity is, moreover, liable to become epidemic. +At other times the cause is a trivial one, and then a +peculiar predisposition must be presumed which only +needed a decisive act to bring the disturbed mind to its +extremity. But possession is not merely an affection of +the mind, it is also always a disease of the body, which +in the bewildered and disordered imagination of the +patient becomes personified in the shape of a demon; +hence the graver the disease, the fiercer the demon. +As sickness worries the patient, robs him of his appetite +and makes all he used to like distasteful to him, so +the demon also suffers no enjoyment; interferes with +every pleasure, and consistently rages especially against +religion, which alone could give consolation in such +cases. The outbursts of rage in demoniacs, when efforts +are made to exorcise or convert them, even although +nothing but prayers may be attempted, is ascribed to an +instinctive repugnance of the sufferers for means which +they feel to be utterly inappropriate to their case—very +much as if men, mad with hunger, were to be fed with +moral axioms. Possession is finally sometimes limited +to parts of the body; as when a demoniac is spoken of +who was dumb (Matt. ix. 32), and another who was +blind and dumb (Matt. xii. 22). In other cases the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> +body is endowed with supernatural strength, and four +or five powerful men have been known to be scarcely +able to hold a frail girl of fifteen.</p> + +<p>A peculiar feature in possession is, that during the +most violent attacks of apparent fury, accompanied by +hideous cries and frightful contortions, the pulse is not +quickened and the physical strength of the patient does +not seem in the least diminished. The disease, however, +naturally affects his whole system and exhausts it +in time. The possessed man, who unlike somnambulists +retains, during the paroxysms, full control over all +his senses, never speaks of the demon that possesses +him, but the demon speaks of him as of a third person, +and at the same time of himself, a feature which powerfully +contributes to the popular belief of actual demons +dwelling in these unfortunate persons. And yet, after +the paroxysm is over, the poor sufferer knows nothing +of the horrible things he has done, and of the fearful +words he has uttered; if he is told what has occurred, +he is terribly shocked, and bitterly repents his misdoings.</p> + +<p>The paroxysms are twofold: in the body they appear +as violent convulsions accompanied by a contraction of +the throat and the <i>globulus hystericus</i>; saliva forms in +abundance, black, coal-like lumps are thrown up and +the breath is hot and ill-smelling. In this mental form +they appear as a raging of the demon against the possessed +and against religion—in fact a struggle of the +patient with himself and his former convictions. Oc<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>casionally +the good principle within him assumes, in +contradistinction to the demon who personifies the evil +principle, the form of a guardian angel, who comforts +the poor sufferer as he is tossed to and fro like a ship in +a tempest, and promises him assistance. Nor is the demon +always alone; there may be, as Holy Writ teaches, +seven, thousands, or their name may be "Legions," for +these visionary beings are only so many representatives +of certain evil principles at work in the soul of the possessed. +Some patients have been enabled to trace this +connection and to discover that each symptom of their +disease was thus personified by a separate demon to +whom in their paroxysms they ascribed the infliction: +Lucifer caused pricking and stinging pains, Anzian +tearing and scratching, Junian convulsions of limbs, +etc. The fearful suffering which demoniacs have to undergo +and the still more harassing conflicts in their +soul drive them frequently to despair and engender +thoughts of suicide. During these paroxysms the +struggle between light and darkness, heaven and hell, +eternal bliss and damnation, angel and devil, is carried +on with such energy and dramatic truthfulness that +those who witness it are apt to become deeply excited +and often suffer not a little from the violent transitions +from sympathy to horror and from heartfelt pity to unspeakable +disgust. As soon as the dualism in the soul +relaxes, and with it the disease becomes milder, the demon +also grows more quiet; a happy moment of rest +ensues, which the exorciser calls the period of conver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>sion; +and when this has once taken place the patient is +no longer able to distinguish the demon as apart from +himself, the contradistinction exists no more, and he is +reconciled to his true self.</p> + +<p>There is no instance known in which an intelligent, +well-educated person has become possessed; the terrible +misfortune falls exclusively upon rude and coarse +natures, a fact which explains the coarseness and rudeness +of so-called demons. Medicinal remedies are seldom +of much avail, as the disease has already reached +a stage in which the mind is at least as much affected +as the body. Exorcising has frequently been successful, +but only indirectly, through the firm faith which +the sufferer still holds in his innermost heart. The +great dogma that Christ has come into this world to +destroy the works of the Evil One, has probably been inculcated +into his mind from childhood up, and can now +begin once more, after long obscuration, to exercise its +supreme power. The cure depends, however, not only on +the presence of such faith, but rather on the supremacy +which the idea of Christ's power gains over the idea of +the devil's power. Hence the symptoms of possession +not unfrequently cease under a fervent invocation of +the Saviour, if the exorciser is able by his superior +energy of will to create in the patient a firm faith in +the power of the holy name. This expulsion of the +demon is, of course, nothing more than the abandonment +of the struggle by the evil principle in the sufferer's +soul, by which the good impulses become once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> +more dominant, and a healthy, natural state of mind +and body is restored.</p> + +<p>It must, however, not be overlooked that the views +of possession have changed essentially in different nations +and ages. At the time of Christ's coming the +belief in actual possession, the dwelling of real demons +in the body of human beings, was universal, and to this +belief the language of Holy Writ naturally adapts its +records of miracles.</p> + +<p>The Kabbalah as well as the Talmud contain full +accounts of a kingdom of hell, opposed to the heavenly +kingdom, with Smaal as head of all satanism or evil +spirits, defying Jehovah. The latter are allowed to +dwell upon earth side by side with the sons of Adam, +and occasionally to possess them and to live in their +souls as in a home of their own. In other cases it was +the spirit of a deceased person which, condemned for +sins committed during life to wander about as a demon, +received permission to enter the soul of a living being. +The New Testament mentions at least seven cases of +possession, from the woman whose suffering was simply +ascribed to the Devil's agency, to Mary Magdalene who +was relieved of seven demons, and the Gadarene, who +had a "legion" of devils. The Catholic Church also +has always taught the existence of evil spirits; doctrinal +works, however, mention only one, Diabolus or Satanas. +Although the Church adheres consistently to +the theory of actual possession, it teaches that demons +cannot wholly take possession of a human soul, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> +only force it to obedience or accept voluntary submission. +Hence their power over the body also never +becomes absolute, but is always shared with the soul +of the sufferer. Among Protestants many orthodox +believers look upon possession as a mere delusion practised +by the Evil One; others admit its existence, but +attribute it to the souls of deceased persons and not +to demons. This was the doctrine of the ancient +Greeks, who, like the Romans, seem to have known but +a few rare cases of possession, which they ascribed to +departed spirits. Thus Philostratus, in his life of Apollonius +(l. iii. ch. 38), mentions a young man who was +for two years possessed by a demon pretending to be +the spirit of a soldier killed in battle. Nearly all +nations on earth have records of possession. Thus +cases occurring in China and Japan and in the Indies +are attributed to the influence of certain deities, as the +Hindoos know neither a hell nor a devil. Early travelers, +like Blom and Rochefort, report, in like manner, +that in some of the islands of the Caribbean Sea evil +spirits are believed to obtain at times possession of +women and then to enable them to foretell the future. +According to Ellis the inhabitants of the Sandwich +Islands were much plagued by evil spirits dwelling in +some of their brethren.</p> + +<p>It was only towards the latter part of the last century +that possession was found to be nothing more than a +peculiar disease arising from the combination of an +unsound mind with an unsound body. This discovery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> +was first made by Farmer in England, and by Semler +in Germany; since that time the symptoms of the +character of the affection have been very generally +studied and thoroughly investigated.</p> + +<p>Thus it has been discovered that similar phenomena +are occasionally observed in typhus and nervous fevers. +First the patients fancy they feel somebody breathing +by their side, or blowing cold air upon their head; after +long unconsciousness they are apt to imagine that they +are double, and have been known to hesitate where to +carry the spoon containing their medicine. In still +more marked cases, persons who have suffered from the +effects of some great calamity, and have thus been +brought to the verge of the grave, have even acted two +different individualities, of which one was pious and +the other impious, or one speaking the patient's native +tongue and the other a foreign language. As they recovered +and as the return of health brought back bodily +and mental strength, this dualism also ceased to be exhibited +during the paroxysm, and finally disappeared +altogether.</p> + +<p>Possession is generally announced some time beforehand +by premonitory symptoms, but the first cause is +not always easily ascertained. When we are told that +certain cases have originated in a hastily spoken word, +a fierce curse or an outburst of passion, we only learn +thus what was the first occasion on which the malady +has been noticed, but not what was the first cause. +This lies almost invariably in moral corruption; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> +lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of +the heart are by far the most frequent sources of the +frightful disease. Occasionally a very great and sudden +grief, like the unexpected death of a beloved person, or +too great familiarity with evil thoughts in books or in +conversation, produce the same effect—in fact all the +various causes which result in insanity may produce +also possession. Nor must serious bodily injuries be +forgotten. A student of the University of Halle considered +himself possessed, and the case puzzled experienced +physicians for some time, till it was ascertained +that he had received a violent blow upon the head, +which required trepanning. Before the operation could +be undertaken, however, matter began to ooze out from +the ear, and he suddenly was relieved from the paroxysms +and all thoughts of possession. Convents are +naturally very frequently scenes of possession—the inmates +are either troubled by bitter remorse for sins +which have led them to seek refuge in a holy place, +where they cannot find peace, or they succumb to the +rigor of severe discipline and are unable to endure the +constant privation of food or sleep. The sin against +the Holy Ghost, which unfortunate persons have imputed +to themselves, has produced many a case of possession. +When the mind is thus predisposed by great +anguish of soul or a long-continued inward struggle, +the most trifling incident suffices in determining the +outbreak of the disease. One patient became possessed +because his wife told him to go to the Devil, and another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> +because he had in jest exorcised a demon in a playmate; +now a man curses himself in a moment of passion, and +then a boy drinks hastily a glass of cold water when +overheated, and both fall victims to the disease.</p> + +<p>The magic phenomena accompanying possession are +by far the most remarkable within the whole range of +modern magic, but a number of the more striking are +frequently identical with those seen in religious ecstasy. +Demoniacs also exhibit the traces of injuries inflicted +by demons, as saints show the stigmas, and their +wounds heal as little as those of stigmatized persons. +They share in like manner with religious enthusiasts +paroxysms during which they remain suspended in the +air, fly up to the ceiling or are carried to great distances +without touching the ground. The strength of the +possessed is amazing. A monk, known in ecclesiastical +history as Brother Rafael of Rimini, could not be +bound by any ropes or chains; as soon as he was left +alone he broke the strongest fetters, raced up the roof +of the church, ran along the topmost ridge, and was +often found sitting on the great bell, to which no one +else had ever been able to gain access. At last the demons +led him to the top of the steeple itself and were +about to hurl him down, as he said; the abbot and his +monks and an immense crowd of people assembled below, +and besought him to invoke the aid of their patron +saint so as to save body and soul. It does not appear +by what miraculous influence a change was +wrought in the poor man; but he did raise his voice,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> +which had not been heard to address a saint for many +years, and instantly his mind returned, he found his +way down to the church and was cured.</p> + +<p>The most frequent symptom in possession is a strong +antipathy against everything connected with religion; +the holy names of God and Christ, the presence of +priests, the singing of hymns and the reciting of +prayers, excite intense pain, and provoke outbursts of +fury. Even young children manifest this aversion, especially +when they have previously been forced to attend +church, and to engage in devotional exercises against +their inclination. Hence it is, also, that paroxysms are +most frequent at the regular hours of divine service, or +break forth suddenly at the sight of a procession or the +hearing of ringing bells. The symptom itself arises +naturally from the imaginary conflict between a good +and an evil principle, the latter being continually in +arms against anything that threatens to crush its own +power. All the other symptoms of this fearful disease +occur, also, in St. Vitus' dance, in catalepsy, and even in +ordinary trances; only they appear more marked, and +make a greater impression upon bystanders, because +they are apparently caused by a foreign agent, the possessing +demon, and not by the patient himself. As the +digestive organs are in all such cases sympathetically +excited, and seriously affected, a desire for unnatural +food is very frequent; the coarsest victuals are preferred; +unwholesome, and even injurious substances are eagerly +devoured; and medicines as well as strengthening food<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> +are vehemently rejected. The sufferer is apt to interpret +this as a new plague, his demon refusing him his legitimate +sustenance, and compelling him to feed like an +animal.</p> + +<p>One of the most remarkable historical cases of apparent +possession accompanied by magic phenomena, was +that of Mirabeau's grandmother. Married when quite +young to the old marquis, she tried after his death to +protect herself against the temptations of the world, +and of her own heart, by ascetic devotion. In her +eighty-third year, she was attacked by gout which +affected her brain, and she became insane, in a manner +which according to the views of her days was called +possession. It was found necessary to shut her up in a +bare room with a pallet of straw, where no one dared +enter but her valet, a man seventy years old, with whom +she had fallen in love! For, strange as it may appear, +her fearful affliction restored to her the charms of +youth; she, who had been reduced to a skeleton by old +age and unceasing devotion, suddenly regained the +plumpness of her early years, her complexion became +fair and rosy, her eyes bright and even, her hair began +to grow out once more. But, alas! her tongue, also, +had changed; once afraid to utter a word that could be +misinterpreted, the unruly member now sent forth +speeches of incredible licentiousness, and overwhelmed +the old servant with terms of endearment and coarse +allusions. At the same time the retired ascetic became +a violent blasphemer, and would allow no one to enter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> +her chamber who had not first denied God, threatening +to kill him with her own hands if he refused. For four +long years the unfortunate lady endured her fearful +affliction, till death relieved her of her sufferings—but +the student of history traces to her more than one of +the startling features in the character of her grandson, +the Mirabeau of the Revolution. (Bülau, <i>Geh. Gesch.</i>, +xii.)</p> + +<p>Relief is generally possible only when a powerful +hold has been obtained upon the mind of the patient; +after that appropriate remedies may be applied, and the +body will be restored to its natural healthy condition. +In a few cases remarkable incidents have produced a +cure, such as the sudden clanking of chains, or a +peculiarly fervent and impressive prayer. Even a +night's sound sleep, induced by utter exhaustion, has +had the happiest effect.</p> + +<p>It seems as if, the train of thoughts once forcibly interrupted, +a return to reason and an abandonment of +fixed ideas become possible. Even a specially violent +paroxysm may be salutary; probably by means of the +severe struggle and extreme excitement which it is apt +to produce. Many patients, under such circumstances, +fall prostrate on the ground, losing their consciousness, +and awake after a while as from a dream, without being +able to remember what has happened. In other cases +the hallucination continues to the last moment, and +leads the patient to imagine that the demon leaves +him in the shape of a black shadow, a bird, or an insect.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> +Such recoveries are almost invariably accompanied by +violent efforts to discard foreign matters, which have +been lodged in the system, and largely contributed to +produce the disease. Exorcism has, of course, no direct +effect: even when the power to "cast out devils" (Mark +xvi. 17) is given, it is not said by what means the +casting out is to be accomplished, except that it must +be done in the Saviour's name. The formalities, carefully +regulated and prescribed by many decrees of the +Church since the third century, do no good except so +far as they re-awaken faith, impart hope, and free the +mind from distressing doubts. Ignatius Loyola never +cured possessed persons otherwise than by prayer. As +early as the sixteenth century a case is recorded clearly +illustrating the true nature of exorcism. A demon +was, after many fruitless attempts, at last driven out by +a particle of the cross of our Saviour, but in departing +he declared in a loud voice that he knew full well the +nature of the piece of wood; it was cut from a gallows +and not from the true cross, nevertheless he was forced +to go because the exorcist willed it so, and the patient +believed in his power. The same rule applies to cures +achieved by relics; not that these had any effect, but in +the long-cherished faith of the possessed, that they +might and could wield such power over evil spirits.</p> + +<p>The main point is here also the energy of will in the +exorciser, and that this special gift is by no means confined +to men was strikingly illustrated by a famous +lady, the wife of a Marquis de la Croix, who was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> +Spanish general and Viceroy of Galicia. In her youth +a matchless beauty with almost perfect classical features, +she retained an imposing carriage and bewitching +grace throughout a long life, and even in old age commanded +the admiration of all who came in contact with +her, not only by the superiority of her mind but also +by the beauty of her eyes and the charming expression +of her features. After the death of her husband she +had much to endure from neglect in the great world, +from sickness and from poverty, doubly hard to bear +because standing in painful contrast to the splendor of +her former life. The effects of a violent attack of sickness +produced at last a partial disturbance of her mind, +which showed itself in visions and the power to drive +demons from the possessed. Her theory was that as +the sins of men caused their diseases, and as the Devil +was the cause of all sins, sickness was invariably produced +by demoniac agency; she distinguished, however, +between sufferers who had voluntarily given themselves +up to sin, and thus to the service of the Devil, +and those who had unawares fallen into his hands. +Her practice was simple and safe: she employed nothing +but fervent prayer and the imposition of hands, which +she had moistened with holy water or oil. In the +course of time she found her way to Paris, and there +met, amid many skeptics, also with countless believers, +some of whom belonged not only to the highest classes +of society, but even to the sect of Free-thinkers, then +prominent in the French capital. Such were Marshal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span> +Richelieu, Count Schomberg, an intimate of the famous +circle-meeting at Baron Holbach's house, and even the +illustrious Buffon. When she was engaged in exorcising, +her imposing stature, her imperious eye and commanding +voice aided her at least as much as her perfect +faith and striking humility, so that her patients, after a +short demur, willingly looked upon her as a saint who +might, if she but chose, perform miracles. With such +a disposition obedience was no longer difficult, and the +remarkable lady healed all manners of diseases, from +modest toothache to rabid madness. Even when she +was unsuccessful, as frequently happened, she won all +hearts by her marvelous gentleness and humble piety. +Thus, when a possessed man was brought to her in the +presence of an illustrious company, and all her efforts +and prayers were fruitless, she placed herself bravely +between the enraged man and her friends whom he +threatened to attack. He began to foam at the mouth, +and amid fearful convulsions and dread imprecations, +broke out into a long series of terrible accusations +against the poor lady, charging her with all her real +and a host of imaginary sins, till she could hardly +stand up any longer. She listened, however, with her +arms folded over her bosom and her eyes raised to +heaven, and when the madman at last sank exhausted +to the ground, she fell upon her knees and said to the +bystanders: "Gentlemen, you see here a punishment +ordained by God for the sins of my youth. I deserve +this humiliation in your presence, and I would endure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> +it before all Paris if I could thus make atonement for +my misdeeds." (<i>Mém. du Baron de Gleichen</i>, p. 149.)</p> + +<p>One of the most fearful features of possession is its +tendency to spread like contagion over whole communities. +Many such cases are recorded in history. The +monks of the Convent of Quercy were thus attacked in +1491, and suffered, from the oldest to the youngest, +during four months, incredible afflictions. They ran +like dogs through the fields, climbed upon trees, imitated +the howling of wild beasts, spoke in unknown +tongues, and foretold, at the same time, future events. +(Goerres, iv. II.) In the year 1566 a similar malady +broke out in the Orphan House at Amsterdam, and +seventy poor children became possessed. They also +climbed up the walls and on the roofs, swallowed hairs, +needles, and pieces of glass and iron, and distorted +their features and their limbs in a fearful manner. +What, however, made the greatest impression upon the +good citizens of the town were the magic phenomena +connected with their disease. They spoke to the overseer +and even to the chief magistrate of their secret +affairs, made known plots hatched against the Protestants +and foretold events which happened soon after. In +a convent of nuns at Yssel in the Netherlands, a single +nun, Maria de Sains, caused one of the most fearful calamities +among her sisters that has ever been known. +Naturally a woman of superior mind, but carried away +by evil passions, she finally succumbed to the struggle +between the latter and the strict rules of her retreat;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> +she began to accuse herself of horrible crimes and excesses. +The whole country was amazed, for she had +passed for a great saint, and now, of a sudden, she confessed +that she had murdered numberless little children, +disinterred corpses, and carried poor girls to the meeting +of witches. All these misdeeds, which existed only +in her disordered imagination, she ascribed to the agency +of a demon, by whom she was possessed, and before +many weeks had passed, every nun and lay sister in the +ill-fated convent was possessed in precisely the same +manner!