NATURE'S SECRETS 
 
 Psychometric Researches 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM DENTON 
 
 li 
 
 LECTUKEE ON GEOLOGY, BOSTON, U.S. 
 AND 
 
 MRS. ELIZABETH DENTON 
 
 Edited, with an Introduction 
 
 BY A 
 
 CLERGYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 
 
 
 ,^^ OF THE 
 
 LONDON 
 HOULSTON AND WRIGHT 
 
 65, PATER NOSTER ROW 
 1863 
 
VF13X5 
 
 EDUC. 
 
 PSYCH. 
 
 LIBRARY' 
 
 Frittied by J. ^ W. Rider, 14, Bartholome-d) Close, London, E. C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 '"pHE Editor of this volume is most intimately acquainted 
 with the Authors, and of all his circle of friends he 
 would say that none are more worthy of credit and esteem. 
 The circumstance that they have suffered so much and so 
 long for the cause of truth, and the sake of keeping a 
 conscience free from guilt, precludes the idea that they 
 would knowingly publish a fabrication, or in their name 
 permit such a thing to be done. The reader may not 
 always be able to acquiesce in the deductions of the 
 writers, but he may always entirely rely on the truthfulness 
 of their statement of facts. Many a pleasant and profitable 
 evening the Editor has spent in their society — making 
 psychometric experiments, and discussing subjects con- 
 nected therewith. 
 
 103484 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 It was on such occasions that the whole of the 
 manuscript of this work was read to him by the Authors. 
 A few months ago, he was sohcited by them to edit 
 this Work for pubHcation in Great Britain, which he 
 consented to do. The task was undertaken by the Editor, 
 not because he entirely agreed with the writers in all their 
 premises or conclusions, but because he was persuaded, 
 after a careful perusal, that the work contained a fund of 
 original thought on subjects new and old, a vast variety of 
 most interesting anecdote, the evidence of most patient 
 search after truth, and a considerable amount of information 
 on the science of Geology, which rendered it highly worthy 
 of publication, apart from the truth or falsity of the new 
 science which it brought before the public. In the prepa- 
 ration of this book for the press, the Editor has very 
 frequently taken liberties both with its words and sen- 
 tences, but never with its sense. This arose from the 
 fact that it contained numerous Americanisms, which would 
 have sounded both strange and harsh to English ears, 
 as well as the necessity for the transposition of its parts. 
 All that is requested of the reader is a careful, honest, and 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 impartial perusal of this work ; and if he is compelled to 
 condemn it, all that ought to be said is that the reader has 
 the same right to condemn that the writers had to write. 
 
 As the sheets of this Work were passing through the 
 press, the Editor's attention was drawn to a review of 
 the American edition of it, under the title of the " Soul 
 of Things," in the columns of the Athenaum of the 6th 
 September, 1863. In it the Reviewer took the liberty 
 to doubt the real existence of the Authors, and seemed 
 inclined to place them amongst the mythical offspring 
 of the publishing brain. In the same production were 
 found several misstatements of facts, which the Editor 
 at once endeavoured to correct ; but the spirit of im- 
 perious dogmatism and want of manly candour which 
 so eminently characterizes that publication prevented 
 the slightest notice being taken of his communication. 
 He can only reiterate that both Mr. and Mrs. Denton 
 are most intimate and valued friends of his, and have 
 an undoubted existence as well as a most unblemished 
 
vlii Preface. 
 
 reputation. The Publishers of this volume can testify 
 to both these facts. 
 
 Mr. Denton is a native of England, and a graduate 
 of one of her Universities. 
 
 London, 
 ist October, 1863. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 'T^HOSE who have seen the American Issue of this 
 Work will have perceived that the title of this 
 Edition has been slightly changed. This was done in 
 deference to the wishes of the Publishers ; but it must 
 be confessed that the title even now chosen is suffi- 
 ciently indefinite. " Nature's Secrets " might be the 
 name of a volume very different in its nature from the 
 one now before us. 
 
 The term " Psychometry," even to the Greek scholar, 
 affords but little information as to the real nature of this 
 Work. Notwithstanding, it is, perhaps, the very best 
 that could have been selected. It was no easy matter 
 to find a title which would suit in every respect. " Psy- 
 chometry" is composed of two Greek words, 4''"X^f 
 soul or hfe, and juerfiov, a measure. Mrs. Denton, by 
 means of this science of Psychometry, professes to be 
 able, by putting a piece of matter, whatever be its 
 
X Introduction. 
 
 nature, to her forehead, to see, either with her eyes 
 dosed or open, all that that piece of matter, figuratively 
 speaking, ever saw, heard, or experienced. Not always, 
 indeed, in the order of time, or to the full extent of that 
 experience, but generally so. 
 
 None can dispute the wonderful nature of this statement, 
 even if they should be inclined to question its truthful- 
 ness ; but whether true or false, the reader must determine 
 for himself That portion of the Work which by the 
 Authors was placed first, has, by the Editor, been put last. 
 It appeared evident to him that perspicuity, and the nature 
 of the subject, demanded such an arrangement. In the 
 first portion, therefore, will now be found Questions and 
 Answers on the Science of Psychometry. This will in- 
 troduce the reader to the nature and object of the book, 
 and, at the same time, fit and prepare his mind to examine 
 the facts on which the Science is founded. The second 
 part contains a history of the experiments of the Authors 
 on the various specimens of matter brought before them 
 for their examination. In the third part, it will be 
 seen that Mr. Denton endeavours to show that divers 
 mysterious phenomena, — both in nature and in the ex- 
 perience ot every-day life, — are explained by this Science ; 
 
Introduction, xi 
 
 and, finally, he shows the utihty of the Science of Psycho- 
 metry. The reader will doubtless find in this volume 
 many things that seem surpassing strange. But when a fact 
 comes before us, whether new or old, strange or familiar, 
 it ought to be welcomed and accepted. Those persons 
 are not much to be envied who dare not embrace a 
 truth until fashion has set her seal upon it. It is 
 melancholy and humbling that the following sentiment, 
 in actual experience, still holds true : — 
 
 " In the Sciences, that also is looked upon as a property, 
 which has been handed down or taught at the Universi- 
 ties ; and if any one advance anything new, which con- 
 tradicts, perhaps threatens to overturn, the creed which 
 we for years respected, and have handed down to others, 
 all passions are raised against him, and every effort is 
 made to crush him. People resist with all their might ; 
 they act as if they neither heard nor could comprehend ; 
 they speak of the new view with contempt, as if it were 
 not worth the trouble of even as much as an investigation 
 or a regard ; a7id this a nezv truth may wait a long time 
 befoi-e it can make its way." — Goethe : " Conversations 
 ivith Eckermann." 
 
xii Introduction. 
 
 *' Enter into the soul of things." — Wordsworth. 
 
 •' There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy," — Shakspeare. 
 
 " For this is not a matter of to-day 
 Or yesterday, but hath been from all time. 
 And none hath told us whence it comes, and how." — Sophocles. 
 
 " On the hardest adamant some footprints of us are stamped in ; the 
 last rear of the host will read traces of the earliest van." — Carlyle. 
 
 " The air is one vast library, on whose pages are for ever written all 
 that man has ever said, or woman whispered," — Prof. Babbage. 
 
 "Contempt prior to examination is an intellectual vice, from which 
 the greatest faculties of mind are not free. I know not, indeed, 
 whether the men of the greatest faculties are not the most subject 
 to it." — Paley^s Evidences. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 QUESTIONS, CONSIDERATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 Pages 
 
 HOW OBJECTS ARE SEEN PSYCHOMETRICALLY . . iv — xi 
 
 SEEN BEST IN DARKNESS, AND WITH CLOSED EYES . xii^xix 
 
 WHY CALLED SIGHT xix — Xxiil 
 
 MESMERIC INFLUENCE NOT NEEDED TO INDUCE THE 
 
 NECESSARY SENSITIVENESS xxiii — XXV 
 
 WHERE THE GAZE IS DIRECTED XXV — XXvi 
 
 WHY THE PSYCHOMETER IS UNABLE TO SEE SOME 
 
 OBJECTS xxvi — xxviii 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE LIGHT BY WHICH OBJECTS ARE 
 
 SEEN ......... xxviii — xxxvi 
 
 HOW THE PSYCHOMETER TRAVELS, OR APPEARS TO 
 
 TRAVEL . . . xxxvi— xlii 
 
 HOW ACCOUNT FOR THE HEARING OF SOUNDS . . xlii — xliv 
 
 GOING BACKWARD IN TIME . . , . . xliv 
 
 CONTINUED EFFECTS OF INFLUENCES. . . . xlv — xlix 
 
 DEPARTED SPIRITS xlix — 1 
 
 PREDOMINANT INFLUENCES I — lii 
 
 CONCLUSION . . . , . . . . . . . , , . Hi — liii . 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 PSYCHOMETRIC RESEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PICTURES ON THE RETINA AND BRAIN. 
 
 PICTURES FORMED ON THE RETINA WHEN BEHOLDING OBJECTS — 
 THESE PICTURES ENDURING — PICTURES SEEN WITH CLOSED EYES 
 — VISIONS OF THE BLIND — VISIONS OF OBJECTS SEEN LONG BEFORE 
 BY THE SICK AND HEALTHY — ALL OBJECTS ONCE SEEN ARE 
 PERMANENTLY RETAINED IN THE BRAIN , . . 57 — 70 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PICTURES ON SURROUNDING OBJECTS. 
 
 DAGUERREAN PICTURES — PICTURES TAKEN IN THE DARK — PICTURES 
 TAKEN ON ALL BODIES CONTINUALLY, AND ENDURING AS THOSE 
 BODIES— ALL PAST HISTORY THUS RECORDED. . . 7 1 — ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 PSYCHOMETRY. 
 
 DR. BUCHANAN'S EXPERIMENTS — EFFECTS OF MEDICINES UPON 
 PERSONS WHEN HELD IN THE HAND — CHARACTER DESCRIBED 
 FROM UNSEEN LETTERS 78 — 81 
 
Contents. xv 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS WITH GEOLOGICAL, METEORIC, MISCELLANEOUS, GEO- 
 GRAPHICAL, ARCH/EOLOGICAL, AND METALLIC SPECIMENS 82 — 28t 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REMARKABLE PHENOMENA EXPLAINED. 
 
 SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS — APPARITIONS — VISIONS . , . 282 — 292 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 UTILITY OF PSYCHOMETRY, 
 
 UTILITY OF PSYCHOMETRY TO THE GEOLOGIST, THE PALEONTOLOGIST, 
 THE MINER, THE ASTRONOMER, THE PHYSIOLOGIST, AND THE 
 ANATOMIST — ITS EMPLOYMENT IN THE CURE OF DISEASES — ITS 
 BENEFIT TO THE ARTIST AND THE HISTORIAN — RADIANT FORCES 
 PASSING FROM HUMAN BEINGS AND INFLUENCING OTHERS — 
 INFLUENCE OF PEOPLE ON THE COUNTRY IN WHICH THEY LIVE 
 — INFLUENCE OF A COUNTRY ON THE PEOPLE — WOMAN MORE 
 SUSCEPTIBLE TO PSYCHOMETRIC INFLUENCE THAN MAN — PSY- 
 CHOMETRY AS A- DISCOVERER OF CRIME , , , 292 — 312 
 
xvi Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MYSTERIES REVEALED. 
 
 FORTUNE-TELLING — DREAMS — RELICS AND AMULETS — HALLUCI- 
 NATIONS 313 — 328 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 PSYCHOMETRY REVEALS THE POWERS OF THE SOUL — AS THE BODY 
 BECOMES WEAKER, IT BECOMES STRONGER — EVIDENCE OF OUR 
 FUTURE EXISTENCE 329 — 330 
 
QUESTIONS, 
 ANSWERS, AND SUGGESTIONS, 
 
 SCIENCE OF PSYCHOMETRY. 
 
 ELIZABETH M. F. DENTON. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 'T^HERE are, perhaps, few persons by nature more thoroughly 
 sceptical than I am ; and though I cannot remember the 
 time when I did not behold objects or their representatives, 
 by night as well as by day, in darkness as well as in light, 
 with closed as well as with open eyes, I was very far from 
 believing such vision other than in every respect illusive. 
 Instructed from infancy to accept nothing as true which 
 failed to address itself to my reason, or which could not be 
 substantiated by facts, I was by no means ready to accept 
 any theory which should give to these illusive forms, as I 
 then regarded them, a character of reality ; and it was not 
 until some years after I had commenced to examine speci- 
 mens by means of this vision that I was prepared to 
 acknowledge it the natural result of forces subject to law, 
 and those laws deserving of investigation. I have, therefore, 
 no word of reproach for those who hesitate to accept the 
 statements contained in this volume until they shall have 
 investigated the subject for themselves. I am certain I 
 should have been one of their number had the evidence 
 been presented by another to my understanding only, instead 
 of having come home with its facts to the recognition of my 
 senses. It was no one examination which convinced me of 
 the error in my former conclusions, but the accumulated 
 evidence of hundreds of experiments, all pointing with 
 significant unanimity to the existence of this faculty in the 
 human economy. 
 
iv Nature's Secrets. 
 
 To the minds of such as shall feel an interest in the 
 perusal of these pages, and yet have never recognized in 
 their own experience, nor observed in their intercourse 
 with others, any of the phenomena hereafter described, 
 a long array of inquiries will, no doubt, present them- 
 selves, and clamour for a hearing. Some of these inquiries 
 I will here endeavour to answer ; to others I can only 
 respond, / have no answer. In attempting to present 
 the conclusions at which I have arrived, and the facts and 
 reasonings by which such conclusions have been reached, I 
 must ask permission to draw largely from my own experience. 
 I would gladly avoid this, but at present have not in my 
 possession, from other sources, the requisite materials for the 
 purpose, and hence proceed at once to the consideration of 
 those inquiries. 
 
 " Ift the fi?-st place, then {granting the correctness of the 
 statements a?id the accuracy of the descriptions given in the 
 latter part of this work) how is this thing done 1 Are these 
 objects seen as we behold the flozvers in the field, the stars in 
 the sky, the lines in the hand ?" 
 
 Frequently ; yet not, as a general rule, in the same manner. 
 In some instances they pass before the observer as a pano- 
 rama, moving with the velocity of lightning. In such 
 instances it is, of course, impossible to catch even the 
 outline of an object, however strikingly peculiar. Partial 
 outlines may, indeed, be traced, but the object has passed 
 from sight long before the outline is complete. For some 
 time I regarded these views as merely fragmentary ; and it 
 was not until I learned that, by a powerful eftbrt of the vvill, 
 these flying scenes could be made to pause, that I discovered 
 
How objects are thus seen. v 
 
 they were not fragmentary, as I had heretofore supposed, 
 but many, perhaps all of them, objects, or their representa- 
 tives, entire in their outline, and as real, apparently, as 
 are any with which we come in contact in this every day 
 world. 
 
 At other times, everything around me seems immovably 
 fixed. There is, perhaps, only a small area visible ; but, 
 however protracted the observation, this area, its lights and 
 shadows, its boundaries, the objects, if any, within it — in 
 short, all its features — remain precisely the same as when the 
 eye of the psychometer first fell upon it, while curtains of 
 impenetrable darkness close around all beside. 
 
 Again, there are times when the psychometer is no longer 
 a silent observer. Gravitation has lost its force ; his own 
 will is powerless or inactive, and he finds himself an 
 inhabitant of space instead of a dweller upon earth. His 
 5:urroundings are worlds, and he, cut loose alike from earth 
 and heaven, is moving with a velocity that laughs the lagging 
 winds to scorn. On he flies, tireless, fetterless, free, em- 
 phatically free from all that in any respect would check his 
 speed. 
 
 But in these instances we must regard the psychometer as 
 being in a state of utter passiveness. Ignorant of the power 
 in his possession, he spends hours, it may be, in gazing at 
 the various forms of beauty or of horror that flit before his 
 vision, when all around him is quiet and his own mind is at 
 rest. Knowing nothing, really, of the nature of these results, 
 he knows not where to look for the cause. Such was my 
 own experience in childhood. Often have I amused my- 
 self until a late hour of the night with the scenes which 
 came sweeping past, not my fancy, hut jiiy vision, as clear 
 and as distinct as were any that greeted my sight by day. 
 
vi Nature's Secrets. 
 
 The cause of this phenomenon I then supposed to be the 
 pressure of the hds upon the eye, causing its humours so 
 to arrange themselves as to present these numerous and 
 changing views. My mother gave me this in reply to my 
 inquiries respecting them, and I accepted it with the trust 
 of childhood. Very naturally, supposing the eyes of all 
 persons to have been arranged on a plan quite similar to 
 that of my own, and that, consequently, every individual 
 must realize the same or a similar experience, and thinking, 
 farther, that, had there been anything of interest or of value 
 connected therewith, it would long since have been sought 
 out and acknowledged. On approaching the years of 
 discretion I treated this faculty as we naturally treat that to 
 which we attach no value. Occasionally, it is true, I would 
 return to the folly of my childhood, and occasionally I was 
 startled by some seemingly remarkable coincidence between 
 the appearances recognized by this, as Aristotle terms it, 
 " internal adiofi of the sense of vision" and the realities of 
 the outer world, as I would afterward find them to have 
 existed at the time when I had observed them. 
 
 But life was of too much practical value to be wasted in 
 idle dreaming, and hence I allowed myself only an occasional 
 visit to this ethereal land of ethereal forms ; and to-day, I 
 have no doubt, there are multitudes of persons who have 
 known such experiences from infancy. 
 
 We come now to the time when the psychometer begins 
 to feel an assurance that pressure of the lids upon the eye 
 is not the only cause of this phenomenon ; to the time when 
 a succession of coincidences leads him to inquire if there 
 be not some relation between these singular visions and the 
 realities of external life. Are you that psychometer ? You 
 look the matter over, and wonder if the open eye cannot 
 
How objects are thus seen. vii 
 
 also behold objects in darkness. You try the experiment, 
 and find that such is, indeed, the fact. Still, there is a 
 difference ; and although that difference is in favour of the 
 closed eyes, yet it is evident that the pressure of the lids is 
 not the only cause. Again and again you shut the light , 
 from your room and look around you in astonishment, ' 
 True, you are obliged to sit longer, much longer, perhaps, 
 than would be needful with closed eyes, before you discern 
 aught but the darkness. After waiting, however, until your 
 anxiety has somewhat subsided, here and there a form, 
 in part, is visible. It is, perhaps, a horrible face, or a 
 beautiful flower. It may be a fac-shnile of something 
 with which you are familiar ; it may be utterly unlike 
 anything you have ever seen before. A moment more, 
 and the darkness rolls over it. Indeed, it seemed little 
 other than an outgrowth of that darkness, so perfectly did 
 darkness envelop the larger portion of what you consider its 
 proper dimensions. Each succeeding experiment gives you 
 a more satisfactory result, and you find at last that pressure 
 upon the eye has nothing whatever to do with the matter, 
 and you must look for some other method of solving the 
 problem, or the cause must remain a mystery. But whither 
 can you go % Books are silent on the subject. The anato- 
 mist does not even recognize an organ in the human 
 economy capable of such vision, much less give you its 
 anatomy. The optician makes no mention of it, and would, 
 no doubt, regard it as an abnormal action of the eye which 
 he makes his study ; and whither can you go % True, ] 
 mesmerism has induced something analogous, but you are 
 not mesmerized. You are as perfectly conscious of all that 
 is passing in your presence now as at any other time, and, so 
 far as you are capable of judging, your condition is not in 
 
viii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 any respect an abnormal one, the only requisite being that 
 of mental and physical quiet. You at length take up Dr. 
 Buchanan's Journal of Man, Vol. I., No. 2. There is a 
 sudden start of your nerves — your eye kindles — ^you turn the 
 pages rapidly, catching here a word and there a sentence. 
 '■^ Psychometry /" you exclaim, "what, what is this?" You 
 turn back and commence the paper, reading carefully and 
 devouring eagerly every line of that startling article. Your 
 cheeks are flushed — your eye is aglow — there is a tremor in 
 every limb. What now ? Has Dr. Buchanan solved your 
 problem ] Not exactly ; but he has, at least, endeavoured 
 to trace to a cause some of the phenomena which seem to 
 you inseparably linked with this inner sense of sight. You 
 take courage, and at once resolve to experiment. Is there 
 not some one whose co-operation would greatly assist 
 you in these experimental researches 1 Nay, rather, you are 
 fortunate if there be one among your associates who would 
 not think you a fit subject for the insane asylum should 
 you even manifest an interest in so wild a fancy as is the 
 Doctor's theory. But you are resolved to experiment. 
 With your eyes closed you select from your letter-trunk a 
 package, which you convey, under cover, to the drawer of 
 your dressing-table, and at night, when all have retired, still 
 wakeful, anxiously waiting for such an opportunity, you 
 abstract a letter from that package and place it upon your 
 brow. With joy unspeakable you realize the various sensa- 
 tions to which the Doctor has alluded. More than this, 
 you see — see the face and bust, perhaps, of a friend who 
 has found in your affections the place of a brother. You 
 look around you, and you are in his room ; now you see 
 his entire figure. He sits beside his table writing — " perhaps 
 writing this very letter," you think. You allow your fancy a 
 
How objects are thus seen. ix 
 
 moment's range, and you are ready to exclaim, " I believe it 
 is from him ; I cannot doubt this influence ; it is the same 
 that ever thrills me when I read his letters !" But you 
 must have some other evidence — the testimony of the 
 chirography and of the signature. Noiselessly as possible 
 you arise, your confidence in the identity of the author- 
 ship of this with that of the thrilling letters you have so 
 frequently received from your friend during the past few 
 years increasing with every added grain that falls in the 
 hour-glass. You draw a match and convey it to your 
 burner, that you may be certain of the success of your 
 experiment. / can appreciate the depth of your chagrin 
 when the light reveals to your astonished gaze the signature 
 of an individual as utterly unlike your friend as darkness is 
 unlike day. Your friend is all spirit, all nerve, all life ; the 
 author of the sheet before you is, comparatively, a moving, 
 breathing clod. Your friend writes you because he must — 
 because the thoughts are there burning in his brain and he 
 is compelled to give them expression ; and, as he traces the 
 characters by which they are represented, " they breathe in 
 every line " and gleam on every page. By some unaccount- 
 able freak in nature, the author of the sheet before you has 
 fancied you, or you would never have had his letter with 
 which to experiment. You are pained beyond expression. 
 " Bah !" you exclaim, as you bring down the letter upon the 
 table with a force which a moment before, judging from 
 your caution in moving, would have startled the whole 
 house. You turn off the gas and return to your pillow. 
 How thankful you feel that no one but yourself knows of 
 your folly ! A reaction has come, and on the breast of 
 Morpheus you gladly forget your vexation. 
 
 Morning dawns. The first note of the robin falls upon 
 
X Nature's Secrets. 
 
 your ear and arouses you to partial consciousness. In this 
 condition a cold, damp weight seems to hang heavily about 
 your heart. Slowly returning consciousness brings to your 
 mind the cause of this depression, and at once you are 
 awake. Sadly you run over the events of the preceding 
 evening, — the slumbering hopes which had been kindled to 
 a flame, the experiment, and — the failure. Was it a dream 1 
 Hopefully you turn to the table, but the package of letters, 
 and the same identical, sheet that lies open beside it, con- 
 vince you that it was all too real. You murmur that hopes 
 so bright in their dawning are doomed so soon to fade, and 
 so ingloriously. You think the subject over once more, and 
 wonder if there is nothing for the race but this continual 
 groping in darkness. With a sigh for humanity, you ask, 
 " Is this then all 1 Has Nature, with unceasing toil, during 
 all these millions of ages, been fitting up this planet for the 
 reception of her sovereign, Man, and, after her prolonged 
 apprenticeship, with the accumulated wisdom of cycles 
 instead of years, and the united skill of unnumbered forces 
 ready to do her bidding, must her last and crowning effort 
 prove only a stupendous failure 1" 
 
 The morning bell rings ! You must stop moralizing, and 
 take your place with the stupid throng you now feel man- 
 kind to be. You arise, but before leaving your room you 
 must replace those letters in your trunk. With a feeling of 
 mingled shame, vexation, and discouragement you take up 
 the package, when, lo ! there lies a letter from the very 
 friend you had seen in your evening's experiment. A 
 thought flashes through your mind, and if a thunderbolt 
 had fallen at your feet, you could not have been more 
 thoroughly electrified. For a moment you are powerless. 
 There lie those letters as they have lain for weeks, — the one 
 
How objects are thus seen. xi 
 
 all inanity, — empty as the space beyond the spheres ; the 
 other full of the fire of thought, — the earnestness of a great 
 mind, and the glow of an affectionate heart. Happening to 
 have been in haste when you filed them away, you had 
 attended to nothing but the order of their dates, and this 
 from your friend, folded, it may be, inside out, had lain 
 pressed upon that wanting all character, until the very spirit 
 of your friend was stamped upon the one as well as upon 
 the other. May it not be possible, then, that your experi- 
 ment has, indeed, been a success 1 You think it more than 
 possible, and resolve to repeat it at the earliest opportunity, 
 and with little fear for the result. You try again. Fortunate 
 in your selection, your success more than reafizes your 
 highest anticipations, and you tremble with a joy you hardly 
 dare to cherish. Is it strange that you begin to feel a 
 measure of confidence in its reliability'? What an ex- 
 tended field for future exploration now opens before you ! 
 " Where," you ask, " have been the sages of all past time ? 
 What hand can have lain so heavily on the eyelids of a 
 slumbering world as to have deprived it of the knowledge 
 even of so wonderful a possession f Your first impulse is 
 to publish at once an account of your experiment, and the 
 result. A little reflection determines you to keep your own 
 counsels, at least for the present, and by a course of 
 experiments, which you can yourself conduct, to gain some 
 information relative to the nature of this new-found faculty, 
 and the extent of its real practical value to mankind. 
 Circumstances, no doubt, have more than indicated the 
 wisdom of that determination. 
 
xii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 "Are these objects seen in daylight or in darkness ?" 
 
 They may be seen in both. Usually, however, and it 
 seems to me for valid reasons, darkness is preferable. No 
 one will ask me to prove that to the human eye a weaker 
 may, by the presence of a stronger light, be rendered 
 altogether imperceptible. Any one who has, in the dark, 
 drawn a common match over a rough surface, has observed 
 af line of bright light following in its path, only visible, how- 
 ever, until the match becomes thoroughly ignited, when it is 
 apparently extinguished. That such, however, is only its 
 apparent condition, may be readily ascertained by ex- 
 tinguishing the match, when the former, which is a weaker, 
 and in some respects a different light, will at once reappear. 
 So with that under consideration. Usually the psychometer 
 sees by a weaker, and, it may be, a very differently derived 
 light from that which renders visible the tangible objects by 
 which we are surrounded. Hence it seems reasonable to 
 conclude, that the more perfect the darkness that shadows 
 the outward sight, the more perfect will be this interior 
 vision, if I may be permitted thus to designate it. 
 
 Again, who of us but has been so blinded by the sunlight 
 on the snow, for example, as to be quite incapable of 
 discerning even the outlines of objects in a room we 
 may have suddenly entered, when that room was as full 
 of daylight as a common uncurtained window could make 
 it ? Yet to us, for the time being, even this daylight has 
 been darkness, and we have found ourselves incapable of 
 using it until the organs of vision have become accustomed 
 to the change. How materially would the difficulty be 
 increased, should we continue to stand in the sunlight 
 
Darkness favourable to this vision. xiii 
 
 thus reflected by the snow, and examine minutely the 
 contents of a room but dimly lighted by a taper of the 
 olden time. Many of us would find ourselves physically 
 incapable of any such examination, while perhaps there 
 are none among us to whom the task would not indeed 
 be difficult. In many respects the sensations of the 
 psychometer, when in the presence of any strong light, 
 whether natural or artificial, are analogous to those above 
 indicated, and hence, when vision only is required, one 
 is often compelled to wait, not only until the organs 
 become adjusted to the new or changed condition, but 
 until the eye has been wholly relieved from any sensible 
 impression made by ordinary light, before these objects 
 become distinctly visible, or the brain is capable of taking 
 cognizance of their peculiarities. 
 
 May it not, then, with even more propriety, be said that 
 in this, as in common sight, the ability to use the weaker 
 is negatived by the presence of other and stronger light? ■ 
 Be this as it may, the effect is the same. • •'' 
 
 Farther than this, there are times when, either from 
 some peculiar physical condition of the psychometer, or 
 from some peculiarity of the atmosphere, or of both com- 
 bined, the light by which objects are thus made visible 
 vies in strength, or illuminating power, even with daylight. 
 Of several instances, analogous in character, the following , 
 will, no doubt, sufficiently illustrate the peculiarity to which 
 I refer. 
 
 On a certain occasion, while traveUing in the West, - 
 during the summer of 1861, we were compelled to wait a 
 weary time for the train which was to convey us to Peru, 
 III., it having been delayed considerably beyond the usual 
 hour. We had walked with our children throusrh the 
 
XIV Nature's Secrets. 
 
 town until they were too weary to appreciate the little 
 beauty left by the previous frosty night. They had ex- 
 hausted the novelties of the station, consisting of railroad 
 charts and a few dusty as well as rickety seats, and now 
 began to watch earnestly for the coming of the iron horse. 
 At length, his unearthly scream gave warning of his 
 approach, and he came thundering past, as if resolved 
 to visit utter ruin on those who would chain his spirit 
 to the sluggish will of man. " Twenty minutes for dinner !" 
 sang out the brakeman, after announcing the name of the 
 place, while a general rush of the passengers, some to the 
 eating-room, and others to the various places to which they 
 were destined, either for business or pleasure, soon gave 
 me my choice of a seat in any one of the vacant cars. 
 Taking the children each by the hand, while my husband 
 gave orders in reference to baggage, &c., I selected a car 
 and walked leisurely in, very naturally expecting myself 
 and children to be, for a few moments at least, its only 
 occupants. Judge of my surprise, on glancing round as I 
 entered the car, to find it already crowded with passengers ! 
 Many of them were sitting perfectly composed, as if, for 
 them, little interest were attached to this station ; while 
 others were already in motion (a kind of confused motion), 
 as if preparing to leave. I thought this somewhat strange, 
 and was about turning to find a vacant seat in another 
 car, when a second glance around showed me that the 
 passengers who had appeared so indifferent to the arrival 
 of the train at Joliet, were rapidly losing their apparent 
 entity, and in a moment more they were to me invisible. 
 I had had sufficient time to note the features, dress, and 
 personal appearance of several, and taking a seat, I awaited 
 the return of the passengers, thinking it more than probable 
 
Darkness favourable to this vision, xv 
 
 I might find in them the prototypes of the faces and forms 
 I had a moment before so singularly beheld ; nor was I 
 disappointed. A number of those who returned to the 
 car I recognized as being in every particular the counter- 
 parts of their late but transient representatives. 
 
 But the question arises, how could these individuals be 
 seen in the car, when, in fact, they were not in the car at 
 all, but in the dining-room of the station ? 
 
 We know there are peculiar conditions of the atmosphere 
 which render it, like the polished plate of the skilful artist, 
 capable of receiving and of reflecting the images of objects 
 occupying positions favourable for such reflection of their 
 images. Of this we have ample evidence in the various 
 species of mirage. That there may be conditions of the 
 atmosphere fitting it not only to receive and reflect, but 
 also to retain these images after the objects have been 
 themselves removed, appears to be a conclusion not 
 altogether unwarranted by facts. That, in the above 
 instance, the persons or images seen were indeed the 
 individuals who at that moment were in the station, 
 I do not believe. That the persons who had so lately 
 been sitting in the car, some of them, doubtless, for 
 several hours, had radiated to the surrounding atmo- 
 sphere that ethereal fluid which stamps upon it these 
 images, it being in a condition to receive, to retain, 
 and to render them visible in open day, I regard as a 
 simple, safe, and natural conclusion. 
 
 Again, may we not suppose that every particle of this 
 fluid, like the particles of other matter, is subject to the 
 laws of attraction and repulsion ? — that the particles radiating 
 from each individual would, unless prevented by some 
 exterior force or interference, continue to attract each 
 
xvi Nature's Secrets. 
 
 other, if not with the same power, yet by virtue of the 
 same or similar laws as those by which their union had 
 from the first been effected and sustained? Let us then 
 \ suppose the condition of the atmosphere favourable for, 
 or at least not in any way opposed to, the free arrangement 
 of these particles in accordance with these laws, and I 
 can see no valid objection to the idea of their continuing 
 for a time to preserve the form they have so long worn. 
 This view of the matter of course supposes that the 
 objects thus seen, however ethereal they may really be, 
 are nevertheless material, tangible forms ; and in some 
 instances I have no doubt that such is the case. With 
 many persons the sudden appearance of shadowy forms, 
 now here, now there, which, by the time the eye is adjusted 
 to observe objects of so aerial a nature, are no longer 
 visible, is an almost every-day occurrence. Of course 
 they conclude their eyes have been at fault, that no 
 form was there, that the appearance was due to some 
 condition of the eye which they do not understand, 
 which cannot be of any earthly consequence, and to 
 observe which would, therefore, be folly in the extreme. 
 At other times there are sensations accompanying these 
 appearances, and seemingly so connected with them, that 
 one can but inquire if, after all, they are not worthy of 
 consideration. And again there are times when the 
 shadowy forms assume to the inner senses all the charac- 
 teristics of animated life. At such times their presence 
 may not be recognized by the outward sense of sight, 
 and yet, to the individual who perceives them, that pre- 
 sence is none the less a reality. Was it to this internal 
 recognition that Professor Longfellow referred when he 
 wrote of 
 
Seen best with closed eyes. xvll 
 
 "PHANTOMS. 
 
 *' All houses wherein men have lived and died 
 
 Are haunted houses. Through the open doors 
 The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, 
 With feet that make no sound upon the floors. 
 
 * ' We meet them at the doorway, on the stair, 
 Along the passages they come and go, 
 Impalpable impressions on the air, 
 
 A sense of something moving to and fro. 
 
 " There are more guests at table than the host's 
 Invited ; the illuminated hall 
 Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts. 
 As silent as the pictures on the wall. 
 
 " The stranger at the fireside cannot see 
 
 The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear : 
 He but perceives what is ; while unto me 
 All that has been is visible and clear. 
 
 " We have no title-deeds to house or lands; 
 Owners and occupants of earlier dates. 
 From graves forgotten, stretch their dusky hands, 
 And hold in mortmain still their old estates." 
 
 And this is true not only of houses and lands, but 
 " Owners and occupants of earlier dates" 
 
 than the human period, still hold in mortmain the dust once 
 animated by their life. 
 
 "Are the eyes open or closed V 
 
 They may be either. More frequently, however, when 
 only vision is required, it is perhaps better to close them, 
 as the objects which meet the eyes, if open, especially 
 in the light, become mingled with, or wholly crowd out 
 
 c 
 
xviii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 of sight, the views under consideration. Some, no doubt, 
 are better able to distinguish between the two methods 
 of sight when the eyes are open than others, yet I 
 beheve, judging from my own experience, and from my 
 observation of others with whom we have experimented, 
 that, under ordinary circumstances, the psychometer is 
 able to give more accurate descriptions with closed than 
 with open eyes. When the object of the experiment is 
 not vision, but the exercise of some other sense, there may 
 be less necessity for shutting from sight the objects by 
 which we are surrounded. Still I find that whatever serves 
 to disturb the mind, or in any way to call it from the 
 recognition of phenomena for which the experiment is 
 being conducted, in just so far serves to render it a 
 fruitless effort. In my own case, this rule applies to 
 any unhappy condition of the mind, whether induced by 
 any outward unpleasant circumstance, or by thoughts 
 having a tendency to produce dissatisfaction, or even 
 unrest. 
 
 It should not be inferred from the preceding observations 
 that all mental activity, or even intense mental excitement, 
 is opposed to the development of these phenomena. On 
 the contrary, the mind of the psychometer was, perhaps, 
 never more thoroughly active or more intensely excited 
 than during some of the experiments recorded in this 
 volume. In some instances, as, for example, in the case of 
 the oil-bearing coral, the facts observed were, at the time, so 
 at variance with all received opinion on that subject among 
 our savans, that the mere discovery of its true origin might 
 be considered of itself sufficiently startling ; while combined 
 as it was with the discovery of the enormous quantities 
 underlying extensive districts, both in the eastern and 
 
Why this faculty designated sight. xix 
 
 western hemispheres ; and not only so, but with the feehng 
 that one stood in those ancient seas, while, extending to the 
 right and left, many, many miles away, and stretching before 
 one for many leagues, was the glow and quiver of every 
 rainbow hue, flashed back by the contents of unnumbered 
 millions of cells ; and with the reflection that every one of 
 those cells had been the many-sided habitation of a minute 
 animal whose very pulsations were throbs for the benefit of 
 humanity, and whose life was a willing charity reserved for 
 man whenever intellect should teach him its great value, — 
 was to realize emotions that language fails to portray. But 
 I must return to your inquiries. 
 
 " £uf why designate this faculty ' sight,' if the eye is not 
 the medium by which these impressions are conveyed to the 
 brain V 
 
 Simply because the one is no less sight than the other. 
 Apparently the same organ of the brain which recognizes 
 the delicate tints of a beautiful flower, plucked to-day by the 
 hand of innocent childhood, also recognizes the gorgeous 
 hues of those ancient garlands with which our mother earth 
 so lavishly adorned herself in the ages of her girlhood. 
 That the power of vision in the one case differs materially 
 from the same power in the other, is sufficiently evident; 
 for while the one requires, as a positive necessity, that the 
 lids be open in order to a correct perception of the object 
 by which the impression is made, they may be in the other, 
 according to circumstances, either open or closed. While 
 one requires light, either direct or reflected from some 
 luminous body, to enable it to distinguish the objects 
 within its range, the other finds in a pebble no larger than a 
 
XX Nature's Secrets. 
 
 common pea a sufficiency to light up a world, while we read 
 the myriad pages of its thrilling history. 
 
 But there are times when the closed eyes of the psy- 
 chometer cannot see, and yet perhaps the true condition of 
 that with which he is in communication is as accurately 
 perceived as if the eye took cognizance of all connected 
 therewith. In such instances the impression appears to be 
 made directly upon the brain ; and when the individual has 
 learned to discriminate between these direct impressions 
 and the creations of fancy, or the workings of the imagina- 
 tion, they may be considered equally reliable with true 
 vision. To those who have never cultivated this faculty, 
 the above statement may appear somewhat incomprehen- 
 sible ; but it is none the less a fact, only wanting proper 
 conditions to render it evident to any understanding of 
 ordinary capacity. The statement of Professor Agassiz, 
 which may be found in his " Tour to Lake Superior," may 
 not be altogether inappropriate in this connection. He 
 says, speaking of a certain fish, " I can distinguish the 
 European species by a single scale ; but this not from any 
 definite character, but rather by a kind of instinct." He 
 does not here claim to have seen them, it is true, but what 
 '■'•kind of instmcV is that which enables him to distinguish 
 the European from any other species, by a single scale? 
 Professor Agassiz has, no doubt, been too much absorbed 
 by the investigations to which he has given the energies of 
 a great mind, to permit him to analyze the sensations to 
 which he so pleasantly alludes. Were he to do so, I can 
 but believe he would find himself possessed of a faculty, 
 compared with which in the scope of its comprehension, 
 instinct, as defined by our lexicographers, is but as the 
 limited sphere of the coral polyp compared with that of the 
 
Why this faculty designated sight. xxi 
 
 free, intelligent man. On the other hand, a person of very- 
 imaginative nature should be exceedingly careful in refer- 
 ence to trusting these sensations, and believing them to be 
 genuine impressions, with which neither fancy nor imagina- 
 tion has anything to do. Especially should great care be 
 exercised where the supposed impression relates to, or may 
 in any way affect, any other than the individual impressed. 
 A world of mischief has, in my estimation, resulted from 
 our ignorance of the origin of thoughts which, springing 
 to life within the brain, assume at once the character of 
 legitimacy, and demand of us an acknowledgment of their 
 claims to our consideration. Though there is no doubt 
 that, at times, these thoughts are the offspring of influences 
 existing exterior to, readily acting upon, and sensibly 
 affecting, that delicate organ the brain, but influences of a 
 nature so refined that the outward senses have as yet no 
 power to take cognizance of their presence, yet at other 
 times they are, as the experience of all will testify, neither 
 more nor less than distorted fancies, resulting from disturb- 
 ances in the electrical or nervous forces of one's own 
 system, and no more worthy of trust than are the changing 
 breezes of an April mom. By a want of this knowledge, 
 how many loving hearts have been sundered for ever ! 
 Over how many families has it permitted some deadly upas 
 to spread its branches of blight, until the cup of joy, once 
 brimming with a healthful harmony, a kindly sympathy, a 
 tender affection, has been turned to the gall of bitterness, 
 and until the peace-loving olive has been changed to the 
 wormwood of woe ! Throughout how many neighbour- 
 hoods has it scattered the seeds of dissension, and nourished 
 the roots of strife, until the beautiful plants of friendly, social 
 intercourse have been robbed of their sustenance and up- 
 
xxil Nature's Secrets. 
 
 rooted from their place ! The effects are none the less 
 terrible that any lack of care on this point may have been 
 due to our ignorance of their nature or of their source. 
 Like all things else, they must be studied to be known. 
 Persons have said to me, " I can never understand my 
 impressions. At one time a matter of which I had pre- 
 viously known nothing has been vividly impressed upon my 
 mind, and I have afterward found it to have been in strict 
 accordance with the facts. Again, an impression would be 
 made, fully as strong, in every particular as distinct as the 
 first, and I would feel certain of its correctness, when I have 
 afterward learned that in this instance it was without any 
 foundation in fact, and perhaps directly opposed to the true 
 state of the matter to which it had referred. Sometimes, 
 several instances occurring successively would prove to be 
 in accordance with the facts to which they related, and I 
 would conclude that, of a truth, my impressions had at last 
 come to be reliable, when, lo ! perhaps the succeeding 
 instance playing me wholly false, I would find myself acting 
 the part of a dupe of my own credulity. With a cheek ever 
 ready to crimson at the naked remembrance of these 
 instances, I have long since resolved never to heed im- 
 pressions more, let their origin be what it may." 
 
 But, my friend, is there any wisdom in thus summarily 
 disposing of a power, the possession of which, when you 
 have learned its use, and understood the laws of its modifi- 
 cations, may be found of incalculable value 1 Depend 
 upon it, these phenomena are not due to chance. They 
 are governed by law, as the wandering stars are governed 
 by law, and it is our business to observe and compare the 
 facts of our being, and of our relation to the inner as well 
 as to the outer world, if we would learn the laws upon 
 
No mesmeric influence needed, xxiii 
 
 which depend the development of that being and the 
 harmony of those relations. To my mind, the folly consists, 
 not in the failure of an honest endeavour to give to any 
 fact its appropriate niche in the universe of facts, but in 
 refraining from all effort to do so, because, forsooth, a 
 previous effort has proved unsuccessful. 
 
 *' Is no mestneric influence needful to induce the required 
 degree of sensitive?iess of the brain, and of those orgatis which 
 convey these impressions to the braiji ?" 
 
 None whatever ! Except in very rare instances this 
 influence should never be accepted by the psychometer 
 immediately previous to an experiment. To those who 
 have studied the subject, the reasons for this will appear 
 sufificiently obvious without further elucidation. For the 
 benefit of those who have given little or no attention to 
 this matter, I will endeavour to explain. That there are 
 individuals so sensitive to the mesmeric influence as to give 
 back, for the time being, mere reflections of the mind or 
 will of the mesmerizer, is a fact too well established to 
 require argument. Now let us suppose you wish an 
 experiment in psychometry. You mesmerize your subject, 
 and give to him or her, as the case may be, a fragment, 
 perhaps of some rock, or a chip from some structure, or a 
 bone from some animal, with the nature and much of the 
 history of which you are already familiar. The description 
 coincides perfectly with the facts, so far as you know. 
 " What a wonderful phenomenon !" the credulous bystander 
 is ready to exclaim. But how wonderful ! Is not the 
 result in strict accordance with the known laws of mes- 
 merism? You have proved nothing, either for or against 
 
xxiv Nature's Secrets. 
 
 psychometiy. The whole matter rests on precisely the 
 same basis now as before the experiment. " But," you say, 
 " suppose that, while in a mesmeric condition, the psy- 
 chometer is handed a specimen by a third individual, with 
 the nature and history of which I am wholly ignorant, and 
 the description of which is, as in the first instance, perfectly 
 correct V Though such a phenomenon has never come 
 under my own observation, I do not deny its possible 
 occurrence. But suppose such a result can be obtained, 
 the same accuracy of description may be had without any 
 such previous preparation ; and if it might npt in all, it 
 certainly would in numbers of instances, wholly invalidate 
 the experiment ; for while we know that by the establish- 
 ment of a certain electrical relation between mesmerizer 
 and subject, the latter, for the time being, lives, as it were, 
 in a world prepared and peopled by the mind of the former, 
 may we not suppose that, by consent of the operator, a 
 secondary relation, if I may use the term, shall be established 
 between the subject and another individual, which shall 
 give, if not equally perfect, at least similar results to those 
 developed by the primary relation, or the relation between 
 operator and subject? And may not this be done by the 
 subject simply coming within the electrical atmosphere of 
 this third individual, who is supposed to be cognizant of the 
 facts connected with the specimen examined ? If so, what 
 right have we to conclude that the effect is not due to 
 mesmerism, as a consequence of this same electrical rela- 
 tion 1 The fact is, it is not to prove that mind can read 
 mind, that the experiment is instituted. It is to ascertain, 
 if possible, whether mind, unassisted by the outward senses, 
 can read the sealed-up records of the ages from the merest 
 fragment of that volume, on the pages of which are daguer- 
 
No need to look for objects. xxv 
 
 reotyped all the portraits of the past ; and to do this the 
 mind of the observer should be as free as possible from 
 every influence that could weaken the testimony in reference 
 to the result. Recollect, the question is not whether this 
 knowledge can be obtained, but whether it can be obtained 
 by this particular means. The faintest tinge of light, then, 
 that greets the eye of the psychometer, unassisted by any 
 influence save that of the specimen you are supposed to 
 have given him, is worth infinitely more in this experiment 
 than would be the brightest sunshine that has ever blessed 
 the world, if, for him to behold it, it must first be discerned 
 by another ; and the softest sound his ear is capable of 
 receiving and distinguishing as such, is of more value than 
 the thunders of a thousand cannon, if, to be recognized by 
 his sense, they must be conveyed thereto by the force of 
 your will. Nor can I believe that, as a rule, this influence 
 is of greater value subsequent to an experiment of the kind 
 under consideration, than would be the same influence 
 subsequent to the healthful exercise of any other faculty, 
 whether mental or physical. 
 
 " Is the gaze directed info space, or is it directed upon some 
 object out of ivhich these various forms appear to arise V 
 
 As soon expect the anatomist in a charnel-house, dis- 
 secting-knife in hand, and invested with full authority to 
 select his own subject, to direct his gaze into space for 
 bone and muscle, for nerve and fibre, when the objects of 
 his search are within his very grasp. As soon expect the 
 connoisseur to look for figures of beauty on the unstained 
 canvas, while he is literally surrounded by that on which 
 the artist has, as it were, kindled the quenchless fires of Hfe. 
 
xxvl Nature's Secrets. 
 
 I fear I shall fail to answer this inquirj' fully, and to the 
 satisfaction of those who have in all apparent honesty pro- 
 pounded it. To an individual having any conception of 
 the nature of this faculty the question is simply absurd. 
 We do not look into space for the tangible objects by which 
 we are surrounded ; why should it be expected of us in the 
 instances under consideration ? Nor do we in common life 
 direct the gaze or fix the attention upon one object in order 
 to behold another, or with any expectation of seeing other 
 objects take the place of the first, under the influence of our 
 gaze. Are we more likely to do so when the entire range 
 of vision is crowded to excess with forms heretofore, per- 
 haps, as utterly unknown to us as they could have been had 
 they never had an existence, and forms, too, as startling as 
 they are new 1 No ; the psychometer has little need to /ook 
 for objects. In ninety-nine cases out of every hundred he 
 sees infinitely more than he can describe. He has little 
 need to hunt up views ; they crowd themselves into his 
 presence, not as if endowed with life and its attribute of 
 locomotion only, but as if they read the mandates of the 
 mind and hastened to obey. 
 
 " But why, then, as in numbers of instances recorded in 
 this voltune, talk of inability to see objects distinctly ? If the 
 power of vision is, in one instance, so acute that the finest 
 pa?iicles of tnaiter, as they arrange themselves in various 
 forms tinder the influence of electrical curre?its, are clearly 
 visible, why is it that, perhaps in the sa7ne experiine?it, there 
 is afi acknowledged inability to discern distinctions which even 
 to common sight ivould be strikingly apparent V 
 
Why objects not always seen distinctly, xxvii 
 
 Did these scenes hang silent before us, as do the pictures 
 in the gallery of the artist, — were they fixed and immoveable 
 as are the landscapes of a country village, — inert as are the 
 granite hills of our own New England, — then might be 
 expected of us a careful delineation of all their characteris- 
 tics, so far, at least, as the time given to the examination 
 would permit us to observe them in the minutise of detail. 
 But when it is remembered that to prevent these scenes 
 passing with the velocity of light an energetic action of the 
 will is required, and required continually, it will be under- 
 stood that the difficulties are of no ordinary character, and 
 are, perhaps, peculiar to this sight alone. 
 
 Beside, the value of this vision depends, in a great 
 measure, upon the ability of the individual to distinguish 
 between the nature of two influences, or rather the source 
 of each, and at the same time to render himself positive to 
 the one influence and passive to the other. It is, perhaps, 
 needless to add that, in the ability to do this, people diff'er, 
 and differ essentially, as does the same individual differ at 
 different times. I will endeavour to render this idea more 
 lucid by illustration. Let us imagine, then, for example, 
 that you have composed yourself for the examination of 
 some specimen. The field of vision is, as may not be 
 unfrequent in your case, crowded with forms which you 
 recognize as being wholly independent of any influence 
 derived from the specimen. Their appearance is involun- 
 tary, and their disappearance, without a change in yourself 
 from the negative or passive to the positive condition, is 
 entirely beyond your control. But you cannot, at this time, 
 pass to the positive condition without rendering yourself 
 equally incapable of discerning the forms or scenes resulting 
 either from the one influence or the other. In other words, 
 
xxviii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 you cannot now render yourself positive to this first in- 
 fluence, whatever it may be, and thus banish from sight its 
 resulting images, or passive to the influence of the specimen, 
 and thus bring before you the scenes with which it may 
 hitherto have been associated, while at another time to do 
 this might be but the work of a moment. 
 
 Again, we must remember that even in common sight the 
 image of any object presented to the eye must be recognized 
 by the brain, or there can be no true vision. Without this 
 recognition, the object may be there, it is true, and its image 
 may rest on the retina, but so far as your knowledge of the 
 fact is concerned, it is simply invisible. If this may be true 
 of the brain in reference to common sight and the gross 
 materials by which we are everywhere surrounded, how 
 much more so in reference to that subtle sense, and to 
 those excessively refined materials, to which we are directing 
 our attention ! And if true of the brain as a whole that it 
 may remain passive to one influence and positive to another, 
 why may it not be true of the brain in its several parts 1 I 
 believe it may be so, and that in this fact lies the secret of 
 those irregularities and seeming inconsistencies to which 
 the inquiry under consideration especially alludes. It is not 
 to be denied, however, that there are sensations connected 
 with this interior vision, which are not common to the outer 
 sense of sight ; but as I shall have occasion to allude to 
 this subject hereafter, I proceed to the consideration of 
 
 " What is the nature of this light, and whence is it derived V 
 
 To this inquiry I frankly confess my inability to give any 
 definite reply. There are, doubtless, numbers of persons 
 who will feel satisfied that the answer is altogether too 
 
The nature and source of this lieht. xxix 
 
 &' 
 
 evident to admit of any controversy ; and yet, were the 
 answers of these several individuals to be obtained, they 
 would be found to differ as widely as do the colour of their 
 eyes, or as their various methods of thought. To one it 
 seems a necessity that this light, derived, as he supposes, 
 from all bodies radiating light, whether natural or artificial, 
 as well as from all objects reflecting such light, has, as it 
 were, been drunk in and treasured up by the very elements 
 of which the specimen is composed, and from the earliest 
 date of its existence, only to be given off now, when the 
 magnetism of the human brain shall have induced sufficient 
 activity in the infinitesimal particles of the hitherto latent 
 mass. "While," he would contend, "to assume that all 
 things, everywhere, are continually reproducing themselves 
 or their images upon the face of all else, is, at most, but a 
 step in reasoning from the known to the unknown, and one 
 that may be taken with apparent security, we have then," 
 he will add, " only to admit that these daguerreotyped 
 images are visible to the sensitive eye of the psychometer, 
 and we have the whole matter before us, with outlines so 
 well defined that a few experiments would be quite sufficient 
 to set at rest, at once and for ever, all questions of doubt." 
 To another, however, this method of accounting for these 
 phenomena is the veriest folly. He believes that the human 
 being combines two distinct natures. That the outer — the 
 physical — is simply the medium through which the inner — 
 the spiritual — sustains to the more gross materials of the 
 outer world that relation which nature evidently regards as 
 of vital importance in the perfecting of the highest work- 
 manship of her hands. That, while an intimate organic 
 relation between these two natures is a positive necessity to 
 the continued exercise of that functional power which is 
 
XXX Nature's Secrets. 
 
 dependent upon the will, there may be, and often is, a 
 partial and temporaiy suspension of that union or relation, 
 granting to the spiritual nature comparative freedom from 
 the dead weight of the inert physical. That the spirit, in 
 
 \ this semi-independent existence, assuming a measure of its 
 ' native force, is, as it were, capable of annihilating time and 
 space, and living over in an hour the countless lives of the 
 ages. That the office of the specimen, which, by being 
 placed upon the forehead, is brought as nearly as possible 
 to the brain itself, is merely, by its magnetic influence, to 
 direct the spirit, or rather, perhaps, to lead it in the path- 
 way of its own experience, when thus comparatively free 
 from its earthly moorings. This, to his understanding, is a 
 
 I satisfactory solution of the entire problem. 
 
 While, however, I would most willingly accord to each of 
 these views any merit it may justly claim, I cannot accept 
 either the one or the other as the only legitimate answer 
 to this inquiry, until the facts bearing upon this question 
 have been carefully collected and critically compared. 
 There may be truth in both of these propositions ; but 
 that a sufficient number of facts from the various depart- 
 ments of this science have been collected to furnish the 
 needful materials for building a theory that shall prove 
 perfect in all its parts when the dimless eye of research 
 shall have pierced the last shadow, and shall have dis- 
 covered the last treasure in the realm of inquiry, is, of 
 course, not to be presumed. Indeed, that life will have 
 been well spent which, at the close of " threescore years 
 and ten," can lay claim to the accomplishment of so 
 masterly an endeavour. That, however, sufficient material 
 has already been gathered together to justify the com- 
 mencement of so wonderful a structure, when the several 
 
The nature and source of this llofht. xxxi 
 
 parts shall have been fitted to their places, is not, perhaps, 
 an assumption without basis. 
 
 Let us recapitulate ; and among the apparent facts 
 bearing upon the question of the nature and source of 
 this light we find, — 
 
 I St. That in this, as in ordinary sight, light is indis- 
 pensable to the recognition of objects in the manner under 
 consideration ; that is, by sight. 
 
 2nd. That in this, as in ordinary sight, light appears 
 to be either direct or reflected, or it may appear generally 
 diffused, as is the case with daylight when the sky is over- 
 cast with clouds. 
 
 3rd. That the light by which objects are thus seen is 
 overpowered, dissipated, or rendered imperceptible by 
 the presence of ordinary light, if strong. Especially is 
 this the case when the rays are permitted to fall directly 
 in the face of the psychometer, unless, as is sometimes 
 the case, he can render himself positive to ordinary light, 
 and passive to that under consideration. But whether 
 this light be of the same nature as common light, differing 
 only in intensity, but not in kind, or whether they be 
 two distinct elements entirely, it is difficult to say. 
 
 This light, unperceived by the outward sense of vision, 
 at least under ordinary circumstances, and hence not 
 generally recognized as a subject for scientific investigation, 
 I take the liberty to designate Latcjit Light, until some 
 name shall be substituted more clearly expressive of its 
 several characteristics. 
 
 4th. That latent artificial light is more readily radiated 
 than is latent natural light ; at least, that such is the case 
 under certain conditions or circumstances. Whether such 
 would be apparent to all individuals, or to the same 
 
xxxii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 individual under all circumstances, is, of course, as yet 
 an unestablished, though seemingly a probable, conclusion. 
 If such be the case, — and I am inclined to the opinion 
 that it may be, — then, whether this difference in radiation 
 be the result of some difference in the chemical or 
 electrical forces of the two substances, if substances they 
 may be called, or whether, from some other cause, the 
 one becomes apparent while the other remains m statu 
 quo, and, if so, the cause to which this result is due, I 
 leave, for the present at least, to the consideration of 
 those who have made light and its properties a subject 
 of investigation. 
 
 5th. That if the light which reveals to us this inner world 
 be derived from the specimen, there are abundant reasons 
 for presuming that the latent light of the past, that of 
 the present, as, also, that of all intervening time, may exist 
 together in the same specimen, and, when conditions are 
 favourable, may become apparent to the psychometer. 
 
 6th. That in the examination of each particular speci- 
 men, the light by which its surroundings are observed 
 corresponds to the light of the locality from which it 
 was obtained, and the period to which the examination 
 may be confined. To illustrate : — I am given a specimen 
 I- have never seen, and all knowledge of which is carefully 
 concealed by the experimenter. I take it with my eyes 
 closed, that I may form no idea of its nature from its 
 appearance. When in a suitable condition for an experi- 
 ment there is no seeing "through a glass darkly." There 
 is, perhaps, the glowing light of day, or the more dim 
 rock-light of underground ; there may be the fierce 
 glare of the volcano, or the soft water-light under the 
 wave ; there is the glittering light of golden sands, or 
 
Nature and source of this lieht. xxxili 
 
 t> 
 
 the sparkling glimmer of silvery seams ; the clear, pure, 
 life-giving atmosphere of the present, or the atmosphere 
 of the long ago, laden with steam and heavy with the 
 vapour of minerals and metallic substances ; the direct 
 and searching beams of a southern sun, for ever multiplied 
 by gorgeous bloom, while they are softened by the fadeless 
 verdure of luxuriant foliage, or the weak and scattered 
 rays of a chilled and snow-capped mountain peak, or 
 of a no less chilled and ice-bound Arctic plain. Nor 
 is this all. It may be observed, further, — 
 
 7th. That with many of the great changes to which 
 the specimen, the globe, or that portion of the globe 
 in which the specimen has existed for ages, has been 
 subjected, there is a corresponding change in the quantity, 
 the quality, and, perhaps, in the very nature of the light 
 which becomes present to the sight of the psychometer. 
 
 Such are some of the facts ; but the question, " What 
 is the nature of this light, and whence is it derived f 
 is still unanswered. I do not pretend to answer it ; but, 
 in turn, I ask, does the psychometer, in any instance, 
 see only by the light contained in or radiated by the 
 specimen examined 1 I do not deny it ; still, granting 
 such to be the case, between the light which renders 
 visible this outer world and its multitudinous forms, and 
 that under consideration, there exists, it appears to me, 
 a wide, and, as yet, an unbridged chasm. True, by its 
 discoveries science is gradually narrowing this abyss, and 
 we may, perhaps, hereafter find that at their extremes 
 the boundary lines of these two realms melt into one, 
 or, possibly, that no boundary save the measure of our 
 capabilities ever existed between them. Let us calculate, 
 
 D 
 
xxxiv Nature's Secrets. 
 
 if we can, how nearly these two Umits already approach 
 each other. 
 
 It is well known that, for some time after exposure to the 
 direct rays of the sun, the diamond and other gems will 
 radiate a brilliant light, especially if placed in darkness. 
 Even in the most perfect darkness, the image of one object 
 may become stamped upon the very elements of another, and 
 that without contact. And in view of these facts we may 
 ask, without effrontery, Who shall say that the radiation of 
 the gem has ceased when its brilliancy is no longer visible? 
 If, then, the gem is capable of such radiation, — if a coil of 
 string may, without light and without contact, leave its image 
 upon the metallic plate, — is there any absurdity in supposing 
 that the commonest objects by which we are surrounded are 
 continually radiating that light, or those forces, which, when 
 collected, if not themselves visible, produce at least visible 
 results ? For years I have occasionally noticed, in rooms 
 that no external light could enter at the time, a radiation 
 from wall and ceiling which sometimes for an instant 
 would flash with electrical brightness. At other times 
 a quivering, wavy light, somewhat resembling the Aurora 
 Borealis in some of its appearances, would float, perhaps, 
 from one end of a wall to the other before it would 
 wholly disappear. Of late I have observed these appear- 
 ances more frequently : and sometimes, in rooms that 
 have during the day been open to sunlight, I have found 
 it no longer a fitful flash, remaining visible only for an 
 instant, but of such even, steady strength, that, before any 
 artificial light has been introduced for the evening, I 
 have been able to read and write by it after daylight 
 had become altogether insufficient to enable me to perform 
 
Nature and source of this light. xxxv 
 
 such labour. In such instances, may it not be inferred 
 that, by exposure to the light of day, the active principle 
 of this element, be it what it may, becomes excited and 
 its effects greatly intensified? And yet, except as in 
 the case of the gem, it may be doubted whether even 
 this intensified radiation would be observed by the outward 
 eye in its normal condition. So closely, however, is the 
 sensation in these instances allied to that of common 
 sight, that only the fact that persons, whose external organs 
 of vision are even stronger than my own, have been 
 unable to discern it, has led me to suppose it possible 
 the recognition may be due to some other than the out- 
 ward faculty of sight. Thus far the facts may appear to be 
 wholly in favour of the supposition that the psychometer 
 sees only the daguerreotyped images of past or present 
 forms. But there is another class of facts to which I must 
 call attention, and which may, I fear, be regarded as even 
 more incomprehensible than is that class already considered. 
 I refer to those sensations which seem to indicate actual 
 existence in the locality whence the specimen was obtained, 
 and not only so, but existence in the locality at the time 
 of the occurrence to which the examination relates ; for, 
 instead of being at all times seen directly before the face, 
 as it seems to me we might reasonably expect, were these 
 images contained in the specimen, the psychometer is 
 not unfrequently compelled to look up, or down, or at 
 either side of his own position, to look near by him, or 
 afar off, as the case may require, to turn round, or change 
 his position, so that scenery which was at one time in 
 the rear of that position may now be before his face, 
 in order to obtain a clear view of it, as any one would 
 find it needful to do were he actually in the same locality. 
 
xxxvi Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and desirous of beholding all that might come within 
 the sphere of his vision in every direction. In short, 
 the entire sensation is as if he lived and moved, perhaps 
 in the light and atmosphere of to-day, perhaps in that 
 of a million years ago, himself a living, sentient being 
 amid living forms ; not merely beholding their daguerreo- 
 typed images upon the flinty fragment, but an observer 
 of the life and habits of those beings, as if they swarmed 
 the waters of the present seas, or roamed the earth to-day, 
 rather than centuries agone. And this sensation is not 
 unfrequently so absolute, the consciousness of an existence 
 in the then and there is so perfect, so vivid, that a sudden 
 return to the now and here, to a recognition of the 
 occurrences of the present, may be attended by a shock, 
 with nervous derangements that are sometimes felt for 
 hours afterward. This sensation is somewhat analogous 
 to that produced by the galvanic battery, though it may 
 be, perhaps, more refined in its nature, and, if possible, 
 more thoroughly diffused through the system. There are 
 times, it is true, when none of these sensations are realized 
 — when the views have all the appearance of daguerreo- 
 types, all the fixedness of the painted portrait. There 
 are other times, when all that is seen appears objective, 
 indeed ; but so diminutive are the objects, you feel your- 
 self at a loss for a criterion by which to judge of their 
 real or approximate size. These are, however, the ex- 
 ceptions, being of comparatively rare occurrence. But 
 you ask, — 
 
 '■'■By what means does the psychovieter appear to himself 
 thus suddenly to become a denizen of some other locality 
 thati that of which he is really the inhabitafit 1 " 
 
Does the psychometer travel ? xxxvli 
 
 We may ask, by what means does the mind project 
 that thought which, in a moment of time, sweeps the 
 boundary of the known universe, and returns to us again, 
 before we are aware it has fled, or even that it has been 
 fully formed 1 Who is able to point out to us the opera- 
 tions of our minds in connection with any phenomenon 
 of thought] Philosophers have, for centuries, jDuzzled 
 their brains, and puzzled each other, with the inquiry, 
 " How, or by what means, does the mind of the human 
 being reach out, as it were, from himself and grasp the 
 finite, or even grapple with the Infinite f But men and 
 women have not ceased to think, nor yet is the speed 
 of thought denied, because the philosopher has thus far 
 failed to answer the inquiry. Life itself is, as yet, an 
 unfathomable mystery, but who, on that account, would 
 cease to live 1 The means by which we thus exchange 
 the one place for the other, or it may be, perhaps, exist 
 in two distinct and distant places at one and the same 
 moment, I do not profess to understand ; nor do I assert 
 that such is really the case ; only this, that so far as all the 
 sensations of existence are concerned, I can distinguish 
 no difference between that which appears to me, at the 
 time, to be my life or existence on one side of the globe, 
 and that which is my acknowledged existence on the other. 
 Certainly, the senses — hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and 
 feeling — are as acute in the former as in the latter case ; 
 while, in the comprehensiveness of vision, the power and 
 speed of transit, and in much to which all our senses 
 are keenly alive, the latter can bear no comparison with 
 the former. 
 
