We have just had a couple of professional “mediums” in the police courts, and it is to be heartily1 hoped that all their colleagues of any notoriety will soon be submitted to the same searching test, and duly rewarded according to their merits. At Huddersfield the Rev3. Francis Ward2 Monck, formerly4 a minister at Bristol, was cleverly caught out by Mr. Lodge5, a woollen merchant and amateur conjurer, who at the close of a private seance offered to do all the “Doctor” had done, and insisted on seeing his “paraphernalia.” The Doctor protested with profuse6 virtuous7 indignation, but his detecter was firm. At length this reverend medium took refuge in his own bedroom and locked himself in, and while the profane8 sceptics were besieging9 the door he managed to escape from the window by the help of a sheet. In his sore haste he left behind him some of the “paraphernalia,” whose existence he had so indignantly denied, including “spirit hands” and prepared musical boxes. He took out a warrant against Mr. Lodge for the recovery of these precious articles, and was met by a counter-warrant issued by the chief constable10 under the Vagrant11 Act, for using subtle craft means and devices to deceive and impose on certain of her Majesty’s subjects; he being charged with thus defrauding12 one person of ￡20, while Mr. Heppleston, a general dealer13, in whose house the exposure took place, had paid him ￡4 for two séances, the prisoner assuring him that the manifestations14 were genuine, and were produced by spiritual agency. The prisoner’s solicitor15 said that the Vagrant Act did not apply to a gentleman in the position of Dr. Monck, who kept his carriage and yacht at Bristol. We may admit that the application of the Vagrant Act is an awkward and round-about mode of dealing16 with such cases, and the sooner Parliament in its great wisdom provides a more direct and effectual remedy, the better; nor could a stronger argument for its provisions be adduced than the fact, if fact it be, that this reverend medium by the illicit17 production of spirits very much below proof, has been getting money enough to keep a carriage and yacht. When the Huddersfield magistrates19 remanded him for a week at the request of the chief constable, offering to accept bail20, himself in ￡250, and two sureties in ￡100 each, the bail was not forthcoming; and the prisoner made a high-minded and pathetic appeal to the bench, “asking them not to make him suffer the indignity21 of incarceration22 in the police-cells; he said he had forsaken23 everything to follow this calling, believing in his inmost soul that it was right.” So far as I can see, a convicted burglar or manufacturer of counterfeit24 coin, might with as good reason make just such an appeal; pleading pathetically that he had forsaken everything to follow this calling, affirming nobly that he believed in his inmost soul that it was right; while as to the jemmy and the skeleton keys, or the moulds and the battery, which had been seized in his possession, they were manifestly for purely25 scientific experimental investigations—exactly as were the spirit-hands affixed26 to wires and the musical boxes of the Rev. “Doctor” Monck.
The London case of “Doctor” Slade, is too well known to require being detailed27 here. As his fee was a sovereign, well-off people having much time to kill with any excitement, and empty heads to fill with any nonsense (much the same sort of silly people as those for whom some West-end High Church is the half-way house to the Pro-Cathedral), must have been his most numerous visitors. Thus Society with a capital S took great interest in him, and our penny daily press, always ready to pander28 to Society, and to the snobbery29 of its readers who are not in Society but ever on their knees worshipping it—our penny daily press furnished full reports of the proceedings31. Mr. Flowers, the magistrate18 at Bow Street Police Court gave a written judgment32 on the case, sentencing the “Doctor” to three months’ imprisonment33 with hard labor34 in the House of Correction; which sentence to the credit of our common sense, sadly discredited36 by much that came out on the trial, was received with some applause, and Mr. Lewis the prosecuting37 solicitor was cheered by a large crowd on leaving the court. Of course, there being money to back the “medium,” notice of appeal was given, and bail accepted—the defendant38 in ￡200, and two sureties of ￡100 each.
In the course of the defence there was read from the Spiritualist an account of a sitting with Slade by Mr. Serjeant Cox, who, as Mr. Flowers observed, would, if an appeal were raised, be one of the judges of that appeal. The said account, after relating various wonders, concludes thus: “I offer no opinion on the causes of the phenomena39, for I have formed none. If they be genuine, it is impossible to exaggerate their interest and importance. If they be an imposture40 it is equally important that the trick should be exposed in the only way in which trickery can be explained—by doing the same thing, and showing how it is done.” Now this, at any rate, seems to show judicial41 fairness if not judicial sagacity; and is beyond blame, as having been written before the learned Serjeant (unless warned by the spirits) could have had any expectation of being called upon to deliver a legal judgment on the matter. But after Mr. Flowers had passed sentence, and the appeal had been raised, this same Serjeant Cox, having become a prospective42 judge of the case, opened the third session of the Psychological Society of Great Britain, whereof he is president, and which, under such a president, will doubtless do a vast deal for the science of psychology43. According to the report of the Standard of Friday the 3rd inst., much of the address of this admirable judge and philosophical44 president “was an indictment45 of materialist46 scientists for their attitude towards psycho-logy, and on this point he said the most important event of the year in relation to psychology had been the recent prosecution47. Of the true motive48 for that proceeding30 there could be no doubt. The pretence49 of public interests was transparent50.” To a mere51 layman52 the words of this judicial Serjeant read very much like a reckless libel. Perhaps only a lawyer can properly appreciate them. “The object really sought was plain enough. It was not to punish Dr. Slade, but to discredit35 through him all psychological phenomena, the proof of whose existence was destruction to the doctrines53 of materialism54.... Whether Dr. Slade was or was not guilty, the trial had had the unlooked-for effect [!] of directing the attention of the whole public to the fact that phenomena were asserted to exist... which swept away now and for ever the dark and debasing doctrines of the materialists.” After which, according to the same report, a Mr. Dunlop, with admirable gravity, whether sincere or ironical55, expressed a high opinion of the judicial mind of the president! and said that he felt sure that if the appeal in the Slade case came before Mr. Serjeant Cox, he would give as dispassionate a decision as if he had had no previous knowledge of the circumstances!! For myself, as a mere unlearned layman, I can only ask in astonishment56, Is this Serjeant Cox, with his indecent partizanship and wild personal imputations, fit to sit in judgment—I will not say on this Slade business—but on any case at all which requires impartiality57 and discretion58?
