1.—THE MAGIC OF ACOUSTICS.
The science of acoustics furnished the ancient sorcerers with some of their most complete deceptions. The imitation of thunder in their subterranean temples did not fail to indicate the presence of a supernatural agent. The golden virgins, whose ravishing voices resounded through the temple of Delphos; the stone from the river Pactolus, where trumpet notes scared the robber from the treasure which it guarded; the speaking head, which uttered its oracular responses at Lesbos; and the vocal statue of Memnon, which began at the break of day to accost the rising sun, were all deceptions derived from science, and from a diligent observation of the phenomena of nature.