form. In a celebrated case of somnambulism, therein referred to, a young ecclesiastic was accustomed to rise in his sleep, take pen and paper, and write a sermon. "To ascertain whether he used his eyes, the archbishop interposed a sheet of pasteboard between the writing and his face. The somnambulist took not the least notice, but went on writing as before." Here would be most conclusive evidence of seeing without eyes, if we were not aware that the youth does not see, but is occupied by his dream-perception. "Likewise, if they adroitly changed his papers when he was writing, he knew it if the sheet substituted was of a different size from the former, and he appeared embarrassed in that case. But if the fresh sheet of paper, which was substituted for that written on, was exactly of the same size with it, he appeared not to be aware of the change." In the first case, the harmony between his dream-world and the external world was deranged; in the second, it was not. And he would continue to read off his composition from the blank sheet of paper as fluently as when the manuscript lay before him." Thus we see the somnambulist making use of his senses in subordination to his dream-perception: he holds communication with the external world, but merely to arrange and render possible that visionary world which he has substituted for it. My

The appearance of those Letters we have alluded to in our pages would be sufficient to prove that we are not of that order would truth

gent evidence before we can admit them to the character of facts. As to the stories current in society, and which, from the reports of others than the observers themselves, find their way into print, they are worth nothing in the shape of scientific evidence. What appears to the narrator as a trivial circumstance, introduced perhaps unintentionally, or with the mere desire to make the narrative more intelligible, and somewhat more artistically complete, may alter the whole nature of the case, scientifically considered. Besides, without being at all morose or hypercritical, it must be said, and we must all confess it, that whosoever undertakes to tell a good story becomes interested in the success of it, and puts in practice, in some measure, his skill as an artist or an advocate. He likes to make you believe, though he may have doubts himself: he often ends his narrative with a far greater faith in it than he had commenced. Out of the pale of evidence, also, must at once be thrust all those public exhibitions got up for the sake of pecuniary profit. We have attended three or four of them. In all we traced evidence of trick and imposture-evidence that would have convicted the exhibitors before any jury in the country. In all of them we also witnessed what was most extraordinary and utterly inexplicable. But the lowest cunning is capable of practising the most complete deception. Faith in a scientific fact must not surely depend upon ability to detect imposture of this description. Scientific investigation is at an end he moment such a matter as this falls the hands of the mere exhi

science is the rarity with which such cases appear before him.

To return to Mrs Crowe and her prodigies. We have said that her book is highly entertaining as a repository of wonders of all kinds, yet by Our own dry lucubrations we shall probably leave the reader under a very contrary impression. We must retrieve our error by making some quotations from the more captivating portion of her work. We have already alluded to her chapter on Doppelganger." Here is a story which some German professor-the name is not given-is said to have related in his class-room as a substitute for a lecture on theology. We are sure that the students must have thought it an admirable substitute; perhaps the professor also found it a convenient one.

"Not long since, a professor, I think of theology, at a college at Berlin, addressed his class, saying that, instead of his usual lecture, he should relate to them a circumstance which, the preceding evening, had occurred to himself, believing the effects would be no less salutary.

"He then told them that, as he was going home the last evening, he had seen his own image, or double, on the other side of the street. He looked away and tried to avoid it, but finding it still accompanied him, he took a short cut home, in hopes of getting rid of it, wherein he succeeded, till he came opposite his own house, when he saw it at the door.

"It rang, the maid opened; it entered; she handed it a candle, and as the professor stood in amazement on the other side of the street, he saw the light passing the windows, as it wound its way up to his own chamber. He then crossed over and rang; the servant was naturally dreadfully alarmed on seeing him, but without waiting to explain he ascended the stairs. Just as he reached his own chamber he heard a loud crash, and, on opening the door, they found no one there, but the ceiling had fallen in, and his life was thus saved. The servant corroborated this statement to the students; and a minister, now attached to one of the Scotch churches, was present when the professor told his tale. Without admitting the doctrine of protecting spirits, it is difficult to account for these

latter circumstances."

