diff options
Diffstat (limited to '39279-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 39279-8.txt | 18605 |
1 files changed, 18605 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/39279-8.txt b/39279-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..031fa80 --- /dev/null +++ b/39279-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18605 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Mysterious Psychic Forces, by Camille Flammarion + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Mysterious Psychic Forces + An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical + Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants + +Author: Camille Flammarion + +Release Date: March 27, 2012 [EBook #39279] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES + + + + + MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES + + AN ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR'S INVESTIGATIONS + IN PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, TOGETHER WITH + THOSE OF OTHER EUROPEAN SAVANTS + + + BY CAMILLE FLAMMARION + + _Director of Observatory of Jovisy, + France. Author of "The Unknown," + "The Atmosphere," etc._ + + + BOSTON + SMALL, MAYNARD AND COMPANY + 1909 + + + + + _Copyright, 1907_, + BY SMALL, MAYNARD & CO. + + _All rights reserved._ + + THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. + + + + +_He who pronounces anything to be "impossible," outside of the field of +pure mathematics, is wanting in prudence._ + + FRANCOIS ARAGO. + +_A learned pedant who laughs at the possible comes very near being an +idiot. To purposely shun a fact, and turn one's back upon it with a +supercilious smile, is to bankrupt Truth._ + + VICTOR HUGO. + +_Science is under bonds, by the eternal principles of honor, to look +fearlessly in the face every problem that is presented to her._ + + SIR WILLIAM THOMPSON. + + + + +PREFACE + + +The subject treated in the following pages has made great progress in the +course of forty years. Now what we are concerned with in psychical studies +is always unknown forces, and these forces must belong to the natural +order, for nature embraces the entire universe, and everything is +therefore under the sway of her sceptre. + +I do not conceal from myself, however, that the present work will excite +discussion and bring forth legimate objections, and will only satisfy +independent and unbiased investigators. But nothing is rarer upon our +planet than an independent and absolutely untrammelled mind, nor is +anything rarer than a true scientific spirit of inquiry, freed from all +personal interest. Most readers will say: "What is there in these studies, +anyway? The lifting of tables, the moving of various pieces of furniture, +the displacement of easy-chairs, the rising and falling of pianos, the +blowing about of curtains, mysterious rappings, responses to mental +questions, dictations of sentences in reverse order, apparitions of hands, +of heads, or of spectral figures,--these are only common place +trivialities or cheap hoaxes, unworthy to occupy the attention of a +scientist or scholar. And what would it all prove even if it were true? +That kind of thing does not interest us." + +Well, there are people upon whose heads the sky might tumble without +causing them any unusual emotion. + +But I reply: What! is it nothing to know, to prove, to see with one's own +eyes, that there are unknown forces around us? Is it nothing to study our +own proper nature and our own faculties? Are not the mysterious problems +of our being such as are worthy to be inscribed on the program of our +investigation, and of having devoted to them laborious nights and days? Of +course, the independent seeker gets no thanks from anybody for his toil. +But what of that? We work for the pleasure of working, of fathoming the +secrets of nature, and of instructing ourselves. When, in studying the +double stars at the Paris Observatory and cataloguing these celestial +twins, I established for the first time a natural classification of those +distant orbs; when I discovered stellar systems, composed of several +stars, swept onward through immensity by one common impulse; when I +studied the planet Mars and compared all the observations made during two +hundred years in order to obtain at once an analysis and a synthesis of +this next-door neighbor of ours among the planets; when, in examining the +effect of solar radiations I created the new branch of physics to which +has been given the name "radioculture" and caused variations of the most +radical and sweeping nature in the dimensions, the forms, and the colors +of certain plants; when I discovered that a grasshopper, eviscerated and +kept in straw did not die, and that these insects can live for a fortnight +after having had their heads cut off; when I planted in a conservatory of +the Museum of Natural History, in Paris, one of the ordinary oaks of our +woods (_quercus robur_), thinking that, if withdrawn from the changes of +seasons, it would always have green leaves (a thing which everybody can +prove),--when I was doing these things I was working for my own personal +pleasure; but that is no reason why these studies have not been useful in +the developing work of science, and no reason for their not being admitted +within the scope of the practical work of specialists. + +It is the same with these psychical studies of ours; only there is a +little more passion and prejudice connected with them. On the one hand, +the sceptics cleave fast to their denials, convinced that they know all +the forces of nature, that all mediums are humbugs, and all experimenters +imbeciles. On the other hand, there are the credulous Spiritualists, who +imagine they always have spirits at their beck and call in a centre-table, +who evoke, with the utmost sang-froid, the spirits of Plato, Zoroaster, +Jesus Christ, St. Augustine, Charlemagne, Shakespeare, Newton, or +Napoleon, and who set about stoning me for the tenth or twentieth time, +affirming that I am sold to the Institute on account of a deep-seated and +obstinate ambition, and that I dare not declare myself in favor of the +identity of the spirits for fear of annoying my illustrious friends. The +individuals of this class refuse to be satisfied just as much as the first +class. + +So much the worse for them! I insist on only saying what I know; but I do +say this. + +And if what I know is displeasing, so much the worse for the prejudices, +the general ignorance, and the good breeding of these distinguished +gentry, in whose eyes the maximum of happiness consists in an increase of +their fortune, the pursuit of lucrative places, sensual pleasures, +automobile-racing, a box at the Opéra, or five-o'clock teas at a +fashionable restaurant, and whose lives are frittered away along paths +that never cross those of the rapt idealist, and who never know the pure +satisfaction of his mind and heart, or the pleasures of thought and +feeling. + +As for me, a humble student of the prodigious problem of the universe, I +am only a seeker. What are we? We have scarcely shed a ray more of light +on this point than at the time when Socrates laid down, as a principle, +the maxim, _Know thyself_,--notwithstanding we have measured the distances +of the stars, analyzed the sun, and weighed the worlds of space. Does it +stand to reason that the knowledge of ourselves should interest us less +than that of the macrocosm, the external world? It is not credible. Let +us therefore study on, convinced that all sincere research will further +the progress of humanity. + +_Juvisy Observatory, December, 1906._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + PREFACE v + + INTRODUCTION xiii + + CHAPTER + + I. On Certain Unknown Natural Forces 1 + + II. My First Séances In The Allen Kardec Group, And With + The Mediums Of That Epoch 24 + + III. My Experiments With Eusapia Paladino 63 + + IV. Other Séances With Eusapia Paladino 135 + + V. Frauds, Tricks, Deceptions, Impostures, Feats Of + Legerdemain, Mystifications, Impediments 194 + + VI. The Experiments Of Count De Gasparin 229 + + VII. The Researches Of Professor Thury 266 + + VIII. The Experiments Of The Dialectical Society Of London 289 + + IX. The Experiments Of Sir William Crookes 306 + + X. Sundry Experiments And Observations 352 + + XI. My General Inquiry Respecting Observations Of + Unexplained Phenomena 376 + + XII. Explanatory Hypotheses--Theories And Doctrines-- + Conclusions Of The Author 406 + + INDEX 455 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Plate I. Complete Levitation of a Table in Professor + Flammarion's Salon through Mediumship of Eusapia + Paladino _Facing page_ 8 + + Plate II. House of Zoroastre of Jupiter from + Somnambulistic Drawing by Victorien Sardou _After page_ 26 + + Plate III. Animals' Quarters. House of Zoroastre + of Jupiter from Somnambulistic Drawing by Victorien + Sardou _After page_ 26 + + Figure 1. The Inclination of the System of Uranus _Page_ 54 + + Figure 1_a_. Orbits of Satellites of Uranus as Seen + from the Earth _Page_ 56 + + Plate IV. Plaster Cast of Imprint Made in Putty + without Contact by the Medium Eusapia Paladino _After page_ 76 + + Plate V. Eusapia Paladino, Showing Resemblance to + the Imprint in Putty _After page_ 76 + + Plate VI. Photographs Taken by M. G. de Fontenay of + an Experiment in Table Levitation _Facing page_ 82 + + Plate VII. Plaster Casts of Impressions in Clay + Produced by an Unknown Force _Facing page_ 138 + + Plate VIII. Drawing from Photograph, Showing Method + of Control by Professors Lombroso and Richet of + Eusapia. Table Completely Raised _Facing page_ 154 + + Plate IX. Photographs of Levitation of Table + Accompanying Colonel De Rochas' Report _Facing page_ 174 + + Plate X. Scales Used in Professor Flammarion's + Experiments _Facing page_ 200 + + Plate XI. Method Used by Eusapia to Surreptitiously + Free her Hand _Facing page_ 206 + + Plate XII. Cage of Copper Wire, Electrically Charged, + Used by Professor Crookes in the Home Accordion + Experiment _Facing page_ 308 + + Figure 3. Board and Scale Experiment of Sir William + Crookes _Page_ 312 + + Figures 4 and 5. Instruments Used in Scale Experiment + by Sir William Crookes _Page_ 5 + + Figure 6. Glass Vessel Used by Home _Page_ 318 + + Figure 7. Automatically Registered Chart of Unknown + Force Generated by Mr. Home _Page_ 317 + + Figures 8, 9, 10. Charts from Sir William Crookes + Instruments Used in Experiments with Mr. Home _Page_ 321 + + Figures 11 and 12. Third Instrument Devised by Sir + William Crookes for Recording Automatically the + Unknown Force Generated by Home _Page_ 322 + + Figure 13. Charts Made by Third Instrument _Page_ 323 + + Figures 14 and 15. Charts Made by Third Instrument _Page_ 324 + + Plate XIII. Instantaneous Photograph Taken by M. de + Fontenay of Table Levitation Produced by the Medium + Auguste Politi _Facing page_ 368 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +As long ago as 1865 I published, under the title, _Unknown Natural +Forces_, a little monograph of a hundred and fifty pages which is still +occasionally found in the book-shops, but has not been reprinted. I +reprint here (pp. xiii-xxiii), what I wrote at that time in this critical +study "apropos of the phenomena produced by the Davenport brothers and +mediums in general." It was published by Didier & Co., book-sellers to the +Academy, who had already issued my first two works, _The Plurality of +Inhabited Worlds_ and _Imaginary Worlds and Real Worlds_. + +"France has just been engaged in an exciting debate, where the sound of +voices was drowned in a great uproar, and out of which no conclusion has +emerged. A disputation more noisy than intelligent has been raging around +a whole group of unexplained facts, and so completely muddled the problem +that, in place of illuminating it, the debate has only served to shroud it +in deeper darkness. + +"During the discussion a singular remark was frequently heard, to the +effect that those who shouted the loudest in this court of assize were the +very ones who were least informed on the subject. It was an amusing +spectacle to see these persons in a death-grapple with mere phantoms. +Panurge himself would have laughed at it. + +"The result of the matter is that less is known to-day upon the subject in +dispute than at the opening of the debates. + +"In the mean time, seated upon neighboring heights were certain excellent +old fellows who observed the writs of arrest issued against the more +violent combatants, but who remained for the most part grave and silent, +though they occasionally smiled, and withal did a deal of hard thinking. + +"I am going to state what weight should be given to the opinions of those +of us who do not rashly affirm the impossibility of the facts now put +under the ban and who do not add their voices to the dominant note of +opposition. + +"I do not conceal from myself the consequences of such sincerity. It +requires a good deal of boldness to insist on affirming, _in the name of +positive science_, the POSSIBILITY of these phenomena (wrongly styled +supernatural), and to constitute one's self the champion of a cause +apparently ridiculous, absurd, and dangerous, knowing, at the same time, +that the avowed adherents of said cause have little standing in science, +and that even its eminent partisans only venture to speak of their +approval of it with bated breath. However, since the matter has just been +treated momentarily in fugitive writings by a group of journalists whose +exacting labors wholly forbid a study of the psychic and physical forces; +and since, of all this multitude of writers, the greater part have only +heaped error upon error, puerility upon extravagance; and since it appears +from every page they have written (I hope they will pardon me) that not +only are they ignorant of the very _a, b, c_ of the subject they have so +fantastically treated, but their opinions upon this class of facts rest +upon no basis whatever,--therefore I have thought it would serve a purpose +if I should leave, as a souvenir of the long wrangle, a piece of writing +better based and buttressed than the lucubrations of the above-mentioned +gentlemen. As a lover of truth, I am willing to face a thousand +reproaches. Be it distinctly understood that I do not for a moment deem my +judgment superior to that of my confrères, some of whom are in other +respects highly gifted. The simple fact is that they are not familiar with +this subject, but are straying in it at random, wandering through a +strange region. They misunderstand the very terminology, and imagine that +facts long ago well authenticated are impossible. By way of contrast, the +writer of these lines will state that for several years he has been +engaged in discussions and experiments upon the subject. (I am not +speaking of historical studies.) + +"Moreover, although the old saw would have us believe that 'it is not +always desirable to state the truth,' yet, to speak frankly, I am so +indignant at the overweening presumption of certain polemical opponents, +and at the gall they have injected into the debate, that I do not hesitate +to rise and point out to the deceived public that, _without a single +exception_, all the arguments brought up by these writers, and upon which +they have boldly planted their banner of victory, prove absolutely +_nothing_, NOTHING, against the possible truth of the things which they, +in the fury of their denial, have so perverted. Such a snarl of opinions +must be analyzed. In brief, the true must be disentangled from the false. +_Veritas, veritas!_" + +"I hasten to anticipate a criticism on the part of my readers by apprising +them, on the threshold of this plea, that I am not going to take the +Davenport brothers as my subject, but only as the ostensible motive or +pretext of the discussion,--as they have been, for that matter, of the +majority of the discussions. I shall deal in these pages with _the facts_ +brought to the surface again by these two Americans,--facts inexplicable +(which they have put on the stage at Herz Hall here in Paris, but which +none the less existed before this _mise-en-scène_, and which none the less +will exist even should the Davenport brothers' representations prove to be +counterfeit),--things which others had already exhibited, and still +exhibit with as much facility and under much better conditions; +occurrences, in short, which constitute the domain of the unknown forces +to which have been given, one after another, five or six names explaining +nothing. These forces, mind you, are as real as the attraction of +gravitation, and as invisible as that. It is about facts that I here +concern myself. Let them be brought to the light by Peter or by Paul, it +concerns us little; let them be imitated by Sosie[1] or parodied by +Harlequin, still less does it concern us. The question is, Do these facts +exist, and do they enter into the category of known physical forces? + +"It amazes me, every time I think of it, that the majority of men are so +densely ignorant of the psychic phenomena in question, considering the +fact that they have been known, studied, valued, and recorded for a good +long time now by all who have impartially followed the movement of thought +during the last few lustrums. + +"I not only do not make common cause with the Davenport brothers, but I +ought furthermore to add that I consider them as placed in a very +compromising situation. In laying to the account of the supernatural +matters in occult natural philosophy which have a tolerable resemblance to +feats of prestidigitation, they appear to a curious public to add +imposture to insolence. In setting a financial value upon their talents, +they seem to the moralist, who is investigating still unexplained +phenomena, to place themselves on the level of mountebanks. Whatever way +you look at them, they are to blame. Accordingly, I condemn at once both +their grave error in assuming to be superior to the forces of which they +are only the instruments and the venal profit they draw from powers of +which they are not master and which it is no merit of theirs to possess. +In my opinion, it is a piece of exaggeration to draw conclusions from +these unhappy semblances of truth; and it is to abdicate one's right of +private judgment to make one's self but the echo of the vulgar herd who +hiss and shout themselves hoarse before the curtain rises. No, I am not +the advocate of the two brothers, nor of their personal claims. For me, +individual men do not exist. That which I defend is the superiority of +nature to us: that which I fight against is the conceited silliness of +certain persons. + +"You satirical gentlemen will have the frankness, I hope, to confess with +me that the different reasons pleaded by you in explanation of these +problems are not so solid as they appear to be. Since you have discovered +nothing, let us admit, between ourselves, that your explanations explain +nothing. + +"I do not doubt that, at the point in the discussion which we have +actually reached, you would like to change rôles with me, and, stopping me +here, constitute yourselves in turn my questioners. + +"But I hasten to anticipate your proposal. As for me, gentlemen, I am not +sufficiently well informed to explain these mysteries. I pass my life in a +retired garden belonging to one of the nine Muses, and my attachment to +this fair creature is such that I have scarcely ever quitted the +approaches to her temple. It is only at intervals, in moments of +relaxation or curiosity, that I have allowed my eyes to wander, from time +to time, over the landscapes which surround it. Therefore ask me nothing. +I am making a sincere confession. I know nothing of the cause of these +phenomena. + +"You see how modest I am. All I wanted in undertaking this examination was +to have the opportunity of saying this: + +"You know nothing about it. + +"Neither do I. + +"If you acknowledge this, we can shake hands. And, if you are tractable, I +will tell you a little secret. + +"In the month of June, 1776 (few among us remember it), a young man +twenty-five years old, named Jouffroy, was making a trial trip on the +river Doubs of a new steamboat forty feet in length and six feet in +breadth. For two years he had been calling the attention of scientific +authorities to his invention; for two years he had been stoutly asserting +that there is a powerful latent energy in steam,--at that time a neglected +asset. All ears were deaf to his words. His only reward was to be +completely isolated and neglected. When he passed through the streets of +Baume-les-Dames, his appearance was the signal for jests innumerable. He +was dubbed 'Jouffroy, the Steam Man' ('_Jouffroy-la-Pompe_'). Ten years +later, having built a pyroscaphe [literally, fireboat] which had ascended +the Saône from Lyons to the island of Barbe, he presented a petition to +Calonne, the comptroller-general of finance, and to the Academy of +Sciences. They would not look at his invention! + +"On August 9, 1803, Fulton went up the Seine in a new steamboat at the +rate of about four miles an hour. The members of the Academy of Sciences +as well as government officials were present on the occasion. The next day +they had forgotten all about it, and Fulton went to make the fortunes of +Americans. + +"In 1791 an Italian at Bologna, named Galvani, having hung on the iron +railing outside his window some skinned frogs which had been used in +making a bouillon for his wife, noted that they moved automatically, +although they had been killed since the evening before. The thing was +incredible, so everybody to whom he told it opposed his statement. Men of +sense would have thought it beneath their dignity to take the trouble to +verify the story, so convinced were they of its impossibility. But Galvani +had noted that the maximum of effect was attained when he joined the +lumbar nerves and the ends of the feet of a frog by a metallic arc of tin +and copper. The frog's muscles then jerked convulsively. He believed it +was due to a nervous fluid, and so lost the fruit of his investigations. +It was reserved for Volta to discover electricity. + +"And to-day the globe is threaded with a network of trains drawn by +flame-breathing dragons. Distances have disappeared, annihilated by +improvements in the locomotive. The genius of man has contracted the +dimensions of the earth; the longest voyages are but excursions over +definite lines (the curved paths of the 'ocean lanes'); the most gigantic +tasks are accomplished by the tireless and powerful hand of this unknown +force. A telegraphic despatch flies in the twinkling of an eye from one +continent to another; a man can talk with a citizen of London or St. +Petersburg without getting out of his arm-chair. And these wonders attract +no special notice. We little think through what struggles, bitter +disappointments and persecutions they came into being! We forget that the +impossible of yesterday is the accomplished fact of to-day. So it comes to +pass that we still find men who come to us saying: 'Halt there, you little +fellows! We don't understand you, therefore you don't know what you're +talking about.' + +"Very well, gentlemen. However narrow may be your opinions, there is no +reason for thinking that your myopia is to spread over the world. You are +hereby informed that, in spite of you and in spite of your obscurantism +and obstruction tactics, the car of human progress will roll on and +continue its triumphal march and conquest of new forces and powers. As in +the case of Galvani's frog, the laughable occurrences that you refuse to +believe reveal the existence of new unknown forces. There is no effect +without a cause. Man is the least known of all beings. We have learned +how to measure the sun, cross the deeps of space, analyze the light of the +stars, and yet have not dropped a plummet into our own souls. Man is +dual,--_homo duplex_; and this double nature remains a mystery to him. We +think: what is thought? No one can say. We walk: what is that organic act? +No one knows. My will is an immaterial force; all the faculties of my soul +are immaterial. Nevertheless, if I _will_ to move my arm, my will moves +matter. How does it act? What is the mediator between mind and muscle? As +yet no one can say. Tell me how the optic nerve transmits to the thinking +brain the perception of outward objects. Tell me how thought is born, +where it resides, what is the nature of cerebral action. Tell me--but no, +gentlemen: I could question you for ten years on a stretch, and the most +eminent of you could not answer the least of my interrogatories. + +"We have here, as in the preceding cases, the unknown element in a +problem. I am far from claiming that the force that comes into play in +these phenomena can one day be financially exploited, as in the case of +electricity and steam. Such an idea has not the slightest interest for me. +But, though differing essentially from these forces, the mysterious +psychic force none the less exists. + +"In the course of the long and laborious studies to which I have +consecrated many a night, as a relief or by-play in more important work, I +have always observed in these phenomena the action of a force the +properties of which are to us unknown. Sometimes it has seemed to me +analogous to that which puts to sleep the magnetized subject under the +will of the hypnotizer (a reality this, also slighted even by men of +science). Again, in other circumstances, it has seemed to me analogous to +the curious freaks of the lightning. Still, I believe I can affirm it to +be a force distinct from all that we know, and which more than any other +resembles intelligence. + +"A certain savant with whom I am acquainted, M. Frémy, of the Institute, +has recently presented to the Academy of Science, apropos of spontaneous +generation, substances which he has called _semi-organic_. I believe I am +not perpetrating a neologism bolder than this when I say that the force of +which I am speaking has seemed to me to belong to the _semi-intellectual_ +plane. + +"Some years ago I gave these forces the name _psychic_. That name can be +justified. + +"But words are nothing. They often resemble cuirasses, hiding the real +impression that ideas should produce in us. That is the reason why it is +perhaps better not to name a thing that we are not yet able to define. If +we did, we should find ourselves so shackled afterwards as not to have +perfect freedom in our conclusions. It has often been seen in history that +a premature hypothesis has arrested the progress of science, says Grove: +'When natural phenomena are observed for the first time, a tendency +immediately arises to relate them to something already known. The new +phenomenon may be quite remote from the ideas with which one would compare +it. It may belong to a different order of analogies. But this distinction +cannot be perceived, since the necessary data or co-ordinates are +lacking.' Now the theory originally announced is soon accepted by the +public; and when it happens that subsequent facts, different from the +preceding, fail to fit the mould, it is difficult to enlarge this without +breaking it, and people often prefer to abandon a theory now proved +erroneous, and silently ignore the intractable facts. As to the special +phenomena in question in this little volume, I find them implicitly +embodied in three words uttered nearly twenty centuries ago,--MENS AGITAT +MOLEM (mind acting on matter gives it life and motion); and I leave the +phenomena embedded in these words, like fire in the flint. I will not +strike with the steel, for the spark is still dangerous. '_Periculosum est +credere et non credere_' ('It is dangerous to believe and not to +believe'), says the ancient fabulist Phædrus. To deny facts _a priori_ is +mere conceit and idiocy. To accept them without investigation is weakness +and folly. Why seek to press on so eagerly and prematurely into regions to +which our poor powers cannot yet attain? The way is full of snares and +bottomless pits. The phenomena we are treating in these pages do not +perhaps throw new light upon the solution of the great problem of +immortality, but they invite us to remember that there are in man elements +to study, to determine, to analyze,--elements still unexplained, and which +belong to the psychic realm. + +"There has been much talk about Spiritualism in connection with these +phenomena. Some of its defenders have thought to strengthen it by +supporting it on so weak a basis as that. The scoffers have thought they +could positively ruin the creed of the psychics, and, hurling it from its +base, bury it under a fallen wardrobe (_l'éboulement d'une armoire_).[2] +Now the first-named have rather compromised than assisted the cause: the +others have not overturned it after all. Even if it should be proved that +Spiritualism consists only of tricks of legerdemain, the belief in the +existence of souls separate from the body would not be affected in the +slightest degree. Besides, the deceptions of mediums do not prove that +they are always tricky. They only put us on our guard, and induce us to +keep a stern watch upon them. + +"As to the psychological question of the soul and the analysis of +spiritual forces, we are just where chemistry was at the time of Albert +the Great: we don't know. + +"Can we not then keep the golden mean between negation, which denies all, +and credulity, which accepts all? Is it rational to deny everything that +we cannot understand, or, on the contrary, to believe all the follies that +morbid imaginations give birth to, one after another? Can we not possess +at once the humility which becomes the weak and the dignity which becomes +the strong? + +"I end this plea, as I began it, by declaring that it is not for the sake +of the brothers Davenport, nor of any sect, nor of any group, nor, in +short, of any person whatever, that I have entered the lists of +controversy, but solely for the sake of facts the reality of which I +ascertained several years ago, without having discovered their cause. +However, I have no reason to fear that those who do not know me will take +a fancy to misrepresent my thought; and I think that those who are +acquainted with me know that I am not accustomed to swing a censer in any +one's honor. I repeat for the last time: I am not concerned with +individuals. My mind seeks the truth, and recognizes it wherever it finds +it. '_Gallus escam quærens margaritam reperit._'"[3] + +A certain number of my readers have been for some time kindly expressing a +wish for a new edition of this early book. But strictly speaking I could +not do this without considerably enlarging my original plan and composing +an entirely new work. The daily routine of my astronomical labors has +constantly hindered me from devoting myself to that task. The starry +heaven is a vast and absorbing field of work, and it is difficult to turn +aside (even for a relaxation in itself scientific) from the exacting +claims of a science which goes on developing unceasingly at a most +prodigious rate. + +Still, the present work may be considered as, in a sense, an enlarged +edition of the earlier one. The foregoing citation of a little book +written for the purpose of proving the existence of unknown forces in +nature has seemed to me necessary here; useful in this new volume, brought +out for the same purpose after more than forty years of study, since it +may serve to show the continuity and consistent development of my thought +on the subject. + + + + +MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES + + + + +CHAPTER I + +ON CERTAIN UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES + + +I purpose to show in this book what truth there is in the phenomena of +table-turnings, table-movings, and table-rappings, in the communications +received therefrom, in levitations that contradict the laws of gravity, in +the moving of objects without contact, in unexplained noises, in the +stories told of haunted houses,--all to be considered from the physical +and mechanical point of view. Under all the just mentioned heads we can +group material facts produced by causes still unknown to science, and it +is with these physical phenomena that we shall specially occupy ourselves +here; for the first point is to definitely prove, by sufficient +observations, their real existence. Hypotheses, theories, doctrines, will +come later. + +In the country of Rabelais, of Montaigne, of Voltaire, we are inclined to +smile at everything that relates to the marvellous, to tales of +enchantment, the extravagances of occultism, the mysteries of magic. This +arises from a reasonable prudence. But it does not go far enough. To deny +and prejudge a phenomenon has never proved anything. The truth of almost +every fact which constitutes the sum of the positive sciences of our day +has been denied. What we ought to do is to admit no unverified statement, +to apply to every subject of study, no matter what, the experimental +method, without any preconceived idea whatever, either for or against. + +We are dealing here with a great problem, which touches on that of the +survival of human consciousness. We may study it, in spite of smiles. + +When we consecrate our lives to an idea, useful, noble, exalted, we should +not hesitate for a moment to sacrifice personalities; above all, our own +self, our interest, our self-esteem, our natural vanity. This sacrifice is +a criterion by which I have estimated a good many characters. How many +men, how many women, put their miserable little personality above +everything else! + +If the forces of which we are to treat are real, they cannot but be +natural forces. We ought to admit, as an absolute principle, that +everything is in nature, even God himself, as I have shown in another +work. Before any attempt at theory, the first thing to do is to +scientifically establish the real existence of these forces. + +Mediumistic experiences might form (and doubtless soon will form) a +chapter in physics. Only it is a kind of transcendental physics which +touches on life and thought, and the forces in play are pre-eminently +living forces, psychic forces. + +I shall relate in the following chapter the experiments I made between the +years 1861 and 1865, previous to the penning of the protest, reprinted in +the long citation above given (in the Introduction). But, since in certain +respects they are summed up in those I have just had, in 1906, I will +begin by describing the latter in this first chapter. + +In fact, I have recently renewed these investigations with a celebrated +medium,--Mme. Eusapia Paladino, of Naples, who has been several times in +Paris; namely, in 1898, 1905, and, very recently, in 1906. The things I am +going to speak of happened in the salon of my home in Paris,--the last +ones in full light without any preparation, very simply, as if during +after-dinner talks. + +Let me add that this medium came to Paris during the first months of the +year, 1906, at the invitation of the Psychological Institute, several +members of which have been recently engaged in researches begun long ago. +Among these savants I will mention the name of the lamented Pierre Curie, +the eminent chemist, with whom I had a conversation a few days before his +unfortunate and terrible death. My mediumistic experiences with Mme. +Paladino formed for him a new chapter in the great book of nature, and he +also was convinced that there exist hidden forces to the investigation of +which it is not unscientific to consecrate one's self. His subtle and +penetrating genius would perhaps have quickly determined the character of +these forces. + +Those who have given some little attention to these psychological studies +are acquainted with the powers of Mme. Paladino. The published works of +Count de Rochas, of Professor Richet, of Dr. Dariex, of M. G. de Fontenay, +and notably the _Annales des sciences psychiques_, have pointed them out +and described them in such detail that it would be superfluous to recur to +them at this point. Farther on we shall find a place for discussing them. + +Running underneath all the observations of the above-mentioned writers, +one dominant idea can be read as if in palimpsest; namely, the imperious +necessity the experimenters are constantly under of suspecting tricks in +this medium (Mme. Paladino). But all mediums, men and women, have to be +watched. During a period of more than forty years I believe that I have +received at my home nearly all of them, men and women of divers +nationalities and from every quarter of the globe. One may lay it down as +a principle that all professional mediums cheat. But they do not always +cheat; and they possess real, undeniable psychic powers. + +Their case is nearly that of the hysterical folk under observation at the +Salpêtrière or elsewhere. I have seen some of them outwit with their +profound craft not only Dr. Charcot, but especially Dr. Luys, and all the +physicians who were making a study of their case. But, because hysteriacs +deceive and simulate, it would be a gross error to conclude that hysteria +does not exist. And, because mediums frequently descend to the most +brazen-faced imposture, it would not be less absurd to conclude that +mediumship has no existence. Disreputable somnambulists do not forbid the +existence of magnetism, hypnotism, and genuine somnambulism. + +This necessity of being constantly on our guard has discouraged more than +one investigator, as the illustrious astronomer Schiaparelli, director of +the Observatory of Milan, specially wrote me, in a letter which will +appear farther on. + +Still, we have got to endure this evil. + +The words "fraud" (_supercherie_) and "trickery" (_tricherie_) have in +this connection a sense a little different from their ordinary meaning. +Sometimes the mediums deceive purposely, knowing well what they are doing, +and enjoying the fun. But oftener they unconsciously deceive, impelled by +the desire to produce the phenomena that people are expecting. + +They help on the success of the experiment when that success is slow in +its appearance. Mediums who deal with objective phenomena are gifted with +the power of causing objects at a distance to move, of lifting tables, +etc. But they usually appear to apply this power at the ends of their +fingers, and the objects to be moved have to be within reach of their +hands or feet, a very regrettable thing, and one which furnishes fine +sport for the prejudiced sceptics. Sometimes the mediums act like the +billiard player, who continues for an instant the gesture of hand and arm, +holding his cue pointed at the rolling ivory ball, and leaning forward as +if by his will he could push it to a carom. He knows very well that he has +no further power over the fate of the ball, which his initial stroke +alone impels; but he guides its course by his thought and his gesture. + +It may not be superfluous to caution the reader that the word "medium" is +employed in these pages without any preconceived idea, and not in the +etymological sense in which it took its rise at the time of the first +Spiritualistic theories, which affirmed that the man or the woman endowed +with psychic powers is an inter_mediary_ between spirits and those who are +experimenting. The person who has the power of causing objects to move +contrary to the laws of gravity (even sometimes without touching them), of +causing sounds to be heard at a distance and without any exertion of +muscular force, and of bringing before the eyes various apparitions, has +not necessarily, on that account, any bond of union with disembodied minds +or souls. We shall keep this word "medium," however, now so long in use. +We are concerned here only with facts. I hope to convince the reader that +these things really exist, and are neither illusions nor farces, nor feats +of prestidigitation. My object is to prove their reality with absolute +certainty, to do for them what (in my volume _The Unknown and the Psychic +Problems_) I have done for telepathy, the apparitions of the dying, +premonitory dreams, and clairvoyance. + +I shall begin, I repeat, with experiments which I have recently renewed; +namely, during four séances on March 29, April 5, May 30, and June 7, of +1906. + +1. Take the case of the levitation of a round table. I have so often seen +a rather heavy table lifted to a height of eight, twelve, sixteen inches +from the floor, and I have taken such undeniably authentic photographs of +these; I have so often proved to myself that the suspension of this +article of furniture by the imposition _upon it_ of the hands of four or +five persons produces the effect of a floating in a tub full of water or +other elastic fluid, that, for me, the levitation of objects is no more +doubtful than that of a pair of scissors lifted by the aid of a magnet. +But one evening when I was almost alone with Eusapia, March 29, 1906 +(there were four of us altogether), being desirous of examining at leisure +how the thing was done, I asked her to place her hands with mine upon the +table, the other persons remaining at a distance. The table very soon rose +to a height of fifteen or twenty inches _while we were both standing_. At +the moment of the production of the phenomenon the medium placed one of +her hands on one of mine, which she pressed energetically, our two other +hands resting side by side. Moreover, on her part, as on mine, there was +an act of will expressed in words of command addressed to "the spirit": +"Come now! Lift the table! Take courage! Come! Try now!" etc. + +We ascertained at once that there were two elements or constituents +present. On the one hand, the experimenters address an invisible entity. +On the other hand, the medium experiences a nervous and muscular fatigue, +and her weight increases in proportion to that of the object lifted (but +not in exact proportion). + +We are obliged to act as if there really were a being present who is +listening. This being appears to come into existence, and then become +non-existent as soon as the experiment is ended. It seems to be created by +the medium. Is it an auto-suggestion of hers or of the dynamic ensemble of +the experimenters that creates a special force? Is it a doubling of her +personality? Is it the condensation of a psychic _milieu_ in the midst of +which we live? If we seek to obtain proofs of actual and permanent +individuality, and above all of the identity of a particular soul called +up in our memory, we never obtain any satisfaction. There lies the +mystery. + +Conclusion: we have here an unknown force of the psychic class, a living +force, the life of a moment only. + +May it not be possible that, in exerting ourselves, we give rise to a +detachment of forces which acts exteriorly to our body? But this is not +the place, in these first pages, to make hypotheses. + +The experiment of which I have just spoken was repeated three times +running, _in the full light_ of a gas chandelier, and under the same +conditions of complete proof in each case. A round table weighing about +fourteen pounds is lifted by this unknown force. A table of twenty-five or +fifty pounds or more requires a greater number of persons. But they will +get no result if one at least among them is not gifted with the +mediumistic power. + +And let me add, on the other hand, that there is in such an experiment so +great an expenditure of nervous and muscular energy that such an +extraordinary medium as Eusapia, for instance, can obtain scarcely any +results six hours, twelve hours, even twenty-four hours, after a séance in +which she has so lavishly expended her psychic energy. + +I will add that quite often the table continues to rise even after the +experimenters have ceased to touch it. This is _movement without contact_. + +This phenomenon of levitation is, to me, absolutely proved, although we +cannot explain it. It is like what would happen if one had his hands +gloved with loadstone, and, placing them on a table of iron, should lift +it from the ground. But the action is not so simple as that: it is a case +of psychic activity exterior to ourselves, momentarily in operation.[4] + +Now how are these levitations and movements produced? + +How is it that a stick of sealing-wax or a lamp-chimney, when rubbed, +attracts bits of paper or elder pith? + +How is it that a particle of iron grips so firmly to the loadstone when +brought near it? + +How is it that electricity accumulates in the vapor of water, in the +molecules of a cloud, until it gives rise to the thunder, the thunderbolt, +the lightning flash, and all their formidable results? + +How is it that the thunderbolt strips the clothes from a man or a woman +with its characteristic nonchalance? + +And (to take a simple instance), without departing from our common and +normal condition of life, how is it that we raise our arm? + +2. Take now a specimen of another group of cases. The medium places one of +her hands upon that of some person, and with the other beats the air, with +one, two, three, or four strokes or raps. The raps are heard in the table, +and you feel the vibrations at the same time that you hear them,--sharp +blows which make you think of electric shocks. It is superfluous to state +that the feet of the medium do not touch those of the table, but are kept +at a distance from them. + +The medium next places her hands with ours upon the table, and the taps +heard in the table are stronger than in the preceding case. + +[Illustration: PLATE I. COMPLETE LEVITATION OF A TABLE IN PROFESSOR +FLAMMARION'S SALON THROUGH MEDIUMSHIP OF EUSAPIA PALADINO.] + +These taps audible in the table, this "typtology" well known to +Spiritualists, have been frequently attributed to some kind of trickery or +another, to a cracking muscle or to various actions of the medium. After +the comparative study I have made of these special occurrences I believe I +am right in affirming that this fact also is not less certain than the +first. Rappings, as is well known, are obtained in all kinds of rhythms, +and responses to all questions are obtained through simple conventions, by +which it is agreed, for instance, that three taps shall mean "yes" and two +mean "no," and that, while the letters of the alphabet are being read, +words can be dictated by taps made as each letter is named. + +3. During our experiments, while we four persons are seated around a table +asking for a communication which does not arrive, an arm-chair, placed +about twenty-four inches from the medium's foot (upon which I have placed +my foot to make sure that she cannot use hers),--an arm-chair, I say, +begins to move, and comes sliding up to us. I push it back; it returns. It +is a stuffed affair (_pouf_), very heavy, but easily capable of gliding +over the floor. This thing happened on the 29th of last March, and again +on April 5th. + +It could have been done by drawing the chair with a string or by the +medium putting her foot sufficiently far out. But it happened over and +over again (five or six times), automatically moving, and that so +violently that the chair jumped about the floor in a topsy-turvy fashion +and ended by falling bottom side up without anybody having touched it. + +4. Here is a fourth case re-observed this year, after having been several +times verified by me, notably in 1898. + +Curtains near the medium, but which it is impossible for her to touch, +either with the hand or the foot, swell out their whole length, as if +inflated by a gusty wind. I have several times seen them envelop the +heads of the spectators as if with cowls of Capuchin monks. + +5. Here is a fifth instance, authenticated by me several times, and always +with the same care. + +While I am holding one hand of Eusapia in mine, and one of my astronomical +friends, tutor at the Ecole Polytechnique, is holding the other, we are +touched, first one and then the other, upon the side and on the shoulders, +as if by an invisible hand. + +The medium usually tries to get together her two hands, held separately by +each of us, and by a skilful substitution to make us believe we hold both +when she has succeeded in disengaging one. This fraud being well known by +us, we act the part of forewarned spectators, and are positive that we +have each succeeded in holding her hands apart. The touchings in this +experiment seem to proceed from an invisible entity and are rather +disagreeable. Those which take place in the immediate vicinity of the +medium _could_ be due to fraud; but to some of them this explanation is +inapplicable. + +This is the place to remark that, unfortunately, the extraordinary +character of the phenomena is in direct ratio with the absence of light, +and we are continually asked by the medium to turn down the gas, almost to +the vanishing point: "_Meno luce! meno luce!_" ("Less light, less light"). +This, of course, is advantageous to all kinds of fraud. But it is a +condition no more obligatory than the others. There is in it no +implication of a threat. + +We can get a large number of mediumistic phenomena with a light strong +enough for us to distinguish things with certainty. Still, it is a fact +that light is unfavorable to the production of phenomena. + +This is annoying. Yet we have no right to impose the opposite condition. +We have no right to demand of nature conditions which happen to suit us. +It would be just as reasonable to try to get a photographic negative +without a dark room, or to draw electricity from a rotating machine in the +midst of an atmosphere saturated with moisture. Light is a natural agent +capable of producing certain effects and of opposing the production of +others. + +This aphorism calls to my mind an anecdote in the life of Daguerre, +related in the first edition of this book. + +One evening this illustrious natural philosopher meets an elegant and +fashionable woman in the neighborhood of the Opera House, of which he was +at that time the decorator. Enthusiastic over his progress in natural +philosophy, he happens to speak of his photogenic studies. He tells her of +a marvellous discovery by which the features of the face can be fixed upon +a plate of silver. The lady, who is a person of plain common sense, +courteously laughs in his face. The savant goes on with his story, without +being disconcerted. He even adds that it is possible for the phenomenon to +take place instantaneously when the processes become perfected. But he has +his pains for his trouble. His charming companion is not credulous enough +to accept such an extravagance. Paint without colors and without a brush! +design without pen or crayon! as if a portrait could get painted all by +itself, etc. But the inventor is not discouraged, and, to convince her, +offers to make her portrait by this process. The lady is unwilling to be +thought a dupe and refuses. But the skilful artist pleads his cause so +well that he overcomes her objections. The blond daughter of Eve consents +to pose before the object-glass. But she makes one condition,--only one. + +Her beauty is at its best in the evening, and she feels a little faded in +the garish light of day. + + "If you could take me in the evening--" + + "But, madame, it is impossible--" + + "Why? You say that your invention reproduces the face, feature by + feature. I prefer my features of the evening over those of the + morning." + + "Madame, it is the light itself which pencils the image, and without + it I can do nothing." + + "We will light a chandelier, a lamp, do anything to please you." + + "No, madame, the light of day is imperative." + + "Will you please tell me why?" + + "Because the light of the sun exhibits an intense activity, sufficient + to decompose the iodide of silver. So far, I have not been able to + take a photograph except in full sunlight." + +Both remained obstinate, the lady maintaining that what could be done at +ten o'clock in the morning could also easily be done at ten o'clock in the +evening. The inventor affirmed the contrary. + +So, then, all you have to do, gentlemen, is to forbid the light to blacken +iodine, or order it to blacken lime, and condemn the photographer to +develop his negative in full light. Ask Electricity why it will pass +instantaneously from one end to the other of an iron wire a thousand miles +long and why it refuses to traverse a thread of glass half an inch long. +Beg the night-blooming flowers to expand in the day, or those that only +bloom in the light not to close at dusk. Give me the explanation of the +respiration of plants, diurnal and nocturnal, and of the production of +chlorophyll and how plants develop a green color in the light; why they +breathe in oxygen and exhale carbonic acid gas during the night, and +reverse the process during the day. Change the equivalents of simple +substances in chemistry, and order combinations to be produced. Forbid +azotic acid to boil at the freezing temperature, and command water to boil +at zero. You have only to ask these accommodations and nature will obey +you, gentlemen, depend upon it. + +A good many phenomena of nature only occur in obscurity. The germs of +plants, animals, man, in forming a new being, work their miracle only in +the dark. + +Here, in a flask, is a mixture of hydrogen and chlorine in equal volumes. +If you wish to preserve the mixture, you must keep the flask in the dark, +whether you want to or not. Such is the law. As long as it remains in the +dark, it will retain its properties. But suppose you take a schoolboy +notion to expose the thing to the action of light. Instantly a violent +explosion is heard; the hydrogen and the chlorine disappear, and you find +in the flask a new substance,--chloridic acid. There is no use in your +finding fault: darkness respects the two substances, while light explodes +them. + +If we should hear a malignant sceptic of some clique or other say, "I will +only believe in jack-o'-lanterns when I see them in the light of day," +what should we think of his sanity? About what we should think if he +should add that the stars are not certainties, since they are only seen at +night. + +In all the observations and experiments of physics there are conditions to +be observed. In those of which we are speaking a too strong light seems to +imperil the success of the experiment. But it goes without saying that +precautions against deception ought to increase in direct ratio with the +decrease of visibility and other means of verification. + +Let us return to our experiments. + +6. Taps are heard in the table, or it moves, rises, falls back, raps with +its leg. A kind of interior movement is produced in the wood, violent +enough, sometimes, to break it. The round table I made use of (with +others) in my home was dislocated and repaired more than once, and it was +by no means the pressure of the hands upon it that could have caused the +dislocations. No, there is something more than that in it: there is in +the actions of the table the intervention of mind, of which I have already +spoken. + +The table is questioned, by means of the conventional signs described a +few pages back, and it responds. Phrases are rapped out, usually banal and +without any literary, scientific, or philosophical value. But, at any +rate, words are rapped out, phrases are dictated. These phrases do not +come of their own accord, nor is it the medium who taps +them--consciously--either with her foot or her hand, or by the aid of a +snapping muscle, for we obtain them in séances held without professional +mediums and at scientific reunions where the existence of trickery would +be a thing of the greatest absurdity. The mind of the medium and that of +the experimenters most assuredly have something to do with the mystery. +The replies obtained generally tally the intellectual status of the +company, as if the intellectual faculties of the persons present were +exterior to their brains and were acting in the table wholly unknown to +the experimenters themselves. How can this thing be? How can we compose +and dictate phrases without knowing it. Sometimes the ideas broached seem +to come from a personality unknown to the company, and the hypothesis of +spirits quite naturally presents itself. A word is begun; some one thinks +he can divine its ending; to save time, he writes it down; the table +parries, is agitated, impatient. It is the wrong word; another was being +dictated. There is here, then, a psychic element which we are obliged to +recognize, whatever its nature may be when analyzed. + +The success of experiments does not always depend on the will of the +medium. Of course that is the chief element in it; but certain conditions +independent of her are necessary. The psychical atmosphere created by the +persons present has an influence that cannot be neglected. So the state of +health of the medium is not without its influence. If he is fatigued, +although he may have the best will in the world, the value of the results +will be affected. I had a new proof of this thing, so often observed, at +my house, with Eusapia Paladino, on May 30, 1906. She had for more than a +month been suffering from a rather painful affection of the eyes; and +furthermore her legs were considerably swollen. We were seven, of whom two +lookers-on were sceptics. The results were almost nil; namely, the +lifting, during scarcely two seconds of time, of a round table weighing +about four pounds; the tipping up of one side of a four-legged table; and +a few rappings. Still, the medium seemed animated by a real wish to obtain +some result. She confessed to me, however, that what had chiefly paralyzed +her faculties was the sceptical and sarcastic spirit of one of the two +incredulous persons. I knew of the absolute scepticism of this man. It had +not been manifested in any way; but Eusapia had at once divined it. + +The state of mind of the by-standers, sympathetic or antipathetic, has an +influence upon the production of the phenomena. This is an incontestable +matter of observation. I am not speaking here merely of a tricky medium +rendered powerless to act by a too close critical inspection, but also of +a hostile force which may more or less neutralize the sincerest volition. +Is it not the same, moreover, in assemblies, large or small, in +conferences, in salons, etc.? Do we not often see persons of baleful and +antipathetic spirit defeat at their very beginning the accomplishment of +the noblest purposes. + +Here are the results of another sitting of the same medium held a few days +afterwards. + +On the 7th of June, 1906, I had been informed by my friend Dr. Ostwalt, +the skilled oculist, who was at that time treating Eusapia, that she was +to be at his house that evening and that perhaps I would be able to try a +new experiment. I accepted with all the more readiness because the +mother-in-law of the doctor, Mme. Werner, to whom I had been attached by a +friendship of more than thirty years, had been dead a year, and had many a +time promised me, in the most formal manner, to appear after her death for +the purpose of giving completeness to my psychical researches by a +manifestation, if the thing was possible. We had so often conversed on +these subjects, and she was so deeply interested in them, that she had +renewed her promise very emphatically a few days before her death. And at +the same time she made a similar promise to her daughter and to her +son-in-law. + +Eusapia, also, on her part, grateful for the care she had received at the +doctor's hands and for the curing of her eye, wished to be agreeable to +him in any way she could. + +The conditions, then, were in all respects excellent. I agreed with the +doctor that we had before us four possible hypotheses, and that we should +seek to fix on the most probable one. + +_a._ What would take place might be due to fraud, conscious or +unconscious. + +_b._ The phenomena might be produced by a physical force emanating from +the medium. + +_c._ Or by one or several invisible entities making use of this force. + +_d._ Or by Mme. Werner herself. + +We had on that evening some movements of the table and a complete lifting +of the four feet to a height of about eight inches. Six of us sat around +the table,--Eusapia, Madame and Monsieur Ostwalt, their son Pierre, +sixteen years old, my wife and myself. Our hands placed above the table +scarcely touched it, and were almost wholly detached at the moment it rose +from the floor. No fraud possible. Full light. + +The séance then continued in the dark. The two portières of a great +double-folding door, against which the medium was seated, her back to the +door, were blown about for nearly an hour, sometimes so violently as to +form something like a monk's hood on the head of the doctor and that of +his wife. + +This great door was several times shaken violently, and tremendous blows +were struck upon it. + +We tried to obtain words by means of the alphabet, but without success. (I +will remark in this connection that Eusapia knows neither how to read nor +to write.) + +Pierre Ostwalt was able to write a word with the pencil. It seemed as if +an invisible force was guiding his hand. The word he pencilled down was +the first name of Mme. Werner, _well known to him_. + +In spite of all our efforts, we were unable to obtain a single proof of +identity. Yet it would have been very easy for Mme. Werner to find one, as +she had so solemnly promised us to do. + +In spite of the announcement by raps that an apparition would appear which +we would be permitted to see, we were only able to perceive a dim white +form, devoid of precise outline, even when we manipulated the light so as +to get almost complete darkness. From this new sitting the following +conclusions are deduced: + +_a._ Fraud cannot explain the phenomena, especially the levitation of the +table, the violent blows and shakings given to the door, and the +projection of the curtain into the room. + +_b._ These phenomena are certainly produced by a force emanating from the +medium, for they all occur in her immediate neighborhood. + +_c._ This force is intelligent. But it is possible that this intelligence +which obeys our requests is only that of the medium. + +_d._ Nothing proves that the spirit evoked had any influence. + +These propositions, however, will be examined and developed one by one in +the pages that follow. + +All the experiments described in this first chapter reveal to us unknown +forces in operation. It will be the same in the chapters that follow. + +These phenomena are so unexplained, so inexplicable, so incredible, that +the simplest plan is to deny them, to attribute them all to fraud or to +hallucination, and to believe that all the participators are sand-blind. + +Unfortunately for our opponents, this hypothesis is inadmissible. + +Let me say here that there are very few men--and above all, women--whose +spirit is completely _free_; that is, in a condition capable of accepting, +without any preconceived idea, new or unexplained facts. In general, +people are disposed to admit only those facts or things for which they are +prepared by the ideas they have received, cherished, and maintained. +Perhaps there is not one human being in a hundred who is capable of making +a mental record of a new impression, simply, freely, exactly, with the +accuracy of a photographic camera. Absolute independence of judgment is a +rare thing among men. + +A single fact accurately observed, even if it should contradict all +science, is worth more than all the hypotheses. + +But only the independent minds, free from the classic leading-strings +which tie the dogmatists to their chairs, dare to study extra-scientific +facts or consider them possible. + +I am acquainted with erudite men of genius, members of the Academy of +Sciences, professors at the university, masters in our great schools, who +reason in the following way: "Such and such phenomena are impossible +because they are in contradiction with the actual state of science. We +should only admit what we can explain." + +They call that scientific reasoning! + +Examples.--Frauenhofer discovers that the solar spectrum is crossed by +dark lines. These dark lines could not be explained in his time. Therefore +we ought not to believe in them. + +Newton discovers that the stars move _as if_ they were governed by an +attractive force. This attraction could not be explained in his time. Nor +is it explained to-day. Newton himself takes the pains to declare that he +does not wish to explain it by an hypothesis. "_Hypotheses non fingo_" ("I +do not make hypotheses"). So, after the reasoning of our pseudo-logicians, +we ought not to admit universal gravitation. Oxygen combined with hydrogen +forms water. How? We don't know. Hence we ought not to admit the fact. + +Stones sometimes fall from the sky. The Academy of Sciences of the +eighteenth century, not being able to divine where they came from, simply +denied the fact, which had been observed for thousands of years. They +denied also that fish and toads can fall from the clouds, because it had +not then been observed that waterspouts draw them up by suction and +transport them from one place to another. A medium places his hand upon a +table and seems actually to transmit to it independent life. It is +inexplicable, therefore it is false. Yet that is the predominant method of +reasoning of a great number of scholars. They are only willing to admit +what is known and explained. They declared that locomotives would not be +able to move, or, if they did succeed, railways would introduce no change +in social relations; that the transatlantic telegraph would never transmit +a despatch; that vaccine would not render immune; and at one time they +stoutly maintained (this was long ago) that the earth does not revolve. +It seems that they even condemned Galileo. _Everything_ has been denied. + +Apropos of facts somewhat similar to those we are here studying,--I mean +the stigmata of Louise Lateau,--a very famous German scholar, Professor +Virchow, closed his report to the Berlin Academy with this dilemma: _Fraud +or Miracle_. This conclusion acquired a classic vogue. But it was an +error, for it is now known that stigmata are due neither to fraud nor +miracle. + +Another rather common objection is presented by certain persons apparently +scientific. Confounding experience with observation, they imagine that a +natural phenomenon, in order to be real, ought to be able to be produced +at will, as in a laboratory. After this manner of looking at things, an +eclipse of the sun would not be a real thing, nor a stroke of lightning +which sets fire to a house, nor an aërolite that falls from the sky. An +earthquake, a volcanic eruption, are phenomena of observation, not of +experiment. But they none the less exist, often to the great damage of the +human race. Now, in the order of facts that we are studying here, we can +almost never experiment, but only observe, and this reduces considerably +the range of the field of study. And, even when we do experiment, the +phenomena are not produced at will: certain elements, several of which we +have not yet been able to get hold of, intervene to cross, modify, and +thwart them, so that for the most part we can only play the rôle of +observers. The difference is analogous to that which separates chemistry +from astronomy. In chemistry we experiment: in astronomy we observe. But +this does not hinder astronomy from being the most exact of the sciences. + +Mediumistic phenomena that come directly under the observation, notably +those I have described some pages back, have for me the stamp of absolute +certainty and incontestability, and amply suffice to prove that unknown +physical forces exist outside of the ordinary and established domain of +natural philosophy. As a principle, moreover, this is an unimpeachable +tenet.[5] + +I could adduce still other instances, for example the following: + +7. During séance experiments, phantoms often appear,--hands, arms, a head, +a bust, an entire human figure. I was a witness of this thing, especially +on July 27, 1897, at Montfort-l'Amaury (see Chapter III). M. de Fontenay +having declared that he perceived an image or spirit over the table, +between himself and me (we were sitting face to face, keeping watch over +Eusapia, he holding one of her hands, and I the other), and I seeing +nothing at all, I asked him to change places with me. And then I, too, +perceived this spirit-shadow, the head of a bearded man, rather vaguely +outlined, which was moving like a silhouette, advancing and retiring in +front of a red lantern placed on a piece of furniture. I had not been able +to see at first from where I sat, because the lantern was then behind me, +and the spectral appearance was formed between M. de Fontenay and me. As +this dark silhouette remained rather vague, I asked if I could not touch +its beard. The medium replied, "Stretch out your hand." I then felt upon +the back of my hand the brushing of a very soft beard. + +This case did not have for me the same _absolute certainty_ as the +preceding. There are degrees in the feeling of security we have in +observations. In astronomy, even, there are stars at the limit of +visibility. And yet in the opinion of all the participators in the séance +there was no trick. Besides, on another occasion, at my own home, I saw +another figure, that of a young girl, as the reader will see in the third +chapter. + +8. That same day, at Montfort, in the course of the conversation, some one +recalled the circumstance that the "spirits" have sometimes impressed on +paraffin or putty or clay the print of their head or of their hands,--a +thing that seems in the last degree absurd. But we bought some putty at a +glazier's and fixed up in a wooden box a perfectly soft cake. At the end +of the séance there was the imprint of a head, of a face, in this putty. +In this case, no more than in the other, am I _absolutely certain_ there +was no trickery. We will speak of it farther on. + +Other manifestations will be noted in subsequent pages of this book. +Stopping right here, for the present, at the special point of view of the +proved existence of unknown forces, I will confine myself to the six +preceding cases, regarding them as incontestable, in the judgment of any +man of good faith or of any observer. If I have considered these +particular cases so early in the work, it is in response to readers of my +works who have been begging me for a long time to give my _personal_ +observations. + +The simplest of these manifestations--that of raps, for example--is not a +negligible asset. There is no doubt that it is one or another of the +experimenters, or their dynamic resultant, that raps in the table without +knowing how. So, even if it should be a psychic entity unknown to the +mediums, it evidently makes use of them, of their physiological +properties. Such a fact is not without scientific interest. The denials of +scepticism prove nothing, unless it be that the deniers themselves have +not observed the phenomena. + +I have no other aim in this first chapter than to give a preliminary +summary of the observed facts. + +I do not desire to put forth in these first pages any explanatory +hypothesis. My readers will themselves form an opinion from the narratives +that follow, and the last chapter of the volume will be devoted to +theories. Yet I believe it will be useful to call attention at once to +the fact that matter is not, in reality, what it appears to be to our +vulgar senses,--to our sense of touch, to our vision,--but that it is +identical with energy, and is only a manifestation of the movement of +invisible and imponderable elements. The universe is a dynamism. Matter is +only an appearance. It will be useful for the reader to bear this truth in +mind, as it will help him to comprehend the studies we are about to make. + +The mysterious forces we are here studying are themselves manifestations +of the universal dynamism with which our five senses put us very +imperfectly into relation. + +These things belong to the psychical order as well as to the physical. +They prove that we are living in the midst of an unexplored world, in +which the psychic forces play a rôle as yet very imperfectly studied. + +We have here a situation analogous to that in which Christopher Columbus +found himself on the evening of the day when he perceived the first hints +of land in the New World. We are pushing our prow through an absolutely +unknown sea. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MY FIRST SÉANCES IN THE ALLAN KARDEC GROUP AND WITH THE MEDIUMS OF THAT +EPOCH + + +One day in the month of November, 1861, under the Galeries de l'Odéon,[6] +I spied a book, the title of which struck me,--_Le Livre des Esprits_ +("The Book of Spirits"), by Allan Kardec. I bought it and read it with +avidity, several chapters seeming to me to agree with the scientific bases +of the book I was then writing, _The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds_. I +hunted up the author, who proposed that I should enter, as a free +associated member, the Parisian Society for Spiritualistic Studies, which +he had founded, and of which he was president. I accepted, and by chance +have just found the green ticket signed by him on the fifteenth day of +November, 1861. This is the date of my début in psychic studies. I was +then nineteen, and for three years had been an astronomical pupil at the +Paris Observatory. At this time I was putting the last touches to the book +I just mentioned, the first edition of which was published some months +afterwards by the printer-publisher of the Observatory. + +The members came together every Friday evening in the assembly room of the +society, in the little passageway of Sainte Anne, which was placed under +the protection of Saint Louis. The president opened the séance by an +"invocation to the good spirits." It was admitted, as a principle, that +invisible spirits were present there and revealed themselves. After this +invocation a certain number of persons, seated at a large table, were +besought to abandon themselves to their inspiration and to write. They +were called "writing mediums." Their dissertations were afterwards read +before an attentive audience. There were no physical experiments of +table-turning, or tables moving or speaking. The president, Allan Kardec, +said he attached no value to such things. It seemed to him that the +instructions communicated by the spirits ought to form the basis of a new +doctrine, of a sort of religion. + +At the same period, but several years earlier, my illustrious friend +Victorien Sardou, who had been an occasional frequenter of the +Observatory, had written, as a medium, some curious pages on the +inhabitants of the planet Jupiter, and had produced picturesque and +surprising designs, having as their aim to represent men and things as +they appeared in this giant of worlds. He designed the dwellings of people +in Jupiter. One of his sketches showed us the house of Mozart, others the +houses of Zoroaster and of Bernard Palissy, who were country neighbors in +one of the landscapes of this immense planet. The dwellings are ethereal +and of an exquisite lightness. They may be judged of by the two figures +here reproduced (Pl. II and III). The first represents a residence of +Zoroaster, the second "the animals' quarters" belonging to the same. On +the grounds are flowers, hammocks, swings, flying creatures, and, below, +intelligent animals playing a special kind of ninepins where the fun is +not to knock down the pins, but to put a cap on them, as in the cup and +ball toy, etc. + +These curious drawings prove indubitably that the signature "Bernard +Palissy, of Jupiter," is apocryphal and that the hand of Victorien Sardou +was not directed by a spirit from that planet. Nor was it the gifted +author himself who planned these sketches and executed them in accordance +with a definite plan. They were made while he was in the condition of +mediumship. A person is not magnetized, nor hypnotized, nor put to sleep +in any way while in that state. But the brain is not ignorant of what is +taking place: its cells perform their functions, and act (doubtless by a +reflex movement) upon the motor nerves. At that time we all thought +Jupiter was inhabited by a superior race of beings. The spiritistic +communications were the reflex of the general ideas in the air. To-day, +with our present knowledge of the planets, we should not imagine anything +of the kind about that globe. And, moreover, spiritualistic séances have +never taught us anything upon the subject of astronomy. Such results as +were attained fail utterly to prove the intervention of spirits. Have the +writing mediums given any more convincing proofs of it than these? This is +what we shall have to examine in as impartial a way as we can. + +I myself tried to see if I, too, could not write. By collecting and +concentrating my powers and allowing my hand to be passive and +unresistant, I soon found that, after it had traced certain dashes, and +_o_'s, and sinuous lines more or less interlaced, very much as a +four-year-old child learning to write might do, it finally did actually +write words and phrases. + +In these meetings of the Parisian Society for Spiritualistic Studies, I +wrote for my part, some pages on astronomical subjects signed "Galileo." +The communications remained in the possession of the society, and in 1867 +Allan Kardec published them under the head _General Uranography_, in his +work entitled _Genesis_. (I have preserved one of the first copies, with +his dedication.) These astronomical pages taught me nothing. So I was not +slow in concluding that they were only the echo of what I already knew, +and that Galileo had no hand in them. When I wrote the pages, I was +in a kind of waking dream. Besides, my hand stopped writing when I began +to think of other subjects. + +[Illustration: PLATE II. HOUSE OF ZOROASTRE OF JUPITER FROM SOMNAMBULISTIC +DRAWING BY VICTORIEN SARDOU.] + +[Illustration: PLATE III. ANIMALS' QUARTERS. HOUSE OF ZOROASTRE OF JUPITER +FROM SOMNAMBULISTIC DRAWING BY VICTORIEN SARDOU.] + +I may quote here what I said on this subject in my work, _The Worlds of +Space_ (_Les Terres du Ciel_), in the edition of 1884, p. 181:-- + + The writing medium is not put to sleep, nor is he magnetized or + hypnotized in any way. One is simply received into a circle of + determinate ideas. The brain acts (by the mediation of the nervous + system) a little differently from what it does in its normal state. + The difference is not so great as one might suppose. The chief + difference may be described as follows: + + In the normal state we think of what we are going to write _before_ + the act of writing begins. There is a direct action of the will in + causing the pen, the hand, and the fore-arm to move over the paper. In + the abnormal state, on the other hand, we do not think before writing; + we do not move the hand, but let it remain inert, passive, free; we + place it upon the paper, taking care merely that it shall meet with + the least possible resistance; we think of a word, a figure, a stroke + of the pen, and the hand of its own volition begins to write. But the + writing medium must _think_ of what he is doing, not beforehand, but + continuously; otherwise the hand stops. For example, try to write the + word "ocean," not _voluntarily_ (the ordinary way), but by simply + taking a lead-pencil, and letting the hand rest lightly and freely + upon the paper, while you think of your word and observe carefully + whether the hand will write. Very good; it does begin to move over the + paper, writing first an _o_, then a _c_, and the rest. At least that + was my experience when I was studying the new problems of spiritualism + and magnetism. + + I have always thought that the circle of science is not a closed one, + and that there are many things for us still to learn. In the + mediumistic writing experiments it is very easy to deceive ourselves + and to believe that the hand is under the influence of another mind + than our own. The most probable conclusion regarding these experiences + has been that the theory of the action of foreign spirits is not + necessary for the explanation of such phenomena. But this is not the + place to enter into details upon a subject which, up to the present + time, has been only slightly examined by scientific criticism, having + more often been exploited by speculators than studied by scientists. + +So I wrote in 1884; and I will indorse every word I then wrote, just as it +stands. + +In these first experiences with Spiritualists, of which I have just been +speaking, I soon had the entrée of the chief Parisian circles devoted to +these matters, and for a couple of years I even took the position of +honorary secretary of one of them. A natural or necessary result of this +was that I did not miss a single séance. + +Three different methods were employed to receive communications: (1) +writing with the hand; (2) the use of the planchette to which a +lead-pencil was attached, and on which the hands were placed; and (3) +table-rapping (or table-moving), operated by the alphabetic code, these +raps or the movements of the table marking the desired letter as the +alphabet was read aloud by one of those present. + +The first of these methods was the only one employed at the Society for +Spiritualistic Studies, of which Allan Kardec was president. It was the +one which permitted the margin for the most doubt. In fact, at the end of +two years of investigations of this kind, which I had varied as much as +possible, and which I had entered upon without any preconceived idea for +or against, and with the most ardent desire to arrive at the truth, I came +to the positive conclusion that not only are the signatures of these +papers not authentic, but that the intervention of another mind from the +spirit world is not proved at all, the fact being that we ourselves are +the more or less conscious authors of the communications by some cerebral +process which yet remains to be investigated. The explanation is not so +simple as it seems, and there are certain reservations to be made in the +general statement above. + +When writing in the exalted and abnormal state of mind of the medium, we +do not, as I have just said, form our phrases as in the normal condition; +rather we wait for them to be produced. But all the same our own mind +mingles in the process. The subject treated follows the lines of our own +customary thoughts; the language employed is our native tongue, and, if we +are uncertain about the spelling of certain words, errors will appear. +Furthermore, so intimately are our own mental processes mingled with what +is being written that, if we allow our thoughts to wander to another +topic, the hand either stops writing or produces incoherent words and +scrawls. This is the mental state of the writing medium,--at least that +which I have observed in myself. It is a kind of auto-suggestion. I hasten +to add, however, that this opinion only binds me to the extent of my own +personal experiences. I am assured that there are mediums who act in an +absolutely mechanical way, knowing nothing of the nature of what they are +writing (see further on, pp. 58, 59), who treat subjects of which they are +ignorant, and also even write in foreign languages. Such cases would be +different from that of which I have just been speaking, and would indicate +either a special cerebral state or great keenness of intellect, or a +source of ideas exterior to the medium; _i.e._, if it were once proved +that our mind cannot divine that of which it is ignorant. But now the +transference of thought from one brain to another, from one mind to +another, is a fact proved by telepathy. We could conceive, then, that a +medium might write under the influence of some one near by--or even at a +distance. Several mediums have also composed (in successive séances) +genuine romances, such as The _History of Joan of Arc, Written by +Herself_, or certain voyages to other planets,--seeming to indicate that +there is a kind of doubling of the personality of the subject, a secondary +personality. But there is no authentication of this. There is also a +psychic _milieu_, of which I shall speak farther on. At present I must +concern myself only with the subject of this chapter, and say with Newton, +"_Hypotheses non fingo_." + +Allan Kardec died on the 30th of March, 1869, and, when the Society of +Spiritualists came to ask me to deliver a funeral oration at his tomb, I +took occasion, during this discourse, to direct the attention of the +Spiritualists to the scientific character of investigations of this class +and to the manifest danger of allowing ourselves to be drawn into +mysticism. + +I will reproduce at this point a few paragraphs taken from this address: + + I wish I could impress upon you who hear me, as well as upon the + millions of men throughout Europe and in the New World who are + studying the still mysterious problem of spiritualism, what a deep + scientific interest and what a philosophic future there is in the + study of these phenomena, to which, as you know, many of our most + eminent living scholars have given their time and attention. I wish I + could present to your imagination and theirs the new and vast horizons + we shall see opening up before us in proportion as we broaden our + scientific knowledge of the forces of nature at work around us; and I + would that I could show both you and them that such conquests of the + mind are the most efficacious antidote to the leprosy of atheism which + seems to be particularly the malignant degenerative element in this + our epoch of transition. + + What a salutary thing it would be could I but prove here, before this + eloquent tomb, that the methodical examination of the phenomena + erroneously called supernatural, far from calling back the spirit of + superstition, and weakening the energy of the reason, serves, on the + contrary, to banish the errors and illusions of ignorance, and assists + the progress of truth much more than do the irrational negations of + those who will not take the trouble to look at the facts. + + It is high time now that this complex subject of study should enter + upon its scientific period. Enough stress has not been laid upon the + physical side of the subject, which should be critically studied; for + without rigid scientific experiment no proof is valid. This objective + _a priori_ method of investigation, to which we owe the glory of + modern progress and the marvels of electricity and steam, should take + up the still unexplained and mysterious phenomena with which we are + acquainted, to dissect them, measure them, and to define them. + + For, gentlemen, _spiritualism is not a religion, but a science_, a + science of which we as yet scarcely know the _a, b, c_. The age of + dogma is past. Nature includes the Universe; and God himself, who was + in old times conceived of as a being of similar shape and form as man, + cannot be considered by modern metaphysics as other than _Mind in + Nature_. + + The supernatural does not exist. The manifestations obtained by the + agency of mediums, such as those of magnetism and somnambulism, belong + to the order of nature and ought to be inexorably submitted to the + test of experiment. There are no more miracles. We are witnessing the + dawning of a new science. Who is there so bold as to predict whither + the scientific study of the new psychology will lead, and what the + results will be? + + The limitations of human vision are such that the eye only sees things + between narrow bounds, and beyond these limits, on this side and on + that, it sees nothing. The body may be compared to a harp of two + chords,--the optic nerve and the auditory nerve. One kind of + vibrations excites the first and another kind the second. That is the + whole story of human sensation, which is even inferior to that of many + of the lower animals; certain insects, for example, in whom the nerves + of vision and of hearing are more delicate than in man. + + Now there are in nature, not two, but ten, a hundred, a thousand kinds + of movement or vibration. We learn, then, from physical science, that + we are living in the midst of a world invisible to us, and that it is + not impossible that there may be living upon the earth a class of + beings, also invisible to us, endowed with a wholly different kind of + senses, so that there is no way by which they can make themselves + known to us, unless they can manifest themselves in acts and ways that + can come within the range of our own order of sensations. + + In the presence of such truths as these, which have as yet only been + barely announced, how absurd and worthless seems mere blind denial! + When we compare the little that we know and the narrow limits of our + range of perception with the vast extent of the field of knowledge, we + can scarcely refrain from the conclusion that we know nothing and that + everything yet remains to be known. With what right do we pronounce + the word "impossible" in the presence of facts which we prove to be + genuine without yet being able to discover their causes? + + It is by the scientific study of effects that we arrive at the + determination of causes. In the class of investigations which we group + under the general head "Spiritualism," FACTS EXIST. But no one + understands the method of their production. Their existence, + nevertheless, is just as true as the phenomena of electricity. + + But, as for understanding them--why, gentlemen, nobody understands + biology, physiology, psychology. What is the human body? What is the + brain? What is the absolute action of the soul or mind? We do not + know. And, neither do we know anything whatever of the essence of + electricity or the essence of light. It is prudent, then, to observe + with unbiased judgment all such matters as these, and to try to + determine their causes, which are perhaps of different kinds and more + numerous than has ever been supposed up to the present time.[7] + +It will be seen that what I publicly uttered as I stood on the hillock +above the grave into which Allan Kardec's coffin had just been lowered +differs not at all from the purely scientific program of the present work. + +I have just said that there were three methods employed in our spiritistic +experiments. I have given my opinion of the first (writing mediums), +basing it on my personal observations, and without desiring to weaken +other proofs, if there are any. As to the second (planchette), I became +familiar with it more especially by the séances of Mme. de Girardin, at +the home of Victor Hugo in the Isle of Jersey. It works more independently +than the first method; but it is still only a prolongation, as it were, of +the hand and the brain. The third method--table-rapping, or typtology; I +mean taps in the table--seems to me still more emphatically an extension +of the hand and brain, and some forty-five years ago I often made use of +this form of experiment. + +Rappings made on the floor by one foot of the table, as letters are +spelled out, have no special value. The least pressure can produce these +see-saw movements. The chief experimenter himself makes the responses, +sometimes without suspecting it. + +Several persons group themselves about a table, place their hands upon it, +and wait for something to happen. At the end of five, ten, fifteen, twenty +minutes, the time depending on the psychic atmosphere[8] and the faculties +of the experimenters, raps are heard in the table, or the sitters help in +the movements of the table, which seems possessed. Why choose a table? +Because it is the only article of furniture around which folks usually +sit. Sometimes the table is lifted on one or more of its feet and is +gently rocked to and fro. Sometimes it comes up as if glued to the hands +placed on it, remaining suspended in the air two, three, five, ten, +twenty seconds. Again, it is nailed to the floor with such force that it +seems to have double or triple its usual weight. At other times, and +usually on demand, it gives forth the sound of a saw, of a hatchet, of a +lead-pencil writing, etc. We have here material results coming under +direct observation, and they prove irrefragably the existence of an +unknown force. + +This force is a material force in the psychic class. If we confined our +attention to blind senseless movements of one kind or another, in relation +only with the volitions of the experimenters, and not capable of being +explained by the mere imposition of their hands, we might see proof of the +existence of a new unknown force, explicable as a transformation of +nervous force, of organic electricity; and that would be much in itself. +But the raps made in the table, or by the feet of it, are made in reply to +questions asked. Since we know the table is only a piece of wood, when we +ask it questions, we are really addressing some mental agent who hears and +replies. It was in this class of phenomena that modern Spiritualism took +its rise; namely, in the United States, in 1848, when the Fox sisters +heard sounds in their chamber,--raps in the walls and in the furniture. +Their father, after several months of vexatious investigation, finally had +recourse to the traditional theory of ghosts, and, addressing his +questions to the wall, demanded some kind of an explanation from the +invisible _thing_ therein. This thing responded by conventional taps to +the questions asked, and declared that it was the spirit of the former +proprietor once assassinated in this his very home. The spirit asked for +prayers and the burial of its body. (From this time on the replies were so +arranged that one rap in response to a question signified _yes_, two meant +_no_ while three meant an emphatic _yes_.) + +I hasten to remark at once that the tapped replies prove nothing, and +could have been made unconsciously by the Fox sisters themselves, whom we +can not consider to have been playing a little comedy since the raps +produced by them in the walls astounded and overwhelmed them more, indeed, +than they did any one else. The hypothesis of jugglery and mystification, +dear to certain critics, has not the least application to this case, +although I admit that rappings and movements are often produced as +practical jokes by waggish persons. + +There is, of course, an unseen cause that originates these rappings. Is it +within us or outside of us? Is it possible that we might be capable of +doubling our personality in some way without knowing it, of acting by +mental suggestion, of answering our own questions without suspecting it, +of producing material results without being conscious of it? Or does there +exist, around and about us, an intelligent medium or atmosphere, a kind of +spiritual cosmos? Or, again, is it possible that we are surrounded by +invisible non-human beings,--gnomes, spirits, and hobgoblins (there may be +an unknown world about us)? Or, finally, is it possible that the spirits +of the dead may survive, and wander to and fro, and hold communication +with us? All these hypotheses present themselves to our minds, nor have we +the scientific absolute right to reject any one of them. + +The lifting of a table, the displacement of an object, may be attributed +to an unknown force developed by our nervous system or otherwise. At least +these movements do not prove the existence of a mind extraneous to that of +the subject. But when some one is naming the letters of the alphabet or +pointing them out on a sheet of pasteboard, and the table, either by raps +in the wood or by levitations, puts together an intelligible sentence, we +are forced to attribute this intelligent effect to an intelligent cause. +This cause may be the medium himself; and the simplest way is, evidently, +to suppose that he himself raps out the letters. But experiments can be +arranged in such a way that he cannot possibly do this, even +unconsciously. Our first duty is, in reality, to make fraud impossible. + +Those who have sufficiently studied the subject know that fraud does not +explain what they have observed. To be sure, in fashionable Spiritualistic +soirées people sometimes amuse themselves. Especially when the séances +take place in the dark, and the alternation of the sexes is provided for +so as to "reinforce the fluids," it is not altogether an unheard of thing +for the gentlemen to profit by the temptation to temporarily forget the +object of the meeting and break the established chain of hands in order to +begin another on their own account. The ladies and the young girls like +these changes in the program, and scarcely a complaint is heard. On the +other hand, apart from fashionable soirées, to which everybody is invited +for their amusement, the more serious reunions are frequently no safer; +for the medium, who is, in one way or another, an interested person, is +anxious to give the most he can--and something to boot. + +Upon the leaf of an old note-book of mine which has just turned up, I +classed Spiritualistic soirées in the following order, which is doubtless +a slightly original one:-- + +1. Amorous caresses. (A similar reproach was made against the ancient +Christian love-feasts or _agapes_.) + +2. Charlatanry of mediums, abusing the credulity of the sitters. + +3. _Some_ serious inquirers. + +At the time of which I was just now speaking (1861-63) I took part, as +secretary, in experiments conducted regularly once a week, in the salon of +a well-known medium,--Mlle. Huet, of Mont-Thabor Street. Mediumship was, +in a way, her trade, and she had more than once been flagrantly detected +in some most remarkable trickery. Accordingly, it may be imagined that +she would quite often give the raps herself by hitting the table-legs with +her feet. But quite often we also obtained noises of sawing, of planing, +of drum-beating, and torrents of rain, which it would have been impossible +for her to imitate. Neither could the holding fast of the table to the +floor be the work of fraud. As to the levitations of the table, I said +awhile ago that, when one of us showed an inclination to resist with his +hand the upward movement, he received an impression as if the table were +floating on a fluid. Now it is hard to see how the medium could produce +this result. Everything took place in broad daylight. + +The communications received at the very many séances (several hundred) at +which I have been present, both at that time and since, have always shown +me that the results were in direct ratio with the cultivation of mind of +the participants. I naturally asked a great many questions on astronomy. +The replies never taught us anything new whatever; and, to be perfectly +loyal to the truth, I must say that if, in these experiments, there are +spirits, or beings independent of us in action, they know no more than we +do about the other worlds. + +A distinguished poet, P. F. Mathieu, was usually present at the reunions +at the Mont-Thabor salon, and hence we sometimes obtained very pretty bits +of verse, which I am sure he did not himself consciously produce; for, +like all of us, he was there to learn. M. Joubert, vice-president of the +civil tribunal of Carcassonne, has published a work, entitled _Various +Fables and Poems, by a Spirit-rapper_, which bears on its face evidence +that it is but the reflex of his customary thoughts. We had Christian +philosophers with us at our reunions. Accordingly, the table dictated to +us fine thoughts signed "Pascal," "Fénelon," "Vincent de Paul," and +"Sainte Thérèse." One spirit, who signed himself "Balthasar Grimod de la +Reynière," dictated funny dissertations on the art of cooking. His +specialty was to make the heavy table dance about in all kinds of +contortions. Rabelais sometimes appeared, still loving the perfumes of +savory viands as of old. Some of the spirits took pleasure in making +_tours de force_ in cryptology (secret writing). The following are +specimens of these table-rapping communications. The first is from the +vulgate version of the Bible, the Gospel of John iii. 8: + + "Spiritus ubi vult spirat; et vocem ejus audis, sed nescis unde veniat + aut quo vadat. Sic est omnis qui natus est ex spiritu." ("The wind + bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but + canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one + that is born of the Spirit.") + + "Dear little sister, I am here, and see that you are as good as ever. + You are a medium. I will go to you with great happiness. Tell my + mother her dear daughter loves her from this world.[9] + + "LOUISA." + +Some one asked one of the spirits if he could indicate by taps the words +engraved inside of her ring. The response was: + + "I love that one should love me as I love when I love." + +A member of the company suspected that the table around which we were +sitting might conceal a piece of mechanism for producing the raps. +Accordingly, one of the sentences was dictated by raps made _in the air_. + +Here is another series: + + "Je suis ung ioyeux compaignon qui vous esmarveilleray avecques mes + discours, je ne suis pas ung Esperict matéologien, je vestiray non + liripipion et je diray: Beuvez l'eaue de la cave, poy plus, poy moins, + serez content. + + "ALCOFRIBAZ NAZIER." + + ("I am a jollie blade who will astonie you by my speech. I am not a + vaine-babbling sperit. I will wear my graduate's hood and saie: Drinke + ye water of ye cellar [wine],--no more, no less. Be content. + + "FRANCOIS RABELAIS.")[10] + +A rather lively discussion arose upon the subject of this unexpected +visit,--and of the language, which some erudite persons present thought +not to be pure Rabelaisian. Whereupon the table rapped: + + "Bons enfants estes de vous esgousiller à ceste besterie. Mieux vault + que beuviez froid que parliez chaud." + + "Rabelais." + + ("Ye're regular babies to bawle yourselves hoarse over this selynesse. + It is bettaire to drinke cauld than to speak warme.) + + "Liesse et Noël! Monsieur Satan est défun, et de mâle mort. Bien + marrys sont les moynes, moynillons, bigotz et cagotz, carmes chaulx et + déchaulx, papelards et frocards, mitrez et encapuchonnez: les vécy + sans couraige, les Esperictz les ont destrosnez. Plus ne serez roustiz + et eschaubouillez ez marmites monachales et roustissoires diaboliques; + foin de ces billevesées papales et cléricquales. Dieu est bon, iuste + et plein de misérichorde; it dict à ses petits enfancts: aimez-vous + les ungs les autres et it pardoint à la repentance. Le grand dyable + d'enfer est mort; vive Dieu!" + + ("Hurrah for a merry life! Maister Satan is dead, dead as a door-nail. + The monks and the poor-devil friars are married,--bigots and fanatics, + Carmelites shod and unshod, the hypocrites and the cowled fellows, + the mitres and the hoods. There they stand trembling in their tracks; + the Spirits have dethroned them. Gone are the roastings and + soup-makings in the Devil's Dutch ovens and in monastic kettles. A + plague of these trashy tales of pope and priest! God is good, just, + and full of pity. He says to his little children, 'Love one another'; + and he pardons the repentant. The great devil in hell is dead. Hurrah + for God!") + +Here is still another series: + + "Suov ruop erètsym nu sruojuot tnores emêm srueisulp; erdnerpmoc ed + simrep erocne sap tse suov en li uq snoitseuq sed ridnoforppa ruop + tirpse'l sap retnemruot suov en. Liesnoc nob nu zevius." + + "Suov imrap engèr en edrocsid ed tirpse'l siamaj euq." + + "Arevèlé suov ueid te serèrf sov imrap sreinred sel zeyos; évelé ares + essiaba's iuq iulec éssiaba ares evèlé's iuq iulec." + +These sentences must be read backwards, beginning at the end. Some one +asked, "Why have you dictated thus?" The reply was: + + "In order to give you new and unexpected proofs." + +Read backwards, these Russian-like sentences are as follows: + + "Celui qui s'élève sera abaissé, celui qui s'abaisse sera élevé; soyez + les derniers parmi vos frères et Dieu vous élèvera." + + "Que jamais l'esprit de discorde ne règne parmi vous." + + "Suivez un bon conseil. Ne vous tourmenter pas l'esprit pour + approfondir des questions qu'il ne vous est pas encore permis de + comprendre; plusieurs même seront toujours un mystère pour vous." + + ("Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth + himself shall be exalted! Be the least among your brethren, and God + will exalt you." + + "Never let the spirit of discord reign among you." + + "Follow good counsel. Do not torment your mind in attempting to fathom + questions that it is not yet permitted you to comprehend: several of + these will always be a mystery to you.") + +Here is another of a different kind: + + "Acmairsvnoouussevtoeussbaoinmsoentsfbiideenlteosuss." + + "Sloeysepzruintissaeinndtieetuesnudrrvaosuessmaairlises." + +I asked the meaning of this bizarre and portentous conglomeration of +letters. The reply was: + + "To conquer your doubts, read by skipping every other letter." + +This arrangement using the skipped letters in their turn for the second +and fourth lines gives the four following verses: + + "Amis, nous vous aimons bien tous, + Car vous êtes bons et fidèles. + Soyez unis en Dieu: sur vous + L'Esprit-Saint étendra ses ailes." + + ("Friends, we love you all, + For you are good and faithful. + Be united in God: over you + The Holy Spirit will spread his wings.") + +This is innocent enough, surely and without any great poetic pretensions. +But it must be admitted that this method of dictating is rather +difficult.[11] + +Some one spoke of human plans. The table dictated as follows:[12] + + "When the shining sun scatters the stars, know ye, O mortal men, + whether ye will see the evening of that day? And, when the sombre + curtains of night are let fall from the sky, can you tell whether you + will see the dawn of another morn?" + +Another person asked, "What is faith?" + + "Faith? 'Tis a blessed field that breeds a superb harvest, and every + laborer may therein reap and garner to his heart's content, and carry + home his sheaves." + +Here are three prose dictations: + + "Science is a forest where some are laying out roads, where many lose + their way, and where all see the bounds of the forest recede as fast + as they go forward." + + "God does not illuminate the world with the lightning and the meteors. + He guides peacefully in their courses the stars of the night, which + fill the sky with their light. So the divine revelations succeed one + another in order, reason, and harmony." + + "Religion and Friendship are twin companions, who aid us to traverse + the painful path of life." + +I cannot forego the pleasure of inserting here, at the close of this +chapter, a fable, dictated like the others by table-rappings, and sent to +me by M. Joubert, vice-president of the civil tribunal of Carcassonne.[13] +The sentiment of it may be queried by some; but is not the central +principle applicable to all epochs and to all governments: Do not the +"_arrivistes_"[14] belong to all times? + + THE KING AND THE PEASANT + + A king who had profaned the public liberties, who for twenty years had + slaked his thirst in the blood of heretics; awaiting the quiet peace + of the hangman in his declining days; decrepit, surfeited with + adulterous amours; this king, this haughty monster of whom they had + made a great man,--Louis the Fourteenth, in short, if I must name + him,--was one day airing under the leafy arches of his vast gardens + his Scarron, his infamy and his troubles. The noble band of court + flunkeys came along. Each one at once lost at least six inches of his + height. Pages, counts, marquises, dukes, princes, marshals, ministers, + bowed low before insulting rivals, the creatures of the king. Grave + magistrates made their deep reverences, each humbler than a suitor + asking for audience. 'Twas pleasant to see how the ribbons, crosses + and decorations on their embroidered coats went ever backwards. Always + and always that ignoble bowing and scraping and cringing. I should + like to wake up some morning an emperor, that I might sting with my + whip the backbone of a flatterer. But see! alone, confronting the + despot, yet without abasing his head, forging along with slow steps on + his own way, modest, clad in coarse homespun garments, comes one who + seems a peasant, perhaps a philosopher, and passes by the groups of + insolent courtiers. "Oh," cries the king, in great surprise, "why do + you alone confront me without bending the knee?" "Sire," said the + unknown, "must I be frank? It is because I alone here expect nothing + from you." + +If we stop to think how these sentences and phrases and different bits of +literature were produced, letter by letter, rap by rap, following the +alphabet as it was read out, we shall appreciate the difficulty of the +thing. The rappings are made either in the interior of the wood of the +table (the vibrations of which are perceptible) or in some other piece of +furniture, or even in the air. The table, as I have already said, is +alive, pregnant with a kind of momentary vitality. Melodies of well-known +airs, sounds of sawing and of the workshop, and the report of fusillades +can be drawn from it. Sometimes it becomes so light that it floats for a +moment in the air, then so heavy that two men can scarcely lift it from +the floor or budge it in any way. You must have a distinct picture in your +mind of all these manifestations,--often puerile, no doubt, sometimes +vulgar and grotesque, yet striking in their method of operation,--if you +would accurately understand the phenomena, and realize that you are in the +presence of an unknown element which jugglery and prestidigitation cannot +explain. + +Some folks can move their toes separately and crack the joints. If we +should grant that the dictations, by combinations of letters (quoted +above), were arranged in advance, learned by heart, and thus rapped, the +matter would be simple enough. But this particular faculty is very rare, +and it does not explain the noises in the table, the vibrations of which +are felt by the hands. Again, one could fancy the medium tapping the +table-legs with his foot, and thus constructing such sentences as he +pleases. But it would require a wonderful memory in the medium to enable +him to remember the precise arrangement of letters (for he has no +memorandum before him), and, further, these curious dictations have been +secured just the same in select companies where no one would cheat. + +As to the theory that the spirits of eminent men are in communication with +the experimenters the mere statement of the hypothesis shows its +absurdity. Imagine a table-rapper calling up from the vasty deep the +spirits of Paul or Saint Augustine, Archimedes or Newton, Pythagoras or +Copernicus, Leonardo da Vinci or William Herschel, and receiving their +dictations from the interior of a table! + +We were speaking, a few pages back, of the séance drawings and +descriptions of Jupiter made by Victorien Sardou. This is the proper place +to insert a letter written by him to M. Jules Claretie, and published by +the latter in _Le Temps_ at the date when that learned Academician was +putting on the boards his drama _Spiritisme_. The letter is here appended: + + ... As to Spiritualism, I could better tell you verbally in three + words what I think of it than I could write here in three pages. You + are half right and half wrong. Pardon my freedom of speech. There are + two things in Spiritualism,--(1) curious facts, inexplicable in the + present state of our knowledge, and yet authenticated; and (2) the + folks who explain them. + + The facts are real. Those who explain them belong to three categories: + there are, first, Spiritualists who are imbecile, ignorant, or mad, + the chaps who call up Epaminondas and whom you justly make fun of, or + who believe in the intervention of the devil; those, in short, who end + in the lunatic asylum in Charenton. + + _Secundo_, there are the charlatans, commencing with D.; impostors of + all sorts, prophets, consulting mediums, such as A. K., and _tutti + quanti_. + + Finally, there are the scholars and scientists, who think they can + explain everything by juggleries, hallucination, and unconscious + movements, men like Chevreul and Faraday, who, while they are right + about some of the phenomena described to them, and which really are + jugglery or hallucination, are yet wrong about the whole series of + original facts, which they will not take the trouble to look at, + though they are highly important. These men are much to blame; for, by + their plea-in-bar against earnest investigators (such as Gasparin, for + example) and by their insufficient explanations, they have left + Spiritualism to be exploited by charlatans of all kinds, and at the + same time authorized serious amateurs to no longer waste their time + over these studies. + + Last of all, there are observers like myself (there are not many of + us) who are incredulous by nature, but who have been obliged to admit, + in the long run, that Spiritualism concerns itself with facts which + defy any _present_ scientific explication, but who do not despair of + seeing them explained some day, and who therefore apply themselves to + the study of the facts, and are trying to reduce them to some kind of + classification which may later prove to be law. We of this persuasion + hold ourselves aloof from every coterie, from every clique, from all + the prophets, and, satisfied with the convictions to which we have + already attained, are content to see in Spiritualism the dawn of a + truth, as yet very obscure, which will some day find its Ampère, as + did the magnetic currents, and who grieve to see this truth choked out + of existence by a dual foe,--excess of credulous ignorance which + believes everything and excess of incredulous science which believes + nothing. + + We find in our conviction and our conscience the wherewithal to brave + the petty martyrdom of ridicule inflicted upon us for the faith we + profess, a faith exaggerated and caricatured by the mass of follies + people never fail to attribute to us, nor do we deem that the myth in + which they dress us up merits even the honor of a refutation. + + Similarly, I have never had any desire to prove to anybody whatever + that the influence of either Molière or Beaumarchais cannot be + detected in my plays. It seems to me that that is more than evident. + + Respecting the dwellings of the planet Jupiter, I must ask the good + folks who suppose that I am convinced of the real existence of these + things whether they are well persuaded that Gulliver believed in + "Lilliput,"[15] Campanella in the "City of the Sun," and Sir Thomas + More in his "Utopia." + + What is true, however, is that the design of which you speak [Pl. + III.] was made in less than ten hours. As to its origin, I would not + give a penny to know about that; but the fact of its production is + another matter + + V. SARDOU. + +Scarcely a year passes that mediums do not bring me drawings of plants and +animals in the Moon, in Mars, Venus, Jupiter, or certain of the stars. +These designs are more or less pretty, and more or less curious. But there +is nothing in them that leads us to admit their actual resemblance to +real things in other worlds. On the contrary, everything proves that they +are the products of imagination, essentially terrestrial, both in look and +shape, not even tallying what we know to be the vital possibilities of +those worlds. The designers of them are the dupes of illusion. These +plants and animal are metamorphoses (sometimes elegantly conceived and +drawn) of terrestrial organisms. Perhaps the most curious thing of all is +that they have a family resemblance in the manner of their execution, and +have stamped on them, in some way or other, the mediumistic hall-mark. + +To return to my own experiences. When I took the rôle of writing-medium, I +generally produced astronomical or philosophical dissertations signed +"Galileo." I will quote but one of them as a sample. It is taken from my +notebooks of 1862. + + SCIENCE. + + The human intellect holds in its powerful grasp the infinite universe + of space and time; it has penetrated the inaccessible domain of the + Past, sounded the mystery of the unfathomable heavens, and believes + that it has explained the riddle of the universe. The objective world + has unrolled before the eyes of science its splendid panorama and its + magnificent wealth of forms. The studies of man have led him to a + knowledge of truth; he has explored the universe, discovered the + inexorable reign of law, and the application of the forces that + sustain all things. If it has not been permitted to him to see the + First Cause face to face, at least he has attained a true mathematical + idea of the series of secondary causes. + + In this latest century, above all, the experimental _a priori_ method, + the only really scientific one, has been put into practice in the + natural sciences, and by its aid man has freed himself from the + prejudices of the old school of thought, one by one, and from + subjective or speculative theories, and confined himself to a careful + and intelligent study of the field of observation. + + Yes, human science is firmly based and pregnant with possibility, + worthy of our homage for its difficult and long-proved past, worthy of + our sympathy for its future, big with the promise of useful and + profitable discoveries. For nature is henceforth to be a book + accessible to the bibliographical researches of the studious, a world + open to the investigations of the thinker, a fertile region which the + human mind has already visited, and in which we must needs advance + boldly, holding in our hand experience as our compass.... + + An old friend of my terrestrial life recently spoke to me as follows. + One of our wanderings had brought us back to the Earth, and we were + making a new moral study of this world. My companion remarked that man + is to-day familiar with the most abstract laws of mechanics, physics, + chemistry, ... that the applications of knowledge to industry are not + less remarkable than the deductions of pure science, and that it seems + as if the entire universe, wisely studied by man, was to be his royal + appanage. As we pursued our journey beyond the bounds of this world, I + answered him in the following terms: + + "A feeble atom, lost to sight in an imperceptible point of the + infinite, man has believed he could embrace in the sweep of his vision + the whole expanse of the universe, whereas he can scarcely pass beyond + the region he inhabits; he has thought he could study the laws of all + nature, and his investigations have scarcely reached the forces in + action about him; he has thought he could determine the grandeur of + the starry heaven, and he exhausted his powers in the study of a grain + of dust. The field of his researches is so small that, once lost to + view, the mind seeks in vain to recover it; the human heaven and earth + are so small that scarcely has the soul in its flight had time to + spread its wings before it has reached the last regions accessible to + the observation of man; for the immeasurable Universe surrounds us on + all sides, unfolding beyond the limits of our heavens its unknown + riches, putting its inconceivable forces into play, and reaching + forward into immensity in the splendor of its life. + + "And the mere flesh-worm, the miserable mite, blind and wingless, + whose wretched existence is passed upon the leaf where it was born, + would presume (because forsooth it has taken a few steps upon this + leaf shaken in the wind) to have the right to speak of the immense + tree to which it belongs, of the forest of which this tree forms a + part, and to sagely descant upon the nature of the vegetation + developed thereon, of the beings that inhabit it, of the distant sun + whose rays bring to it movement and life? In very truth, man is + strangely presumptuous to desire to measure infinite greatness by the + foot-rule of his infinite littleness. + + "Therefore be this truth well impressed on his mind,--if the arid + labors of past ages have acquired for him an elementary knowledge of + things, if the progress of thought has placed him at the vestibule of + knowledge, still he has not yet spelled out more than the first page + of the Book, and, like a child, liable to be deceived by every word, + far from claiming the right to authoritatively interpret the work, he + ought to content himself with humbly studying it, page by page, line + by line. Happy, however, those who are able to do this!" + + GALILEO. + +These were my customary thoughts. They are the thoughts of a student of +nineteen or twenty who has acquired the habit of thinking. There can be no +doubt that they were wholly the product of my own intellect, and that the +illustrious Florentine astronomer had nothing whatever to do with them. +Besides, this would have been a collaboration to the last degree +improbable. + +It has been the same with all the communications of the astronomical +class: they have not led the science forward a single step. Nor has any +obscure, mysterious, or illusive point in history been cleared up by the +spirits. We only write that which we know, and even chance has given us +nothing. Still, certain unexplained thought-transferences are to be +discussed. But they belong to the psychological or human sphere. + +In order to reply at once to objections that certain Spiritualists have +sent to me apropos of this result of my observations, I will take as an +example the case of the satellites of Uranus, since it is the chief one +always brought forward as a _proof_ of scientific discoveries imparted by +spirits. Furthermore, I received several years ago from divers sources a +pressing invitation to examine an article by General Drayson, published in +the journal named _Light_, in 1884, under the title of _The Solution of +Scientific Problems by Spirits_, in which it is asserted that the spirits +made known the true orbital movement of the satellites of Uranus. Pressing +engagements had always hindered me from making this examination; but the +case having been recently promulgated in several Spiritualistic works as +decisive, and I being so persistently importuned to discuss it, I believe +it will prove of some use if I now examine the case. + +To my great regret there is an error in their communication, and the +spirits have taught us nothing. Here is one instance, wrongly selected as +a demonstration. The Russian writer Aksakof sets it forth in the following +terms (_Animism and Spiritualism_, p. 341): + + The case of which we are about to give an account seems to be of such + a nature as to settle all objections. It was communicated by + Major-General A. W. Drayson and published under the title _The + Solution of Scientific Problems by Spirits_. I append a translation: + + "Having received from M. Georges Stock a letter asking me if I could + mention, were it only as an instance, that, during the holding of a + séance, a spirit had solved one of those scientific problems which + have always embarrassed scientists, I have the honor to communicate to + you the following circumstance, which I witnessed with my own eyes: + + "In 1781 William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and its + satellites. He observed that these satellites, contrary to all the + other satellites of the solar system, traversed their orbits from east + to west. Sir John Herschel says in his _Outlines of Astronomy_: + + "'The orbits of these satellites present peculiarities altogether + unexpected and exceptional, contrary to the general laws which govern + the other bodies of the solar system. The planes of their orbits are + almost perpendicular to the ecliptic, making an angle of 70° 58',[16] + and they travel with a retrograde movement; that is to say, their + revolution about the centre of their planet takes place from east to + west in place of following the inverse course.' + + "When Laplace broached his theory that the sun and all the planets + were formed at the expense of a nebulous matter, these satellites were + an enigma to him. + + "Admiral Smyth mentions in his _Celestial Cycle_ that the movement of + these satellites, to the stupefaction of all astronomers, is + retrograde, contrary to that of all the other bodies observed up to + that time. + + "All the astronomical works published before 1860 contain the same + reasoning on the subject of the satellites of Uranus. For my part, I + did not find any explanation for this peculiarity: to me it was a + mystery as much as for the writers whom I have cited. + + "In 1858 I had as a guest in my house a lady who was a medium, and we + arranged daily séances. One evening she said to me that she saw at my + side a spirit who claimed to have been an astronomer during his life + on earth. + + "I asked this person if he was wiser at present than when he lived on + the earth. 