BUSH USrSS Eton ram mil H8HL wBBsRm m\m \ - o o N i - ^ ,0 L v / & < ■ Modern Magic. BY Kf SOHELE DE VEEE. Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem Cogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat. Horace. NEW YOEKr G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Fourth Avenue and Twenty-Third Street. .1873. c«1 w £- Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, by G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. •7- Lange, Little & Hillman, peintees, electrotyfers and steeeotypees, 108 to 114 Wooster Street, N. Y. PEEFACE The main purpose of our existence on earth — aside from the sacred and paramount duty of securing our salvation — is undoubtedly to make ourselves masters of the tangible world around us, as it stands revealed to our senses, and as it was expressly made subject to our will by the Creator. We are, however, at the same time, not left without information about the existence of certain laws and the occurrence of certain phenom- ena, which belong to a world not accessible to us by means of our ordinary senses, and which yet affect seri- ously our intercourse with Nature and our personal welfare. This knowledge we obtain sometimes, by spe- cial favor, as direct revelation, and at other times, for reasons as yet unknown, at the expense of our health and much suffering. By whatever means it may reach us, it cannot be rejected; to treat it with ridicule or to 4 PREFACE. decline examining it, would be as unwise as unprofita- ble. The least that we can do is to ascertain the pre- cise nature of these laws, and, after stripping these phenomena of all that can be proved to be merely inci- dental or delusive, to compare them with each other, and to arrange them carefully according to some stand- ard of classification. The main interest in such, a task lies in the discovery of the grain of truth which, is often found concealed in a mass of rubbish, and which, when thus brought to light, serves to enlarge our knowledge and to increase our power. The difficulty lies in the absence of all scientific investigation, and in the innate tendency of man to give way, wantonly or unconsciously, to mental as well as to sensual delu- sion. The aim of this little work is, therefore, limited to the gathering of such facts and phenomena as may serve to throw light upon the nature of the magic powers with which man is undoubtedly endowed. Its end will be attained if it succeeds in showing that he actually does possess powers which are not subject to the general laws of nature, but more or less independ- ent of space and time, and which yet make themselves known partly by appeals to the, ordinary senses and partly by peculiar phenomena, the result of their PKEFACE. O activity. These higher powers, operating exclusively through the spirit of man, are part of his nature, which has much in common with that of the Deity, since he was created by God " in His own image," and the Lord " breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul" This soul is not, as materialists maintain, merely the sum of all perceptions obtained by the collective activity of bodily organs— a conclusion which would finally make it the product of mere material atoms, subject to constant physical and chemical changes. Even if it were possible — which we deny — to reduce our whole inner life, including memo- ry, imagination, and reason, to a system of purely physical laws, and thus to admit its destruction at the moment of death, there would still remain the' living soul, coming directly from the Most High, and destined to continue throughout eternity. This soul is, hence, independent of time. Nor is it bound by space, ■except so far as it can commune with the outer world only by means of the body, with which it is united in this life. The nature of this union is a mystery as yet unfathomed, but precisely because it is such a mystery, we have no right to assume that it is altogether indis- soluble during life ; or, that it ceases entirely at the moment of death. There is, on the contrary, over- b PREFACE. whelming evidence that the soul may, at times, act independently of the body, and the forces developed on such occasions we have, for the sake of convenience rather than on account of the special fitness of the term, preferred to call magic powers. There is no evidence whatever before us as to the mutual relations of soul and body after death. Here, necessarily, all must be mere speculation. Nothing more, therefore, will be claimed for the following suggestions. When the body becomes unfit to serve any longer as an abode and an instrument to the soul, the tie which was formed before or at the moment of birth is gradually loosened. The soul no longer receives impressions from the outer world such as the body heretofore conveyed to it, and with this cessation of mutual action ends, also, the community of sensa- tion. The living soul — in all probability — becomes conscious of its separation from the dead body and from the world ; it continues to exist, but in loneliness and self-dependence. Its life, however, becomes only the more active and the more self-conscious as it is no longer consumed by intercourse with the world, nor disturbed by bodily disorders and infirmities. The soul recalls with ease all long-forgotten or much-dimmed sensations. What it feels most deeply at first is, we may PREFACE. 7 presume, the double grief at being separated from the body, with which it has so long been closely connected, and at the sins it has committed during life. This repentance will be naturally all the heartier, as it is no longer interrupted by sensual impressions. After a while this grief, like all sorrows, begins to moderate, and the soul returns to a state of peace : sooner, of course, in the case of persons who in their earthly life already had secured peace by the only means revealed to man ; later, by those who had given themselves entirely up to the world and their passions. At the same time the living soul enters into communion with other souls, retaining, however, its individuality in sex, character, and temper, and, possibly, proceeds on a course of gradual purification, till it reaches the desired haven in perfect reconciliation with God. During this inter- mediate time there is nothing known to us which would absolutely forbid the idea that these living souls continue to maintain some kind of intercourse with the souls of men on earth, with whom they share all that constitutes their essential nature, save only the one fact of bondage to the body. Nor is there any reason why the soul in man should not be able, by its higher powers, to perceive and to consort with souls detached from mortal bodies, although this intercourse 8 PEEFACE. must needs be limited and imperfect because of the vast difference between a free soul and one bound to an earthly, sinful body. For man, when he dies, leaves behind in this world the body, dead and powerless, a corpse. He continues, however, to live, a soul, with all the peculiar powers which make up our spiritual organism ; that is to say, the true man, in the higher sense of the word, exists still, though he dwell in another world. This soul has now no longer earthly organs of sense to do its bidding, but it still controls nature which was made subject to its will; it has, moreover, a new set of powers which represent in the higher world its higher body, and the character of its new active life will be all the more elevated, as these organs are more spiritual. Man cannot but continue to develop, to grow, and to ripen, in the next world as he did in this ; his nature and his destiny are alike incom- patible with sudden transitions and with absolute rest. The soul must become purer and more useful; its organs more subtle and more powerful, and it is of this life of gradual improvement and purification that we may occasionally obtain glimpses by that communion which no doubt still exists between earth-bound souls and souls freed from such bondage. There are, it is well known, many theologians who PEEFACE. 9 sternly deny any such further development of man's spiritual part, and insist upon looking at this life as the only time of probation accorded to him, at the end of which immediate and eternal judgment is .rendered. Their views are entitled to the utmost consideration and respect. But different opinions are entertained by some of their brethren, not less eminent in piety, pro- found learning, and critical acumen, and hence at least equally deserving of being attentively listened to and carefully regarded. So it is also with the belief in the possibility of holding intercourse with disembodied spirits. Superficial observers are ready to doubt or to deny, to sneer haughtily, or to scoff contemptuously. But men of great eminence have, from time immemo- rial, treated the question with great attention and deep interest. Melanchthon wrote: "I have myself seen ghosts, and know many trustworthy people who affirm that they have not only seen them, but even carried on conversations with them" (De Anima Recogn.: Wittemb. 1595, p. 317), and Luther said nearly the same ; Calvin and Knox also expressed similar convictions. A faith which has lasted through all ages of man's history, and has such supporters, cannot but have some foundation, and deserves full investigation. Alchemy, with its vis- ionary hopes, contained, nevertheless, the germ of 1* 10 PREFACE. modern chemistry, and astrology taught already much that constitutes the astronomy of our day. The same is, no doubt, the case with Modern Magic, and here, also, we may safely expect to find that " out of darkness cometh light." CONTENTS. i. Witchcraft 13 II. Black and White Magic 43 III. Dreams 94 IV. Visions 116 V. Ghosts 155 VI. Divination 270 VII. Possession 340 VIII. Magnetism 376 IX. Miraculous Cures 429 X. Mysticism 448 Modern Magic WITCHCRAFT. " Witchcraft is an illegitimate miracle ; a miracle is legitimate witchcraft." — Jacob Boehme. Perhaps in no direction has the human mind ever shown greater weakness than in the opinions enter- tained of witchcraft. If Hecate, the oldest patroness of witches, wandered about at night with a gruesome following, and frightened lovers at their stealthy meet- ing, or lonely wanderers on open heaths and in dark forests, her appearance was at least in keeping with the whole system of Greek mythology. Tacitus does not frighten us by telling us that witches used to meet at salt springs (Ann. xiii. 57), nor the Edda when speak- ing of the " bearers of witches' kettles," against whom even the Salic Law warns all good Christians. But when the Council of Ancyra, in the fifth century, ful- minates its edicts against women riding at night upon weird animals in company with Diana and Herodias, the strange combination of names and the dread penal- ties threatened, make us almost think of witches as of real and most marvelous beings. And when wise 14 MODERN MAGIC. councillors of French Parliaments and gray dignitaries of the Holy German Empire sit in judgment over a handful of poor old women, when great English bishops and zealous New England divines condemn little * children to death, because they have made pacts with the Devil, attended his sabbaths, and bewitched their peaceful neighbors — then we stand amazed at the delu- sions, to which the wisest and best among us are liable. Christianity, it is true, shed for a time such a bright light over the earth, that the works of darkness were abhorred and the power of the Evil One seemed to be broken, according to the sacred promises that the seed of woman should bruise the serpent's head. Thus Charlemagne, in his fierce edict issued after the defeat of the Saxons, ordered that death should be inflicted on all who after pagan manner gave way to devilish delusions, and believed that men or women could be witches, persecuted and killed them ; or, even went so far as to consume their flesh and give it to others for like purposes ! But almost at the same time the belief in the Devil, distinctly maintained in Holy Writ, spread far and wide, and as early as the fourth century dis- eases were ascribed not to organic causes, but to demo- niac influences, and the Devil was once more seen bodily walking to and fro on the earth, accompanied by a host of smaller demons. It was but rarely that a truly enlightened man dared to combat the universal super- stition. Thus Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, shines WITCnCEAFT. 1 5 like a bright star on the dark sky of the ninth century by his open denunciation of all belief in possession, in the control of the weather or the decision of difficulties by ordeal. For like reasons we ought to revere the memory of John of Salisbury, who in the twelfth century declared the stories of nightly assemblies of witches, with all their attending circumstances, to be mere delusions of poor women and simple men, who fancied they saw bodily what existed only in their imagination. The Church hesitated, now requiring her children to believe in a Devil and demons, and now denouncing all faith in supernatural beings. The thir- teenth century, by Leibnitz called the darkest of all, developed the worship of the Evil One to its fullest per- fection ; the writings of St. Augustine were quoted as confirming the fact that demons and men could and did intermarry, and the Djinns of the East were men- tioned as spirits who "sought the daughters of men for wives." The first trace of a witches' dance is found in the records of a fearful Auto-da-fe held in Toulouse in the year 1353, and about a century later the Domini- can monk, Jaquier, published the first complete work on witches and witchcraft. He represented them as organised — after the prevailing fashion of the day — in a regular guild, with apprentices, companions, and mas- ters, who practised a special art for a definite purpose. It is certainly most remarkable that the same opinion, in all its details, has been entertained in this century even, and by one of the most famous German philoso- 16 MODERN MAGIC. pliers, Eschenmayer. While the zeal and madness of devil-worshippers were growing on one side, persecu- tion became more violent and cruel on the other side, till the trials of witches assumed gigantic proportions and the proceedings were carried on according to a reg- ular method. These trials originated, invariably, with theologians, and although the system was not begun by the Papal government it obtained soon the Pope's legal sanction by the famous bull of Innocent VIII., Summis desider antes, dated December 4, 1484, and decreeing the relentless persecution of all heretical witches. The far-famed Malleus maleficatum (Cologne, 1489), written by the two celebrated judges of witches, Sprenger and Gremper, and full of the most extraordinary views and statements, reduced the whole to a regular method, and obtained a vast influence over the minds of that age. The rules and forms it prescribed were not only ob- served in almost all parts of Christendom, but actually retained their force and legality till the end of the seventeenth century. Nor were these views and prac- tices confined to Catholic countries; a hundred and fifty years after the Eeformation, a great German jurist and a Protestant, Carpzon, published his Praxis Grim- inalis, in which precisely the same opinions were taught and the same measures were prescribed. The Puritans, it is well-known, pursued a similar plan, and the New World has not been more fortunate in avoid- ing these errors than the Old World. A curious feature in the above-mentioned works is the fact that "WITCHCRAFT. 1 7 both abound in expressions of hatred against the female sex, and still more curious, though disgraceful in the extreme, that the special animosity shown by judges of witchcraft against women is solely based upon the weight which they attached to the purport of the Mosaic inhibition: "Thou Shalt not* suffer a witch to live " (Exodus xii. 18). These are dark pages in the history of Christendom, blackened by the smoke of funeral piles and stained with the blood of countless victims of cruel supersti- tion. For here the peculiarity was that in the majority of cases not the humble sufferers whose lives were sac- rificed, but the haughty judges were the true criminals. The madness seems to have been contagious, for Pro- testant authorities were as bloodthirsty as Catholics ; the Inquisition waged for generations unceasing war against this new class of heretics among the nations of the Eomanic race. Germany saw great numbers sacri- ficed in a short space of time, and in sober England, even, three thousand lost their lives during the Long Parliament alone, while, according to Barrington, the whole number who perished amounted to not less than thirty thousand! If only few were sacrificed in New England, the exception was due more to the sparse population than to moderation ; in South America, on the contrary, the persecution was carried on with re- lentless cruelty. And all this happened while fierce war was raging almost everywhere, so that, while the sword destroyed the men, the fire consumed the women ! 18 MODERN MAGIC. Occasionally most startling contrasts would be exhib- ited by different governments. In the North, James I., claiming to be as wise as Solomon, and more learned than any man in Christendom, imagined that he was persecuted by the Evil One on account of his great religious zeal, and saw in every Catholic an instrument of his adversary. His wild fancy was cunningly en- couraged by those who profited by his tyranny, and Catholics were represented as being, one and all, given up to the Devil, the mass and witchcraft, the three un- holy allies opposed to the Trinity ! In the South, the Eepublic of Venice, with all its petty tyranny and pro- verbial political cruelty, stood almost alone in all Christendom as opposed to persecutions of wizards and witches, and fought the battle manfully on the side of enlightenment and Christian charity. The horrors of witch-trials soon reached a height which makes us blush for humanity. The accused were tortured till they confessed their guilt, so that they might lose not only life upon earth, but also hope for eternity. If, under torture, they declared themselves innocent, but ready to confess their guilt and to die, they were told that in such a case they would die with a falsehood on their lips, and thus forfeit salvation. Some of the suf- ferers were found to have a stigma on their bodies, a place where the nerves had been paralysed, and no pain was consequently felt — this was a sure sign of their being witches, and they were forthwith burnt ; if they had no such stigma, the judge decided that the Devil WITCHCEAFT. 19 marked only his doubtful adherents, and left his trusty followers unmarked ! The terror became so great that in the seventeenth century repentant " witches abound- ed, because it had become customary " merely to hang or to decapitate those who confessed, while all others were burned alive. Hundreds suffering of painful diseases or succumbing to unbearable privations, forthwith fancied themselves bewitched, or actually sought relief from the ills of this life by voluntarily appearing before the numerous tribunals for the trial of witchcraft. The minds of men were so thoroughly blinded, that even when husbands testified the impossibility of their wives having attended the witches' sabbath, because they had been lying all night by their side in bed, they were told, and quite ready to believe, that a phantom had taken the place of their absent wives ! In one of the most fa- mous trials five women confessed, after suffering un- speakable torture, that they had disinterred an infant, the child of one of their number, and supped upon it with the Devil ; the father of the child persevered till the grave was opened, and behold, the child's body was there unharmed! But the judges declared it to be a phantom sent by the Evil One, since the confession of the criminals was worth more than mere ocular proof, and the women were burnt accordingly. (Horst. De- monomagie, i. p. 349.) The most signal proof of the absurdity of all such charges was obtained in our own country. Here the number of those who complained of being plagued and injured by demoniac agencies 20 MODERN MAGIC. became larger in precise proportion as trials increased and condemnations succeeded. But when nineteen of the accused had been executed, and the judges becom- ing appalled at the daily growing number of com- plaints, set some of the prisoners free, and declined to arrest others, there was suddenly an end of these griev- ances, no more accounts of enchantment and witch- craft were heard, and soon the evil disappeared en- tirely. It was a similar return to reason which at last led in Europe also to a reaction. The Doge of Venice and the Great Council appealed to the pope, Leo X., to put a curb upon the intemperate zeal of his ministers, and he saw himself forced to check the merciless persecution. Occasionally voices had been raised, already before that public appeal, condemning such wholesale slaughter ; among these were men like Bacon of Verulam, Regi- nald Scotus, and, marvel of marvels, two famous Jesuits, Tanner and Spee. And yet even these merci- ful and enlightened men never, for a moment, doubted the genuineness of witchcraft and its fatal effects. Father Spee, a most learned man, writing against the ceaseless persecutions of pretended witches, neverthe- less declared, in 1631, in his renowned Cautio crimin- aliSf by far the best work written on that side of the question, that " there are in the world some few wizards and enchanters, which could not be denied by any body without frivolity and great ignorance," and even Bayle, while condemning the cruelty of witches' trials, WITCHCRAFT. 21 seriously proposes to punish witches for their " ill-will." Vaude, the well-known; librarian of Cardinal Mazarin, wrote an able work as an apology of all the great men who had been suspected of witchcraft, including even Clemens V., Sylvester II., and other popes, and a re- nowned Capuchin monk, d'Autun, pursued the same subject with infinite subtlety of thought and great hap- piness of diction in his Uincridiilite, savante et la credu- lite ignorante. A witch was, however, still condemned to be burned in 1698, in Germany; fortunately the judge, a distinguished jurist of the University of Halle, was remonstrated with by an esteemed colleague, and thus induced to examine himself as well as the whole grievous subject with unsparing candor. This led him to see clearly the error involved in trials of witchcraft, and he wrote, in 1701, a most valuable and influential work against the Crime of Magic. He succeeded, espe- cially, in destroying the enormous prestige heretofore enjoyed by Del Eio's great work Disqiusitiones magicce, the favorite hand-book of judges of all lands, which was even adopted, though from the pen of a Jesuit, by the Protestants of Germany. In no case, however, were the personal existence of the Devil, and his activity upon earth, denied by these writers ; on the contrary, it is well known that Luther, Melanchthon, and even Calvin, continued always to speak of Satan as having a corporeal existence and as being perceptible to human senses. ■ The negation contended for applied only to his direct agency in the physical world; his moral in flu- 22 MODERN MAGIC. ence was ever readily admitted. Sporadic cases of witchcraft, and their trial by high courts of justice, have continued to occur down to our day. Maria Theresa was the first peremptorily to forbid any further persecutions on account of Veneficium, as it had become the fashion to call the acts of magic by which men or beasts were said to be injured. There are, however, writers who maintain, in this century, and in our gen- eration, even, the direct agency of the Devil in daily life, and see in demoniac sufferings the punishment of the wicked in this life already. The question of how much truth there may have been in this belief in witchcraft, held by so many na- tions, and persevered in during so many centuries, has never yet been fully answered. It is hardly to be pre- sumed that during this long period all men, even the wisest and subtlest, should have been completely blinded or utterly demented. Many historians as well as philosophers have looked upon witchcraft as a mere creation of the Inquisition. Eome, they argue, was in great danger, she had no new dogma to proclaim which would give food to inquiring minds, and increase the prestige of her power; she was growing unpopular in many countries heretofore considered most faithful and submissive, and she was engaged in various dangerous conflicts with the secular powers. In this embarrass- ment her Inquisitors looked around for some means of escape, and thought a remedy might be found in this new combination of the two traditional crimes of WITCHCRAFT. 23 heresy and enchantment. Witchcraft, as a crime, because of the deeds of violence with which it was almost invariably associated, belonged before the tri- bunal of the secular judge ; as a sin it was to be pun- ished by the bishop, but as heresy it fell, according to the custom of the day, to the share of neither judge nor bishop, but into the hands of the Inquisition. The extreme uniformity of witchcraft from the Tagus to the Vistula, and in New England as in Old England, is adduced as an additional evidence of its having been " manufactured " by the Inquisition. Nothing is gained, however, by looking upon it as a mere invention ; nor would such an explanation apply to the wizards and witches who are repeatedly mentioned and condemned in Holy Writ. Witchcraft was neither purely artificial, a mere delusion, nor can it be accounted for upon a purely natural basis. The essential part in it is the magic force, which does not belong to the natural but to the spiritual part of man. Hence it is not so very surprising, as many authors have thought it, that thousands of poor women should have done their best to obtain visions which only led to imprisonment, torture, and death by fire, while they procured for them appa- rently neither comfort nor wealth, but only pain, horror, and disgrace. For there was mixed up with all this a sensation of pleasure, vague and wild, though it was in conformity with the rude and coarse habits of the age. It is the same with the 24 M0DEEN MAGIC. opium eater and hasheesh smoker, only in a more moderate manner ; the delight these pernicious drugs afford is not seen, but the disease, the suffering, and the wretched death they produce, are visible enough. The stories of witches' sabbaths taking place on certain days of the year, arose no doubt from the fact that the prevailing superstition of the times regarded some seasons as peculiarly favorable for the ceremony of anointing one's self with narcotic salves, and this led to a kind of spiritual community on such nights, which to the poor deluded people ap- peared as a real meeting at appointed places. In like manner there was nothing absolutely absurd or im- possible in the idea of a compact with the Devil. Satan presented himself to the minds of men in those ages as the bodily incarnation of all that is evil and sinful, and hence when they fancied they made a league with him, they only aroused the evil principle within themselves to its fullest energy and activity. It was in fact the selfish, covetous nature of man, ever in arms against moral laws and the command- ments of God, which in these cases became distinctly visible and presented itself in the form of a vision. This evil principle, now relieved from all constraint and able to develop its power against a feebly resist- ing soul, would naturally destroy the poor deluded victim, in body and in spirit. Hence the trials of witchcraft had at least some justification, however unwise their form and however atrocious their abuses. WITCHCRAFT. 25 The majority of the crimes with which the so-called witches were charged, were no doubt imaginary ; but many of the accused also had taken real delight in their evil practices and in the grievous injury they had done to those they hated or envied. Xor must it be forgotten that the age in which these trials mainly occurred was emphatically an age of super- stition; from the prince on his throne to the clown in his hut, everybody learnt and practiced some kind of magic : the ablest statesmen and the subtlest phi- losophers, the wisest divines and the most learned physicians, all were more or less adepts of the Black Art, and many amoug them became eminently dan- gerous to their fellow-beings. Others, ceaselessly meditating and brooding over charms and demoniac influences' finally came to believe in their own pow- ers of enchantment, and confessed their guilt, although they had sinned only by volition, without ever being able really to call forth and command magic powers. Still others labored under a regular panic and saw witchcraft in the simplest events as well as in all more unusual phenomena in nature. A violent temp- est, a sudden hailstorm, or an unusual rise in rivers, all were at once attributed to magic influences, and the authorities urged and importuned to prevent a recurrence with all its disastrous consequences by punishing the guilty authors. Has not the same insane fury been frequently shown in contagious dis- eases, when the common people believed their foun- 26 MODERN MAGIC. tains poisoned and tlieir daily bread infected by Jews or other suspected classes, and promptly took justice into their own hands ? It ought also to be borne in mind, as an apology for the horrible crimes com- mitted by judges and priests in condemning witches, that in their eyes the crime was too enormous and the danger too pressing and universal to admit of delay in investigation, or mercy in judgment. The severe laws of those semi-barbarous times were imme- diately applied and all means considered fair in elic- iting the truth. Torture was by no means limited to trials of witches, for some of the greatest states- men and the most exalted divines had alike to endure its terrors. Moreover no age has been entirely free from similar delusions, although the form under which they appear and the power by which they may be supported, differ naturally according to the spirit of the times. Science alone cannot protect us against fanaticism, if the heart is once led astray, and fearful crimes have been committed not only in the name of Liberty but? even under the sanction of the Cross. Basil the Great already restored a slave ad integrum, who said he had made a pact with the Devil, but the first authentic account of such a transaction occurs in connection with an Imperial officer, The- ophilus of Adana, in the days of Justinian. His bishop had undeservedly humiliated him and thus aroused in the heart of the naturally meek man in- tense wrath and a boundless desire of revenge. WITCHCRAFT. 27 While he was in this state of uncontrollable excite- ment, a Jew appeared and offered to procure for him all he wanted, if he would pledge his soul to Satan. The unhappy man consented, and was at once led to the circus where he saw a great number of torch- bearers in white robes, the costume of servants of the church, and Satan seated in the midst of the as- sembly. He obeyed the order to renounce Christ and certified his apostacy in a written document. The next day already the bishop repented of his injustice and restored Theophilus in his office, whereupon the Jew pointed out to him how promptly his master had come to his assistance. Still, repentance comes to Theophilus also, and in a new revelation the Virgin appears to the despairing man after incessant prayer of forty days and nights — a fit preparation for such a vision. She directs him to perform certain aton- ing ceremonies and promises him restoration to his Christian privileges, which he finally obtains by find- ing the certificate of his apostasy lying on his breast, and then dies in a state of happy relief. After that similar cases of a league being made with Satan occur quite frequently in the history of saints and eminent men, till the belief in its efficacy gradually died out and recent efforts like those recorded by Goerres (III. p. 620) have proved utterly fruitless. % Among the magic phenomena connected with witch- craft, none is more curious than the so-called witches' sabbath, the formal meeting of all who are in league 28 MODERN MAGIC. with Satan, for the purpose of swearing allegiance to him, to enjoy unholy delights, and to introduce neo- phytes. That no such meeting ever really took place, need hardly be stated. The so-called sabbaths were somnambulistic visions, appearing to poor deluded creatures while in a state of trance, which they had produced by narcotic ointments, vile decoctions, or even mere mental effort. For the most skillful among the witches could cause themselves to fall into the Witches' Sleep, as they called this trance, whenever they chose ; others had to submit to tedious and often abominable ceremonies. The knowledge of simples, which was then very general, was of great service to cunning impostors; thus it was well known that cer- tain herbs, like aconite, produces in sleep the sensation of flying, and they were, of course, diligently employed. Hyosciamus and taxus, hypericum and asafoetida were great favorites, and physicians made experiments with these salves to try their effect upon the system. Laguna, for instance, physician to Pope Julius III., once applied an ointment which he had obtained from a wizard, to a woman, who thereupon fell into a sleep of thirty-six hours' duration, and upon being aroused, bitterly complained of his cruelty in tearing her from the embraces of her husband. The Marquis d' Agent tells us in his Leltres Juifs. (i. 1. 20), that the celebrated Gassendi discovered a drug which a shepherd used to take whenever he wished to go to a witches' assembly. He won the man's confidence, and, pretending to join WITCHCRAFT. 29 him in his journey, persuaded him to swallow the medicine in his presence. After a few minutes, the shepherd began to stagger like an intoxicated person, and then fell into profound sleep, during which he talked wildly. When he roused himself again many hours afterwards, he congratulated the physician on the good reception he had met at Satan's court, and recalled with delight the pleasant things they had jointly seen and enjoyed ! The symptoms of the witches' sleep differ, however; while the latter is, in some cases, deep and unbroken, in other cases the sleepers become rigid and icy cold, or they are subject to violent spasms and utter unnatural sounds in abundance. The sleep differs, moreover, from that of possessed people in the consciousness of bodily pain which bewitched people retain, while the possessed become insensible. Invariably the impression is pro- duced that they meet kindred spirits at some great assembly, but the manner of reaching it differs greatly. Some go on foot ; but as Abaris already rode on a spear given to him by Apollo (Iamblichus De Yita, Pyth. c. 18), others ride on goats. In Germany a broomstick, a club, or a distaff, became suitable vehicles, provided they had been properly anointed. In Scotland and Sweden the chimney is the favorite road, in other countries no such preference is shown over doors and windows. The expedition, however joyous it may be, is always very fatiguing, and when the revellers awake they feel like people who have been dissipated. The 30 MODERN MAGIC. meetings differ in locality according to size: whole provinces assemble on high, isolated mountains, among which the Brocken, in the Hartz Mountains, is by far the most renowned; smaller companies meet near gloomy churches or under dark trees with wide-spread- ing branches. In the north of Europe the favorite resort is the Blue Mountain, popularly known as Blokulla, in Sweden, and as Blakalla in Norway, an isolated rock in the sea between Smoland and Oland, which seems to haye had some association in the minds of the people with the ancient sea-goddess Blakylle. In Italy the witches loved to assemble under the famous walnut tree near Benevent, which was already to the Longobards an ob- ject of superstitious veneration, since here, in ancient times, the old divinities were worshipped, and after- wards the striglie were fond of meeting. In France they had a favorite resort on the Puy de Dome, near Clermont, and in Spain on the sands near Seville, where the hechizeras held their sabbaths. The Hekla, of Iceland, also passes with the Scandinavians for a great meeting-place of witches, although, strangely enough, the inhabitants of the island have no such tra- dition. It is, however, clear that in all countries where witchcraft prospered, the favorite places of meeting were always the same as those to which, in ancient times, the heathens had made pilgrimages in large numbers, in order to perform their sacrifices, and to enjoy their merry-makings. WITCHCRAFT. 31 In precisely the same manner the favorite seasons for these ghastly meetings correspond almost invariably with the times of high festivals held in heathen days, and hence, they were generally adopted by the early Christians, with the feast and saints' days of Christen- dom. Thns the old Germans observed, when they were still pagans, the first of May for two reasons : as a day of solemn judgment, and as a season for rejoicing, during which prince and peasant joined in celebrating the return of summer with merry songs and gay dances around the May-pole. The witches were nothing loth to adopt the day for their own festivities also, and added it to the holidays of St. John the Baptist and St. Bartholomew, on which, in like manner, anciently the holding of public courts had brought together large assemblies. The meetings, however, must always fall upon a Thursday, from a determined, though yet unex- plained association of witchcraft with the old German god of thunder, Donar, who was worshipped on the Blocksberg, and to whom a goat was sacrificed — whence also the peculiar fondness of witches for that animal. The hours of meeting are invariably from eleven o'clock at night to one or two in the morning. The assembly consists, according to circumstances, of a few hundred or of several thousands, but the female sex always largely prevailes. For this fact the famous text-book of judges of witchcraft, the Malleus, assigned not less than four weighty reasons. Women, it said, are more apt to be addicted to the fear- 32 MODEEN MAGIC. ful crime than men because, in the first place, they are more credulous; secondly, in their natural weakness they are more susceptible ; thirdly, they are more im- prudent and rash, and hence always ready to consult the Devil, and fourthly and mainly, femina comes from / 9 194 MODERN MAGIC. nomenon was repeated over and over again, till the lady, in her distress, appealed to a neighboring native sover- eign, who promised his assistance. He sent immediately a large force of armed men, who surrounded the house and watched the room ; nevertheless, the red spots re- appeared and stones fell as before. Towards evening, a Mohammedan mufti, of high rank, was sent for ; but he had scarcely opened his Koran, to read certain sentences for the purpose of exorcising the demons, when the sacred book was hurled to one side and the lamp to another. The lady took the child to the prince's residence to spend the night there, and no disturbance occurred. But when her husband, for whom swift messengers had been sent out, returned on the following day, the same trouble occurred; the child was spit at with betel-juice and stones kept falling from on high. Soon the report reached the Governor-General atBreitenzorg, who there- upon sent a man of great military renown, a Major Michiels, to investigate the matter. Once more the house was surrounded by an armed force, even the neighboring trees were carefully guarded, and the ma- jor took the little girl upon his knees. In spite of all these precautions, her dress was soon covered with red spots, and stones flew about as before. No one, however, was injured. They were gathered up, proved to be wet or hot, as if just picked up in the road, and at night filled a huge box. The same process continued, when a huge sheet of linen had been stretched from wall to wall, so as to form an inner ceiling under the real ceiling; and GHOSTS. ] 95 now not only stones, but also fruit from the surrounding trees, freshly gathered, and mortar from the kitchen fell into the newly formed tent. At the same time the fur- niture was repeatedly disturbed, tumblers and wine- glasses tossed about, and marks left on the large mirror as if a moist hand had been passed over the surface. The marvelous occurrences were duly reported to the home government, and the king, William II., ordered that no pains should be spared to clear up the matter. But no explanation was ever obtained; only the fact was ascertained that similar phenomena had been repeatedly observed in other parts of the island also, and were considered quite ordinary occurrences by the natives. Certain families, it may be added, claim to have inher- ited from their ancestors the power to make themselves invisible, a gift which is almost invariably accompanied by the Gundarua ; as these native families gradually die out, the symptoms of the latter also disappear more and more. There is no doubt that here, as in the Eus- smnpoganne (cursed places which are haunted by ghosts), the belief in such appearances, bequeathed through long ages from father to son, has finally obtained a force which renders it equal to reality itself. Eeason is not only biased, but actually held bound ; the mind is wrought up to a state of excitement in which it ceases to see clearly, and finally visions assume an overwhelm- ing force, which ends in symptoms of what is called magic. The same law applies, for instance, to the an- cient home of charmers and magicians, the land of the 1U6 MODEliN MAGIC. Nile, where also the studies of the ancient Magi have been assumed by a succession of learned men, till they were taken up by fanatic Mohammedans, whose creed arranges invisible beings, angels, demons, and others, in regular order, and assigns them a home in distinct parts of the universe. It is not without interest to ob- serve that even Europeans, after a long residence in the Orient, become deeply imbued with such notions, and men like Bayle St. John, in his account of magic per- formances which he witnessed, do not seem able to re r main altogether impartial. One of the most remarkable phenomena belonging to this branch of magic is the appearance of living or recently deceased persons to friends or supplicants. The peculiarity in this case consists in the constantly changing character of the appearance: the double — as it is called — is the vision of the dying man, which appears to others or to his own senses. The former class of cases was well known in antiquity, for Pytha- goras already had, according to popular report, appeared to numerous friends before he died. Herodotus and Maximus Tyrius state both, that Aristasns sent his spirit into different lands to acquire knowledge, and Epimenides and Hernestinus, from Claromenae, were "oopularly believed to be able to visit, when in a state of ecstasy, all distant countries, and to return at pleasure, St. Augustine, also, states ('* Sermon," 123) that he, himself, had appeared to two persons who had known him only by reputation, and advised them to go to GHOSTS. 197 Hippons in order to obtain their health there by the in- tercession of St. Stephen. They really went to the place and recovered from their disease. At another time his form appeared to a famous teacher of eloquence in Carthage and explained to him several most difficult passages in Cicero's writings (De cur a pro mortuis, ch. ii). The saints of the Catholic church having possessed the gift of being in several places at once, apparently so very generally, that the miracle has lost its interest, except where peculiar circumstances seem to suggest the true explanation. Such was, for instance, the last- mentioned case, recited by St. Augustine {De Civ. Dei. 1. 8. ch. 18). Prsestantius requested a philosopher to solve to him some doubts, but received no answer. The following night, however, when Prsestantius lay awake, troubled by his difficulties, he suddenly saw his learned friend standing by his bedside and heard from his lips all he desired to know. Upon meeting him next day, he inquired why he had been unwilling to explain the matter in the daytime, and thus caused himself the trouble of coming at midnight to his house. " I never came to your house," was the reply, "but I dreamt that I did." Here was very evidently a case of magic activ- ity on the part of the philosopher, whose mind was, in his sleep, busily engaged in solving the propounded mystery and thus affected not himself only, but his absent friend likewise. The story of Dr. Donne's vision is well known, and deserves all the more serious attention as his candor 198 MODERN MAGIC. was above suspicion, and his judgment held in the highest esteem. He formed part of an embassy sent to Henry IV. of France, and had been two days in Paris, thinking constantly and anxiously of his wife, whom he had left ill in London. Towards noon he suddenly fell into a kind of trance, and when he recovered his senses related to his friends that he had seen his beloved wife pass him twice, as she walked across the room, her hair dishevelled and her child dead in her arms. When she passed him the second time, she looked sadly into his face and then disappeared. His fears were aroused to such a degree by this vision that he immediately dis- patched a special messenger to England, and twelve days later he received the afflicting news that on that day and at that hour his wife had, after great and pro- tracted suffering, been delivered of a still-born infant (Beaumont, p. 96). In Macnish's excellent work on "Sleep," we find (p. 180) the following account: "A Mr. H. went one day, apparently in the enjoyment of full health, down the street, when he saw a friend of his, Mr. C, who was walking before him. He called his name aloud, but the latter pretended not to hear him, and steadily walked on. H. hastened his steps to overtake him, but his friend also hurried on, and thus remained at the same distance from him ; thus the two walked for some time, till suddenly Mr. C. entered a gateway, and when Mr. H. was about to follow, slammed the door violently in his face. Perfectly amazed at such unusual conduct, Mr. H. opened the door and GHOSTS. 109 looked down the long passage, upon which it opened, but saw no one. Determined to solve the mystery, he hurried to his friend's house, and there, to his great astonishment, learnt that Mr. C. had been confined to his bed for some days. It was not until several weeks later that the two friends met at the house of a com- mon acquaintance ; Mr. H. told Mr. C. of his adven- ture, and added laughingly, that having seen his double, he was afraid Mr. C. would not live long. These words were received by all with hearty laughter ; but only a few days after this meeting the unfortunate friend was seized with a violent illness, to which he speedily succumbed."' What is most remarkable, how- ever, is that Mr. H. also followed him, quite unex- pectedly, soon to the grave. Whatever may have been the nature of the event itself, it cannot be doubted that the minds of both friends were far more deeply im- pressed by its mysteriousness than they would probably have been willing to acknowledge to themselves, and that the nervous excitement thus produced brought out an illness lurking already in their system, and ren- dered it fatal. A very remarkable case was that of a distinguished diplomat, related by A. Moritz in his " Psychology." He was lying in bed, sleepless, when he noticed his pet dog becoming restless, and apparentlv disturbed to the utmost by a rustling and whisking about in the room, which he heard but could not ex- plain. Suddenly a kind of white vapor rose by his bed-side, and gradually assumed the outline and even 200 MODERN MAGIC. the features of his mother; he especially noticed a purple ribbon in her cap. He jumped out of bed and endeavored to embrace her, but she fled before him and as suddenly vanished, leaving a bright glare at the place where she had disappeared. It was found, after- wards, that at that hour — 10 o'clock A. m. — the old lady had been ill unto death, lying still and almost breathless on her couch ; she had felt the anguish of death in her heart, and had thought so anxiously of her son and her sister, that her first question when she recovered was, whether she had not perhaps been visited by the two persons who had thus occupied her whole mind. It was also ascertained that, contrary to a life's habit, she had on that day worn a purple ribbon in her night-cap. A German professor once succeeded in establishing the connection which undoubtedly exists between the will of certain persons and their appearance to others. He had only been married a year in 1823, when he was compelled to leave his wife and to undertake a long and perilous journey. Once, sitting in a peculiarly sad and dejected mood alone in a room of his hotel, he longed so ardently for the society of his wife, that he felt in his heart as if, by a great effort of will, he should be able to see her. He made the effort, and, behold ! he saw her sitting at her work-table, busily engaged in sewing, and himself, as was his habit, on a low foot-stool by her side. She tried to conceal her work from his eyes. A few days later a messenger reached him, sent by his wife, who GHOSTS. 201 was in great consternation and anxiety. On that day she also had suddenly seen her husband seated by her side, attentively watching her at work, and continuing there till her father entered the room, upon which the professor had instantly disappeared. When he returned to his house he made minute inquiries as to the work he had seen in the hands of his wife, and this was of such peculiar character as to exclude all ideas of a mere dream on his part. Here also the supreme will of the professor must have endowed him for the mo- ment with exceptional powers, enabling him to make himself visible to his wife, while the latter, with the ardent love which bound her to her husband, was at the same moment sympathetically excited, and thus enabled to second his will, and to behold him as she was accustomed to see him most frequently. Owen in his " Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World," reports fully a remarkable case here repeated only in outline. Eobert Bruce, thirty years old, served as mate on board a merchant vessel on the line betAveen Liverpool and St. John in New Brunswick. When the ship was near the banks he was one day about noon busy calculating the longitude, and thinking that the captain was in his cabin — the next to his own — he called out to him : How have you found it ? Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the captain writing bu- sily at his desk, and as he heard no answer, he went in and repeated his question. To his horror the man at the desk raised his head and revealed to him the face 202 MODERN MAGIC. of an entire stranger, who regarded him fixedly. In a state of great excitement he rushed to the upper deck, where he found the captain and told him what had oc- curred. Thereupon both went down ; there was no one in the cabin, but on the captain's slate an unknown hand had written these words : Steer NW. ! No effort was spared to solve the mystery ; the whole vessel was searched from end to end, but no stranger was discov- ered ; even the handwriting of every member of the crew was examined, but nothing found resembling in the least degree the mysterious warning. After some hesitation the captain decided, as nothing was likely to be lost by so doing, to obey the behest and ordered the helmsman to steer northwest. A few hours later they encountered the wreck of a vessel fastened to an ice- berg, with a large crew and a number of passengers, in expectation of certain death. When the unfortunate men were brought back by the ship's boats, Bruce sud- denly started in utter amazement, for in one of the saved men he recognized, by dress and features, the per- son he had seen at the captain's desk in the cabin. The stranger was requested to write down the words : Steer NW. ! and when the words were compared with those still standing on the slate, they were identical ! Upon inquiry it turned out that the shipwrecked man had at noon fallen into a deep sleep, during which he had seen a ship approaching to their rescue. When he had been waked half an hour later he had confidently assured his fellow-sufferers that they would be rescued, de- GHOSTS. 203 scribing even the vessel that was to come to their assist- ance. Words cannot convey the amazement of the un- fortunate men when they saw, a few hours afterwards, a ship bear down upon them, which bore all the marks predicted by their companion, and the latter assured Eobert Bruce that every thing on board the vessel ap- peared to him perfectly familiar. Cases in which men have been seen at the same time at two different places are not less frequent, though here the explanation is much less easy. A French girl, Emilie Sagee, had even to pay a severe penalty for such a peculiarity : she was continually met with at various places at once, and as she could not give a satisfactory excuse for being at one place when her duties required her to be at another, she was suspected of sad miscon- duct. She lived as governess in a boarding-school in Livonia, and the girls of the institute saw her at the same time sitting among them and walking below in the garden by the side of a friend, and not unfrequent- ly two Miss Sagees would be seen standing before the blackboard, looking exactly alike and performing the same motions, although one of them only wrote with chalk on the board. Once, while she was helping a friend to lace her dress behind, the latter looked into the mirror and to her horror saw two persons standing there, whereupon she fell down fainting. The poor French girl lost her place not less than nineteen times on account of her double existence (Owen, " Foot- falls," etc., p. 348). 204 MODERN MAGIC. Occasionally this " double " appears to others at the same time that it is seen by the owner himself. Thus the Empress Elizabeth, of Russia, was seen by a Count 0. and the Imperial Guards, seated in full regalia on her throne, in the throne-room, while she was lying fast asleep in her bed. The vision was so distinct, and the terror of the beholders so great, that the Empress was actually waked, and informed of what had happened, by her lady-in-waiting, who had herself seen the whole scene. The dauntless Empress did not hesitate for a moment; she dressed hastily and went to the throne- room ; when the doors were thrown open, she saw her- self, as the others had seen her; but so far from being terrified like her servants, she ordered the guard to fire at the apparition. When the smoke had passed away, the hall was empty — but the brave Empress died a few months latter (Bl cms Prevost, V. p. 92). Jung Stilling mentions another striking illustration. A young lieutenant, full of health and in high spirits, returns home from a merry meeting with old friends. As he approaches the house in which he lives, he sees lights in his room and, to his great terror, himself in the act of being undressed by his servant ; as he stands and gazes in speechless wonder, he sees himself walk to his bed and lie down. He remains for some time dumbfounded and standing motionless in the street, till at last a dull, heavy crash arouses him from his revery. He makes an effort, goes to the door and rings the bell; his servant, who opens the door, starts back GHOSTS. 205 frightened, and wonders how he could have dressed so quickly and gone out, as he had bnt just helped him to undress. When they enter the bedroom, however, they are both still more amazed, for there they find a large part of the ceiling on the bed of the officer, "which is broken to pieces by the heavy mortar that had fallen down. The young lieutenant saw in the warning a direct favor of Providence and lived henceforth so as to show his gratitude for this almost miraculous escape (" Jenseits," p. 105). Xot nnfrequently the seeing of a "double" is the result of physical or mental disease. Persons suffering of catalepsy are especially prone to see their own forms mixing with strange persons, who people the room in which they are confined. Insanity, also, very often begins with the idea, that the patient's own image is constantly by his side, accompanying him like his shadow wherever he goes, and finally irritating him beyond endurance. In these cases there is, of course, nothing at work but a diseased imagination, and with the return of health the visions also disappear. Perhaps the most important branch of this subject is the theory, cherished by all nations and in all ages, that the dying possess at the last moment and by a supreme effort, the mysterious power of making them- selves perceptible to friends at a distance. We leave out, here also, the numerous instances told of saints. because they are generally claimed by the Catholic Church as miracles. One of the oldest well-authen- 2C6 MODERN MAGIC. ticated cases of the kind, occurred at the court of Cosmo de' Medici, in 1499. In the brilliant circle of eminent men which the great merchant prince had gathered around him, two philosophers, Michael Mercatus, papal prothonotary, and Marsilius Ficinus were prominent by their vast erudition, their common devotion to Platonic philosophy, and the ardent friendship which bound them to each other. They had solemnly agreed that he who should die first, should convey to the other some information about the future state. Ficinus died first, and his friend, writing early in the morning near a window, suddenly heard a horseman dashing up to his house, checking his horse and crying out: "Michael! Michael ! nothing is more true than what is said of the life to come ! " Mercatus immediately opened the window and saw his bosom friend riding at full speed down the road, on his white horse, until he was out of sight. He returned, full of thought, to his studies; but wrote at once to inquire about his friend. In due time the answer came, that Ficinus had died- in Florence at the very moment in which Mercatus had seen him in Rome. Our authority for this re- markable account is the Cardinal Baronius, who knew Mercatus and heard it from his own lips ; but the dates which he mentions do not correspond with the annals of history. He places the event in the year 1491, but Michele de' Mercati was papal prothonotary under Sixtus V. (1585-90) and could, therefore, not have been the friend of Ficinus, the famous physician and theologian, GHOSTS. 