In this case we see a protecting spirit is introduced; but the majority

of instances of the Doppelganger are explained by the supposition that the "spiritual body" escapes. But we had better give an example, for we feel ourselves quite unable to act as interpreter in this matter:—

"A case of what is called spectral illusion is mentioned by Dr Paterson, which appears to me to belong to the class of phenomena I am treating of. One Sunday evening Miss N. was left at home, the sole inmate of the house, not being permitted to accompany her family to church, on account of her delicate state of health. Her father was an infirm old man, who seldom went from home, and she was not aware whether, on this occasion, he had gone out with the rest or not. By and by there came on a severe storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, and Miss N. is described as becoming very uneasy about her father. Under the influence of this feeling, Dr Paterson says, she went into the back room, where he usually sat, and there saw him in his arm-chair. Not doubting but it was himself, she advanced and laid her hand upon his shoulder, but her hand encountered vacancy; and, alarmed, she retired. As she quitted the room, however, she looked back, and there still sat the figure. Not being a believer in what is called 'the supernatural,' Miss N. resolved to overcome her apprehensions and return into the room, which she did, and saw the figure as before. For the space of fully half an hour she went in and out of the room in this manner before it disappeared. She did not see it vanish, but the fifth time she returned it was gone. Dr Paterson vouches for the truth of this story, and no doubt of its being a mere illusion occurs to him, though the lady had never before or since, as she assured him, been troubled with the malady. It seems to me much more likely that, when the storm came on, the thoughts of the old man would be intensely drawn homewards he would naturally wish himself in his comfortable arm-chair-and knowing his young daughter to be alone, he would inevitably feel some anxiety about her, too. There was a mutual projection of their spirits towards each other; and the one that was most easily freed from its bonds was seen where, in the above, a spirit out of the flesh, to whom spirit, it actually was; for, as I have said thoughts and affections are, for its space is annihilated, must be where its thoughts and affections are itself."

That last, by the way, is a very favourite idea of Mrs Crowe's; it was also a pet plaything of one David

Hume. He laboured to show, in his metaphysical speculations, that the train of sensation, thought, emotion, was all-that there was no proof of any such entity as mind or spirit. Can Mrs Crowe, who believes in four entities-spirit, soul, and two bodiesentertain the same metaphysical speculations? What can she mean? As the children say,-we give it up.

We observed how differently the ghost behaves in different ages of the world. But in the same age, we may remark, that he is quite a different creature according to the different society he moves in. Amongst the vulgar and illiterate he is often, to profane eyes, a most grotesque and absurd personage; in the presence of people of taste and refinement he becomes quite poetical. One would think that the very nature of those impostures which low, cunning, ignorant people devise for the terror of others, were sufficient to prove them to be impostures. We have a long story (vol. ii. p. 171) of a spirit haunting an old woman in a prison at Weinsberg. It matters not what officials have put their names to the report. It is manifest that they were imposed on by a low crafty woman. Her ghost is really a most filthy and disgusting ghost,-none but such as a most filthy and disgusting creature could have devised:-a brutal spectre sucking at her mouth for prayers, and stinking horribly. Turn from such an odious account to the spectral visitation of a gentleman, and perhaps a poet, the Rev. H. A

rector of Greystoke. The apparition here is quite beautiful. As this also appears to be one of the best attested stories in the book, we shall, in every respect, do well in quoting it. The proprietor of C-Castle appears to have furnished the materials himself to Mrs Crowe. To this castle -which, we must mention, had the reputation of being haunted, "unaccountable reports of apparitions, and extraordinary noises constantly" being bruited about-came the Rev. Henry A-, of Redburgh, and rector of Greystoke, and Mrs A-, his wife, with the intention of making a visit of some days. They slept there one night, and the next morning, before the breakfast was

over, their carriage had been ordered, and dashed up to the door in great haste. To the surprise of their host they took their departure immediately. It was not till some time afterwards that he learned the cause of their sudden flight. The relation is given in the words of the Rev. H. Ahimself.

