no fate nor chance, spectres nor devils, to torment us. And if we live up to this belief, we shall secure a large share of temporal enjoyment, and be prepared fc the increased and increasing felicity of the spiritual world. If we produce this state of faith and practice in ur selves and in those around us, we shall have one much for the banishment of popular superstitions f the downfall of ignorance, error, and sin.

PART SECOND.

MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOUR gentlemen in Springfield, not long since, publicly attested to a "miracle," performed, as they believed, by spirits, at a "circle" where they were present. It consisted in moving a table, and a number of chairs in the room, and in shocks, resembling distant thunder, or cannon at a distance, causing the persons and the chairs and tables to tremble in such a manner that the effects were both seen and felt, the room being well lighted at the time, and an opportunity afforded for the closest inspection, so that the company unitedly declare that they know they were not imposed upon nor deceived.

Now, there is nothing very remarkable in this affair, for all might have been done by the medium himself, by first pathetizing the persons' present, as it might be done without their knowledge, and while in that state could be made to see and hear any thing imagined by the operator. We are assured, by one who knows, that it is impossible for those who are fit subjects to be present at a circle without being more or less under the mesmeric influence. And, in such cases, they can be willed to remember or forget what they have seen or heard. We do not consider such persons as competent witnesses in such a case as they have testified to, It may all have been induced, or

it may all have been real. And if real, there was no need to refer it to the agency of spirits, since such things have been done without spirits, as in the case of Joe Collins, or others which we shall refer to, in this part of our volume. But here we may be told, that a thousand dollars has been offered to any one who will prove that such things are produced by any other power than that of spirits. But the same sum has been offered to any one who will prove that spirits move tables, chairs, and the like, or that spirits produce the noises and other manifestations ascribed to them.

We have heard the case of a person who went to a medium and wished to know if he could be put in communication with his father, who had died several years before. He was answered in the affirmative. But the inquirer desired, as proof that it would actually be the spirit of his father that would be introduced to him, that a pencil and paper should be laid upon a table, and that the spirit of the father should come and write his own name upon the paper, the son feeling assured that, if this were done, he should at once recognize both the name and the writing. Accordingly, the spirit in question came, and did as was desired, and the son declared it to be the real name and handwriting of his father. Now, the philosophy of the case is this: The inquirer was first pathetized, although ignorant of the fact at the time-a thing very common, though not generally understood. Thus the medium became acquainted with the name of the father as it existed in the mind of the son; but did the pencil actually write the name upon the paper? No. It was only made to appear so to the mind of the

inquirer. As to the handwriting, the inquirer's mind was directed to a piece of paper, and to look at the writing. Of course, he saw his father's name, and the handwriting, for he could see nothing else for the time being, his mind being impressed with that one idea or object, and closed to every thing else. It was in fact, to him, his father's name and chirography, and no one's else. It could not be otherwise while his mind was under the control of the operator.

We have been told of a lady, who, in a magnetized state, sits at a table and writes down information that is imparted to her, as is said, from the world of spirits. Her hand and pen glide over the paper with astonishing speed and velocity, far more rapid than the most expert penman in a normal state. And what astonishes many is, that she cannot stop writing when she wishes to, and sometimes becomes so exceedingly fatigued as to beg of the spirit or spirits to grant her a little repose from the wearisome task. But the whole matter is easily accounted for, without referring it to the supposed agency of spirits. The lady's arm is first paralyzed-deprived of motion by the will of the medium or operator, so that her own mind or will has not the least control over it. She thus becomes a mere machine, under the will and control of another, whose will directs the movements of the arm and pen, and dictates what is written in answer to inquiries made of things appertaining to the spirit world, just as Miss Martineau declares, in her letters on magnetism, that "the volitions of the mesmerist may actuate the movements of the patient's limbs, and suggest the material of his ideas." Many singular effects are produced upon the minds and feelings of subjects in a

sleep-waking state, by Professor Williams, Dr. Cutter, and others, such as being made drunk with water, cating cayenne as sugar, exercising complete control over their mental as well as physical condition.

We have been assured by a pathetist, who is a thorough adept in the profession, that he can and often has put persons in communication apparently with a deceased father, mother, brother, sister, or friend. The individual is first pathetized (another name for mes. merism) by him in a wakeful state, though uncon scious, it may be, that he is under such an influence. His mind being in the possession and under the control of the operator, a person is now either actually or mentally (for it makes no difference) presented before him, and he is told of the fact, and asked, Do you not see your father? The idea of father is so presented to the mind, through the organ of form, that the organ can take cognizance of none other than the father. The person, if an actual person is employed for the occasion, is then shifted or changed for another per son; yet the subject perceives no difference, even if changed successively for a dozen others; it is all the same; it is father, and no one else, through the whole exhibition. The father speaks, the son recog nizes his voice, and they converse together. The subject can be willed to hear any sound, as that of music, artillery, thunder, and the like, though no sounds whatever are in reality made. A niece of ours was op erated on in this way, and she was told to look abroad and behold the majestic waves of the ocean, the pageantry of a military procession; and she saw and was delighted with the scenes that were willed to pass before her. Apples were oranges to her, and she