"N " Rays (See Emanations.)

Nagualism : (See Mexico.)

Names, Magical : (See Egypt.)

Napellus : A plant with narcotic properties, with which Van Helmont experimented. He says that, having on one occasion roughly prepared the root, he tasted it with his tongue, and in a very short time found that the centre of thought and intellect was situated in the pit of his stomach. An unusual clarity and distinctness of thought rendered the experience a pleasant one, and he sought on future occasions to repeat it by the same means, but without success. After about two hours he felt a slight dizziness and thereupon thought in the normal fashion with his brain. But throughout the strange- experience he was conscious that his soul still remained in the brain as a governing power.

Napper, Dr., : of Sandford in Buckinghamshire, who, according to Lilly "outwent Forman in physic and holiness of life, cured the falling-sickness perfectly by constellated rings, and some diseases by amulets." He was probably of the stock of the Scottish Napiers though his family had been settled in England since Henry the Eighth's time.

Nastrond : The Scandinavian and Icelandic Hell, said to be of an icy temperature. It lies in the lowest depths of Niflheim; it is a " dark abode far from the sun;" its gates face " the cutting north ; " " its walls are formed of wreathed snakes, and their venom is ever falling like rain." It is surrounded by dark and poisonous streams, and Nidhog, the great dragon, who dwells beneath the central root of Ygdrassil, torments and gnaws the dead. Here it is that Loki is chained to a splintered rock, where the venom of the snake Skada falls on him unceasingly; and it is believed that his shuddering is the cause of earthquakes.

Nat : An evil spirit. (See Burma.)

Nativities : (See Astrology.)

Natsaw : Burmese wizards. (See Burma.)

Nature Spirits or Elementals : according to theosophy have bodies composed of the finer kinds of matter. There are countless hosts of them, divided into seven classes, which allowing for two unmanifested, belong to the ether, air, fire, water, and earth,-the last four being called by the Kabalists, sylphs, salamanders, undines, and gnomes respectively; and at the head of each class is a deva or inferior god. Nature spirits work in unsuspected ways, sometimes lending their aid to human beings in the form of certain faculties, and those in the astral world are engaged in the creation of form out of the matter which the outpouring of the Logos has quickened, hence it is they who form minerals, flowers, and so on. These nature spirits of the astral worlds of course have bodies of astral matter, and they frequently from mischievous or other impulses, change the appearance of these bodies. They are just without the powers of ordinary vision, and many people of more acute vision can see them, while the action of drugs also may make them visible,

Navarez, Senor : (See Spain.)

Naylor, James : An English impostor of the seventeenth century, born in the diocese of York. He served for a time in the army, then joined the Quakers where his discourses gained for him a reputation for sanctity. Trading on the good opinion of the people, he resolved to set himself up for a sort of deity, and entered Bristol in 1656, mounted on a horse led by a man and a woman, while others ran behind chanting" Holy, holy, holy, is the god of Sabaoth." He was duly punished by having his tongue pierced with a hot iron, and his forehead marked with the letter " B" (blasphemer). This done, he was forced to ride into Bristol in disgrace, his face turned towards the horse's tail.

Ndembo, The : Or Kita is a secret society which has widespread ramifications on the lower Congo, and especially in the districts lying to the south of that river. Initiation is made through the ganga, or chief, who instructs the neophyte at a given signal suddenly to lie down as if dead. A shroud is spread over him, and he is carried off to an enclosure outside the village called vela, and is pronounced to have died a Ndembo. Perhaps twenty, thirty, or even fifty candidates ' die" at the one time. It is then assumed that. persons "dying" in this manner decay until only a single bone remains, and this the ganga takes charge of. The process varies from three months to as many years, and the ganga is supposed by art magic to bring every one of the dead back to life within that period. On a festival day of the Ndembo, the members march through the village in a grand procession amidst universal joy, carrying with them the persons who are supposed to have died. The neophytes who are supposed to have perished, comport themselves as if in reality they had come from another world. They take new' names, pretend that everything in the terrestrial sphere is new to them, turn a deaf ear to their parents and relatives. and even affect not to know how to eat. They further desire to have everything they set eyes on, and if it is not granted to them immediately, they may fall upon the unhappy owner and beat and even kill him without any Consequence to themselves; as it is assumed that they are mere children in the affairs of the terrestrial sphere, and therefore know no better.

Those who have gone through this rite are called Nganga, or the" knowing ones," while the neophytes are designated Vanga. During their occupation of the vela they learn an esoteric language, which they constantly employ. Perhaps the best picture of their cult has been given by Bastian, who says:-

"The Great Nkissi (who here replaces the fetish) lives in the interior of the woodlands where nobody can see him. When he dies the Nganga carefully collect his bones in order to bring them back to life, and nourish them that they may again put on flesh and blood. But it is not well to speak about it. In the Ambamba country everybody must have died once, and when the Nganga (replacing the fetish-priest) shakes his calabash against a village, those men and youths whose hour is come fall into a state of lifeless torpor, from which they generally rise up in three days. But the man whom the Nkissi loves he carries off to the bush and often buries him for a series of years. When he again awakens to life, he begins to eat and drink as before, but his mind is gone, and the Nganga must himself educate him and instruct him in every movement, like the smallest child. At first that can only be done with the rod, but the senses gradually return, so that you can speak with him. and when his education is finished the Nganga takes him back to his parents. These would seldom recognise him but for the positive assurance of the Nganga, who at the same time reminds them of earlier occurrences. Whoever has not yet undergone the experience in Ambamba is universally despised. and is not allowed to join in the dances."

Necromancy : Or divination by means of the spirits of the dead, from the Greek words nekros, dead; and manteia, divination. It is through its Italian form nigromancia that it came to be known as the "Black Art." With the Greeks it originally signified the descent into Hades in order to consult the dead rather than summoning the dead into the mortal sphere again. The art is of almost universal usage. Considerable difference of opinion exists among modern adepts as to the exact methods to be properly pursued in the necromantic art, and it must be borne in mind that necromancy, which in the Middle Ages was called sorcery, shades into modern spiritualistic practice. There is no doubt however, that necromancy is the touch-stone of occultism, for if, after careful preparation the adept can carry through to a successful issue, the raising of the soul from the other world, he has proved the value of his art. It would be fruitless in this place to enter into a psychological discussion as to whether this feat is possible of accomplishment or not, and we will confine ourselves to the material which has been placed at our disposal by the sages of the past, who have left full details as to how the process should be approached.

In the case of a compact existing between the conjuror and the devil, no ceremony is necessary, as the familiar is ever at hand to do the behests of his masters. This, however, is never the case with the true sorcerer, who preserves his independence, and trusts to his profound know-ledge of the art and his powers of command ; his object therefore is to " constrain" some spirit to appear before him, and to guard himself from the danger of provoking such beings. The magician, it must be understood always has an assistant, and every article flamed is prepared according to rules well known in the black art. In the first place they are to fix upon a spot proper for such a purpose; which must be either in a subterraneous vault, hung round with black, and lighted by a magical torch; or else in the centre of some thick wood or desert, or upon some extensive unfrequented plain, where several roads meet. or amidst the ruins of ancient castles, abbeys, monasteries, etc., or amongst the rocks on the sea shore, in some private detached churchyard, or any other solemn, melancholy place between the hours of twelve and one in the night, either when the moon shines very bright, or else when the elements are disturbed with storms of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain; for, in these places, times, and seasons, it is contended that spirits can with less difficulty manifest themselves to mortal eyes, and continue visible with the least pain, in this elemental external world.

When the proper time and place is fixed on, a magic circle is to be formed, within which, the master and his associate are carefully to retire. The dimensions of the circle are as follow -A piece of ground is usually chosen, nine feet square, at the full extent of which parallel lines are drawn one within the other, having sundry crosses and triangles described between them, close to which is formed the first or outer circle, then, about half-a-foot within the same, a second circle is described, and within that another square correspondent to the first, the centre of which is the seat or spot where the master and associate are to be placed "The vacancies formed by the various lines and angles of the figure are filled up with the holy names of God, having crosses and triangles described between them. The reason assigned by magicians and others for the institution and use of circles, is, that so much ground being blessed and consecrated by such holy words and ceremonies as they make use of in forming it, hath a secret force to expel all evil spirits from the bounds thereof, and, being sprinkled with pure sanctified water, the ground is purified from all uncleanness; besides, the holy names of God being written over every part of it, its force becomes so powerful that no evil spirit hath ability to break through it, or to get at the magician or his companion, by reason of the antipathy in nature they bear to these sacred names. And the reason given for the triangles is, that if the spirit be not easily brought to speak the truth, they may by the exorcist be conjured to enter the same, where, by virtue of the names of the essence and divinity of God, they can speak nothing but what is true and right. The circle, therefore, according to this account of it, is the principal fort and shield of the magician, from which he is not, at the peril of his life, to depart, till he has completely dismissed the spirit, particularly if he be of a fiery or infernal nature. Instances are recorded of many who perished by this means; particularly " Chiancungi," the famous Egyptian fortune-teller, who was so famous in England in the 17th century. He undertook for a wager, to raise up the spirit " Bokim," and having described the circle, he seated his sister Napula by him as his associate. After frequently repeating the forms of exorcism, and calling upon the spirit to appear, and nothing as yet answering his demand, they grew impatient of the business, and quitted the circle, but it cost them their lives ; for they were instantaneously seized and crushed to death by that infernal spirit, who happened not to be sufficiently constrained till that moment, to manifest himself to human eyes."