 Again, can motion de daguerreotypedl for it must be 
 remembered that these objects are seen, not at rest nor 
 
xxxviil Nature's Secrets. 
 
 in one position only, as if the uplifted arm of man, 
 or wing of bird, had been caught by the artist, and, 
 being thus arrested, remained uplifted still, but each 
 successive movement reveals itself, as would be the case 
 were the being before you instinct with life. 
 
 It may perhaps be answered, "The motions or occur- 
 rences impressed upon an object, between two given 
 points of time, have, of necessity, an order of impression ; 
 the image of the being which was the subject of the 
 motion, is fixed upon the specimen or object impressed, 
 in all the various attitudes it exhibited at the time, and 
 in the order of that exhibition ; and in that same order, or, 
 if not the same, at least in an order that renders the 
 apparent motion equally perfect, and the apparent subject 
 of the motion equally substantive in all its parts, these 
 images become visible to the psychometer." There is 
 much in my own experience that greatly favours this 
 view of the matter, and it may, perhaps, be the correct 
 method of accounting for these phenomena ; still, there 
 is much which, as it appears to me, remains wholly un- 
 accounted for on this hypothesis. 
 
 But again you ask, "does every grain of sand on the 
 wave-washed shore, every atom composing the rocky ribs 
 of this old earth, contain within itself the likeness, the 
 photographic image of every object, the shadow of which 
 may have reached it, even from a distant sphere 1 and 
 does it retain a record of every act that has produced 
 a vibration in some ethereal fluid, by which it and the 
 subject of that act are alike surrounded?" I grant the 
 idea seems strangely monstrous. Still, the fragment ex- 
 amined may be divided and subdivided, until the dust 
 of its cleavage alone remains, and yet that dust will give 
 
Does the psychometer travel ? xxxix 
 
 you back the same extended views, — the same entirety 
 of objects, in the infinitely varying positions consequent 
 upon the activity due to Hfe, or upon changes resulting 
 from the conditions to which, at least on our own planet, 
 matter is subject ; and who shall limit the extent to 
 which this reduction may descend, and ever with the 
 same result? 
 
 But if only daguerreotype or photographic images are 
 seen, how is it that we appear to ourselves to stand 
 li'ithin this vast circle of ever active and ever changing 
 forms % If these objects and these scenes have their only 
 existence on or within the specimen, by what means, by 
 virtue of what law, do the movements of the psychometer 
 in any way affect the condition of that which he beholds ? 
 I admit that instances of this kind are comparatively rare ; 
 still it has been, and can be done. When, for example, 
 I stood, or seemed to stand, upon that immense accu- 
 mulation of vegetable matter, in one of those extensive 
 fields of the carboniferous age, and by a slightly springing 
 motion shook acres of the spongy mass, the motion of 
 that mass was as really, to my senses, the result of my 
 own motion, as could have been the case had my physical 
 being occupied a similar relation to a genuine mass of the 
 same material, were such to be found existing on the globe 
 to-day. Now the question is, could we thus bring ourselves 
 into contact with that which only exists as an image of the 
 real ? or is there somewhere ifi this infinite universe, not the 
 image only, but the positive, the actual, the cojitinued existence 
 of all that has ever been ? If, as philosophers contend, " the 
 slightest movement of the smallest body produces results 
 which diffuse themselves through all space and all time," 
 may we not go still farther, and conclude that any impulse. 
 
xl Nature's Secrets. 
 
 however metamorjDhosed it may have become in its efifects, 
 exists for ever, in all its original purity 1 
 
 But to proceed directly to the consideration of your 
 inquiry. In the examinations of Mrs. Taylor, of Lockport, 
 and of Mrs. DoViel, of Pultneyville, both of New York 
 State, I observe the psychometer not unfrequently desig- 
 nates her course from the present to the former locality 
 of the specimen, by descriptions of various places and 
 objects which would be met by the common traveller in 
 passing by the same route from one place to the other. 
 Other individuals with whom we have experimented may 
 have done the same, but if so, I do not, at this moment, 
 recall the circumstance. Mr. Denton tells me, that of 
 the thirteen specimens examined, at his request, by Mrs. 
 DoViel, during his stay in Pultneyville, he does not 
 remember that she once failed thus to indicate her course. 
 This I do not remember to have accomplished in a single 
 instance ; and by what means they succeed in doing so, I 
 have little or no idea. I may, at times, by the force of my 
 will-power, after having reached the locality from which 
 the specimen was obtained, move in any direction, and 
 to almost any distance, either on the surface or below it ; 
 and in the same way I may go backward in time almost 
 indefinitely ; I may examine, with considerable minuteness, 
 objects that would seem to bear no relation whatever to the 
 specimen ; I may name with tolerable accuracy, and at 
 times with, perhaps, exact precision, the locality from which 
 the specimen was obtained ; but I do it by a sense of the 
 position I then occupy, instead of judging of my where- 
 abouts by any knowledge of the course by which my 
 position has been reached. Indeed, I seem as it were 
 to close my eyes on that which immediately surrounds 
 
Does the psychometer travel ? xli 
 
 me, only to open them on that by which the specimen has 
 been surrounded at some other time and in some other 
 place, and by which I then seem to myself to be also 
 surrounded. Of course, this is not always the work of 
 an instant. My condition is not naturally passive or 
 receptive — far otherwise ; and at times I find it not only 
 difficult but nearly or quite impossible to become so. 
 For this reason I do not consider myself a naturally ready 
 psychometer. Though by cultivation of this faculty I can 
 now make examinations more readily, and with far less 
 fatigue, than I could do at the commencement of our 
 experiments, I have no doubt that hundreds of persons 
 could "begin where I leave off;" that is, that in their 
 first examinations the descriptions would be not only 
 more full, more elaborate, than are my own even now, 
 but they would be conducted in less time, and with far 
 greater ease. I have spoken of these visions as having 
 been of frequent occurrence in childhood, but have said 
 nothing of fatigue as a consequence, for the simple reason 
 that I felt none ; at least, no more than one would naturally 
 feel in looking at any panorama of interest. Of course, in 
 time, one will weary even of sight-seeing. But the fatigue 
 to which I have elsewhere alluded is the result, not of 
 beholding^ but of those efforts of the will by which one 
 influence is refused, while another is received ; by which 
 one object is retained in view, while others are discarded ; 
 those by which I move from place to place, or by which 
 I force myself to remain in one position ; those mental 
 efforts by which, while the will is thus actively engaged in 
 one direction — perhaps in more than one — I am at the 
 same moment comparing objects then seen with objects 
 familiar to common sight ; in another examining structures 
 
xlii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and parts of structures, hesitating and again examining, 
 that I may be certain I am making no mistake, com- 
 paring the size of one object with that of another ; 
 measuring distances, calculating forces, and estimating, so 
 far as is practicable, causes and effects, conditions and 
 their consequences. 
 
 When these views are spontaneous, — when the psy- 
 chometer is merely a passive spectator, as I was in child- 
 hood, and as I may become at almost any hour of the 
 night or day, there is little cause for fatigue. The scenes 
 may be pleasing, and, if in health, I may observe or dismiss 
 them, as I choose. They may be unpleasant, and I 
 have but to render myself positive to the influence by 
 which they are produced, which, in my case, unless ill, 
 or over-exhausted, it is not difficult to do, and dissipate 
 them at pleasure. It is when the experiment is con- 
 ducted for a purpose, and it becomes needful to control 
 the influence of different objects, — to distinguish between 
 them, — to examine one object, while others are, as it 
 were, held in abeyance until that is accomplished, &c., Szc. ; 
 or when illness renders one passive, and lack of strength 
 prevents a return to the positive condition, that these 
 examinations exhaust the nervous energies of the system, 
 and that with a rapidity to which physical labour can 
 bear no comparison. 
 
 " But how is it possible, on any scic7itific or philosophic 
 principle, to account for the hearing of sounds, wheti the 
 atjnosphere has for ages ceased to vibrate to the causes 
 by iohich they were originally produced V 
 
 If it be proven that we live only in the outward ; that 
 
How sounds are heard, xliii 
 
 we hear only by means of vibrations in the atmosphere ; 
 that the duration of a given vibration is dependent upon 
 a given amount of force ; and that, when the sound 
 is heard, the time elapsed since the force which produced 
 it was exerted, precludes a possibility of the continuance 
 of the vibrations, then, of course, there is no room for 
 controversy. But have we, as yet, arrived at the 7ie plus 
 ultra of knowledge in this direction % Are we absolutely 
 certain that sounds can be conveyed to the human ear 
 only by the atmosphere, or by some outward, tangible 
 substance, as, for instance, a block of wood or a bar 
 of iron % My own outward sense of hearing is far from 
 being acute, and has been so for years, yet within that 
 time I have distinctly heard conversations between in- 
 dividuals who at the moment were distant from the spot 
 where I then was, between forty and fifty miles. Will any 
 one pretend that this was the result of vibrations in 
 the atmosphere % I do not believe it. Yet, if you accept 
 the fact, by what means do you account for the occur- 
 rence, but by supposing either that we may exist in 
 two distinct places at one and the same moment, or 
 that some fluid, infinitely more refined than is our atmo- 
 sphere, conducts to our interior sense of hearing vibrations 
 which the atmosphere fails to convey to the ear? And who 
 shall say when, in this fluid, these vibrations cease % or that 
 they may not extend outward in time as well as outward in 
 space 1 Or will you go still farther, and suppose that all 
 matter retains in a latent condition whatever force may 
 hitherto have been applied to it, and that, by the perception 
 of these latent conditions, the psychometer may, when 
 this faculty shall become developed in the fulness of 
 its strength, arrive at the facts of all past time ? 
 
xllv Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Usually, in my own case at least, these sounds are 
 perceived rather than heard. Sometimes they are as clear 
 and distinct to the internal sense of hearing as are common 
 sounds to the outward ear; and there have been times 
 when I could not, and cannot yet, tell whether they were 
 heard by the external or only by the internal ear, so like 
 were they in all respects to sounds produced by outward, 
 tangible forms. In respect to the inability, in some in- 
 stances, to distinguish between recognition by the external, 
 and recognition by the internal senses, hearing and sight 
 stand, I believe, alone. I do not remember that smelling, 
 taste, or feeling, — though when in the psychometric con- 
 dition they may be acute as are hearing or sight, — have 
 ever so closely approached the boundary between these 
 external and internal realms as to render it impossible 
 for me to say by which they were really addressed. 
 
 '■^ But what is mcajit by 'going backward in time'' 7 Do 
 you wish to convey the idea that the spirit leaps, as it were, 
 from the present to the past V 
 
 I do not assert anything in answer to this inquiry, 
 save that the sensation is, in all respects, that of closing 
 the eyes on the present, and opening them on the past ; 
 or, where the effort is made to do so, that of going 
 from the present to the past by force of the will. But 
 by what means this is accomplished, — what is the cause 
 of this sensation, — whether the sensation be a true or 
 a false one, or what may be the philosophy of the whole 
 matter, I can form no idea. I state only the fact, desiring 
 that others may direct their attention to the subject, 
 and arrive, if possible, at the true solution of the problem. 
 
Have I no knowledge of my inheritance ? xlv 
 
 " But if this faculty be conunon to humanity^ why have I 
 no knowledge of my i/iheritafice ? " 
 
 Can you tell me, my friend, why it is that the room 
 in which the loved one breathed out the last ray of earthly, 
 organic life is still so very dear to you ? Is it what you so 
 distinctly feel within those walls that reminds you of the 
 loved and lost? Why, when you pass within its portals» 
 your eye instinctively turns toward sofa, bed, and chair, as if 
 you expected the same fond gaze to greet you now as 
 it has often done before 1 Why you feel, to throw open 
 that room to the sunlight, and the air, and to all the 
 influences of busy life, would be to scatter to the elements a 
 something which, however undefinable, is yet a so?nethitig 
 that unites you to that past in which your friend, though 
 with ebbing life, still thought, and spoke, and loved] 
 Nor are these sensations confined to the room alone. 
 The clothing our loved ones have worn, the books they 
 have handled, and, I may add, even the objects on which 
 they have gazed with fondness and pleasure, have all a 
 kindred power to reproduce sensations of their presence. 
 Who believes that the ideas so finely embodied in the 
 following lines by Wm. C. B. (I regret that I cannot 
 give the entire name, my efforts having failed to find it) 
 live only in the fancy of the poet? 
 
 " baby's shoes. 
 
 "Oh, those little, those Httle blue shoes! 
 Those shoes that no little feet use. 
 Oh, the price were high 
 That those shoes would buy ; 
 Those little, blue, unused shoes ! 
 
xlvi Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " For they hold the small shape of feet, 
 That no more the mother's eyes meet, 
 That by God's good will, 
 Years since grew still. 
 And ceased from their totter so sweet. 
 
 " And, oh, since that baby slept 
 
 So hushed, how the mother has kept, 
 
 With a tearful pleasure, 
 
 That dear little treasure, 
 And over them thought and wept ! 
 
 " For they mind her for evermore 
 Of a patter along the floor ; 
 And blue eyes she sees 
 Look up from her knees 
 With the look that in life it wore. 
 
 " As they lie before her there. 
 There babbles from chair to chair 
 
 A little sweet face 
 
 That's a gleam m the place. 
 With its little gold curls of hair. 
 
 ' ' Then, oh, wonder not that her heart 
 From all else would rather part. 
 Than those tiny blue shoes. 
 That no little feet use. 
 And whose sight makes the fond tears start." 
 
 Ay, mother, and have not "those httle blue shoes" 
 a charm for thee independent of the reviemhraiice merely 
 that thy darling once wore them % xAjt thou at all times 
 satisfied merely with beholding them % Is there not a 
 greater pleasure in clasping them in thine own warm 
 palms % a sensation as of the little feet within, upon 
 which you have so often fastened them % And the hat that 
 hangs against the wall, soiled by the little fingers, tell 
 me, mother, do you ever take it from its place, but you 
 
Psychometer not always conscious, xlvii 
 
 feel the " little gold curls," as they cluster around your own 
 fingers 1 
 
 Did we never realize their presence thus, save when 
 our friends have passed "the shadowy vale," we might, 
 perhaps, conclude that to the still-existing spirit these 
 objects form, as it were, that 
 
 "bridge of light, 
 O'er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends," 
 
 they come again to meet and mingle with their friends. 
 But such is not the case. Our friends may have left 
 us for a few months, or for a few weeks only. Day 
 after day we visit the room they so lately occupied, 
 and, with that same sense, we recognize the presence 
 of the absent. How many times, since the little one 
 went home with grandmamma, only last week, have you 
 seen the laughing eyes peep from beneath the little hat, and 
 heard the pattering of the little feet ! And is this all 
 fancy 1 Trust for once, fond mother, to the answer of 
 thy throbbing heart. In a sense, the little one is with 
 you still ; and when you shall have become sufficiently 
 sensitive to these influences, there will be no wall so 
 thick, and no distance so great, as to preclude the 
 possibility of your holding daily communion with those 
 you love. 
 
 We perceive like causes producing like effects when, 
 standing in the presence of some old ruin " that Time hath 
 made," while the " ivy green " was gathering in its close 
 embrace the scattered fragments of the lonely representative 
 of ancient art, we run backward in our sympathies to 
 the brain that designed, and the taste of a people which 
 made possible, this outward expression of those interior 
 creations ; and this we do instinctively, and without pausing 
 
xlviii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 to call to our remembrance the written record of its 
 time. So with all our relics, — the products of whatever 
 clime or age. From the tumuli of Great Britain, from 
 the mounds of America, from the tombs of Egypt, from 
 the sepulchres of Judea, from the burial-places of every 
 tribe among the ancients, wherever it is practicable, we 
 gather these treasures of the past, and cherish them with 
 religious care. And why do we this 1 They have a 
 value, it is true, inasmuch as they furnish, so far as they go, 
 evidences of the habits and customs of the people of 
 those olden times. So have the histories of those times a 
 kindred value, — histories written by men who have devoted 
 years to the investigation of these subjects ; yet with 
 what widely differing sensations do we take into our 
 hands a printed volume on Egypt and her once powerful 
 inhabitants, or on India and her wonderful Cave Temples, 
 for example, and the long fringed cloth, heavy with 
 emanations from the dead, in which the mummy was 
 wrapped for interment, and in which it has lain for cen- 
 turies ; or one of those implements of flint, by which 
 the slender records of forgotten tribes have been handed 
 down the steep of unknown centuries ! The air in our 
 museums — both public and private — is laden with dis- 
 agreeable effluvia from these silent hosts, that so unerringly 
 repeat the stories of their age ; and in your answer, " // were 
 sacrilege to wash thetfi /" there is a volume of the richest 
 meaning, — of the highest import. I can believe that a 
 true warrior may derive inspiration from the sword worn by 
 a brave and daring comrade, while that of a coward 
 can be redeemed from its curse only by the hand of 
 courage. I can fancy that a man's religious zeal and 
 devotion may be intensified by the possession of a copy of 
 
Do departed spirits appear ? xlix 
 
 the Bible, worn with frequent use by some heroic martyr, 
 while had he received the same inheritance, minus the 
 influence, from some heathen or infidel, he might have been 
 less devotional, and perhaps far more critical. I can 
 conceive it not only possible, but probable, that a natural 
 tendency to aberration of the mental faculties may be 
 developed into actual madness by continued association 
 with places and objects which have previously received the 
 influence of the insane, unless counteracting influences 
 or agents greatly preponderate ; and it has frequently 
 been remarked that in places where one individual has 
 committed a crime, another, perhaps more than one, has 
 fallen a victim to the same temptation. 
 
 In view of these considerations, how many of us can 
 claim exemption from all experimental knowledge of our 
 strange inheritance? 
 
 " But among all these ethereal fo7'ms^ so vividly present to 
 the se?ises, do you never recognize spirits of the departed?'"'' 
 
 I have frequently been asked this question, but I cannot 
 answer it satisfactorily, even to myself So far as all my 
 theories, bearing upoti this subject, are concerned, I frankly 
 confess they do not admit even the possibility of such an 
 occurrence. Still, had I never thus seen images of any save 
 9f those who had previously departed this life, I should, no 
 doubt, have concluded that if the question of spirit-existence 
 and of spirit-intercourse with the living were not already 
 settled, I had, at least for myself, strong testimony in favour 
 of its affirmative. But when I see those who are still in life, 
 though separated from them many, many miles; when, 
 though thus separated and thus seen, I hear them speak as 
 
 £ 
 
1 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 distinctly as I hear the sound of my own voice ; when I see 
 those who departed this Hfe centuries ago, engaged in the 
 same pursuits, deaHng with the same facts, and living 
 essentially the same lives yvhich the habits and customs of 
 the times warrant us in believing they must of necessity 
 have lived ; when I see animals of which, for ages past, the 
 earth has borne no living representatives, and see all these 
 as vivid realities, — the question becomes, to my under- 
 standing, at least, exceedingly complicated, and I confess 
 myself unable to perceive that any theory with which I am 
 acquainted can be made to cover all the facts. 
 
 " But, granting the correctness of your own deductions, we 
 ask, hoiv is it that with a given specimen the attention of the 
 psychojueter is arrested by so?ne one circumstance recorded in 
 the great volume of its history, — why some one condition, or 
 some ONE epoch, in that history stands otitfrom all the others, 
 bold and distinct in its every outline, — while that same speci- 
 men, or at least every particle of which it is co??iposed, has 
 received its share of the modify i?ig influejices of all time ? " 
 
 Permit me to submit, first, that though all matter may, as 
 it would seem, retain the influences of all time, and may 
 communicate these influences to the sufficiently sensitive, 
 still those of organic are more marked, or more marked in 
 their effects upon certain organisms, than are those of 
 inorganic matter; second, that of organic forms the in- 
 fluences of the animal kingdom are more active or more 
 marked than are those of the vegetable kingdom ; third, 
 that there is observable, so it seems to me, a gradual in- 
 crease of activity or force in these permeating influences as 
 we ascend in the scale of organization from the animalcule 
 
Certain influences predominate. li 
 
 to the man ; fourth, that we may go yet farther, and trace a 
 corresponding increase in the force or radiation of these 
 influences as we ascend from the lower to the higher 
 developments of the human species ; fifth, that, farther still, 
 we may find that, by perhaps the same law, whatever serves 
 to increase the radiation of these influences — as, for example, 
 great grief, great fear, great gladness, or intense activity of 
 any one or all of the mental faculties — serves also to render 
 more effective their results, both primary and secondary. If 
 this be so, — and so it seems to me, — then a specimen of any 
 geological era, however saturated it may be with the in 
 fluences of its own age, from exposure to the stronger 
 influences of the human period, and the still stronger 
 influences of some particular portion of that period of more 
 lively interest than another, may yet more readily yield to 
 the psychometer the influences of that particular time. 
 And may not the same be true in a corresponding ratio of 
 any unusual activity or disturbance among the bodies of 
 inorganic matter, or even in the primary elements of all 
 things? It has been suggested that a specimen yields to 
 the psychometer the influences it has received in the same 
 order as that in which they were impressed upon it ; but in 
 my own case this is not, or at least does not appear to be, 
 an invariable rule. Sometimes, beginning with past condi- 
 tions, I seem to trace the events forward in time, and, to a 
 great extent, in the order of their occurrence. At other 
 times, beginning with more recent conditions, I seem to 
 trace the events backward in time, preserving here, also, in 
 a great measure, a like regard for the order of their occur- 
 rence ; while on other occasions all relation between one 
 view and another is wanting, and it is nearly or quite im- 
 possible to give anything like a connected account of the 
 
lii Nature's Secrets. 
 
 scenes or objects which so suddenly dart into sight, and are 
 again as suddenly lost. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Such are some of the inquiries which seem to me likely, 
 on reading the following pages of this work, to arise in the 
 minds of those who have never investigated the subject for 
 themselves. Granting the facts herein presented, are we too 
 enthusiastic if we indulge the belief that, with the general 
 cultivation of this faculty, there will dawn a brighter day 
 than humanity shall ever before have witnessed 1 May we 
 not reasonably hope for less of wrong and more of right, 
 when men and women shall have learned that all on which 
 their shadows rest — every ray of light which they reflect — 
 become, emphatically, "recording angels," faithfully tran- 
 scribing their words, their deeds, their thoughts, nay, the 
 very motives of their hearts 1 Alas for the peace of the 
 evil-doer, when, from ever}' object by which he is surrounded, 
 his own image stares him back in every attitude requisite for 
 the consummation of crime, and with a persistency that 
 time cannot affect ! Alas for the plotter of mischief, when 
 he sees in every flag in the pavement, every pebble in the 
 street, his thoughts indelibly recorded, and learns that the 
 record may be " known and read of all men " ! When the 
 slanderer learns that " there are tongues in trees " which 
 still rehearse his lies, will he hasten to repeat the falsehood 1 
 When the highwayman and the murderer shall hear the 
 voice of their victim ring out on the evening breeze to every 
 passer by, and when they can no longer wash from their 
 own sight, or from that of the avenger, the gore with which 
 their hands are crimsoned, will they be likely to enlarge the 
 stains, or to add another to the voices that already cry 
 
Hope for the future. liii 
 
 against them 1 I am tiot dealing infancies. If the influence 
 of the suicide who falls a victim to insanity may be so 
 treasured by the wooden walls of the room in which he 
 expires as to present the psychometer, years afterwards, 
 with a faithful representation of the sad, sad scene (and this 
 has come within my own experience),* are these supposi- 
 tions unfounded — these conclusions but over-wrought 
 fancies % 
 
 No doubt, when this subject shall have been more 
 thoroughly studied, and its various bearings more carefully 
 observed, other questions will arise every way equal in 
 interest and importance to those already considered. Cer- 
 tainly, as I contemplate it, there open before me fields for 
 investigation that seem to know no boundary. If we have 
 correctly interpreted this " handturiting oti the wall" what is 
 there desirable which the future does not promise us? 
 What records are here from which the historian may gather 
 without stint ! What domains for the naturalist ! What 
 limitless realms for the natural, the mental, and the moral 
 philosopher ! And how, to the utmost extent of his capa- 
 bilities, may each revel in the field of his choice without 
 fear of exhausting his supplies ! Truly, its ultimate and 
 inevitable results to science are grand beyond comparison ; 
 its benefits to humanity, in every department of life, of 
 incalculable value ! " He who runs may read " the promise 
 of the future ! 
 
 * The Editor is acquainted with the circumstance here alluded to, 
 and knows it to be a fact. 
 
PSYCHOMETRIC 
 RESEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM DENTON. 
 
Nature's Secrets. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PICTURES ON THE RETINA AND BRAIN. 
 
 "DY looking into the eye of an individual beholding a 
 landscape, we can see therein a picture of the fields, 
 houses, trees, and objects generally, that come within the 
 range of vision. This is because rays of light proceeding 
 from these objects pass to the retina of the eye, and there 
 form images or pictures of them. Nothing is apparent 
 to ordinary vision until it is painted upon this window 
 of the soul. 
 
 The pictures so projected and seen are not so evanescent 
 as generally supposed. They seem to pass from the 
 retina of the eye into the brain, and are there indehbly 
 impressed upon its substance ; and under certain conditions 
 can be brought before the vision years afterward, with as 
 great a distinctness as the beholder was conscious of at 
 the time the objects themselves were presented to the sight. 
 
 Thus Sir Isaac Newton, in a letter to Locke, says, "I 
 looked a very little while upon the sun in the looking-glass 
 with my right eye, and then turned my eyes into a dark 
 comer of my chamber and winked, to observe the impression 
 
58 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 made, and the circle of colours which encompassed it, and 
 how they decayed by degrees, and at last vanished. In- 
 tending my fancy upon them to see their last appearance, I 
 found, to my amazement, that they began to return, and by 
 little and little to become as lively and vivid as when I 
 had newly looked upon the sun. But when I ceased to 
 intend my fancy upon them they vanished again. 
 
 "After this, I found that as often as I went into the dark 
 and intended my mind upon them, as when a man looks 
 earnestly to see anything which is difiicult to be seen, I 
 could make the phantasm return without looking any more 
 upon the sun ; and the oftener I made it return, the more 
 easily I could make it return again. And at length, by 
 repeating this, without looking any more upon the sun, I 
 made such an impression on my eye that, if I looked upon 
 the clouds, or a book, or any bright object, I saw upon it a 
 round, bright spot of light like the sun. . . . And now 
 in a few hours' time I had brought my eyes to such a pass, 
 that I could look upon no bright object with either eye but 
 I saw the sun before me, so that I durst neither write nor 
 read ; but to recover the use of my eyes I shut myself up in 
 my chamber, made dark, for three days together, and used 
 all means to divert my imagination from the sun. For if I 
 thought upon him I presently saw his picture, though I was 
 in the dark. . . . For some months after, the spectrum 
 of the sun began to return as often as I began to meditate 
 upon the phenomena, even though I lay in bed at midnight 
 with my curtains drawn." * 
 
 There are probably but few persons that perceive such 
 impressions as readily and vividly as Newton did this of 
 the sun ; but I think there are facts sufficient to show that 
 
 * Brewster's " Life of Newton," p. 237. 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain. 59 
 
 all persons retain these impressions in a latent form, though 
 the conditions favourable for their manifestation may not 
 be present. 
 
 Were experiments instituted for the purpose of testing the 
 duration of visual impressions, as in the following, the result 
 would be surprising to most persons. " Dr. Darwin says, ' I 
 covered a paper about four inches square with yellow, and, 
 with a pen filled with a blue colour, wrote upon the middle 
 of it the word banks in capitals, and, sitting with my back 
 to the sun, fixed my eyes for a minute on the centre of the 
 letter N in the word. After shutting my eyes, and shading 
 them somewhat with my hand, the word was distinctly seen 
 in the spectrum, in yellow colours on a blue ground ; and 
 then, on opening my eyes on a yellowish wall, at twenty 
 feet distance, the magnified name of banks appeared on the 
 wall, written in golden characters.' " * 
 
 In this case the word was seen with closed eyes, though 
 in a difierent colour from that in which it was written. The 
 reason that blue was seen in place of yellow, and yellow 
 instead of blue, probably arose from the fact that when 
 we look for a long while upon one colour, the eye becomes 
 unable for some time to perceive that colour, and we see, in 
 the place of it, its complementary colour. Blue and yellow 
 being complementary colours, the one was seen in place of 
 the other. 
 
 Dr. Ferriar says, that when about the age of fourteen, if 
 he had been viewing any interesting object in the course of 
 the day, as a romantic ruin, a fine seat, or a review of troops, 
 so soon as evening came, if he had occasion to go into a 
 dark room, the whole scene was brought before him with a 
 brilliancy equal to that which it possessed in daylight, and 
 
 * Abercrombie's " Intellectual Philosophy." 
 
6o Nature's Secrets. 
 
 remained visible for some minutes. In these cases, the 
 impressions do not seem to have been retained long after 
 the objects were presented to the eye ; and it might 
 be supposed that the impression made upon the retina 
 was so strong, that the pictures were retained there for 
 a time and gradually faded away ; but in the cases that 
 I shall now bring forward, it will be seen that this ex- 
 planation is altogether insufficient to account for the facts 
 presented. 
 
 Persons who have become blmd are very naturally more 
 observing of such visions, as well as more liable to their 
 presentation ; and we have, therefore, many well-authenti- 
 cated instances of persons who, having become blind, could 
 at times see the objects on which their eyes had previously 
 rested, with all the vividness of reality. 
 
 " Dr. Samuel Willard, of Deerfield, Mass., has for the 
 last twenty-five years been completely bhnd, and for twelve 
 years previously had only been able to distinguish large 
 objects indistinctly ; but even now, when closeted in his 
 room, visions of the green fields and sunny slopes of the 
 Connecticut valley aj^pear to him as really as when he 
 gazed upon them with his eyes, which for so long a period 
 have admitted no light. He denies that this is imagination, 
 but regards it as an exhibition of one of the mysterious 
 modes by which the mind may hold communication with 
 the outer world without the aid of the senses." * The 
 imagination possesses no such power as some persons 
 attribute to it, and Dr. Willard very properly refused to 
 recognize the phenomenon as its offspring. But if he can 
 only see what his eyes had previously gazed upon, it is not, 
 as he supposes, an exhibition of a mode by which the mind 
 
 * "American Encyclopzedia," Vol. III., p. 357- 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain. 6i 
 
 may hold communication with the outer world without the 
 aid of the senses, for the sense of vision had first to be 
 employed to obtain these images ; but it is an exhibition of 
 a power by which the scenes taken into the mind by the 
 sense of vision become again visible, not one of which, 
 apparently, is ever obliterated. 
 
 The case of Niebuhr, the celebrated Danish traveller, 
 much resembles this. "When old, blind, and so infirm 
 that he was able only to be carried from his bed to his 
 chair, he used to describe to his friends the scenes which 
 he had visited in his early days, with wonderful minuteness 
 and vivacity. When they expressed their astonishment, he 
 told them that as he lay on his bed, all visible objects shut 
 out, the pictures of what he had seen in the East continually 
 floated before his mind's eye, so that it was no wonder 
 he could speak of them as if he had seen them yesterday. 
 With like vividness the deep, intense sky of Asia, with its 
 brilliant and twinkling host of stars, which he had so often 
 gazed at by night, or its lofty vault of blue by day, was 
 reflected in the hours of stillness and darkness on his inmost 
 soul." * 
 
 That these images are really imprinted upon the brain, 
 in many cases at least, and not merely upon the retina of the 
 eye, there is the best of evidence. MUller, the German 
 physiologist, informs us that a remarkable case was ob- 
 served by Lincke, in which the extirpation of the eye was 
 followed by the appearance of luminous figures before the 
 orbit as long as the inflammation consequent on the opera- 
 tion lasted. 
 
 " A Jewess who had been for a long time blind became 
 insane. Her illusions were of the sight, and she was 
 
 * " Intellectual Philosophy," p. lOO. 
 
62 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 constantly haunted by strange visions. After her death 
 it was ascertained that the two optic nerves, from the part 
 at which they are united within the head (which anatomists 
 call their commissure) to their termination in the retina, 
 were shrunk and wasted, so that they must have been 
 wholly incapable of performing their functions." * In 
 these cases it must be evident that the pictures seen 
 were not impressed on the retina, and in the latter 
 case we can hardly conceive the power to behold them 
 to reside in the optic nerve ; the pictures must have been 
 impressed upon the brain, and the excitement of inflamma- 
 tion in the one case, and of insanity in the other, rendered 
 them visible. 
 
 Many persons, when attacked by fever, or diseases 
 accompanied with fever, have had presented to them 
 scenes that they had beheld years before, and which in 
 some cases they had entirely forgotten. Mr. Macnish gives 
 the following interesting account of a . vision thus seen 
 by himself: — "In March, 1829, during an attack of fever, 
 accompanied with violent action in the brain, I experienced 
 illusions of a very peculiar kind. They did not appear except 
 when the eyes were shut or the room perfectly dark ; and 
 this was one of the most distressing things connected with 
 my illness ; for it obliged me either to keep my eyes open, 
 or to admit more light into the chamber than they could 
 well tolerate. 
 
 " One night, when the fever was at its height, I had a 
 splendid vision of a theatre, in the arena of which Ducrow, 
 the celebrated equestrian, was performing. On this oc- 
 casion everything was gay, bright, and beautiful. I was 
 broad awake, my eyes were closed, and yet I saw with 
 
 * Brodie's " Psychologic Inquiries," p. 86. 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain, 6t, 
 
 perfect distinctness the whole scene going on in the theatre 
 — Ducrow performing his wonders of horsemanship, and 
 the assembled multitude, among whom I recognized several 
 intimate friends — in short, the whole process of the enter- 
 tainment, as clearly as if I were present at it. When I 
 opened my eyes the whole scene vanished like the en- 
 chanted palace of the necromancer; when I closed them, it 
 as instantly returned. . . . This theatrical vision con- 
 tinued for about five hours." * 
 
 It is evident, from his account, that Mr. Macnish had 
 seen just such a performance as this ; the inimitable painter, 
 Light, had dra\vn it in the eye, complete in every feature, 
 and thence it had been transferred to the brain. During 
 the paroxysm of the fever, the curtain was drawn that 
 ordinarily conceals such pictures from our gaze, and there it 
 hung, as bright and beautiful as on the day of its execution. 
 The wonder is, not that such pictures are seen, but that 
 they are so seldom seen, or, being seen, are so little noticed. 
 
 Hugh Miller, when young, visited the theatre in Edin- 
 burgh. " The scenery," he says, " made no favourable 
 impression upon me ; but fourteen years after, when the 
 whole seemed to have passed out of my memory, I was 
 lying ill of small-pox, which, though a good deal modified, 
 apparently, by the vaccination of a long anterior period, was 
 accompanied by such a degree of fever, that for two days 
 together one delirious image continued to succeed another 
 in the troubled sensorium, as scene succeeds scene in the 
 box of an itinerant showman. As is not uncommon, how- 
 ever, in such cases, though ill enough to be haunted by the 
 images, I was yet well enough to know that they were idle 
 unreahties, the mere effect of indisposition, and even sufii- 
 
 * Combe's "Phrenology," p. 352. 
 
64 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ciently collected to take an interest in watching them as 
 they arose, and in striving to determine whether they were 
 linked together by the ordinary associative ties. I found, 
 however, that they were wholly independent of each other. 
 Curious to know whether the will exerted any power over 
 them, I set myself to try whether I could not conjure up a 
 death's head as one of the series ; but what rose instead was 
 a cheerful parlour fire, bearing a tea-kettle ; and as the 
 picture faded and then vanished, it was succeeded by a 
 gorgeous cataract, in which the white foam, at first strongly 
 relieved against the dark rock over which it fell, soon ex- 
 hibited a deep tinge of sulphurous blue, and then came 
 dashing down in one frightful sheet of blood. The great 
 singularity of the vision served to freshen recollection, and I 
 detected in the strange cataract every line and tint of the 
 waterfall in the incantation scene in ' Der Freischutz,' which 
 I had witnessed in the Theatre Royal of Edinburgh, with 
 certainly no very particular interest, so long before." 
 
 " T/iere are, I suspect, provinces in the philosophy of mind 
 into which the metaphysicians have not yet e?itered. Of that 
 accessible storehouse, i7i which the memories of past events lie 
 arranged and taped up, they appear to know a good deal; but 
 of a mysterious cabinet of daguerreotype pictures, of which, 
 though fast locked tip on ordinary occasions, disease sometitnes 
 flings the door ajar, they seem to knozu fiothing^ * 
 
 As reasonably might the astronomer suppose that he had 
 discovered the boundaries of the material universe, as for 
 the metaphysician to suppose that he has traversed and 
 bounded the mental universe, which seems to be as infinite 
 as space itself. 
 
 "At the Leeds meeting of the British Association, Pro- 
 
 * " My Schools and Schoolmasters," p. 332. 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain. 65 
 
 fessor Stevelly narrated the following anecdote : — At the 
 close of the last college session he had been in weak health, 
 and had gone to his brother-in-law's seat in the country for a 
 few weeks. While there, he had become greatly interested 
 in the economy and habits of the bees. One morning, soon 
 after breakfast, the servant came in to say that one of the 
 hives was just beginning to swarm. 'The morning was 
 beautifully clear and sunny, and I stood gazing at the in- 
 sects, as they appeared projected against the bright sky, 
 rapidly and uneasily coursing hither and thither in most 
 curious yet regular confusion, the drones making a hum- 
 ming noise much louder and sharper than the workers, from 
 whom also they were easily distinguished by their size, but 
 all appearing much larger in their rapid flights than their 
 true size. In the evening, as it grew dark, I again went out 
 to see the bee-hive, into which the swarm had been col- 
 lected, removed to its stand. Soon after I was much 
 surprised to see, as I thought, multitudes of large flies 
 coursing about the air. I mentioned it to my sister-in-law, 
 who said I must be mistaken, as she had never seen an 
 evening in which so few flies were abroad. Soon after, 
 when I retired to my chamber, and knelt to my prayers 
 before going to my rest, I was surprised to see coursing 
 backward and forward, between me and the wall, what I 
 now recognized as the swarm of bees, the drones quite 
 easily distinguishable from the workers, and all in rapid 
 whirling motion, as in the morning. This scene continued 
 to be present to me as long as I remained awake, and 
 occasionally when I awoke in the night ; nor had it entirely 
 faded away by the next night, although much less vivid. 
 This was the first instance I had ever seen of moving im- 
 pressions having become permanently impressed upon the 
 
66 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 retina, nor can I give the slightest guess at the modus 
 operandi of the nerve.' " * 
 
 These visions, or re-visions as they may be termed, are 
 not unknown to persons who are in sound mind and good 
 health ; and I find with some people they are so common 
 that they never regard them as at all wonderfial, supposing 
 that all persons experience the same. In companies of five 
 or six persons, I have sometimes found two, and at other 
 times three, who had often seen ordinary objects with the 
 eyes closed, especially such as had frequently come before 
 them during the day. I have just received a letter from a 
 lady, in which she says : — " Since strawberries began to 
 ripen, or rather since I began to pick them, I can see 
 nothing else : they are before me whenever I close my 
 eyes." Miiller, to whom I have referred, says : — " Any one 
 who can watch the changes which take place in himself at 
 the time when sleep is coming on, will sometimes be able 
 to perceive the images distinctly in the eyes. On awaking, 
 in a dark room it sometimes happens that images of land- 
 scapes and similar objects still float before the eyes. Aris- 
 totle, Spinoza, and, still more recently, Gruithuisen, have 
 made this observation. I have myself also very frequently 
 seen these phantasms, but am now less liable to them than 
 formerly." 
 
 Generally these visions are seen with the eyes closed, and 
 the observer has no power to produce or destroy them ; at 
 other times they are seen with the eyes open, and can be 
 produced at will. " A painter who inherited much of the 
 patronage of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and believed himself to 
 possess a talent superior to his, was so fully engaged that he 
 
 * "Physiology of Common Life," by G. H. Lewes, Vol. IL, p. 283. 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain. 6"] 
 
 told me that he had painted three hundred large and small 
 portraits in one year. The fact appeared physically im- 
 possible, but the secret of his rapidity and astonishing 
 success was this : he required but one sitting of his model. 
 I watched him paint a portrait in miniature in eight hours 
 of a gentleman whom I well knew ; it was carefully done, 
 and the resemblance was perfect. I begged him to detail 
 ■ to me his method of procedure, and he related what 
 follows : — * When a sitter came I looked attentively on him 
 for half an hour, sketching from time to time on the canvas. 
 I did not require a longer sitting. I removed the canvas 
 and passed to another person. When I wished to continue 
 the first portrait, I recalled the man to my mind. I placed 
 him on the chair, where I perceived him as distinctly as if 
 he were really there, and, I may add, in form and colour 
 more decided and brilliant. I looked from time to time at 
 the imaginary figure, and went on painting, occasionally 
 stopping to examine the picture, exactly as though the 
 original were before me; whenever I looked toward the 
 chair I saw the man. 
 
 " * This method made me very popular, and as I always 
 caught the resemblance, the sitters were delighted that I 
 spared them the annoying sittings of other painters. In this 
 way I laid by much money for myself and my children.' " * 
 
 Combe, in the same valuable work on Phrenology, gives 
 another instance of an individual in sound health, who was 
 liable to the presentation of visions of objects that he had 
 previously beheld. He says : — " Several years ago I saw a 
 person in the West of Scotland who was liable to spectral 
 illusions. He was then thirty-eight years of age, in sound 
 
 * Combe's "Phrenology," p. 238. 
 
68 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 health, remarkably intelligent, and by no means liable to 
 extravagance either in his statements or ideas. He men- 
 tioned that there was almost constantly present to his mind 
 the appearance of a carpet in motion, and spotted with 
 figures. On visiting Glasgow, he saw a large log of wood, 
 mounted on two axles and four wheels, passing along the 
 street ; and on returning home, the apparition of the timber 
 and its vehicle, with the horses and driver, stood before him 
 in the dimensions and hues of actual existence. 
 
 " On another occasion he saw a funeral pass by the end 
 of Queen Street, in Glasgow, and for some time afterward, 
 whenever he shut his eyes or was in darkness, the procession 
 moved before his mind as distinctly as it had previously 
 done before his eyes. These are merely a few instances, 
 out of many, of beings and objects which he had seen 
 reappearing to his fancy. He was not conscious of the 
 appearance of any object which he had not previously 
 seen ; and he was rarely, or almost never, troubled with these 
 visions when actual existences were before his eyes in broad 
 daylight ; but at all times they appeared to a greater or less 
 extent when his eyes were shut or darkness prevailed. He 
 mentioned that this peculiarity had descended to his son." 
 
 I know a family in which mother, daughter, and grand- 
 daughter all possess this pecuUarity. " Spectral illusion " is, 
 however, an improper name to designate that by, which is 
 simply re-vision, or the retention of that which has been 
 seen, and its presentation to some interior organ of vision, 
 that human beings evidently possess. 
 
 Dr. Kitto says : — " I retain a clear impression or image of 
 everything at which I ever looked, although the colouring 
 of that impression is necessarily vivid in proportion to the 
 degree of interest with which the object was regarded. I 
 
Pictures on the retina and brain, 69 
 
 find this faculty of much use and solace to me. By its aid 
 I can live again at will in the midst of any scene or circum- 
 stances by which I have been once surrounded. By a 
 voluntary act of mind I can in a moment conjure up the 
 whole of any one out of the innumerable scenes in which 
 the slightest interest has at any time been felt by me." * 
 
 From these facts it is evident, that the images taken in by 
 the eye on ordinary occasions, are, in some cases, wonder- 
 fully enduring, even retaining, after the lapse of many years, 
 all the perfection in detail and beauty of colouring with 
 which they were originally invested. Now there is good 
 reason to believe that this is the case with all persons ; the 
 pictures are retained, though conditions may not be favour- 
 able for their manifestation. Had Hugh Miller and Dr. 
 Macnish never been attacked by disease, could they have 
 credited the existence in the mind of the pictures which 
 they saw ? So the mass of mankind dream not that all they 
 ever saw or heard is pencilled or engraven on the brain, 
 only waiting for the veil to be removed, when the whole 
 may be made visible to the eye of the mind. There is the 
 little cradle in which we were rocked, and the faces that 
 bent over it ; the oak under whose branches we played, and 
 whose acorns were our treasures. The old schoolhouse is 
 there, and the portrait of every boy and girl that sat in it 
 with us. There hang all the landscapes we ever saw, with 
 their numberless hills, streams, fields, trees, beasts, and 
 birds ; in all lights and shades, from early morn to dewy 
 eve ; in all seasons, when winter spreads his snowy mantle 
 to hide his nakedness and barrenness, and when summer 
 sits smiling in all her beauty and richness. In that gallery 
 
 * " Body and Mind." Dr. George Moore, p. 206. 
 
70 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 are all the men and women we ever saw; the hurrying 
 crowd that swept past us in New York, Boston, or London 
 — none went so swiftly but he left his portrait. No beggar 
 but carries about with him pictures that outnumber and 
 outvie all that art has produced since the day of its birth, — 
 pictures better coloured than Titian's, more original than 
 Raphael's, more beautiful than Guido's, and more natural 
 than Hogarth's. In sleep we sometimes wander through 
 this soul's picture-gallery, and catch glimpses of its beauty ; 
 but of its grandeur and perfection we have not even 
 dreamed. 
 
 Wild as the statement may seem, there can be no doubt 
 that our minds, unconscious to ourselves, receive and retain 
 impressions of what is transpiring around us. " A boy, 
 whose case is given by Dr. Abercrombie, was obliged at the 
 age of five years to have his skull trepanned, it having been 
 fractured by a fall from a window. He was of course quite 
 insensible at the time, and after his recovery had no re- 
 collection either of the accident or the operation. But 
 when a grown man, fourteen years after, he was attacked 
 with fever ; and during the consequent delirium he astonished 
 his mother with an account of the operation, describing 
 minute particulars, even to the dress worn by the surgeon, 
 all which his mother knew to be correct. He never alluded 
 to it in his after life." * The probabihty of this will become 
 more apparent as we proceed. 
 
 * Lecture by W. J. Fox. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PICTURES ON SURROUNDING OBJECTS. 
 
 npHE rays of light, proceeding from objects in the hght, 
 have the power of forming pictures on other bodies 
 as well as on the retina of the eye. If the body be suffi- 
 ciently opaque and polished, we can readily see them, as 
 in an ordinary mirror, or a polished plate of metal, or water, 
 as we observe in the river the trees that grow by its margin ; 
 and although when the object is removed no picture is 
 visible, there is good reason to believe that the picture thus 
 formed is nearly, if not entirely, as enduring as the substance 
 on which it is formed. 
 
 We visit a daguerrean room and sit before the camera. 
 While thus sitting, our image is most distinctly projected on 
 a prepared silver plate, and remains visible as long as we 
 sit before it. It is taken out of the camera, but nothing 
 whatever can now be seen ; a searching microscopic in- 
 vestigation discovers no line ; but by means of a chemical 
 application^ the image reappears as if by magic. It is no 
 more there, now that it is visible, than it was before ; all that 
 has been done is to make that visible which really existed on 
 the plate before, else no application could have revealed it. 
 If this secret had never been discovered, who could have 
 believed that such an image was there, and only slept in 
 darkness till art should call it into light % 
 
 It may be said that if the silvered plate had not been 
 previously made sensitive, the image of the sitter would not 
 
1-^ 
 
 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 have been retained ; but facts prove that this is incorrect. 
 G. H, Lewes says, " If a wafer be laid on a surface of 
 poHshed metal, which is then breathed upon, and if, when 
 the moisture of the breath has evaporated, the wafer be 
 shaken off, we shall find that the whole polished surface is 
 not as it was before, although our senses can detect no 
 difference ; for if we breathe again upon it, the surface 
 will be moist everywhere, except on the spot previously 
 sheltered by the wafer, which will now appear as a spectral 
 image upon the surface. Again and again we breathe, and 
 the moisture evaporates, but still the spectral wafer re- 
 appears. This experiment succeeds after the lapse of many 
 months, if the metal be carefully put aside where its surface 
 cannot be disturbed." On trying a similar experiment, 1 
 have repeatedly brushed the surface of the polished plate 
 with a camel's hair brush, and yet, on breathing upon it, the 
 image of a coin previously laid upon it was distinctly 
 visible. 
 
 " If a sheet of paper on which a key has been laid, be 
 exposed for some minutes to the sunshine, and then instan- 
 taneously viewed in the dark, the key being removed, a 
 fading spectre of the key will be visible. Let this paper be 
 put aside y^r many months where nothing can disturb it, and 
 then in darkness be laid upon a plate of hot metal, the 
 spectre of the key will again reappear. 
 
 " In the case of bodies more highly phosphorescent than 
 paper, the spectres of many different objects which may have 
 been laid on in succession will, on warming, emerge in their 
 proper order." 
 
 " If a screen cut in a pattern be held over a polished 
 metallic surface at a small distance, and the whole breathed 
 on, after the vapour has evaporated so that no trace is left 
 
Pictures on surrounding objects. 73 
 
 upon the surface, the pattern comes out when it is breathed 
 on again." 
 
 These are facts whose truth can be readily tested. Here 
 there is no previous preparation beyond that of producing 
 the pohshed surface, and yet images are formed, even with- 
 out contact. And where the surface of a body is unpohshed, 
 there is no doubt that pictures are still formed upon it, 
 though the difficulty of making them visible is greatly in- 
 creased. 
 
 Sir David Brewster, whose authority on this subject 
 cannot be questioned, says, " All bodies throw off emana- 
 tions in greater or less size, and with greater or less veloci- 
 ties; these particles enter more or less into the pores of 
 solid and fluid bodies, sometimes resting upon their surface, 
 and sometimes perfueating them altogether. These emanations, 
 when feeble, show themselves in images ; when stronger, in 
 chemical changes ; when stronger still, in their action on 
 the olfactory nerves ; and when thrown off most copiously 
 and rapidly, in heat affecting the nerves of touch ; in photo- 
 graphic action, dissevering and recombining the elements of 
 nature ; and in phosphorescent and luminous emanations, 
 exciting the retina and producing vision." 
 
 These emanations of which he speaks are passing from 
 all bodies by night as well as by day, and have the power 
 of transferring the appearances of objects to others in their 
 vicinity, not merely upon their surfaces, but even into their 
 interiors, so that the roughness of a body can be no 
 hindrance to its reception of these pictures. 
 
 Niepce de St. Victor, " having exposed to the sun for a 
 quarter of an hour an engraving which had been kept several 
 days in the dark, applied it to a sheet of sensitive paper, 
 and after four hours' contact in the dark, he obtained a 
 
74 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 negative picture of the engraving. If the distance between 
 the engraving and the paper is one-eighth of an inch, or if a 
 film of collodion or gelatine is interposed, the picture will 
 still be obtained." * 
 
 More recent experiments show that the previous exposure 
 to the sunshine is unnecessary, "The impression of an 
 engraving was made by laying it face downward on a silver 
 plate iodized, and placing an amalgamated copper plate 
 upon it ; it was left in darkness fifteen hours, when an 
 impression of the engraving had been made on the amal- 
 gamated plate through the paper." The same may be 
 done, it is said, on plates of iron, zinc, or copper. "An 
 iodized silver plate was placed in darkness with a coil of 
 string on it, and with a pohshed silver plate suspended 
 one-eighth of an inch above it : after four hours they were 
 exposed to the vapours of mercury, which became uniformly 
 deposited on the iodized plate ; but on the silver one there 
 was a sharp image of the string; so that the image was 
 formed in the dark, and even without contact." f 
 
 That photographic impressions are not confined to the 
 mere surfaces on which they are visible, is evident. Every 
 daguerreotypist knows the difficulty there is in effacing 
 impressions from a plate ; for after polishing a plate once 
 used, and using it again, the image of the former sitter, to 
 the chagrin of the artist, will frequently reappear. After a 
 photographic impression upon a plate has been to all 
 appearance wholly removed by polishing, so that another 
 image could be taken upon it without the reappearance 
 of the former, repeated discharges of electricity will re- 
 
 * See Annuals of Scientific Discovery from 1858. 
 
 t Mrs, Somerville's "Connection of the Physical Sciences," p. 237, 
 
Pictures on surrounding objects. 75 
 
 produce the impression, showing that it had sunk into the 
 substance of the plate to a considerable depth. And since 
 this is the case, it must be evident that the roughness 
 of a body is no hindrance to the formation of pictures 
 upon or within it ; for the condition of the surface can 
 make no difference in the capability of the interior to 
 receive impressions. 
 
 The rapidity with which photographic imjpressions may 
 be made is shown by the following experiment : — " A wheel 
 was made by Mr. Talbot to revolve as rapidly as a combi- 
 nation of multiplying wheels could make it fly ; and when 
 lit by an electric flash its photograph was taken, and in it 
 ever}' spoke was distinctly visible, as if the wheel had been 
 at perfect rest, though the duration of the illuminating spark, 
 according to the experiments of Professor Wheatstone, is 
 only one-millionth of a second." * 
 
 Apply these indisputable facts, and in the world around 
 us radiant forces are passing from all objects to all objects 
 in their vicinity, and during every moment of the day and 
 night are daguerreotyping the appearances of each upon the 
 other ; the images thus made not merely resting upon the 
 surface, but sinking into the interior of them ; there held 
 with astonishing tenacity, and only waiting for a suitable 
 application to reveal themselves to the inquiring gaze. 
 You cannot, then, enter a room by night or by day, but you 
 leave on going out your portrait behind you. You cannot 
 lift your hand, or wink your eye, or the wind stir a hair of 
 your head, but each movement is infallibly registered for 
 coming ages. The pane of glass in the window, the brick 
 in the wall, and the paving-stone in the street, catch the 
 
 * "Annual of Scientific Discovery" for i860, p. 162. 
 
76 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 pictures of all passers-by, and faithfully preserve them. Not 
 a leaf waves, not an insect crawls, not a ripple moves, but 
 each motion is recorded by a thousand faithful scribes in 
 infallible and indelible scripture. 
 
 This is as true of the past as the present. From the 
 first dawn of light upon this infant globe, when round its 
 cradle the steamy curtains hung, to this moment. Nature has 
 been busy photographing every moment. What a picture 
 gallery is hers ! There are the heaving crust, as the fiery 
 tides pass under it ; the belching volcanoes, the glaring 
 lava torrents, the condensing waters, the rushing floods, 
 and the terrible struggles of the early stormy times ; the 
 watery expanse unshored; the new-born naked islands 
 peeping above the waves ; the first infusorial points, too 
 small to leave a fossil trace behind them ; and the earliest 
 fucoids that clung to the wave-washed rock. Every radiate 
 and mollusc of the Silurian era, every ganoid of the De- 
 vonian, has sat for its portrait, and here it is. Not a leaf 
 that grew in the carboniferous forests, not a beetle that 
 crawled, nor frog that hopped ; not a monster of the Oolite, 
 nor beast of the Tertiary, wanting. There are grand pano- 
 ramas of the past, containing all that man ever did, — the 
 first rude savages of the world, their hunts, their wars, their 
 progress ; the history of all nations and peoples, from the 
 cradle to the grave. " They may be there," says the cool 
 reader, " but how shall we be able to see them ? None but 
 a madman would dream of such a thing." 
 
 It would be strange if Nature admitted no mortal to her 
 matchless galleries ; if, after employing myriads of artists in 
 drawing the waking and sleeping world, she should permit 
 no human eye to behold her instructive pencillings. To 
 catch a shadow was once the acme of the impossible ; now. 
 
Pictures on surrounding objects. 77 
 
 country lads, with a camera for a trap, do it in almost every 
 little village. And this is in appearance no greater impossi- 
 bility than that was once regarded. There is nothing more 
 difificult than to tell what can not be done ; and many wise 
 men have made themselves foolish prophets in attempting it. 
 I know of no chemical application that can make visible, 
 to ordinary observers, these pictures with which all objects 
 abound ; but in some individuals the brain is sufficiently 
 sensitive to perceive them when it is brought into proximity 
 to the objects on which they are impressed. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PSYCHOMETRIC RESEARCHES 
 
 'TpHESE researches were first commenced by me in con- 
 sequence of having read Dr. Buchanan's researches 
 and discoveries in another department of mental science, 
 and some account of his discoveries is necessary in order to 
 the understanding of this. In 1849 he writes, " About nine 
 years since, in conversation with Bishop , of the Epis- 
 copal church, he informed me that his own sensibility was 
 so acute, that if he should by accident touch a piece of 
 brass, even in the night, when he could not see what he 
 touched, he immediately felt the influence through his 
 system, and could recognize the offensive metallic taste." * 
 This remark would have led to nothing farther, had it 
 been related to many, but in this case the right thing was 
 told to the right man ; and he commenced a series of ex- 
 periments, placing metals of various kinds into the hands 
 of persons of great sensibility, and in this way found that 
 there were numbers who possessed the power of naming 
 metals, without any knowledge but that which was com- 
 municated in this way by touch. As the experiments 
 were continued, it was found that other substances could 
 thus affect sensitive individuals. " Sugar, salt, pepper, 
 acids, and other substances of a decided taste, made so 
 distinct an impression that each could be recognized and 
 named, by many of those upon whom the experiment was 
 
 * Buchanan's Journal of Man, VoL I., p. 51. 
 
Psychometric researches. 79 
 
 performed. These experiments were carefully made, the 
 substance either being concealed from sight, or enveloped in 
 paper, and sometimes no person present knew what sub- 
 stance was tested until the close of the experiment. Out of 
 a class of one hundred and thirty students at the Eclectic 
 Medical College, Cincinnati, forty-three of them signed a 
 declaration that when various medicines were enveloped in 
 paper, so as not to be known ; by holding them in their 
 hands from five to twenty minutes, effects were produced 
 upon them similar to those which would have been pro- 
 duced by the action of the same medicines administered 
 in the ordinary way. Dr. Buchanan adds, that " when an 
 emetic was the subject of the experiment, the individual 
 was able to escape vomiting only by suspending the experi- 
 ment." * 
 
 After proceeding thus far, he thought that sensitive per- 
 sons might be aff'ected by contact with living beings in a 
 similar manner ; and this conjecture he found abundantly 
 verified by experiment. Persons of highly impressible 
 constitution could, by placing the hand on different portions 
 of the head and body, " experience at each point a distinct 
 effect, corresponding to the peculiar vital functions of the 
 part. Nor was contact absolutely necessary. Highly sen- 
 sitive persons, coming into the presence of diseased indi- 
 viduals, recognized the disease, and were able at once to 
 locate it." 
 
 Without giving £tll the steps taken by Dr. Buchanan in his 
 researches, it may be sufficient to say, that about two years 
 after making his first discoveries, he found individuals so 
 sensitive that the influence communicated by the writer to a 
 
 * Joiirnal of Man, Vol I., p. 54. 
 
8o Nature's Secrets 
 
 letter could be recognized by them, when the letter was 
 placed in contact with the forehead, and in some cases 
 the character and habits of the individual writing the letter 
 could be thus given with wonderful accuracy. 
 
 This will doubtless seem to some too marvellous for 
 belief; but the evidence on this subject is now over- 
 whelming. I know numbers of persons who, by taking a 
 letter in the hand, or placing it on the forehead, without 
 seeing the writing, or having the slightest idea of the writer, 
 can describe his character with as great or greater accuracy 
 than his most intimate friends.* 
 
 On reading the statements of Dr. Buchanan, I resolved 
 to see what portion of them I could verify by experiment. 
 My sister, Anne Denton Cridge, being highly impressible, 
 was able, in a short time, to read character from letters 
 readily ; and what was still more wonderful to us, and at 
 the same time equally inexplicable, that at times she satv 
 and described the writers of letters, and their surroundings, 
 teUing correctly even the colour of their hair and eyes. 
 
 After testing this strange phenomenon thoroughly by 
 numerous experiments, being intensely interested in geology 
 and paeleontology, it occurred to me that perhaps something 
 might be done by Psychometry — the term given by Dr. 
 Buchanan to the power by which character was described 
 by contact with persons, or from letters — in these depart- 
 ments of science. If there could be impressed upon a 
 letter the image of the writer and his surroundings during 
 the brief space of time that the paper was subjected to their 
 influence, — and this was the conclusion I eventually arrived 
 
 * The Editor of this volume, not many days ago, had the truth of 
 this wonderful phenomenon verified in his own experience. 
 
Psychometric researches. 8i 
 
 at, — why could not rocks receive impressions of surrounding 
 objects, with which they had been in immediate contact for 
 years, and why could they not communicate the history of 
 their relationship in a similar manner to sensitive persons, 
 thus giving a clue to the conditions of the earth and its 
 inhabitants during the vast eras of the past 1 
 
 I accordingly commenced, some ten years ago, a series 
 of experiments with mineral and fossil specimens and 
 archaeological remains, and was delighted to find that with- 
 out possessing any previous knowledge of the specimen, or 
 even seeing it, the history of its time passed before the 
 gaze of the seer like a grand panoramic view ; sometimes 
 almost with the rapidity of lightning, and at other times so 
 slowly and distinctly that it could be described as readily as 
 an ordinary scene. The specimen to be examined was 
 generally placed upon the forehead, and held there during 
 the examination ; but this was not absolutely necessary, 
 some Psychometers being able to see when holding a 
 specimen in the hand. 
 
 The result of some of the experiments, made at various 
 times, I shall give in the following chapters. In a few 
 instances the phraseology has been slightly changed, ^/le 
 idea 7iever. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 /^UR earliest experiments were by no means as satis- 
 factory as they subsequently became ; the power of 
 the Psychometer increasing as the experiments continued. 
 Many of these are presented only because they show the 
 manifestation of this power as we first became acquainted 
 with it. 
 
 A piece of limestone, full of small fossil shells, from 
 Quindaro, Kansas, a small town on the Missouri River. 
 
 Examined by my sister, Mrs. Cridge. Specimen unseen, 
 and nothing known by her regarding it. 
 
 "It seems to me there is a deep hole here. Oh, what 
 shells ! small shells ; so many ! I see water ; it looks like 
 a river running along. What a high hill ! almost per- 
 pendicular ; it seems as if the water had cut it in two ; it is 
 not so high on the other side. The hill is covered with 
 sand and gravel." 
 
 In this case the present condition of the place where I 
 obtained the specimen was given, and, as far as I am 
 acquainted with the spot, it is a very accurate description. 
 This piece of rock had taken in the pictures of the turbid 
 Missouri that swept past it, the hill that hung over it, and 
 the country in general around it, and, to the eye of the 
 Psychometer, they became apparently as plainly visible as 
 to a spectator on the spot. 
 
Lava from Kilauea. 83 
 
 A piece of quartz from Panama. 
 
 Examined by my wife, Mrs. Denton. Saw it, but knew 
 nothing respecting it. 
 
 " I see what looks Uke a monstrous insect. Its body is 
 covered with shelly rings, and its head is furnished with 
 antennae that are nearly a foot long. It stands with its 
 head against a rock that looks like this. I see an enormous 
 snake coiled up among wild, wiry grass. The climate of 
 the country seems to be much warmer than this ; the 
 vegetation is tropical." 
 
 The animal seen was probably a land crustacean of some 
 kind. The whole of the vision is evidently in harmony 
 with the tropical condition of the country from which the 
 specimen was obtained. 
 
 Fragment of lava from Kilauea, on Hawaii, one of the 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 Mrs. Cridge. Specimen unseen by her. She had no 
 idea of what it was, nor that I possessed any such specimen. 
 
 " I see the ocean, and ships sailing on it. This must be 
 an island, for the water is all around. 
 
 " Now I am turned from where I saw the vessels, and am 
 looking at something most terrific. It seems as if an ocean 
 of fire were pouring over a precipice, and boiling as it 
 pours. The sight permeates my whole being, and inspires 
 me with terror. I see it flow into the ocean, and the water 
 boils intensely. I seem to be standing on one side of it." 
 
 The feeling of terror produced by the sight did not 
 entirely pass off for an hour. It seemed to be as great as 
 if she had actually stood upon the spot, and beheld the 
 whole scene. 
 
 Those who have read Mr. Coan's account of the eruption 
 
84 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 of Kilauea in 1840, will see the accuracy of the description. 
 The specimen of lava examined, which was not larger than 
 a hazel nut, was, I understood, ejected from Kilauea during 
 that eruption, when, as Mr. Coan says, " a river of fused 
 minerals, of the breadth of Niagara, and of a gory red, fell 
 in one emblazoned sheet, one raging torrent, into the ocean." 
 There can be no guess-work about such a description as 
 this. I am well satisfied that my sister had not the most 
 remote idea of what the substance was that she was trying, 
 until the vision was presented to her view, nor indeed then ; 
 and it will be seen, in the result of experiments that I shall 
 present, that my knowledge had nothing to do with calling 
 up these images before her. 
 
 I wrapped a number of specimens of various kinds in 
 separate papers, and Mrs. Denton took one, neither of us 
 knowing anything respecting it. She said, — 
 
 " The first thing I see is a volcano, or what I take to be 
 one. An elevation of considerable height appears before 
 me, and down its side flows a torrent of melted matter, 
 though torrent does not convey the idea ; it is broad and 
 shallow, and moves not rapidly, like water, but creeps 
 slowly along. Now I see another stream pour over the top 
 of the first, and the whole side of the mountain is covered. 
 This second flow moves much more rapidly than the first. 
 This specimen must be lava." 
 
 On examination it proved to be a piece of brick-coloured 
 lava, picked up on the banks of the Upper Missouri, where 
 it is common, having been washed down probably from the 
 Rocky Mountain region. 
 