207 who was one of Savonarola's most distinguished adherents. Nor can we attach much weight to the old ballads of Eoland, which recite in touching simplicity the anguish of Charlemagne, when he heard from afar the sound of his champion's horn imploring him to come to his assistance, although the two armies were at so great a distance from each other that when the Emperor at last reached the ill-fated valley of Konceval, his heroic friend had been dead for some days. Calderon depicts in like manner, but with the peculiar coloring of the Spanish devotee, how the dying Eusebio calls his absent friend Alberto to his bedside, to hear his last confession, and how the latter, obeying the mysterious summons, has- tens there to fulfil his solemn promise. A well-known occurrence of this kind is reported by Cotton Mather as having taken place in New England. On May 2d, 1687, at 5 o'clock a. m., a young man, called Beacon, then living in Boston, suddenly saw his brother, whom he had left in London, standing before him in his usual costume, but with a bleeding wound in his forehead. He told him that he had been foully mur- dered by a reprobate, who would soon reach New Eng- land ; at the same time he described minutely the ap- pearance of his murderer, and implored his brother to avenge his death, promising him his assistance. Towards the end of June official information reached the colony that the young man had died on May 2d, at 5 o'clock A. M., from the effects of his wounds. But here, also, 208 MODERX MAGIC. several inconsistencies diminish the value of the account. In the first place, the narrator has evidently forgotten the difference in time between London and Boston in America, or he has purposely falsified the report, in order to make it more impressive. Then the murderer never left his country; although he was tried for his crime, escaped the penalty of death by the aid of influ- ential friends. It is, however, possible that he may have had the intention of seeking safety abroad at the time he committed the murder. The apparition of the great Cardinal of Lorraine at the moment of death, is better authenticated. D'Au- bigne tells us (Hist. Univer. 1574, p. 719) that the queen Catherine of Medici, was retiring one day, at an earlier hour than usual, in the presence of the King of Navarre, the Archbishop of Lyons, and a number of eminent persons, when she suddenly hid her eyes under her hands and cried piteously for help. She made great efforts to point out to the bystanders the form of the Cardinal, whom she saw standing at the foot of her bed and offering her his hand. She exclaimed repeatedly: " Monsieur le Cardinal, I have nothing to do with you ! " and was in a state of most fearful excitement. At last one of the courtiers had the wit to go to the Cardinal's house, and soon returned with the appalling news that the great man had died in that very hour. To this class of cases belongs also the well-known vision of Lord Lyt- tleton, who had been warned that he would die on a certain day, at midnight, and who did die at the GHOSTS. 200 appointed hour, although his friends had purposely ad- vanced every clock and watch in the house by half an hour, and he himself had gone to bed with his mind relieved of all anxiety. Jarvis, in his " Aureditated Ghosh Stories/' p. 13, relates the following remarkable case: " When General Stuart was Governor of San Domingo, in the early part of our war of independence, he was one day anxiously awaiting a certain Major von Blomberg, who had been expected for some time. At last he de- termined to dictate to his secretary a dispatch to the Home Government on this subject, when steps were heard outside, and the major himself entered, desiring to confer with the Governor in private. He said : ' When you return to England, pray go into Dorset- shire to such and such a farm, where you will find my son, the fruit of a secret union with Lady Laing. Take care of the poor orphan. The woman who has reared him has the papers that establish his legitimacy; they are in a red morocco pocket-book. Open it and make the best use you can of the papers you will find. You will never see me again.' Thereupon the major walk- ed away, but nobody else had seen him come or go, and nobody had opened the house for him. A few days later, news reached the island that the vessel on which Blom- berg had taken passage, had foundered, and all hands had perished, at the very hour when the former had appeared to his friend the Governor. It became also known that the two friends had pledged each other, not onlv that the survivor should take care of the children 210 MODERN MAGIC. of him who died first, but also that he should make an effort to appear to him if permitted to do so. The Governor found everything as it had been told him ; he took charge of his friend's son, who became a pro- tege of Queen Charlotte, when she heard the remarka- ble story, and waseducated as a companion of the future George IV." Lord Byron tells the following story of Captain Kidd. He was lying one night in his cabin asleep, when he suddenly felt oppressed by a heavy weight apparently resting on him ; he opened his eyes, and by the feeble light of a small lamp he fancied he saw his brother, dressed in full uniform, aud leaning across the bed. Under the impression that the whole is a mere idle delusion of his senses, he turns over and falls asleep once more. But the sense of oppression returns, and upon opening his eyes he sees the same image as before. Now he tries to seize it, and to his amazement touches something wet. This terrifies him, arid he calls a brother officer, but when the latter enters, nothing is to be seen. After the lapse of several months Captain Kidd received information that in that same night his brother had been drowned in the In- dian Sea. He himself told the story to Lord Byron, and the latter endorsed its accuracy (Monthly Rev., 1830, p. 229). One of the most remarkable interviews of this kind, which continued for some time, and led to a prolonged and interesting conversation during which the three GHOSTS. 211 senses of sight, hearing, and touch, were alike engaged, is that which a Mrs. Bargrave had on the 8th of Sep- tember, 1805. According to an account given by Jarvis ("Aured. Ghost Stories," Lond., 1823), she was sitting in her house in Canterbury, in a state of great despondency, when a friend of hers, Miss Veal, who lived at Dover, and whom she had not seen for two years and a half, entered the room. The two ladies had formerly been very intimate, aud found equal com- fort, during a period of great sorrow, in reading together works treating of future life and similar sub- jects. Her friend wore a traveling suit, and the clocks were striking noon as she entered; Mrs. Bargrave wished to embrace her, but Miss Veal held a hand before her eyes, stating that she was unwell and drew back. She then added that she was on the point of making a long journey, and feeling an irresistible de- sire to see her friend once more, she had come to Can- terbury. She sat down in an arm-chair and began a lengthened conversation, during which she begged her friend's pardon for having so long neglected her, and gradually turned to the subject which had been upper- most in Mrs. Bargrave's mind, the views entertained by various authors of the life after death. She attempted to console the latter, assuring her that " a moment of future bliss was ample compensation for all earthly sufferings," and that " if the eyes of our mind were as open as those of the body, we should see a number of higher beings ready for our protection." She declined, 212 MODERN MAGIC. however, reading certain verses aloud at her friend's re- quest, " because holding her head low gave her the headache." She frequently passed her hand over her face, but at last begged Mrs. Bargrave to write a letter to her brother, which surprised her friend very much, for in the letter she wished her brother to distribute certain rings and sums of money belonging to her among friends and kinsmen. At this time she appeared to be growing ill again, and Mrs. Bargrave moved close up to her in order to support her, in doing so she touched her dress and praised the materials, whereupon Miss Veal told her that it was recently made, but of a silk which had been cleaned. Then she inquired after Mrs. Bargrave's daughter, and the latter went to a neighbor- ing house to fetch her ; on her way back she saw Miss Veal at a distance in the street, which was full of people, as it happened to be market-day, but before she could overtake her, her friend had turned round a corner and disappeared. Upon inquiry it appeared that Miss Veal, whom she had thus seen, whose dress she had touched, and with whom she had conversed for nearly two hours, had died the day before i When the question was discussed with the relatives of the deceased, it was found that she had communicated several secrets to her Canterbury friend. The fact that lier dress was made of an old silk-stuff was known to but one person, who had done the clean- ing and made the dress, which she recognized instantly from the description. She had also acknowledged to GHOSTS. 213 Mrs. Bargrave her indebtedness to a Mr. Breton for an annual pension of ten pounds, a fact which had been utterly unknown during her lifetime. In Germany a number of such cases are reported, and often by men whose names alone would give authority to their statements. Thus the philosopher Schopenhauer (Parerga, etc., I. p. 277) mentions a sick servant girl in Frankfort on the Main, who died one night at the Jewish hospital of the former Free City. Early the next morning her sister and her neice, who lived several miles from town, appeared at the gate of the institution to make inquiries about their kinswoman. Both, though living far apart, had seen her distinctly during the preceding night, and hence their anxiety. The famous writer E. M. Arndt, also, quotes a number of striking revelations which were in this manner made to a lady of his acquaintance. Thus he was once, in 1811, visiting the Island of Rugen, in the Baltic, and having been actively engaged all day, was sitting in an easy-chair, quietly nodding. Suddenly he sees his dear old aunt Sophie standing before him ; on her face her well-known sweet smile, and in her arms her two little boys, whom he loved like his own. She was holding them out to him as if she wished to say by this gesture : " Take care of the little ones ! " The next day his brother joined him and brought him the news that their aunt had died on the preceding evening at the hour when she had appeared to Arndt. Wieland, even, by no means given to credit easily accounts of 214 MODERN MAGIC. supernatural occurrences, mentions in his "Euthan- asia " a Protestant lady of his acquaintance, whose mind was frequently filled with extraordinary visions. She was a somnambulist, and subject to cataleptic attacks. A Benedictine monk, an old friend of the family, had been ordered to Bellinzona, in Switzerland, but his correspondence with his friends had never been inter- rupted for years. Years after his removal the above- mentioned lady was taken ill, and at once predicted the day and hour of her death. On the appointed day she was cheerful and perfectly composed ; at a certain hour, however, she raised herself slightly on her couch, and said with a sweet smile, " Now it is time for me to go and say good-bye to Father 0. She immediately fell asleep, then awoke again, spoke a few words, and died. At the same hour the monk was sitting in Bel- linzona at his writing-table, a so-called pandora, a mu- sical instrument, by his side. Suddenly he hears a noise like an explosion, and looking up startled, sees a white figure, in whom he at once recognizes his distant friend by her sweet smile. When he examined his instrument he found the sounding-board cracked, which, no doubt, had given rise to his hearing what he considered a " warning voice." The Rev. Mr. Oberlin, well-known and much revered in Germany, and by no means forgot- ten in our own country, where a prosperous college still bears his name, declares in his memoirs that he had for nine years constant intercourse with his deceased wife. He saw her for the first time after her death in broad GHOSTS. 215 daylight and when he was wide awake; afterwards the conversations were carried on partly in the day and partly at night. Other people in the village in which he lived saw her as well as himself. Nor was it by the eye only that the pious, excellent man judged of her presence ; frequently, when he extended his hand, he would feel his fingers gently pressed, as his wife had been in the habit of doing when she passed by him and would not stop. But there was much bitterness and sorrow also mixed up with the sweetness of these mys- terious relations. The passionate attachment of hus- band and wife could ill brook the terrible barrier that separated them from each other, and often the latter would look so wretched and express her grief in such heartrending words that the poor minister was deeply afflicted. The impression produced on his mind was that her soul, forced for unknown reasons to remain for some time in an intermediate state, remained warmly attached to earthly friends and lamented the inability to confer with them after the manner of men. After nine years the husband's visions suddenly ended and he was informed in a dream that his wife had been ad- mitted into a higher heaven, where she enjoyed the promised peace with her Saviour, but could no longer commune with mortal beings. It is well known that even the great reformer, Mar- tin Luther, knew of several similar cases, and in his " Table Talk " mentions more than one remarkable in- stance. 216 MODERN MAGIC. Another well-known and much discussed occurrence of this kind happened in the days of Mazarin, and cre- ated a great sensation in the highest circles at Paris. A marquis of Eambouillet and a marquis of Preci, inti- mate friends, had agreed to inform each other of their fate after death. The former was ordered to the army in Flanders, while the other remained in the capital. Here he was taken ill with a fever, several weeks after parting with his friend, and as he was one morning to- wards 6 o'clock lying in bed awake, the curtains were suddenly drawn aside, and his friend dressed as usual, booted and spurred, was standing before him. Over- joyed, he was about to embrace him, but his friend drew back and said that he had come only to keep his promise after having been killed in a skirmish the day before, and that Preci also would share his fate in the first combat in which he should be engaged. The latter thinks his friend is joking, jumps up and tries to seize him — but he feels nothing. The vision, however, is still there; Eambouillet even shows him the fatal wound in his thigh from which the blood seems still to be flowing. Then only he disappears and Preci re- mains utterly overcome; at last he summons his valet, rouses the whole house, and causes every room and every passage to be searched. No trace, however, is found, and the whole vision is attributed to his fever. But a few days later the mail arrives from Flanders, bringing the news that Eambouillet had really fallen in such a skirmish and died from a wound in the thigh ; GHOSTS. 217 the prediction also was fulfilled, for Preci fell afterwards in his first fight near St. Antoine (Petaval, Causes .y.xii. 269). The parents of the well-known writer Schubert were exceptionally endowed with magic powers of this kind. The father once heard, as he thought in a dream, the voice of his aged mother, who called upon him to come and visit her in the distant town in which she lived, if he desired to see her once more before she died. He rejected the idea that this was more than a common dream ; but soon he heard the voice repeating the warn- ing. Xow he jumped up and saw his mother standing before him, extending her hand and saving: *• Christian Gottlob, farewell, and may God bless you; you will not see me again upon earth," and with these words she disappeared. Although no one had apprehended such a calamity, she had actually died at that hour, after expressing in her last moments a most anxious desire to see her son once more. Tangible perceptions of persons dying at a distance are, of course, very rare. Still, more than one such case is authoritatively stated: among these, the follow- ing : A lawyer in Paris had returned home and walked, in order to reach his own bedroom, through that of his brother. To his great astonishment he saw the latter lying in his bed : received, however, no answer to his questions. Thereupon he walked up to the bed, touched his brother and found the body icy cold. Of a sudden the form vanished and the bed was empty. At 10 218 MODERN MAGIC. that instant it flashed through his mind that he and his brother had promised each other that the one dying first should, if possible, give a sign to the survivor. When he recovered from the deep emotion caused by these thoughts, he left the room and as he opened the door he came across a number of men who bore the body of his brother, who had been killed by a fall from his horse {La Patrie, Sept. 22, 1857). The Count of Neuilly, also, was warned in a somewhat similar man- ner. He was at college and on the point of paying a visit to his paternal home, when a letter came telling him that his father was not quite well and that he had better postpone his visit a few days. Later letters from his mother mentioned nothing to cause him any un- easiness. But several days afterward, at one o'clock in the morning, he thought, apparently in a dream, that he saw a pale ghastly figure rise slowly at the lower end of his bed, extend both arms, embrace him and then sink slowly down again out of sight. He uttered heart- rending cries, and fell out of his bed, upsetting a chair and a table. When his tutor and a man-servant rushed into the room, they found him lying unconscious on the floor, covered with cold, clammy perspiration and strangely disfigured. As soon as he was restored to consciousness, he burst out into tears and assured them that his father had died and come to take leave of him. In vain did his friends try to calm his mind, he re- mained in a state of utter dejection. Three days later a letter came from his mother, bringing him the sad GHOSTS. 219 news, that his father had died on that night and at the honr in which he had appeared by his bedside. The unfortunate Count could never entirely get rid of the overwhelming impression which this occurrence had made on his mind, and was, to the day of his death, firmly convinced of the reality of this meeting (Dix Annees cV emigration. Paris, 1865). We learn from such accounts that there prevails among all men, at all ages, a carefully repressed, but almost irresistible belief in supernatural occurrences, and in the close proximity of the spirit world. This belief is neither to be treated with ridicule nor to be objected to as unchristian, since it is an abiding wit- ness that men entertain an ineradicable conviction of tne immortality of the soul. ISTo arguments can ever destroy in the minds of the vast majority of men this innate and intuitive faith. "We may decline to believe with them the existence of supernatural agencies, as long as no experimental basis is offered ; but we ought, at the same time, to be willing to modify our incre- dulity as soon as an accumulation of facts appear to justify us in so doing. Our age is so completely given up to materialism with its ceaseless hurry and worry, that we ought to hail with a sense of relief new powers which require examination, and which offer to our in- tellectual faculties an untrodden field of investigation, full of incidents refreshing to our weary mind, and promising rich additions to our store of knowledge. It can hardly be denied that there is at least a pos- 220 MODERN MAGIC. sibility of the existence of a higher spiritual power within ns, which, often slumbering and altogether un- known, or certainly unobserved during life, becomes suddenly free to act in the hour of death. This may be brought about by the fact that at that time the strength of the body is exhausted, and earthly wants no longer press upon us, while the spiritual part of our being, largely relieved of its' bondage, becomes active in its own peculiar way, and thus acquires a power which we are disposed to call a magic power. This power is, of course, not used consciously, for consciousness pre- supposes the control over our senses, but it acts by in- tuitive impulse. Hence the wide difference existing between the so-called magic gf charmers, enchanters, and conjurors, justly abhorred and strictly prohibited by divine laws, and the effects of such supreme efforts made by the soul, which depend upon involuntary action, and are never made subservient to wicked pur- poses. The results of such exertions are generally impres- sions made apparently upon the eye or the ear ; but it need not be said that what is seen or heard in such cases, is merely the effect of a deeply felt sensation in our soul which seeks an outward expression. If our innermost being is thus suddenly appealed to, as it were, by the spirit of a dying friend or companion, his image arises instantaneously before our mind's eye, and we fancy we see him in bodily form, or our memory recalls the familiar sounds by which his appearance GHOSTS. v 221 was wont to be accompanied. Dying musicians remind distant friends of their former relations by sweet sounds, and a sailor, wounded to death, appears in his uniform to relatives at home. The series of sights and sounds by which such intercourse is established, yaries from the simplest and faintest vision to an apparently clear and distinct perception of well-known forms, and constitute feeble, hardly perceptible, sighs or sobs to words uttered aloud, or whole melodies clearly recited. If a living person, by such an unconscious but all-power- ful effort of will, makes himself seen by others, we call the vision a "double," in German, a " Doppelganger ; " if he produces a state of dualism, such as has been men- tioned before, and sees his own self in space before him, we speak of second sight. Such efforts are, however, by no means strictly lim- ited to the moment of dissolution, when soul and body are already in the act of parting. They occur also in living persons, but almost invariably only in diseased persons. The exceptions belong to the small number of men in whom great excitement from without, or a mysterious power of will, cause a state of ecstasy ; they are, in com- mon parlance, " beside themselves." In this condition, their soul is for the moment freed from the bondage in which it is held by its earthy companion, and such men become clairvoyants and prophets, or they are enabled actually to affect other men at a distance, in various ways. Thus it may very well be, that strange visions, the hearing of mysterious voices, and especially the 222 MODERN MAGIC. most familiar phenomenon, second sight, are in reality nothing more than symptoms of a thoroughly diseased system, and this explains very simply the frequency with which death follows such mysterious occurrences. Men have claimed — and proved to the satisfaction of more or less considerable numbers of friends — that they could at will cause a partial and momentary parting be- tween their souls and their bodies. Here also antiquity is our first teacher, if we believe Pliny {Hist. Nat. vii. c. 52), Hermotimus could at his pleasure fall into a trance and then let his soul proceed from his body to distant places. Upon being aroused, he reported what he had seen and heard abroad, and his statements were, in every case, fully confirmed. Cardanus, also, could volun- tarily throw himself into a state of apparent syncope, as he tells us in most graphic words {Be Res. Var. v. iii. 1. viii. c. 43). The first sensation of which he was always fully conscious, was a peculiar pain in the head, which gradually extended downward along the spine, and at last spread over the extremities — evidently a purely nervous process. Then he felt as if a " door was opened, and he himself was leaving his body," whereupon he not only saw persons at a distance, but noticed all that befell them, and recalled it after he had recovered from the trance. An old German Abbe, Freitheim, of whose remarkable work on Steganographie (1621), unfortun- ately only a few sheets have been preserved, claims the power to commune with absent friends by the mere en- ergy of his will. " I can," says he, " make known my GHOSTS. 223 thoughts to the initiated, at a distance of many hundred miles, without word, writing or cypher, by any messenger. The latter cannot betray me, for he knows nothing. If needs be, I can even dispense with the messenger. If my correspondent should be buried in the deepest dungeon I could still convey to him my thoughts as clearly, as fully, and as frequently as might be desir- able, and all this, quite simply, without superstition, without the aid of spirits." The famous Agrippa (Be occulta philos., Lugduni, III. p. 13) quotes the former writer, and asserts that he also could, by mere effort of will, in a perfectly simple and natural manner convey his thoughts not to the initiated only, but to any one, even when his correspondent's present place of resi- dence should be unknown. The most remarkable, and, at the same time, the best authenticated case of this kind, is that of a high German official men- tioned in a scientific paper (Xasse. Zeitschrift far psycliisclie Aerzte, 1820), and frequently copied into others. A Counsellor Wesermann claimed to be able to cause distant friends to dream of any subject he might choose. Whenever he awoke at night and made a determined effort to produce such an effect, he never failed, provided the nature of the desired dream was calculated to startle or deeply excite his friends. His power was tested in this manner. He engaged to cause a young officer, who was stationed at Aix-la-Cbapelle, nearly fifty miles from his own home, to dream of a 224 MODERN MAGIC. young lady who had died not long ago. It was eleven o'clock at night, but by some accident the lieutenant was not at home in bed, but at a friend's country-seat, discussing the French campaign. Suddenly the col- onel, his host, and he himself see at the same time the door open, a lady enter, salute them sadly, and beckon them to follow her. The two officers rise and leave the room after her, but once out of doors, the figure disap- pears, and when they inquire of the sentinels standing guard outside, they are told that no one has entered. What made the matter more striking yet, was the fact that although both men had seen the door open, this could not really have been so, for the wood had sprung and the door creaked badly whenever it was opened. The same Wesermann could, in like manner, cause his friends to see his own person and to hear secrets which he seemed to whisper into their ears whenever he chose ; but he admitted upon it that his will was not at all times equally strong, and that, hence, his efforts were not always equally successful. Cases of similar powers are very numerous. A very curious example was published in 1852, in a work on "Psychologic Studies " (Schlemmer, p. 59). The author, who was a police agent in the Prussian service, asserted that per- sons who apprehended being conducted to gaol with special anxiety, often made themselves known there in advance, announcing their arrival by knocks at the gates, opening of doors, or footsteps heard in the room set aside for examining new comers. One day, not the GHOSTS. 225 writer only, but all the prisoners in the same building, and even the sentinel at the gate heard distinctly a great disturbance and the rattling of chains in a cell exclusively appropriated to murderers. The next day a criminal was brought who had expressed such horror of this gaol, and made such resistance to the officials who were to carry him there, that it had become neces- sary, after a great uproar, to chain him hands and feet. It is well known that the mother of the great statesman Canning at one time of her life suffered under most mysterious though harmless nightly visitations. Her circumstances were such that she readily accepted the offer of a dwelling which stood unoccupied, with the exception of the basement, in which a carpenter had his workshop. At nightfall he and his workmen left the house, carefully locking the door, but night after night, at twelve o'clock precisely, work began once more in the abandoned part of the house, as far as the ear could judge, and the noise made by planing and sawing, cutting and carving increased, till the fearless old lady slipt down in her stocking feet and opened the door. Instantly the noise was hushed, and she looked into the dark deserted room. But as soon as she re- turned to her chamber the work began anew, and con- tinued for some time ; nor was she the only one who heard it, but others, the owner of the house included, heard everything distinctly. The following well-authenticated account of a pos- thumous appearance, is not without its ludicrous ele- 226 MODERN MAGIC. ment. A court-preacher in one of the little Saxon Duchies, appeared once in bands and gowns before his sovereign, bowing most humbly and reverently. The duke asked what he desired, but received no answer ex- cept another deep reverence. A second question meets with the same reply, whereupon the divine leaves the room, descends the stairs and crosses the court-yard, while the prince, much surprised at his strange conduct, stands at a wiDdow and watches him till he reaches the gates. Then he sends a page after him to try and as- certain what was the matter with the old gentleman, but the page comes running back almost beside himself, and reports that the minister had died a short while before. The prince refuses to believe his report, and sends a high official, but the latter returns with the same report and this additional information : The dy- ing man had asked for writing materials, in order to recommend his widow to his sovereign, but had hardly commenced writing the letter when death surprised him. The fragment was brought to the duke and con- vinced him that his faithful servant, unable to reach him by letter, and yet nervously anxious to approach him, had spiritually appeared to him in his most familiar cos- tume (Daumer, Mystagog. I. p. 224). Before we regret such statements or treat them with ridicule, it will be well to remember, that men endowed with an extraordinary power of controlling certain fac- ulties of body and soul, are by no means rare, and that the difference between them and those last mentioned, GHOSTS. 227 consists only in the degree. We speak of the power of sight and limit it ordinarily to a certain distance — and yet a Hottentot, we are told, can perceive the head of a gazelle in the dry, uniform grass of an African plain, at the distance of a thousand yards! Many men cannot hear sounds in nature which are perfectly audible to others, while some persons hear even certain notes uttered by tiny insects, which escape altogether the average hearing of man. Patients under treatment by Baron Reichenbach, saw luminous objects and the ap- pearance of lights hovering above ground, where neither he nor any of his friends could perceive anything but utter darkness, and the special gift with which some persons are endowed to feel, as it were* the presence of water and of metals below the surface, is w T ell authenti- cated. Poor Caspar Hauser, bred in darkness and soli- tude, felt various and deep impressions upon his whole being during the first months of his free life, whenever he came in contact with plants, stones or muetals. The latter sent a current through all his limbs ; tobacco fields made him deadly sick, and the vicinity of a graveyard gave him violent pains in his chest. Persons who were introduced to him for the first time, sent a cold current through him ; and when they possessed a specially power- ful physique, they caused him abundant perspiration, and often even convulsions. The waves of sound he felt so much more acutely than others, that he always contin- ued to hear them with delight, long after the last sound had passed away from the ears of others. It maybe fairly 228 MODERN MAGIC. presumed that this extreme sensitiveness to outward im- pressions is originally possessed by all men, but becomes gradually dulled and dimmed by constant repetition ; at the same time it may certainly be preserved in rare privi- leged cases, or it may come back again to the body in a diseased or disordered condition, and at the moment of dissolution. Nor is the power occasionally granted to men to con- trol their senses limited to these ; even the spontaneous functions of the body are at times subject to the will of man. An Englishman, for instance, could at will mod- ify the beating of his heart (Oheyne, " New Dis.," p. 307), and a German produced, like a veritable ruminant, the antiperistaltic motions of the stomach, whenever he chose (Blumenbach, Pliys. § 294). Other men have been known who could at any moment cause the famil- iar "goose-skin," or perspiration, to appear in any part of the body, and many persons can move not only the ears — a lost faculty according to Darwin — but even en- large or contract the pupil of the eye, after the manner of cats and parrots. Even the circulation of the blood has been known, in a few rare cases, to have been subject to the will of men, and the great philosopher Kant did not hesitate to affirm, supported as he was by his own ex- perience, that men could, if they were but resolute enough, master, by a mere effort of the will, not a few of their diseases. A striking evidence of the comparative facility with which men thus exceptionally gifted, may be able to Gnosis. imitate certain magic phenomena, was once given by an excellent mimic, whom Richard describes in his Theorie He could change his features so complete- ly that they assumed a deathlike appearance ; his senses lost gradually their power of perception, and the vital spirit was seen to withdraw from the outer world. A slow, quivering motion passed through his whole sys- 1 from the feet upward, as if he wished to rise from the ground. After a while all efforts of the body to remain upright proved fruitless: it looked as if life had actually begun to leave it already. At this moment he abandoned his deception and was so utterly exhausted that he heard and saw but with extreme difficulty. In the face of these facts the possibility at least can- not be denied that certain specially endowed individu- als may possess, in health or in disease, the power to perceive phenomena which appear all the more marvel- ous because they are beyond the reach of ordinary pow- ers of perception. In our own day superstition and wanton,, or cunning- ly devised,, imposture have been so largely mixed up with the subject, that a strong and very natural preju- dice has gradually grown up against the belief in ghosts. Every strange appearance, every mysterious coinci- dence, that escaped the most superficial investigation, - forthwith called a ghost. History records, bes: \ numerous cases in which the credulity of great men has been played upon fur purposes of policy and state- craft. When the German Emperor Joseph showed his 230 MODERN MAGIC. great fondness of Augustus of Saxony — afterwards king of Poland — his Austrian counsellors became alarmed at the possible influence of such intimacy of their sovereign with a Protestant prince, and determin- ed to break it off. Night after night, therefore, a fear- ful vision arose before the German emperor, rattling its chains and accusing the young prince of grievous her- esy. Augustus, however, known already at that time for his gigantic strength, asked Joseph's permission to sleep in his room ; w r hen the ghost appeared as usual, the young prince sprang upon him, and feeling his flesh and blood, threw him bodily out of a window of the second story into a deep fosse. The unfortunate king of Prussia, Frederick William II., fell soon after his ascension of the throne into the hands of designing men, who determined to profit by his great kindness of heart and his tendency to mysticism, and began to work upon him by supernatural apparitions. One of the most cunningly devised impostures of the kind was practised upon King Gustavus III. of Sweden by ambitious noblemen of his court. The scene was the ancient Lofoe church in Dro- tingholm, a favorite residence of former Swedish mon- archs. The king's physician, Iven Hedin, learnt acci- dentally from the sexton that his master had been spending several nights in the building, in company with a few of his courtiers. Alarmed by this informa- tion he persuaded the sexton to let him watch the pro- ceedings from a secret place in the old steeple of the GHOSTS. 231 church. An opportunity came in the month of Au- gust, 1782, and he had scarcely taken possession of his post when two of the royal secretaries came in, closed the door, and arranged a curious contrivance in the body of the building. To his great surprise and amusement the doctor saw them fasten some horse-hairs to the heavy chandeliers suspended from the lofty ceil- ing, and then pin to them masks sewed on to white floating garments. Finally large quantities of incense were scattered on the floor and set on fire, while all lights, save a few thin candles, were extinguished. Then the king was ushered in with five of his courtiers, made to assume a peculiar, very irksome position, and all were asked to hold naked swords upon each other's breasts. Thereupon the first comer murmured certain formulas of conjuration, and performed some cere- monies, when his companion slowly drew up one of the masks. It was fashioned to resemble the great Gus- tavus Adolphus, and in the dimly-lighted church, filled with dense smoke, it looked to all intents and purposes like a ghost arising from the vaults underneath. It disappeared as slowly into the darkness above, and was immediately followed by another mask representing Adolphus Frederick, and even the physician, who knew the secret, could not repress a shudder, so admirably was the whole contrived. Then followed a few flashes of lightning, during which the horse-hairs were re- moved, lights were brought in, and the king, deeply moved and shedding silent tears, escorted from the 232 MODERN MAGIC. building. The faithful physician watched his oppor- tunity, and when a favorable hour appeared, revealed the secret to his master, and thus, fortunately for Sweden, defeated a very dangerous and most skillfully- conducted conspiracy. Even ventriloquism has lent its aid to many an his- torical imposture, as in the case of Francis I. of France, whose valet, Louis of Brabant, possessed great skill in that art, and used it unsparingly for his own benefit and to the advantage of courtiers who employed him for political purposes. He even persuaded the mother of a beautiful and wealthy young lady to give him her daughter's hand by imitating the voice of her former husband, and commanding her to do so in order to release him from purgatory ! "We fear that to this class of ghostly appearances must also be counted the almost historical White Lady of the Margraves of Brandenburg. Eeport says that she represents a Countess Kunigunde of Orlamunde, who lived in the fourteenth century and killed her two children, for which crime she was executed by order of a Burggrave of Nuremberg. His- tory, however, knows nothing of such an event, and the White Lady does not appear till I486, when she is first seen in the old palace at Baireuth. This was noth- ing but a trick of the courtiers; whenever they desired to leave the dismal town and the uncomfortable build- ing, one of the court ladies personated the ghost, and occasionally, even two white ladies were seen at the ghosts. 23:> same time. In 1540 the ghost met with a tragic fate ; it had appeared several times in the castle of Margrave Albert the warrior, and irritated the prince to such a degree that he at last seized it one night and hnrled it headlong down the long staircase. The morning dawn revealed his chancellor, Christopher Strass, who had be- trayed his master and now paid with a broken neck for his bold imposture. After this catastrophe the White Lady was not seen for nearly a hundred years, w r hen she suddenly reappeared in Baireuth. In the year 1677 the then reigning Margrave of Brandenburg found her one day sitting in his own chair and was terrified ; the next day he rode out, fell from his horse, and was instantly killed. From this time the White Lady became a part of the history of the house of Brandenburg, accompany- ing the princes to Berlin and making it her duty to forewarn the illustrious family of any impending ca- lamity. King Frederick I. saw her distinctly, but other sovereigns discerned only a vague outline and now and then the nose and eyes, while all the rest was closely veiled. In the old palace at Baireuth there exist to this day two portraits of the White Lady, one in white, as she appeared of old, and very beautiful, the other in black satin, with her hair powdered and dressed after more modern fashion — there is no likeness between the two faces. The ghost was evidently a good patriot, for she disturbed French officers w r ho were quartered there, in the new palace as well as in the old, and as late as 1806 thoroughly frightened a number of generals who 334 MODERN MAGIC. had laughed at the credulity of the Germans. In 1809 General d'Espagne roused his aids in the depth of night by fearful cries, and when they rushed in he was found lying in the centre of the room, under the bedstead. He told them that the White Lady, in a costume of black and white, resembling one of the portraits, had appeared and threatened to strangle him ; in the strug- gle she had dragged the bedstead to the middle of the room and there upset it. The room was thoroughly searched at his command, the hangings removed from the walls, and the whole floor taken up, but no trace was found of any opening through which a person might have entered; the doors had been guarded by sentinels. The general left the place immediately, looking upon the vision as a warning of impending evil, and, sure enough, a few days later he found his death upon the battle-field of Aspern. Even the great Napoleon, whose superstition was generally thought to be confined to his faith in his " star," would not lodge in the rooms haunted by the White Lady, and when he reached Baireuth in 1812, a suite of rooms was prepared for him in another wing of the palace. It was, how- ever, noticed that even there his night's rest must have been interrupted, for on the next morning he was re- markably nervous and out of humor, murmuring repeatedly " Oe maud it chateau" and declaring that he would never again stay at the place. When he returned to that neighborhood in 1813, he refused to occupy the rooms that had been prepared for him, and continued GHOSTS. 235 his journey far into the night, rather than remain at Bairenth. The town was, however, forever relieved of its ill-fame after 1822. It is not without interest that in the same year the steward of the royal palace died, and report says in his rooms were found a number of curiosities apparently connected with the White Lady's costume ; if this be so, his ardent patriotism and fierce hatred of the French might well furnish a cue to some of the more recent apparitions. The White Lady con- tinued to appear in Berlin, and the terror she created was not even allayed by repeated discoveries of most absurd efforts at imposture. Once she turned out to be a white towel agitated by a strong draught between two windows; at another time it was a kitchen-maid on an errand of love, and a third time an old cook taking an airing in the deserted rooms. She appeared once more in the month of February, 1820, announcing, as many believed, the death of the reigning monarch, which took place in June; and quite recently (1872) similar warning was given shortly before the emperor's brother, Prince Albrecht, died in his palace. White ladies are, however, by no means an exclusive privilege of the house of Brandenburg; Scotland has its ancient legends, skillfully used in novel, poem and opera, and Italy boasts of a Donna Bianca, at Colalta, in the Marca Erivigiana, of whom Byron spoke as if he had never doubted her existence. Ireland has in like manner the Banshee, who warns with her plaintive voice the descendants of certain old families, whenever 236 MODERN MAGIC. a great calamity threatens one of the members. Curi- ously enough she clings to these once powerful but now often wretchedly poor families, as if pride of descent and attachment to old splendor prevailed even in the realms of magic. Historical ghosts play, nevertheless, a prominent part in all countries. Lilly, Baxter and Clarendon, all relate the remarkable warnings which preceded the murder of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. In this case the warning was given not to the threatened man, but to an old and faithful friend, who had already been intimate with the duke's father. He saw the latter appear to him several nights in succession, urging him to go to the duke, and after revealing to him certain peculiar circumstances, to warn him against the plots of his enemies, who threatened his life. Parker was afraid to appear ridiculous and delayed giving the warning. But the ghost left him no peace, and at last, in order to decide him, revealed to him a secret only known to himself and his ill-fated son. The latter, when his old friend at last summoned courage to deliver the mysterious message, was at first inclined to laugh at the warning; but when Parker mentioned the father's secret, he turned pale and declared only the Evil One could have entrusted it to mortal man. Nevertheless, he took no steps to rid himself of his traitorous friend and continued his sad life as before. The father's ghost thereupon appeared once more to Parker, with deep sadness in his features and hold- GHOSTS. 237 ing a knife in his hand, with which, he said, his unfortunate son would be murdered. Parker, whose own impending death had been predicted at the same time, once more waited upon the great duke, but again in vain : he was rudely sent back and requested not to trouble the favorite's peace any more by his foolish dreams. A few days afterwards Lieutenant Eelton assassinated the duke with precisely such a knife as Parker had seen in his visions. A similar occurrence is related of the famous Duchess of Mazarin, the favorite of Charles II., and Madame de Beauclair, who stood in the same relation to James II. The two ladies, who were bosom friends, had pledged their word to each other, that she who died first should appear to the survivor and inform her of the nature of the future state. The duchess died ; but as no message came from her, her friend denied stoutly and persistently the immortality of the soul. But many years later, when the promise was long forgotten, the duchess suddenly was seen one night, gliding softly through the room and looking sweetly at her friend, whispering to her : " Beauclair, between twelve and one o'clock to-night you will be near me." The poor lady died at the appointed hour (Xork. " Existence of Spirits/' p. 260). Less well-authenticated is the account of a warning given to King George I. shortly before his death, although it was generally believed throughout England at the time it occurred. The report was that the Queen, Sophia, repeatedly showed herself to her 238 MODEKX MAGIC. husband, beseeching him to break off his intercourse with his beautiful friend, Lady Horatia. As these requests availed nothing, and the monarch refused even to believe in the reality of her appearance, she at last tied a knot in a lace collar, declaring that " if mortal fingers could untie the knot, the king and Lady Horatia might laugh at her words." The fair lady tried her best to undo it, but giving it up in despair, she threw the collar into the fire; the king, highly excited, snatched the lace from the burning coals, but in so doing, touched with it the light gauze dress of his companion. In her terror she ran with great swift- ness through room after room, thus fanning the flames into a blaze, and perished amid excruciating pains. The king, it is well known, died only two months later. A case which created a very great sensation at the time when it happened, and became generally known through the admirable manner in which it was nar- rated by the eloquent Bernardin de St. Pierre (Jour- nal de Trevoux, vol. viii.), was that of the priest Bezuel. When a young man of 15, and at college, he contracted an intimate friendship with the son of a royal official, called Desfontaines. The two friends often spoke of future life, and when parted in 1696, they signed with their blood a solemn compact, in which they agreed that the first who died should appear after death to the survivor. They wrote to each other constantly, and frequently alluded in their letters to the agreement. A year after GHOSTS. 239 their parting, Bezuel happened to be, one day, in the fields, delivering a message to some workmen, when he suddenly fell down fainting. As he was in perfect health, he knew not what to think of this accident, but when it occurred a second and a third time, at the same hour, on the two following days, he became seriously uneasy. On the last occasion, however, he fell into a trance, in which he saw nothing around him, but beheld his friend Desfontaines, who seized him by the arm and led him some thirty yards aside. The workmen saw him go there, as if obeying a guardian hand, and converse with an unseen person for three quarters of an hour. The young man heard here from his friend's lips, that he had been drowned while bathing in the river Orne on the day and at the hour when Bezuel had had his first fainting fit, that a companion had endeavored to save him, but when seized by the foot by the drowning man, had kicked him on the chest, and thus caused him to sink to the bottom. Bezuel inquired after all the de- tails and received full answers, but none to questions about the future life; nevertheless, the apparition con- tinued to speak fluently but calmly, and requested Bez- uel to make certain communications to his kinsmen, and to repeat the " seven penitential psalms," which he ought to have said himself as a penance. It also men- tioned the work in which Desfontaines had been en- gaged up to the day of his death, and some names which he had cut in the bark of a tree near the town in which he lived. Then it disappeared. Bezuel was not able to 240 MODERN MAGIC. carry out his friend's wishes, although the arm by which lie had been seized, reminded him daily of his duty by a severe pain ; after a month, the drowned man appeared twice more, urging his requests, and saying each time at the end of the interview, " bis, Ms" just as he had been accustomed to do when in life. At last the young priest found the means to do his friend's bidding ; the pain in the arm ceased instantly and his health remain- ed perfect to the end of his life. When he reached Caen where Desfontaines had perished, he found everything precisely as he had been told in his visions, and two years afterwards he discovered by chance even the tree with the names cut in the bark. The amiable Abbe de St. Pierre does his best to explain the whole occur- rence as a natural series of very simple accidents ; there can be, however, no doubt of the exceptionable char- acter of the leading features of the event, and the priest, from whose own account the facts are derived, must evidently in his trance have been endowed with powers of clairvoyance. In the first part of this century a book appeared in Germany which led to a very general and rather violent discussion of the whole subject. It was written by a Dr. Woetzel, whose mind had, no doubt, been long engaged in trying to solve mysteries like that of the future life, since he had early come in contact with strange phenomena. The father of a dear friend of his having fainted in consequence of receiving a serious wound, was very indignant at being roused from the GHOSTS. 241 state of perfect bliss which he had enjoyed during the time. He affirmed that in the short interval he had visited his brother in Berlin, whom he found sitting in a bower under a large linden-tree, surrounded by his family and a few friends, and engaged in drinking coffee. Upon entering the garden, his brother had risen, advanced towards him and asked him what had brought him so unexpectedly to Berlin. A few days after the fainting-fit a letter arrived from that city, inquiring what could have happened on that day and at that hour, and reciting all that the old gentleman had reported as having been done during his uncon- sciousness ! Nor had the latter been seen by his brother only, but quite as distinctly by the whole com- pany present ; his image had, however, vanished again as soon as his brother had attempted to touch him (Woetzel, p. 215). From his work we learn that he had begged his wife on her death-bed to appear to him after death, and she had promised to do so ; but soon after her mind became so uneasy about the probable effects of her pledge, that her husband released her, and abandoned all thoughts on the subject. Several weeks later he was sitting in a locked room, when suddenly a heavy draught of air rushed through it, the light was nearly blown out, a small window in an alcove sounded as if it were opened, and in an instant the faint lumin- ous form of his wife was standing before the amazed widower. She said in a soft, scarcely audible voice : " Charles, I am immortal ; we shall see each other 11 242 MODERN MAGIC. again." Woetzel jumped up and tried to seize the form, but it vanished like thin mist, and he felt a strong electric shock. He saw the same vision and heard the same words repeatedly ; his wife appeared as he had last seen her lying in her coffin ; the second time a dog, who had been often petted by her, wagged his tail and walked caressingly around the apparition. The book, which appeared in 1804, and gave a full account of all the phenomena, met with much opposi- tion and contempt ; a number of works were written against it, Wieland ridiculed it in his " Euthanasia," and others denounced it as a mere repetition of former statements. The author was, however, not abashed by the storm he had raised; he offered to swear to the truth of all he had stated before the Great Council of the University of Leipzig, and published a second work in which lie developed his theory of ghosts with great ability. According to his view, the spirits of the de- parted are for some time after death surrounded by a luminous essence, which may, under peculiarly favor- able circumstances, become visible to human eyes, but which, according to the weakness of our mind, is gen- erally transformed by the imagination only into the more familiar form of deceased friends. He insists, besides, upon it that all he saw and heard was an im- pression made upon the outer senses only, and that nothing in the whole occurrence originated in his inner consciousness. As there was nothing to be gained for him by his persistent assertions, it seems GHOSTS. 