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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
/<?, faith and minus, less, hence they have less faith !
The guests appear generally in their natural form,
but at times they are represented as assuming the shape
of various animals; the Devil's followers having a decid-
ed preference for goats and for monkeys, although the
latter is a passion of more recent date. The crowd is
naturally in a state of incessant flowing and ebbing;
the constant coming and going, crowding and pressing
admits of not a moment's quiet and even here it is
proven that the wicked have neither rest nor peace.
Among this crowd flocks are seen, consisting of toads
and watched over by boys and girls ; in the centre sits
Satan on a stone, draped in weird majesty, with terrible
but indistinct features, and uttering short commands
with an appalling voice of unnatural and unheard of
music. A queen in great splendor may sit by his side,
promoted to the throne from a place among the guests.
Countless demons, attending to all kinds of extraordin-
ary duties, surround their master; or, dash through
the crowd scattering indecent words and gestures in all
directions. English witches meet, also, innumerable
kittens on the Sabbath and show the scars of wounds
inflicted by the malicious animals. Every visitor must
pay his homage to the ltrd of the feast, which is done
WITCHCRAFT. 33
in an unmentionable manner; and yet they receive
nothing in return — according to their nnanimons con-
fessions — except unfulfilled promises and delusive
presents. Even the dishes on the table are but shams;
there is neither salt nor bread to be found there. They
are bound, besides, to pledge themselves to the per-
formance of a certain number of wicked works, which
are distributed over the week, so that the first days are
devoted to ordinary sins and the last to crimes of
special horror. Music of surpassing weir dn ess is heard
on all sides, and countless couples whirl about in rest-
less, obscene dances; the couples joining back to back
and trying in vain to see each other's faces. Very often
young children are brought up by their mothers to be
presented to the Master ; when this is done, they are
set to attend the flocks of toads till the ninth year,
when they are called up by the Queen to abjure their
Christian faith and are regularly enrolled among
witches.
The descriptions of minor details vary, of course
according to the individual dispositions of the accused,
whose confessions are invariably uniform as to the facts
stated heretofore. The coarser minds naturally see
nothing but the grossest indecency and the vilest indul-
gences, while to more refined minds the apparent occur-
rences appear in a light of greater delicacy ; they hear
sweet music and witness nothing but gentle affection
and brotherly love. But in all cases these witches'
sabbaths become a passion with the poor deluded
34 MODERN MAGIC.
creatures; they enjoy there a paradise of delight, —
whether they really indulge in sensual pleasure or
surrender mind and will so completely to the unhal-
lowed power that they cease to wish for anything else,
and are plunged in vague, unspeakable pleasure. And
yet not even the simple satisfaction of good looks is
granted them; witches are as ugly as angels are fair;
they emit an evil odor and inspire others with uncon-
querable repugnance.
How exclusively all these descriptions of witches'
sabbaths have their origin in the imagination of the
deluded women is seen from the fact that they vary
consistently with the prevailing notions of those by
whom they are entertained; with coarse peasants, the
meetings are rude feasts full of obscene enjoyments ;
with noble knights, they become the rovings of the
wild huntsman, or a hellish court under the guise of a
Venus' mountain ; with ascetic monks and nuns, a sub-
terranean convent filled with vile blasphemies of God
and the saints. This only is common to all such
visions, that they are always conceived in a spirit of
bitter antagonism to the Church : all the doctrines not
only but also the ceremonies of the latter are here
travestied. The sabbath has its masses, but the host is
desecrated, its holy water obtained from the lord of the
feast; its host and its candles are black, and the Ite
missa est of the dismissing priest is changed into : " Go
to the Devil ! " Here, also, confession is required ; but,
the penitent confesses having omitted to do evil and
WITCHCRAFT. 35
being guilty of occasional acts of mercy and goodness ;
the penalty imposed is to neglect one or the other of
the twelve commandments.
When witches were brought to trial, one of the first
measures was to search for special marks which were
believed to betray their true character. These were
especially the so-called witches' moles, spots of the size
of a pea, on which for some reason or other the nerves
had lost their sensibility, and where, in consequence, no
pain was" felt. These were supposed to have been
formed by being punctured, the Evil One performing
the operation with a pin of false gold, with his claws or
his horns. Other evidences were found in the peculiar
coloring of the eyes, which was said to represent the
feet of toads ; in the absence of tears when the little
gland had been injured, and, above all, in the specific
lightness of the body. In order to ascertain the latter
the accused were bound hand and foot crosswise, tied
loosely to a rope, and then, three times, dropped into
the water. If they remained floating their guilt was
established ; for either they had been endowed by their
Master with safety from drowning, or the water refused
to receive them because they had abjured their baptism !
It need not be added that the executioners soon found
out ways to let their prisoners float or sink as they
chose — for a consideration.
Witches' trials began in the earliest days of Chris-
tianity, for the Emperor Valens ordered, as we
learn from Ammianus Marcellinus, all the wiz-
36 MODEEN MAGIC.
ards and enchanters to be held to account who had
endeavored by magic art to ascertain his successor.
Several thousands were accused of witchcraft, but the
charge was then, as in almost every later age, in most
cases nothing more than a pretext for proceedings
against obnoxious persons. The next monster pro-
cess, as it began to be called already in those early
days, was the persecution of witches in France under
the Merovingians. The child of Chilperic's wife had
died suddenly and under suspicious circum stances,
which led to the imprisonment of a prefect, Mummo-
lus, whom the queen had long pursued with her
hatred. He was accused of having caused her son's
death by his charms, and was subjected to fearful
tortures in company with a number of old women.
Still, he confessed nothing but that the latter had
furnished him with certain drugs and ointments
which were to secure to him the favor of the king
and the queen. A later trial of this kind, in which
for a time calm reason made a firm stand against
superstition, but finally succumbed ingloriously, is
known as the Vaudoisie, and took place in Arras
in 1459. It was begun by a Count d'Estampes, but
was mainly conducted by a bishop and some eminent
divines of his acquaintance, whose inordinate zeal
and merciless cruelty have secured to the proceedings
a peculiarly painful memory in the annals of the
church. A large number of perfectly innocent men
and women were tortured and disgracefully executed,
TTITCHCEAPT. 37
but fortunately the death of the main persecutor,
DuBlois, made a sudden end to the existence of witch-
craft in that province. One of the most remarkable
trials of this kind was caused by a number of little
children, and led to most bloody proceedings. It
seems that in the year 1669 several boys and girls in
the parish of Mote, one of the most beautiful parts
of the Swedish province of Palarne, and famous
through the memory of Gustavus Yasa and G-ustavus
III., were affected by a nervous fever which left them,
after their partial recovery, in a state of extreme
irritability and sensitiveness. They fell into fainting
fits and had convulsions — symptoms which the sim-
ple but superstitious mountaineers gradually began
to think inexplicable, and hence to ascribe to magic
influences. The report spread that the poor chil-
dren were bewitched, and soon all the usual details
of satanic possession were current. The mountain
called Blakulla, in bad repute from of old, was
pointed out as the meeting-place of the witches,
where the annual sabbath was celebrated, and these
children were devoted to Satan. Church and State
combined to bring their great power to bear upon the
poor little ones., an enormous number of women,
mostly the mothers of the young people, were involved
in the charges, and finally fifty-two of the latter with
fifteen children were publicly executed as witches,
while fifty of the younger were condemned to severe
punishment! More than three hundred unfortunate
38 MODERN MAGIC.
children under fourteen had made detailed confes-
sions of the witches' sabbath and the ceremonies
attending their initiation into its mysteries. A sim-
ilar fearful delusion took hold of German children in
Wurtemberg, when towards the end of the seventeenth
century a large number of little boys and girls, none
of whom were older than ten years, began to state
that they were every night fetched away and carried
to the witches' sabbath. Many were all the time fast
asleep and could easily be roused, but a few among
them fell regularly into a trance, during which their
little bodies became cold and rigid. A commission
of great judges and experienced divines was sent to
the village to investigate the matter, and found at
last that there was no imposture attempted, but that
the poor children firmly believed what they stated.
It became, however, evident that a few among them
had listened to old women's tales about witches, with
eager ears, and, with inflamed imaginations, retailed
the account to others, till a deep and painful ner-
vous excitement took hold of their minds and
rapidly spread through the community. Many of
the children were, as was natural at their age, led
by vanity to say that they also had been at the sab-
bath, while others were afraid to deny what was so
positively stated by their companions. Fortunately
the commission consisted, for once, of sensible men
who took the right view of the matter, ordered a
WITCHCRAFT. 39
good whipping here and there, and thus saved the
land from the crime of another witches' trial.
Our own experiences in New England, at the time
when Sir William Phipps was governor of the colonies,
have been forcibly reported by the great Cotton
Mather. Nearly every community had its young
men and women who were addicted to the practices
of magic ; they loved to perform enchantments, to
consult sieves and turning keys, and thus were grad-
ually led to attempt more serious and more danger-
ous practices. In Salem, men and women of high
standing and unimpeached integrity, even pious mem-
bers of the church, were suddenly plagued and tor-
tured by unknown agencies, and at last a little black
and yellow demon appeared to them, accompanied
by a number of companions with human faces.
These apparitions presented to them, a book which
they were summoned to sign or at least to touch,
and if they refused they were fearfully twisted and
turned about, pricked with pins, burnt as if with
hot irons, bound hand and foot with invisible fetters,
and carried away to great distances. Some were left
unable to touch food or drink for many days ; others,
attempting to defend themselves against the demons,
snatched a distaff or tore a piece of cloth from them,
and immediately these proofs of the real existence
of the evil spirits became visible to the eyes of the
bystanders. The magic phenomena attending the
disease were of the most extraordinarv character.
40 MODERN MAGIC.
Several men stated that they had received poison be-
cause they declined to worship Satan, and imme-
diately all the usual sequences of such treatment
appeared, from simple vomiting to most fearful suf-
fering, till counteracting remedies were employed
and began to take effect. In other cases the sufferers
complained of burning rags being stuffed into their
mouths, and although nothing was seen, burnt
places and blisters appeared, and the odor and smoke
of smouldering rags began to fill the room. When
they reported that they were branded with hot irons,
the marks showed themselves, suppuration took
place, and scars were formed which never again dis-
appeared during life— and all these phenomena were
watched by the eager eyes of hundreds. The author-
ities, of course, took hold of the matter, and many
persons of both sexes and all ages were brought to
trial. While they were tortured they continued to
have visions of demoniac beings and possessed men
and women ; when they were standing, blindfold-
ed, in court, felt the approach of those by whom
they pretended to be bewitched and plagued, and
urgently prayed to be delivered of their presence.
Finally many were executed, not a few undoubtedly
against all justice, but the better sense of the author-
ities soon saw the futility, if not the wickedness of
such proceedings, and an end was made promptly,
witchcraft disappearing as soon as persecution relaxed
and the sensation subsided.
WITCHCRAFT. 41
Similar trials have nevertheless continued to be held
in various parts of Europe during the whole of the
last century, and many innocent lives have been for-
feited to this apparently ineradicable belief in witch-
craft. Even after torture was abandoned in compli-
ance with the wiser views of our age, long imprison-
ment with its attending sufferings and great anxiety as
to the issue, proved fully sufficient to extort voluntary
confessions, which were, of course, of no value in them-
selves, but served the purpose of keeping alive the
popular superstition. In 1728 a specially fearful trial
of this kind took place in Hungary, during which
nearly all the disgraceful scenes of mediaeval barbarity
were reenacted. and which ended in a number of cruel
executions. The last witches' trial in Germany took
place in 1749, when the mother-superior of a convent
near vHirzhurg, in Bavaria, known as Emma Benata,
was condemned to be burnt, but by the leniency of the
authorities, was allowed to die by decapitation. Switz-
erland was the scene of the last of these trials ever
held, for with this act of justice, as it was called by the
good people of G-larus. the persecution ended.
Even in England, however, the feeling itself seems to
have lingered long after actual trials had ceased. Thus
it is well known that the terrible trial of witches held
at Marlboro', under Queen Elizabeth, led to the estab-
lishment of a so-called witches' sermon to be delivered
annually at Huntingdon, and this custom was faith-
fully observed down to the latter part of the eighteenth
42 MODERN MAGIC.
century. Nearly about the same time — in 1743 — an
earnest effort was made in Scotland to kindle once
more the fire of fierce persecution. In the month of
February of that year, the Associate Presbytery, in a
public document addressed to the Presbytery of the
Seceded Churches, required for certain purposes a
solemn acknowledgment of former sins, and a vow' to
renounce them forever. Among these sins that austere
body enumerated the "abolition of the death penalty
for witchcraft," since the latter was forbidden in Holy
Writ, and the leniency which had taken the place of
the former severity in punishing this crime, had given
an opening to Satan to tempt and actually to seduce
others by means of the same old accursed and dangerous
snares. — (Edirib. Rev., Jan. 1847.)
IL
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC.
" Peace ! — the charm 's wound up." — Macbeth.
The most startling of all scenes described in Holy
Writ — as far as they represent incidents in human life —
is, no doubt, the mysterious interview between un-
fortunate King Saul and the spirit of his former patron,
the prophet Samuel. The poor monarch, abandoned
by his friends and forsaken by his own heart, turns in
his utter wretchedness to those whom he had but
shortly before "put out of the land," those godless
people who "had familiar spirits and the "wizards."
Hard pressed by the ancient enemy of his people, the
Philistine, and unable to obtain an answer from the
great God of his fathers, he stoops to consult a witch, a
woman. It seems that Sedecla, the daughter of the
Decemdiabite — for so Philo calls her according to Des
Mousseaux — had escaped by her cunning from the fate
of her weird sisters, and, having a familiar spirit, fore-
told the future to curious enquirers at her dwelling in
Endor. At first she is unwilling to incur the penalty
threatened in the king's decree, but when the disguised
monarch, with a voice of authority promises her im-
punity, she consents to " bring up Samuel." As soon
44 MODERN MAGIC.
as the fearful phantom of the dread prophet appears,
she becomes instinctively aware of the true character
of her visitor, and, far more afraid of the power of the
living than of the appearance of the departed, she cries
out trembling : "Why hast thou deceived me? Thou
art Saul ! " Then follows the appalling scene in which
Samuel reproves the miserable, self-despairing king,
and foretells his death and that of his sons.
There can be no doubt that we have here before us
an instance of genuine magic. The woman was evi-
dently capable of casting herself into a state of ecstasy,
in which she could at once look back into the past and
forward into the future. Thus she beholds the great
prophet, not sent by God from on high, as the Holy
Fathers generally taught, but according to the then
prevailing belief, rising from Sheol, the place of de-
parted spirits, and then she utters, unconsciously, his
own words. For it must not be overlooked that Samuel
makes no revelations, but only repeats his former
warnings. Saul learns absolutely nothing new from
him; he only hears the same threatenings which the
prophet had pronounced twice before, when the reck-
less king had dared to sacrifice unto God with his own
hand (I. Sam. xiii.), and when he had failed to smite
the Amalekite, as he was bidden. Possessed, as it
were, by the spirit of the living Samuel, the woman
speaks as he had spoken in- his lifetime, and it is only
when her state of exaltation renders her capable of
looking into the future also, that she assumes the part
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 45
of a prophetess herself, and foretells the approaching
doom of her royal visitor.
That the whole dread scene was fore-ordained and
could take place only by the will of the Almighty,
alters nothing in the character of the woman with the
familiar spirit. It is a clear case of necromancy, or
conjuring up of the spirits of departed persons, such as
has been practised among men from time immemorial.
Among the chosen people of G-od persons were found
from the beginning of their history who had familiar
spirits, and Moses already fulminates his severest ana-
themas against these wizards (Lev. xx. 27). They ap-
pear under various aspects, as charmers, as con suiters
of familiar spirits, as wizards, or as necromancers
(Deut. xviii. 11) ; they are charged with passing their
children through the fire, with observing times (astro-
logers) ; with using enchantments ; or they are said in
a general way to "use witchcraft "' (II. Chron. xxxiii. 6).
That other nations were not less familiar with the art
of evoking spirits, we see, for instance, in the "Odyssey/*'
which mentions numerous cases- of such intercourse
with another world, and speaks of necromancers as
forming a kind of close guild. In the " Persius " of
iEschylus the spirit of Darius, father of Xerxes, is
called up and foretells all the misfortunes that are to
befall poor Queen Atossa. The greatest among the
stern Romans could not entirely shake off the belief in
such magic, in spite of the matter-of-fact tendencies of
the Roman mind, and the vast superiority of their in-
46 MODERN MAGIC.
telligence. A Cato and a Sylla, a Caesar and a Ves-
pasian, all admitted, with clear unfailing perception,
the small grains of truth that lay concealed among the
mass of rubbish then called magic. Even Christian
theology has neyer absolutely denied the existence of
such extraordinary powers over the spirits of the de-
parted, although it has consistently attributed them to
diabolic influences.
In this point lies the main difference between ancient
and modern magic. For the oldest Magi whom we
know were the wise men of Persia, called, from mah
(great), Mugh, the great men of the land. They were
the philosophers of their day, and, if we believe the
impartial evidence of Greek writers — not generally apt
to overestimate the merits of other nations — they were
possessed of vast and varied information. Their aim
was the loftiest ever conceived by human ambition ; it-
was, in fact, nothing less than the erection of an intel-
lectual Tower of Babel. They devoted the labors of a
lifetime, and the full, well-trained vigor of their intel-
ligence to the study of the forces of nature, and the
true character of all created beings. Among the latter
they included disembodied spirits as well as those still
bound up with bodies made of earth, considering with
a wisdom and boldness of conception never yet sur-
passed, both classes as one and the same eternal crea-
tion. The knowledge thus acquired they were, more-
over, not disposed merely to store away in their
memory, or to record in unattractive manuscripts;
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 47
they were men of the world as well as philosophers,
and looked for practical results. Here the pagan spirit
shone forth unrestrained; the end and aim of all their
restless labors was Power. Their ambition was to con-
trol, by the superior prestige of their knowledge, not
only the mechanical forces of Nature, but also the
lesser capacities of other created beings, and finally
Fate itself ! Truly a lofty and noble aim if we view it,
as in equity we are bound to do, from their stand-point,
as men possessing, with all the wisdom of the earth, as
yet not a particle of revealed religion.
It was only at a much later period that a distinction
was made between White Magic and Black Magic.
This arose from the error which gradually overspread
the minds of men, that such extraordinary powers —
based, originally, only upon extraordinary knowledge —
were not naturally given to men ; but, could only be
obtained by the special favor of higher beings, with
whom the owner must needs enter into a perilous
league. If these were benevolent deities, the results
obtained by their assistance were called White Magic;
if they were gods of ill-repute, they granted the power
to perform feats of Black Magic, acts of wickedness,
and crimes. Christianity, though it abolished the gods
of paganism, maintained, nevertheless, the belief in ex-
traordinary powers accorded by supernatural beings,
and the same distinction continued to be made. Pious
men and women performed miracles by the aid of
angels and saints; wicked sinners did as much by an
48 MODERN MAGIC.
unholy league with the Evil One. The Egyptian
charmer, of Apulejus, who declared that no miracle
was too difficult for his art, since he exercised the blind
power of deities who were subject to his' will, only
expressed what the lazzarone of Naples feels in our
day, when he whips his saint with a bundle of reeds, in
order to compel him to do his bidding. Magicians did
not change their doctrine ; they hardly even modified
their ceremonies ; their allegiance only was transferred
from Jupiter to Jehovah, even as the same column that
once bore the great Thunderer on Olympus, is now
crowned by a statue of Peter Boanerges. Nor has the
race of magicians ever entirely died out; we find
enough notices in classic authors, whose evidence is un-
impeachable, to know that the Greeks were apt scholars
of the ancient Magi and transferred the knowledge
they had thus obtained and long jealously guarded, to
the priests of Egypt, who in their turn became the
masters of the two mightiest nations on earth. First
Moses sat at their feet till, at the age of forty, he " was
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," and could
successfully cope with their "magicians and sorcerers."
Then the land of the Nile fell into the hands of the
Romans, and poverty and neglect drove the wise men
of Egypt to seek refuge in the capital of the world,
where they either lived upon the minor arts and cun-
ning tricks of their false fate, or, being converted to
Christianity, infected the pure faith with their ill-
applied knowledge. Certain portions of true magic
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 49
survived through all persecutions and revolutions;
some precious secrets were preserved by the philosophers
of later ages and have — if we believe the statements
made by trustworthy writers of every century — ever
since continued in the possession of Freemasons and
Rosicrucians ; others became mixed up with vile super-
stitions and impious practices, and only exist now as
the Black Art of so-called magicians and witches.
Wherever magic found a fertile soil among the peo-
ple, it became a science, handed down from father to
son, and such we find it still in the East Indies and the
Orient generally ; when it Ml into the hands of skeptics,
or weak, feeble-minded men, it degenerated with amaz-
ing speed into imposture and common jugglery. What
is evident about magic is the well-established fact
that its ceremonies, forms, and all other accessories
are almost infinite in variety since they are merely
accidental vehicles for the will of man, and real magi-
cians know very well that the importance of such
external aids is not only overrated but altogether falla-
cious. The sole purpose of the burning of perfumes,
of imposing ceremonies and awe-inspiring procedures,
is to aid in producing the two conditions which are
indispensable for all magic phenomena : the magician
must be excited till his condition is one resembling
mental intoxication or becomes a genuine trance, and
the passive subject must be made susceptible to the
control of the superior mind. For it need not be
added, that the latter will all the more readily be
50 HODEEN MAGIC.
affected, the feebler his will and the more imperfect his
mental yision may be by nature or may have been
rendered by training and careful preparation. Hence
it is that the magic table of the dervish ; the enchanted
drum of the shaman ; the medicine-bag of the Indian
are all used for precisely the same purpose as the ring
of Hecate ; the divining rod and the magic wand of the
enchanter. Legend and amulet, mummy and wax-
figure, herb and stone, drug and elixir, incense and
ointment, are all but the means, which the strong will
of the gifted Master uses in order to influence and
finally to control the weaker mind. Thus powerful
perfumes, narcotic odors, and anaesthetic salves are em-
ployed to produce enervation and often actual and com-
plete loss of self-control; in other cases the neophyte
has to turn round and round within the magic circle,
from east to west, till he becomes giddy and utterly
exhausted. It is very curious to observe how, as far as
these preparations go, in the most distant countries and
among the most different forms of society the same
means are employed for the same purpose: the whirling
dance of the fanatic dervish is perfectly analogous to
the wild raving of our Indian medicine-man, who ties
himself with a rope to a post and then whirls around ifc
in fierce fury. Thus, also, the oldest magicians speak
with profound reverence of the powers of a little herb,
known to botanists as Hypericum perforatum L., and
behold! in the year 1860 a German author of eminence,
Justinus Kerner, still taught seriously, that the leaves
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 51
of that plant were the best means to banish eyil spirits!
Mandrake and elder have held their own in the false
faith of nations from the oldest times to our day, and
even now Germans as well as slaves love to plant the
latter everywhere in their graveyards, as suggestive of
the realm of spirits !
White Magic, though strictly forbidden by the
Church in all ages, seems nevertheless to have had
irresistible attractions for wise and learned men of every
country. This charm it owes to the many elements of
truth which are mixed up with the final error; for it
aims at a thorough understanding of the mysteries of
Nature — and so far its purpose is legitimate and very
tempting to. superior minds — but only in order to
obtain by such knowledge a power which Holy Writ
expressly denies to man. When it prescribes the study
of Nature as being the outer temple of God and repre-
sents all the parts of this vast edifice, from the central
sun of the universe to the minutest living creation, as
bound up by a common sympathy, no objection can be
made to its doctrines, and even the greatest minds may
fairly enroll themselves here as its pupils. But when it
ascribes to this sympathy an active power and attributes
to secret names of the Deity, to certain natural products,
or to mechanically regulated combinations of the stars,
a peculiar and supernatural effect, it sinks into con-
temptible superstition. Hence the constant aim of all
White Magic, the successful summoning of superior
spirits for the purpose of learning from them what is
52 MODERN MAGIC.
purposely kept concealed from the mind of man, has
never yet been reached. For it is sin, the same sin that
craved to eat from the tree of knowledge. Hence, also,
no beneficial end has ever yet been obtained by the
practices of magic, although wise and learned men of
every age have spent their lives and risked the salvation
of their souls in restless efforts to lift the veil of Isis.
Black Magic, the Kishuph of the Hebrews, avows
openly its purpose of forming a league with evil
spirits in order to attain selfish ends, which are inva-
riably fatal to others. And yet it is exactly here that
we meet with great numbers of well-authenticated
cases of success, which preclude all donbt and force
us to admit the occasional efficiency of such sinful
alliances. The art flourishes naturally best among
the lowest races of mankind, where gross ignorance
is allied with blind faith, and the absence of inspira-
tion leaves the mind in natural darkness. "We cannot
help being struck here also with the fact that the
means employed for such purposes have been the same
in almost all ages. Readers of classic writers are
familiar with the drum of Cybele — the Laplanders
have from time immemorial had the same drum, on
which heaven, hell, and earth are painted in bright
colors, and reproduce in pictorial writing the letters
of the modern spiritualist. A ring is placed upon
the tightly stretched skin, which slight blows with
a hammer cause to vibrate, and according to the
apparently erratic motions of the ring over the varied
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 53
figures of gods, men, and beasts, the future is re-
vealed. The consulting savage lies on his knees, and
as the pendulum between our fingers and the pencil
of Planchette in our hand write apparently at hap-
hazard, but in reality under 'the pressure of our mus-
cles acting through the unconscious influence of our
will, so here also the beats of the hammer only seem
to be fortuitous, but, in reality, are guided by the
ecstatic owner. For already Olaf Magnus ("Hist.
