a thrill and shake, that even Home started back, and said, "If it acts so violently, I can't go on."

At the conclusion of the recitation, Mr. Ruskin asked whether he should recite a poem, and he was begged to do so. Whose the poem was I do not know, but it began with words to this effect, "O Christ, save my soul, if thou think'st it worth the saving." The table, as Mr. Ruskin commenced his recitation, reversed its action. Mr. Ruskin sat on the opposite side to Mr. Home, and the table, rising on the opposite feet, beat time to the rhythm of this poem, too. When it had ceased, I asked whether any one had noticed a peculiar beating of the time, besides that of the table feet, namely, one with a metallic sound, as of a small bar of steel struck upon metal. "Yes," said Mr. Ruskin, at once, "I know the meaning of that sound. It is descriptive of the state of my mind when I committed that poem to memory; when the earth was as iron, and the heavens were as brass to me."

This was a very remarkable séance, but it led to one still more_remarkable-one connected with the sprig of geranium, now become a bush. As we were about to take leave, Mr. Home said, "I am coming up to Highgate on the 7th of July." I said, "But we shall not be in town then." "Yes, you will," he replied, "or the spirits would not send me." "Very well," I said; "if we are at home, which I don't believe, we shall be glad to see you." However, something had prevented our leaving town, as we had fixed, and duly in the evening of the 7th of July, Mr. Home made his appearance, accompanied by Mrs. Cowper and Mr. and Mrs. William Wilkinson.

On entering the room, where tea was set out, Mr. Home noticed the bush of geranium, which was placed in its pot, in the centre of the table. I do not think any one had mentioned the growth of this plant to him, and we meant to surprise him by it. But he said immediately, "Ah! I see that is the geranium that you planted after the séance at Mrs. Parks'." How do you know that ?" we asked. "Because," he said, "I see starry lights all about it.”

During tea this bush was shaken by invisible hands so strongly that it diffused the odour of it throughout the room. I believe the day was the anniversary of the decease of Mrs. Home. After tea we adjourned to the library, the next room, lying at an angle with this room, but with a wide open doorway. Mr. Home pushed a round table near to a window looking into the garden; the geranium in its pot was placed in the centre of this table. Immediately Mrs. Howitt asked that sprigs of this geranium might be broken off by the spirits, and one presented to each of the persons present. Assent was instantly rapped out,

and we all saw the branches of the shrub bent down on different sides as by invisible hands endeavouring to break sprigs from them. Mr. Home, Mr. Wilkinson and Mrs. Howitt, all declared that they saw two beautiful hands and arms as belonging to a lady, but seeming as of alabaster internally suffused with light. The rest of us only saw the agitation of the shrub. The hands were supposed to be those of the late Mrs. Home.

As there was a strong evening light coming directly through the window from the west, the attempt to break the shrub did not succeed, and at once the pot and its bush rose from the table and descended between it and the window seat, where there was deep shadow. We then heard the boughs of the shrub snapping and cracking, but unsuccessfully. I then said, "Ah! I see you don't know everything in that world of yours. You must slip off the sprigs at the joints." The advice was immediately adopted, and one after another sprigs of the geranium nicely slipped off were put up to the rim of the table by a hand, and were distributed to the several persons present.

This done, the table began to be shaken as by laughter, the alphabet was called for, and a spirit said he wanted to ask a favour of Mrs. Howitt. She replied that she would grant it if she could. He then said, "I want Mrs. Howitt to give that geranium to my mother." Mrs. Cowper (who said that the spirit was that of her nephew, then about six months departed to the spirit-life) said, "No, George, that cannot be; the geranium must remain here where it was planted." On this the table renewed its extraordinary motion as if made by a person laughing, and the spirit said, "Oh, I only wanted to see what Mrs. Howitt would say.

Immediately the table rose from the floor, was suddenly turned with its top perpendicular and facing the window, the large flower-pot and its projecting bush remaining as if screwed to the surface, and two gold rings which had been laid on the table also remaining as if made fast to the surface. This was surprising enough, but to enhance the wonder, the table in this position was jerked forward as if with the intention of pitching the flower-pot and its contents through the window. however, remained fast and unmoved, and the table was then turned four different ways with the top perpendicular, and the same jerk each time repeated. Then the original position of the table was resumed, and it was gently let down to the floor.

All,

Scarcely, however, was this effected, when the table once more rose up, and this time so high that only Mr. Wilkinson could reach its top. The rest of us were entreated to hold it by the feet, and in this manner it suddenly and rapidly sailed away into the next room, and placed itself over the table on which we

had taken tea. There it remained, and I observed, "I suppose the spirits are resting themselves by setting the volant table on the other;" but on feeling at the feet we found them at least two inches above the surface of the tea table. The table with the flower-pot upon it was in fact suspended in the air, where it remained some minutes, and then, as suddenly and more rapidly, sailed back again to the library, leaving me sticking between the tea table and a sofa, and only able to hurry after it to see it depositing itself in the middle of the room in the most easy

manner.

easy

Here we assembled round it in a state of astonishment which may be imagined, but our wonder was not at an end. As we thus stood, we observed the chairs from the different sides of the room, as if self-moved, advancing towards the table. An chair on castors came very blithely bowling along, and the rest glid over the carpet like autonomatic or spirit-instinct ones, such as we dream of in some distant day of spiritually enlightened science, when all the troubles of servantdom will end in a revolution of autonomatic maids, and cooks, and valets, who will fly at your slightest commands, evince an almost heavenly pleasure in obliging you, and give no warnings except that the dinner waits or some friends have called; that the children are all put by the autonomatic nurse to bed—a nurse graceful as a fairy and gentle as a zephyr, having the most admirable hinges and joints in her limbs, and a head working out thoughts and cares by the most exquisite psychic force, or what Mr. Oliphant, in his Coming Race, would call "vrill."