'Much wiser,' he said. I had the idea of asking this + so-called spirit a question the object of which was to test his + knowledge. 'Can you tell me,' I asked him, 'why the satellites of + Uranus make their revolution from east to west and not from west to + east?' I received at once the following reply: + + "'The satellites of Uranus do not move in their orbits from east to + west: they circle about their planet from west to east, in the same + way that the moon moves around the earth. The error comes from the + fact that the south pole of Uranus was turned toward the earth at the + moment of the discovery of this planet. In the same way that the sun, + seen from our southern hemisphere, seems to run its daily course from + right to left and not from left to right, so the satellites of Uranus + were moving at that time from left to right, though this does not mean + they were moving in their orbit from east to west.' + + "In reply to another question which I asked, my interlocutor added: + 'As long as the south pole of Uranus was turned toward the earth, in + relation to a terrestrial observer, the satellites seemed to move from + left to right, and it was erroneously concluded from this that they + were going from east to west: this state of things lasted for about + forty-two years. When the north pole of Uranus is turned toward the + earth, his satellites run their course from right to left, but, in + either case, always from the west to the east.' + + "I thereupon asked him how it happened that the error had not been + detected forty-two years after William Herschel's discovery of Uranus. + He replied, 'It is because people repeat that which the authorities + who have preceded them have said. Dazzled by the results obtained by + their predecessors, they do not take the trouble to think.'" + +Such is the "revelation" of a spirit on the system of Uranus, published by +Drayson and presented by Aksakof and other authors as an undeniable proof +of the intervention of a spirit in the solution of this problem. + +The following is the result of an impartial discussion of this very +interesting subject. The reasoning of the "spirit" is false. The system of +Uranus is almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. It is the direct +opposite of that of the satellites of Jupiter, which turn almost in the +plane of their orbit. The inclination of the plane of the satellites to +the ecliptic is 98°, and the planet ascends almost in the plane of the +ecliptic. This is a fundamental consideration in the picture which we +ought to make to ourselves of the aspect of this system seen from the +earth. + +Let us, however, adopt for the method of movement of these satellites +around their planet the projection upon the plane of the ecliptic, as has +always been the custom. The author maintains that, "when the north pole of +Uranus is turned toward the earth, his satellites run their course from +right to left, that is to say from west to east"; he indorses the +communication of the spirit to the effect that the astronomers are in +error and that the satellites of Uranus really revolve around their planet +from west to east, in the same way that the moon revolves around the +earth. + +In order to give ourselves an exact account of the position and of the +method of the movements of this system, let us construct a special +geometrical figure, clear and precise. Let us represent upon a plane the +appearance of the orbit of Uranus and of its satellites seen from the +northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere (Fig. A). The part of the +orbit of the satellites above the plane of the orbit of Uranus has been +drawn with heavy lines and hatching, the lower part in dotted lines only. + +It is easily seen by the direction of the arrows that the revolution of +the satellites, projected upon the plane of the orbit, is entirely +retrograde. All dogmatic affirmations to the contrary are absolutely +erroneous. + +These satellites turn like the hands of a watch,--from left to right, +looking at the upper part of the circles. + +The error of General Drayson's medium comes from the fact that she +maintained that the south pole of Uranus was turned toward us at the date +of its discovery. Now, in 1781, the system of Uranus occupied relatively +to us almost the same situation as in 1862, since the time of its +revolution is eighty-four years. It is evident from the figure that, at +that moment, the planet presented to us the pole most elevated above the +ecliptic; that is, its north pole. + +General Drayson allowed himself to be led into error when he adopted +without verification these paradoxical premises. As a matter of fact, if +Uranus had presented to us its south pole in 1781, the movement of the +satellites would have been direct. But the observations of the angle of +position of the orbits at the time of their passage of the nodes gives us +abundant evidence that it was really the north pole which was at that +moment turned toward the sun and the earth,--a fact which renders direct +movement impossible, retrograde movement certain. + +[Illustration: Fig. 1--The inclination of the system of Uranus. Aspects +seen from the earth at the four extreme positions.] + +For greater clearness, I have placed outside of the orbit, in Fig 1, the +aspect of the system of Uranus seen from the earth at the four principal +epochs of the revolution of this distant planet. It is evident that the +apparent method of the revolution was analogous to that of the hands of a +watch in 1781 and 1862, the opposite in 1818 and 1902. At these dates the +apparent orbits of the satellites are almost circles, while during the +passage of the nodes, in 1798, 1840, and 1882, they are reduced to +straight lines. + +Figure 1a completes these data by presenting the aspect of the orbits and +the method of revolution for all the positions of the planet, even down to +our own epoch. + +I have desired to completely elucidate this question, which is a little +technical. _To my great regret_, the spirits have taught us nothing, and +this example, to which so much importance is attached, is seen to be an +error.[17] + +Aksakof cites, in this same chapter (p. 343), the discovery of the two +satellites of Mars, also made by Drayson through a medium, in 1859; that +is to say, 18 years before their discovery, in 1877. This discovery, not +having been published at the time, remains doubtful. Furthermore, after +Kepler had pointed out its probability, this subject of the two satellites +of Mars was several times discussed, notably by Swift and Voltaire (see my +_Popular Astronomy_, p. 501). This is not, then, to be set down as an +undeniable instance of a discovery made by the spirits. + +The immediately foregoing instances are facts actually observed at +Spiritualistic séances. I will not treat them under a generalization +foreign to their proper setting. They do not prove that, in certain +circumstances, thinkers, poets, dreamers, investigators, may not be +inspired by influences emanating from others, from loved ones, from +departed friends. That is another question, a topic quite apart from +experiments which we are giving an account of in this book. + +[Illustration: Fig. 1a.--Orbits of the satellites of Uranus as seen from +the earth at different dates since the time of their discovery (1781).] + +The same author, otherwise generally very judicious, cites several +examples of foreign tongues spoken by mediums. I have not been able to +verify them, and I am asked not to say here anything but what I am +absolutely sure of. + +According to my personal observations, these experiments bring us +constantly into the presence of ourselves, our own minds. I could cite a +thousand examples of this. + +One day I received an "aërolite" discovered in a forest in the environs of +Etrepagny (Eure). Mme. J. L., who kindly sent it to me, added that she +consulted a spirit about its origin and that he replied to her that it +came from a star named Golda. Now in the first place there is no star of +this name; and, secondly, this is not an aërolite at all, but a piece of +slag from an old forge. (See Section 662 of my Inquiry of 1899. The first +of these sections, relating to telepathy, have been published in my work +_The Unknown_.) + +A lady reader of mine wrote me from Montpellier: + + Your conclusions would perhaps diminish the prestige of Spiritualism + in the eyes of certain persons. But, as prestige may produce + superstition, it is well to clear up matters. For my part, that which + you have observed agrees with what I have myself observed. This is the + method which I have employed, aided by a friend: + + I took a book and, opening it, retained in my mind the number of the + right-hand page. Suppose it was 132. I said to the table, which had + been put in movement by the little manoeuvre ordinarily used, "Does a + spirit desire to communicate?" + + Reply--"Yes." + + Question--"Can you see the book which I have just been looking at?" + + Reply--"Yes." + + "How many numbers are there on the page that I have been looking at?" + + "Three." + + "Indicate the number of hundreds." + + "One." + + "Indicate the value of the tens." + + "Three." + + "Indicate the value of the units." + + "Two." + + The amounts indicated in these statements are of course 132. It was + enchanting. + + Then, taking the closed book and, without opening it, sliding the + paper-knife between the pages, I resumed the conversation, and the + result with this last method was always inexact. + + I frequently repeated this little experience (curious at any rate); + and, every time, I had exact replies when I knew them, inexact when I + was ignorant of them. (Section 657 of my Inquiry.) + +These examples might be multiplied _ad infinitum_. Everything leads us to +think that it is we who are the actors in these experiments. But it is not +so simple as one might suppose, and there is something else in it as well +as ourselves. Certain unexplained things take place. + +In his remarkable work, _Intelligence_, Taine explains Spiritualistic +communications by a sort of unconscious duplication of our mind, as I said +above. + + The more singular a fact is [he writes[18]] the more instructive it + is. In this respect, Spiritualistic manifestations themselves point + the way to discoveries by showing us the coexistence at the same + moment in the same individual of two thoughts, two wills, two distinct + actions, the one conscious, the other unconscious; the latter he + attributes to invisible beings. The brain is, then, a theatre on the + stage of which several pieces are being played at once, upon several + planes, of which only one is not subliminal. Nothing is more worthy of + study than this plurality of the _me_. I have seen a person who, while + speaking or singing, writes, without regard to the paper, consecutive + sentences and even entire pages, without any knowledge of what she is + writing. In my eyes her sincerity is perfect. Now she declares that at + the end of a page she has no idea of what she has written on the + paper. When she reads it, she is astonished, sometimes alarmed. The + handwriting is different from her ordinary handwriting. The movement + of the fingers and of the pencil is stiff and seems automatic. The + writing always ends with a signature, that of a deceased person, and + bears the mark of intimate thoughts, of a secret and inner reserve of + ideas which the author would not like to divulge. Certainly there is + proof here of a doubling of the _me_, the coexistence of two parallel + and independent trains of thought, of two centres of action, or, if + you wish, of two moral persons existing in the same brain, each one + doing his work, and each one a different work, the one upon the stage + and the other behind the scenes, the second as complete as the first, + since, alone and unwitting of the other, it constructs consecutive + ideas and fashions connected sentences in which the other has no part. + +This hypothesis is admissible, in the light of numerous observations of +double consciousness.[19] + +It is applicable to a great number of cases, but not in all. It explains +automatic writing. But, as it stands, it is necessary to stretch it +considerably to make it explain the rappings (for who raps?), and it does +not explain at all the levitations of the table, nor the displacement of +objects of which I have spoken in the first chapter, and I do not very +well see how it can even explain phrases rapped out backwards or by the +strange combinations described above. This hypothesis is admitted and +developed in a more unqualified way by Dr. Pierre Janet in his work +_Psychological Automatism_. This author is one of those who have created a +narrow circle of observation and study, and who not only never emerge from +it, but imagine that they have got the whole universe in their circle. In +going over this kind of reasoning, one thinks involuntarily of that old +quarrel of the two round eyes who saw everything round and of the two +square eyes who saw everything square, and of the history of the +Big-endians and of the Little-endians of _Gulliver's Travels_. An +hypothesis is worthy of attention when it explains something. Its value +does not increase by the attempt to generalize it and make it explain +everything: this is to overpass all reasonable limits. + +We may admit that the sub-conscious acts of an abnormal personality, +temporarily grafted upon our normal personality, explain the greater part +of mediumistic writing communications. We can see in these also the +evident effects of auto-suggestion. But these psycho-physiological +hypotheses do not explain all observations. There is something else. + +We all have a tendency to want to explain everything by the actual state +of our knowledge. In the face of certain circumstances, we say to-day: "It +is suggestion, it is hypnotism, it is this, it is that." Half a century +ago we would not have talked in this way, these theories not having yet +been invented. People will no longer talk in the same way half a century, +a century, hence, for new words will have been invented. But let us not be +put off with words; let us not be in such a hurry. + +We must know how to explain in what way our thoughts--conscious, +unconscious, sub-conscious--can strike blows in a table, move it, lift it. +As this question is rather embarrassing, Dr. Pierre Janet treats it as +"secondary personality," and is obliged to have recourse to the movements +of the toes, to the snapping of the muscles of the fibular tendon, to +ventriloquism and the deceptions of unconscious accomplices.[20] This is +not a sufficient explanation. + +As a matter of fact, we do not understand how our thought, or that of +another, can cause raps in a table, by which sentences are formed. But we +are obliged to admit it. Let us call it, if you please, "telekinetsis"; +but does that get us any farther along? + +There has been talk for some years about unconscious facts, about +sub-consciousness, subliminal consciousness, etc. I fear that in these +things also we are putting ourselves off with words which do not explain +things very much. + +I intend some day, if the time is given me, to write a special book on +Spiritualism, studied from the theoretic and doctrinal point of view, +which will form a second volume of my work _The Unknown and Psychic +Problems_, and which has been in preparation since the publication of that +work in 1899. Mediumistic communications, dictations received (notably by +Victor Hugo, Mme. de Girardin, Eugène Nus, and the Phalansterians), will +be the subject of special chapters in this volume,--as well as the +problem, otherwise important, of the plurality of existences. + +It is not my intention to enlarge in this place upon the aspects of the +general question. That which I restrict myself to establishing in this +book is that there are in us, about us, unknown forces capable of putting +matter in motion, just as our will does. I ought, therefore, to limit +myself to material phenomena. The range of that class of investigations is +already immense, and the "communications" of which I have just spoken are +really outside the limits of this range. But, as this subject and that of +psychological experiments are continually overlapping, it was necessary to +give a summary of it in this place. Let us return for the present to the +material phenomena produced by mediums and to that which I have myself +ascertained in my experiences with Eusapia Paladino, who unites them +nearly all in her own personality and experiences. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA PALADINO. + + +In the earlier pages of this volume some of my later experiments with the +Neapolitan medium, Eusapia Paladino, have been described. We shall now +revert to the earlier ones. + +My first experimental séance with this remarkable medium took place on the +27th of July, 1897. In response to the invitation of an excellent and +honorable family,--that of Blech,--the name of which has for a long time +been happily associated with modern researches in theosophy, occultism, +and psychological studies, I betook myself to Montfort-l'Amaury, to make +the personal acquaintance of this medium, whose case had already been +studied in several particulars by MM. Lombroso, Charles Richet, +Ochorowicz, Aksakof, Schiaparelli, Myers, Lodge, A. De Rochas, Dariex, J. +Maxwell, Sabatier, De Watteville, and a great number of other scholars and +scientists of high standing. Mme. Paladino's gifts had even been made the +subject of a work by Count de Rochas upon _The Externalization of +Motivity_, as well as of innumerable articles in the special reviews. + +The impression that results from the reading of all the official reports +is not altogether satisfactory, and besides leaves us with our curiosity +entirely ungratified. On the other hand, I can say, as I have already had +occasion to remark, that, during the last forty years, almost all the +celebrated mediums have been present at one time or another in my salon in +the avenue l'Observatoire in Paris, and that I have detected them nearly +all in trickery. Not that they always deceive: those who affirm this are +wrong. But, consciously or unconsciously, they bring with them an element +of trouble against which one is obliged to be constantly on guard, and +which places the experimenter in conditions diametrically opposed to those +of scientific observation. + +Apropos of Eusapia I had received from my illustrious colleague, M. +Schiaparelli, director of the observatory at Milan, to whom science is +indebted for so many important discoveries, a long letter from which I +will quote a few passages: + + During the autumn of 1892 I was invited by M. Aksakof to be present at + a certain number of Spiritualistic séances held under his direction + and care, for the purpose of meeting the medium Eusapia Paladino, of + Naples. I saw a number of very surprising things, a part of which, to + tell the truth, could be explained by very ordinary means. But there + are others the production of which I should not know how to explain by + the known principles of natural philosophy. I add, without any + hesitation, that, if it had been possible to entirely exclude all + suspicion of deceit, one would have had to recognize in these facts + the beginning of a new science pregnant with consequences of the + highest importance. But it must be admitted that these experiments + have been made in a manner little calculated to convince impartial + judges of their sincerity. Conditions were always imposed that + hindered the right comprehension of what was really taking place. When + we proposed modifications in the program suited to give to the + experiments the stamp of clearness and to furnish evidence that was + lacking, the medium invariably declared that, if we did so, the + success of the séance would thereby be made impossible. In fine, we + did not _experiment_ in the true sense of the word: we were obliged to + be content with _observing_ that which occurred under the unfavorable + circumstances imposed by the medium. Even when mere observation was + pushed a little too far, the phenomena were no longer produced or + lost their intensity and their marvellous nature. Nothing is more + offensive than these games of hide-and-seek to which we are obliged to + submit + + All that kind of thing excites distrust. Having passed all my life in + the study of nature, which is always sincere in its manifestations and + logical in its processes, it is repugnant to me to turn my thoughts to + the investigation of a class of truths, which it seems as if a + malevolent and disloyal power was hiding from us with an obstinacy the + motive of which we cannot comprehend. In such researches it is not + sufficient to employ the ordinary methods of natural philosophy, which + are infallible, but very limited in their action. We must have + recourse to that other critical method, more subject to error, but + more audacious and more powerful, of which police officers and + examining magistrates make use when they are trying to bring out a + truth in the midst of disagreeing witnesses, a part at least of whom + have an interest in hiding that truth. + + In accordance with these reflections, I cannot say that I am convinced + of the reality of the things which are comprised under the ill-chosen + name of Spiritualism. But neither do I believe in our right to deny + everything; for, in order to have a good basis for denial, it is not + sufficient to _suspect_ fraud, it is necessary to _prove it_. These + experiments, which I have found very unsatisfactory, other + experimenters of great confidence and of established reputation have + been able to make in more favorable circumstances. I have not enough + presumption to oppose a dogmatic and unwarranted denial to proofs in + which scientists of great critical ability, such as MM. Crookes, + Wallace, Richet, Oliver Lodge, have found a solid basis of fact and + one worthy their examination, to such an extent that they have given + to it years of study. And we should deceive ourselves if we believed + that men convinced of the truth of Spiritualism are all fanatics. + During the experiments of 1892 I had the pleasure of knowing some of + these men. I was obliged to admire their sincere desire to know the + truth; and I found, in the case of several of them, philosophic ideas + very sensible and very profound, joined to a moral character + altogether worthy of esteem. + + That is the reason why it is impossible for me to declare that + Spiritualism is a ridiculous absurdity. I ought, then, to abstain from + pronouncing any opinion whatever: my mental state on this subject may + be defined by the word "agnosticism." + + I have read with much attention all that the late Professor Zöllner + has written on this subject. His explanation has a purely material + basis,--that is to say, it is the hypothesis of the objective + existence of a fourth dimension of space, an existence which cannot be + comprised within the scope of our intuition, but the possibility of + which cannot be denied on that ground alone. Once grant the reality of + the experiments which he describes, and it is evident that his theory + of these things is the most ingenious and probable that can be + imagined. According to this theory, mediumistic phenomena would lose + their mystic or mystifying character and would pass into the domain of + ordinary physics and of physiology. They would lead to a very + considerable extension of the sciences, an extension such that their + author would deserve to be placed side by side with Galileo and + Newton. Unfortunately, these experiences of Zöllner were made with a + medium of poor reputation. It is not only the sceptics who doubt the + good faith of M. Slade: it is the Spiritualists themselves. M. + Aksakof, whose authority is very great in similar matters, told me + himself that he had detected him in trickery. You see by this that + these theories of Zöllner lose any support they might have derived + from the exact demonstration of experiment, at the same time that they + remain very beautiful, very ingenious, and quite possible. + + Yes, quite possible in spite of everything; in spite of the lack of + success that I had when I tried to reproduce them with Eusapia. On the + day when we shall be enabled to make, with absolute sincerity, _a + single one_ of these experiments, the matter will have made great + progress; from the hands of charlatans it will have passed into those + of physicists and physiologists. + +Such is the communication made to me by M. Schiaparelli. I found his +reasoning to be without defect, and it was in a state of mind entirely +analogous to his that I arrived at Monfort-l'Amaury (with all the more +interest because Slade was one of the mediums of whom I was just now +speaking). + +Eusapia Paladino was introduced to me. She is a woman of very ordinary +appearance, a brunette, her figure a little under the medium height. She +was forty-three years old, not at all neurotic, rather stout. She was born +on January 21, 1854, in a village of La Pouille; her mother died while +giving birth to the child; her father was assassinated eight years +afterward, in 1862, by brigands of southern Italy. Eusapia Paladino is her +maiden name. She was married at Naples to a merchant of modest means named +Raphael Delgaiz, a citizen of Naples. She manages the petty business of +the shop, is illiterate, does not know how to either read or write, +understands only a little French. I conversed with her, and soon perceived +that she has no theories and does not burden herself by trying to explain +the phenomena produced by her. + +The salon in which we are going to conduct our experiments is a room on +the ground floor, rectangular, measuring twenty feet in length by nineteen +in breadth; there are four windows, an outside entrance door and another +in the vestibule. + +Before the sitting, I make sure that the large doors and windows are +closely shut by window-blinds with hooks and by wooden blinds on the +inside. The door of the vestibule is simply locked with a key. + +In an angle of the salon, at the left of the large entrance door, two +curtains of a light color have been stretched on a rod, joining in the +middle and forming thus a little cabinet. In this cabinet there is a sofa, +and leaning against this a guitar; on one side is a chair, on which have +been placed a music-box and a bell. In the recess of the window which is +included in the cabinet there is a music-rack, upon which has been placed +a plate containing a well-smoothed cake of glazier's putty, and under +which, on the floor, is a huge tray containing a large smoothed cake of +the same. We have prepared these plaques of putty because the annals of +Spiritualism have often shown the imprint of hands and of heads produced +by the unknown beings whom it is our business in this work to investigate. +The large tray weighs about nine pounds. + +Why this dark cabinet? The medium declares it is necessary to the +production of the phenomena "that relate to the condensation of fluids." + +I should prefer that there should be nothing of the kind. But the +conditions must be accepted, though we must have an exact understanding +about them. Behind the curtain the stillness of the aërial waves is at its +maximum, the light at its minimum. It is curious, strange, infinitely +regrettable that light prohibits certain effects. Undoubtedly, it would +not be either philosophic or scientific to oppose this condition. It is +possible that the radiations, the forces, which act may be the rays of the +invisible end of the spectrum, I have already had occasion to remark, in +the first chapter, that he who would seek to make photographs without a +dark chamber would cloud over his plate and obtain nothing. The man who +would deny the existence of electricity because he had been unable to +obtain a spark in a damp atmosphere would be in error. He who would not +believe in the existence of stars because we only see them at night would +not be very wise. Modern progress in natural philosophy has taught us that +the radiations that impinge on the retina represent only the smallest +fraction of the totality. We can then admit the existence of forces which +do not act in the full light of day. But, in accepting these conditions, +the essential point is not to be their dupe. + +Hence, before the séance, I examined carefully the narrow corner of the +room before which the curtain was stretched, and I found nothing except +the objects mentioned above. Nowhere in the room was there any sign +whatever of concealed mechanism, no electric wires or batteries or +anything of the kind, either on the floor or in the walls. Moreover, the +perfect sincerity of M. and Mme. Blech is beyond all suspicion. + +Before the séance, Eusapia was undressed and dressed before Mme. Zelma +Blech. Nothing suspicious was found. + +The sitting was begun in full light, and I constantly laid stress upon +obtaining the largest number of phenomena we could in the full light of +day. It was only gradually, according as the "spirit" begged for it, that +the light was turned down. But I obtained the concession that the darkness +should never be absolute. At the last limit, when the light had to be +entirely extinguished, it was replaced by one of the red lanterns used by +photographers. + +The medium sits _before_ the curtain, turning her back to it. A table is +placed before her,--a kitchen table, made of spruce, weighing about +fifteen pounds. I examined this table and found nothing in it suspicious. +It could be moved about in every direction. + +I sit at first on the left of Eusapia, then at her right side. I make sure +as far as possible of her hands, her legs, and her feet, by personal +control. Thus, for example, to begin with, in order to be sure that she +should not lift the table either by her hands or her legs, or her feet, I +take her left hand in my left hand, I place my right open hand upon her +knees, and I place my right foot upon her left foot. Facing me, M. +Guillaume de Fontenay, no more disposed than I to be duped, takes charge +of her right hand and her right foot. + +There is full light,--a big kerosene lamp with a wide burner and a light +yellow shade, besides two lighted candles. + +At the end of three minutes the table begins to move, balancing itself, +and rising sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left. A minute +afterwards it is _lifted entirely from the floor_, to a height of about +nine inches, and remains there two seconds. + +In a second trial, I take the two hands of Eusapia in mine. A notable +levitation is produced, nearly under the same conditions. + +We repeat the same experiments thrice, in such a way that five levitations +of the table take place in a quarter of an hour, and for several seconds +the four feet are completely lifted from the floor, to the height of about +nine inches. During one of the levitations the experimenters did not touch +the table at all, but formed the chain above it and in the air; and +Eusapia acted in the same way. + +So then it seems that an object can be lifted, in opposition to the law of +gravity, without the contact of the hands which have just been acting upon +it. (Proof already given above, pp. 5-8, 16.) + +A round centre table placed at my right comes forward without contact +towards the table, always in full light, be it understood, as if it would +like to climb up on it, and falls down. Nobody has moved aside or +approached the curtain, and no explanation of this movement can be given. +The medium has not yet entered into a trance and continues to take part in +the conversation. + +Five raps in the table indicate, according to a convention arranged by the +medium, that the unknown cause asks for less light. This is always +annoying: I have already said what I think of this. The candles are blown +out, the lamp turned down, but the light is strong enough for us to see +very distinctly everything that takes place in the salon. The round table, +which I had lifted and set aside, approaches the table and tries several +times to climb up on it. I lean upon it in order to keep it down, but I +experience an elastic resistance and am unable to do so. The free edge of +the round table places itself on the edge of the rectangular table, but, +hindered by its triangular foot, it does not succeed in clearing itself +sufficiently to climb upon it. Since I am holding the medium, I ascertain +that she makes no effort of the kind that would be needed for this style +of performance. + +The curtain swells out and approaches my face. It is at this moment that +the medium falls into a trance. She utters sighs and lamentations and only +speaks now in the third person, saying that she is John King, a psychic +personality who claims to have been her father in another existence and +who calls her "my daughter" (_mia figlia_). This is an auto-suggestion +proving nothing as to the identity of the force. + +Five new taps ask for still _less light_, and the lamp is most completely +turned down, but not extinguished. The eyes, growing accustomed to the +clare-obscure, still distinguish pretty well what is taking place. + +The curtain swells out again, and I feel that I am touched on the +shoulder, through the stuff of the curtain, as if by a closed fist. The +chair in the cabinet, upon which are placed the music-box and the bell, is +violently shaken, and the objects fall to the floor. The medium asks again +for _less light_, and a red photographic lantern is placed upon the piano, +the light of the lamp being extinguished. The control is rigorously kept +up, the medium agreeing to it with the greatest docility. + +For about a minute the music-box plays intermittent airs behind the +curtain, as if it was turned by some hand. + +The curtain moves forward again toward me, and a rather strong hand seizes +my arm. I immediately reach forward to seize the hand, but I grasp only +the empty air. I then press the two legs of the medium between mine and I +take her left hand in my right. On the other side, her right hand is +firmly held in the left hand of M. de Fontenay. Then Eusapia brings the +hand of the last named toward my cheek, and imitates upon the cheek, with +the finger of M. de Fontenay, the movement of a little revolving crank or +handle. The music-box, which has one of these handles, _plays at the same +time behind the curtain in perfect synchronism_. The instant that +Eusapia's hand stops, the music stops: all the movements correspond, just +as in the Morse telegraphic system. We all amused ourselves with this. The +thing was tried several times in succession, and every time the movement +of the finger tallied the playing of the music. + +I feel several touches in the back and on the side. M. de Fontenay +receives a hard slap on the back that everybody hears. A hand passes +through my hair. The chair of M. de Fontenay is violently pulled, and a +few moments afterwards he cries, "I see the silhouette of a man passing +between M. Flammarion and me, above the table, shutting out the red +light!" + +This thing is repeated several times. I do not myself succeed in seeing +this silhouette. I then propose to M. de Fontenay that I take his place, +for, in that case, I should be likely to see it also. I soon distinctly +perceive a dim silhouette passing before the red lantern, but I do not +recognize any precise form. It is only an opaque shadow (the profile of a +man) which advances as far as the light and retires. + +In a moment, Eusapia says there is some one behind the curtain. After a +slight pause she adds: + +"There is a man by my side, on the right: he has a great soft forked +beard." I ask if I may touch this beard. In fact, while lifting my hand, +I feel a rather soft beard brushing against it. + +A block of paper is put on the table with a lead-pencil, with the hope of +getting writing. This pencil is flipped clear across the room. I then take +the block of paper and hold it in the air: it is snatched violently from +me, in spite of all my efforts to retain it. At this moment, M. de +Fontenay, with his back turned to the light, sees a hand (a white hand and +not a shadow), the arm showing as far as the elbow, holding the block of +paper; but all the others declare that they only see the paper shaking in +the air. + +I did not see the hand snatch the packet of paper from me; but only a hand +could have been able to seize it with such violence, and this did not +appear to be the hand of the medium, for I held her right hand in my left, +and the paper with arm extended in my right hand, and M. de Fontenay +declared that he did not let go of her left hand. + +I was struck several times in the side, touched on the head, and my ear +was smartly pinched. I declare that after several repetitions I had enough +of this ear pinching; but during the whole séance, in spite of my +protestations, somebody kept hitting me. + +The little round table, placed outside of the cabinet, at the left of the +medium, approaches the table, climbs clear up on it and lies across it. +The guitar in the cabinet is heard moving about and giving out sounds. The +curtain is puffed out, and the guitar is brought upon the table, resting +upon the shoulder of M. de Fontenay. It is then laid upon the table, the +large end toward the medium. Then it rises and moves over the heads of the +company without touching them. It gives forth several sounds. The +phenomenon lasts about fifteen seconds. It can readily be seen that the +guitar is floating in the air, and the reflection of the red lamp glides +over its shining surface. A rather bright gleam, pear-shaped, is seen on +the ceiling in the other corner of the room. + +The medium, who is tired, asks for rest. The candles are lighted. Mme. +Blech returns the objects to their places, ascertains that the cakes of +putty are intact, places the smallest upon the little round table and the +large one upon the chair in the cabinet, behind the medium. The sitting is +resumed by the feeble glimmer of the red lantern. + +The medium, whose hands and feet are carefully controlled by M. de +Fontenay and myself, breathes heavily. Above her head the snapping of +fingers is heard. She still pants, groans, and sinks her fingers into my +hand. Three raps are heard. She cries, "It is done" ("_E fatto_"). M. de +Fontenay brings the little dish beneath the light of the red lantern and +discovers the impression of four fingers in the putty, in the position +which they had taken when she gripped my hand. + +Seats are taken, the medium asks for rest, and a little light is turned +on. + +The sitting is soon resumed as before, by the extremely feeble light of +the red lantern. John is spoken of as if he existed, as if it was he whose +head we perceived in silhouette; he is asked to continue his +manifestations, and to show the impression of his head in the putty, as he +has already several times done. Eusapia replies that it is a difficult +thing and asks us not to think of it for a moment, but to go on speaking. +These suggestions of hers are always disquieting, and we redouble our +attention, though without speaking much. The medium pants, groans, +writhes. The chair in the cabinet on which the putty is placed is heard to +move. The chair comes forward and places itself by the side of the medium, +then it is lifted and placed upon the head of Mme. Z. Blech, while the +tray is lightly placed in the hands of M. Blech, at the other end of the +table. Eusapia cries that she sees before her a head and a bust, and +says, "_E fatto_" ("It is done"). We do not believe her, because M. Blech +has not felt any pressure on the dish. Three violent blows as of a mallet +are struck upon the table. The light is turned on, and a human profile is +found imprinted upon the putty. + +Mme. Z. Blech kisses Eusapia upon both cheeks, for the purpose of finding +out whether her face has not some odor (glazier's putty having a very +strong odor of linseed oil which remains for some time upon the fingers). +She discovers nothing abnormal. + +This discovery of a "spirit head" in the putty is so astonishing, so +impossible to admit without sufficient verification, that it is really +still more incredible than all the rest. It is not the head of the man +whose profile I perceived, and the beard I felt on my hand is not there. +The imprint has a resemblance to Eusapia's face. If we supposed she +produced it herself, that she was able to bury her nose up to the cheeks +and up to the eyes in that thick putty, we should still have to explain +how that large and heavy tray was transported from the other end of the +table and gently placed in the hands of M. Blech. + +The resemblance of the imprint to Eusapia was undeniable. I reproduce both +the print and the portrait of the medium.[21] Every one can assure himself +of it. The simplest thing, evidently, is to suppose the Italian woman +imprinted her face in the putty. + +But how? + +We are in the dark as to this, or nearly so. I sit at the right hand of +Eusapia, _who rests her head upon my left shoulder_, and whose right hand +I am holding. M. de Fontenay is at her left, and has taken great care not +to let go of the other hand. The tray of putty, weighing nine pounds, has +been placed upon a chair, twenty inches behind the curtain, consequently +behind Eusapia. She cannot touch it without turning around, and we have +her entirely in our power, our feet on hers. Now the chair upon which was +the tray of putty has drawn aside the hangings, or portières, and moved +forward to a point above the head of the medium, who remained seated and +held down by us; moved itself also over our heads,--the chair to rest upon +the head of my neighbor, Mme. Blech, and the tray to rest softly in the +hands of M. Blech, who is sitting at the end of the table. At this moment +Eusapia rises, declaring that she sees upon the table another table and a +bust, and cries out, "_E fatto_" ("It is done"). It was not at this time, +surely, that she would have been able to place her face upon the cake, for +it was at the other end of the table. Nor was it before this, for it would +have been necessary to take the chair in one hand and the cake with the +other, and she did not stir from her place. The explanation, as can be +seen, is very difficult indeed. + +Let us admit, however, that the fact is so extraordinary that a doubt +remains in our mind, because the medium rose from her chair almost at the +critical moment. And yet her face was immediately kissed by Mme. Blech, +who perceived no odor of the putty. + +[Illustration: PLATE IV. PLASTER CAST OF IMPRINT MADE IN PUTTY WITHOUT +CONTACT BY THE MEDIUM EUSAPIA PALADINO.] + +[Illustration: PLATE V. EUSAPIA PALADINO, SHOWING RESEMBLANCE TO THE +IMPRINT IN PUTTY.] + +Dr. Ochorowicz writes as follows apropos of these prints of faces and of +the study which he made of them at Rome:[22] + + The imprint of this face was obtained in darkness, yet at a moment + when I held the two hands of Eusapia, while my arms were entirely + around her. Or, rather, it was she who clung to me in such a way that + I had accurate knowledge of the position of all her limbs. Her head + rested against mine, and even with violence. At the moment of the + production of the phenomenon a convulsive trembling shook her whole + body, and the pressure of her head on my temples was so intense that + it hurt me. + + At the moment when the strongest convulsion took place, she cried, + "_Ah, che dura!_" ("Oh, how severe!") We at once lighted a candle and + found a print, rather poor in comparison with those which other + experimenters have obtained,--a thing due, perhaps, to the bad quality + of the clay which I used. This clay was placed about twenty inches to + the right of the medium, while her head was inclined to the left. Her + face was not at all soiled by the clay, which was yet so moist as to + leave traces upon the fingers when touched. Moreover, the contact of + her head with mine made me suffer so much that I am absolutely sure it + was not intermitted for a single moment. Eusapia was very happy when + she saw a verification made under conditions in which it was + impossible to suspect her good faith. + + I then took the tray of clay, and we passed into the dining-room in + order to better examine the imprint, which I placed on a large table + near a big kerosene lamp. Eusapia, who had fallen into a trance, + remained for some moments standing, her hands resting upon the table, + motionless and as if unconscious. I did not lose sight of her, and she + looked at me without seeing anything. Then, with an uncertain step, + she moved backward toward the door and passed slowly into the chamber + which we had just left. We followed her, observing her all the while, + and leaving the clay behind upon the table. We had already got into + the chamber when, leaning against one of the halves of the double + door, she fixed her eyes upon the tray of clay which had been left + upon the table. The medium was in a very good light: we were separated + from her by a distance of from six to ten feet, and we perceived + distinctly all the details. All of a sudden Eusapia stretched her hand + out abruptly toward the clay, then sank down uttering a groan. We + rushed precipitately towards the table and saw, side by side with the + imprint of the head, a new imprint, very marked, of a hand which had + been thus produced under the very light of the lamp, and which + resembled the hand of Eusapia. I have, myself, obtained head prints a + dozen times, but always rather poor, owing to the quality of the clay, + and often broken while the experiment was going on. + +The Chevalier Chiaia, of Naples, who first obtained these fantastic +pictures through the agency of Eusapia, wrote as follows, in this +connection, to Count de Rochas: + + I have imprints in boxes of clay weighing anywhere between fifty-five + and sixty-five pounds. I mention the weight in order to let you see + the impossibility of lifting and transporting _with one hand alone_ so + heavy a tray, even upon the supposition that Eusapia might, unknown to + us, free one of her hands. In almost every case, in fact, this tray, + placed upon a chair _three feet behind the medium_, was brought + forward and placed very gently upon the table about which we were + seated. The transfer was made with such nicety that the persons who + formed the chain and held firmly the hands of Eusapia did not hear the + least noise, did not perceive the least rustling. We were forewarned + of the arrival of the tray upon the table by seven taps, which, + according to our conventional arrangement, John struck in the wall to + inform us that we could turn on the light. I did so at once by turning + the cock of the gas-fixture which was suspended above the table. (We + had never completely extinguished it.) We then found the tray upon the + table, and, upon the clay, the imprint which we supposed must have + been made before its transfer, and while it was behind Eusapia, in the + cabinet where John usually materializes and manifests himself. + +The totality of these observations (which are very numerous) leads us to +the thought that, in spite of the improbability of the thing, these +imprints are produced at a distance by the medium. + +However, some days after the séance at Montfort-l'Amaury I wrote as +follows: + + These different manifestations are not to me equally authentic. I am + not sure of all of them, for the phenomena were not all produced + under the same conditions of certainty. I should wish to class the + facts in the following order of decreasing certainty: + + 1. Levitations of the table. + + 2. Movements of the round table without contact. + + 3. Mallet blows. + + 4. Movements of the curtain. + + 5. Opaque silhouette passing before the red lamp. + + 6. Sensation of a beard upon the back of the hand. + + 7. Touchings. + + 8. Snatching of the block of paper. + + 9. Throwing of the lead-pencil. + + 10. Transference of the round table to the top of the other table. + + 11. Music from the little box. + + 12. Transfer of the guitar to a point above the head. + + 13. Imprints of a hand and of a face. + + The first four events, having taken place in full light, are + incontestable. I should put almost in the same rank Nos. 5 and 6. No. + 7 may perhaps be due very often to fraud. The last in the list, having + been produced toward the end of the séance, at a time when attention + was necessarily relaxed, and being still more extraordinary than all + the others, I confess that I cannot admit it with certainty, although + I can not understand how it could have been due to fraud. The four + others seem genuine; but I should like to observe them anew; a man + could wager ninety-nine to one hundred that they are true. I was + absolutely sure of them during the séance. But the vividness of the + impressions grows weak, and we have a tendency to listen only to the + voice of plain common sense,--the most reasonable and the most + deceptive of our faculties. + +The first impression we get upon the reading of these reports is that +these different manifestations are rather vulgar, altogether banal, and do +not tell us anything about the other world--or about other worlds. Surely +it does not seem probable that any _spiritual being_ would take part in +such performances. For these phenomena are of an absolutely material +class. + +On the other hand, however, it is impossible not to recognize the +existence of unknown forces. The simple fact, for example, of the +levitation of a table to a height of six and one-half, eight, sixteen +inches from the floor is not banal at all. It seems to me, speaking for +myself alone, so extraordinary that my opinion is very well expressed when +I say that I do not dare to admit it without having seen it myself, with +my own eyes: I mean that which is called seeing, in full light and under +such conditions that it would be impossible to suspect. While we are very +sure that we have proved it, we are at the same time sure that in such +experiments there emanates from the human body a force that may be +compared with the magnetism of the loadstone, able to act upon wood, upon +matter (somewhat as the loadstone acts upon iron), and counterbalancing +for some moments the action of gravity. From the scientific point of view, +that is a weighty fact in itself. I am absolutely certain that the medium +did not lift that weight of fifteen pounds either by her hands or by her +legs, or by her feet, and, furthermore, no one of the company was able to +do it. The table was lifted by its upper surface. We are, therefore, +certainly in the presence of an unknown force here which emanates from the +persons present, and above all from the medium. + +A rather curious observation ought to be made here. Several times during +the course of this séance, and during the levitation of the table, I said, +"There is no spirit." Every time I said this two violent blows of +protestation were struck in the table. I have already remarked that, +generally, we are supposed to admit the Spiritualistic hypothesis and to +ask a spirit to exert himself in order that we may obtain the phenomena. +We have here a psychological matter not without importance. Still, it does +not seem to me, for all that, to prove the real existence of spirits, for +it might happen that this idea was necessary to the concentration of the +forces present and had a purely subjective value. Religious zealots who +believe in the efficacy of prayer are the dupes of their own imagination; +and yet no one can doubt that certain of these petitions appear to have +been granted by a beneficent deity. The Italian or Spanish girl who goes +to beg of the Virgin Mary that she will punish her lover for an infidelity +may be sincere, and never suspects the strangeness of her request. In +dreams we all converse every night with imaginary beings. But there is +something more here: the medium really duplicates herself. + +I take the point of view solely of the physicist whose business is to +observe, and I say, whatever may be the explanatory hypothesis you may +adopt, there exists an invisible force derived from the organism of the +medium, and having the power to emerge from him and to act outside of him. + +That is the fact: what is the best hypothesis to explain it? 1. Is it the +medium who herself acts, in an unconscious manner, by means of an +invisible force emanating from her? 2. Is it an intelligent cause apart +from her, a soul that has already lived upon this earth, who draws from +the medium a force which it needs in order to act? 3. Is it another kind +of invisible beings? Nothing authorizes us to affirm that there may not +exist, side by side with us, living, invisible forces. There you have +three very different hypotheses, none of which seems to me, as far as my +personal experience goes, to be as yet conclusively proved. + +But there certainly emanates from the medium an invisible force; and the +participants, by forming the psychic chain and by uniting their +sympathetic wills, increase this force. This force is not immaterial. It +may be a substance, an agent emitting radiations of wave-lengths which +make no impression on our retina, and which are nevertheless very +powerful. In the absence of light rays it is able to condense itself, +take shape, affect even a certain resemblance to the human body, to act as +do our organs, to violently strike a table, or touch us. + +It acts as if it were an independent being. But this independence does not +really exist; for this transitory being is intimately connected with the +organism of the medium, and its apparent existence ceases when the +conditions of its production themselves cease. + +While writing these monstrous scientific heresies, I feel very deeply that +it is difficult to accept them. Still, after all, who can trace the limits +of science? We have all learned, especially during the last quarter of a +century, that our knowledge is not a very colossal affair, and that, apart +from astronomy, there is as yet no exact science founded upon absolute +principles. And then, when all is said, there are the _facts_ to be +explained. Doubtless it is easier to deny them. But it is not decent or +civil. He who has merely failed to find what satisfies him has no right to +deny. The best he can do is simply to say, "I know nothing about it." + +The fact is that, as yet, we have not elementary data enough to enable us +to characterize these forces; but we ought not to lay the blame upon those +who study them. + +To sum up, I believe that I am able to go a little farther than M. +Schiaparelli and affirm the certain existence of unknown forces capable of +moving matter and of counterbalancing the action of gravity. There is a +complex totality, as yet difficult to disentangle, of psychic and physical +forces. But such facts, however extravagant they may appear, are worthy of +coming within the sphere of scientific observation. It is even probable +that they tend powerfully to elucidate the problem (a matter of supreme +importance to us) of the nature of the human soul. + +After the end of that séance of the 27th of July, 1897, as I desired to +see again the levitation of a table in full light, the chain was formed +_standing_, the hands lightly placed upon the table. The latter began to +oscillate, then rose up to a height of nine inches from the floor, +remained there several seconds (all the participators remaining on their +feet), and fell heavily back again.[23] + +[Illustration: PLATE VI + +PHOTOGRAPH OF THE TABLE RESTING ON THE FLOOR. + +PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SAME TABLE RAISED TO A HEIGHT OF TWENTY-FIVE +CENTIMETRES. MADE BY M. G. DE FONTENAY.] + +M. G. de Fontenay succeeded in getting several photographs by the +magnesium light. I reproduce two of them here (Pl. VI.). There are five +experimenters who are, from left to right, M. Blech, Mme. Z. Blech, +Eusapia, myself, Mlle. Blech. In the first photograph the table rests upon +the floor. In the second it floats in air, coming up as high as the arms, +at a height of about ten inches on the left and eight inches on the right. +I hold my right foot resting upon Eusapia's feet and my right hand upon +her knees. With my left hand I hold her left hand. The hands of all the +others are upon the table. It is therefore altogether impossible for her +to employ any muscular action. This photographic record confirms that of +Pl. I., and it seems to me difficult not to recognize its undeniable +documentary value.[24] + +After this séance my most ardent desire was to see the same experiments +reproduced at my own house. In spite of all the care I took with my +observations, several objections can be taken to the absolute certainty of +the phenomena. The most important arises from the existence of the little +dark cabinet. Personally, I was sure of the perfect probity of the +honorable Blech family, and I am unable to accept the idea of any trickery +whatever on the part of any of its members. But the opinion of readers of +the formal report may not be so well assured. It was not _impossible_ +that, even unknown to the members of the family, some one, with the +connivance of the medium, glided into the room, favored by the dim light, +and produced the phenomena. An accomplice entirely clothed in black and +walking barefoot would have been able to hold the instruments up in the +air, put them in movement, make the touches, and cause the black mask to +move at the end of a rod, etc. + +This objection could be verified or quashed by renewing the experiments at +my house, in a room of my own, where I should be absolutely certain that +no confederate could enter. I should myself arrange the curtain, I should +place the chairs, I should be certain that Eusapia would come alone to my +apartments, she would be asked to undress and dress in the presence of two +lady examiners, and every supposition of fraud alien to her proper +personality would thus be annihilated. + +At this epoch (1898) I was preparing, for _l'Annales politiques et +litteraires_, some articles upon psychic phenomena, which, revised and +amplified, afterwards formed my work, _The Unknown_. The eminent and +sympathetic editor of the review showed himself assiduous in examining +with me the best means of realizing this scheme of personal experiences. +Upon our invitation, Eusapia came to Paris to pass the month of November, +1898, and to devote eight soirées especially to us--namely, the 10th, +12th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 25th, and 28th of November. We had invited +several friends to be present. Each one of these séances was the subject +of a formal report by several of those who were present, notably by MM. +Charles Richet, A. de Rochas, Victorien Sardou, Jules Claretie, Adolphe +Brisson, Réne Baschet, Arthur Lévy, Gustave Le Bon, Jules Bois, Gaston +Méry, G. Delanne, G. de Fontenay, G. Armelin, André Bloch, etc. + +We met in my salon in the avenue de l'Observatoire, in Paris. There were +no special arrangements, except the stretching of two curtains in one +corner, before the angle of two walls, thus forming a kind of triangular +cabinet, the walls about which are there unbroken, without door or window. +The front of the cabinet was closed by these two curtains, reaching from +the ceiling to the floor and meeting in the middle. + +It is before this kind of cabinet that the reader will please imagine the +medium to be seated, with a white wooden table (kitchen table) before her. + +Behind the curtain, upon the plinth of the projection of a bookcase and +upon a table, we placed a guitar, also a violin, a tambourine, an +accordion, a music-box, cushions, and several small objects, which were to +be shaken, seized, thrown about by the unknown force. + +The first result of these séances in Paris, at my house, was absolutely to +establish the fact that the hypothesis of a confederate is inadmissible +and ought to be entirely eliminated. Eusapia acts alone. + +The fifth séance led me, moreover, to think that the phenomena take place +(at least a certain number) when the hands of Eusapia are closely held by +two controllers, that it is not generally with her hands that she acts, in +spite of certain possible trickeries; for it would be necessary to admit +(an abominable heresy!) that a third hand could be formed in organic +connection with her body! + +Before every séance Eusapia was undressed and dressed again in the +presence of two ladies charged with seeing that she did not hide any +tricking apparatus under her clothes. + +It would be a little long to go thoroughly into the details of these eight +sittings, and it would be partly to go over what has already been +described and commented upon in the first chapter, as well as in the +preceding pages. But it will not be uninteresting to give here the +estimate of several of the sitters, by reproducing some of the reports. + +I will begin with that of M. Arthur Lévy, because he describes very fully +the installation, the impression produced upon him by a medium, and the +greater part of the facts observed. + + Report of M. Arthur Lévy + + (_Séance of November 16_) + + That which I am going to relate I saw yesterday at your house. I saw + it with distrust, closely observing all that might have resembled + trickery; and, after I had seen it, I found it so far beyond the + things that we are accustomed to conceive that I still ask myself if I + really saw it. Yet I must confess that I have not been dreaming. + + When I arrived at your salon, I found the furniture and all the other + arrangements as usual. On entering, only a single change could be + remarked at the left, where two thick curtains of gray and green rep + concealed a little corner. Eusapia was to perform her wonders before + this kind of alcove. This was the mysterious corner: I examined it + very minutely. It had in it a little round uncovered table, a + tambourine, a violin, an accordion, castanets, and one or two + cushions. After this precautionary visit, I was certain that in this + place at least there was no preparation, and that no communication + with the outside was possible. + + I hasten to say that from this moment up to the end of the experiments + we did not leave the room for a single minute, and that, so to speak, + we had our eyes constantly fixed upon this corner, the curtains of + which, however, were always partly open. + + Some moments after my examination of the cabinet Eusapia arrives,--the + famous Eusapia. As almost always happens, she looks quite different + from what I had anticipated. Where I had expected to see--I do not + well know why, indeed--a tall thin woman with a fixed look, piercing + eyes, with bony hands, and abrupt movements, agitated by nerves + incessantly trembling under perpetual tension, I find a woman in the + forties, rather plump, with a tranquil air, soft hand, simple in her + manners, and slightly shrinking. Altogether, she has the air of an + excellent woman of the people. Yet two things arrest the attention + when you look at her. First, her large eyes, filled with strange fire, + sparkle in their orbits, or, again, seem filled with swift gleams of + phosphorescent fire, sometimes bluish, sometimes golden. If I did not + fear that the metaphor was too easy when it concerns a Neapolitan + woman, I should say that her eyes appear like the glowing lava fires + of Vesuvius, seen from a distance in a dark night. + + The other peculiarity is a mouth with strange contours. We do not know + whether it expresses amusement, suffering, or scorn. These + peculiarities impress themselves on the mind almost simultaneously, + without our knowing on which one to fix the attention. Perhaps we + should find in these features of her face an indication of forces + which are acting in her, and of which she is not altogether the + mistress. + + She takes a seat, enters into all the commonplaces of the + conversation, speaking in a gentle, melodious voice, like many women + of her country. She uses a language difficult for herself and not less + difficult for others, for it is neither French nor Italian. She makes + painful efforts to make herself understood, and sometimes does this by + mimicry (or sign-language) and by willing to obtain that which she + wants. However, a persistent irritation of the throat, like a pressure + of blood returning at short intervals, forces her to cough, to ask for + water. I confess that these paroxysms, in which her face became deeply + flushed, caused me great anxiety. Were we going to have the inevitable + indisposition of the rare tenor, on the day when he was to be heard on + the stage? Happily, nothing of the kind took place. It was rather a + sign of the contrary, and seemed like a forerunner of the extreme + excitement which was going to take possession of her on that evening. + In fact, it is very remarkable that from the moment when she put + herself--how shall I say it?--in condition for work, the cough, the + irritation of the throat, completely disappeared. + + When her fingers were placed on black wool,--to be frank, upon the + trousers cloth of one of the company,--Eusapia called our attention to + the kind of diaphanous marks made upon them (the fingers), a + distorted, elongated second contour. She tells us that that is a sign + that she is going to be given great power to-day. + + While we are talking some one puts a letter-weigher on the table. + Putting her hands down on each side of the letter-weigher, and at a + distance of four inches, she causes the needle to move to No. 35 + engraved on the dial plate of the weigher. Eusapia herself asked us to + convince ourselves, by inspection, that she did _not_ have a hair + leading from one hand to the other, and with which she could + fraudulently press upon the tray of the letter-weigher. This little + by-play took place when all the lamps of the salon were fully lighted. + Then commenced the main series of experiments. + + We sit around a rectangular table of white wood, the common kitchen + table. There are six of us. Close to the curtains, at one of the + narrow ends of the table, sits Eusapia; at her left, also near the + curtains, is M. Georges Mathieu, an agricultural engineer at the + observatory in Juvisy; next comes my wife; M. Flammarion is at the + other end, facing Eusapia; then Mme. Flammarion; finally myself. I am + thus placed at the right hand of Eusapia, and also against the + curtain. M. Mathieu and myself each hold a hand of the medium resting + upon his knee, and, furthermore, Eusapia places one of her feet upon + ours. Consequently, no movements of her legs or arms can escape our + attention. Note well, therefore, that this woman has the use only of + her head and of her bust, which latter is of course without the use of + the arms, and is in absolute contact with our shoulders. + + We rest our hands on the table. In a few moments it begins to + oscillate, stands on one foot, strikes the floor, rears up, rises + wholly into the air,--sometimes twelve inches, sometimes eight inches, + from the ground. Eusapia utters a sharp cry, resembling a cry of joy, + of deliverance; the curtain behind her swells out, and, all inflated + as it is, comes forward upon the table. Other raps are heard in the + table, and simultaneously in the floor at a distance of about ten feet + from us. All this in full light. + + Already excited, Eusapia asks in a supplicating voice and broken words + that we lessen the lights. She cannot endure the dazzling glare in her + eyes. She affirms that she is tortured, wants us to hurry; "for," she + adds, "you shall see fine things." After one of us has placed the lamp + on the floor behind the piano, in the corner opposite the place where + we are (at a distance of about twenty-three feet), Eusapia no longer + sees the light and is satisfied; but we can distinguish faces and + hands. Let it not be forgotten that M. Mathieu and I each have a foot + of the medium on ours, and that we are holding her hands and knees, + that we are pressing against her shoulders. + + The table is always shaking and makes sudden jolts. Eusapia calls to + us to look. Above her head appears a hand. It is a small hand, like + that of a little girl of fifteen years, the palm forward, the fingers + joined, the thumb projecting. The color of this hand is livid; its + form is not rigid, nor is it fluid; one would say rather that it is + the hand of a big doll stuffed with bran. + + When the hand moves back from the brighter light, as it + disappears,--is it an optical illusion?--it seems to lose its shape, + as if the fingers were being broken, beginning with the thumb. + + M. Mathieu is violently pushed by a force acting from behind the + curtain. A strong hand presses against him, he says. His chair is also + pushed. Something pulls his hair. While he is complaining of the + violence used upon him, we hear the sound of the tambourine, which is + then quickly thrown upon the table. Next the violin arrives in the + same manner, and we hear its strings sound. I seize the tambourine and + ask the Invisible if he wishes to take it. I feel a hand grasping the + instrument. I am not willing to let it go. A struggle now ensues + between myself and a force which I judge to be considerable. In the + tussle a violent effort pushes the tambourine into my hand, and the + cymbals penetrate the flesh. I feel a sharp pang, and a good deal of + blood flows. I let go of the handle. I just now ascertain, by the + light, that I have a deep gash under the right thumb nearly an inch + long. The table continues to shake, to strike the floor with redoubled + strokes, and the accordion is thrown upon the table. I seize it by + its lower half and ask the Invisible if he can pull it out by the + other end so as to make it play. The curtain comes forward, and the + bellows of the accordion is methodically moved back and forth, its + keys are touched, and several different notes are heard. + + Eusapia utters repeated cries, a kind of rattling in the throat. She + writhes nervously, and, as if she were calling for help, cries, "_La + catena! la catena!_" ("The chain! the chain!"). We thereupon form the + chain by taking hold of hands. Then, just as if she was defying some + monster, she turns, with inflamed looks, toward an enormous divan, + which thereupon _marches up to us_. She looks at it with a satanic + smile. Finally she blows upon the divan, which goes immediately back + to its place. + + Eusapia, faint and depressed, remains relatively calm. Yet she is + dejected; her breast heaves violently; she lays her head on my + shoulder. + + M. Mathieu, tired of the blows which he is constantly receiving, asks + to change places with some one. I agree to this. He changes with Mme. + F., who then sits at the right of Eusapia, while I am at her left. + Mme. F. and I never cease to hold the feet, hands, and knees of the + medium. M. F. sets a water bottle and a glass in the middle of the + table. The latter's brisk, jolting movements overturn the water + bottle, and the water is spilled over its surface. The medium + imperatively requires that the liquid be wiped up; the water upon the + table blinds her, tortures, paralyzes her, she says. M. F. asks the + Invisible if he can pour water into the glass. After some moments the + curtain advances, the carafe is grasped, and the glass seems to be + half full. That takes place several different times. + + Mme. F., being no longer able to endure the blows given her through + the curtain, exchanges seats with her husband. + + I put my repeating watch upon the table. I ask the Invisible if he can + sound the alarm. (The mechanism of the alarm is very difficult to + understand, delicate to operate, even for me, doing it every day. It + is formed by a little tube cut in two, one half of which glides + smoothly over the other. In reality, there is only a projection of + one-fiftieth of an inch of thickness of tube, upon which it is + necessary to press with the finger-nail and give quite a push in order + to start up the alarm.) In a moment the watch is taken by the + "spirit." We hear the stem-winder turning. The watch comes back upon + the table without having been sounded. + + Another request is made for the alarm to sound. The watch is again + taken; the case is heard to open and shut. (Now I cannot open this + case with my hands: I have to pry it open with a tool like a lever.) + The watch comes back once more without having sounded. + + I confess that I experienced a disenchantment. I felt that I was going + to doubt the extent of the occult power, which had, nevertheless, + manifested itself very clearly. Why could it not sound the alarm of + this watch? In making my request, had I overstepped the limits of its + powers? Was I going to be the cause of all the well-proved phenomena + of which we have had testimony losing the half of their value? I said + aloud: + + "Am I to show how the alarm is operated?" + + "No, no!" Eusapia warmly replies, "it will do it." + + I will note here that at the moment when I proposed to point out the + mechanism, there passed through my mind the method of pressing upon + the little tube. Immediately the watch was brought back to the table; + and, very distinctly, three separate times, we heard it sound a + quarter to eleven. + + Eusapia was evidently very tired; her burning hands seemed to contract + or shrivel; she gasped aloud with heaving breast, her foot kept + quitting mine every moment, scraping the floor and tediously rubbing + along it back and forth. She uttered hoarse panting cries, shrugging + up her shoulders and sneering; the sofa came forward when she looked + at it, then recoiled before her breath; all the instruments were + thrown pell-mell upon the table; the tambourine rose almost to the + height of the ceiling; the cushions took part in the sport, + overturning everything on the table; M. M. was thrown from his chair. + This chair--a heavy dining-room chair of black walnut, with stuffed + seat--rose into the air, came up on the table with a great clatter, + then was pushed off. + + Eusapia seems shrunken together and is very much affected. We pity + her. We ask her to stop. "No, no!" she cries. She rises, we with her; + the table leaves the floor, rises to a height of twenty-four inches, + then comes clattering down. + + Eusapia sinks prostrated into a chair. We sit there troubled, amazed, + in consternation, with a tense and constricted feeling in the head, as + if the atmosphere were charged with electricity. + + With many precautions, M. F. succeeds in calming the agitation of + Eusapia. After about a quarter of an hour she returns to herself. When + the lamps are again lighted, she is seen to be very much changed, her + eye dull, her face apparently diminished to half its usual size. In + her trembling hands she feels the pricking of needles which she asks + us to pull out. Little by little she completely recovers her senses. + She appears to remember nothing, not to comprehend at all our + expressions of wonder. All that is as foreign to her as if she had not + been present at the sitting. She isn't interested in it. So far as she + is concerned, it would seem as if we were speaking of things of which + she had not the faintest idea. + + What have we seen? mystery of mysteries! + + We took every precaution not to be the dupes of complicity, of fraud. + Superhuman forces acting near us, so near that we heard the very + breathing of a living being,--if living being it were,--such are the + things our eyes took cognizance of for two mortal hours. + + And when, on looking back, doubts begin to creep into the mind, we + must conclude that, given the conditions in which we were, the + chicanery necessary to produce such effects would be at least as + phenomenal as the effects themselves. + + How shall we name the mystery? + +So much for the report of M. Arthur Lévy. I have no commentary to make at +present upon these reports of my fellow-experimenters. The essential +thing, it seems to me, is to leave to every one his own exposition and his +personal judgment. I shall proceed in the same way with the other reports +which are to follow. I shall reproduce the principal ones. In spite of +some inevitable repetitions, they will surely be read with extreme +interest, especially when we take into consideration the high intellectual +standing of the observers. + + Report of M. Adolphe Brisson. + + (_Séance of November 10_) + + (There were present at this séance, besides the hosts of the occasion, + M. Prof. Richet, M. and Mme. Ad. Brisson, Mme. Fourton, M. André + Bloch, M. Georges Mathieu.) + + The following are occurrences which I personally observed with the + greatest care. I did not once cease to hold in my right hand the left + hand of Eusapia or fail to feel that we were in contact. The contact + was only interrupted twice,--at the moment when Dr. Richet felt a + pricking in his arm. Eusapia's hand, making violent movements, escaped + from my grasp; but I seized it again after two or three seconds. + + 1. After this sitting had begun,--that is, at the end of about ten + minutes,--the table was lifted up away from Eusapia, two of its legs + leaving the floor simultaneously. + + 2. Five minutes later the curtain swelled out as if it had been + inflated by a strong breeze. My hand, never letting go of that of + Eusapia, pressed gently against the curtain, and I experienced a + resistance, just as if I had pressed against the sail of a ship + bellied out by the wind. + + [Illustration] + + 3. Not only was the curtain puffed out, forming a big pocket, but the + perpendicular edge of the curtain that touched the window moved + automatically aside and drew back as if it were pushed by an invisible + curtain holder, making nearly this kind of a movement. + + 4. The curtain, inflated anew, took the form of a nose or of an + eagle's beak, projecting above the table about eight or ten inches. + This shape was visible for several seconds. + + 5. We heard behind the curtain the noise of a chair rolling over the + floor; by a first push it arrived as far as I was; a second push + turned it upside down, its feet in the air, in the position shown. It + was a heavy stuffed chair. Succeeding pushes moved it again, lifted it + up, and made it turn somersaults; it finally came to a standstill + almost in the place where it had fallen over. + + [Illustration] + + 6. We heard the noise of two or three objects falling to the floor (I + mean objects behind the curtain upon the centre-table). The curtain + parted in the middle, and in the dim light the little violin appeared. + Sustained in the air by an invisible hand, it came gently forward + above our table, whence it settled down upon my hand and upon that of + my neighbor on the left.[25] + + On two separate occasions the violin rose from the table and at once + fell back again, making a vigorous leap, like a fish flopping upon the + sand. Then it glided down to the floor, where it remained motionless + until the end of the sitting. + + 7. A new rolling noise was heard behind the curtain. This time it was + the centre-table. A preliminary effort, quite vigorous, enabled it to + rise half-way to the top of our table. By a second effort it got clear + on top and rested upon my fore-arm. + + 8. Several times I distinctly felt light blows upon my right side, as + if made with the point of a sharp instrument. But the truth compels me + to declare that these blows were no longer given after Eusapia's feet + were held under the table by M. Bloch. I note this correlation of + things without drawing from it any presumption against Eusapia's + loyalty. I have so much the less reason to suspect her in that her + left foot did not leave my right foot during the whole sitting. + + + Report of M. Victorien Sardou + + (_Séance of November 19_) + + (There were present at this séance, besides the hosts of the evening, + M. V. Sardou, M. and Mme. Brisson, M. A. de Rochas, M. Prof. Richet, + M. G. de Fontenay, M. Gaston Méry, Mme. Fourton, M. and Mlle. des + Varennes). + + I shall only relate here phenomena controlled by myself personally in + the séance of last Saturday. Consequently, I say nothing of the + arrangement of the apartment, of the experimenters, nor of the events + which were first produced in the dark and which all the participants + were able to authenticate,--such as cracking sounds in the table, + levitations, displacements of the table, raps, etc., as well as the + blowing out of the curtain over the table, the bringing on of the + violin, of the tambourine, and so forth. + + Eusapia having invited me to take the place at her side which had been + vacated by M. Brisson, I sat down on her left, while you preserved + your place on her right. I took her left hand in my right hand, while + my left hand placed upon the table was in contact with that of my + neighbor, the medium insisting on this several times in order that the + chain might not be broken. Her left foot rested upon my right foot. + All through the experiment I never let go her hand for a single + second. She grasped my hand with a strong pressure, and it followed + her through all her movements. In the same way her foot always kept in + contact with mine. My foot always kept touch with hers in all her foot + scrapings on the floor, her shiftings of place, shrinkings, + twitchings, etc., which never had anything suspicious in them, nor + were they of such a nature as to explain the events which took place + at my side, behind me, around me, and upon me. + + In the first place, and in less than a minute after I had been placed + on the left of the medium, the curtain nearest to me was puffed out + and brushed against me, as if impelled by a gust of wind. Then three + times I felt upon my right side a pressure which lasted but for a + moment, yet was very marked. At that moment we were in a very dim + light, yet enough to make the faces and the hands of all who were + present distinctly visible. After Eusapia's violent nervous + contractions, struggles, and energetic pushes (precisely like those + which I had seen in similar cases elsewhere and which only astonish + those who have slightly studied these phenomena), suddenly the curtain + nearest to me was blown forward with an astonishing propulsive power + between Eusapia and me, in the direction of the table, entirely + concealing from me the face of the medium; and the violin, which, with + the tambourine, had, before my introduction, been replaced in the dark + chamber, was hurled to the middle of the table, as if by an invisible + arm. To accomplish this, the arm must have lifted the curtain and + drawn it along with it. + + After this the curtain returned to its first position, but not + completely; for it still remained puffed out a little between Eusapia + and me, one of its folds remaining upon the edge of the table at my + side. + + Then you took the violin and held it out at such a distance from the + two curtains that it was wholly visible to the company; and you + invited the occult agent to take it. + + This was done, the mysterious agent taking it back with him into the + dark closet, with as much good will as he had shown in bringing it on. + + The violin then fell upon the floor behind the curtains, or portières. + One of these which was nearest to me resumed its vertical position, + and for a time I heard upon my right upon the floor behind the + curtains a kind of scrimmage between the violin and the tambourine, + which were displaced, pulled about, and lifted, clashing and + resounding at a great rate; and yet it was impossible to attribute any + of these manifestations to Eusapia, whose foot never moved, but + remained firmly pressed against my own. + + A little after, I felt against my right leg, behind the curtain, the + rubbing of a hard body which was trying to climb upon me, and I + thought it was the violin. And so it was, in fact; and, after an + unsuccessful effort to climb higher than my knee, this apparently + living creature fell with a bang upon the floor. + + Almost immediately I felt a new pressure upon my right hip, and + mentioned the circumstance. You disengaged your left hand from the + chain, and, turning toward me, twice made in the air the gesture of + the director of an orchestra moving his bâton to and fro. And each + time, with perfect precision, I felt upon my side the repercussion of + a blow exactly tallying your gesture, which reached me after the delay + of a second more or less, and which seemed to me to correspond exactly + to the time necessary for the transference of a billiard ball or a + tennis ball from you to me. + + Some one, Dr. Richet, I believe, having spoken at that time of strokes + upon the shoulders of the sitters in which the action and shape of a + human hand was very marked, I will mention as a proof of his remark + that I received in succession three blows upon the left shoulder (that + is to say, the one most distant from the curtain and from the medium), + more violent than the preceding ones; and this time the heavy pressure + of the five fingers was very evident. Then a last blow with the flat + of the hand, applied in the small of the back, without hurting me at + all, was strong enough to make me lean forward, in spite of myself, + toward the table. + + Some moments after, my chair, moving under me, glided over the floor, + and was shifted in such a way as to leave my back turned a little in + the direction of the dark closet. + + I leave to other witnesses the task of telling the results of their + personal observations,--how, for example, the violin, having been + picked up by you from the floor and replaced upon the table, was held + out by Mme. Brisson, as you had already done, and lifted up in the + same way in the sight of all, while I held the left hand of Eusapia, + you her right hand, and with the hand which remained free you pressed + the wrist of her left hand. + + Nor do I say anything of a hand-pressure through the opening in the + curtain, having seen nothing of this myself. + + But that which I did see very well indeed was the sudden appearance of + three very vivid little lights between my neighbor and myself. They + were promptly extinguished and seemed like a kind of will-o'-the-wisp, + similar to electric sparks coming and going with great rapidity. + + In short, I can only repeat here what I have said during the course + of these experiments, "If I had not been convinced forty years ago, I + should be this evening." + + + Report of M. Jules Claretie. + + (_Séance of November 25_) + + (There were present at this sitting, in addition to the hosts of the + occasion, M. Jules Claretie and his son, M. Brisson, M. Louis Vignon, + Mme. Fourton, Mme. Gagneur, M. G. Delanne, M. René Baschet, M. and + Mme. Basilewska, M. Mairet, photographer.) + + I note only the impressions I received after the moment when Eusapia, + who had taken my hand at the time when M. Brisson was still seated by + her, asked me to replace him. I am certain that I did not let go of + Eusapia's hand during all the experiments. Every moment I felt the + pressure of her foot upon mine, the heel being especially perceptible. + I do not believe that I relaxed my fingers for a moment, nor released + the hand that I held. I was struck with the throbbing of the arteries + at the end of Eusapia's fingers: the blood bounded feverishly through + them. + + I sat next the curtain. It goes without saying that it was drawn from + right to left or from left to right just as it happened. That which I + can't understand is that it could swell out until it floated over the + table like a sail inflated by the wind. + + I felt at first a little light blow on my right side. Then, _through + the curtain_, two fingers seized me and pinched my cheek. The pressure + of the two fingers was evident. A blow more violent than the first hit + me on the right shoulder, as if it came from a hard, square body. My + chair was twice moved and turned, first backward, then forward. + + Those two fingers which pinched my cheek I had already felt--before I + took my place at Eusapia's side--when I was holding over against the + curtain the little white book which M. Flammarion had given me. This + book was seized by _two naked fingers_ (I say naked, because the folds + of the curtain did not cover them) and then disappeared. I did not see + these fingers: I touched them, or they touched me, if you will. My + son held out and handed over also a leather cigar-holder, which was + grabbed in the same way. + + One of the persons present saw a rather heavy little music-box + disappear in the same way. + + With hardly a moment's delay the box was removed from our side with + some violence; and I can speak with the more feeling of the force of + the projection and of the weight of the object, because it struck me + under the eye, and this morning I still have upon my face the only too + visible mark of it, and feel the pain of it. I don't understand how a + woman seated by my side could have the strength to throw with such + force a box which, so to speak, should have come from quite a + distance. + + I observe, however, that all the phenomena are produced on the same + side of the curtain; namely, behind it, or through it, if you will. I + saw leafy branches fall upon the table, but they came from the side of + the said curtain. Some persons assert that they saw a green twig come + in through the open window which gives upon Cassini Street. But I did + not see that. + + There was a little round table behind the curtain, very near me. + Eusapia takes my hand and places it, held in hers, upon the round + table. I feel this table shaking, moving. At a given moment I believe + that I perceive two hands near by and upon mine. I am not deceived; + but this second hand is that of M. Flammarion, who, on his side, is + holding the hand of the medium. The round table bestirs itself. It + leaves the floor, it rises. I have the feeling of this at once. Then, + the curtain having lifted and, as it were, spread itself over the + table, I can distinctly see what passes behind it. The round table + moves; it rises; it falls. + + Suddenly tipping partly over, it rises and comes toward me, upon me. + It is no longer vertical, but is caught between the table and me in a + horizontal position. It comes with sufficient force to make me recoil, + draw in my shoulders, and try to push back my chair to let this moving + piece of furniture pass. It seems, like a living thing, to struggle + between the table and me. Or, again, it seems like an animated being + struggling against an obstacle, desiring to pass or move on and not + being able to do so, being stopped by the table or by myself. At a + given moment the round table is upon my knees, and it moves, it + struggles (I repeat the word), without my being able to explain to + myself what force is moving it. + + This force is a formidable one. The little table literally pushes me + back, and in vain I throw myself backward to let it pass. + + Some of those present, M. Baschet among others, have said to me that + at this moment it was upon two fingers. Two fingers of Eusapia push up + the round table![26] + + But I, who had not lost my hold on her left hand nor her foot,--I, who + had by me the little round table (quite visible in the semi-obscurity + to which we had accustomed ourselves), saw nothing, nor did I perceive + any effort on the part of Eusapia. + + I should like to have seen _luminous phenomena_ produced, visions of + brilliant lights, of sudden gleams of fire. M. Flammarion hoped that + we were going to see some of these. He asked for them. But Eusapia was + evidently fatigued by this long and very interesting séance. She asked + for "_un poco di luce_" ("a little light"). The lamps were relighted. + Everything was finished. + + This morning I recall with a kind of anxious curiosity the least + details of this very fascinating soirée. When we had returned to the + observatory, on leaving our amiable hosts, I asked myself if I had + been in a dream. But I said to myself, "We were present at the skilful + performances of a woman prestidigitator; we witnessed only theatrical + tricks." My son recalled to me the prodigies of skill of the brothers + Isola. This morning, strange to say, reflection makes me at once more + perplexed and less incredulous. We perhaps witnessed (we undoubtedly + did witness) the manifestation of an unknown force which will + hereafter be studied and perhaps one day utilized. I should no longer + dare to deny the genuineness of Spiritualism. It isn't a question of + animal magnetism: it is something else, I know not what; a _quid + divinum_ (a divine something), although science will some day analyze + it and catalogue it. That which perhaps astonished me the most was + the curtain swelling out like a sail! Where did the puff of wind come + from? A regular breeze would have been needed to put such life into it + as that. However, I do not discuss: I give in my evidence. I have seen + these things, observed them carefully. I shall think of them for a + long time. I do not stop here. I shall seek an explanation. Possibly I + shall find one. But this much is certain, that we ought to be modest + in the presence of all that appears to us to be for the moment + inexplicable, and that, before affirming or denying, we ought to wait, + to reserve our judgment. + + In the mean time, while feeling of my right maxillary tooth, which is + a little sore, I think of that line of Regnard and allow myself to + mangle it a little while recalling that hard music-box,-- + + "_Je vois que c'est un corps et non pas un esprit._" + (I see that it is a body and not a spirit.) + + + Report of Dr. Gustave Le Bon + + (_Séance of November 28_) + + (There were present at this séance, besides the hosts, M. and Mme. + Brisson, MM. Gustave Le Bon, Baschet, de Sergines, Louis Vignon, + Laurent, Ed. de Rothschild, Delanne, Bloch, Mathieu, Ephrussi, Mme. la + Comtesse de Chevigné, Mmes. Gagneur, Syamour, Fourton, Basilewska, + Bisschofsheim.) + + Eusapia is undoubtedly a marvellous subject. It struck me as something + wonderful that, while I was holding her hand, she was playing on an + imaginary tambourine to which the sounds of the tambourine that was + behind the curtain accurately corresponded. + + I do not see how any trick is possible in such a case, any more than + in the case of the table. + + My cigarette-holder was grasped by a very strong hand, which wrenched + the object from me with a good deal of energy. I was on my guard and + asked to see the experiment again. The phenomenon was so singular and + so beyond all that we can comprehend that we must first try natural + explanations. + + 1. It is impossible that it could have been Eusapia. I was holding one + of her hands and _was looking at the other arm_, and I placed my + cigarette-holder in such a position that, _even with her two arms + free_, she would not have been able to accomplish such a marvellous + thing. + + 2. It is not probable that it could have been an accomplice; but is it + not possible that the unconscious mind of Eusapia suggested to the + unconscious mind of a person near the curtain to pass a hand behind it + and operate there? Everybody would be acting in good faith and would + have been deceived by the unconscious element. This important point + ought to be verified, for no experiment would be so valuable if it + were once _demonstrated_. + + Could not Eusapia's departure be put off? We shall not have a similar + opportunity, and we surely ought to clear up that phenomenon of the + hand. + + It is very evident that the table was lifted; but that is a material + phenomenon which one can readily grant. The hand which came to seize + my cigarette-holder performed an act of the will implying an + intelligence, but the other is nothing of the kind. Eusapia might lift + a table to the height of three feet without my scientific conception + of the world being changed by it; but to bring in the intervention of + a spirit, that would be to prove the existence of spirits, and you see + the consequences. + + As for the hand which seized the cigarette-case, it is absolutely + certain that it was not that of Eusapia (you know that I am very + sceptical and that I was looking about me); but close to the curtain, + in the salon, there were a good many people, and several times you + heard me ask people to stand aside from the curtain. If we two had + been able to study Eusapia _absolutely alone_, in a room to which we + had the key, the problem would soon be solved. + +I have not been able to make this verification, the sitting at which Dr. +Le Bon was present having been the last which Eusapia had consented to +give at my house. But his objection is of no value. I am absolutely +certain that nobody glided behind the curtain, neither in this particular +case nor in any other. My wife, also, particularly occupied herself in +observing what took place in that part of the room and never was able to +discover anything suspicious. There is only one hypothesis; that is, that +Eusapia herself handled the objects. Since Dr. Le Bon declares that the +thing was impossible, he himself personally inspecting it, we are +compelled to admit the existence of an unknown psychic force.[27] + + Report of M. Armelin + + (_Séance of November 21_) + + (For this sitting I had asked three members of the Astronomical + Society of France to exercise the severest control possible; namely, + M. Antoniadi, my assistant astronomer at the observatory of Juvisy, M. + Mathieu, agricultural engineer at the same observatory, and M. + Armelin, secretary of the Astronomical Society. The last-named + gentleman sent me the following report. There were also present M. and + Mme. Brisson, M. Baschet, M. Jules Bois, Mme. Fourton, Mme. La + Comtesse de Labadye.) + + At quarter of ten Eusapia takes her seat, her back to the place where + the two curtains meet, her hands resting upon the table. At the + invitation of M. Flammarion, M. Mathieu takes his seat at her right, + charged with the duty of keeping constant watch upon her left hand, + and M. Antoniadi is enjoined to do the same for her right hand. They + also make themselves sure of her feet. At the right of M. Mathieu + sits Mme. la Comtesse de Labadye; on the left of M. Antoniadi, Mme. + Fourton. Facing Eusapia, between Mmes. de Labadye and Fourton, MM. + Flammarion, Brisson, Baschet, and Jules Bois. + + The gas chandelier is lighted and the full light turned on. This + chandelier is almost over the table. A little lamp with a shade is + placed on the floor behind an easy-chair, near the opposite side of + the room, in the direction of its greatest length, and to the left of + the fireplace. + + At five minutes of ten the table is lifted from the side opposite to + the medium and falls back with a bang. + + At ten o'clock it rises from the side of the medium, who withdraws her + hands, the other persons holding their hands lifted up. The same + effect is produced three times. The second time, while the table is in + the air, M. Antoniadi declares that he is leaning on it with all his + weight and is unable to lower it. The third time, M. Mathieu leans on + it in the same way and experiences the same resistance. During this + time, Eusapia holds her closed fist about four inches above the table, + looking as if she were strongly grasping something. The action lasts + several seconds. There is no doubt whatever about this levitation. + When the table falls back, Eusapia experiences something like a + relaxation after a great effort. + + At 10.03 the table is lifted clean off its four feet at once, at first + on the side opposite to the medium, rising about eight inches; then it + falls abruptly back. _While it is in the air, Eusapia calls her two + neighbors to witness that they are closely holding her hands and her + feet, and that she is not in contact with the table._ + + Then light raps are heard in the table. Eusapia makes M. Antoniadi + lift his hand about eight inches above the table and taps three times + upon his hand with her fingers. The three taps are heard + simultaneously in the table. + + To prove that she is not using either her hands or her feet, she sits + down sidewise upon her chair on the left, stretches out her legs, and + puts her feet on the edge of the chair of M. Antoniadi: she is in full + view and her hands are held. At once the curtain is shaken in the + direction of M. A. + + From 10.10 to 10.15, several times in succession, five raps are heard + in the table. Each time the gas is turned down a little, and each time + the table moves without contact. + + At 10.20 it balances itself, suspended in the air, and resting upon + the two legs of the longer side. Then _it rises off of its four feet + to a height of eight inches_. + + 10.25. The curtain moves, and M. Flammarion says that there is some + one behind it, that somebody is pressing his hand. He holds his hand + out toward the curtain, at a distance of about four inches. The + curtain is pushed out into something like a pocket made by a hand + which is drawing near. The medium with nervous laugh cries, "Take it, + take it." M. A. feels through the curtain the touch of a soft body, + like a cushion. But the hand of M. F. is not taken. Objects are heard + to move, including the bells of a tambourine. + + All of a sudden the medium, leaving M. Mathieu, stretches her hand + above the table toward M. Jules Bois, who takes it. At this moment, + behind the curtain, an object falls to the floor with a great noise. + + 10.35. Eusapia, again freeing her right hand, lifts it up above her + left shoulder, the fingers forward, at a distance of several inches + from the curtain, and beats four or five strokes in the air which are + heard to sound in the tambourine. Several persons think they see a + will-o'-the-wisp through the gap between the curtains. + + Up to that point the gas has been gradually lowered. After the lapse + of a full moment I find that I can no longer read, but I can + distinguish very clearly the horizontal lines of my writing. I can see + the hour perfectly by my watch, as well as the faces of those present, + (that of Eusapia especially) turned toward the light. The gas is now + completely extinguished. + + At 10.40, the gas being out, I can still read my watch, but with + difficulty; I still see the lines of my writing, though without being + able to read. + + Eusapia wants somebody to hold her head, which is done. Then she asks + somebody to hold her feet. M. Baschet gets down on his knees under the + table and holds them. + + M. Antoniadi cries, "I am touched!" and says that he has felt a hand. + I have very distinctly seen the curtain puffing out. Mme. Flammarion, + whom I see silhouetted on the bright glass of the window, her head + leaning forward, goes behind the curtain in order to assure herself + that the medium is not doing anything suspicious in the way of + motions. + + One of the persons present having changed places, Eusapia utters + complaints: "_La catena! la catena!_" ("The chain! the chain!") The + chain is re-established. + + At 10.45 the curtain is inflated again. A bump is heard. The round + table touches the elbow of M. Antoniadi. Mme. Flammarion, who has kept + looking behind the curtain, says that she sees the round table turned + over. Its feet are in the air, and it is moving to and fro. She thinks + she sees glimmers of light near the floor. + + M. Mathieu feels a hand and an arm pushing the curtain against him. M. + Antoniadi says that he is touched by a cushion; his chair is pulled + and turns under him as if on a pivot. He is touched again on the elbow + by some object. + + It is ascertained that M. Jules Bois is holding Eusapia's right hand + above the table; M. Antoniadi assures us that he is holding her left + hand, and M. Mathieu her feet. + + The curtain is again shaken twice; M. Antoniadi is hit in the back + very hard, he says, and a hand pulls his hair. The only light + remaining is the little lamp with a shade, behind an easy-chair at the + farther end of the salon. I continue to write, but my strokes take all + kinds of shapes. + + Suddenly, M. Antoniadi exclaims that he is enveloped by the curtain, + which rests upon his shoulders. Eusapia cries, "What is this that is + passing over me?" The round table comes forth beneath the curtain. + Mme. Flammarion, who is standing opposite the window, and has kept + looking behind the curtain, says that she sees some very white object. + At the same moment M. Flammarion, Mme. Fourton, and M. Jules Bois + exclaim that they have just seen a white hand between the curtains, + above Eusapia's head; and, at the same moment, M. Mathieu says that + his hair is being pulled. The hand we saw seemed small, like that of a + woman or of a child. + + "If there is a hand there," says M. Flammarion, "could it perhaps + grasp an object?" M. Jules Bois holds a book out toward the middle of + the right-hand curtain. The book is taken and held two seconds. Mme. + Flammarion, whom I see always silhouetted upon the bright glass of the + window, and who is looking behind the curtain, _cries that she has + seen the book pass through_. + + M. F. proposes to light up and verify. But everybody agrees in + thinking that the curtain may have already changed its position. A + moment afterwards the curtain is again puffed out, and M. Antoniadi + says that he is hit four or five times on the shoulder. Eusapia has + asked him more than ten times whether he is quite "_seguro_" (sure) + that he has hold of her hand and her foot. + + "Yes, yes," he replies, "_seguro, segurissimo_" ("sure, quite sure"). + + Mme. Fourton says that for the second time she has seen a hand + stretched out and that this time it touched the shoulder of M. + Antoniadi. M. Jules Bois says that for the second time he has seen a + hand stretched out at the end of a small arm, the fingers moving, the + palm forward. (It is impossible to decide whether these two visions + were simultaneous or not.) + + We are getting accustomed to the almost complete darkness; I can still + read "11.15" by my watch. M. Antoniadi says his ear is pinched very + hard. M. Mathieu says he is touched. M. Antoniadi feels his chair + pulled: it falls to the floor. He lifts it again and seats himself on + it, and is again hit very hard on the shoulder. + + About 11.20, at the request of Eusapia, M. Flammarion replaces M. + Mathieu. He holds her two feet and one hand; M. Antoniadi holds the + other hand. The lamp is lowered still more. The darkness is almost + complete. M. Flammarion, having remarked that an unknown physical + force is evidently present, but perhaps not an individual personality, + feels his hand seized all of a sudden by some one (or some thing), and + is interrupted. Then, a little after, he complains that his beard is + being pulled (on the side opposite the medium, where I am. I did not + perceive anything). + + At 11.30 the lamp is turned up. It is comparatively bright in the + room. The curtain, after all these movements, is seen to be more and + more pushed aside, enveloping the head of Eusapia. Suddenly, above her + head, we all see the tambourine slowly appear and fall upon the table + with a noise like that of sheep-bells. It seems to me brighter than + the feeble glimmer of the concealed lamp would justify and as if + accompanied by white phosphorescent gleams; but they are perhaps + flashes of light from its gilded ornaments, which, however, ought to + appear yellower. + + When the lamp is turned down, the noise of moving furniture is heard; + the round table is fetched clear up onto the top of the large table. + It is removed, and the tambourine executes a dance all alone with a + peculiar sound like the ringing of bells. Mme. Fourton says that she + has had her hand pressed and her fore-arm pinched. + + At 11.45 the window curtain is closed in its turn; and, after a + moment, we all see in the direction in which the cleft in the corner + curtain ought to be, above Eusapia's head, a large white star of the + color of Vega, though larger and of a softer light, and which rests + motionless for some seconds, then is extinguished. Shortly after, a + zigzag glimmer of light, of the same white color, runs over the + right-hand curtain, tracing two or three upright lines of several + inches in length, like an N very much elongated. + + In spite of the fact that night has fallen, there is still sufficient + light entering by the two uncurtained windows, and proceeding from the + vague glimmer of the lamp behind the easy-chair, to enable each one + of us to distinguish his neighbors. Our silhouettes are outlined in + the large mirror near us and above the sofa. The white collars of the + men are clearly seen, their faces a little less clearly. Yet on my + left I see very plainly M. Baschet, on my right Mme. Brisson, standing + and holding her hand up to her face to shield the eyes. I also + distinguish Mme. Flammarion, who has come and seated herself near her. + + M. Flammarion feels an object gliding over his hair. He begs Mme. de + Labadye to take hold of it; and a music-box falls into his hands, + which, before the séance, was placed upon the ogee, in the corner + concealed by the curtain. M. Brisson has taken the place at the table + formerly occupied by M. Flammarion, facing Eusapia. A cushion hits him + full in the face. As I am approaching the mirror, I see the reflection + of this passing cushion by the comparatively bright light at the far + end of the room. + + M. Baschet seizes the object and rests his elbow upon it. It is + snatched from him, flies over our heads, hits the mirror, falls upon + the sofa, and rolls upon my foot. All this without my being able to + perceive any movement on the part of the medium. + + Midnight draws near. The séance is adjourned. + + MM. Antoniadi and Mathieu then declare that the control with which + they were charged has not been successful, and that they are not sure + that they have always had hold of the medium's hands. + + + Report of M. Antoniadi + + (_The Same Séance_) + + I shall give you an exact account of the rôle I played, that I may + gratify your desire to know the truth. + + I restricted myself to ascertaining whether there was _a single + phenomenon_ which could not be explained in the most simple manner, + and I arrived at the conclusion that there was not. I assure you, on + my word of honor, that my watchful, silent attitude _convinced me, + beyond all manner of doubt, that everything is fraudulent, from the + beginning to the end_; that there is no doubt that Eusapia shifts her + hands or her feet, and that the hand or the foot that one is thought + to control is never held tight or very strongly pressed at the moment + of the production of the phenomena. My certain conclusion is that + _nothing_ is produced without the substitution of hands. I ought to + add that, at first, I was very much astonished when I was hit hard in + the back, from behind the curtain, while I was very clearly holding + _two hands_ with my right hand. Happily, however, at this moment, Mme. + Flammarion having given us a little light, I saw that I held the + _right_ hand of Eusapia and--yours! + + The substitution is made by Eusapia with extraordinary dexterity. In + order to ascertain it, I was obliged to concentrate my mind upon her + very slightest movements with the severest attention. But it is the + first step that costs; and, once familiarized with her artifices, I + predicted with decision _all_ the phenomena by the sensation of touch + alone. + + Being a good observer, I am absolutely certain that I was not + deceived. I was neither hypnotized, nor was I at all frightened during + the "bringing in" of objects. And, as I am not a lunatic, I believe + that a certain weight should be given to my affirmations. + + It is true that, during the séance, I was not sincere, disguising the + truth of the efficacy of my control. I did that with the sole purpose + of making Eusapia think that I was a convert to Spiritualism. I did + this to _avoid scandal_. But, once the sitting was over, the Truth + choked me, and I was most eager to communicate it to my great + benefactor and official superior. + + It is not prudent to be too affirmative. It is for that reason that I + have always been reserved in my interpretation of natural phenomena. + Consequently, I am unable to be so terribly affirmative as to take + oath to the absolute charlatanism of the manifestations of Eusapia, + before, as Shakespeare says, I have "rendered assurance doubly sure." + + I have no personal ambition in the spiritistic line, and all the + careful observations that I made during this séance of November 21 are + only one stone the more contributed to the edifice of Truth. + + _It is not on account of prejudice_ that I do not believe in the + reality of the manifestations, and I can assure you, if I were able to + see _the least_ phenomenon that was really extraordinary or + inexplicable, I should be the first to confess my error. + + The reading of several books has led me to admit the possible reality + of these manifestations, but direct experience has convinced me of the + contrary. + + My frankness in this report unhappily borders upon indiscretion. But + frankness is here synonymous with devotion, for it would be to betray + you if I were false for an instant to the sacred cause of Truth. + + + Report of M. Mathieu. + + (_Séance of November 25_) + + The séance opens at 9.30. M. Brisson, controller on the left, puts his + feet on Eusapia's feet; M. Flammarion, controller on the right, holds + her knees. In a moment the table leans to the right, its two left feet + are lifted and then it falls back; then follows the lifting of the two + right feet, and finally the lifting of the whole table off of its four + feet to a height of about seven inches above the floor (contact of + feet certain and knees motionless). I take a photograph. + + At 9.37 a slight lifting on the left; then a lifting on the right, and + a total levitation (photograph). + + During the levitations of the table the salon is lighted by a strong + Auer burner. It is now extinguished and is replaced by a little lamp + which is placed behind a fire-screen at the farther end of the room. + Absolute control of the hands and of the feet made by MM. Brisson and + Flammarion. + + M. Brisson is slightly touched on the right hip, and at this moment + the two hands of Eusapia are plainly seen. + + At 9.48 the curtain shakes and then puffs out three times in + succession. M. Brisson is again touched on the right hip; the curtain + is drawn back as if by a curtain-band. M. Flammarion, who holds + Eusapia's hand, makes three gestures and to each of his gestures + corresponds a new divergence of the portière. Eusapia recommends that + we "give attention to the temperature of the medium; it will be found + to be changed after each phenomenon." + + At 9.57 the light is diminished and is henceforth very feeble. The + curtain bellies out, and at the same moment M. Brisson is touched; + then the curtain is flung forcefully over the table. At the request of + Eusapia, M. Delanne lightly touches her head behind, and the curtain + slightly trembles. + + Eusapia asks that a window be partly opened, the one in the middle of + the salon, saying that we shall see something new. M. Flammarion holds + with his left hand the knees of the medium, and with his right hand + holds the wrist, the thumb, and the palm of her right hand before him + at the height of the eyes. M. Brisson holds the left hand. Eusapia + seems to call something from the direction of the window, making + gestures, and saying, "I will catch it." Then a little branch of + privet comes and touches M. Flammarion's hand, apparently arriving + from somewhere near the window. M. F. takes this branch. A moment + later two spindle-tree branches come from behind the curtain at the + height of M. Brisson's head and past the edge of the curtain, which is + pulled up and back. The branches fall on the table. + + M. Brisson, all this time at Eusapia's left, is next touched on the + hip, _at a moment when the hand of the medium is at the height of M. + Flammarion's beard_. Then the chair of M. Brisson is pulled and pushed + about. We hear distinctly, behind the curtain, sounds from the shaking + of the round table, upon which is the tambourine. Certain vibrations + of the tambourine are produced, corresponding to the movements of the + round table. At this moment M. Brisson mentions the fact that he has + been out of touch with the foot of the medium for about half a second, + but he is then holding her two thumbs about ten inches apart, and M. + Flammarion has her right hand close to his breast. The right hand of + M. Brisson, holding the left of Eusapia, passes behind the curtain, + and M. Brisson says that he has the impression of something like a + dress-skirt puffed out against his ankle. + + Thereupon ensues new jolting and bumping of the round table and the + tambourine, with displacement of the round table. (Undoubted control + by MM. Flammarion and Brisson.) + + 10.30. Clattering noises of the round table in the cabinet are heard. + M. Flammarion makes gestures with his hand, and synchronistic + movements of the table and of the tambourine take place in the dark + cabinet. + + 10.35. Eusapia asks for a few minutes' rest. The sitting is resumed at + 10.43. The violin and the bell are hurled with force through the cleft + in the curtain (M. Brisson gives assurance that he holds Eusapia's + left hand by the thumb, upon her knees, and M. Flammarion the entire + right hand). At this moment a photograph is taken by flash-light. + Cries and groans from Eusapia, blinded by the light. + + The sitting begins again some minutes afterward, and M. Jules + Claretie, sitting at the left of M. Brisson, has his fingers twice + touched by a hand. M. Baschet, who is standing away from the table, + holds out a violin to the curtain: the violin is seized and thrown + into the cabinet. He holds a book out to the curtain: this book is + seized, but falls to the floor, _before the curtain_. + + M. Claretie presents a cigarette-holder and feels a hand which tries + to seize it, but he resists and will not let it go. M. Flammarion asks + him to let go of the object: the hand bears off the prize. A moment + after, this object is thrown from the cleft between the two curtains + against Mme. de Basilewska at the other end of the table. It had been + both presented and removed at the middle of the curtain. + + At eleven o'clock Eusapia begs for a little more light. M. Claretie + has become controller of the left in place of M. Brisson. He is + touched on the left side. Then the round table is overturned while + advancing toward the main table. M. Claretie perceives that his chair + is moving backwards, as if pulled back; then he is hit on the shoulder + and experiences a strong pressure under the arm-pit. The curtain + suddenly approaches M. Claretie, brushes against him, and envelops + both himself and the medium. M. Claretie is then pinched in the cheek. + M. Flammarion presents to the curtain the hand of Mme. Fourton, and + the two hands are pinched through the curtain. + + The music-box, which is in the dark cabinet, falls on the table; Mmes. + Gagneur and Flammarion at the same moment make mention of a hand. M. + Baschet presents the music-box to the curtain; a hand seizes it + through the curtain, he resists, the hand pushes him away; he presents + it again, the hand seizes it and throws it back, and the box thus + thrown wounds M. Claretie, who is struck beneath the left eye. The + tambourine is thrown forward upon the table after having remained + suspended a moment above the head of the medium. + + At 11.15 a complete levitation of the table for seven or eight + seconds. Absolute control by MM. Flammarion and Claretie. M. + Flammarion has his knee pinched by a hand. Next the round table is + transferred to the knees of M. Claretie and is forced upon him in + spite of all his resistance. Levitations of the table take place in + full light. Verification of the feet. The feet of one of the + controllers are beneath, those of the other above, and those of the + medium between the two. + + + Report of M. Pallotti + + (_Séance of November 14_) + + (There are present at this séance, besides the hosts of the evening: + M. and Mme. Brisson, M. and Mme. Pallotti, M. le Bocain, M. Boutigny, + Mme. Fourton.) + + At the commencement of the sitting several levitations of the table + took place, and, when I asked the spirit who was present if he could + let me see my daughter Rosalie, I obtained an affirmative reply. I + then made an agreement with the said spirit that a series of eight + regular raps would indicate to me the moment when my dear daughter + would be present. After some minutes of waiting, the number of raps + agreed on was heard in the table. These raps were vigorous and made at + fixed intervals. + + I found, at this time, that I was placed opposite to the medium,--that + is to say, facing her,--at the other end of the table. When I asked + the spirit to embrace me and caress me, I immediately felt an icy + breath before my face, but yet without experiencing the least + sensation of contact. + + When the medium announced the materialization of the spirit in these + words, "_E venuta, e venuta_" ("She is here, she is here"), I + distinguished over the middle of the table a spectral form, dim and + confused, but which, little by little, grew brighter, and took the + shape of the head of a young girl of the same stature as Rosalie. + + When objects, such as the music-box, violin, or the like, were + unexpectedly brought before us, I saw very plainly the shape of a + little hand emerging from the curtain that hung close by me, and which + placed these different objects upon the table. + + I ought to declare that, during these inexplicable phenomena, the + chain was not broken for a single moment: it would consequently have + been materially impossible for one of us to have made use of his + hands. + + I will now describe the last phenomena in which I was for a little + while both actor and spectator. These events closed the séance. + + One of the company, M. Boutigny, who was affianced to my daughter, + having left the table to give his place to one of the spectators, I + saw him approach the curtain of which I have spoken, which at once + gaped open by his side. I ascertained this fact very precisely. + + M. Boutigny then announced to us aloud that he was being very + affectionately caressed. The medium, who was at this moment in an + extraordinary state of agitation, kept saying, "_Amore mio, amore + mio!