‘What is your occupation?’ ‘Tending fires.’
‘What are you going to do with me?’ ‘Broil you.’
‘What for?’ ‘Wicked.’
Now while I was excessively amused at all this, I noticed that the two young operators were greatly agitated, and begged me to stop. I saw at a glance that the very superstitious feeling that I was endeavoring to ridicule away, was creeping over them, and I desisted.... Another day I asked where a certain gentleman was who failed years ago, taking in his fall a considerable amount of my own funds. I said ‘Where is Mr. Green?’ ‘In Brazil.’
‘Will he ever pay me anything?’ ‘Yes.’
‘When?’ ‘Next year.’
‘How much.’ ‘Ten thousand dollars.’
Neither of the operators knew anything about this affair, and the answer, ‘Brazil,’ was so out of the way and unexpected, that all were surprised. Whether the man was there or not, I could not tell, nor did I know if he ever had been there—indeed, the last time I heard from him he was in New York.”
Now, observing that no conscious or intelligent agency in shaping these answers is assigned to the young persons whose hands were upon the board, and who, it appears, did not know anything of the persons concerning whom the inquiries were made, it would, perhaps, as we desire nothing but a true philosophy on this matter, be worth while to look a little critically at the answers and statements that were given, and the further explanations propounded by Mr. H. For convenience, they may be classified as follows: