"She was inflexible, and the work proceeded. When my turn came, I could put no test question, and was so told. I saw and felt that there was collusion, and, ashamed of myself as being the dupe of supposed and known imposition, after enduring the hour's sitting, I arose with the full conviction that all was the effect of bones and muscles, and of mesmeric action and reaction on the subjects themselves. While we were examining a piano which was used on such occasions, and our backs were turned towards the table, standing partly sidewise, I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Cooper's foot in the very position and act of commencing a spirit somerset on the table. She looked confused. I appeared not to have fully recognized any thing wrong, thanked them for their father's kindness and their attention, and left the domicil of the 'spiritual philosopher' under a full, stern, and abiding conviction that _there_ was not the abiding place of invisible beings--that all was mechanical which we heard, and all that any one had heard or seen was mechanical or mesmeric. "The second opportunity I had of testing the truth or falsity of these spirit communications was in the city of Lowell. Every thing was favorable as to place, time, and company. My eyes were every where, and raps came seldom and solitary. The medium dropped from between his fingers a small black pencil, about two inches long, with which I believe he made the raps. After it fell, we heard no more. He looked despairingly disappointed, soon went into a trance, arose, locked us into the room, and when the hour had transpired, came out voluntarily. "Invited by a friend who was anxious to convince me more fully, and especially to convert the young lady who was with me at Mr. Sunderland's, he called at my house with the medium, and was received into my office. The young lady requested that we should stand around the table, and no one touch it. We did so. On the first response, she exclaimed, indignantly, addressing the medium, 'That, sir, was from your foot; I heard it distinctly!' He looked guilty, and his eyes flashed with anger. He asked the spirits if it was not 'nonsense,' and received the response from the foot, 'yes,' and left, evidently highly incensed. "I determined to give one more trial to the spirits. In this latter case, there were the three raps, clear and strong, and the answers highly satisfactory, as far as they went. But the difficulty was, that the spirits were capricious, and would respond only to just such as they saw fit; and the medium was pretty well acquainted with me. The perfect regularity of the knocks, and the sound, convinced me that, in this instance, it was purely mechanical. I endeavored to get the secret from the medium, and the answer was, 'If I should tell you, you would be as wise as myself.' She evidently knew how it was done.