"Soon after we went to bed, we fell asleep it might be between one or two in the morning when I woke. I observed that the fire was totally extinguished; but although that was the case, and we had no light, I saw a glimmer in the centre of the room, which suddenly increased to a bright flame. I looked out, apprehending that something had caught fire, when, to my amazement, I beheld a beautiful boy, clothed in white, with bright locks, resembling gold, standing by my bedside, in which position he remained some miand benevolent expression. nutes, fixing his eyes upon me with a mild He then glided gently away towards the side of the chimney, where it is obvious there is no possible egress, and entirely disappeared. I found myself again in total darkness, and all remained quiet, until the usual hour of rising. I declare this to be a true account of what I saw at C- Castle, upon my word as a clergy

man."

We have already observed, that Mrs Crowe does not confine herself to any one particular class of prodigies. Every kind of superstition, fable, charm, and incantation-whatever, in short, contradicts the usual course of nature, receives from her a favourable reception. Of course, we must refer our readers to the book itself, if they would know half the wonders it contains-wonders both of fact and of theory. There is one little story, however, which, amidst this "reign of terror," procured for us so hearty a laugh, from its most exquisite absurdity, that we must communicate it to them. Both story and comment are excellent are unsurpassable. With this extract, therefore, we will close our notice of The Night Side of Nature.

"Dr Ennemoser mentions a curious instance of this actio in distans, or farworking. It appears that Van Helmont having asserted that it was possible for a man to extinguish the life of an animal by the eye alone, (oculis intentis,) Rousseau, the naturalist, repeated the experi

ment when in the East, and in this manner killed several toads; but on a subsequent occasion, whilst trying the same experiment at Lyons, the animal, on finding that it could not escape, fixed its eyes immovably on him, so that he fell into a fainting fit, and was thought to be dead. He was restored by means of theriacum and viper powder-a truly homoeopathic remedy! However, we here probably see the origin of the universal popular persuasion, that there is some mysterious pro

perty in the eye of a toad; and also of the so-called superstition of the evil eye." -II. 16.

The origin! Have there been many Rousseaus done to death by looking at a toad? One can form some glimmering notion of the professor's agitation, gazing himself into frenzy, as he looked upon the toad. One wonders what the toad thought of the professor as it looked on him.

IF we have abstained, during the last few months, from direct reference to the proposed cosmopolitan Exhibition of the Products of Industry, regarding which so much has been written and said, it has been rather from the desire of avoiding the most distant imputation of hasty judgment, than from any indifference regarding a scheme, which cannot fail to have a powerful effect upon the industry of the British nation. We were desirous that a project, in which the Prince Consort had taken so lively an interest, should receive fair and deliberate consideration from all classes of the community; and that, though somewhat hastily broached, it should not be discountenanced, at all events, before its details and proposed conditions were distinctly laid before the public. We have adhered to our resolution of maintaining silence, notwithstanding the occurrence of various passages in the history of the projected show, which have appeared to us injudicious, if not equivocal, in their aspect. The system of itinerant lecturing and peripatetic persuasion which has been adopted, seems calculated to derogate from the dignity of a plan recommended by such distinguished patronage, and stated to be fraught with marvellous advantages to the artisans and manufacturers of the kingdom. If it were so, surely there would be no need to use such violent exertion for the raising of the sum required. A hundred and fifty thousand pounds, or even double that sum, is no enormous contribution from the moneyed and