_" ("My love, my love!"), and, addressing herself to me, called to + me several times in the following words, "_Adesso vieni tu! vieni + tu!_" ("Come at once, come!") + + I hastened to take the place which M. Boutigny occupied near the + curtain, and I was scarcely there when I felt myself kissed several + times. I was able for an instant to touch the head which was kissing + me, which, however, drew back from the contact of my hands. + + I ought to say that, while these events were taking place, my eyes + were carefully observing the medium as well as the persons who were by + my side. I can therefore, boldly certify that I was not the victim of + any illusion or subterfuge, and that the head which I touched was the + head of a real and unknown person. I felt myself afterwards gently + stroked several times, upon the face and head, the neck and the + breast, by a hand which came out from behind the curtain. At last I + saw the portière move aside and a little hand, very moist, very soft, + stretched out and placed on my right hand. Quick as thought, I reached + my left hand to this place to seize it; but, after having held it + closely pressed in mine for several seconds, it seemed to melt away + between my fingers. + + Before closing, let me say, by way of additional authentication, that + M. Flammarion had the extreme kindness to have this séance given for + my family and myself, and it therefore took on a very markedly private + character. + + The séance having lasted from 9.20 to 11.45 P.M., we several times + asked the medium if she felt fatigued. Eusapia said no. It was only + when the last experiment took place, when we (myself and my family) + had been caressed and embraced, that the medium, feeling tired, + decided to end the sitting. + + My wife is convinced, as I am, that she embraced her daughter, + recognizing her hair and the general appearance of her person. + + + Report of M. Le Bocain + + (_The Same Séance_) + + The following are some extraordinary phenomena which I observed during + the course of this séance and of which I believe I can give a report + as exact as it is impartial, having personally taken the most minute + precautions to assure myself of the perfect fairness of the conditions + under which these different wonders were produced. + + I only speak, be it understood, of circumstances or actions with which + I myself was associated both as actor and as spectator. + + 1. At the opening of the sitting and _during the time_ that the table + was engaged in all sorts of noisy pranks, I clearly felt the pressure + of a hand clasping me in a friendly way upon the right shoulder. In + order to make the matters clear, I ought to depose that-- + + a) I sat at the left of the medium and held her hand; that, + furthermore, during the whole sitting her foot was placed on mine. + + b) That, with Eusapia's hand always tightly pressed in mine, I proved, + by _suddenly_ placing it upon her knees, _at the very moment that the + table was rising from beside us_, that her lower limbs were in a + normal position and _absolutely motionless_. + + c) For these different reasons, it seems to me, in fact, _impossible_ + that Eusapia could have made any use whatever of these two limbs + (which happened to be placed by me) to execute a movement, even + unconscious, that could give rise to the least suspicion. + + 2. At a certain point in the proceedings I felt on my right cheek the + sensation of a fondling caress. I felt very distinctly that it was a + real hand which was touching my skin, and nothing else. The hand in + question seemed to me of small size, and the skin was soft and moist. + + 3. Towards the end of the séance I felt upon my back a gust of cold + air, and at the same time _I heard_ the curtain behind me slowly open. + + Then, when I turned around, very much puzzled, I perceived standing at + the lower end of this kind of alcove a form,--indistinct, it is true, + but not so much so that I could not recognize the silhouette of a + young girl whose figure was slightly beneath the average. I ought to + say here that my sister Rosalie was also of short stature. The head of + this apparition was not very distinct. It seemed surrounded by a short + of shaded aureole. The whole form of the statue, if I may so express + myself, stood out very little from the dim obscurity from which it had + emerged; that is to say, it was not very luminous. + + 4. I addressed myself to the spirit in Arabic, in very nearly the + following terms: + + "If it is really thou, Rosalie, who art in the midst of us, pull the + hair on the back of my head three times in succession." + + About ten minutes later, and when I had almost completely forgotten + my request, I felt my hair pulled three separate times, just as I had + desired. I certify this fact, which, besides, formed for me a most + convincing truth of the presence of a familiar spirit close about us. + + LE BOCAIN, _Illustrator_, + _Rire, Pêle-Mêle, Chronique Amusante, etc._ + +I have restricted myself to presenting here these different reports,[28] +in spite of certain contradictions, and even because of them. The reports +mutually supplement each other and form a complete whole, through the +entire independence of each observer. + +You see how complex the subject is, and how difficult it is to form a +radical conviction, an absolute scientific judgment. Some phenomena are +incontestably true: there are others which are doubtful and which we may +attribute to fraud, conscious or unconscious, and sometimes also to +illusions of the observers. The levitation of the table, for example, its +complete detachment from the floor under the action of an unknown force +acting in opposition to the law of gravity, is a fact which cannot +reasonably be contested. + +I may remark, in this connection, that the table almost always rises +hesitatingly, after balancings and oscillations, while, on the contrary, +when it falls back it goes straight down at one swoop, alighting squarely +on its four feet.[29] + +On the other hand, since the medium constantly seeks to release one hand +(generally her left hand) from the control designed to hinder her from +doing so, a certain number of the touches felt and of the displacements of +objects may be due to a substitution of hands. This behavior of hers will +be the subject of a special examination in the following chapter. + +But it would be impossible by the whole force of the hand to produce the +violent movement of the curtain, which seems to be inflated by a +tempestuous wind, and projected to the very centre of the table, forming a +great hood around the heads of the sitters. To fling out the curtain with +such force, it would be necessary for the medium to rise and push on it as +hard as she could with her extended arms--not once merely, but again and +again. But how can she do this when she is all the while seated tranquilly +in her chair? + +These experiments place us in a special environment or atmosphere, on the +different physical and psychical characters of which it is difficult to +form an opinion. + +At the time of the last séance, during which M. and Mme. Pallotti are sure +of having seen, touched, and embraced their daughter, I saw nothing, at +that moment, of this spectral form, although it was only a few yards from +me, and although I had perceived, some moments before, the head of a young +girl. It is true that, out of respect for their emotion, I did not +approach their group. But I kept careful watch, and I perceived no one but +the living. + +At the séance of November 10 the noise of a sonorous object notified us of +a displacement, a movement. We seem to hear the violin strings lightly +touched. It is, in fact, the little violin on the round table, which is +lifted to a height somewhat above that of the head of the medium, passes +into the opening between the two curtains, and appears before us with the +neck forward. The idea comes into my head to grasp this instrument during +its slow passage through the air; but I hesitate, because I wish to see +what will become of it. It comes as far as the middle of the table, +descends, then falls, partly upon the table, partly upon the left hand of +M. Brisson and the right hand of Mme. Fourton. + +That was one of the most accurate observations that I made at this séance. +I did not let go of Eusapia's right hand for a single instant, and M. +Brisson did not for a moment let go of her left hand. + +But in the face of phenomena so incomprehensible we always revert to +scepticism. In the séance of November 19 we had thoroughly resolved this +time not to leave any loophole for doubt as to the hands, to hinder every +attempt at substitution, and to have the most complete control of each +hand, without having our attention withdrawn from this object for a single +moment. Eusapia has only two hands. She belongs to the same zoological +species that we do, and is neither trimanous nor quadrumanous. + +It was enough, then, that there were two of us; that each one took a hand +of the medium and kept hold of it between the thumb and the forefinger, +that no possible doubt might arise, drew in the elbows, and held the said +hand as far removed as possible from the axis of the medium's body and +pressed against our own person, so as to remove the objection about the +substitution of hands. + +That was the essential object of this séance, as far as concerned M. +Brisson and me. He had charge of the left hand. I had charge of the +right. I need not add that I am as sure of the loyalty of M. Brisson as he +is sure of mine, and that, forewarned as we were, and holding this séance +for the express purpose of this control, we could neither of us be the +dupes of any attempt at fraud, so far as regards that occasion, at least. + +The famous medium, Home, had several times spoken to me of a curious +experiment that he and Crookes made with an accordion held in one of his +hands and playing all by itself, without the lower end being held by +another hand. Crookes has represented this experiment by a sketch in his +memoir upon this subject. The medium is seen holding the accordion with +one hand in a kind of open-work cage, and the accordion is playing by +itself. I shall give the details of this matter farther on. + +I tried the experiment in another way, by holding the accordion myself, +and not letting it be touched by the medium. The feats which we had just +witnessed, and which were performed while Eusapia had her hands securely +held, gave me the hope of succeeding, so much the more because we believed +that we had seen fluid hands in action. + +I, therefore, take a little new accordion, bought that evening in a +bazaar, and, approaching the table and remaining in a standing position, I +hold the accordion by one side, resting two fingers upon two keys, in such +a way as to permit the air to pass in case the instrument should begin to +play. + +So held, it is vertically suspended by the stretching out of my right hand +to the height of my head, and above the head of the medium. We make sure +that her hands are all the time tightly held and that the chain is +unbroken. After a short wait of five or six seconds I feel the accordion +drawn by its free end, and the bellows is immediately pushed in several +times successively; and at the same time the music is heard. There is not +the least doubt that a hand, a pair of pincers, or what-not, has hold of +the lower end of the instrument. I perceive very well the resistance of +this prehensible organ. All possibility of fraud is eliminated; for the +instrument is well above Eusapia's head, her hands are firmly held, and I +distinctly see the distention of the curtain as far as the instrument. The +accordion continues to make itself heard, and is pulled on so strongly +that I say to the invisible power, "Well, since you have such a good hold +on it, keep it!" I withdraw my hand, and the instrument remains as if +glued to the curtain. It is no longer heard. What has become of it? I +propose to light a candle to hunt for it. But the general opinion is that, +since things are going so well, it is better to make no changes in the +environment. While we are talking, the accordion begins to play,--a slight +and rather insignificant air. In order to do that, it must be held by two +hands. At the end of fifteen or twenty seconds it is brought to the middle +of the table (playing all the while). The certainty that hands are playing +it is so complete that I say to the Unknown, "Since you hold the accordion +so well, you can doubtless take my hand itself." I reach out my arm at the +height of my head, rather a little higher. The curtain inflates, and +through the curtain I feel a hand (a pretty strong left hand); that is to +say, three fingers and the thumb, and these grasp the end of my right +hand. + +Let us suppose for an instant that the accordion could have been pulled by +one of Eusapia's hands, which she had released, lifted up, and screened +behind the curtain. It is a very natural hypothesis. Let us say that the +two controllers on the right and on the left respectively were cheated by +the dexterity of the medium. That is not impossible. But, then, that the +instrument might play, our heroine would have had to release her two hands +and leave the two controllers at loggerheads with their own hands. It is +something not to be thought of. + +Apropos of the existence of a third hand, a fluid hand, created on the +spur of the moment, with muscles and bones (an hypothesis so bold that one +hardly dares to express it), I relate here what we observed during the +sitting of November 19. + +M. Guillaume de Fontenay, with whom the experiments at Montfort-l'Amaury +were made, in 1897, at the home of the Blech family, had come on purpose +from the centre of France, with a great profusion of apparatus and of new +processes, to try to get some photographs. The medium appeared to be +enchanted with them, and toward the middle of the soirée said to us, "You +are going to have, this evening, something that you did not expect, +something which has never been accomplished by any other medium, and which +can be photographed as an unimpeachable record." She then explains to us +that I am to lift my hand up, while firmly holding hers by the wrist; that +M. Sardou, while holding her left hand, will keep watch over it above the +table, and that then her third hand will appear in the photograph, her +fluidic hand, holding the violin near her head, at some distance from her +right hand, behind her, and against the curtain. + +We wait pretty long before anything happens. At length, the medium +trembles, sighs, recommends that we breathe deeply and thus aid her, and +we feel, rather than see, the moving of the violin through the air, with a +slight vibrating noise of the strings. Eusapia cries, "It is time, take +the photograph, quick, don't wait, fire!" But the apparatus does not work: +the magnesium won't kindle. The medium grows impatient, still holds out, +but cries that she cannot hold out much longer. We all vehemently clamor +for the photograph. Nothing moves. In the darkness, which is needed in +order that the plate in the camera shall not have to be veiled, M. de +Fontenay does not succeed in lighting the magnesium, and the violin is +heard to fall to the floor. + +The medium seems exhausted, groans, laments, and we all regret this check +to the proceedings; but Eusapia declares that she can begin again, and +asks us to get ready. In fact, at the end of five or six minutes the same +phenomena are produced. M. de Fontenay explodes a chlorate of potassium +pistol. The light is instantaneous, but feeble. It enables us to see +Eusapia's left hand being held upon the table by M. Sardou's right hand, +her right hand held in the air by my left hand, and at a distance of about +twelve inches in the rear, at the height of one's head, the violin, +resting vertically against the curtain. But the photograph gives no +picture. + +Eusapia now asks for a little light ("_poco di luce_"). The small +hand-lamp is lighted again, and the illumination is sufficient for us to +see each other distinctly, including the arms, the head of the medium, the +curtain, etc. The chain is formed again. The curtain flares widely out, +and M. Sardou is several times touched by a hand which gives him a good +whack on the shoulder, making him bend his head forward toward the table. +In the presence of this manifestation and of these sensations we have +again the impression that there has been a hand there, a hand different +from those of the medium (which we continue carefully to hold),--and from +ours, because we are holding each other's hands in the chain. Moreover, +there is no one near the curtain, which is plainly visible. I thereupon +remark, "Since there is a hand there, let it take from me this violin, as +it did day before yesterday." I take the violin by the handle and hold it +out to the curtain. It is at once taken and lifted, then falls to the +floor. I do not for a moment let go the hand of the medium. Yet I grasp +this hand with my right hand, for a moment, in order to pick up with my +left the violin that has fallen near me. As I stoop down to the floor, I +feel an icy breath upon my hand, but nothing more. I take the violin and +put it on the table; then I take again with my left hand the hand of the +medium, and, seizing the violin with my right, I hold it out again to the +curtain. But Mme. Brisson, peculiarly incredulous, asks me to let her take +it herself. She does so, holds it out to the curtain, and the instrument +is snatched from her, in spite of all the efforts that she makes to retain +it. Everybody declares they saw very distinctly this time. + +The hands of the medium have not been let go a single minute. + +It seems as if this experiment, made under these conditions, in sufficient +light, ought to leave no doubt about the existence of a third hand of the +medium which acts in obedience to her will. And yet!-- + +During this same soirée of November 19 I ask that the violin, which has +fallen to the floor, be brought again upon the table. We keep holding +carefully the medium's hands, M. Sardou her left hand and I her right. +Eusapia, wishing to give still more security, more certainty, proposes +that I take her two hands, the right as I am holding it, and her left +wrist in my right hand, her left hand always being held by M. +Sardou,--_the whole show of hands taking place on the table_. A noise is +heard. The violin is brought on, passes above our hands, thus +criss-crossed, and is laid down, farther on, in the middle of the table. A +candle is lighted, and the position of our hands is ascertained. They have +not moved. Some time after this phenomena, in the dim light, we all saw +will-o'-the-wisps shining in the cabinet. They were visible through the +cleft in the curtains, which at that time was rather wide. For my part, I +saw three of them, the first very brilliant, the others less intense. They +were not tremulous, nor did they stir in the least, and remained in view +scarcely more than a second. + +M. Antoniadi having remarked that he is not always sure of holding her +left hand, Eusapia says to me in a flush of passion, "Since he is not +sure, take my two hands yourself again." I already hold the right, and am +absolutely certain of it. I thereupon take her left wrist in my right +hand, M. A. declaring that he will take care of the fingers. In this +position, Eusapia's two hands being thus held above the table, a cushion, +which is at my right upon the table, having been forcibly thrown there +some moments before, is seized and thrown over the sofa, brushing my +forehead on the left. Those who sit at the table and form the chain affirm +that the hands of the chain have not lost touch with each other. + +Here is another circumstance recorded in the notes of Mme. Flammarion: + + We were almost in complete darkness,--the lamp, removed as far as + possible from Eusapia, having only the dim glow of a night-lamp. + Eusapia was seated at the experiment table,--between MM. Brisson and + Pallotti, who were holding her two hands,--and almost facing this + lamp. + + Mme. Brisson and I were seated some yards distant from Eusapia, one of + us on the side and the other in the middle of the salon, Eusapia + facing us, while we had our backs turned to the light. This allowed us + to distinguish well enough everything that passed before us. + + Up to the moment when the event that I am going to relate took place, + Mme. Brisson had remained almost as incredulous as I, apropos of the + phenomena, and she had just been expressing to me in a low tone her + regret at not having yet seen anything herself, when, all of a sudden, + the curtain behind Eusapia began to shake and move gracefully back, as + if lifted by an invisible curtain band,--and what do I see? The little + table on three feet, and leaping (apparently in high spirits) over the + floor, at the height of about eight inches, while the gilded + tambourine is in its turn leaping gayly at the same height above the + table, and noisily tinkling its bells. + + Stupefied with wonder, quick as I can I pull Mme. Brisson to my side, + and, pointing with my finger at what is taking place, "Look!" said I. + + And then the table and the tambourine begin their carpet-dance again + in perfect unison, one of them falling forcibly upon the floor and the + other upon the table. Mme. Brisson and I could not help bursting out + into laughter; for, indeed, it was too funny! A sylph could not have + been more amusing. + +Eusapia had not turned around. She was seen seated; and her hands, placed +before her, were held by the two controllers. Even if she had been able to +free both her hands, she would not have been able to take hold of the +round table and tambourine, except by turning around; and the two ladies +saw them leaping about all alone. + +I observe to Eusapia that she must be very tired, that the séance has +lasted over two hours and has yielded extraordinary results, and that it +is perhaps time to end it. She replies that she desires to continue still +a little longer, and that there will be new phenomena. We accept with +pleasure, and sit down and wait. + +Then she lays her head on my shoulder, takes my entire right arm, +including the hand, and putting my leg between hers, and my feet between +her feet, she held me very tight. Then she begins to rub the carpet, +drawing my feet along with hers, and squeezing me tighter than before. +Then she cries, "_Spetta! spetta!_" ("Look! look!"); then, "_Vieni! +vieni!_" ("Come! come!") She invites M. Pallotti to take a place behind +his wife and see what will happen. I must add that both of them had been +earnestly asking, for some minutes, if they might see and embrace their +daughter, as they had done at Rome. + +After a new nervous effort on the part of Eusapia, and a kind of +convulsion accompanied by groans, complaints, and cries, there was a great +movement of the curtain. Several times I see the head of a young girl +bowing before me, with high-arched forehead and with long hair. + +She bows three times, and shows her dark profile against the window. A +moment after we hear sounds from M. and Mme. Pallotti. They are covering +with kisses the face of a being invisible to us, saying to her with +passionate affection, "Rosa, Rosa, my dear, my Rosalie," etc. They say +they felt between their hands the face and the hair of their daughter. + +My impression was that there was really there a fluidic being. I did not +touch it. The grief of the parents, revived and consoled at the same time, +seemed to me so worthy of respect that I did not approach them. But, as to +the identity of the spectral being, I believed it to be a sentimental +illusion of theirs. + +I come now to the strangest circumstances of all, the most +incomprehensible, the most incredible, of any that we experienced in our +séances. + +On November 21 M. Jules Bois presents a book before the curtain at about +the height of a man standing upright. The salon is dimly lighted by a +little lamp with a shade, set pretty well to one side. Yet objects are +seen with distinctness. + +An invisible hand behind the curtain seizes the book. Then all the +observers see it disappear as if it had passed through the curtain. It is +not seen to fall before the curtain. It is an octavo, rather slender, +bound in red, which I have just taken from my library. + +Now Mme. Flammarion, almost as sceptical as M. Baschet about these +phenomena, had glided past the window to the rear of the curtain, in order +to observe carefully what was passing. She hoped to detect a movement of +the medium's arm, and to unmask her, in spite of the courtesy she owed her +as her hostess. She saw very plainly Eusapia's head, motionless before the +mirror which reflected the light. + +Suddenly the book appears to her, it having passed through the +curtain,--upheld in the air, without hands or arms, for a space of one or +two seconds. Then she sees it fall down. She cries, "Oh! the book: it has +just passed through the curtain!" and, pale and stupefied with wonder, she +abruptly retires among the observers. + +The entire hither side of the curtain was plainly visible, because the +left portion of the left-hand curtain had been loosened from its rod by +the weight of a person who had sat down on the sofa where the lower part +of the curtain had been accidentally placed; and because a large opening +had been made fronting the mirror which filled the entire wall of the +farther end of the salon,--a mirror that reflected the light of the little +lamp. + +If such an event had really taken place, we should be forced to admit that +the book went through the curtain without any opening, for the tissue of +the fabric is wholly intact; and we cannot suppose for a single moment +that it passed through at the side, the book having been held out about +the middle,--that is to say, about twenty-four inches from each side of +the curtain, the breadth of which is four feet. + +Nevertheless, this book was seen by Mme. Flammarion, who was looking +behind the curtain; and it disappeared from the eyes of the persons who +were in front, notably M. Baschet, M. Brisson, M. J. Bois, Mme. Fourton +and myself. We were not expecting this miracle in any way; we were +stupefied by it; we asked what had become of the book, and it seemed as if +it had fallen behind the curtain. + +Collective hallucination? But we were all in cool blood, entirely +self-possessed. + +If Eusapia had been able to adroitly slip her hand around and seize the +book through the portière, the bare outline of the book would not have +been seen, but a protuberance of the portière. + +How great a value the sight of this thing passing through a portière would +have as a scientific datum, if one were only sure of the absolute honesty +of the medium,--if, indeed, this medium were a man of science, a +physicist, a chemist, an astronomer, whose scientific integrity would be +above suspicion! The mere fact of the possibility of fraud takes away +ninety-nine one-hundredths of the worth of the observation, and makes it +necessary for us to see it a hundred times before being sure. The +conditions of certainty ought to be understood by all investigators, and +it is curious to hear intelligent persons express surprise at our doubts, +and at the strict scientific obligation we are under to lay down these +conditions. In order to be sure of abnormalities like these levitations, +for example, we must make sure of them a hundred times over; not see them +once, but a hundred times. + +It seems to us impossible that matter could pass through matter. You place +for example a stone upon a napkin. If one should tell you that he has +found it under the napkin, without any break in the continuity of the +tissue, you would not believe him. However, I take a piece of ice, +weighing say two pounds, and place it upon a napkin; I place both upon a +strainer, in the oven; the piece of ice melts, passes through the napkin, +and falls drop by drop into a basin. I put the whole thing into a freezing +machine, the melted water congeals again; the piece of ice weighing two +pounds has passed through the napkin. + +It is very simple, you think. Yes, it is simple because we understand it. +But, of course, this is not the same case as that of the book. Yet, after +all, it is matter passing through matter, after a transformation of its +physical condition. + +We might seek explanations, invoke the hypotheses of the fourth dimension, +or discuss the non-Euclidian geometry. It seems to me more simple, +however, to think that, on the one hand, these experiments are not yet +sufficient for us to make an absolute affirmation, and that, on the other +hand, our ignorance of everything is formidable and forbids us to deny +anything. + +The phenomena of which I am speaking are so extraordinary that one is led +to doubt them, even when one feels assured that he has seen them. Thus, +for example, I noticed that M. René Baschet--my learned friend, present +editor of _Illustration_--affirmed before us all, during the séance and +afterward, that he saw with his own eyes, under the table, a head like +that of a young girl of about twelve years of age, together with the bust. +This head sank down vertically while he was looking at it and disappeared. +He made the affirmation on the 21st, repeated it on the 22d at a theatre +where we met, and on the 25th again at his home. Some time after, M. +Baschet was convinced that he had been deceived, that he had been the dupe +of an illusion. That is also possible. I was looking at the same time, as +well as other persons, and we did not see anything. + +It is then very human, when we are thinking, some days later, of these +curious things, for us to suspect ourselves. + +But there are prejudices less explicable. Thus, for example, at the séance +of November 28 a distinguished engineer, M. L., absolutely refused to +admit the levitation of the table, in spite of the evidence. Of this my +readers may judge for themselves. Here is a note which I extract from my +reports: + + M. L. tells me that the medium lifts the table _with her feet_, while + resting her hands upon it. I ask Eusapia to draw back her feet under + her chair. The table is lifted. + + After this second levitation, M. L. declares that he is not satisfied + (although neither of the feet of the medium is under a foot of the + table), and that we must begin the experiment again, without having + _her legs_ touched at any point. The medium then proposes that her + legs be fastened to those of M. L. A third levitation takes place, + after the left leg (the incriminated one) of the medium has been bound + to the left leg of M. L. + + This gentleman then declares that the hypotheses he has made, in order + to explain the phenomenon, are null and void, but that there must be, + all the same, a trick in the thing, because he does not believe in the + supernatural. + + Neither do I believe in the supernatural. And yet there is no trick. + +This manner of reasoning, rather common, does not seem to me scientific. +It is to claim that we know the limits of the possible and of the +impossible. + +People who deny that the earth moves reason in just this way. That which +is contrary to common sense is not impossible. Common sense is the average +state of popular knowledge; that is to say, of general ignorance. + +A man acquainted with the history of the sciences, and who reasons calmly, +cannot succeed in understanding the ostracism to which certain sceptics +subject unexplained phenomena. "It is impossible," they think. This famous +common sense on which they plume themselves is nothing after all, let me +say, but common opinion, which accepts habitual facts without +comprehending them, and which varies from time to time. What man of good +sense would formerly have admitted that we should one day be able to +photograph the skeleton of a living being, or store up the voice in a +phonograph, or determine the chemical composition of an inaccessible star? +What was science a hundred years ago, two hundred years, three hundred? +Look at astronomy five hundred years ago, and physiology, and medicine, +and natural philosophy, and chemistry. In five hundred years, in a +thousand years, in two thousand years, what will these sciences of ours +be? And in a hundred thousand years? Yes, in a hundred thousand years, +what will human intelligence be? Our actual condition will be to that what +the knowledge of a dog is to that of a cultivated man; that is to say, +there is no possible comparison. + +We smile to-day at the science of learned men of the time of Copernicus or +Christopher Columbus or Ambroise Paré, and we forget that, in a few +centuries, savants will estimate us in the same fashion. There are +properties of matter which are completely hidden from us, and humanity is +endowed with faculties still unknown to us. We only advance very slowly in +the knowledge of things. + +The critics do not always give proof that they possess a very compact +logical power. You speak to them of facts proved by centuries of +testimony. They challenge the value of popular testimony, and declare that +these uncultivated folks, these petty merchants, these manufacturers, +these laborers, these peasants, are incapable of observing with any +exactitude. + +Some days after, you cite the savants, men whose competence has been +proved in the objective sciences of observation, which attest these very +facts, and you hear the sneerers answer that those savants are competent +witnesses in their special lines of study and work, but in nothing apart +from these. + +So, after this fashion, all testimony is refused. They declare that the +thing, being impossible, cannot have been observed at all. + +Of course there is room for a good deal of analysis in discussing the +claims of human testimony. But, if we suppress every piece of testimony, +what will there be left?--our native ignorance. + +But, to tell the truth, there are some of these negative gentry who are +sure of everything, and who impose their aphorisms upon us with the +authority of a czar giving out his ukase or edict. + +From these different experiments with Eusapia Paladino, including those +described in the first and second chapters, the impression is left that +the phenomena observed are, to a great extent, real and undeniable; that a +certain number may be produced by fraud; but that, in fact, the subject is +very complex. Again, certain movements simply belong to the material +order, while others belong at once to the physical order and the psychical +order. All this study is vastly more complicated than people in general +have any idea of. I am going to pass summarily in review other experiments +made by the same medium, and shall afterwards devote a special chapter to +the examination of frauds and mystifications. + +Let us look, first, at other achievements of Eusapia, and select from them +whatever they also have to impart in the way of instruction or caution. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA PALADINO + + +The medium, whose marvellous séance performances we have been describing +has been the subject of a long series of observations by eminent and +careful experimenters. Her endowments are indeed exceptional. When you +study with Eusapia, the comparison of her powers with those of ordinary +cases makes you think of the difference between a fine electrical machine +operated under good atmospheric conditions and a bad one operated on a +rainy day. You see more with her in one hour than in a host of faulty +trials with other mediums. + +Our study of these unknown forces will progress rapidly if, in place of +limiting the results obtained to one or two groups, such as those which +precede, we examine the totality of the observations made in the séances +of this medium. My readers can then compare them with the preceding ones; +they can judge, they can make their own estimates. + +The documents which I am now going to print are all borrowed from the +_Annales des sciences psychiques_ and from the valuable collection of M. +Albert de Rochas upon _The Externalization of Motivity_. + +A few words, first, about the débuts of Eusapia in her mediumistic career. + +Professor Chiaia, of Naples, to whom I owe it that I was able to receive +Eusapia at my house and obtain the experiments reported above, was the +first to bring her gifts into public notice. He first published on the 9th +of August, 1888, in a journal issued at Rome, the following letter +addressed to Professor Lombroso: + + _Dear Sir_,--In your article, _The Influence of Civilization upon + Genius_ (which has incontestable beauties of style and of logic), I + noticed a very happy paragraph. It seems to me to sum up the + scientific movement (starting from the time when man first invented + that head-breaking thing called an alphabet) down to our own day. This + paragraph reads as follows: + + "Every generation is prematurely ready for discoveries which it never + sees born, since it does not perceive its own incapacity and the means + it lacks for making further discoveries. The repetition of any one + manifestation, by impressing itself upon our brains, prepares our + minds and renders them less and less incapable of discovering the laws + to which this manifestation is amenable. Twenty or thirty years are + enough to make the whole world admire a discovery which was treated as + madness at the moment when it was made. Even at the present day + academic bodies laugh at hypnotism and at homoeopathy. Who knows + whether my friends and I, who laugh at Spiritualism, are not in error, + just as hypnotized persons are? Thanks to the illusion which surrounds + us, we may be incapable of seeing that we deceive ourselves; and, like + many persons of unsound mind who stubbornly oppose the truth, we laugh + at those who are not of our way of thinking." + + Struck by this keen thought, which by chance I find adapted to a + certain matter with which I have been occupied for some time, I + joyfully accept it, without abatement, without any comment which might + change its sense; and, confining myself to the fine old rules of + chivalry, I make use of it as a challenge. The consequences of this + challenge will neither be dangerous nor bloody: we shall fight fairly; + and, whatever may be the results of the encounter, whether I succumb + or whether I make my opponent yield, it will always be in a friendly + way. The result will tend to the improvement of one of the two + adversaries and will be in every way useful to the great cause of + truth. + + There is much talk nowadays of a special malady which is found in the + human organism. We notice it every day; but we are ignorant of its + cause and know not what to call it. The cry is raised that it be + subjected to the examination of contemporary science; but science, in + reply, only meets the request with the mocking ironical smile of a + Pyrrhus, for the precise reason (as you say) that the time is not yet + ripe. + + But the author of the paragraph I have quoted above, of course did not + write it merely for the pleasure of writing. It seems to me, on the + contrary, that he would not smile disdainfully if he were invited to + observe a special case that is worthy to attract the attention and to + seriously occupy the mind of a Lombroso. The case I allude to is that + of an invalid woman who belongs to the humblest class of society. She + is nearly thirty years old and very ignorant; her look is neither + fascinating nor endowed with the power which modern criminologists + call irresistible; but, when she wishes, be it by day or by night, she + can divert a curious group for an hour or so with the most surprising + phenomena. Either bound to a seat or firmly held by the hands of the + curious, she attracts to her the articles of furniture which surround + her, lifts them up, holds them suspended in air like Mahomet's coffin, + and makes them come down again with undulatory movements, as if they + were obeying her will. She increases their weight or lessens it + according to her pleasure. She raps or taps upon the walls, the + ceiling, the floor, with fine rhythm and cadence. In response to the + requests of the spectators, something like flashes of electricity + shoot forth from her body, and envelop her or enwrap the spectators of + these marvellous scenes. She draws upon cards that you hold out + everything that you want--figures, signatures, numbers, sentences--by + just stretching out her hand toward the indicated place. If you place + in the corner of the room a vessel containing a layer of soft clay, + you find after some moments the imprint in it of a small or a large + hand, the image of a face (front view or profile), from which a + plaster cast can be taken. In this way, portraits of a face taken at + different angles have been preserved, and those who desire so to do + can thus make serious and important studies.[30] + + This woman rises in the air, no matter what bands tie her down. She + seems to lie upon the empty air as on a couch, contrary to all the + laws of gravity; she plays on musical instruments--organs, bells, + tambourines--as if they had been touched by her hands or moved by the + breath of invisible gnomes. + + You will call that a particular case of hypnotism; you will say that + this sick woman is a fakir in petticoats, that you would shut her up + in a hospital. Let me beg of you, most eminent professor, not to shift + the argument. As is well known, hypnotism only causes a momentary + illusion; after the séance, everything takes its original form. But + here the case is different. During the days which followed these + marvellous scenes there remained traces and records worthy of + consideration. + + What do you think of that? + + But allow me to continue. This woman, at times, can increase her + stature by more than four inches. She is like an india-rubber doll, + like an automaton of a new kind; she takes strange forms. How many + legs and arms has she? We do not know. While her limbs are being held + by incredulous spectators, we see other limbs coming into view, + without knowing where they come from. Her shoes are too small to fit + these witch-feet of her, and this particular circumstance gives rise + to the suspicion of the intervention of mysterious power. + + Don't laugh when I say "_gives rise to the suspicion_." I affirm + nothing; you will have time to laugh presently. + + When this woman is bound, a third arm is seen to appear, and nobody + knows where it comes from. Then follows a long series of droll teasing + tricks. She abstracts bonnets, watches, money, rings, pins, and + produces them again with great adroitness and gayety; she takes coats + and waistcoats, pulls off boots, brushes hats and puts them back upon + the heads of those to whom they belong, curls and strokes mustaches, + and occasionally hits you with a fist, for she also has fits of + ill-temper. I said _a_ fist, because it is always a clumsy and callous + hand that strikes the blow. It has been noticed that the hand of the + sorceress is small. She has large finger-nails; has a moist skin, the + temperature of which varies from the natural warmth of the body to the + icy chill of a corpse the touch of which makes you shiver; she allows + herself to be handled, pinched, observed; and ends by rising into the + air, remaining suspended there with no visible means of support, like + one of those plump wooden hands hung out over the sidewalk as a sign + at the shops of the glove merchants. + +[Illustration: PLATE VII. PLASTER CASTS OF IMPRESSIONS IN CLAY PRODUCED BY +AN UNKNOWN FORCE.] + + I swear to you that I emerge with a very calm spirit from the cave of + this Circe. Freed from her enchantments, I pass all my impressions in + review, and end in scepticism, although the testimony of my senses + assures me that I have not been the sport of an error or of an + illusion. + + All these extraordinary manoeuvres cannot be attributed to + prestidigitation. We ought to be on our guard against every kind of + trickery, and make a scrupulous investigation in order to forestall + mendacity or fraud. + + But the test sometimes fails; the facts do not always meet the demands + of the eager and restless spectators. This is one more mystery to + explain, and proves that the individual herself who works these + wonders is not their sole arbiter. Undoubtedly, she possesses the + exclusive power of producing these portentous feats; but they cannot + materialize except with the co-operation of an unknown agent, some + _deus ex machina_. + + From all this two things result; namely, the great difficulty there is + in examining the true inwardness of this stupefying piece of + charlatanry, and the necessity of making a series of experiments in + order to get together enough of them to illuminate the dark intellects + of the dupes and to overcome the obstinacy of the wranglers. + + Now you see my challenge. If you have not written the paragraph cited + above simply for the pleasure of writing it; if you have the true love + of science; if you are without prejudices,--you, the first alienist in + Italy,--please have the kindness to take the field, and persuade + yourself that you are going to measure swords with a worthy adversary. + + When you can take a week's vacation, leave your beloved studies, and, + instead of going into the country, show me a place where we can meet. + Choose the time yourself. + + You are to have a room into which you will enter alone before the + experiment; there you will arrange the furniture and other objects + just as you wish; you will lock the door with a key. I believe it + would be useless to present the lady to you in the costume worn in the + Garden of Eden, because this new Eve is incapable of retaliating upon + the serpent and of seducing you. + + Four gentlemen will be our seconds, as is fitting in all knightly + encounters; you will choose two, and I will bring the other two. + + No easier conditions were ever drawn up by the Knights of the Round + Table. It is evident that, if the experiment does not succeed, I shall + be able to accuse only the harsh decrees of destiny; you will consider + me but as a man suffering from hallucination, who longs to be cured of + his extravagances. But, if success crowns our efforts, your loyalty + will impose upon you the duty of writing an article, in which, without + circumlocution, reticence, or error, you will attest the reality of + the mysterious phenomena and promise to investigate their causes. + + If you decline this meeting, please explain to me your sentence, "The + time is not yet ripe." Undoubtedly, that might apply to common + intellects, but not to a Lombroso, to whom is addressed this advice of + Dante: "Honor ought to close the lips of falsehood with truth." + + Yours very devotedly and respectfully, + (PROFESSOR) CHIAIA. + +M. Lombroso did not at once accept this eloquent and witty challenge. +However, we shall presently find that learned professor himself +experimenting. In the mean time read what M. de Rochas tells us of +Eusapia's youth:-- + + Her first mediumistic manifestations began at the age of puberty, when + she was about thirteen or fourteen years old. This coincidence is + found in almost all the cases in which the singular power of + producing movements at a distance has been observed. + + At this epoch of her life it was remarked that the Spiritualistic + séances to which she was invited succeeded much better when she was + seated at the table. But they tired and bored her, and she refrained + from taking part in them for eight or nine years. + + It was only in her twenty-second or twenty-third year that the + Spiritualistic education of Eusapia began. It was directed by an + ardent Spiritualist, M. Damiani. It was then that the personality of + _John King_ appeared, a spirit who took possession of her when she was + in the trance state.[31] + + This John King is said to be the brother of Crookes's Katie King, and + to have been Eusapia's father in another existence. It is John who + speaks when Eusapia is in her trance; when he speaks of her, he calls + her "my daughter," and gives advice about the care of her person and + life. M. Ochorowicz thinks this John is a personality created in the + spirit of Eusapia by the union of a certain number of impressions + collected in the different psychic environments in which her life has + been passed. This would be almost the identical explanation for the + personalities suggested by the hypnotists, and for the variations of + personality observed by MM. Azam, Bourru, and Burot, et al. + + Some have thought they noticed that Eusapia prepared herself, + consciously or unconsciously, at the séance, by diminishing her + respiration,--a very singular thing. At the same time, her pulse + gradually rises from 88 to 120 pulsations a minute. Is this a practice + analogous to that which the fakirs of India employ, or a simple effect + of the emotion which, before every séance, Eusapia experiences?--a + fact which has a strong tendency to convince the sitters, but is never + sure of the production of the phenomena. + + Eusapia is not hypnotized; she enters of herself into the trance state + when she becomes a link in the chain of hands. + + She begins to sigh deeply, then yawns and hiccoughs. A series of + varied expressions passes over her face. Sometimes it takes on a + demoniacal look, accompanied by a fitful laugh very much like that + which Gounod gives to Mephistopheles in the opera of _Faust_, and + which almost always precedes an important phenomenon. Sometimes her + face flushes; the eyes become brilliant and liquid, and are opened + wide. The smile and the motions are the mark of the erotic ecstasy. + She says "_mio caro_" ("my dear"), leans her head upon the shoulder of + her neighbor, and courts caresses when she believes that he is + sympathetic. It is at this point that phenomena are produced, the + success of which causes her agreeable and even voluptuous thrills. + During this time her legs and her arms are in a state of marked + tension, almost rigid, or even undergo convulsive contractions. + Sometimes a tremor goes through her entire body. + + To these states of nervous super-activity succeeds a period of + depression characterized by an almost corpse-like paleness of the face + (which is frequently covered with perspiration) and the almost + complete inertia of her limbs. If she lifts her hand, it falls back of + its own weight. + + During the trance her eyes are turned up, and only the white is + visible. Her presence of mind and her general consciousness are + diminished or not at all in evidence. She gives no reply, or, if she + does, her reply is retarded by questions. Eusapia has no recollection + of what has taken place during the séances, except for states of mind + bordering close on those of her normal state; and, consequently, they + only relate, as a general thing, to phenomena of slight intensity. + + In order to aid in the manifestations, she frequently asks that her + force be increased by putting one more person in the chain. It has + frequently happened to her to address a sympathetic spectator, to take + his fingers and press them as if to draw something out of them, then + push them abruptly away, saying that she has enough force. + + In proportion as her trance increases, her sensibility to light + increases. A sudden light causes difficulty in her breathing, rapid + beatings of the heart, an hysterical feeling, general irritation of + the nerves, pain in the head and eyes, and a trembling of the whole + body, with convulsions,--except when she herself asks for light (a + thing which frequently happens to her when there are interesting + verifications to be made upon the subject of displaced objects), for + then her attention is strongly called in other directions. + + She is in constant motion during the active period of the séances. + These movements may be attributed to the hysterical crises which then + agitate her; but they appear to be necessary to the production of the + phenomena. Every time that a movement is being caused at a distance, + she imitates it, either with her hands or with her feet, and by + developing a much stronger force than would be necessary for producing + the movement by contact. + + Here is what she herself says of her impressions when she wishes to + produce a movement at a distance. _She suddenly experiences an ardent + desire to produce the phenomena; then she has a feeling of numbness + and the goose-flesh sensation in her fingers; these sensations keep + increasing; at the same time she feels in the inferior portion of the + vertebral column the flowing of a current which rapidly extends into + her arm as far as her elbow, where it is gently arrested. It is at + this point that the phenomenon takes place._ + + During and after the levitations of the tables she has a feeling of + pain in her knees; during and after other phenomena, in her elbows and + all through her arms. + +It was only in the end of February, 1891, that Professor Lombroso, whose +curiosity had finally been strongly excited, decided to come to Naples to +examine these curious manifestations about which everybody in Italy was +speaking. The following reports by M. Ciolfi were published apropos of +this visit.[32] + + _First Séance_ + + A large room, selected on the first floor by these gentlemen, had been + put at our disposal. M. Lombroso began by carefully examining the + medium, after which we took places around a gaming table. Mme. + Paladino sat at one end; at her left, MM. Lombroso and Gigli; I faced + the medium, between MM. Gigli and Vizioli; then came MM. Ascensi and + Tamburini, who closed the circle, the last named at the right of the + medium and in contact with her. + + The room was lighted by candles placed upon a table behind Mme. + Paladino. MM. Tamburini and Lombroso each held a hand of the medium. + Their knees touched hers, at a certain distance from the feet of the + table; and her feet were under theirs. + + After a rather long wait the table began to move, slowly at first,--a + matter explained by the scepticism, not to say the positively hostile + spirit, of those who were this night in a séance circle for the first + time. Then, little by little, the movements increased in intensity. M. + Lombroso proved the levitation of the table, and estimated at twelve + or fifteen pounds the resistance to the pressure which he had to make + with his hands in order to overcome that levitation. + + This phenomenon of a heavy body sustained in the air, off its centre + of gravity and resisting a pressure of twelve or fifteen pounds, very + much surprised and astonished the learned gentlemen, who attributed it + to the action of an unknown magnetic force. + + At my request, taps and scratchings were heard in the table. This was + new cause for astonishment, and led the gentlemen to themselves call + for the putting out of the candles in order to ascertain whether the + intensity of the noises would be increased, as had been stated. All + remained seated and in contact. + + In a dim light which did not hinder the most careful surveillance, + violent blows were first heard at the middle point of the table. Then + a bell placed upon a round table, at the distance of a yard to the + left of the medium (in such a way that she was placed behind and to + the right of M. Lombroso), rose into the air, and went tinkling over + the heads of the company, describing a circle around our table, where + it finally came to rest. + + In the midst of the expressions of deep amazement which this + unexpected phenomenon drew forth, M. Lombroso showed a strong desire + to hear and to prove it again. Whereupon the little bell began to + sound, and again made the tour of the table, redoubling its strokes + upon it, to such a degree that M. Ascensi, divided between + astonishment and the fear of having his fingers broken (the bell + weighed fully ten ounces), hastened to rise and go and seat himself on + a sofa behind me. + + I kept insisting that we had to do with an intelligent force,--a + matter that he persistently denied,--and that consequently there was + nothing to fear. But M. Ascensi refused, under any circumstances, to + take his place again at the table. + + I called attention to the fact that the circle was broken, since one + of the experimenters had left, and that, under penalty of no longer + being able to observe the phenomena in a cool judicious spirit, it + would be necessary that he should at least keep silent and motionless. + M. Ascensi was very willing to pledge himself to that. + + The light was extinguished, and the experiments began again. While, in + response to a unanimous wish, the little bell was beginning again its + tinklings and its mysterious aërial circuits, M. Ascensi, taking his + cue, unknown to us, from M. Tamburini, went (unperceived, owing to the + darkness), and stood at the right of the medium, and at once with a + single scratch lighted a match, so successfully, as he declared, that + he could _see the little bell, while it was vibrating in the air_, + suddenly fall upon a bed about six feet and a half behind Mme. + Paladino. + + I will not attempt to depict for you the amazement of the learned + body, the most striking manifestation of which was a rapid exchange of + questions and comments upon this strange occurrence. + + After some remarks I made about the intervention of M. Ascensi, who + seemed likely to seriously trouble the psychic condition of the + medium, the darkness was turned on again, so to speak, in order to + continue the experiments. + + At first it was a little work-table, small, but heavy, that moved + about. It was placed at the left of Mme. Eusapia, and it was upon it + that the little bell was placed at the beginning of the séance. This + small piece of furniture struck against the chair on which M. Lombroso + was seated, and _tried to hoist itself up_ on our table. + + In the presence of this new phenomenon, M. Vizioli gave up his place + at our table to M. Ascensi and went to stand between the work-table + and Mme. Eusapia, to whom he turned his back. At least he said he did + all this, for we could not see him on account of the darkness. He took + the little table between his two hands and tried to hold it; but, _in + spite of his efforts, it released itself_ and went rolling over the + floor. + + An important point to note is that, although MM. Lombroso and + Tamburini had not for a moment let go of the hands of Mme. Paladino, + Professor Vizioli announced that he felt a pinch in the back. General + hilarity followed this declaration. + + M. Lombroso stated that he had felt his chair lifted up so that he was + compelled to remain standing for some time, after which his chair had + been so placed as to permit him to sit down again. + + He also experienced twitches upon his clothes. Then he and M. + Tamburini felt the touches of an invisible hand upon their cheeks and + fingers. + + M. Lombroso, especially struck with the two facts of the work-table + and the little bell, judged them of sufficient importance for him to + put off till Tuesday his departure from Naples, which had been first + fixed for Monday. + + Upon his request I promised a new séance, on Monday, at the Hôtel de + Genève. + + + _Second Séance_ + + At eight o'clock in the evening I arrived at the Hôtel de Genève, + accompanied by the medium, Eusapia Paladino. We were received under + the colonnade by MM. Lombroso, Tamburini, Ascensi, and several other + persons whom they had invited; namely Professors Gigli, Limoncelli, + Vizioli, and Bianchi (superintendent of the insane asylum at Sales), + Dr. Penta, and a young nephew of M. Lombroso, who lives at Naples. + + After the customary introductions, we were asked to go up to the + highest story in the house, where we were introduced into a very large + room with an alcove. Curtains, or portières, were let down across the + front of the alcove. Behind the curtains at a distance of about three + feet and a half, measured by MM. Lombroso and Tamburini, there was + placed, in this alcove, a round table, with a porcelain salver filled + with flour, in the hope of obtaining face-imprints in it. The alcove + also contained a tin trumpet, writing-paper, and a sealed envelope + containing a sheet of white paper, to see if we could not get _direct + writing_ on it. + + The gentlemen inspected the alcove with extreme care, in order to + assure themselves that there was nothing there of a fixed-up, + suspicious nature. + + Mme. Paladino sat down at the table, a little less than two feet from + the alcove curtains, turning her back to them. Then, at her request, + she had her body and her feet tied to her chair by means of cloth + bands. This was effected by three members of the company, who left + only her arms free. That done, places were taken at the table in the + following order: on the left of Mme. Eusapia, M. Lombroso; then, in + succession, M. Vizioli, myself, the nephew of M. Lombroso, MM. Gigli, + Limoncelli, Tamburini; finally, Dr. Penta, who completed the circle + and sat at the right of the medium. + + MM. Ascensi and Bianchi refused to form part of the circle, and + remained standing behind MM. Tamburini and Penta. I paid little + attention to these two, being certain that their action was a + premeditated combination in order to redouble the vigilance. I simply + recommended that, while they were observing with extreme care, each + should remain quiet. + + The experiments began in candlelight strong enough to light up the + whole room. After a long wait the table began to move, slowly at + first, then more energetically. However, the movements remained + intermittent, labored, and much less vigorous than at Saturday's + séance. + + The table volunteered a request by taps of its leg designating the + letters of the alphabet, that MM. Limoncelli and Penta should exchange + places. This exchange effected, the table called for the turning out + of lights. + + A moment after, and with more force this time, the movements of the + table began again. Suddenly, in the midst of these, violent blows were + heard. The chair placed at M. Lombroso's right tried to climb up on + the table, then hung suspended upon the arm of the learned professor. + All of a sudden the curtains of the alcove were shaken, and swung + forward over the table in such a way as to envelop M. Lombroso, who + was very much moved by such a wonder, as he himself has declared. + + All these phenomena, happening at long intervals, in the darkness, and + in the midst of noisy conversation, were not estimated at their true + worth. It was thought that they were only the effects of chance or + were jests of some member of the company. + + While we are all waiting and discussing the import of the phenomena + and the greater or less value that should be set on them, the noise of + the fall of an object is heard. When the room is lighted, there is + found at our feet under the table the trumpet which had been placed on + the round table in the alcove behind the curtains. This circumstance, + which MM. Bianchi and Ascensi receive with a burst of laughter, + surprises the experimenters, and has the effect of more completely + fixing their attention. + + The room is darkened again, and, by urgent request some fugitive + glimmers of light are seen to appear and disappear at long intervals. + This phenomenon impressed MM. Bianchi and Ascensi, and put an end to + their incessant railleries, so much so that they came and formed a + part of the circle. At the moment of the appearance of the gleams, and + even some time after they had ceased to show themselves, MM. + Limoncelli and Tamburini, at the right of the medium, said that they + were touched in several places by a hand. M. Lombroso's young nephew, + absolutely sceptical, who had taken a seat by the side of M. + Limoncelli, declared that he felt the touch of a flesh-and-blood hand, + and asked with some impetuosity who did that. He forgot--being not + only sceptical, but artless--that, like himself, all the persons + present were helping to form the chain of hands and were in mutual + contact. + + It was getting late, and the lack of homogeneity in the circle was + abridging the phenomena. Under these conditions I thought I ought to + end the séance and cause the candles to be lighted. + + When MM. Limoncelli and Vizioli were taking leave, the medium being + still seated and bound, and all of us were standing around the table + conversing about the luminous phenomena, and comparing the scattered + and feeble effects obtained in this soirée with those of the Saturday + preceding, and seeking the reason for this difference, we heard noise + in the alcove, and saw the portières which enclosed it vigorously + shaken, and the round table which was behind them slowly advancing + toward Mme. Paladino, still seated and bound. + + On seeing this strange, unexpected phenomena occur in full light, we + were all stupefied with amazement. M. Bianchi and M. Lombroso's nephew + dashed into the alcove, under the impression that some person + concealed there was producing the movement of the portières and the + round table. Their astonishment was unbounded when they ascertained + that there was no one there, and that, under their very eyes, the + table continued to glide over the floor in the direction of the + medium. That is not all. Professor Lombroso observed that, while the + table was in movement, the salver on it had been turned upside down + without a single particle of the flour which it contained being + spilled; and he added that no prestidigitator would have been able to + accomplish such a feat. In the presence of these phenomena taking + place as they did, after the breaking up of the circle, in such a way + as to eliminate the hypothesis of a magnetic current, Professor + Bianchi, in obedience to the love of truth, confessed that it was he + who, for the sake of a joke, had contrived and brought about the fall + of the tin trumpet, but that in the presence of such achievements as + this he could no longer be sceptical, and was going to apply himself + to the study of them in order to investigate their causes. + + Professor Lombroso complained of the trick, and said to M. Bianchi + that, as between professors met in order to make scientific studies + and researches in common, mystifying pranks like this could not but + cast a slur upon the respect due to science. + + Professor Lombroso, who was a prey both to doubt and to ideas of his + own which tormented his mind, made an engagement to be present at + further meetings on his return to Naples in the following summer. + +M. Ciolfi, having sent these two reports to M. Lombroso, the eminent +professor of Turin confirmed their accuracy in the following letter, dated +June 25, 1891:-- + + _Dear Sir_,--The two reports that you have sent me are of the utmost + accuracy. I add that, before we had seen the salver turned over, the + medium had announced that she would sprinkle the faces of those who + sat by her with flour; and everything leads to the belief that such + was her intention, but that she was not able to realize it,--a new + proof, to my mind, of her perfect honesty, especially considering her + semi-unconsciousness. + + I am filled with confusion and regret that I combated with so much + persistence the possibility of the facts called Spiritualistic. I say + facts, because I am still opposed to the theory. + + Please give my greetings to M. E. Chiaia, and, if it is possible, get + M. Albini to examine the visual field and the inner recesses of the + eye of the medium, about which I desire to inform myself. + + Yours very truly, + C. LOMBROSO. + +M. Lombroso soon after published his experiences and reflections, in an +article in the _Annales des sciences psychiques_ (1892) which ends thus: + + None of these facts, (which we must admit, because no one can deny + things which he has seen) is of such a nature as to lead us to form + for their explanation an hypothesis of a world different from that + admitted by the neuro-pathologists. + + Above all, we must not forget that Mme. Eusapia is a neuropath; that + in her childhood she received a blow on the left parietal bone, which + produced a hole so deep that you could put your finger in it; that she + remained subject to attacks of epilepsy, catalepsy, and hysteria, + which take place especially during the séance phenomena; and that, + finally, she has a remarkable obtuseness of touch. + + Well, I do not see anything inadmissible in this,--that in the case of + hypnotic and hysterical persons the excitation of certain centres, + which become powerful by the paralysis of all the others and then + provoke a transposition and a transmission of physical forces, may + also produce a transformation in luminous force or in motive force. + Thus we understand how the force in a medium which I shall call + cortical or cerebral may, for example, lift the table, pull somebody's + beard, hit him, caress him, etc. + + During the transposition of senses due to hypnotism,--when, for + example, the nose and the chin _see_ (and that is a fact which I + observed with my own eyes), and when for some moments all the other + senses are paralyzed, the cortical centre of vision, which has its + seat in the brain, acquires such an energy that it supersedes the eye. + It is this which we have been able to prove, Ottolenghi and I, in the + case of three hypnotized persons, by making use of the lens and of the + prism. + +The phenomena observed would be explained, according to this theory, by a +_transformation_ of the powers of the medium. Let us continue our account +of the experiments. + +Taking into consideration the testimony of Professor Lombroso, several +savants--including MM. Schiaparelli, director of the observatory at Milan; +Gerosa, professor of physics; Ermacora, doctor of natural philosophy; +Aksakof, councillor of state to the Emperor of Russia; Charles du Prel, +doctor of philosophy in Munich; Dr. Richet, of Paris, and Professor +Buffern--met in October, 1892, in the apartment of M. Finzi, at Milan, to +renew these experiments. M. Lombroso was present at several of the +soirées. There were seventeen in all. + +The experimenters present signed the following long declaration: + + The results obtained did not always come up to our expectations. Not + that we did not secure a large number of facts apparently or really + important and marvellous; but, in the greater number of cases, we were + not able to apply the rules of experimental science which, in other + fields of observation, are regarded as indispensable in order to + arrive at certain and incontestable results. The most important of + these rules consists in changing, one after the other, the methods of + experiment, in such a way as to bring out the true cause, or at least + the true conditions of all the events. Now it is precisely from this + point of view that our experiments seem to us still incomplete. + + It is very true that the medium, to prove her good faith, often + voluntarily proposed to change some feature of one or the other + experiment, and frequently herself took the initiative in these + changes. But this applied only to things that were apparently + indifferent, according to our way of seeing. On the contrary; the + changes which seemed to us necessary to put the true character of the + results beyond doubt, either were not accepted as possible or ended in + uncertain results. + + We do not believe we have the right to explain these things by the aid + of insulting assumptions, which many still find to be the simplest + explanation, and of which some journals have made themselves + champions. We think, on the contrary, that these experiments are + concerned with phenomena of an unknown nature, and we confess that we + do not know what the conditions are that are required to produce them. + To desire to fix these conditions in our own right and out of our own + head would be as extravagant as to presume to make the experiment of + Torricelli's barometer with a tube closed at the bottom, or to make + electrostatic experiments in an atmosphere saturated with humidity, or + to take a photograph by exposing the sensitive plate in full light + before placing it in the camera. However, it is a fact that the + impossibility of varying the experiments in our own way has diminished + the worth and the interest of the results obtained, by depriving them + of that rigorous demonstration which we are right in demanding in + cases of this kind, or, rather, to which we ought to aspire. + + The following are the principal phenomena observed. + + + _Levitation of One Side of the Table_ + + We agreed to have the medium sit alone at the table, in full light, + her two hands placed on its upper surface and her sleeves drawn back + to the elbows. + + We remained standing about her, and the space above and under the + table was well lighted. Under these conditions the table rose at an + angle of twenty to forty degrees, and so remained for some minutes, + while the medium was holding her legs stretched out and striking her + feet one against the other. When we pressed with the hand upon the + lifted side of the table, we experienced a considerable elastic + resistance. + + The table was suspended by one of its ends to a dynamometer which was + coupled to a cord: this cord was tied to a small beam supported upon + two wardrobes. + + Under these conditions, the end of the table having been lifted six + and a half inches, the dynamometer showed seventy-seven pounds. The + medium sat at the same narrow end of the table, with her hands + _wholly_ on the table, to the right and the left of the point where + the dynamometer was attached. Our hands formed the chain upon the + table, without pressure: they would not have been able in any case to + do more than _increase_ the pressure brought to bear on the table. On + the contrary, the desire was expressed that the pressure should + diminish, and soon the table began to rise on the side of the + dynamometer. M. Gerosa, who was following the marks on the apparatus, + announced this diminution, expressed by the successive figures 7-1/2, + 4-1/2, 2-1/2, 0 (pounds). At the last the levitation was such that the + dynamometer rested horizontally on the table. + + Then we changed the conditions by putting our hands under the table. + The medium, especially, put hers, not under the edge, where it might + have touched the vertical border-board and exercised a push downwards, + but _under the rail that unites the feet_, and touched this, not with + the palm, but _with the back of the hand_. Thus all the hands together + could only have diminished the traction upon the dynamometer. Upon the + desire being expressed to see this traction augment, it increased from + 7-1/2 pounds to 13 pounds. During all these experiments each of the + medium's feet rested under the foot of her nearest neighbor to right + or left. + + + _Complete Levitation of the Table._ + + It was natural to conclude that if the table, in apparent + contradiction to the law of gravity, was able to rise partly, it would + be able to rise entirely from the floor. As a matter of fact, this is + what happened. _This levitation, one of the most frequent phenomena + that occur in the experiments with Eusapia, stood a most satisfactory + examination._ + + The phenomenon always materialized under the following conditions: the + persons seated about the table place their hands on it, and form the + chain; each hand of the medium is held by the adjacent hand of her two + neighbors; each of her feet remains under the feet of her neighbor, + who also press her knees with theirs. She is seated, as usual, at one + of the small ends of the table, _a position least favorable for a + mechanical levitation_. At the end of several minutes the table makes + a side movement, rises first to the right, then to the left, and + finally mounts off of its four feet straight into the air, and lies + there horizontally (as if it were floating on a liquid), ordinarily at + a height of from 4 to 8 inches (in exceptional cases from 24 to 27 + inches); then falls back and rests on its four feet. It frequently + remains in the air for several seconds, and while there also makes + undulatory motions, during which the position of the feet under the + table can be thoroughly examined. During the levitation the right hand + of the medium often leaves the table, as well as that of her neighbor, + and is held in the air above. + + In order the better to observe this thing, we removed one by one the + persons placed at the table, recognizing the truth that the chain + formed by several persons was neither necessary for this phenomenon + nor for others. Finally, we left only a single person with the medium, + seated at her left. This person placed her foot upon Eusapia's two + feet and one hand upon her knees, and held with her other hand the + left hand of the medium. Eusapia's right hand was on the table, in + full view,--though sometimes she held it in the air during the + levitation. + +[Illustration: PLATE VIII. DRAWING FROM PHOTOGRAPH, SHOWING METHOD OF +CONTROL BY PROFESSORS LOMBROSO AND RICHET OF EUSAPIA. TABLE COMPLETELY +RAISED.] + + As the table remained in the air for several seconds, it was possible + to obtain several photographs of the performance. Three pieces of + photographic apparatus were working together in different parts of the + room, and the illumination was furnished by a magnesium light at the + opportune moment. Twenty photographs were obtained, some of which are + excellent. Upon one of them (Pl. VIII) we see Professor Richet, who + holds one hand, the knees, and a foot of the medium. The other hand of + the latter is held by Professor Lombroso. The table is shown + horizontally lifted,--a fact proved by the interval between the + extremity of each foot and the extremity of the corresponding + projected shadow. + + In all the experiments which precede, we gave our attention + principally to a careful inspection of the position of the hands and + the feet of the medium; and, in this respect, _we believe we can say + that they were safe from all criticism_. Still, a scrupulous sincerity + compels us to mention the fact to which we did not begin to call + attention before the evening of October 5, but which probably must + have occurred also in the preceding experiments. It consists in this, + that the four feet of the table could not be considered as perfectly + isolated during the levitation, because one of them at least was in + contact with the lower edge of the medium's dress. + + On this evening it was remarked that a little before the levitation, + Eusapia's skirt was inflated on the left side until it touched the + foot of the nearest table. One of us having been charged with the duty + of hindering this contact, the table was unable to rise as before, and + it only did rise when the observer intentionally permitted the contact + to take place. This is shown in the photographs taken during this + experiment, and also in those in which the table-foot in question is + visible (after a fashion) at its lower extremity. The reader will see + that at the same time the medium had her hand placed upon the upper + surface of the table, and on the same side, in such a way that this + table-foot was under her influence, as much in its lower portion, by + means of the dress, as in the upper portion, by means of the hand. + + Now in what way is it possible for the contact of a light dress-stuff + with the lower extremity of the foot of a table to assist in the + levitation? That is something we do not know. The hypothesis that the + dress may conceal a solid support, skilfully introduced, which may + serve as a temporary support for the foot of the table, is a very poor + one. + + In fact, to keep the whole table resting on this one foot through the + influence that a single hand could produce upon the upper surface of + the table would require that the hand exercise upon the table a very + strong pressure, one that we cannot suppose Eusapia capable of, even + during three or four seconds. + + We convinced ourselves of this by ourselves making proof of it with + the same table.[33] + + + _Movements of Objects at a Distance, without Contact with Any of the + Persons Present_ + + 1. Spontaneous movements of objects. + + These phenomena were observed several times during our séances. It + often happened that a chair, placed for this purpose not far from the + table, between the medium and one of her neighbors, began to move + about, and sometimes came up to the table. A remarkable instance + occurred in the second séance, everything being _all the time in full + light_. A heavy chair, weighing twenty-two pounds, which stood a yard + from the table and behind the medium, came up to M. Schiaparelli, who + was seated next the medium. He rose to put it back in its place; but + scarcely was he seated when the chair advanced a second time toward + him. + + 2. Movement of the table without contact. + + It was desirable to obtain this phenomenon as a matter of experiment. + For that purpose, the table being placed upon casters, the feet of the + medium were watched, as has been said, and all of the sitters formed + the chain with their hands, including those of the medium. When the + table began to move, we all lifted our hands, without breaking the + chain, and the table thus isolated made several movements. This + experiment was several times renewed. + + + _The Fetching of Different Objects, the Hands of the Medium Being tied + to those of her Neighbors._ + + In order to assure ourselves that we were not the victims of a trick, + we tied the hands of the medium by a string to those of her two + neighbors, in such a way that the movements of the four hands would + reciprocally control each other. The length of the cord between the + hands of the medium was from eight to twelve inches, and between each + one of her hands and the hands of her neighbors four inches. This + distance of space was purposely arranged in order that the hands of + the neighboring persons might, in addition, readily hold those of the + medium during the convulsive movements which usually agitate her. + + The tying was done in the following way: we took three turns of the + string around each wrist of the medium, without leaving any slack, but + drawn so tightly as almost to give her pain,[34] and then we tied two + simple knots. This was done in order that, if by any artifice the + hand was able to release itself from the string, the three turns would + work against it and the hand could not get back again under the string + as it was before. + + A little bell was placed upon a chair behind her. The chain was + formed, and her hands as well as her feet were held as usual. The room + was darkened in answer to the request that the little bell should at + once sound, after which we were to untie the medium. _Immediately_ we + heard the chair move, describe a curve upon the floor, approach the + table, and presently place itself upon it. The bell rang, then was + thrown upon the table. The light having been at once turned on, we + ascertained that the knots of the string were in perfect order. It is + clear that the fetching on of the chair was not produced by the action + of the hands of the medium. + + + _Impressions of Fingers obtained on Smoked Paper._ + + In order to decide if we had to do with a human hand ... or with any + other way of dealing, we fixed a sheet of paper, blackened with the + smoke of a lamp, upon the table, on the side opposite that of the + medium, and expressed a wish that the hand would leave an impression + on it, that the hand of the medium should remain unsoiled, and that + the lampblack be transferred to the hands of one of us. The hands of + the medium were held by those of MM. Schiaparelli and Du Prel. The + chain was made in the darkness, then we heard a hand lightly tap upon + the table, and presently M. Du Prel announced that his left hand, + which he held on the right hand of M. Finzi, had had the sensation of + fingers rubbing it. As soon as the room was lighted, we found upon the + paper several imprints of fingers, and the back of M. Du Prel's hand + was covered with lampblack; _but the hands of the medium, examined + then and there, had no trace of it_. This experience was repeated + three times. When we insisted upon having a complete impression, we + obtained five fingers upon a second sheet of paper, and upon a third + the impression of almost an entire left hand. After that the back of + M. Du Prel's hand was completely blackened, the hands of the medium + remaining perfectly clean. + + + _Apparition of Hands upon a Dimly Lighted Background_ + + We placed upon the table a large cardboard covered with a + phosphorescent substance (sulphide of calcium), and we placed other + pieces of cardboard upon chairs in different parts of the chamber. + Under such conditions we saw very plainly the outline of a hand + imposed on the cardboard of the table. Upon the background formed by + the other pieces we saw the shadow of the hand pass and repass around + us. + + On the evening of September 21 one of us several times saw the image, + not of one, but of _two hands at once_, thrown upon the glass panes of + a feebly illuminated window (outside it was night, but the darkness + was not complete). These hands exhibited a rapid tremulous motion, but + not so rapid as to hinder us from seeing the outline clearly. They + were wholly opaque and were thrown upon the window as absolutely black + silhouettes. + + This simultaneous appearance of two hands is _very significant_, for + they cannot be explained on the hypothesis of a trick of the medium, + who would not have been able in any way to free more than one of her + hands, owing to the surveillance of those who sat beside her. The same + conclusion applies to the clapping of two hands, one against the + other, which was several times heard in the air. + + + _The Levitation of the Medium to the Top of the Table_ + + We regard this levitation as among the most important and most + significant of Spiritualistic achievements. It took place twice, on + September 28 and October 3. The medium was seated at one end of the + table, uttering deep groans, and was lifted up with her chair and + placed upon the table, not moving from her position, those next her + still holding her hands as she rose. + + On the evening of September 28, while her two hands were held by MM. + Richet and Lombroso, the medium complained of their grasping her under + the arm. Then, in a state of trance she said, with the changed voice + which she usually has while in this state, "Now I bring up my medium + upon the table." At the end of two or three seconds the chair, with + the medium seated in it, was not thrown, but lifted with precaution + and placed upon the table. MM. Richet and Lombroso are sure they did + not assist her in this ascension. After she had spoken, being all the + time in a state of trance, the medium announced her descent, and (M. + Finzi being substituted for M. Lombroso) was placed upon the floor + with care and precision, MM. Richet and Finzi following her movements + without at all assisting them. + + Moreover, during the descent, both gentlemen felt a hand touching them + lightly several times upon the head. On the evening of October 3 the + same phenomenon was repeated in similar circumstances. + + + _Touchings_ + + Some of these merit particular notice, owing to a circumstance capable + of giving us an interesting notion of their possible origin. Our first + business is to describe the touchings which were felt by persons + beyond the reach of the hands of the medium. Thus, on the evening of + October 6, M. Gerosa, who was separated from the medium by three + places (about four feet, the medium being a little to one side and M. + Gerosa in one of the adjacent corners at the opposite short end of the + table), having lifted his hand that it might be touched, felt a hand + strike his own several times to make him lower it; and, as he + persisted, he was hit with a trumpet, which an instant before had been + making sounds in the air. + + In the second place, we must note touchings which constitute very + delicate operations, and which cannot be made in the darkness with the + precision which we have noted in them. Twice (on September 16 and 21) + M. Schiaparelli had his spectacles removed from his nose and laid down + on the table before another person. These glasses are fixed to the + ears by means of two springs, and a certain amount of attention is + necessary in order to remove them, even to one working in full light. + Yet they were removed in complete darkness with so much delicacy and + promptness that the said experimenter only perceived the loss of them + when he no longer had the usual feeling of them on his nose, on his + temples, and behind his ears, and he was obliged to feel with his + hands in order to be sure that they were no longer in their usual + place. + + Many other touchings produced similar effects, and were executed with + extreme delicacy; for example, when one of the company felt his hair + and beard stroked. + + In all of the innumerable manoeuvres executed by mysterious hands, + there was never any awkward stumbling or collision to be noted, though + ordinarily this is inevitable when one is working in the dark. I may + add, in this connection, that bodies tolerably heavy and bulky, such + as chairs and vessels full of clay, were deposited upon the table + without having collided with any of the numerous hands resting upon + the table,--a particularly difficult thing in the case of chairs + which, owing to their dimensions, occupied a large part of the table. + A chair was turned over on its face upon the table and lay there at + full length without causing the least annoyance to anybody; and yet it + covered almost the entire surface. + + + _Contact with a Human Face_ + + One of us having expressed the wish to be kissed, felt before his very + mouth the peculiar quick sounds of a kiss, but not accompanied by any + contact of lips. This happened twice. On three different occasions one + of the experimenters felt the touch of a face with hair and beard. The + feeling of the skin was exactly that of a living man. The hair was + much coarser and more bristly than that of the medium, and the beard + seemed very soft and delicate. + +Such are the experiments made at Milan in 1892 by the group of savants +cited above. + +How can we help admitting, after the reading of this new official report, +the following things? + +1. The complete levitation of the tables. + +2. The levitation of the medium. + +3. The movement of objects without contact. + +4. Accurate and delicate touches made by invisible organs. + +5. The formation of hands and even of human figures. + +These phenomena take their place in this book as things which were +observed with the most scrupulous care. + +Let us note also the action of the little piece of furniture (chair or +round table), which tries to climb up on one of the company or upon the +large table,--a thing also observed by myself. + +Although the savants of the Milan group regretted that they did not make +_experiments_, but only _observations_ (I said above (p. 20), what we +ought to think about this), the facts were none the less proved. + +I will add that after the reading of this _procès-verbal_, the cautious +reserves of M. Schiaparelli seem exaggerated. If fraud has sometimes crept +in, still what has been accurately observed remains safe and sound and is +an acquisition to science. + +Our medium, Eusapia, has been the subject of a fruitful series of +experiments. Let me also mention those of Naples in 1893, under the +direction of M. Wagner, Professor of Zoölogy at the University of St. +Petersburg; that of Rome in 1893-1894, under the direction of M. de +Siemiradski, correspondent of the Institute; those of Varsovie, from the +25th of November, 1893, to the 15th of January, 1894, at the house of Dr. +Ochorowicz; those of Carqueiranne and of l'île Roubaud, in 1894, at the +house of Professor Richet; those of Cambridge in August, 1895, at the +house of Mr. Myers; those of the villa de l'Agnellas, from the 20th to the +29th of September, 1895, at the house of Colonel de Rochas; those of +Auteuil, in September, 1896, at the house of M. Marcel Mangin, etc. It +would be entirely superfluous and an unconscionably long task to analyze +them all. Let us merely select some special characteristic instances. + +In the report of M. de Siemiradski we read as follows: + + In the corner of the hall there was a piano, placed to the left of + Ochorowicz and Eusapia, and a little in the rear. Some one desired to + hear the keyboard touched. We at once hear the moving of the piano. + Ochorowicz can even see the displacement, thanks to a ray of light + which falls upon the polished surface of the instrument through the + window shutters. The piano then opens noisily, and we hear the bass + notes of the keyboard sounding. I utter aloud my desire to hear high + notes and low notes touched at the same time, as a proof that the + unknown force can act at the two ends of the keyboard. My wish is + granted, and we hear bass notes and treble notes sounded at the same + time, which seems to prove the action of two distinct hands. Then _the + instrument advances toward us_. It presses against our group, and we + are obliged to get up and move back with our experiment table, and we + do not stop until we have thus moved back several yards. + + A glass half full of water, which stands on a buffet, out of reach of + our hands, was carried by an unknown power to the lips of Ochorowicz, + Eusapia, and another person, who all drank of it. This performance + took place in complete darkness and with astonishing precision. + + We were able to prove the existence of a real hand not belonging to + any one present. We did it by means of the plaster cast and mould, as + follows: + + Having placed a heavy basin filled with modelling-clay upon the large + table in the middle of the dining-room, we sat down with Eusapia + around the little experiment-table more than a yard distant. After + some minutes of waiting, the basin came of itself and stood on our + table! Eusapia groaned, writhed, and trembled in all her limbs; yet + not for a moment did her hands quit ours. Then she cried, "_E fatto_" + ("It is done"). The candle is lighted again, and we find an irregular + hollowed place upon the surface of the clay. This hollow place, + afterward filled with plaster, gives us a perfect cast of the + contracted fingers of a hand. + + We placed upon the table a plate smeared with lampblack. The + mysterious hand left there the print of the end of its fingers. The + hands of the experimenters, including those of Eusapia, _remained + white_. We next induced the medium to reproduce the impression of her + own hand upon another lamp-smoked plate. She did so. The layer of soot + removed by her fingers had deeply blackened them. A comparison of the + two plates enabled us to prove a striking resemblance,--that is to say + (to speak more accurately), the identity of the arrangement of the + spiral circles in the epidermis of the two hands; and we know that the + arrangement of these circles is unique in every individual. This is a + particular which speaks eloquently in favor of the hypothesis of the + double personality of the medium. + +In order mechanically to control the movements of Eusapia's feet, Dr. +Ochorowicz employed the following piece of apparatus. Two deep and narrow +cigar-boxes were placed under the table, and Eusapia put her unshod feet +into them. The boxes had double bottoms and were provided with an +electrical arrangement of such a nature that she could move her feet +freely for some inches in every direction; but, if she wished to withdraw +them from the box, the electric bell tinkled before she had moved them +half way to the top, and only stopped when they were returned to their +place. Eusapia cannot remain utterly quiet during the séances. So she was +given a certain freedom of movement; but it was impossible for her to make +use of her legs for lifting the table. _Under these conditions the table, +weighing twenty-five pounds, rose up twice without the bell being heard._ +During the second levitation the table was photographed underneath. (The +four feet of the table are seen in the photograph. The left is in contact +with Eusapia's dress, as is always the case when the light is strong; but +the boxes holding the feet of the medium are in their place.) Then the +experimenters verified the fact that the bell was heard, not only when +she removed her foot, but when she lifted it too high in the box. + +After all these demonstrations, I will not do my readers the wrong of +thinking that the levitation of the table is not MORE THAN PROVED for all +of them. + +Here, now, is a curious observation relative to the inflation of the +curtain: Ten persons were seated around the table. Eusapia had her back +turned to the curtain; she was controlled by General Starynkiewicz and Dr. +Watraszewski. + + I was seated (writes M. Glowacki-Prus) opposite Eusapia, near Mlle. + X., a very nervous person and easily hypnotized. The séance had lasted + for about an hour, with numerous and varied phenomena. Eusapia, as + always, was in a semi-conscious state. Suddenly she awoke, and Mlle. + X. uttered a cry. Knowing what this cry meant, I grasped her hand with + great force and then put my arm about her; for this girl becomes very + strong in certain states. The room was well lighted, and this is what + we saw (something, be it noted, which I myself experienced by my + hands). Every time that the muscles of Mlle. X. became more tense and + rigid, the curtain which hung opposite her, at a distance of from + seven to ten feet, made a movement. The following table indicates the + details of this correlation: + + Feeble tension of the muscles the curtain is set in motion. + + strong tension it bellies out like a sail. + + very strong tension, cries it reaches as far as eusapia's + controllers, and almost wholly + covers them. + + repose repose. + + tension of the muscles movement of the curtain. + + strong tension strong inflation of the curtain. + + This tabular view presents the striking proportion which I ascertained + between the tension of the medium's muscles (who in this case was + Mlle. X.) and the mechanical work of the curtain in movement. + +This experiment is so much the more interesting since it was not Eusapia +who made it; and, if she had a trick for inflating the portières, it was +not employed in this case. We already know that she had none. + +Here are the conclusions of M. Ochorowicz: + + 1. I did not find any proofs in favor of the Spiritualistic + hypothesis; that is to say, in favor of the intervention of an + intelligence other than that of the medium. "John" is for me only a + psychic double of the medium. Consequently, I am not a Spiritualist. + + 2. Mediumistic phenomena are confirmatory of "magnetism" as opposed to + "hypnotism"; that is to say, they imply the existence of a fluidic + action apart from suggestion. + + 3. Still, suggestion plays an important rôle in them, and the medium + is only a mirror reflecting the forces and the ideas of those present. + Moreover, she possesses the power of realizing her own somnambulistic + visions or those suggested by the company, simply by the process of + externalizing them. + + 4. No purely physical force explains these phenomena, which are always + of a psycho-physical nature, having a centre of action in the mind of + the medium. + + 5. The phenomena proved do not contradict either mechanics in general + or the law of the conservation of forces in particular. The medium + acts at the expense of her own proper powers and at the expense of + those of the persons present. + + 6. There exists a series of transitions between mediumship of an + inferior kind (automatism, unconscious fraud) and mediumship of a + superior kind or externalization of motivity (action at a distance + without visible and palpable connecting link). + + 7. The hypothesis of a "fluidic double" (astral body), which, under + certain conditions, detaches itself and acts independently of the body + of the medium, seems necessary for the explanation of the greater + part of the phenomena. According to this conception, the moving of + objects without contact would be produced by the fluidic limbs of the + medium.[35] + +Sir Oliver Lodge, an eminent English physicist, rector of the University +of Birmingham, says that, on the invitation of Dr. Richet, he went to +attend the experiments at Carqueiranne, thoroughly convinced that he +should not see there any instance of physical movement without contact but +that what he saw completely convinced him that phenomena of that kind can +have, under certain conditions, a real and objective existence. He vouches +for the following verified facts: + + 1. Movements of a chair at a distance, seen by the light of the moon, + and in circumstances which proved that there was no mechanical + connection. + + 2. The inflation and the movement of a curtain in the absence of wind + or of any other ostensible cause. + + 3. The automatic winding up and moving about of a music-box. + + 4. Sounds proceeding from a piano and from an accordion which had not + been touched. + + 5. A key turned in a lock, on the inside of the room where the séances + were held, then placed upon the table, and again put back into the + lock. + + 6. The overturning, by means of slow and correct evolutions, of a + heavy moving table, which was afterwards found thus turned upside + down. + + 7. The levitation of a heavy table, under conditions in which it would + have been impossible to lift it in ordinary circumstances. + + 8. The appearance of blue marks upon a table previously spotless, and + this done without the help of the ordinary methods of writing. + + 9. The sensation of blows, as if some one were striking the head, the + arms, or the back, while the head, the hands, and the feet of the + medium were plainly in view or held apart from the portions of the + body that were touched. + +It is plain enough what part the above statements play in our argument. +They are throughout simply confirmations of the experiments described +above. + +At Cambridge, Eusapia was taken in the very act of deception; namely, the +substitution of hands. While the controllers believed that they were +holding her two hands, they were only holding one of them: the other was +free. So these experimenters at Cambridge unanimously declared that +"everything was fraud, from the beginning to the end," in Eusapia +Paladino's _twenty séances_. + +In a paper sent to M. de Rochas, M. Ochorowicz contested this radical +conclusion, for several reasons. Eusapia is very susceptible to +suggestion, and, by indulging her inclination to fraud and not hindering +it, they incite her to it still more by a kind of tacit encouragement. +Moreover, her fraud is generally of an unconscious kind. I append here, as +a particular illustration of this, a rather typical story about her: + + One evening, at Varsovie (says M. Ochorowicz), Eusapia is sleeping in + her chamber by the side of ours. I have not yet gone to sleep, when + suddenly I hear her rising and moving about with bare feet in the + drawing-room. Then she enters her chamber again and approaches our + door. I make a sign to Mme. Ochorowicz, who has waked up, to be quiet + and to observe carefully what is going to take place. A moment after, + Eusapia gently opens the door, comes up to my wife's toilet-table, + opens a drawer, shuts it, and goes away, carefully avoiding making any + noise. I hastily dress myself and we enter her chamber. Eusapia is + quietly sleeping. The light of our candle seems to wake her. + + "What were you hunting for in our sleeping-room?" + + "I? I haven't left this place." + + Seeing the uselessness of further questions, we go to bed again, + advising her to sleep quietly. + + Next day I ask her the same question. She is very much astonished and + even troubled (she blushes slightly). + + "How should I dare," said she, "to enter your chamber during the + night?" + + This accusation is very painful to her, and she tries to persuade us + by all kinds of insufficient reasons that we are wrong. She denies the + whole thing, and I am obliged to admit that she does not remember + getting up or _even having conversed with us_ (it was just another + somnambulistic state). + + I take a little table, and direct Eusapia to put her hands on it. + + "Very well," says she, "John will tell you that I don't lie." + + I then ask the following questions: + + "Is it you, John, who came into our sleeping chamber last night?" + + "No." + + "Was it the chambermaid?" (I suggest this idea for the express purpose + of testing John's veracity.) + + "No," says he. + + "Was it the medium herself?" + + "Yes," says the table.--"No, it is not true," exclaims Eusapia, seeing + her hope banished--"Yes," replies the table, forcibly. + + "Was she in the trance state?" + + "No." + + "In her normal state?" + + "No." + + "In a spontaneous somnambulistic state?" + + "Yes." + + "For what purpose?" + + "_She was hunting matches; for she was frightened in her sleep, and + didn't want to sleep without light._" + + Sure enough, there were always matches in the drawer opened by + Eusapia, except on this particular night. She therefore returned + without getting any. + + While listening to the explanation of the table, Eusapia shrugged her + shoulders, but protested no longer. + + Here, then, is a woman who, from time to time, has the power of + passing from one psychical state to another. Is it just to accuse such + a creature of premeditated fraud, without the slightest medical and + psychological examination, without the least attempt at + verification?... + +M. Ochorowicz adds here that, so far as he is concerned, the phenomena are +not produced by a personality different from that of the medium, nor by a +new independent occult force; but it is a special psychic condition which +permits the vital _dynamism of the medium_ (the astral body of the +occultists) _to act at a distance_, under certain exceptional conditions. +It is the only hypothesis which seems _necessary in the actual state of +our knowledge_. + +Why does the medium so often try to release her hand? So far as the +Cambridge experimenters are concerned, the cause is very simple and always +the same: she releases her hand in order to indulge in tricks. As a matter +of fact, the reasons why she frees her hand are many and complicated. + +Dr. Ochorowicz's explanations are as follows: + + 1. Let me observe, in the first place, that Eusapia frequently + releases her hand for no other reason than to touch her head, which is + in pain at the moment of the manifestations. It is a natural reflex + movement; and, in her case, it is a fixed habit. Since, more often + than not, she does not notice that she is doing it, or at least fails + to give warning to her controller, the darkness justifies suspicions. + + 2. Immediately before the mediumistic doubling of her personality, her + hand is affected with hyperæsthesia and, consequently, the pressure of + the hand of another makes her ill, especially in the dorsal quarter. + She then most frequently places the hand which is to be + mediumistically active _above_ and not below that of the controller, + trying to touch it as little as possible. When the doubling of the + personality is complete, and the dynamic hand more or less + materialized, that of the medium contracts and rests heavily upon the + controller, exactly at the moment that the phenomenon takes place. She + is then almost insensible and all shrunken together. In very good + mediumistic conditions the doubling is easy and the initial + hyperæsthesia of short duration. In this case the medium allows her + hand to be completely covered and the feet of the controllers to be + _upon_ hers, as was always the case in our séances at Rome in 1893; + but, since that time, she can no longer endure that position, and + rather prefers to be held by hands under the table. + + 3. In accordance with psychological laws, the hand always proceeds + automatically in the direction of our thoughts (Cumberlandism). The + medium acts by auto-suggestion, and the order to go as far as an + indicated point is given by her brain simultaneously to the dynamic + hand and the corporeal hand, since in the normal state they form only + one. And since, immediately after the hyperæsthesia, the muscular + sensation is excited and the hand grows benumbed, it sometimes happens + (especially when the medium proceeds carelessly and does not properly + govern her movements) that the dynamic hand remains in place, while + her own hand goes in the indicated direction. The former, not being + yet materialized, produces only a semblance of pressure; and another + person, able to see a little in the darkness, will perceive nothing of + it, and will even be able to ascertain by touch the absence of the + medium's hand from that of the controller. At the same time the hand + of the medium is going in the direction of the object; and _still it + may happen that it does not really reach it, acting, as it does, at a + distance, by a dynamic prolongation_. + + It is in this way that I explain the cases in which the hand, being + released, has not yet been able to reach the point aimed at + (physically inaccessible), as well as the numerous experiments made at + Varsovie in full light, with a little bell hung in different ways, + with compasses of different forms, with a very small table, + etc.,--experiments in which Eusapia's fingers were quite near, but did + not touch, the object. I proved that there was no electric force at + work in these cases, but that things occurred as if the arms of the + medium were lengthened and acted invisibly, but _mechanically_. At + Varsovie, when one of my friends M. Glowacki, took it into his head + "that it was necessary to give the medium free rein, in order to + discover her method," we had an entirely fraudulent séance and lost + our time to no purpose. On the contrary, in a poor séance at l'île + Roubaud, we obtained some good phenomena after having frankly told the + medium that she was cheating. + +And here are the conclusions of the author upon "the Cambridge frauds": + + 1. Not only was _conscious_ fraud not proved on Eusapia at Cambridge, + but not the slightest effort was made to do so. + + 2. _Unconscious_ fraud was proved in much larger proportions than in + all the preceding experiments. + + 3. This negative result is vindicated by a blundering method little in + accordance with the nature of the phenomena. + +Such is also the opinion of Dr. J. Maxwell, and of all who are competent +judges of the question. + +To sum up, we see that the influence of preconceived ideas, opinions, and +sentiments, upon the production of phenomena, is certain. When all the +experimenters have nearly the same sympathetic inclination for this kind +of research, and when they have decided to exercise sufficient "control" +(that is, watchful oversight) not to be the dupe of any mystification, and +agree among themselves to accept the regrettable conditions of darkness +necessary to the activity of these unknown radiations, and not to trouble +in any way the apparent exigencies of the medium, then the resulting +phenomena attain an extraordinary degree of intensity.[36] + +But if discord reigns, if one or more of the company persistently spy upon +the acts of the medium, with the conviction that he or she must be +cheating, the results are very much like the progress of a sailing vessel +impelled by several contrary winds. The medium simply marks time without +advancing; and little but sterile results are secured. _Psychic forces are +no less real than physical or chemical or mechanical forces._ In spite of +the desire that we may have to convince prejudiced sceptics, it is +advisable to invite only one of them at a time, and to place him next to +the medium, in order that he may be at once astonished, shaken, and +convinced. But in general this is not worth the trouble. + +In the month of September, 1895, a new series of experiments was made at +l'Agnélas, in the residence of Colonel de Rochas, president of the +polytechnic school, with the assistance of Dr. Dariex, editor of the +_Annales des sciences psychiques_, Count de Gramont (doctor of science), +Dr. J. Maxwell, deputy of the attorney-general at the Court of Appeals in +Limoges, Professor Sabatier, of the faculty of sciences at Montpellier, +and Baron de Watteville, a licentiate in science. They confirmed all the +preceding details.[37] + +A similar series was held in September, 1896, at Tremezzo, in the rooms of +the Blech family, then in summer residence at Lake Como; again at Auteuil, +at the home of M. Marcel Mangin, with MM. Sully-Prudhomme, Dr. Dariex, +Emile Desbeaux, A. Guerronnan, and Mme. Boisseaux also participating. Let +us stop for a moment to glance at this last séance. + +I will first mention the photograph of the table suspended in the air, a +levitation which did not leave any doubt in the mind of the experimenters, +any more than it does in that of the observer who examines with attention +this photograph (Pl. IX). The table descended slowly and the succession of +images was registered by the photograph (same plate, Cut B). The following +is an extract from the report by M. de Rochas upon this séance and the +succeeding one: + + _September 21._--The table rises off its four feet. M. Guerronnan has + time to take a photograph of it, but he fears that it may not be good. + We beg Eusapia to begin again. She consents with good grace. The table + is again lifted off its four feet. M. Mangin notifies M. Guerronnan + who, from his post, could not see, and the table remains in the air + until he has had time to take a picture of it (from three to four + seconds at the most). The dazzling magnesium light enables us all to + verify the reality of the phenomenon. + + The curtain, hung in the corner of the room, suddenly blows out and + covers my head. Then I feel in succession three pressures of a hand + upon my head, the pressures growing stronger and stronger. I feel + fingers which press as those of M. Sully-Prudhomme, my neighbor on the + right, might do. I hold his left hand as a part of the chain of hands. + + It is a hand, it is fingers, which have just pressed upon me so; but + whose? I have continually had Eusapia's right hand upon my left hand, + which she seized and tightly held at the moment of the production of + the phenomenon.... + + I throw back the curtain, which has remained upon my head, and we sit + waiting. "_Meno luce_" ("less light") asks Eusapia. The lamp is turned + down more, and the remaining light shut off by a screen. + + Facing me there is a window with closed outside shutters, but through + which filters the light of the street. In the silence, my attention + is caught by the appearance of a hand, the small hand of a woman. I + can see it, owing to the feeble light coming from the window. + +[Illustration: PLATE IX + +PHOTOGRAPH OF TABLE SUSPENDED. + +THE TABLE FALLEN BACK.] + + It is not the shadow of a hand: it is a hand of flesh (I do not add + "and of bone," for I have the impression that it has no bones). This + hand opens and closes three times, sufficiently long to permit me to + say: + + "Whose hand is this?