There is a prescribed form of consecrating the magic circle, which we omit as unnecessary in a general illustration. The proper attire or" pontificalibus" of a magician. is an ephod made of fine white linen, over that a priestly robe of black bombazine, reaching to the ground, with the two seals of the earth drawn correctly upon virgin parchment, and affixed to the breast of his outer vestment. Round his waist is tied a broad consecrated girdle, with the names Ya, Ya,-Aie, Aaie,-Elibra,-Elchim,-Sadai,-Pah Adonai,-tuo robore,-Cinctus sum. Upon his shoes must be written Tetragrammaton, with crosses round about; upon his head a high-crowned cap of sable silk, and in his hand a Holy Bible, printed or written in pure Hebrew. Thus attired, and standing within the charmed circle, the magician repeats the awful form of exorcism; and presently, the infernal spirits make strange and frightful noises, howlings, tremblings, flashes, and most dreadful shrieks and yells, as the forerunner of their becoming visible. Their first appearance is generally in the form of fierce and terrible lions or tigers, vomiting forth fire, and roaring hideously about the circle; all which time the exorcist must not suffer any tremour of dismay; for, in that case, they will gain the ascendency, and the consequences may touch his life. On the contrary, he must summon up a share of resolution, and continue repeating all the forms of constriction and confinement, until they are drawn nearer to the influence of the triangle, when their forms will change to appearances less ferocious and frightful, and become more submissive and tractable. When the forms of conjuration have in this manner been sufficiently repeated, the spirits forsake their bestial shapes, and enter the human form, appearing like naked men of gentle countenance and behaviour, yet is the magician to be warily on his guard that they deceive him not by such mild gestures, for they are exceedingly fraudulent and deceitful in their dealings with those who constrain them to appear without compact, having nothing in view - but to suborn his mind, or accomplish his destruction. With great care also must the spirit be discharged after the ceremony is finished, and he has answered all the demands made upon him. The magician must wait patiently till he has passed through all the terrible forms which announce his coming, and only when the last shriek has died away, and every trace of fire and brimstone has disappeared, may he leave the circle and depart home in safety. If the ghost of a deceased person is to be raised, the grave must be resorted to at midnight, and a different form of conjuration is necessary. Still another, is the infernal sacrament for "any corpse that hath hanged, drowned, or otherwise made away with itself;" and in this case the conjurations are performed over the body, which will at last arise, and standing upright, answer with a faint and hollow voice the questions that are put to it.

Eliphas Levi, in his Ritual of Transcendent Magic says that 'evocations should always have a motive and a becoming end, otherwise they are works of darkness and folly, dangerous for health and reason." The permissible motive of an evocation may be either love or intelligence.

Evocations of love require less apparatus and are in every respect easier. The procedure is as follows "We must, in the first place, carefully collect the memorials of him (or her) whom we desire to behold, the articles he used, and on which his impression remains; we must also prepare an apartment in which the person lived, or otherwise one of a similar kind, and place his portrait veiled in white therein, surrounded with his favourite flowers, which must be renewed daily. A fixed date must then be observed, either the birthday of the person, or that day which was most fortunate for his and our own affection, one of which we may believe that his soul, however blessed elsewhere, cannot lose the remembrance ; this must be the day for the evocation, and we must provide for it during the space of fourteen days. Throughout this period we must refrain from extending to anyone the same proofs of affection which we have the right to expect from the dead; we must observe strict chastity, live in retreat, and take only one modest and light collation daily. every evening at the same hour we must shut ourselves in the chamber consecrated to the memory of the lamented person, using only one small light, such as that of a funeral lamp or taper. This light should be placed behind us, the portrait should be uncovered and we should remain before it for an hour, in silence; finally, we should fumigate the apartment with a little good incense, and go out backwards. On the morning of the day fixed for the evocation, we should adorn ourselves as if for a festival, not salute anyone first, make but a single repast of bread; wine, and roots, or fruits ; the cloth should be white, two covers should be laid, and one portion of the bread broken should be set aside; a little wine should also be placed in the glass of the person we design to invoke. The meal must be eaten alone in the chamber of evocations. and in presence of the veiled portrait; it must be all cleared away at the end, except the glass belonging to the dead person, and his portion of bread, which must be placed before the portrait. In the evening, at the hour for the regular visit, we must repair in silence to the chamber, light a clear fire of cypress-wood, and cast incense seven times thereon, pronouncing the name of the person whom we desire to behold. The lamp must then be extinguished, and the fire permitted to die out. On this day the portrait must not be unveiled. When the flame is extinct, put more incense on the ashes, and invoke God according to the forms of the religion to which the dead person belonged, and according to the ideas which he himself possessed of God. While making this prayer we must identify ourselves with the evoked person, speak as he spoke, believe in a sense as he believed ; then, after a silence of fifteen minutes, we must speak to him as if he were present, with affection and with faith, praying him to manifest to us. Renew this prayer mentally, covering the face with both hands; then call him thrice with a loud voice; tarry on our knees, the eyes closed and covered, for some minutes; then call again thrice upon him in a sweet and affectionate tone, and slowly open the eyes. Should nothing result, the same experiment must be renewed in the following year, and if necessary a third time, when it is certain that the desired apparition will be obtained, and the longer it has been delayed the more realistic and striking it will be.

"Evocations of knowledge and intelligence are made with more solemn ceremonies. If concerned with a celebrated personage, we must meditate for twenty-one days upon his life and writings, form an idea of his appearance, converse with him mentally, and imagine his answers; carry his portrait, or at least his name, about us; follow a vegetable diet for twenty-one days, and a severe fast during the last seven. We must next construct the magical oratory. This oratory must be invariably darkened; but if we operate in the daytime, we may leave a narrow aperture on the side where the sun will shine at the hour of the evocation, and place a triangular prism before the opening, and a crystal globe, filled with water, before the prism. If the operation be arranged for the night the magic lamp must be so placed that its single ray shall upon the altar smoke. The purpose of the preparations is to furnish the magic agent with elements of corporeal appearance, and to ease as much as possible the tension of imagination, which could not be exalted without danger into the absolute illusion of dream. For the rest, it will be easily understood that a beam of sunlight, or the ray of a lamp, coloured variously, and falling upon curling and irregular smoke, can in no way create a perfect image. The chafing-dish containing the sacred fire should be in the centre of the oratory, and the altar of perfumes close by. The operator must turn towards the east to pray, and the west to invoke; he must be either alone or assisted by two persons preserving the strictest silence ; he must wear the magical vestments, which we have described in the seventh chapter, and must be crowned with vervain and gold. He should bathe before the operation, and all his under garments must be of the most intact and scrupulous cleanliness. The ceremony should begin with a prayer suited to the genius of the spirit about to be invoked and one which would be approved by himself if he still lived. For example, it would be impossible to evoke Voltaire by reciting prayers in the style of St. Bridget. For the great men of antiquity, we may see the hymns of Cleanthes or Orpheus, with the adjuration terminating the Golden Verses of Pythagoras. In our own evocation of Apollonius, we used the magical philosophy of Patricius for the ritual, containing the doctrines of Zoroaster and the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. We recited the Nuctemeron of Apollonius in Greek with a loud voice and added the following conjuration :-

"Vouchsafe to be present, O Father of All, and thou Thrice Mighty Hermes, Conductor of the Dead. Asclepius son of Hephaistus, Patron of the Healing Art; and thou Osiris, Lord of strength and vigour, do thou thyself be present too. Arnebascenis, Patron of Philosophy, and yet again Asclepius, son of Imuthe, who presidest over poetry.

"Apollonius, Apollonius, Apollonius, Thou teachest the Magic of Zoroaster, son of Oromasdes; and this is the worship of the Gods."

For the evocation of spirits belonging to religions issued from Judaism, the following kabalistic invocation of Solomon should be used, either in Hebrew, or in any other tongue with which the spirit in question is known to have been familiar

"Powers of the Kingdom, be ye under my left foot and in my right hand! Glory and Eternity, take me by the two shoulders, and direct me in the paths of victory Mercy and Justice, be ye the equilibrium and splendour of my life ! Intelligence and Wisdom, crown me ! Spirits of Malchuth, lead me betwixt the two pillars upon which rests the whole edifice of the temple ! Angels of Netsah and Hod, strengthen me upon the cubic stone of Jesod! O Gedulael ! O Geburael ! O Tiphereth ! Binael, be thou my love ! Ruach Hochmael, be thou my light ! Be that which thou art and thou shalt be, O Ketheriel ! Tschim, assist me in the name of Saddai Cherubim, be my strength in the name of Adonai ! Bemi-Elohim, be my brethren in the name of the Son, and by the power of Zebaoth ! Eloim, do battle for me in the name of Tetragrammation ! Malachim, protect me in the name of Jod He Vau He ! Seraphim, cleanse my love in the name of Elvoh ! Hasmalim, enlighten me with the splendours of Eloi and Shechinah ! Aralim, act! Ophanim, revolve and shine! Hajoth a Kadosh, cry, speak, roar, bellow Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Saddai, Adonai, Jotchaveh, Eieazereie : Hallelu-jah, Hallelu-jah, Hallelu-jah. Amen.'

It should be remembered above all, in conjurations, that the names of Satan, Beelzebub, Adramelek, and others do not designate spiritual unities, but legions of impure spirits.

"Our name is legion, for we are many," says the spirit of darkness in the Gospel. Number constitutes the law, and progress takes place inversely in hell-that is to say, the most advanced in Satanic development, and consequently the most degraded, are the least intelligent and feeblest. Thus, a fatal law drives the demons downward when they wish and believe themselves to be ascending. So also those who term themselves chiefs are the most impotent and despised of all. As to the horde of perverse spirits, they tremble before an unknown, invisible, incomprehensible, capricious, implacable chief, who never explains his law, whose arm is ever stretched out to strike those who fail to understand him. They give this phantom the names of Baal, Jupiter, and even others more venerable, which cannot, without profanation, be pronounced in hell. But this Phantom is only a shadow and remnant of God, disfigured by their willful perversity, and persisting in their imagination like a vengeance of justice and a remorse of truth.

"When the evoked spirit of light manifests with dejected or irritated countenance, we must offer him a moral sacrifice, that is, be inwardly disposed to renounce whatever offends him; and before leaving the oratory, we must dismiss him, saying: " May peace be with thee! I have not wished to trouble thee; do thou torment me not. I shall labour to improve myself as to anything that vexes thee. I pray, and will still pray, with thee and for thee. Pray thou also both with' and for me, and return to thy great slumber, expecting that day when we shall wake together. Silence and adieu!"

