wn American writer on this subject has said concerning this
point: "There are many places today filled with the thought-vibrations
of minds long since passed out of the body. There are places filled with
the strong vibrations of tragedies long since enacted there. Every place
has a mental atmosphere of its own, the same arising from the
thought-vibrations set in motion by the various persons who have
inhabited or occupied them. Every city has its own mental atmosphere
which has its effect upon persons moving into them. Some are lively,
some dull, some progressive, some old-fogyish, some moral, some
immoral--the result of the character of the early settlers and leading
spirits, of the place in question. Persons moving into these towns are
affected by the mental atmospheres thereof, and either sink to the
general level, or else, if strong enough, help to change the mental tone
of the place. Sometimes a change in conditions bring a large influx of
new people, to a town, and the mental waves of the newcomers tend to
bring about a marked change in the local mental atmosphere. These facts
have been noticed by many observing people who often have not been
familiar with the principles underlying and producing the facts which
the observers have so clearly discerned."

The Contagion of Thought.

The same writer says, along the same general lines: "Many have of course
noticed the differing mental atmospheres of stores, offices, and other
places of business. Some of such places give one an air of confidence
and trust; others create a feeling of suspicion and distrust; some
convey an impression of active, wideawake management, while others
impress one as being behind the times, and suffering from a want of
alert, active management. These differing mental atmospheres are caused
by the different prevailing mental attitudes of the owners of the
respective establishments. The managers of business places send forth
thought-waves of their own, and their employees naturally falling into
the pace set for them also send forth similar vibrations, and before
long the whole place is vibrating on a certain scale. A change of
management soon produces a marked change in the entire mental atmosphere
of the place. In the same way, we notice the mental atmospheres of the
houses we happen to visit; in this way we become conscious of an entire
mental scale of many notes, the notes being sounded unconsciously by the
minds of the occupants of the hous