The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-12-23

n INNlNiN IWlN W IfNfNOUtn. EnW.. WnOon
cnsc Wi b" ,pund reported in tho "Ir'st" tvul.
~. pp. "a SSl, WIS subjected To tho examinations
OF sk"lttal committee whose nnuirs arc
given, ana Who srrm To have done their work
very thoroughly L rst hisrvrs wcrcrNnmiurj
aud il WIS found that tho bnlls wer, SD turned
W that. even were the eyrlids litin apart or
dihury vision WIS imposs ihlr. Then hc wts
closely watched. and while the rv.'iils wrrn
soon in hr ~ rfrctly closed he roHd eusilv. Then
nuh' 3Nc plaster WIS applied. carefully warmed
~ Illr" myers, ana IT. WIS " t'h"d To src that
inc adhesion Was prrf" all round the edges.
AEhlh NE hoy r"ad what WAS presented to him
.snm'iim"s rusily. sometimes with difficulty.
A. the md NJ the experiments the plnstcr was
taken oU strip by strip V tn" rommittcc. and il
was found To- I've perfectly secure aud tho ,.yr-
lids SO completely glued together that It was "A
W. ul sonc diili "ulty To- yet them open aisnin.
n clse IKE THIS onr in which "dcdu tive
reasoning must be permitted To make us i'm
sensible to the force OF facts. perfectly well at
t"tri, cont nually repeated. md moro common
II facts are to be- thus lcl to tho mercy Of an i'm.
dlNiduais dcductlyo reasoning. why not dis
pens with Jury in our courts II law. and cm-
pluy somn cNp"r! Of n Judge tn render vcrdicts?
. Or. S'hmi2. krctnr VI the Iiirh School ut
Elinhurgh. who's" school books publ shed by
thr Mrssts. Harper. are used i'm mnny American
schools. had clairvoynnt boy ut his house. who
accurately described Prof Grrgorys house
and the persons ~ that time in the dining
room lutcrward ascertain Il To b. corrrctl. As
further test, DR.. x hmi,z was asked to 20 into
another room with his son. and do anything he
,uNtu' ne Ooy thrn described their motions,
thrlr Jumping about, the son going out and
coming in again, and tho Doctor beating his
son wan roll oI paper. When ,r. Sclmit1 re-.
turned, Prof. Gregory repeated all the boy had
said, which the Doctor. much astonishud, de-
clarcd To be- correct in every particular.
Apnrty OF experts. ut whom Scrcant Cox a
well. known lawyer OF London. aud President OF
the Psychological Society. WIS one WIS planned
to test Alexis. the famous French cluirVoyaui
word was written 10y % irirnd in distant
town and enclosed In an envelope. without any
oI the party knowing what the word was. This
nyrops wa enclosed IN sly others Of thick
handed To Alexis, who placed II on his forehead
anu in three minutes aud half wrote tho
writing tSrr" What am n hy Scrirant con :
Pubic LlhraryJ
Robert ltoudin ~ Paris the greatest 81 mol
ern conjurers. whose exploits are well known.
took his own cards and dealt them himself but
Alexis named them ns they lay upon the table,
ANA even named tho trump before IL wis turned
up. This WIS repeated several times. and IIou-
din declared that neither chance nor skill could
produce such wonderful results. He then took
u book from his pocket and asked Alexis To read
something eight pages beyond where 1t was
opened, AT specified level Alexis priekcd the
place with n pin. and read four words. which
were found al the place prickcd, nine pages on.
lie then told HOudtu numerous details as TO his
son, IN some ot which Houdin tried to deceive
him. but in vain. and when u WIS over. Houdin
declared u was " Surveying and the next day
signcd DECLARATION ihutthc facts reported were
correct. adding: Tie more | reflect upon
them the more Impossible do find it To class
them among Tie tricks which are the objects Of
time in la Nncle May. lSi1.
VIII Dr. Beard contend that Houdin. the most
sNpsrt OF ;oniurers and Who's business 4 was
strike one with establishment was not. after all
so much OF an expert ~ himself; TINT he did
not know how to investigate by ." dcdurtivc
reasoning" and TINT what no thought he saw
did not hnppcnY II tho Doctor can ilnd any
persons simple enough to believe such a claim.
he l. quito welcome 10 such converts
Capt. II. /. Burton. the famous English trav-
ellcr and explorer, IN letter To the London
ItuieS Now. 1876, writes: The experience OF
twenty years has convinced me that perception
Is possible without the ordinary channels az the
senses; - and he remarks on the subject OF clair
Noyancc. that It Is 10 be proved or dtsuroved.
not b, hard words. nor 10y mere logic. but by
| experiment and iacts."
| that oi DR.. Beard. who wishes us To- take IL Tor
granted that his " deductlye reasoning must
settle the matter. and II facts contradict that.