</p> + +<p>One of the most recent cases of possession is reported +by Bishop Laurent of Luxemburg, in a pamphlet on +the subject. In the year 1843 a woman, thirty-four +years old, was brought to him who had been possessed +since her fifteenth year, and who exhibited the remarkable +phenomenon that in her sound moments she spoke +no other language but the patois of her native place, +while in her paroxysms she used Latin, French, and +German at will. When the good bishop threatened the +demon, the latter attacked him in return, troubling +him with nightly visits and suggesting to him sinful +doubts of the existence of God and the efficacy of +Christ's sacrifice. This fact shows how easily such +disturbances of mind can be transferred to others, +when disease or mental struggles have prepared a way. +Fortunately the bishop first mastered his own doubts, +and, thus strengthened, obtained the same mastery +over the possessed woman. He commanded the demon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> +to come out of her, whereupon she fell into convulsions, +speaking in a disguised tone of voice; but after a +while drew herself up, and now her face was once more +free from anguish, and "angel-like." Another bishop, +who had been requested to exorcise possessed persons in +Morzine, in the Chablais, was not so successful. At this +place, in 1837, a little girl, nine years old, in consequence +of a great fright, fell into a deathlike sleep, which +returned daily, and lasted about fifteen minutes. A +month later, another girl, eleven years old, was attacked +in the same way, and soon the number of afflicted persons +rose to twenty, all girls under twenty years. After a +while they declared that they were possessed by demons, +and ran wild through the fields, climbed to the top of +lofty trees, and fell into violent convulsions. In vain did +the local priest and his vicar attempt to arrest the evil; +the girls laughed them to scorn. When the civil authorities +interfered, they were met with insults and blows; +the guilty were fined, but the number steadily increased, +and now grown women also were found in the crowd. +At last the official reports reached Paris, and the minister +sent the chief superintendent of insane asylums +to the village. He immediately distributed all the affected +among the adjoining towns and hamlets, to break +off the association, and sent the priest and his vicar to +their superior, the bishop of Annecy. A few only of +the women recovered, several died and one man also +succumbed; others, when they returned to Morzine, +relapsed, and in 1864 the malady began to spread once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> +more so fearfully that the bishop of Annecy himself came +to exorcise the possessed. Seventy of them were brought +to the church, where the most fearful scenes took place; +howling and yelling filled the sacred building, seven or +eight powerful men scarcely succeeded in bringing one +possessed child to the altar, and when there, the demoniacs +broke out in horrible blasphemies. The bishop, +exhausted by the intense excitement, and suffering from +serious contusions inflicted upon him by the unfortunate +women, had to leave the place, unable to obtain +any results. Even as late as 1869 two demons were +solemnly exorcised upon an order from the bishop of +Strasbourg, and with the consent of the prefect of the +department. The ceremony took place in the Chapel +of St. George, in the presence of the lady-abbesses, +under the direction of the Vicar-General of the +diocese, assisted by other dignitaries and the Superior +of the Jesuits. The two boys who were to be relieved +had long been plagued with fearful visions and publicly +given evidence of being possessed, for "twenty or thirty +times they had been led into a public square in the +presence of large crowds, and there they had pulled +feathers out of a horrible monster which they saw above +them in a threatening attitude; these feathers they had +handed to the bystanders, who found that when they +were burnt they left no ashes." When the two children +were brought to the house of the Sisters of Charity, +they became clairvoyant, and revealed to the good +ladies, although they had never seen them before,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> +their family relations, their antecedents and many +secrets. They also spoke in unknown tongues, and +exhibited all the ordinary phenomena of possession. +The official report containing these statements, and +closing with their restoration to health and reason, is +so far trustworthy as it is signed by several hundred +persons, among whom the government authorities, +officers, professors and teachers are not wanting.</p> + +<p>There can be little doubt that the dancing mania +which broke out repeatedly in various parts of the +continent of Europe, was a kind of possession. The +facts are recorded in history; the explanation only is +left as a matter of discussion. In 1374, when a new +and magnificent church was to be consecrated, in Liege, +large numbers of people came from North Germany; +"men and women, possessed by demons, half naked, +wreaths on their heads, and holding each other's hands, +performed shameless dances in the streets, the churches, +and houses." When they fell down exhausted they had +spasms, and convulsions; at their own request, friends +came and pressed violently upon their chests, till they +grew better. Their number soon reached thousands, +and other thousands joined them in Holland and Brabant, +although the priests frequently succeeded in +exorcising them—whenever their mind was still sound +enough to recall their early reverence for holy men and +their faith in holy things. Some time before, the good +people of Perugia had taken it into their heads that +their sins required expiation, and had begun to scourge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> +themselves publicly in the most cruel manner. The +Romans were infected soon after, and copied their +example; from thence the contagion spread, and soon +all over Italy men, women, and children were seen +inflicting upon themselves fearful punishment in order +to drive out the evil spirits by whom they fancied +themselves possessed. Noble and humble, rich and +poor, old and young, all joined the crowds which in the +daytime filled squares and streets, and at night, under +the guidance of priests, marched with waving banners, +and blazing torches, in vast armies through the land. +Nor can we shut our eyes to the fact that the Jumpers +and Jerkers of the Methodist Church present to us +instances of the same mental disorder, caused by over-excitement, +which in earlier days was called possession, +and that, hence, these aberrations, also, infinitely varied +as they are, according to the temper of men and the +habits of the locality in which they occur, must be +numbered among the phenomena of modern magic.</p> + + +<h3>VAMPIRISM.</h3> + +<p>Occasionally possession is not attributed to demons, +but to deceased men who come by night from their +graves, and suck the blood of their victims, whereupon +the latter begin to decline and finally die a miserable +death, while the buried man lives and thrives upon his +ill-gotten food. This is vampirism, the name being +derived from the once universal belief that there existed +vampires, huge bats, who, whilst fanning sleeping men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> +with their soft wings, feasted upon their life's blood and +only left them when they had turned into corpses. Popular +credulity added a number of horrid details to the +general outline, and believed that the wretched victims +of vampirism became themselves after death vampires, +and thus forever continued the fearful curse. It +was long thought that vampirism was known only to +the nations of the Slavic race, but recent researches +have discovered traces of it in the East Indies, and in +Europe among the Magyars. Even the Sanscrit already +appears to have had a term of its own for the +vampires—Pysachas, "hostile beings, eager for the flesh +and blood of living men, who gratify their cruel lust +mainly at the expense of women when they are asleep, +drunk, or insane."</p> + +<p>Careful writers like Calmet and others have, it is +true, always maintained that, while the existence of +vampirism cannot be denied, the phenomena attending +it are in all cases the creations of diseased minds only. +On the other hand, it is a well-established fact that the +bodies of so-called vampires, when exhumed, have been +found free from corruption, while in all the corpses +around them decomposition had long since begun. In +the face of such facts vampirism cannot be dismissed +as simply the product of heated and over-excited imaginations, +although it must be admitted that its true nature +is still to all intents and purposes a profound mystery. +According to popular belief the unusual preservation +of the corpses indicates that death has not yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> +obtained full dominion over the bodies, and that hence +the soul has not yet departed to its eternal home. A +kind of lower organic life, it is said, continues, and as +long as this lasts, the soul wanders about, as in a dream, +among the familiar scenes of its earthly life and makes +itself known to the friends of its former existence. The +life thus extended requires blood in order to sustain itself, +and hence the minds of those who come in magic +contact with the soul of a vampire, become filled with +sanguinary thoughts, which present themselves to their +imagination as the desire to suck blood and thus lead to +the actual performance. The fact that vampirism is +epidemic, like many similar mental diseases, has led to +the belief that the living are brought into close connection +with the dead and are infected by them, while +in reality there is no bond between them but a common +misfortune. Nor must it be forgotten that in this disease, +as in the plague, the mere thought of being seized +often suffices to cause death without any warning symptoms, +and hence the great number of deaths in localities +where vampirism has been thought to prevail. For +very few of those who are attacked succeed in escaping, +and if they survive they retain for life the marks left by +their wounds. The penalty, moreover, is not always +undeserved; vampirism rarely if ever attacks men of +pure hearts and sober minds; it is found, on the contrary, +exclusively among semi-barbarous nations and +only in persons of rude, savage, and sinful disposition.</p> + +<p>Traces of vampirism have been discovered in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> +most distant parts of the earth, and often without apparent +connection. The "Bruholaks" of Greece, genuine +vampires whose appearance was ascribed to the +direct influence of the Evil One, may possibly have been +imported by the numerous immigrants of Slavic origin +(Huet, <i>Penseés Diverses</i>, Paris, 1722), but in Finland +also the belief is, according to Castren, almost universal, +that the spirits of the departed have the power to +vex and torment persons in their sleep, and to afflict +them with sorrow and disease. In the Sunda and Molucca +islands genuine vampirism is well known, and the +Dyaks of Borneo also believe in an evil spirit who sucks +the blood of living persons till they expire.</p> + +<p>Poland and Western Russia have, however, been for +two centuries the stage on which most of these dread +tragedies have occurred. Men and women were reported +to have been seen in broad daylight sucking the +blood of men and beasts, while in other cases dogs and +even wolves were suspected of being upires or vampires, +as blood-suckers are called in most Slavic dialects. +The terror grew as these reports found their way into +newspapers and journals, till fear drove men and +women to resort to the familiar remedy of mixing +blood with the meal used for their bread; they escaped +not by any healing powers inherent in the horrid mixture, +but thanks to the faith they had in the efficacy of +the prescription and the moral courage exhibited in its +application. To prevent the spreading of the epidemic +the bodies of the vampires were disinterred, and when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> +found bleeding, were decapitated or impaled or burned in +public. In some parts of Hungary the disease appeared +in the shape of a white spectre which pursued the +patients; they declined visibly and died in a week or a +fortnight. It was mainly in this country that physicians +attending the disinterment of suspected bodies +noticed the presence of more or less considerable quantities +of blood, which was still fluid and actually caused +the cheeks to look reddish. Some of the witnesses even +thought they noticed an effort to breathe, faint pulsations, +and a slight change of features; these were, however, +evidently nothing more than the effects of currents +of air which accompanied the opening of the coffin. It +was here also that animals were first believed to have +been attacked by vampires; cows were found early in +the morning bleeding profusely from a wound at the +neck, and horses standing in their stalls trembling, +covered with white foam, and so thoroughly terrified as +to become unfit for use.</p> + +<p>Another period of excitement due to accounts of vampirism +comprised the middle of last century, when all +Europe was deeply agitated on the subject. The Emperor +of Germany and other monarchs appointed committees +of learned men to investigate the matter; theologians +and skeptics, philosophers and physicians, took +up the discussion, and hundreds of volumes were published +on the mysterious question, but no satisfactory +result was ever obtained. Many declared the whole a +fable or merely the effect of diseased imaginations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span> +others looked upon it as a malignant and epidemic disease, +and not a few as the unmistakable work of the +devil. Learned men searched the writings of antiquity, +and soon found more traces of the fearful disease than +they had expected. They discovered that in Thessaly, +Epirus, and some parts of the Pieria, men were reported +by ancient writers as wandering about at night and +tearing all whom they met to pieces. The Lamiæ of +the Greeks and the Strigæ of the Romans evidently belonged +to the same category, while the later Tympanites +of the Greeks were persons who had died while under +the ban of the church and were therefore doomed to +become vampires. The Slavic population of Moravia +and Bohemia was in those days especially rich in instances +of vampirism, and so many occurred in Hungary +that the Emperor Charles IV. intrusted the investigation +of the matter to a prince of Würtemberg, before +whom a number of cases were fully authenticated. Men +who had died years before, were seen to return to their +former homes, some in the daytime, some at night, and +the following morning those whom they had visited +were found dead and weltering in their blood. In a +single village seventeen persons died thus within three +months, and in many instances, when bodies were disinterred, +they were found looking quite alive. At this +time the Sorbonne at Paris also took up the subject, but +came to no conclusion, save that they disapproved of +the practice of disinterring bodies, "because vampires, +as cataleptics, might be restored to life by bleeding or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> +magnetic treatment," according to the opinion of the +learned Dr. Piérard. (<i>Revue Spirit.</i>, iv.)</p> + +<p>Here we come at last to the grain of truth around +which this mass of popular superstition has gradually +accumulated, and the ignorance of which has caused +hundreds of innocent human beings to die a miserable +death. There can be no doubt that cases of "suspended +animation" or apparent death have alone given rise to +the whole series of fearful tales of vampirism. The +very words of a recital belonging to the times, and to +the districts where vampirism was prevalent, prove the +force of this supposition. Erasmus Francisci states +that, in the duchy of Krain, a man was buried and +then suspected of being a vampire. When disinterred +his face was found rosy, and his features moved as if +they attempted to smile; even his lips opened as if +gasping for air. A crucifix was held before his eyes and +a priest called out with a loud voice: "Peace! This is +Jesus Christ who has rescued thy soul from the torment +of hell, and suffered death for thee!" The sound +seemed to penetrate to his ear, and slowly a few tears +began to trickle down his cheeks. After a short prayer +for his poor soul, his head was ordered to be cut off; a +suppressed cry was heard, the body turned over as if +still alive, and when the head was severed a quantity of +blood ran into the grave. It was as clear a case of a +living man who had been buried before death as has +ever been authenticated. Nor are such cases as rare as +is popularly believed. High authorities assure us that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span> +for instance, after imperfect poisoning, in several kinds +of suffocation, and in cases of new-born children who become +suddenly chilled, a state of body is produced which +presents all the symptoms of complete suspension of the +functions of life. Such apparent death is, according to +the same high medical authority, a period of complete +rest, based upon a suspension of the activity of the +heart, the lungs, and all spontaneous functions, extending +frequently to the sense of touch, and the intellect +even. At the same time the natural heat of the body +sinks until it seems to have disappeared altogether. +The duration of this exceptional state is uncertain, at +times the patient awakes suddenly, and in full possession +of all his faculties; in other cases external means +have to be employed to restore life. Among many well-authenticated +cases of this kind, two of special interest +are mentioned by Dr. Mayo. Cardinal Espinosa, the +minister of Philip II. of Spain, died after a short period +of suffering. His rank required that he should be embalmed, +and his body was opened for the purpose. At +the moment when lung and heart were laid open to view, +the surgeon observed that the latter was still beating, +and the Cardinal, awaking, had actually strength +enough to seize with his hand the knife of the operator. +The other case is that of a well-known French writer, +the Abbé Prévost, who fell down dead in the forest of +Chantilly. His apparently lifeless body was found, +and carried to a priest's house in the neighborhood. +The surgeon ascribed his death to apoplexy; but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span> +authorities ordered a kind of coroner's inquest, and the +body was opened. During the operation the Abbé +suddenly uttered a cry of anguish—but it was too +late!</p> + +<p>If a certain number of such cases of apparent death +has really given rise to the faith in vampirism, then it +is equally possible to suppose, that this kind of trance—for +which there may exist a special predisposition in one +or the other race—may become at times epidemic. Persons +of peculiar nervousness will be ready to be affected, +and a locality in which this has occurred may soon +obtain an unenviable reputation. Even where the +epidemic does not appear in full force, a disturbed state +of the nervous system will be apt to lead to dreams by +night, and to gossip in the daytime, on the fatally +attractive subject, and the patient will soon dream, or +really imagine, that a person who has died of the disease +has appeared to him by night, and drawn his +strength from him, or, in his excited fancy, sucked his +life's blood. By such means even the popular way of +speaking of nocturnal visits made by the "vampire's +ghost" is not so entirely unfounded as would appear at +first sight, and the superstition is easily shown to be +not altogether absurd, but to be based upon a small +substructure of actual truth.</p> + +<p>It is remarkable, however, that the Germanic race +has never furnished any instances of vampirism, +although their ancient faith in a Walhalla, where their +departed heroes feast sumptuously, and their custom to +place food in the graves of their friends would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span> +seemed most likely to reconcile them to the idea that +men continue to live in their graves.</p> + +<p>How sadly persistent, on the other hand, such superstitions +are among the lower races, and in specially +ignorant communities, may be gathered from the fact +that, as late as 1861, two corpses were disinterred by the +peasants of a village of Galicia, and decapitated. The +people believed them to be vampires, and to have caused +a long-protracted spell of bad weather!</p> + + +<h3>ZOANTHROPY.</h3> + +<p>Even more fearful yet than vampirism is the disease, +very common already in the days of antiquity, which +makes men think that they have changed into beasts, +and then act as such, according to the logic of insanity. +Petronius is probably the first to mention, in his "Feast +of Trimalchio," a case of lycanthropy, when Niceros relates +how someone who was journeying with him threw +off his garments, changed into a wolf and ran away into +the forest. When he returned home, his account continues, +he found that a wolf had fallen upon his flock, +but had been wounded by a servant in the neck with a +lance. Thereupon he goes to inquire after his fellow-traveler, +and finds him sick in bed with a physician by +his side, who binds up an ugly wound in his neck. +The well-known writer took this episode from the Arcadians, +a rude nation of shepherds, whose flocks were +frequently attacked by wolves, and among whom stories +of men changed into wild beasts, were quite current.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> +Nor must we forget, among historic personages, the +daughter of King Prœtus of Argos, who believed herself +changed into a cow; and of Nebuchadnezzar, who +according to his own touching account "was driven +from meat, did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet +with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like +eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." (Daniel +iv. 33.) The early days of Christianity are naturally +full of incidents of this kind, but what is remarkable, +zoanthropy was then already treated as a mere delusion. +The holy man Macarius once saw a large procession +approaching his hermitage in Egypt; it was headed by +a number of persons who led a large and imposing-looking +woman by a bridle, and followed by a crowd of +people of all ages. When they came near they told his +disciples that the woman had been changed into a mare, +and had thus remained for three days and nights without +food—would the saint pray over her and restore +her to her natural condition? The delusion was so +forcibly contagious that the disciples also forthwith +saw a mare, and not a woman, and refused to admit +the animal to the presence of the hermit! Fortunately +the latter had retained his self-control; he rebuked his +followers, saying: "You are the real beasts, that imagine +you see something which does not exist. This +woman has not been changed, but your eyes are deluded." +Then he poured holy water over her, and at once +everybody saw her once more in her natural shape. He +dismissed her and her escort with the words: "Go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span> +more frequently to church and take the holy sacrament; +then you will escape such fearful punishment."</p> + +<p>During the Middle Ages a similar disease existed in +many parts of Europe; men were changed into dogs or +wolves, sometimes as a divine punishment for great +crimes, at other times in consequence of a delusion produced +by Satan. Such unfortunate men walked on all +fours, attacked men and beasts, but especially children, +killed and devoured them. They actually terrified many +people into believing as confidently in this delusion as +they believed in it themselves! For this is one of the +specially fearful magic phenomena of zoanthropy that +it is apt to produce in healthy persons the same delusion +as in the sufferer. Many cases also are recorded of +persons lying in deep sleep, produced by narcotic ointments, +who, seeing visions, fancied that they were +acting like wolves. In the year 1598 such a disease +raged as an epidemic in the Jura mountains, till the +French Parliament determined to make an end of it by +treating all the afflicted either as insane or as persons +possessed by the devil and therefore deserving instant +death. Among Slavic nations and the Magyars lycanthropy +is so closely connected with vampirism that it is +not always easy to draw the line between the two diseases. +There can be no doubt, however, that it is merely +a variety of possession, arising from the same unhappy +state in which dualism is developed in the soul, +and two wills contend with each other for superiority to +the grievous injury of mind and body. The only dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>tinctive +feature is this, that in lycanthropy not only the +functions of the brains but also those of the skin are +disordered, and hence an impression arises that the latter +is hairy and shaggy after the manner of wild +beasts.</p> + +<p>The German Währwolf (were-wolf or man-wolf) is +the same as the lycanthropos of the Scythians and +Greeks and the <i>versipellis</i> of the Romans; he was in +German mythology connected with Woden. Hence, +probably, the readiness with which the disease during +the Middle Ages took hold of the minds of Germans; +but at that period nearly all the nations of Europe +firmly believed in the reality of such changes.</p> + +<p>As late even as the beginning of the sixteenth century +cases of this kind occurred in France, where the +possessed were known as <i>loups-garoux</i>. A young man +of Besançon was thus brought before the Councilor of +State, <i>De l'Ancre</i>, at Bordeaux, and accused of roving +like a wild animal through the neighboring forests. He +confessed readily that he was a huntsman in the service +of his invisible master, the devil, who had changed him +into a wolf and forced him to range by the side of +another more powerful wolf through the country. The +poor fellow shared the usual fate of his fellow-sufferers, +who were either subjected to a sharp treatment of exorcism +or simply executed as heretical criminals.