A little while ago, there was exhibiting, at Washington, a "test-medium" whose name I would print, were it not that I do not want to advertise him. One of his most impressive feats was, to cause spiritual hands and other parts of the human frame to appear in the air a la Davenport Brothers. A gentleman, whose name I also know very well indeed, but have particular reasons for not mentioning, went one day to see this "test-medium," along with a friend, and asked to see a hand. "Certainly," the medium said; and the room was darkened, and the "circle" made round the table in the usual manner. After about five minutes, my friend, who had contrived to place himself pretty near the medium, saw, sure enough, a dim glimmering blue light in the air, a foot or so before and above the head of the medium. In a minute, he could see, dimly outlined in this blue light, the form of a hand, back toward him, fingers together, and no thumb. "Why is no thumb visible?" asked my friend of the medium in a solemn manner. "The reason is," said the medium, still more solemnly, "that the spirits have not power enough to produce a whole hand and so they exhibit as much as they can." "And do they always show hands without thumbs?" "Yes." Here my friend, with a sudden jump, grabbed for the place where the wrist of the mysterious hand ought to be. Strange to relate, he caught it, and held it stoutly, to. A light was quickly had, when, still stranger, the spirit-hand was clearly seen to be the fleshy paw of the medium--and a fat paw it was too. Mr. Medium took the matter with the coolness of a thorough rascal, and, lighting a cigar, merely observed: "Well gentlemen, you needn't trouble yourselves to come here any more!" He also insisted on his usual fee of five dollars, until threatened with a prosecution for swindling. The secret of this worthy gentleman is simple and soon told. Holding one hand up in the air, he held up with the other, between the thumb and finger, a little pinch of phosphorus and bi-sulphide of carbon, which gave the blue light. If inconvenient to hold up the other hand, he had a reserve pinch of blue-light under that invisible thumb. It is a curious instance of the thorough credulity of genuine spiritualists that a believer in this wretched rogue, on being circumstantially told this whole story, not only steadily and firmly refused to credit it, and continued his faith in the fellow, but absolutely would not go to see the application of any other test. That's the sort of follower that is worth having! Another case was witnessed as follows, by the very same person on whose authority I give the spirit-hand story. He was present--also, this time in Washington, as it happened, at an exhibition by a certain pair of spiritual brothers, since well known as the "Davenport Brothers."