Christian, in his Historie de le magie (Paris, 1871) says:-

"The place chosen for the evocation is not an unimportant point. The most auspicious is undoubtedly that room which contains the last traces of the lamented person. If it be impossible to fulfil this condition, we must go in search of some isolated rural retreat which corresponds in orientation and aspect, as well as measurement, with the mortuary chamber.

"The window must be blocked with boards of olive wood, hermetically joined, so that no exterior light may penetrate. The ceiling, the four interior walls, and the floor must be draped with tapestry of emerald green silk, which the operator must himself secure with copper nails, invoking no assistance from strange hands, because, from this moment, he alone may enter into this spot set apart from all, the arcane Oratory of the Magus. The furniture which belonged to the deceased, his favourite possessions and trinkets, the things on which his final glance may be supposed to have rested-all these must be assiduously collected and arranged in the order which they occupied at the time of his death. If none of these souvenirs can be obtained, a faithful likeness of the departed being must at least be procured, it must be full length, and must be depicted in the dress and colours which he wore during the last period of his life. This portrait must be set up on the eastern wall by means of copper fasteners, must be covered with a veil of white silk, and must be surmounted with a crown of those flowers which were most loved by the deceased.

"Before this portrait there must be erected an altar of white marble, supported by four columns which must terminate in bull's feet. A five-pointed star must be emblazoned on the slab of the altar, and must be composed of pure copper plates. The place in the centre of the star, between the plates, must be large enough to receive the pedestal of 'a cup-shaped copper chafing-dish, containing dessicated fragments of ,,'laurel wood and alder. By the side of the chafing-dish must be placed a censer full of incense. The skin of a 'white and spotless ram must be stretched beneath the alter, and on it must be emblazoned another pentagram drawn with parallel lines of azure blue, golden yellow, emerald green, and purple red.

"A copper tripod must be erected in the middle of the Oratory; it must be perfectly triangular in form, it must be surmounted by another and similar chafing-dish, which must likewise contain a quantity of dried olive wood.

"A high candelabrum of copper must be placed by the wall on the southern side, and must contain a single taper of purest white wax, which must alone illuminate the mystery of the evocation.

"The white colour of the altar, of the ram's skin, and of the veil, is consecrated to Gabriel, the planetary archangel of the moon, and the Genius of mysteries ; the green of the copper and the tapestries is dedicated to the Genius of Venus.

"The altar and tripod must both be encompassed by a magnetized iron chain, and by three garlands composed of the foliage and blossoms of the myrtle, the olive, and the rose.

"Finally, facing the portrait, and on the eastern side, there must be a canopy, also draped with emerald silk, and supported by two triangular columns of olive wood, plated with purest copper. On the North and South sides, between each of these columns and the wall, the tapestry must fall in long folds to the ground, forming a kind of tabernacle; which must be open on the eastern side. At the foot of each column there must be a sphinx of white marble, with a cavity in the top of the head to receive spices for burning. It is beneath this canopy that the apparitions will manifest, and it should be remembered that the Magus must turn to the east for prayer, and to the west for evocation.

"Before entering this little sanctuary, devoted to the religion of remembrance, the operator must be clothed in a vestment of azure, fastened by clasps of copper, enriched with a single emerald. He must wear upon his head a tiara surrounded by a floriated circle of twelve emeralds, and a crown of violets. On his breast must be the talisman of Venus depending from a ribbon of azure silk. On the annular finger of his left hand must be a copper ring containing a turquoise. His feet must be covered with shoes of azure silk, and he must be provided with a fan of swan 5 feathers to dissipate, if needful, the smoke of the perfumes.

"The Oratory and all its objects must be consecrated on a Friday, during the hours which are set apart to the Genius of Venus. This consecration is performed by burning violets and roses in a fire of olive wood. A shaft must be provided in the Oratory for the passage of the smoke, but care must be taken to prevent the admission of light through this channel.

"When these preparations are finished, the operator must impose on himself a retreat of one-and -twenty days, beginning on the anniversary of the death of the beloved being. During this period he must refrain from conferring on any one the least of those marks of affection which he was accustomed to bestow on the departed he must be absolutely chaste, alike in deed and thought; he must take daily but one repast, consisting of bread, wine, roots, and fruits. These three conditions are indispensable to success in evocation, and their accomplishment requires complete isolation.

"Every day, shortly before mid-night, the Magus must assume his consecrated dress. On the stroke of the mystic hour, - he must enter the Oratory, bearing a lighted candle in his right hand, and in the other an hour-glass. The candle must be fixed in the candelabra, and the hour-glass on the altar to register the flight of time. The operator must then proceed to replenish the garland and the floral crown. Then he shall unveil the portrait, and erect it immovable in front of the altar, being thus with his face to the East, he shall softly go over in his mind the cherished recollections he possesses of the beloved and departed being.

"When the upper reservoir of the hour-glass is empty the time of contemplation will be over. By the flame of the taper the operator must then kindle the laurel wood and alder in the chafing-dish which stands on the altar; then, taking a pinch of incense from the censer, let him cast it thrice upon the fire, repeating the following words Glory be to the Father of life universal in the splendour of the infinite altitude, and peace in the twilight of the immeasurable depths to all Spirits of good will

"Then he shall cover the portrait, and taking up his candle in his hand, shall depart from the Oratory, walking backward at a slow pace as far as the threshold. The same ceremony must be fulfilled at the same hour during every day of the retreat, and at each visit the crown which is above the portrait, and the garlands of the altar and tripod must be carefully renewed. The withered leaves and flowers must be burnt each evening in a room adjoining the Oratory.

"When the twenty-first day has arrived, the Magus must do his best to have no communication with any one, but if this be impossible, he must not be the first to speak, and he must postpone all business till the morrow. On the stroke of noon, he must arrange a small circular table in the Oratory, and cover it with a new napkin of unblemished whiteness. It must be garnished with two copper chalices, an entire loaf, and a crystal flagon of the purest wine. The bread must be broken and not cut, and the wine emptied in equal portions into the two cups. Half of this mystic communion. which must be his sole nourishment on this supreme day, shall be offered by the operator to the dead, and by the light of the one taper he must eat his own share, standing before the veiled portrait. Then he shall retire as before, walking backward as far as the threshold, and leaving the ghost's share of the bread and wine upon the table.

"When the solemn hour of the evening has at length arrived the Magus shall carry into the Oratory some well-dried cypress wood, which he shall set alight on the altar and the tripod. Three pinches of incense shall be cast on the altar flame in honour of the Supreme Potency which manifests itself by Ever Active Intelligence and by Absolute Wisdom. When the wood of the two chafing-dishes has been reduced to embers, he must renew the triple offering of incense on the altar, and must cast some seven times on the fire in the tripod ; at each evaporation of the consecrated perfume he must repeat the previous doxology, and then turning to the East, he must call upon God by the prayer of that religion which was professed by the person whom he desires to evoke.

"When the prayers are over he must reverse his position and with his face to the West, must enkindle the chafing-dishes on the head of each sphinx, and when the cypress is fully ablaze he must heap over it well-dried violets and roses. Then let him extinguish the candle which illuminates the Oratory, and falling on his knees before the canopy, between the two columns, let him mentally address the beloved person with a plenitude of faith and affection. Let him solemnly entreat it to appear and renew this interior adjuration seven times, under the auspices of the seven providential Genii, endeavouring during the whole of the time to exalt his soul above the natural weakness of humanity.

"Finally, the operator, with closed eyes, and with hands covering his face, must call the invoked person in a loud but gentle voice, pronouncing three times all the names which he bore.

"Some moments after the third appeal, he must extend his arms in the form of a cross, and lifting up his eyes, he will behold the beloved being, in a recognisable manner, in front of him. That is to say, he will perceive that ethereal substance separated from the perishable terrestrial body, the fluidic envelope of the soul, which Kabalistic initiates have termed the Perispirit. This substance preserves the human form but is emancipated from human infirmities, and is energised by the special characteristics whereby the imperishable individuality of our essence is manifested. Evoked and Evoker can then inter-communicate intelligibly by a mutual and mysterious thought-transmission.

"The departed soul will give counsel to the operator; it will occasionally reveal secrets which may be beneficial to those whom it loved on earth, but it will answer no question which has reference to the desires of the flesh; it will discover no buried treasures, nor will it unveil the secrets of a third person ; it is silent on the mysteries of the superior existence to which it has now attained. In certain cases, it will, however, declare itself either happy or in punishment. If it be the latter, it will ask for the prayer of the Magus, or for some religious observance, which we must unfailingly fulfill. Lastly, it will indicate the time when the evocation may be renewed.

"When it has disappeared, the operator must turn to the East, rekindle the fire on the altar, and make a final offering of incense. Then he must detach the crown and the garlands, take up his candle, and retire with his face to the West till he is out of the Oratory. His last duty is to burn the final remains of the flowers and leaves. Their ashes, united to those which have been collected during the time of retreat, must be mixed with myrtle seed, and secretly buried in a field at a depth which will secure it from disturbance of the ploughshare."

The last two examples are, of course, those of white" necromancy. The procedure followed by savage tribes is of course totally different. Among certain Australian tribes the necromants are called Birraark. It is said that a Birraark was supposed to be initiated by the " mrarts" (ghosts) when they met him wandering in the bush. It was from the ghosts that he obtained replies to questions concerning events passing at a distance, or yet to happen, which might be of interest or moment to his tribe. An account of a spiritual stance in the bush is given in Kamilaroi and Kurnai" (p. 254) The fires were let down the Birraark uttered the cry Coo-ee' at intervals. At length a distant reply was heard, and shortly afterwards the sound as of persons jumping on the ground in succession. A voice was then heard in the gloom asking in a strange intonation What is wanted ? ' At the termination of the stance, the spirit voice said, We are going.' Finally, the Birraark was found in the top of an almost inaccessible tree, apparently asleep."

(See also New Zealand.)

In Japan, ghosts can be raised in various ways. One mode is to "put into an andon" (a paper lantern in a frame), " a hundred rushlights, and repeat an incantation of a hundred lines. One of these rushlights is taken out at the end of each line, and the would-be ghost-seer then goes out in the dark with one light still burning, and blows it out, when the ghost might to appear. Girls who have lost their lovers by death often try that sorcery."