</p> + +<p>In our day lycanthropy is almost entirely limited to +Servia and Wallachia, Volhynia and White Russia. +There, however, the disease breaks out frequently anew,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> +and popular belief knows a variety of means by which +a man may be changed into a wolf; the animal differs, +however, from a genuine wolf in his docked tail and his +marked preference for the blood of young children.</p> + +<p>In Abyssinia there exists, according to Pearce, a belief +that men are occasionally changed into hyenas—the +wolves of that country—but this sad privilege is limited +to workers in clay and iron, called Booda among the +Amharas, who wear a gold earring of special form as a +distinction from other inferior castes.</p> + +<p>It will thus be seen that, like all other varieties of +possession, zoanthropy also is simply a kind of insanity, +and our amusement at the marvelous conduct of werewolves +will vanish, if we recall the entire change produced +in man by the loss of reason. In that sad condition +he endures fatigue, cold or heat, and hunger as no +healthy man ever can learn to do; he does not mind +the severest castigation, for his body is almost insensible, +it ceases to be susceptible to contagious diseases and +requires, in sickness, double or treble doses of medicine. +If we once know the precise nature of an insane +person's hallucination, his actions will be apt to appear +quite consistent, and thus lycanthropy also not only +produces the fine connection of a change into a wolf, +but causes the sufferer to conduct himself in all his +ways like the animal which he represents.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII.</p> + +<h2>MAGNETISM.</h2> + +<p class="center small pt">"Great is the power of the hand."—</p> + +<p class="attr small pb"> +<span class="smcap">St. Augustine</span>, <i>Op.</i>, iv. 487.<br /> +</p> + +<p>Mesmer, who was the first to make the anæsthetic +effects of certain passages of the hand over the bodies +of patients known to the public, sought originally to +explain them by the agency of electricity; but as early +as 1773 he ascribed them to magnetism. From that day +he employed magnets, and by passing them over the +affected parts of his patients, he performed remarkable +cures for many years in the city of Vienna. He looked +upon the magnet as the physician, which cured the +patient in the same way in which it attracted iron. +Soon after, however, he became acquainted with the +famous Father Gassner, of Ratisbon, who had obtained +precisely the same results, without a magnet, by simple +manipulations, and, henceforth, he also treated his +patients with the hand only; but he retained the old +name, looking now upon himself, and others who were +endowed in the same manner, as possessing the powers +of a strong magnet. In the meantime one of his +pupils, the Marquis de Puységur, had quite accidentally +discovered the peculiar nature of somnambulism, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> +with rare foresight profited by the moments of clear +consciousness which at times interrupted the trance, in +order to learn from his patients themselves the means +of curing their diseases. He had from that moment +devoted all the leisure of his life to the study of these +singular but most beneficial phenomena, employing +only the simplest manipulations in place of the more +exciting means used by Mesmer, and doing an immense +amount of good by his judicious cures.</p> + +<p>Mesmer, in the course of time, adopted the better +method of his former pupil, and now his system was +complete. He used magnetism for purely practical +purposes: he cured diseases by throwing well-qualified +persons into the peculiar sleep produced by magnetizing +them, and availed himself of the effects of this half-sleep +upon their varied constitutions, for his curative +purposes. At the same time, however, he ascribed the +influence which he claimed to have over persons whom +he had thus magnetized, to a most delicate, all-pervading +medium; this, he maintained, was the sole cause of +motion, light, heat, and life itself in the universe, and +this he stated he was communicating by his process of +magnetizing in a sufficient degree to his patients to produce +startling but invariably beneficial results. It is +well known how his removal from Vienna, where he +had begun his remarkable career, to Paris, increased in +almost equal proportions the number of enthusiastic +admirers, and of bitter adversaries. In spite of an unfavorable +judgment rendered by a committee of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> +Academy in 1784, his new doctrines spread rapidly +through all the provinces; so-called Harmonic Societies +were formed in almost every town, and numerous institutions +sprang up founded upon the new system of +magnetizing patients. It is curious that of the nine +members of that committee, among whom Franklin +was not the least renowned, only one, the great savant +Jussieu, refused to sign the report "because it was +founded upon a few isolated facts," and sent in a separate +memoir, in which he described animal heat as the +universal agent of life. Equally curious objections +were made by others; thus in another report of the +Academy, the king was requested to prohibit the practice +of magnetism, because it was "dangerous to the +morals of the people," and in the great hospital of the +Charité, magnetic treatment was forbidden, because +"the new system had caused for a long time warm discussions +between the best informed men of science!" +Urged by repeated petitions, the Academy appointed, in +1825, a second committee to investigate the matter, +which finally reported a firm conviction of the genuineness +and efficacy of magnetism, and recommended a +further examination of this important branch of psychology +and natural science. A permanent committee +was thereupon directed to take charge of the matter, +before which a very large number of important facts +were authenticated; but in 1840, and subsequently, +once more, unfavorable reports were laid before the +august body and adopted by small majorities.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span></p> + +<p>In England magnetism met with fierce and violent +opposition, the faculty being no little incensed by this +new and unexpected competitor for fees and reputation. +Dr. Elliotson, a professor in the University of London, +and director of a large hospital, had actually to give up +his place, because of the hostility engendered by his advocacy +of the new doctrine. Afterwards the controversy, +though by no means less bitter, was carried on with +more courtesy, and the subject received, on the whole, +all the attention it deserved. Germany alone has legally +sanctioned magnetism as a scientific method within the +range of the healing art, and the leading powers, like +Prussia, Austria, and Saxony, have admitted its practice +in public hospitals. Unfortunately, much deception +and imposture appeared from the beginning in company +with the numerous genuine cases, and led many eminent +men to become skeptics. The Russian government has +limited the permission to practice by magnetic cure to +"well-informed" physicians; but the Holy Curia, the +pope's authority, after admitting magnetism, first as a +well-established fact, has subsequently prohibited it by +a decree of the Inquisition (21st April, 1841) as conducive +to "infidelity and immorality." In spite of all +these obstacles, magnetism, in its various branches of +somnambulism and clairvoyance, of mesmerism and +hypnotism, is universally acknowledged as a valuable +doctrine, and has led to the publication of a copious +literature.</p> + +<p>Magnetizers claim—and not without some show of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> +reason—that their art was not unknown to antiquity, +and is especially referred to in Holy Writ. They rest +their claim upon the importance which has from time +immemorial been ascribed to the action of the hand +as producing visions and imparting the gift of +prophecy. When Elisha was called upon to predict the +issue of the war against Moab, he sent for a minstrel, +"and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that +the <i>hand</i> of the Lord came upon him." (2 Kings iii. +15.) In like manner "the <i>hand</i> of the Lord was upon +Ezekiel" among the captives by the river of Cheber and +he prophesied (Ezekiel i. 3); years after he says again: +"The <i>hand</i> of the Lord was upon me in the evening" +(xxxiii. 22), and once more: "the <i>hand</i> of the Lord was +upon me" (xl. 1). It is evident that according to biblical +usage in these cases the manner of acting attributed +to God is described after the usage prevailing among +men, and that the "hand upon men" represented the +usual method of causing them to fall into a trance. +But this placing the hand upon a person was by no +means confined to cases of visions; it was employed also +in blessings and in sacrifices, in consecrations and +miraculous cures. Daniel felt a hand touching him, +which "set me upon my knees and the palms of my +hands" (Dan. x. 10), while soon after the same hand +"strengthened him" (17); and even in the New Testament +a high privilege is expressed by the words: "The +<i>hand</i> of the Lord was with him." (Luke i. 66.) In other +cases a finger is substituted for the hand, as when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> +magicians of Pharaoh said: "This is the finger of God" +(Exodus viii. 19), and the two tables of testimony are +said to have been "written with the finger of God" +(Exodus xxxi. 18); in the same manner Christ said: +"If I with the finger of God cast out devils." (Luke xi. +20.) What makes this reference to finger and hand in +Eastern magic and in biblical language peculiarly interesting +is the fact that neither Greeks nor Romans +ever referred in like manner to such an agency. It is +evident that these nations, possessing the ancient wisdom +of the East and the revealed knowledge of the +chosen people, were alone fully acquainted with the +power which the hand of man can exercise under peculiar +circumstances, and hence looked upon it in God +also, as the instrument by which visions were caused +and miracles performed. Hence, no doubt, also the +mysterious hand, which from time immemorial has been +used as one of the emblems of supreme power, often +called the hand of justice, but evidently emblematic of +the "hand of God," which rests upon the monarch who +rules "by the grace of God." Magnetizers connect all +these uses made of the hand with their own method, +which consists almost invariably in certain passes made +with the whole hand or with one or more fingers.</p> + +<p>Whatever may be thought of this connection between +the meaning of the "hand" in biblical language, and +the magnetism of our day, there can be no doubt as to +the fact that the ancients were already quite familiar +with the phenomena which have startled our century as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> +something entirely new. The so-called temple-sleep +of the Greeks was almost identical with modern +somnambulism; the only essential difference being +that then the gods of Olympus were seen, and lent their +assistance, in the place of the saints of the Middle Ages, +and the mediums of our own day. Incense, mineral +waters, narcotic herbs, and decoctions of Strychnos or +Halicacabum, were, according to Pliny, employed to +produce the peculiar sleep. ("Hist. Nat." l. xxi. ch. 31.) +The patients fell asleep while lying on the skins of +recently killed animals in the Temples of Æsculapius, +and other beneficent deities, and in their sleep had +dreams with revelations prescribing the proper remedies. +The priests also, sometimes, dreamt for their visitors—for +a consideration—or, at least, interpreted the dreams +of others. Even magnetism by touch was perfectly +familiar to the ancients, as appears from words of +Plautus: "<i>Quid, si ego illum tractim tangam, ut +dormiat?</i>" (What if I were to touch him at intervals +so that he should fall asleep?) Plutarch even speaks +of magnetizing by touching with the feet, as practised +by Pyrrhus. Other writers discovered that the Sibyls +of Rome, as well as the Druids of the Celts, had been +nothing more than well-trained somnambulists, and ere +long distinct traces of similar practices were found in +the annals of the Egyptians also.</p> + +<p>One of the earliest cases, which was thoroughly +investigated, and carefully watched, is reported by Dr. +Pététin, of Lyon, in his famous "Memoir on Catalepsy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span> +and Somnambulism." (Lyon, 1787.) His patient was a +lady who had nursed her child with such utter disregard +of her own health that her whole system was undermined. +After an attack of most violent convulsions, +accompanied with apparent madness, she suddenly +began to laugh, to utter a number of clever and witty +sayings, and finally broke out into beautiful songs; but +a terrible cough with hemorrhages ended the crisis. +Similar attacks occurred with increasing frequency, +during which she could read, with closed eyes, what was +placed in her hand, state hour and minute on a watch +by merely touching the crystal, and mention the contents +of the pockets of bystanders. She stated that she +saw these things with varied distinctness; some clearly, +others as through a mist, and still others only by a +great effort. The reporter expresses his belief that the +stomach in this case performed all the functions of the +senses, and that the epidermis, with its network of fine +nerves, acted in place of the usual organs. Pététin was +also the first to enter into direct relations with his somnambulist; +he could induce her at will to become +clairvoyant, and make himself understood by her whenever +he directed his voice toward the only sensitive part. +Gradually, however, it was discovered that the degree +of close communication (<i>rapport</i>) between the two parties +depended as largely on the correspondence of +character between them as on the energy of will in the +magnetizer and the power of imagination possessed by +the patient. Deleuse, one of the professors of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span> +<i>Jardin des Plantes</i>, in Paris, gave much attention to +the subject, and in his numerous publications maintained +the existence of a magnetic fluid by the side of +the superior power with which some men are endowed, +and that both were employed in influencing others. +He was frequently, and violently, attacked on the score +of his convictions, especially after several cases of cunning +deception had become known. For very soon the +innate desire for notoriety led many persons to pretend +somnambulism, and skillfully to imitate the phenomena +of clairvoyance, displaying, as is not unfrequently the +case, in these efforts a skill and a perseverance which +would have secured them great success in any legitimate +enterprise. A number of volumes appeared, mostly in +Germany, professing to contain accounts of marvelous +cures achieved by magnetism, which upon examination +proved to be altogether fictitious. France, however, +abounded more than any other country with impostors, +and every kind of deception and cheating was carried +on there, at the beginning of this century, under the +cloak of mesmerism. Young girls, stimulated by large +rewards, and well trained by hospital surgeons, would +submit to brutal treatment, and profess to reveal, during +well-simulated trances, infallible remedies for +grievous diseases. The followers of Mesmer degraded +his art by making it a merry pastime or a lucrative +exhibition, without regard to truthfulness, and without +reverence for science. Even political intriguers, and +financial speculators, availed themselves of the new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span> +discovery; precisely as in our day spirit-rapping and +kindred tricks are used. In England, and in the +Union, mesmerism fared little better; especially with +us, it soon fell into the hands of quacks and charlatans +who made it a source of profit; at the same time it +assumed various new names, as, electro-biology, hypnotism, +and others.</p> + +<p>The idea that somnambulism was the effect of angelic +or demoniac influences was once largely entertained, +but has long since given way to more scientific views. +But it cannot be said that the true nature of the active +principle has yet been fully ascertained, and so far the +results of mesmerism must be classed among magic +phenomena. What is alone clearly established is the +power which the strong will of the magnetizer evidently +exercises over the patient, and the fact that this energy +acts through the hands as its organs. The patient, +on his side, undergoes by such an exercise of a foreign +will a complete change of his individuality; the action +of his brain is modified and he falls into magnetic +sleep. Many intelligent somnambulists have distinctly +stated that they obey the will of their master and not +his hands; that manipulation, in fact, merely serves to +communicate this will to their inner sense. Whether +the connection which evidently exists between the two +parties is established merely for moral agencies or by an +infinitely subtle fluid, which may possibly be the Od of +Baron Reichenbach—this question remains as yet undecided. +So much only is quite certain that neither the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span> +will alone suffices to produce the magic phenomena of +magnetism, nor heat and electricity, as the physicist +Parrot maintained; as little can electro-magnetism, unaided, +be the cause of such results, though the great +Robiano stoutly asserted its power; man is a dualism +of spirit and body, and both must be influenced alike +and together, in order to obtain perfect mastery. The +most plausible explanation yet offered by men of science +is, that by the will of the magnetizer his own nervous +and mental system assumes a certain condition which +changes that of the subject into one of opposite polarity, +paralyzes some of his cerebral functions and causes +him to fall into a state resembling sleep. The stronger +and healthier man affects the nervous system of a feeble +and less healthy man according to his own more or +less strongly marked individuality, and the spiritual influence +naturally develops itself in the same proportions +as the material influence. Hence the thoughts and +feelings, the convictions and the faith of the magnetizer +are reflected upon the mind of his subject. Even +Mesmer himself had not yet reached this point; he +was, up to his death, content to ascribe the power of +the magnetizer to the waves of an universal fluid set in +motion by the superior energy of specially endowed +persons. According to his doctrine thoughts were conveyed +by means of this mysterious fluid in precisely +the same manner in which light and sound are borne +onward on the waves of the air that surrounds us. +They proceed from the brain and the nerves of one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span> +person and reach those of another person in this imperceptible +manner; to dispatch them on their errand, volition +is required; to receive them, willingness and a +certain natural predisposition, since there are men incapable +of being reached in this way, as there are others +who are deprived of sight or hearing. As the conveying +fluid is far more subtle than the thinnest air, permeates +the whole universe and bears a close resemblance +to the fluid which sets our nerves in motion, there is +no other limit to the effects of volition on the part of +the so-called magnetizer than the strength of his will. +If he possesses this in a sufficiently high degree, he can +affect those who are subject to his superiority even at +the greatest distance. Moreover, if his influence is +sufficiently effective the somnambulist acquires new and +heretofore unknown powers; he sees the interior of his +own body, recognizes its defects and diseases, and by a +newly-awakened instinct, perceives what is necessary to +restore its perfect order. Such were the views of Mesmer.</p> + +<p>Besides this theory a number of others have been published +from time to time, by men of science of almost all +countries—even modern philosophers, like the German +Schopenhauer, having entered the lists in defense of +their favorite ideas. The most striking view published +in recent times, is found in the works of Count Robiano, +a learned abbé and a brilliantly successful magnetizer. +He ascribes all the phenomena of somnambulism to the +purely physical activity of the nerves, and proposes to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span> +call his new physical science neururgy. He identifies +the nervous fluid with galvanism and voltaic electricity, +and asserts that by a galvanic battery all the results can +be obtained which mesmerism claims as its own. He +also states that galvanic rings, bracelets, belts and necklaces +cause immediately somnambulism in well-qualified +persons, while carbon held before the nostrils of +somnambulists in deep sleep, awakes them instantly, and +at the same time releases limbs held in cataleptic rigidity. +Alabaster, soda, and wax have similar effects, but +less promptly, and the wind from a pair of bellows has +equal power. According to his theory, currents of what +he calls the galvanic-neururgic fluid, are capable of +producing all the well-known symptoms and phenomena +of thought from idiocy to genius, and from unconscious +sleep to the highest excitement; the process by +which these results can be obtained is a suspension of the +vital equilibrium by disease, intoxication, abstinence, +long-continued fasting and prayer and the like. If the +marvelous fluid is unequally distributed through the +system, catalepsy ensues. The novelty and force of +Robiano's doctrines attracted much attention, but a +series of experiments conducted by eminent men soon +proved that galvanism alone produced in no instance +somnambulism, but invariably required the aid of volition, +which the learned Italian in his modesty had +probably underrated, if not altogether overlooked.</p> + +<p>It is a matter more of curiosity than of real interest +that the Chinese have—now for nearly eleven hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span> +years—believed in an inherent power possessed by every +human being, called yu-yang, which is identical with an +universal yu-yang. According to this view, every person +endowed with the proper ability can dispose of his own +yu-yang and diffuse a portion of it over others, so as to +cure their infirmities. The French missionary Amyot +communicated this to Puységur (<i>Du Magnétisme Animal</i>, +Paris, 1807, p. 387), and looked upon the yu-yang +as the universal vital power which produces everything.</p> + +<p>Before we dismiss any such theory—in China or +nearer home—with a supercilious smile, it is well to +recall the reception which the first revelation of +electricity in the human body met among our savants. +The doctrine had to pass through the usual three stages +of contempt, controversy and final adoption. John +Wesley, more than a hundred years ago, said of it: +"With what vehemence has it been opposed! Sometimes, +by treating it with contempt, as if it were of +little or no use; sometimes by arguments such as they +were, and sometimes by such cautions against its ill +effects, as made thousands afraid to meddle with it." +Now, every elementary text-book teaches that all created +living bodies are electric, and that some persons, +animals, and plants are so in a very high degree. To +establish this truth poor puss has had to suffer much +in order to give out electric sparks, and the sensitive +plant has had to show how its leaves</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">"With quick horror fly the neighboring hand,"<br /></span> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span></div></div> + +<p>which draws from them the electricity of which it contains +more than other plants. Physicians have learnt that a +person who has the small-pox cannot be electrified, the +body being fully charged and refusing to receive more +electricity, while sparks may be drawn from the body +of a patient dying with cholera. Now this once +despised power, in the shape of voltaic electricity, +adorns our tables with electro-plate works of art, carries +our thoughts around the globe, blasts rocks, fires cannons +and torpedoes, and even rings the bells of our +houses. Now little chain batteries, that can be carried +in the waistcoat pockets, produce powerful shocks +and cure grievous diseases, while tiny bands, which yet +can decompose water in a test-tube, are worn by thousands +as a protection against intense suffering and utter +prostration. What in this case happened to electricity +may very well be the fate of the new power also, which +is the true agent in all that we carelessly call magnetism.</p> + +<p>Somnambulism and clairvoyance, by whatever means +they may have been caused, differ in this from dreams +and feverish fancies, that the outer senses are rendered +inactive and in their place peculiar inner life begins to +act, while the subject is perfectly conscious. The magic +phenomena differ naturally infinitely according to the +varying natures of the patients. In the majority of +cases sleep is the only result of magnetizing; a few persons +become genuine somnambulists and begin to speak, +first very indistinctly, because the organs of speech are +partially locked and the consciousness is not fully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span> +aroused. As the spasms cease, speech becomes freer, and +as the mind clears up, the thoughts also reveal themselves +more distinctly. These symptoms are ordinarily accompanied +by others of varying character, from simple heat +in the extremities and painful sobbing to actual syncope. +In almost all such cases, however, the nervous system is +suffering from a violent shock, and this produces spasms +of more or less appalling violence. The temper of the +sufferers—for such they are all to some degree—varies +from deep despondency to exulting blissfulness, but is +as changeable as that of children, and resembles but +too frequently the capricious and unintelligible mental +condition of insane persons.