--yours, Monsieur Mangin?" + + "No." + + "Then it is a materialization?" + + "Undoubtedly: if you hold the medium's right hand, I hold the other." + + I had the _right hand_ of Eusapia on my left hand, and _her fingers + were interlaced with mine_. + + Now the hand which I saw was a _right hand_, stretched out and + presented in profile. It remained for a moment motionless in the air, + at about from twenty-four to twenty-eight inches above the table and + thirty-six inches from Eusapia. As its immobility (I suppose) was the + cause of my not seeing it, it therefore opened and closed: it was + these movements which attracted my attention. + + My favorable position in respect to the window, unfortunately + permitted me alone to see this mysterious hand; but M. Mangin saw, at + two separate times, not a hand, but the shadow of a hand outlined in + profile upon the opposite window. + + Eusapia turns her head in the direction of the curtain, behind which + there is a leather-covered easy-chair, and, displacing the curtain, + this chair comes and leans against me. + + She takes my left hand, lifts it above the table the whole length of + her right arm, and makes the feint of rapping in the air: the echo of + three blows is heard on the table. + + A little bell is placed before her. She stretches out her two hands to + the right and the left of the bell at a distance of from three to four + inches; then she draws back her hands toward her body, and, lo and + behold! the bell comes gliding along over the table until it bumps + against something and falls over. Eusapia repeats the experiment + several times. You would think that her hands were invisibly + prolonged; and that seems to me to justify the term "ectenic force," + which Professor Thury, of Geneva, gave in the year 1855 to this + unknown energy. + + I was just asking if she did not perchance have some invisible thread + between her fingers, when suddenly, an irresistible itching made her + put her left hand to her nose; her right had remained upon the table + near the bell; the two hands at this moment were about two feet apart. + I observed carefully. Eusapia rested her left hand upon the table, + some inches from the bell, and this was again set in motion. + Considering the gesture made by her, it would have been necessary, in + order to perform this feat, to have a wonderfully elastic thread, + absolutely invisible; for our eyes were, so to speak, upon the bell, + and the light was abundant. My eyes were only a foot distant from the + bell, at the utmost. + + This was a certain and undeniable case, and Sully-Prudhomme returned + to his home with me as thoroughly convinced as I am. + +The poet of _Solitudes_ and of _Justice_, wrote on his part, as follows: + + After a rather long wait, an architect's stool came marching up all + alone toward me. It grazed my left side, rose to the height of the + table, and succeeded in placing itself upon it. As I lifted my hand, I + felt it at once seized. + + "Why do you take my hand?" I asked of my neighbor. + + "It was not I," said he. + + While these phenomena were taking place, Eusapia seemed to be + suffering. It seemed as if out of her own physiological fund or stock + she were furnishing all the force required to put the objects in + motion. + + After the séance, while she was still very much prostrated, we saw an + easy-chair which was behind the curtain come rolling up behind her, as + if to say, "Hold on there! you've forgotten me!" + + My conviction is that I witnessed phenomena which I cannot relate to + any ordinary physical law. My impression is that fraud, in any case, + is more than improbable,--at least so far as concerns the displacement + at a distance of heavy articles of furniture arranged by my + companions and myself. That is all that I can say about it. For my + part, I call "natural" that which is scientifically proved. So that + the word "mysterious" means that which still astonishes us because it + cannot be explained. I believe that the scientific spirit consists in + verifying facts, in not denying _a priori_ any fact which is not in + contradiction with known laws, and in accepting none which has not + been determined by safe and verifiable conditions. + + _Séance of September 26._--A dark bust moves forward upon the table, + coming from where Eusapia sits; then another, and still another. "They + look like Chinese ghosts," says M. Mangin, with this difference, that + I, who am better placed, owing to the light from the window, am able + to perceive the dimensions of these singular images, and above all + their _thickness_. All these black busts are busts of women, of life + size; but, although vague, they do not look like Eusapia. The last of + them, of fine shape, is that of a woman who seems young and pretty. + These half-lengths, which seem to emanate from the medium, glide along + between us; and, when they have gone as far as the middle of the table + or two-thirds of its length, they sink down altogether (all of a + piece, as it were), and vanish. This rigidity makes me think of the + reproductions, or fac-similes, of a bust escaped from a sculptor's + atelier, and I murmur, "One would think he was looking at busts + moulded in papier-maché." Eusapia heard me. "No, not papier-maché," + she says indignantly. She does not give any other explanation, but + says (this time in Italian), "In order to prove to you that it is not + the body of the medium, I am going to show you a man with a beard. + Attention!" I do not see anything, but Dr. Dariex feels his face + rubbed against for quite a while by a beard. + +New experiments made at Genoa in 1901, at which Eurico Morselli, professor +of psychology at the University of Genoa, was present, were reported by my +learned friend the astronomer Porro, successively director of the +observatories of Genoa and Turin, to-day director of the national +observatory of the Argentine Republic at La Plata. Here are some extracts +from this report:[38] + + Nearly ten years have passed since Eusapia Paladino made her first + appearance in the memorable séances at Milan during the course of her + mediumistic tours through Europe. The object of shrewd investigations + on the part of experienced and learned observers; the butt of jokes, + accusations, sarcasms; exalted by certain fanatics as a + personification of supernatural powers and scoffed at by others as a + mountebank,--the humble haberdasher of Naples has made so much stir in + the world that she is herself bored and displeased by it. + + I had good proof of this when I took leave of her, after I had + listened with much curiosity to the anecdotes which she related to me + of her séances and of the well-known men with whom she has been + associated,--Ch. Richet, Schiaparelli, Lombroso, Flammarion, Sardou, + Aksakof, et al. She then very emphatically asked me not to speak in + the journals of her presence at Genoa and of the experiments in which + she should figure there. Happily, she has good reasons herself for not + reading the journals.[39] + + Why was an astronomer chosen to give an account of the experiments at + Genoa? Because astronomers are occupied with researches into the + unknown.[40] + + If a man absorbed in his own private studies and attached to an + austere and laborious manner of life, such as my venerated master M. + Schiaparelli, has not hesitated to defy the irreverent jests of the + comic journals, it behooves us to conclude that the bond between the + science of the heavens and that of the human soul is more intimate + than appears. The following is the most probable explanation. We have + to do in these studies with phenomena which are manifested under + wholly special and still undetermined conditions, in conformity with + laws almost unknown and, in any case, of such a character that the + will of the experimenter has but little influence upon the unshackled, + self-regulating, and often adverse volitions which betray themselves + at every moment in the study of these psychical marvels. Nobody is + better prepared to study these things than an astronomer, possessing, + as he does, a scientific education precisely adapting him to the + investigation of such conditions. In fact, by the systematic + observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the astronomer + contracts the habit of being a vigilant and patient spectator of + phenomena, without attempting either to arrest or to accelerate their + irresistible development. In other words, the study of the stars + belongs to the science of _observation_ rather than to that of + _experiment_. + +Professor Porro then sets forth the actual state of the question relating +to mediumistic phenomena. + + The explanation that everything is fraud, conscious or unconscious + [says he], is to-day almost entirely abandoned, as much so as that + which supposes that all is hallucination. In fact, neither one nor the + other of these hypotheses is sufficient to throw light upon the + observed facts. The hypothesis of unconscious automatic action on the + part of the medium has not obtained any better fate; for the most + rigorous controls have only proved that the medium finds it impossible + to excite a direct dynamic effect. Physio-psychology has therefore + been obliged, in these latter years, to have recourse to a supreme + hypothesis, by accepting the theories of M. de Rochas, against which + they had heretofore directed the fire of their heaviest guns. It has + become resigned to the admission that a medium whose limbs are held + motionless by a rigorous control may, under certain conditions, + project outside of herself, to a distance of several yards, a force + sufficient to produce certain phenomena of movement in inanimate + bodies. + + The boldest partisans of this hypothesis go so far as to accept the + temporary creation of pseudo-human limbs,--arms, legs, heads,--in the + formation of which the energies of other persons present probably + co-operate with those of the medium. The theory is that as soon as the + energizing power of the medium is withdrawn these phantom dynamic + limbs at once dissolve and disappear. + + For all that, we do not yet go so far as to admit the existence of + free and independent beings who would be able to exercise their powers + only through the human organism; and still less do we admit the + existence of spirits who once animated the forms of human beings.... + +M. Porro openly declares that, for his part, he is neither a materialist +nor a Spiritualist: He says that he is not ready to accept, _a priori_, +either the negations of psycho-physiology or the faith of Spiritualists. + +He adds that the nine persons who were present with him at the séances +represented the greatest variety of opinions on the subject, from the most +firmly persuaded Spiritualists to the most incorrigible sceptics. +Moreover, his task was not that of writing an official report, approved by +all the experimenters, but solely that of faithfully relating his own +impressions. + +The following are the _most important_ of these, selected from his reports +on the different séances: + + I saw, and plainly saw, the rough deal table (a table a yard long and + nearly two feet wide and resting on four feet) rise up several times + from the floor and, without any contact with visible objects, remain + suspended in the air, several inches above the floor, during the space + of two, three, and even four seconds. + + This experiment was renewed _in full light_ without the hands of the + medium and of the five persons who formed the chain about the table + touching the latter in any way. Eusapia's hands were looked after by + her neighbors, who controlled also her legs and her feet in such a way + that no part of her body was able to exercise the least pressure for + the lifting or maintaining in the air of the rather heavy article of + furniture used in the experiments. + + It was under such absolutely trustworthy conditions as these that I + was able to see inflated _a very thick piece of black cloth_ and the + red curtains which were behind the medium, and which served to close + the embrasure of the window. The casement was carefully closed, there + was no current of air in the room, and it is absurd to suppose that + persons were hidden in the embrasure of the window. I believe, then, + that I can affirm with the utmost confidence that _a force_, analogous + to that which had produced the levitation of the table, was manifested + in the curtains, _inflated them, shook them, and pushed them_ out in + such a way that they touched now one and now another of the company. + + During the sitting an event took place which deserves to be mentioned + as a proof, or at least as an indication, of the _intelligent_ + character of the force in question. + + Being face to face with Mme. Paladino, at a point in the table the + most removed from her, I complained that I had not been touched as had + the four other persons who formed the company. No sooner had I said + this than I saw the heavy curtain sweep out and come and hit me in the + face with its lower edge, at the same time that I felt a light blow + upon the knuckles of my fingers, as if from a very fragile and light + piece of wood. + + Next a formidable blow, like the stroke of the fist of an athlete, is + struck in the middle of the table. The person seated at the right of + the medium feels that he is grasped in the side; the chair in which he + was seated is taken away and placed upon the table, from which it then + returns to its place without having been touched by anybody. The + experimenter in question, who has remained standing, is able to take + his seat in the chair again. The control of this phenomenon left + nothing to desire. + + The blows are now redoubled, and are so terrific that it seems as if + they would split the table. We begin to perceive hands lifting and + inflating the curtains and advancing so far as to touch first one, + then the other, of the company, caressing them, pressing their hands, + daintily pulling their ears or clapping hands merrily in the air above + their heads. + + It seems to me very singular and perhaps intentional,--this contrast + between the touches (sometimes nervous and energetic, and again + delicate and gentle, but always friendly) and the deafening, violent, + brutal blows struck upon the table. + + A single one of these fist-blows, planted in the back, would suffice + to break the vertebral column. + + The hands that perform these feats are the strong and brawny hands of + a man, the daintier hands are those of a woman, the very small hands + those of children. + + The darkness is rendered a little less dense, and at once the chair of + No. 5 (Professor Morselli), which had already made a jump to one side, + is slipped from under him, while a hand is placed on his back and on + his shoulder. The chair gets up on the table, comes down again to the + floor, and, after different horizontal and vertical oscillations, + soars up and rests upon the head of the professor, who has remained + standing. It remains there for some minutes in a state of very + unstable equilibrium. + + The loud blows and the delicate touches of hands, large and small, + succeed each other uninterruptedly in such a way that, without our + being able mathematically to prove the simultaneousness of different + phenomena, it is yet almost certain in several cases. + + While our opportunities for obtaining so valuable a subject of + demonstration increase, the simultaneity which we ask for is at last + granted; for the table raps, the bell sounds, and the tambourine is + carried tinkling over our heads all about the room, rests for a moment + on the table, and then resumes its flight in the air.... + + A bouquet of flowers, placed in a carafe on the larger table, comes + over onto ours, preceded by an agreeable perfume. Stems of flowers are + placed in the mouth of No. 5; and No. 8 is hit by a rubber ball, which + rebounds upon the table. The carafe comes over to join the flowers on + our table; it is then immediately lifted and put to the mouth of the + medium, and she is made to drink from it twice; between the two times + it sinks down to the table and stands there for a moment right side + up. We distinctly hear the swallowing of the water, after which Mme. + Paladino asks some one to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief. Finally, + the carafe returns to the large table. + + But a transfer of a totally different character is effected in the + following way. I had complained several times that my position in the + chain at a distance from the medium had hindered me from being touched + during the séance. Suddenly, I hear a noise on the wall of the room, + followed by the tinkling of the strings of the guitar, which vibrate + as if some one were trying to take down the instrument from the wall + on which it hung. At last the effort succeeds, and the guitar comes + toward me in an oblique direction. I distinctly saw it come between me + and No. 8, with a rapidity which rendered the impact of it rather + unpleasant. Not being able at first to account to myself for this dim + black object which was driving at me, I slipped to one side (No. 8 was + seated at my left). Then the guitar, changing its route, struck + forcibly with its handle three blows upon my forehead (which remained + a little bruised for two or three days), after which it came to a rest + with delicate precision upon the table. It did not remain there very + long before it began to circle about the hall, with a rotation to the + right, quite high above our heads, and at great speed. + + It is proper to remark that, in this rotation of the guitar, the + vibration of its own strings was added to the sound of the tambourine + struck sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, in the air; and + the guitar, bulky as it was, never once struck the central supporting + electric-light rod, nor the three gas lamps fixed on the walls of the + chamber. When we take into consideration the contracted dimensions of + the room, we see that it was very difficult to avoid these obstacles, + since the space remaining free was very limited. + + The guitar took its flight twice around the room, coming to a + stand-still (between the two times) in the middle of the table, where + finally it came to a rest. In a final supreme effort, Eusapia turns + toward the left, where upon a table is a typewriting machine weighing + fifteen pounds. During the effort the medium falls exhausted and + nervous upon the floor; but the machine rises from its place and + betakes itself to the middle of our table, near the guitar. + + In full light, Eusapia calls M. Morselli, and, controlled by the two + persons next her, brings him with her toward the table, upon which is + placed a mass of modelling-plaster. She takes his open hand and + pushes it three times toward the plaster, as if to sink the hand into + it and leave upon it an impression. M. Morselli's hand remains at a + distance of more than four inches from the mass: nevertheless, at the + end of the séance, the experimenters ascertain that the lump of + plaster contains the impression of three fingers,--deeper prints than + it is possible to obtain directly by means of voluntary pressure. + + The medium lifts her two hands, all the time clasped in mine and in + those of No. 5 (Morselli), and uttering groans, cries, exhortations, + _she rises with her chair_, so far as to place its two feet and the + ends of its two front cross-bars upon the top of the table. It was a + moment of great anxiety. The levitation was accomplished rapidly, but + without any jarring or jolting or jerking. In other words, if, in an + effort of extreme distrust you insisted on supposing that she employed + some artifice to obtain the result, you would rather have to think of + a pulling up, by means of a cord and pulley, rather than of a pushing + from beneath. + + But neither of these hypotheses can stand the most elementary + examination of the facts.... + + There is more to follow. Eusapia was lifted up still farther with her + chair, from the upper part of the table, in such a way that No. 11 on + one side and I on the other were able to pass our hands under her feet + and under those of the chair. + + Moreover, the fact that the posterior feet of the chair were entirely + off of the table, without any visible support makes this levitation + still more irreconcilable with the supposition that Eusapia could have + made her body and the chair take an upward leap. + +M. Porro judges that this phenomenon is one of those which are less easily +explained if we decline to have recourse to the Spiritualistic hypothesis. +It is a little like the man who fell into the water and thought he could +pull himself out by his own hair. + + Eusapia [adds M. Porro] descended without any jolting, little by + little, No. 5 and I never letting go her hands. The chair, having + risen up a little higher, turned over and placed itself on my head, + whence it spontaneously returned to the floor. + + This thing was tried again. Eusapia and her chair were transported + again to the top of the table, only, this time, the result of the + fatigue undergone by her was such that the poor woman fell in a faint + upon the table. We lifted her down with all due care. + + The experimenters desired to know whether these phenomena, the success + of which depends in so great measure upon the conditions of light, + could not have better success in the white and quiet light of the + moon. + + They were obliged to admit that there was no appreciable difference + between the lunar light and other kinds. But the table around which + they had formed the chain quitted the veranda where the sitting was + being held, and, in spite of the strongly expressed wishes of the + sitters and of the medium herself, betook itself into the neighboring + room, where the sitting then continued. + + This room was a little salon crowded with elegant furniture and + fragile objects, such as crystal chandeliers, porcelain vases, + bric-à-brac, etc. The experimenters feared very much that these things + would suffer damage in the bustle of the séance; but not the slightest + object suffered any damage. + + Mme. Paladino, who was now herself again, took the hand of No. 11 and + placed it gently upon the back of a chair, at the same time placing + her own hand upon his. Then, as she lifted her hand and that of No. + 11, _the chair followed the same ascending movement_ several times in + succession. + + This thing was repeated in full light. + + No. 5, as well as other gentlemen, perceived, in a manner that + admitted of no doubt, a vague, indistinct figure thrown upon the air + in the doorway of an antechamber which was feebly illuminated. The + figure consisted of changing and fugitive silhouettes, sometimes with + the outline of a human head and body, sometimes like hands reaching + out from the curtains. Their objective character was demonstrated by + the agreement of impressions, which were controlled in their turn by + means of continual inquiries. There was no possibility of their being + shadows voluntarily or involuntarily projected by the bodies of the + experimenters, since we were mutually watching each other. + +The tenth séance (the last) was one of the best-attended, and was perhaps +the most interesting of all. + + Scarcely has the electric light been extinguished when we remark an + automatic movement of the chair upon which a lump of plaster has been + placed, while the hands and feet of Eusapia are watchfully controlled + by me and by No. 3. However, as we wish to forestall the objection of + critics that the phenomena take place in the dark, the table + typtologically (that is, by taps) asks for light, and the + experimenters light the electric lamp. + + Presently, _all the company see the chair_ on which the lump of + plaster lies (not at all a light chair) _moving between myself and the + medium_, without our being able to understand the determining cause of + the movement. + + Mme. Paladino puts her outspread hand upon the back of the chair and + her left above it. When our hands rise up, the chair rises also + without contact, reaching a height of about six inches. This + performance is several times repeated, with the addition of the + intervention of the hand of No. 5, under conditions of light and of + control which leave nothing to be desired. + + The room is again almost completely darkened.... A current of cold air + upon the table precedes the arrival of a little branch with two green + leaves. We know that there are no plants in the neighborhood of the + company: it appears then that we have here a case of _bringing-in_ + from the outside. + + No. 3 is greatly exhausted with the heat. And, lo! a hand, which takes + his handkerchief from his neck and with it dries the perspiration on + his face. He tries to seize the handkerchief with his teeth, but it is + snatched from him. A big hand lifts his left hand and makes him rap + several strokes with it on the table. + + Gleams of light begin to appear, at first on the right hand of No. 5, + then in different parts of the hall. They are perceived by everybody. + + The curtain is inflated, as if it were pushed against by a strong + wind, and touches No. 11, who is seated in a small easy-chair a yard + and a half from the medium. The same person is touched by a hand, + while another hand pulls a fan from the inside pocket of his jacket, + carries it to No. 5 and then to No. 11. The fan is soon returned to + its owner, and is moved to and fro above our heads, to the great + satisfaction of all of us. A tobacco pouch is taken from the pocket of + No. 3: the Invisible empties it on the table, and then gives it to No. + 10. Various stems of plants drop upon the table. + + Transfers of the fan from one hand to another begin again. Then No. 11 + believes that he ought to announce that the fan had been offered to + him by a young girl who had expressed the wish that it be transferred + to No. 11, then given back to No. 5. Nobody knew about this except No. + 11. + + No. 5, who at present occupies the small arm-chair where formerly No. + 11 was seated, a yard and a half from the medium, feels the edge of + the curtain touching him and then perceives the presence of the body + of a woman whose hair rests on his head. + + The séance is adjourned about one o'clock. + + At the moment of parting, Eusapia sees a bell on the piano; she + extends her hand; the bell glides along on the piano, turns over, and + falls on the floor. The experiment is renewed, in full light as + before, the hand of the medium remaining several inches from the + bell.... + +It is evident that these exploits are still more extraordinary than the +preceding ones, in certain respects. The following are the _conclusions_ +of the report of Professor Porro. + + The phenomena are real. They cannot be explained either by fraud or by + hallucination. Do they find their explanation in certain strata of the + unconscious (the subliminal), in some latent faculty of the human + soul, or indeed do they reveal the existence of other entities living + under conditions wholly different from ours and normally inaccessible + to our senses? In other words, will the _animistic_ hypothesis suffice + to solve the problem and to do away with the _Spiritualistic_ + hypothesis? Or, rather, do not the phenomena serve here, as in the + psychology of dreams, to complicate the problem by hiding the + Spiritualistic solution within them? It is to this formidable query + that I am going to attempt a reply. + + When, eleven years ago, Alexander Aksakof stated the dilemma between + Animism and Spiritism, and in a masterly work clearly proved that + purely animistic manifestations were inseparable from those which + direct our thoughts to a belief in the existence of independent, + intelligent, and active entities, no one could have expected that the + first term of the dilemma would be disputed and criticised in a + thousand ways, under a thousand varying forms, by persons who would be + dismayed at the second term. + + In fact, what are all the hypotheses which for ten years now have been + invented in order to reduce mediumistic phenomena to the simple + manifestation of qualities latent in the human _psyche_ (or soul), if + not different forms of the animistic hypothesis, so jeered at when it + appeared in the work of Aksakof? + + From the idea of the unconscious muscular action of the spectators + (put forth half a century ago by Faraday) to the projection of + protoplasmic activity or to the temporary emanation from the body of + the medium imagined by Lodge; from the psychiatric doctrine of + Lombroso to the psycho-physiology of Ochorowicz; from the + externalization admitted by Rochas to the eso-psychism of Morselli; + from the automatism of Pierre Janet to the _duplication of + personality_ of Alfred Binet,--there was a perfect flood of + explanations, having for their end the elimination of an exterior + personality. + + The process was logical and in agreement with the principles of + scientific philosophy, which instructs us to exhaust the possibilities + of what is already known before having recourse to the unknown. + + But this principle, unassailable in theory, may lead to erroneous + results when it is wilfully stretched too far into a given field of + research. Vallati has cited, in this connection, a curious marginal + note of Galileo, recently published in the third volume of the + national edition of his works: + + "If we heat amber, the diamond, and certain other very dense + substances by chafing them, they attract small light bodies, because, + in cooling off, they attract the air, which draws these corpuscles + along with it." Thus the desire to bring still unexplained material + facts under the known physical laws of his day led an observer and + thinker so prudent and practical as Galileo to formulate a false + proposition. If anybody had said to him that in the attraction + exercised by amber there was the germ of a new branch of science and + the rudimentary manifestation of an energy (electricity) then unknown, + he would have replied that it was useless to "have recourse to the aid + of the unknown." + + But the analogy between the error committed by the great physicist and + that which modern scholars commit can be pushed still farther. + + Galileo was familiar with a form of energy which the natural + philosophy of our times investigates simultaneously with electric + energy, with which it has close relations confirmed by all recent + discoveries. If it had been perceived that the explanation which he + gave of the phenomenon of amber had no foundation, he would have been + able to give his attention to the analogies which the attraction + exercised by amber rubbed over light bodies presents with the + attraction exercised by the loadstone upon iron filings. When he had + got so far, he would very probably have discarded his first hypothesis + and would have admitted that the attractive power of amber is a + _magnetic phenomenon_. He would have been deceived, however, for it is + an _electric phenomenon_. + + In the same way might not those persons deceive themselves who, in + order to escape at any cost the necessity of the hypothesis of + spiritistic entities, should insist with a too persistent predilection + upon the animistic hypothesis, even when this would be found + insufficient to explain all mediumistic manifestations? Might it not + be true that, like electric and magnetic phenomena, which are in close + interchangeable connection, and frequently appear to us inseparable, + animistic and spiritistic phenomena have a common bond? And let us + well note that a single fact, inexplicable by the animistic hypothesis + and explicable by the spiritistic hypothesis, would suffice to confer + upon the latter that degree of scientific value which up to the + present time has been so energetically denied to it, just as the + discovery of a secondary phenomenon, that of the polarization of + light, sufficed to make Fresnel reject the Newtonian theory of + emission and admit that of undulation. + + Did we obtain, during the course of our ten séances with Eusapia, the + one fact which is enough to make the spiritistic hypothesis + necessarily take precedence of all others? + + It is impossible to reply categorically to this question because it is + not possible, and never will be, to have a scientific proof of the + identity of the beings who manifest themselves. + + The fact that I hear, that I see, that I touch a phantom; that I + recognize in it the form and the attitude of persons whom I have known + and whom the medium has neither known nor of whom she has even heard + the names; that I have the most lively and affecting testimony to the + presence of this ephemeral apparition,--all that will not be + sufficient to constitute the scientific fact which none can refute, + and which shall be worthy to remain in the annals of science along + with the experiments of Torricelli, Archimedes and Galvani. It will + always be possible to imagine an unknown mechanism by the aid of which + elemental substance and power may be drawn from the medium and the + sitters and combined in such a way as to produce the indicated + effects. It will always be possible to find in the special aptitudes + of the medium, in the thought of the sitters, and even in their + attitude of expectant attention, the cause of the _human_ origin of + the phenomena. It will always be possible to unearth from the arsenal + of the attacks made upon these studies during the last fifty years, + some generic or specific argument, either _ad rem_ or _ad hominem_, + while ignoring or feigning to ignore the refutation of the argument + which has already been made. + + The question, then, reduces itself at once to an individual study of + cases either directly observed or obtained from some sure hand, in + order on the one hand, to create a personal conviction capable of + resisting the scathing ridicule of the sceptics, and, on the other + hand, to prepare public opinion to admit the truth of cases observed + by persons worthy of credence. + + With regard to the first of these, the illustrious experimenter + Sidgwick, has already said that no fact or case exists capable of + convincing everybody, but that each one, by patiently and calmly + observing, may find such fact or case as will suffice to establish his + own conviction. I may say that for myself such a case exists. I need + only refer to the phenomena in which I have personally participated in + the séances with Eusapia. + + With regard to the second point I could say much, but that would lead + me beyond the subject matter and the limits of this study. + + On the one hand, we have the universal belief in the objective + existence of a world unknown to us in our normal state; that faith + (the basis of all religions) in a future life where the injustices of + this one will be atoned for and where we shall be confronted with the + good or evil deeds that we have done on earth; that uninterrupted + tradition of systematic or spontaneous observances and rituals, thanks + to which man is constantly kept in relation more or less with that + unknown world. + + On the other hand, we have the sceptical and disheartening negation of + systems of pessimistic philosophy and of atheism, a negation which + takes its rise in the absence of positive proofs of the survival of + the soul; the ever more and more marked tendency of science toward a + monistic interpretation of the enigma of human life; and the belief + that all the known phenomena of life appear only in connection with + special organs. + + In order to decide in so abstruse a matter as this, mediumistic + experiments do not suffice; everyone may draw from these as much of + credence or of incredulity as he may need in order to resolve his + doubts in one way or another; but he will never divest himself of the + substratum of temperamental tendencies which the more or less + scientific education of his mind or the more or less mystical + inclinations of his nature shall have developed in him. + + One word more and I have done. + + While admitting it as the most probable hypothesis that the + intelligent beings to whom we owe these psychical phenomena are + pre-existing, independent entities, and that they only derive from us + the conditions necessary for their manifestation in a physical plane + accessible to our senses, ought we to admit also that they are really + the spirits of the dead? + + To this question I will reply that I do not feel that I am as yet + capable of giving a decisive answer. + + Still I should be inclined to admit it, if I did not see the + possibility that these phenomena might form part of a scheme of things + still more vast. In fact, nothing hinders us from believing in the + existence of forms of life wholly different from those which we know, + and of which the life of human beings before birth and after death + forms only a special case, just as the organic life of man is a + special case of animal life in general. + + But I am leaving the solid ground of facts to explore that of the most + hazardous hypotheses. I have already spoken at too great length, and + will therefore close the discussion of this particular topic. + +I have considered the above subjects in several of my own works.[41] + +We are surrounded by unknown forces and there is no proof that we are not +also surrounded by invisible beings. Our senses teach us nothing about +reality. But logically the discussion of theories ought to be reserved as +a complement to the ensemble or summary of our observations and +experiments; that is to say, for the last chapter. It behooves us before +everything else positively to ascertain that mediumistic phenomena exist. + +It seems to me, that _this has been done_ for every impartial reader. This +will be overwhelmingly confirmed by the following chapters. But there is +one point on which we ought to dwell a moment. I mean the question of +fraud, conscious or unconscious, which it would be natural, but unfair, +to here ignore and cover up. Our judicial review would not be complete did +we not consecrate a special chapter to these mystifications, which +unhappily are too frequently employed by mediums. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +FRAUDS, TRICKS, DECEPTIONS, IMPOSTURES, FEATS OF LEGERDEMAIN, +MYSTIFICATIONS, IMPEDIMENTS + + +Several times in the preceding chapters the question has come up of fraud +in the mediums. I am sorry to say that experimenters must be constantly on +their guard against them. It is this which has discouraged certain eminent +men and prevented them from continuing their researches, for their time is +too precious to waste. This may be especially noticed in the letter of M. +Schiaparelli above (p. 64) whom Spiritualists keep citing (wrongly) as +among the number of their partisans. But he absolutely refuses to be +identified with them. He accepts no theory; he is not even sure of the +actual existence of the facts, and has declined to give the time needed +for their authentication. + +I shall take occasion in the second volume of _The Unknown_ to treat of +Spiritualism (properly so called), of the doctrine of the plurality of +worlds, of the plurality of existences, of re-incarnation, of +pre-existence, and of communications with the departed,--subjects +independent of the material phenomena to a discussion of which the present +work is devoted. To these subjects the physical manifestations only +contribute in an indirect manner. As we have already several times said in +the preceding pages, we are only concerned here to _prove the actual +existence of these extraordinary phenomena_. The establishing of the proof +depends above all upon the elimination of fraud. + +In the case of Eusapia (the medium most thoroughly examined in the +present volume) fraud, unhappily, has been only too well established in +more than one instance. + +But a very important remark must here be made. All physiologists know that +hysterical persons have a tendency to falsehood and simulation. They lie, +apparently without reason, and solely for the pleasure of lying. There are +hysterics among the women and young girls of the higher classes. + +Does this characteristic defect prove that hysteria does not exist? It +proves just the contrary. + +Consequently, those who think that the frauds of the mediums give the +death blow to mediumship are deceived. Mediumship exists, as well as +hysteria, as well as hypnotism, as well as somnambulism. Trickery also +exists. + +I will not say, with certain theologians, "There are _false_ prophets, +_therefore_ there are _true_ ones," for that is a sophism of the worst +kind. The existence of the false does not hinder the existence of the +true. + +I knew a kleptomaniac, who got herself arrested more than once in the +great shops of Paris for stealing various articles. That does not prove +that she never bought anything, and only obtained by theft all the +articles she needed. On the contrary, the objects stolen must have +represented but a small part of the materials of her toilet. But the fact +that she stole is incontestable. In the experiments which we are +considering in these pages, deception is a co-efficient which cannot be +neglected. + +It is my duty to point out here some examples of this failing. Before +doing so, I ought to recall the fact that for a period of forty years I +have examined all the mediums whose achievements have had the widest +celebrity,--including Daniel D. Home, gifted with the most astounding +powers, who gave at the Tuileries, before the Emperor Napoleon III, his +family, and his friends, such extraordinary séances, and who was later +employed by William Crookes in the accurate scientific researches made by +that gentleman; Mme. Rodière, a remarkable typtologic medium; C. Brédif, +who produced strange apparitions; Eglington, with the enchanted slates; +Henry Slade, who made with the astronomer Zöllner those incredible +experiments from which geometry only saved itself by admitting the +possibility of a fourth dimension of space; Buguet whose photographic +plates caught and held the shadows of the dead, and who, having allowed me +to experiment with him, let me conduct my researches for five weeks before +I detected his fraudulent methods and mechanisms; Lacroix, to whom spirits +of all ages seemed to troop in crowds; and many others who inspire deep +interest in Spiritualists and scientific investigators by manifestations +more or less strange and marvelous. + +I have quite often been absolutely deceived. When I took the precautions +that were necessary to put the medium beyond the possibility of trickery, +I obtained no result; if I pretended not to see anything I would perceive +out of the corner of my eye attempts at deceit. And, in general, the +phenomena which took place happened only in the moments of distraction in +which my attention was for an instant relaxed. While I was pushing my +investigation a little farther, I saw with my own eyes Buguet's prepared +negatives; saw with my own eyes Slade writing under the table upon a +concealed slate, and so forth. Apropos of this famous medium Slade, I may +recall the fact that after his experiments with Zöllner, director of the +observatory at Leipzig, he came to Paris, and for the purpose of +experimentation, placed himself at my disposal (and that of all the +astronomers at the Observatory to whom I should introduce him). He said he +got direct writings from the spirits by a bit of pencil placed between two +slates tied together, by oscillations of the magnetic needle, +displacements of furniture, the automatic throwing about of objects, and +the like. He was very willing to give me one séance a week, for six weeks +(on Monday at 11 o'clock A. M., at 21 Beaujon Street). But I obtained +nothing certain. In the cases that did succeed, there was a possible +substitution of slates. Tired of so much loss of time, I agreed with +Admiral Mouchez, director of the Observatory of Paris, to confide to Slade +a double slate prepared by ourselves, with the precautions which were +necessary in order that we should not be entrapped. The two slates were +sealed in such a way with paper of the Observatory that if he took them +apart he could not conceal the fraud. He accepted the conditions of the +experiment. I carried the slates to his apartment. They remained under the +influence of the medium, in this apartment, not a quarter of an hour, not +a half-hour or an hour, but ten consecutive days, and when he sent them +back to us there was not the least trace of writing inside; and yet +specimens of this were always furnished by him when he had the opportunity +of transposing slates prepared in advance.[42] + +Without entering into other details, let it suffice me to say, that, too +frequently deceived by dishonest and mendacious mediums, I brought to my +experiments with Eusapia a mental reserve of scepticism, of doubt, and of +suspicion. + +The conditions of experimenting are in general so crooked that it is easy +to be duped. And scientists and scholars are perhaps most easily duped of +all men, because scientific observation of experiments is always honest, +since we are not obliged to distrust nature,--when the question is of a +star or of a molecule,--and since we have the habit of describing facts as +they present themselves to our intelligence. + +That granted, we may now look at certain curious doings of Eusapia. + +We considered a little farther back (p. 173) Col. de Rochas's strange +experiment with the letter-weigher. This was considered by the +experimenters as absolutely conclusive. I was curious to verify it. Here +are my notes on the matter. + + I. + + November 12, 1898.--This afternoon we took a drive in a landau + (Eusapia and I) in company with M. and Mme. Pallotti of Cairo, and, + among other things, we visited the exhibition of chrysanthemums at the + Tuileries. Eusapia is enchanted. We return about 6 o'clock. My wife + seats herself at the piano, and Eusapia sings some Neapolitan airs and + some little fragments of Italian operas. Afterwards we all three chat + confidentially with each other. + + She is in a very happy state of mind, tells us how sometimes on stormy + days she experiences electric cracklings and sparkling in her hair, + especially on an old wound that she once received on the head. She + also tells us that when she has been a long time without holding a + séance she is in a state of irritation, and feels the need of freeing + herself of the psychic fluid which saturates her. This avowal + astonishes me, for, at the end of every séance, she seems rather to be + listless and melancholy and seems to hold a sitting rather unwillingly + than otherwise. She adds that she frequently has fluidic prolongations + of the ends of her fingers, and, putting her two hands on my knees, + the inside of the hand turned upward, at the same time spreading out + the fingers and placing them opposite each other face to face, at a + distance of several inches, and alternately bringing the hands + together and withdrawing them, she tells us to observe from time to + time the radiations which prolong the fingers by forming a sort of + luminous aureole at their extremities. My wife thinks she perceives + some of them. I am unable to see anything at all, in spite of all my + efforts, although I change the light and shade in all sorts of ways. + The salon is lighted at this time by two intense Auer burners. We go + into the bedroom, lighted only by candles, and I cannot see them any + better. I snuff out the candles, on the supposition that this is + perhaps a case of phosphorescence; but I never perceive anything. We + return to the salon. Eusapia spreads a black woollen shawl over her + silk skirt and shows me the luminous effluence. But all the time I can + see nothing, unless it be for a moment a kind of pale ray at the end + of the index finger of her right-hand. + + The dinner hour approaches. It is seven o'clock. A letter-weigher (Pl. + X), which I had bought to renew the curious experiment of M. de + Rochas, is upon the table. I ask Eusapia if she remembers having made + a piece of mechanism like this move downward on its spring by placing + her hands on each side of it, at a distance, and making something like + magnetic passes. She doesn't seem to remember anything about it and + hums a little stanza from _Santa Lucia_. I beg that she will try it. + She does so. Nothing moves. She asks me to place my hands on hers. We + make the same passes, and, to my amazement (for I really was not + expecting it at all) the little tray sinks down to the point where it + touches the lever and produces the sharp sound of contact. This point + is beyond the graduation of the scale, which stops at fifty grams, and + may go to sixty, and represents seventy grams at the lowest. The tray + immediately rises again. We begin a second time. Nothing. A third + time: the same lowering and the same return to equilibrium. Then I beg + her to try the experiment alone. She rubs her hands together and makes + the same passes. The letter weigher goes down to the same maximum + point. We are all standing close by her, in the full light of the Auer + burners. The same performance is repeated, the tray remaining down for + an interval of about five minutes. The movement does not take place at + once; there are sometimes three or four trials without success, as if + the force were exhausted by the result. The tray had already sunk down + four times before our eyes, always as far as the maximum point, when + the valet de chambre, passing by upon some matter of service, I tell + him to stop and look. Eusapia begins again and does not succeed. She + waits a moment, rubs her hands, begins again, and the same movement + without contact is produced for the seventh time, before the three + witnesses, each as much astonished as the other. Her hands are + sensibly chilled. I think of the trick of the hair, pass my hands + between both of hers and find nothing there; I did not see anything. + Besides, she does not seem to have touched her head, and her hands + have remained before us since the commencement of the experiment, free + and untouched. + + On the supposition that there may be here some electric force in + operation, I beg her to place her fingers upon an extremely sensitive + compass. In whatever way she grasps this, it refuses to move. + + We sit down to the dinner-table. I ask her to lift a fork as she had + done at Montfort. At the third trial she succeeds--and without the use + of a hair, at least any that was apparent. + + + II. + + November 16.--In order to entertain Eusapia, Adolphe Brisson yesterday + evening offered her a box at the Folies-Bergère, where Loie Fuller was + giving her magnificent spectacular exhibitions. We went there with + her. She returned enchanted, is to-day very gay and very animated, + speaks of her candid and loyal character and blames the comedies of + fashionable life. During dinner she tells us a part of the story of + her life. + + Nine o'clock.--M. and Mme. Levy and M. G. Mathieu have just arrived. + + We are conversing. Placing her hands on a leg of M. Mathieu in the + darkness she shows him the radiations emanating from her fingers, + which are however scarcely apparent to us. + + It was after having shown me these radiations, the other day, that the + experiment of the letter-weigher took place. She associates the two + phenomena, and undertakes to try the latter again. + + She asks me to give her a little water. I go to the dining-room in + search of a carafe and a glass. During my absence, M. Mathieu remarks + that, while my wife is talking with M. and Mme. Levy, Eusapia reaches + her hand to her head and makes a little gesture as if she were pulling + out a hair. + +[Illustration: PLATE XI + +METHOD USED BY EUSAPIA TO SURREPTITIOUSLY FREE HER HAND.] + + I return with a glass and a carafe and pour out for her as much as she + wishes. She drinks a quarter of a glass of water. At my request, she + moves her hands downward on each side of the letter-weigher in the + same way as day before yesterday, and after two or three passes the + tray sinks, not to its full length as day before yesterday, but to the + mark of thirty-five or forty grams. + + The experiment was tried a second time and succeeded in the same way. + + Under pretext of going in search of a photographic camera M. Mathieu + draws me into another room and shows me a long, very fine hair which + fell into his hand after the experiment, at the moment when Eusapia + was making a gesture as if she were going to shake his hand. + + This hair is of a rich chestnut tint (the color of Eusapia's hair) and + measures fourteen inches in length. _I have preserved it._ + + This took place at quarter past nine. The sitting begins at 9:30 and + finishes at 11:30. After the sitting, Eusapia asks me for another + glass of water, and shows me a little hair between her fingers. + + Just as she is going, at midnight, half laughingly, half seriously, + she pulls a hair from the front part of her head and, taking the hand + of my wife, puts this hair in it and closes the hand while looking her + in the eye. She certainly noticed that we had perceived fraud. + + + III. + + November 19.--Eusapia is a sly one. She is gifted with great sharpness + of sight and has unusually sensitive ears. She is very intelligent and + is a person of rare delicacy of feeling. She perceives and divines + everything which concerns herself. Never reading, since she doesn't + know how to read; never writing, since she doesn't know how to write; + speaking little when here, since she rarely finds persons who + understand and speak Italian, she remains always concentrated in + herself and nothing turns her from permanent thought about her own + personality. It would undoubtedly be impossible to discover a similar + state of mind in the case of other persons; for we, as they, are + generally occupied with a thousand things which scatter our attention + over many different objects. + + I arrive, at 11:30, at the rooms of Dr. Richet in order to escort + Eusapia to Mme. Fourton's, where we are to take luncheon. She is cold + and constrained. I pretend not to notice it, and keep talking with the + doctor. She goes to put on her hat and we descend the stairs. At the + foot of the staircase she says, "What did M. Richet say to you? What + were you speaking of?" A moment after, returning in thought to our + last séance, she says, "Were you completely satisfied?" In the + carriage I take her hand and converse with her in a friendly way. + "Everything is going very well," I say to her "but some experiments + will still be necessary in order to leave no room for doubt." Then I + speak to her of other things. + + She becomes gradually sociable and her clouded brow seems to clear up. + However, she evidently feels that in spite of my rather superficial + amiability, I am not absolutely the same to her. During the luncheon + she holds out her champagne glass to me and drinks my health. Mme. + Fourton is convinced of Eusapia's genuineness, beyond all manner of + doubt. During conversation, a little later, Eusapia says to her, "I am + sure of you, I am sure of Mme. Blech, of M. Richet, of M. de Rochas; + but I am not sure of M. Flammarion." + + "You are sure of Mme. Fourton," I replied. "Very well. But think for a + moment of the several thousand persons who are waiting for my opinion + in order to fix their own. M. Chiaia told you this at Naples, M. de + Rochas repeated it to you in Paris. You see I have a very great + responsibility and you yourself certainly see that I cannot affirm + that of which I am not absolutely certain. You ought yourself loyally + to aid me in obtaining that certainty." + + "Yes," she replied, "I understand the difference very well. However, + if it had not been for you I should not have made the journey from + Naples, for the climate of Paris does not agree with me very well. Oh, + certainly; we must have you convinced beyond the possibility of + doubt." + + She has now returned to her habitual intimacy. We took her to the + Museum at the Louvre, which she had not visited, then to a meeting + with M. Jules Bois who was making suggestion-experiments with Mme. + Lina. Eusapia is very much interested in these. We speak of the jests + and mimickings of the comedians. + + In the evening, at dinner, the brilliant conversation of Victorien + Sardou, the repartees of Col. de Rochas, the questions (a little + insidious) of Brisson, all interest her but it is evident that she + never forgets herself. Thus, before dinner, she tells me that she has + the headache, especially in the neighborhood of her wound, passes her + hand through her hair ("which hurts her"), and asks me for a brush. + "In order," she says, that "in case of a séance experiment, a stray + hair shall not be found in the wrong place." And she carefully brushes + her shoulders. I do not always appear to understand her. But there is + no doubt that she understands that we have--found a hair! + + + IV. + + (MORE RECENT NOTE,--MARCH, 1906.) + + On Thursday, March 29, Eusapia, being in Paris, came to see me. I had + not seen her since her séances at my house in November, 1898. We kept + her to dinner, and after dinner I asked her to take part with me in + some experiments. + + I first asked her to place her hands upon the piano, thinking that + perhaps some of its strings would vibrate. But nothing happened. + + I then induced her to place her hands on the covered keyboard. She + asked that it be slightly opened by means of a little block. I placed + my hands upon it, by the side of hers. My object was, by keeping up + contact, to keep her from slipping a finger over the keys. She kept + trying to substitute one hand for the two that I held, in such a way + as to leave one of them free, and a few notes sounded. Result of the + experiment, _nil_. We left the piano and went over to a white-wood + table. We got some insignificant balancings. + + "Is there a spirit there?" + + "Yes" (indicated by three raps.) + + "Does it wish to communicate?" + + "Yes." + + I pronounce slowly and in their proper order the letters of the + alphabet. + + Reply, "_Tua matre_," ("thy mother.") + + This certainly means "Tua madre." (note once more that Eusapia does + not know how to read or write.) + + Eusapia noticed that I was in mourning and I had told her that my + mother had died on the first of last July. I then asked to be told her + name. (Eusapia does not know it.) + + No reply. + + The movements of the table which were next asked for gave no results + of any particular value. + + However, a stuffed arm-chair near by was several times shifted out of + its place without contact, advancing of itself toward Eusapia. Since + the chandelier was lighted, and there was no possibility of any string + being used, and since I had my foot upon that one of Eusapia's which + was nearest the arm-chair, the movement must evidently have been due + to a force emanating from the medium. + + I pushed the easy chair back three times. Three times it returned. The + same phenomenon was reproduced several days afterward. + + It is observable that if she had been able to detach her foot from + mine, she would have been able to reach the chair (by some little + twisting,) and the production of the phenomenon must have been within + the range of her circle of activity (and of possible trickery). But, + as the case was, deception was impossible. + + Since we could not obtain any levitation of the table, and since the + psychical force of the four of us (Eusapia, myself, my wife, and + Eusapia's companion, who had joined us for a moment, but, who at other + times, always remained apart) was clearly insufficient, I went and + secured a lighter round table. Then, with her hands placed _upon_ it + in contact with mine, three of its feet were raised to a height of ten + or twelve inches from the floor. We repeated the experiment three + times, with gratifying success. Eusapia squeezed my hands violently in + one of hers (the right hand) which rested on the table. + + The whole séance is thus seen to have been a web of intermingled truth + and falsehood. + +These notes remind us once more that there is almost always a mingling of +veritable fact and of fraudulent performance. + +It is easy to admit that the medium, wishing to produce an effect, and +having at her disposal for this purpose two means,--the one easy and +demanding only skill and cunning, the other distressing, costly, and +painful,--is tempted to choose, consciously or _even unconsciously_, that +which costs her the least. + +The following is her method of procedure for obtaining the substitution of +hands. The figures shown in Plate XI represent four successive positions +of the medium's hands and those of the sitters. They show how, owing to +the darkness and to a skilful combined series of movements, she can induce +the sitter on the right to believe that he still feels the right hand of +the medium on his own, while he really feels her left hand, which is +firmly held by the sitter on the left. This right hand of hers, being then +free, is able to produce such effects as are within its reach. + +The substitution may be obtained in different ways. But, whichever method +is used, it is evident that the freed hand can only operate in a space +within its reach. + + Who of us is always master of his impressions and of his faculties? + writes Dr. Dariex in this connection.[43] Who of us can at will put + himself into such and such a physical condition and such and such a + moral state? Is the composer of music master of his inspiration? Does + a poet always write verses of equal worth? Is a man of genius always a + man of genius? Now, what is there less normal, more impressionable, + and more capricious than a sensitive, a medium, especially when she is + away from home, thrown out of the routine of her daily life, and + staying with those with whom she is unacquainted or knows very + slightly, who are to be her judges and who expect from her the rare + and abnormal phenomenon the production of which is not under the + constant and complete control of her will? + + A sensitive placed in such a situation, will have a fatal propensity + to feign the phenomenon which does not spontaneously materialize or to + heighten by deceit the intensity of a partially successful experiment. + + This feigning is of course a very vexatious and regrettable thing. It + throws suspicion upon the experiments, renders them much more + difficult and less within the reach of the investigator. But this is + only an impediment, and ought not to fetch us up short and lead us to + give a premature decision. All of us who have experimented with and + handled these sensitives know that at every step we run foul of fraud, + conscious or unconscious, and that all mediums--or almost all--are + used to the thing. We know that we must, unfortunately, take our + share, for the moment, of this regrettable weakness, and be + perspicacious enough to hinder, or at least to unearth the trickery, + and to disentangle the true from the false. + + More than one of those who have engaged perseveringly in psychic + experiments, can say that he has been sometimes enervated and + irritated while waiting for a phenomenon which does not take place, + and that he has felt something like a desire to put an end to this + waiting by himself giving the extra twist or decisive touch.[44] + + Such experimenters can understand that if, in place of being + conscientious workers, always masters of themselves, incapable of + deceiving, and engaged solely in the search for scientific truth, they + were, on the contrary, somewhat dreamy and impulsive persons who were + susceptible to suggestion and whose _amour propre_ was active, and in + whose minds scientific probity did not hold the first and pre-eminent + place, they would undoubtedly engage, more or less involuntarily, in + the artificial production of phenomena which refused to take place in + smooth and natural order. + + As to Eusapia, if she does sometimes counterfeit, she does it only by + eluding the watchful inspection of the experimenters and by escaping + for a moment from their control; but she does it without any other + artifice. Her experiments are not planned, and, contrary to the habit + of prestidigitators, she does not carry any apparatus upon her person. + It is easy to assure one's self of this, for she is very willing to + completely undress before a lady charged with keeping watch of her. + + Furthermore, she exhibits her powers _ad libitum_ with the same + persons, and repeats indefinitely the same experiments before them. + Prestidigitators do not act in this way. + +[Illustration: PLATE X. SCALES USED IN PROFESSOR FLAMMARION'S EXPERIMENT.] + +It is infinitely to be regretted that we cannot trust the loyalty of the +mediums. They almost all cheat. This is extremely discouraging to the +investigator, and the constant perplexity of mind we feel during our +investigations renders them altogether painful. When we have passed +several days in these inexplicable researches and then return to +scientific work,--to an observation or to an astromical calculation, for +example, or to the examination of a problem in pure science,--we +experience a sensation of freshness, calmness, relief, and serenity which +give us, by contrast, the most lively satisfaction. We feel that we are +walking on solid ground and that we have not got to distrust anybody. +Indeed, all the intrinsic interest of psychic problems is needed, +sometimes, to give us the courage to renounce the pleasure of scientific +study in order to give ourselves to investigations so laborious and +perplexed. + +I believe that there is only one way to assure ourselves of the reality of +the phenomena, and that is to put the medium under conditions in which +trickery is impossible. To catch her in the very act of deceit would be +extremely easy. It would only be necessary to give her free rein. And then +one can very easily aid her to cheat and to get caught. All that is +necessary is that we be convinced of her dishonesty. Eusapia, especially, +very easily takes suggestion. While going one day in an open carriage to +dine at his residence, Colonel de Rochas said to her, in my presence, +"You can't lift your right hand any more. Try it!" She did try, but in +vain. "Non posso, non posso!" ("I can't do it, I can't do it!"). The mere +suggestion had been sufficient. + +In the phenomena concerned with the movements of objects without contact +she always makes a gesture corresponding to the phenomenon. A force darts +forth from her and performs the deed. Thus, for example, she strikes with +her fist three or four strokes in the air at a distance of ten or twelve +inches from the table: the same strokes are heard in the table. And it is +positively in the wood of the table. It is not beneath it, nor upon the +floor. Her legs are held and she does not move them. She strikes five +strokes with the middle finger upon my hand in the air: the five strokes +are rapped upon the table (November 19). + +Nay more, this force can be transmitted by another. I hold her legs with +my left hand spread out upon them; M. Sardou holds her left hand; she +takes my right wrist in her right hand and says to me, "Strike in the +direction of M. Sardou." I do so three or four times. M. Sardou feels upon +his body my blows tallying my gesture, with the difference of about a +second between my motion and his sensation. The experiment is tried again +with the same success. + +That same evening, not only did we not let go for a single instant of +Eusapia's hands, separated from each other by the width of her body and +placed near our own, but we did not allow them to be moved from the side +of the objects to be displaced. It took considerable time to obtain +results. But, all the same, they were wholly successful. + +She has a tendency to go and take hold of the objects; she must be stopped +in a good time. However, she herself does take hold of them, in fact, +through the prolongation of her muscular force, and she says so: "I am +grasping it, I have hold of it." It is our part to carefully retain her +normal hands in ours. + +We sometimes have good reason to suspect that Eusapia seizes the objects +to be moved (such as musical instruments) with one of her hands which she +has freed. But there is plenty of proof that she does not always do so. +Here is a case, for example. The scene is Naples, 1902, at a séance with +Professor von Schrenck-Notzing: + +[Illustration: FIG. 2.] + + The séance took place in a little room, by a feeble light, but one + sufficient for us to distinguish the personages and their movements. + Behind the medium, upon a chair, there was a harmonica, at the + distance of about a yard. + + Now, at a certain moment, Eusapia took between her hands a hand of the + professor and commenced to separate his fingers one from another and + bring them together again, as may be seen in the accompanying cut. The + harmonica was at that moment playing at a distance in tones that + perfectly synchronized the movements made by Eusapia. The instrument + was isolated in the room. We made sure that there were no threads + connecting it with the medium. Still less could anybody fear + accomplices, for the light would easily have betrayed their + intervention. This performance was analogous to that which occurred in + my presence on the 27th of July, 1897. (see above p. 72.) + +The following is a typical example of "sympathetic" movements, taken from +a report by Dr. Dariex. The matter in hand was to make a key spring out +from a lock. + + The light was strong enough for us to perfectly distinguish Eusapia's + every movement. All at once, the key of the chest is heard to rattle + in its lock; but, caught in some unknown way, it refuses to budge. + Eusapia grasps with her right hand the left of M. Sabatier, and, at + the same time, curls the fingers of her other hand around his index + finger. Then she begins to make alternate movements of rotation back + and forth around his finger. We at once hear synchronous rattlings of + the key which turns in its lock just as the fingers of the medium are + doing.[45] + +Let us suppose that the chest, instead of being at a distance from the +medium, had been within her reach; let us still further suppose that the +light, instead of being abundant, had been feeble and uncertain: the +sitters would not have failed to confound this kind of synchronous +automatism with conscious and impudent fraud on the part of Eusapia. And +they would have been deceived. + +Without excusing fraud, which is abominable, shameful, and despicable in +each and every case, it can undoubtedly be explained in a very human way +by admitting the reality of the phenomena. In the first place the real +phenomena exhaust the medium, and only take place at the cost of an +enormous expenditure of vital force. She is frequently ill on the +following day, sometimes even on the second day following, and is +incapable of taking any nourishment without immediately vomiting. One can +readily conceive, then, that when she is able to perform certain wonders +without any expenditure of force and merely by a more or less skilful +piece of deception, she prefers the second procedure to the first. It does +not exhaust her at all, and may even amuse her. + +Let me remark, in the next place, that, during these experiments, she is +generally in a half-awake condition which is somewhat similar to the +hypnotic or somnambulistic sleep. Her fixed idea is to produce phenomena; +and she produces them, no matter how. + +It is, then, urgent, indispensable, to be constantly on the alert and to +control all her actions and gestures with the greatest care. + +I could cite hundreds of analogous examples observed by myself in the +years gone by. Here is one taken from my notes. + + On the second of October, 1889, a spiritualistic séance had brought + together certain investigators in the hospitable mansion of the + Countess of Mouzay, at Rambouillet. We were told that we had the rare + good fortune to have with us a veritable and excellent medium,--Mme. + X., the wife of a very distinguished Paris physician, herself well + educated and inspiring by her character the greatest confidence. + + We arranged ourselves, four in all, around a little table of light + wood. Scarcely a minute has passed when the little table seems to be + taken with trembling, and almost immediately it rises and then falls + back. This vertical movement is repeated several times in the full + light of the lamps of the salon. + + The next day the same levitation occurred in broad daylight, at noon, + while we were waiting for a guest who was late to luncheon. This time + the round table used was much heavier. + + "Is there a spirit there?" some one asks. + + "Yes." + + "Is he willing to give his name?" + + "Yes." + + Someone takes an alphabet, counts the letters, and receives, by taps + made by one of the feet of the table, the name Léopoldine Hugo. + + "Have you something to say to us?" + + "Charles, my husband, would like to be reunited to me." + + "But where is he?" + + "Floating in space." + + "And you?" + + "In the presence of God." + + "All that is very vague. Could you give us a proof of identity to show + us that you are really the daughter of Victor Hugo, the wife of + Charles Vacquerie? Do you remember the place where you died?" + + "Yes, at Villequier." + + "Inasmuch as the accident of your shipwreck in the Seine is well + known, and since the whole thing may be latent in our brains, could + you please give us other facts? Do you remember the year of your + death?" + + "1849." + + "I do not think so," I replied, "for I have in my mind's eye a page of + the _Contemplations_ where the date of September 4, 1843, is written. + Has my memory played me false?" + + "Yes. It is 1849." + + "You astonish me very much, for in 1843, Victor Hugo returned from + Spain on account of your death, while in 1849 he was a representative + of the people in Paris. Moreover, you died six months after your + marriage, which took place in February, 1843." + + At this point, the Countess of Mouzay remarked that she was very well + acquainted with Victor Hugo and his family, that they were living then + in the street of Latour-d'Auvergne, and that the date 1849 must be + correct. + + I maintain the contrary. The spirit sticks to its fact. + + "In what month did the event take place?" + + "July." + + "No, it was in September. You are not Léopoldine Hugo. How old were + you when you died?" + + "Eighteen years. They don't remember very often to decorate my tomb + with flowers." + + "Where?" + + "At Père-Lachaise." + + "You are wrong, it was at Villequier that you were buried, and I went + myself to visit your tomb. Your husband, Charles Vacquerie is also + there, with the two other victims of the catastrophe. You don't know + what you are talking about." + + At this point our hostess declares that she was not thinking at all of + Père-Lachaise, and that, in her opinion, Léopoldine Hugo and her + husband remained at the bottom of the Seine. + + After luncheon we sit down again at the séance table. Various + oscillations. Then a name is dictated. + + "Sivel." + + "The aeronaut?" + + "Yes." + + "In what year did you die?" + + "1875." (Correct.) + + "What month?" + + "March." (It was April 15.) + + "From what point did your balloon start?" + + "La Villette." (Correct.) + + "Where did you fall?" + + "In the river Indre." + + All these "elements" were more or less known to us. I ask for a more + special proof of identity. + + "Where did you know me?" + + "With Admiral Mouchez." + + "It is impossible. I first knew Admiral Mouchez at the time of his + appointment to the directorship of the Paris Observatory. He succeeded + Le Verrier in 1877, two years after your death." + + The table is agitated and dictates as follows: + + "Give your name." + + "Witold. Marchioness, I love you still." + + "Are you happy?" + + "No, I behaved badly to you." + + "You know very well that I pardon you, and that I preserve the + happiest recollection of you." + + "You are too good." + + These thoughts were evidently in the mind of the lady; so there was + here no more proof of identity than in the other case. + + All of a sudden the table begins to move vigorously, and another name + is dictated, "Ravachol."[46] + + "Oh, what is he going to say to us?" + + I will set down here what he said, though not without shame, and with + all due apologies to my lady readers. Here it is in all its crudity: + + "_Bougres de crétins, votre sale gueule est encore plaine des odeurs + du festin._" + + ("Nasty blackguards and idiots, your dirty throat is still full of the + odors of the feast.") + + "Monsieur Ravachol, this language of yours is exquisite! Have you + nothing more refined than this to say to us?" + + "You be blowed!" + + Certainly no one of us was capable of consciously composing such a + sentence as that. But everybody knows the words that were used. + Perhaps our conscious or sub-conscious thoughts spoke in them? Did + they emanate from Mme. X., the medium? + + In the uncertainty into which we were plunged by these two séances, we + asked M. and Mme. X. to come and pass a Sunday at Juvisy and try some + new studies and tests. + + They came, and on Sunday, October 8, we obtained some remarkable + levitations. But there are some dregs of doubt yet in our minds, and + we make engagements for another reunion that day fortnight. + + On Sunday, the 22d of October, 1899, in furtherance of my desire to + exercise careful control over the investigators, I had four broad + boards nailed together, forming a vertical frame in which I placed the + little table to be used during the sitting. This framework made it + impossible for the feet of the sitters to pass under the table; and + if it rose in spite of this, then we should know that the levitation + was due to an unknown force. + + The remarks of Mme. X., when she saw this device, made me think at + once that no levitation was going to take place. + + "This power of ours," said she, "is capricious; on some days we get + good results, on others none at all, and for no apparent reason." + + "But we shall perhaps have raps, at any rate?" + + "Certainly. We ought not to anticipate results. One can always try." + + Two hours after luncheon, Mme. X. agrees to try a sitting. _No + levitation whatever occurred._ + + I had some suspicions that this would be the case. I ardently desired + the contrary, and we willed the levitation with all our might. I was + expressly careful to have the same experimenters (Mme. X. and Mme. + Cail, and myself) as a fortnight before, when everything succeeded so + admirably,--same places, same chairs, same room, temperature, hour, + etc. + + Raps indicate that a spirit wishes to speak. I notice that the raps + correspond to a muscular movement of Mme. X.'s leg. + + "Who are you?" + + "In the library of the master of the house my name will be found in a + book." + + "How shall we find it?" + + "It is written on a piece of paper." + + "In what book?" + + "_Astronomia._" + + "Of what date?" + + No reply. + + "Of what color?" + + "Yellow." + + "Bound?" + + "No." + + "Stitched?" + + "Yes." + + "On what shelf?" + + "Hunt." + + "It impossible to go through thousands of volumes, and, besides, there + is not such a book in the whole library." + + No reply. + + After a series of questions we learn that the book is on the sixth + shelf of the main body of the library, to the right of the door. But + first, we all went into the room to make sure it contained no such + book as was described. + + "Then the volume is bound in boards?" + + "Yes, there are four _low_ volumes." + + We return to the room, and, sure enough, find in a volume entitled + _Anatomia Celeste_, Venice, 1573, a piece of paper, upon which is + pencilled the name "Krishna." We return to the séance table. + + "Is it really you, Krishna?" + + "Yes." + + "In what epoch did you live?" + + "In the time of Jesus." + + "In what country?" + + "In the neighborhood of the Himalaya mountain system." + + "And how did you write your name on this piece of paper?" + + "By passing through the thought of my medium." + + Etc., etc. + + I thought it would be superfluous to persist any farther. + + Mme. X. not being able to raise the table had chosen the device of + table rappings. The calling up of the Hindu prophet, however, I + thought was a fine piece of audacity. + + The simplest hypothesis is that the woman went into my library and put + the piece of paper in the book. In fact, she was seen there. But even + had she not been, the conclusion would be no less certain. For the + room was open, and Mme. X. had remained about an hour in the next + room, detained by "a nervous headache." + +This specimen of mediumistic trickery is, as I have said, one among +hundreds. Really, one must be endowed with the most unweariable +perseverance to enable him to devote to those studies hours which would be +much better employed even in doing nothing at all. However, when one has +the conviction that something real exists he always returns, in spite of +incessant trickery. + +In the month of May, 1901, Princess Karadja introduced to me a +professional medium, Frau Anna Rothe, a German, whose specialty consisted +in her alleged ability to spirit flowers into a tightly closed room in +broad daylight. + +I made arrangements for a séance with her at my apartments in Paris. +During its continuance, bouquets of flowers of all sizes, did, in truth, +make their appearance, but always from a quarter in the room the opposite +of that to which our attention was drawn by Frau Rothe and her manager, +Max Ientsch. + +Being well nigh convinced that all was fraud, but not having the time to +devote to such sittings, I begged M. Cail to be present, as often as he +could, at the meetings which were to be held in different Parisian salons. +He gladly consented, and got invited to a séance at the Clément Marot +house. Having taken his station a little in the rear of the +flower-scattering medium, he saw her adroitly slip one hand beneath her +skirts and draw out branches which she tossed into the air. + +He also saw her take oranges from her corsage, and ascertained that they +were warm. + +The imposture was a glaring one, and he immediately unmasked her, to the +great scandal of the assistants, who heaped insults upon him. A final +séance had been planned, to be held in my salon on the following Tuesday. +But Frau Rothe and her two accomplices took the train at the Eastern +Railway station that very morning, and we saw them no more. In the +following year she was arrested in Berlin, after a fraudulent séance, and +sentenced to one year in jail for swindling. + +In this class of things, cheatings and hoaxings are as numerous as +authenticated facts. Those who are curious in such things will not have +forgotten the scandalous hoax and misdemeanor of the celebrated Mrs. +Williams, an American woman who was received in full confidence, in 1894, +in Paris, by my excellent friend, the Duchess of Pomar. Already made +distrustful by the ingenious observations of the young duke, the sitters +were determined not to be the butt of her fooleries very long, and a +sitting was agreed on. The participators were MM. de Watteville, Dariex, +Mangin, Ribero, Wellemberg, Lebel, Wolf, Paul Leymarie (son of the editor +of _La Revue Spirite_), etc. + +The specialty of Mrs. Williams (who was, by the way, quite a stout person) +was the showing of apparitions, or ghosts. Said apparitions proved to be +manikins, rather poorly got up; the lady spectators, as well as the +gentlemen, were quite disappointed at the absence of the rich and flowing +outlines of _form_ under the draperies of the wretched puppets. Thin and +limp, tatterdemalion things, they showed not the faintest resemblance to +the normal and classic contours of woman, the lines of which we should +have been able to glimpse at least to some extent under the light gauze +that enwrapped the figures. Several bright-witted, but rather irreverent, +ladies took no pains to conceal the fact that they should prefer +annihilation if it were necessary to be so ... "reduced," so "incomplete" +in the other world! The gentlemen added that they would certainly not be +alone in lamenting such a state of things! + +There was no religious atmosphere at all about these sittings. The +imposture was discovered, or, one might rather say, seized, by M. Paul +Leymarie. He simply grasps Mme. Impostor around the waist (having slipped +behind the curtain for the purpose), and holds her fast for the inspection +of the audience. Lights are brought on, and, in the midst of the confused +uproar made by twenty-five duped sitters, the heroine of the entertainment +is compelled to show herself in flesh tights, while the whole apparatus of +her ghostly puppet-show is discovered in the cabinet! + +Mrs. Williams had the effrontery to defend herself, a little later, in the +American Journal _Light_, bestowing the playful epithet of "bandits" upon +those who had unmasked her in Paris. + +That was a case of high mystification, of jugglery worthy of a +street-corner mountebank. But, as we have already seen, matters do not +usually attain to such a height of audacity, and quite often fraud only +intervenes when the genuine powers have become enfeebled. This well +appeared in the accounts of the "girl torpedo-fish," Angelica Cottin, who +attained a good deal of notoriety. + +On the 15th of January, 1846, in the village of Bouvigny, near Perrière +(Orne), a young girl thirteen years old, named Angelica Cottin, light and +robust, but extremely apathetic in physical temperament and in morals, +suddenly exhibited strange powers. Objects touched by her, or by her +clothing, were forcibly repelled. Sometimes, even on her mere approach, +people were thrown into commotion and excitement, and pieces of furniture +and household utensils were seen to move and vibrate. With some variations +in intensity, and with intermittences, sometimes, of two or three days, +this curious virtue held good for about a month, then disappeared as +unexpectedly as it had appeared. It was authenticated by a large number of +persons, some of whom submitted the little girl to genuine scientific +experiments, and embodied their observations in formal reports, which were +collected and published by Dr. Tanchou. This gentleman first saw Angelica +on February 12 (1846), in Paris, where she had been taken to be exhibited. +The manifestations (which had decreased from the day when the basis, or +usual course of her habits had been altered) were on the point of +disappearing altogether. Yet they were still distinct enough to enable the +investigator to draw up the following note, which was read to the Academy +of Science, on February 17, by Arago, an eye-witness of the facts.[47] + + I saw the young "electric" girl twice (says Dr. Tanchou). + + A chair which I was holding as hard as I could with my foot and both + hands was forcibly wrenched from me the moment she sat down in it. + + A little slip of paper which I held poised on one finger was several + times carried away as if by a gust of wind. + + A dining-table of moderate size, though rather heavy, was more than + once displaced by the mere touch of her dress. + + A little paper wheel, placed vertically or horizontally upon its axis + was put into rapid movement by the radiations which darted from this + child's wrist and the bend of her arm.[48] + + A large and heavy sofa upon which I was seated was pushed with great + force against the wall the moment the girl came to seat herself by me. + + A chair was held fast upon the floor by strong men and I was seated on + it in such a way as to occupy only the half of the seat. It was + forcibly wrenched away from under me as soon as the young girl sat + down on the other half. + + One curious thing is that every time the chair is lifted it seems to + cling to Angelica's dress. It follows her for an instant before it + becomes detached. + + Two little elder-pith balls or feather-balls, suspended by a silken + thread, are set in motion, attracted to each other and sometimes + repelled. + + This girl's radiations of psychic force (_émanations_) are not + permanently present during all the hours of the day. They are + especially strong in the evening, from seven to nine o'clock,--which + leads me to surmise that perhaps her last meal (taken at six o'clock) + is not without its influence. + + The emanations are given forth only from the front part of the body, + especially at the wrist and at the bend of the arm. They only occur on + the left side, and the arm of this side is of a higher temperature + than that of the other. It gives off a gentle heat, as from a part + where a lively reaction is going on. The arm trembles and is + continually disturbed by unusual contractions and quiverings which + seem to be imparted to the hand that touches it. + + During the time I observed this subject, her pulse varied from 105 to + 120 pulsations a minute. It seemed to me frequently irregular. + + When she is isolated from the common reservoir of electric or magnetic + power, either by being seated upon a chair without her feet touching + the floor or when placing them upon the chair of a person in front of + her, the phenomena do not take place. They also cease when she is made + to sit down on her own hands. A waxed floor, a piece of oiled silk, a + plate of glass under her feet or on the chair, all have the effect of + antagonizing and destroying for the time the electro-dynamic property + of her body. + + During the paroxysm she can touch scarcely anything with her left hand + without throwing it from her as if it burned her. When her clothes + touch the articles of furniture in a room she attracts them, displaces + them, and overturns them. + + One will understand this more easily when it is realized that at every + electric discharge she runs away to escape the pain. She says "it + pricks" or "stings" her in the wrist or bend of the elbow. Once when I + was feeling for her pulse in the temporal artery (not having been able + to locate it in the left arm) my fingers chanced to touch the nape of + the neck. She uttered a cry and drew back quickly from me. I several + times assured myself of the fact that, near the cerebellum, at the + place where the muscles of the upper part of the neck are joined to + the cranium, there is a spot so sensitive that she allows no one to + touch it. All the sensations she feels in her left arm are here echoed + or repeated. + + The electric emanations of this child seem to move by waves, + intermittently, and in succession through different parts of the + anterior portion of the body. But be that as it may, _they are + certainly accompanied by an aëriform current which gives the sensation + of cold_. I plainly felt upon my hand a quick puff of air like that + produced by the lips. + + Every time the mysterious force strikes through her frame and + materializes in an act, terror and dismay fill the mind of this child, + and she seeks refuge in flight. Every time she brings the end of her + fingers near the north pole of a piece of magnetized iron, she + receives a severe shock; the south pole produces no effect. If I + manipulated the iron in such a way that I could not myself tell the + north pole on it, _she_ could always tell it very well. + + She is thirteen years old and has not yet reached the age of puberty. + I learned from her mother that nothing like menstruation has yet + appeared. She is very strong and healthy, but her intellect is as yet + little developed. She is a peasant cottager (_villageoise_) in every + sense of the word; yet she knows how to read and write. Her occupation + is the making of thread gloves for ladies. The first electric + phenomena began a month ago. + +It is desirable to add to the foregoing note extracts from other reports. +Here, for example, is a citation from M. Hébert: + + On the 17th of January,--that is to say, the second day of the + appearance of the phenomena,--the scissors suspended from her waist by + a cotton tape, flew from her without the cord being broken, and no one + could imagine how it got untied. This circumstance, incredible from + its resemblance to the pranks of lightning, makes one think at once + that electricity must play an important rôle in the production of such + astonishing effects. But this way of looking at the thing did not last + long. For the miracle of the scissors only occurred twice, once in the + presence of the curé of the village, who guaranteed to me upon his + honor the truth of the statement. In the middle of the day almost no + effects were obtained, but in the evening, at the usual hour, they + redoubled in intensity. It was at that time that action without + contact took place, and effects were produced in organic living + bodies. These latter made their first appearance in the form of + violent shocks felt in the ankles by one of the women laborers who + happened at the time to be facing Angelica, the points of their sabots + being about four inches apart. + +Dr. Beaumont Chardon, a physician of Mortagne, also published similar +notes and observations,--among others the following: + + The repulsion and attraction, hopping about and displacement, of a + rather solid table; of another table six feet by nine, mounted on + casters; of another four-feet-and-a-half square oak table; of a very + massive mahogany easy-chair,--_all these displacements took place + through contact with the Cottin girl's clothes,--contact either + involuntary or purposely brought about by experiments_. + + There was a sensation of violent prickings when a stick of sealing-wax + or a glass tube suitably rubbed was placed in contact with a bend in + the left arm or with the head, or simply when brought somewhat near + there. When the sealing-wax or the tube had not been rubbed, or when + they were being wiped dry or moistened, there was a cessation of + effects. The hairs on one's arm, made to slope or lie flat by a little + saliva, rose up again at the approach of the child's left arm. + +I have already remarked that this young girl was brought to Paris as a +subject of scientific observation. Arago, at the Observatory, in the +presence of his colleagues MM. Mathieu, Laugier, and Goujon, established +the truth of the following phenomena: + +When Angelica held out her hand toward a sheet of paper laid near the edge +of a table, the paper was strongly attracted by the hand. Approaching a +centre-table, she grazed it with her apron, and the table drew back from +her. When she sat down on a chair and put her feet on the floor, the chair +was thrown back violently against the wall, and she herself was thrown +forward to the other side of the room. This last experiment, repeated +several times, always succeeded. Neither Arago nor the astronomers of the +Observatory were able to hold the chair down. M. Goujon, who had sat down +in advance upon one half of the chair which was going to be used by +Angelica, was upset at the moment when she came to share the seat with +him. + +Following a favorable report of its illustrious perpetual secretary,[49] +the Academy of Science named a commission to examine Angelica Cottin. This +commission confined its efforts exclusively to the task of determining +whether or not the electrical force of the subject was similar to that of +the machines or that of the torpedo-fish. They could not come to any +conclusion, probably on account of the emotion excited in the girl at the +sight of the formidable apparatus of experimentation; and then her +peculiar powers were already on their decline. Thus the commission +hastened to declare all the communications on this subject made to the +Academy previous to this to be null and void. + +Upon this topic my old master and friend Babinet, who was a member of the +commission, wrote as follows: + + The members of the commission were not able to verify any of the + features announced. There was no report made, and Angelica's parents, + worthy people of the most exemplary probity, returned with her from + Paris to their own locality. The good faith of this couple and of a + friend who accompanied them interested me very much, and I would have + given anything in the world to find some reality in the wonders that + had been proclaimed about the girl. The only remarkable thing she did + was to rise from her chair in the most matter of fact way in the + world and hurl it behind her with such force that often the chair was + broken against the wall. But the supreme experiment,--that in which, + according to her parents, the miracle was revealed of motion produced + without contact,--was as follows: She was placed standing before a + light centre-table covered with a thin silken stuff. Her apron also + made of a very light and almost transparent silk, rested on the + centre-table (though this last condition was not indispensable). Then, + _when the electric force appeared_, the table was overturned, while + "the electric girl" maintained her usual stupid impassivity. I had + never personally seen any success attained in this particular feature + of the girl's performances; nor had my colleagues of the commission of + the Institute, nor the physicians, nor certain writers, who, with + great assiduity, had attended all the séances appointed at the + headquarters of the girl's parents in Paris. As for myself, I had + already overstepped all the bounds of friendly complaisance, when, one + evening the parents came to beseech me, in virtue of the interest I + had shown in them, to attended one more séance, saying that the + electric force was going to declare itself anew with great energy. I + arrived about eight o'clock in the evening at the hotel where the + Cottin family was staying. I was disagreeably surprised at finding a + séance intended only for myself, and the friends whom I brought with + me, overrun by a crowd of physicians and journalists who had been + attracted by the announcement of the prodigies which were to begin + again. After due excuses had been made I was introduced to a back room + which served as dining-room, and there I found an immense kitchen + table made of oak planks of an enormous thickness and weight. At the + moment when dinner was being served the electric girl had, by an act + of her will (it was said), overturned this massive table, and, as a + necessary result, broken all the plates and bottles that were on it. + But her excellent parents did not regret the loss, nor the poor dinner + that resulted from it, on account of the hope that animated them that + the marvellous qualities of the poor idiot were going to manifest + themselves and receive the official stamp of authenticity. There was + no possibility of doubting the veracity of these honest witnesses. An + octogenarian who accompanied me (M. M.--, the most sceptical of men) + believed their recital as I did; but, after entering with me the room + full of people, this distrustful observer took his stand in the very + entrance-door, alleging as a pretext the crowd in the room, and so + placed himself as to have a side view of the electric girl with her + centre-table before her. The crowd that faced the girl occupied the + farther end and the sides of the room. + + After an hour of patient waiting, and all in vain, I withdrew, + expressing my sympathy and my regrets. M. M. remained obstinately at + his post. He _pointed_ the electric girl with his unwearied eye, as a + crouching setter does a partridge. At last, at the end of another + hour, when the attention of the company was distracted by innumerable + preoccupations and several centres of conversation had been + formed--suddenly the miracle occurred: the centre-table was + overturned. Great amazement! great expectations! They were just + beginning to cry "Bravo!" when M. M., advancing by warrant of age and + the love of truth, declared that he had seen Angelica, by a convulsive + movement of the knee, push the table that was placed before her. He + drew the conclusion that the effort she must have made before dinner + in the overturning of the heavy kitchen table would have occasioned a + severe contusion above her knee,--a matter that was investigated and + found to be true. Such was the end of this melancholy affair in which + so many people had been duped by a poor idiot, who yet had enough + crafty cunning to inspire illusion by her very calmness and + impassivity. We have still to account for the singular facts observed + near Rambouillet (see the _Reports_ of the Academy), at the house of a + wealthy manufacturer, all whose vases and other vessels of + pottery-ware burst into a thousand pieces at the moment when least + expected. Kettles and other large vessels cast in metal also flew into + fragments, to the great loss of the proprietor, whose troubles, + however, ceased with the discharge of a servant, who had come to an + understanding with a man who was to occupy the factory so that he + might get it at a better bargain. Nevertheless, it is to be regretted + that the matter ended before it was discovered what fulminating powder + had been employed to produce such curious results, so new, and, + apparently, so well proved.[50] + +Babinet adds farther on in the same volume the following remarks on +Angelica Cottin: + + In the midst of wonders which she did _not_ perform there was seen a + very natural effect of _the first relaxation of muscles_ which was + curious in the highest degree. The girl, of slight figure and torpid + physique, who was correctly styled the "torpedo-fish," being first + seated on a chair and then rising very slowly (in the midst of the + movement she was making in the act of rising) had the _power_ of + throwing backward, with terrifying suddenness, the chair she was + leaving, without anybody being able to perceive the slightest movement + of the trunk of the body, and solely by the relaxation of the muscle + which had been in contact with the chair. At one of the test-séances + in the laboratory of physics at the Jardin des Plantes, several + amphitheatre chairs of white wood were hurled against the walls in + such a way as to break them. A second chair, which I had once taken + the precaution to place behind that in which the electric girl was + seated (for the purpose of protecting, if need were, two persons who + were conversing at the back part of the room) was drawn along with the + propelled chair and went with it to arouse from their + absent-mindedness the two savants. I will add that several young + employees at the Jardin des Plantes succeeded in performing--although + in a less brilliant way--this pretty trick in bodily mechanics. In + order to get a good idea of this play of the muscles by a similar + effect, you have only to gently squeeze that part of the muscle of + some one's arm that is most developed, at the same time that he makes + the motion of opening and closing his fist several times. You will at + once feel the swelling up of the muscles and divine the movement that + would result from it were the change of shape made very rapid. + +Such is the report of the learned physicist. It is thus that fraud once +more hindered the recognition of the reality of phenomena that had been +duly proved before. Accompanying this there was also a weakening of the +faculties of the performer. But it is absurd to conclude from this that +the observers of the earlier days in this case (including Arago and his +colleagues of the Observatory,--Mathieu, Laugier, and Goujon,--as well as +the examiner Hébert, Dr. Beaumont Chardon, and others) were poor +observers, and were deceived by movements of the foot of this child. + +We may allow for the fraud, conscious and unconscious of mediums. We may +deplore it, for it throws an unpleasant gloom upon all the phenomena; but +let us render justice to incontestable facts, and continue to observe +them. + +_Quære et invenies!_ Seek and thou shalt find. _The Unknown_, the science +of to-morrow. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE EXPERIMENTS OF COUNT DE GASPARIN + + +One of the most important series of experiments that has been made on the +subject of moving tables is that of Count Agénor de Gasparin at Valleyres, +Switzerland, in September, October, November, and December of the year +1853. The Count has published formal reports of these studies in two large +volumes.[51] These séances may be called purely scientific, for they were +conducted with the most scrupulous care and were under the severest +control. The table usually employed had a round oak top thirty-two inches +in diameter, which rested on a heavy three-footed central column, the feet +being about twenty-two inches apart. There were usually ten or twelve +experimenters, and they formed the chain on the table by touching each +other with their little fingers in such a way that the thumb of the left +hand of each operator touched that of his right hand, and the little +finger of the right hand touched that of the left hand of his neighbor. In +the opinion of the author, this chain is useful, but not absolutely +necessary. The rotation of the table usually began after a waiting of five +or ten minutes. Then it lifted one foot to a height that varied from time +to time, and fell back again. The levitation took place even when a very +heavy man was seated on the table. Rotations and levitations were obtained +without the contact of hands. But let us hear the author himself: + + It is a question of positive fact that I wish to solve. The theory + will come later. To prove that the phenomenon of turning tables is + real and of a purely physical nature; that it can neither be explained + by the mechanical action of our muscles nor by the mysterious action + of spirits,--such is my thesis. It is my wish to state it with + precision and circumscribe its limits here at the very start. I + confess I find some satisfaction in meeting with unanswerable proofs + the sarcasms of people who find it easier to mock than to examine. I + am well aware that we have got to put up with that. No new truth + becomes evident without having been first ridiculed. But it is none + the less agreeable to reach the moment when things assume their + legitimate place, and when rôles cease to be inverted. This moment + might have been long in coming. For a long time I feared that + table-phenomena would not admit of a definite scientific + demonstration; that, while they inspired absolute certainty in the + minds of the operators and witnesses at first hand, they would not + furnish irrefutable arguments to the public. In the presence of bare + possibilities, each person would be free to cherish his own particular + opinion; we should have had believers and sceptics. The classification + would have taken place in virtue of tendencies rather than by reason + of one's knowledge or ignorance of the facts. Some, in the agreeable + sensation of their intellectual superiority, would have carried their + head very high, and others would have abandoned themselves in despair + to the current superstitions of the day. The truth incompletely + demonstrated would have been treated as a lie, and, what is worse, + would have ended by becoming such. + + But thank God! it will not be so now. Our meetings were real and + formal séances, to which the best hours of the day were given. The + results, verified with the most minute care, were embodied in formal + and official declarations. I have these _procès-verbaux_ before me + now, and it seems to me that I could not do better than to take up one + after another and extract from each the interesting observations it + may contain. I shall thus follow the method of certain historians, and + relate the truth rather than systematize it. The reader will, as it + were, follow us step by step. He will examine and check my various + assertions by comparing them; he will form his own conviction, and + will judge whether my proofs have that character of frequent + occurrence, of persistency, of progressive development which false + discoveries, based upon some fortuitous and poorly described + coincidence, never have. + +These are promising premises. We shall see whether the promises will be +kept. The report (or minutes) of the first meeting bears the date of +September 20, 1853. Numerous séances had been held before, but it had not +been thought necessary to write down the results. What those results were +will be seen by the following brief account: + + Only those have an invincible conviction (writes Count de Gasparin) + who have participated in séance studies frequently and directly, who + have felt under their very fingers the production of those peculiar + movements which the action of our muscles cannot imitate. They know + the limitations of their powers and where to stop. For they have seen + the table refuse to rotate at all, in spite of the impatience of the + investigators, and in spite of their clamorous appeals. Then again, + they have been present when it started to move so gently, so softly + and spontaneously started, it can be said, under fingers which hardly + touched it. They have at times seen the legs of the table (riveted by + some enchantment to the floor) refuse to budge on any terms, in spite + of the incitement and coaxing of those who composed the chain. On + other occasions they have seen the same table-legs perform levitations + that were so free and energetic that they anticipated the hands, got + the start of the orders, and executed the thoughts almost before they + were conceived, and with an energy well-nigh terrifying. They have + heard with their own ears stunning raps and gentle raps, the one + threatening to break the table, the others of such incredible fineness + and delicacy that one could scarcely catch the sounds, and none of us + could in any degree imitate them. They have remarked that the force of + the levitations is not diminished when the sitters are removed from + the side of the table that is to form the fulcrum. They have + themselves commanded the table to lift that one of its legs over + which rest the only hands that compose that portion of the chain still + remaining, and the leg has risen as often and as high as they wished. + They have observed the table in its dances when it beats the measure + with one foot or with two; when it reproduces exactly the rhythm of + the music that has just been sung; when, yielding in the most comic + way to the invitation to dance the minuet, it takes on grandmotherly + airs, sedately makes a half turn, curtsies, and then comes forward + turning the other side! The manner in which the events took place told + the experimenters more than the events themselves. They were in + contact with a reality which soon made itself understood. + + The persevering experiments we had made before the 20th of September + had already given us proof of two principal things,--the levitation of + a weight that the muscular action of the operators was powerless to + move, and the reproduction of numbers by mind reading. + +I shall now give the formal declarations or reports, by Count de Gasparin, +or at least the essential parts of them. I shall present them here as the +author has done, séance after séance. The reader will judge. He is urged +to read the reports with the greatest attention. They are scientific +documents of the highest value, and quite as important as the preceding +ones. + + _Séance of September 20_ + + Some one proposed the experiment which consists in causing a table to + rotate and give raps while it has on it a man weighing say a hundred + and ninety pounds. We accordingly placed such a man on the table, and + the twelve experimenters, in chain, applied their fingers to it. + + The success was complete: the table turned, and rapped several + strokes. Then _it rose up entirely off the floor_ in such a way as to + upset the person who was upon it. Let me be permitted here, in + passing, to make a general remark. We had already had numerous + meetings. Our experimenters, among whom were several young ladies of + delicate physique, had worked with very unusual perseverance and + energy. Their bodily fatigue at the end of each sitting was naturally + very great. It seems as if we should therefore have expected some + nervous collapses more or less grave, to show themselves among us. If + explanations based upon involuntary acts performed in a state of + extraordinary excitement had the least foundation in fact, we should + have had trances, almost possessions, and, at any rate, nervous + attacks. Now, in spite of the exciting and noisy character of our + meetings, it did not happen, in five months time, that any one of us + experienced a single moment of indisposition or sickness of any kind. + We learned something more: when a person is in a state of nervous + tension, he or she becomes positively unfit to act upon the table. It + must be handled cheerfully, lightly, and deftly, with confidence and + authority, but without passion. This is so true that the moment I took + too much interest in things I ceased to obtain obedience. If, on + account of public discussions in which I had been engaged, I chanced + to desire success too ardently and to grow impatient over delay, I had + no longer any control over the table; it remain inert. + + + _Séance of September 24_ + + We began pretty poorly, and were almost inclined to think that the net + result of the day's experiments would be limited to the two following + observations, which have their value, to tell the truth, and which our + experience has always confirmed: First, there are days when nothing + can be done, nothing prospers, although the sitters are as numerous, + as strong, and as excited as ever,--which proves that the movements of + the table are not obtained by fraud or by the involuntary pressure of + the muscles. Second, there are persons (those among others who are + sickly or fatigued) whose presence in the chain is not only of no use, + but even detrimental. Destitute themselves of the fluidic force, they + seem, besides, to hinder its circulation and transmission. Their good + will, their faith in the table are of no avail; as long as they are + there the rotations are feeble, the levitations spiritless, the drafts + drawn on the table are not honored; that one of its feet facing them + is especially struck with paralysis. Beg them to retire, and + immediately the vitality appears again and everything succeeds as if + by magic. Indeed, it was only after we had taken this course that we + finally obtained the free and energetic movements to which we had been + accustomed. We had become quite discouraged; but when the purging of + which I have just spoken took place, lo, what a change! Nothing seems + difficult to us. Even those who (like myself) ordinarily have only + mediocre success, now think of numbers and make the table rap them out + with complete success, or with the slight imperfection (that + frequently occurs) of a tap too many, owing to the delay in giving the + mental order to stop the taps. + + Seeing that everything was going according to our wish, and having + decided to try the impossible, we next undertake an experiment which + marks our entrance into a wholly new phase of the study and places our + former experimental demonstrations under the guarantee of a positively + irrefutable demonstration. We are going to leave probability behind + and dwell with evidence. We are going to make the table move _without + touching it_. And this is how we succeeded that first time: + + At the moment when the table was whirling with a powerful and + irresistible rotation, at a given signal we all lifted our fingers. + Then keeping our hands united by means of the little fingers, and + continuing to form the chain at a height of say an eighth or a quarter + of an inch above the table, we continued our circular movement. _To + our great surprise the table did the same_; it made in this way three + or four turns! We could scarcely believe our good fortune; the + by-standers (witnesses) could not keep from clapping their hands. And + the way in which the rotation took place was as remarkable as the + rotation itself. Once or twice the table stopped following us because + the little accidents and interruptions of our march had withdrawn our + fingers from their regular distance from the top of the table. Once or + twice the table had come to life again--if I may so express + myself--when the turning chain had again got into the right relation + with it. We all had the feeling that each hand had carried along in + its course that portion of the table immediately beneath it. + + + _Séance of September 29_ + + We were naturally impatient to submit rotation without contact to a + new test. In the confusion of the first success we forgot to renew and + vary this decisive experiment. When we got to thinking about it + afterwards we saw that it behooved us to do the thing over again with + more care and in the presence of new witnesses; that it was, above + all, important to produce the movement and not merely to continue it, + and to produce it in the form of levitations instead of limiting it to + rotations. Such was the program of our meeting of September 29. Never + was program carried out with greater precision. As a preliminary, we + repeated our successful feat of the 24th. While the table was rotating + rapidly, the interlocked hands were lifted from it, though continuing + to turn above it and form the chain. The table followed, making now + one or two revolutions, and now a half or a quarter turn only. The + success, more or less prolonged, was certain. We confirmed it several + times. But some one might say that, the table being already in motion, + the momentum carried it along mechanically while we imagined it was + yielding to our fluidic force. The objection was absurd, and we would + have challenged anybody to obtain a single quarter of a turn without + forming the chain, however rapid might have been the rotation + imparted. Above all, would we have challenged anyone to renew its + motion when it had been for an instant suspended. However, it is well + in such cases to forestall even absurd objections, however little of + plausibility they may have. And this particular objection might seem + plausible to the inattentive man. It was imperative, then, that we + should produce rotation starting from a state of complete inertia. + This we did. The table being as motionless as we were, the chain of + hands parted from it and began to turn slowly at a height of about + three-eighths of an inch above its edge. In a moment the table made a + slight movement, and each of us striving to draw along by his will + that part situated under his own fingers, we succeeded in drawing the + disk in our train. The details that followed resembled those of the + preceding case. There is such difficulty in maintaining the chain in + the air without breaking it, in keeping it near the border of the + table without going too quick and thus destroying the harmonious + relation established, that it often happens that the rotation stops + after a turn or a half-turn. Yet it is sometimes prolonged during + three or even four revolutions. We expected to encounter still greater + obstacles when we should undertake levitation without contact. But the + matter turned out quite otherwise. This is easily explained when we + remember that in this ease there is no circular movement and it is + much easier to maintain the normal position of the hands above the + table. The chain, then, being formed at a distance of an eighth of an + inch or so above the round top of the table, we ordered one of its + legs to lift itself up, and it did so. + + We were highly delighted, and repeated this pretty experiment many + times. Without touching it in any way, we ordered the whole table to + rise into the air, and to resist the witnesses, who had to put forth + effort to bring it down to the floor. We commanded it to turn bottom + side up, and it fell over with its feet in the air, although we never + touched it with our fingers, but kept them in advance of it as it + fell, at the distance agreed upon. + + Such were the essential results of this meeting. They are such that I + hesitate to mention in the same connection incidents of secondary + importance. + + I will only say, in passing, that the séance was very discouraging at + the start; for, not only was it found necessary to remove certain new + operators, but several of the old ones did not bring to it their usual + high spirits. The table responded poorly; raps were made faintly and + as if with reluctance; the telepathic reading of numbers did not + succeed. Then we took a resolution from which we derived much benefit: + we persevered, and persevered gaily; we sang, we made the table dance; + we gave up all thoughts of new experiments and persisted in easy and + amusing ones. After a while conditions changed; the table fairly + bounded, and hardly waited for our orders; we were now in condition to + try more serious things. + + + _Séance of October 7_ + + A long meeting, and very fatiguing. It was principally devoted to the + trial of various mechanical devices which had no success + whatever,--such as metal rings; frameworks of canvas or of paper + placed upon the table; plates on pivots and spring-keys. Whether the + sight of all this gear hindered the radiation of the fluidic force + from the operators, whether the contrivances themselves stopped its + circulation in the table, or whether, in fine, the natural conditions + of the phenomenon were disturbed in some other way, it is certain that + the results amounted to nothing or were doubtful. + + One new experiment succeeded. A plate turning on a pivot held a tub. I + filled this tub with water, and two of my collaborators and I plunged + our hands into it. We formed the chain and began a circular walk, + being careful not to touch the tub. This at once imitated our + movement. We repeated the thing several times in succession. + + Since it might be supposed that the impulse given to the water would + suffice to set in motion a tub resting on so delicately balanced a + plate, we at once proceeded to prove the contrary. The water was given + a circular whirl causing it to move with much greater rapidity than + when we formed the chain; but the tub moved not a peg. Undoubtedly the + point remains to be considered whether one of us three did not touch + the inside of the tub and so determine its movement. To that I reply, + first, that the way in which our hands were held in the water + obviously proves that none of our fingers could really touch bottom; + secondly, that, taking pains as we did to form the chain at the + centre, it would have been scarcely less difficult for us to touch the + vertical sides of the tub. + + And yet, the doubt being not wholly inadmissible, I class this + experiment among those of which I do not purpose to make any use. I + wish to show that I am hard to please in the matter of evidence. + + The proof which the rapping of numbers by mind-reading furnishes has + always seemed to be one of the most convincing. In the sitting I am + describing, it had this special feature, that each of the ten + operators in turn received the communication of a number in writing, + the others having their eyes shut. Now, in the whole ten, one alone + failed to obtain perfect obedience from the table-leg which had been + assigned to him by very suspicious witnesses, or by-standers. If my + readers will reflect carefully they will see that the combinations of + movements communicated and of cheating tricks which such a solid + result as this would require passes far beyond the bounds of + admissible things. To justify it the objector must invent a miracle + much more astounding than ours. + + Let us turn again to the finest of all demonstrations, that of + levitation without contact. We began by performing it three times. + Then, since it was thought by some that the inspection of the + witnesses could be carried on in a surer way in the case of a small + table than in that of a large one, and with five operators more + certainly than with ten, we had a plain deal centre-table brought + which the chain, reduced by half, sufficed to put in rotation. Then + the hands were lifted, and, _contact with the table being entirely + broken, it rose seven times into the air at our command_. + + + _Séance of October 8_ + + Two circumstances occurred to confirm the results we had obtained in + preceding séances. Among the numbers selected for the thought-test the + roguery of one of the witnesses had placed a zero, and the leg + selected by him to respond was at the left of the operator and beyond + the reach of his muscular action. Now, the command having been given + to the leg and no action resulting, we were all feeling disconsolate, + being convinced that our weakness that day was so great that we were + not going to obtain even simple levitations. I affirm most + emphatically that if movement had ever been imparted by an + experimenter to a table leg, it would have appeared at that moment. + Our nerves were in an exalted state and our impatience was at its + height. Yet no movement of the table took place, and we were + consequently all the more solaced when we learned that the figure + communicated had been a cipher. + + Movement without contact was accomplished twice. + + To our experiment of a table that gave raps while having a man upon + it, it had been objected that this man might lend his aid to the + movement, and even incite it in part. Determined to seek out the truth + with the most anxious care, we had recognized a certain plausibility + in this objection, and had decided to meet it fairly. The being who + was living, intelligent, and consequently suspected must be replaced + by an inert weight. Buckets filled with sand must be placed in the + precise centre of the table, which should then be called on to exhibit + its skill. + + But the day was badly chosen. After we had placed on the table two + buckets, one upon the other, both weighing in all 143 pounds, it was + discovered that we were unable to produce the levitation. It was + necessary for us to content ourselves with continuing them in circular + movement after they had been started. The buckets were removed, the + table was set in motion, and the buckets replaced while the movement + was at its height. They did not arrest it in the least, but were + carried around with such force that the sand flew out on all sides. + + The remainder of the sitting was given up to an investigation of the + subject of (alleged) divination, or guessing. + + When the table was asked to guess something known to one of the + members of the chain, it pretty frequently and quite naturally + happened that it guessed it. It is the case of thought-reading by + numbers,--nothing more, nothing less. + + When it is asked to guess a thing known to a member of the company who + does not form at the time a part of the chain, it happens sometimes + that it guesses it. But the person in question must be endowed with + great fluidic power and be able to exercise it at a distance. We did + not ourselves obtain anything like this; but others have succeded, and + their testimony seems too well established to be called in question. + + Up to the present moment, it is plain, there is not the least trace of + divination. It is fluidic action, near-by or distant. + + If the tables divine, if they think, if there are spirits, we ought to + get decisive responses in the case where no one knows the facts, + either in the chain or out of the chain. The problem thus stated, the + solution is not difficult. + + Take a book. Do not open it, but invite the table to read the first + line of the page you will designate,--say page 162 or page 354. The + table will not flinch: it will rap, and will compose words for you. It + was thus, at least, that it always acted with us. At any rate, one + thing is certain, that neither here nor elsewhere, has any spirit, + however cunning, read, this simple line; nor will it be able in the + future to do so. I recommend the experiment to the partisans of spirit + evocations. + + As to the test of pieces of money in a purse, hours, playing-cards + etc., the tables betake themselves to a strict calculation of + probabilities; they guess just as much as you do, or as I do. Inasmuch + as it is a question of small numbers of which one can form in advance + an approximate idea, the range of possible combinations is not very + extensive. The mind fixes upon a number which has a fairly good chance + of being the true one, and the proportion between the failures of the + table and its successes is in such a case just what it would be apart + from all question of miraculous divination. + + + _Séance of November 9_ + + Before entering upon the description of this sitting,--a very + remarkable one,--I will say that neither the thermometer nor the + mariners' compass have furnished the slightest indication of anything + interesting. I thought I ought to note this, in passing, to show to + the reader that we did not neglect to employ instruments which seemed + likely to put us in the way of obtaining a scientific explanation. In + general, I pass by that phase of our work, as well as the different + trials which remained merely trials, and did not lead to any positive + results. + + Our first care was to renew the experiment of the levitation of an + inert weight. It was agreed among us this time that we would always + start from the state of absolute immobility in the object: we wanted + to produce movement, not to continue it. + + The centre of the table, then, having been fixed with nice precision, + a first tub of sand, weighing 46 pounds, was placed upon it. _The legs + easily rose from the floor when they got the order._ + + A second tub, weighing 42 pounds, was next placed in the middle of the + other. _They were both lifted_--less easily, but very neatly and + clearly. + + Then a third tub, smaller, and weighing 28-3/5 pounds, was placed on + top of the two others. The levitations took place. + + We had still further got ready enormous stones weighing altogether + 48-1/2 pounds. They were placed on the third tub. After rather long + hesitation, _the table lifted several times in succession each of its + three legs_. It lifted them with a force, a decision, an élan, which + surprised us. But its strength, already put to so many proofs, could + not resist this last one. Bending under the powerful swaying motion + imparted by the total mass of 165 pounds, _it suddenly broke down_, + and its massive centre-post was split from top to bottom--to the great + peril of the operators on the side of whom the entire load rolled off. + + I shall not stop to comment on such an experiment. It answers all + demands. Our united muscular force would not have sufficed to + determine the movements that took place. A mass of inert matter free + from the suspicion of being obliging, had replaced the person whose + complicity was held in suspicion. Finally, when the three legs had + been lifted, each in turn, critics no longer had as a resource the + insinuation that we had caused the weight to be laid more on one side + than on the other. + + Inasmuch as our poor table had been wounded on the field of honor and + could not be repaired on the spot, we got a new one which much + resembled it. But it was a little larger and a little lighter. + + The interesting point was to be settled whether we were going to be + obliged to wait for it to be charged with the psycho-physical fluid. + The occasion was a famous one for solving this important problem: + Where does the fluid reside?