243 but fair to give them all the weight they may deserve, till the whole subject is more fully understood. Another remarkable case is that of a Mr. and Mrs. James, at whose house the Key. Mr. Mills, a Methodist preacher, was usually entertained when his duties brought him to their place of residence. One year he found they had both died since his last visit, but he staid with the orphaned children, and retired to the same room which he had always occupied. The ad- joining room was the former chamber of the aged couple, and here he began soon to hear a whispering aud moving about, just as he used to hear it when they were still alive. This recalled to him the reports he had heard in the town, that the departed had been fre- quently seen by their numerous friends and kinsmen. The next day he called upon a plain but very pious woman, who urged him to share her simple meal with her ; he consented, but what was his amazement when she said to him at the close of the meal : u Xow, Mr. Mills, I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to preach my funeral sermon next Sunday. I am going to die next Friday at three o'clock." When the aston- ished minister asked her to explain the strange request, she replied that Mr. and Mrs. James had come to her to tell her that they were ineffably happy, but still bound by certain ties to the world below. They had added that they had not died, as people believed, with- out disposing of their property, but that, in order to avoid dissensions among their children, they had been 244 MODEEN MAGIC. allowed to return and to make the place known where the will was concealed. They had tried to confer with Mr. Mills, but his timidity had prevented it ; now they had come to her, as the minister was going to dine that day at her house. Finally they had informed her of her approaching death on the day she had mentioned. The Methodist minister looked, aided by the heirs and a legal man, for the will and found it at the place indi- cated. Nanny, the poor woman, died on Friday, and her funeral sermon was preached by him on the follow- ing Sunday (Eechenberg, p. 182). A certain Dr. T. Van Velseu published in 1870, in Dutch, a work, called Christies Redivivus, in which he relates a number of very remarkable appearances of deceased persons, and among these the following: "A friend of the author's, a man of sound, practical mind, and a declared enemy of all superstition, lost his mother whom he had most assiduously nursed for six weeks and who died in full faith in her Redeemer. A few days later his nephew was to be married in a distant province, but although no near kinsman of his, except his mother, could be present, he, the uncle, could not make up his mind so soon after his grievous loss, to attend a wedding. This decision irritated and wounded his sister deeply and led to warm discussions, in which other relatives also took her side, and which threatened to cause a serious breach in the family. The mourner was deeply afflicted by the scene and at night, having laid the matter before God, he fell asleep with the ^ GHOSTS. 245 thought on his mind : l What would your mother think of it?' Suddenly, while yet wide awake, he heard a voice saying : ' Go I' Although he recognized the yoice instantly,.he thought it might be his sister's and drew the bed-curtain aside, to see who was there. To his amazement he saw his mother's form standing by his bedside ; terrified and bewildered he dropped the cur- tain, turned his face to the wall and tried to collect his thoughts, but at the same time he heard the same voice say once more : * Go ! ' He drew the curtain again and saw his mother as before, looking at him with deep love and gentle urgency. This excites him so that he can control himself no longer; he jumps up and tries to seize the form — it draws back and gradually dissolves before his eye. Now only he recalls how often he has conversed with his mother about the future life and the possibility of communication after death; he becomes calm, decides to attend the wedding and sleeps soundly till the morning. The next day he finds his heart relieved of a sore burden ; he joins his friends at the wedding and finds, to his infinite delight, that by his presence only a serious difficulty is avoided and peace is preserved in a numerous and influential family. In this case the effect of the mind on the imagination is strikingly illustrated, and although the vision of the mother may have existed purely in the son's mind, the practical result was precisely the same as if a spirit had really appeared in tangible shape so as to be seen by the outward eye." 246 MODERN MAGIC. In some instances phenomena, like those described, are apparently the result of a disturbed conscience, and occur, therefore, in frequent repetition. Already Plu- tarch, in his " Life of Cimon," tells us that the Spartan general, Pausanias, had murdered a fair maiden, Cleonice, because she overthrew a torch in his tent and he imagined himself to be attacked by assassins. The ghost of the poor girl, whom he had dishonored in life and so foully killed, appeared to him and threatened him with such fearful disgrace, that he was terrified and hastened to Heraclea, where necromancers sum- moned the spirits of the departed by their vile arts. They called up Cleonice, at the great commander's request, and she replied reluctantly, that the curse would not leave him till he went to Sparta. Pausanias did so and found his death there, the only way, says the historian of the same name, in which he could ever be relieved of such fearful guilt. Baxter, also, tells us (p. 30) of a Eev. Mr. Franklin, whose young son repeat- edly saw a lady and received at her hands quite painful correction. Thus, when he was bound apprentice to a surgeon, in 1661, and refused to return home upon being ordered to do so, she appeared to him, and when he resisted her admonitions, energetically boxed his ears. The poor boy was in bad health and seemed to suffer so much that at last the surgeon determined to consult his father, who lived on the island of Ely. On the morning of the day which he spent travelling, the boy cried out : " Oh, mistress, here's the lady again ! " GHOSTS. 247 and at the same time a noise as of a violent blow was heard. The child hnng his head and fell back dead. In the same hour the surgeon and the boy's father, sit- ting together in consultation, saw a lady enter the room, glance at them angrily, walk up and down a few times and disappear again. The fancy that murdered persons reappear in some shape after death for the purpose of wreaking their vengeance upon their enemies, is very common among all nations, and has often been vividly embodied in le- gends and ballads. The stories of Hamlet and of Don Giovanni are based upon this belief, and the older chronicles abound with similar cases belonging to an age when violence was more frequent and justice less prompt than in our day. Thus we are told in the an- nals of the famous castle of Weinsberg in Suabia — justly renowned all over the world for the rare instance of marital attachment exhibited by its women — that a steward had wantonly murdered a peasant there. Thereupon disturbances of various kinds began to make the castle uninhabitable; a black shape was seen walking about and breathing hot and hateful odors upon all it met, while the steward became an object of special persecution. The townspeople at first were skeptic and laughed at his reports, but soon the black visitor was seen on the ramparts of the town also -and created within the walls the same sensation as up at the castle. The good citizens at last observed a solemn fast- day and performed a pilgrimage to a holy shrine at 248 MODERN MAGIC. Heilbrum. But all was in vain, and the disturbances and annoyances increased in frequency and violence, till at last the unfortunate steward died from vexation and sorrow, when the whole ceased and peace was re- stored to town and castle alike (Crusius, "Suabian Chron." ii. p. 417). Another case of this kind is connected with a curi- ous token of gratitude exhibited by the gratified vic- tim. A president of the Parliament of Toulouse, returning from Paris towards the end of the seven- teenth century, was compelled by an accident to stop at a poor country tavern. During the night there ap- peared to him an old man, pale and bleeding, who declared that he was the father of the present owner of the house, that he had been murdered by his own son, cut to pieces, and buried in the garden. He appealed to the president to investigate the matter and to avenge his murder. The judge was so forcibly impressed by his vision that he ordered search to be made, and lo ! the body of the murdered man was found, and the son, thunderstruck by the mysterious revelation, acknowl- edged his guilt, was tried, and in course of time died on the scaffold. But the murdered man was not satis- fied yet ; he showed himself once more to the president and asked how he could prove his gratitude ? The latter asked to be informed of the hour of his death, that he might fitly prepare himself, and was promised that he should knoAV it a week in advance. Many years afterwards a fierce knocking was heard at the GHOSTS. 249 gate of the president's house in Toulouse ; the porter opened but saw no one; the knocking was repeated, but this time also the servants who had rushed to the spot found nobody there ; when it was heard a third time they were thoroughly frightened and hastened to inform their master. The latter went to the door and there saw the well-remembered form of his nightly visitor, who told him that he would die in eight days. He told his friends and his family what had happened, but only met with laughter, as he was in perfect health and nothing seemed more improbable than his sudden death. But as he sat, on the eighth day, at table with his family, a book was mentioned which he wished to see, and he got up to look for it in his library. In- stantly a shot is heard ; the guests rush out and find him lying on the floor and weltering in his blood. Upon inquiry it appeared that a man, desperately in love with the chamber-maid and jealous of a rival, had mistaken the president for the latter and murdered him with a pistol (De Segur, Qalerie morale et politique, p. 221). Among the numerous accounts of visions which seem to have been caused by an instinctive and perfectly un- conscious perception of human remains, the story of the Rev. Mr. Lindner, in Konigsberg, is perhaps the best authenticated, and from the character of the man to whom the revelation was made, the most trustworthy. It is fully reported by Professor Ehrmann of Strasburg, in Kios. ArcMv. x. iii., p. 143. The minister, a mod- 250 MODEEN MAGIC. est, pious man, awoke in the middle of the night, and saw, by the bright moonlight which was shining into the room, another minister in gown and bands, stand- ing before his open bible, apparently searching for some quotation. He had a small child in his arms, and a larger child stood by his side. After some time spent in speech- less astonishment, Mr. Lindner exclaimed: "All good spirits praise God!" whereupon the stranger turned round, went up to him and offered three times to shake hands with him. Mr. Lindner, however, refused to do so, gazing at the same time intently at his features, and after a while he found himself looking at the air, for all had disappeared. It was a long time afterwards, when sauntering through the cloisters of his church, he was suddenly arrested by a portrait which bore all the features of the minister he had seen on that night. It was one of his predecessors in office, who had died nearly fifty years ago in rather bad odor, reports having been cur- rent at the time, as very old men still living testified, that he had had several illegitimate children, of whose fate nothing was known. But there was a still further sequel to the minister's strange adventure. In the course of the next year his study was enlarged, and for that purpose the huge German stove had to be removed; to the horror of the workmen and of Mr. Lindner, who was promptly called to the spot, the remains of several child- ren were found carefully concealed beneath the solid structure. As there is no reason to suspect self-delusion in the reverend man, and the vision cannot well be GHOSTS, 251 ascribed to any outward cause, it must be presumed that his sensitive nature was painfully affected by the skele- tons in his immediate neighborhood, and that this un- conscious feeling, acting through his imagination, gave form and shape to the impressions made upon his nerves. In another case the principal person was a candidate of divinity, Billing, well known as being of a highly sensitive disposition and given to. hallucinations ; the extreme suffering which the presence of human re- mains caused to his w 7 hole system had been previously already observed. The great German fabulist, Pfeffel, a blind man, once took Billing's arm and went with, him into the garden to take an airing. The poet no- ticed that when they came to a certain place, the young man hesitated and his arm trembled as if it had re- ceived an electric shock. When he was asked what was the matter, he replied, " Oh, nothing I" But upon passing over the spot a second time, the same tremor made itself felt. Pressed by Pfeffel, the young man at last acknowledged that he experienced at that spot the sensation which the presence of a corpse always pro- duced in him, and offered to go there w T ith the poet at night in order to prove to him the correctness of his feelings. When the two friends went to the garden after dark, Billing perceived at once a faint glimmer of light above the spot. He stopped at a distance of about ten yards, and after a while declared that he saw a female figure hovering above the place, about five feet 252 MODERN MAGIC. high, with the right arm across her bosom and the left hand hanging down by her side. When the poet ad- vanced and stood on the fatal spot, the young man affirmed that the image was on his right or his left, before or behind him, and when Pfeffel struck around him with his cane, it produced the effect as if he were cutting through a flame which instantly reunited. The same phenomena were witnessed a second time by a number of Pfeffel's relations. Several days afterwards, while the young man was absent, the poet caused the place in the garden to be dug up, and at a depth of several feet, beneath a layer of lime, a human skeleton was discovered. It was removed, the hole filled up, and all smoothed over again. After Billing's return the poet took him once more into the garden, and this time the young man walked over the fatal spot without experiencing the slightest sensation (Kieser, Archiv., etc., p. 326). It was this remarkable experience which led Baron Keichenbach to verify it by leading one of his sensitive patients, a Miss Eeichel, at night to the great cemetery of Vienna. As soon as she reached the place she per- ceived everywhere a sea of flames, brightest over the new graves, Aveaker over others, and quite faint here and there. In a few cases these lights reached a height of nearly four feet, but generally they had more the ap- pearance of luminous mists, so that her hand, held over the place where she saw one, seemed to be envel- oped in a cloud of fire. She was in no way troubled GHOSTS. 253 by the phenomena, which she had often previously observed, and Baron Reichenbach thought he saw in them a confirmation of his theory about the Od -light. There can be, however, little doubt that the luminous appearance, perceptible though it be only to unusually sensitive persons, is the result of chemical decomposi- tion, which has a peculiar influence over these per- sons. Hence, no doubt, the numerous accounts of will-o'- the-w T isps and ghostly lights seen in graveyards; the frightened beholder is nearly always laughed at or heartily abused, and more than one poor child has fallen a victim to the absurd theory of " curing it of foolish fears." There can be no doubt that light does appear flickering above churchyards, and that there is something more than mere idle superstition in the " corpse-candles " of the Welsh and in the " elf-candles " of the Scotch, which are seen, with foreboding weight, in the house of sickness, betokening near dissolution. At the same time, it is well known that living persons also have, under certain circumstances, given out light, and especially from their head. The cases of Moses, whose face shone with unbearable brightness, and of the martyr Stephen, are familiar to all, and the halo with which artists surround the heads of saints bears eloquent evidence of the universal and deeply-rooted belief. But science also has fully established the fact that light appears as a real and unmistakable luminous efflux from the human body, alike in health and in 254 MODEKN MAGIC. mortal sickness. By far the most common case of such, emission of light is the emission of sparks from the hair when combed. Before and during the electrical " dust-storms " in India, this phenomenon is of frequent occurrence in the hair of both sexes. In dry weather, and when the hair also is dry, and especially immediately before thunderstorms, the same sparks are seen in all countries. Dr. Phipson mentions the case of a relative of his, " whose hair (exactly one yard and a quarter long), when combed somewhat rapidly with a black gutta- percha comb, emits sheets of light upward of a foot in length," the light being " composed of hundreds of small electric sparks, the snapping noise of which is dis- tinctly heard." But electric light is sometimes given off by the human body itself, not merely from the hair. A memorable in- stance of this phenomenon is recorded by Dr. Kane in the journal of his last voyage to the Polar regions. He and a companion, Petersen, had gone to sleep in a hut during intense cold, and on awaking in the night, found, to their horror, that their lamp — their only hope — had gone out. Petersen tried in vain to get light from a pocket-pistol, and then Kane resolved to take the pistol himself. " It was so intensely dark," he says, " that I had to grope for it, and in so doing, I touched his hand. At that instant the pistol — in Petersen's hand — became distinctly visi- ble. A pale bluish light, slightly tremulous, but not broken, covered the metallic parts of it. The stock, too, was distinctly visible as if by reflected light, and to the GHOSTS. 255 amazement of both of us, also the thumb aud two lin- gers with which Petersen was holding it — the creases, wrinkles and circuit of nails being clearly denned upon the skin. As I took the pistol my hand became illu- minated also." This luminous and doubtless electric phenomenon took place in highly exceptional circum- stances, and is the only case recorded in recent times. But a far more remarkable phenomenon of a similar kind is mentioned by Bartholin, who gives an account of a lady in Italy, whom he rightly styles mulier splen- dens, whose body became phosphorescent — or rather shone with electric radiations — when slightly rubbed with a piece of dry linen. In this case the luminosity appears to have been normal, certainly very frequent under ordinary circumstances, and the fact is well attest- ed. Mr. B. H. Patterson mentions in the journal Belgra- via (Oct., 1872), that he saw the flannel with which he had rubbed his body, emit blue sparks, while at the same time he heard a " crackling " sound. These facts prove that the human body even in ordinary life, is capable of giving out luminous undulations, while science teaches us that they appear quite frequently in disease. Here again, Dr. Phipson mentions several cases as the result of his reading. One of these is that of a woman in Mi- lan, during whose illness a so-called phosphoric light glimmered about her bed. Another remarkable case is recorded by Dr. Marsh, in a volume on the " Evolution of Light from the Human Subject," and reads thus: " About an hour and a half before my sister's death, 256 MODERN MAGIC. we were struck by luminous appearances proceeding from her head in a diagonal direction. She was at the time in a half-recumbent position, and perfectly tran- quil. The light was pale as the moon, but quite evident to mamma, myself, and sisters, who were watching over her at the time. One of us at first thought it was light- ning, till shortly afterwards we perceived a sort of tremulous glimmer playing around the head of the bed, and then, recollecting that we had read something of a similar nature having been observed previous to dis- solution, we had candles brought into the room, fearing that our dear sister would perceive the luminosity, and that it might disturb the tranquillity of her last mo- ments." The other case relates to an Irish peasant, and is re- corded from personal observation by Dr. Donovan, in the Dublin Medical Press, in 1870, as follows : " I was sent to see Harrington in December. He had been under the care of my predecessor, and had been entered as a phthisi- cal patient. He was under my care for about five years, and I had discontinued my visits, when the report be- came general that mysterious lights were seen every night in his cabin. The subject attracted a great deal of attention. I determined to submit the matter to the ordeal of my own senses, and for this purpose I visited the cabin for fourteen nights. On three nights only I witnessed anything unusual. Once I perceived a lu- minous fog resembling the aurora borealis; and twice I saw scintillations like the sparkling phosphorescence ex- GHOSTS. 257 hibited by sea-infusoria. From the close scrutiny I made, I can with certainty say, that no imposition was either employed or attempted." The only explanation ever offered by competent authority of the luminous radiations from persons in disease, ascribes them to an efflux or escape of the nerve- force, which is known to be kindred in its nature to electricity, transmuting itself into luminosity as it leaves the body. The Seeress of Prevorst reported that she saw the nerves as shining threads, and even from the eyes of some persons rays of light seemed to her to flash continually. Other somnambulists also, as well as mesmerized persons, have seen the hair of persons shine with a multitude of sparks, while the breath, of their mouth appeared as a faint luminous mist. The same luminosity is, finally, perceived at times in graveyards, and would, no doubt, have led to careful investigation more frequently, if observers had not so often been suspected of superstitious apprehensions. In the case of Baron Keichenbach's patients, however, no such difficulty was to be feared ; they saw invariably light, bluish flames hovering over many graves, and what made the phenomena more striking still, was the fact that these moving lights were only seen on recent graves, as if naturally dependent upon the process of decomposition. If we connect this with our experience of luminosity seen in decaying vegetables, in spoiled meat, and in diseased persons, we shall be prepared to believe that even so-called ghost stories, in which mys- 258 MODERN MAGIC. terious lights play a prominent part, are by no means necessarily Avithout foundation. Cases in which deceased persons have made them- selves known to survivors, or have produced, by some as yet unexplained agency, an impression upon them through other senses than the sight, are very rare. Occasionally, however, the hearing is thus affected, and sweet music is heard, in token, as it were, of the con- tinued intercourse between the dead and the living. One instance may serve as an illustration. The Countess A. had all her life been remarkable for the strange delight she took in clocks ; not a room in her castle but had its large or small clock, and all these she insisted upon winding up herself at the proper time. Her favorite, however, was a very curious and most costly clock in her sitting-room, which had the form of a Gothic church, and displayed in the steeple a small dial, behind which the works were concealed; at the full hour a hymn was played by a kind of music-box attached to the mechanism. She allowed no one to touch this clock, and used to sit before it, as the hand approached the hour, Avaiting for the hymn to be heard. At last she Avas taken ill and confined for seven weeks, during which the clock could not be wound up, and then she died. For special reasons the interment had to take place on the evening of the next day, and, as the castle Avas far from any toAvn, the preparations took so much time that it was nearly midnight before the body could be moved from the bedroom to the drawing- GHOSTS. 259 room, where the usual ceremonies were to be performed. The transfer was accomplished under the superintend- ence of her husband, who followed the coffin, and in the presence of a large number of friends and depend- ents, while the minister led the sad cortege. At the moment when the coffin approached the favorite clock, it suddenly began to strike; but instead of twelve, it gave out thirteen strokes, and then followed the melody of a well-known hymn : "Let us with boldness now proceed On tlie dark path to a new life." The minister, who happened to have been sitting a little while before by the count's side, just beneath the clock, and had mournfully noticed its silence after so many years, was thunderstruck, and could not recover his self-control for some time. The count, on the contrary, saw in the accident a solemn warning from on high, and henceforth laid aside the frivolity which he had so far shown in his life as well as in his principles ("Evening Post" [Germ.], 1840. No. 187). There are finally certain phenomena belonging to this part of magic, which have been very generally at- tributed to an agency in which natural forces and supernatural beings held a nearly equal share. They suggest the interesting but difficult question, whether visions and ecstasy can extend to large numbers of men at once? And yet without some such supposition the armies in the clouds, the wild huntsman of the Ar- dennes, and like appearances cannot well be explained. 260 MODERN MAGIC. Here also no little weight must be attached to ancient superstitions which have become, as it were, a part of a nation's faith. Thus all Northern Germany has from the earliest days been familiar with the idea of the great Woden ranging through its dark forests, at the head of the Waltyries and the heroes fallen in battle, while his wolves and his raven followed him on his nightly course. When Christianity changed the old gods of the German race into devils and demons, Woden became very naturally the wild huntsman, who was now escorted by men of violence, bloody tyrants, and criminals, often grievously mutilated or altogether headless. There can be little doubt but that these vis- ions also rested upon some natural substructure: excep- tional atmospheric disturbances, hurricanes coming from afar -and crashing through mighty forests, or even the modest tramp of a band of poachers heard afar off, under favorable circumstances by timid ears. The very fact that the favorite time for such phenomena is the winter solstice favors this supposition. They are, how- ever, by no means limited to seasons arid days, for as late as 1842 a number of wheat-cutters left in a panic the field in which they were engaged, because they be- lieved they heard Frau Holle with her hellish company, and saw Faithful Eckhard, as he walked steadily before the procession, warning all he met to stand aside and escape from the fatal sight. An occurrence of the kind, which took place in 1857, was fortunately fully ex- plained by careful observers : the cause was an immense GHOSTS. 261 flock of wild geese, whose strange cries resembled in a surprising manner the barking of a pack of hounds during a hunt. Another occurrence during the night of January 30, 1849, threw the whole neighborhood of Basle in Switzerland into painful consternation. The air was suddenly filled with a multitude of whining voices, whose agony pierced the hearts of all who heard them ; men and beasts seemed to be suffering unutterable an- guish, and to be driven with furious speed from the mountain-side into a valley near Magden; here all ended in an instant amid rolling thunder and fearful flashes of lightning. A fierce storm arising in distant clefts and crevices, and carrying possibly fragments of rock, ice, and morain along with it, seems here to have been the determining cause. Another class of phenomena of this kind relates to the great battles that have at times decided the fate of the world. Thus Pausanias already tells us (" Attica," 32), and so do other historians of Greece, how the Plain of Marathon resounded for nearly four centuries every year with the clash of arms and the cries of soldiers. It was evidently the deep and lasting impression made upon a highly sensitive nation, which here was be- queathed from generation to generation, and on the day of the battle, when all was excitement, resulted in the perception of sounds which had no real existence. Events of such colossal proportions, which determine in a few hours the fate of great nations, leave naturally a powerful impress upon contemporaries not only, but 262 MODERN MAGIC. also upon the children of that race. Such was, among others, the fearful battle on the Catalaunian Fields, in which the Visi-Goths and Actius conquered Attila, and one hundred and sixty-two thousand warriors were slain. It was at the time reported that the intense bitterness and exasperation of the armies continued even after the battle, and that for three days the spirits of the fallen were contending with each other with unabated fury. The report grew into a legend, till a firm belief was established that the battle was fought year after year on the memorable day, and that any visitor might behold the passionate spirits as they rose from their graves, armed with their ancient weapons and filled with undiminished fury. One by one the soldiers of the two armies, it was said, leave their lowly graves, rise high into the air, and engage in deadly but silent strife, till they vanish in the clouds. It is well known how successfully the great German painter, Kaulbach, has reproduced the vision in his magnificent fresco of the "Hunnenschlacht." In other countries these ghostly visions assume different forms. Thus the neighborhood of Kerope, in Livonia, is in like manner renowned for a long series of fearful butcheries during the wars between the German knights and the Musco- vites. There also, night after night, the shadowy battle is fought over again ; but the clashing of arms and the hoarse war-cries are distinctly heard, and the pious traveler hastens away from the blood-soaked plains, uttering his prayers for the souls of the slain. In the GHOSTS. 263 Highlands of Scotland also, and on the adjoining islands, most weird and gruesome sights have been watched by young and old in every generation. The dark, dismal atmosphere of those regions, the dense fogs and impenetrable mists, now rising from the sea, and now descending from the mountains, and the fierce, inclement climate, have all combined for ages to pre- dispose the mind for the perception of such strange and mysterious phenomena. Nearly every clan and every family has its own particular ghost, and besides these the whole nation claims a number of common vis- ions and prophetic spirits, whose harps and wild songs are heard faintly and fearfully sounding on high. A friend of Mr. Martin, the author of a work on "Second Sight," used to recite several stanzas belong- ing to such a prophetic song, which he had heard him- self on a sad November day, as it came to him through the drooping clouds and sweeping mists from the sum- mit of a lonely mountain. At funerals also, wonderful voices were heard high in the air, as they accompanied the chanting of the people below, with a music not born upon earth, and filling the heart with strange but sweet sadness. Nearly the same visions are seen and the same songs are heard in Sweden and Norway, proving conclusively that like climatic influences pro- duce also a similar magic life, in individuals not only, but in whole nations. For even if we are disposed to look upon these phenomena as merely strange appear- ances of clouds and mists, accompanied by the howling 264 MODERN MAGIC. and whistling of the wind and the tumbling down of rocks and gravel, there remains the uniformity with which thousands of every generation interpret these sights and sounds into weird visions and solemn chant- ings. It is, however, not quite so evident why the peculiar class of visions which is often erroneously called sec- ond sight — the beholding of a "double" — should be almost entirely confined to these same northern regions. It is, of course, not unknown to other lands also, and even Holy Writ seems to justify the presumption that the idea of a " double " was familiar to the people of Palestine. For the poor damsel Ehoda, who " for glad- ness" did not open the door at which Peter knocked, after he had been miraculously liberated, but ran to an- nounce his presence to the friends who were assembled at the house of Mark's brother, was first called mad, and then told : " It is his angel " (Acts xii. 13). They evidently meant, not that it was the spirit of their de- ceased friend, since they would have been made aware of his death, but a phantom representing his living body. But the number of authentic cases of persons who have seen their own form, is vastly greater at the North than anywhere else. The Celtic superstition of the " fetch," as the appearance of a person's " double " is there called, is too well known to require explanation. But the vision itself is one of- the most interesting in the study of magic, since it exhibits most strikingly the great power which the human soul may, under peculiar GHOSTS. 265 circumstances, gain and exercise over its own self, lead- ing to complete self-delusion. A case in which this strange abdication of all self- control led to most desirable consequences, is mentioned by Dr. Mayo. A young man recently from Oxford once saw a friend of his enter the room in which he was dining with some companions. The new comer, just returning from hunting, seemed to them to look unu- sually pale and was evidently in a state of great excite- ment. After much urging he at last confessed that he had been seriously disturbed in mind by a man who had kept him close company all the way home. This stranger, on horseback like himself, had been his exact image, down to a new bridle, his own invention, which he had tried that day for the first time. He fancied that this " double " was his own ghost and an omen of his impending death. His friends advised him to con- fer with the head of his college ; this was done, and the latter gave him much good advice, adding the hope that the warning would not be allowed to pass unimproved. It is certain that the apparition made so strong an im- pression upon the young man as to lead to his entire reformation, at least for a time. It is claimed by many writers that there are persons who continually have visions, because they live in con- stant communication with spirits, although in all cases they have to pay a fearful penalty for this sad privilege. They are invariably diseased people, mostly women, who fall into trances, have cataleptic attacks, or suffer of 12 260 MODERN MAGIC. even more painful maladies, and during the time of their affliction behold and converse with the inmates of another world. The most renowned of these seers was a Mrs. Hauffe, who has become well known to the reading world through Dr. J. Kerner's famous work, " The Seeress of Prevorst." A peculiar feature in her case was the fact that the visions she had were invariably an- nounced to bystanders by peculiar sounds, heard by all who were present. The forms assumed by her mys- terious visitors varied almost infinitely ; now it was a man in a brown gown, and now a woman in white. Often, when the spirits appeared in the open air, and she tried to escape from them by running, she was bodily lifted up and hurried along so fast that her companions could not keep pace with her. It was only later in life that she fell as a patient into the hands of Dr. Kerner, who was quite distinguished as a poet, and had a great renown as a physician for insane people of a special class. His house at Weinsberg in Wiirtemberg, was filled to overflowing with persons of all classes of society, from the highest to the lowest, and all had visions. Nor was the doctor himself excluded ; he also was a seer, and has given in the above-mentioned book a full and most interesting account of the diseases in connection with which magic phenomena are most frequently ob- served. By the aid of careful observation of actual facts, and using such revelations vouchsafed to him and others as he believed fully trustworthy, he formed a regular theory of visions. First of all he admits that GHOSTS. 267 the privilege of communing with spirits is a grievous affliction, and that all of his more thoughtful patients continually prayed to be delivered of the burden. It is evident from all he states that not only the body, but the mind also suffers — and in many cases suffers unto destruction — under the effects of such exceptional powers ; that in fact the lines of separation between this life and another life can never be crossed with impuni- ty. His most interesting patient, Mrs. Hauffe, presents the usual mixture of mere fanciful imagery with occa- sional flashes of truth; her genuine revelations were marvelous, and can only be explained upon the ground of real magic ; but with them are mixed up the most absurd theories and the most startling contradictions. She insisted, however, upon the fact that only those spirits could commune with mortal man who were detained in the middle realm — between heaven and hell — the spirits of men who were in this life unable, though not unwilling, to believe that " God could for- give their sins for the sake of Christ's death." She was often tried by Dr. Kerner and others ; she was told that certain still living persons had died, and asked to sum- mon their spirits, but she was never misled. There can be no doubt that the poor woman was sincere in her statements ; but she was apparently unable to distin- guish between real visions in a trance and the mere off- spring of her imagination. That her peculiarities were closely connected with her bodily condition is, more- over, proved by the fact that her whole family suffered 268 MODERN MAGIC. in similar manner and enjoyed similar powers; a brother and a sister, as well as her young son, all had visions and heard mysterious noises. The latter were, in fact, perceptible to all the inmates of the strange house ; even the great skeptic, Dr. Strausz, who once visited it, heard " long, fearful groanings " close to his amiable hostess, who had fallen asleep on her sofa. Nor were the ghosts content with disturbing the patients and their excellent physician ; they made themselves known to their friends and neighbors, also, and even the good minister in the little town had much to suffer from nightly knockings and strange utterances. Dr. Kerner himself heard many spirits, but saw only one, and that only as "a grayish pillar;" on the other hand he witnessed countless mysterious phenomena which occurred in his patients' bedrooms. Now he be- held Mrs. Hauffe's boots pulled off by invisible hands, while she herself was lying almost inanimate, in a trance, on her bed, and now he heard her reveal secrets which, upon writing to utterly unknown persons at a great distance, proved to be correctly stated. What makes a thorough investigation of all these phenomena peculiarly difficult, is the fact that Dr. Kerner's house became an asylum for somnambulists as well as for real patients, and that by this mixture the scientific value of his observations, as regards their psychological interest, is seriously impaired. He himself was a sin- cere believer in magic phenomena; almost all of his friends and neighbors, from the humblest peasant to GHOSTS. 2G9 the most cultivated men of science, believed in him and his statements, and there can be no donbt that aston- ishing revelations were made and extraordinary powers became manifest in his house. But here, also, the diffi- culty of separating the few grains of truth from the great mass of willful, as well as of unconscious delusion, is almost overwhelming, and our final judgment must be held in suspense, till more light has been thrown on the subject. Dr. Kernels son, who succeeded his father at his death in 1862, still keeps up the remark- able establishment at Weinsberg; but exclusively for the cure of certain diseases by magnetism. VI. DIVINATION. " There shall not be found among you any one that useth div- ination." — Deut. xviii. 9. The usual activity of our mind is limited to the per- ception of the world around us, and its life, as far as the power of our senses reaches; it must, therefore, necessarily be confined within the limits of space and time. There are, however, specially favored men among us who profess an additional power, or even ordinary men may be thus endowed under peculiar circum- stances, as when they are under the influence of nerv- ous affections, trances, or even merely in an unusual state of excitement. Then they are no longer sub- ject to the usual laws of distance in space, or remote- ness in time ; they perceive as immediately present what lies beyond the reach of others, and the magic power by which this is accomplished is called Divina- tion. This vision is never quite clear, nor always com- plete or correct, for even such exceptionable powers are in all cases more or less subject to the imperfections of our nature ; habitual notions, an ill-executed imagina- tion, and often a disordered state of the system, all in- terfere with its perfect success. These imperfections, moreover, not only affect the value of such magic per- ceptions, but obscure the genuine features by a num- DIVINATION. 271 ber of false statements and of erroneous impressions, which quite legitimately excite a strong prejudice against the whole subject. Hence, especially, the rigor of the Church against divination in every form ; it has ever ascribed the errors mixed up with the true parts of such revelations to the direct influence of the Evil One. The difficulty, however, arises that such magic powers have nothing at all to do with the question of morality; the saint and the criminal may possess them alike, since they are elements of our common nature, hidden in the vast majority of cases, and coming into view and into life only in rare exceptional instances. Divination, as freed from the ordinary limits of our perceptions, appears either as clairvoyance, when things are seen which are beyond the range of natural vision, or as prophecy, when the boundary lines of time are overstepped. The latter appears again in its weakest form as a mere anticipation of things to come, or rises to perfection in the actual foretelling of future events. It is sad enough to learn from the experience of all nations that the occurrences thus foreseen are almost invariably great misfortunes, yet our surprise will cease if we remember that the tragic in life exercises by far the greatest influence on our mind, and excites it far beyond all other events. Nor must we overlook the marvelous unanimity with which such magic powers are admitted to exist in Man by all nations on earth. The explanation, also, is invariably the same, namely, that Man possessed originally the command over space 272 MODEEN MAGIC. and time as well as God himself, but that when sin came into the world and affected his earth-born body, this power was lost, and preserved only to appear in exceptional and invariably most painful cases. So thought the ancients even long before revelation had spoken. They believed that Man had had a previous god-like existence before appearing upon earth, where he was condemned to expiate the sins of his former life, while his immortal and divine soul was chained to a perishing earthy body. Plato, Plutarch, and Pythag- oras, Cicero (in his book De Divinatione), and even Porphyrius, all admit without hesitation the power of divination, and speak of its special vigor in the mo- ments preceding death. Melanchthon ascribed warn- ing dreams to the prophetic power of the human soul. Brierre de Boismont also is forced to admit that not all cases of clairvoyance and prophesying are the results of hallucination by diseased persons ; he speaks, on the contrary, and in spite of his bitter skepticism, of instances in which the increased powers of perception are the effect of " supernatural intuition." One of the most prolific sources of error in Divina- tion has ever been the variety of means employed for the purpose of causing the preparatory state of trance. It is well known in our day that the mind may be most strangely affected by innumerable agencies which are apparently purely mechanical, and often utterly absurd. Such are an intent gazing at highly-polished surfaces of metal, or into the bright inside of a gold DIVINATION. 2*73 cup, at the shining sides of a crystal, or the varying hues of a glass globe; now vessels filled with pure water, and now ink poured into the hand of a child, answer the same purpose. Fortune-telling from the lines of the hand or the chance combinations of play- ing-cards are, in this aspect, on a par with the prophe- cies of astrologers drawn from the constellations in the heavens. It need hardly be added that this almost in- finite variety of more or less absurd measures has nothing at all to do with the awaking of magic power, and continues in use only from the prestige which some of the means, like the cup of Joseph and the mirror of Varro, derive from their antiquity. Their sole purpose is uniformly to withdraw the seer's atten- tion from all outward objects, and to make him, by steadily gazing at one and the same object, concentrate his thoughts and feelings exclusively upon his own self. Experience has taught that such efforts, long continued, result finally in utter loss of feeling, in unconsciousness, and frequently even in catalepsy. It is generally only under such peculiarly painful circum- stances that the unusual powers of our being can be- come visible and begin to operate. While these results may be obtained, as recent experiments have proved, even by mere continued squinting, barbarous nations employ the most violent means for the same purpose — the whirling of dervishes, the drumming and dancing of northern shamans, the deafening music of the Moors, are all means of the same kind to excite the 12* 274 MODERN MAGIC. rude and fierce nature of savages to a state of excessive excitement. In all cases, however, we must notice the comparative sterility of such divination, and the pen- alty which has to be paid for most meagre results by injuries inflicted upon the body, and by troubles caused in the mind, which, if they do not become fatal to life, are invariably so to happiness and peace. That the sad privilege may have to be paid for with life itself, we learn already from Plutarch's account of a priestess who became so furious while prophesying, that not only the strangers but the priests themselves fled in dismay, while she herself expired a few hours later (II. p. 438). The state in which all forms of divination are most apt to show themselves is by theologians called ecstasis, when it is caused by means specially employed for the purpose and appears as a literally "being beside one's self; by its side they speak of raptus, when the abnor- mal state suddenly begins during an act of ordinary life, such as walking, working, or even praying. The distinction is of no value as to the nature of the magic powers themselves, which are in all cases the same ; it refers exclusively to the outer form. One of the simplest methods is the Deasil-walking of the Scotch Highlanders : the seer walks rapidly three times, with the sun, around the person whose future is to be foretold, and thus produces a trance, in which his magic powers become available. Walter Scott's " Chron- icles of the Canongate " gives a full account of this cere- DIVINATION. 275 niony. Kobin Oig's aunt performs the ceremony, and then warns him in great terror, that she has seen a bloody dagger in his hand, stained with English blood, and beseeches him to stay at home. He disregards the omen, kills the same night an Englishman, a cattle- dealer, and pays for the crime with his life. In the East, on the contrary, the usual form is to employ a young boy, taken at haphazard from the street, and to force him to gaze intently at Indian ink poured into the hollow of the hand, at molten lead, wax poured into cold water, the paten of a priest or a shining sword, with which several men have been killed. Gen- eral readers will recall the famous boy of Cairo, who saw thus, in the dark, glittering surface of ink, the great Nelson — curiously enough as in a mirror, for he report- ed the image to be without the left arm and to wear the left sleeve across the breast, while the great admiral had lost his right arm and wore the right sleeve suspended* Burke, in his amusing " Anecdotes of the Aristocracy," etc. (I. p. 124), relates how the " magician " Magraubin in Alexandria appeared with a ten-year-old Coptic boy before the officers of H. M's. ship Vanguard. After burning much incense and uttering many unintelligible formulas he rolled a paper in the shape of a cornuco- pia, filled it with ink, and bade the boy tell them what he saw. As usual, he saw first a broom sweeping, and was thoroughly frightened. When a young midship- man asked him to inquire what would be his fate, he described instantly a sailor with gold on the shoulders, 276 MODERN MAGIC. fighting against Indians till he fell dead ; then came friends and buried him under a tree on a hill. The midshipman, Croker, returned home, abandoned the sea, and became a landowner in one of the midland counties of England, where he often laughed at the ab- surd prediction. Long years afterwards, however, when there was a sudden want of seamen, he was recalled into service and sent on a long cruise. He rose to be- come a captain, and while in command of a frigate fell, upon the island of Tongataboo, in a skirmish with the natives, whereupon he was interred there under a lofty palm-tree which stood on a commanding eminence. The same author repeats (I. p. 357) the well-known story of Lady Eleanor Campbell, which is in substance as follows : Poor Lady Primrose, a daughter of the second Earl of Loudoun, had for years endured the saddest lot that can befall a noble woman : she had been bound by mar- riage to a husband whose dissolute habits and untama- ble passions inspired her with fear, while his short love for her had long since turned into bitter hatred. At last he formed the resolution to rid himself forever of his wife, whose very piety and gentleness were a stand- ing reproof to his villainy. By a rare piece of good luck she was awake when he came from his deep pota- tions, a bare sword in his hand, and ready to kill her; she saw him in the mirror before which she happened to be sitting, and escaped by jumping from a window and hastening to her husband's own mother. After this DIVINATION. 277 attempt at her life he disappeared, no one knew whith- er, but the poor lady, forsaken and yet not a widow, could not prevent her thoughts from dwelling, by day and by night, year after year, upon the image of her unfortunate husband and his probable fate in foreign lands. It was, therefore, not without a pardonable in- terest that she heard, one winter, people talk of a for- eigner who had suddenly appeared in Canongate and created a great sensation throughout Edinburgh by his success in showing to inquiring visitors whai> their ab- sent friends were doing. Her intense anxiety about her husband and her natural desire to ascertain whether she was still a wife or already a widow, combined to tempt her to call on the magician ; she went, therefore, with a friend, both disguised in the tartans and plaids of their maids. Before they reached the obscure alley to which they had been directed, they lost their way, and were standing helpless, exposed to the cold, stormy weather, when suddenly a deep voice said to them: " You are mistaken, ladies, this is not your way ! " "How so?" asked Lady Primrose, addressing a tall, gentlemanly looking man, with a stern face of deep olive color, in which a pair of black eyes shone like stars, and dressed in an elegant but foreign-looking costume. The answer came promptly : " You are mis- taken in your way, because it lies yonder, and in your disguise, because it does not conceal you from him who can lift the veil of the Future!" Then followed a short conversation in which the stranger made himself 278 MODERN MAGIC. known as the magician whom they were about to visit, and, by some words whispered into the lady's ear, as a man who not only recognized her as Lady Primrose, but who also was perfectly well acquainted with all the intimate details of her history. Amazed and not a lit- tle frightened, the two ladies accepted his courteous invitation to follow him, entered the house, and were shown into a simply furnished room, where the stranger begged them to wait for him, till all was ready for the ceremony by which alone he could satisfy their curios- ity. After a short pause he reappeared in the tradi- tional costume of a magician, a long tunic of black velvet which left his breast, arms, and hands free, and requested Lady Primrose to follow him into the adjoin- ing room. After some little hesitation she left her com- panion and entered the room, which was perfectly plain, offering nothing to attract the eye save the dark cur- tains before the windows, an old-fashioned arm-chair, and a kind of altar of black marble, over which a large and beautiful mirror was suspended. Before the latter stood a small oven, in which some unknown substance burnt with a blue light, which alone feebly lighted up the room. The visitor was requested to sit down, to in- voke help from above, and to abstain from uttering a sound, if she valued her life and that of the magician. After some simple but apparently most important cere- monies, the magician threw a pinch of red powder upon the flame, which instantly changed into bright crimson, while a few plaintive sounds were heard and red clouds DIVINATION. 279 seemed to rise before the mirror, broken at short inter- vals by vivid flashes of lightning. As the mist dis- persed the glass exhibited to the lady's astonished eye the interior of a church, first in vague outlines undu- lating as passing clouds seemed to set them in motion, but soon distinctly and clear in the minutest details. Then a priest appeared with his acolytes at the altar, and a wedding party was seen standing before him, among whom Lady Primrose soon recognized her faith- less husband. Before she could recover from her pain- ful surprise she saw a stranger hastily entering the church, wrapped in his cloak; at the moment when the priest, who had been performing the usual ceremony, was about to join the hands of the couple before him, the unknown dropped his cloak and rushed forward. Lady Primrose saw it was her own brother, who drew his S"word and attacked her husband; suddenly a thrust was made by the latter which threatened to be fatal, and the poor lady cried out : " Great God, they will kill my brother ! " She had no sooner uttered these words than the whole scene in the mirror became dim and blurred, the clouds rose again and formed dense masses, and soon the glass resumed its ordinary brightness and the flame its faint blue color. The magician, apparently much excited, informed the lady that all was over, and that they had escaped a most fear- ful danger, incurred by her imprudence in speaking. He would accept no reward, stating that he had merely wished to oblige her, but would not have dared do so 280 MODERN MAGIC. much, if he had foreseen the peril to which they had both been exposed. Lady Primrose, accompanied by her friend, reached home in a state of extreme excite- ment, but immediately wrote down the hour and the day of her strange adventure, with a full account of all she had seen in the magic mirror. The paper thus drawn up she sealed in the presence of her companion and hid it in a secret drawer. Not long afterwards her brother returned from the Continent, but for some time refused to speak at all of her husband ; it was only after being long and urgently pressed by the poor lady, that he consented to tell her, how he had heard of Lord Primrose's intention to marry a very wealthy lady in Amsterdam, how by mere chance he had entered the church where the marriage ceremony was to be per- formed, and how he had come out just in time to pre- vent his brother-in-law from committing bigamy. They had fought for a few minutes without doing each other any injury, and after being separated, he had remained, while Lord Primrose had disappeared, no one knew whither. Upon comparing dates and circumstances, it appeared that the mirror had presented the scene faith- fully in all its details; but the ceremony had taken place in the morning, the visit to the magician at night, so that the latter had, after all, only revealed an event already completed. There remains, however, the diffi- culty of accounting for the means by which in those days — about 1700 — an event in Amsterdam could DIVINATION. 