</p> + +<p>Those who are for the first time thrown into magnetic +sleep generally feel after awaking as if a great change +had taken place in them; they are apt to remain serious, +and apparently plunged in deep thought for several +days. If their case is in unskillful hands, nervous disorders +are rarely avoided; phantastic visions may be +seen, and convulsions and more threatening symptoms +even may occur. Youth is naturally more susceptible +to the influence of magnetism than riper years; really +old persons have never yet been put to sleep. In like +manner women are more easily controlled than men, and +hence more capable of being magnetized than of magnetizing +others. If men appear more frequently in the +annals of this new branch of magic than women, this is +due merely to the fact that men appear naturally, and +so far at least voluntarily more frequently in public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span> +statements than women. The latter, moreover, are very +rarely found able to magnetize men, simply because +they are less in the habit of exerting their will for the +purpose of influencing others; the exceptions were +mostly so-called masculine women. Over their own sex, +however, they are easily able to obtain full control.</p> + +<p>Among the curious symptoms accompanying the magic +phenomena of this class, the following deserve being +mentioned. A distinguished physician, Dr. Heller, examined +the blood corpuscules of a person in magnetic +sleep and found that their shape was essentially modified; +they were raised and pointed so as to bear some +resemblance to mulberries; at the same time they exhibited +a vibrating motion. Another symptom frequently +observed in mesmerism are electric shocks, +which produce sometimes a violent trembling in the +whole person before the beginning of magnetic sleep +and after it has ceased. As many as four thousand +such shocks have been counted in an hour; they are +especially frequent in hysterical women and then accompanied +by severe pain, in men they are of rarer occurrence. +Finally, it appears from a number of well-authenticated +cases that magnetic convulsions are contagious, +extending even to animals. Persons suffering with catalepsy +have more than once been compelled to kill pet +cats because the latter suffered in a similar manner +whenever the attacks came, and the same has been +noticed in favorite dogs which were left in the room +while magnetic cures were performed. This is all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span> +more frequently noticed as many magnetizers look upon +convulsions as efforts made by nature to restore the system +to a healthy condition, and hence excite in their +patients convulsions without magnetizing them fully.</p> + +<p>A new doctrine concerning the magic phenomena of +magnetism establishes a special force inherent in all inorganic +substances, and calls it Siderian. This theory is +the result of the observation that certain substances, +like water and metal, possess a special power of producing +somnambulism, and at one time a peculiar apparatus, +called <i>baquet</i>, was much in use, by means of +which several persons, connected with each other and +with a vessel filled with water and pieces of metal, +were rendered clairvoyant. The whole subject has +not yet been fully investigated, and hence the conclusions +drawn from isolated cases must be looked +upon as premature. It has, however, been established +beyond doubt that metals have a peculiar power over +sensitive persons, in their natural sleep as well as in the +magnetic sleep. Many somnambulists are painfully +affected by gold, others by iron; a very sensitive patient +could, after an instant's touch, distinguish even rare +metals like bismuth and cobalt by the sensations which +they produced when laid upon her heart. Dr. Brunner, +when professor of physics in Peru, had a patient +who could not touch iron without falling into convulsions, +and was made clairvoyant by simply taking her +physician's pocket-knife in her hand.</p> + +<p>This Siderian or Astral force, so called from a pre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span>sumed +influence exercised by the heavenly bodies, as +well as by all inorganic substances, admits of no isolation, +although it is possessed in varying degrees by +certain metals and minerals. It has no effect even upon +the electrometer or the magnetic needle; its force is radiating, +quite independent of light, but considerably increased +by heat. Persons magnetized by the mysterious +force of the <i>baquet</i> have, however, an astonishing power +over the magnetic needle and can make it deflect by +motion, fixed glance, or even mere volition. In <i>Galignani's +Messenger</i> (25th of October, 1851) the case of +Prudence Bernard in Paris is mentioned, who forced +the needle to follow the motions of her head.</p> + +<p>Whatever we may think of the value of this theory, it +cannot be denied that the effect which certain physical +processes going on in the atmosphere have on our body +and mind alike is very striking and yet almost entirely +unknown. Science is leisurely gathering up facts which +will no doubt in the end furnish us a clue to many phenomena +which we now call magic, or even supernatural. +Thus almost every hour of the day has its peculiarity +in connection with Nature: at one hour the barometer, +at another the thermometer reaches its maximum; at +other periods magnetism is at its highest or the air fullest +of vapor, and to these various influences the diseases +of men stand in close relation. When Auroras +are seen frequently the atmosphere is found to be surcharged +with electricity; they are intimately connected +with gastric fevers, and according to some physicians,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span> +even with typhus and cholera. It has also been ascertained +that the progress of the cholera and the plague—perhaps +also of common influenza—coincides accurately +with the isogonic line; these diseases disappear +as soon as the eastward declination of the magnetic +needle ceases. In recent times a correspondence of the +spots in the sun with earth-magnetism has also been +observed. In like manner it has been established that +continued positive electricity of the air, producing +ozone in abundance, is apt to cause catarrhs, inflammations, +and rheumatism, while negative electricity causes +nervous fevers and cholera. Even the moon has recovered +some of its former importance in its relations to +the human body, and although the superstitions of +past ages with their absurd exaggerations have long since +been abandoned, certain facts remain as evidences of a +connection between the moon and some diseases. Thus +the paroxysms of lunatics, epileptics, and somnambulists +are undoubtedly in correspondence with the phases +of the moon; madmen rave most furiously when the +latter is full, and its phases determine with astonishing +regularity the peculiar affections of women, as was triumphantly +proven by the journal kept with admirable +fidelity during the long life of Dr. Constantine Hering +of Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>Another name given to these phenomena is the +Hypnotism of the English. (Braid, "Neurohypnology," +London, 1843.) This theory is based upon the fact that +sensitive persons can be rendered clairvoyant by looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span> +fixedly at some small but bright object held close to +their face, and by continuing for some time to fix the +mind upon the same object after the eyelids have +closed from sheer weariness. The method of producing +this magnetic sleep, and some of the symptoms +peculiar to mesmerized persons, has since been frequently +varied. Dodds makes the patient take a disk +of zinc, upon which a small disk of copper is laid, into +his hand, and regard them fixedly; thus he produces +what he calls electro-biology. Catton, in Manchester, +England, prefers a gentle brushing of the forehead, and +by this simple means causes magnetic sleep. Braid's +experiments, in which invariably over-excitement of +nerves was followed by torpor, rigidity, and insensibility, +have since been repeated by eminent physicians with a +view to produce anæsthesis during painful operations. +They have met with perfect success; and the removal +of the shining object, fresh air, and slight frictions, +sufficed to restore consciousness. The same results +have been obtained in France, where, according to a +report made to the French Academy, in 1859, by the +renowned Dr. Velpeau, persons induced to look at a +shining object, held close between their eyes, began to +squint violently, and in a few moments to fall, utterly +unconscious and insensible, into magnetic sleep. +Maury explains the process as one of vertigo, which +itself again is caused by the pressure of blood upon the +brain, and adds, that any powerful impression produced +upon the retina may have the same effect. Hence, no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span> +doubt, the <i>mal occhio</i> of the Italians, inherited from the +evil eye of the ancients; hence the often almost marvelous +power which some men have exercised by the +mere glance of the eye. The fixed look of the magnetizer, +which attracts the eye of the patient, and holds +it, as it were, spell-bound, has very much the same +effect, and when this look is carefully cultivated it may +put others beside themselves—as was the case with +Urbain Graudier, who could, at any time, cause his +arms to fall into a trance by merely fixing his eyes upon +them for a few minutes.</p> + +<p>From all these experiments we gather, once more, +that men can, by a variety of means, which are called +magnetism or mesmerism, influence others who are +susceptible, till the latter fall into magnetic sleep, have +cataleptic attacks, or become clairvoyant. It is less +certain that, as many assert, these results are obtained +by means of a most subtle, as yet unknown, fluid, which +the magnetizer causes to vibrate in his own mind, and +which passes from him, by means of his hands, into the +patient, where it produces effects corresponding to those +felt by the principal. To accomplish even this, it is +absolutely necessary that the magnetizer should not +only possess a higher energy than his patient, but also +stand to him in the relation of the positive pole to the +negative. The extent of success is measurable by the +strength of will on one hand, and the degree of susceptibility +on the other; both may be infinitely varied, +from total absence to an overwhelming abundance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span> +Practice, at least, however, aids the magnetizer effectually, +and certain French and Italian masters have +obtained surprising results. The most striking of these +is still the cataleptic state, which they cause at will. +Breathing, pulsation, and digestion continue uninterrupted, +but the muscles are no longer subject to our will; +they cease to be active, and hence the patient remains +immovable in any position he may be forced to assume.</p> + +<p>The general symptoms produced by magnetizing are +uniformly the same: as soon as a sufficient number of +passes have been made from the head downward the patient +draws a few deep inhalations, and then follow +increased animal heat and perspiration, the effect of +greater activity of the nerves, while pain ceases and +cheerfulness succeeds despondency. If the passes are +continued, these symptoms increase in force, produce +their natural consequences, and, the functions becoming +normal, recovery takes place. Magnetic sleep is frequently +preceded by slight feverishness, convulsive +trembling and fainting. The eyelids, half or entirely +closed, begin to tremble, the eyeballs turn upward and +inward, and the pupils become enlarged and insensible +to light. The features change in a striking manner, +peculiar to this kind of sleep, and easily recognized. +After several experiments of this kind have been made +upon susceptible persons, the outward sleep begins to be +accompanied by an inner awakening, at first in a half-dreamy +state and gradually more fully, till conversation +can be attempted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span></p> + +<p>Contrary to the general impression, faith does not +seem to be an essential element of success, at least on +the part of the patient, for infants and very young +children have been rendered clairvoyant as well as +grown persons. On the other hand, natural susceptibility +is indispensable, for Deleuse (<i>Déf. du Magnétisme</i>, +p. 156) states that in his extended practice he found +only one out of twenty persons fit to be magnetized. +Of those whom he could influence, only one in +twenty could converse in his sleep, and of five of this +class not more than one became fully clairvoyant. Certain +persons, though well endowed, impress their patients +unfavorably, cause a sensation of cold instead of +heat in their system, and produce a feeling of strong +aversion. The most remarkable feature in all these relations, +however, is the fact that the patient not unfrequently +affects the magnetizer, and this in the most +extraordinary manner. One physician took into the +hand with which he had touched a dying person, two +finches; they immediately sickened and died a few days +later. Another, a physically powerful and perfectly +healthy man, who was treating a patient suffering of +<i>tic douloureux</i> by means of magnetism, became unwell +after a few days, and on the seventh day fell himself a +victim to that painful disease, till he had to give up the +treatment. He handed his patient over to a brother +physician, who suffered in the same manner, and actually +died in a short time.</p> + +<p>After continued practice has strengthened the mag<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span>netizer, +his "passes" often become unnecessary, and he +can at last, under favorable circumstances, produce +magnetic sleep by a simple glance or even the mere +unuttered volition. Some physicians had only to say +Sleep! and their patient fell asleep; others were able +to move the sleepers from their beds by a slight touch +with the tip of the thumb. One of this class, after +curing a poor boy of catalepsy, retained such perfect +control over him that he only needed to point at him +with his finger, or to let him touch some metal which he +had magnetized, in order to make him fall down as if +thunderstruck. The great German writer, known as +Jean Paul, relates of himself that he, "in a large company +and by merely looking at her fixedly, caused a +Mrs. K. twice to fall almost asleep and to make her +heart beat and her color go, till S. had to help her." +The Abbé Faria, who seems to have been specially endowed +with such power, would magnetize perfect strangers +by suddenly stretching out his hands and saying +in an authoritative tone: Sleep, I will it! He had a +formidable competitor afterwards in Hébert, who played +almost at will with a large number of spectators in his +crowded hall, making them follow him wherever he +led, or causing them to fall asleep by simply making +passes over the inside of their hats. In the case of young +girls he produced rigidity of members with great facility, +and then caused them to assume any position he chose; +his patients were utterly helpless and powerless. Dupotet, +already mentioned, possessed similar influence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span> +over others; he once magnetized an athletic man of +ripe years, by merely walking around the chair on which +he was seated, and forced him to turn with him by jerks. +On another occasion he made a white chalk-mark on +the floor, and then requested a gentleman to put both +his feet upon the spot; while he remained quietly standing +by the side of his friends. After a few minutes the +stranger began to shut his eyes, and his body trembled +and swayed to and fro, till it sank so low that the head +hung down to the hips—at last Dupotet loosened the +spell by upward passes. An Italian, Ragazzoni, excited +in 1859, no small sensation by his remarkable success +as a magnetizer. Unlike other physicians, he used an +abundance of gestures to accompany the active play of +his expressive features, and yet by merely breathing +upon persons he could check their respiration and the +circulation of their blood; in like manner he caused the +chest to swell and paralyzed single limbs or the whole +body. He pushed needles through the hand or the skin +of the forehead without causing a sign of pain; he enabled +his patients to guess his thoughts, and set them +walking, running or dancing, although they were in one +room and he in another. When he had paralyzed their +senses, burning sulphur did not affect their smell, nor +brilliant light the open pupil; the ringing of a large +bell close to the ear and the firing of a pistol remained +unheard. In fine, he repeated all the experiments already +made by Puységur with his patient, Victor, but +generally without the use of passes. (Schopenhauer,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span> +<i>Ueber d. Willen in d. Natur.</i> 1867, p. 102.) Maury, +who has given a most interesting and trustworthy +account of similar cases (<i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i>, 1860, +t. 25), states in speaking of General Noizet, that the +latter caused him to fall asleep by saying: "<i>Dormes!</i>" +Immediately a thick veil fell upon his eyes, he felt weak, +began to perspire, and felt a strong pressure upon the +abdomen. A second experiment, however, was less successful.</p> + +<p>Besides passes, a variety of other means have been +employed to produce magnetic sleep and kindred phenomena. +Dr. Bendsea, one of the earlier practitioners, +frequently used metal mirrors or even ordinary looking-glasses; +another Dr. Barth, maintained that by touching +or irritating any part of the outer skull, the underlying +portions of the brains could be excited. By thus +pressing upon the organ of love of children, his patients +would at once begin to think of children, and often +caress a cushion. In this theory he is supported by Haddock, +who first discovered that the magnetizer's will +could force his patient to substitute his fancies for the +reality, and, for instance, to believe a handkerchief to +be a pet dog or an infant, and an empty glass to be +filled with such liquids as he suggested. The influence +in such cases must, however, be rather ascribed to +the fact that the magnetizers were also phrenologists, +than to the presumed organs themselves.</p> + +<p>It must lastly be mentioned that some persons claim +to possess the power to magnetize themselves, and Du<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span>potet, +a trustworthy authority in such matters, supports +the assertion. A case is mentioned in the <i>Journal de +l'âme</i> (iv. p. 103), of a man who could hypnotize himself +from childhood up, by merely fixing his eye for +some time upon a certain point; in later years, probably +by too frequent excitement of this kind, he was apt +to fall into trances and to see visions.</p> + +<p>The sympathetic relations which by magnetism are +established between two or more persons who are in a +state of somnambulism or clairvoyance, is commonly +called <i>rapport</i>, although there is no apparent necessity +for preferring a French word. The closest relations +exist naturally between the magnetizer and his subject, +and the intensity of the rapport varies, of course, with +the energy of will of the one, and the susceptibility of +the patient of the other. The same rapport exists, +however, often between the patients of the same magnetizer, +and may be increased by merely joining hands, +or a strong effort of will on the part of the physician. +It has often been claimed that mesmerism produces +exceptionally by <i>rapport</i> what in twins is the effect of +a close natural resemblance and contemporaneousness +of organization. Clairvoyants endowed with the highest +powers which have yet been observed, thus see not only +their own body as if it were transparent, but can in +like manner watch what is going on within the bodies +of others, provided they are brought into <i>rapport</i> with +them, and hence their ability to prescribe for their ailments. +Puységur was probably the first to discover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span> +this peculiarity: he was humming to himself a favorite +air while magnetizing a peasant boy, and suddenly the +latter began to sing the same air with a loud voice. +Haddock's patients gave all the natural signs of pain in +different parts of the body, when he was struck or +pinched, while at the very time they were themselves +insensible to pain. Dr. Emelin found that when he +held his watch to his right ear, a female patient of his +heard the ticking in her left ear; if he held it to her +own ear she heard nothing. He was, also, not a little +astonished when another patient, in a distant town to +which he traveled, revealed to him a whole series of +professional meditations in which he had been plunged +during his journey. And yet such a knowledge of the +magnetizer's thoughts is nothing uncommon in well-qualified +subjects who have been repeatedly magnetized. +Mrs. Crowe mentions the case of a gentleman who was +thus treated while he was at Malvern and his physician +at Cheltenham. He was lying in magnetic sleep, when +he suddenly sprang up, clapped his hands together, and +broke out into loud laughter. His physician was written +to and replied that on the same day he had been busy +thinking of his patient, when a sudden knock at the +door startled him and made him jump and clap his +hands together. He then laughed heartily at his folly! +(I. p. 140.) Dupotet once saw a striking illustration of +the <i>rapport</i> which may exist between two patients of +the same magnetizer, even where the two are unknown +to each other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span></p> + +<p>He was treating some of his patients in a hospital in +St. Petersburg, by means of magnetism, and found, to +his surprise, that whenever he put one of them to sleep +in the upper story, the other in the lower story would +also instantly drop asleep, although she could not possibly +be aware of what was going on upstairs. This happened, +moreover, not once, but repeatedly, and for +weeks in succession. If both were asleep when he came +on his daily round, he needed only arouse one to hear +the other awake with a start and utter loud cries.</p> + +<p>Magnetic sleep generally does not begin immediately, +but after some intermediate danger; most frequently +ordinary sleep serves as a bridge leading to magnetic +sleep, and yet the two are entirely different conditions. +When at last sleep is induced, various degrees of exceptional +powers are exhibited, which are evidences of an +inner sense that has been awakened, while the outer senses +have become inactive. The patient is, however, utterly +unconscious of the fact that his eyes are closed, and believes +he sees through them as when he is awake. +When somnambulists are asked why they keep their +eyes shut, they answer: "I do not know what you +mean; I see you perfectly well." The highest degree, +but rarely developed in specially favored persons, consists +of perfect clairvoyance accompanied by a sense of +indescribable bliss; in this state the spiritual and moral +features of the patient assume a form of highest development, +visions are beheld, remote and future things +are discerned, and other persons may be influenced, even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span> +if they are at a considerable distance. It is in this condition +that persons in magnetic sleep exhibit in the +highest degree the magic phenomena of magnetism. +The latter are generally accompanied by a sensation of +intense light, which at times becomes almost painful, +and has to be allayed by the physician, especially when +it threatens to interfere with the unconscious conversations +of the patient. This enjoyment has, however, to +be paid for dearly, for it exhausts the sleeper, and in +many instances it so closely resembles the struggle of +the soul when parting from the body in death, that +dissolution seems to be impending. Somnambulists +themselves maintain that such magnetic sleep shortens +their lives by several years, and has to be interrupted +in time to prevent it from becoming fatal. Recollection +rarely survives magnetic sleep, but after awaking, vague +and indistinct impulses continue, which stand in some +connection with the incidents of such sleep. A well known +magnetizer, Mouillesaux, once ordered a patient, while +sunk in magnetic sleep, to go on the following day and +call on a person whom she did not like. The promise +was given reluctantly, but not mentioned again after +she awoke. To test the matter, the physician went, +accompanied by a few friends, on the next day, to that +person's house, and, to their great surprise, the patient +was seen to walk up and down anxiously before the +door, and at last to enter, visibly embarrassed. Mouillesaux +at once followed her and explained the matter; +she told him that from the moment of her rising in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span> +morning she had been haunted by the idea that she +ought to go to this house, till her nervousness had become +so painful as to force her to go on her unwelcome +errand. (<i>Exposé des Cures, etc.</i>, iii. p. 70.)