Goth." L. 3, ch. 26) tells us that the incessant beating
of the drum, and the wild, exulting singing of the
magician for hours before the actual ceremony begins,
cause him to fall into a state of exaltation, without
which he would be unable to see the future. That
the drum is a mere accident in the ceremony was
strikingly proved by a Laplander, who delivered up
his instrument of witchcraft to the pious missionary
(Tornaeus) by whom he had been Converted, and
who soon came to complain that even without his
drum he could not help seeing hidden things — an
assertion which he proved by reciting to the amazed
minister all the minute details of his recent journey.
Who can help, while reading of these savage magi-
cians, recalling the familiar ring and drumstick in the
left hand of the Koman Isis — statues with a drum
above the head, or the rarely missing ring and ham-
mer in the hands of the Egyptian Isis ? It need
hardly be added that the Indians of our continent
have practised the art with more or less success from
54 MODEKN MAGIC.
the day of discovery to our own times. Already
"Wafer in his "Descr. of the Isthmus of Darien" (1699)
describes how Indian sorcerers, after careful prepara-
tion, were able to inform him of a number of future
events, every one of which came to pass in the suc-
ceeding days. The prince of Neu-Wied again met
a famous medicine-man among the Crea Indians,
whose prophecies were readily accepted by the whites
even, and of whose power he witnessed unmistakable
evidence. Bon duel, a well-known and generally per-
fectly trustworthy writer, affirms, from personal knowl-
edge, that among the Menomonees the medicine-men
not only practise magic, but are able to produce most
astounding results. After beating their drum, Bonduel
used to hear a heavy fall and a faint, inarticulate
voice, whereupon the tent of the charmer though
fifteen feet high, rose in the air and inclined first on
one and then on the other side. This was the time of
the interview between the medicine-man and the
evil spirit. Small doll-like figures of men also were
used, barely two inches long, and tied to medicine-
bags. They served mainly to inflame women with
loving ardor, and when efficient could drive the poor
creatures to pursue their beloved for days and nights
through the wild forests. Other missionaries also
affirm that these medicine-men must have been able
to read the signs and perhaps to feel in advance the
effects of the weather with amazing accuracy, since
they frequently engaged to procure storms for special
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 55
purposes, and never failed. It is interesting to notice
that according to the unanimous testimony of all
writers on Indian affairs, these medicine-men almost
invariably find a violent and wretched death. y~
It is not without interest to recall that the prevailing
forms of the magic of our day, as far as they consist of
table-moving, spirit-rapping, and the like, have their
origin among the natives of our continent. The
earliest notice of these strange performances appeared
in the great journal of Augsburg, in G-ermany (Allge-
meine Zeitung), where Andree mentioned their occur-
rence among Western Indians. Sargent gave us next
a more detailed description of the manner in which
many a wigwam or log-cabin in Iowa became the scene
of startling revelations by means of a clumsy table
which hopped merrily about, or a half-drunk, red-
skinned medium, from whose lips fell uncouth words.
(Spicer, "Lights and Sounds," p. 190.) It was only in
1847 that the famous Fox family brought these phenom-
ena within the pale of civilization : having rented a
house in Hydeville, N. Y., already ill-reputed on account
of mysterious noises, they reduced these knockings to a
kind of system, and, by means of an alphabet, obtained
the important information that they were the work of
a " spirit," and that his name was Charles Bay. Mar-
garet Fox transplanted the rappings to Eochester ;
Catherine, only twelve years old, to Auburn, and from
these two central places the new Magic spread rapidly
throughout the Union. Opposition and persecutions
56 MODERN MAGIC.
served, as they are apt to do, only to increase the
interest of the public. A Mrs. Norman Culver proved,
it is true, that rappings could easily be produced by
certain muscular movements of the knee and the
ankle, and a committee of investigation, of which
Fenimore Cooper was a member, obtained ample evi-
dence of. such a method being used; but the faith of
the believers was not shaken. The moving of tables,
especially, furnished to their minds new evidence of
the actual presence of spirits, and soon circles were
established in nearly all the Northern and "Western
States, formed by persons of education without regard
to confession, who called themselves Spiritualists or
Spiritists, and their most favored associates Media.
A number of men, whose intelligence and candor were
alike unimpeachable, became members of the new sect,
among them a judge, a governor of a State, and a pro-
fessor of chemistry. They organized societies and
circles, they published journals and several works of
interest and value, and produced results which more
and more strengthened their convictions.
The new art met, naturally, with much opposition,
especially among the ministers and members of the
different churches. Some of the opponents laughed at
the whole as a clever jugglery, which deserved its great
success on account of the "smartness" of the per-
formers ; others denounced it as a heresy and a crime ;
the former, of course, saw in it nothing but the hand
of man, while the latter admitted the agency of spirits,
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 57
but of spirits from below and not from above. An
amusing feature connected with public opinion on this
subject was, that when trade was prosperous and money
abundant, spiritualism also flourished and found nu-
merous adherents, but when business was slow, or a
crisis took place, all minds turned away from the
favorite pastime, and instinctively joined once more
with the pious believers in the denunciation of the new
magic. Thus a kind of antagonism has gradually
arisen between orthodox Christians and enthusiastic
spiritualists ; the controversy is carried on with great
energy on both sides, and, alas! to the eye of the
general observer, magic is gaining ground every day,
at least its adherents increase steadily in numbers, and
even in social weight. (Tuttle, "Arena of Nature.")
Not long ago the National Convention of Spiritualists,
at their great meeting at Eochester, N. Y. (August,
1868), laid down nineteen fundamental principles of
their new creed; their doctrines are based upon the
fact that we are constantly surrounded by an invisible
host of spirits, who desire to help us in returning once
more to the father of all things, the Great Spirit.
Modern magic met with the same opposition in
Europe. The French Academy, claiming, as usually,
to be supreme authority in all matters of science,
declined, nevertheless, to decide the question. Arago,
who read the official report before the august body,
closed with the words : " I do not believe a word of it ! "
but his colleagues remembered, perhaps, that their
58 MODERN MAGIC.
predecessors had once or twice before committed them-
selves grievously. Had not the same Academy pro-
nounced against the use of quinine and vaccination,
against lightning-rods and steam-engines ? Had not
Reaumur suppressed Peyssonel's "Essay on Corals/'
because he thought it was madness to maintain their
animal nature ; had not his learned brethren decreed,
in 1802, that there were no meteors, although a short
time later two thousand fell in one department alone ;
and had they not, more recently still, received the news
of ether being useful as an anaesthetic with scorn and
unanimous condemnation ? Perhaps they recalled Dr.
Hare's assertion that our own Society for the Advance-
ment of Useful Knowledge had, in 1855, refused to
hear a report on Spiritualism, preferring to discuss the
important question : " Why do roosters always crow
between midnight and one o'clock ? " At all events
they heard the report and remained silent. In the
same manner Alexander von Humboldt refused to
examine the question. This indifference did not, how-
ever, check the growth of Spiritualism in France, but
its followers divided into two parties: spiritualists,
under Rivail, who called himself Allan Cardec, and
spiritists, under Pierard. The former died in 1869,
after having seen his Livre cles Esprits reappear in
fifteen editions; to seal his mission, he sent, imme-
diately after his death, his spirit to inform his eager
pupils, who crowded around the dead body of their
leader, of his first impressions in the spirit world. If
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 59
the style is the man (le style c'est Vhomme), no one
could doubt that it was his spirit who spoke.
Perhaps the most estimable high -priest of this
branch of modern magic is a well known professor
of Geneva, Boessinger, a physician of great renown
and much beloved by all who know him. He is, how-
ever, a rock of offense to American spiritualists, be-
cause he has ever remained firmly attached to his
religious faith, and admits no spiritual revelations as
genuine which do not entirely harmonize with the doc-
trines of Christ and the statements of the Bible. Un-
fortunately this leads him to believe that his favorite
medium, a young lady enjoying the mystic name of
Libna, speaks under the direct inspiration of God
himself! In England the new magic has not only
numerous but also influential adherents, like Lord
Lytton and the Darwinian Wallace; papers like the
Star and journals like the Cornliill Magazine, support
it with ability, and names like Home in former years
and Newton in our day, who not only reveal secrets
but actually heal the sick, have given a new prestige to
the young science. The works of Howitt and Dr.
Ashburner, of Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Crossland have
treated the subject under various aspects, and in the
year 1871, Crookes, a well-known chemist, investigated
the phenomena of Home's revelations by means of an
apparatus specially devised for the purpose. The re-
sult was the conviction that if not spiritual, they were
at least not produced by any power now known to sci-
ence. — Quart. Journ. of Science, July, 1871.
60 MODERN MAGIC.
In Germany the new magic has been far less pop-
ular than elsewhere, but, in return, it has been there
most thoroughly investigated. Men of great eminence
in science and in philosophy have published extensive
works on the subject, which are, however, more re-
markable for zeal and industry than for acute judg-
ment. Gerster in Regensburg claimed to have invented
the Psychography, but Szapary in Paris and Cohnfeld
in Berlin discovered at the same time the curious in-
strument known to us as Planchette. The most prac-
tical measure taken in Germany for the purpose of
ascertaining the truth was probably the formation of a
society for spirit studies, which met for the first time
in Dresden in 1869, and purposes to obtain an insight
into those laws of nature which are reported to make
it possible to hold direct and constant intercourse
with the world of spirits. Here, as in the whole ten-
dency of this branch of magic, we see the workings
not merely of idle curiosity but of that ardent longing
after a knowledge of the future and a certainty of per-
sonal eternity, which dwells in the hearts of all men.
The phenomena of modern magic were first imper-
fect rappings against the wall, the legs of a table or a
chair, accompanied by the motion of tables ; then
followed spirit-writing by the aid of a psychograph or
a simple pencil, and finally came direct " spirit-writ-
ings," drawings by the media, together with musical
and poetical inspirations, the whole reaching a climax
in spirit-photographs. The ringing of bells, the danc-
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 61
ing of detached hands in the air. the raising up of the
entire body of a man, and musical performances with-
out human aid were only accomplished in a few cases
by specially favored individuals. Two facts alone are
fully established in connection with all these phenom-
ena : one, that some of the latter at least are not pro-
duced by the ordinary forces of nature ; and the other,
that the performers are generally, and the medium
always, in a more or less complete state of trance. In
this condition they forget themselves, give their mind
up entirely into the hands of others — the media — and
candidly believe they see and hear what they are told
by the latter is taking place in their presence. Hence
also the well-established fact that the spirits have
never yet revealed a single secret, nor ever made
known to us anything really new. Their style is in-
variably the same as that in which ecstatic and som-
nambulistic persons are apt to speak. A famous Ger-
man spiritualist, Hornung, whose faith was well
known, once laid his hands upon his planchette
together with his wife, and then asked if there really
was a world of spirits? To the utter astonishment
of all present, the psychograph replied No ! and when
questioned again and again, became troublesome. The
fact was simply that the would-be magician's wife
did not believe in spirits, and as hers was the stronger
will, the answer came from her mind and not from her
husband's. On the other hand, it cannot be denied
that media — most frequently delicate women of high
02 MODERN MAGIC.
nervous sensibility, and almost always leading lives of
constant and wearying excitement — become on such
occasions wrought up to a degree which resembles
somnambulism and may really enable them, occa-
sionally, in a state of clairvoyance, to see what is hid-
den to others. It is they who are " vitalized," as they
call it, and not the knocking table, or the writing
planchette, and hence arises the necessity of a medium
for all such communications. That there are no
spirits at work in these phenomena requires hardly to
be stated; even the most ardent and enthusiastic ad-
herents of the new magic cannot deny, that no orig-
inal revelation concerning the world of spirits has yet
been made, but that all that is told is but an echo of
the more or less familiar views of men. It is far more
interesting to notice, with Coleman, the electric and
hygroscopic condition of the atmosphere, which has
evidently much to do with such exhibitions. The
visions of hands, arms, and heads, which move about
in the air and may occasionally even be felt, are either
mere hallucinations or real objective appearances, due
to a peculiar condition of the air, and favorably inter-
preted by the predisposed mind. Hence, also, our own
continent is, for its superior dryness of atmosphere,
much more favorable to the development of such phe-
nomena than that of Europe.
Spiritualists in the Old as in the New World are
hopeful that the new magic will produce a new uni-
versal religion, and a better social order. In this di-
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 63
rection, however, no substantial success has yet been
obtained. Outsiders had expected that at least an in-
tercourse with departed spirits might be secured, and
thus the immortality of man might be practically
demonstrated. But this also has not yet been done.
What then can we learn from modern magic ? Only
this : that there are evidently forces in nature with
whose character and precise intent we are not yet ac-
quainted, and which yet deserve to be studied and
carefully analyzed. Modern magic exhibits certain
phenomena in man which are not subject to the known
laws of nature, and thus proves that man possesses cer-
tain powers which he fails or does not know how to
exert in ordinary life. Where these powers appear in
consequence of special preparation or an exceptional
condition of mind, they are comparatively worthless,
because they are in such cases merely the result of
physical or mental disease, and we can hope to profit
only by powers employed by sound men. But where
these powers become manifest by spontaneous action,
apparently as the result of special endowment, they de-
serve careful study, and all the respect due to a new and
unknown branch of knowledge.
Nor must it be overlooked, that, although modern
magic as a science is new, most of the phenomena upon
which it is based, were well known to the oldest nations.
The Chinese, who seem to have possessed all the knowl-
edge of mankind, ages before it could be useful to them,
or to others, and to have lost it as soon as there was a
C4 MODEKN MAGIC.
call for it, had, centuries ago, not only moving tables,
but even writing spirits. Their modern planchette is a
small board, which they let float upon the water, with the
Jegs upward ; they rest their hands upon the latter, and
watch the gyrations it makes in the water. Or they
hold a small basket with a camel's-hair brush attached
to one end suspended over a table upon which they
have strewn a layer of flour; the brush begins to move
through the flour and to draw characters in it, which
they interpret according to their alphabet. The priests
of Buddha in Mongolia, also, have long since employed
moving tables, and for a good purpose, usually to detect
thieves. The lama, who is appealed to for the purpose,
sits down before a small four-legged table, upon which
he rests his hands, whilst reading a book of devotion.
After perhaps half an hour, he rises, and as he does so,
holding his hand steadily upon the table, the table also
rises and follows his hand, which he raises till hand
and table are both level with his eyes. Then the priest
advances, the table precedes him, and soon begins to
move at such a rate that it seems to fly through the air,
and the lama can hardly follow. Sometimes it falls
down upon the very spot where the stolen, goods are
hidden ; at other times it only indicates the direction in
which they are to be sought for; and not unfrequently
it refuses altogether to move, in which event the priest
abandons the case as hopeless. (Nord. Biene, April
27, 1853.) Here also it is evident that the table is not
the controlling agent, but the will of the lama, whom
BLACK AXD WHITE MAGIC. 65
it obeys by one of those mysterious powers which we call
magic. It is the same force which acts in the divining
rod, the pendulum, and similar phenomena.
The name of Medium is an American invention, and
is based upon the assumption that only a few favored
persons are able to enter into direct communication with
spirits, who may then convey the revelations they receive
to others. They are generally children and young
persons, but among grown men also certain constitutions
seem to be better adapted to such purposes than others.
In almost all cases it has been observed, that the elec-
tric condition of the medium is a feature of greatest im-
portance ; the more electricity he possesses, the better is
he able to produce magic phenomena, and when his sup-
ply is exhausted by a long session, his power also ceases.
Hence, perhaps, the peculiar qualification of children;
w T hile, on the other hand, the fact that they not unfre-
quently are able to answer questions, in languages, of
which they are ignorant, proves that they also do not
themselves give the reply, but only receive it from the
questioner, and state it as it exists in the mind of the
latter. Hence, also, the utter absurdity of so-called spirit
paintings, and, still worse, of poetical effusions like Mr.
Harris' "Lyric of the Golden Age," in eleven thousand
four hundred and thirty wretched verses. For what the
" circle " does not know individually or collectively, the
medium also is not able to produce. This truth is
made still more evident by the latest phenomena de-
veloped in spiritualistic circles, the so-called trance
66 MODERN MAGIC.
speaking, which may be heard occasionally in New York
circles, and which requires no interposition of a me-
dium. For here, also, we are struck by the utter ab-
sence of usefulness in all these revelations ; the inspired
believers speak, they recite poetry, but it remains liter-
ally vox et prceterea nihil, and we are forcibly reminded
of the words of iEschylus, who already said in his
" Agamemnon " (v. 1127),
" Did ever seers afford delight
The long practised art of all the seers whom
Ever the gods inspired, revealed
Naught but horrors and a wretched fate."
Among the media of our day, Home is naturally
facile princeps. A Scotchman by birth, be claims that
his mother already possessed the gift of Second Sight,
and that in their home near Edinburgh similar endow-
ments were frequent among their neighbors. At the
age of three years he saw the death of a cousin, who
lived in a distant town, and named the persons who
were standing around her couch ; he conversed con-
stantly in his childish way with spirits and heard heav-
enly music; his cradle was rocked by invisible hands,
and his toys came unaided into his hands. When ten
years old he was taken to an aunt in America, in whose
house he had no sooner been installed than chairs and
tables, beds and utensils, began to move about in wild
disorder, till the terrified lady sent the unlucky boy
away. Attending once an exhibition of table-moving
he fell into fits and suddenly became cataleptic; during
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 67
the paroxysm he heard a summoning, then the spirits
announced the wrecking of two sailors, the table began
to rock as in a storm, the whistling of the wind through
the tackle, the creaking of the vessel, and the dull, heavy
thud of the waves against her bows, all were distinctly
heard, and finally the table was upset, while the spirits
announced the name and the age of the perishing
seamen. From that day Home carefully cultivated his
strange gifts, and developed what he considered a
decided talent for reading the future. As a young man
he returned to Europe and soon became famous. Flor-
ence was, for a time, the principal stage of his successes;
here he not only summoned the spirits of the departed,
but was raised by invisible powers from the ground and
hovered for some time above the heads of his visitors.
The superstitious Italians finally became excited and
threatened him with death, from which a Count Branichi
saved him at great personal peril. In Naples the
spirits suddenly declared their intention to leave him
on February 10, 1856, and to remain absent for a whole
year ; they did so, and during the interval Home
enjoyed better health than ever in his life ! In Kome
he became a Catholic, and good Pio Nono himself
offered him his crucifix to kiss, with the words : " That
is the only true magic wand!" — unfortunately this was
not Home's view always ; at least we find him in 18G4
in the same city in conflict with the papal police, who
ordered him to cease all intercourse " with higher as
well as with lower spirits," and finally compelled him to
68 MODERN MAGIC.
leave the Eternal City. He then claimed publicly,
what, it must not be forgotten, he had consistently
maintained from the beginning of his marvelous career,
that he was the unwilling agent of higher powers,
which affected him at irregular times, independent of
his will, and often contrary to his dearest wishes. It
must be added that he gave the strongest proof of his
sincerity by never accepting from the public pecuniary
compensation for the exhibition of peculiar powers.
His exterior is winning; he is of medium height,
light-haired and light-complexioned, of slender figure ;
simple and well-bred in his manners, and of irreproach-
able morale. The highest circles of society have always
been open to him, and his marriage with a daughter of
the Eussian general Stroll has given him wealth and an
agreeable position in the world. As the spirits had
predicted, they returned on the 10th of February, 1857,
and announced themselves by repeated gentle knock-
ings— in other words, Home's former nervous disease
returned, and with it his exceptionable powers. He
was then in Paris, and soon excited the attention of
the fair but superstitious Empress, whose favor he
speedily obtained by a revelation concerning the "Em-
pereur de l'avenir," as the spirits had the gallantry to
call her infant son. Napoleon also began to take an
interest in the clever, talented man, whose special gifts
did not prevent him from being a pliant courtier and a
cunning observer. He showed himself grateful for the
kindness with which Eugenie provided for his sister's
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 69
education by exerting his powers to the utmost at the
Tuileries, and by revealing to the Emperor the secrets
he had skillfully elicited during his spiritual sessions,
from statesmen and generals. At the house of Prince
Murat he performed, perhaps, the most surprising feats
he has ever accomplished : seated quietly in his arm-
chair, he caused tables to whirl around, the clocks in
two rooms to stand still or to go at will, all the bells in
the house to ring together or separately, and handker-
chiefs to escape irresistibly from the hands and the
pockets of several persons, the Emperor included. Then
the floor seemed to sink, all the doors of the house
were slammed to and opened again, the gaslights be-
came extinct, and when they as suddenly blazed up
again, Home had disappeared without saying good-bye.
The guests left the house quietly and in a state of
great and painful excitement. At another exhibition
in Prince Napoleon's house, a renowned juggler was
present by invitation to watch Home, but he declared,
soon, that there was no jugglery, such as he knew, in
what he saw, and the meeting, during which the
most startling phenomena were exhibited, ended by
Home's falling into a state of fearful catalepsy. Per-
haps nothing can speak more clearly of the deep in-
terest felt in the modern magician by the highest in
the land, than the fact that more than once private
sessions were held at the Tuileries, at which, besides
himself, the Emperor and the Empress, only one per-
son was allowed to be present, the Duke of Monte-
70 MODERN MAGIC.
bello. It is said, though not by Home himself, that at
one of these meetings the sad fate of the Empire was
clearly predicted, and even the time of the Emperor's
death ascertained. One achievement of modern magic
in which Home is unique, is the raising of his body
into the air; no other person having as yet even
attempted the same exploit. He is lifted up in a hori-
zontal position, sometimes only to a short distance
from the floor, but not unfrequently, also, nearly to the
ceiling; on one occasion, in Bordeaux, he remained
thus suspended in the sight of several persons for five
minutes. Another speciality of his, is the lengthening
of his body. According to a statement deserving full
credit ("Human Nature," Dec. 1868), he can, when in
a state of trance, add four inches to his stature!
Finally, he has been repeatedly seen passing in the air
out of one window of the room in which his visitors
were assembled, and returning through another win-
dow, an exhibition which almost always ended in the
complete exhaustion and apparent illness of the ma-
gician. ^
Home himself maintains that he performs no mir-
acles, and is not able to cause the laws of nature to be
suspended for a moment, but that he is gifted with an
exceptional power to employ faculties which he pos-
sesses in common with all his brethren. In him they
are active ; in the vast majority of men they lie dor-
mant, because man is no longer conscious of the full
and absolute control over Nature, with which he has
BLACK AXD WHITE MAGIC. 71
been endowed by the Creator. He adds that it is faith
alone, without the aid of spirits, which enables him to
cause mysterious lights to be seen, or heavy pieces of
furniture to move about in the air, and to produce
strange sounds and peculiar visions in the mind of his
friends. On the other hand, when he is lifted up into
the air, or enabled to read the future, and to reveal what
absent persons are doing at the moment, he professes
to act as a willingless instrument of spirits, haying
neither the power to provoke his ability to perform
these feats, uor to lay it aside at will. Occasionally he
professes to be conscious of an electric current, which
he is able to produce at certain times and in a certain
state of mind ; this emanation protects his body against
influences fatal to others, and enables him, for instance,
to hold live coals in his hand, and to thrust his whole
head into the chimney fire. This " certain state of
mind, 7 ' as he calls it, is simply a state of trance. Hence
the extremely variable nature of his performances, and
his great reluctance to appear as a magician at the re-
quest of others. Xor is he himself always quite sure
of his own condition ; thus, in the winter of 18T0, when
he wished to exhibit some of the simplest phenomena
in the presence of a number of savants in St. Peters-
burg, he failed so completely in every effort, that the
committee reported him virtually, though not in terms,
an impostor. The same happened to him at a first
examination held by Mr. Crookes, a well-known pro-
fessor of chemistry, in company with Messrs. Cox and
72 MODERN MAGIC.
Huggins; they did not abandon their purpose, how-
ever, and at the next meeting, when certain antipathic
spectators were no longer present, Home displayed the
most remarkable phenomena. The committee came to
the conclusion that he was enabled to perform these
feats by means of a new "psychic force," which it was
all-important for men of science to investigate thor-
oughly.
The number of men and women who possess similar
endowments, though generally in an inferior degree
only, is very great, especially in the United States.
Only one feature is common to them all — the state of
trance in which they are enabled to produce such start-
ling phenomena — in all other respects they differ widely,
both as to the nature of their performances and as to
their credibility. For, from the first appearance of
media in spiritualistic circles, in fact, probably already
in the exhibitions of the Fox family, delusion and
willful deception have been mixed up with actual
magic. Tables have been moved by clever legerde-
main; spirit rappings have been produced by cunning
efforts of muscles and sinews ; ventriloquists have used
their art to cause extraordinary noises in the air, and
Pepper's famous ghosts have shown the facility with
which the eye may be deceived and the other senses be
taken captive. The most successful deception was
practised by the so-called Davenport Brothers, whose
well-known exhibitions excited universal interest, as
long as the impression lasted that they were the work
BLACK AXD WHITE MAGIC. 73
of invisible spirits, while they became even more popu-
lar and attractive when their true nature had been dis-
covered, on account of the exquisite skill with which
these juggling tricks were performed.
