have always been known as agents by the common sensation of their more palpable phenomena. But electricity and magnetism were not known until their phenomena were specially observed. Many of the facts of these agents, before the latter had become known, were referred to spiritual agencies. It is the tendency of ignorance, in every age, to do the same thing. Reason demands an agent adequate to the production of every phenomenon. If she has not been furnished with sufficient data by which to arrive at a correct conclusion, imagination, influenced by a blind marvellousness, will refer the phenomena to some supernatural cause. Hence the early superstitions about chemical operations, the appearance of comets, eclipses, meteors, the bog lights,' and a thousand other phenomena. But as the agencies of nature have become known, and their laws and conditions of action discovered, the domination of superstition has given place to the triumph of reason and the reign of truth."

"Reason determines that, for every phenomenon, there is an agent; but never, without sufficient data, does she determine what that agent is. The imagination often assumes this prerogative, and gives conclusions without facts, or furnishes the false data from which the logical faculty draws false principles. We mention these things to show how easy it is to be deceived, by our imaginations, with regard to the causes of outward phenomena, and that the only legitimate and trustworthy process in arriving at a solution of the mysteries of nature is, to furnish the reason with facts, and exclude the influence of imagination. A blind precipitation of faith is also a fatal influence

to all correct reasoning; for it rouses the action of the imagination, and long before the reason can possibly give a correct deduction, credulity and imagination have conjured one up; and this will be the more insisted upon as the only correct conclusion, as it is the least possessed of the real truth and the action of reason. Hence it is that those persons who are most ignorant of the principles of nature are the more positive and precipitate in their decisions upon any question of mystery. They know that there is no natural explanation, and the man is a fool who at tempts to find one." (Page 34.)

The first case we shall quote from the above work occurred in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and was published at the time in the Newark Daily Advertiser. The phenomena made their appearance in the family of Mr. J. Barron, consisting, for the most part, of unusual sounds accompanying a servant girl.

"The first sounds were those of a loud thumping, apparently against the side of the house, which commenced one evening, when the family had retired, and continued at short intervals until daylight, when it ceased.

"The next evening it commenced at nightfall, when it was ascertained to be mysteriously connected with the movements of a servant girl in the family —a white girl, about fourteen years of age. While pass

ing a window, on the stairs, for example, a sudden jar, accompanied with an explosive sound, broke a pane of glass, the girl at the same time being seized with a violent spasm. This, of course, very much alarmed her; and the physician, Dr. Drake, was sent for, who came and bled her. The bleeding, however, produced

no apparent effect. The noise still continued, as before, at intervals, wherever the girl went, each sound producing more or less of a spasm; and the physician, with all the family, remained up during the night. At daylight the thumping ceased again. In the evening the same thing was repeated, commencing a little earlier than before; and so every evening since, continuing each night until morning, and commencing each night a little earlier than before, until yesterday, when the thumping began about twelve o'clock at noon. The circumstances were soon generally spread through the neighborhood, and produced so much excitement that the house was filled, and surrounded from sunrise to sunset, for nearly a week. Every imaginable means were resorted to, in order to unravel the phenomenon. At one time the girl would be removed from one apartment to another, but without effect. Wherever she was placed, at certain intervals, the thumping would be heard in the room. She was taken to a neighboring house. The same result followed. When carried out of doors, however, no noise was heard. Dr. Drake, who was constant in his attendance during the whole period, occasionally aided by other scientific observers, was with us last evening for two hours, when we were politely allowed a variety of experiments with the girl, in addition to those heretofore tried, to satisfy ourselves that there is no imposition in the case, and, if possible, to discover the secret agent of the mystery. The girl was in an upper room, with a part of the family, when we reached the house. The noise then resembled that which would be produced by a person violently thumping the upper floor

with the head of an axe, five or six times in succes. sion, jarring the house, ceasing a few minutes, and then resuming as before. We were soon introduced into the apartment, and permitted to observe for ourselves. The girl appeared to be in perfect health, cheerful, and free from the spasms felt at first, and entirely relieved from every thing like the fear or apprehension which she manifested for some days. The invisible noise, however, continued to occur as before, though somewhat diminished in frequency, while we were in the room. In order to ascertain more satisfactorily that she did not produce it voluntarily, among other experiments we placed her on a chair on a blanket in the centre of the room, bandaged the chair with a cloth, fastening her feet on the front round, and confining her hands together on her lap. No change, however, was produced. The thumping continued as before, excepting that it was not quite so loud. The noise resembled that which would be produced by stamping on the floor with a heavy heel; yet she did not move a limb or muscle, that we could discover. She remained in this position long enough to satisfy all in the room that the girl exercised, voluntarily, no sort of agency in producing the noise. It was observed that the noise became greater the farther she was removed from any other person. We placed her in the doorway of a closet in the room, the door being ajar, to allow her to stand in the passage. In less than one minute the door flew open, as if violently struck with a mallet, accompanied with precisely such a noise as such a thump would produce. This was repeated several times, with the same effect. In short, in whatever position she was

placed, whether in or out of the room, similar results, varied a little perhaps by circumstances, were produced. There is certainly no deception in the case. The noise was heard at least one hundred yards from the house."

"In this case, no suspicions were entertained by the investigators that there was any supernatural or spiritual power manifested, as there was no manifestations of intelligence. They were purely physical phenomena."

The next case we shall notice we copy from the Spiritual Telegraph of July 3, 1852, taken from an old New York paper, dated March 10, 1789. The extract is as follows:

"Sir: Were I to relate the many extraordinary, though not less true accounts I have heard concerning that unfortunate girl at New Hackensack, your belief might perhaps be staggered and patience tired. I shall therefore only inform you of what I have been an eye-witness to. Last Sunday afternoon my wife and myself went to Dr. Thorn's, and after sitting for some time, we heard a knocking under the feet of a young woman that lives in the family; I asked the doctor what occasioned the noise: he could not tell, but replied, that he, together with several others, had examined the house, but were unable to discover the cause. I then took a candle and went with the girl into the cellar: there the knocking also continued; but as we were ascending the stairs to return, I heard a prodigious rapping on each side, which alarmed me very much. I stood still some time, looking around with amazement, when I beheld some lumber, which lay at the head of the stairs, shake