281 possibly have been known in Edinburgh, the night of the same day on which it occurred. In France, under Louis XIV., a glass of water was most frequently used as a mirror in which to read the future. The Duke of St. Simon reports that the Duke of Orleans was thus informed that he would one day become Eegent of France. The Abbe Choisy men- tions a remarkable occurrence which took place at the house of the Countess of Soissons, a niece of the great Cardinal Mazarin. Her husband was lying sick in the province of Champagne, and she was anxious to know whether she ought to undertake the long and perilous journey to him or not; in this dilemma a friend offered to send for a diviner, who should tell her the issue of her husband's illness. He brought her a little girl, five years old, who, in the presence of a number of distinguished persons of both sexes, began, under the nobleman's direction, to tell what she saw in a glass of water. When she began by saying that the water looked as if it were troubled, the poor lady was so frightened that her friend suggested he would ask the spirit to show the child not her husband himself, but a white horse, if the Count was dead, and a tiger if he was alive. Then he asked the girl what she saw now ? " Ah ! " she cried out at once, " what a pretty white horse!" The company, however, refused to be content with one trial ; five times in succession the test was altered, and in such a manner that the little child could not pos- sibly be aware of the choice, but in each case the 282 MODERN MAGIC. answer was unfavorable to the absent Count. It ap- peared, afterwards, that he had really died a day or two before the consultation. One of the most striking cases of such exceptional endowment was a Frenchman, Cahagnet, who in his work, Lumiere des Morts (Paris, 1851), claimed to see remote objects and persons. He used to make a mental effort, upon which his eyes be- came fixed and he saw objects at a great distance, read- ing the title and discerning the precise shape of books in public libraries, or watching absent friends engaged in unusual occupations ! This state of clairvoyance, however, never lasted more than sixty seconds, nor could he ever see the same object twice — limitations of. his endowment which secured for him greater credit than he would have otherwise possessed. Occasionally he would assist the effort he had to make by fixedly gazing at some shining object, such as a small flaw in a mirror or a glass. Another restraint under which he labored, and which yet increased the faith of others, consisted in this, that such sights as presented them- selves spontaneously to him proved invariably to be true, while the visions which he purposely evoked were not unfrequently unfounded in fact. Among recent magicians of this class, a Parisian, Edmond, is perhaps the most generally known. He is a man without education, who leads a life of asceticism, and is said to equal the famous Lennormand in his ability to guess the future by gazing intently at certain cards. The latter, although not free from the charge DIVIXATION. 283 of charlatanism, possessed undoubtedly the most ex- traordinary talent of divining the thoughts of those who came to consult her, and an almost marvelous tact in connecting the knowledge thus obtained with the events of the day. She began her career already as a young girl at a convent-school, where her play- mates asked her laughing who would be the next abbess, and she mentioned an entirely unknown lady from Picardy as the one that would be appointed by the king. Contrary to all expectations the favorite candidates were put aside, and the unknown lady ap- pointed, although eighteen months elapsed before her prophecy was fulfilled. As early as 1789 she predicted the overthrow of the French government, and during the Eevolution her reputation was such that the first men of the land came to consult her. The unfortunate princess Lamballe and Mirabeau, Mine, de Stael and the king himself, all appeared in her stately apart- ments. Her efforts to save the queen, to whose prison she managed to obtain access, were unsuccessful; but when her aristocratic connections caused her to be im- prisoned herself, even the noble and virtuous Mme. Tallien sought her society. The new dynasty, whose members were almost without exception more or less superstitious, as it is the nature of all Corsicans, con- sulted her frequently ; the great Napoleon came to her in IT 93, when he was disgusted with France, and on the point of leaving the country ; he sent for her a second time in 1801 to confer with her at Malmaison, 284 MODERN MAGIC. and the fair Josephine actually conceived for her a deep and lasting attachment. Afterwards, however, she became as obnoxious to the Emperor as his invet- erate enemy, Mme. de Stael ; she was repeatedly sent to prison because she predicted failures, as in the case of the projected invasion of England, or because she revealed the secret plans of Napoleon. The Emperor Alexander of Russia also consulted her in 1818, and of the Prussian king, Frederick William III., it is at least reported that he visited her incognito. After the year 1830 she appeared but rarely in her character as a diviner; she had become old and rich, and did not per- haps wish to risk her world-wide reputation by too numerous revelations. She maintained, however, for the rest of her life the most intimate relations with many eminent men in France, and when she died, in 1843, seventy-one years old, leaving to her nephew a very large fortune, her gorgeous funeral was attended by a host of distinguished personages, including even men of such character as Guizot. And yet she also had not disdained to use the most absurd and appar- ently childish means in order to produce the state of ecstasy in which she alone could divine : playing-cards fancifully arranged, the white of an egg, the sediment of coffee, or the lines in the hand of her visitors. At the same time, however, she used the information which she casually picked up or purposely obtained from her great friends with infinite cunning and matchless tact, so that the better informed often asked her laughingly DIVINATION. 285 if her familiar spirit Ariel was not also known as Talleyrand, David, or Geoffroy ? The charlatanism which often and most justly rendered her proceedings suspicious to sober men, was in fact part of her system ; she knew perfectly well the old doctrine, mundus vult decipi, and did not hesitate to flatter the fondness of all Frenchmen for a theatrical mise en scene. Dryden's famous horoscope of his younger son Charles was probably nothing more than one of those rare but striking coincidences of which the laws of prob- ability give us the exact value. He loved the study of astrology and never omitted to calculate the nativity of his children as soon as they were born. In the case of Charles he discovered that great dangers would threat- en him in his eighth, twenty-third, and thirty-third or forty-third year ; and sure enough those years produced serious troubles. On his eighth birthday he was buried under a falling wall ; on the twenty-third he fell in Rome from an old tower, and on his thirty-third he was drowned in the Thames. Divination by means of bones — generally the shoul- der bones of rams — is quite common among the Mon- gols and Tongoose, and the custom seems to have remained unchanged through centuries. For Purchas already quotes from the "Journal" of the Minorite monk Guillaume de Eubruguis, written in 1255, a de- scription of the manner in which the Great Khan of Mongolia tried to ascertain the result of any great en- terprise which he might contemplate. Three shoulder 286 MODERN MAGIC. bones of rams were brought to hiin, which he held for some time in his hands, while deeply meditating on the subject ; then he threw them into the fire. After they were burnt black they were again laid before him and examined ; if they had cracked lengthways the omen was favorable, if crossways the enterprise was abandon- ed. Almost identically the same process is described by the great traveler Pallas, who witnessed it repeatedly and obtained very startling communications from the Mongol priests. But here also violent dancing, narcotic perfumes, and wild cries had to aid in producing a trance. The Laplanders have, perhaps, the most strik- ing magic powers which seem to be above suspicion. At least we are as-sured by every traveler who has spent some time among them, from Caspar Peucer (" Com- mentaries," etc., Wittebergae, 1580, p. 132) down to the tourists of our days (" Six Months in Lapland," 1870), that they not only see persons at the greatest distance, but furnish minute details as to their occupation or surroundings. After having invoked the aid of his gods the magician falls down like a dead man and re- mains in a state of trance for twenty-four hours, during which foreigners are always warned to have him care- fully guarded, " lest the demons should carry him off." During this time the seer maintains that his " soul opens the gates of the body and moves about freely wherever it chooses to go." When he returns to consciousness he describes accurately and minutely the persons about whom he has promised to give information. In the DIVINATION. 287 East Indies it is well known clairvoyance has existed from time immemorial, and the kind of trance which consists in utter oblivion of actual life and perfect ab- straction of thought from this world is there carried out to perfection. The faithful believer sits or lies down in any position he may happen to prefer for the moment, fixes his eyes intently upon the point of his nose, mutters the word One, and finally beholds God with an inner sense, in the form of a white brilliant light of ineffable splendor. Some of these ascetics pass from a simple trance to a state of catalepsy, in which their bodies become insensible to pain — but this kind of ecstasis is not accompanied by divination. Another branch of divination conquers the difficulty which distance in space opposes to our ordinary percep- tions. In all such cases it is of course not our hearing or smelling which suddenly becomes miraculously powerful, but another magic power, which causes impressions on the mind like those produced by the eye and the ear. The oldest well-authenticated instance of magic hearing is probably that of Hyrcanus, the high- priest of the Jews, who while burning incense in the temple, heard a voice saying : " K~ow Antiochus has been slain by thy sons." The news was immediately proclaimed to the people, and some time afterward mes- sengers came announcing that Antiochus had thus perished as he approached Samaria, which he desired to relieve from the besieging army under the sons of Hyrcanus (Josephus, "Antiq." lxiii. ch. 19). A still 288 MODERN MAGIC. more striking instance is also reported by a trustworthy author (Theophylactos Simocata, 1. viii. eh. 13). A man in Alexandria, Egypt, saw, as he returned home about midnight, the statues before the great temple moved aside from their seats, and heard them call out to him that the Emperor had been slain by Phocas (602). Thoroughly frightened he hastened to the authorities, reporting his adventure; he was carried be- fore Peter, the Viceroy of Egypt, and ordered to keep silence. Nine days later, however, the official news came that the Emperor had been murdered. It is evident that the knowledge of the event came to him in some mysterious way, and for an unknown purpose; but that what he saw and heard, was purely the work of his imagination, which became the vehicle of the revelation. There exists a long, almost unbroken series of similar phenomena through the entire course of modern history, of which but a few can here find space. Richelieu tells us in his Memoir es ("Coll. Michaud — Poryoulat," 2d series, vii. p. 23), that the Prevost cles Marechaux of the city of Pithiviers was one night engaged in playing cards in his house, when he suddenly hesitated, fell into a deep musing, and then, turning to his companions, said solemnly : "The king has just been murdered!" These words made a deep impression upon all the mem- bers of the assembly, which afterward changed into genuine terror, when it became known that on that same evening, at the same hour of four o'clock, p. m., Henry IV. had really been murdered. Nor was this a DIVINATION. 289 solitary case, for on the same day a girl of fourteen, living near the city of Orleans, had asked her father, Simonne, what a king was ? Upon his replying that it was the man who commanded all Frenchmen, she had exclaimed : " Great God, I have this moment heard somebody tell me that he was murdered ! " It seems that the minds of men were just then everywhere deeply interested in the fate of the king, and hence their readi- ness to anticipate an event which was no doubt very generally apprehended; even from abroad numerous letters had been received announcing his death before- hand. In the two cases mentioned this excitement had risen to divination. The author of the famous Zaiiber BiMiothek, Horst, mentions (i. p. 285) that his father, a well-known missionary, Was once traveling in company with the renowned Hebrew scholar Wiedemann, while a third companion, ordinarily engaged with them in con- verting Jews, was out at sea. It was a fine, bright day ; no rain or wind visible even at a distance. Wiedemann had walked for some time in deep silence, apparently engaged in praying, when suddenly he stopped and said : " Monsieur Horst, take your diary and write down, that our companion is at this moment exposed to great peril by water. The storm will last till night and the danger will be fearful; but the Lord will mercifully preserve him and the vessel, and no lives will be lost. Write it down carefully, so that when our friend returns, we may jointly thank God for His great mercy." The missionary did so, and when the three friends were 13 290 MODEUN MAGIC. united once more their diaries were compared, and it appeared that the statement had been exact in all its details. Clairvoyance, as far as it implies the seeing of per- sons or the witnessing of events at a great distance, is counted among the most frequent gifts of early saints, and St. Augustine mentions a number of remarkable cases. Not only absent friends and their fate were thus beheld by privileged Christians, but even the souls of departing saints were seen as they were borne to heaven by angelic hosts. The same exceptional gifts were ap- parently granted to the early Jesuit fathers ; thus Xa- vier once saw distinctly a whole naval expedition sailing against the pirates of Malacca and defeating them in a great naval battle. He had himself caused the fleet to be sent from Sumatra, and remained during the whole time in a trance. He had fallen down unconscious at the foot of the altar, where he had been fervently pray- ing for a long time, and during his unconsciousness he saw not only a general image of what was occurring at a distance of 200 Portuguese leagues, but every detail, so that upon recovering from the trance he could announce to his brethren the good news of a great vic- tory, of the loss of only three lives, and of the very day and hour on which the official report would be received (Orlandini, 1. vii. ch. 84). Queen Margaret, not always reliable, still seems to state well-known facts only, when she tells us in her famous Memoires (Paris, 1658) the visions of her mother, the great Queen Catherine de DIVIXATION. 21)1 Medici. The latter was lying dangerously ill at Metz, and King Charles, a sister, and another brother of Mar- garet of Valois, the Duke of Lorraine, and a number of eminent persons of both sexes, were assembled around what was believed to be her death-bed. She was delir- ious, and suddenly cried out: "Just see how they run ! my son is victorious. Great God ! raise him up, he has fallen ! Do you see the -Prince of Conde there ? He is dead." Everybody thought she was delirious, but on the next evening a messenger came bringing the news of the battle of Jarnac, and as he mentioned the main events, she calmly turned to her children, saying: "Ah! I knew ; I saw it all yesterday ! " It seems as if in times of great and general expectation, when bloody battles are fought, and the destiny of empires hangs in the scales, the minds of the masses become so painfully ex- cited that the most sensitive among them fall into a kind of trance, and then perceive, by magic powers of divination, what is taking place at great distances. This over-excitement is, moreover, not unknown to men of the highest character an d the greatest erudition. Calvin , whose stern, clear-sighted judgment abhorred all super- stition, nevertheless once saw a battle between Catholics and Protestants with all its details. Swedenborg, whose religious enthusiasm never interfered with his scrupu- lous candor, saw more than once with- his mind's eye events occurring at a distance of hundreds of miles. His vision of the great fire at Stockholm is too well authenticated to admit of doubt. Not less reliable are 292 MODERN MAGIC. the accounts of another vision he had at Amsterdam in ' the presence of a large company. While engaged in ani- mated conversation, he suddenly changed countenance and became silent; the persons near him saw that he was under the influence of some strong impression. After a few moments he seemed to recover, and over- whelmed with questions, he at last reluctantly said: "In this hour the Emperor Peter IY. of Eussia has suffered death in his prison ! " It was ascertained after- wards that the unfortunate sovereign had died on that day and in the manner indicated. Among modern seers the most remarkable was pro- bably the well-known poet, Emile Deschamps, who published in 1838 interesting accounts of his own ex- periences. When he was only eight years old it was decided that he should leave Paris and be sent to Orleans; this troubled him sorely, and in his great grief he found some little comfort in setting his lively fancy to work and to imagine what the new city would be like. When he reached Orleans he was extremely surprised to recognize the streets, the shops, and even the names on the sign-boards, everything was exactly as he had seen it in his day-dreams. While he was yet there he saw his mother, whom he had left in Paris, in a dream rising gently heavenwards with a palm-branch in her hand, and heard her voice, very faint but sil- very, call to him, "Emile, Emile, my son!" She had died in the same night, uttering these words with her departing breath. Later in life he often heard strange DIVINATION. 293 but enchanting music while in a state of partial ecstasis ; lie saw distant events, and, among others, distinctly described a barricade, the defenders of the adjoining house, and certain events connected with the fight at that spot, as they had happened in Paris on the same day (Le Concile de la libre pensee, i. p. 183). A still higher power of divination enables men to read in the faces and forms of others, even of totally unknown persons, not only the leading traits of their character, but even the nature of their former lives. There can be no doubt that every important event in our life leaves a more or less perceptible trace Jbehind, which the acute and experienced observer may learn to read with tolerable distinctness and accuracy. It is well known how the study of the human face enables us thus to discern one secret after another, and how really great men have possessed the power to judge of the capacity of generals or statesmen to serve them, by natural instinct and without any effort. We say of specially endowed men of this class, that they "can read the souls of men," and what is most interesting is the well-established fact that the purer the mind and the freer from selfishness and conceit, the greater this power to feel, as it were, the character of others. Hence the superiority of women in this respect ; hence, espe- cially, the unfailing instinct of children, which enables them instantly to distinguish affected love from real love, and makes them shrink often painfully from con- tact with evil men. 294 MODERN MAGIC. "When this power reaches in older men a high degree of perfection, it enters within the limits of magic, and in this form was well known to the ancients. The Neo- Platonic Plotinus is reported by Porphyrins to have been almost maryelonsly endowed with snch divining poAvers ; he revealed to his pupils the past and the fu- ture events of their lives alike, and once charged the author himself with cherishing thoughts of suicide, when no one else suspected such a purpose. In like manner, we are told, Ancus Nasvius, the famous augur of the first Tarquins, could read all he desired to know in the faces of others. The saints of the church were naturally as richly endowed, and from Filipo Keri to Xavier nearly all possessed this peculiar gift of divina- tion. But other men, also, and by no means always those most abundantly endowed with mental superiority, have frequently a peculiar talent of this kind. Thus the well-known writer Zschokke, the author of the ad- mirable work, " Hours of Devotion," gives in his auto- biographical work, Selbstschau, a full account of his peculiar gifts as a seer, which contains the following principal facts: At the moment when an utter stranger was first introduced to him, he saw a picture of his whole previous life rising gradually before his mind's eye, resembling somewhat a long dream, but clear and closely connected. During this time he would, contrary to his general custom, lose sight of the visitor's face and no longer hear his voice. He used to treat these involuntary revelations at first as mere idle fancies, till DIVINATION. 295 one day he was led by a kind of sportive impulse to tell his family the secret history of a seamstress who had just left the room, and whom he had never seen be- fore. It was soon ascertained that all he had stated was perfectly true, though known only to very few per- sons. From that time he treated these visions more seriously, taking pains to repeat them in a number of cases to the persons whom they concerned, and to his own great amazement they turned out in every case to be perfectly accurate. The author adds one case of pe- culiarly striking nature : u One day," he says, " I reach- ed the town of "Waldshut, accompanied by two young foresters, who are still alive. It was dusk, and tired by our walk we entered an inn called The Grapevine. We took our supper at the public table in company with numerous guests, who happened to be laughing at the oddities and the simplicity of the Swiss, their faith in Mesmer, in Lavater's ' System of the Physiognomy/ etc. One of my companions, hurt in his national pride, asked me to make a reply, especially with regard to a young man sitting opposite to us, whose pretentious airs and merciless laughter had been peculiarly offen- sive. It so happened that, a few moments -before, the main events in the life of this person had passed before my mind's eye. I turned to him and asked him if he would answer me candidly upon being told the most secret parts of his life by a man who was so complete a stranger to him as I was ? That, I added, would certainly go even beyond Lavater's power to read faces. He prom- 296 MODERN MAGIC. ised to confess it openly, if I stated facts. Thereupon I related all I had seen in my mind, and informed thus the whole company at table of the young man's history, the events of his life at school, his petty sins, and at last , a robbery which he had committed by pilfering his em- ployer's strong-box. I described the empty room with its whitewashed walls and brown door, near which on the right hand, a small black money-box had been standing on a table, and other details. As long as I spoke there reigned a deathlike silence in the room, which was only interrupted by my asking the young man, from time to time, if all I said was not true. He admitted everything, although evidently in a state of utter consternation, and at last, deeply touched by his candor, I offered him my hand across the table and closed my recital." This popular writer, a man of unblemished character, who died in 1850, regretted by a whole nation, makes this account of his own prophetic power still more in- teresting by adding that he met at least once in his life another man similarly endowed. " I once encountered," he says, " while travelling with two of my sons, an old Tyrolese, a peddler of oranges and lemons, in a small inn half concealed in one of the narrow passes of the Jura Mountains. He fixed his eyes for some time upon my face, and then entered into conversation with me, stating that he knew me, although I did not know him, and then began, to the intense delight of the peasants who sat around us and of my children, to chat about myself and my past life. How the old man had acquired his DIVIXATION". 297 strange knowledge he could not explain to himself or to others, but he evidently valued it highly, while my sons were not a little astonished to discover that other meu possessed the same gift which they had only known to exist in their father" It must not be forgotten that the human eye has, beyond question, often a power which far transcends the ordinary purposes of sight, and approaches the bound- aries of magic. There is probably no one who cannot recall scenes in which the soothing and cheering ex- pression of gentle eyes has acted like healing balm on wounded hearts ; or others, in which glances of fury and hatred have caused genuine terror and frightened the conscience. History records a number of instances, from the glance of the Saviour, which made Peter go out and weep bitterly, to the piercing eye of a well-known English judge, which made criminals of every rank in society feel as if their very hearts lay open to the divining eye of a mas- ter. This peculiar and almost irresistible power of the eye has not inaptly been traced back to the gorgon head of antiquity — a frightful image from Hades with a dread glance of the eye, as it is called by Homer (II. viii. 349 ; Odyss. xi. 633). The same fearful expression, chilling the blood and almost arresting the beating of the heart, is frequently mentioned in modern accounts of visions. Thus the Demon of Tedworth recorded by Glanvil ("Sadd. Triumph/' 4th ed. p. 270), consisted of the vague outlines of a human face, in which only two bright, piercing eyes could be distinguished. In other cases, a 298 MODERN MAGIC. faint vapor, barely recalling a human shape, arises before the beholder, and above it are seen the same terrible eyes " Sent from the palace of Ais by fearful Persepkoneia." Magic divination in point of time includes the class of generally very vague and indefinite perceptions, which we call presentiments. These are, unfortunately, so universally mixed up with impressions produced after the occurrence — vaiicinium post eventum — that their value as interesting phenomena of magic is seri- ously impaired. There remains, however, in a num- ber of cases, enough that is free from all spurious admixture, to admit of being examined seriously. The ancients not only believed in this kind of foresight, but ascribed it with Pythagoras to revelations made by friendly spirits ; in Holy Writ it rises almost invariably, under direct inspiration from on high, to genuine prophecy. It reveals not only the fate of the seer, but also that of others, and even of whole nations; the details vary, of course, according to the prevailing spirit of the times. When JSTarses was ruling over Italy, a young shep- herd in the service of Valerianus, a lawyer, was seized by the plague and fell into syncope. He recovered for a time, and then declared that he had been carried to heaven, where he had heard the names of all who in his master's house should die of the plague, adding that Valerianus himself would escape. After his death everything occurred as he had predicted. An English DIVINATION. 299 minister, Mr. Dodd, one night felt an irresistible im- pulse to visit a friend of his who lived at some distance. He walked to his house, found the family asleep, but the father still awake and ready to open the door to his late visitor. The latter, very much embarrassed, thought it best to state the matter candidly, and confessed that he came for no ostensible purpose, and really did not know himself what made him do so. " But God knew it," was the answer, " for here is the rope with which I was just about to hang myself." It may well be presumed that the Rev. Mr. Dodd had some apprehen- sions of the state of mind of his friend ; but that he should have felt prompted to call upon him just at that hour, was certainly not a mere accident. The family of the great Goethe was singularly en- dowed with this power of presentiment. The poet's grandfather predicted both a great conflagration and the unexpected arrival of the German Emperor, and a dream informed him beforehand of his election as alderman and then as mayor of his native city. His mother's sister saw hidden things in her dreams. His grandmother once entered her daughter's chamber long after midnight in a state of great and painful ex- citement; she had heard in her own room a noise like the rustling of papers, and then deep sighs, and after a while a cold breath had struck her. Some time after this event a stranger was announced, and when he appeared before her holding a crumbled paper in his hand, she had barely strength enough to keep from 300 MODERN MAGIC. fainting. When she recovered, her visitor stated that in the night of her vision a dear friend of hers, lying on his deathbed, had asked for paper in order to impart to her an important secret; before he could write, however, he had been seized by the death-struggle, and after crumpling up the paper and uttering two deep sighs he had expired. An indistinct scrawl was all that could be seen ; still the stranger had thought it best to bring the paper. The secret concerned his now orphaned child, a girl whom Goethe's grandparents thereupon took home and cared for affectionately (Goethe's Briefwechsel, 3d ed., II. p. 268). Bourrienne tells us in his Memoires several instances of remarkable forebodings on the part of Napoleon's first wife, Josephine. Her mind was probably, by her education and the peculiar surroundings in which she passed her childhood, predisposed to receive vivid im- pressions of this kind, and to observe them with great care and deep interest. Thus she almost invariably predicted the failure of such of her husband's enter- prises as proved unsuccessful. After Bonaparte had moved into the Tuileries on the 18th Brumaire, she saw, while sitting in the room of poor Marie Antoinette, the shadow of the unfortunate queen rise from the floor, pass gently through the apartment, and vanish through the window. She fainted, and from that day predicted her own sad fate. On another occasion the spirit of her first husband, Beauharnais, appeared before her with a gesture of solemn warning; she immediately DIVINATION. 301 turned to Napoleon, exclaiming: "Awake, awake, yon are threatened by a great danger ! " There seemed to be, for some days, no ground for apprehension, but so strong were her fears that she secretly sent for the minister of police and entreated him to take special measures for the safety of the First Consul. At eight o'clock of the evening of the same day the latter left the Tuileries on his way to the opera ; a terrible explo- sion was heard in the Eue St. Nicaise, where conspir- ators attempted to blow up the dictator, and he nar- rowly escaped with his life. Josephine at once has- tened to his side, and after having most tenderly cared for the wounded, embraced Napoleon in public with tears streaming down her face, and implored him hereafter to listen more attentively to her warnings. Napoleon, however, though superstitious enough firmly to believe in what he called his " star," and even to see it shining in the heavens when no one else beheld it, never would admit the value of his wife's forebodings. Presentiments of this kind are most frequently felt before death, and it is now almost universally believed that the impending dissolution of the body relieves the spirit in many cases fully enough from its bondage to endow it with a clear and distinct anticipation of the coming event. A large number of historical personages have thus been enabled to predict the day, and many even the hour of their own death. The Oonnetable do Bourbon, who was besieging Eome, addressed, according to Brantome (Vies des gr. capita in es, ch. 28), on the 302 MODERN MAGIC. day of the final assault, his troops, and told them he would certainly fall before the Eternal City, but without regret if they but proved victorious. Henry IV. of France, felt his death coming, according to the unani- mous evidence of Sully, L'Etoile, and Bassompierre, and said, before he entered his coach on the fatal day : " My friend, I would rather not go out to-day ; I know I shall meet with misfortune." On the 16th of May, 1813, four days before the battle of Bautzen, two of Napoleon's great officers, the Duke of Vicenza and Marshal Duroc, were in attendance at Dresden while the emperor was holding a protracted conference with the Austrian ambassador. The clock was striking mid- night, when suddenly Dnroc seized his companion by the arm and with frightfully altered features, looking intently at him, said in trembling tones : " My friend, this lasts too long ; we shall all of us perish, and he last of all. A secret voice tells me that I shall never see France again." It is well known that on the day of the battle a cannon-ball which had already killed General Kirchner, wounded Duroc also mortally, and when he lay on his deathbed he once more turned to the Duke of Vicenza and reminded him of the words he had spoken in Dresden. The trustworthy author of " Eight Months in Japan," N. Liihdorf, tells us (p. 158) a remarkable instance of unconscious foreboding on the part of a common sailor. The American barque Greta was in 1855 chartered to carry a great number of Russians, who had been ship- DIVINATION. 303 wrecked on board the frigate Diana during an earth- quake at Simoda to the Eussian port of Ayan. A sailor on board was very ill, and shortly before his death told his comrades that he would soon die, but that he was rather glad of it, as they would all be captured by the English, with whom Eussia was then at war. The re- port of his prediction reached the captain's cabin, but all the officers agreed that such an event was next to impossible ; a dense fog was making the ship perfectly invisible, and no English fleet had as yet appeared in the Sea of Okhotsk, where the Eussians had neither ves- sels nor forts to tempt the British. The whole force of England in those waters was at that moment engaged in blockading the Eussian fleet in the Bay of Castris in the Gulf of Tartary. Nevertheless it so chanced that a British steamer, the corvette Barracouta, hove in sight on the 1st of August and captured the vessel, making the Eussians prisoners of war. SECOND SIGHT. A special kind of divination, which has at times been evidenced in certain parts of Europe, and is not unknown to our North-western Indians, consists in the percep- tion of contemporaneous or future events, during a brief trance. Generally the seer looks with painfully raised eyelids, fixedly into space, evidently utterly unconscious of all around him, and engaged in watching a distant occurrence. A peculiar feature of this phenomenon, 304 MODERN MAGIC. familiar to all readers as second sight, is the exclusion of religious or supernatural matters; the visions are always strictly limited to events of daily life : deaths and births, battles and skirmishes, baptisms and wed- dings. The actors in these scenes are often personally unknown to the seer, and the transactions are as fre- quently beheld in symbols as in reality. A man who is to die a violent death, maybe seen with a rope around his neck or headless, with a dagger plunged into his breast, or sinking into the water up to his neck ; the sick man who is to expire in his bed, will appear wrap- ped up in his winding sheet, in which case his person is more or less completely concealed as his death is nearer or farther off. A friend or a messenger coming from a great distance, is seen as a faint shadow, and a murderer or a thief, as a wolf or a fox. Another pecu- liar feature of second sight is the fact that the same visions are very frequently beheld by several persons, although the latter may live far apart and have nothing in common with each other. The phenomena are spor- adic in Germany and Switzerland, in the Dauphine and the Cevennes; they occur in larger numbers and are often hereditary in certain families, in Denmark, the Scotch Highlands and the Faroe Islands. In Gaelic, the persons thus gifted are called Taishatrim, seers of shadows, or Phissichin, possessing knowledge before- hand. Hence, they have been most thoroughly studied in those countries, and Mr. Martin has gathered all that could be learnt of second sight in the Shetlands, in a DIVINATION. 305 work of great interest. Here the phenomena are not infrequently accompanied by magic hearing also, as when funerals are seen in visions, and at the same time the chants of the bystanders and even the words of the preacher are distinctly heard. The most marked form of this feature is the taisk or wraith, a cry uttered by a person who is soon to die, and heard by the seer. The dwellers on those remote islands are also in the habit of smelling an odor of fish, often weeks and months before the latter appear in their waters. A special kind of divination exists in Wales and on the Isle of Man, where the approaching death of friends is revealed by so-called body lights, caulawillan cyrth. The entirely unselfish character of second sight must not be overlooked, as far as it increases in a high 'degree the value of such phenomena and adds to their authenticity. In the great majority of cases the per- sons and events seen under such circumstances are of no interest to the seer; they are frequently utterly strange and unknown to him, and hence find no sym- pathy in his heart. It appears as if, by some unknown and hence magic process, a window was opened for the soul to look out and behold whatever may happen to be presented to the inner vision ; this image is then transferred to the outer eye, and the seer's imagination makes him believe that he sees in reality what is revealed to him by this mysterious process. Hence also the facts that the persons gifted with second sight, so far from laboring under diseases of any kind, 306 MODERN MAGIC. are almost without exception simple, frugal men, free from chronic affections, and perfect strangers to hys- terics, spasms, or nervous sufferings. Insanity and suicide are as unknown to them as drunkenness, and no case of selfish interest or willful imposture has ever been recorded in connection with second sight. This does not imply, however, that efforts have not been made by others to profit by the strange gifts of such persons; but even the career of the famous Duncan Campbell, a deaf and dumb Scot, who, in the beginning of the last century, created an immense sensation in London, only proved anew the well-known disinterest- edness of these seers. In many instances the gift of second sight is treated with indifference, and hardly noticed. Such was the case with Lord Nelson, who is reported to have exhibited the gift of a kind of second sight, at least in two well-authenticated cases, related by Sir Thomas Hardy to Admiral Dundas, and quoted by Dr. Mayo, as he had the account from the latter. Captain Hardy heard Nelson order the commander of a frigate to shake out all sails to sail towards a certain place where he would in all probability meet the French fleet, and as soon as he had made it out, to run into a certain port and there to wait for Nelson's arrival. When the officer had left the cabin, Nelson turned to Hardy, saying: "He will go to the West Indies; he will see the French ; he will make the port I told him to make, but he will not wait .for me — he will sail for England." The commander actually did so. In this DIVINATION. 307 case, however, Nelson may possibly have only given a striking evidence of his power to read the character of men, and to draw his conclusions as to their probable action. In the following instance his knowledge ap- peared, on the contrary, as a magic phenomenon. It was shortly before the battle of Trafalgar, when an English frigate was made out at such a distance that her position could not be accurately ascertained. Sud- denly Nelson turned to Hardy, who was standing by his side, and said : " The frigate has sighted the French." Hardy had nothing to say in reply. "She sights the French ; she will lire presently." In an instant the low sound of a signal-shot was heard afar off ! In other cases the curious gift is borne with great impatience, and becomes a source of intense suffering. This is certainly very pardonable in men who read im- pending death in the features of others, and hence are continually subject to hear-trending impressions. Some- times the moribund appears as if he had been lying in his grave already for several days, at other times he is seen wrapped up in his shroud or in the act of expir- ing. In some parts of Germany the approaching death of a neighbor is announced by the appearance of Death itself, not in the familiar mythological form, but as a white, luminous appearance, which either stops before the house of the person who is to die soon, or actually enters it and places itself by the side of the latter. Occasionally the image is seen to fill the seat or to walk in a procession in the place of a man as yet in perfect 308 MODERN MAGIC. health, who nevertheless soon falls a victim to some disease or sudden attack. Second sight is, like all similar magic phenomena, frequently mentioned in the writings of the ancients. Homer mentions a case in his " Odyssey " (xx. v. 351). Apollonius of Tyana was delivering an oration at Ephesus, when he suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence and beheld in a vision the Emperor Domitian at Eome, in the act of succumbing to his murderers. He fell into a kind of trance, his eyes became fixed, and he exclaimed in an unnatural voice : " Down with the tyrant ! " ( Vita Apoll. Zenobis Anolo interprete. Paris, 1555, 1. viii. p. 562.) Henry IV., when still Prince of Navarre, saw on the eve of St. Bartholomew several drops of blood falling upon the green cloth of the card- table at which he was seated in company with several courtiers; the latter beheld the fearful and ominous sight as well as he himself. German writings abound with instances of men having seen their own funeral several days before their death, and in many instances the warning is reported to have had a most salutary effect in causing them to repent of their sins and to prepare for the impending summons. One of the most remarkable instances is that of a distinguished pro- fessor of divinity, Dr. Lysius, in Kbnigsberg. He had inherited special magic powers through many genera- tions from an early ancestor, who saw a funeral of very peculiar nature, with all the attending circumstances, long before it actually took place. He himself had his DIVINATION. 309 first revelation when, lying in bed awake, lie saw sud- denly his chamber quite light, and something like a man's shadow pass him, while on his mind, not on his ear, fell the words : Umbra matris turn. Although his mother had just written to him that she was in un- usually good health and spirits, she had died that very night. On another occasion he astonished his friends by telling them what a superb new building he had seen erected in Konigsberg, giving all the details of church and school-room to a little gate in a narrow alley. Many years afterwards such a building was really erected there, and he himself called to occupy part of it, when that little gate became his favorite entrance. Although he had many such visions, and his wife, succumbing to the contagious influence of magic powers, also foresaw more than one important event, he sternly refused to attach any weight to his own forebodings or those of other persons. Thus a poor 'woman, possessing the gift of second sight, once came to some members of his family and told them she had seen seven funerals leave his house; when this was reported to him, he de- nounced the superstition as unchristian, and forbade its being mentioned again in his presence. But, although there was not a sick person in the house at the time, and even the older members of the family were unusually hale and hearty, in a few weeks every one in the house was dangerously ill, the head of the family alone excepted, and as three only escaped, the seven deaths which had been foreseen actually took place. 310 MODERN MAGIC. The annals of Swedish history (Arndt, Scliwed. Gesch. p. 317) record a remarkable case of this kind. The scene was the old castle of G-ripsholm, near Stock- holm, a place full of terrible reminiscences, and more than once made famous by strange mysteries. A great state dinner given to a prince of Baden, had just ended, when one of the guests, Count Frolich, suddenly gazed fixedly at the great door of the dining-hall, and when he regained his composure, declared he had just seen their princely guest walk in, wearing a different uniform from that in which he was actually dressed, as he sat in the place of honor. It was, however, a custom of the prince's to wear one costume one day and another the next day, and thus to change regularly; Count Frolich bad seen him in that which he would accordingly wear the next day. The impression was beginning to wear away, and the accident was nearly forgotten, when suddenly a great disturbance was heard without, servants came running in, women were heard crying, and even the offi- cers on guard were seriously disturbed. The report was that " King Eric's ghost " had been seen. On the fol- lowing day the Prince of Baden was thrown from his carriage and instantly killed; his body was brought back to Gripsholm. Here also we meet again with the exceptional powers granted to Goethe. He had just parted with one of his many loves, the fair daughter of the minister of Drusen- heim, Friederike, and was riding in deep thought upon the footpath, when he suddenly saw, " not with the DIVINATION. 311 eyes of the body, but of the spirit,"' his own self in a new light gray coat, laced with gold, riding towards him. When he made an effort to shake off the impres- sion, the vision disappeared. " It is strange, however," he tells ns himself, " that I found myself eight years later riding on that same road, in order to see Frieder- ike once more, and was then dressed, by accident and not from choice, in the costume of which I had dreamt " (Aus Meinem Leben, iii. p. &4). A kindred spirit, Sir Humphry Davy, had once a vision, which strangely enough was fulfilled more than once. In his attractive work (" Consolations in Travel," p. 63), he relates how he saw, when suffering of jail fever, the image of a beau- tiful woman, with whom he soon entered into a most interesting conversation. He was at the time warmly attached to a lady, but the vision represented a girl with brown hair, blue eyes and blooming complexion, while his lady-love was pale and had dark eyes and dark hair. His mysterious visitor came frequently, as long as he was really sick, but as his strength returned, her visits became rarer, and at last ceased altogether. He forgot it entirely ; but ten years later he suddenly met in Illyria, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years, who strikingly resembled the image he had seen, and now recalled in all' its details. Another ten years passed, and the great chemist met once more in traveling, a person who as strikingly resembled his first vision, and became indebted to her tender care and kindness for the preservation of his life. 312 MODERN MAGIC. In some parts of the world this gift of second sight assumes very peculiar forms. In Africa, for instance, and especially in the countries adjoining the Sahara, men and women are found who possess alike the power of seeing coming events beforehand. More than once European travelers have been hospitably received by natives who had been warned of their coming. Rich- ardson tells us in his graphic account of his " Mission to Central Africa," that his arrival had thus been an- nounced to the chief and the people of Tintalus in these words : " A caravan of Englishmen is on the way from Tripoli, to come to you." The seer was an old negro- woman, a reputed witch, who had a great reputation for anticipating events. In the Isle of France — we learn from James Prior in his " Voyage in the Indian Seas" — there are many men who can see vessels at a distance of several hundred miles. One of them described accu- rately and minutely the wreck of a ship on the coast of Madagascar, from whence it was to bring provisions. A woman expecting her lover on board another ship, inquired of one of these seers if he could give her any comfort : he replied promptly that the vessel was only three days' sail from the island, and that her friend was then engaged in washing his linen. The ship arrived at the appointed time, and the man corroborated the seer's statement. The great navigator relates even more surprising feats accomplished by the director of signals, Faillafe, who saw vessels distinctly at a distance of from sixty to one hundred sea miles. Their image DIVINATION. 313 appeared to liim on the horizon in the shape of a light brown cloud with faint outlines, but yet distinctly enough to enable him to distinguish the size of the ves- sel, the nature of its rigging, and the direction in which it was sailing. Second hearing seems to be limited to the eastern part of Scotland, where it occurs' occasionally in whole families. Mrs. Crowe mentions, for instance, a man and his wife in Berwickshire, who were both aroused at night by a loud cry which they at once recognized as peculiar to their son. It appeared afterwards that he had perished at sea in that night and at the same hour when the cry was heard (I. p. 161). In another case a man in Perthshire was waked by his wife, who told h im that no doubt their son had been drowned, for she had distinctly heard the splash as he fell into the water, and had been aroused by the noise. Here also the fore- boding proved true : the man had fallen from the yard- arm, and disappeared before a boat could be lowered, although his fall had been heard by all aboard. It must finally be mentioned that second sight has been noticed not in men only, but even in animals. Horses especially seem to be extremely sensitive to all magic influences, and accounts of their peculiar conduct under trying circumstances are both numerous and perfectly well authenticated. Thus a minister in Lind- holm, the Eev. Mr. Hansen, owned a perfectly gentle and good-natured horse, which all of a sudden refused to stand still in his stable, began to tremble and give 14 314 MODEEN MAGIC. all signs of great fear, and finally kicked and reared so wildly that lie had to be removed. As soon as he was placed in another stable he calmed down and became perfectly quiet. It was at last discovered that a person endowed with second sight had ascribed the strange be- havior of the horse to the fact that a coffin was being made before his open stable, and that the horse could not bear the sight. The man was laughed at, but not long after the minister's wife died, and for some special reasons the coffin was actually made in full view of the former stable of the horse (Kies. Arch. viii. p. 111). Dogs also have been reported in almost innumerable cases to have set up a most painful howling before the approaching death of inmates of a house where they were kept. In England and in Germany especially, they are con- sidered capable of seeing supernatural beings. When they are seen to cower down of a sudden, and to press close to the feet of their masters, trembling often in all their limbs, and looking up most piteously, as if for help, popular belief says : " All is not right with the dog," or " He sees more than men can see." The memory of Balaam's ass rises instinctively in our mind, and we feel that this part of creation, which groaneth with us for salvation, and which was included among those for whose sake the Lord spared Nineveh, may see what is concealed from our eyes. Samuel Wesley tells us ex- pressly how a dog, specially bought for the purpose of frightening away the evil-disposed men who were at DIVINATION. 315 first suspected of causing the nightly disturbances at the parsonage, barked but once the first night, and after that exhibited, upon the recurrence of those noises, quite as much terror as the children. Nor are dogs and horses the only animals considered capable of perceiving by a special instinct of their own the working of supernatural agencies. During a series of mysterious disturbances in a G-erman village, the chickens fled in terror from the garden, and the cattle refused to enter the enclosure, when the appearances were seen. Swiss herdsmen have a number of stories concerning " feyed" places in the Alps, to which neither caress nor compulsion can induce their herds to go, even when pasture is rare everywhere else, and rich grass seems to tempt them to come to the abhorred meadows. Storks have been known to have abandoned the roof- tree on which for years they had built their nest, and in every case the forsaken house was burnt during the summer. This and other peculiarities of sagacious ani-. mals have been especially noticed in Denmark, where all animals are called synsh, seers, when they are be- lieved to possess the gift of second sight. ORACLES AN"D PROPHECIES. The highest degree of divination is the actual fore- telling of events which are yet to happen. The imme- diate causes which awaken the gift are of the most varied character, and often very curious. Thus a young Florentine, Gasparo, who had been wounded by an 316 MODEKN MAGIC. arrow, and could not be relieved, began in his fearful suffering to pray incessantly, day and night; this ex- cited him to such a degree that he finally foretold not only the name of his visitors, but also the hour at which they would come, and finally the day of his com- plete recovery ; he also knew, by the same instinct, that later in life he would go to Borne and die there. When the iron point was at last removed from his wound, his health began to improve, and at once his prophetic gift left him and never returned. He went, however, to Eome, and really died in the Eternal City (Colquhoun, p. 333). The priests of Apollo, at Co- lophon, intoxicated themselves with the water of his fountain, which was as famous for bestowing the gift of prophecy as iEsculapius' well at Pergamus and the springs near his temple at Pellena. In other temples vapors were inhaled by the prophetic priests. In the prophet-schools of the Israelites music seems to have played a prominent part, for Samuel told Saul he would meet at the hill of Gad " a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery and a tabret and a pipe before them." The Jews possessed, how- ever, also other means to aid in divining: Joseph had his cup, a custom still prevalent in the East ; and the High Priest, before entering into the Holiest, put on the Thummim with its six dark jewels and the Urim with its six light-colored jewels, whereupon the bril- liant sparkling of the precious stones and the rich fumes of incense combined with the awful sense of the DIVINATION. 317 presence of Jehovah in predisposing his mind to receive revelations from on high. The false prophets of Baal, on the contrary, tried to produce like effects by bloody means: " They cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out upon them," and then they prophesied. It has already been mentioned that in India the glance was fixed upon the navel, until the divine light began to shine before the mind's eye — in other words, until a trance is induced, and visions begin to appear. The changes which immediately precede dissolution seem, finally, to be most favorable to a development of prophetic powers. Already Aretaeus, the Cappadocian, said that the mind of many dying persons was perfectly clear, penetrating and prophetic, and mentions a number of cases in which the dying had begun to converse with the dead, or foretold the fate of those who stood by their bedside. Thus Homer also makes dying Hector warn Achilles of his approach- ing end, and Calanus, when in the act of ascending the funeral pile, replies to Alexander's question if he had any request to make : " No, I have nothing to ask, for I shall see you the day after to-morrow ! " And on that day the young conqueror died. Suetonius reports that the Emperor Augustus was passing away almost imperceptibly, when he suddenly shuddered and said that forty youths were carrying him off. It so happened that when the end came, forty men of his body-guard were ordered to raise and con- vey the body to another room in the palace. There 318 MODERN MAGIC. are a few cases known in which apparently dying per- sons, after delivering such prophecies, have recovered and retained the exceptional gift during the remainder of their lives, but these instances are rare and require confirmation. As all magic phenomena are liable to be mixed up with delusion and imposture, so divination of this kind also has been frequently imitated for personal or po- litical purposes. The ancient oracles already gave frequently answers full of irony and sly humor. The story of King Alexander of Epirus is well known, who was warned by the oracle at Dodona to keep away from the Acherusian waters, and then perished in the river Acheros, in Italy. Thus Henry IV. of England had been told that he would die at Jerusalem ; he thought only of Palestine, but met his death unconsciously in a room belonging to the Abbey of Westminster, which bore the name of the holy city. In Spain, Ferdinand the Catholic received warning that he would die at Madrigal, and hence carefully avoided the city of that name ; but when his last illness overtook him at an obscure little town, he found that it was called Madri- gaola, or Little Madrigal. The historian Mariana (Hist, de rebus Hisp., 1. xxii. chap. 66) also mentions the despair of the famous favorite Don Alvarez de Luna, whom an astrologer had warned against Cadahalso, a village near Toledo ; the unfortunate man died on the scaffold which is also called cadahalso. In France it was the fate of the superstitious queen, Catherine de DIVINATION. 