Experimental Investigation of the Spirit Manifestations Demonstrating the existence of spirits and their communion with mortals. Doctrine of the spirit world respecting heaven, hell, morality, and God. Also, the influence of Scripture on the morals of Christians.

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

There is no anchor for footnote 5 on page 35 (containing paras 122,123 and 124), so the anchor has been placed at the end of para 122.

Vail has been corrected to veil throughout.

The footnotes are located at the end of the book.

Italics are represented thus italic, and superscripts thus y^{en}.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

OF THE

SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS,

DEMONSTRATING

THE EXISTENCE OF SPIRITS AND THEIR COMMUNION WITH MORTALS.

DOCTRINE OF THE SPIRIT WORLD RESPECTING HEAVEN, HELL, MORALITY, AND GOD.

ALSO,

Influence of Scripture on the Morals of Christians.

BY

ROBERT HARE, M.D.

EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, GRADUATE OF YALE COLLEGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY, ASSOCIATE OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, AND MEMBER OF VARIOUS LEARNED SOCIETIES.

Verba animi proferre, vitam impendere vero.

Denounce dark Error and bright Truth proclaim, Though ghastly Death oppose, with threat’ning aim.

NEW YORK: PARTRIDGE & BRITTAN, 342 BROADWAY. 1855.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1855, by

MARGARET B. GOURLAY,

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

[Illustration: PLATE I.]

[PLATE I.

_Engraving and description of the apparatus, which, being contrived for the purpose of determining whether the manifestations attributed to spirits could be made without mortal aid, by deciding the question affirmatively, led to the author’s conversion._

(a) PLATE I. FIG. 1, is an engraving from a photograph of the apparatus above alluded to. The disk A is represented as supported upon a rod of iron forming the axis on which it turns. To the outer end of this rod, the index B is affixed, so as to be stationary in a vertical position; the upper termination situated just in front of the letters. These are placed around the margin of the disk. The cord C encircles the pulley situated about the centre of the disk, like a hub to a carriage wheel. The ends of the cord are severally tied to weights, which, when the table is tilted, react against each other through the pulley; one being so large as to be immovable, the other so small as to be lifted. Of course a hook in the floor may be substituted for the larger weight.

PEASE’S APPARATUS.

(b) The relative position of the medium, and that of the screen intercepting her view of the disk, are too conspicuous to require particularization.

FIG. 2, represents Pease’s disk, or dial apparatus, associated with a vibrating lever and stand contrived by myself. The whole, thus modified, has been named the Spiritoscope.

(c) The apparatus thus designated consists of a box F, which is a miniature representation of a low, square, four sided house, with a single sloping roof, but without any floor closing it at the bottom.

(d) On the outside of the part serving as the roof, the alphabetic dial is depicted. On the inner surface of the roof board, the spring, pulley, and strings are attached, by which the index is made to revolve, so as to point out any letter.

(e) G represents the vibrating lever upon which the medium’s hands are placed. When test conditions are not requisite, her hands should be situated so as that merely one-half may be on each side of the fulcrum wire, on which the lever turns. When test conditions are requisite, the hands should be altogether on the portion of the board which is between the exterior end of the board and the fulcrum. When thus placed, it is utterly impossible to move the lever so as to cause it to select letters, or to control the selection, by any spirit who may be employing them to make a communication.[1]