</p> + +<p>The power to perceive things present without the use +of the ordinary organs, and to become aware of events +happening at a distance, has been frequently ascribed +to an additional sense, possibly the Common Sense of +Aristotle. Its fainter operations are seen in the almost +marvelous power possessed by bats to fly through minute +meshes of silk nets, stretched out for the purpose, +even when deprived of sight, and to find their way to +their nests without a moment's hesitation. Cuvier +ascribed this remarkable power to their exquisitely +developed sense of touch, which would make them +aware of an almost imperceptible pressure of the air; +but while this might explain their avoiding walls and +trees, it could not well apply to slender silk threads. +Another familiar illustration is found in the perfectly +amazing ability often possessed by blind, or blind and +deaf persons, who distinguish visitors by means neither +granted nor known to their more fortunate brethren. +It is generally believed that in such cases the missing +senses are supplied by a superior development of the +remaining senses, but even this assertion has never yet +been fully proved, nor if proved, would it supply a key +to some of the almost marvelous achievements of blind +people.</p> + +<p>This new or general sense seems only to awaken in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span> +exceptional cases and under peculiar circumstances. +That it never shows itself in healthy life is due to the +simple fact that its power is then obscured by the unceasing +activity of the ordinary senses. A peculiar, and +as yet unexplained feature of this power is the tendency +to ascribe its results, not to the ordinary organs, but by +a curious transposition to some other part of the body, +so that persons in magnetic sleep believe, as the magnetizer +may choose, that they see, or smell, or hear by +means of the finger-tips, the pit of the stomach, the +forehead, or even the back of the head. It is true that +savants like Alfred Maury (<i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i>, 1860, +t. 25) and Dr. Michéa ascribe these new powers only to +an increased activity of the senses; but nothing is +gained by this reasoning, as such an astounding increase +of the irritability of the retina or the tympanum is as +much of a magic phenomenon as the presumed new +sense. The simple explanation is that it is not the eye +which sees nor the ear which hears, but that images +and sound-waves are carried by these organs to the +great nervous centre, where we must look for the true +source of all our perceptions. If in magnetic sleep the +same images and waves can be conveyed by other +means, the result will be precisely the same as if the +patient was observing with open eyes and ears.</p> + +<p>A lady treated by Despine thus heard with the palm +of her hand and read by means of the finger-tips, which +she passed rapidly over the letters presented to her in +her sleep. At the same time she invariably ascribed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span> +the sensations she experienced to the natural senses; +flowers, for instance, laid down unseen by her, so as +barely to touch her fingers, caused her to draw in air +through the nostrils and to exclaim: Ah, how sweet +that is! and if objects were placed against the sole +of her foot, she would often exclaim: "What is that? +I cannot see it distinctly." Somnambulists can, hence, +carry on domestic work in the dark with the same success +as in broad daylight, and a patient whose case has +been most carefully investigated, could hem the finest +linen handkerchiefs by holding the needle to her brow, +high above her eyes. Thus persons have seen by means +of almost every part of the body, a fact which has led +more than one distinguished physiologist to assume +that, under special circumstances, all the papillæ of +nerves in the epidermis may become capable of conveying +the sensual perceptions ordinarily assigned only to +certain organs, as the eye or the ear. Even this supposition, +however, would not suffice to explain the ability +possessed by some magnetized persons to see and hear +by means of their fingers, even without touching the +objects or when separated from the latter by an intervening +wall.</p> + +<p>The highest magic phenomena connected with magnetic +sleep consist in the perception of hidden things +and in the influence exercised over persons at a distance. +Only a few of these can be explained by natural +laws and by the increased power of the senses frequently +granted to peculiarly constituted or diseased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span> +persons. The senses, on the contrary, cease to operate, +and man, for a time, becomes endowed with a higher +power, which is probably part and portion of his spiritual +being, as made after the image of the Most High, +but obscured and rendered inoperative by the subjection +of the soul to the earthborn body. Nor is this +power always under his control; as if to mark its supernatural +character, the patient very often perceives +what is perfectly indifferent to himself, and is forced, +almost against his own will, to witness or foresee +events, the bearing of which he cannot discern. Generally, +therefore, the importance of these revelations is +of less interest than the manner in which they are +made, which is invariably of the kind we call magic. +This is still further attested by the difficulty, which is +almost always felt, of translating them, as it were, into +ordinary language, and hence the many allegoric and +symbolic forms under which they are made known. +Future events are often not seen, but read in a newspaper +or heard as recited by strangers; in other cases +they are apparently imparted by the spirits of deceased +persons. A very frequent form is the impression that +the soul leaves the body and, pursuing the track of a +person to whom the magnetizer points, with all the +fidelity and marvelous accuracy of a well-trained dog, +finally reaches him and sees him and his surroundings. +Nor is the distance a matter of indifference; like the +ordinary senses, this new sense also seems to have its +laws and its limits, and if the task is too heavy and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span> +distance too great, the perception remains vague and +indefinite. Most important of all is the fact that, +unlike spiritual visions, magnetism never enables +the sleeper to go beyond the limits of our earthly +home. On the other hand, time is no more an obstacle +than space, and genuine somnambulists have seen +past and future events as well as distant scenes. Mistakes, +however, occur here as with all our other +senses; as healthy persons see amiss or hear amiss, so +magnetic sleepers also are not unfrequently mistaken—errors +to which they are all the more liable as the impressions +received by magic powers have to be translated +into the language adapted to ordinary senses.</p> + +<p>Among somnambulists of this class Alexis is one of +the best known, and has left us an account of many +experiments in his <i>Explication du Sommeil Magnétique</i>. +Alexis was once put into magnetic sleep by a friend of +Dr. Mayo, and then ordered to go to Boppard, on the +Rhine, and look for him; Alexis, after some hesitation, +stated that he had found him, and described—although +he had never seen him before—his appearance +and dress, not only, but also the state of mind in +which he was at that moment, all of which proved +afterward to be perfectly correct. Alexis declared +that his perceptions varied very much in clearness, and +that his power to see friends at a distance depended +largely on the affection he felt for them. In all instances +his magic powers were far inferior to those of +his natural senses, although they never misled him, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span> +the latter had done occasionally. In the <i>Bibliothèque +du Magnétisme Animal</i> (vii. p. 146), a remarkable case +is reported as attested by undoubted authority. The +English consul, Baldwin, was, in 1795, visited by an +Italian improvisatore, who happened to have a small +medicine-chest with him. In the consul's kitchen was +a little Arab, a scullion, who suffered of a harassing +cough, and whom his master magnetized in order to +cure him. While in his sleep the boy saw the medicine-chest, +of which he had known nothing before, and +selected among the phials one with sugar of agrimonium, +which relieved him of his troubles. The +Italian, thereupon, asked also to be magnetized; fell +promptly asleep, and wrote in this condition, with +closed eyes, a poem praising the art of magnetism. +Haddock's famous subject, Emma, actually accomplished +once the crucial test of all magic phenomena—she +proved the value of magnetism in a question of money. +In the year 1849 three notes, amounting to £650, had +been deposited in a bank, and disappeared in the most +unaccountable manner. One of the clerks confessed, +that although he had received them, wrapped them up +in paper, and placed them with a parcel of other notes, +he had forgotten to enter them regularly in the books. +No trace could be discovered; at last the magnetized +subject was consulted, and after some little time +declared that the notes were lying in a certain room, +inserted in a certain panel, which she described so +accurately that upon search being instituted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span> +missing notes were found, and the clerk's character +was cleared. Dr. Barth magnetized, in 1846, a lady +who was filled with anxiety about her husband in +America, from whom she had not heard for a long time. +After having been put into magnetic sleep several +times, she once exclaimed: "God be thanked, my poor +husband is better. I am looking over his shoulder and +see him write a letter addressed to me, which will be +here in six or seven weeks. He tells me that he has +been ill for three months." Two months afterwards +she actually received such a letter, in which her husband +informed her of his three months' illness, and regretted +the pain he had probably caused her by his +protracted silence. A young lady, magnetized by Robert +Napier in his house in Edinburgh, not only described +her parents' house as it appeared at the moment, but +also the home of a Miss B., in New South Wales, where +she had never been. In the garden of the house she +saw a gentleman accompanied by a lady in black, and a +dog of light color with dark spots; upon inquiry it +appeared that Colonel B., the father of the young lady, +had at that time actually been in the garden with his +wife and his dog, although some of the minor details +proved to have been incorrect. She also gave a minute +and accurate account of the upper stories of Napier's +house, where she had never been; but recognizing +everything only gradually, and correcting the mistakes +which she had at first committed. Thus she spoke of +Napier's old aunt as dressed in dark colors; after a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span> +while she exclaimed: "Oh, now I see she is dressed in +white!" It appeared afterward that the old lady had +been sitting in a deep arm-chair, overshadowed by the +back of the chair, the gas-light being behind her; just +at that moment, however, Napier's wife had come up, +the aunt had leaned forward to speak to her, and thus +being brought into the light, had revealed her white +night-dress. This case is peculiarly interesting as +proving that the perceptions of somnambulists are +dependent upon conditions similar to those which govern +the ordinary senses. (Colquhoun, p. 626.)</p> + +<p>According to such high authorities as Hufeland and +others, magnetic sleep enables persons to see the interior +of the bodies of others. He himself heard one of +his female patients, a woman without any knowledge of +anatomy, describe quite accurately the inner structure +of the ear, and of certain other parts of the body. (<i>Ueber +Sympathie</i>, p. 115.) It seems to have been well ascertained +that she had never had an opportunity of reading +such a description, even if her memory had been retentive +enough to enable her to recall and recite what she +had thus chanced to read. The clairvoyant Alexis +once saw through the clothing of a visitor a scar, and +after gazing at it—in his sleep—for a long time, he came +to the conclusion that it was the effect of a dog's bite, +and finally stated all the facts attending the accident +of which the scar was the sole remaining evidence. +Even historical predictions made in magnetic sleep are +not wanting. The death of a king of Würtemberg was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span> +thus foretold by two somnambulists, who were under +medical treatment, and who warned their physicians, +well-known and trustworthy practitioners of good +standing, of the approaching event. The king's death +took place without being preceded by any serious illness, +and in the manner minutely predicted by one of the +patients; a confirmation which was all the more striking, +as the prediction had been made in the presence of +a number of distinguished men, among whom were a +minister of the kingdom and several divines. Another +case is that of the Swedish king, Gustavus Vasa, who +was assassinated in 1792, by Ankarström. Accompanied +by his physician, he once called, as Count Haga, +upon a patient treated by Aubry, a pupil of Mesmer. +She recognized him immediately, although plunged in +magnetic sleep, told him that he suffered of oppressions +of the chest, the effect of a broken arm, and foretold +him that his life was in danger and that he would be +murdered. The king was deeply impressed, and as his +physician expressed doubt and contempt in his face, he +desired that the latter should be put <i>en rapport</i> with the +patient. No sooner was this done than the physician's +eyes fell, he sank into magnetic sleep, and when, after +some time, he was aroused he left the room in great +agitation. (A. Gauthier. <i>Hist. du Somnamb.</i>, ii. +p. 246.)</p> + +<p>An occasional phenomenon of magnetic sleep is the +improvement of the language of patients; this appears +not only in the case of well-educated persons, whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span> +diction assumes often a high poetical form, but far +more strikingly in unlettered and ignorant patients, +who suddenly manifest an unexpected familiarity with +the more refined form of their native tongue, and not +unfrequently even with idioms of which they have previously +had no knowledge whatever. All these different +symptoms have been authenticated by numerous and +trustworthy witnesses. Humble peasant-women have +used the most elegant forms of their native language; +travelers have unexpectedly recovered the use of idioms +once known to them, but long since forgotten; and, +finally, a real gift of languages has unmistakably enabled +patients to use idioms with which they had previously +never come in contact. This phenomenon develops +itself occasionally into poetical improvisations of considerable +merit, and the beautiful music which many +hear in magnetic sleep, or just before dying, as if coming +from another world, is, in like manner, nothing +but a product of their own mental exaltation. Thus +persons who spoke merely a local dialect, and were +acquainted with no other form of their mother-tongue, +when placed in magnetic sleep would speak the best +English or German, as if their mind, freed from all +fetters, resumed once more the original task of forming +the language in accordance with their heightened capacities. +Little children, whose education had scarcely +begun, have been known to recite verses or to compose +speeches, of which they would have been utterly incapable +in a healthy state, and of which they had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span> +afterwards no recollection. Macnish mentions a young +girl who, when magnetized, always fell back into +Welsh, which she had spoken as a child, but long since +forgotten, and Lausanne mentions one of his patients, a +Creole, who came at the age of five to France, and late +in life, when magnetized, spoke no longer French but +the miserable patois of her early years. A young tanner +in England, also, though utterly uneducated, like +the peasant-boy of Puységur, was able in magnetic sleep +to speak German. Whenever another person, at such a +time, spoke to him in English, his lips began at once +to move, and he translated what he heard into fair +German verses. (Morin, <i>Journ. du Magn.</i> 1854, No. +199.)</p> + +<p>It must not be overlooked that the gift of singing +and of using poetical language, often of great beauty, is +not unfrequently developed in fever-patients also, and +in insane persons.</p> + +<p>Insensibility to impressions from without is another +phenomenon which magnetic sleep has in common with +many other conditions. It is produced by anæsthetics +like chloroform and ether, by utter exhaustion in consequence +of long suffering, as was the case with martyrs +and prisoners subjected to torture, and by excessive loss +of blood. But in magnetic sleep it reaches a higher +degree than under other circumstances; cataleptic +patients, and even clairvoyants in moments of greatest +excitement, seem to be in a state in which the nerves +cease to act as conveyers of impressions to the brain.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span> +This has often led to unwarrantable abuse; physicians, +under the pretext of scientific investigation, inflicting +severe injuries upon their patients, utterly unmindful +of the fact that, however great the momentary insensibility +may be, the sense of pain returns at the instant +of re-awaking. On the other hand, physicians have +taken advantage of this state of unconsciousness of +pain, in order to perform serious operations.</p> + +<p>The first instance of a surgical operation being attempted +while the patient was in mesmeric sleep, was +that of Madame Plantin, a lady of sixty-four years, who +suffered of cancer in the breast. A Mr. Chapelain prepared +her by throwing her for several days into a trance by +means of the usual mesmeric passes. She then manifested +the ordinary symptoms of somnambulism, and conversed +about the impending danger with perfect calmness, +while she contemplated it, when conscious, with +the utmost horror and apprehension. On the 12th of +April, 1824, she was again thrown into a trance, and +the painful and dangerous operation accomplished in +less than a quarter of an hour, while she conversed with +the surgeon, the famous Dr. Ploquet, and showed in +her voice, her breathing, and her pulse not the slightest +sign of excitement or pain. When the wound was +bound up, she awoke, but upon hearing what had taken +place, she became so violently excited that the magnetizer +had to cause her once more to fall asleep under +his passes. And yet, in spite of this brilliant success, +when Dr. Warren of Boston asked the great surgeon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span> +why he had never repeated the experiment, the latter +was forced to acknowledge that he had not dared do it, +"because the prejudice against mesmerism was so +strong in Paris that a repetition would have imperiled +his position and his reputation!"</p> + +<p>Since that time mesmerism has been repeatedly, and +almost always successfully employed as an anæsthetic; +Dr. James Esdall, chief surgeon of the presidency of +Calcutta, having reduced the application to a regular +method. Dr. Forbes reports two cases of amputation +of the thigh in magnetic sleep, which were successful, +and similar experiments have been made in England, +and in India, with the same happy result.</p> + +<p>It is probably a feature connected with this insensibility +that persons in magnetic sleep can with impunity +take unusually large doses of medicine, which they +prescribe for themselves. For magnetic sleep seems to +develop, as we have stated, among other magic phenomena, +a peculiar insight also, into diseases and their +remedies. Although diseases may assume a variety of +deceptive forms, the predictions made by magnetic +patients, many months in advance, seldom fail to be +verified. This is a mere matter of instinct, for ignorant +persons and young children possess the gift in equal +degree with the best-informed and most experienced +patients. The remedies are almost exclusively so-called +simples—a hint of some value to physicians—but +always prescribed with much judgment, and in a manner +evincing rare medical tact. The dose, however, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span> +generally twice or three times as much as is ordinarily +given. Magnetic patients prescribe as successfully for +others, with whom they are placed <i>en rapport</i>, as for +themselves, since a state of perfect clairvoyance enables +them to judge of other persons also with perfect accuracy. +One of the most remarkable cases is mentioned by Schopenhauer. +("Parerga," etc., I. p. 246.) A consumptive +patient in Russia directed, in her magnetic sleep, the +attending physician to put her for nine days into a state +of syncope. He did so reluctantly, but during this +time her system seemed to enjoy perfect rest, and by +this means she recovered. Haddock, also, cured several +persons at a distance, by following the directions given +to him by a patient of his in her magnetic sleep; he +handed her a lock of hair, or a few written lines, which +sufficed to put her <i>en rapport</i> with the absent sufferers.</p> + +<p>Among the magic phenomena observed in magnetic +sleep we must lastly mention ecstatic elevation in the +air, the giving out of peculiar sounds, and the power to +produce extraordinary effects at a distance. Even +common somnambulists, it is well known, seem not to +be in the same degree subject to the laws of gravity as +persons in a state of wakefulness: hence their amazing +exploits in walking on roofs, gliding along narrow +cornices, or even running up perpendicular walls. Persons +in magnetic sleep have been known to float on +fresh water as well as in the sea, although they were +unable to swim, and sank, if they went into the water +when awake. Dupotel saw one of his patients running<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span> +along the side of his room on a small strip of wood +which was merely tacked on to the wall, and could not +have supported a small weight. This peculiar power +is all the more fully authenticated as persons have fallen +from great heights, while in magnetic sleep, without +suffering any injury; but if they are aroused, and then +fall, they invariably become subject again to the +natural laws, and are often killed. This temporary +suspension of the law of gravity has been compared +with similar phenomena in science. Thus it is well +known that a galvanic stream passing through coils of +copper wire will hold an iron needle suspended within +the coils; and an iron ball dropped into a glass tube +between two powerful magnets will in the same manner +remain hanging free in the air. The advocates of this +theory reason that if magnetism can suspend the law +of gravity in metals, it is at least possible that it may +have a similar power in the human body. It has, +besides, been observed that certain affections, such as +violent nervous fevers, increase the weight of sufferers +considerably, while a state of trance diminishes it even +more strikingly.</p> + +<p>With regard to the magic phenomena of increased +intelligence, Abercrombie mentions the case of a girl +who as a child had heard a relative play the violin with +a certain degree of mastery. Later in life she became +his patient, and in her magnetic sleep repeated unconsciously +some of the pieces in tones very pleasing and +closely resembling the notes of a violin. Each parox<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span>ysm, +however, was succeeded by certain symptoms of +her disease. Some years afterwards she imitated in like +manner the sounds of a piano and the tones of several +members of the family who were fond of singing, in +such a manner that each voice could be readily and distinctly +recognized. Another year passed, and she conversed +with a younger companion, whom she fancied she +was instructing on topics of political and religious interest, +with surprising ability and a frequent display of +wit. Henceforth she led two different kinds of life; +when awake she was stupid, awkward in her movements, +and unable to appreciate music; in her sleep she became +clever and showed amazing information and great +musical talents. At a critical point in her life, when +she was twenty-one years old, a complete change took +place in the poor girl; her conversation in her magnetic +sleep lost all its attractions; she mixed with it improper +remarks, and a few months later she had to be sent to +an insane asylum.</p> + +<p>It is only within the present generation that the +power possessed by some men to magnetize animals has +been revived, although it was no doubt fully known to +the ancients, and may in part explain the taming of +venomous serpents in the East. The most remarkable +case is probably that of Mr. Jan, director of the Zoological +Gardens at Milan, who "charms" serpents and +lizards. In the year 1858 he was requested by a learned +visitor, Professor Eversmann, to allow him to witness +some experiments; he at once seized a lizard (L. viri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span>dis) +behind the head and looked at it fixedly for a few +moments; the animal lay quiet, then became rigid, and +remained in any position which he chose to make it assume. +Upon making a few passes with his forefinger +it closed its eyes at his command. Mr. Jan discovered +his gift accidentally one day when a whole bagful of +lizards (L. ocellata) had escaped from him, and he +forced them by his will and his eye, to return to his +keeping. (<i>Der Zoolog. Garten.</i> Frankfort, 1861, p. 58.) +A Frenchman, Treseau, exercised the same power over +birds, which he exhibited in 1860 in Paris. He magnetized +them with his hand and his breath, but as +nine-tenths of the poor creatures died before they became +inured to such treatment, no advantage could be +derived from his talent. (Des Mousseaux, p. 310.) A +countryman of his, Jacques Pelissier, is reported by the +same authority to have been able to magnetize not +only birds, which allowed themselves to be taken from +the trees, but even hares, so that they remained sitting +in their forms and were seized with the hand (p. 302).</p> + + +<h3>SOMNAMBULISM.