The first periods of life are purely automatic: there is no established connexion between the voluntary function of the brain and the motor nerves, as these arise from the anterior portion of the spinal cord, which is a continuation of the anterior lobes of the brain, the seat of the will.

The earliest act of life is the respiratory, or the function of generating the nervo-vital fluid. Until this has been fulfilled the brain has no functional capacity, nor would the nervous fluid be of any service prior to that period, as the function of the senses could not be exercised. That there are movements of the child in utero cannot be doubted; these arise from sympathy with the mother through the circulation, as there is no nervous connexion, not a filament of a nerve being discoverable in the umbilical cord.

After the brain has established its primitive function, that of being the reservoir of the nervo-vital fluid, the child faintly commences to recognise light and sound. After some time acts of volition are attempted. It is astonishing how differently, as regards the time after; birth, these acts occur in different children. In some the function is developed in a few weeks, whilst in others it requires as many months.

In the first great act of volition, walking, the whole undivided attention or direction of will is absolutely necessary, and also the confidence or faith of the child to use the muscles. Except these conditions of brain will and faith act in concert, the executive power cannot be exercised.

When confidence or faith has been once established, the will power is enabled to direct the nervo-vital fluid to the muscles of locomotion. Should, however, in these early trials, any circumstance occur to dis. tract the child's attention, the act of walking is defeated.

After some time there is no difficulty experienced, for without any apparent conscious exertion of will, the muscles are directed by the brain. At least in after years we walk, talk, and exercise our senses to their fullest extent without any special effort of the will, so perfectly has the relationship been established.

The choice of action or discretionary will power is exercised by most animals, the sphere of its operation being in accordance with the special organization.

As a rule there is economy of the nervo-vital fluid; that is, no more is conveyed to the muscles than is necessary for the performance demanded, as in walking, running, or any other act connected with locomotion. If the expenditure is more than is actually required, exhaustion soon follows.

It has been shown that the gymnotus electricus at the will of the animal discharges from its nervous reservoir sufficient electric fluid to subserve the purposes of existence. In killing fish, if this act is too often repeated, the exhaustion is so great that it cannot escape being captured.

Whenever we desire to raise a weight, we employ a will power in accordance with the supposed strength required. No one in raising one pound would use the same condition of will as if he were to raise a hundred pounds. Conversely, if a piece of cork weighing one pound were so made as to exactly represent a piece of iron of one hundred pounds, and we exercised a will power of the muscles to raise a hundred pounds, whereas only one pound was raised, we should receive a shock so violent as to produce a recoil injurious to our muscular and nervous system; in fine, there would have been a useless expenditure of ninety-nine pounds of willpower. Many of the most serious abnormal conditions of the nervous system arise from the irregular exercise of the muscles, or the deficiency in the proper government of the will in throwing out an undue amount of nervous fluid.

In raising one hundred pounds weight the whole force of a man's will is required. We are then exactly in the identical condition of the child in the first act of walking. We cannot afford to think and talk, as the whole brain attention is demanded in directing the nervous fluid to the muscles required to raise the weight, which may be one hundred or two hundred pounds, in accordance with the strength of the person.

The condition of the muscles in raising any weight is that they are charged with this nervo-vital fluid, which is discharged from the brain under the direction of the will in accordance with the force necessary to be exerted. If the brain has been much exhausted by the exercise of muscular exertion, so as to have produced the sense of fatigue, in order then to restore its normal functional condition, repose or sleep is requisite, when the lungs are specially called into action in regenerating the supply of nervous fluid.

The power of the will in the ordinary normal state is confined to the immediate acts essential to the functions of life; but it may be educated so as to be directed out of or beyond its ordinary channel. So that brain phenomena or abnormal states may be induced at the will of the individual, in order to arrive at a perfect control over organs not normally under the influence of the will, much time and constant habitude from an early age is required. It is this training of a specific exercise of the will power which is productive of cerebral phenomena of the most astounding nature, if viewed from the standard of the ordinary normal function.

It cannot be doubted that the energy of will used to raise one hundred pounds throws from the brain nervo-vital fluid adequate to that effort of the muscles. But suppose no weight is raised, and the same state of will is exercised, cannot the nervo-vital fluid be imparted to other forms of matter, producing results which, if not analysed critically, appear to the "uninitiated" as so marvellous as to be classed with the "supernatural?" That bodies possess latent vitality, latent electricity, latent light, latent heat, is unquestionable.