--in the operators or in the piece of + furniture. The solution was as prompt as it was decisive. Scarcely had + our hands, in chains, been placed upon this second table than it began + to revolve with the most unexpected and the most comic rapidity! + Evidently, the fluid was in us, and we were free to apply it in + succession to different tables. + + We lost no time. In the mood in which we then were, movement without + contact must succeed better than ever. Nor did we deceive ourselves in + so thinking. We first developed rotations without contact to the + number of five or six. + + As to levitations without contact, we discovered a method of + proceeding that renders their success easier. The chain, formed a few + millimetres above the top disk, is arranged so as to go in the + direction in which the movement is to take place; the hands the + nearest to the leg called on to rise are outside of and beyond the + top; they draw near and pass gradually by, while the hands that are + opposite, and which had at first advanced toward the same leg, move + away from it while they attract it. It is during this progression of + the chain, while all our wills are fixed upon a particular spot on the + wood, and when the orders to levitate are forcibly given, that the + foot quits the ground and the table-top follows the hands,--to the + point of upsetting, if one did not keep hold of it. + + This levitation without contact was produced about thirty times. We + produced it by each of the three legs in succession, in order to + remove every pretext for criticism. Moreover, we watched the hands + with scrupulous care. If the reader will please observe that this + surveillance was exercised during thirty operations without detecting + the slightest contact, I think it will be concluded that the reality + is henceforth placed beyond all doubt. + + + _Séance of November 21_ + + The chief characteristic of this séance was the absence of that one of + our number who exercised the greatest authority at the table.[52] In + working without her we were put in a position to establish two things: + first, that one cannot with impunity do without an extraordinary + gifted experimenter; and, second, that one can, nevertheless, do + without him or her, if it is absolutely necessary, and that success, + although less brilliant in this case, is not impossible. I call + special attention to this last point, as well as to the frequent + modifications of our personnel, for the benefit of suspicious persons + who, not knowing the mental worth of the persons in question, might be + disposed to place to the account of their dexterity the results to + which they essentially contribute. The psycho-physical working power + of a "sensitive" table-turner is of a mixed nature: a resolute posture + and a circular movement are not sufficient to give birth to it. + Besides this, and above all, there is needed _the will_. + + Our will having at last asserted itself, and muscular pressure having + yielded its place to the pressure of commands, the fluidic rotation + arrives, after five or six minutes of concentration of our thoughts. + We felt, indeed, keenly that some important person was lacking and + that we did not possess our usual power. However, we were determined + to succeed, even at the price of greater mental fatigue. + + So we took up boldly our most difficult feat; namely, movements + without contact. Rotations without touch were obtained thrice. I + should add that they were very incomplete,--a quarter of a turn, or a + half-turn at most. + + As to levitations without touch our success was more decisive; but it + was purchased at the price of a very considerable expenditure of + force. After each levitation we had to rest, and, when we had reached + No. 9 we were absolutely obliged to stop, overcome with fatigue. One + must have had personal knowledge of such experiments to understand + what drafts they make upon one's attention and energy, and at what + point it is indispensible to will, and to will peremptorily, that such + and such a knot of wood in the table shall follow the opened fingers + that are alluring it at a distance. + + But be that as it may, our attempt was crowned with success, and we + could end the sitting with less exhausting exercises. + + The idea came to us then and there to try our powers on a large table + with four legs. It had often been claimed that three-legged + centre-tables alone would respond to our manipulations. It was time to + furnish undeniable proof to the contrary. So we took a table three + feet five inches in diameter, a folding half of which (independent of + the leg that supports it when it is raised) can be turned up at will. + + Scarcely were our fingers in place than the table began a rotation + with noisy bustle, the sprightliness of which surprised us. It thus + showed that tables with four legs were no more refractory than others. + In addition to this, it furnished a new argument in favor of one of + our former observations,--that the fluid is in the persons and not in + the tables. In fact the movement of the large table took place almost + immediately, and before it could be considered as charged with fluid. + + The next task before us was to make it give raps with its different + legs. We began with those fastened to one half of the top, three in + number. They rose from the floor two at a time with such force that at + the end of a moment one of the casters flew to pieces.[53] Now it is + difficult to form an idea of the intensity which a fraudulent action + of the fingers must have acquired in order to exercise a leverage upon + so heavy a table, and launch it into the air to such a height. + + There remained the leg of the table which was independent of the top. + We thought it would obey as well as the others. But no! In vain did we + pour out the most prodigal and pressing invitations: it was never + willing to rise, either along with its right-hand neighbor or with its + neighbor on the left. Our next thought was that this was due to the + persons placed near it, and certain members of the chain changed + seats. In vain! All combinations failed one after another. + + We drew great deductions from this circumstance. But since it was + refuted later, when the contumacious leg yielded perfect obedience at + another meeting, I will not take the public into our confidence by a + display of our reasonings on the subject. I will only ask that two + things be noted; first, the care we took to verify many times the + phenomena before affirming them; and, second, that we have here once + more a fine refutation of the critics who assert that muscular action + can explain everything. If this were so, why did not muscular action + lift the free leg as well as those fastened tight to the table? It + could have done so just as easily; and yet for some _unknown reason_, + but one evidently _foreign to the laws of mechanics_, only the + attached legs consented to move. + + + _Séance of November 27_ + + We were in full muster; but two or three of the operators were + slightly indisposed. On the whole, whatever was the cause, the + occasion was scarcely remarkable for anything except the almost total + absence of fluidic power. For a single moment we had a little of it. A + half-hour of action and two hours and a half of inertia--this was our + net result. + + Nothing was more lamentable, and at the same time more curious, than + to see us about the different tables, passing from one to another, + enjoining them to do the most elementary things, and only obtaining a + weak and languid rotation, which soon stopped altogether. + + + _Séance of December 2_ + + I should have been vexed to have to close my recital with so dull and + spiritless a record as the preceding one. By good fortune the last of + our reports gives me the right to leave a totally different impression + on the reader's mind. + + We were in fine temper. Perhaps the beautiful weather helped. It is + not the first time I have noticed this. What is certain is that the + very same persons who, on November 27, had only a half-hour of success + and had passed the rest of the sitting in beseeching in vain for + anything better than poor abortive rotations or faint raps, to-day + governed the table with an authority, a quickness, and, if I may so + put it, an elasticity of bearing that left nothing to be desired. + + The large table with four legs was set in motion. And this time, the + ease with which the free leg lifted its share of the table proved that + we were right in not drawing too definite conclusions from its former + refusal. Every time that we tried to lift without contact that part of + the table the farthest removed from myself I felt the table-leg + nearest me gradually approach and press against my leg. Struck with + this occurrence, which took place several times I drew the conclusion + that the table _was gliding forward_, not having enough force to rise. + We were, then, exercising a perceptible influence on this large table + without touching it in any way. + + In order the better to assure myself of it, I left the chain and + observed the movement of the feet of the table on the floor. It ranged + from fractions of an inch to several inches. When we then tried to + turn up without contact the folding leaf of a gaming-table covered + with cloth, we obtained the same result: the folding leaf would not + yield to our influence, but the entire table advanced in the direction + of the prescribed movement. Now, I ought to add that the gliding was + not at all easy, for the floor of our room was rough and uneven. + + It is interesting to note in this connection the moment when this + gliding movement ordinarily begins. It occurs at precisely the same + time that the levitation without contact takes place when that + manifestation is in process. When the portion of the chain which is + pushing on has just advanced beyond the side of the table-top, where + it begins to turn, and when that portion of the chain that is pulling + has just crossed the middle point in its recession, then the + ascensional movement--or, in default of that, the _gliding + motion_--manifests itself. Our fluidic power is then at its maximum, + precisely at the instant when our mechanical power is at its minimum, + when the hands that are pushing have ceased to act (supposing the case + of fraud) and when the hands that pull are powerless to act. + + Let us now revert to our ordinary table. We tried to produce rotations + and levitations without contact, and had complete success. + +Such reports as the foregoing are of more value than all the +dissertations. They show the undeniable reality of the levitation not +total, but partial,--of the table which remained in an oblique position +poised on two legs only. They show also rotations and levitations _without +contact_, as well as glidings under the influence of a natural force +hitherto only slightly studied. + +_Levitations of a heavy table, having on it a man weighing 191 pounds, or +of tubs of sand and stones weighing 165 pounds_,--no denial of these +occurrences can be admitted. + +The same is true of the movements of the table dancing in accordance with +the rhythm of certain airs, of its over-turnings, of its obedience to the +orders given. These facts have been observed precisely as mechanical, +physical, chemical, meteorological, astronomical facts have been +observed. + +To the above reports I will add here a supplementary experiment described +in the preface of Count de Gasparin's book: + + Certain distinguished savants to whom I had communicated the results + we had secured, agreed in assuring me that levitations without contact + would have the character of absolute certain proof if we succeeded in + verifying them by the following practical device: "Sprinkle flour upon + the table," they said, "at the instant your hands have just left it; + then produce one or more levitations; finally assure yourselves that + the layer of flour bears not the slightest sign of any touch, and all + objectors will be dumb." + + Why, it is precisely this experiment that we have performed + successfully several times. Let me give a few details: + + Our first trial had succeeded very badly. We used a coarse sieve which + we had to move to and fro over the entire table. This produced the + double inconvenience; first, of suspending too long, and so of + nullifying the action of the operators; and, secondly, of spreading a + layer of flour much too thick. The buoyant spring and impulse of the + wills of the operators was abated, the fluidic action was thwarted, + the table-top got chilled down, so to speak; nothing moved. The + mischief went so far that the table not only refused us levitations + and rotations without contact, but almost all the ordinary ones. + + Then a brilliant idea came to one of us. We possessed one of those + bellows used in blowing sulphur upon vines attacked by the + grape-mildew. In place of sulphur we put flour into it, and, so + prepared, began the test. + + The conditions were most favorable. The weather was dry and warm, the + table went leaping under our fingers, and, indeed, before the order to + lift hands had been given, the greater part of the band of us had + spontaneously ceased to touch the table-top. Then the command rings + out; the whole chain lifts up from the table, and at the same instant + the bellows covers its entire surface with a light dusting of flour. + Not a second had been lost; the levitation without contact had + already taken place. But to leave no doubt, the thing was repeated + three or four times in succession. + + That done, the table was scrupulously examined; _no finger had touched + it, or even grazed it in the slightest degree_. + + The fear of grazing it involuntarily had even been so great that the + hands had acted fluidically from a height much greater than in + previous sittings. Each one had thought he could not raise his hands + too high, and the hands removed to such a distance from the top, had + not had recourse to any of the manoeuvres or passes of which we had at + other times made use. Keeping its place, above the table to be lifted, + the chain had preserved its form intact; it had made hardly a + perceptible motion in the direction of the movement it was producing + at a distance from the table. + + I will add, finally that we did not content ourselves with a single + experience. A careful inspection following each of several + levitations, always showed that the dust-like layer of flour was + absolutely untouched; and no portion of the table had escaped its + tell-tale coat of white. + +The author of these reports himself estimates as follows the results he +has recorded: + + The phenomena observed confirm and elucidate each other. Large + four-legged tables compete with three-legged ones. Inert weights, + placed on these, come forward as substitutes for persons suspected of + giving a helping hand to the table charged with the task of lifting + them. At last the great discovery arrives in its turn: we begin by + continuing without contact movements already initiated, and we end by + producing them; we succeed almost in creating the process, to such an + extent that these extraordinary facts manifest themselves sometimes in + an uninterrupted series of fifteen or thirty performances. The + glidings round out the subject by throwing light on one phase of + action at a distance: they reveal it as powerless (at times) to lift + the table, but able to draw it along over the floor. + + Such is the rapidly sketched account of our progress. Taken just by + itself alone, it constitutes a solid proof and I recommend a study of + it to serious men. It is not thus that error proceeds. Illusions + originating in accident, or chance, do not thus resist a long study, + and do not pass unmasked through a long series of experiments that + justify them more and more. + + The reading of numbers in others' minds, and the balance of forces, + merit special consideration. + + When all the operators but one are ignorant of the number to be + materialized by raps, the operation (unless it is fluidic) ought to + proceed either from the person who knows the number and furnishes at + once the movement and the arrest, or else it ought to proceed from a + relation instinctively established between that person who furnishes + the arrest and his vis-à-vis who furnishes the movement. Let us + examine both hypotheses. + + The first is untenable; for, in the case where some one chooses a leg + of the table upon which the operator who knows the number can exercise + no muscular action, the leg thus designated none the less rises at his + command. + + The second is untenable; for, in the case where some one indicates a + zero, the movement which ought to take place does not do so. Nay more. + If you place at loggerheads two persons placed on opposite sides of + the table and enjoin each to make a different number triumph, the more + powerful operator secures the execution of the chief number although + his vis-à-vis is interested not only in not furnishing it to him, but + in arresting it. + + I know that this matter of the divining of numbers thought of is in + bad odor. It lacks a certain pedantic and scientific form. Yet I have + not hesitated to insist on it; for there are few experiments in which + is better manifested the _mixed character_ of the + phenomenon,--physical power developed and applied outside of ourselves + by the effect of our will. Just because it forms the great offense, or + stumbling block, I am unwilling to be shame-faced about it. I + maintain, besides that this is just as scientific as anything else. + True science is not tied to the employment of such and such a process + or such and such an instrument. That which a fluidometer would show + would be no less scientifically demonstrated than what is seen with + the eyes and estimated by the reason. + + Let us go on, however. We have not yet reached the end of our proofs. + One of these has always especially struck me: I mean the proof derived + from failures. + + It is claimed that the movements are produced by the action of our + muscles, by involuntary pressure. Now here are the same operators who + yesterday secured from the table the fulfilment of their most + capricious desires; their muscles are as strong, their vivacity is as + great, their desire to succeed is perhaps keener--and yet nothing! + absolutely nothing! A whole hour will pass without the least rotation + beginning; or, if there are rotations, levitations are impossible to + procure; what little is done by the table is done feebly, dismally, + and as if reluctantly. I repeat it again, the muscles have not + changed; then why this sudden incapacity? The cause remaining + identically the same, whence comes it that the effect varies to such a + degree? + + "Ah!" says an objector, "you are talking of involuntary pressure, and + say nothing about voluntary pressure, of fraud, in short. Don't you + see that the cheaters may be present at one sitting and not appear at + another, that they may act one day and not give themselves the trouble + on the next?" + + I will reply very simply, and by facts. + + "The cheaters are absent when we do not succeed!" But it has happened + many a time that our personnel has not been changed in any way. The + same persons, absolutely the same, have passed from a state of + remarkable power to a state of comparative impotence. And that is not + all. If there exists no operator whose presence has preserved us from + failures, no more does any exist whose absence has rendered us + incapable of success. With and without each one of the members of the + chain we have succeeded in performing all the experiments,--all + without exception. + + But 'the cheaters do not take so much pains every day!' The pains + would be great indeed, and those who infer fraud little think what + prodigies they are invoking. The accusation is an absurdity which + verges on silliness, and its silliness removes its sting. One does not + take offense at things like that. But come now, let us suppose for the + moment that Valleyres were peopled with disciples of Bosco, that + prestidigitation were generally practised there, and that it had been + thrust under our very eyes for five months, and under the eyes of + numerous and very suspicious witnesses without a single case of + perfidy having been pointed out. We have so well concealed our game + that we have invented a secret telegraphic code for the experiment of + reading numbers, a particular turn of the finger for moving the most + enormous masses, a method of gradually lifting tables that we do not + seem to touch. We are all liars, all; for we have been mutually + watching each other for a long time now, and do not denounce anybody. + Nay, more, the contagion of our vices is so swift to take that, as + soon as we admit a stranger, a hostile witness, into the chain, he + becomes our accomplice; he voluntarily closes his eyes to the + transmission of signals, to muscular efforts, to the repeated and + prolonged suspicious actions of his next neighbors in the chain! Well + and good; suppose we grant all that, we shall not have got farther + along for that. It will still remain to be explained why our cheaters + sometimes do nothing at the very moment when it would be to their + interest to succeed. It has happened, indeed, that a certain sitting + at which we had many witnesses and a great desire to convince turned + out to be a mediocre one. Such and such another, under the same + conditions, was, on the contrary, a brilliant success. + + There you have real and important inequalities, and they dare to talk + to us of muscular action and of fraud. + + Fraud and muscular action! Here for instance is a fine opportunity to + put them to the proof. We have just placed a weight on the table. This + weight is inert and cannot be accessory to any device. Fraud is all + around it perhaps, but it is not in the tubs of sand. This weight is + equally divided among the three legs of the table, and they are going + to prove it by each one rising in turn. The total load weighs 165 + pounds, and we scarcely dare to increase it, for, as it is, it was + enough, one day, to break our very solid table. Very well; now let + someone try to move this weight. Since muscular action and fraud must + explain everything, it will be easy for them to put the mass in + motion. Now they cannot do it. Their fingers contract and the knuckles + whiten without their obtaining a single levitation, whereas, some + moments later, levitations will take place at the touch of the same + fingers, which gently graze the table's top and make no effort at all, + as any one may easily convince himself. + + Certain very ingenious scientific rules of measurement, for the + invention of which I cannot claim the credit, put us in the way of + translating into figures the effort which the rotation or levitation + of the table demands, when loaded in the way just described. With the + above-mentioned weight of 165 pounds, rotation is secured by means of + a lateral traction of about 17-1/2 pounds, while levitation is only + obtained by a perpendicular pressure of 132 pounds at least (which I + will reduce, however, to 110, in deference to the presumed wishes of + the critic, and on the supposition that the pressure might not be + absolutely vertical). Several deductions are to be drawn from these + figures. + + In the first place, muscular action may cause the table to turn, but + it cannot lift it. As a matter of fact, the ten operators have one + hundred fingers applied to its surface. Now, the vertical, or + quasi-vertical, pressure of each finger cannot exceed twelve ounces on + the average, the chain being composed as it is. They only develop, + then, a total pressure of 66 pounds, which is quite insufficient to + produce levitation. + + In the next place, this striking thing befalls, that the phenomenon + which muscular action could easily produce is precisely the one that + we most rarely and with the greatest difficulty obtain, and that the + phenomenon which muscular action could not compass is the one the most + habitually realized when the chain is formed. Why does not our + involuntary impulse always make the table turn? Why should not our + "fraud" always procure such a triumph? Why, as a general thing, do we + only succeed in effecting that which is mechanically impossible? + + I advise people who like to make fun of table-turnings not to + investigate them too closely, and to beware of giving too careful + attention to our supreme demonstration,--that of movements without + contact, for it will leave them not the slightest pretext for + incredulity. + + Thus the fact is established. Multiplied experiments, diverse and + irrefutable proofs, which are, moreover, joined in the closest + solidarity, give to the fluidic action the stamp of complete + certainty. Those who have had the patience to follow me thus far will + have felt their suspicions vanishing one after another, and their + faith in the new phenomenon more and more strengthened. They will have + made good what we ourselves have substantiated and made good; for no + one has opposed more difficulties to table-turning than have we, no + one has shown himself more inquisitorial and exacting respecting them. + + It is not our fault if the results have been conclusive (and more and + more so), nor ours the blame if they have reciprocally confirmed each + other, if they have ended by forming one body and taking on the + character of perfect evidence. To study, to compare, to repeat and + repeat again, and to finally exclude all that admits of doubt or + question--this was our duty. Nor have we failed to perform it. I make + no affirmations in these reports which I have not proved over and over + again. + +Such are the memorable experiments of the Count de Gasparin. Their worth +will be appreciated by all who read them. I have been anxious to reproduce +these careful reports; for they establish of themselves _the absolute and +undeniable reality of these movements that contradict the normal law of +gravitation_. Let us hear the Count's explanatory hypotheses. + + The reader will have noticed the care I have taken to confine myself + to the verification of the facts, without hazarding any explanatory + hypothesis. If I have employed the word "fluid," it was to avoid + circumlocutions. Strict scientific precision would have demanded that + I always write "the fluid, the force, or physical agent whatever it + may be." I shall be pardoned for having been a little less exact than + this in my language. It was enough that my thought was perfectly + clear. That we have to do with a fluid, properly so called, in the + phenomena of table turning and lifting I cannot absolutely affirm. I + affirm that there is an agent, and that this agent _is not + supernatural_, that it is _physical_, imparting to physical objects + the movements which our will determines. + + Our will, I have said. And this is in fact the fundamental idea we + have gathered out of this subject of a physical agent. It is this + which characterizes it, and it is this also which compromises it in + the eyes of a good many folks. They might, perhaps, be resigned to a + new agent, if it were the necessary and exclusive product of the hands + forming the chain, if only it were true that certain positions or + certain acts insured its manifestation. But this is not the case with + it: the mental and the physical must combine in order to give it + birth. Here are hands that tire themselves out in forming the chain, + and yet obtain no movement: the will has not been mingled in the act. + Here is a will that commands in vain: the hands have not been placed + in a suitable position. + + We have thrown light upon both these sides of the phenomenon, for they + are both essential. + + Another fact has been noted by us, and ought to enter into a + description of the physical agent in question: this agent inheres in + the persons and not in the table. Let the operators, when they are in + rapport, pass to a new table and encircle it: they will be able + immediately to exercise all their authority over it; their will will + continue to dispose of the physical agent and to make use of it for + rapping numbers mentally selected by persons present or for producing + movements without contact. + + Such are the facts. The explanation of them will come later. It is, + however, very natural to want to find this at once, and to make + hypotheses which may be regarded as possible, if not true. I have + taken the risk of doing this, and I do not repent of it. Was it not + imperative to prove to our opponents that they have not even the + pretext of "a scientific impossibility"? Hypotheses have their + legitimate place and their utility, even if they are incorrect. If + they are admissible in themselves, that is sufficient, for that + defends the facts to which they are applied from the accusation of + monstrosity. The critic has no longer the right to demand the previous + question. + + Seeing that it was asked for on all sides, I have risked the following + statement: + + You assert that our pretensions are false, for the simple reason that + they _cannot be_ true! Very well. But, at all events, allow me to lay + before you certain postulates. Suppose, in the first place, that you + do not know everything, that the moral and even the material nature of + man have obscurities which you have not been able to remove. Suppose + that the smallest blade of grass springing up in the field, that the + smallest grain reproducing its kind, that the finger of your hand in + the act of executing the order you give it, enclose mysteries that + surpass the powers of the learned doctors to fathom, and which they + would declare absurd if they were not compelled to recognize them as + real. Then, in the second place, suppose that certain men who will so + to do, and whose hands are joined one to another in a certain way, + give birth to a fluid or to a special kind of force. I do not ask you + to admit that such force exists; you will only agree with me that it + is possible. There is no natural law opposed to it that I know of. + + Now, let us take one more step. The will disposes of this fluid. It + gives an impulse to external objects only when we will it, and in + quarters selected by us. Would there be anything impossible in this? + Is it an unheard-of thing that we transmit movement to matter that is + outside of ourselves? Why, we do so every day, and every instant; our + mechanical action is nothing more or less than this. The horrible + thing in your eyes doubtless is that we do not act mechanically! But + there is something besides mechanical action in this world. There are + physical causes of movement that are something else than this. The + caloric that penetrates a living body produces dilatation there; that + is to say, universal movement. The loadstone placed in the + neighborhood of a piece of iron attracts it, and makes it leap across + the intervening space. + + "Yes," some one will exclaim, "we should make no objection, provided + your pretended fluid did not obey one special direction in its + progress. If it went straight on, as a blind force, well and good! It + would then be like the caloric, that dilates everything it meets in + its passage. It would be like the magnet which attracts + indiscriminately toward a fixed point all the particles of iron in its + vicinity. As for you, your invention of the theory of a rotative fluid + calls vividly to mind the explanation of the dormitive properties of + opium." + + It is impossible to more completely misunderstand things. No one + dreams of a "rotative fluid." All we maintain is, that, when the fluid + is emitted and imparts either repulsion or lateral attraction to a + piece of furniture resting on legs, a very simple mechanical law + transforms the lateral action into rotation. + + I do not say, "The tables turn because my fluid is rotative." I say, + "The tables turn, because, when they receive an impelling force or + undergo an attraction, they cannot help turning." Stated in this way, + it is a little less naïve. Consequently, I should be under no + obligation to undertake the cause of the poor university scholar of + the _Malade Imaginaire_, and defend his famous reply: "_Opium facit + dormire quia est in eo virtus dormitiva_" ("opium puts people to sleep + because it has the sleep-producing virtue or property"). Nevertheless, + I can't help it, out it must come: I find the reply an excellent one. + I doubt whether the savants have found a better one to this day, and I + advise them to resign themselves sometimes to the following kind of + reasoning: "Opium puts us to sleep because it puts us to sleep; things + are because they are." In other words, I see the facts and do not know + the causes. I do not know. "I do not know!" terrible words, which one + finds difficulty in pronouncing! Now, I suspect very strongly that the + sly roguishness of Molière is for the benefit of the doctors, who + pretend to know everything, invent explanations which do not explain, + and do not know how to accept the facts while waiting for more light. + + But there is more to come. The hypothesis of the fluid (a pure + hypothesis, remember) must still prove that it is a hypothesis + reconcilable with the different circumstances of the phenomenon. The + table does not merely turn: it lifts its legs up, it raps numbers + mentally indicated to it; in a word, it obeys the will, and obeys it + so well that the removal of contact does not terminate its obedience. + The impelling force or lateral attraction which account for rotations + cannot account for levitations. + + But why? Because the will directs the fluid now into one leg of the + table, now into another. Because the table identifies itself with us, + after a fashion, becomes a limb of our own body, and produces + movements thought of by us in the same manner as our arm produces + them. Because we have no conscious knowledge of the direction imparted + to the fluid, and govern the movements of the table without imagining + that any kind of fluid or force whatever is in action. + + In all our acts, in all without exception, we have no consciousness of + the direction imparted by our will. When you explain to me how I lift + my hand, I will explain to you how I make the table-leg rise from the + floor. I "willed to raise my hand." Yes, and I also willed to lift + this table-leg. As for the executing of the mandates of the will, the + putting into play of the muscles required to lift the hand, or of the + fluid-power required to lift the table-leg, I have no knowledge of + what passes in me apropos of this. Strange mystery, and one which + ought to inspire in us a little modesty! There is in me an executive + power, a power of such a nature that, when I have willed such or such + an act, it addresses detailed orders to the different muscles and sets + in motion a hundred complicated movements to bring about a final + result which has been merely thought of, merely willed. That miracle + goes on within me, and I understand it not at all, and never shall + understand it. Do you not agree that the same executive power can give + to the fluid the directions it gives to the muscles? I have willed to + play a sonata on the piano, and, unknown to me, something within me + has given orders to hundreds of thousands of muscular acts. I have + willed that the leg of this table should be lifted up, and, unknown to + me, something within me has directed the attractions and impulsions of + the fluid to the designated place. + + The hypothesis of a fluid is, then, defensible. It accords with the + nature of things and with the nature of man. I have no wish to go + farther and furnish at once a definitive explanation. But I am not + worrying. Let the facts once be admitted, and explanations will not + be wanting. What seems impossible now will seem very simple then. + About incontestable things no trouble is made. We are so constituted + that, after we have asserted the impossibility of everything we do not + comprehend, we declare comprehensible all that we have recognized as + real. People are everywhere to be met with who shrug their shoulders + when you speak to them of table-turnings and who make nothing of the + Puck-like performance of the electric current in putting the girdle of + its circuit around the earth in the fraction of a moment, and who find + the miracle of the transmission of the mental and moral qualities of + the fathers to the children a very simple thing to understand! The + tables of the psychic experimenter cannot escape the common lot. Their + phenomena, absurd to-day, are to-morrow self-evident. + +These experiments of Count de Gasparin and his associates have been known +for over half a century, and it is really incomprehensible that even the +fact of the levitation of tables and of their movements has continued to +be denied. Verily, if the tables are sometimes light, it must be confessed +that the human race is a little heavy. + +As to the theory, the hypothesis of the fluid,--_felix qui potuit rerum +cognoscere causas_ (Happy the man who can know the cause of things)--I +shall return to this matter in the chapter on explanatory theories. But it +is incontestable that, in such experiences, we act by means of an +invisible force emanating from us. One must be blind not to admit that. + +After a series of experiments so admirably conducted we can understand +that the author might well be allowed to indulge in a little derision of +obstinately prejudiced unbelievers. In closing this chapter, I cannot +forego the pleasure of citing Count de Gasparin apropos of the learned +negations of Babinet and his emulators of the Institute. + + The savants are not the only ones to stand on their dignity. I also + stand on mine, and I make bold to think that a certificate signed with + my name would not be rated by anybody as a piece of imposture or + frivolity. It is known that I am in the habit of weighing my words; it + is known that I love the truth, and that I will not sacrifice it on + any consideration; it is known that I prefer to admit an error rather + than persist in it; and when, after a long-continued inquiry, I + persist with a firmer and profounder conviction than ever, the import + or scope of the declaration I make is not to be misapprehended. + + I can tell you, in the next place, that the testimony of the eyes has, + in my opinion, a scientific value. Independently of instruments and + figures, on which I set the highest values, I believe that the true + _seeing_ of things may serve. I believe that this also is of itself an + instrument. If a sufficient number of good pairs of eyes have + ascertained and proved, ten, twenty, a hundred times, that a table is + put in motion without contact; if, furthermore, the explanation of the + fact by fraudulent or involuntary contacts passes the limits which + must be assigned to incredulity, the conclusion is clear. Nobody is + warranted in crying out: "You have neither fluidometer nor alembic; + you do not give a specimen of your physical agent in a bottle; you do + not describe how it acts upon a column of mercury or upon the dip of a + needle. We don't believe you, for you have done nothing but see." + + "I do not believe you because you have done nothing but see!" "I do + not believe you because I have not seen with my own eyes!" So many + pedants, so many objections. They hardly take the trouble to agree + among themselves; in a war waged against the tables any weapon is + fair, nothing comes amiss. + + I do not wish to forget that scientists were still talking only of + rotations at the moment when Faraday invented his disks.[54] In the + presence of a phenomenon so inadequate, and, let us admit it, so + suspicious, we can understand how the savants showed themselves + sceptical and contented themselves with flimsy refutations. They + proportioned the number and size of their weapons to the appearance of + the enemy. The one among them who showed the most penetration, and who + proposed the most plausible explanation, is most assuredly Chevreul. + His theory of the tendency to movement is incontestably true. It + explains how the objects we suspend from our finger finally take a + vibratory movement in the direction indicated by our will. I am not + astonished that some have thought this theory sufficient to explain + how experimenters can, in the end, impart a rotation to the table and + participate in the movement themselves. I need not say that our proved + levitations of weights, and our movements without contact, will not + henceforth permit anyone to take refuge in such an explanation. If all + the tendencies to movement were united into one they would not be able + to produce at a distance an impelling power, nor move a mass that + mechanical action could not set in motion. + + Really, the learned doctors ought not to throw out to the public these + explanations which do not explain. They ought rather to get to work + and show us, in fact, how to set about the lifting directly and + mechanically of a weight of 220 pounds without applying to the task a + force of 220 pounds. + + But they prefer to use insulting expressions, and then proceed to + invent some theory or other which has only one little fault--that it + has no legs to walk with. The recent article of M. Babinet in the + _Revue des Deux Mondes_ is a masterpiece in its way. If I needed to be + convinced of the reality of the phenomena of table-turning, etc., I + should most assuredly have been convinced by the reading of this + refutation of it. + + In the opinion of M. Babinet, the phenomena of the tables offer no + difficulty whatever! Happy science of physics, happy science of + mechanics which has an answer ready for everything! We poor, ignorant + fellows thought we had detected something extraordinary, and did not + know we were merely obeying two extremely elementary laws,--the law of + unconscious movements, and, above all, that of nascent movements, + movements the power of which seems to surpass that of developed + movements. + + As far as regards unconscious movements, M. Babinet adds nothing to + previous explanations--nothing but the story of that lord (an English + lord, he says) whose horse was so admirably trained that it seemed as + if it were only necessary for one to think the movement one wished to + have him execute, and he instantly realized it. I am thoroughly + convinced, as is M. Babinet, that the aforesaid lord gave an impulse + to the bridle without suspecting it, and I am just as thoroughly + convinced that the experimenters whose hands are touching a table may + exert a pressure of which they are not conscious. Only--I think there + should be some proportion between the cause and the effect. Suppose + the movements are unconscious: they are none the less vigorous for all + that. The burden is upon M. Babinet and his followers, to prove that + the very same fingers that in vain clench themselves till they are + stiff in the endeavor to lift a weight of eighty-eight pounds, will + lift double this weight by simply being unconscious that they are + making any effort. + + My honorable and learned opponent will not hear of movements obtained + without contact. "Everything that has been said about action exercised + at a distance ought to be banished to the realm of fiction." The + judgment is curt and summary. Movements without contact are a + fiction,--first because they are impossible; secondly because powdered + soapstone has hindered the rotation of a table; and, finally, because + perpetual movement is impossible. + + Movements at a distance are impossible! To be strictly logical, M. + Babinet ought to have stopped there, remembering the reply made by + Henry IV to the magistrates who had thus begun an address to him: + + "We did not give a salute of cannon on the approach of Your Majesty, + and that for three good reasons. In the first place, because we had no + cannon--" + + "That reason is sufficient," said the king. + + We are fain to believe that M. Babinet himself has little doubt about + his "impossibility." He has acted wisely in doing so; for this + impossibility is based entirely on a vicious circle of reasoning. "Is + there a single known example of movement produced without a force + acting from the outside? No. Well, movement at a distance would very + plainly take place by an active external force. Therefore movement at + a distance is impossible." I feel very much disposed to say to M. + Babinet, in the technical language of the schools, that his major + premise is true and that his conclusion would be legitimate if his + minor were not purely and simply a begging of the question. You claim + that there is no active force exterior to the table which lifts it + without the touch of the hands. But that is precisely the point at + issue between us. A fluid is an external active force. It is handy for + my critic, indeed, to begin by establishing this axiom. Now (he says), + there is no fluid, or analogous physical agent, in the case of the + tables; _therefore_ there is no effect produced. + + The learned gentlemen, Faraday, Babinet, and others, do not limit + themselves to objections derived from nascent or unconscious + movements, small causes producing great effects. They have still + another method of proceeding. If an experiment has succeeded it has no + longer any value. Oh, if one could succeed in performing such another + experiment, well and good! But this would not hinder the new + experiment from becoming insignificant in its turn and giving place to + a new desideratum. The phrasing runs somewhat in this way: + + "You are doing such and such a thing. Very well; but now let us see + you do a different thing. You are employing such or such a method; be + pleased to be contented with those which we prescribe you. To succeed + in your way is not enough; you must succeed in ours. Your way is not + scientific; it runs contrary to the traditions. We shut the door in + the face of facts if they do not come in the regulation claw-hammer + coat of full dress. We shall pay no attention to your experiments if + our experimental apparatus does not figure in them." + + Strange way of verifying and establishing the results of experiments! + You begin by changing the conditions under which they are produced. + You might as well say to the man who has seen the harvesting of barley + in Upper Egypt in January, "I will believe it when I see it done + before my eyes in Bourgogne." One can understand, of course, how an + unreasonable and troublesome fastidiousness might be shown regarding + travellers' tales. But scientific experiments are of another + character. In the presence of facts so evident, it is almost + incredible that they wish to impose upon us instruments, needles, and + mechanical devices. The idea of introducing _becauses_ and + _therefores_ into an investigation in which the real nature of the + acting force is a mystery to all the world! + + Polemical essays are not scientific studies. In general, they are the + direct opposite. When persons who have seen nothing, who have not + devoted any considerable portion of their energy and time to + experimentation, who have perhaps been present only at some ridiculous + rotations of centre-tables, take their pen in hand for the purpose of + exposing theories or giving lofty reprimands to experimenters, I do + not look at them in the light of scientific students. + + I am convinced that a man never really studies that which he declares + _a priori_ to have no sense in it. If attacks are studies, there is no + lack of them, and (I may add) never will be. At the time when the + Academy of Medicine buried the report of M. Husson and published what + everybody in Europe persisted in calling a refusal to examine, there + was issued every morning a paper against magnetism; every morning some + new writer vociferated that the partisans of magnetism were imbeciles, + and proposed an explanatory system of his own. If you call that making + a study, then I grant that they have studied table-turnings, for there + certainly has been no dearth of insults and of theories about these + phenomena. They have received every attention, except that no one was + willing to inspect, experiment, listen, and read. + + Twice, a month apart, the Institute has announced (without protest + from anybody whatever) to the students of table-turnings that it was + shelving papers relating to that topic; that it was not obliged to + occupy itself with nonsense; that there was a place in its archives + for lucubrations of that kind; namely, the place to which were + consigned papers on perpetual motion. + + Oh, Molière! why are you not present with us? But, in reality, you are + here. Your genius has limned with ineffaceable lines that everlasting + disease of venerable big-wigs and mouldy specialists,--disdain of the + laity, respect for their fellow-members, idolatry of the past. A most + singular deformity, this! And it appears in all ages, in various + disguises, in the midst of all branches of human activity, now in the + name of religion, now in that of medicine, and again in the name of + science or of art. Yes, even surviving the wreck of revolutions which + spare nothing, appearing even within the walls of learned academies + the members of which write for the furtherance of the great movements + of modern progress, one thing remains,--the spirit of partisanship, of + cliques, the spirit of tradition, the superstitious regard for forms. + + Really, it would seem as if people must be still taking Bible oaths + like those in the baccalaureate ceremony at the end of Molière's + _Malade Imaginaire_. M. Foucault is fond of this scene, and will + therefore not take it ill if I recall to his mind a couple of stanzas: + + _Essere in omnibus + Consultationibus + Ancieni aviso, + Aut bono, + Aut mauvaiso._ + --JURO! + + _De non jamais te servire + De remediis alcunis + Quam de ceux soulement doctæ facultatis, + Maladus dut-il crevare, + Et mori de suo malo._ + --JURO![55] + + If you don't call that a refusal to examine, I don't know what the + words mean in good French. + +With such ingenious candor and with such authority did the Count Agénor de +Gasparin express himself in the year 1854. It seems to me that the +experiments made known in this volume furnish abundant evidence that he is +right. + +Yet I have still friends, at the Institute, who smile with the utmost +scorn when I ask their opinion on the phenomena of the levitation of +tables, the movement of objects without perceptible cause, unexplained +noises in haunted houses, communication of thought at a distance, +premonitory dreams, and apparitions of the dying. Although these +unexplained phenomena have undeniably been proved to be facts of +occurrence, those learned friends of mine remain convinced that "such +things as that are impossible." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RESEARCHES OF PROFESSOR THURY + + +The insufficient explanations of Chevreul and of Faraday, the scientific +negations of Babinet, the conscientious experiments of the Count de +Gasparin had led several scientists to study the question from the purely +scientific point of view. Among them was a highly-gifted savant whom I +visited at Geneva,--M. Marc Thury, professor of natural history and of +astronomy in the Academy of that city. We are indebted to him for a +remarkable and little known monograph,[56] which it is my duty to condense +for this volume. + + When we were in the presence of new phenomena (writes Thury) there was + only one alternative: + + First, either to reject, in the name of common sense and of the + results acquired by science, all the pretended phenomena of tables as + so many childish sports unworthy of taking up the time of the true + scientist or scholar, since, on the very face of it, their absurdity + is evident; in short, to let the matter drop by refusing to give it + serious attention. + + Or, second, to make a determined examination of it at whatever cost, + to study the fact in its details in order to lay fully open all the + sources of illusion by which the public is duped, separate the true + from the false, and throw a strong light on all aspects of the + phenomenon, physical, physiological, and psychological, in order that + the matter may be so superabundantly clear and evident that no further + excuse for doubt may remain. + +Superfluous to say, the last method is the one adopted by Thury (as it was +by Gasparin). He considers it to be the only suitable, efficient, and +legitimate method. + +Darkness saps the strength of science. Its strongest hold lies in bringing +everything out into the full light of day. Here, then, lies the question: +In these curious phenomena of the tables, is the explanation so clear that +you can lay a finger on the causes of illusion and clearly show that there +is in them no new and unknown element at work? + + I do not think (replies the Genevan professor) that we have attained + to that degree of evidence. I wish only one proof, the explanation of + what has already been attempted. + + If, then, it is well established that the common explanation is not + self-evident, in the eyes of all intelligent and sensible men, there + remains a task to do, a duty owed to science,--that of throwing full + light upon the phenomenon in question; and this task cannot be + exchanged for the easier one of treating with irony or disdain those + who have gone astray in the path that Science refused to illuminate. + +The savants are, however, excusable for not going too quick (let us admit +with Thury). + +What! a perturbative force lurking, by the hypothesis, in the human +organism sufficiently powerful to lift tables, and which yet had never +produced the slightest derangement in the thousands of experiments that +physicists are daily making in their laboratories! Their balances, +responsive to the weight of a tenth of a milligram, their pendulums whose +oscillations take place with mathematical regularity, had never felt the +slightest disturbing effect of these forces, whose source is there present +wherever there is a man and a volition! Now, it is the ardent wish of the +physicist that the experiment shall always exactly tally the forecasts of +theory. Must he then admit an unknown disturbing force? + +And, even without going outside of the limits of the human organism, +think, if the organism is unable to move the smallest part of itself when +the part is deprived of muscles and nerves, or, when a single hair of our +head is absolutely withdrawn from the influence of the will--think, I say, +how much less (and with how much stronger reason) that nervous organism of +ours would seem to be able to move inert bodies residing outside the +limits of our own frames! + +But, if there is a profound improbability in the thing, still, we cannot +say that it is impossible. No one can show _a priori_ the impossibility of +the phenomena described, as they demonstrate the impossibility of +perpetual motion or the squaring of the circle. Consequently, no one has +the right to treat as absurd the evidences which tend to confirm the +experiments. Provided these evidences are furnished by judicious and +truthful men, then they are worth the trouble of examination. If this +logical course had been followed--the only true and equitable one,--the +work would now have been done, and the learned men would have the glory +thereof. + +Thury begins by examining the experiments of Count de Gasparin at +Valleyres. + + The experiments of Valleyres (he writes) tend to establish the two + following principles: + + 1. The will, in a certain condition of the human organism, can act, + from a distance, upon inert bodies, and by an agency different from + that of muscular action. + + 2. Under the same conditions, thought can be communicated directly, + though unconsciously, from one individual to another. + + As long as we were ignorant of any other facts than those resulting + from a movement effected by contact with the fingers of the hand, in a + way in which the mechanical action of the fingers became possible, the + results of the experiments upon the table were always of difficult and + doubtful interpretation. These results had to be necessarily based + upon an estimate of the mechanical force exerted by the hands + compared with the strength of the resistance to be overcome. But the + mechanical force of the hands is difficult to measure exactly, under + the conditions necessary to produce the phenomena. + + Yet over and above that plan of work there remained two methods, of + operation to employ. + + _a._ So to dispose the apparatus employed that the movement to be + produced shall be one that the mechanical action of the fingers could + not compass. + + _b._ To set up movements at a distance without any kind of contact. + + The following were our first experiments: + + A. _Mechanical action rendered impossible._ The first experiment + attempted along this line gave wholly negative results. We suspended a + table by a cord that passed over two pulleys fixed in the ceiling and + had a counter-weight attached to the free end. It was easy, by + regulating this counterpoise, to balance in the air either the total + weight of the table or only a fraction, more or less great, thereof. + + As a matter of fact, the table hung almost in equilibrium with the + weight, one only of its three legs touching the floor. The operators + placed their hands upon the top surface. We acted at first in a + circular direction, a disposition of the force the efficacy of which + had been established by previous experiments. We then tried in vain to + lift the table by detaching it from the floor. No positive result was + obtained. + + We had already (during the previous year) had a table suspended to a + dynamometer, and the efforts of four mesmerizers were powerless to + relieve the dynamometer of an appreciable fraction of the weight of + the table. + + But the conditions necessary for the production of the phenomena were + still unknown to us, and, consequently, when the experiments tried led + to negative results, we had to try others, without pressing too + hastily for inferences and conclusions. It was thus that we secured + the results which I am going to describe. + + _Experiment with the Swinging Table._--We needed a piece of apparatus + of such a kind that the mechanical action of the fingers would be + rendered impossible. For this purpose we had a table made with a top + about 33 inches in diameter, and a central trifurcated leg + underneath. This table bore a close resemblance to the one which had + served our purposes up to that time, and could turn like its + predecessor. Still, the new table was capable of being transformed in + a moment into a mechanism such as I shall now describe. + + The summit of the tripod becomes the fulcrum of a lever of the first + order which is able to balance freely in a vertical plane. This lever, + whose two arms are equal to each other and to the radius of the table + bears at one of its extremities the table-top, held by the edge, and, + toward the other extremity, a counterpoise which just balances the + weight of the table, but which can be modified at will. To the under + side of the table-top is fastened a leg resting on the floor. + + After the necessary preliminary rotations, the table is harnessed up + in its second form. Equilibrium is first secured, then 3-5 of a pound + is taken from the counterpoise. The force required to lift the top by + its centre is then 4 ounces, and previous experiments have proved that + the adherence of the fingers of the operators (the top was polished, + and not varnished), together with the possible effects of elasticity, + form a total lower than that figure. Yet the top is lifted by the + action of the fingers placed lightly on its upper surface, at a + certain distance from the edge. Then the counterpoise is diminished; + the mechanical difficulty of lifting is augmented, yet still it takes + place. The weight is again diminished, and more and more, up to the + limit of the apparatus. The force necessary to lift the top is then 8 + 1-5 pounds, and the counterpoise has been relieved of 24 pounds; yet + the levitation is easily accomplished. The number of the operators is + gradually lessened from eleven to six. The difficulty goes on + increasing, yet six operators still suffice; but five are not enough. + Six operators lift 9 1-3 pounds,--an average for each man of about + 1-1/2 pounds. + + We now possess, in the apparatus just described, a gauge or instrument + of measurement. + + B. The following movements were produced without contact: + + The table on which were made the trials I witnessed has a diameter of + 32 inches and weighs 31 pounds. An average tangential force of 4 2-5 + pounds, which may be raised to 6 3-5 pounds, according to the greater + or less inequalities of the floor, applied to the edge of the table, + is necessary to give to it a movement of rotation. Ten is usually the + number of persons who operate about this table. + + In order to assure ourselves of the absence of all contact, we placed + our eye on a level with the table in such a way as to see light + between our fingers and the surface of the table, the fingers + themselves remaining a little less than an inch above the top. + Usually, two persons would be observing at once. For instance, M. + Edmond Boissier was observing the legs of the table, while I was + watching the top. Then we exchanged rôles. Sometimes two persons took + places at the extremities of one and the same diameter, the one + opposite the other, for the purpose of watching the top of the table. + Several times we saw it move, although we could not detect the + slightest touch by the fingers. According to my calculations, it would + require the contact of at least 100 fingers, or the light pressure of + thirty, acting voluntarily and fraudulently, to explain in terms of + mechanics the movements we observed. + + Much more frequently still we obtained balancings without contact, + balancings which sometimes went so far as to tip the table entirely + over. To explain in terms of mechanical movement the effects we + observed, we should have to admit the involuntary contact of 84 + fingers, or the light pressure of 25, or two hands acting with intent + to deceive. But these suppositions, also, are not at all admissible. + + Nevertheless, we always felt that someone might present the objection + that it was difficult to observe these operations with precision, and + we were constantly urging M. Gasparin to convince the doubters and + sceptics in the matter of the non-contact of the fingers by means of + some mechanical device. Out of this arose the last experiment made at + that time, and the most conclusive of all. A light film of flour was + almost instantaneously spread over the table by means of a sulphur + bellows such as is used in vineyards. The movement of the chain of + hands above the table set it whirling. Then the film of flour was + examined and found to be inviolate from the touch of hands. Several + repetitions on different days always gave the same results. + +Such are the principal facts which establish the reality of the +phenomenon. Thury next takes up the more difficult investigation of +courses. + + _The Seat of the Force._--It is possible that the force which produces + the phenomena is a general telluric force which is merely transmitted + by the operators or set in action by them; or, possibly, the force + resides in the operators themselves. + + To decide this question, we had a large movable platform constructed + which revolved on a perfectly vertical axis. Near the outer periphery + of the platform stood four chairs, and there was a table at the + centre. Four operators, experts in nervo-magnetic action, took their + places on the chairs, and, placing their hands on the table in the + centre, tried to give it circular movement by non-mechanical power. In + fact, the table soon began to move. Then it was stopped and fastened + to the platform by means of three screws. The effort exerted upon this + table by the four magnetizers was such that, at the end of + three-quarters of an hour of experimentation, the central supporting + leg, was broken. Yet the movable platform did not turn. The tangential + force required to mechanically move the empty platform was only a few + grams; loaded with the four operators, 250 grams was necessary, + applied about 28 inches from the centre. This figure would have been + much less if it had been possible to distribute the weight of the + operators uniformly. + + The result of this experiment (of June 4, 1853) showed that the force + which tends to make the table turn is in the individuals and not in + the ground. For the force exerted upon the table tends to draw along + the platform with it. If, then, the platform remains motionless, it + must be that an equal and contrary force is exerted by the operators. + It is therefore in them that the base of the seat of the force + resides. If, on the contrary, this force had emanated, wholly or in + large part, from the ground, if it had been a force directly telluric, + the platform would have turned, the effort which the table exerted + upon it being no longer counterbalanced by an equal reaction + proceeding from the individuals. + + _Conditions of the Production and Action of the Force._--I have said + that the conditions for the production of the force are little known. + In the absence of precise laws, I shall present what has been verified + in a greater or less degree in the case of the three following points: + + _a._ Conditions of action relative to the operators. + + _b._ Conditions relative to the objects to be moved. + + _c._ Conditions relative to the mode of action of the operators upon + the objects to be moved. + + THE WILL. The first and the most indispensable condition, according to + M. Gasparin, is the will of the operator. "Without the will," he says, + "we obtain nothing; we might sit there in chain twenty-four hours in + succession without getting the slightest movement." Farther on, the + author speaks, it is true, of unexpected movements different from + those which the will prescribes; but it is evident that he is + referring to a necessary combination of prescribed movements and + external resistances, the effective movements being the _resultant_ of + those that have been willed and of forces of resistance developed in + external objects. In short, the will is always the prime mover and + originator. + + Nothing, it is true, in the experiments at Valleyres gave any + authority for believing that it could be otherwise than this. But it + is also certain that this purely negative result, or provisional + generalization, deduced from a limited number of experiments,--cannot + invalidate the results of experiments inconsistent with those, in case + such should exist. In other words, the will may ordinarily be + necessary, without always being so. Similarly, contact is ordinarily + necessary, and _always_ has been so with a large number of operators, + without, however, giving them the right to conclude that contact is + the indispensable condition of the phenomenon, and that the different + results obtained at Valleyres were only illusions or error. + + Since we are dealing here with a point of capital importance, I shall + take the liberty of stating with some detail circumstances which seem + opposed to the thesis maintained by M. Gasparin. These facts, or data, + have as guarantee the testimony of a man whom I should like to be able + to name, because his scientific culture and his character are known of + all men. It was in his house and under his eyes that the events took + place which I am going to relate. + + At the time when everyone was amusing himself with making tables turn + and speak, or in directing the motions of lead-pencils, fixed in + movable sockets, over sheets of paper, the children of the house + amused themselves several times with this sport. At first, the + responses obtained were such that you could see in them a reflex of + the unconscious thought of the operators, a "dream of waking + performers." Soon, however, the character of the replies seemed to + change. It seemed as if what they revealed could hardly have emanated + from the mind of the young interrogators. Finally, there was such an + opposition to the commands given that M. N., uncertain as to the true + nature of these manifestations in which a will different from the + human will _seemed_ to appear, forbade their being called forth again. + From that time forth, sockets and table rested undisturbed. + + A week had scarcely rolled by, after the events just narrated, when a + child of the family, he who had formerly succeeded best in the table + experiments, became the actor, or the instrument, in strange + phenomena. The boy was receiving a piano-lesson, when a low noise + sounded in the instrument, and it was shaken and displaced in such a + way that pupil and teacher closed it in haste and left the room. On + the next day, M. N., who had been informed of what had happened, was + present at the lesson, given at the same time,--namely, when the dusk + was coming on. At the end of five or ten minutes he heard a noise in + the piano difficult to define, but which was certainly the kind of + sound one would expect a musical instrument to produce. There was + something about it musical and metallic. Soon after, the two front + legs of the piano (which weighed over six hundred and sixty pounds) + were lifted up a little from the floor. M. N. went to one end of the + instrument and tried to lift it. At one time it had its ordinary + weight, which was more than the strength of M. N. could manage; at + another, it seemed as if it had no longer any weight at all, and + opposed not the least resistance to his efforts. Since the interior + noises were becoming more and more violent, the lesson was brought to + a close, for fear the instrument might suffer some damage. The lesson + was changed to the morning and given in another room situated on the + ground floor. The same phenomena took place, and the piano, which was + lighter than the one up-stairs, was lifted up much more; that is to + say, to a height of several inches. M. N. and a young man nineteen + years old tried leaning with all their might on the corners of the + piano which were rising. Then one of two things happened: either their + resistance was in vain, and the piano continued to rise, or else the + music-stool on which the child sat moved rapidly back as if pushed or + jerked. + + If occurrences like that had only taken place once we might think that + the child or the persons present were laboring under some illusion. + But they were repeated a great number of times, for a fortnight, in + the presence of different witnesses. Then, one day, a violent + manifestation took place, and thenceforth no unusual event occurred in + the house. At first, it was in the morning and in the evening that + these perturbations manifested themselves; then, invariably at any and + all hours, they occurred every time the child took his seat at the + piano, after five or ten minutes of playing. The phenomena happened + only with this boy, although there were others present (musicians); + and it made no difference which of the pianos in the house he used. + + I saw these instruments. The smaller, on the ground floor, is a + rectangular horizontal piano. According to my calculations, a force of + about 165 pounds applied to the edge of the case, beneath the + key-board, is necessary to lift this piano as it was lifted by the + unknown force. The instrument in the first story of the house is a + heavy Erard piano, weighing, with the packing-box in which it was + sent, 812 pounds, as stated in the way-bill, which I myself saw. + According to my approximate calculations a pressure of 440 pounds is + required to lift this piano, under the same conditions as the first + was lifted. + + I do not think that anyone will be tempted to attribute to the direct + muscular effort of a child eleven years old the lifting up a weight of + 440 pounds.[57] A lady who had attributed the effect produced to the + action of the knees passed her own hand between the edge of the piano + and the knees of the child, and was thus able to convince herself that + her explanation had no foundation in fact. Even when the child got + upon his knees upon the piano-stool to play, he did not find that the + perturbations he dreaded ceased any the more. + +These authenticated facts of Professor Thury are at once precise and +formidable. What! two pianos rise from the floor and jump about! What do +the physicists, the chemists, the learned pedants in office need, then, to +arouse them from their torpor and make them shake their ears and open +their eyes? What shall be done to remove their noble and pharisaical +indolence? + +But, happen what may, no one is occupying himself with the fascinating +problem as stated, except scattered investigators who are freed from the +fear of ridicule and are aware of the exact value of the human race, in +large and small, and the worth of its judgments. + +M. Thury next discusses the explanation based on "the will." + + Did this boy (he says) _will_ what took place, as the theory of M. de + Gasparin would require us to admit? According to the boy's testimony, + which we believe to be wholly true, he did not will it; he seemed to + be visibly annoyed by what occurred; it disturbed his custom of + industriously practicing his lesson and offended his taste for + regularity and order, a thing well known to his intimates. My personal + conviction is that we positively cannot admit, in the case of this + lad, a conscious will, a settled design, to produce these strange + occurrences. But it is known that sometimes we have a double + personality, and one of them converses with the other (as in dreams); + that our nature then unconsciously desires what it does not will, and + that between will and desire there is only a difference in degree + rather than in kind. It would be necessary to have recourse to + explanations of this kind,--too subtle, perhaps,--in order to square + these piano-facts with the theory of M. Gasparin; and it would still + be necessary to modify and enlarge the facts if you admit that _even + unconscious desire_ suffices, in the absence of the expressed will. + There is, then, reason for doubt on this essential point. That is the + sole deduction that I wish to draw from the events I have related. + +This levitation, equivalent to an effort exerted of 440 pounds, has its +scientific value. But how could the will, conscious or unconscious, lift a +piece of furniture of that weight? By an unknown force which we are +obliged to recognize. + + _Preliminary Action._--Power is developed by action. The rotations + prepare for the tippings and the levitations. The rotations and the + tippings, with contact, seem to develop the force necessary to produce + the rotations and tippings without contact. In their turn, the + rotations and the tippings without contact prepare for the production + of true levitations, such as those of the swinging table; and the + persons who have this latent force awaked in them are better fitted to + appeal to it a second time. + + There is, then, a gradual preparation required, at least for the + majority of operators. Does this preparation consist in a modification + that takes place in the operator, or in the inert body on which he + acts, or in both? In order to resolve this problem, experimenters who + had been practicing at one table went over to another, operating on + which they found their full power unabated. The preparation therefore + consists in a modification that takes place in the individuals, and + not in the inert body.[58] This modification occurring in individuals + is dissipated rather rapidly, especially when the chain of + experimenters is broken. + + _Inner Development of the Operators._--It is only after a certain + period of waiting that the operators, who have not so far acted, cause + even the easiest movement,--that of rotation with contact. It is + during this time that the force, or the conditions determining the + manifestation of the force, develop themselves. From that time on, the + developed force has nothing to do but to increase. That which takes + place, therefore, in this time of waiting, is a very important thing + to be considered. We already know that it is the operators themselves + who are modified. But what is it that takes place within them? + + It must be that a kind of activity is set up in the organism, an + activity which ordinarily requires the intervention of the will. This + activity, this work, is accompanied by a certain fatigue. The action + is not aroused in all operators with equal ease and promptness. There + are even persons (the author estimates their number at one in ten) in + whom it appears that it cannot be produced at all. + + In the midst of this great diversity of natural aptitudes, it is + observed that children "can secure obedience from the table just like + grown folks." Nevertheless, children do not magnetize. Thus, although + several facts seem to show that magnetizers (or mesmerizers) have + frequently a strong power over the tables, yet one cannot admit the + identity of magnetic power and power over the tables; the one is not + the measure of the other. Only, the magnetic power would constitute + (or presume) a favorable subjective condition. + + A will simple and strong, animation, high spirits, the concentration + of the thought upon the work to do, good bodily health, perhaps the + very physical act of turning around the table, and, finally, + everything that can contribute to unity of will-power among the + experimenters,--all these things help to make efficacious the commands + addressed to the table with force and authority. + + The tables (says M. de Gasparin) "wish to be handled gaily, freely, + with animation and confidence; they must be humored at the start with + amusing and easy exercises." The first condition necessary for success + with the table is good health and the second, confidence. + + Among unfavorable circumstances, on the other hand, must be reckoned a + state of nervous tension; fatigue; a too passionate interest; a mind + anxious, preoccupied or distracted. + + The tables--M. de Gasparin further says, in his metaphorical + language--"detest folks who quarrel, either as their opponents or as + their friends." "As soon as I took too deep an interest, I ceased to + command obedience." "If it happened that I desired success too + ardently, and showed impatience at delay, I no longer had any power of + action on the table." "If the tables encounter preoccupied minds or + nervous excitement, they go into a sulking mood." "If you are touchy, + over-anxious ... you can't do anything of any value." "In the midst of + distractions, chatterings, pleasantries, the operators infallibly lose + all their power." Away with salon experiments! + + Must one have faith? It is not necessary; but confidence in the result + predisposes to a larger endowment of power in the séance of the + occasion. It does not suffice to have faith there are persons who have + faith and good will, yet with whom power of action is altogether + wanting. + + Muscular force or nervous susceptibility do not seem to play any rôle. + + Meteorological conditions have seemed to exercise some influence, + probably by acting upon the physique and the spirits of the operators. + Thus fine weather, dry and warm weather (but not a suffocating heat) + act favorably. + + The especially efficacious influence of dry heat upon the surface of + the table[59] will perhaps receive a different explanation. + + _Unconscious Muscular Action, produced during an especially Nervous + Condition._--So long as only movements with contact were known, in + which the movement observed was one of those which muscular action + might produce, explanations based on the hypothesis of unconscious + muscular action were certainly sufficient and much more probable than + all the other explanations which had been up to that time proposed. + + From this point of view (entirely physiological) it is settled that we + must distinguish between the effort which a muscle exerts and the + consciousness we have of this effort. It will be remembered that there + exist in the human organism a great number of muscles that habitually + exert considerable effort without our being in the slightest degree + aware of it. It has been pointed out that muscles exist whose + contractions are perceptible by us in a certain state of the system + and unperceived in another state. It is therefore conceivable that the + muscles of our limbs might as an exceptional thing, exhibit the same + phenomenon. The preparation for the movement of the table, the special + kind of reaction that takes place at this interval of waiting, put the + nervous system into a particular condition in which certain muscular + movements may take place in an unconscious manner. + + But, evidently, this theory is not sufficient to account for movements + without contact, nor those that take place in such a way that muscular + action could not produce them. It is therefore these two classes of + movements which must serve as the basis of new experiments and as the + foundation of a new theory. + + How also explain the very peculiar and truly inconceivable character + of the movements of the table?--this starting to move, so insensible, + so gentle, so different from the abruptness characteristic of the + impetus given by mechanical force; these levitations so spontaneous, + so energetic, which leap up to meet the hands; these dances and + imitations of music which you would in vain attempt to equal by means + of the combined and voluntary action of the operators; these little + raps succeeding the loud ones, when the command is given, the + exquisite delicacy of which nothing can express. Several times when + someone asked a so-called spirit his age, one of the legs of the + centre-table lifted up and rapped 1, 2, 3, etc. Then the movement was + accelerated. Finally, the three legs beat a kind of drum-roll so rapid + that it was impossible to count, and which the most skilful could + never succeed in imitating. On another occasion, under the contact of + hands, the table was turning upon three legs, upon two, upon a single + one; and, in this last position, changed feet, throwing its weight + first upon one and then upon another with great ease, and with nothing + abrupt or jerky in its motions. Neither the experimenters nor their + most eminent opponents would ever be able to imitate mechanically this + dance of the table, and, above all, the whirling pirouettes and + changes of feet. + + _Electricity._--Many have tried to explain the movements of tables by + electricity. Even supposing that they involve the very abundant + production of this agent, no known effect of electricity would account + for the movement of the tables. But, in fact, it is easy to show that + there is no electricity produced; for, when a galvanometer was + interposed in the chain, no deviation of the needle took place. The + electrometer remains as indifferent to the solicitations of the tables + as does the mariner's compass. + + _Nervo-magnetism._--There is certainly some analogy between several + phenomena of nervo-magnetism and those of the tables. Those passes + which seem to favor balancing without contact; the motion imparted by + the chain to this man whom they cause to turn about (unless, indeed, + there is in this some effect of the imagination); finally, the power + that many mesmerizers exert over the tables--all this seems to + indicate a kinship between the two orders of phenomena. But, since the + laws of nervo-magnetism are little known, there is no conclusion to be + drawn from this, and it seems to me preferable, for the present, to + study separately the phenomena of tables, which are better adapted to + the experiments of the physicist, and which, well studied, will render + more service to nervo-magnetism than it could receive in a long time + from this obscure branch of physiology. + +Thury next touches upon M. de Gasparin's theory of fluidic action. Being +certain that he accurately understands this theory, he gives a résumé of +it in the following items: + + 1. A fluid is produced by the brain, and flows along the nerves. + + 2. This fluid can go beyond the limits of the body; it can be + _emitted_. + + 3. Under the influence of the will, it can move hither and thither. + + 4. This fluid acts upon inert bodies; yet it shuns contact with + certain substances, such as glass. + + 5. It lifts the parts toward which it moves, or in which it + accumulates. + + 6. It further acts upon inert bodies by attraction or by repulsion, + with a tendency to either join or separate the inert body and the + organism. + + 7. It can also determine interior movements in matter, and give rise + to noises. + + 8. This fluid is especially produced and developed by turning, and by + the will, and by the joining of hands in a certain manner. + + 9. It is communicated from one person to another by vicinage or by + contact. Yet certain persons impede its communication. + + 10. We have no knowledge of special movements of the fluid, which are + determined by the will. + + 11. This fluid is probably identical with the nervous fluid and with + the nervo-magnetic fluid. + + _Application._--Rotation is a resultant of the action of the fluid and + of the resistances of the wood. + + Tipping results from the accumulation of the fluid in the leg of the + table which is lifted. + + The glass placed in the middle of the table stops the movement because + it drives away the fluid. + + The glass placed on one side of the table makes the opposite side rise + because the fluid, fleeing from the glass, accumulates there. + +Thury does not attempt the discussion of this theory. But we may repeat +with Gasparin, "When you shall have explained to me how I lift my hand, I +will explain to you how I cause the leg of the table to rise." + +The whole problem lies in that,--the action of mind on matter. We must not +dream that we can give a final solution of it at the present time. To +reduce the new facts to conformity with the old ones; that is to say, to +relate the action of mind upon inert bodies outside of us to the action of +mind upon the matter in our bodies--such is the only problem which the +science of to-day can reasonably propose to itself. Thury states it in +general terms as follows: + + _General Question of the Action of Mind upon Matter._--We shall seek + to formulate the results of experiment up to the point where + experiment abandons us. From there on we shall study all the + alternatives offered to our mind, as simple possibilities, some of + which will give place to hypotheses explanatory of the new phenomena. + + _First principle: In the ordinary state of the body, the will acts + directly only in the sphere of the organism._--Matter belonging to the + external world is modified _on contact with the organism_, and the + modifications which it undergoes gradually produce others by + contiguity. It is thus that we can act upon objects at a distance from + us. Our action at a distance upon all that surrounds us is _mediate_ + and not immediate. We believe that this is true of the action of all + physical forces, such as gravity, heat, electricity. Their effect is + gradually communicated, and thus alone they put distance behind them + and come into relation with man as a sentient being. + + _Second principle: In the organism itself there is a series of mediate + acts._--Thus the will does not act directly upon the bones which + receive the movement of the muscles; nor does the will modify any more + directly the muscles, since, when deprived of nerves, they are + incapable of movement. Does the will act directly upon the nerves? It + is a mooted question whether it modifies them directly or indirectly. + Thus the substance upon which the soul immediately acts is still + undetermined. The substance may be solid, may be fluid; it may be a + substance still unknown, or perhaps a particular state of known + substances. In order to avoid a circumlocution, let me give it a name. + I shall call it the _psychode_ ([Greek: psychê], soul, and [Greek: + odos], way). + + _Third principle: The substance upon which the mind immediately + acts--the psychode--is only susceptible of very simple modifications + under the influence of the mind_, for, since the movements are to be + somewhat varied, an extensive and complicated apparatus appears in the + organism,--a whole system of muscles, vessels, nerves, etc., which are + wanting in the inferior animals (among whom movements are very + simple), and which would have been unnecessary had matter been + directly susceptible of modifications equally varied under the + influence of mind. When movements are intended to be very simple (as + in the case of infusoria) the complicated apparatus is wanting and the + life-spirit acts upon matter that is almost homogeneous. + + The following four hypotheses regarding the psychode may be formed: + + _a._ The psychode is a substance peculiar to the organism, and not + capable of emerging from it. It acts only mediately upon everything + outside of the visible organism. + + _b._ The psychode is a substance peculiar to the organism, capable of + extending beyond the limits of the visible organism under certain + special conditions. The modifications it receives necessarily act upon + other inert bodies. The will acts upon the psychode, and thus + mediately, upon the bodies that the sphere of this substance embraces. + + _c._ The psychode is a universal substance which is conditioned in its + action on other inert bodies by the structure of living organisms, or + by a certain state of inorganic bodies--a state determined by the + influence of living organisms in certain special conditions. + + _d._ The psychode is a peculiar state of matter, a state habitually + produced within the sphere of the organism, but which may also be + produced beyond its limits under the influence of a certain state of + the organism,--an influence comparable to that of magnets in the + phenomena of diamagnetism. + +Thury proposes the adjective _ecteneic_ (from [Greek: ekteneia], +extension) to describe that special state of the organism in which the +mind can, in some measure, extend the habitual limits of its action, and +he styles "ecteneic force" that which is developed in this state. + + The first hypothesis (he adds) would not be at all adapted to explain + the phenomena with which we are concerned. But the three others give + rise to three different explanations, in which (he assures us) the + greater part of the phenomena investigated will be comprised. + + _Explanations based upon the Intervention of Spirits._--M. de Gasparin + has shown the error of all these explanations: + + 1. By theological considerations. + + 2. By the very just remark that we should not resort to explanations + which introduce spirits into the problem until other interpretations + have been proved to be entirely insufficient. + + 3. Finally, by physical considerations. + + Looking at the question here solely from the general physical point of + view, I do not follow M. de Gasparin (says Thury) in his exploitation + of theological explanations. As to the second, I will only call + attention to the suggestion that the sufficiency of explanations + purely physical should strictly apply only to the Valleyres + experiments, where, in truth, nothing gives evidence of the + intervention of wills other than the human will. + + The question of the intervention of spirits might be decided from the + tenor or content of the revelations, in any case in which this content + would be such as evidently could not have originated in the human + mind. It is not my intention to discuss this point. The present study + takes cognizance solely of movements of inert bodies, and we have only + to consider, among the arguments of M. de Gasparin, those which are + included in this field of view. + + Now, his arguments on this point seem to me to be all summed up in + these slightly ironical lines: "Strange spirits! ... whose presence or + absence could depend upon a rotation, depend upon cold or warmth, or + health or disease, on high spirits or lassitude, on an unskilful + company of unconscious magicians! I have the headache or the grip, + therefore the daemonic beings will not be able to appear to-day." + + M. de Mirville, who believes in spirits who manifest themselves + through the agency of the fluid, might reply to Gasparin that the + conditions of the ostensible manifestation of spirits are perhaps the + fluidic state itself; that if this is so, we might very well, in a + séance phenomenon, have a fluidic manifestation without the + intervention of spirits, but not the intervention of spirits without a + preliminary fluidic manifestation, and that, thus, anyone will invite + such manifestation only at his own risk and peril. + +Thury next discusses how the question of spirits ought to be considered. + + The task of science (he writes) is to bear witness to the truth. It + cannot do so if it borrows a part of its data from revelation or from + tradition; to do this would be a begging of the question, and the + testimony of science would become worthless. + + The facts of the natural order are connected with two categories of + forces, the one that of _necessity_, the other that of _freedom_. To + the first belong the general forces of gravitation, heat, light, + electricity, and the vegetative force. It is possible that we may + discover others some day; but at present they are the only ones we + know. To the second category belong solely the mind of animals and + that of man. These are truly _forces_, since they are the cause of + _movements_ and of various phenomena in the physical world. + + Experience instructs us that these mental forces manifest themselves + by the intermediary of special organisms, very complex in the case of + man and the superior animals, but simple in that of the lowest, among + which latter class mind has no need of muscles and nerves in order to + manifest itself externally, but seems to act directly upon a + homogeneous matter, the movements of which it determines (the amoeba + of Ehrenberg). It is in these elementary organizations that the + problem of the action of mind on matter is stated, after a fashion, in + its simplest terms. + + When once we have admitted the existence of the will as distinct, at + least in principle, from the material body, it becomes solely a + question of experience to ascertain whether other wills than that of + man and the animals play any rôle whatever, frequent or occasional, on + the stage of life. If these wills exist, they will have some means or + other of manifestation, with which _experience alone_ can make us + acquainted. As a matter of fact, all that it is possible to affirm, _a + priori_, is that, in order to appear, they _must_ manifest themselves + through some one of the forms of the eternal substance we call matter. + But, to say that this matter must necessarily have an organization of + muscles, nerves, etc., would be to hold to a very narrow idea, and one + already belied by observation of the animal kingdom in its lower + types. As long as we do not know what the bond is that unites the mind + to the matter in which it manifests itself, it would be perfectly + illogical to lay down, _a priori_, particular conditions which matter + must observe in this manifestation. These conditions are at present + wholly undetermined. Thus we are at liberty to seek for signs of these + manifestations in the cosmic ether or in ponderable matter; in the + gases, the liquids, or the solids; in unorganized matter, or + particularly in matter already organized, such as that of which man + and the animals are built up. It would be poor logic to affirm that + other wills than those of men and animals cannot be discovered, on the + ground that, heretofore, nothing of the kind has been seen; for facts + of this kind may have been observed, but not scientifically elucidated + and authenticated. Furthermore these wills might appear only at long + intervals, or what seem long to us; but the vast abysses of nature's + epochs are not to be spanned by our little memories or measured by the + momentary duration of our lives. + +Such are the facts and the ideas set forth in this conscientious monograph +of Professor Thury. It is easily seen that, in his opinion (1) the +phenomena are positive facts; (2) that they are produced by an unknown +substance, to which he gives the name _psychode_, a something that, by the +hypothesis, exists in us and serves as the intermediary between the mind +and the body, between the will and the organs, and can project itself +beyond the limits of the body; (3) that the hypothesis of spirits is not +absurd, and that there may exist in this world other wills than those of +man and the animals, wills capable of acting on matter. + +Professor Marc Thury died in 1905, having devoted his entire life to the +study of the exact sciences. His specialty was astronomy. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE EXPERIMENTS OF THE DIALECTICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON + + +A well-known association of scholars and scientists, the Dialectical +Society of London, founded in 1867 under the presidency of Sir John +Lubbock, resolved, in the year 1869, to include within the sphere of its +observations, the physical phenomena which it is the object of this volume +to study. After a series of experiments the society published a report, to +which it added the attestations, upon the same subject, of a certain +number of scientists, among whom I had the honor of being included.[60] +This report was translated into French by Dr. Dusart and published[61] in +the series of psychic works so happily planned and directed by Count de +Rochas. To give a true idea here of the results reached by this society I +cannot do better than cite the salient and essential portions of this +purely scientific memoir. + +Two or three paragraphs from the beginning of the report will show how and +at what time the society first took up psycho-physical studies: + + At a Meeting of the London Dialectical Society, held on Wednesday, the + 6th of January, 1869, Mr. J. H. Levy in the chair, it was resolved:-- + + "That the Council be requested to appoint a Committee in conformity + with Bye-law VII., to investigate the Phenomena alleged to be + Spiritual Manifestations, and to report thereon." + +This committee was formed on January 26 following. It was composed of +twenty-seven members. Among these we note Alfred Russel Wallace, the +learned naturalist and member of the Royal Society, of London. Professor +Huxley and George Henry Lewis were asked to collaborate with the +committee. They refused. Professor Huxley's letter is too characteristic +to be omitted: + + Sir,--I regret that I am unable to accept the invitation of the + Council of the Dialectical Society to co-operate with a Committee for + the investigation of "Spiritualism;" and for two reasons. In the first + place, I have no time for such an inquiry, which would involve much + trouble and (unless it were unlike all inquiries of that kind I have + known) much annoyance. In the second place, I take no interest in the + subject. The only case of "Spiritualism" I have had the opportunity of + examining into for myself, was as gross an imposture as ever came + under my notice. But supposing the phenomena to be genuine--they do + not interest me. If any body would endow me with the faculty of + listening to the chatter of old women and curates in the nearest + cathedral town, I should decline the privilege, having better things + to do. + + And if the folk in the spiritual world do not talk more wisely and + sensibly than their friends report them to do, I put them in the same + category. + + The only good that I can see in a demonstration of the truth of + "Spiritualism" is to furnish an additional argument against suicide. + Better live a crossing-sweeper than die and be made to talk twaddle by + a "medium" hired at a guinea a séance. + + I am, sir, etc., + T. H. HUXLEY. + + 29th January, 1869. + +As if opposing a direct negative and rebuke to this radical scepticism, +based on a single séance of observation (!) the learned electrician, +Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, in 1867, who did so much to forward and +encourage the laying of the third (and finally successful) Atlantic cable +between Europe and America, hastened to identify himself with the +investigations, and by his aid materially furthered the progress of this +scientific examination. + +The report, with its various pieces of testimony, was presented to the +Dialectical Society on the 20th of July, 1870. But, in order not to +compromise the society, it was decided not to publish it officially, under +the ægis of the association. Consequently the committee unanimously +resolved to publish the report on its own responsibility. It reads as +follows: + + Your Committee have held fifteen meetings, at which they received + evidence from thirty-three persons, who described phenomena which, + they stated, had occurred within their own personal experience. + + Your Committee have received written statements relating to the + phenomena from thirty-one persons. + + Your Committee invited the attendance and requested the co-operation + and advice of scientific men who had publicly expressed opinions, + favourable or adverse, to the genuineness of the phenomena. + + Your Committee also specially invited the attendance of persons who + had publicly ascribed the phenomena to imposture or delusion. + + As it appeared to your Committee to be of the greatest importance that + they should investigate the phenomena in question by personal + experiment and test, they resolved themselves into sub-committees as + the best means of doing so. + + Six Sub-committees were accordingly formed. + + These reports, hereto subjoined, substantially corroborate each other, + and would appear to establish the following propositions:-- + + 1. That sounds of a varied character, apparently proceeding from + articles of furniture, the floor and walls of the room (the vibrations + accompanying which sounds are often distinctly perceptible to the + touch) occur, without being produced by muscular action or mechanical + contrivance. + + 2. That movements of heavy bodies take place without mechanical + contrivance of any kind or adequate exertion of muscular force by the + persons present, and frequently without contact or connection with any + person. + + 3. That these sounds and movements often occur at the times and in the + manner asked for by persons present, and, by means of a simple code of + signals, answer questions and spell out coherent communications. + + 4. That the answers and communications thus obtained are, for the most + part, of a commonplace character; but facts are sometimes correctly + given which are only known to one of the persons present. + + 5. That the circumstances under which the phenomena occur are + variable, the most prominent fact being that the presence of certain + persons seem necessary to their occurrence, and that of others + generally adverse. But this difference does not appear to depend upon + any belief or disbelief concerning the phenomena. + + 6. That, nevertheless, the occurrence of the phenomena is not insured + by the presence or absence of such persons respectively. + + The oral and written evidence received by your Committee not only + testifies to phenomena of the same nature as those witnessed by the + sub-committees, but to others of a more varied and extraordinary + character. + + This evidence may be briefly summarized as follows:-- + + 1. Thirteen witnesses state that they have seen heavy bodies--in some + instances men--rise slowly in the air and remain there for some time + without visible or tangible support. + + 2. Fourteen witnesses testify to having seen hands or figures, not + appertaining to any human being, but life-like in appearance and + mobility, which they have sometimes touched or even grasped, and which + they are therefore convinced were not the result of imposture or + illusion. + + 3. Five witnesses state that they have been touched, by some invisible + agency, on various parts of the body, and often where requested, when + the hands of all present were visible. + + 4. Thirteen witnesses declare that they have heard musical pieces well + played upon instruments not manipulated by any ascertainable agency. + + 5. Five witnesses state that they have seen red-hot coals applied to + the hands or heads of several persons without producing pain or + scorching; and three witnesses state that they have had the same + experiment made upon themselves with the like immunity. + + 6. Eight witnesses state that they have received precise information + through rappings, writings, and in other ways, the accuracy of which + was unknown at the time to themselves or to any persons present, and + which, on subsequent inquiry, was found to be correct. + + 7. One witness declares that he has received a precise and detailed + statement which, nevertheless, proved to be entirely erroneous. + + 8. Three witnesses state that they have been present when drawings, + both in pencil and colors, were produced in so short a time, and under + such conditions, as to render human agency impossible. + + 9. Six witnesses declare that they have received information of future + events, and that in some cases the hour and minute of their occurrence + have been accurately foretold, days and even weeks before. + + In addition to the above, evidence has been given of trance-speaking, + of healing, of automatic writing, of the introduction of flowers and + fruits into closed rooms, of voices in the air, of visions in crystals + and glasses, and of the elongation of the human body. + +Some extracts from the reports will give my readers a better idea of these +experiments and show their wholly scientific character: + + All of these meetings were held at the private residences of members + of the Committee, purposely to preclude the possibility of prearranged + mechanism or contrivance. + + The furniture of the room in which the experiments were conducted was + on every occasion its accustomed furniture. + + The tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables, requiring a strong + effort to move them. The smallest of them was 5ft. 9in. long by 4ft. + wide, and the largest, 9ft. 3in. long and 4-1/2ft. wide, and of + proportionate weight. + + The room, tables, and furniture generally were repeatedly subjected to + careful examination before, during, and after the experiments, to + ascertain that no concealed machinery, instrument or other + contrivances existed by means of which the sounds or movements + hereinafter mentioned could be caused. + + The experiments were conducted in the light of gas, except on the few + occasions specially noted in the minutes. + + Your Committee have avoided the employment of professional or paid + mediums, the mediumship being that of members of your Sub-committee, + persons of good social position and of unimpeachable integrity, having + no pecuniary object to serve, and nothing to gain by deception. + + Of the members of your Sub-committee about _four-fifths_ entered upon + the investigation wholly sceptical as to the reality of the alleged + phenomena, firmly believing them to be the result either of + _imposture_ or of _delusion_, or of _involuntary muscular action_. It + was only by irresistible evidence, under conditions that precluded the + possibility of either of these solutions, and after trial and test + many times repeated, that the most sceptical of your Sub-committee + were slowly and reluctantly convinced that the phenomena exhibited in + the course of their protracted inquiry were veritable facts. + + A description of one experiment, and the manner of conducting it, will + best show the care and caution with which your Committee have pursued + their investigations. + + So long as there was contact, or even the possibility of contact, by + the hands or feet, or even by the clothes of any person in the room, + with the substance moved or sounded, there could be no perfect + assurance that the motions and sounds were not produced by the person + so in contact. The following experiment was therefore tried: + + On an occasion when eleven members of your Sub-committee had been + sitting round one of the dining-tables above described for forty + minutes, and various motions and sounds had occurred, they, by way of + test, turned the backs of their chairs to the table, at about nine + inches from it. They all then knelt upon their chairs, placing their + arms upon the backs thereof. In this position, their feet were of + course turned away from the table, and by no possibility could be + placed under it or touch the floor. The hands of each person were + extended over the table at about four inches from the surface. + Contact, therefore, with any part of the table could not take place + without detection. + + In less than a minute the table, untouched, moved _four_ times; at + first about _five_ inches to one side, then about _twelve_ inches to + the opposite side, and then, in like manner, four inches and six + inches respectively. + + The hands of all present were next placed on the backs of their + chairs, and about a foot from the table, which again moved, as before, + _five_ times, over spaces varying from four to six inches. Then all + the chairs were removed twelve inches from the table, and each person + knelt on his chair as before, this time however folding his hands + behind his back, his body being thus about eighteen inches from the + table, and having the back of the chair between himself and the table. + The table again moved four times, in various directions. In the course + of this conclusive experiment, and in less than half-an-hour, the + table thus moved, without contact or possibility of contact with any + person present, thirteen times, the movements being in different + directions, and some of them according to the request of various + members of your Sub-committee. + + The table was then carefully examined, turned upside down and taken to + pieces, but nothing was discovered to account for the phenomena. The + experiment was conducted throughout in the full light of gas above the + table. + + Altogether, your Sub-committee have witnessed upwards of _fifty_ + similar motions without contact on _eight_ different evenings, in the + houses of members of your Sub-committee, the most careful tests being + applied on each occasion. + + In all similar experiments the possibility of mechanical or other + contrivance was further negatived by the fact that the movements were + in various directions, now to one side, then to the other; now up the + room, now down the room--motions that would have required the + co-operation of many hands or feet; and these, from the great size and + weight of the tables, could not have been so used without the visible + exercise of muscular force. Every hand and foot was plainly to be seen + and could not have been moved without instant detection. + + The motions were witnessed simultaneously by all present. They were + matters of measurement, and not of opinion or fancy. And they occurred + so often, under so many and such various conditions, with such + safeguards against error or deception, and with such invariable + results, as to satisfy the members of your Sub-committee by whom the + experiments were tried, wholly sceptical as most of them were when + they entered upon the investigation, that _there is a force capable of + moving heavy bodies without material contact, and which force is in + some unknown manner dependent upon the presence of human beings_. + +Such was the first verdict of science upon Spiritualistic doings in +England, a verdict rendered by physicists, chemists, astronomers and +naturalists, several of them members of the London Royal Society. The +investigations were under the especial care of Professor Morgan, president +of the Mathematical Society, of London; of Varley, chief electrical +engineer of the department of telegraphs, and Alfred Wallace, naturalist, +etc. Several members of the Dialectical Society refused to join in the +conclusions of the committee, and declared they ought to be verified by +another scientist; for example, by the chemist, Crookes. This gentleman +accepted the proposition, and in this way it was that he began his +experiments, of which more anon. + +But, before presenting an account of the experiments of the eminent +chemist, I should like to place before my readers the chief points settled +by the Experimental Committee, of which I have just spoken. + + SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS. + + _March 9th._ Nine members present. Reunion at eight o'clock. The + following phenomena were produced: 1. The members of the circle + standing, rested the tips of their fingers only on the table. It made + a considerable movement. 