The mode of procedure as practised in Scotland was thus. The haunted room was made ready. Re, who was to do the daring deed, about nightfall entered the room, bearing with him a table, a chair, a candle, a compass, a crucifix if one could be got, and a Bible. With the compass he cast a circle on the middle of the floor, large enough to hold the chair and the table. He placed within the circle the chair and the table, and on the table he laid the Bible and the crucifix beside the lighted candle. If he had not a crucifix, then he drew the figure of a cross on the floor within the circle. When all this was done, he rested himself on the chair, opened the Bible, and waited for the coming of the spirit. Exactly at midnight the spirit came. Sometimes the door opened slowly, and there glided in noiselessly a lady sheeted in white, with a face of woe and told her story to the man on his asking her in the name of God what she wanted. What she wanted was done in the morning, and the spirit rested ever after. Sometimes the spirit rose from the floor, and sometimes came forth from the wall. One there was who burst into the room with a strong bound, danced wildly round the circle, and flourished a long whip round the man's head, but never dared to step within the circle. During a pause in his frantic dance he was asked, in God's name, what he wanted. He ceased his dance and told his wishes. His wishes were carried out, and the spirit was in peace."

In Wraxall's " Memoirs of the Courts of Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, and Vienna" there is an amusing account of the raising of the ghost of the Chevalier de Saxe. Reports had been circulated that at his palace at Dresden there was secreted a large sum of money, and it was urged that if his spirit could be compelled to appear, interesting secrets might be extorted from him. Curiosity, combined with avarice, accordingly prompted his principal heir, Prince Charles, to try the experiment. and, on the appointed night, Schrepfer was the operator in raising the apparition. He commenced his proceedings by retiring into the corner of the gallery, where, kneeling down with many mysterious ceremonies, lie invoked the spirit to appear. At length a loud clatter was heard at all the windows on the outside, resembling more the effect produced by a number of wet fingers drawn over the edge of glasses than anything else to which it could well be compared. This sound announced the arrival of the good spirits, and was shortly followed by a yell of a frightful and unusual nature, which indicated the presence of malignant spirits. Schrepfer continued his invocations, when " the door suddenly opened with violence, and something that resembled a black ball or globe rolled into the room. It was enveloped in smoke or cloud, in the midst of which appeared a human face, like the countenance of the Chevalier de Saxe, from which issued a loud and angry voice, exclaiming in German, Carl, was wollte du mit mich ? "- Charles, what would thou do with me ? By reiterated exorcisms Schrepfer finally dismissed the apparition, and the terrified spectators dispersed fully convinced of his magical powers.

Neoplatonism : A mystical philosophic system initiated by Plotinus of Alexandria A.D. 233, which combined the philosophy of ancient Greece with more modern spiritual cravings. Although to some extent founded on the teach-log of Plato, it was undoubtedly' sophisticated by a deep mysticism, which in all probability emanated from the traditions of the land in which it originated. To a great extent it coloured the thought of medieval mysticism and magic. Plotinus, its founder, commenced the study of philosophy in Alexandria at the age of 28. He early experienced an earnest desire to reach the truth concerning existence, and to that end made a deep study of the dialogues of Plato and the metaphysics of Aristotle. He practised the most severe austerities, and attempted to live what he called the angelic " life, or the life of the disembodied in the body. He was greatly drawn to Apollonius of Tyana by reading his Life by Philostratus, and gave credence to many of the marvels recorded therein. The union of philosopher and priest in the character of Apollonius fired the imagination of Plotinus, and in his Pythagorean teachings the young student discovered the elements of both Orientalism and Platonism,-for both Pythagoras and Plato strove to escape the sensuous, and to realise in contemplative abstraction that tranquility superior to desire and passion which made men approach the gods; but in the hands of the later Pythagoreans and Platonists, the principles of the Hellenic masters degenerated into a species of theurgic freemasonry. Many of the Pythagoreans had joined the various Orphic associations, and indeed had sunk to be mere itinerant vendors of charms.

It is probable that at Alexandria Plotinus heard from Orientals the principles of eastern theosophy, which he did not find in Plato. But everywhere he found a growing indifference to religion as known to the more ancient Greeks and Egyptians. By this time, the Pantheons of Greece, Rome and Egypt, had become fused in the worship of Serapis, and this fusion had been forwarded by the works of Plutarch, Apuleius, and Lucian. The position of philosophy at this time was by no means a strong one. In fact speculation had given place to ethical teaching. and philosophy was regarded more as a branch of literature, or an elegant recreation. Plotinus persuaded himself that philosophy and religion should be one; that speculation should be a search after God. It was at this time that he first heard of Ammonius Saccas, who shortly before had been a porter in the streets of Alexandria, and who lectured upon the possibilities of reconciling Plato and Aristotle. "Scepticism," said Ammonius, "was death." He recommended men to travel back across the past, and out of the whole bygone world of thought to construct a system greater than any of its parts. This teaching formed an epoch in the life of Plotinus, who was convinced that Platonism, exalted into a species of illuminism and drawing to itself like a magnet all the scattered truth of the bygone ages. could alone preserve mankind from scepticism. He occupied himself only with the most abstract questions concerning knowledge and being. "Truth," according to him, "is not the agreement of our comprehension of an external object with the object itself, but rather the agreement of the mind with itself. For the philosopher the objects we contemplate, and that which comtemplates are identical: both are thought." All truth is then easy. Reduce the soul to its most perfect simplicity, and we find it is capable of exploration into the infinite; indeed it becomes one with the infinite. This is the condition of ecstasy, and to accomplish it a stoical austerity and asceticism was necessary. The Neoplatonists were thus ascetics and enthusiasts. Plato was neither. According to Plotinus, the mystic contemplates the divine perfection in himself; all worldly things and logical distinctions vanishing the period of ecstasy. This, of course, is purely Oriental and not Platonic at all. Plotinus regards the individual existence as phenomenal and transitory, and subordinates reason to ecstasy where the Absolute is in question. It is only at the end of his chain of reasoning that he introduces the supernatural. He is flist a rationalist, afterwards a mystic, and only a mystic when he finds that he cannot employ the machinery of reason. The letter of Plotinus, written about 200 A.D. well embodies his ideas on these beads, and is as follows:-

"Plotinus to Flaccus.-I applaud your devotion to philosophy; I rejoice to hear that your soul has set sail, like the returning Ulysses.;...for its native land-that glorious, that only real country-the world of unseen truth. To follow philosophy, the senator Rogatianus, one of the noblest of my disciples, gave up the other day all but the whole of his patrimony, set free his slaves, and surrendered all the honours of his station.

"Tidings have reached us that Valerian has been defeated and is now in the hands of Sapor. The threats of Franks and Allemanni, of Goths and Persians, are alike terrible by turns to our degenerate Rome. In days like these, crowded with incessant calamities, the inducements to a life of contemplation are more than ever strong. Even my quiet existence seems now to grow somewhat sensible of the advance of years. Age alone I am unable to debar from my retirement. I am weary already of this prison-house, the body, and calmly await the day when the divine nature within me shall. be set free from matter.

"The Egyptian priests used to tell me that a single touch with the wing of their holy bird could charm the crocodile into torpor; it is not thus speedily, my dear friend, that the pinions of your soul will have power to still the untamed body. The creature will yield only to watchful, strenuous constancy of habit. Purify your soul from all undue hope and fear about earthly things, mortify the body, deny self,-affections as well as appetites, and the inner eye will begin to exercise its clear and solemn vision.

"You ask me to tell you how we know, and what 'is our criterion of certainty. To write is always irksome to me. But for the continual solicitations of Porphyry, I should not have left a line to survive me. For your own sake, and for your father's, my reluctance shall be overcome.

"External objects present us only with appearances. Concerning them, therefore, we may be said to posses opinion rather than knowledge. The distinctions in the actual world of appearance are of import only to ordinary and practical men. Our question lies within the ideal reality which exists behind appearance. How does the mind perceive these ideas? Are they without us, and is the reason, like sensation, occupied with objects external to itself? What certainty could we then have, what assurance that our perception was infallible ? The object perceived would be a something different from the mind perceiving it. We should have then an image instead of reality. It would be monstrous to believe for a moment that the mind was unable to perceive ideal truth exactly as it is, and that we had not certainty and real knowledge concerning the world of intelligence. It follows, therefore, that this region of truth is not to be investigated as a thing external to us, and so only imperfectly known. It is within us. Here the objects we contemplate and that which contemplates are identical,-both are thought. The subject cannot surely know an object different from itself. The world of ideas lies within our intelligence. Truth, therefore, is not the agreement of our apprehension of an external object with the object itself. It is the agreement of the mind with itself Consciousness, therefore, is the sole basis of certainty. The mind is its own witness. Reason sees in itself that which is above itself as its source and again, that which is below itself as still itself once more.

"Knowledge has three degrees - Opinion, Science, Illumination. The means or instrument of the first is sense; of the second, dialectic; of the third intuition. To the last I subordinate reason. It is absolute knowledge founded on the identity of the mind knowing with the object known.

"There is a raying out of all orders of existence, an external emanation from the ineffable One (prudos). There is again a returning impulse, drawing all upwards and inwards towards the centre from whence all came (epistrophe). Love, as Plato in the Banquet beautifully says, is the child of Poverty and Plenty. In the amorous quest of the soul after the Good, lies the painful sense of fall and deprivation. But that Love is blessing, is salvation, is our guardian genius; without it the centrifugal law would overpower us, and sweep our souls out far from their source toward the cold extremities of the Material and the Manifold. The wise man recognises the idea of the Good within him. This he develops by withdrawal into the Holy Place of his own soul. He who does not understand how the soul contains the Beautiful within itself, seeks to realize beauty without, by laborious production. His aim should rather be to concentrate and simplify, and so to expand his being; instead of going out into the Manifold, to forsake it 'for the One, and so to float upwards towards the divine fount of being whose stream flows within him.

