great erudition and accomplishments. To this letter we shall have frequent occasion to refer.

The reader will naturally ask, as the Bishop himself does, what is the Preaching Epidemic ? What it really was nobody as yet has been able to say. Among the peasantry, the most general belief was, that it was an immediate divine miracle, in order to bestow grace on such as were afflicted with the disease, and as a means of warning and exhortation to those who saw and heard the patients. Among others, somewhat above the class of peasants, many denied altogether the existence of the disease, declaring the whole to be either intentional deception, in the desire of gain or notoriety; or else self-delusion, produced partly by an overstrained religious feeling, or by that passion of imitation which is common to the human mind. The Bishop himself was of opinion that it was a disease originally physical, but affecting the mind in a peculiar way: he arrived at this conclusion by attentively studying the phenomenon itself. At all events, bodily sickness was an ingredient in it, as was proved from the fact, that although every one affected by it, in describing the commencement of their state, mentioned a spiritual excitement as its original cause, close examination proved that an internal bodily disorder, attended by pain, had preceded or accompanied this excitement. there were persons who, against their own will, were affected by the quaking fits, which were one of its most striking early outward symptoms, without any previous religious excite ment; and these, when subjected to medical treatment,

soon recovered.

Besides,

The Bishop must have been a bold man, and not afraid of ridicule; for, though writing to an archbishop, he says that though he will not give the disease a name, still he will venture to express an opinion, which opinion is, that the disease corresponds very much with what he has heard and. read respecting the effects of animal magnetism. He says. that he carefully studied the effect of sulphur and the magnet upon several sick persons, and found the symptoms of the Preaching Epidemic to correspond with the effect of animal magnetism as given in Kluge's "Versuch einer Darstellung des animalischen Magnetismus als Heilmittel." In both

cases there was an increase of activity of the nervous and muscular system; and, further, frequent heaviness in the head, heat at the pit of the stomach, prickling sensation in the extremities, convulsions and quakings; and, finally, the falling, frequently with a deep groan, into a profound fainting fit or trance. In this trance, the patient was in so perfect a state of insensibility to outward impressions, that the loudest noise or sound would not awaken him, nor would he feel a needle thrust deeply into his body. Mostly, however, during this trance, he would hear questions addressed to him, and reply to them; and, which was extraordinary, invariably in these replies applied to everyone the pronoun thou. The power of speech, too, in this state, was that of great eloquence, lively declamation, and the command of much purer language than was usual, or apparently possible, for him in his natural state. The invariable assertions of all the patients, when in this state, were, that they were exceedingly well, and that they had never been so happy before; they declared that the words they spoke were given to them by some one else, who spoke by them. Their disposition of mind was pious and calm; they seemed disposed for visions and predictions. Like the early Quakers, they had an aversion to certain words and phrases, and testified in their preaching against places of amusement, gaming, excess in drinking, may-pole festivities, gay clothing, and the crooked combs which the peasant women wear in their hair, and which, no doubt, were objects of vanity and display.

There was in some families a greater liability to this strange influence than in others; it was greater also in children and females than in grown-up people and men; and amongst men, those of a sanguine, choleric temperament were most susceptible. The patients invariably showed a strong desire to be together, and seemed to feel a sort of attraction or spiritual affinity to each other. In places of worship, they would all sit together; and it was remarked that when a person afflicted with the preaching epidemic was questioned about the disease in himself, individually, he always gave his answer on behalf of them all; and thus said "we" when the inquirer naturally expected "I!”

From these facts the learned bishop infers that the preaching epidemic belonged to that class of operations which have been referred to animal magnetism. He says, that "whatever may be the cause of this singular agency or influence, no doubt exists of its always producing a religious state of mind, which was strengthened by the apparently miraculous operations from within. He goes then into the question, whether the religious impression produced be in accordance with the established notions of the operations of grace on the heart," and decides this not to be the case, because the excited person, immediately after he begins to quake, experiences an unspeakable peace, joy, and blessedness, not on account of new-born faith, through atoning grace, but by a certain immediate and miraculous influence from God. These are the bishop's own words. But with the polemical question we have nothing to do. However, the bishop goes on to say, that "whatever the origin of the disease may be, it characterizes itself by Christian language, and makes its appearance with many truly Christian thoughts and feelings" and that "probably the disease has universally met with something Christian, previously implanted in the heart, to which it has, in an exciting way, allied itself."