2. Holding their hands a few inches above the + table, and no one in any way touching it, it moved a distance of more + than a foot. 3. To render the experiment absolutely conclusive, all + present stood clear away from the table, and stretching out their + hands over it without touching it, it again moved as before, and about + the same distance. During this time, one of the Committee was placed + upon the floor to look carefully beneath the table, while others were + placed outside to see that no person went near to the table. In this + position it was frequently moved, without possibility of contact by + any person present. 4. Whilst thus standing clear of the table, but + with the tips of their fingers resting upon it, all at the same moment + raised their hands at a given signal; and on several occasions the + table jumped from the floor to an elevation varying from half an inch + to an inch. 5. All held their hands close above the table, but not + touching it, and then on a word of command raised them suddenly, and + the table jumped as before. The member lying on the floor, and those + placed outside the circle, were keenly watching as before, and all + observed the phenomena as described. + + _April 15th._ Eight members present. Sitting at 8 p. m. Within five + minutes tapping sounds were heard on the leaf of the table. Various + questions, as to order of sitting, etc., were put, and answered by + rappings. The alphabet was called for, and the word "laugh" was + spelled out. It was asked if it was intended that we should laugh. An + affirmative answer being given, the members laughed; upon which the + table made a most vigorous sound and motion imitative of and + responsive to the laughter, and so ludicrous as to cause a general + peal of real laughter, to which the table shook, and the rapping kept + time as an accompaniment. The following questions were then put and + answered by the number of raps given:--"How many children has Mrs. + M----?" "Four;" "Mrs. W----?" "Three;" "Mrs. D----?" No rap; "Mrs. + E----?" "Five;" "Mrs. S----?" "Two." It was ascertained, upon inquiry + that these replies were perfectly correct, except in the case of Mrs. + E----, who has only four children living, but has lost one. Neither + the medium nor any person present, was aware of all the above numbers, + but each number was known to some of them. The inquiry for a written + communication being responded to by three raps, some sheets of paper + with a pencil were laid under the table, and at the end of the sitting + examined, but no letter or mark was found on the paper. In order to + test whether these sounds would continue under different conditions, + all sat some distance from the table, holding hands in a circle round + it. But instead of upon the table as before, loud rappings were heard + to proceed from various parts of the floor, and from the chair on + which the medium sat; while some came from the other side of the room, + a distance of about fifteen feet from the nearest person. A desire + having been expressed for a shower of raps, loud rapping came from + every part of the table at once, producing an effect similar to that + of a shower of hail falling upon it. The sounds throughout the evening + were very sharp and distinct. It was observed that, although during + the conversation the rappings are sometimes of a singularly lively + character, yet when a question is put they cease instantly, and not + one is heard until the response is given. + + _April 29th._ Nine members present. Medium and conditions as before. + In about a quarter of an hour the table made sundry movements along + the floor, with rappings. The sounds at first were very softly given, + but subsequently became much stronger. They beat time to the airs + played by a musical box, and came from any part of the table requested + by the members. Some questions were put and followed by raps, but more + frequently by tilting of the table at its sides, ends, or corners, the + elevation being from one to four inches. An endeavour was made by + those sitting near, to prevent the table from rising, but it resisted + all their efforts. The chair on which the medium was seated was drawn + several times over the floor. First it moved backward several feet; + then it gave several twists and turns, and finally returned with the + medium to nearly its original position. The chair had no casters, and + moved quite noiselessly, the medium appearing perfectly still and + holding her feet above the carpet; so that during the entire + phenomenon no part of her person or of her dress touched the floor. + There was bright gaslight, and the members had a clear opportunity to + observe all that occurred; and all agreed that imposture was + impossible. While this was going on, a rapping sound came continually + from the floor beneath and around the chair. It was then suggested + that trials should be made if the table would move without contact. + All present, including the medium stood quite clear of the table, + holding their hands from three to six inches above it, and without any + way of touching it. Observers were placed under it to see that it was + not touched there. The following were the observations: + + 1. The table repeatedly moved along the floor in different directions, + often taking that requested. Thus, in accordance with a desire + expressed that it should move from the front to the back room, it took + that direction, and, on approaching the folding doors and meeting with + an obstruction, turned as if to avoid it. + + 2. On a given signal all raised their hands suddenly, and the table + immediately sprang or jerked up from the floor about one inch. + + Various members of the Committee volunteered by turns to keep watch + below the table, whilst others standing round them carefully noted + everything that took place; but no one could discover any visible + agency in their production. + + _May 18th._ Music was played on the piano-forte, and one piece was + accompanied by tapping sounds from all parts of the table, and another + piece both by tapping sounds, vibrations, and slight vertical + movements of the table at its sides, ends, and corners. The sounds and + movements all kept time with the music. The same phenomena also + occurred when a song was sang. During the _séance_ the sounds were + very equally distributed, being seldom confined to one part of the + table. + + _June 9th._ Eight members present. The most interesting fact this + evening was, that though the tapping sounds proceeded from different + parts of the table, but principally from that in front of the medium; + yet, when she went into the hall to receive a message, they still + continued to come from that part of the table. + + The alphabet being repeated in accordance with the signal, "Queer + Pals" was spelt out. These words seemed to amuse and puzzle the + meeting. However, it was suggested they might apply to the Christy + Minstrels, whose nigger melodies, at St. George's Hall, were very + clearly heard through the open window of the back room. At this + suggestion the table gave three considerable tilts. + + _June 17th._ The medium held a sheet of note paper at arm's length + over the table by one of its corners, and, at request, faint but + distinct taps were heard upon it. The other corners of the paper were + then held by members of the Committee, and the sounds were again heard + by all at the table; while those who held the paper felt the impact of + the invisible blows. One or more questions were answered in this way + by three clear and distinctly audible taps, which had a sound similar + in character to that produced by dropping water. This new and curious + phenomenon occurred close under the eyes of all present, without any + physical cause for it being detected. + + _June 21st. Movement of harmonican without contact._ On the medium and + two other members holding their hands above the harmonican without in + any way touching it, it moved almost entirely round, by successive + jerks, on the table on which it was placed. The dining-table was + strongly moved a distance of six feet, the hands of the members + present resting lightly on it. + + _Oct. 18th._ A cylinder of canvas, three feet in height, and about two + feet in diameter, was placed under a small table, the legs of which + were contained within it. Inside the cylinder was a bell, resting on + the floor. No sounds proceeded from the bell, but there were repeated + rappings upon and jerkings of the table. This cylinder precluded the + possibility of contact with the table by a foot of any of the persons + present, during the entire continuance of the knockings and jerkings + of the table. + + _Dec. 14th. Sounds from table without contact._--All sat away from the + table, without in any manner touching it, and the sounds, although + somewhat fainter, continued to proceed from it. + + _Dec. 28th. Movements without contact._--Question: "Would the table + now be moved without contact?" Answer: "Yes," by three raps on the + table. + + All chairs were then turned with their backs to the table, and nine + inches away from it; and all present _knelt_ on the chairs, with their + wrists resting on the backs, and their hands a few inches above the + table. + + Under these conditions, the table (the heavy dining-room table + previously described) moved four times, each time from four to six + inches, and the second time nearly twelve inches. + + Then all hands were placed on the backs of the chairs, and nearly a + foot from the table, when four movements occurred, one slow and + continuous, for nearly a minute. Then all present placed their hands + behind their backs, kneeling erect on their chairs, which were removed + a foot clear away from the table; the gas also was turned up higher, + so as to give abundance of light, and under these test conditions, + distinct movements occurred, to the extent of several inches each + time, and visible to every one present. + + The motions were in various directions, towards all parts of the + room--some were abrupt, others steady. At the same time, and under the + same conditions, distinct raps occurred, apparently both on the floor + and on the table, in answer to requests for them. The above described + movements were so unmistakable, that all present unhesitatingly + declared their conviction, that no physical force, exerted by any one + present, could possibly have produced them. And they declared, + further, in writing, that a rigid examination of the table, showed it + to be an ordinary dining-table, with no machinery or apparatus of any + kind connected with it. The table was laid on the floor with its legs + up, and taken to pieces as far as practicable. + +_Special Observations._ + +These experiments are only a repetition and absolute confirmation of those +that have been described all through this volume, from its very first +pages. Yet they are enough in themselves alone to justify one's +convictions. + +This first sub-committee, the principal experiments of which we have been +giving, was studying only physical phenomena. Sub-committee No. 2 was more +especially occupied with intelligent communications and mediumistic +dictations. They need not detain us here, but will find their place in a +special work on Spiritualism. + +The same committee published in its general report the following letter, +which it did me the honor of requesting: + + I must confess to you, in the first place, gentlemen, that, of those + who call themselves "mediums" and "spiritists," a considerable number + are persons of limited intelligence, incapable of bringing the + experimental method to bear on the investigation of this order of + phenomena, and consequently are often the dupes of their credulity or + ignorance; while others, of whom the number is also considerable, are + impostors whose moral sense has become so blunted by the habit of + fraud that they seem to be incapable of appreciating the heinousness + of their criminal abuse of the confidence of those who apply to them + for instruction or for consolation. + + And even where the subject is being investigated seriously and in good + faith, the force to which the production of these phenomena is due is + so capricious in its action that much delay and disappointment is + inevitable in the prosecution of any experimental inquiry in regard + to them. It is, therefore, no easy matter to put aside the obstacles + thus placed in the way of the serious inquirer, to eliminate these + sources of error, and to get at genuine manifestations of the + phenomena in question; carefully guarding one's own mind against all + error, all self-deception in the methodical and scrupulous examination + of the order of facts now under discussion. Nevertheless, I do not + hesitate to affirm my conviction, based on personal examination of the + subject, that any scientific man who declares the phenomena + denominated "magnetic" "somnambulistic," "mediumistic," and others not + yet explained by science, to be "impossible," is one _who speaks + without knowing what he is talking about_; and also any man + accustomed, by his professional avocations, to scientific + observation--provided that his mind be not biased by preconceived + opinions, nor his mental vision blinded by that opposite kind of + illusion, unhappily too common in the learned world, which consists in + imagining that the laws of Nature are already known to us, and that + everything which appears to overstep the limit of our present formulas + is impossible--may acquire a radical and absolute certainty of the + reality of the facts alluded to. + + After an affirmation so categorical, it is hardly necessary for me to + assure the members of the Dialectical Society that I have acquired, + through my own observation, the absolute certainty of the reality of + these phenomena.... + + But although thus compelled, in the absence of conclusive data in + regard to _the cause_ of the so-called "Spiritual Phenomena," to + refrain from making any positive affirmation in regard to this part of + the subject, I may add that while the general assertion of its + spiritual nature, on the part of the occult force which, within the + last quarter of a century, has thus manifested itself all over the + globe, constitutes a feature of the case which, from its universality, + merits the attention of the impartial investigator--the history of the + human race, from the earliest ages, furnishes instances of + coincidences, previsions and presentiments of warnings experienced in + certain critical moments, of apparitions more or less distinctly seen, + which are stated, on evidence as trustworthy as that which we possess + with regard to any other branch of historical tradition, to have + occurred, spontaneously, in the experience of all nations, and which + may therefore be held to strengthen the presumption of the possibility + of communication between incarnate and discarnate spirits. + + I may also add that my own investigations in the fields of philosophy + and of modern astronomy have led me, as is well known, to adopt a + personal and individual way of regarding the subject of space and + time, the plurality of inhabited worlds, the eternity and ubiquity of + the acting forces of the universe, and the indestructibility of souls, + as well as of atoms. + + The everlastingness of intelligent life ought to be regarded as the + result of the harmonious succession of sidereal incarnations. + + Our earth being one of the heavenly bodies, a province of planetary + existence, and our present life being a phase of our eternal duration, + it appears only natural (the _super_natural does not exist) that there + should exist a permanent link between the spheres, the bodies, and the + souls of the universe, and therefore altogether probable that the + existence of this link will be demonstrated, in course of time, by the + advance of scientific discovery. + + It would be difficult to over-rate the importance of the questions + thus brought forward for consideration; and I have seen with lively + satisfaction the noble initiative which, through the formation of your + Committee of Inquiry, has been taken by a body of men so justly + eminent as the members of the Dialectical Society, in the experimental + investigation of these deeply interesting phenomena. I am most happy, + therefore, to comply with the tenor of your letter, by sending you the + humble tribute of my observations on the subject in question, and thus + to have the opportunity of offering to your society the expression of + my sincerest good wishes for the speedy elucidation of the mysteries + of nature that have not yet been brought within the domain of positive + science. + + I am, sir, yours faithfully, + CAMILLE FLAMMARION, + 10, Rue des Moineaux (Palais Royal). + + Paris, May 8, 1870. + +The foregoing résumé of the labors of the Dialectical Society of London +shows once more that mediumistic phenomena long ago entered upon the road +of scientific experiment. It would seem as if only the wilfully blind +could henceforth deny their allegiance. + +The results of the studies described also form an answer to the question +frequently asked, whether one can undertake similar experiments without +knowing a true medium. I reply that, in any meeting of a dozen persons, +there will always be one or more mediums. This was proved by the séances +of the Count de Gasparin. + +The English report also contains (May 25, 1869) a communication from the +electrician, Cromwell Varley, declaring that mediumistic phenomena could +not be discredited by any observer of good faith, and that, to him, the +hypothesis of disembodied spirits is the one that best explains them--just +plain, common spirits (as a general thing), like the majority of the +citizens of our planet. + +The scientific experiments of the Dialectical Society's committee were +continued by the "Society for Psychical Research," founded in 1882, the +successive presidents of which were Professor Sidgwick, Professor Balfour +Stewart, Professor Sidgwick for a second time, Professor William James, +Sir William Crookes, Frederick Myers, Sir Oliver Lodge, Professor +Richet--all eminent in the departments of science and education. Let me +mention here the splendid work of Dr. Hodgson and of Professor Hyslop in +the American branch of this society. + +The experiments were continued, in a masterly way, by the celebrated +chemist, Sir William Crookes, and yielded him the most wondrous results. +My readers will presently realize this. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WILLIAM CROOKES + + +The learned chemist, Sir William Crookes, member of the Royal Society of +London, the author of several discoveries of the first rank (among which +should be placed the discovery, in 1861, of the metal, thallium), and of +ingenious experiments on "radiant matter," published his first researches +on the subject we are here considering in a review of which he was the +editor--the _Quarterly Journal of Science_. + +I had the honor of contributing certain astronomical papers to this +journal.[62] I will first lay before my readers an extract from Mr. +Crookes's article of the 1st of July, 1871, entitled "Experimental +Investigation of a New Force," in which he describes his studies with +Home. I also had occasion myself more than once to hold conversation with +this medium.[63] + + Twelve months ago in this journal, July 1, 1870, I wrote an article, + in which, after expressing in the most emphatic manner my belief in + the occurrence, under certain circumstances, of phenomena inexplicable + by any known natural laws, I indicated several tests which men of + science had a right to demand before giving credence to the + genuineness of these phenomena. Among the tests pointed out were, that + a "delicately poised balance should be moved under test conditions;" + and that some exhibition of power equivalent to so many "foot-pounds" + should be "manifested in his laboratory, where the experimentalists + could weigh, measure, and submit it to proper tests." I said, too, + that I could not promise to enter fully into this subject, owing to + the difficulties of obtaining opportunities, and the numerous failures + attending the enquiry; moreover, that "the persons in whose presence + these phenomena take place are few in number, and opportunities for + experimenting with previously arranged apparatus are rarer still." + + Opportunities having since offered for pursuing the investigation, I + have gladly availed myself of them for applying to these phenomena + careful scientific testing experiments, and I have thus arrived at + certain definite results which I think it right should be published. + These experiments appear conclusively to establish the existence of a + new force, in some unknown manner connected with the human + organization, which for convenience may be called the Psychic Force. + + Of all the persons endowed with a powerful development of this psychic + force, and who have been termed "mediums" upon quite another theory of + its origin, Mr. Daniel Dunglas Home is the most remarkable, and it is + mainly owing to the many opportunities I have had of carrying on my + investigation in his presence that I am enabled to affirm so + conclusively the existence of this force. The experiments I have tried + have been very numerous, but owing to our imperfect knowledge of the + conditions which favor or oppose the manifestations of this force, to + the apparently capricious manner in which it is exerted, and to the + fact that Mr. Home himself is subject to unaccountable ebbs and flows + of the force, it has but seldom happened that a result obtained on one + occasion could be subsequently confirmed and tested with apparatus + specially contrived for the purpose. + + Among the remarkable phenomena which occur under Mr. Home's influence, + the most striking, as well as the most easily tested with scientific + accuracy, are--(1) the alteration in the weight of bodies, and (2) the + playing of tunes upon musical instruments (generally an accordion, for + convenience of portability) without direct human intervention, under + conditions rendering contact or connection with the keys impossible. + Not until I had witnessed these facts some half-dozen times, and + scrutinized them with all the critical acumen I possess, did I become + convinced of their objective reality. Still, desiring to place the + matter beyond the shadow of doubt, I invited Mr. Home on several + occasions to come to my own house, where, in the presence of a few + scientific enquirers, these phenomena could be submitted to crucial + experiments. + + The meetings took place in the evening, in a large room lighted by + gas. The apparatus prepared for the purpose of testing the movements + of the accordion, consisted of a cage, formed of two wooden hoops, + respectively 1 foot 10 inches and 2 feet diameter, connected together + by 12 narrow laths, each 1 foot 10 inches long, so as to form a + drum-shaped frame, open at the top and bottom; round this 50 yards of + insulated copper wire were wound in 24 rounds, each being rather less + than an inch from its neighbor. The horizontal strands of wire were + then netted together firmly with string, so as to form meshes rather + less than 2 inches long by 1 inch high. The height of this cage was + such that it would just slip under my dining-table, but be too close + to the top to allow of the hand being introduced into the interior, or + to admit of a foot being pushed underneath it. In another room were + two Grove's cells, wires being led from them into the dining-room for + connection, if desirable, with the wire surrounding the cage. + + The accordion was a new one, having been purchased by myself for the + purpose of these experiments at Wheatstone's, in Conduit Street. Mr. + Home had neither handled nor seen the instrument before the + commencement of the test experiments. + + In another part of the room an apparatus was fitted up for + experimenting on the alteration in the weight of a body. It consisted + of a mahogany board, 36 inches long by 9-1/2 inches wide and 1 inch + thick. At each end a strip of mahogany 1-1/2 inches wide was screwed + on, forming feet. One end of the board rested on a firm table, whilst + the other end was supported by a spring balance hanging from a + substantial tripod stand. The balance was fitted with a + self-registering index, in such a manner that it would record the + maximum weight indicated by the pointer. The apparatus was adjusted + so that the mahogany board was horizontal, its foot resting flat on + the support. In this position its weight was 3 lbs., as marked by the + pointer of the balance. + +[Illustration: PLATE XII. CAGE OF COPPER WIRE, ELECTRICALLY CHARGED, USED +BY PROFESSOR CROOKES IN THE HOME ACCORDION EXPERIMENT.] + + Before Mr. Home entered the room the apparatus had been arranged in + position, and he had not even the object of some parts of it explained + before sitting down. It may, perhaps, be worth while to add, for the + purpose of anticipating some critical remarks which are likely to be + made, that in the afternoon I called for Mr. Home at his apartments, + and when there he suggested that, as he had to change his dress, + perhaps I should not object to continue our conversation in his + bedroom. I am, therefore, enabled to state positively, that no + machinery, apparatus, or contrivance of any sort was secreted about + his person. + + The investigators present on the test occasion were an eminent + physicist, high in the ranks of the Royal Society,[64] a well-known + Serjeant-at-Law;[65] my brother; and my chemical assistant. + + Mr. Home sat in a low easy-chair at the side of the table. In front of + him under the table was the aforesaid cage, one of his legs being on + each side of it. I sat close to him on his left, and another observer + sat close to him on his right, the rest of the party being seated at + convenient distances round the table. + + For the greater part of the evening, particularly when anything of + importance was proceeding, the observers on each side of Mr. Home kept + their feet respectively on his feet, so as to be able to detect his + slightest movement. + + The temperature of the room varied from 68 degrees to 70 degrees F. + + Mr. Home took the accordion between the thumb and middle finger of one + hand at the opposite end to the keys (see Pl. XII A) (to save + repetition this will be subsequently called "in the usual manner"). + + Having previously opened the bass key myself, and the cage being drawn + from under the table so as just to allow the accordion to be pushed in + with its keys downwards, it was pushed back as close as Mr. Home's + arm would permit, but without hiding his hand from those next to him + (Pl. XII, Cut B). Very soon the accordion was seen by those on each + side to be waving about in a somewhat curious manner; then sounds came + from it, and finally several notes were played in succession. Whilst + this was going on, my assistant went under the table, and reported + that the accordion was expanding and contracting; at the same time it + was seen that the hand of Mr. Home by which it was held was quite + still, his other hand resting on the table. + + Presently the accordion was seen by those on either side of Mr. Home + to move about, oscillating and going round and round the cage, and + playing at the same time. Dr. A. B. now looked under the table, and + said that Mr. Home's hand appeared quite still whilst the accordion + was moving about emitting distinct sounds. + + Mr. Home still holding the accordion in the usual manner in the cage, + his feet being held by those next him, and his other hand resting on + the table, we heard distinct and separate notes sounded in succession, + and then a simple air was played. As such a result could only have + been produced by the various keys of the instrument being acted upon + in harmonious succession, this was considered by those present to be a + crucial experiment. + + But the sequel was still more striking, for Mr. Home then removed his + hand altogether from the accordion, taking it quite out of the cage, + and placed it in the hand of the person next to him. The instrument + then continued to play, no person touching it and no hand being near + it. + + I was now desirous of trying what would be the effect of passing the + battery current round the insulated wire of the cage, and my assistant + accordingly made the connection with the wires from the two Grove's + cells. Mr. Home again held the instrument inside the cage in the same + manner as before, when it immediately sounded and moved about + vigorously. But whether the electric current passing round the cage + assisted the manifestation of force inside, it is impossible to say. + + After this experiment, the accordion, which he kept holding in one + hand, then commenced to play, at first chords and runs, and + afterwards a well-known sweet and plaintive melody, which was executed + perfectly in a very beautiful manner. Whilst this tune was being + played I grasped Mr. Home's arm, below the elbow, and gently slid my + hand down it until I touched the top of the accordion. He was not + moving a muscle. His other hand was on the table, visible to all, and + his feet were under the feet of those next to him. + + Having met with such striking results in the experiments with the + accordion in the cage, we turned to the balance apparatus already + described. Mr. Home placed the tips of his fingers lightly on the + extreme end of the mahogany board, which was resting on the support, + whilst Dr. A. B. and myself sat, one on each side of it, watching for + any effect which might be produced. Almost immediately the pointer of + the balance was seen to descend. After a few seconds it rose again. + This movement was repeated several times, as if by successive waves of + the psychic force. The end of the board was observed to oscillate + slowly up and down during the experiment. + + Mr. Home now of his own accord took a small hand-bell and a little + card match-box, which happened to be near, and placed one under each + hand, to satisfy us, as he said, that he was not producing the + downward pressure (see Fig. 3). The very slow oscillation of the + spring balance became more marked, and Dr. A. B., watching the index, + said that he saw it descend to 6-1/2 lbs. The normal weight of the + board as so suspended being 3 lbs., the additional downward pull was + therefore 3-1/2 lbs. On looking immediately afterwards at the + automatic register, we saw that the index had at one time descended as + low as 9 lbs., showing a maximum pull of 6 lbs. upon a board whose + normal weight was 3 lbs. + + In order to see whether it was possible to produce much effect on the + spring balance by pressure at the place where Mr. Home's fingers had + been, I stepped upon the table and stood on one foot at the end of the + board. Dr. A. B., who was observing the index of the balance, said + that the whole weight of my body (140 lbs.) so applied only sunk the + index 1-1/2 lbs., or 2 lbs. when I shook it. Mr. Home had been sitting + in a low easy-chair, and could not, therefore, had he tried his + utmost, have exerted any material influence on these results. I need + scarcely add that his feet as well as his hands were closely guarded + by all in the room. + + This experiment appears to me more striking, if possible, than the one + with the accordion. As will be seen on referring to the cut (Fig. 3), + the board was arranged perfectly horizontally, and it was particularly + noticed that Mr. Home's fingers were not at any time advanced more + than 1-1/2 inches from the extreme end, as shown by a pencil-mark, + which, with Dr. A. B.'s acquiescence, I made at the time. Now, the + wooden foot being also 1-1/2 inches wide, and resting flat on the + table, it is evident that no amount of pressure exerted within this + space of 1-1/2 inches could produce any action on the balance. Again, + it is also evident that when the end farthest from Mr. Home sank, the + board would turn on the farther edge of this foot as on a fulcrum. + + [Illustration: FIG. 3.] + + The arrangement was consequently that of a see-saw, 36 inches in + length, the fulcrum being 1-1/2 inches from one end; were he, + therefore, to have exerted a downward pressure, it would have been in + opposition to the force which was causing the other end of the board + to move down. + + The slight downward pressure shown by the balance when I stood on the + board was owing probably to my foot extending beyond this fulcrum. + + I have now given a plain, unvarnished statement of the facts from + copious notes written at the time the occurrences were taking place, + and copied out in full immediately after. + + Respecting the cause of these phenomena, the nature of the force to + which, to avoid periphrasis, I have ventured to give the name of + _Psychic_, and the correlation existing between that and the other + forces of nature, it would be wrong to hazard the most vague + hypothesis. Indeed, in inquiries connected so intimately with rare + physiological and psychological conditions, it is the duty of the + inquirer to abstain altogether from framing theories until he has + accumulated a sufficient number of facts to form a substantial basis + upon which to reason. In the presence of strange phenomena as yet + unexplored and unexplained following each other in such rapid + succession, I confess it is difficult to avoid clothing their record + in language of a sensational character. But, to be successful, an + inquiry of this kind must be undertaken by the philosopher without + prejudice and without sentiment. Romantic and superstitious ideas + should be entirely banished, and the steps of his investigation should + be guided by intellect as cold and passionless as the instruments he + uses. + +Apropos of this Mr. Cox wrote to Mr. Crooks: + + The results appear to me conclusively to establish the important fact, + that there is a force proceeding from the nerve-system capable of + imparting motion and weight to solid bodies within the sphere of its + influence. + + I noticed that the force was exhibited in tremulous pulsations, and + not in the form of steady continuous pressure, the indicator rising + and falling incessantly throughout the experiment. The fact seems to + me of great significance, as tending to confirm the opinion that + assigns its source to the nerve organization, and it goes far to + establish Dr. Richardson's important discovery of a nerve atmosphere + of various intensity enveloping the human structure. + + Your experiments completely confirm the conclusion at which the + Investigation Committee of the Dialectical Society arrived, after more + than forty meetings for trial and test. + + Allow me to add that I can find no evidence even tending to prove that + this force is other than a force proceeding from, or directly + dependent upon, the human organization, and therefore, like all other + forces of nature, wholly within the province of that strictly + scientific investigation to which you have been the first to subject + it. + + Now that it is proved by mechanical tests to be a fact in nature (and + if a fact, it is impossible to exaggerate its importance to physiology + and the light it must throw upon the obscure laws of life, of mind and + the science of medicine) it cannot fail to command the immediate and + most earnest examination and discussion by physiologists and by all + who take an interest in that knowledge of "man," which has been truly + termed "the noblest study of mankind." + + To avoid the appearance of any foregone conclusion, I would recommend + the adoption for it of some appropriate name, and I venture to suggest + that the force be termed the Psychic Force; the persons in whom it is + manifested in extraordinary power Psychics; and the science relating + to it Psychism as, being a branch of psychology. + +The preceding article was published separately by William Crookes in a +special brochure which lies before me,[66] and which contains, in +addition, the following study, not less curious from the human and +anecdotical point of view than from the point of view of the experimenter +in physics: + + When I first stated in this journal that I was about to investigate + the phenomena of so-called Spiritualism, the announcement called forth + universal expressions of approval. One said that my "statements + deserved respectful consideration"; another expressed "profound + satisfaction that the subject was about to be investigated by a man so + thoroughly qualified as," etc.; a third was "gratified to learn that + the matter is now receiving the attention of cool and clear-headed + men of recognized position in science"; a fourth asserted that "no one + could doubt Mr. Crookes's ability to conduct the investigation with + rigid philosophical impartiality"; and a fifth was good enough to tell + its readers that "if men like Mr. Crookes grapple with the subject, + taking nothing for granted until it is proved, we shall soon know how + much to believe." + + Those remarks, however, were written too hastily. It was taken for + granted by the writers that the results of my experiments would be in + accordance with their preconceptions. What they really desired was not + _the truth_, but an additional witness in favor of their own foregone + conclusion. When they found that the facts which that investigation + established could not be made to fit those opinions, why--"so much the + worse for the facts." They try to creep out of their own confident + recommendations of the enquiry by declaring that "Mr. Home is a clever + conjurer, who has duped us all." "Mr. Crookes might, with equal + propriety, examine the performances of an Indian juggler." "Mr. + Crookes must get better witnesses before he can be believed." "The + thing is too absurd to be treated seriously." "It is impossible, and + therefore can't be."[67] "The observers have all been biologized (!) + and fancy they saw things occur which really never took place," etc. + + These remarks imply a curious oblivion of the very functions which the + scientific enquirer has to fulfill. I am scarcely surprised when the + objectors say that I have been deceived merely because they are + unconvinced without personal investigation, since the same + unscientific course of _a priori_ argument has been opposed to all + great discoveries. When I am told that what I describe cannot be + explained in accordance with preconceived ideas of the laws of nature, + the objector really begs the very question at issue, and resorts to a + mode of reasoning which brings science to a standstill. The argument + runs in a vicious circle: we must not assert a fact till we know that + it is in accordance with the laws of nature, while our only knowledge + of the laws of nature must be based on an extensive observation of + facts. If a new fact seems to oppose what is called a law of nature, + it does not prove the asserted fact to be false, but only that we have + not yet ascertained all the laws of nature, or not learned them + correctly. + + In his opening address before the British Association at Edinburgh + this year (1871), Sir William Thomson said, "Science is bound by the + everlasting law of honor to face fearlessly every problem which can + fairly be presented to it." My object in thus placing on record the + results of a very remarkable series of experiments is to present such + a problem, which, according to Sir William Thomson, "Science is bound + by the everlasting law of honor to face fearlessly." It will not do + merely to deny its existence, or try to sneer it down. Remember, I + hazard no hypothesis or theory whatever; I merely vouch for certain + facts, my only object being--the _truth_. Doubt, but do not deny; + point out, by the severest criticism, what are considered fallacies in + my experimental tests, and suggest more conclusive trials; but do not + let us hastily call our senses lying witnesses merely because they + testify against preconceptions. I say to my critics, Try the + experiments; investigate with care and patience as I have done. If, + having examined, you discover imposture or delusion, proclaim it and + say how it was done. But, if you find it be a fact, avow it + fearlessly, as "by the everlasting law of honor" you are bound to do. + +In this part of his work Professor Crookes recalls the experiments of +Count de Gasparin and of Thury (detailed above) on the phenomenon of the +movement of bodies without contact, a thing proved and demonstrated. We +need not recur to that. He adds that the ecteneic force of Professor Thury +and psychical force are equivalent terms, and that the nervous atmosphere +or fluid of Dr. Benjamin Richardson also belongs here. + +Professor Crookes sent his observations to the Royal Society, of which he +is a member. The society refused his communications. The evidence goes to +show that it had only approved of the gifted chemist's mixing in +heretical and occult researches on consideration of his demonstrating the +fallacy of all those prodigies. + +[Illustration: FIG. 4.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 5.] + +Professor Stokes, the secretary, refused to consider the subject at all, +or to inscribe even the title of the papers in the society's +publications. It was an exact repetition of what took place at the Academy +of Science in Paris in 1853. Professor Crookes scorned these arbitrary and +anti-scientific judgments and denials and answered them by publishing the +detailed description of his experiments. The following are the essential +points of this description: + +[Illustration: FIG. 6.] + + On trying these experiments for the first time, I thought that actual + contact between Mr. Home's hands and the suspended body whose weight + was to be altered was essential to the exhibition of the force; but I + found afterwards that this was not a necessary condition, and I + therefore arranged my apparatus in the following manner: + + The accompanying cuts (Figs. 4, 5, 6) explain the arrangement. Fig. 4 + is a general view, and Figs. 5 and 6 show the essential parts more in + detail. The reference letters are the same in each illustration. A B + is a mahogany board, 36 inches long by 9-1/2 inches wide and 1 inch + thick. It is suspended at the end, B, by a spring balance, C, + furnished with an automatic register, D. The balance is suspended + from a very firm tripod support, E. + + The following piece of apparatus is not shown in the figures. To the + moving index, O, of the spring balance, a fine steel point is + soldered, projecting horizontally outwards. In front of the balance, + and firmly fastened to it, is a grooved frame carrying a flat box + similar to the dark box of a photographic camera. This box is made to + travel by clock-work horizontally in front of the moving index, and it + contains a sheet of plate-glass which has been smoked over a flame. + The projecting steel point impresses a mark on this smoked surface. + + If the balance is at rest, and the clock set going, the result is a + perfectly straight horizontal line. If the clock is stopped and + weights are placed on the end, B, of the board, the result is a + vertical line, whose length depends on the weight applied. If, whilst + the clock draws the plate along, the weight of the board (or the + tension on the balance) varies, the result is a curved line, from + which the tension in grains at any moment during the continuance of + the experiments can be calculated. + + The instrument was capable of registering a diminution of the force of + gravitation as well as an increase; registrations of such a diminution + were frequently obtained. To avoid complication, however, I will only + here refer to results in which an increase of gravitation was + experienced. + + The end, B, of the board being supported by the spring balance, the + end, A, is supported on a wooden strip, F, screwed across its lower + side and cut to a knife edge (see Fig. 6). This fulcrum rests on a + firm and heavy wooden stand, G H. On the board, exactly over the + fulcrum, is placed a large glass vessel filled with water, I. L is a + massive iron stand, furnished with an arm and ring, M N, in which + rests a hemispherical copper vessel perforated with several holes at + the bottom. + + The iron stand is two inches from the board, A B, and the arm and + copper vessel, M N, are so adjusted that the latter dips into the + water 1-1/2 inches, being 5-1/2 inches from the bottom of I, and 2 + inches from its circumference. Shaking or striking the arm, M, or the + vessel, N, produces no appreciable mechanical effect on the board, A + B, capable of affecting the balance. Dipping the hand to the fullest + extent into the water in N, does not produce the least appreciable + action on the balance. + + As the mechanical transmission of power by Mr. Home is by this means + entirely cut off between the copper vessel and the board, A B, it + follows that the power of muscular control is thereby completely + eliminated. + + There was always ample light in the room where the experiments were + conducted (my own dining-room) to see all that took place. + Furthermore, I repeated the experiments, not only with Mr. Home, but + also with another person possessing similar powers. + + [Illustration: FIG. 7.] + + _Experiment I._--The apparatus having been properly adjusted before + Mr. Home entered the room, he was brought in, and asked to place his + fingers in the water in the copper vessel, N. He stood up and dipped + the tips of the fingers of his right hand in the water, his other hand + and his feet being held. When he said he felt a power, force, or + influence, proceeding from his hand, I set the clock going, and almost + immediately the end, B, of the board was seen to descend slowly and + remain down for about 10 seconds; it then descended a little farther, + and afterwards rose to its normal height. It then descended again, + rose suddenly, gradually sunk for 17 seconds, and finally rose to its + normal height, where it remained till the experiment was concluded. + The lowest point marked on the glass was equivalent to a direct pull + of about 5,000 grains. The accompanying figure 7 is a copy of the + curve traced on the glass. + + _Experiment II._--Contact through water having proved to be as + effectual as actual mechanical contact, I wished to see if the power + or force could affect the weight, either through other portions of the + apparatus or through the air. The glass vessel and iron stand, etc., + were therefore removed, as an unnecessary complication, and Mr. Home's + hands were placed on the stand of the apparatus at P (Fig. 4). A + gentleman present put his hand on Mr. Home's hands, and his foot on + both Mr. Home's feet, and I also watched him closely all the time. At + the proper moment the clock was again set going; the board descended + and rose in an irregular manner, the result being a curved tracing on + the glass, of which Fig. 8 is a copy. + + [Illustration: FIG. 8.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 9.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 10.] + + _Experiment III._--Mr. Home was now placed 1 foot from the board, A B, + on one side of it. His hands and feet were firmly grasped by a + bystander, and another tracing, of which Fig. 9 is a copy, was taken + on a moving glass plate. + + _Experiment IV._--(Tried on an occasion when the power was stronger + than on the previous occasions.) Mr. Home was now placed three feet + from the apparatus, his hands and feet being tightly held. The clock + was set going when he gave the word, and the end, B, of the board + soon descended, and again rose in an irregular manner, as shown in + Fig. 10. + + The following series of experiments were tried with more delicate + apparatus, and with another person, a lady, Mr. Home being absent. As + the lady is non-professional, I do not mention her name. She has, + however, consented to meet any scientific men whom I may introduce for + purposes of investigation. + + [Illustration: FIG. 11.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 12.] + + A piece of thin parchment, A, Figs. 11 and 12, is stretched tightly + across a circular hoop of wood. B C is a light lever turning on D. At + the end, B, is a vertical needle-point touching the membrane, A, and + at C is another needle-point, projecting horizontally and touching a + smoked glass plate, E F. This glass plate is drawn along in the + direction, H G, by clockwork, K. The end, B, of the lever is weighted + so that it shall quickly follow the movements of the centre of the + disc, A. These movements are transmitted and recorded on the glass + plate, E F, by means of the lever and needle-point, C. Holes are cut + in the side of the hoop to allow a free passage of air to the under + side of the membrane. The apparatus was well tested beforehand by + myself and others, to see that no shaking or jar on the table or + support would interfere with the results. The line traced by the + point, C, on the smoked glass was perfectly straight in spite of all + our attempts to influence the lever by shaking the stand or stamping + on the floor. + + [Illustration: FIG. 13.] + + _Experiment V._--Without having the object of the instrument explained + to her, the lady was brought into the room and asked to place her + fingers on the wooden stand at the points, L M, Fig. 11. I then placed + my hands over hers to enable me to detect any conscious or unconscious + movement on her part. Presently percussive noises were heard on the + parchment, resembling the dropping of grains of sand on its surface. + At each percussion a fragment of graphite which I had placed on the + membrane was seen to be projected upwards about 1-50th of an inch, and + the end, C, of the lever moved slightly up and down. Sometimes the + sounds were as rapid as those from an induction-coil, whilst at others + they were more than a second apart. Five or six tracings were taken, + and in all cases a movement of the end, C, of the lever was seen to + have occurred with each vibration of the membrane. + + In some cases the lady's hands were not so near the membrane as L M, + but were at N O, Fig. 12. + + The accompanying figure 13 gives tracings taken from the plates used + on these occasions. + + _Experiment VI._--Having met with these results in Mr. Home's absence, + I was anxious to see what action would be produced on the instrument + in his presence. + + Accordingly I asked him to try, but without explaining the instrument + to him. + + [Illustration: FIG. 14.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 15.] + + I grasped Mr. Home's right arm above the wrist and held his hand over + the membrane, about 10 inches from its surface, in the position shown + at P, Fig. 12. His other hand was held by a friend. After remaining in + this position for about half a minute, Mr. Home said he felt some + influence passing. I then set the clock going, and we all saw the + index, C, moving up and down. The movements were much slower than in + the former case, and were almost entirely unaccompanied by the + percussive vibrations then noticed. + + Figs. 14 and 15 show the curves produced on the glass on two of these + occasions. + + Figs. 13, 14, 15 are magnified. + + These experiments _confirm beyond doubt_ the conclusion at which I + arrived in my former paper; namely, the existence of a force + associated, in some manner not yet explained, with the human + organization, by which force increased weight is capable of being + imparted to solid bodies without physical contact. + + Now, however, having seen more of Mr. Home, I think I perceive what it + is that this psychic force uses up for its development. In employing + the terms _vital force_, or _nervous energy_, I am aware that I am + employing words which convey very different significations to many + investigators; but after witnessing the painful state of nervous and + bodily prostration in which some of these experiments have left Mr. + Home--after seeing him lying in an almost fainting condition on the + floor, pale and speechless--I could scarcely doubt that the evolution + of psychic force is accompanied by a corresponding drain on vital + force. + + To witness exhibitions of this force it is not necessary to have + access to known psychics. The force itself is probably possessed by + all human beings, although the individuals endowed with an + extraordinary amount of it are doubtless few. Within the last twelve + months I have met in private families five or six persons possessing a + sufficiently vigorous development to make me feel confident that + similar results might be produced through their means to those here + recorded, though less intense. + +These experiments continued to be the object of bitter and relentless +criticism on the part of the recognized authorities in science and +education in England. These persons absolutely refused to recognize their +value. Professor Crookes amused himself, at times, by replying to these +fantastic attacks, but, naturally, without convincing his uncompromising +opponents. It is unnecessary to reproduce these letters here; they can be +found in the French edition of Crookes's _Researches_. The learned chemist +did better still: he continued his researches into the domain of the +Unknown, and got still more remarkable results--still more extraordinary, +more inexplicable, more incomprehensible. + +His notes continue as follows: + + Like a traveler exploring some distant country, the wonders of which + have hitherto been known only through reports and rumors of a vague or + distorted character, so for four years have I been occupied in pushing + an inquiry into a territory of natural knowledge which offers almost + virgin soil to a scientific man. + + As the traveller sees in the natural phenomena he may witness the + action of forces governed by natural laws, where others see only the + capricious intervention of offended gods, so have I endeavored to + trace the operation of natural laws and forces, where others have seen + only the agency of supernatural beings, owning no laws, and obeying no + force but their own free will. + + The phenomena I am prepared to attest are so extraordinary and so + directly oppose the most firmly rooted articles of scientific + belief--amongst others, the ubiquity and invariable action of the + force of gravitation--that, even now, on recalling the details of what + I witnessed, there is an antagonism in my mind between _reason_, which + pronounces it to be scientifically impossible, and the consciousness + that my senses, both of touch and sight--and these corroborated, as + they were, by the senses of all who were present,--are not lying + witnesses when they testify against my preconceptions. + + But the supposition that there is a sort of mania or delusion which + suddenly attacks a whole roomful of intelligent persons who are quite + sane elsewhere, and that they all concur to the minutest particulars, + in the details of the occurrences of which they suppose themselves to + be witnesses, seems to my mind more incredible than even the facts + they attest. + + The subject is far more difficult and extensive than it appears. Four + years ago I intended only to devote a leisure month or two to + ascertain whether certain marvellous occurrences I had heard about + would stand the test of close scrutiny. Having, however, soon arrived + at the same conclusion as, I may say, every impartial inquirer, that + there was "something in it," I could not, as a student of nature's + laws, refuse to follow the inquiry wheresoever the facts might lead. + Thus a few months have grown into a few years, and, were my time at + my own disposal it would probably extend still longer. + + My principal object will be to place on record a series of actual + occurrences which have taken place in my own house, in the presence of + trustworthy witnesses, and under as strict test conditions as I could + devise. Every fact which I have observed is, moreover, corroborated by + the records of independent observers at other times and places. It + will be seen that the facts are of the most astounding character, and + seem utterly irreconcilable with all known theories of modern science. + Having satisfied myself of their _truth_, it would be moral cowardice + to withhold my testimony because my previous publications were + ridiculed by critics and others who knew nothing whatever of the + subject, and who were too prejudiced to see and judge for themselves + whether or not there was truth in the phenomena. I shall state simply + what I have seen and proved by repeated experiment and test. + + Except where darkness has been a necessary condition, as with some of + the phenomena of luminous appearances, and a few other instances, + everything recorded has taken place _in the light_. In the few cases + where the phenomena noted have occurred in darkness I have been very + particular to mention the fact. Moreover, some special reason can be + shown for the exclusion of light, or the results have been produced + under such perfect test conditions that the suppression of one of the + senses has not really weakened the evidence. + + I have said that darkness is not essential. It is, however, a + well-ascertained fact that when the force is weak a bright light + exerts an interfering action on some of the phenomena. The power + possessed by Mr. Home is sufficiently strong to withstand this + antagonistic influence; consequently, he always objects to darkness at + his _séances_. Indeed, except on two occasions, when, for some + particular experiments of my own, light was excluded, everything which + I have witnessed with him has taken place in the light. I have had + many opportunities of testing the action of light on different sources + and colors,--such as sunlight, diffused daylight, moonlight, gas, + lamp, and candle-light, electric light from a vacuum tube, + homogeneous yellow light, etc. The interfering rays appear to be those + at the extreme end of the spectrum. + +Professor Crookes next proceeds to classify the phenomena observed by him, +going from the more simple to the more complex and giving in rapid review +under each head, a sketch of some of the facts. In the abridgment of his +report which follows I eliminate what has already been fully demonstrated +elsewhere in this book. + + FIRST CLASS: _The movement of Heavy Bodies with Contact, but without + Mechanical Exertion._ + + (This movement has been fully proved in this volume.) + + SECOND CLASS: _The Phenomena of Percussive and other Allied Sounds._ + + An important question here forces itself upon the attention. _Are the + movements and sounds governed by intelligence?_ At a very early stage + of the inquiry, it was seen that the power producing the phenomena was + not merely a blind force, but was associated with or governed by + intelligence. Thus the sounds to which I have just alluded will be + repeated a definite number of times. They will come loud or faint, and + in different places at request; and by a pre-arranged code of signals, + questions are answered, and messages given with more or less accuracy. + + The intelligence governing the phenomena is sometimes manifestly below + that of the medium. It is frequently in direct opposition to the + wishes of the medium. When a determination has been expressed to do + something which might not be considered quite right, I have known + urgent messages given to induce a reconsideration. The intelligence is + sometimes of such a character as to lead to the belief that it does + not emanate from any person present. + + THIRD CLASS: _The Alteration of Weights of Bodies._--(Experiments + which have been already described.) + + FOURTH CLASS: _Movements of Heavy Substances when at a distance from + the Medium._--The instances in which heavy bodies, such as tables, + chairs, sofas, etc., have been moved, when the medium has not been + touching them, are very numerous. I will briefly mention a few of the + most striking. My own chair has been twisted partly round, whilst my + feet were off the floor. A chair was seen by all present to move + slowly up to the table from a far corner, when all were watching it. + On another occasion an arm-chair moved to where we were sitting, and + then moved slowly back again (a distance of about three feet) at my + request. On three successive evenings a small table moved slowly + across the room, under conditions which I had specially pre-arranged, + so as to answer any objection which might be raised to the evidence. I + have had several repetitions of the experiment considered by the + Committee of the Dialectical Society to be conclusive, viz., the + movement of a heavy table, in full light, the chairs turned with their + backs to the table, about a foot off, and each person kneeling on his + chair, with hands resting over the back of the chair, but not touching + the table. On one occasion this took place when I was moving about so + as to see how everyone was placed. + + FIFTH CLASS: _The Rising of Tables and Chairs off the Ground, without + Contact with any Person._ + + (We need not recur to these matters.) + + SIXTH CLASS: _The Levitation of Human Beings._--The most striking + cases of levitation which I have witnessed have been with Mr. Home. On + three separate occasions have I seen him raised completely from the + floor of the room. Once sitting in an easy-chair, once kneeling on his + chair, and once standing up. On each occasion I had full opportunity + of watching the occurrence as it was taking place. + + There are at least a hundred recorded instances of Mr. Home's rising + from the ground, in the presence of as many separate persons, and I + have heard from the lips of the three witnesses to the most striking + occurrence of this kind--the Earl of Dunraven, Lord Lindsay, and + Captain C. Wynne--their own most minute accounts of what took place. + To reject the recorded evidence on this subject is to reject all human + testimony whatever; for no fact in sacred or profane history is + supported by a stronger array of proofs. + + SEVENTH CLASS: _Movement of Various Small Articles without Contact + with any Person._--(As in the case of the sixth class, this is well + known to my readers.) + + EIGHTH CLASS: _Luminous Appearances._--These, being rather faint, + generally require the room to be darkened. I need scarcely remind my + readers again that, under these circumstances, I have taken proper + precautions to avoid being imposed upon by phosphorized oil or other + means. Moreover, many of these lights are such as I have tried to + imitate artificially, but cannot. + + Under the strictest test conditions, I have seen a solid self-luminous + body, the size and nearly the shape of a turkey's egg, float + noiselessly about the room, at one time higher than any one present + could reach standing on tiptoe, and then gently descend to the floor. + It was visible for more than ten minutes, and before it faded away it + struck the table three times with a sound like that of a hard solid + body. + + During this time the medium was lying back, apparently insensible, in + an easy-chair. + + I have seen luminous points of light darting about and settling on the + heads of different persons; I have had questions answered by the + flashing of a bright light a desired number of times in front of my + face. I have seen sparks of light rising from the table to the + ceiling, and again falling upon the table, striking it with an audible + sound. I have had an alphabetic communication given by luminous + flashes occurring before me in the air, whilst my hand was moving + about amongst them. I have seen a luminous cloud floating upwards to a + picture. Under the strictest test conditions, I have more than once + had a solid, self-luminous, crystalline body placed in my hand by a + hand which did not belong to any person in the room. _In the light_, I + have seen a luminous cloud hover over a heliotrope on a side table, + break a sprig off, and carry it to a lady; and on some occasions I + have seen a similar luminous cloud visibly condense to the form of a + hand and carry small objects about. + + NINTH CLASS: _The Appearance of Hands, either Self-Luminous or Visible + by Ordinary Light._--During a séance in full light a + beautifully-formed small hand rose up from an opening in a + dining-table and gave me a flower; it appeared and then disappeared + three times at intervals, affording me ample opportunity of satisfying + myself that it was as real in appearance as my own. This occurred in + the light in my own room, whilst I was holding the medium's hands and + feet. + + On another occasion, a small hand and arm, like a baby's, appeared + playing about a lady who was sitting next to me. It then patted my arm + and pulled my coat several times. + + At another time, a finger and thumb were seen to pick the petals from + a flower in Mr. Home's button-hole, and lay them in front of several + persons who were sitting near him. + + A hand has been repeatedly seen by myself and others playing the keys + of an accordion, both of the medium's hands being visible at the same + time, and sometimes being held by those near him. + + The hands and fingers do not always appear to me to be solid and + life-like. Sometimes, indeed, they present more the appearance of a + nebulous cloud partly condensed into the form of a hand. This is not + equally visible to all present. For instance, a flower or other small + object is seen to move; one person present will see a luminous cloud + hovering over it, another will detect a nebulous-looking hand, whilst + others will see nothing at all but the moving flower. I have more than + once seen, first an object move, then a luminous cloud appear to form + about it, and, lastly, the cloud condense into shape and become a + perfectly-formed hand. At this stage the hand is visible to all + present. It is not always a mere form, but sometimes appears perfectly + life-like and graceful, the fingers moving, and the flesh apparently + as human as that of any in the room. At the wrist, or arm, it becomes + hazy, and fades off into a luminous cloud. + + To the touch, the hand sometimes appears icy-cold and dead, at other + times, warm and life-like, grasping my own with the firm pressure of + an old friend. + + I have retained one of these hands in my own, firmly resolved not to + let it escape. There was no struggle or effort made to get loose, but + it gradually seemed to resolve itself into vapor, and faded in that + manner from my grasp. + + TENTH CLASS: _Direct Writing._--(The learned chemist cites some + remarkable examples obtained by him. We need not speak of them in this + book.) + + ELEVENTH CLASS: _Phantom Forms and Faces._--These are the rarest of + the phenomena I have witnessed. The conditions requisite for their + appearance appear to be so delicate, and such trifles interfere with + their production, that only on very few occasions have I witnessed + them under satisfactory test conditions. I will mention two of these + cases. + + In the dusk of the evening, during a _séance_ with Mr. Home at my + house, the curtains of a window about eight feet from Mr. Home were + seen to move. A dark, shadowy, semi-transparent form, like that of a + man, was then seen by all present standing near the window, waving the + curtain with his hand. As we looked, the form faded away, and the + curtains ceased to move. + + The following is a still more striking instance. As in the former + case, Mr. Home was the medium. A phantom form came from a corner of + the room, took an accordion in its hand, and then glided about the + room playing the instrument. The form was visible to all present for + many minutes, Mr. Home also being seen at the same time. Coming rather + close to a lady who was sitting apart from the rest of the company, + she gave a slight cry, upon which it vanished. + + TWELFTH CLASS: _Special Instances which seem to point to the Agency of + an Exterior Intelligence._--It has already been shown that the + phenomena are governed by an intelligence. It becomes a question of + importance as to the source of that intelligence. Is it the + intelligence of the medium, of any of the other persons in the room, + or is it an exterior intelligence? Without wishing at present to speak + positively on this point, I may say that whilst I have observed many + circumstances which appear to show that the will and intelligence of + the medium have much to do with the phenomena, I have observed some + circumstances which seem conclusively to point to the agency of an + outside intelligence, not belonging to any human being in the room. + Space does not allow me to give here all the arguments which can be + adduced to prove these points, but I will briefly mention one or two + circumstances out of many. + + I have been present when several phenomena were going on at the same + time, some being unknown to the medium. I have been with Miss Fox when + she has been writing a message automatically to one person present, + whilst a message to another person on another subject was being given + alphabetically by means of "raps," and the whole time she was + conversing freely with a third person on a subject totally different + from either. + + Perhaps a more striking instance is the following: + + During a _séance_ with Mr. Home, a small lath, which I have before + mentioned, moved across the table to me, in the light, and delivered a + message to me by tapping my hand, I repeating the alphabet, and the + lath tapping me at the right letters. The other end of the lath was + resting on the table, some distance from Mr. Home's hands. + + The taps were so sharp and clear, and the lath was evidently so well + under control of the invisible power which was governing its + movements, that I said, "Can the intelligence governing the motion of + this lath change the character of the movements, and give me a + telegraphic message through the Morse alphabet by taps on my hand?" (I + have every reason to believe that the Morse code was quite unknown to + any other person present, and it was only imperfectly known to me.) + Immediately I said this, the character of the taps changed, and the + message was continued in the way I had requested. The letters were + given too rapidly for me to do more than catch a word here and there, + and consequently I lost the message; but I heard sufficient to + convince me that there was a good Morse operator at the other end of + the line, wherever that might be. + + Another instance. A lady was writing automatically by means of the + planchette. I was trying to devise a means of proving that what she + wrote was not due to "unconscious cerebration." The planchette, as it + always does, insisted that, although it was moved by the hand and the + arm of the lady, the _intelligence_ was that of an invisible being who + was playing on her brain as on a musical instrument, and thus moving + her muscles. I therefore said to this intelligence, "Can you see the + contents of this room?" "Yes," wrote the planchette. "Can you see to + read this newspaper?" said I, putting my finger on a copy of the + _Times_, which was on a table behind me, but without looking at it. + "Yes," was the reply of the planchette. "Well," I said, "if you can + see that, write the word which is now covered by my finger, and I + will believe you." The planchette commenced to move. Slowly and with + great difficulty the word "however" was written. I turned round and + saw that the word "however" was covered by the tip of my finger. + + I had purposely avoided looking at the newspaper when I tried this + experiment, and it was impossible for the lady, had she tried, to have + seen any of the printed words, for she was sitting at one table, and + the paper was on another table behind, my body intervening. + + THIRTEENTH CLASS: _Miscellaneous Occurrences of a Complex Character._ + + (Professor Crookes here cites two examples of the _transference of + matter through matter_,--a bell passing from neighboring room into + that in which the séance was being held, and a flower separating from + a bouquet and _passing through the table_.) + +The spare at my disposal will not permit me to give more details here; but +all my readers must appreciate, as I do, the importance of these +experiments of the eminent chemist. I will especially call attention to +the proofs they afford of the presence of a mind or intelligence, other +than that of the experimenters; to the formation of hands and +spirit-forms; and to the passage of matter through matter. + +These experiments date from the years 1871 to 1873. During the last +mentioned year, a new medium, endowed with particularly remarkable powers, +appeared in London, namely, Miss Florence Cook, who was born in 1856, and +was, therefore, seventeen in 1873. Since the preceding year (1872), she +had often seen the apparition by her side of a young girl. This spectral +form had taken a liking to her, and told her she was called _Katie King_ +in the other world, and had been a lady called Annie Morgan during one of +her lives on earth. Some observers told marvellous stories of these +apparitions, which they also saw,--among them being William Harrison, +Benjamin Coleman, Mr. Luxmore, Dr. Sexton, Dr. Gully, the Prince of Sayn +Wittgenstein, who have all published accounts of them which breathe an +air of sincere belief. Professor Crookes got in touch with this new medium +in December, 1873. In _The Spiritualist_--a journal edited by Mr. +Harrison, at whose home several sittings had taken place--there appeared +in the numbers for February and March, 1874, two letters from Professor +Crookes. A few extracts from these letters here follow: + + I have reason to know that the power at work in these phenomena, like + Love, "laughs at locksmiths." + + The séance of which you speak and at which I was present, was held at + the house of Mr. Luxmore, and the "cabinet" was a back drawing-room + separated from the front room in which the company sat by a curtain. + + The usual formality of searching the room and examining the fastenings + having been gone through, Miss Cook entered the cabinet. + + After a little time the form of Katie appeared at the side of the + curtain, but soon retreated, saying her medium was not well, and could + not be put into a sufficiently deep sleep to make it safe for her to + be left. + + I was sitting within a few feet of the curtain close behind which Miss + Cook was sitting, and I could frequently hear her moan and sob, as if + in pain. This uneasiness continued at intervals nearly the whole + duration of the _séance_, _and once, when the form of Katie was + standing before me in the room, I distinctly heard a sobbing, moaning + sound, identical with that which Miss Cook had been making at + intervals the whole time of the séance, come from behind the curtain + where the young lady was supposed to be sitting_. + + I admit that the figure was startlingly life-like and real, and, as + far as I could see in the somewhat dim light, the features resembled + those of Miss Cook; but still the positive evidence of one of my own + senses that the moan came from Miss Cook in the cabinet, whilst the + figure was outside, is too strong to be upset by a mere inference to + the contrary, however well supported. + + Your readers, sir, know me, and will, I hope, believe that I will not + come hastily to an opinion, or ask them to agree with me on + insufficient evidence. It is perhaps expecting too much to think that + the little incident I have mentioned will have the same weight with + them that it had with me. But this I do beg of them--Let those who are + inclined to judge Miss Cook harshly suspend their judgment until I + bring forward positive evidence which I think will be sufficient to + settle the question. + + Miss Cook is now devoting herself exclusively to a series of private + séances with me and one or two friends. The séances will probably + extend over some months, and I am promised that every desirable test + shall be given to me. These séances have not been going on many weeks, + but enough has taken place to thoroughly convince me of the perfect + truth and honesty of Miss Cook, and to give me every reason to expect + that the promises so freely made to me by Katie will be kept. + + WILLIAM CROOKES. + +Here is the second letter from the cautious investigator: + + In a letter which I wrote to this journal early in February last, + speaking of the phenomena of spirit-forms which have appeared through + Miss Cook's mediumship, I said, "Let those who are inclined to judge + Miss Cook harshly suspend their judgment until I bring forward + positive evidence which I think will be sufficient to settle the + question." + + In that letter I described an incident which, to my mind, went very + far towards convincing me that Katie and Miss Cook were two separate + material beings. When Katie was outside the cabinet, standing before + me, I heard a moaning noise from Miss Cook in the cabinet. I am happy + to say that I have at last obtained the "absolute proof" to which I + referred in the above-quoted letter. + + On March 12th, during a séance here, after Katie had been walking + amongst us and talking for some time, she retreated behind the curtain + which separated my laboratory, where the company was sitting, from my + library which did temporary duty as a cabinet. In a minute she came to + the curtain and called me to her, saying, "Come into the room and lift + my medium's head up, she has slipped down." Katie was then standing + before me clothed in her usual white robes and turban head-dress. I + immediately walked into the library up to Miss Cook, Katie stepping + aside to allow me to pass. I found Miss Cook had slipped partially + off the sofa, and her head was hanging in a very awkward position. I + lifted her on to the sofa, and in so doing had satisfactory evidence, + in spite of the darkness, that Miss Cook was not attired in the + "Katie" costume, but had on her ordinary black velvet dress, and was + in a deep trance. Not more than three seconds elapsed between my + seeing the white-robed Katie standing before me and my raising Miss + Cook onto the sofa from the position into which she had fallen. + + On returning to my post of observation by the curtain, Katie again + appeared, and said she thought she would be able to show herself and + her medium to me at the same time. The gas was then turned out and she + asked for my phosphorus lamp. After exhibiting herself by it for some + seconds, she handed it back to me, saying, "Now come in and see my + medium." I closely followed her into the library, and by the light of + my lamp saw Miss Cook lying on the sofa just as I had left her. I + looked round for Katie, but she had disappeared. I called her, but + there was no answer. + + On resuming my place, Katie soon reappeared, and told me that she had + been standing close to Miss Cook all the time. She then asked if she + might try an experiment herself, and taking the phosphorus lamp from + me she passed behind the curtain, asking me not to look in for the + present. In a few minutes she handed the lamp back to me, saying she + could not succeed, as she had used up all the power, but would try + again another time. My eldest son, a lad of fourteen, who was sitting + opposite me, in such a position that he could see behind the curtain, + tells me he distinctly saw the phosphorus lamp apparently floating + about in space over Miss Cook, illuminating her as she lay motionless + on the sofa, but he could not see anyone holding the lamp. + + I pass on to a séance held last night at Hackney. Katie never appeared + to greater perfection, and for nearly two hours she walked about the + room, conversing familiarly with those present. On several occasions + she took my arm when walking, and the impression conveyed to my mind + that it was a living woman by my side, instead of a visitor from the + other world, was so strong that the temptation to repeat a recent + celebrated experiment became almost irresistible. + + Feeling, however, that if I had not a spirit, I had at all events a + _lady_ close to me, I asked her permission to clasp her in my arms, so + as to be able to verify the interesting observations which a bold + experimentalist has recently somewhat verbosely recorded. Permission + was graciously given, and I accordingly did--well, as any gentleman + would do under the circumstances. Mr. Volckman will be pleased to know + that I can corroborate his statement that the "ghost" (not + "struggling" however) was as material a being as Miss Cook herself. + + Katie now said she thought she would be able this time to show herself + and Miss Cook together. I was to turn the gas out, and then come with + my phosphorus lamp into the room now used as a cabinet. This I did, + having previously asked a friend who was skillful at shorthand to take + down any statement I might make when in the cabinet, knowing the + importance attaching to first impressions, and not wishing to leave + more to memory than necessary. His notes are now before me. + + I went cautiously into the room, it being dark, and felt about for + Miss Cook. I found her crouching on the floor. + + Kneeling down, I let air enter the lamp, and by its light I saw the + young lady dressed in black velvet, as she had been in the early part + of the evening, and to all appearance perfectly senseless; she did not + move when I took her hand and held the light quite close to her face, + but continued quietly breathing. + + Raising the lamp, I looked around and saw Katie standing close behind + Miss Cook. She was robed in flowing white drapery as we had seen her + previously during the séance. Holding one of Miss Cook's hands in + mine, and still kneeling, I passed the lamp up and down so as to + illuminate Katie's whole figure, and satisfy myself thoroughly that I + was really looking at the veritable Katie whom I had clasped in my + arms a few minutes before, and not at the phantasm of a disordered + brain. She did not speak, but moved her head and smiled in + recognition. Three separate times did I carefully examine Miss Cook + crouching before me, to be sure that the hand I held was that of a + living woman, and three separate times did I turn the lamp to Katie + and examine her with steadfast scrutiny, until I had no doubt whatever + of her objective reality. At last Miss Cook moved slightly, and Katie + instantly motioned me to go away. I went to another part of the + cabinet, and then ceased to see Katie, but did not leave the room till + Miss Cook woke up, and two of the visitors came in with a light. + + Before concluding this article I wish to give some of the points of + difference which I have observed between Miss Cook and Katie. Katie's + height varies; in my house I have seen her six inches taller than Miss + Cook. Last night, with bare feet, and not "tiptoeing," she was + four-and-a-half inches taller than Miss Cook. Katie's neck was bare + last night; the skin was perfectly smooth both to touch and sight, + whilst on Miss Cook's neck is a large blister, which under similar + circumstances is distinctly visible and rough to the touch. Katie's + ears are unpierced, whilst Miss Cook habitually wears earrings. + Katie's complexion is very fair, while that of Miss Cook is very dark. + Katie's fingers are much longer than Miss Cook's, and her face is also + larger. In manners and ways of expression there are also many decided + differences. + +After the observations summarized in these two letters Professor Crookes +continued his experiments at his own home, for a space of two months. The +result of all is embodied in the following statements made by Crookes +himself: + + During the week before Katie took her departure she gave séances at my + house almost nightly, to enable me to photograph her by artificial + light. Five complete sets of photographic apparatus were accordingly + fitted up for the purpose, consisting of five cameras, one of the + whole-plate size, one half-plate, one quarter-plate, and two binocular + stereoscopic cameras, which were all brought to bear upon Katie at the + same time on each occasion on which she stood for her portrait. Five + sensitizing and five fixing baths were used, and plenty of plates were + cleaned ready for use in advance, so that there might be no hitch or + delay during the photographic operations, which were performed by + myself, aided by one assistant. + + My library was used as a dark cabinet. It has folding doors opening + into the laboratory; one of these doors was taken off its hinges, and + a curtain suspended in its place to enable Katie to pass in and out + easily. Those of our friends who were present were seated in the + laboratory facing the curtain, and the cameras were placed a little + behind them, ready to photograph Katie when she came outside, and to + photograph anything also inside the cabinet, whenever the curtain was + withdrawn for the purpose. Each evening there were three or four + exposures of plates in the five cameras, giving at least fifteen + separate pictures at each séance; some of these were spoilt in the + developing, and some in regulating the amount of light. Altogether, I + have forty-four negatives, some inferior, some indifferent, and some + excellent. + + Katie instructed all the sitters but myself to keep their seats and to + keep conditions; but for some time past she has given me permission to + do what I liked--to touch her, and to enter and leave the cabinet + almost whenever I pleased. I have frequently followed her into the + cabinet, and have sometimes seen her and her medium together, but most + generally I have found nobody but the entranced medium lying on the + floor, Katie and her white robes having instantaneously disappeared. + + During the last six months Miss Cook has been a frequent visitor at my + house, remaining sometimes a week at a time. She brings nothing with + her but a little hand-bag, not locked. During the day she is + constantly in the presence of Mrs. Crookes, myself, or some other + member of my family, and, not sleeping by herself, there is absolutely + no opportunity for any preparation even of a less elaborate character + than would be required for enacting Katie King. I prepare and arrange + my library myself as the dark cabinet, and usually, after Miss Cook + has been dining and conversing with us, and scarcely out of our sight + for a minute, she walks directly into the cabinet, and I, at her + request, lock its second door, and keep possession of the key all + through the séance. The gas is then turned out, and Miss Cook is left + in darkness. + + On entering the cabinet, Miss Cook lies down upon the floor, with her + head on a pillow, and is soon entranced. During the photographic + séance, Katie muffled her medium's head up in a shawl to prevent the + light falling upon her face. I frequently drew the curtain on one side + when Katie was standing near, and it was a common thing for the seven + or eight of us in the laboratory to see Miss Cook and Katie at the + same time, under the full blaze of the electric light. We did not on + these occasions actually see the face of the medium because of the + shawl, but we saw her hands and feet; we saw her move uneasily under + the influence of the intense light, and we heard her moan + occasionally. I have one photograph of the two together, but Katie is + seated in front of Miss Cook's head. + + During the time I took an active part in these séances Katie's + confidence in me gradually grew, until she refused to give a séance + unless I took charge of the arrangements. She said she always wanted + me to keep close to her, and near the cabinet, and I found that after + this confidence was established, and she was satisfied I would not + break any promise I might make to her, the phenomena increased greatly + in power, and tests were freely given that would have been + unobtainable had I approached the subject in another manner. She often + consulted me about persons present at the séances, and where they + should be placed, for of late she had become very nervous, in + consequence of certain ill-advised suggestions that force should be + employed as an adjunct to more scientific modes of research. + + One of the most interesting of the pictures is one in which I am + standing by the side of Katie; she has her bare foot upon a particular + part of the floor. Afterwards I dressed Miss Cook like Katie, placed + her and myself in exactly the same position, and we were photographed + by the same cameras, placed exactly as in the other experiment, and + illuminated by the same light. When these two pictures are placed over + each other, the two photographs of myself coincide exactly as regards + stature, etc., but Katie is half a head taller than Miss Cook, and + looks a big woman in comparison with her. In the breadth of her face, + in many of the pictures, she differs essentially in size from her + medium, and the photographs show several other points of difference. + + But photography is as inadequate to depict the perfect beauty of + Katie's face as words are powerless to describe her charms of manner. + Photography may, indeed, give a map of her countenance; but how can it + reproduce the brilliant purity of her complexion, or the ever-varying + expression of her most mobile features, now overshadowed with sadness + when relating some of the bitter experiences of her past life, now + smiling with all the innocence of happy girlhood when she had + collected my children round her and was amusing them by recounting + anecdotes of her adventures in India? + + "Round her she made an atmosphere of life; + The very air seemed lighter from her eyes, + They were so soft and beautiful, and rife + With all we can imagine of the skies; + Her overpowering presence made you feel + It would not be idolatry to kneel." + + Having seen so much of Katie lately, when she has been illuminated by + the electric light, I am enabled to add to the points of difference + between her and her medium which I mentioned in a former article. I + have the most absolute certainty that Miss Cook and Katie are two + separate individuals so far as their bodies are concerned. Several + little marks on Miss Cook's face are absent on Katie's. Miss Cook's + hair is so dark a brown as almost to appear black; a lock of Katie's, + which is now before me, and which she allowed me to cut from her + luxuriant tresses, having first traced it up to the scalp and + satisfied myself that it actually grew there, is a rich golden auburn. + + One evening I timed Katie's pulse. It beat steadily at 75, whilst Miss + Cook's pulse a little time after was going at its usual rate of 90. On + applying my ear to Katie's chest I could hear a heart beating + rhythmically inside, and pulsating even more steadily than did Miss + Cook's heart when she allowed me to try a similar experiment after the + séance. Tested in the same way, Katie's lungs were found to be sounder + than her medium's, for at the time I tried my experiment Miss Cook was + under medical treatment for a severe cough. + +This mysterious being, this strange Katie King, had announced, from the +time of her first appearances, that she would be able to show herself in +this way for only three years. The end of this period was now approaching. + + When the time came for Katie to take her farewell I asked that she + would let me see the last of her. Accordingly when she had called each + of the company up to her and had spoken to them a few words in + private, she gave some general directions for the future guidance and + protection of Miss Cook. From these, which were taken down in + shorthand, I quote the following: "Mr. Crookes has done very well + throughout, and I leave Florrie with the greatest confidence in his + hands, feeling perfectly sure he will not abuse the trust I place in + him. He can act in any emergency better than I can myself, for he has + more strength." Having concluded her directions Katie invited me into + the cabinet with her, and allowed me to remain there to the end. + + After closing the curtain she conversed with me for some time, and + then walked across the room to where Miss Cook was lying senseless on + the floor. Stooping over her, Katie touched her, and said: "Wake up, + Florrie, wake up! I must leave you now." + + Miss Cook then woke and tearfully entreated Katie to stay a little + time longer. "My dear, I can't; my work is done. God bless you," Katie + replied, and then continued speaking to Miss Cook. For several minutes + the two were conversing with each other, till at last Miss Cook's + tears prevented her speaking. Following Katie's instructions I then + came forward to support Miss Cook, who was falling onto the floor, + sobbing hysterically. I looked round, but the white-robed Katie had + gone. As soon as Miss Cook was sufficiently calmed, a light was + procured and I led her out of the cabinet. + +One word more about this astonishing phenomenon. The medium Home, +employed, as we have seen, in the first experiments of Professor Crookes, +gave it to me as his personal opinion that Miss Cook was only a skilful +trickster, and had shamefully deceived the eminent scientist, and as for +mediums, why _there was only one absolutely trustworthy and that was +himself, Daniel Dunglas Home_! He even added that the fiancé of Miss Cook +had given striking proofs of her extreme cantankerousness! + +He who has observed at close hand the rivalries of mediums--which are as +strongly marked as those of doctors, actors, musicians and women--will +not, it seems to me, find in this talk of Home any intrinsic value +whatever. But I must confess that this matter of Katie King is really so +extraordinary that I am forced to try every possible explanation before +admitting its truth. This is also the opinion of Mr. Crookes himself. + + In order to convince myself (says he) I was constantly on my guard, + and Miss Cook readily assisted me in all my investigations. Every test + that I have proposed she has at once agreed to submit to with the + utmost willingness; she is open and straightforward in speech, and I + have never seen anything approaching the slightest symptom of a wish + to deceive. Indeed, I do not believe she could carry on a deception if + she were to try, and if she did she would certainly be found out very + quickly, for such a line of action is altogether foreign to her + nature. And to imagine that an innocent school-girl of fifteen would + be able to conceive and then successfully carry out for three years so + gigantic an imposture as this, and in that time would submit to any + test which might be imposed upon her, would bear the strictest + scrutiny, would be willing to be searched at any time, either before + or after a séance, and would meet with even better success in my own + house than at that of her parents, knowing that she visited me with + the express object of submitting to strict scientific tests--to + imagine, I say, the Katie King of the last three years to be the + result of imposture does more violence to one's reason and common + sense than to believe her to be what she herself affirms. + +It will perhaps not be superfluous to round out these accounts of William +Crookes by giving an extract from the journal _The Spiritualist_ of the +29th of May, 1874. + + From the beginning of the mediumship of Miss Cook, the spirit Katie + King or Annie Morgan, who had produced the greater portion of the + physical part of the manifestations, had announced that she would not + be able to be with her medium longer than three years, and that after + that time she would say good-bye to her forever. + + The end of that period came last Thursday; but before leaving her + medium, she gave her friends three more séances. + + The last took place on Thursday, the 21st of May, 1874. Among the + spectators was Prof. William Crookes. + + At 7.23 in the evening Professor Crookes led Miss Cook into the dark + cabinet, where she lay down upon the floor, her head resting on a + cushion. At 7.28 Katie spoke for the first time, and at 7.30 she + showed herself outside of the curtain in her full form. She was + dressed in white, short sleeves and bare neck. She had long light + auburn hair of a rich tint, falling in curls on each side of her head + and down her back to her waist. She wore a long white veil which was + not drawn down over her face more than once or twice during the + sitting. + + The medium wore a light blue merino robe. During almost the whole of + the séance, Katie remained standing before us. The curtain of the + cabinet was drawn aside and all could distinctly see the medium lying + asleep, having her face covered with a red shawl, in order to shield + it from the light. Katie spoke of her approaching departure and + accepted a bouquet which Mr. Tapp had brought her, as well as a bunch + of lilies offered by Mr. Crookes. She asked Mr. Tapp to untie the + bouquet and to put the flowers before her on the floor. She then sat + down in the Turkish style and asked all to sit around her in the same + way. Then she divided the flowers and gave to each a little bouquet + tied up with a blue ribbon. + + She then wrote letters to some of her friends, signing them "Annie + Owen Morgan," saying that was her true name during her life on earth. + She also wrote a letter to her medium, and chose for her a rosebud as + a good-bye gift. Katie then took the scissors, cut off a lock of her + hair and gave some of it to all of us. She then took Mr. Crookes' hand + and made the tour of the room, pressing the hand of each of us in + turn. She then sat down again and cut off several pieces of her robe + and of her veil for remembrances. Seeing such holes in her robe (she + being seated all this while between Mr. Crookes and Mr. Tapp), some + one asked her if she could repair the damage, as she had done on + previous occasions. She then held the cut part of the robe in the + light, gave one rap upon it, and instantly that part was whole and + unblemished as before. Those near her touched and examined the stuff, + with her permission. They affirmed that there was neither hole nor + scam, nor anything added at the very place where an instant before + they had seen holes several inches in diameter. + + She next gave her last instructions to Mr. Crookes. Then, seeming + fatigued, she added that her force was disappearing, and repeated her + good-bye to everyone in the most affectionate manner. All present + thanked her for the wonderful manifestations which she had given them. + + While she was directing toward her friends a last grave and pensive + look, she let fall the curtain, and it hid her from our view. We heard + her waking up the medium, who begged her with tears to remain a little + longer. But Katie said, "It is impossible, my dear; my mission is + accomplished; God bless you!" And we heard the sound of a kiss. The + medium then came out among us wholly exhausted and in a state of deep + dismay. + +Such are the experiments of Sir William Crookes. I have restricted myself +to relating his own personal observations, as set forth by himself. The +story of Katie King is truly one of the most mysterious, the most +incredible, to be found in the whole history of Spiritualistic research, +and is at the same time, one of the cases that have been most scrupulously +studied by the experimental method, including photography. + +The medium, Miss Florence Cook, married in 1874 Mr. Elgie Corner, and, +from that time on, her contributions to psychical research almost ceased. +I have several times been assured that she also had been caught in the +very act of cheating. (Always that feminine hysteria!) But the +investigations of Crookes were conducted with such care and competence, +that it is very difficult to refuse our credence. Besides, this scientist +was not the only one to study the mediumship of Florence Cook. Among other +works that may be consulted on this subject is one containing a large +number of proofs and testimonies, as well as several photographs (alluded +to above).[68] + +These recorded cases, or testimonies, form a collection of records, the +study of which is most instructive. The study of the great chemist surpass +the rest, to be sure, but it does not diminish the intrinsic value of the +others. All the observations agree and mutually confirm each other. + +As to the explanation of the phenomena, Crookes thinks that we cannot +discover it. Was this apparition what it claimed to be? There is nothing +to prove it. + +Might it not be a _double_ of the medium, a product of her psychic force? + +The learned chemist did not change his opinion (as has been claimed) about +the authenticity of the phenomena studied by him. In an address delivered +at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, +held at Bristol in 1898, and of which he was President, he expressed +himself as follows: + + No incident in my scientific career is more widely known than the part + I took many years ago in certain psychic researches. Thirty years have + passed since I published an account of experiments tending to show + that outside our scientific knowledge there exists a Force exercised + by intelligence differing from the ordinary intelligence common to + mortals. This fact in my life is, of course, well understood by those + who honored me with the invitation to become your President. Perhaps + among my audience some may feel curious as to whether I shall speak + out or be silent. I elect to speak, although briefly. + + To enter at length on a still debatable subject would be to insist on + a topic which,--as Wallace, Lodge and Barrett have already + shown,--though not unfitted for discussion at these meetings, does not + yet enlist the interest of the majority of my scientific brethren. To + ignore the subject would be an act of cowardice, an act of cowardice I + feel no temptation to commit. + + To stop short in any research that bids fair to widen the gates of + knowledge, to recoil from fear of difficulty or adverse criticism, is + to bring reproach on science. There is nothing for the investigator to + do but to go straight on, "to explore up and down, inch by inch, with + the taper, his reason;" to follow the light wherever it may lead, even + should it at times resemble a will-o'-the wisp. + + I have nothing to retract. I adhere to my already published + statements. Indeed, I might add much thereto. I regret only a certain + crudity in those early expositions, which, no doubt justly, militated + against their acceptance by the scientific world. My own knowledge at + that time scarcely extended beyond the fact that certain phenomena new + to science had assuredly occurred, and were attested by my own sober + senses, and, better still, by automatic record. + + I was like some two-dimensional being who might stand at the singular + point of a Riemann's surface, and thus find himself in infinitesimal + and inexplicable contact with a plane of existence not his own. + + I think I see a little farther now. I have glimpses of something like + coherence among the strange elusive phenomena; of something like + continuity between those unexplained forces and laws already known. + This advance is largely due to the labors of another Association of + which I have also this year the honor to be President--the Society for + Psychical Research. And were I now introducing for the first time + these inquiries to the world of science I should choose a starting + point different from that of old. It would be well to begin with + _telepathy_; with the fundamental law, as I believe it to be, that + thoughts and images may be transferred from one mind to another + without the agency of the recognized organs of sense, that knowledge + may enter the human mind without being communicated in any hitherto + known or recognized ways. + + Although the inquiry has elicited important facts with reference to + the mind, it has not yet reached the scientific stage of certainty + which would entitle it to be usefully brought before one of our + sections. I will therefore confine myself to pointing out the + direction in which scientific investigation can legitimately advance. + + If telepathy take place we have two physical facts--the physical + change in the brain of A, the suggester, and the analogous physical + change in the brain of B, the recipient of the suggestion. Between + these two physical events there must exist a train of physical causes. + Whenever the connecting sequence of intermediate causes begins to be + revealed the inquiry will then come within the range of one of the + sections of the British Association. Such a sequence can only occur + through an intervening medium. All the phenomena of the universe are + presumably in some way continous, and it is unscientific to call in + the aid of mysterious agencies when with every fresh advance in + knowledge it is shown that ether vibrations have powers and attributes + abundantly equal to any demand--even to the transmission of thought. + It is supposed by some physiologists that the essential cells of + nerves do not actually touch, but are separated by a narrow gap which + widens in sleep while it narrows almost to extinction during mental + activity. This condition is so singuarly like that of a Branly or + Lodge coherer as to suggest a further analogy. + + The structure of brain and nerve being similar, it is conceivable + there may be present masses of such nerve coherers in the brain whose + special function it may be to receive impulses brought from without + through the connecting sequence of ether waves of appropriate order of + magnitude. Röntgen has familiarized us with an order of vibrations of + extreme minuteness compared with the smallest waves with which we + have hitherto been acquainted, and of dimensions comparable with the + distances between centers of the atoms of which the material universe + is built up; and there is no reason to suppose that we have here + reached the limit of frequency. It is known that the action of thought + is accompanied by certain molecular movements in the brain, and here + we have physical vibrations capable from their extreme minuteness of + acting directly on individual molecules, while their rapidity + approaches that of the internal and external movements of the atoms + themselves. + + Confirmation of telepathic phenomena is afforded by many converging + experiments, and by many spontaneous occurrences only thus + intelligible. The most varied proof, perhaps, is drawn from analysis + of the sub-conscious workings of the mind, when these, whether by + accident or design, are brought into conscious survey. Evidence of a + region below the threshold of consciousness has been presented, since + its first inception, in the "Proceedings of the Society for Psychical + Research;" and its various aspects are being interpreted and welded + into a comprehensive whole by the pertinacious genius of F. W. H. + Myers. + + A formidable range of phenomena must be scientifically sifted before + we effectually grasp a faculty so strange, so bewildering, and for + ages so inscrutable, as the direct action of mind on mind. + + An eminent predecessor in this chair declared that "by an intellectual + necessity be crossed the boundary of experimental evidence, and + discerned in that matter, which we, in our ignorance of its latent + powers, and notwithstanding our professed reverence for its Creator, + have hitherto covered with opprobrium, the potency and promise of all + terrestrial life." I should prefer to reverse the apophthegm, and to + say that in life I see the promise and potency of all forms of matter. + + In old Egyptian days a well-known inscription was carved over the + portal of the temple of Isis: "I am whatever hath been, is, or ever + will be; and my veil no man hath yet lifted." Not thus do modern + seekers after truth confront Nature,--the word that stands for the + baffling mysteries of the Universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we + strive to pierce the inmost heart of Nature, from what she is to + re-construct what she has been, and to prophesy what she yet shall be. + Veil after veil we have lifted, and her face grows more beautiful, + august, and wonderful, with every barrier that is withdrawn. + +It would be difficult to find truer thought better expressed. It is the +language of true science, and is also the expression of the highest +philosophy. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +SUNDRY EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS + + +Abundant testimony as to the existence of a hitherto little explored +psychic realm has doubtless been given in the preceding pages. Mediumistic +phenomena proclaim the existence of unknown forces. It is almost +superfluous to heap up in this place a still greater number of recorded +instances. + +However, these facts are so extraordinary, so incomprehensible, so hard to +believe, that a mere increase in the number of cases is not without value, +especially when they are furnished by men of incontestable skill and +learning. The old law proverb _Testis unus, testis nullus_ ("One witness +is no witness") is applicable here. We must not verify once, we must +verify a hundred times, such apparently scientific extravagances, in order +to make sure they are not delusions, but sober facts. + +In short, the whole subject is so curious, so strange that the +investigator of these mysteries is never surfeited. + +Hence, in addition to what has already been given, I shall select and +present in this place, out of the immense collection of observations which +I have for a long time been making, those which most strike the attention +and give added confirmation to what has preceded. + +In addition to the experiments of Crookes, it is fitting to add in this +place those of the great English naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, also a +member of the Royal Society of London, President of the English +Anthropological Society, and well known as the scientist, who at the same +time with Darwin (June, 1858), gave to the world the theory of the +variation of species by natural selection. + +He himself gives the following account[69] of his studies in this matter +of the mysterious psychic force: + + It was in the summer of 1865 that I first witnessed any of the + phenomena of what is called Spiritualism, in the house of a friend,--a + sceptic, a man of science, and a lawyer, with none but members of his + own family present. Sitting at a good-sized round table, with our + hands placed upon it, after a short time slight movements would + commence--not often "turnings" or "tiltings" but a gentle intermittent + movement, like steps, which after a time would bring the table quite + across the room. Slight but distinct tapping sounds were also heard. + The following notes made at the time were intended to describe exactly + what took place:-- + + "July 22nd, 1865.