The masters of physical science have amply proved
that table-moving is a simple mechanical art. Faraday
and Babinet already called attention to the fact that
the smallest muscles of the human body can produce
great effects, when judiciously employed, and cited,
among other instances, the so-called Electric Girl,
exhibited in Paris, who hurled a chair on which she
had been sitting, by muscular power alone, to a great
distance. The same feat, it is well-known, has been
repeatedly accomplished by other persons also. Like
muscular efforts are made — no doubt often quite un-
consciously — by persons whose will acts energetically,
and when several men co-operate the force of vibrations
produced in a kind of rhythmical tact, becomes truly
astounding. We need only remember, that the rolling
of a heavily laden cart in the streets may shake a vast,
well-built edifice from roof to cellar, and that the
regular tramp of a detachment of men has more than
once caused suspension bridges, of great and well-tried
strength, to break and to bury hundreds of men under
their ruins. Thus a few children and delicate women
alone can, by an hour's steady work and undivided atten-
tion, move tables of such weight that a number of
strong men can lift them only with difficulty. The
only really new force which has ever appeared in this
74 MODERN MAGIC.
branch of modern magic is the Od of Baron Reichen-
bach ; its presence and efficacy cannot be denied,
although the manner in which it operates is still a
mystery. In the summer of 1861 the German baron
found himself in a company of table-moyers at the
house of Lord William Cowper, the son-in-law of Lord
Palmerston. To prove his faith he crept under the
heavy dining-table, resting with his full weight on one
of the three solid feet and grasping the other two
firmly with his hands. The wood began to emit low,
electric sounds, then came louder noises as when furni-
ture cracks in extremely dry weather, and finally the
table began to move. Reichenbach did his best to pre-
vent the movement, but the table rushed down the
room, dragging the unlucky baron with it, to the
intense amusement of all the persons present. The
German savant maintains that this power, possessed
only by the privileged few who are peculiarly sensitive,
emanates from the tips of the fingers, becomes luminous
in the dark, and acts like a lever upon all obstacles that
come in its way. As the existence of Od is established
beyond all doubt, and its effects are admitted by all who
have studied the subject, we are forced to look upon it
as at least one of the mysterious elements of modern
magic.
The Od is, as far as we know, a magnetic force ; for
as soon as certain persons are magnetized they become
conscious of peculiar sensations, heat or cold, headache
or other pains, and, if predisposed, of a startling increase
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. tO
of power in all their senses. They see lights of every
kind, can distinguish even minute objects in a dark
room, and behold beautiful white flames upon the poles
of magnets. Reichenbach obtained, as he believed, two
remarkable results from these first phenomena. He
concluded that polar lights, aurora boreales, etc.,
were identical with the magnetic light of the earth, and
he discovered that sensitive, sickly persons, who were
peculiarly susceptible to magnetic influences, ought to
lie with the head to the north, and the feet to the south
in order to obtain refreshing sleep. The next step was
an effort to identify the Od with animal magnetism;
Eeichenbach found that cataleptic patients who per-
ceived the presence of magnets with exquisite accuracy,
and followed them like mesmerized persons, were affected
alike by his own hands or those of other perfectly
sound, but strongly magnetic men. He could attract
such unfortunate persons by his outstretched fingers,
and force them to follow him in a state of unconscious-
ness wherever he led them. According to his theory,
the two sides of man are of opposite electric nature and
a magnetic current passes continually from one side to
the other; sensitive persons though blind-folded, know
perfectly well on which side they approach others.
Gradually Baron Reichenbach extended the range of
his experiments, employing for that purpose, besides his
own daughter, especially a Miss Nowotny, a sad sufferer
from cataleptic attacks. She was able to distinguish,
by the sensations which were excited in her whole sys-
76 MODEKN MAGIC.
tern, more than six hundred chemicals, and arranged
them, under his guidance, according to their electro-
chemical force. Another sick woman, Miss Maiss, felt
a cool wind whenever certain substances were brought
near her, and by these and similar efforts in which the
baron was aided by many friends, he ascertained the
fact, that there is in nature a force which passes through
all substances, the human body included, and is inhe-
rent in the whole material world. This force he calls
the Od. Like electricity and magnetism, this Od is a
polar force, and here also opposite poles attract, like
poles repel each other. The whole subject, although as
yet only in its infancy, is well deserving of careful study
and thorough investigation.
The manifestations of so-called spirits have naturally
excited much attention, and given rise to the bitterest
attacks. In England, especially, the learned world is all
on one side and the Spiritualists all on the other ; nor do
they hesitate to say very bitter things of each other.
The. Saturday Revtetv, more forcibly than courteously,
speaks of American spiritualists thus : " If this is the
spirit world, and if this is spiritual intelligence, and if all
the spirits can do, is to whisk about in dark rooms,
and pinch people's legs under the table, and play ' Home,
Sweet Home,' on the accordeon, and kiss folks in the
dark, and paint baby pictures, and write such sentimen-
tal, namby-pamby as Mr. Coleman copies out from their
dictation — it is much better to be a respectable pig and
accept annihilation than to be cursed with such an im-
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 77
mortality as this." To which the Spiritual Magazine
(Jan., 1862), does not hesitate to reply. "We shall not
eat breakfast bacon for some time, for fear of getting a
slice of the editor of the Saturday Review, in his
self-sought appropriate metempsychosis." It must
be borne in mind, however, that spiritualists every-
where appeal to their own reason as the highest tribu-
nal before which such questions can be decided, and
to the laws of nature, because as they say, they are
identical with the laws of practical reason. They
believe, as a body, neither in angels nor in demons.
Their spirits are simply the purified souls of de-
parted men. Protestant theologians, who admit
of no purgatory, see in these exhibitions nothing but
the deeds of Satan. Catholic divines, on the other
hand, and Protestant mystics, who, like the German,
Schubert, believe that there exist what they curiously
enough call a " more peaceful infernal spirit," ascribe
them to the agency of evil spirits. In the great ma-
jority of cases, however, the spirits have clearly shown
themselves nothing else but the product of the media.
The latter, invariably either of diseased mind by na-
ture or over-excited for the occasion, believe they see
and hear manifestations in the outer world, which in
reality exist only in their own consciousness. A
Catholic medium is thus visited by spirits from heaven
and hell, while the Protestant medium never meets
souls from purgatory. Nothing has ever been revealed
concerning the future state of man, that was not al-
78 MODERN MAGIC.
ready well known upon earth. Most diverting are the
jealousies of great spirits, of Solomon and Socrates,
Moses and Plato — when the media happen to be jeal-
ous of each other ! A somewhat satirical writer on
the subject explains even the fact that spirits so often
contradict each other and say vile things of sacred
subjects, by the inner wickedness of the media, which
comes to light on such occasions, while they carefully
conceal it in ordinary life ! If these spirits are really
the creations of the inner magic life, of which we are
just learning to know the first elementary signs, then
the powers which are hidden within us may well ter-
rify us as they appear in such exhibitions, while we
will not be surprised at the manner in which many an
ordinary mortal appears here as a poet or a prophet —
if not as a wicked demon. Nor must it be overlooked
that our memory holds vast treasures of knowledge of
which we are utterly unconscious until, under certain
circumstances, one or the other fact suddenly reappears
before our mind's eye. The very fact that we can, by a
great effort and continued appeals to our memory,
recall at last what was apparently utterly forgotten,
proves the presence of such knowledge. A state of
intense excitement, of fever or of trance, is peculiarly
favorable to the recovery of such hidden treasures, and
there can be no doubt that many a medium honestly
believes to receive a new revelation, when only old,
long forgotten facts return to his consciousness. Gen-
erally however, we repeat, nothing is in the spirit that
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 79
is not in the medium. The American spiritualist con-
jures up only his own countrymen, and occasionally
some world-renowned heroes like Napoleon or Caesar,
Shakespeare or Schiller, while the cosmopolitan Ger-
man receives visits from men of all countries. Finally
it must be borne in mind that, according to an old
proverb, we are ever ready to believe what we wish to
see or hear, and hence the amazing credulity of the
majority of spiritualists. Even skeptics are not free
from the influence of this tendency. When Dr. Bell,
the eminent physician of Somerville, Mass., investi-
gated these phenomena of modern magic, many years
ago, he promptly noticed that the spirits never gave in-
formation which was not already in the possession of
one or the other person present. Only in a few cases
he acknowledged with his usual candor, and at once,
at the meeting itself, that a true answer was returned.
But when he examined, after his return home, these
few exceptional revelations, he discovered that he had
been mistaken, and that these answers had been after
all as illusory as the others.
There can be no doubt therefore, that modern magic,
as far as it consists in table-moving and spirit-rapping,
with their usual accompaniments, is neither the work
of mechanical jugglery exclusively, nor, on the other
hand, the result of revelations made by spirits. In the
mass of accumulated evidence there remain however,
after sifting it carefully, many facts which cannot be
explained according to the ordinary course of nature.
80 MODERN MAGIC.
The power which produces these phenomena must be
classified with other well-known powers given to man
under exceptional circumstances, such as the safety of
somnambulists in dangerous places; the cures per-
formed by faith, and the strange exhibitions made by
diseased persons, suffering of catalepsy and similar
affections. If men, under the influence of mesmerism,
in a state of ecstatic fervor, or under the pressure of
strong and long-continued excitement, show powers
which are not possessed by man naturally, then modern
magic also may well be admitted as one of the means
by which such extraordinary, and as yet unexplored
forces are brought to light. All that can be reasonably
asked of those who so peremptorily challenge our ad-
miration, and demand our respect for the new science,
is that it shall be proved to be useful to man, and this
proof is, as yet, altogether wanting.
In Mexico the preparation for acts of magic seems to
have been downright intoxication; at least we learn
from Acosta, in his Hist. nat. y moral cle los Indicts
(lv.), that the priests, before sacrificing, inhaled power-
ful perfumes, rubbed themselves with ointments made
of venomous animals, tobacco and hempseed, and
finally drank chica mixed with various drugs. Thus
they reached a state of exaltation in which they not
only butchered numbers of human beings in cold
blood, and lost all fear of wild beasts, but were also
able to reveal what was happening at a great distance,
or even future events. We find similar practices, also,
BLACK AXD WHITE MAGIC. 81
nearer home. The Indians of Martha's Vineyard had,
before they were converted, their skillful magicians,
who stood in league with evil spirits, and as pawaws
discovered stolen things, injured men at a distance, and
clearly foretold the Goming of the whites. The pious
Brainert gives us full accounts of some of the converted
Delawares, who, after "baptism, felt the evil spirit
depart from them, and lost the power of magic. One,
a great and wicked magician, deplored bitterly his
former condition, when he was a slave of the evil one,
and became, in the good missionary's words : " an
humble, devout, hearty, and loving Christian." It is
more difficult to explain the magic of the so-called
Archbishop Beissel, the head of the brotherhood at
Ephrata, in Pennsylvania, who, according to contem-
porary authorities " oppressed by his magic the father
and steward of the convent, Eckerling, to such a
degree, that he left his brethren aud sought refuge in a
hermit's hut in the forest! The spirits of departed
brethren and sisters returned to the refectory at this
bishop's bidding ; they partook of bread and meat, and
even conversed with their successors. There can be no
doubt that Beissel, abundantly and exceptionally gifted,
possessed the power to put his unhappy subordinates,
already exhausted by asceticism of every kind, into a
state of ecstasy, in which they sincerely believed they
saw these spirits, and were subjected to magic influ-
ences. That such power has by no means entirely de-
parted from our continent, maybe seen in the atrocities
4*
82 MODERN MAGIC.
perpetrated at the command of the negroes' Obee, of
which well-authenticated records aboilnd in Florida
and Louisiana, as well as in Cuba.
The Indo-Germanic race has known and practised
black magic from time immemorial, and the Vend id ad
already explains it as an act which Ahriman, the Evil
Spirit, brought forth when overshadowed by death. In
Egypt it flourished for ages, and has never become en-
tirely extinct. Jannes and Jambres, who led the priests
in their opposition to Moses (2. Tim. iii. 8), have their
successors in our day, and the very miracles performed
by these ancient charmers have been witnessed again
and again by modern travelers. Holy Writ abounds
with instances of every kind of magic ; it speaks of
astrology, and prophesying from arrows, from the en-
trails of animals, and from dreams; but, strangely
enough, the charming of serpents and the evil eye are
not mentioned, if we except Balaam. The Kabbalah,
on the contrary, speaks more than once of the evil eye
(ain hara), and all the southern nations of Europe, as
well as the Slavic races, fear its weird power.
The eye is, however, by no means employed only to
work evil ; by the side of their mal occhio the Italians
have another gift, called attrativa, which enables man,
apparently by the force of his eye only, to draw to
himself all whom he wishes to attract. The well-known
Saint Filippo Neri thus not only won all whom he
wished to gain over, by looking at them, but even dogs
left their beloved masters and followed him everywhere.
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 83
Cotton Mather tells us in his "Magnolia" that quakers
frequently "by the eye only — though often, also, by
anointing or breathing upon them — compelled others
to accompany them, to join their communion, and to
be in all things obedient to their bidding. Tom Case,
himself a quaker, certainly possessed the power of over-
whelming those at whom he looked fixedly for a while,
to such a degree that they fell down as if struck with
epilepsy ; once, at least, he turned even a mad bull, by
the force of his eye, till it approached him humbly and
licked his hand like a pet dog. Even in our own age
Goethe has admitted the power of certain men to
attract others by the strength of their will, and men-
tions an instance in which he himself, ardently wishing
to see his beloved one, forced her unconsciously to come
and meet him halfway. (Eckermann, iii. 201.)
It avails nothing to stigmatize a faith so deeply rooted
and so universal as mere superstition. Among the mass
of errors which in the course of ages have accumulated
around the creed, the little grain of truth, the indubi-
table power of man's mind to act through the eye, ought
not to be overlooked.
It is the same with the magic known as such to the
two great nations of antiquity. If the Greeks saw in
Plato the son of Apollo, who came to his mother
Perictione in the shape of a serpent, and in Alexander
the Great the son of Jupiter Amnion, they probably
intended merely to pay the same compliment to their
countrymen which modern nations convey by calling
84 M0DEEX MAGIC.
their rulers Kings and Kaisers "by the Grace of God."
But the consistency with which higher beings came to
visit earth-born man in the shape of favored animals,
is more than an accident. The sons of God came to
see the daughters of men, though it is not said in what
form they appeared, and the suggestion that they were
the "giants upon the earth," mentioned in Holy Writ,
is not supported ; but exactly as the gods came from
Olympus in the shape of bulls and rams, so the evil
spirits of the Middle Ages appeared in the shape of
rams and cats. A curious instance of the mixture of
truth and falsehood appears in this connection. It is
ivell-known that the Italians of the South look upon
Virgil as one of the greatest magicians that ever lived,
and ascribe to his tomb even now supernatural power.
The poet himself had, of course, nothing whatever to
do with magic ; but his reputation as a magician arose
from the fact that, next to the Bible, his verses became,
at an early period, a favorite means of consulting the
future. Sortes Virgiliance, the lines which upon
accidentally opening the volume first met the eye, were
a leading feature of the art known as stichomania.
The story of the greatest magician mentioned in the
New Testament has been thoroughly examined, and the
main features, at least, are well established. Simon
Magus was a magician in the sense in which the
ancients used that term; but he possessed evidently,
in addition, all the powers claimed by better spiritual-
ists, like Home in our day. A native of Gitton, a small
BLACK AST) WHITE MAGIC. 85
village of Samaria, he had early manifested superior
intellectual gifts, accompanied by an almost marvelous
-control over the minds of others. By the aid of the
former he produced a lofty gnostic system, which crum-
bled, however, to pieces as soon as it came into contact
with the inspired system of Christianity. His influence
over others led him, in the arrogance which is inherent
to natural man, to consider himself as the Great Divine
Power, which appeared in different forms as Father,
Son, and Spirit. He professed to be able to make him-
self invisible and to pass, unimpeded, through solid,
substances — precisely as was done in later ages by Saint
Dominic and other saints (Goerres. Mystic, ii. 576) —
to bind and to loosen others as well as himself at will ;
to open prison doors and to cause trees to grow out of
the bare ground. Before utterly rejecting his preten-
sions as mere lies and tricks, we must bear in mind two
facts: first, that modern jugglers in India perform
these very tricks in a manner as yet unexplained, and
secondly, that he, in all probability, possessed merely
the power of exciting others to a high state of exalta-
tion, in which they candidly believed they saw all these
things. At all events, his magic deeds were identical
with the miracles of later saints, and as these are
enthroned in shrine and statue in Rome, so the Eternal
City erected to Simon Magus, also, a statue, and pro-
claimed him a god in the days of Claudius ! Another
' celebrated magician of the same race, was Sedechias
(Goerres. Mystic, iv. ii. 71), who lived in the days of
80 MODERN MAGIC.
Saint Louis, and who, once, in order to convince the
skeptics of his day of the real existence of spirits, such
as the Kabbalah admits, ordered them to appear in
human form before the eyes of the monarch. Instantly
the whole plain around the king's tent was alive with
a vast army; long rows of bright-colored tents dotted
the lowlands, and on the slopes around were encamped
countless troops; whilst mounted squadrons appeared
in the air, performing marvelous evolutions. This was
probably the first instance of those airy hosts, which
have ever since been seen in various countries.
The Christian era gave to magic phenomena a new
and specific character ; what was a miracle in apostolic
times remained in the eyes of the multitude a miracle
to our day, when performed by saints of the church
— it became a crime and an abomination when the
authors were laymen, and yet both differed in no single
feature. The most remarkable representative of this
dual nature of supernatural performances is, no doubt,
Dr. Faust, whom the great and pious Melanchthon
states to have well known as a native of the little vil-
lage of Knittlingen, near his own birth-place, and as a
man of dissolute habits, whom the Devil carried off in
person. His motto, which has been discovered under a
portrait of his (Hauber's " Bibl. Mag."), was characteris-
tic of his faith : Omne bonum et perfection a Deo, imper-
fectum a diabolo. His vast learning, his great power
over the elements, and the popular story of his pact
with the Evil One, made him a hero among the Ger-
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 87
mans, of whose national tendencies he was then the
typical representative. Unfortunately, however, nearly
every Christian land has had its own Faust ; such was,
for instance, in Spain the famous Dr. Toralba, who
lived in the sixteenth century, and by the aid of a
servile demon read the future, healed the sick, traveled
through the air, and even when he fell into the bands
of the Inquisition, obtained his release through the
Great Admiral of Castile. Gilles de Laval, who was
publicly burnt in 1440, and Lady Fowlis, of Scotland,
are parallel cases. ^ •■
One of the most absurd ceremonies belonging to
black magic, was the well-known Taigheirm, of the
Scotch Highlands, a demoniac sacrifice evidently hand-
ed down from pagan times. The so-called magician
procured a large number of black cats, and devoted
them, with solemn incantations, and while burning
offensive incense of various kinds, to the evil spirits.
Then the poor victims were spitted and slowly roasted
over a fire of coals, one after the other, but so that not
a second's pause occurred between the death of one and
the sufferings of the next. This horridly absurd sacri-
fice had to be continued for three days and nights,
during which the magician was not allowed to take
any food or drink. The consequence was, that if he
did not drop down exhausted and perish miserably, he
became fearfully excited, and finally saw demons in the
shape of black cats who granted him all he desired
(" Horst. Deuteroscopia," ii. 184). It need hardly be
88 MODERN MAGIC.
added that in the state of clairvoyance which he had
reached, he only asked for what he well knew was
going to happen, and that all the fearful visions of
hellish spirits existed only in his overwrought imagina-
tion. But it will surprise many to learn that such
" taigheirms " were held as late as the last century, and
that a place is still shown on the island of Mull, where
Allan Maclean with his assistant, Lachlain Maclean,
sacrificed black cats for four days and nights in succes-
sion. The elder of the two passed for. a kind of high-
priest and chief magician with the superstitious island-
ers ; the other was a young unmarried man of fine
appearance, and more than ordinary intelligence. Both
survived the fearful ceremony, but sank utterly ex-
hausted to the ground, unable to obtain the revelation
which they had expected ; nevertheless they retained
the gift of second sight for their lives.
It must not be imagined, finally, that the summon-
ing of spirits is a lost art ; even in our day men are
found who are willing to call the departed from their
resting-place, and to exhibit them to the eyes of living
men. The best explanation of this branch of magic
was once given by a learned professor, whom the Prince
Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick II., sent for from
ILille, in order to learn from him how spirits could be
summoned. The savant declared that nothing was
easier, and supported his assertion by a number of
actual performances. First the spectator was prepared
by strong beverages, such as the Egyptian sorcerers
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 89
already used to employ on similar occasions, and by the
burning of incense. Soon he fell into a kind of half-
sleep, in which he could still understand what was said,
but no longer reflect upon the sense of the words;
gradually his brain became so disturbed, and his im-
agination so highly excited, that he pictured to himself
images corresponding to the words which he heard, and
called them up before his mind's eye as realities. The
magician, protected against the effects of the incense by
a sponge filled with an alcoholic mixture, then began
to converse with his visitor, and tried to learn from
him all he could concerning the person the latter
wished to see, his shape, his clothes, etc. Finally the
victim was conducted into a dark room, where he was
suddenly asked by a stern, imperious voice : " Do you
not see that woman in white ? " (or whatever the person
might be,) and at once his over-excited imagination led
him to think that he really beheld what he expected or
wished to see. This was allowed to go on till he sank
down exhausted, or actually fainted away. When he
recovered his consciousness, he naturally recollected
but imperfectly what he had seen while in a state of
great excitement, and his memory, impaired by the
intermediate utter exhaustion and fainting, failed to
recall the small errors or minute inaccuracies of his
vision. All that was left of the whole proceeding was
a terrifying impression on his mind that he had really
seen the spirits of departed friends.
Such skillful manoeuvres were more than once em-
90 MODERN MAGIC.
ployed for sinister purposes. Thus it is a well-known
historical fact that the men who obtained control over
King Frederick William II., after his ascension to the
throne, and held it for a time by the visions which
they showed him, employed means like these to sum-
mon the spirits he wished to see. The master in this
branch of black magic was undoubtedly Joseph Bal-
samo, the Count Cagliostro of French history. He
was neither a magician in the true sense of the word,
nor even a religious enthusiast, but merely an accom-
plished juggler and swindler, who had acquired, by
natural endowment, patient study, and consummate
art, a. great power over the minds of others. He
played upon the imagination of men as upon a famil-
iar instrument, and the greatest philosophers were as
easily victimized by him as the most clear-sighted wo-
men, in spite of the natural instinct which generally
protects the latter against such imposition. His
secret — as far as the summoning of the spirits of the
departed is concerned — has died with him, but that
enlightened, conscientious men candidly believed they
had been shown disembodied spirits, is too well estab-
lished by memories of French and Dutch writers to be
doubted. In the meetings of his " lodges of Egyptian
Freemasons " he, as Grand Cophtha, or those whom he
had qualified by breathing upon them, employed a boy
or a girl, frequently called up at haphazard from the
street, but at other times carefully prepared for the
purpose, to look into the hand or a basin of water.
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 91
The poor child was, however, first made half-uncon-
scious, being anointed with the " oil of wisdom," no
doubt an intoxicating compound, and after numerous
ceremonies, carried into a recess called the Tabernacle,
and ordered to look into the hand or a basin of water.
After the assembly had prayed for some time, the
"Dove," as they called the child, was asked what he
saw. Ordinarily he beheld first an angel or a priest —
probably the image of Oagliostro himself in his sacer-
dotal robes — but frequently also monkeys, the offspring
of a skeptical imagination. Then followed more or
less interesting revelations, some utterly absurd, others
of real interest, and at times actual predictions of
future events. Cagliostro himself, during his last trial
before the Inquisition of Borne, while readily confess-
ing a large number of impostures, stoutly maintained
the genuineness of these communications and insisted
that they were the effects of a special power granted
by God. His assertion has some value, as the shrewd
man knew very well how much more he was likely to
gain by a prompt avowal than by such a denial ; his
wife, also, although his accomplice in former years, and
now by no means disposed to spare her quasi-husband,
always stated that this was a true mystery which she
had never been able to fathom. If we add to these
considerations the fact that numerous masters of
lodges, even in Holland and England, obtained the
same results, and that they cannot all have been impos-
tors or deluded victims, there remains euough in these
92 MODERN MAGIC.
well-established phenomena to ascribe them to a mys-
terious, magic power. (Compendio clella vita, etc. di G.
Balsamo. Roma, 1791.) It is in fact quite evident that
the unfortunate juggler possessed in a very rare degree
a power akin to that practised by a Mesmer, a Home,
and other men of that class, without having the sense
to understand its true nature or the ambition to em-
ploy it for other than the lowest selfish purposes.
Trials of magicians, who have conjured up the dead
and compelled them to reveal the future, are still tak-
ing place every now and then ; in the year 1850 not
less than four men, together with their associates, were
accused of this crime in enlightened Germany, and the
proceedings in one case, which occurred in Munich,
created no small sensation.
Black magic, therefore, must also be looked upon as
by no means a mere illusion, much less as the work of
evil spirits. The results it obtains at times are the
work of man himself, and exist only within his own
conscience. But if man can produce such marvelous
effects, which lie apparently beyond the range of the
material world, how much more must the Creator and
Preserver of all things be able to call forth events
which transcend — to our mind— the limits of the tan-
gible world. Such occurrences, when they have a
higher moral or religious purpose in view, we call Mir-
acles, and they remain incomprehensible for all whose
knowledge is confined to the physical world. Above
the laws of nature there rules the Divine Will, which
BLACK AND WHITE MAGIC. 93
can do what Nature cannot do, and which we can only
begin to understand when we bear in mind the fact that
by the side of the visible order of the world or above
it, there exist spiritual laws as well as spiritual beings.
