Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and PathologyHammond, William A. (William Alexander)
History
Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and Pathology
Hammond, William A. (William Alexander)
Anorexia in children; Fasting; Medicine -- Case studies -- 1800-1900; Psychology, Pathological
I have read the letter of Professor Henry M. Parkhurst, published in
a recent issue of the HERALD, relative to the "mind reading" or
clairvoyance of Miss Mollie Fancher, of Brooklyn, and it does not
satisfy me that the young lady in question possesses any such power.
It would have been very easy for her to have opened the envelope
without disturbing the seal and to have read the contents. Now,
there has been a great deal of talk about Miss Fancher's case. I
have received just fifty-seven letters asking me to investigate it,
and the press has reiterated the invitation over and over again. I
have stated very explicitly that I regard the whole matter as a
humbug of the most decided kind, but I have never asserted the
impossibility of the young lady's alleged performances. On the
contrary, I hold nothing to be absolutely impossible outside the
domain of mathematics. But possibilities and realities are very
different things, and I certainly will not accept as true any such
phenomena as those asserted to have been associated with Miss
Fancher unless they are proven.
I have already declared my readiness to investigate Miss Fancher,
and, a few days since, in the _Sun_, proposed a test which will be
perfectly satisfactory to me and many others who, at present, are in
accordance with me in my estimation of this young lady. Permit me
now to state it definitely, specifically, and once for all. I will
place a certified check for a sum of money exceeding $1,000 inside
of a single paper envelope. I will lay the package on a table in the
room in which she is. If she chooses she may take it in her hands
and place it in contact with any part of her body. I will allow her
half an hour to describe the check. If she reads it--number, date,
on whom drawn, amount, signature, etc.--accurately, she may have the
check as her own property, or I will give the amount expressed in
the check, in her name to any charitable institution she may
designate, or otherwise dispose of it in accordance with her
wishes.
The only conditions I exact are these:--
_First_--That the experiment be conducted in my presence and in that
of two other physicians, members of the New York Neurological
Society, whom I will bring with me as witness simply, and who will
not interfere in any way with the test.
_Second_--That the envelope shall at no time pass out of our sight.
If Miss Fancher succeeds in this test I will admit that heretofore
in my denunciations of such performances as hers I have been in
error, and that there is a force in nature which ought to be
investigated. I will pay the money not only without chagrin, but
with great satisfaction, and will consider that I have received full
value.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account