persons' hands were joined, and the drawing No. 2 was made. These two sketches, strange as they are, are nearly fac-similes of the original, which was, however,

too large for this page. According to the law of symbolism always in operation, by which it appears that the character of the representative imagery used

always depends on the brain of the medium, the appearance depicted may not be exactly what we should see if we had the power of vision. It is certain that, in circles, when a hand has been moved to write, a person having the gift of spirit-sight has declared that the form of a hand was visible immediately over the hand of the writer. Perhaps both this appearance and the illustrative drawing are meant to convey the same idea, of an influence emanating from the spirit and directing the muscles of the medium; and the extended arms and active position of the superincumbent figure may possibly be the only forms in which the directing influence could convey the idea by a child of twelve years old. I was told at the time, but have not now a record of the words, that the agency employed in rapping and moving substances was of an electrical character, but rather more material and less refined (proceeding from a source nearer earth) than that by which the hand is moved to write or draw: that the processes of rapping and moving involve two actions, the charging of the table, &c., and a current of spiritual fluid passed through the medium, to produce raps thrown off in successive shocks or blows instead, like the drawing or writing, of flowing in one continuous stream.

6

I asked the question, When a spirit writes through a medium directing the spiritual fluid through the brain to the hand, how is the thought conveyed?'

Ans. writes."

Whatever the spirit thinks, the medium.

Thus was given in part the information sought for. We had something like a coherent theory, and could compare the action of human mesmerism, when the mesmerised person shares the sensations or feelings of the mesmeriser, or imitates his movements, with the presumed spiritual influence. We were also furnished with a key to the mystery of the difficulty found in communicating by some mediums, and the impossibility of doing so by others, while in some cases writing and drawings are executed with great ease and rapidity. This part of the subject being one of the most complicated of the whole, will be entered on at greater length hereafter.

As to the order in which the phenomena are developed in a medium, I believe that the table-moving is generally one of the first to appear; the writing precedes the drawing; vision is a later and more internal process, and hearing later still. But the earlier and most material forms of mediumship, such as rapping and table-moving, do not seem to be susceptible of any great change or refinement; the communications given after a year's practice being no more exalted than those first received; while all the more internal forms, such as writing, drawing, seeing, and hearing, are capable of being unfolded and refined to an indefinite degree.

So much comes under the head of Vision,' in connection with other modes of mediumship, that I proceed to give some instances of spiritual sight.

always depends on the brain of the medium, the appearance depicted may-not be exactly what we should see if we had the power of vision. It is certain that, in circles, when a hand has been moved to write, a person having the gift of spirit-sight has declared that the form of a hand was visible immediately over the hand of the writer. Perhaps both this appearance and the illustrative drawing are meant to convey the same idea, of an influence emanating from the spirit and directing the muscles of the medium; and the extended arms and active position of the superincumbent figure may possibly be the only forms in which the directing influence could convey the idea by a child of twelve years old. I was told at the time, but have not now a record of the words, that the agency employed in rapping and moving substances was of an electrical character, but rather more material and less refined (proceeding from a source nearer earth) than that by which the hand is moved to write or draw: that the processes of rapping and moving involve two actions, the charging of the table, &c., and a current of spiritual fluid passed through the medium, to produce raps thrown off in successive shocks or blows instead, like the drawing or writing, of flowing in one continuous stream.

I asked the question, When a spirit writes through a medium directing the spiritual fluid through the brain to the hand, how is the thought conveyed?'

Ans. Whatever the spirit thinks, the medium. writes.'

Thus was given in part the information sought for. We had something like a coherent theory, and could compare the action of human mesmerism, when the mesmerised person shares the sensations or feelings of the mesmeriser, or imitates his movements, with the presumed spiritual influence. We were also furnished with a key to the mystery of the difficulty found in communicating by some mediums, and the impossibility of doing so by others, while in some cases writing and drawings are executed with great ease and rapidity. This part of the subject being one of the most complicated of the whole, will be entered on at greater length hereafter.

As to the order in which the phenomena are developed in a medium, I believe that the table-moving is generally one of the first to appear; the writing precedes the drawing; vision is a later and more internal process, and hearing later still. But the earlier and most material forms of mediumship, such as rapping and table-moving, do not seem to be susceptible of any great change or refinement; the communications given after a year's practice being no more exalted than those first received; while all the more internal forms, such as writing, drawing, seeing, and hearing, are capable of being unfolded and refined to an indefinite degree.

So much comes under the head of Vision,' in connection with other modes of mediumship, that I proceed to give some instances of spiritual sight.