In a miracle, powers are rendered active which ordina-
rily remain inactive, but which exist none the less per-
manently in the world. Hence all great thinkers have
readily admitted the existence of miracles : a Locke
and a Leibnitz as well as, more recently, a Stahl and a
Schopenhauer. Locke, in his " Discourse of Miracles,"
goes so far as to call them the very credentials of a
messenger sent from God, and asserts that Moses and
Christ have alike authenticated the truth and the
divine character of their revelations by miracles. Even
their possible continuance is believed in by those who
hope that men will ever continue among us who " have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the
world to come." (Hebrews vi. 5.)
IIL
DEEAMS.
" To sleep — perchance to dream." — Hamlet.
Of the two parts of our being, one, spiritual and
heaven-born, is always active, the other, the bodily,
earth-born part, requires frequent and regular rest in
sleep. During this time of repose, however, the mind
also ceases apparently its operations, merely, however,
because it has no longer servants at its command, who
are willing and able to give expression to its activity.
When the senses are asleep the mind is deprived of the
usual means of communication with the outer world ;
but this does not necessarily condemn it to inaction.
On the contrary, ifc has often been maintained that the
mind is most active and capable of the highest
achievements when released from its usual bondage to
the senses. Already iEschylus in his "Eumenides"
says:
The mind of sleepers acts more cunningly ;
The glare of day conceals the fate of men.
It seems, however, as if the intermediate state between
the fall activity of wakeful life and the complete repose
of the senses in sound sleep, is most favorable to the
development of such magic phenomena as occur in
DKEAMS. 95
dreams. The fact that the susceptibility of the mind
is at that time peculiarly great is intimately connected
with the statement recorded in Holy Writ, that God
frequently revealed His will to men in dreams. If we
admit the antiquity of the book of Job, we see there
the earliest known announcement of this connection.
" In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep
falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then
He openeth the ears of men and sealeth their instruc-
tion" (xxxiii. 15). Next we are told that " God came to
Abimelech in a dream by night" (Gen. xx. 3), and from
that time we hear of similar revelations made by night
in dreams throughout the whole history of the chosen
people. Frequently, however, the dreams are called
visions. Thus Balaam prophesied: "He hath said,
which heard the words of God and knew the knowl-
edge of the Most High, which saw the vision of the
Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes
open." Daniel had his secret "revealed in a night
vision," but such favor was denied to Saul, for " the
Lord answered him not, neither by dream nor by
Urim, nor by prophets." To Solomon, on the contrary,
"the Lord appeared in a dream by night" many times;
Joel was promised that " old men should dream dreams
and young men shall see visions," a pledge quoted by
St. Peter as having been amply fulfilled in his day (Acts
ii. 17). For dreams did not lose their importance at
the coming of Christ. To his reputed father "the
Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream," bidding him
96 MODERN MAGIC.
to take Mary to his wife ; again lie was warned in a
dream " not to return to Herod," and the Lord spake
" to Paul in the night by a vision " more than once,
as he was by a- dream also sent to Macedonia.
What in these and similar cases is accepted as divine
inspiration, is in secular history generally looked upon
as mysterious, magic revelation; but the phenomena
remain the same in all instances, and those appearing
in dreams are identical with the symptoms exhibited in
revelations occurring during the day, when the favored
recipient is wide awake. Clairvoyance by night differs
in no way from clairvoyance during the day ; a state of
ecstasy, a trance, is necessary in either case. That
prophetic dreams generally remain unknown — outside
of Holy Writ — must be ascribed to the fact that they
leave no recollection behind, unless they are continued
into a state of half-sleep, from which a sudden awaken-
ing takes place ; and soon then they are invariably
clothed in some allegoric form, and become liable to be
erroneously or, at least, imperfectly interpreted. Thus
dreams, like trances, often prefigure death under the
form of a journey, and represent the dying man as an
uprooted tree, a withered flower, or a drowning swim-
mer. The early Christians, foreseeing martyrdom, very
frequently received in dreams an intimation of their
impending fate under such symbolic forms, and, what
was quite peculiar to their visions was that they often
extended to the pagan jailors and keepers, whose minds
had been excited by witnessing the sufferings and the
DEEAMS. 97
constancy of their victims, and who, in many cases,
became, in consequence of these dreams, converts to the
new faith. The facility, however, with which such
symbols can be misunderstood, has been as fatal to
dreams in the estimation of most men, as the inaccurate
manner in which the real revelation is often presented
to the still half-sleeping mind. Hence the popular
belief that dreams " go by contraries," as vulgar slang
expresses it. This faith is based upon the well-estab-
lished fact that a genuine dream, in the act of impress-
ing itself upon memory, often suffers not only
mutilation but actual reversion. Thus Eogers saw, in
a dream, Hikey, a small, weak man, murder a powerful
giant, Caulfield — in the actual encounter, which he had
really foreseen, the latter killed his puny antagonist.
It is, therefore, as dangerous to " believe in dreams," as
to deny their value altogether and to ascribe all realiza-
tions of dreams, with Macnish, to mere accident.
(" Sleep," p. 81.) Men of cool judgment and clear mind
have at all times been found on the side of believers,
and even our great Franklin, with his eminently practi-
cal mind and well-known aversion to every kind of
superstition, firmly trusted in views which he believed
to have come to him in dreams.
Antiquity believed in dreams, not only as means by
which the G-ods revealed their will, but as special favors
accorded to fortunate men. Thus we are told that once
two men were traveling together from Arcadia to
Megara ; when they reached the city, one of the two
5
98 MODERN MAGIC.
remained at an inn, while the other went to stay with a
a friend. Both, wearied by the journey, retired to
rest; but the traveler who was at a private house
dreamt in the night that his friend urged him to come
to his assistance, as the innkeeper was about to murder
him. Terrified by the vivid dream, he jumped up ; but,
upon reflection, he concluded that the whole was but an
idle fancy, and lay down again. Thereupon the dream
was repeated ; but this time his friend added, that it
was too late to come to his aid now, as he had been
murdered, and his body would in the morning be
carried out of the city, concealed under a load of
manure. This second dream made such an impression
upon the Arcadian that he went at an early hour to the
city gate, and to his amazement soon saw a wagon
loaded with manure approaching the place where he
stood. He stopped the driver and asked him what he
had hidden in his wagon ? The man fled, trembling ;
the body of the murdered friend was found, and the
treacherous innkeeper paid with his life for his crime.
(Cicero, De divin.)
One of the oldest of well-authenticated dreams in
Christian times, revealed to St. Basil the death of
Julian the Apostate. It seemed to him in his sleep
that he saw the martyr Mercurius receive from God
the order to kill the tyrant, and after a short time
return and say: "0 Lord, Julian is killed as Thou
hast commanded! " The saint was so firmly convinced
of having received a direct revelation from heaven,
DEEAMS. 99
that he immediately made the news known to the
people, and thus gained new honor when the official
information at last arrived. ( Vita 8. Basil, etc., p. 692.)
Here, also, the deep-seated hatred of the Christian
priest against the Emperor, who dared to renew the
worship of the ancient gods of the Pagans, no doubt
suggested the vivid dream, while, on the other hand,
the 'transmission of the actual revelation was so im-
perfect as to change the real occurrence — Julian's
death by a Persian lance — according to the familiar
way of thinking of St. Basil, into his execution at
divine command by a holy martyr. There is no lack
of renowned men of all ages who have had their re-
markable dreams, and who have, fortunately for future
investigation, recorded them carefully. Thus Me-
lanchthon tells us that he was at a convent with a
certain Dr. Jonas, when letters reached him requesting
him to convey to his friend the sad news of his
daughter's sudden death. The great reformer was at a
loss how to discharge the painful duty, and driven by
an instinctive impulse, asked Dr. Jonas whether he
had ever had any remarkable dreams. The latter re-
plied that he had dreamt, during the preceding night,
of his return home, and of the joyful welcome he had
met from all his family, except his oldest daughter,
who 'had not appeared. Thereupon Melanchthon told
him that his dream had been true, and that he would
never see his daughter again, as she had been sum-
moned to her eternal home. Petrarch had a dream
100 MODERN MAGIC.
which was evidently also the reflex of his thoughts in
the day-time, but accompanied by a direct revelation.
He had been, for some days, very anxious about the
health of his patron, a Oolonna, who was Bishop of
Lombez, and one night saw himself in a dream walking
by his friend's side, but unable to keep pace with him ;
the bishop walked faster and faster, bidding him stay
behind, and when the poet insisted upon following
him, he suddenly assumed a death-like appearance, and
said, " No, I will not have you go with me now ! "
During the Same night in which Petrarch had this
dream in Parma, the bishop died at his palace in
Lombez. The well-known Thomas "Wotton, also,
dreamt a short time before his death, while residing
in Kent, that he saw five persons commit a robbery at
Oxford. On the following day he added a postscript to
a letter which he had written to his son Henry, then a
student at that university, in which he mentioned his
dream, and asked if such a robbery had really taken
place. The letter reached the young man on the morn-
ing after the crime had been committed, when town
and university were alike in a state of intense excite-
ment. He made the letter immediately known to the
authorities, who found in the account of the dream so
accurate a description of the robbers, that they were
enabled at once to ascertain who were the guilty per-
sons, and to have them arrested before they could
escape. (Beaumont, p. 223.) The great German poet
Gustav Schwab received the first intimation of the
DEEAMS. 101
French Kevolution in 1848 through a remarkable
dream which his daughter had in the night preceding
the 24th of February. She had been attacked by a
malignant fever, and was very restless and nervously
excited ; during that night she saw, in her feverish
dreams, the streets of Paris filled with excited crowds,
and was forced to witness the most fearful scenes.
When her father came to her bedside next morning,
she gave him a minute description of the building of
barricades, the bloody encounters between the troops
and the citizens, and of a number of sad tragedies
which she had seen enacted in the narrow and dark
streets of the great city. The father, though deeply
impressed by the vivid character of the dream, as-
cribed it to a reminiscence of the scenes enacted during
the Revolution of 1789, and dismissed the subject,
although his child insisted upon the thoroughly mod-
ern character of the buildings, and the costumes and
manners of all she had seen. Great was, therefore, the
amazement of the poet and of all who had heard of the
dream, when, several days afterwards, the first news
reached them of the expulsion of the Orleans family,
and much greater still when the papers brought, one
by one, descriptions of the scenes which the feverish
dream had enabled the girl to see in minute detail, and
yet with unerring accuracy. It is true'that the poet,
in whose biography the dream with all the attending
circumstances is mentioned at full length, had for years
anticipated such a revolution, and often, with a poet's
102 MODEEN MAGIC.
graphic power, conjured up the scenes that were likely
to happen whenever the day of the tempest should
arrive. Thus his daughter's mind had, no doubt, long
been filled with images of this kind, and was in a state
peculiarly susceptible for impressions connected with
the subject. There remains, however, the magic phe-
nomenon that she saw, not a poet's fiction, but actual
occurrences with all their details, and saw them in the
very night during which they happened. In the papers
of Sir Eobert Peel was found a note concerning his
journey from Antibes to Nice, in 1854. He was on
board the steamer Erculano, which, on the 25th of
April, so violently collided with another steamer, the
Sicilia, that it sank immediately, and two-thirds of the
passengers perished. Among those who were rescued
were the great English statesman and the maid of two
ladies, the wife and the daughter of a counselor of a
French court of justice at Dijon. The young girl had
had a presentiment of impending evil, but her wish to
postpone the journey had been overruled. The father,
also, though knowing nothing of the precise where-
abouts of his beloved ones, had been much troubled in
mind about their safety, and in the very night in which
the accident happened, saw the whole occurrence in a
harassing dream. He distinctly beheld the vessel dis-
appear in the waves, and a number of victims, among
whom were his wife and his child, struggling for life,
till they finally perished. He awoke in a state of great
anguish, summoned his servants to keep him com-
DEEAMS. 103
pany, and told them what he had dreamt. A few
hours later the telegraph informed him of the accident,
and of his own grievous affliction. (Journ. de Vame,
Fevr. 1857, p. 253.)
While in these dreams events were made known
which happened at the same time, in other dreams the
future itself is revealed. Cicero, in his work on Divi-
nation (I. 27, and II. 66), and Valerius Maximus have
preserved a number of such dream-visions, which were
famous already in the days of antiquity; a dream con-
cerning the tyrant Dionysius was especially well known.
It seems that a woman, called Himera, found herself
in a dream among the gods on Olympus, and there saw
chained to the throne of Jupiter a large man with red
hair and spotted countenance. When she asked the
divine messenger who had carried her to those regions,
who that man was, he told her it was the scourge of
Italy and Sicily, a man who, when unchained, would
destroy many cities. She related her dream on the fol-
lowing morning to her friends, but found no explana-
tion, till several years afterwards, when Dionysius
ascended the throne. She happened to be in the crowd
which had assembled to witness the triumph of the
new monarch, and when she saw the tyrant, she
uttered a loud cry, for she had recognized in him the
man in chains under Jupiter's throne. The cry at-
tracted attention ; she was brought before Dionysius,
forced to relate her dream, and sent to be executed.
Equally well known was the remarkable dream wlibh
104 MODERN MAGIC.
Socrates had a short time before his death. His sen-
tence had already been passed, but the day for its exe-
cution was not yet made known, when Crito, one of his
friends, came to him and informed him that it would
probably be ordered for the next morning. The great
philosopher replied with his usual calmness: " If such
is the will of the gods, be it so; but I do not think it
will be to-morrow. I had, just before you entered, a
sweet dream. A woman of transcending beauty, and
dressed in a long white robe, appeared to me, called me
by name, and said, ' In three days you will return to
your beloved Phthia' (Socrates' native place)." He
did not die till the third day.
Alexander the Great came more than once, during his
remarkable career, in peculiar contact with prophetic
dreams. He was thus informed of the coming of Cas-
sander long before he ever saw him, and even of the
influence which the still unknown friend would have
on his fate. When the latter at last appeared at court,
Alexander looked at him long and anxiously, and
recognized in him the man he had so often seen in his
dreams. It so happened, however, that before his
suspicions assumed a positive form, a Greek distich
was mentioned to him, written to prove the utter
worthlessness of all dreams, and the effect of these
lines, combined with the discovery that Cassander was
the son of his beloved Antipater, induced him to lay
aside all apprehensions. Nevertheless, his friend sub-
sequently poisoned him in cold blood. Not less
DREAMS. ] 05
famous was the dream which warned Cains Gracchus
of his own sad fate. He saw in his sleep the shadow
of his brother Tiberius, and heard him announce in a
clear voice, that Caius also would share his tragic end,
and be murdered like himself in the Capitol. The
great Roman frequently related this dream, and the
historian Ccelius records that he heard it repeated
during Gracchus' life-time. It is well known that the
latter afterwards became a tribune, and was killed
while he held that office, in the same manner as his
brother. Cicero also had his warning dream. He was
escaping from his enemies, who had driven him out
of Rome, and seeking safety in his Antium villa.
Here he dreamt, one night, that, as he was wandering
through a waste, deserted country, the Consul Marius
met him, accompanied by the usual retinue, and
adorned with all the insignia of his rank, and asked
him why he was so melancholy, and why he had fled
from Rome. When he had answered the question,
Marius took him by his right hand, and summoning
his chief officer to his side, ordered him to carry the
great orator to the temple of Jupiter, built by Marius
himself, while he assured Cicero he would there meet
with new hopes. It was afterwards ascertained that at
the very hour of the dream, the Senate had been dis-
cussing in the temple of Jupiter the speedy return of
Cicero. It would have been well for the great Caesar,
also, if he had deigned to listen to the warning voice
of dreams, for in the night before his murder, his wife,
5*
106 MODERN MAGIC.
Calphurnia, saw him, in a dream, fall wounded and
copiously bleeding into her arms, and there end his
life. She told him of her dream, and on her knees
besought him not to go out on that day ; but Caesar,
fearing he might be suspected of giving undue weight
to a woman's dreams, made light of her fears, went to
the Senate, and met his tragic fate. Among later
Eomans the Emperor Theodosius was most strikingly
favored by dreams, if we may rely upon the statement
of Ammianus Marcellinus (I. 29). Two courtiers,
anxious to ascertain who should succeed the Emperor
Valens on the throne, employed a kind of magic instru-
ment, resembling the modern psychograph, and suc-
ceeded in deciphering the letters Theod. Their dis-
covery became known to the jealous emperor, who
ordered not only Theodoras, his second secretary of
state, to be executed, but with him a large number of
eminent personages whose names began with the omi-
nous five letters. For some unknown reasons, Theodo-
sius, then in Spain, escaped his suspicions, and yet it was
he, who, when Valens fell in the war against the Goths,
was summoned home by the next emperor, Gratianus,
to save the empire and assume the supreme command
of the army. When the successful general returned to
Byzantium to make his report to the emperor, he had
himself a dream in which he saw the great Patriarch
of Antioch, Meletius, invest him with the purple, and
place the imperial crown upon his head. Gratianus,
struck by the brilliancy of the victory obtained at the
DEEAMS. 107
moment of supreme danger, made Theodosius Emperor
of the East, and returned to Eome. During the follow-
ing year (380) a great council was held in Constan-
tinople, and here, amid a crowd of assembled dignitaries
of the church, Theodosius instantly recognized the
Bishop of Antioch, whom he had never seen except in
his dream.
It is not generally known that the prediction of
future greatness which Shakespeare causes the three
witches to convey to Macbeth, rests on an historic
basis. The announcement came to him, however,
probably not at an actual meeting, but by means of a
prophetic dream, which presented to the ambitious
chieftain the appearance of an encounter with un-
earthly agents. This presumption is strengthened by
the first notice of the mysterious event, which occurs, it
is believed, in " Wyntownis Cronykil," where Macbeth
is reported to have had a vivid dream of three weird'
women, who foretold him his fate. Boethius derived
his information from this source, and for unknown
reasons added not only Banquo as a witness of the
scene, but described it, also, first of all chroniclers, as
an actual meeting in a forest.
The report that the discovery of the famous Venus
of Milo was due to a dream, is not improbable, but is as
yet without sufficient authentication. The French
Consul, Brest, who was a resident of Milo, dreamed, it is
stated, two nights in succession, that he had caused
diggings to be made at a certain place in the island and
108 MODERN MAGIC.
that his efforts had been rewarded by the discovery of a
beautiful statue. He paid no attention to the dream ;
but it was repeated a third time, and now so distinctly
that he not only saw clearly all the surroundings, but,
also, the traces of a recent fire on the spot that had
been pointed out to him before. When he went on the
following day to the place, he instantly recognized the
traces of fire, began his researches, and discovered not
only the Yenus, now the glory of the Louvre, but, also,
several other most valuable statues. The well-known
dream concerning Major Andre is open to the same
objections, although it is quoted in good faith by Mrs.
Crowe (i., p. 59). We are told that the Eev. Mr. Cun-
ningham, the poet, saw in a dream a man who was
captured by armed soldiers and hanged on a tree. To
his utter consternation, he recognized on the following
day, in Major Andre, who was then for the first time
presented to him, the person he had seen in his dream.
The latter was then just on the point of embarking for
America, where he met with his sad fate.
A large number of dreams which are looked upon as
prophetic, are nothing more than the result of impres-
sions made on the mind during sleep by some bodily
sensation. A swelling or an inflammation, for instance,
is frequently announced beforehand by pain in the
affected part of the body ; the mind receives through
the nerves an impression of this pain and clothes it,
during sleep and in a dream, into some familiar garb,
the biting of a serpent, the sting of an insect, or, even,
DEEAMS. 109
the stab of a dagger. An occasional coincidence serves
to lend prestige to such simple and perfectly natural
dreams. Thus Shilling (" Jenseits," p. 284) records the
"well-known story of a young man in Padua, who dreamed
one night that he was bitten by one of the marble lions
which stand before the church of St. Justina. Passing
by the place, on the following day, with some compan-
ions, he recalled the dream, and putting his hand into the
mouth of one of the lions, he said, defiantly: "Look at
the fierce lion that bit me last night." But at the same
moment he utterred a piercing cry and drew back his
hand in great terror: a scorpion, hid in the lion's
mouth, had stung him, and the poor youth died of the
venom. The German poet Conrad Gessner dreamed, in
a similar manner, that a snake bit him in his left
breast ; the matter was completely forgotten, when five
days later a slight rising appeared on the spot, which
speedily developed itself into a fatal ulcer, and caused
his death in a short time.
Far more interesting, and occasionally productive of
good results, are dreams which might be called retro-
spective, inasmuch as they reveal events of the past,
which staud in some connection with present or im-
pending necessities. Many of these, no doubt, arise
simply from the recovery of forgotten facts in our mem-
ory; others, however, cannot be thus explained. Jus-
tinus tells us of Dido's dream, in which she saw her
departed husband, Sichasus, who pointed out to her his
concealed treasures and advised her to seek safety in
110 MODERN MAGIC.
flight. St. Augustine also has an account of a father who
after death appeared to his son and showed him a re-
ceipted account, the loss of which had caused his heir
much anxiety. {De cur a pro mortuis, ch. xi.) After
Dante's death the thirteenth canto of his Paradise could
nowhere be found, and the apparent loss filled all Italy
with grief and sorrow. His son, Pietro Alighieri, how-
ever, saw a long time afterwards, in a dream, his father,
who came to his bedside and told him that the missing
papers were concealed under a certain plank near the
window at which he had been in the habit of writing.
It was only when all other researches had proved
vain, that, attention was paid to the dream ; but when
the plank was examined the canto was found in the
precise place which the dream had indicated.
A similar dream of quite recent occurrence was acci-
dentally more thoroughly authenticated than is gen-
erally the case with such events. The beautiful wife
of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild of Paris had lost a
valuable ring while hunting in the woods near her cas-
tle of Ferrieres. It so happened that early associations
made the jewel specially dear to her, and she felt the
loss grievously ; a reward of fifteen hundred francs
was, therefore, offered at once for its recovery. The
night after the hunt, the daughter of one of the keep-
ers saw in a dream an unknown man of imposing ap-
pearance, who told her to go at daybreak to a certain
crossroad in the forest, where she would find the ring
at the foot of a beech-tree, close to the highway. She
DEE AMS. Ill
awakes, dresses herself at once, and goes to the place of
which she has dreamed ; after half an hour's walk she
reaches the crossroads and almost at the same moment
sees something glittering and shining like a firefly,
picks it up, and behold ! it is the ring. The girl had
not even seen the hunt, nor did she know anything of
the loss of the jewel ; the whole occurrence, and the
place where it was lost, all were pointed out to her in
her dream. (Le Monde lllustre, Dec. 15, 1860).
It has already been mentioned that the question has
often been mooted whether the mind was really quite
at rest during sleep, or still operative in dreams. Some
authors deny its activity altogether; others admit a
partial activity. The philosopher Kant went so far as
to maintain that perceptions had during sleep were
clearer and fuller than those of the day, because of the
perfect rest of the other senses. Recollection, alone, he
added, was missing, because the mind acted in sleep
without the cooperation of the body.
There are, however, certain facts which seem to
prove that the mind does, at least, not altogether cease
its activity while the body is asleep. How else could
we explain the power many persons undoubtedly pos-
sess to awake at a fixed hour, and the success with
which, more than once, great mental efforts have been
made during profound sleep ? Of the latter, Tartini's
famous sonata is a striking instance. He had en-
deavored in vain to finish this great work ; inspiration
would not come, and he had abandoned the task in
112 MODERN MAGIC.
despair. During the night he had a dream in which
he once more tried his best, but in vain ; at the mo-
ment of despair, however, the Deyil appeared to him
and promised to finish the work in return for his soul.
The composer, nothing loath, surrenders his soul and
hears his magnificent work gloriously completed on the
violin. He wakes up in perfect delight, goes to his
desk, and at once writes down his " Devil's Sonata."
Even children are known occasionally to be able to
give intelligent answers while fast asleep ; the ques-
tions, however, must be in accordance with the current
of their thoughts, otherwise they are apt to be aroused.
A case is quoted by Eeil of two~ soldiers who used, at
times, to keep up an uninterrupted conversation during
a whole night, while they were to all appearances fast
asleep. A lady, also, was unable to refuse answers to
questions put to her at night, and' had at last to lock
herself in carefully whenever she went to sleep.
Hence it is that some of the most profound thinkers
who have discussed the subject of dreams, like Des-
cartes and Leibnitz, Jouffroy and Dugald Stewart,
Eichard and Cams, with a number of others, assert the
uninterrupted wakefulness of the mind. Some authors
believe that the spiritual part of man needs no sleep,
but delights in the comfort of feeling that the body is
in perfect repose, and of forgetting, by these means,
for a time the troubles of daily life, and the responsi-
bilities of our earthly existence. They base this view
upon the fact, that, as far as we can judge, the mind is,
DREAMS. 113
during sleep, independent of the body and the outer
world. Thinking is quite possible during sleep with-
out dreaming, and certain bodily sensations, even, are
correctly perceived, as when we turn over in our sleep,
because lying on one side produces pain or uneasiness.
We not only talk while we are asleep, but laugh or
weep, sigh or groan. A slight noise, a whispered word,
affect the course of our thoughts, and produce new
images in our dreams, as certain affections and even
the pressure upon certain organs are sure to produce
invariably the same dreams. Space and time dis-
appear, however, and naturally, because we can meas-
ure them only by the aid of our senses, and these are,
for the time, inactive. Hence Dugald Stewart ascribes
the manner in which a moment's dream often com-
prises a year, or a whole lifetime, to the fact that, when
we are asleep, the images created by our imagination
appear to be realities, while those which we form when
we are awake are known to us to be mere fictions, and
hence not subject to the laws of time.