 We have the means, then, by this wondrous power, of 
 calling up and examining in minute detail the volcanic 
 
Fossil fish-bone. 85 
 
 eruptions of all time, provided we can obtain specimens of 
 their products ; — see Teneriffe's mighty crater when covered 
 with glowing lava, and its surging waves beat madly against 
 the black, craggy precipices that gird them ; — read the story 
 of Vesuvius — that fiery old man of the mountain — from 
 the time that he was a screaming baby. -Etna's history, 
 ■written by his own finger, before the reed was fashioned or 
 the papyrus prepared, will be read by coming savans, and 
 his ruddy page shall shed new light on many dark and 
 mysterious subjects. 
 
 A fossil fish-bone found near Painesville, in a bone-bed, of, 
 probably, about the same age as the Hamilton group of the 
 Devonian formation, was presented to Mrs, Foote. She 
 had no idea of what it was. 
 
 " I see clouds of steam rising from the side of a hill, and 
 on one side a large ledge of blue rocks. 
 
 " I now see something long and dark that looks like a 
 fish ; there seems to be a large hump or bunch near the 
 head. I should think it is ten or twelve feet long, — perhaps 
 not quite so long as that, I see now that there is no hump 
 on its head. What I thought so is a rock that hangs over 
 near its head. High rocks hang over the water, and trees 
 grow on them. East of me is what seems to be the lake or 
 ocean. I can see the bottom of the water ; it consists of 
 sand and gravel. What a most beautiful place ! It seems 
 so much so that it appears artificial." 
 
 Some may think it strange that trees should be spoken of 
 as growing during this period ; yet I think there is little doubt 
 that the earth supported a luxuriant vegetation even before 
 this time ; not to such an extent as during the succeeding 
 carboniferous epoch, but luxuriant as compared with the 
 
86 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 flora of the temperate zone of our time. In the very bed 
 from which the specimen was taken, I found the impression 
 of a tree nearly a foot in diameter. 
 
 Same specimen. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. She had no knowledge of it, or of the 
 previous examination. 
 
 " I see a point of land extending into a large body of 
 water. The water looks to me like a lake. It hardly seems 
 large enough for the ocean. I can see along the shore for 
 miles. There is a singular-looking object in the water, 
 about eight or ten feet long ; and from below the head, 
 it tapers the whole length nearly to a point. It has a skin 
 without scales, like a cat-fish. I see it dive obliquely down, 
 fasten itself at the bottom, and then wave its body to and 
 fro. This is a large fish. It has six fins ; two pectoral, 
 two ventral, one caudal, and one anal. Its eyes and mouth 
 are large. It has no teeth, but a hard, sharp, bony gum. 
 It sucks its prey, and when doing so, the opening of the 
 mouth is nearly round ; but when closed, there are comers 
 on each side." 
 
 She now became fatigued ; but the examination was con- 
 tinued on the following day. 
 
 " Now I see the skeleton of it within the body. There is 
 a large bony plate below the head, and to it other bones 
 are fastened in some way. The backbone at the upper 
 part is as large as my wrist, but not one-third as thick 
 laterally as vertically; but near the tail the vertebrae are 
 nearly circular. 
 
 " I see roe within it. The eggs are quite large, but the 
 layers are thin ; there are two of them, one lower than the 
 other. The lower one is the more developed. 
 
Fossil fish-bone. 87 
 
 " I catch a glimpse of a singular animal. The body seems 
 roundish, but it is at such a distance, as well as in the water, 
 that I cannot describe it minutely. The upper part is out 
 of the water, and seems spread out like a sail, and the wind 
 blows the animal along. It is so gauzy that I can see 
 the light through it ; but there are dark lines that look 
 like ribs supporting it; and between the upright ribs are 
 horizontal ones, jointed in the middle, that fold up in a very 
 singular fashion, closing completely like a fan, when the 
 animal wishes to sink. I see eight or ten of them now near 
 each other." 
 
 There is as considerable a difference between these two 
 descriptions as there would be in the descriptions of any 
 scene, given by two independent observers. The place in 
 both cases is the shore of a large body of water ; both see a 
 large fish, and nearly agree as to its length. It is in both 
 cases the principal object seen, the bone of a fish being the 
 subject of examination, but neither person having any idea 
 of it. What remarkable coincidences indeed, if this were 
 mere guess-work or chance ! It might have been a piece of 
 chert from a lead mine, shale from a coal mine, a frag- 
 ment of a mastodon's tooth, or bone from some existing 
 fish or beast. No mere ordinary sensation could have dis- 
 tinguished it from these ; yet here, without a hint or question, 
 the same conditions substantially present themselves to two 
 independent observers, which palaeontologists will, in all 
 probability, believe to have existed during the period when 
 this fossil was a part of a living organism. 
 
 What a peep into the Devonian times this gives us ! 
 Trees adorn the land ; the water, in places at least, is clear 
 enough to see the gravelly bottom ; large fishes are basking 
 
SS Nature's Secrets. 
 
 in it, and genuine Nautilidse, undreamed of by the naturalist, 
 are floating upon the placid waters. 
 
 "What m}Tiads of organic forms must have lived, with 
 bodies that could not, under any circumstances, be preserved 
 as fossils ! — jelly-fish, radiates of infinitely diversified forms ; 
 molluscs, destitute of shells, or having shells too fragile for 
 preservation. Of all these, the ordinary palaeontologist 
 knows no more than the historian knows of nations that 
 flourished before letters were invented, or than the ancient 
 astronomers knew of planets invisible to the naked eye. 
 As the telescope came to the assistance of the astronomer, 
 and gave him more correct conceptions of known celestial 
 bodies, and revealed to his gaze the otherwise invisible 
 worlds of space, so the science of Psychometry will shed 
 new light upon many extinct animals and plants of which 
 we have had but little knowledge, and reveal to us in- 
 numerable organic forms, of whose existence, without its 
 assistance, we should be as ignorant as the world was of the 
 existence of Uranus and her moons before the telescope 
 was invented. 
 
 Calcareous tufa from the Temple of Neptune, Passtum, 
 twelve miles from Mount Vesuvius. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen, and nothing known by 
 her regarding it. 
 
 " I see near me deep ravines and high hills. Some of the 
 hills appear destitute of vegetation, and look rocky and 
 naked. Others in the distance are worn down and appear 
 covered with verdure, and a mellow light shines over the 
 country. At the foot of a mountain which looks to me hke 
 a volcano, are a few houses having the appearance of a 
 
Striated limestone block. 89 
 
 village; but they vanish almost instantly. That mountain 
 is a volcano. I see smoke and vapour mingled issuing 
 from it, and it spreads over so as to hide the view from 
 me in that direction. The sea is behind me. That moun- 
 tain and its ejections are more strikingly visible than anything 
 else. Around here is a great waste, as if the country had 
 been covered by eruptions from the mountain, making a 
 dark brown surface, which is above the original level of the 
 country." 
 
 Why was not the temple seen ? it may be asked. I do 
 not know ; but if the experiment had been continued or 
 renewed, I think it is probable that such would have 
 been the case. Vesuvius seems to have overshadowed 
 everything. 
 
 Striated block of limestone, Grand River, Painesville, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Saw the specimen, and may have had 
 some idea of its nature. 
 
 " I see a mountain ridge of ice, gorgeous, magnificent, 
 and yet terrible. The ridge has a sharp edge with deep 
 notches in it. The sides are ragged. The whole mass 
 seems moving slowly along. I can hear it grind and scrape 
 as it passes over the rock. I believe it must be in water ; it 
 certainly could not move on land in that way. The lower 
 part is in water." (Turned the specimen over.) " I see no 
 water on this side, but great spires of ice rise very high." 
 
 Nothing can seem much stranger than that the grinding 
 sound of a moving glacier, which passed over the country' 
 ages ago, should have been communicated to, and retained 
 by, an imbedded boulder, so as to be heard by a person to- 
 day ; and yet I am as well assured of its truth, as I am of 
 
go Nature's Secrets. 
 
 anything that has not come within the sphere of my own 
 sensation. If light can impress itself upon objects so that 
 they retain its influence for centuries ; if radiant forces, 
 proceeding from objects in the dark, can form pictures of 
 those bodies upon contiguous bodies, — and these facts 
 science recognizes, — why may not the waves of sound 
 register themselves so as to perpetuate their existence, and 
 give that explanation to the ear that the eye of the Psy- 
 chometer demands, as the life-like panorama passes before it ] 
 
 That sounds are registered in the human brain is evident ; 
 and so thoroughly is this done, that they can be heard by 
 the individual years afterward, and, what is most surprising, 
 with even more than their original clearness and force. 
 
 Dr. Macnish, in his statement of the illusions to which he 
 was subjected during an attack of fever, referred to in page 
 62, says, "But though by closing my eyes I could thus 
 dissipate the spectacle, I found it impossible to get rid of 
 the accompanying music. This was the grand march in the 
 opera of Aladdin, and was performed by the orchestra with 
 more superb and imposing effect, and with greater loudness, 
 than I had ever heard it before ; it was executed, indeed, 
 with tremendous energy. This air I tried every effort to 
 dissipate, by forcibly endeavouring to call other tunes to 
 mind, but it was in vain. However completely the vision 
 might be dispelled, the music remained in spite of every 
 effort to banish it." 
 
 The air played at the theatre was no more lost than the 
 scene displayed; and under the pecuhar conditions pro- 
 duced by the fever, it was executed with even greater effect 
 than before. The outward ear probably heard not, but the 
 inward ear heard more intensely than it was possible for the 
 outward ear to do. 
 
Phonotypes. 91 
 
 A blind man, mentioned by Dr. Macnish, was subject to 
 illusions of sound ; " for he often had the consciousness of 
 hearing music so strongly impressed upon him, that it was 
 with difficulty his friends could convince him it was purely 
 ideal." 
 
 "In October, 1833, a woman, aged twenty-eight, born in 
 Piedmont, went to a village ball ; she danced during three 
 days in a sort of frenzy, and afterwards heard, without 
 cessation, the melodies which had charmed her. They 
 were Montferrines, and each gave place successively to the 
 other. This continued until she died."* 
 
 Probably she was diseased, and her disease produced 
 such a condition of the brain that the melodies existing 
 there could be heard. Disease possesses no power to 
 make sights or sounds ; they are in the brain, and all that 
 disease does is, occasionally to produce the conditions by 
 which they shall become manifest to the individual. Facts 
 indicate that what we once hear, however carelessly, be- 
 comes indelibly impressed upon the mind, so that under 
 extraordinary conditions it may be repeated with all the 
 accuracy with which it was originally impressed. One step 
 farther, and we have the impression made on material 
 objects retained, then revealed to human consciousness, as 
 in many of these experiments. 
 
 Dr. Abercrombie, who deserves credit for recording many 
 strange and valuable facts, relates the following: — "A girl 
 aged seven years, an orphan of the lowest rank, residing in 
 the house of a farmer, by whom she was employed in 
 attending cattle, was accustomed to sleep in an apartment 
 separated by a very thin partition from one which was 
 
 * De Boismont on "Hallucinations," p. 316. 
 
92 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 frequently occupied by an itinerant fiddler. This person 
 was a musician of very considerable skill, and often spent a 
 part of the night in performing pieces of a refined descrip- 
 tion ; but his performance was not taken notice of by the 
 child, except as a disagreeable noise. After a residence of 
 six months in this family she fell into bad health, and was 
 removed to the house of a benevolent lady, Avhere, on her 
 recovery, after a protracted illness, she was employed as a 
 servant. Some years after she came to reside with this lady, 
 the most beautiful music was often heard in the house 
 during the night, which excited no small interest and 
 wonder in the family, and many a waking hour was spent in 
 endeavours to discover the invisible minstrel. At length 
 the sound was traced to the sleeping-room of the girl, who 
 was found fast asleep, but uttering from her lips a sound 
 exactly resembling the sweetest tones of a small violin. On 
 farther observation it was found that, after being about two 
 hours in bed, she became restless and began to mutter to 
 herself; she then uttered sounds precisely resembling the 
 tuning of a violin, and at length, after some prelude, dashed 
 off into an elaborate piece of music, which she performed in 
 a clear and accurate manner, and with a sound exactly re- 
 sembling the most delicate modulation of the instrument, 
 and then began exactly where she had stopped, in the most 
 correct manner. These paroxysms recurred at regular in- 
 tervals, ranging from one to fourteen and even twenty 
 nights, and they were generally followed by a degree of 
 fever and pain over various parts of the body. AVhen 
 awake she showed no kind of turn for music." 
 
 As nothing we see is ever effaced, so nothing we hear 
 ever dies out. Not only is there a wonderful cabinet in the 
 mind containing pictures of all we ever saw, but there is 
 
Phonotypes. 93 
 
 also a storehouse of latent sounds, containing all we ever 
 heard. The lullaby sung by our cradle, the patter of the 
 rain upon the roof, the sighing of the wind, the roll of the 
 thunder, the dash of the falling water, the murmur of affec- 
 tion, the oath of the inebriate, the hymn in the church, the 
 song at the concert, the words of wisdom and folly, the 
 whisper of love, — all are faithfully registered. And experi- 
 ments have convinced me of what is still more difficult to 
 believe, that all sounds register themselves on all objects 
 within their influence, and that these phonotypes, as they 
 may be termed, are almost, if not entirely, as enduring as 
 the objects themselves. Philosophers tell us that "the 
 slightest movement of the smallest body, in the remotest 
 region, produces results which are perpetual, which diffuse 
 themselves through all space, and which, though they may 
 be metamorphosed, cannot be destroyed."* These experi- 
 ments demonstrate, to a great extent, the accuracy of this 
 statement. 
 
 If we could become at once cognizant of all the sounds 
 that are locked up in the objects surrounding us, or in our 
 own brains, what a din would be presented to our ears. 
 Occasionally individuals seem to pass into this interior 
 world of sounds, to their great astonishment. " A farmer in 
 the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, accustomed to drink 
 freely, was invited to the funeral of a friend. He took a 
 dram before he left home, and another at the house of his 
 deceased friend. He had some of his acquaintances to 
 dinner, with whom he continued to carouse until late at 
 night. On the following morning he heard five hundred 
 people talking at once. He compared what he heard to 
 
 * Buckle's " History of Civilization." VoL II., p. 384. 
 
94 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 the confusion of tongues at Babel."* The surgeon bled 
 him, and in two days he was cured. 
 
 As our experiments proceeded, the power of recognizing 
 sounds increased, though it never became as active as the 
 power of vision. 
 
 Incredible as it may appear, all forces that operate upon 
 bodies leave their impress upon them, just as indehbly as the 
 radiant forces. Or, in other words, what we call insensible 
 matter receives the impression of whatever force is applied 
 to it, treasures it up, and can impart it to a sufficiently sen- 
 sitive individual. A pebble, that has been rolled to and fro 
 by the waves, retains the rolling sensation communicated to 
 it, and with such tenacity that the heat of a furnace cannot 
 do away with it. Thus every body retains, not only all 
 that light and sound have communicated to it, but all 
 that motion has impressed upon it : and the autobiography 
 of the meanest boulder by the roadside would fill more 
 volumes than all our libraries contain. The nail retains the 
 impression made upon it by hammering, the clay by grind- 
 ing, the brick by burning, the wool by carding ; in fact, every 
 step of the torturing process by which it was transferred 
 from the back of the sheep to the back of the man remains 
 upon it for ever. 
 
 Hence it is, probably, that all fossil remains of animals 
 are imbued with the feelings of the animals of which they 
 formed a part, and, under their influence, the Psychometer, 
 for the time being, feels all that was felt by them ; and thus 
 the characteristic actions of monsters that have been extinct 
 for milUons of years can be accurately realized and de- 
 scribed. This branch of Psychometry may be termed 
 
 * "Diseases of the Brain and Mind" (Winslow), p. 310. 
 
Glacial scratched pebble. 95 
 
 Psychopathy ; and I find that generally, in examining speci- 
 mens, seeing and feeling go together ; though some Psy- 
 chometers only see, Avhile others feel most sensibly the 
 influence of a specimen, but can see nothing. 
 
 Pebble of Trenton limestone, with glacial scratches upon 
 its surface, picked up near Lyons, Wayne county, New York. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen and unknown. 
 
 " I feel as if I were below an immense body of water, — 
 so deep that I cannot see down through it, and yet it seems 
 as if I could see upward through it for miles. Now I am 
 going, going, and there is something above me, I cannot tell 
 what. It is pushing me on. It is above and around me. 
 It must be ice \ I am frozen in. The motion of the mass 
 I am in is not uniform; it pitches forward, then halts and 
 pitches again, then goes grinding, pressing, and crushing 
 along, a mountain mass. 
 
 " All is dark. Now I see a tinge of crimson, mixed with 
 purple. What can it be % How beautiful ! I feel water 
 again, as if I were drenched with it." (What kind of water 
 is it ?) " It is not rain. It seems like a mixture of fresh 
 and salt water ; a little while the one and then the other. 
 I see lights before me, apparently reflected from rising 
 vapours. They are finer and more broken than those I 
 saw before, and reflect the colours of the rainbow. 
 
 " What an awful chasm we are approaching ! We cannot 
 cross it without being dashed to pieces, I am sure. I say 
 we, because I feel completely distinct from the mass that 
 moves me. There is that chasm again ! It is terrific ! 
 We are going right to it, dashing most recklessly. We shall 
 never get out or across. (Pause.) That is most astonishing. 
 I felt desperate as we approached the brink, but it was full 
 
96 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 of water, and we floated across. I wonder if that is not a 
 lake 1 so deep and so broad. Why did I not see the water 1 
 The first sensation I had was that of floating. Now we are 
 aground. All around us is shallow water, except a few 
 islands, which are not high enough to be dry. 
 
 " Now I see ice before me over a wide field. There are 
 thousands of spires melting gradually away. There is a 
 flood all over the country, but the water is not very deep. 
 There is a shallow sea this side of the chasm, except a little 
 spot of land here and there, and that is completely water- 
 soaked. 
 
 " There are five icebergs in sight, some of them as high 
 as mountains ; they are anchored ; the sight is indescribably 
 grand. There is another at my right that has a tall spire 
 and a large mass for a body. It is rocking, and I believe 
 will tip over yet. It is rounded at the base. There is a 
 current in the water that disturbs it." 
 
 What a fine picture of the latter part of the drift period 
 in North America, when a sheet of ice covered a large part 
 of Canada and British America, from Lake Ontario, which 
 was then probably an arm of the ocean, to the Arctic 
 regions, as at the present time a glacial sheet covers 
 North-western Greenland. On comes the icy mass towards 
 the south, the only direction in which motion is possible, 
 because the only direction in which the ice can melt, and 
 room be found for the mass constantly increasing by falling 
 snows. On it moves, bearing with it the rocks that it tears 
 off in its passage, slides into this arm of the sea that we 
 have supposed to occupy the place of Lake Ontario, and 
 thus icebergs are formed, which float southward till they 
 are stranded on what is now the northern part of the State 
 of New York, leaving their rocky burdens to form tlae 
 
Glacial scratched pebble. 97 
 
 boulders that are so common over the face of that 
 country. How often, on looking at some mighty gray old 
 boulder, we have wished that it could relate its history, 
 and tell us what had passed before and around it during 
 its eventful career. Little did we dream of the possibiUty 
 of that, and more than that. These " hard heads " are 
 wise heads too, in a sense, and much they can teach when 
 we are prepared to learn. They are "chiels takin' notes," 
 indifferent spectators though they appear, and wha,t they 
 report may be depended upon as true. What is described 
 by the Psychometer is but a small portion of what is pre- 
 sented. At times, one panoramic view after another is 
 unfolded in such rapid succession that the most meagre 
 description only can be given. 
 
 I know the explanation that some will offer to account 
 for these marvels. The self-confident biologist says, " I 
 know well how it is done ; I can make my subjects see 
 anything that I have in my mind. I imagine a snake, a 
 crocodile, a volcano, and they are seen at once by my 
 subjects ; and this is done in the same manner." He is 
 mistaken, however. I have repeatedly tried to influence 
 the minds of Psychometers, when making examinations, and 
 at all times without success. Many specimens have been 
 examined when no one knew what they were, and yet the 
 results were quite as accurate as at any other time ; indeed, 
 in almost every case, statements have been made and ideas 
 advanced of which we had not previously the most distant 
 thought. Take the following example : — 
 
 Out of a number of minerals and fossils lying upon the 
 table, Mrs. Denton, with closed eyes, picked up one, no one 
 knowing its character. 
 
 H 
 
98 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " I am in the ocean, deep under the water. I can see a 
 long way, for the water is clear. There are millions of minute 
 coral polyps busily at work. I am looking down upon them. 
 1 observe one kind of coral that is very peculiar ; it is a fool 
 in diameter at the bottom, and rises in terraces to the top, 
 where it is much smaller. I should judge this specimen to 
 be coral, or something worked over by coral, though it feels 
 nothing like it." 
 
 On examination it proved to be a piece of flat coral about 
 an inch long and an eighth of an inch in thickness, from 
 the Niagara group of the Silurian formation, at Lockport, 
 N. Y. This is a type of various experiments tried in a 
 somewhat similar manner, and with like results, conclusively 
 demonstrating that the biological explanation is incorrect. 
 
 A small fragment of the enamel of a mastodon's tooth, 
 cut off so that it might not be recognized, being about one- 
 twentieth of an inch in thickness, and three-tenths of an 
 inch in diameter. The tooth had been dug up by miners 
 in search of lead, out of a crevice thirty feel beneath the 
 surface, near Hazel Green, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. She did not see it, and had no idea of 
 what it was. 
 
 " My impression is that it is a part of some monstrous 
 animal, probably part of a tooth. I feel like a perfect 
 monster, with heavy legs, unwieldy head, and very large 
 body. I go down to a shallow stream to drink. I can 
 hardly speak, my jaws are so heavy. I feel like getting down 
 on all fours. 
 
 "What a noise comes through the wood ! I have an 
 impulse to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery, 
 and I can almost fancy they flap my face as I move my 
 
Enamel of mastodon's tooth. 99 
 
 head. There are some older ones than I. It seems so out 
 of keeping to be talking with these heavy jaws. They are 
 dark brown, as if they had been completely tanned. There 
 is one old fellow, with large tusks, that looks very tough. 
 I see several young ones ; in fact, there's a whole herd. 
 
 " My upper lip moves curiously. I can flap it up. It 
 seems strange to me how it is done. 
 
 " There is a plant growing here higher than my head ; it 
 is nearly as thick as my wrist, very juicy, sweet, and tender, 
 something like green corn in taste, but sweeter." (Is that 
 the taste it would have to a human being f) " Oh no " 
 (appearance of disgust on the countenance) ; " it is sickish, 
 and very unpleasant." 
 
 The complete identification at times of the Psychometer 
 with the thing psychometrized, or the animal with whose 
 influence it is imbued, is one of the remarkable facts de- 
 veloped by our experiments, and it throws light upon some 
 of the most mysterious departments of nature. Certain 
 forms of insanity appear to present such a condition 
 produced by intense sensitiveness, resulting in the over- 
 powering of the mind by surrounding influences, that the 
 individual ceases to be himself, and becomes an unconscious 
 tool ; the individual indeed supplying the power, but the 
 influences directing and spending it, instead of the will of 
 the individual. 
 
 Some manifestations considered to be spiritual come 
 under this head, and may be readily accounted for in this 
 way. You cannot walk into and out of a room without 
 leaving a portion of your influence in that room, which will 
 continue as long as the bricks and mortar endure. You 
 cannot sit upon a chair but the chair receives from you 
 that which can convey to a sensitive person the idea of your 
 
lOo Nature's Secrets, 
 
 presence and your mental peculiarities. Hence our houses 
 — constructed of brick, made from clay over which the 
 Indian passed and repassed ; with their letters from hundreds 
 of persons, both living and dead ; with objects in them 
 handled, perhaps, by men of many races ; arrow-heads 
 made by Indians, tea fingered by Chinese, coffee and cotton 
 by negroes, ivory-handled knives and forks, the ivory of 
 which passed through the hands of Samoides and Russ ; 
 with influences proceeding from all persons who have 
 visited them, — are conventions of unseen influences repre- 
 senting thousands of diverse individuals, by which sensitive 
 persons are affected, without being aware of the source from 
 whence they proceed. I say not this from any desire to 
 throw discredit upon the fact of present communication 
 between the spirit world and our own, for this I know to 
 be absolutely so ; but it will be found, as Science marches 
 on with her hosts, and conquers the dark realm where 
 ghosts and witches and fairies have revelled for ages, that 
 much which is supposed to come from the spirit world is 
 the offspring of our own.* 
 
 In the summer of 1861, I obtained a small fragment from 
 a slab containing the impression of two toes of one of the 
 birdlike tracks from the Connecticut Valley. It was but a 
 mere speck, not more than a quarter of an inch long and 
 one-twentieth of an inch thick ; but it was quite large 
 enough to tell a wonderful tale. 
 
 * Although Mrs. Denton has evidently great doubt with regard to 
 even the possibility of spiritual communication between the living and 
 the dead, Mr. Denton as manifestly has no doubt whatever on the 
 subject. This proves them at least to be independent thinkers. — Ed. 
 
Bird tracks of the Connecticut. loi 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen not seen, and not a word 
 had ever been uttered in reference to my possession of 
 it ; and since we were in the Far West at the time of the 
 examination, she could have had no idea of its original 
 whereabouts. 
 
 " There is some magnetism about this. I have a ghmpse 
 of a long, broad, flat place, frequently washed by water ; 
 it is sufficiently rolling, however, to prevent the water from 
 remaining upon it. Whether it is the edge of the sea or 
 not I cannot tell, but there lies before me a large body 
 of water. 
 
 " I begin to get the outline of objects moving, some on 
 this flat and some among bushes that grow near there. 
 One that I see attracts my attention much by its great 
 singularity ; it is, without exception, the strangest-looking 
 being I ever saw. (When I go back so far, there is a 
 difficulty in seeing objects at a distance, which I think is 
 owing to the thick, heavy atmosphere of those early times.) 
 One of these animals is right before me now ; it has a 
 rather long, small neck. A second one appears, with a flat 
 head and a neck tapering rapidly to it. The first one has a 
 flattish head ; from that there is an angle to the back, and 
 then another to the tail. As it moves, its back rises and 
 falls, and it looks as if the arch of the back assisted in 
 propelling it. Now I see three other backs, but no other 
 part. (I had a glimpse just then of a turtle.) That animal 
 I saw puzzles me ; it seems to be deficient in legs, though I 
 cannot see them distinctly. It goes very easily, though its 
 motion is singular. Its legs are short, and the angles of the 
 body are not far from the ground. It moves with a good 
 deal of rapidity. It has flat-looking feet, wide enough for it 
 to balance itself upon. It has just two feet. There ! I 
 
I02 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 know what it is now. It is that two-footed reptile I have 
 read about. From foot to foot it measures, I should think, 
 about four feet." 
 
 Second examination, made two days after, from a larger 
 portion of the same slab. 
 
 " Its head very much resembles in form the head of a 
 snake, and its neck is long and gracefully arched. Its 
 scapula is long, extending on each side of the neck a little 
 beyond its articulation with the humerus, which appears to 
 be on the under side. At first I thought the scapula pro- 
 jected beyond the articulation, but I beUeve now that it is a 
 bone united to it by a joint, and connected with other 
 bones, that elevate what look like wings on each side of its 
 body. Lifting its fore foot it can sit upon its hind foot, 
 assisted by the tail ; then, giving a spring, pass through the 
 air for a considerable distance. It does not seem to move 
 its wings during the transit, but they act like parachutes 
 in its descent, and it comes gently down. 
 
 " I cannot see any teeth ; but in the place of them ap- 
 pears to be a bony gum. It is carnivorous, and feeds upon 
 fish and reptiles. I can taste how sweet they were to it. 
 It had a motion of its head among the weeds in the water 
 like that of a duck. There is something about it that 
 resembles the opossum, but whether it is marsupial or not I 
 cannot say." 
 
 Some time after this, many specimens from various lo- 
 calities were examined, and, amongst the rest, another 
 fragment of a slab from the same locality, Mrs. D., as 
 before, knowing nothing of the nature of the specimen. 
 
 " I see an animal that approaches the mammal in ap- 
 pearance more closely than those animals I saw some time 
 ago. It has claws, and is digging or scratching in the 
 
Bird tracks of the Connecticut. 103 
 
 earth. Its long tail, with a bunch on the end of it, is 
 elevated. It has a long body, and is a quadruped. It 
 is somewhat reptilian in appearance, and yet it seems to be 
 a mammal. It is carnivorous and very savage." 
 
 If minute fragments can yield so much to the Psychome- 
 ter, what may we not expect when the quarries of the 
 Connecticut valley are interrogated ; when the pictures 
 preserved in its slabs are copied by psychometric artists, 
 and its wonderful menageries of ornithoid lizards and sau- 
 roid mammals are brought before us for inspection 1 
 
 About two years after this, having obtained a larger speci- 
 men in Albany, which was obtained from the same place, 
 Mrs. D. examined it as before. 
 
 "I see the bed of a stream that is partly dry. It is 
 broad, and sometimes rises high. The banks here are low 
 and sloping. There are rocks on the other side. 
 
 " I am farther south and south-east now. I see an ex- 
 tensive tract of low, even ground. It seems naked, and 
 looks as if washed by water sufficiently to prevent the 
 growth of vegetation upon it. I see the appearance of 
 bodies moving through the air, but they are partly hidden. 
 That low, flat ground is apparently connected with the river, 
 and there seems to be a mingling of salt and fresh water 
 here," 
 
 " I see multitudes of objects. They swarm around me ; 
 there are fishes among them ; they change rapidly. What 
 .strange-looking animals there are here ! This seems to be 
 the shore of the ocean, covered by the tide and then left bare. 
 
 " One animal I see with a very long neck ; it has wings, 
 but does not look like a bird ; the wings are bat-like ; 
 but the animal is, I think, a reptile. There are many of 
 
I04 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 them here, and they look Hke those I saw in Chicago, with 
 a specimen from the Connecticut valley. They have ex- 
 actly the same appearance. 
 
 " I see another animal with feathered wings, but they are 
 the coarsest-looking feathers I ever saw. One is very near 
 me ; it is lightish-coloured, with a reddish tinge. There are 
 many among weeds that grow in stagnant water, of which 
 there is a large body between here and the main land. The 
 head and neck are reptilian in form ; the mouth is large, 
 and the jaws are very different from the bill of a bird. 
 I see one drinking ; but it does not raise its head to 
 swallow as a bird does. It sits up like a bird, but has 
 a slimy appearance, notwithstanding its feathers, which 
 are thin and wide apart ; they look stiff and unfinished. 
 The barbs on the shaft are widely separated, and the 
 feathers look something like those of a drowned bird. 
 I see some of these animals in the air ; their wings are 
 thick near the body, and gradually become thinner toward 
 the edges, where they are membranous. 
 
 " Here is a large monster that looks as if it might devour 
 all these ; but it is sluggish in its movements. It is a 
 reptile, with a head like a crocodile, but larger. It has 
 enormous jaws, large eyes, small neck, and broad shoulders. 
 It is looking at the other animals, and crawling softly 
 toward them. It has a sly look. It is crested with an 
 edge of thick points all along the back. I feel as if I 
 should be swallowed ahve, with so many rapacious monsters 
 around me. 
 
 " I see another animal, with a tail of great length, that 
 curls round and round just like a snake. It looks like the 
 body of a serpent joined to the body of a lizard. It may 
 be five or six feet long, but the body is not more than two 
 
Whalebone walking-cane. 105 
 
 feet. I believe it could draw the head in and dart it out 
 for some distance. It seems like a link between the lizard 
 and the serpent. Its tail winds and unwinds rapidly, some- 
 times in the air, and sometimes on the ground. 
 
 " The only thought manifested here is, on the one hand, 
 to devour, and on the other, to escape being devoured." 
 
 These descriptions will be appreciated by those who have 
 made the sandstones of the Connecticut valley and their 
 footprints a matter of study. They give a lifelike, and, I 
 doubt not, accurate picture of the time when the valley of 
 the Connecticut resembled the Bristol Channel or the Bay 
 of Fundy, having rivers pouring in large bodies of fresh 
 water, high tides, and muddy streams, which deposited 
 sediment over wide areas on each side ; and these left 
 baking in the sunshine until the return tide. Over this 
 surface crawled, wriggled, and stalked the strange organic 
 forms of these times — slimy reptiles, and more slimy worms, 
 walking fishes, and rude reptilian birds, footprints of which 
 are so numerous in various parts of this geologically in- 
 teresting valley. 
 
 Whalebone walking-cane. 
 
 Mrs. Denton knew it was a walking-cane, but, having no 
 opportunity of examining it, supposed very naturally that it 
 was wood. 
 
 " I feel as if I were a monster. There is nothing of a 
 tree about it, and it is useless for me to go any farther." 
 (With great difficulty she was induced to continue the 
 experiment.) " I feel like vomiting. Now I want to 
 plunge into the water." (Convulsive shuddering.) " I 
 believe I am going into a fit. My jaws are large enough 
 to take down a house at a gulp. I know now what this 
 
io6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 is — it is whalebone. I see the inside of the whale's mouth. 
 It has no teeth ; it has a slimy look ; but I only get a 
 glimpse of it. Now I see the whole animal. What an 
 awful-looking creature !" 
 
 This identification of the Psychometer with the animal 
 psychometrized is at times so complete as to compel the 
 suspension of the experiment, the influence produced some- 
 times affecting the person for hours. 
 
 When I was lecturing in Oswego, N. Y., the high school 
 was burnt down, and a small piece of brick was picked 
 from its ruins, which I handed to Mrs. Denton for examina- 
 tion, she supposing it to be a piece of rock, 
 
 *' I feel as if all were in commotion, and I was moving 
 with tremendous force, and flying into ten thousand pieces. 
 It seems as if I could not go with sufficient rapidity. 
 
 " It makes me nervous. There is fire about it. It is 
 horrible. It produces a terrific feeling. It is a piece of 
 brick, T am certain. There is such confusion I cannot see 
 anything, though I know there is fire connected with it. I 
 feel like leaping down." 
 
 It may be supposed that some of these remarks were in 
 reply to leading questions ; but such was not the case. In 
 most instances not a word was said ; and in others, the 
 questions asked have been merely in reference to what was 
 not fully explained. 
 
 In these last two experiments it will be seen that the 
 substance was eventually named; and in many experi- 
 ments that we have tried, the substance is often correctly 
 named in an instant, though nothing was known of it except 
 psychometrically. 
 
 I am not sufficiently acquainted with the history of the 
 
Fragment of a shell. 107 
 
 brick from which the specimen was taken to tell whether 
 the account given is correct in every particular ; but it must 
 be evident to any one that the feelings experienced were 
 much in harmony with what the clay generally passes 
 through in being formed into brick. It seems a little 
 singular that the heat of the fire had not obliterated the 
 sense of the motion to which the clay had been previously 
 subjected, but many experiments have convinced me that 
 intense heat does not destroy even the pictorial impressions 
 that have been made upon bodies. 
 
 Many years ago I gave to Mrs. Cridge for examination a 
 specimen of the residuum of cannel coal, she not seeing the 
 specimen or knowing anything of its history. 
 
 " It is coal. I seem to be at the bottom of a mine. 
 What a mass of coal ! It seems soft, and the bed is about 
 as thick as the height of this room." 
 
 In other experiments, made with metals melted from the 
 ores, I have met with similar results. I have no doubt that 
 fossiliferous rocks which have been so highly metamorphosed 
 that all organic traces are invisible, may be made to yield 
 impressions to the Psychometer, and a wide and important 
 geological field will be rescued, to the great benefit of future 
 explorers, and the perfection of the geologic record. I 
 think it will yet be found that many rocks, supposed to 
 belong to the non-fossiliferous, are rich in organic in- 
 fluences. 
 
 Fragment of fossil shell from carboniferous formation, 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Neither she nor I knew what it was till 
 after the examination. 
 
loS Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " I see something that resembles a star-fish in form, 
 though it differs from all living ones that I have seen. It 
 is round, and has four long arms or tentacles, and shorter 
 ones between. The shorter ones seem to be used for loco- 
 motion, and the longer ones for prehension. The long ones 
 are the most pointed ; the small ones are flatter, and more 
 like feet. The mouth is in the centre. The long arms are 
 ringed or jointed, so that the animal can bend them rapidly, 
 and convey food to the mouth. Each long arm has two 
 points at the end. 
 
 " I see another animal moving through the water. It has 
 a head nearly as large as the body ; the body tapers to the 
 tail. It does not move with fins or true feet either, but 
 with a webbed apparatus of some kind, apparently between 
 a fin and a foot." 
 
 In this case the shell, or the mollusc originally occupying 
 it, was not seen at all, but animals that probably inhabited 
 the ocean at the same time, and whose influence was 
 received by the shell, and preserved for ages after it became 
 fossil. 
 
 The star-fish described resembles the ophiura, or serpent- 
 like star-fish, one species of which Professor Sedgwick 
 found in the lower Silurian, and other forms occur in the 
 more recent formations. The animal seen moving through 
 the water was probably one of those extinct forms of which 
 the geologist may never know, unless it be by the investiga- 
 tions of future Psychometers. 
 
 It was naturally to be expected, if there was any truth 
 in psychometry, that animals would be seen of which the 
 geologist knows nothing, for the number known to him 
 must necessarily be but a small portion of the mighty host 
 
Bone from Tally limestone. 109 
 
 that has existed. The air seems to have had tenants long 
 before geology recognizes their existence. 
 
 Bone from Tully limestone, near Seneca Lake. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen, and nothing known 
 regarding it. 
 
 " I see a long, smooth beach. It is before me, for I 
 seem to be on the water. It extends for a great distance, 
 and gently rises as it recedes from the water. On that 
 beach are quadrupeds of some kind. One is large, heavy, 
 thick-skinned, dark-coloured, and thick-necked ; the flesh is 
 not fibrous, but soft. Its head is broad, and horns rise up 
 from its nose. I see another with a long neck, and a head 
 nearly as large as a sheep's, but in appearance like that of a 
 snake, though it is a quadruped. Both look reptilian. 
 
 " What a beautiful place this is ! I see a large rock 
 completely covered with beautifully green moss. The rock 
 is craggy, but all green, and the water at times sweeps over 
 it. There are many large objects in the air, but they do not 
 seem to be birds." 
 
 Second examination, a month afterward. Specimen 
 unrecognized. 
 
 " I see something that looks like a fish, with spines on 
 both sides and nearly round it. It seems short, compared 
 with its breadth, for a fish. 
 
 " I see part of another animal in shallow water, with its 
 body hid among the water-weeds, that look like long moss, 
 but differ from all I ever saw before. The back of that 
 animal is now visible to me. It has what looks like ears, 
 but I cannot tell whether they are or not. They are in 
 the same situation, and lie back on the body for a con- 
 siderable distance. It has sharp-looking eyes. There are a 
 great many of these animals, and they have a very strange 
 
no Nature's Secrets. 
 
 appearance. What I took for ears must be folded wings ; I 
 can see between them and the head, though they are 
 attached on the upper side. The wing is membranous, but 
 I cannot describe it, it differs so much from anything I 
 know. It is ribbed. The animal looks more like a reptile 
 than a fish, though I cannot see the whole distinctly." 
 
 The TuUy limestone is one of the representatives of 
 the Devonian formation, in the State of New York ; it 
 lies immediately above the Hamilton group, so widely 
 distributed and so well known. That the air was occupied 
 by flying animals so early is a very startling idea, when we 
 remember that the earliest remains of birds that have 
 been found are in the Cretaceous, or Chalk formation, 
 certainly formed millions of years after the deposition of 
 the Tully limestone. If the air was tenanted thus early, we 
 may presume that it was occupied by successive forms, 
 as the earth was during the time intervening between the 
 Devonian and Cretaceous periods; and if so, what an 
 evidence we have of the imperfection of the record that 
 geology gives of organic existences ! We have only made a 
 beginning in the study of ancient life -forms. 
 
 These are the earliest psychometric evidences that we 
 have had of the existence of reptiles, though they may have 
 lived long prior to this ; for our ignorance should never be 
 made the boundary of knowledge. 
 
 Stones falling from the heavens, commonly known as 
 meteoric stones, have always excited considerable attention. 
 "They are," says Humboldt, "the only means by which 
 we can be brought in possible contact with that which is 
 foreign to our own planet." Some years ago, a farmer, near 
 Painesville, Ohio, informed me of a singular stone on his 
 
Meteoric stone. 1 1 1 
 
 farm, that looked, as he said, Hke iron ore. On arriving at 
 the spot, I found a dark, boulder-Hke looking mass, weigh- 
 ing, probably, five or six hundred pounds, covered with a 
 dense crust, from one-fourth of an inch to three-eighths of 
 an inch in thickness. On breaking off portions, a network 
 of iron was observed, that indicated very clearly its meteoric 
 character. I carried off small fragments of it, and had some 
 of them tried psychometrically, one by Mrs. Foote, who had 
 no conception of what it was, nor that I had any such 
 specimens in my possession. 
 
 "I seem to be travelling — away, away, through nothing, 
 right forward. I see what looks like clouds and something 
 sparkling like stars ; but there seems to be a mist between 
 me and that. How curious that is ! it carries my eyes right 
 up ; every other specimen has taken my eyes right down." 
 
 What could be more descriptive of the path of an aerolite 
 — "away, away, through nothing, right forward"? In re- 
 ference to her last statement, she said that her eyeballs were 
 rolled upward in opposition to her own will. 
 
 Whence come these singular visitors 1 Are they ejected 
 from lunar volcanoes? Are they formed in the upper 
 regions of the atmosphere 1 Are they small planets of 
 a similar class to those circulating between the orbits 
 of Mars and Jupiter ? or are they fragments of rings 
 once surrounding the earth, as the rings of Saturn encircle 
 that planet 1 I think our experiments throw some light 
 upon this dark subject, though much remains yet to be 
 done. 
 
 A few days after the last examination, I tried Mrs. Foote 
 with another fragment of the supposed meteorite, under 
 similar conditions. 
 
112 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 "It carries my eyes right up. I see an appearance of 
 misty light. I seem to go miles and miles very quickly, up 
 and up. Streams of light come from the right, a great way 
 off. I see something sparkling, — a huge body like a moun- 
 tain. Between me and that is a broad road, that glitters 
 like diamonds. To the right of that I see a large round 
 body that I can see through, and yet it is a substance. The 
 sun is rising behind that mountain, or a sparkling light is 
 shining at a vast distance." 
 
 I gave the same specimen to Mrs. Denton, who knew 
 nothing of it, nor of the previous examinations. 
 
 "This seems to have been moved. I see it turning 
 rapidly on its axis, and little flakes or cinders flying from 
 it, which it leaves behind, like a tail. As it moves it 
 changes its shape." (Turned the specimen over.) " I 
 see what looks like a vein of metal, and through it I 
 see what appear like joints ; it is curved. From this 
 vein streaks of light pass off like the beard from a head 
 of wheat. 
 
 " Now I see a temple, built of wood, and in it a rock 
 with three points. It is about three feet to the highest 
 point. I am reminded of the Aztec temples." 
 
 Aerolites have been objects of worship in many countries. 
 At Emesa, in Syria, the sun was worshipped under the form 
 of a black stone, reported to have fallen from heaven. 
 Pliny mentions a stone which fell at Abydos, and was 
 worshipped there. The holy Kaaba of Mecca, and the 
 great stone of the pyramid of Cholula, in Mexico, have all 
 the same history. It is possible that this Painesville 
 aerolite had answered for a god to some race that preceded 
 the Indians in Ohio. I had never thought of it previous to 
 
Meteoric stone. 113 
 
 this examination, but a subsequent one made me think it 
 more probable. 
 
 Another fragment of the same. 
 
 Mrs. Foote. Conditions as before. 
 
 " I see thousands of persons moving along. What a 
 multitude ! They are marching in rows ; a few are 
 standing still. How strange they look ! Beyond them 
 there seems to be a city, with trees set out in beautiful 
 rows. The people are in different companies ; some look 
 dark, and others light. One company is busy stooping 
 over, as if they were digging. By the side of that company 
 is a ledge of rock, and from that a smoke is rising, cloud 
 after cloud. The company digging are bare-headed ; they 
 have dark skins, but are not negroes. Now I see a river, 
 and a way off is a range of rocks, covered with moss, ferns, 
 and bushes. The rocks taper off in height as I go down 
 the river, and there is a level plain, with woods in the 
 distance. Farther down on the right is a city. There is 
 something round it, posts and high work, that seem made 
 to protect it. I see buildings and people; the buildings 
 are small." (What are they made oil) "Don't look like 
 boards at all ; most of them seem plastered or mud- 
 bedaubed. It looks nothing hke our cities. One building 
 that I see is very large, and a great many people are coming 
 and going near there, some walking and others riding." 
 (What are they riding on?) "Not horses, but animals 
 much smaller ; I do not know what. Some of the streets 
 are very dirty, others clean. From the city I can see out 
 into the country ; there is a fine, broad highway." (In 
 reply to a question,) "The large building is not high, 
 but covers considerable ground. The roof goes up to 
 
 I 
 
114 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 a peak, but it looks nothing like our buildings ; it re- 
 sembles most a huge tent. People are riding on strange- 
 looking things, drawn by animals that look more like sheep 
 than anything else, though they are not sheep, for they 
 are larger and of a darker colour, and hold up their heads 
 like deer. The vehicles look like old boxes mounted on 
 two wheels." 
 
 That a race of comparatively civilized people, living in 
 cities, and employing beasts of burden, ever existed in 
 Northern Ohio, will seem like a very strange story to some 
 persons; yet those who are familiar with the remains of 
 mounds and fortifications that are scattered over the surface 
 of Ohio and the Western States generally, may regard it 
 as possible that such a people as Mrs. Foote saw once 
 lived in Ohio, who, being startled by the descent of an 
 enormous aerolite, had made it an object of religious 
 worship, and it had thus become impressed with the scenes 
 described. 
 
 That Indians should have employed animals as beasts of 
 burden will appear strange to those only who are unac- 
 quainted with their history. "When the Spaniards first 
 invaded Peru and Chili, they found the llama in common 
 use as a beast of burden. Augustin de Zerate, in 1544, 
 thus describes the llama in Peru : " In places where there 
 is no snow the natives want water, and to .supply this they 
 fill the skins of sheep with water and make other living 
 sheep carry them ; for it must be remarked that these 
 sheep of Peru are large enough to serve as beasts of burden. 
 They can carry about one hundred pounds, or more. They 
 are used by the Spaniards to ride upon, and can go four or 
 five leagues a day." Captain G. Shelvocke says, "The 
 heads of these animals are small in proportion to their 
 
Meteoric stone. 115 
 
 bodies, and are somewhat in shape between the head of 
 the horse and that of the sheep. Their necks are long. 
 They walk holding up their heads with wonderful gravity." 
 
 These animals are found both brown and white ; but the 
 white are most common. The llama was not, however, 
 found by the Spaniards in North America, but it is quite 
 possible that they existed there at an earlier period, but had 
 perished, like the camel and horse, that we know existed in 
 North America during the Tertiary period. 
 
 The first opportunity I had of trying what was knonm 
 to be an aerolite, was in June, 1861. It was a small frag- 
 ment broken from a specimen in the possession of Rev. 
 W. B. Cristopher, of Galena, 111. As before, the examiner 
 neither saw nor knew anything of it, and as we were trying 
 experiments with mundane specimens under like conditions 
 almost every day, that could not be distinguished from this 
 by touch, there was little probability of the peculiar cha- 
 racter of this in any way being known. The specimen was 
 very black, heavy, and somewhat lustrous. From the 
 appearance of it, it probably consisted of iron and nickel, 
 as meteoric stones generally do. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " This seems to have had something done to it. I am at 
 the foot of a mountain or high hill. I can easily see into 
 the inside of it, but with difficulty the outside. I know not 
 how to describe what I see. Here are different kinds of 
 metals, and beautiful objects that look like gems. I see a 
 great, deep chasm ; what a terrible depth ! It must have 
 been dreadfully disturbed. 
 
 " I see a hilly country now. The landscape is beautiful, 
 delightful. All is at perfect rest, like a calm summer's day. 
 
ii6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 The climate seems to be that of continual spring, without 
 the heat of the tropics, or the cold of the north." 
 
 Ten days after^vard I broke a small portion from the 
 above specimen, and tried it again as before. 
 
 " I see a mountain of rock, with iron-like network all 
 through it. It looks like meteoric iron. (This must be a 
 piece of the specimen I tried the other day.) I see 
 different colours in the rock, that look like the reflection 
 of brilliant gems. It is, however, merely light reflected 
 from the iron. 
 
 " There seems to be a great deal of electrical light in this. 
 In proportion as I move this specimen from my forehead, 
 the mountain increases in visible size. It looks ragged. 
 The iron seems quite distinct." 
 
 More than a year afterward I gave this specimen to Mrs. 
 Foote ; she had no idea of its character. She held it in her 
 right hand. 
 
 " This is curious. There is nothing at all to be seen, and 
 I feel as if I were in the air ; no, not in the air either, but in 
 nothing — no place. I am utterly unable to describe it 3 it 
 seems high, however. I feel as though I were rising, and 
 my eyes are carried upwards ; but I look around in vain ; 
 there is nothing to be seen. 
 
 " I see clouds now, but nothing else. They are so close 
 to me that I seem in them. My head, and neck, and eyes 
 are affected. My eyes are carried up, and I cannot roll 
 them down. 
 
 "Now the clouds appear lighter and lighter, and look 
 as though the sunlight would burst through them. As 
 the clouds separate, I can see a star or two, and then the 
 
Meteoric stone. 117 
 
 moon instead of the sun. The moon seems near, and looks 
 coarse and rough, and paler and larger in size than I ever 
 saw it before. 
 
 " What a strange feeling comes over me ! It appears as 
 if I were going right to the moon, and it looks as if it Avere 
 coming to me. It affects me terribly." 
 
 She was too much affected to continue the experiment 
 longer. Had this aerolite, at some period of its history, 
 come within the sphere of the moon's attraction, and had its 
 velocity so increased that its augmented centrifugal force had 
 carried it off into space again, whence, drawn by the superior 
 attractive force of the earth, it had fallen, and its planetary 
 career ended for ever 1 Large fireballs have been seen 
 approaching the earth and then flying off again, apparently 
 in this very manner. 
 
 Another meteoric specimen I obtained from Professor 
 McChesney, Chicago. It was a small fragment of meteoric 
 iron, and was tried as before. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I am a very large, monstrous beast. Others are near 
 me that are different. My proportions are very huge. I 
 seem to be among trees. (I do not believe I can get at the 
 true influence of the specimen. ) 
 
 " I see a great rock that goes up like a mountain, and 
 feel like flying — I'm off! What a high rock that is ! I 
 stand at the foot of it. (I cannot make this agree with the 
 other.) There is a slope off to a tract of low land in the 
 distance ; it looks marshy. I do not feel at home up 
 here ; I am too awkward and clumsy. I am rising through 
 the air to the top of the rock. (That certainly cannot be 
 right ; the two do not agree at all.) Is it a fossiU" (No.) 
 
ii8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " That rock looks like a great broken mass. There are 
 bodies in it that shine so as to dazzle my eyes. I cannot 
 tell what they are. Now I have that moving feeling again. 
 I know what this is now ; it is a piece of an aerolite. The 
 slope or inclined plain that I saw is covered with short 
 green vegetation, differing from all I have ever seen. It 
 looks more like moss than grass, though I never saw any- 
 thing covered with moss to such an extent. The soil in 
 which it grows seems very thin. 
 
 "That is strange ! I seem to have come to the 'jumping- 
 off place.' The sky is overhead, and almost under my feet. 
 There is a ledge of bare rock of great height, and miles in 
 length, and, looking down at an angle of about thirty-five 
 degrees, I see the sky below." 
 
 This specimen, previous to examination, had been 
 wrapped up in a paper with a fragment of the tooth of 
 a mastodon, and had apparently imbibed considerable of 
 its influence, and to this, in my opinion, strange as it may 
 seem, was owing the difficulty that Mrs. D. had in obtaining 
 the true influence of the specimen. 
 
 Facts that have come before us during examinations since 
 made have convinced me of what I then surmised, — the 
 transference, at times, of psychometric impressions from 
 one specimen to another. I have sometimes thought that 
 where specimens have no striking history of their own, 
 they more readily receive impressions from neighbouring 
 specimens. 
 
 Two months after this, Dr. Bartlett, of Aurora, 111., gave 
 me a piece of rock, looking somewhat like a light lava? 
 supposed to be of meteoric origin. It was one of a number 
 of pieces that were found upon his farm, west of Waukegan, 
 
Meteoric stone. 119 
 
 111., and covered an oval space of ground, at one end of 
 which, where the fall had apparently taken place, they had 
 sunk deeply into the ground. The doctor thought the 
 aerolite, before its fall, must have been as large, at least, as 
 a flour-barrel. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Conditions as before. 
 
 " It appears as if I were down at the bottom of the sea. 
 I can see about twenty feet around me ; though not very 
 distinctly, as the water is not clear. I hear it roaring above 
 me. 
 
 " I am near a clifif that presents a perpendicular face 
 to me ; whether it rises above the water or not I cannot 
 tell. I occupy the same position with regard to the high 
 cliff that I did before with a meteoric specimen ; the only 
 difference being that I am now in water, and do not see that 
 long green slope. I cannot help thinking that this is the 
 same place, and this specimen must be meteoric. 
 
 " I am now rising, and everything around me is rising at 
 the same time. I have a nervous feeling in connection with 
 it, as a person might be supposed to have during an earth- 
 quake. I rise and sink alternately, though never as low as 
 before. I feel as if there would be a coUision before long. 
 There is a bright stream of light now, exactly before me. 
 What can that mean ? It flashes upon my vision every 
 moment, and produces great terror. All seems strange and 
 terrible. There are two streams of bright light, which I 
 seem to see through a dense fog. 
 
 " Now I am moving Avith great velocity and tremendous 
 force, and then there comes a terrible crash. All is con- 
 fusion. I do not think the concussion took place on this 
 earth. I see enormous rocks, like mountains for size, 
 shattered and piled one on another. I have seen nothing 
 
I20 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 like it for magnificence and sublimity. The rocks are 
 absolutely naked. What a pit ! I can see down a vast 
 distance ; it is horribly deep. 
 
 " Now I am doA\Ti, and miles of rock are above me. 
 This is chaos. I see water pouring down like a torrent 
 among the naked rocks." (In reply to a question,) " There 
 was heat before the concussion, and heaving, rolling, sink- 
 ing, and rocking before moving through the air. 
 
 " I have travelled for many miles over the surface of that 
 world, for world it is, with plains and seas. 
 
 " I see a road between two cliffs ; it is natural, of course, 
 and near it is a low ridge, covered with green vegetation ; 
 the soil is exceeding thin." 
 
 Many experiments are yet needed to bring order out of 
 this apparent confusion. Our experiments indicate that 
 meteorites were once portions of a world, or of worlds, 
 shattered by some terrible convulsions of nature into frag- 
 ments ; that these worlds, or at least one of them, had an 
 atmosphere surrounding it, with large bodies of water, and a 
 vegetation such as ours must have been at the close of the 
 Silurian period. 
 
 In July, i860, there Avas an eclipse of the moon, visible in 
 Lockport, New York, where we then were. It occurred to 
 me that a psychometric examination of the moon might be 
 made by the Psychometer sitting where the lunar light 
 could fall upon the forehead. The event seemed to justify 
 the conjecture ; and, although we have tried no other 
 experiments in connection with celestial bodies, I have no 
 doubt whatever that the astronomer will eventually derive as 
 much assistance from psychometry as the geologist is likely 
 to do. 
 
The moon. 121 
 
 Mrs. Denton, 
 
 " I feel a sensation of intense dryness ; everything is dry, 
 hot, and crisp. What a rough, ragged, rocky scene of 
 desolation this is, everywhere ! It is absolutely terrible ; it 
 affects my whole system. Near the edge of the moon which 
 lies toward the sun I see an enormous crater, miles in 
 diameter, and at the bottom is a lake of lava ; it is red, and 
 I see it in slow motion. It is remarkable how it keeps its 
 place in the basin that encloses it, which seems miles deep, 
 with craggy rocks on every side." (Why does it seem 
 remarkable, I said, that it should keep its place in this 
 basin ? Would that not be the most natural thing in the 
 world 1) She replied, " I am looking up, and it seems as if 
 it should pour out. I have a view of the moon's crust, 
 and compared with the earth's it seems a mere shell, en- 
 closing the liquid lava." 
 
 " The electrical condition of the moon is apparently 
 disturbed by the eclipse, and that disturbance is reflected to 
 the earth and back again ; but I cannot properly describe it. 
 The disturbance in the electrical condition of the moon and 
 earth seems reciprocal ; a tremulous vibration is produced 
 that looks unusual." 
 
 It is a common idea that the moon is cold, and poets 
 have long sung of the " cold, inconstant moon ;" but, if this 
 psychometric observation may be relied on, it is by no 
 means as cold as has been supposed. A body like the 
 moon, destitute of water and an atmosphere, must part with 
 its heat slowly ; and it would not be at all wonderful if our 
 little attendant planet had a very warm heart, after all. 
 
 Sir William Herschel discovered, with his great re- 
 flecting telescope, on the dark part of the new moon, what 
 he conceived to be the flames of an active volcano. Since 
 
122 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 his time various persons have seen luminous spots upon the 
 moon, which favour the idea of present igneous activity 
 upon its surface. 
 
 According to Humboldt, " Melloni was fortunate enough 
 to observe, by means of a lens of three feet in diameter, the 
 most satisfactory indications of an elevation of temperature 
 during different changes of the moon." * In this case, I 
 suppose the heat would be attributed to reflection from the 
 sun, but it may be owing to heat radiated from the substance 
 of the moon itself. 
 
 Some of the bodies, of which the aerolites are fragments, 
 appear to have resembled the moon in the absence of water, 
 for Mrs. Denton remarked, on trying one specimen subse- 
 quently, — 
 
 " This has a great deal of the lunar feeling. I am in a 
 region of rocks, all dry. I do not feel the heat of the moon, 
 but the dryness is similar to the absence of water. I see 
 large masses of rock, with veins of iron all through them, 
 forming quite a network, with here and there large, pure 
 masses of iron." 
 
 I have a small stalactite, which I obtained in a cave about 
 a mile and a half west of Salem, Indiana. I put this into 
 the hands of Mrs. Cridge, when her eyes were closed, and 
 requested her to examine it psychometrically. She sup- 
 posed, from the feeling, that it was an orthoceras, of which 
 I had many specimens, and which it resembles. 
 
 " I see pieces of rock hanging down ; they look like 
 icicles, formed by [the droppings of the rock. I don't 
 
 "Cosmos," Vol. IV., p. 143. 
 
Mammoth Cave. 123 
 
 understand it, for the rock seems quite hard. I feel cold, 
 and as if water were dropping on my head." 
 
 Many months after this, I gave the same specimen to 
 Mrs. U. Taylor, of Lockport, New York, whom I found to 
 be a good natural Psychometer, She supposed it to be 
 a part of some animal. 
 
 " I go straight along a road ; there is water near, and a 
 cave, into which I enter. I see two persons going in with 
 lights. Stalactites hang from the top all over. The two 
 stand looking up. It is so damp and cold, it fairly makes 
 me feel chilly. It is a large, roundish place. Off at a 
 distance seem places where you can go still farther, but I 
 cannot go ; it makes me shudder. Now I go to the right ; 
 there is a basin of water ; and to the left, room after room. 
 Stalactites hang down like curtains, and shine most beauti- 
 fully." 
 
 The accuracy of this description surprised me, accustomed 
 as I was to the faithfulness of the psychometric pictures. 
 The road to the cave is along the western bank of the 
 western branch of the Blue River, Indiana ; and out of the 
 cave, which is a " large, roundish place," a small stream 
 issues. When I obtained the stalactite, I was in company 
 with another gentleman, and each carried a candle ; but as 
 the cave had been repeatedly visited by parties with candles, 
 I do not presume that we were the parties she saw. A few 
 hundred yards from the mouth the cave branches. There 
 is a basin of water in the body of it, and rooms on the left 
 with stalactites, as described. 
 
 I have a small fragment of fibrous gypsum, which was 
 obtained in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. This I gave 
 
124 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 to Mrs. Denton for examination ; she saw it, but knew 
 nothing of its history, and supposed it to be a piece ot 
 asbestos, which it somewhat resembles. 
 
 " You must have had this given to you. The place I see 
 does not look like this region. I see a bench with rocks 
 upon it resembling this specimen. Back of this bench I see 
 a hill with soil and vegetation on it. The rocks I saw 
 appear to have been placed there by artificial means. Now 
 I see a curved wall arching overhead; the rocks that lie 
 around seem to have come from an open place near there. 
 Farther on, the rocks are perpendicular, 
 
 " I am in a cave that I have seen represented in books, 
 I am almost sure. It is very extensive." (I am not in good 
 condition for examining, or I could see much better.) " It 
 has been visited a good deal, for I perceive artificial light ; 
 that is, light differing from the light that the rocks give out, 
 by which I see objects under ground. There are parts of 
 the cave, however, that have been but little visited. I 
 notice one room that has been visited a great deal, and 
 visitors must have remained and talked in it." 
 
 " At one place I see steps going up, and a rock juts out 
 a long way ; it looks fearful. I fancy this place is more 
 extensive than it is known to be. All the rooms near the 
 entrance seem to have been visited; this I know by the 
 artificial light in them. Where that is, I cannot see as 
 distinctly ; it makes itself visible, rather than the objects 
 around. 
 
 " There is a cave below this much more magnificent than 
 the other. It has not been visited, I think. It is sur- 
 passingly beautiful. It looks like a palace built to embody 
 the idea of beauty. There is something that shines like a 
 sun, raying out light all around ; I cannot tell what it is. I 
 
Mammoth Cave. 125 
 
 cannot think of this as a cave ; it is a gorgeous palace. I 
 see a beautiful, curtain-like partition between two rooms, 
 with ridges and deep flutings. I notice one long hall with 
 two walls, about three feet high, running the whole length of 
 it ; they look very singular here, for they have quite an 
 artificial appearance. What a splendid place this would be 
 to live in ! only there is a cool, damp feeling about it. I 
 know not how to get out of this labyrinth. 
 
 " There is a pit down much deeper. It goes into another 
 cave by a winding'way. What monstrous rocks ! The cave 
 near the surface is but a baby compared with these giant 
 caves below. I thought that was a great cave, but what a 
 poor pigmy by the side of these ! This cave is partitioned 
 off, in every direction, into long, fine rooms, with entrances 
 from one to another, generally having high ceilings, though 
 they are not all of the same height. There are grand, long 
 halls opening into the entrance where I came down. I 
 wonder if it is not dangerous. If those rocks were to fall, 
 how could one get out ] I don't know what it means, but 
 I have a sense of animal influence. All at once I am on 
 the surface." 
 
 I then informed her that the specimen was from the 
 Mammoth Cave. She said, " Is there water in the Mam- 
 moth Cave? for I saw streams of water in it, but did 
 not notice them particularly, there was so much else to 
 see." 
 
 I have never visited the Mammoth Cave ; but those who 
 have will, I think, acknowledge the accuracy of the descrip- 
 tions of the known parts of the cave. The truth of the 
 statements with regard to the unknown portions future 
 explorers may yet determine. The animal influence felt 
 was probably owing to the fossils contained in the mountain 
 
126 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 limestone, In which the Mammoth Cave has been hollowed 
 out, by the action of undergroimd streams for ages. 
 
 One thing the reader will notice in this, as well as in some 
 other examinations, that the Psychometer seemed to be at 
 the spot, and travelling over the ground. When our experi- 
 ments first commenced, pictures connected with the history 
 of the specimen passed before the gaze of the Psychometer, 
 like a panoramic view, she being a mere passive spectator. 
 After some time these pictures could be, to a certain extent, 
 controlled, their progress arrested or hurried at will, till at 
 length the Psychometer seemed to travel to the spot where 
 the specimen came from, and describe it as a living person 
 would who beheld it with the natural eye. Not only was 
 this done with regard to time present, but past. All the past 
 to the Psychometer seemed the present ; all that had been 
 was found to exist, and could be examined as thoroughly, 
 almost, as the present around us. 
 
 It would appear as a general rule that rays of light, though 
 invisible to the eye, are passing from all objects continually, 
 and can penetrate readily certain substances, if not all, which 
 are opaque to ordinary light. These rays seem to be able 
 to pass at once to the brain of sensitive persons, and give 
 the sensation of vision, without the intervention of the eye 
 as an organ. Ordinary light is too coarse for such a refined 
 instrument as the brain to receive without the intervention 
 of an organ, which receives it and then introduces it to the 
 brain ; but for this refined light the brain needs no such 
 go-between, but passes at once through the portals, and is 
 admitted into the inner chamber of the soul. Some of the 
 lower animals seem to perceive objects, although they are 
 totally blind, and, in some cases, do not even possess the 
 visual organs. We find in most large caves blind animals. 
 
Blind bats. 127 
 
 such as beetles, millipeds, crawfish, &c. ; but although they 
 possess none of the ordinary power of vision, they yet move 
 away from the light of the explorer's torch, as similar 
 animals out of doors on the approach of an individual. 
 Eyes are unnecessary to these cave tenants, and in process 
 of time they are withdrawn ; but they possess what answers 
 the purpose equally well in their underground existence, 
 otherwise they would certainly cease to exist. 
 
 In the fresh-water polyp the whole body is sensitive to 
 the influence of light, for it turns to it ; and that this is 
 owing to the sensitiveness of the whole body is evident 
 from the fact that, if cut in two, both parts equally seek the 
 light. 
 