319 Medici, to experience a similar mortification : the famous Nostradamus had predicted that she would die in St. Germain, and she carefully avoided that palace ; but when her last end came, she found herself sinking- helpless into the arms of a courtier called St. Ger- main. Nor is there any want of false prophecies from the time when Jeremiah complained that " a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land ; the people prophesy falsely " (Jer. v. 30), to the great money crisis in 1857, which filled the land with predictions of the approaching end. Periods of great political or reli- gious excitement invariably produce a few genuine and a host of spurious prophets, which represent the sad forebodings filling the mind of a distressed nation and avail themselves of the credulity of all great sufferers. Some of the most absurd prophecies have nevertheless caused a perfect panic, extending in some cases through- out whole countries. Thus in 1578 a famous astrolo- ger, the father of all weather prophecies in our alma- nacs, predicted that in the month of February, 1524, when three planets should enter at once the constellation of the fishes, a second deluge would destroy the earth. The report reached the Emperor Charles V., who sub- mitted the matter to his Spanish theologians and as- trologers. They investigated it with solemn gravity and found it very formidable ; from Spain the panic spread through the whole of Europe. When February came thousands left their houses and sought refuge on 320 MODERN MAGIC. » mountain and hill-top ; others hoped to escape on board ships, and a rich president at Toulouse actually built himself a second ark. When the deluge did not take place, divines and diviners were by no means abashed ; they declared that God had this time also taken pity upon sinful men in consideration of the fervent prayer of the faithful, as he had done before in the case of Nineveh. The fear of the last judgment has at all times so rilled the minds of men as to make them readi- ly believe a prediction of the approaching end of the world, an event which, it is well known, the apostles, Martin Luther, and certain modern divines, have per- sistently thought immediately impending. Sects have arisen at various epochs who have looked forward to the second Advent with a sincerity of conviction of which they gave striking and even most fearful evidence. The Millerites of the Union have more than once predicted the coming of Christ, and in anticipation of the near Advent, disposed of their property, assumed the white robes in which they were to ascend to heaven, and even mounted into the topmost branches of trees to shorten the journey. In Switzerland a young woman of Berne became so excited by the coming of judgment, which she fixed upon the next Easter day, that she prophesied daily, gathered a number of followers around her, and actually had her own grandfather strangled in order to save his soul before the approaching Advent. (Stilling, "Janserits,"p. 117.) Not unfrequently prophecies are apparently delivered DIVINATION. 321 by intermediate agents, angels, demons or peculiarly marked persons. It was no doubt an effect of the deep and continued excitement felt by Caius Cassius, that his mind was filled with the image of murdered Caesar, and hence he could very easily fancy he saw his victim in his purple cloak, horse and rider of gigantic propor- tions, suddenly appear in the din of the battle at Phi- lippi, riding down upon him with wild passion. It is well known that the impression was strong enough to make him, who had never yet turned his back upon the enemy, seek safety in flight, and cry out : " What more do you want if murder does not finish you?" (Va- ler. Max. I. 8. ) It must lastly be borne in mind, that prophecies have not remained as sterile as other magical phenomena. Already Herder mentions the advantages of ancient ora- cles. He says (Idee?i zur Phil. cl. Geschiclite, iii. p. 211) : " Many a tyrant and criminal was publicly marked by the divine voice (of oracles), when it foretold their fate ; in like manner it has saved many an innocent person, given good advice to the helpless, lent divine authority to noble institutions, made known works of art, and sanctioned great moral truths as well as wholesome maxims of state policy." It need hardly be added that the prophets of Israel were the main upholders of the religious life as well as of the morality of the chosen people ; while the priests remained stationary in their views, and contented themselves with performing the ceremonial service of the temple, the prophets preserved 322 MODERN MAGIC. the true faith, and furthered its gradually widening rev- elation. In their case, however, divination was so clearly the result of divine inspiration, that their proph- ecies can hardly be classed among magic phenomena. The ground which they have in common with merely human forebodings and divinings, is the state of trance in which alone prophets seem to have foretold the future, whether we believe this ecstatic condition to have been caused by music, long-protracted prayer or the direct agency of the Holy Spirit. This ecstasy was in the case of almost all the oracles of antiquity brought on by inhaling certain gases which rose from the soil and produced often most fearful symp- toms in the unfortunate persons employed for the pur- pose. At the same time they were rarely free from an addition of artifice, as the priests not only filled the mind of the pythoness beforehand with thoughts sug- gested by their own wisdom and political experience, but the latter also frequently employed her skill as a ventriloquist, in order to increase the force of her rev- elations. Hence the fact, that almost all the Greek ora- cles proceeded from deep caves, in which, as at Dodona and Delphi, carbonic gas was developed in abundance ; hence, also, the name of ventriloqua vates, which was commonly given to the Delphi Pythia. The oldest of these oracles, that at Dodona, foretold events for nearly two thousand years, and even survived the almost uni- versal destruction of such institutions at the time of Christ; it did not actually cease till the third century, DIVINATION. 323 when an Illyrian robber cut down the sacred tree. The oracle of Zeus Trophonius in Bceotia spoke through the patients who were brought to the caves, where they became somnambulists, had visions and answered the questions of the priests while they were in this condi- tion. The Romans also had their somnambulist proph- ets from the earliest days, and whenever the state was in danger, the Sibylline books were consulted. Chris- tianity made an end to all such divination in Italy as in Greece. It is strange that the vast scheme of Egyptian superstition shows us no oracles whatever; but among the G-ermans prophets were all the more numerous. They foretold war or peace, success or failure, and ex- ercised a powerful influence on all affairs. One of the older prophetesses, Veleda, who lived in an isolated tower, and allowed herself to be but rarely consulted, was held in high esteem even by the Romans. The Celts had in like manner prophet-Druids, some of whom became well known to the Romans, and are reported to have foretold the fate of the emperors Aurelian, Dio- cletian and Severus. We have the authority of Josephus for the continu- ance of prophetic power in Israel even after the coming of Christ. He tells us of Jesus, the son of Ananus, who ran for seven years and five months through the streets of Jerusalem, proclaiming the coming ruin, and, while crying out " Woe is me ! " was struck and instantly killed by a stone from one of the siege engines of the Romans. (Jos., 1. vi. c. 31.) Josephus himself 324 MODERN MAGIC. passes for a prophet, having predicted the fall of the city of Jotapata forty-seven days in advance, his own captivity, and the imperial dignity of Vespasian as well as of Titus. Of northern prophets, Merlin is probably the most widely known ; he was a Celtic bard, called Myrdhin, and his poems, written in the seventh century, were looked upon as accurate descriptions of many subsequent events, such as the exploits of Joan of Arc. In the sixteenth century Nostradamus took his place, whose prophetic verses, Vraies Centuries et Prophttics, are to this day current among the people, and now and then reappear in leading journals. He had been a pro- fessor of medicine in the University of Montpellier, and died in 1566, enjoying a world-wide reputation as an astrologer. His brief and often enigmatical verses have never lost their hold on credulous minds, and a few striking instances have, even in our century, largely revived his credit. Such was, for instance, the stanza (No. 10) : Tin empereur naitre pres d'ltalie, Qui d V empire sera vendu tres cher; Dirbnt avec quels gens il se rattii, Qu'on trouvera moins prince que toucher, which was naturally applied to the great Napoleon and his marshals. Another northern prophet, whose predictions are still quoted, was the Archbishop of Armagh, Malachias, who, in 1130, foretold the Me of all coming popes; as in almost all similar cases, here also the accidental DIVINATION. "325 coincidences have been carefully noted and pompously proclaimed, while the many unfulfilled prophecies have been as studiously concealed. It is curious, however, that he distinctly predicted the fate of Pius VI., whom he spoke of as " Vir apostolicus moriens in exilo " (he died, 1799, an exile, in Valence), and that he character- ized Pius IX. as " Crux de Cruce." St. Bridget of Sweden had the satisfaction of seeing her prophecies approved of by the Council of Basle ; they were trans- lated subsequently into almost every living language, and are still held in high esteem by thousands in every part of Europe. The most prominent name among English prophets is probably that of Archbishop Usher, who predicted Cromwell's fate, and many events in England and Ireland, the result, no doubt, -of great sagacity and a remarkable power of combination, but exceeding in many instances the ordinary measure of human wisdom. An entirely different prophet was Eice Evans (Jortin, " Rem. on Eccles. Hist.," p. 377), who, fixing his eye upon the hollow of his hand, saw there images of Lord Fairfax, Cromwell, and four other crowned heads appearing one after another ; thus, it is said, he predicted the Protectorate and the reign of the four sovereigns of the house of Stuart. Jane Leade, a most extraordinary and mysterious person, founded in 1697, when she had reached the age of seventy-four, her so-called Philadelphian Society, a prominent member of which was the famous Pordage, formerly a minister and then a physician. This very vain woman main- 326 MODERN MAGIC. tained that she was inspired in the same manner as St. John in Patmos, and that she was compelled by the power of the Holy Spirit to foretell the future. In spite of her erroneous announcement of the near Mil- lennium, she foretold many minor events with great accuracy, and was highly esteemed as a prophet. Dr. Pordage had mainly visions of the future world, which were all characterized by a great purity of heart and wildness of imagination. Swedenborg also had many prophetic visions, but their fulfillment belongs ex- clusively to future life, and their genuineness, firmly believed by the numerous and enlightened members of the New Church, cannot be proved to others in this world. One of the most remarkable cases of modern prophe- sying which has been officially recorded, is connected with the death of Pope Ganganelli. The latter heard that a number of persons in various parts of Italy had predicted that he would soon end his life by a violent death. He attached sufficient importance to these reports to hand the matter over to a special commission previously appointed to examine grave charges which had been brought against the Jesuits, perhaps suspect- ing that the Order of Jesus was not unconnected with those predictions. Among the persons who were there- upon arrested was a simple, ignorant peasant-girl, Beatrice Rensi, who told the gendarme very calmly: " Ganganelli has me arrested, Braschi will set me free," implying that the latter would be the next pope. The DIVINATION. 327 priest at Valentano, who was arrested on the same day (12th of May, 1774), exclaimed quite joyously: "What happens to me now has been predicted three times already ; take these papers and see what my daughter (the Rensi) has foretold." Upon examination it ap- pears that the girl had fixed the pope's day upon the day of equinoxes, in the month of September; she an- nounced that he would proclaim a year of absolution, but not live to see it ; that none of the faithful would kiss his foot, nor would they take him, as usual, to the Church of St. Peter. At the same time she spoke of a fierce inward struggle through which the Holy Father would have to pass before his death. Soon after these predictions were made officially known to the pope, the bull against the order of Jesuits was laid before him ; the immense importance of such a decree, and the evident dangers with which it was fraught, caused him great concern, and when he one night rose from his bed to affix his signature, and, frightened by some con- siderations, threw away the pen only to take it up at last and sign the paper, he suddenly recalled the pro- phecy of the peasant-girl. He drove at once to a great prelate in Rome, who had formerly been the girl's con- fessor, and inquired of him about her character ; the priest testified to her purity, her unimpeached honesty, and her simplicity, adding that in his opinion she was evidently favored by heaven with special and very ex- traordinary powers. Ganganelli was made furious by this suggestion, and insisted upon it that his commis- 328 MODEEN MAGIC. sion should declare all these predictions wicked lies, the inspirations of the Devil, and condemn the sixty-two persons who had been arrested to pay the extreme pen- alty in the Castle of St. Angelo on the 1st of October. In the meantime, however, his health began to suffer, and his mind was more and more deeply affected. Beatrice Eensi had been imprisoned in a convent at Montefiascane ; on the 22d of September she told the prioress that prayers might be held for the soul of the Holy Father; the latter informed the bishop of the place, and soon the whole town was in an uproar. Late in the afternoon couriers brought the news that Gan- ganelli had suddenly died at eight o'clock in the morn- ing ; the body began to putrefy so promptly that the usual ceremonies of kissing the pope's feet and the transfer to St. Peter's became impossible ! The most curious effects of the girl's predictions appeared, how- ever, when the Conclave was held to elect a successor. Many Cardinals were extremely anxious that Braschi should not be elected, lest this should be interpreted as a confirmation of the prediction, and hence as the work of the Evil One ; others again looked upon the girl's words as an indication from on high ; they carried the day. Braschi was really chosen, and ascended the throne as Pius VI. The commission, however, con- tinued the work of investigation, and finally acquitted the Jesuits of the charge of collusion ; Beatrice Eensi's predictions were declared to be supernatural, but sug- gested by the Father of Lies, the accused were all set DIVINATION. 329 free. The Bishop of Montefiascone, Maury, reported officially in 1804 that the girl had received a pension from Rome until the French invasion, then she left the convent in which she had peacefully and quietly lived so long, and was not heard of again. The famous predictions of Jacques Cazotte, a man of high literary renown and the greatest respectability, were witnessed by persons of unimpeachable character and have been repeatedly mentioned as authentic by em- inent writers. Laharpe — not the tutor of the Russian Emperor Alexander — reports them fully in his (Euvres clioisies, etc. (i. p. 62) ; so do Boulard, in his Encycl. des gens du Monde, and William Burt, who was present when they were made, in his " Observations on the Cu- riosities of Nature." It is well known that Cazotte had joined the sect of Martinists, and among these enthusi- asts increased his natural sensitiveness and his religions fervor. With a mind thus predisposed to receive strong impressions from outside, and filled with fearful appre- hensions of the future, it was no wonder that he should fall suddenly into a trance and thus be enabled by ex- traordinary magical influences to predict the horrors of the Revolution, the sad fate of the king and the queen, and his own tragic end. The report of his predictions as made by Jean de La- harpe, who only died in 1823, and with his well-estab- lished character and high social standing vouched for the genuineness of his experience, is substantially as follows :- He had been invited, in 1788, to meet at the 330 MODERN MAGIC. palace of the Duchess de Gramont some of the most remarkable personages of the day, and found himself seated by the side of Malesherbes. He noticed at a cor- ner of the table Cazotte, apparently in a deep fit of musing, from which he was only roused by the frequent toasts, in which he was forced to join. When at last the guests seemed to be overflowing with fervent praises of modern philosophy and its brilliant victory over old re- ligious superstitions, Cazotte suddenly rose and in a solemn tone of voice and with features agitated with deep emotion said to them : " Gentlemen, you may rejoice, for you will all see that great and imposing revolution, which you so much desire. You, M. Condorcet, will expire lying on the floor of a subterranean prison. Yon, M. N., will die of poison ; you, M. N"., will perish by the executioner's hand on the scaffold." They cried out : " Who on earth has made you think of prisons, poison, and the executioner ? What have these things to do with philosophy and the reign of reason, which we anticipate and on which you but just now congratu- lated us ? " " That is exactly what I say," replied Ca- zotte, " in the name of philosophy, of reason, of human- ity, and of freedom, all these things will be done, which I have foretold, and they will happen precisely when reason alone will reign and have its temples." " Cer- tainly," replied Chamfort, " you will not be one of the priests." " Not I," answered the latter, " but you, M. de Chamfort, will be one of them and deserve to be one ; you will cut your veins in twenty-two places DIVINATION. 331 with your razor, and yet die only several months after that desperate operation. You, M. Vicque d'Azyr, will not open your veins, because the gout in your Lands will prevent it, but you will get another person to open tbem six times for you the same day, and you will die in the night succeeding. You, M. Nicolai, will die on the scaffold, and you, M. Bailly, and you, M. Malesherbes." " God be thanked/' exclaimed M. Eicher, u it seems M. Cazotte only deals with members of the Academy." But Cazotte replied instantly : " You also, M. Eicher, will die on the scaffold, and they who sen- tence you, and others like you, will be nevertheless philosophers." " And when is all this going to happen ? " asked several guests. " Within at most six years from to-day," was the reply. Laharpe now asked: "And about me you say nothing, Cazotte ? " The latter re- plied : " In you, sir, a great miracle will be done ; you will be converted and become a good Christian." These words relieved the company, and all broke out into merry laughter. Now the Duchess of Gramont also took courage, and said: "We women are fortunately better off than men, revolutions do not mind us." " Your sex, ladies," answered Cazotte, " will not protect you this time, and however careful you may be not to be mixed up with politics, you will be treated exactly like the men. You also, Duchess, with many ladies before and after you, will have to mount the scaffold, and more than that, they will carry you there on the hangman's cart, with your hands bound behind your back." The 332 MODERN MAGIC. duchess, perhaps looking upon the whole as a jest, said, smiling : " Well, I think I shall at least have a coach lined with black." "No, no," replied Cazotte, "the hangman's cart will be your last carriage, and even greater ladies than you will have to ride in it." " Surely not princesses of the royal blood ? " asked the duchess. " Still greater ones," answered Cazotte. " But they will not deny us a confessor ? " she continued. " Yes," re- plied the other, " only the greatest of all who will be executed will have one." "But what will become of you, M. Cazotte ? " asked the guests, who began at last to feel thoroughly uncomfortable. " My fate," was the reply, "will be the fate of the man who called out, Woe ! over Jerusalem, before the last siege, and Woe ! over himself, while a stone, thrown by the enemy, ended his life." With these words Cazotte bowed and with- drew from the room. However much of the details may have been subsequently added to the prediction, the fact of such a prophecy has never yet been impugned, and William Burt, who was a witness of the scene, emphati- cally endorses the account. Even the stern Calvinists have had their religious prophets, among whom Du Serre is probably the most interesting. He established himself in 1686 in the Dauphine, but extended his operations soon into the Cevennes, and thus prepared the great uprising of Prot- estants there in 1688, which led to fearful war and general devastation. Special gifts of prophecy were ac- corded to a few generally uneducated persons; but in DIVINATION. 333 these they appeared very strikingly, so that, for instance, many young girls belonging to the lowest classes of society, and entirely unlettered, were not only able to foretell coming events, but also to preach with great eloquence and to interpret Holy Writ. These phenomena became numerous enough to induce the camisards, as the rebellious Protestants of the Cevennes were called, finally to form a regular system of inspiration. They spoke of four degrees of ecstasis : the first indication, the inspiring breath, the prediction, and the gifts ; the last was the highest. The spirit of prophecy could be com- municated by an inspired person to others ; this was generally done by a kiss. Even children of three and four years were enabled to foretell the future, and per- severed, although they were often severely punished by their parents, whom the authorities held responsible for their misconduct, as it was called. (TIiMtre Sacre des Cevennes, p. 66.) Nor has this gift of prophesying been noticed only in men of our own faith and our race. An author whose trustworthiness cannot be doubted for a moment, Jones Forbes, gives in his " Oriental Me- moirs " (Londou, 1803), an instance of the prophesying power of East Indian magicians, which is as well au- thenticated as remarkable. A Mr. Hodges had acci- dentally made the acquaintance of a young Brahmin, who, although unknown to the English residents, was famous among the natives for his great gifts. They became fast friends, and the Indian never ceased to 334 MODEEN MAGIC. urge Hodges to remain strictly in the path of duty, as by so doing he was sure to reach the highest honors. In order to enforce his adyice he predicted that he would rise from the post he then occupied as Kesident in Bombay to higher places, till he would finally be ap- pointed governor. The prediction was often discussed among Hodges' friends, and when fortune favored him and he really obtained unusually rapid preferment, he began to rely more than ever on the Indian's predic- tion. But suddenly a severe blow shattered all his hopes. A rival of his, Spencer, was appointed governor, and Hodges, very indignant at what he considered an act of unbearable injustice, wrote a sharp and disre- spectful letter to the Governor and Council of the Com- pany. The result was his dismissal from the service and the order to return to Europe. Before embarking he sent once more for his friend, who was then living at one of the sacred places, and when he came informed him of the sad turn in his affairs and reproached him with his false predictions. The Indian, however, was in no way disconcerted, but assured Hodges that al- though his adversary had put his foot on the threshold, he would never enter the palace, but that he, Hodges, would, in spite of appearances, most surely reach the high post which he had promised him years ago. These assurances produced no great effect, and Hodges was on the point of going on board the ship that was to carry him to Europe, when another vessel sailed into the har- bor, having accomplished the voyage out in a most unu- DIVINATION. 335 sually short time, and brought new orders from England. The Court of Directors had disapproved of Spencer's conduct as Governor of Bengal, revoked his appoint- ment, dismissed him from service, and ordered Hodges to be installed as Governor of Bombay ! From that day the Brahmin obtained daily more influence over the mind of his English friend, and the latter undertook nothing without having first consulted the strangely gifted native. It became, however, soon a matter of general remark, that the Brahmin could never be per- suaded to refer in his predictions to the time beyond the year 1771, as he had never promised Hodges another post of honor than that which he now occupied. The explanation of his silence came but too soon, for in the night of the 22d of February, 1772, Hodges died sud- denly, and thus ended his brilliant career, verifying his friend's prophecy in every detail. THE DIVINING ROD. The relations in which some men stand to Nature are sometimes so close as to enable them to make dis- coveries which are impossible to others. This is, for instance, the case with persons who feel the presence of waters or of metals. The former have, from time im- memorial, generally used a wand, the so-called divin- ing rod, which, according to Pliny, was already known to the ancient Etruscans as a means for the discovery of hidden springs. An Italian author, Amoretti, who has given special attention to this subject, states that 336 MODERN MAGIC. at least every fifth man is susceptible to the influence of water and metals, but this is evidently an over- estimate. In recent times many persons have been known to possess this gift of discovering hidden springs or subterranean masses of water, and these have but rarely employed an instrument. Catharine Beutler, of Thurgovia, in Switzerland, and Anna Maria Brugger of the same place, were both so seriously affected by the presence of water that they fell into violent nervous excitement when they happened to cross places beneath which larger quantities were concealed, and became perfectly exhausted. In France a class of men, called sourciers, have for ages possessed this instinctive power of perceiving the presence of water, and others, like the famous Abbe Paramelle, have cultivated the natural gift till they were finally enabled, by a mere cursory examination of a landscape, to ascertain whether large masses of water were hidden anywhere, and to indicate the precise spots where they might be found. Why water and metals should almost always go hand in hand in connection with this peculiar gift, is not quite clear ; but the staff of Hermes, having probably the form of the divining rod, was always represented as giving the command over the treasures of the earth, and the Orphic Hymn (v. 527) calls it, hence, the golden rod, producing wealth and happiness. On the other hand, the Aqua Virgo, the nymph of springs, had also a divining rod in her hand, and ISTuma, inspired by a water nymph, established the worship of waters in DIVINATION. 337 connection with that of the dead. For here, also, riches and death seem to have entered into a strange alliance. Del Eio, in his Disquisitiones magicce, men- tions thus the Zahuri of Spain, the lynx-eyed, as he translates the name, who were able on Wednesdays and Saturdays to discover all the veins of metals or of water beneath the surface, all hidden treasures, and corpses in their coffins. There is at least one instance re- corded where a person possessed the power to see even more than the Zahuris. This was a Portuguese lady, Pedegache, who first attracted attention by being able to discover subterranean springs and their connections, a gift which brought her great honors after she had in- formed the king of all the various supplies of water which were hidden near a palace which he was about to build. Shafts were sunk according to her directions, and not only water was found, but also the various soils and stones which she had foretold would have to be pierced. She also seems to have cultivated her talent, for we hear of her next being able to discover treasures, even valuable antique statues, in the interior of houses, and finally she reached such a degree of in- tuition, that she saw the inner parts of the human body, and pointed out their diseases and defects. Savoy seems to be a specially favorable region for the development of this peculiar gift, for if in Cornwall one out of every forty men is believed to possess it, in Savoy the divining rod is in the hands of nearly every one. But what marks the talent in this case as pecu- 15 338 MODEEN MAGIC. liar is that it is by no means limited to the discovery of water, but extends to other things likewise. A very wealthy family, called Collomb, living in Cessens, boasted of more than one member who was able, by the aid of the rod and with bandaged eyes, to discover not only pieces of money, but even needles, evidently cases of personal susceptibility to the presence of metals, aided by electric currents. Once, at least, the gift was made useful. A number of bags filled with wheat had "been stolen from a neighboring house, and the police were unable to discover the hiding-place. At the re- quest of his friends one of the Collombs undertook the search with the aid of the divining rod; he soon found the window through which the bags had been handed out ; he then followed the track along the banks of the river Oheran, and asserted that the thief had crossed to the other side. At that time nothing more was dis- covered; but soon afterwards a miller living across the river was suspected, the bags were found, and the culprit sent to the galleys. {Revue Savoisietme, April 15, 1852.) Dr. Mayo mentions, mainly upon the authority of George Fairholm, a number of instances in which persons belonging to all clases of society have exhibited the same gift, but ascribes its efficacy to the presence of currents of Od. The divining rod, originally a twig of willow or hazel, is often made of metal, and the impression prevails that in such cases an electric current, arising from the sub- terranean water or metals, enters the diviner's body by DIVINATION. 339 the feet, passes through him, and finally affects the two branches of the rod, which represent opposite poles. It is certain that when the electric current is interrupted, the power of the divining rod is suspended. Dr. Mayo tells us of a lady of his acquaintance in Southampton, who at his request used a divining rod of copper and iron wire, made after the fashion of the usual hazel rod; it answered the purpose fully, but when the ends touched by her hands were covered with sealing-wax, it became useless ; as soon as she put her fingers in con- tact with the unprotected wire, the power instantly re- turned. This certainly seemed to be strong evidence of the existence of an electric current. Nevertheless, many believe that the divining rod acts in all cases sim- ply as an extension of the arms, and thus serves to make the vibrations of the muscles more distinct. It is by this theory they explain the fact which has caused serious trouble to careful inquirers like Count Tristan and Dr. Mayo, that the gift of using the divining rod varies with the state of health in the individuals in whom it has been discovered. VII. POSSESSION. " Thereupon St. Theophilus made a pact with, the Devil." — Acta, S. S., 4 February. Makt forms of insanity, it is well known, are accom- panied by the fixed idea that the sufferer is continually associated with another being, a friend or an enemy, a man, an animal, or a mere shadow. Somnambulists, also, not unfrequently fancy that they obtain their ex- ceptional knowledge of hidden things, not by intuition or instinct, but through the agency of a medium, whom they look upon as an angel or a demon. There is, however, a third class of cases, far more formidable than either of those mentioned, in which the mind is dis- turbed, and magic phenomena are produced by an agency apparently entirely independent of the patient himself. Such are possession, vampirism and zoanthro- py — three frightful forms of human suffering, which are fortunately very rare, being limited to certain localities in space, to a few short periods in time, and to men of the lowest grade only. Possession is that appalling state of mind which makes the patient believe that he is in the power of a foreign evil being, which has for the time full control over his body. This power it abuses by plaguing the POSSESSION. 341 body in every imaginable way, by distorting the fea- tures till they assume a scornful, diabolical expression, and above all, by causing the sufferer to give utterance to cynical remarks and horrible blasphemy. All these phenomena are based upon the division of the patient's individuality, which cannot be remedied by any effort of his own, and which makes him look upon the evil prin- ciple in his nature as something outside of himself, and no longer under his control. The phenomena which accompany possession are too fearful in their nature, and yet at the same time too exceptional to keep us al- together and easily from believing, as many thought- ful and even pious men have thought, that in these cases a real demon takes possession of the afflicted. The bitter hatred against religion, which is always a symptom of possession, would naturally tend to en- force such a presumption. The possessed know not only their own sins, but also those of the bystanders, and use this knowledge with unsparing bitterness and cruel scorn ; at the same time they feel the superiority of others with whom they may come in contact, as the de- moniacs of the Bible never failed to recognize in Christ the Son of God. From the numerous cases of modern possession which have been investigated, we derive the following information as to its real nature. Possession is invariably a kind of insanity, which is accompanied by exceptional powers, producing magic phenomena ; it is also invariably preceded by some grave disorder or dangerous disease. The former may be of purely men- 342 MODERN MAGIC. tal nature, for violent coercion of will, sudden and sub- versive nervous shocks or long-continued enforcement of a hateful mode of life, are apt to produce the sad effect. Hence its frequent occurrence in monasteries, orphan asylums and similar institutions, where this kind of insanity is, moreover, liable to become epidemic. At other times the cause is a trivial one, and then a peculiar .predisposition must be presumed which only needed a decisive act to bring the disturbed mind to its extremity. But possession is not merely an affection of the mind, it is also always a disease of the body, which in the bewildered and disordered imagination of the patient becomes personified in the shape of a demon ; hence the graver the disease, the fiercer the demon. As sickness worries the patient, robs him of his appe- tite and makes all he used to like distasteful to him, so the demon also suffers no enjoyment; interferes with every pleasure, and consistently rages especially against religion, which alone could give consolation in such cases. The outbursts of rage in demoniacs, when efforts are made to exorcise or convert them, even although nothing but prayers may be attempted, is ascribed to an instinctive repugnance of the sufferers for means which they feel to be utterly inappropriate to their case — very much as if men, mad with hunger, were to be fed with moral axioms. Possession is finally sometimes limited to parts of the body; as when a demoniac is spoken of who was dumb (Matt. ix. 32), and another who was blind and dumb (Matt. xii. 22). In other cases the POSSESSION. 343 body is endowed with supernatural strength, and four or five powerful men have been known to be scarcely able to hold a frail girl of fifteen. A peculiar feature in possession is, that during the most violent attacks of apparent fury, accompanied by hideous cries and frightful contortions, the pulse is not quickened and the physical strength of the patient does not seem in the least diminished. The disease, how- ever, naturally affects his whole system and exhausts it in time. The possessed man, who unlike somnambu- lists retains, during the paroxysms, full control over all his senses, never speaks of the demon that possesses him, but the demon speaks of him as of a third person, and at the same time of himself, a feature which power- fully contributes to the popular belief of actual demons dwelling in these unfortunate persons. And yet, after the paroxysm is over, the poor sufferer knows nothing of the horrible things he has done, and of the fearful words he has uttered ; if he is told what has occurred, he is terribly shocked, and bitterly repents his mis- doings. The paroxysms are twofold : in the body they appear as violent convulsions accompanied by a contraction of the throat and the globulus hystericus ; saliva forms in abundance, black, coal-like lumps are thrown up and the breath is hot and ill-smelling. In this mental form they appear as a raging of the demon against the pos- sessed and against religion — in fact a struggle of the patient with himself and his former convictions. Oc- 344 MODERN MAGIC. casionally the good principle within him assumes, in contradistinction to the demon who personifies the evil principle, the form of a guardian angel, who comforts the poor sufferer as he is tossed to and fro like a ship in a tempest, and promises him assistance. ISTor is the de- mon always alone ; there may be, as Holy Writ teaches, seven, thousands, or their name may be "Legions," for these visionary beings are only so many representatives of certain evil principles at work in the soul of the pos- sessed. Some patients have been enabled to trace this connection and to discover that each symptom of their disease was thus personified by a separate demon to whom in their paroxysms they ascribed the infliction : Lucifer caused pricking and stinging pains, Anzian tearing and scratching, Junian convulsions of limbs, etc. The fearful suffering which demoniacs have to un- dergo and the still more harassing conflicts in their soul drive them frequently to despair and engender thoughts of suicide. During these paroxysms the struggle between light and darkness, heaven and hell, eternal bliss and damnation, angel and devil, is carried on with such energy and dramatic truthfulness that those who witness it are apt to become deeply excited and often suffer not a little from the violent transitions from sympathy to horror and from heartfelt pity to un- speakable disgust. As soon as the dualism in the soul relaxes, and with it the disease becomes milder, the de- mon also grows more quiet; a happy moment of rest ensues, which the exorciser .calls the period of conver- POSSESSION. 345 sion ; and when this has once taken place the patient is no longer able to distinguish the demon as apart from himself, the contradistinction exists no more, and he is reconciled to his true self. There is no instance known in which an intelligent, well-educated person has become possessed ; the ter- rible misfortune falls exclusively upon rude and coarse natures, a fact which explains the coarseness and rude- ness of so-called demons. Medicinal remedies are sel- dom of much ayail, as the disease has already reached a stage in which the mind is at least as much affected as the body. Exorcising has frequently been success- ful, bub only indirectly, through the firm faith which the sufferer still holds in his innermost heart. The great dogma that Christ has come into this world to destroy the works of the Eyil One, has probably been in- culcated into his mind from childhood up, and can now begin once more, after long obscuration, to exercise its supreme power. The cure depends, however, not only on the presence of such faith, but rather on the supremacy which the idea of Christ's power gains over the idea of the devil's power. Hence the symptoms of possession not unfrequently cease under a fervent invocation of the Saviour, if the exorciser is able by his superior energy of will to create in the patient a firm faith in the power of the holy name. This expulsion of the demon is, of course, nothing more than the abandon- ment of the struggle by the evil principle in the suf- ferer's soul, by which the good impulses become once 15* 346 MODERN MAGIC. more dominant, and a healthy, natural state of mind and body is restored. It must, however, not be overlooked that the views of possession have changed essentially in different na- tions and ages. At the time of Christ's coming the belief in actual possession, the dwelling of real demons in the body of human beings, was universal, and to this belief the language of Holy Writ naturally adapts its records of miracles. The Kabbalah as well as the Talmud contain full accounts of a kingdom of hell, opposed to the heavenly kingdom, with Smaal as head of all satanim or evil spirits, defying Jehovah. The latter are allowed to dwell upon earth side by side with the sons of Adam, and occasionally to possess them and to live in their souls as in a home of their own. In other cases it was the spirit of a deceased person which, condemned for sins committed during life to wander about as a demon, received permission to enter the soul of a living being. The New Testament mentions at least seven cases of possession, from the woman whose suffering was simply ascribed to the Devil's agency, to Mary Magdalene who was relieved of seven demons, and the Gadarene, who had a " legion " of devils. The Catholic Church also has always taught the existence of evil spirits; doctrinal works, however, mention only one, Diabolus or Sa- tanas. Although the Church adheres consistently to the theory of actual possession, it teaches that demons cannot wholly take possession of a human soul, but POSSESSION. 347 only force it to obedience or accept voluntary submis- sion. Hence their power over the body also never becomes absolute, but is always shared with the soul of the sufferer. Among Protestants many orthodox believers look upon possession as a mere delusion prac- tised by the Evil One ; others admit its existence, but attribute it to the souls of deceased persons and not to demons. This was the doctrine of the ancient Greeks, who, like the Eomans, seem to have known but a few rare cases of possession, which they ascribed to departed spirits. Thus Philostratus, in his life of Apol- lonius (1. iii. ch. 38), mentions a young man who was for two years possessed by a demon pretending to be the spirit of a soldier killed in battle. Nearly all nations on earth have records of possession. Thus cases occurring in China and Japan and in the Indies are attributed to the influence of certain deities, as the Hindoos know neither a hell nor a devil. Early trav- elers, like Blom and Eochefort, report, in like manner, that in some of the islands of the Caribbean Sea evil spirits are believed to obtain at times possession of women and then to enable them to foretell the future, According to Ellis the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands were much plagued by evil spirits dwelling in some of their brethren. It was only towards the latter part of the last century that possession Avas found to be nothing more than a peculiar disease arising from the combination of an unsound mind with an unsound body. This discovery 348 MODERN MAGIC. was first made by Farmer in England, and by Semler in Germany; since that time the symptoms of the character of the affection have been very generally studied and thoroughly investigated. Thus it has been discovered that similar phenomena are occasionally observed in typhus and nervous fevers. First the patients fancy they feel somebody breathing by their side, or blowing cold air upon their head; after long unconsciousness they are apt to imagine that they are double, and have been known to hesitate where to carry the spoon containing their medicine. In still more marked cases, persons who have suffered from the effects of some great calamity, and have thus been brought to the verge of the grave, have even acted two different individualities, of which one was pious and the other impious, or one speaking the patient's native tongue and the other a foreign language. As they re- covered and as the return of health brought back bodily and mental strength, this dualism also ceased to be ex- hibited during the paroxysm, and finally disappeared altogether. Possession is generally announced some time before- hand by premonitory symptoms, but the first cause is not always easily ascertained. When we are told that certain cases have originated in a hastily spoken word, a fierce curse or an outburst of passion, we only learn tli us what was the first occasion on which the malady has been noticed, but not what was the first cause. This lies almost invariably in moral corruption; the possession. 349 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of the heart are by far the most frequent sources of the frightful disease. Occasionally a very great and sudden grief, like the unexpected death of a beloved person, or too great familiarity with evil thoughts in books or in conversation, produce the same effect — in fact all the various causes which result in insanity may produce also possession. Nor must serious bodily injuries be forgotten. A student of the University of Halle con- sidered himself possessed, and the case puzzled expe- rienced physicians for some time, till it was ascertained that he had received a violent blow upon the head, which required trepanning. Before the operation could be undertaken, however, matter began to ooze out from the ear, and he suddenly was relieved from the parox- ysms and all thoughts of possession. Convents are naturally very frequently scenes of possession — the in- mates are either troubled by bitter remorse for sins which have led them to seek refuge in a holy place, where they cannot find peace, or they succumb to the rigor of severe discipline and are unable to endure the constant privation of food or sleep. The sin against the Holy Ghost, which unfortunate persons have im- puted to themselves, has produced many a case of pos- session. When the mind is thus predisposed by great anguish of soul or a long-continued inward struggle, the most trifling incident suffices in determining the outbreak of the disease. One patient became possessed because his wife told him to go to the Devil, and another 350 MODERN MAGIC. because lie had in jest exorcised a demon in a playmate; now a man curses himself in a moment of passion, and then a boy drinks hastily a glass of cold water when overheated, and both fall victims to the disease. The magic phenomena accompanying possession are by far the most remarkable within the whole range of modern magic, but a number of the more striking are frequently identical with those seen in religious ecsta- sy. Demoniacs also exhibit the traces of injuries in- flicted by demons, as saints show the stigmas, and their wounds heal as little as those of stigmatized persons. They share in like manner with religious enthusiasts paroxysms during which they remain suspended in the air, fly up to the ceiling or are carried to great distances without touching the ground. The strength of the possessed is amazing. A monk, known in ecclesiastical history as Brother Rafael of Rimini, could not be bound by any ropes or chains ; as soon as he was left alone he broke the strongest fetters, raced up the roof of the church, ran along the topmost ridge, and was often found sitting on the great bell, to which no one else had ever been able to gain access. At last the de- mons led him to the top of the steeple itself and were about to hurl him down, as he said ; the abbot and his monks and an immense crowd of people assembled be- low, and besought him to invoke the aid of their pa- tron saint so as to save body and soul. It does not ap- pear by what miraculous influence a change was wrought in the poor man ; but he did raise his voice, POSSESSION. 351 which had not been heard to address a saint for many years, and instantly his mind returned, he found his way down to the church and was cured. The most frequent symptom in possession is a strong antipathy against everything connected with religion ; the holy names of God and Christ, the presence of priests, the singing of hymns and the reciting of prayers, excite intense pain, and provoke outbursts of fury. Even young children manifest this aversion, es- pecially when they have previously been forced to attend church, and to engage in devotional exercises against their inclination. Hence it is, also, that paroxysms are most frequent at the regular hours of divine service, or break forth suddenly at the sight of a procession or the hearing of ringing bells. The symptom itself arises naturally from the imaginary conflict between a good and an evil principle, the latter being continually in arms against anything that threatens to crush its own power. All the other symptoms of this fearful disease occur, also, in St. Vitus' dance, in catalepsy, and even in ordinary trances ; only they appear more marked, and make a greater impression upon bystanders, because they are apparently caused by a foreign agent, the pos- sessing demon, and not by the patient himself. As the digestive organs are in all such cases sympathetically excited, and seriously affected, a desire for unnatural food is very frequent ; the coarsest victuals are preferred; unwholesome, and even injurious substances are eagerly devoured; and medicines as well as strengthening food 352 MODERN MAGIC. are vehemently rejected. The sufferer is apt to interpret this as a new plague, his demon refusing him his legiti- mate sustenance, and compelling him to feed like an animal. One of the most remarkable historical cases of appar- ent possession accompanied by magic phenomena, was that of Mirabeau's grandmother. Married when quite young to the old marquis, she tried after his death to protect herself against the temptations of the world, and of her own heart, by ascetic devotion. In her eighty-third year, she was attacked by gout which affected her brain, and she became insane, in a manner which according to the views of her days was called possession. It was found necessary to shut her up in a bare room with a pallet of straw, where no one dared enter but her valet, a man seventy years old, with whom she had fallen in love! For, strange as it may appear, her fearful affliction restored to her the charms of youth ; she, who had been reduced to a skeleton by old age and unceasing devotion, suddenly regained the plumpness of her early years, her complexion became fair and rosy, her eyes bright and even, her hair began to grow out once more. But, alas ! her tongue, also, bad changed ; once afraid to utter a word that could be misinterpreted, the unruly member now sent forth speeches of incredible licentiousness, and overwhelmed the old servant with terms of endearment and coarse allusions. At the- same time the retired ascetic became a violent blasphemer, and would allow no one to enter POSSESSION. 353 her chamber who had not first denied God, threatening to kill him with her own hands if he refused. For four long years the unfortunate lady endured her fearful affliction, till death relieyed her of her sufferings — hut the student of history traces to her more than one of the startling features in the character of her grandson, the Mirabeau of the Kevolution. (Biilau, Geh. Gesch., xii.) Eelief is generally possible only when a powerful hold has been obtained upon the mind of the patient; after that appropriate remedies may be applied, and the body will be restored to its natural healthy condition. In a few cases remarkable incidents haye produced a cure, such as the sudden clanking of chains, or a peculiarly fervent and impressive prayer. Even a night's sound sleep, induced by utter exhaustion, has had the happiest effect. It seems as if, the train of thoughts once forcibly in- terrupted, a return to reason and an abandonment of fixed ideas become possible. Even a specially violent paroxysm may be salutary ; probably by means of the severe struggle and extreme excitement which it is apt to produce. Many patients, under such circumstances, fall prostrate on the ground, losing their consciousness, and awake after a while as from a dream, without being able to remember what has happened. In other cases the hallucination continues to the last moment, and leads the patient to imagine that the demon leaves him in the shape of a black shadow, a bird, or an insect. 354 MODEEN MAGIC. Such recoveries are almost invariably accompanied by violent efforts to discard foreign matters, which have been lodged in the system, and largely contributed to produce the disease. Exorcism has, of course, no direct effect : even when the power to " cast out devils " (Mark xvi. 17) is given, it is not said by what means the casting out is to be accomplished, except that it must be done in the Saviour's name. The formalities, care- fully regulated and prescribed by many decrees of the Church since the third century, do no good except so far as they re-awaken faith, impart hope, and free the mind from distressing doubts. Ignatius Loyola never cured possessed persons otherwise than by prayer. As early as the sixteenth century a case is recorded clearly illustrating the true nature of exorcism. A demon was, after many fruitless attempts, at last driven out by a particle of the cross of our Saviour, but in departing he declared in a loud voice that he knew full well the nature of the piece of wood ; it was cut from a gallows and not from the true cross, nevertheless he was forced to go because the exorcist willed it so, and the patient believed in his power. The same rule applies to cures achieved by relics ; not that these had any effect, but in the long-cherished faith of the possessed, that they might and could wield such power over evil spirits. The main point is here also the energy of will in the exorciser, and that this special gift is by no means con- fined to men was strikingly illustrated by a famous lady, the wife of a Marquis de la Croix, who was a POSSESSION. 355 Spanish general and Viceroy of Galicia. In her youth a matchless beauty with almost perfect classical fea- tures, she retained an imposing carriage and bewitching grace throughout a long life, and even in old age com- manded the admiration of all who came in contact with her, not only by the superiority of her mind but also by the beauty of her eyes and the charming expression of her features. After the death of her husband she had much to endure from neglect in the great world, from sickness and from poverty, doubly hard to bear because standing in painful contrast to the splendor of her former life. The effects of a violent attack of sick- ness produced at last a partial disturbance of her mind, which showed itself in visions and the power to drive demons from the possessed. Her theory was that as the sins of men caused their diseases, and as the Devil was the cause of all sins, sickness was invariably pro- duced by demoniac agency; she distinguished, how- ever, between sufferers who had voluntarily given them- selves up to sin, and thus to the service of the Devil, and those who had unawares fallen into his hands. Her practice was simple and safe : she employed nothing but fervent prayer and the imposition of hands, which she had moistened with holy w r ater or oil. In the course of time she found her way to Paris, and there met, amid many skeptics, also with countless believers, some of whom belonged not only to the highest classes of society, but even to the sect of Free-thinkers, then prominent in the French capital. Such were Marshal 356 MODERN MAGIC. Richelieu, Count Schomberg, an intimate of the famous circle-meeting at Baron Holbach's house, and even the illustrious Buffon. When she was engaged in exorcising, her imposing stature, her imperious eye and command- ing voice aided her at least as much as her perfect faith and striking humility, so that her patients, after a short demur, willingly looked upon her as a saint who might, if she but chose, perform miracles. With such a disposition obedience was no longer difficult, and the remarkable lady healed all manners of diseases, from modest toothache to rabid madness. Even when she was unsuccessful, as frequently happened, she won all hearts by her marvelous gentleness and humble piety. Thus, when a possessed man was brought to her in the presence of an illustrious company, and all her efforts and prayers were fruitless, she placed herself bravely between the enraged man and her friends whom he threatened to attack. He began to foam at the mouth, and amid fearful convulsions and dread imprecations, broke out into a long series of terrible accusations against the poor lady, charging her with all her real and a host of imaginary sins, till she could hardly stand up any longer. She listened, however, with her arms folded over her bosom and her eyes raised to heaven, and when the madman at last sank exhausted to the ground, she fell upon her knees and said to the bystanders: "Gentlemen, you see here a punishment ordained by God for the sins of my youth. I deserve this humiliation in your presence, and I would endure possession". 