It will not surprise us, therefore, to find that this
activity of the mind, deprived of the usual means of
making itself known to others by gesture, sound, or
action, seeks frequently a symbolical utterance, and
this is the grain of truth here also hid under the vast
amount of rubbish, known as the interpretation of
dreams. Troubles and difficulties may thus appear as
storms ; sorrow and grief as tears ; troubled waters
may represent pain, and smooth ice impending danger;
114 MODERN MAGIC.
a dry river-bed an approaching famine, and pretty
flowers great joy to come, provided, always, we are dis-
posed to admit a higher class of prophetic dreams.
Such a view is supported by high authority, for since
the days of Aristotle, great writers, divines as well as
philosophers, have endeavored to classify dreams accord-
ing to their nature and importance. The great re-
former, Melanchthon, in his work on the soul, divided
them into common dreams, void of importance ; pro-
phetic dreams, arising from the individual gifts of the
sleeper ; divine.dreams, inspired by God either directly
or through the agency of angels, and finally, demoniac
dreams, such as the witches' sabbath. One great dif-
ficulty attending all such classification arises, however,
from the well-known fact, already alluded to, that ex-
ternal sensations are by far the most frequent causes of
dreams. Even these have been systematically arranged
by some writers, most successfully, perhaps, in the
work of Maine de Biran, but he overlooks again the
numerous cases in which external noises and similar
accidents produce a whole train of thoughts. Thus
Pope dreamed of a Spaniard who impudently entered
his library, ransacked the books on the shelves, and
turned a deaf ear to all his remonstrances. The im-
pression was so forcible that he questioned all his
servants, and investigated the matter thoroughly, till
he was finally forced to acknowledge that the whole
transaction was a dream caused by the fall of a book
in his library, which he heard in his sleep. A still
DREAMS. 115
more remarkable case occurred once in a hotel in
Dantzic, where not one person only, but all the guests,
without exception, dreamed of the sudden arrival of a
number of travelers, who disturbed the whole house,
and took possession of their rooms with unusual clatter
and noise. Not one had arrived, but during the night
a violent storm had arisen, causing doors to slam and
window-shutters to flap against the house, noises
which had aroused in more than fifty people precisely
the same impressions.
IV.
VISIONS.
Concipiendis visionibus quas phantasias vocant.
QUINTILIAN.
Visions, that is, the perception of apparently tan-
gible objects in the outer world, which only exist in
our imagination, have been known from time im-
memorial among all nations on earth. They are, in
themselves, perfectly natural, and can frequently be
traced back without difficulty to bodily affections or
a disordered state of the mind, so that many emi-
nent physicians dispose of them curtly as mere inci-
dental symptoms of congestion or neuralgia. They
may present real men and things, known beforehand,
and now reproduced in such a manner as to appear
objectively ; or they may be ideal forms, the product
of the moment, and incompatible with the laws of
actual life. Persons who have visions and know
nothing of their true nature, are apt to become in-
tensely excited, as if they had been transferred into
another world. The images they behold seem to them
of supernatural origin, and may inspire them with lofty
thoughts and noble impulses, but only too frequently
they disturb their peace of mind and lead them to
crime or despair.
VISIONS. 117
When visions extend to other senses besides sight,
and the peculiar state of mind by which they are
caused affects different parts of the body at once, they
are called hallucinations; most frequent among insane
people, of whom, according to Esquirol, eighty in a
hundred are thus affected, they are generally quite in-
significant; while visions through the eye, are often
accompanied by very remarkable magic phenomena.
Thus the visions which great men like Cromwell and
Descartes, Byron or Goethe, record of their own ex-
perience, were evidently signs of the great energy of
their mental life, while in others they are as clearly
symptoms of disease. Ascribed by the ancients to
divine influence, Christianity has invariably denounced
them — when not indubitably inspired by God, as in the
case of the martyr Stephen and the apostle St. John —
as works of the Devil. At all times they have been
communicated to others, either by contagion or, in
rare cases, by the imposition of hands, as they have
been artificially produced. Thus extreme bodily fatigue
and utter prostration after long illness are apt to cause
hallucinations. Albert Smith, for instance, while as-
cending Mont Blanc, and feeling utterly exhausted, saw
all his surroundings clearly with his eyes, and yet, at
the same time, beheld marvelous things with the so-
called inner sense. A Swiss who, in 1848, during a
severe cold, crossed from Wallis to Kandersteg by the
famous Gemmi Pass, eight thousand feet high, saw on
his way a number of men shoveling the snow from his
118 MODERN MAGIC.
path, fellow-travelers climbing up on all sides, and
rolling masses of snow which changed into dogs; he
heard the blows of axes and the laughing and singing
of distant shepherds, while his road was utterly de-
serted, and not a human soul within many miles.
His hands and feet were found frozen when he arrived
at last at his quarters for the night, and ten days later
he died from the effects of his exposure. During the
retreat of the French from Eussia the poor sufferers,
frozen and famished, were continually tormented by
similar hallucinations, which increased their sufferings
at times to such a degree as to lead them to commit
suicide. Another frequent cause of visions is long-
continued fasting combined with more or less ascetic
devotion. This is said to explain why the prophets of
the Old Testament were so vigorously forbidden to in-
dulge in wine or rich fare. Thus Aaron was told :
" Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor thy
sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle " (Levit.
x. 9) ; Moses remained forty days, and " neither did eat
bread nor drink wine," when he was on Mount Sinai
(Deuter. ix. 9) ; the Nazarites were ordered not to
" drink any liquor of grapes, nor to eat moist grapes or
dried," and even to abstain from vinegar (Numbers vi.
3), and Daniel and his companions had nothing but
"pulse to eat and water to drink" (Dan. i. 12), in
order to prepare them for receiving "wisdom and know-
ledge and the understanding of dreams and visions."
Narcotics also, and, in our day, most of the anaesthet-
visions. 119
ics can produce visions and hallucinations, but the
result is in all such cases much less interesting than
when they are produced spontaneously. Tobacco and
opium, betel, hasheesh, and cocoa are the principal
means employed ; but Siberia has besides its narcotic
mushrooms, Polynesia its ava, New Granada and the
Himalaya the thorn-apple, Florida its emetic apa-
lachine, and the northern regions of America and
Europe have their ledum. The most effective among
these narcotics seems to be the Indian hemp, since the
visions it produces surpass even the marvelous effects
of opium, as has been recently again most graphically
described by Bayard Taylor. Laughing-gas, also, has
frequently similar effects, and affords, besides, the pre-
cious privilege of freedom from the painful, often ex-
cruciating consequences of other narcotics. When
perfumes are employed for the express purpose of pro-
ducing visions, it is difficult to ascertain how much is
due to their influence, and how much to the over-ex-
cited mind of the seer. Benvenuto Cellini describes —
though probably not in the most trustworthy manner —
the amazing effect produced upon himself and a boy by
his side, by the perfumes which a priest burnt in the
Coliseum. The whole vast building seemed to him
filled with demons, and the boy saw thousands of
threatening men, four huge giants, and fire bursting
out in countless places. The great artist was told, at
the same time, that a great danger was threatening
him, and that he would surely lose his beloved Angelica
120 MODEEN MAGIC.
within the month ; both events occurred as predicted,
and thus proved that in this case at least magic phe-
nomena had accompanied the visions. {Goethe, B. Cel-
lini, L iv. ch. 2.)
Among other external causes which are apt to pro-
duce visions, must be mentioned violent motions, espe-
cially when they are revolving, as is the case with the
Shamans of the Laplanders and the dancing Dervishes
of the East ; self-inflicted wounds, such as the priests
of Baal caused in order to excite their power of divina-
tion, and long-continued imprisonment, as illustrated in
the well-known cases of Benvenuto Cellini and Silvio
Pellico. The latter was constantly tormented by sighs
or suppressed laughter which he heard in his dungeon ;
then by invisible hands pulling at his dress, knocking
down his books or trying to put out his light, till he
began seriously to suspect that he might be the victim
of invisible malignant powers. Fortunately all these
phenomena disappeared at break of day, and thus his
vigorous mind, supported by true piety, was enabled to
keep his judgment uninjured.
Diseases of every kind are a fruitful source of visions
and some are rarely without them ; but the character
of visions differs according to the nature of the aifec-
tions. Persons who suffer with the liver have melan-
choly, consumptive patients have cheerful visions.
Epileptics often see fearful spectres during their par-
oxysms, and persons bitten by mad dogs see the animal
that has caused their sufferings. The case of the book-
VISIONS. 121
seller Nicolai in Berlin is well known ; the disease of
which he suffered, is not only very common in some
parts of Russia, but productive of precisely the same
symptoms. The patients experience first a sensation
of great despondency, followed by a period of profound
melancholy, during which they see themselves sur-
rounded by a number of persons, with whom they con-
verse and quarrel, half conscious of their own delusion
and yet not able to master it wholly. They are gen-
erally bled, whereupon the images become transparent
and shrink into smaller and smaller space, till they
finally disappear entirely. Affections of the heart and
the subsequent unequal distribution of the blood
through the system are apt to produce peculiar sounds,
which at times fashion themselves into loud and har-
monious pieces. The excitement usually attendant
upon specially fatal plagues and contagious diseases in-
creases the tendency which the latter naturally have to
cause hallucinations. During a plague in the reign of
Justinian, men were seen walking through the crowd
and touching here and there a person ; the latter were
at once attacked by the disease and invariably suc-
cumbed. Upon another such occasion marks and
spots appeared on the clothing of those who had caught
the contagion, as if made by invisible hands, the suf-
ferers began next to see a number of spectres and died
in a short time. The same symptoms have accompanied
the cholera in modern times, and more than once
strange, utterly unknown persons were not only seen
6
122 MODERN MAGIC.
but heard, as they were conversing with others; what
they said was, written down in many cases, and proved
to be predictions of approaching visits of the dread
disease to neighboring houses. A magic power of fore-
sight seems in these cases to be developed by the ex-
treme excitement or deep anxiety, but the unconscious
clairvoyance assumes the form of persons outside of
their own mental sphere, within which they alone
existed.
By far the most frequent causes of visions are, how-
ever, those of psychical nature, like fixed ideas, intense
passions, or deep-rooted prejudices, and concealed mis-
deeds. When they are produced by such causes they
have often the appearance of haying led fco the commis-
sion of great crimes. Thus Julian the Apostate, who
had caused the image of his guardian angel to be put
upon all his coins and banners, naturally had this form
deeply impressed upon his mind. In the night before
a decisive battle, he saw, according to Ammianus
Marcellinus, this protecting genius in the act of turn-
ing away from him, and this vision made so deep an
impression upon his mind that he interpreted it as an
omen of his impending death. On the following day
he fell in battle. The fearful penalty inflicted upon
Charles IX. by his own conscience is well known ;
after the massacre of St. Bartholomew he saw, by day
and by night, the forms of his victims around him, till
death made an end to his sufferings. On our own
continent, one of the early conquerors gave a striking
VISIONS. 123
instance of the manner in which such visions are pro-
duced. He was one of the adventurers who had
reached Darien, and was on the point of plundering a
temple ; but, a few days before, an Indian woman had
told him that the treasures it held were guarded by evil
spirits, and if he entered it the earth would open and
swallow up the temple and the conquerors alike. Noth-
ing daunted, he led his men to the attack ; but, as they
came in sight, he suddenly saw, in the evening light,
how the colossal building rocked to and fro as in a
tempest, and thoroughly intimidated he rode away with
his followers, leaving the temple and its treasures
unharmed. That visions are apt to precede atrocious
crimes is quite natural, since they are in such cases
nothing but the product of the intense excitement
under which murders are often committed; but, it
would be absurd to look upon them as motive causes.
Kavaillac had constant visions of angels, saints, and
demons, while preparing his mind for the assassination
of Henry IV., and the young student who attempted
the murder of Napoleon at Schonbrunn repeatedly saw
the genius of Germany, which appeared to him and
encouraged him to free his country from the usurper.
Persons who attempt to summon ghosts are very apt to
see them, because their mind is highly wrought up by
their proceedings and they confidently expect to have
visions. But some men possess a similar power without
making any special effort or peculiar preparations, their
firm volition sufficing for the purpose. Thus Talma
124 MODERN MAGIC.
could at all times force himself to see, in the place of the
actual audience before whom he was acting, an assembly
of skeletons, and he is said never to have acted better
than when he gave himself up to this hallucination.
Painters, also, frequently have the power to summon
before their mind's eye the features of those whose
portrait they are painting; Blake, for instance, was
able actually to finish likenesses from images he saw
sitting in the chair where the real persons had been
seated.
While visions are quite common, delusions of the
other senses are less frequent. The insane alone hear
strange conversations. Hallucinations of the taste
cause patients to enjoy delightful dishes, or to partake
of spoiled meat and other unpalatable viands, which
have no existence. Sweet smells and incense are often
perceived, bad odors much less frequently. The touch
is of all senses the least likely to be deceived; still
deranged people occasionally feel a slight touch as a
severe blow, and persons suffering from certain diseases
are convinced that ants, spiders, or other insects are
running over their bodies.
The favorite season of visions is night — mainly the
hour about midnight — and in the whole year, the time of
Advent, but also the nights from Christmas to New
Year. This is, of course, not a feature of supernatural
life, but the simple effect of the greater quiet and the
more thoughtful, inward life, which these seasons are apt
to bring to busy men. The reality of our surroundings
VISIONS. 125
disappears with the setting sun, and in deep night we
are rendered almost wholly independent of the influence
exercised in the day by friends, family, and even furni-
ture. All standards of measurement, moreover, disap-
pear, and we lose the correct estimate of both space
and time. Turning our thoughts at such times with
greater energy and perseverance inward, our imagina-
tion has free scope, and countless images appear before
our mind's eye which are not subject to the laws of real
life. Darkness, stillness, and solitude, the three great
features of midnight seasons, all favor the full activity
of our fancy, and set criticism at defiance by denying
us all means of comparison with real sounds or sights.
At the same time, it is asserted, that under such circum-
stances men are also better qualified to perceive mani-
festations which, during the turbo, of daily life, are
carelessly ignored or really imperceptible to the com-
mon senses. So long as the intercourse with the world
and its exigencies occupy all our thoughts, and self-
interest makes us look fixedly only at some one great
purpose of life, we are deaf and blind to all that does
not clearly belong to this world. But when these de :
mands are no longer made upon us, and especially when,
as in the time of Advent, our thoughts are somewhat
drawn from earthly natures, and our eyes are lifted
heavenward, then we are enabled to give free scope to
our instincts, or, if we prefer the real name, to the addi-
tional sense by which we perceive intangible things. A
comparison has often been drawn between the ability to
126 MODERN. MAGIC.
see visions and our power to distinguish the stars. In
the day, the brilliancy of the sun so far outshines the
latter, that we see not a single one ; at night they step
forth, as it were, from the dark, and the deeper the black-
ness of the sky, the greater their own brightness. Are
they, on that account, nothing more than creatures of
our imagination, set free by night and darkness ?
As for the favorite places where visions most fre-
quently are seen, it seems that solitudes have already
in ancient times always been looked upon as special
resorts for evil spirits. The deserts of Asia, with their
deep gullies and numerous caves, suggested a popula-
tion of shy and weird beings, whom few saw and no one
knew fully. Hence the fearful description of Babylon
in her overthrow, when " Their houses shall be full of
doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there and satyrs
shall dance there." (Isaiah xiii. 21). The New Testa-
ment speaks in like manner of the deserts of Palestine
as the abode of evil spirits, and in later days the Faroe
Islands were constantly referred to as peopled with
weird and unearthly beings. The deserts of Africa are
full of Djinns, and the vast plains of the East are peopled
with w r eird apparitions. The solitudes of Norwegian
mountain districts abound with gnomes and sprites, and
waste places everywhere are no sooner abandoned by
men than they are occupied by evil spirits and become
the scenes of wild and gruesome visions.
Well-authenticated cases of visions are recorded in
unbroken succession from the times of antiquity to
visions. 127
our own day, and leave no doubt on the mind that
they are not only of common occurrence among men,
but generally, also, accompanied by magic phenomena
of great importance. The ancients saw, of course,
most frequently their gods ; the pagans, who had been
converted to Christianity, their former idols threatening
them with dire punishment ; and Christians, their
saints and martyrs, their angels and demons. Thus all
parties are supported by authorities in no way peculiar
to one faith or another, but common to all humanity;
and the battle is fought, for a time at least, between faith
and faith, and between vision and vision. A famous
rhetor, Aristides, who is mentioned in history as one of
the mightiest champions polytheism ever has been able
to raise against triumphant Christianity, saw, in his
hours of exaltation, the great iEsculapius, who gave
hiin directions how to carry on his warfare. At such
times his public addresses became so attractive that
thousands of enthusiastic hearers assembled to hang
upon his lips. The story of the genius of Socrates is
well known ; Aulus Gelling tells us how the great sage
was seen standing motionless for twenty-four hours in
the same place, before joining the expedition to Potidea,
so absorbed in deep thought that it seemed as if his
soul had left the body. Dion, Plato's most intimate
friend, saw a huge Fury enter his house and sweep it with
a broom ; a conspiracy broke out, and he was murdered,
after having lost his only son a few days before.
(Plutarch's "Life of Dion," 55.) The same Simonides,
128 MODERN MAGIC.
who according to Valerius Maximus (Be Somniis, 1. i. eh.
5), had escaped from shipwreck by the timely warning
of a spirit, was once dining at the magnificent house
of Skopas at Cranon, in Thessaly, when a servant
entered to inform him that two gigantic youths were
standing at the door and wished to see him immediately.
He went out and found no one there ; but, at the same
moment, the roof and the walls of the dining-room fell
down, burying all the guests under the ruins (Phaedrus'
Fab., iv. 24). The ancients looked upon the vision, in
both cases, as merely effects of the prophetic power of
the poet, which saved him from immediate death ; once
in the form of a spirit and the second time in the form
of the Dioscuri. For, as Simonides had shortly before
written a beautiful poem in honor of Castor and Pollux,
his escape and the friendly warning were naturally
attributed to the heroic youths, who constantly appear
in history as protective genii. In Greece they were
known to have fought, dressed in their purple cloaks
and seated on snow-white horses, on the side of the
Locri, and to have announced their victory on the same
day in Olympia, and Sparta, in Corinth, and in Athens
(Justin, ix. 3). In Home they were credited with the
victory on the banks of Lake Regillus, and reported to
have, as in Greece, dashed into the city, far ahead of all
messengers, to proclaim the joyful news. During the
Macedonian war they met Publius Vatinius on his way
to Rome and informed him that, on the preceding day,
iEmilius Paulus had captured Perseus. Delighted
visions. 129
with the news, the prefect hastens to the Senate; but is
discredited and actually sent to jail on the charge of
indulging in idle gossip, unworthy of his high office.
It was only when at last messengers came from the
distant army and confirmed the report of Perseus'
captivity, that the unlucky prefect was set free again
and honored with high rewards.
In other cases the warning genius was seen in visions
of different nature. Thus Hannibal was reported to
have traced in his sleep the whole course and the
success of all his plans, by the aid of his genius, who
appeared to him in the shape of a child of marvelous
beauty, sent by the great Jupiter himself to direct his
movements, and to make him master of Italy. The
child asked him to follow without turning to look
back, but Hannibal, yielding to the innate tendency to
covet forbidden fruit, looked behind him and saw an
immense serpent overthrowing all impediments in his
way. Then came a violent thunderstorm with fierce
lightnings, which rent the strongest walls. Hannibal
asked the meaning of these portents, and was told that
the storm signified the total subjection of Italy, but
that he must be silent and leave the rest to fate. That
the vision was not fully realized, was naturally ascribed
to his indiscretion. The genius of the two Consuls, P.
Decius and Manlius Torquatus, assumed, on the con-
trary, the shape of a huge phantom which appeared at
night in their camp at the foot of Vesuvius, and an-
nounced the decision that one leader must fall in order
6*
130 MODEEN MAGIC.
to make the army victorious. Upon the strength of
this vision the two generals decided that he whose
troops should first show signs of yielding, should seek
death by advancing alone against the Latin army.
The legions of Deeius, therefore, no sooner began to
fall back, than he threw himself, sword in hand, upon
the enemy, and not only died a glorious death for his
country, but secured a brilliant victory to his brethren.
At a later period a genius saved the life of Octavian,
when he and Antony were encamped at Philippi, on
the eve of the great battle against Brutus and Cassius.
The vision appeared not to himself, however, but to
another person, his own physician, Artorus, who, in a
dream, was ordered to advise his master to appear on
the battle-field in spite of his serious indisposition.
Octavian followed the advice and went out, though he
had to be carried by his men in a litter ; during his
absence the soldiers of Brutus entered the camp and
actually searched his tent, in which he would have
perished inevitably without the timely warning. Of a
very different nature was the vision of Cassius, the
lieutenant of Antony, who, during his flight to
Athens, saw at night a huge black phantom, which
informed him that he was his evil spirit. In his terror
he called his servants and inquired what they had seen,
but they had noticed nothing. Thus tranquilized, he
fell asleep again, but the phantom returned once more,
and disturbed his mind so painfully that he remained
awake the rest of the night, surrounded by his guards
VISIONS. 131
and slaves. The vision was afterwards interpreted as
an omen of his impending violent death.
The Emperor Trajan was saved from death during a
fearful earthquake by a man of colossal proportions,
who came to lead him out of his palace at Antioch; and
Attila, who, to the surprise of the world, spared Rome
and Italy at the request of Pope Leo the Great, men-
tioned as the true motive of his action the appearance
of a majestic old man in priestly garments, who had
threatened him, drawing his sword, with instant death
if he did not grant all that the Roman high-priest
should demand.
In other cases, which are as numerous as they are
striking, the genius assumes the shape of a woman.
Thus Dio Cassius (" Hist. Rome," 1. lv.). as well as Sue-
tonius (" Claudius," 1. i), relate that when Drusus had
ravaged Germany, and was on the point of crossing the
Elbe, the formidable shape of a gigantic woman ap-
peared to him, who waded up to the middle of the
stream and then called out : " Whither, Drusus ?
Canst thou put no limit to thy thirst of conquest ?
Back ! the end of thy deeds and of thy life is at hand !"
History records that Drusus fell back without apparent
reason, and that he died before he reached the banks of
the Rhine. Tacitus tells us, in like manner, a vision
which encouraged Curtius Rufus at the time when he,
a gladiator's son, and holding a most humble position,
was accompanying a quaestor on his way to Africa.
As he walked up and down a passage in deep medita-
132 MODERN MAGIC.
tion, a woman of unusual size appeared to him and
said : " Thou, Kufus, shalt be proconsul of this prov-
ince!" The young man, perhaps encouraged and
supported by a vision which was the result of his own
ambitious dreams, rose rapidly by his eminent ability,
and after he had reached the consulate, really obtained
the province of Africa (Ann., xi. 21). The younger
Pliny, who tells the same story in his admirable letter
to Sura on the subject of magic, adds that the genius
appeared a second time to the great proconsul, but
remained silent. The latter saw in this silence a warn-
ing of approaching death, and prepared for his end,
which did not fail soon to close his career.
It is very striking to see how in these visions also the
inner life of man was invariably clearly and distinctly
reflected. The ambitious youth saw his good fortune
personified in the shape of a beautiful woman, which
his excited imagination called Africa, and which he
hoped some time or other to call his own. Brutus, on
the contrary, full of anticipations of evil, and suffering,
and perhaps unconsciously, bitter remorse on account of
Caesar's murder, saw his sad fate as a hideous demon.
The army, also, sharing, no doubt, .their leader's dark
apprehensions, looked upon the black ^Ethiopian who
entered the camp as an evil omen. The appointed
meeting at Philippi was merely an evidence of the su-
perior ability of Brutus, who foresaw the probable
course of the war and knew the great strategic impor-
tance of the famous town.
VISIONS. 133
In the same manner a tradition was long cherished
in Augsburg of a fanatic heroine on horseback, who
appeared to Attila when he attempted to cross the river
Lech on his way from Italy to Pannonia. She called
out to him : " Back ! " and made a deep impression
upon his mind. The picture of the giant woman was
long preserved in a Minorite convent in the city, and
was evidently German in features and in costume. It
is by no means impossible that the lofty but supersti-
tious mind of the ruthless conqueror, after having long
busied itself with his approaching attack upon a
mighty, unknown nation, personified to himself in a
momentary trance the genius of that race in the shape
of a majestic woman.
This was all the more probable as Holy Writ also
presents to us a whole series of mighty women who ex-
ercised at times a lasting influence on the fate of the
chosen people, and the world's history abounds with
similar instances. There was Deborah, " a prophetess
who judged Israel at that time," and went to aid in the
defeat of Sisera, and there was Huldah, the prophetess,
who warned Josiah, king of Judah. We have the same
grand images in Greek and in Roman history, and Ger-
man annals mention more than one Jettha and Velleda.
The series of warnings given . by the more tender-
hearted sex runs through the annals of modern races
from the oldest times to our own day. One of the
latest instances happened to a king well known for his
sneering skepticism and his utter disbelief of all
134 MODERN MAGIC.
higher powers. This was Bernadotte, who forsook his
benefactor in order to mount the throne of Sweden,
and turned his own sword against his former master.
