tual existence in
Buffalo of a woman whose knee-joints could be snapped audibly at will.

The closeness of the scrutiny applied by these gentlemen displeased the
eldest "medium," and her resentment finds characteristic expression in her
volume, printed thirty-seven years after the occurrence. She declares that
she found Dr. Lee to be "a wily, deceitful man."

If anything can circumvent cunning, it is certainly cunning itself, and in
this sense, it is entirely laudable when exerted in a proper cause. There
is no doubt that strategy had to be used to induce this woman, conscious
of her falsity, and schooled in subterfuges and evasions, to submit to a
coldly scientific test. The challenge, however, came under such
circumstances, public suspicion being so whetted by the fact that a woman
had been discovered whose knee-joints possessed the peculiar quality of
making sound, that it could not well be avoided, without it becoming
generally known that the declination was a tacit confession of fraud.

The doctors published very promptly the result of their preliminary
examination, which was made without any special faculties being afforded
them.

They said:

"Curiosity having led us to visit the rooms at the Phelps House, in which
two females from Rochester, Mrs. Fish and Miss Fox, profess to exhibit
striking manifestations from the spirit world, by means of which communion
may be had with deceased friends, etc.; and having arrived at a
physiological explanation of the phenomena, the correctness of which has
been demonstrated in an instance which has since fallen under our
observation, we have felt that a public statement is called for, which
may, perhaps, serve to prevent a further waste of time, money and
credulity (to say nothing of sentiment and philosophy) in connection with
this so long successful imposition.

"The explanation is reached almost by a logical necessity, on the
application of a method of reasoning much resorted to in the diagnosis of
diseases, namely, _the reasoning by exclusion_.

"It was reached by this method prior to the demonstration which has
subsequently occurred.

"It is to be assumed, first, that the manifestations are not to be
regarded as spiritual, provided they can be physically or physiologically
accounted for. Immaterial agencies are not to be invoked until material
agencies fail. We are thus to _exclude_ spiritual causation in this stage
of the investigation.

"Next, it is taken for