--Sat with my friend, his wife, and two daughters at + a large loo table, by daylight. In about half an hour some faint + motions were perceived, and some faint taps heard. They gradually + increased; the taps became very distinct, and the table moved + considerably, obliging us all to shift our chairs. Then a curious + vibratory motion of the table commenced, almost like the shivering of + a living animal. I could feel it up to my elbows. These phenomena were + variously repeated for two hours. On trying afterwards, we found the + table could not be voluntarily moved in the same manner without a + great exertion of force, and we could discover no possible way of + producing the taps while our hands were upon the table." + + On other occasions we tried the experiment of each person in + succession leaving the table, and found that the phenomena continued + the same as before, both taps and the table movement. Once I requested + one after another to leave the table. The phenomena continued, but, as + the number of sitters diminished, with decreasing vigor, and, just + after the last person had drawn back, leaving me alone at the table, + there were two dull taps or blows, as with a fist on the pillar or + foot of the table, the vibration of which I could feel as well as + hear. + + Some time before these observations I had met a gentleman who had told + me of most wonderful phenomena occurring in his own family,--among + them the palpable motion of solid bodies when no person was touching + them or near them; and he had recommended me to go to a public medium + in London (Mrs. Marshall), where I might see things equally wonderful. + Accordingly, in September, 1865, I began a series of visits to Mrs. + Marshall, generally accompanied by a friend,--a good chemist and + mechanic, and of a thoroughly sceptical mind. + + 1. A small table, on which the hands of four persons were placed + (including my own and Mrs. Marshall's), rose up vertically about a + foot from the floor, and remained suspended for about twenty seconds, + while my friend, who was sitting looking on, could see the lower part + of the table with the feet freely suspended above the floor. + + 2. While sitting at a large table, with Miss T. on my left and Mr. R. + on my right, a guitar which had been played in Miss T's hand slid down + onto the floor, passed over my feet, and came to Mr. R., against whose + legs it raised itself up till it appeared above the table. I and Mr. + R. were watching it carefully the whole time, and it behaved as if + alive itself, or rather as if a small invisible child were by great + exertions moving it and raising it up. These two phenomena were + witnessed in bright gaslight. + + 3. A chair, on which a relation of Mr. R's sat, was lifted up with her + on it. Afterwards, when she returned to the table from the piano, + where she had been playing, her chair moved away just as she was going + to sit down. On drawing it up, it moved away again. After this had + happened three times, it became apparently fixed to the floor, so that + she could not raise it. Mr. R. then took hold of it, and found that it + was only by a great exertion he could lift it off the floor. This + sitting took place in broad daylight, on a bright day, and in a room + on the first floor with two windows. + + However strange and unreal these few phenomena may seem to readers who + have seen nothing of the kind, I positively affirm that they are + facts which really happened just as I have narrated them, and that + there was no room for any possible trick or deception. In each case, + before we began, we turned up the tables and chairs, and saw that they + were ordinary pieces of furniture, and that there was no connection + between them and the floor, and we placed them where we pleased before + we sat down. Several of the phenomena occurred entirely under our own + hands, and quite disconnected from the "medium." They were as much + realities as the motion of nails towards a magnet, and, it may be + added, not in themselves more improbable or more incomprehensible. + + The mental phenomena which most frequently occur are the spelling out + of the names of relatives of persons present, their ages, or any other + particulars about them. They are especially uncertain in their + manifestation, though when they do succeed they are very conclusive to + the persons who witness them. The general opinion of sceptics as to + these phenomena is, that they depend simply on the acuteness and + talent of the medium in hitting on the letters which form the name, by + the manner in which persons dwell upon or hurry over them,--the + ordinary mode of receiving these communications being for the person + interested to go over a printed alphabet, letter by letter, loud taps + indicating the letters which form the required names. I am going to + choose some of our experiments which show how impossible it is to + accept this explanation. + + When I first received a communication myself I was particularly + careful to avoid giving any indication, by going with steady + regularity over the letters; yet there was spelt out correctly, first, + the place where my brother died, Para; then his Christian name, + Herbert; and lastly, at my request, the name of the mutual friend who + last saw him, Henry Walter Bates. On this occasion our party of six + visited Mrs. Marshall for the first time, and my name as well as those + of the rest of the party, except one, were unknown to her. That one + was my married sister, whose name was no clue to mine. + + On the same occasion a young lady, a connection of Mr. R.'s was told + that a communication was to be made to her. She took the alphabet, + and instead of pointing to the letters one by one, she moved the + pencil smoothly over the lines with the greatest steadiness. I watched + her, and wrote down the letters which the taps indicated. The name + produced was an extraordinary one, the letters being Thomas Doe + Thacker. I thought there must be an error in the latter part; but the + names were Thomas Doe Thacker, the lady's father, every letter being + correct. A number of other names, places, and dates were spelt out on + this occasion with equal accuracy; but I give only these two, because + in these I am _sure_ no clue was given by which the names could have + been guessed by the most preternaturally acute intellect. + + On another occasion, I accompanied my sister and a lady who had never + been there before to Mrs. Marshall's, and we had a very curious + illustration of the absurdity of imputing the spelling of names to the + receiver's hesitation and the medium's acuteness. She wished the name + of a particular deceased relative to be spelled out to her, and + pointed to the letters of the alphabet in the usual way, while I wrote + down those indicated. The first three letters were y r n. "Oh!" said + she, "that's nonsense; we had better begin again." Just then an e + came, and, thinking I saw what it was, I said, "Please go on, I + understand it." The whole was then spelt out thus: yrnehkcocffej. The + lady even then did not see it, till I separated it thus: yrneh + kcocffej, or Henry Jeffcock,--the name of the relative she had wanted, + accurately spelt backwards. + + Another phenomenon, necessitating the exertion both of force and + intellect, is the following: The table having been previously + examined, a sheet of note paper was marked privately by me, and placed + with a lead-pencil under the centre foot of the table, all present + having their hands upon the table. After a few minutes, taps are + heard, and, on taking up the paper, I find written on it, in a free + hand, "William." On another occasion, a friend from the country--a + total stranger to the medium, and whose name was never + mentioned--accompanied me; and, after receiving what purported to be a + communication from his son, a paper was put under the table, and in a + few minutes there was found written on it "Charley T. Dodd." the + correct name. In these cases it is certain there was no machinery + under the table; and it simply remains to ask if it were possible for + Mrs. Marshall to slip off her boots, seize the pencil and paper with + her toes, and write on it a name she had to guess at, and again put on + her boots without removing her hands from the table, or giving any + indication whatever of her exertions. + + It was in November, 1866, that my sister discovered that a lady living + with her had the power of inducing loud and distinct taps and other + curious phenomena; and I now began a series of observations in my own + house, the most important of which I shall briefly narrate. + + When we sat at a large loo table without a cloth, with all our hands + upon it, the taps would generally commence in a few minutes. They + sound as if made on the under side of the leaf of the table, in + various parts of it. They change in tone and loudness, from a sound + like that produced by tapping with a needle or a long finger-nail, to + others like blows with a fist or slaps with the fingers of a hand. + Sounds are produced also like scraping with a finger-nail, or like the + rubbing of a damp finger pressed very hard on the table. The rapidity + with which these sounds are produced and are changed is very + remarkable. They will imitate, more or less exactly, sounds which we + make with our fingers above the table; they will keep good time to a + tune whistled by one of the party; they will sometimes, at request, + play a very fair tune themselves, or will follow accurately a hand + tapping a tune upon the table. + + Of course, the first impression is that some one's foot is lifting up + the table. To answer this objection, I prepared the table before our + second trial without telling any one, by stretching some thin tissue + paper between the feet an inch or two from the bottom of the pillar, + in such a manner that any attempt to insert the foot must crush or + tear the paper. The table rose up as before, resisted pressure + downwards, as if it was resting on the back of some animal, sunk to + the floor, and in a short time rose again, and then dropped suddenly + down. I now with some anxiety turned up the table, and, to the + surprise of all present, showed them the delicate tissue stretched + across altogether uninjured! Finding that this test was troublesome, + as the paper or threads had to be renewed every time, and were liable + to be broken accidentally before the experiment began, I constructed a + cylinder of hoops and laths, covered with canvas. The table was placed + within this as in a well, and, as it was about eighteen inches high, + it kept the feet and dresses of the ladies away from the table. The + latter rose without the least difficulty, the hands of all the group + being held above it. + + A small centre-table suddenly moved up of its own accord to the table + by the side of the medium, as if it had gradually got within the + sphere of a strong attractive force. Afterwards, at our request, it + was thrown down on the floor without any person touching it, and it + then moved about in a strange life-like manner, as if seeking some + means of getting up again, turning its claws first on one side and + then on the other. On another occasion, a very large leather arm-chair + which stood at least four or five feet from the medium, suddenly + wheeled up to her, after a few slight preliminary movements. It is, of + course, easy to say that what I relate is impossible. I maintain that + it is accurately true; and that no man, whatever be his attainments, + has such an exhaustive knowledge of the powers of nature as to justify + him in using the word "impossible" with regard to facts which I and + many others have repeatedly witnessed. + +We evidently have here facts similar to those which I observed in my +experiments with Eusapia and with other mediums. + +Alfred Russel Wallace continues his account by the citation of cases +analogous to those which have been described in this work; then sums up +the experiments of Crookes, of Varley, Morgan, and other English +scientists; does me the honor of citing my letter to the Dialectical +Society which I have printed above; passes in review the history of +Spiritualism, and declares that (1) _the facts are incontestable_, and +that (2), in his opinion, the best explanatory hypothesis is that of +_spirits_, or _the souls of the disembodied_--the theory of "the +unconscious" being _evidently inadequate_. + +Such is also the opinion of the electrician Cromwell Varley. Neither he +nor Wallace believes that there is anything supernatural in the phenomena. +Discarnate spirits are in nature, as well as the incarnate. "The +triviality of the communications ought not to astonish us, if we consider +the myriads of trivial and fantastic human beings who every day become +ghosts and are the same beings the day after their death that they were +the day before." + +Professor Morgan, the brilliant author of the _Budget of Paradoxes_ (an +excellent piece of work, and highly complimented by the London _Athenæum_, +in 1865), expresses the same opinion in his work on _Mind_ (1863). Not +only does he think that the facts are incontestable, but he also believes +that the hypothesis that explains the facts by intelligences exterior to +ourselves is the only satisfying one. He relates, among other things, +that, in one of the séances attended by him, a friend of his (a very +sceptical person), was making a little fun of the spirits, whereupon, +while they were all standing (a dozen experimenters of them) around the +dining room table, and forming the chain above it, _without contact_, the +heavy table began to move of its own accord, and, dragging along the whole +group, made a rush at the sceptic, and pinned him against the back of the +sofa, until he cried "Hold! enough!" + +Still, does that constitute proof of an independent spirit? Was it not an +expression of the collective thought of the company? And, likewise, in the +experience which Wallace has just cited, were not the dictated names +latent in the brain of the questioner? And was not the little +centre-table, in its climbings acting under the physical and pyschical +influences of the medium? + +Whatever may be the explanatory hypothesis, the FACTS are undeniable. + +We have here, before all, a group of substantial English scientists of +the first rank, in whose opinion the denial of the phenomena is a sort of +madness. + +French scientists are a little more belated than their neighbors. +Nevertheless, I have already called attention to some of them during the +course of this work. I should have taken pleasure in adding the names of +the lamented Pierre Curie and of Professor d'Arsonval, if they had +published the experiments they made with Eusapia during July, 1905, and +March and April, 1906, at the General Institute of Psychology. + +Among the most judicious of experimenters in psychical phenomena I ought +also to mention M. J. Maxwell, a doctor of medicine and (a very different +function) advocate-general at the Court of Appeals in Bordeaux. + +The reader may have already noticed (p. 173) the part which this +investigator, at once a magistrate and a scientist, took in the +experiments made at l'Agnélas in 1895. Eusapia is not the only medium with +whom he studied, and his acquaintance with our subject is supported by the +best of documentary evidence. + +It is fitting that I present to the reader at this point the most +characteristic facts and the essential conclusions set forth in his +work.[70] + + The author has made a special examinations of _raps_. + + _Raps (coups frappés)._--The contact of hands is not necessary to + obtain raps. With certain mediums I have very readily obtained them + without contact. + + When one has succeeded in obtaining raps with contact, one of the + surest means of continuing to thus obtain them, is to keep the hands + resting on the table for a certain time, then to lift them _very + slowly_, keeping the palms turned downward toward the table, the + fingers loosely opened, but not held stiffly. It rarely happens under + such circumstances, that the raps do not continue to make themselves + heard, at least for some time. I need not add that the experimenters + should not only avoid touching the table with their hands, but even + with any other part of their bodies, or their clothes. The contact of + garments with the table may be sufficient to produce raps which have + in them nothing supernormal. It is necessary therefore to exercise + great care that the dresses of ladies do not come in contact with the + legs of the table. When the necessary precautions are used, the raps + sound in a very convincing way. + + In the case of certain mediums, the energy set free is powerful enough + to act at a distance. I once happened to hear raps upon a table which + was almost six feet from the medium. We had had a very short sitting + and had left the table. I was reclining in an easy-chair; the medium, + standing, was conversing with me, when a series of raps was made upon + the table which we had just left. It was broad daylight in midsummer, + about five o'clock in the evening. The raps were forcible and lasted + for several minutes. + + I have often observed facts of this kind. I happened once, while + travelling, to meet an interesting medium. He did not allow me to use + his name, but I may say that he is an honorable man, well informed, + occupying an official position. I obtained with him lively raps in + restaurants and in railway lunch counters. He did not suspect that he + possessed this latent faculty before he had experimented with me. To + have observed the raps produced under these conditions would have been + sufficient to convince anyone of their authenticity. The unusual noise + made by these raps attracted the attention of persons present and gave + us much annoyance. The result surpassed our expectations. It is to be + noted that the more we were confused with the noise made by our raps, + the more frequent they became. One would have said that some waggish + creature was producing them and amusing himself with our + embarrassment. + + I also obtained fine raps upon the floors of museums before the + pictures of the old masters. The most common are those made, with + contact, upon the table or upon the floor; next, those made at a + distance upon various articles of furniture. + + More rarely, I have heard them on the garments of the sitters or of + the medium, or upon the coverings of pieces of furniture. I have heard + them on sheets of paper laid on the experiment-table, in books, in + walls, in tambourines, in small wooden objects, especially in a + planchette used for automatic writing. I noticed very curious raps in + the case of a writing-medium. When she had automatic writing, the raps + were produced with extreme rapidity at the end of her pencil; but, the + pencil itself did not tap the table. Several times and very carefully + I put my hand on the end of the pencil opposite the point, without the + latter leaving for a single moment the paper on the table: the raps + sounded in the wood, not on the paper. In this case, of course, the + medium held the pencil. + + The raps occur even when I place my finger on the upper end of the + pencil and when I press its point against the paper. You feel the + pencil vibrating, but it is not displaced. Inasmuch as these raps are + very resonant, I calculated that it would be necessary to give a + pretty strong blow in order to produce them artificially. The + necessary movement requires a lifting of the point from two to five + millimeters, according to the intensity of the raps. Now the point + does not seem to be displaced. Furthermore, when the writing is going + on, these raps take place with great rapidity, and the examination of + the writing does not show any place where a stop occurred. The text is + continuous, no trace of tapping is perceptible in it, no thickening of + the strokes can be perceived. Observations made under such conditions + seem to me to exclude the possibility of fraud. + + I have observed that these raps occur, without apparent cause, as far + as nine feet from the medium. They manifest themselves as the + expression of an activity and of a will distinct from those of the + observers. Such is the _appearance_ of the phenomenon. A curious fact + results from all this, that not only do the raps occur as the product + of an intelligent action, but they also usually agree to perform as + often as asked, and to produce definite rhythms, for example, certain + airs. In like manner they imitate the raps made by the experimenters, + upon demand of the latter. + + The different raps frequently respond to each other, and it is one of + the prettiest experiments in which one can take part to hear these + blows, now slight and muffled, now sharp and abrupt, or again soft and + gentle, sounding simultaneously upon the table, the floor, and the + frame-work and coverings of the furniture. + + I had the good fortune to be able to study these curious rappings at + close range, and I believe I have reached certain conclusions. The + first, and the best attested, is that the raps are closely connected + with the muscular movements of the sitters. I will sum up my + observations on this point as follows: + + 1. Every muscular movement, even a feeble one, is generally followed + by a rap. + + 2. The intensity of the raps did not seem to me to be proportional to + the muscular movement made. + + 3. The intensity of the raps did not seem to me to vary in proportion + to their distance from the medium. + + The following are the facts upon which my conclusions rest: + + I frequently observed that when we had raps that were feeble and + occurred only at intervals, an excellent means of producing them was + to form the chain upon the table, the hands resting upon it, and the + observers putting their fingers in light contact. One of them, without + breaking the chain (a feat he accomplished by holding in the same hand + the right hand of his neighbor on the left and the left hand of his + neighbor on the right) moved his released hand in circular sweeps or + passes over the table, at the level of the circle formed by the opened + hands of the observers. After having made this movement four or five + times, always in the same direction,--that is to say, after having + thus traced four or five circles over the table, the experimenter + brought his hand over toward the centre at a variable height and moved + it down towards the table. Then he abruptly arrested this movement at + a distance of seven or eight inches from the top. The abrupt stoppage + of his hand was tallied by a rap in the wood. It is an exceptional + case when this process does not yield taps,--that is to say, when + there is a medium in the circle capable, even feebly, of producing + them. + + The same experiment can be made without touching the table, but + forming around it a kind of closed chain. One of the operators then + acts as in the preceding case. + + I have no need to recall to the minds of my readers that with certain + mediums, raps are produced without any movement being made. Almost all + mediums can obtain them in this way by keeping perfectly quiet and + having patience. But one would say that the execution of the movement + acts as a determining cause. It seems as if the accumulated energy + received a kind of stimulus. + + _Levitations._--One day we improvised an experiment in the afternoon, + and I remember that I observed a very interesting levitation made + under these circumstances. It was about five o'clock in the evening + (at any rate it was broad daylight), in the salon at l'Agnélas. We + took our places about the table, _standing_. Eusapia took the hand of + one of us and placed it on the corner of the table, at her right. The + table thereupon rose up to the height of our foreheads; that is to + say, the top of the table rose at least as high as five feet above the + floor. + + Such experiments were very convincing, for it was impossible for + Eusapia, the circumstances being such as they were, to lift the table + by a normal act. It is enough to suppose that she merely touched the + corner of the table, to find out how heavy a weight she would have had + to lift if she had made a muscular movement. Besides, she had not a + sufficient grip on the table to lift it. Evidently, the conditions of + the experiment being such, she could not make use of one of the + fraudulent processes mentioned by her critics, such as straps or hooks + of any kind. The phenomenon is undeniably authentic. + + The breathing seems to have a very great influence. In the way things + take place, it seems as if the sitters released, by breathing, an + amount of motor energy comparable to that which they release when + rapidly moving their limbs. There is something in this very curious + and difficult to explain. + + The more complete analysis of the facts allows us to think that the + liberation of the energy employed depends upon the contraction of the + muscles and not upon the movement made. The thing which reveals this + peculiarity is easy to observe. When we are forming the chain about + the table, we can set up a movement without contact by mutually + pressing our hands together with a certain force, or by pressing the + feet hard upon the floor. The first of these means is much the better + of the two. The arms have only made an insignificant movement, and one + can say that the muscular contraction is almost the only physiological + phenomenon observable. Yet it suffices. + + All these authenticated experiments tend to show that the agent which + determines movements without contact has some connection with our + organism, and probably with our nervous system. + + _Conditions of the Experiments._--We must never lose out of our sight + the relative importance of the moral and intellectual status of the + group of experimenters. That is one of the most difficult things to + seize and comprehend. But when the force is abundant, the simple + manifestation of the will is sometimes able to determine the movement. + For example, upon a desire to that affect being expressed by the + sitters, the table moves in the way it is requested to do. The + phenomena occur as if this force were guided by an Intelligence + distinct from that of the experimenters. I hasten to say that I regard + that only as a probability, and that I think I have observed a certain + resemblance between these personifications and the secondary + personalities of somnambulists. + + In this apparent bond between the _indirect_ will of the sitters and + the phenomena there is a problem the solution of which has so far + completely escaped me. I suspect that this bond has nothing + supernatural about it and I realize that the Spiritualistic hypothesis + is a poorer explanation and inadequate to meet the facts; but I cannot + formulate any satisfactory explanation. + + Close observations of the relations existing between the phenomena and + the will of the sitters brings out other discoveries also. I mean, in + the first place, the bad affect which disagreement among the + experimenters produces. It sometimes happens that one of them + expresses the desire to perceive a certain phenomenon. If the thing is + slow in taking place, the same experimenter, or another one, will ask + for a different spectacle. Sometimes different sitters will ask for + several contradictory things at the same time. The confusion which + reigns in the collective thought manifests itself in the phenomena, + which themselves become confused and vague.[71] + + However, things do not happen absolutely as if the phenomena were + directed by a will which is only the shadow or the reflex of that of + the sitters. It sometimes happens that they show great independence, + and flatly refuse to yield to the desires expressed. + + _Forms and Phantoms._--At Bordeaux, in 1897, the room where we held + our sittings was lighted by a very large window. The outside Venetian + blinds of this window were closed; but when the gas was lighted in a + little building which formed an adjunct to the kitchen, in the corner + of the court near the garden, a feeble light penetrated the room and + dimly illuminated the window panes. The window itself formed in this + way a bright background upon which certain dark forms were perceived + by a part of the experimenters. We all saw these forms, or rather this + form, for it was always the same one that appeared,--a long bearded + profile, with a very high arched nose. This apparition said it was + head of John, a personification who always appears with Eusapia.[72] + This is a very extraordinary phenomenon. The first idea which presents + itself to the mind is that this is a case of collective hallucination. + But the care with which we observed this curious phenomenon--and, it + seems needless for me to add, the calmness with which we + experimented--renders this hypothesis very unlikely. + + The supposition of fraud is still less admissible. The head, which we + saw was of life size, measuring say sixteen inches from the forehead + to the end of the beard. It is impossible to understand how Eusapia + could have hidden in her pockets or under her clothes any kind of a + cardboard profile. Nor can one understand any better how, unknown to + us, she could have taken out this paper figure, mounted it upon a + stick, or upon a wire, and so operated with it. Eusapia had not gone + into a trance: she herself sometimes saw the profile which appeared, + and, thoroughly awake and conscious, took pleasure in assisting in the + phenomena which she was producing. The feeble light which the + illumined window shed was sufficient to enable us to see her hands + being carefully held by the controllers on the right and on the left. + It would have been impossible for her to manipulate these objects. In + fact, however, the profile observed seemed to form at the top of the + cabinet, at the height of about three and a half feet above Eusapia's + head. It descended rather slowly and so took its place above and in + front of her. Then at the end of some seconds it disappeared, only to + reappear some time afterwards in the same circumstances. Every time, + we carefully assured ourselves of the relative immobility of the hand + and arms of the medium. Hence I regard the prodigy which I am relating + as one of the most certain I ever verified, so incompatible was the + hypothesis of fraud with the conditions under which we observed. + + I am persuaded that these facts will one day (soon perhaps) receive + the stamp of scientific approval as subjects of study. They will do + this in spite of the obstacles which obstinate infatuation and the + fear of ridicule pile in the way. + + The intolerance of certain beings matches that of certain dogmas. + Catholicism, for example, considers psychic phenomena as the work of + the Devil. Is it worth while at the present time to combat such a + theory? I do not think it is. + + But this question is foreign to the psychic facts themselves. So far + as my experience permits me to judge, these phenomena are entirely + natural. The Devil does not show his claws in them. If the tables + should announce that they were Satan himself, there would be nothing + on the face of things which would lead us to believe they were + speaking the truth. If called on to prove his power, this + grandiloquent Satan would turn out, I fear, to be a sorry + thaumaturgist. The religious prejudice which proscribes these + experiments as supernatural is as little justified as the scientific + prejudice which only sees in them fraud and imposture. Here again the + old adage of Aristotle finds its application: Equity lies between the + two extremes of opinion. + +It is evident that these experiments of Dr. Maxwell are in accord with all +the preceding ones. The results ascertained mutually confirm each other. + +Apropos of mediums who produce physical or material effects, I should also +like to mention here the one who was very specially examined at Paris, in +1902, by a group of men composed in large part of former pupils of the +Polytechnic School. They held a dozen séances in July and August. This +group was composed of MM. A. de Rochas, Taton, Lemerle, Baclé, de +Fontenay, and Dariex. The medium was Auguste Politi, of Rome. He was +forty-seven years old. + +Several very remarkable table-levitations were observed and photographed +by these gentlemen during their sittings. I reproduce here (Pl. XIII) one +of these photographs, taken by M. de Fontenay which he kindly allows me to +use. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful that has been obtained, +and one of the most striking. All the hands that form the chain are +carefully held away from the table. It seems to me that not to recognize +the value of this photograph as a record would be to deny the evidence +itself. It was taken instantaneously by a flash of magnesium light. The +eyes of the medium had been bandaged, that the light might not give him a +nervous shock. + +This same medium was studied at Rome, in February, 1904, by a group +composed of Professor Milési, of the University of Rome, M. Joseph +Squanquarillo, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Simmons (American travellers passing +through Rome), and M. and Mme. Cartoni. + +[Illustration: PLATE XIII. INSTANTANEOUS PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY M. DE +FONTENAY OF TABLE LEVITATION PRODUCED BY THE MEDIUM AUGUSTE POLITI.] + +They declare that they heard scales very well executed upon the piano +(which was an upright one), at quite a distance from the sitters; yet none +of the sitters knew how to play on the piano, while Professor Milési's +deceased sister, who was called upon to manifest herself, was a very good +pianist. + +Another musical phenomenon was produced: A mandolin placed on the lid of +the piano, began of its own accord to play, balancing itself in the air +until it went and fell down (playing all the while) between the hands of +the experimenters who formed the chain. + +Later, at intervals, the piano was lifted in its turn, falling back +noisily. It must be remarked that two men scarcely sufficed to lift this +piano, even by one of its sides. After the sitting, it was ascertained +that the instrument had been displaced about a foot and a half. + +But here follows a résumé of the phenomena observed with this medium. + + In every séance, very vigorous raps were obtained in the table around + which were grouped the experimenters and the medium (they together + forming the chain), while the lamp with red light was on the table + itself. "If we wished to produce raps so sharp and strong (says M. C. + Caccia, the reporter of these séances), we had to rap with all our + might on the table with some solid object, while the kind of raps + which were produced in the séances with Politi seemed to issue from + the interior of the table with loud sounds like explosions." + + But now the table begins to be shaken. The white curtain of the + cabinet which was behind the medium, at a distance of twenty inches, + swelled out and floated in every direction, as if a violent wind had + inflated it from the other side. We heard a chair moving with a + gliding motion over the floor. It had been placed there before the + beginning of the sitting and was now thrown violently over. During the + course of the fifth sitting it came clear out of the cabinet, in the + presence of everybody, and did not stop until it got near the medium. + + These phenomena took place by the red light of a photographic lamp. In + the complete darkness which attended the third séance an extraordinary + thing occurred,--so much the more extraordinary because we had taken + special measures to forestall any attempt at fraud. The medium was + held by two sitters who, being very sceptical, had taken their places + on his right and on his left, and were holding his hands and his feet. + + At a certain moment the medium ordered the operators to lift their + hands from the table and not to hinder its movements; above all, not + to break the chain. Whereupon a great uproar was heard in the cabinet. + The medium calls for light, and, to the great amazement of all of us, + we discover that the table, which was rectangular in form and did not + weigh less than thirty-nine pounds, was found turned upside down upon + the floor of the cabinet. The controllers declared that the medium had + not stirred. It is to be remarked: + + 1. That the table must have been lifted high enough to pass over the + heads of the sitters. + + 2. That it must have passed above the group forming the chain. + + 3. That as the opening in the curtains of the cabinet only measured + thirty-seven inches across, and the table, on its shortest side, + thirty inches, there only remained free seven inches for passing + through this opening. + + 4. That the table must have come forward endwise, then moved around + lengthwise (it was three feet long), and turned upside down, resting + on the floor; that the whole of this difficult manoeuvre was executed + in a few seconds in complete darkness and without any of the sitters + having touched the table in the slightest degree.[73] + + Luminous phenomena were also obtained. Lights appeared and disappeared + in the air. Some of them gave the outline of a curve. They did not + show any radiation. In the fifth séance, everybody was able to testify + to the appearance of two luminous crosses, about four inches in + height. + + At the last séance, the tambourine fringed with bells, which had been + rubbed with phosphorous, went circling around the whole room, and in + such a way that all its movements could be followed. + + During almost all the sittings, mysterious touchings were + noticed,--among others, those produced by an enormous hairy hand! + + In the first, fourth and fifth séances there were "materializations." + Prof. Italo Palmarini believed that he recognized his daughter, who + had been dead three years. He felt himself embraced; everybody heard + the sound of a kiss. The same manifestation took place in the fifth + séance. Professor Palmarini believed that he still recognized the + person of his daughter. + + At the opening of each séance the medium was searched, and was then + placed _in a kind of big sack_, made to order for this purpose, _and + fastened at the neck, the wrists, and the feet_. + +Another medium, the Russian Sambor, was the object of numerous experiments +at St. Petersburg during a period of six years. (1897-1902.) It will be +interesting also to give a summing up in this place of the report about +this man published by M. Petrovo Solovovo.[74] + + In the first séances a large folding screen placed behind the medium + was observed to be vigorously shaken. The medium's feet and hands were + carefully held. A table in a neighboring chamber moved of its own + accord. In a metal cone placed on the table, enclosing a bit of paper + and a lead-pencil, and then riveted up, there was found, when it was + unriveted, a ribbon, and a phrase written on the paper in script that + had to be read in a looking-glass (_écriture en miroir_). Other cases + of the passage of matter through matter were tried, none of which + succeeded. But further on the reports relate the following + experiments: + + In the month of February, 1901, one of Sambor's séances took place at + my house, in my study, against the windows of which I had hung + curtains of black calico in such a way that the room was plunged in + the deepest darkness. The medium occupied a place in the chain. Next + to the medium were M. J. Lomatzsch, on his right, myself on his left. + Sambor's hands and feet were faithfully held the whole time in a way + that gave perfect satisfaction. + + The phenomena soon began to develop. I do not intend to take the time + here to describe them, but I wish to mention a remarkable case of the + passage of matter through matter. + + M. Lomatzsch, controller on the right, declares that someone is + pulling his chair from under him. So, redoubling our attention, we + continue to hold the medium. M. Lomatzsch's chair is soon positively + lifted up, so that he is obliged to stand. Sometime after, he declares + that someone is trying to hang the chair on the hand with which he is + holding Sambor. Then the chair suddenly disappears from the arm of M. + Lomatzsch, and at the same moment I feel a light pressure upon my left + arm (I do not mean the one which was in contact with the medium, but + with my neighbor on the left M. A. Weber); after which I feel that + something heavy is hanging from my arm. When the candle was lighted, + we all saw that _my left arm had been passed through the back of the + chair_. In this way the chair was nicely balanced upon that one of my + arms which was not in contact with Sambor, but with my neighbor on the + left. I had not let go of the hands of my neighbors. + +Such an observation as this needs no commentary (says the reporter of this +occurrence, M. Petrovo Solovovo). The fact is simply incomprehensible. I +give here some other phenomena which were observed in May, 1902: + + 1. A cedar apple, an old copper coin which was found to be a Persian + coin of 1723, and an amateur photographic portrait of a young woman in + mourning unknown to anybody present were found (coming from nobody + knew where, nor in what way), upon the table about which we were + seated. + + 2. Several different objects in the room were transported to the table + by the mysterious force; such, for example, as a thermometer, which + had been hung on the wall behind the piano at a distance of from + one-half to seven feet from the medium; a large lantern placed upon + the piano somewhere between two and four feet behind the medium; + several piles of music-books which had rested on the same piano; a + framed portrait; and, finally, the candlesconce, the candle, and the + different parts of a candlestick belonging to the piano. + + 3. Several times a bronze bell placed on the table was lifted into the + air by the mysterious force and noisily rung. On the request of the + sitters it was once carried over to the piano (against which it struck + a sounding blow), and from there again over to the table. + + 4. Unoccupied chairs had been placed behind the medium. One of them + was several times lifted and placed noisily on the table in the midst + of the sitters, and without having run against any of them. When upon + the table, this chair several times moved about, fell over, and picked + itself up. + + 5. One of these same chairs was found to be hung by the back upon the + joined hands of the medium and M. de Poggenpohl. Before the beginning + of that part of the séance which witnessed this phenomenon, a strip of + cloth, slipped over the sleeves of the medium, had been several times + tightly twisted around the wrists of M. de Poggenpohl. + + 6. At the request of the sitters, the mysterious force several times + stopped the playing of the music-box (it stood on the table around + which we were seated), after which it began to play again. + + 7. A sheet of paper and a lead pencil, placed on the table, were + thrown on the floor, and everybody distinctly heard the pencil moving + over the paper with a heavy pressure and, with a sharp tap, putting a + period at the end of what had been written. After this the pencil was + laid on the table. + + 8. Five of the experimenters declared that they had been touched by + some mysterious hand. + + 9. Twice the mysterious force drew sounds from the piano. The first + time, this took place when the lid of the piano was open. The second + time, the sounds were heard after the lid had been _locked with a + key_, the key remaining on the table in the midst of the circle of + experimenters. At first the unknown force began to play a melody on + the high notes, and two or three times produced trills. Then chords on + the bass notes were heard at the same time with the melody, and, when + the piano was playing, the music-box also began to play, both + performances lasting several minutes. + + 10. During all the phenomena which have just been described, the + medium (Sambor), seemed sunk in a profound trance, and remained almost + motionless. The phenomena were not accompanied by any bustle or + confusion. His hands and his feet were all the time controlled by his + neighbors. M. de Poggenpohl and Loris-Melikow several times saw + something long, black, and slender detaching itself from him during + the phenomena and moving toward the objects. + + I will add, in closing (says M. Petrovo Solovovo), that this medium + was accused of cupidity and intemperance. These séances were the last + he gave (he died a few months afterward). But, to tell the truth, I + have a tender spot in my heart for the late M. Sambor. This + Little-Russian, a former telegraph operator, polished and humanized by + the six or seven winters that he had passed in St. Petersburg--can it + be that blind Nature had chosen this man to be the intermediary + between our world and the doubtful Beyond?--or, at least, another + world of beings whose precise nature (begging the pardon of the + spirits) would be an enigma to me, provided I positively believed in + them. + + It is with that word "doubt" (alas! is not _doubt_ the most _certain_ + result of mediumistic experiments?) that I end this Report. + +To this whole series of varied observations and experiments we could still +add many more. In 1905 MM. Charles Richet and Gabriel Delanne held some +famous séances in Algiers. But is not impossible that fraud may have crept +into their experiments, in spite of all the precautions taken by them. +(The photographs of the phantom Bien-Boa have an artificial look.) In +1906, the American medium, Miller, gave in Paris several séances in which +it really seems as if true apparitions were manifested. I cannot say +anything personally about it, not having been present. Among other +experimenters, there were two very competent ones, who studied this +medium; namely, MM. G. Delanne and G. Méry. The first concludes that the +apparitions were what they represented themselves to be (see _Revue +scientifique et morale du spiritisme_); that is to say, the spirits of the +departed. The second, on the other hand, declares in _L'Echo du +Merveilleux_, that, "until there is fuller information, we must be +satisfied with not comprehending." + +It is not within the scope of my plan to discuss in this particular place, +"apparitions" or "materializations." We may ask ourselves whether the +fluid which certainly emanates from the medium may not produce a kind of +condensation able to furnish to the most interested observer of the +manifestation the elusive vision of an unreal personality which, besides, +only lasts, as a general thing, for a few seconds. Is it a melange or +combination of fluids? But it is not yet time to make hypotheses. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +MY GENERAL INQUIRY RESPECTING OBSERVATIONS OF UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA + + +A certain number of my readers perhaps remember the general inquiry that I +instituted in the course of the year 1899 respecting observation of the +unexplained phenomena of telepathy, manifestations of the dying, +premonitory dreams, etc.--an inquiry published in part in my work +_L'Inconnu et les problémes psychiques_. I received 4280 replies composed +of 2456 _no_ and 1824 _yes_. Among the latter there are 1758 letters with +more or less of detail. A large number of these were not presented in such +a shape that their claims could be discussed. But I was able to use 786 of +the most important of them. They were classified, the essential matters +transcribed, and summed up in the work of which I have just spoken. The +most striking thing in all these accounts is the loyalty, +conscientiousness, the frankness, and the sensitive refinement of the +narrators, who are anxiously concerned to say only what they know, and as +they know it, without adding or subtracting anything. In doing this, each +becomes the servant of truth. + +These 786 letters, transcribed, classified, and numbered, contained 1130 +different facts or observations. My examination of the instances recorded +in the letters reveals several kinds of subjects which may be classified +as follows: + + Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dying. + Manifestations of the Living (in Health). + Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dead. + Clairvoyance. + Premonitory Dreams. Forecast of the Future. + Dreams that give Information of the Dead. + Meetings foreseen by Presentiment. + Presentiments realized. + Doubles of the Living. + Communications of Thought at a Distance (Telepathy). + Instinctive Presentiments of Animals. + Calls heard at Great Distances. + Movements of Objects without Apparent Cause. + Bolted Doors Opening of Themselves. + Haunted Houses. + Spiritualistic Experiments. + +Since my first publication of these documents, I have received many new +ones. More than one thousand are to-day crowded into my manuscript +library. They contain about fifteen hundred observations which seem to me +to be sincere and authentic. The doubtful ones have been eliminated. These +narratives emanate as a general thing from persons who are filled with +astonishment and are extremely desirous of receiving, if possible, an +explanation of these strange events (often very affecting). All the +narratives which I have been able to verify have been found to be +fundamentally accurate--sometimes modified afterwards, as respects their +mere form, by a memory more or less confused. + +In _L'Inconnu_, I published a portion of these narratives. But I excluded +from that work[75] phenomena not properly included within the limits of +its main plan, which was to show the existence of unknown faculties of the +soul. + +I excluded, I say, "movements of objects without apparent cause," "bolted +doors opening of themselves," "haunted houses," "Spiritualistic +experiments;" that is to say, the very cases studied in the present work, +in which I hoped to be able to publish them. But space fails me. In my +desire to offer to my readers a set of records as complete as possible, +for the purpose of giving them a firmly based opinion, I have been swamped +by the abundance of material, and, can only rescue a few of the most +interesting specimens of them for presentation here. + +First of all, I select the following communication as having a certain +intrinsic value. It was sent me by my regretted friend Victorin Joncières, +the well-known composer of music. + + I was on a tour of inspection of the music-schools of the Provinces + (he says), and happened to be in a city which I cannot name to you for + the reasons which I gave. I was coming out of the branch establishment + of our Conservatory, after having examined the piano-class there, when + I was addressed by a lady who asked me what I thought of her daughter, + and whether I judged that she ought to enter upon an artistic career. + + After a rather long conversation, in the course of which I promised to + go to hear the young artist, I found myself engaged to go the same + evening (for I was leaving the next day) to the house of one of their + friends, a high official in the state service, to take part in a + Spiritualistic séance. + + The master of the house received me with extreme cordialty, recalling + the promise I had given him to keep secret his name and that of the + city in which he lived. He presented his niece, _the medium_, to whom + he attributes the phenomena which take place in his house. It was, in + fact, after the young girl's mother had died, and she came to live + with him, that the strange occurrences began to take place. + + They began with unusual noises in the walls, and in the floors, with + the displacement of articles of furniture that moved without being + touched, and with the warblings of birds. M. N. at first believed that + it was a piece of foolery planned either by one of his own family or + by one of his clerks. However, in spite of the most vigilant watching, + he could not discover any trickery, and he finally came to the + conclusion that the phenomena were produced, by invisible agents, + with whom he believed he could communicate. He soon obtained raps, + direct writing, the mysterious appearance of flowers, etc. + + After this account, he led me into a large room with bare walls, in + which several persons had assembled, among whom were his wife and a + professor of natural philosophy at the lyceum--altogether, a dozen of + experimenters. In the middle of the room there was a big oak table, + upon which were placed paper, a pencil, a small harmonica, a bell, and + a lighted lamp. + + "The spirit announced to me a little while ago that he would come at + ten o'clock," said the gentleman to me. "We have a good hour before + us. I am going to utilize it by reading to you the minutes of our + meetings for a year past." He laid on the table his watch, which + showed five minutes to nine, and covered it with a handkerchief. + + For a whole hour he applied himself to reading what seemed to be very + improbable stories; but I was longing to see some of the wonders. + + Suddenly a loud cracking sound was heard in the table. M. N. lifted + the handkerchief which covered the watch. It was just ten o'clock. + + "Art thou there, spirit?" said he. + + Nobody was touching the table; and on his recommendation, we formed + the chain about it, holding each other by the hand. + + A vigorous rap was heard. + + The young niece placed her two fingers against the edge of the table + and asked us to imitate her. Thereupon this extremely heavy table rose + up well _above our heads_, in such a way that we were obliged to stand + on tip-toe in order to follow it in its ascent. It hung poised for + some moments in the air and then slowly descended to the floor and + came to a stop without noise. + + Then M. N. went to look up a large design for a church window. He put + it on the table and placed beside it a glass of water, a box of + colors, and a camel's hair brush. Then he put the lamp out. He lighted + it again at the end of two or three minutes: the sketch (still damp) + was painted in two colors, yellow and blue, and not a single brush + mark had passed beyond the traced lines of the sketch. + + Even if we admit that some one of the sitters might have been able to + play the rôle of spirit, how, in the darkness of the room, could he + have so handled the brush as to precisely follow the lines of the + design? I will add that the door was closely shut, and, that, during + the very short space of time in which the performance took place, I + heard nothing but the sound of the water splashing in the glass. + + Raps were next struck in the table, corresponding to the letters of + the alphabet. The spirit announced that he was going to produce a + special phenomenon in order to convince me personally. + + By his order the light was again extinguished. The harmonica then + played a little sprightly _motif_, in six-eight. Scarcely had the last + note sounded when M. X. lighted the lamp. Upon a sheet of music-paper + which had been placed near the harmonica, the theme was written very + correctly in pencil. It would have been impossible for any one of the + company, in the complete darkness of the room, to write down these + notes upon the ruled staff-lines. + + Thirteen freshly cut daisies lay scattered over the table. + + "Hello!" says M. X. "these are daisies from the flower-pot at the end + of the passageway." + + As I said a moment ago, the door of the room where we were met had + remained closed, and no one had stirred. We went into the passageway, + and, on noticing the stems denuded of their flowers, we could see very + plainly that the daisies came from the place indicated. + + Scarcely had we entered the room, when the bell on the table rose up + to the very ceiling, ringing as it went, but fell abruptly back as + soon as it touched it. + + * * * * * + + On the next day, before my departure, I went to pay a visit to M. X. + He received me in his dining-hall. Through the large open window a + beautiful June sun flooded the room with its brilliant light. + + While we were conversing in a desultory way, a piece of military music + rang out in the distance. "If there is a spirit here," said I, + smiling, "it ought by rights to accompany the music." At once + rhythmic taps, in exact harmony with the double quick time, were heard + in the table. The crackle of sounds in it died away little by little + in a decrescendo very skilfully timed to the last vanishing blare of + the bugles. + + "Give us a fine tattoo to finish," said I, when the sounds had + completely ceased. The reply was a series of sounds like the heavy + roll of drums, given with such force that the table trembled on its + legs. I put my hand on it and very plainly felt the vibrations of the + wood as it was struck by the invisible force. + + I asked if I might inspect the table. It was turned upside down in my + presence, and I examined it, as well as the floor, very carefully. I + discovered nothing. Besides, M. X. could not, you know, foresee, that, + during my visit, a military band would pass by, and that I should ask + the table to accompany it by imitating the drum. + + I afterwards returned to the city where these things occurred and was + present at other very curious séances. I should be enchanted, my dear + master and friend, as I have said to you, to be your guide there some + day. But this "high functionary" absolutely insists on his incognito. + +These remarkable observations by my friend Joncières evidently have their +value, and belong here, in the train of all the preceding ones. + +I give a few others below which we owe to an attentive and sceptical +observer, M. Castex-Dégrange, sub-director of the National School Of Fine +Arts at Lyons, upon whose veracity and sincerity not the least shadow of +suspicion can rest, any more than in the preceding instances. I owe to his +kindness a large number of interesting letters, and I will ask his +permission to cite from them the most important passages. + +The following is dated the 18th of April, 1899. + + For the second time, I affirm upon my honor that I will tell you + nothing that is not strictly true, and usually easy to verify. + + In spite of the calling I follow, I am not at all gifted with + imagination. I have lived much in the company of physicians, men from + the nature of their profession little given to credulity; and, whether + it is in consequence of my natural disposition, or by reason of the + principles which I absorbed in this kind of company, I have always + been very sceptical. + + This is, indeed, one of the reasons why I abandoned my psychical + experiments. I reached the most stupifying results, and yet it was + impossible for me to get to believe myself. I was thoroughly convinced + that I was not seeking to deceive myself or to deceive others, and, + not being able to surrender myself to the evidence, I was always + seeking some other reason than the one given by the believers. That + made me suffer, and I stopped. + + I here end this preamble, and am going to unfold to you the course of + my observations. + + * * * * * + + I was acquainted with a company of people, who were occupied with + Spiritualism and with turning-tables, and had made them the butt of my + wit,[76] a little; for, although not bitter or severe, I never + neglected to play a good practical joke on them when occasion served. + + It seemed to me that these worthy people, who were, moreover, very + sincere, were all a little "cracked" (_maboules_), if I may be allowed + so uncouth, or _fin de siècle_, an expression. + + One day I was visiting them. The drawing-room was lighted by two large + windows. I began, as usual, by some pleasantries. Their reply was in + the shape of an invitation to me to take part in the experiments. + + "But," said I, "if I take a seat at your table it will not turn any + more, because I shall not push it." + + "Come all the same." + + Well, I declare upon my honor that, just for a joke, I tried it. I had + scarcely put my hands on the table when it made a rush at me. + + I said to the person facing me, "Don't push so hard." + + "But, dear sir, I was not pushing." + + I put the centre-table back in its place, but the same thing occurred + again, once, twice, thrice. I began to get impatient and said, + + "What you are doing is not very clever. If you want to convince me, + don't push." + + He replied to me, "Nobody is pushing, only you probably have so much + fluid in you that the table is attracted toward you. _Perhaps you + could make it go, by yourself._" + + "Oh, if I myself could make it go, that would be different!" + + "Try it." + + They all moved back. I remained alone face to face with the table. I + took hold of it, lifted it, thoroughly examined it. There was no trick + about it. I made every body go behind me. I was facing the windows, + and had my eyes open, I assure you. I stretched my arms out as far as + possible, in order to have a good view, only placing the ends of my + fingers on the table. + + In a little less than two minutes it began to rock to and fro. I + confess that I felt a little foolish, not wishing to surrender-- + + "Yes, perhaps it moves," said I. "It is possible that an unknown fluid + is acting upon it; at any rate, it does not come toward me, and just + now some one was pushing it." + + "No," said one of the sitters, "nobody was pushing it; but, although + you are highly charged with fluid, the assistance of another person is + needed for the production of the phenomenon: you are not enough by + yourself. Will you allow one of us to put a hand _upon_ yours, without + touching the table?" + + "Yes." + + Someone put a hand on mine and _I watched_. The table at once began to + move, and came and pressed against me. They all cried out, and claimed + that they had caught a medium in me. I was not very much flattered + with the title, which I considered as synonymous with "lunatic." + + "You ought to try to write," said some one to me. + + "What do you mean by that?" + + "Why, see here. You take paper and pen, let your arm lie passive, and + have the wish in your mind that _some unknown person or force_ shall + cause you to write." + + I tried it. At the end of five minutes, my arm felt as if it were + wrapped in a woolen blanket. Then, in spite of myself, my hand began + to trace at first mere strokes, then _o's_, _a's_, letters of all + sorts, as a schoolboy learning to write would do. Then, all of a + sudden, came the notorious word attributed to Cambronne at Waterloo! I + assure you, my dear sir, that I am never in the habit of using this + coarse and dirty term, and that there was no auto-suggestion, or + unconscious act of my own, in the case. I was absolutely _stupefied_ + by the occurrence. + + I continued these experiments at my own home. + + 1. One day, when I was seated at my writing-desk, I felt the weird + seizure in my arm. I let my arm remain passive. The Unknown wrote: + + "Your friend Aroud is coming to see you. He is at this moment in such + and such an omnibus-office in the suburbs. He is asking the price of + tickets and the hour of departure." + + (This M. Aroud is chief of the bureau of police, prefecture of the + Rhone.) In fact, a half-hour afterwards, Aroud made his appearance. I + told him what had taken place. + + "It is a good thing for you that you are living in the nineteenth + century," said he to me. "A few hundred years ago you would not have + escaped death at the stake." + + 2. On another occasion the phenomenon occurred again, and this time + also I was at my writing desk: + + "Your friend Dolard is coming to see you." + + An hour afterward, sure enough he came. I told him how it happened + that I was waiting for him. Although he was very incredulous by + nature, yet, for all that, this fact set him to thinking. The next day + saw his re-appearance. + + "Can you get a reply to a question I am going to ask you?" said he. + + "Don't ask," I replied, "think it. We will try." + + I must here tell you parenthetically that I had known of Dolard for + thirty years. He was my comrade at the Beaux-Arts. I knew that he had + lost an elder brother, that he had been married, and had had the + misfortune to lose, one by one, all the members of his family. That + was all I knew about them. + + I took the pen and the Invisible wrote, "The sufferings of your sister + Sophia have just ended." + + Now Dolard had mentally asked what had become of the spirit of a + sister named Sophia, whom he had lost forty-two years ago, and about + whom I had never heard a word spoken. + + 3. My principal at the School of Fine Arts in Lyons, a former + architect of the city of Paris, was M. Hédin. This M. Hédin had an + only daughter, who some years ago had married another architect, M. + Forget, in Paris. The woman became enceinte. + + One day when I was thinking of anything but her, the same thing + occurred as before. The Invisible wrote: + + "_Mme. Forget is going to die._" + + Mme. Forget was not at all ill, apart from her being in a delicate + situation. The next day morning, M. Hédin said to me that his daughter + was in her pains; and the same evening he told me that his wife had + just set out for Paris to be with her. The next day I received + instructions to assume his duties. Mme. Hédin had telegraphed to her + husband to come to her. Her daughter was taken with puerperal fever. + When the father got there he found only a corpse. + + 4. I had a cousin named Poncet (since dead) who was formerly an + apothecary, at Beaune (Côte-d' Or). I had never been at his + apartments. One day he came to Lyons to see our aunt (she who had the + vision about which I spoke to you). We conversed about these + extraordinary psychical occurrences. He was incredulous. + + "Well then," said he, "try to find for me a thing which has no + particular market value, but which I laid great store by, because it + belonged to my deceased wife. I had a little packet of laces that she + was very fond of, and I can't put my hand on it." + + The Unknown wrote, "_It is in the middle drawer of the secretary in + the chamber, behind a package of visiting cards_." + + My cousin wrote to his servant at Beaune, _without giving her any hint + of our experiment_, "Send by post a little packet which you will find + in [such a place] behind a package of visiting cards." + + The laces arrived by return mail. + + You will notice, my dear sir, that, during the experiments, I was by + no means asleep or in a state of trance, and that I was conversing in + my usual manner. + + 5. One of my childhood friends, M. Laloge, at the present time a + dealer in coffees and chocolates at Saint-Etienne (Loire), had had as + his professor, as well as I, an excellent man whom we most highly + esteemed, and who was named Thollon.[77] + + M. Thollon, after having directed the education of the children of the + Prince of Oldenburg, uncle of the present emperor of Russia, had + returned to France and entered the Nice Observatory. + + We had the misfortune to lose him shortly after. Laloge had a + photograph of him but had lost it. He came and begged me to try to + find it. The Unknown wrote, "_The photograph is in the upper drawer of + the secretary in the chamber_." + + Laloge had two rooms,--one which he called the "salon," and another + called the "chamber." + + "There is some mistake," said he. "I have turned everything + topsy-turvy in the place you mention and have found nothing." + + In the evening having to search for some object in the drawer, he saw + in the middle of a package of letter-paper a little dark end of + something sticking out. He pulled it forth: it was the photograph. + + 6. Camille Bellon, No. 50 Avenue de Noailles, at Lyons, had three + young children whose education he had intrusted to a young governess. + This person left when the children entered college, and, sometime + after, she married a very fine man, whose name I have unfortunately + forgotten, but which I can easily find again if there is any need of + it. + + This young woman came on her wedding trip to visit her old employer. I + was invited to go and pass a day with them at the château of my friend + Bellon. During the course of this visit, we talked of spiritualistic + phenomena; and the newly married man, a highly educated veterinary + doctor, joked me about my so-called mediumship. I, of course, laughed + about it and we parted the best kind of friends. + + Some days afterward, I received a letter from my friend. He had + himself received a letter from the young lady, who was in a great + state of mind. She had lost her wedding ring, and was in despair. She + begged my friend to ask me to recover it for her. + + The Mysterious Force wrote, "_The ring slipped from her finger while + she was asleep. It is on one of the cleats which hold up the mattress + of the bed_." + + I transmitted the _despatch_. The husband put his hands between the + wood of the bed and the mattress. The wife did the same thing. Nothing + was found. Some days afterwards, having decided to change the + arrangement of their apartments, they moved their bed into another + room. Of course they had to lift up the mattress, in order to get it + into the other chamber. The ring was upon one of the cleats. They had + not found it when they were hunting for it, because it had slipped + _under_ the mattress, which did not adhere to the cleat in that + particular place. + + 7. One of my friends, named Boucaut, who lived at 15 quai de la + Guillotière at Lyons, had lost a letter which he sadly wanted. He + begged me to ask where it was. + + The Invisible replied in writing, "_He must remember that he has an + oven in his garden_." + + Before showing it to him, I began to laugh, saying that it was a joke + and had nothing to do with his request. As he insisted that it did, I + read it to him. + + "Why yes," he said to me, "that agrees very well. My tenant-farmer had + just had his bread baked. I had heaps of papers which I wanted to get + rid of, to burn up. My letter must have been burned in the pile which + I reduced to ashes." + + 8. One evening, in an assembly composed of a score of persons, a lady + dressed in black greeted my entrance with a little nervous laugh. + After the customary introductions, this lady spoke to me as follows: + + "Sir, would it be possible to ask your spirits to reply to a question + I am going to ask you?" + + "In the first place, madam, I have no spirits at my disposal; but I + should be a lack-wit indeed if I said yes. You, of course, don't + suppose that I am unintelligent enough not to find some kind of an + answer; and, consequently, if any 'spirits,' as you so kindly call + them should happen to respond, you would not be convinced, and you + would be right. Write your request. Put it in an envelope there on the + table and we will try. You see that I am not in a somnambulistic + state, and you must believe that it is wholly impossible for me to + know the contents of what you are going to enclose in it." + + So said, so done. + + At the end of five minutes I assure you I was very much embarrassed. I + had written a reply, but it was such that I did not dare to + communicate it. But here it is: + + "You are in a very bad way, and, if you persist, you will be severely + punished. Marriage is something sacred, it should never be regarded as + a question of money." + + After some oratorical precautions, I decided to read her this reply. + The lady blushed up to the roots of her hair and stretched out her + hands to seize her envelope. + + "Pardon me, madam," I replied, putting my hand upon it. "You began by + making fun of me. You wished a reply. It is only just, since we are + making an experiment, that we know what the request was." + + I tore open the envelope. Behold its contents: + + "Will the marriage take place that I am trying to bring about between + M. X. and Mlle. Z? And, in that case, shall I get what I have been + promised?" + + Notwithstanding this shameful exposure, the woman did not consider + that she was beaten. She asked a second question under the same + conditions. + + Reply: "Leave me alone! When I was living you abandoned me. Now don't + bother me." + + Upon this, the lady got up and disappeared! I told you she was in + mourning. This last request of hers was as follows: "What has become + of the soul of my father?" + + Her father had been ill for six months. Persons who were present and + who were stupefied at the results, told me that during his illness she + had not paid him a single visit. + + 9. One day, shortly after I had lost one of my good friends, I was + seated at my writing-desk with my head resting on my hand, and I was + thinking of what the hereafter might possibly be. If all the work that + a man had done was to be irretrievably lost, and if the beyond + existed, I was wondering what the life might be that one would lead + there. All of a sudden, the phenomenon well known to me occurred (that + weird seizure of the arm). Of course, I allowed my arm to remain + passive, and here is what I read: + + "You wish to know what our occupations are? We organize matter, we + ameliorate the condition of the spirits, and, above all, we adore + the Creator of your souls and ours." + + ARAGO. + + In _all_ the communications which I have obtained, every time a word + representing an idea of the Supreme Being--such as God, the + All-Powerful, etc.--came under my pen, the writing doubled in size, + but immediately after resumed the same dimensions as before.[78] It + would be very easy for me to give you still more numerous examples of + the strange things that happened to me, but those I have given seem to + me quite remarkable. I shall be happy if this true account can give + you any assistance in your important researches. + +The letter which my readers have just perused contains a series of cases +of such great interest that I lost no time in entering into regular +correspondence with the author. And first I thought I ought to ask him +about the conclusions which he himself had been able to draw from his +personal experience. The following is an abstract of his replies: + + May 1st, 1899. + + You ask me, my dear sir, the following questions: + + 1. Whether I have reached absolute conviction as to the existence of + one or of several _spirits_? + + I am a person of absolute good faith. I examined myself as a surgeon + would examine an invalid. I am a person of such good faith that I have + long been seeking (without finding him) a skilful practitioner who + would consent to study in my own person the phenomenon while it was + taking place; to ascertain the state of my pulse, the warmth of the + skin, etc.,--in a word, the apparent physical side. Furthermore, in my + opinion there is no auto-suggestion in this thing; and the proof is + that I was _absolutely ignorant_ of the things that I was writing + _mechanically_,--so mechanically that, when, by chance, my attention + was called away, whether by reading or by conversation, and I forgot + to look where my hand was going, when it approached the edge of the + paper the writing would continue backward across the sheet in + _reversed letters and just as fast_, so that I was obliged to turn the + paper over in order by holding it to the light to read what was + written on it. + + So then, if there is neither auto-suggestion in it, nor a + somnambulistic condition (I was completely awake and not at all + hypnotized), then there must be external "forces" acting upon my + senses, "intelligent forces." This is my fixed and unalterable + opinion. + + Now are these forces spirits? Do they belong to beings like ourselves? + It is evident that this hypothesis would explain many things, but + leave quite a number obscure. Since I several times discovered a + mental state of the lowest kind among these "beings," I have reached a + conclusion that it is not absolutely necessary to think that they are + "men." + + We are told that there are stars which photography alone can reveal, + and which, possessing a color imperceptible to our eye, are invisible + to us. Then there are the gases through which a human body passes + without experiencing resistence. Who will say then, that there are not + around us invisible beings? + + And look at the instinct of the child, of the woman, of feeble beings + in general. They fear darkness; isolation makes them afraid. This + sentiment is instinctive, irrational. Is it not due to an intuitive + perception of the presence of these invisible personages, or forces, + against which they are helpless? That is pure hypothesis on my part, + but after all it seems to me defensible. As to the number of the + invisible beings, I believe they are legion. + + 2. You ask me whether I have been able to establish their identity. + + I answer that they sign some name or other, choosing in preference + names of illustrious persons, in whose mouths they sometimes put the + most stupid sort of expressions. + + Furthermore the writing frequently ceases abruptly, as if an electric + current has just been interrupted, and that without any appreciable + reason. Then the writing changes, and sometimes sensible things end in + absurdities, etc. + + How explain this tangle of contradictions? I was so chafed and fretted + by these incoherent results that I had for a long time abandoned the + study of psychic forces, when your alluring researches came to wake in + me my old self. + + If the unconscious doubling of the personality of the individual (his + externalization) can, in an extreme case, be sometimes admitted, it + seems to me that there are cases in which this explanation becomes + possible. + + But I will explain. If, as respects the facts which happened to me + personally, and _the authenticity of which I affirm to you upon my + honor_, there are some in which this externalization could have been + possible, there are others in which it seems to me impossible. + + Yes, strictly speaking, I might have been able, without suspecting it, + to externalize myself, or, rather, unknown to myself, to be influenced + by my friend Dolard when, in my own presence, he mentally asked me + what had become of the soul of a deceased sister of whose name and + very existence I was ignorant; yes, the same thing may, strictly + speaking, explain the responses I made to the lady who questioned me + on the subject of a marriage and her father, although it would in that + case be necessary to suppose that she dictated to me the words that I + was writing; yes, my friend Boucaud, who was hunting letters, might, + at the moment when he was asking me about them, have thought of that + oven, of the existence of which I was ignorant; yes, all of that is + (in the last analysis) possible, although it would need a large amount + of good will to admit it. + + Yes, once more I say--and always with much good will--a table may be + under the unconscious domination of a musician present and dictate a + musical phrase. But, as it stands, it is difficult to admit the same + phenomenon in the case of Victor Hugo, whose curious séances you have + just described to the public. Why, just look at this great poet who, + when he is asked by the table to put one or more questions _in verse_, + and, not feeling that he is man enough, in spite of his genius, to + improvise something passable, asks for a breathing spell to prepare + his questions, and brings them in next day!--and yet you would wish + that, on this same next day, a part of himself should perform its + functions, _unknown to himself_, and compose _illico_, without any + preparation, verses at least as fine as those which he took an entire + day to create!--verses of a pitiless logic and more profound than his + own! + + Yet let us admit even that. You see, dear sir, that I have all the + good will possible, and that I have the most profound respect for the + scientific method. But can you explain by externalization the case of + finding a lost object when one is even ignorant of the way in which + the apartment is arranged where it has been lost? or the ability to + know, two days in advance, of the death of a person about whom one was + not thinking at all? A possible coincidence, you will tell me, but at + least very strange. + + And those inverted dictations? and those in which we are obliged to + skip every other letter? + + * * * * * + + No, I believe that we need not give ourselves so much trouble and rack + our brains, for it seems to me that it is like looking for mid-day at + two o'clock in the afternoon. It would require the labor of all the + devils to explain how this phenomenon can take place in our nature + without the knowledge of the proprietor. I do not like to see a part + of my personality scampering away, and then housing itself again + without my knowing anything about it. + + As to what concerns the production of this externalization in a way + which I may call voluntary--when a person who feels himself dying + thinks intensely about those whom he loves and whose absence he + deplores, yes, it may be that his will, even unknown to himself, + suggesting the absent person produces the phenomena of telepathy; + but, in the phenomena of which we are speaking, that explanation seems + to me more than doubtful. + + I find much more simple the explanation that the phenomena are caused + by the presence and the action of an independent being,--a spirit, + phantasm, or elemental. + + In fine what are we all seeking? The proof of the survival of the ego, + of _the individuality_ after death. _To be or not to be_--it is all in + that. For I frankly confess to you if I am going to dissolve away + again into the great All, I should just as soon be annihilated. That + is perhaps a weakness; but it cannot be helped. I hold above + everything else to my individuality; not that I set a great value on + it, but the feeling is instinctive and I believe that at bottom + everybody is of this opinion. This then is the goal or end, which at + all epochs has powerfully interested man and interests him still + to-day. + + One of the weightiest proofs of the survival of the individual being + that I have ever met with is, in my opinion, the vision which my aunt + had _several days_ after the death of a friend of hers who, in order + to give her a proof of the reality of her apparition, inspired in her + by mental suggestion the power of seeing her in the dress she had on + in her coffin, _a costume which my aunt had never seen_. + + This is one of the fine and rare arguments in favor of the survival of + the soul, so far as my experience goes. Many things are explained by + this survival,--above all, what is apparently the frightful injustice + of this world. + +To these important observations of M. Castex-Dégrange, I should like to +add those of a distinguished scientist, who has also for a long time now +devoted himself to the analysis and synthesis of these phenomena. I mean +M. Goupil. Some of his studies are yet in manuscript form, and I am +indebted to this savant for permission to use them. Others have been +reprinted in a curious brochure (_Pour et Contre_, Tours, 1893). But in +citing such a large number of instances and experiments, I am abusing the +kindness of my readers, even the most curious and the most eager for +knowledge. However, I will at least point out the conclusions drawn by M. +Goupil from his personal experiences. They are to be found in the work of +which I have just spoken, and are as follows: + + Table-turning séances yield very insignificant results, regarded as + pure science obtained from the spirits; but they are not lacking in + interest from the point of view of the analysis of the facts and of + the science to be established in accordance with the causes and the + laws which govern these phenomena. + + I believe that I can draw the conclusion from these phenomena that two + theories (the _reflex_ and the _Spiritualistic_) may be drawn from the + facts. It seems to me impossible to maintain that an intelligent agent + other than that of the experimenters is not operative in them. What is + this intelligence? I believe it is very hazardous to express a + confident opinion on this point in view of the incongruity of all + these communications. + + It is also undeniable that the intellects of the operators enter into + the phenomena to a great extent, and that in many cases they alone + seem to act. + + I should perhaps be sufficiently near the truth if I gave the + following definition of the phenomenon: + + _Functions external to the animistic principle of the operators, and + above all of the medium, and governed by their intellects, but + sometimes associated with an intellect unknown and relatively + independent of man._ + + Experimenters have maintained that communications obtained from the + so-called spirits through mediums never show more intellectual + capacity than is possessed by the most intelligent person among the + sitters. This assertion is generally justified, but it is not + absolute. + + I will mention, in connection with this point, some séances which took + place at my house. The medium was Mme. G., whose life I had been + familiar with for twenty-seven years, day by day, and consequently had + an intimate acquaintance with her character, her manners, temperament + and education. + + The communications which were obtained through mediumistic writing in + these séances extended over a period of more than fifteen months. + + Mme. G. had the sense of a kind of _mental_, rather than auricular, + psychical rather than physical, audition which dictated to her what + she had to write in bits of sentences one after another; and this + impression was accompanied by a strong desire to write, somewhat like + the intense longing that a woman with child experiences. + + If this medium gave her attention to the sense of the writing during + the composition, the current of power was shut off, and everything + resumed the state of ordinary composition. Her condition was that of a + clerk writing unconcernedly and mechanically under the dictation of a + superior. It resulted from this that the writings, executed at the + maximum speed of the subject, and generally without retardation or + stoppage after the questions, were in one long string, without + punctuation or paragraphs, and full of mistakes in spelling, resulting + from the fact that the medium was acquainted with the sense of the + writing only when she had read it over, at least in the case of rather + long communications. + + The gist or substance of the _writings_ seems very frequently to be + drawn from our ideas, our conversation, our reading, or our thoughts; + but there are certain plainly marked exceptions. + + While Mme. G. was writing, I applied myself to other + occupations,--calculations, music, etc., or I walked up and down in + the room; but I only examined the replies when she had stopped + writing. + + Nothing indicated that the physical and physiological condition of the + medium during these writings was in any way different from that of her + ordinary condition. Mme. G. could interrupt her writing at will and + apply herself to other occupations or make responses about things + unconnected with the séance, and it never happened that she found + herself short of an answer. + + There is no parallelism between these writings and the mental + endowments of Mme. G., either in promptness of repartee, in breadth of + view, or in philosophic depth. + + In 1890 I bought Flammarion's _Uranie_, which Mme. G. did not read + until 1891. I found in it doctrines absolutely similar to those which + I had deduced from my experiments and from our communications. Any one + who should compare these mediumistic writings with the philosophical + works of the French astronomer would be led to believe that Mme. G. + had previously read them. + + Psychic phenomena have this peculiarity, that identical assertions are + made in far distant places through mediums who have never known each + other,--a fact which would tend to demonstrate that, running through + many declarations which apparently contradict each other, there is a + certain uniformity of action on the part of the intelligent occult + power. + + In 1890 I also read the work of Dr. Antoine Cros, _The Problem_, in + which I also found astonishing agreements between the ideas of this + author and those of our Unknown Inspirer,--among others this: that man + himself creates his Paradises and becomes that to which he has + aspired. + + We should always seek the simplest explanation of the facts, without + desiring to find the occult in them, and above all without looking for + spirits everywhere, but also without wishing, under any circumstances, + to reject the intervention of unknown agents and deny the facts when + they cannot be explained. + + It is rather curious to remark that if we compare the dictations given + by the tables and the other so-called mediumistic phenomena with + observations made in conditions of natural or hypnotic somnambulism, + we find the same phases of incoherence, hesitation, error, lucidity + and supernormal excitation of the faculties. + + On the other hand, the supernormal excitation of the faculties neither + explains the cases of prediction nor the citation of unknown facts. In + the case of many telepathic or other phenomena every explanation limps + that excludes the intervention of external intelligences. But it is + still impossible to formulate a theory. There exists a gap to be + filled by new discoveries.[79] + +I will add to these conclusions two short extracts from a letter which M. +Goupil wrote me on the 13th of April, 1899, and from another one on the +1st of June, in the same year. + + 1. Replying to the request which you address to your readers, I will + say that I have never observed telepathic cases, but that I have for a + long time been experimenting with the phenomena _called_ + Spiritualistic, of which I was a simple analyst. I have come to no + conclusions as to explanatory theories. However, I consider it + _probable_ that there exists powerful intelligences other than human + that intervene under certain circumstances. My opinion is based upon a + large number of very curious personal occurrences. In my opinion, we + have not in these phenomena the appearance of simple coincidences, but + of circumstances willed, foreseen, and produced by an intelligent _x_. + + 2. Of the ensemble--of all that I have seen--there is simultaneously + the reflex action of the experimenters and an independent personality. + This hypothesis seems to me true, while I should make at the same time + this reservation, that the personality or spirit is not a finished + being, with limitations of form, such as an invisible man would have, + going, coming and executing commissions for human beings. I have + glimpses of a grander and vaster system. + + Take a handful of the ocean, and you have _water_. + + Take a handful of the atmosphere, and you have _air_. + + Take a handful of space, and you have _mind_. + + That is the way I interpret it. That is why mind is always present, + ready to respond when it finds in any place a stimulus that incites + it, and an organism which permits it to manifest itself. + +Let us confess that the problem is complex and that it is good to compare +all the hypotheses.[80] + +From the numerous papers and documents laid out at this moment upon my +writing-desk, I can only select a small number for insertion here, +although they all have their special interest. One is overwhelmed by the +richness and vastness of the material. However, out of the material +acquired in the course of the Inquiry of which I spoke above, let me give +here one piece which I should regret not to be able to include within the +compass of the present work. + +The former governess of the poet Alfred de Musset, Mme. Martelet, née +Adèle Colin,--who still lives in Paris and who has just been present (in +1906) at the unveiling of the statue of the poet (although his death dates +from the year 1857),--has given the following account, which may be added +here to that of movements without contact. + + An inexplicable occurrence which my sister, Mme. Charlot, and myself + witnessed impressed us most deeply. It took place at the time of the + last sickness of M. de Musset. I shall never forget the emotion we + felt that evening, and I still have the minutest incidents of the + strange occurrence stamped on my memory. + + My master, who had taken no rest during all the previous night, had + toward the end of the day, fallen into a doze in a large easy-chair. + My sister and I had entered the chamber on tip-toe, in order not to + trouble this precious rest of his, and we sat quietly down in a corner + where we were concealed by the curtains of the bed. + + The invalid could not perceive us, but we saw him very well, and I + sorrowfully contemplated that suffering face which I knew I could not + much longer look upon. And still, even now, when I recall the features + of my master, I see them as they appeared to me on that evening,--the + eyes closed, his finely shaped head resting upon the easy-chair, and + his long, thin, pale hands (the paleness of the dead already upon + them), crossed upon his knees in a contracted and shriveled way. We + remained motionless and silent, and the chamber, lighted only by a + feeble lamp, seemed wrapped in shadows and was filled with that + peculiar mournful atmosphere that characterizes the chamber of the + dying. + + Suddenly we heard a deep sigh. The invalid had waked up and I saw his + looks go toward the bell-cord that hung near the fireplace some steps + from the easy-chair. He evidently wanted to ring, and I do not know + what feeling it was that held me nailed to my place. Still I did not + move, and my master, having a horror of solitude and believing that he + was alone in his chamber, rose up, stretched out his arm with the + evident intention of calling someone; but, already fatigued by this + effort, he fell back into the chair without having taken a step. It + was at this moment that we had an experience that terrified us. The + bell, which the sick man had not touched, rang, and instinctively, at + the same moment, my sister and I seized each other's hands, each + anxiously interrogating the face of the other. + + "Did you hear?"--"Did you see?"--"He did not move from his chair!" + + At this moment the nurse entered and innocently asked, "Did you ring, + sir?" + + This event put us into an extraordinary state of mind, and if I had + not had my sister with me I should have believed that it was an + hallucination. But both of us saw, and all three of us heard. It is a + good many years now since all that took place, but I can still hear + the ominous and mournful sound of that bell ringing in the silence of + the chamber. + +This account, also, seems not to be devoid of value. There are undoubtedly +several ways of explaining it. The first is that which occurs to +everybody. + +The Frenchman, born malign, says Boileau, does not mince matters, and, +apropos of this story of De Musset, simply exclaims in his language +(always flashy and devoid of literary distinction), "What a fine piece of +rot!" And that is all there is to it. A few may reflect for a moment more, +and not admit that there is necessarily any invention on the part of the +governess, and may think that she, as well as her sister, believed that De +Musset had not touched the bell cord, while in reality he touched it with +the ends of his fingers. But these ladies can answer that the distance +between the hand of the poet and the cord was too great, that the cord was +inaccessible in that position, _and that it was that very thing which +impressed them_, and without which there would have been no story to tell. +We may also suppose that the bell was rung by some external force +impinging on it, although the cord was not pulled. We may still further +suppose that, in the restlessness of these hours of distress, the +waiting-woman came in without having heard anything, and that the +coincidence of her arrival with the gesture of De Musset surprised the two +watchers, who afterward thought that they had heard the bell. However, to +sum up the whole thing, while we may regard the occurrence as +inexplicable, we may yet admit its truth as narrated. This seems to me the +most logical view, and the more so that the gentle poet had, several times +in his life, given other proofs of possessing faculties of this kind. + +I will add here one more instance of the _movement of objects without +contact_ which is not without value. It was published by Dr. Coues in the +_Annales des sciences psychiques_, for the year 1893. The views stated are +also worthy of being summed up here. The observers, Dr. and Mrs. Elliott +Coues, speak out of their own personal experience. + + It is a principle of physics that a heavy body can only be put in + motion by the direct application of a mechanical force sufficient to + overcome its inertia, and orthodox science maintains that the idea of + action at a distance is an erroneous idea. + + The authors of the present study assert, on the contrary, that heavy + bodies may be, and frequently are, put in motion without any kind of + direct application of mechanical force, and that action at a distance + is a well-established fact in nature. We offer proofs of these + propositions based on a series of experiments undertaken for this + purpose. + + We often repeated these experiments, _during more than two years_, + with results that were convincing not only to ourselves but to many + other witnesses. + + We do not understand how the scientific world has been able to accept + the idea that the expression "action at a distance" is a false one, + unless those who see an error in the assertion attach to these words a + special meaning of which we are ignorant. + + It is certain that the sun acts at a distance upon the earth and the + other planets of the solar system. It is certain that a piece of + anything thrown into the air falls back in consequence of the + attraction of gravitation,--and that, too, at no matter what distance. + The law of gravitation, so far as we know it, is universal, and it is + not yet proved that there exists a ponderable, or otherwise palpable, + medium which serves to transmit the force.[81] + + We go a little farther, even, and declare that, probably, all action + of matter is an action at a distance, especially since (so far as our + knowledge goes) there are not in the whole universe two particles of + matter in absolute contact; and, consequently, if they act the one + upon the other, it must be at some distance, this distance being + infinitely small and entirely inappreciable to our senses. + + We therefore maintain that the law of movement at a distance is a + universal mechanical law and that the idea that it does not exist is a + kind of a paradox, simply a hair-splitting quibble. + +The two authors of this study sometimes experimented together, sometimes +separately, more often with one or more additional experimenters, +sometimes with four, five, six, seven or eight. They witnessed at +different times, in full light, the vigorous and even violent movements of +a large table which nobody touched directly or indirectly. The persons +mentioned were all friends of theirs, living, like them, in the city of +Washington, and all sincerely desirous of knowing the truth of the matter. +There was no professional medium. + + The scene opens in a little parlor in our house (they write). In the + centre of the room is a large heavy oak table in marquetry, which + weighs about one hundred pounds. The top is oval and measures four + feet and a half by three and a half. It has only a single support, in + the middle, branching off into three legs, or feet, with casters. + Above it is the chandelier, several burners of which are lighted and + give sufficient light for the ladies to read and work by the table. + Dr. Coues is seated in his easy-chair, in a corner of this large room, + at a distance from the table, reading or writing by the light of two + other burners. + + The ladies express the wish to see if the table "will do something," + as they say. + + The cloth is removed. Mrs. C., seated in a low rocking-chair, places + her hands on the table. Mrs. A., also seated in a low easy-chair, does + the same, facing her at the opposite side of the table. Their hands + are opened and placed upon the upper surface of the table. In this + position, they cannot lift the table by themselves with their hands: + that is an entire impossibility. Neither can they push it by leaning + on it in order to make it rise on the opposite side, except by + muscular effort easily observed. Neither can they lift the table + unaided with their knees, since these are at least a foot away from + the top and since moreover their feet never leave the floor. Finally, + they cannot lift the table by means of their toes slipped under a foot + of the table, because the table is too heavy. + + Under these conditions, and beneath the full light of at least four + gas jets, the table habitually began to crack or snap, and produced + divers strange noises quite different from those which could be + obtained by leaning upon it. These noises soon showed, if I may so + say, some reason in their incoherence, and certain definite strokes or + rappings came to represent "yes," and "no." According to an arranged + code of signals, we were able to enter into a conversation with an + unknown being. Then the table was generally polite enough to do what + it was asked. One side or another of it tipped as we wished. It went + from one side or the other according as we requested. Under these + circumstances we made the following experiments: + + The two ladies removed their hands from the table and drew back their + chairs, while still remaining seated in them at a distance of _one or + two feet_. Dr. Coues from his arm chair saw distinctly above and + beneath the table. The feet of the ladies were from twelve to + thirty-six inches distant from the feet of the table. Their heads and + their hands were still farther off. There was no contact with it. Even + their dresses were not within a foot or two of it. Under these + conditions, the table lifted one of its feet and let it fall heavily + back. It lifted two feet to a height of from two to six inches, and, + when they fell back, the blow was heavy enough to make the floor + shake, and make the glass globes of the chandelier tinkle. Besides + these energetic, even violent movements, the table displayed its power + by means of raps or balancings. + + Its _yes's_ or its _no's_ were commonly rational, sometimes in + agreement with the ideas of the one who put the question, sometimes in + persistent opposition to those ideas. Sometimes the invisible agent + affirmed that he was a certain person, and maintained that + individuality during an entire séance. Or possibly this character was + dropped, so to speak, or at least ceased to appear, and another + person, or another being, took its place, with different ideas and + opinions. Thereupon, the raps or the movements also differed. Finally + the inanimate table, which was supposed to be inert, took on for the + moment all the appearance of a living being possessing an intelligence + as keen as that of an ordinary person. It expressed itself with as + much will and individuality as our friends caused it to do by their + voices and their gestures. And yet, during this whole time _no one of + the three persons present touched the table_, the two ladies being at + a distance of two or three feet, and Dr. Coues seven to ten feet, in a + corner of the room, which was lighted by four gas jets. There was no + other person present that one could see. If this was not a case of + telekinesis, or movement of objects without contact, absolutely + different from ordinary and normal mechanical movement, we can + certainly no longer put trust in our senses. + +These observations of Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Coues are all as positively +accurate and authentic as the occurrence of an earthquake, the falling of +a fire-ball from the sky, a chemical combination, an experiment with an +electrical machine. The sceptics who smile at them and say that everything +is fraud are persons in whom the sense of logic is wanting. + +As to the explanation to be given of them, that is a different question +from that of the pure and simple authentication of the facts. + + Those to whom these descriptions of phenomena and experiments appeal + (adds the narrator) must take particular notice that the authors of + this study, although they have had occasion to speak of conversations + held with the table and to mention special tones of voice, and + intelligible messages imparted by pieces of inert wood, _categorically + refuse to approach the question of the source or origin of the + intelligence thus manifested_. That is an entirely different question, + with which we do not meddle. The single, or at least the principal, + object of the publication of this study is to establish the truth of + movement without contact. + + But, having very plainly verified the fact and established it by + proofs in our possession, it might perhaps be expected of us that we + offer some explanation of the extraordinary things that we vouch for. + We respectfully reply that we are both too old and perhaps too wise to + claim to explain anything. When we were younger, and fancied that we + knew everything, we could explain everything,--at least to our own + satisfaction. Now that we have lived long enough, we have discovered + that every explanation of a thing raises at least two new questions, + and we do not feel any desire to stumble against new difficulties; for + these multiply in geometrical ratio, in proportion to the extent and + accuracy of our researches. We hold to this principle, that nothing is + explained so long as there still remains an explanation to be sought. + Under these conditions, we shall do better to recognize the + inexplicability of these psychical mysteries, before, rather than + after, futile theories about them. + +There you have what is absolutely reasonable, whatever may be said of it. + +And now, after these innumerable verifications of facts, and after all +these professions of faith, shall I myself, have the courage, the +pretension, the pride or the simplicity of mind, to start in search of the +much desired information? + +Whether we find it or not, the facts nevertheless exist. It was the object +of this book to convince my readers of this,--readers who should give to +the subject their close attention, be possessed of unbiased judgment and +good faith, and have the eyes of the spirit wide open and free from all +weakness. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES--THEORIES AND DOCTRINES--CONCLUSIONS OF THE AUTHOR + + +It is quite in the fashion, as a general thing, to profess absolute +scepticism regarding the phenomena which form the subject of the present +work. In the opinion of three-quarters of the citizens of our planet all +unexplained noises in haunted houses; all displacements without contact of +bodies more or less heavy; all movements of tables, pianos, or other +objects produced in the experiments styled Spiritualistic; all +communications dictated by raps or by unconscious writing; all +apparitions, partial or total, of phantom forms--are illusions, +hallucinations, or hoaxes. No explanation is needed. The only rational +opinion is that all "mediums," professional or not, are imposters, and the +participators in a séance are imbeciles. + +Sometimes one of these eminent judges consents, not to cease tipping the +wink and smiling in his royal competency, but to condescend to be present +at a séance. If, as only too frequently happens, no response to the +command of the will is obtained, the illustrious observer retires, firmly +convinced that, by his extraordinary penetration, he has discovered the +cheat and blocked everything by his clairvoyant intuition. He at once +writes to the journals, shows up the fraud, and sheds humanitarian +crocodile tears over the sad spectacle of men, apparently intelligent, +allowing themselves to be taken in by impostures, detected by him at the +first blush. + +This first and easy explanation, that everything in the manifestations is +fraud, has been so often exposed, discussed, and refuted during the course +of this work that my readers probably consider it (at least I hope they +do) as entirely, absolutely, and definitely decided and thrown out of the +ring. + +However, I advise you not to speak too freely of these things at table, or +in a drawing room if you do not like to have people making fun of you, +more or less discreetly. If you air your views in public, you will produce +the same effect as those eccentric fellows of the time of Ptolemy, who +dared to speak of the movement of the earth and excited such +inextinguishable laughter in respectable society that the echoes ring with +it still in Athens, Alexandria, and Rome. It is only a repetition of what +took place when Galileo spoke of the spots on the sun, Galvani of +electricity, Jenner of vaccine, Jouffroy and Fulton of the steamship, +Chappe of the telegraph, Lebon of gas-lighting, Stephenson of railways, +Daguerre of photography, Boucher de Perthes of the fossil man, Mayer of +thermodynamics, Wheatstone of the transatlantic cable, etc. If we could +gather up all the sarcasms launched at the heads of these "poor +crazy-wits," we should get a fine basket of venerable blunders, moldy as a +remainder biscuit after a voyage. + +So let us not speak too much of our mysteries--unless it amuses us, in our +turn, to ask some questions of the prettiest dolls in the company. One of +them inquired in my presence, yesterday evening, what the man named +Lavoisier did, and whether he was dead. Another thought that Auguste Comte +was a writer of songs and asked if any one knew one of them which would +suit a mezzo-soprano voice. Another was astonished that Louis XIV had not +built one of the two railway stations of Versailles nearer the palace. + +Moreover, on my balcony, a member of the Institute, who saw Jupiter +shining in the southern sky at the meridian point, over one of the cupolas +of the Observatory, obstinately maintained in my presence that this +luminary was the polar star. I did not dispute the point with him _too_ +long! + +There are not a few people who believe at once in the value of universal +suffrage and in that of titles of nobility. Of course, we will not force +these Janus-faced wise men to vote upon the admissibility of psychic +phenomena into the sphere of science. + +But we will henceforth consider this admissibility as something granted, +and, tossing back to the laughing sceptics, to the habitués of clubs and +cliques, the general opinion of the world, of which I have just spoken, +begin here our logical analysis. + +We have had under consideration during the course of this work several +theories by scientific investigators which are worthy of attention. Let us +first of all sum these up. + + In the opinion of Gasparin, these unexplained movements are produced + by a _fluid_, emanating from us under the action of our will. + + Professor Thury thinks that this fluid, which he calls _psychode_, is + a substance which forms a link between the soul and the body; but + there may also exist certain wills external to ourselves, and of + unknown nature, working side by side with us. + + The chemist Crookes attributes the phenomena to psychic force, this + being the agent by which the phenomena are produced; but he adds that + this force may well be, in certain cases, seized upon and directed by + some other intelligence. "The difference between the partisans of + psychic force and those of Spiritualism," he writes, "consists in + this: we maintain that it is not yet _proved_ that there exists a + directing agent other than the intelligence of the medium and that + presence and actions of the spirits of the dead are felt in the + phenomena, while, on the contrary, the Spiritualists accept as an + article of faith, without demanding more proofs thereof, that these + spirits are the sole agents in the production of the observed facts." + + Albert de Rochas defines these phenomena as "_an externalization of + motivity_," and considers them to be produced by the fluidic double, + "the astral body" of the medium, a nerve-fluid able to act and + perceive at a distance. + + Lombroso declares that the explanation must be sought simply in the + nervous system of the medium, and that we have in the phenomena + _transformation of forces_. + + Dr. Ochorowicz affirms that he has not found proofs in favor of the + Spiritualistic hypothesis, any more than he has in favor of the + intervention of external intelligences, and that the cause of the + phenomena is a _fluidic double_ detaching itself from the organism of + the medium. + + The astronomer Porro is inclined to admit the possible action of + unknown spirits, of living forms different from our own, not + necessarily the souls of the dead, but psychical entities to be + studied. In a recent letter he wrote me that the theosophic doctrine + appeared to him to approach the nearest to a solution.[82] + + Prof. Charles Richet thinks that the Spiritualistic hypothesis is far + from being demonstrated, that the observed facts relate to an entirely + different order of causes, as yet very difficult to disentangle and + that in the present state of our knowledge no final conclusion can be + agreed on. + + The naturalist Wallace, Professor Morgan, and the electrician Varley + declare, on the other hand, that sufficient proof has been given them + to warrant them in accepting without reserve the Spiritualistic + doctrine of disembodied souls. + + Prof. James H. Hyslop, of the University of Columbia, who has made a + special study of these phenomena, in the Proceedings of the London + Society for Psychical Research, and in his works _Science and a Future + Life_ and _Enigmas of Psychical Research_, thinks that there are not + yet enough severely critical verifications to warrant any theory. + + Dr. Grasset, a disciple of Pierre Janet, does not admit displacement + of objects, or levitation, or the greater part of the facts described + in this book as proved, and thinks what is called Spiritualism is a + question of medical biology, of "the physiopathology of the nervous + centres," in which a celebrated cerebral polygon with a musical + conductor named O, plays an automatic rôle of a very curious + description. + + Dr. Maxwell concludes from his observations that the greater part of + the phenomena, the reality of which cannot be doubted, are produced by + a force existing in us, that this force is intelligent, and that the + intelligence manifested comes from the experimenters. This would be a + kind of collective consciousness. + + M. Marcel Mangin does not adopt this "collective consciousness," and + declares that it is certain that the being, in the séances, who + asserts that he is a manifestation is "the sub-consciousness of the + medium." + +The foregoing are some of the principal opinions. It would take a whole +book to discuss in writing the proposed explanations, but that is not my +object. My aim was to focus the question on what concerns THE +ADMISSIBILITY OF THE PHENOMENA INTO THE SPHERE OF POSITIVE SCIENCE. + +However, now that this is done, we cannot but ask ourselves, what +conclusions may be drawn from all these observations. + +If we wish to obtain, after this mass of verifications, a satisfactory +rational explanation, it seems to me we must proceed gradually, classify +the facts, analyze them, and only admit them in proportion to their +absolute and demonstrated certainty. We live in a very complex universe, +and the most singular confusion has arisen among phenomena which are very +distinct one from another. + +As I said in 1869, at the tomb of Allan Kardec, "The causes in action are +of several kinds, and are more numerous than one would suppose." + +Can we explain the observed phenomena, or at least any portion of it? It +is our duty to try. For this purpose I shall classify them in the order of +increasing difficulties. It is always advisable to begin with the +beginning. + +May I hope that the reader will have got a clear idea in his mind of the +experiments and observations set forth in the previous pages of this work? +It would be a little insipid to refer every time to the pages where the +phenomena have been described. + + 1. ROTATION OF THE TABLE, _with contact of the hands of a certain + number of operators_. + + This rotation can be explained by an unconscious impulse given to the + table. All that is necessary is that each one push a little in the + same way, and the movement will take place. + + + 2. MOVEMENT OF THE TABLE, _the hands of the experimenters resting upon + it_. + + The operators push and the table is led along without their knowing + it, each one acting in a greater or less degree. They think they are + following it, but they are really leading it along. We have in this + only the result of muscular efforts, generally of a rather slight + nature. + + + 3. LIFTING OF THE TABLE _on the side opposite to that upon which the + hands of the principal actor are placed_. + + Nothing is more simple. The pressure of the hands upon a centre-table + with three legs suffices to produce the lifting of the leg the + farthest removed, and thus to strike all the letters of the alphabet. + The movement is less easy in the case of a table with four legs; but + it can also be obtained. + + These three movements are the only ones, it seems to me, which can be + explained without the least mystery. Still, the third is only + explicable in case the table is not too heavy. + + + 4. IMPARTING LIFE TO THE TABLE. + + Several experimenters being seated around the table, and forming the + chain with the desire of seeing it rise, the waves of a kind of + vibrations (light at first) are perceived to be passing through the + wood. Then balancings are noticed, some of which may be due to + muscular impulses. But already something more is now mingled in the + process. The table seems to be set in motion of itself. Sometimes it + rises, no longer as if moved by a lever, or by pressure on one side, + but _under the hands_, as if it were sticking to them. This levitation + is contrary to the law of gravitation. Hence we have here a discharge + of force. This force emanates from our organism. There is no + sufficient reason to seek for anything else. Nevertheless, what we + have detected is a thing of prime importance. + + + 5. ROTATION WITHOUT CONTACT. + + The table being in rapid rotation, we can remove our hands from it, + and see it continue the movement. The velocity or momentum acquired + may explain the momentary continuation of this movement and the + explanation given in the case of No. 1 may suffice. But there is more + in it than this. Rotation is obtained by holding the hands at a + distance of some inches above the table, without any contact. A light + layer of flour dusted over the table is found to be untouched by a + single finger. Hence the force emitted by the operators must penetrate + the table. + + The experiments prove that we have in us a force capable of acting at + a distance upon matter, a natural force, generally latent, but + developed in different degrees in different mediums. The action of the + force is manifested under conditions as yet imperfectly determined. + (See pp. 81, 248 _et seq._) We can act upon brute matter, upon living + matter, upon the brain and upon the mind. This action of the will is + shown in telepathy. It is shown more simply still by means of a + well-known experiment: at the theatre, in church, when hearing music, + a man accustomed to the exercise of will-power, and sitting several + rows of seats behind a woman, say, compels her to turn around in less + than a minute. A force emanates from us, from our spirit, acting + undoubtedly by means of etherwaves, the point of departure of which is + a cerebral movement. + + And there is nothing very mysterious in this. I bring my hand near a + thermometer, and ascertain that something invisible is escaping from + my hand, and, at a certain remove, making the column of mercury rise. + This something else is heat; that is to say, aërial waves in movement. + Then why might not other radiations emanate from our hands and from + our whole being? + + But, nevertheless, there is a very important scientific fact to be + established. + + This physical force is greater than that of the muscles, as I am going + to prove. + + + 6. LIFTING OF WEIGHTS. + + A table is loaded with sacks of sand and with stones weighing + altogether from 165 to 176 pounds. The table lifts each of its three + legs several times in succession. But it succumbs under the load and + is broken. The operators ascertain that their muscular force would not + have sufficed to produce the observed movements. The will acts by a + dynamic prolongation. + + + 7. LIFTINGS WITHOUT CONTACT. + + The hands forming the chain some inches above the side of the table + which is to be lifted, and all wills being concentrated on the one + idea, the lifting of each of the legs in succession takes place. The + liftings are more readily obtained than rotations without contact. An + energetic will seems to be indispensable. The unknown force passes + from the experimenters to the table without any contact. If the table + is dusted over with flour, as I said, not the slightest finger-touch + is seen to be imprinted on it. + + The will of the sitters is in play. The table is ordered to make such + and such a movement and it obeys. This will seems to be prolonged + beyond the bodies of the operating experimenters in the shape of a + force that is quite intense. + + This power is developed by action. The balancings prepare for the + rising and the latter for complete levitation. + + + 8. REDUCING THE WEIGHT OF THE TABLE OR OTHER OBJECTS. + + A quadrangular table is suspended by one of its sides to a dynamometer + attached to a cord which is held above by some kind of a hook. The + needle of the dynamometer, which, in a state of rest, indicates 35 + kilograms, gradually descends to 3, 2, 1, 0 kilograms. + + A mahogany board is placed horizontally, and hung by one end to a + spring balance. This balance (or scales), has a point which touches a + pane of glass blackened by smoke. When this pane of glass is put in + movement, the needle traces a horizontal line. During the experiments, + this line is no longer straight, but marks reductions and increments + of weight, produced without any contact of hands. In the experiments + of Crookes we saw that the weight of a board increased almost 1-1/4 + pounds. + + The medium places his hands _upon_ the back of a chair and lifts the + chair. + + + 9. AUGMENTATION OF THE WEIGHT OF A TABLE OR OTHER OBJECTS.--PRESSURES + EXERTED. + + The dynamometric experiments that we have just recalled themselves go + to show this augmentation. + + I have more than once seen, in other circumstances, a table become so + heavy that it was absolutely impossible for two men to lift it from + the floor. When they succeeded in doing so, in a measure, by means of + quick jerks, it still seemed to stick to the floor as if held by glue + or india rubber, which immediately pulled it back to the floor after + it had been slightly displaced. + + In all these experiments, there is proof of the action of an unknown + natural force emanating from the chief experimenter or from the + collective powers of the group, an organic force under the influence + of the will. It is not necessary to suppose the presence of superhuman + spirits. + + + 10. THE COMPLETE LIFTING UP, OR LEVITATION OF THE TABLE. + + As there may be confusion in applying the word "lifting" to a table + which only rises on one side at a certain angle, while still touching + the floor, it is expedient to apply the word "levitation" to the case + in which it is completely separated from the floor. + + Generally, in levitation, it rises from six to eight inches from the + floor, for some seconds only, and then falls back. It moves up in a + balancing, undulating, hesitating way, with effort, and then falls + straight down. While resting our hands upon it, we have the sensation + of a fluid resistance, as of it were in water,--the kind of fluid + sensation we experience when we bring a piece of iron into the field + of force of a magnet. + + A table, a chair or other movable article sometimes rises, not merely + a foot or so, but almost to the height of one's head, and even as high + as the ceiling. + + The force brought into play is considerable. + + + 11. LEVITATION OF HUMAN BODIES. + + This case is of the same order as the preceding. The medium may be + raised with his chair and placed upon the table, sometimes in unstable + equilibrium. He may also be lifted alone (without the chair).