Long years after the fall of Napoleon, he was on the
point of sending his son Oscar with an army against
Norway, and met with much opposition in the Council
of State. Full of impatience and indignation, he
mounted his horse and rode out to cool his heated
mind ; as he approached a dark forest near Stockholm,
he saw an old woman sitting by the wayside, whose
quaint costume and wild, disheveled hair attracted his
attention. He asked her roughly what she was doing
there? Her reply was: "If Oscar goes into the war
which you propose, he will not strike but receive the
first blow." The king was impressed by the warning
and returned, full of thoughts, to his palace ; after a
sleepless night he informed the Council of State that
he had changed his views, and would not send the
prince to Norway {La Presse, May 4, 1844). Even if
we accept the interview with the woman as a mere
vision, the effect of the king's long and anxious pre-
occupation with an important plan upon the success of
which the security of his throne and the continuation
of his dynasty might depend, the question still remains,
why a man of his tastes and haughty skepticism should
have clothed his doubts in words uttered by an old wo-
man, dressed in fancy costume ?
The number of practical, sensible men who have,
even in recent times, believed themselves under the
VISIONS. 105
special care and protection of a gen ins or guardian
angel, is mncli larger than is commonly known. The
ancients looked upon a genius as a part of their mythol-
ogy ; and modern Christians, who cherish this belief,
refer to the fact that the Saviour said of little children :
" In heaven their angels do always behold the face of
my Father * (Matt, xviii. 10). These visions — for so
they must be called — vary greatly in different persons.
To some men they appear only when great dangers are
threatening or sublime efforts have to be made ; while
in others, they assume, by their frequency, a more or
less permanent form, and may even be inherited, becom-
ing tutelary deities of certain houses, familiar spirits, or
specially appointed guardian angels of the members of
a family or single individuals. Hence, the well-known
accounts of the genius of Socrates and the familiar
spirits of the Bible, in ancient times. Hence, also, the
almost uninterrupted line of similar accounts through
the Middle Ages down to our own day. Thus, Campanella
stated that whenever he was threatened with misfor-
tune, he fell into a state half way between waking and
sleeping, in which he heard a voice say : " Campanella !
Campanella ! " and several other words, without ever
seeing a person. Calignan, Chancelor of Navarre,
heard in, Beam, his name called three times, and then
received a warning from the same voice to leave the
town promptly, as the plague was to rage there fear-
fully. He obeyed the order, and escaped the ravages of
the terrible disease (Beaumont, " Tractat.," etc., p. 208).
13G MODEEX MAGIC.
The Jesuit Giovanni Carrera had a protecting genius,
whom he frequently consulted in cases of special diffi-
culty. He became so familiar with him, that he had
himself waked -every night for his prayers, but when at
times he hesitated to rise at once, the spirit abandoned
him for a time, and Carrera could only induce him to
come back by long-continued praying and fasting
("Hist. S. J.,"iii. p. 177).
The Bernadottes had a tradition that one of their an-
cestors had married a fairy, who remained the good gen-
ius of the family, and long since had predicted that one
of that blood would mount a throne. ' The Bernadotte
who became a king never forgot the prophecy, and was
largely influenced by it, when the Swedish nobles offer-
ed him the throne. It is well known that Napoleon
himself either believed, or affected to believe, in a good
genius, who guided his steps and protected him from
danger. He appeared, according to his own statements,
sometimes in the shape of a ball of fire, which he called
his "star," or as a man dressed in red, who paid him
occasional visits. General Eapp relates that, in the year
1806, he once found the Emperor in his room, appar-
ently absorbed in such deep meditation that he did not
notice his entrance, but that, when fairly aroused, he
seized Jlapp by the arm and asked him if saw that star ?
When the latter replied that he saw nothing, Napoleon
continued: "It is my star; it is standing just above
you. It has never forsaken me ; I see it on all impor-
tant occasions ; it orders me to go on, and has always
visions. 137
been a token of success. The story, coming from Gen-
eral Eapp himself, is quoted here as endorsed by the
great historian, Amedee Thierry.
Des Mousseaux reports the following facts upon the
evidence of trustworthy personal friends. {La Magie, etc.,
p. 366.) A Mme. 1ST., the daughter of a general, w T as con-
stantly visited by her mother, w r ho had died long ago,
and received from her frequent information of secret
things, which procured for herself the reputation of
being a prophetess. At one time her mothers spirit
warned her to try and prevent her husband, who would
die by suicide, from carrying out his purpose. Every
precaution was taken, and even the knives and forks
were removed after meals ; but it so happened that a
soldier of the National Guard came into the house and
left his loaded gun in an anteroom. The lady's hus-
band unfortunately chanced to see it, took it and blew
his brains out on the spot.
A peculiarly interesting class of visions are those to
which great artists have, at times, owed their greatest
triumphs. Here, also, the line between mere delusion
and real magic phenomena is often so faint as to escape
attention. For artists must needs cultivate their im-
agination at the expense of other faculties, and naturally
live more in an ideal world than in a real world. Pre-
occupied as they are, by the nature of their pursuits,
with images of more than earthly beauty, they come
easily to form ideals in their minds, which they en-
deavor to fix first upon their memory, and then upon
138 MODERN MAGIC.
canvas or in marble, on paper or in rapturous words.
Kaphael Sanzio had long in vain tried to portray the
Holy Virgin according to a vague ideal in his mind ; at
last he awoke one night and saw in the place where his
sketch was hanging a bright light, and in the radiance
the Mother of Christ in matchless- beaut} 7 , and with
supernatural holiness in her features. The vision re-
mained deeply impressed upon his mind, and was ever
after the original of which even his best Madonnas
could only be imperfect copies. Benvenuto Cellini,
when sick unto death, repeatedly saw an old man
trying to pull him down into his boat, but as soon as
his faithful servant came and touched him, the hideous
vision disappeared. The artist had evidently a picture
of Charon and his Acherontic boat in his mind, which
was thus reproduced in his feverish dreams. On
another occasion, when he had long been in prison, and
in despair contemplated suicide, an " unknown being "
suddenly seized him and hurled him back to a distance
of four yards, where he remained lying for hours half
dead. In the following night a " fair youth " appeared
to him and made him bitter reproaches on account of
his sinful purpose. The same youthful genius appeared
to him repeatedly when a great crisis approached in his
marvelously adventurous life, and more than once
revealed to him the mysteries of the future. (Goethe's
" Benv. Cell." i. p. 375.) Poor Tasso had fearful hallu-
cinations during the time when his mind was dis-
ordered, but above them all hovered, as it were, the
VISIONS. 130
vision of a glorious Virgin surrounded by a bright light,
which always comforted and probably alone saved him
from self-destruction. Like Baphael, Dannecker also
had long tried in vain to find perfect expression for his
ideal of a Christ on the Cross; one night, however, he
also saw the Saviour in a dream, and at once proceeded
to form his model, from which was afterwards copied
the well-known statue of transcendent beauty and
power.
Paganini used to tell with an amusing air of assumed
awe and reverence, that his mother had seen, a few
days before his birth, an angel with two wings and of
such dazzling splendor that she could not bear to look
at the apparition. The heavenly messenger invited her
to express a wish, and promised that it should be ful-
filled. Thereupon she begged him on her knees to
make her Nicolo a great violinist, and was told that it
should be so. The vision — perhaps nothing more than
a vivid form of earnest desire and fervent prayer — had,
no doubt, a serious influence on the great artist, who
was himself strangely susceptible to such impressions.
(Moniteur, Sept. 30, 1860.)
Nothing can here be said, according to the purpose
of these sketches, of the long series of visions vouch-
safed to martyrs and saints; their history belongs to
theology. But holy men have, independent of their
religious convictions, often been as famous for their
visions as for the piety of their hearts, and their
achievements in the world. Loyola, for instance, with
140 MODERN MAGIC.
his faculties perpetually strained to the utmost, and
with his thoughts bent forever upon a grand and holy
aim, could not well fail to rise to a state of psychic
excitement which naturally produced impressive visions.
Hence he continually saw strange sights and heard
mysterious voices, the effect now of extreme despon-
dency and now of restored confidence in God and in
himself as the agent of the Most High. And yet these
visions never interfered with the clearness of his judg-
ment nor with his promptness and energy in acting.
Luther, also, one of the most practical men ever called
upon to act and to lead in a great crisis, had visions;
he saw the Devil and held loud discussions with him ;
he suffered by his persecutions, and made great efforts
to rid himself of his unwelcome guest, while engaged
in his great work, the translation of the Bible. For he
was, after all — and for very great and good purposes —
only a man of his age, imbued with the universal
belief in the personal existence and constant presence
of Satan, and felt, at the same time, that he was en-
gaged in a warfare upon the results of which depended
not only the earthly welfare, but the eternal salvation
of millions.
It is difficult to say whether Mohammed, who had
undoubtedly visions innumerable, received any aid from
his hallucinations in devising his new faith. Men of sci-
ence tell us that he suffered of Hysteria muscidaris, a dis-
ease not uncommon in men as well as in women, which
produces periodical paroxysms and is characterized by
VISIONS. Ill
an alternate contraction and expansion of the muscles.
When the attack came the prophet's lips and tongue
would begin to vibrate, his eyes turned up, and the head
moved automatically. If the paroxysms were very vio-
lent he fell to the ground, his face turned purple, and
he breathed with difficulty. As he frequently retained
his consciousness he pretended that these symptoms
were caused by angels' visits, and each attack was fol-
lowed by a new revelation. The disease was the result
of his early lawless life and of the freedom which he
claimed, even in later years — pleading a special dispensa-
tion from on high as a divinely inspired prophet. It is
not to be wondered at that the new religion, springing
from such a source, and proclaimed amid the mountains
and steppes of Arabia, which, according to popular be-
lief, are all alive with djinns and demons, should be
largely based upon visions and hallucinations.
The important part which visions hold in the history
of the various religions of the earth lies beyond our
present purpose ; we know, however, that the records
of ancient temples, of prophets, saints, and martyrs, and
of later convents and churches, abound with instances
of such so-called revelations from on high. They have
more than once served at critical times to excite indi-
viduals and whole nations to make sublime efforts.
One of the best known cases of the former class is that
of Con stan tine the Great, who told Eusebius of Caesa-
rea, affirming his statement with a solemn oath, that he
saw in 312, shortly before the decisive battle at Eome
142 MODERN MAGIC.
against his formidable adversary Magentius, a bright
cross in the heavens, surrounded by the words: In hoc
signo vinces. But this vision stood by no means alone.
He himself beheld, besides, in a dream during the fol-
lowing night, the Saviour, who ordered him to use in
battle henceforth a banner like that which he had seen
in his vision. Nazarius, a pagan, also speaks of a num-
ber of marvelous signs in the heavens seen iu Gaul im-
mediately before the emperor's great victory. Nor can
it be doubted that this vision not only inspired Con-
stantine with new hopes and new courage, enabling
him to secure his triumph, but also induced him, after
his success, to avow himself openly a convert to the
faith of Christ.
The visions of that eminent man Swedenborg are
too well known to require here more than a mere allu-
sion. Beginning his intercourse with the supernatural
world at the ripe age of forty-five, he soon gave himself
up to it systematically, and felt compelled to make his
daily conversations, as well as the revelations he re-
ceived from time to time, duly known to the public.
Thus he wrote with an evident air of firm conviction :
" I had recently a conference with the Apostle Paul ; "
and at another time he assured a Wurtemberg prelate,
" I have conferred with St. Paul for a whole year, espe-
cially about the words in Romans iii. 28. Three times
I have conversed with St. John, once with Moses, and
a hundred times with Luther, when the latter con-
fessed that he had taught fidem solam contrary to the
VISIONS. 143
warning of an angel, and that he had stood alone when
renouncing the pope. With an gels, finally, I have
held constant intercourse for the last twenty years, and
still hold daily conversations."
Classic as well as Christian art. is indebted to visions
for more than one signal success. On the other hand,
" have as frequently been made to serve vile purposes,
mainly by feeding superstition and supporting religious
tyranny. TV"e need only recall the terrible calamity
caused by a wretched shepherd boy in France, who, in
1213, saw, or pretended to see, heavenly visions, order-
ing him to enlist his comrades, and with their aid, to
rescue the Holy Land from the possession of infidels.
Thousands of little children were seized by the conta-
gious excitement, and leaving their home and their
kindred, followed their youthful leader, unchecked by
the authorities, because of the interpretation applied to
the words of Jesus : " Suffer little children to come unto
Me ! " Xot one of them ever reached Palestine, as all
perished long before they had reached even Southern
France.
It is not exactly a magic phenomenon, but certainly
a most startling feature in visions, that the minds of
many men should be able, by their own volition, to cre-
ate images and forms so perfectly like those existing in
the world around us, that the same minds are incapable
of distinguishing where hallucination and reality touch
each other. This faculty varies, of course, as much as
other endowments: sometimes it produces nothing but
144 MODERN MAGIC.
vague, shapeless lights or sounds ; in other persons it is
capable of calling up well-defined forms, and of causing
even words to be heard and pain to be inflicted. Dur-
ing severe suffering in body or soul, it may become a
comforter, and in the moment of passing through the
valley of the shadow of death, it is apt to soothe the
anguish, by visions of heavenly bliss, but to an evil con-
science it may also appear as an avenger, by prefiguring
impending judgment and condemnation. It is this in-
fluence on the lives of men, and their great moral im-
portance, which lends to visions — and in a certain degree
even to hallucinations — additional interest, and makes
it our duty not to set them aside as mere idle phantoms,
but to try to ascertain their true nature and final pur-
pose. This is all the more necessary, as in our day vis-
ions are considered purely the offspring of the seer's own
mental activity, a truth abundantly proven by the sim-
ple fact that blind or deaf people are quite as capable of
having visions and hallucinations, as those who have
the use of all their senses.
Thus these magic phenomena have, in an unbroken
chain, accompanied almost all the great men who are
known to history, from the earliest time to our own
day. In modern times they have often been success-
fully traced to bodily and mental disorders; but this
fact diminishes in no way the interest which they have
for the student of magic. The great Pascal, who was
once threatened with instant death by the upsetting of
his carriage, henceforth saw perpetually an abyss by his
VISIONS. 145
side, from which fiery flames issued forth ; he could
conceal it by simply placing a chair or a table between
it and his eyes. In the case of the English painter
Blake, who had visions of historic personages which
appeared to him in idealized outlines, his periodical
aberrations of mind were accepted as sufficient expla-
nation. The bookseller Nicolai, of Berlin, on the con-
trary, who, like Beaumont, saw hundreds of men,
women, and children accompanying him in his walks
or visiting him in his chamber, found his ghostly
company dependent on the state of his health. When
he was bled or when leeches were applied, the images
grew pale, and disappeared in part or dissolved entirely.
A peculiarity of his case was, that he never saw visions
in the dark, but all his phantasms appeared in broad
daylight, or at night when candles had been brought
in or a large fire was burning in the fireplace. Captain
Henry Bell had been repeatedly urged by a German
friend of his, Caspar von Sparr, to translate the Table-
talk of Martin Luther, which, having been suppressed by
an edict of the Emperor Rudolphus, had become very
rare, and of which Sparr had sent him a copy, discovered
by himself in a cellar where it had lain buried for fifty-
two years. Captain Bell commenced the work ; but
abandoned it after a little while. A few weeks later a
white-haired old man appeared to him at night, pulling
his ear and saying : " What ! will you not take time to
translate the book ? I will give you soon a place for it
and the necessary leisure." Bell was much startled ;
7
146 MODERN MA.GIC.
but nevertheless neglected the work. A fortnight after
the vision he was arrested and lodged in the gate-house
of Westminster, where he remained for ten years, of
which he spent five in the translation of the work.
(Beaumont, " Tractat.," p. 72.) Even religious visions
have by no means ceased in modern times, and more
than one remarkable conversion is ascribed to such
agency. "We do not speak of so-called miracles like
that of the children of Salette in the department of
the Isere, in 1849, or the recent revelations at Lourdes,
and in Southern Alsace, which were publicly endorsed
by leading men of the church, and have furnished rich
material even for political demonstrations. The vision
of Major Gardiner, also, who, just before committing a
sinful action, beheld the Saviour aud became a changed
man, has been so often published and so thoroughly
discussed that it need not be repeated here. The con-
version of young Eatisbone, in 1843, created at the
time an immense sensation. He was born of Jewish
parents, but, like only too many of his race, grew up to
become a freethinker and a scoffer, rejecting all faiths
as idle superstitions. One day he strolled into the
church Delle Fratte in Rome, and while sunk in deep
meditation, suddenly beheld a vision of the Virgin
Mary, which made so deep an impression upon him
that it changed the whole tenor of his life. He gave
up the great wealth to which he had fallen heir, he
renounced a lovely betrothed, and resolutely turning
his back upon the world, he entered, as a novice, into a
VISIONS. 147
Jesuit convent ; thus literally forsaking all in order to
follow Christ.
The magic phenomena accompanying visions, have,
among nations of the Sclavic race, not unfrequently a
specially formidable and repellent character, corre-
sponding, no doubt, with the temperament and turn of
imagination peculiar to that race. The Sclaves are apt
to be ridden by invisible men, till they drop down in a
swoon ; they are driven by wild beasts to the graves of
criminals, where they behold fearful sights, or they are
forced to mingle with troops of evil spirits roving over
the wide, waste steppes, and they invariably suffer from
the sad effects of such visions, till a premature death
relieves them after a few months. In Wallachia a
special vision of the so-called Pickolitch is quite com-
mon, and has, in one case at least, been officially re-
corded by military authorities. A poor private soldier,
who had already more than once suffered from visions,
was ordered to stand guard in a lonely mountain pass,
and forced by the rules of the service to take his place
there, although he begged hard to be allowed to ex-
change with a brother soldier, as he knew he would
come to grief. The officer in command, struck by the
earnestness of his prayer, promised to lend him all
possible assistance, and placed a second sentinel for his
support close behind him. At half past ten o'clock
the officer and a high civil functionary saw a dark
figure rush by the house in which they were ; they
hastened at once to the post, where two shots had
148 MODERN MAGIC,
fallen in rapid succession, and found the inner sentinel,
the still smoking rifle in hand, staring fixedly at the
place where his comrade had stood, and utterly uncon-
scious of the approach of his superior. When they
reached the outer post they found the rifle on the
ground, shattered to, pieces, and the heavy barrel bent
in the shape of a scythe, while the man himself lay at a
considerable distance, groaning with pain, for his whole
body was so severely burnt that he died on the follow-
ing day. The survivor stated that a black figure had
fallen, as if from heaven, upon his comrade and torn
him to pieces in spite of the two shots he had fired at
it from a short distance, then it had vanished again in
an instant. The matter was duly reported to head-
quarters, and when an investigation was ordered, the
fact was discovered that a number of precisely similar
occurrences had already been officially recorded. The
vision is, of course, nothing more than a product of the
excited imagination of the mountaineers, who lend the
favorite shape of a " Pickolitch " to the frequent, bizarre-
looking masses of fog and mist which rise in their dark
valleys, hover over gullies and abysses, and driven by a
sudden current of wind, fly upward with amazing
rapidity, and thus seem to disappear in an instant.
The apprehension of the poor sentinel, on the other
hand, was a kind of clairvoyance produced by the com-
bined influence of local tradition, the nightly hour and
the dark pass, upon a previously-excited mind, while
the vision of the two officers was a similar magic phe-
VISIONS. 14 9
nomena, the result of the impressions made upon them
by the instant prayer of the victim, and a hot discus-
sion about the reality of the "Prikolitch." The sen-
tinel probably saw a weird shape and fired ; the gun
burst and killed him outright, setting fire to his clothes,
a supposition strengthened by the statement that the
poor fellow, anticipating a meeting with the spectre,
had put a double charge into his rifle. The accident
teaches once more that a mere denial of facts and a
haughty smile at the idea of visions profit us nothing,
while a calm and careful examination of all the cir-
cumstances may throw much light upon their nature,
and help, in the course of time, to extirpate fatal
superstitions, like those of the " Prikolitch."
It is interesting to see how harmless and even
pleasant are, in comparison, the visions of men with
well-trained minds and kindly dispositions. The book-
seller Xicolai entertained his phantom-guests, and was
much amused, at times, by their conversation. Mac-
nish ("Sleep," p. 194) tells us the same of Dr. Bostock,
who had frequent visions, and of an elderly lady whom
Dr. Alderson treated for gout, and w T ho received friendly
visits from kinsmen and acquaintances with whom she
conversed, but who disappeared instantly when she
rang for her maid. Another patient of Dr. Alderson's,
who saw himself in the same manner surrounded by
numbers of persons, even felt the blows which a phan-
tom-carter gave him with his whip. Although in all
these cases the visions disappeared after energetic
150 mode'rn magic.
bleeding and purging, the phenomena were neverthe-
less real as far as they affected the patient, and have in
every instance been fully authenticated and scientific-
ally investigated. The well-known author, Macnish,
himself was frequently a victim of this kind of self-
delusion ; he saw during an attack of fever fearful
hellish shapes, forming and dissolving at pleasure, and
during one night he beheld a whole theatre filled with
people, among whom he recognized many friends and
acquaintances, while on the stage he saw the famous
Ducrow with his horses. As soon as he opened his
eyes the scene disappeared, but the music continued,
for the orchestra played a magnificent march from
Aladdin, and did not cease its magic performance for
five hours. The vision of the eye seems thus to have
been under the influence of his will, but his hearing
was beyond his control.
A very interesting class of visions accompanied by
undoubted magic phenomena, and as frequent in our
day as at any previous period, is formed by those which
are the result of climatic and topographic peculiari-
ties. We have already stated that the peculiar impres-
sion made upon predisposed minds by vast deserts and
boundless wastes is frequently ascribed, by the super-
stitious dwellers near such localities, to the influence
of evil spirits. Such a vision is the Ragl of Northern
Africa, which occurs either after fatiguing journeys
through the dry, hot desert, in consequence of great
nervous excitement, or as one of the symptoms of
VISIONS. ] 5 1
typhoid fever in native patients. Seeing and hearing
are alike affected, the other senses only in rare cases.
Ordinarily the eye sees everything immensely magni-
fied or oddly changed ; pebbles become huge blocks of
stone, faint tracks in the hot sand change into broad
causeways or ample meadows, and distant shadows ap-
pear as animals, wells, or mountain-dells. If the moon
rises the vision increases in size and distinctness ; the
scene becomes animated, men pass by, camels follow
each other in long lines, and troops are marching past
in battalions. Then the ear also begins to succumb to
the charm; the rustling of dry leaves becomes the
sweet song of numerous birds; the wind changes into
cries of despair, and the noise of falling sand into dis-
tant thunder. The brain remains apparently unaf-
fected, for travelers suffering of the Eagl are able to
make notes and record the symptoms, although the
note-book looks to them like a huge album with costly
engravings. There can be little doubt that the great
afflux of blood to the eyes and the ears is the first cause
of these phenomena, but the peculiar nature of the
visions remains still a mystery. One striking peculi-
arity is their unvarying identity in men of the same
race and culture ; Europeans . have their own halluci-
nations which are not shared by Africans ; the former
see churches, houses, aud carriages, the latter mosques,
tents, and camels, thus proving here also the fact that
these delusions of the senses are produced in the mind
and not in the outer world. Travelers who suffer from
152 MODERN MAGIC.
hunger or from the dread effects of the simoon are
naturally more subject to the Eagl than others; the
visions generally appear towards midnight and continue
till six or seven o'clock in the morning, while during
the day they are only seen in cases of aggravated suf-
fering. Another peculiarity is the fact that these
visions connect themselves only with small objects and
moderate sounds ; the gentle friction of a vibrating
tassel on his camel's neck appeared to the great ex-
plorer Eichardson like the clacking of a mill-wheel, but
the words shouted by his companion sounded quite nat-
ural. Thus he saw in every little lichen a green gar-
den spot, but the stars he discerned distinctly enough
to direct his way by them even when suffering most in-
tensely from the Eagl.
The Fata Morgana of the so-called Great Desert in
Oregon, in which the waters of the Paducah, Kansas,
and Arkansas lose themselves to a great extent, is a
kindred affection. Here also phantoms of every kind
are seen, gigantic horsemen, colossal buildings, and
flitting fires ; but the absence of heat makes the visions
less frequent and less distinct. The Indians, however,
like the Moors of Africa, dread these apparitions and
ascribe them to evil spirits. These phenomena have be-
sides a special interest, by proving how constantly in all
these questions of modern magic facts are combined with
mere delusions. The flitting fires, to which we alluded,
for instance, are not mere visions, but real and tangible
Hiibsfances, the effect of gaseous effusions which are
VISIONS. J 53
quite frequent on these steppes. So it is also with the
local visions peculiar to mountain regions, like the Lit-
tle Gray Man of the Grisons in Switzerland and the
gnomes of miners in almost all lands. The dwellers in
Alpine regions acquire — or even inherit, it may be — a
peculiar power of divination with regard to the weath-
er; they feel instinctively, and without ever giving
themselves the trouble of trying to ascertain the rea-
son, the approach of fogs and mists, so dangerous to
the welfare of their herds and their own safety. This
presentiment is clothed by local traditions and their
own vivid imaginations in the familiar shape of super-
natural beings, and what was at first perhaps merely a
form of speech, has gradually become a deep-rooted be-
lief handed down from father to son. They end by
really seeing — with their mind's eye — the rising mists
and drifting fogs in the shape which they have so often
heard mentioned, or give to rising gases, far down in
the bowels of the earth, the form of familiar gnomes.
These visions are hence not altogether produced by the
imagination, but have, so to say, a grain of truth around
which the weird form is woven.