357 it before all Paris if I could thus make atonement for my misdeeds." (Mem. du Baron de Gleichen, p. 149.) One of the most fearful features of possession is its tendency to spread like contagion oyer whole commu- nities. Many such cases are recorded in history. The monks of the Convent of Quercy were thus attacked in 1491, and suffered, from the oldest to the youngest, during four months, incredible afflictions. They ran like dogs through the fields, climbed upon trees, imi- tated the howling of wild beasts, spoke in unknown tongues, and foretold, at the same time, future events. (Goerres, iy. II.) In the year 1566 a similar malady broke out in the Orphan House at Amsterdam, and seventy poor children became possessed. They also climbed up the walls and on the roofs, swallowed hairs, needles, and pieces of glass and iron, and distorted their features and their limbs in a fearful manner. What, however, made the greatest impression upon the good citizens of the town were the magic phenomena connected with their disease. They spoke to the over- seer and even to the chief magistrate of their secret affairs, made known plots hatched against the Protest- ants and foretold events which happened soon after. In a convent of nuns at Yssel in the Netherlands, a single nun, Maria de Sains, caused one of the most fearful ca- lamities among her sisters that has ever been known. Naturally a woman of superior mind, but carried away by evil passions, she finally succumbed to the struggle between the latter and the strict rules of her retreat ; 358 MODERN MAGIC. she began to accuse herself of horrible crimes and ex- cesses. The whole country was amazed, for she had passed for a great saint, and now, of a sudden, she con- fessed that she had murdered numberless little children, disinterred corpses, and carried poor girls to the meet- ing of witches. All these misdeeds, which existed only in her disordered imagination, she ascribed to the agen- cy of a demon, by whom she was possessed, and before many weeks had passed, every nun and lay sister in the ill-fated convent was possessed in precisely the same manner ! One of the most recent cases of possession is reported by Bishop Laurent of Luxemburg, in a pamphlet on the subject. In the year 1843 a woman, thirty-four years old, was brought to him who had been possessed since her fifteenth year, and who exhibited the remark- able phenomenon that in her sound moments she spoke no other language but the patois of her native place, while in her paroxysms she used Latin, French, and German at will. When the good bishop threatened the demon, the latter attacked him in return, troubling him with nightly visits and suggesting to him sinful doubts of the existence of God and the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice. This fact shows how easily such disturbances of mind can be transferred to others, when disease or mental struggles have prepared a way. Fortunately the bishop first mastered his own doubts, and, thus strengthened, obtained the same mastery over the possessed woman. He commanded the demon POSSESSION. 359 to come out of her, whereupon she fell into convul- sions, speaking in a disguised tone of voice ; but after a while drew herself up, and now her face was once more free from anguish, and " angel-like. " Another bishop, who had been requested to exorcise possessed persons in Morzine, in the Chablais, was not so successful. At this place, in 1837, a little girl, nine years old, in consequence of a great fright, fell into a deathlike sleep, which returned daily, and lasted about fifteen minutes. A month later, another girl, eleven years old, was attacked in the same way, and soon the number of afflicted per- sons rose to twenty, all girls under twenty years. After a while they declared that they were possessed by demons, and ran wild through the fields, climbed to the top of lofty trees, and fell into violent convulsions. In vain did the local priest and his vicar attempt to arrest the evil ; the girls laughed them to scorn. When the civil author- ities interfered, they were met with insults and blows ; the guilty were fined, but the number steadily increased, and now grown women also were found in the crowd. At last the oflicial reports reached Paris, and the min- ister sent the chief superintendent of insane asylums to the village. He immediately distributed all the af- fected among the adjoining towns and hamlets, to break off the association, and sent the priest and his vicar to their superior, the bishop of Annecy. A few only of the women recovered, several died, and one man also succumbed; others, when they returned to Morzine, relapsed, and in 1864 the malady began to spread once 360 MODERN MAGIC. more so fearfully that the bishop of Annecy himself came to exorcise the possessed. Seventy of them were brought to the church, where the most fearful scenes took place ; howling and yelling filled the sacred building, seven or eight powerful men scarcely succeeded in bringing one possessed child to the altar, and when there, the demo- niacs broke out in horrible blasphemies. The bishop, exhausted by the intense excitement, and suffering from serious contusions inflicted upon him by the unfortu- nate Women, had to leave the place, unable to obtain any results. Even as late as 1869 two demons were solemnly exorcised upon an order from the bishop of Strasbourg, and with the consent of the prefect of the department. The ceremony took place in the Chapel of St. George, in the presence of the lady-abbesses, under the direction of the Vicar- General of the diocese, assisted by other dignitaries and the Superior of the Jesuits. The two boys who were to be relieved had long been plagued with fearful visions and publicly given evidence of being possessed, for " twenty or thirty times they had been led into a public square in the presence of large crowds, and there they had pulled feathers out of a horrible monster which they saw above them in a threatening attitude ; these feathers they had handed to the bystanders, who found that when they were burnt they left no ashes." When the two chil- dren were brought to the house of the Sisters of Charity, they became clairvoyant, and revealed to the good ladies, although they had never seen them before, POSSESSION. 361 their family relations, their antecedents and many- secrets. They also spoke in unknown tongues, and exhibited all the ordinary phenomena of possession. The official report containing these statements, and closing with their restoration to health and reason, is so far trustworthy as it is signed by several hundred persons, among whom the government authorities, officers, professors and teachers are not wanting. There can be little doubt that the dancing mania which broke out repeatedly in various parts of the continent of Europe, was a kind of possession. The facts are recorded in history; the explanation only is left as a matter of discussion. In 1374, when a new and magnificent church was to be consecrated, in Liege, large numbers of people came from North Germany ; " men and women, possessed by demons, half naked, wreaths on their heads, and holding each other's hands, performed shameless dances in the streets, the churches, and houses." When they fell down exhausted they had spasms, and convulsions ; at their own request, friends came and pressed violently upon their chests, till they grew better. Their number soon reached thousands, and other thousands joined them in Holland and Bra- bant, although the priests frequently succeeded in exorcising them — whenever their mind was still sound enough to recall their early reverence for holy men and their faith in holy things. Some time before, the good people of Perugia had taken it into their heads that their sins required expiation, and had begun to scourge 16 362 MODERN MAGIC. themselves publicly in the most cruel manner. The Eomans were infected soon after, and copied their example ; from thence the contagion spread, and soon all oyer Italy men, women, and children were seen inflicting upon themselves fearful punishment in order to drive out the evil spirits by whom they fancied themselves possessed. Noble and humble, rich and poor, old and young, all joined the crowds which in the daytime filled squares and streets, and at night, under the guidance of priests, marched with waving banners, and blazing torches, in vast armies through the land. ISTor can we shut our eyes to the fact that the Jumpers and Jerkers of the Methodist Church present to us instances of the same mental disorder, caused by over- excitement, which in earlier days was called possession, and that, hence, these aberrations, also, infinitely varied as they are, according to the temper of men and the habits of the locality in which they occur, must be numbered among the phenomena of modern magic. VAMPIEISM. Occasionally possession is not attributed to demons, but to deceased men who come by night from their graves, and suck the blood of their victims, whereupon the latter begin to decline and finally die a miserable death, while the buried man lives and thrives upon his ill-gotten food. This is vampirism, the name being derived from the once universal belief that there existed vampires, huge bats, who, whilst fanning sleeping men POSSESSION. 363 with their soft wings, feasted upon their life's blood and only left them when they had turned into corpses. Pop- ular credulity added a number of horrid details to the general outline, and believed that the wretched victims of vampirism became themselves after death vam- pires, and thus forever continued the fearful curse. It was long thought that vampirism was known only to the nations of the Slavic race, but recent researches have discovered traces of it in the East Indies, and in Europe among the Magyars. Even the Sanscrit al- ready appears to have had a term of its own for the vampires — Pysachas, " hostile beings, eager for the flesh and blood of living men, who gratify their cruel lust mainly at the expense of women when they are asleep, drunk, or insane." Careful writers like Calmet and others have, it is true, always maintained that, while the existence of vampirism cannot be denied, the phenomena attending it are in all cases the creations of diseased minds only. On the other hand, it is a well-established fact that the bodies of so-called vampires, when exhumed, have been found free from corruption, while in all the corpses around them decomposition had long since begun. In the face of such facts vampirism cannot be dismissed as simply the product of heated and over-excited imag- inations, although it must be admitted that its true na- ture is still to all intents and purposes a profound mys- tery. According to popular belief the unusual preser- vation of the corpses indicates that death has not yet 364 MODERN MAGIC. obtained full dominion over the bodies, and that hence the soul has not yet departed to its eternal home. A kind of lower organic life, it is said; continues, and as long as this lasts, the soul wanders about, as in a dream, among the familiar scenes of its earthly life and makes itself known to the friends of its former existence. The life thus extended requires blood in order to sustain it- self, and hence the minds of those who come in magic contact with the soul of a vampire, become filled with sanguinary thoughts, which present themselves to their imagination as the desire to suck blood and thus lead to the actual performance. The fact that vampirism is epidemic, like many similar mental diseases, has led to the belief that the living are brought into close con- nection with the dead and are infected by them, while in reality there is no bond between them but a common misfortune. Nor must it be forgotten that in this dis- ease, as in the plague, the mere thought of being seized often suffices to cause death without any warning symp- toms, and hence the great number of deaths in locali- ties where vampirism has been thought to prevail. For very few of those who are attacked succeed in escaping, and if they survive they retain for life the marks left by their wounds. The penalty, moreover, is not always undeserved ; vampirism rarely if ever attacks men of pure hearts and sober minds ; it is found, on the con- trary, exclusively among semi-barbarous nations and only in persons of rude, savage, and sinful disposition. Traces of vampirism have been discovered in the POSSESSION. 305 most distant parts of the earth, and often without ap- parent connection. The " Bruholaks " of Greece, gen- uine vampires whose appearance was ascribed to the direct influence of the Evil One, may possibly have been imported by the numerous immigrants of Slavic origin (Huet, Pensees Diver ses, Paris, 1722), but in Finland also the belief is, according to Oastren, almost univer- sal, that the spirits of the departed have the power to vex and torment persons in their sleep, and to afflict them with sorrow and disease. In the Sun da and Mo- lucca islands genuine vampirism is well known, and the Dyaks of Borneo also believe in an evil spirit who sucks the blood of living persons till they expire. Poland and Western Eussia have, however, been for two centuries the stage on which most of these dread tragedies have occurred. Men and women were re- ported to have been seen in broad daylight sucking the blood of men and beasts, while in other cases dogs and even wolves were suspected of being upires or vam- pires, as blood-suckers are called in most Slavic dialects. The terror grew as these reports found their way into newspapers and journals, till fear drove men and women to resort to the familiar remedy of mixing- blood with the meal used for their bread ; they escaped not by any healing powers inherent in the horrid mix- ture, but thanks to the faith they had in the efficacy of the prescription and the moral courage exhibited in its application. To prevent the spreading of the epidemic the bodies of the vampires were disinterred, and when 366 MODERN MAGIC. found bleeding, were decapitated or impaled or burned in public. In some parts of Hungary the disease appeared in the shape of a white spectre which pursued the patients ; they declined visibly and died in a week or a fortnight. It was mainly in this country that physi- cians attending the disinterment of suspected bodies noticed the presence of more or less considerable quan- tities of blood, which was still fluid and actually caused the cheeks to look reddish. Some of the witnesses even thought they noticed an effort to breathe, faint pulsa- tions, and a slight change of features; these were, how- ever, evidently nothing more than the effects of currents of air which accompanied the opening of the coffin. It was here also that animals were first believed to have been attacked by vampires ; cows were found early in the morning bleeding profusely from a wound at the neck, and horses standing in their stalls trembling, covered with white foam, and so thoroughly terrified as to. become unfit for use. Another period of excitement due to accounts of vam- pirism comprised the middle of last century, when all Europe was deeply agitated on the subject. The Em- peror of Germany and other monarchs appointed com- mittees of learned men to investigate the matter ; theo- logians and skeptics, philosophers and physicians, took up the discussion, and hundreds of volumes were pub- lished on the mysterious question, but no satisfactory result was ever obtained. Many declared the whole a fable or merely the effect of diseased imaginations, possession. 3G*7 others looked upon it as a malignant and epidemic dis- ease, and not a few as the unmistakable work of the devil. Learned men searched the writings of antiquity, and soon fouud more traces of the fearful disease than they had expected. They discovered that in Thessaly, Epirus, and some parts of the Pieria, men were reported by ancient writers as wandering about at night and tearing all whom they met to pieces. The Lamise of the Greeks and the Strigae of the Eomans evidently be- longed to the same category, while the later Tympanites of the Greeks were persons who had died while under the ban of the church and were therefore doomed to become vampires. The Slavic population of Moravia and Bohemia was in those days especially rich in instan- ces of vampirism, and so many occurred in Hungary that the Emperor Charles IV. intrusted the investiga- tion of the matter to a prince of Wurtemberg, before whom a number of cases were fully authenticated. Men who had died years before, were seen to return to their former homes, some in the daytime, some at night, and the following morning those whom they had visited were found dead and weltering in their blood. In a single village seventeen persons died thus within three months, and in many instances, when bodies were dis- interred, they were found looking quite alive. At this time the Sorbonne at Paris also took up the subject, but came to no conclusion, save that they disapproved of the practice of disinterring bodies, " because vampires, as cataleptics, might be restored to life by bleeding or 368 MODEKN MAGIC. magnetic treatment," according to the opinion of the learned Dr. Pierard. {Revue Spirit., iv.) Here we come at last to the grain of truth around which this mass of popular superstition has gradually accumulated, and the ignorance of which has caused hundreds of innocent human beings to die a miserable death. There can be no doubt that cases of " suspended animation " or apparent death have alone given rise to the whole series of fearful tales of vampirism. The very words of a recital belonging to the times, and to the districts where vampirism was prevalent, prove the force of this supposition. Erasmus Francisci states that, in the duchy of Krain, a man was buried and then suspected of being a vampire. When disinterred his face was found rosy, and his features moved as if they attempted to smile; even his lips opened as if gasping for air. A crucifix was held before his eyes and a priest called out with a loud voice : " Peace ! This is Jesus Christ who has rescued thy soul from the tor- ment of hell, and suffered death for thee ! " The sound seemed to penetrate to his ear, and slowly a few tears began to trickle down his cheeks. After a short prayer for his poor soul, his head was ordered to be cut off; a suppressed cry was heard, the body turned over as if still alive, and when the head was severed a quantity of blood ran into the grave. It was as clear a case of a living man who had been buried before death as has ever been authenticated. Nor are such cases as rare as is popularly believed. High authorities assure us that, POSSESSION. 369 for instance, after imperfect poisoning, in several kinds of suffocation, and in cases of new-born children who be- come suddenly chilled, a state of body is produced which presents all the symptoms of complete suspension of the functions of life. Such apparent death is, according to the same high medical authority, a period of complete rest, based upon a suspension of the activity of the heart, the lungs, and all spontaneous functions, extend- ing frequently to the sense of touch, and the intellect even. At the same time the natural heat of the body sinks until it seems to have disappeared altogether. The duration of this exceptional state is uncertain, at times the patient awakes suddenly, and in full posses- sion of all his faculties ; in other cases external means have to be employed to restore life. Among many well- authenticated cases of this kind, two of special interest are mentioned by Dr. Mayo. Cardinal Espinosa, the minister of Philip II. of Spain, died after a short period of suffering. His rank required that he should be em- balmed, and his body was opened for the purpose. At the moment when lung and heart were laid open to view, the surgeon observed that the latter was still beating, and the Cardinal, awaking, had actually strength enough to seize with his hand the knife of the operator. The other case is that of a well-known French writer, the Abbe Prevost, who fell down dead in the forest of Chantilly. His apparently lifeless body was found, and carried to a priest's house in the neighborhood. The surgeon ascribed his death to apoplexy ; but the 16* 370 MODERN MAGIC. authorities ordered a kind of coroner's inquest, and the body was opened. During the operation the Abbe suddenly uttered a cry of anguish — but it was too late ! If a certain number of such cases of apparent death has really given rise to the faith in vampirism, then it is equally possible to suppose, that this kind of trance — for which there may exist a special predisposition in one or the other race — may become at times epidemic. Per- sons of peculiar nervousness will be ready to be affected, and a locality in which this has occurred may soon obtain an unenviable reputation. Even where the epidemic does not appear in full force, a disturbed state of the nervous system will be apt to lead to dreams by night, and to gossip in the daytime, on the fatally attractive subject, and the patient will soon dream, or really imagine, that a person who has died of the dis- ease has appeared to him by night, and drawn his strength from him, or, in his excited fancy, sucked his life's blood. By such means even the popular way of speaking of nocturnal visits made by the "vampire's ghost" is- not so entirely unfounded as would appear at first sight, and the superstition is easily shown to be not altogether absurd, but to be based upon a small substructure of actual truth. It is remarkable, however, that the Germanic race has never furnished any instances of vampirism, although their ancient faith in a Walhalla, where their departed heroes feast sumptuously, and their custom to place food in the graves of their friends would have POSSESSION. 371 seemed most likely to reconcile them to the idea that men continue to live in their graves. How sadly persistent, on the other hand, such super- stitions are among the lower races, and in specially. ignorant communities, may be gathered from the fact that, as late as 1861, two corpses were disinterred by the peasants of a village of Galicia, and decapitated. The people believed them to be vampires, and to have caused a long-protracted spell of bad weather ! ZOA^THEOPY. Even more fearful yet than vampirism is the disease, very common already in the days of antiquity, which makes men think that they have changed into beasts, and then act as such, according to the logic of insanity. Petronius is probably the first to mention, in his " Feast of Trimalchio," a case of lycanthropy, when Niceros re- lates how some one who was journeying with him threw off his garments, changed into a wolf and ran away into the forest. When he returned home, his account con- tinues, he found that a wolf had fallen upon his flock, but had been wounded by a servant in the neck with a lance. Thereupon he goes to inquire after his fellow- traveler, and finds him sick in bed with a physician by his side, who binds up an ugly wound in his neck. The well-known writer took this episode from the Ar- cadians, a rude nation of shepherds, whose flocks were frequently attacked by wolves, and among whom stories of men changed into wild beasts, were quite current. 372 MODERN MAGIC. Nor must we forget, among historic personages, the daughter of King Proetus of Argos, who believed her- self changed into a cow; and of Nebuchadnezzar, who according to his own touching account " was driven from meat, did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." (Dan- iel iv. 33.) The early days of Christianity are naturally full of incidents of this kind, but what is remarkable, zoanthropy was then already treated as a mere delusion. The holy man Macarius once saw a large procession approaching his hermitage in Egypt ; it was headed by a number of persons who led a large and imposing- looking woman by a bridle, and followed by a crowd of people of all ages. When they came near they told his disciples that the woman had been changed into a mare, and had thus remained for three days and nights with- out food — would the saint pray over her and restore her to her natural condition ? The delusion was so forcibly contagious that the disciples also forthwith saw a mare, and not a woman, and refused to admit the animal to the presence of the hermit ! Fortunately the latter had retained his self-control ; he rebuked his followers, saying : " You are the real beasts, that imag- ine you see something which does not exist. This woman has not been changed, but your eyes are deluded." Then he poured holy water over her, and at once everybody saw her once more in her natural shape, lie dismissed her and her escort with the words: "Go POSSESSION. 373 more frequently to church and take the holy sac- rament ; then you will escape such fearful punishment." During the Middle Ages a similar disease existed in many parts of Europe ; men were changed into dogs or wolves, sometimes as a divine punishment for great crimes, at other times in consequence of a delusion pro- duced by Satan. Such unfortunate men walked on all fours, attacked men and beasts, but especially children, killed and devoured them. They actually terrified many people into believing as confidently in this delusion as they believed in it themselves ! For this is one of the specially fearful magic phenomena of zoanthropy that it is apt to produce in healthy persons the same delu- sion as in the sufferer. Many cases also are recorded of persons lying in deep sleep, produced by narcotic oint- ments, who, seeing visions, fancied that they were acting like wolves. In the year 1598 such a disease raged as an epidemic in the Jura mountains, till the French Parliament determined to make an end of it by treating all the afflicted either as insane or as persons possessed by the devil and therefore deserving instant death. Among Slavic nations and the Magyars lycan- thropy is so closely connected with vampirism that it is not always easy to draw the line between the two dis- eases. There can be no doubt, however, that it is mere- ly a variety of possession, arising from the same un- happy state in which dualism is developed in the soul, and two wills contend with each other for superiority to the grievous injury of mind and body. The only dis- 374 MODERN MAGIC. tinctive feature is this, that in lycanthropy not only the functions of the brains but also those of the skin are disordered, and hence an impression arises that the lat- ter is hairy and shaggy after the manner of wild beasts, The German Wahrwolf (were- wolf or man-wolf) is the same as the lycanthropos of the Scythians and Greeks and the versipellis of the Romans; he was in German mythology connected with "Woden. Hence, probably, the readiness with which the disease during the Middle Ages took hold of the minds of Germans; but at that period nearly all the nations of Europe firmly believed in the reality of such changes. As late even as the beginning of the sixteenth cen- tury cases of this kind occurred in France, where the possessed were known as loups-garoux. A young man of Besangon was thus brought before the Councilor of State, Be VAncre, at Bordeaux, and accused of roving like a wild animal through the neighboring forests. He confessed readily that he was a huntsman in the service of his invisible master, the devil, who had changed him into a wolf and forced him to range by the side of another more powerful wolf through the country. The poor fellow shared the usual fate of his fellow-sufferers, who were either subjected to a sharp treatment of exor- cism or simply executed as heretical criminals. In our day lycanthropy is almost entirely limited to Servia and Wallachia, Volhynia and White Russia. There, however, the disease breaks out frequently anew, POSSESSION. 375 and popular belief knows a variety of means by which a man may be changed into a wolf; the animal differs, however, from a genuine wolf in his docked tail and his marked preference for the blood of young children. In Abyssinia there exists, according to Pearce, a be- lief that men are occasionally changed into hyenas — the wolves of that country — but this sad privilege is limit- ed to workers in clay and iron, called Booda among the Amharas, who wear a gold earring of special form as a distinction from other inferior castes. It will thus be seen that, like all other varieties of possession, zoanthropy also is simply a kind of insanity, and our amusement at the marvelous conduct of were- wolves will vanish, if we recall the entire change pro- duced in man by the loss of reason. In that sad condi- tion he endures fatigue, cold or heat, and hunger as no healthy man ever can learn to do ; he does not mind the severest castigation, for his body is almost insensi- ble, it ceases to be susceptible to contagious diseases and requires, in sickness, double or treble doses of medi- cine. If we once know the precise nature of an insane person's hallucination, his actions will be apt to appear quite consistent, and thus lycanthropy also not only produces the fine connection of a change into a wolf, but causes the sufferer to conduct himself in all his ways like the animal which he represents. VIII. MAGNETISM. " Great is the power of the hand." — St. Augustine, Op., iv. 487. Mesmek, who was the first to make the anaesthetic effects of certain passages of the hand over the bodies of patients known to the public, sought originally to explain them by the agency of electricity ; but as early in 1773 he ascribed them to magnetism. From that day he employed magnets, and by passing them over the affected parts of his patients, he performed remarkable cures for many years in the city of Vienna. He looked upon the magnet as the physician, which cured the patient in the same way in which it attracted iron. Soon after, however, he became acquainted with the famous Father Eassner, of Eatisbon, who had obtained precisely the same results, without a magnet, by simple manipulations, and, henceforth, he also treated his patients with the hand only; but he retained the old name, looking now upon himself, and others who were endowed in the same manner, as possessing the powers of a strong magnet. In the meantime one of his pupils, the Marquis de Puysegur, had quite accidentally discovered the peculiar nature of somnambulism, and MAGNETISM. 377 with, rare foresight profited by the moments of clear consciousness which at times interrupted the trance, in order to learn from his patients themselves the means of curing their diseases. He had from that moment devoted all the leisure of his life to the study of these singular but most beneficial phenomena, employing only the simplest manipulations in place of the more exciting means used by Mesmer, and doing an immense amount of good by his judicious cures. Mesmer, in the course of time, adopted the better method of his former pupil, and now his system was complete. He used magnetism for purely practical purposes : he cured diseases by throwing well-qualified persons into the peculiar sleep produced by magnetizing them, and availed himself of the effects of this half- sleep upon their varied constitutions, for his curative purposes. At the same time, however, he ascribed the influence which he claimed to have over persons whom he had thus magnetized, to a most delicate, all-pervad- ing medium ; this, he maintained, was the sole cause of motion, light, heat, and life itself in the universe, and this he stated he was communicating by his_process of magnetizing in a sufficient degree to his patients to pro- duce startling but invariably beneficial results. It is w T ell known how his removal from Vienna, where he had begun his remarkable career, to Paris, increased in almost equal proportions the number of enthusiastic admirers, and of bitter adversaries. In spite of an un- favorable judgment rendered by a committee of the 378 MODERN MAGIC. Academy in 1784, his new doctrines spread rapidly through all the provinces ; so-called Harmonic Societies were formed in almost every town, and numerous insti- tutions sprang up founded upon the new system of magnetizing patients. It is curious that of the nine members of that committee, among whom Franklin was not the least renowned, only one, the great savant Jussieu, refused to sign the report "because it was founded upon a few isolated facts," and sent in a sepa- rate memoir, in which he described animal heat as the universal agent of life. Equally curious objections were made by others ; thus in another report of the Academy, the king was requested to prohibit the prac- tice of magnetism, because it was " dangerous to the morals of the people," and in the great hospital of the Charite, magnetic treatment was forbidden, because " the new system had caused for a long time warm dis- cussions between the best informed men of science !" Urged by repeated petitions, the Academy appointed, in 1825, a second committee to investigate the matter, which finally reported a firm conviction of the genuine- ness and efficacy of magnetism, and recommended a further examination of this important branch of psy- chology and natural science. A permanent committee was thereupon directed to take charge of the matter, before which a very large number of important facts were authenticated; but in 1840, and subsequently, once more, unfavorable reports were laid before the august body and adopted by small majorities. MAGNETISM. 379 In England magnetism met with fierce and violent opposition, the faculty being no little incensed by this new and unexpected competitor for fees and reputation. Dr. Elliotson, a professor in the University of London, and director of a large hospital, had actually to give up his place, because of the hostility engendered by his ad- vocacy of the new doctrine. Afterwards the controversy, though by no means less bitter, was carried on with more courtesy, and the subject received, on the whole, all the attention it deserved. Germany alone has legally sanctioned magnetism as a scientific method within the range of the healing art, and the leading powers, like Prussia, Austria, and Saxony, have admitted its practice in public hospitals. Unfortunately, much deception and imposture appeared from the beginning in company with the numerous genuine cases, and led many eminent men to become skeptics. The Russian government has limited the permission to. practice by magnetic cure to "well-informed'' physicians; but the Holy Curia, the pope's authority, after admitting magnetism, first as a well-established fact, has subsequently prohibited it by a decree of the Inquisition (21st April, 1841) as con- ducive to " infidelity and immorality." In spite of all these obstacles, magnetism, in its various branches of somnambulism and clairvoyance, of mesmerism and hypnotism, is universally acknowledged as a valuable doctrine, and has led to the publication of a copious literature. Masrnetizers claim — and not without some show of 380 MODERN MAGIC. reason — that their art was not unknown to antiquity, and is especially referred to in Holy Writ. They rest their claim upon the importance which has from time immemorial been ascribed to the action of the hand as producing visions and imparting the gift of prophecy. When Elisha was called upon to predict the issue of the war against Moab, he sent for a minstrel, " and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him." (2 Kings iii. 15.) In like manner "the hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel" among the captives by the river of Oheber and he prophesied (Ezekiel i. 3) ; years after he says again: " The hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening " (xxxiii. 22), and once more : " the hand of the Lord was upon me" (xl. 1). It is evident that according to bib- lical usage in these cases the manner of acting attributed to God is described after the usage prevailing among men, and that the "hand upon men" represented the usual method of causing them to fall into a trance. But this placing the hand upon a person was by no means confined to cases of visions ; it was employed also in blessings and in sacrifices, in consecrations and miraculous cures. Daniel felt a hand touching him, which "set me upon my knees and the palms of my hands" (Dan. x. 10), while soon after the same hand " strengthened him" (17) ; and even in the New Testa- ment a high privilege is expressed by the words : " The hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke i. 60.) In other cases a finger is substituted for the hand, as when the MAGNETISM. 381 magicians of Pharaoh said : " This is the finger of God " (Exodus viii. 19), and the two tables of testimony are said to have been "written with the ringer of God" (Exodus xxxi. 18) ; in the same manner Christ said : " If I with the finger of God cast out devils." (Luke xi. 20.) What makes this reference to finger and hand in Eastern magic and in biblical language peculiarly in- teresting is the fact that neither Greeks nor Eomans ever referred in like manner to such an agency. It is evident that these nations, possessing the ancient wis- dom of the East and the revealed knowledge of the chosen people, were alone fully acquainted with the power which the hand of man can exercise under pecu- liar circumstances, and hence looked upon it in God also, as the instrument by which visions were caused and miracles performed. Hence, no doubt, also the mysterious hand, which from time immemorial has been used as one of the emblems of supreme power, often called the hand of justice, but evidently emblematic of the "hand of God," which rests upon the monarch who rules "by the grace of God." Magnetizers connect all these uses made of the hand with their own method, which consists almost invariably in certain passes made with the whole hand or with one or more fingers. Whatever may be thought of this connection between the meaning of the "hand" in biblical language, and the magnetism of our day, there can be no doubt as to the fact that the ancients were already quite familiar with the phenomena which have startled our century as 382" MODERN MAGIC. something entirely new. The so-called temple-sleep of the Greeks was almost identical with modern somnambulism ; the only essential difference being that then the gods of Olympus were seen, and lent their assistance, in the place of the saints of the Middle Ages, and the mediums of our own day. Incense, mineral waters, narcotic herbs, and decoctions of Strychnos or Halicacabum, were, according to Pliny, employed to produce the peculiar sleep. (" Hist. Nat." 1. xxi. ch. 31.) The patients fell asleep while lying on the skins of recently killed animals in the Temples of iEsculapius, and other beneficent deities, and in their sleep had dreams with revelations prescribing the proper remedies. The priests also, sometimes, dreamt for their visitors — for a consideration — or, at least, interpreted the dreams of others. Even magnetism by touch was perfectly familiar to the ancients, as appears from words of Plautus : " Quid, si ego ilium tractim tangam, ut dormiat ? (What if I were to touch him at intervals so that he should fall asleep ?) Plutarch even speaks of magnetizing by touching with the feet, as practised by Pyrrhus. Other writers discovered that the Sibyls of Eome, as well as the Druids of the Celts, had been nothing more than well-trained somnambulists, and ere long distinct traces of similar practices were found in the annals of the Egyptians also. One of the earliest cases, which was thoroughly investigated, and carefully watched, is reported by Dr. Petetin, of Lyon, in his famous " Memoir on Catalepsy MAGNETISM. 383 and Somnambulism." (Lyon, 1787.) His patient was a lady who had nursed her child with such utter disregard of her own health that her whole system was under- mined. After an attack of most violent convulsions, accompanied with apparent madness, she suddenly began to laugh to utter a number of clever and witty sayings, and finally broke out into beautiful songs; but a terrible cough with hemorrhages ended the crisis. Similar attacks occurred with increasing frequency, during which she could read, with closed eyes, what was placed in her hand, state hour and minute on a watch by merely touching the crystal, and mention the con- tents of the pockets of bystanders. She stated that she saw these things with varied distinctness; some clearly, others as through a mist, and still others only by a great effort. The reporter expresses his belief that the stomach in this case performed all the functions of the senses, and that the epidermis, with its network of fine nerves, acted in place of the usual organs. Petetin was also the first to enter into direct relations with his som- nambulist; he could induce her at will to become clairvoyant, and make himself understood by her when- ever he directed his voice toward the only sensitive part. Gradually, however, it was discovered that the degree of close communication {rapport) between the two par- ties depended as largely on the correspondence of character between them as on the energy of will in the magnetizer and the power of imagination possessed by the patient. Deleuse, one of the professors of the 384 MODERN MAGIC. Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, gave much attention to the subject, and in his numerous publications main- tained the existence of a magnetic fluid by the side of the superior power with which some men are endowed, and that both were employed in influencing others. He was frequently, and violently, attacked on the score of his convictions, especially after several cases of cun- ning deception had become known. For very soon the innate desire for notoriety led many persons to pretend somnambulism, and skillfully to imitate the phenomena of clairvoyance, displaying, as is not unfrequently the case, in these efforts a skill and a perseverance which would have secured them great success in any legitimate enterprise. A number of volumes appeared, mostly in Germany, professing to contain accounts of marvelous cures achieved by magnetism, which upon examination proved to be altogether fictitious. France, however, abounded more than any other country with impostors, and every kind of deception and cheating was carried on there, at the beginning of this century, under the cloak of mesmerism. Young girls, stimulated by large rewards, and well trained by hospital surgeons, would submit to brutal treatment, and profess to reveal, dur- ing well-simulated trances, infallible remedies for grievous diseases. The followers of Mesmer degraded his art by making it a merry pastime or a lucrative exhibition, without regard to truthfulness, and without reverence for science. Even political intriguers, and financial speculators, availed themselves of the new MAGNETISM. 385 discovery; precisely as in our day spirit-rapping and kindred tricks are used. In England, and in the Union, mesmerism fared little better; especially with us, it soon fell into the hands of quacks and charlatans who made it a source of profit ; at the same time it assumed various new names, as, electro-biology, hypno- tism, and others. The idea that somnambulism was the effect of angelic or demoniac influences was once largely entertained, but has long since given way to more scientific views. But it cannot be said that the true nature of the active principle has yet been fully ascertained, and so far the results of mesmerism must be classed among magic phenomena. What is alone clearly established is the power which the strong will of the magnetizer evident- ly exercises over the patient, and the fact that this en- ergy acts through the hands as its organs. The patient, on his side, undergoes by such an exercise of a foreign will a complete change of his individuality ; the action of his brain is modified and he falls into magnetic sleep. Many intelligent somnambulists have distinctly stated that they obey the will of their master and not his hands; that manipulation, in fact, merely serves to communicate this will to their inner sense. Whether the connection which evidently exists between the two parties is established merely for moral agencies or by an infinitely subtle fluid, which may possibly be the Od of Baron Reichenbach — this question remains as yet un- decided. So much only is quite certain that neither the 17 386 MODERN MAGIC, will alone suffices to produce the magic phenomena of magnetism, nor heat and electricity, as the physicist Parrot maintained ; as little can electro -magnetism, un- aided, be the cause of such results, though the great Kobiano stoutly asserted its power ; man is a dualism of spirit and body, and both must be influenced alike and together, in order to obtain perfect mastery. The most plausible explanation yet offered by men of science is, that by the will of the magnetizer his own nervous and mental system assumes a certain condition which changes that of the subject into one of opposite polar- ity, paralyzes some of his cerebral functions and causes him to fall into a state resembling sleep. The stronger and healthier man affects the nervous system of a fee- ble and less healthy man according to his own more or less strongly marked individuality, and the spiritual in- fluence naturally develops itself in the same proportions as the material influence. Hence the thoughts and feelings, the convictions and the faith of the magnetizer are reflected upon the mind of his subject. Even Mesmer himself had not yet reached this point; he was, up to his death, content to ascribe the power of the magnetizer to the waves of an universal fluid set in motion by the superior energy of specially endowed persons. According to his doctrine thoughts were con- veyed by means of this mysterious fluid in precisely the same manner in which light and sound are borne onward on the waves of the air that surrounds us. They proceed from the brain and the nerves of one MAGNETISM. 3S7 person and reach those of another person in this imper- ceptible manner; to dispatch them on their errand, vo- lition is required ; to receive them, willingness and a certain natural predisposition, since there are men inca- pable of being reached in this way, as there are others who are deprived of sight or hearing. As the convey- ing fluid is far more subtle than the thinnest air, per- meates the whole universe and bears a close resemblance to the fluid which sets our nerves in motion, there is no other limit to the effects of volition on the part of the so-called magnetizer than the strength of his will. If he possesses this in a sufficiently high degree, he can affect those who are subject to his superiority even at the greatest distance. Moreover, if his influence is sufficiently effective the somnambulist acquires new and heretofore unknown powers ; he sees the interior of his own body, recognizes its defects and diseases, and by a newly-awakened instinct, perceives what is necessary to restore its perfect order. Such were the views of Mes- mer. Besides this theory a number of others have been pub- lished from time to time, by men of science of almost all countries — even modern philosophers, like the German Schopenhauer, having entered the lists in defense of their favorite ideas. The most striking view published in recent times, is found in the works of Count Eobiano, a learned abbe and a brilliantly successful magnetizer. He ascribes all the phenomena of somnambulism to the purely physical activity of the nerves, and proposes to 388 MODERN MAGIC. call his new physical science neururgy. He identifies the nervous fluid with galvanism and voltaic electricity, and asserts that by a galvanic battery all the results can be obtained which mesmerism claims as its own. He also states that galvanic rings, bracelets, belts and neck- laces cause immediately somnambulism in well-quali- fied persons, while carbon held before the nostrils of somnambulists in deep sleep, awakes them instantly, and at the same time releases limbs held in cataleptic rigidi- ty. Alabaster, soda, and wax have similar effects, but less promptly, and the wind from a pair of bellows has equal power. According to his theory, currents of what he calls the galvanic-neururgic fluid, are capable of producing all the well-known symptoms and phenom- ena of thought from idiocy to genius, and from uncon- scious sleep to the highest excitement ; the process by which these results can be obtained is a suspension of the vital equilibrium by disease, intoxication, abstinence, long-continued fasting and prayer and the like. If the marvelous fluid is unequally distributed through the system, catalepsy ensues. The novelty and force of Kobiano's doctrines attracted much attention, but a series of experiments conducted by eminent men soon proved that galvanism alone produced in no instance somnambulism, but invariably required the aid of voli- tion, which the learned Italian in his modesty had probably underrated, if not altogether overlooked. It is a matter more of curiosity than of real interest that the Chinese have — now for nearly eleven bundled MAGNETISM. 389 years — believed in an inherent power possessed by every human being, called yu-yang, which is identical with an universal yu-yang. According to this view, every person endowed with the proper ability can dispose of his own yu-yang and diffuse a portion of it over others, so as to cure their infirmities. The French missionary Amyot communicated this to Puysegur (Du Magnetisme Ani- mal, Paris, 1807, p. 387), and looked upon the yu-yang as the universal vital power which produces everything. Before we dismiss any such theory — in China or nearer home — with a supercilious smile, it is well to recall the reception which the first revelation of electricity in the human body met among our savants. The doctrine had to pass through the usual three stages of contempt, controversy and final adoption. John Wesley, more than a hundred years ago, said of it: " With what vehemence has it been opposed ! Some- times, by treating it with contempt, as if it were of little or no use ; sometimes by arguments such as they were, and sometimes by such cautions against its ill effects, as made thousands afraid to meddle with it." Now, every elementary text-book teaches that all created living bodies are electric, and that some persons, animals, and plants are so in a very high degree. To establish this truth poor puss has had to suffer much in order to give out electric sparks, aud the sensitive plant has had to show how its leaves " With quick horror fly the neighboring hand," 390 MODERN MAGIC. which draws from them the electricity of which it contains more than other plants. Physicians haye learnt that a person who has the small-pox cannot be electrified, the body being fully charged and refusing to receive more electricity, while sparks may be drawn from the body of a patient dying with cholera. Now this once despised power, in the shape of voltaic electricity, adorns our tables with electro-plate works of art, carries our thoughts around the globe, blasts rocks, fires can- nons and torpedoes, and even rings the bells of our houses. Now little chain batteries, that can be car- ried in the waistcoat pockets, produce powerful shocks and cure grievous diseases, while tiny bands, which yet can decompose water in a test-tube, are worn by thou- sands as a protection against intense suffering and utter prostration. What in this case happened to electricity may very well be the fate of the new power also, which is the true agent in all that we carelessly call magnetism. Somnambulism and clairvoyance, by whatever means they may have been caused, differ in this from dreams and feverish fancies, that the outer senses are rendered inactive and in their place peculiar inner life begins to act, while the subject is perfectly conscious. The magic phenomena differ naturally infinitely according to the varying natures of the patients. In the majority of cases sleep is the only result of magnetizing ; a few per- sons become genuine somnambulists and begin to speak, first very indistinctly, because the organs of speech are partially locked and the consciousness is not fully MAGNETISM. 091 aroused. As the spasms cease, speech becomes freer, and as the mind clears up, the thoughts also reveal themselves more distinctly. These symptoms are ordinarily accom- panied by others of varying character, from simple h in the extremities and painful sobbing to actual syncope. In almost all such cases, however, the nervous system is suffering from a violent shock, and this produces spasms of more or less appalling violence. The temper of the sufferers — for such they are all to some degree — varies from deep despondency to exulting blissfulness, but is as changeable as that of children, and resembles but too frequently the capricious and unintelligible mental condition of insane persons. The- r the first time thrown into magnetic sleep generally feel after awaking as if a great change had taken place in them : they are apt to remain seri- ous, and apparently plunged in deep thought for several days. If their case is in unskillful hands, nervous dis- orders are rarely avoided: phantastic visions may be seen, and convulsions and more threatening symptoms even may occur. Youth is naturally more susceptible to the influence of magnetism than riper years: teally old persons have never yet been put to sleep. In like manner women are more easily controlled than men, and hence more capable of being magnetized than of magne- tizing others. If men appear more frequently in the annals of this new branch of magic than women, this is due merely to the fact that men appear naturally, and ad far at Last voluntarily more frequently in public 392 MODERN MAGIC. statements than women. The latter, moreover, are very rarely found able to magnetize men, simply because they are less in the habit of exerting their will for the purpose of influencing others ; the exceptions were mostly so-called masculine women. Over their own sex, however, they are easily able to obtain full control. Among the curious symptoms accompanying the magic phenomena of this class, the following deserve being mentioned. A distinguished physician, Dr. Heller, ex- amined the blood corpuscules of a person in magnetic sleep and found that their shape was essentially modi- fied ; they were raised and pointed so as to bear some resemblance to mulberries ; at the same time they ex- hibited a vibrating motion. Another symptom fre- quently observed in mesmerism are electric shocks, which produce sometimes a violent trembling in the whole person before the beginning of magnetic sleep and after it has ceased. As many as four thousand such shocks have been counted in an hour ; they are especially frequent in hysterical women and then ac- companied by severe pain, in men they are of rarer occur- rence. Finally, it appears from a number of well-authen- ticated cases that magnetic convulsions are contagious, extending even to animals. Persons suffering with cata- lepsy have more than once been compelled to kill pet cats because the latter suffered in a similar manner whenever the attacks came, and the same has been noticed in favorite dogs which were left in the room while magnetic cures were performed. This is all the MAGXETISiT. 393 more frequently noticed as many magnetizers look upon convulsions as efforts made by nature to restore the sys- tem to a healthy condition, and hence excite in their patients convulsions without magnetizing them fully. A new doctrine concerning the magic phenomena of magnetism establishes a special force inherent in all in- organic substances, and calls it Siderian. This theory is the result of the observation that certain substances, like water and metal, possess a special power of produc- ing somnambulism, and at one time a peculiar appara- tus, called iaquet, was much in use, by means of which several persons, connected with each other and with a vessel filled with water and pieces of metal, were rendered clairvoyant. The whole subject has not yet been fully investigated, and hence the con- clusions drawn from isolated cases must be looked upon as premature. It has, however, been established beyond doubt that metals have a peculiar power over sensitive persons, in their natural sleep as well as in the magnetic sleep. Many somnambulists are painfully affected by gold, others by iron ; a very sensitive patient could, after an instant's touch, distinguish even rare metals like bismuth and cobalt by the sensations which they produced when laid upon her heart. Dr. Brun- ner, when professor of physics in Peru, had a patient who could not touch iron without falling into convul- sions, and was made clairvoyant by simply taking her physician's pocket-knife in her hand. This Siderian or Astral force, so called from a pre- 394 MODERN MAGIC. sumed influence exercised by the heavenly bodies, as well as by all inorganic substances, admits of no isola- tion, although it is possessed in varying degrees by certain metals and minerals. It has no effect even upon the electrometer or the magnetic needle ; its force is radi- ating, quite independent of light, but considerably in- creased by heat. Persons magnetized by the mysterious force of the haqaet have, however, an astonishing power over the magnetic needle and can make it deflect by motion, fixed glance, or even mere volition. In Galig+ nani's Messenger (25th of October, 1851) the case of Prudence Bernard in Paris is mentioned, who forced the needle to follow the motions of her head. Whatever we may think of the value of this theory, it cannot be denied that the effect which certain physical processes going on in the atmosphere have on our body and mind alike is very striking and yet almost entirely unknown. Science is leisurely gathering up facts which will no doubt in the end furnish us a clue to many phe- nomena which we now call magic, or even supernatural. Thus almost every hour of the day has its peculiarity in connection with Nature : at one hour the barometer, at another the thermometer reaches its maximum ; at other periods magnetism is at its highest or the air full- est of vapor, and to these various influences the dis- eases of men stand in close relation. When Auroras are seen frequently the atmosphere is found to be sur- charged with electricity; they are intimately connected with gastric fevers, and according to some physicians, MAGNETISM. 