Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-05-28

produced without fraudor connvapce las they undoubt
edy are having already been taught that science could
not account for Them they forced refer their pro-
duction to divine agency And this they did, and do,
notwithstanding its papable absurdity them in
the face and puts their and common sense to the
blush. tstt
In this your Tallahassee correspondent is willing to
agree with But he goes further He says that it is
equally absurd to attribute the rappngs agent
apower hitherto unknown. Here humby beg leave to
differ with him think that such power does exist
and that it is evolved in the tablepping experiments
Now your correspondent acknowledges that he is will
ling to be convinced Of the existence Of such power
adequate proof can be given Of its reality think
give him such proof rather proofs for they many
But must necessarily be brief in communication Of
this character shall only state one two, which
indisputable and cannot be gainsad, regards the
facts therein contaned for they have under the ex
animation of the first philosophers of lineage.
shall first present which was examined before
NJ ARAGo President of the Paris Academy of Sciences
1t win be found related in the Nghtside of Nature"b
c. Grove, and also in the Courier DIES Flats Unis" in
which latter it published at the time its occurrence
Taking the two versions together have the following
history of the CASE reported by NM Arago Tangier
and Goujon, to the Paris Academy of Sciences on the
10th February, 1916:
"Angelique Coffin native of La Perriere aged
a. when on the 18th Of January, 1885, at eight o'clock
in the evening" while weaving silk gloves an oaken
Frame in company with other girls the frame began to
jerk, and they could not by any efforts keep steady
1t seemed if it alive; and, becoming alarmed,
they called in the neighbours who would not believe
them but desired them to sit down and go with their
work Being mid they went one by one, and the frame
remained still till Angelique approached, when it
menced its movements while she also attracted by
the rame thinking she bewitched possessed her
parents took her to the presbyey that the spirit might
be exercised The curate however being sensible man.
refused to do it, but set himself the contrary
anime the phenomenon and, being perfectly satisfied of
the fact, he babe them take her to physician"
After her consignment to the physician by the priest
the Courier des Etats Unis " proceeds to say:
The physician, with the father and mother, brought
Angelque to Paris Nj. Arago received her, and took
her to the observatory and in the presence Of NM Tan
ger and Gouon made the following observations which
were reported to the Paris Academy of Sciences
lst 1t is the left side of the body which appears to
acquire this sometimes attractive but frequently
repulsive property sheet of paper, pen, any
other light body being placed upon table, if the young
girl approaches her left hand before she touches it
the object is driven distance by gust Of wind
The table itself is overthrow the moment it is touched
y her hand or even BY thread which she may hold
"2d. This instantaneousy strong commotion
in her side, which draws her towards the table.
g Sd. As had been observed, the first day if she at
tempted to sit the seat thrown far from her. with
such force that any person occupying it carried away
with it.
18th. One day a chest upon which three men were
seated was moved in the Another day.
although the chair held by two very strong men, it
was broken in their hands"
And thus does NJ Arago go on in his enumeration of
the phenomena of this case until he has numbered thr-
teen. And yet there is hardly of the whole thir-
teen which any at all acquainted with the laws Of
electricity would for moment hold to be produced by
that subtle agent Them if it is not electricity what is
it? M. Arago concluded that it the workings of
neu agent entirely unknown science; and Dr. Rogers
of Boston, speaking the subject his excellent work
on the dynamic Laws and Relations of Man. says;
"The great fact demonstrated by the case Of Ange-
lique IS that under peculiar conditions tho human organ
ism gives forth physical power which, witiou Visible
instruments, lifts heavy bodies, attracts repes them
according to law of polarity, and overturns them
There many other which could cite equally
well authenticated, and having been under the inspection
of the greatest minds of the age prove the existence
of this physical agent and its power produce like
results those above related But must hasten to the
other which wish to meson, establishing beyond
contradiction the power Of this agent to produce
the phenomena Of sound. This case occurred in the
year 1884 in the town 81 Woodbridge New Jersey and
was published at the time in the Newark Daily Advert
SER The phenomena made their appearance in the mi
y of Mr. Joseph Barrow, consisting mostly Of unusual
sounds accompanying servant girl:
The first sounds were those of loud humping ap-
parently against the sides of the bsse which
ed evening when the family had retired to bed The
next evening il commenced at night fall, when ii
ascertained be mysteriousy connected with the
Of servant girl in the family white girl about
fourteen years Of age. While passing a window the
stairs for example, sudden jar, accompanied with
explosive sound broke pane of glass the girl at the
same time being seized with spasm. This of course
very much alarmed her and the physician, Dr. Drake,
was sent for came, and bled her The bleeding, how.
ever produced no apparent effect The noise still
tnued rs before at intervals wherever the girl went
each sound producing or less Of spasm and the
physician with oil the family, remained up during the
night The circumstances soon generally spread
through the neighborhood, and have produced much
excitement that the house has been filed and surround
ed from sunrise sunset for week. Every imaginable
means have been resoed TO in order unrave the
terry In order TO ascertain satisfactorily that she
did not produce il voluntarily, among other experiments
we placed her chair blanket in the centre Of the
room bandaged the chair with cloth, fastening her
feet on the front round and combining her hands together
4 on her lap. No change, however was produced. The
humping continued before, except that it not
quite so loud. The noise re3cmbed thai which would
be produced by stamping the floor with heavy heel
vet she did not move limb muscle that we could dis
cover We also placed her in the doorway Of closet in
the ROOM the door being ar to allow her TO stand in the
passage In less than minute the door flew open
IL violently struck with mallet accompanied by such
noise such thump would produce This was repeat
ed several times with the effect There is certain
ly no deception in the The noise heard at
| least one hundred yards from the house"
| Methinks these two precedents enough to
prove your Tallahassee correspondent that there
"new agent, powv hitherto unknown" If these are
not however there great many which could