A numerous class of visions, presenting some of the
most interesting phenomena of this branch of magic,
must be looked upon as the result of the innate desire
to fathom the mystery of fnture life. The human
heart, conscious of immortality by nature and assured
of it by revelation, desires ardently to lift the ?eil which
conceals the secrets of the life to come. Among other
154 MODERN MAGIC.
means to accomplish this, the promise has often been
exacted of dear friends, that they would, after death,
return and make known their condition in the other
world. Such compacts have been made from time
immemorial — but so far their only result has been that
the survivors have believed occasionally that they have
received visits from deceased friends — in other words,
that their state of great excitement and eager expectation
has caused them to have visions. It remains true, after
all, that from that bourne no traveler ever returns.
Nevertheless, these visions have a deep interest for the
psychologist, as they are the result of unconscious
action, and thus display what thoughts dwell in our
innermost heart concerning the future.
GHOSTS.
u Sunt aliquid manes ; letum non omnia finit."
There are few subjects, outside of the vexed ques-
tions of Theology, on which eminent men of all nations
and ages have held more varied views than so-called
ghosts. The very term has been understood differently
by almost every great writer who has approached the
boundary line of this department of magic. The word
which is now commonly used in order to designate any
immaterial being, not made of the earth, earthy, or
perhaps, in a higher sense,_ the " body spiritual " of St.
Paul, was in the early days of Christianity applied to
the visible spirits of deceased persons only. In the
Middle Ages again, when everything weird and un-
natural was unhesitatingly ascribed to diabolic agency,
these phenomena, also, were regarded as nothing else
but the Devil's work. Theologians have added in
recent days a new subject of controversy to this vexed
matter. The divines of the seventeenth and eighteenth
century denied, of course, the possibility of a reappear-
ance of the spirits of the departed, as they" were in
consistency bound to deny the existence of a purgatory,
and yet, from purgatory alone were these spirits, accord-
150 MODERN MAGIC.
ing to popular belief, allowed to revisit the earth — heaven
and hell being comparatively closed places. As the
people insisted upon seeing ghosts, however, there
remained nothing but to declare them to be delusions
produced for malign purposes by the Evil One himself;
and so decided, not many generations ago, the Con-
sistory of Basle in an appeal made by a German mystic
author, Jung Stilling. And yet it is evident that a
number of eminent thinkers, and not a few of the most
skeptic philosophers even, have believed in the occur-
rence of such visits by inmates of Slieol. Hugo Grotius
and Puffendorf, whose far-famed worldly wisdom entitles
their views to great respect, Machiavelli and Boccaccio,
Thomasius and even Kant, all have repeatedly admitted
the existence of what we familiarly call ghosts. The
great philosopher of Konigsberg enters fully into the
subject. "Immaterial beings," he says, "including
the souls of men and animals, may exist, though they
must be considered as not filling space but only acting
within the limits of space." He admits the probability
that ere long the process will be discovered, by which
the human soul, even in this life, is closely connected
with the immaterial inmates of the world of spirits, a
connection which he states to be operative in both
directions, men affecting spirits and spirits acting upon
men, though the latter are unconscious of such impres-
sions " as long as all is well." In the same manner in
which the physical world is under the control of a law
of gravity, he believes the spiritual world to be ruled by
GHOSTS. 157
a moral law, which causes a distinction between good
and evil spirits. The same belief is entertained and
full}' discussed by French authors of eminence, such as
Des Mousseaux, De Mirville, and others. The Catholic
church has never absolutely denied the doctrine of
ghosts, perhaps considering itself bound by the biblical
statement that "the graves were opened and many
bodies of the saints which slept, arose and came out of
the graves and went into the holy city and appeared unto
many." (St. Matt, xxvii. 52.) Tertullian, St. Augustine,
and Thomas de Aquinas, all state distinctly, as a dogma,
that the souls of the departed can leave their home,
though not at will, but only by special permission of
the Almighty. St. Augustine mentions saints by whom
he was visited, and Thomas de Aquinas speaks even of
the return of accursed inmates of hell, for the purpose of
terrifying and converting criminals in this world. The
"Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology" (iv. p. 489) states
that " although the theory of ghosts has never become
a dogma of the Holy Church, it has ever maintained
itself, and existed in the days of Christ, who did not
condemn it, when it was mentioned in his presence."
(St, Matt. xiv. 26 ; St. Luke xxiv. 37.)
Calmet, the well-known Benedictine Abbot, of Senon,
in Lorraine, who was one of the most renowned theo-
logical writers of the eighteenth century, says (i. 17) :
" Apparitions of ghosts would be more readily under-
stood if spirits had a body ; but the Holy Church has de-
cided that angels, devils and the spirits of the departed
158 MODERN MAGIC.
are pure immaterial spirits. Since this question tran-
scends our mental faculties, we must submit to the
judgment of the Church, which cannot err." Another
great theologian, the German Bengel, on the contrary,
assumed that "probably the apparitions of the departed
have a prescribed limit and then cease ; they continue
probably as long as all the ties between body and soul
are not fully dissolved." This question of the nature
of our existence during the time immediately following
death, is, it is well known, one of the most vexed of our
day, for while most divines of the Protestant Church
assume an immediate decision of our eternal fate, others
admit the probability of an intermediate state, and the
Catholic Church has its well-known probationary state
in purgatory. It may as well be stated here at once
that the whole theory of ghosts is admissible only if we
assume that there follows after death a period during
which the soul undergoes, not an immediate rupture,
but a slow, gradual separation from its body, accom-
panied by a similar gradual adaptation to its new mode
of existence. Whether the spirit, during this time,
is still sufficiently -akin to earthy substances to be able
to clothe itself into some material perceptible to the
senses of living men, is of comparatively little impor-
tance. The idea of such an " ethereal body " is very
old, and has never ceased to be entertained. Thus, in
1306, already Guido de la Tones, who died in Verona,
appeared during eight days to his wife, his neighbors,
and a number of devout priests, and declared in
GHOSTS. 150
answer to their questions that the spirits of the de-
parted possessed the power to clothe themselves with
air, and thus to become perceptible to living beings.
Bayle also, in his article on Spinoza (note 2), advo-
cates the possibility, at least, of physical effects being-
produced by agents whose presence we are not able to
perceive by the use of our ordinary senses. Even so
eminently practical a mind as Lessing's was bewildered
by the difficulties surrounding this question, and he
declared that " here his wits were at an end/'
Another great German writer, Goerres, in his " Chris-
tian Mystic " (iii. p. 307), not only admits the existence
of ghosts, but explains them as " the higher prototypal
form of man freed from the earthy form, the spectrum
relieved of its envelope, which can be present wherever
it chooses within the prescribed limits of its domain."
This view is, however,, not supported by the experience
of those who believe they have seen ghosts; for the
latter appear only occasionally in a higher, purified
form, resembling ethereal beings, as a mere whitish
vapor or a shape formed of faint light ; by far more
generally they are seen in the form and even the cos-
tume of their earthy existence. The only evidence of
really supernatural or magic powers accompanying
such phenomena consists in the ineffable dread which is
apt to oppress the heart and to cause intense bodily suf-
fering ; in the cold chill which invariably precedes the
apparition, and in the profound and exquisitely painful
emotion which is never again forgotten throughout life.
160 MODERN MAGIC.
As yet, the subject has been so little studied by can-
did inquiries, that there are but a few facts which can
be mentioned as fully established. The form and shape
under which ghosts appear, are the result of the imagi-
nation of the ghost seer only, whether he beholds angels
or devils, men or animals. If his receptive power is
highly developed, he will see them in their completeness,
and discern even the minutest details ; weak persons,
on the other hand, perceive nothing more than a faint,
luminous or whitish appearance, mere fragmentary and
embryonic visions. These powers of perception may,
however, be improved by practice, and those who see
ghosts frequently, are sure to discover one feature after
another, until the whole form stands clearly and dis-
tinctly before their mind's eye. The ear is generally
more susceptible than the eye to the approach of ghosts,
and often warns the mind long before the apparition be-
comes visible. The noises heard are apt to be vague and
ill defined, consisting mainly of a low whispering or
restless rustling, a strange moving to and fro, or the
blowing of cold air in various directions. Many sounds,
however, are so peculiar, that they are never heard ex-
cept in connection with ghosts, and hence, baffle all
description. It need not be added, that the great major-
ity of such sounds also exist only in the mind of the
hearer, but as the latter is, in his state of excitement,
fully persuaded that he hears them, they are to him as
real as if they existed outside of his being. Nor are
they always confined to the ghost seer. On the contrary,
GHOSTS. 101
the hearing of such sounds is as contagions as the see-
ing of such sights; and not only men are thus affected,
and see and hear what others experience, hut even the
higher animals, horses and dogs, share in this suscepti-
bility. When ghosts appear to speak, the voice is almost
always engastrimantic, that is, the ghost seer produces
the words himself, in a state of ecstatic unconsciousness,
and probably by a kind of instinctive ventriloquism.
To these phenomena of sight and hearing must be added,
thirdly, the occasional violent moving about of heavy
substances. Furniture seems to change its place, pon-
derous objects disappear entirely, or the whole surround-
ing scene assumes a new order and arrangement. These
phenomena, as far as they really exist, must be ascribed
to higher, as yet unexplained powers, and suggest the
view entertained by many writers on the subject, that
disembodied spirits, as they are freed from the mechani-
cal laws of nature, possess also the power to suspend
them in everything with which they come in contact.
The last feature in ghost-seeing, which is essential, is
the cold shudder, the ineffable dread, which falls upon
poor mortal man, at the moment when he is brought
into contact with an unknown world. Already Job
said : " Fear came upon me and trembling, which made
all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my
face ; the hair of my flesh stood up " (iv. 14, 15). This
sense of vague, and yet almost intolerable dread, resem-
bles the agony of the dying man ; it is perfectly natural,
since the seeing of ghosts, that is, of disembodied spirits,
162 MODERN MAGIC.
can only become possible by the more or less complete
suspension of the ordinary life in the flesh. For a mo-
ment, all bodily functions are suspended, the activity of
the brain ceases, and consciousness itself is lost as in a
fit of fainting. This rarely happens without a brief
instinctive struggle, and the final victory of an unseen
and unknown power, which deprives the mind of its
habitual mastery over the body, is necessarily accom-
panied by intense pain and overwhelming anguish.
Well-authenticated cases of the appearance of spirits
of departed persons are mentioned in the earliest writ-
ings. Valerius Maximus relates in graphic words the
experience of the poet Simonides, who was about to
enter a vessel for the purpose of undertaking a long
journey with some of his friends, when he discovered a
dead body lying unburied on the sea-shore. Shocked
by the impiety of the unknown man's friends, he delay-
ed his departure to give to the corpse a decent funeral.
During the following night, the spirit of this man ap-
peared to him and advised him not to sail on the next
day. He obeys the warning; his friends leave without
him, and perish miserably in a great tempest. Deeply
moved by his sad loss, but equally grateful for his own
miraculous escape, he erected to the memory of his un-
known friend a noble monument in verses, unmatched
in beauty and pathos. Phlegon, also, the freedman of
the Emperor Hadrian, has left us in his work, De Mi-
rabilibus, one of the most touching instances of such
ghost-seeing; it is the well-known story of Machates
GHOSTS. 163
and Philimion, which Goethe reproduced in his "'Bride
of Corinth." Nor must we forget the numerous exam-
ples of visions in dreams, by which the Almighty chose
to reveal His will to his beloved among the chosen peo-
ple — a series of apparitions, which the Church has taken
care to continue during the earlier ages, in almost un-
broken succession from saint to saint. Pagans were
converted by such revelations, martyrs were comforted,
the wounded healed, and even an Emperor, Constantine,
cured of leprosy, by the appearance of the two apostles,
Peter and Paul.
The truth, which lies at the bottom of all such ap-
pearances, is probably, that ghostly disturbances are
uniformly the acts of men, but of men who have ceased
for a time to be free agents, and who have, for reasons
to be explained presently, acquired exceptional powers.
Thus, a famous jurist, Counselor Hellfeld, in Jena, was
one evening on the point of signing the death warrant
of a cavalry soldier. The subject had deeply agitated
his mind for days, and before seizing his pen, he invoked,
as was his custom in such cases, the " aid of the Al-
mighty through His holy spirit." At that moment — it
was an hour before midnight — he hears heavy blows fall
upon his window, which sound as if the panes were
struck with a riding- whip. His clerk also hears the
blows distinctly, and begins to tremble violently. This
apparent accident induces the judge to delay his action ;
he devotes the next day to a careful re-perusal of the
evidence, and is now led to the conviction that the crime
164 MODERN MAGIC.
deserves only a minor punishment. Ere the year has
closed, another criminal is caught, and volunteers the
confession that he was the perpetrator of the crime for
which the soldier was punished. In that solemn mo-
ment, it was, of course, only the judge's own mind,
deeply moved and worn out by painful work, which
warned him in a symbolic manner not to be precipitate,
and the very fact that the blows sounded as if they had
been produced by a whip proved his unconscious asso-
ciation of the noise with the cavalry soldier. And yet
he and his clerk believed and solemnly affirmed, that
they had heard the mysterious blows ! This dualism,
which, as it were, divides man into two beings, one of
whom follows and watches the other, while both are
unconscious of their identity, is the magic element in
these phenomena. This unconsciousness, proving — as
in dreams — the inactivity of our reason, produces the
natural effect, that we fancy all ghostly appearances are
foolish, wanton and wicked. The fact is, moreover that
they almost always proceed from a more or less diseased
or disturbed mind, and acquire importance only in so
far as it is our duty here also to eliminate truth from
error. Thus only can we hope to counteract their mis-
chievous tendency, and to prevent still stronger delu-
sions from obtaining a mastery over weak minds. This
is the purpose of a club formed in London in 1869, the
members of which find amusement and useful employ-
ment in investigating all cases of haunted houses and
other ghostly appearances.
GHOSTS. 165
That the belief in ghostly disturbances is not a mod-
ern error, we see from St. Augustine, who already men-
tions the farm of a certain Hasparius as disquieted by
loud noises till the prayer of a pious priest restored
peace. The Catholic Church has a St. Csesarius, who
purified in like manner the house of the physician
Elpidius in Kavenna, which was filled with evil spirits
and only admitted the owner after he had passed
through a shower of stones. Another saint, Hubertus,
was himself annoyed by ghosts in his residence at
Camens, and never succeeded in obtaining peace till he
died, in 958. Wicked or interested men take, of course,
but too readily advantage of the credulity of men and
employ similar disturbances for personal purposes; such
was the case with the ghosts that haunted the Council
house in Constance and the palace at Woodstock in
Cromwell's time. The case of a scrupulously consci-
entious Protestant minister in Germany, which created
in 1719 a great excitement throughout the empire, is
well calculated to show the real nature of a number of
such ghostly disturbances. He had been called to the
death-bed of a notorious sinner, a woman, who desired
at the last moment to receive the comforts of religion.
Unfortunately he reached her house too late; she was
already unconscious, and died in his presence, as he
thought, unreconciled with her God and with himself,
whom she had often insulted and cursed in life. Deeply
disturbed he returned home, and after having dwelt
upon the painful subject with intense anxiety for sev-
166 MODERN MAGIC.
eral days he began- to hear footsteps in his house. Grad-
ually they became more frequent; then he distinguished
them clearly as a woman's step, and at last they were
accompanied by the dragging of a gown. Watches
were set, sand was strewn, dogs were kept in the house
— but all in vain ; no trace of man was found, and still
the sounds continued. The unhappy man prayed day
and night, and the noise disappeared for a fortnight.
When he ceased praying -they returned, louder than
ever. He sternly bids the ghost desist, and behold ! the
ghost obeys. When he asks if it is a good angel or a
demon, no answer is given ; but the question : Art thou
the Devil ? finds an immediate -reply in rapid steps up
and down the house — for the poor man's mind was
filled with the idea that such things can be done only
by the Evil One. At last he summons all his remain-
ing energy and in a tone of command he orders the
ghost to depart and never to reappear. From that mo-
ment all disturbances cease — and very naturally, for the
haunted, disturbed man, had fully recovered the com-
mand over himself; the dualism that produced all the
spectral phenomena had ceased, and the restored mind
accomplished its own cure. As these phenomena are
thus produced from within, it appears perfectly natural
also that they should be reported as occurring most fre-
quently in the month of November. Religious minds
and superstitious dispositions have brought this fact
into a quaint connection with the approach of Advent-
time, but the cause is probably purely physical ; the
GHOSTS. 167
dark and- dismal month with its dense fogs emblematic
of coming winter predisposes the mind to gloomy
thoughts and renders it less capable of resisting atmo-
spheric influences.
A very general belief ascribes such disturbances, un-
der the name of "haunted houses,*' to the souls of
deceased persons who can find no rest beyond the
grave. The series of ghost stories based upon this sup-
position begins with the account of Suetonius and con-
tinues unbroken to our day. Then it was the spirit of
Caligula, which could not be quiet so long as his body,
which had only been half burned, remained in that dis-
graceful condition. Night after night his house and
his garden were visited by strange apparitions, till the
palace was destroyed by fire and the emperors sisters
rendered the last honors to his remains.
Thus the disposition of modern inquiries to trace
back all popular accounts of great events, all familiar
anecdotes and fairy tales, and even proverbs and max-
ims, to the ancients, has been fully gratified in this case
also. They were not only known to antiquity, but
formed a staple of popular tales. Thus the younger
Pliny tells us one which he had frequently heard related.
At Athens there stood a large, comfortable mansion,
which, however, was ill-reputed. Xight after night, it
was said, chains were heard rattling, first at a distance,
and then coming nearer, till a pale, haggard shape was
seen approaching, wearing beard and hair in long dis-
hevelled locks and clanking the chains it bore on hands
168 MODERN MAGIC.
and feet. The occupants of the house could not sleep,
were' terrified, sickened and died. Thus it came about
that the fine building stood empty, year after year, and
was at last offered for sale at a low price. About that
time the philosopher Athenodorus came to Athens and
saw the notice; he had his suspicions aroused by the
small sum demanded for the house, inquired about the
causes and rented the house. For he was a man of
courage and meant to fathom the mystery.
On the evening of the first day he dismissed his serv-
ants and remained alone in the front room, writing and
occupying himself, purposely, with grave and abstract
questions, so as to allow no opening for his imagination.
As soon as all was quiet around him the clanking and
rattling of chains begins ; but he pays no heed and con-
tinues to write. The noise approaches and enters the
room; as he looks up he sees the well-known weird
shape before him. It beckons him, but he demands
patience and writes on as before; then the ghost shakes
his chains over his head and beckons once more imper-
atively. Now he rises, takes his lamp, and follows his
visitor through the passages into a court-yard, where
the ghost disappears. The philosopher pulls up some
grass on the spot and marks the place. On the follow-
ing day he appeals to the authorities to cause the place
to be dug up ; and when this is done, the bones of an old
man, loaded with heavy chains, are found. From that
time the house was left undisturbed, as if the departed
had only desired to induce some intelligent person to
GHOSTS. 169
bestow upon him the honors of a decent burial, which
among the ancients were held all-important. (" Letter
to Sera," 1. vii. 27.) The story told by Lucian ("Philo-
pseudes," xxx.) is almost identical with that of Pliny.
Here, also, a house in Corinth, once belonging to
Eubatides, was left unoccupied, for the same reasons,
and began to decay, when the Pythagorean, Arignotus,
determined to ascertain the reality of these nightly
appearances. He goes there after midnight, places his
lamp on the floor, lies down and begins to read. Soon
a horrible monster appears, black as night, and changes
from one disgusting beast into another, till at last it
yields to the stern command of the intrepid philoso-
pher and disappears in a corner of the large room.
When day breaks, workmen are brought in to take up
the floor; a skeleton is found and decently interred, and
from that day the house is left to its usual peace and
quiet. ("Epist." 1. vii. 27.) Plutarch, also, in his "Life
of Cimon," states that the baths at Chaeronea were
haunted by the ghost of Damon, who had there found
his death ; the doors were walled up and the place for-
saken, but up to his day no relief had been devised,
and fearful sights and terrible sounds continued to ren-
der the place uninhabitable.
Nor are Eastern lands unacquainted with this popu-
lar belief. Egypt has its haunted houses in nearly
every village, and in Cairo there are a great number,
while in Tunis whole streets were abandoned to ghostly
occupants. In Nankin a great mandarin owned a
8
170 MODERN MAGIC.
spacious building which he could neither occupy him-
self nor rent to others, because of its evil reputation.
At last the Jesuit Riccius, a missionary, offered to take
it for his order; the fathers moved into it, conquered
the ghosts by some means best known to themselves,
and not only obtained a good house but great prestige
with the natives for their triumph over the spirits (0.
Hasart. Hist. Eccles. Sinica, p. 4, ch. iii.).
The same singular belief is not only met with in
every age and among the most enlightened nations, but
even in our own century a similar case occurred and is
well authenticated. The Duke Charles Alexander of
Wurtemberg of unholy memory, died at the town of
Ludwigsburg, perhaps by murder. For years afterwards
the palace was the scene of most violent disturbances ;
even the sentinels, powerful and w ell-armed men, were
bodily lifted up and thrown across the parapet of the
terrace. At other times the whole building appeared to
be filled with people ; doors were opened and closed,
lights were seen in the apartments and dim figures flit-
ted to and fro. Large detachments of troops under
the command of officers, specially selected for the pur-
pose, were ordered to march through the palace more
than once, on such occasions, but never discovered a
trace of human agency (Kerner. Bilder. p. 143). Even
the great Frederick of Prussia, a man whose thoroughly
skeptical mind might surely be supposed to have been
free from all superstition, was once forced to admit his
inability to explain by natural causes an occurrence of
GHOSTS. 171
the kind. A Catholic priest in Silesia lost his cook,
who had been specially dear to him ; her ghost — as it
was called — continued to haunt the house, and, most
strange of all, not in order to disturb its peace, but to
perform the usual domestic service. The floors were
swept, the fires made, and linen washed, all by invisible
hands. Frederick, who accidentally heard of the mat-
ter, ordered a captain and a lieutenant of his guard to
investigate it; they were received by the beating of
drums and then allowed to witness the same household
performances. When the grim old captain broke out
in a fearful curse, he received a severe box on the ears
and retreated utterly discomfited. Upon his report to
the king the house was pulled down and a new parson-
age erected at some distance from the place. The oc-
currence is mentioned in many historical works and
quoted without comment even by the great historian
Menzel. Another striking case of a somewhat different
character, was fully reported to the Colonial Office in
London. The scene was a large vault in the island of
Barbadoes, hewn out of the live rock and accessible
only through a huge iron door, fastened in the usual
way by strong bolts and a lock, the key to which was
kept at the Government House. During the year 1819
it was opened four times for purposes of interment, and
each time it was observed that all the coffins in the
vault had been violently thrown about. The Governor,
Lord Combermere, went himself, accompanied by his
staff and a number of officers, to examine the place, and
172 MODERN MAGIC.
found the yault itself in perfect order and without a
trace of violence. He ordered the door to be closed
with cement and placed his seal upon the latter, an ex-
ample followed by nearly all the bystanders. Eight
months later, the 28th of April, 1820, he had the vault
opened in the presence of a large company of friends
and within sight of a crowd of several thousands. The
cement and the seals were found to be perfect and un-
injured; the sand which had been carefully strewn over
the floor of the vault showed no footmark or sign
whatever, but the coffins were again thrown about in
great confusion. One, of such weight that it required
eight men to move it, was found standing upright, and
a child's coffin had been violently dashed against the
wall. A carefully drawn up report with accompanying
drawings was sent home, but no explanation has ever
been discovered. Scientific men were disposed to as-
cribe the disturbance to earthquakes, but the annals of
the island report none during those years; there re-
mains, however, the possibility that the examination of
the vault was after all imperfect, and that the sea might
have had access to it through some hidden cleft. In
that case an unusually high tide might very well have
been the invisible agent.
Even the Indian of our far West cherishes the same
superstitious belief, and in his lodge on the slopes of the
Rocky Mountains, he hears mysterious knockings. To
him they are the kindly warning of a spirit, whom lie
calls the Great Bear, which announces some great
calamity.
GHOSTS. 17:3
That certain localities seem to be frequented by ghosts,
that is, to be haunted, with special preference, must be
ascribed to the contagious nature of such mental affec-
tions as generally produce these phenomena. This is,
moreover, by no means limited, as is commonly believ-
ed, to Northern regions, where frequent fogs and dense
mists, short days and long nights, together with sombre
surroundings and awe-inspiring sounds in nature, com-
bine to predispose the mind to expect supernatural ap-
pearances. Thus, for instance, fair Suabia, one of the
most favored portions of Germany, sweet and smiling in
its fertile plains, and by no means specially gruesome,
even in the most secluded parts of the Black Forest,
teems with haunted localities. Dr. Kerner's home,
Weinsberg, enjoyed ghostly visits almost in every house ;
the neighborhood was similarly favored, and even in the
open country there are countless peasants' cottages and
noblemen's seats, which are frequented by ghosts. One
of the most-attractive estates in Wurtemberg was pur-
chased in 1815 by a distinguished soldier, whose daunt-
less courage had caused him to rise rapidly from grade
to grade under the eye of the great Napoleon. Soon
after his arrival his wife was aroused every night by a
variety of mysterious noises, rising from weird, low
whinings to terrific explosions. The colonel also heard
them, and tried his best to ascertain the cause. Night
after night, moreover, the great castle clock, which went
perfectly well all day long, struck at wrong hours, and
was found all wrong in the morning. The disturbing
174 MODERN MAGIC.
powers soon became personal ; for one night, when the
colonel, sitting at the supper table, and hearing the
usual sounds, said angrily, " I wish the ghost would make
himself known ! " a fearful explosion took place, knock-
ing down the speaker and bringing all the inmates of
the house to the room. Search was immediately insti-
tuted, and the main weight of the great clock was dis-
covered to be missing. A new weight had to be ordered,
and only long afterwards the old one was found wedged
in between two floors aboye the clock. Nor were the
disturbances confined to the castle : at midnight the
horses in the stable became restless and almost wild,
tearing themselves loose and sweating till they were
covered with white foam. One night the colonel went
to the stable, mounted his favorite charger, who had
borne him in the din and roar of many a battle, and
awaited the striking of midnight. Instantly the poor
animal began to tremble, then to rear and kick furiously,
until his master, famous as a good horseman, could hold
him in no longer, and was carried around the stable by the
maddened horse so as to imperil his life. After an hour,
the poor creatures began to calm down, but stood trem-
bling in all their limbs ; the colonel's own horse suc-
cumbed to the trial and died in the morning. A new
stable had to be built, which remained free from disturb-
ances.
