New-York tribune., 1903-03-01

Nv Charles Scribner's Sons.
ar Podmore's volumes will not prove inter
,sting reading to those who give adherence to
-.he doctrines collectively known under the term
asnirituaiisTn" nor will they be found salts
factory by those who would advance the theory
of telepathy TO account for the problems pre-
eented in the cases of such trance mediums as
the noted Mrs. Piper, Of Cambridge, Mass. The
ssthor's effort throughout is to show that the
various phenomena on which is based the belief
that direct communion with the spirits of the
dead is an established fact, are to be attributed
either TO fraud or to an abnormal pathological
rendition Of the individual True, he insists
that spiritualism is not as yet closed chapter,
and sounds a warning note against what he
calls the superstition OF incredulity''; but 1t
u1nst be evident even to the most superficial
reader that he does not expect the future to
prore more for spiritualism than the past has
! owed The book IS what il purports to be,
history and & criticism. How fair the criticism
Is VIII remain a moot point, for in the very
nature Of things the authors views are certain
10 be approved or condemned according to
whether or no the reader is a spiritualist For
our part We find that he has made out an ex-
ceedircly strong case and although one must
admit that he at times uses rather harsh Ian
guare one must remember that he is dealing
uIent practices One thing that may not be
rainsaid is that he has minutely examined a
vast amour: Of evidence, and it is equally GER
tain that his methods cannot be described as
unscieutific Moreover, out Of the records Of
mediums themselves he has compiled cumu-
lative testimony going far TO shake the spir-
itualistic structure to its cornerstone.
M Podnlore traces spiritualism to two
sources-the ancient belief in Witchcraft and
the doctrines expounded by Mesmer. A consid-
erable portion Of the first volume is given over
10 an analysis of these springs Of inspiration
especial attention being paid TO the develop
ment in France, Germany and England Of the
magnetic doctrine. But It is in America, he
finds that modern spiritualism had its begin
ninge. and his account of the growth this
side of the Atlantic of the belief that the de-
parted can and do communicate with their liV-
Ing relatives and friends is interesting in the
extreme. Just why spiritualism should have had
such ready acceptance in the United States he
explains thus:
The explanation Of the facile acceptance and
rapid spread of the new marvels is chiefly to De
sought in the special conditions OF the natlon No
and the times; in the general diffusion or educa-
tiOn, combined with an absence OF authorltatLVS
standards Of thought and the want OF crltlcaI
training; in the democratic genius or the AmerI-
can people; in their liability to be carried away
by various humanitarian enthuslasIns; in the
ge9gra Elhcal conditions incident TO raploly
expanding civilization. But especially this ten
deI.cy to belief was foSteTed by the stlll recent
growth Of popular interest in mesmerlsm and In
the various theories of a physical efhuence-
odyle etherium or vital electricity, which were
associated with it. and had already been en-
ploy ed to explain the manifestations of various
'electric' girls AMI other impostors, as well as
the probably innocent hallucinations Of Reichen-
bachs sensitives. No doubt, too, the introduc-
ton throughout the continent Of the electric
telegraph, an invention Still recent that the
popular mind had not become familiarized with
it. and still regarded its operations with some
thing Of childlike wonder, helped to quicken
expectation and generally to induce mental
condition favorable to belief in other phenomena
which after all, were to the uninstructed not
more mysterious.
He handles the Fox sisters without gloves,
and he is no more sparing in his treatment OF
such other mediums as Slade, Eglinton and the
Davenport brothers. In such cases as these he
finds fraud pure and simple. But in the cases
Of mediums, like Daniel Dunglas Home, who did
not seek a pecuniary remuneration for eX-
hbiting their powers, and heEce did not have an
incentive TO resort TO fraud, Mr.. Podmore seeks
another explanation:
At a conjUring performance the spectators
judgment is fooled, but his actual perceptions
are probably unimpaired; there is fallacy, but 1t
is OF inference and Interpretation. not or the
senses. In the performances, especially Of Home,
there aJpeaTs at times TO have been an actual
Sense deception, Of the type which is commonly
known as illusion, rather than haflucinatlon;
& sense deception that is, in which the fOunda-
tOn is laid by Impressions received from the
world without, though the superstructure may
be Of ton all contract.