</h3> + +<p>It is well known that somnambulism, in the ordinary +sense of the word, designates the state of persons who +suffer from an affection which disturbs their sleep and +causes them to perform strange or ordinary actions, as +it may happen, in a state in which they are apparently +half awake and half asleep. This disease is already +mentioned in the most ancient authors, and its symp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span>toms +are correctly reported in Aristotle. (<i>De Gener. +Anim.</i>) He states that the sufferers rise in their sleep, +walk about and converse, that they distinguish objects +as if they were awake, ascend trees, pursue enemies, +perform tasks, and then quietly return to bed. The +state of somnambulism seems to be intermediate between +ordinary dreaming and magnetic clairvoyance, +and is probably the effect of a serious disturbance in +our physical life, which causes the brain to act in an +unusual and abnormal manner. It has always been +observed at night only, and most frequently at full +moon, since the moon seems to affect somnambulists +not merely by her light, but in each of the different +phases in a peculiar manner. The immediate causes +of night-walking are often most trivial; as Muratori, for +instance, tells us of a priest who became a somnambulist +whenever he neglected for more than two months +to have his hair cut! Richard (<i>Théorie des Songes</i>, p. +288) mentions an analogous case of an old woman +whom he knew to be subject to the same penalty.</p> + +<p>While nightmares oppress us and make apparently +all motion impossible, somnambulism, on the contrary, +produces a peculiar facility of locomotion and an irresistible +impulse to mount eminences, favored either by +an actual diminution of specific gravity, or by an increase +of power. This tendency lies again half-way +between the sensation of flying, which is quite common +in dreams, and the actual elevation from the ground +and suspension in the air, which occur in extreme<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span> +cases of ecstasy. The senses remain during night-walking +in a state of semi-activity; the somnambulist +may appear as if fast asleep, seeing and hearing nothing, +so that the loudest noises and even violent shaking do +not rouse him; or he may, like a dreamer, be partly +under the influence of outward impressions. One will +rise at night, go to the stable, saddle his horse and ride +into the woods, while another mounts the window-ledge +and performs all the motions of a man on horseback. +Many move with unfailing certainty on perilous +paths, and find their way in deepest darkness; others +make blunders and fall, as Professor J. Feller did, who +mistook an open window for a door. By what means +they perceive the nature of their surroundings, is still +unexplained; it may be the action of the ordinary +senses, although these seem to be closed, or they may +possess those exceptional faculties which constitute +the magic phenomena connected with somnambulism. +Thus Forbes (<i>Brit. and For. Med. Rev.</i>, 1846) ascribes +their power to an increased sensitiveness of the retina, +and mentions the case of Dr. Curry, who suffered from +this symptom to such a degree that he distinguished +every object in a completely darkened room with perfect +ease. In somnambulists, however, the eyes are +generally closed or violently turned up; and in the +rare cases in which they are open, they evidently see +nothing. It is, besides, well established that people +thus affected have continued to read, to play on instruments, +and even to write after they had fallen sound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span> +asleep, and without ever opening their eyes. The sensitiveness +of the retina could here not avail much. A +case is mentioned of a father who rose at night, took +his child from the cradle, and with wide open eyes +carried it up and down the room, seeing nothing, and +in such a state of utter unconsciousness that his wife, +walking by his side, could safely draw all his secrets +from him without his becoming aware of the process or +remembering it the next morning. At the age of forty-five +he ceased to walk in his sleep, but, instead, had +prophetic dreams which revealed to him the occurrences +of the following day and later future events. (<i>Heer, +Observ.</i>) Gassendi (<i>Phys.</i>, l. viii. ch. 8) mentions a +young man, living in Provence, who rose in his +sleep, dressed, drew wine in the cellar, wrote up the +accounts, and in the darkest night never touched +objects that were in his way. If he returned quietly to +his bed, he slept well, and strangely enough, recalled +everything he had done in the night; but if he was +suddenly aroused in the cellar or in the street, he was +seized with violent trembling and palpitations of the +heart. At times he saw but imperfectly; then he +fancied he had risen before daybreak, and lit a lamp. +The <i>Encyclopédie Méthodique</i> reports the case of a +young priest who wrote his sermons at night, and with +closed eyes, and then read each page aloud, correcting +and improving what he had written. A sheet of paper +held between his eyes and his manuscript did not +disturb him; nor did he become aware of it if the latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span> +was removed and blank paper was substituted; in this +case he wrote the corrections precisely where they would +have been inserted in the text. Macnish mentions +("On Sleep," p. 148) the curious case of an innkeeper +in Germany, a huge mass of flesh, who fell asleep at all +times and in all places, but who, when this happened +while he was playing cards, nevertheless continued to +follow suit, as if he could see what was led. In 1832, +when he was barely 50 years old, he literally fell +asleep, paralysis killing him instantly during one of +these attacks of sleep. The same author mentions +somnambulists who in their sleep walked to the sea-shore +and swam for some distance without being waked, +and the case of a Norwegian who during his paroxysms +took a boat and rowed himself about for some +time. He was cured of his affection by a tub full of +water, which was so placed that he had to step into it +when leaving his bed. In Scotland a peasant discovered +from below the nest of a sea-mew, which hung at an +inaccessible height upon a steep rock; some weeks +afterwards he rose in his sleep, and to the horror of his +friends, who watched him from below, climbed to the +place, took the birds, and safely returned to his cabin. +In former ages somnambulists were reported to have +even committed murder in their sleep; a Parisian thus +rose, dressed himself, swam across the Seine, killed his +enemy, and returned the same way without ever awaking; +and an Englishman also is reported to have murdered +a boy, in a state of unconsciousness, while labor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span>ing +under this affection. Modern science, however, +knows nothing of such extreme cases, and the plea has +not yet been used by astute lawyers.</p> + +<p>Simple somnambulism is not unfrequently connected +with magnetic somnambulism, and may occasionally be +seen even in trances during daytime. In such cases +persons who walk in their sleep may be questioned by +bystanders, and in their answers prove themselves not +unfrequently able to foretell future events, or to state +what is occurring at a distance; or they perform tasks +in their sleep which they would not be able to accomplish +when awake; they compose music, write poetry, +and read works in foreign languages, without possessing +the requisite knowledge and training. A poor basket-weaver +in Germany once heard a sermon which moved +him deeply; several weeks later he rose at night, and +repeated the whole sermon from beginning to end; his +wife tried in vain to rouse him, and the next morning +he knew nothing of what had happened. Cases of +scholars who, sorely puzzled by difficult problems, gave +them up before retiring, and then, in the night, rose in +a state of somnambulism, and solved them easily, are +by no means uncommon.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX.</p> + +<h2>MIRACULOUS CURES.</h2> + +<p class="center small pt">"Spiritus in nobis qui viget, illa facit."—</p> + +<p class="attr small pb"> +<span class="smcap">Corn. Agrippa</span>, Ep. xiv.<br /> +</p> + + +<p>The uniform and indispensable condition of all miraculous +cures, whether produced by prayer, imposition +of hands, penitential castigation, or magic power, is +faith. Physician and patient alike must believe that +disease is the consequence of sin, and accept the literal +meaning of the Saviour's words, when he had cured the +impotent man near the pool called Bethesda, and said: +"Behold, thou art made whole: <i>sin</i> no more, lest a +worse thing come unto thee." (St. John v. 14.) Like +their great teacher, all the apostles and saints of the +church have ever insisted upon repentance in the heart +before health in body could be accorded. It is interesting +to notice, moreover, that all Oriental sages, the +Kabbalists and later Theosophists, have, without +exception, adopted the same view, however widely they +may have differed on other points. In one feature only +some disagreed: they ascribed to evil spirits what others +attributed to sin; but the difference is only nominal, +for men, by sin, enter into communion with evil spirits, +and become subject to their power. Hence the woman +"which had a <i>spirit</i> of infirmity eighteen years" was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span> +said to have been "bound by Satan," and when she +was healed she was "loosed from the bond." (Luke +xiii. 16.)</p> + +<p>To this common faith must be added on the part of +the physician an energetic will, and in the patient an +excited imagination. The history of all ages teaches, +beyond the possibility of doubt, that where these +elements are present results have been obtained which +excite the marvel of men by their astonishing promptness, +and their apparent impossibility. They seem +generally to be the result of certain symbolic but +extremely simple acts, such as the imposition of hands—which +may possibly produce a concentration of +power—the utterance of a blessing, or merely a continued, +fixed glance. The main point, however, is, of +course, the psychical energy which is here made available +by a process as yet unknown. Prayer is probably the +simplest agency, since it naturally encourages and +elevates the innermost heart of man, and fills him with +that perfect hope and confidence which are necessary +for his recovery. This hope is, in the case of miraculous +cures performed at the shrines of saints, materially +strengthened by the collective force of all preceding +cures, which tradition has brought to bear upon the +mind, while the senses are powerfully impressed, at the +same time, by the surroundings, and especially the +votive offerings testifying to the reality of former miracles. +In the case of relics, where the Church sees +simply miracles, many men believe in a continuing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span> +magic power perceptible only to very sensitive patients; +thus the great theologian, Tholuk, ascribes to the +"handkerchiefs or aprons" which were brought from +the body of St. Paul, and drove away diseases and evil +spirits (Acts xix. 12), a special curative power with +which they were impregnated. (<i>Verm. Schriften</i>, I. +p. 80.) At certain times, when the mind of a whole +people is excited, and hence peculiarly predisposed to +meet powerful impressions from specially gifted and +highly privileged persons, such miraculous cures are, of +course, most numerous and most striking. This was +the case, for instance, in the first days of Christianity, +at the time of the Reformation, and during the years +which saw the Order of Jesuits established. There is +little to be gained, therefore, by confining the era of +such phenomena to a certain period—to the days of the +apostles, when alone genuine miracles were performed, +as many divines believe, or to the first three centuries +after Christ, during which Tholuk and others still see +magic performances. Magnetic and miraculous cures +differ not in their nature, but only in their first cause, +precisely as the trance of somnambulists is identical +with the trance of religious enthusiasts. The difference +lies only in the faith which performs the cure; if it is +purely human, the effect will be only partial, and in +most cases ephemeral; if divine faith and the highest +power co-operate, as in genuine miracles, the effect is +instantaneous and permanent. Hence the contrast between +the man who at the Lord's bidding "took up his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span> +bed and walked" and the countless cripples who have +thrown aside their crutches at the graves of saints, only +to resume them a day or two afterward, when, with the +excitement, the newly acquired power also had disappeared. +But hence, also, the resemblance between +many acts of the early Jesuit Fathers and those of the +apostles; the intense energy of the former, supported +by pure and unwavering faith, produced results which +were to all intents and purposes miraculous. With the +death of men like St. Xavier, and the rise of worldly +ambition in the hearts of the Fathers, this power disappeared, +and modern miracles have become a snare and +a delusion to simple-minded believers.</p> + +<p>The faith in such psychical power possessed by a few +privileged persons is as old as the world. Pythagoras +performed cures by enchantment; Ælius Aristides, who +had consulted learned physicians for ten years in vain, +and Marcus Antoninus, were both cured by incubation. +Tacitus tells us that the Emperor Vespasian restored a +blind man's sight by moistening his eye with saliva, and +to a lame man the use of his feet by treading hard +upon him. (Hist. l. iv. c. 8.) Both cures were performed +before an immense crowd in Alexandria, and in both +cases the petitioners had themselves indicated the means +by which they were to be restored, the emperor yielding +only very reluctantly to their prayers and the urgent +requests of his courtiers. (Sueton., <i>Vita Vespas.</i>) Pyrrhus, +king of Epirus, had cured colic and diseases of +the kidneys by placing the patient on his back and touch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span>ing +him with his big toe (Plutarch, <i>Vita Pyrrhi</i>); and +hence Vespasian and Hadrian both used the same +method!</p> + +<p>The imposition of hands, for the purpose of performing +miraculous cures, has been practised from time +immemorial; Chaldees and Brahmins alike using it in +cases of malignant diseases. The kings of England and +of France, and even the counts of Hapsburg in Germany, +have ever been reputed to be able to cure goîtres +by the touch of their hands, and hence the complaint +was called the "king's evil." The idea seems to have +originated in the high north; King Olave, the saint, +being reported by Snorre Sturleson as having performed +the ceremony. From thence, no doubt, it was +carried to England, where Edward the Confessor seems +to have been the first to cure goîtres. In France each +monarch upon ascending the throne received at the consecration +the secret of the <i>modus operandi</i> and the +sacred formula—for here also the spoken word went +hand in hand with the magic touch. Philip I. was the +first and Charles I. the last monarch who performed the +cure publicly, uttering the ancient phrase: "<i>Le roi te +touche, Dieu te guérisse!</i>" In a somewhat similar manner +the Saludadores and Ensalmadores of Spain cured, +not goîtres and stammering only, as the monarchs we +have mentioned, but almost all the ills to which human +flesh is heir, by imposition of hands, fervent prayer +and breathing upon the patient.</p> + +<p>Similar gifts are ascribed to Eastern potentates, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span> +the ruling dynasty in Persia claims to have inherited +the power of healing the sick from an early ancestor, +the holy Sheik Sephy. The great traveler Chardin +saw patients hardly able to crawl dragging themselves +to the feet of the Shah, and beseeching him only to dip +the end of his finger into a bowl of water, and thus to +bestow upon it healing power. It will excite little wonder +to learn that those remarkable men who succeeded +by the fire of their eloquence and the power of contagious +enthusiasm to array one world in arms against +another, the authors of the Crusades, should have been +able to perform miraculous cures. Peter of Amiens +and Bernard of Clairvaux obtained such a hold on the +minds of faithful believers, that their curse produced +spasms and fearful sufferings in the guilty, while their +blessing restored speech to the dumb, and health to the +sick. Here also special power was attributed even to +their clothes, and many remarkable results were obtained +by the mere touch. Spain, the home of fervent ascetic +faith, abounds in saints who performed miracles, the +most successful of whom was probably Raimundus +Normatus (so called because not born of woman, but +cut from his dead mother's body by skillful physicians), +who cured, during the plague of 1200, great numbers +of men by the sign of the cross. To this class of men +belong also, as mentioned before, the early fathers of the +Society of Jesus, though their powers were as different +as their characters. Ignatius Loyola, who represented +the intelligence of the new order, performed few mirac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</a></span>ulous +cures; Xavier, on the contrary, the man of brilliant +fancy, was successful in a great variety of cases. +The first leaders, like Loinez, Salmeron and Bobadilla, +had no magic power at all, but later successors, like +Ochioa Carrera and Kepel, displayed it in a surprising +degree, although Ochioa's gifts were distinctly limited +to the healing of the sick by the imposition of hands. +The whole period of this intense excitement extended +only over sixteen years, from 1540 to 1556, after which +the vivid faith, which had alone made the cures possible, +disappeared. It is worth mentioning that the Jesuits +themselves and most of their historians deny that they +ever had power to perform miracles, and ascribe the +cures to the faith of the patients alone. St. Xavier, it +is well known, brought the dead to life again, and even +if we assume that they lay only in syncope and had not +yet really died, the recovery is scarcely less striking. +The most remarkable of these cases is that of an only +daughter of a Japanese nobleman. Her death stunned +the father, a great lord possessed of immense wealth, +to such a degree that his friends feared for his +reason; at last they urged him to apply to the great +missionary for help. He did so; the Jesuit, filled with +compassion, asked a brother priest to join him in prayer, +and both fell upon their knees and prayed with great +fervor. Xavier returned to the pagan with joyous face +and bade him take comfort, as his daughter was alive +and well. The nobleman, very unlike the father in +Holy Writ, was indignant, thinking that the holy man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</a></span> +either did not believe his child had died or refused to +assist him; but as he went home, a page came running +up to meet him, bringing the welcome message that +his daughter was really alive and well. She told him +after his return, that her soul upon leaving the body +had been seized by hideous shapes and dragged towards +an enormous fire, but that suddenly two excellent men +had interposed, rescuing her from their hands, and leading +her back to life. The happy father immediately returned +with her to the holy man, and as soon as his child +beheld Xavier and his companion, she fell down at their +feet and declared that they were the friends who had +brought her back from the lower world. Shortly afterwards +the father and his whole family became Christians. +(Orlandini, Hist. Soc. Jesu., ix. c. 213.) The case +seems to be very simple, and is one of the most instructive +of modern magic. The girl was not dead, but lay +in a cataleptic trance, in which she had visions of fearful +scenes, and transformed the fierce hold which the +disease had on her body into the grasp of hostile powers +trying to obtain possession of her soul. At the same +time she became clairvoyant, and thus saw Xavier and +his companion distinctly enough to recognize them +afterwards. The cure was accomplished by the Almighty +in answer to the fervent prayer of two pious +men filled with pure faith, according to the sacred +promise: "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous +man availeth much." All the more is it to be regretted +that even in those days of genuine piety and rapturous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[Pg 437]</a></span> +faith, foreign elements should at once have been mixed +up with the true doctrine; for already Caspar Bersaeus +ascribed some of his cures to the Holy Virgin; and +soon the power passed away, when the honor was no +longer given to Him to whom alone it was due.</p> + +<p>From that day the power to perform miraculous +cures has been but rarely and exceptionably granted to +a few individuals. Thus Matthias Will, a German divine +of the seventeenth century, was as famous for his +marvelous power over the sick and the possessed as for +his fervent piety, his incessant praying and fasting, and +his utter self-abnegation. Sufferers were brought to +him from every part of Christendom, and hundreds +who had been given up by their physicians were healed +by his earnest prayers and the blessing he invoked from +on high. His memory still survives in his home, and +an inscription on his tombstone records his extraordinary +powers. (Cath. Encycl., Suppl. I. 1320.) Even the +Jansenists, with all their hostility to certain usages of +the Church, had their famous Abbé Paris, whose grave +in the Cemetery of St. Médard became in 1727 the +scene of a number of miraculous cures, fully attested +by legal evidence and amply described by Montgéron, a +man whom the Abbé had in his lifetime changed from +a reckless profligate into a truly pious Christian. (<i>La +vérité des miracles</i>, etc., Paris, 1737.) The magic phenomena +exhibited on this occasion were widely discussed +and great numbers of books and pamphlets written +for and against their genuineness, until the subject be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[Pg 438]</a></span>came +so obscured by party spirit that it is extremely +difficult, in our day, to separate the truth from its +large admixture of unreliable statements. A peculiar +feature of these scenes—admitted in its full extent by +adversaries even—was the perfect insensibility of most +of the enthusiasts, the so-called <i>Convulsionnaires</i>. +Jansenists by conviction, these men, calm and cool in +their ordinary pursuits, had been so wrought up by religious +excitement that they fell, twenty or more at a +time, into violent convulsions and demanded to be +beaten with huge iron-shod clubs in order to be relieved +of an unbearable pressure upon the abdomen. They +endured, in this manner, blows inflicted upon the pit +of the stomach which under ordinary circumstances +would have caused grievous if not fatal consequences.</p> + +<p>The above-mentioned witness, who saw their almost +incredible sufferings, Carré de Montgéron, states that +he himself used an iron club ending in a ball and weighing +from twenty to thirty pounds. One of the female +enthusiasts complained that the ordinary blows were +not sufficient to give her relief, whereupon he beat her +sixty times with all his strength. But this also was +unavailing, and a large and more powerful man who was +standing near had to take the fearful instrument and +with his strong arms gave her a hundred additional +blows! The tension of her muscles must have been +most extraordinary, for she not only bore the blows, +which would have killed a strong person in natural +health, but the wall against which she was leaning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[Pg 439]</a></span> +actually began to tremble and totter from the violent +concussion. Nor were the blows simply resisted by the +turgescence of the body; the skin itself seemed to have +been modified in a manner unknown in a state of health. +Thus one of the brothers Marion felt nothing of +thrusts made by a sharp-pointed knife against his abdomen +and the skin was in no instance injured. To do +this the trance in which he lay must necessarily have +induced an entire change of the organic atoms, and this +is one of the most important magic phenomena connected +with this class of visions, which will be discussed +in another place.</p> + +<p>It is well known that the cures performed at the grave +of the Abbé Paris and the terrible scenes enacted there +by these <i>convulsionnaires</i> excited so much attention +that at last the king saw himself compelled to put a stop +to the proceedings. After a careful investigation of the +whole matter by men specially appointed for the purpose, +the grounds were guarded, access was prohibited, +and the wags of Paris placed at the entrance the following +announcement:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4q">"<i>Défense de par le Roy. Défense à Dieu,</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>De faire miracle en ce lieu!</i>"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Ireland had in the seventeenth century her Greatrakes, +who, according to unimpeachable testimony, +cured nearly every disease known to man, by his simple +touch—and fervent prayer.