395 even with typhus and cholera. It has also ■ been ascer- tained that the progress of the cholera and the plague — perhaps also of common influenza — coincides accu- rately with the isogonic line; these diseases disappear as soon as the eastward declination of the magnetic needle ceases. In recent times a correspondence of the spots in the sun with earth-magnetism has also been observed. In like manner it has been established that continued positive electricity of the air, producing ozone in abundance, is apt to cause catarrhs, inflamma- tions, and rheumatism, while negative electricity causes nervous fevers and cholera. Even the moon has recov- ered some of its former importance in its relations to the human body, and although the superstitions of past ages with their absurd exaggerations have long since been abandoned, certain facts remain as evidences of a connection between the moon and some diseases. Thus the paroxysms of lunatics, epileptics, and somnambu- lists are undoubtedly in correspondence with the phases of the moon ; madmen rave most furiously when the latter is full, and its phases determine with astonishing regularity the peculiar affections of women, as was tri- umphantly proven by the journal kept with admirable fidelity during the long life of Dr. Constantine Hering of Philadelphia. Another name given to these phenomena is the Hypnotism of the English. (Braid, " Neurohypnology," London, 1843.) This theory is based upon the fact that sensitive persons can be rendered clairvoyant by looking 396 MODERN MAGIC. fixedly at some small but bright object held close to their face, and by continuing for some time to fix the mind upon the same object after the eyelids have closed from sheer weariness. The method of produc- ing this magnetic sleep, and some of the symptoms peculiar to mesmerized persons, has since been fre- quently varied. * Dodds makes the patient take a disk of zinc, upon which a small disk of copper is laid, into his hand, and regard them fixedly ; thus he produces what he calls electro-biology. Catton, in Manchester, England, prefers a gentle brushing of the forehead, and by this simple means causes magnetic sleep. Braid's experiments, in which invariably over-excitement of nerves was followed by torpor, rigidity, and insensibility, have since been repeated by eminent physicians with a view to produce ansesthesis during painful operations. They have met with perfect success; and the removal of the shining object, fresh air, and slight frictions, sufficed to restore consciousness. The same results have been obtained in France, where, according to a report made to the French Academy, in 1859, by the renowned Dr. Velpeau, persons induced to look at a shining object, held close between their eyes, began to squint violently, and in a few moments to fall, utterly unconscious and insensible, into magnetic sleep. Maury explains the process as- one of vertigo, which itself again is caused by the pressure of blood upon the brain, and adds, that any powerful impression produced upon the retina may have the same effect. Hence, no MAGNETISM. 397 doubt, the mal occhio of the Italians, inherited from the evil eye of the ancients; hence the often almost mar- velous power which some men have exercised by the mere glance of the eye. The fixed look of the magne- tizer, which attracts the eye of the patient, and holds it, as it were, spell-bound, has very much the same effect, and when this look is carefully cultivated it may put others beside themselves — as was the case with Urbain Graudier, who could, at any time, cause his arms to fall into a trance by merely fixing his eyes upon them for a few minutes. From all these experiments we gather, once more, that men can, by a variety of means, which are called magnetism or mesmerism, influence others who are susceptible, till the latter fall into magnetic sleep, have cataleptic attacks, or become clairvoyant. It is less certain that, as many assert, these results are obtained by means of a most subtle, as yet unknown, fluid, which the magnetizer causes to vibrate in his own mind, and which passes from him, by means of his hands, into the patient, where it produces effects corresponding to those felt by the principal. To accomplish even this, it is absolutely necessary that the magnetizer should not only possess a higher energy than his patient, but also stand to him in the relation of the positive pole to the negative. The extent of success is measurable by the strength of will on one hand, and the degree of sus- ceptibility on the other; both may be infinitely varied, from total absence to an overwhelming abundance. 398 MODERN MAGIC. Practice, at least, however, aids the magnetizer effectu- ally, and certain French and Italian masters have obtained surprising results. The most striking of these is still the cataleptic state, which they cause at will. Breathing, pulsation, and digestion continue uninter- rupted, but the muscles are no longer subject to our will; they cease to be active, and hence the patient remains immovable in any position he may be forced to assume. The general symptoms produced by magnetizing arc. uniformly the same : as soon as a sufficient number of passes have been made from the head downward the pa- tient draws a few deep inhalations, and then follow increased animal heat and perspiration, the effect of greater activity of the nerves, while pain ceases and cheerfulness succeeds despondency. If the passes are continued, these symptoms increase in force, produce their natural consequences, and, the functions becoming normal, recovery takes place. Magnetic sleep is fre- quently preceded by slight feverishness, convulsive trembling and fainting. The eyelids, half or entirely closed, begin to tremble, the eyeballs turn upward and inward, and the pupils become enlarged and insensible to light. The features change in a striking manner, peculiar to this kind of sleep, and easily recognized. After several experiments of this kind have been made upon susceptible persons, the outward sleep begins to be accompanied by an inner awakening, at first in a half- dreamy state and gradually more fully, till conversation can be attempted. MAGNETISM. 399 Contrary to the general impression, faith does not seem to be an essential element of success, at least on the part of the patient, for infants and very young children have been rendered clairvoyant as well as grown persons. On the other hand, natural suscepti- bility is indispensable, for Deleuse (Def. clu Magnet israe, p. 156) states that in his extended practice he found only one out of twenty persons fit to be magnetized. Of those whom he could influence, only one in twenty could converse in his sleep, and of five of this class not more than one became fully clairvoyant. Cer- tain persons, though well endowed, impress their pa- tients unfavorably, cause a sensation of cold instead of heat in their system, and produce a feeling of strong aversion. The most remarkable feature in all these re- lations, however, is the fact that the patient not unfre- quently affects the magnetizer, and this in the most extraordinary manner. One physician took into the hand with which he had touched a dying person, two finches; they immediately sickened and died a few days later. Another, a physically powerful and perfectly healthy man, who was treating a patient suffering of tic douloureux by means of magnetism, became unwell after a few days, and on the seventh day fell himself a victim to that painful disease, till he had to give up the treatment. He handed his patient over to a brother physician, who suffered in the same manner, and actually died in a short time. After continued practice has strengthened the mag- 400 MODERN MAGIC. netizer, his " passes " often become unnecessary, and he can at last, under favorable circumstances, produce magnetic sleep by a simple glance or even the mere unuttered volition. Some physicians had only to say Sleep ! and their patient fell asleep ; others were able to move the sleepers from their beds by a slight touch with the tip of the thumb. One of this class, after curing a poor boy of catalepsy, retained such perfect control over him that he only needed to point at him with his finger, or to let him touch some metal which he had magnetized, in order to make him fall down as if thunderstruck. The great German writer, known as Jean Paul, relates of himself that he, " in a large com- pany and by merely looking at her fixedly, caused a Mrs. K. twice to fall almost asleep and to make her heart beat and her color go, till S. had to help her." The Abbe Faria, who seems to have been specially en- dowed with such power, would magnetize perfect stran- gers by suddenly stretching out his hands and saying in an authoritative tone : Sleep, I will it ! He had a formidable competitor afterwards in Hebert, who played almost at will with a large number of spectators in his crowded hall, making them follow him wherever he led, or causing them to fall asleep by simply making passes over the inside of their hats. In the case of young girls he produced rigidity of members with great facility, and then caused them to assume any position he chose ; his patients were utterly helpless and powerless. Du- potet, already mentioned, possessed similar influence MAGNETISM. 401 over others; lie once magnetized an athletic man of ripe years, by merely walking around the chair on which he was seated, and forced him to turn with him by jerks. On another occasion he made a white chalk-mark on the floor, and then requested a gentleman to put both his feet upon the spot ; while he remained quietly stand- ing by the side of his friends. After a few minutes the stranger began to shut his eyes, and his body trembled and swayed to and fro, till it sank so low that the head hung down to the hips — at last Dupotet loosened the spell by upward passes. An Italian, Eagazzoni, excited in 1859, no small sensation by his remarkable success as a magnetizer. Unlike other physicians, he used an abundance of gestures to accompany the active play of his expressive features, and yet by merely breathing upon persons he could check their respiration and the circulation of their blood ; in like manner he caused the chest to swell and paralyzed single limbs or the whole body. He pushed needles through the hand or the skin of the forehead without causing a sign of pain ; he ena- bled his patients to guess his thoughts, and set them walking, running or dancing, although they were in one room and he in another. When he had paralyzed their senses, burning sulphur did not affect their smell, nor brilliant light the open pupil; the ringing of a large bell close to the ear and the firing of a pistol remained unheard. In fine, he repeated all the experiments al- ready made by Puysegur with his patient, Victor, but generally without the use of passes. (Schopenhauer, 402 MODERN MAGIC. Ueher d. Willen in d. Natur. 1867, p. 102.) Maury, who has given a most interesting and trustworthy account of similar cases (Revue des Deux Mondez, 1860, t. 25), states in speaking of General Noizet, that the latter caused him to fall asleep by saying : " Dormes ! " Immediately a thick veil fell upon his eyes, he felt weak, began to perspire, and felt a strong pressure upon the abdomen. A second experiment, however, was less suc- cessful. Besides passes, a variety of other means have been employed to produce magnetic sleep and kindred phe- nomena. Dr. Bend sea, one of the earlier practitioners, frequently used metal mirrors or even ordinary looking- glasses ; another Dr. Barth, maintained that by touch- ing or irritating any part of the outer skull, the under- lying portions of the brains could be excited. By thus pressing upon the organ of love of children, his patients would at once begin to think of children, and often caress a cushion. In this theory he is supported by Had- dock, who first discovered that the magnetizer's will could force his patient to substitute his fancies for the reality, and, for instance, to believe a handkerchief to be a pet dog or an infant, and an empty glass to be filled with such liquids as he suggested. The influ- ence in such cases must, however, be rather ascribed to the fact that the magnetizers were also phrenologists, than to the presumed organs themselves. It must lastly be mentioned that some persons claim to possess the power to magnetize themselves, and Du- MAGNETISM. 403 potet, a trustworthy authority in such matters, supports the assertion. A case is mentioned in the Journal de Vame (iv. p. 103), of a man who could hypnotize him- self from childhood up, by merely fixing his eye for some time upon a certain point ; in later years, proba- bly by too frequent excitement of this kind, he was apt to fall into trances and to see visions. The sympathetic relations which by magnetism are established between two or more persons who are in a state of somnambulism or clairvoyance, is commonly called rapport, although there is no apparent necessity for preferring a French word. The closest relations exist naturally between the magnetizer and his subject, and the intensity of the rapport varies, of course, with the energy of will of the one, and the susceptibility of the patient of the other. The same rapport exists, however, often between the patients of the same mag- netizer, and may be increased by merely joining hands, or a strong effort of will on the part of the physician. It has often been claimed that mesmerism produces exceptionally by rapport what in twins is the effect of a close natural resemblance and contemporaneousness of organization. Clairvoyants endowed with the highest powers which have yet been observed, thus see not only their own body as if it were transparent, but can in like manner watch what is going on within the bodies of others, provided they are brought into rapport with them, and hence their ability to prescribe for their ail- ments. Puysegur was probably the first to discover 404 MODERN MAGIC. this peculiarity : lie was humming to himself a favorite air while magnetizing a peasant boy, and suddenly the latter began to sing the same air with a loud voice. Haddock's patients gave all the natural signs of pain in different parts of the body, when he was struck or pinched, while at the very time they were themselves insensible to pain. Dr. Emelin found that when he held his watch to his right ear, a female patient of his heard the ticking in her. left ear ; if he held it to her own ear she heard nothing. He was, also, not a little astonished when another patient, in a distant town to which he traveled, revealed to him a whole series of professional meditations in which he had been plunged during his journey. And yet such a knowledge of the magnetizer's thoughts is nothing uncommon in well- qualified subjects who have been repeatedly magnetized. Mrs. Crowe mentions the case of a gentleman who was thus treated while he was at Malvern and his physician at Cheltenham. He was lying in magnetic sleep, when he suddenly sprang up, clapped his hands together, and broke out into loud laughter. His physician was written to and replied that on the same day he had been busy thinking of his patient, when a sudden knock at the door startled him and made him jump and clap his hands together. He then laughed heartily at his folly! (I. p. 140.) Dupotet once saw a striking illustration of the rapport which may exist between two patients of the same magnetizer, even where the two are unknown to each other. MAGNETISM. 405 He was treating some of Lis patients in a hospital in St. Petersburg, by means of magnetism, and found, to his surprise, that whenever he put one of them to sleep in the upper story, the other in the lower story would also instantly drop asleep, although she could not possi- bly be aware of what was going on upstairs. This hap- pened, moreover, not once, but repeatedly, and for weeks in succession. If both were asleep when he came on his daily round, he needed only arouse one to hear the other awake with a start and utter loud cries. Magnetic sleep generally does not begin immediately, but after some intermediate danger; most frequently ordinary sleep serves as a bridge leading to magnetic sleep, and yet the two are entirely different conditions. When at last sleep is induced, various degrees of excep- tional powers are exhibited, which are evidences of an inner sense that has been awakened, while the outer senses have become inactive. The patient is, however, utterly unconscious of the fact that his eyes are closed, and be- lieves he sees through them as when he is aAvake. When somnambulists are asked why they keep their eyes shut, they answer : " I do not know what you mean ; I see you perfectly well." The highest degree, but rarely developed in specially favored persons, con- sists of perfect clairvoyance accompanied by a sense of indescribable bliss ; in this state the spiritual and moral features of the patient assume a form of highest devel- opment, visions are beheld, remote and future things are discerned, and other persons may be influenced, even 406 MODERN MAGIC. if they are at a considerable distance. It is in this con- dition that persons in magnetic sleep exhibit in the highest degree the magic phenomena of magnetism. The latter are generally accompanied by a sensation of intense light, which at times becomes almost painful, and has to be allayed by the physician, especially when it threatens to interfere with the unconscious conversa- tions of the patient. This enjoyment has, however, to be paid for dearly, for it exhausts the sleeper, and in many instances it so closely resembles the struggle of the soul when parting from the body in^ death, that dissolution seems to be impending. Somnambulists themselves maintain that such magnetic sleep shortens their lives by several years, and has to be interrupted in time to prevent it from becoming fatal. Eecollection rarely survives magnetic sleep, but after awaking, vague and indistinct impulses continue, which stand in some connection with the incidents of such sleep. A well known magnetizer, Mouillesaux, once ordered a patient, while sunk in magnetic sleep, to go on the following day and call on a person whom she did not like. The prom- ise was given reluctantly, but not mentioned again after she awoke. To test the matter, the physician went, accompanied by a few friends, on the next day, to that person's house, and, to their great surprise, the patient was seen to walk up and down anxiously before the door, and at last to enter, visibly embarrassed. Mouille- saux at once followed her and explained the matter; she told him that from the moment of her rising in the MAGNETISM. 407 morning she had been haunted by the idea that she ought to go to this house, till her nervousness had be- come so painful as to force her to go on her unwelcome errand. (Expose des Cures, etc., iii. p. 70.) The power to perceive things present without the use of the ordinary organs, and to become aware of events happening at a distance, has been frequently ascribed to an additional sense, possibly the Common Sense of Aristotle. Its fainter operations are seen in the almost marvelous power possessed by bats to fly through mi- nute meshes of silk nets, stretched out for the purpose, even when deprived of sight, and to find their way to their nests without a moment's hesitation. Cuvier ascribed this remarkable power to their exquisitely developed sense of touch, which would make them aware of an almost imperceptible pressure of the air ; but while this might explain their avoiding walls and trees, it could not well apply to slender silk threads. Another familiar illustration is found, in the perfectly amazing ability often possessed by blind, or blind and deaf persons, who distinguish visitors by means neither granted nor known to their more fortunate brethren. It is generally believed that in such cases the missing senses are supplied by a superior development of the remaining senses, but even this assertion has never yet been fully proved, nor if proved, would it supply a key to some of the almost marvelous achievements of blind people. This new or general sense seems only to awaken in 408 MODERN MAGIC. exceptional cases and under peculiar circumstances. That it never shows itself in healthy life is due to the simple fact that its power is then obscured by the un- ceasing activity of the ordinary senses. A peculiar, and as yet unexplained feature of this power is the tendency to ascribe its results, not to the ordinary organs, but by a curious transposition to some other part of the body, so that persons in magnetic sleep believe, as the mag- netizer may choose, that they see, or smell, or hear by means of the finger-tips, the pit of the stomach, the forehead, or even the back of the head. It is true that savants like Alfred Maury {Revue dcsDeux Mondes, 18G0, t. 25) and Dr. Michea ascribe these new powers only to an increased activity of the senses ; but nothing is gained by this reasoning, as such an astounding increase of the irritability of the retina or the tympanum is as much of a magic phenomenon as the presumed new sense. The simple explanation is that it is not the eye which sees nor the ear which hears, but that images and sound-waves are carried by these organs to the great nervous centre, where we must look for the true source of all our perceptions. If in magnetic sleep the same images and waves can be conveyed by other means, the result will be precisely the same as if the patient was observing with open eyes and ears. A lady treated by Despine thus heard with the palm of her hand and read by means of the finger-tips, which she passed rapidly over the letters presented to her in her sleep. At the same time she invariably ascribed MAGNETISM. 409 the sensations she experienced to the natural senses; flowers, for instance, laid down unseen by her, so as barely to touch her ringers, caused her to draw in air through the nostrils and to exclaim : Ah, how sweet that is! and if objects were placed against the sole of her foot, she would often exclaim : " What is that ? I cannot see it distinctly." Somnambulists can, hence, carry on domestic work in the dark with the same suc- cess as in broad daylight, and a patient whose case has been most carefully investigated, could hem the finest linen handkerchiefs by holding the needle to her brow, high above her eyes. Thus persons have seen by means of almost every part of the body, a fact which has led more than one distinguished physiologist to assume that, under special circumstances, all the papillae of nerves in the epidermis may become capable of convey- ing the sensual perceptions ordinarily assigned only to certain organs, as the eye or the ear. Even this suppo- sition, however, would not suffice to explain the ability possessed by some magnetized persons to see and hear by means of their fingers, even without touching the objects or when separated from the latter by an inter- vening wall. The highest magic phenomena connected with mag- netic sleep consist in the perception of hidden things and in the influence exercised over persons at a dis- tance. Only a few of these can be explained by natu- ral laws and by the increased power of the senses fre- quently granted to peculiarly constituted or diseased 18 4]0 MODERN MAGIC. persons. The senses, on the contrary, cease to operate, and man, for a time, becomes endowed with a higher power, which is probably part and portion of his spirit- ual being, as made after the image of the Most High, but obscured and rendered inoperative by the subjec- tion of the soul to the earthborn body. Nor is this power always under his control ; as if to mark its su- pernatural character, the patient very often perceives what is perfectly indifferent to himself, and is forced, almost against his own will, to witness or foresee events, the bearing of which he cannot discern. Gen- erally, therefore, the importance of these revelations is of less interest than the manner in which they are made, which is invariably of the kind we call magic. This is still further attested by the difficulty, which is almost always felt, of translating them, as it were, into ordinary language, and hence the many allegoric and symbolic forms under which they are made known. Future events are often not seen, but read in a newspa- per or heard as recited by strangers ; in other cases they are apparently imparted by the spirits of deceased persons. A very frequent form is the impression that the soul leaves the body and, pursuing the track of a person to whom the magnetizer points, with all the fidelity and marvelous accuracy of a well-trained dog, finally reaches him and sees him and his surroundings. Nor is the distance a matter of indifference ; like the ordinary senses, this new sense also seems to have its laws and its limits, and if the task is too heavy and the MAGNETISil. 411 distance too great, the perception remains vague and indefinite. Most important of all is the fact that, unlike spiritual visions, magnetism never enables the sleeper to go beyond the limits of our earthly home. On the other hand, time is no more an obsta- cle than space, and genuine somnambulists have seen past and future events as well as distant scenes. Mis- takes, however, occur here as with all our other senses ; as healthy persons see amiss or hear amiss, so magnetic sleepers also are not unfrequently mistaken — errors to which they are all the more liable as the im- pressions received by magic powers have to be translated into the language adapted to ordinary senses. Among somnambulists of this class Alexis is one of the best known, and has left us an account of many experiments in his Explication da Sommeil Magnetique. Alexis was once put into magnetic sleep by a friend of Dr. Mayo, and then ordered to go to Boppard, on the Rhine, and look for him; Alexis, after some hesita- tion, stated that he had found him, and described — although he had never seen him before — his appear- ance and dress, not only, but also the state of mind in which he was at that moment, all of which proved afterward to be perfectly correct. Alexis declared that his perceptions varied very much in clearness, and that his power to see friends at a distance depended largely on the affection he felt for them. In all in- stances his magic powers were far inferior to those of his natural senses, although they never misled him, as 412 MODERN MAGIC. . the latter had done occasionally. In the Bibliothbque du Magnetisme Animal (vii. p. 146), a remarkable case is reported as attested by undoubted authority. The English consul, Baldwin, was, in 1795, visited by an Italian improvisatore, who happened to have a small medicine-chest with him. In the consul's kitchen was a little Arab, a scullion, who suffered of a harassing cough, and whom his master magnetized in order to cure him. While in his sleep the boy saw the medicine- chest, of which he had known nothing before, and selected among the phials one with sugar of agri- monium, which relieved him of his troubles. The Italian, thereupon, asked also to be magnetized; fell promptly asleep, and wrote in this condition, with closed eyes, a poem praising the art of magnetism. Haddock's famous subject, Emma, actually accomplish- ed once the crucial test of all magic phenomena — she proved the value of magnetism in a question of money. In the year 1849 three notes, amounting to £650, had been deposited in a bank, and disappeared in the most unaccountable manner. One of the clerks confessed, that although he had received them, wrapped them up in paper, and placed them with a parcel of other notes, he had forgotten to enter them regularly in the books. No trace could be discovered ; at last the magnetized subject was consulted, and after some little time declared that the notes were lying in a certain room, inserted in a certain panel, which she described so accurately that upon search being instituted the MAGNETISM. 4 It! missing notes were found, and the clerk's character was cleared. Dr. Barth magnetized, in 1846, a lady who was filled with anxiety about her husband in America, from whom she had not heard for a long time. After having been put into magnetic sleep several times, she once exclaimed : " God be thanked, my poor husband is better. I am looking over his shoulder and see him write a letter addressed to me, which will be here in six or seven weeks. He tells me that he has been ill for three months." Two months afterwards she actually received such a letter, in which her hus- band informed her of his three months' illness, and re- gretted the pain he had probably caused her by his protracted silence. A young lady, magnetized by Eob- ert Napier in his house in Edinburgh, not only described her parents' house as it appeared at the moment, but also the home of a Miss B., in New South Wales, where she had never been. In the garden of the house she saw a gentleman accompanied by a lady in black, and a dog of light color with dark spots ; upon inquiry it appeared that Colonel B., the father of the young lady, had at that time actually been in the garden with his wife and his dog, although some of the minor details proved to have been incorrect. She also gave a minute and accurate account of the upper stories of Napier's house, where she had never been ; but recognizing everything only gradually, and correcting the mistakes which she had at first committed. Thus she spoke of Napier's old aunt as dressed in dark colors ; after a 414 MODERN MAGIC. while she exclaimed: " Oh, now I see she is dressed in white ! " It appeared afterward that the old lady had been sitting in a deep arm-chair, overshadowed by the back of the chair, the gas-light being behind her; just at that moment, however, Napier's wife had come up, the aunt had leaned forward to speak to her, and thus being brought into the light, had revealed her white night-dress. This case is peculiarly interesting as proving that the perceptions of somnambulists are dependent upon conditions similar to those which gov- ern the ordinary senses. (Oolquhoun, p. 626.) According to such high authorities as Hufeland and others, magnetic sleep enables persons to see the in- terior of the bodies of others. He himself heard one of his female patients, a woman without any knowledge of anatomy, describe quite accurately the inner structure of the ear, and of certain other parts of the body. ( TJeber Sympathie, p. 115. ) It seems to have been well ascer- tained that she had never had an opportunity of reading such a description, even if her memory had been reten- tive enough to enable her to recall and recite what she had thus chanced to read. The clairvoyant Alexis once saw through the clothing of a visitor a scar, and after gazing at it — in his sleep — for a long time, he came to the conclusion that it was the effect of a dog's bite, and finally stated all the facts attending the accident of which the scar was the sole remaining evidence- Even historical predictions made in magnetic sleep are not wanting. The death of a king of Wurtemberg was MAGNETISM. 4lo thus foretold by two somnambulists, who were under medical treatment, and who warned their physicians, well-known and trustworthy practitioners of good standing, of the approaching event. The king's death took place without being preceded by any serious illness, and in the manner minutely predicted by one of the patients ; a confirmation which was all the more strik- ing, as the prediction had been made in the presence of a number of distinguished men, among whom were a minister of the kingdom and several divines. Another case is that of the Swedish king, Gustavus Vasa, who was assassinated in 1T92, by Ankarstrom. Accompa- nied by his physician, he once called, as Count Haga, upon a patient treated by Aubry, a pupil of Mesmer. She recognized him immediately, although plunged in magnetic sleep, told him that he suffered of oppressions of the chest, the effect of a broken arm, and foretold him that his life was in danger and that he would be murdered. The king was deeply impressed, and as his physician expressed doubt and contempt in his face, he desired that the latter should be put en rapport with the patient. Xo sooner was this done than the physician's eyes fell, he sank into magnetic sleep, and when, after some time, he was aroused he left the room in great agitation. (A. Gauthier. Hist, clu Somnamb., ii. p. U6.) An occasional phenomenon of magnetic sleep is the improvement of the language of patients : this appears not only in the case of well-educated persons, whose 416 MODERN MAGIC. diction assumes often a high poetical form, but far more strikingly in unlettered and ignorant patients, who suddenly manifest an unexpected familiarity with the more refined form of their native tongue, and not unfrequently even with idioms of which they have pre- viously had no knowledge whatever. All these different symptoms have been authenticated by numerous and trustworthy witnesses. Humble peasant-women have used the most elegant forms of their native language ; travelers have unexpectedly recovered the use of idioms once known to them, but long since forgotten ; and, finally, a real gift of languages has unmistakably enabled patients to use idioms with which they had previously never come in contact. This phenomenon develops itself occasionally into poetical improvisations of con- siderable merit, and the beautiful music which many hear in magnetic sleep, or just before dying, as if com- ing from another world, is, in like manner, nothing but a product of their own mental exaltation. Thus persons wdio spoke merely a local dialect, and were acquainted with no other form of their mother-tongue, when placed in magnetic sleep would speak the best English or German, as if their mind, freed from all fetters, resumed once more the original task of forming the language in accordance with their heightened ca- pacities. Little children, whose education had scarcely begun, have been known to recite verses or to compose speeches, of which they would have been utterly in- capable in a healthy state, and of which they bad MAGNETISM. 4 1 1 afterwards no recollection. Macnish mentions a young- girl who, when magnetized, always fell back into Welsh, which she had spoken as a child, but long since forgotten, and Lausanne mentions one of his patients, a Creole, who came at the age of five to France, and late in life, when magnetized, spoke no longer French but the miserable patois of her early years. A young tan- ner in England, also, though utterly uneducated, like the peasant-boy of Puysegur, was able in magnetic sleep to speak German. Whenever another person, at such a time, spoke to him in English, his lips began at once to move, and he translated what he heard into fair German verses. (Morin, Jonm. die Magn. 1854, No. 199.) It must not be overlooked that the gift of singing and of using poetical language, often of great beauty, is not un frequently developed in fever-patients also, and in insane persons. Insensibility to impressions from without is another phenomenon which magnetic sleep has in common with many other conditions. It is produced by anaesthetics like chloroform and ether, by utter exhaustion in con- sequence of long suffering, as was the case with martyrs and prisoners subjected to torture, and by excessive loss of blood. But in magnetic sleep it reaches a higher degree than under other circumstances ; cataleptic patients, and even clairvoyants in moments of greatest excitement, seem to be in a state in which the nerves cease to act as conveyers of impressions to the brain. 418 MODERN MAGIC. This has often led to unwarrantable abuse ; physicians, under the pretext of scientific investigation, inflicting severe injuries upon their patients, utterly unmindful of the fact that, however great the momentary insensi- bility may be, the sense of pain returns at the instant of re-awaking. On the other hand, physicians have taken advantage of this state of unconsciousness of pain, in order to perform serious operations. The first instance of a surgical operation being at- tempted while the patient was in mesmeric sleep, was that of Madame Plan tin, a lady of sixty-four years, who suffered of cancer in the breast. A Mr. Chapelain pre- pared her by throwing her for several days into a trance by means of the usual mesmeric passes. She then manifest- ed the ordinary symptoms of somnambulism, and con- versed about the impending danger with perfect calm- ness, while she contemplated it, when conscious, with the utmost horror and apprehension. On the 12th of April, 1824, she was again thrown into a trance, and the painful and dangerous operation accomplished in less than a quarter of an hour, while she conversed with the surgeon, the famous Dr. Ploquet, and showed in her voice, her breathing, and her pulse not the slightest sign of excitement or pain. When the wound was bound up, she awoke, but upon hearing what had taken place, she became so violently excited that the mag- netizer had to cause her once more to fall asleep under his passes. And yet, in spite of this brilliant success, when Dr. Warren of Boston asked the great surgeon MAGNETISM. 419 why he had never repeated the experiment, the latter was forced to acknowledge that he had not dared do it, " because the prejudice against mesmerism was so strong in Paris that a repetition would have imperiled his position and his reputation ! " Since that time mesmerism has been repeatedly, and almost always successfully employed as an anaesthetic; Dr. James Esdall, chief surgeon of the presidency of Calcutta, having reduced the application to a regular method. Dr. Forbes reports two cases of amputation of the thigh in magnetic sleep, which were successful, and similar experiments have been made in England, and in India, with the same happy result. It is probably a feature connected with this insensi- bility that persons in magnetic sleep can with impu- nity take unusually large doses of medicine, which they prescribe for themselves. For magnetic sleep seems to develop, as we have stated, among other magic phenom- ena, a peculiar insight also, into diseases and their remedies. Although diseases may assume a variety of deceptive forms, the predictions made by magnetic patients, many months in advance, seldom fail to be verified. This is a mere matter of instinct, for ignorant persons and young children possess the gift in equal degree with the best-informed and most experienced patients. The remedies are almost exclusively so-called simples — a hint of some value to physicians — but always prescribed with much judgment and in a man- ner evincing rare medical tact. The dose, however, is 420 MODERN MAGIC, generally twice or three times as much as is ordinarily given. Magnetic patients prescribe as successfully for others, with whom they are placed en rapport, as for themselves, since a state of perfect clairvoyance enables them to judge of other persons also with perfect accuracy. One of the most remarkable cases is mentioned by Scho- penhauer. ("Parerga," etc., I. p. 246.) A consumptive patient in Eussia directed, in her magnetic sleep, the attending physician to put her for nine days into a state of syncope. He did so reluctantly, but during this time her system seemed to enjoy perfect rest, and by this means she recovered. Haddock, also, cured several persons at a distance, by following the directions given to him by a patient of his in her magnetic sleep ; he handed her a lock of hair, or a few written lines, which sufficed to put her en rapport with the absent sufferers. Among the magic phenomena observed in magnetic sleep we nmst lastly mention ecstatic elevation in the air, the giving out of peculiar sounds, and the power to produce extraordinary effects at a distance. Even common somnambulists, it is well known, seem not to be in the same degree subject to the laws of gravity as persons in a state of wakefulness : hence their amazing exploits in walking on roofs, gliding along narrow cornices, or even running up perpendicular walls. Per- sons in magnetic sleep have been known to float on fresh water as well as in the sea, although they were unable to swim, and sank, if they went into the water when awake. Dupotol saw one of his patients running MAGNETISM. 42] along the side of his room on a small strip of wood which was merely tacked on to the wall, and could not have supported a small weight. This peculiar power is all the more fully authenticated as persons have fallen from great heights, while in magnetic sleep, without suffering any injury ; but if they are aroused, and then fall, they invariably become subject again to the natural laws, and are often killed. This temporary suspension of the law of gravity has been compared with similar phenomena in science. Thus it is well known that a galvanic stream passing through coils of copper wire will hold an iron needle suspended within the coils ; and an iron ball dropped into a glass tube between two powerful magnets will in the same manner remain hanging free in the air. The advocates of this theory reason that if magnetism can suspend the law of gravity in metals, it is at least possible that it may have a similar power in the human body. It has, besides, been observed that certain affections, such as violent nervous fevers, increase the weight of sufferers considerably, while a state of trance diminishes it even more strikingly. With regard to the magic phenomena of increased intelligence, Abercrombie mentions the case of a girl who as a child had heard a relative play the violin with a certain degree of mastery. Later in life she became his patient, and in her magnetic sleep repeated uncon- sciously some of the pieces in tones very pleasing and closely resembling the notes of a violin. Each parox- 422 MODERN MAGIC. ysm, however, was succeeded by certain symptoms of her disease. Some years afterwards she imitated in like manner the sounds of a piano and the tones of several members of the family who were fond of singing, in such a manner that each voice could be readily and dis- tinctly recognized. Another year passed, and she con- versed with a younger companion, whom she fancied she was instructing on topics of political and religious in- terest; with surprising ability and a frequent display of wit. Henceforth she led two different kinds of life; when awake she was stupid, awkward in her movements, and unable to appreciate music; in her sleep she be- came clever and showed amazing information and great musical talents. At a critical point in her life, when she was twenty-one years old, a complete change took place in the poor girl ; her conversation in her magnetic sleep lost all its attractions ; she mixed with it improper remarks, and a few months later she had to be sent to an insane asylum. It is only within the present generation that the power possessed by some men to magnetize animals has been revived, although it was no doubt fully known to the ancients, and may in part explain the taming of venomous serpents in the East. The most remarkable case is probably that of Mr. Jan, director of the Zoolog- ical Gardens at Milan, who "charms" serpents and lizards. In the year 1858 he was requested by a learned visitor, Professor Eversmann, to allow him to witness some experiments; he at once seized a lizard (L. viri- MAGNETISM. 423 dis) behind the head and looked at it fixedly for a few moments ; the animal lay quiet, then became rigid, and remained in any position which he chose to make it as- sume. Upon making a few passes with his forefinger it closed its eyes at his command. Mr. Jan discovered his gift accidentally one day when a whole bagful of lizards (L. ocellata) had escaped from him, and he forced them by his will and his eye, to return to his keeping. (Der Zoolog. Garten. Frankfort, 1861, p. 58.) A Frenchman, Treseau, exercised the same power over birds, which he exhibited in 1860 in Paris. He mag- netized them with his hand and his breath, but as nine-tenths of the poor creatures d ; ed before they be- came inured to such treatment, no advantage could be derived from his talent. (Des Mousseaux, p. 310.) A countryman of his, Jacques Pelissier, is reported by the same authority to have been able to magnetize not only birds, which allowed themselves to be taken from the trees, but even hares, so that they remained sitting in their forms and were seized with the hand (p. 302). SOMNAMBULISM. It is well known that somnambulism, in the ordinary sense of the word, designates the state of persons who suffer from an affection which disturbs their sleep and causes them to perform strange or ordinary actions, as it may happen, in a state in which they are apparently ha]f awake and half asleep. This disease is already mentioned in the most ancient authors, and its symp- 424 MODERN MAGIC. toms are correctly reported in Aristotle. (Be Gener. Anim.) He states that the sufferers rise in their sleep, walk about and converse, that they distinguish objects as if they were awake, ascend trees, pursue enemies, perform tasks, and then quietly return to bed. The state of somnambulism seems to be intermediate be- tween ordinary dreaming and magnetic clairvoyance, and is probably the effect of a serious disturbance in our physical life, which causes the brain to act in an unusual and abnormal manner. It has always been observed at night only, and most frequently at full moon, since the moon seems to affect somnambulists not merely by her light, but in each of the different phases in a peculiar manner. The immediate causes of night-walking are often most trivial ; as Muratori, for instance, tells us of a priest who became a somnambu- list whenever he neglected for more than two months to have his hair cut ! Eichard ( Theorie cles Songes, p. 288) mentions an analogous case of an old woman whom he knew to be subject to the same penalty. While nightmares oppress us and make apparently all motion impossible, somnambulism, on the contrary, produces a peculiar facility of locomotion and an irre- sistible impulse to mount eminences, favored either by an actual diminution of specific gravity, or by an in- crease of power. This tendency lies again half-way between the sensation of flying, which is quite common in dreams, and the actual elevation from the ground and suspension in the air, which occur in extreme MAGNETISM. 425 cases of ecstasy. The senses remain daring night- walking in a state of semi-activity ; the somnambulist may appear as if fast asleep, seeing and hearing nothing, so that the loudest nqisee and even violent shaking do not rouse him; or he may, like a dreamer, be partly under the influence of outward impressions. One will rise at night, go to the stable, saddle his horse and ride into the woods, while another mounts the window- ledge and performs all the motions of a man on horse- back. Many move with unfailing certainty on perilous paths, and find their way in deepest darkness ; others make blunders and fall, as Professor J. Feller did, who mistook an open window for a door. By what means they perceive the nature of their surroundings, is still unexplained ; it may be the action of the ordinary senses, although these seem to be closed, or they may possess those exceptional faculties which constitute the magic phenomena connected with somnambulism. Thus Forbes {Brit, and For. Med. Rev., 1846) ascribes their power to an increased sensitiveness of the retina, and mentions the case of Dr. Curry, who suffered from this symptom to such a degree that he distinguished every object in a completely darkened room with per- fect ease. In somnambulists, however, the eyes are generally closed or violently turned up; and in the rare cases in which they are open, they evidently see nothing. It is, besides, well established that people thus affected have continued to read, to play on instru- ments, and even to write after they had fallen sound 420 MODERN MAGIC. asleep, and without ever opening their eyes. The sen- sitiveness of the retina could here not avail much. A case is mentioned of a father who rose at night, took his child from the cradle, and with wide open eyes carried it up and down the room, seeing nothing, and in such a state of utter unconsciousness that his wife, walking by his side, could safely draw all his secrets from him without his becoming aware of the process or remembering it the next morning. At the age of forty- five he ceased to walk in his sleep, but, instead, had prophetic dreams which revealed to him the occurrences of the following day and later future events. (Heer., Observ.) Gassendi (Pliys., 1. viii. ch. 8) mentions a young man, living in Provence, who rose in his sleep, dressed, drew wine in the cellar, wrote up the accounts, and in the darkest night never touched objects that were in his way. If he returned quietly to his bed, he slept well, and strangely enough, recalled everything he had done in the night; but if he was suddenly aroused in the cellar or in the street, he was seized with violent trembling and palpitations of the heart. At times he saw but imperfectly; then he fancied he had risen before daybreak, and lit a lamp. The Encyclopbdie Melliodique reports the case of a young priest who wrote his sermons at night, and with closed eyes, and then read each page aloud, correcting and improving what he had written. A sheet of paper held between his eyes and his manuscript did not disturb him : nor did he become aware of it if the latter MAGNETISM. 427 was removed and blank paper was substituted ; in this case lie wrote the corrections precisely where they would have been inserted in the text. Macnish mentions (" On Sleep," p. 148) the curious case of an innkeeper in Germany, a huge mass of flesh, who fell asleep at all times and in all places, but who, when this happened while he was playing cards, nevertheless continued to follow suit, as if he could see what was led. In 1832, when he was barely 50 years old, he literally fell asleep, paralysis killing him instantly during one of these attacks of sleep. The same author mentions somnambulists who in their sleep walked to the sea- shore and swam for some distance without being waked, and the case of a Norwegian who during his parox- ysms took a boat and rowed himself about for some time. He was cured of his affection by a tub full of water, which was so placed that he had to step into it when leaving his bed. In Scotland a peasant discovered from below the nest of a sea-mew, which hung at an inaccessible height upon a steep rock ; some weeks afterwards he rose in his sleep, and to the horror of his friends, who watched him from below, climbed to the place, took the birds, and safely returned to his cabin. In former ages somnambulists were reported to have even committed murder in their sleep ; a Parisian thus rose, dressed himself, swam across the Seine, killed his enemy, and returned the same way without ever awak- ing ; and an Englishman also is reported to have mur- dered a boy, in a state of unconsciousness, while labor- 42 S MODERN MAGIC. ing under this affection. Modern science, however, knows nothing of such extreme cases, and the plea has not yet been used by astute lawyers. Simple somnambulism is not unfrequently connected with magnetic somnambulism, and may occasionally be seen even in trances during daytime. In such cases persons who walk in their sleep may be questioned by bystanders, and in their answers prove themselves not unfrequently able to foretell future events, or to state what is occurring at a distance ; or they perform tasks in their sleep which they would not be able to accom- plish when awake ; they compose music, write poetry, and read works in foreign languages, without possessing the requisite knowledge and training. A poor basket- weaver in Germany once heard a sermon which moved him deeply ; several weeks later he rose at night, and repeated the whole sermon from beginning to end; his wife tried in vain to rouse him, and the next morning he knew nothing of what had happened. Cases of scholars who, sorely puzzled by difficult problems, gave them up before retiring, and then, in the night, rose in a state of somnambulism, and solved them easily, are by no means uncommon. IX. MIEAOULOTJS CURES. H Spiritus in nobis qui viget, ilia facit." — Corn. Agrippa, Ep. xiv. The uniform and indispensable condition of all mi- raculous cures, whether produced by prayer, imposition of hands, penitential castigation, or magic power, is faith. Physician and patient alike must believe that disease is the consequence of sin, and accept the literal meaning of the Saviour's words, when he had cured the impotent man near the pool called Bethesda, and said : " Behold, thou art made whole : sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." (St. John v. 14.) Like their great teacher, all the apostles and saints of the church have ever insisted upon repentance in the heart before health in body could be accorded. It is interest- ing to notice, moreover, that all Oriental sages, the Kabbalists and later Theosophists, have, without exception, adopted the same view, however widely they may have differed on other points. In one feature only some disagreed: they ascribed to evil spirits what others attributed to sin; but the difference is only nominal, for men, by sin, enter into communion with evil spirits, and become subject to their power. Hence the woman " which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years "' was 430 MODERN MAGIC. said to have been " bound by Satan," and when she was healed she was "loosed from the bond." (Luke xiii. 16.) To this common faith must be added on the part of the physician an energetic will, and in the patient an excited imagination. The history of all ages teaches, beyond the possibility of doubt, that where these elements are present results have been obtained which excite the marvel of men by their astonishing prompt- ness, and their apparent impossibility. They seem generally to be the result of certain symbolic but extremely simple acts, such as the imposition of hands — which may possibly produce a concentration of power — the utterance of a blessing, or merely a contin- ued, fixed glance. The main point, however, is, of course, the psychical energy which is here made available by a process as yet unknown. Prayer is probably the simplest agency, since it naturally encourages and elevates the innermost heart of man, and fills him with that perfect hope and confidence which are necessary for his recovery. This hope is, in the case of miracu- lous cures performed at the shrines of saints, materially strengthened by the collective force of all preceding cures, which tradition has brought to bear upon the mind, while the senses are powerfully impressed, at the same time, by the surroundings, and especially the votive offerings testifying to the reality of former mir- acles. In the case of relics, where the Church sees simply miracles, many men believe in a continuing MIRACULOUS CURES. 431 magic power perceptible only to very sensitive pa- tients ; thus the great theologian, Tholuk, ascribes to the "handkerchiefs or aprons" which were brought from the body of St. Paul, and drove away diseases and evil spirits (Acts xix. 12), a special curative power with which they were impregnated. (Verm., Schriften, I. p. 80.) At certain times, when the mind of a whole people is excited, and hence peculiarly predisposed to meet powerful impressions from specially gifted and highly privileged persons, such miraculous cures are, of course, most numerous and most striking. This was the case, for instance, in the first days of Christianity, at the time of the Reformation, and during the years which saw the Order of Jesuits established. There is little to be gained, therefore, by confining the era of such phenomena to a certain period — to the days of the apostles, when alone genuine miracles were performed, as many divines believe, or to the first three centuries after Christ, during which Tholuk and others still see magic performances. Magnetic and miraculous cures differ not in their nature, but only in their first cause, precisely as the trance of somnambulists is identical with the trance of religions enthusiasts. The difference lies only in the faith which performs the cure ; if it is purely human, the effect will be only partial, and in most cases ephemeral ; if divine faith and the highest power co-operate, as in genuine miracles, the effect is instantaneous and permanent. Hence the contrast be- tween the man who at the Lord's bidding " took up his 432 MODERN MAGIC. bed and walked" and the countless cripples who have thrown aside their crutches at the graves of saints, only to resume them a day or two afterward, when, with the excitement, the newly acquired power also had disap- peared. But hence, also, the resemblance between many acts of the early Jesuit Fathers and those of the apostles; the intense energy of the former, supported by pure and unwavering faith, produced results which were to all intents and purposes miraculous. With the death of men like St Xavier, and the rise of worldly ambition in the hearts of the Fathers, this power dis- appeared, and modern miracles have become a snare and a delusion to simple-minded believers. The faith in such psychical power possessed by a few privileged persons is as old as the Avorld. Pythagoras performed cures by enchantment; JElius Aristicles, who had consulted learned physicians for ten years in vain, and Marcus Antoninus, were both cared by incubation. Tacitus tells us that the Emperor Vespasian restored a blind man's sight by moistening his eye with saliva, and to a lame man the use of his feet by treading hard upon him. (Hist. 1. iv. c. 8.) Both cures were performed before an immense crowd in Alexandria, and in both cases the petitioners had themselves indicated- the means by which they were to be restored, the emperor yielding only very reluctantly to their prayers and the urgent requests of his courtiers. (Sueton., Vita Vespas.) Pyr- rhus, king of Epirus, had cured colic and diseases of the kidneys by placing the patient on his back and touch- MIRACULOUS CURES. 