"You ask, how can we know the Infinite? I answer, not by reason. It is the office of reason to distinguish and define. The Infinite, therefore, cannot be ranked among its objects. You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty superior to reason, by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer, in which the Divine Essence is communicated to you. This is Ecstasy. It is the liberation of your mind from its finite consciousness. Like only can apprehend like; when you thus cease to be finite, you become one with the Infinite. In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self (aplosis), its divine essence, you realize this Union, this Identity (enosin)

"But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation (mercifully made possible for us) above the limits of the body and the world. I myself have realized it but three times as yet, and Porphyry hitherto not once. All that tends to purify and elevate the mind will assist you in this attainment, and facilitate the approach and the recurrence of these happy intervals. There are, then, different roads by which this end may be reached. The love of beauty which exalts the poet; that devotion to the One and that ascent of science which makes the ambition of the philosopher; and that love and those prayers by which some devout and ardent soul tends in its moral purity towards perfection. These are the great highways conducting to that height above the actual and the particular where we stand in the immediate presence of the Infinite, who shines out as from the deeps of the soul."

Plotinus appears to have been greatly indebted to Numenius for some of the ideas peculiar to his system. Numenius attempted to harmonise Pythagoras and Plato, to elucidate and confirm the opinions of both by the religious dogmas of the Egyptians, the Magi and the Brahmans; and he believed that Plato was indebted to the Hebrew as well as to the Egyptian theology for much of his wisdom. Like Plotinus he was puzzled that the immutable One could find it possible to create the Manifold without self-degradation, and he therefore posited a Being whom he calls the Demi-urge, or Artificer, who merely carried out the will of God in constructing the universe.

Taken in a nutshell, the mysticism of Plotinus is as follows: One cannot know God in any partial or finite manner; to know him truly we must escape from the finite, from all that is earthly, from the very gifts of God to God Himself, and know him in the infinite way by receiving, or being received into him directly. To accomplish this, and to attain this identity, we must withdraw into our inmost selves, into our own essence, which alone is Susceptible of blending with the Divine Essence. Hence inmost is the highest, and as with all systems of mysticism introversion is ascension, and God is found within.

Porphyry entered the school of Plotinus when it had become an institution' of some standing. At first he strongly opposed the teachings of his master, but soon became his most devoted scholar. He directed a fierce assault on Christianity, and at the same time launched strictures at Paganism; hot both forces were too strong for him. The attempt of the school to combine religion and philosophy robbed the first of its only power, and the last of its only principle. Religion in the hands of the Neoplatonists lost all sanctity and authoritativeness, and philosophy all scientific precision, and the attempt to philosophise superstition ended in mere absurdity. But they succeeded in one thing, and that was in making philosophy superstitious-no very difficult task.

Porphyry modified the doctrine of Plotinus regarding ecstasy, by stating that in that condition the mind does not lose its consciousness of personality. He calls it a dream in which the soul, dead to the world, rises to a species of divine activity, to an elevation above reason, action and liberty. He believed in a certain order of evil genii, who took pleasure in hunting wild beasts, and others of whom hunted souls that had escaped from the fetters of the body; so that to escape them, the soul must once more take refuge in the flesh. Porphyry's theosophic conceptions, based on those of Plotinus, were strongly and ably traversed by the theurgic mysteries of lamblichus, to whom the priest was a prophet full of deity. Criticising Porphyry, lamblichus says:-

"Often, at the moment of inspiration, or when the afflatus has subsided, a fiery Appearance is seen,-the entering or departing Power. Those who are skilled in this wisdom can tell by the character of this glory the rank of divinity who has seized for the time the reins of the mystic's soul, and guides it as he will. Sometimes the body of the man subject to this influence is violently agitated, sometimes it is rigid and motionless. In some instances sweet music is heard, in others, discordant and fearful sounds. The person of the subject has been known to dilate and tower to a superhuman height; in other cases, it has been lifted up into the air. Frequently, not merely the ordinary exercise of reason, but sensation and animal life would appear to have been suspended; and the subject of the afflatus has not felt the application of fire, has been pierced with spits, cut with knives, and been sensible of no pain. Yea, often, the more the body and the mind have been alike enfeebled by vigil and by fasts, the more ignorant or mentally imbecile a youth may be who is brought under this influence, the more freely and unmixedly will the divine power be made manifest. So clearly are these wonders the work, not of human skill or wisdom, but of supernatural agency l Characteristics such as these I have mentioned, are the marks of the true inspiration.

"Now, there are, O Agathocles, four great orders of spiritual existence,-Gods, Daemons, Heroes or Demi-gods, and Souls. You will naturally be desirous to learn how the apparition of a God or a Daemon is distinguished from those of Angels, Principalities, or Souls. Know, then, that their appearance to man corresponds to their nature, and that they always manifest themselves to those who invoke them in a manner consonant with their rank in the hierarchy of spiritual natures. The appearances of Gods are uniform, those of Daemons various. The Gods shine with a benign aspect. When a God manifests himself, he frequently appears to hide sun or moon, and seems as he descends too vast for earth to contain. Archangels are at once awful and mild; Angels yet more gracious; Daemons terrible. Below the four leading classes I have mentioned are placed the malignant Daemons, the Anti-gods.

"Each spiritual order has gifts of its own to bestow on the initiated who evoke them. The Gods confer health of body, power and purity of mind, and, in short, elevate and restore our natures to their proper principles. Angels and Archangels have at their command only subordinate bestowments. Daemons, however, are hostile to the aspirant,-afflict both body and mind, and hinder our escape from the sensuous. Principalities, who govern the sublunary elements, confer temporal advantages. Those of a lower rank, who preside over matter, often display their bounty in material gifts. Souls that are pure are, like Angels, salutary in their influence. I heir appearance encourages the soul in its upward efforts. Heroes stimulate to great actions. All these powers depend, in a descending chain, each species on that immediately above it. Good Daemons are seen surrounded by the emblems of blessing, Daemons who execute judgment appear with the instruments of punishment.

"There is nothing unworthy of belief in what you have been told concerning the sacred sleep, and divination by dreams. I explain it thus :-

"The soul has a two-fold life, a lower and a higher. In sleep that soul is freed from the constraint of the body, and enters, as one emancipated, on its divine life of intelligence. Then, as the noble faculty which beholds the objects that truly are--the objects in the world of intelligence - stirs within, and awakens to its power, who can be surprised that the mind, which contains in itself the principles of all that happens, should, in this its state of liberation, discern the future in those antecedent principles which will make that future what it is to be? The nobler part of the soul is thus united by abstraction to higher natures, and becomes a participant in the wisdom and foreknowledge of the Gods.

"Recorded examples of this are numerous and well-authenticated; instances occur, too, every day. Numbers of sick, by sleeping in the temple of AEsculapius, have had their cure revealed to them in dreams vouchsafed by the god. Would not Alexander's army have perished but for a dream- in which Dionysius pointed out the means of safety ? Was not the siege of Aphutis raised through a dream sent by Jupiter Ammon to Lysander? The nighttime of the body is the day-time of the soul."

We thus see how in the process of time the principles on which the system of Plotinus rested were surrendered little by little, while divination and evocation were practised with increasing frequency. Plotinus had declared the possibility of the absolute identification of the divine 'with human nature-the broadest possible basis for mysticism. Porphyry took up narrower ground and contended that in the union which takes place in ecstasy, we still retain consciousness of personality. lamblichus diminished the real principle of mysticism still farther in theory, and denied that man has a faculty, eternally active and in accessible, to passion: so that the intellectual ambition. so lofty in Plotinus subsided among the followers of lamblichus into magical practice.

Proclus was the last of the Greek Neoplatonists. He elaborated the Trinity of Plotinus into a succession of impalpable triads, and surpassed lamblichus in his devotion to the practice of theurgy. With him, theurgy was the art which gives man the magical passwords that carry him- through barrier after barrier, dividing species from species of the upper existences, till at the summit of the hierarchy he arrives at the highest. Above all being is God, the Non-Being, who is apprehended only by negation. When we are raised out of our weakness and on a level with God, it seems as though reason were silenced for then we are above reason. In short we become intoxicated with God. Proclus was an adept in the ritual of invocations among every people in the world, and a great magical figure. With the advance of Byzantinism, he represented the old world of Greek thought, and even those who wrote against him as a heathen show the influence he exercised on their doctrines. Thus Dionysius attempted to accommodate the philosophy of Proclus to Christianity, and greatly admired his asceticism. The theology of the Neoplatonists was always in the first instance a mere matter of logic. They confounded Universals with Causes. The highest became with them merely the most comprehensive. As has been said Neoplatonism exercised great power among the scholiasts and magicians of the middle ages. In fact all that medievalism knew of Plato was through the medium of the Neoplatonists. In Germany in the fourteenth century it became a vivifying principle; for although its doctrine of emanation was abandoned, its allegorical explanation, its exaltation of the spirit above the letter was retained, and Platonism and mysticism together created a party in the church-the sworn foes of scholasticism and mere lifeless orthodoxy.

Neptesh : (See Kabala.)

Nervaura : (See Aura.)

Nervengeist : (See Psychic Body and Spiritualism.)

Neuhusens, Henrichus : (See Rosicrucians.)

Nevill, William : (See England.)

New Existence of Man upon the Earth : Spiritualistic Journal. (See Spiritualism.)

New Motor, The : A strange machine constructed in 1854 by John Murray Spear (q.v.) at the instigation of the" Association of Electricizers," one of the bands of spirits by whom he was controlled. It was to derive its motive power from the magnetic store of nature, and was therefore to be as independent of artificial sources of energy as was the human body. The machine was hailed as a god-the "Physical Saviour of the race," the "New Messiah "-and a certain lady, in obedience to a vision, went to the High Rock (Lynn, Mass.) whereon stood the New Motor', and for two hours suffered "birth-pangs," whereby she judged that the essence of her spiritual being was imparted to the machine. At the end of that time it was averred that pulsations were apparent in the motor. A. J. Davis expressed the belief that the design was the work of spirits of a mechanical turn of mind, but was of no practical value. The New Motor was finally smashed by the inhabitants of Randolph (N.Y.) whither it had been taken. In all it cost its builder some two thousand dollars. In common fairness to the Spiritualists it may be said that the majority had no sympathy whatever with such an absurd scheme,

Newstead Abbey : (See Haunted Houses.)

