"If any one doubts my veracity, or questions the possibility of my senses being correct witnesses—in such a case I have nothing to reply to that person. Such an one puts himself out of the reach of argument; and by such incredulity makes it impossible to prove anything to him."
We are called upon to admit the infallibility of Mr. Dibdin's senses, as well as his good faith, although we have the opposing testimony of Faraday, and although, whilst Table Turning is, as Mr. Dibdin himself says, practised daily by tens of thousands, there has been no one satisfactory exhibition of the wonder in public. Punch has tried Table and Hat Turning. The hat and the table gave signs of beginning to turn; which ceased, not at his command to stop, but on his reminding the rest of the party that they were not to push.
Professor Faraday, by the way, fares very badly at the hands of Mr. Dibdin, who not only insinuates a doubt respecting the "spiritual attainments" of that philosopher, but also uniformly spells his name with two R's. He has also as above, Socinius for Socinus, and for Swedenborgian, Swedenborgeon. Perhaps he has derived his orthography from tables, which he mentions as having been found to spell badly; indeed, trustworthy as tables are esteemed in matters of arithmetic, they have never been accounted authorities in regard to spelling.
But Mr. Dibdin is not to be laughed at—although he may himself hold up other people to something less innocent than ridicule. He observes that
"It may seem very wise and great to laugh down a weak brother; but surely it is neither kind nor brotherly."
Nevertheless, it is not easy to repress a risible emotion when we picture to ourselves a party of weak brethren sitting round a table to see if they can get the devil into it. Mr. Dibdin says it is necessary to keep the hands on the table. Does the evil spirit, then, flow out of the fingers' ends into the mahogany? and does Mr. Dibdin think that he has acted as the devil's conductor? We shall next have Calvinistic clergymen making pump-handles work, and turning mangles to the same account as tables, by Satanic action.
However, it is certain that the dreadful nonsense in the book before us was rapped out either by the devil, or by Mr. Dibdin, or his friends. If we had any doubt on the subject, we should give them the benefit of the doubt; but we are afraid that none can be reasonably entertained.
IMPROVEMENT AT GUILDHALL.
Whatever may be said against the Corporation of London, it may be truly said of that great body, that it is a-Gog for reform.