There is a religious caste in India (the Fakirs) who transmit to those of their children who are capable of exerting great will power the faculty of so directing the vitalized electricity, by constant educated use from their earliest age, as produce effects on inanimate matter which are marvellous. No doubt the celebrated feat of causing a plant to pass through all the stages of germination, from the seed even to fructification (which cannot be legerdemain, as it demands from three to four hours for its accomplishment), is the management and direction of the vital element under strong individual will power.

The vital element is used in all the functions of existence. Its great reservoir is the brain, from which, under the direction of the will power - if specially educated - it may be conveyed so as to impregnate inanimate matter. The following important experiment, often repeated by the author in 1842 and 1843, places the matter beyond speculation, in showing that there is an actual fluid thrown off from the nerves which changes the property of inanimate matter.

Needles rendered magnetic by the nervous fluid."

The Comptes Bendus for January 2nd, 1838, contain the following, communicated to the French Academy by M. Becquerel from a letter received from M. De la Rive: "Dr. Prevost of Geneva has succeeded in magnetizing very delicate "soft iron needles by placing them near to the nerves, and perpendicular to the direction which he supposed the electric current took. The "magnetizing took place at the moment when on irritating the spinal "marrow a muscular contraction was effected in the animal."

The irritation of the anterior portion of the spinal cord threw the muscles into spasms or sudden contractions, independent of the will of the animal. The same result took place as when the will was exercised to raise one hundred pounds, when the actual expenditure necessary was only for one pound. This extra will power of ninety-nine pounds would not only magnetize soft iron needles, but also impregnate other forms and conditions of matter, giving it properties and rendering it capable of functions which appear mysterious without a knowledge of this transfer of the vital element.

Sir David Brewster, in his Letters on Natural Magic, addressed to Sir Walter Scott, says:"One of the most remarkable and inexplicable experiments relative "to the strength of the human frame, which you have yourself seen "and admired, is that in which a man is raised with the greatest "facility, on the instant that his own lungs and those who raise "him are inflated with air. This experiment was, I believe, first "shown in England a few years ago by Major H., who saw it performed "in a large party at Venice under the direction of an officer of the "American Navy. As Major H. performed it more than once in my "presence, I shall describe as near as possible the method which he "prescribed. The heaviest person in the party lies down on two "chairs, his legs being supported by the one and back by the other. "Four persons, one at each leg and one at each shoulder, then try to "raise him, and find his dead weight to be very great from the "difficulty they have in supporting him. When he is replaced on the "chairs, each of the four persons takes hold of the body as before, and "person to be raised gives two signals by clapping his hands.

At "the first signal he himself and the four lifters begin to draw a long and "full breath, and when the inhalation is completed or the lungs filled, "the second signal is given for raising the person from the chairs. To "his own surprise and that of his bearers, he rises with the greatest "facility, as if he were no heavier than a feather. On several occa"sions I have observed that when one of the bearers performs his part "ill, as by making the inhalation out of time, the part of the body "which he tries to raise is, as it were, left behind. As you have re"peatedly seen this experiment, and performed the part both of the load and the bearer, yon can testify how remarkable the effects "appear to all parties, and how complete is the conviction that either "the load has been lightened or the bearer strengthened by the pre"scribed process.

At Venice the experiment was performed in a much more impos"ing manner. The heaviest man in the party was raised and supported "upon the points of the forefingers of six persons. Major H. declared "that the experiment would not succeed if the person lifted were "placed on a board, and the strength of the individuals applied to the "board. He conceived it necessary that the bearers should communi"cate directly with the body to be raised. I have not had an oppor"tunity of making any experiments relative to these curious facts; "but whether the general effect is an illusion, or the result of known "or of new principles, the subject merits a careful investigation."

There is no illusion; this experiment has been repeated a hundred times by the writer. All that is requisite to success is a combined effort of will power. It is the concentration of the will of the bearers with that of the person to be raised which, during the concentration of the will, throws the vital element into his body. In fine, the combined exertion of will power, though it is used (without muscular exertion) through the medium of the finger, is more than requisite to raise a weight of 500 pounds. The muscle is the mere instrument of the