 " The Monas sulphuraria, Stentor niger, and the Actinia; 
 seek the light, but change their position if exposed to the 
 full glare of the sun, and sink beneath the surface before any 
 part of their bodies comes in contact with the atmosphere. 
 Veretillum cynomo?'iiim (a species of zoophyte) seeks the 
 darkest spots, and folds itself together if brought within the 
 influence of the light. In all these animals the power of 
 sight, or rather the sense of perception, is spread over the 
 whole surface of the body." * 
 
 Bats, that spend their lives in twilight or darkness, appear 
 to possess this interior vision to a wonderful extent. Ex- 
 periments made by Spallanzani, and repeated by eminent 
 philosophic naturalists, demonstrate that the bat, when 
 blinded, regulates its motions in the same manner as when 
 it has full possession of its eyes. " Completely blinded bats 
 were not in the slightest degree obstructed in their motions. 
 They flew about by night or by day with their wonted ease 
 
 * Thompson's "Passions of Animals." 
 
128 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and rapidity, avoiding all obstacles which lay or were 
 intentionally placed in their way as dexterously as if in full 
 possession of their sight. They turned round at the right 
 time when they approached a wall, rested in a convenient 
 situation when fatigued, and struck against nothing. The 
 experiments were multiplied and varied in the most in- 
 genious manner. A room was filled with thin twigs \ in 
 another, silken threads were suspended from the roof, and 
 preseived in the same position and at the same distance from 
 each other by means of small weights attached to them. 
 The bat, though deprived of its eyes, flew through the 
 intervals of these threads, as well as of the twigs, without 
 touching them ; and when the intervals were too small, it 
 drew its wings more closely together. In another room a 
 net was placed, having occasional irregular spaces for the 
 bat to fly through, the net being so arranged as to form a 
 small labyrinth. But the blind bat was not to be deceived. 
 In proportion as the difiiculties were increased, the dexterity 
 of the animal was augmented. When it flew over the upper 
 extremity of the net, and seemed imprisoned between it and 
 the wall, it was frequently observed to make its escape most 
 dexterously. When fatigued by its high flights, it still flew 
 rapidly along the ground, among tables, chairs, and sofas ; 
 yet avoided touching anything with its wings. Even in the 
 open air its flight was as prompt, easy, and secure as in close 
 rooms ; and in both situations altogether similar to that of 
 its associates who had the use of their eyes." * 
 
 Any animal living in darkness during a continued ex- 
 istence would, in my opinion, receive visual impressions in 
 the same way; still more, animals whose ancestors had 
 
 * Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, Vol. IV. , p. 293. 
 
Clairvoyance. 129 
 
 existed in a similar manner for ages, the power in- 
 creasing with continued use, as transmitted for many genera- 
 tions. 
 
 It is not surprising that human beings should possess a 
 power which is thus shared in by many animals, some of 
 which are quite low in the scale of existence. 
 
 Harriet Martineau tells us of an old lady who had been 
 blind from her birth, and yet saw in her sleep ; and when 
 in her waking state, described the colour of the clothing of 
 individuals correctly. 
 
 Most blind persons exhibit such phenomena to a greater 
 or less extent, according to the sensitiveness of the indi- 
 vidual, and the length of time during which the power has 
 been cultivated. The case of the blind Yorkshire surveyor 
 is familiar to most persons, and in his case the possession 
 of vision, without the use of eyes, seems most evident. 
 
 Somnambulists who read and write with eyes closed, and 
 sometimes bandaged — who in dark nights walk along the 
 roofs of buildings and narrow walls, and perform various 
 feats which other individuals could only do in the light of 
 day, bear evidence to the possession of this faculty that we 
 are now considering, by man. For this subtle light to which 
 I have referred is never obscured ; it is always day with it, 
 and, to those who perceive by its instrumentality, the darkest 
 midnight is light and clear as the sunniest noon. 
 
 Clairvoyance is but the exercise of the same power by an 
 individual in a somewhat different condition. If this subtle 
 light can pass through a brick wall, the brick wall can be as 
 readily seen through, by the person who sees by its instru- 
 mentality, as we can see through a pane of glass. To the 
 clairvoyant, therefore, all things are transparent as air, 
 because they are pervious to the light by which he 
 
 K 
 
130 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 sees ; the rays proceeding from objects passing directly 
 through the transparent skull — transparent to this hght — to 
 the brain. 
 
 Facts which philosophers have sneered at, and phenomena 
 which they have denied, will eventually be accepted, and 
 found to be in harmony with refined forces of matter with 
 which they are as yet unacquainted. 
 
 I have recently become acquainted with Mrs. Lucielle Do 
 Viel, of Pultneyville, Wayne Co., N. Y., a lady who, on 
 examining a specimen psychometrically, not only goes 
 to the spot from which the specimen was obtained, but has 
 the sensation of travelling while doing so, and frequently 
 sees towns, ships, rivers, seas, Szc, as she passes along to her 
 destination. She informs me that she has seen objects with 
 her eyes closed, from infancy, and frequently heard sounds 
 that were inaudible to all but herself After picking berries 
 or gathering chestnuts, on lying down to sleep, she saw them 
 in great abundance, and often wished she could have the 
 privilege of gathering what was so plainly visible. When 
 young, she frequently told her friends what she saw ; but, 
 being laughed at and called visionary, she ceased to be 
 communicative in reference to these visions. Previous to 
 my trying her with the following specimens, she had never 
 done anything of the kind, nor heard of its being done. I 
 simply requested her to tell me what she saw and felt. The 
 following experiments were made, she having no knowledge 
 whatever of the specimen previous to its examination. 
 She is more familiar with the French language than with 
 English, and hence had more difficulty than another would 
 have had in describing what appeared to her. 
 
 After trying her with two specimens of but ordinary 
 interest, I gave her the specimen of hornstone brought from 
 
Mount of Olives. 131 
 
 the Mount of Olives, the examination of which will be 
 found hereafter. 
 
 " I am going back, back, — over the water I glide along, 
 but I see no vessels. Now I am on shore, and see stones 
 and rocky hills. There are large and small stones scattered 
 all around, with moss among them. It is too stony for 
 trees. What a long way off this is ! There is water near 
 where I am now, and a little grass, and small bushes. I see 
 a basin of water ; I think it is a lake. 
 
 " There does not seem to be many people. The land is 
 so poor, I suppose they could not raise enough to eat. I 
 see a forest a long way off. 
 
 " I see an ancient place now ; how old-fashioned it is ! 
 Old houses almost down ; arched gates and windows ; how 
 curious they look ! Now I see people. Is that Spain 1" 
 (No.) " There is something growing on that rocky moun- 
 tain ; a few trees. They are not very tall, but thick and 
 bushy. I should judge they were fig-trees ; but the leaves 
 look like the olive. 
 
 " I have seen people like these ; but I cannot tell where. 
 The women wear turbans and pantaloons ; and men and 
 women are much alike. I see cattle, but they look different 
 from ours. Farther back I see horses, sheep, and goats. 
 
 " I see a great palace. It is very beautiful. It looks like 
 a Roman Catholic church. That is what it is. I see 
 images, the cross, candlesticks, and an image of the Virgin. 
 It is a very large place. AVomen are kneeling, and men 
 walking on their tip-toes, as if they were afraid of disturbing 
 something. Back of that palace I see a high mountain that 
 lies to the north. Now I see ruins, — large stones lying 
 round, that have fallen down. Some are in heaps, and some 
 
132 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 are scattered ; they seem too large for men ever to have 
 handled." 
 
 After supper, a second examination was made of the 
 same specimen. 
 
 "It seems just as it did before. I am going over the 
 water again. I appear to be crossing the Red Sea, it looks 
 so red and dark. I see no vessel. Now I am on shore. 
 It is very far. I see rocky little hills, heaps of large and 
 flat stones lying by the wayside. The roads are narrow and 
 crooked ; they look like paths. I notice a large hill ; it is 
 all stone, except a few small trees, which can hardly find 
 root. 
 
 " Now I see a city, with high stone walls and large iron 
 gates. The wall is thick and high. Two men are watching 
 at the gate ; they look like Jews. I wonder if they will let 
 me in. Now I come to that temple and go in again. 
 There is the crucifix at the altar, the images, and the women 
 praying. It is a splendid place. Now I see another nice 
 temple, not so large as the first. There are Greek letters 
 on the outside ; I cannot read them. I see many houses ; 
 they look curious ; some are in ruins, and others are nice- 
 looking places. 
 
 " I am on a mountain now ; and there is another moun- 
 tain on the opposite side, with oHve and fig-trees all the 
 way. I see a garden, and water in a kind of basin. I am 
 certain I have seen a description of this place. Is not this 
 Jerusalem 1 The mountain I stood on was Mount Moriah, 
 and that opposite, the Mount of Olives." 
 
 Who does not see that what was stated is true of Jeru- 
 salem and its vicinity, and of no other place 1 I found, on 
 visiting her house subsequently, a work on Palestine, by 
 means of which she had become familiar with Jerusalem 
 
A black pearl. 133 
 
 and its vicinity, and hence the readiness with which she 
 identified what she saw, which, at first, very much sur- 
 prised me. 
 
 Fibrous gypsum, Mammoth Cave. 
 
 " I am traveUing south now. I see the soldiers' camp 
 and tents. There are mountains around there, back and 
 back. I see a cave ; it looks white, like marble. What 
 curious things on shelves, or what look like shelves ! — vases, 
 cups, candles, and candlesticks, all in stone. There is a 
 natural seat all round there. 
 
 " I see a spring ; — how clear the water is ! There are fine 
 statues, horses, camels, everything one can think of, almost, 
 in stone. 
 
 " What a pretty place this is ; it glitters like gold. What 
 makes it shine so % Now I see water falling into a kind of 
 basin down there. I see the appearance of curtains. That 
 water pours again into another basin below." 
 
 This specimen is the one that was the subject of a former 
 experiment, and was obtained from the Mammoth Cave 
 some years ago, at a time when there were no camps or 
 soldiers in the neighbourhood ; so that it appears she saw 
 the locality at the very time the examination was made, a 
 time when, as I afterward learned, our soldiers were in the 
 immediate vicinity. 
 
 I have a small black pearl, given me by Captain Loper, 
 who brought it from the Gulf of California. This I gave to 
 Mrs. Do Viel for examination, who did not see it, but 
 supposed, as she afterward told me, that it was a small 
 bean, which in shape it much resembles. 
 
 " I am travelling a long way again ; I think south-east. 
 
134 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 I see a man on his knees, digging and scraping with his 
 hands. He has something like a basket on a stick, which 
 he puts into the water and dips out, and then scrapes with 
 his hands in the dirt. It is not much inhabited here. It is 
 either between points or islands, where this man is at work 
 getting things." (What is he getting 1) " Stones, or some- 
 thing valuable, for he is very choice of them, selecting them 
 with great care. (Oh, but it is a long way from here.) As 
 near as I can see, he is getting pearls. He scrapes some- 
 thing into this vessel full of holes ; the water runs through, 
 and he selects out of what remains at the bottom. They 
 may be diamonds for aught that I know ; they shine very 
 bright. He puts them into a httle bag after he picks them out. 
 
 "Back from him there is a large building, but it looks 
 as if no one lived there. I see goats ; they are the only 
 animals that I can find. I see trees and vines. That sea- 
 shore is splendid. What clean, nice sand!'' 
 
 In this experiment she apparently travels to the spot, but 
 whether she saw what was occurring at the time, or what 
 had occurred at the time the pearl under examination was 
 gathered, it is impossible to say. The lower part of the 
 Gulf of California is the place where pearls are obtained, 
 and the land in that neighbourhood is very thinly populated, 
 or, as she described it, " not much inhabited." 
 
 A small fragment of Table Rock, Niagara. 
 
 " I am in a place where I see stony land. I travelled 
 west from here. I see a stony mountain ahead of me. 
 This came from a rock at that mountain. It is settled all 
 around there, and there are forests back from the villages. 
 Some parts of the village look well, but it is nothing par- 
 ticular as a whole. The people I see look like our people. 
 
Table Rock, Niagara. 135 
 
 I see several places where water runs down the side of the 
 mountain. I see something clear and white in the rocks ; 
 it looks like silver." (Look around, down below.) " I see 
 two or three huts and arbours, and some rabbits. There is 
 a cave that goes under that mountain. I am curious to see 
 it. I see bones on the ground that look like human, and a 
 beast's head of some kind." (Turned the specimen over.) 
 
 " Now I see a kind of smoke, — it may be a cloud of 
 some kind ; it goes right up. It is more toward the middle 
 than the cave. I see no fire, — now and again I see a little 
 spark. That smoke does not spread ; it goes straight up. 
 
 " I am looking down now in the mountain. It is a deep 
 hole. There is something down there boiling up all the 
 time, and the smoke comes from that. Is that a hot 
 spring?" (No.) "What makes it boil so? It makes just 
 such a noise as the lake does. How it roars ! It is louder 
 than the lake. It sounds like a torrent." (Go across to 
 the mountain on the other side.) " That is a small one, not 
 so high as the one I was on before. Can that be a volcano ? 
 I hear it roar off here. There are no inhabitants here. It 
 is very rough. There is a river that goes right round, — yes, 
 all the way. It has a very pretty shore, but it is not very 
 deep. There are two or three small villages round there. 
 The people seem to fish a good deal. 
 
 " That river has a very rapid current ; it looks stony in 
 places, and the water boils right up. What makes it smoke 
 so ? It runs under that big mountain. There is a place 
 under the mountain where it runs as it does above, and 
 boils up ; that makes the smoke. On the other side the 
 water descends into a deep hole like a whirlpool down 
 there. Under that "water is a place where I can go. The 
 stones are flat under it. The water pours over my head. 
 
o 
 
 6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 There is an arch of stone over me. The stone is white in 
 places. It is under the mountain where I see this. I can 
 go a long way under that arch, and as far as I go the water 
 is. It seems as if the water were engulfed as fast as it falls. 
 I wonder where it comes froml The water makes that 
 smoke ; it looks like a raincloud or mist. It rises up 
 through that hole in the mountain, and when the sun shines 
 it sparkles, I took that for sparks. 
 
 " I am on the top of the mountain again, and looking over 
 the water. There is a mighty cataract. The water goes down 
 with tremendous force, and that makes it go up like smoke. 
 What monstrous stones there are near that cataract ! many 
 as big as this house. That is a terrible whirlpool, — the 
 water goes round like a wheel. It is so strong that it 
 carries the fish up with it. Near the cataract is a large 
 square face of stone, over which the water falls. That 
 stone comes over, something like a piazza, and the water falls 
 over it. There is quite a space behind the water ; and it 
 looks like a long tunnel. What a tremendous body of water ! 
 What force ! I never saw any cataract like this before." 
 
 She travelled in the right direction, and seemed to be at 
 the spot in a few moments ; but her vision seems to have 
 been very much circumscribed, so that she could only 
 describe what was in the immediate vicinity of where 'she 
 seemed to be. She had never been at Niagara personally 
 or she would doubtless have recognized the spot. Any one 
 who has been there must see the exceeding accuracy of her 
 description, which evidently none but an eye-witness could 
 give. The white substance she saw in the rocks on two 
 occasions is a very pure variety of gypsum, as white as 
 chalk, which is worked up by persons at the Falls into 
 ornaments, and sold to visitors. 
 
Lead mine, Galena. 137 
 
 On crossing the mountain she seems to have gone over 
 to Goat Island, for she sees the river " goes right round ;" 
 and from there, under the cataract itself, where there is an 
 arch of stone above, and the water pours over her head. 
 She then passes to the Canadian side, and sees the cataract 
 in its grandeur, which she seems to have been unable to do 
 before, and beholds, with keener vision than ordinary visitors, 
 that long tunnel, as she calls it, which all visitors know exists 
 between the descending sheet and the wall of rock behind 
 it, along which many persons venture daily, accompanied by 
 guides. 
 
 Sulphuret of iron from the Marsden lead, west of Galena, 
 111. (Thought it was a stone.) 
 
 " I am going over Niagara river, I see the cataract and 
 suspension bridge. I am travelling west. I see a place 
 dug out of the earth where this came from. I see some- 
 thing there that looks whiter than copper, and a good 
 many people are digging it. It is a good way off, west. 
 Back of this there is a town or city, and a body of 
 water and vessels." (The Mississippi is about three miles 
 west of there, and Dubuque, Iowa, perhaps seven or eight 
 miles.) "I see horses and waggons that carry the stuft 
 away. 
 
 " Now I see a place where they melt it ; there is a great 
 furnace. It looks like lead. There are many people at 
 work ; I never saw anything like it before. 
 
 " They have axes under ground there for cutting it out. 
 I see them pick out white stones and lay to one side. 
 
 " Now I see them shipping it in a vessel — they unload it 
 from waggons — it is in bars. 
 
 "They have dug quite deep, and there are two or three 
 
o 
 
 8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ladders in different holes. As they go down they dig a way 
 under and very wide — thirty or forty feet, I should think. 
 They have lights down there, and very long ladders to go 
 up and down. The men are hacking into the wall ; they 
 are almost as black as negroes. They haul the stuff out in 
 buckets from one hole to another. It is very damp and 
 cold. How the wall shines ! There is very clear water there." 
 
 The accuracy of this whole description is marvellous. 
 The Marsden lead is the richest known in the neighbour- 
 hood of Galena, and is worked about five miles west of that 
 city. The mine is the deepest in that region, and the inflow 
 of water, Avhich is very pure, is so great, that an engine is 
 kept constantly employed in pumping it out. There are 
 several holes, as she stated, furnished with ladders ; and in 
 the principal one they have dug " a way under," for the roof 
 of the mine dips at an angle of about fifty or fifty-five 
 degrees. The wall glistens much more than is common in 
 lead mines, on account of the great abundance of crystallized 
 sulphuret of iron. 
 
 When at the mines she seems to have come into rapport 
 with the lines of travel to and from it ; along one she goes 
 to the smelting furnace, and from there to Galena, where the 
 lead is shipped on board vessels in bars, as stated, and then 
 returns on the other again to the mines, to continue her ex- 
 plorations. 
 
 The only statement that she made in reference to it that is 
 open to criticism, is the one in which it is said, " They haul 
 the stuff out in buckets from one hole to another." If my 
 remembrance of it is accurate, the ore is drawn up in 
 buckets by the steam-engine that pumps the water out, by a 
 very crooked passage, and this may have led her to describe 
 it as going from one hole to another. 
 
Chamois horn, Switzerland, 139 
 
 Piece of chamois horn, from Switzerland. It was but a 
 small fragment, and no person by feeling could have 
 imagined its character ; and as she did not see it, evidently 
 the remarkable power that she possesses could alone give 
 her the clue to the surroundings of the animal of which it 
 was once a part. 
 
 " I am travelling south-east now, I think. I pass over 
 many places that I have done before. I see many soldiers 
 and cannon, but I go over them. Now I am on the sea- 
 coast, and here are all kinds of shells. 
 
 " I go farther back into the wilderness. I see prairies and 
 dark-coloured hills. I go farther back to the mountain land. 
 There are large mountains ; I see one higher than any I ever 
 saw before. I see a splendid city a little way off. 
 
 " I see little caves here and there that seem to have been 
 dug for shelter. The rocks are dark, and so is the soil. I 
 see goats or deer climbing up. There are numbers of 
 animals running round me, some goats and deer. The 
 horns of the goats arch over back, but the deer's horns are 
 bushy. Streams run down from the mountain-side and make 
 gullies ; the water is clear, and looks beautiful. 
 
 " I went into one of those caves ; they are dens for wild 
 animals. Nuts grow on that mountain — some look like 
 hazels — they are not ripe. They are very sour — I tasted 
 them ; they make the water run out of my mouth. 
 
 " It is a splendid country all round here. I'll go into that 
 city and see how it looks. Some buildings are of white 
 marble, and others of dark stone. The people are swarthy, 
 but dress a good ddal like our people. They have a stern 
 look. I see a Roman Catholic church, with a cross on the 
 top of it. I see other churches. There are many mules in 
 that country — more than horses. I can see the whole city. 
 
140 Nature's Secrets, 
 
 On the other side is a body of water, and a very extensive 
 wilderness in the distance." 
 
 Here we have the mountainous region of the Alps, 
 where the chamois dwells, the caves in which wild animals 
 find shelter, the animals themselves, with their horns arching 
 back — though she supposed them to be a peculiar kind of 
 goat — and, generally, what we should behold if visiting the 
 region /;/ propria perso/ia. 
 
 Conglomerate from Eagle River, near where it empties 
 into Lake Superior. 
 
 " I am going west of this. I pass over Niagara, where I 
 was before. I pass rocks and over woods and waters, and 
 now I am close by a lake and a wilderness. That is a 
 pretty shore. It is a nice place all around — quite a wilder- 
 ness back. I see a creek that runs through the wilderness 
 and empties into the lake. It makes quite a ripple over the 
 stones as it goes down. Those are beautiful trees — I think 
 white oak. I am close to the edge of the creek, and but 
 a little way from the lake. 
 
 "A little way back there are inhabitants. I see farms, 
 and log houses, and saw-mills. They take wood to the 
 lake. (That creek is narrow.) The inhabitants are not all 
 Yankees. I see different kinds of -people — some French. 
 This is a great place for timber. The water is deep enough 
 for vessels to come in. I see one at the wharf now taking 
 in wood." 
 
 This description of the place from which I obtained the 
 specimen is correct, I believe, in nearly every particular. 
 I obtained it from the rocky bank of Eagle River, about 
 300 yards back from Lake Superior, and within the bounds 
 of Eagle River village, where the water " makes quite a 
 
Glacier-scratched pebble. 141 
 
 ripple over the stones as it goes." The creek runs througli 
 a wilderness, and empties into the lake, which has at that 
 point a beautiful pebbly shore. There is a wharf near the 
 place, and vessels call in going up and coming down the 
 lake. I am not certain that she is correct about the kind 
 of trees in the neighbourhood, which, I think, are principally 
 small pines. 
 
 Glacier-scratched pebble, Palmyra, New York. 
 
 " This draws me down. There are many stones where 
 this came from ; I see numbers of them. It did not come 
 very far. You got this close by, a little south of this ; not 
 very far from Pultneyville. You did not pick it ujd for its 
 beauty, but to see if any one could tell where it came from. 
 There is a bed of this stone where it came from, — different 
 layers, one above another. I see a village ; there is nothing 
 remarkable about it." 
 
 These examinations were made at Pultneyville, on the 
 shore of Lake Ontario. Palmyra, where I obtained the 
 specimen, is sixteen miles south of Pultneyville. She had 
 never been at Palmyra, and hence did not recognize the 
 place, which she appears to have seen psychometrically. 
 
 Some persons may think that out of a multitude of ex- 
 aminations, I have chosen just a few that had in them 
 something remarkable, but this is not the case. My time 
 was limited, and Mrs. Do Viel's family duties prevented her 
 trying as many experiments as she otherwise would. She 
 examined, in all, thirteen specimens, and out of the thirteen 
 I have presented eight. The rest were probably just as 
 correct, but I have not yet been able to verify them as fully 
 as I could wish. 
 
 This lady had no idea that she possessed any such power 
 
142 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 till she tried a specimen that I gave her, and she expressed 
 the greatest delight at the wonderful things that she was thus 
 enabled to see. She seemed less fatigued by it than any 
 Psychometer that I ever saw, owing probably to her robust 
 physical constitution. 
 
 Of what great utility this department of psychometry may 
 become ! All drift may be tracked by the future geologist 
 to the place of its dispersion ; and where that drift contains 
 portions of the precious metals, the vein from which they 
 were borne may readily be discovered. A simple, cheap, 
 and efficient telegraphic communication may be established 
 between the most distant places on the earth, that may be 
 worked as rapidly as a person can read. In short, the uses 
 of this power are innumerable, and such as only the great 
 future can develop. 
 
 I am strongly inclined to believe that if we detach a rock 
 from its parent bed, wherever it may be carried, there is a 
 line of connection extending from that rock to the bed from 
 which it was derived, and that along that line something 
 (call it soul, spirit, or mind, I know not what term would be 
 most appropriate) passes from the Psychometer to the place, 
 and he sees objects as they at present exist. When a Psy- 
 chometer examines a specimen of rock from a building, 
 sometimes the quarry is first visited where the rock was 
 obtained, and then the building ; and at other times the 
 building is first visited, and then the quarry. 
 
 If Psychometers wandered over places as they exist at 
 the present time, which appears to be the case with Mrs. Do 
 Viel, such an explanation would be quite sufficient for all 
 cases ; but when they wander, as they appear to do, through 
 the streets of cities which they find in their prime, though 
 they have been but heaps of ruins for centuries ; when they 
 
Ravine near Lockport, N, Y. 143 
 
 skim over wide continents, containing strange mountain 
 chains and long-perished rivers ; roam through trackless 
 forests, alive with extinct mammals ; and visit the ocean caves 
 of early geologic periods, — a very different explanation must 
 be given. Can it be that all the Silurian period — its thermal 
 oceans, its shelly beaches, its foggy skies, all its tenants of 
 water and rock, and the diversified surface and changing 
 conditions of the globe and its inhabitants during its vast 
 continuance — is locked up in that fragment of limestone, 
 viewed by the Psychometer ] I am sometimes inclined to 
 think that the universe may be contained in every pebble, 
 and only needs the all-compelling soul to call it forth. 
 Time will explain all. 
 
 There is a remarkable gulf, north of the town of Lockport, 
 New York, evidently produced by a branch of the Niagara 
 river, which, at a distant period, flowed over the ridge, and 
 cut its way back for more than a mile. At the present time 
 there is a small creek flowing through it, which empties into 
 Lake Ontario, a few miles below. There is a mineral spring 
 at the bottom of the gulf, and some one had dug out the 
 rock in its neighbourhood in order to deepen it. I carried 
 away a block of it to Lockport, and broke out from the 
 ce?itre of it a small piece, which, up to that time, had never 
 seen the light. I wrapped it in two thicknesses of paper, 
 and then presented it to Mrs. Taylor for examination, she 
 having at the time, I am positive, no knowledge of it what- 
 ever. She was silent for some time, but at length said, — 
 
 " I find great d.ifiiculty in fixing my mind upon it. I am 
 on the edge of a cliff; below me there is a deep ravine, 
 with a little stream running through it, off to the lake. I go 
 across a rocky, uneven piece of ground, and see trees and 
 
T44 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 grass ; trees grow on the side of the ravine. I see you 
 hammering among the rocks." 
 
 The description is accurate in every particular. Is a man 
 exaggerating when he says the paving-stones can see, and 
 tell what they see 1 Images of external objects in their 
 vicinity are impressed even upon their interiors ; images 
 that will continue as long as the stones themselves endure. 
 
 AVhen seeking for fossils in the bed of the Wyandotte 
 River in Kansas, some years ago, I found a piece of petri- 
 fied bone, apparently a portion of the leg-bone of some 
 monstrous mammal ; and near it a piece of the enamel of a 
 tooth, looking somewhat like the side of a mastodon's tooth. 
 This was examined by Mrs. Denton, she as usual neither 
 seeing it nor knowing anything of its supposed character. 
 
 " I see a very large and singular-looking animal, great 
 beyond anything that I ever conceived a quadruped to be. 
 Its huge legs are wide apart ; the hind legs considerably 
 larger than the fore legs. The head is large, and must be 
 very heavy ; it moves from side to side. There is a kind of 
 marsh where plants grow, and there it goes to eat. 
 
 " It seems as if I could describe the whole of the internal 
 organs of the animal. The bones are large, and the marrow 
 seems monstrous. The skin is very thick. The nose comes 
 down a long way, and widens out, and the animal seems to 
 have had the power of lengthening its neck at will." 
 
 This fragment of tooth was also examined by Mrs. Cridge, 
 under like conditions. I had carefully kept both specimens 
 from observation previous to these experiments, in order to 
 have a satisfactory result, 
 
 " I can see many animals that are large, but I see them 
 
Enamel of a tooth. 145 
 
 too indistinctly to describe them. One is a large animal 
 with horns, which lie back toward the shoulder. It has a 
 very long head, and is about the size of a horse, but differs 
 from all animals that I have seen. 
 
 " A river appears before me, and a swamp, and a thicket 
 connecting the swamp and river. There is one very large 
 animal near there, a walking stack of flesh. What curious 
 legs ! They are spread out and look very heavy, and 
 short compared with the size of the animal ; the ankle joint 
 seems to come right down on the ground. It has a very 
 long neck. The fore feet are unlike the hind feet. It eats 
 branches of trees. It has the power of drawing in and 
 sending out its neck. The head seems small compared 
 with the size of the body." (In reply to a question :) " I 
 think it has a trunk, — but it is shorter than an elephant's, — 
 and seems to smell by it. It is very wide at the end, and 
 open. There ! I see the animal roll it over and over, and 
 on the top of its head. 
 
 " I see another animal, light-coloured and scaly, covered 
 with a suit of armour ; it has a long tail, a long head, and 
 horns laid back upon it. The back is covered with regular, 
 sharp protuberances ; underneath it is of a brown colour. 
 It is perfectly harmless, and lives upon herbs. I can see it 
 nibbling. Its teeth seem to be very sharp." 
 
 It appears evident they both saw the same animal, though 
 the descriptions differ somewhat. One sees a marsh where 
 plants grow ; the other sees a swamp and a thicket. Both 
 see a very large quadruped ; both notice that its legs are 
 wide apart, though they speak of it in somewhat different 
 language, and both observe a difference between its fore and 
 hind feet. One sees that it possesses a trunk, which the 
 other does not appear to observe until the question is asked 
 
 L 
 
146 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 whether it has or not ; both state that it is wide at the end, 
 which is very different, as every one knows, from the shape 
 of tlie elephant's proboscis. Let it be remembered that 
 neither person knew that the specimen examined was part 
 of any animal, and that these remarkable coincidences were 
 brought out, not by hints given or leading questions asked, 
 but by presenting the specimen, which certainly could not 
 convey by the touch any idea of its nature ; thus leaving all 
 to be educed by psychometric examination alone. 
 
 From such examinations, made at various times, I believe 
 that many huge animals existed in North America during 
 the Tertiary period, allied to the mastodon and mega- 
 therium ; and some that appear to have been links between 
 the pachydermata and edentata ; the descriptions given 
 agreeing partly with the one and partly with the other. 
 
 From the appearance of the cervical vertebrae, in the 
 engraving of the skeleton of the megatherium, given in Dr. 
 Buckland's " Bridgewater Treatise on Geology," it seems 
 very probable that it had the power of protruding the head, 
 thus enabling it to reach distant branches without moving 
 its ponderous body. The vertebrae of the neck seem to be 
 concave on their upper surfaces, and convex on their lower, 
 fitting into each other as one cup of a set fits into another ; 
 so that they could be removed a considerable distance apart 
 without danger of dislocation. 
 
 The animal seen encased in armour was probably allied 
 to the armadillo family, many of which, of gigantic size, 
 with shells like turtles, existed on the American continent 
 during the Tertiary period. 
 
 At Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, there is in a sand- 
 stone quarry a layer about three inches thick, on which are 
 
Rain-prints on sandstone, 147 
 
 found, over the whole surface, the impression of rain-drops ; 
 corresponding casts of them being found on the under 
 surface of the overlying layer. Occasionally, fossil fish, 
 with heterocercal tails, have been found in the same layer as 
 the rain-drops. The rock is a member of the Devonian 
 formation. Mrs. Denton, without seeing it or kno\ving 
 anything regarding it, placed a small piece of one of the 
 slabs containing the impressions of rain-drops upon her 
 forehead, and said, — 
 
 " I see a zigzag flash of lightning ; it divided before 
 it reached the earth. Now I am in a shower, and feel as 
 if drenched by rain. This must be the impression of rain- 
 drops." 
 
 How strange that the electric flash which darted to the 
 earth millions of years ago should still be visible, and the 
 rain that followed it still be felt ! 
 
 When travelling through Texas several years ago, I found 
 in Henderson County a creek, the bed of which contained 
 innumerable fragments of silicified wood, some of them of 
 rare beauty ; and in the vicinity I saw bodies of trees, two 
 and three feet in diameter, and many feet in length, changed 
 into solid flint. One of the small pieces that I brought 
 home with me was the subject of this experiment, which 
 was made as before. 
 
 " I see water and trees, some standing and others lying. 
 The water is peculiar ; it has some property in it that pro- 
 duces a feeling of incrustation on putting the hands into it. 
 It is very warm ; a hot steam rises from it. It has a saltish 
 taste, but there seems to be some alkali in it. It looks clear, 
 except on the top, where a kind of crust floats upon the 
 surface. The water flows over a small cascade into a lake 
 
148 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 below. Changing my position, I now see trees, tall, large, 
 and majestic, and the light comes through their dense foHage. 
 They shoot up very high before branching. I can see trees 
 on the upland, but they are more scrubby. Many trees are 
 lying in the water. 
 
 " I go down the stream. What quantities of driftwood ! 
 The water is almost dammed by it. What monsters ! — large, 
 spotted lizards, like crocodiles ; some in the water, and 
 others crawling on the soft mud. The water and the swamp 
 are full of them. The spotted ones are too slender for 
 crocodiles, and their jaws too long. 
 
 " I see one with a short, broad mouth. At the juncture 
 of its legs with its body is a wing-like extension of the 
 skin. It seems well suited for the water, but is clumsy on 
 land. 
 
 "I see many small animals that the large ones are in 
 pursuit of. How rapidly they dart away ! One dives right 
 into the mud, as a fish would into the water, its sharp snout 
 being well fitted for the work. 
 
 " What monstrous reptiles ! Here is the struggle for life. 
 I see many reptiles that look like newts, but they are from 
 three to four feet long. The water here is very different 
 from that which I first saw." 
 
 Here the trees and the silicifying agencies seem to have 
 come up first, as most intimately related to the history of the 
 specimen ; then its surroundings during the Tertiary period, 
 when it was drinking in the influences of the crawlers that 
 abounded in it. If the examination had been continued 
 longer, I have no doubt that the images of the Tertiary 
 quadrupeds would have presented themselves, and perhaps 
 those of the early human occupants of the country. 
 
 In this we have an evidence of the great deficiency of 
 
Fossil from Cuba. 149 
 
 ordinary geological investigation, in revealing to us the 
 various forms of life that have existed on the face of the globe. 
 I think it probable that a thousand times as many animals 
 existed, prior to the human period, as have become known 
 to the palaeontologist. Take the Texan Tertiary deposits, 
 and we find in them no bones, no footprints, nothing to tell 
 of the myriads of animals that swarmed and rioted during 
 countless generations, but the psychometric impressions, 
 which seem to be the only means by which the gaps that at 
 present exist in palaeontology can be filled. 
 
 An experiment made with a Tertiary fossil, obtained near 
 Calabazal, in Cuba, gave me a wider view of what this psy- 
 chometric power is destined to do for science in the future 
 than I ever possessed before. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see streams of water running down the side of a hill ; 
 the water is very much charged with foreign matter. There 
 are rocks visible, that seem to have been formed by deposit 
 from the water. There are fossils in the rock, but they 
 differ from any I have ever seen. 
 
 " I go back in time, and see a volcano and a shower of 
 fire. There is a long, dark strip of rock from the low 
 ground up to the volcano. The land seems very unstable ; 
 rocking, and heaving up, and sinking down ; sometimes 
 appearing above the water, and then vanishing beneath. I 
 seem to be on an island. The eastern part is less stable 
 than the western. All the western part is under water now. 
 The island is longer from east to west than from north to 
 south. It extends south of east, farther than directly east. 
 I think it is south from this. The coast is very singular. I 
 see what would probably be called a barrier reef along 
 
150 Nature's Secrets, 
 
 the coast, and so regular is a portion of it, that it looks 
 artificial. 
 
 " The climate is delightful. I appear to be on the 
 north side of the island, west of the centre, and somewhat 
 inland. 
 
 " I get a glimpse of a grove, with vines stretching from 
 tree to tree, and naked boys climbing on them. 
 
 "Farther south and east there is a strip of land richer 
 than here. This seems to have been washed by the sea. 
 Here is a kind of point, and I see what looks like an 
 artificial ditch." 
 
 At the time when this examination was made, I did not 
 really know on what part of the island of Cuba the specimen 
 was obtained ; but on writing to Mr. McDonell, of Madison, 
 Wis., from whom I received it, he informed me that " Cala- 
 bazal is twelve miles south of the city of Havana, at a point 
 where a railroad crosses a stream, half way between Havana 
 and Santiago." 
 
 How wonderfully correct, then, were the statements of the 
 Psychometer ! Cuba is seven hundred and fifty miles long 
 from east to west, with an average breadth of about sixty 
 miles ; consequently the island is " longer from east to west 
 than from north to south." Its direction is E.S.E. ; hence 
 " it extends south of east farther than directly east." The 
 mountains increase in height from the west to the east end 
 of the island, where they are diffused over nearly the entire 
 surface, some of them being nearly 8,000 feet high ; so that 
 it is probable that the eastern part has been less stable than 
 the western. The specimen was taken from " the north 
 side of the island," " west of the centre," and twelve miles 
 from the coast ; and consequently " somewhat inland." It 
 came from a place " south from here," which has a " delight- 
 
Leather from alligator's skin. 151 
 
 ful climate ;" and from a Tertiary bed, containing many 
 fossils, differing from any that Mrs. D. had seen before. It 
 was taken from a railway cutting, which may explain the 
 ditch that was seen. 
 
 Let it be remembered that Mrs. D. did not see the 
 specimen ; that she had no conception whatever as to its 
 character, or the place from which it was obtained ; and 
 that I did not know many of the facts stated during its 
 examination, and the whole matter will appear sufficiently 
 wonderful. 
 
 What is to prevent the accurate exploration of the Arctic 
 and Antarctic regions by a process incomparably easier and 
 cheaper than the expeditions of Parry, Ross, and Kane 1 
 
 Recently, the alligators that swarm in our southern rivers 
 have been put to some useful account ; oil being made from 
 their bodies, and leather from their skins. A piece of this 
 leather I had given to me by a friend, and in a few days 
 had an opportunity of trying it psychometrically. In this, as 
 in all other experiments recorded, where the contrary is not 
 stated, the Psychometer did not see the specimen, and had 
 no -idea what it was previous to examination. 
 
 " I see an animal with a long neck and a long head. I 
 see its skeleton. What a long neck ! I believe I can 
 count the bones ; the processes are large and wide apart. 
 It is an animal much larger than a horse. I get this 
 indistinctly, as if it really did not belong to it, or only 
 incidentally. The skeleton resembles that of the sea cow 
 I saw the other day." (In the Academy of Sciences, 
 Chicago.) " I see a large leg, bent as if in walking. It is an 
 alligator's. A little old man passes before me, with his feet 
 on a chair ; he is bent over, as if doing something. 
 
152 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " Now I am in another place altogether. Other scenery 
 comes up, more tropical. I see plants and animals, such as 
 live in warmer countries than this. One creature, I see, is an 
 enormous bird. There are hundreds of reptiles, too ; the 
 water is alive with them. Two of them are eating the body 
 of a dead animal. Some of them are alligators. There are 
 many turtles of various kinds and sizes ; fishes, large frogs, 
 and other animals." 
 
 After informing her what it was, she said that she had 
 come to the conclusion that it was an alligator's scale. 
 
 The first influence may have come from the oil with 
 which the leather was curried; but the stronger influence 
 eventually makes itself felt. 
 
 Near La Salle, Illinois, on the Illinois River, there is a 
 large, high rock of white sandstone, known by the name of 
 Starved Rock, from a legend which states that the remnant 
 of an Indian tribe was starved to death upon it, being 
 surrounded by their enemies. On the top of the rock, and 
 around it, are found, in great abundance, Indian arrow- 
 points, arrow-heads, beads, and pieces of pottery. One of 
 the latter was the subject of this experiment. Conditions 
 as before. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see a round place, as large as the floor of this room ; 
 and on it a fire is burning. It looks like a fire around 
 which Indians gather. There are woods nearly surrounding 
 the fire. I seem to have a night view. 
 
 " There is a stream here, and I am hunted. A number 
 of fellows are paddling across and yelling. I think they are 
 after me ; but I feel somewhat secure, though I know not 
 why. Now they are across; I can see them, but they 
 
Autobiography of a boulder. 153 
 
 cannot see me. They go in Indian file, and they look like 
 Indians. How they shout and whoop ! I am crossing 
 over their track, and running into the woods on the other 
 side. I have come to the conclusion that they were not 
 after me. I seem to have too much calm, steady thought 
 for an Indian." 
 
 Who was this fugitive, and how came this piece of pottery 
 to record this incident in his life ? The debris of the old 
 Indian villages abounds with biographies of the old aboriginal 
 warriors and their families, and if a man chose to devote 
 himself to the work, he might write the histories of the 
 Caesars and Napoleons of the New World, whose names are 
 all unknown. 
 
 The Autobiography of a Boulder. — At Jaynesville, Wis., I 
 obtained from a hill of gravel that had been cut through by 
 the railroad, a boulder of dark trap, of somewhat peculiar 
 appearance, and weighing probably four or five pounds. 
 Breaking off a fragment, the following was obtained from it, 
 psychometrically, the Psychometer knowing nothing of it, 
 and the angular fragment conveying, of course, no idea of 
 its character to the mere touch. 
 
 " Mercy ! what a whirl things are in ! I do not know 
 what to make of it. I feel as if I were being belched out of 
 a volcano ; there is water and mud, and everything is in 
 confusion. There are great pieces of rock beside me, some 
 larger than I feel myself to be, though I am of great size. 
 
 " This is the strangest feeling I ever had. I am sent up 
 whirling in a torrent of water, mud, and rocks ; not sent out 
 at once, but in alternate puffs, and all of us flying round 
 together. 
 
 "Now I am lodged. But I can hear that puflling still; 
 
154 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and with every puff the water rushes out, so that it seems as 
 if the volcano were vomiting. Now, a torrent of water 
 rusliing back sweeps me from my resting-place, and I am 
 rolling in again. What fury there is down here ! I did not 
 go far down. Another gush, and I am washed a long way 
 off, I can see it boil over now, but do not feel it. I see 
 no fire about it, though there is steam, and, I think, gas. 
 
 " I am now away down the side of a mountain, and feel 
 quite benumbed. I can just hear that belching sound and 
 feel the heaving of the ground. Here I lie for a long time. 
 
 " At last I fall into a deep cavity, very rough and uneven. 
 It is dark. I perceive the influence of water in my neigh- 
 bourhood. How shall we ever get out of this? I am 
 surrounded on all sides. 
 
 " The water has burst in with great power, and it is 
 spinning me round and round. I am being moved onward 
 by little and little during a long time. (I must hurry along, 
 for it is a vast period.) I am now in a kind of notch, where 
 the rushing water keeps me in a constant whirl. 
 
 " At last I see the daylight. There is a long shelf that 
 slants down into the water ; I am washed right up on it, and 
 the water has left me. It is a long body of water, larger 
 and wider than a river ; it looks like a lake, and has waves 
 of considerable size. 
 
 " The water rises again ; it washes around me, and I am 
 carried back into it. All is dark now. I am washed on 
 into a deep and wide hole. I am far under ground and 
 under water. There is a strong current, and I am being 
 rushed along by it A strange feeling of passiveness pos- 
 sesses me, a disposition to go as it comes. It seems so 
 strange to me. I feel as if a great deal larger then than 
 now. I keep moving slowly along, slide a little, roll a little, 
 
Autobiography of a pebble. 155 
 
 stop a little, and knock against the side now and then — one 
 side, however, more than the other; I do not know why 
 that should be. 
 
 " I am out once more. I lie in a basin, in a large open 
 place. I am not at the bottom of the basin, however, for 
 other rocks are below me. (How cold the water is !) The 
 basin is gradually filling up, by rocks rolling in. It is in a 
 terribly cold latitude. I am all in a chill." (She fairly 
 shook with cold.) 
 
 " I feel now as if there were something over me besides 
 water. I don't know what it is." (The room was very warm, 
 yet she drew her chair close up to the stove.) " It is strange 
 that I see so little — I just feel and act. The basin in which 
 I lie is shallow from me upwards. That which lies over 
 me must be ice, for I can see light through it. I am fast in 
 it too. My connection with this ice seems to give me a 
 connection with all the country round, so that now I can 
 see for many miles. There is a great depth of ice ; I look 
 up through it ; it is a long way to the top, and seems 
 unbroken for a great distance. 
 
 " How strange ! The ice has broken loose, and I am 
 in motion now, travelling south-west. It goes very heavily, 
 catching now and then. There is a kind of pitching forward 
 of the upper part that surprises me ; ice certainly could not 
 do that : the under part seems to go slower than the upper ; 
 it cannot be possible, and yet it seems so. How intensely 
 cold it is ! The noise the ice makes in moving is awful to 
 me, though I do not suppose it could be heard far ; and yet 
 here it is a terrible grinding, ringing noise. 
 
 " It seems as if I had come a long way ; but it is strange 
 how slowly it moves. I do not understand how a solid body 
 could move in this way, for a part of it moves faster than 
 
156 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 another part ; and yet it seems all solid ; it is incompre- 
 hensible. It is a flat, thick mass of ice, several miles broad. 
 How insignificant a tree or a house would be in its pathway ! 
 
 "It appears as if we had a hard time of it, scraping, 
 scratching, and grinding along. It meets with obstacles 
 and checks, more than would be produced by mere uneven- 
 ness of the ground. I am so far back, that I do not feel all 
 that the front has to contend with. 
 
 " It seems to be growing warmer now. I do not feel as 
 cold as I did. It is a great deal warmer, and the heat 
 seems to come from beneath. The ice is melting, dripping, 
 and running. It melts away from under ; I do not under- 
 stand that. It does not feel as if we had come far enough 
 south to make all this difference in climate, 
 
 "The ice is leaving me, 1 believe. Yes, it is. The 
 length of the ice surprises me ; it looks like a long coast of 
 ice ; great cliffs rising up like walls. It melts, and keeps 
 sliding on, faster since it melted so rapidly. I have dropped 
 out of the place where I was, on to the ground, and am 
 only now moved occasionally. The front of the ice is miles 
 ahead of me, and overhead the great mass still goes on. I 
 am still moved on a little occasionally, but the ice is fast 
 leaving. I am nearly out from under, but the front is still a 
 long way ahead." 
 
 She was too much fatigued to continue the experiment 
 any longer, or doubtless it would have revealed much more. 
 What it did reveal is significant. 
 
 North of the fortieth degree of north latitude, on this 
 continent, we find, covering the face of the country, beds of 
 sand, gravel, or clay, and, sometimes mixed with these, or 
 lying above them, boulders, or, as they are sometimes 
 termed, erratic blocks and lost rocks. These rocks fre- 
 
Autobiography of a pebble. 157 
 
 quently differ in their mineral composition from the rocks in 
 the neighbourhood of which they are found ; and the rocks 
 with wliich they are identical in composition are generally 
 found north of their present localities, sometimes, indeed, 
 many hundreds of miles. 
 
 Beneath these beds, which are known to the geologist in 
 the aggregate, as the drift or glacial formation, we find upon 
 the solid rock scratches or furrows, that have evidently 
 been made by the passage of some body over them ; that 
 body, from the appearance of these furrows, having moved 
 in a general direction from north to south. These beds 
 and appearances excited the attention of thinking ob- 
 servers for a long time, before any theory was formed of 
 their origin, adequate to account for the facts observed in 
 connection with them. At the present time it is universally 
 conceded that ice has been the principal agent concerned 
 in their production ; but with regard to its operation there 
 is considerable difference of opinion. 
 
 One party supposes that during the drift period, the time 
 when these beds and appearances were formed, this northern 
 country, over which the drift extends, was under water ; 
 and icebergs, laden with fragments of rock and detritus, 
 swept by glaciers from some northern region, came floating 
 down, as they now do from the west coast of Greenland 
 into the Atlantic Ocean, and stranded upon the shore ; but, 
 impelled by a southward-flowing current, they slid over the 
 floor of the ocean, and their imbedded pebbles made the 
 furrows or scratches ; and, on melting, the material with which 
 they were laden was left upon the floor of the ocean, form- 
 ing, when that became dry land, the beds of drift to which 
 I have referred. Another party supposes that, owing to 
 some cause as yet unexplained, this northern country had, 
 
158 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 during the drift period, an intensely cold climate, so much 
 so, that snow falling could not melt, but became condensed 
 by its weight into a grand sheet of ice of vast thickness, 
 which covered the face of the country ; and that this sheet 
 of ice, moving in the only direction in which it could melt, 
 namely, toward the south, passed over the country, grinding 
 down the rocks in its march, and leaving upon them those 
 plain indications of its progress, which the glacial furrows 
 and beds present. 
 
 There are many difficulties in the way of accepting the 
 glacial theory, as it is termed; but the psychometric ex- 
 periments that we have made upon scratched rocks point 
 unvaryingly to the existence of glacial action at the localities 
 from which the specimens were derived ; and at the same 
 time the action of icebergs is indicated as one of the 
 auxiliaries in producing the varied phenomena belonging to 
 the drift. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, — a fact with which Mrs. D. was 
 unacquainted at the time that the above examination was 
 made, — that ice, moving in the form of a glacier, travels with 
 unequal velocity. Thus, in an article on glaciers and gla- 
 cial theories in the Westmi?ister Review, the writer says : — 
 " The rate of movement of all parts of a glacier is by no 
 means the same. Sometimes the commencement and the 
 end appear to move somewhat faster than the middle, some- 
 times the lower end moves more swiftly than the upper, — 
 differences which doubtless proceed from changes in the 
 form of the valley, and consequent variations in the amount 
 of resistance at different points. But there is a constant and 
 most important discrepancy between the rate of motion of 
 the central part of the glacier and that of the sides ; the 
 former being invariably found to be moving onward much 
 
Autobiography of a pebble. 159 
 
 more quickly than the latter. The same relation appears to 
 hold good between the superficial and the deeper portions, 
 so that the motion of a glacier resembles that of a flowing 
 body. It matters not whether we choose a limpid fluid like 
 water, or a viscous fluid like tar, if we allow either to flow, 
 and then measure the velocity of its different parts, we shall 
 discern that the lateral and inferior portions are retarded by 
 friction against the walls of the channel, and hence that 
 the top flows faster than the bottom^ the middle than the 
 sides." 
 
 On seeing this psychometrically, Mrs. D.'s astonishment 
 was very great, and she could scarcely credit the possi- 
 bility of her vision being correct in this particular ; yet the 
 scientific accuracy of it the well-informed reader will see at 
 a glance. 
 
 There is one portion of the psychometric description that 
 deserves particular notice ; it is that in which the heat is 
 spoken of as coming up from the earth into the ice and 
 melting it. The spot where the boulder was obtained is on 
 the edge of that singular region of No Drift, which is nearly 
 coincident with the lead region of Illinois, Wisconsin, and 
 Iowa ; extending all around for a few miles beyond the 
 district in which lead is found. On every side of this district 
 drift is abundantly distributed, especially to the north of it ; 
 but within that charmed circle you cannot find even a 
 drift pebble. What can be the reason of this % Some have 
 suggested, that, during the drift period, this portion of the 
 country was an island, so far elevated above the waves 
 that drifting icebergs never reached it, and consequently 
 deposited no drift. But this explanation takes for granted 
 that all drift phenomena were produced by floating icebergs, 
 which is far from being proved. How does it happen that 
 
i6o Nature's Secrets 
 
 the region of the No Drift is coincident with the lead region, 
 and that there is no other portion of this continent, north of 
 the fortieth parallel, in which drift is thus absent 1 
 
 I have long been of the opinion that the lead in the 
 region referred to has come from below, in the state of 
 vapour, through the underlying porous sandstone into the 
 magnesian limestones in which it is found ; the deposits 
 having been formed by sublimation, at a time when the 
 rocks were heated to a certain degree, even to the surface ; 
 indications of which are plain and abundant. This may 
 have occurred during the drift period, and, as the glaciers 
 came down from the north and north-east, they melted as 
 they came near this heated district, leaving their detritus on 
 the spot, and thus formed those immense accumulations of 
 drift that are found in Wisconsin, north of the lead region. 
 I had no thought of this theory at the time that we 
 made the examination, but our examinations favour it very 
 strongly ; for, if so, the circumstances described in the last 
 experiment must have taken place at or near the very place 
 from which the boulder was obtained. 
 
 Some glimpses of the ancient world that we have occa- 
 sionally had, seem to indicate that the earth was once 
 surrounded by a ring, or rings, like those surrounding the 
 planet Saturn, which, having become broken from time to 
 time, have dropped to the earth in fragments. Some of 
 them, yet remaining in space, and occasionally drawn within 
 the sphere of the earth's attraction, may constitute a portion 
 of those bodies known as shooting stars and aerolites ; while 
 others still remaining may produce the appearance known 
 as the zodiacal light. I have not had an opportunity of 
 verifying this by the statements of other Psychometers, but 
 
Ring surrounding the earth. i6i 
 
 hope to do so at some time. This experiment gave us the 
 first presentation of this appearance. 
 
 Soapstone from the bed of a creek near Painesville. 
 Devonian formation. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " Did you get this from a stream ? for I feel as if in the 
 bed of a creek. There are two trees on one side, and an 
 open space on the other." (This is correct.) " I see a 
 tropical region, and plants and animals in great abundance. 
 I see the sun setting, but the atmosphere does not look as 
 clear as ours. It looks much as ours does when very foggy. 
 There is a long circular belt or arch of light in the water, 
 that appears as if reflected from something above. The sun 
 is still above the horizon, but I see the light of this body 
 notwithstanding, for the dark atmosphere seems to prevent 
 the sun's light from obscuring it. 
 
 " Now I see it in the sky ; it is a segment of an arch ; 
 but there seems to be more of it than I can see. It extends 
 from the eastern horizon upward for about seventy degrees, 
 that is as far as I can see it. It looks about as broad as 
 the full moon, yet has a faint appearance of being broader." 
 
 A few days afterward, from the same specimen, the belt 
 was seen in the heavens again, but much broader than 
 before ; apparently, three times as broad. The sun's place 
 in the heavens was about twenty degrees south of the belt. 
 It did not appear this time nearly as bright as before ; it 
 looked as if covered with a veil, hiding its brightness, but 
 through it the shape was distinctly revealed. 
 
 The next three experiments were made for the purpose of 
 discovering the condition of the earth, and of its fauna and 
 flora, during the Carboniferous period, and their revelations 
 
 M 
 
1 62 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 are of great interest to the palaeontologist. In no case was 
 the specimen known. 
 
 Small specimen from a bone-bed in the Coal Measures, 
 near Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio. There are 
 impressions of plants in the shale below. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see plants as tall as a man ; two-thirds of the Avay up 
 the stalk is a bright, yellowish red bud ; I call it a bud for 
 want of a more appropriate name ; out of it the upper stalk 
 appears to grow. It is really on one side of the main stem, 
 but grows with it for some distance. There is just one bud 
 on each plant. At the end of the stalk is something that 
 looks like a corn tassel. The plants are quite succulent, 
 and cover the ground completely, as close together as they 
 can grow. 
 
 " I see ribs, naked ribs, and now the skeleton of a long 
 animal. I see another skeleton, longer than the first, but 
 the ribs are not as large. Now I see the animal ; it 
 resembles a lizard, and has a fringe of long spines along 
 the back. 
 
 " I see another animal, with a scalloped shell upon its 
 back. It has somewhat the appearance of a turtle, with a 
 scalloped shell all round. 
 
 " I see a fish, with spines from the head to the end of the 
 tail. All I see looks strange." 
 
 Sub-carboniferous sandstone, Western Reserve, Ohio. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 "I see something that looks like a plant, but it differs 
 from anything I ever saw before. It has several stalks that 
 go up to a certain height, and a round body encloses the 
 whole ; then they go up again smaller, and are enclosed in 
 
Coal, Pennsylvania. i6 
 
 o 
 
 a similar manner ; and then at the top it branches into 
 heads, making it, altogether, about three feet in height. 
 That which encloses the stalks looks something like a 
 receptaculite.* 
 
 " The stalks that support the little heads, of which there 
 are some five or six, seem to be furnished with cilia in con- 
 stant motion ; and from the heads proceed tentacles, also 
 having a constant wavy motion. They must be some low 
 kind of animal, instead of plant ; probably belonging to the 
 radiates. The heads, as I call them, move somewhat as I 
 have seen crinoids. The bodies encircling the stems are of 
 a brown colour, the stems somewhat lighter. They are really 
 beautiful. 
 
 " The water is very dark, and seems quite thick ; it has 
 much the colour of smoked glass. It is not caused by mud, 
 however, but is chemically impure. There is a long, low, 
 flat piece of ground with plants growing on it, that look 
 like high weeds. The water rises so as to cover it occa- 
 sionally. The atmosphere is dark and heavy." 
 
 A piece of anthracite coal from Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see a shallow stream of water that looks like a kind of 
 bayou. A dense vapour hangs over it, that is difficult to 
 penetrate. I seem to be in a boggy place, where there is a 
 great deal of vegetable matter beneath me ; not floating on 
 the water, but the water is all through it, so that it is soft and 
 spongy. I should think there are two or three hundred feet 
 of vegetable matter beneath my feet ; and it seems as if I 
 could shake acres of it all round. 
 
 * A coral-like fossil found in the Silurian formation. 
 
164 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " I see an island of higher ground in this swamp, with a 
 dead tree, twenty or thirty feet high, upon it. I had a ghmpse 
 just then of an enormous Uzard-Hke animal." 
 
 Such examinations have given me a more vivid, and, at 
 the same time, what seems to be a more correct idea of the 
 Carboniferous era than I ever had before. 
 
 Many may object to the apparent abundance of reptihan 
 forms that were presented in these examinations; but the 
 number of fossil reptiles, known to geologists, in the 
 Carboniferous formation, is constantly increasing. 
 
 According to Lyell, previous to the year 1844, no remains 
 of air-breathing animals were known as low as the Coal 
 Measures. In ten years from this time, that is, in 1854, the 
 skeletons, or portions of the skeletons, of no less than seven 
 Carboniferous reptiles, referred to five different genera, were 
 brought to light, besides numerous reptilian footprints, 
 made by animals larger than those whose bones were dis- 
 covered. 
 
 From the great number of genera compared with the 
 number of species, we may safely infer that the number of 
 species of reptiles existing during the Carboniferous period 
 was very much greater than that discovered ; and that we 
 have made the acquaintance of but a few of a very numerous 
 family, whose portraits Nature has carefully preserved in her 
 rocky galleries. And although, at present, but one reptilian 
 form is known to the geologist in the Devonian formation, 
 yet I am well satisfied that, during the deposition of the 
 Chemung group, one of the higher groups of the Devonian 
 formation in the State of New York, reptilian forms 
 abounded in the waters, although not a bone or track of 
 them has yet been found. At some future time we may 
 again refer to these early reptiles. 
 
Globular fossil from Wisconsin. 165 
 
 A peculiar globular fossil, about an inch in diameter, found 
 near Evansville, Wisconsin, in the Upper Magnesian or 
 C>alena limestone. It is, probably, a fossil radiate of some 
 kind. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen seen. 
 
 " A remarkably beautiful view is presented. I see a shell 
 more than a foot long. Near it are several singular bodies, 
 having roots like plants and stems five or six feet long ; on 
 the top is a green, translucent body, with a soft, gelatinous 
 covering, fully half an inch thick. The interior reflects 
 through the translucent green, giving a mixture of orange, 
 purple, and a tinge of pink. Among them is a large star- 
 fish, or an animal of that kind ; it is covered with spines. 
 I perceive branches spreading from the top of that green 
 animal. (This water is poisonous ; it seems as if it would 
 poison me now.) 
 
 " I see a long body, a foot in diameter, which looks like a 
 green feathery brush, collected around a small body. 
 
 " Two eyes come before me, and disappear in an instant. 
 I see that shell again, and another one, curved, and thicker 
 in proportion to its length. The animal of the first is 
 retreating into its shell. There is something at the end of 
 the head of the same shape as the orifice of the shell. The 
 animal seems slimy. Some of them look double, as if there 
 were two bodies in one shell, or two heads united in one 
 body. I see one go into the shell, and the cover, I saw, 
 comes tight down and closes it. It does not seem to do it 
 often, only when it is alarmed. As snails thrust out horns, 
 so this thrusts out two bodies that resemble them. There 
 are bodies at the end of them that look strange ; they are 
 brick-coloured, and I believe are eyes ; the animal itself is 
 dark-coloured." 
 
1 66 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 These forms are in harmony with what we know of hfe 
 during the period of the deposition of the hmestone in 
 Avhich the fossil was found. The Galena limestone belongs 
 to the Lower Silurian formation, and at the time of its depo- 
 sition, molluscs, articulates, and radiates abounded ; and we 
 do not know that any higher animals than these existed. 
 Many beautiful radiates, with plant-like stem and flower-like 
 bodies, must have flourished in the heated waters of those 
 early oceans. 
 
 Having obtained a specimen of Potsdam sandstone, when 
 in Wisconsin, I subjected it to psychometric examination. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see shells ; multitudes of them, swimming and floating 
 on the water. Everything is so small and delicate here ! 
 There are many small bivalves. A delicate, fan-like leaf 
 comes floating along ; it is lightish green, and looks as if it 
 grew in the water. 
 
 " I see a shell, although small, yet much larger than the 
 bivalves ; it seems a univalve. Everything is very diminu- 
 tive. There are many species of minute organic forms, but 
 they are too small almost for notice. 
 
 " The large shell of which I spoke has the mouth covered 
 with a flexible membrane, through which the animal sucks. 
 This membrane it sometimes presses out, so as to make it 
 convex at the mouth of the shell." 
 
 The organic forms existing during the period of the 
 deposition of the Potsdam sandstone are generally small, if 
 we may judge from the fossils whose remains have been 
 discovered. This was not, however, invariable ; for the 
 tracks found on slabs belonging to this period, in various 
 parts of Canada, show that crustaceans, larger than our 
 
Potsdam sandstone, Wisconsin. 167 
 
 ordinary crabs, crawled along the sandy shores at this time. 
 Life probably existed in much higher forms in some parts of 
 the earth than others, during the same geologic period, 
 notwithstanding the general similarity of organic forms in 
 contemporaneous formations. 
 
 The Potsdam sandstone, which lies at the base of the 
 Silurian formation in North America, was long supposed to 
 be the lowest fossiliferous rock on the continent ; and its 
 fossils, of which but few were known, were regarded as the 
 earliest representatives of life that existed in the ocean, — 
 at that period covering nearly the whole land. 
 
 To Dr. Emmons must be attributed the discovery of 
 fossiliferous beds on this continent, lower than the Potsdam 
 sandstone. But it is hardly to be supposed that the Taconic 
 formation, the name which he gives to the fossiliferous beds 
 below the Potsdam, contains the remains of the earliest 
 organic beings. As we have one formation, the Silurian, 
 that contains no remains of reptiles ; others still higher, the 
 Devonian and Carboniferous, that contain no remains of 
 birds, there may be a formation yet to be discovered, in 
 which no fish remains exist ; another, lower, in which 
 articulate fossils shall be absent ; another, still lower, in 
 which even the molluscs shall disappear, and the radiata be 
 the only re^jresentatives of animal existence on the globe. 
 The Huronian rocks, largely developed in Canada, on the 
 borders of Lake Huron and Superior, are known to be older 
 than the Potsdam sandstone, for that sandstone is found 
 resting upon them ; but the Laurentian group is still older, 
 for the Huronian rocks are found resting unconformably 
 upon it, showing that the rocks composing it were deposited, 
 consolidated, and upheaved before the Huronian beds were 
 
i68 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 laid down. How much older than the Potsdam sandstone, 
 then, are these beds ! These metamorphic beds of gneiss, 
 crystallized limestone, &c., have been examined over a 
 large area ; but, as might be supposed in such highly meta- 
 morphosed rocks, no fossil has yet been found, though bodies 
 have been discovered that bear some resemblance to the 
 coral Strojfiatapora rugosa; but no palaeontologist of whom 
 I am aware accepts these as actual fossils, though several 
 have suspected their organic origin. Had not the limestones 
 of the Laurentian group been metamorphosed, I have no 
 doubt they would have yielded fossils in great abundance. 
 As it is, their forms have vanished ; but the heat that could 
 destroy their forms could not dissipate their influence, and 
 hence the Psychometer finds them instinct with hfe.* 
 
 I gave to Mrs. Denton a piece of crystallized limestone 
 from the Laurentian rocks at Perth, Canada West, she being 
 unaware of its nature. 
 
 " I see an object that consists of three leaf-shaped divisions, 
 that expand and contract ; when expanded, it is more than 
 an inch across ; but when contracted, it seems to sink into 
 cells, somewhat like the coral polyps. There is a stalk 
 about six inches long, on which this portion rests, which has 
 cells all round it. 
 
 " I see many objects now that it is difficult to describe. 
 One, about two inches long and one inch in diameter in the 
 widest part, is round, grows on a stalk, and expands about 
 two-thirds of the way to the top, and then diminishes more 
 rapidly to an end that is not as small as the other. It has 
 
 * The Editor of this volume was informed, by one of the best 
 geologists of the present day, that very recently undoubted fossil 
 remains had been discovered in the Laurentian rocks. 
 
Fingal's Cave 169 
 
 some appearance of a crinoid, but differs from any that I 
 have ever seen. The upper part branches out like foliage ; 
 it has a pinkish tinge. There are open places on the sides, 
 through which tentacles are protruded and drawn in again. 
 I see those on the top contract and expand, but not as much 
 so, I think, as the other. I see many corals too, with larger 
 cells than I ever saw before. I can see the polyps very 
 clearly. There are many different forms here." 
 
