My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

LIFE AT LEICESTER AND NEATH 127found that the effect produced corresponded to thatindicated by the bust. I thus established, to my ownsatisfaction, the fact that a real effect was producedon the actions and speech of a mesmeric patient bythe operator touching various parts of the head ;thatthe effect corresponded with the natural expression ofthe emotion due tothe phrenological organ situatedat that part—as combativeness, acquisitiveness, fear,and thatveneration, wonder, tune, and many others ;it was in no way caused by the will or suggestion ofthe operator.As soon as I found that these experiments weresuccessful, I informed Mr. Hill, who made no objectionto my continuing them, and several times cameto see them. He was so much impressed that oneevening he invited two or three friends who wereinterested in the subject, and with my best patient Ishowed most of the phenomena.The importance of these experiments to me wasthat they convinced me, once for all, that the antecedentlyincredible may nevertheless be true ;and,further, that the accusations of imposture by scientificmen should have no weight whatever against thedetailed observations and statements of other men,presumably as sane and sensible as their opponents,who had witnessed and tested the phenomena, as Ihad done myself in the case of some of them.While living at Leicester I first met Henry WalterBates.How I was introduced to him I do not exactlyremember, but I rather think I heard him mentionedas an enthusiastic entomologist, and met him at thelibrary. I found that his specialty was beetle collecting,though he also had a good set of Britishbutterflies. Of the former I knew nothing, but as Ialready knew the fascinations of plant life I was quite