With respect to the conduct and conversation of the patients during the time of their seizure, he says he never saw anything improper, although many strange rumours to the contrary were circulated and believed, to the great disadvantage of the poor people themselves. In the province of Elfsborg, where the disease prevailed to a great extent, bands of children and young people under its influence went about singing what are called Zion's hymns, the effect of which was singularly striking, and even affecting. He says, that "to give a complete and detailed description of the nature of the disease would be difficult, because, like 'animal magnetism,'-we use his own words-" it seems to be infinite in its modification and form." In the above-mentioned province of Elfsborg, it was often said, "such and such a person has began to quake, but he has not as yet dropped down, nor has seen visions, nor has preached."

This quaking, of which so much is said, appear to have been the first outward sign of the influence, the inward

vision and the preaching being its consummation; though, when this consummation was reached, the fit mostly commenced by the same sign. Nevertheless, in some patients, the quaking decreased in proportion to the strength which the disease gained. These quakings also seem to have come on at the mention of certain words, the introduction of certain ideas or the proximity of certain persons or things, which in some mysterious manner appeared inimical or unholy to the patient. Sometimes, also, those very things and words which at first affected the patient ceased to do so as he advanced to the higher stages of the disease; and other words or things which hitherto had produced no effect, began to agitate him in the same way. One of the patients explained this circumstance thus-that according as his spiritual being advanced upwards, "he found that there existed in himself, and in the world, many things which were worse than that which previously he had considered as the worst." In some cases, the patients were violently affected by the simple words "yes" and "no;" the latter word in particular was most painful and repulsive to them, and has frequently been described by them as "one of the worst demons, tied with the chains of darkness in the deepest abyss." It was remarked also that they frequently acted as if they had a strong temptation to speak falsehood, or to say more than they were at liberty to say. They would therefore exhort each other to speak the truth; and so frequently answered dubiously, and even said they did not know, when a contrary answer might have been confidently expected, that an unpleasant impression was frequently produced on the mind of the hearer; and some persons imbibed from this very circumstance unfavourable ideas of their truthfulness, when, in fact, this very caution and hesitation was a peculiarity of the disease.

In the province of Skaraborg, the bishop says he has seen several persons fall at once into the trance, without any preparatory symptom. In the province of Elfsborg, the patients preached with their eyes open, and standing; whilst in his own province of Skaraborg, he himself saw and heard them preaching in a recumbent posture, and with closed. eyes, and altogether, as far as he could discover, in a state

of perfect insensibility to outward impressions. He gives an account of three preaching girls in the parish of Warnham, of ages varying from eight to twelve. This account, but principally as relates to one of them, we will lay before the reader.

It was shortly before the Christmas of 1842, when he went, together with a respectable farmer of the neighbourhood, the Rev. Mr. Zingvist, and the Rev. Mr. Smedmark, to the cottage where a child lived, who by all accounts had advanced to the highest stage of the disease. Many persons besides himself and his friends were present. As regards all the three children, he says, that for their age, as is generally the case in Sweden, they were tolerably well-informed on religious matters, and could read well. They were naturally of good disposition, and now, since they had been subject to the disease, were remarkable for their gentleness and quiet demeanour. Their manners were simple as those of peasant children, but, being bashful and timid, were not inclined to give much description of their feelings and experience; still, from the few words they spoke, it was evident that, like the rest of the peasantry and their own relatives, they considered it a divine influence, but still asserted that they knew not exactly what to think, either of themselves or of their situations. When in the trance, they declared that they were exceedingly well; that they never had been so cheerful, or felt so much pleasure before. On being awoke, however, they complained, sometimes even with tears, of weakness in the limbs, pain in the chest, headache, etc.

In the particular case of the one child to which we have referred, the symptoms were precisely the same: there came on, in the first place, a violent trembling or quaking of the limbs, and she fell backwards with so much violence as to give the spectator a most painful sensation; but no apparent injury ensued. The patient was now in the trance, or state of total unconsciousness; and this trance, which lasted several hours, divided itself into two stages, acts or scenes, totally different in character. In the first place, she rose up violently, and all her actions were of a rapid and violent character. She caught at the hands of the people round her; some she instantly flung aside, as if the effect produced