433 ing him with his big toe (Plutarch, Vita Pyrrhi) ; and hence Yespasian and Hadrian both used the same method ! The imposition of hands, for the purpose of perform- ing miraculous cures, has been practised from time immemorial ; Chaldees and Brahmins alike using it in cases of malignant diseases. The kings of England and of France, and even the counts of Hapsburg in Ger- many, have ever been reputed to be able to cure goitres by the touch of their hands, and hence the complaint was called the " king's evil." The idea seems to have originated in the high north ; King Olave, the saint, being reported by Snorre Sturleson as having per- formed the ceremony. From thence, no doubt, it was carried to England, where Edward the Confessor seems to have been the first to cure goitres. In France each monarch upon ascending the throne received at the con- secration the secret of the modus operandi and the sacred formula — for here also the spoken word went hand in hand with the magic touch. Philip I. was the first and Charles- 1, the last monarch who performed the cure publicly, uttering the ancient phrase : " Le roi te touclie, Dieu te guerisse ! " In a somewhat similar man- ner the Saludadores and Ensalmadores of Spain cured, not goitres and stammering only, as the monarchs we have mentioned, but almost all the ills to which human flesh is heir, by imposition of hands, fervent prayer and breathing upon the patient. Similar gifts are ascribed to Eastern potentates, and 19 434 MODERN MAGIC. the ruling dynasty in Persia claims to have inherited the power of healing the sick from an early ancestor, the holy Sheik Sephy. The great traveler Chardin saw patients hardly able to crawl dragging themselves to the feet of the Shah, and beseeching him only to dip the end of his finger into a bowl of water, and thus to bestow upon it healing power. It will excite little won- der to learn that those remarkable men who succeeded by the fire of their eloquence and the power of conta- gious enthusiasm to array one world in arms against another, the authors of the Crusades, should have been able to perform miraculous cures. Peter of Amiens and Bernard of Clairvaux obtained such a hold on the minds of faithful believers, that their curse produced spasms and fearful sufferings in the guilty, while their blessing restored speech to the dumb, and health to the sick. Here also special power was attributed even to their clothes, and many remarkable results were obtained by the mere touch. Spain, the home of fervent ascetic faith, abounds in saints who performed miracles, the most successful of whom was probably Eaimundus Normatus (so called because not born of woman, but cut from his dead mother's body by skillful physicians), who cured, during the plague of 1200, great numbers of men by the sign of the cross. To this class of men belong also, as mentioned before, the early fathers of the Society of Jesus, though their powers were as different as their characters. Ignatius Loyola, who represented the intelligence of the new order, performed few mirac- MIRACULOUS CURES. 435 ulous cures; Xayier, on the contrary, the man of bril- liant fancy, was successful in a great variety of cases. The first leaders, like Loinez, Salmeron and Bobadilla, had no magic power at all, but later successors, like Ochioa Carrera and Kepel, displayed it in a surprising degree, although Ochioa's gifts were distinctly limited to the healing of the sick by the imposition of hands. The whole period of this intense excitement extended only over sixteen years, from 1540 to 1556, after which the vivid faith, which had alone made the cures possible, disappeared. It is worth mentioning that the Jesuits themselves and most of their historians deny that they ever had power to perform miracles, and ascribe the cures to the faith of the patients alone. St. Xavier, it is well known, brought the dead to life again, and even if we assume that they lay only in syncope and had not yet really died, the recovery is scarcely less striking. The most remarkable of these cases is that of an only daughter of a Japanese nobleman. Her death stunned the father, a great lord possessed of immense wealth, to such a degree that his friends feared for his reason ; at last they urged him to apply to the great missionary for help. He did so ; the Jesuit, filled with compassion, asked a brother priest to join him in prayer, and both fell upon their knees and prayed with great fervor. Xavier returned to the pagan with joyous face and bade him take comfort, as his daughter was alive and well. The nobleman, very unlike the father in Holy Writ, was indignant, thinking that the holy man 436 MODERN MAGIC. either did not believe his child had died or refused to assist him; but as he went home, a page came running up to meet him, bringing the welcome message that his daughter was really alive and well. She told him after his return, that her soul upon leaving the body had been seized by hideous shapes and dragged towards an enormous fire, but that suddenly two excellent men had interposed, rescuing her from their hands, and lead- ing her back to life. The happy father immediately re- turned with her to the holy man, and as soon as his child beheld Xavier and his companion, she fell down at their feet and declared that they were the friends who had brought her back from the lower world. Shortly after- wards the father and his whole family became Christians. (Orlandini, Hist. Soc. Jesu., ix. c. 213.) The case seems to be very simple, and is one of the most instruc- tive of modern magic. The girl was not dead, but lay in a cataleptic trance, in which she had visions of fear- ful scenes, and transformed the fierce hold which the disease had on her body into the grasp of hostile powers trying to obtain possession of her soul. At the same time she became clairvoyant, and thus saw Xavier and his companion distinctly enough to recognize them afterwards. The cure was accomplished by the Al- mighty in answer to the fervent prayer of two pious men filled with pure faith, according to the sacred promise: " The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." All the more is it to be regretted that even in those days of genuine piety and rapturous MIRACULOUS CUBES. 437 faith, foreign elements should at once have been mixed up with the true doctrine ; for already Caspar Bersaeus ascribed some of his cures to the Holy Virgin ; and soon the power passed away, when the honor was no longer given to Him to whom alone it was due. From that day the power to perform miraculous cures has been but rarely and exceptionably granted to a few individuals. Thus Matthias "Will, a German di- vine of the seventeenth century, was as famous for his marvelous power over the sick and the possessed as for his fervent piety, his incessant praying and fasting, and his utter self-abnegation. Sufferers were brought to him from every part of Christendom, and hundreds who had been given up by their physicians were healed by his earnest prayers and the blessing he invoked from on high. His memory still survives in his home, and an inscription on his tombstone records his extraordi- nary powers. (Cath. EncycL, Suppl. I. 1320.) Even the Jansenists, with all their hostility to certain usages of the Church, had their famous Abbe Paris, whose grave in the Cemetery of St. Medard became in 1727 the scene of a number of miraculous cures, fully attested by legal evidence and amply described by Montgeron, a man whom the Abbe had in his lifetime changed from a reckless profligate into a truly pious Christian. {La verite cles miracles, etc., Paris, 1737.) The magic phe- nomena exhibited on this occasion were widely discuss- ed and great numbers of books and pamphlets written for and against their genuineness, until the subject be- 438 MODERN MAGIC. came so obscured by party spirit that it is extremely difficult, in our day, to separate the truth from its large admixture of unreliable statements. A peculiar feature of these scenes — admitted in its full extent by adversaries even — was the perfect insensibility of most of the enthusiasts, the so-called Convulsionnaires. Jansenists by conviction, these men, calm and cool in their ordinary pursuits, had been so wrought up by re- ligious excitement that they fell, twenty or more at a time, into violent convulsions and demanded to be beaten with huge iron-shod clubs in order to be relieved of an unbearable pressure upon the abdomen. They endured, in this manner, blows inflicted upon the pit of the stomach which under ordinary circumstances would have caused grievous if not fatal consequences. The above-mentioned witness, who saw their almost incredible sufferings, Carre de Montgeron, states that he himself used an iron club ending in a ball and weigh- ing from twenty to thirty pounds. One of the female enthusiasts complained that the ordinary blows were not sufficient to give her relief, whereupon he beat her sixty times with all his strength. But this also was unavailing, and a large and more powerful man who was standing near had to take the fearful instrument and with his strong arms gave her a hundred additional blows! The tension of her muscles must have been most extraordinary, for she not only bore the blows, which would have killed a strong person in natural health, but the wall against which she was leaning MIRACULOUS CURES. 439 actually began to tremble and totter from the violent concussion. Nor were the blows simply resisted by the turgescence of the body ; the skin itself seemed to have been modified in a manner unknown in a state of health. Thus one of the brothers Marion felt nothing of thrusts made by a sharp-pointed knife against his abdo- men and the skin was in no instance injured. To do this the trance in which he lay must necessarily have induced an entire change of the organic atoms, and this is one of the most important magic phenomena con- nected with this class of visions, which will be discussed in another place. It is well known that the cures performed at the grave of the Abbe Paris and the terrible scenes enacted there by these convulsionnaires excited so much attention that at last the king saw himself compelled to put a stop to the proceedings. After a careful investigation of the whole matter by men specially appointed for the pur- pose, the grounds were guarded, access was prohibited, and the wags of Paris placed at the entrance the follow- ing announcement : " Defense de par le Boy. Defense a Dieu, De faire miracle en ce lieu ! " Ireland had in the seventeenth century her Great- rakes, who, according to unimpeachable testimony, cured nearly every disease known to man, by his simple touch — and fervent prayer. Valentine Greatrakes, of Waterford, in Ireland, had dreamt, in 1662, that he possessed the gift to cure goi- 440 MODERN MAGIC. tres by simple imposition of hands, after the manner of the kings of England and of France. It was, however, only When the dream was several times repeated that he heeded it and tried his power on his wife. The success he met with in his first effort encouraged him to at- tempt other cases also, and soon his fame spread so far that he was sent for to come to London and perform some cures at Whitehall. He was invariably successful, but had much to endure from the sneers of the courtiers, as he insisted upon curing animals as well as men. His cures were attested by men of high authority, such as John Glanville, chaplain to Charles II., Bishop Rust, of Dromor, in Ireland, several physicians of great eminence, and the famous "Robert Boyle, the president of the Royal Society. According to their uniform testimony Great- rakes was a simple-hearted, pious man, as far from im- posture as from pretension, who firmly believed that God had entrusted to him a special power, and succeeded in impressing others with the same conviction. His method was extremely simple : he placed his hands upon the affected part, or rubbed it gently for some time, whereupon the pains, swellings, or ulcers which he wished to cure, first subsided and then disappeared en- tirely. It is very remarkable that here also all seemed to depend on the nature of the faith of the patient, for according to the measure of faith held by the latter the cure would be either almost instantaneous or less prompt, and in some cases requiring several days and many interviews. He was frequently accused of prac- MIRACULOUS CURES. 441 tising sorcery and witchcraft, but the doctors Faiselow and Arfcetius, as well as Boyle, defended him with great energy, while testifying to the reality of his cures. One of the best authenticated, though isolated, cases of this class is the recovery of a niece of Blaise Pascal, a girl eleven years old. She was at boarding-school at the famous Port Eoyal and suffered of a terrible fistula in the eye, which had caused her great pain for three years and threatened to destroy the bones of her face. When her physicians proposed to her to undergo a very painful operation by means of a red-hot iron, some Jan- senists suggested that she should first be specially prayed for, while at the same time the affected place was touched with a thorn reported to have formed part of the crown of thorns of our Saviour. This was done, and on the following day the swelling and inflammation had disappeared, and the eye recovered. The young girl was officially examined by a commission consisting of the king's own physician, Dr. Felix, and three dis- tinguished surgeons; but they reported that neither art nor nature had accomplished the cure and that it was exclusively to be ascribed to the direct interposition of the Almighty. The young lady lived for twenty-five years longer and never had a return of her affection. Racine described the case at full length, and so did Arnauld and Pascal, all affirming the genuineness of the miraculous cure. During the latter part of the last century a Father Gassner created a very great sensation in Germany by 19* 4 42 MODERN MAGIC. means of his marvelous cures and occasional exorcisms of evil spirits. He di$ not employ for the latter pur- pose the usual ritual of the Catholic Church, hut simple imposition of hands and invocation of the Saviour. Nearly all the patients who were "brought to him he declared to he under the influence of evil spirits, and divided them into three classes : circumsessi, who were only at times attacked, obsessi, or bewitched, and pos- sessi, who were really possessed. When a sick person was brought to him, he first ordered the evil spirit to show himself and to display all his powers ; then he prayed fervently and commanded the demon, in the name of the Saviour, to leave his victim. A plain, un- pretending man of nearly fifty years, he appeared dressed in a red stole after the fashion prevailing at that time in his native land, and wore a cross containing a particle of the holy cross suspended from a silver chain around his neck. The patient was placed before him so that the light from the nearest window fell fully upon his fea- tures, and the bystanders, who always crowded the room, could easily watch all the proceedings. Frequently, he would put his stole upon the sufferers' head, seize their brow and neck with outstretched hands, and holding them firmly, utter in a low voice a fervent prayer. Then, after having given them his cross to kiss, if they were Catholics, he dismissed them with some plain directions as to treatment and an earnest admonition to remain steadfast in faith. Probably the most trust- worthy account of this remarkable man and his truly MIRACULOUS CUBES. 443 miraculous cures was published by a learned and emi- nent physician, a Dr. Schisel, who called upon the priest with the open avowal that he came as a skeptic, to watch his proceedings and examine his method. He became so well convinced of Father Gassner's powers that he placed himself in his hands as a patient, was cured of s^out in an aggravated form, and excited the utmost indignation of his professional brethren by can- didly avowing his conviction of the sincerity of the priest and the genuineness of his cures. There was. however, one circumstance connected with the exceptional power of this priest which was even more striking than his cures. His will was so marvelously energetic and his control over weaker minds so perfect that he could at pleasure cause the pulse of his patients to slacken or to hasten, to make them laugh or cry. sleep or wake, to see visions, and even to have epileptic attacks. As may be expected, the ma- jority of his visitors were women and children, but these were literally helpless instruments in his hands. They not onlv moved and acted, but even felt and thought as he bade them do, and in many cases they were enabled to speak languages while under his influence of which they were ignorant before and after. At Ratisbon a committee consisting of two physicians and two priests was directed to examine the priest and his cures : a professor of anatomy carefully watched the pulse and the nerves of the patieuts which were selected at haphazard, and all confirmed the statements made 444 MODERN MAGIC. before; while three other professors, who had volun- teered to aid in the investigation, concurred with him in the conviction that there was neither collusion nor imposition to be suspected. The priest, who employed no other means but prayer and the invocation of God by the patients, was declared to be acting in good faith, from pure motives, and for the best purposes ; his cures were considered genuine. There was, however, in Father Gassner's case also an admixture of objection- able elements which must not be overlooked. The desire for notoriety, which enters largely into all such displays of extraordinary powers, led many persons who were perfectly sound to pretend illness, merely for the purpose of becoming, when cured, objects of public wonder. On the other hand, the good father himself was, no doubt, by his own unexpected success, led to go farther than he would otherwise have done in his sim- plicity and candor. He formed a complete theory of his own to explain the miracles. According to his view the first cause of all such diseases as had their origin in " possession," were the " principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places," which the apostle mentions as enemies more formidable than " flesh and blood." (Ephes. vi. 12.) These, he believed, dwelt in the air, and by disturbing the atmosphere with evil intent, produced illness in the system and delusions in the mind. If a number com- bined, and with the permission of the Almighty poi- soned the air to a large extent, contagious diseases MIEACULOUS CUBES. 44*5 followed as a natural consequence. Against these demons or "wiles of the devil" (Ephes. vi. 11), he employed the only means sanctioned by Holy Writ — fervent prayer, and this, of course, could have no effect unless the patient fully shared his faith. This faith, again, he was enabled to awaken and to strengthen by the supreme energy of his will, but of course not in all cases ; where his prayer failed to have the desired effect he ascribed the disease to a direct dispensation from on high, and not to the agency of evil spirits, or he de- clared the patient to be wanting in faith. In like manner he explained relapses as the effects of waning faith. The startling phenomena, however, which he thought it necessary to call forth in his patients, before he attempted their restoration, belong to what must be called the magic of our day. For these symptoms bore no relation to the affection under which, they suffered. Persons afflicted with sore wounds, stiffened limbs, or sightless eyes, would, at his bidding, fall into frightful paroxysms, during which the breathing intermitted, the nose became pointed, the eyes insensible to the touch, and the whole body rigid and livid. And yet, when the paroxysm ceased at his word, the patient felfc no evil effects, not even fatigue, and all that had hap- pened was generally instantly forgotten. The case created an immense sensation throughout Europe, and the great men of his age took part for or against the poor priest, who was sadly persecuted, and only now and then found a really able advocate, such as Lavater. 446 MODERN MAGIC. The heaviest penalty he had to bear was the condemna- tion of his own Church, which accompanied an order issued by the Emperor Joseph II.. peremptorily forbid- ding all further attempts. The pope, Pius VII., who had directed the whole subject to be examined by the well-known Congregatio SS. Rituum, declared in 1777, upon their report, that the priest's proceedings were heretical and not any longer to be permitted, and or- dered the bishop, under whose jurisdiction he lived, to prevent any further exercise of his pretended power. All these decrees of papal councils and these orders of imperial officials could, however, not undo what the poor priest had already accomplished, and history has taught us the relative value of investigations held by biased priests, and those carried out by men of science. "We may well doubt the judgment of an authority whicli once condemned a Galileo, and even now denounces the press as a curse ; but we have no right to suspect the opinion of men who, as physicians and scientists, are naturally disposed to reject all claims of supernatural or even exceptional powers. In more recent times a Prince Hohenlohe in Ger- many claimed to have performed a number of mirac- ulous cures, beginning with a Princess Schwarzenberg, whom he commanded "in the name of Christ to be well again." Many of his patients, however, were only cured for the moment; when their faith, excited to the utmost, cooled down again, their infirmities returned; still tli ere remain facts enough in his life to establish MIRACULOUS CURES. 447 tlie marvelous power of his strong will, when brought to bear upon peculiarly receptive imaginations, and aided by earnest prayer. (Kies, Arcliiv. IX. ii. 311.) Sporadic cases of similar powers have of late shown themselves in Paris, in the interior of Eussia, and in Eavenna, but the evidence upon which the statements in public journals are made is so clearly unreli- able that no important result can be hoped for from their investigation. The present is hardly an age of faith, and enough has surely been said to prove that without very great and sincere faith miraculous cures cannot be performed. X. MYSTICISM. " Credo quia absurdum est." — Tertullian. Oke of the most remarkable classes of magic pheno- mena, which combines almost all other known features of trances with the peculiar kind called somati- zation, is known as Mysticism in the more limited sense of that word. It bears this name mainly because it designates attempts made to unite in close communion humanity with divinity, and however imperfect the success of all these efforts may be, on the whole, it cannot be denied that in individual cases very startling- results have been obtained. In order to attain their lofty aim, the mystics require an utter deadening of all human affections and all natural impulses, and a thorough change of their usual thoughts and feelings. Above all, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of the heart are to be killed by pain ; hence the mystics are quite content to suffer, chastise the body, deny themselves the simplest enjoyments, and rejoice in the actual infliction of wounds and mutila- tions. In return for this complete deadening of human affections they are filled with an ineffable love of the divine Saviour, the Bridegroom, and the Holy Virgin, the Bride, or even of purely abstract, impalpable beings. MYSTICISM. 449 The}* enjoy great inner comforts, and a sense of happi- ness and peace which transcends all description. What- ever may, however, have been the direct cause of their ecstatic condition, disease, asceticism, self-inflicted tor- ments, or long-continued fervent prayer, this highest bliss is accorded to them only during the time of trance. Unfortunately this period of happiness is not only pain- fully short, but also invariably followed by a powerful reaction ; according to the laws of our nature, supreme excitement must needs always subside into profound exhaustion, ecstatic bliss into heartrending despond- ency, and bright visions of heaven into despairing views of unpardonable sins and a hopeless future. Hence the fearful doctrines of the mystics of all ages, which pre- scribe continuous self-denial as the only way to reach God, who as yet is not to be found in the outward world, but only in the inner consciousness of the be- liever. If the sinner dare not hope to approach the Holy One, the repentant believer also is in unceas- ing danger of losing again what he has gained by fearful sacrifices. The union between him and his God must not only be close, but uninterrupted, a doc- trine which has led to the great favor bestowed by mystics upon images derived from earthly love : to them God is forever the bridegroom, the soul the bride, and the union between them the true marriage of the faith- ful. By such training, skillfully and persevcringly pur- sued, many persons, especially women, have succeeded in so completely deadening alj physical functions of 450 MODERN MAGIC. their body as to reduce their life, literally, to the mere operations of sensation and vision. The sufferings pro- duced by these efforts to suppress all natural vitality, to kill, as it were, the living body, rendering the senses inactive, while still in the full vigor of their natural condition, are often not only painful, but actually ap- palling. A poor woman, famous for her asceticism and her supernatural visions, Maria of Agreda, was never able to attend to her devotions in the dark, without enduring actual agony. Her spiritual light would sud- denly become extinguished, fearful horrors fell upon her soul and caused her unspeakable anguish, terrible im- ages as of wild beasts and fierce demons surrounded her, the air was filled with curses and unbearable blasphe- mies, and even her body was seized with wild, convulsive movements and violent spasms. No wonder, therefore, that numbers of these mystics have lost their reason, and others have fallen victims to terrible diseases. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that many also have- been eminent examples of self-denial and matchless de- votion, or genuine heroes in combating for their sacred faith and the love of their brethren. Their very errors were so attractive that the fundamental mistake was forgotten, and all felt how little, men who act upon mere ordinary motives, are able to rise to the same height of self- sacrifice. Nor must it be forgotten, in judging especially the mystics of our days, that their sincerity can never be doubted: they have always acted, and still act upon gen- uine conviction, and in the firm belief that their work is MYSTICISM. 45 1 meritorious, not in the eyes of men, but before the Al- mighty. The ascetics of former ages are not so easily understood ; they were men who proposed not only to limit the amenities of life, but to make our whole earthly existence subservient to purely divine purposes; and thus, for instance, Francis of Assisi, prescribed absolute poverty as the rule of his order. The principal magic phenomena accompanying religious ecstasy are the in- sensibility of the body to all, even the most violent in- juries, and the perception of matters beyond the reach of our senses in healthy life. Eigid and long- continued fasting, reduced sleep on a hard couch, and an utter ab- stinence from all other thoughts or sentiments but such as connect themselves directly with a higher life, never fail to produce the desired effect. By such means the whole nature of man is finally changed ; not only in the legitimate relations existing between body and mind, but also in those which connect man with nature ; the changes are, therefore, as much physiological as psychi- cal. They result at last in the acquisition of a power which in the eyes of the mystics is identical with that promised in Mark xvi. 18. " They shall take up ser- pents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them." Extraordinary as the accounts of the suf- ferings and the exceptional powers of mystics appear to us, they are in many instances too well authenticated to allow any serious doubt. Thus a famous ascetic, Rosa of Lima, was actually injured by healthy food, but on many occasions instantaneously strengthened by a mere 452 MODERN MAGIC. mouthful of bread dipped into pure ivater; Bernard of Clairvaux lived for a considerable time on beech-leaves boiled in water, and Maria of Oigiiys once subsisted for thirty-five days on the holy wafer of the sacrament, which she took daily. Mystics who, like the latter, derived bodily sustenance as well as spiritual comfort from the Eucharist, are frequently mentioned in the annals of the Church. Others, again, succeeded by constant and extreme excitement to heat their blood to such an extent that they became insensible to outward cold, even when the frosts of winter became intolerable to others. The heart itself seems to be affected by such extreme elation ; in Catherine of Siena its violent palpitations and convulsive jerkings could be both seen and felt, when she was in a state of ecstasis, and the heart of Filippo Neri was found, after death, to have been considerably en- larged, and actually to have broken two ribs by its convulsive spasms. Among the rarer but equally well-established magic phenomena of this class must be counted the tempora- ry suspension of the law of gravity. Like the Brah- mins of India, who have long possessed the power of rais- ing themselves unaided from the ground and of remain- ing suspended in the air, Christian mystics also have been seen, more than once, to hang as it were unsup- ported high above the ground. They quote, in support of their faith in such exceptional powers, the fact that Habakkuk also was seized by an angel and carried away through the air, while even the Saviour was taken MYSTICISM. 453 by the devil to an exceeding high mountain on the top of the temple, cases in which the laws of gravity must have been similarly suspended. A large number of holy men, among whom were Fi- lippo Neri, Ignatius Loyola, and the founder of the order of Dominicans, remained thus suspended in the air for hours and days ; one of them, the Carmelite monk P. Dominions, in the presence of the king and queen of Spain and their whole court. (Calmet, p. 153.) There are even cases known in which this raising of the body has happened to pious persons against their own desire and to their great and sincere distress, as it attracted public attention in a most painful degree. To this class of phenomena belongs also the luminous ap- pearance which seems at times to accompany a high state of religious excitement. This was already the case with Moses, who " wist not that the skin of his face shone/'* and probably of Stephen also, when those " that sat in council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." The most startling of these phenomena, however, are those known as stigmatization, when the combined power of fervent, exalted faith and an over-excited im- agination produces actual marks of injuries on the body, although no such injuries have ever been inflict- ed. The annals of the Church abound with instances of women especially who, after long meditation on the nature and the merits of crucifixion have borne the marks of nails in hands and feet, an effect which the 454 MODERN MAGIC. science of medicine also admits as possible, inasmuch as similar results are of not unfrequent occurrence, at least in newborn infants, whose bodies are marked in consequence of events which had recently made a pe- culiarly deep impression upon the mothers. Unfortunately mysticism also has not been able to keep its votaries free from an admixture of imposture. False miracles are known to have occurred within the Church as well as without it, and credulity has accepted many a statement that could not have stood the sim- plest investigation. It becomes the careful student, therefore, here also to distinguish with the utmost cau- tion genuine and well-authenticated facts from reckless or willfully false statements. Even then, however, he ought not to forget the words of Pascal, who, in speak- ing of the apostles said : " I am quite willing to believe stories for whose truthfulness the witnesses have suffer- ed death." It is even by no means improbable that the spiritual world may have its changing productions as well as the material world, and as the organisms of the Silurian period are impossible in our day, so-called magic results^may have been obtained by certain for- mer generations which lie beyond the power of our own. JSTo one can with certainty determine, in this di- rection, what is possible and what is impossible ; the power of man is emphatically a relative one, and each exploit must, in fairness, be judged with a view to all the accompanying circumstances. It is as impossible for the men of our day to erect pyramids such as the MYSTICISM. 455 old Egyptians built, as it is for an individual in good health to perform feats of strength of which he may be capable under the influence of high fever or violent paroxysms. A curious feature in these phenomena is the intimate relation in which sacred and so-called demoniac influ- ences seem to stand with one another. The saints are represented as tempted by evil spirits which yet have no existence except in their own heart, and the pos- sessed, on the other hand, occasionally have pious im- pulses and holy thoughts. In the former case it is the innate sinfulness of the heart which creates images of demons such as St. Anthony saw in the desert ; in the latter case the guardian angels of men are said to come to their rescue. There are even instances on record of men who have wantonly given themselves up to the temporary influence of evil spirits — under the impres- sion that they could thus please God ! — as travelers pur- posely suffer the evil effects of opium or hasheesh in or- der to test their powers. Thus mysticism finally de- vised a complete system of angels, saints, and demons, whose varied forms and peculiarities became familiar to votaries at an early period of their lives, and filled their minds with images which afterwards assumed an ap- parent reality during the state of trance. That the physical condition enters as a powerful element in all these phenomena appears clearly from the fact that whenever women are liable to trances or visions of this kind the latter vary regularly with their state of health, 456 MODERN MAGIC. and in the majority of cases cease at a certain age. This fact illustrates in a very characteristic manner the mutual relations between body and soul; the condition of the former is reflected in the soul by sentiment and image, and the soul in precisely the same manner im- presses itself upon the body. Generally this is limited to the face, where the features in their expression re- produce more or less faithfully what is going on with- in; but in exceptional cases the psychical events cause certain mechanical or physical changes in the body which now and then result in actual illness or become even fatal. Experience proves that if the im- agination is stimulated to excessive activity, it can pro- duce changes in the nature of the epidermis or even of the mucous membrane, which resemble in everything the symptoms of genuine diseases. There are men who can, by an energetic effort of will, cause red spots, resembling inflammation, to appear in almost every part of the body. In extreme cases this power extends to the production of syncope, in which they become ut- terly insensible to injuries of any kind, lose all power of motion, and even cease to breathe. St. Augustine mentions a number of such cases. (De civit. Dei, 1. xiv. ch. 24.) The remarkable power of Colonel Townshend of falling into a state of syncope is too well established to admit of any doubt ; he became icy cold and rigid, his heart ceased to beat and his lungs to breathe; the face turned deadly pale, the features grew sharp and pointed, and his eyes remained fixed. By an MYSTICISM. 457 effort of liis own will lie could recall himself to life, but one evening, when he tried to repeat the experiment, after having made it in the morning successfully in the presence of three physicians, he failed to awake again. It appeared afterwards that his heart was diseased ; he had, however, at the same time, by careful attention and long practice, obtained almost perfect control over that organ. (Cheyne, " Encyl. Malady," London, 1733, p. 307.) Indian fakirs have been known to possess a sim- ilar power, and have allowed themselves to be buried in air-tight graves, where they have been watched at times for forty days, by military guards, and yet at the expiration of that time have returned to life without ap- parent injury. A similar power over less vital organs of the body is by no means rare ; men are constantly found who can at will conceal their tongue so that even sur- geons discover it but with difficulty; others, like Jus- tinus Kerner, can empty their stomachs of their con- tents as if they were pockets, or contract and enlarge the pupils of the eyes at pleasure. Nor are cases of In- dians and negroes rare, who in their despair have died merely because they willed it so. There can be no doubt, therefore, that if mere volition can produce such extraordinary results, still more exceptional effects may be obtained by fervent faith and an excessive stimula- tion of the whole nervous system, and much that ap- pears either incredible or at least in the highest degree marvelous may find an easy and yet satisfactory expla- nation. 20 458 MODEEN MAGIC. Genuine stigmatization, that is, the appearance of the five wounds of our Saviour, presents itself ordinarily only after many years of constant meditation of his pas- sion, combined with excessive fasting and other ascetic self-torment. The first stage is apt to be a vision of Christ's suffering, accompanied by the offer of a wreath of flowers or a crown of thorns. If the mystic chooses the former, the result remains within the limits of the gen- eral effects of asceticism ; should he, however, choose the crown of thorns, the stigmas themselves are apt to appear. This occurs, naturally, only in the very rare cases, where the mystic possesses that exceptional energy and intense plastic power of the imagination which are requisite in order to suspend the natural relations of soul and body. Then the latter, already thoroughly weakened and exhausted, becomes so sus- ceptible to the influence of the soul, that it reproduces, spontaneously and unconsciously, the impressions deeply engraven on the mind, and during the next ecstatic visions the wounds show themselves suddenly. Their appearance is invariably accompanied by violent pain, which seems to radiate in fiery burning darts from the wounds of the image of Christ. As the minds of mystics differ infinitely in energy of will and clearness of perception, the stigmas also are seen more or less distinctly ; and their nature varies from mere reddish points, which become visible on the head, as the effect of a crown of thorns, to real bleeding wounds. The former are apt to disappear as the excitement subsides MYSTICISM. 459 or the will is weakened ; the latter, however, are peculiar in this, that they do not continue to bleed, and yet, also, do not heal up. In women, only, they are apt to break out again at regular intervals, for instance, on Fridays, when the mystic excitement again reaches its highest degree, or at other periods whe n pressure of blood seeks an outlet through these new openings. As such a state can continue only by means of lengthened inflamma- tion, stigmatization is always accompanied by violent pains and great suffering, especially during the bleed- ing. The earliest of all cases of stigmatization — of which nearly seventy are fully authenticated — was that of Francis of Assisi, who, after having spent years in fer- vent prayer for permission to share the sufferings of the Saviour, at last saw a seraph with six wings descend toward him, and between the wings the form of a cruci- fied person. At the same moment he felt piercing pains, and when he recovered from his trance he found his hands and feet, as well as his side, bleeding as from severe wounds, and strange, dark excrescences, resem- bling nails, protruding from the wounds in his extremi- ties. As this was the first case of stigmatization known, Francis of Assisi was filled with grave doubts concern- ing the strange phenomenon, and carefully concealed it from all but his most intimate friends. Still the wounds were seen and felt by Pope Alexander and a number of cardinals during his lifetime, and became an object of careful investigation after his death. (Philalethes' 460 MODERN MAGIC. Divina Gomrn., Paradiso, p. 144.) There is but one other case, as fully authenticated, in which a man was thus stigmatized; all other trustworthy instances are related of females. How close the connection is between the will and the appearance of these phenom- ena may be seen from one of the best-established cases, that of Joanna of Burgos, in Spain, who had shed much blood every week for twenty years in follow- ing the recital of the passion of our Saviour. When she was seventy years old, her superiors prevailed upon her, by special arguments, to pray fervently for a suspension of her sufferings. She threw herself down before a crucifix, and remained there a day and a night in incessant prayer; on the next morning the wounds had closed, and never again commenced bleeding. Another evidence of this feature lies in the fact that stigmatization occurs mainly in Italy, the land of imagination, and in Spain, the land of devotion; in Germany only a few cases are known, and not one in the North of Europe and in America. Among the famous mystics who do not belong as saints or martyrs exclusively to the Church, stand first and foremost Henry Suso, of the " Living Heart," and John Ruysbroek, the so-called Doctor Ecstaticus. The former, who often had trances, and once lay for a long time in syncope, has left behind him some of the most attractive works ever written by religious enthusiasts. He lived in the fourteenth century, and when, two hundred years later, his grave was opened the body was MYSTICISM. 461 found unchanged, and fervent admirers believed they perceived pleasing odors emanating from the remains. The Dutch divine Kuysbroek was even more renowned by his holy life and admirable writings than by the many marvelous visions which he enjoyed. The same century produced the most famous preacher Germany has probably ever seen, John'Capistran, who attracted the masses by the magic power of his individuality and held them spell-bound by his burning eloquence. A native of Capistrano, in the Abruzzi, where he was born in 1385, he became first a lawyer, and gained great distinc- tion as such in Sicily. Unfortunately he was engaged in one of the many petty wars which at that time dis- tracted Italy ; was made a prisoner and cast with barbaric cruelty into a foul dungeon. Here he devoted himself to ascetic devotion, and had a vision ordering him to leave the world. When he regained his liberty, at the age of thirty, he entered the order of Franciscan monks, and soon became a preacher of world-wide renown. Traveling through Italy, Hungary, and Ger- many, he affected his audiences by his mere appearance, and produced truly amazing changes in the hearts of thousands. In Vienna he once preached, in the open air, before an assembly of more than a hundred thou- sand men ; the people listened to him for hours amid loud weeping and sobbing, and great numbers were converted, including several hundred Jews. In Bohemia he induced in like manner eleven thousand Hussites to return to the Catholic Church, among whom were 462 MODERN MAGIC. numerous noblemen and ministers. Similar successes were obtained in almost every large town of Germany, till he was recalled to the South, when Germany be- came indebted to him and to John Oorvin for its deliv- erance from the Turks and the famous victory of Bel- grade in 1456. During his whole career he continued to have ecstatic visions, to fall into trances of considerable duration, and to behold stigmas on his body — yet, withal, he remained an eminently practical man, not only converting many thousands from their religious errors, but turning them also from vicious habits and criminal pursuits to a life of virtue. At the same time he rendered signal services to his brethren in mere worldly matters, now pleading and now fighting for them with an energy and a success which alone would secure him a name in history. The ecstatic nature of another mystic, Vincentio Ferrer, produced a singular effect, which has never been noticed except in biblical history. He was a native of Valencia, and, knowing no language but the local dialect of his country, he con- tinued throughout life to preach in his mother tongue — and yet he was understood by all who heard him ! This result was at least partially explained by the astounding flexibility of his voice, which at all times adapted itself so completely to his feelings, that its tones found a responsive echo in every heart. In vain did the pope, Benedict XIII., offer him first a bishopric and afterwards a cardinal's hat ; the pious monk refused all honors save one, the title of Papal Missionary, and MYSTICISM. 463 in this capacity he passed through nearly eyery land in Christendom, preaching and exhorting day and night, exciting everywhere the utmost enthusiasm and con- verting thousands from their evil ways. His eloquence and fervor were so great that even learned men and fierce warriors declared he spoke with the voice of an angel, and criminals of deepest dye would fall down in the midst of great crowds, confessing their misdeeds and solemnly vowing repentance and amendment. The greatest of all mystics, however, was the before- mentioned Filippo Neri, a saint of the Catholic Church, whose simple candor and truly Christian humility have procured for him the esteem and the admiration of men of all creeds and all ages. Even as a mere child he was already renowned for his extraordinary gifts as well as for his fervent piety j while still a layman he had numerous visions and trances, and when in his thirtieth year he had prayed for days and nights in the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, his heart became suddenly so enlarged that some of the intercostal muscles gave way, and a great swelling appeared on the outside, which remained there throughout life, although without caus- ing him any pain. His inner fervor was so great as to keep his blood and his whole system continually at fever heat, and although he lived exclusively upon bread, herbs, and olives, he never wore warm clothes, even in the severest winters, always slept with open doors and windows, and prefer red walking about with his breast uncovered. During the last ten years of his 464 MODERN MAGIC. life his body was no longer able to sustain his ecstatic soul ; whenever he attempted to read mass or to preach, his feelings became so excited that his voice failed him, and he fell into a trance of several hours' duration. It was in this condition that he was frequently lifted up, together with the chair on which he sat, to a height of several feet from the ground. What renders these magic phenomena peculiarly interesting, is the fact that Filippo Neri not only attached no special value to them, but actually did his best to conceal them from the eyes of the world. As soon as they began to show them- selves, he ceased reading mass in the presence of others, and only allowed his attendant to re-enter his cell when the latter had convinced himself, by peeping through a narrow opening in the door, that the trance was over. When others praised his piety and marveled at these wonders, he invariably smiled and said: "Don't you know that I am nothing but a fool and a dreamer ? " He added that he would infinitely rather do works which should prove his faith than be the recipient of miraculous favors. But his prestige was so great that whenever he was prevailed upon or thought it his duty to exert his influence, it was paramount, and secured to him a powerful control in historical events. Thus it was when Pope Gregory XIV. had excommunicated King Henry IV., and his successor, Clement VIII., continued the fearful punishment in spite of all the entreaties of king and courtiers. Filippo Neri, fore- seeing the dangers which were likely to arise from such MYSTICISM. 4G5 measures for the Church, and deeply concerned for the welfare of the French people, retired to prayer, inviting the pope's confessor to join him in his devotions. These had been continued for three days without iutermis- sion, when at last the saint fell into a trance, and upon re-awaking from it, told his companion : " To-day the pope will send for you to confess him. You will tell him, when his confession is made : ' Father Filippo has directed me to refuse Your Holiness absolution, and ever to confess you again till you have relieved the King of France from excommunication/" Clement, deeply moved by this message, summoned immediately the council of cardinals, and Henry IV. was once more received into the bosom of the Church. In spite of this great influence, JSTeri sternly refused all honors and dignities, even the purple, which was offered to him three times, and died in 1595, eighty years old, on the day and at the hour which he had long since foretold. That his visions were accompanied by actual somati- zation has already been mentioned. Our own continent has had but one great mystic, Rosa of Lima, who is hence known as primus America meridionalis flos. She had inherited her peculiar or- ganization from her mother, who had frequently seen visions, and when the child was three years old, changed her name from Isabel to Rosa, because she had seen a rose suspended over the face of her daughter. Much ad- mired on account of her great beauty and rare sweet- ness, the young girl refused all offers, and preferred, in 46 G MODERN MAGIC. spite of the remonstrances of friends and of brutal ill- treatment on the part of her brothers, to enter a con- vent. On her way there, however, she felt her steps suddenly arrested by superior force, and saw in this supernatural interruption a hint that she should leave the world even more completely than she could have done as a nun of the Order of St. Dominick. She built herself, therefore, a little cell in her father's garden, and here led a life of ecstatic asceticism, during which she often remained for days and weeks without food, and became strangely intimate with birds and insects. Whenever she took the encharist, she felt marvelous happiness and fell into trances ; in the intervals, how- ever, she suffered intensely from that depression and utter despair which in such cases are apt to result from powerful reaction. She died quite young, exhausted by her ascetic life and continued excitement, and has ever since been revered as the patron saint of Peru. THE END. Prof. Schele de Veres Works. •XXTONDERS OF THE DEEP. By M. Schele de Vere, Professor of the Uni- versity of Virginia. Third edition, i2mo, cloth, $1.50. Illustrated, cloth, gilt, $2. CHIEF CONTENTS. Pearls. Corals. Facts and Fables. Mercury. Oysters. Lighthouses. Odd Fish. Knight in Armor. A Pinch of Salt. A Grain of Sand. The Earth in Trouble. 11 One of the freshest, most scientific, and at the same time most popular and delightful books of the kind we have ever read."— St. John's Telegraph. " These essays make a valuable addition to the standard literature of the time. The author, who* is 0110 of the profouudest scientists of the age and one of the most brilliant essayists of the country h:is brought from the depths of the ocean vast stores of hidden knowledge. * * * The charm of the book is the skillful and yet nat- ural way in which plain facts have been put. We were attracted toward them by their freshness, and soon we are following on with intense interest and enthusiasm. The chapters on "'Pearls," "Corals." "'Mercury," and "A Pinch of Salt," 1 and, in fact, nearly all the others are absorbingly interesting." — Neivark, N. J., Register. OTRAY LEAVES FROM THE BOOK OF NATURE. New edition, illustrated. i2mo, cloth, $1.50. " The book is peculiarly fascinating."— Chicago Journal. "The entire work is full of charming description and pleasant information." — CouHer- Journal, Louisville. " This little book will prove of great service to hundreds of readers into whose hands it may fall."— New Haven Palladium. " A better work for the young than half the story books published."— Rural New Yorker. T HE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. i2mo, cloth extra, $1 .50. CONTENTS. Lo ! the Poor Indian. The Hidden Eiver. Our First Romance. A Few Town Names. Kaisers, Kings, and Knights. Lost Towns. Lost Lands. "We can only repeat that it is intensely interesting, and full of instructive matter that every American should make himself familiar with." — Toledo Commercial. " In the selection of early historical curiosities the author has evinced nice taste and tact, and he possesses in an eminent degree the rare and invaluable art of in- vesting the dry details of history with a romantic color and hue." — American Athenaeum. M ODERN MAGIC. Witchcraft. Black and White Magic. Dreams. Visions. Ghosts. Divination. Possession. Magnetism. Miraculous Cases. Mysticism. For sale by all Booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers, 4th Ave, and 23d St., New York, IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION. Putnam's Elementary and Advanced Science Series, Adapted to the requirements of Students in Science and Art Classes, and Higher and Middle Class Schools. ' ELEMENTARY SERIES. Printed uniformly in i6mo, fully Ilhistrated, cloth extra, price, 65 cents each. 1. PRACTICAL PLANE AND SOLID GEOMETRY. By II. Angel, Islington Science School, London. 2. MACHINE CONSTRUCTION AND DRAWING. By E. Tomkins, Queen's College, Liverpool. 3A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION— Stone, Brick and Slate Work. By R. S. Burn, C.E., Manchester. 3B BUILDING CONSTRUCTION— Timber and Iron Work. By R. S. -Burn, C.E., Manchester. 4. NAVAL ARCHITECTURE— Shipbuilding and Laying off. By S. J. P. Thearle, F.R.S.N.A., London. 5. PURE MATHEMATICS. By Lewis Sergeant, B.A., (Camb.,) London. 6. THEORETICAL MECHANICS. By William Rossiter, F.R.A.S., F.C.S., London. 7. APPLIED MECHANICS. By William Rossiter, F.R.A.S., London. 8. ACOUSTICS, LIGHT AND HEAT. By William Lees, A.M., Lecturer on Physics, Edinburgh. 9. MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY. By John Angell, Senior Science Master, Grammar School, Manchester. 10. INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. By Dr. W. B. Kemshead, F.R.A.S., Dulwich College, London. 11. ORGANIC CPIEMISTRY. By W. Marshall Watts, D.Sc, (Lond.,) Grammar School, Giggleswick. 12. GEOLOGY. By. W. S. Davis, LL.D., Derby. 13. MINERALOGY. By J. H. Collins, F.G.S., Royal Cornwall Poly- technic Society, Falmouth. 14. ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY. By John Angell, Senior Science Master, Grammar School, Manchester. 15. ZOOLOGY. By M. Harbison, Plead-Master Model Schools, Newtonards. 16. VEGETABLE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. By J. II. Balfour, M.D., Edinburgh University. 17. SYSTEMATIC AND ECONOMIC BOTANY. By J. H. Balfour, M.D., Edinburgh University. 19. METALLURGY. By John Mayer, F.C.S., Glasgow. 20. NAVIGATION. By Henry Evers, LL.D., Plymouth. 21. NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY. By Henry Evers, LL.D. 22A STEAM AND THE STEAM ENGINE— Land and Marine. By Henry Evers, LL.D., Plymouth. 22B STEAM AND STEAM ENGINE— Locomotive. By Henry Evers, LI,. I )., Plymouth. 23. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. By John Macturk, F.R.C.S. 24. PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY. By John Howard, London. 25. ASTRONOMY. By J. J. Plummer, Observatory, Durham. V ,, % ^ C,' X <% v\- * Ti ■>> ■V *■ 9 s .0 "M^ Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township. PA 16066 (724) 779-21 1 1 0^ ^ V* o x '> Kt • v > \ v. ^ A > V ^ • s *\ A ill - ^ ^ k < ****** A A N ^ - c "'% ' ^ \\ - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS