Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-07-21
WoRCEs Err
FRIDAY, JULY Ell, 1871.
Home,s ManLFesIatioms.


The London Spectator admits to its columns
an account of certain spiritual manifestations"
which took place in London, not long since.
Mr.. "Home," as he calls himself, was the oper-
ating medium" This mans name is Daniel
Hume His parents were Scotch people, and
we have always understood that he was born in
Scotland We knew him when he was a cal
low, lazy youth, some eighteen years old, living
in Greenville (Norwich), Conn, entirely depend:
ent on his energetic, kind-hearted aunt a
worthy Scotch lady, who feared he would
"never be good for anything" He was at that
time beginning to become a medium" and he
has been so good at this business as to Guido
all competitors. The operating spirit went out
of him in Russia, the other day, when his
manifestation" were to be investigated by a
committee of sharp scientific gentlemen. The
atmosphere became unfriendly, the Spirits"
left him, and he FASTENED back to England.
After recovering his equanmty, he began
again, with Crookes, a chemist, DIR. Higgins,
an astronomer, and Mr.. Cox, lawyer, as in
vestigators. The result has been published by
Mr.. Crookes in the popular Scientific Review"
and reproduced in the London Spectator.
Two Experiments" are described. In one
case an ACCORDION performed surprising antics,
similar to those of musical instruments placed
under spell by the Davenport brothers, except
ing that the ACCORDION was placed in "drum-
shaped cage" The other case is described as
follows:
"Mr. Crookes prepared a mahogany board
three feet long by nine and one-half inches
wide and one inch thick, one end of
which rested on firm table, and the
other was supported by "a spring balance
hanging from a substantial tripod stand,
with "a self-registering index attached Thus
any pressure eXerted on this board at any
point nearer TO the balance than the spot
where ii was supported on the table, tend
ed TO depress the end supported by the
balance to an extent registered by the index
the board moving round the table-supported end
as round a fulcrum. Mr.. Crookes, to test the
balance, stood on one foot at the end of the
board nearest to the table, and DIR. Higgins
said that the whole weight of his body then APP
piled, 140 pounds, only sank the index at the
other end TO an amount equivalent to one and
one-half pounds if applied to the balance end
when he stood still, and to two pounds when he
lerked up and down. Mr.. Home, sitting in a
low easy-chair, simply applied his fingers
lightly to the exact point where the board rest
ed on the table, so that even hard pressure there
the fnlcrum instead of depressing the other end
of the mahogany board, and under these con-
ditions the opposite end was depressed by an
amount which varied, as if in waves, between
three and half pounds and six pounds, which
was the maximum attained.
The gentlemen engaged in the investigation
saw nothing to indicate the presence of Spirits"
Mr.. Crookes and Mr.. Cox think peculiar force
was in operation, which they call psychic
force" proceeding from the nervous system in
dependently of the muscular system, and prop
agated through "that Interchangeable envel.
Oping the human structure which has been dis
covered by DR.. Richardson" DIR. Higgins,
more cool and cautious, thinks the facts are not
sufficient to warrant any theory, and suggests
that further experiments is necessary to enable
him to understand the matter. His words are,
"the experiment appear TO me to show the i'm
portance of further investigation; but wish to
be understood that express no opinion as to the
cause of the phenomena which took place"
These gentlemen saw no more than has been
seen by those who have witnessed such "mani-
festations" as "table-tippings" and the like
which can be explained by supposing magnetism
psychic force, "odic force" or something else
of the kind with some other name.
Science can now explain many things which
it was unable to explain, two centuries ago. II
has still many things to explain. We know but
little of what is implied by the words magnet
ism and electricity. An accomplished chemist
of our day would have been magician to our
ancestors of the fifteenth century; and they
might have put him TO death with the witches
of that age. One of our sensible contemporaries
thinks these Spiritual manifestations" are use
full, because they may "serve as check upon
impudent incredibly" We can not suppose
anything of this kind necessary to keep alive
human faith in the supernatural. This is no.
wise likely to die; for it is quite as active in
many Of those who profess to be atheists and
sadducees, as in the most earnest believers in
God and immortality. Some Of the most super
stitious men we know are professea skeptics of
this sort. But, the human mind which neces-
sarily recognizes the supernatural, must be de-
moralized and brought very low, before it can
connect the spirit-world and disembodied spirits
with such manifestation" as those of "medi-
ums" like Home. Call them phenomena to be
studied if you will, but don't call them spirit
ualism"