Vogt might have cured a vomiting with his hand.

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How very slightly he has penetrated into the internal relations of these things, and what little light is at his command, is evident from the example he adduces from his own experience,—that of a sick pregnant woman whose vomiting could not be stayed. In this woman he had clearly at command nothing less than a declared excellent sensitive of high power. But he does not discover it. Her high state of sensitiveness was moreover exalted by her pregnancy, as I have proved (§ 808). The spasms of the stomach were evidently just such as he might have cured immediately, without any medicine at all, by merely placing his right hand over the region of the stomach, as I have done in similar cases instantly and thoroughly (§ 1054-1058, 2763, &c.) The secondary phenomena that he observed, namely, the power possessed by the patient of recognizing people in the street by their steps, at a considerable distance, have been observed thousands of times, but never in cases of simply exalted nervous excitability, only, on all occasions, without any exception, in sensitives of high power. He is at liberty to term this magnetic clairvoyance' if he chooses, and he has no need of deceitful characters' for that purpose, unless he is determined by denying palpable facts which take place before his very eyes, or their necessary consequences, to deceive his own self. Had he only been unprejudiced enough to examine the nature of the extraordinary powers of this remarkable woman more closely; had, indeed, delicate observation and profound deduction lain within his compass, he would have soon found that her hearing was by no means so exalted as to allow her to distinguish persons by the sound of their footsteps at distances where he could scarcely see them (a little decoratio calami, no doubt), but that she must have obtained these perceptions in a totally different manner. He would indeed find this described in the present volume, but will not find it, as such a gentleman of course cannot work his way into my puff of nonsense. In the same manner, he shews clearly enough, without being at all aware of it, that he had not the slightest comprehension of, or penetration into, the case before him; not even a hint to help him towards the solution of the interesting riddle he was observing. This is a proof of poverty that shews how far his pride lies below the height on which it weans to stand.

The poor pretext of 'imposture' that is everywhere charged on sensitives by those who do not understand the phenomena, and that Herr Vogt partly shelters himself behind, has already sunk into a commonplace. A natural philosopher who can be tricked in matters of such depth

VOL. XIII,

с

18

Reichenbach's injustice to us.

cannot have inherited much talent for the solution of scientific problems. A man who can put questions and weigh answers will not let a trickster lead him by the nose in physical or physiological matters. He who has not this in him should leave physical research and the criticism of physical investigators to wiser heads. ...

Schloss Reisenberg, December, 1854."

[The parts omitted contain some metaphysical observations on Herr Vogt's theory that mind (die siele) is secreted by the brain, "as bile by the liver and urine by the kidneys." We have omitted it, both because it had no reference to odic phenomena, and because the English metaphysical phraseology corresponds so unsatisfactorily with the German as to render a faithful rendering of the passage almost impossible.] (This article will be concluded in our next.)

NOTE BY THE ZOIST.

Reichenbach says at p. 6

"But it is not merely natural philosophers and chemists who look askant at me: even the so-called magneticians, the mesmeric physicians, are not the best disposed towards me. Herren Justinus

Kerner, Eschenmayer, Ennemoser, Schwarzchild, &c., have already looked black at me, here and there, openly or covertly. One seems to think, &c., &c. Indeed I myself perceive that these gentlemen have learnt nothing from me. But they are one and all displeased that instead of building on the basis of their animal magnetic and somnambulistic literature, I insist on laying my own foundations."

No one would suppose that any mesmerists had been willing to give him fair play. But British mesmerists have acted the most friendly part to him. Dr. Gregory, the present Professor of Chemistry in the University of Edinburgh, published in 1846 an abstract of his researches, and The Zoist gave a full account of this abstract in three numbers in Vol. IV., the articles extending through forty-seven pages.

When Reichenbach published a separate work upon this subject, we noticed the English editions by Dr. Gregory and by Dr. Ashburner in our Eighth Volume, in 1851, and began our account in these words: "It is a good sign for the cause of mesmerism when the public finds itself supplied with two translations of a remarkable work by the distinguished Baron Von Reichenbach."

His new work we began to describe in our last number,

The writers in The Zoist are not visionary.

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continue our notice in this, and purpose continuing it in our next. We took pains that he should be informed of our notices in 1846 and in 1851. He was bound therefore, we think, to except English mesmerists from his complaints.

He ought to know and to acknowledge that the writers in The Zoist have prosecuted mesmerism as philosophically, as carefully, in as perfect freedom from superstition and other folly as he himself has prosecuted his researches. WE "have seen no spirits. No such visitor, welcome as he would be, has obliged us with a call." WE" know nothing of a general nervous spirit and nervous ether." Like him, we have never been able to understand that in natural phenomena, belief can supply the place of knowledge:" we "have nothing to do with mysticism" WE "have never been able to understand that in natural phenomena belief can supply the place of knowledge:" "of rapping spirits we know nothing at all."

We are not aware how he can stand perfectly isolated in the midst of natural philosophers, physiologists, physicians, ANIMAL MAGNETISTS," &c.

The Zoist, which displays the British mesmeric mind, DOES NOT "swarm with miracles, which only too often bear the stamp of self-deception on their face, and that so plainly that one can hardly read them for impatience."

"My predecessors," says Reichenbach at p. 11, "on this field began, as I did originally, with the various wonders of somnambulism. They kept on heightening them more and more till they lost themselves in the highest and spiritual' regions. The inconprehensible thus only became more incomprehensible under their hands, and finally often toppled over into the ridiculous. I also started from the astonishing facts of somnambulism and catalepsy, but I have not allowed myself to be led away by them, or to be stupified by the surprise they raised."