New Thought : A present-day religion which in some of its tenets is akin to Christian Science, or faith-healing. Unlike Christian Science, however, it does not affect entirely to dispense with all material aids, as drugs, the setting of broken bones, and so on. Nor does it give the whole credit for the cure to the imagination of the patient, as does hypnotism. But striking a point midway between the two it gives considerable prominence to the mind in the healing process, while not altogether despising the doctor. Mind is considered as highly refined matter, and therefore the " mind" cure is in a measure a material cure. It is clear that that part of the New Thought which deals with bodily healing has its roots in the Animal Magnetism and Mesmerism of bygone times. So much have they in common that it is needless to trace mental-healing further back than Dr. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866) the first to make use of the terms ' mental-healing" and Christian Science." Dr. Quimby was the son of a New Hampshire blacksmith, and was himself apprenticed to a clockmaker, having had but little education. At the age of thirty-six he attended a lecture on Mesmerism, and thereafter practised for himself. With the aid of a clairvoyant youth lie cured diseases, and so successful was his treatment that he soon adopted magnetic healing as a profession. At length, however, he got a glimpse of the true reason for his success-the expectation of the patient. The diagnoses of his clairvoyant he attributed to the latter's telepathic reading of the patient's own thoughts, and he judged that the treatment prescribed depended for its efficacy on the confidence it inspired rather than on its intrinsic merits. From this point he gradually evolved his doctrine that disease was a mere delusion, a traditional error that had fixed itself in men's minds, which it behoved them to be rid of as soon as might be. The way to cure disease, therefore, was to destroy the error on which it rested. Besides Christian Science, Quimby called his doctrine the Science of Health, or the Science of Health and Happiness. He had many disciples, among whom were Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science Church. Others whose influence was felt more in the direction of the New Thought movement were the Rev. W. F. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. Julius Dresser, whose son, Horatio W. Dresser, remains one of the ablest exponents of the New Thought As has been said, the method of healing practised by this school is not considered to be entirely immaterial. It is no longer believed, of course, that a fluid emanates from the finger-tips of the operator, or that he radiates a luminous odic force; but Mr. Dresser himself states that the communication is of a vibratory character, made up of ethereal undulations directed and concentrated by the thought of the healer. The power is equally efficacious at a distance and may be used without the patient's knowledge or even against his will. This belief in action at a distance is something of a bug-bear to the New Thinker, who fears the ascendency of an evil influence as the superstitious of the Middle Ages feared bewitchment. But there is a spiritual aspect of the New Thought as well as a physical one. The health of the soul is as fully considered as the health of the body. Spiritual sanity, then, is to be procured by lifting oneself to a higher plane of existence, by shutting out the things of the earth and living ' in tune with the infinite." We must realise our own identity with the Infinite Spirit and open our lives to the Divine inflow. Ralph Waldo Trine, himself a New Thinker, says in an expressive metaphor, " To recognise our own divinity and our intimate relation to the Universal, is to attach the belt of our machinery to the power-house of the Universe." In short, we must have sufficient self-confidence to cast our fears aside and rise unfettered into the Infinite.

New Zealand : Maori superstitions. Amidst the mythological personages of New Zealand "the spirits of the dead" ever play a very prominent part, and our chief interest in noticing the Maoris, lies in the fact, that belief in, and open communion with these spirits, still exist. The priests or "Tohungas" are unmistakably "Mediums," in the modern sense of the term. Sometimes they are born with their gift, and sometimes they are devoted to the priestly office by their parents and acquire their power after the fashion of Eastern ecstatics, by prayer, fasting and contemplation. That good prophets exist amongst the Maoris has been abundantly proved. During the time when Great Britain busied herself in colonizing New Zealand, her officials frequently wrote home, that the Maori. would never be conquered wholly; information of the parties sent out to attack them; the very colour of the boats, and the hour when they would arrive; the number of the enemy, and all particulars essential to their safety, being invariably communicated to the tribes beforehand by their prophets or Tohungas.

The best natural prophets and seers amongst the Maoris are of the female sex; and although the missionaries try to account for the marvellous powers they exhibit, above all for the sound of the Spirit voice, which is a common phase in their communion with the dead - on the hypothesis that the women who practise ' the arts of sorcery," are ventriloquists - this attempted explanation rarely covers the ground of the intelligence which is received.

In his Old New Zealand General Cummings cites an interesting case of Tohungaism. A certain young chief had been appointed Registrar of births and deaths, then he suddenly came to a violent end. The book of registries was lost, and much inconvenience ensued. The man's relatives notified their intention of invoking his spirit, and invited General Cummings to be present at the ceremony, an invitation which he accepted. "The appointed time came. Fires were lit. The Tohunga repaired to the darkest corner of the room. All was silent, save the sobbing of the sisters of the deceased warrior-chief. There were thirty of us, sitting on the rush-strewn floor, the door shut and the fire now burning down to embers. Suddenly there came a voice out from the partial darkness, ' Salutation, salutation to my family. to my tribe, to you, pakeha, my friend! ' Our feelings were taken by storm. The oldest sister screamed, and rushed with extended arms in the direction from whence the voice came. Her brother, seizing, restrained her by main force. Others exclaimed. ‘Is it you ? Is it you ? Truly it is you! aue! aue! and fell quite insensible upon the floor. The older women and some of the aged men were not moved in the slightest degree, though believing it to be the spirit of the chief.

"Whilst reflecting upon the novelty of the scene, the darkness visible' and the deep interest manifest, the spirit spoke again, ' Speak to me my family; speak to me, my tribe : speak to me, the pakeha!' At last the silence gave way, and the brother spoke: ' How is it with you? Is it well with you in that country?' The answer came, though not in the voice of the Tohunga-medium, but in strange sepulchral sounds : ' It is well with me; my place is a good place. I have seen our friends; they are all with me I' A woman from another part of the room now anxiously cried out, ' Have you seen my sister ? Yes, I have seen her; she is happy in our beautiful country.' ' Tell her my love so great for her will never cease. Yes, I will bear the message.' Here the native woman burst into tears, and my own bosom swelled in sympathy.

"The spirit speaking again, giving directions about property and keepsakes, I thought I would more thoroughly test the genuineness of all this : and I said, ' We cannot find your book with the registered names; where have you concealed it ? ' The answer came instantly, ' I concealed it between the tahuhu of my house, and the thatch; straight over you, as you go in at the door.' The brother rushed out to see. All was silence. In five minutes he came hurriedly back, with the book in his hand I it astonished me.

"It was now late, and the spirit suddenly said, ' Fare-well my family, farewell, my tribe; I go.' Those present breathed an impressive farewell, when the spirit cried out again, from high in the air, ' Farewell!

"This, though seemingly tragical, is in every respect literally true. But what is that ? ventriloquism, the devil, or what!…"

Mrs. Britten, in her Nineteenth Century Miracles says:-

"The author has herself had several proofs of the Mediumistic power possessed by these 'savages' but as her experiences may be deemed of too personal a character, 'Se shall select our examples from other sources. One of these is furnished by a Mr. Marsden, a person who was well-known in the early days of New Zealand's colonial history. as a miner, who grew rich ' through spiritual communications.' Mr. Marsden was a gentleman who had spent much time amongst the Manna, and who still keeps a residence in the King country,' that is - the district of which they hold control. Mr. Marooned informed the author, that his success as a gold miner, was entirely due to a communication he had received through a native Woman who claimed to have the power of bringing down spirits-the Maoris, be it remembered, always insisting that the spirits descend through the air to earth to visit mortals. Mr. Marsden had long been prospecting unsuccessfully in the gold regions. He had a friend in partnership with him, to whom he was much attached, but who had been accidentally killed by a fall from a cliff. The Spirit of this man came unsolicited, on an occasion when Mr. Marsden was consulting a native seeress, for the purpose of endeavouring to trace out what had become of a valuable watch which he had lost. The voice of the spirit was first heard in the air, apparently above the roof of the hut in which they sat, calling Mr. Marsden by his familiar name of ' Mars.' Greatly startled by these sounds, several times repeated, at the Medium's command, he remained perfectly still until the voice of his friend speaking in his well-remembered Scotch accent sounded close to his ear, whilst a column of grey misty substance reared itself by his side. This apparition was plainly visible in the subdued light of the hut, to which there was only one open entrance, but no window'. Though he was much startled by what he saw and heard, Mr. Marsden had presence of mind enough to gently put his hand through the misty column which remained intact, as if its substance offered no resistance to the touch. Being admonished by an earnest whisper from the Maori woman, who had fallen on her knees before the apparition, to keep still, he obeyed, when a voice - seemingly from an immense distance off-yet speaking unmistakably in his friend's Scotch accents, advised him to let the watch alone - for it was irreparably gone-but to go to the stream on the banks of which they had last had a meal together trace it up for six miles and a half, and then, by following its course amidst the forest, he would come to a pile, which would make him rich, if he chose to remain so. Whilst he was waiting and listening breathlessly to hear more, Mr. Marsden was startled by a slight detonation at his side. Turning his head he observed that the column of mist was gone, and in its place, a quick flash, like the reflection of a candle, was all that he beheld. Here the stance ended, and the astonished miner left the hut, convinced that he had heard the Spirit of his friend talking to him. He added, that he followed the directions given implicitly, and came to a mass of surface gold lying on the stones at the bottom of the brook in the depth of the forest. This he gathered up, and though he prospected for several days in and about that spot, he never found another particle of this precious metal. That which he had secured he added, with a deep sigh. was indeed enough to have made him independent for life, had it not soon been squandered in fruitless speculations."

