The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1880-02-13

I'VE publish the following essay, res
Gently read before the Morristown Ly-
ceum by Prof. w. Spaulding, who has
kindly consented thereto. 1t will be re.
cognized as burlesque on some conclu>
sions reached by the ultra-scientists OF
the present day.-ED.l
SOUL DOOR.
It is but few months since German
scholar, jaeger, set forth the curious
theory that the soul Of every living crea
ture has its own Characteristic odor.
Every soul is known to have marks by
which it can be distinguished from every
other. These marks may appeal to doll
cate nervous tissue in such a way as to
impress themselves upon it and be
capable of transmission to other organ
isms. jaeger satisfied himself that the
proper tissue is that which lines the nos
trils and constitutes the sense OF smell.
1t is commonly known that animals
each have scent belonging to the spe.
cies. 1t is not necessary to cite such IN
stances as the muskrat, civet, and pole
cat, where this gift is SO prominent as to
be often a means of defense. Domestic
animals such as the horse, dog and camel,
each have q peculiar odor. Until re-
Gently, however, these effluvie have been
attributed wholly to the bodies OF the
creatures emitting them. 1t had been
noted that in some cases at least, the
animal, when under strong excitement,
difused this odor in a heightened deS
gree but jaeger guessed that as the soul
is alone capable of excitement, the phe>
nomena must be of that and not of the
body.
But long step must be taken to es>
tablish this hypothesis, or even make 1t
probable. Could it be shown that the
phenomena extended not only to species,
but to individuals Of course the musk
rat need not be mistaken for the weasel,
but could one rat be distinguished from
another by its odor alone? This seemed
doubtful, but here the argument is aided
by two well-known facts: First, that
individuals of the same species are easily
able by this means to distinguish one
another, even when man can detect no
difference. Second, that in his own spe>
cies man can do likewise. To these facts
may be added the influence sometimes
held by one man over another without
any apparent reason.
On such evidence is based the theory
of Soul Odor. The scientific world smiled
broadly at notion so gross, and Dunst-
maier German metaphysician, at once
challenged the new doctrine. His ex>
periments, reported in the Berlin Gegen
,sart, were widely different in their res
suits from anything he expected. Rea>
soning from the laws Of light and pho
Biography to the assumed laws OF animal
exhalations, he perceived that the nerves
of smell in the latter case must corre>
spond to the plate, sensitized with iodide
of silver, in the former. This, OF course,
takes for granted that the mode Of radi.
alton is the same in both cases. Dunsts
maier searched for the nostrils most sen
sitiye to faint odors and found them in
the hunting dog. According to the res
port he placed large number of hares in
a large cage standing in the middle of a
room and allowed dog to approach
them. The animal at once made violent
efforts to force his way in, frightening
the hares, which sprang wildly about
their enclosure. This was allowed to
continue for two hours, during which, II
! Jager's theory is correct, the hares had
been breathing their timid souls into the
nostrils of the dog. The latter was then
killed, the membrane bearing the nerves
of smell removed and rubbed in a mor>
tar with water and glycerine. Dunst.
maier found that few drops given to a
cat made her run away in terror from
some mice. A small quantity placed
under the skin of large dog made him
stink away from the cat. Other soul
types were developed by similar tests,
until Dunstmaier was converted from
scornful doubt to hearty belief in the
very theory he had started to demolish.
Whether we are ready to follow him
or not, there are certain curious facts
and speculations which are made harmo-
NOUS and plausible by this singular de-
velopement. The metaphysician has
long applied his laws to soul phenomena
without trying to describe the soul es-
sence. He has contended that psychol-
ogy differs from those studies which deal
directly with matter and are properly
| treated by the canons of exact science.
In Jager's theory, however, there is evi
dence that the laws of mental energy
have at least some qualities in common
with those of light, heat and sound. We
know the shape of the retina in the eye,
and the drum in the ear. We can meas
ure the brain and heart. Can we deter
mine the shape of the soul? It has been
assumed to be wholly within the body,
but it would appear that its power ex>
tends farther and dwells about US kind
of halo or cloud enswathement. Thus
the notion that when two persons APP
proach, their souls interlock, may be
transferred from the domain of senti-
ment to that of science.
Here the phenomena of mind~reading
may find solution. A gentleman in
Worcester, Mass, claims that he has re-
peatedly sat in an audience fixing his
purpose upon stranger sitting at dis.
lance, mentally bidding him turn toward
him, and with such effect that the iudi-
ri,1ua1 would FINN, about onJ avarF l,;,,o