I cannot tell you with what a superstitious thrill we all shuddered, though this was in broad daylight, and in the mutually supporting presence of a dozen persons, and, though there was a machinist on the spot, professing himself ready to demonstrate that this was a purely mechanical phenomenon!
"There! ladies and gentlemen, you all see the action!"
"We all see!"
"No hand near the lock!"
"None!"
"There could have been no deception."
"Assuredly not," we all declared.
"Oh, certainly not—I have seen the thing twenty times," said Mr. Legare.
"And I indorse your declarations, sir; you were right. There was no deception—there is none! It is a purely mechanical phenomenon! But, listen! Spiritual powers reside in mechanical forces. Every year we live elucidates this mystery, though none but the deepest thinkers see this truth in all its importance. Look you! a savage thinks that there is a diabolism in the self-action of a watch—in the reflection of a looking-glass. We think both mysteries to be simple mechanical combinations! Pray look at the lock before us. I observe that it is Harmon's patent. Poor Harmon, a demented machinist, scarcely knew what he would be at, and so undertook to make an invaluable improvement in the common door-lock. This is one of his; its intricate machinery has got out of order, and hence 'the fantastic tricks before high heaven' that these rooms have witnessed! I am about to take off the lock, to prove what I have stated, as well as to remedy the evil."
"Oh, sir, that has been tried—I have seen it done—hope nothing from that!" exclaimed Mr. Legare.