The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-01-25
SHORT SCIENTIFIC LECTURES
FOR THE COMET by PHILo coMETosE.
SECONn SUGHF
SECOND SIGHT.

g The gift Of second sight is Scottish in it
origin, and seems to be a peculiar one. I
is not everybody who has it or clearly un
r derstands how it works. Until Prof. Edisol
demonstrated the powers of the microphon'
it was regarded by most people as somewhat
of mystery, or as IL species of jugglery.
a The recent developments of microphonics,
however, have stripped from the so-called
second sight business all its pretended
mystery, and given the scientific world a
scientific explanation of the seemingly clair
voyant phenomena.
have seen many exhibitions of this pow
er. The second seer is usually placed on
the stage and blindfolded and the OPERATOR
goes about over the hall gathering various
articles from the audience, and asks the
blindfolded second seer what they are.
"What is the date of this coin?' 'Who is
the maker of the gentlemans watch?'
"What initials are on the lady's handker-
chief" and so on. In every instance the
answer came back correctly.
l confess the operation always looked
rather strange to me and didn't know
exactly how to explain it. But it
was clearly farce to blindfold the
| second seer because the power to dis
cern by the natural eye the date on
watch across a long hall would have been
vastly more wonderful than the theory of
clairvoyance. Evidently that could not be
the way of conveying the information to
the passive subject on the stage. To deci-
pher the name of the maker of a watch or
the date on coin requires a good eye,
good light and proper focus. 1t is pre-
posterous to suppose that any mortal sight
could discern these dim imprints sixty feet
off. The demonstrations, therefore, had
all the appearance of conclusive proofs of
the existence of the power of clairvoyance.
Robert Heller, one of the most celebrated
and skillful of so-called magicians, who
died a few months since, will be remem-
bered for his "second sight" tricks, more
than for anything else. His own explana-
tion of this feat as given to friend on one
occasion, was as follows: IF supernatu
raj vision is based upon mesmeric halluci-
nation. wherein the real and the unreal
hand in hand, SO closely approach each
other that our distinguishment is absolutely
fulfilled, we have no hope of enlightenment
other than that which might have been, per-
haps, ought, and yet couldn't, without
verging upon that bourne from which no
traveller returns"
This explanation is plain enough to the
perhaps, but to the average rea- {
der it may not be clearly understood. But
since the invention of Edison the phenom- :
ena of second sight are easily explainable.
The passive subject was not wonderful s
seer, but wonderful bearer She saw
nothing, but heard everything. 1t is to be
that the ''second seer is always
/ woman. woman's organ of hearing is
more sensitive than mans, and it is natu-
al for her TO hear everything that is going q
IN in The neighborhood. Hence she makes :
he best ''second seer" Before the seer is i,
brought on the stage, a microphone is b
killfully applied to her best ear, and the 81
ther is stopped up so as to prevent the !,
scape of sound through that. II
The audience, of course, is not looking fl
or a microphone, and besides the instru- is
nent is nearly invisible or exceedingly 9,
liable to be confounded with the voluminous b
cad gear of the lady. Consequently the "
nicrophone escapes without exciting the u y
lightest suspicion. 1t is powerful sound q =
lagnifer By its aid a whisper hundred b,
ards off can be distinctly heard by man NJ
D deaf that a chinese gong couldn't arouse " "
single vibration on his auditory nerves. W
Vhen the performer looks at the watch or CT
le coin and sees the name and date, he
irns his voice in range with the micro
hone and whispers the answer so gently I'll
lat if your unaided ear was within an inch W
his mouth you could not detect the
'intest oscillation of a nerve. But the IL
sroine of the microphone hears it with u,
vid distinctness, and hence the invariable
,curacy of her answers. g,
Thus it appears that second sight is only m
/ advance courant of microphonIcs and an
e development of its wonderful powers is -,
It in an infant stage. ~.
COL JONES 5. HAMILTON. one of Missis- 81
ppi's most prominent citizens paid GIe- al