Scientists On Spiritualism

At Glasgow on the l2th uit., in the Authropologiisil Seotion, Prof. Barrett read a paper on somo phcnomena assooiated with abnormal conditioilS of mind. The subject was one, howevej, in regard to which thero had been a great change of opinión, and no better instanoe oould be given of this ehange of front than that affordcd by Dr. Uarpenter. Prof. Barreit on one oöca3loa took a card and put it in a book, and gave the closed vol' urne to a girl. She hId it close to her head n little behind the ear, and then said, " I see soinething inside the book witii red spots on it. " He then asked her to count the spots, and she replied that there were five, whicb pïoed to be quite correct, for the card was the ñre ol diamonds, and yet he was the only person in the room who could possibly have known what it was. This appeared to him to be a elear case of clairvoyance, and the important pciní ws that every caro had been taken to prefent any unconscious muscular action giving any indication to the subject of what sho was being asked about. In another oase there was a lady who was in the habit of telling the time on a hunting watch after the hands been turned about in all sorts of directiors. Oh one occasion they found, as they tbought, that she Was wrong. Beturcing the watch to her tííey told her so. She persisted, however, that she was right, and on examining the watch they found that such was really the case, and that it was they themselves who had made a mistare. In that case the thoughts of the mesmerist were against those of his subject. He had asked Mr. Maskelyne, one of the cleverest conjurors of the day, and a gentleman who was engaged in au attempt to disprore the reality of Spiritualism, to seo some of these phenomena with him, and he had öince received a letter from Mr. Maskelyne's manager in which ho said j "In matters of this kiöd your best men of scienoe are more easily deceived than the men of ordinary talent." Mr. Orookes, speaking as a spirituaiist, contended against thetheory that people were doluded into' the belief that they saw mánifestations which never occurred. He maintained that a tralned scientific inquirer was much more thatí a match for any conjurer, and that if it were a mere matter of hallucination the trickery would be found out long ago. Dr. Carpenter said that there were some people who had a curious power of thought-reading. Detective polioemen, he believed, had this power in a wonderful degree, and he referred to the Oonstance Kent caBe and others, to show that the ofiicers frequently hit upon the truth by intuition. As to Dr. Slade, he frankly oonfessed that the gentleman had done thinga which had astonished him, and just beforo leaving London he had challenged him to repeat them in his on house, in the company of bis own fríends, and with nothing but his own furniture in the room. Dr. Slade had agreed to do so, and therefore he considered him on his trial and refrained from saying more of him at present. Prof. Barrett cbarged Dr. Carpenter With changing his position. Dr. Carpenter denied that he had done so, and in regard to what had been said about clairvoyants, referred to the instance in which Sir James Simpson had put a L500 note in a case, and 6aid he would give it to anyone who would teil its number, the result being that it lay untouched for months. During this exciting incident the Bev. Bobt. Thomson was seen at the back of the platform flnurishing a bank note, and apparently ofiering to submit it to the test, but no attention was paid to him.