ation of cautious,
thinking men; and reason, thus at once derided and appealed to, is
unsatisfied. Time "may bring in its revenges," may show things which
would be to us marvellous; and we deny no future possibilities. At
present, we admit some very curious phenomena, which we would willingly
see further examined; but we are unconvinced of those facts of mesmerism
enounced by its professors, which wholly contradict our previous
experience. Upon what we consider the only safe grounds for the general
admission of newly asserted facts, the evidence in support of these
should more than counterpoise the evidence for their rejection. Up to
the present time, balancing, as we have endeavoured to do, impartially,
the evidence in favour of clairvoyance, and the preternatural powers of
mesmerism, against those of an opposite tendency, the former seems to us
inordinately outweighed. On the other hand, the production, by external
influence, either of absolute coma or of sleep-waking, whether resulting
from imagination in the patient, or from an effort of the will on the
part of the mesmeriser, or from both conjointly, has been too lightly
estimated and too little examined. This alone is in itself an effect so
novel, so mysterious, and apparently so connected with the mainsprings
of sentient existence, as to deserve and demand a rigorous, impartial,
and persevering scrutiny.

* * * * *

Since this article was written, the letters of Miss Martineau have
appeared. Had these been published earlier, we should undoubtedly have
noticed them at some length; they have not, however, induced us to alter
any thing we have written; they have, indeed, confirmed one remark made
above. The effects described by Miss Martineau as produced upon herself,
are credible and not preternatural, while the second-sight of the girl
J---- is preternatural and not credible; _i. e._ not credible as
preternatural, otherwise easily explicable.

In this, as in every mesmeric case, the marvellous effects are developed
by the uneducated--the most easily deceived, and the most ready to be
deceivers.

The clairvoyant writers have greatly the advantage of the sceptics in
one respect, viz. the public interest of their communications. Every one
reads the description of new marvels, few care to examine the arguments
in contravention of them.

"Pol, me occidistis, amici,
Non servastis, ait, cui sic extorta voluptas,
Et demp