 The Laurentian rocks, styled by the government geologists 
 of Canada the oldest rocks of the globe, may possibly prove 
 to belong to the Radiate era, the dawn of the morning of 
 life on our planet. 
 
 I placed in a box the following specimens, each wrapped 
 separately in a piece of paper, so that no one by ordinary 
 sight could be distinguished from another : — Fragments of 
 the Porcelain Tower, China ; Mastodon's tooth ; Bone of 
 fossil fish ; Brick from Ancient Rome ; Limestone from 
 Mount Lebanon ; Temple of Minerva, Baii ; Obsidian, 
 Mexico ; Sandstone from Connecticut Valley ; Limestone 
 from Mackinaw ; Hornstone, Mount of Olives ; Fossil wood 
 from Kansas ; Lava, Mount Vesuvius ; Antimony, Bor- 
 neo ; Lead ore, Platteville, Wisconsin ; Boulder, Jaynes- 
 ville, Wisconsin ; Silver ore, Mexico ; Aerolite ; White 
 marble, Anti-Libanus ; Lava, Kilauea ; Conglomerate, 
 Lake Superior ; Gold-bearing quartz, Australia ; Glacial- 
 scratched rock, Wisconsin ; and Basalt, Fingal's Cave, 
 Staffa. 
 
 Mrs. Denton took out one of these, no one knowing 
 which it was, and described what she saw and felt as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I can hardly tell whether I am on the surface or under 
 
170 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ground, I seem to be in a kind of cave, but I do not have 
 that chilly feeling that belongs to caves. If a cave, it is a 
 large one. It is a cave of some kind, and yet cave is hardly 
 a proper name for it. It is open to daylight, with a wide 
 entrance. I do not know how I got in here. I do not 
 seem to stand on the ground at all, or on rock. It seems 
 as if there were water in there. How did they explore 
 it 1 Parts of the rocks are drenched with water. The 
 cave is open to a great body of water that comes in. On 
 each side there are — what shall I call them? — pillars of 
 rock. 
 
 " It looks dark farther in. I feel as if in water, and not a 
 great way from other land. I have glimpses of land at a 
 comparatively short distance. It feels like the sea where 
 I am. At the opening of the cave there are shorter pillars, 
 that do not reach to the roof ; I see them on the left-hand 
 side in going in. How delightful to sail in there ! There 
 is a grandeur and novelty about it that few other places 
 possess. How high the entrance is ! The floor seems to 
 be water ; I can see no other floor. These are regular 
 columns ; they are not rough and uneven, as rock generally 
 is. I am reminded of Fingal's Cave ; it looks like the 
 pictures which I have seen. 
 
 " There is a sensation of sailing in there, or more as if a 
 vessel went dashing by me. I caught a glimpse of rigging 
 just now ; it vanished in an instant. I can hear and see 
 the roaring and dashing of the sea. There is something 
 terrific about it." (Mrs. D. had never seen the sea at this 
 time.) " It gives me a deep feeling of unceasing noise and 
 never-ending motion. 
 
 " I see a large bird, and hear several screaming. What 
 can they find on such a rock as that 1 I see no vegetation. 
 
Fingal's Cave, 171 
 
 They alight on some of those columns. How they delight 
 in daring the dashing waves and the storm ! I see a great 
 many now ; they inspire me. I see fishes in the water, but 
 not distinctly; I just catch a glimpse of them now and 
 then. 
 
 " The sensation of the whole is almost overwhelming ; 
 standing here all alone in the wide expanse, the roaring 
 waves, the screaming birds, where human beings seldom 
 come — how grand ! There is a majestic loneliness about it 
 that attracts me ; I want to dare the elements with those 
 birds. 
 
 " I think that roof has extended farther out at some time. 
 Yes, a great deal farther out. I seem to hear it fall into the 
 water with a terrible crash and splash. I think it bent 
 round to the right and joined some other land at a vastly 
 distant period. What a magnificent place this was once ! 
 How much we have lost of the beauty of the past ! It 
 has been more than double the length it now is, and 
 what remains is but the end of it. There are columns 
 still remaining out in the water, at a distance from the 
 shore. 
 
 " The land has formerly been all around here for a long 
 way. There was once an extensive tract, which has sunk 
 under water. The sensation I have is more of its having 
 sunk than of its having been washed away, though that has 
 been the case to some extent. The land seems to have 
 vibrated for some time before it became stationary. I see 
 it again and again rise and sink, over a considerable extent. 
 I do not see how it could have taken place, but that is what 
 I perceive. 
 
 " There are quite a number of islands around this spot. 
 The main body of the land seems to have sunk and left 
 
172 Nature's Secrets, 
 
 them. I wonder if some of them are not the tops of moun- 
 tains." * 
 
 * "Fingal's Cave is a vast archway of nearly 70 feet in height, 
 supporting a massive entablature of 30 feet additional, and receding 
 about 2 30 feet inwards ; the entire front, as well as the great caver- 
 nous sides, being composed of countless complicated ranges of gigantic 
 coluinns, beautifully jointed, and of symmetrical though somewhat 
 varied forms, — the roof itself exhibiting a rich grouping of overhanging 
 pillars, some of snowy whiteness, from the calcareous covering by 
 which they have become encrusted, — the whole rising from, and often 
 seen reflected by, the ocean waters. ' How often have we since re- 
 called to mind,' says Wilson, in his ' Voyage round the Coast of Scot- 
 land,' 'the regularity, magnitude, and loftiness of those columns; the 
 fine, overhanging cliff of small prismatic basalt to which they give 
 support, worn by the murmuring waves of many thousand years into the 
 semblance of some stupendous Gothic arch, — 
 
 "Where, through the long-drawoi aisle and fretted vault," 
 
 the wild waters ever urge their way ; and the receding sides of that 
 great temple, nmning inwards in solemn perspective, yet ever and 
 anon, as ocean heaves and falls, rendered visible in its far sanctuary, by 
 the broad and flashing light reflected by the foaming surges sweeping 
 onward from below ! Then the broken and irregular gallery which 
 overhangs that subterranean flood, and from which, looking upwards 
 and around, we behold the rich and varied hues of red, green, and 
 gold, which give such splendid relief to the deep and sombre-coloured 
 columns, — the clear, bright tints which sparkle beneath our feet from 
 the wavering yet translucent sea, — the whole accompanied by the wild 
 yet mellow and sonorous moan of each successive billow, which rises 
 up the sides, or rolls over the finely-formed crowns of the lowlier and 
 disjointed pillars.' 
 
 ' Thanks for the lessons of this spot — fit school 
 For the presumptuous thoughts that would assign 
 Mechanic laws to agency Divine, 
 And, measuring heaven by earth, would overrule 
 Infinite power. The pillar'd vestibule 
 
Flngal's Cave. 173 
 
 Half the examination was made before she knew tliat I 
 had a specimen from Fingal's Cave in my possession ; yet, 
 had she visited it in person, a more accurate description 
 of the cave and its surroundings, according to th"e state- 
 ments of many visitors, could hardly have been given. 
 
 Some months afterward I accidentally met with a de- 
 scription of the island of Staffa, by J. MacCulloch, M.D., 
 F.L.S., in the Monthly Magazine for 18 15, in which are 
 statements that corroborate some of the ideas advanced 
 during the previous examination. He says, " I took notice 
 of a fact of considerable importance in the natural history 
 of this island, which had before escaped the remarks of 
 visitors. This is the occurrence of a bed of alluvial matter 
 on some parts of the surface, containing fragments of the 
 older rocks. It is most easily seen at that side of the island 
 which faces lona, and on the summit of the cliffs of a semi- 
 circular bay opening in that direction. The bed is here 
 broken at the edge of the cliff, so as to expose its thickness 
 for a considerable extent. But the same appearance may 
 also be observed immediately above the ordinary landing- 
 place, where the bed has also been broken. The stones 
 which it contains are all rounded, and of very various 
 
 Expanding, yet precise ; the roof embow'd, 
 Might seem design'd to humble man, when proud 
 Of his best workmanship by plan and tool. 
 Down-bearing with his whole Atlantic weight 
 Of tide and tempest on the structure's base. 
 And flashing to that structure's topmost height, 
 Ocean has proved its strength, and of its grace 
 In calms is conscious, finding for its freight 
 Of softest music some responsive place. ' " 
 
 Black's " Guide to Scuilaud,'^ ^. 419. — Editor. 
 
174 Nature's Secrets, 
 
 dimensions, and they exhibit specimens of granite, gneiss, 
 micaceous schists, quartz, and red sandstone. Together 
 with these are some rolled pieces of basalt. 
 
 " Here, then, is a circumstance in the mineral history of 
 Staffa, adventitious it is true, but involving difficulties of no 
 small importance. If we cast our eyes on the map, we shall 
 perceive that it is embayed in a large sinuosity formed in 
 the island of Mull, and nearly enclosed on the opposite side 
 by lona and the Treshanish Islands. Beyond the latter a 
 second line is drawn by Tiney and Coll ; while to the 
 north, but at a greater distance, are placed the islands of 
 Muck, Rum, Egg, Canna, and Skye." After thus examining 
 the whole ground, he says that he has arrived at the con- 
 clusion that " Staffa has formed part of one continuous land 
 with the islands of Coll, Tiney, and Mull." He is of the 
 opinion, however, that the separation was caused by the sea 
 wearing away the missing land, and leaving the islands as 
 we now find them. 
 
 Mother-of-pearl opal, south-west of Lake Yajoa, Nicaragua. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen and unknown. 
 
 " I see the action of electricity on fine particles of matter . 
 A flat, circular surface appears, composed of fine particles 
 of matter, segregated from the surrounding rock by elec- 
 trical forces. 
 
 "I see a number of persons that seem quite busy; they 
 are in a line, and are bending over, doing something. This 
 is a mountainous district, but the mountains do not seem to 
 be in one continuous chain ; the peaks are scattered. Be- 
 tween the mountains are broad lands that are to some 
 extent inhabited. I see a village off at a distance ; I think 
 it stands on high table-land ; I have to look between moun- 
 
Mother-of-pearl opal. 175 
 
 tain peaks to see it. I see this like a panoramic view ; I 
 do not seem to be there. 
 
 " Near me is a very deep chasm ; yet there is land above 
 me, — heights on either side. The country has a most 
 peculiar appearance, unlike any country I have ever been 
 in before. There is a kind of dark shade to everything ; it 
 may be some peculiarity of the foliage, but I do not know. 
 
 " There is a human influence about this that is foreign ; 
 it is the influence of a people I .am not familiar with. 
 Their influence is singular ; I cannot see them, but I feel 
 their spirit. They might be called civilized, but they do 
 not take the interest in art, science, or intellectual investi- 
 gations that enlightened people do. They seem very well 
 satisfied with things as they are. 
 
 " They are religious, but their religion does not seem to 
 affect their conduct much ; it does not enter into the soul. 
 They may be very tenacious of their faith, and observe the 
 ceremonies of the church with great precision, but their 
 standard of morals is low ; they lack strength of intellect 
 and power of thought. 
 
 " One character comes before me every few minutes, — a 
 team-driver. He carries a long whip, sings to himself, and 
 shouts to his mules, and jumps on one and rides, instead 
 of getting into his cart. Occasionally he sits on one side, 
 like a woman. It seems as if he had no purpose in life 
 beyond the enjoyment of the present. He comes up before 
 me, among those hills and mountains, with his team. I 
 think he comes from that village I saw. He wears a short 
 kind of frock overcoat, loose pants, that look odd, and has 
 a slouched hat. 
 
 " It seems to me I could spend months in wandering 
 among these mountains, ravines, and deep canons, — some 
 
176 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 of them so deep I cannot see the bottom. I cannot tell 
 how the people manage to travel in this country, and yet 
 they do so, for I see roads here and there. 
 
 " This appears to me to be a district where either precious 
 stones or precious metals are obtained, and I think those 
 people that were stooping must have been engaged in 
 getting something valuable, either out of the stream or out 
 of the rock. There is very pure water in streams here, but 
 they do not remain long in sight, because they wind among 
 the hills. A beginning has hardly been made in developing 
 the mineral wealth of this country ; it seems very quiet, so 
 utterly undisturbed. Why has there not been a different 
 class of people here 1 
 
 " At one place underground is an opening, deep and 
 narrow, a kind of chasm, in which there are treasures. 
 What a pure feeling there is about them ! They must be 
 precious stones, for I do not feel the metallic influence 
 which gold gives. There is the common rock of the 
 country, and these loose fragments of fine material. This 
 place in which I now am seems like an underground caiion 
 the rushing waters have been wearing for ages ; there is 
 some water here now. At the bottom are precious stones 
 in wonderful abundance. The feeling of purity connected 
 with them is delightful. A few have been gathered from 
 the surface, but underground is wealth undreamed of." 
 
 It is not necessary for me to dwell upon this examination ; 
 the description given of the country and its inhabitants 
 will be acknowledged, by those who are acquainted with 
 them, to be correct ; while the Psychometer plucks out 
 the heart of the secret of the specimen under examination. 
 
 One evening in December, 1862, when trying a crystal 
 
The North Polar regions. 177 
 
 of amethystine quartz from St. Catherine's Bay, on the 
 Saguenay, a tributary of the St. Lawrence, Mrs. Denton 
 seemed to obtain, very readily, comprehensive views of the 
 country to the north, and eventually appeared to pass into 
 the polar regions, though nothing of the kind was antici- 
 pated when the experiment commenced. 
 
 " The Hudson's Bay region is a great deal warmer than 
 I supposed. I see lakes and streams over such a wide 
 surface, that they seem like pictures. I had no idea that 
 these extreme northern regions had as temperate a climate 
 as they seem to me now to possess. I see a large river, 
 much larger than I expected to find here, and vast 
 mountains of ice and snow. I do not know where I am, 
 but I seem beyond the limits of the land, on the ice. 
 
 " In the distance are mountains, that look as if they were 
 land. Some are very high, and one I think is a volcano ; if 
 so, it is in a state of eruption now. There is a bluish, 
 purplish, soft haze around it, and a kind of mellow light 
 over all. It really seems warmer than it does here.* It is 
 so strange, it appears like another world. It seems a long 
 way beyond the boundary of this continent. I fancy that 
 must be the very pole itself There is water between me 
 and it. It does not feel as cold as I should have expected 
 to find it, and I see neither snow nor ice. The heat appa- 
 rently comes from the interior, and yet I cannot think it 
 possible. There seem to be boiling springs there. 
 
 " Now I see mountains of ice and snow again ; I must be 
 returning." 
 
 " How different from countries that I have previously 
 
 * We were then in Quebec 
 N 
 
178 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 explored ! In the far north there are not those continuous 
 forests to shut out the view, and hence the eye takes a wide 
 sweep. The cold of that country, after all, is not as terrible 
 as I had supposed. It is its continuity that makes it so 
 dreadful. How those snow-peaks shine, as the sun glances 
 on them ! There are great plateaus all covered with snow, 
 and beyond that the open sea, where it is much warmer." 
 
 " I go under the surface through the rock, for that is the 
 easier way, to the north of Hudson's Bay, on the western 
 side of it. (I cannot control my movements when travelling 
 over the surface, but diverge here and there ; which is not 
 as much the case underground.) After I get up, I go over 
 the snow. 
 
 " I do not know where I am now, but I am drenched 
 with water, as if a flood had rolled over me." (She looked 
 at the map of North America.) " I do not think they have 
 mapped that accurately. I see a very great chasm ; a little 
 beyond that, and to the right, a rock towers up perpen- 
 dicularly to a vast height. I see round snow huts, and men 
 riding in sledges drawn by dogs of some kind. 
 
 " I am among those icebergs — they are stationary, how- 
 ever — and mountains of snow again. They are magnificent. 
 I see now a long break in them. They stand up on both 
 sides like two walls ; and there is a long, straight opening 
 through which I see for a great distance. The sides are so 
 even, that it looks like a way cut through. There is water 
 at the bottom. It widens as I go along. It is now a broad 
 channel, and I can see the water move in it As I go up, it 
 moves down. How water can run there, I do not see ; for 
 there are mountains of ice on each side. There is a slope 
 back from the water ; then the ice rises in peaks. Now I 
 
The North Polar regions. 179 
 
 come to a broad sheet of water ; I cannot see how broad. 
 I am much farther west than before. I have come by a 
 different route. It is difficult to go farther north, I see the 
 same hazy' appearance that I did before ; the same looking 
 hills ; so far away that I can but just distinguish them. I 
 have great difficulty in getting there. I keep coming back, 
 and it requires great effort to go forward. There are hot 
 springs in or near the sea. I see steam that rises from 
 them. What a peculiar, yellowish, hazy light that is !" 
 
 On another examination of same specimen, she said, — 
 "I seem to be right there. There is the same singular 
 light ; the same hills and mountains. I am nearer than I 
 was before. I see a volcano. I can imagine that to be the 
 very pole itself, it looks so central. The rocks are more 
 naked than I at first thought. I see spires of bare rocks, 
 and nothing anywhere but hills and rocks. This side of it 
 is a body of water, bounded on the south by mountains of 
 ice and snow. It looks different, now that I am so much 
 nearer. There is the same mellow, warm-looking light. 
 Occasionally it seems colder than at other times. Some, 
 times it seems warm as summer. I see one or more streams 
 of water. One of them is as wide as the Ohio River at 
 Cincinnati, but not nearly as deep. It runs over and 
 through naked rocks ; not in a channel like our rivers ; but 
 spreads as they slope back, washing the whole surface of 
 the bare rock. I see several orifices, out of which smoke is 
 issuing." 
 
 The question ot an open polar sea is one that has been 
 frequently discussed, and many facts have been given in 
 favour of it, especially by Dr. Kane. I was surprised on 
 reading his "Arctic Explorations," subsequently to the 
 
i8o Nature's Secrets. 
 
 previous" experiment, to find how much the account given 
 by Mr. Morton resembles the description given by Mrs. 
 Denton, though she had never seen it. When an unbroken 
 sheet of ice covered the sea to the east, west, and south, 
 Mr. Morton commenced his journey due north, over snow- 
 drifts, and among icebergs, some of them more than a mile 
 long. After travelling four days, they discovered a channel 
 of open water, widening as they continued northward, the 
 water of which was several degrees above the freezing 
 point. Still continuing their journey northward, the ice 
 on the side of the channel became rotten, and the snow 
 wet and pulpy, until eventually they found the waves beating 
 upon the naked rock, the channel having expanded into an 
 iceless sea, which they viewed from a cliff of considerable 
 height, and over which the wind blew from the north for 
 thirty-six hours, and yet failed to bring down any ice ; 
 indicating most plainly an extensive open sea beyond. 
 Supposing this to be true, we have yet to learn the cause of 
 this remarkable condition of things. 
 
 The value of psychoraetr}^ to the archaeologist may be 
 seen from the five following experiments, which were made 
 as usual ; the specimen being unseen, and no knowledge of 
 it given. 
 
 A small piece of mosaic pavement, dug up at Cicero's 
 villa, at Tusculum, on a hill near Frascati, fifteen miles from 
 Rome, and taken to England, October 15, 1760. 
 
 If we can obtain the influence of fishes, birds, and beasts 
 that existed millions of years ago, why not the influence of 
 men who lived during the last few thousand years, and thus 
 glean facts of which the historian is profoundly ignorant ? 
 Possibly, said I to myself, this little fragment was pressed 
 
Mosaic from Cicero's villa. i8i 
 
 by the foot of the great Roman orator ; and if not, it may 
 have seen him, and treasured his hkeness in its lieart. I 
 gave it to my sister Anne, not a word being said with regard 
 to its character. 
 
 " I see a dense forest. The trees are very high. Under 
 them I see a mastodon, or something of that kind. I see 
 its head more distinctly than I ever did before." (Come 
 down to more modern times, I said.) " I see nothing now but 
 what I might call a milk house, or more properly, perhaps, 
 a grotto. There is a spring near it, and trees around it. I 
 see a hill, and an old man walking round, who wears knee- 
 breeches. A dog is with him, that looks like a carriage dog. 
 There is a large house near. The place is evidently in the 
 country. There is a large porch in front of the house, and 
 gravel walks around it. The windows look large." (Describe 
 the man.) " The man is not tall. He wears a dark blue 
 swallow-tailed coat, with brass buttons. His hair is long, and 
 he looks as if he wore a wig or a queue. There are ruffles 
 on his shirt, and he has a very ancient look. He has a 
 prominent nose, is quick to perceive ; has large locality, and 
 is benevolent. He is not proud, but has confidence enough 
 in himself to be manly without being pompous. Conscien- 
 tiousness and caution are well developed, and he has great 
 force and energy. His activity is connected in some way 
 with benevolence. He sits down upon a seat under the 
 trees, and a tall lady stands near, talking to him. She is 
 dressed in very ancient style ; short waist, long skirts, and 
 no hoops ; and has a large collar on her neck. A girl 
 about ten years of age stands near her. 
 
 " Now there is a man walking up the steps in front of the 
 mansion. He is dressed in modern style, with light vest, 
 high hat, and long pants." 
 
1 82 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 These were scenes in this specimen's picture gallery 
 that I had not anticipated, and did not feel very much 
 interest in. 
 
 A few days afterward I gave the specimen to Mrs. Denton, 
 she knowing nothing of its history, or of my sister's examin- 
 ation of it. 
 
 " I feel Anne's influence very strong. I see her holding 
 this up to her forehead, as I am doing. She must have 
 examined it." 
 
 She then desired to know what kind of impressions I 
 wished from it. I answered, " Surface impressions." 
 
 " At some distance from me I see a gravelly bank with 
 trees near, and at a greater distance there are gentle swells. 
 At the foot of the bank there is a stream. Now I see a 
 cascade, not very high, but rather broad. (There is human 
 influence about this.) I see the inside of a house, and 
 several rooms. In one room is a bed, with a person lying 
 on it. The person seems to be fifteen or sixteen years of 
 age, and sick. The bed looks like a broad couch ; and the 
 head of the person is elevated, owing to the bed being 
 raised at one end, so as to give it a gradual slope. The 
 place makes me feel gloomy. There seem to be many 
 different influences in this." 
 
 Something occurred that prevented any further examin- 
 ation at that time, and the specimen was laid away for two 
 or three days, when the examination was continued. 
 
 " I see a large building with stone steps going up, — six or 
 eight of them ; there are high pillars in front of it. It looks 
 like a public building, but differs from any I ever saw. A 
 little way from it I see another building ; there is something 
 very magnificent about them. 
 
Mosaic from Cicero's villa. 183 
 
 "I am now inside of some building. At one side of a 
 room, in which I find myself, I see something high and 
 round, covered with crimson velvet. Everything looks 
 strange. I do not know how to describe what I see. The 
 style of the building is entirely different from anything I ever 
 saw, and so is the furniture, if furniture it may be called. I 
 neither know what to call it, nor what use it is put to. I see 
 carved work on the walls, but not very clearly, for the light 
 is not sufficient to enable me. The windows are very high, 
 and are either heavily curtained or stained, for the light 
 does not appear to come through freely. 
 
 " Now I see two pillars about eight feet high ; they stand 
 near each other, and are adorned with beautiful carved work 
 at the top and bottom ; they seem made for ornament. I 
 can hear some one in another part of the building. There 
 are many persons here, but it is difficult for me to see them. 
 I had a glimpse just then of a woman, or a man with a long 
 robe on. Now I see a man who looks like a servant ; he 
 has a dress that comes to his knees ; his pants are loose, 
 and he has a kind of cloak on his shoulders. I could not 
 see him distinctly enough to describe him. 
 
 " Strange ! I see long lines of people standing side by 
 side, but they vanish in an instant. They look like soldiers, 
 are all dressed alike, have on their heads a covering, high 
 and pointed, and something in their hands. 
 
 " I am now in the house again." (Try to find the owner.) 
 " I see a tolerably fleshy man, with a broad face and blue 
 eyes. At times he appears merry. He wears a dress that 
 looks easy, something like a gown, but not as long as a 
 gown. He is a man of a great deal of spirit ; seems very 
 resolute. What can he be 1 He is majestic, yet has a good 
 deal of geniality about him, too. He regards himself as 
 
 - OF THE '^A 
 
184 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 superior, and withdraws from others, though he does not 
 seek to manifest it. It seems to me that he has something 
 to do with those troops I saw, though that does not appear 
 to be his hfe-work. He has a powerful brain." 
 
 Was this the eloquent old Roman? Probably not, for 
 Cicero is said to have been tall and slender ; yet a portion 
 of the description is in harmony with what we know of him. 
 His military talents, evinced when he was proconsul of 
 Cilicia, would explain the appearance of the soldiers ; and the 
 feeling of superiority spoken of is in strict accordance with 
 the character of the great Roman orator, whose vanity 
 seems to have been his greatest failing. At all events, we 
 have a description in harmony with the time and people of 
 the days of Cicero. 
 
 Long after writing the above, I discovered, in the course 
 of my reading, that Cicero's house in Tusculum had belonged, 
 previous to his occupancy of it, to Cornelius Sulla Felix, or, 
 as he is generally called, Sulla, the Dictator. The descrip- 
 tion given agrees better with what is recorded of him than 
 it does with what is recorded of Cicero. It is said of him 
 that " he possessed in the highest degree the art of winning 
 the affection of his soldiers," that " his love of pleasure was 
 greater than his love of power," and that " women, actors, 
 mimes, and buffoons were his favourite companions in the 
 last years of his life." 
 
 Where specimens have taken in so many varied influences, 
 it is necessarily difficult to obtain any special one of which 
 we may be in quest. A year's examination would be none 
 too much for a specimen of this kind. 
 
 A small piece of marble, about the size of a pea, from the 
 ancient Christian church of Smyrna. 
 
Marble from church of Smyrna. 185 
 
 Mrs. Denton. She also examined the specimens in the 
 next eighteen experiments. 
 
 " A' large stream of water is in sight. There is nothing 
 around but wild scenery. (When I allow my mind to be 
 diverted from the subject, everything is thrown into the 
 greatest confusion.) 
 
 " I am in a building, and at one side is a high platform 
 extending across it, and above it a high window. The plat- 
 form is not as wide as some I have seen, and it is higher up 
 than platforms generally are. At one end of it there is a 
 beautifully finished railing, with steps down. 
 
 " There is an audience of some kind in the room. One 
 person I see with something in his hand that extends above 
 his head. It may be a musical instrument ; it is hollow, 
 and bell-shaped at one end. The congregation seem 
 earnest, as if they had something important on hand. All 
 seem to have something to do. It is not like a common 
 meeting ; they listen attentively, and look enthusiastic ; their 
 heads are bent forward. Some of those who sit evidently 
 intend to say something. I cannot see the speaker. One 
 man, who sits in front, is writing. There is good taste in the 
 arrangement of the room, and much fine, beautiful work. 
 It must have cost a great deal. It is large and spacious, 
 and its general style is quite different from anything that I 
 am famihar with. Off at one side are curtains, but I cannot 
 tell how they are arranged. 
 
 " Now I see a mass of moving people. What can that be 
 they have on their heads? They are dressed differently 
 from those I saw sitting, and differently from us. How 
 much there is that I cannot describe ! It passes before me 
 with great rapidity, like a flying panorama." 
 
1 86 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Eight days afterwards the examination was continued. 
 
 " I see a large body of people ; there must be thousands 
 of them. They stand in an oval form, their backs towards 
 the interior, and their faces fronting me ; they are partially 
 bent over. They have high, light caps on their heads, that 
 are quite peculiar. In their hands are long spears with 
 square shafts. Now I see another body at a distance that 
 come and join them. Each company has a banner; they 
 put them together and cross them. 
 
 " I can see outlines of towers and buildings. One 
 building of stone I notice in particular ; there is a door at 
 the side of it. It does not look like a house ; it is heavy. 
 There are trees off in one direction, and a pretty country. 
 
 " I am now looking through an open door into a room, 
 but cannot see far. There is a deep window, with a shade 
 of some kind before it." 
 
 What an interesting picture of the primitive Christians this 
 fragment of marble contains ! What questions psychometry 
 may be expected to answer in the future, about which 
 theologians have been wrangling for centuries ! 
 
 Small fragment of a flower in relief on the border of a 
 garment, on a limestone slab, from Nineveh. 
 
 " I see a square block of stone, and another on it, placed 
 there by artificial means. The edges are hewn off, and the 
 stone has been cut for some special purpose, — prepared for 
 something ornamental. 
 
 " A great deal passes before me like lightning. I see 
 several slabs lying in rows, but I cannot see them distinctly. 
 I see another large slab, but I cannot see any of them con- 
 nected with any particular structure. 
 
 " Two or three times I have had a glimpse of a pillar on 
 
Porcelain Tower, China. 187 
 
 those limestone slabs that I first saw. Now I see a slender 
 pillar ; on one side are open places, like side doors, but I 
 cannot describe them properly. Past and present are greatly 
 mixed in this specimen. I see fences and houses of the 
 present, though a moment ago I seemed ages back. 
 
 " I am in a building that seems to have been used as a 
 temple. It is deserted ; part of it broken down and gone ; 
 and it seems like the ruins of some temple or place of 
 worship. Trees grow all around, and even in it — they come 
 up so before me. There appears to have been a great deal 
 of labour expended upon the building. At one door there 
 is an opening, with two short pillars that seem to have been 
 erected as ornaments to the entrance. There is a kind of 
 railing about the door. It is a very large building, with 
 apartments divided off by pillars and arches, where curtains 
 probably hung." 
 
 These descriptions are of course very fragmentary. We 
 could have done much better if we had had more favourable 
 conditions. Many of these experiments were made at 
 hotels, in the evening, after my lectures were over, and 
 we were both much fatigued by the labours of the day. I 
 present them merely as evidences of what may be accom- 
 plished by persons of means and leisure, and who have 
 cultivated these wonderful powers from their youth. The 
 imagination cannot overleap the eventual realization. 
 
 A small piece of the Porcelain Tower of China. 
 
 " I am in a room. A little way from this there is a 
 mound or elevation, very regular in shape, with a tree in the 
 centre. I am in the room again. There is something 
 peculiar in its style. It is massive, with dark-coloured walls, 
 adorned with carved work, that I cannot see very distinctly. 
 
1 88 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 It seems to be divided by curtains, and in connection with 
 them there is beautiful carved and ornamental work. The 
 room has raised seats or narrow platforms, the whole length 
 and on both sides. It seems to me to be in a different 
 climate from this ; it must be farther south, for it is warmer, 
 and the vegetation is more luxuriant, 
 
 " I get the idea of a place used as a temple — a gorgeous, 
 magnificent place. IfeelihzX influence about it, irrespective 
 of anything I have seen as yet. I go back into the room ; 
 it is difficult to keep out. The sides are more clearly 
 visible to me now ; they are gorgeously festooned with gilt 
 leaves and flowers arranged in clusters, with vines running 
 from one to the other. What wealth it must have required 
 to make such a temple as this ! 
 
 *' I obtain the influence of a people whose politics and 
 religion are united ; both seem blended in this room. 
 What crowds of people ! too many for me to individualize 
 any of them. Now I see two or three more definitely. 
 Their head-covering draws my attention ; it is neither 
 a hat nor a cap ; I cannot describe it. It is crimson, I 
 believe, and edged with gold leaf. I see other persons with 
 caps on. 
 
 " I see a place now where there are many dishes of silver 
 and gold on a table. How rich this place is ! This is near 
 the place where the religious ceremonies are performed by 
 priests or leaders. There is a small room or recess where 
 they go in ; it is adorned with most elaborate carved work, 
 and looks, altogether, much like a Catholic place of worship. 
 I see some shining object extend from the ceiling to the 
 floor. Broad steps lead to a place higher than my head ; 
 behind that is a platform, and behind that is another room, 
 with figures in relief upon the wall. Every little while I see 
 
Porcelain Tower, China. 189 
 
 fire. On that platform I see two large urns. I see people 
 again with something in their hands like flags. There is a 
 pole eighteen or twenty feet high, with a turtle on the top, 
 made of some kind of metal. 
 
 "I am outside now, where there is a grove. I can 
 see the whole building ; it towers up, then there is an open 
 place with pillars, and a bell-shaped roof extending over it ; 
 and so it rises up several stories, one above another, to a 
 spire." 
 
 At the time this examination was made I knew little 
 more about the Porcelain Tower than the fact that a 
 tower called by that name existed somewhere in China. 
 But on reading an account of it in the " Iconographic Ency- 
 clopjedia," I found many of the previous statements remark- 
 ably verified. 
 
 The walls appeared massive, and well they might ; for 
 they are "twelve feet in thickness below, gradually reduced 
 to eight feet at the top." It seemed to be "used as a 
 temple," and it is a part of the Temple of Gratitude, near 
 the City of Pekin, and was doubtless visited by multitudes 
 of devotees, who left their influence, as well as their offerings, 
 behind them. 
 
 The rooms were seen adorned with carving, gilding, and 
 ornamental work ; and it is stated that the walls of the room 
 in this tower " are covered with fantastic painting, and bas- 
 reliefs, and gilded throughout." 
 
 All intelligent readers will perceive much in the above 
 psychometric description in harmony with what we know of 
 the Chinese and of this tower ; and from the accuracy of 
 this description we may see what may be done when 
 the ruins of Copan and Uxmal, of Thebes and Kamak, 
 and of cities and temples yet to be exhumed, shall be 
 
190 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 fully examined, and their story faithfully translated and 
 recorded. 
 
 Old coin, probably Grecian. Specimen unseen by the 
 Psychometer, though its shape might possibly have given 
 some idea of its character. 
 
 " I seem to be looking through a stereoscope. Figures 
 look smaller than their real size. There are two houses 
 that look like boxes or playhouses. There is one with a 
 spire to it that is quite small also. I do not understand this 
 appearance. The one with a spire looks larger now. One 
 house has a round roof It seems to be soUd below and 
 tent-like above, the roof made apparently of some soft 
 material. I am up where I see the tops of things. 
 
 " I am in a room now that seems strange. There is a 
 box in it, having a trough proceeding from one corner, and 
 on the other side a double wheel. I see another singular 
 object, a small trough, with a wheel at one end, as if made 
 to go by a current of water. The trough is inclined. Here 
 is something hanging against the wall that has round figures 
 stamped all over it. Some larger than this." (The coin 
 was a copper one, about half an inch in diameter.) " This 
 is one of the smaller ones. There is a plate of metal lying 
 down that has the coins raised above its surface. There 
 are four or five sheets of metal standing near each other ; 
 they seem to have been hammered rather than rolled. 
 They lean against a frame on the side of the room. 
 
 " There is a large, roundish vessel made of metal, with 
 bands or ridges around it. It seems to be for melting 
 metal. It stands in a metallic scalloped basin. There are 
 holes all around the vessel, and grooves, that correspond 
 with these, in the vessel in which it is set. 
 
Hornstone, Mount of Olives. 191 
 
 " I see a solid body, with a bar attached to the centre, 
 that covers three impressions at one time. Just then I had 
 a ghmpse of some person." 
 
 After the examination was over, she remarked that these 
 impressions were not obtained from the surface of the coin, 
 but from its centre. 
 
 There is one great difficulty in these archaeological inves- 
 tigations ; and that is, in describing what is presented to the 
 vision. Much is presented that differs so widely from what 
 the Psychometer is familiar with, that language is needed by 
 which to describe the objects seen to those who cannot 
 behold them. Special education of Psychometers for 
 particular branches of investigation will, in time, remedy 
 this defect. 
 
 Small piece of hornstone from the Mount of Olives, near 
 Jerusalem. It was taken out of a box containing more than 
 twenty specimens from various localities ; and during the 
 early part of the examination I did not know what the 
 specimen was, nor did Mrs. Denton know till the close of 
 the experiment. 
 
 " I see what looks like a projection of a partly demolished 
 breastwork. Near it is a rather tall and very solid-looking 
 building, which seems to be square. From it a wall extends 
 a long way, with buildings here and there for persons to go 
 into ; they do not look large, but are very strong. Some of 
 them are round, and I think they were built for strongholds 
 in connection with the wall. 
 
 "I seem to be north-west of some large city. I am 
 above it, a little to one side of the central portion, and I 
 can look down upon the tops of buildings which are below 
 me. There are some very fine buildings. I notice one 
 
192 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 particularly, that I judge to be a temple or some public 
 building, which is near me. It has a round tower, but that 
 is below me. The city seems in great commotion, a tide 
 of people flowing through it. Its size is great ; for the 
 influence, as it comes up to me, is very extensive. 
 
 *' The whole influence that I receive from this is entirely 
 different from that of this country. The climate is warmer. 
 I can feel the influence of the sea, but it is at some distance ; 
 yet not so far but I can feel its soft breath. I consider the 
 climate and country superior to ours, but the people are 
 inferior. 
 
 " I see a tent-shaped building of three stories, with pillars 
 and spaces between, filled with lattice-work all round ; each 
 story diminishes in size to the top. The building is large 
 and round, but what it is used for I cannot tell. 
 
 " I see the entrance of a place that looks like a culvert, 
 large enough for a person to walk into. It appears to go 
 underground for a considerable distance, but is carried on 
 the surface so far that it can be seen a long way off. 
 
 " I feel the influence of a stream of water, though I do 
 not see it ; it seems somewhat large, and runs I think to the 
 south, with a pure stream, over a clean bed. 
 
 " I saw a grand ruin, but it vanished in an instant. 
 Large blocks hung as if ready to fall. The very ruin was 
 magnificent. 
 
 "I see now a naked-looking mountain, that seems con- 
 nected with a range ; there are green hills, too, on which 
 are scattering trees, 
 
 " I am in a building that seems like a city under cover. 
 In one place is a high dome. In a room I see a long table, 
 and upon it what seems to be a crown made of gold, and 
 decked with precious stones ; and near it is a silver bowl. 
 
Hornstone, Mount of Olives. 193 
 
 This room is beautifully ornamented with carved figures of 
 various kinds. 
 
 "The people Hve a good deal out of doors, for I see 
 some kind of tables and seats outside of the houses, such as 
 we nowhere see in this country. These people are not as 
 well developed intellectually as we, though they are as well 
 developed religiously, and are very ceremonious. The 
 whole country seems permeated with the sentiment of 
 worship. I have such a feeling as is described by the poet 
 in the lines, — 
 
 ' The cedars of Lebanon bow at his feet, 
 And the air is perfumed with his breath.' 
 
 I should think the Bible might have been written here. 
 What an excellent place for a ceremonious religion ! I 
 cannot tell how I get this, but it breathes over me ; the 
 atmosphere of the place seems full of this feeling. It 
 produces a joyous, worshipful sentiment, about which there 
 •is nothing sad or gloomy. It recognizes joy in everything. 
 One of the Psalms seems to give this feeling — ' The moun- 
 tains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.' 
 
 " Now I have a sense of destruction and desolation, that 
 contrasts most strangely with the other. It seems like 
 another age and another place, the feeling is so different." 
 (I said, " Go as far back in time as you can within the 
 human period.") 
 
 " I obtain the influence of a people whose principal 
 business seems to be looking after their flocks that feed on 
 the hills. They seem to have no idea beyond the present 
 life. The country is wild, and the people Hve in groups of 
 relatives ; this must be the patriarchal time. They are not 
 energetic, but fiilly occupied with their employments. 
 
 o 
 
194 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " My opinion is, that this is from the neighbourhood of 
 some city on the Asiatic continent, between the twentieth 
 and fortieth parallels of north latitude." 
 
 Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, is about thirty-three 
 miles from the Mediterranean, and half that distance from 
 the Dead Sea. The Mount of Olives, on which the speci- 
 men of hornstone was found, is a mountain or ridge lying to 
 the east of Jerusalem, from which it is separated by the 
 valley of Jehoshaphat. The elevation of the central peak 
 of the Mount of Olives is stated by Schubert at 2,556 Paris 
 feet, or 416 Paris feet above the valley of Jehoshaphat ; and 
 hence it appears to be 175 Paris feet above the highest part 
 of Mount Zion. 
 
 The summit of the Mount of Olives is about half a mile 
 east from the city, which it completely overlooks, every 
 considerable edifice and almost every house being visible. 
 Hence the feeling that she was " above the city," and could 
 " look down upon the tops of the buildings." 
 
 The wall surrounding the city, and the towers upon the 
 wall, seem to have been the first objects presented, and 
 very naturally so. For many centuries they must have been 
 one of the most striking features on looking at the city from 
 the Mount of Olives. The tall, square, and very solid 
 looking building was, probably, the tower of Hippicus, 
 which, Josephus says, was a quadrangular structure, twenty- 
 five cubits, or about forty feet, on each side, and built 
 up entirely solid to the height of thirty cubits. The altitude 
 of the whole tower was eighty cubits, or about 128 feet. 
 At the present time it is styled the tower of David, and 
 is near the centre of the west side of the city. This tower, 
 and the towers of Phasaelus and Mariamne, were left stand- 
 ing by Titus when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed 
 
Hall of Representatives, Washington. 195 
 
 by the Romans. The buildings that she saw upon the 
 walls were doubtless towers or turrets, of which Josephus 
 says there were on the outer wall ninety, on the middle wall 
 forty, and on the inner wall sixty ; though the number is 
 very much smaller now. * 
 
 The tent-shaped building, and the building that seemed 
 like a city under cover, refer, I think, to the Armenian 
 Convent, which is one of the largest, if not the largest 
 establishment in the city. It occupies several acres, and is 
 capable of entertaining 8,000 pilgrims. 
 
 Those acquainted with the situation of the Mount of 
 Olives will see that a mistake was made with regard to its 
 situation, which is stated to be north-west of the city, instead 
 of north-east. What part of the Mount of Olives the speci- 
 men was brought from, I have been unable to learn. 
 
 How strange that a flint pebble, on a hill outside of the 
 city, could become imbued with the worshipful spirit of the 
 people who lived in it ! How much more must houses and 
 churches be imbued with the spirit of the people who live 
 and worship in them ! 
 
 Piece of red damask that hung over the speaker's chair in 
 the House of Representatives, Washington, when that city 
 was taken by the British in 181 4. It was taken to England, 
 and then a piece of it brought back to the United States. 
 
 Specimen seen, but nothing known of its history. 
 
 " I see a long hall. I seem to be at one end of it. 
 Straight before me is an opening like an aisle ; it is wider, 
 however, than I should suppose an aisle to be. It seems to 
 
 * Kitto's "Biblical Cyclopaedia," articles "Mount of Olives" and 
 "Jerusalem." 
 
196 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 be an open space where I am, and, I think, semicircular. I 
 feel higher up than the objects around me. I see a short 
 curtain above a raised place or platform, and, if such a thing 
 would be allowed, I could fancy this had been cut from 
 that curtain. 
 
 " There is activity of some kind here ; something is being 
 done. There seems to be more than one operating in some 
 way. Persons move in and out, but I cannot yet under- 
 stand what their business is. They become visible, and 
 then seem to go behind an open place on the platform at 
 the end where I am. 
 
 "There is a table, or something like it, and persons 
 come to it and do something and then retire. There is a 
 curtained recess at each end of the platform. The persons 
 officiating on the platform seem to have something to do 
 distinct from the others. 
 
 " The hall is large, and all about is on a large scale. 
 There is an air of general magnificence about it. The 
 influence of this place is very different from what I perceive 
 in churches ; there is not that solemnity about it, but an air 
 of cheerfulness, and, at times, even of merriment. 
 
 "Something is placed in front of me that shuts out my 
 sight of the hall. It has representations on it of figures with 
 different colours ; it seems like a painting on canvas. 
 
 " One person comes from the right-hand side to the table, 
 raises up what looks like a spread, and puts something under 
 it. I see a door open." 
 
 A second examination was made about a week after the 
 first, nothing more being known by the Psychometer 
 regarding the specimen than the previous examination had 
 developed. 
 
Hall of Representatives, Washington. 197 
 
 " I think I know what this place is now ; I see objects 
 more clearly than before. It is a council chamber or hall. 
 The person who comes out lays a paper on the table ; he 
 lifts up something, and puts it under. These seem like 
 people that I am acquainted with. It seems almost or quite 
 like our own times. There is a great deal of earnestness of 
 feeling here. 
 
 " I see seats with something up before them in front of 
 each person ; what they can be for, I cannot imagine. I 
 now see they are for papers and writing. I have seen 
 pictures of places like this. 
 
 " They have something up for discussion now that is very 
 amusing ; a while ago they were quite grave. They seem as 
 changeable as an April sky. There are some who profess 
 to feel very much, but I can see their earnestness is mere 
 sham. They talk very glibly, but it is mere talk. It is 
 sickening to contemplate them. 
 
 " There seems to be a gallery here ; and those in the 
 gallery take no active part in what goes on below ; but they 
 listen with attention, and some are amused, while others look 
 on with admiration. 
 
 " Now there is a great concourse of people outside. It 
 must be some political gathering, celebration, or something 
 of that kind. I see several marshals. There is a platform, 
 and speakers on it, and a large flag at one side of it ; there 
 are red and white stripes on it, I see. I see some long, 
 broad steps, but cannot tell where they are." (What place 
 do you think it is 1) " I think it is the capitol of some state, 
 or else of the nation." 
 
 Little thought the members of that house that the damask 
 hanging over the speaker's chair was such an attentive 
 observer of their doings ; that it was reporting their pro- 
 
198 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ceedings with greater accuracy than the clerk, and looking 
 into their hearts like an all-seeing eye. Little supposed that 
 smirking hypocrite that, though he was deceiving his fellows, 
 and receiving the plaudits of the crowd for his mercenary 
 eloquence, the curtain waving before him was reading his 
 inmost soul, and preparing to transmit to the future a 
 faithful statement of his true condition. What a cloud of 
 witnesses surround us on every side at all times ! There is 
 no darkness so dense but their keen eyes can pierce ; there 
 is no sound so feeble but they catch and hold it for ever. 
 No bribes can suborn, no eloquence can move them from 
 their purpose ; no lawyer can break them down. The brick 
 can reveal the character of the occupants of the house, and 
 tell tales that may make the haughty cower and tremble. 
 Bury it in the ocean, and it still carries along, and will keep 
 for ages, what has been committed to its trust. Break it to 
 pieces, and you have but multiplied it ; for every fragment, 
 equally with the whole, can tell the tale. 
 
 Piece of sandstone from the walls of Melrose Abbey, 
 Scotland. Specimen unseen, and nothing known re- 
 garding it. 
 
 " I stand within a very large building, in which there are 
 several persons. On one side a gentleman is just going 
 through an arched doorway ; he seems a long way off, the 
 building is so large. I see a semicircular place, but cannot 
 imagine what it is for. This building is on a magnificent 
 scale, very lofty and spacious. The windows are deep. (I 
 obtain glimpse after glimpse, which vanish in an instant.) In 
 another part of the building is a large aisle, and at the end 
 of it a very high place, richly ornamented, which is separated 
 from the rest of the aisle by a curtain. It seems intended 
 
Melrose Abbey. 199 
 
 for persons to go upon. Architecture and sculpture have 
 lavished their resources upon it. There is some stone about 
 it, but whether it is all stone or not I cannot tell. How 
 massive it is, and how elaborately worked ! no place is plain. 
 There is some design or other wherever it is possible. 
 The very railings are carved, and everything is beautifully 
 figured. 
 
 " I see what looks like the corner of a building on the 
 outside, with the sun shining upon it ; it looks as natural as 
 here before me. 
 
 " Now I see Gothic windows ; one that looks like three 
 united together. There seem to be hills near the place. 
 
 " I can only see detached parts of this building ; it is 
 impossible for me to get the connected whole." 
 
 A second examination was made nearly three months 
 afterward. There was nothing known regarding the speci- 
 men, nor was Mrs. Denton aware that she had ever examined 
 it before. 
 
 " I am inside of a building, and can see a comer of it on 
 the outside. It is of stone, and singularly notched and un- 
 even. I see three arches side by side ; but this seems to be 
 a night scene, and things are very indistinct. I see in this way 
 two domes, and a high pillar standing by itself on a pedestal 
 that appears to consist of slabs, the broadest at the base. 
 
 " Inside of the building I see a great heap of rubbish, as it 
 it had been cleared from one place and deposited in another. 
 Where it has been cleared away I see what looks like the 
 support to a floor. The building seems filled up to a great 
 extent with rubbish. It must be a ruin. I see objects 
 occasionally, and when I look again they are gone. 
 
 " I am in a place now where the beams overhead are 
 
200 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 placed so as to make figures. I think this is a place of 
 worship. (I can feel much better than see.) I have a sense 
 of enthusiasm in connection with the worshippers that 
 reminds me of the early Christian times. These people are 
 ignorant and bigoted, but very zealous. There seems to be 
 a contention going on between them and others. When 
 they meet here their zeal is enkindled and their spirits 
 renewed, so that they feel strong to resist the opposition 
 they meet with, which is greater than religious people meet 
 with at present, in our country at least. The religious 
 strife between them and some other party is great. Here 
 they feel at home to speak and plan. They have confidence 
 in each other. 
 
 " I seem to be present at one of their conferences. One 
 says, in substance, ' We must wage this warfare to the bitter 
 end;' another, 'We must meet them on their own ground.' 
 One quite sedate old man says, ' I am prepared for anything 
 in this matter.' There is another party, less bitter in their 
 opposition, who are inclined to take things more moderately. 
 I cannot learn what the subject is to wliich they refer." 
 
 From the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Scotland, we learn 
 that Melrose Abbey, at the foot of the Eildon Hills, in 
 Scotland, and the most beautiful of all the ecclesiastical 
 edifices ever reared in that country, was founded by David 
 I., in 1 136. It was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt and 
 decorated during the two centuries extending from 1326 to 
 the Reformation. " The vast magnificence of the abbey, 
 with its innumerable adjuncts and sculptured adornings, 
 seems to have been the result of a constant, untiring, and 
 ambitious effort of the resident monks, powerful in their 
 skill, their numbers, their leisure, and their enthusiasm." 
 
 " At the junction of the south and west members of the 
 
Melrose Abbey. 201 
 
 cross a hexagon tower rises, terminating in a pinnacle roofed 
 with stone highly ornamented ; from thence the aisle is 
 extended so as to receive three large windows whose arches 
 are pointed, each divided by three upright bars or muUions, 
 the tracery various and light." 
 
 What a beautiful description of this structure we have in 
 Scott's " Lay of the Last Minstrel " ! — 
 
 " The moon on the east oriel shone 
 Through slender shafts of shapely stone, 
 
 By foliaged tracery combined : 
 Thou wouldst have thought some fairy hand 
 'Twixt poplars straight the osier wand 
 In many a freakish knot had twined, 
 Then framed a spell when the work was done, 
 And changed the willow wreath to stone." 
 
 The description given by Mr. Hutchinson of the interior 
 of the building, which is quoted by the Parliamentary 
 Gazetteer, agrees very well with that given by Mrs. Denton. 
 He says, " The floor is nothing but the damp earth ; nasti- 
 ness and irregularity possess the whole scene." 
 
 Are there any facts connected with the history of Melrose 
 Abbey that would account for the strife that was felt in 
 connection with its occupants ? I think there are ; for we 
 learn from the same authority that "in 1269, John of 
 Edenham, the abbot, and many of his conventual brethren, 
 for the crime of violating the peace of Wedale, attacking 
 some houses of the bishop of St. Andrew's, and slaying one 
 ecclesiastic and wounding many others, were excommuni- 
 cated by a provincial council that sat in Perth ; and as 
 Melrose stood near the hostile border, it was usually 
 involved in the rancorous events of border feud and inter- 
 national war. In 1285, the Yorkshire barons, who had 
 
202 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 confederated against King John, swore fealty to Alexander 
 II. in Melrose chapter-house. 
 
 "In 1322, at the burning and desolating of the abbey by 
 Edward II., William de Peebles, the abbot, and several of 
 the monks were slain. During the reigns of Henry VIIL, 
 Edward VI., and Elizabeth, it suffered collisions and dilapi- 
 dations, chiefly from the English." 
 
 So that what was seen and felt may be readily explained 
 by what must have taken place in the history of this remark- 
 able structure and its possessors, during these troublesome 
 times. 
 
 Piece of stalagmitic limestone from the Rock of Gib- 
 raltar. 
 
 Specimen unseen, and nothing known regarding it. It 
 was not known that I possessed any specimen from the 
 locality, 
 
 " I see deep down ; three apartments, one below another, 
 but not all in a direct line. In the second I see three men, 
 who seem to be considering the place and talking of its 
 history, which they regard as worthy of note in some way. 
 I think it has been a place of great interest. What interest 
 it possesses now seems more in consequence of what it has 
 been than of what it is." 
 
 Conditions as before. 
 
 " I am looking from a small opening out upon the land- 
 scape, which has quite a stereoscopic appearance ; there 
 are hills, and water beyond. I see a very high hill, with a 
 large notch in the face of it, about halfway up ; it is very 
 wild, and yet very beautiful. This country is both hilly 
 and rocky. I see cliffs everywhere. I am surprised that 
 
Rock of Gibraltar. 203 
 
 any one should live here, it is so rocky, uneven, and 
 naked. 
 
 " I am now at the foot of a great hill of rock. What a 
 strange-looking place ! It is very rugged in places, and in 
 others smooth. A steep, rough road leads up the hill on 
 one side. I cannot conceive how people get down without 
 sliding. 
 
 " I feel the influence of a body of water, which seems to 
 come in here and form a kind of bay, and then at a dis- 
 tance communicates with a larger body of water. 
 
 " On the top of the rock is a round, castellated structure, 
 which is, I think, on the highest point. It is too extensive 
 a building for a lighthouse. It has a somewhat ancient 
 look." 
 
 " This place sustains a relation in some way to other 
 distant places, but what that relation is I cannot tell. I 
 cannot see any physical connection, yet I feel influences 
 passing between this and some distant place. I see what 
 looks like a long, winding road, that extends to a large town ; 
 it is crowded with people. 
 
 " I see the same castellated structure that I saw before. 
 This is a picturesque country. I seem to feel the influence 
 of the sea, though I do not know the distance to it. On 
 one side it seems to come very near. There is a large 
 town near here ; indeed, it surrounds me, I think ; but 
 more of it on one side than on the other. There are winding 
 ways all round, that give it quite a romantic appearance. 
 
 " There is something remarkable about the people of this 
 country; they are intellectually strong, and yet they cling 
 tenaciously to antiquity. There is great independence and 
 daring, yet great veneration for ancient forms. They possess 
 
204 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 a warlike spirit. There does not seem to be any Avar in the 
 country now, but they have the disposition to resist en- 
 croachment by the sword, if need be. There is nothing 
 cringing about them ; what they do is done because they 
 will, and not because they must. I have seen in the Eng- 
 lish character something like it. 
 
 " I can partly see and partly feel the chains of mountains, 
 back in the country ; they are not long, but there seem to 
 be several of them. I feel the influence of the sea extend- 
 ing on both sides almost round the country. I may go all 
 round, but I do not see it. 
 
 " I obtain the influence of very heavy structures. I 
 thought at first that they were walls, but they are not. 
 I think they are massive structures of some kind ; they 
 might be called fortifications ; they are intended to protect 
 the place from the attacks of enemies. They extend for a 
 considerable distance. I seem to be more connected with 
 these fortifications than I am with the city. It seems as if 
 the approach of the enemy were by water ; I can hear the 
 report of cannon booming over it. The people are so 
 resolute, determined, and strong, that a powerful force 
 would be necessary to overcome them ; I should not like 
 to be one of the attacking party. 
 
 'T am in a building now in which there are many apart- 
 ments. (I seem to be in the past.) In one of them many 
 persons of high rank are assembled, and on a large raised 
 place sits a lady, who, from her appearance, must be a 
 queen. Those persons are presenting something for her 
 consideration ; it is evidently something important. They 
 are all richly dressed, and she is gorgeously arrayed. I do 
 not know that this is the same place as before, but it seems 
 connected with it in some way. Now all has vanished. 
 
Rock of Gibraltar. 205 
 
 "There has been much suffering in this vicinity, espe- 
 cially mental suffering ; the people have been cursed by 
 tyrants. 
 
 " This is not Switzerland, though it is rough and moun- 
 tainous. It does not seem far enough south for Italy ; it is 
 not far enough inland for Germany ; it is too mountainous 
 for England, and it is not an island. It seems like Scotland 
 in many respects, but I cannot really tell what country it is. 
 It seems longer than wide, though there is a part stretching 
 to the east and south-east that I cannot see. It is in Europe 
 somewhere." 
 
 On turning to the map of the world, after some consider- 
 ation, she covered, with the head of a pin, the spot where 
 Gibraltar was marked. " That," said she, " seems to be 
 about the place where I was." 
 
 The following description, taken principally from the 
 " Encyclopaedia Britannica," will show the accuracy of many 
 of the previous statements. Gibraltar, a British town and 
 fortress, in the most southerly province of Spain, stands on 
 the extremity of a small peninsula, washed on the east side 
 by the Mediterranean, and west by the Bay of Gibraltar. 
 The top of Europa Point, the southern extremity of the 
 rock, is surmounted by a fine lighthouse. 
 
 This may have been the tower seen, or O'Hara's Tower, 
 which was built upon a portion of the rock 1,480 feet above 
 the level of the sea. Originally it was intended for a signal 
 station and lighthouse, but being struck by lightning, is now 
 a ruin. On the western side of the rock the hill slopes 
 gradually to the sea. On this slope stands the town of 
 Gibraltar, containing about 15,000 inhabitants. The town 
 is connected with the isthmus by a narrow causeway, in the 
 defence of which science has exhausted its resources. The 
 
2o6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 most remarkable of the defences of Gibraltar are the gal- 
 leries, excavations cut out of solid rock, with great difficulty 
 and immense expense ; they are two or three miles long, and 
 broad enough to allow carriages to pass. 
 
 Gibraltar has been in the possession of the Saracens 
 Spaniards, and English ; being taken and retaken many 
 times. During the years 1779 — 1783 it was besieged by the 
 combined land and sea forces of France and Spain. On 
 one side of the sea they brought to bear against it forty-four 
 sail of the line, and a countless fleet of gun and mortar 
 boats, and numerous floating batteries, but in vain • though 
 the besieged suffered for years the horrors of disease and 
 famine. 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to mention all the points of 
 agreement between what was seen, and what is known of 
 Gibraltar and its history. Those who wish to examine this 
 subject thoroughly would do well to read and judge for 
 themselves. Many of the statements made were entirely 
 new to me, and it was only after considerable research that 
 I was able to verify some of them. 
 
 I know of no time in the past when a connection existed 
 between Gibraltar and the court of Sj)ain likely to lead to 
 the vision recorded of a queen and persons of high rank. 
 I give it, because it came up spontaneously, and future 
 research may shed light upon this also. 
 
 A square of mosaic from the baths of Caracalla, near 
 Rome. Specimen unseen and unknown. 
 
 " I am in a very large building. Directly in front of me 
 is a large circular structure, built as if there were a fountain 
 in it, or a bath for water. It is quite high and round. To 
 come in here I went up steps on one side, and down steps 
 
Rock of Gibraltar. 207 
 
 on the other. The two rooms are separated by what looks 
 hke a half partition wall. The room with the vat in it is, 
 I think, a little lower than the other. 
 
 " Now that I am lower and nearer to it, I see that the 
 structure which contains the water is either square, or nearly 
 so, and has a circular basin in the centre, with a beautifully 
 ornamented rim. The base of the square structure has two 
 broad steps passing all round ; and on one corner of the 
 base I see an immense pitcher, which rises higher than the 
 top of the basin. On another corner is a large urn, standing 
 on a massive base. The handles are richly ornamented. 
 On another corner is the figure of a beautiful naked boy. 
 It looks like a Cupid. All these figures seem to be chiselled 
 out of stone, and rise to about an equal height. On the 
 rim of the basin is a bird that looks as if stooping to drink ; 
 and the whole rim is ornamented, except where there are 
 steps that rise from the base up to it, apparently for persons 
 to walk up and go into the water. It must be a bath. 
 What skilful artists they must have been to cut stone in 
 this manner ! 
 
 " In one part of the room I see a large pillar richly 
 ornamented. Above the base the pedestal has figures upon 
 it in relief; the shaft is fluted, and the capital is richly 
 adorned. An arch passes over from it to a similar pillar. 
 
 " I see something now that is difficult to describe. It is 
 about three feet long, two feet wide, and three feet high. It 
 stands upon a block about a foot thick, and is rounded the 
 whole length, bulging out in the middle. It is hollow, and 
 has over the top a dish with a rim about three inches wide. 
 It is made of stone, and looks quite symmetrical. 
 
 " The influence of this room is that of great gaiety and 
 voluptuousness. This influence is very strong, and I feel as 
 
2o8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 if it must have been frequented by men and women, who, 
 at certain times, laying aside all restraint, abandoned them- 
 selves to the intoxication of pleasure and sensual enjoyment. 
 
 " I go outside of the building, and see a very large and 
 high pillar or tower, with something like bands around it. 
 It is some distance off. The streets seem narrow and the 
 buildings high ; but I do not see them clearly. 
 
 " I am in the room again, and see the upper part of one 
 comer, which is richly ornamented. On the sides of the 
 wall are varying appearances, but I cannot distinguish them. 
 I see a stand apparently made of stone, ornamented also ; 
 there are lamps upon it." 
 
 This must have been, I think, one of the private bath- 
 rooms, of which there were several in the magnificent 
 Thermae of Caracalla. 
 
 Sixteen hundred years have passed, probably, since these 
 pictures were impressed on the mosaics of the bath-room ; 
 sixteen hundred years since the influences of the voluptuous 
 Romans that frequented it were communicated to them, yet 
 how distinctly they remain ! and probably would for as many 
 thousands or millions of years ; and thus are we recording 
 our histories, impressing our mental and moral conditions on 
 our surroundings, to be read by the coming ages. 
 
 Out of nearly two hundred specimens of various kinds, 
 from different parts of the world, wrapped up in paper, 
 Mrs. Denton took one, no one knowing what it was. She 
 said : — 
 
 " I seem to oscillate between the city and a country which 
 is rough and rocky. The buildings in the city are high, and 
 the streets being narrow they look dark. There is a good 
 deal of grandeur about it. The people seem to be busy, 
 
Modern mosaic from Rome. 209 
 
 and move about as if they had great interest in what is 
 going on. It is not merely an interest in physical matters. 
 There seem to be two or three influences in this, somewhat 
 different from our own time. 
 
 " Now I seem to be in a long room of a large building. 
 At one end the ceiling comes down lower, and is supported 
 by pillars or columns, some of which have broad capitals 
 that are ornamented with deeply-cut figures. 
 
 " I see a large temple. I am standing in front of it. The 
 entrance is at some distance, under a grand archway ; there 
 are stone steps in front going up for some distance. This 
 end of the building seems much higher than the other. 
 After passing through the door, I see a part of a very rich 
 building. It seems to be a place of a great deal of 
 ceremony. I feel the influence of individuals, but they are 
 not as much here as in other parts. The impression I 
 receive from this place comes nearer to my idea of a Jewish 
 synagogue than any other building. I feel the influence of 
 priests with long robes on. What a great deal of ceremony 
 there is ! but I do not obtain a very strong sense of 
 devotion. They seem to have lost the true devotion m the 
 form of it. 
 
 " On one side is a place that, I suppose, must be for the 
 priests. All the work about it seems plain, but grand. 
 There are no little ornaments ; but all is substantial. A 
 great effect seems to be produced here by different colours ; 
 but it does not seem like paint. I cannot tell what it is. It 
 seems to be inherent in the material itself In one place I 
 see gold colour ; indeed, it seems pure enough to be gold 
 itself There are either precious stones, or something 
 resembling them. If artificial, there is a great deal of purity 
 about them. 
 
 P 
 
2IO Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " I see three places that seem made for persons to stand 
 in. They are near each other, yet separated. Persons 
 seem to stand in them and talk to some one on the other 
 side. I believe this is a Catholic place of worship, after all. 
 I feel that influence now. Yes, that is it. There is a place 
 connected with this that is very little ornamented, and seems 
 gloomy. It is very massive and prison-like. I see a great 
 many people outside. From this I obtain an idea of what 
 may be done in architecture with sufficient means." 
 
 On examining the paper in which the specimen had been 
 wrapped, I found it marked " Modem Mosaic, Rome." 
 From what part ot the Eternal City it came, I am sorry to 
 say I do not know. 
 
 Marble from temple of Serapis. Specimen unseen and 
 unknown. 
 
 " I see the ruins of a building which must have been very 
 extensive, or there were more than one. It was a magnifi- 
 cent structure. I can feel the influence of persons who 
 have visited it. There is a feeling of reverence associated 
 with it, which seems to have been felt by the visitors. 
 There are long, large pillars prostrated, and what look to 
 me like beams. I see stonework about a foot high enclosing 
 a paved space that seems to have been a yard at the back 
 of one part of the building. It forms an arc of a circle. 
 There is a great pillar standing ; the only one that I can see 
 erect. I obtain the shadowy form of the original building ; 
 there are many parts to it. The country seems low. I see 
 water at a distance ; I think it must be a sea of some kind ; 
 it hardly seems the ocean, for I feel the influence of land on 
 the other side of it, though it is broad. I think there is a 
 river near here too. 
 
Temple of Serapis. 211 
 
 " Now I see ruins again. There seem to be huts here, or 
 low, poor buildings ; they look very mean by the side of 
 this. I see animals that seem very intimate with the people. 
 (This view seems recent.) The people are singular, and 
 considerably removed from us. They seem quite out of 
 place here. If they are of the same race as the builders of 
 this structure, they have sadly degenerated. 
 
 " The surface here seems changeable ; at one time level, 
 and then hilly and uneven. Wandering tribes of half- 
 civilized people have passed over here occasionally. The 
 ruins look as if they were buried part of the time ; being 
 covered and uncovered alternately." 
 
