n the
provincial towns, are now exciting great astonishment in the minds of
many, and give rise to considerable controversy respecting the theory
and the _modus operandi_.

It is on this latter point--the means by which the effects are
produced--that we would chiefly direct our inquiry, for we shall very
briefly dismiss the attempt to explain them by a vague charge of
collusion or imposture.

If this charge could be reasonably maintained, it would, of course,
make all further remarks unnecessary, as our topic would then no
longer be one for scientific investigation, but could only be added to
the catalogue of fraud. It is possible that there may have been _some_
cases of feigning among the experiments, but these do not affect the
general reality of the effects produced. So epilepsy and catalepsy
have been feigned; but these diseases are still found real in too many
instances. We need not dwell on this point; for it may be safely
assumed, that all persons who have had a fair acquaintance with the
experiments of electro-biology (so-called), are fully convinced that,
in a great number of cases, the effects seen are real and sincere, not
simulated. The question then remains: Are these effects fairly
attributed to 'electric' influence, or may they not be truly explained
by some other cause?

Before we proceed to consider this question, it will be well to give
some examples of the phenomena to which our remarks apply. We shall
state only such cases as we have seen and carefully examined.

A. is a young man well known by a great number of the
spectators--unsuspected of falsehood--knows nothing of the
experimenter or of electro-biology, not even the meaning of the words.
After submitting to the process employed by the lecturer--sitting
still, and gazing fixedly upon a small disk of metal for about a
quarter of an hour--he is selected as a suitable subject. When told by
the experimenter that he cannot open his eyes, he seems to make an
effort, but does not open them until he is assured that he can do so.
He places his hand upon a table--is told that he cannot take the hand
off the table--seems to make a strong effort to remove it, but fails,
until it is liberated by a word from the lecturer. A walking-stick is
now placed in his right hand, and he is challenged to strike the
extended hand of the lecturer. He throws back the stick over his
shoulder, and seems to have a very good will to strike, but cannot
bring the stick dow