of vibration or jar, which is the father of sound; that the blind can feel the presence of objects at short distances, which is analogous to sight, it should not be thought strange that we make such frequent use of the word see, or that the deaf should make use of the word hear, and that these words are not without significance or import.  Besides this there is a mental perception (doubtless through a magnetic medium,) of the presence or nearness of other minds.  This accords with the experience of many persons.  I have frequently entered rooms that I supposed to be unoccupied, judging from the silence that reigned, but on taking an inventory of my feelings I found a consciousness of some one’s presence, and this I have done when not the slightest sound aroused my suspicions.

A little incident that occurred while I was a teacher in the New York Institution for the Blind will, perhaps, better illustrate this point.

I called one evening at the matron’s room to ask her to read a letter which had just been handed me.  Supposing it to be a confidential one, and wishing to make sure that no one else was in the room, I enquired of the matron if she was alone.  On receiving an affirmative answer, I handed her the letter, requesting her to read it.  But, feeling a consciousness that some other mind was present—­a strange mind, with which I had no sympathy—­I walked round to the other end of the table and placed my hand on a lady’s shoulder, remarking to the matron that I felt sure there was some one in the room beside herself, and asked that the letter might be returned to me unopened.

From the long experience of this perception, or intuition, has grown the old adage, “The devil is always near at hand when you are talking about him.”  I am not sure that this magnetic condition is more largely developed in us than in those who see, but I am led to think it is for this reason, eyes are of paramount importance to those who have them, and we who have them not search for other media of communication.  Mental presence is either inspiring and assuring, or depressing and embarrassing.  I have observed that when in the presence of some people I have felt comfortable and assured, while in the presence of others I have felt diffident and uneasy, I allude here to persons with whom I had no previous acquaintance.  Minds are felt in a ratio proportionate to their will-power.  Shallow, conceited minds are not magnetic.  I have been told by blind preachers, public lecturers and concert singers, that they always feel the difference between an intelligent and appreciative audience and one made up of coarse and uncultured people, and this consciousness they have felt before any demonstrations of applause or disapprobation were made.  I have had many opportunities to experiment on my own feelings in relation to this magnetic influence or mental recognition.  I was a concert singer in my younger days and could always tell whether I was singing to a large or small house, and whether my audience was in sympathy with me or not.