 The ruins of this celebrated temple are near Puzzuoli, in 
 Italy, on a low terrace near the Mediterranean. It has been 
 much visited, and has excited great geological interest from 
 the fact that three of its pillars now standing, only one of 
 which was seen, bear evidence to the sinking and uprising 
 of the coast on which they stand. It was below the level 
 of the sea, then elevated ; and, as Lyell says, " showers of 
 volcanic ashes, and materials washed in during storms, 
 covered up the pillars to the height, in some places, of 
 thirty-five feet above the pavement." It sank again below 
 the level of the sea, and was again elevated ; but is said to 
 be sinking now. Alaric and his Goths sacked Puzzuoli in 
 456, and Genseric in 545. These may be what are referred 
 to as the " wandering tribes of half-civilized people " that 
 passed over there. 
 
 A fragment of fresco painting from " Cicero's house," 
 Pompeii. Examined under the same conditions as in the 
 last experiment. 
 
 " I obtain a mixture of objects. I see a deep window in 
 
212 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 a thick partition wall, but there is no glass in it. I notice 
 small statues and coloured images of deities upon the walls, 
 that are very numerous and varied. On a level with that 
 window are pilasters with square capitals. (The place I am 
 in seems to be low.) On one side of the apartment in 
 which I am is a balustrade, which divides off a portion of 
 it ; that may be for a couch or bed. Through an arched 
 opening I see the shadowy form of a man, and now another, 
 with something peculiar on his head. Both sit on some- 
 thing quite high, compared with the height of the place. 
 They sit with their feet up in some way. The first I saw is 
 beckoning to some one. The men's dresses are full ; not 
 tight, as men's are noAv. I see a head occasionally that 
 does not seem real. (There are hills at one side of this 
 place.) What I see is more elaborate than I can describe ; 
 there is too much for me to individualize. 
 
 " Now I am in a darker room, that is very beautifully 
 adorned. In the centre of it is a structure built up and 
 ornamented ; there are steps to it. I obtain the influence 
 of a place where they worshipped idols. The walls seem 
 full of that influence. 
 
 " I have passed to a large room where there are pillars ; 
 the work about them seems heavy. The walls are all 
 decorated with those figures ; they are well done for their 
 style, which I do not much admire. These people care 
 much more about art than worship. 
 
 " I see a great concourse of people ; but they are 
 shadowy. They seem to be in columns. There is a 
 chariot with one man in the centre of a multitude. They 
 go into a large hall, and then out again. They preserve 
 a regular order, and are united to each other in some way. 
 They seem to be drawing something. Some carry lances in 
 
Volcanic tufa, Pompeii. 2 1 3 
 
 their hands, and some have sharp-pointed head-pieces. 
 I think they must be a fighting people ; but there is a great 
 love of merriment in their nature. It shows itself in these 
 processions. In an engagement with the enemy, even, I 
 should expect them to manifest it to some extent There 
 is considerable solidity about them too. They are fond of 
 music. They think a great deal of woman, but do not treat 
 her as an equal. Among the masses the women seem 
 coarse. They are out of doors a good deal ; and doing 
 what we should consider man's business. This seems to be 
 a war time, and the women feel a great deal of interest in 
 it, and would do the meanest kind of services to assist the 
 men in carrying on the war. They seem to feel that there 
 is much at stake, and they must help. I think they are 
 preparing for battle, and the men I saw must have been 
 soldiers. 
 
 " The street from this goes straight for some distance, 
 and then becomes very crooked ; farther on it seems to 
 have been made for the convenience of the scattered 
 houses, and goes from one to the other." 
 
 I was disappointed in the previous examination ; twice 
 before I had tried specimens from Pompeii, but without 
 anything being said of the terrible catastrophe that over- 
 whelmed this beautiful city, which I supposed would have 
 been presented at once. I had in my possession a portion 
 of volcanic tufa obtained from the excavations at Pompeii, 
 and this I thought would be more likely to give the par- 
 ticulars of its destruction. It was not larger than a small 
 bean, but quite large enough to contain a psychometric 
 volume, as will be seen. All knowledge was carefully con- 
 cealed from the Psychometer, who was also still unaware of 
 
2T4 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 the locality from which the previous specimens had been 
 obtained. 
 
 " I see coloured figures on a wall. 
 
 " Now I see a yard, but it differs from all I ever saw 
 before. It is diamond-shaped, with the corner in front of 
 me. I feel the influence of something behind me ; it 
 seems like a building. It is a very heavy structure. I do 
 not see it, but feel it on each side of me. This comes 
 from some old country ; the influence is ancient. It re- 
 minds me of Dickens's song of the Ivy Green, — 
 
 ' That creepeth o'er ruins old.' 
 
 One side of this building looks out on the water ; it may be 
 the sea, for I feel the influence of some large body of water. 
 The side of the building next to the water, and I think 
 another side, have square towers rising up. I hear the 
 rustling of long, heavy curtains in the building. 
 
 " In front of me, and to my left hand, the view is all shut 
 out, and I have been trying for some time to find out the 
 cause. It seems as if there was a great mountain, so high 
 that I have to elevate my head to see the top of it. The 
 abrupt rise of the ground here seems to have caused that 
 yard to be made in the peculiar shape it is. That mountain 
 looks volcanic, and there are smoke, and stones, and cinders, 
 and dust, all issuing from it in a dense body. They are 
 thrown up with such force that, for a great distance, they 
 form a perpendicular column, resembling somewhat a tall 
 chimney, and then spread out on all sides. The mountain 
 seems a hollow shell to a vast depth, the crater at the top 
 being merely an orifice of small dimensions compared with 
 the great cavern in the interior. The mountain has two 
 peaks, the lower one much smaller than the other, but much 
 
Volcanic tufa, Pompeii. 215 
 
 sharper. I have been standing in the space between them, 
 and I now go up a Httle higher. I hear the mountain bellow. 
 What a depth that comes from ! The influences that 
 produce this eruption seem different from any I ever felt 
 before. How strange it seems that I did not see this at 
 first ! for now everything seems so insignificant compared 
 with it. The amount vomited out is immense. It is not 
 like lava, but spreads out in a great black cloud, that rolls 
 over and over, and covers the country like a flood. I can 
 hardly believe that what I see is correct. It looks as if it 
 would bury everything all around it. What a sight ! There 
 it goes, pouring, spreading, foaming, as it rolls down the 
 mountain side in great black waves. It seems to me there 
 is water, too, running down the side of the mountain. At 
 first all seemed dry; but now the mountain belches out 
 water that sweeps everything before it. It is washing away 
 the cinders and ashes that it previously threw out. I see 
 the water rush through the cleft between the lower and 
 upper peaks, and sweep a vast amount of material down. 
 What a desolation it spreads over the land ! It is not a 
 dash and then over, but it continues to pour out for a long 
 time. The lower part of the mountain seems entirely buried. 
 It appears to extend for several miles, and makes it seem 
 like night, it is so dense and dark. There are occasional 
 flashes that look like lightning, and others that are not as 
 evanescent, seen through that dense cloud. They seem to 
 be caused by irregular bodies of fiery matter shot up from 
 the crater. I can think of nothing but electricity that 
 could produce the tremendous force necessary to eject 
 this material to such a height that it falls miles away." 
 (Go below and see how it affects the countiy.) " There 
 is utter ruin to everything below. I do not see any place 
 
2i6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 at tlie bottom. It is a great barren field ; or rather an 
 immense desert of cinders and dust everywhere. (I do 
 not feel the heat that I expected.) I cannot recognize 
 any place. There is nothing visible that w^as there before. 
 Even the water for a long way looks converted into land, 
 being covered with a deep, dark scum of this same mate- 
 rial. 
 
 " I feel the influence of human terror that I cannot 
 describe : it is awful. I see no one ; but the feeling is 
 almost overpowering. I feel like screaming. There are 
 many different sensations commingled ; but there is a horror 
 more overpowering than all. This is either Herculaneum 
 or Pompeii. There is no fancy about this ; it is too terribly 
 real. Some seem to regard it as a judgment of the gods. 
 There is wild agony, prayer, and blind dread. Now I see 
 them. Some wring their hands ; others throw out their 
 arms wildly. I see no one injured; that is, I receive no 
 impression to that effect. 
 
 " I feel the influence of some persons at a distance from 
 here. Now I see a very large crowd of persons, some 
 hurrying along and occasionally looking back ; others seem 
 to feel as if they could never leave, but are compelled to go 
 to save their lives. The scene is agonizing in the extreme. 
 I see one woman dart from the rest, and rush back, as if 
 she had left a helpless parent or child to perish, that she 
 was now determined to save ; but she is compelled to give 
 it up in despair, for there is a fresh burst from the mountain, 
 and she sees there is no hope. A darkness almost as great 
 as night is now around them. How wild they seem ! 
 Many know not what to do, nor where to go. They act 
 as if they thought there was hardly any place left in the 
 wide world for them. There is a town at no great distance, 
 
Volcanic tufa, Pompeii. 217 
 
 to which many of them seem to be fleeing. I feel the 
 influence dividing off in different directions ; but I think 
 many who escaped afterwards perished. Such is the im- 
 pression I receive. 
 
 " Those flashes from the mountain have a shght tinge of 
 purple. 
 
 " I am in the city now, and, under the material, I can 
 see something of its previous condition. I am surprised at 
 their structures, now that I see them more clearly. Their 
 architecture is not of that massive kind that I had supposed 
 it to be. The place resembles a modem town much more 
 than I ever imagined. There is a good deal of taste mani- 
 fested in the arrangement of the town and buildings, and 
 much time and means have been employed in making it 
 beautiful and cheerful. I see a large open space that looks 
 like what we call a square. In the distance I see a long 
 dwelling ; but with this specimen it is very difficult to obtain 
 conditions as they were before the eruption." 
 
 I told her that I had another specimen from the same 
 place, and that from it, I supposed, she could obtain 
 previous conditions readily. This specimen she did not 
 recognize, tliough it was the specimen of fresco painting,Trom 
 " Cicero's house," that she had previously examined. 
 
 "All is in a perfect whirl." (Pause.) "Now it is more 
 calm. There are multitudes in the streets on business. 
 Many of them are collected in one place. It seems the early 
 part of the day. Some never went home from here, they 
 started off' in such haste. They must have had some idea of 
 danger for several days before this. There is a feeling of fear 
 and insecurity among them, but the great catastrophe came so 
 suddenly at last, that they never returned to their houses again. 
 
2i8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " Now I am farther back in time. I see a great many 
 persons in the streets. What most singular-looking vehicles 
 they have ! they are straight up and down behind, and 
 generally very narrow, as if intended for only one person. 
 I can see a head sticking up here and there above the odd- 
 looking backs. The front part has a curve from the top 
 and looks better than the back. There seems to be much 
 labour and art bestowed upon them, but they are clumsy 
 affairs. 
 
 " In one place I see a bar or railing along the street, 
 and over it there are long poles bent into arches, each end 
 being in the ground. Business seems to be done there, for I 
 see many going up and down. At times coarse cloth is spread 
 over those arches to keep off rain or sunshine, or both. It 
 seems to be a kind of market-place, and this is where, I 
 think, many people were on that dreadful morning. I see a 
 large building that must have cost a great deal of labour ; it 
 has a circular appearance, and is very different from any 
 building I ever saw before. The lower part of it is larger 
 than the central, and has arched openings all round it that 
 seem like rooms. The second story has openings all round 
 farther in. People seem to be going there. 
 
 " I am in the building now, in which there is a great 
 number of people. They do not seem to take any part, but 
 - merely look on. I feel no solemnity about it, as in a church. 
 In it I see an oval space. The people seem to be seated 
 very singularly ; I cannot account for it, unless the seats rise 
 as they extend back. It is built in the fashion of an amphi- 
 theatre, so that those farthest back can see over the others' 
 heads. There is some mirthfulness in their feelings, but I 
 cannot see what is going on down there. 
 
 " Now I see persons singularly dressed ; some of them 
 
Volcanic tufa, Pompeii. 219 
 
 are on animals that look like horses, but they seem smaller 
 than ours. Some of them are women ; one of them on 
 horseback. There is an entrance, where they come in, 
 beautifully decorated with flowers. I see one young lady, 
 with small features, of straight and rather slender figure, 
 standing on horseback near there ; she seems to have just 
 ridden round. She looks beautiful. There is nothing on 
 her head but a wreath of flowers. She has a light-coloured 
 dress, which is in good taste, and rides on a light-coloured 
 horse. The men have dresses on, that give them the 
 appearance of possessing wings as they fly round, standing 
 on their horses. I can fancy some of them to resemble 
 birds. A few are dressed in black. The lady on the 
 pony is gay, merry, and nimble ; the men do not seem so 
 light-hearted. What a rider she is ! It is fearful to see 
 her ; I can scarcely credit that any one could ride like that. 
 I sometimes think the men are dressed to represent dark 
 angels and she a bright one. This is a very large place, 
 and strongly built. 
 
 " I see a street now in what seems twilight. There is an 
 archway, and under it, at one end, is a statue, and figures .in 
 alto relievo on the sides. I thought at first that it was con- 
 nected with the market, but I now think it is the entrance 
 to that amphitheatre. On each side of the statue, which 
 seems to represent a woman, is an animal couched. 
 
 " My attention is turned to the eruption again. The first 
 thing that I notice is that hollow sound from the mountain, 
 then a rumbling. I hear a kind of sharp, hissing noise 
 occasionally. All die away, and the people seem to recover 
 from their fright. This appears to have been some days 
 before the destruction." (Were any persons in the amphi- 
 theatre when it commenced X) " I think there were. Those 
 
2 20 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 near the entrance heard the screams in the streets, and then 
 the intelHgence seems to have been slowly communicated 
 through the whole mass. 
 
 " I see and feel the rushing water now ; that was water. 
 There was a pause after the first outgush. Eveiy eye is 
 turned toward the mountain. A great many moved before 
 the worst came. All the light seems to be coloured ; it 
 takes its colour from the cloud through which it passes. A 
 purple twilight is thus produced, — a rather dark twilight. 
 What a scene for a painter ! Indoors it is absolutely dark, 
 and the people are rushing into the streets in every direction. 
 I see them carry off their valuables. They load them 
 into their vehicles and drive off; others take loads of 
 people and drive off furiously. I am now up where I can 
 see them nearly all over the city hunying in every direction. 
 They carried off the more helpless, the old, and the feeble, 
 and sick, while the strong ones walked. I can see some of 
 those with vehicles ahead of that crowd I saw with the other 
 specimen ; they are driving with all speed, apparently to 
 return again. I see some covered vehicles among them, 
 byt they look strange." 
 
 Pompeii was a city in Italy, situated on the river Sarnus, 
 near the Bay of Naples, and, unfortunately for its inhabitants, 
 within a short distance of Vesuvius. All the neighbouring 
 heights were crowned with villas, and the loveliness of the 
 whole region, favoured by nature and adorned by art, was 
 unsurpassed. 
 
 In A.D. 6^, an earthquake threw down part of the city. 
 From time to time, smaller shocks occurred, until, on the 
 23rd of August, A.D. 79, Vesuvius awoke from the slumber 
 of ages, and poured out rocks, ashes, and dust, that buried 
 the city and surrounding countiy. The contrast between 
 
Volcanic tufa, Pompeii. 221 
 
 its previous and subsequent condition is tlius given us by 
 Martial : — 
 
 " Here verdant vines o'erspread Vesuvius' sides; 
 The generous grape here poured her purple tides. 
 This Bacchus loved beyond his native scene ; 
 Here dancing satyrs joyed to trip the green. 
 Far more than Sparta this in Venus' grace ; 
 And great Alcides once renowned the place : 
 Now flaming embers spread dire waste around, 
 And gods regret that gods can thus confound." 
 
 The younger Pliny, who was an eye-witness of the erup- 
 tion that destroyed the city, gives us a very interesting 
 narrative of it, many portions of wliich corroborate the 
 statements made during the preceding examination. He 
 tells us that a cloud was seen to ascend from Mount 
 Vesuvius of very unusual size and shape. " I cannot give a 
 more exact description of its figure than by resembling it to 
 that of a pine tree, for it shot up a great height in the form 
 of a trunk, which extended itself at the top into a sort of 
 branches ; occasioned, I imagine, either by a sudden gust of 
 air that impelled it, the force of which decreased as it 
 advanced upwards, or the cloud itself, being pressed back 
 again by its own weight, expanded in this manner. It 
 appeared sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and 
 spotted, as it was more or less impregnated with earth and 
 cinders." 
 
 For many days previous to the eruption there had been 
 earthquake shocks, but on that night they were particularly 
 violent. The next morning, which ushered in no daylight, 
 the cloud seemed to descend and cover the whole ocean. 
 Pliny and his mother fled for their lives, and he says : — 
 
 ". . . The ashes now began to fall upon us, though 
 
222 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 in no great quantity, I turned my head, and observed 
 behind us a thick smoke, which came rolHng after us Hke a 
 torrent. I proposed, while we had yet any light, to turn out 
 of the high road, lest we should be pressed to death in the 
 dark by the crowd that followed us. We had scarce stepped 
 out of the path when darkness overspread us ; not like that 
 of a cloudy night, or when there is no moon, but of a room 
 when it is shut up, and all the lights extinct. Nothing then 
 was to be heard but the shrieks of women, the screams of 
 children, and the cries of men ; some calling for their 
 children, others for their parents, others for their husbands, 
 and only distinguishing each other by their voices ; one 
 lamenting his own fate, another that of his family; some 
 wishing to die from the very fear of dying ; some lifting their 
 hands to the gods ; but the greater part imagining that the 
 last and eternal night was come, which was to destroy the 
 gods and the world together." 
 
 Mrs. Denton, it may be proper to say, had never read this 
 account of Pliny's, nor, in fact, any description of the event 
 she so truthfully describes. 
 
 There is one statement made by the Psychometer that is 
 contrary to the generally received opinion respecting the 
 phenomena attending the destruction of Pompeii. It is 
 generally supposed that ashes, falling as the snow falls, in 
 process of time enveloped the city ; but, according to the 
 preceding examination, water, vomited from Vesuvius, and 
 sweeping the loose ashes along with its current, must have 
 contributed materially to the catastrophe. There are many 
 facts Avhich have been brought to light by the excavations 
 at Pompeii, which are in harmony with this idea. 
 
 Various skeletons that have been discovered were found 
 enclosed in hardened tuf, which appears to have flowed in 
 
Charcoal from Herculaneum. 223 
 
 around them, for in some cases perfect casts of bodies have 
 been found ; as in the case of a woman found in a cellar, 
 with an infant in her arms. Casts have been recently 
 discovered so perfect, that in pouring into them plaster of 
 Paris, there were formed statues of the ancient Romans, true 
 to the life. Lyell informs us that a mask imbedded in tuf 
 has left a cast, the sharpness of which has been compared 
 to those in plaster of Paris ; the mask was not in the least 
 degree scorched, as if it had been imbedded in heated 
 matter. The cellars and vaults of Pompeii are filled with 
 matter that seems to have iiowed in, which can hardly be 
 accounted for, except by streams of mud resulting from a 
 flow of water from the mountain ; for no quantity of rain 
 upon the dry ashes and cinders could have caused such a 
 flow. 
 
 It is generally considered that the Roman amphitheatres 
 were devoted exclusively to gladiatorial shows. What was 
 seen in the experiment, however, more nearly resembles our 
 modern circus performances. I have no historical evidence 
 to offer in favour of what was thus seen, except the fact, 
 which some may think of but little importance in this 
 connection, that when the amphitheatre at Pompeii was first 
 opened, paintings in fresco were found, representing 
 gladiators, minstrels, musicians, and winged genii. These 
 latter may have been what were seen represented. 
 
 A piece of charcoal from a beam in Herculaneum. 
 Conditions as in previous experiment. 
 
 " I see low buildings on a low piece of land, that resembles 
 an island ; but that is perhaps a mistake. The build- 
 ings are so far away that they may seem lower than they 
 really are. I am on high ground, and look down upon 
 
2 24 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 them ; and from where I am they have quite a hut-like 
 appearance. South and south-east of the land there is water ; 
 the northern part seems higher." (Long pause.) " There 
 are many and conflicting influences in this. 
 
 "I obtain the influence of a city, of a palace, and 
 again, of a garden and water. The palace, as I call it, 
 is a large building and highly decorated, and has a palatial 
 appearance, at all events. There is an extensive garden 
 attached to it. (There seems to be a mixture of present 
 and past that I do not understand.) This seems to be near 
 the sea ; I feel the influence of it, and see ships that 
 stop at a point near here ; I should think within the limits 
 of the city. There is a curious mingling of modern sensa- 
 tions with ancient appearances, and I cannot imagine the 
 cause of it. Either I obtain two diff"erent ages mixed 
 together, or there is a very distinct difference between one 
 part of the inhabitants and another part. Yes, I obtain the 
 influence of the city ; one part of the inhabitants seem 
 refined, in many respects, and the other, coarse and un- 
 cultivated. The difference between them is very marked ; 
 but I do not exactly give it. In this palace there is great 
 refinement and cultivation, but it is different from ours ; 
 it seems occupied by a different people. I feel that their 
 customs would appear very singular to us. They must 
 recognize caste in a very different way from what we do. 
 There seem to be two distinct castes, that do not mingle ; 
 the distinction between them does not arise from intellect 
 in any way, but from wealth ; there may be an intermediate 
 class. There is a great deal here that is rich and magnifi- 
 cent. 
 
 " There seem to be hills beyond where I am. I do not 
 think that was an island that I saw, but a low place extend- 
 
Charcoal from Herculaneum, 225 
 
 ing into the water. In some places I see women doing out- 
 of-door work, but there are some too much refined for that. 
 There is a great deal that is romantic in the appearance of 
 this city. On the city heights is a great gorge, with some- 
 thing built over it like a bridge. There must be a great 
 many inhabitants in that upper part of the city. The people 
 are much engaged in fruit-growing. I see extensive grounds 
 covered with vegetation. It may consist of vines ; but there 
 seem to be fruits that are not grown in this country. ' Many 
 people are engaged in attending to them. I fancy it is a 
 warmer climate than this. Some of the women appear 
 quite masculine in their habits ; they attend to the fruits and 
 grounds, and drive teams. They have no long skirts ; their 
 dresses are quite scant ; I cannot tell what they are made of. 
 " I now obtain the influence of the country around. 
 I see very high cliffs, and, at some distance, there is a range 
 of country that has a volcanic appearance ; at all events, I 
 obtain that sensation from it. I should not be surprised if 
 they felt earthquake shocks here ; they certainly feel, oc- 
 casionally, interior disturbances of some kind, and they are 
 quite strong at times. I am on the Eastern Continent 
 somewhere, for there is an oriental appearance about the 
 people and country. This is from some country facing 
 the south or southward, and the sea lies toward the south. 
 I see several spires in different parts of the city. 1 am 
 part of the way up the heights now, and I cannot readily 
 go down into the city. I overlook part of it. I see shining 
 appearances here and there, that I do not understand ; they 
 are caused, I think, by something bright reflecting the light. 
 I see steps that go up to the higher parts of the city. In 
 some places they go up very steep to great heights, where 
 vehicles cannot go, unless by very circuitous roads. 
 
 Q 
 
2 26 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " The religion of these people does not enter into every- 
 thing as with the Egyptians. There is a good deal of show 
 about it, but little devotion ; they seem a perfect contrast to 
 the Egyptians in this respect. The forms of the Egyptians 
 were the offspring of the inward principle ; but among these 
 people, the form calls up the feeling." 
 
 Continued next day. 
 
 " I stand in a very different position in reference to the 
 city from what I did before. It is now in front of me, with 
 the hills in the background. I see piles, or heaps, that are 
 smoking — several of them — in the city ; they are some 
 distance from me. 
 
 " I am now in an immense building ; it looks very 
 singular ; it is open, to a great extent, and veiy roomy.' 
 I do not yet see the whole ; either I do not see the dividing 
 walls, or there are none. There is a long circular stair- 
 way, on which I see crowds of people. What an extensive 
 place it is ! it is used for great public gatherings. A great 
 many people are in it now. It looks like an immense 
 amphitheatre (what I see comes up in fragments) ; the lower 
 part open to some extent, and the people above. It re- 
 minds me in some respects of the amphitheatre of Pompeii, 
 but the influence and the people seem more modem ; yet 
 they are not of the present time. Now I see more fully the 
 arrangement of the place. It is a large amphitheatre, and 
 full of people ; but I cannot see what is going on in the 
 arena. There is an unclean influence down there ; it seems 
 like a stable, though I cannot conceive of its being tole- 
 rated in such a place. It does not proceed from the arena 
 so much as from its surroundings, though I cannot tell 
 why ; I see nothing to indicate it. I should think this 
 
Charcoal from Herculaneum. 227 
 
 would be a disagreeable place for refined people to visit. 
 Inhere are places in connection with this where animals are 
 kept. I cannot see anything in that pit. 
 
 " I get the idea of its being consumed ; fire and smoke 
 come in, and crowd out other views." 
 
 She took an atlas, turned over to the map of Europe, 
 and after a short pause put her finger near the Bay of 
 Naples, covering the very spot where Herculaneum lies 
 buried. 
 
 This from a piece of charcoal, no larger than a hazel-nut ! 
 The chemist looks at it, and says, — "A fine piece of 
 carbon, of the same chemical composition as the diamond ; 
 by no means, at my command, distinguishable from a piece 
 made by the charcoal-burner last week." The artist looks 
 at it, and says, — " This would form outlines of figures very 
 readily, and I see no other use to which it could be put in 
 my line." But the Psychometer takes it, and what a revela- 
 tion of sights, sounds, and feelings ! Who can tell the 
 infinite number of pictures that it contains ; the knowledge 
 that might be gained from it in reference to subjects on 
 which all history is silent, and yet subjects in which we are 
 deeply interested 1 I believe that a true history of the lava- 
 buried city, more full and more accurate than historian ever 
 wrote of any city, might be obtained from that fragment of 
 a charred Herculaneum beam. The eruption that over- 
 whelmed the city would have been seen, no doubt, if the 
 experiment had been continued for a sufficient length of 
 time. 
 
 I have been unable to verify many of the statements here 
 made with regard to Herculaneum, from the great paucity of 
 definite information, in all books that I have been able to 
 obtain, bearing upon the subject. I have no doubt, how- 
 
2 28 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ever, that a searching investigation would result, as it does 
 almost invariably, in establishing the correctness of the 
 psychometric vision, even to the minutest particular. 
 
 A piece of limestone picked up on the surface, near a 
 limestone quarry, about two miles west of Chicago. Con- 
 ditions as before. 
 
 " City scenes come before me. 
 
 " Now I see another town, made of huts, with a hill or 
 mound behind it. There are many men and women, who 
 look something like Indians, but smaller and different from 
 any that I have seen before. In the town is a large, heavy, 
 dark building, with a raised platform at the end of it, and an 
 image upon it, something like a human being. The plat- 
 form takes up the whole breadth of the building, and there 
 are six or eight steps up to it. There are props supporting 
 the roof, consisting of pieces of wood one above another." 
 (Interrupted, and after a little time tried it again.) 
 
 " Similar scenes all come over again in the same order. 
 I have, — 
 
 " I. Glimpses of present conditions. 
 
 " 2, Forest, all wild. 
 
 " 3. Indian town, with trees in the distance. They have 
 been taking out rock to a great depth here ; at one place 
 there is quite an excavation." 
 
 Who are these people that looked like Indians, but were 
 smaller in size, and more advanced in the arts ; who built 
 temples, and carved rude images 1 Have they disappeared, 
 like the mastodon that once rambled over the wide land ] 
 or were they driven south by the Indian Goths and Vandals 
 who poured in upon them from the North and West 1 The 
 soil we tread, the rocks we carelessly trample under our feet, 
 
Tombs of the Kings, Thebes, 229 
 
 abound with the records of the primitive inhabitants of 
 the land ; and we leave our traces in like manner, to be 
 read by those that shall come after. 
 
 I know of no traces of an Indian town in the neighbour- 
 hood where the specimen was. obtained, though such might 
 possibly be found on examining the spot, for the situation 
 is one well suited for an Indian village, as it must have 
 been, at one time, the first ground in the vicinity of Chi- 
 cago, west of Lake Michigan, that was not overflowed every 
 spring. 
 
 A piece of stalagmitic limestone from one of the Tombs 
 of the Kings, near Thebes. 
 
 Specimen seen, but nothing known regarding it. 
 
 " What I see has the appearance of being reflected, as if 
 near a river, and reflected by its water. It looks like the 
 side of a room, though, in some respects, it differs consider- 
 ably from that. It has a natural feeling, but an artificial 
 look. It looks to me like an opening in a bank ; it has 
 quite an artificial appearance, and yet seems so natural. 
 I think it has been used by human beings. I cannot tell, 
 though I have been trying for some time, what makes this 
 union of the natural and artificial. There seem to be many 
 influences mixed up with this. 
 
 " The human influences are of a very peculiar kind. I 
 see a long train of persons going to and from this place ; 
 they are carrying something. Some have animals, which 
 they lead, walking by the side of them ; the animals look 
 strange ; I cannot tell what they are. These persons differ 
 from all with Avhich I am familiar. Two rows of them stand 
 facing each other. 
 
 " I cannot imagine what this means. I see several faces 
 
230 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 that seem to be looking out of holes in a wall-like surface ; 
 they are human faces. 
 
 " Now a great company, connected together in some 
 way, are moving something high over the ground, and 
 again I see others quite independent. 
 
 " I see some that look as if they were building ; hundreds 
 are moving, hurrying in every direction ; but what I see is 
 not distinct enough for accurate description. 
 
 " Now they are all collected in a great crowd before 
 a place where there is a large door. As far as I can see, 
 there are rows of persons carrying something. Now 
 they have their arms raised up. Above and around 
 that door the hill is cut away, so as to form three truncated 
 pyramids, one above another, becoming smaller to the top, 
 the door being in the centre of the lower one. All over 
 this, crowds are standing, wherever there is room ; some 
 looking down at the spectacle below. All seem to have 
 some common object. There is a sensation of gloom here, 
 though the appearance of the people seems to contradict 
 it ; but that may be in accordance with the custom of the 
 country. I think this must be a burial-place ; and they 
 have either carried a body in there, or go and see a body, 
 and then make wild demonstrations of extravagant, showy 
 mourning, that we should regard as quite indecorous ; there 
 is nothing quiet or subdued about it. 
 
 " I see a portion of a high building, with three statues of 
 human beings standing on the top of it. I see another 
 building, with smaller figures on each end. There are 
 many buildings in the distance. I seem to be in a city, 
 or Something like it. They are a busy people here, — 
 like ants, moving continually in a hurry from one thing to 
 another. They work together in large numbers ; so differ- 
 
Tombs of the Kings, Thebes. 231 
 
 ently from our peoj^le. They take great pleasure in their 
 labour. 
 
 " I see a building now, that has four or five terraces all 
 round it, smaller and smaller toward the top. The ceiling 
 has a very substantial look. 
 
 " It fatigues me to follow the motions of these people. 
 Every man in the city seems to work with every other man. 
 \Vhatever is done, is done by the multitude. There is another 
 long procession just going round the corner. Some kind 
 of animals — I think they must be camels — take part in the 
 procession, not as beasts of burden, but as if they were 
 esteemed. 
 
 " I see a square kind of opening, apparently an entrance 
 to a building. If a building, it is a curious one. It is 
 ornamented with sculpture, and reminds me of the cave 
 temples of India, though I do not know that this is the 
 same. The people have a darkish look, much more so than 
 Europeans." 
 
 The Tombs of the Kings are chambers hewn out of the 
 solid limestone, on the side of a mountain, seven or eight 
 miles from the river Nile, and near the ancient city of 
 Thebes. That mixture of the natural and aitificial, which 
 the Psychometer could not understand, may be referred 
 to the artificial excavations thus made in the natural 
 rock. 
 
 From the city of Thebes, through whose streets, at the 
 time of her visit, the tide of life was flowing, and the tide of 
 death ebbing, she sees the processions as they march with 
 the embalmed bodies of the deceased to their resting-place. 
 It was the custom to draw the bodies to the tombs on 
 sledges, accompanied with long processions ; on which 
 occasions that extravagant mourning was indulged in, which 
 
232 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 so excited her attention. Wilkinson thus refers to the 
 Egyptian customs on occasions of death and burial : — 
 
 "When any one died, all the females of his family, 
 covering their heads and faces with mud, and leaving the 
 body in the house, ran through the streets with their bosoms 
 exposed, striking themselves, and uttering loud lamentations. 
 Their friends and relations joined them as they went, uniting 
 in the same demonstrations of grief ; and when the deceased 
 was a person of consideration, many strangers accompanied 
 them, out of respect to his memory. Hired mourners were 
 also employed to add, by their feigned demonstrations of 
 grief, to the real lamentations of the family, and to heighten 
 the show of respect paid to the deceased." * 
 
 The present funeral customs in Egypt throw light upon 
 their ancient practices. As soon as a person is known to 
 be dying, " the females of the family raise the cry of lamen- 
 tation, one generally commencing in a low tone, and 
 exclaiming, ' Oh, my misfortune ! ' which is immediately 
 taken up by another with increased vehemence ; and all 
 join in similar exclamations, united with piercing cries. 
 They call on the deceased according to their degree of 
 relationship, as, ' Oh, my father ! Oh, my mother ! Oh, 
 my sister ! Oh, my brother ! Oh, my aunt !' or according 
 to the friendship and connection existing between them, as, 
 Oh, my master ! Oh, lord of the house ! Oh, my friend ! 
 Oh, my dear, my soul, my eyes!' and many of the neigh- 
 bours, as well as the friends of the family, join in the lamen- 
 tations. Hired mourning women are also engaged, who 
 utter cries of grief, and praise the virtues of the deceased, 
 while the females of the house rend their clothes, beat 
 
 * Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," Vol. II., p. 402. 
 
Mummied crocodile. 233 
 
 themselves, and make other violent demonstrations of 
 sorrow." * 
 
 The great similarity between this and what Mrs. D. saw, 
 must be apparent to all ; but to give an explanation of all 
 that was presented during this experiment would require 
 a knowledge of Egyptology to which I can make no pre- 
 tension. 
 
 From a gentleman in Quebec I obtained a small mummied 
 crocodile, taken by him from a crocodile pit at Maabdeh, 
 Egypt. Some time afterward I took a small portion of the 
 cloth in which it was Avrapped, and pulled it into fine tow ; 
 then wrapped it in three thicknesses of writing paper, and 
 presented it to Mrs. Denton, who did not see it, and had no 
 idea of its nature. 
 
 " I see a great mound or hill, with a place cut into it on 
 one side. 
 
 " I am looking over the heads of a great many people, 
 who are busily engaged in doing something, I cannot yet 
 see what. I see a long, deep place, that goes away under 
 the hill. I do not know what to call it. Near it is an 
 extensive wall ; but it does not seem to be connected with 
 any building. 
 
 " The people here are, I think, Egyptians ; they look like 
 it. There is an honesty about them that I like. They are 
 destitute of that hypocrisy which I have so frequently 
 noticed when examining psychometrically. They seem to 
 carry their religion into almost everything they do. In all 
 their work they seem to give expression to their religious 
 
 * Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," Vol. II., p. 403. Quoted from 
 Lane's " Modern Egyptians." 
 
234 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 ideas. The universality of this expression is truly wonderful. 
 It does not seem to be confined to any particular place. 
 They seem to regard everything as a partial embodiment of 
 the Divinity, or an embodiment of some part of the Divinity. 
 They are exceedingly religious in their way ; the people of 
 our day cannot compare with them in the habitual exercise 
 of devotion. 
 
 " I see shadowy appearances of very large forms, some of 
 which resemble human beings, but they are stationary. All 
 the buildings have a solid and substantial appearance. The 
 architecture is all heavy. 
 
 " There seems to be a dark passage to that place that I 
 said looked like an excavation. It seems closed up. The 
 entrance looks very singular ; I know not how to describe 
 it. Light and ethereal forms are moving in the air in that 
 entrance, some human, some animal. I could fancy them 
 to be the spirits of those buried there, for I think it must 
 be a burial-place. They seem as much more refined than 
 common psychometric objects, as these are more refined 
 than ordinary objects. One looks hke a turtle; another 
 like a rabbit, only the ears are not as large. But there is 
 a great deal about this that I am unable to describe. 
 
 " I see great numbers of crocodiles, some large and others 
 small. 
 
 " I see hills, all of dust, that look as if they might be 
 changed from one place to another ; or as if the wind 
 might blow them away. 
 
 " I seem to oscillate between the far past and a more 
 recent period, which makes accurate description difficult. I 
 think those hills must be sand ; they have too bright a look 
 for dust. 
 
 "(There comes up occasionally a being of the human 
 
Mummied crocodile, Maabdeh. 235 
 
 form, having a wild appearance, very different from the 
 people I have been seeing.) These people do a great deal 
 of work in stone, cutting it into many different forms. (I 
 feel the influence occasionally of high rocks.) They are 
 as industrious as ants in building, excavating, and cutting. 
 They work together. They have many projects, but are by 
 no means idle dreamers, for they also execute. I see 
 objects that tower up in the air to points ; they are distinct 
 from the buildings, and seem three-sided ; they must be 
 obelisks. I see several of them. Now I see a large, living 
 crocodile, that seems to be in the street." 
 
 That the ancient Egyptians were a very religious people, 
 there can be no doubt. Herodotus says, " They are very 
 religious, surpassing all men in the honours they pay 
 to the gods."* A similar testimony is borne by others, 
 " The Egyptian priests," says Porphyry, " profiting by their 
 diligent study of philosophy, and their intimate acquaintance 
 with the nature of the gods, have learnt that the divinity 
 permeates other beings as well as man, that he is not the 
 only creature on earth possessed of a soul ; and that nearly 
 the same spiritual essence pervades all the tribes of living 
 creatures. On this account, in fashioning images of the 
 gods, they have adopted the forms of all animals, sometimes 
 joining the human figure with those of beasts ; at others, 
 combining the shapes of men and of birds." t 
 
 How exceedingly refined must that influence be, which, 
 passing from a small piece of linen tow, permeates three 
 thicknesses of writing paper, and then gives to the 
 Psychometer the sensations recorded ! 
 
 I had long desired to investigate, psychometrically, some 
 
 * " Herodotus," II. , 37. 
 f ^Yi!kinson's "Ancient Egyptians," II., 109. 
 
236 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 of the human relics discovered in the drift deposits of 
 England, France, and Germany ; and after many fruitless 
 inquiries for specimens, in museums and geological collec- 
 tions, chance threw in my way the opportunity I had so long 
 desired. While in Montreal, in December of last year, I 
 observed at the bottom of McGill Street several heaps of 
 flint shingle, laid there previous to being used for mac- 
 adamizing the street. This flint shingle surprised me, for I 
 had seen nothing of the kind in America ; and, of course, 
 Canada was the last place in America to look for it. On 
 inquiry, I learned that it had been brought from England as 
 ballast. Though I was unable to discover from what part 
 of England these particular heaps were brought, it was 
 evident that they came from a cretaceous neighbourhood, 
 and I thought likely from the south-eastern portion of the 
 island. Among the flints I found two fine specimens of the 
 Echinus, and several smaller fossils, nor dreamed of higher 
 game ; but just as I was about to give up my search, in the 
 twilight of a cold December evening, I found a fragment of 
 bone, hard frozen into the heap, which, on splintering, 
 proved to be fossilized ; and on the next morning, in a 
 neighbouring heap, I discovered some twenty or thirty 
 black or dark brown splintered fragments of fossil bone. 
 Some appeared like portions of the skeletons of bovine 
 quadrupeds, others of deer ; one the bone of a bird ; and a 
 few smaller pieces, from the size of the bone-cells, I 
 considered as probably portions of the mammoth, or elephas 
 primogenhis. From portions of clay attached to them, they 
 had evidently been buried in a bed of blue clay originally ; 
 they adhered strongly to the tongue, and one that I fractured 
 showed a bright metallic lustre. Probably, said I to myself, 
 these were washed out of a drift bed, or more recent alluvial 
 
Early men of England. 237 
 
 deposit, by the waves, and thus became mingled with the 
 shingle of the beach, from which the sailors loaded them 
 into the vessel ; and, possibly, from them I may obtain some 
 knowledge of those human beings who inhabited Great 
 Britain at an early period. I accordingly took one of these 
 bones, which had apparently been cut with some sharp 
 instrument, to extract the marrow, and gave it to Mrs. 
 Denton for examination. She knew something of my ideas 
 on the subject, but had no faith in them. 
 
 " I see a head ; the lower part of the forehead is very 
 prominent, so that the eyes seem deeply set. The forehead 
 is very low, and round, and receding. The face has an awful 
 look ; it is dark, and feathers are stuck round the head. (It 
 was merely a glimpse.) 
 
 " Now I see the chest and arms. It seems hardly human ; 
 yet it is not savage and wild, for I have no such sensation 
 from it as I have before had in connection with early 
 men. There seems a good deal of fun, frolic, and good 
 nature here. The mouth is crescent-shaped, the face short, 
 and the front head slopes on each side, forming quite 
 an angle. I see an older and larger one, that shows its 
 teeth, which are large. It is coarser and uglier, and seems 
 very bad-tempered. 
 
 " I see one sitting on a log, his long legs hanging down, 
 crossed at the ankles, and his hands between his knees. 
 He is looking off. In front of him is a cave. It is sad to 
 see such a pitiful object in the shape of a human being. 
 I question whether he can stand perfectly upright ; his hip- 
 joints appear to be so formed that he cannot, though he sits 
 comfortably. Whether this is natural to him, or is a con- 
 dition produced by disease, I cannot say. Now I see him 
 perfectly. I can hardly credit that he is human, yet there 
 
238 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 is a human expression in the fJace. His body is very hairy ; 
 it appears as if the natural hair answered the purpose of 
 clothing. A part of the face is destitute of that material, 
 and dark-coloured. That is not a log that he sits on, but 
 a rock. He must have gone there frequently to sit. He 
 seems to be in a kind of study; there is evidently some 
 power of thought. 
 
 " I have a glimpse of another, but smaller, more 
 slender, and less hairy. One hand is raised. (My 
 excitement prevents my seeing.) Occasionally, I see 
 part of the body of one of those beings that looks 
 comparatively smooth. I can see the skin, which is lighter- 
 coloured. I do not know whether it belongs to the same 
 period or not. 
 
 " It is rather dark in that cave ; I can only see a little 
 way. There is something in the back part of it, but I can- 
 not see what it is. 
 
 " In the soft floor at the bottom of the cave are curious 
 markings. It looks as if some one, for pastime or for play, 
 had made a number of shallow holes. There must be quite 
 a number of these beings around here, for I see others 
 occasionally. I see one more slender than the first, and 
 another larger, heavier, and yet smoother and more delicate. 
 I think this is a female. She is fuller and more rounded, 
 and her limbs are shorter ; but her face is far from being 
 that ' human face divine,' of which the poets speak, though 
 I only obtain its general appearance. I see another female, 
 smaller than the first. They are more erect than those hairy 
 ones I saw, who are males, I suppose ; but it is strange there 
 should be such a difference between them. 
 
 " I see an animal in a kind of enclosure that seems partly 
 tamed. It is a large, herbivorous animal, and I fancy now 
 
Early men of England. 239 
 
 that the first man I saw was watching it till some one else 
 came ; two or three of them taking turns. 
 
 " There must be a number here, from the influence I feel, 
 — more than one family. All that I have seen hitherto 
 have been perfectly nude ; but I see the back of one now 
 that has some kind of covering on ; I think it is a skin. 
 The wearer is one of the fairer, erect kind, as most of them 
 are that I see now. They look much more human than the 
 others. 
 
 " In that cave I see objects that I cannot tell the use of; 
 they seem made of stone. Some are five or six feet long ; 
 but they must be made of wood, with a sharp point of stone 
 at the end ; they have a round end where they are handled, 
 and I think now are used as spears for killing animals. I 
 see smaller ones hanging on the side of the cave. There 
 appears to be a belt of skin, several feet long, fastened against 
 the wall, and through it different implements are placed. 
 Some are seven or eight inches long, and others but two or 
 three. Some are bulky, and look like hammers, while 
 others are slim and sharp." (Are they made of flint 1) 
 '■ They look hard, and some seem to have been chipped, 
 but I am not near enough to distinguish the precise material 
 of which they are composed. 
 
 " I feel a great many of these beings about, going in 
 and out, but I cannot see many. The cave is a large 
 place. There are other implements hanging on the wall 
 quite sharp ; they seem to be flint. They use them 
 to cut up their meat with. (I feel this.) They did not 
 eat their flesh raw ; I have the impression of its being 
 cooked. 
 
 " I see green trees ; the vegetation seems like that of a 
 war-mer country than this. I see grape vines. There is 
 
240 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 much more intelligence among these beings than those I 
 saw with that specimen from Mount Ararat. 
 
 " The dark ones do not seem as savage as I should have 
 expected. There is something mild and submissive about 
 them. At a distance the face seems flat, and the lower 
 part heavy ; they have what, I suppose, would be called 
 prognathous jaws. The frontal region of the head is low, 
 and the lower portion of it very prominent, forming a 
 rounded ridge across the forehead, immediately above the 
 eyebrows. The hair bushes up full in front, and is 
 inchned to curl. I think there is hair on the chin and sides 
 of the face. 
 
 " I see something peculiar at the edge of a wood. 
 Between the rocks and it is an open space ; and near the 
 wood is something built that seems intended for shelter. 
 There are vines grown over it. 
 
 " I see an animal now, much larger than the largest ox, 
 with large, long horns, three times as large as any I ever 
 saw, that curve over on each side, and almost meet under 
 the head." 
 
 A few days afterward, other and different specimens 
 having been tried in the interim, I broke off a small 
 fragment from the same bone, and gave it to Mrs. Denton 
 for examination. She might have supposed it to be bone 
 from its feeling, but she certainly had no idea of its being a 
 portion of the one previously examined. 
 
 " I see a rude bucket hanging on a cross-bar supported 
 by two forked sticks. It is long for its width, and seems to 
 have been dug out of solid wood. There is something 
 around it near the top, probably to carry it by. It is rough 
 on the outside. 
 
Early men of England. 241 
 
 " I see a very low place, that looks as if made to live in ; 
 it goes up to a sharp peak. (There is some animal influence 
 about this specimen, from the feeling I have.) That house 
 is made by poles put in the ground and poles on the top 
 connecting ; then it is banked up with earth, and skins are 
 put over it — so it seems. I see the poles have forked tops, 
 and the top poles are placed in the forks. I see another, 
 that is round on the top ; and in the distance are three or 
 four little ones. I see shadows of people moving around ; I 
 cannot see any one distinctly. I now see the facial bones 
 of a human being ; the teeth are very prominent, the jaws 
 large, and the front part of the face very prominent and 
 large. 
 
 " I feel now as if I were in one of those places in the 
 rock that I saw the other night. I do not see that long row 
 of implements, but I am in a place like that. I see some 
 great branching horns there, but no animal. The horns are 
 much longer than any I ever saw. There are two main 
 branches on each side, and a number of smaller ones. 
 Between the two, short points stick up, that give it a singular 
 appearance. It seems to be on a kind of seat above the 
 ground. 
 
 " I see an animal lying down, that has a tapering face and 
 nose, — more so than a sheep ; though it looks more like a 
 sheep than any other animal I have seen. Its eyes are 
 large. It has short horns, and is herbivorous ; but what is 
 most remarkable about it, and what I cannot understand, is 
 that it has four horns. I see many things, but not distinctly 
 enough to describe. Many that I see seem quite incon- 
 gruous, and must have been brought here ; for instance, I 
 see a singular-looking spiny fish lying on the ground. I 
 have seen several times the head of an animal resembling 
 
 R 
 
242 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 an ox, but with a thin and short under-jaw, compared with 
 the upper, which is heavier than in our cattle. It has a 
 curly front. The whole head looks very heavy. 
 
 " Now I see a face that looks like that of a human being, 
 though there is a monkey-like appearance about it. I also 
 see several persons trying to roll a large angular stone. 
 One I can see quite plain ; he looks like that one I saw 
 sitting the other night. All these seem of that kind having 
 long arms and hairy bodies. The face of one is toward me, 
 and the backs of the others. None of them are clothed. 
 One looks like a female, with some kind of ornament bound 
 around her head. I cannot tell what it is made of I seem 
 to be in the same place and period that I was the other 
 night with that bone, but I do not see any of the smooth 
 people, that I did then. 
 
 "In rolling that stone, one of them seems to act as 
 overseer ; he resembles the tall, ugly fellow I saw the other 
 night. 
 
 " I perceive a very low entrance to a cave, which looks 
 quite dark. The front, over the top, has an artificial 
 appearance, as if something had been put up to make the 
 entrance smaller. The climate is not warm all the time ; 
 sometimes it is chilly, cold, and damp. 
 
 " I see now a point of land stretching into a large body of 
 water that must be the ocean. On this side of it are many 
 people down by the shore. I wonder if that long weapon 
 I saw the other day was for spearing fish 1 I see one of 
 these people holding up something in his hand, as if for 
 some one at a distance to see. Another one is bent over. 
 They have a monstrous fish on the land which requires 
 several of them to manage. Its mouth is open, and seems 
 full of sharp, white teeth. 
 
Early men of England. 243 
 
 " Toward that point of land are more persons than here. 
 Some of them have dresses that reach from the shoulders 
 to the knee, and are fastened at the waist ; some are shorter, 
 and others are unfastened at the waist. I think they are the 
 skins of animals. They are fishing, and are not very 
 particular about what they catch. These are the smooth- 
 skinned, and the others are, I believe, either their prisoners 
 or slaves that work for them. They have more intellect 
 and craft, and a greater range of ideas, than the others ; and 
 more also of calculation and cunning about them. The 
 others seem inefficient compared with them ; they may 
 become terribly enraged, but they lack ability to accomplish 
 much. These are shorter and stouter people ; they have 
 round faces, low foreheads, but not with that protruding 
 ridge I saw in the others ; they have flat heads, and nothing 
 like beard or whiskers. The fairest of them have a dark, 
 tawny look. I do not like their appearance, they are so 
 designing and selfish. They are largely in the majority I 
 find, and are the same people I saw the other night. 
 
 " I had a glimpse of an awful-looking creature just now, 
 with hair hanging all around a very ugly face, and terribly 
 tangled. 
 
 " I see more animals penned up, that look somewhat like 
 oxen, but with thicker skins and less hair; they are of 
 monstrous size. 
 
 " I see faces of animals that resemble our dogs, yet they 
 differ from them considerably ; but they are more like dogs 
 than any other animals with which I am acquainted." 
 
 Another bone from the same locality, gnawed by some 
 small rodent ; the bone seen, and the circumstances of its 
 discovery known. 
 
244 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " The first thing I see is one of those hairy men sitting 
 with his back against a tree. The same things come up 
 that I saw with the other specimens, or nearly so ; but the 
 animals are more distinctly seen. A great many are visible. 
 One kind resemble oxen, and have very large and long 
 horns ; they are larger than my arm, curve upward on each 
 side of the head, and have two or three twists in them. One 
 of these is about as high as an ox, but smaller. It looks 
 young, has no horns, and looks like a yearling calf. So 
 many objects crowd upon me, I am unable to describe 
 them. One animal, that I suppose to be an ox, has frowzy 
 hair, and thick horns, heavier than the others, but not as 
 long. 
 
 " This must be a horse that I see now. Yes ; I see two of 
 those men on the back of one ; they are going with great 
 speed. They seem to have something with which to guide 
 it, but I do not know what. 
 
 " I see a long string of skulls of different animals hanging 
 against the face of the rock ; the first looks like a human 
 skull. 
 
 " Several of those hairy ones are here ; first at work and 
 then at play. Now I see them climbing up a rock as if 
 pursued by something. (The pictures come up in such 
 abundance, I cannot disentangle them. In whatever direc- 
 tion I look, figures are darting to and fro, singly or in groups, 
 but so rapidly that I cannot describe them.)" 
 
 I advised her to lay the specimen down, and try if, she 
 could see without it. 
 
 " Now they seem less than the natural size, and just as if 
 they were pictures. That is strange ! it seems to me as if 
 they were painted on the outside of my forehead, and I were 
 just looking at them so. I almost turned round to ask you 
 
Early men of England. 245 
 
 to look at them, they are so plain. Now they appear more 
 natural, and move more slowly than before, though I do not 
 see them as distinctly." (She now put the specimen on her 
 forehead again, and said she would tell me all she saw as 
 rapidly as possible.) 
 
 " A man lying down. 
 
 "An ox-head. 
 
 " A place marked off, and the ground tracked round. 
 
 " Enclosure, with an animal in it. 
 
 " Another animal, large, unenclosed, and that looks tame. 
 
 " The sun shining on the water. 
 
 "A cave with an arch-like entrance. 
 
 '• Now I see a man with a club, as if some kind of fighting 
 were going on. I see one of the smooth ones with a club 
 in his uplifted hand. 
 
 " The influences I receive now seem more recent. There 
 is more skill manifest ; all artistic work seems superior, and 
 more genius is apparent. 
 
 " There is a wide and deep river running into the sea not 
 far from here. I see a place with artificial steps like wooden 
 blocks. 
 
 " Now I see some of the hairy fellows working in stone. 
 One of them is doing something with a very large one. 
 Now he sits on it, and puts his hands behind him, and leans 
 back on another to rest. I see two in the water wading, 
 with a pole between them. Now there are a number wading 
 out. That is a pleasant stream, both large and wide." 
 
 As we travel into the night of the past, in search of facts 
 regarding the condition of our race at an early period of its 
 existence, we find history burning with a dim and uncertain 
 light, before we have advanced three thousand years ; and 
 if we had history alone to guide us, beyond this, in mid- 
 
246 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 night we should grope our uncertain way. But when 
 history can no longer be depended upon, archaeology 
 comes to our assistance, and we continue our journey with 
 Hght sufficient to behold the salient features of the land- 
 scape lying before us. 
 
 We have learned from archaeology that, prior to the 
 historic period, men knew the use of iron, and fashioned it 
 into tools for ordinary use, and weapons of war, and this 
 for a long time before history gives any record of their 
 doings. We also learn that previous to the iron age there 
 was a bronze age, in which men knew not the use of iron, 
 probably because they had not learned to produce heat 
 sufficient to melt it from its intractable ores. This bronze 
 age, archaeologists have discovered, existed for a long time. 
 Lyell says, " The number and variety of objects belonging 
 to the age of bronze indicate its long duration, as does the 
 progress in the arts implied by the rudeness of the earlier 
 tools." 
 
 Immeasurably back in the far past, the use of metals was 
 unknown, and men fashioned their tools and weapons 
 principally of stone. This was the stone age. Already the 
 existence of this stone age has been demonstrated in Great 
 Britain, France, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. 
 During the early part of this age, gigantic elephants, nearly 
 twice as large as those now existing, roamed in herds 
 through the forests of Great Britain, France, and Germany. 
 Oxen, of several species now extinct, and some of them of 
 immense size, fed in the natural meadows ; while tigers, 
 bears, and hyenas prowled through the woods in pursuit of 
 their prey, or hid from the hot rays of the sun in the dark 
 
 * Lyell's "Antiquity of Man," p. i r. 
 
Early men of Asia. 247 
 
 recesses of the rocks. In the rivers, extinct species of the 
 rhinoceros and hippopotamus laved their tough hides, imj 
 pervious to the rude weapons of the early men that occupied 
 the land. 
 
 The scenes described in the three preceding experi- 
 ments belong, I think, to this stone age, and give a life- 
 like representation of the people, their condition and pur- 
 suits. 
 
 Probably, during the early human period man had at- 
 tained the highest point of comparative civilization in 
 Central Asia ; and from that as a centre, wave after wave 
 rolled westward over Europe, as the desire for change, or 
 need of wider territory, or love of conquest, or the per- 
 secution of a dominant race, compelled them. Finding a 
 people inferior to them in form, colour, and intellectual 
 ability, they enslaved them, having taken possession of their 
 lands by the right of power ; they themselves to be sup- 
 planted at a future period by another wave of humanity, 
 as much their superiors as they had been of their prede- 
 cessors. Just as in the present day the Arabs have over- 
 run Northern Africa, enslaving the negroes ; and the 
 French, in their turn, driving them out and occupying their 
 possessions. The conquest of Great Britain by the Ro- 
 mans, the first of which authentic history speaks, was pro ■ 
 bably but one of a number that had preceded it, during 
 what may be termed the pr^e-historic period. 
 
 Small fragment of obsidian, from Mount Ararat. 
 Mrs. Denton saw it, but thought it was coaL 
 " I am near a soft, wet place ; below me it is marshy. 
 On one side is a steep ridge, on the side of which is a 
 square hole, lined with poles or sticks, which seem to be 
 
248 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 unhewn. There are different animals around, apparently 
 much afraid. One, with slender body and legs, looks like 
 a deer, but is taller. Some are larger, and more clumsy- 
 looking. One is as large as a hog, but in shape like a 
 mole. Another has a broad face, curved horns, and 
 peculiarly curled hair ; it looks frowzy and quite fierce. 
 
 " The strangest sight of all comes up. It is a man-like 
 animal ; it is pursuing the other animals, and that is the 
 reason they run, and are so afraid. This animal built that 
 place I see. I see another in the distance ; he has something 
 on his head ; and yet another, with something in his hand or 
 paw, — the left of which he swings. His head is very angu- 
 lar. I seem to see the dawn of thought, as he holds that 
 out, and watches it swing. It is a wild animal. I believe 
 he holds it by the entrails ! His arms are as long as his legs, 
 and covered with hair ; but the face is nearly smooth, yet 
 looks fuzzy. The colour is dark, but of an olive tinge. 
 This one has some mirthfulness about him. Oh, what a 
 yell ! I never heard anything equal to it. It thrills me, and I 
 fairly tremble. Yet it had a kind of silvery ring. The mouth 
 of this animal is crescent-shaped. It has a very large nose, 
 three or four times the size of a man's ; it is rounded and 
 very prominent, and seems in keeping with the face and 
 head. The forehead goes up and back to a ridge, giving it 
 a triangular shape." 
 
 If my thoughts were at all concerned in the production 
 of these pictures, on this occasion the vision would certainly 
 have differed most widely from the one presented. I was 
 looking at the time for a volcanic eruption and its accom- 
 panying phenomena; and was very much surprised, as I 
 have frequently been, at the difference between what was 
 presented and what was expected. 
 
Flint arrow-head. 249 
 
 Small flint arrow-head, found near Chesterfield, Madison 
 County, Indiana. 
 
 Mrs. Giles, of Randolph, Cattaraugus County, New York. 
 
 *'I go south to the water's edge, but cannot cross it. I 
 see grass of a yellow colour, a few trees, and various small 
 animals with which I am not familiar. I see pieces of rock 
 in the earth that look something like glass. 
 
 " Now I see a wilderness ; no trees cut down, and in its 
 depths are birds, snakes, and bears. I see a village also, 
 and pass through it ; it is built of bark and skins, and what 
 looks like cloth. There are a great many men near it. I 
 see no women. The men are poorly dressed, almost naked. 
 The skins they wear look rough ; some are worn with the 
 hide out, and others with the fur. They have nothing on 
 their heads, and their skins are dark-coloured. Now I see 
 more of them ; they look lazy, dirty, and shiftless. They 
 really don't seem to know anything. Their foreheads are 
 small, and their heads run up to the crown, in shape like 
 a sugar-loaf. They have large noses, large mouths, and 
 thick lips." In reply to a question she said, " I should not 
 call them Indians ; they are lighter-coloured, and short 
 and thickset. They look more like monkeys than human 
 beings. 
 
 " I see a woman now ; she has a loose skin in front of 
 her breast, and another fast round her hips. There is a 
 small hut ; I have to stoop to enter it. In one corner I 
 see grass and stuff, where I suppose they lie. Here is a 
 larger hut. I see square stones that seem intended for seats. 
 There is a place made of stones for a fire. There is one 
 burning, and some meat, with a pole stuck through it, 
 cooking. The bed in this hut has skins on it. I see a 
 woman with ornaments in her ears, and nice furs on. 
 
250 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 "A man is pounding against the side of a tree with a 
 stone to loosen the bark. The stone is sharp at one end 
 and thick at the other ; he pounds with the large end, and 
 cuts with the other. He has a rough kind of basket, into 
 which he piles the bark. 
 
 " There are spots as large as a house here and there, that 
 seem to have been cleared for cultivation." 
 
 A very life-like picture of the aboriginal times. Mrs. 
 Giles assured me that she did not know what the specimen 
 was till the examination was over. 
 
 A piece of encrinal limestone, obtained near the reservoir 
 at the foot of Mount Royal, Montreal. Mrs. Denton knew 
 it came from somewhere in the neighbourhood of Montreal, 
 but not what it was. 
 
 "I see a tremendous waterfall, of great breadth, wider 
 than any river that I ever saw. Niagara, from what I have 
 heard, must be a baby in comparison. There seems to be 
 a good deal of what looks like steam. I see beams of light 
 that shine through it ; at the lowest part it is dark, but 
 higher up the light is more diffused through it. Those 
 shafts of light that dart through it remind me of lightning, 
 they are so clear and well-defined. 
 
 " I am under the fall now ; there is an arch of rock over- 
 head, but I do not see the water. The archway is extensive ; 
 it is a great open place. The light in the water seems to vibrate. 
 
 " There is that fall again. What a tremendous fall it is ! 
 it seems to hold me. A rock rises up in or near the 
 centre of it, high and steep. It is water-worn all round, 
 and is smaller at the bottom than higher up. The fall must 
 have been miles wide." (It is difficult to shut out modem 
 influences.) 
 
Trap, Mount Royal. 251 
 
 " I wonder if this water has not been exposed to heat. 
 What can have made it so hot 1 
 
 " I see animals resembhng crinoids." 
 
 At the time this examination was made, I did not know 
 that Mount Royal was composed, to a considerable extent* 
 of trap, sent up from below in a heated condition, of course ; 
 but when I learned this, the heat that Mrs. Denton recog- 
 nized was readily explained ; the trap lying in a place but a 
 few rods from where I obtained the specimen. 
 
 A few days afterward, tried a piece of trap from the top 
 of Mount Royal. Specimen seen, and its locality known. 
 
 " I can see the St. Lawrence plainer than when I was on 
 the Mount, and parts of the city fully as plain. I cannot see 
 the bridge distinctly ; I merely see a dark line across the 
 water. I should not have known what it was, if I had not 
 seen it before. 
 
 " Now I am a little way back in time from the present 
 occupation of the country. It looks very wild ; the water 
 rolls on, with no human being present. How lonely ! 
 There is no steeple in town nearly as high as the rock on 
 that island ; it was magnificent. It looks very craggy on 
 top, as I go back in time. 
 
 " Now I see a fall, — very wide ; there are rocks in it 
 higher than the general bed, over which the water dashes. 
 I can hear the rushing of that stream ; the roar is terrible. 
 There is a hollow sound, too, that I cannot account for, 
 but I think it comes from there. It is the broadest sweep 
 of water in the shape of a river that I ever beheld, but I do 
 not think it was as deep then as now." 
 
 When in Montreal, I broke from the first pier of the 
 
252 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Victoria Bridge, on the north side of the river, and on the 
 east side of the pier, a small fragment of limestone ; this, 
 about six weeks afterward, I gave to Mrs. Denton, who did 
 not see it, had no idea of the character of it, and knew not 
 that I had any such specimen. 
 
 " I see a point extending into the water, and vessels 
 around it ; and another point farther away that has 
 buildings upon it. Now I see high cliffs. There seems to 
 be a kind of archway here, but I cannot tell yet what it 
 belongs to. It looks, however, like a tunnel, and yet like 
 a bridge. I do not know what to call it. I am looking 
 through the arched entrance, and that is the appearance pre- 
 sented. There are hills in the distance. There is a city here. 
 
 " I see now what this is ; it is a long bridge over a stream. 
 Down the stream I see that high pinnacle on an island that 
 I saw once when we were at Montreal. This nuist be from 
 the long h'idge at Montreal." 
 
 If Mrs. Denton had been placed bodily on the spot where 
 I obtained the specimen, she could hardly have described 
 more accurately the principal features of the view presented 
 from it. There is a point of land on the lower side of the 
 bridge, which was either made or enlarged during the 
 building of the bridge, and used as a wharf for vessels that 
 were employed in conveying material for its construction. 
 The bridge appeared long, of course, for it is the longest 
 bridge in the world. The iron tube, of which the body of 
 the bridge is composed, has very much the appearance of a 
 tunnel when looked into from the end. The high pinnacle 
 referred to is the same as that noticed by her in the last 
 experiment ; and it is a little remarkable that it was not the 
 present appearances observed that determined the locality 
 of the specimen, but an appearance that has had no actual 
 
Origin of petroleum. 253 
 
 existence for ages ; for it was the observance of this remark- 
 able pinnacle of rock that enabled her to determine that the 
 specimen was from Montreal. 
 
 Since the discovery of petroleum, or rock oil, in such 
 great abundance in Western Pennsylvania, Canada West, 
 and other localities, much interest has been excited in 
 reference to it, and many theories of its origin propounded. 
 One supposes that it is the oleaginous matter from antedi- 
 luvian whales, buried in the localities where the oil is 
 discovered : another, that it is the drippings of coal-beds ; 
 which, when subjected to enormous pressure, yield oil, as a 
 cake of linseed when put under the power of a hydraulic 
 press ; and hence the occurrence of this oil in beds under- 
 lying coal. Others, again, believe that the oil was driven by 
 heat from beds of coal into the neighbouring rocks ; the 
 coal, after parting with its oil, assuming the form of anthra- 
 cite. A wilder theory is, that the oil was driven out of coal 
 by heat, in the condition of vapour, condensed in the upper, 
 cold atmosphere, and rained down in greasy showers ; and thus 
 it is found in localities where there is no coal in the vicinity. 
 Some, despairing of finding any philosophic solution of the 
 question, tell us that God made it when it best pleased Him, 
 and we must receive it thankfully, asking no questions. 
 
