Lincoln telegraph. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1836-1846, 1841-11-04
Animal Magnetism.

Animal Magnetism.
Certain curious experiments have been exhibit
ted in this place under the above name, and every
rejecting person who witnessed them, is expect
ed to form an opinion as to their cause, We
know of but four that be assigned,
and We proceed to enquire which of them is ade
quate to produce the results.
/. Suppose the subject to have been awake,
merely pretending sleep, and answering by
guess will this account for the phenomena
We think not. Let us take single case. One
night the subject is imagined TO be at Mr. Morse s
shop, and he describes there bird-as white,
&c. The next night he is imagined there, and
describes hea--as yellow, &c. The audience
present were informed by Mr.. Morse, that he has
been carving an eagle upon ships stern mould.
ing, which was in his shop that it was ,ebite the
FIRST night, but that he painted it yeiloag near the
night of the next day and that the subject had
never been in his shop, any one connected
with him. We take this single case, and we
say it could not be guessing. We challenge any
person, out of ten cases that shall be mag ined
to him, to describe one in any manner equal to
the above. If any one will do it, we must con-
slider the one as overbalanciHg the nine fail
Gres, and decide conclusvely that he could not
be guessing Some seem to think that to prove
thing, every experiment should succeed. But
every one acquainted with science knows, that
there are some things, in which one experiment
cannot be invalldated by hundred apparent
failures And this is such thing Suppose
that after COMPRISING the air very powerfully in
a condenser, in the presence of hundred per-
sons. upon suddenly removing the piston, loud
explosion was heard by the whole to proceed from
the instrument | might try it again hundred
times and fail, not being able, perhaps, 10 explain
why; yet all this could not invalidate the first
fact, and every rational mind would conclude
that some condition then existed, which after
wards was wanting. But in the magnetic ex-
periments, there was not one success to many
failures but one [apparentl failure to many
successes. repeat,-in eldirroyGnce there was
but one failure, and that on Saturday even
ing. After trying successful experiments with
an air-pump, if valve is suddenly broken, may
pump hours and hours,-i may put on this re-
cever and that,-nnd the whole is one and bat
one unsuccessful experiment. So in the magnet
! ic case the conditions were broken, and after
that one failure and hundred failures were the
same they all merely showed that the condi-
| tons Wete broken.
| 9. Suppose the subject to have been in a natur
al sleep, and talking in his sleep. This will in.
volve the same difficulties as the other suppose
ton and others besides. 1t seems useless there
fore to dwell upon it.
3. Suppose the nlGgnetiser, by ventriloquism,
or some other means, to have furnished the an
swers, instead of the subject furnishing them
Could ventriloqusm, not only furnish the an
swers, but cause the subjects lips to move ex-
actly in accordance with them and so that a
person very near could not discover the decep.
ton Besides this involves the same difficulty as
before. How could the magnetizer himself guess
SO CORRECTLY?
! a. Suppose the subject to have been in an in
sensible state, and, under the direction of anoth-
ers will, to have actually at the time what
he described. viii this account for all the re-
suits /? We think it may. 1t certainly will &C
count for the accurate of description. But
some one asks, if he could describe what he did,
why could he not describe more particularly,
state more names, &c. We might as we'll ask, il
you can lift hundred pounds, why can you not
! lift thousand The question is not, why he