ART. I.-On the Discovery of the Source of the "Rochester Knockings," and on Sounds produced by the Movements of Joints and Tendons. By AUSTIN FLINT, M. D., Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine, and of Clinical Medicine, in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College.

By invitation of the editor of this Journal, I had intended to prepare an article embodying the facts relating to an investigation of the deception formerly known as the "Rochester Knockings," which was made more than eighteen years ago, in association with my former colleagues, Profs. C. B. Coventry and Charles A. Lee. Referring, however, for this purpose,

to the articles written at the time, it appeared to me preferable to reproduce these articles entire in the pages of the Psychological Journal. The articles appeared in 1851, in the Buffalo Medical Journal, which, at that time, was under my editorial charge. By reproducing them, instead of writing a fresh statement, I shall avoid the imputation of giving to the account of the facts any new coloring. The length of the articles occasioned some hesitation. The question arose in my mind, Will the readers of the Psychologi cal Journal consider the subject of sufficient impor tance to warrant giving up the space which the articles will occupy? I have ventured to answer this question affirmatively, in view of the extent to which "Spiritualism" has pervaded this country. The advent of this modern delusion dates from the deceptions which were formerly known as the "Rochester knockings." They who first resorted to these abnormal sounds, as a means of imposition, are at this moment regarded by persons, who are known as spiritualists, as the original mediums for holding communication with departed spirits. They were formally acknowledged as such at a recent convention of the spiritualists of the United States, held in the city of New York; and on that occasion, as stated in the newspaper reports, these same sounds, produced by a member of the family who originated the Rochester knockings, entered into the performances. Of course, if the primary phenomena assumed to be supernatural, for the purpose of deception, were proven to be voluntary, and conclu sively explained, all the so-called spiritual manifestations which have followed in their wake are equally produced by the will for the same purpose.

It may be claimed in behalf of the discovery of the

Rochester knockings now, as eighteen years ago, that the explanation was not only adequate to account for the sounds, but that its correctness was practically demonstrated. The explanation was, that the sounds were produced by the will acting through the muscles upon movable parts of the body. Prior to the appear. ance of the articles now reproduced, this had not been established, nor, indeed, distinctly enunciated.

The discovery of the source of the Rochester knockings, aside from an explanation of one of the most remarkable of impositions, opened up an interesting field of physiological inquiry, namely, the varied sources of sounds produced by movements of joints and tendons. These are considered, to some extent, in the articles which are now reproduced.

The articles which follow are three in number. Two of them were published in the editorial department of the Buffalo Medical Journal, vol. vi., 1851. The third article was published in the same journal, vol. x., 1855, and consists of a communication made to the French Academy of Sciences in 1854, prefaced with some remarks by the associate editor of the Journal, Dr. S. B. Hunt:

ART. I.-Discovery of the Source of the Rochester Knockings. [Reprinted from the Buffalo Medical Journal, No. for March, 1851.]

ALL our readers have heard of the Rochester knockings, that have occasioned not a little stir in different parts of the country during the past two or three years. The knockings were first manifested in a family of the name of Fox, then residing in a small town in the western part of this State; and the removal of this family, shortly afterward, to Rochester, whence have emanated many of the marvellous stories connected with the subject, has secured for that city the honor of forming the adjective in the title by which they are commonly mentioned.

The knockings, however, have not been confined to Rochester, but have been heard in some other places. They accompany members of the Fox family in their peregrinations, of course, but we understand that other persons than those belonging to this family have assumed to be media for similar supernatural manifestations.

Being regarded by the credulous and superstitious as phenomena produced by the agency of departed spirits, indicating their presence, and furnishing a means of communication with them, it is not singular that, however ridiculous the subject may seem to persons of well-balanced minds, to those of a different mental cast it assumes a different aspect, and becomes invested with great interest and importance. In every community persons are to be found who are fond of indulging and cultivating a love for what is marvellous, and who are ready to believe that a supernatural agency is involved in whatever transcends their comprehension. Such tendencies are by no means found in connection exclusively with low intellectual powers and small attainments. On the contrary, it is not unfrequently the case that persons of education, of reflection, and even of superior mental endowments in some respects, are led astray by what appeals strongly to the mental qualities underlying an unfortunate excess of credulity. The chicaneries of mesmerism, the faith inspired by revelations like those of Davis, etc., sufficiently attest the truth of the remark just made. We might also quote, as illustrations, the transient success of homœopathy, and other kindred medical delusions. The annals of every age furnish abundance of examples showing the absurd extravagances into which men may be led who allow unrestrained scope to the imaginative and superstitious elements of the mental constitution; showing, also, the astonishing extent to which cunning impostors are able to take advantage of these elements of human character. Based, as are the various delusions, impositions, and humbugs that prove successful, upon qualities of mind which it is not to be expected will soon cease to be predominant in certain individuals, albeit science and knowledge are progressively advancing, and despite the accumulated lessons of experience, we are not to suppose that the future, more than the past and present, will be