manufacturing classes for the furtherance of a national object: and if the scheme really possessed that intrinsic merit which is claimed for it by its supporters, and was calculated to give new impulse and vitality to many of our most important branches of industry, it is absolutely incredible that the necessary funds should be withheld. The English are not a niggardly people, nor are they insensible to their own interest, especially in matters of this kind. Neither are they disinclined to adopt any view which has the implied sanction of Royalty and the concurrent testimony of rank. The name of her most gracious Majesty, attached to any scheme of charity or benevolence - and how often are such schemes so honourably recommended-is almost held to be a sure guarantee for its success. Thousands are ever ready to imitate so splendid an example, and to contribute, however humbly, to the completion of a work, which is not only praiseworthy in itself, but interesting to their beloved Queen. In the present instance all these motives should, and obviously would have resulted in most liberal donations, if the object proposed had been really as meritorious as its supporters have invariably assumed. But no such acknowledgment has been given on the part of the public. No enthusiasm has been manifested even by those classes of the community who might be assumed to be the most deeply interested in the success of the Exhibition; and even the wandering canvassers have been forced to admit, that, both in country

and in town, an unaccountable apathy prevails.

We have said that this method of despatching gentlemen, however eminent and well qualified they may be, to expound the peculiar nature of the advantages which are to be derived from this gigantic Exhibition, appears to us inconsistent with the dignity of a great national undertaking. It is certainly a confession that there has been no spontaneous movement on the part of the British nation-no anxiety to contribute to a scheme, which either is or is not calculated to be of advantage to the general interests of the country. But there is even more than this. Unless a serious and even wicked calumny has been propagated, we are led to believe that cogent but unusual arguments have been employed, especially in London, to procure subscriptions from shopkeepers and tradesmen. We hope that this is not the case; and we are morally certain that the employment of such means would be indignantly reprobated by the illustrious personage whose name is identified with the scheme. We know, however, that there are always to be found, connected with every project, unscrupulous and injudicious persons who consider all means, short of downright dishonesty, justifiable for the attainment of their end, and who are silly enough to look upon their custom as a favour little short of patronage, in return for which they are entitled to expect that a certain degree of deference shall be yielded to their wishes when expressed. The annals of Whig electioneering afford many notable instances of this degrading theory being carried into practical effect; and we observe that repeated complaints have been made of similar concussion used in the present instance. In any case this is bad enough, but it is doubly obnoxious when the object is to secure support for a scheme which the tradesman in his heart believes must prove detrimental to the interests of the community. Notwithstanding this undue pressure, whatever may have been its amount or extent; notwithstanding all the lecturing, and canvassing, and placarding, which has been going on for several months; not

VOL. LXVIII.-NO. CCCCXIX.

withstanding the appeals to workmen for their pence, as well as to master manufacturers for their gold-the fact is evident, that the nation is not responding to the call; that it will not voluntarily contribute a sufficiency to defray the estimated expenses of the Exhibition, and that it considers the Exhibition itself, to use the very mildest term, in the light of an expensive toy.

Whether we are rich enough, under present circumstances, to indulge in such costly playthings, is a point which we apprehend more than the subscribers should consider. Viewing this merely as a private or joint-stock enterprise, we should have little right to do more than to test its utility by the objects which it proposes to accomplish. There is nothing in the world to prevent people from holding such an exhibition, or from throwing away their money upon any whim which they may magnify into a national object. But this undertaking is not fenced by the exclusiveness of private enterprise: it has been adopted by the Ministry and by the Legislature so far, that the Tariff is to be relaxed in favour of foreign articles intended for competition at the show. The customs-duties are on this occasion to be suspended; consequently every man in the nation has an interest, in respect of alteration of the revenue. So far it is a public concern; and we fear much, from the intrepidity, not to say recklessness, with which the scheme is pushed-notwithstanding the failure of voluntary contributions, that in the long run the whole of the deficit will be asked for from the public purse. This is no extravagant conjecture. It is the ordinary consequence of all such semi-official projects. Enough has been done to make the country so far participate in the scheme, that a Minister may hereafter find most plausible reasons for maintaining that it is the duty of the representatives of the people to consider themselves bound by an implied contract, and generously to make good the deficiency by including it in the public estimates.

Against any such attempt we are entitled emphatically to protest. This scheme has not originated with

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