We defy Reichenbach to shew in the pages of our twelve volumes anything of this kind, and therefore he ought not to have thus accused the mass of mesmerists, however justly many of our predecessors and cotemporaries deserve his rebuke. We were investigators of those matters before he began, and have never fallen into the follies which he supposes to be common to all mesmerists. He should have made a distinction and an honourable distinction. We have displeased the visionary and superstitious class of mesmerists, who shake their heads at us, as people sadly inferior to themselves in intelligence and goodness.

To shew that English mesmerists had done something in Reichenbach's own line before he had published upon the matter, we will mention the effects of mesmerised water upon

را2

Mesmerisation of inanimate mixtonces.

the Okeys by Dr. E.lotson in 1888, and putted about that time. (hee Zonet, Vol. IV.)

** Water has no effect: but, if it is breathed mos rr as a inger placed in it, acquires the power of producing sudden sleep frick by either sister; and, in the elder, contraction of a finger b which is moistened with it, as well as deep sleep. We send her to sloop by passes, and measures are taken to prevent the possibility of might, and, when she is asleep, we moisten any finger, the side of the nose, or any other part of the face with it or with plain water. If with plain water, there is no effect: if with the mesmerised, the part after a time contracts. If the back of the finger is moistened, the finger extends: if the inside, it bends: if the forebead, this wrinkles and moves up and down: if the eyelids, they open: if the angle of the mouth, it twitches sidewise. These experiments have been made thousands of times, and always, except for some evident reason, with the same results. But the mesmerised water has a powerful narcotic and depressing property. The longer it is applied, and the more of it is used, the deeper the sleep and snoring become: sod, if too much is used, paleness, exhaustion, rapidity and extreme smallness of pulse take place, so that no one should presume to make these experiments unless well acquainted with the subject. Indeed, with respect to any of these experiments, for an ignorant man to take the matter in hand himself, as though he had made himself master of the subject, is as absurd and disgusting as if a countryman should push aside a chemical lecturer, and mix acids, alkalies, and salts from various bottles, and declare, because things did not happen as he expected, that chemistry was fudge: or if such a clown, who had never seen a microscope before, should put objects under it, and knowing nothing about the instrument, be able to see fog and confusion only, and therefore declare the instrument an imposition. If the susceptibility is not strong, water swallowed may have no effect till a second draught is taken, or even a draught of unmesmerised water, so as to occasion friction of the part wet with the mesmerised water. Since, if a part has been breathed upon or touched by another, or touched with something mesmerised, friction with any unmesmerised or unmesmerisable substance will bring out the effects of the previous and hitherto dormant cause or re-excite effects that had ceased: should a finger be held by another person, and then rubbed with a brush moistened with unmesmerised water, effects will ensue just as if water first mesmerised were used. Should mesmerised gold or nickle have been applied to a part, and from the susceptibility being low no effect have occurred, or should there have been an effect and it have ceased, friction with anything will bring out the effect of the thing previously applied: or should a thing not directly mesmerisable, but mesmerisable by contact with a directly mesmerisable metal, be ignorantly allowed to be in contact with a mesmerisable metal, and then be applied to the person, the effects of the directly mesmerisable metal will be produced.'

"The effect of all mesmerised substances I found different in dif

Some directly, others indirectly.

21

ferent people, and in the same at different times. Metals, even nickel, had no effect upon Elizabeth Okey at last. All the manifestations and all the phenomena of these cases, whether spontaneous or mesmeric, are liable to fluctuation. In the same way, not only do different medicines act differently upon different persons, but the

same medicine at different times."

"The Okeys felt nothing from common water; but mesmerised water drunk threw them into insensibility: and at one time, in one, it did not till a second draught or a draught of plain water was afterwards taken. Applied to the finger of one, but of Elizabeth only, it caused contraction inwards, if applied to the inside; outwards, if applied to the outside: when sight was impossible, and water from a mesmerised and an unmesmerised glass variously, kept behind her back, even behind a screen, was employed! These beautiful experiments were shewn by me to Mr. Wakley, and he had nothing to object to them: he was quite at a loss even for impudence, and passed them over in silence in his unfair and ignorant account of what he says he saw. At length, if much was employed, insensibility and extreme debility for a time ensued."

Reichenbach tells us that the power of crystals can be transferred to solid bodies and water by striking them with one of its poles, and that every patient can distinguish them from those not struck, if no time were lost in the experiment. In England we had observed the same fact in mesmerism.

"This is the case with mesmerism, in water and inanimate bodies mesmerised by contact, breath, passes, &c. I also find that by rubbing mesmerised gold, &c., upon a body not capable of direct mesmerisation, although it might appear so if the animal moisture upon it was not wiped off, this substance might be indirectly charged. Thus by rubbing mesmerised gold on copper, this becomes mesmerised.

"The power in my experiments instantly began to decline and was soon lost, just as with Reichenbach's crystal and magnet power.

"I have known parties mesmerised at a distance by sending them by the post a piece of leather, &c., first mesmerised. The effect, however, was gradually lost, and a fresh piece required. Once unmesmerised leather was sent with no intimation, and there was no effect; a mesmerised piece, as usual, was then sent, with no intimation, and the effect came.'

As to the retention of power, Reichenbach found "that some bodies lost their power almost instantly, as paper; others after a few minutes; and in no case did the power lost remain in the body charged longer than ten minutes."

"This was our general experience with the mesmeric influence. But the longer the mesmerisation is continued, the greater and