So deeply has the Maori mind been saturated with ages of superstition that among the civilised, well-educated classes there may to-day be observed numerous expressions and actions which have their origin in an instinctive dread of the supernatural. Many degrees of superstition exist among the Maoris of the present day, says a writer in the Pall Mall Gazette. In the recesses of the Urewera country for example, diablerie has lost little of its early potency the tohunga there remains a power in the land. Among the more enlightened natives a precautionary policy is generally followed; it is always wiser and safer, they say, to avoid conflict with the two mysterious powers tapu and makuta. Tapu is the less dangerous of the two; a house, an individual, or an article may be rendered tapu, or sacred, and if the tapu be disregarded harm will befall someone. But makuta is a powerful evil spell cast for the deliberate purpose of accomplishing harm, generally to bring about death. The tohunga is understood to be in alliance with the spirits of the dead. The Maori dreads death, and he fears the dead. Places of burial are seldom approached during the day, never at night. The spirits of the dead are believed to linger sometimes near places of burial. Without going to experts in Maori lore, who have many and varied theories to set forth, a preferable course is to discover what the average Maori of to-day thinks and believes respecting the strange powers and influences he deems are at work in the world around him.

A Maori of this type who can read and write, is under forty years of age, and fairly intelligent-was drawn into a lengthy conversation with the writer. He believed, magistrates notwithstanding, that tohungas, somehow, had far more power than ordinary men. He did not think they got that power from the "tiapo" (the devil?) they just were able to make themselves masters of men and of many things in the world. There are many degrees of Tohungaism. An ordinary man or woman was powerless against a tohunga, but one tohunga could overcome another. The speaker knew of an instance of one tohunga driving the tohunga power entirely out of a weaker rival. It was a fairly recent east coast occurrence. Three Maoris had accidentally permitted their pigs to trespass into the tohunga's potato paddock, and much damage and loss was the result. The tohunga was one of the dangerous type, and being very wroth, he mekutued the three men, all of whom promptly died. Nobody was brave enough to charge the tohunga with causing the death of the men; they were all afraid of this terrible makuta. At length another tohunga was heard of, one of very great power. This oracle was consulted, and he agreed to deal effectively with tohunga number one, and punish him for killing the owner of the pigs. So, following his instructions, the first-mentioned individual was seized, and much against his will, was conveyed to the home of the greater magician. Many Maoris, it should be known, stand in awe of hot water, they will not handle it, even for purposes connected with cooking or cleaning. Into a large tub of hot water the minor tohunga struggling frantically, was placed, then he was given a page torn from a Bible, which he was ordered to chew' and swallow. The hot water treatment, combined with the small portion of the white man's sacred volume, did the expected work; the man was no longer a tohunga, and fretting over his lost powers, he soon afterwards died."

Spiritualism.-Amongst the earliest investigators in Dunedin, was a Mr. John Logan. Before he had become publicly identified with the cause of Spiritualism, an association had been formed, the members of which steadily pursued their investigations in private circles and semi-public gatherings. One of the most marked events in connection with the early development of Spiritualism in Dunedin, however, was the arraignment and church trial of Mr. Logan, the circumstances of which may be briefly summed up as follows. This gentleman, although holding a high position in the first Presbyterian church of the city, had attended circles and witnessed Spiritualistic phenomena and it was currently reported that one of his own near relatives was a very remarkable Medium. On the 19th of March, 1873, Mr. Logan was summoned to appear before a Church Convocation, to be held for the purpose of trying his case, and if necessary, dealing with his" delinquency.' Mr. Logan was in the event deprived of his church membership.

In many of the principal towns besides Dunedin, circles held at first in mere idle curiosity, have produced their usual fruit of mediumistic power, and this again has extended into associative action, and organisation into local societies. For over a year, the Spiritualists and Liberalists of Dunedin secured the services of Mr. Charles Bright as their lecturer. This gentleman had once been attached to the editorial staff of the Melbourne Argus, and had obtained a good reputation as a capable writer, and liberal thinker. Mr. Bright's lectures in Dunedin were highly appreciated, and by their scholarly style and attractive manner, served to band together the liberal element in the city. In Auckland, the principal town of the North Island, the same good service was rendered to the cause of religious thought, by the addresses of the Rev. Mr. Edgar, a clergyman whose Spiritualistic doctrines, had tended to sever him from sectarian organisations, and draw around him, the Spiritualists of the town. Besides the good work effected by these gentlemen, the occasional visits of Messrs. Peebles, Walker, J. Tyerman, and the effect of the many private circles held in every portion of the islands, tended to promote a general, though quiet, diffusion of Spiritual thought and doctrine, throughout New Zealand.

Ngai : (See Magic.)

Nganga : Members of the Ndembo Secret Society of the Lower Congo. Nganga - literally " the knowing ones" - is a term applied to those who have passed certain curious rites to distinguish them from the Vanga or uninitiated.

Ngembi : (See Africa.)

Nichusch : Prophetic indication. In accordance with the Kabalistic view that all events and natural happenings have a secret connection, and interact upon one another, it is believed that practically everything can become an object of soothsaying-the flight of birds, movement of clouds, cries of animals, events happening to man, and so on. Man himself may become Nichusch by saying that if such and such a thing takes place it will be a good or a bad omen.

Nick, or Old Nick : A well-known British appelation of the Devil. It seems probable that this name is derived from the Dutch Nikken, the devil, which again comes from the Anglo-Saxon naec-ae, to slay,-for as Wachter says the devil was ' a murderer from the beginning." In northern countries there is a river spirit named " Neck," " Nikke," or ' Nokke," of the same nature as the water Kelpie, and the Merman or Triton.

Nicolai, Christoph Friedrich : (1733-1811), A German author and bookseller of Berlin, is interesting from the occult point of view because of the peculiar experiences which befell him, and of which he treats in his personal account read before the Royal Society of Berlin. It would be impossible to present the circumstances of his case, which is one of the most celebrated in the annals of psychology, better than in his own words.

"In the first two months of the year 1791," he says, " I was much affected in my mind by several incidents of a very disagreeable nature; and on the 24th of February a circumstance occurred which irritated me extremely. At ten o'clock in the forenoon my wife and another person came to console me; I was in a violent perturbation of mind, owing to a series of incidents which had altogether wounded my moral feelings, and from which I saw no possibility of relief, when suddenly I observed at the distance of ten paces from me a figure-the figure of a deceased person. I pointed at it, and asked my wife whether she did not see it. She saw nothing, but being much alarmed, endeavoured to compose me, and sent for the physician The figure remained some seven or eight minutes, and at length I became a little more calm; and as I was extremely exhausted, I soon afterwards fell into a troubled kind of slumber, which lasted for half an hour. The vision was ascribed to the great agitation of mind in which I had been, and it was supposed I should have nothing more to apprehend from that cause; but the violent affection had put my nerves into some unnatural state. From this arose further consequences, which require a more detailed description.

"In the afternoon, a little after four o'clock, the figure which I had seen in the morning again appeared. I was alone when this happened, a circumstance which, as may be easily conceived, could not be very agreeable. I went therefore to the apartment of my wife, to whom I related it. But thither also the figure pursued me. Sometimes it was present, sometimes it vanished, but it was always the same standing figure. A little after six o'clock several stalking figures also appeared; but they had no connection with the standing figure. I can assign no other cause for this apparition than that, though much more composed in my mind, I had not been able so soon entirely to forget the cause of such deep and distressing vexation, and had reflected on the consequences of it, in order, if possible, to avoid them; and that this happened three hours after dinner, at the time when digestion just begins.

"At length I became more composed with respect to the disagreeable incident which had given rise to the first apparition; but though I had used very excellent medicines and found myself in other respects perfectly well, yet the apparitions did not diminish, but on the contrary rather increased in number, and were transformed in the most extraordinary manner.

"The figure of the deceased person never appeared to me after the first dreadful day, but several other figures shewed themselves afterwards very distinctly, sometimes such as I knew, mostly, however, of persons I did not know, and amongst those known to me, were the semblance of both living and deceased persons, but mostly the former, and I made the observation, that acquaintance with whom I daily conversed never appeared to me as phantasms; it was always such as were at a distance.

"It is also to be noted, that these figures appeared to me at all times, and under the most different circumstances, equally distinct and clear. Whether I was alone, or in company, by broad day-light equally as in the night-time, in my own as well as in my neighbour's house; yet when I was at another person's house, they were less frequent, and when I walked the public street they very seldom appeared. When I shut my eyes, sometimes the figures disappeared, sometimes they remained even after I had closed them. If they vanished in the former case, on opening my eyes again, nearly the same figures appeared which I had seen before.

"I sometimes conversed with my physician and my wife concerning the phantasms which at the time hovered around me; for in general the forms appeared oftener in motion than at rest. They did not always continue present-they frequently left me altogether, and again appeared for a short or longer space of time, singly or more at once; but, in general, several appeared together. For the most part I saw human figures of both sexes; they commonly passed to and fro as if they had no connection with each other, like people at a fair where all is bustle; sometimes they appeared to have business with one another. Once or twice I saw amongst them persons on horseback, and dogs and birds; these figures all appeared to me in their natural size, as distinctly as if they had existed in real life, with the several tints on the uncovered parts of the body, and with all the different kinds and colours of clothes. But I think, however; that the colours were somewhat paler than they are in nature.

"None of the figures had any distinguishing characteristic, they were neither terrible, ludicrous, nor repulsive most of them were ordinary in their appearance,-some were even agreeable.

"On the whole, the longer I continued in this state, the more did the number of the phantasms increase, and the apparitions became more frequent. About four weeks afterwards I began to hear them speak sometimes the phantasms spoke with one another, but for the most part they addressed themselves to me, these speeches were in general short, and never contained anything disagreeable. Intelligent and respected friends often appeared to me, who endeavoured to console me in my grief, which still left deep traces on my mind. This speaking I heard most frequently when I was alone; though I sometimes heard it in company, intermixed with the conversation of real persons; frequently in single phrases only, but sometimes even in connected discourse.

"Though at this time I enjoyed rather a good state of health both in body and mind, and had become so very familiar with these phantasms. that at last they did not excite the least disagreeable emotion, but on the contrary afforded me frequent subjects for amusement and mirth yet as the disorder sensibly increased, and the figures appeared to me for whole days together, and even during the night, if I happened to awake, I had recourse to several medicines."

