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upon the tips of his fingers when his hand was brought near the 
concealed metals. Once when asked to find the point of attrac- 
tion upon a table which was covered with an oilcloth, he desig- 
nated the spot; but was told that he had made a mistake, as 
there was no metal under the cloth. He felt all over the table 
again, and insisted that he felt the attraction in the same place. 
The cloth was removed, and a stray needle was found upon the 
hoard. 
[t was observed that whenever his hand was brought near a 
metal the veins swelled. 
He was also extremely sensitive to animal magnetism. He 
said he felt a stream of air whenever any person approached him, 
and the influence was stronger in some cases than in others. If 
he touched a horse his arm felt cold; if he took hold of a cat he 
~xperienced an electric shock, and the vicinity of a serpent in a 
menagerie produced chill, fever, and sweat, although he was not in 
the least afraid of the reptile. 
While so extremely susceptible to impressions upon the senses 
of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling, Kaspar was not 
conscious of any capacity of comprehension beyond the exercise 
of those physical powers, and all attempts to develop what was 
considered the spiritual part of his nature were for a long time 
fruitless. He used to complain to Professor Daumer that he did 
not see what the clergyman meant by telling him so many things 
‘hat he could not understand. Professor Daumer, at last, by a 
simple process of reasoning, convinced him of the existence of 
‘mpalpable power within himself, and then told him that God is 
the universal and entire essence of will and thought. Kaspar 
found this explanation reasonable, and was willing to accept it; 
but when informed that God was almighty, he immediately asked 
whether God could restore his lost childhood and youth, and this 
mournfully ironical question was only the beginning of an uncon- 
sciously severe criticism which Kaspar exercised upon all the 
cardinal doctrines of the Christian religion, to the great embar- 
rassment of his teacher, who found it prudent not to combat too 
43