The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-10-19
SCIENTISTS ON SPIRITUALISM.


AhNOffNtiOU.
At Glasgow, on the twelfth, in the
nthropoIogical section, Prof Barrett
read a paper ON some phenomena associ.
atcd with the abnormal conditions of
mind. The subject was one, however, in
regard to which there had been great
change of opinion and no better instance
could be given of this change of front
than that afforded by DR.. Carpenter
Prof. Barrett ON one occasion took u card
and put il in Il book, and gave the closed
volume to girl She held it close to
her head little behind the ear, and
then said, 81 see something inside the
book with red spots on it," He then
asked her to count the spots, and she re.
piled that there were five, which proved
TO be quite correct, for the card was the
five of diamonds, and yethc was the only
person in the room who could possibly
have known what it was. This sappearcd
to him to be u clear case of clairvOyance
and the important point was that every
care had been taken to prevent any un-
conscious muscular action giving any in
dication to the subject Of what she was
being asked about. In another case
there was 4 lady who was in the habit of
telling the time on Il hunting watch after
the hands had been turned about in all
sorts of directions. On one occasion
they found, as they thought, that she
was wrong. Returning the watch to her
they told her 50. She persisted however,
that she was right, and on examining the
watch they found that such was really
the case, and it was they themselves who
had made Il mistake. In that case the
thoughts of the mcsmerist were against
those OF his subject. lie had asked Mr..
MaskcIync, one of the clcvcreSt conu-
rors of the day, and a gentleman who
was engaged in an attempt to disproye
the reality Of spiritualiSm, to see some Of
these phenomena with him, and he had
since received letter from Mr.. Maske-
lines manager in which he said; "In
matters of this kind your best men of
science are more easily deceived than
the men of ordinary talent"
Mr.. Crookcs, speaking asa spirituallst,
contendcd against the theory that people
were dcludcd into the belief that they
saw manifestations which never occurred.
He maintained that n trained scientific
inquirer was much more than match
for any coniuror, and that if it were
a mere matter of hallucination the
trickcry would have been found out long
ago.
DR.. Carpenter said shat there were
some people who had a curious power OF
thoug Int reading. Detective policemen,
he believed, had this power in a wonder
full degree, and he referred to the Con
stance Kent case and others to show that
the officers hit upon the truth by inlu-
ton. As to DR.. SIade, he frankly CON
fcsscd that that gentleman had done
things which had astonishcd him, and
lust before leaving London he had chaI-
lenged him to repeat them in his own
house, in the company of his own friends,
and with nothing but his own furniture
in the room. Dr. Sladc had agreed to do
30, and therefore he considered him on
his trial and RETAINED from saying more
of him at PRESENT.
Mr.. Parke Harrison referred to an
American case in which Il woman had
confessed that she had been paid to pre-
tend tAat she was medium.
TIE president said that this woman
was afterwards proved to have been tell.
ing faIsehoods when she had made the
pretended confession.
Prof. Barrett, in replying on the dis,
cussion, charged Dr. Carpenter with
changing his position.
Or. Carpenter denied that he had
done SO, and in regard to what had
bced said about clairvoyants referred
to the instance in which Sir James
Simpson had put Il $500 note in a case
and said he would give it TO any one
who woull tell its number, the result be-
ing that it lay unclaimed for months.
During this exciting incident, Rev
Robt. Thompson was seen at the back oI
the platform fourishing bank note
and apparently offering to submit ii
to the test, but no attention vas paid tC
| him