/ why t.ri - inuei the worse log the iiat-
Or. !. l"itbre Professor Of Pathology In the
University 81 LouNaln. a very learned ply
stefan, would not have dis"reditcd lr. Sp'ir =
| testimony oven IT, an instance of provision on
! tie part Of Miss Fanchcr, Tor h. writes: II Is
| possible that the power II foresight by somnam-
huiists may he raised to degree far above the
| ordinary level. and that they Gun sometimes
penetrate into the future 90 far US to excite our
Unnnmbcrcd Incidents. similar 10 those |
| have related. might Oe quoted hay" Witnessed
! have seen what the ci.yrrcst couiurers can go
| 100 imitation Of clHirvoyanee and ~ md rcadlng
! the process hy which IL" genuine clniryoynnt
| erts hlS knowledge is inromn!uulcuhlc. Mr..
| Bidder the llgNlY esteemed English NrliN-
| metician, who excited wonder whcna boy 10y his
| Instantaneous answers To- complex qursti Ions In
| arthmeuc' ON beng asked. Low hc did %. re-
! piled, | don't do I'll see It, And the clair
| yoyant can give no better explanation than this.
Tho only true experts in such phcnumruon
! a. clnlrVovaucc are those WHO have studied 10
! cNperlWentHlly for a long series of years co-
J ordinated the facts, ruled out all that was
| doubtful. and by repeated tests satisfied them
| solves. under a great variety ~ conditions, and
| through many cairYoyant subjects. young and
| old. the sound IN body and tue unsouud the
! such faculty is proved beyond question,
| The very element OF positive. aggressive dis
trust. which Or. Beard would bring 10 the IN;
! ycstigailon OF So subtle PHENOMENON. would
| bo fatal TO am satisfactory result.
\ name or fact which We try 10 force our
selves TO remember may evade our most
anxious endcayor But II We give II NJ,
| ami thlnk OF something else, II may soon
start up automatically MS IL were, and
| summon consclou-u'-, 90 seize H. Every OK
| perienced invest 20 knows that the most
wonderful proof %, HjrNoyance are those that
| are unexpected ami -liuutHut Gus. Try to cNfOrt
| them byyour imperiuus manner, or manifest dis
trust. land you cannot well feel 1t without mani
| testing II 10 clnirVoyant sympathicsl and you
! spoil the conditions, ana perhaps, go away
! lEngrantly pronounclng II al Il deiusion.
Fear Of experts. says DIR. Beard. referring
| 10 Miss Fancher's case. Is one Of the symp-
| toms almost pathagnomic.' Not a foar II
| genuine experts. but sense 81 the lnIly 81
| dealing with those persons who are strongly
| committed against the fact and who bring III,
pred termination not 10 DO convinced. Is the
| real motive that makes the sensitive subject
Dr. Beard tells us that human testimony IS
| the product Of the human brain. II was but
! Just now that DR., Hammond, who also de-
nuuuces the Fauchor narrative as all hum
/ hu. and who asserts that 90 there never was "A
cii-,, II .uirVOyuncc.' told us that H." spinal
| cord and sympathetic gangiia are not devoid 81
Mental power How, then, do We know that
! human testimony does not come from the gan.
giiu, One. il used 10 De thought that mental
| manifestations came from what the simple still
| call the mind and that the brain WIS merely an
instrument for thought, even as The eyes are
| lorsceing. and the eHrs for hearing, But nous
| df0ts change toT f,ld. Thought II now
| merely "a product of tho movement az certain
| kaleidosoupic molecules in tho brain; and II |
| think differently from DR.. Beard he must not
| blame me. since II Is merely because the mole
| cules IN uiy brain get disposed. or shaken w,
differently from those IN his own. Thus thought
| lacks the character OF logical necessity. ana
universal truths are inpos -ihe, all except those
| that come from his own individual deductiVc
| reasoning" Here are his words. Human tes-
! timOny Is the product Of the human brain. aud
| lis scientific study belongs to those who. like
ply .iciuus. devote themselves 70 the study Of
| the brain ia health and disease
So, then. IL now appears that all these books
! that have been written ON mental philosophy,
| the human UNDERSTANDING logic, and the laws
| OF evidence by the Aristutles, LOckc6, Berke-
| leys Humes. kants. Hegols. HamiltOns, Mills,
| Won Har,munns. Blackstones. hents, and Storys
must DO dis placed rs rubbish to make room Tor
Tho vrit nf hrs Bgurl and Hammond