The Equinox (Volume I, Number IX)

THE EQUINOX Persons impressed by the magnetism of Mr. Home feel a sort of indisposition; it seems to them that the room turns round, and the temperature seems to them to grow rapidly lower. The miracles are more successful in the presence of a few people chosen by the medium himself. In a meeting of several persons, it may be that all will see the miracles—with the exception of one, who will see absolutely nothing. Among the persons who do see, all do not see the same thing. Thus, for example: One evening, at Mme. de B——’s, the medium made appear a child which that lady had lost. Mme. de B alone saw the child; Count de M—— sawa little whitish vapour, in the shape of a pyramid; the others saw nothing. Everybody knows that certain substances, hashish, for example, intoxicate without taking away the use of reason, and cause to be seen with an astonishing vividness things which do not exist. A great part of the phenomena of Mr. Home belong to a natural influence similar to that of hashish. This is the reason why the medium refuses to operate except before a small number of persons chosen by him- self. The rest of these phenomena should be attributed to magnetic power. To see anything at Mr. Home's séawces is not a reassuring index of the health of him who sees. And even if his health should be in other ways excellent, 180