But to return from the pleasant dreams of future mechanical development under the guidance of ghostly science, to present reality. Having seated ourselves on the chairs thus politely handed by the invisibles, a book was suddenly put over a lady's shoulder, which being opened, proved to be one of Captain Maryatt's stories, with a leaf turned down somewhere in Jacob Faithful. Wondering for what purpose such a book could be selected by the spirits, "Oh," said Mr. Cowper, "that is George again. Captain Marryatt was, of all authors, his favourite; no doubt the leaf is turned down at some incident that has greatly amused him." The book had been taken from a shelf behind, in which the books were particularly tightly wedged. It was put back to be examined at leisure, but it was found the next day, on referring to it, that the folded leaf had been again put straight.

It was now announced by the spirits that the séance was at an end. Several of the party heard, as it were, a bird whistling near the ceiling, and all was over.

NOTES AND GLEANINGS.

A NEW AMERICAN MEDIUM IN LONDON.

MRS. JENNIE HOMES has recently arrived in London from the United States, and held several séances at her residence, 50, Great Cumberland Place, Hyde Park. The manifestations through her mediumship are chiefly of the Davenport type; the principal novelty being that while her hands are grasped a welded iron ring, 4 inches in diameter, or a wooden tambourine ring is passed over her arm or over that of the person holding her hands. These rings have been carefully examined before and after the operation. The weld of the iron ring was found perfect, and when suspended on the finger and struck the sound had a clear perfect ring in it. The company also satisfied themselves that there was no ring or apparatus concealed about the medium, no substitution rings, no confederacy; that in fine it was a genuine phenomenon, and one which, with the other incidents of the séances, would puzzle the collective wisdom of the British Association for the Advancement of Science to adequately explain.

REMARKABLE LIGHTS.

From 8 to 11 o'clock on June 8, writes a correspondent of the Madras Mail, the plain to the east, north, and north-east of Nandidroog, was covered with remarkable lights, which have been observed occasionally in former years, and given rise to a variety of conjectures as to their origin. To the north-east they presented the appearance of a large city brilliantly illuminated. Through a good telescope the individual lights seemed smaller than they did to the naked eye, but were more distinct and intense, each one being a pure steady flame, with well-defined edges. In one direction the scene, through a binocular glass, looked like a view of part of the starry heavens; each flame being like a star. It is no exaggeration to say that many thousands of them were visible; and as many of them were from 10 to 15 miles distant, each flame must, I imagine, have been 5 to 6 feet in length, in order to be seen by the naked eye in such brilliancy. Some of the natives who were questioned regarding the lights, called them fire-spirits, or ghosts, or demons. Others said they were the torch-lights used by the villagers, who went out at night, after rain, to collect the winged white ants. But it was abundantly evident that no torches such as natives use, would have been visible to us at that distance, and through a telescope would have looked altogether

different. Then, the number of lights was so great, that the entire population of the surrounding districts could not have produced them; besides which, these lights were not moving about but quite stationary, or only agitated a little by the wind. To set this question at rest, however, it has been determined to have a number of villagers with torches sent out at night from Chota Bellapoor, that their appearance may be seen from the Droog, which is only 5 or 6 miles distant. Meantime, it appears to me that these very remarkable lights must have been a species of ignis fatui, caused by the ignition of some inflammable gas escaping in jets from the surface of the earth.

DO FORCES SPEAK?

The idea of Serjeant Cox I understand to be that the origin of spiritual phenomena is mundane, not intermundane, and is a force connected indeed with mental operations, but yet material. I myself, when I first observed these phenomena, inclined to that opinion. But what might be deemed a trifling incident one day turned the scale. It was in Naples, and with a lady, nonprofessional, who had but recently discovered her power. She asked: "If there be a spirit present will it give its name?" I said, "Oh, don't ask that. Ask what force moves the table." "What matters the form ?" was her reply, and she asked again, "Will the spirit give its name?" It began to spell d, o, f, o. We both supposed it was the beginning of some name we had never before heard. But when the sentence was complete, we found it was no name at all, but a question "Do forces speak?" I was not able to answer that question in the affirmative then, nor ever have been to this day. If it had been addressed to Mr. Cox, I think it would have puzzled him.-ROBERT DAle Owen.

DR. BARROW AND BISHOP BULL ON VISIONS, APPARITIONS, AND SPIRITS.

The sermons of Barrow and his works are selected not only because he was a man distinguished for vigour of mind and compass of knowledge, but more especially because he was a man of science, the preceptor of Newton and foremost among the founders of the Royal Society. Barrow, in one of his sermons on the creed, speaks of apparitions, visions, intercourse and confederacy with bad spirits. "All these things," he adds, any man who shall affirm them to be mere fiction and delusion, must thereby with exceeding immodesty charge the world with vanity and malignity, worthy historians with inconsiderateness, and a vast number of witnesses with the greatest malice or madness-all which have concurred to assert these matters of