</p> + +<p>Valentine Greatrakes, of Waterford, in Ireland, had +dreamt, in 1662, that he possessed the gift to cure <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[Pg 440]</a></span>goîtres +by simple imposition of hands, after the manner of +the kings of England and of France. It was, however, +only when the dream was several times repeated that he +heeded it and tried his power on his wife. The success +he met with in his first effort encouraged him to attempt +other cases also, and soon his fame spread so far +that he was sent for to come to London and perform +some cures at Whitehall. He was invariably successful, +but had much to endure from the sneers of the courtiers, +as he insisted upon curing animals as well as men. His +cures were attested by men of high authority, such as +John Glanville, chaplain to Charles II., Bishop Rust, of +Dromor, in Ireland, several physicians of great eminence, +and the famous Robert Boyle, the president of the Royal +Society. According to their uniform testimony Greatrakes +was a simple-hearted, pious man, as far from imposture +as from pretension, who firmly believed that +God had entrusted to him a special power, and succeeded +in impressing others with the same conviction. His +method was extremely simple: he placed his hands upon +the affected part, or rubbed it gently for some time, +whereupon the pains, swellings, or ulcers which he +wished to cure, first subsided and then disappeared entirely. +It is very remarkable that here also all seemed +to depend on the nature of the faith of the patient, for +according to the measure of faith held by the latter the +cure would be either almost instantaneous or less +prompt, and in some cases requiring several days and +many interviews. He was frequently accused of prac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[Pg 441]</a></span>tising +sorcery and witchcraft, but the doctors Faiselow +and Artetius, as well as Boyle, defended him with great +energy, while testifying to the reality of his cures.</p> + +<p>One of the best authenticated, though isolated, cases +of this class is the recovery of a niece of Blaise Pascal, a +girl eleven years old. She was at boarding-school at +the famous Port Royal and suffered of a terrible fistula +in the eye, which had caused her great pain for three +years and threatened to destroy the bones of her face. +When her physicians proposed to her to undergo a very +painful operation by means of a red-hot iron, some Jansenists +suggested that she should first be specially +prayed for, while at the same time the affected place +was touched with a thorn reported to have formed part +of the crown of thorns of our Saviour. This was done, +and on the following day the swelling and inflammation +had disappeared, and the eye recovered. The young +girl was officially examined by a commission consisting +of the king's own physician, Dr. Felix, and three distinguished +surgeons; but they reported that neither art +nor nature had accomplished the cure and that it was +exclusively to be ascribed to the direct interposition of +the Almighty. The young lady lived for twenty-five +years longer and never had a return of her affection. +Racine described the case at full length, and so did +Arnauld and Pascal, all affirming the genuineness of +the miraculous cure.</p> + +<p>During the latter part of the last century a Father +Gassner created a very great sensation in Germany by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[Pg 442]</a></span> +means of his marvelous cures and occasional exorcisms +of evil spirits. He did not employ for the latter purpose +the usual ritual of the Catholic Church, but simple +imposition of hands and invocation of the Saviour. +Nearly all the patients who were brought to him he +declared to be under the influence of evil spirits, and +divided them into three classes: <i>circumsessi</i>, who were +only at times attacked, <i>obsessi</i>, or bewitched, and <i>possessi</i>, +who were really possessed. When a sick person +was brought to him, he first ordered the evil spirit to +show himself and to display all his powers; then he +prayed fervently and commanded the demon, in the +name of the Saviour, to leave his victim. A plain, unpretending +man of nearly fifty years, he appeared dressed +in a red stole after the fashion prevailing at that time in +his native land, and wore a cross containing a particle of +the holy cross suspended from a silver chain around his +neck. The patient was placed before him so that the +light from the nearest window fell fully upon his features, +and the bystanders, who always crowded the room, +could easily watch all the proceedings. Frequently, he +would put his stole upon the sufferers' head, seize their +brow and neck with outstretched hands, and holding +them firmly, utter in a low voice a fervent prayer. +Then, after having given them his cross to kiss, if they +were Catholics, he dismissed them with some plain +directions as to treatment and an earnest admonition to +remain steadfast in faith. Probably the most trustworthy +account of this remarkable man and his truly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[Pg 443]</a></span> +miraculous cures was published by a learned and eminent +physician, a Dr. Schisel, who called upon the priest +with the open avowal that he came as a skeptic, to +watch his proceedings and examine his method. He +became so well convinced of Father Gassner's powers +that he placed himself in his hands as a patient, was +cured of gout in an aggravated form, and excited the +utmost indignation of his professional brethren by candidly +avowing his conviction of the sincerity of the +priest and the genuineness of his cures.</p> + +<p>There was, however, one circumstance connected +with the exceptional power of this priest, which was +even more striking than his cures. His will was so +marvelously energetic and his control over weaker minds +so perfect that he could at pleasure cause the pulse of +his patients to slacken or to hasten, to make them +laugh or cry, sleep or wake, to see visions, and even to +have epileptic attacks. As may be expected, the majority +of his visitors were women and children, but these +were literally helpless instruments in his hands. They +not only moved and acted, but even felt and thought +as he bade them do, and in many cases they were +enabled to speak languages while under his influence +of which they were ignorant before and after. At +Ratisbon a committee consisting of two physicians and +two priests was directed to examine the priest and his +cures; a professor of anatomy carefully watched the +pulse and the nerves of the patients which were selected +at haphazard, and all confirmed the statements made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[Pg 444]</a></span> +before; while three other professors, who had volunteered +to aid in the investigation, concurred with him +in the conviction that there was neither collusion nor +imposition to be suspected. The priest, who employed +no other means but prayer and the invocation of God +by the patients, was declared to be acting in good faith, +from pure motives, and for the best purposes; his cures +were considered genuine. There was, however, in +Father Gassner's case also an admixture of objectionable +elements which must not be overlooked. The +desire for notoriety, which enters largely into all such +displays of extraordinary powers, led many persons who +were perfectly sound to pretend illness, merely for the +purpose of becoming, when cured, objects of public +wonder. On the other hand, the good father himself +was, no doubt, by his own unexpected success, led to go +farther than he would otherwise have done in his simplicity +and candor. He formed a complete theory of +his own to explain the miracles. According to his view +the first cause of all such diseases as had their origin in +"possession," were the "principalities, powers, rulers +of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness +in high places," which the apostle mentions as enemies +more formidable than "flesh and blood." (Ephes. vi. 12.) +These, he believed, dwelt in the air, and by disturbing +the atmosphere with evil intent, produced illness in the +system and delusions in the mind. If a number combined, +and with the permission of the Almighty poisoned +the air to a large extent, contagious diseases<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[Pg 445]</a></span> +followed as a natural consequence. Against these +demons or "wiles of the devil" (Ephes. vi. 11), he +employed the only means sanctioned by Holy Writ—fervent +prayer, and this, of course, could have no effect +unless the patient fully shared his faith. This faith, +again, he was enabled to awaken and to strengthen by +the supreme energy of his will, but of course not in all +cases; where his prayer failed to have the desired effect +he ascribed the disease to a direct dispensation from on +high, and not to the agency of evil spirits, or he declared +the patient to be wanting in faith. In like +manner he explained relapses as the effects of waning +faith. The startling phenomena, however, which he +thought it necessary to call forth in his patients, before +he attempted their restoration, belong to what must be +called the magic of our day. For these symptoms bore +no relation to the affection under which they suffered. +Persons afflicted with sore wounds, stiffened limbs, or +sightless eyes, would, at his bidding, fall into frightful +paroxysms, during which the breathing intermitted, +the nose became pointed, the eyes insensible to the +touch, and the whole body rigid and livid. And yet, +when the paroxysm ceased at his word, the patient felt +no evil effects, not even fatigue, and all that had happened +was generally instantly forgotten. The case +created an immense sensation throughout Europe, and +the great men of his age took part for or against the +poor priest, who was sadly persecuted, and only now +and then found a really able advocate, such as Lavater.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[Pg 446]</a></span> +The heaviest penalty he had to bear was the condemnation +of his own Church, which accompanied an order +issued by the Emperor Joseph II., peremptorily forbidding +all further attempts. The pope, Pius VII., who +had directed the whole subject to be examined by the +well-known <i>Congregatio SS. Rituum</i>, declared in 1777, +upon their report, that the priest's proceedings were +heretical and not any longer to be permitted, and ordered +the bishop, under whose jurisdiction he lived, to +prevent any further exercise of his pretended power. +All these decrees of papal councils and these orders of +imperial officials could, however, not undo what the +poor priest had already accomplished, and history has +taught us the relative value of investigations held by +biased priests, and those carried out by men of science. +We may well doubt the judgment of an authority which +once condemned a Galileo, and even now denounces the +press as a curse; but we have no right to suspect the +opinion of men who, as physicians and scientists, are +naturally disposed to reject all claims of supernatural +or even exceptional powers.</p> + +<p>In more recent times a Prince Hohenlohe in Germany +claimed to have performed a number of miraculous +cures, beginning with a Princess Schwarzenberg, +whom he commanded "in the name of Christ to be well +again." Many of his patients, however, were only cured +for the moment; when their faith, excited to the +utmost, cooled down again, their infirmities returned; +still there remain facts enough in his life to establish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[Pg 447]</a></span> +the marvelous power of his strong will, when brought +to bear upon peculiarly receptive imaginations, and +aided by earnest prayer. (Kies., <i>Archiv.</i> IX. ii: 311.)</p> + +<p>Sporadic cases of similar powers have of late shown +themselves in Paris, in the interior of Russia, and in +Ravenna, but the evidence upon which the statements +in public journals are made is so clearly unreliable +that no important result can be hoped for from +their investigation. The present is hardly an age of +faith, and enough has surely been said to prove that +without very great and sincere faith miraculous cures +cannot be performed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[Pg 448]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center bigger"><a name="X" id="X"></a>X.</p> + +<h2>MYSTICISM.</h2> + +<p class="center small ps">"Credo quia absurdum est."—<span class="smcap">Tertullian.</span></p> + + +<p>One of the most remarkable classes of magic phenomena, +which combines almost all other known features +of trances with the peculiar kind called stigmatization, +is known as Mysticism in the more limited sense +of that word. It bears this name mainly because it +designates attempts made to unite in close communion +humanity with divinity, and however imperfect the +success of all these efforts may be, on the whole, it +cannot be denied that in individual cases very startling +results have been obtained. In order to attain their +lofty aim, the mystics require an utter deadening of all +human affections and all natural impulses, and a +thorough change of their usual thoughts and feelings. +Above all, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and +the pride of the heart are to be killed by pain; hence +the mystics are quite content to suffer, chastise the +body, deny themselves the simplest enjoyments, and +rejoice in the actual infliction of wounds and mutilations. +In return for this complete deadening of human +affections they are filled with an ineffable love of the +divine Saviour, the Bridegroom, and the Holy Virgin, +the Bride, or even of purely abstract, impalpable beings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[Pg 449]</a></span> +They enjoy great inner comforts, and a sense of happiness +and peace which transcends all description. Whatever +may, however, have been the direct cause of their +ecstatic condition, disease, asceticism, self-inflicted torments, +or long-continued fervent prayer, this highest +bliss is accorded to them only during the time of trance. +Unfortunately this period of happiness is not only painfully +short, but also invariably followed by a powerful +reaction; according to the laws of our nature, supreme +excitement must needs always subside into profound +exhaustion, ecstatic bliss into heartrending despondency, +and bright visions of heaven into despairing views +of unpardonable sins and a hopeless future. Hence the +fearful doctrines of the mystics of all ages, which prescribe +continuous self-denial as the only way to reach +God, who as yet is not to be found in the outward +world, but only in the inner consciousness of the believer. +If the sinner dare not hope to approach the +Holy One, the repentant believer also is in unceasing +danger of losing again what he has gained by +fearful sacrifices. The union between him and his +God must not only be close, but uninterrupted, a doctrine +which has led to the great favor bestowed by +mystics upon images derived from earthly love: to them +God is forever the bridegroom, the soul the bride, and +the union between them the true marriage of the faithful. +By such training, skillfully and perseveringly pursued, +many persons, especially women, have succeeded +in so completely deadening all physical functions of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[Pg 450]</a></span> +their body as to reduce their life, literally, to the mere +operations of sensation and vision. The sufferings produced +by these efforts to suppress all natural vitality, to +kill, as it were, the living body, rendering the senses +inactive, while still in the full vigor of their natural +condition, are often not only painful, but actually appalling. +A poor woman, famous for her asceticism and +her supernatural visions, Maria of Agreda, was never +able to attend to her devotions in the dark, without +enduring actual agony. Her spiritual light would suddenly +become extinguished, fearful horrors fell upon her +soul and caused her unspeakable anguish, terrible images +as of wild beasts and fierce demons surrounded her, +the air was filled with curses and unbearable blasphemies, +and even her body was seized with wild, convulsive +movements and violent spasms. No wonder, therefore, +that numbers of these mystics have lost their reason, +and others have fallen victims to terrible diseases. On +the other hand, it cannot be denied that many also have +been eminent examples of self-denial and matchless devotion, +or genuine heroes in combating for their sacred +faith and the love of their brethren. Their very errors +were so attractive that the fundamental mistake was +forgotten, and all felt how little, men who act upon mere +ordinary motives, are able to rise to the same height of self-sacrifice. +Nor must it be forgotten, in judging especially +the mystics of our days, that their sincerity can never be +doubted: they have always acted, and still act upon genuine +conviction, and in the firm belief that their work is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[Pg 451]</a></span> +meritorious, not in the eyes of men, but before the Almighty. +The ascetics of former ages are not so easily +understood; they were men who proposed not only to +limit the amenities of life, but to make our whole earthly +existence subservient to purely divine purposes; and +thus, for instance, Francis of Assisi, prescribed absolute +poverty as the rule of his order. The principal magic +phenomena accompanying religious ecstasy are the insensibility +of the body to all, even the most violent injuries, +and the perception of matters beyond the reach of +our senses in healthy life. Rigid and long-continued +fasting, reduced sleep on a hard couch, and an utter abstinence +from all other thoughts or sentiments but such +as connect themselves directly with a higher life, never +fail to produce the desired effect. By such means the +whole nature of man is finally changed; not only in the +legitimate relations existing between body and mind, but +also in those which connect man with nature; the +changes are, therefore, as much physiological as psychical. +They result at last in the acquisition of a power +which in the eyes of the mystics is identical with that +promised in Mark xvi. 18. "They shall take up serpents, +and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not +hurt them." Extraordinary as the accounts of the sufferings +and the exceptional powers of mystics appear to +us, they are in many instances too well authenticated to +allow any serious doubt. Thus a famous ascetic, Rosa +of Lima, was actually injured by healthy food, but on +many occasions instantaneously strengthened by a mere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[Pg 452]</a></span> +mouthful of bread dipped into pure water; Bernard +of Clairvaux lived for a considerable time on beech-leaves +boiled in water, and Maria of Oignys once subsisted for +thirty-five days on the holy wafer of the sacrament, which +she took daily. Mystics who, like the latter, derived +bodily sustenance as well as spiritual comfort from the +Eucharist, are frequently mentioned in the annals of +the Church. Others, again, succeeded by constant and +extreme excitement to heat their blood to such an extent +that they became insensible to outward cold, even when +the frosts of winter became intolerable to others. The +heart itself seems to be affected by such extreme elation; +in Catherine of Siena its violent palpitations and +convulsive jerkings could be both seen and felt, when she +was in a state of ecstasis, and the heart of Filippo Neri +was found, after death, to have been considerably enlarged, +and actually to have broken two ribs by its +convulsive spasms.</p> + +<p>Among the rarer but equally well-established magic +phenomena of this class must be counted the temporary +suspension of the law of gravity. Like the Brahmins +of India, who have long possessed the power of raising +themselves unaided from the ground and of remaining +suspended in the air, Christian mystics also have +been seen, more than once, to hang as it were unsupported +high above the ground. They quote, in support +of their faith in such exceptional powers, the fact that +Habakkuk also was seized by an angel and carried +away through the air, while even the Saviour was taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[Pg 453]</a></span> +by the devil to an exceeding high mountain on the top +of the temple, cases in which the laws of gravity must +have been similarly suspended.</p> + +<p>A large number of holy men, among whom were Filippo +Neri, Ignatius Loyola, and the founder of the +order of Dominicans, remained thus suspended in the +air for hours and days; one of them, the Carmelite +monk P. Dominicus, in the presence of the king and +queen of Spain and their whole court. (Calmet, p. 153.) +There are even cases known in which this raising of +the body has happened to pious persons against their +own desire and to their great and sincere distress, as it +attracted public attention in a most painful degree. To +this class of phenomena belongs also the luminous appearance +which seems at times to accompany a high +state of religious excitement. This was already the +case with Moses, who "wist not that the skin of his face +shone," and probably of Stephen also, when those +"that sat in council, looking steadfastly on him, saw +his face as it had been the face of an angel."</p> + +<p>The most startling of these phenomena, however, are +those known as stigmatization, when the combined +power of fervent, exalted faith and an over-excited imagination +produces actual marks of injuries on the +body, although no such injuries have ever been inflicted. +The annals of the Church abound with instances +of women especially who, after long meditation on the +nature and the merits of crucifixion have borne the +marks of nails in hands and feet, an effect which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[Pg 454]</a></span> +science of medicine also admits as possible, inasmuch +as similar results are of not unfrequent occurrence, at +least in newborn infants, whose bodies are marked in +consequence of events which had recently made a peculiarly +deep impression upon the mothers.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately mysticism also has not been able to +keep its votaries free from an admixture of imposture. +False miracles are known to have occurred within the +Church as well as without it, and credulity has accepted +many a statement that could not have stood the simplest +investigation. It becomes the careful student, +therefore, here also to distinguish with the utmost caution +genuine and well-authenticated facts from reckless +or willfully false statements. Even then, however, he +ought not to forget the words of Pascal, who, in speaking +of the apostles said: "I am quite willing to believe +stories for whose truthfulness the witnesses have suffered +death." It is even by no means improbable that the +spiritual world may have its changing productions as +well as the material world, and as the organisms of the +Silurian period are impossible in our day, so-called +magic results may have been obtained by certain former +generations which lie beyond the power of our +own. No one can with certainty determine, in this direction, +what is possible and what is impossible; the +power of man is emphatically a relative one, and each +exploit must, in fairness, be judged with a view to all +the accompanying circumstances. It is as impossible +for the men of our day to erect pyramids such as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[Pg 455]</a></span> +old Egyptians built, as it is for an individual in good +health to perform feats of strength of which he may +be capable under the influence of high fever or violent +paroxysms.</p> + +<p>A curious feature in these phenomena is the intimate +relation in which sacred and so-called demoniac influences +seem to stand with one another. The saints are +represented as tempted by evil spirits which yet have +no existence except in their own heart, and the possessed, +on the other hand, occasionally have pious impulses +and holy thoughts. In the former case it is the +innate sinfulness of the heart which creates images of +demons such as St. Anthony saw in the desert; in the +latter case the guardian angels of men are said to come +to their rescue. There are even instances on record of +men who have wantonly given themselves up to the +temporary influence of evil spirits—under the impression +that they could thus please God!