IneednotgooverthedetailsofVonKempelen’sconfessionasfarasitwentandrelease，forthesearefamiliartothepublic。Thathehasactuallyrealized，inspiritandineffect，ifnottotheletter，theoldchimaeraofthephilosopher’sstone，nosanepersonisatlibertytodoubt。TheopinionsofAragoare，ofcourse，entitledtothegreatestconsideration；butheisbynomeansinfallible；andwhathesaysofbismuth，inhisreporttotheAcademy，mustbetakencumgranosalis。Thesimpletruthis，thatuptothisperiodallanalysishasfailed；anduntilVonKempelenchoosestoletushavethekeytohisownpublishedenigma，itismorethanprobablethatthematterwillremain，foryears，instatuquo。Allthatasyetcanfairlybesaidtobeknownis，that’Puregoldcanbemadeatwill，andveryreadilyfromleadinconnectionwithcertainothersubstances，inkindandinproportions，unknown。’

　　Speculation，ofcourse，isbusyastotheimmediateandultimateresultsofthisdiscoveryadiscoverywhichfewthinkingpersonswillhesitateinreferringtoanincreasedinterestinthematterofgoldgenerally，bythelatedevelopmentsinCalifornia；andthisreflectionbringsusinevitablytoanothertheexceedinginopportunenessofVonKempelen’sanalysis。IfmanywerepreventedfromadventuringtoCalifornia，bythemereapprehensionthatgoldwouldsomateriallydiminishinvalue，onaccountofitsplentifulnessintheminesthere，astorenderthespeculationofgoingsofarinsearchofitadoubtfulonewhatimpressionwillbewroughtnow，uponthemindsofthoseabouttoemigrate，andespeciallyuponthemindsofthoseactuallyinthemineralregion，bytheannouncementofthisastoundingdiscoveryofVonKempelen？adiscoverywhichdeclares，insomanywords，thatbeyonditsintrinsicworthformanufacturingpurposeswhateverthatworthmaybe，goldnowis，oratleastsoonwillbeforitcannotbesupposedthatVonKempelencanlongretainhissecret，ofnogreatervaluethanlead，andoffarinferiorvaluetosilver。Itis，indeed，exceedinglydifficulttospeculateprospectivelyupontheconsequencesofthediscovery，butonethingmaybepositivelymaintainedthattheannouncementofthediscoverysixmonthsagowouldhavehadmaterialinfluenceinregardtothesettlementofCalifornia。

　　InEurope，asyet，themostnoticeableresultshavebeenariseoftwohundredpercent。inthepriceoflead，andnearlytwenty-fivepercent。thatofsilver。

　　WHATEVERdoubtmaystillenvelopthe_rationale_ofmesmerism，itsstartling_facts_arenowalmostuniversallyadmitted。Oftheselatter，thosewhodoubt，areyourmeredoubtersbyprofession-anunprofitableanddisreputabletribe。Therecanbenomoreabsolutewasteoftimethantheattemptto_prove_，atthepresentday，thatman，bymereexerciseofwill，cansoimpresshisfellow，astocasthimintoanabnormalcondition，ofwhichthephenomenaresembleverycloselythoseof_death_，oratleastresemblethemmorenearlythantheydothephenomenaofanyothernormalconditionwithinourcognizance；that，whileinthisstate，thepersonsoimpressedemploysonlywitheffort，andthenfeebly，theexternalorgansofsense，yetperceives，withkeenlyrefinedperception，andthroughchannelssupposedunknown，mattersbeyondthescopeofthephysicalorgans；that，moreover，hisintellectualfacultiesarewonderfullyexaltedandinvigorated；thathissympathieswiththepersonsoimpressinghimareprofound；and，finally，thathissusceptibilitytotheimpressionincreaseswithitsfrequency，while，inthesameproportion，thepeculiarphenomenaelicitedaremoreextendedandmore_pronounced_。

　　Isaythatthese-whicharethelawsofmesmerisminitsgeneralfeatures-itwouldbesupererogationtodemonstrate；norshallIinflictuponmyreaderssoneedlessademonstration；

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