 It will be seen that most of these theories assume that the 
 coal-beds are the source of the oil. The reason may be, 
 that an oil, somewhat resembling petroleum, can be obtained 
 from coal by distillation ; though that consideration should 
 not be allowed to outweigh the stern facts that are in 
 complete opposition to this favourite idea. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Titusville, Pennsylvania, United 
 States, where the oil was first discovered in large quantities, 
 
254 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 it was obtained by boring into shales belonging to the Che- 
 mung group of the Devonian formation ; and in these shales, 
 which are at least six or seven hundred feet below the 
 Coal Measures, the oil is sometimes obtained at a depth of 
 six hundred feet ; and when obtained, frequently rushes to 
 the surface with great violence ; showing clearly that the 
 fountain supplying it lies still deeper. There is no coal in 
 the immediate vicinity, the nearest being more than twenty 
 miles distant. The beds between the coal and the shales, 
 in which the oil is found, consisting of sandstones and 
 conglomerate principally, it is difficult to conceive of oil 
 soaking through them and travelling twenty or thirty miles 
 to the spot where it is now found. 
 
 In Canada West, about twenty miles east of Port Samia, 
 petroleum is found in the greatest abundance. The whole 
 country seems to rest on a lake of oil, which has burst 
 through at some period and flooded the land. When the 
 volatile parts evaporated, the ground for acres became 
 covered with asphaltum, in some places two feet thick. 
 Here we should certainly expect coal, according to the 
 common theories ; but when we examine the limestone 
 underlying the deep bed of drift clay which covers that part 
 of the country, we find in it the characteristic shells of the 
 Devonian formation, and discover that it is one of the 
 members of the Hamilton group of that formation. It lies, 
 therefore, still lower, geologically, than the Pennsylvania oil ; 
 and as, on boring into the limestone, the oil is found in 
 greater abundance and of better quality, it is evident that 
 the source of its supply lies deeper still. There is no coal 
 nearer than the Michigan coal basin, probably seventy miles 
 distant ; and there the thickest coal seam is not more than 
 four feet, which under no circumstances could yield oil 
 
Orlg-In of petroleum. 255 
 
 enough to flow half a mile toward the Canadian petroleum 
 region. 
 
 At Louisville this oil, so readily recognized by its peculiar 
 smell, may be seen in the limestone rocks blasted out in 
 forming the ship canal, — rocks laid down ages before the 
 Coal Measures were deposited. In Chicago, where I have 
 observed it floating on the surface of water in a limestone 
 quarry, and where the limestone is thoroughly saturated with 
 it, we find it in the Lower Silurian ; as we do near Hamil- 
 ton, in Canada West, and many other localities. 
 
 It is most evident, then, that this oil does not proceed 
 from coal. What then does it proceed from 1 After 
 visiting the Titusville oil wells, in Pennsylvania, on the 
 breaking out of the oil excitement in that region, I sent a 
 piece of the shale obtained from one of the wells to Mrs. 
 Denton, requesting her to see what psychometry could do 
 towards revealing the mystery of the origin of this remarkable 
 product. The following I received by mail : — 
 
 " All is perfect darkness around me. In a twinkling the 
 darkness is gone, and I find myself deep underground ; how 
 deep I cannot tell, but I feel a great weight above me. 
 
 " In front of me, at my right, at my left, and apparently 
 behind me, though I do not see it distinctly, is a gorgeous 
 scene. I seem to stand in a perfect forest of — (what shall I 
 term it ?). I know of nothing that it resembles in its general 
 structure but the coral forests I have seen when examining 
 fossil coral ; and again, a portion of its structure resembles 
 the honeycomb more nearly than anything else with which I 
 can compare it. The cells are, however, different in form, 
 having a hanging appearance, the lower portion of each cell 
 being more extended, and somewhat smoother and rounder 
 than the upper extremity. These cells, when entire, are 
 
256 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 filled with a liquid ; but many of them, in the part of the 
 forest next me, have been crushed and broken, and the 
 whole space, or nearly so, is filled with this expressed 
 liquid. 
 
 " In many places this coralline forest appears to prop the 
 roof, or stratum, above ; and in every direction through this 
 grove I see clusters and groups reflecting all the colours of 
 the rainbow, and presenting most beautiful and singularly 
 effective arrangements. The liquid is readily distinguishable 
 from water by its appearance ; but, aside from that, there is 
 the taste and effect of being in communication with oil. I 
 do not know what may be above or below this, but here, at 
 least, I see no appearance of coal, or the vegetation from which 
 coal is formed, though I have looked faithfully for it." 
 
 In several oil districts she has observed similar appearances, 
 and on more than one occasion watched the coral polyps as 
 they filled their cells with the oils secreted from the impure 
 waters of the early oceans. 
 
 My own observations corroborate Mrs. Denton's psycho- 
 metric views. I have found a reef of fossil coral belonging 
 to the germs favosites, with the oil dripping out of it, within 
 eight miles of Buffalo ; and near Williamsville, in the centre 
 of solid limestone blocks, are multitudes of corals, the cells 
 of which are filled with this oil, which is visible nowhere but 
 in these cells. In the New York Geological Rooms, Albany, 
 is a fine specimen of oil-bearing coral, marked " Favosites 
 Gothlandica, Erie County," from which the oil has dripped 
 to the bottom of the case. I saw several specimens in the 
 geological rooms at Montreal. 
 
 I have no doubt whatever that this oil owes its origin to 
 the coral polyps, principally of the Silurian and Devonian 
 periods. They seem to have accomplished a work analogous 
 
The divining power. 257 
 
 to that performed by the plants of the Carboniferous period ; 
 they purified the water as the plants did the air ; and though 
 no oil-bearing corals may exist in the ocean at the present 
 time, it may be because the material from which the oil was 
 obtained is exhausted, and the family of oil-bearing corals 
 has become extinct. I know of no living corals whose cells 
 at all resemble those of the oil-secreters, where was deposited 
 this very valuable article, which by heat and pressure has 
 been driven out of its original receptacles into crevices and 
 reservoirs, where it is at present found. By long exposure 
 many of the original oil-containing corals have lost their oil, 
 and hence their cells are frequently found empty. 
 
 If caves can be examined psychometrically, and their 
 windings traced, why not mines and mineral veins 1 There 
 have been many persons who professed to have the ability 
 of seeing objects deep buried in the earth, and I have no 
 doubt that, in some cases, these professions were in 
 accordance with the truth. In the "Seeress of Prevorst," it is 
 said, quoting from Del Rio, that in Spain there is a race of 
 people called Zohuris, who can see things hidden under the 
 earth, as water, veins of metal, and dead bodies. Gamasche, 
 a Portuguese, who lived in the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century, had the faculty of discovering water and metals at 
 a considerable depth under ground. 
 
 Zschokke, the well-known German author, says : — 
 " In almost every canton of Switzerland are found persons 
 endowed with the mysterious natural gift of discovering, by 
 a peculiar sensation, the existence of subterranean waters, 
 metals, or fossils. I have known many of them, and often 
 put their marvellous talents to the proof. One of these was 
 the Abbot of the Convent of St Urban, in the canton of 
 
 s ... 
 
 Of THE 
 
 h 
 
258 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Lucerne, a man of learning and science ; and another, a 
 young woman, who excelled all I have ever known. I 
 carried her and her companion with me through several 
 districts entirely unknown to her, but with the geological 
 formation of which, and with the position of its salt and 
 sweet waters I was quite familiar, and I never found her 
 deceived. The results of the most careful observation have 
 compelled me at length to renounce the obstinate suspicion 
 and incredulity I at first felt on this subject, and have 
 presented me with a new phase of nature, although one still 
 involved in enigmatical obscurity. To detail circumstantially 
 every experiment I made to satisfy myself on this point 
 would take up too much space at present ; but I think it 
 right to mention some of the cases which led me occa- 
 sionally to vary from others in my views of nature and of 
 God." * 
 
 Catharine Crowe says, in her "Night Side of Nature," 
 " Numerous cases are met with in which metals or water are 
 perceived beneath the surface of the earth. A man called 
 Bleton, from Dauphine, possessed the divining power in a 
 remarkable degree, as did a Swiss girl, called Katherine 
 Beutler. She was strong and healthy, and of a phlegmatic 
 temperament, yet so susceptible of these influences, that 
 without the rod she pointed out and traced the course of 
 water, veins of metal, coal-beds, salt mines, &c." 
 
 Our experiments confirm these statements remarkably, 
 demonstrating as they do the possession of this wonderful 
 and valuable power. 
 
 On visiting the Lake Superior copper region some years 
 ago, I brought from thence a number of specimens, which I 
 
 * "Life of Zschokke," p. 143. 
 
Copper, Lake Superior. 259 
 
 submitted to Mrs. Cridge and Mrs. Denton for examination ; 
 they, as before, having no previous knowledge of the speci- 
 men, which was carefully concealed from view when a sight 
 of it would give any clue to its character. 
 
 A piece of conglomerate from the bed of Eagle River, 
 and one mile from the Phoenix Copper Mine. 
 
 Mrs. Cridge. 
 
 " I feel the influence of copper, but very slightly. The 
 vapour of the metal must have passed into this. I should 
 say this came from near the copper. I can see a vein of 
 copper ; it is not more than eighteen inches thick in the 
 thickest place, and seems to extend a mile." 
 
 Whether there is copper beneath this conglomerate or 
 not, I cannot say ; but from the fact that it is found so 
 immediately in the vicinity, and that the Psychometer had 
 not the slightest idea of the locality whence the specimen 
 was derived, I think it more than probable. The copper 
 region of Lake Superior has not been one-hundredth part 
 explored yet. 
 
 When at Copper Harbour, I picked up, from a gravel- 
 bed near the burying-ground, about half a mile from the 
 lake, a fine specimen of crystallized quartz, which was also 
 examined by my sister. 
 
 " I feel the influence of copper. This came from near 
 the lake, and close to the surface, and beneath it is loose rock 
 or gravel for twelve or fifteen feet. Beneath that is a brown 
 stratum, quite thin, not more than a foot thick ; then trap- 
 rock, very deep ; it must be sixty or seventy feet. I see 
 something yellow in that trap rock; it does not look like 
 copper ; it is not in veins, but scattered around. 
 
 " A little from there, toward the west, the trap rock rises 
 
26o Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and comes to the surface. There is copper beneath the trap, 
 but it is only a thin vein." 
 
 About two hundred yards from where I picked up the 
 specimen the trap comes to the surface, and a large cliff 
 of it overlooks the harbour. The yellow substance that 
 she saw was probably the sulphuret of copper, which she 
 had not previously seen, either psychometrically or other- 
 wise. It is obtained at a mine about half a mile from the 
 spot where the specimen was found. 
 
 I found near the mouth of Eagle River, on the Lake 
 Superior shore, a small pebble of amygdaloidal trap, with a 
 speck of copper in it about as large as a pin's head. The 
 pebble is somewhat angular, however, and a person would 
 hardly suppose that it had .been rolled by water. 
 
 Mrs. Cridge. 
 
 " I seem to be standing on the shore of the lake, and 
 before me the water spreads inimitably. Banks rise to the 
 left, and behind me. The strata seem to have been cut 
 away, so that all lie exposed. I see great masses of copper 
 lying bare against the side of the cliff. This seems to have 
 been broken from the cliff above the copper. Near there is 
 a copper vein dividing into three branches, and extending for 
 half a mile. It is thickest near the cHff, and is pure copper." 
 
 I determined to try this specimen again, and discover 
 what it would reveal to another Psychometer, who was 
 totally unacquainted with it, and equally so with the 
 examination that had been made. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see water. Now I see, but it cannot be right, a vessel 
 with sails. 
 
Copper, Lake Superior. 261 
 
 " I seem to be standing above the shore, and either 
 there is an island in the distance, or the land stretches 
 out. 
 
 " I see a man in dark clothes sitting on a rock, looking 
 at the water ; and now I see a steamboat. 
 
 " I am at a place where this was broken off. I see a vein 
 filled with pure copper. It comes out in a cliff, and extends 
 apparently for a mile, never running very far from the lake. 
 The cliff, I should think, is one hundred and fifty feet high, 
 and the copper is some distance from the foot of it. Pine 
 trees grow all over the land, but they look small 
 
 " I see another vein larger than that — thicker and deeper. 
 It heads about on the same level as this, but to the west of 
 it ; both veins, as it appears to me, go to the south-east ; 
 the last more than the first. This vein has large, rugged 
 masses in it ; but it is not as continuously rich as the first," 
 
 Six weeks after this, many specimens from various locali- 
 ties having been examined in the meantime, I tried the 
 same specimen again. 
 
 " This appears to have been moved through the water. 
 It has been rolled a considerable distance by the waves." 
 {In what direction 1} 
 
 " I cannot tell I am surprised. I see a steamboat some 
 distance from me. 
 
 " I perceive metal that looks like gold, or copper with 
 the sun shining upon it. It is a good deal like a place 
 that I have seen before. There is a long line of copper 
 at my left. I seem to have a night view of it ; but it is 
 very bright. This must be a specimen that I tried once 
 before." 
 
 I could not deny it, and thus the experiment terminated ; 
 
262 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 but Mrs. D. said that on first trying it, she had not the most 
 distant suspicion of what it was. 
 
 Nearly a year after this I broke the pebble, that it 
 might not be recognized, and gave a small fragment of it 
 to Mrs. Denton for examination again. 
 
 Nothing seen or known. 
 
 " Many scenes pass before me hke lightning. They are 
 principally of water ; they seem to carrj' me back to the 
 Silurian period. I see rocks projecting into the water, the 
 sea occasionally passing over them ; and in it are myriads 
 of Hving forms of an inferior grade of organization." (I 
 do not desire the palaeozoic impressions.) " I go to the 
 land. It seems as if the earth was all open. To my left 
 are rocks that look two hundred feet high. I am away 
 down in a crevice, and there is a narrow continuation of it 
 for a long way below where I am. It seems as if the 
 rocks all round had been shivered into fragments ; crevices 
 and veins run in every direction. I am now at an 
 immense depth. I see fire ; no, not fire exactly, but molten 
 matter in motion ; it is of a deeper colour than flame. I 
 must be a long way down. It bubbles up like a tre- 
 mendous fiery spring. I follow it up, but it does not rise 
 to the surface of the earth. There are long crevices, 
 filled with this matter. They seem to be to the south 
 of me. 
 
 " I stand with my face to the west. The fluid matter in 
 the crevices is now hard ; it is metal of some kind ; but 
 whether gold or copper, I cannot tell. There is a gas 
 arising from it that gives me the feeling of copper to some 
 extent ; but the metal has a pure look like gold, and I feel 
 almost sure that it is ; but what an enormous amount ! 
 
Copper, Lake Superior. 263 
 
 These crevices that I am tracing are hundreds if not thou- 
 sands of feet below the surface." (Turned the specimen 
 over.) 
 
 " Now I see a vein of copper. This is higher up and 
 near the surface. There is a great difference between this 
 and the other. This I know to be copper ; there are several 
 veins. Some of them come very near, if not quite, to the 
 surface. Others are very large, and lower down. 
 
 " I seem to stand and look through the earth for 
 miles, as if it were transparent as water, only the metallic 
 veins obstructing my vision. They look skeleton-like, all 
 standing up and ramifying in every direction. What a 
 singular sight ! There is a great deal of dark trap beyond 
 that, in which there is no metal for a long way." 
 
 The Potsdam sandstone may be seen at the outlet of 
 Lake Superior, at Sault St. Marie, and also along the 
 southern shore. It is the only fossiliferous rock that is 
 known in that region. Back to the period when this was 
 laid down flies the Psychometer, views the tepid ocean 
 swarming with animals of strange forms and inferior organi- 
 zation ; then, turning to the land, dives into the heart of 
 the earth, and sees the gurgling floods of molten gold come 
 rushing through its veins. It is not unlikely that the mas- 
 sive copper deposits, for which Lake Superior is so justly 
 famous, are underlaid by equal or still more remarkable 
 deposits of gold. Free to arrange themselves according to 
 their specific gravities, the heavier metals would assume the 
 lowest place ; and when the Lake Superior region shall 
 have been mined as long as the tin and copper region of 
 Cornwall, it may be more famous for gold than it is now 
 for copper. 
 
264 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 I have two small specimens of gold obtained from 
 the diggings at Pike's Flat, California. I gave one to 
 Mrs. Cridge, which she saw, but knew nothing of its 
 history. 
 
 " I seem to be in a country that is level, but there are 
 hills all around at a distance. There is gold near this 
 on the surface. I don't like the look of the country, it is 
 so wild and broken ; and there is no grass. 
 
 " I see men walking around with wheelbarrows. They 
 are shovelling dirt into a trough. I see a shaft, too, and 
 men working at it. The gold does not lie in veins, but 
 scattered all around in pieces. It is not in hard rock, but 
 in soft material. In some places there are large quantities 
 of gold that seem to have been poured into holes and 
 crevices. The shaft is a curious one ; I see a long kind of 
 beam that goes up and down. The miners have blue 
 smocks on." 
 
 From what I know of Pike's Flat, this is a pretty correct 
 description of the place, and of the mining operations going 
 on there when the specimen was obtained. The gentleman 
 from whom I obtained it said it was such a description as 
 a person would be likely to give, who, having no pre- 
 vious knowledge of mining operations, should see the 
 place. 
 
 But I had another specimen from the same locality, and 
 taken out of the same shaft ; and here was an opportunity for 
 an excellent test. Would this lead her to the same spot, and 
 would she recognize if? This second examination was 
 made a month after the first. 
 
 "I can see a river, but it is not deep. The scenery 
 
Gold from California. 265 
 
 around is hilly and broken, and somewhat rocky. There is 
 a great deal of gravel, and the rock that I see is not hard. 
 In that water I can see gold, but in very small pieces ; it 
 looks as if it had been washed down from above. / go to 
 the same place as I did with that other specimen. I can see 
 the men at work, the wheelbarrows, shaft, and washer, 
 as before. The washer is a long trough, into which they 
 put the sand and gravel. The men look rough, and strong, 
 and young. Why I should see that old place again, I 
 cannot tell." 
 
 After the examination was over, she said she found 
 she was at the same place, and tried her best to get away, 
 assured that she was receiving incorrect impressions ; but 
 though she travelled up the valley a short distance, she 
 was compelled to return. She was much surprised when 
 told that it came from the same place. 
 
 The same specimen was subsequently tried again by 
 another Psychometer, who did not see it, and did not know 
 what it was. 
 
 Mrs. Taylor. 
 
 " I am on board ship, going back. Now I am on 
 land ; it is a new country and hilly. I see a stream, and 
 banks on each side, and off to the right is a village. I 
 stand on the right-hand side of the stream. I see a 
 hole that has been dug through the soil, gravel, and dirt 
 to the rock. All through the rock they have cut into 
 are shining particles. I see men digging. How greedily 
 they act ! They look pleased ; those shining particles 
 must be gold. There are large quantities in that hill. 
 
 " I see the top of a mountain covered with large trees. 
 One mountain goes up to a peak. I see huts dotting the 
 
266 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 country over, near where the men are digging. The stream 
 appears small high up in the mountains." 
 
 Sulphuret of copper from Lake Superior. I think it was 
 obtained at the Bruce Mine, but I am not certain. 
 
 Mrs. Cridge. Had no conception of what it was. 
 
 " It seems as if I were in a tunnel, and I see the light at 
 the other end. I am under ground, and yet I can see the 
 light and water when I look out. I am quite a distance 
 from the mouth. How chilly it is here ! This must be a 
 mine. I can see a little track laid down, and men about 
 There is a great deal of metal. The mine is damp. I 
 can see a vein of metal, but it differs from all that I have 
 seen before. It has a greenish appearance, as I see it 
 stretching along. They have cut out the thickest of it, and 
 they will not find as much in the direction they are going. 
 They have missed one large branch of the vein where the 
 ore is very thick. They are coming to where the vein 
 separates into two branches, neither of them as wide as half 
 the vein they have gone through. The metal is not copper, 
 and I do not think it is iron. It causes a pain down 
 my back. I see a gentleman and lady in the mine, 
 examining it." 
 
 Having in previous examinations seen copper only in 
 the native or metallic condition, she did not recognize the 
 greenish yellow ore as being copper. 
 
 Lead ore from near Galena. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen seen. 
 
 " I seem to be standing with my face to the west. Be- 
 hind me is a large excavation, at one end of which I stand, 
 as if the earth, for some distance and to a considerable 
 
Lead ore from near Galena, 267 
 
 depth, had been removed ; I cannot tell how deep nor how 
 far in extent behind me. 
 
 "Before me, and extending to my right and left, or 
 rather north-north-east and south-south-west, for a long way, 
 is a vein of metal resembling in all respects, as far as I can 
 judge, this piece of lead. I should think large blocks 
 as pure as this might be removed without difficulty. It does 
 not, however, look as I expected to find it ; for, instead 
 of being in one continuous, solid mass, it appears separated 
 by dust, or something similar, into blocks of irregular shape, 
 not thrown carelessly together, but closely packed, the 
 interstices being filled with sand or dust. If the appearance 
 indicates the amount, there must be thousands of tons 
 as pure as this. But the most inconsistent feature seems to 
 be its nearness to this excavation, and, at the same time, its 
 undisturbed appearance. Not a grain of it seems to have 
 been touched ; it rests in perfect quiet." 
 
 At the time when this examination was made, nearly 
 four years ago, Mrs. D. had never seen a mine of any 
 description, nor had I visited any of the lead mines of this 
 country ; and I was not aware, until my visit to the lead 
 region of the North-west, of the remarkable agreement 
 between her description and the actual appearance of the 
 large lead deposits throughout that region. The galena is 
 found in irregular blocks, not thrown carelessly together, 
 but closely packed, the interstices being filled with clay or 
 ochreous dust. 
 
 If the Psychometer can go down and describe the interior 
 of the earth for thousands of feet below the surface, why 
 not pass through the earth's crust, and visit the great fiery 
 ocean, whose waves no physical eye has ever beheld 1 For 
 
268 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 this purpose a specimen from some deep mine would, I 
 thought, be favourable, and accordingly a piece of copper 
 ore from the Cliff Mine, Lake Superior, was chosen. 
 
 Mrs. Cridge. 
 
 "I am in the mine now from which this came. It 
 is rich, containing much copper. There are several 
 branches from the main one, but none that I see as large 
 as it." (Go down as far as you can.) " It is not very 
 pleasant going down, yet I can go a long way. I go down, 
 and then return ; and thus keep flitting backward and 
 forward." (Pause.) 
 
 " I went down an immense distance, passing rock after 
 rock, till it seemed all light from the material around me. 
 It was not light, however, but I was surrounded with rock 
 as white as snow, and sparkling. 
 
 " Now I am below it ; it is dark again. I should think I 
 am now three or four miles down. What yellow metal 
 I see ! it is as bright as gold. It is gold. It seems very 
 dense, and many yards thick. It appears to be half a mile 
 across, and looks as if it had once been a lake of 
 gold. This lake is concave in the centre, so that it 
 forms an immense golden amphitheatre. As the metal has 
 cooled and sunk, it has left a considerable space between 
 it and the roof, and in that space all is dark. 
 
 " I go down again in the centre of that amphitheatre. 
 There must have been an opening here, for I go by a 
 circuitous route. I feel the heat ; it seems to take my 
 breath. Every now and then I obtain glimpses of flames, 
 as if they came up thus at one time. All is dark again ; 
 what an Egyptian night this is ! 
 
 " I see a faint dawn, becoming every moment brighter 
 and brighter. 
 
The fiery ocean. 269 
 
 " Now I am standing on the shore of an ocean of still 
 fire. The stillness that hangs over it seems never to have 
 been broken. 
 
 " It does move, however. It ebbs and flows like the 
 ocean. I feel much safer than I should have supposed. 
 There is a space, strange to say, between this ocean and 
 the superincumbent mass, and in its heavings to and fro it is 
 depositing rock all the time. 
 
 " It is not always calm ; there are storms at times, when it 
 surges and dashes with great fury." 
 
 That the earth was once a molten mass of matter is 
 now almost universally believed by those who have made 
 geology a matter of study. Its hot springs, volcanoes, and 
 other phenomena, indicate that its interior is in a highly 
 heated state at the present time; and there is no doubt 
 that a condition of things exists there very similar to that 
 so graphically described by my sister. I have tried to 
 induce other Psychometers to make a similar journey. As 
 far as they went, their descriptions agreed with the one 
 given ; but their terror was too great to allow them to reach 
 the goal. 
 
 Amethystine quartz. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. 
 
 " I see a mound covered with tall grass and flowers ; there 
 are three terraces on the sides. At a little distance there is 
 a marsh, in which tall reeds and grasses grow, that have a 
 straggling appearance. At a distance I see a few very pretty 
 low trees and a stream." (See what is under the surface.) 
 " I do not know where I am, but I see metal ; it seems 
 loose, as if in sand. It is yellow, and there is a great deal 
 of it, but it is in small pieces like scattered drops ; pretty 
 
270 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 close together in some places, however. I think it is gold ; 
 indeed, I feel sure of it. What a tremendous amount ! 
 The sand containing it seems to lie in three streams, and, at 
 some distance south, I see another stream containing gold, 
 but the pieces are more scaly, and lie nearer the surface." 
 
 At the time when this examination was made, I was 
 not aware that gold had been found in the neighbourhood, 
 but have since learned that it is obtained within a few miles 
 of the place where the specimen was found, though in 
 nothing like the abundance that this psychometric experiment 
 indicates. 
 
 A few days afterward I gave this specimen to my sister 
 for examination, who knew nothing of it. 
 
 " I see mountains away off, but it is a plain where I am. 
 I see a lot of trees that look like palms. This must be a 
 torrid region. I can see a road that seems to have been 
 recently made. 
 
 " There are rocks below, though it looks sandy above. I 
 see gold in great quantities very near the surface. There is 
 a great deal among the sand that could be got at very easily." 
 
 It would be very strange if these independent obsen^ers, 
 with no such idea in their minds, should see what had no 
 existence. 
 
 About six months afterward I broke this same specimen, 
 and gave a small piece from the centre of it to Mrs. Denton ; 
 and though what was seen differed very widely from that of 
 the previous examination, it confirms the truth of it in its 
 most essential features. 
 
 " I see a mass of softish material, about the colour of 
 flame; there are openings in it of various sizes, and at 
 
Amethystine quartz. 271 
 
 unequal distances. As the mass slowly moves, steam arises 
 from these openings, or what seems like steam to me, and the 
 openings change their shape with the motion of the mass, but 
 do not close. The surface is occasionally a little disturbed, 
 but there is a feeling of rest and quiet connected with it. 
 
 " Now I see it hard, and it alternates between a hard and 
 soft condition several times. Some of the openings gradually 
 fill up. I see a body of rock, with long rows of nodules of 
 harder rock in it." (How were they produced 1) " Very 
 slowly. I can see how it was done, but it is very difficult 
 to describe. 
 
 " As I watch, there is a terrible convulsion or explosion, 
 and the rocks are thrown, with most tremendous force, into 
 great confusion. Huge caverns are formed deep under 
 ground. Again all is still, and I observe dark gray rocks 
 behind me, and in front beautiful rocks, that are almost 
 transparent. Nowthere is another grand convulsion. I stand 
 where all is calm, but in front of me miles of the massive 
 rock are moved along. It looks as if there was rock enough 
 to make a world. Again all is calm. 
 
 " Now I see a great deal of metal ejected from below. I 
 think it is gold. Little comes up, however, compared with 
 the amount below. When it comes up in large masses it 
 settles down again. One immense rock drops miles into a 
 profound cavern." 
 
 The interior of a specimen gives most readily its early 
 history. On the exterior this is generally obscured by the 
 impressions more recently received. In this case she seems 
 to have gone back to the time when the country was in a 
 condition of intense igneous activity, and the precious metals 
 were vomited to the surface from their grand reservoirs in 
 the interior. 
 
272 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 We obtain a glimpse of the way in which precious stones 
 are formed, by openings in the rock slowly filled, probably 
 by segregation from the surrounding rocks, till amethyst, 
 agate, and the more precious ruby, emerald, and diamond, 
 are, during long ages, collected into nodular or crystalline 
 bodies. 
 
 Gold-bearing quartz from Columbian Reef, New Engle- 
 wood, Victoria, Australia. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen, and nothing known 
 respecting it. 
 
 " I see a rock rising up to the north-west of where I am. I 
 see a road where there are trees on one side, and off at a little 
 distance the ground seems to rise. This country has a 
 pleasant atmosphere ; I like its influence. It seems very 
 still. There are hills to the west, extending as far as I can 
 see. One chain comes circling round to where I am. The 
 influence of the country is inspiring. 
 
 "Shall I go under ground?" (Yes.) "I do not think 
 I can, but I will try. I obtain the influence of some 
 kind of metal, but I do not see it. Now I see a white rock 
 with yellow metal in it, in all manner of shapes. It looks as 
 I have seen metal when melted and thrown into the water. 
 I can see one large, uneven mass, that looks as if it had 
 received two or three twists when soft. It looks like gold. 
 There is one mass of rock with thin flakes all through it, and 
 another with the dust distributed through it ; this extends a 
 long way. There is more gold towards those hills. The 
 rock seems disturbed here ; they have been digging, and 
 have come near that large mass, if they have not obtained it. 
 
 " The gold is not in a vein, at least I should not so call it, 
 but it leads along for many miles, though there are several 
 
Gold, Australia. 273 
 
 breaks, where it seems to have been cut off 3 and in these 
 places there is no gold at all ; so that a person might readily 
 suppose that they were at the end of the profitable lead, 
 when it was by no means the case. Many places around 
 here have been disturbed. There is another lead farther 
 to the south that has a good deal of gold, but I cannot 
 go to it. 
 
 " Toward the hills they would have to dig deeper ; here 
 it seems to be quite near the surface. 
 
 "The atmosphere of this country is soft and balmy. 
 There is a great deal of continuous fine, warm, hazy 
 weather. 
 
 " That part of the lead which they have disturbed seems 
 quite small ; it is nothing compared with the undisturbed 
 portion of it. It is narrow where they have been working, 
 but very much wider near the hills, though broken and cut 
 off here and there. Quite near these is one continuous 
 lead, and seems very rich. In digging here they have gone 
 in the wrong direction for getting the greatest amount of 
 gold, owing, I suppose, to a break or interruption near, 
 which is very wide. Beyond that, however, it continues on, 
 but dips lower and lower the farther it goes." 
 
 I wrote to the gentleman from whom I received the 
 specimen, and sent this description, requesting him to let me 
 know whether it was correct as far as he knew. I have not 
 heard from him, but have little doubt of its accuracy, from 
 my general knowledge of the auriferous deposits of Australia. 
 The specimens obtained at the Columbian Reef are the 
 richest gold specimens I ever saw. 
 
 Silver ore from the Washoe mines, California. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. For a test, I requested her to look for oil. 
 
 T 
 
2 74 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " I see coral. Has this been lying near coral ? I think 
 so, for the appearance of the coral is shado^vy." (It had 
 been in my pocket for several weeks, along with a piece of 
 oil-bearing coral ; both, however, wrapped in paper.) 
 
 " I see eight or nine layers of rock, with the edges towards 
 me ; there is a thin, dark layer between every one. There 
 is a curved, open place in them, that seems to have been dug 
 out 
 
 " I am away off now. There is gas here. It seems as if 
 it would suffocate me. The gas is thick, of a purple colour, 
 with an orange tint at the edges. It must be different from 
 oil gas ; there is some metal with it. I cannot see anything 
 for gas. Do you wish me to look for oil ? There does not 
 seem to be any oil about it." (Told her what it was.) 
 " There is a great deal of ore there, but I do not think they 
 have found the richest place yet. Standing with my face to 
 the southwest, to the left there is a vein of ore like this 
 specimen ; but to the right there is one with pure silver 
 in masses." 
 
 , I am not acquainted with the Washoe region, so that I 
 cannot speak of the correctness of this, beyond its general 
 accuracy, which all can see. 
 
 When travelling through the lead region of Wisconsin, 
 Mrs. Denton indicated a spot as being very rich in lead ore, 
 where a " sucker hole " had been dug for a few feet, in 
 search of lead, and then abandoned. I brought from the 
 place a piece of chert, resolved to test it at some future 
 time. 
 
 Let it be remembered that the specimen was not seen 
 by the Psychometer, nor had she any knowledge of it what- 
 ever. 
 
Lead, Wisconsin. 275 
 
 " There is an immense amount of lead ore here. I see a 
 vein with tiff,* much lead, and a little ochre, in a compact 
 rock. Higher up there is a good deal of lead, but in no 
 
 crevice ; it is in blocks, and looks so like 's place, 
 
 on that hill by the timber, that I cannot trust myself to speak 
 of it. This is a rich place, and does not seem to have been 
 disturbed much, if any. The vein seems a good deal deeper 
 than the other part. The lead extends over a large territory ; 
 I can see it in a great many places." 
 
 This description agreed precisely with that given by her 
 when we were at the spot. Lead has been obtained in 
 considerable abundance within a quarter of a mile. 
 
 A month afterward I broke a small fragment from the 
 same specimen for a farther trial. As before, nothing was 
 known of it. 
 
 " I seem to be in a mine, as near as I can tell. I cannot 
 tell whether it has been worked where I am or not. There 
 has been digging here. I can see lead, however, that has 
 not been touched. They do not seem to have reached it. I 
 feel positive they have not got down to the lead ; it is 
 undisturbed, and in great quantities. It does not seem to 
 be very far to it. They could not dig very deep without 
 finding it. It lies in large slabs or blocks. 
 
 " I know where I am, now that I am on the surface. I 
 
 am at ^"s place." (Designating the same place as in 
 
 her previous description.) "The whole lead region seems 
 spread like a map before me. I view it for miles. The 
 most lead lies north of where this came from. There is a 
 perfect mountain of it north ; rising somewhere near the 
 
 * A term used by the miners for carbonate of lime. 
 
276 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 surface, and dipping toward the east. The lead in other 
 places seems to be in drops compared with this. There is, 
 however, a good deal Avhere this came from, and I am sure 
 it came from 's place." 
 
 When at Mineral Point, we examined a number of speci- 
 mens connected with the lead mines of that region, nor did 
 Mrs. Denton know that copper was found in that part of 
 the country. Having obtained a specimen of rock entirely 
 free from ore, from the copper mine about two miles east 
 of the town, I gave it to her for a trial, she supposing it to 
 be connected with some lead mines in the vicinity. 
 
 " It does not look like lead here. I see rock with metal in 
 it that looks like silver." (Some of the sulphurets obtained 
 from the mine have that appearance.) " It is not disposed 
 hke lead ; it is in small pieces, a few inches long ; not thick 
 like lead. I see a crevice now. There is a great deal of 
 ore, mixed with earthy matter, scattered through it ; it is not 
 pure like lead. The crevice seems to have a north-western 
 direction. I see a place where another crevice joins, and 
 they both widen, making quite a large opening, where there 
 is a great quantity of ore. One of the walls of the crevice 
 is split into a number of columns, that are so even, they have 
 quite an artificial appearance. The interstices between them 
 are filled with ore. 
 
 " There is something else here. I can taste it. It is 
 copper. There is a vein of it mixed with other material a 
 little way from the crevice, or else it is the same crevice a 
 little farther on. It is not alone ; there seems to be silver 
 with it, though it may not be ; it is white and bright. 
 There are several small veins within a short distance of each 
 other. 
 
Gold, Pike's Peak. 277 
 
 " Deep down I see a great cave, that has a brilliant 
 appearance ; it glistens all over, for it is lined with crystals, 
 some of them large. There is a purple vapour in it." 
 
 This mine has never paid for working, and probably 
 never will. There is a fissure in the limestone, in some 
 places nearly twenty feet wide, that has been traced for 
 several hundred yards. In this, sulphuret and carbonate 
 of copper, are very sparingly distributed through clay and 
 rock. 
 
 Piece of quartz from a gold mine in the Pike's Peak 
 mining region, obtained of Mr. Henry, Peru, Illinois. Mrs, 
 Denton did not see the specimen, and had not the most 
 distant conception of the locality from which it was obtained. 
 
 "This is unlike any place I ever saw before. I am 
 between rocks that are high up ; it is a magnificent place. 
 I can see a long way down a deep valley to a turning. I 
 see metal. The specimen takes me away to some distant 
 country. They have been excavating here for some purpose. 
 I notice one place where the water has been made to run 
 into an artificial channel. 
 
 " I wonder if that can be gold I see. It certainly 
 looks like it. There is a good deal of it at that turning 
 farther in the rock, however. There is a little where 
 this was found, but more in several places around. The 
 gold is contained in seams in the rock generally, but in 
 some places I see it without. The rocks are damp and 
 cold where I am now. There is a place in the distance 
 where the gold shines in the rock like stars. It is well 
 calculated to disappoint the miners, it lies so scattering- 
 There is very little continuity about it." 
 
 Those who are acquainted with the gold region of Pike's 
 
278 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Peak will recognize the accuracy of some portions of this 
 description at least. 
 
 When visiting McChesney's cabinet in Chicago, I obtained 
 several pieces of silicified wood. Some time afterward I 
 thought I should like to know the condition of our planet 
 during the time of its petrifaction, and gave one of the 
 smaller pieces to Mrs. Denton for examination, not 
 remembering at the time where it was obtained. She 
 said, — 
 
 " It affects my face and eyes. I am underground, in a 
 place open here and there ; it looks like a large, open 
 crevice. I see metal and most beautiful rock. I stand 
 with my face to the north-west. In front of me is an open 
 space, with rock scattered here and there. The beautiful 
 rock extends a good way to the left, with metal distributed 
 through it. It seems to be a kind of vein to the left, rich 
 in metal, and continuous for some distance. I see now and 
 then a bright yellow substance, that seems Uke gold ; if gold, 
 it is in great quantities. There are several metals here, 
 however ; there is lead in large masses by itself, and a good 
 deal of sulphuret of iron. Off at my left there is a massive 
 piece of gold, and a good deal of gold dust distributed 
 through the rock in the vein. Lead, however, would be a 
 better name for it than vein, for it is wide and open almost 
 like a cave." 
 
 I thought this strange ; for of gold or metals connected 
 with the specimen I had never dreamed ; but on examining 
 it I discovered a label marked, " near Gregory's Diggings, P. 
 Peak." Here was the explanation, then : gold apparently 
 possessing superior attractive force psychometrically, as it 
 does normally, had drawn the Psychometer to its sphere ; 
 
Acton copper mine. 279 
 
 and hence this description, probably, of some unexplored 
 gold lead near Gregory's Diggings. 
 
 Piece of ore from the copper mine at Acton, Canada East. 
 
 Mrs. Denton. Specimen unseen, and nothing known by 
 her respecting it No ores had been examined for several 
 months. 
 
 " The first thing I see is a group of objects in water, not 
 well defined. Shall I notice them 1 " (No.) 
 
 " I see something in spots that is very bright. Now I 
 see a rock jutting out, and under it I see the same bright 
 appearance. I see something artificial ; it is heavy at the 
 bottom, and runs up high ; there seems to be a wheel there. 
 I do not know but I am in a mine. I had a glimpse of a 
 ladder. I am underground ; I think I am in a mine. 
 There is an artificial light, I think a candle. I cannot yet 
 tell what kind of a mine it is. The material has not the 
 purity of gold about it. There seem to be two kinds of 
 metal here. I do not see both, but I see one and feel 
 the influence of the other, though it may be at some dis- 
 tance. 
 
 " There is a bluish, purplish vapour that rises and pro- 
 duces a feeling of suffocation. I think this must be copper ; 
 but there is something else. The vapour seems poisonous ; 
 it is this which makes me think it is copper. This is 
 a copper mine ; but it is not like the copper mines of Lake 
 Superior ; it is differently arranged. There is a great deal 
 of copper here, but I am only where they have disturbed it. 
 I could not be induced to work in such a mine, it seems so 
 poisonous. (There seems to be gas with that vapour.) 
 This mine must have yielded well, for though the bodies 
 of ore are not as large as I have seen them, they are thickly 
 
28o Nature's Secrets. 
 
 distributed. There seems to be a pit dug at one place. 
 They do not seem to have taken out all the ore, even where 
 it is open. There are some large bodies, mixed with 
 yellow sulphuret, that have not been touched yet. I see a 
 mass as long as this room is high. It is very jagged, and 
 has an average thickness of five or six feet. It seems to lie 
 to the north-east of the part that has been worked. Some 
 of the ore is blue, some purplish, and some has a green 
 tinge. I do not seem to be far underground anywhere. 
 The excavation here seems large. Ore is all scattered 
 through the rock, and it seems much easier to obtain than 
 in the Lake Superior region." 
 
 I read this description to two mining engineers who were 
 familiar with the Acton mines, and they both agreed that 
 it was a very accurate description. One of them excepted 
 the statement about the ladder that was seen, and the other 
 the rising vapours. Ladders have doubtless been used in 
 the vicinity ; and in reference to the vapours, Mrs. D. did 
 not mean to indicate that they were rising at the present 
 time ; she merely received the impression of the long past, 
 when from the interior came the dense vapours whose sub- 
 limation probably gave rise to these immense cupiferous 
 deposits. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have visited the Acton mine ; 
 and one of the first things I saw was a large ladder against 
 the wall of rock, and a miner upon it, drilling for a blast. I 
 consider the description given a very correct one ; and 
 when it is remembered that Mrs. D. did not know that the 
 specimen she tried was an ore at all, much less a copper 
 ore, it must be regarded as truly wonderful. I present the 
 facts as they occurred; certainly none the less worthy of 
 consideration because they are remarkable. 
 
Acton copper mine. 281 
 
 How far psychometry can be practically employed in 
 developing mines, remains yet to be tested. The greatest 
 difficulty seems to be, in precisely determining the depth 
 at which deposits lie. A hundred feet, more or less, are but 
 a trifle to the Psychometer, whereas to the miner, who has 
 to drive through them, they involve considerable time and 
 expense. In time all difficulty in this direction will be out- 
 grown, I have no doubt, and the world will be greatly 
 advanced by the discovery of its rich mineral deposits. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 REMARKABLE PHENOMENA EXPLAINED. 
 
 T?ROM a consideration of the statements made in this 
 volume, it is but reasonable to suppose that phenomena, 
 springing from the accidental apphcation of the psycho- 
 metric faculty, must have been frequently manifested in the 
 history of the world. If, by placing specimens of various 
 kinds in the hands or on the foreheads of sensitive indi- 
 viduals, they can behold pictures connected with the history 
 of those specimens, and perceive sensations that have been 
 treasured up in them, we may naturally suppose, among the 
 many sensitive persons in the world, that some must have 
 had such pictures presented to them, and such sensations 
 produced, though they may have been altogether uncon- 
 scious of the source from which they emanated. This 
 supposition is borne out by many facts that I have met with 
 in reading, since we commenced the investigation of this 
 subject. 
 
 Under the head of " Spectral Illusions," Dr. Abercrombie 
 gives the following : — " A gentleman of high mental endow- 
 ments, now upwards of eighty years of age, of a spare habit, 
 and enjoying uninterrupted health, has been for eleven years 
 liable to almost daily visitations from spectral figures. 
 They in general present huixian countenances ; the head 
 and the body are distinctly defined ; the lower parts are, for 
 the most part, lost in a kind of cloud. The figures are 
 various, but he recognizes the same countenances repeated 
 
Remarkable phenomena explained. 283 
 
 from time to time ; particularly of late years, that of an 
 elderly woriian, with a peculiarly arch and playful expression, 
 and a dazzling brilliancy of eye, who seemed just ready to 
 speak to him. They appear also in various dresses, such as 
 that of the age of Louis XIV. ; the costume of ancient 
 Rome ; that of the modern Turks and Greeks ; but more 
 frequently, of late, as in the case of this female now men- 
 tioned, in an old-fashioned Scottish plaid of Tartan, drawn 
 up and brought forward over the head, and then crossed 
 below the chin, as the plaid was worn by aged women in 
 his younger days. He can seldom recognize among the 
 spectres any figure or countenance which he remembers to 
 have seen, but his own face has been presented to him, 
 gradually undergoing the change from youth to manhood, 
 and from manhood to old age." * 
 
 I recognize this case at once as one in which psycho- 
 metric influences, probably proceeding from articles in the 
 house in which the gentleman lived, operating upon a 
 sensitive organization, made sensitive by age, as others are 
 by sickness, caused him to see the images of the persons 
 from whom the influences originally proceeded ; in the 
 same manner as Psychometers see the animals whose 
 influence is contained in the fossils with which they come in 
 contact. It is very common for Psychometers to see a 
 portion of a body only, the rest being "lost in a kind of 
 cloud," as in the case of this gentleman's apparitions. The 
 individuals appearing to him wore the dresses of the time in 
 which they existed ; the pictures of dresses being impressed 
 on objects as readily as those of persons, and just as capable 
 of psychometric vision. The elderly woman, so frequently 
 
 * Abercrombie's "Intellectual Powers," p. 255. 
 
2S4 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 seen, may have been a former occupant of the house in 
 which the gentleman resided, and its very walls may have 
 been saturated with her influence. Dr. Abercrombie's 
 patient, in all probability, lived in Edinburgh, as he practised 
 there ; and this former occupant of his house, supposing 
 this to be the true explanation, in all probability was a 
 Scotch lady ; and hence the likelihood of her wearing the 
 " old-fashioned Scottish Tartan plaid, drawn up and brought 
 forward over the head, and then crossed below the chin, as 
 the plaid was worn by aged women in his younger days." 
 He did not recognize among the spectres the countenances 
 of those that he had seen, because these pictures did not 
 j^roceed from his own brain originally, but from the objects 
 surrounding him ; and hence, those objects having taken in 
 his influence during his lifetime, he saw himself in the 
 various appearances that he presented " from youth to man- 
 hood, and from manhood to old age." 
 
 These anomalous facts, that seem to defy all explanation, 
 and set at naught all law, will be found to have their orbit, as 
 well as the cometary wanderers in space ; and every deviation 
 from their track will be shown to be produced by the 
 operation of some law, although its discovery may remain to 
 reward future explorers in this great ocean, where the dim 
 outline of grand continents may be faintly seen on the 
 distant horizon. 
 
 " Monsieur Andral, in his youth, saw in La Pitie the 
 putrid body of a child, covered with larvae, and during the 
 next morning the spectre of this corpse, lying on his table, 
 was as perfect as reality." * In a statement of this, that I 
 have met with in some other work, it is said that this 
 
 * " Philosophy of Mystery," by Dendy, p. 64. 
 
Remarkable phenomena explained. 285 
 
 was visible to him for a quarter of an hour. He saw 
 nothing of it until he came to the table on which the child 
 had lain, and then its image was at once presented to him ; 
 its influence proceeding from that table bringing up the 
 image before him ; for if it had been the image of the child 
 impressed upon the retina of the eye or the brain, he would 
 doubtless have seen it at a distance from the spot as readily 
 as when there. 
 
 Dr. Damon, of Coaticook, Canada East, informed me 
 that when a young man, attending medical college, he had 
 a fit of illness ; and, when confined in his chamber, he saw 
 the lecture-room and all the students, and heard every word 
 of lectures that he had previously heard, though an hour 
 long. He also saw books that he had read, and was able 
 to read page after page, the words on which were so plainly 
 visible, that he noticed even the typographical errors. This 
 condition continued for about two weeks. 
 
 Thousands of such experiences might have been recorded, 
 if a feeling of shame had not prevented parties to whom 
 they occurred from making them public. Many persons, 
 who have made public statements of what they have thus 
 seen, have been rewarded for their candour by being 
 charitably supposed insane, or uncharitably suspected of 
 being drunk. 
 
 " The late Lieutenant-General Robertson, of Lawers, who 
 served during the whole of the American war, brought 
 home with him, at its termination, a negro, who went by the 
 name of Black Tom, and who continued in his service. 
 The room appropriated to the use of this man in the 
 General's town residence (I speak of Edinburgh) was on the 
 ground floor ; and he was heard frequently to complain 
 that he could not rest in it, for that every night the figure of 
 
2 86 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 a headless lady, with a child in her arms, rose out of the 
 hearth, and frightened him dreadfully. Of course nobody 
 believed this stor}^, and it was supposed to be the dream of 
 intoxication, as Tom was not remarkable for sobriety ] but, 
 strange to say, when the old mansion was pulled down to 
 build Gillespie's hospital, which stands on its site, there was 
 found under the hearthstone, in that apartment, a box con- 
 taining the body of a female, from which the head had been 
 severed ; and beneath her lay the remains of an infant, 
 wrapped in a pillow-case trimmed with lace. She appeared, 
 poor lady, to have been cut off in the ' blossom of her sins,' 
 for she was dressed, and her scissors were yet hanging by a 
 ribbon to her side, and her thimble was also in the box, 
 having apparently fallen from her shrivelled finger." * 
 
 Through the hearthstone came the influence of mother 
 and baby, and their images appeared to the terrified Tom, 
 who appears to have been the natural possessor of con- 
 siderable psychometric power. 
 
 The case of Nicolai, the bookseller and author, of Berlin, 
 has excited more attention, perhaps, than any other of this 
 kind ; and, though there are some difficulties in it, is I think 
 explicable on the same principles. His narrative was read 
 before the Academy of Science at Berlin, in 1799, and its 
 substance is thus given by Mayo : — " Nicolai had met with 
 some family troubles that much disturbed him. Then, 
 on the I St of January, 1791, there stood before him, 
 at the distance of ten paces, the ghost of his eldest son. 
 He pointed at it, directing his wife to look. She saw it not, 
 and tried to convince Nicolai that it was an illusion. In a 
 quarter of an hour it vanished. In the afternoon, at four 
 
 * Mrs. Crowe's "Night Side of Nature," p. 411. 
 
Remarkable phenomena explained. 287 
 
 o'clock, it came again. Nicolai was alone. He went to his 
 wife's room, the ghost followed him. About six other 
 apparitions joined the first, and they walked about among 
 each other. After some days, the apparition of his son 
 stayed away ; but its place was filled with the figures of a 
 number of persons, some known, some unknown to Nicolai, 
 — some of dead, others of living persons. The known ones 
 represented distant acquaintances only. The figures of 
 none of Nicolai's habitual friends were there. The appear- 
 ances were almost always human ; occasionally a man on 
 horseback, and birds and dogs would present themselves. 
 The apparitions came mostly after dinner, at the commence- 
 ment of digestion ; they were just like real persons, the 
 colouring a thought fainter. The apparitions were equally 
 distinct whether Nicolai was at home or in society, in the 
 dark as by day ; in his own house, or those of others ; but 
 in the latter case they were less frequent, and they very 
 seldom made their appearance in the streets. During the 
 first eight days they seemed to take very little notice of one 
 another, but walked about like people at a fair, only here 
 and there communing with each other. They took no 
 notice of Nicolai, or of the remarks he addressed regarding 
 them to his wife and physician. No effort of his would 
 dismiss them, or bring an absent one back. When he shut 
 his eyes, they sometimes disappeared, sometimes remained ; 
 when he opened his eyes, they were there as before. After 
 a week they became more numerous, and began to converse. 
 They conversed with one another first, and then addressed 
 him. Their remarks were short and unconnected, but 
 sensible and civil. His acquaintances inquired after his 
 health, and expressed sympathy with him, and spoke in 
 terms comforting him. The apparitions were most con- 
 
288 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 versible when he was alone ; nevertheless, they mingled 
 in the conversation when others were by, and their voices 
 had the same sound as those of real persons. The illusion 
 went on thus from the 24th of February to the 20th of 
 April ; so that Nicolai, who was now in good bodily health, 
 had time to become tranquillized about the nature of his 
 visitors, and observe them at his ease." The doctors now 
 prescribed leeches; and the figures became fainter and 
 fainter, as he lost blood, until at length they became in- 
 visible, and Nicolai saw them no more.* 
 
 I have no hesitation whatever in referring the visions 
 and sounds perceived by Nicolai to the operation of 
 the very same power by which, from archaeological speci- 
 mens and fossil remains, the Psychometer sees the appa- 
 ritions of beings, and hears sounds apparently made by 
 them. At first, the psychometric power in him does not 
 seem to have been so fully developed as it subsequently 
 became, and he only sees the appearance of his deceased 
 eldest son, toward whom his thoughts, during this period of 
 trouble, were doubtless frequently directed, and whose 
 image was so vividly impressed upon his brain. As this 
 power increases, his vision is no longer confined to objects 
 previously impressed upon his brain, but the influences 
 proceeding from surrounding objects caU up the images of 
 persons known and unknown, dead and alive, that fill 
 the place. Nicolai was at this time sensitive enough to see 
 the great picture gallery, or a portion of it at least, where 
 hangs the likeness of all that light ever beheld ; and he at 
 length becomes sufticiently sensitive to hear, issuing from 
 the great storehouse of sounds, the condoling words which 
 
 * Mayo's "Popular Superstitions," p. 55. 
 
Remarkable phenomena explained. 289 
 
 his friends had uttered, as faithfully registered and repeated 
 to his interior ear. 
 
 That this is the true explanation of these remarkable 
 phenomena is strengthened by the fact that, thirteen years 
 previous to this, visions had presented themselves to him, 
 such as Psychometers are well conversant with. Thus 
 he writes : — " In the year 1778, 1 was afflicted with a bilious 
 fever, which at times, though seldom, grew so high as to 
 produce delirium. Every day, toward evening, the fever 
 came on, and if I happened to shut my eyes at that time, I 
 could perceive the cold fit of the fever was beginning, even 
 before the sensation of cold was observable. This I knew 
 by the distinct appearance of coloured pictures, of less than 
 half their natural size, which looked as if in frames. They 
 were a set of landscapes, composed of rocks, trees, and 
 other objects. If I kept my eyes shut, every minute 
 produced some change in the representation ; some figures 
 vanished, and some appeared ; but if I opened my eyes, all 
 was gone ; if I shut them, I had a different landscape. 
 In the cold fit of the fever I sometimes opened and shut 
 my eyes every second, for the purpose of observation, and 
 every time a different picture appeared, replete with various 
 objects, and which had not the slightest resemblance to 
 those that appeared before. These pictures presented 
 themselves, without interruption, as long as the cold fit of 
 the fever lasted. They became fainter as soon as I began 
 to grow warm ; and when I was perfectly so, all were gone. 
 When the cold fit of the fever was entirely past, no more 
 pictures appeared ; but if, on the next day, I could again see 
 pictures when my eyes were shut, it was a certain sign that 
 the cold fit was coming on." * 
 
 * "Natural History of Creation," T. Lindley Kemp, JNI.D., p. 43. 
 
 U 
 
290 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Nicolai's clothing, or articles contained in his pockets, or 
 objects in his room, may have furnished the pictures ; the 
 fever producing the condition in him necessary to the 
 observance of them. 
 
 " Then we have the case of Professor Hitchcock, detailed 
 by himself in the ' New Englander,' and which is one of the 
 most striking on record. He had," during a fit of sickness, 
 " day after day, visions of strange landscapes spread out be- 
 fore him, — mountain, and lake, and forest, — vast rocks, strata 
 upon strata, piled to the clouds — the panorama of a world 
 shattered and upheaved, disclosing the grim secrets of creation, 
 the unshapely and monstrous rudiments of organic being."* 
 
 If sufficiently sensitive, this was no wonder, when he was 
 handhng from day to day the rocks that contained these 
 landscapes, and was constantly surrounded by them. In his 
 " Religion of Geology," speaking of the influence of light 
 upon bodies, and the formation of pictures upon them by 
 means of it, he says : — 
 
 " It seems, then, that this photographic influence pervades 
 all nature ; nor can we say where it stops. We do not 
 know but it may imprint upon the world around us our 
 features as they are modified by various passions, and thus 
 fill nature with daguerreotype impressions of all our actions 
 that are performed in daylight It may be, too, that there 
 are tests, by which nature more skilfully than any human 
 photographist can bring out and fix these portraits, so that 
 acuter senses than ours shall see them on a great canvas, 
 spread over the material universe. Perhaps, too, they may 
 never fade from that canvas, but become specimens in the 
 great picture gallery of eternity." 
 
 • "Dream Land and Ghost Land," by E. P. Hood. 
 
Remarkable phenomena explained. 291 
 
 Beautiful and true ! This conjecture, which was probably 
 suggested by his own experience, accords with many of the 
 facts presented in this volume ; some of which go farther, 
 however, than the Professor's imagination dared to go, 
 vigorous as was its flight. Thus do the realities of nature 
 constantly outstrip the halting imagination of man. 
 
 A son of Professor Hitchcock, Professor Charles H. 
 Hitchcock, State Geologist of Maine, informed me that, 
 during a recent fit of sickness, his father saw spread before 
 him large beds of sandstone, covered with tracks, such as 
 are found in the Connecticut Valley ; and that these tracks 
 enabled him to clear up some doubtful points in reference to 
 them, which he had been unable to do by any other means. 
 
 As I write this, I am reminded of a vision that Mrs. 
 Denton had while examining a specimen of sandstone from 
 the Connecticut Valley, she knowing its nature : — 
 
 " I see the whole surface of the rock exposed for acres. 
 There are many footprints of different sizes, some larger 
 than any that I have seen. In two places I see large jaws 
 and teeth in the rock ; they are semicircular, and the teeth 
 flattish and broad. In one place I see a track go round, 
 then it comes to the edge, and I see no farther. 
 
 " I do not believe they have opened the richest place yet. 
 There seems a large collection of fossils in one place ; I am 
 sure there are bones. 
 
 " Now I see a great many feet and ancles. The feet are 
 divided, and the leg is roundish ; it has a chubby look, quite 
 unlike that of a fowl." 
 
 It is to be hoped that some of these fossils will be found, 
 and the nature of the animals that made the tracks be 
 determined to the satisfaction of all. 
 
 Where there is one who possesses the power of seeing 
 
292 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 psychometrically, there are probably three who possess the 
 power of feeHng. For years I have sought to develop in 
 myself the power to see the pictures that all objects contain, 
 but in vain ; yet I am able to feel influences proceeding 
 from substances that had once belonged to organic bodies, 
 and can at times, by this means, from a portion of bone 
 describe the kind of animal to which it originally belonged. 
 In the following case we have, I think, the result of the 
 unconscious exercise of this power : — 
 
 "In the town of North Walsham, Norfolk, 1788, the 
 ' Fair Penitent ' was performed. In the last act, where 
 Caliste lays her hand on the skull, a Mrs. Berry, who played 
 the part, was seized with an involuntary shuddering, and fell 
 on the stage. During the night her illness continued ; but 
 the following day, when sufficiently recovered to converse, 
 she sent for the stage-keeper, and anxiously inquired where 
 he procured the skull. He replied, from the sexton, who 
 informed him it was the skull of one Norris, a player, who, 
 twelve years before, was buried in the graveyard. That 
 same Norris was her first husband. She died in six weeks." 
 
 Possessed of considerable psychometric power, she 
 recognized the influence proceeding from the skull, and 
 the recognition produced such a terrible shock, that her 
 death was the consequence. 
 
 Were I disposed to increase the size of this book, I 
 might give many other instances illustrating the uninten- 
 tional use of the psychometric faculty. All persons doubt- 
 less possess and exercise it more or less, and, by proper 
 cultivation, many might make it of the greatest benefit to 
 themselves and others. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 UTILITY OF PSYCHOMETRY. 
 
 '~pO the geologist, Psychometry will be of incalculable 
 benefit. There are wide realms of the past that he 
 has never trod ; others, that he has visited, are so enshrouded 
 in gloom, that his acquaintance with them is extremely 
 limited. How little we know of the land fauna and flora 
 during the Cretaceous period ! Trees must have flourished, 
 reptiles must have crawled, and beasts roamed over the 
 surface of the dry land, when the chalk beds of Europe 
 were being deposited in the depths of the ocean, the cream- 
 coloured limestones of Texas, and the marls and greensands 
 of the Atlantic States. Yet of these we know hardly any- 
 thing ; the river deltas of that period are yet to be found, 
 and their fossil contents exhumed ; and even when that is 
 done, the record will be very incomplete. The advanced 
 Psychometer can take a cretaceous fossil, and, by means of 
 it, not only obtain the forms of marine animals and plants 
 that lived during this period, but, without much difficulty, 
 those also of the land ; and thus fill up the great hiatus that 
 at present exists. 
 
 What do we know of the commencement of life ? True, 
 the Oldhamia has been found by the government surveyors 
 in Ireland, below all other fossil remains, and corals in the 
 Taconic formation of the United States have been discovered 
 below all other organic forms ; but it is probable that the 
 traces of the beginning of life lie far below these ; not in 
 fossils to be seen, but in influences that the Psychometer 
 
294 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 alone can detect. Forms too small, too soft, or too fragile 
 to leave any visible impress upon the rocks, shall be distin- 
 guished and described, and vast ages of apparent barren- 
 ness be peopled with busy life. 
 
 The imperfection of the geological record, especially as a 
 history of organized existences, must be evident from an 
 examination of those parts of the earth where formations 
 are now being deposited and organic remains buried. This 
 age will be geologically represented in the future by those 
 beds that are now forming at the mouths of rivers, such as 
 the Mississippi, the Ganges, and the Nile ; by beds of tufa, in 
 the neighbourhood of calcareous springs ; by beds of peat, 
 as in some parts of Ireland, New York, and Massachusetts ; 
 by accumulations of vegetable remains, as in the Dismal 
 Swamp ; by coral reefs, such as are now forming in the 
 Pacific Ocean ; and by volcanic products similar to the 
 beds near Vesuvius, which contain the works and remains 
 of man. A million years from this, how large a portion of 
 these formations will be dry land trod by human beings ? 
 How much of the land thus above the water will be exposed, 
 so that the beds composing it may be examined by the 
 geologist] Among the bones exposed in those beds and 
 examined by geologists, what chance would there be of 
 finding a fossil gorilla? It would not be buried in peat 
 beds, for peat is not formed in countries hot enough for it 
 to exist in. It would not be found in a coral reef, for it is 
 altogether confined to the land. Almost the only chance of 
 discovering the bones of this animal would be in tufaceous 
 deposits, or in beds formed at the mouths of some of the 
 rivers of Western Africa. But it is extremely improbable 
 that any geologist will in the future exhume the bones of an 
 animal that while living eluded the gaze of naturalists for 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 295 
 
 centuries. So, of course, it must be with many animals that 
 lived millions of years ago. What fishes must have existed, 
 of which we have no scale ! What reptiles have crawled, 
 that have left no track ! Had it not been for the enduring 
 character of the dermal skeleton of the ganoids, what should 
 we have known of the strange fishes of the Devonian period ? 
 And how many fishes have existed with cartilaginous bodies, 
 of which we have no vestige, and are not likely to obtain 
 any ! What myriads of beings must have lived and died 
 whose memorial has perished ! Of hundreds of reptiles, and 
 other animalSj, whose tracks have been found in the sand- 
 stones of the Connecticut Valley, what should we have 
 known if the shore of the estuary on which they wan- 
 dered had not been composed of material fine enough to 
 retain the impressions made upon it, and conditions had 
 not been exceedingly favourable for their preservation 1 
 
 The ornithological page of geology is most sadly deficient. 
 A few suspected fragments from the chalk, a few more from 
 the London clay and other Tertiary deposits, are the sum 
 total of our acquisitions. Owing to their habits, the 
 lightness of their bones, and the tendency of their dead 
 bodies to float on the water, but few have become fossil, 
 and hence our knowledge of them is extremely limited. 
 Where are the birds that were doubtless the companions of 
 the marsupial quadrupeds of the Oolite, and probably long 
 preceded them? Where the water-fowl that skimmed the 
 cretaceous seas, and fished in their calcareous waters 1 
 
 The number of species of birds at the present time is 
 about five times as great as that of beasts, and their 
 numerical superiority was probably quite as great during the 
 whole of the Tertiary and Secondary periods ; and if so, 
 what revelations are yet to be made in reference to extinct 
 
296 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 birds ! — revelations that, apparently, Psychometry alone can 
 make. For, imperfect as the rocks may be in fossils, they 
 are, in my opinion, absolutely perfect in pictorial representa- 
 tions and organic influences ; and hence each feather of 
 the wing of every wandering bird has been delineated and 
 may yet be found. Models of these and of all other animals 
 will be made, and we shall eventually be able to view the 
 great organic procession from the monad to the man* How 
 extravagant ! you exclaim. Granted ; but the extravagance 
 of one generation becomes the sober reality of the next. 
 
 These fossiliferous rocks are a great volume of natural 
 history, illustrated by plates, — how marvellously executed ! 
 — of all that has issued from the fertile womb of life. 
 What translations will be needed for centuries to render this 
 volume into our ordinary language, and make its pictures 
 visible to ordinary observers ! Over continents, for ages 
 buried in the depths of the ocean, the Psychometer shall 
 wander and view mighty Amazons, Mississippis, Ganges, 
 Niles, and Thames, on which boat never sailed, flowing 
 from mountains that have long been worn down to fertile 
 plains, and sweeping over wide regions, tenanted by stranger 
 monsters than imagination ever conceived. 
 