—as travelers purposely +suffer the evil effects of opium or hasheesh in order +to test their powers. Thus mysticism finally devised +a complete system of angels, saints, and demons, +whose varied forms and peculiarities became familiar to +votaries at an early period of their lives, and filled their +minds with images which afterwards assumed an apparent +reality during the state of trance. That the +physical condition enters as a powerful element in all +these phenomena appears clearly from the fact that +whenever women are liable to trances or visions of this +kind the latter vary regularly with their state of health,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[Pg 456]</a></span> +and in the majority of cases cease at a certain age. +This fact illustrates in a very characteristic manner the +mutual relations between body and soul; the condition +of the former is reflected in the soul by sentiment and +image, and the soul in precisely the same manner impresses +itself upon the body. Generally this is limited +to the face, where the features in their expression reproduce +more or less faithfully what is going on within; +but in exceptional cases the psychical events +cause certain mechanical or physical changes in the +body which now and then result in actual illness or +become even fatal. Experience proves that if the imagination +is stimulated to excessive activity, it can produce +changes in the nature of the epidermis or even of +the mucous membrane, which resemble in everything +the symptoms of genuine diseases. There are men +who can, by an energetic effort of will, cause red spots, +resembling inflammation, to appear in almost every +part of the body. In extreme cases this power extends +to the production of syncope, in which they become utterly +insensible to injuries of any kind, lose all power +of motion, and even cease to breathe. St. Augustine +mentions a number of such cases. (<i>De civit. Dei</i>, +l. xiv. ch. 24.) The remarkable power of Colonel +Townshend of falling into a state of syncope is too well +established to admit of any doubt; he became icy cold +and rigid, his heart ceased to beat and his lungs to +breathe; the face turned deadly pale, the features grew +sharp and pointed, and his eyes remained fixed. By an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[Pg 457]</a></span> +effort of his own will he could recall himself to life, but +one evening, when he tried to repeat the experiment, +after having made it in the morning successfully in the +presence of three physicians, he failed to awake again. +It appeared afterwards that his heart was diseased; he +had, however, at the same time, by careful attention +and long practice, obtained almost perfect control over +that organ. (Cheyne, "Engl. Malady," London, 1733, p. 307.) +Indian fakirs have been known to possess a similar +power, and have allowed themselves to be buried +in air-tight graves, where they have been watched at +times for forty days, by military guards, and yet at the +expiration of that time have returned to life without apparent +injury. A similar power over less vital organs of +the body is by no means rare; men are constantly found +who can at will conceal their tongue so that even surgeons +discover it but with difficulty; others, like Justinus +Kerner, can empty their stomachs of their contents +as if they were pockets, or contract and enlarge +the pupils of the eyes at pleasure. Nor are cases of Indians +and negroes rare, who in their despair have died +merely because they willed it so. There can be no +doubt, therefore, that if mere volition can produce such +extraordinary results, still more exceptional effects may +be obtained by fervent faith and an excessive stimulation +of the whole nervous system, and much that appears +either incredible or at least in the highest degree +marvelous may find an easy and yet satisfactory explanation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[Pg 458]</a></span></p> + +<p>Genuine stigmatization, that is, the appearance of the +five wounds of our Saviour, presents itself ordinarily +only after many years of constant meditation of his passion, +combined with excessive fasting and other ascetic +self-torment. The first stage is apt to be a vision of +Christ's suffering, accompanied by the offer of a wreath +of flowers or a crown of thorns. If the mystic chooses the +former, the result remains within the limits of the general +effects of asceticism; should he, however, choose +the crown of thorns, the stigmas themselves are apt to +appear. This occurs, naturally, only in the very rare +cases, where the mystic possesses that exceptional +energy and intense plastic power of the imagination +which are requisite in order to suspend the natural +relations of soul and body. Then the latter, already +thoroughly weakened and exhausted, becomes so susceptible +to the influence of the soul, that it reproduces, +spontaneously and unconsciously, the impressions +deeply engraven on the mind, and during the next +ecstatic visions the wounds show themselves suddenly. +Their appearance is invariably accompanied by violent +pain, which seems to radiate, in fiery burning darts from +the wounds of the image of Christ. As the minds of +mystics differ infinitely in energy of will and clearness +of perception, the stigmas also are seen more or less +distinctly; and their nature varies from mere reddish +points, which become visible on the head, as the effect +of a crown of thorns, to real bleeding wounds. The +former are apt to disappear as the excitement subsides<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[Pg 459]</a></span> +or the will is weakened; the latter, however, are peculiar +in this, that they do not continue to bleed, and yet, also, +do not heal up. In women, only, they are apt to break +out again at regular intervals, for instance, on Fridays, +when the mystic excitement again reaches its highest +degree, or at other periods when pressure of blood seeks +an outlet through these new openings. As such a state +can continue only by means of lengthened inflammation, +stigmatization is always accompanied by violent +pains and great suffering, especially during the bleeding.</p> + +<p>The earliest of all cases of stigmatization—of which +nearly seventy are fully authenticated—was that of +Francis of Assisi, who, after having spent years in fervent +prayer for permission to share the sufferings of the +Saviour, at last saw a seraph with six wings descend +toward him, and between the wings the form of a crucified +person. At the same moment he felt piercing +pains, and when he recovered from his trance he found +his hands and feet, as well as his side, bleeding as from +severe wounds, and strange, dark excrescences, resembling +nails, protruding from the wounds in his extremities. +As this was the first case of stigmatization known, +Francis of Assisi was filled with grave doubts concerning +the strange phenomenon, and carefully concealed it +from all but his most intimate friends. Still the wounds +were seen and felt by Pope Alexander and a number of +cardinals during his lifetime, and became an object of +careful investigation after his death. (Philalethes'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[Pg 460]</a></span> +<i>Divina Comm., Paradiso</i>, p. 144.) There is but one +other case, as fully authenticated, in which a man was +thus stigmatized; all other trustworthy instances are +related of females. How close the connection is +between the will and the appearance of these phenomena +may be seen from one of the best-established +cases, that of Joanna of Burgos, in Spain, who had +shed much blood every week for twenty years in following +the recital of the passion of our Saviour. When +she was seventy years old, her superiors prevailed upon +her, by special arguments, to pray fervently for a +suspension of her sufferings. She threw herself down +before a crucifix, and remained there a day and a night +in incessant prayer; on the next morning the wounds +had closed, and never again commenced bleeding. +Another evidence of this feature lies in the fact that +stigmatization occurs mainly in Italy, the land of +imagination, and in Spain, the land of devotion; in +Germany only a few cases are known, and not one in +the North of Europe and in America.</p> + +<p>Among the famous mystics who do not belong as +saints or martyrs exclusively to the Church, stand first +and foremost Henry Suso, of the "Living Heart," and +John Ruysbroek, the so-called Doctor Ecstaticus. The +former, who often had trances, and once lay for a long +time in syncope, has left behind him some of the most +attractive works ever written by religious enthusiasts. +He lived in the fourteenth century, and when, two +hundred years later, his grave was opened the body was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[Pg 461]</a></span> +found unchanged, and fervent admirers believed they +perceived pleasing odors emanating from the remains. +The Dutch divine Ruysbroek was even more renowned +by his holy life and admirable writings than by the +many marvelous visions which he enjoyed. The same +century produced the most famous preacher Germany +has probably ever seen, John Capistran, who attracted +the masses by the magic power of his individuality and +held them spell-bound by his burning eloquence. A +native of Capistrano, in the Abruzzi, where he was born in +1385, he became first a lawyer, and gained great distinction +as such in Sicily. Unfortunately he was engaged +in one of the many petty wars which at that time distracted +Italy; was made a prisoner and cast with +barbaric cruelty into a foul dungeon. Here he devoted +himself to ascetic devotion, and had a vision ordering +him to leave the world. When he regained his liberty, +at the age of thirty, he entered the order of Franciscan +monks, and soon became a preacher of world-wide +renown. Traveling through Italy, Hungary, and Germany, +he affected his audiences by his mere appearance, +and produced truly amazing changes in the hearts of +thousands. In Vienna he once preached, in the open +air, before an assembly of more than a hundred thousand +men; the people listened to him for hours amid +loud weeping and sobbing, and great numbers were +converted, including several hundred Jews. In Bohemia +he induced in like manner eleven thousand Hussites to +return to the Catholic Church, among whom were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[Pg 462]</a></span> +numerous noblemen and ministers. Similar successes +were obtained in almost every large town of Germany, +till he was recalled to the South, when Germany became +indebted to him and to John Corvin for its deliverance +from the Turks and the famous victory of Belgrade +in 1456. During his whole career he continued to +have ecstatic visions, to fall into trances of considerable +duration, and to behold stigmas on his body—yet, +withal, he remained an eminently practical man, not +only converting many thousands from their religious +errors, but turning them also from vicious habits and +criminal pursuits to a life of virtue. At the same +time he rendered signal services to his brethren in mere +worldly matters, now pleading and now fighting for +them with an energy and a success which alone would +secure him a name in history. The ecstatic nature of +another mystic, Vincentio Ferrer, produced a singular +effect, which has never been noticed except in biblical +history. He was a native of Valencia, and, knowing no +language but the local dialect of his country, he continued +throughout life to preach in his mother tongue—and +yet he was understood by all who heard him! +This result was at least partially explained by the +astounding flexibility of his voice, which at all times +adapted itself so completely to his feelings, that its +tones found a responsive echo in every heart. In vain +did the pope, Benedict XIII., offer him first a bishopric +and afterwards a cardinal's hat; the pious monk refused +all honors save one, the title of Papal Missionary, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[Pg 463]</a></span> +in this capacity he passed through nearly every land in +Christendom, preaching and exhorting day and night, +exciting everywhere the utmost enthusiasm and converting +thousands from their evil ways. His eloquence +and fervor were so great that even learned men and +fierce warriors declared he spoke with the voice of +an angel, and criminals of deepest dye would fall down +in the midst of great crowds, confessing their misdeeds +and solemnly vowing repentance and amendment.</p> + +<p>The greatest of all mystics, however, was the before-mentioned +Filippo Neri, a saint of the Catholic Church, +whose simple candor and truly Christian humility have +procured for him the esteem and the admiration of +men of all creeds and all ages. Even as a mere child +he was already renowned for his extraordinary gifts as +well as for his fervent piety; while still a layman he +had numerous visions and trances, and when in his +thirtieth year he had prayed for days and nights in the +Catacombs of St. Sebastian, his heart became suddenly +so enlarged that some of the intercostal muscles gave +way, and a great swelling appeared on the outside, which +remained there throughout life, although without causing +him any pain. His inner fervor was so great as to +keep his blood and his whole system continually at +fever heat, and although he lived exclusively upon +bread, herbs, and olives, he never wore warm clothes, +even in the severest winters, always slept with open +doors and windows, and preferred walking about with +his breast uncovered. During the last ten years of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[Pg 464]</a></span> +life his body was no longer able to sustain his ecstatic +soul; whenever he attempted to read mass or to preach, +his feelings became so excited that his voice failed him, +and he fell into a trance of several hours' duration. It +was in this condition that he was frequently lifted up, +together with the chair on which he sat, to a height of +several feet from the ground. What renders these +magic phenomena peculiarly interesting, is the fact that +Filippo Neri not only attached no special value to them, +but actually did his best to conceal them from the eyes +of the world. As soon as they began to show themselves, +he ceased reading mass in the presence of others, +and only allowed his attendant to re-enter his cell when +the latter had convinced himself, by peeping through a +narrow opening in the door, that the trance was over. +When others praised his piety and marveled at these +wonders, he invariably smiled and said: "Don't you +know that I am nothing but a fool and a dreamer?"</p> + +<p>He added that he would infinitely rather do works +which should prove his faith than be the recipient of +miraculous favors. But his prestige was so great that +whenever he was prevailed upon or thought it his duty +to exert his influence, it was paramount, and secured +to him a powerful control in historical events. Thus it +was when Pope Gregory XIV. had excommunicated +King Henry IV., and his successor, Clement VIII., +continued the fearful punishment in spite of all the +entreaties of king and courtiers. Filippo Neri, foreseeing +the dangers which were likely to arise from such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[Pg 465]</a></span> +measures for the Church, and deeply concerned for the +welfare of the French people, retired to prayer, inviting +the pope's confessor to join him in his devotions. These +had been continued for three days without intermission, +when at last the saint fell into a trance, and upon +re-awaking from it, told his companion: "To-day the +pope will send for you to confess him. You will tell +him, when his confession is made: 'Father Filippo has +directed me to refuse Your Holiness absolution, and +ever to confess you again till you have relieved the +King of France from excommunication.'" Clement, +deeply moved by this message, summoned immediately +the council of cardinals, and Henry IV. was once more +received into the bosom of the Church. In spite of +this great influence, Neri sternly refused all honors and +dignities, even the purple, which was offered to him +three times, and died in 1595, eighty years old, on the +day and at the hour which he had long since foretold. +That his visions were accompanied by actual stigmatization +has already been mentioned.</p> + +<p>Our own continent has had but one great mystic, +Rosa of Lima, who is hence known as <i>primus Americæ +meridionalis flos</i>. She had inherited her peculiar organization +from her mother, who had frequently seen +visions, and when the child was three years old, changed +her name from Isabel to Rosa, because she had seen a +rose suspended over the face of her daughter. Much admired +on account of her great beauty and rare sweetness, +the young girl refused all offers, and preferred, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[Pg 466]</a></span> +spite of the remonstrances of friends and of brutal ill-treatment +on the part of her brothers, to enter a convent. +On her way there, however, she felt her steps +suddenly arrested by superior force, and saw in this +supernatural interruption a hint that she should leave +the world even more completely than she could have +done as a nun of the Order of St. Dominick. She built +herself, therefore, a little cell in her father's garden, and +here led a life of ecstatic asceticism, during which she +often remained for days and weeks without food, and +became strangely intimate with birds and insects. +Whenever she took the eucharist, she felt marvelous +happiness and fell into trances; in the intervals, however, +she suffered intensely from that depression and +utter despair which in such cases are apt to result from +powerful reaction. She died quite young, exhausted by +her ascetic life and continued excitement, and has ever +since been revered as the patron saint of Peru.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center ps">THE END.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center biggest"><span class="smcap">Prof. Schele de Vere's Works.</span></p> + + +<p class="big cap">WONDERS OF THE DEEP.</p> + +<p>By M. <span class="smcap">Schele de Vere</span>, Professor of the University +of Virginia. Third edition, 12mo, cloth, $1.50. +Illustrated, cloth, gilt, $2.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center small">CHIEF CONTENTS.</p> + +<p class="small">Pearls. Corals. Facts and Fables. Mercury. Oysters. Lighthouses. Odd +Fish. Knight in Armor. A Pinch of Salt. A Grain of Sand. The Earth in Trouble.</p> + +<p class="small">"One of the freshest, most scientific, and at the same time most popular and +delightful books of the kind we have ever read."—<i>St. John's Telegraph.</i></p> + +<p class="small">"These essays make a valuable addition to the standard literature of the time. +The author, who is one of the profoundest scientists of the age and one of the most +brilliant essayists of the country has brought from the depths of the ocean vast stores +of hidden knowledge.... The charm of the book is the skillful and yet natural +way in which plain facts have been put. We were attracted toward them by +their freshness, and soon we are following on with intense interest and enthusiasm. +The chapters on "Pearls," "Corals," "Mercury," and "A Pinch of Salt," and, in +fact, nearly all the others are absorbingly interesting."—<i>Newark, N. J., Register.</i></p></blockquote> + + +<p class="big cap">STRAY LEAVES FROM THE BOOK OF NATURE.</p> + +<p>New edition, illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $1.50.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="small">"The book is peculiarly fascinating."—<i>Chicago Journal.</i></p> + +<p class="small">"The entire work is full of charming description and pleasant information."—<i>Courier-Journal, +Louisville.</i></p> + +<p class="small">"This little book will prove of great service to hundreds of readers into whose +hands it may fall."—<i>New Haven Palladium.</i></p> + +<p class="small">"A better work for the young than half the story books published."—<i>Rural New +Yorker.</i></p></blockquote> + + +<p class="big cap">THE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN HISTORY.</p> + +<p>12mo, cloth extra, $1.50.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center small">CONTENTS.</p> + +<p class="small">Lo! the Poor Indian. The Hidden River. Our First Romance. A Few Town +Names. Kaisers, Kings, and Knights. Lost Towns. Lost Lands.</p> + +<p class="small">"We can only repeat that it is intensely interesting, and full of instructive +matter that every American should make himself familiar with."—<i>Toledo Commercial.</i></p> + +<p class="small">"In the selection of early historical curiosities the author has evinced nice taste +and tact, and he possesses in an eminent degree the rare and invaluable art of investing +the dry details of history with a romantic color and hue."—<i>American +Athenæum.</i></p></blockquote> + + +<p class="big cap">MODERN MAGIC.</p> + +<p>12mo, cloth.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center small">CONTENTS.</p> + +<p class="small">Witchcraft. Black and White Magic. Dreams. Visions. Ghosts. Divination. +Possession. Magnetism. Miraculous Cases. Mysticism.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figleft"><a id="ihand" name="ihand"></a> +<img src="images/ihand.jpg" alt="hand" /> + + +</div> +<p>For sale by all Booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt +of price by</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="big">G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS</span>, Publishers,</p> + +<p class="ind"><i>4th Ave. and 23d St., New York.</i></p> + + + + +<p class="center pt big bbl">IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION.</p> + +<p class="center biggest">Putnam's Elementary and Advanced Science Series,</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Adapted to the requirements of Students in Science and Art Classes, and +Higher and Middle Class Schools.</i></p> + + +<p class="center">ELEMENTARY SERIES.</p> + +<p><i>Printed uniformly in 16mo, fully Illustrated, cloth extra, price, 65 cents each.</i></p> + +<p class="hang2">1. PRACTICAL PLANE AND SOLID GEOMETRY. By H. +Angel, Islington Science School, London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">2. MACHINE CONSTRUCTION AND DRAWING. By E. +Tomkins, Queen's College, Liverpool.</p> + +<p class="hang2"><span class="smcap">3A</span> BUILDING CONSTRUCTION—<span class="smcap">Stone, Brick and Slate +Work.</span> By R. S. Burn, C.E., Manchester.</p> + +<p class="hang2"><span class="smcap">3B</span> BUILDING CONSTRUCTION—<span class="smcap">Timber and Iron Work.</span> By +R. S. Burn, C.E., Manchester.</p> + +<p class="hang2">4. NAVAL ARCHITECTURE—<span class="smcap">Shipbuilding and Laying off.</span> +By S. J. P. Thearle, F.R.S.N.A., London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">5. PURE MATHEMATICS. By Lewis Sergeant, B.A., (Camb.,) +London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">6. THEORETICAL MECHANICS. By William Rossiter, F.R.A.S., +F.C.S., London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">7. APPLIED MECHANICS. By William Rossiter, F.R.A.S., +London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">8. ACOUSTICS, LIGHT AND HEAT. By William Lees, A.M., +Lecturer on Physics, Edinburgh.</p> + +<p class="hang2">9. MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY. By John Angell, Senior +Science Master, Grammar School, Manchester.</p> + +<p class="hang2">10. INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. By Dr. W. B. Kemshead, F.R.A.S., +Dulwich College, London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">11. ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. By W. Marshall Watts, D.Sc., (Lond.,) +Grammar School, Giggleswick.</p> + +<p class="hang2">12. GEOLOGY. By. W. S. Davis, LL.D., Derby.</p> + +<p class="hang2">13. MINERALOGY. By J. H. Collins, F.G.S., Royal Cornwall Polytechnic +Society, Falmouth.</p> + +<p class="hang2">14. ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY. By John Angell, Senior Science +Master, Grammar School, Manchester.</p> + +<p class="hang2">15. ZOOLOGY. By M. Harbison, Head-Master Model Schools, +Newtonards.</p> + +<p class="hang2">16. VEGETABLE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. By J. H. +Balfour, M.D., Edinburgh University.</p> + +<p class="hang2">17. SYSTEMATIC AND ECONOMIC BOTANY. By J. H. Balfour, +M.D., Edinburgh University.</p> + +<p class="hang2">19. METALLURGY. By John Mayer, F.C.S., Glasgow.</p> + +<p class="hang2">20. NAVIGATION. By Henry Evers, LL.D., Plymouth.</p> + +<p class="hang2">21. NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY. By Henry Evers, LL.D.</p> + +<p class="hang2"><span class="smcap">22A</span> STEAM AND THE STEAM ENGINE—<span class="smcap">Land and Marine.</span> +By Henry Evers, LL.D., Plymouth.</p> + +<p class="hang2"><span class="smcap">22B</span> STEAM AND STEAM ENGINE—<span class="smcap">Locomotive.</span> By Henry +Evers, LL.D., Plymouth.</p> + +<p class="hang2">23. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. By John Macturk, F.R.G.S.</p> + +<p class="hang2">24. PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY. By John Howard, London.</p> + +<p class="hang2">25. ASTRONOMY. By J. J. Plummer, Observatory, Durham.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="notes"> +<p>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:</p> + + +<p>Obvious typographical errors in punctuation and spelling have been corrected +without comment. One example of an obvious typographical error is on page +109 where the word "utterred" was changed to "uttered" in the phrase: "... +he uttered a piercing cry...."</p> + +<p>In addition to obvious errors the following changes have been made:</p> + +<blockquote><p>1. Page 376: The phrase "as early in 1773" was changed to "as early as +1773".</p> + +<p>2. Page 119: "cocoa" was changed to "coca" in the phrase, "... opium, betel, +hasheesh, and coca...."</p> + +<p>3. Page 209: "Aureditated" was changed to "Accredited" to reflect the +correct title of Jarvis' book: "Accredited Ghost Stories".</p> + +<p>4. Page 211: "Aured." was changed to "Accred." in the phrase, "Accred. Ghost +Stories".</p> + +<p>5. Page 234: "aids" was changed to "aides" in the phrase, "General d'Espagne +roused his aides...."</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The spelling of most proper names has been left unchanged with the following +exceptions:</p> + +<blockquote><p>1. "Göethe", "Goëthe" and "Goethe" has been standardized to "Goethe".</p> + +<p>2. Page 109: "Shilling" was changed to "Stilling" (Jung Stilling, author of +"Jenseits" cf. pp. 156, 204, 320).</p> + +<p>3. Page 235: "Marca Erivigiana" was changed to "Marca Trivigiana".</p> + +<p>4. Page 260: "Waltyries" was changed to "Walkyries" in the phrase, +"Walkyries and the heroes...."</p> + +<p>5. Page 376: "Eassner" was changed to "Gassner" (cf. p. 441) in the phrase, +"... famous Father Gassner ... of Ratisbon...."</p> + +<p>6. Page 402: "Mondez" was changed to "Mondes" in the Journal title, "Revue +des Deux Mondes", (cf. p. 408).</p></blockquote> + +<p>In other cases, the author's original spelling and use of punctuation has +been left intact. Internal inconsistencies which have been retained in this +transcription as in the original include (but are not limited to):</p> + +<blockquote> +<p> +apostacy/ apostasy<br /> +pickolitch/ prickolitch<br /> +Æthiopian/ Ethiopian<br /> +aurora boreales/ aurora borealis<br /> +</p> + +<p>On page 319: "... Thus in 1578 a famous astrologer, +the father of all weather prophecies in our almanacs, +predicted that in the month of February, 1524...."</p> + +<p>On page 287: the phrase, "... mutters the word One...." has been retained +as printed, but may be intended as "... mutters the word Om...."</p> + +<p>Item number 18 is missing from the Ad page.</p></blockquote> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Modern Magic, by Maximilian Schele de Vere + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN MAGIC *** + +***** This file should be named 38448-h.htm or 38448-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/4/38448/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Cathy Maxam and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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