By far the most remarkable and, strange enough, at
the same time the best authenticated of all accounts
of disturbances caused by recently departed friends is
GHOSTS. 1 75
found in a memoir written by the sufferer herself, and
addressed to the famous Baron Grimm under the pseu-
donym of Mr. Meis. Through the latter the story
reached Goethe, who at once appropriated it in all its
details, and merely changing the name of the principal
to Antonelli, inserted it in his " Conversations of
German Emigrants." The same event is fully related
in the " Memoirs of the Margravine of Anspaeh " as " a
story which at that time created a great sensation in
Paris, and excited universal curiosity." But even
greater authority yet is given to this account by the
fact that it was officially recorded in the police reports
of Paris, from which it has been frequently extracted
for publication. Mdlle. Hippolyte Clairon makes sub-
stantially the following statements: "In the year 1743
my youth and my success on the stage procured for me
much attention from young fops and elderly profligates,
among whom, however, I found frequently a few better
men. One of these, who made a deep impression upon
me, was a Mr. S., the son of a merchant from Brittany,
about thirty years old, fair of features, well made, and
gifted with some talent for poetry. His conversation
and his manners showed that he had received a superior
education, and that he was accustomed to good society,
while his reserve and bashfulness, which prevented him
from allowing his attachment to be seen, made him all
the dearer to me. When I had ascertained his discre-
tion, I permitted him to* visit me, and gave him to
understand that he might call himself my friend. He
HQ MODERN MAGIC.
took this patiently, seeing that I was still free and not
without tender feelings, and hoping that time might
inspire me with a warmer affection. Who knows what
might have happened ! But I used to question him
closely, both from curiosity and from prudence, and
his candid answers destroyed his prospects ; for he con-
fessed that, dissatisfied with his modest station in life,
he had sold his property in order to live in Paris in
better society, and I did not like this. Men who are
ashamed of themselves are not, it seems to me, cal-
culated to inspire others with respect. Besides, he was
of a melancholy and dissatisfied temper, knowing men
too well, as he said, not to despise and avoid them. He
intended to visit no one but myself, and to induce me
also to see no one but him. You may imagine how I
disliked such ideas. I might have been held by gar-
lands, but did not wish to be bound with chains.
From that moment I saw that I must disappoint his
hopes, and gradually withdrew from his society. This
caused him a severe illness, during which I showed
him all possible attention. But my steady refusal to
do more for him only deepened the wound, and at the
same time the poor young man had the misfortune of
being stripped of nearly all his property by his faithless
brother, to whom he had intrusted the sale of all he
owned, so that he saw himself compelled to accept
small sums from me for the payment of his daily food
and the necessary medicines.
" At last he recovered part of his property, but his
GHOSTS. 17*7
health was ruined ; and as I thought I was rendering
him a real service by widening the distance between us,
1 refused henceforth to receive his letters and his visits.
f Thus matters went on for two years and a half, when
he died. He had sent for me, wishing to enjoy the
happiness of seeing me once more in his last moments,
but my friends would not allow me to go. He had no
one near him except his servants and an old lady, who
had of late been his only companion. Our lodgings
were far apart: his near the Chaussee-d'Antin, where
only a few houses had as yet been built, and mine near
the Abbey of St. Martin. My daily guests were an
agent, who attended to all my professional duties, Mr.
Pipelet, well known and beloved by all who knew him,
and Eosely, one of my fellow-comedians, a kind young-
man full of wit and talent. We had modest little
suppers, but we were merry and enjoyed ourselves
heartily. One evening I had just been singing several
pretty airs which seemed to delight my friends, when
the clock struck eleven, and at the same moment an
extremely sharp cry was heard. Its plaintive sound
and long duration amazed everybody; I fainted away
and remained for nearly a quarter of an hour uncon-
scious.
" My agent was in love with me and so mad with
jealousy that when I recovered, he overwhelmed me
with reproaches, and said the signals for my interview
were rather loud. I told him that as I had the right
to receive when and whom I chose, no signals were
9*
178 MODERN MAGIC.
needed, and this cry had surely been heart-rending
enough to convince him that it announced no sweet
moments. My paleness, my tremor, which lasted for
some time, my tears flowing silently and almost un-
consciously, and my urgent request that somebody
would stay up with me during the night, all these
signs convinced him of my innocence. My friends re-
mained with me, discussing the fearful cry, and de-
termining finally to station guards around the house.
"Nevertheless the dread sound was repeated night
after night ; my friends, all the neighbors, and even the
policemen who were stationed near us, heard it dis-
tinctly ; it seemed to be uttered immediately under my
window, where nothing could ever be seen. There was
no doubt entertained as to the person for whom it was
intended, for whenever I supped out, no cry was heard;
but frequently after my return, when I entered my
room and inquired about it of my mother and my
servants, it suddenly pierced the air anew. Once the
president of the court, at whose house I had been
entertained, proposed to see me home in safety ; at the
moment when he wished me good-night at the door,
the cry was heard right between us, and the poor man
had to be lifted into his carriage more dead than
alive.
" Another time my young companion, Rosely, a clever,
witty man, who believed in nothing in heaven or on
earth, was riding with me in my carriage on our way
to a friend who lived in a distant part of the city. We
GHOSTS. 179
were discussing the fearful torment to which I was
exposed, and ■ he, laughing at me, at last declared he
would never believe it unless he heard it with his own
ears, and defied me to summon my lover. I do not
know how I came to yield, but instantly the cry was
repeated three times, and with overwhelming fierceness.
When our carriage reached the house, the servants
found us both lying unconscious on the cushions, and
had to summon assistance before we recovered. After
this I heard nothing for several months, and began to
hope that all was over. But I was sadly mistaken.
" The members of the king's troop of comedians had
all been ordered to appear at Versailles, in honor of the
dauphin's marriage, and as we were to spend three days
there, lodgings had been provided. It so happened,
however, that a friend of mine, Mme. Grand val, had been
forgotten, and seeing her trouble, I at last offered her,
towards three o'clock in the morning, to share my room,
in which there were two beds. This forced me to take
my maid into my own bed, and as she was in the act of
coming, I said to her : * Here we are at the end of the
world, the weather is abominable, and the cry would find
it hard to follow us here ! ' At that moment it resound-
ed close to us : Mme. Grandval jumped up terribly
frightened, and ran through the whole house, waking
everybody, and keeping us all in such a state of exciter
ment that not an eye was closed the whole night. Seven
or eight days later, as I was chatting merrily with a
number of friends, at the striking of the hour, a shot
]S0 MODERN MAGIC.
was heard, coming apparently through my window.
We all heard it and saw the fire, but the pane was nob
broken. Everybody thought at once of an attempt to
murder me, and some friends hastened instantly to the
Chief of Police. Men were immediately sent to search
the houses opposite, and for several days and nights the
street was strictly guarded by a number of soldiers ;
my own house was searched from roof to cellar, and
friends came in large companies to assist in watchings :
nevertheless, the shot fell night after night at the same
hour, for three months, with unfailing accuracy. No
clue was found and no sign was seen save the sound of
the shot and the sight of the lire. Daily reports of the
occurrence were sent to the headquarters of the police,
new measures were continually devised and applied,
but the authorities were baffled as well as all who tried
to fathom the mystery. I became at last quite accus-
tomed to the disturbance, and was in the habit of speak-
ing of it as the doing of a bon cliable, because he content-
ed himself so long a time with jugglers' tricks ; but one
night as I had stepped through the.open window out upon
a balcony, and was standing there with my agent by my
side, the shot suddenly fell again and knocked us both
back into the room, where we fell down as if dead. When
we recovered our consciousness, we got up, and after
some hesitation, confessed to each other that our ears
had been severely boxed, his on the right side and mine
on the left, whereupon we gave way to hearty laughter.
The next night was quiet, but on the following day I
GHOSTS. 181
was riding with m} T maid to a friend's house, where I
had been invited to meet some acquaintances. As we
passed through a certain part of the city, I recognized
the houses in the bright moonlight, and said jestingly :
'This looks very much like the part of town where
poor S. used to live/ At the same moment a near
church clock struck eleven, and instantly a shot was
fired at us from one of the buildings, which seemed to
pass through our carriage. The coachman thought we
had been attacked by robbers, and whipped his horses
to escape ; I knew what it meant, but still felt thor-
oughly frightened, and reached the house in a state lit-
tle suited for social enjoyment. This was, however, the
last time my unfortunate friend used a gun.
-' In place of the firing there came now a loud clapping
of hands, with certain modulations and repetitions.
This sound, to which I had become accustomed on the
stage by the kindness of my friends, did not disturb me
as much as my companions. They would station them-
selves around my door and under my window ; they
heard it distinctly, but could not see a trace of any per-
son. I do not remember how long this continued ; but
it was followed by the singing of a sweet, almost heav-
enly melody, which began at the upper end of the street
and gradually swelled till it reached my house, where
it slowly expired. Then the disturbance ceased alto-
gether.
" The only light that was ever thrown upon the mys-
tery came from an old lady who called on me on the
182 MODERN MAGIC.
pretext of wishing to see my house which I had offered
for rent. I was very much struck by her venerable ap-
pearance and her evident emotion. I offered her a chair
and sat down opposite to her, but was for some time
unable to say a word. At last she seemed to gather
courage and told me that she had long wished to make
my acquaintance, but had not dared to come so long as
I was constantly surrounded by hosts of friends and ad-
mirers. At last she had happened to see my advertise-
ment and availed herself of the opportunity in order to
see me — and to visit my house, which had a deep
though melancholy interest in her eyes. I guessed at
once that she was the faithful friend who alone re-
mained by the bedside of poor S., when he was pros-
trated by a fatal disease and refused to see anybody
else. For months, she now told me, he had spoken of
nothing save of myself, looking upon me now as an
angel and now as a demon, but utterly unable to keep
his thoughts from dwelling uninterruptedly upon the
one subject which filled his mind and his heart alike.
I tried to explain to the old lady how I had fully appre-
ciated his good qualities and noble impulses, finding it,
however, impossible to fall in with his peculiar views
of society and to promise, as he insisted I should do, to
forsake all I loved for the purpose of living with him in
loneliness and complete retirement. I told her, also,
that when he sent for me to see him in his last mo-
ments, my friends prevented my going, and that I felt
myself that the sight of his death under such circum-
GHOSTS. 183
stances would have been dangerous in the extreme to
my peace of mind, besides being utterly useless to the
dying man. She admitted the force of my reasoning,
but repeated that my refusal had hastened his end and
deprived him at the last moment of all self-control. In
this state of mind, when a few minutes before eleven,
the servant had entered and assured him in answer to
his passionate inquiry, that no one had come, he had
exclaimed: 'The heartless woman! She shall gain
nothing by her cruelty, for I will pursue her after death
as I have pursued her during life!' and with these
words on his lips he had expired."
The impression produced by this thoroughly authen-
ticated recital is a strong argument in favor of a con-
tinued connection after death of the human soul with
the world in which we live. There was a man whose
whole existence was absorbed by one great and all-per-
vading passion ; it brought ruin to his body and dis-
abled his mind from correcting the vagaries of his fan-
cy. He died in this state, with a sense of grievous
wrong and intense thirst of revenge uppermost in his
mind. Then follow a number of magic phenomena,
witnessed, for several years, by thousands of attached
friends and curious observers, defying the vigilance of
soldiers and the acuteness of police agents. These dis-
turbances, at first bearing the stamp of willful annoy-
ance, gradually assume a milder form, as if expressive
of softening indignation ; they become weaker and less
frequent, and finally cease altogether, suggestive of the
IS 4 MODERN MAGIC.
peace which the poor erring soul had at last found, by
infinite mercy and goodness, when safely entering the
desired haven.
On the other hand — for contrasts meet here as well
as elsewhere — these phenomena have been frequently
ascribed to purely physical causes, and in a number of
cases the final explanation has confirmed this sugges-
tion. A hypochondriac artist, for instance, was nightly
disturbed by a low but furious knocking in his bed,
which was heard by others as well as by himself. He
prayed, he caused priests to come to his bedside, he had
masses read in his behalf, but all remained in vain.
Then came a plain, sensible friend, who, half in jest
and half in earnest, covered his big toe with a brass wire
which he dipped into an alkaline solution, and behold,
the knockings ceased and never returned ! (Dupotel,
"Animal Magn.") In another case a somnambulistic
woman frightened herself as well as others by most
violent knockings whenever she was disappointed or
thwarted ; her physician, suspecting the cause, finally
gave her antispasmodic remedies, and it soon appeared
that in her nervous spasms the muscles had been
vibrating forcibly enough to produce these disturbances.
Since these discoveries it has been found that almost
anybody may produce such knockings — which stand in
a suspicious relationship to spirit-rappings — by exerting
certain muscles of the leg; some men, who have prac-
tised this trick for scientific purposes, like Professor
Schiff, of Florence, are able to imitate almost all the
GHOSTS. 185
various knockings generally ascribed to ghosts and
spirits. The public performances of Mr. Chauncey
Burr, in New York, gave very striking illustrations of
this power, and a Mr. Shadrach Barnes rapped with his
toes to perfection.
In a large number of cases such phenomena appear
in connection with persons who suffer of some nervous
disease, and then the knockings are, of course, produced
unconsciously, and may be accompanied by evidences
of exceptional powers. It need not be added, however,
that the two symptoms are not necessarily of the same
nature; generally the mechanical knockings precede
the development of ecstatic visions. A girl of eleven
years, the child of humble Alsatian parents, presented,
in 1852, this succession of symptoms very strikingly.
The child had a habit of falling asleep at all hours ; at
once mysterious knockings began to perform a dance
or a march, and continued daily for more than an hour.
After some time the poor girl began, also, to talk in her
sleep, and to converse with the knocking agent. She
would order him to beat a tattoo, or to play a quickstep,
and immediately it was done. The directions of by-
standers, even when not uttered but merely formed
earnestly in their mind, were obeyed in like manner.
Finally the child, getting no doubt worse and unmerci-
fully excited by the crowds of curious people who
thronged the house, began to admonish her audience,
and to preach and pray; during these exhortations no
knockings were heard, but she became clairvoyant and
1S6 MODERX MAGIC.
recognized all the persons present, even with her eyes
closed. She fancied that a black man with a red shawl
produced the knockings and delivered the speeches.
Her clairvoyance became at last so striking that her
case excited the deepest interest of persons in high
social position, and several physicians examined it with
great care. Her disease was declared to be neurosis
coeliaca ("Magicon," v. 274).
A very peculiar and utterly inexplicable phenomenon
belonging to this class of ghostly appearances is the
complete removal of persons by an unseen power. The
idea of such occurrences must have been current among
the Jews, for when "there appeared a chariot of fire
and horses of fire . . . and Elijah went up by a whirl-
wind into heaven" (II. Kings ii. 11), the sons of the
prophets did not at once resign themselves, but sent
fifty strong men to seek him, " lest perad venture the
Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him
upon some mountain or into some valley" (v. 16). In
the New Testament the same mysterious removal is
mentioned in the case of Philip, after his interview
with the Ethiopian, whom he baptized. " The Spirit of
the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him
no more," and "Philip was found at Azotus"(Acts
viii. 39, 40). What in these cases was done by divine
power, is said to be occasionally the work of an un-
known and unseen force. Generally, no doubt, men or
children lose themselves by accident, either when they
arc already from illness or other cause in a state of
GHOSTS. 187
semi-consciousness, or when they become so bewildered
and frightened by the accident itself, that they fancy
they must have been carried away by a mysterious
power. The best authenticated case is reported in
Beaumont (p. 65). An Irish steward, crossing a field,
saw in it a large company feasting, and was invited to
join their meal. One of them, however, warned him in
a whisper not to accept anything that should be offered.
Upon his refusal to eat, the table vanished and the
men were seen dancing to a merry music. He was
again invited to join, and when he refused, all dis-
appeared, and he found himself alone. He hurried
home thoroughly terrified, and fainted away in his
room. During the night he dreamt — or really saw —
that one of the mysterious company appeared at his
bedside and announced to him that if he dare leave the
house on the following day, he would be carried away.
He remained at home till the evening, when, thinking
himself safe, he stepped across the threshold. Instantly
his companions saw him, with a rope around his body,
hurried away so fast that they could not follow. At
last they meet a horseman whom they request by signs
to arrest the unhappy victim ; he seizes the rope and
receives a smart blow, but rescues the steward. Lord
Orrery desired to see the man, and when the latter
presented himself before the earl, he reported that
another nightly visitor had threatened him as before.
He was, thereupon, placed in a large room under the
guard of several stout men ; a number of distinguished
188 MODERN MAGIC.
persons, two bishops among them, went constantly in
and out. In the afternoon he was suddenly lifted into
the air ; a famous boxer, Greatrix, who had been
specially engaged to guard him, and another powerful
man, seized him by the shoulders, but he was dragged
from their grasp and for some time carried about high
above their heads, till at last he fell into the arms of
some of his keepers. During the night the same appari-
tion stood once more by his bed-side, inviting him to
drink of a gray porridge, which would cure him of all ills
and protect him against further violence. He suffered
himself to be persuaded, when the visitor made himself
known as a former friend who had to attend those mys-
terious meetings in punishment of the dissolute life
he had led upon earth, and who now wished to save
another unhappy fellow-being from a like sad fate. At
the same time he reminded him of his neglect to pray,
and 1 then disappeared. The steward speedily recovered
from his fright, and was no further molested. There
can be little doubt that the man was ill at ease in body
and in conscience, and that this double burden was too
heavy to bear for his mind ; his thoughts became dis-
ordered, till he felt an apparently external power
stronger than his own will, and thus not only imagined
strange visions, but actually obeyed erratic impulses of
his diseased mind, as if they were acts of violence from
without.
A favorite pastime of these pseudo-ghosts is the
throwing of stones at the buildings or even into the
GHOSTS. 1S9
rooms of those whom they wish to annoy. Good Cot-
ton Mather loved to tell stories of such perverse pro-
ceedings, and states at length the sufferings of George
Walton, at Portsmouth, in 1682. Invisible hands
threw such a hailstorm of stones against his house,
that the door was burst open, although the inhabitants,
when hit by the stones, only felt a slight touch. Then
the stones began to fly about inside, and to destroy the
window-panes from within; when picked up by some
of the witnesses, they proved to be burning hot ; they
were marked and placed upon a table, whereupon they
commenced to fly about once more. It is characteristic
of the whole proceeding that the only person really in-
jured by the operation was the owner of the house, a
quaker ! The learned author delights also in recitals
of children who were plagued by evil spirits, having
forks and knives, pins and sharp scissors stuck into
their backs, and whose food, at the moment when it
was to be carried from the plate to the mouth, flew
away, leaving yarn, ashes, and vile things to reach the
palate ! At other times the disturbance assumes a
somewhat more dignified form, and appears % as the
ringing of bells. Thus Baxter tells us of a house at
Oolne Priory, in Essex, where, for a time, every morning
at two o'clock a large bell was heard, while in the parish
of Wilcot, a smaller bell waked the vicar night after
night with its tinkling, and yet could not be heard out-
side of the dwelling. Physicians know very well how
readily the pressure of blood to certain vessels in the
190 MODEHN MAGIC.
head produces the impression of the ringing of bells,
and experience tells us how easily men are made to
believe that they see or hear what others assure them
is seen or heard by everybody. Even the great John
"Wesley seems not to have been fully convinced of the
purely natural character of such disturbances, when
they annoyed his venerable father at Epworth Rectory ;
and Dr. Priestley, a calm and. cautious writer, says of
these phenomena : " It is perhaps the best-authenticated
and the best-told story of the kind that is anywhere
extant, on which account, and to exercise the ingenuity
of some speculative person, I thought it not undeserved
of being published." It seems that in 1716 the rectory
became the scene of strange disturbances, which were
at first ascribed to one of the minister's enemies, Jeffrey.
The inmates heard an incessant walking about, sighing
and groaning, cackling and crowing; a hand-mill was
set whirling around by invisible hands, and the Amen !
with which Wesley's father ended the family prayer
was accompanied by a noise like thunder. Even the
faithful watchdog was disturbed and his instinct over-
awed, for he sought refuge with men, and barked
furiously, till his excitement rose to a state resembling
madness, he even anticipated the coming of the dis-
turbance, and announced it by his intense agitation.
The subject is one of extreme difficulty because of
I he large number of cases in which all such distur-
bances have been clearly traced to- the agency of dissat-
isfied servants, hidden enemies, or envious neighbors,
GHOSTS. 191
whose sole purpose was a desire to drive the occupant
from his house, or to diminish its value. It is charac-
teristic of human nature that the cunning and the skill
displayed on such occasions even by ignorant servants
and awkward rustics are perfectly amazing, a fact
w 7 hich proves anew the assertion of old divines, that
the Devil is vastly better served than the Lord of Hea-
ven. Even the best authenticated case of such myste-
rious disturbances, Kerner's so-called Seeress of Pre-
vorst, is not entirely free from all suspicion. Mrs.
Hauffe, a lady of delicate health, great nervous irrita-
bility, and a mind which was, to say the least, not too
well balanced, became the patient of Dr. Justinus
Kerner, in southern Germany. Besides her mysterious
power to reveal unknown things, to read the future,
and to prescribe for herself and others, of which men-
tion has been made before ; she was also pursued by
every variety of strange noises. Plates and glasses,
tables and chairs were violently throwm about in the
house in which she lived ; a medicine phial rose slowly
into the air and had to be brought back by one of the
bystanders, and an easy-chair was lifted up to the ceil-
ing, but came down again quite gently. The suffering
woman was the only one wdio knew the cause of these
phenomena; she ascribed them all to a dark spirit,
Belon's companion, who appeared to her as a black col-
umn of smoke, with a hideous head, and whose ap-
proach oppressed even some of the bystanders — espe-
cially the patient's sister. He was not content w r ith
192 MODERN MAGIC.
disturbing Mrs. Hauffe only, but carried his wantonness
even into the homes of distant friends and kinsmen. A
pious minister, who frequently visited the poor sufferer,
was contagiously affected by the ill-fated atmosphere of
her house; night after night he was waked up, by a
"bright spirit," who coughed and sighed and sobbed in
his presence, till a fervent prayer drove him away; if
the poor divine, however, prayed only faintly or enter-
tained doubts in his heart, the spirit mocked him with
increased energy. Later even the minister's wife suc-
cumbed, saw the same luminous appearances and heard
the same mysterious noises, till the whole matter was
suddenly brought to an end by an amulet! To this
class of occurrences belongs also the experience of the
Rev. Dr. Phelps of Stratford, Connecticut. One fine
day he found, upon returning from church, that all the
doors of his house, which he had carefully locked, were
open and everything in the lower rooms in a state of
boundless confusion. Nothing, however, had been
stolen. In the upper story a room was found to be oc-
cupied by eight or ten persons diligently reading in an
open Bible, which each one held close to his face. Upon
examination these readers were discovered to be bundles
of clothes carefully and most. cunningly arranged so as
to represent living beings. Everything was cleared
away and the room was locked; but in three minutes
the clothing, which had been put aside, disappeared,
and when the door was opened the same scene was pre-
sented. For seven long months the house was haunted
GHOSTS. 193
by most extraordinary phenomena ; noises of every kind
were heard by day as well as by night ; utensils and win-
dow-panes were broken before the eyes of numerous
witnesses by invisible hands, and the son of the house,
eleven years old, was bodily lifted up and carried away
to some distance. The most searching inquiry led to
no result, until at last Dr. Phelps, almost in despair,
applied to some spiritualists, and in consequence of the
hints he received was enabled to bring the disturbances
to a speedy end (Eechenberg, p. 58).
Stone-throwing seems to be a favorite amusement with
Eastern ghosts also ; at least we are told that it is quite
frequent in the western part of the Island of Java, where
the Sunda people live amid gigantic mountains and still
active volcanoes. They believe in good and evil spirits,
and are firmly convinced that constant intercourse is
kept up between earth-born men and heavenly beings.
The whole Indian Archipelago is filled with the latter,
and hence, the throwing of stones, sand and gravel, by
invisible hands, has a name of its own, it is called Gund-
arua. Some thirty years ago, a German happened to be
Assistant-Eesident at Sumadang, in the service of the
Dutch government. His wife had taken a fancy to a
native child ten years old, who was allowed to go in and
out the house at will. One morning during the Ger-
man's absence, the child's white dress was found to be
soiled all over with red betel-juice, and at the moment
when her patroness made this discovery, a stone fell ap-
parently from the ceiling, at her feet. The same ph->
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.
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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.
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