He then recounts how the apparitions vanished upon blood being let.

"This was performed on the 20th of April, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. I was alone with the surgeon; but during the operation, the room swarmed with human forms of every description, which crowded fast one on another. This continued till half-past four o'clock, exactly the time when the digestion commences. I then observed that the figures began to move more slowly; soon afterwards the colours became gradually paler; every seven minutes they lost more and more of their intensity, without any alteration in the distinct figure of the apparitions. At about half-past six o'clock all the figures were entirely white, and moved very little; yet the forms appeared perfectly distinct ; by degrees they became visibly less plain, without decreasing in number, as had often formerly been the case. The figures did not move off, neither did they vanish, which also had usually happened on other occasions. In this instance they dissolved immediately into air; of some even whole pieces remained for a length of time, which also by degrees were lost to the eye. At about eight o'clock there did not remain a vestige of any of them, and I have never since experienced any appearance of the same kind. Twice or thrice since that time I have felt a propensity. if I may be allowed to express myself, or a sensation as if I saw something which in a moment again was gone. I was even surprised by this sensation whilst writing the present account, having, in order to render it more accurate, perused the papers of 1791, and recalled to my memory all the circumstances of that time. So little are we sometimes, even in the greatest composure of mind, masters of our imagination."

Nif : An Egyptian symbol in the form of a ship's sail widely spread, symbolizing breath.

Nifelheim : (See Hell.)

Night, Mystical, of the Sufis : It was believed by the Sufis that to attain to the coveted state of mystical contemplation, it was necessary to close the gateway of the physical senses, so that the inner or spiritual senses might operate more freely. This injunction was sometimes taken literally, as by the Brahmin Yogis, who carefully closed eyes, ears, nose and mouth, in order to attain to visionary ecstasy. The Mystical Night is thus a shutting out of all external sense-impressions, of hope, fear, consciousness of self, and every human emotion, so that the interior light may be more clearly perceived.

Nightmare : (Old English night and mara, a spectre), A disorder of the digestive functions during sleep, inducing the temporary belief that some animal or demon is sitting on the chest. Among savages and primitive people it is thought that the affection proceeds from the attentions of an evil spirit. Keysler in his very curious work, Antiquitates selectae Septentrionales et Celticae, has collected many interesting particulars concerning the nightmare. Nachtmar, he says, is from Mair, an old woman, because the spectre which appears to press upon the breast and impede the action of the lungs is generally in that form. The English and Dutch words coincide with the German. The French cochemar is Mulier incumbens or Incuba. The Swedes use Mara alone, as we learn from the Historia Seucorum Gothorumque of Eric Olaus, where he states that Valender, the son of Suercher, succeeded to the throne of his father, who was suffocated by a daemon in his sleep, of that kind which by the scribes is called Mara. Others," we suppose Germans," continues Keysler, "call it Hanon Tramp. The French peasantry call it Dianus which is a corruption either of Diana or of Daemonium Meridianum for it seems there is a belief (which Keysler, not improbably thinks may be derived from a false interpretation of an expression in the 91st Psalm ('the destruction that wasteth at noon-day') that persons are most exposed to such attacks at that time and, therefore, women in childbed are then never left alone. But though the Daemonium Meridianum is often used for the Ephialtes, nevertheless it is more correctly any sudden and violent attack which deprives. the patient of his senses. In some parts of Germany, the name given to this disorder is den alp, or des Alp-dructen, either from the 'mass' which appears to press on the sufferer or from Alp or A If (elf). In Franconia it is die Drud or das Druddructen, from the Druid or Weird Women, and there is a belief that it may not only be chased away, but be made to appear on the morrow in a human shape, and lend something required of it by the following charm

"Druid to-morrow

So will I borrow."

These Druids, it seems, were not only in the habit of riding men, but horses also, and in order to keep them out of the stables, the salutary pentalpha (which bears the name of Druden-fuss, Druid's foot) should be written on the stable doors, in consecrated chalk, on the night of St. Walburgh. We must not omit that our English familiar appellation ' Trot' is traced up to ' Druid' " a decrepit old woman such as the Sagas might be," and the same may perhaps be said of a Scottish Saint, Triduana or Tredwin.

In Ihre's Glossary, a somewhat different account of the Mara is given. Here again, we find the 'witch-riding' of horses, against which a stone amulet is provided by Aubrey, similar to one which we are about to notice immediately below.

Among the incantations by which the nightmare may be chased away, Reginald Scot has recorded the following in his Discovery of Witchcraft.

"St. George, St. George, our lady's knight,

He walked by day so did he by night:

Until such times as. he her found,

He her beat and he her bound,

Until her troth to him plight,

He would not come to her that night."

"Item," continues the same ingenious author, "hang a stone over the afflicted person's bed, which stone bath naturally such a bole in it, as wherein a string may be put through it, and so be hanged over the diseased or bewitched party, be it man, woman, or horse."

Every reader of the above lines will be reminded of the similar charm which Shakespeare has put into the mouth of Edgar as Mad Tom in King Lear.

"Saint Withold footed thrice the Wold

He met the night-mare and her ninefold

Bid her alight,

And her troth plight

And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee."

Another charm of earlier date occurs in Chaucer's Miller's Tale. When the simple Carpenter discovers the crafty Nicholas in his feigned abstraction, he thinks he may perhaps be hag-ridden, and addresses him thus:-

"I crouch the fro Elves and fro wikid wightes

And therewith the night-spell he seide arightes,

On four halvis of the house about,

And on the dreshfold of the dore without,

'Jesu Christ, and Seint Benedight,.

Blesse this house from evrey wikid wight,

Fro the night's mare, the wite paternoster,

Where wennist thou Seint Peter's sister."

A more modern author has pointed to some other formularies, and has noticed that Asmodeus was the fiend of most evil repute on these occasions. In the Otia Imperiala of Gervase of Tilbury, some other protecting charms are said to exist. To turn to the medical history of the Incubus Pliny has recommended two remedies for this complaint; one sufficiently simple, wild paeny seed. Another, which it would not be easy to discover in any modern pharmacopoeia, is a decoction in wine and oil of the tongue, eyes, liver, and bowels of a dragon, wherewith, after it has been left to cool all night in the open air, the patient should be anointed every morning and evening.

Dr. Bond, a physician, who tells us that he himself was much afflicted with the nightmare, published an Essay on the Incubus in 1753. At the time at which he wrote, medical attention appears to have been very little called to the disease, and some of the opinions hazarded were sufficiently wild and inconclusive. Thus Dr. Willis said it was owing to some incongruous matter which is mixed with the nervous fluid in the cerebellum (de Anima Brutorum) ; and Bellini thought it imaginary, and to be attributed to the idea of some demon which existed in the mind the day before. Both of these writers might have known better if they would have turned to Fuchsius (with whom Dr. Bond appears to be equally acquainted) who in his work de Curandi Ratione, published as early as 1548, has an excellent chapter (I., 31) on the causes, symptoms, and cure of nightmare, in which he attributes it to repletion and indigestion, and recommends the customary discipline.

Nirvanic or Atmic Plane : (See Spiritual World.)

Norfolk, Duke of : (See England.)

Norton, Thomas : The exact date of this alchemist's birth is wrapped in mystery, while comparatively little is recorded about his life in general. But at least it is known that Bristol was his native place, and that, in the year 1436, he was elected to represent that town in Parliament. This points to his having been an upright and highly-esteemed person, and the conjecture is buttressed in some degree by the fact that Edward IV. made him a member of his privy council, and employed him repeatedly as an ambassador. At an early age Norton showed himself curious concerning alchemy and the like, demonstrating his predilection herein by attempting to make the personal acquaintance of George Ripley (q.v.), who, sometime Canon of Bridlington, was reputed a man of extraordinary learning, and was author of numerous alchymical works. For many months Norton sought this person in vain, but at length the Canon, yielding to the other's importunity, wrote to him in the following manner I shall not longer delay; the time is come; you shall receive this grace. Your honest desire and approved virtue, your love of truth, wisdom, and long perseverance, shall accomplish your sorrowful desires. It is necessary that, as soon as convenient, we speak together face to face, lest I should by writing betray my trust. I will make you my heir and brother in this art, as I am setting out to travel in foreign countries. Give thanks to God, Who next to His spiritual servants, honours the sons of this sacred science."

After receiving this very friendly and encouraging letter, Norton hurried straightway to Ripley's presence, and thereafter for upwards of a month the two were constantly together, the elder man taught the novice many things, while he even promised that, if he showed himself an apt and worthy pupil, he would impart to him the secret of the medicinal stone. And in due course this promise was fulfilled, yet it is reported that Norton's own chymical researches met with various signal disappointments. On one occasion, for instance, when he had almost perfected a certain tincture, his servant absconded with the crucible containing the precious fluid; while at a later time, when the alchemist was at work on the same experiment, and thought he was just about to reach the goal. his entire paraphernalia was stolen by a Mayoress of Bristol. And this defeat must have been doubly galling to the unfortunate philosopher, for soon afterwards the Mayoress became very wealthy, presumably as a result of her theft.

Norton himself does not appear to have reaped pecuniary benefit at any time from his erudition, but to have been a comparatively poor man throughout the whole of his life; and the fact is a little surprising. for his Ordinall of Alchimy was a popular work in the middle ages, and was repeatedly published. The original edition was anonymous, but the writer's identity has been determined because the initial syllables in the first six lines of the seventh chapter compose the following couplet

"Thomas Norton of Briseto

A parfet master you may him trow."

Norton died in 1477, and his predilections descended to one of his grandsons. This was Samuel Norton, who was born in 1548, studied science at St. John's College. Cam-bridge, and afterwards became a Justice of the Peace and Sheriff of Somersetshire. He died about 1604, and in 1630 a collection of his alchemistic tracts was published at Frankfort.

Noualli : Aztec magicians (See Mexico and Central America.)

Nuan : In Irish romance, the last of the sorceress-daughters of Conaran. Having put Finn under taboo to send his men in single combat against her as long as she wished, she was slain by Goll, her sister's slayer.

Numbers, Magical : (See Magic.)