 The geological history of every continent and island may 
 be obtained, and the minutest detail furnished of all the 
 changes to which it has been subjected. Correct maps of 
 the earth will yet be constructed, showing its land and water 
 surface at all periods of its history. Nay, I do not think we 
 need despair of obtaining eventually the absolute date of the 
 
 * From this passage it is evident that Mr. Denton beheves in the 
 theoiy of "development," with regard to the origin of the human 
 species; a doctrine utterly rejected by the Editor as being absolutely 
 untrue, and highly derogatory to the natural dignity of man. 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 297 
 
 formation of all the rocks, and the actual period when the 
 various animals flourished whose fossil remains are found in 
 them. 
 
 The heavens are a grand chronometer, over whose dial 
 the stars slowly move, and cycles are marked as our clocks 
 mark the hours ; and by the position of the stars, as seen 
 by Psychometers, the periods of all the great formations may 
 yet be determined, and, in time, the groups in these forma- 
 tions be gradually worked out. Rocks that are now 
 regarded as contemporaneous, because they contain fossil 
 forms that are identical, may be found separated by ages ; 
 life having been retarded on some portions of the globe by 
 unfavourable conditions, as it has been advanced on other 
 portions by the reverse. 
 
 Geology is the history of many worlds, the face of the 
 earth having been renewed many times. Mountains have 
 been elevated and depressed, lakes formed and drained, and 
 life in many forms, on land and in water, has spread over 
 wide areas, flourished for countless generations, and then 
 passed away, to give place to others, in their turn to flourish 
 and decay. A precipice a hundred feet high may contain 
 the tablets on which are recorded the events that transpired 
 on the surface of many of these successive worlds ; and the 
 future Psychometers alone can fully understand and correctly 
 translate these for the benefit of those coming after us ; who 
 shall read more correctly than we can the instructive 
 volumes which contain the history of the past. 
 
 To the miner, Psychometry gives eyes that see through 
 granite almost as readily as through glass ; and he shall 
 trace the courses of veins deeply buried under drift accu- 
 mulations as readily as he does the windings of rivers on the 
 surface. 
 
298 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 Frequently, in travelling over the countiy in the cars, 
 Mrs. Denton will say to me, " There is oil under here," or 
 " There is lead or copper in this neighbourhood ;" and in 
 many cases I have afterwards verified the statements, though 
 neither of us, apart from Psychometry, knew anything 
 respecting these deposits. 
 
 For instance : in passing from Richmond to Quebec, in 
 January last, as we approached Black River Station, Mrs. 
 Denton remarked, " There is considerable copper in this 
 neighbourhood." "In what form does it exist?" I inquired. 
 " Some of it appears to be the sulphuret ; but there is a good 
 deal of native copper, resembling that which I have seen in 
 the Lake Superior region ; it is the first of that kind that 
 I have seen in Canada. I see it distributed in detached, 
 irregular masses." 
 
 This surprised me very much, for I had, previous to this, 
 no idea that copper existed in its native form in the eastern 
 townships, unless in very fine grains, one specimen of 
 which I had seen, but from a different locality. But, shortly 
 after, what was my surprise to hear one gentleman inform 
 another at the dinner-table that a piece of native copper 
 had been found in a gravel bank near Black River. A 
 few days afterward a clergyman of the Church of England 
 showed me a specimen from the same locality.* 
 
 When properly cultivated, what an advantage Psycho- 
 metry will be to the miner and to the world ! Digging for 
 metals will be as certain as the reaping of the ripened grain. 
 
 * This circumstance, extraordinary as it may seem, came within the 
 knowledge of the Editor. He can, therefore, vouch for its truth. The 
 St. Flavien Copper Mine is within three miles of this railway station, 
 and since the above-named circumstance occurred it has been vigorously 
 worked, and to considerable profit. 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 299 
 
 Mining, at the present time, is a most hazardous business, 
 more than half the mines worked never paying expenses. 
 But it shall not always be so. The vast stores of lead, copper, 
 silver, gold, and precious stones, that are lying concealed 
 in the dark recesses of the earth, shall be exposed and 
 obtained. Deep pits need no longer be made to bury the 
 hopes and the money of the men that dig them ; nor 
 tunnels, made by incredible labour, be abandoned when 
 success is nearly certain, by men whose future lives are 
 embittered with poverty and disappointment. These things 
 will become stories of the past, to be repeated no more in 
 the future. Of the wealth of the earth's interior, few beyond 
 Psychometers, who may have examined it, have any idea. 
 
 Astronomy will not disdain the assistance of this power- 
 As new forms of organic being are revealed, when we go 
 back to the earlier geologic periods, so new groupings of 
 the stars, new constellations will be displayed, when the 
 heavens of those early periods are examined by the piercing 
 gaze of future Psychometers. An accurate map of the starry 
 heavens during the Silurian period may reveal to us many 
 secrets that we have been unable to discover, from the 
 shortness of time that has been devoted to intelligent astro 
 nomical observations, and make clearly apparent what is at 
 present but dimly seen. Why may we not indeed be able 
 to read the history of the various heavenly bodies, espe- 
 cially those belonging to the solar system with which we 
 are so intimately connected, — their geological, their natui^al, 
 and, perchance, their human history 1 For ages their influ- 
 ences have been rayed upon the earth, for ages they have 
 been relating their stories to their sister worlds, patiently 
 waiting till the intelligent soul should come that could un- 
 derstand their revelations. 
 
300 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 What books are yet to be written, what histories recorded, 
 and what light to be shed on great problems that have 
 agitated the minds of thinkers for thousands of years ! I 
 have good reason to believe that trained Psychometers will 
 be able to travel from planet to planet, and read their pre- 
 sent as well as their past history most minutely. It may be 
 asked. How shall we be able to know whether the state- 
 ments that are made are correct or not 1 The revelations 
 of one may be compared with the revelations of another ; 
 and we shall thus be able to judge of their correctness as 
 we do that of the astronomer, who sees with his sky-piercing 
 tubes what is invisible to the ordinary spectator. 
 
 To the physiologist and anatomist it presents a micro- 
 scope, by which the organs of living animals can be seen 
 as they perform their varied functions ; the tissues examined, 
 fresh and beautiful, as they are pervaded by the vital currents ; 
 disease traced to its lurking-place, and the operation of the 
 appropriate remedy be watched as the human economy 
 returns to health. The secret history of every animal 
 may be obtained, from its birth to its death, and life be 
 made to reveal its most cherished secrets. The great chain of 
 organic existence may be traced link by link, and the nature 
 of the connection between them be fully understood. 
 
 Psychometry has already been employed in the cure of 
 diseases ; its principal value having been, hitherto, in giving 
 a correct diagnosis ; which can readily be done, in con- 
 sequence of the sympathy that can be established between 
 Psychometers and the diseased ; and also by means of that 
 clear vision which has been illustrated in several of our 
 experiments. 
 
 I have known persons to give an accurate description 
 from letters of the diseases of the persons who wrote them. 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 301 
 
 although they had no previous knowledge of the writer. 
 The good that may be accomplished in this way is incal- 
 culable. 
 
 The artist will find his field almost infinitely extended, as 
 the panoramas of the earlier worlds pass before his eyes. 
 What mountains he shall see in sullen grandeur, as just 
 upheaved they stand, unworn by frosts and rains ! What 
 cataracts pouring over immense precipices, long since worn 
 down and swept away ! The historical past can be repre- 
 sented by him with all accuracy of surroundings, feature, 
 and costume, and we shall no longer be troubled with the 
 lies on canvas that pass for historical paintings. 
 
 Who can estimate the value of Psychometry to the his- 
 torian? "History," said Voltaire, " is a grand lie;" it will 
 be the work of the Psychometer to make it a grand truth. 
 The biography of all nations is faithfully recorded some- 
 where, and all that is needed, I doubt not, can be obtained. 
 What the soul asks for, Nature, in her superabundant ful- 
 ness, is able and willing to grant. We ask to be delivered 
 from the fables in which the early history of all nations is 
 shrouded, for light to arise upon the darkness of the past ; 
 and it shall be done. The history of the early dwellers in 
 Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland shall 
 be read in the light of this power, and the still older his- 
 tories of the early dwellers in Greece, Asia Minor, 'Egypt, 
 and India. Man's history on this globe may possibly ex- 
 tend over millions, instead of merely over thousands of 
 years, and we may watch every step of the process by 
 which the brutal savage was eventually transfonned into the 
 man. We shall wander along the shore of time, and watch 
 the empires as they rise and fall before us, like the 
 waves of a swelling tide. By the aid of Psychometry we 
 
302 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 can tread the sands of Egypt, and see the united multitudes 
 as they drag the ponderous stones, and erect the enduring 
 pyramids ; walk the streets of Athens in the artistic days of 
 Pericles, and behold it in its wondrous beauty, as adorned 
 by those ancient lovers of art ; or when Socrates dropped 
 his thoughts in the market-place, like pearls ; or listen, in the 
 groves of Academe, to the sweet song of the Attic bird, 
 Plato, the noble disciple of Socrates ; or walk through the 
 streets of Jerusalem when Solomon sat on the throne of his 
 glory, and the new temple shone in its splendour, " the joy 
 of all the earth /' stand on the Galilean mountain, and hear 
 the peaceful lessons that dropped from the Man of Nazareth, 
 and mark the rapt attention of the multitude as they heard 
 the gracious words that fell from His lips. 
 
 The sword that Cromwell used is imbued with his stern 
 spirit, and is prepared to reveal the secrets of its master 
 when a worthy listener shall appear. It is not surprising 
 that relics of Napoleon bring large sums; they are the 
 recipients of the actions and even thoughts of this mighty 
 master of war, and will yet make known what no biographer 
 can write. What a story a fragment of the Pyramids might tell, 
 or of the stony-faced Sphinx, that has stared upon a hundred 
 generations as they marched to their destiny over the sands 
 before it ! Could the tomb of Mahomet be rifled, what 
 revelations of the private life of the camel-driver it could 
 give us ! The history of the world has yet to be written ; 
 these accurate, uncorruptible witnesses of the past shall be 
 heard, and their testimony taken. 
 
 The history oi ihQ people, so sadly neglected by historians, 
 shall be sought for and found ; for the life of the meanes 
 plebeian is detailed as accurately as the deeds of the 
 proudest patrician. The gradual advance of all peoples in 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 303 
 
 language, from the first monosyllabic babblings, to the 
 polished tongues of Europe ; in art, from the chipped stone 
 and the rude cave, to the sculptured marble and the stately 
 palace ; in religion, from the worship of crawling beetles 
 to the recognition of the Divine Spirit of the universe, — 
 these, and more than these, will all be traced ; and the 
 clouds that now rest over the histories of all nations shall 
 melt away in the beams of this rising sun. 
 
 There is a practical, every-day side to Psychometry well 
 worthy of consideration. It must be evident to those who 
 place any faith in the examinations recorded in this volume, 
 that all bodies, organic bodies more especially, are trans- 
 mitting influences continually to surrounding objects, the 
 tendency of which is to bring these objects into a similar 
 condition to their own. We may readily see how valuable 
 this knowledge is, and how it explains many facts that are 
 constantly presenting themselves, and are dismissed as 
 mysteries. Radiant forces pass from us continually, as 
 truly as light proceeds from the stars ; and though they 
 may be unseen, they are by no means unfelt. " Talk of the 
 devil, and he will appear," is an old adage, and made 
 probably in consequence of the proximity of an individual 
 directing our attention to himself; his atmosphere causing 
 us to think of him, though we perceive not the reason. 
 Sensitive persons, I am persuaded, can be influenced in this 
 way at great distances. Husband and wife mutually in- 
 fluence each other, and the tendency is, though it may fail 
 to secure the object from the operation of counteracting 
 influences, to bring both parties to a closer resemblance to 
 each other. It has been noticed that long-married and 
 lovingly-united couples increase in outward resemblance as 
 year after year passes away. Mentally, this is notorious, 
 
304 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and morally not less so. Where one is on a decidedly 
 inferior plane to the other, the degrading tendency felt by 
 the superior may produce great unhappiness and consequent 
 want of harmony ; hence the necessity of attending to the 
 intuitive suggestions which may rise in the soul previous to 
 an alliance on which so much depends, and in which the 
 interests of so many are involved. 
 
 To the maiden, who shrinks from the presence of the 
 man who wishes to be her life-companion, I say, let no 
 persuasion of friends, no prospect of wealth, no fear of 
 want, no urgent entreaties or prayers of a lover, induce you 
 to neglect that small voice which proceeds from woman's 
 wisest instructor and best adviser, intuitive sense, which is 
 stronger in her than in man. 
 
 When persons are long and very intimately associated, 
 the life-power of the one seems to become linked with that 
 of the other. The death of one of twins, although separate 
 from each other at the time of the occurrence by hundreds 
 of miles, has been known to give a fearful shock to the 
 other. Some cases of this kind have occurred during the 
 present war. Long-married people frequently die within 
 a short time of each other ; their condition reminding one 
 of the expression of Judah, in reference to Jacob and 
 Benjamin, " His life is bound up in the lad's life." 
 
 As the fire parts with its heat to bring all surround- 
 ing objects into its own condition, so we affect those 
 surrounding us. Not more certainly does a rose diffuse its 
 fragrance, than human beings dispense their influence 
 wherever they go. We are each surrounded by an at- 
 mosphere, which can convey to sensitive persons the 
 impression of our character and condition. Wherever the 
 foot touches the ground, the impression of the man is left 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 
 
 o^D 
 
 upon it, so that even the dog, by means of it, can track his 
 master hours after he has passed ; and persons have been 
 known to trace murderers in this way over a large extent of 
 country, several days after they had gone over the ground. 
 
 Not only does a speaker reach his audience by the 
 sounds that strike the ear, and rays of light that pass from 
 him to the eye, but by invisible rays that reach the interior 
 sense, and enable him, more than by all else, to charm and 
 captivate them. When a speaker uses a manuscript, that 
 receives it to a great extent instead of the audience ; and 
 hence such lectures are pronounced cold and insipid ; 
 though the language may be perfect, the ideas all that 
 could be wished, and the elocution faultless. Something 
 is, wanting ; we cannot tell what ; but all feel it. Until a 
 speaker has established a sympathy between himself and his 
 audience, his position is far from being agreeable to himself, 
 or pleasant to them. Hence everything that tends to place 
 a barrier between a speaker and his audience should be 
 avoided. All boxes, called pulpits, all desks and tables, are 
 a hindrance to the free communication that ought to take 
 place between the audience and the speaker. It has long 
 been noticed that preachers give much better sermons 
 in little country school-houses than in fine churches in 
 the city. They are nearer the people ; there is less ob- 
 struction between them, and a true sympathy is more 
 readily established 
 
 By the connection existing between speaker and hearer, 
 he can call up in their minds the feelings existing in his 
 own. Love, hate, revenge, and even frenzy, — all these are 
 thus communicated, and each one thus influenced becomes, 
 in turn, a centre to radiate these influences to those around. 
 When the number affected is large, and the feeling intense, 
 
 X 
 
3o6 Nature's Secrets, 
 
 it consumes like a furnace, and transforms into its own 
 nature whatever it comes in contact with. The most in- 
 different spectator sometimes becomes perfectly in earnest, 
 without being able to give the reason why. 
 
 Where an audience is antagonistic to a speaker, if sensi- 
 tive, he perceives it ; and unless remarkably positive, and 
 his positiveness arouses him to unusual action, he will 
 be so affected by it as to lower the tone of his discourse, 
 or even, as in cases that I have heard of, be compelled 
 abruptly to close it. Where, on the contrary, the audience 
 sympathizes with him, he receives from them as truly as he 
 imparts, and, upborne by their sympathy, he mounts to 
 regions of philosophy that, unassisted, he could never gain, 
 and pours out his soul in burning eloquence that startles and 
 thrills himself not less than his hearers.* 
 
 Is a man religious ? not more truly does the sun shine, 
 imparting its glory to surrounding objects, than that man's 
 religious influence passes from him to all persons and things 
 within its sphere. The house in which he lives, as well 
 as the house in which he worships, becomes a religious 
 house ; and the word, thus applied, is by no means as 
 inappropriate as some would have us believe, who see the 
 \surface, but not the interior of things. Brutality and lust go 
 forth in like manner, impressing and influencing all within 
 their range. Houses become so imbued with the influence 
 of the people that live in them, that sensitive persons can 
 feel that influence as soon as they enter ; and if it is un- 
 pleasant, they have a feeling of uneasiness, or positive 
 unhappiness, as long as they are subject to it Many 
 
 * These remarks are especially worthy the most serious consideration 
 of all ministers of the Gospel, as well as all public speakers. — Ed. 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 307 
 
 persons feeling this are entirely unaware of its origin, and 
 suffer the consequences of their ignorance. 
 
 It has long been known that the young and healthy 
 impart their health and vigour to the sickly and infirm. 
 Of this, David's advisers seem to have been aware, when, in 
 his old age, they brought the fair Shunamite damsel to 
 " cherish the king." 
 
 For this reason, old and young should not unite in 
 matrimony, neither should young children sleep with their 
 grandparents, who by this means prolong their own exis- 
 tence at the expense of the children's health. 
 
 " Dr. Copeland relates the following case : — 
 
 " ' I was a few years since consulted about a pale, sickly, 
 and thin boy of about five or six years of age. He ap- 
 peared to have no specific ailment, but there was a slow and 
 remarkable decline of flesh and strength, and of the energy 
 of all the functions, — what his mother very aptly termed 
 " a gradual blight." After inquiring into the history of the 
 case, it came out that he had been a very robust and ple- 
 thoric child up to his third year, when his grandmother, 
 a very aged person, took him to sleep with her; that he 
 soon afterward lost his good looks, and that he had con- 
 tinued to decline progressively ever since, notwithstanding 
 medical treatment. I directed him to sleep apart from his 
 aged grandparent, and prescribed gentle tonics, change 
 of air, &c., and the recovery was very rapid.' " * 
 
 Sickly persons should refrain from kissing and fondling 
 children, and healthy persons alone should be nurses. 
 It is important to know who makes our bread ; for the 
 dough necessarily receives the influence of those through 
 
 * Millingen's "Curiosities of Medical Experience," p. 326. 
 
3o8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 whose hands it passes. The baker puts his life in his loaf, 
 and influences persons for good or evil, who eat his bread. 
 
 The domestication of animals may have been, to a great 
 extent, produced by man's influence imparted to them, 
 which animals acquainted with man are all glad to receive. 
 This influence was, of course, more readily imparted to 
 them when man was a savage ; and there existed a greater 
 familiarity between the beast and man then than now. 
 
 Animals, in their turn, affect human beings. The in- 
 fluence of healthy horses, cows, dogs, and other animals is 
 beneficial to the sick and the infirm ; and much of the 
 robust health enjoyed by those surrounded by their in- 
 fluence, in spite of wide departures from correct Hving, may 
 be attributed to this. Puny children might play with dogs 
 and cats, and ride on horseback, to advantage, as far as their 
 health is concerned. 
 
 But as animals below man have but little that is intel- 
 lectual or spiritual to radiate, and they are constantly 
 receiving these from us while we are in contact with them, 
 we are robbed on these sides of our being by the association, 
 and receive the brutal in return. Men who are constantly 
 with hogs, cattle, and horses, seem to partake of their nature, 
 manifesting that nature they are constantly receiving. 
 
 There is no doubt that the geologic formations of a 
 country produce some effect on the people who dwell above 
 them, and who drink the water which has soaked through 
 them, and is charged with their peculiar influence. I have 
 found the calcareous deposit of a steam boiler so charged 
 with the organic influence of the rocks through which the 
 water had passed, that it could be instantly perceived on 
 trying it psychometrically. Certain countries produce cer- 
 tain men. Much is due to the original stock from which 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 309 
 
 they were derived ; much to the dimate to which they are 
 subjected ; much to their habits ; but making all due 
 allowance for them, the rocks of a country and their 
 contents have a most decided and wonderful influence 
 upon its inhabitants. It may be long before we can tell 
 how much effect, and what kind of an effect, the Lower 
 Silurian limestones, so completely filled with fossil forms, 
 may have upon the people of Nashville, Cincinnati, Ottawa, 
 and Montreal, who live above them ; but that they do 
 affect them considerably, I have not the slightest doubt. 
 
 There is more received by the earth and its inhabitants 
 from the sun than the natural philosopher or the chemist can 
 detect ; and the astrologer himself may have had some reason 
 in the nature of things for his beUef in the influence of the 
 stars. 
 
 As houses receive and retain the influence of the dwellers 
 in them, so cities, aggregates of houses, receive and retain 
 the influence of the people living in them, and then radiate 
 this influence which they have received ; so that a stranger 
 taking up his residence in a city has this influence brought 
 to bear upon him, the tendency of which is to mould him 
 according to the general character of the place. Who that 
 has travelled does not know that towns have characters just 
 as truly as individuals 1 And these characters continue, 
 though generation after generation passes away. Louis 
 Napoleon wisely caused the sentry-box to be destroyed in 
 which three successive sentries had hung themselves. Not 
 more surely did the influence in that sentry-box permeate 
 these men, than influences proceeding from cities permeate 
 the people living in them, and give them a general character. 
 In a feebler degree this is true of a country ; the very rocks 
 drink in the character of the people of the country in which 
 
3IO Nature's Secrets. 
 
 they exist, and give this out again, so as to be perceptible to 
 the sensitive Psychometer. 
 
 Evil associates not only influence by their practices and 
 language, but by an unseen and unheard baleful influence 
 passing from them, as darkness was rayed forth from the 
 fabled stars. The good man, the intelligent man, is a 
 blessing everywhere and at all times ; the man who walks 
 past his house receives his silent benediction, and even when 
 he is dead, the very stones of his hearth spread benign 
 influences around them, and the world is better and more 
 intelligent for his having lived in it. 
 
 The virtues of mankind outnumber their vices. Their 
 crimes, about which so much is written and said, are but 
 dust in the balance, compared with their good deeds, 
 constantly poured out, and as little regarded as the oft- 
 repeated showers ; and in consequence of this, every gene- 
 ration born into the world has a more glorious heritage than 
 the preceding ; not only are they the richer and better for the 
 mechanical inventions, the architectural improvements, the 
 scientific advancements, but the world is every year becoming 
 more imbued with intelligence, refinement, and virtue, which 
 are silently moulding the masses into more lordly beings, in 
 turn to leave the world better than they found it. 
 
 Could we psychometrize the planets of our solar system 
 and more distant worlds, as we may do at some time, it is 
 probable that we should find all those that are inhabited 
 having a distinct character impressed upon them by the 
 influences proceeding from their inhabitants, and thus, with 
 their light, these influences may proceed, and be mutually 
 telegraphing to each other their mental and moral condition, 
 as age after age passes away. 
 
 The doctor's presence, if he be healthy and genial, may 
 
Utility of Psychometry. 311 
 
 be of more benefit to the patient than his pills; and mothers, 
 by their soothing manipulations, frequently cure unconsciously 
 their sick children, by imparting to them the health and 
 vigour of their own constitutions. By a knowledge of such 
 facts much suffering may be removed, and the sum of 
 human enjoyment be greatly increased. 
 
 Women are much more susceptible of psychometric im- 
 pressions than men, probably in the proportion of five to 
 one. And this may be the reason why they are quicker 
 witted, arrive at correct conclusions easier and sooner, and 
 are unable so frequently to give the reason for those con- 
 clusions. Ask a woman why she thinks a thing is so. 
 "Because it is," is the answer, and this has been styled 
 " woman's reason." There is a good reason why women 
 employ it. They have such an assurance of the truth of 
 what they say, that no doubt exists in their minds; but as 
 they arrived at this assurance intuitively, and by no process 
 of reasoning, they are of course unable to give any other 
 than " woman's reason." While man is toiling up the steep 
 by painful steps, with labouring breath and sweating brow, 
 woman flies to the summit in an instant, and wonders that 
 man should be such a laggard. 
 
 When woman shall employ her psychometric power in a 
 scientific direction, as she will ere long, some of our savans 
 may tremble for their laurels. I affirm that by Psychometry 
 a woman may have in one year a more correct idea of the 
 condition of the earth and its occupants during the geologic 
 periods than any man without it could in a lifetime. I 
 speak with confidence in reference to geology, for I speak 
 what I know ; and I have no doubt that a similar statement, 
 in reference to other sciences, could be truthfully made. 
 
 Woman's superior sensitiveness is frequently manifested, 
 
312 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 and laughed at by man ; and more frequently hidden on 
 account of his ridicule. A lady sees her husband in close 
 conversation with a smooth-spoken gentleman, and as soon 
 as he is gone she exclaims, " Oh, John, don't have anything 
 to do ^vith that man !" " What do you know about himl" 
 is the half-angry exclamation of her husband. " Nothing," 
 she replies ; " but you will be sorry if you have any dealings 
 with him." The strong-minded man, despising what he 
 calls the "whim" of his wife, only remembers her warning 
 when he finds himself victimized by this artful gentleman. 
 But of course it only happened so ; and he is no more 
 inclined to heed his wife's " whims " than before. 
 
 Psychometry will yet be employed for the discovery and 
 prevention of crime. In its presence — and it is omnipresent 
 — the faintest whisper is loud as the rolling thunder ; and 
 there is no cunning that can conceal an evil deed from its 
 eye : its very commission is its publication. It is a mistake, 
 in more senses than one, to suppose that " dead men tell no 
 tales." Their very bone-cells contain the record of every 
 deed committed, and every outrage suffered. The dungeon 
 hears and treasures every sigh of tyranny's victim, and the 
 ashes of the martyrs contain the story of their wrongs. 
 
 It has been said that the face of the murderer has been 
 found daguerreotyped on the pupil of the eye of his victim. 
 Whether this is true or not, in the sense of ordinary vision, 
 it is certainly so as far as psychometric vision is concerned. 
 When these facts are universally recognized, and the faculty 
 for reading Nature's all-containing book is developed, its 
 influence will certainly be a restraint on the commission of 
 crime, for then — 
 
 " Man in the sunshine of the world's new spring 
 Shall walk transparent, like some holy thing." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MYSTERIES REVEALED. 
 
 pSYCHOMETRY elucidates many mysterious subjects, 
 shedding light and cheerfulness upon those depart- 
 ments of Nature whose darkness and gloom have deterred 
 almost every investigator, 
 
 FORTUNE-TELLING. 
 
 It is a notorious fact that many fortune-tellers do tell 
 incidents in the lives of those who visit them ; sometimes, 
 indeed, they give an outline of their past histories, though 
 entirely unacquainted with the persons. The reason seems 
 to be, that we carry with us, wherever we go, the history of 
 our life, which is raying from us continually. Sensitive 
 persons can read this history, when they come into our 
 presence, somewhat as the past history of fossils and pebbles, 
 recorded in this volume, was obtained. In this way we 
 may account for the great success of some fortune-tellers, 
 and the interest taken in them by intelligent persons. 
 
 Mademoiselle Lenormond, a celebrated fortune-teller of 
 Paris, amassed a fortune of 500,000 francs. She was 
 consulted by Robespierre, Barras, Josephine, Louis XVI 1 1., 
 and Madame de Stael ; and this could hardly have been, 
 unless she had possessed some extraordinary power, by 
 which she could in some way satisfy the intelligence of her 
 visitors. Zschokke, the celebrated German author, whom 
 I have previously quoted, seems to have been sensitive 
 
3 14 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 enough to receive impressions from individuals in this way. 
 He says : — 
 
 " I am almost afraid to speak of this, not because I am 
 afraid to be thought superstitious, but that I may thereby 
 strengthen such feelings in others; and yet it may be an 
 addition to our stock of soul-experience, and therefore I 
 will confess ! It has happened to me sometimes on my 
 first meeting with strangers, as I listened silently to their 
 discourse, that their former life, with many trifling circum- 
 stances therewith connected, or frequently some particular 
 scene in that life, has passed quite involuntarily, and, as it 
 were, dreamUke, yet perfectly distinct before me. During 
 this time I usually feel so entirely absorbed in the contem- 
 plation of the stranger's life, that at last I no longer see 
 clearly the face of the unknown, wherein I undesignedly 
 read, nor distinctly hear the voices of the speakers, which 
 before served as a commentary to the text of their features. 
 For a long time I held such visions as delusions of the 
 fancy, and the more so, as they showed me even the dress 
 and motions of the actors, rooms, furniture, and other 
 accessories. By way of jest, I once, in a familiar family circle 
 at Kirchberg, related the secret history of a seamstress who 
 had just left the room and the house. I had never seen her 
 before in my life ; the people were astonished, and laughed, 
 but were not to be persuaded that I did not previously 
 know that of which I spoke, for what I uttered was the 
 literal truth. I on my part was not less astonished that my 
 dream-pictures were confirmed by the reality. I became 
 more attentive to the subject, and when propriety admitted 
 it, I would relate to those whose life thus passed before me 
 the subject of my vision, that I might thereby obtain 
 confirmation or refutation of it. It was invariably ratified, 
 
Fortune-telling. 3 1 5 
 
 not without consternation on their part. I myself had less 
 confidence than any one in this mental jugglery. So often 
 as I revealed my visionary gifts to any new person, I 
 regularly expected to hear the answer, ' It was not so ! ' I felt 
 a secret shudder when my auditors replied that it was true, 
 or when their astonishment betrayed my accuracy before 
 they spoke. Instead of many, I will mention one example, 
 which pre-eminently astounded me. One fair day, in the 
 city of Waldshut, I entered an inn (the ' Vine ') in company 
 with two young student-foresters ; we were tired of rambling 
 through the woods. We supped with a numerous company 
 at the table d'hote, where the guests were making very merry 
 with the peculiarities and eccentricities of the Swiss, with 
 Mesmer's magnetism, Lavater's physiognomy, &c., &c. One 
 of my companions, whose national pride was wounded by 
 their mockery, begged me to make some reply, particularly 
 to a handsome young man who sat opposite to us, and who 
 had allowed himself extraordinary licence. This man's 
 former life was at that moment presented to my mind ; I 
 turned to him, and asked him whether he would answer me 
 candidly, if I related to him some of the most secret 
 passages of his life, I knowing as little of him personally as 
 he did of me. That would be going a little farther, I 
 thought, than Lavater did wth physiognomy. He promised, 
 if I were correct in my information, to admit it frankly. I 
 then related what my vision had shown me, and the whole 
 company were made acquainted with the private history of 
 the young merchant ; his school years, his youthful errors, 
 and, lastly, with a fault committed in reference to the strong- 
 box of his principal. I described to him the uninhabited 
 room, with whitened walls, where, to the right of the brown 
 door, on a table, stood a black money-box, (S:c., &c. A 
 
o 
 
 1 6 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 silence prevailed during the whole narration, which I alone 
 occasionally interrupted by inquiring whether I spoke the 
 truth. The startled young man confirmed every particular, 
 and even, what I scarcely expected, the last mentioned. 
 Touched by his candour, I shook hands with him over the 
 table, and said no more. He asked my name, which I gave 
 him, and we remained together talking till past midnight." 
 
 Zschokke, referring to this power of his, subsequently 
 adds : — "'WTiat demon inspires you? Must I again believe 
 in possession ? ' exclaimed the spiritual Johann Von Riga, 
 when, in the first hour of our acquaintance, I related his 
 past life to him, with the avowed object of learning whether 
 or not I deceived myself. We speculated long on the 
 enigma, but even his penetration could not solve it." In his 
 last reference to this remarkable power, which enabled him 
 to read the history of individuals, as the Psychometers 
 mentioned in this volume read the history of things, he 
 says : — " Not another word about this strange seer-gift, 
 which I can aver was of no use to me in a single instance, 
 which manifested itself occasionally only, and quite inde- 
 pendently of any volition, and often in relation to persons 
 in whose history I took not the slightest interest. Nor am 
 I the only one in possession of this faculty. In a journey 
 with two of my sons, I fell in with an old Tyrolese who 
 travelled about selling lemons and oranges, at the inn at 
 Unterhauerstein, in one of the Jura passes. He fixed his 
 eyes for some time upon me, joined in our conversation, 
 observed that, though I did not know him, he knew me, and 
 began to describe my acts and deeds, to the no little amuse- 
 ment of the peasants, and astonishment of my children, 
 whom it interested to learn that another possessed the same 
 gift as their father. How the old lemon merchant acquired 
 
Dreams. 3 1 7 
 
 his knowledge he was not able to explain to himself nor to 
 me, but he seemed to attach great importance to his hidden 
 wisdom." 
 
 That some persons are possessed of the power of telling 
 the past history of individuals who are perfect strangers to 
 them, is most evident then ; and where the past is told 
 correctly thus, it is easy to become credited with the power 
 of teUingthe future, though the ability to do the one by no 
 means proves the ability to do the other. I do not deny 
 that this can be done, but I have not had as yet sufficient 
 evidence to satisfy me either that it can or cannot be 
 done. 
 
 DREAMS. 
 
 Into the land of dreams, over whose boundary philosophy 
 never ventures, where the law of gravitation is suspended, 
 over whose fields the living and dead walk and converse, 
 where beggars are kings and queens, and where kings and 
 queens, terror-stricken, flee, pursued by avenging ghosts, 
 boldly marches Psychometry, and maps out for us a portion 
 of this enchanted land. Persons who have been examining 
 specimens for me have sometimes fallen asleep, and on 
 relating their dreams, I have, at times, been able to trace a 
 direct connection between them and the articles that they 
 were examining. In some cases they were evidently a 
 continuation of the psychometric examination, revealing 
 facts of which previously the dreamer knew nothing. Many 
 of the visions seen by us in our sleeping hours may proceed 
 directly from the objects we have handled through the day, 
 the persons we have come in contact with, the food we have 
 swallowed, or the bed we lie upon. Very sensitive persons 
 may be affected by influences so slight, that it would appear, 
 
3i8 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 to one unacquainted with these matters, utterly impossible 
 for them to affect an individual. 
 
 " Several years ago, during a severe winter, the Schuylkill 
 river, near Philadelphia, became thickly bridged over with 
 ice, and thousands of persons resorted thither for the 
 exercise of skating, sliding, &c. Among other inventions for 
 the amusement of those visiting the place, there was a post 
 sunk through the ice, at the top of which there was a pivot 
 and a horizontal revolving arm or shaft attached to it. To 
 the end of this the drag-ropes of sleds were attached, so that, 
 by pushing the shaft, the sleds, with persons on them, might be 
 made to revolve swiftly in a circle upon the ice. Among the 
 rest, a negro got upon the sled, and the person in charge of the 
 shaft caused it, for sport, to revolve so violently, that the negro 
 was thrown outward by the centrifugal force, and striking 
 violently against a large projecting piece of ice, was instantly 
 killed. This occurrence was witnessed by a physician, a 
 friend of my informant, who happened to be present. On 
 that same evening the physician had occasion to prepare a 
 dose of pills for one of his patients, a lady extremely 
 susceptible to magnetic influences. As he was mixing the 
 ingredients of the pills, and rolling them in his fingers, 
 he related, in all its particulars, to persons in his office, the 
 occurrence he had witnessed on the river during the day. 
 The pills were afterwards despatched to the lady by another 
 person. The next day the physician, seeing one of the 
 lady's family, inquired concerning her health. In the answer 
 that was returned it was stated, among other things, that she 
 had a singular dream the night previous. She dreamed that 
 she was somewhere on the ice, where many people were 
 sliding and skating ; that she had there seen a negro thrown 
 from a revolving sled against a cake of ice and instantly killed. 
 
Dreams. 319 
 
 &c. Her dream, as related, was an exact reproduction of 
 all the essential statements of facts which had, without her 
 knowledge, been given by the physician while he was 
 preparing the pills, and concerning which fact she had 
 received no information from any quarter."* 
 
 As the doctor rolled the pills in his fingers, his influence 
 was communicated to them, and, when swallowed by his 
 patient, a direct psychometric line of communication was 
 established between them. Along that passes the inquiring 
 soul, and receives from him the image so recently and so 
 strongly impressed there, and thus the dream. 
 
 There are many facts to show that persons asleep are 
 much more sensitive to refined influences than when awake ; 
 and many remarkable circumstances related to dreaming 
 may be explained when the enlarged powers of the soul, 
 which psychometry familiarizes us with, are taken into 
 account. 
 
 When at Canadice, in the state of New York, a gentleman 
 of that place, named A. C. Bishop, informed me of a singular 
 dream that he had. During a snow-storm in the previous 
 March, the stage broke through a bridge about half a mile 
 above the village, was overturned into the water, and the 
 mail-bag swept down the creek. Many persons sought for 
 it day after day, among whom was Mr. Bishop himself It 
 was all in vain, however, and they came to the conclusion 
 that it must have been washed away, and, covered up with 
 the gravel, carried down by the stream to its mouth. A 
 month after this, when the snow had all melted off" the 
 ground, he dreamed that he saw the mail-bag lying in a 
 certain place. So strongly did the dream impress him, that 
 
 • American Phrenological Journal. • 
 
320 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 he awoke, but slept again and dreamed it a second time. 
 In the morning he told his dream to several persons in 
 the shop, who laughed at the idea of finding the mail-bag 
 then ; but on going to the place, which he immediately 
 did, "I found it," said he, "not ten feet from the place 
 where I dreamed that it was." 
 
 A Methodist clergyman at Carleton Place, Canada West, 
 informed me that a gentleman of his acquaintance, having 
 on his finger a heavy gold ring, went out in a boat on the 
 Mississippi River, a small stream in the neighbourhood, on a 
 pleasure excursion. On his return, he discovered that the 
 ring was gone. After searching for some time in vain, all 
 gave it up as lost. A young woman who lived in a house 
 near the river, and who was acquainted with the parties and 
 the circumstance, dreamed that night that she was on the 
 river bank, and, looking into the water, saw the ring by 
 the edge of a particular stone. She told her dream next 
 morning, and, on proceeding to the spot, the ring was 
 found in the identical place where she had observed it in 
 her dream. 
 
 As Psychometers discover the condition of distant objects 
 that they have never beheld, so dreamers find what in the 
 waking condition they might look for in vain. How this is 
 accomplished is not so easy to explain. 
 
 RELICS AND AMULETS. 
 
 Veneration for relics seems to most educated people 
 absurd enough, and furnishes food for the mirthfulness of 
 some, as it does for the trickery of others. There is said 
 to be as much wood of the " true cross " as would build 
 a man-of-war, and as many teeth of St. John as would fill 
 
Relics and amulets. 321 
 
 a peck measure. Yet, despite the superstition that may- 
 hide in the love of relics, there is a foundation in truth for 
 it, as indeed there is in almost every superstition, or they 
 could never spring up among so widely distributed peoples, 
 and outlast man's most enduring monuments. Belief in 
 relics, charms, and amulets, has its root in the nature of 
 things. A pebble from Jerusalem is very diflferent from 
 one picked up on Dover beach, although no chemical 
 analysis could reveal it. Both are flint, both rounded by 
 the action of the water, and yet they are as different psy- 
 chometrically as the history of the United States is from 
 that of Greece. 
 
 An amulet handled by a strong, healthy man, and con- 
 sequently imbued with his influence, and then worn by a 
 diseased person, might be of great benefit, especially to very 
 sensitive persons, and in cases of nervous disease. The 
 laying on of hands is not in all cases " mere idle mummery," 
 and the belief in the sacred character of buildings and 
 particular articles is in acordance with many facts that can- 
 not be denied. 
 
 What would not a Jew give for some object that Moses 
 had handled 1 or a Christian for some imdoubted relic of his 
 Master % While I write this, furniture, made from the Old 
 Elm on Boston Common, is advertised for sale. Would 
 not the wood of some other old elm be just as good? 
 No. That wood contains the spirit of Boston, is per- 
 meated with the soul of the old revolutionary times, 
 and knows a thousand times more about the place than 
 the oldest inhabitant. The buyer may not dream of it, 
 but this unrecognized truth augments its price, notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 Y 
 
32 2 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 HALLUCINATIONS. 
 
 Hallucination has been defined as the intellectual state 
 of a person who believes he sees and hears what no other 
 person sees or hears ; who perceives things impalpable to 
 the senses. Esquirol defines it " as a cerebral or psychical 
 phenomenon, acting independently of the senses, and con- 
 sisting of external sensations, that the patient believes he 
 experiences, although no external agent acts materially on 
 his senses." Under this head have been collected a variety 
 of phenomena, some of which psychometry readily explains ; 
 thus transferring them from this wilderness to the cultivated 
 fields of science, where they take their place along with 
 other classified facts. 
 
 The case of the painter, referred to in a former part of this 
 work, is placed among hallucinations by writers upon this sub- 
 ject ; but how readily it takes its place in that of simple psy- 
 chometric vision ! Since a stone takes in the images of sur- 
 rounding objects, and retains them, how much more does the 
 human brain, provided as it is with windows for the very pur- 
 pose of receiving, and a tablet for recording them ! The 
 image of the sitter received into his mind was projected upon 
 the chair at will, some Psychometers possessing this 
 power ; and thus he was able to paint him accurately 
 without any farther sitting. As the daguerreotypist needs 
 but one sitting, having during that received an accurate 
 likeness of the sitter, so in this case, where an apparatus 
 was employed as much superior to it as the works of nature 
 are superior to those of art. 
 
 Under the head of Hallucinations in febrile and other 
 maladies, De Boismont gives the following case, taken from 
 the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal: — " I was called 
 in," says Dr. Alderston, " to Mrs. , a lady eighty years 
 
Hallucinations. 323 
 
 of age, whom I had often attended for the gout. She com - 
 plained of unusual deafness, with a great distension of the 
 digestive organs, and was expecting an attack. Notwith- 
 standing her great age, this lady enjoyed good health. She 
 confided to me that for some time past she had been dis- 
 turbed by visions. The first time that she noticed the occur- 
 rence, she believed that several "uninvited friends visited her. 
 Having recovered from her first surprise, she evinced some 
 regret at not being able to converse with them, and was 
 about to give orders to have a card-table set. For this 
 purpose she rang the bell. On the entrance of the servant, 
 all the party disappeared. The lady expressed much sur- 
 prise at their abrupt departure, and the servant had great 
 difficulty in convincing her that no one had been in the 
 room. 
 
 " She felt so ashamed of the illusion, that for several days 
 and nights she suffered, in silence, the appearance of a 
 considerable number of phantoms, some of which repre- 
 sented long-lost friends, and revived thoughts almost entirely 
 effaced. The lady contented herself with ringing the bell, 
 when the entrance of the servant rid her of their presence. 
 
 " It was some time before she could make up her mind 
 to confide her sufferings to me. There was nothing either 
 in her conversation or conduct to indicate a derangement of 
 intellect, and she, as well as her friends, were convinced of 
 her perfect sanity. 
 
 " The affection was relieved by plasters on the feet, and 
 mild medicines, and was shortly afterwards entirely cured by 
 a regular attack of gout. Since that time both her reason 
 and health have been good." * 
 
 * De Boismont, " Dreams, Visions, <S:c.," p. 273. 
 
324 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 The simple explanation that I give of this is, that under 
 the peculiar physiological condition of the lady, her brain 
 was brought to that sensitive condition which is natural to 
 some persons at all times, and that while in this condition 
 she was able to see either the images of persons that had 
 been impressed upon her brain, or the various objects in 
 the house gave out the images that they had received, and 
 she was able in this state to perceive them. The most 
 probable explanation is, that they were the images existing 
 in her own brain, as the manifestation of these would require 
 a less degree of sensitiveness than that of the other. The 
 persons she saw on the first occasion were evidently persons 
 with whom she was familiar, whose likenesses she had 
 treasured ; and of the other " phantoms," some, at least, 
 were long-lost friends, — friends that she had nearly forgotten, 
 as she thought, but whose images had been ineffaceably 
 stamped upon the soul. 
 
 The entrance of the servant caused the disappearance of 
 the images, by disturbing the passive condition favourable to 
 their manifestation, and rendering her too positive for their 
 impression. 
 
 Diseases which weaken the physical powers of the patient 
 seem to produce a condition eminently favourable to the 
 manifestations that we are now considering, and that are so 
 frequently placed under the head of hallucination. As the 
 exterior senses are deadened, and their power to convey 
 impressions to the soul is weakened, so the interior senses 
 become stronger and more active ; and what was previously 
 unseen and unheard becomes visible and audible, generally 
 to the great astonishment of the party hearing and observing. 
 
 "Mademoiselle N was convalescing after a very 
 
 prolonged fever, which had reduced her to a state of 
 
Hallucinations. 325 
 
 extreme weakness. All her family had gone to church, 
 
 when a violent storm arose. Mademoiselle N went to 
 
 the window to watch its effects ; the idea of her father 
 suddenly struck her, and, under existing circumstances, she 
 felt much uneasiness. Her imagination soon persuaded 
 her that her father had perished. In order to conquer her 
 fear, she went into the room in which she was accustomed 
 to see him in his arm-chair. On entering, she was much 
 surprised at seeing him in his place, and in his accustomed 
 attitude. She immediately approached to inquire how he 
 had come in, and in addressing him attempted to place her 
 hand on his shoulder, but she encountered only space. 
 Very much alarmed, she drew back, and, turning her head 
 as she left the room, still saw him in the same attitude. 
 
 " More than half an hour elapsed from the time she first 
 saw the apparition until its departure. • During this time, 
 
 Miss N , who was convinced that it was an illusion, 
 
 entered the room several times and carefully examined the 
 arrangement of the objects, and especially of the chair."* 
 
 The arm-chair, in which her father usually sat, must have 
 been thoroughly imbued with his influence, radiating from 
 him as influences radiate from all organized bodies con- 
 tinually. And as these influences are able to reproduce, to 
 the gaze of the Psychometer, the animals from which they 
 passed, and that millions of years after they were given 
 forth, what difiiculty is there in conceiving that the in- 
 fluences possessed by the chair produced the appearance 
 of the father, as seen by the daughter, when reduced by 
 fever to that passive condition so favourable to the ob 
 servance of such appearances ? 
 
 * De Boismont, p. 276. 
 
326 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 That the image of an object is retained by objects con- 
 tiguous to it has been noticed by mesmeric operators 
 repeatedly; and it is doubtless one cause of the mistakes 
 made by clairvoyants, who see what has been, instead of 
 what is. I take the following from "Cahagnet's Celestial 
 Telegraph :" — 
 
 " Sometimes the image of a thing remains impressed in 
 the place where it has stood. M. Teste, in his journal, 
 cites, with respect to this, a curious experiment : — A female 
 somnambuhst enters a room and exclaims, ' What a pretty 
 girl is sitting on that chair !' At this exclamation M. Teste 
 observes to her that she is mistaken ; that no pretty girl 
 is there. Far from giving in to this declaration, she sees 
 one on each chair, and there were six of them. Unable to 
 account for this hallucination, M. Teste contented himself 
 with gathering exact details of the dress of these little girls, 
 and confessed that a little girl precisely similar had been 
 playing for a moment before the somnambulist entered, and 
 had jumped on the six chairs, one after the other, sitting 
 down on them." " I have often recognized," says Cahag- 
 net, " that the image of material objects, set in a certain 
 place, remained there for a long time." 
 
 The excessive use of spirituous liquors seems to produce 
 a condition that is favourable to the observance of appa- 
 ritions such as Nicolai saw, and with which some Psy- 
 chometers are daily familiar. Dr. Combe says, " In a case 
 of delirium tremens in an innkeeper about whom I was 
 consulted, the spectral illusions continued several days. 
 . . . The man refused to allow me to look at a blister 
 which had been placed between the shoulders, because 
 he could not take off his coat before the ladies who ivere in 
 the room. When I assured him there was no one in the 
 
Hallucinations. . 327 
 
 room, he smiled at the joke, as he conceived it to be ; 
 and, in answer to my questions, described them as several 
 in number, well-dressed, and good-looking. At my request 
 he rose up to shake hands with them, and was astonished at 
 finding them elude his grasp, and his hand strike the wall 
 This, however, convinced him that it was an illusion, and 
 he forthwith took ofif his coat. In a few days the ladies 
 vanished from his sight,"* 
 
 Another case is related in the Edinburgh Medical ana 
 Surgical Journal, in which a wine merchant went into the 
 cellar to draw some hquor for a girl, when he noticed a 
 quantity of oyster shells on the ground 3 but on stooping 
 to pick them up discovered there were none. On preparing 
 to leave the cellar, he saw a soldier with a forbidding 
 countenance attempt to enter. He asked what he wanted ; 
 but receiving no answer attempted to seize him, when he 
 proved to be a phantom. During the whole night he was 
 tormented with apparitions of living friends, or of those who 
 had long been dead. He was continually getting out of 
 bed to assure himself of the truth or falsehood of these 
 visions. 
 
 The use of haschisch, opium, and the inhalation of nitrous 
 oxide, or laughing gas, seems to produce, at times, and with 
 certain constitutions, a similar effect. 
 
 Many persons possess psychometric vision when dying, 
 and especially when dying by drowning. Dr. Conolly tells 
 us of a person who, in danger of being swamped on the 
 Eddystone rock, saw the phantoms of his family passing 
 distinctly before him. The English opium-eater says, " I 
 was once told by a near relation of mine, that, having in her 
 
 * "Life and Correspondence of Andrew Combe," p. 177. 
 
328 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 childhood fallen into a river, and being on the very verge of 
 death but for the critical assistance which reached her, she 
 saw in a moment her whole life, in its minutest incidents, 
 arrayed before her simultaneously, as in a mirror, and she 
 had a faculty developed as suddenly for comprehending the 
 whole and every part." 
 
 " Dr. Binns says, ' We are acquainted with a gentleman, 
 who, being able to swim but little, ventured too far out, and 
 became exhausted. His alarm was great, and after making 
 several but ill-directed efforts to regain the shore, he shouted 
 for assistance, and then sank, as he supposed, to rise no 
 more. . . . Then he saw, as if in a wide field, the acts 
 of his own being, from the first dawn of memory to the 
 moment when he entered the water. They were all grouped 
 and ranged in the order of the succession of their happening, 
 and he read the whole volume of existence at a glance ; 
 nay, its incidents and entities were photographed on his 
 mind, limned in light, and the panorama of the battle of life 
 lay before him.' " * 
 
 Numerous examples of this kind might be given. They 
 afford us glimpses of man's mighty powers, all but unused in 
 this condition of existence. " We are," indeed, " wiser than 
 we know." 
 
 * "Sleep, Sensation, and Memory," Fosgate, p. 43. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 'TpHE fish knows but little of that region of air in which 
 the bird swims ; still less of the starry realm that lies 
 beyond ; and we, with all our boasted powers, hold a similar 
 relation to unknown realms. Like clams in a sand-hole, 
 who know nothing of the flying clouds, the tinkling rills, 
 the glorious sunshine, and all the busy world of beautiful 
 women and brave men, we, deepening our holes with each 
 returning tide, know hardly anything of the great systems 
 surrounding and interpenetrating our own. 
 
 I believe that Psychometry, as displayed in this volume, 
 and in varied phenomena generally called " mysterious," 
 which are continually taking place around us, is but the 
 exercise of those faculties which belong to the soul, and are 
 not dependent upon the body for their exercise. Thus the 
 Psychometer sees without the use of physical eyes, — sees 
 the past as readily as the present, the far off as easily as the 
 nigh at hand ; hears sounds that are inaudible to physical 
 ears, and travels without the ordinary powers of locomotion. 
 
 In sleep, as I have shown, persons may learn what they 
 never could in the waking condition ; for the body, the 
 soul's master as well as its servant, being powerless, is able 
 to exercise, to some extent, its native powers. In somnam- 
 bulism, when the senses are doubly locked, so that the 
 loudest voice makes no impression, and the sense of feeling 
 is so completely suspended, that what at other times would 
 produce intense pain is not felt at all, — in this condition 
 
dd' 
 
 Nature's Secrets. 
 
 " the somnambulist can see with his eyes closed and band- 
 aged ; he can then even see what waking men in his 
 place cannot see with their open eyes. He can read 
 the contents of letters unopened ; he can see through 
 clothing, wood and metal boxes, and walls of brick and 
 stone; he can tell what is going on in the room above 
 him or in the room below." All this is equally true ot 
 persons in a mesmeric condition, as I had abundant oppor- 
 tunities of satisfying myself in England, nearly twenty 
 years ago. 
 
 Fasting, the use of narcotics and stimulants, sickness, in 
 which the powers of the body are gradually weakened, loss 
 of sleep, and drowning, are all favourable to the manifesta- 
 tion of the soul's peculiar powers, so different from those 
 of ordinary sensation. The rule is, apparently, that what- 
 ever weakens the body, and unfits us for ordinary sensation, 
 in the same ratio strengthens these internal powers, or gives 
 them an opportunity for exercise. 
 
 May we not infer from these facts our conscious ex- 
 istence after what is called death 1 — the continued being 
 and activity of the spirit, with a perfect remembrance of all 
 its experiences, and able to travel at will over the wide 
 realm of the past, gathering knowledge at every step, and 
 preparing for the great hereafter that shall still await it 1 
 
 Our researches and discoveries have been made in but 
 a small portion of a great and unexplored domain. The 
 very difficulty we have found, in explaining what has come 
 before us in the course of these experiments, convinces me 
 that we have been but coasting along some headland in an 
 unknown ocean, and that great continents yet lie beyond, 
 to be discovered by future explorers. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abercrombie cited, 59, 70, 91, 282. 
 
 on memory, 70. 
 
 Acton copper mine, 279. 
 Aerolite, no. 
 
 object of worship, ii2. 
 
 Painesville, no. 
 
 Aurora, Illinois, 118. 
 
 Alligator leather, 151. 
 Amethystine quartz, 177, 269. 
 Amphitheatre, Pompeii, 218, 223. 
 
 Herculaneum, 226. 
 
 Amulets, 321. 
 
 Andral, Monsieur, 284. 
 
 Animals, effect of on human beings, 
 
 308. 
 Antliracite coal, 163. 
 Apparition of timber and vehicle, 68. 
 Apparition seen by Nicolai, 286. 
 
 MadllcN , 
 
 324- 
 Ararat, obsidian from, 247. 
 Armadillo family, I46. 
 Arrow-head, flint, 249. 
 Atmosphere surrounding human 
 
 beings, 304. 
 Autobiography of a boulder, 153. 
 
 Bats, blinded, 127. 
 Baths of Caracalla, 206. 
 Bees, vision of, 65. 
 
 Bishop, A. C, dream of, 319. 
 Black Tom, 285. 
 Bone from Tally limestone, 109. 
 Bone, fossil, 217, 236, 243. 
 Bone-bed, Youngstown, 162. 
 Boismont, De, cited, 91, 322, 325. 
 Boulder, autobiography of, 153. 
 Brewster, Sir David, cited, 58, 73. 
 Brick-coloured lava, 84. 
 Brick from Oswego, 106. 
 Brodie on optic nerve, 62. 
 Bronze Age, 246. 
 Bruce mine, 266. 
 Buchanan, Dr., cited, 78. 
 researches of, viii. 
 
 78. 
 
 Calabazal, fossil from, 149. 
 Cannel coal, residuum of, 107. 
 Caracalla, baths of, 206. 
 Chamois horn, Switzerland, 139. 
 Character, described from letters, 80. 
 Charcoal from beam in Hercula- 
 neum, 223. 
 China, Porcelain Tower of^ 187. 
 Cicero's villa, 180. 
 Clairvoyance, 129, 329. 
 Coin, Grecian, 190. 
 Combe, George, cited, 63. 
 on spectral illusions, 67. 
 
332 
 
 Index, 
 
 Combe, Dr., on illusions, 326. 
 
 Conclusion, 329. 
 
 Conglomerate, Eagle River, 140, 
 
 259- 
 Connecticut Valley, fossil footprints 
 
 of, 100. 
 Copeland, Dr., cited, 307. 
 Copper, Lake Superior, 258, 266. 
 
 Harbour, 259. 
 
 Mine, Mineral Point, 276. 
 
 Mine, Acton, 279. 
 
 Black River, 298. 
 
 Coral from Niagara group, 98. 
 Cridge, Anne Denton, 80. 
 Crocodile, cloth of mummied, 233. 
 Crowe, Mrs., cited, 285, 
 on perception of 
 
 metals, 258. 
 Cuba, description of, 150. 
 
 Daguerreotypes, 71, 
 Damask, red, 195. 
 Damon, Dr., case of, 285. 
 Darkness favourable to psycho- 
 metric vision, xii. 
 Darwin, Dr. , experiment of, 59. 
 Disease, located by sensitives, 79. 
 Do Viel, Mrs. Lucielle, 130. 
 
 experiments 
 
 by, 130. 
 
 Dreams, 317. 
 
 Early men of England, 286. 
 
 Asia, 247. 
 
 Eclipse of the moon, 120. 
 Egyptian funeral customs, 232. 
 Egyptians, ancient religion of, 235. 
 
 Emanations from all bodies, 75. 
 Emmons, Dr., 166. 
 Experiments, 82. 
 
 Eyes, when closed, best for psycho- 
 metric vision, xviL 
 
 " Fair Penitent," 292. 
 
 Farmer of Edinburgh, 93. 
 
 Fancies, xx. 
 
 Fiery ocean, the, 267. 
 
 Fingal's Cave, 169. 
 
 Fish-bone fossil, Painesville, 85. 
 
 Footprints, Connecticut Valley, 
 
 100, 291. 
 Forces, radiant, passing from all 
 
 bodies, 75, 303. 
 Fortune- telling, 313. 
 Fossil, globular, 165. 
 Tertiary, Cuba, 1 49. 
 
 Fosgate cited, 328. 
 Fox, W. J., cited, 70. 
 
 Gaze, where directed in psycho- 
 metric vision, XXV. 
 Gibraltar, 205. 
 Girl, musical, 91. 
 Glacier, action of a, 155. 
 Gold, Lake Superior, 262, 
 
 Pike's Flat, California, 264. 
 
 Australia, 272. 
 
 Pike's Peak, 277. 
 
 Gulf near Lockport, I43. 
 Gypsum, Mammoth Cave, 123, 
 
 133- 
 
 Hallucinations, 322. 
 Herculaneum, 223. 
 
Index. 
 
 333 
 
 Hitchcock, Professor, visions of, 
 
 290, 291. 
 Hitchcock, Professor, cited, 290. 
 Hood, E. P., cited, 290. 
 Hornstone, Mount of Olives, 130, 
 
 191. 
 House of Representatives, 195. 
 Hutchinson, Mr., on Melrose 
 
 Abbey, ^oi. 
 
 Illusions of hearing, 89. 
 Images seen, 66. 
 
 by Hugh Miller, 63. 
 
 Impressions, xix. 
 
 made by all forces, 94. 
 
 Influence, why one perceived more 
 
 readily than another, 1. 
 Insect, monstrous, seen, 83. 
 Iron age, 246. 
 Iron, sulphuret of, 1 37. 
 
 Jerusalem, 131, 194. 
 Jewess, vision of, 61. 
 
 Kilauea, lava from, 83. 
 Kitto, Dr., 68. 
 
 Laurentian rocks, 167. 
 Lava from Kilauea, 83. 
 Lead ore, Galena, 266. 
 
 mine near Galena, 137. 
 
 Wisconsin, 274. 
 
 Leather, alligator, 151. 
 Lenormond, Mademoiselle, 313. 
 Letters, reading character by, viii, 
 
 79. 
 Lewes, G. H., cited, 66, 72. 
 
 Light, refined, 126. 
 
 nature of that seen by Psy- 
 
 chometer, xxviii. 
 Light, latent, xxxi. 
 Limestone from Quindaro, 82. 
 Chicago, 228. 
 
 Trenton, pebble of, 95. 
 
 crystallized, 168. 
 
 slab of, from Ninveeh, 
 
 186. 
 
 stalagmitic, Gibraltar, 
 
 202. 
 
 stalagmitic, Thebes, 229. 
 
 encrinal. Mount Royal, 
 
 250. 
 Lockport, gulf near, 143. 
 Lyell on air-breathers in Coal 
 
 Measures, 164. 
 Lyell on mask foimd in Pompeii, 
 
 223. 
 
 MacCulloch on Staffa, 173, 
 Macnish, Dr., vision seen by, 62. 
 sounds heard by, 90. 
 
 Mammoth Cave, 123, 133. 
 Manifestations, spiritual, 99. 
 Marble church of Smyrna, 184, 
 Martial on destruction of Pompeii, 
 
 221. 
 Martineau, Harriet, cited, 129. 
 Mayo cited, 288. 
 Megatherium, 146. 
 Melrose Abbey, 200. 
 Mesmerism, xxiii. 
 Meteoric iron, 115. 
 stones, iiS, 
 
 Miller, Hugh, images seen by, 63. 
 
334 
 
 Index. 
 
 Montreal, 251. 
 
 Moon, dry and hot, 1 20. 
 
 volcanoes on, 121. 
 
 Moore, Dr. George, cited, 69. 
 Mount of Olives, 131, 191. 
 Mosaic, Baths of Caracalla, 206. 
 
 from Rome, 208. 
 
 Mother-of-pearl opal, 174. 
 Mummy pit, 233. 
 Mysteries revealed, 313. 
 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, 57. 
 
 Niagara, 134. 
 
 Nicaragua, 174. 
 
 Nicolai, 286. 
 
 Niepce de St. Victor, experiment 
 
 of, 73- 
 Nineveh, 186. 
 
 No Drift, region of, 159. 
 
 North Polar region, 1 76. 
 
 Objects, how seen, iv. 
 Objects, why indistinctly seen, xxvi. 
 Obsidian, Mount Ararat, 247. 
 Oil, Pennsylvania, 253. 
 
 Port Sarnia, 254. 
 
 formed by coral polyps, 255- 
 
 Opal, mother-of-pearl, 174. 
 
 Painesville, fossil fish-bone from, 85. 
 Painter, anecdote of, 66. 
 Panama, quartz from, 83. 
 Passengers seen in car, xiii. 
 Pavement, Mosaic, 180. 
 Pearl, black, California, 133. 
 Pebble, Palmyra, N.Y., 141. 
 glacier-scratched, 141. 
 
 Pebble, Lake Superior, 260. 
 Petroleum, origin of, 253. 
 Phantoms, xvii. 
 Phonotypes, 91. 
 Pictures in the eye, 57. 
 
 on the retina and brain, 5 7. 
 
 on surrounding objects, 71. 
 
 seen by Sir Isaac]Newton, 
 
 57- 
 
 Dr. Ferriar, 59- 
 
 Niebuhr, 61. 
 
 Dr. Macnish, 62. 
 
 taken in the dark, 73. 
 
 Piedmont, woman of, 91. 
 
 Pliny on destruction of Pompeii, 221. 
 
 Pompeii, 211. 
 
 Porcelain Tower, China, 187. 
 
 Potsdam sandstone, 166, 263. 
 
 Pottery, Indian, 152. 
 
 Psychometry, viii., 78. 
 
 utility of, 293, 
 
 to the geologist, 293. 
 
 miner, 297. 
 
 astronomer, 299. 
 
 physiologist and 
 
 anatomist, 300. 
 
 artist, 300. 
 
 historian, 301. 
 
 in cure of diseases, 
 
 300. 
 its practical side, 303. 
 
 Quartz, Panama, 83. 
 
 amethystine, 177, 269. 
 
 Pike's Peak, 277. 
 
 gold-bearing, 272. 
 
 Quindaro, Kansas, 82. 
 
Index. 
 
 Rain-prints, fossil, 146. 
 
 Relics, 320. 
 
 Reptiles of Tertiary period, 146. 
 
 Carboniferous period, 
 
 164. 
 Researches and discoveries, 55. 
 Ring surrounding the earth, 160. 
 Rome, 208. 
 
 Sandstone, Melrose Abbey, 198. 
 
 Western Reserve, 162. 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, on Melrose 
 
 Abbey. 201. 
 Serapis, Temple of, 210. 
 Shell, Iowa, 107. 
 Shoes, baby's, xlv. 
 Silver mining, Washoe, 273. 
 Smyrna, marble from church of, 134. 
 Soapstone, Painesville, 161. 
 Somerville, Mrs., cited, 75. 
 Somnambulism, i^g, 329. 
 Sounds, registered on all objects, 93. 
 
 how heard psychometri- 
 
 cally, xlii. 
 
 Spectral illusions, 67, 282. 
 Spectre of key on paper, 72. 
 
 of corpse, 284. 
 
 Spirits, departed, xlix. 
 Staffa, 173. 
 
 Stalactite from Cave, 122. 
 
 Starved Rock, 152. 
 
 Stevelly, Prof, bees seen by, 65. 
 
 Stone age, 246. 
 
 Striated limestone, 89. 
 
 Students, sensitiveness of, 79. 
 
 Sun, seen by Sir Isaac Newton, 57. 
 
 Table Rock, Niagara, 134, 
 Taconic formation, 167. 
 Talbot, Mr., experiment of, 75. 
 Taylor, Mrs., 123, 265. 
 Temple of Neptune, 88. 
 of Serapis, 210. 
 
 Tombs of the Kings, 229. 
 Tooth of mastodon, 98. 
 Tracks of Connecticut Valley, 100. 
 Trap from Mount Royal, 251. 
 Tufa from Temple of Neptune, 88. 
 Tufa, volcanic, Pompeii, 213. 
 
 Victoria Bridge, Montreal, 252. 
 Vision, xvii. 
 
 of the blind, 60. 
 
 of blind Jewess, 61. 
 
 — with closed eyes, xvii. 
 
 Volcanoes on the moon, 121. 
 
 Wafer, impressions on plate made 
 
 by, 72. 
 Walking-cane, whalebone, lo2. 
 Washoe silver mine, 273. 
 Wheel, photograph of, 75. 
 Wilkinson on Egypt, 232, 235. 
 Willard, Dr., visions of, 60. 
 Wood, fossil, Texas, 147. 
 silicified, 2 78. 
 
 Women more sensitive than men, 
 Wyandotte River, 144, 
 
 Zschokke, on finding metals, &c., 
 
 257- 
 fortune -telling, 313. 
 
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 14, Bartholomew Close, London, E. C. 
 
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