“The dark and debasing doctrines of the materialists”! Can anything be darker and more debasing in a so-called civilised time and country than this Spiritism has proved itself from the beginning until bow? I have yet to learn that the whole of its world of spirits, now for many years at the beck and call of countless59 mediums, professional and private, has ever dictated61 or written a single great sentence, revealed a single great truth—discovered a single important fact. Nothing but the dreamiest drivel, or delirium62, the most wretched and imbecile juggling63 tricks, with all sorts of evasions64, and deceptions65 and lies! Mr. Wallace himself, one of the few good men it has got hold of by some weak place in their minds, in his evidence for Slade said “that he attached no importance to the subject-matter of a message, but only to its being written intelligibly66, the subject-matter seldom being of any value.” And for seldom he might fairly have said never. The truth is the truth, whether dark or bright, debasing or ennobling; but if we are called upon to consider a theory in these aspects, what, I ask again, can be more dark and debasing than this, that we live after death to rap and turn tables, play villainous snatches on light musical instruments, write badly-spelt balderdash, dictate60 ungrammatical imbecilities or lies, grasp hands and jog knees—all for the profit of showmen and the hysterical67 wonder of fools? Who would not prefer annihilation to such a degraded and idiotic68 immortality69? Shakespeare, Bacon, Byron, Shelley, and countless others who on earth were splendid geniuses, have been called from their spheres by knaves70 or dupes, for what?—to show themselves reduced to the hideous71 state of Swift’s Struldbrugs. The only famous character I have heard of, not intellectually degraded since death, was Bucephalus (see Secularist72, number 40), who told the company that he still took great interest in literary pursuits, particularly in connection with education; Bucephalus, whose name doubtless suggested an ancient philosopher to the shrewd medium, having been the war-horse of Alexander the Great!
We are compelled to accuse the religion which has been so long dominant73 among us, of fostering the state of mind which welcomes these miserable74 marvels75 instead of rejecting them with scorn. The Bible with its Witch of Endor, its recognition of witchcraft76, its magicians, its angels releasing the Apostles, its doctrines of the supernatural, its abounding77 miracles, has saturated78 the people with superstitiousness79, whose evil effects Science can but slowly counteract80. And of those who have ceased to submit themselves to the Bible, the larger number are still infected with its non-natural spirit; having renounced81 one set of irrational82 marvels, they yearn83 more or less consciously for another to replace it. In this connection, the point on which Mr. Flower’s judgment turned is very significant, and its significance is increased by the approval of our most Christian84 press: “I must decide according to the well-known course of nature.” This is exactly what Science demands. Carry out honestly and thoroughly85 the application of this rule to the miracles of the Bible, from the speaking serpent, to the birth, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and what sentence must be passed upon them? The Bow Street Magistrate has given us a really excellent, concise86, practical maxim87 of rethought. When a Christian comes with his supernatural dogmas and non-natural occurrences, one has but to answer on the judicial authority of Mr. Flowers: “I must decide according to the well-known course of nature.”
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1
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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4
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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6
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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defrauding
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 ) | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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14
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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15
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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16
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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17
illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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18
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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incarceration
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| n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭 | |
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Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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pander
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| v.迎合；n.拉皮条者，勾引者；帮人做坏事的人 | |
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snobbery
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| n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格 | |
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30
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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35
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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prosecuting
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| 检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师 | |
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defendant
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| n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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39
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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40
imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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41
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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42
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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43
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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44
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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45
indictment
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| n.起诉；诉状 | |
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46
materialist
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| n. 唯物主义者 | |
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47
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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48
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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49
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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50
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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51
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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52
layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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53
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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54
materialism
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| n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上 | |
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55
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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56
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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57
impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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58
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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59
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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60
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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61
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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62
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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63
juggling
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| n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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64
evasions
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| 逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口 | |
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deceptions
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| 欺骗( deception的名词复数 )； 骗术，诡计 | |
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66
intelligibly
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| adv.可理解地，明了地，清晰地 | |
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67
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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69
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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70
knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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71
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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secularist
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| n.现世主义者，世俗主义者；宗教与教育分离论者 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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74
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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75
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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76
witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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77
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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78
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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superstitiousness
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| 被邪教所支配 | |
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80
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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81
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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82
irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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83
yearn
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| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
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84
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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85
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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86
concise
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| adj.简洁的，简明的 | |
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87
maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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