[83] + + In this case the Unknown Force does not seem to be simply mechanical: + intention is mingled with the act, and ideas of precaution, which, + however may proceed from the mentality of the medium himself, aided + perhaps by that of the sitters. This fact seems to us to contravene + known scientific laws. It is the same case as that of the cat which + knows how to turn of itself, without any outside support or leverage, + when it falls from a roof, and always falls on its feet, a fact + contrary to the principles of mechanics taught in every university in + the world. + + + 12. LIFTING OF VERY HEAVY PIECES OF FURNITURE. + + A piano weighing more than 750 pounds rises up off of its two front + legs, and it is ascertained that its weight varies. The force with + which it is animated arises from the proximity of a child eleven years + old, but it is not the conscious will of this child which acts.--A + heavy oak dining-table may rise so high that its under side can be + inspected during the levitation. + + + 13. DISPLACEMENT OF OBJECTS WITHOUT CONTACT. + + A heavy easy-chair moves about of its own accord in the room. Heavy + curtains reaching from the ceiling to the floor are forcibly swelled + out as if by a gust of wind, and envelop as with a hood the heads of + persons seated at a table, at a distance of three feet and more. A + centre table persists in _the endeavor_ to climb upon the + experiment-table--and gets there. While a sceptical spectator is + bantering the "spirits," the table about which the experiments are + taking place makes a move towards the incredulous person, drawing the + sitters along with it, and pins him to the wall until he begs for + mercy. + + As in the preceding cases, these movements may represent the + expression of the will of the medium, and may not necessarily indicate + the presence of a mind external to his own. Nevertheless--? + + + 14. RAPS AND TYPTOLOGY. + + In tables, in pianos, and other pieces of furniture, in the walls, in + the air, raps are heard, and their vibrations perceived by the touch. + They somewhat resemble the sounds obtainable by tapping against a + piece of wood with the joint of the bent finger. The question arises, + Whence come these noises? The question is asked aloud. They are + repeated. The request is made that a certain number of strokes be + rapped. The raps are heard. Well-known airs are accompanied by raps + beaten in perfect time with them and identifiable as the counterpart + of the airs. When bits of music are played, the accompaniment is + rapped out. Things take place as if an invisible being were listening + and acting. But how could a being without acoustic nerve and without a + tympanum hear? The sonorous waves must strike something in order to be + interpreted. Is this a mental transmission? + + These raps are made. Who makes them? And how? The mysterious force + emits radiations of wave-lengths inaccessible to our retina, but + powerful and rapid, without doubt more rapid than those of light, and + situated beyond the ultraviolet. Besides, light impedes their action. + + In proportion as we advance in the examination of the phenomena, the + psychic, intellectual, mental element is more and more mingled with + the physical and mechanical element. In the case we are considering we + are forced to admit the presence, the action, of a thought. Is this + thought simply that of the medium, of the chief experimenter, or the + resultant of the thoughts of all the sitters united? + + Since these raps or those made by the legs of the table, on being + interrogated, dictate words and phrases and express ideas, there is + something more in the matter than a simple mechanical action. The + unknown force, the existence of which we have been obliged to admit in + the preceding observations, is in this case at the service of an + intelligence. The mystery grows complicated. + + It is owing to this intellectual element that I proposed (before 1865; + see p. xix) to give the name "_psychic_" to this force, a name + proposed anew by Crookes in 1871. We saw also that, as early as the + year 1855, Thury had proposed the name "_psychode_" and "_ecteneic_" + force. From this on, it would be impossible for us in our examination + not to take into consideration this psychic force. + + Up to this point, Gasparin's fluid might suffice, just as unconscious + muscular action sufficed for the first three classes of facts. But + starting from this fourteenth class, the psychic order plainly + manifests itself (and even in the preceding class we begin already to + divine its presence). + + + 15. MALLET-BLOWS. + + I have heard--as have all other experimenters--not only sharp light + raps upon a table, like those of which I have just been speaking, but + mallet-blows, or blows of the fist upon a door, capable of knocking + down a man if he had received them. Generally, these tremendous blows + are a protestation against a denial on the part of one of the sitters. + There is in them an intention, a will, an intelligence. They may also + be due to the medium, who is indignant, or who is amusing himself or + herself. The action is not muscular; for the hands and feet of the + medium are held, and the rapping may occur some distance away from him + or her. + + + 16. TOUCHINGS. + + Fraud can explain those which take place within the reach of the + medium's hands, for they only occur in the darkness. But they have + been felt at a certain distance beyond this reach as if the hands of + the medium were prolonged. + + + 17. ACTION OF INVISIBLE HANDS. + + An accordion in an open-work case, or cage, which keeps any other hand + from touching it, is held in one hand by the end opposite the keys. + Presently the instrument begins to lengthen and shorten of itself and + plays various melodies. An invisible hand with fingers (or something + like them), must therefore be acting. (Experiment of Crookes with + Home.) As the reader has seen I repeated this experiment with Eusapia. + + Another time, a music-box, the handle of which was turned by an + invisible hand, played in perfect time with the music movements that + Eusapia was making upon my cheek. + + An invisible hand forcibly snatched from my hand a block of paper + which I was holding out with extended arm at the height of my head. + + Invisible hands removed from M. Schiaparelli's head his spectacles + (furnished with a spring), which were firmly fastened behind his ears, + and that so nimbly and with such light touch that he did not perceive + it until afterwards. + + + 18. APPARITIONS OF HANDS. + + The hands are not always invisible. Sometimes semi-luminous ones are + seen to appear in the dim light,--hands of men, hands of women, hands + of children. Sometimes they have clear-cut outlines. They are + generally firm and moist to the touch, sometimes icy cold. At times + they melt away in the hand. For my part I was never able to grasp one. + It was always the mysterious hand that took mine,--often feeling + through a curtain, or sometimes by nude contact, or pinching my ear, + or running its fingers through my hair with great rapidity. + + + 19. APPARITIONS OF HEADS. + + For my part, I have only seen two: the bearded silhouette at + Monfort-l'Amaury, and the head of a young girl with high-arched + forehead, in my drawing-room. In the case of the first I had believed + that there was a mask held at the end of a rod. But at my own home, + there was no possibility of an accomplice, and at present I am not + less sure of the first instance than of the other. Moreover, the + testimony of other observers is so precise and so often given that it + is imperative that it be classed with my own. + + + 20. PHANTOMS. + + I have never seen any of these nor photographed them, but it seems to + me impossible to be sceptical about that of Katie King, observed for + three consecutive years by Crookes and others who experimented with + the medium Florence Cook. One can scarcely doubt, also, the reality of + the phantoms seen by the committee of the Dialectical Society of + London. We have seen that trickery plays a frequent rôle in this sort + of apparitions; but, in the experiments just mentioned, the + observations were really conducted with such perspicacity that they + are safe from all objection, and have on them the stamp of a purely + scientific character. + + These phantoms, like the heads and the hands mentioned, seem to be + condensations of fluids produced by the powers of the medium, and do + not prove the existence of independent spirits. + + When the hand is stretched out, the rubbing of a beard can be felt + upon it. This happened to me, as well as to others. Did the beard + really exist, or was it only a case of tactual and visual sensations? + The case here immediately following pleads in favor of its reality. + + + 21. IMPRESSIONS OF HEADS AND OF HANDS. + + The heads and the hands formed are sufficiently dense to leave a mould + of their features and shape imprinted in the putty or the clay. + Perhaps the most curious thing is that it is not necessary that these + weird formations, these forces, be visible in order to produce + impressions. We have seen a vigorous gesture imprint itself at a + distance in clay. + + + 22. PASSING OF MATTER THROUGH MATTER.--TRANSFERS, OR THE BRINGING IN + OF OBJECTS. + + A book has been seen passing through a curtain. A bell has passed from + a library-room, locked with a key, into a drawing-room. A flower has + been seen passing perpendicularly downward through a dining-room + table. Some have thought they had ocular proof of the mysterious + appearance of plants, of flowers, of fruits, and other objects, which + (as the claim went) had passed through walls, ceilings, doors. + + The latter phenomenon took place several times in my presence. But I + was never able to get certain proof of it under unimpeachable + conditions; and I have ferreted out many a trick. + + The experiments of Zöllner (a wooden ring entering into another wooden + ring, a string tied at the two ends making a knot, etc.) would, of + course, be a thing of exceptional interest if the medium Slade had not + the bad reputation of being just a skilful prestidigitator,--a + reputation probably only too well merited. I should think that there + is good reason to suppose that the experiments of Crookes are + authentic. + + Has space only three dimensions? We will set this question aside. + + + 23. MANIFESTATIONS DIRECTED BY AN INTELLIGENCE. + + These have been already glimpsed in a certain number of the preceding + cases. The forces in action here are of the psychical as well as the + physical class. The question is to know whether the intellect of the + medium and of the sitters is sufficient to explain everything. + + In all the cases I have previously mentioned, this intellect seem to + suffice, but only by attributing to it occult faculties of prodigious + potency. + + In the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible for us to + understand the way in which mind, conscious or unconscious, can lift a + table, make raps in wood, form a hand or a head, stamp an imprint. The + _modus operandi_ is absolutely unintelligible to us. Future science + will perhaps discover it. But all these actions never overpass the + limits of man's capacities, and let us admit, the capacity required is + not an extraordinary one. + + The hypothesis of spirits of another order than that of living human + beings does not seem to be necessary. + + The hypothesis of the doubling of the psychic personality of the + medium is the most simple. Is it sufficient to entirely satisfy us? + + Hard blows on the table like those of a fist, contrasting with gentle + taps, may have this origin, in spite of appearance. + + It is the same with apparitions of the hands, of heads, of spectral + forms. We cannot declare this origin of the phenomena to be + impossible; and it is more simple than to assume that they are due to + wandering spirits. + + The conveying of objects over the heads of the experimenters in + complete darkness, without touching either chandelier or heads, is + scarcely comprehensible. But do we understand any better how a spirit + can have hands? And if it did, might it not amuse itself thus? + Spectacles are taken from a face without the act being perceived; a + handkerchief is removed from the neck, then snatched from between the + teeth that are holding it; a fan is transferred from one pocket to + another. Do latent faculties of the human organism suffice to explain + these intentional actions? It is right for us neither to affirm nor to + deny. + +I have thus passed in review the whole series of phenomena to be +explained, at least all those within the limits of the plan of this work. + +A first, and obviously safe, conclusion is that man has in himself a +fluidic and psychic force whose nature is still unknown, but which is +capable of acting at a distance upon matter and of moving the same. + +This force is the expression of our will, of our desires; I mean as it +appears in the first ten cases of the preceding classifications. For the +other cases we must add the unconscious, the unforeseen, wills different +from our conscious wills. + +The force is at once physical and psychical. If the medium puts forth a +force of twelve or fourteen pounds to lift a table, his weight undergoes a +corresponding increase. The hand which we see forming near him is able to +grasp an object. The hand really exists, and is then reabsorbed. Might we +not compare the force which brings it into existence with that +building-force of nature, which reproduces a claw for the lobster and a +tail for the lizard? The intervention of spirits is not all +indispensable.[84] + +In mediumistic experiments things happen as if an invisible being were +present, able to transport the different objects through the air, usually +without striking against the heads of the persons who are sitting in +various parts of the room in almost complete darkness; capable also of +acting upon a curtain like a strong wind, pushing it far out, able to +fling this curtain over your head, giving you a Capuchin hood or coiffure, +and pressing strongly against your body, as if with two nervous arms, and +touching you with a warm and living hand. I have perceived these hands in +the most unmistakble way. The invisible being can condense itself +sufficiently to become visible, and I have seen it passing in the air. To +suppose that I, as well as other experimenters, was the dupe of an +hallucination is an hypothesis which cannot be maintained for a single +moment and would simply show that those who entertained the idea were far +more likely to have an hallucination than we were, or else that they +entertained the most inexcusable prepossession and prejudice. We were in +the best possible condition for observing and analysizing any phenomena +whatever and no sceptic will make us believe anything different on this +point. + +There is certainly an invisible prolongation of the organism of the +medium. This prolongation may be compared to the radiation which leaps +from the loadstone to reach a bit of iron and put it into movement. + +We can also compare it with the effluvium which emanates from electrified +bodies.[85] + +I also compared it some pages back to calorific waves. + +When a medium makes a gesture of striking the table with his closed fist, +but stops short at a distance of from eight to twelve inches, and when, at +every gesture, a sonorous stroke of the fist echoes in the table, we see +in that the proof of a dynamic prolongation of the arm of the medium. + +When she pretends to imitate on my cheek the rotation of the crank of a +music-box, and when this box keeps time with the imitated movement, stops +when the fingers stop, plays the tune faster when the finger accelerates +its circular tracings, goes slower when it goes slower, etc., we have here +again proof of dynamic action at a distance. + +When an accordion plays of its own will, when a bell begins to ring of +itself, when a lever indicates such and such a pressure, there is a real +force in action. + +We must therefore admit, first of all, this prolongation of the muscular +and nervous force of the subject. I am keenly sensible of the fact that +this is a bold proposition, almost incredible, most strange and +extraordinary; but after all the facts are there, and whether the matter +irks us or not is a small matter. + +This prolongation is real, and only extends to a certain distance from the +medium, a distance which can be measured, and which varies according to +circumstances. But is it sufficient to explain all the observed phenomena? + +We are forced to admit that this prolongation, usually invisible, and +impalpable, may become visible and palpable; take, especially, the form of +an articulated hand, with flesh and muscles; and reveal the exact form of +a head or a body. The fact is incomprehensible; but after so many +different observations, it seems to me impossible to see in this curious +phenomenon only trickery or hallucination. Logic lays its laws upon us and +commands our respect. + +A fluidic and condensable double has therefore the power of gliding +momentarily out from the body of the medium (for his presence is +indispensable). + +How can this double, this fluidic body have the consistency of flesh and +of muscles? We do not understand it. But it would neither be wise nor +intelligent to admit only that which we can comprehend. It must be +remembered that, for the greater part of the time, we imagine we +comprehend things because we can give an explanation of them; that is all. +Now this explanation rarely has any intrinsic value. It is only a +framework of words tacked together. Thus you fancy you understand why an +apple falls from the top of the tree, because you say that the earth +attracts it. This is pure simple-mindedness. For in what does the +attraction of the earth consist? You know nothing about it; but you are +satisfied, because the fact is a common one. + +When the curtain is inflated as if pushed out by a hand, and when you feel +you are pinched in the shoulder by a hand at the moment the curtain +touches you, you have the impression that you are the dupe of an +accomplice hidden behind the curtain. There is some one there who is +playing a practical joke on you. You draw aside the curtain. Nothing! + +Since it is impossible for you to admit a trick of any kind, because you, +and you alone, hung that curtain between the two walls; and since you know +that there is no person behind it because you are close by it and have not +lost it out of your sight; and since the medium is seated near you with +his, or her, hands and legs held, you are forced to admit that a +temporarily materialized being has touched you. + +It is certain that these facts may be denied and that they are denied. +Those who have not personally verified them are excusable. It is not a +question of ordinary events which take place every day and which everybody +can observe. It is evident, as a general proposition, that, if we admit +only what we have ourselves seen, we shall not get very far. We admit the +existence of the Philippine Islands without having been there, of +Charlemagne and of Julius Cæsar without having seen them, of total +eclipses of the sun, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc., as facts of +which we have not ourselves been eye-witnesses. The distance of a star, +the weight of a planet, the composition of one of the heavenly bodies, the +most marvelous discoveries of astronomy, do not excite scepticism, except +in the minds of wholly uncultivated persons, because people in general +appreciate the value of astronomic methods. But undoubtedly, in these +psychical matters, the phenomena are so extraordinary that one is +excusable for not believing them. + +Nevertheless, if anyone will give himself the trouble to reason he will +positively be compelled to recognize that, in following on this trail, he +is inevitably brought to a stand in face of the following dilemma: either +the experimenters have been the dupes of the mediums, who have uniformly +cheated, or else these stupefying facts actually exist. Now since the +first hypothesis is eliminated, we are forced to admit the reality of the +occurrences. + +A fluidic body is formed at the expense of the medium, emerges from his +organism, moves, acts. What is the intelligent force that directs this +fluidic body and makes it act in such or such a way? Either it is the mind +of the medium, or it is another mind that makes use of this same fluid. +There is no escape from this conclusion. I may remark that the +meteorological conditions, fine weather, agreeable temperature, +cheerfulness, high spirits, favor the phenomena; that the medium is never +wholly out of touch with the manifestations, and frequently knows what is +going to take place; that the cause escapes the mental grasp and is +fugitive and capricious; and that the apparitions fade away like a dream +as silently as they are formed. + +Note also that, in important manifestations, the medium suffers, +complains, groans, loses an enormous amount of force, exhibits an +astonishing nervous energy, experiences hyperæsthesia, and at the apogee +of the manifestation, seems for an instant to be absolutely prostrated. +And, in truth, why should not his mind as well as his fluidic force be +haled out of his body and be exhausted in external work? The psychical +force of a living human being is able, then, to create "material" +phenomena--organs, spectral figures. + +But what is matter? + +My readers know that matter does not exist as it is perceived by our +senses. These only give us incomplete impressions of an _Unknown Reality_. +Analysis shows us that matter is only a form of energy. + +In the work called _A Propos d'Eusapia Paladino_, which sums up his +experiments with this medium, M. Guillaume de Fontenay ingeniously tries +to explain the phenomena by the dynamic theory of matter. It is probable +that this explanation is one of those that make the nearest approach to +the truth. + +According to this theory, the quality which seems to us characteristic of +matter--solidity, stability--is no more substantial than the light which +strikes our eyes, or the sound which enters our ears. We see; that is to +say, we receive upon the retina rays which affect it. But around and on +every side of the retina undulate countless other rays that leave no +impression upon it. It is the same with the other senses. + +Matter, like light, like heat, like electricity, seems to be the result of +a species of movement. Movement of what? Of the primitive monistic +substance, quickened by manifold vibrations. + +Most assuredly, matter is not that inert thing that we commonly suppose. + +A comparison will aid in comprehending this. Take a carriage-wheel. Place +it horizontally on a pivot. While the wheel is motionless, let a rubber +ball fall between its spokes. This ball will almost always pass through +between the spokes. Now give a slight movement to the wheel. The ball will +be pretty often hit by the revolving spokes, and will rebound. If we +increase the rotation, the ball will now no longer pass through the wheel, +which will have become for it a wholly impenetrable disc. + +We can try a similar experiment by arranging the wheel vertically and +shooting arrows through it. A bicycle-wheel will serve the purpose very +well, owing to the slenderness of its spokes. When not in movement, the +arrows will pass through it nine times out of ten. In movement, it will +produce in the arrows deviations more or less marked. With increase in the +speed, it would be made impenetrable, and all the arrows would be broken +as if against the steel plating of an armored ship. + +These comparisons allow us to understand how matter is really only a mode +of motion, only an expression of force, a manifestation of energy. It will +disappear (it must be borne in mind) on analysis, which ends by taking +refuge in the intangible, invisible, imponderable, and almost immaterial +atom. The atom itself which was regarded as the basis of matter fifty +years ago, has now disappeared, or rather has been metamorphosed and +reappears as a hypothetical, impalpable vortex. + +I will allow myself to repeat here what I have said a hundred times +elsewhere: _The universe is a dynamism_. + +The difficulty we have in explaining to ourselves apparitions, +materializations, when we try to apply to them the ordinary conception of +matter, is considerably lessened the moment we conceive that matter is +only a mode of motion. + +Life itself, from the most rudimentary cell up to the most complicated +organism, is a special kind of movement, a movement determined and +organized by a directing force. According to this theory, momentary +apparitions would be less difficult to accept and to comprehend. The vital +force of the medium might externalize itself and produce in a point of +space a vibratory system which should be the counterpart of itself, in a +more or less advanced degree of visibility and solidity. These phenomena +can with difficulty be reconciled with the old hypothesis of the +independent and intrinsic existence of matter: They better fit that of +matter as a mode of motion--in a word, simple movement, giving the +sensation of matter. + +There is, of course, only one substance, the primitive substance, which +antedates the original nebula--the womb from which all bodies in the +universe have issued. The substances which the chemists take to be simple +bodies--oxygen, hydrogen, azote, iron, gold, silver, etc.--are mineral +elements which have been gradually formed and differentiated, just as, +later, the vegetable and animal species were differentiated. And not only +is the substance of the world one, but it also has the same origin as +energy, and these two forms are mutually interchangeable. Nothing is lost, +nothing is created, everything is transformed.[86] + +The unique substance is immaterial and unknowable in its essence. We see +and touch only its condensations, its aggregations, its arrangements; that +is to say, forms produced by movement. Matter, force, life, thought, are +all one. + +In reality, there is only one principle in the universe, and it is at once +intelligence, force, and matter, embracing all that is and all that +possibly can be. That which we call matter is only a form of motion. At +the basis of all is force, dynamism, and universal mind, or spirit. + +Visible matter, which stands to us at the present moment for the universe, +and which certain classic doctrines consider as the origin of all +things--movement, life, thought--is only a word void of meaning. The +universe is a great organism controlled by a dynamism of the psychical +order. Mind gleams through its every atom. + +The environment or atmosphere is psychic. There is mind in every thing, +not only in human and animal life, but in plants, in minerals, in space. + +It is not the body which produces life: it is rather life which organizes +the body. Does not the will to live increase the viability of enfeebled +persons, just as the giving up of the wish to live may abridge life and +even extinguish it? + +Your heart beats, night and day, whatever be the position of your body. It +is a well-mounted spring. Who or what adjusted this elastic spring? + +The embryo is formed in the womb of the mother, in the egg of the bird. +There is neither heart nor brain. At a certain moment the heart beats for +the first time. Sublime moment! It will beat in the child, in the +adolescent, in the man, in the woman, at the rate of about 100,000 +pulsations a day, of 36,500,000 a year, of 1,825,000,000 in fifty years. +This heart that has just been formed is going to beat a thousand millions +of pulsations, two thousand millions, three thousand millions, a number +determined by its inherent force; then it will stop and the body will fall +into ruins. Who or what wound up this watch once for all? + +Dynamism, the vital energy. + +What sustains the earth in space? + +Dynamism, the velocity of its movement. + +What is it in the bullet that kills? + +Its velocity. + +Everywhere energy, everywhere the invisible element. It is this same +dynamism that produces the phenomena we have been studying. The question +at present resolves itself into this: Does this dynamism belong wholly to +the experimenters? We have so little real knowledge of our mental nature +that it is impossible for us to know what this nature is capable of +producing, even in certain states of unconsciousness--in fact especially +in these. The directing intelligence is not always the personal, _normal_, +intelligence of the experimenters or of any one whatever among them. We +ask the entity what its name is, and it gives us a name which is not ours; +it replies to our questions, and usually claims to be a discarnate soul, +the spirit of a deceased person. But if we drive the question home, this +entity finally steals away without having given us sufficient proofs of +its identity. There results from this the impression that the "medium," or +principal subject of the experiment, has responded for himself, has +reflected himself, without knowing it. + +Moreover, this entity, this personality, this spirit, has his individual +will, his caprices, his cantankerousness, and sometimes acts in opposition +to our own thoughts. He tells us absurd, foolish, brutal, insane things, +and amuses himself with fantastic combinations of letters, real +head-splitting puzzles. It astonishes and stupefies us. + +What is this being? + +Two inescapable hypotheses present themselves. Either it is we who produce +these phenomena or it is spirits. But mark this well: these spirits are +not necessarily the souls of the dead; for other kinds of spiritual beings +may exist, and space may be full of them without our ever knowing anything +about it, except under unusual circumstances. Do we not find in the +different ancient literatures, demons, angels, gnomes, goblins, sprites, +spectres, elementals, etc? Perhaps these legends are not without some +foundation in fact. Then we cannot but remark that, in our mediumistic +studies and experiments, in order to succeed we always address an +invisible being who is supposed to hear us. If this is an illusion, it +dates from the very origin of Spiritualism, from the raps produced +unconsciously by the Fox sisters in their chambers at Hydesville and at +Rochester in 1848. But once more, this personification may pertain to our +own being or it may represent a mind external to ourselves. + +In order to admit the first hypothesis we must admit at the same time that +our mental nature is not simple, that there are in us several psychic +elements, and that one at least of these elements may act unknown to +ourselves, make raps in a table, move any piece of furniture, lift a +weight, touch us with a hand that seems real, play an instrument, create a +spectral figure, read hidden words, answer questions, act with a personal +will--and all this, I repeat, without our own knowledge. + +This is tolerably complicated; but it is not impossible. + +That there are in us psychic elements, obscure, unconscious, capable of +acting outside of the sphere of our normal consciousness, this is +something we can notice every night in our dreams; that is to say, during +a quarter, or a third part of our life. Scarcely has sleep closed our +eyes, our ears, all our senses, than our thoughts begin to work just the +same as during the day, though without rational direction, without logic, +under the most incoherent forms, freed from our customary conceptions of +space and time, in a world entirely different from the normal world. The +physiologists and psychologists have for centuries been trying to +determine the mechanism of the dream without having yet obtained any +satisfactory solution of the problem. But the proved fact that we see +sometimes, in our dreams, occurrences which take place at a distance, +proves that we have in us unknown powers. + +Again, it is not rare for each of us to experience, sometimes (all our +faculties being on the alert), the play of an interior power, distinct +from our dominant reason. We are on the point of pronouncing words that +are not a part of our habitual vocabulary, and ideas suddenly traverse and +arrest the course of our thoughts. During the reading of a book which +seemed interesting to us, our soul spreads her wings and flies to other +realms, while our eyes continue in vain the mechanical act of reading. We +are discussing certain projects in our mind, as if we were so many judges; +and then, one would like to know in all simplicity, whence comes this +distraction? + +In his tireless researches, the great investigator of psychic phenomena, +Myers, to whom we owe synthetic studies upon the subliminal consciousness, +reached the conviction, with Ribot, that "the _me_ is a co-ordination." + + These supernormal phenomena (writes this competent and learned + inquirer) are due not to the action of the spirits of deceased + persons, as Wallace believes, but, for the most part, to the action of + an incarnate spirit, either that of the subject himself or of some + agent or other.[87] + + The word "subliminal" means what is beneath the threshold (_limen_) of + the consciousness,--the sensations, the thoughts, the memories, which + remain at the bottom, and seem to represent a kind of sleeping _me_. I + do not pretend to affirm (adds the author) that there always exists in + us two _me's_ correlative and parallel: I denote rather by the + subliminal _me_ that part of the _me_ which ordinarily remains latent, + and I admit that there may be not merely co-operation between these + two quasi-independent currents of thoughts, but also changes of level + and alternations of personality.[88] Medical observation (Félida, + Alma) proves that there is in us a rudimentary supernormal faculty, + something which is probably useless to us, but which indicates the + existence, beneath the level of our consciousness, of a reserve of + latent unsuspected faculties.[89] + +What is it that is active in us in telepathic phenomena? We may recall +the case of Thomas Garrison (_Society for Psychical Research_, VIII, p. +125) who, while sitting with his wife at a religious service, suddenly +gets up in the middle of the sermon, goes out of the church, and, as if +impelled by an irresistible impulse, walks twenty miles afoot to go to see +his mother, whom he finds dead on his arrival, although he did not know +that she was ill and although she was relatively young (fifty-eight +years). I have a hundred observations similar to this in writing before +me. It is not our normal habitual nature that is in action in such a case +as this. + +There is probably in us, more or less sentient, a sub-conscious nature, +and it is this which seems to be at work in mediumistic experiences. I am +pretty much of the opinion Myers expresses in the following paragraph:[90] + + Spiritualists attribute the movement and the dictations at their + séances to the action of disembodied intelligences. But if a table + execute movements without being touched, there is no reason to + attribute these movements to the intervention of my deceased + grandfather, rather than to my own proper intervention; for if I do + not see how I could have done it myself, it is not clear to me how the + effect could have been produced by the action of my grandfather. As + for dictations, the most plausible explanation seems to me to be for + us to admit that they do not come from the conscious _me_, but from + that profound and hidden region where fragmentary and incoherent + dreams are elaborated. + +This explanatory hypothesis is held, with an important modification, by a +distinguished savant to whom also we owe long and patient researches into +the obscure phenomena of normal psychology; I mean Dr. Geley, who thus +sums up his own conclusions: + + A certain amount of the force, intelligence, and matter of the body + may perform work outside of the organism,--act, perceive, organize, + and think without the collaboration of muscles, organs, senses and + brain. It is nothing less than the uplifted sub-conscious portion of + our being. It constitutes, in truth, an externalizable sub-conscious + nature, existing in the _me_ with the normal conscious nature.[91] + +This sub-conscious nature does not seem to depend upon the organism. It is +probably anterior to it, and will survive it. It seems to be superior to +it, endowed with powers and acquirements very different from the powers +and acquirements of the normal, supernormal, and transcendent +consciousness. + +Assuredly, there is in this view of the case more than one mystery still, +were it only the feat of performing a material act at a distance, and that +(not less strange) of apparently having nothing to do with that kind of an +act. + +The first rule of the scientific method is first to seek explanations in +the known before having recourse to the unknown, and we should never fail +to comply with this rule. But if this method of sailing does not bring us +to port, it is our duty to confess it. + +I very much fear that that is what is the matter here. We are not +satisfied. The explanation is not clear, and is floating a little too much +at random in the waves--and the wavering uncertainty--of the hypothesis. + +At the point at which we have now arrived in this chapter of explanations +we are precisely in the position of Alexander Aksakof when he wrote his +great work, _Animism and Spiritualism_, in reply to the book of Dr. von +Hartmann on _Spiritualism_. Hartman claimed to explain all of these +psychical phenomena by the following hypothesis. + + A nervous force producing, outside of the limits of the human body, + mechanical and plastic effects. + + Duplicate hallucinations of this same nervous force, and producing + also physical and plastic effects. + + A latent somnambulistic consciousness, capable (the subject being in + his normal state) of reading in the intellectual background of another + man, his present and his past, and being able to divine the future. + +Akaskof tried to see if these hypotheses (the last of which is a pretty +bold one) are sufficient to explain everything, and he concludes that they +are not. That is also my opinion. There is something else. This something +else, this residue at the bottom of the crucible of experiment, is a +psychic element, the nature of which remains still wholly hidden from us. +I think that all the readers of this book will share my conviction. + +Anthropomorphic hypotheses are far from explaining everything. Besides, +they are only hypotheses. We must not hide from ourselves that these +phenomena introduce us into another world, into an unknown world, one that +is still to be explored in its whole extent. + +As to beings different from ourselves,--what may their nature be? Of this +we cannot form any idea. Souls of the dead? This is very far from being +demonstrated. The innumerable observations which I have collected during +more than forty years all prove to me the contrary. No satisfactory +identification has been made.[92] + +The communications obtained have always seemed to proceed from the +mentality of the group, or, when they are heterogeneous, from spirits of +an incomprehensible nature. The being evoked soon vanishes when one +insists on pushing him to the wall and having the heart out of his +mystery. And then my greatest hope has been deceived, that hope of my +twentieth year, when I would so gladly have received celestial light upon +the doctrine of the plurality of worlds. The spirits have taught us +nothing. + +Nevertheless, the agents seem sometimes to be independent. Crookes +mentions having seen Miss Fox write automatically a communication for one +of her sitters while another communication upon another subject was given +to her for a _second_ person by means of the alphabet and by raps, and all +the while she was chatting with a _third_ person upon another subject +totally different from the other two. Does this remarkable fact prove with +certainty the action of a spirit other than that of the medium? + +The same scientist mentions that, during one of his séances, a little rod +crossed the table, in full light, and came and rapped his hand, giving him +a communication by following the letters of the alphabet spelled out by +him. The other end of the rod rested on the table at a certain distance +from the hand of the medium Home. + +This case seems to me, as well as to Crookes, more conclusively in favor +of an exterior spirit, so much the more since the experimenter having +asked that the raps be given by the Morse telegraphic code, another +message was thus rapped out. I also remember that the learned chemist +mentions that the word "however" hidden by his finger, upon a newspaper, +and unknown even to himself, was rapped out by a little rod. + +Wallace also mentions a name written upon a piece of paper fastened by him +under the central leg of the experiment table; Joncières, a water-color +correctly painted in complete darkness, and a musical theme written with a +pencil; M. Castex Dégrange, the announcement of a death, and the place +where a lost object might be found. We have also seen sentences dictated +either backwards or in such a way that every other letter only must be +read to get the sense, or else by strange combinations showing the action +of an unknown intellect. We have a thousand examples of this kind. + +But if the mind of the medium may liberate itself and appear in an +extra-normal state, why might it not be this mind which acts? Do we not +have several distinct personalities in our dreams? If they could +dynamically appear, would they not act somewhat in this way? + +We ought not to lose sight of the fact that these phenomena are of a +_mixed_ character. They are at once physical and psychical, material and +intellectual, are not always produced by our conscious will, and are +rather the subject of _observation_ than _experiment_. + +It is expedient to insist on this characteristic. I one day, (January 31, +1901) heard E. Duclaux, member of the Institute, director of the Pasteur +Institute, express the following confused idea (an idea held by so many +physicists and so many chemists), in a company which was yet quite +competent to discuss these phenomena: "There is no scientific fact except +a fact which can be reproduced at will."[93] What a singular reasoning! +The witnesses of the fall of a meteor bring us an aërolite which has just +fallen from the sky and been dug up, all hot, from the hole it had made in +the ground. "Error! illusion!" we ought to reply: "We shall only believe +when you repeat the experiment." + +They bring to us the body of a man killed by a stroke of lightning, +stripped of his clothes, and shaved as if with a razor. "Impossible!" we +ought to reply; "pure invention of your deluded senses." A woman sees +appear before her, her husband, who has just died nearly two thousand +miles away. We are asked to believe that this is not so, and will not be +so until the apparition appears a second time. + +This confusion between observation and experiment is a very strange thing +as coming from cultivated men. + +In psychical phenomena there is a voluntary, capricious, incoherent, +intellectual element. + +I repeat, we must learn to comprehend that everything cannot be explained +and resign ourselves to waiting for an extension of our knowledge. There +is intelligence, thought, psychism, mind, in these phenomena. There is +still more in certain communications. Can the observations be confirmed +and justified by assuming the mind of the living merely as the active +agents? Yes, perhaps, but only by attributing to us unknown and +supernormal faculties. Yet it must be remembered that this is only an +hypothesis. The Spiritualistic hypothesis of communication with the souls +of the dead remains also as a working hypothesis. + +That souls survive the destruction of the body I have not the shadow of a +doubt. But that they manifest themselves by the processes employed in +séances the experimental method has not yet given us absolute proof. I add +that this hypothesis is not at all likely. If the souls of the dead are +about us, upon our planet, the invisible population would increase at the +rate of 100,000 a day, about 36 millions a year, 3 billions 620 millions a +century, 36 billions in ten centuries, etc.,--unless we admit +re-incarnations upon the earth itself. + +How many times do apparitions, or manifestations occur? When illusions, +auto-suggestions, hallucinations, are eliminated, what remains? Scarcely +anything. Such an exceptional rarity as this pleads against the reality of +apparitions. + +We may suppose, it is true, that all human beings do not survive their +death, and that, in general, their psychical entity is so insignificant, +so wavering, so ineffectual, that it almost disappears in the ether, in +the common reservoir, in the environment, like the souls of animals. But +thinking beings who have the consciousness of their psychical existence do +not lose their personality, but continue the cycle of their evolution. It +would seem natural therefore to see them manifest themselves under certain +circumstances. Persons condemned to death, in consequence of judicial +errors, and executed, should they not return to protest their innocence? +Would it not be reasonable to suppose that persons put to death in such a +way that violence was not suspected would return to accuse the assassins? +Knowing the characters of Robespierre, of Saint-Just, of +Fouquier-Tinville, I should like to have seen them revenge themselves a +little on those who triumphed over them. The victims of '93, should they +not have returned to disturb the sleep of the conquerors? Out of the +twenty thousand citizens shot by fusillades during the time of the Commune +of Paris I should like to have seen a dozen unceasingly harassing the Hon. +M. Theirs, who was really too puffed up and vain-glorious over his having +first permitted the organization of that insurrection and then punished +it. + +Why do not children whose death is lamented by their parents ever come to +console them? Why do our dearest attachments seem to disappear forever? +And how about last wills and testaments stolen away, and the last will of +the dead ignored and their intentions purposely misinterpreted? + +"It is only the dead that do not return," says an old proverb. This +aphorism is not of absolute application, perhaps; but apparitions are +rare, very rare, and we do not understand their precise nature. Are they +actual apparitions of the dead? It is not yet demonstrated. + +Up to this day, I have sought in vain for certain proof of personal +identity through mediumistic communications. And then one does not see why +spirits, if they exist around us, should have need of mediums at all, in +order to manifest themselves. They surely must form a part of nature, of +the universal nature which includes all things. + +Nevertheless, it seems to me that the Spiritualistic hypothesis should be +preserved by the same right as those I have summed up in the immediately +preceding pages, for the discussions have not eliminated it.[94] + +But why are there manifestations the result of the grouping of five or six +persons around the table? That this should be a _sine qua non_ is not a +very likely thing either. + +It may be, it is true, that spirits exist around us, and that it is +normally impossible for them to make themselves visible, audible, or +tangible, not being able to reflect rays of light accessible to our +retina, or to produce sonorous waves, or to effect touches. Therefore, +certain conditions present in mediums might be necessary for their +manifestation. Nobody has the right to deny this. But why so many puzzling +incoherences and solecisms? + +I have on a bookshelf before me several thousand communications dictated +by "spirits." In the last analysis, a dim obscurity remains hanging over +the causes. Unknown psychic forces: fugitive entities; vanishing figures; +nothing solid to grasp, even for the thought. These things do not yield us +the consistency of a definition of chemistry or of a theorem in geometry. +A molecule of hydrogen is a granite cliff in comparison. + +The greater part of the phenomena observed,--noises, movement of tables, +confusions, disturbances, raps, replies to questions asked,--are really +childish, puerile, vulgar, often ridiculous, and rather resemble the +pranks of mischievous boys than serious bona-fide actions. It is +impossible not to notice this. + +Why should the souls of the dead amuse themselves in this way? The +supposition seems almost absurd. + +We know that an ordinary man does not change his intellectual or moral +value from day to day, and, if his spirit continues to exist after the +death of his body, we may expect to find it such as it was before. But why +so many oddities and incoherences? + +However these things may be, it behooves us not to have any preconceived +idea, and our bounden duty is to seek to prove the facts as they present +themselves to us. + +The unknown natural force brought into play for the lifting of a table is +not the exclusive property of mediums. In different degrees it forms a +part of all organisms, with different coefficients, 100 for organisms such +as those of Home, or Eusapia, 80 for others, 50 or 25 for less favored +individuals. But I should hold it as certain that it never drops in any +case to 0. The best proof of this is that, with patience, perseverance, +and the exercise of the will, almost all the groups of experimenters who +have seriously occupied themselves with these researches have succeeded in +obtaining, not merely movements, but also complete levitations, raps, and +other phenomena. + +The word "medium" scarcely has any longer a reason for being, since the +existence of an intermediary between the spirits and us is not yet proved. +But still the word may be preserved, logic being the rarest of things in +grammar and in everything else that is human. The word "electricity" has +had no connection for a long time with amber ([Greek: êlektron]), nor the +word "veneration" with the genitive case of Venus (_Veneris_), nor the (at +first astrological) term "disaster" with _aster_ (star), nor the word +"tragedy" with _goat-song_ ([Greek: tragos ôdê]). But this does not hinder +these words from being understood in their habitual sense.[95] + +As respects explanatory hypotheses, I repeat, the field is open to all. It +is to be noted that communications dictated are closely related to the +condition of mind, the ideas, the opinions, the beliefs, the knowledge, +and even the literary culture, of the experimenters. They are like a +reflection, or counterpart, of this ensemble of ideas and faculties. +Compare the communications noted down in the house of Victor Hugo in +Jersey, those of the Phalansterian Society of Eugéne Nus, those of +astronomical meetings, those of religious believers,--Catholics, +Protestants, etc. + +If the hypothesis were not so bold as to seem unacceptable to us, I should +dare to think that the concentration of the thoughts of psychic +experimenters creates a momentary intellectual being who replies to the +questions asked and then vanishes. + +_Reflection, reflex action?_ That is perhaps the true expression. +Everybody has seen his image reflected in a mirror, and nobody is +astonished by it. However, analyse the thing. The more you look at this +optical being moving there behind the mirror, the more remarkable the +image appears to you. Now suppose looking-glasses had not been invented. +If we had not knowledge of those immense mirrors which reflect whole +apartments and the visitors in them, if we had never seen anything of the +kind, and if someone should tell us that images and reflections of living +persons could thus manifest themselves and thus move, we should not +comprehend, and should not believe it. + +Yes, the ephemeral personification created in Spiritualistic séances +sometimes recalls the image that we see in a mirror, which has nothing +real in itself, but which yet exists and reproduces the original. The +image fixed by the photograph is of the same kind, only durable. The +potential image formed at the focus of the mirror of a telescope, +invisible in itself, but which we can receive on a level mirror and study, +at the same time enlarging it by the microscope of the eye-piece, perhaps +approaches nearer to that which seems to be produced by the concentration +of the psychical energy of a group of persons. We create an imaginary +being, we speak to it, and in its replies it almost always reflects the +mentality of the experimenters. And just as with the aid of mirrors we can +concentrate light, heat, ether-waves, electric waves, in a focus, so, in +the same way, it seems sometimes as if the sitters added their psychic +forces to those of the medium, of the dynamogen, condensing the waves, and +helping to produce a sort of fugitive being more or less material. + +The sub-conscious nature, the brain of the medium, or his astral body, the +fluidic mind, the unknown powers latent in sensitive organisms, might we +not consider these as the mirror which we have just imagined? And might +this mirror also not receive and reproduce impressions, or influence, from +a soul at a distance? + +But we must not generalize partial conclusions which we have already had +much trouble in defining. + +I do not say that spirits do not exist: on the contrary, I have reasons +for admitting their existence. Even certain sensations expressed by the +animals,--by dogs, by cats, by horses,--plead in favor of the unexpected +and impressive presence of invisible beings or agents. But, as a faithful +servant of the experimental method, I think that we ought to exhaust all +the simple, natural hypotheses, already known, before having recourse to +others. + +Unfortunately, a large number of Spiritualists prefer not to go to the +bottom of things, or analyse anything, but to be the dupes of nervous +impressions. They resemble certain worthy women who tell their beads while +believing that they have before them Saint Agnes or Saint Filomena. There +is no harm in that, says some one. But it is an illusion. Let us not be +its dupes. + +If the elementals, the _élémentaires_, the spirits of the air, the gnomes, +the spectres of which Goethe speaks (following Paracelsus in this), exist, +they are natural and not supernatural. They are in nature, for nature +includes all things. The supernatural does not exist. It is then the duty +of science to study this question as it studies all others. + +As I have already remarked, there are in these different phenomena several +causes in action. Among these causes the ones that supposes the action to +proceed from disembodied spirits, the souls of the dead, is a plausible +hypothesis which ought not to be rejected without examination. It seems +sometimes to be the most logical; but there are weighty objections to it, +and it is of the highest importance to be able to demonstrate it with +certainty. Its partisans _ought to be the first to approve the severity of +the scientific methods which we apply in our studies of the phenomena_, +for Spiritualism will receive thereby so much the more solid a foundation +and will have so much the more value. The illusions and the artless faith +of simple souls cannot give it any more solid and substantial basis. The +religion of the future will be the religion of science. There is only one +kind of truth. + +Sometimes authors are made to say that which they have never said. For my +part, I have had frequent proof of this, notably in the case of +Spiritualism. I should not be surprised if certain interpretations of the +pages which precede should come to light, shaped into the opinion that I +do not believe in the existence of spirits. Yet it will be impossible to +find any affirmation of this kind in this work, or in any other published +by me. What I say is that the physical phenomena studied in these pages +_do not prove_ the existence of spirits, and may probably be explained +without them,--that is, by unknown forces emanating from the +experimenters, and especially from mediums. But these phenomena indicate, +at the same time, the existence of a psychical atmosphere or environment. + +What is this environment? It is indeed very difficult to get a true idea +of it, since we are not able to apprehend it by any of our senses. It is +also very difficult not to admit it in view of the multitude of psychical +phenomena. If we admit the survival of individual souls, what becomes of +these souls? Where are they? It may be replied that the conditions of +space and of time in which our material senses exist do not represent the +real nature of space and time, that our estimates and our measures are +essentially relative, that the soul, the spirit, the thinking entity, does +not occupy space. Still, we may consider also that pure spirit does not +exist, that it is attached to a substance occupying a certain point. We +may also consider that all souls are not equal; that there is a superior +and inferior class; that certain human beings are scarcely conscious of +their existence; that superior souls, being self-conscious, as well after +death as during life, preserve their entire individuality, have the power +of continuing their evolution, of voyaging from world to world and adding +to their moral and intellectual growth by successive reincarnations. But +the others, the unconscious souls, are they more advanced the day after +death than the day before? Why should death bestow upon them any +perfection? Why should it make a genius out of an imbecile? How could it +make a good man out of a bad one? Why should it turn an ignoramus into a +wise man? How could it make a shining light out of an intellectual nobody? + +These unconscious souls,--that is to say, the multitude,--do they not +disappear at death into the surrounding ether, and do they not constitute +a kind of psychic atmosphere, in which a subtle analysis can discover +spiritual as well as material elements? If the psychic force performs an +action in the existing order of things, it is as worthy of consideration +as the different forms of energy in operation in the ether. + +Without, then, admitting the existence of spirits to be demonstrated by +the phenomena, we feel that these do not all belong to a simply material +order,--physiological, organic, cerebral,--but that there is _something +else_ involved, something else inexplicable in the actual state of our +knowledge. + +But a something else of the psychical order. Perhaps we shall be able to +go a little farther, some day, in our independent impartial researches, +guided by the experimental scientific method, denying nothing in advance, +but admitting whatever is proved by sufficient observation. + + * * * * * + +To sum up: _In the actual state of our knowledge it is impossible to give +a complete, total, absolute, final explanation of the observed phenomena_. +The Spiritualistic hypothesis ought not to be dismissed. Still, we may +admit the survival of the soul without necessarily admitting a physical +communication between the dead and the living. But then all the observed +facts leading up to the affirmation of this communication are worthy of +the most serious attention of the philosopher. + +One of the chief difficulties in the way of these communications seems to +be the condition itself of the soul freed from bodily senses. It would +have other ways of perceiving. It would not see, hear, touch. How then can +it enter into relation with our senses? + +There is a whole problem in that which is not to be neglected in the study +of any psychical manifestations whatever. + +We take our ideas to be realities. This is a mistake. For example, to our +senses the air is not a solid body; we pass through it without effort, +while we cannot pass through an iron door. The converse is true of +electricity: it passes through iron, and finds the air to be a solid +impassible body. To the electrician, a wire is a canal leading electricity +across the solid rock of the air. Glass is opaque to electricity and +transparent to magnetism. The flesh is transparent to the X-rays, while +glass is opaque, etc. + +We feel the need of explaining everything, and we are driven to admit only +the phenomena of which we have had an explanation; but that does not prove +that our explanations are valid. Thus for example, if some one had +affirmed the possibility of instantaneous communication between Paris and +London, before the invention of the telegraph, people would have regarded +the assertion as utopian. Later it would not have been admitted, except on +condition of the existence of a wire between the two stations, and any +communication without the medium of an electric wire would have been +declared impossible. Now that we have wireless telegraphy we can apply +this discovery to the explanation of the phenomena of telepathy. But it is +not yet proved that this explanation is the true one. + +Why do we wish to explain these phenomena at all hazards? Because we +naïvely imagine that we are able to do so in the present state of our +knowledge. + +The physiologists who claim to see daylight in this matter are like +Ptolemy persisting in accounting for the movements of the heavenly bodies +by holding to the idea of the immobility of the earth; or Galileo +explaining the attraction of amber by the rarefaction of the surrounding +air; or Lavoisier seeking (with the common people) the origin of aërolites +in thunder storms or denying their existence; or Galvani, who saw in his +frogs a _special_ organic electricity. I put my physiologists in good +company, surely, and they have nothing of which to complain. But who does +not feel that this natural propensity to explain everything is not +justified, that science progresses from age to age, that what is not known +to-day will be known later, and that we ought sometimes to know how to +wait? + +The phenomena of which we are speaking are manifestations of the universal +dynamism, with which our five senses put us very imperfectly in relation. +We live in the midst of an unexplored world, in which the psychical forces +play a role still very insufficiently investigated. + +These forces are of a class superior to the forces usually analyzed in +mechanics, in physics, in chemistry: they are of the psychical order, have +in them something vital and a kind of mentality. They confirm what we know +from other sources,--that the purely mechanical explanation of nature is +insufficient and that there is in the universe something else than +so-called matter. It is not matter that rules the world: it is a dynamic +and psychic element. + +What light will the study of these still unexplained forces shed upon the +origin of the soul and upon the conditions of its survival? That is +something that the future has to teach us. + +The truth that the soul is a spiritual entity distinct from the body is +proved by other arguments. These arguments are not made for the purpose of +injuring this doctrine; but while confirming it and while putting in clear +light the application of psychic forces, they still do not solve the great +problem by the material proofs that we should like to have. + +However, if the study of these phenomena has not yet yielded all that is +claimed for it, nor all that it will in the future yield, we still cannot +help recognizing that it has considerably enlarged the sphere of +psychology, and that the knowledge of the nature of the soul and of its +faculties has been once for all expanded under grander and deeper skies +and wider horizons. + +There is in nature, especially in the domain of life, in the manifestation +of instinct in vegetables and animals, in the general soul of things, in +humanity, in the cosmic universe, a psychic element which appears more and +more in modern studies, especially in researches in telepathy, and in the +observation of the unexplained phenomena which we have been studying in +this book. This element, this principle, is still unknown to contemporary +science. But, as in so many other cases, it was divined by the ancients. + +Besides the four elements fire, water, air and earth, the ancients +admitted a fifth, belonging to the material order, which they named +_animus_, the soul of the world, the animating principle, ether. +"Aristotle" (writes Cicero, _Tuscul. Quaest._ I. 22), "after having +mentioned the four kinds of material elements, believes that we ought to +admit a fifth kind from which the soul proceeds; for, since the soul and +the intellectual faculties cannot reside in any of the material elements, +we must admit a fifth kind, which had not yet received a name and which he +styles _entelechy_; that is to say, eternal and continued movement." The +four material elements of the ancients have been dissected by modern +analysis. The fifth is perhaps more fundamental. + +Citing the philosopher Zeno, the same orator adds that this wise man did +not admit this fifth principle, which might be compared to fire. But, from +all the evidence, fire and thought are two distinct things. + +Virgil has written in the _Æneid_ (Book VI) these admirable verses which +are known to everybody: + + Principio coelum ac terras camposque liquentes + Lucentemque globum Lunae Titaniaque astra + Spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus + MENS AGITAT MOLEM, _et magno se corpore miscet_. + +Martianus Capella, like all the authors of the first centuries of +Christianity, mentions this directive force, also calling it the fifth +element, and furthermore describes it under the name "ether." + +A Roman emperor, well known to the Parisians, since it was in their city +(in the palace built by his grandfather near the present _Thermes_, or old +Roman baths) that he was proclaimed emperor in the year 360 (I mean +Julian, called the Apostate), celebrates this fifth principle in his +discourse in honor of the "The Sun, the Monarch,"[96] styling it sometimes +the solar principle, sometimes the soul of the world, or intellectual +principle, sometimes ether, or the soul of the physical world. + +This psychical element is not confounded by the philosophers with God and +Providence. In their eyes, it is something which forms part of nature. + + * * * * * + +One more word before closing. Human nature is endowed with faculties as +yet little explored, that the observations made with mediums, or +dynamogens, bring to light--such as human magnetism, hypnotism, telepathy, +clairvoyance, and premonition. These unknown psychic forces are worthy of +being embraced within the scope of scientific analysis. At present they +have been almost as little studied as in the time of Ptolemy, and have not +yet found their Kepler, and their Newton, yet fairly obtrude themselves +upon our notice, and cry out to be examined. + +Many another unknown force will be revealed. The earth and the planets +were circling about the sun in their harmonious orbits while astronomical +theories saw in them only a complicated whirl of seventy-nine crystalline +shells. Magnetism was encircling the earth with its currents long before +the invention of the mariner's compass which reveals them to us. The waves +of wireless telegraphy existed long before they were arrested in their +flight. The sea was moaning along its shores ages before the ear of any +being had come to hear it. The stars were darting their rays through the +ether before any human eye had been raised to them. + +The observations set forth in this work prove that the conscious will, or +desire, on the one hand, and the subliminal consciousness on the other +hand, exert an influence, or perform work, beyond the limits of our body. +The nature of the human soul is still a deep mystery to science and to +philosophy. + +It seems rather remarkable that the conclusions drawn from my labors here +are the same as those of my work _The Unknown_, which were founded upon +the examination of the phenomena of telepathy, apparitions of the dying, +communications at a distance, premonitory dreams, etc. Indeed, the +following deductions were drawn at the close of that volume: + +1. _The soul exists as a real entity independent of the body._ + +2. _It is endowed with faculties still unknown to science._ + +3. _It is able to act at a distance, without the intervention of the +senses._ + +The conclusions of the present work concord with those of the former, and +yet the subjects studied in this are entirely different from the +subject-matter of that. + +I may sum up the whole matter with the single statement that there exists +in nature, in myriad activity, a _psychic element_ the essential nature +of which is still hidden from us. I shall be happy for my part, if I have +helped to establish by these two works the above important principle, +exclusively based upon the scientific verification of certain phenomena +studied by the experimental method. + + + + +INDEX + + + Academy of Sciences, its scepticism xvi, 19, investigates Angelica + Cottin, 224 _et seq._ + + Acoustic Mediumistic Phenomena,--Cases of, 71, 73, 89, 96, 112, 121, + 144, 163, 167, 183, 274, 292, 299, 369, 373, 374, 378, 380. + + Aksakof, Alexander, 63, 151, 178; + cited, 55, 66, 188, 435; + his account of alleged spirit communication regarding satellites of + Uranus, 50-52. + + Albert the Great, xxi. + + Alcofribaz Nazier, anagram signature of Rabelais, _q.v._ + + Alterations in weight of bodies in mediumistic phenomena (including + variations in scales without contact), 88, 153, 173, 199, 354, 413, + 414. + + Animism vs. Spiritism, 187 _et seq._ + + Antoniadi, M., report on E. Paladino, 109-111. + + Apparitions, 419. + _See also_, Materializations. + + Apports (objects brought in from outside the séance room), 99, 112, 186, + 187, 292, 373, 378, 380. + + Arago, 178; + investigates Angelica Cottin, 223; + alleged spirit communication from, 389. + + Aristotle, quoted, 450. + + Armelin G., report on E. Paladino, 103-109. + + Ascensi M., 143. + + Astral body, 166. + + Astronomical discoveries, xvi. + + Automatic writing and drawing, theories of, 26-30, 58 _et seq._;--methods + of, 28; + by Victorien Sardou, 25, 46;--by Camille Flammarion, 26, 47-49; + reflect the thoughts of the experimenter, 49 _et seq._; + by children, 274; + other cases, 384-387. + + Azam, Dr., 141; + ---- Felida's case, 59. + + + Babinet, M., 266; + report on Angelica Cottin, 224-227; + de Gasparin's criticisms of, 260-265. + + Baclé, Louis ("Louis Elbé"), 368. + + Baschet, Réné, 34, 98, 101, 103, 128; + arms partial materialization, 131. + + Basilewska, M. and Mme., 98, 101. + + Bianchi, M., 147. + + Binet, Alfred, 188. + + Bisschofsheim, Mme., 101. + + Blech family, hold sittings with E. Paladino, 63-84, 173. + + Bloch, Andre, 84, 93, 101. + + Bois, Jules, 84, 103, 128, 203. + + Boisseaux, Mme., 173. + + Boissier, Edmond, 27. + + Bourrer, M., 141. + + Boutigny, M., 114. + + Brédif, C., medium, 196. + + Brisson, Adolphe, 95, 98, 101, 103, 114, 128, 200, 203; + report on E. Paladino. + + Brisson, Mme. A., 93, 95, 101, 103, 114. + + Buffern, Prof., 151. + + Buguet, medium, 196. + + Burot, 141. + + + Cactoni, M. and Mme., 368. + + Calonne, xvi. + + Castex-Dégrange, M., 437; + reports of mediumistic phenomena, 381-393. + + Charcot, Dr., 4. + + Chardon, Dr. Beaumont, notes on Angelica Cottin, 223. + + Chevigny, Countess de, 101. + + Chevreul, M., 266. + + Chiaia, Prof. E., first obtains impressions in clay through Paladino, 78; + challenges Lombroso to investigate Paladino, 136. + + Cicero, quoted, 450. + + Claretie, Jules, 45, 98; + report on E. Paladino, 98-101. + + Coleman, Benjamin, 334. + + Cook, Florence, medium (afterwards Mrs. Elgie Corner), remarkable case + of materialization, 334; + investigated by Crookes, 335-347. + + Cottin, Angelica, the Electric Girl, 219; + Dr. Tanchou's report of, 220-222; + notes of M. Hebert, 222; + Dr. Beaumont Chardon, 223; + Academy of Sciences investigates, 224-227. + + Coues, Dr. and Mrs. Elliott; report on mediumistic phenomena, 401-405. + + Crookes, Sir William, 65, 121, 196, 297, 305, 358; + his experiments in psychical research, 306-347; + his mechanical contrivances for testing such phenomena, 308, 318, 319, + 322, 323; + his views in 1898, 347-351; + his theory regarding such phenomena, 408. + + Crystal vision, 292. + + Cumberlandism, 171. + + Curie, Pierre, 360. + + + Daguerre, an anecdote of, 11. + + Dariex, Dr., 63, 173, 218, 368; + cited, 3, 210; + his opinion of fraud in mediums, 203-205. + + D'Arsouval, Prof., 360. + + Darkness as a factor in psychical phenomena, 10-13, 68, 89. + + Davenport Brothers, the, xi, xiii, xiv, xxi. + + Delanee, G., 84, 98, 101, 375. + + Delfour, Abbe, cited, 398. + + Delgaiz, Raphael, Husband of Eusapia Paladino, 67. + + Desbeaux, Emilie, 173. + + Dialectical Society of London, its organization, 289; + its experiments in psychical research, 291-302; + Huxley declines to join, 290; + Flammarion's letter to, 302-304. + + Divination of Numbers, 240, 249 _et seq._ + + Double Personality, an hypothesis for spiritistic communication, 58 _et + seq._; + Dr. Pierre Janet's studies in, 60. + + Drayson, Gen. A. W., on solution of scientific problems by Spirits, 50 + _et seq._; + errors of, 53, 55. + + Duclaux, E., 438. + + Du Prel, Dr. Charles, 151. + + Dusart, Dr., 289. + + Dynamic theory of matter, 427. + + + Eglington, medium, 196. + + Ephrussi, M., 101. + + Ermacora, Dr., 151. + + + Faith not a necessity in psychic phenomena, 279. + + Faraday, 188, 259, 262, 266. + + Felida, case of double personality, 59. + + Finzi, M., 151. + + Flammarion, Camille, some scientific researches of, vi; + early writings on _Unknown Natural Forces_, xi; + experiments with Eusapia Paladino, 5-23, 63-134; + acquaintance with Allan Kardec, 24 _et seq._; + automatic writing by, 26; + delivers funeral oration of Kardec, 30; + experiments with Mme. Huet, 36 _et seq._; + letter to London Dialectical Society, 302-304; + his "General Inquiry" concerning unexplained phenomena, 376; + some specimen cases, 377-405. + + Fluidic action, theories of, 166, 179, 253, 258, 282, 422, 427. + + Fluidic projection of limbs, etc. _See_ Materializations. + + Fontenay, Guillaume de, 3, 21, 84, 95, 368; + participates in Paladino sittings, 69-83, 123; + his dynamic theory of matter, 427-431. + + Foucault, M., 264. + + Fourth dimension, 420. + + Fourton, Mme., 93, 95, 98, 101, 103, 114, 128, 202. + + Fox sisters, case of the, 34. + + Fox, Miss, automatic communication by, 437. + + Fraud in mediums, 194, _et seq._ + + Frauenhofer, cited, 19. + + Fremy, M., cited, xix. + + Fresnel, 190. + + Fulton's invention of steamboat, xvi. + + + Gagneur, Mme., 98, 101. + + Galileo, alleged spiritistic communication from, 26, 47-49; + his erroneous theory for frictional attraction, 188, 189. + + Galvani's experiments in electricity, xvi. + + Gasparin, Count Agenor de, 305; + experiments with moving tables, 229-253; + his hypotheses, 253-258, 408; + his rejoinder to Babinet's negations, 258-265; + Prof. Thury's comments on, 268, 273, 276, 279, 282 _et seq._ + + Geley, Dr., his hypothesis of subliminal consciousness, 434. + + Gerosa, Prof., 151. + + Gigli, M., 143. + + Girardin, Mme. de, 61. + + Gramont, Count de, 173. + + Grasset, Dr., his opinion on pyschical phenomena, 409. + + Grove, quoted, xix. + + Guerronnan, A., 173. + + Gully, Dr., 334. + + + Hallucination, collective, does not satisfactorily account for + phenomena, 130, 179. + + Harrison, William, 334. + + Hartman, Dr. von, 435. + + Hebert, M., note on Angelica Cottin, 322. + + Herschel, William, 50. + + Herschel, Sir John, cites, 50. + + Hodgson, Dr. Richard, 305. + + Home, Daniel Dunglas, 195, 437; + experiments with an accordion, 121; + Crooke's investigation of, 307-322; + 324-334; + declares Miss Cook an impostor, 343. + + Huet, Mme., mediumistic experiments with, 36 _et seq._ + + Hugo, Leopoldine, alleged spirit communication of, 212, _et seq._ + + Hugo, Victor, 61, 212, 443. + + Husson, M., 263. + + Huxley, T. H., his letter declining to join in psychical research, 290. + + Hyslop, Prof. James H., 305; + his opinion on phenomena, 409. + + + Impressions in plastic substances, 420; + photographs of, 76, 138; + cases of, 22, 74-78, 158, 163, 184. + + Institute, its disregard of papers on table-movements, 263. + + Invisible hands, action of, 418. + _See also_, Acoustic phenomena, _and_ Materializations (tactile). + + Intelligence manifested in mediumistic phenomena, 421. + + + James, Prof. William, 305. + + Janet, Dr. Pierre, 60, 188. + + Joncières, Victorin, 437; + reports mediumistic phenomena, 378-381. + + Joubert, M., 37, 42. + + Jouffroy's invention of the steamboat, xvi. + + Julian the Apostate, cited, 451. + + Jupiter, Sardou's drawings of landscapes in, 25, 45. + + + Kardec, Allan, his society for spiritualistic study, 24; + death of, 30; + his funeral oration by Flammarion, 30-32. + + Kepler, 55. + + King, John, alleged spirit control of E. Paladino, 71, 78, 141, 169; + a psychic double of Paladino, 166. + + King, Katie, a materialized spirit, 141; + appears to Florence Cook and others, 334; + investigated by Crookes and other scientist, 335-346; + Home's opinion of her, 343. + + + Labadye, Countess de, 103. + + Lacroix, medium, 196. + + Laplace, 51. + + Lateau, Louise, stigmata of, 20. + + Laurent, M., 101. + + Lebel, M., 218. + + Le Bocain, M., 114; + report on E. Paladino, 116-118. + + Le Bou, Dr. Gustave, report on E. Paladino, 101-103. + + Lemerle, M., 368. + + LeVerrier, 213. + + Leymarie, Paul, 218. + + Levitations, 5-8, 33, 79, 80, 118, 414-416; + photographs of, 6, 83, 156, 368; + denied by one sitter, 132; + the flour test of 1. without contact, 247, 248; + cases of, 6, 17, 70, 73, 74, 83, 88, 91, 93, 94, 96, 99, 104, 105, + 111, 113, 114, 144-147, 154-156, 160, 164, 167, 174, 180, 183-87, + 204, 229, 232, 236, 238, 239, 240-248, 292, 354, 357, 364, 368-370, + 373, 379, 380, 403. + + Lévy, Arthur, 200; + report on E. Paladino, 86-92. + + Lévy, Mme. A., 200. + + Levy, J. H., 289. + + Lewes, George Henry, 290. + + Lifting of weights, etc., 413. + _See also_, Levitation. + + Lamoncelli, M., 147. + + Lodge, Sir Oliver, 63, 65, 305; + his opinion of Paladino's phenomena, 167. + + Lomatsch, J., 372. + + Lombroso, Cesare, 63, 151, 178, 188; + Prof. Chiaia invites examination of Paladino, 136; + investigates Paladino, 143-150; + his theories regarding the phenomena, 150, 409. + + Louis XIV, a fable of, 43. + + Lubbock, Sir John, 289. + + Luminous mediumistic phenomena, cases of, 74, 97, 105, 108, 125, 148, + 186, 198, 371. + + Luxmore, Mr., 334, 335. + + Luys, Dr., 4. + + + Mairet, M., 98. + + Mangin, Marcel, 162, 173, 218; + his opinion on psychical phenomena, 410. + + Marcianus Capella, cited, 451. + + Marks produced at a distance, 167. + + Mars, discovery of satellites of, 55. + + Martelet, Adele, relates an incident of Alfred de Musset, 398. + + Materializations, theory of fluidic projection of limbs, etc., 121 _et + seq._, 166, 198, 208. + Cases of: + (a) TACTILE:--of hands or arms, 71, 72, 89, 97, 98, 101, 106-108, + 111, 113, 116-118, 124, 146, 148, 160, 167, 174, 181, 186, + 292, 371, 374; + of heads, 73, 89, 115, 161, 177, 187, 371. + (b) VISIBLE:--of hands and arms, 10, 73, 116, 159, 175, 185, 292; + of heads and busts, 21, 72, 115, 128, 177, 185, 366; + of complete figure, "Katie King," 334-346. + + Mathieu, Georges, 93, 101, 200; + report on E. Paladino, 111-114. + + " P. F., 37. + + Matter passing through matter, _see_ Solid. + + Maxwell, Dr. Joseph, 63, 172, 173. + Extracts from his investigations, 360-368; + his opinions, 410. + + Mediums, cheating of professional, 3, 207; + their conscious and unconscious deception, 4; + use of the word, 5; + their will and health as factors, 14; + pecuniary temptations of, 157. + _See also_, Brédif, Florence Cook, Angelica Cottin, Davenport + brothers, Eglington, Fox sisters, Daniel D. Home, Mme. Huet, Allan + Kardee, A. Politi, E. Paladino, Anna Rothe, Sambor, Slade, Mrs. + Williams, Mme. X. + + Mediumistic Phenomena, a chapter in physics, 2; + effects of antipathy of by slanders, 15; + genuineness of, 21, 184; + reflections upon those of Paladino, 118 _et seq._; + experiments with an accordion, 121 _et seq._; + confirmatory of magnetism rather than hypnotism, 166; + always of psycho-physical nature, 166; + hypothesis of fluidic double (astral body), 166, 179; + fraud in, 194 _et seq._; + agency is in the person, not in the object, 254; + mechanical tests of, by Prof. Thury, 269 _et seq._; + by Sir William Crookes, 306 _et seq._; + unconscious muscular action considered, 280; + no indications of electricity in, 281; + experiments of London Dialectical Society, 291-303; + Sir William Crookes' experiments, 306-347; + his opinions of, 347-351; + investigations of Alfred Russel Wallace, 353-359; + of Dr. J. Maxwell, 359-368; + of other scientists, 368-375; + popular ignorance of, 406 _et seq._; + recapitulation of scientist's theories regarding, 408; + recapitulation of phenomena with Flammarion's comments, 411-423 _et + seq._; + subliminal consciousness as a factor in, 433 _et seq._; + Dr. von Hartmann's hypothesis, 435; + Aksakof's reply, 435; + of mixed character, 438. + _See also_, Acoustic phenomena, Alteration in weight, Apparitions, + Apports, Automatic writing, Fluidic Action, Impressions, Invisible + hands, Levitations, Luminous phenomena, Materializations, Movement + of objects, Ordeals, Predictions, Raps, Solid passing through solid, + Spirit communications, Spiritualism, Thermal radiations, Typtology, + Touchings, Writing produced at a distance. + + Méry, Gaston, 84, 95, 375. + + Miller, American medium, 375. + + Milési, Prof., 368. + + Mind, action of, upon matter, 283 _et seq._, 365. + + Molière, xiv., quoted, 264, 265. + + Montaigne, 1. + + Morgan, Prof., 297-359; + accepts Spiritistic theory, 409. + + Morselli, Prof. Enrico, 188; + investigates E. Paladino, 177-192. + + Mouchez, Admiral, 197, 213. + + Mouzay, Countess de, 211. + + Movements of natural objects, in mediumistic phenomena, 411-416; + cases of, 9, 17, 70-74, 88, 90, 91, 93, 95-99, 105, 106, 108, 109, + 111-114, 125, 126, 144, 147, 148, 156, 157, 163, 165, 167, 175, 176, + 181-183, 185, 187, 234, 237, 271, 274, 275, 293, 295, 297, 299-301, + 353, 354, 358, 359, 369, 370, 371, 373, 378, 382, 383, 398, 399, 403. + + Musset, Alfred de, 398. + + Myers, F. W. H., 63, 162, 305, 350; + on Subliminal Consciousness, 433, 434. + + + Newton, cited, 19. + + Nus, Eugène, 61, 443. + + + Ochorowicz, Dr. Julien, 63, 162, 188; + his studies of Eusapia Paladino, 76-78; + his conclusions, 166, 409; + condemns the rejection of Paladino by English scientists, 168; + his explanation of her substitution of hands, 170. + + Ordeals, 292. + + Ostwald, Dr., arranges séance with E. Paladino, 15. + + + Paladino, Eusapia (Mme. Raphael Delgaiz), 2, 3; + her exhaustion after phenomena, 7; + her fraud (conscious and unconscious), 10; + influence of her health on experiments, 15; + darkness demanded for best results, 10, 68, 89; + her personality and history, 67, 86, 87, 140; + Flammarion's estimate of the comparative authenticity of her + phenomena, 70; + unknown natural forces evidenced, 80, 152; + investigated by Flammarion, 5-23, 63-134; + by Lombroso, 143-150; + by Enrico Morselli, and François Porro, 177-192; + by other scientists, at Milan, 151 _et seq._; + at other places, 162 _et seq._; + M. Antoniadi considers her phenomena fraudulent, 109-111; + unsuccessful attempt to photograph fluidic hand, 123; + M. L---- denies levitations, 132; + Professor Chiaia challenges Lombroso to investigate, 136; + photographs of facial imprints, 76, 136; + her spiritualistic education, 141; + her symptoms during the production of phenomena, 142; + her sensations, 143; + Ochorowicz's apparatus to control feet, 164; + results of sympathetic trance of a sitter, 165; + detected in fraud at Cambridge, 168; + an incident at Ochorowicz's home, 168 _et seq._; + her deceptions, their reasons and their relevance to phenomena, + 194-211; + Dr. Dariex's opinion of them, 206; + her sensitiveness to suggestion, 207. + Reports on her phenomena by Dr. Julien Ochorowicz, 76-78, 166; + by Prof. Chiaia, 78, 136-140; + by Arthur Lévy, 86-92; + Adolph Brisson, 93, 94; + Victorien Sardou, 95-98; + Jules Claretie, 98-101; + Gustave Le Bon, 101-103; + G. Armelin, 103-109; + M. Antoniadi, 109-111; + M. Mathieu, 111-114; + M. Palotti, 114-116; + M. Le Bocain, 116-118; + A. de Rochas, 140-143, 174-176; + M. Ciolfi's account of Lombroso's séances, 143-150; + the Milan scientists, 151-161; + M. de Siemradski, 163, 164; + Sir Oliver Lodge, 167; + Sully-Prudhomme, 176; + François Porro's reports of séances with Morselli, 177-192. + + Recorded cases of her phenomena. + (a) Raps (including typtological communications), 8, 13, 17, 70, 75, + 80, 105, 114, 144, 145, 147, 175, 203. + (b) Movements of natural objects (_see also_ (d) apports), 9, 17, + 70-74, 88, 90, 91, 93, 95-99, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111-114, 125, + 126, 144, 147, 148, 156, 157, 163, 167, 175, 176, 181-183, 185, + 187-203, 209, 210. + (c) Levitations, 6, 16, 70, 73, 74, 83, 88, 91, 93, 94, 96, 99, 104, + 105, 111, 113, 114, 144-147, 154-156, 160, 164, 167, 174, 180, + 183-187, 204, 364. + (d) Apports (objects brought in from outside the room), 99, 112, 186, + 187. + (e) Alteration in weight of bodies and variation in weighing apparatus + without contact, 88, 153, 173, 191. + (f) Thermal radiations, 115, 117, 125, 186. + (g) acoustic phenomena (sounds other than raps q.v.), 71, 73, 89, 96, + 112, 144, 163, 167, 183, 209, 210. + (h) writing and marks produced at a distance, 167. + (i) impressions in plastic substances, 22, 74-78, 158, 163, 184; + photographs of, 76. + (j) luminous phenomena, 74, 97, 105, 108, 125, 148, 186, 199. + (k) trance speaking, 71, 160. + (l) Materializations. + (I) Tactile,--of hands and arms, 71, 72, 89, 97, 98, 101, 106-108, + 111, 113, 116-118, 124, 146, 148, 160, 167, 174, 181, 186; + of heads, 73, 89, 115, 161, 177, 187. + (II) visible,--of hands of arms, 10, 73, 116, 159, 175, 185; + of heads and busts, 21, 72, 115, 128, 177, 185, 366. + (m) a solid passing through a solid substance, 107, 128. + (n) cases apparently produced by fraud, 200. + + Palotti, M., report on E. Paladino, 114-116. + + Palotti, Mme., 114. + + Pelletier, M., 220. + + Penta, Dr., 147. + + Phaedrus, quoted, xx. + + Phalansterians, the, 61, 443. + + Phantoms, 419, _see also_ Materializations. + + Plautus, xiv. + + Politi, Auguste, mediums, his phenomena, 368-371. + + Poggenpohl, M. de, 373, 374. + + Porro, François, report on E. Paladino, 177-192; + his theories, 409. + + Predictions, 293, 384, 385. + + Psychical research, utility of, v, viii, 2, 30-32; + the sceptic's attitude toward, vii; + ignorance of critics of, xii, xv; + scientists unwilling to recognize phenomena, 18-20; + value of cumulative testimony in, 191; + necessity of eliminating fraud in, 194; + society for, 305. + + Psychological Institute invites E. Paladino to Paris, 3. + + + Rabelais, 1; + alleged spirit communications from, 38-40. + + Radioculture, vi. + + Raps (_see also_, Typtology), their connection with sitters, 22; + hypotheses for, 35; + Dr. J. Maxwell's Studies of, 360-364; + recapitulation of, 416-418; + cases of, 8, 13, 17, 75, 105, 144, 145, 147, 175, 232, 244, 292, + 297-301, 353, 357. + + Ravachol, alleged spirit communication from, 213. + + Regnard, quoted, 101. + + Ribero, M., 218. + + Richet, Dr. Charles, 3, 63, 65, 84, 93, 95, 151, 162, 178, 202, 305; + his experiments in Algiers, 375; + his theory, 409. + + Rochas, Count Albert de, 63, 84, 95, 162, 203, 289, 368; + cited, 3, 135, 179, 188, 198; + his theories, 409. + + Rodiere, Mme., medium, 196. + + Rothe, Anna, medium, 217. + + Rothschild, Ed. de, 101. + + Roure, Lucien, cited, 398. + + + Sabatier, A., 63, 173. + + Sambor, Russian medium, his phenomena, 371-374. + + Sardou, Victorien, 178, 203, 208; + early mediumistic experiences of, 25; + letter to Jules Claretie, 45; + report on E. Paladino, 95-98; + participates in Paladino sittings, 123, 124. + + Sayn-Wittgenstein, Prince, 334. + + Schiaparelli, 4, 63, 82, 151, 178, 194; + letter regarding E. Paladino, 64. + + Secondary personality, _see_ Double Personality. + + Sergines, M. de, 101. + + Sexton, Dr., 334. + + Sidgwick, Prof. Henry, 305. + + Siemiradski, M. de, 162; + quoted, 163. + + Simmons, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin, 368. + + Sivel the aëronaut, alleged spirit communication from, 213. + + Slade, Henry, medium, 66, 420; + his fraud, 196. + + Socrates, vii. + + Solid passing through a solid, cases of, 107, 128, 372;--a natural + parallel, 130. + + Solovovo, Petrovo, describes Sambor's phenomena, 371-374. + + Soul, the, xx, 82, 178, 188, 439, 452. + + Spirit communications, 384-389; + erroneous, 51, 52, 57; + _see also_, Automatic writing, Raps, Trance-speaking. + + Spiritualism (spiritism), 194; + its immateriality in psychical research, xx, 80; + has never taught anything new, 26, 436; + not proven by Paladino phenomena, 166; + dilemma between animism and, 188, 435; + Porro's opinion of its relation to Paladino, 190 _et seq._; + de Gasparin's arguments against, 285; + Thury's comments on, 285 _et seq._; + spiritistic hypothesis accepted by Cromwell Varley, 305, 409, by + Wallace, 409, by Prof. Morgan, 409; + spirits not necessarily souls of dead, 431; + still a working hypothesis, 439, 447; + arguments against its probability, 439 _et seq._ + + Squanquarillo, Joseph, 368. + + Stewart, Prof. Balfour, 305. + + Stock, Georges, 50. + + Subliminal consciousness, Myers on, 433, 434; + Dr. Geeley's hypothesis, 434; + does not depend upon organism, 435. + + Sully-Prudhomme, 173. + + Syamour, Mme., 101. + + + Table movements, 411-413. + _See also_, Levitation _and_ Movements of Natural Objects. + + Taine, quoted, 58. + + Tamburini, M., 144. + + Tanchou, Dr., report on Angelica Cottin, 219-222. + + Tapp, Mr., 345. + + Taton, M., 368. + + Telekinesis, 61. + + Thermal radiations (sensations of heat or cold in mediumistic + phenomena), 115, 117, 125, 186. + + Thury, Marc, his researches into physical phenomena, 266-287; + his experiments, 269-276; + his theories, 276-287, 408. + + Touchings in mediumistic phenomena, 418. + _See also_, Materializations (tactile). + + Trance speaking, cases of, 71, 160, 293. + + Typtology (intelligible communications by raps), code for, 8; + results generally tally, knowledge of the experimenters, 14, 37, 57; + apparently an extension of hand and brain, 33; + received through Mme. Huet, 37 _et seq._; + answers to unknown questions evidently guess-work, 240; + specimens of, 38-43, 70, 80, 114, 147, 203, 212, 237, 292, 293, + 297-301, 355, 356, 380, 403, 437. + _See also_, Raps. + + + Unknown natural forces, v, xvii, 1-23, 2, 18; + extracts from Flammarion's monograph on, xi-xxi; + evinced in E. Paladino's phenomena, 80, 192; + hypotheses regarding, 81, 406 _et seq._; + danger of too great scepticism against recognition of, 188 _et seq._; + not the exclusive property of mediums, 442. + + Uranus, the satellites of, spiritistic communications regarding, 50-57. + + + Vacquerie, Charles, 213. + + Varennes, M. and Mlle. de, 95. + + Varley, Cromwell F., 291, 297, 359; + accepts spiritistic hypothesis, 305, 409. + + Vignon, Louis, 98, 101. + + Virchow, cited, 20. + + Virgil, quoted, 451. + + Vizioli, M., 143. + + Voltaire, 1. + + + Wagner, Prof., 162. + + Wallace Alfred Russel, 65, 290, 297, 437; + accepts spiritistic theory, 409. + + Watteville, Baron de, 63, 173, 218;--his investigations of mediumistic + phenomena, 353-359. + + Weber, A., 372. + + Wellemberg, M., 218. + + Will, the, its influence upon phenomena, 273 _et seq._, 365. + + Williams, Mrs., medium, 218, 219. + + Wolf, M., 218. + + Writing and marks produced at a distance, 167, 356, 371, 373, 379. + + + X., Mme., mediumistic séance with, 211-216. + + + Zeno, cited, 450. + + Zöllner, Prof., 66, 178, 196, 420. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Sosie is a character in Plautus and Molière. Hermes takes Sosie's +form, and, when the latter sees his double, he almost doubts his own +identity. So the word came to mean a counterpart, a double, one's _alter +ego_.--_Trans._ + +[2] This seems to be a reference to the wardrobe used by the early +Spiritualists as a cabinet in their demonstrations in public +halls.--_Trans._ + +[3] The cock scratching for grain finds a pearl. + +[4] In order that I may at once place before the eyes of my readers +documentary evidence of these experiments, I reproduce here (Pl. I) a +photograph taken at my apartments on the 12th of November in 1898. Any one +can perceive by the horizontality of the arms, as well as by the distance +between the feet of the table and the floor, that the elevation is from +six to eight inches. The precise distance is marked on the figure +itself,--a measurement taken the next day by propping up the table, with +the aid of books, in the same position as it was. The medium has her two +feet wholly under my right foot, while at the same time her knees are +under my right hand. Her hands are upon the table grasped by my left hand +and by that of the other critical observer or "control" (_contrôleur_), +who has just placed a cushion before her to shield her very sensitive eyes +from the flash of the magnesium light, and thus save her from a +disagreeable nervous attack. + +These photographs, taken rapidly by magnesium light, are not perfect, but +they are records. + +[5] See _L'Inconnu_, pp. 20-29. + +[6] Certain book-shops in Paris.--_Trans._ + +[7] Oration delivered at the grave of Allan Kardec, by Camille Flammarion, +Paris, Didier, 1869, pp. 4, 17, 22. + +[8] The author means, of course, by this phrase (_milieu ambiant_), the +totality of psychic force present, the psychological atmosphere, the total +mind-energy radiated by the several more or less sensitive or mediumistic +members of the company.--_Trans._ + +[9] This communication is given in English by the author.--_Trans._ + +[10] Alcofribaz Nazier is well known as Rabelais' anagram, formed from his +own name. It was the signature under which he published his +_Pantagruel_.--_Trans._ + +[11] A piece of typtological dictation of the same kind has been recently +sent to me. Here it is: + + IUTPTUOLOER + EIRFIEUEBN + SSOAGPRSTI + +Read successively, from top to bottom, one letter of each line, beginning +on the left, and the sense will appear as follows: "Je suis trop fatiguê +pour les obtenir." ("I am too tired to obtain them.") + +[12] This and the next dictation are rhymed verse in the original +French.--_Trans._ + +[13] In rhymed verses in the original.--_Trans._ + +[14] A word of recent origin, meaning ambitious or pretentious people who +want "to arrive," the _would-be's_. The word forms the title of a recent +French novel, _L'Arriviste_, and (translated) of an English one called +_The Climber_.--_Trans._ + +[15] So in the original. Possibly M. Sardou was under the mistaken +impression that Gulliver was a nom-de-plume for Dean Swift.--_Trans._ + +[16] This inclination is really 82°, reckoning from the south, or 98° (90 ++ 8°), counting from the north (see Fig. A). + +[17] I have just found in my library a book which was sent to me in 1888 +by the author, Major-General Drayson, the title of which is _Thirty +Thousand Years of the Earth's Past History, Read by Aid of the Discovery +of the Second Rotation of the Earth_. This second rotation would take +place about an axis the pole of which would be 29° 25' 47" from the pole +of the daily rotation, about 270 right ascension, and would be +accomplished in 32,682 years. The author seeks to explain it by the +glacial periods and variations of climate. But his work is full of +confusions most strange and even unpardonable in a man versed in +astronomical studies. The truth is that this General Drayson (who died +several years ago) was not an astronomer. + +[18] _Intelligence_, Vol. I., preface, p. 16, edition of 1897. The first +edition was published in 1868. + +[19] All those who occupy themselves with these questions are acquainted, +among other cases, with that of Felida (studied by Dr. Azam). In the story +of this young girl she is shown as endowed with two distinct personalities +to such an extent that, in the second state, she becomes amorous ... and +enceinte, without knowing anything about it in her normal condition. These +states of double personalities have been methodically observed for thirty +years. + +[20] _Psychological Automatism_, p. 401-402. + +[21] See Pl. IV. and V. I preserve with care a plaster cast of this +imprint. + +[22] A. de Rochas, _The Externalization of Motivity_, fourth edition, +1906, p. 406. + +[23] The reports of the sittings at Montfort-l'Amaury form the subject of +a remarkable work by M. Guillaume de Fontenay, _Apropos of Eusapia +Paladino_, one vol., 8vo. illustrated, Paris, 1898. + +[24] The respective places of the persons were not always those of the +photographs. Thus, at the time of the production of the imprint, M. G. de +Fontenay was at the right of Eusapia, and M. Blech at the same end of the +table. + +[25] In the following sitting, of November 12, M. Antoniadi writes (with +an excellent corroborative sketch): "Phenomenon observed with absolute +certainty; the violin was thrown upon the table, twenty inches above the +head of Eusapia." + +[26] This is absolutely true, says my son, who is reading over these +lines. + +[27] During the correction of the proofs of these sheets (Oct., 1906), I +received from Dr. Gustave Le Bon the following note: + +"At the time of her last sojourn in Paris (1906), I was able to obtain +from Eusapia three séances at my house. I besought one of the keenest +observers that I know, M. Dastre,--a member of the Academy of Science and +professor of physiology at the Sorbonne,--to be kind enough to be present +at our experiments. There were present also my assistant, M. Michaux, and +the lady to whose kind offices I owe the presence of Eusapia. + +"Besides the levitation of the table, we several times, and almost in full +light, saw a hand appear. At first it was about two inches and a half +above Eusapia's head, then at the side of the curtain which partly covered +her, about twenty inches from her shoulder. + +"We then organized, for the second séance, our methods of control. They +were altogether decisive. Thanks to the possibility of producing behind +Eusapia an illumination which she did not suspect, we were able to see one +of her arms, very skilfully withdrawn from our control, move along +horizontally behind the curtain and touch the arm of M. Dastre, and +another time give me a slap on the hand. + +"We concluded from our observations that the phenomena observed had +nothing supernatural about them. + +"As to the levitation of the table,--an extremely light one, placed before +Eusapia, and which her hands scarcely left,--we have not been able to +formulate any decisive explanation. I will only observe that Eusapia +admitted that it was impossible for her to displace the slightest one of +the very light objects placed upon that table." + +After writing this note, M. G. Le Bon said to me verbally that, in his +opinion, everything in these experiments is fraud. + +[28] To these eight séances I might add a ninth, which took place on the +succeeding December 5, in the study of Prof. Richet. Nothing remarkable +occurred, unless it was the inflation, in full light, of a window curtain, +which was about twenty-four inches from Eusapia's foot, my foot and leg +being between it and her. The observation was absolutely accurate. + +[29] To what cause may we attribute the levitation of the table? We have +undoubtedly not yet discovered the secret. The action of gravity may be +counterbalanced by movement. + +You can amuse yourself, while at breakfast or dinner, by toying with a +knife. If you hold it vertically in your tightly closed hand, its weight +is counterbalanced by the pressure of the hand and it does not fall. Open +your hand, still holding the knife grasped by the thumb and index finger, +and it will slide as if it were in a too large tube. But move the hand by +a rapid see-saw movement, from left to right, from right to left: you will +thus create a centrifugal force which holds the object in vertical +suspension, and which may even toss it above your hand and project it into +the air, if the movement is rapid enough. + +What, then, sustains the knife, annihilates its weight? Force. Might it +not be that the influence of the experimenters seated around the table +puts in special movement the molecules of the wood? They are already set +in vibration by variations of temperature. These molecules are particles +infinitely small which do not touch each other. Might not a molecular +movement counterbalance the effect of gravity? I do not present this as an +explanation, but as an illustrative suggestion (_comme une image_). + +[30] M. Chiaia has sent me photographs of these prints. I reproduce some +of them here (Pl. VII). + +[31] The word "trance" has been given to the peculiar state into which +mediums fall when they lose the consciousness of their environment. It is +a kind of somnambulistic sleep. + +[32] _Annales des sciences psychiques_, 181, p. 326. + +[33] However, some doubt may remain. In my photographs, also (Pl. I. and +VI.), the foot of the table at the left of the medium is concealed. As I +myself was at this very place, I am sure that the medium was unable to +lift the table with her foot, for _this foot was held under mine_, not by +a rod or by any support whatever; for I had a hand upon her legs, _which +did not move_. The objection is moreover refuted by the experiment which I +made on the 29th of March, 1906 (see p. 6), of a levitation, with Eusapia +standing,--an experiment which had been made before on the 27th of July, +1897, at Monfort-l'Amaury (see p. 82), the feet, very naturally, being +visible. Hence there can be no doubt whatever about the complete +levitation of the table floating in space. Aksakof obtained a levitation, +in the séances at Milan, after having tied Eusapia's feet with two +strings, the ends of which were short and had been sealed to the floor +very near each foot. + +Farther on the reader will be given proof of other undeniable instances, +among others, at pp. 164, 165. + +[34] I hear very often the following objection: "I shall only believe in +mediums who are not remunerated; all those who are paid are under +suspicion." Eusapia belongs to these last. Being without fortune, she +never visits a city unless her travelling and hotel expenses are paid. She +also loses her time, and is submitted to a not very agreeable inquisition. +For my part, I do not admit the above objection at all. The physical and +intellectual faculties have nothing in common with money-getting. It will +be said that the medium is interested in deceiving and tricking: it +increases her fees. But there are a good many other temptations in the +world. I have seen unpaid mediums, men and women of society, cheat without +any scruple, from pure vanity, or for a purpose still less fit to be +avowed,--for the mere pleasure of trapping some one. The séances of +Spiritualism have been made to serve useful and agreeable ends in +fashionable society--and more than one marriage has originated there. + +We must be as sceptical about one class of mediums as about another. + +[35] These reports were published in detail in the work of M. de Rochas on +_The Externalization of Motivity_, 4th edition, 1906, p. 170. + +[36] I will add, for the benefit of those who wish to try some of these +psychic experiments, that the best conditions for success are to have a +homogeneous, impartial, and sincere group, free from every preconceived +idea, and not exceeding five or six persons in number. It is absurd to +object that, in order to obtain the phenomena, _one must have faith_. But, +while positive belief is not necessary, it is yet advisable not to +exercise any hostile influence during a séance. + +[37] A very curious experiment made with a letter-weigher took place at +l'Agnélas. In response to an impromptu suggestion made by M. de Gramont, +Eusapia consented to try whether, by making vertical passes with her hands +on each side of the tray of the letter-weigher (going as high as fifty +grams), she could not lower it. She succeeded in doing so several times in +succession, in the presence of five observers placed about her, who +testified that she did not have in her fingers either thread or hair to +press upon the tray. + +[38] Published by C. de Vesme in his _Revue des Études psychiques_, 1901. + +[39] Eusapia, as has been said, is unable either to read or write. + +[40] Arago, in 1846, with the "electric girl"; Flammarion, in 1861, with +Allan Kardec, then afterwards with different mediums; Zöllner, in 1882, +with Slade; Schiaparelli, in 1892 with Eusapia; Porro, in 1901, with the +same medium (_Revue des Études psychiques_). + +[41] Notably in _Uranie_, in _Stella_, in _Lumen_, in _L'Inconnu_. See +also above, p. 30 in my _Oration at the Grave of Allen Kardec_. + +[42] Slade was sentenced to three months of hard labor, in London, for +swindling. He died in a private hospital, in the State of Michigan, in +September, 1905. + +[43] _Annales des sciences psychiques_, 1896, p. 66. + +[44] We have already noticed (see p. 149) the practical joke of Professor +Bianchi in a meeting of the most serious investigators. + +[45] See _Annales_, 1896. The report is very rich in records. The door of +the wardrobe opened and closed of itself, several times in succession, in +synchronism with the movements of the medium's hands, which were at about +a yard's distance. A toy piano weighing about two pounds was moved about, +and played several airs all alone, etc. + +[46] A Parisian Anarchist executed for dynamiting the houses of the Judges +Benoit and Bulot. The popular chanson of the Anarchists called _La +Ravachole_ originated in this man's deeds and personality. See Alvan +Sanborn's _Paris and the Social Revolution_, Boston, 1905.--_Trans._ + +[47] See also _Enquête sur l'authenticité des phénomènes electriques +d'Angelique Cottin_. Paris, Germer Ballière, 1846. Also _L'Exteriorisation +de la motricité_, by Albert de Rochas. + +[48] Lafontaine, who also studied Angelica's case, says that "when she +brought her left wrist near a lighted candle, the flame bent over +horizontally, as if continually blown upon." (_L'art de magnetiser_, p. +273). + +M. Pelletier observed the same thing in the case of some of his subjects, +when they brought the palm of the hand near a candle. + +Specialists call these points "hypnogenic points," from which fluidic +streams radiate. + +[49] Arago.--_Trans._ + +[50] _Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observations_, vol. II., 1856. + +[51] _Des Tables tournantes, du Surnaturel en général, et des Esprits, par +le comte Agénor de Gasparin, Paris, Dentu, 1854._ + +[52] The lady who soon after was styled "the medium." + +[53] This was the only table with casters that the operators made use of. + +[54] The allusion is to Faraday's explanation of Arago's discovery in the +magnetism of rotation. Faraday showed that a rotating disk of non-magnetic +metal would draw after it in similar rotation a magnetic needle suspended +over it, and even a heavy magnet. See Professor Tyndall's _Faraday as a +Discoverer_, pp. 25, 26.--_Trans._ + +[55] The long scene from which this is taken in Molière is so full of +Italian, Old French, and dog Latin, that it has not been translated by Van +Laun. All but the last word (_juro_) of each stanza is spoken by the +big-wigs in this mock examination of a baccalaureate medical student; that +word is his: + +"Do you swear that in all consultations you will be of the ancient +opinion, whether it be good or bad?"--"I swear it."--"To never make use of +any remedies except those of the learned faculty of medicine, even should +the patient burst and die of his disease?"--"I swear it."--_Trans._ + +[56] _"Les Tables tournantes," considérés au point de vue de la question +de physique générale qui s'y rattache. Genève, 1855._ + +[57] _The dynamic force_ necessary to produce this uplift, if we admit +that it was developed and accumulated during the five or ten minutes of +playing that preceded the phenomenon, would not, on the other hand, be +beyond the strength of the child; it would remain even much beneath the +limit of his powers. In general, the force expended, in these phenomena of +the tables, if one may judge by the degree of fatigue experienced by the +operators, much surpasses what would be required to produce the same +effects mechanically. There is, therefore, in this respect, no reason for +admitting the intervention of a force foreign to the boy's own +nature.--(_Thury._) + +[58] In the first experiments of Thury, eight persons remained an hour and +a half standing, and then seated, around a table, without obtaining the +least resulting movement. Two or three days after, on their second trial, +the same persons, at the end of ten minutes, made a centre-table revolve. +Finally, on the 4th of May, 1853, at the third or fourth trial, the +heaviest tables began to move almost immediately. + +[59] In the case of difficult tests, when they took place on cold days, a +warm spread was stretched over the table, and removed at the moment of the +experiment. The operators themselves, before acting, held their hands open +for a moment before a stove. + +[60] Report on Spiritualism of the Committee of the London Dialectical +Society, London: 1871. + +[61] In one vol. 8vo. Paris: Leymarie, 1900. + +[62] See, for example, the January number, 1876: _Sidereal Astronomy_. + +[63] Especially at Nice, in 1881 and 1884. Home died in 1886. He was born +in 1833, near Edinburgh. + +[64] Sir William Huggins, an astronomer well known for his discoveries in +spectrum analysis. + +[65] Edward William Cox. + +[66] Experimental Investigation on Psychic Force, by William Crookes, F. +R. L., etc., London, Henry Gilman, 1871. The brochure was translated into +French by M. Alidel, Paris. Psychical Science Publishing House, 1897. + +[67] The quotation occurs to me--"I never said it was possible, I only +said it was true." + +[68] Katie King, _The Story of her Appearances_. Paris, Leymarie, 1899. I +thought I would not reproduce these photographs here, because they did not +seem to me to have come from Mr. Crookes himself. Florence Cook died in +London on the 2d of April, 1904. + +[69] On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism, London, 1875, French +translation, Paris, 1889 (the English word _spiritualism_ is always used +here in the sense of _spiritism_). + +[70] _Les Phénomènes psychiques._ One vol. 8vo. Paris, 1903. + +[71] As I said on a previous page, psychic forces have as much reality as +physical and mechanical ones. + +[72] This is the same thing that I observed at Monfort-l'Amaury. See p. +73. + +[73] The Italian journals reproduced a picturesque photograph of the table +lifted almost to the height of the ceiling, at the moment it had passed +over the heads of the sitters and was turning over (see A. de Rochas, +_Extériorisation de la motricité_, 4th ed.). I do not reproduce it, +because it does not seem to me to be authentic. Besides, the observers +declared that they did not verify this phenomenon until _after_ its pro + +[74] _Annales des Sciences psychique_, 1902. + +[75] Several observations published in that work are however, connected in +subject with the present one. For instance: a piano playing alone (p. +108), a door opening of itself (p. 112), curtains shaken (p. 125), +extravagant gambols of pieces of furniture (p. 133), raps (p. 146), bells +ringing (p. 168), and numerous examples of unexplained disturbing noises +coinciding with deaths. + +[76] The word used here by M. Castex-Dégrange is _tête de Turc_, a thing +like the leather-covered bags in our gymnasiums, and used in fairs in +France, to be pummelled by those wishing to try their strength.--_Trans._ + +[77] I had considerable acquaintance with him at the Nice Observatory, +where, in 1884 and 1885, I made with him spectroscopic observations on the +rotation of the sun.--C. F. + +[78] In the séances of which I spoke in the early part of this book +(second chapter), when the word "God" was dictated the table beat a +salute.--C. F. + +[79] Goupil, _Pour et Contre_, p. 113. + +[80] It has been my desire to give in this place the result of the +personal experience of a large number of men anxious to know the truth; +above all to reply to ignorant journalists who invite their readers to +indulge in supercilious scorn of these researches and experimenters. At +the very moment when I was correcting the proofs of these last pages I +received a journal, _Le Lyon républicain_, of the 25th of January, 1907, +which has for its leading article a quite preposterous diatribe against me +signed "Robert Estienne." The performance shows that the author does not +know what he is talking about nor the man of whom he is treating. + +There is evidently no reason in the nature of things why the city of Lyons +should be more disposed to error than any other point on the globe. But +mark the coincidence: I received, at the same time, a number of +_L'Université catholique_, of Lyons, in which a certain Abbé Delfour +speaks of "supernatural contemporary facts" without understanding a word +of the subject. + +No, the trouble is not with the city of Lyons merely. There are blind +people everywhere. You can read a dissertation _ejusdem farinæ_, signed by +the Jesuit Lucien Roure, in _Les Études religieuses_, published at Paris, +with critical judgments worthy of a traveling salesman. + +In this connection, you can read in the _Nouveau Catèchisme du diocèse de +Nancy_: "Q. What must we think of the demonstrated facts of Spiritualism, +somnambulism, and magnetism?--A. We must attribute them to the devil, and +it would be a sin to take part in them in any way whatever." + +[81] Newton, as is well known, declares, in his letter to Bentley, that he +can only explain gravitation by supposing the existence of a medium which +transmits it. Yet, to our senses, the ether would not be a material thing. +But, however that may be, celestial bodies do certainly act at a distance +one upon another. + +[82] The initiated know that according to this doctrine the terrestrial +human being is composed of five entities: the physical body; the ethereal +double, a little less gross, surviving the first for some time; the astral +body, still more subtile; the mental body, or intelligence, surviving the +three preceding; and finally the Ego, or indestructible soul. + +[83] These observations may be compared with a little social diversion +which is rather popular, and is particularly described in one of the first +works of Sir David Brewster (_Letters to Walter Scott upon Natural Magic_) +in the following terms: + +"The heaviest person of the company lies down on two chairs, the shoulders +resting on one and the legs on the other. Four persons, one at each +shoulder and one at each foot, try to lift him, and at first find the +thing difficult to do. Then the subject of the experiments gives two +signals by clapping his hands twice. At the first signal, he and the four +others inhale deeply. When the five persons are full of air he gives the +second signal, which is for the lifting. This takes place without the +least difficulty, as if the person lifted were as light as a feather." + +I have frequently performed the same experiment upon a man in a sitting +posture by placing two fingers under his legs and two under his arm-pits, +the operators inhaling all together uniformly. + +This is undoubtedly a case of biological action. But what is the essential +nature of gravitation? Faraday regarded it as an "electro-magnetic" force. +Weber explains the movement of the planets around the sun by +"electro-dynamism." The tails of comets, always turned away from the sun, +indicate a solar repulsion coincident with the attraction. We know no more +to-day than in the time of Newton what gravitation really is. + +[84] It is not indispensable, even in certain cases in which it seems to +be so. Let us take an example. At a séance in Genoa (1906), with Eusapia, +M. Youriévich, general secretary of the Psychological Institute of Paris, +besought the spirit of his father, who asserted that he was present before +him in ghostly form, to give him a proof of identity by producing in the +clay an impression of his hand, and above all of a finger the nail of +which was long and pointed. The request was made in Russian, which the +medium did not understand. Now this impression was sure enough obtained +several months after, with the mark of the nail referred to. Does this +fact prove that the soul of the father of the experimenter actually +performed the act with his hand? No. The medium received the mental +suggestion for producing the phenomenon, and did in fact produce it. The +Russian language did not make any difference. The suggestion was received. +Besides, the hand was much smaller than that of the man whose spirit was +evoked. + +The experimenter next asks his deceased father to give him his blessing, +and he perceives a hand which makes the sign of the cross before him (in +the Russian style, the three fingers together) upon the forehead, the +breast, and the two sides. The same explanation is applicable here. + +It was a mistake to say that this ghost and his son conversed together in +the Russian tongue, as the published account said. M. Youriévich only +heard some unintelligible sounds. People always exaggerate, and these +exaggerations work the greatest possible harm to the truth. Why amplify? +Is there not enough of the unknown in these mysterious phenomena? + +[85] In certain countries (Canada, Colorado), a gas-jet can be lighted by +holding out the finger toward it. + +[86] See what I formerly wrote on this subject in _Lumen_, in _Uranie_, in +_Stella_, and in my _Discours sur l'unité de force et l'unité de +substance_, published in _l'Annuaire du Cosmos_, for 1865. + +[87] _The Human Personality_, p. 11. + +[88] _Id._, p. 23. + +[89] _Id._, p. 63. + +[90] _The Human Personality_, p. 313. + +[91] _The Subconscious Nature_, p. 82. + +[92] See my remarks in _The Unknown_, pp. 290-294. + +[93] See _Bulletin of the Psychological Institute_, Vol. I. pp. 25-40. + +[94] Quite recently I saw an account of some phenomena which rather plead +in its favor than otherwise (_Bulletin of the Society for Psychical +Studies of Nancy_, Nov.-Dec., 1906). Out of the eleven instances +mentioned, the first and the second may have been taken from a cyclopedia, +the third and the fourth from public journals; but, in the case of the +seven others, the admission of the identity of apparitions with the +originals they purported to represent is surely the best explanatory +hypothesis. + +[95] As a forestalling of judgment on what is yet to be demonstrated, the +word "medium" is a wholly improper term. It takes it for granted that the +person endowed with these supra-normal psychic faculties is an +intermediary between the spirits and the experimenters. Now while we may +admit that this is sometimes the case, it is certainly not always so. The +rotation of a table, its tipping, its levitation, the displacement of a +piece of furniture, the inflation of a curtain, noises heard--all are +caused by a force emanating from this protagonist of the company, or from +their collective powers. We cannot really suppose that there is always a +spirit present ready to respond to our fancies. And the hypothesis is so +much the less necessary since the pretended spirits do not impart any new +facts to us. For the greater part of the time, it is undoubtedly our own +psychic force that is acting. The chief personage and principal actor in +these experiments would be more accurately called a _dynamogen_, since he +(or she) creates force. It seems, to me that this would be the best term +to apply in this case. It expresses that which is proved by all the +observations. + +I have known mediums very proud of their title, and sometimes found them a +bit jealous of their fellows. They were convinced that they had been +chosen by Saint Augustine, Saint Paul, and even Jesus Christ. They +believed in the grace of the Most High and claimed (not without reason +too) that, coming from other hands, these signatures were to be suspected. +There is no sense in these rivalries. + +[96] See the _Complete Works of the Emperor Julian_, Paris, 1821. Vol. I. +p. 375. + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_. + +Footnote 73 is incomplete in the original text. + +The original text includes Greek characters. For this text version these +letters have been replaced with transliterations. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Mysterious Psychic Forces, by Camille Flammarion + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES *** + +***** This file should be named 39279-8.txt or 39279-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/2/7/39279/ + +Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |